When I first started writing my Special Wolf Alpha Team (SWAT) Series, I quickly figured out that I needed to re-envision the werewolves that would be the focus of my story. In the series, the werewolves are all part of the Dallas SWAT team, using their abilities to protect and serve. From the name, you can obviously also tell that they’re all alphas—gotta have that sexy alpha-male thing going on! I couldn’t work with the traditional werewolf that only showed up during the full moon, though. That would be a rather extreme limitation to doing their jobs. I also didn’t want the typical “cursed” werewolf or the out of control “monster” (aka American Werewolf in London style). These guys had to be hunky, sexy, and–just as importantly–functional as cops. Yet, at the same time, I wanted these guys to be rough around the edges with a hint of danger to them. I also wanted them to be a diverse group, with some having abilities the others haven’t mastered. Finally, since I was planning the series to be 16 books (or more!), I knew I had to have more complex mythology than just a big, bad alpha wolf. I want some…

Did you ever wonder how authors get inspiration for scenes in their novels? We, co-authors Cary Morgan Frates and Deborah O’Neill Cordes, have used our actual experiences and things that happened to our family members, some of which occurred well before we were born. This became fodder for scenes in THE THORNLESS ROSE, An Elizabethan Time Travel Novel. What time trippy fun! One incident was passed down in Deborah’s family. On a wintry day in the 1930s, her maternal grandfather came home with something hidden beneath his coat, a bulge in his breast pocket. Everyone assumed it was a bottle of “good cheer,” until it started to wiggle. Out popped the head of a dachshund puppy! Deborah’s uncle, then a little boy, promptly called the pup Whiskey. The name stuck, and Whiskey became a beloved family member. Deborah incorporated some of this story into THE THORNLESS ROSE, in the scene where Dr. Jonathan Brandon gives a Christmas gift to his fiancée, Catherine, just before he vanishes. The amusing incident takes on poignancy as time goes on and Jonathan doesn’t return, for Catherine realizes the dog was his last gift to her. And Cary recalls a visit to a wonderful pub…

Happy New Year, Fresh Fiction folks! Thank you so much for inviting me to join you today and for helping me celebrate the release of my debut fantasy romance, UNEXPECTED EDEN. UNEXPECTED EDEN is a little different than most fantasy romances—mainly because it takes place in current times. It’s the first in a four book series and features the one and only “land of creation”—a realm parallel to our own and inhabited by the powerful Myren race. It’s a romance, so naturally, the hero (Eryx) is both honorable and handsome, and the heroine (Lexi) is spunky and smart as a whip…but that’s not what I want to talk about today. Nope, I’d rather share one of the drinks created by one of the secondary characters in the book—minus the Myren sedative that winds up inside it. (Yep, that’s definitely a teaser. Needless to say, that sedative gets our hero into some hot water with his woman.) Besides, Christmas and New Year are over now…time for you to move on to something other than Eggnog and Candy Cane Cocktails. Orla’s Mint Mudslide Recipe What you’ll need: -4 ½ oz Baileys with a Hint of Mint Chocolate -1 ½ oz Kahlua -7…

Pretty Woman was the first movie I considered a “keeper”. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts made that story pop, and I’ve watched it many times. When Hannah, the heroine of A SINGLE KISS is feeling low and lonely, she recalls that movie, and how it had often lifted her spirits at the end of a rough day. I’ve read romance novels in quantity for more than forty years—sometimes one a day—and I expect I’ll read them until death do us part, too. I’ve read them through the miseries of high school, the loneliness and confusion of college, the ups and downs of relationships, and the exhausting, bewildering years of early unwed motherhood. Romance was there when I needed a break from studying the law school texts, and handy when I had to wait for the prodigy’s soccer practice to end. When I started focusing professionally on child welfare law, my consumption of romance went up again. Historical romance is my first love, but I’m a diehard JR Ward fan, Carolyn Jewel’s paranormals are on my auto-buy list, and Julie James is another author whose books will always find room on my shelves. I’m not reading for the steam—contrary to my…

Deepest thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me. I never get tired of talking about books which happens to be my favorite subject…next to cowboys of course. You have to expect that from a Texan. I’m so excited about my newest TEXAS MAIL ORDER BRIDE that came out yesterday. I’m excited because I love stories about people finding love and acceptance when it appears so unlikely. For years, the number one question readers have asked me is: How do I get the ideas for my stories? I always say that they are sent from somewhere outside of myself. It’s a mystery to me. But each time one pops into my head, I’m filled with excitement. I feel like, that out of all the authors in the world, I’ve been “chosen” to write that particular story. The inspiration for Texas Mail Order Bride came when I read an article about Battle Creek, Texas. It was never a town; there’s only a granite memorial there in remembrance of a group of government surveyors who were massacred by the Kickapoo Indians in 1838. Battle Creek’s name appealed to me and it seemed the perfect place to set a story of conflict. I placed…

