What if everyone in the world is born with invisible scales over their eyes? What if these scales cause us to live in a shadow of the real world without ever seeing what’s truly there? What if the real world is far more magical, fantastical and dangerous than we could possibly imagine? And what if for some the scales have fallen off? This is the world of the Jack Staples trilogy. Those who have lost their scales are known as the Awakened and they follow the Author. The Awakened have fought the Shadow Souled and their master, the Assassin since the very first humans awakened. Eleven-year-old Jack Staples knows nothing of the Awakened and their war. He has grown up in the small town of Ballylesson, Ireland in the mid 1800’s. Jack also doesn’t know that he is special. Before the world came into being a prophecy was given of a child who would be born without scales. The prophecy was clear, the child would destroy the world; and the child would save the world. Since the very first scales fell off, the Awakened have been searching for the Child of Prophecy who is both feared and longed for. When…

Babies don’t have rules, of course. That’s why they make such great subjects for online videos. As long as you keep the hand tools and the vodka out of their reach, it’s a lot of fun to watch a bouncing bundle of pure id. Bigger challenges come when they get a little older, and it becomes time to start teaching our children the very abstract concepts of right and wrong. Those were concepts that I was struggling with myself. Not as a mostly-functional adult (quick, hide the hand tools), but as a writer. I had just begun to write seriously, working on the book that would evolve into PAST CRIMES. The protagonist is Van Shaw, a man raised by a career criminal, in the kind of environment where breaking the law is literally all in a day’s work. So during the day I might need to explain to my daughter why we can’t just grab the stuffed hippo and leave the store, while at night I was writing about Van, who would not have been taught the same rule. Van would have learned how to case the place, so that he and his grandfather could break into its combination safe…

I love strong heroines. I love reading them, and I really love writing them. They don’t have to be physically tough (although all three heroines in my Lawmen series for Harlequin Intrigue work for the FBI, so they’ve been through the Academy, including grueling physical training!). Being strong doesn’t mean they aren’t vulnerable, either (a heroine who’s too perfect isn’t very relatable). To me, a strong heroine is someone who is courageous, who does what’s right even when it’s hard, and who has strong values and priorities. FBI profiler Isabella Cortez, the heroine of my first Lawmen book, has very strong priorities: 1. Balance work and play. She’s ready to take an overdue vacation with her two best friends when homicide detective Logan Greer approaches her with a case he wants her to profile. There’s an immediate attraction when they meet and Ella thinks, “Too bad she hadn’t run into him on the beach next week with a margarita in her hand instead of on her last day before vacation, toting a gun.” 2. Put your friends first. Ella has every intention of giving Logan a quick profile, then heading off to her vacation. But when the case file he…