Today I wanted to chat about heroes! Tobias Walcott, the Earl of Blade, the hero from my latest novel WICKED IN HIS ARMS, is flawed, arrogant, emotionally controlled, and ruthless, but he is also charming, sweet, and quite honorable despite his imperfections. I love heroes who are alpha and bad ass. The outlaws, the antiheroes, and the rouges who possess a heart of goodness, and believe in the power of family and love, and are willing to do anything to protect those they love. So today I am sharing my top five binge worthy TV series featuring the most swoon worthy, captivating, ruthless, wonderful, and heartbreakingly-flawed, but honorable heroes! Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead (TWD). When I first discovered TWD it had already gone four seasons. I binge watched roughly fifty episodes in two days, and was something of a zombie/walker myself when my hubby and I were through. This series is masterfully designed, and utterly compelling. Its beauty, and savagery as people struggle to survive in a world that cannot be explained must be ardently admired. Each character is developed, and we are taken on such a chilling journey as we watch them struggle to maintain their humanity…

As a writer of romantic suspense, I truly am fortunate to be a federal agent. Every day, and all around me, is true-life fodder from which to glean a great story and intriguing characters. That said, I don’t write about any of my actual investigations or share any privileged or confidential information. I also don’t describe anything that would compromise national security. Even with these limitations, I’ve seen and done so many interesting and crazy things on the job I’ll never want for topics or characters to write about. Plus, I gotta say, most of my stories and characters spring from my imagination, not something I’ve seen or done on the job. Then there’s procedure. Most suspense novelists who are not in law enforcement or are not married to a cop or a fed have no other option save reaching out to a PD or agency’s public affairs division to obtain a source for procedural information. I’ve heard from other authors that the success of this outreach is dependent upon the individual answering the phone. Sometimes they really want to help out and will go out of their way to assist, including providing guided tours in a patrol car, or…

Sometimes it’s good to be bad. I know in romances, there has to be core of honor and integrity in the hero. I completely agree. But I differ in opinion when it comes to issues of life and death. Some people are just bad guys, and I honestly can’t see their value on the planet. But since I’m a law abiding citizen with no Ninja or assassination skills, I leave the contractors of Triggerman Incorporated to do the cleanup. Ice, Shadow, and Hammer work for The Business, a company that contracts its employment out to various governmental and non-governmental agencies in a discreet manner. In the Triggerman Inc. world, my contractors pick and choose their assignments. The three heroes—Ice, Shadow, and Hammer—have a few things in common: Their handler is Big Joe They’re all tall, dark, and handsome They all might be the father of a small bundle of joy dropped anonymously on Ice’s front porch And so begins the story in CONTRACT SIGNED, the first in the series, which released January 17th. Though each book is a stand-alone, to find out who actually gave birth to the mystery baby (as well as who’s the father), you need to read…

He waited for a couple more beats, pressing his mouth into a thin, hard line. “Take care of yourself, Jessica.” He shut the door, and I listened to his footsteps going farther away. I sank down, staring off into nothing. He was gone, just like that. He was a hairsbreadth away from being all mine, something I had wanted for months, and I just let him walk out my door. I didn’t call my friends or my sister. When my stomach growled, I didn’t get up to make myself something to eat. My phone rang later, but I didn’t answer. When I had gotten the news in the hospital that both our parents didn’t survive the car accident, my grief was overwhelming, making my body grow cold. I was a shivering mess. No amount of blankets, hot tea, or even whiskey would help. The booze just made me drowsy and I’d go to sleep. Later on, as the news sank in, I was so enraged at the other driver’s senseless and cruel actions, I actually broke out in a fever, making myself sick with fury. It had been different for Samantha. She went completely numb, residing in this weightless fog,…

Every book has inspiration and for this one it was tablecloths. Yes. That’s right. Those things that your grandmother probably insisted on putting out even if it was just for a cup of tea. And knowing your grandmother she ironed them too! Anyway, over the years I have developed quite an obsession for vintage tablecloths, to the point where I had a market stall of them. And every time someone walked into my small stall they would undoubtedly say, ‘this reminds me of…’ I also discovered that many of the people who bought them from me were doing so for vintage weddings or bridal showers. And, like all good authors, that got me thinking! Of course there’s more to a book than just a tablecloth (though wow, how easy would me life be if that’s all it took!). But the idea of a dresser full of beautifully pressed linen stayed with me as I created Sisters of Wishing Bridge Farm. A series about one sister who starts a vintage wedding planning business using her Great Aunt Ivy’s old collection of treasures. Originally her plan is stop her two jet setting sisters from selling the farm she loves, but as each…

