Though I did not consciously plan it this way, I find I like to write about brave women who live unconventional lives, not always by their own choice. My new novel  SONG OF THE SILK is a romantic adventure on China’s fabled route and the Taklamakan Desert with the lure of a three million dollar reward. I owe my this novel to a brave and unconventional writer — and a dream. A Taiwanese woman who called herself Echo was one of my favorite  authors. She was much loved by Chinese readers but, sadly, her work has never been translated into English. In the seventies, her descriptions of her adventures with her husband in the Sahara Desert captivated many readers, including myself. One episode – I won’t give it away here – is based on something that happened to her husband. Inspired by her, I always wanted to write about a young woman’s adventures in the desert. I had thought of drawing on Echo’s life for my desert novel, but then found my imagination led me in a different direction. A lifelong fascination with the romantic history of the Silk Road was brought to life when I traveled there a few…

Last Chance Rescue #3 May 2010 On Sale: April 27, 2010 Featuring: Lucas Kane; McKenna Sloan 352 pages ISBN: 0345517741 EAN: 9780345517746 Mass Market Paperback $6.99  Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com RT Book Reviews 2010 Reviewers’ Choice Romantic Suspense Last Chance by Christy Reece Passion is the most dangerous move. NEVER SAY DIE McKenna Sloan saved Lucas Kane’s life and then vanished. Lucas moved mountains trying to find her again, and finally McKenna relented—for one fleeting night. The truth is, McKenna’s life is all about the dark, deception-filled world of Last Chance Rescue, and for her, there’s no hope of love or Lucas. But fate, and Lucas’s determination, soon change everything. A kidnapped young woman, a lure to out a killer and the fierce need to bring a criminal to justice combine for one explosive event. For a woman who specializes in staying away from relationships and staying in the heart of danger, this is the most impossible mission of all. Because the odds are deadly, and the passion won’t die. Previous Picks

Yesterday I did my first school visit as an author.  The occasion was the career fair at my great-niece’s middle school.  Yeah, my sister is old enough to have a granddaughter in middle school! The PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) was looking for people with interesting jobs to serve as presenters for their eighth-grade career fair.  Although I live 100 miles away, I raised my hand and volunteered to take a day off from the day job and show up.  Besides, it would give me the opportunity to combine the trip with a visit to local bookstores, so I would get double use of my travel time. I asked them to list my job title as “Mystery Writer,” figuring that might sound more exciting than “Published Author.”  Or at least friendlier somehow. In the days leading up to the event I found myself worrying about a million things.  What if I dressed like a dork?  What if they didn’t want to know about writing?  What if they thought writing wasn’t cool?  What if nobody talked to me? Good grief!  It was like being in junior high all over again! The big day finally arrived.  I put on my best outfit, loaded…

April is blooming with exciting YA books. Paranormal books, like this months feature from Jennifer Archer, continue to run rampant, but I’m including a bonus interview with contemporary debut author Kirsten Hubbard. PARANORMAL Veteran woman’s fiction author Jennifer Archer makes her YA debut this month with THROUGH HER EYES, a paranormal story that’s both eerie and emotional. This book has a great voice and a distinct sense of place that make the events seem very real. The emotional tone, too, really resonated with me. I’ll let Jenny tell you what it’s about in her own words: Jennifer Archer: Tansy Piper, a sixteen-year-old high school student and amateur photographer, moves with her grandfather and her mother, a horror writer, to the setting of her mother’s next book–a secluded house outside of a tiny, desolate West Texas town called Cedar Canyon. Tansy is upset over the move and very lonely in her new home. When she finds an old pocket watch, a crystal, and a journal filled with dark poetry hidden in the cellar, she is lured through these items into the mind of a mysterious young man named Henry who died decades earlier. And through the lens of her camera, she…

June 2010 On Sale: June 1, 2010 Featuring: Marguerite de Fleurignac; William Doyle 400 pages ISBN: 0425235610 EAN: 9780425235614 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com RT Book Reviews 2010 Reviewers’ Choice for Historical Romantic Adventure The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne A glittering French aristocrat is on the run, disguised as a British governess. England’s top spy has a score to settle with her family. But as they’re drawn inexorably into the intrigue and madness of Revolutionary Paris, they gamble on a love to which neither of them will admit. A magnificent, passionate, adventure romance set during the French Revolution. Excerpt Paris 1794 She was alone, suddenly, with Guillaume LeBreton. He stood, being inscrutable, which was one of his talents. In the stark white robe he became dark and exotic. The long folds and draped sleeves made a mandarin of him. How does he pass unnoticed through the streets of the city? It is as if a lion joined a pack of dogs and none of them remarked upon it. “Did you follow me from my house?” “Something like that. You didn’t make any secret where you were going.” “It was a perfectly useless thing…

