Dear Readers, If you’re like me, you’re missing the show Downton Abbey. There’s something about the Edwardian era that kept me enthralled for five straight seasons. After we said good bye to Downton and all of the characters I knew I had to write a series set in that period because I wasn’t ready to leave the early 1900s. My Sins and Scandals series which debuted August 1st, 2017 is a trilogy of Edwardian romances that will give you a proper Downton Abbey fix! An Earl by Any Other Name introduces Leo Graham, the Earl of Hampton who’s in need of a proper wealthy English bride, but instead falls for Ivy, the nouveau riche daughter of a newspaper man…and she’s half-gypsy. – Out Now! Scandal abounds as the series continues… A Gentleman Never Surrenders introduces Owen Hadley, a notorious fortune hunter who’s set his sights on an innocent young woman for his future bride…there’s just one problem. He accidentally sneaks into the wrong bedchamber and finds himself engaged to the girl’s older sister in this prickly Taming of a Shrew style story. – Coming Sept 12th! Love conquers all… A Scottish Lord for Christmas concludes the trilogy with a powerful…

Excerpt from KNIGHT ON THE TEXAS PLAINS “Don’t mean to pry, and if it’s none of my business, just say so. This man who’d be looking for you, is he your husband?” Duel shot her a cursory glance while he wrested both ears from Marley Rose’s steel grip. They were the latest part of his anatomy to capture the child’s fascination. Jessie’s chin quivered an instant before she forced her head high. “No. The ones who come want justice.” For the second time since he’d met her he wanted to pull her against him and hold her safe. His throat clogged with a thick huskiness. “The only justice they’ll find if they come is a piece of hot lead.” His boots crunched on the hard ground when he stood. Jessie seemed oblivious to him as he strode to retrieve the child’s bottle from the bedroll. The battered woman was once again lost somewhere inside herself. Lost and so alone. “I’m taking Marley Rose home to Tranquility.” He tugged the nipple off the bottle. It released with a plop, and the smell of curdled milk reached his nose. Marley giggled excitedly, riding piggyback to the creek to rinse out the container….

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Liz Maverick. Writes: Welcome to the world of the Hudson Kings via my new romantic suspense series. It features an ensemble cast full of super-hot mercenaries, sparkling supporting characters with their own deliciously mixed-up relationships, and the sort of laugh-out-loud banter that will keep you turning the pages. Look for Book 1, THE TRANSPORTER (Shane!) on August 1, 2017 followed by THE FINANCIER (Nick!) on November 21, 2017. About: Liz Maverick tends to write what she wants to read but can’t find. Hence, the Hudson Kings, a series that combines badass mercenary missions and relationship tension between the hero and heroine AND between guys on the team. In case you were wondering, she also likes dessert. And watching her little girl discover new things. And swimming. And tea parties. And black leather-clad action heroes. But also drawing-room men in breeches. And traveling to unusual places. And wearing excessively bright sneakers. But not in any particular order. To sign up for Liz’s…

Some conferences are quiet affairs where I get to hang with friends, talk books, and laugh for hours. Readers and ‘Rita’s is one such conference. There’s always something going on, but I never feel frenzied unless I’m dancing with a hot cover model. Other conferences are wild fan events where I’m overwhelmed and lost. And given how much of an extrovert I am, that’s saying something. Guess how last week at the RWA Conference (Romance Writers of America) felt for me. Zen walking meditation in a sauna. There’s no denying that Orlando in July is steamy hot. By the second day, I was soggy. My brain, my hair, and definitely my clothes—all wet mush. Military School on the first day. I meant to be crisp and clean, I meant to report where I was supposed to go when I was supposed to be there, but it just never quite happened. That’s why I never went to military school. Phew! Party with my friends! I got to hang out with great people all the time. In the bar, in the lobby, in the bathroom, in the bar… Well, you get the idea. Great friends everywhere! (Check out this picture of me…

I thought readers might be interested in tracking the evolution of my brand new series. I’d been happily writing the Caribou Crossing Romances, set in the interior of British Columbia, but after eight titles I was ready for a change of scene. Where better than my favorite spot for boating, the Gulf Islands near Victoria, British Columbia? I developed a series concept, with synopses for the first two books. Then, to give my pitch punch, I created a “one-sheet,” even including photos of the locale. Here’s what it looks like. My pitch centered on a fictional island that I called Destiny—Where finding love is a matter of destiny! Here’s what I said about the setting. Destiny, a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest, is blessed with craggy bluffs, forested hills, secret coves, and meadows dotted with wildflowers. The locals are individuals—make that eccentrics!—reflecting the island’s history of aboriginal people, loggers and fishermen, African-American and Japanese immigrants, hippies, artists, boaters, and escapees from the city. The picturesque town of Blue Moon Harbor provides the necessities of life for residents as well as attractions for tourists. When you meet your love on Destiny, life will never be the same. Well, my editor…

Military heroes are the twofer of romance. They fit the bill of a romantic lead with their alpha ways, rugged good looks, and heroic ways, and provide the double whammy of bad-ass protector. And yet despite the box we attempt to put them in, there are lots of different versions and interpretations of them. So, who would be my favorite military heroes? You would think picking them would be easy, but it wasn’t. Here goes: First up would be Kimberly Kincaid’s Kellan Walker from SKIN DEEP, the first in her Station Seventeen series. He is a scorching hot hero who is a tough-as-nails former army ranger. I love this story because of Kellan’s continued commitment to service through his dedication to his community as a firefighter once he leaves the military. When he’s not fighting fires, he’s fighting his attraction to for the sexy detective who he thinks botched a case that was supposed to keep his sister safe. But as with every great romance, nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and Kellan has to work with her to stop a ruthless killer, despite the sparks that fly between the two of them. If you love Keanu Reeves…

The Infinity Division series follows a group of teens who have the ability to travel between dimensions via a very special device. Each place they go is Earth—generally within their own town of Wells—but a different reality. The differences are sometimes minor—sometimes monumental. The best part of doing a series like this is the variety. The setting is always changing. I can work within the same town, yet have a completely different set of rules. The characters are always changing. Some of my favorite moments from Omega are when the main cast encounters alternate versions of people they knew back home. In some cases they’re so hilariously different. In other instances, it’s almost heartbreaking. There’s more dimension hopping—or, skipping, as Cade would say—in Omega. There are an infinite number of realities, and unlike in Infinity (which took place solely on Kori’s world), our heroes visit multiple ones in this book. The ideas for these different realities came to me from various sources. Some were worlds I’d love to see—like the world where everything was flavored with chocolate or the one with no cars. Everyone got around on horseback, yet they were all sporting massive computer tech. Others came from conversations…

It’s time for me to make a confession: I hate writing villains. As an author who delights in heists and capers and romantic suspense-y twists, you’d think nothing would make me happier than to create a big, bad villain for the hero and heroine to take down. Good triumphs over evil! Love rules the day! Happily ever after for all! While I do love a good HEA and the thought of a bad guy getting his due, this is a part of the storytelling process I struggle with quite a bit. Usually, it’s because I grow to love all my characters too much—even the dastardly ones. (Most of the time, I especially love the dastardly ones.) I like to think this is a natural side effect of writing realistic, compelling villains. Instead of just being an incarnation of evil, they have motives and feelings and flaws, are three-dimensional characters in their own right. In fact, every villain should be the hero of his own story…it’s just that this particular book isn’t his story. Yet. It’s not just my own books I feel this way about, either. Some of my favorite book, movie, and TV characters of all time rest on…