Imagine my utter surprise when my husband came home from work one day and told me we were going to Switzerland. Switzerland! He’d been invited to give a keynote address, and I’d won the vacation lottery! Needless to say, we had the time of our lives in the land of watches, army knives and chocolate. But there’s way more to Switzerland than that. Here are ten things we enjoyed most, so be sure to include them in your plans when you go. Strolling through the charming narrow streets of old town Lucerne, admiring the still-intact medieval city walls with their fairy-tale towers. Countless clocks chime on the hour, but the oldest clock in the city does the honors. It’s allowed to chime a minute before all the others! Visiting the Engelberg Benedictine Monastery and meeting real-life monks. Engelberg means angel mountain, and the monastery got its name when two monks saw a host of angels while they were walking in the nearby meadows. The monastery gave its name to the village that grew up around it, and an angel is the symbol of the idyllic town. Learning the ancient art of cheese making at the Engelberg Monastery Cheese Factory. Cheese…

“Salt of the Earth” Many of you are familiar with the term, used in biblical text , it not only refers to a spiritual meaning, but has a context, too, that refers to one who is grounded, a person who respects the earth, cares for it—in short, those generations of farmers and ranchers who have sustained the temperament of weather, markets, and life itself to sustain and serve the world with crops, produce and education. Born in in Oklahoma, I have lived all my life in a small town community in the Midwest. Much of my writing comes from my experiences living in a farm town. There is a sense of being close-knit. From the local diner where the farmers meet each morning for coffee, and where discussions revolve around the latest in model of combine or how many acres they plan to put in come spring. It’s about helping out your neighbor, oftentimes working dawn to dusk, looking a man in the eye when you shake his hand and taking pride in what you believe. Around here, “Earth Day” is not simply a day—it’s a way of life. A fav song on my writing playlist is the Dixie Chicks…

We live in a disposable society. Given the abundance of inexpensive products and rapidly changing technology, most people choose to toss out their underperforming items rather than attempt to fix them. Toaster not toasting? Not a problem. There are a dozen or more to choose from at your local department store, or better yet, order one online without leaving your favorite chair. Your shiny new toaster will arrive on your doorstep within days, if not hours. It seems to me, relationships have fallen prey to this same toss and replace attitude, becoming revolving doors of half-hearted attempts at finding and nurturing love. Why bother to diagnose and repair when there’s another potentially less demanding, less stressful, new and untarnished situation around the corner, or better yet, on the internet, just waiting for you to log on? So, what constitutes a relationship worth saving? I’m a firm believer that as long as two (or more) people love each other and still want the same things, then the relationship has a chance of survival. It’s a matter of working together to find a way past the obstacles in the way of happiness. In the real world it’s a sad truth that no…

When I started writing my first book WEIGHTING FOR MR. RIGHT, I never set out to write a series. One of my goals was nothing more than to fulfill my dream of being an actual published (fiction) writer. I wanted to walk into Barnes and Noble, pick up my book off the shelf, hold it up, and scream, “Yeah! I wrote this!” and have people applaud. (Or the manager would call the police and I’d be escorted out of the store.) Then, I realized that whatever I wrote could potentially cause change in someone’s life and it gave me pause, because I’d read a book that changed my life for the better. A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR What book? A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR by Jude Devereux. When I picked up that book for the first time in 1992, I really needed it. I sat in the middle of a horrible relationship and I’d hit rock bottom in my faith in humanity. Despite working two waiting table jobs and working up to seventeen hours a day, I sat up late for three nights to read this book. The character Douglas spoke to me. She was in the middle of her…

I’ll be the first to admit a book set during the Salem witch trials doesn’t exactly scream romance. For that matter, the setting doesn’t even whimper romance—at least not at first glance. I mean, there were hangings and rotting jail cells and constant fear—not just of the evil that supposedly lurked among the people of Salem, but of being accused of so-called affliction and being sent to die. This fear was tangible. It lived and breathed among these people as if it were one of their own, and I admit my initial draw to Salem had a whole lot to do with its dark history. And I felt guilty. Separated by both time and distance, my interest in the Salem witch trials wasn’t purely for entertainment value, but I have to admit the cinematic appeal was there. The events themselves are so absurd that it’s hard to equate them with reality. How could something like this happen? It seems unfathomable, but history is sadly full of these atrocities. There’s no doubt they exist, but do they belong in romance? The answer is a resounding yes, and here’s why. When I began researching the Salem witch trials for my Sins of…

