Hello to all the readers here at Fresh Fiction! It’s wonderful to be back here again! In my brand new fourth book in the Relics of Merlin series, EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT, readers again enter my magical Victorian London where titles are determined by the level of magical power inherited down through the ages from the old sorcerer of legend, Merlin. At the lowest level of the aristocracy are the baronets—shape-shifters who are immune to all magic and possess the uncanny ability to sniff out any of Merlin’s relics. Since the relics hold magic even stronger than the royals’, they have become the secret spies of many rulers, and are feared and despised by most of the aristocracy. And because of their unique immunity to magic, shape-shifters play a significant part in all the books in the series. In EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT, my heroine is a were-panther who gets mixed up with one of Merlin’s relics…and the enchanted knight who has been trapped within it for centuries. The last time I was here talking about a Relics of Merlin book, I asked the question: What type of shape-shifter would you like to be? The answers were fascinating! So this time I would like…

A few weeks ago I was in Dallas for one of my favorite events of the year: Readers and ‘Ritas. Tidbits of fun included gifting Pat with a Big Donkey Dick mug (she begged me for it). Yes, I have pictures. Also the PJ party including live erotic reads which, incidentally, was where I won the Big Donkey Dick mug. We had some good clean fun too! Discussions about favorite historical heroes holds a special place in my memories as well as a sneak out for sushi with a couple of my favorite gal pals. And by the way, I was the best shapeshifting Rose from The Titanic in the costume contest! If you want more dish on Readers and ‘Rita’s, there are lots of pictures. Or you could also come next year (yeah!). But what I wanted to talk about was a conversation I had with Sara Reyes during a lull in the festivities. Okay, so there really wasn’t a lull, but I was tired so I plopped down and started asking questions. We started talking about merchandising. About the advent of serious merchandising with Star Wars and then it shifted to the music industry. That music is given away relatively cheaply, but…

How to Stay Merry while Meeting Your Word Count! My schedule has been crazy the last few months. I’ve turned in SILENCED, book #4 in my Alaskan Courage series, then completed the revisions and line edits, started the first draft of the final book in the series, planned my oldest daughter’s wedding, and continued homeschooling my youngest, all while marketing book #3, and squeezing in Thanksgiving. I imagine your schedule doesn’t look much different—scores of to-do’s on your list, and only so many hours each day to get them done—especially now, during the holidays. I wish everything stopped in December, but as writers, many of us still have deadlines to meet during these busy weeks. So, in celebration of you, my fellow word warriors, I’ve put together my top five ways to use your senses to survive the season, keep your sanity, and meet your word count: 1. Sound: Need a quick reprieve from the hustle and bustle?  Find a place of calm while you write with the soothing sound of waves or birdsong on SoundDrown. Hot writer tip: Another good way to get in the writing zone is to play your story soundtrack (if you’ve compiled one), or use…

Do you remember the old Gothic novels by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt? If you do, you probably can list those special ingredients these authors’ books contained. These novels, some of them written a good fifty years ago and more, usually featured a young woman alone in meager circumstances. She may or may not be an orphan, but is usually penniless, or a reluctant heiress. She finds herself in a creaky old house, a drafty manor, or in some similar location. Said young woman might encounter helpers along the way as well as adversaries. But the biggest element of these Gothic romances was the “big secret,” besides the feeling that the heroine would always be looking over her shoulder. There’s a darkly brooding hero, who usually has a tortured past and even darker secrets. The attraction between said hero and heroine practically sizzles. I remember reading books like this when I was much younger, and even then, the books were considered old. I loved shivering during the parts when the heroine and hero were together and I could feel the attraction between them—usually forbidden love. I remember turning page after page as the heroine alternately fled and faced an unseen…

Happy Holidays Everyone! Join us in celebrating Entangled Teen’s 12 Days of Kick-ass Christmas Event! This event is going to be a blast! Our authors are joining together to share some exclusive content with you all! There will be 2 teams: The Smart-Ass Team will post a good or swoon-worthy deleted scene or an excerpt and The Bad-Ass Team will post a villainous deleted scene or excerpt. And the coolest part about this celebration of all things “Kick-Ass” is that the authors will be posting on each other’s blogs! The party starts on December 2nd and goes all the way to December 13th! We will wrap up the event with our monthly Twitter party on December 13th at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST. Each day of the Kick-Ass event will feature 2 posts from our amazing Entangled Teen Authors, along with an EPIC giveaway! So, “How do I join in?” you ask? It’s easy! Just follow along with the tour and find the hidden word (it will be highlighted) in each post, and then fill out the Rafflecopter form. “What can I win?” you ask. So many things. You can win one of 2 Kindles (each valued at $69, US…

