I think each genre has their own challenges that a writer must overcome, but today we’ll focus on two that I have some recent experience in: New Adult versus Young Adult novels. I started my published career with a paranormal young adult series, The Life After. I always felt comfortable writing in the YA genre because to me, when you are in that age group, there is a lot of urgency in everything that you do. Think back to high school where every decision seemed to be life or death. You HAD to go to prom with that boy or go to that party or your life would be over. Sound familiar? Even though high school was tough for everyone, it’s still part of the shaping of our lives. Writing in that time period is where I love to be. After I completed The Life After series, I was finally able to sit back and think about what I wanted to do next. A story had been mulling around in my brain for a while I wanted to explore it. I had worked for my local Parks Department in high school at a nearby pool and I wanted to create…

It’s one of the cardinal rules of parenthood—don’t play favorites with your kids. I think I did a pretty good of obeying that one when I was raising my family. My husband I used to tease our son and daughter when they were cranky or acting spoiled. One would ask the question, “Why did he/she get to do XYZ?” or “How come he/she got this or that gift when I only got this?” Our answer was always the same: “Because we love him/her more.” Yeah, no one said it was easy growing up with two parents who loved to mess with their kids. But they both knew that they were loved, and when they stopped to really ponder upon whatever the situation was, I’m sure they had no doubt that we never played favorites. But when it comes to my characters, well, I can’t say the same. I have to admit, a couple of my heroes and heroines rise to the top. Lucy and Dex from THE SURROGATE HUSBAND are definitely way up on that list. Lucy was speaking to me before I’d even plotted out the story! I envisioned her naturally black hair dyed hot pink, half a dozen…

Gifts come in many shapes and sizes, but I believe the most precious ones are those delivered from the heart. It’s easy to get caught up in the mayhem of life, particularly during the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, but every day, there are people amidst the chaos who help you, who take time out of their busy lives to make a difference in yours. This year, why not return that gift? This holiday season, as wrapped gifts exchange hands, I ask you to pause, reflect on those who’ve truly made a difference in your life, and if possible, find a special way to say thank you. This can be a simple gesture—something like a greeting card, a bouquet of flowers, or a heartfelt poem. Maybe you could bake someone their favorite cookies? Or, present them a coupon book filled with everyday chores, which they can tear out and give you to do on those trying days when they really need a helping hand. The absolute best gift you can offer another person is one given from the heart. And when special-delivered, without any strings attached, it touches their own. This Christmas, I’m making gift baskets filled with my…

I’m so excited to visit Fresh Fiction again and chat about my latest release and how I finally got a chance to apply some of the graduate school classes I had about ten years ago. You see, I work as a web developer now, but before that I was a graduate student in information systems. A lot of my studies were related neural networks, artificial intelligence, that kind of thing. Wow, I gotta tell you I lived in front of the computer reading academic papers and right now its so much easier to write a story than write a dissertation. The sheer amount of research was mind-boggling. (Not that I still don’t have to do research, but it’s a totally different level.) I have a feeling some would disagree, but that is a story for another day. In essence, UNDER MY SKIN is science fiction fantasy about a young woman’s fight to free herself from a man who wants to take over her body. He is a relentless general who is bent on living forever and she must learn to be courageous when she never had to be. When I was writing UNDER MY SKIN, I wanted the technology behind…

As any writer will tell you, the ideas are the (kind of) easy part – it’s the writing that’s difficult, the (sometimes magical, other times not so much!) slog that can make you lose your mind. This is (kind of) true of my debut Regency-set romp, The Hope Diamond Trilogy. I’ve wanted to write historical fiction for as long as I remember; I’ve been a fan of all things sparkly and bejeweled for almost long. (Ask my mom: when I was little – we’re talking bald baby here – I’d raid my grandmother’s jewelry drawer for her clip-on dangly earrings.) I don’t remember, exactly, when these two interests – history and jewels – crossed paths. I’m pretty sure I was researching potential ideas for my novel and came across a tantalizing morsel. Turns out the stone we would later know as the Hope Diamond materializes, mysteriously, in 1812 London after disappearing some two decades before during the tumult of the French Revolution. No one knows how the diamond – known as the French Blue, a part of the French Crown Jewels – got to London, or why, or who bought it; the next time it presence was recorded was much…

