In JORDAN’S RETURN, she’s taking her kids on a month-long vacation to help her get her focus on what she where she wants their lives to go from here. So in honor of that, I’m looking at the top five vacation ideas for when you need a retreat. The beach. It may be a cliché, but there is just something soothing and healing about sitting on the sand and listening to the waves crash on the shore. In Jordan’s Return, she chooses Virginia Beach. When you’re needing to go someplace to relax and think, it’s important to choose a place that doesn’t have a lot of distractions. Coastal rather than tropical would be the key here. And if you can get a bungalow on the beach or only a block or two in? Even better! The mountains. There is also something to be said for looking out at the mountains and the greenery that surrounds it. I live in North Carolina and I don’t make that four hour drive west often enough! But when I do? There is nothing better. I love just sitting outside and breathing the fresh air and being out of the city. It’s so quiet and…

The guys dealing with their boss and her no-swear policy. She’s trying to cut back before her wedding, but getting a garage full of troublemakers to keep it clean is a real job. He cursed under his breath again when he scraped his knuckles on the pump. But the sound of someone shaking a familiar glass jar of coins made him tense. He heard it again, even over the blast of AC/DC. “Seriously, guys?” Del held the newly purposed amber glass growler out to them. Such a sad waste of a perfectly good beer container. Once the half-gallon jar had been home to ambrosia, a killer IPA flavored with hops and a hint of citrus. Now, it was nothing but a no-swearing jar filled with goddamn quarters. Sam and Foley bitched about the new no-swear policy even as he heard them drop change into what Johnny had taken to calling the “Rattle of Oppression—ROP.” A few clinks of change against glass and everyone seemed to sink into themselves, anxious that their fearsome boss would come storming back in, demanding a quarter for a “hell,” “shit,” or “damn.” Johnny knew better. Dubbed the smart one of the crew, he kept his…

Now that is a giant topic! Preparing for release day begins before you ever sell a book. In the case of ROCK STEADY, because it’s book two in a series, I was outlining my plans to promote the book in my proposal. That’s the business side of being an author. You can write the best book in the world and it doesn’t matter if no one knows where to find it. But let’s talk about the fun side. That begins when a book is bought. First, you get an email or a call, which is shortly followed by the official ‘Happy Dance’. That moment when all of those charters in the author’s mind suddenly become more than ‘voices’ and ‘imaginary friends’ and you have sucked someone else into your fantasy world!….um….well, okay, moving on. There are days of writing the book, when the author wants to kill the hero. Yup, Ramsey, that so happened. But then, by some miracle, it is finished and it’s turned in and you wait to see if the editor likes it. There is polishing that brings out the story perfectly and then….a cover will arrive! It’s a blast because you can put on your website,…

Do you ever wish you could go back in time and simply erase the parts of your life that suck? I think we all have parts of our past that we wish would go away. I know I do. I’d like to wipe away the time when I was a kid and our little neighborhood gang threw rocks at the ice cream truck. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Now, I don’t know what we were thinking. Needless to say, we got in trouble. The Oxford Dictionary defines a do over as this: An opportunity to try or perform something a second time. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Suppose you hate your career choice. Poof, push the do over button and you’re back on track. Your old career path is not even a distant memory. Did you make the wrong choice in houses? No problem, just hit the do over button and bam…do over. Bad man choice…well, you get the idea. Wouldn’t it be nice to simply erase those bad things from our lives and never have to go through the heartaches they can bring? I can think of a few things I’d like to change. People I’d…

  Ever since I watched the TV series, I’ve always been fascinated by Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter really pulled off that tiara-camisole-shorts look which could have been ridiculous on anyone else… Her version of a demigoddess warrior princess was amazing. Warrior? Yes, Wonder Woman is a warrior with awesome god-forged weapons that can’t be referred as gadgets. How cool is her Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets, razor-edged throwing weapon-tiara? And what about her silent and invisible plane controlled by mind? Wonder Woman, Princess of Themyscira, aka Diana Prince, is definitely the ultimate female warrior. An Amazon who inspired me when I began writing about Rose, the female lead character of my New Adult paranormal love story, the Black Angel Book series. Although twenty-two-year old Rose starts out as a heart-broken, emotionless cutter in TWICE UPON A TIME (Book 1 in the series), she grows into a stronger woman facing emotions and facts she’s not quite equipped to deal with…until she is. Step by step Rose gains strength, overcome her fears and learns to embrace her challenges head on. That’s no surprise why she chooses to dress as Wonder Woman to her cousin’s Halloween party in DEADLY EVER AFTER (Book 2),…

