This past weekend I did something I can only remember doing one other time. I started a book and did not finish it. Worse yet, was the fact it was a review book. I always feel the need to finish a book I guess I have what might be considered an optimistic outlook that the book surely has to get better, thus my continued need to read. The book I was reading for review was a bound and printed ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) and full of typos which as you know from a previous blog I don’t usually notice, but these were so glaring that they totally prevented me from being able to get a good reading flow going. My second problem with this particular book was that the storyline seemed to go from one idea to another without any really rhythm. These two issues made me decide to ask the person in charge of reviews if I truly had to read and review this book. Luckily for me she did release from having to read this book, and I can move on to the next. Unlike what I think most people will do I think I shall put a…

There’s a lot to be said for the submarine sandwich. There can be as much bread, cheese, veggies and cold cuts as the maker desires. If you want two kinds of cheese, go ahead. Mayo and mustard? Why not? The only limit is appetite. Which is all good until your boss points to a sandwich box made for the usual peanut butter and jelly sized affair. That moment of “hmm, how am I going to get this sucker in there?” sums up my experience of writing the paranormal romance. I have to tell a many-layered story as clearly and efficiently (and as briefly!) as I can. For any author, there’s a lot on the kitchen counter when they’re building the universe of their book: there’s character, plot, and setting, plus: In a romance, there’s the whole fall-in-love experience. If it’s a historical novel, the author needs to bring the past alive, right down to the horseshoe nails, gun smoke and corsets. If it’s science fiction, fantasy, or paranormal, there’s the whole supernatural universe, with its vast array of creatures, rules of magic, and other cultures to explain and make compelling. For a good paranormal or urban fantasy romance, where you…

In this day of faxes, e-mails, instant messages, and texting, what a treat it is to receive an old-fashioned hand-written letter! The pleasure of unfolding crisp pages of stationery..ahhh. But what if you received a letter one day, and it was a letter you’d written to yourself ten years ago! My husband had a high school instructor who asked his students to write a letter to themselves about the things they wanted out of life and where they thought they would be in ten years. Then he sealed the envelopes and ten years later, sent them to the last address of record the school had for each student. My husband’s parents forwarded his letter on to him and I remembered how amazed and thrilled he was when he realized what he was reading. It was like a time capsule into his teenage mind, and he must have reread it a dozen times. It was a time of self-evaluation for my husband, comparing where he thought he’d be with where he was. As it turned out, my husband’s achievements had surpassed what he’d thought himself capable ofonly ten years earlier, and he said that revelation alone reinforced the idea of never…

People often ask me where I get story ideas. With my latest romantic suspense novel, THREAD OF FEAR, the idea took shape as I watched a news broadcast about a kidnapped girl. It wasn’t the kidnapping itself that caught my attention, but the forensic artist who helped solve the case. How does a person interview a traumatized victim, and come away with a life-like picture of a criminal? This is the job of a forensic artist. They listen to people’s heart-wrenching stories and transform them into concrete leads for the police. Fiona Glass’s talent at forensic art has made her the best in the business—which is why she’s quitting. She’s haunted by the stories of victims and the faces of sadistic criminals. She’s working on her last case when rugged Texas police chief Jack Bowman bulldozes over her resistance and convinces her to help him hunt down a serial killer who is terrorizing his small town. Jack never intended for Fiona to become so involved in his case. Or in his life. But he knows she’s his best hope for finding a psychopath who’s lurking in plain sight. He desperately needs Fiona’s help, but he never counted on her ending…

Hello! I’m so glad to be blogging here, and as I was thinking about what to write about today, I thought about change. Writers need to change, even if we think we shouldn’t have to or don’t want to. I went from writing women’s fiction to writing romance to writing nonfiction. As my latest romance INTIMATE BEINGS comes out, I find that I’m writing personal essays. We must adjust to new editors or changes in publishers. We have to consider marketing trends and reader desires. But most people I know hate change. We want things to be the same, for goodness sake! You’d think that buying a new car wouldn’t be that must of a struggle, but it certainly did present some interesting challenges for me, most about my difficulty with change, with what is “new.”About one month ago, I drove out of the MINI dealership lot in my new pepper white, black top, black interior MINI Cooper S. I was lurching a little, still unused to the manual transmission. The last manual I had driven was my former spouse’s 1972 VW camper van—a car I only drove under duress–and that beast is a story in and of it. Let’s…

