The Witch’s Market Eileen Chen, who inherited her shamanistic abilities from her grandmother, Laolao, has taken a leave from her teaching job to study witchcraft in the Canary Islands. She has heard that there is a Daoist temple on Tenerife inhabited by a Chinese master famous for his psychic ability. She hopes she can help a bereaved Spanish friend whose daughter has drowned in a supposedly haunted lake. Having expected a pleasant time pursuing her research in this exotic island, Eileen instead finds herself entangled in a series of supernatural happenings. As a shamaness, she thinks she can comfort her friend, and clear up some of the mysteries. In the temple she meets the nonagenarian ‘Uncle’ Wang who conducts “underworld tours” by inviting the spirits of the dead to descend to his altar. However, instead of the spirit of the tragic young girl, Eileen’s underworld visitor radiates evil, terrifying her.   Excerpt from The Witch’s Market Next Uncle Wang gently wrapped the red blindfold around my eyes so I would not be distracted by anything in this world. After that he said, his tone very serious and respectful, “Now invite silently the loved one, god, goddess, immortal, or whomever you…

What was your favorite part about writing IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES? Why? In the first two books of the SWAT Series (HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF and WOLF TROUBLE) the stories revolve around the two most senior members of the Dallas Police Department SWAT team (SWAT Commander Sergeant Gage Dixon and squad leader Senior Corporal Xander). IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES is SWAT Officer Eric Becker’s story. Becker is one of the younger guys in the Pack of alpha werewolves and he’s only been a werewolf for about two years compared to Gage who’s been a werewolf for fourteen years and Xander who went through his change eight years ago. The idea of being able to approach the story from a completely different direction really appealed to me. Now if the fact that he’s simply a “newer” werewolf was the only aspect of Becker’s personality I was dealing with during the story, the book probably wouldn’t have turned out the way it did. But if you’ve been paying attention to Becker in the first two books in the series, you might have noticed that he has a somewhat casual outlook on things like rules and pack authority. Plus, he’s in…

One of the more difficult challenges for readers and authors alike when it comes to a series is how do you keep it fresh? How do you return to the same well over and over again? And what point does a series become…eek…boring? I’ve read a lot of series over the years, the ones I enjoy the most are the ones which give me a reason to come back, but aren’t repetitive. They may possess an ongoing set of story arcs, but each book propels us forward and focuses on the couple at hand, on their journey. Keeping Willow Bend New Every book in the Wolves of Willow Bend series is a “first” book because for the couple I’m focusing on, it’s their first book, it’s their story. I keep the focus on them, and reintroduce only those key elements from the series that are vital to understanding the current couple’s tale. It sounds easy, and sometimes it is. Other times, it’s hard. Readers who follow the series will obviously get more because they know the history, and have met earlier characters, followed the twists and turns of their stories and seen more of the world fleshed out. Each book…

The Internet has made it difficult to be a writer. In the olden days (ie, before the Internet), a person might come up with ideas for stories and then sit in her garret and write, while making a list of things to look up, *later*, in the library. And then, no matter how grand the research institution, the available information on any particular topic was limited due to shelf space and the librarian’s astute eye. Not anymore. One of the easiest ways to procrastinate, as a writer, is to tumble into the abyss of the Internet. And I’m not talking about those known time-wasters like social media sites or cute films about cats. In this instance, I’m talking about legitimate research. Case in point: in GIVE UP THE GHOST (#6 in the Haunted Home Renovation series), San Francisco contractor extraordinaire, Mel Turner, stumbles onto secret passages in the Pacific Heights mansion she’s renovating. Do you have any idea how much time a person can spend on the subject “secret passages in old homes”? Try putting the topic into your search engine – but if you’re anything like me, only do so if you have a few days to spend reading…

from Elizabeth Moss Rebel Bride is Book II in my sexy Lust in the Tudor Court series, following on from Wolf Bride. Each book is a standalone Tudor romance, but they do feature linked characters and, unusually in a series, the first half of REBEL BRIDE runs concurrently with events in WOLF BRIDE. So it might be useful to read them in the correct order. This story follows the adventures of Susannah, younger sister of Eloise, the heroine of WOLF BRIDE, through the wilds of Yorkshire and at the Tudor court of Henry VIII. Young, feisty and beautiful, she soon catches the eye of Hugh Beaufort, one of the king’s most trusted clerks. Susannah describes Hugh as: ‘A god. Thick fair hair, green eyes, shoulders that could ram doors … with that elegant southern drawl that made her shiver.’ But her father insists she must marry one of his friends instead, a wealthy old man. Horrified, Susannah’s only option is to run away. Hugh Beaufort volunteers to find her, and when he finally runs his prey to ground in a dark northern forest, the two are soon tangling in a most delicious way. It would be the simplest thing in…

