Everyone loves the beach. Though I live in Montana, I’m fortune to spend my winters at the beach in sunny California. My writing space looks out on a boat channel that leads to the harbor so I watch the tide go up and down several times a day. A bicycle-ride away, a sandy beach slopes down to the water where a frothy tide rolls in and out, the perfect place to talk a stroll at the end of a long day or just dig your toes into the warm gritty sand. For me, there is no better way to spend an afternoon than lying in the sun on a bright-colored beach towel, straw hat shading your face while you read a delicious, page-turning novel. The rhythmic curl and tug of the waves is the perfect backdrop, lulling me into the story, shutting out the day-to-day troubles of the world, if only for a little while. As a writer, lying half-asleep in the sun, listening to the soft rush of the wind and the cry of seagulls, is a great way to get story ideas. Too often I get stuck when writing a novel (I refuse to call it writer’s block,…

Harvard Summer Workshop. Advanced Novel Writing Class. Professor Haviaras raises his bushy eyebrows and surveys his classroom of future authors with a withering stare. He says in his Greek accent, “The most important thing to do before beginning your first novel? To find your voice.” That advice helped me polish my first manuscript, the one I had brought to the workshop. A few months later, MADEMOISELLE VICTORINE was acquired by Random House. It was even translated into many foreign languages I can’t speak. I began writing my latest novel YOU LUCKY DOG, pub date June 6th, by recalling the dictum, “Find your voice.” I felt the voice should be in the first person. I mean, first dog. I got the idea for this book a few years ago when a good friend lamented that she wished she could find a man who loves her as much her dog does. “He’s always happy to see me. When I come home from work, he rushes to greet me at the door. And he senses when I have the blues. He lays his head on my lap and looks up at me with those soulful eyes. It’s unconditional love. Why can’t I find…

Growing up in Grafton, Illinois, situated between the Mississippi River and the limestone bluffs carved from it eons ago, the legend of the Piasa Bird is well known. There is even a rendering of the Native American bird on a bluff wall on the National Scenic Byway (or as we like to call it, the River Road). The “Piasa” is a birdlike monster as large as a calf, with horns like a deer, red eyes, a human face, the body covered with green, red and black scales, and a tail so long it passed around the body. The creature was given its name by the Illini Indians, “The Piasa,” a bird that devours men. Well, I thought about legends, and how some have a basis of truth or religious belief attached to their stories. That got me to thinking about all the bedtime stories, campfire recollections, and folklore of the area, including the Piasa Bird. Now, wouldn’t it be cool if there really was some truth to the shifter tales we read about? So, I picked one area, Native American legends, and focused on that for my research. I learned about power animals or “spirit guides” that many tribes believe…

I have to admit I admire anyone who can blog on a weekly or monthly basis. I always struggle with a topic or what to say. With my book releasing on Memorial Day, I thought it fitting to talk about my military career and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. To begin, I joined the military right out of high school, serving both in the active duty Army and in the Army and Air National Guard. I was fortunate to have served with the most wonderful and selfless individuals. I learned about eternal friendships, unyielding strength and determination, and teamwork. I also learned about never giving up. My first example of this was about six weeks into Army Basic Training. It was around 9 p.m., raining and nearly forty degrees. You could see our breaths against the backdrop of the night sky. There were four platoons of around forty females: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. Each one of us received three magazines and several ammo cases. Me, along with five other women, were tasked to load the M-16 magazines with live rounds for night qualification. I’m not sure if we were being punished for not having our boots…

  I once accidentally smuggled a weapon into a prison. It was a metal hair stick that might as well have been a shiv. I’m not sure that every single item’s barcode beeps at the supermarket self-serve before hitting the bag. Sometimes I fail to indicate when I change lanes. And in my day job I’m often called on to write persuasive copy. But I’m no con artist. So how did I come to write a Robin Hooding con artist family? I got frustrated with the state of the world and its politics and I wondered what it would take to redistribute a little wealth, spread the well-being, and save the planet. I’m no activist either, but as a romance author I wield a mean keyboard and that’s how the Confidence Game series got started. Anger meet keypad plus blank page equals One Night Wife. I imagined a generations old family who saw it as their duty to take money from rich people who didn’t deserve their luck or use their positions responsibility and give it to more deserving people and unpopular causes. Robin Hood without the tights or the flying arrows. It wasn’t hard to find examples of villains…

