I’m not proud to admit that my mantra for 2012 seemed to be “I’m such a bitch.” I can blame my stress on everything from my hectic writing schedule to my ever expanding buttocks and active children. But let’s face it, I have nothing to complain about—well, except for that buttocks part. Whether it’s keeping the house clean or running the Iditarod, it’s my belief that every woman struggles with balance in her life.  Sometimes, for me anyway, getting groceries is as arduous as running the Boston marathon, but I know it has to be done. Last year I found myself saying no to a lot of events simply because I was tired mentally and physically. But all that is going to change. 2013 is my Year of Yes. Like I said, I have nothing to complain about. I have four books releasing this year and I’ve recently landed two four-book series contracts. Yay me! Woe to my expanding waistline and family time. That means a lot of hours in front of the computer, but if I don’t get this balancing act down soon my family is going to go on strike. Oh, and let me add that they are…

I get a buzz writing about characters I call a “blank canvas”. Not knowing much about their own history, they’re free to invent themselves as Adam – a baby found at sea amid the wreckage of a ship – does in BIRTHRIGHT. He’s not my first blank canvas character. In MAN WITHOUT A PAST, the hero was found at a bus stop, his family unknown. My CODE OF THE OUTBACK romantic suspense series dealt with three brothers fostered by one couple. The worldwide success of family history TV shows tells us how universal is the desire to know ourselves, and to make up what we don’t know. My fascination with family history began with my own parents who cut all ties with their past after emigrating to Australia when I was seven. Much as I wish I were an alien, and friends have their suspicions LOL, I know I’m basically from English stock with some Celtic mysticism thrown in. But growing up without any close relatives made me wonder about people like Adam, and anyone who is adopted or lost to family in some way. Adam is a sexy-as-sin genius (more wishful thinking, Valerie?) so he isn’t given to fantasizing….

I think it’s safe to say that most writers fall for their hero. Makes sense, right? When we write, we tend to play up the things we find dreamy and scrumptious and channel it into our guy. Gunner was an especially manly hero to work with. So, let me set us this excerpt (which I love)… At this point, Jen’s trying to get over Gunner, but he seems to keep cropping up wherever she is – in a non-stalker-like way, though! Poor Gunner is just as frustrated by circumstances; he’s just pretty good at repressing his feelings. But this excerpt is one that shows how fragile his control is when it comes to Jen, and how truly powerful he is. Excerpt: Nothing else to say? I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. I was hurt, breathless, and sad. At least now I know where I stand. No hope, no illusions. “Let’s get back to work.” “Work,” I murmured, trying not to lose it. I had to do something. My nerves were humming with energy and frustration. Since what I wanted to do—kiss him, throw him on the mat, and make him forgive me—wasn’t an option, I’d have to…

Thanks so much to Fresh Fiction for hosting me here today! So, a Greek god, a vampire, and an Army Special Forces veteran walk into a bar… Oh, wait. This isn’t a joke. And it’s not a bar. It’s my writing schedule for the next three months! *grins* After a rush of releases over the past year, I have the biggest gap between book releases I’ve had so far in my career. And that’s a good thing, because I need all the time to write that I can get! So, today, I thought I’d give you a quick introduction to a few of my upcoming books and a juicy excerpt from one! Read on… SOUTH OF SURRENDER, fantasy romance, Hearts of the Anemoi #3, to release May 28, 2013 Hero: Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer Heroine: Laney Summerlyn, freelance writer and horse farm owner Tagline: She’s the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within… Why I’m loving writing this book: The plot has challenged me more than anything else I’ve written. The hero is absolutely delicious on the inside and the out. And the heroine, who is…

I’m so excited about my new release, A SEAL’s Seduction!  It has a hot Navy SEAL, a sexy subliminal scientist and an intense hostage rescue all wrapped together in one sensual story. I’m probably an oddity as a writer.  I don’t re-read my books once they are in print.  In part, it’s because I’ve already spent months with them. Writing.  Re-writing.  Revising. Editing. Editing again.  Summarizing.  Summarizing the summary.  And then reviewing to put together promo stuff, like this blog post.  So, that part is burnout.  I’m pretty much done with the story by the time it’s out. Part of it is control craziness.  I’ve got a few minor control issues *g * So once that book is out, if I’m reading it, it’s been a few months since I last worked on it.  So as I read, I tend to see all sorts of things I’d want to change.   Phrases.  Different angles I could have layered.  Tweaks and minor adjustments.  But I can’t do anything about them.  Which leads to that craziness I mentioned. But, every once in awhile, I have a book that I cannot wait to read again.  One that stays in my mind, even as I’m…

