Here’s a little secret about me and my writing:  when it comes to how my stories unfold, I’m not always the one with my hands firmly on the steering wheel. What’s more, I like it that way. Yes, I know just how crazy that sounds, but that doesn’t make it any less true. When I sit down to start a book, at the most all I’ve written is a short summary of how I envision the story unfolding. This synopsis is only about seven or eight double-spaced pages long. Considering my final manuscript will top out at around 380 pages, there’s a lot of room for new ideas and even new characters to pop into the flow of the story. While true for all of my books, it was definitely true when I wrote HER KNIGHT’S QUEST. I knew Duncan, the hero, would be travelling alone to a distant abbey. I knew the heroine, Lady Lavinia, would be there. But starting out, I didn’t know anything about the sisters who lived there–not even their names. I was aware there was a young girl living at the abbey, but I didn’t know why and certainly never expected to have Sarra play…

February 2013 On Sale: February 5, 2013 Featuring: Sera Miller; Fletcher 335 pages ISBN: 1619212544 EAN: 9781619212541 Kindle: B009H6SB68 e-Book $5.50 Add to Wish List  Romance HistoricalBuy at Amazon.com A delicious historical Wayward One by Lorelie Brown He’ll protect her with every vicious bone in his body. During her ten years at the prestigious Waywroth Academy, Sera Miller clung to a strict code of propriety to shield herself from rumors that she isn’t an orphan at all. She’s a bastard. Now she wishes she had never allowed her friends to talk her into snooping into the mysterious source of her tuition. Her benefactor isn’t the unknown father she dreamed of one day meeting, but Fletcher Thomas—underworld tycoon, gambling den owner, and a man so dangerously mesmerizing that he could spark the scandal Sera has worked so hard to avoid. Fletcher is only two steps away from leaving the life of crime he inherited from his father. First he plans to join an aboveboard railroad consortium, then claim the one thing his ill-gotten gains have kept safe all these years—Sera. With every wicked caress, Sera fights harder to remember society’s rules and reject the painful memories his touch resurrects. Accepting Fletcher’s…

I’m very glad to be here at Fresh Fiction today! I thought I’d take a minute of your time and tell you how THE GEEK GIRL AND THE SCANDALOUS EARL went from an idea, to a manuscript, to a real, live book. As I was thinking about this, holy cow, it just occurred to me when this whole thing started. In the summer of 2011, I decided to attend my first writer’s conference. The only book I had ready at the time was out on submission, and I was hoping for a “yes” that never came. I wanted to hedge my bets, so even though there was barely two months before the conference, I started writing THE GEEK GIRL AND THE SCANDALOUS EARL. I wrote quickly, and I poured myself into the story. I’ve never written that feverishly. But the holy grail of a face-to-face with real live editors and agents was a powerful motivator, and I got the story done. It wasn’t polished as perfectly as I liked, but it was done, and it was enough to be able to pitch it. I did lots of research about pitching. I came up with a one sheet, sort of a…

Yesterday, Harlequin released a press release revealing a seven–figure two–book deal with bestselling author Sylvia Day, which will launch a new line of books, ‘Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin’. The two books are going to be titled, Afterburn (available August 15, 2013) and Aftershock (available November 15, 2013), which will feature two “fun, fearless Cosmopolitan–type heroines as well as delicious, dangerous heroes,” states Sylvia in the press release. About Sylvia Day: Sylvia is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and #1 international bestselling author of more than a dozen award–winning novels sold in 39 countries. Best known for her erotic Crossfire series (featuring BARED TO YOU), a main competitor against 50 Shades of Grey. Author’s website: www.sylviaday.com Link to Press Release About ‘Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin’: Harlequin will publish two original ‘Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin’ per month, beginning in August 2013. The novels will feature strong narratives centering on modern young women living the free–spirited and outgoing lifestyle espoused by the international magazine. The ebooks will bear both the Cosmopolitan and Harlequin logos on their covers and will be shorter in length (approximately 30,000 words per title). Available wherever e–books are sold. Click for…

One of my favorite parts of writing my Amish Mysteries is the time I get to spend in Lancaster County, PA, prior to each new book. The tidbits I learn each and every time I visit the area where the largest contingent of Old Order Amish live (followed closely by Holmes County, Ohio) can—and do—fill pages and pages of my research notebook. And, sure enough, somewhere in those notes is the beginning of my plot. Take for instance my newest release, ASSAULTED PRETZEL (book # 2 in the series). That story was birthed around the following facts: * Old Order Amish families average about seven children each, with some homes having as many as twelve. It is because of these large families that the Amish population is doubling every 20 years. * With such rapid growth, the amount of available farm land in Lancaster County is shrinking. It is for this reason that many Amish either a) move to another part of the country to find land or b) find alternate ways to make money. I believe it was shortly after hearing that second fact that the story-generating wheels began to turn inside my head. Within days, I had the…

