Snow was falling outside the window, my two young boys were sleeping upstairs, and these images came to me like a recurring dream; a mother sitting poolside, her daughter playing beside her, and the feeling of freedom whisking through the air like a breeze—freedom from a marriage unraveled. Those are the images and the sensations that first sent me running to my computer. There was a story in my head vying for release. That was in 1991. Fast forward many years, and several children, later, and here I am—a full-time author. I have craved writing since that bitter winter afternoon, when I began poking away at my IBM Thinkpad balancing in my lap on a chair in our guest room. That particular story has yet to be written, but it opened a door for many more to develop. Writing is a curious, and solitary, process for me. I can write just about anywhere with a window and a radio. For the most part, though, I must be alone. I sometimes act out my scenes several times before finding just the right emotions to portray. I talk to myself, urging myself to think harder, be more creative, give the readers what…

Lots of people (and by people I mean “ill-informed snobs”) say romance novels are unrealistic, that they idealize relationships in a way that’s somehow irresponsible and lets women get away with harboring silly fantasies. I could write a whole post on what I think about that, but for now let me just quote one of my favourite authors, Tessa Dare, who said: “Women are constantly told it’s fantasy to expect fidelity, respect, and orgasms in this life and to seek the same in our reading. It’s not.” So, in complete agreement, I would say, yeah, romance novels absolutely idealize love. And not only is there nothing wrong with that, that’s the whole point. But I’ve been thinking lately about how romance novels idealize another kind of love, too: the best friend. If romance novels give us something to aspire to in terms of how we expect to be treated by men, they also model female friendships that are healthy, supportive, and fun. And I think that’s awesome. In my newest release, SLEEPING WITH HER ENEMY, my heroine Amy is left at the altar on page one. Yes, she has to learn some stuff about herself in order to earn her…

There’s one thing about VK Sykes that consistently surprises people: we’re a husband and wife writing team. While Vanessa writes bestselling historical romance as Vanessa Kelly, Randy’s attention is focused on the contemporary romances and occasional romantic suspense that come out under the VK Sykes pen name. He also manages most of the book-related finances and paperwork, while Vanessa handles the promo end of things. So far, so good, right? Because finances, promo, and paperwork can all be done as separate tasks, but writing a book…that’s a different story. People often want to know how we can pull off a writing partnership, much less one between spouses. Because unlike most working relationships, you can’t really walk away from your spouse when you have a disagreement—at least not for long! It has to be resolved or life in our household won’t exactly be kittens and unicorns. The first thing you need to know is that we do try to separate out the various stages of the process so that we’re not doing the same thing at once or tripping over each other. Randy usually comes up with the germ of the idea for each of our contemporary romances, especially since Vanessa…

What’s a recently retired army sergeant to do when he returns home to find himself shunned by the town? In my new Contemporary Romance, FOREVER IN MY HEART, the hero returns home after serving in the army to a town that holds him accountable for the sins of his late brothers. Leading the pack is the girl he left behind who has matured into a sexy and independent woman who owns the hot new café in town. To what end will he have to go in order to redeem himself to the girl he never stopped loving? 1. Own up to his mistakes and to those of his brothers. When Jamie DiSilva returns home after nine years in the army, he intends to make amends to his former high school girlfriend for dumping her in a text. What he didn’t count on was the damage inflicted by his late brothers to the family of the girl he’s never forgotten. With Vicky DiFrancesco grown up and more beautiful than ever, can Jamie convince her to give him another chance? And what about her meddling family who seems intent on keeping him away from her? 2. Convince a sassy café owner into…

I met Melissa Bourbon (Misa Ramirez) for the first time in 2009 at Barnes & Noble on the Texas Christian University Campus. I was new to the industry, having just joined RWA, and went out to support a writer on the release of her very first book, LIVING LA VIDA LOLA, A Lola Cruz Mystery. What I found was a quiet, cute, tall blond with a quick smile and a soft voice. This was the first (and only) time I’ve seen Misa wearing a conservative navy blue suit. Since then she’s let her inner artist take over at her book signings, so after ten cozy mysteries, two romantic suspense novels, one light paranormal romance, one how-to book, and one children’s book you’ll now find her wearing funky hats, sassy pig-tails with homemade wool beads or a bright scarf around her neck—she has grown into her National Best-selling Author shoes with style. Kym: Welcome back to the Cozy Corner, Misa! Misa: Wow, what a memory you have! A blue suit? Have I ever owned a blue suit??!! Kym: I love your Magical Dress Making Mystery Series set in Bliss, Texas. Can you tell our readers who or what inspired you to…