Author faves: Pumpkin pie, Vancouver, 'Gone With the Wind'

Today's featured authors — Devon Rhodes, author of Remarkable Restraint; Jane Davitt, author of Life Under New Management; and Scarlett Parrish, author of Bring Me to Life — share their favorite desserts, favorite vacation destinations and favorite books.

Devon Rhodes, author of Remarkable Restraint

Since I'm not a "sweet" person, I have an easy time narrowing down a dessert menu or making a single choice at a holiday dinner. Yet, if all my faves were available at once, I'd have very different emotional reasons for my choice.

Three of my favorite desserts:

When I'm in a nostalgic mood, I love pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. Mom always made it from scratch every holiday, and I've kept up the tradition. She still makes sure to bake one when I visit, even if it's summertime.

For a romantic night, I love coconut cream pie with coffee. When I was first dating my husband, we had so little time free between our multiple jobs that many dates were quick meet-ups at a diner late at night.

If I had to pick a desert island keeper of desserts, though, that would be easy. Warm bread pudding is pure comfort food. Mmm. Add a bit of caramel or bourbon sauce and I'm in heaven. Now you all know how to bribe me to do anything!

About Remarkable Restraint:

When Justin gets fed up with his best friend Chaz avoiding him, he decides it's well worth sacrificing his favorite T-shirt to try to save their relationship.

Chaz is finding it impossible to hide his attraction for his straight roommate, so he tries avoiding Justin until he leaves for the summer. He just has to get through a few more days, then he'll be home free—at least until Justin comes back in a couple of months. Still, he firmly believes that space between them is the best answer for now.

But Justin is not a man to be ignored. He's known Chaz for almost a decade, and can tell when something is weighing on his mind. And being shut out is not acceptable, especially just when he's finally ready to commit to more than friendship. When closer than usual proximity just before his trip to Central America turns up the heat between them, he takes matters into his own hands by restraining Chaz's hands—and feet—until he gets some answers.

The results are explosive and more than either could have dreamt, but the abrupt shift in their relationship is almost impossible to reconcile in the short time they have left together. It will take remarkable restraint from both to find a way to weather the separation, to stay friends…and to grow into something more.

Find out more at www.devonrhodes.com.

Jane Davitt, author of Life Under New Management

Three of my favorite vacation destinations:

• The Hebridean Islands off the western coast of Scotland. I spent every summer holiday here growing up, camping on a dozen of the islands over the years. Remote, so quiet the silence hurts your ears, with sugar white sand and springy heather, they're the ultimate get away from it all destination.

• Vancouver. This city has it all. Cradled by the Rockies, with the ocean framing the bridges and buildings, it's spectacular from every angle. I loved that a short drive put us in the mountains with an incredible view waiting for us after a few hours hiking.

• Florida. We spent a week in August on a beach opposite Sanibel Island. Vast expanses of sand covered with shells, water as warm as a bath, birds everywhere and hardly any people. Watching the sun go down drinking an ice-cold beer in a bar on the beach was the perfect way to end the day.

About Life Under New Management:

Working for a perfectionist like strict, sexy-as-hell Ethan isn't easy. Falling in love with him? No problem at all.

Taking a bar job in an exclusive hotel is a stopgap for Andy. He's an actor and his big break is coming soon—he knows it. His hot new boss Ethan is strict, demanding and totally off-limits but Andy can't stop thinking about him.

When Andy learns of Ethan's need to be in control of his partner—in bed and out of it—he's stunned by the intensity of his reaction. He wants Ethan guiding him, bringing order to his chaotic life. And he sees that Ethan needs him too, though they can't be open about their feelings.

Ethan deals out deliciously perverse consequences for misbehaving, but when it comes to incentives, he knows just what to offer to have Andy on his knees begging for more.

But some secrets can't stay that way for long. And when difficult choices arise, for once Andy can't turn to Ethan for guidance. This time, he's on his own.

Find out more at www.janedavitt.com.

Scarlett Parrish, author of Bring Me to Life

Three of my favorite books:

• Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell. I've always loved "doorstopper" novels and first read this when I was around 15. This isn't a romance. It's not even a love story. It's a war story featuring the struggles of the woman from whom I stole my pen name. Scarlett's one of the most selfish characters in fiction and no less fascinating for that.

• Forever Amber, Kathleen Winsor. Another thousand-page non-romance historical novel. Apparently Artie Shaw found his wife (Ava Gardner) reading this and said he didn't want his wife reading such trash. After their divorce, who did he marry? The author, Kathleen Winsor. Amber St. Clare lives in 17th-century England at the time of Charles II and becomes one of his many mistresses. She's very Scarlett-esque.

• I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb. Hands down my favorite book. It's so beautifully written (albeit with a slightly Hollywood ending) that I cried through the final three or four chapters. It's about mental illness, redemption and knowing where you come from. The one book I wish I'd written.

About Bring Me to Life:

Nathan Stephenson died seventy years ago and he'd like the world—or at least one person—to think he stayed that way.

In 1940s London, Sergeant Nathan Stephenson ignored his rank and the expectation that he'd wait for the war to be over and find a nice girl to settle down with, and took a lover. Not only was Cian Ambrose unashamed of his bisexuality, he was also proud to be a vampire. Back then, he was certain that his and Nathan's relationship would last forever, refusing to take no for an answer.

One evening, Cian went too far in his attempts to persuade Nathan to become a vampire and left a mutual acquaintance, Jonathan Cutler, to deal with the aftermath. What Cian doesn't know is that Nathan didn't die—Jonathan brought him back to life, agreeing to keep Nathan's continued existence a secret.

It's now the twenty-first century and Jonathan's back to call in the favor. Nathan's an honorable man and can't say no, but the trouble is, wherever Jonathan goes, Cian Ambrose can't be far behind…

Reader Advisory: Bring Me to Life is set in the same universe as A Little Death by Scarlett Parrish.

Publisher's Note: This book was previously published elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for release with Totally Bound.

Find out more at scarlettparrish.wordpress.com.