I’ve lived around lakes my entire life. As a child, a big treat was going to one of the parks, splashing in the water and playing in the sand. I love the water, the sparkles of the sun reflecting off the surface, the holiday atmosphere of the shore. But I’d never been to the ocean. I was an adult before I ever made it to the coast of the Atlantic. And I was transformed. That may sound melodramatic, but that’s the way I felt. I was filled with a sense of awe, a primal pull that I hadn’t expected and didn’t understand. Tears filled my eyes and I never wanted to leave. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay. My home is still inland, near the lakes but not the ocean. I was able to buy a house with a lake view, but that’s the closest I’ve come. I visit the ocean as often as I can, most often to the Outer Banks in North Carolina or the ocean-side of Florida. And I put the ocean in some of my stories, so I can experience it through my characters too. In THE COTTAGE NEXT DOOR, Hunter and Sylvie have both suffered losses and…

In RUPTURED, Alana must face more than demon platoons marching upon her home. She confronts what she wants for her life versus what the Council deems her role should be for the continuation of the human race. The close interactions with her squad and the man chosen to be her mate created intense interactions. Our passions are what drive us along with our ability to choose our destiny. What would we do if that freedom was taken from us? How would that shape our world view? Alana faces these issues as her world crumbles around her. Enjoy this excerpt from RUPTURED “Breeder.” That word. The one thing I had attempted to escape my whole life. The dull gray walls of the Densare Council rang with impunity. I glanced around at the thirteen members, each sitting rigidly upon a stone chair that looked more like a small throne with intricately carved Celtic symbols paying tribute to a bygone era. They always reminded me of Celtic tombs. The Densare Council ruled our world with an iron fist of justice created in the fiery destruction of the Mutari. When the Mutari hit Earth eighty-three years ago, mankind had been caught with their pants down…

Have you ever been on a blind date? Or better yet, have you ever signed up on one of those online dating sites? It’s nerve-wracking wondering who is going to show up to meet you. What if he’s a complete nasally voiced nerd? Or scary? Or drop-dead gorgeous? Would you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot? Or would you think, this guy is way out of my element, beyond my comfort zone? That is exactly what has happened to Jaclyn. She knows the moment she sees Derek, he is more than she can handle. On a good day! And boy was she right. But, he’s not about to let her get away that easily. Not that Jaclyn is all that much of a prize, but he’s made a bet. And Derek does not like to lose. How can we stand this guy, right? He’s arrogant and obnoxious, who cares if he sets your blood sizzling. Add to that a lunatic sister and meddling mother and we have a recipe for disaster. Jaclyn is ready to run far and fast from this guy. But he tempts her in a way only the Devil can, with what her heart wants most—money for…

I’m never sure how I feel about the changing of the seasons. Where I grew up, in the tropics, we had the rainy seasons (traditionally March and October), hurricane season (July to October) and then a very brief cooler period around the end of December. That was it. Now, living in Canada, I find myself alternately looking forward to the next season and rueing the passage of the one before. Well, except for winter. I dread the advent of multiple layers of clothing and icy sidewalks, and cheer when I see the first signs of spring. Winter, beautiful as it can be, can stay away as far as I’m concerned! But the other seasons each hold their particular joys. Spring arrives with budding trees and shy flowers valiantly braving the lingering cold and giving us the first bursts of color since the Christmas decorations came down. Summer brings another set of blooms, frosty glasses of lemonade and heat enough to make a person long for the beach. Autumn is both a slightly melancholy farewell to the heat and freedom of summer and also an exuberant, protracted festival of gold, reds and purples. I don’t think I have a favorite season,…

My name is Blaire and I’m a bookaholic. I will read anything. Romance, science fiction, magazines. Anything. Everything. As a child, the only time I didn’t have a book in my hand was at meal time. I had a mother who believed in three squares and meaningful conversation so I was prohibited from bringing my book to the table. With no story to escape into, I resorted to reading food labels. If you ever need the potato salad recipe printed on the back of 1980s Hellman’s mayo, tweet me. I’m totally your girl. The labels were never my favorite thing to read, but in a pinch, they were mildly interesting. Who knew A1 sauce is mostly raisin paste? I began writing WILD ABOUT RACHEL as a lark. It was a pet project, a window I could flip to when I was discouraged with other books in progress. Before WILD ABOUT RACHEL sold to Entangled Publishing, I wrote dozens, yes, dozens, of more traditional romances with very safe storylines, most of which never went anywhere. They didn’t go anywhere because they were missing one important ingredient: heart. They were as flat as a Heinz Ketchup label. Frustrated and discouraged, a dear friend…