My favorite show is back! Not The Walking Dead (though I do love that one, too), Downton Abbey. They make us wait so long between seasons, and then there’s the inevitable struggle to avoid spoilers because it airs so much earlier in the UK. But here we are at last, a new season of Downton Abbey upon us, and coinciding with the release of my latest Edwardian romance, AN AFFAIR DOWNSTAIRS—as if I needed more reasons to throw a party. In case you’re planning your own Downton Abbey Viewing Party, allow me to share some proper Edwardian party tips. -A good Edwardian hostess sends invitations three to six weeks prior to the event. If you’re planning a party with a few close friends in your own area, though, I think you can manage with less advance notice. -Ask your friends to come early so that you can serve snacks and have everyone gathered and settled in time for the start of the show. No one appreciates a late arrival interrupting the action. -Perhaps you can encourage someone to play butler and announce each guest on arrival, or do the honors yourself and take care to introduce everyone. -For snacks, consider…

I’d like to confess something. I have a thing about old houses. An obsession to see what’s inside them, know who lived there, maybe even learn who died there. When I was a kid, my grandparents lived on a farm way out in the sticks. Their pre-Civil War farmhouse was fascinating, with its many interior doors, woodwork, and wainscoting covered in original faux wood-grain paint, and lots of little rooms and two front doors. Not two front doors next to each other, but two separate front doors opening into two different rooms. Fascinating, and still unexplained. But even more interesting to me was the abandoned Victorian down the dirt road. Strangely ornate, it seemed out of place in the deep country setting. Because of its dilapidated condition and the fear it would collapse, I was never allowed to go inside—physically. Mentally, I explored all I wanted and made up some darn fine stories, now lost to time, about what the interior looked like and the ghosts who inhabited it. Finally, that house did fall down, and last time I went by it was a pile of wood, covered over with brush and vines, quickly being overtaken by the land. It…

Here’s the thing…it’s my job to freak you out.  Truly.  And barring that, it’s my job to make you cry.  Barring that, I should at least be able to make you laugh. And if I can’t make you do any of that…well then clearly you are dead inside. The truth is, I loooove writing scary stories that are balanced with either a whole lotta funny, or, something emotionally powerful that makes the reader well up a little.  Sometimes I’m lucky, and my stories are both scary and riddled with punch lines.  Other times, the focus is a bit more serious, and funny may not always be appropriate.  Each book is a little different with its own unique combo of, “Eeek!” + “Haha!” + “Sniffle!” Mostly, though, I want your heart to pound, your funny bone to itch, and your eyes to leak.  And it delights me if all of that would happen to you someplace public – the subway, the lunch counter, the library.  Can you tell that I’m a bit of a sadist? Still, I will give fair warning for my M. J. Holliday fans that my latest release, NO GHOULS ALLOWED, is super-duper scary.  As in…even I had…

I’m so glad to be here on Fresh Fiction to chat about my new historical romance, SECRETS OF A SCANDALOUS HEIRESS. As you’d expect from the title, it’s the story of an heiress who uses a trip to Bath to hide her scandalous identity and forge a new one. But our heroine, Augusta Meredith, didn’t count on meeting someone she knew: blunt, witty Joss Everett, an Anglo-Indian with secrets of his own. Since it’s a new year and we’re all full of advice and resolutions, I’d like to present… Miss Augusta Meredith’s Guide to Keeping a Secret (Please note: these tips are intended for trained professionals on a closed course.) 1. When constructing a new and false identity for the pursuit of pleasure, avoid the company of people you know. 2. If the company of acquaintances cannot be avoided, make sure at least to avoid handsome men with uncomfortably perceptive wit. 3. If such a man cannot be avoided, and such a man uncovers one’s new and false identity, distract him with an indecent proposition. He is unlikely to accept if he is a gentleman, but he will not be expecting it and will grow fuddled. Take every advantage, ladies!…

I fly a lot for my job, and if there is one thing that is universally true, weather can bring out the worst in people.  The absolute worst.  A couple of years ago I was flying back from Ireland through Chicago O’Hare.  My flight got in just before massive thunderstorms rolled through.  All flights were cancelled.  I was stuck in that airport for more than eight hours, in a terminal with limited seating and amenities.  When I said that travel brought out the worst in people, I may or may not have been referring to myself.  I’m not very patient.  But at least I didn’t take up more than one seat, or more than one outlet, or stand in the enormous food court line and wait until I got to the counter to debate the menu items with my spouse.  But there were those who did. That horrible, terrible, no-good very bad day was the day I got the idea to write a short tale about two people flying from New York to Seattle who have to get there on time when a huge blizzard shut down westbound flights.  The Bridesmaid was published last year and was the Planes, Trains…