A compelling and great writing draw us into a story—but what we stay for is the characters. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy; Jane Eyre and Rochester—what’s a romance without great lovers who come alive on the page? Giving life to characters is the best part of writing. I love creating a small town of my own, peopled by characters who hopefully come alive for the reader. They’re certainly real to me! I spend a lot of time in my fictional universe, and my characters become like friends—or maybe more like family, because much as I love them, they sometimes drive me crazy. Demanding, difficult, and determined—they’re just like real people. Teague and Jodi have been with me a long time, waiting for their story to be told and gradually revealing who they are and what they want. By the time I actually sat down to write the book, they’d taken on so much personality that it was all I could do to keep them under control. It wasn’t easy to keep them out of bed, either. These two were definitely made for each other. The best part about having a new book released is knowing that my new characters are out…

Skin #2 June 2010 On Sale: June 1, 2010 Featuring: Mia Sauter; Addison Foster 336 pages ISBN: 0425235165 EAN: 9780425235164 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com RT Book Reviews 2010 Reviewers Choice Paranormal Romantic Suspense Winner Skin Tight by Ava Gray Uncovering the truth is her specialty As a forensic accountant, Mia Sauter could usually tell when people had something to hide. She made her living exposing secrets while concealing her own. Then, in Vegas, she met a clever, ruthless man who called himself Addison Foster. One year later, she’s still haunted by his betrayal. He’s a natural born liar The truth of him had long ago been buried. Foster was only one name of many; he’d been so many men, he’d lost count. Reinvented as Thomas Strong and hell-bent on revenge, his mission is about to be compromised by the one woman capable of exposing him… Reunited, they confront the explosive chemistry still crackling between them. But their chance meeting will have consequences, for a ruthless madman has his own deadly agenda. The question is—if they survive the fallout, will he choose love over vengeance? Previous Picks

As I type this, I have butterfly bush in my pants. This sounds like a wonderfully naughty Brazilian wax, but I mean it literally. I was cutting back the butterfly bush in my yard, and the flecks of last year’s petals rained down the back of my shirt and into my long underwear. Not sexy at all, though probably not quite so uncomfortable as waxing. This led me to thinking about all the ways in which I am NOT like the heroine of my latest book, VOWED IN SHADOWS. Nim—aka, the Naughty Nymphette—would know all about waxing. She is a pole dancer; I sit at a computer for ten-plus hours a day. Nim goes on dangerous adventures fighting monsters; I avoid looking in the back of the fridge toward the end of the month. Nim is possessed by a demon….Okay, that one we kind of have in common. Although hers is a repentant demon trying to earn its redemption, and mine is the demon of writing. That demon can never be redeemed. People often ask which parts of the characters are the author, at least in disguise. Sometimes I wish it was more. Like when I see the covers of…

December 2010 On Sale: December 1, 2010 Featuring: Carrie McClelland 576 pages ISBN: 1402241372 EAN: 9781402241376 Paperback $16.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Romantic Times winner for Historical Fiction The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley When she can no longer tell the difference between today and centuries ago, he\’s the only one who can reveal the secrets of time… History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory…making her the only living person who can know the truth of what did happen all those years ago – a tale of love and loyalty…and ultimate betrayal. An exciting mystery filled with love, loyalty and the ultimate betrayal. Previous Picks

Okay, you’re in a pickle.  A fix.  You didn’t put yourself there, but in it you are, and now you must choose: Do you do the right thing?  Or do you do the easy thing? Oh, the temptation is strong.  You’re weary and worn and you silently scream, “Easy!  Can I just this once go Easy? I’ve fought the good fight.  I’ve tried to be a good person, to treat people well, to do what I say, and not be a jerk about things.  I do what I can to help others—even though when I need help, often no one’s home.  And for my trouble I’ve been betrayed, stabbed in the back, unjustly accused, stepped on, lied to—you name it.” Sound familiar?  We’ve all been there.  We’ve all felt that way at one time or another.  And we’ve all been so weary of it all that we just want to duck our heads back under the covers and block out the world. But we don’t duck because we know the world won’t go away.  Because we know we have to come out sometime.  And if we don’t deal with “this junk” (whatever it might be) now, we’ll have to deal…