Barbara Samuel has moved to Bantam and will be writing as Barbara O’Neal.

Her first book, THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS, will be a Bantam Discovery title.  So you can purchase it in trade paperback or mass market on December 30th.

I admit I have never read her and only know of her from the RITA stuff.

In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara O’Neal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient we’re all hoping to find….

It’s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for-the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmother’s recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she is-and a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. He’s come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts don’t die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk.

This just in…

Romance Writers of America’s 28th Annual National Conference is about to kick off in California. Authors, readers, publishers, agents, just to name a few, will be gathering in the city by the bay, San Francisco, starting today, July 30, through Sunday, August 2, at the Marriott Hotel at Union Square.

~ The Annual Conference is a four-day event filled with educational workshops, career enhancement, and community involvement.

~ Wednesday, July 30, is the Literacy Signing where a list of who’s who of authors will be signing books, the proceeds of which will go to ProLiteracy Worldwide. This event is open to the public and is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Yerba Buena Ballroom.

~ Victoria Alexander will be the Keynote Speaker and Connie Brockway is the speaker for the Awards Lucheon. Suzanne Brockmann wraps up the conference as emcee for the 2008 RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony.

~ Lisa Kleypas, Lisa Jackson, Jayne Ann Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Barbara Samuel, and Jane Porter will deliver other keynote addresses during the conference.

~ Some interactive news at the conference this year – two radio shows are slated to stream live on the web, featuring some of the very best authors in paranormal romance and historical romance with the Ladies of the Night Blog Talk Radio Show, and you’re encouraged to participate.

~ Wednesday, July 30, 8 – 9 PM PDT, 11 pm – 12 am EDT will be a night of romance and the supernatural, featuring: Jocelyn Drake, Kerrelyn Sparks, Kathryn Smith, Melissa Marr, Terri Garey, Jeaniene Frost and an introduction by Kim Harrison. You can call in and chat at (347) 826-9686 or just listen in. Or you can just listen on the web. Send an email to avoncontest@harpercollins.com if have any questions you’d like answered by one of the authors.

~ There will also be Historical Romance Radio, a discussion of all things historical romance. For any questions, send an email to avoncontest@harpercollins.co.

~ More than 100 workshops are being offered on a variety of subjects from leadership development for authors to choosing new clients for publishers.

~ Career-focused romance writers will be networking with fellow writers and have interaction with editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, and other romance publishing industry professionals.

Consider yourself flashed.