Check out this video from Meghan Quinn, author of the Love and Sports series, for her list of Top 5 Football Hotties! About the upcoming release, THREE AND OUT Piper was dead to him. The minute she walked out the door on Mason, he was done. D.O.N.E. Now, three months later, he’s still trying to act like he doesn’t care. Like his heart hasn’t been torn into shreds and obliterated beyond recognition. But it’s not working. He’s broken and beyond repair. Then Piper goes missing. Mason tries to show the world he doesn’t care, but his world is flipped upside down. A vulnerable Mason finds help in an unexpected place and it’s an offer he can’t refuse. The knot that has been gripping Mason’s heart slowly starts to unravel and he’s starting to look into his future… Three and Out runs through the lives of Mason and his friends while they struggle to find love and keep it in their hectic, crazy, drama twisted lives. Not everyone is meant to be and not everyone who you think should be together, will end up together in the final installment of the Love and Sports series. About Meghan Quinn When I was…

“I think housework is far more tiring and frightening than hunting is, no comparison, and yet after hunting we had eggs for tea and were made to rest for hours, but after housework people expect one to go on just as if nothing special had happened.” ― Nancy Mitford Aristocratic life is an occasional theme in my writing. Like many, I have toured English stately homes and dreamed about their glamorous lifestyles, but I suspect that my interest has almost entirely been influenced by Nancy Mitford, eldest daughter of a baron, commentator on manners and one of the funniest writers of the 20th century. During the writing of my latest book, RED DIRT DUCHESS, there were more than a few moments when I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes and asked, ‘what would Nancy say?’ The five Mitford sisters were infamous. All beauties and almost all eccentric, two had dubious fascist connections (Hitler, Mosley), another was a communist, whilst the youngest, Deborah, became the Duchess of Devonshire. Was there ever a family more divided by ideology than the Mitfords? Amongst them, the eldest, Nancy, remained resolutely, delightfully madcap and had no truck with dictators or fascism. As one…

The title alone should tell you that Book #2 in the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, THE WEDDING SOUP MURDER, features a wedding. And that um, other thing that tends to be front and center in cozy mysteries. (Oh, but there’s also soup—did I mention the soup?) However, I did have the good taste to wait until after the reception to kill off my unfortunate victim, the snobby president of the Belmont Beach Country Club. Weddings are, of course, traditionally joyous occasions, but they are so often rife with drama that I found it—if you’ll pardon the expression—a delicious premise to use one as the inciting incident in the novel. Think about the possibilities: a spoiled bridezilla, a felonious father of the bride, two sparring chefs in a hot kitchen, and a micro-managing club president who gets under everyone’s skin. Throw in an Italian bride and a Scots-Irish groom, and you have a tasty recipe for cozy chaos. As my main character and sleuth, Victoria Rienzi, wryly observes during the reception: On my way to the kitchen I was arrested by a series of whining groans, a cacophony so loud and dissonant I wanted to clap my hands over my ears. As…

You’re sitting in a coffee shop, trying to write, when a man walks in alone. He orders a simple cup of Joe and takes a seat at a bistro table, his back to the wall, and pulls out an impossibly thin computer. He’s absorbed in his work, only occasionally taking his eyes off the screen long enough to sweep the coffee shop, looking for . . . what? So much for getting any work done, right? You’ve got yourself a mystery man, and you can’t help speculating about his back story. Is he a spy? A cop staking out the joint? A criminal staking out the joint? Is he married, or is he having a torrid affair with his married neighbor. What the heck is he typing? It’s natural to be intrigued in strangers. In fact, it’s probably a positive evolutionary trait, being aware of those around you and identifying any possible threats. Mostly, though, it’s just fun painting stories on a blank canvas. In real life, that random guy is probably a banker using his lunch hour to catch up on some e-mail. But in your head, he’s become an undercover government operative transmitting vital national security information—in code,…

1. It’s been more than a decade since you’ve published your last novel. What was it like to get back in the game with TREASURE COAST? I have to say it’s been exhilarating, maybe because it was so unexpected. A year ago at about this time I went to my mailbox and discovered a package containing an autographed copy of THE HEIST by Janet Evanovich and her co-author, Lee Goldberg. I’d never met Ms. Evanovich but Lee I remembered from a writers conference years ago when he was just getting his start in crime fiction. We’d not stayed in touch, so I was naturally rather puzzled by the gift. Tucked inside the book I found a letter from Lee reintroducing himself and explaining a new venture he and his partner were embarked upon. That venture was Brash Books, a publishing company specializing in the revival of out-of-print crime novels, and since I had six such books, long since out of print, he invited me to participate. With nothing to lose, I readily agreed. Once the project was underway I mentioned to Lee that I had a manuscript languishing in a drawer, and he invited me to send it along. Happily…