I like fruitcake. Yes, there it is. I’ve said it in public. I like it. It’s cake with fruit and nuts, which means it’s practically a health food. If my slice is big enough, it should count for at least two of the nine fruit and vegetable servings I’m supposed to have in a day. There’s enough sugar to keep me wired for at least two hours. Where’s the bad? I also like wrapping presents. I have a ritual…I wait until everything is bought, then stack them by the table, get out all my wrapping supplies, put in the original Star Wars movie and wrap. I actually try to match the right wrapping paper to the gift or the person, I use all kinds of ribbons and little toys on the packages. Some years I’m done in two movies, but most it takes me all three. I wipe up the last of the glitter just as the wookies are doing the happy dance at the end of the third movie. I like the fact that I’ve joked so much about not being a good cook that my sister in law won’t trust me with anything more than putting out rolls…

The Aisling psychic triplets trilogy was a departure for me. I’d always had a little of the Gothic in my books, a little suspense, and layers of characters and their interactions. But while writing the sisters’ books, I was struck by how much of the material, resource, and research already dwelled within me. Writers often speak of where they get their research, and share with others. To some extent, writing is a share and hand-me-down craft. The rest of the writing experience rests on the individual’s investment of time and energy. Some people are just natural storytellers, and stories bubble out of them. But structuring them, and putting them into book form, takes editing and control. I spent a great deal of time setting up this trilogy. Due to the logistics of business and contracts, I wrote SILENCE THE WHISPERS (a favorite story) prior to beginning this trilogy; the psychic triplets had to sit on the back burner for a while. The basic trilogy idea contains a story arc, where the threads of the story run through each book, and end in the third. I’d written several other series, including the TALLCHIEFS (9 books), and understood how to build a…

People often ask where writers get their ideas for stories. Well, most of the time, we couldn’t tell you, but once and a while, story ideas stem from real life. My current release, UNLUCKY, comes straight from pages out of my own life. Here’s the story behind the story: My husband and I got married in 2000. At the time, I was working contract, making fabulous money on these long-term accounting clean-up projects. I had just ended a 13-month project and was taking the next three months off so I decided to plan our wedding and study up for the honeymoon. Ah ha, I got you there, didn’t I? You were wondering what I was studying, and I’ll bet all sorts of things that had nothing to do with Blackjack crossed your mind. But Blackjack is exactly what I meant. You see, we were getting married in Vegas and I had plans to take the Blackjack world by storm. By birth, I’m the product of an accountant and an engineer so math is like breathing to me. I figured if anyone can learn to beat the house, it ought to be me. So I started studying. And I learned. Boy,…

What a fabulous day! I’ve got Christmas tunes on surround sound. The house smells like praline caramel sticky buns. And my second book, Another One Bites the Dust, officially releases in the States TODAY. I haven’t felt this fab since I spied a whole stack of Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers on the shelf at my grocery and realized that I might actually live long enough to meet an oompa loompa. I’ll have to clean up my act first though. Far too much swearing for their taste, I’m pretty sure. Should we talk about the book a sec? About the fact that Jaz has to belly dance as part of her cover? About how she’d much rather crawl through the mud while being fired upon by a long line of tanks manned by vicious, American-hating devil-worshipers? Never fear, our girl is up to the task. Gotta impress the boss-man, right? Plus, when Vayl looks at her that way…she may just learn to like the skimpy costumes. It’s not all fun and games though. Jaz and Vayl have been assigned to take down a slippery old vamp named Chien-Lung who’s gotten away with far too much for way too long. Hindering their progress—a…

As a writer, I’ve found the misconceptions about writing fascinating. Now, as a rule, I don’t tell people what I do, but somehow or another it almost always eventually comes out–at which point there are several typical responses. 1. “Who’d you know? You have to know someone to sell a book.”– This is utterly false. I wrote a book, researched agents, queried, wrote another book, queried some more, signed with an agent who shopped my book. Then I accepted an offer. There were no secret passageways, networking, muttered passwords, or any of those things. No tricks. Write, research, repeat as needed. It’s pretty straight-forward.2. “Who are you in the book?”– I’ve been astounded by how many people ask this. I write multiple points of view, so there are various guesses. Ash likes photography, so do I . . . so maybe she’s “me.” Hmm. I have friends who like photography too, but I’m not them either. Having an interest in common with a character isn’t being that character. Those commonalities help me write the characters, but each character has something of my beliefs or interests or ant-interest or anti-beliefs. It’s an exercise in adding veracity, not a mirror into the…

