Years ago, I had the opportunity to interview singer-songwriter Kate Campbell, who remains one of my favorite artists. Kate talked about something she called “Southern noir,” which has nothing to do with crime novels and everything to do with sense of place. At certain spots in the South, you get the feeling that something is happening beneath the surface, something—maybe even something on the dark side—that you can feel but can’t see. Southern noir. Once you’re attuned to it, you can feel the undercurrents of our regional noir in places all over the South. Our grande dame cities—Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans—are givens. (Savannah’s on my bucket list, but I’ve rambled the other two.) If you’ve never known Southern noir, here are five more great places to experience it: Rural Alabama Back when we had a little more time on our hands, my husband and I used to break out the map on a Saturday morning, pick a road, and strike out on an Alabama ramble. We’ve roamed small towns like Wetumpka, Northport, and Mooresville, and had lunch at “meat ‘n threes”—down-home Southern cafes where you choose your meat and three vegetables from a menu posted on the wall. We’ve…

My new release, THE BILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPECTED BABY , centers around an unconventional couple who is preparing for the arrival of a baby who is…well, unexpected. This one was a lot of fun to write. Being a mother myself, I could relate to a lot of the anxiety my characters experienced as they awaited the big day. Of course, I didn’t have my friends running a pool on my relationship and the only baby daddy drama I had was with my husband and a few unfortunate name choices, but still. I could relate. There are a lot of things about having a baby that caused me a great deal of anxiety. Here were my Top 5: The Breaking of the Water – Now, in the movies this is always shown as a massive gush of water where I’ve heard in real life it’s not always that dramatic. However, going into the whole thing, I just knew, with my luck, I was going to be a gusher and it was going to happen in the middle of some fancy and overly crowded venue. Then, I ended up having C-sections, so I never had my water break. Crisis averted! The Contractions – those…

Meg Ryan nailed it. In You’ve Got Mail, bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) stands behind the counter of The Shop Around the Corner and insists, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.” “Hear! Hear!” I remember books and their characters from my childhood as if they were living, breathing folk—animals and humans alike. I could bump into them today and know their names, understand their motivations, imagine the decisions they’d make in a world or time outside their own. They were and are my friends—part of my fiber and being. I’m not sure if I picked my favorite books because I’m like those characters and believe I could comfortably slip into their shoes, or because those characters have influenced my own thought processes and character growth. Either way, we’re friends for life. Here are my favorites and why I love them: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—This story chronicles, tongue in Mark Twain’s cheek, a good-hearted, fun-loving, sometimes conscious-stricken, creative boy magnetically drawn to trouble and adventure, who precariously walks a knife’s edge of danger. Through it all, he remains steadfast…

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, debating why independent-minded, strong-willed women crave alpha males. She, being one of these women with quite an affinity for the fictional Christian Grey, said “it’s not that I want to be dominated out in the real world—just in the bedroom.” So I mentally tapped my chin, pondering my own fascination with alpha males. Yes, I married one. So there’s no denying I’ve got it pretty bad for aggressive, protective men. This may be why they show up so often in my writing. Okay, definitely why. But I believe the lure is more primitive than we think. If we gaze far back to the caveman days, cavewomen followed the one with the biggest club and the baddest attitude to scare off dangerous predators and keep her safe. Even in the 21st century, you’ll find a line of women readers drooling over badass billionaires, dominant shape-shifter alphas, Highland warriors, and deadly demon hunters. I’ve not yet heard one of my friends panting over the pretty boy shopping for his skinny jeans and highlighting his overly styled hair. We want the modern caveman with the biggest stick (sexual innuendo intended) to beat our…

The main theme of my newly released YA/SciFi novel, THE VANISHING SPARK OF DUSK, is to “Be Heard”. While that mantra is primarily focused on my main lead, Lark (who’s naturally quiet and reserved), this theme is also geared toward the romantic relationship in this story. There are SO. MANY. BOOKS. out there. Thankfully they’re starting to encourage people to love and listen and respect each other, but there are still those books hanging around that might have a controlling partner be the “hero”. (Trust me, I’ve read them. *puke*) And I’m not talking “Christian Grey” control. In that book Anastasia has a safe word, and it’s HANDS OFF the moment she uses it. Even when she doesn’t use it, Grey respects her and listens to her. I’m talking about the subtle control. The cloaked guilt the controlling party gives their partner when they don’t get what they want. The anger that results when the partner stands their ground. I’m talking about emotional abuse, which can sometimes lead to physical abuse if the controlling party still doesn’t get what they want. As someone who used to devour these sorts of books and idolize those “heroes,” I now get super triggered…