Ah, New Adult…Man, I love this little genre. It’s the age where you’re finally making peace with not only who you are, but how you relate to the world around you. How do you get there? That age is a roller coaster of emotion, and there’s inevitably going to be a few mistakes. So doesn’t it make sense that our New Adult characters would make those same mistakes? New Adult is known for angst, for the drama that accompanies the age and keeps the pages turning. Heck, I can’t think of one New Adult book I’ve read that I haven’t, at one point, thought about smacking the heroine or hero for some idiotic choice they made that led to said drama. But you know what? They’re 18-25 years old or so. Who the heck has it together at that age? So while our characters are making mistakes, swimming through the drama, and hopefully coming out the other side with a better understanding of what went wrong, we’re along for the roller coaster ride. In romance, nothing can be sweeter, or more agonizing than the anticipation, the heights we climb with the characters before we know they’re about to fall. We…

I’ve heard that you just got back from The Jane Austen Society of North America’s yearly conference. What sort of things happen at a conference of this nature? We’d love to hear about it! The JASNA AGM (or Annual General Meeting) is like Jane Austen heaven! The meetings are held in a different city in North America every year, with about 750 people attending (they sell out quickly), and a theme related either to Jane Austen’s work, her life, or the world that she lived in. My husband Bill and I plan our travel calendars around them. There are three plenary speakers and thirty or so breakout speakers, who give presentations on a variety of fascinating subjects. There’s an Emporium selling Austen and Regency era-themed goods and books, special interest sessions, English Country Dance lessons, and tours of the local area. It’s great fun! The highlight is the Saturday night banquet and ball, for which nearly everyone dresses up in period attire. The ball is like stepping back in time or into a Jane Austen movie. Some attendees, like me, don Regency wear for the entire conference. (I now own six Regency gowns.) This year’s JASNA AGM was in Montreal….

The third installment of the Mystery in the Islands series, AGROUND ON ST. THOMAS, opens with a grand jury indictment of the sitting governor, his cabinet, and the entire VI Legislature. Chaos ensues as the FBI attempts to arrest those accused of corruption. The governor and two VI senators evade capture, leading to a chase through Charlotte Amalie’s narrow alleyways and steep streets. Competing conspiracies among the locals hamper the search, leaving a hapless Agent Friday to sort out who’s scheming whom. With the area’s regional airport, the seat of government, and a thriving cruise ship port, St. Thomas is the commercial center of the Virgin Islands. Everyone who lives or visits this part of the Caribbean spends at least a little time in the island’s main town of Charlotte Amalie, the primary setting for AGROUND ON ST. THOMAS The waterfront streets are mostly flat, but as the city moves inland, it curves upward, covering the lower slopes of several flanking hills. The result offers a surreal perspective of neighboring properties and the surrounding city. The densely populated landscape is both elevated and cupped within the side slope. The area around Government Hill, in particular, feels like a stage set…

Like cats and mysteries, cats and witches just seem to go together. Witches have had cat familiars for as long as anyone can recall. They were friends and companions through bad times, during the executions, and dark days when witches were killed for their beliefs. Witches and cats were both put to death during the fifteenth century and the reign of terror. Cats were thought to be evil entities that were feared by those weren’t witches. Cats were declared ‘dangerous beasts’ in France. People believed cats were witches in disguise. They were hunted and killed. There were many myths about cats in those days. Their bite was said to be poisonous, and their claws were lethal. Even farmers who had cats to protect their food storage were afraid of them. Many people have said the Black Plague had a contributing factor of fewer cats that were around to kill rats. Things began to change in the eighteenth century. Many people realized how foolish the witch trials were – as well as the deaths of thousands of cats. They began to understand the importance of cats again, much as the ancient Egyptians did. Nowadays, cats are everywhere – the most popular…

Currently I’m working on a new series called Lipstick and Lead set in the late 1800s. It’s about three sisters who are bounty hunters, which is very unusual for women of the west. In fact, I could not find any actual bounty hunters that were women. But my girls father made a living bounty hunting and because they don’t want to become saloon hussies they have taken up the profession after several mistrials at other occupations. But what about lipstick. When did lipstick become available to women of the west? Ancient Mesopotamian women were possibly the inventors of lipstick. They used crushed jewels to put color on their lips and around their eyes. Then Egyptian women used a dye from seaweed on their mouths to give color, but the stain from the seaweed made them very ill. It’s written that Cleopatra, crushed carmine beetles and ants and used the liquid on her lips. Gives new meaning to the word beetle juice. During the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth 1, popularized the look of blackened lips, by using beeswax and plant derived red dyes. But by the time Queen Victoria took the throne, makeup was once again taboo. Only low class women…