In HEART OF A TIGER, a child is in danger. What made you use this element in your story? Was that meant to increase the tension and engage the reader even more? The child in the story is because of the Earl of Soothcoor. He has been a “cast member” in three previous stories. I’ve become quite fond of him. He’s 40ish, never married, plain looking, and secretly heavy into philanthropy. I decided he was in a rut and needed something to push him out of his comfort zone. The child is his heir through his brother and his Indian wife.   I like a mystery series with a couple who solves mysteries together. Was it always the plan to have a mystery series with a married couple? Or did things change as you began writing the first book? Things changed after I wrote the first book, THE WAYLAID HEART. Readers requested I have them in a series. So, I did! I adore them. They are a loving couple, opposites that complement each other.   I love historical romances and historical mysteries, but I always wonder one thing. How much research went into a book like this? Are you a…

Kalliope Ballas is a fashion designer with a prissy calico cat, who falls and hits her head, then wakes up able to read minds but only through the power of touch. A nightmare for a germaphobe. Messy Detective Nikos Stevens lives next door with his slobbery saint Bernard. Think Monk meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nik is half Greek and Kalli is adopted by a Greek family. For the meddling mamas, that’s Greek enough. That got me thinking about big crazy families. I’m not Greek, but I am fascinated by their history, tradition, and culture. In my research, I found ten Greek traditions. Epiphany – Catching the cross On January 6th the Greek people celebrate Jesus Christ and his baptism. The priest throws a special cross into a blessed body of water, and the people jump in to find it. The person who finds the cross and gives it back to the priest is blessed for the entire year. Ragkoutsaria On the days after the Epiphany, people wear scary masks to exorcise evil spirits from the city. People passing by give them coins as payment for getting rid of the evil spirits. The whole city then gathers to eat,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE DETECTIVE, which is the seventh book in my action-packed romantic suspense series, Norcross Security. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? She’s a woman on the run from a stalker and desperate to avoid her hot, nosy detective neighbor. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My Norcross Security series is set in San Francisco. I knew it would revolve around ex-military heroes now working in private security in a city. I wanted a vibrant city to be the backdrop and San Francisco was perfect. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes! Although my heroine, Savannah, is an artist and I can barely draw a stick figure. I save my creativity for writing. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Tough, rugged, protective 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Like I mentioned, I’m not an artist, so I had to do a bit of research for the art side of things for the heroine in The Detective. I learned a lot about painting with a palette knife to add texture to a painting. I doubt I’ll ever do…

For readers who may be new to your Daniel Pitt series, how would you describe Daniel?   I would describe Daniel as coming from a happy childhood, but with a father who succeeded to a degree that obliges Daniel to strive constantly to be not only professionally successful, but to live up to the same moral standards… and incidentally a mother who is brave and individual, which means that Daniel himself can be happy only with a brave and individual kind of woman.   What made you decide to have a barrister as your main character in this series? I wanted him to detect, with urgency, high stakes to win or lose, but not to be another policeman, and I love courtroom scenes.  A barrister gives me the chance to have lots of them, quite legitimately.   How much research goes into your books? Are any of the characters in THREE DEBTS PAID inspired by actual people in history? The amount of research varies from book to book. A lot of it is constant throughout the series. Most of the change comes from being a slightly different time. Different things are happening. No. Real people now, possibly.   The early 1900s is…

She’s trying to rectify the past. He’s trying to forge a new future… I never expected to write Alaska Mountain Rescue. But when I was halfway through the first book in my K-9 Alaska series, K-9 Defense, a secondary character leapt up and demanded her own book. Alanna Morgan was kidnapped when she was five years old. She spent fourteen years with her kidnappers, who raised her (and her “siblings,” who were also kidnapped) as their own children. At nineteen, Alanna slipped a note to a store owner and changed the rest of her life. Her “parents” were arrested, and she was returned to a family she barely knew anymore. Five years later, when her “mother” Darcy Altier escaped from prison and grabbed another child, Alanna decides to return to Desparre, Alaska, to help police find her. It’s a hard journey back to Desparre. It’s where she spent her childhood, so in some ways, nowhere else feels like home to Alanna. But it’s also tainted by the knowledge that this remote town had been used to hide her from her real family for fourteen years. Returning to Desparre is her chance to redeem herself for not turning in her “parents”…