By Aunt Bess from THE CALAMITY CAFÉ by Gayle Leeson That’s what I tell people who say I’m too old to do this or that. I say, “Hide and watch me!” I’m eighty-two. So what? That’s nothing but a number. I can go and do just about as good as I could thirty years ago. For my eightieth birthday, I decided I wanted to get in on all this Internet stuff the kids are doing. So I asked for a computer. My niece Jenna—she lives with me, you know—said, “Now, Aunt Bess, you don’t need a computer. You can use mine.” “Well, I don’t want to use yours,” I said. “I want my own.” So she and her daughter Amy and my granddaughter Jackie all went in together and bought me this little laptop. That’s what they call it. It’s a computer you can put on your lap. But if you put it on your lap and don’t have a tray or something underneath it, it’s gonna get your legs hot, I’ll tell you that. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing in the winter, but I’d rather not burn up in the summer. That’s why I had Jackie go…

While ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER is the debut book in my new Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, it’s also my 24th traditionally published book to date. I bring that up to illustrate just how many characters (mains and sides) I’ve written over the last ten years or so. All have touched me in one way or the other, and quite a few of them have claimed a lasting place in my heart. But Winnie Johnson, the main character in this new series, is, perhaps my favorite of all. She’s fun, she’s resourceful, she’s loyal, she’s creative, and she has incredible passion. There’s a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that always comes to mind when I sit down to write Winnie. “Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” When we meet Winnie in the opening chapter of ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER, we find her struggling with the end to her lifelong dream of owning a bakery. She doesn’t want it to end, but her landlord has raised her rent to a level she can’t possibly pay. Sure, she could move and open a bakery somewhere else, but the passion she has for her elderly neighbors is not something…

The first book in my Bibliophile Mystery series was HARDCOVER IN HOMICIDE, which, ironically, debuted in mass market paperback (and ebook, of course). In 2009, I was a new writer, so it made perfect sense to bring me out first in paperback, but the title caused a little confusion. Fast forward four years and seven books later. Enough readers had fallen in love with the Bibliophile Mysteries that A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY was first released in hardcover, a real milestone in my career. BOOKS OF A FEATHER, in stores now, is the fourth of my books to debut in hardcover. They come out in paperback about a year later. RIPPED FROM THE PAGES came out in paperback last month. Here are the hardcover and paperback versions of RIPPED FROM THE PAGES. Does it give you the same thrill to see my name at the top as it does me? (Perhaps not!) My heroine, Brooklyn Wainwright, is a world-renowned bookbinder, and—in addition to a classic murder mystery—my readers love learning about the fascinating details about rare books. We are all, my readers and I, bibliophiles, who love not just the stories, but books themselves. Perhaps my audience is skewed toward appreciating the…

Music is a huge part of THE SOUND OF US. Kiki Nichols, the main character, is always searching for songs that speak for her—choosing to express her emotions through the words of other people, instead of using her own. While working on the book, I created a huge playlist of songs to inspire me while writing (or thinking about writing). These are some of the tracks I think Kiki would’ve been listening to while trying to survive opera camp, her tumultuous ex-best-friendship, and her relationship with Jack. Untouchable Face by Ani DiFranco (NSFW): First rule of mixtaping is that you never include two songs by the same artist, so I had to 86 both “Superhero” and “Falling Is Like This,” even though Ani was such a huge influence on both Kiki and me. I think “Untouchable Face” is one of the best angry love songs on the planet. Romeo and Juliet by the Indigo Girls: This is Jack and Kiki’s song. Yeah, Dire Straits did it first, but Amy and Emily (okay, really just Amy) did it best. Deathly by Aimee Mann: Another Jack and Kiki song. The first line of this one kills me every time. No wonder Paul…

We are so excited that our latest venture is now one! Check out all the books included in our first custom pink Fresh Fiction Box Not to Miss. This Month’s Print Books: To celebrate our anniversary, everyone received 4 of these books instead of 3! Last Ride to Graceland by Kim Wright Wed by Fortune by Judy Duarte Bought for the Greek’s Revenge by Lynne Graham Her Rancher Bodyguard by Brenda Minton The Surprise Conti Child by Tara Pammi Nacho Figueras Presents: High Season by Jessica Whitman Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn The Bones of You by Debbie Howells The Winemakers by Jan Moran The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy This Month’s eBooks: Every box included all 3. Life is Better Brunette by Diane Bator Hot Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones Charming You by Kris Jayne Introducing Vixen’s Tales: Every month until our *knock on wood* second anniversary, each box will feature a new adventure featuring our mascot, Vixen. The tale is showcased with a collectible postcard and button set. Exclusive to one year anniversary box, is a pink lanyard for your button collection. Vixen’s Tale #1 – The Case of…