Can it get any hotter? Yes, it can! Luckily, I’m talking about mysteries on my bookshelf and not the temperatures outside. (I refuse to listen to the weather reports at this point.) The books I’ve chosen this month are heating up the charts and bringing a biting blast to enflame your imagination. July started out rather nicely with temps below normal, and a novel release of a curious cat prowling around in Booking a Crook! Laurie Cass’s ninth Bookmobile Cat Mystery will have you dreaming of creating your own snow angels (preferably not the ones that accompany dead bodies) and wondering if it can actually get cold enough outside to make your teeth chatter as Minnie Hamilton struggles to keep her bookmobile on the streets of Chilson, Michigan. The name of the midwestern town alone should help you feel the chill in the air, but if you’re still looking for goosebumps, imagine looking at the people you’ve known your entire life as murder suspects. The shocking twist at the end is guaranteed to freeze the blood in your veins! BOOKING THE CROOK by Laurie Cass Bookmobile Cat #7 It’s all paws on deck as a librarian and her rescue cat…

I am a huge movie fan, have been since I was little. That’s where I saw my first western, my first musical, my first romantic comedy, my first sci-fi, and my first drama. Then I went to college to be a screenwriter, and that didn’t quite work out like I planned. But I have to say, I love writing romance novels even more! And movies provide inspiration in my writing. It primes the pump, so to speak. So now for my favorite movies…. THE PRINCESS BRIDE – Oh how I love this movie. The love story, the snarkiness, the delicious comedy, and the ridiculousness of it all. Buttercup is a strong woman who knows what she wants, Westley, and manages to keep her strength despite life’s challenges. At its core, it’s well-written, well-acted, and a brilliant script. It’s about our choices in life and how they shape our future. Definitely not inconceivable. STEEL MAGNOLIAS – I wish I could see the play but I have seen the movie many times. Living in North Carolina the last 22 years has given me the perspective of what being a southern woman means. Steel Magnolias is about women, their friendships, their fortitude and…

My current romantic suspense series, Shades of Leverage, is filled with action and adventure, set against the backdrop of sexy protector agents and strong-willed women. Locales can be anywhere from a city in the Midwest to the Florida coastline and the Gulf of Mexico. From the Northwest pines to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Filled with plot twists and cutting-edge equipment, most of the time, you won’t figure out the true villain until the last few chapters. Even then, there’s always one more thing you didn’t see coming. One more no-way will they survive. One more kiss. The Shades of Leverage series centers on the covert agency known as OPAQUE (Operation Protector Agents Quantum Elite). Their mission? Protect the innocent from the corrupt, and counter the crime-riddled greed and power of Coercion Ten (CT). The parts blur a great deal of the time because CT’s targets are their way of having leverage against someone lucrative to their exploits. Someday, OPAQUE will zero in on CT’s main base of operation. Until then, they keep fighting to save the targets. Keep compiling more and more intelligence. And leading the way is the Shades Team. They are an integral part of OPAQUE’s…

As a romcom author, it goes without saying that there’s a fair bit of romance in my stories – like my next book, How to Hack a Heartbreak, which is all about the highs and lows of searching for love on the internet. In the story, the main character, Melanie Strickland, sets her sights on one guy in particular, Alex Hernandez. But her burgeoning love affair with Alex isn’t the only significant relationship in her life. Equally important (if not moreso) are the friendships Mel has with her three best girlfriends: Whitney, Dani, and Lia. As I was writing How to Hack a Heartbreak, I wanted to convey the power of women and the importance of female friendships. Because let’s face it, ladies: lovers often come and go, but your girlfriends will always be your true ride or dies. The girl gang in this book was partially inspired by my own best friends, who’ve been there for me through practically every momentous life event – from my high school graduation to my wedding day, from my son’s birth to my mother’s death. Sometimes I think they know me better than I know myself, and frankly, I’m not sure I’d be…

As a writer, I’m always looking for new story ideas. For most writers, past experiences can be a very big help. Have you ever survived a dangerous situation? How did you do it? When I was first learning to snow ski, I got caught on top of Stowe Mountain, Vermont in a blizzard, after the lifts had closed. It’s a huge ski area. It was my first day on skis and somehow I got separated from my friends and wound up on a black diamond run. Of course, I started falling, and falling, and falling. Throwing myself down in the snow was the only way I knew how to stop! By the time I got halfway down, it was pitch black and freezing cold. I tried taking off my skis and walking, but the snow was deep and it was even harder than trying to ski. The clothes I had on weren’t nearly thick enough for a New England winter and I was afraid hypothermia would set in. I knew I was in big trouble. Maybe the reason I started writing Romantic Suspense had something to do with that day. Just when I was ready to give up, just sit…

