Have you ever lived somewhere that seriously influenced your life? A place that gave you a different perspective on the world as you know it? What I’ve found is that each place I’ve lived has somehow changed my world view. I grew up in Iowa. We didn’t live in the largest city in the state, but I grew up believing we were the most cosmopolitan utopia ever. I was rudely divested of that notion when I went away to college. But Iowa is where I received my education, my interest and training in writing and a life-long love of learning. Moving to Houston after graduation, I learned how to live on a budget. A straight commission job I loved, but wasn’t very good at meant I also had to learn how to exist on limited sleep. Because I needed a second job to make ends meet. Oh, and I learned to love country music and dance the Cotton Eyed Joe. I’ve lived in the same city in Illinois twice. I moved there the first time as a young newlywed and didn’t know a soul (other than my husband). This is where I learned resilience. I learned to rely on myself…

Ever since I was given the amazing opportunity to write a Pride & Prejudice modern respin (DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE), I’ve been jumping at the chance to respin another Jane Austen. Though nothing can touch P&P, I’ve always had a major soft spot for Persuasion. I love a good “second chances” story, and there isn’t a better one out there than Austen’s. Something about reunited lovers really pierces my heart. Maybe because I’ve had  a lot of boyfriends in my dating history, it’s kind of a personal fantasy to meet up with one of my better ex’s down the road and do a bit of rekindling. Hee-hee In SOMEDAY MAYBE, Rachel and Oliver dated when they were freshmen at the University of San Francisco, then some time goes by and they meet up again. (Don’t worry, I’m not giving any spoilers…) I love writing about college-aged characters. For me, it was such an important time of my life and I made huge decisions about the future. The same goes for the year or two right after collage: First real job, first long-term relationship, first apartment on my own, etc. That’s what is so fun about writing new adult stories…I can…

Ever heard the phrase “I’m having a bad hair day?” Of course you have. And we all know exactly what it means! But if you happen to have the supernatural gift of prehensile hair (the ability to manipulate, quickly grow, and attack with your hair), that phrase can take on a whole new meaning. Personally I’d rather not have a coiffeur that might kill my husband if he mentions my mane needs a trim, but there’s a few even worse gifts out there in the paranormal world a girl might find herself saddled with. Here’s the top ten, in no particular order: 1. Bone Consumption Aside from the sheer gross factor, I can’t think of a single instance where this power might come in handy. A variation on the traditional vampire, a bone eater gets her power from eating the marrow and skeleton of others. About as unsexy as a supernatural power gets. 2. Self-Detonation This one is self-explanatory. The ability to let loose an explosion from the body, and put yourself back together again. Ouch. Also, I worry if there is an accompanying smell. (It can’t be pleasant.) 3. Prehensile Tongue Like the aforementioned prehensile hair, a prehensile tongue…

My wardrobe doesn’t get a lot of attention. Being a writer barely requires me to wear clothes at all, much less nice ones, but I have fun dressing my characters. An item of clothing or an accessory can speak volumes about the person wearing it. My friend C, on the other hand, is very fashionable. Her enthusiasm reaches a pinnacle when it comes to purses. She’s the proud owner of a number of “statement handbags.”  I borrowed one a while back for a special occasion. What follows is a rundown of the statement I made. The occasion was my birthday. It was a milestone, and my sweet, romantic, long-suffering husband planned a special evening. His instructions consisted of, “Wear something pretty. We’ll be gone all night.” Woo-hoo! I bought a wrap dress, splurged on new underwear, and borrowed C’s Gucci purse. I’d been having back pain and I didn’t want to risk a flare up that night, so I tossed my prescription painkillers in the purse. On our way out the door I stopped to get the mail. I received cards (with checks!) from my mom, my in-laws, and my aunt. Three personal checks into the borrowed Gucci. Boom. Boom….

Because I like to analyze and title just about everything (neurotic reader/writer that I am), I’ve analyzed and labeled each of the various, yummy types of men that make us swoon, giggle, and want to leap through the page, punch out the heroine, and take her place. As an alpha-loving girl, you’ll find my favorite leading men tend to lean toward the aggressive type. Sorry, beta girls. Still, I think there’s a book boyfriend out there for everyone. Let’s take a look at a few archetypes, shall we? MR. SNARK Devastatingly handsome, smoldering smile, and sarcastic with a bite—all of which makes you want to slap him or kiss him. Probably both, in that order. Why does he intrigue us so much? Well, hell, just look at that smirk! And you never know what’s really going on behind those scintillating looks (but we can pretty much guess). *gasp* *Examples: Edward Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s JANE EYRE; Dorian the Fairy King in Richelle Mead’s DARK SWAN series PRINCE CHARMING Golden good looks with sparkling eyes and a smile that makes you melt into a pile of goo. This guy is exactly what his title suggests—all charm and sparkling wit. Though he…

