Back in March, my wife published her first novel, the comics-inspired Temporary Superheroine, and she’s now followed it up with something completely different—Captive of the Cattle Baron.

Here’s the cover—

While this blurb should let you figure out whether it’s your kind of romance—

Abducted by rancher Baron Selkirk—okay, it was an accident, but now he won’t let her go!—former TV child star turned horse whisperer Addie Jelleff enjoys a respite from the media circus that ruined her quiet retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but she’s due back to town to defend her actor pal at his trial very soon. Baron’s vast, isolated ranch is only one of his many attractions, but he’s awfully domineering and she can’t possibly give in to their growing attraction while she’s virtually his prisoner, can she? Baron sees the situation differently. Forced to drop his geology career and take over the family ranch, he’s frustrated by too many people saying no to him. Isn’t he in charge? Why is Addie so mysterious about her past and her commitments to another man? Why won’t she give in to Baron, when every time they touch, they catch fire? It’s a battle of wills—with neither one backing down. Addie can tame the wildest stallion, but taming her own growing attraction to the high-handed rancher and keeping him from breaking through her defenses requires all her strength—and some help from unexpected sources.

If you’re intriguned—due to nepotism or any other reason—head on over to Amazon today!

Last week, I told you all about my wife’s new comics-inspired novel, Temporary Superheroine, and how it was available for your Kindle.

Which likely left some of you thinking, “But I don’t have a Kindle! How will I be able to enjoy this awesome tome?”

I’m glad you asked!

Temporary Superheroine is now available on multiple platforms. In addition to the Kindle, there are now digital editions available for iBooks, Kobo, and Nook.

And for those who’d prefer a copy made of dead trees rather than pixels, Temporary Superheroine is also available in paperback.

See? Not only is my wife talented, she’s thoughtful, too!

Those of you who know me also know (mainly because I can’t stop singing her praises) that I’m married to comics legend (and cutie pie) Irene Vartanoff. Well, I have one more thing to shout about, because her first novel, Temporary Superheroine, is now on sale!

Check out the cool cover below, with the temporary superheroine of the title drawn by our old Marvel Comics pal Bob McLeod.

You already know Irene as an infamous DC Comics letterhack and writer/editor of romance comics, but now’s your chance to lose yourself in a novel—and a comic-book inspired one, at that. Here’s a brief description of what you’ll find in its pages—

Chloe Cole, struggling webcomics artist, is tormented by crazy dreams, mysterious e-mails, and ominous sightings of a supervillain on the loose. In her dreams, she’s a superheroine. Could those dreams have been responsible for unleashing ultimate chaos? When Chloe goes to New York looking for answers, dreams crash with reality and comic book fiction turns to fact. Driven to undertake a desperate quest, Chloe must unravel the mystery of her parentage while navigating a bizarre mirror universe. Can she and her ragtag team—her comics fanboy ex-boyfriend, an enigmatic and powerful comic book company executive, an elderly comics icon, and an eccentric artist with a grudge against society—possibly be enough to vanquish a fearsome foe?

Read Temporary Superheroine and maybe you’ll understand why Stan Lee nicknamed her “Impish” Irene Vartanoff all those decades ago during the years I fell in love with her at Marvel Comics.

For now, the book is only available in a Kindle edition, but as soon as hardcopies are available, believe me, I’ll let you know.

Go! Buy! Read! Enjoy!

Last weekend, I accompanied Irene to the New Jersey Romance Writers conference, but I didn’t hang around there with her. All of my fun occurred outside of New Jersey. And serendipitously, each of the three days of my trip delivered a comics-related delight.

On Friday, I headed to the Comics at Columbia exhibit, which was held in the Butler Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Highlights for me included a George Herriman Archy and Mehitabel illustration, a nostalgia-inducing photo of Chris Claremont taken around the time I would have met him in the ’70s, Jerry Robinson’s sketch of Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne made during class in 1940 when he was supposed to have been taking notes, and this 1970 letter in which Joe Shuster thought he and Jerry Siegel were “very close” to settling the Superman lawsuit.

That last one made me a little sad.

The Columbia University exhibit will continue through January 23, 2015 and is well worth your time. It’s one of the better comics exhibits I’ve seen.

Saturday, I visited the Society of Illustrators to catch an exhibit on Dick Dillin, who was the primary Justice League of America artist of my youth. (more…)

Yet another couple has discovered that years before they met, one of them had photobombed the other. Last time, it was a photo taken at Disneyland. This time, it was at the beach.

This gives me hope.

Because, you see, my wife and I were both at the first comic book convention I ever attended, and while we did not meet until four years later, I’ve always wondered whether there might be a photo out there of us side by side … sitting in the audience, wandering the dealers room, waiting for an elevator … and not knowing the future that lay in wait for us.

There’s still a chance one might turn up, isn’t there?

Last month, while I was off at San Diego Comic-Con, my wife was having a Comic-Con of her own. And while she was envious of my trip, I was even more envious of hers—because she got to spend the day with Marie Severin.

Of all the people we’ve met in comics, she’s the one we love the most. (Well, other than each other.)

Marie turned 84 today, and the photo above shows how mirthful she was (for those who don’t know, “Mirthful” was her Marvel Comics nickname) exactly one month ago at 83 years, 11 months.

And yes. That is the Incredible Hulk on her chest.

Can’t wait until we see each other again in October, Marie!

In 1981, I had a commemorative coin minted to celebrate the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Irene Vartanoff. I was working for Psychology Today magazine at the time, where catalogs would continually arrive from manufacturers of merchandising giveaways—key rings, belt buckles, T-shirts, etc.—that could be personalized. And it struck me—why should companies have all the fun?

So I ordered a batch of metal coins incorporating our names, the dates we’d been married, and—here’s the part that tickled me the most—

… the words LEGAL AND TENDER, a description of our marital status that’s also an allusion to the phrase LEGAL TENDER which appears on U.S. currency.

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Earlier today, I told you about my hunt for a 30th anniversary gift that led me to purchase a page from Love Tales #73 (May 1957) for Irene, and it occurs to me you deserve to see the rest of the original art from that story,

Page 4 of “The Wrong Kind of Guy!,” drawn by John Tartaglione, has been hanging on Irene’s wall since 2006. Amazingly, I was able to find the splash page, page 2, and page 3 online as well, scanned and uploaded by their owners.

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Well, Valentine’s Day was this week, which means my thoughts turned to romance … romance comic books, that is. It reminded me of a dichotomy I noticed several years ago between the covers to romance novels and the covers to romance comics, a difference I’ve never seen anyone mention. And so I figure I should mention it to you here now so that you can go, “Oh, Scott, you dummy, where have you been, everyone already knows that!”

It started for me back in 2006, as Irene and I were approaching our 30th anniversary. I decided that, because of Irene’s love of both romance novels and comic books, I’d buy her the original art to a romance comic book cover for an anniversary gift. What I soon discovered, as I studied all the art then for sale from dealers, was that romance comic book cover art was terribly sad, and not at all suitable to celebrate three decades of love!

Somehow, even though our house has always been filled with both romance novels and comics, I’d never noticed this.

Take a look at the covers to a couple of random romance novels. (more…)

Irene and I had a wonderful time in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend, a visit that was sparked entirely by my desire to experience Next restaurant’s transitory Kyoto menu. I’ll share more about it when I can, but for now, let these seven photos stand in for a more detailed write-up.

Looking up at the stained glass dome of the Driehaus Museum

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