I envy people that can plot every chapter of their book before they start, seriously I do. My best writing buddy does this and I have to say I’m in awe of her skills. I’ve tried to do the character wheel, goal motivation and conflict to help me out but it doesn’t work for me. I tend to go for walks in the early morning with a germ of an idea rolling around in my brain. If I’m lucky it will simmer away nicely until there is something to work with. It might be one sentence or a name. I wrote my first rural romance from seeing a sign on a fence naming the station if surrounded. That is when I sit down and my fingers start racing over the keys. If I’m lucky it will flow nicely. Some days I have to literally pull the words out as I go, some days the words pour out. With RED HOT, it was the location that first struck me. I had a trip to San Francisco and fell in love with the coast road. It took my breath away. I knew I had to write a story set in that area….

Red Stone Security #1 Kindle: B007ED610Y e-Book Amazon Barnes and Noble Kobo Books iTunes Bookstore No One to Trust – ON SALE for $0.99 cents one week only! Praise for the novels of Katie Reus: “Explosive danger and enough sexual tension to set the pages on fire!” — New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy “Sexy suspense at its finest.” – Laura Wright, USA Today bestselling author “Lusty, heartfelt and shows that love can conquer all.” — RT Book Reviews (4 stars) “A well-plotted, excellently delivered emotional and sensual ride that grabs hold and doesn’t let go!…Ms. Reus delivers mystery, suspense and a romance nothing short of heart pounding!” —Night Owl Reviews No One to Trust, Book 1 – Red Stone Security Series Computer security specialist Elizabeth Martinez has never been able to turn her back on her brother Benny. When his risky lifestyle finally lands him in harm’s way, Elizabeth finds herself dragged into the dangerous underworld with him and into the cross hairs of one of Miami’s death-dealing drug lords. Only after her ex-boyfriend saves her does she realize she might have no choice but to depend on the one man she has tried so desperately to forget….

How have our romances changed in the last ten years? Because tastes rarely stay exactly the same in our reading, television, music and art, and romance fiction is really no different. The basics are still there but what changes? I wrote about the war affecting our characters in this week’s Kirkus Reviews. Check it out! I love to talk about it. I had an interesting and very thought-provoking book club this week–after the tragic sniper shooting in Texas of best-selling writer Chris Kyle, the conversation turned to the heroines in our books. The realization as a nation that we’ve spent over 10 years at war is unsettling. Most of us know at least one family who has been directly affected by one of the wars, and it became apparent that even our reading has changed. Perhaps subtly, but if you look back 10 years you can see patterns. First, our heroines’ occupations are no longer the secretary or assistant, but they are the doctor, the pilot, the police officer or in the case of most urban fantasy or paranormal romances, the woman is the primary protagonist and kicks ass. Our heroes aren’t just covert organization mystery men, but Special Forces…

Two bestselling paranormal romance authors team up with two hot new, soon-to-be stars in this vampire-filled anthology. Kerrelyn Sparks, Pamela Palmer,  Amanda Arista, and Kim Falconer are all teaming up to give readers what they want—Vampires Gone Wild! V is for VampWoman by Kerrelyn Sparks Pamela decides to shed her prim and proper ways for spandex and a mask to help fight the Malcontents. Now if only she wasn’t so distracted by the sexy vampire fighting by her side… A Forever Love by Pamela Palmer Trapped in Vamp City, Lukas has been unable to return to the beauty who stole his heart. But now that she stumbled into his world, it will take every ounce of cunning he possesses to keep her alive. First Dates are Hell by Amanda Arista Valiance’s first date in a hundred years is going great…until they’re attacked in the parking lot and quiet, unassuming Esme turns out to be way more than she appears. Blood and Water by Kim Falconer Beneath the waves of San Francisco Bay lives a vampire race who wants nothing to do with the “landers” except to feed on them. But when Stellan sets eyes on Angeline, everything changes. *** About…