“No! It’s not time—you gotta go back!” I wanted to wrap my hands around the tender green, pointed tops of the crocuses and daffodils poking through last year’s mulch, intent on emerging despite the six inches of show that fell on them last week. They’re not the only ones impatient for flip-flop and jacket weather, for planting pansies in pots on our front door stoops, for dogs and kids to fill the streets with laughter after this unusually severe and relentless Midwest winter. A recent reader of my debut novel, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, commented on how she felt like one of the more prominent themes of the book is about emergence, and indeed, the characters in my novel have a lot to say about emerging: emerging from pain, emerging from the past, emerging from strongholds and insecurities and long untended soul wounds. For many, discarding woolen socks for flip-flops is the bravest sort of emergence manageable when we’ve been hurt and betrayed. Stretching toward the warmth of the spring sun feels more like yanking too hard on swollen, arthritic joints when grief causes us to hunker down in dark isolation for too long. In spite of all they go…

March 2014 On Sale: March 4, 2014 Featuring: Claudia Fletcher; Anothy Cross 352 pages ISBN: 1402275757 EAN: 9781402275753 Kindle: B00GM43GQ8 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish ListRomance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com A great supernatural pick for the day Kissing with Fangs by Ashlyn Chase Will she be willing to commit her heart for all eternity once the fangs come out? Claudia Fletcher has her MBA and a stellar resume, so when the bar she manages burns down, she could easily move on to bigger and better things. But something about the bar owner, Anothy Cross makes it impossible to leave. Anthony has never let on to the general public that he’s a vampire, and most of his staff members have no idea Boston Uncommon was a safe gathering place for supernaturals of all kinds. Now that it’s nothing but ash, the tentative peace among warring factions is starting to crumble. The last thing he wants to do is put Claudia in danger, but he also knows there’s no way he can let her go… Maybe you can fool Mother Nature. Fun paranormal romance with great supporting characters! Previous Picks

Let’s talk honestly about a major fiction turnoff: using a story as an excuse to preach, moralize or convince others of the author’s opinion. But we all have opinions, don’t we? (You know what they say about opinions, right? Something about we all have them just like that lower gastrointestinal sphincter and well…I just won’t go there). Our opinions are likely to ooze through what we write whether we want them to or not. So how do authors avoid being preachy? 1-Keep story as your first priority. Make the craft of telling a great story come way ahead of any message. 2-As the author, stay off stage. Let your characters interact and if you find yourself straying out of your point of view character’s head, make sure the opinion being expressed is your characters, not yours. If the author intrudes, it takes the reader out of the story. 3-Watch dialogue for clues that you might be “speechifying.” Any time a character has more than three sentences in a row is a yellow flag that should alert you during revisions to be sure the character isn’t getting preachy. 4-Articulate good arguments for the position opposite the one you hold. If you’re…

Several weeks back, my best friend sent me a picture of this fantastic bookstore sign: “It’s OK. You have our permission. These books are from our Young Adult Section. But it’s OK to read them even if you are no longer, by any stretch of the imagination, young. In fact, you’ll find they often have provocative themes and complex characters that are the equal of most of the books you’ll find on the ‘adult’ fiction shelves these days. So don’t sheepishly tell us it’s for your kids. We’ve read them, and you can too.” The sign-maker hit the nail on the head. In today’s fiction market, more and more adults are buying (and enjoying) Young Adult novels. According to Publishers Weekly, in 2013, “84% of YA books were purchased by consumers 18 or older” and a full 80% of these adults reported that they weren’t purchasing a gift, but “bought the book for themselves.” And yet there’s still that small percentage of readers asking, “Why in the heck would I ever want to read a book about teenagers?” Here are the answers I usually give: many popular movies are based on YA novels many bestsellers come from this genre YA…

There are times I look back on my teen years and wince. There were some very happy times but there were definitely hard times too. Those years are full of ups and downs and they can be very hard to understand. When I was a teen, everything was big. My emotions were big. Every fight with a friend, or crush I had on a boy felt like it would make or break my life. I think that’s pretty normal for the age group. I drew on those feelings when I wrote SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL. I remember those times when I felt everyone was beautiful except for me, when I thought I understood what true beauty was, but now I know I didn’t have a clue. If I could have had my adult knowledge as a teen things would have been so much easier. I had no idea who I was, but didn’t know it. I had no idea who I wanted to be. That’s why I wrote this book, and those are the kind of feelings I hope it helps people work through. I wrote this book for my daughters but also for ANY girl. Like Brynn, most of us…

