Life is the one gift every human being has in common. It is the most sacred gift any of us will ever be given. And the most fragile. I wrote MURDER FOR EMILY’S SAKE because I wanted to entertain and engage readers in a way that celebrates the sanctity of life in all its various stages—the unborn, the newly born, children, teens, and adults of all ages. And I wanted to take readers on a thrill-ride that grabs their hearts and minds and leaves them thinking about whether life should be respected, protected, honored, and cherished. Also, my goal was to show that there are forces that threaten life—things like disease, sickness, evil actions of others, and even our own bad choices. I hope that readers will consider how we can honor life by the way we love and help one another, and the way we take care of those in need. And I hope readers will take time to see their own lives as a valuable gift from God. MURDER FOR EMILY’S SAKE encourages readers to consider what it is they treasure most. During the process of writing this book, I had to take inventory of things in my…

Long before I wrote romance or even read romance, I watched romance. This early introduction was courtesy of my mother. She loved Jane Austen like a mosquito loves blood. Okay, not the best simile, but you get my point. She watched Pride and Prejudice on the regular, the original BBC unabridged version starring Colin Firth. Remember the part when Colin, i.e. Mr. Darcy, plunges into the lake and walks back to Pemberly, wet shirt clinging to his body? Sigh. That was it. I was a goner. Soon enough, I was pilfering my mother’s historical romance novels seeking that same little thrill. Eventually historical romance evolved to science fiction romance, to contemporary romance to paranormal romance. Really whatever I could get my greedy little hands on. My voracious appetite for reading romance lead me to writing it. I don’t believe there can be too much romance in the world. Love is so inspirational. Why not try to create it myself? Being a romance writer is the best job in the world. And I have Jane Austen to thanks for that. GOOD LIES by Charlotte West Wild Minds If Warren Price was gasoline, I’d be a lit match. Addison Wanks, rock ’n’…

Two days later, Claire Miller pulled into the long driveway that led to the Walker family ranch and sighed. She was home, back in Colorado on her old stomping grounds, and it hurt just as much as she thought it would. Seven years evaporated like they’d never existed. Everything at the ranch looked exactly the way it had the day she’d left town, but she knew one major difference waited…Jake’s mom was gone. That loss hit her harder now. For the first time in her life, Mrs. Walker wouldn’t be on the front porch smiling and waving, or bringing her and Jake a pitcher of lemonade in the barn. She wouldn’t be in the kitchen making fried chicken or harassing her four boys about their homework or their girlfriends, and generally in that order. Claire half expected the place to look as sad on the outside as she suddenly felt on the inside, but the world never stopped spinning, no matter who was lost. The large red barn was freshly painted, the outbuildings were overflowing with riding tack, hay, and tractors. The riding and roping arenas were often used and the horses’ hooves made sure nothing could survive inside the…

Now you may be wondering what does a bad boy have to do with my latest release? Absolutely nothing—but Marine wolves can have a bad boy vibe and I really do love a good bad boy in my books, my movies, and the shows I like to watch on television. Let’s have some fun! I’ll show you my favs, then you tell me yours! Dean Winchester (Supernatural) For over a decade, I have thoroughly enjoyed Dean Winchester’s signature wise-ass nature as he fights to save the world and his baby brother from all things that go bump in the night. Dean is always putting himself last, and he has a definite martyr complex. Like he says, he hopes that all his good acts counterbalance his love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude, gambling, and drinking—but if you’re in a corner and need help? Dean will have your back. Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer) The name is kind of obvious, right? But on the Fox series, Tom Ellis’ Lucifer is a bad boy of the wild variety. He enjoys a sensuous lifestyle, loves to party, and is also unfailingly honest. The fallen angel and former keeper of hell also has a deep seated sense…

Top Five Reasons Readers Will Swoon for Nick Frasier   He’s drop-dead gorgeous! In a tall, ripped, blond hair, blue-eyed way. He has the scruffy 5 o’clock shadow and tousled hair thing going and would look great wearing a sandwich board!   Nick’s an ex-professional quarterback turned NFL head coach who’s very passionate about his job. He’s hard working, driven and relentless when it comes to his job and reputation.   Smart, sharp, witty and sometimes bossy, (in a good way, of course!) he keeps Marabelle guessing.   Nick’s protective and possessive, especially when it comes to the people he loves…and he loves   But mostly, Nick Frasier is delicious, delightful and dangerous, a triple threat to every girl’s heart. Careful…he’s all Marabelle’s and she’s not above fighting you to keep what’s hers.   EXCERPT “Excuse me,” she said, breaking the deafening silence, “we don’t have all day. The Stones will be waiting.” She planted her fist on her cocked hip. “Nice picture of you and your dad.” Nick reached for the next frame as if they had all the time in the world. The man made her insane. How could he appear so calm? And what was he doing…