There was a time in my life when I had a terrific memory. I mean, seriously terrific. I could quote poems, rattle off telephone numbers, remember what day I was supposed to go to the dentist, and was never at a loss for a name to go with a face. I don’t remember precisely when it changed (ha!). Some time in my thirties, I think. That was when I started carrying a purse-sized calendar into which I’d write notes, clip party invites for the kids, and jot down flight information. Now of course all that is on my phone and/or my computer calendar. None of this, however, prepared me for writing a series. There’s so much to keep track of! Names, places, relationships, hair colors, town history, streets, ages, cars! It’s hard enough for me to keep track of all of them in a stand alone book, but to remember them over the course of several books? As Tony Soprano would say, “Fuhgeddaboudit.” I know other people have more complicated series than I do. Heck. I’ve had a more complicated series than this one where I had to keep up with whatever rules I was making up for a paranormal…

THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER is follows the story of Eden Collins, an FBI agent who grew up as the daughter of a cult leader. She escaped her mother’s control and made a life for herself, bringing down human monsters. When someone emails her a picture of a dead girl with tattoos that mark her as a member of Eden’s mother’s cult, she goes home—despite her misgivings—to help with the investigation. I can trace the origin of this story to one specific moment. That ah ha moment where everything clicks into place. I was reading FBI Agent John Douglas’s book, MIND HUNTER. Douglas was one of the founding members of the FBI’s serial crime unit and he did a ton of research in regards to serial murder, including many interviews with incarcerated serial killers. It’s very interesting reading, and I highly recommend it if you’re intrigued by that sort of thing. The part that triggered the concept of this book was Douglas’s interview with Charles Manson. He has some fascinating views of Manson, one of which was his opinion regarding the murders perpetuated by Manson’s cult. Douglas questioned whether Manson even knew about the initial murders—or intended them (no question that he…

What happens when you have powerful women warriors and a stubborn werewolf alpha running the show? Mayhem, that’s what. The Huntresses are rising up to claim their power and take their rightful place as wolf slayers. A conflict of interest as far as pack alpha, Mayhem, is concerned. Also a dangerous situation that puts his pack, the people he cares for most in the world, right in the middle of a pending war. He’s chosen the pack’s path, and has determined their place on the game board but is unwilling to fully embrace the role of the Huntress. What he’s yet to learn is just how stubborn those girls can be. Born to hunt and fight, Hannah and the Huntresses will prove just how powerful they are when it comes to protecting the pack and their mates. Excerpt Copyright © 2017 Angela Addams All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication She stared at him with defiance burning bright. “You can’t fight what’s happening to us. If you do, things are going to keep going to shit. We are Huntresses. We are sorely lacking in our skills and training but nevertheless, we are powerful warriors and you need to…

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” —Ernest Hemingway My dad always used to say that as a writer you have to scream onto the page so the reader can hear a whisper. That is how strong the emotion you put into your writing needs to be. And emotion can only be that strong if it’s real and vulnerable. It has to be honest, a snapshot of reality, connectable. In fact, some would argue raw emotion is the driving force of any great story. What is story without truth? When I first started writing I was young, barely a preteen, discovering the world through the lens of fiction. Everything I read influenced the way I wrote. I was simply copying down what I was observing because I didn’t have anything else to say yet. I hadn’t acquired a stock of life experiences to draw from. As I grew and life began to throw lightning bolts at me, I started to understand what bleeding on the page really was. And the more lightning I received, the scarier bleeding on the page felt. What if people reject my truth? What if they laugh…

Most people know what science fiction (sci-fi) is. We think of Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Poul Anderson—as well as a host of current sci-fi writers with their sometimes dry and detailed explanations. But what is science fantasy? The first time I read the phrase, I was certain it was a typo. I had no idea what that genre was or if I was even interested in writing it. According to Wikipedia, science fantasy is a “mixed genre…which simultaneously draws upon and/or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy.” And that means…? I’ll use movie and television to explain, rather than books to illustrate since many of us have seen them or at least know about them. “Elements from both science fiction and fantasy” should conjure up images of Avatar or even The Martian—if you take out the techie details. My mind immediately goes to my favorite, Star Trek. I grew up on that television show. And yes, I was smitten with Captain Kirk. According to the late iconic science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, Star Trek is “science fantasy…because of its scientifically improbable elements.” Eh? What do you mean, improbable? As a regular consumer of the show,…