Yes, I got into it. Poor friends, not only did you have to hear me spout off at book club, which by the way was a delightful evening with our guest Julie Ann Walker and filled with forbidden foods (yummy, pancakes!) but it also devolved into a roaring conversation on when authors share TOO MUCH! But sticking today’s topic of the week, what do YOU think about the collaboration of our beloved Harlequin books and the reality show THE BACHELOR? Check it out on Kirkus Reviews and tell me what you think! Read the article

When people find out that I’m a writer, the first question most ask is, Where do you get your inspiration? I’ve thought about this a great deal, because it would actually be very useful to know where I find it! But those little sparks of inspiration can make themselves felt at the oddest moments and not always when it’s convenient. Let’s put it this way – inspiration doesn’t come on demand, no matter what music I play, or how quiet the house is, or how close that deadline looms. I wish it did. Truth is – my inspiration sulks. She is the diva that knows exactly how valuable she is and comes out of that dressing room when she’s ready. Not a moment before. And on a good day, when the stars are aligned, she puts on a show I don’t want to miss. Which is inconvenient if I’m supposed to be doing something else. I know I’ve always been a daydreamer and inspiration has treated me like her plaything, at her beck and call. I vividly remember a school PE teacher yelling at me on the basketball court for looking as if I was in “Paradise Lost”. I was…

There are some mornings I wake up and I have no idea who I am. Doesn’t that sound like the premise for a thriller or a sci-fi movie? Well, it’s actually the story of my professional life, and it’s not necessarily a confusing or terrible thing. I use more than one pen name, and to tell you the truth, I love having multiple identities.  🙂 I suppose I’m comfortable with this because, in regular life, I’m an eclectic reader. I also love all kinds of music, food, entertainment, you name it. So it follows that this would branch out into my writing. One side of me is a sucker for a good rom-com, another loves being frightened by horror stories, and yet another is a fantasy geek. Allow me to introduce myselves then…. Identity number one: Crystal Green (author of romance, mostly for Harlequin Special Edition and Blaze) Crystal’s first book was published by Special Edition way back at the turn of the century. That’s over 13 years ago now!  One of her first books took place in a small, fictional Kentucky town called Kane’s Crossing and, from there, she was asked to write Montana Mavericks books, Fortunes of Texas…

With Super Bowl XLVI coming up many people are planning to be couch potatoes while eating unhealthy snacks as they enjoy the game. Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year right behind Thanksgiving, and if you vowed to lose weight in 2013, the Super Bowl may be another obstacle to overcome. Celebrity Nutritionist and author of BREAD IS THE DEVIL (St. Martin’s Griffin/ December 2012), Heather Bauer has a perfect game plan to continue your healthy eating even at a Super Bowl party. Prior to Kickoff Ensure that you aren’t starving by the time your Super Bowl party starts. Make sure that you eat regular meals (i.e. breakfast, lunch, and a PM snack) before you arrive at your party so that you can perform well at game-time. The Defense As a Super Bowl party guest, you will be playing on someone else’s turf, and so you will need to be on the defensive. When you get to the party, hold off on hitting the food table. Converse with the other guests, and grab a glass of water to help fill you up. Allow yourself a small taste of everything at the party that you want….

I’m happy to tell you that THREAD ON ARRIVAL, the fifth book in my embroidery mystery series, was released in December. To celebrate the event, I’m offering one lucky Fresh Fiction reader a copy of the book in either paperback, Kindle, or Nook format.  It’s easy to enter the giveaway—simply leave a comment below with your email address and the format you’d prefer if you’re the winner.  In THREAD ON ARRIVAL, Marcy Singer gets hung up on a tapestry that may lead to sunken treasure and be the motive for murder…. When Marcy’s friend Reggie, Tallulah Falls’ local librarian, asks her to teach an embroidery class as therapy for domestic abuse victims, she gladly agrees. One of the women wants to flee from her abusive husband but is afraid to leave her elderly father-in-law behind. And she thinks Marcy can help. The elderly gentleman shows Marcy a tapestry his grandmother made, which he believes reveals the location of pirate treasure off the Oregon coast. He’ll move to a shelter—provided Marcy takes the tapestry to keep it safe. But when the police arrive the next day to escort him out, they find the old man murdered and the house ransacked. Does…

