I love writing. I mean, except when it’s killing me, but deep inside, there’s something potent and powerful that keeps moving, and keeps me writing, and keeps me loving it. I also love readers. And not just ‘my’ readers, the readers who written to say they’ve loved my books and the ones who’ve loved them in silence, although I have to admit, I have a special spot in my heart for you. But I’m talking all readers. I love readers. I love that just the idea of a good book excites a reader. I love how she absolutely must share her favorite books with others; it’s like a little treasure hunt, and there’s that little sense of pride when she’s the one who can turn her friends on to it. I love how she is willing to be so moved by written words, how she lets the words and ideas and emotions slip into her like steam. I love how she’s willing to be immersed. I love how her face shifts and moves as she reads, reflecting the emotions of the story. I love how readers keep giving themselves over to Story, again and again. It’s such a generous thing…

Lucky Harbor #1 October 2010 On Sale: October 1, 2010 Featuring: Chloe; Tara; Maddie 400 pages ISBN: 044657161X EAN: 9780446571616 Mass Market Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com A 2010 Fresh Fiction Favorite Book! “characters are as charming as the town itself” OMG does Jax wear a tool belt oh so well… Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis Maddie Moore’s whole life needs a makeover. In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother-a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Starting over won’t be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career- if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too. The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes-and mouth-are making it hard for her to remember that she’s sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie’s struggles to…

In his memoir, I WANTED TO WRITE, Kenneth Roberts, famous for his bestselling historical novels of the American northeast, pointed out (quite rightly) that: “Historians have a great advantage over a novelist in that they can state a supposed fact without explaining it…An historian can announce that a hitherto unmentioned Indian suddenly appeared in the ranks of a lost and bewildered [army] detachment and guided it to safety; he is not required to explain how the Indian got there, or who he was, or why he hadn’t acted as a guide before the detachment was lost. The novelist can’t be so mysterious. “An historian can state that an army has provisions for only fifteen days; then coolly permit that army to exist for twice that length of time without explaining the miracle. A novelist must find out how the army escaped starvation, and explain it to the complete satisfaction of the reader. Otherwise his story doesn’t, as the saying goes, hold water. Each omission is a hole in his tale. Most histories are filled with holes and leak like sieves.” Filling these holes can be one of the greatest challenges I face when writing a book like THE WINTER SEA,…

Some things in life age well. Wine. Scotch. Men and women with good bones and healthy physiques. Well-crafted furniture. Master paintings. And books. Yes, I said books. As I’ve been updating seventeen of my backlist titles for reissue in the coming year, I must say with shameless lack of humility that my books do age well. Going back to my first novel published in 1994, THE RELUCTANT VIKING , I have been reviewing them page by page, looking for errors, modernizing the content (Hey, Dolly Parton would not be considered the epitome of sexy lady today; nor would Kevin Costner, nor, God forbid! Mel Gibson, appeal to the younger reader). In the process of these new readings, I have been remarkably surprised at how enjoyable they are, even after all these years. And one added plus is that I get to make changes I deem necessary which has resulted in a major do-ever. I am “unkilling” two secondary characters in MY FAIR VIKING (now retitled THE VIKING’S CAPTIVE, January, 2011). Selik and Rain were the hero and heroine of THE OUTLAW VIKING, but I had them die in MY FAIR VIKING a few years later. Readers were outraged. So, voila!…

The holidays are here, and everyone is bustling and hustling around getting ready for the big day. Why not take a little time to yourself and enjoy one of the new cozy mysteries available for December? Or even better, buy one or a few for great gifts for your reading family and friends. The Diva Cooks a Goose Krista Davis (A Domestic Diva Mystery #4) Berkley (Prime Crime), $7.99 A Scrooge steals presents right from under Sophie Winston’s family Christmas tree. Then her sister-in-law’s father show’s up with a diva girlfriend just a month after his separation. More than one person is thinking of committing a merry murder—until it actually happens! With many under suspicion for the deadly deed, can Sophie find the murderer and restore the Christmas spirit before it’s too late? Mistletoe and Mayhem Kate Kingsbury (A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery) Berkley Trade; $14.00 This holiday season there’ll be murder under the mistletoe at the Pennyfoot Hotel… As friends, family, and guests gather at the Pennyfoot Hotel to share the joys of the season, Cecily Sinclair Baxter and her staff are hustling and bustling more than ever. Cecily’s friend Madeline arrives with her new baby and adds a…