It is GREAT to be here at Fresh Fiction. Frankly it’s just great being! I’m riding a major high because why, you might ask? Well, because I recently found out that SHOW NO MERCY, book 1 of my new Black Ops., Inc. series hit #15 on the New York Times. Yowser! I’m still in shock. And it got me to thinking … how did it come to this? I wasn’t always a writer. I was a lot of other things, all things, that at the time, represented who I was and what I was about. So, it made me wonder… Is the sum total of who we are determined by what we’ve done? While a lot of us are writers (and readers) most of us were, at one time, something else, right? Like I said – I’m a prime example. I was once a beautiful black wild stallion – but we’ll save that for another day. :o) Before taking on writing as a living, I worked in the county treasurer’s office computing and collecting taxes, I kept books in a lumber yard, did retail sales and alterations in a men’s clothing/sporting goods store, and sewed custom draperies – all of…

In the last few weeks some authors are being discussed quite a bit in a few of my yahoo groups. Naturally, I expect to hear about authors and their latest works through my groups, but what surprises me about the ones I’m hearing a lot about is that people are just discovering them, and because they enjoyed the newest title having to go on a back list hunt. One of these authors is Robyn Carr. I have to admit to being somewhat new to the Carr party. I once read a book for review (Down By The River) and didn’t enjoy it at all. What I didn’t’ know at the time was that it was part of a series, and the third in the series. Had I known that I might have been a bit more lenient in how I thought of it. Years passed and I had the opportunity to review her new book, Virgin River. Since I knew it was the beginning of a series I thought here is a way for this author to make my auto buy list. I was of course wowed by what I read, and told one and all you must read this…

Le SighOriginally uploaded by freshfiction During the 2008 Book Expo America in Los Angeles, I had the chance to not onlymeet, but also assist and interview one of my favorite chefs and Food NetworkStars, George Duran! I have followed George’s career ever since his show HAM ON THE STREETSpremiered in 2005. When I found out that he was going to be at BEAdemonstrating a recipe from his new book, I set myself on course to meet the manthat I admired so much. After winning the “perfect PB&J” building contest, I had was gifted theopportunity to taste his Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding as my prize. Letme tell you, it was soooo good, even though it sounds kinda iffy. I have sincemade it, and every time it has come out better and better. I recommendstrawberry jam and smooth peanut butter, btw. Afterwards, George sat down with me for this quick interview. Check it out! Gwen: After college, you worked in radio and television before you decided toexplore cooking professionally. What made you decide to pick up your life andmove to France for culinary school? George: I was a bit confused as to where I wanted to learn French cuisine. I…

Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse, released from Kunati Books on September 1, 2008. It is the story of 15-year-old Ashley Nicole Asher, who, after six years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse from her stepfather, finally finds the courage to reveal the painful details of her experiences with her mother, who refuses to acknowledge the problem and turns her back on her daughter. After confiding in her teacher—the only adult whom Ashley can trust—she is removed from her home and sent to live with her father and his second wife, Beverly, an English teacher. Nurtured by Beverly, an extraordinarily positive influence in her life, Ashley and a summer school class of troubled teens learn to face their fears and discover who they really are. One of the themes in Courage in Patience is religious extremism. I strongly believe that religion should not be used as a tool to tear people down. I think that belief comes through, loud and clear, in my novel. Before she is removed from her home, Ashley experiences what becomes for her a crystallizing moment that colors forever her perception of religiously extreme belief systems. This happens after…

Can it really be October already? I hope so! I love this month, and here is why… Cooler weather. I admit it. I hate the heat and humidity of summer in the south. Being hot makes me cranky. Ask my husband, he’ll tell you it’s true! But a miraculous change in the weather sweeps in around the first of October each year. Mornings have a cool nip in the air, and the mid-day sun is warm but not breath-stealing. The first hints of autumn arrive. I love wearing sweaters, the smell of fallen leaves and the evening temperatures that let me jog in the neighborhood without melting. Welcome cooler weather! Football! By October, high school and college football seasons are in full swing. I love football. In fact, it is one of the few sports I do enjoy watching. I love the school rivalries, the excitement, the sweaty men in tight pants , and spending a Saturday afternoon (and often the evening too!) curled up on the sofa with my hubby watching all the games. Football is a great pleasure of the Fall. The holidays. October means Halloween and an excuse to decorate my house with pumpkins and buy chocolate!…