With the start of 2013 comes what I think may be my best book yet. Once in a while I find a story where the characters take off and write the book. With a young lawyer who thinks someone is trying to kill him and another couple building love from a childhood friendship, CHANCE OF A LIFETIME won’t let you put it down. In this visit to Harmony, you’ll see people from the town that you’ve met in other books, but the plot begins with a quiet librarian, Emily and her former childhood friend, Tannon Parker. While he’s grown cold and hard over the years, she’s become afraid of the world. He comes to the library every Friday night because he knows she’s afraid of the dark and though they barely speak as he walks her out, he thinks his heart only beats when she’s near. For Tannon and Emily this may be their last CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. With Emily forming a writing club to draw people into the library and a kid named Beau Yates about to hit it big as a singer, you’ll feel like you’ve lived in Harmony forever and love all the folks. So, come…

I find every aspect of the writing process challenging—but I love a challenge, so that’s what makes this profession so exciting and endlessly interesting and enjoyable. But I have to say that the hardest part of writing a book is the planning and execution of the entire first draft. It all begins with an idea, which sometimes is inspired by something I’ve read or seen, but often comes after months of determined brainstorming in search of the right idea. After a bit of initial research I scribble notes expounding on the concept, jotting down possible characters and story directions. I put the idea aside for a while, and if it still intrigues me weeks or months (or years) later, I do further research and write a detailed story outline. At the outline stage it’s a huge challenge to develop the elements that I feel are essential to any good book: the theme of the novel and the main characters’ arcs. It’s vital to me that the hero and heroine each begin with a problem, a need, a goal, and an inner wound of some kind; that the story takes them on a journey which forces them to confront and overcome…

It shouldn’t even be a question. But for me, as I’m sure it is for many whose minds are inundated with stories begging to be told, I often asked myself the very same thing. Do I do it? Do I simply go for it? And the most pressing one: When? Let me back up a little, and start from the beginning-that pivotal moment when I realized maybe I had a talent, a knack for prose. No, not trying to sound cocky, but I do believe each of us has a gift or talent that should be shared in some way. I just managed to peg mine early, first grade to be exact. That was my moment in time when I knew no spelling bee, no grammar test, and no essay would send my mind a-whirling and my a-stomach churning. Research papers beware! English was always my best subject, and my first grade teacher recognized this, setting me aside and letting me write stories while the rest of the class labored away at other subjects like math(I’m sure this is why I still use my fingers to count). And even then, the limited capacities of my seven year old mind understood…

Last year, after writing thirty-four historical novels and novellas, I finished my first book for Harlequin Desire.  I was sweating bullets all the way.  The book, IN HIS BROTHER’S PLACE is a brand new release this month.  And my respect for authors who write contemporaries has grown by giant leaps. Let me explain.  Yes, historicals take a lot of research.  The Westerns I write are easier than most because the Wild West is bred into my bones.  The Mountain West is home to me.  I grew up on my grandparents’ stories of what it was like to be a pioneer, a settler, a cowboy.  I wouldn’t think of trying, say, a Regency, which involves a feel for England and enough historic minutiae to fill a shelf full of encyclopedias.  But the West just flows for me.  And when I get to a blank spot in my story, I can always throw in a gunfight, a prairie fire, an Indian attack or a rhapsodic description of a desert sunrise. A series contemporary, on the other hand…What can I say?  A story for a line like Harlequin Desire is bare bones plot—a hero, a heroine, a compelling situation and some (lots of)…

Okay, perhaps there’s still a little too much holiday nog in my system making me feel warm and fuzzy as I type this, but I’m about to lay a true confession on you: I’m truly, madly, deeply in love with artist who designs my book covers. Not, you know, that way, I’m talking a spiritual appreciation here people. As renowned cover designer Chip Kidd says, a cover artist’s job is to ask “What do the stories look like?” This is a big flipping deal for an author, because the way a cover artist answers this question can and does affect a reader’s desire to pick up a book. I’ve been known to grab a book for the cover alone, so I know first-hand that this importance. As an author, you must have love and respect for the person who does that job for you and does it well. Equally important for me, during the writing of a book, is how does the story feel? Every writer has a different process, but for me the way a romance feels comes in part with the music that helps act as a sort of invisible score. A backdrop that infuses the scenes with…