OFF KILTER is the first book in the Highlands Mystery Series. It was great fun to write. I especially loved my research in the Highlands. All that local color – men in kilts, that wonderful lilting Scottish accent, the quick wit and infectious sense of humor displayed by the Scots. Did I mention men in kilts? And the setting was spectacular! Munros, lochs, sheep dotting the hillsides, whitewashed cottages, each tiny village with its own central meeting place – the pub, of course.  I must admit I lifted a few pints, learned to sing the national anthem, and sampled a smorgasbord of Scottish delectable, including the (in)famous haggis. My trip was much like my amateur sleuth’s. Eden Elliott arrives in the small village of Glenkillen on the same mission – to research for a series she’s been contracted to write. Only hers is a romance novel, not a mystery. But instead of practicing the fine art of flirtation with those hunky Scottish lads, Eden discovers the sheep shearer’s body. And he’s been clipped with his own shears. Nothing like a murder to cool a woman’s ardor. Worse, if Eden doesn’t figure this one out, she’ll find herself on the receiving…

People think I’m crazy because I write three cozy mystery series. Yes, one book per year for each series (for as long as my publisher lets me!). And there are other books I’ve published through a small independent publisher. Can you guess that I like to write? The first question most people ask is, “How do you keep them all straight?” The simplest answer is that they all are based in real places that I know well: western Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and most recently West Cork in Ireland. I don’t know how I could manage if I had to make up a town and keep all the details consistent. Of course the main characters are different people, although at least two of the characters reflect a little bit of me. Or maybe more than a little bit. Write what you know, right? Meg Corey in the Orchard Mysteries has been blindsided by losing her boyfriend, her home and her job all at once, but she’s got generations of New England ancestors (I borrow a lot of my family tree) to pass on their backbone to her, so over the course of that series she’s learned how to manage an orchard and…

The first time I glimpsed Los Angeles from a plane window, I wasn’t impressed.  The view through a taxi window on my way to Studio City wasn’t much better. The palm trees were too tall and thin. The roads were too tight and travelled. The people looked tired and troubled. Where was the gold and glitter I’d spent the last twenty-five years dreaming of? This should’ve been my first clue that dreams are fickle things. That January almost seven years ago, I’d flown 2,000 miles for work. As a newly hired editor for the Walt Disney Company, I’d achieved a damn-near impossibility in this industry: a steady, dependable paycheck with full corporate benefits—all while working mostly from home in my pajamas. The words “dream job” seriously applied. For three years, I coordinated, culled, cared for, and curated parenting-focused web content. The job was incredibly progressive and creatively freeing. We were supported by the greatest graphics and technology departments in the world. We took tiny sparks of ideas and blew them into ginormous corporate assets. But I hated waking up each morning, and turning on my laptop made me physically ill. Something was wrong, but it couldn’t be the dream job,…

Welcome again to Fresh Fiction’s Halloween Boo-k Spectacular Costume Party! Some of your favorite authors are sending their characters to this virtual party in style. Enter and be charmed by Will Ransleigh, hero of Julia Justiss‘s THE RAKE TO REDEEM HER. *** What better costume party guest than a charming rogue who’s a master of disguises? Illegitimate son of an earl’s brother, Will Ransleigh spent his early years on the London streets before being reluctantly reclaimed by his aristocratic family. His unusual upbringing enables him to move at ease among peers or paupers. Will’s attending the party in one of his favorite guises–as a traveling peddler. (The better to winkle out information, making idle chat with customers distracted by his shiny wares.) He’ll be garbed as a Regency hero, casual-style, in an open-collared white shirt, tight pantaloons and tall black boots, with a red gypsy sash to add flare. You’ll find the ever-convivial Will on the dance floor, downing rum punch, playing a few hands of cards, or charming the ladies with clever conversation. When not dancing or conversing, he’ll delight the women, finding pearls behind their ears, and amuse the gentlemen, plucking gold coins from their cuffs. At a…

I LOVE Christmas and decorating, and for werewolves it’s the same. The only difference might be that they LOVE decorating with live plants as it reminds them of their trips to the woods. Evergreen garlands. Mistletoe. Poinsettias. But even better, the Highland wolves in A Highland Wolf Christmas are starting a brand new tradition! A living tree! Shelly is the botanist in the family, and this is her dream. Not only will the pack enjoy the living Christmas tree, but after Christmas day, the pack will gather and they’ll plant it and make even more of a forest on their castle grounds. What can be better than that? Just in case you’re interested, they do have living Christmas trees at various places that sell trees for that special time of year. If you decide to have a wolfish Christmas, they recommend getting the tree late in the season so that it’s not in the heat-warmed house for too long. As to having that hot wolf help you decorate it, you’ll have to do more of a search for him. Do you have a special Christmas collection? My daughter has snowmen. I have santas. But I also have snowmen and other…