I love the unusual tidbits I stumble across while researching my historicals. In my most recent Scottish Regency, I have a British hero and a Scots heroine. The timeline of the series has their tale culminating around Christmastide, so I thought I’d incorporate the holiday into their story. I mistakenly assumed the British and the Scots celebrated Christmas in 1818. I soon learned I was wrong. Why you ask? Christmas was banned in Scotland for four hundred years. Let’s back up a bit. As most people know, the Pagan Celts celebrated the winter solstice with a Druid festival called Alban Arthuan on December 21st. The Norse held another pagan mid-winter festival call, jól which is where the Scots word “Yule” originated. I’m sure you’ve heard of the twelve days of Christmas. The jól was a twelve-day festival that included Christmas day. Another source attributed Yule to the Anglo-Saxon word Yula or Wheel of the Year. In any event, the celebration marked the rebirth of the sun and a time of increased fertility. When the Christian Church commandeered the celebration, they weren’t too keen on the pagan roots and practices, such as the burning of the Yule Log—a tradition to honor…

Enjoy a special excerpt from the latest book I’LL BE THERE in the Montgomery Brothers series from Samantha Chase. Zach had his morning cup of coffee halfway to his lips when he heard someone coming into the house. What the hell? He knew his father and Ethan both had a key, but neither had mentioned they were going to stop by. Sitting on the sofa with his laptop in front of him, he almost dropped the hot liquid on the keyboard when Gabriella walked through the door. She slammed it shut and stormed across the room and straight for him, her hand held out in front of her to try and stop him from saying a word. “You know what?” she began, “We have worked together for far too long for things to keep going the way they did yesterday. I came here and did you a favor and what did I get for my effort? Nothing. I can understand your anger and frustration at your situation and with your recovery but none of that is my fault. Now, you can either grow up and face the fact that no matter what kind of weight you think you wield within…

Dear Reader, IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL is the story of Will Repton, an explorer for the East India Company, who survives a grisly massacre at a Catholic mission in Tibet. Severely wounded and delirious with fever, Will is returned to England, where the reports of his travels have been published by the press and have ignited the imagination of London—and Charlotte Baker in particular. Charlotte is the Incomparable of the Season, for the third season in a row, but the popular and beautiful society miss has yet to receive an acceptable offer, and has yet to fall in love. Prone to daydreams of romance and adventure, Charlotte is desperate to meet Will—the heroic explorer whom she already imagines herself passionately connected. And as Charlotte is common-born, and linked to a scandal-ridden brother and sister, she believes the husband of her dreams is not an aristocrat, but a self-made man. A hero, like Will. But love is the last thing on Will’s mind. The trauma of the attack has left Will with nightmares, guilt over his best friends’ murders, and the terrible knowledge that he may have left an innocent child behind. The only thing left for him to do is…

It’s all Elizabeth Hoyt’s Fault! My best writing pal in the whole wide world has left me. Yes, she used to live a short drive away. We would meet regularly to gossip…er NETWORK, talk about our current work in progress, and drink coffee. Oh yeah, there would be lots of writing too. But now she has left me to live in a whole different state! Something about closer to family, blah, blah, blah. I ask you, aren’t I family? *sigh* I went into mourning and I’m not sure I’ve come out yet. The problem is that I’m an extrovert. I need the contact of other writers or I go a little (lots) nuts. So what did I do when my local bestie left me? Did you see those footprints on the walls? That’s what I did while watching a Firefly marathon and eating Cheetoes until unmentionable parts of me turned orange. I wrote like a fiend in retaliation. Who needs a friend close by? Not me. I’ve got my laptop plus Plants vs. Zombies 2. Forget her. I’m going to write constantly. I couldn’t deal. I left for Orlando’s Disney World and refused to come back. I’m writing this now…

Lost & Found #1 Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play #2 Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play Forgetting August by  J.L. Berg Lost & Found #1 She can forgive, but can she forget? Some days, Everly still thinks she sees him. In the food court at the mall, or in a car speeding past as the light changes. It only lasts a second, but when it happens, she slips back to a time when she was ruled-and nearly ruined-by August Kincaid. And it doesn’t matter that she’s moved on, that she’s about to marry another man. In those moments the only thing she can do to regain control is take a deep breath and remind herself that August can’t hurt her-because he’s in a coma. Except that he’s not anymore. August is awake. With no memories, he sets out to solve the mystery of his lost life. He unearths a photograph of a beautiful redhead named Everly and knows instinctively that she’s the key. But when he finds her, the August she describes is more monster than man. Tortured by the thought of having hurt her, August wants only to become the…