Like so many others, I’ve been caught by the Olympic fever.  Each night my family and I sit in our living room and watch athletes do the impossible.  I gasp in amazement as they fly down the slopes…dance on the ice…flip and twirl through the air.  But as much as their individual performances captivate me, I find myself wondering about when they dared to dream of becoming an Olympic athlete.  And, more importantly, when they dared to voice that dream. Dreaming is easy.  Safe.  In our minds we can envision ourselves doing anything, being anyone.  But when you dare to voice your dream…oh, man.  Scary stuff indeed. I still remember the moment I discovered my first romance novel.  I was at my Aunt Patsy’s house and a copy of The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss was on the nightstand next to the guest bed.  That night, while everyone else was sleeping, I sat in the window seat and with lightning illuminating the dark sky, I devoured that book.  The passion, the heartache, the longing…  When I reached the end, I realized my life would never be the same.  Now, I not only knew what genre I wanted to…

Kate Shugak December 2009On Sale: December 1, 2009Featuring: Kate Shugak352 pages ISBN: 0312944071EAN: 9780312944070Paperback (reprint)$7.99 Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Whisper to the Bloodby Dana Stabenow Inside Alaska’s biggest national park, around the town of Niniltna, a gold mining company has started buying up land. The residents of the Park are uneasy. “But gold is up to nine hundred dollars an ounce” is the refrain of Talia Macleod, the popular Alaskan skiing champ hired by the company to improve relations with the locals, and pave the way for the mine’s expansion… Then, just as Talia is ready to present her case at town meetings and village breakfasts, there are two brutal murders, including that of a long-standing mine opponent. The investigation falls to Trooper Jim Chopin and, as usual, he could use some help from newly elected Niniltna Native Association chairman and part-time P.I. Kate Shugak. But Kate already has her hands full with a series of attacks on snowmobilers up the Kanuyaq River and the homicide of Park villain Louis Deem. With both cases on the verge of going cold, can Kate take the heat? Excerpt “Grin bought out Mac Devlin.” “Grin?” “Global Harvest Resources Inc. GHRIn. That’s…