Some years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter near Joliet, IL, I had the chance to chat with a man who was on trial for killing his wife. And not just killing her. He strangled her, then put a sheet on the kitchen floor, got out the power tools, and chopped her into six pieces. He doubled bagged the pieces in garbage bags, and dumped them in his trash can. The next day when the trash collectors came, they smelled the decay, and through a rip in the bag, saw an arm. The police were called, and the man was arrested. This fascinated me. Why, I asked him, didn’t you just dump her body on the side of the road, and claim that she had never come home that night? The man told me that his two-year-old son was asleep upstairs and he didn’t want leave him alone in the house, so he had to get rid of the child’s mother without leaving. He told me this with pride, because even though he was a bad husband (obviously) he wanted to make the point that he was a good father. Another killer I interviewed years later, this time as…

August 2010 On Sale: July 27, 2010 Featuring: Lacey Terwilliger; Lefty Monroe 320 pages ISBN: 1439168776 EAN: 9781439168776 Trade Size $15.00  Add to Wish List Romance Chick-Lit Buy at Amazon.com For contemporary we choose… And One Last Thing … by Molly Harper Silence is golden. But having the last word is delicious. “If Singletree’s only florist didn’t deliver her posies half-drunk, I might still be married to that floor-licking, scum-sucking, receptionist-nailing hack-accountant, Mike Terwilliger.” Lacey Terwilliger’s shock and humiliation over her husband’s philandering prompt her to add some bonus material to Mike’s company newsletter: stunning Technicolor descriptions of the special brand of “administrative support” his receptionist gives him. The detailed mass e-mail to Mike’s family, friends, and clients blows up in her face, and before one can say “instant urban legend,” Lacey has become the pariah of her small Kentucky town, a media punch line, and the defendant in Mike’s defamation lawsuit. Her seemingly perfect life up in flames, Lacey retreats to her family’s lakeside cabin, only to encounter an aggravating neighbor named Monroe. A hunky crime novelist with a low tolerance for drama, Monroe is not thrilled about a newly divorced woman moving in next door. But with time,…

That’s how I feel when I write these days.  It’s an amazing experience.  I’ve never written a series like this before–Guardians of Ascension–in which I’ve built a world I love, populated it with extremely hunky warrior vampires and oh-so-deserving women, created a villain and his minions that are both heinous and sympathetic, and created new ways to enhance all sorts of *ahem* physical experiences.       The whole thing is awesome and unexpected, and at times overwhelming–the spreadsheets alone that I’ve concocted to keep track of things like wing color and which character has which power is enough to squeeze a few brain cells to death. But when I sink into the day’s writing, when I engage the characters of the moment, euphoria is what I feel, this marvelous sense of joy and delight, of great meaning and love.  Which means that I hope that when readers delve into this series they get to experience these sensations as well. So, yes, this is a debut series, with ASCENSION opening things up in January of this year.  The second book, BURNING SKIES, released in May and the third book hits the shelves in September.  A novella, BRINK OF ETERNITY, will be available in…

It’s always said we read more in the summer, but it didn’t used to be true for me. As a mother, summers were when I worked and figured out how to occupy my children’s time which became more than a full time job. I did send them off to the “country” to stay with their grandparents for a couple of weeks, and some day camps, but the majority of the time they got bored with themselves and me. Also, we didn’t do many family vacations during the summer, it was always the busy time at work for my husband and me, so our family vacations were in the fall and spring. So, I was very happy when they got older and started working during the summers because that meant I had more time to read. So, why bring this up? Well, I’ve been reading more this year than in recent years and very excited about my prospects. Perhaps it’s because the turn of a century happened just eleven short years ago, but I’ve been fascinated by stories set in times of change. For me it’s the late 1900s as people tumbled into the United States, countries were changed and formed…

Reggie shrugged and rubbed his nose with a long forefinger. “The succubus is drawn to powerful men…psychics.” “That’s horseshit, Reggie. I’m no psychic.” Reggie nailed him with a cold gaze and chuckled under his ghostly breath. “Let’s see…you see dead people. Not only do you see them, but you talk to them as well. As a matter of fact, some of your best friends are dead. Sounds rather psychic to me. But what do I know?” Keenan licked his lips. “Oh.” A GHOST OF A CHANCE (Resplendence Publishing – June 2011) When I was a teenager, it was the 70’s when ESP, clairvoyance, and telekinetics made a big splash in the US. I had a teacher who was really into psychic abilities and he asked some of us to participate in an experiment with a friend of his. His friend happened to be a very well-known professor of psychology at Portland State University. There were about ten of us who volunteered to do the gauntlet of ESP or Psy tests at the university. Two of us had very high readings and moved onto another set of tests. I had the highest ESP readings in the group. Now, honestly, I think…