As promised last month, here’s some more scoop from MileHiCon in Denver. Fantasy tends to come in series, and while some series just keep getting better, others drop off. How does an author keep a series going and keep it interesting? Several authors of successful series discussed this at the convention. One issue series authors face is how to bring up recap material to remind readers of what happened in previous books or of anything else they need to remember about how this world works. M.H. Bonham, author of the Swords of Destiny series, said that even in the first novel in a series, characters have a history and a backstory that the author has to deal with. In later books, that backstory may be what happened in the earlier books, but authors can deal with it the way they would any character history or backstory — without an info dump. Carrie Vaughn, author of the Kitty Norville series, said she tries to show the effects of what happened previously without necessarily going into explanations. “To me, the sign of a great book is when you can pick up a later book in the series and be interested enough to…

Awhile back, in the course of a fairly long series for Steeple Hill Love Inspired, I introduced some Amish minor characters, wondering what my editor would say about that. She responded, “You know that Amish thing? Do that more.” So, since I’m in the habit of saying yes to editors, probably in reaction to all those years when they were saying no to me, I agreed. It wasn’t difficult to write about the Amish, since my family is of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage and I’ve spent my life in rural Pennsylvania, where the Plain sects are very common. I also have several friends who grew up Plain, and I welcomed the opportunity to showcase that world in my fiction. Why is Amish fiction so popular? That’s the million dollar question. Based on the letters I receive from readers, I’d say that the books help feed a longing for a simpler lifestyle. Haven’t you ever wished you could get rid of the constant pressure and demand for interaction posed by e-mail, Facebook, cell phones, twenty-four hour news channels, and all the rest? The books allow readers to visit a society which gets along very nicely without all those things. It’s also a…

Scot Harvath #9 June 2010 On Sale: June 29, 2010 Featuring: Scot Harvath 384 pages ISBN: 1416586598 EAN: 9781416586593 Hardcover $26.99 Add to Wish List Thriller Spy, Thriller Political Buy at Amazon.com Foreign Influence by Brad Thor A Thriller #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Navy SEAL turned covert operative Scot Harvath is called to action once again in Brad Thor’s hottest political thriller yet. Buried within the black ops budgets of the Department of Defense, a new spy agency has been created. Unfettered by the oversight of self-serving politicians, it reports only to a secret panel of military insiders. Its job is to target America’s enemies – both foreign and domestic – under a charter of three simple words: Find, Fix, and Finish. Recruited as a field operative, Scot Harvath has just returned from his first assignment abroad when a bombing in Rome kills a group of American college students. The evidence points to a dangerous colleague from Harvath’s past and a plan for further attacks on an unimaginable scale. Harvath is tasked with leveraging his relationship to lure the man out of hiding and kill him on the spot. But what if it is the wrong man? Simultaneously,…

Shhh. Come closer, I’m going to tell you a secret. My next book isn’t a romance. And it’s not erotic. And it’s not also “new”. PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE THINGS began its life as a book called Three Months, and I wrote it long before I wrote anything most of my readers would be familiar with. In fact, I wrote it when my own children were the ages of the heroine’s children, (two and five), and now I have a teenager and a pre-teen. So while it might seem like a real departure or something brand-new to readers who’ve been good enough to follow me so far, the truth is that I’ve always written books that weren’t romance or erotic — they just weren’t the books that ended up being published. Well, until now. I’m thrilled to see PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE THINGS finally reach the shelves. It’s a book that had a lot of personal meaning for me both when I wrote it originally and later when I revised it for publication. Sometimes authors talk about the &mquot;book of their hearts,&mquot; and Precious and Fragile Things certainly meets those requirements. I wrote it before I had an audience, a blog, a…

Gray Man #2 October 2010 On Sale: September 28, 2010 Featuring: Court Gentry 592 pages ISBN: 0515148458 EAN: 9780515148459 Mass Market Paperback $9.99 Add to Wish List Thriller Spy Buy at Amazon.com On Target by Mark Greaney Sequl to The Gray Man Who is the Gray Man? To a Russian mafia boss–he is a powerful weapon. To a genocidal war criminal–he is his worst nightmare. To a small team of American commandos–he is their last chance. To a beautiful lawyer caught in the crossfire–he is her only hope. Four years ago, assassin Court Gentry was betrayed by his handlers in the CIA. Now, an old comrade returns to haunt him-and to force him on a mission against his will. With his ruthless employers on one side, his former friends on the other and a doomed mission ahead, Court Gentry would kill to get out of this one alive. Excerpt Prologue Dark clouds hung low above the Irish Sea, fat in the moist morning air, and tracked slowly over the assassin as he stood on the wooden foredeck of the fishing boat. A few screeching herring gulls had encircled the vessel while it was still miles offshore; now that it had…