In my Bunco Babes books, the central characters have been friends for years. They get together every Thursday night to drink frozen margaritas, roll dice, and gossip about the inhabitants of their small north Florida town. The three main characters I introduced in the first book, Bunco Babes Tell All, were labeled as “the nice one” “the sharp one” and “the hot one”. Unconsciously as a writer, I don’t set out to create the theme for my books. Theme is something that naturally results from the plot. But after I wrote the book (and figured out what it was really about) I discovered that my main character, Kitty, had to come to grips with the eternal question of the ages. Just what kind of girl are you? Too often, like the characters in my books, we get labeled at an early age. You know the labels I’m talking about- the smart one, the pretty one, the goofy one… And after a while, we start to believe it ourselves. But sometimes (like Kitty had to find out in Bunco Babes Tell All) in order to achieve our highest potential (or win your happily-ever-after!) you have to break out of the mold….

September 2009On Sale: September 1, 2009Featuring: Rafael Daughtry; Charlotte Seavers352 pages ISBN: 0373773714EAN: 9780373773718Paperback$7.99 Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com How to Tempt a Duke by Kasey Michaels He’d returned from war a duke. Now Rafael Daughtry was battling a force more terrifying than Napoleon’s army—his family. Thankfully, his childhood friend Charlotte Seavers had agreed—reluctantly—to a bargain. While Rafe would provide her with the home she’d lost, Charlotte would provide him with a chaperone for his unruly twin sisters. But who would chaperone Rafe? For the feisty young girl he remembered had blossomed into a sensual woman—a woman whose haunting beauty and deeply kept secrets drew him like no other. Charlotte had good reason to mistrust men—yet could Rafe’s sizzling seduction convince her to give in to temptation? Excerpt Charlotte Seavers was on the hunt. And she was in a mood to take no prisoners. Only scant minutes earlier Charlotte had been comfortably ensconced in the drawing room of her parents’ small manor house, happy in her ignorance, enjoying the sight of a mid-November frost glittering on the newly bare tree branches outside her window while she stayed warm and toasty inside. But then the housekeeper had brought her one of…

I’ve always loved the words from Ecclesiastes that begin: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. I find the words profound, not only because I strongly believe them, but also because in relation to my writing career, I’ve seen them in action. Although many times I have been disappointed, frustrated and impatient . . . all of the events leading up to my securing a two-book contract with Kensington Books unfolded exactly in their own time. Writing has always been my passion, yet I truly never gave a thought to writingprofessionally until my early forties. Some people express dismay or ask why I never thought to submit even a short story somewhere. Looking back now, I feel certain it all had to do with timing. The timing for me just wasn’t right. Read the rest… Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

October 2009On Sale: September 27, 2009Featuring: Rose Danvers; Greyden Kane384 pages ISBN: 0061340294EAN: 9780061340291Mass Market Paperback$6.99 Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com When Seducing a Duke by Kathryn Smith Enchant. Tempt. Entice. Beguile. Just a few things a woman must do when seducing a duke . . . Rose Danvers charms her way into the glittering masked ball with only one man on her mind. She would risk certain scandal for a kiss from Greyden Kane, Duke of Ryeton—though she lusts for much, much more . . . The ravishing woman in burgundy takes Grey’s breath away. She reminds him of the sheltered beauty entrusted to his care, the only one who has ever touched his icy heart. But Rose would never allow herself to be so indiscreet, so ruled by passion . . . Believing their forbidden embrace a terrible mistake, Grey knows he must do the honorable thing and find Rose a husband. But Rose will not be pawned off for propriety’s sake. She will not rest until her seduction is complete and she has the duke bedded, wedded, and deeply satisfied. All he has to do is say yes . . . These two have a bumpy journey…

Okay, so I don’t actually have pigs flying in my latest Mer book, Wild Blue Under, out this month from Sourcebooks Casablanca. But I do have seagulls. And peregrines. An albatross with an agenda. Oh, and a couple of sparrow sleuths with delusions of grandeur. Well, one has delusions, the other’s just delusional. What’s the difference? You have to meet Adele and Maybelle to find out. But wait, isn’t my series supposed to be about Mers? As in Mer men and Mer maids? Yes, I do write about Mers (we Humans were the ones who added the gender tags), but in Wild Blue Under we’ve got a literal fish-out-of-water story. In In Over Her Head, we had a Human-in-the-water story; now the tide has turned. Rod, prince of the Mer world and heir to the throne (his brother, Reel, was the hero of book 1, and, yes, you are supposed to laugh at their names. Their parents have the same screwy sense of humor I do.) In order for Rod to claim the throne, The Oceanic Council decrees that he must return the lost Mer princess to their world. Should be a piece of kelp, right? Curious? read the rest…

