One of the best questions I get from readers, bloggers, and other authors, is, “Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?” Ha. No. If you even knew what I was like growing up, the fact that I’m doing this now would blow your mind! I was definitely one of those students that didn’t read the books that were mandatory reads in school, I was also one of those students that failed the first half of one of their English classes in high school because I was … err … am absolutely awful at grammar! But the thing that makes everyone laugh the most, is that I was one of those students that failed out of a Creative Writing course in college. It wasn’t that I didn’t do the homework, or that I didn’t try, I was just really terrible. The professor told me I wouldn’t have a career in writing, and I thought that was just fine because I didn’t want to be a writer anyway. I’d just needed that class for my major, unfortunately. Needless to say, when I published my first novel, my entire family didn’t believe me. I got practically the same reaction from…

Lately I’ve been interviewed a lot by people who ask me why I write erotic fiction and how I’d describe it. And I discovered a vast population of people that had no idea what it really is. It’s a genre that has kind of snuck up on the reading public, graduating from behind closed doors and plain brown wrappers to now full out discussions on places like Goodreads. I didn’t start out to write in this genre. Actually I didn’t start out to write romance at all. Everyone who’s heard this next part, you have permission to take a break to get a cold drink. I actually intended to write mysteries. My mother and my sister devoured them and that was all I read growing up. I won’t even tell you how old I was before I read my first romance novel. So, okay, I sat down to write the mystery that I’d plotted so carefully, and in a week I had three chapters carefully written. The problem? Two months later I was still looking at the same three chapters. Not a good sign. Then I read my first romantic suspense and I was off to the races. Sort of….

August 2012 On Sale: August 7, 2012 Featuring: Olivia MacKenzie; Grayson Kincaid 368 pages ISBN: 0525952861 EAN: 9780525952862 Kindle: B007FEFIHO Hardcover / e-Book $26.95 Add to Wish List Romance SuspenseBuy at Amazon.com Fresh Fiction Reviewer’s Best Reads of 2012 Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood In the new contemporary romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood, a detective and a lawyer are falling in love— and making a federal case out of it. When FBI agent Grayson Kincaid first encounters Olivia MacKenzie, she makes quite an impression. The beautiful, tough, young attorney has stumbled into the middle of an FBI sting operation and has reduced it to chaos. Months of surveillance and careful planning down the drain, Kincaid’s partner is furious and lets Olivia know that she’s ticked off the wrong guy. After all, he’s FBI. Olivia isn’t intimidated by his partner’s bullying because she’s something even scarier . . . she’s IRS. And working for the IRS isn’t for the faint of heart. She’s on the trail of an elaborate Ponzi scheme, one that threatens to ruin the lives of naive and unsuspecting victims, and one she has personal reasons to be angry about. But after she…

Thanks so much to Fresh Fiction for hosting me here today! So, a Greek god, a vampire, and an Army Special Forces veteran walk into a bar… Oh, wait. This isn’t a joke. And it’s not a bar. It’s my writing schedule for the next three months! *grins* After a rush of releases over the past year, I have the biggest gap between book releases I’ve had so far in my career. And that’s a good thing, because I need all the time to write that I can get! So, today, I thought I’d give you a quick introduction to a few of my upcoming books and a juicy excerpt from one! Read on… SOUTH OF SURRENDER, fantasy romance, Hearts of the Anemoi #3, to release May 28, 2013 Hero: Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer Heroine: Laney Summerlyn, freelance writer and horse farm owner Tagline: She’s the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within… Why I’m loving writing this book: The plot has challenged me more than anything else I’ve written. The hero is absolutely delicious on the inside and the out. And the heroine, who is…

I’m so excited about my new release, A SEAL’s Seduction!  It has a hot Navy SEAL, a sexy subliminal scientist and an intense hostage rescue all wrapped together in one sensual story. I’m probably an oddity as a writer.  I don’t re-read my books once they are in print.  In part, it’s because I’ve already spent months with them. Writing.  Re-writing.  Revising. Editing. Editing again.  Summarizing.  Summarizing the summary.  And then reviewing to put together promo stuff, like this blog post.  So, that part is burnout.  I’m pretty much done with the story by the time it’s out. Part of it is control craziness.  I’ve got a few minor control issues *g * So once that book is out, if I’m reading it, it’s been a few months since I last worked on it.  So as I read, I tend to see all sorts of things I’d want to change.   Phrases.  Different angles I could have layered.  Tweaks and minor adjustments.  But I can’t do anything about them.  Which leads to that craziness I mentioned. But, every once in awhile, I have a book that I cannot wait to read again.  One that stays in my mind, even as I’m…

