Authors can find themselves writing in different genres for multiple reasons: 1) varied interests that demand you try your hand at … well, varied genres; 2) career security; and, 3) a cheating heart. Yes, Hank William’s twang is running through my head right about now. Anyone else? As you may know, I write historical romances (Sophie Jordan) and paranormal romances (Sharie Kohler), which puts me at writing a book every five months, sometimes less. Why do I hold myself to such a demanding schedule? Which of the above reasons motivates me? I’m guilty of all three. Like most of us, I’m a voracious cross romance genre reader. Right now I have books in the following sub-genres on my nightstand: historical, suspense, single-title, category, paranormal, young adult, women’s fiction, even the occasional inspirational and erotica (talk about extremes!). Seriously though, great books all. Books that move and inspire me. I cut my teeth on historical romances: Kathleen Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsey, Dorothy Garlock, Julia Quinn. I love(d) these books! I wanted to write books like these. So – I did. Starting with my debut, ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT. Incredibly (at least to me!), Sophie Jordan was born and here she is,…

This is the question I’ve gotten most often over the past few years, since Ken Bruen and I published our first book together (BUST in 2006). Writing, obviously, is normally a solitary process and it’s hard enough to organize your own thoughts coherently, so people wonder how we can possibly do it when Ken lives in Ireland and I live in the U.S. and we write entirely over the Internet? Like with any type of writing, I don’t think there’s any formula for how to write a book with someone else. The most important thing is that the writers need to have chemistry and share the same vision. We knew we had that part down–we both knew the books would have a nourish, darkly humorous sensibility. We were more concerned about the writing itself. Ken and I have written three books together now and going into each one I wasn’t sure we could actually pull it off, but I had my biggest doubts before we wrote the first book. We had a bit of a head start with BUST because it was loosely based on a book I had previously written, but had kept in the drawer. The original manuscript…

Now that the hazy, lazy days of summer are morphing into one gigantic Back to School Sale, it’s time to review what has or hasn’t been accomplished over the last ten weeks and offer a definitive answer to the question: how do writers work in the summertime? Now, I know that plenty of people work in the summertime. Most people, even. Students (and, one assumes, snowshoe instructors) are really the only people whose summertime months are likely to be work-free. I’m no longer a student and I’ve never even met a snowshoe instructor, but the truth is that I resent working when third graders don’t have to. As soon as school is out in June, somewhere deep inside I’m convinced that I too deserve to be on vacation until Labor Day. But I’m not, of course. Even though I’m writing this sitting by a pool, outdoors, barefoot, in a bathing suit, a tall to-go cup of iced coffee at the ready — I am not on vacation. I’m not! Really! Ignore the evidence of your eyes! I Am Working. I must be working, because I’m combining words into sentences into paragraphs that have to be finished by a deadline. For…

Hello Fresh Fiction, I have written five full-length novels, three fantasy novels, The Stone of the Tenth Realm, Gaea’s Keeper and the sequel to The Stone of the Tenth Realm, Alchemist of the Tenth Realm, a science fiction titled Post-Apocalyptic Genome, and Werewolf Sanctuary, a paranormal romance in my Wolf Maiden Chronicles. The Stone of the Tenth Realm is my first published novel. My second romance fantasy, Gaea’s Keeper is due out next summer. I have a BS in Zoology and graduate studies in Biology. I have taught Biology, Environmental Science and Anatomy/Physiology in both public and private high schools. My background in science and passion for wildlife biology inspires my writings. I moonlight as a faculty member of the Grey School of Wizardry, an online school for kids and adults interested in magic and lore. I am in the departments of Beast Mastery. I am passionate about wildlife and the environment. I combined my love of animals and writing by being a guest speaker for the Silicon Valley Romance Writers last summer. My topic was on Wolves and Ravens as Archetypes in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. I also teach at The Grey School of Wizardry in the Department…

I’m delighted to be a guest on the Fresh Fiction blog today and appreciate the chance to tell y’all about my latest romantic suspense novel from Zebra. COLD HEARTED, which hits the shelves tomorrow, actually began with a comment my editor made. “Have you ever thought about writing a book with a black widow heroine?” No, I hadn’t; but the idea intrigued me so much that I could think of little else. However, Jordan Price is no ordinary black widow. Her late husband’s brother hires a private detective, Rick Carson, to prove Senator Dan Price did not commit suicide. Rick immediately assumes Jordan is a cold hearted bitch who is capable of murder; but he soon realizes that those who know her best think of her as a saint. Rick, who works for the Powell Agency, headed by Nic and Griff Powell (THE MURDER GAME), is torn between his physical attraction to the lovely, young widow and his suspicion that she is a clever, ruthless murderer. The deeper he digs into Jordan’s past, the more dead bodies show up – a first husband, a former fiancé, and an old boss, to name a few. Jordan had profited handsomely from each…

