Author faves: Texas sheet cake, JR Ward and Ross & Rachel

Today's featured authors — Aurelia T. Evans, author of Red Queen; Jennifer Wright, author of Athis Dey; and Destiny Moon, author of A Tale of Two Hotties — share some favorites: desserts, romance authors and TV couples.

Aurelia T. Evans, author of Red Queen

Three of my favorite desserts?

That's a hard one — I have such a sweet tooth, and since I'm far more motivated to bake than cook, I have a whole handful of desserts I enjoy, and an even bigger handful of ones I want to try in the future.

• Texas sheet cake is up there. I made one with peanut butter under the chocolate icing for my mother's birthday, and daaaaaaamn, that was a fine, rich cake.

• Coconut poke cake is my surprise pick. Five years ago, you wouldn't have gotten me near anything coconut unless I was putting on suntan lotion. I've since been converted, funny texture and all.

• Then my favorite for a summer treat or just for a special occasion, chocolate éclair cake.

Aw, hell. Just let me have cake.

(Honorable mentions: Fudge, because I make a mean chocolate fudge every Christmas. And snickerdoodles, which are made of memories.)

About Red Queen:

No man rules the Red Queen.

In her Court, a black market organization that specializes in magical artifacts and antiquities, Eden Farrow rules with an iron fist and a steel-boned red corset.

Some of her employees want her to transition into more traditional criminal commerce, but Eden—also known as the Red Queen for her ruthlessness and the Queen of Hearts for her uncanny ability to steal the hearts of men after one night in bed with her—refuses to budge. She prefers a cleaner, nobler kind of illegal activity.

She's also a vampire with a taste for the gothic and theatrical, and she's used to getting her way.

All that changes when another vampire and his werewolf companion invade her territory. She brings Antony and Luca in, preparing to torture them mercilessly before forcing them to submit to her bite.

But they aren't like other men.

Find out more at aureliatevans.wordpress.com.

Jennifer Wright, author of Athis Dey

My three favorite fellow romance authors:

• JR Ward. To me, JR Ward has this special way of feeding her readers a lot of details without it being too overwhelming or boring. She paints a picture in your mind just perfectly enough to make you feel like you're there with the characters.

• JL Langley. When I want to get lost in M/M romance, I first turn to JL Langley. I fall in love with her characters over and over again. Her books pull me in from beginning to end.

• Sherrilyn Kenyon. There hasn't been a book of Sherrilyn Kenyon's that I didn't love. I mean, who else can write a twentysomething-book series and still keep her readers hooked the whole time? She's incredibly inventive and No. 1 on my list!

About Athis Dey: Finding Home Series book four:

Is it truly better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?

In Larken's case, he isn't so sure. He did love someone, then he lost them, and it hurt like hell. Now, Larken has to figure out how he's going to get over it and find love once more. Then again, does he even want to care for someone so strongly for a second time? He's had his heart broken once, and he fears it's too soon to open up to someone else. But how can he really deny the new feelings that are growing inside him?

Khale, on the other hand, has yet to fall in love at all. It's something he's wanted his whole life, and now he finds that it may be within his grasp. Khale could love Larken with all his heart—he can see himself with the warrior for the rest of his life. But Khale also yearns for Vardel to finally accept him as his son, and this wanting misguides him, leading him into trouble. Now he needs Larken's help—he needs the man he's fallen in love with to save him, but he fears his secrets and possible betrayal will have ruined his chance of ever finding happiness.

Find out more at authorjenwright.wordpress.com.

Destiny Moon, author of A Tale of Two Hotties

Three of my favorite TV couples, past or present:

• Maggie O'Connell and Dr. Joel Fleischman, Northern Exposure. This odd '90s drama is worth seeking out for many reasons besides romance, but the central dynamic between Maggie and Joel is fantastic. She's an independent pilot who chose to live in small-town Alaska. He's a Jewish New York doctor who is forced to be there. They have nothing in common yet they have an electric tension throughout the seasons. They can't stand each other, but they're like magnets.

• Rachel Green and Ross Geller, Friends. After binge-watching Friends all over again now that the show is on Netflix, I see now how my entire youth was shaped by this relationship. I love how respectful they are of each other when they're trying to just be friends and how they simply can't. There is an attraction there that is unquestionable and everyone else they date can see it. I like that Ross is a bit of a nerd and Rachel is a bit shallow and spoiled. Neither is perfect, but together they are really something.

• Claire and Frank Underwood, House of Cards. These two are such deliciously cunning people that from the very first episode they reminded me of the Macbeths. Their relationship involves other lovers, threesomes and bisexuality, yet their loyalty to each other is what fuels the story until their very connection is challenged. They're definitely breaking new ground as far as what the American viewing public is ready to see and the challenge is as exciting as Claire's wardrobe.

About A Tale of Two Hotties:

Alissa dreams of being ravished by her two favorite men, but can she let go of the inhibitions that hold her back from telling them?

Alissa seems to have it all, a sexy live-in boyfriend and a super-hot foot worshipper on the side. Lately she has been secretly fantasizing about having them both at the same time. She hesitates to tell them, though, because they're so different from each other and she's afraid that asking them to ravish her together might result in a loss of both. As Jon explores his dominant side, he helps Alissa to communicate her wildest fantasies, while Clark wants nothing more than to pleasure her as much as she will let him.

Follow Destiny on Twitter (@MsDestinyMoon).