Since DOOMED came out, I’ve been asked hundreds of times about why I chose to go the cyber route with the Pandora’s Box myth.  So when I was trying to come up with a topic for this blogpost, I thought telling you a little about the book—and my motivation for it—might be the way to go. I’ve always loved the Pandora myth and have always wanted to write a book from her point of view because I think she got a bad rap (as women tend to do in mythology). In the original Greek myth Zeus and Hephaestus mold Pandora from clay as a punishment to Prometheus for stealing fire from the gods — she was specifically created to bring trouble to him and to do exactly what she did, so I find it very hard to blame her for that. Prometheus, of course, knows Zeus is unhappy with him and knows he wouldn’t be sending him a gift without strings attached, so he refuses Pandora. He warns his brother, Epimetheus, to do the same, but Epimetheus is less of a planner and much more impetuous than Prometheus. He accepts Pandora in what is one of the first love triangles…

2013—Not Just Another Year by NYT Bestseller Dianna Love Do you start a new year anticipating big things, changes or new directions only to find by the end that you’ve just checked off another year with nothing remarkable that happened for you personally? Some years back, I decided that it shouldn’t have to be that way, and came up with a method to keep myself focused and move those changes I was after from dreams to reality.  As an example,  I’ll share what I did to make 2013 different. I’m constantly in motion, so my world moves along quickly because of me more than anything else, because I like to be busy and productive.  But I wanted to do even more in 2012.  In particular, I wanted to write more.  That meant I had to make changes in my schedule since I tend to be on the road a LOT every year. Change doesn’t happen by accident, especially when we have busy lives.  We have to be willing to give up something to get what we want. To write more and to spend time with my very supportive husband, I had to say “no” to speaking invitations, even when I…

December 2012 On Sale: December 18, 2012 Featuring: Jillian Montgomery; Simon 400 pages ISBN: 044658293X EAN: 9780446582933 Kindle: B007ZFIQEA Paperback / e-Book $7.99 Add to Wish List   Romance SuspenseBuy at Amazon.com Best of 2012 of our Fresh Fiction reviewers Double Danger by Dee Davis Ignoring his instincts once cost Simon a vital op-and the life of his best friend, Ryan. Now as escalating, violent attacks hit A-Tac, another person he loves is in danger. Homeland Security agent Jillian Montgomery’s investigation has suddenly brought her back into Simon’s life, and unless they can learn to trust each other, their dangerous mission will fail. After her husband Ryan’s death, Jillian dedicates herself to saving others. She can’t afford to be tempted by Simon, even though his every touch reignites the desire they once shared. But in the last desperate minutes before disaster strikes, their second chance at love might be the most lethal trap of all . . . Can he reign in his instincts and let her do her job? If the bombs and bad guys don’t get Jillian, will Simon have a chance? Previous Picks

Play-by-Play #3 March 2012 ISBN: 0425245527 EAN: 9780425245521 Kindle: B005GSYYLW Trade Size / e-Book $15.00 Add to Wish List RomanceBuy at Amazon.com Fresh Fiction Reviewers Best Reads of 2012 Taking A Shot by Jaci Burton If you want to score, you have to get in the game… The last thing Jenna Riley needs is more sports in her life. While her brothers are off being athletic superstars, she’s stuck running the family’s sports bar, whether she likes it or not. Then in walks pro hockey stud Tyler Anderson. As much as Jenna would like to go to the boards with him, she’s vowed to never fall for a jock-even one as hot as Ty. Ty, intrigued by the beautiful bar owner, becomes a regular. He senses that Jenna wants to do something more with her life. And as he gains her trust, the passion between them grows, as does Ty’s insistence that Jenna should start living for herself. With his encouragement, Jenna starts to believe it, too… But first, Jenna has to figure out what she wants, what she needs, who she loves, and if she has the passion and pride to take a shot at having it all-including Ty……

I get a buzz writing about characters I call a “blank canvas”. Not knowing much about their own history, they’re free to invent themselves as Adam – a baby found at sea amid the wreckage of a ship – does in BIRTHRIGHT. He’s not my first blank canvas character. In MAN WITHOUT A PAST, the hero was found at a bus stop, his family unknown. My CODE OF THE OUTBACK romantic suspense series dealt with three brothers fostered by one couple. The worldwide success of family history TV shows tells us how universal is the desire to know ourselves, and to make up what we don’t know. My fascination with family history began with my own parents who cut all ties with their past after emigrating to Australia when I was seven. Much as I wish I were an alien, and friends have their suspicions LOL, I know I’m basically from English stock with some Celtic mysticism thrown in. But growing up without any close relatives made me wonder about people like Adam, and anyone who is adopted or lost to family in some way. Adam is a sexy-as-sin genius (more wishful thinking, Valerie?) so he isn’t given to fantasizing….