When you pick up a book at your local bookstore or library, or download it to your electronic device, do you ever read the acknowledgment page? These are the people who helped the author create the story. They answered questions or provided background detail so that the fiction would be based in reality. Here are four of my acknowledgements for Magnolia Moonlight. They tell a story in themselves…. Special thanks to Captain T. McGehee of the Natchez Police Department. Never have I been treated so warmly while interviewing a very busy professional. My honorary officer’s badge hangs proudly over my writing desk. Thanks also to the Cleveland FBI agents who willingly share their knowledge with local mystery writers. My story involves a former police detective who now works for a PI firm. She’s forced to interact often with her former boss, a man she was once in love with. Even though I didn’t have an appointment, Captain McGehee invited me into his office and answered my police procedural questions for over an hour. I was amazed how procedures differ greatly from state to state. Thanks to the Grand Hotel of Natchez for the wonderful hospitality. What a lovely historic gem…

“It’s good to see you, Danica.” His voice sounded as though sand was lodged in his throat. The gritty sound raised the hair on her forearms, and her nipples grew harder. “Good to be back?” she ventured. Resting his elbows on his knees once more, he dropped his head into his hands. When he scrubbed his jaw, a rasping noise sent her into a bigger spin than the F4 that had wiped out their town. Finally, he raised his head. “I can’t answer that yet. But it’s good to be stateside.” There it was—that burning in his eyes again. It took the dark brown to a whole new level of intensity. She unfolded her legs and reached across the short distance to rest a hand on his arm again. He let her touch him, offering a millisecond of comfort. The hair under her fingers was wiry and his skin warm. This was Brodie, not some stranger. They’d climbed trees together and fallen out of them too. He’d carried her, with a badly sprained ankle, to the house on his back. She’d cried so much she’d snotted on him, and he hadn’t come near her for a week. They were practically…

The whole theme behind my Destination: Desire series is falling in love while traveling far from home. In some of the books, that meant a work trip, a vacation, and even foreign exchange. Most of the places mentioned in this series, I’ve been to myself, which meant I got to experience all the wonderful (and sometimes strange) sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of these exotic locales. Probably the most fun thing I do while I’m away from home is try new foods and restaurants, so I wanted to share with you some of the most entertaining dishes I’ve tasted while trotting around the globe. If you ever go to these places, you have to try these! Aussie Pizza. I tried this dish in Sydney, Australia. At first, it looks like an all-meat pizza, with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and prosciutto. But then you look a bit closer, and you see that there’s a scrambled egg cooked in with the cheese. Finally, you bite into it, and you realize there’s tangy BBQ sauce mixed into the marinara. It sounds funky, but it tastes fabulous. Navette. This little gem was delight from Marseille, France. It’s shaped like a little boat (navette), and it…

I’ve been asked a fair number of times why I jumped from my typical fare of hardcore police officers on elite squadrons and hot sexy beach dwellers to… cowboys. I often blink confusedly when asked this question. Why did I want to write about gritty, tough-as-nails, cowboys that know what they want and are not afraid to get dirty? That seems obvious to me, but I certainly do not mind elaborating. So, here are my top five reasons for writing the Camden Ranch erotic romance series in no particular order- Cowboy boots and Wrangler butt – they do something to a girl. Something very good. I love the hardworking grit of cowboys. They aren’t afraid to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. They’re up before the sun and don’t mind any extra work in the bed that night. The juxtaposition between their rope-roughened hands and the might of their muscles as compared to the gentleness they so easily tap into when, say, they’re cradling the loves of their lives in their arms. I adore their natural honesty. The Camden cowboys will tell you precisely what they’re thinking and they won’t hold back. They see no reason to…