In Our Dreams

Forget everything you know about anthologies. IN OUR DREAMS truly is unique. Why? Because these ten terrific stories were inspired by your favorite heroes of movies and television, men who've captured the attention--and hearts--of women around the world. Mary Kirk, coordinator of the collection, says, "All of us, at one time or another, have fallen for a hero we met in a movie or on TV. And all of us have indulged in a fantasy or two about those men who make our hearts race and our senses spin. It's the man who embodies the heroic who inspires a romance writer's imagination."

Ms. Kirk gathered a stellar group of authors into collaboration with her: Linda Lael Miller, Mary Jo Putney, Patricia Potter, Susan Wiggs, Patricia Gardner Evans, Ruth Glick (writing as Rebecca York), Corey McFadden, Barbara Cummings, and Courtney Henke. Pulling out all the stops, these creative ladies asked themselves the question, 'Who are the men of our dreams?'"

And their answers? In Linda Lael Miller's "Never Been to Anphar," Maggie Ellington is caught on the wrong side of the ocean when war begins; lucky for her, the man who rescues her conjures visions of Jack Ryan (as played by Harrison Ford). Courtney Henke's daydreams about the gorgeous Kevin Sorbo, who plays Hercules, led to the creation of the half-god hero in "Moon Over Miranda," a love story full of mythic creatures and god-inflicted curses, blended nicely with a hearty dose of campy humor. Set in an ancient Celtic land, "Legend" grew out of author Mary Kirk's fascination with the concept of immortality--and her crush on Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander (Adrian Paul).

A leap into the future, to the distant planet Jalar, sets the stage for "Conquest," by Ruth Glick (writing as Rebecca York); here, meet Rohan, a fierce alien warrior who was inspired by that sexy Klingon Worf. "Nobody's Angel," by Barbara Cummings takes you to the Old West, to mine silver--and fall in love--with Fernando de la Hoya, who sprang to life in Ms. Cummings' imagination as she pictured her favorite star, Jimmy Smits, in the role of a Spanish nobleman. Lingering in the Old West, pay a visit to New Hope, the dusty Texas town where gunslinger Jared Walker decides to hang up his Colts and bury his past; spend five tense minutes with Jared in his final "Showdown," as told by Patricia Potter, who was inspired by Kevin Kline in SILVERADO.

Then, shake off the dust and let Mary Jo Putney take you to Camelot to meet--who else?--Arthur Pendragon, King of Britain, inspired by the incomparable Sean Connery; in "Avalon," Ms. Putney gives Arthur a love worthy of his valiant heart--and she gives romance readers a deliciously satisfying ending to one of history's most beautiful legends. While in the British Isles, spend some time in Regency England with author Corey McFadden; as Colin Firth brought life to Mr. Darcy in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, he brought inspiration to Ms. McFadden; the result is "Little Beast." You'll chuckle heartily as the proud Gavin Broward watches the troublesome girl he's been fond of since childhood mature into a beautiful woman.

Turn the page and laugh some more as you read "The Growing Season," by Patricia Gardner Evans; put yourself in Annie Reeves' shoes when she goes to see the new doc in town--to talk about artificial insemination--and discovers he has the soul-deep brown eyes of ER's Dr. Doug Ross, who was Ms. Evans' inspiration for Dr. John Haney. Finally, travel to modern-day Paris, and let author Susan Wiggs put you on Pont-Neuf, a "Bridge of Dreams"; wait with the heroine to see if the man she met ten years earlier will keep their appointed rendezvous. The man, a world-famous musician, was inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, who Ms. Wiggs believes imbues all the characters he plays with tremendous energy and passion.

So you see, it's true: IN OUR DREAMS really is unique. More than that--it's one of the best collections of romantic tales you'll ever read. Don't miss it--or the chance these ten talented storytellers are offering you to meet the man of your dreams.

Much of the writing is equally good: obviously all these authors are excellent writers.

Some of the stories were compelling, some were mildly entertaining. None were awful.

However, this book is uneven. I have a hard time imagining that any one person would love all these stories. Some of the stories suffer from being so short, and others are just not that interesting.

I loved Moon Over Miranda and Mary Jo Putney's reworking of the King Arthur tale.

Five stars for concept and two of the stories. The other stories were all 3-star and 4-star in quality, so I'm averaging it all out to be four stars.