I’ll let you in on a little secret…life is hard! Some days it seems to be harder than ever. How wonderful that we have books to escape into. Magical stories to sweep us away to other lands, other times. Allowing us to slip our feet into the shoes of queens and dukes….and pirates! In my new release, WITHIN A CAPTAIN’S TREASURE, my pirates do a lot of escaping. Battling on the high seas, they escape death at every turn. They escape the heartless peril of the sea itself. Their lives are one step away from a hangman’s noose. My heroine, Alice Tupper, knows more escape tricks than Houdini! Trying to break away from the deeds of her past, she heads toward America only to be captured by pirates. Through pure guts and a lucky shot, she frees herself from one band of pirates only to end up in the hands of another. She climbs the mast in the middle of a storm and survives. Stares down the barrel of more than one gun and manages to live to tell the tale. She even manages to flee into the night after being discovered for the pirate she truly is. Turns out,…

The Wet ‘N Wild Authors are at it again, this time featuring Navy SEALs – heroes ready for action, on the job and off! We asked each of the 10 bestselling & award-winning authors, “The SEALs are WET – how is your story WILD?” Tawny Weber’s A SEAL’S PROPOSAL, much like its heroine, is sassy, sexy and wild! Sam vowed if he ever became a SEAL, he’d do it as a single man. Bryanna isn’t willing to give up the man she loves. She has 2 weeks to convince him that he can have his career, and everything she has to offer, too, if they stay together. How? With wild sex, of course. For Commander Marc Miller, Hell Week begins the moment one red-hot redhead, a well-connected junior officer, waltzes through his door & gets inside his head. In Rogenna Brewer’s SEAL IT WITH A KISS, Lieutenant Tabitha Chapel will have to match wits with the best to become the first female SEAL – but the limits of her determination are tested by the only SEAL capable of commanding her heart. One. Wrong. Move. In ROGUE by Laura Marie Altom, disavowed Navy SEAL, Nash Adamson, knows that’s all it will…

Hello Friends, Next up for me is INTO THE WHIRLWIND, the second of my BOSS Inc, novels! It’s Megan and Dirk’s wild and tumultuous story; one of personal favorites. And ya gotta love the cover!! It hits the shelves May 31st. I just received the review from RT BOOK REVIEWS, and thought I would share it with you along with a peek inside the cover of INTO THE WHIRLWIND. “The second in the BOSS, Inc. series continues to excite! If you enjoy taught page-turners with powerful and protective alpha males, you’ve found one. The main characters have fiery chemistry and are evenly matched, making the intensity and intrigue all the more thrilling. Readers have come to expect steamy sex and plenty of suspense from Martin, and this series provides it in abundance!” —RT BOOK REVIEWS EXCERPT from INTO THE WHIRLWIND Megan O’Brien parked at the end of the gravel driveway and quietly got out of her compact SUV. Through the trees, she could hear the roar of a chainsaw, hear see two-by-fours going up to form the sides of the house under construction. The garage was already finished, undoubtedly full of Dirk’s toys, including a Harley and a custom Dodge…

I grew up in a house where we laughed a lot. We often poked fun at one another, called each other out for stupid things we did, and never let anyone live down one bad mistake. As a result, I find myself drawn to novels and movies that have a large amount of humor and wit in them. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate deep, heartfelt storylines, but I’ve learned that I have to be in the mood for a good cry. And the older I get, the less I enjoy putting myself through the emotional roller coaster. Wow. That made me sound like an old maid. I guess what I mean is that it takes me DAYS to recover from a novel or movie where I’ve balled my eyes out all night. Instead, if I’ve laughed through most of it, no recovery is needed and I move onto the next enjoyment. That’s important. I feel like life is serious enough. We deal with so many stressors every day that we need an escape from it all. These are my top 5 laugh-out-loud movies that no matter what kind of mood I’m in, they are my go-to in order…

After falling in love with historical romances during my years as an elementary school teacher, I eventually decided to try my hand at writing one. Since the publication of my first western historical romance, SUNFLOWER, I’ve been blessed with a long and fruitful career as a published author. I’ve written thirty novels, numerous novellas and short stories that include both Historical and Contemporary Romance fiction in both paperback and hardcover, Inspirational Western Romances, and most recently, a series of cozy/amateur sleuth mysteries set in Hawaii. The reason I turned to writing who-done-its set in Hawaii is no mystery. Many of my books always contained an element of suspense and because we owned a summer home in Hawaii, I was always trying to get away with island settings. GLASS BEACH, is a Victorian Western set on Kauai. The heroine of DAY DREAMER, ends up on an island in the Caribbean. One of my more humorous historicals, THE ORCHID HUNTER, is set in England and on a fictional island off the coast of Africa. Thanks to E-book publishing, all of my backlist historical romances are available to a new generation of readers. In 2005 we became permanent residents of Kauai, the northernmost…

