Here in Toronto, the sun is finally out, and it looks like it’s here to stay. Many people have thrown on the shorts and sunglasses, and color splashes every article of clothing and makeup. I think it’s safe to say that summer is officially here. But even if it isn’t quite as warm where you live, that doesn’t mean you can’t get ready for the hottest summer releases! June is rife with hot, new titles just waiting to be devoured, so set a reminder for yourself to pick up these amazing books! The first book I want to talk about is THE CURSE OF TENTH GRAVE by Darynda Jones. Charley Davidson has had a wild ride so far in this series. While you’ll probably want to read this series in order, this book is sure to be calling your name when it hits the shelves. Not only is this series laugh-out-loud funny, but Reyes will have you falling under his spell in no time. I cannot wait to see what’s in store for these characters next! ALLEGIANCE OF HONOR by Nalini Singh is a book that almost marks an end to an era, so to speak. It closes up a…

“I need to learn to ride a bike.” Sarah didn’t try to hide her grimace. “By the middle of next week. Even though riding one of those things is basically daring God to smite me.” That’s the opening of READY TO FALL, my fourth Lovestruck Librarians book. Now, I will freely admit that my heroine, Sarah Mayhew, has a flair for hyperbole. She’s earned her nickname DQ (for Drama Queen) among her friends honestly. But in this instance…well… I can’t help but agree with her. My mother taught elementary school for many years, and—to my dismay—she used to tell her kids three main stories about me. They were cautionary tales, or maybe reassurance that however delayed her students might be in learning certain skills, they certainly couldn’t be as laggardly as her younger daughter. Occasionally, she’ll also tell the same stories to friends, acquaintances, restaurant servers, grocery checkers, random pedestrians, etc. “Olivia didn’t learn to tie her shoes for years! She claimed the invention of Velcro made shoe-tying skills unnecessary. She made the same argument about digital clocks and her inability to read analog clocks. And you would not believe how old she was before she learned to ride her…

A MAN OF HONOR by Miranda Liasson He survived combat…but will he fight for love? Former Army Captain and venture capitalist Preston Guthrie has always had a thing for Cat Kingston, but he never felt like he could date his best friend’s sister. Plus, he’s a wrong-side-of-the-tracks guy and she’s a white-picket-fence kind of woman. Yet when they met again just before he was deployed, sparks flew. A fire ignited. And the heat was hot. For the first time, he thought a relationship with her might be possible…until an injury in the war changed everything… Journalist Cat Kingston had a rough couple of years, surviving a broken engagement and the loss of her job. But connecting with Preston last fall seemed right. They shared steamy Skype sessions while he was overseas—until he was wounded, and cut her off without explanation. Now he’s back in town to be the Best Man for her sister’s wedding…and she wants answers. Preston’s struggling with a leg wound, but the war scarred him on the inside, too. When Cat pays him a surprise visit and her brother catches them in a compromising position, Preston tells him they’re dating. He’s not sure how he can spend…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…

A mystery is not an easy endeavor to take on as a writer, and writing one great mystery after another, is even harder. Yet for a few exceptional writers, it’s a feat that is conquered several times a year. Lorraine Bartlett is a talented bestselling author who defines the category and graciously accept my invitation to share a little insight to her writing process with the readers of the Cozy Corner. Kym: Hi Lorraine! Welcome to the Cozy Corner! Lorraine: It’s great to be here! Kym: There aren’t many mystery authors who’ve had successful series written from both the female and male prospective as the lead character. How do you get into the mind-frame to write from two very different points of view? Which one do you prefer to write? Lorraine: I have to admit, it took quite a few drafts to be able to pull off writing from a male point of view. Once I nailed it, though, it seems like I can just slip into Jeff’s persona like putting on a pair of comfy slippers. I haven’t given much thought to how I write my various series. My characters are so vividly etched in my mind that I…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…

“Second Chances” was a thing before it was a trope. I think everyone at some point or another has thought about that long lost love, the what-if’s and maybe’s. Whatever happened to that guy in high school that you used to date but eventually lost contact with? What about the random hook-up in college? Or more meaningful, what ever happened to your first love after the two of you broke up because of a silly argument? Even if we’ve moved on (hopefully) from the past there are sometimes when that little inkling of a feeling either sneaks up on us or comes roaring back with force. When I first began writing ON THESE PAGES I hadn’t intended it to be a second chance love story. It was just a contemporary about a girl who ran back into her college crush. But as the story progressed I realized that I had a trope! My first thought was to scratch the storyline and start over, but as the story progressed I couldn’t get around some of the animosity that the heroine, Toni felt for Ahmad (the hero). Just because I’d scrapped the info about them meeting before, Toni hadn’t forgotten about it…

I never thought much about cops until I started writing them. Sure, there were times when I sped past a radar-toting cop in a cruiser, and my heart leapt into my throat. A few times I’ve glanced into the rearview mirror and seen the red-and-blue flashing lights. I had to think about cops then. But until I started writing cop characters, I never thought about how they thought or felt. I never wondered what is was like to do the brave things they did, like burst into the home of a criminal with a gun or chasing a bad guy down an alley. The process of diving into cop characters lent me a new appreciation for their bravery and sacrifice. I wonder, though, what it is like to see the things they see, day-in and day-out. Not only the horrific and the senseless. But all the stupid things criminals do. I did a blog a few years back that included some of the dumbest of all time. There was the guy who stole someone’s pet monkey, then didn’t know what to do with it, so he tried to sell it back to the owners. Then there was the lady who…

When I was asked to give the perfect set of circumstances for a historical mystery, I didn’t have to think long. It’s just like putting together a perfect recipe. A GOLDEN CAGE, A Newport Gilded Age Mystery. Take one opulent era of history. Mark Twain called it The Gilded Age and it ran from around 1870 to 1900. It was an era of serious social problems masked by a thin veneer of gold. A time of industrialization, huge growth, incredible wealth and wide spread corruption. A time of power struggles in commerce, justice and morality. A time of conspicuous consumption by the haves and poverty and hard work by the have nots. Add in one seaside Resort town. Newport Rhode Island in 1895. Where the nation’s wealthiest families summered in sumptuous mansions they called “cottages”. Add a dollop of family. The wife and daughter of a prominent well respected judge threw him a huge birthday fete and invited all the richest families (among them, the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Oelrich’s and the Fishes), mayhem ensued. Mix with a professional theatrical troupe. Hired away from their theater for the evening to present a play called The Sphinx. Stir in one ingénue…

One of the biggest perks of writing historical fiction is the research! I am a library junkie, and could spend way too much time digging through dusty old books. Getting to travel and see the places in my books is even better! Fontainebleau is one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe, with a fascinating history, and I enjoyed the chance to spend a little more time there with Kate Haywood (even if only in my imagination!) at one of its most turbulent times in history. The 1560s were an incredible period for amazing women, and I had a lot of fun incorporating two of them, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Catherine de Medici (one of my favorite historical figures) into Kate’s adventures. Mary Stewart (1542–1587) has, of course, been a figure of much fascination for centuries, the subject of endless stories/movies/plays, and it’s easy to see why. She was renowned for her beauty and charm, she was an adventurer at heart (even though those adventures ended in mayhem more often than not), and she died most tragically. She is a counterpoint to her cousin Elizabeth I’s great success. The only surviving child of King James V of Scotland (who…