I often think back fondly of my very first book-signing. I had just published a romantic suspense geared to the literary/library market. So the binding and packaging were top-notch—it would truly hold up to heavy wear-and-tear. And the cover photo was imbedded in the hardback cover, beneath the paper jacket. The only problem was the list price of $27.00 for an absolute “nobody” of a writer. I was so tickled with getting published that I scheduled a signing at my local independent bookstore. (Borders and Barnes and Noble kept asking: Who did you say you were?) This was an adorable shop in a valley surrounded by ski slopes and quaint art galleries. Unfortunately, it is now out-of-business. I send out dozens of publicity postcards to my family, friends, neighbors and business acquaintances. I paid for ads in my local newspapers and tried every avenue of free publicity I could find. The day of the event I wore my new dress and took extra time with hair and make-up. I brought a tray of cookies and fruit tarts from the nearby bakery. The store owner had a fire lit with a comfy armchair for me to greet my “fans.” And in…

Every so often, I get this huge craving for ice cream. It doesn’t last long but I never remember that as I’m buying three gallons of ice cream at the grocery store on the day it hits. So then I have three half-opened containers just growing ice crystals in my freezer for the next month or two until the craving comes around again. It’s a vicious cycle. My newest novel, PAIGE TURNED, just released this month and one of the things that came up for my character as I was writing it was the cycle of forgiveness. Paige is faced with a lot of both who she is and the pasts of the people around her. She has to let go of a lot of the expectations she had of herself and her future and she’s put in the position of making a lot of major life decisions because of letting go of those expectations and truly forgiving. It’s so easy to grow up thinking your life will turn out a certain way. But there are so many things about my life that are so much better than what I expected! I always hoped to have kids but being a…

Everyone loves a great deal, right? What if you could have amazing deals, and get a steal of a price (sometimes even free!) on riveting books every single week? Entangled’s Steals & Deals offers you just that opportunity. We offer new release books On Sale, or at the introductory price of just 99¢, and every once in a while, we throw in a free book or novella to keep things interesting. Why do we do this? We believe in loyalty. We’re a small, grassroots company. We started with a vision of offering the best books to readers, all the while doing right by our authors by offering them the best royalty structure possible. So many authors and readers took a chance on us when we were brand new. Now, 3 years and multiple USA TODAY and NY Times bestsellers later, this is one way we’re able to give back to you, the reader. We value you. We know you have myriad reading choices out there. You’re discerning and we want to be the publisher you turn to first for the best books at the best prices. Offering you the chance to try some of our books at great introductory prices…

After eighteen years in a dying town where nothing ever happened, I struck out on my own and ended up living in five different states over the next two decades. And in that time, I never lived in the same house for more than a couple years. But all that changed when I settled near the ocean and finally bought my first home. I guess I just had to find the place that felt like home to me. I wasn’t necessarily looking for it, and neither is my heroine in my latest release HOME TO STAY. In fact, the last thing Willow “Will” Parsons can afford to do is settle in one place. You see, she has a secret. A big one. And that secret is on her tail. But the very remote Anchor Island, at the base of the Outer Banks and accessible only by ferry, gives Will a little breathing room. She’s still ready to leave on a moment’s notice, but the longer she stays, the more she feels at home. And then Randy Navarro works his way into her life and her heart, giving Will an even bigger reason to stick around—the love she never expected to…

Lucky Charms? No. I’m not talking about the cereal, although they are magically delicious. Sugary oats and colorful marshmallows… Num! Sorry, I’m easily distracted by yummy things. I’m talking lucky charms, talisman, totem or symbols. However you wish to classify those things we hold dear. Symbols for love. Symbols for protection. Symbols for luck. We are surrounded by symbols every day, in our relationships, even in our landscapes. We can’t seem to escape them. Everywhere you turn, beliefs and superstitions attached to symbols exist. From the infinite circle of a wedding band that symbolizes the everlasting union of a man and woman, to the four leaf clover that is so elusive, that it ensures good luck for its finder. How many of you remember the lucky rabbit’s foot? Didn’t everyone have one of those? Ugh. I think I just showed my age. It’s not just in the things we hold close, there is also luck and security attached to occurrences. Remember this saying, “Find a penny pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck.” Or, when was the last time you saw a star shimmering in the sky and made a wish? Sports fans and players are…