Being a writer is one of my many roles, but the most important role I play is as mom to my two boys. Sporty kids ages 9 and 14, between school, band and soccer they certainly keep me hopping. As everyone with kids knows, the whole parenting thing (especially the single parenting thing) isn’t easy. If a mom and/or dad tells you otherwise, they’re lying. Or delusional. Maybe a bit of both. Lol That’s why not a day goes by when someone isn’t posting something on Facebook about blowout diaper disasters, play date drama, or sports-related something-or-another. The non-parents roll their eyes, the grandparents laugh at their screens relieved those days are long past, and the singles just swipe on by. It is what it is, and most of us wouldn’t trade it for the world. Except the diaper blowouts. We would ALL prefer to go without any more of those. One of the hardest lessons for me as a new parent (and sometimes even as an older, wiser one), though, was learning how to be…or not to be. Working full time, doing the family thing, and writing in the rare, leftover conscious moments of the day can be a…

Historical romance – Regency in particular – is my crack. I love it. I can’t write it, but OH MY GOD do I love it – like a freak, obviously. One of my favorite kind of Regency heroes is the grumpy Duke. You know the kind. He sits in his library with a drink and stares at the fire while bemoaning (silently) about the hoyden who has caught his eye. Seriously, that guy is my catnip. I just might have married him, but without the title and lands. 🙂 So when it came time to write my hero, Lucas, in HER ENEMY PROTECTOR (Tempt Me Book 2), I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Readers met Lucas in HIS UNDERCOVER PRINCESS, Tempt Me Book 1 and he was quiet, had an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and definitely lacked a sense of humor. You see where I’m going with this right? Lucas really was a modern grumpy Duke. I couldn’t go totally old school on him, but as you read HER ENEMY PROTECTOR you’ll see all the tell-tale signs. Lucas definitely isn’t chatty. He loves to issue orders and can’t imagine someone wouldn’t follow them. He thinks he’s the smartest…

It may not be true of all novelists, but one of the aspects of storytelling I find soul-satisfying is the ability to experiment with careers I never had, visit places I’ve never seen, own businesses, experience adventures, and tackle intriguing dreams that belong to my characters. I had more than my fair share of fun inventing the storyline and setting for this year’s Christmas novel—RESTORING CHRISTMAS. I fell in love with old fieldstone farmhouses when visiting Pennsylvania last January. Assuming I’ll likely never have the opportunity to own one, I pulled out my laptop and wrote a lovely, slightly lopsided version into the novel. I could almost feel the smooth wood on the banister to the second floor, “see” the view from the front porch, hear my footsteps—or rather, the characters’ footsteps—on the well-worn hardwood floor. Since long before HGTV reached its current state of popularity, I’ve dreamed of restoring old houses—with someone else’s sweat equity and financial investment. My dream had no blisters or hammered thumbs. Instead, I’d be the one designing the restoration and supervising those who don’t mind dirt, dust, and perspiration. Have to replace the knob-and-tube wiring? Need to reorder the kitchen cabinets? My job would…

In the South, we get excited about our stories. When we hear someone shout, “Y’all ain’t gonna believe this!” we all gather round because we want to hear what they are about to tell us. This story is kind of like that. Only unlike a good Southern storyteller, I will not embellish this. It’s true. All of it. So earlier this year, I was at my desk, hard at work. Okay, I might have been doing some online shoe shopping but … I was trying to work, when I got an e-mail from Sandie Bricker. The Sandie Bricker. She asked if I’d be interested in writing a novella that would include four stories. She wanted to pitch the idea to a publisher she knew I’d worked with before. I immediately said “Yes.” When she told me that Barbara Scott and Lynette Sowell would be involved, I was even more delighted. Meantime, in a land full of brokenhearted dreams and gorgeous boots (Nashville) two very savvy publishing world women were talking back and forth and when Barbara Scott mentioned to her friend Sue Brower that she was working on this novella collection, Sue’s eyes lit up. She suggested Barbara send it…

I’m currently celebrating the book birthday of SNOWBOUND WITH MR. WRONG, a story in my new series, Snowflake Valley, and my thirteenth published novel. The book birthday definitely makes this a lucky week for me, no matter what popular wisdom or folklore might have to say about the number thirteen. Luck—good and bad—has been on my mind for quite a while now, ever since I began writing the Snowflake Valley books. The series starts off with stories about the three oldest sisters of a large and close-knit family. These heroines have nicknamed themselves “the bad-luck Barnetts” because each of them has had a past love relationship go wrong. And can’t ninety-nine percent of us relate to that? In romance novels, the second-chance or reunion romance is a popular storyline and one of my favorite themes. In these reunion stories, the hero and heroine have had a past relationship that didn’t work out, but then circumstances or meddling matchmakers—or just plain bad luck!—bring the couple together again. When I started thinking about this series idea, I knew that in the first story, Lyssa would take another chance on love and, willingly or not, would begin falling for a second time…with the…