Tessa Esposito, the protagonist featured in Penne Dreadful (on sale July 30th), lives in the charming town of Harvest Park, located in Upstate New York. A talented chef, Tessa would feed the entire world if possible. As with most cozy mysteries, Harvest Park has a gossip grapevine the size of Italy and she soon finds herself in the center of it. Cooking helps Tessa to deal with the stress in her life, which is currently at an all-time high. Fortunately, her close-knit Italian family is supportive and always there to lend a hand. They are passionate about most things in life, with food at the top of the list. The beginning of the story finds Tessa dealing with a personal tragedy—specifically, her husband Dylan’s recent death. Her grief quickly turns to anger when she discovers it was no accident—finding he was murdered instead. Who would do such a thing? Was Dylan in some type of trouble? And why didn’t he tell Tessa about it? The questions pile up as she struggles to understand. Tessa uses the other love of her life—cooking—to uncover Dylan’s killer. Her quest leads her to accept a job working “undercover” at a local pizza parlor called…

A SEAL Never Quits is all about having the heart of a warrior and never letting go of a mission, whether it be your assignment in the military, your dream future, or the love of your life. While researching Navy SEALs, I found endless inspiration from my own life experiences. Military Heroes date back in my family for hundreds of years. My father served in Vietnam as a private, and by the mid-seventies became a Captain in the Army Rangers. When I began writing A SEAL Never Quits, I knew it had to be about Special Ops since my dad shared that world with me from his time as a Ranger. His stories of the bond he formed with his unit shaped my view of a do-or-die brotherhood represented in the book. The Texas Navy SEALs series takes a group of rough and tough SEALs and puts them on an undercover assignment near the Texas/Mexico border to handle a rising terrorist issue coming from Mexico, Central, and South America. The unique aspect is that these SEALs go undercover on a working ranch and must stay on top of intel in a small town. Writing about a working ranch in south…

“If you write a book set in the past about something that happened east of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘historical novel.’ If you write about something that took place west of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘Western’- and somehow regarded as a lesser work. I write historical novels about the frontier.”   Louis L’Amour My great-grandfather was born in 1904 and was a Polish immigrant. He supported himself by working on the railroads. In his later years, I knew two things – he liked a glass of whiskey now and then, and he liked to get comfy in his recliner with a Louis L’Amour Western. At the time, I was young, and my literary taste ran more along the lines of Nancy Drew books and the Sweet Valley High series. It’s only in recent years that I can appreciate a tale of cowboys, horses, rodeos, and occasionally cattle rustling. Although, admittedly, my Westerns are of a very different variety than those preferred by my late great-grandpa. Mine is full of more naked shenanigans than he would probably care for. I can’t pinpoint which book was the first romance I read with a Western vibe, but it might’ve been “Catcher Creek” series by…

Starlight Harbor is my new home. Okay, no. I didn’t move. I’m still in my little apartment sitting out on my also little deck with my pup, drinking tea and writing. But if I could move to Starlight Harbor I’d have Jack the Pup packing his toys quicker than you can say “cupcake.” Not only is it on the coast of Maine which is absolutely stunning and has some of the most lovely, creative, strong but compassionate people I’ve met on my travels….Starlight Harbor is also on a mission. Starlight Harbor isn’t just your normal quirky small town. It’s turned love (and quirkiness) up to 11. Not only do they have a rich history of smuggling, piracy, and a collection of clans who escaped the Scottish Clearances…they also celebrate Christmas all year. Before you start picturing blowup Santas and fake snow, Lyra (our heroine) wants you to know… Don’t even go there. That’s what that uninformed, pushy, self-involved “journalist” did when he bad mouthed her town. Not that we’re judging him or anything. Instead, Starlight Harbor is a beautiful, seaside town that has a small celebration every few weeks. Picture a lovely Hallmark movie set instead of a Walmart holiday…

It’s winter here in Australia. Short days and long, cold nights. The perfect time to curl up in front of the fire with my dogs, and either a good book or the remote. There is such a lot of wonderful content out there, all hail the internet! it’s impossible to choose the top five. But today, I’d like to share my fav TV series, mainly because not only am I a binge reader but I’m also a TV series binge watcher! Call the Midwife I love period dramas and I also love anything set in England. This series has some wonderful characters and I loved the fashions of the time. What also interests me is learning about the breakthroughs in medical technology, the poverty of the time and that section of London and the hardships the people endured. An awesome series, with fabulous music, interesting storylines and of course, I usually bawl through every show. A great emotional show. Battlestar Galactica (2004 series) I have this series on DVD and I haven’t tired of watching it – so far (lol). Love humanity’s desperate fight for survival, the conflict amongst the characters – both humans and Cylons, the danger and the…