Carsington #  August 2010 On Sale: July 27, 2010 Featuring: Peregrine Dalmay; Olivia Wingate-Carsington 384 pages ISBN: 0061632678 EAN: 9780061632679 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Should win RITA(tm) for Best Historical Romance Last Night’s Scandal by Loretta Chase After surviving the perils of Egypt, Peregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle, is back in London, facing the most dire threat of all: his irrational family . . . and Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington. A descendant of notorious—but very aristocratic—swindlers, the delectable redhead has the ability to completely unhinge him and a long history of dragging him into her scandalous schemes. Olivia may be Society’s darling, but she’s aware a respectable future looms menacingly. And so when Lisle is forced to go on a family mission, she sees this as the perfect chance for one last adventure—even if it is with the one man in the world she can’t wrap around her finger. But really, she only wants to help . . . Which is why Lisle and Olivia find themselves in a gloomy Scottish castle inhabited by spiteful ghosts and craven murderers . . . and a shocking secret: the greatest peril of all may be burning…

Let’s be clear: I live on Nantucket because I love the summertime.  I have launched a career where I actually go to the beach to work, since my work is writing about the beach, and since I’m old-school and still write longhand in legal pads.  Now, that said, my life has the demands that every other life has: deadlines, meetings, children (3 children, two of whom play all-star little league baseball, which puts me on hot metal bleachers instead of on my towel for more hours than I might perhaps choose) and housework.  So although I have perfected every possible way to enjoy the summertime, I rarely get to enjoy a string of days in the relaxing fashion which I’d like.  However, I have a blueprint for the best 18-hour day on Nantucket, and I’d like to share it with you. Rise early.  Nantucket is the far east of the United States, and today for example, June 14, the sun rose at 5:18.  Let’s get out of bed at 6 a.m. and have a cup of coffee on the deck.  My house overlooks the 18th hole of the Miacomet Golf Course and the ocean beyond.  And for our purposes, my…

Bride Quartet #4 November 2010 On Sale: November 2, 2010 Featuring: Parker Brown; Malcolm Kavanaugh 320 pages ISBN: 0425236757 EAN: 9780425236758 Trade Size $16.00  Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Best Single Title Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts Dreams are realized in the eagerly-awaited fourth novel in Nora Roberts’s Bride Quartet. As the public face of Vows wedding planning company, Parker Brown has an uncanny knack for fulfilling every bride’s vision. She just can’t see where her own life is headed. Mechanic Malcolm Kavanaugh loves figuring out how things work, and Parker is no exception. Both know that moving from minor flirtation to major hook-up is a serious step. Parker’s business risks have always paid off, but now she’ll have to take the chance of a lifetime with her heart… This book is the delicious icing on the cake of the brilliant Bride Quartet series. Previous Picks

A while ago, I ran into an old friend while at the gas station. When he asked how I’d been, I told him my good news. It was a couple weeks after I sold the Demons Unleashed series, so I was excited beyond words. Then he asked me what the books were about. I’m not someone who’s ashamed at what I write, so I told him it was a series of paranormal romances. “Oh like Twilight?” he asked. “Not really my hero is a demon,” I replied. “And the characters are adult.” I gave him a rather brief synopsis of what DEMONS PREFER BLONDES was about. As I was preparing my coffee, he came back over and said, “I feel sorry for you.” What? Sorry for me? I was confused to say the least. “Why?” I asked against my better judgment. “All you romance authors write about love and you’re as lonely as ever.” News flash, now no longer friend of mine. Not all romance authors are single. Most of my close friends who write are very happily married. I might be single, but it’s a choice I’ve made. I haven’t met someone I want to share my life with…

May 2010 On Sale: May 11, 2010 Featuring: Lucky O’Toole 352 pages ISBN: 0765325438 EAN: 9780765325433 Hardcover $24.99  Add to Wish List Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Should win RITA(tm) for either best 1st or strong romantic elements Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts A young woman plunges from a Las Vegas sightseeing helicopter, landing in the Pirate’s lagoon in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in the middle of the 8:30 Pirate Show. Almost everyone writes her off as another Vegas victim. But Lucky O’Toole smells a rat. She’s head of Customer Relations at The Babylon, the newest, most opulent mega-casino and resort on the Strip, so she’s got a lot on her plate: the Adult Film industry’s annual awards banquet, a spouse-swapping convention, sex toy purveyors preying on the pocket-protector crowd attending ElectroniCon…. Still, Lucky can’t resist turning over a few stones. When a former flame is one of the snakes she uncovers, Lucky’s certain she’s no longer dealing with an anonymous Sin City suicide. To top it all off, Lucky’s best friend Teddie—Las Vegas’ finest female impersonator—presses to take their relationship to the next level. Leave it to Lucky to attract a man who looks better…