In your “Travel P.I.” mystery series, your female protagonist Angel Doyle is described as a “semi-reformed thief and accidental P.I.” What made you decide to create that type of character? In my two previous cozy mystery series, my sleuths are from fairly conventional backgrounds. In the Movie Club Mysteries, Maggie is an ex-cop who moves to Ireland and sets up her own P.I. agency. Dee in the Time-Slip Mysteries is a journalist and amateur sleuth. I wanted Angel’s story arc to be different. She comes from a family of career criminals and wants a fresh start on the right side of the law. Yet there’s no denying that specific skills she’s picked up over the years come in handy for her detective work. At the start of KNIFED IN NICE, Angel is on the cusp of significant life changes, and the story pushes her in another direction. She had no ambition to become a detective, but she’s thrust into a situation where she must figure out what’s going on or risk being killed. She’s also a loner, and the story forces her to work with a partner to solve the mystery. What all my sleuths have in common is a…

Hi, Sharon! Tell us about BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL. Hi there! Thanks for this opportunity! My latest book, BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL, is my debut romcom, and it was a fun project to create. The story is about Dreamy Daniels, a financially challenged, quirky, and fun-loving woman who loves life but has had a hard time at it. On top of that, she was recently publicly dumped by her attorney boyfriend who claimed she wasn’t cultured or sophisticated enough for him. His words crush her, and Dreamy decides to take a break from men and work on herself. That includes rebuilding her confidence and focusing on some of her personal goals like finishing her degree in Public Administration and starting her nonprofit. Oh, and she’s determined to finally win the lottery since it’s at an all-time high. Lol. Who doesn’t dream of winning the lottery? In the meantime, Dreamy catches the eye of a venture capitalist, who also happens to be the son of a famous movie star. She is shocked by his advances. She thinks – What does a guy like him want with someone like her when he can have any woman in the world? He’s the total…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SEA GLASS COTTAGE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Can a woman on a mission and the man she betrayed make peace with their past and open their hearts to a new beginning?   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is book 8 in my Hope Harbor series, so of course it takes place in my charming Oregon seaside community of Hope Harbor – where hearts heal…and love blooms!   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes. I admire her spunk and strength and the way she’s transformed her life.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Honorable, strong, wounded   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Quite a lot about the ins and outs of family law.   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as a go, then do a final read to smooth out any rough edges.   8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Dessert – preferably rich, decadent and chocolate! But I don’t indulge often.   9–Describe your writing space/office! Years ago, we…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired you to write THE WEDDING VEIL? Kristy Woodson Harvey: I was putting a veil on my cousin’s head—the veil that I had worn, many members of my husband’s family had worn, and several friends had worn as well—before her wedding, and it occurred to me how the veil connected the many women who had worn it. As I so often do, I thought, That’s a book! And here we are!   Jen: What was the most fascinating bit of history you discovered about the Biltmore during the writing process? Kristy: Well, honestly, that first spark of inspiration might have been my favorite! I was considering writing about a real, historical wedding veil, and, after a recent trip to Biltmore, I was very interested in Edith Vanderbilt and all the amazing things she did with her life. A quick Google search showed that the wedding veil she had worn, her mother and sisters had worn and her daughter Cornelia worn had disappeared. I knew immediately that was the framework for my story.   Jen: What does the wedding veil represent to Julia Baxter and her family? Kristy: For Julia’s family the veil is a symbol of long,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? PARKS AND PROVOCATION, Book 2 in the Green Valley Heroes series 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Highschool nemeses reunite in an embarrassing moment back in their small town in the Smoky Mountains. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Originally, it would’ve been in a small town like my own in south Louisiana, but I submitted and was offered to join the Smartypants Romance team. So Jed and Lola ended up in Green Valley, Tennessee. It’s a dream come true because the Winston Brothers series is one of my all-time favorites. I’m a huge admirer and fan of Penny Reid. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes. Actually, most of my closest friends are very much like Lola, organized and put-together. (The opposite of me.) 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Loyal, caring, and passionate. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? It reminded me that we shouldn’t ever regret our past. Every moment makes up the person that we are, and we learn from our mistakes. It also had me remembering how I’d done something similar…