I think authors hear voices. Different ones at different times, all wanting their stories to be told. Sometimes I’m a little wary with the voices and story ideas…but these days, things are crazy in the real world. During the release time of RISING ASSETS, right now, we are moving houses. With a hubby, two kids, two dogs and an insane cat, I am trying to move after living in our current home for twelve years. I am losing my mind, but I’ve found a lot of lost socks. We’re only moving a few miles away, up on a mountain with a gorgeous view of a lake and more mountains that reach all the way to Canada. This is my dream house, and I really want to move. At least I thought I did until I actually started boxing up stuff. My son packed his room this weekend to take up to the new house, and thus has been wearing the same shorts to school all week. My daughter has packed nothing, and frankly, I’m afraid to look under her bed. There have to be monsters down there…or more socks. Lots of socks. The cat is running around like he’s on…

Thank you Miz Sara and everyone at Fresh Fiction for letting me make a stop here on my recipe blog tour for THE RED-HOT CHILI COOK-OFF. I’m so excited about the second book set in Cadillac, Texas. There’s a brand new lingerie shop in town called Bless My Bloomers, run by three cousins, Carlene, Alma Grace and Patrice. And things are heating up at the panty shop because Carlene found some bikini under pants in her husband Lenny Joe’s briefcase and they damn sure did not belong to her. Now Alma Grace is the president of the Easter program committee at the local church and she’s headed for a committee meeting. In Texas, folks don’t just go to a committee meetings empty handed. No, sir! It’s a fine time to take along food and Alma Grace arrived at the church fellowship hall with a platter of jalapeno poppers and a dozen peanut butter cupcakes. Lord, no, Alma Grace didn’t make them herself! Alma Grace could sweet talk a nun into a black lace corset and fishnet hose but she couldn’t make toast without it resulting in sirens and fire trucks. God bless her mama’s cook. An excerpt about what happened…

HOW TO HANDLE A COWBOY is the first volume in my Cowboys of Decker Ranch series. I just finished the first draft of the second book in the series (HOW TO WRANGLE A COWBOY) and I can’t believe how much fun I’m having. It’s obvious that romance readers love to read series books, and writers love to write them. From Nora Roberts to J.R. Ward, from Debbie Macomber to E.L. James, authors are giving readers what they crave: books that allow them to really get to know a group of characters, so opening the next book is like joining old friends. Books that give readers a sense of place, and create towns they want to return to again and again. Books where favorite characters drop in for surprise appearances. I wrote six stand-alone books before I embarked on a series. Too many times, I’d read books that were second or third in a series and found myself confused, or felt left out of little treats that were clearly “in-jokes” for returning readers. I’d also read books where the author spent page after page of Book Two summarizing the first book in the series. I read one where nothing new happened…

Every author is different in how he/she writes a book, but most fall into one of two main categories – either a plotter or a pantster. I’m a pantster, meaning I write by the seat of my pants. Or in my case it’s more precise to say my characters tell a story – in their own sweet time – and I just get it typed up. It’s a tough way to do business because in the real world of publishing, editors want to know what a book will be about long before I’ve written it. There’s a lot of overlap in publishing. For instance, right now DASH OF PERIL is out, BACK TO BUCKHORN, HARD KNOCKS, and NO LIMITS are turned in, and I’ve just gotten started on writing HOLDING STRONG. Busy, busy! There’s plenty of promo to do on DASH OF PERIL. (Yay, thank you!) I just wrapped up page proofs on the other three. At the same time my editor wants a summary of what HOLDING STRONG will be about, along with character descriptions, so they can start conferring on covers. All I can tell her about the plot is that it’ll end happy. ::grin:: I know what…

The application to be an Avon Addict (Group 4!) has just gone live. For those who don’t know, the Avon Addicts program is a “super-reader” program by Avon Romance, and it lasts for approximately six months, during which Avon Addicts get exclusive access to author chats, events, blog tours, books, galleys and more. The application—and more info on the program—can be found here

