I’m not sure anything beats a cool, air-conditioned library on a hot summer day. The silence, the relief of a chilling breeze, the scent of dusty books. When I was younger, I’d walk a six or seven blocks to my local library, where I’d dive into a book of fantasy or science fiction, a craft book for kids, or an historical novel that would take me away from the steamy southern temperatures outside. I don’t have much time to read right now, but here are a few suggestions for your summer library or bookstore visits! 1. Check out the crafts: In addition to being fun to flip through, you never know when you might find a project to keep you cool and indoors on an otherwise roasting summer day. Check out the Big Ass Book of Crafts, the Journal Junkies Workshop or Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts for a little summertime inspiration. 2. Travelogues: The best way to escape a hot summer day if often to pretend you’re somewhere else. I love travelogues–books that transport me to another time and place. And they don’t even have to take place all that far away to be intriguing. I want a travelogue…

Hello, my deliciously fresh fictionites! I’m delighted to see you here among all the other fabulosity that fills this page. And I’m quite pleased to be here! When I was asked to do a blog post, my initial response was, “Sure! … Um, about what?” To which the response — to wit: “Anything!” — left me flailing for a while for subject matter. You’d think, wouldn’t you, that being a writer for a living, I could manage to come up with something, huh? Good fortune! I happen to have something to address, right in this very blog. So, without further ado: Hi! I’m Karina Cooper. I write paranormal romance, and I’d like to talk to you about witches. Because I love witches. No, really, I absolutely do! As I traveled through the United States, spending a few months to a few years in various locales, I really got to meet a whole gamut of people. Somehow, no matter where I went, I always made the acquaintance of at least one witch. Some were the stereotypical type dressed in black, wearing enough silver to choke a werewolf, with names that remind one of goddesses or constellations. Some were gentler on fashion,…

On June 6th, my 51st published work, WHEN TONY MET ADAM, an e-short-story about characters from my Troubleshooters series, was released.  It features Navy SEAL Tony Vlachic and movie actor Adam Wyndham, who also happens to be my most popular character Jules Cassidy’s ex-boyfriend.  I wrote this story in part to celebrate the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and in part to show readers what happened during the months between the end of ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (TS #12), where Tony and Adam have a chance meeting, and HOT PURSUIT (TS #15), where it’s made clear that the two men have been romantically involved for quite some time. But June 6th was also a special day for me for another reason entirely.  It was Day One of shooting for THE PERFECT WEDDING, a SAG ultra-low budget feature-length movie that I co-wrote and that I’m producing this summer. A quick description of the movie:  The Perfect Wedding is the story of two gay men, Paul (Eric Aragon) and Gavin (Jason T. Gaffney), who fall in love when they spend a holiday weekend at Paul’s parents’ house, where they gather to help plan Paul’s sister Alana’s (Apolonia Davalos) wedding.  The question…

Everybody knows what their own flaws are.  Ask any woman for her biggest flaw and she’s not going to need a minute to think it over.  Short legs.  Small boobs.  No waist.  Yellow teeth.  Dimply thighs.  The list is endless, but more to the point, it’s prompt.  We spend a fortune trying to fix these things.  We are not unaware. Writers are no different.  We throw our books out there with a kiss and a prayer but we’re fully aware of their fatal flaws.  We know what our weaknesses as writers are.  We know where our books fall short.  Believe me, we’d fix it if we could but since we can’t we just have to hope that whatever it is people like about our books is done well enough (this time) that they’ll forgive us our shortcomings.   And in each book, we try harder. For me, it’s setting.  I’m dismal at setting.  My characters have fabulous conversations.  It’s snappy patter and witty dialogue at every turn.  Unfortunately, they have their conversations in space because I’ve neglected to give the reader even the barest sketch of a setting.  Which is totally my fault because I’m a dialogue junkie and when I…

Amish Country Mystery #6  March 2011 On Sale: February 22, 2011 Featuring: Michael Branden; Caleb Troyer; Bruce Robertson 224 pages ISBN: 0452296714 EAN: 9780452296718 Paperback $13.00 Add to Wish List Mystery Amateur Sleuth, Inspirational Fiction Amish Buy at Amazon.com Even the Plain People have mysteries to solve Separate From The World by P. L. Gaus As another college year draws to an end, Professor Michael Branden is weary after nearly thirty years of teaching. Sitting in his office on a warm spring day, he receives an unexpected visit from an Amish man who claims his brother, a dwarf like himself, has been murdered. Their discussion of the odd details of the case is interrupted by a commotion on campus, which turns out to be the apparent suicide of a young college woman, who it seems has leapt to her death from the college bell tower. The investigations of these two deaths become intertwined as Professor Branden again teams up with Pastor Cal Troyer and Sheriff Bruce Robertson to seek explanations for these bizarre events. Set against the rift between two Amish factions, one participating in a college study of genetic traits particular to their community and the other rejecting any…