Over the last weeks the Olympics have been what quite a few of my friends have been discussing. Mostly they’re talking about Michael Phelps and his phenomenal performance in not only winning eight gold medals, but in the process also setting seven world records. It has been about thirty-six years since Mark Spitz set the record that Michael Phelps has broken. So all this hoopla that has so rightly surrounded this year’s Olympics has gotten me to thinking about how many books people are able to read in a year and how that might translate into an Olympic medal. From my surfing around the net I have discovered that some people have amazing reading speed. eharlequin has challenged their members to read and blog one hundred thousand books this year and they will donate books to The National Center for Family Literacy. Yes, I do my best to contribute to this worthy cause and post my books there, but so far this year I’ve only read or listened to eighty-one books, while one member has read five hundred eighty! She would surely be a contender for a gold medal. I on the other hand can only wish to be in…

Books are the New Wall Lining Originally uploaded by freshfiction I can still remember the first time I actually threw out a book. And it wasn’t just a damaged book with a ripped corner, pages no longer with glue scattering hither and yon, but a perfectly intact book, just one I didn’t want to read ever again. But it was still a very painful experience and I suffered book lover guilt for a long time. In fact unless it’s an ARC or galley, it is almost impossible for me to throw out a book. But the situation has reached a head or I’ve come to realize 40 years of books and a family can’t really co-exist in a single house. It’s sad but true. So, the winnowing has begun…to give a little history, last time we actually counted the approximate number of books I owned, our move in 2003, we stopped at 38,000. After that it was just get the book boxes loaded and we’ll deal with them later. Could be a few aching backs too. After the move, we had over 200 boxes of clearly labeled books and then a large unknown quantity of boxes with books. We unpacked…

I’m not sure what it is about bad boys that make them such great characters. In real life, the bad boys – at least to the extent they’re shown in fiction – wouldn’t make such wonderful boyfriends or husbands. But in the imaginary worlds of novels, they’re just what the reader (or writer) ordered! I remember reading on somebody’s blog a very important sentence that changed everything for me, and it was something along the lines of “books are fantasies.” I’m not sure why that clicked for me, or why I hadn’t made the complete connection before, but it made everything very clear. We might not want the hardened criminal with a heart of gold, the devastatingly handsome demon, or the world-weary master vampire in real life. But we might want him in our fantasies. He represents adventure, excitement, and intrigue – and let’s face it, most people don’t have much of that in real life. Nor, if we were suddenly given the chance, would we want it! But in the safety of our imaginations, a rip-roaring adventure with the baddest of bad boys, is exactly what works. In my Michelle Maddox release, COUNTDOWN, my characters are forced to play…

Writers are readers, first and foremost, and I know a lot of my romance-writing pals read romance for pleasure. I used to read romance for pleasure, but when you write romance all day, it can be sort of a stretch to try and relax with one. That’s not to say I never read it—of course I do—but I don’t read it like I used to. For BOOK OF SCANDAL, my latest release (in stores now), I read a couple of riveting biographies. You would think it really dry reading, but if you are into the regency period like I am, sometimes those books can read like the People Magazine of its time. There was some down and dirty goings-on! The first book I read, The Princesses, by Flora Fraser, was about the six daughters of King George III. I didn’t even know he had six daughters. They were strictly monitored and kept close to the king and queen so as not to gain reputations—while their seven brothers were out gallivanting around and being accused of all sorts of things: adultery, secret marriages, incest, and even murder. Moreover, the king and queen were pretty picky about who they would marry their…

Hello, Fresh Fiction! As I’m writing this, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Fay is barreling towards lucky south Florida, and nobody is sure where she’s going to hit. This means that I am not writing outside at the wrought-iron table, looking at the water. It means that I have piled that wrought-iron table, along with all the chairs, chaises, potted plants, plant stands, decorative garden objects and my husband’s green froggy ashtray into the formal living room . . . which is now not looking quite so formal. A pool net will do wonders for anybody’s décor, know what I mean? I’ve been wrestling with hurricane shutters, making room in the garage for the cars and hitting the grocery store, gas station and ATM like every other person around here. It’s probably all a lot of overkill, but you can never be sure. And I have a friend who writes weather-related thrillers which keep me up at night, so I take these little ole hurricanes seriously. Typical writer, though: I’m so glad that I met my revisions deadline on Friday, because now if rogue electricity streaks, say, from a window to my coffee table, through the couch, around the doorframe, down the pool…