When I first began writing historical fiction as a young girl, I was a blank slate about petticoats, bum rolls, stays, jumps, busks, stockings and garters, and whatnot. Fast forward many years and nine published novels later, and I’m still learning with each novel I write, and have discovered that the best way to dress my heroine is to dress myself. I don’t want to create heroines who dress in fashions and underpinnings I know little about. The best way to authenticate a character is to dress like she would, for a day, an hour, or whatever time and event inspires you. Historical dressing is surprising and delightful and educational! And I have a confession. I love stays, the 18th-century equivalent of the 19th-century corset. Stays provide a lovely silhouette and improve my posture, plus they are excellent back support. The stay naysayers, I think, may never have been laced up in them. I highly recommend them and gladly dress my heroines in them! During the recent holidays, I was made merry with the acquisition of a striped petticoat from Fort Boonesborough, and a lovely pair of clocked stockings and straw hat with paper flowers from Fashions Revisited, a beautiful…

If any of you follow me on social media, you’ll know I’m a bit of a paper product junkie. I’m a diehard devotee to my paper planner, and I love setting goals each year with a goal-setting workbook I have. However, one of my newer loves is my reading journal. Like many of you, I keep track of what I read in Goodreads. I love having a searchable list and participating in their annual reading challenge. However, because I’m an author, I don’t feel comfortable doing detailed reviews anymore (particularly in my own genre) because a) I probably know the author and b) if I leave a bad review, I’m guaranteed to be sitting next to that author at the next event, lol. So, I decided when I got published to stop reviewing beyond sharing “It was great!” if I truly loved a book.   But over time, I realized that I missed being able to jot down my thoughts about a book. Plus, if I didn’t write down something, I often forgot what the heck the book was about. So, I decided to start an old-fashioned, hand-written reading journal. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up with…

Write, write, write. I plan to have two new wolf books and a jaguar book for 2018, need to figure out who and what. For the jaguar one, I want Howard, the former Enforcer, who desperately needs a mate. I envision in him in the jungle, where all big cats need to get away, and the Enforcer she-cat who is ready to put him on her hitlist if he doesn’t toe the line. And one of Grant’s brothers, for a new Highland Wolf book. Not sure about the other. I’ll be writing another YA fae story, cougar shifter, Medieval Highlander, and polar bear shifter book. Other than that, I can’t wait to visit a friend and fan who took me to see two wolf reserves in Minnesota and we’re going back. She and another friend, who took me all over San Diego, will be there, and we all went to see the wolves in New Mexico together. I want to see the wolf reserve near where my son is stationed in Omaha, also. I love to share pictures of them with my fans. I’m thinking of going to Denver to RWA and one of the ladies living there said she’d…

If you could invite any five characters (from books or movies or TV) to dinner, who would they be and why? It’s impossible to pick only five fictional characters I could invite to dinner. Would I fill my table with superheroes like Thor and Captain America (for the view, obviously), or a more classic George Bailey, C.K Dexter Haven, Rhett Butler trio? Fill each seat with TV characters who make me laugh like Ron Swanson and Jim Halpert with a dash of Gary Hobson and Sam Beckett? Or maybe my favorite book friends from childhood: Jo March, Laura Ingalls, Elizabeth Wakefield. But I’m a romance writer and, these days, almost one hundred percent a romance reader, so it makes the most sense to focus on characters from romance novels. It was still hard to narrow it down, but this at least gave me somewhere focused to start. So, Nicole’s Eclectic Guest List of Potential Disaster is as follows: Clara Campbell from WILD RIDE COWBOY by Maisey Yates Daniel MacGregor from The MacGregors series by Nora Roberts Riordan from The Edge series by Megan Crane Katya Ivanova from MAKE YOU MINE by Jackie Ashenden Lillian Bowman from The Wallflowers series by…

I’ve always believed that to be passionate about something is a gift. Personally, passions give me something to dream about, to look forward to, and to pour my love, energy, and excitement into. The nature of some interests is to evolve as we do, sometimes even disappearing entirely to make room for new ones that fit into the different stages of our lives. Other things become essential to us, a part of our very natures, and settle deep into our hearts where their spark will never be extinguished. Here are five of the things that set my <B>Heart on Fire</B>. <ol> <li><strong>Family</strong>. I have two amazing children, a nine-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, and a helpful, generous husband who is a terrific father. I have parents, a sister, nieces and a nephew, and a whole slew of both close and extended in-laws that we see when we can. Not a day in my life has gone by when I didn’t know I could count on my mother if I needed to, for whatever, no matter what. That’s a huge gift to any child, and I hope that my children will feel the same way about me each and every…