What happens when a supporting character in a book gains a following? Lily was always going to get her own book, as she is one of The Three Diamonds, glamorous courtesans and the heroines in my Jewels of the Ton series. What I did not expect was how popular she was going to be with readers before her book, SAPPHIRES ARE AN EARL’S BEST FRIEND was even released. Readers definitely let me know they were ready for Lily’s story in emails, Facebook posts, and tweets. When are you going to write Lily’s book? I can’t wait for Lily’s story! Lily is my favorite character. Andrew is dreamy. What do you mean March of 2013? It’s the third book? I could sense readers’ impatience that Fallon’s book IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY was released before Lily’s. Even my friend emailed me, “I have wanted to read Lily’s book since before it was written.” No pressure! Especially considering it still hadn’t been written! I was really a little perplexed over the Lily-mania. Lily had a handful of scenes in WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND, and Andrew had even fewer. They only had one scene together before SAPPHIRES, and…

It’s been a long day of writing blogs, so I’ve gotten a bit punchy. What does that mean for you? YOU GET THE FUN BLOG!!!! Yes, the later it gets, the more bizarre I get. So we’re going to do some multiple choice about my book WHAT THE GROOM WANTS alternating with JADE LEE TRIVIA! 1. Radley (the hero of WHAT THE GROOM WANTS) is looking forward to a bright career as captain of his own ship when he steps off the boat and (a) is met by solicitors who tell him he’s suddenly become a duke! (Because that always happens) (b) celebrates his promotion with a dozen prostitutes of questionable age and gender. (c) rushes to Wendy’s house (she’s the heroine) and drags her to his loveshack where he makes mad, passionate love to her for 800 pages. (d) looks at the author and says, “Truly were you drunk when you wrote this?” Answer: D! Okay, A because soon after he steps off the boat, yes he’s told that he’s inherited a dukedom. 2. Jade Lee has multiple names and personalities. Which ones of the following are true: (a) She’s porn star Jade Lee and don’t you forget it!…

 “New York Times” Bestselling mystery author Joanne Fluke would like to invite you to join her for a dessert reception in celebration of her newest Hannah Swenson mystery,  “The Blackberry Pie Murder.” On Thursday, March 6th from 6-8pm we are turning the beautiful Chocolate Angel Café and Tearoom in Plano into Hannah’s bakery, where recipes from Mrs. Fluke’s award-winning series will be served. Try a delicious mini blackberry pie, a gooey cinnamon roll, and a slice of delectable red velvet cake while Joanne talks about her series and signs copies of “The Blackberry Pie Murder.” A suggested donation of $35 covers the cost of the desserts and a copy of “The Blackberry Pie Murder” for you to take home. Space is limited, so please RSVP to Gwen Reyes at 972-741-0988972-741-0988 or [email protected] to secure your spot at the Joanne Fluke Dessert Reception.

The people of medieval Europe sometimes seem as if they are from another planet, their world view is so radically different from our own. How could people have had such blind faith, asked so few questions, expected so little of life, been satisfied with only the hope of heaven? It’s hard to imagine writing a compelling story populated only by docile, unimaginative people, and I am happy to report it is completely unnecessary to try. However valid the above generalizations may be, there was enough independence of thought and action in the Middle Ages to provide fertile ground for historical novelists. Vicki Leon has done a great service by compiling hundreds of profiles of “Uppity Women” for her series by that name. Although the protagonist of my new novel, THE MAPMAKER’S DAUGHTER (Sourcebooks, March 2014) is not one of Leon’s heroines because she is my invention, knowing that such women existed gave me a greater degree of license to create a woman who was doing more than stereotypical things like cooking gruel, making crone-like remarks, darning old socks, and dying in childbirth. Jewish matriarch Amalia Cresques makes many courageous choices during the course of her long life, decisions she recounts…

I admit it … I’m not a tidy person. It’s not in my nature. I don’t have a tidy mind. I certainly don’t have a tidy office. I find an empty desk and a neat office scary! Honestly, my brain freezes if there is too much tidiness! I like stuff and I like it around me. I like things on the wall, things on the shelves, my working tools on my desk and a cat or two lazing in the sun to top things off (although preferably not on my work!). I like photos and books and trinkets and my collections of penguins, Moomins, hockey memorabilia and autographs. I like cards I’ve been sent, my book covers and writing awards, gifts my family or friends have made me or that the kids I used to teach gave me. Everything in my office makes me smile and I’m sure it gives me some kind of positive energy for my work. People think that because I’m not tidy, I’m also disorganised. I like to say that I’m untidily organised. There is a method to the clutter and I know where things are. A place for everything and everything in its place –…