Hey, there! My name is Melissa Schroeder! My new release is all set in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, or the DMV as we call it. My husband retired from the Air Force a little over three years ago. Thanks to publishing work, we could pick where we wanted to live. Truthfully, I decreed that I got to pick where we lived after following him around for 20 years. So, I picked Virginia, one of my very favorite places to be. Wineries, horses, proximity to free museums (have I mentioned that I a major history nerd), and a fall season that is one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed? Yep. Definitely for me. I write a lot of books set in Hawaii, but I wanted to do one series here. When the plot for THE BOSS came to mind, I knew it needed to be set here. As someone who lives in a neighborhood populated with FBI, Secret Service, CIA, and State Department folks, it is easy to picture my snarky spies stomping around my area. Here is a little excerpt from my book, THE BOSS, the first book of my series Spies, Lies, and AlibisSpies,…

Captain Tyran Zakar, The Colony, Base 3 My mate. Holy hell. My mate. Not Hunt’s, as I’d first thought. Yes, I’d been disappointed, hope dying a slow death by starvation when weeks, then months passed and not one new mate arrived on the Colony. We’d gone to the testing center, went through the process, but neither of us came out with a match. That was three months ago. Until now, we’d heard nothing further about it. I knew Hunt had held onto his hope these long weeks. I’d given that up long ago. All I remembered of the event was an amazing yet vague sex dream and that I’d left with a cock so hard I worried it was going to puncture through my armor. Fortunately, I’d been able to return to my quarters and take myself in hand, ease the discomfort I knew would only truly be lessened by sinking into my mate. And now, I was going to have one. I wouldn’t be a second, but the matched mate, the Primary Male. I tried to suppress my grin, but it was almost impossible. I felt…gods, I felt good. Elated. Thrilled. Something pretty damn close to happy. There was…

The pretend relationship or fake marriage is one of my favourite romance tropes. If done well, it can be dramatically tense, underlain with emotion, and deeply satisfying when the end reveals sincerity to the pretense. The pretend relationship is usually for show. Like the marriage of convenience, it’s meant to serve an aim—securing an inheritance, satisfying family expectations, or spurring (or repulsing) a romantic rival. Sometimes both the heroine and hero gain from the charade, sometimes only one of them is actually motivated towards the ostensible goal and the other is reluctantly brought along. Usually one of them is emotionally attached from the start and the other realizes it as the sham relationship plays out. The characters often bond over the joint venture, on the principle that they are two against the world and usually the only two who are aware of the deception. Of course, there are lots of variations on this theme. I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about those fake relationships where the sham is itself a sham and one of the characters made it up to embark on that joint venture with the other, with the sole aim of showing them that they…

At Marly’s, Jo hit pay dirt. Loud and smoky despite the laws suggesting people not smoke indoors, and littered with hard bodies and hard liquor, Jo felt at home. A few heads swiveled her way as she moved toward the bar. That’s when she saw him. He had his back to her, a tight T-shirt stretched across a thick layer of muscles built by hours at the gym, and maybe a few steroids. She really hoped steroids were not this guy’s thing. Ink peeked out on both his arms just above the sleeve line. A shadow of growth gave evidence that his baldness was by choice. He had a nice ass. Now if only his face matched. She waited until her gaze inched up his spine like an insect in the forest on a hot summer night. He turned, and her heart stopped. Good Lord, God broke the mold with this one. His goatee was trimmed, immaculately so. His lips were full, his jaw tight . . . and his eyes. Dark, almost haunting. Dangerous. He did a once-over, and when his eyes met hers, he lifted one side of his lips in a half smile. One that asked ….

– or – Let Us Praise Mr. John Impey of the Inner Temple There’s a saying about the past; it’s another country and they do things differently there. That means that authors and amateur historians all owe debts of gratitude to those brave souls who penned the travel guides. This becomes really clear when you’re researching the law and policing. Before 1828, England did not have a professional police force administered by the government. In fact, the ruling elite actively resisted the creation of any such institution. They insisted it would be an infringement on the traditional freedoms of Englishmen. As an example, they pointed to Napoleon and his secret police (who were, to be fair, really bad). This freewheeling attitude created a lot of headaches back in the day. It created more than a few for me as I was trying to do my research for the Rosalind Thorne mysteries. In 1817, when my books, A USEFUL WOMAN and A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER take place, London was on its way to becoming the biggest, and wealthiest, city in the Western World. Despite this, crime prevention and investigation was performed by a really loose patchwork of institutions. In fact to…