The alpha hero is a mainstay of romance, and whether he be a duke, a quarterback or a shapeshifter, we see the alpha as strong, aggressive and often arrogant in his manner and bearing. Honestly, who hasn’t had a serious crush on a big strong alpha at one time or another. In YOU SEND ME, the second book in my Compass Cove series, Nick Rinaldi is the ultimate good guy. Putting himself out to care for his sick neighbor, the former Navy doctor is, kind, helpful and strong willed. He’s an alpha with a heart of gold, and he’s in good company. I have a soft spot for nice guy heroes, and I’ve listed my top five in no particular order: Jack Sheridan: (VIRGIN RIVER by Robyn Carr) How do I love Jack Sheridan? Let me count the ways. A retired Marine, he moved to Virgin River for a quiet life. He settled into the town helping people as he could. Hunting and fishing as he pleases, Jack’s life is quiet and easy until the new nurse midwife comes to town and Melanie turns his world upside down. Jack can’t do enough for her and he’s so totally in love…

A warm, lazy summer’s day. The scent of jasmine tickles your nose. A glass of sweet tea or lemonade, a front porch swing, and a good book. It’s one of life’s moments, isn’t it? The question is this. Out of all the books on my shelf or in my e-reader, which should I read next? How do I choose just one? If you’re like me, you’ve got a to-be-read list longer than your arm. So, just between us, I thought I’d share with you my top three picks for this summer’s reading. Maybe, then, you can share with me what you’re reading—and I can add to that must-read list of mine. I love, love, love finding new authors, along with books by my favorites that I’ve somehow missed. At the top of my list is Nora Roberts’ new book, SHELTER IN PLACE. This is one of her romantic suspense stories and deals with the senseless violence that’s going on around us, so it won’t be a light read. She always delivers, though, and her characters and plot all but hold me hostage till that last page. I’ll admit right now that I’m a Nora fan-girl. I also love her JD…

Hello Wonderful Readers, If you are familiar with any of my books, you likely know me as an author of historical romance novels set in Regency England. I absolutely love the period for its upper-class decadence, the covert sensuality that runs beneath all the stiff and proper manners, and the gritty London Underworld which stands in striking opposition to the glittering ballrooms of high society. Although I fully intend to write more stories set in Regency England and perhaps other periods of British history as well, I decided to go in a different direction for a little while. In my next series publishing with Sourcebooks Casablanca, I am exploring a New World…the American Wild West! My Runaway Brides series follows three brides (go figure😊) who escape unwanted fates in an elite Boston society to find adventure, independence, and freedom in America’s wild western territories of the 1880s. I know, it’s quite a jump from Regency England, but I am so excited about these books! I’ve realized through writing my first two romance series that although each story is different and every character has their own unique backstory and an individual way of being in the world, I definitely have a…

Jeff Resnick has a knack for getting into trouble. And sometimes he isn’t the only one. And what is June without a wedding? As it happened, in DEAD IN RED, the second Jeff Resnick Mystery, Jeff’s older half-brother, Dr. Richard Alpert, was about to get married to his long-time significant other, Brenda Stanley. It was to be a small wedding. Just the bride and groom, Jeff as best man, and Brenda’s friend, Maggie Brennan, as bridesmaid. Then the four of them would go out to a nice lunch before the bride and groom left on their honeymoon to Paris. And yet even small weddings need certain items. Things like the wedding dress, the tuxes, flowers, and of course, the license. While all that took place, Jeff, a former insurance investigator was looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of a local bartender. That led him to the bar scene and drag shows. Richard sort of tagged along. (Yes, sort of!) And then there was a fight—perhaps a brawl would be a better term. Let’s just say the wedding pictures were to become a whole lot more interesting. And then things took an even more sinister turn. Will Brenda finally get…

Note from author: I’m so excited to bring you my new enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance Then There Was You, the first book in my new Angel Falls series. I hope you enjoy Sara and Colton as much as I enjoyed writing them! –Miranda “Liasson (The Baby Project) ably tugs at the heartstrings with this poignant contemporary about a jilted doctor and the police chief who’d like to make it all better.”  –Publishers Weekly Short excerpt:   “I didn’t get you a pie. I made you a pie.”  Her eyes were dancing in the low light, and he could see the golden highlights in her hair. Forget the damn pie. He wanted to taste her. Whoa there, Colton. Friends, friends, friends, he repeated to himself. What had happened to all that animosity between them? The desire to tease her, to make her blush? To keep her at a distance, which was what all that bickering had done. Now he found he did want to make her blush. But for a completely different reason. “Did you celebrate today?” she asked. “Carmen made cupcakes. I’ll have dinner with Cookie and Hannah this weekend.” She patted the swing beside her and he took her up…