Have you ever had one of those: Everything-Goes-Wrong-Days? As in kids are late for school, you burned dinner, and the house is a wreck just as guests popped by for a visit? When this happens, I need something to just get by. Most likely it’s a cup of tea, some chocolate…a piece of cake. And I don’t need it because it’s something nice, but unnecessary. It’s because right then I need something normal—centering—and then I can get on with whatever is left of my day. In THE KNIGHT’S SCARRED MAIDEN, Rhain and Helissent’s story is about honey cakes. And they’re not unnecessary for them either; in fact, the cakes give them their happily ever after. Helissent is a baker. She compares her life’s struggles to failed bakes, and thinks of people like ingredients. She also talks in baking terminology, which confuses many a discussion. I loved discovering how she thought. But the cakes mean something else for her as well. Helissent’s family died in a tragic fire. Burned severely on the right side of her body, she was healed with honey. When the innkeepers adopt her, she brings in more patrons by learning to bake honey cakes. Then you have…

I first fell in love with time-slip novels after reading Susan Meissner’s THE SHAPE OF MERCY, quickly followed by Rachel Hauck’s THE WEDDING DRESS. I felt I had discovered a whole new world—and I had. There’s just something about a story with both a contemporary and historical timeline that I love. And now, with summer upon us (and maybe some days by the pool or the beach with a good book!), I’m hoping you might give time-slip novels a chance, too. But just in case you need a little convincing, here are three reasons you might be interested in this genre. J 1) With time-slip novels, you get two books for the price of one. Who doesn’t want a bargain? And while I love a good contemporary story, I also love a good historical one. With time-slip novels, we can experience both in one book. Yes, the two stories will be connected, but they are, in essence, also very separate from one another. 2) They help us think outside the box. Time-slip novels bring a unique element to the table. Literary components can merge with romance, mystery, and contrasting time periods to create a different type of story, a different…

ON HER MAJESTY’S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE by Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness Mystery #11 In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown. When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to Italy sans maid and chaperone to help my dear friend Belinda, as she awaits the birth of her baby alone. An opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—my cousin the queen is in need of a spy to attend a house party in the Italian lake country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding. What luck! A chance to see Belinda and please the queen as I seek her permission to relinquish my claim to the throne so I can marry Darcy. Only that’s as far as my good fortune takes me. I soon discover that Mummy is attending the villa party and she has her…

CHIME AND PUNISHMENT by Julianne Holmes Clock Shop Expert clockmaker Ruth Clagan has another murder on her hands in the third Clock Shop Mystery from the author of Clock and Dagger. Years ago, the serenity of picturesque Orchard, Massachusetts, was shattered by a fire that destroyed the town’s beloved clock tower. Ruth inherited the dream of repairing it from her late grandfather. Now that she’s returned home to run his clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, she’s determined to make it happen, despite wrenches that are being thrown into the works by her least favorite person, town manager Kim Gray. A crowd of residents and visitors are excited to see the progress of the tower at a fund-raiser for the campaign, until Kim is found crushed under the tower’s bell, putting an end to all the fun. The list of suspects is so long it could be read around the clock, and it includes some of Ruth’s nearest and dearest. Time’s a-wastin’ as Ruth tries to solve another murder in her beloved Orchard while keeping the gears clicking on her dream project. Mystery Cozy | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley Prime Crime, On Sale: August 1, 2017, Mass Market Paperback /…

Hello fiction fans. I’m Anita DeVito and I’m thrilled to share exclusive insider information on my latest release LOST IN DECEPTION. A strong man needs a stronger woman. My hero, Tom Riley, was introduced in the first in the series, Lost in Tennessee. Tom is a structural engineer, build like a brick sh$t house with a mind to match. When it comes to ladies, he was all about appreciating them but commitment was a four-letter word. Finding him the perfect mate was a challenge. I created three or four female leads and Tom kept blowing them off. Until Peach Morales. Ex-military with a flair for being in the wrong place at the right time, Peach was the kind of smart that doesn’t come in a book. She had built her life by thinking two steps faster than her enemies and having the guts to stepped over the line. Peach didn’t want a man in her life…which drew Tom like a moth to a flame. It’s a case of the one thing you want is the one you can’t have. A strong woman needs a creative guy—in and out of the bedroom. Peach didn’t see why she needed a male lead…

