When I was growing up, secretaries didn’t get much air time. There was Janine from Ghostbusters—she was cool—but even she was a side character, around to make smart comments, have a crush on Egon, and maybe have an adventure or two in the cartoons. (Of course I watched the cartoons. Child of the eighties, here.) It wasn’t a job that really lent itself to main-character status. Except it should have. I realized that when I grew up, took a couple secretarial jobs myself, and realized that I was no damn good at it. There were too many moving parts; too many requests coming in from all over at the same time; too many strange people to whom I had to be nice but not too accommodating and honest but not too honest. I’m a cranky introvert (think Henry Higgins with an extra X chromosome) who can’t remember where she put her keys half the time. (Didn’t help that one of my main employers was a guy my friends and I now call Vile Pantsless Ex-Boss, for…reasons.) The other thing I learned from my failed attempts at gainful employment is just how much power and information a good secretary can have….

Hello to all the readers here at Fresh Fiction! It’s wonderful to be back here again! In my brand new fourth book in the Relics of Merlin series, EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT, readers again enter my magical Victorian London where titles are determined by the level of magical power inherited down through the ages from the old sorcerer of legend, Merlin. At the lowest level of the aristocracy are the baronets—shape-shifters who are immune to all magic and possess the uncanny ability to sniff out any of Merlin’s relics. Since the relics hold magic even stronger than the royals’, they have become the secret spies of many rulers, and are feared and despised by most of the aristocracy. And because of their unique immunity to magic, shape-shifters play a significant part in all the books in the series. In EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT, my heroine is a were-panther who gets mixed up with one of Merlin’s relics…and the enchanted knight who has been trapped within it for centuries. The last time I was here talking about a Relics of Merlin book, I asked the question: What type of shape-shifter would you like to be? The answers were fascinating! So this time I would like…

A few weeks ago I was in Dallas for one of my favorite events of the year: Readers and ‘Ritas. Tidbits of fun included gifting Pat with a Big Donkey Dick mug (she begged me for it). Yes, I have pictures. Also the PJ party including live erotic reads which, incidentally, was where I won the Big Donkey Dick mug. We had some good clean fun too! Discussions about favorite historical heroes holds a special place in my memories as well as a sneak out for sushi with a couple of my favorite gal pals. And by the way, I was the best shapeshifting Rose from The Titanic in the costume contest! If you want more dish on Readers and ‘Rita’s, there are lots of pictures. Or you could also come next year (yeah!). But what I wanted to talk about was a conversation I had with Sara Reyes during a lull in the festivities. Okay, so there really wasn’t a lull, but I was tired so I plopped down and started asking questions. We started talking about merchandising. About the advent of serious merchandising with Star Wars and then it shifted to the music industry. That music is given away relatively cheaply, but…

How to Stay Merry while Meeting Your Word Count! My schedule has been crazy the last few months. I’ve turned in SILENCED, book #4 in my Alaskan Courage series, then completed the revisions and line edits, started the first draft of the final book in the series, planned my oldest daughter’s wedding, and continued homeschooling my youngest, all while marketing book #3, and squeezing in Thanksgiving. I imagine your schedule doesn’t look much different—scores of to-do’s on your list, and only so many hours each day to get them done—especially now, during the holidays. I wish everything stopped in December, but as writers, many of us still have deadlines to meet during these busy weeks. So, in celebration of you, my fellow word warriors, I’ve put together my top five ways to use your senses to survive the season, keep your sanity, and meet your word count: 1. Sound: Need a quick reprieve from the hustle and bustle?  Find a place of calm while you write with the soothing sound of waves or birdsong on SoundDrown. Hot writer tip: Another good way to get in the writing zone is to play your story soundtrack (if you’ve compiled one), or use…

Do you remember the old Gothic novels by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt? If you do, you probably can list those special ingredients these authors’ books contained. These novels, some of them written a good fifty years ago and more, usually featured a young woman alone in meager circumstances. She may or may not be an orphan, but is usually penniless, or a reluctant heiress. She finds herself in a creaky old house, a drafty manor, or in some similar location. Said young woman might encounter helpers along the way as well as adversaries. But the biggest element of these Gothic romances was the “big secret,” besides the feeling that the heroine would always be looking over her shoulder. There’s a darkly brooding hero, who usually has a tortured past and even darker secrets. The attraction between said hero and heroine practically sizzles. I remember reading books like this when I was much younger, and even then, the books were considered old. I loved shivering during the parts when the heroine and hero were together and I could feel the attraction between them—usually forbidden love. I remember turning page after page as the heroine alternately fled and faced an unseen…