I currently write the Dragonfire series of paranormal romances, a series which features dragon shape shifter heroes called the Pyr. Each book focuses on the firestorm of one dragon dude, which occurs when he meets the one woman who can be his mate. Although the firestorm is about breeding — making more Pyr! — the romantic relationship ends up being a lot more complicated than that, and generally involves the dragon dude of choice learning or choosing to make a permanent relationship. I have a lot of fun with these guys and their preconceptions — as well as those of the women who win their hearts. I also like the action of these plots — since bad dragons are also attracted to the heat of the firestorm, and the best way to defeat the good dragons is to eliminate their mates and their chances for procreation, there are generally a lot of dragon fight scenes in these books too. In May, DARKFIRE KISS, # 6 in the series was released. What I want to talk about today, though, is organically spinning off a second series from a first one. My June release, FLYING BLIND, is the first book in a…

Rose Trilogy #1  September 2010 On Sale: September 7, 2010 Featuring: Nick Franco; Rose Kauffman; Hen 352 pages ISBN: 0764205749 EAN: 9780764205743 Paperback $14.99 Add to Wish List Inspirational Fiction Amish Buy at Amazon.com Perfect start to Amish trilogy: love, mystery & challenges The Thorn by Beverly Lewis Lancaster County, with its rolling meadows and secret byways, may seem idyllic, but it is not without its thorns. THE ROSE TRILOGY is the stirring saga of two Amish sisters on the fringes of the church, and the unforeseen discoveries that change their lives. Rose Kauffman, a spirited young woman, has a close friendship with the bishop’s foster son. Nick dresses Plain and works hard but stirs up plenty of trouble too. Rose’s sister cautions her against becoming too involved, but Rose is being courted by a good, Amish fellow, so dismisses the warnings. Meanwhile, Rose keeps house for an English widower but is startled when he forbids her to ever go upstairs. What is the man hiding? Rose’s older sister, Hen, knows more than she should about falling for the wrong man. Unable to abandon her Amish ways, Hen is soon separated from her very modern husband. Mattie, their young daughter,…

I’ve written about Highlanders in medieval times, vampire Highlanders even, so why not Highland werewolves, too? In truth, I have a whole lot of Highland roots,—the daughter of the duke of Argyle who married the commoner MacNeill and ended up in Prince Edward Island—and many more Scots like the famous and infamous Playfairs and my Hawthorns who were in Ireland first, so it seems only logical that I would set a Highland romance involving werewolves there, too. The only problem being is that though Highlanders are still in abundance, real wolves are not. The problem with that? What if a non-werewolf type Highlander see wolves running across the moor? Right. So it can be a bit of a problem. And there’s still clan conflict going on. So I enjoyed showing clan disputes in the form of werewolf clan troubles! Have I been to the Highlands? Ah yes, last year in October, the most beautiful time of year for me. To my surprise, castle gardens were full of flowers and though the Scots everywhere were nice enough to apologize for their overcast weather, I loved it. In Central Texas, where it was still hot and sunny, I was glad to get…

Pleasant Valley #4 March 2011 On Sale: March 1, 2011 Featuring: Aaron Miller; Sarah Mast 320 pages ISBN: 0425238911 EAN: 9780425238912 Trade Size $14.00  Add to Wish List Inspirational Fiction Buy at Amazon.com Great emotional read… Sarah’s Gift by Marta Perry Can an Amish midwife earn her community’s trust and bring the joy of new babies to Pleasant Valley? Amish midwife Sarah Mast moves to Pleasant Valley for a fresh start. But her aging aunt can no longer run the birthing center, leaving most of the responsibility to Sarah. Among those skeptical of Sarah’s ability is neighbor Aaron Miller, who seems drawn to Sarah but pulls away when his own sister requests her services. And when a criminal complaint is filed against Sarah, she must pray for strength to defend her practice and A young woman must fight for what she believes is right in this lovely inspirational. Previous Picks

Imagine meeting someone who was young, handsome, protective, and handy when it came to fixing a leaky tap or taking out the villains. He’s the go-to guy in the community for problem solving and leadership. Everybody likes him. He oozes competence and has a great sense of humour. Unfortunately, he’s not only from the wrong side of the tracks, but is the wrong species entirely. Just to complicate things, this alpha male with the Ruger Blackhawk is the only person standing between you and an unknown killer who just beheaded your roommate. This is what happens to Talia Rostova, the fugitive vampire in FROSTBOUND, the latest in my Dark Forgotten series. When she meets Lore, the hellhound Alpha, the first thing he does is chain her to his bed for safekeeping. It makes perfect sense to him—even if she does a lot of yelling—until he stops thinking of Talia as simply a vampire and a murder suspect wanted by the cops. FROSTBOUND is an adventure story, but it’s also a very sensual tale about forbidden love and personal choices. For those who haven’t been following the series, it’s a stand-alone book. For those who have, you’ll recognize a lot of…