There are few figures in recent American history that are as well loved and recognized as Dr. Maya Angelou. Even though she has departed this world today at the age of 86, Angelou’s vibrant spirit echoes on through her art. Angelou dedicated her life to spreading hope, combating prejudice, and fostering the belief that regardless of race, class, or gender, every person holds the right to live, and live fully. Through her writing, Angelou became a voice for the oppressed, and through her presence, she inspired everyone who knew her. Her poetry and memoirs express her profound resilience and passion for life, encouraging anyone who read them to persevere, cling to truth, and refuse to be broken by adversity. Angelou wrote in her famous poem “Still I Rise”: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up among heavy segregation in Arkansas. Before she became recognized as a poet and writer, Angelou was known as a performer, traveling America and Europe as a dancer and singer in the 1950’s….

One question I’m constantly asked at conferences: was I in the military? Short answer is no, although I have come close to joining several times. But, see, there’s an old writer’s axiom—”write what you know”—and because of that, people seem to assume that having military experience is the only possible way I can write my books. And, yes, maybe that was true back before the technological advances of today when research was much harder to do. Now, however, I think it’s the biggest load of hooey told to budding writers. C’mon, I’m a small town girl with a perennially boring life not at all conducive to writing the kinds of books I want to write. Lemme give you an example. I’ve spent the last several months doing research for BROKEN HONOR, the third book in my HORNET series, which is about human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Some of the topics I’ve delved into this month alone include the Navy SEALs (again!), NCIS (not the TV show), arms and sex trafficking, the countries of Moldova, Ukraine, and an unrecognized breakaway republic called Transnistria that’s still stuck in the Soviet era. Did you know that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe?…

Thanks for inviting me to hang out at Fresh Fiction today! I’ve been making the rounds, visiting different blogs since the second book in my Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series, A BISCUIT, A CASKET, came out in April, and I’m thrilled to be here. I love writing the Pawsitively Organic books. Why? Because I get to combine a love of writing murder mysteries with a love of animals and all things holistic health, which is so cool. In the books, my protagonist, Stan Connor, chucks her corporate life in the city after she loses her job. She moves to the small town of Frog Ledge, Connecticut with her Maine coon cat Nutty, for whom she cooks and bakes because of his gastrointestinal issues, and soon finds that the entire animal population in town is nutty for her treats. Which leads her down a path to her own business – baking organic, gourmet treats for pets. And, of course, stumbling over dead bodies and solving mysteries. Let’s get one thing out of the way – I’m not a chef. In fact, I can barely cook for myself, never mind my numerous pets. But I can write, I’m fascinated by crime and I…

Years ago, after my husband and I drove to Alaska, I wrote the Romantic Suspense, MIDNIGHT SUN.  A second journey generated the ideas for my three new Against novels, the Brodie Brothers of Alaska, beginning with AGAINST THE WILD. I love road trips, just heading out with no particular destination in mind, rolling along, encountering whatever life has to offer.  It’s a panorama of new vistas, different smells, different tastes, different lifestyles.  It’s dealing with flat tires and engine trouble, but also meeting people from every walk of life. In the tiny town of Tok, we met a group of Vietnam vets on a Holland America bus tour.  At dusk each day, they held a flag-lowering ceremony, and because my husband had mentioned that the body of a friend, a serviceman killed in Vietnam, had just been recovered, he was asked to do the honors that night of lowering the American flag. It was a special evening, the kind of experience that can make a road trip unforgettable. Being that both of us love history, we wound up in Dawson City, the Yukon, way off the grid, the original destination for Klondike gold miners at the end of the nineteen…

A notoriously charming bad boy-Even by Chatsfield standards Lucca had to admit this latest one to hit the London tabloids was a doozy. An uptight and starchy princess-‘Personality clash, you call it? I’d call it a personality collision! That man is nothing but trouble. He came swaggering in as if I was a housemaid instead of a princess. He called me sweetheart!’ Lucca Chatsfield is exiled to the European principality of Preitalle to help Princess Charlotte (Lottie) plan her sister’s wedding. He intends to spend the time on the beach with a bevy of beautiful blondes to peel his grapes for him. Lottie will not allow a spoilt rich boy ruin her one chance of showing her family (and the world) she is not just a spare heir. ‘You are not here to party. You are here to help me. So help me you will.’ He leaned one elbow idly against the doorjamb. ‘Would you like a drink?’ Her eyebrows snapped together. ‘Mr Chatsfield, I am not here to socialize. I am here to assign you specific tasks to do with the wedding.’ ‘Humour me.’ He closed the door and smiled down at her lopsidedly. ‘I never do business with…

