I’ve certainly explored love in several of my novels—love between men and women (and on a couple of occasions, between men and men) as well as husbands and wives, forbidden, adulterous love and the soul-shocking, bring-you-to-your-knees kind of love a parent can have for a child. But I had never written a novel that explored and unpacked the process of falling in love—until TWO OF A KIND. In this novel, I introduced two mismatched characters: Dr. Andy Stern, a brash, occasionally obnoxious but basically decent guy with a high risk gyn/ob practice on Park Avenue, and Christina Connelly, a seemingly frosty Brooklyn-based interior designer who thinks Andy is about as appealing as a basket full of three day-old fish. But these two find themselves attracted to each other, and I liked the process of charting the push and pull of that attraction, their attempts to resist it (each thinks the other is fundamentally wrong for her or him) and finally their inability to resist one another. But TWO OF A KIND is not just a love story—it’s a second chance at love story, which is a slightly different animal. Andy and Christina each come with significant emotional baggage—in his case,…

People have often asked why I chose Madagascar as the setting for the start of MARK OF THE LEOPARD. Part of the idea for the book came from a story I was told about someone who had been stranded on Madagascar back in 1703. With the storyteller’s permission, I adapted his tale and went on to develop what became Mark of the Leopard. Madagascar intrigued me from the start. It’s home to some remarkable natural features, such as a lava-field that is almost impossible to cross, striated as it is by massive crevices guarded by razor-sharp edges; and an amazing underground river full of Nile crocodiles. Besides these incredible natural features, when I first began researching what the island was like in the early 1700s I had no idea how vastly different it would prove to be from the Madagascar of today. Where now there are vast tracts of barren land there used to be tall lush forests filled with strange and wondrous wildlife which was then and is now still pretty well unique. Of course the Europeans who went there had never seen anything like the lemurs they encountered in the trees and so, for want of a better…

Christmas is filled with traditions whose repetition year after year provide a sense of continuity and joy, as we remember favorite moments from childhood and anticipate adding new memories to that book of mental treasures. Since many of our traditions date from the Victorian period, I wanted to offer an array of historical fiction from that era as a special Christmas tribute. However, as I began to scan the real and digital shelves, I found that, thanks perhaps to Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, most historical fiction set in the Victorian era contains a mystery. Once a romance reaches its HEA, the story is over—which means, alas, that series in romance generally feature friends or other family members. Heroes and heroines of mysteries, however, can always go on to solve the next case. Since there is nothing a fanatical reader loves more than being able to remain in a favorite fictional world, as a Tiny-Tim “bless us, every one,” I’ve chosen several of the longest-running of the top-reader-rated historical mystery series to offer as a special Christmas gift. Happy Holidays, and enjoy! Beginning with the shortest (“only” ten books long) we have AND ONLY TO DECEIVE (LADY EMILY #1) by Tasha Alexander…

What is your favorite scene is from SEAL Wolf In Too Deep and why? I have lots of favorite scenes in every book because they have to be entertaining for me or I have to rewrite them until they are. I haven’t written a story where a main character is turned in a while so I was having fun showing what would happen if the hero had to take control of a newly turned wolf in SEAL WOLF IN TOO DEEP. Another enjoyable aspect of this one is a character that popped into the story that I hadn’t expected. He reminds me of Darren McGavin as Kolchak: The Night Stalker, a reporter who knows vampires were running amuck, but no one believes him. In my story, the man is a homicide detective, and he is certain the skullduggery in the area all has to do with werewolves. But in his case, he knows not to try to convince anyone that werewolves exist. So the scenes with him were amusing too. This was just a really enjoyable story to write. I’ve owned dogs and cats, and so a lot that I write about is based on their behavior, which makes the…

The best part of writing for the Cozy Corner is finding new mysteries and meeting new authors. Some of the series I’ve followed from book one, others I’ve picked up at book nine, or fifteen—wondering at each turn of the page, how I could have possibly missed such a fabulous series! Yet I know I can’t possible read them all, and maybe that’s a good thing. Because when I round the corner, there’s still that anticipation of what I’ll see next. What mystery is left for me to figure out. 2016 has an awesome line-up of mysteries in store for us, but maybe you’ve missed a book you shouldn’t have this year. Maybe the author, who will reach out and touch you in a way no other could, has already visited the Cozy Corner. Maybe it’s time to review our list of mysteries that don’t belong on anyone’s cold case list yet;) To end the year, I thought I’d reflect on the interviews that warmed my heart, made me laugh, and allowed me to meet my hero. I hope you’ll enjoy my best moments of 2015. In January, 2015 I interviewed two authors who like to visit the past, but…

People look forward to the new year for all sorts of reasons: a chance to start over, a time to focus on resolutions and goals, and even an opportunity to splurge on a fancy new planner or calendar. For me, I find the most new year’s happiness when looking at all the incredible books expected to release that year. For 2016, the YA market has an abundance of exciting upcoming books to look forward to. From retellings that will spin the imagination to historicals that will make you wish for a time machine, here is Part 1 of my most anticipated 2016 young adult reads. About BLACKHEARTS In this stunningly creative debut, Nicole Castroman reimagines the origins of history’s most infamous pirate—Blackbeard—and tells the story of the girl who captured his heart and then broke it, setting him on a path to destruction. When Edward “Teach” Drummond, son of one of Bristol’s richest merchants, returns home from a year at sea, he finds his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, all Teach wants is to return to the vast ocean he calls home. There’s just one…

Meet Johnnie Alexander, a Southern writer who moved from sunny Florida to a small farm outside of Memphis where she raises alpcas, chickens and guineas along with some rabbits. I imagine she has tasty free range eggs for breakfast! Her latest book is the start of a new series, Misty Willow, a place “a place that will have as great a hold over the reader as it does over its inhabitants.” In WHERE SHE BELONGS, an emotionally rich contemporary romance, a young widow determined to reclaim her cherished family home clashes with the handsome yet infuriating current owner who has let it fall into ruin. About WHERE SHE BELONGS Can love redeem a broken past? Shelby Kincaid is ready to move forward after the death of her husband left her devastated. With high hopes for the future, she longs to purchase her family’s homestead, Misty Willow, so she can raise her young daughters in the only place she ever truly belonged. She plans to transform the abandoned house into the perfect home of her memories. But she has her work cut out for her. AJ Sullivan never wanted Shelby’s family homestead in the first place. His grandfather left it to…