I’ve always wanted to rock climb, and when I studied the skill, I realized rock climbing and scaling heights with my hero had a lot in common. Both require a struggle against odds, guts, stamina, techniques, and training. So I compared the two arts, and this is what I discovered. Training: Your hero is constantly in training. How else can he change and grow into a better person? But don’t have him climb any higher than he needs to. He also doesn’t climb to the top the first time out. Every skill is done in steps. Through each scene, he becomes wiser and moves ahead so that by the time he reaches the climax (peak), he’s ready for the task. Remember your hero is human (unless you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi). In rock climbing, the person is either bouldering, which means he’s experienced and doesn’t use a harness, or he’s belaying, which means he uses a harness. Whatever the skill level of your character, give him the training to complete the task. Learn from an experienced climber: Your hero learns from experience, wisdom, and other people. Show his motivation from who and what has influenced his life’s decisions. Delve into…

The idea for LEFT AT THE ALTAR came to me in a rather unexpected way. Several of our antique clocks needed servicing and so we called a clock repairman to the house. The horologist was a writer’s dream. He was full of fascinating stories about clock collectors. But the story that really made an impression was the one about a client who owned so many clocks, the quarter-hour racket was deafening. The horologist’s job was to turn the clocks off before each holiday so that guests didn’t have to compete with the cacophony of bongs and chimes during dinner. The horologist went on to explain that prior to 1883, the town jeweler usually determined the time. Trouble arose when a town had more than one jeweler and no one could agree on the time. One town in Kansas reportedly had seven jewelers and therefore seven time zones. Just think, a person traveling from the East coast to the West would have contended with more than a hundred times zones. That wasn’t a problem when traveling by covered wagon, but it became a huge problem when traveling by train. Ah, sweet inspiration. Before I knew it, the town of Two-Time, Texas…

Oh, Christmas! As an adult, the holiday is my favorite because of the natural good cheer and festive nature around every corner. I find myself a little more patient when waiting for a car to back out of a parking spot. I tend to move through life at a slower pace and enjoy the decorations in stores and around town. I adore attending Christmas parties and parades. However great all this is, it does not capture the essence of why I fell in love with Christmas as a child. I come from an extremely large Italian family—we LIVE for holidays and family gatherings full of fun, laughter, games, and great home cooked food. Christmas was always the holiday that everyone came to, no matter how far away you lived or if you had other family to visit. It was a tradition—and no one thought to displease my Noni and Papa. And so, we gathered at what felt like 10am and spent the entire day and late into the night at my grandparents’ house enjoying ham, turkey, raviolis, fresh rolls, and all the fixings. My mom would later correct my childhood memories by saying we arrived at about 3pm on Christmas…

Blackstone Dynasty was inspired by a trip I made to Boston back in early 2013. While sightseeing in the city, I stumbled upon a monument statue in Boston Common honoring a man named William Blackstone. Mr. Blackstone happened to be the very first European to settle in Boston, living alone on what would later become Boston Common and Beacon Hill. He arrived in America in 1623, coming from Lincolnshire, England. In that single moment, a spark of an idea ignited for me that this bit of historical information could be the basis of a whole new story world. I was just finishing up my very successful Blackstone Affair series set in London about security expert, Ethan Blackstone, and his love for his American girl, Brynne Bennett. I decided right then and there that Ethan Blackstone should have some relatives living their lives in America (descended from the honored Mr. William Blackstone from the statue I found in Boston Common) who were worthy of their own stories and books. I even posted a picture on Facebook and made a comment at the time, I was so excited. My “Boston Blackstone” universe continued to develop slowly in my head over the next…

“So? What do you think?” Tommy asked his friend, Beckett “Coach” Ralston, as they stood inside the small office at the Waco Skydiving Club looking out at the group of civilians who would be skydiving in a few hours. Coach shrugged. “Looks about like the group we had yesterday.” Jumping out of a perfectly functioning plane wasn’t exactly Coach’s idea of a good time, but he’d taken two weeks of leave after the kidnapping of his teammate’s girlfriend and daughter. Emily and Annie were fine, but Jacks, the vindictive ex-soldier who had orchestrated the entire incident, hadn’t been so lucky. He’d spent a few days in the hospital recuperating, and was now currently a guest of the State of Texas. Jacks would be going on trial in a few weeks, and Coach hoped he’d spend a good chunk of time behind bars. Coach and the rest of his Delta Force team were taking some time off and Tommy had been in a bind. One of his regular jumpmasters had broken his leg. He had a replacement coming, but the other man couldn’t get there for another month. Since Coach had the time, and nothing else planned, he’d agreed to come…