I love to travel. I think it’s because I grew up in a small town and always imagined what it would be like to live in faraway places such as Shakespeare’s England or on a tropical island like the girl in Scott O’Dell’s ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS. Reading only stirred my traveler’s heart. The more adventures I had through books, the more adventures I wanted to have in real life, so my parents probably weren’t too surprised when I was off to see the world at the tender age of eighteen. Now that I’m past the backpacking through Europe phase, I’ve learned that I also enjoy staying in places that have comfy mattresses, a Starbucks downstairs, and a neighborhood in which I can wander around and experience my travel destination’s culture. Naturally, my booklover’s heart still looks for literary connections everywhere I go, so in New York City I had a martini with my husband at the Algonquin’s Blue Bar where Dorothy Parker and her friends started The Algonquin Round Table in 1919. And just last week during a visit to Chicago, my book-loving friend Jennifer and I made our way to the Newberry Library. Do you remember the…

On May 30, 1868, a group of Union veterans held the first Decoration Day (now called Memorial Day). They picked that day because they believed that flowers would be in bloom around the country. The purpose of Decoration Day? To honor and remember the men who fought and died on both sides of the Civil War. This weekend Memorial Day services will be held around the country. Many communities will host events and parades. All in an effort to honor the many men and women who have lived and served throughout the wars this country has experienced. While many graves will be decorated, it is also a time to remember. Remember those who served in the trenches of World War I. Remember the boys who stormed the Omaha beaches and Guadalcanal during World War II. Remember the men and women who died in the jungles of Vietnam or the land of Korea. Remember those who still serve and give their all around the world. This act of remembering and memorializing is why I write books set during World War II. I want to capture through the power of novels the many roles men and women occupied during that all encompassing…

Being a romance hero or heroine is often a lonely profession. It certainly is for the characters in my newest historical romance, TO CHARM A NAUGHTY COUNTESS. The heroine, Caroline, is a wealthy widow who cements her social power by being friendly to every woman and flirting with every man. This may not sound lonely, but sitting at the pinnacle of society means she can never relax or be less than perfect. All the regard she works so hard to earn is ornamental, since no one knows her true self. Well—not quite all of the regard. The hero, Michael, has no use for false courtesies. A brilliant, impoverished, eccentric duke, he has just as few social skills as he does guineas. Rumored mad, he retreated from London years before to devote himself to administering his dukedom. When cold weather ruins his harvest and investments, though, the only solution is a quick marriage to a wealthy bride. Rumors work against him, though, and no heiresses seem willing to trade their fortune for a title. It’s not in Michael’s nature to entrust his responsibilities to anyone else—but with the livelihood of his dukedom’s tenants on the line, he cannot fail. He needs…

Here’s a question that I have been asked a lot: Ashley is a very determined woman with a solid career. Did you face some of the same issues in your career? What advice would you give to women that feel the need to be it all? (Wife, mother, and career driven) Yes, there is a very real correlation between Ashley and me. I loved working and I loved being a wife and mother. I didn’t want to live in the shadow of my husband and I love him dearly. I wanted something for me, not for my kids, not for my husband. I wanted to maintain my own identity. I think many career women and mothers feel similar feelings. We love our families, spouses, significant others, our pets; we’re thankful and blessed for their presence in our lives, yet we want a piece of the world that still reflects us. This is the conflict in The Reluctant First Lady. It’s how one woman works through her dilemma. Women have asked me the second part of this question many times. How did I balance it all? How did I do it all? The truth is somewhere between the lines. I’ve managed…

I tell people that THE ADVOCATE feels like the book I was created to write; that it brings the three strands of my life together—pastor, lawyer and writer. (And reawakens a fourth—history teacher). Perhaps that’s because the idea for the book came from several different directions all at once. The first strand came when I was wearing my lawyer hat and teaching advocacy at Regent Law School. We were studying the great trials in the history of the world and I was ranking them in order of importance. The first, at least in my mind, was eons ahead of the others: the trial of Christ. What could compare to that? The redemption of all mankind hinged on the outcome. But the second was less clear. The Scopes monkey trial came to mind, unfortunately clearing the way for evolution to be taught in our schools. Or, on the more spiritual side, what about the trial of Martin Luther before the Diet at Worms? Then again, a few of my own cases seemed pretty significant. I finally settled on a trial that not many people think about—the trial of the Apostle Paul in front of Nero. It seemed to me that the…