If I told you you’d love a hero who was frightened of literary societies and muffins, would you believe me? Probably not, but read on, and maybe I can change your mind. For me to enjoy a romance, I have to love the hero. Generally I like one who’s strong, tough, and honorable, a take-charge kind of guy, the kind of guy who relishes trouble, who’s a fighter as well as a lover. But sometimes an unexpected hero simply arrives on the page. The hero in THE WINTER BRIDE, Freddy Monkton-Coombes appeared in the previous book (THE AUTUMN BRIDE—a RITA finalist) as a minor character. He was the hero’s best friend, a sidekick kind of guy. He’s neither tough, or take-charge —he’s a beta-hero, a funny, charming, bad-boy rake. Freddy isn’t even a heroic kind of name. But somehow, I knew he had to be the hero of the next book. Even though he’s horrified by things like literary societies and muffins. Freddy on the literary society Damaris (the heroine) attends: “The horror stories those girls read are enough to make a fellow’s hair stand on end.” Max frowned. “Horror stories? They don’t read horror stories, only entertaining tales of…

You don’t know me (or maybe you do… that would be awesome!), but I’m a mystery writer. I’m the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery Series and A Magical Dressmaking mystery series. A KILLING NOTION, book 5 in the Harlow Cassidy series, released today! When you aren’t a regular on a blog, it can be hard to know what to write, and how to present it to a brand new audience. Should I be funny, like in my books? Serious, because murder is serious business? Or some combination of the two, perhaps? The truth is, I’m no stand up comedian (not by a long shot), but like any fleshed out character, I’m a combination of things. I love a good mystery (cutting my teeth on Nancy Drew, graduating to Agatha Christie, and branching out from there), read the occasional romance (Julia Quinn makes me laugh), but stick mostly with women’s and/or literary fiction (The Help is a favorite). How, then, did I come to write mysteries, and why are some of my mysteries sexy and sassy (Lola Cruz) and some very down home (Harlow Cassidy’s A Magical Dressmaking mystery series)? The short answer is, I like the mystery device. What…

April 2014 On Sale: April 1, 2014 Featuring: Marie-Victoria; Lelwyn Myrddyn 384 pages ISBN: 1423157427 EAN: 9781423157427 Kindle: B00HEVTPHC Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List Young Adult ParanormalBuy at Amazon.com #WhatsNewTuesday The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz Magic is power, and power is magic… Once they were inseparable, just two little girls playing games in a mighty castle. Now Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the mightiest empire in the world, and Aelwyn Myrddyn, a bastard mage, face vastly different futures. Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second. With the help of her Merlin, Eleanor has maintained a stranglehold on the world’s only source of magic. While the enchanters faithfully serve the crown, the sun will never set on the Franco-British Empire. As the annual London Season begins, the great and noble families across the globe flaunt their wealth and magic at parties, teas, and, of course, the lavish Bal du Drap d’Or, the Ball of the Gold Cloth. But the talk of the season is Ronan Astor, a social-climbing American with only her dazzling beauty to recommend her. Ronan is determined to make a good…

MAD ABOUT YOU is based on one of my favorite romance tropes, both as a reader and a writer–Best Friends to Lovers. Maybe I’m drawn to these types of stories because that’s how my husband and I got together. I’d just come out of a relationship when I moved into a group house where my future hubby was living with mutual friends. We shared the house for a whole year before we got together romantically. At first I thought he didn’t like me. Later I found out he was shy because he was attracted to me! Then we both went traveling, separately, and returned home within a few days of each other. I’ll never forget the first moment we saw each other again. It was like a scene from a movie. Time seemed to stop as we saw each other through new eyes. Suddenly, possibilities opened up for something more than friendship. Not long after that, on New Years Eve, we kissed for the first time. And the rest, as they say, is history. 🙂 Scott and Cassy in MAD ABOUT YOU had known each other much longer when the story begins. At seven years old, Scott set up a…