I love the national parks. In fact, my husband and I have visited over 20 of them. To me, nothing is more romantic than a beautiful alpine lake at sunset or sitting around a campfire on a starlit evening. That’s why each of my books is set in a national park. With so many amazing parks to choose from, it’s difficult to limit this list to only five, but here are a few gems for the romantic adventurer in all of us. North Cascades National Park – The Cascade Mountains in Washington State are among the most beautiful in the world. The views and lakes along the North Cascades Highway are truly stunning, but further south is one of my favorite hikes—the Cascade Pass trail. It’s well worth the challenging climb to see the sweeping views of the picturesque valley surrounded by snowcapped mountains. The remote location and pristine beauty of Cascade Pass make it the perfect romantic hike, and the natural choice for the setting of Avalanche, the first book in my Peril in the Park romantic suspense series. Yellowstone National Park – This is the most fascinating national park I’ve ever been to, with its extraordinary geological features…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Cooper McKenzie, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? I fell in love with the romance genre in 8th grade after reading The Ivory Key by Rita Estrada. I’ve read that book several times over the years and recently found a copy to keep in my own library. If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? If a movie was made of IRON LUST by my Keely Jakes pen name, I would try very hard to talk the men who suggested I write a bodybuilder romance, and who are featured on the cover, Christian James and Daniel Treat. What was the first story you wrote? The first story I ever wrote was a teenage angst novel about a girl escaping into her dreams to keep from killing herself. It sucked and was destroyed about a year after I wrote it. My first story…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Janna MacGregor, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? When I was a teenager, my mom gave me my first romance novel to read. It was Barbara Cartland’s The Impetuous Duchess. That’s where my love for historical romances set in the Regency period began. Always a prolific reader, my habit took a backseat when my husband and I became the proud parents of triplets–two boys and one girl. I found life somewhat hectic with all the family and job responsibilities. Consequently, I didn’t have as much time for reading as I had in the past. That changed when I dropped one of my sons off at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. After an emotional goodbye, I found myself at a bookstore in the Tampa Bay Airport. Desperate to find a diversion from my tears, I picked up Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight. I devoured that book. When I returned…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Sharla Lovelace, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner! If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? I’m so bad at this. I don’t picture celebrities as I write characters, so I never know who to compare them to. Sometimes I’ll be watching something and think THERE! YOU! YOU’RE HIM! But then I never remember who it is later. So if you’ve read LUCKY CHARMED, who would YOU cast as Sully? 🙂 What was the first story you ever wrote? I wrote many little stories growing up, but the first one intended to be novel length, and the one I cut my teeth on, learning about the rules, the business, about everything, was a friends to lovers romance I named A LITTLE SALTY, and it was a long rambling behemoth that ended at 215K…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Jodi Linton, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? Pride and Prejudice. If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? Chris Pratt. Well, do I really need a why? 😉 Right. I think he’d be awesome, because he’s funny and swoony at the same time, which embodies the type of heroes I write. I write humorous, swoon-worthy cowboys who know how to crack a joke with the right quirky gal. I think Chris could crack a joke or two, don’t you? What was the first story you ever wrote? PRETTY RECKLESS: A Deputy Laney Briggs Novel, which was published by Entangled Publishing. If you could change the ending to any famous book, TV show, or movie, what would it be and how would you rewrite it? (Spoiler alert!) Of course, I have to say Gone Girl. My need for a…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Kym Roberts, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? There wasn’t just one book, but rather a series. I adore Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, Lula and Grandma Mazur. When the series finally comes to an end, I will absolutely die if Stephanie chooses Joe over Ranger. I’d rather see Stephanie’s romantic future up in the air for each reader to choose Stephanie’s happily-ever-after how he or she sees fit. So although Janet Evanovich’s mysteries aren’t considered cozies, I tend to push the boundaries of the genre because of her. 🙂 If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? Model/actress Noémie Lenoir was the inspiration for Charli Rae Warren in my Book Barn series. Charli Rae is bi-racial with the down-to-earth beauty of a tomboy heroine. She doesn’t see her wild curls as a thing to envy, nor does she see her tall skinny frame as…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Chelsea Mueller, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What made you fall in love with the romance genre? Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter books were what made me fall in love with urban fantasy. I DEVOURED those books. If I had to pin it down to one title, though, it’d be Circus of the Damned as when I knew I was hooked and would get my hands on anything and everything with supernatural elements and a crime to solve. Bonus points if that book also included some legit romance. If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? Lindsay Morgan. She plays Raven Reyes on The 100, and she’s who I had in my mind when writing Callie Delgado, the lead in BORROWED SOULS. I’m not sure who would end up playing Derek, but his visual in my mind is a mix of Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf, Supergirl) and Joe Manganiello (True…

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with New York Times bestselling author C.L. Wilson, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? Books that made me fall in love with fantasy: Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. Books that made me fall in love with romance: Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, and Dark Desire by Christine Feehan. If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? Jason Momoa as Dilys Merimydion, the Sea King, because I always imagined Dilys as a cross between a Roman gladiator and a Samoan warrior. I saw Jason M. as Aquaman and went nuts, screaming, “That’s Dilys!!” Bwahahaha! OMG! It’s like they reached into my brain and pulled him out of it! What was the first story you ever wrote? The first story I…

DANCE WITH ME is the second book in the Cowboys of Crested Butte series. It tells the story of Billy Patterson and Renie Fairchild, who we met in FALL FOR ME, the series’ first book. If I had to pick my favorite character in all the books I’ve written, Billy is in the top two or three. Billy has that swagger that only a world champion saddle bronc rider, and all around hot, hunky, handsome cowboys possesses. Renie Fairchild is not only his best friend, she’s the girl next door, and Billy can’t decide whether he wants to wring her neck or kiss her senseless. Crested Butte, Colorado is one of my favorite places on earth, and why I set this series in the mountain town. Here is a list of the top five best things to do in Crested Butte. Ski! The mountain resort is ranked in the top fifteen places to ski in the United States, and a couple years ago won BEST SKI TOWN in North America. Whether you’re into downhill skiing, extreme skiing or Nordic skiing, Crested Butte has it all in spades. Wild Flower Festival This weeklong festival, started in 1986, takes place the second…

“Guilty.” That’s the opening to my short story, The Second Shot, part of the anthology BETRAYED, releasing in ebook next week. My heroine, seventeen-year-old Regan Adderly, has just been found guilty of murdering her abusive father. But it’s really the end. Or is it? From this scene, the story travels backward through four days of the trial, from the perspectives of others who were connected to the crime: the cop who arrested Regan on the night of the murder; Regan’s dependent, drug-addicted mother; her desperate little brother; and her conniving older boyfriend. It ends a year earlier, back in Regan’s perspective, with the actual crime. Along the way, the story weaves through the hours and leading up to the shooting, and asks the question: who fired the shot that killed Maxwell Adderly? With most mysteries, part of the joy is following alongside the protagonist, trying to figure out who did it, how and why – and then catch them. It was a lot of fun to turn this idea on its head, beginning with the guilty party already caught and tried, and then leading readers on a journey to determine if the verdict was right – and deserved. Besides the…