First of all I’d like to thank the wonderful folks at Fresh Fiction for making this possible. It’s always a pleasure to reach out to readers. You make all those solitary hours writing worthwhile. You are incredible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. During this wonderful holiday season we are especially reminded of the joy of having a close, loving family. The Graysons of New Mexico is such a family. Four gorgeous, successful brothers and one beautiful, outspoken baby sister. There was only one thing wrong – or so their loving mother thought – they weren’t remotely interested in getting married. So, Ruth Grayson with a mother’s uncanny perception of what her children want in a soul mate, places in their unwitting path the perfect candidate. For Luke, the protector and the oldest, she’d chosen Catherine Stewart, a noted Child psychologist in UNTIL THERE WAS YOU. The ideal match for Morgan, the defender, in YOU AND NO OTHER, was Phoenix Bannister, a renowned sculptress. For her middle child Brandon, the nurturer, the perfect woman was Faith McBride, executive manager of a 5 star hotel in DREAMING OF YOU. Pierce, the thinker and last bachelor, learned there…

Hi Everyone! First off, I’d like to thank Faye and everyone at Fresh Fiction for having me here here today. It’s such a wonderful site for readers and authors alike. Thank you!Now, onto ghosts for the holidays! Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved ghost stories. From Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge to Abbott and Costello, I’ve loved them. The quirkier, the better. At Disney World, my favorite ride was always the Haunted Mansion–especially near the end, when you ride past the tall mirrors and see a wispy spirit sitting next to you. All of those great things combined has inspired my writing, and in particular my November release, Into Thin Air. When I first began writing the book, several of the secondary characters sort of just happened, and they turned out to be some of my favorite, most endearing folk. And to have them interract with the live characters, in a very familial, ordinary way, as if it’s a natural occurrance and happens to everyone really made it fun to write. My hero, Gawan, has lived with them for centuries, and they’re more like family than anything. I wanted my heroine, Ellie, to experience the same sort of joy I…

Did you know that vanilla is the only edible fruit of the orchid family? It’s an extremely valuable crop. Vanilla rustling has always been a concern to growers Thus beans may be branded when they are still green. While the plant stock is native to Mexico, beans are also grown in places like Indonesia, Madagascar, and Tahiti. Variations in soil and climate account for the differences in flavor. Legend says coffee originated in the Land of the Resplendent Moon. The ruler was blessed with a beautiful daughter, who dedicated her life to serve the goddess of crops. One day while gathering flowers in the forest, the girl came upon a young prince. They fell in love and ran away together. The priests caught them and beheaded the doomed couple. In the spot where their blood spilled, a bush grew. A vine sprang from the earth and twisted around the bush like a pair of embracing lovers. Orchids sprouted on the vine, and when the flowers died, slender green beans developed. Thus vanilla was born from the blood of a princess. Ninety-seven percent of the vanilla used today is synthetic. Vanillin is the organic component mimicked in synthetics, but natural beans…

It may seem kind of silly but I love the character Bronwyn in the “Charmed & Dangerous” series. I’m beyond excited that the first book is coming out in mass-market paperback on Dec. 4. Hopefully that means more people will get to read about this amazing chick. When I first conceived the idea of her, I wanted someone who was strong and didn’t take crap off of anyone. Bronwyn is certainly that. She’s one of the most powerful witches in the world, but you wouldn’t know it to look at her. I like that she has a little bit of an attitude, but she has a soft heart. That one minute she can be caring for an elderly man with Alzheimer’s, and the next she’s blowing up bad guys. Bronwyn is also an adventurer who loves to travel. People ask me all the time if I’ve been to all the places she has – I wish. (Smile) I do a lot of research into places where I would like to travel, and then I send Bronwyn on her way. I like that side of her, where she can adapt to most any situation. She always manages to make friends, even…

The Ugly Duckling. Poor little guy, ostracized by the ducks because they thought he was ugly, not knowing he’d grow up to be a beautiful, self-assured swan. Those ducks made fun of him, ignored him, brought him to tears. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His offense to reindeer kind? A nose that lit up, something they saw as a liability–and ended up being Santa’s saving grace. Victoria’s Secret models. Who’d have thunk they’d have something in common with the Ugly Duckling and Rudolph? Well, it turns out they do. In a recent story on Fox News, these ideals of female perfection talked about how they were teased for being too thin, too plain, too whatever. It seems when it comes to others, none of us is ever perfect enough. We’ve all experienced that middle school torture, those kids who made seventh grade hell (or freshman year, or whatever). I went through it; my own kids have gone through it. And now, in Really Something, my latest release from Zebra, my heroine, Allie Dean, goes through it, and thinks she is the only person in Tempest, Indiana, to be tortured for being different. But what Allie doesn’t realize is that we’re all…