For me, writing Victorian mysteries is pure joy! First of all, I love the Victorian age. There was so much going on then; so many new discoveries. Transportation was fascinating, going from the horse-drawn age into the age of the horseless carriage. Gaslight was slowly giving way to electricity. Fashions had great variety, both women’s and men’s. Manners – now so many lost – were de rigor. The class system was alive and well, for good or evil, yet there were endless opportunities for anyone with ambition. Without question there were many dark sides to nineteenth century life, yet for the writer this can only be considered a plus. One can certainly focus where one wishes and the very knowledge of aspects of the darker side of Victorian life play well into the potential plots and stories of the mystery writer. My protagonists are Bram Stoker and his assistant Harry Rivers. Stoker is very much the fount of knowledge while Harry is the ever-willing partner/associate. The relationship falls somewhere between Holmes-and-Watson and Wolfe-and-Goodwin. Stoker, coming from Ireland, has a vast store of occult knowledge – together with a belief in leprechauns, ghosts, magic, and the sixth sense – and finds…

If the question is where I get the ideas for the stories I write the simple answer is…people. All of my writing is pretty much character driven. That is not to say that I’m not concerned with the other elements of literature…plot..setting etc. but these things concern me fundamentally in how they interact with the characters in my stories. Description as in the case of a beautiful sunset i.e. the watery glow slipped beneath the sea causing the last light to radiate across the shimmering water turning the world for that brief moment into an impressionist painting-works to my mind much more when seen through the eyes of a character. What is the mind-set, the emotion, the internal conflict going on? How does this visual effect or affect the character? I try to create characters in the context of the story that are believable and real. Even with their quirks, they are the kind of people that you could meet in the course of everyday life. My favorite bumper sticker is…we’re all dysfunctional deal with it…or as Virgil Dalton, the central figure in DEATH AT THE BLACK BULL says, “We’re all broken just in different ways”. I’d venture to say…

For me, the main difference between writing YA (young adult) and adult romance is the narrative voice. When I write romantic suspense, I use what I call “deep point of view” — every scene is written from the perspective of one of the main characters in the story. So in each scene, it is as if the reader is inside one character’s mind, sharing his or her thoughts as he or she describes what’s going on in. And of course, since the main characters in my adult romances are, well, adults, that means every scene is told through a filter of adult priorities, adult vocabulary, and adult experience. But when I co-wrote NIGHT SKY— my first YA novel — with my daughter, Melanie, we wrote in an entirely different narrative voice. First of all, unlike any of my adult romances, we decided to create NIGHT SKY in the first person. The entire story is told by our main character — sixteen-year-old Skylar Reid. And there’s another huge difference: NIGHT SKY takes place in a paranormal futuristic world, where certain young women — including Sky herself — have been targeted for abduction because they possess super-human powers. Most of my adult romances feature…

… which I hope is good luck for both my readers and me! Thanks for inviting me to blog here again, Fresh Fiction. Since I last visited in January of this year, I’ve had four books published: TEACUP TURBULENCE, my last Pet Rescue mystery for Berkley Prime Crime; UNTAMED WOLF and LOYAL WOLF, both Harlequin Nocturnes in my Alpha Force miniseries about a covert military unit of shapeshifters; and now… LOST UNDER A LADDER, my first Superstition Mystery! LOST UNDER A LADDER is being published by Midnight Ink. It introduces protagonist Rory Chasen, who, with her adorable black and white spaniel-terrier mix Pluckie, visits Destiny, California, a town where superstitions reign. Why do they go to Destiny? Because Rory’s beloved fiancé Warren died a few minutes after walking under a ladder, and she needs closure. And the only way she can achieve it is to determine whether superstitions are real. Maybe. Soon after they reach Destiny, Pluckie insists that Rory enter the back room of the Lucky Dog Boutique. There, they find Martha Jallopia, the shop’s owner, lying on the floor. Martha is ill but conscious. She says she knows she is going to be fine since black and white dogs…

We’re delighted to meet all of you here at Fresh Fiction. This has been a great year for the Murder, She Wrote series of mysteries. It’s our 25th anniversary! There are now 42 books in the series which is based on the popular television series starring Angela Lansbury. The 43rd is written and at the publisher. While the show stopped production years ago (although you can see episodes in syndication on many cable services), you can still follow the exploits of our intrepid amateur sleuth as she trips over bodies and stays one step ahead of the police in tracking down murderers. Each book is an original mystery that finds Jessica Fletcher solving crimes all over the world, as well as in her beloved Cabot Cove, Maine. The latest book, DEATH OF A BLUE BLOOD (October 2014), brings readers to the Cotswolds, a part of the charming English countryside with rolling hills of farms and villages, thatched cottages and quaint pubs, and Castorbrook Castle, home to the Earl and Countess of Norrance. The lord and lady of the manor have invited Jessica Fletcher and her dear friend Scotland Yard Inspector George Sutherland to be their guests at a New Year’s…