CLAIMING ALEXIS features Blake Anderson, who isn’t thrilled he has to work with the younger, and (so he thinks) spoiled Alexis Grant. But as time goes on, the two find that they have much more in common than a desire to help others. Just when they are settling into life as a couple, the case they’ve been working on heats up and Alexis finds herself smack dab in the middle of a situation she never could’ve imagined. In the beginning of the book, Alexis starts out as a kind of intern at Ace Security. In book one, her brother was kidnapped along with the heroine of that story and Alexis meets the brothers of Ace Security and decides she wants to know more about the security business. She doesn’t expect to fall head over heels in love with Blake Anderson…her boss. She knows it’s not a good idea to date her boss, but when he asks her out, she literally cannot say no. I could just picture her trying to talk herself out of dating Blake in her head by making a list of all some of the reasons why dating her boss is bad news. I would think it…

There’s a certain hero cocktail that hits all of my buttons. Big and gruff? Check. But a love on the inside. Also check. Scarred and messed up in so many ways? Check check check. And a loner. Yes. One hundred percent yes. I’ve got heroes who don’t fit this mold, because life is made up of more than just loners and I like to think my books mirror life, but when I can write one, I jump at the chance. And I absolutely love to read them. Luc, the hero of In His Hands, the third book in my Blank Canvas series, is a gruff, but sweet recluse and I absolutely adored putting him on the page. Here are a few other loner heroes who are impossible to forget. In UNBOUND, Cara McKenna gives us reclusive Rob who is kinky and strange and totally my kind of hero. He’s a mess, so of course I love him. The man is in self-imposed exile in the highlands, after his life fell apart in large part due to his alcoholism. By the time the heroine comes across him, he thinks he’s a lost cause. Aren’t lost cause heroes the best? Noah Gideon…

I’ve always been extremely creative. I missed the clues that I might enjoy writing…like loving my creative writing class in high school and even earning an A+ from a tough teacher, but like I said—Duh. I had already decided to pursue fine art, so I stubbornly stuck to that goal. But at Mass College of Art I discovered there were far more talented people than I, and we were all going to starve. LOL Fast forward several years with twists and turns like marriage, birth, divorce, and I became an RN to put food on the table. In nursing, creativity is highly discouraged by doctors who want you to follow their orders to the letter. Sheesh. I needed an outlet! I took a course in screenwriting. That taught me how to tell stories, but Hollywood passed on my romantic comedies. Oh well. I lived closer to New York, anyway. So I turned my ‘movies’ into novels and found where I fit in. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” Well, I don’t have to worry about that! I monitored my reading tastes to see what I might like to spend months writing. (Novels are a hellova lot longer…

Some conferences are quiet affairs where I get to hang with friends, talk books, and laugh for hours. Readers and ‘Rita’s is one such conference. There’s always something going on, but I never feel frenzied unless I’m dancing with a hot cover model. Other conferences are wild fan events where I’m overwhelmed and lost. And given how much of an extrovert I am, that’s saying something. Guess how last week at the RWA Conference (Romance Writers of America) felt for me. Zen walking meditation in a sauna. There’s no denying that Orlando in July is steamy hot. By the second day, I was soggy. My brain, my hair, and definitely my clothes—all wet mush. Military School on the first day. I meant to be crisp and clean, I meant to report where I was supposed to go when I was supposed to be there, but it just never quite happened. That’s why I never went to military school. Phew! Party with my friends! I got to hang out with great people all the time. In the bar, in the lobby, in the bathroom, in the bar… Well, you get the idea. Great friends everywhere! (Check out this picture of me…

I thought readers might be interested in tracking the evolution of my brand new series. I’d been happily writing the Caribou Crossing Romances, set in the interior of British Columbia, but after eight titles I was ready for a change of scene. Where better than my favorite spot for boating, the Gulf Islands near Victoria, British Columbia? I developed a series concept, with synopses for the first two books. Then, to give my pitch punch, I created a “one-sheet,” even including photos of the locale. Here’s what it looks like. My pitch centered on a fictional island that I called Destiny—Where finding love is a matter of destiny! Here’s what I said about the setting. Destiny, a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest, is blessed with craggy bluffs, forested hills, secret coves, and meadows dotted with wildflowers. The locals are individuals—make that eccentrics!—reflecting the island’s history of aboriginal people, loggers and fishermen, African-American and Japanese immigrants, hippies, artists, boaters, and escapees from the city. The picturesque town of Blue Moon Harbor provides the necessities of life for residents as well as attractions for tourists. When you meet your love on Destiny, life will never be the same. Well, my editor…