Happy Thursday, ladies! Thanks for stopping by to share a few minutes of my WHAT I DID FOR A DUKE release tour with me. 😉 I’ve been having a wonderful time so far—I’m so thrilled and touched by the astonishing reviews—the Perfect 10’s, the Starred Review from the Library Journal, the Desert Island Keeper status from AAR, A grades from Dear Author and other bloggers, the Top Picks….everyone has been incredibly lovely about it. I love the story, so this makes me indescribably happy. 🙂 Let me tell you a little bit about the story, in case you haven’t had a chance to read it yet: WHAT I DID FOR A DUKE, the 5th book in my Pennyroyal Green series, is the story of what happens when the powerful, dangerous Duke of Falconbridge, he of the mystery-shrouded reputation and reputed black heart (he poisoned his wife, they say), embarks on a campaign to avenge a great loss and betrayal, for the one thing London society knows about him for certain: no one crosses him without consequences. When Ian Eversea does just that, the duke believes the punishment should fit the crime—which means the duke has plans for Ian’s youngest sister,…

In the scheme of things, I haven’t been writing very long. Though I majored in English with a creative writing emphasis in college many moons ago, I didn’t start writing seriously until 2007. In an epic case of ‘be careful what you wish for; you just may receive it,’ that manuscript was named a 2009 Golden Heart finalist, won a paranormal Daphne, and sold to Sourcebooks as part of a three-book deal. Though it took me a long time after college to scrape up the guts to actually put pen to paper (or set fingers to keyboard) I like to think I was…in training, preparing for publication all along—by reading other people’s books. Following are some of my favorite teachers: Anne Rice: The world-building in “Interview with the Vampire” absolutely knocked my socks off.  Rice’s New Orleans was lush, dark and dank. You could smell the rot and the perfume. She had a new take on the vampire legend, and her languid, sensual vamps had a distinct homoerotic edge that I hadn’t previously been exposed to. Marion Zimmer Bradley: Reading “The Mists of Avalon” was a transformational experience for me. As a college student in the 80’s, I found her…

Sabina Kane #3 March 2011 On Sale: March 1, 2011 Featuring: Sabina 352 pages ISBN: 031603777X EAN: 9780316037778 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban Buy at Amazon.com Sabina has no regrets as she explores NOLA, prepare for an action-packed experience Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells Things to do: 1. Rescue sister. 2. Murder grandmother. 3. Don’t upset the voodoo priestess. The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes. Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks—a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon—head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and—perhaps most frightening of all—humans. But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won’t be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past. You are going to have a great time with this Green-Eyed Demon, as long as you live through it. Excerpt CHAPTER…

When I sit down on my stationary bike to exercise, I like to read. In fact, a good book can keep me pedaling long after my time is up! Of course, I like to read at other times, too – pretty much any time, really. And when I do, I want to learn something. I’m not talking about textbook learning, but learning interesting pieces of information from whatever fiction I happen to be reading. Maybe it’s a tidbit of history that leads me do an internet search or look through my own library of books to expand on that information. Or it might be an interesting quirk of law. Sometimes it’s a bit about a region of the world I’m unfamiliar with. I’ll check out google maps and google earth just to see the location the book is set in, or the place the characters are talking about. I don’t think I’m the only one, either. When I read the Steig Larsen books (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, etc) I wanted to know more about Sweden. I kept a map open while I read, and a conversion table for Swedish money. (How much is 1.2 million kroner, anyway?) I…

March 2010 On Sale: March 1, 2010 480 pages ISBN: 0821779400 EAN: 9780821779408 Paperback (reprint) $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Murder in New Orleans Malice by Lisa Jackson #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson delivers a gripping, edge-of-your-seat tale of deception and betrayal as New Orleans detective Rick Bentz is forced to confront the ghosts of his past—and a killer’s twisted vengeance… The scent is unmistakable—gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he’s recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn’t have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago… Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere, haunting and taunting him, then vanishing without a trace. Could she still be alive? But it was Bentz who identified Jennifer’s body after her horrible car wreck, and there had been no question in his mind that it was her crumpled form behind the wheel, her clothes, her wedding ring. He’s never doubted it—until now. He can’t tell his…

