Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Chicago Stars

It Had To Be You

The Windy City isn't quite ready for Phoebe Somerville—the outrageous, curvaceous New York knockout who has just inherited the Chicago Stars football team. And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Calebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. Calebow is everything Phoebe abhors. And the sexy new boss is everything Dan despises—a meddling bimbo who doesn't know a pigskin from a pitcher's mound.
Chicago Stars Book #1

Heaven, Texas

Come heck or high water, Gracie Snow is determined to drag the legendary ex-jock Bobby Tom Denton back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. Despite his dazzling good looks and killer charm, Bobby Tom has reservations about being a movie star—and no plans to cooperate with a prim and bossy Ohio wallflower whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life. Instead, the hell-raising playboy decides to make her over from plain Jane to Texas wildcat.
Chicago Stars Book #2

Nobody's Baby but Mine

The Plan: Genius physics professor Dr, Jane Darlington desperately wants a baby.
The Target: Cal Bonner, the Chicago Stars' legendary quarterback, seems like the perfect choice.
But his champion good looks and down-home ways are deceiving.
The Explosion: A brillant, lonely woman who dreams only of motherhood . . . A take no-prisoners tough guy who'll settle for nothing less than surrender . . . Can passion and physical attraction propel two strong-willed yet vulnerable people to a totally unexpected love?
Chicago Stars Book #3

Dream A Little Dream
A Desperate Young Mother: Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse.
A Man With No Heart: Gabe Bonner wants to be left alone, especially by the beautiful outcast who's invaded his property.

Dare To Dream: Welcome to Salvation, North Carolina—where a man who's forgotten what tenderness means meets a woman with nothing to lose. here two endearing lovers will set off on a funny, touching journey of the heart. . .to a place where dreams just might come true.
(This is not an official Chicago Stars book, but continues the story of the Bonner family begun in NOBODY’S BABY BUT MINE. Also contains Ethan’s story. )

Chicago Stars Book #4

This Heart of Mine

Molly Somerville (IT HAD TO BE YOU) loves her career as the creator of the Daphne the Bunny children's book series, but the rest of her life could use some improvement. Then there's her long-term crush on the quarterback for the Chicago Stars football team her sister owns—that awful, gorgeous Kevin Tucker (NOBODY'S BABY BUT MINE), a man who can't even remember Molly's name! Molly and Kevin battle their attraction and each other as they face one of life's most important lessons. Sometimes love hurts, sometimes it makes you mad as hell, and sometimes—if you're lucky—it can heal in a most unexpected way.
Chicago Stars Book #5

Match Me If You Can

You met star quarterback Kevin Tucker in This Heart of Mine. Now get ready to meet his shark of an agent, Heath Champion, and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed. But that's going to change now that Annabelle’s taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. Why does the wealthy, driven, and gorgeous sports agent Heath Champion need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? When the determined Matchmaker promised she'd do anything to keep her star client happy . . . did she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town.
Chicago Stars Book #6

Meet Author Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Get to Know the Author

About SEP: Let's hear from the author in her own words, about things she wants you to know about her.  Nothing ordinary about Susan Elizabeth Phillips, so why should her bio run the standard course.

I MET MY HUSBAND on a blind date. He was in college at the time, studying engineering. I blush to confess that, as an arty ex-theater major, I wasn’t exactly sure what engineering was. To this day, he reminds me that I asked him if it had anything to do with “fixing toasters.” (Okay, I wasn’t too bright, but I had a good heart.)

I GOT PREGNANT the usual way. Bill and I had been married for two years and wanted to start a family. He was out of town on business the night I went into labor with our first son, but he made it back in time to witness the birth. He was also at my side when our second son was born. Today our boys are grown, and I couldn’t be prouder of them or their families.

Marriages of Convenience

A marriage of convenience is a marriage between two people for practical or financial reasons and

not for love or intimacy. Example: Widowed women of the old west in the U.S. often agreed to marriages of convenience in order to survive the hardships of homesteading during the 1800s.

ETERNITY, Jude Deveraux

Pampered, rich Carrie Montgomery weds Joshua Green by proxy, even though she isn’t the hard working practical bride he sought to help with the farm and his children. A near tragedy convinces him that he truly needs and wants her.

MORNING COMES SOFTLY, Debbie Macomber

Travis Thompson, a rough-and-tough rancher, and Mary Warner, a shy librarian, have nothing in common. But Travis needs a wife to help him with his orphaned nephews and niece. Mary becomes his mail-order bride and finds her fulfillment in being needed by her new family. Can she find love with the man she now calls her husband?

Artful Themes: Marriage of Convenience

One of my favorite romance themes is the marriage of convenience. A marriage of convenience is one which is forced for one or both parties due to compromising circumstances, pregnancy, or financial considerations. Mail order brides are included in this theme. Some compelling situation causes the hero and heroine to join together in holy wedlock to address a mutual need. The marriage may be instigated by either party or by some outside person or event. Love is not the motivating factor in the union of the couple. Emotions run the gamit from sorrow, fear and loathing to distrust and vulnerability. The reason is sometimes unclear because one of the couple is not honest about his/her feelings. John may already love Mary and he accepts her on whatever terms the situation requires. He may be unaware of his love for her, or he may enter the relationship having no inclination toward giving or receiving true love.

These relationships often begin with a mutual understanding of whether the couple will or will not share the joys of the marriage bed. Eventually, however, the situation changes. True to the romance genre, passions run high, trust and reliance step in, and before the hero and heroine realize it, love blooms. Some characters will fight the attraction vigorously, while others quickly accept their fate. Each character will react differently, giving rise to a marvelous, romantic story.


Why does the marriage of convenience appeal to me? I guess I like the idea of two people finding love in the midst of problematic situations. I enjoy the inner struggle for control of the heart when pitted against strong physical and emotional attraction.


The reader shares the quickening of hearts and feels the immediate attraction. You begin to care about the characters and root for love to conquer all. Finally,the reward-enjoying the expected happy ending. The author uses plot twists, villians or human fraility to keep the road to romance bumpy and unpredictable. Somewhere along the way, two searching hearts eventually come together. Here are a few of my favorites. Our "Artful Themes" feature reviews each novel. If you've read any of these, let us know what you liked or didn't like about them, which are your favorites and why, and anything else you want to share. I'd love to hear from you.

■SILKEN WEB, Sandra Brown
■TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, Sandra Brown
■TIGER PRINCE, Sandra Brown
■SUDDENLY, Candance Camp
■ENCHANTED LAND, Jude Deveraux
■ETERNITY, Jude Deveraux
■TEXAS DESTINY, Lorraine Heath
■TEXAS GLORY, Lorraine Heath
■WILDEST HEARTS, Jayne Anne Krentz
■SOMETHING BORROWED, Rebecca Hagen Lee
■LIONS and LACE, Megan McKinney
■MORNING COMES SOFTLY, Debbie Macomber
■THE MARRIAGE BED, Stephanie Mittman
■NOBODY'S BABY BUT MINE, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
■THE VOW, Dallas Schulze
■THE BAWDY BRIDE, Amanda Scott
■SEPARATE BEDS, LaVryle Spencer