Music can be the sound track to our emotions. A great song can not only change your mood but also change your day. When a song speaks to you and knows your heart, you bond with it. I thought it would be fun to pick my characters brains and pick the top 5 songs for Hök Magnusson and Lady Sovia, the hero and heroine of my new Viking romance, THE NORTHMAN’S BRIDE. To give you a touch of context, my young Viking warrior Hök Magnusson gets his heart clawed out by his first love, Lady Sovia. Seven years later and his wound has yet to heal. Don’t judge my book by the cover models. I promise Hök is not always that grumpy looking. Hök’s Playlist would be: Bite Hard by Franz Ferinand. After Sovia tossed Hök’s love aside, he’s gutted and understandable ill tempered. This song is about breaking hearts and breaking minds. Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons. Scorned and feeling he has dishonored his family, Hök volunteering joins the neighboring counties civil war to secure his families boarders. Tick Tick Boom by The Hives. Years later, on his second encounter with Sovia, Hök is a ticking time bomb…

Music can be the sound track to our emotions. A great song can not only change your mood but also change your day. When a song speaks to you and knows your heart, you bond with it. I thought it would be fun to pick my characters brains and pick the top 5 songs for Hök Magnusson and Lady Sovia, the hero and heroine of my new Viking romance, THE NORTHMAN’S BRIDE. To give you a touch of context, my young Viking warrior Hök Magnusson gets his heart clawed out by his first love, Lady Sovia. Seven years later and his wound has yet to heal. Don’t judge my book by the cover models. I promise Hök is not always that grumpy looking. Hök’s Playlist would be: Bite Hard by Franz Ferinand. After Sovia tossed Hök’s love aside, he’s gutted and understandable ill tempered. This song is about breaking hearts and breaking minds. Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons. Scorned and feeling he has dishonored his family, Hök volunteering joins the neighboring counties civil war to secure his families boarders. Tick Tick Boom by The Hives. Years later, on his second encounter with Sovia, Hök is a ticking time bomb…

Hey Writers, are You afraid of Social Media? I’ve been in your shoes. In fact, I wore out several pairs called, “I can’t do social media.” They pinched my toes and hurt my feet. So I tossed them in the trash and bought a new pair titled, “I’m not afraid of social media.” Those shoes were made for success, and I wear them every day. My real issue was fear. I thought I couldn’t learn the different platforms. Questions hovered, like where does my brand and genre fit? How many platforms must I use? I’m foremost a novelist, not a guru in mastering the social media universe. It made sense to me that doing nothing meant no risk of failure. Wisdom marched in with clarification: Doing nothing meant I’d always regret not trying, and I was limiting my exposure to readers. That’s when I made up my mind to educate myself in the art of social media. I made slow but steady progress and climbed a mountain. So much satisfaction at the top. Now I can look down and see where I’ve failed, pick myself up, and climb a taller peak. Good news! My readership has increased, which means higher…

I love romances. Not only writing them, but reading them as well. When I was invited into the Heartbreaker and Heroes anthology, I was not only excited to write with some of my favorite authors, but I also had the chance to read the stories before anyone else!!! A few things I learned about our heroes: They all had rough childhoods, whether from abuse, neglect, or caught in a bad situation. Most of them don’t want to fall in love, but their hearts override their fears. Falling in love with men who have had a difficult past isn’t easy, but the heroines are tough enough to handle what ever comes along. Whether billionaire, biker, cop, or cowboy, heroes are all around us. Sometimes heartbreakers should be left in the dust. Other times, they are completely redeemable. I must admit I threw in some thriller elements to my story. I can’t help it. The story of a cop who tries and fails to rescue a woman from an abusive father had to go somewhat dark. But between writers like Jennie Marts and Jodi Linton, there are lots of humorous stories in the mix as well. About HEARTBREAKERS AND HEROES A brotherhood…

What is it about opposites that attract? You could say that the heroine and hero in THE BAD BOY’S BABY are an opposites attract kind of couple. Admittedly, there are sometimes that I wonder how my husband can think so opposite of how I do. Last summer we remodeled, and our taste were so opposing that I often wondered how we ever managed to buy a house together in the first place. So there was some compromising on both ends, and we both loved the finished product. So I thought I’d explore what it is about opposites that attract. A new way of looking at things – I always like learning the way certain things affect another person and comparing it to how they affect me. Like music. I love asking what songs speak to someone and why, because I think it provides a great insight to other people. The challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things that the other person likes. In THE BAD BOY’S BABY, Emma loves carnival rides and Cam would never set foot in what he thinks of imperfect machines made by imperfect people. Not to mention he doesn’t like confined…

First off, thank you for doing this interview for us. I know you don’t have time for frivolous activities these days, what with your IVF cycle and your husband’s chemo. Simeen: It’s okay. I actually could use a break from all that. And from checking off items on Nirvaan’s tedious Titanic Wish List. What’s the Titanic Wish List? Simeen: Nirvaan’s bucket list. You know he doesn’t have long, so he wants to do all the things that matter to him before…he succumbs. I’m very sorry about Nirvaan’s cancer… Simeen: Thank you. But it’s okay. We’re okay. We’re dealing. So ask away. Right. Um, so…let’s start with, What’s the secret to having a good marriage? Simeen (grinning): A kinky spouse. Interesting answer. It certainly broke the ice. Next question, What’s the most fun party you ever attended? Simeen: The beach party where Nirvaan, Zayaan and I met for the first time. It was our fifteenth birthday—you know the three of us share our birthdays, right? So, we met at Dandi Beach, one hot summer night long ago. Wow. That’s some coincidence—the three of you sharing a birthday. Simeen: That’s not all we share. No pun intended. We also lived on the…

Taking time out to enjoy yourself is essential and it’s something I look forward to. I spend part of my day working on the farm and part of it writing, but I enjoy nothing better than to do something completely different. I have always had an interest in history and love visiting castles or grand old houses. I usually take my camera with me as it gives me a chance to indulge in that little passion too. Whilst the splendour of large stately homes is fun to see, it’s the castles I like best. Usually they are ruins, but I love to use my imagination and build up a picture of what life must have been like all those hundreds of years ago. Of course it doesn’t have to be time away or a day out. Just an hour or so to myself to relax and do something I want to do, which for me would be losing myself in a good book. Again, it’s history which draws me and this or romance is my chosen genre. At this time of the year, as summer is arriving and the days are becoming warmer and longer, I enjoy spending time in…