Hello, Fresh Fiction, and thanks so much for inviting me to chat to you about my latest book, STAYING AT DAISY’S. To start with, it has yet another stupendous cover (I love my Sourcebooks covers so much!). Secondly, it’s pretty much the only novel I’ve completely set in a real place. Castle Combe is one of the prettiest villages in the UK and I live close by. The original Dr. Doolittle film starring Rex Harrison was filmed there. The Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe is one of my favourite places to visit – it’s just amazing, and the restaurant is fab too. (This is not an advert, it’s just true!) I did of course change the name of the village and hotel for the book… I absolutely love using a hotel as the setting for a novel. So much can happen, and anyone might turn up. Before writing this book, I interviewed a couple of hoteliers who told me some truly amazing stories…of guests stealing the curtains and curtain poles in their rooms, of a guest dying and having to be carried down the stairs and out of the hotel whilst a wedding party was in full swing, of…

Deliah Dickenson Mystery #3 December 2010 On Sale: November 30, 2010 Featuring: Delilah Dickinson 304 pages ISBN: 0758225709 EAN: 9780758225702 Hardcover $22.00  Add to Wish List Mystery Woman Sleuth, Mystery Buy at Amazon.com Mardi Gras in NOLA, what better than a murder? Killer On A Hot Tin Roof by Livia J. Washburn While attending the annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in New Orleans, Delilah Dickinson becomes immersed in a murder investigation when one of the professors claims he can prove Williams didn’t write Cat on a Hot Tin Roof … Delilah Dickinson is finally looking forward to a nice, relaxing time leading her literary travel agency’s latest tour at the annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in New Orleans. After all, a group of intelligent, low-key English professors can’t be too much trouble, right? Wrong, as it turns out. These academics don’t waste any time showing their claws, especially when one of the professors claims he can prove Williams didn’t even write Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. But when the supposed real author—Howard Burleson, apparently once a very close friend of Tennessee’s—turns up dead, Delilah knows she’s got to get to the bottom of things…even if the truth is as…

A soft thud in the night. A creak in the hallway outside your bedroom. A lonely road cutting through a dark forest. All of these can cause fear. However, fear need not be felt in these creepy, eerie locations. One can experience fear when going in for a job interview, on the first day of college, or even writing your first novel. We fear the unknown. What made the thud upstairs? The creak in the hall–just the house settling or something else? What if the car stalled on the road? You wonder if you can present yourself professionally to the prospective employer or if you’ll make friends on the new campus. Writing is no different. It’s a scary process. I’m not even referring to writer’s block, but it, too, can be an unsettling experience. I remember somebody turning the word fear into an acronym. False Evidence Against Reality. Basically, what that means, is what happens is usually totally different than what was originally imagined. I’ve experienced this countless times in my life, usually when asking a woman to dinner. Okay, my fear about their rejection usually held true, but never in the ways I imagined it. There are many aspects…

I was grocery shopping and trying to figure out what I wanted to write next when I ran into a guy in Army gear in the cookie aisle.  Be still my heart.  He had dark sunglasses on, absolutely no smile, and testosterone was pouring off him. He ultimately choose two packages of granola bars instead of cookies, which nearly killed the fantasy but I recovered.  By the time I’d gotten to my car, I’d concocted a whole back story for him.  And just like that, ANIMAL MAGNETISM (2/1) was born. Brady Miller doesn’t smile much because he hasn’t had anything to smile about in a very long time. He’s an ex Army ranger, now a pilot for hire for organizations like Doctors Without Borders, back in the states at the request of his foster brothers.  They run a large animal center in the middle of Nowhere, Idaho, and need his help. He agrees to stick around for unusually complicated reasons, even though he’s lived his life as purposely uncomplicated as possible.  Fact is, he’s not much of a family guy.  He’s always been a wanderer, no roots, no home base. Maybe even a guy who can’t be saved. It takes…

The book landscape in March is in full bloom. Lots of great releases this month, so you should hit the Teen section of your local (or online) bookstore early and often. If I had to pick one Don’t Miss book for March… Well, it would be really hard, but I am most excited to tell you about FALLING UNDER, by Gwen Hayes (March 1, from NAL), not least, because I was privileged to read it already and I. Love. This. Book. If you are a fan of gothic, romantic, paranormal romance with a strongly developed fantasy side and a deeply satisfying romantic side, you will love it, too. I caught up with Gwen and asked her to tell me more about writing the book. Gwen Hayes: Thank you for inviting me to Fresh Fiction. I’m really happy to be here. RMC: I think when I read FALLING UNDER, I described it as a “Lushy romantic gothic fairy tale.” How would YOU describe it? Gwen Hayes: Well, lushly romantic gothic fairy tale is pretty awesome. I’m not sure I could top that. I don’t even want to. When I was writing it, I knew it wasn’t like anything I’d written before….