One of my favorite things to do as I’m writing is to create a Pinterest Board and a Spotify playlist that match the theme of my book. I start adding songs to my playlist as soon as I begin a story and continue, adding as I write. The same is true of my Pinterest board. By the time my manuscript is complete I have the journey well documented. Even more thrilling is when one of my readers shares graphic artwork that they’ve created after reading one of my books. As an author, I love the glimpse into my readers’ concept of my characters, and considering whether it pairs well with my own vision. Like other art forms, reading is in the eye of the beholder. Many of us who like to read also love to discuss books. These discussions yield similar opinions and often open my eyes to something I hadn’t considered. For the same reason, when someone shows me my work through their eyes, it’s a huge RUSH! :-). The quote picture images on this board were created by one of my gracious readers! Thanks @wishfulmiss! You can see more RUSH images on my Pinterest Board and hear the…

I’ve always been a daydreamer. When I was a kid, it usually translated into some epic imaginary play with my brother and cousins. Nowadays, it ends up providing great creativity to my day-job as a pediatric speech language pathologist and in my night-job as a writer. Daydreaming is a powerful tool of creativity, whether as a carpenter, teacher, game designer, architect…any profession really. In story creating, it’s a foundational element to bridge the gap between the ‘real’ world and the fictional dimension. In daily life, it’s that little bit of glitter on the ordinary. Though many daydreams may take us to new and exciting places, imaginary or real, some of our daydreams can carry more of a homemade scent. I think that’s why I have such fun writing both novels that happen in this time period in my native Blue Ridge Mountains, as well as in historical or fantasy time periods. Homemade daydreams in fiction are those that happen in the known world. Blue Ridge Mountains for me. With this type of daydreaming comes a stronger sense of smell, a tangible touch to the world around me, a physical knowing of the way the weather hits my skin and the…

Music can be the sound track to our emotions. A great song can not only change your mood but also change your day. When a song speaks to you and knows your heart, you bond with it. I thought it would be fun to pick my characters brains and pick the top 5 songs for Hök Magnusson and Lady Sovia, the hero and heroine of my new Viking romance, THE NORTHMAN’S BRIDE. To give you a touch of context, my young Viking warrior Hök Magnusson gets his heart clawed out by his first love, Lady Sovia. Seven years later and his wound has yet to heal. Don’t judge my book by the cover models. I promise Hök is not always that grumpy looking. Hök’s Playlist would be: Bite Hard by Franz Ferinand. After Sovia tossed Hök’s love aside, he’s gutted and understandable ill tempered. This song is about breaking hearts and breaking minds. Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons. Scorned and feeling he has dishonored his family, Hök volunteering joins the neighboring counties civil war to secure his families boarders. Tick Tick Boom by The Hives. Years later, on his second encounter with Sovia, Hök is a ticking time bomb…

Music can be the sound track to our emotions. A great song can not only change your mood but also change your day. When a song speaks to you and knows your heart, you bond with it. I thought it would be fun to pick my characters brains and pick the top 5 songs for Hök Magnusson and Lady Sovia, the hero and heroine of my new Viking romance, THE NORTHMAN’S BRIDE. To give you a touch of context, my young Viking warrior Hök Magnusson gets his heart clawed out by his first love, Lady Sovia. Seven years later and his wound has yet to heal. Don’t judge my book by the cover models. I promise Hök is not always that grumpy looking. Hök’s Playlist would be: Bite Hard by Franz Ferinand. After Sovia tossed Hök’s love aside, he’s gutted and understandable ill tempered. This song is about breaking hearts and breaking minds. Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons. Scorned and feeling he has dishonored his family, Hök volunteering joins the neighboring counties civil war to secure his families boarders. Tick Tick Boom by The Hives. Years later, on his second encounter with Sovia, Hök is a ticking time bomb…

Hey Writers, are You afraid of Social Media? I’ve been in your shoes. In fact, I wore out several pairs called, “I can’t do social media.” They pinched my toes and hurt my feet. So I tossed them in the trash and bought a new pair titled, “I’m not afraid of social media.” Those shoes were made for success, and I wear them every day. My real issue was fear. I thought I couldn’t learn the different platforms. Questions hovered, like where does my brand and genre fit? How many platforms must I use? I’m foremost a novelist, not a guru in mastering the social media universe. It made sense to me that doing nothing meant no risk of failure. Wisdom marched in with clarification: Doing nothing meant I’d always regret not trying, and I was limiting my exposure to readers. That’s when I made up my mind to educate myself in the art of social media. I made slow but steady progress and climbed a mountain. So much satisfaction at the top. Now I can look down and see where I’ve failed, pick myself up, and climb a taller peak. Good news! My readership has increased, which means higher…