April 2009On Sale: April 7, 2009Featuring: Francesca Winthrop; William Chambers352 pages ISBN: 0425228061EAN: 9780425228067Paperback$7.99 Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Seduction Of A Duke by Donna MacMeans Francesca wanted to marry for love, but her social-climbing mother arranged a betrothal to an English duke who is likewise not eager to marry. But a chance encounter and a dash of intrigue make the unwilling couple rethink what they really desire. William Chambers, Duke of Bedford, ascended to the title upon his father’s death, but he also inherited his father’s extensive debts. Desperate to avoid scandal and ruin, he is willing to go to any lengths – including marrying, sight unseen, a reclusive American heiress known as Frosty Franny. Not pleased to be trapped in an arranged marriage, Francesca Winthrop conspires to turn lemons into lemonade with the assistance of a courtesan’s journal. A sexy Victorian spin on kissing the frog to find true love! Excerpt With all the malice she could muster, Francesca Winthrop whacked the wooden croquet ball beneath her foot, sending her mother’s ball careening across the manicured lawn, over the edge of the Newport cliffs, and possibly into the blue-gray waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Pity, it wasn’t…

Professor Thomas Lourds #1 November 2009On Sale: November 10, 2009Featuring: Leslie Crane; Natasha Safarov; Thomas Lourds432 pages ISBN: 0765315319EAN: 9780765315311Hardcover$25.99 Thriller Arcane Buy at Amazon.com The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. For whoever controls Atlantis controls the world. A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. The ruins of the technologically-advanced, eerily-enigmatic ancient civilization promise their discoverer fame, fortune, and power… but hold earth- shattering secrets about the origin of man. While world-famous linguist and archaeologist, Thomas Lourds, is shooting a film that dramatizes his flamboyant life and scientific achievements, satellites spot impossibly ancient ruins along the Spanish coast. Lourds knows exactly what it means: the Lost Continent of Atlantis has been found. The race is on, and Lourds’ challengers will do anything to get there first. Whoever controls the Lost Continent will control the world.” Excerpt Feeling as though someone was pulling a fast one on him, Lourds examined the writing…

The Billingham Bastards #1 November 2009On Sale: October 27, 2009Featuring: Lillian Mayhew; Simon Crathorne384 pages ISBN: 0061470821EAN: 9780061470820Mass Market Paperback$6.99 Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com What The Duke Desires by Jenna Petersen Simon Crathorne has never felt quite “right” in his own life. Even with his friends, he never fit. But now his father is dead and he has inherited the Dukedom, and all the responsibility that goes with it. And since his father was always known as a highly moral, upstanding man, Simon has big shoes to fill. Lillian Mayhew doesn’t buy the late Duke’s exalted reputation one bit. A lifetime of hearing her father talk about the man’s sins and seeing the torment her family endured at his hands has made her bitter and a final secret she discovered as her father lay dying has turned her bitterness to a drive to destroy the good name of the man she feels wronged her. No matter the price. But when Simon and Lillian meet, sparks fly and passion erupts, leaving Lillian with an ugly choice. Can she abandon her quest for revenge, just as she is on the cusp of fulfilling her duty? Or will she betray a man…

This week Kindred in Death by J.D.Robb was released this past week. I was lucky and got to read an early copy, so I didn’t need to make the tough decision to buy or to borrow. However, as the economy still stands in flux I couldn’t help but wonder if the pricing war that I’ve heard about regarding the preordering of certain books was effecting the number of holds at my local library. Earlier this year I did a blog about the number of holds on certain books, and really wasn’t surprised by what I had found, but this time I was amazed! My local library is ordering ten copies of Kindred In Death and as of the writing of this article should I want to place a hold I would be number sixteen. Should I have placed a hold on it on the day of release I would have been number ten. An online friend checked into placing a hold for Kindred in Death and found out that her library is getting four copies and she will be number thirteen on the hold list. To read more of Sandi’s blog and to comment for a chance to win please…

Event Group #3 May 2009On Sale: April 28, 2009480 pages ISBN: 0312942869EAN: 9780312942861Paperback (reprint)$7.99 Thriller Buy at Amazon.com Ancients by David Lynn Golemon TO SECURE THE FATE OF THE WORLD Eons before the birth of the Roman Empire, there was a civilization dedicated to the sciences of earth, sea, and sky. In the City of Light lived people who made dark plans to lay waste to their uncivilized neighbors using the very power of the planet itself. As the great science of their time was brought to bear on the invading hordes, hell was set loose on Earth. And the civilization of Atlantis disappeared in a suicidal storm of fire and water… THE EVENT GROUP MUST UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE ANCIENTS Now history threatens to repeat itself. The great weapon of the Ancients has been discovered in the South Pacific, and it is being deciphered by men of hatred who want to unleash hell on Earth once again. This time, it’s up to the Major Jack Collins and the Event Group—comprised of the nation’s most brilliant minds in the fields of science, philosophy, and the military to find the truth behind the world’s greatest unsolved myths—to end the cycle of…