Forewarned is forearmed, especially when it comes to Major Jack Ballentyne, the hero in HARD TO FORGET. A man who’s motto is: The end justifies the means, and f*ck the collateral damage. Yes, he’s somewhat lacking on the conscience front, but he has his reasons. He’s a Special Agent for a start. With the British Intelligence Service. Tasked with leading a particularly dangerous unit of men unofficially known as ‘The Assassins’. A motley crew of rule breakers whose activities are ‘plausibly deniable’ by necessity. Back to forewarned…Jack’s not exactly communicative, he’s more a man of action, (vengeful action) so here are a few subjects best avoided should you chance to engage him in conversation. 1. Shooting Lowry. It’s an incident he’d rather forget. 2. Having Lowry court marshaled. Another incident he’d rather forget. 3. His twin, Richard. These two brothers took ‘sibling rivalry’ to the extreme, and the consequences were devastating. 4. Climbing or Base Jumping. Two activities guaranteed to raise the hairs on Jack’s neck fast. (see Caution 3 above) 5. Patient Peter. A serial killer so foul, even Jack’s cast-iron stomach churns. 6. Trust. Jack has a few issues having experienced the whip-lick sting of betrayal. 7. The…

While I’m in my writing cave, I thought it’d be a good idea to check in on #Squidge and see what he’s been up to… Squidge attended #HMK2014, that Hot Mojave Knights book convention this past weekend in Las Vegas, NV with my assistant, Kelly Oakes,  and proceeded to enjoy himself while I wasn’t around to keep him in line. Here are the highlights of his weekend: Upon checking in to the hotel, Squidge immediately claimed his side of the bed. Did you know he snores? And he’s quite the bed hog. Kelly left Squidge in charge of selling tickets to the Naughty PJ Party and the cash drawer came up a little short, I think he has a slight gambling problem. Squidge helped the Authors Write Hand team get ready for the party, by playing hide and seek inside the Pink Camo bags donated by author Sharon Hamilton. Squidge and 50 of his closest friends attended the event and caused all kinds of a ruckus. The highlight of the evening by far was when Squidge decided to take the “hot potato” for a test drive. This naughty game included a latex body part and lube, played in “hot potato”…

A few words on Food and Mystery from Laura Childs, author of GOSSAMER GHOST, a Scrapbooking Mystery set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Have you ever visited New Orleans? I sure hope you have, because the entire Big Easy is a food lover’s paradise. You’ve got your jambalaya and gumbo, in varieties that include andouille sausage, crayfish, chicken, turtle, and, well . . . you name it, you’re sure to find it in New Orleans. Enjoy mud bugs? That’s crawfish, of course, so delightful and juicy. And there are oyster bars galore where you can grab a bottle of hot sauce (Liquid Storm or Saucy Wench, anyone?) and slurp tasty, sweet mollusks to your heart’s content. For upscale dining Galatoire’s in the French Quarter is a must. If you have your own waiter (the regulars do) you’ll doubly enjoy your crabmeat maison, poisson meuniere amandine, and filet béarnaise. Or head over to Brennan’s for flaming bananas foster, the Café du Monde for sinful beignets, Antoine’s for sizzling hot oysters Rockefeller, or Emeril’s or Commander’s Palace for anything. (Yes, it’s all quite fantastic.) Pop in to any number of music or jazz festivals and enjoy the street food –…

I began at my local military recruiting center when researching Navy SEALs for my novel BRIDGING TWO HEARTS. I picked up a red phone at the locked door and announced my name and reason for visiting (I obviously was not an enlistment candidate). A camera swiveled in my direction and the door buzzed to let me in. Once inside I explained to a female Navy chief that as a “retired” Navy wife, I had spent twenty years without a need to know things I didn’t need to know, therefore, I didn’t have a problem with not needing to know important details about SEAL operations. She smiled. As did every military person I explained this to over the next months. Unfortunately, she could not give me any SEAL details. Instead, she picked up a hot pink post-it note and wrote a name and a phone number. I should call “Steve” for information. When “Steve” answered the phone, I heard the click of pool balls in the background along with what sounded like a sip from a glass. I explained who I was–that I was writing a story about Navy SEALs and I just needed background information about the domestic side of SEAL life. I’ve read enough…

In the book JEAN SASSON: A NEW ORIENTALIST, Indian academic Vijay Mehta refers to you as the “voice of the Middle East women”. What does it mean to you to be recognized as an advocate for our sisters in the Middle East? JEAN:  I am proud to be acknowledged as a voice of the Middle East women.  I feel it is one of the two greatest achievements of my life; the other being responsible for the freedom of the many confined and mistreated animals I have rescued. I have been emotionally, and even physically, involved in assisting girls and women in need for more than 30 years.  For me, one of the most depressing aspects of this entire journey has been to meet girls and women who had nowhere to turn, and to see the utter misery reflected in their sad eyes.  So many told me that they felt helpless and hopeless that anyone would, or could, help them.  There is no more unbearable feeling than to know a vulnerable human being is being beaten, or raped, and to struggle unsuccessfully against the culture that is keeping females in all ages in such tragic situations. So, the fact that the…