My debut novel, OFF THE MENU, hits bookshelves on August 5th, and recently, a lot of people have been asking me how I went about getting published. The short answer? By keeping my chin — and optimism — up even though I was receiving stacks of rejections every day. The long answer takes me back to a Facebook question I answered for my profile, which called for my most embarrassing moment. Unfortunately, my life is riddled with heinously embarrassing moments, and one of them occurred at a writers conference I attended in the mountains of California, where I met my agent. I’d been invited to an industry cocktail party out of the graciousness of one of the conference’s board members, and being an unpublished writer who was desperate to make a good impression, I researched the guest list, which included dozens of publishers and agents. This was my chance to wow them, I thought. And maybe snag an agent. So, I perfected my pitch. Practiced my smile. Wore a cute outfit. As ready as I’d ever be, I showed up at the party, determined and excited. And it would have been a great party had I managed to stay upright…

Five-Star Cowboy launches my first mini-series with Silhouette Desire called Suite Secrets. It’s a series I had a lot of fun writing and because I wanted the first of the three stories to include all of my favorite things, I threw in everything dear to me into this story. So what do I love? Well, location, location, location. I love Arizona. I set my very first book there, a Kensington Precious Gem titled Chance in a Million. Now 25 books later, I’m still using Arizona as a primary setting for many of my stories. Five-Star Cowboy takes place the fictional area known as Crimson Canyon, fashioned after Sedona, Arizona. Jutting mountains, deep colorful canyons and vistas from Mother Nature’s best day all play a part in my story. I love cowboys. What’s not to love about a rugged, man of the earth? I grew up watching Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Rifleman and so many more. Those stories dealt with family and values and taught me a thing or two about western life. The cowboy heroes were all men you could admire and trust. So of course, the owner of the elite, exclusive dude ranch type Tempest West Hotel had…

Well, perhaps disability is too strong a word, except that I do truly feel “differently-abled.” I feel somewhat hampered by it, like I stand out more than I already do by being six feet tall. And at gatherings of writers and readers, like here at the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco this week, I feel my “freak flag” flying especially high. I’m an extrovert. A raging, card-carrying, put-my-photo –in-the-dictionary-next-to-the-definition extrovert. And introverts—not extroverts–populate the writers world by a huge majority. Why is that a disability? Well, it sets me at a disadvantage. All you thoughtful introverts are watching, observing cunning truths of human behavior, carefully selecting your contribution to the dialogue, and I’m…well I’m yakking away like that crazy uncle everyone tolerates at Thanksgiving. I’m on my ninth story, mistaking all your quiet for consent when I’m now rather sure you all were saying to yourselves (or maybe even each other) can’t someone rein this gal in? Take her volume and drama down a notch? I’m trying—perhaps too desperately—to pull you into conversations when you all would probably rather have a root canal than make small talk with the likes of me. Really, I’m starting to think…

Thanks to FreshFiction for inviting me to blog today. Sometimes, the best laid plans blow up like a shook-up soda. I’m a suspense fan. Lisa Jackson‘s Shiver, Linda Howard ’s Cry No More, Lisa Gardner’s Hide…those books sent a shiver up my spine. But I never imagined myself as a suspense writer. In fact, my very first romance-writing attempt was a light, funny contemporary romance that is buried in the back yard where it belongs. Some books should never see the light of day, LOL! Still, the months I slaved over that manuscript were not a waste. I learned a lot. Specifically, I learned I should not be writing contemporary romantic comedy. (What was I thinking?) No problem. I tried my hand at a light, funny historical. Umm…not such a success. No matter how hard I tried to be funny, everything I wrote was dark. Very dark. And spooky. And scary. In fact, that first historical ended up as a twisty, creepy gothic. So I ran with it, and I kept writing gothics. It was easier than fighting the dark cauldron of my imagination. I guess you could say that I didn’t choose gothics, they chose me.My August release, His…

Traveling about the United States has always inspired my writing. I guess that is why, when I have the time, I prefer to drive places rather than fly. Besides the names of mountains and lakes, the town and street names catch my eye. For example, my grandparents lived in Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod. Now doesn’t that sound like a great place to set in a story? Other “east coast” names that fascinate me are Nantucket Sound and Owls Head. The name Poughkeepsie in New York just makes me smile. It sounds like fun—and would be a light story. Roanoke and Claymont give away their “stuffy” British backgrounds. The name Nags Head makes me wonder what happened to the poor horse there—or was it about a discontented woman? (Probably neither—but there goes my imagination…) Women seem to get little respect from history as the names of most places related to them are similar to Crazy Woman Creek, Maggies Nipples, or Squaw Hill (all of Wyoming.) Even old names of streets such as Gallows Road and Persimmon Tree Road start stories spinning through my head. Seven Locks Road—now there just has to be a story about covering up a murder in…