Wonderful reviews are coming in for my new culinary mystery Billionaire Blend. Kirkus honored it with a Starred Review, RT Book Reviews named it a Top Pick among December’s Mysteries and Thrillers, and Publishers Weekly called it “a highly satisfying mystery.” But what matters now is what you think. (Read the First Chapter by clicking here.) As the book opens, single-mom Clare Cosi is working hard to keep her landmark coffeehouse running smoothly. She’s still struggling in a difficult economy to make ends meet, hold on to her employees, and keep her historic Greenwich Village shop from falling apart. Then boom! Her shop really falls apart. Some nut sets off a car bomb on the street outside, badly damaging the century-old coffeehouse. Forced to close and lay off her beloved employees, Clare is devastated and makes a wish for her problems to be magically solved. But she soon finds out… Some wishes come with a price. When that car bomb ripped through her shop, Clare saved the life of an anonymous customer, one who turned out to be billionaire tech-whiz Eric Thorner, the most successful developer of smartphone and game Apps in the world. After Eric recovers from his wounds,…

My new series, Shadow Warriors, has been five years in the making. Because I held a Secret clearance in the US Navy, I’m more familiar with black ops than most simply because of the area I worked in. I took three years and read every book on SEALs written by SEALs to grasp their mindset. Because there is one and I did not want to stereotype them. Later, I branched out into Rangers, Delta Force and Special Forces. I’m well known for my thorough research and I like my books vetted by someone in the area I’m writing. I have long been a proponent of women volunteering to go into combat. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, changed all of it in March, 2013. He opened all the doors to combat slots if military women wanted to take that career path. No longer were their any doors closed to women, as they were in my day. I know women who could easily fit into that slot. The downside is that women have weaker upper body strength than a man. As a volunteer firefighter for three years 1980 to 1983, with the West Point Volunteer Fire Department, West Point, Ohio, I was…

A friend of mine is a film editor. She has worked on a number of major films, including one of my all-time favorites, Under the Tuscan Sun. She kindly offered to read my manuscript and make suggestions on THE MEMORY OF ROSES at the point where I was readying it for submission to publishers. She was helpful in a number of ways, principally in helping me to thinking visually, rather than only in words. What I enjoyed most in the exercise I did for her was “casting” my book. If it were to be made into a movie, who would I want to play the various parts in in? My heroine, Brit, would be a beautiful young actress I’ve only seen once—Claire Forlani who was the lead in Shadows in the Sun. She’d be quite perfect. Ian McQuaid, Brit’s father, would be Sean Connery as he was twenty years ago. Maria, Ian’s lover, Maybe Jennifer Lopez, but not quite. She needs to be younger, more innocent, more vulnerable. John Meyers, Brit’s attorney, would be Hector Elizondo (the hotel manager in Pretty Woman). That’s perfect casting. Emmanuel would be Vincent Riotta (the estate agent in Under the Tuscan Sun) Again I…

Once upon a blustery fall day, three bestselling romance authors got together to create a boxed set of stories that traveled far beyond our times, and deep into the hearts of our characters… Thus, the THREE TIMELESS LOVES boxed set was born! We often get asked why we write time-travels, so today we’re here to share with you our answers! Leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of THREE TIMELESS LOVES—but make sure you answer our question! If you could travel back in time, where would you go? ELIZA: When I was eight, I stood in the center of the courtyard at Versailles Palace and stared up at the ornately carved and gilded statues. I imagined kings and queens and princesses having walked there. Wondered what it would be like if I’d been a princess back in those days, walking through the gardens in a satin, bejeweled gown, and running my fingers through the water of the fountains before a ball. Thus began my fascination with history, and wishing I could travel back in time. Guess what? I am a time traveler. I have traveled through time—in books. One of the reasons I love historicals is because…

A coworker recently discovered I’m not just a teacher, but also a published author. He asked me what “made me” decide to become a writer. I had to think about it for awhile. I don’t recall ever making a conscious decisions to write. It’s just something I’ve always done. I do recall the day I decided to pursue publication, but that’s not the answer to his question. During my angsty adolescent years, writing was my way of processing all the drama (mostly manufactured in my own head) going on in my life. You know, the boy I had a crush on who didn’t feel the same about me, the fight with my best friend—the tragic fact that I had to share a room with my younger sister while dealing with two younger brothers and an older sister. Plus, I wrote about the trauma of moving frequently and always feeling like the new kid in school. I went through quite a few notebooks, believe me. As I matured, writing became a way of working through issues, sorting through my thoughts, values, beliefs and relationships. I began writing poetry and children’s stories at about the same time I started my own family….