With the start of 2013 comes what I think may be my best book yet. Once in a while I find a story where the characters take off and write the book. With a young lawyer who thinks someone is trying to kill him and another couple building love from a childhood friendship, CHANCE OF A LIFETIME won’t let you put it down. In this visit to Harmony, you’ll see people from the town that you’ve met in other books, but the plot begins with a quiet librarian, Emily and her former childhood friend, Tannon Parker. While he’s grown cold and hard over the years, she’s become afraid of the world. He comes to the library every Friday night because he knows she’s afraid of the dark and though they barely speak as he walks her out, he thinks his heart only beats when she’s near. For Tannon and Emily this may be their last CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. With Emily forming a writing club to draw people into the library and a kid named Beau Yates about to hit it big as a singer, you’ll feel like you’ve lived in Harmony forever and love all the folks. So, come…

April 2012 On Sale: April 17, 2012 496 pages ISBN: 0399159126 EAN: 9780399159121 Kindle: B0074VTHBQ Hardcover / e-Book $27.95 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Top Pick by Fresh Fiction Reviewers The Witness by Nora Roberts Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever. Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today’s most reliably entertaining thriller author—and will leave…

I find every aspect of the writing process challenging—but I love a challenge, so that’s what makes this profession so exciting and endlessly interesting and enjoyable. But I have to say that the hardest part of writing a book is the planning and execution of the entire first draft. It all begins with an idea, which sometimes is inspired by something I’ve read or seen, but often comes after months of determined brainstorming in search of the right idea. After a bit of initial research I scribble notes expounding on the concept, jotting down possible characters and story directions. I put the idea aside for a while, and if it still intrigues me weeks or months (or years) later, I do further research and write a detailed story outline. At the outline stage it’s a huge challenge to develop the elements that I feel are essential to any good book: the theme of the novel and the main characters’ arcs. It’s vital to me that the hero and heroine each begin with a problem, a need, a goal, and an inner wound of some kind; that the story takes them on a journey which forces them to confront and overcome…

It shouldn’t even be a question. But for me, as I’m sure it is for many whose minds are inundated with stories begging to be told, I often asked myself the very same thing. Do I do it? Do I simply go for it? And the most pressing one: When? Let me back up a little, and start from the beginning-that pivotal moment when I realized maybe I had a talent, a knack for prose. No, not trying to sound cocky, but I do believe each of us has a gift or talent that should be shared in some way. I just managed to peg mine early, first grade to be exact. That was my moment in time when I knew no spelling bee, no grammar test, and no essay would send my mind a-whirling and my a-stomach churning. Research papers beware! English was always my best subject, and my first grade teacher recognized this, setting me aside and letting me write stories while the rest of the class labored away at other subjects like math(I’m sure this is why I still use my fingers to count). And even then, the limited capacities of my seven year old mind understood…

July 2012 On Sale: July 2, 2012 320 pages ISBN: 0373837666 EAN: 9780373837663 Kindle: B007UNC40O Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish ListInspirational Fiction Amish Buy at Amazon.com Top Pick by Fresh Fiction Reviewers Dark Crossings by Patricia Davids, Karen Harper, Marta Perry The Covered Bridge by Karen Harper When Benjamin Kline returns to the fold after eight years, Abigail Baughman welcomes him with an open heart. But all is not well in their Amish village. Mysterious happenings put Abby in harm’s way, forcing Ben to run to her rescue. He’s vowed never to let anyone hurt her, and suddenly everything is at risk—their community, their way of life…and their future together. Fallen in Plain Sight by Marta Perry Childhood friends Sarah Weaver and Jacob Mast see each other in a different light when violence shatters their peaceful society. Now a series of accidents put their faith—and newfound love—to the ultimate test. Outside the Circle by Patricia Davids Isaac Bowman is an outsider, but Lena Troyer makes the widower and his daughter feel like part of the community. So when a deer-poaching ring divides the town, Isaac vows to keep this gentle woman safe from harm…in spite of the danger to…