I’ve always loved to travel, so I’m particularly drawn to novels set in interesting locations or featuring characters who take a journey of some sort. It’s my way of exploring the world even when I need to stay close to home. I’ve heard people refer to it as “armchair travel.” It’s the perfect escape from the daily demands—kids, job, friends, bills—you name it. Back when I was first dreaming of being an author, I remember reading a whole stack of Robin Jones Gunn’s delightful Sisterchicks books. As I closed the final cover, a thought jumped to mind. “This writer has it figured out. She must travel to all of these exotic locations to do book research—and it’s probably a business expense!” I realized the same was probably true of many of the other authors I made a habit of reading. Professional vacationers. Wouldn’t that be the life? Now that I’ve been on multiple book trips, I can tell you for sure: it is incredible. Traveling for novel research is a dream come true. It’s also a lot of work. My current series is set in some of our country’s most beautiful places, our national parks. When I first proposed the…

After a day spent listening to Baby Shark ad nauseam, I crave peace and quiet. To be fair, sometimes a little Rage Against the Machine is just what I need to release the stress of the day, but I digress. When I write my historical romances, the music I listened to needs to be void of lyrics but heavy on the emotional feels. And do you know what kind of music fits that bill? TV and movie scores! Depending on the scene I’m going to write, I select a song from a movie score I know is going to deliver the emotional punch I need to bleed the feels into the words I type. So here are my top five TV/movie score songs to write to. 5. “Marry Me” by Hans Zimmer from the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End score The combination of horns and strings creates a romantic, soulful sound perfect for writing those grand gesture scenes. 4. “The Way” by Zach Hemsey from A Discovery of Witches trailer This is the perfect song to listen to during the black moment. The crescendo leading to the climax of the song is potent and soaring, and the last…

Two sisters, Ryan and Wendy, are at the core of this novel, and even though they don’t always see eye to eye, Ryan is ready to help Wendy when she needs help. How does their relationship fuel the plot of this suspenseful novel? Ryan, who is much younger than Wendy, has always been in awe of Wendy. They’ve never lived in the same house, because Wendy was on her way to college when Ryan was born, and afterward she was married and traveling with her new husband. Wendy was the beautiful, seemingly perfect stranger who was so beyond Ryan in everything she did or could do, that there was no hope to compete or to truly win her sister’s affection. Then, suddenly, as the book begins, Ryan is given the chance for both. I really love the title of this book: A FAMILY OF STRANGERS. It’s very captivating! What does feeling like a stranger in one’s own family do to the characters in your book? I originally titled this book The Perfect Daughter, and we all loved it. But suddenly there were dozens of books scheduled everywhere with “perfect” in the title. So when I started looking for a new…

Many readers are familiar with the Orphan Trains that took impoverished children from large cities in the East to live with families in small towns and on farms in the Midwest. But did you know during that same time period more than 100,000 poor and orphaned British children were sent from England to Canada as British Home Children? This child emigration scheme was started by those who had good intentions and who hoped to clear the streets, children’s homes, and workhouses of orphaned and abandoned children in England’s overcrowded cities and towns. The children were promised a better life in Canada, but sadly that was not the case for all of them. Most of these children were not adopted and welcomed into families. Instead, the boys were taken in as indentured farm laborers and the girls worked as household servants called domestics, even at very young ages. Those who took them in simply filled out a form and paid a small fee. There was little screening and often no follow up. Because of this, and prevailing attitudes of the time, many of these children suffered neglect and mistreatment. Many slept in barns or other outbuildings and were not given adequate…

Warrior in Love is about a professional tomb robber and a Valkyrie on the hunt to retrieve an ancient artifact before it’s used to trigger Ragnarök – but treasure hunters have been around for decades! Here are my Top 5 Tomb Raider movies! #5: Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft Oh, come on – you knew this was going to be here! Yes, I know it’s from a video game – and yes, it had a sequel and has been rebooted since. But to me, this first movie was a great show of female power and strength, with Lara charging in where men feared to tread to find the treasure. A great movie! #4 The Mummy (NO, not the Tom Cruise one – the Brendan Fraser one!) Rick O’Connell kicked Royal Butt in this movie, chasing down an ancient mummy along with finding true love with Evy – a librarian who is much tougher than she looks. Don’t you DARE email me and argue for the Tom Cruise version – no, no, no! #3 The Mummy Returns No, it’s not cheating! Not when you see that Evy and Rick have an ADORABLE little boy and he’s just as…

