There are two big, black dogs in my life. Oh, yeah, I have two teenage daughters and a husband as well – but somehow they never seem to take up nearly as much space as our dogs. My dogs don’t do lonely very well. Or to be honest, not at all. You know those last precious minutes just before the alarm goes off in the morning? That’s when one, or both of them, puts their snout under my sheets and snorts, repeatedly. I’m not a morning person, but just about any attention is amazing to them, so they simply laugh at my angry growls and keep at it until I get up. They’re the kind of dogs that won’t leave my side, and that’s wonderfully, breathtakingly heartwarming. Until I have to visit the bathroom, and they sit there in front of me, staring curiously. It’s also a really weird feeling to walk out of the shower to find both of them staring at my naked body. What’s even weirder is that I still get embarrassed by it, and cover up with a towel. Also, you know how it’s nicer to let your body lotion dry off before putting clothes on?…

Comic book visuals that captured the hearts of America, mystified me. My pencil crossed the blank page pulling lines to create yesteryear’s super heroine, Wonder Woman. I don’t remember coloring the pictures. It would have had to be crayon, so I just used my pencil. I sketch on location. Like my long time architect friend, Stephanie Bower. She takes groups all over Seattle, Italy, Hong Kong, Asia, and more. She teaches sketching and makes perspective easy. A great tool for drawing is her new book, Urban Sketching Handbook, Understanding Perspective: She says in her book, How does perspective work? And where is that darn vanishing point? Understanding Perspective helps you bridge the theoretical world of Perspective concept with the real world of on site sketching. Stephanie shows you how in her book and online with her Crafty classes video. Where is writing in this creative world of mine? I didn’t get to choose between writing and painting until I decided to paint Bierstadt’s Domes of Yosemite. Captivated by how the painting came to life, although told as fiction, this true romance, Indigo Sky, is based on Bierstadt’s journey. Read the rest on Ingis About Gail Ingis Gail Ingis writes historical…

“I need to learn to ride a bike.” Sarah didn’t try to hide her grimace. “By the middle of next week. Even though riding one of those things is basically daring God to smite me.” That’s the opening of READY TO FALL, my fourth Lovestruck Librarians book. Now, I will freely admit that my heroine, Sarah Mayhew, has a flair for hyperbole. She’s earned her nickname DQ (for Drama Queen) among her friends honestly. But in this instance…well… I can’t help but agree with her. My mother taught elementary school for many years, and—to my dismay—she used to tell her kids three main stories about me. They were cautionary tales, or maybe reassurance that however delayed her students might be in learning certain skills, they certainly couldn’t be as laggardly as her younger daughter. Occasionally, she’ll also tell the same stories to friends, acquaintances, restaurant servers, grocery checkers, random pedestrians, etc. “Olivia didn’t learn to tie her shoes for years! She claimed the invention of Velcro made shoe-tying skills unnecessary. She made the same argument about digital clocks and her inability to read analog clocks. And you would not believe how old she was before she learned to ride her…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…

“Second Chances” was a thing before it was a trope. I think everyone at some point or another has thought about that long lost love, the what-if’s and maybe’s. Whatever happened to that guy in high school that you used to date but eventually lost contact with? What about the random hook-up in college? Or more meaningful, what ever happened to your first love after the two of you broke up because of a silly argument? Even if we’ve moved on (hopefully) from the past there are sometimes when that little inkling of a feeling either sneaks up on us or comes roaring back with force. When I first began writing ON THESE PAGES I hadn’t intended it to be a second chance love story. It was just a contemporary about a girl who ran back into her college crush. But as the story progressed I realized that I had a trope! My first thought was to scratch the storyline and start over, but as the story progressed I couldn’t get around some of the animosity that the heroine, Toni felt for Ahmad (the hero). Just because I’d scrapped the info about them meeting before, Toni hadn’t forgotten about it…

I never thought much about cops until I started writing them. Sure, there were times when I sped past a radar-toting cop in a cruiser, and my heart leapt into my throat. A few times I’ve glanced into the rearview mirror and seen the red-and-blue flashing lights. I had to think about cops then. But until I started writing cop characters, I never thought about how they thought or felt. I never wondered what is was like to do the brave things they did, like burst into the home of a criminal with a gun or chasing a bad guy down an alley. The process of diving into cop characters lent me a new appreciation for their bravery and sacrifice. I wonder, though, what it is like to see the things they see, day-in and day-out. Not only the horrific and the senseless. But all the stupid things criminals do. I did a blog a few years back that included some of the dumbest of all time. There was the guy who stole someone’s pet monkey, then didn’t know what to do with it, so he tried to sell it back to the owners. Then there was the lady who…

When I was asked to give the perfect set of circumstances for a historical mystery, I didn’t have to think long. It’s just like putting together a perfect recipe. A GOLDEN CAGE, A Newport Gilded Age Mystery. Take one opulent era of history. Mark Twain called it The Gilded Age and it ran from around 1870 to 1900. It was an era of serious social problems masked by a thin veneer of gold. A time of industrialization, huge growth, incredible wealth and wide spread corruption. A time of power struggles in commerce, justice and morality. A time of conspicuous consumption by the haves and poverty and hard work by the have nots. Add in one seaside Resort town. Newport Rhode Island in 1895. Where the nation’s wealthiest families summered in sumptuous mansions they called “cottages”. Add a dollop of family. The wife and daughter of a prominent well respected judge threw him a huge birthday fete and invited all the richest families (among them, the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Oelrich’s and the Fishes), mayhem ensued. Mix with a professional theatrical troupe. Hired away from their theater for the evening to present a play called The Sphinx. Stir in one ingénue…

One of the biggest perks of writing historical fiction is the research! I am a library junkie, and could spend way too much time digging through dusty old books. Getting to travel and see the places in my books is even better! Fontainebleau is one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe, with a fascinating history, and I enjoyed the chance to spend a little more time there with Kate Haywood (even if only in my imagination!) at one of its most turbulent times in history. The 1560s were an incredible period for amazing women, and I had a lot of fun incorporating two of them, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Catherine de Medici (one of my favorite historical figures) into Kate’s adventures. Mary Stewart (1542–1587) has, of course, been a figure of much fascination for centuries, the subject of endless stories/movies/plays, and it’s easy to see why. She was renowned for her beauty and charm, she was an adventurer at heart (even though those adventures ended in mayhem more often than not), and she died most tragically. She is a counterpoint to her cousin Elizabeth I’s great success. The only surviving child of King James V of Scotland (who…

I have been accused of being a bit of a domestic diva. That’s not surprising with books like THE DIVA SERVES HIGH TEA! But I like to keep things easy, and I love recipes I can prepare in advance. This is celebration season. Graduations, bridal showers, and family reunions are on the calendar. So I thought I would share a dessert that everyone loves and anyone can make. I’m not in the habit of promoting products. Recently, though, while I waited for something, I killed some time (and some cash) in WalMart where I found adorable little glass trifle bowls. They’re the perfect size for a single serving. At $2 a pop, you wouldn’t break the bank if you needed enough for a small luncheon. Imagine how they would dress up ice cream! This recipe is super simple. If you’re a domestic diva, use your favorite sponge cake or pound cake recipe. If there’s no time for baking (or it’s just not your thing), pick up a sponge cake at the store or look for Sara Lee’s pound cake in the freezer section. Kick this up a little bit by adding your favorite liquor for the adults. I’m fond of…