I’ve written a number of pets into my books. In part, because, well, I love animals.  But also because I think animals bring an interesting and fun element to the stories and insights into the characters. There is only so much we, as writers, can show of a character through introspection or even action.  It’s often in their interactions with other characters that the readers come to know them best.  The interaction between the hero and heroine is what the story is all about, of course.  But secondaries bring so much to the story. They are the confidante, the sounding board, the challenger or possibly the instigator that give the reader that extra peek into just what this character is made of. Does the big, bad, tough cop melt over a cuddly cat—but only in secret? Does the heroine have a fear of dogs brought on by a bad experience, but tries to hide it so the hero doesn’t think less of her?  Does one of the characters kick at an animal, treating it badly?  All of these actions give us an instant snapshot into what kind of person that character is.  Yes, we can definitely use other methods to…

Warriors of the Mist #2 March 2013 On Sale: March 5, 2013 Featuring: Duncan; Lady Lavinia 338 pages ISBN: 0451239598 EAN: 9780451239594 Kindle: B008UCJ6E6 Paperback / e-Book $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Romance ParanormalBuy at Amazon.com Mixing up historical with paranormal, one of our favorite combinations Her Knight’s Quest by Alexis Morgan Can she trust her heart and trust to a mysterious warrior? They are cursed by the gods, and war is their salvation. Love is their deliverance. For centuries, five legendary warriors have braved battles shoulder to shoulder. But now they must divide and conquer as lone champions against evil. Duncan, a scholar at heart, is drawn to an isolated abbey rumored to hold the answers to countering the terror unleashed by Duke Keirthan. Inside the cloistered walls lies the hidden collection of forbidden lore on dark magic. But the real key to the salvation Duncan seeks-both for the people of Agathia and his soul-is the abbess herself, Lady Lavinia. Hunted by the duke, who seeks to harvest her powers, Lavinia knows Duncan wants to help her. But can she trust the tortured warrior with her secrets? In the end, it is only by joining forces that…

When you mention the words “cozy mystery” these days, what probably comes to mind most often is “female sleuth.” That’s because 99% of cozy mysteries these days do have female main characters, usually amateurs, who do the crime-solving. Two writers who have bucked that trend recently are Jeffrey Cohen, with his Elliot Freed series, and Miranda James (aka me), with the “Cat in the Stacks” series featuring not one, but two, males as lead characters: Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat, Diesel. Charlie Harris is a widower with two grown children, and in the first book, MURDER PAST DUE, he has moved back to his hometown, Athena, Mississippi, after the death of his wife. About a year after the move he found a kitten in the parking lot at the public library. He named the kitten Diesel for his rumbling purr and discovered that Diesel was a Maine coon. The average male Maine coon often weighs about twenty-five pounds, but Diesel (based on an actual Maine coon I once met) weighs closer to forty pounds in OUT OF CIRCULATION. Charlie is also a librarian, and when that word is mentioned, most people probably again think “female,” since the profession…

As a child, I watched the Wizard of Oz faithfully every spring.  Somewhere along the line, it occurred to me that I have a bit of all four main characters inside me.  I’ve always longed for something different in my life.  That’s the Dorothy part.  However, I’d worry that, in searching for the ‘different’, what if I lost the ‘safe’?  Meet my Cowardly Lion.  There were also times when I questioned my heart – Tin Man – and many moments when my Scarecrow side wondered how smart I really was.  What would it be like, I used to think, to pick up and leave everything behind, to start again in some new and exciting place where I’d have no obligations and no need to explain myself or my actions to anyone.  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, hello freedom. Ah, but how would I live?  Would the people who matter to me be all right?  What if I didn’t like this new place?  Could I go back to who, where and what I’d been before?  And if I couldn’t, what then?  Hmm… Maybe a better idea would be to stick with the safe and only make minor forays into the different.  Or…

Okay, so there’s no Princess of Salamria, but bear with me… As I’m writing this post, I’m sitting at the kitchen table (which is littered with coffee mugs, cereal bowls, newspapers, crayons, and a vase filled with dead tulips) and kids are running around me.  They are yelling “Arrrrrrr Mateeeee” as they play some crazed version of pirates that involves high-pitched screaming, and the use of empty toilet paper rolls as telescopes.  The day started at 5 AM, thanks to kids who aren’t old enough to know that weekends are for sleeping in.  The play room is off-limits today because the cat decided since she wasn’t getting enough attention, she should pee all over the rug in there, and I haven’t had a chance to haul it out to clean. My husband is away at a conference and I’m at home with the kiddos this weekend. But this is all pretty typical stuff, right?  I mean, who wants to hear a mom drone on about her day with the kids?  All you parents out there have changed dirty diapers, cleaned up countless messes, and tried to either ignore or soothe toddler meltdowns.  Why would anyone want to read a book…