First off, it’s truly painful to only pick five novels. How on earth am I supposed to do that? There are so many lovelies out there, and I just want to snuggle them all. From stories that sparked inspiration for my own work, Kingdom of Exiles, to just plain amazing concepts… Sheesh. This is so hard! But, as I must follow the rules, I’ll only bend them slightly by admitting the following: I feel like Harry Potter is a given. It completely and totally shaped my childhood, but since that’s on an echelon all its own, I’ll go ahead and pick my top five fantasy novels to date (in no particular order) that get shelved next to JK Rowling for me. Okay, ripping the band-aid off in 3…2…1… A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass Okay, so that really should say, A Court of Mist and Fury, but as that’s the second book in the series, you’ll have to start with ACOTR. Now, that’s not to say ACOTR isn’t amazing. I can’t remember if I devoured this story in one sitting or not, but I do recall my husband trying to talk to me, and me consequently…

From Rouge: A Novel of Beauty and Rivalry. Copyright © 2019 by Richard Kirshenbaum and reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Press. Chapter 2 A NEW FRONTIER Sydney, Australia, 1922 The heat was unbearable, constant, itchy, and apparently determined to do battle with her skin. It was ironic how brutal the journey had been given that the point of it was to flee a brutal adversary at home. Her mother’s favorite phrase came to mind as she grasped the railing of the ship: “Wherever you go, there you are.” Were her dear mother here right now, she would also be telling Josiah to protect her skin by putting on her hat. Instead, in a flash of rebellion, she stared head-on into the sun as though the sun itself were her enemy and she would win the face-off so long as she did not betray fear. Oy vey ist mir. She could not keep this lament far from her mind as she thought of the distance between her loving mother and herself. The distance increased with every second, along with the ache in her heart. She could practically smell her mother’s distinct scent: sweet, earthy, like the kasha and sweet white…

The legendary rivalry between Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli is well known in fashion history. What drew you to write about this notorious feud in The Last Collection? It seemed, currently, to be a very good time to be writing about strong, powerful women who do not back down from competition or threats.  I once visited a country that did not have freedom of press and information, and I needed a complicated visa to get there. The clerk at the embassy asked me what I did for a living (I was a journalist at the time) and I told him I was a writer.  He jumped up from his desk, truly alarmed!  He asked me what I wrote about, and I said family studies, human development, nutrition, consumer finance.  He sat back down and said , “Oh. Women’s stuff. Doesn’t matter.”  I got the visa, but I also got a strong lesson about what many people think of women’s issues.  This book says that ‘women’s stuff’ really does matter. Europe in the late 30s, as we know, is on the cusp of a tumultuous time that leads to WWII. What did this political landscape add to your story? How did…

All of my books have been set in England and Scotland, so it is natural that my husband and I have visited the British Isles over the years.  Here are my favorite things to do. Visit Winchester Any admirer of Jane Austen will eventually find herself in Winchester. Austen died here and is buried in the awe-inspiring Winchester Cathedral. Chawton Cottage, where Jane lived for many years, is nearby. Here I am near the water meadows of Winchester, where it is believed Keats composed his ode “To Autumn.”    Tour Edinburgh One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Edinburgh, Scotland, is dominated by the castle, where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to the child who would one day serve as both the king of England as James I, and simultaneously as James VI of Scotland. That’s the Royal Mile in the background. It was a beautiful, clear day—but cold. Explore London We love cities, and London is at the top of our list. So much to see and do. A short train ride from Waterloo Station and you can be at Hampton Court, home to many royals, including Henry VIII. There are reenactments and demonstrations of cooking and…

Renegade is the second book in the Cowboys & Harvey Girls series. It’s a sweeping, powerful Western historical romance series, featuring intrepid Harvey Girls and the rugged cowboys who win their hearts. I hope you enjoy this excerpt! *** She hadn’t seen much of the sheriff since Grace’s wedding. He rarely ate in the hotel dining room. She’d seen him a couple of times passing through the lobby, and he’d tipped his hat to her as he continued on his way. Now, once she reached the office door, she hesitated. The window that faced the street was dark, but a dim light was coming from a window at the side of the building. She rapped sharply on the door and after two seconds repeated the action, doubling the force. “I’m coming,” a male voice grumbled, and light flooded the window that overlooked the street. Lily stepped back, and when the door opened, she rushed inside, brushing past the sheriff, who was hooking his suspenders over his broad shoulders. “Miss Travis?” He ran his hand through his tousled hair. “What on…” He stepped outside and glanced around before returning and shutting the door. “Are you all right?” He looked her over….