Mary Strand says: We’re wrapping up a fun-filled year of the Story Garden on Fresh Fiction, and many of us right now are also wrapping gifts to put under the Christmas tree. Or, to be a bit more realistic, we’re THINKING about buying gifts that we’ll somehow wrap and get under the tree by, oh, say, 2 a.m. on Christmas Day. But in the midst of all that thinking and buying and wrapping for others, we decided to put a little thought into what WE would like — as writers and readers — under the Christmas tree this year. I got my own Christmas gift a couple months early, when I sold my first book, COOPER’S FOLLY, to Bell Bridge Books in October. Oh, happy day! If I’m allowed to be greedy and ask for more, I’d ask for books (and I still like them in real paper, not on a screen) filled with adventure and wicked humor and brainy characters and romance. And I’d ask for a trip this summer to Italy. And, for those who know me, it goes without saying that I’d ask for Hugh Jackman. What the heck: he doesn’t even need to be wrapped. Ho…

When I began writing The Brunson Clan trilogy, I was struck by the way the history of the Scottish Borders was captured in its ballads.  Long before books were commonplace, the stories of the Border Reivers (raiders) were immortalized in song.  In the midst of a bloody era, when family was more important than country, these men “prized a poem almost as much as plunder, and produced such an impressive assembly of local narrative songs that some people used to label all our greater folk poems as ‘Border ballads’” (A. L. Lloyd, Folk Song in England.) Poetic, stirring, memorable.  But accurate?  Not always. At least, that’s what my Brunsons discover during the course of the trilogy.  The story each believes – about the family, the enemy, or even about him or herself – is ultimately upset when the truth is discovered to be slightly different than oft-told tales. CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD, the second book of the three, centers on the youngest child and the only sister.  She has grown up thinking that life is duty and that the valley where the Brunsons have lived for centuries is the only place she, or any Brunson, can truly call home….

What makes a Holiday tradition? It’s what families pass down to their children over the decades, even over the centuries. By necessity, oftentimes in the city, modern families give up some of those valued traditions, things like cutting their own Christmas trees, singing Christmas carols through the neighborhood, big family dinners, impossible in many city-size apartments. Living out in the country in Montana, we’re fortunate to be able to enjoy a lot of old-fashioned traditions. A seven-foot evergreen tree, a fire in the big rock fireplace, snow-covered mountains outside the windows, deer wandering through the fields. We always have a big family supper on Christmas Eve, and everyone opens a few of his gifts. Christmas morning, the grandkids come over to open whatever is left beneath the tree and enjoy a Sunday brunch. This year, along with the usual celebrations, I’ll be doing some Holiday promotions for my new book, AGAINST THE ODDS, the seventh book in my Against Series. It’s in bookstores December 18, just in time for Christmas shoppers. In the novel, Christmas was once the heroine, Sabrina Eckhart’s, favorite time of year, a holiday she and her mother always eagerly awaited–until Rina’s Uncle Walter died on his…

A good man drowning in bad deeds  . . . A bad girl denying a good heart . . . I love stories about complex characters with dark pasts searching for the means to personal redemption, so that’s what I write.  When choosing secondary characters to step into the roles of hero and heroine in BETRAYED BY SHADOWS, the 7th book in my dark paranormal shape shifter “By Moonlight” series, readers were surprised by my choice of Giles St. Clair, the steadfast rock of advice for Max Savoie who goes from thuggish knee breaker to pseudo-CEO in Max’s ‘absence.’  They never considered him hero material and, until the later books, I probably would have agreed.  But there were things about Giles I really liked.  His loyalty.  His wry sense of humor.  His practicality.  And I got to thinking, what’s this guy’s story?  You won’t believe what I found in his past!! Talk about getting pulled off the right path . . . So I’ve got Giles, hero in the making, with his soft protective spot for Charlotte Caissie and Tina Babineau – females who will never belong to him.  What kind of woman should I throw in his path?  Someone…

Okay, no, that’s not what Christmas means to me, but when I think of the holidays, I definitely think of food.  Cookies, sausage bread, soup, tamales, posole, caramel apples, Brad Pitt’s mother’s egg bake (yes, that’s what it’s called… I found the recipe years ago in a magazine.  It is, apparently, one of Brad’s favorite dishes, and we still use this basic recipe every year), and, wait for it… Caramel Corn. Sweet goodness.  Crunchy goodness. There’s just nothing better than this awesome treat, better still because I’ve had the recipe now for, yikes, 30 years!  I first learned to make it when I was in high school home ec class.  Yes, back when there still was high school home ec. It was good then, and it’s good now.  And we make it every year, give mountains of it away to friends, and basically just gorge. And we love every minute of it. The best part is that it’s so super easy to make. Pop about 8 cups of plain old popcorn. In a pot, melt 1 stick of butter ( ½ cup ).  Add 1 cup of brown sugar and ¼ cup of light corn syrup.  Next, add ½  tsp…

One of my favourite movies is Four Weddings and a Funeral.  It’s a fun movie because, as viewers, we are able to attend so many weddings and I love weddings.  I love the beautiful outfits, the gorgeous flowers, the speeches and of course, significance of the ceremony. But when the bride enters the church and looks down the aisle at her husband to be I always cry.  My favourite moment every time. Stupidly, I didn’t remember this for my own wedding. When I walked through the church door the tears began to rain down and there wasn’t a tissue in sight.  At least my flowers were well watered. My strong, brave heroine Sienna in THE CONVENIENT BRIDE doesn’t dream about being married, but if she were to do so, she’d definitely wear her mother’s wedding dress. Her mother has died and wearing her dress on that special day, would make Sienna feel as though her mother were close by.  Each year on the day of her mother’s death, she holds that precious garment and remembers her hard-working, feisty Italian mother. Then, she carefully wraps it up, stores it and returns to running the family hotel in her mother’s place. But…

At the end of the day when you have moved mountains and conquered projects, who do you celebrate with? These may be the same people that you lean on, scream and cry with, and get a shot of confidence from. You have their back and they have yours! As a romance writer, I believe we bring ourselves to our work and produce the best story we can write, but there are also editors, marketing people, and distributors who are part of the equation, too. Then there are the critique partners, readers, and friends. These souls lift you when your spirit is weakened or your energy is lagging, and there is the family that forms the base for your hard work and the reason for pulling yourself to the line. When I wrote A SEAL AT HEART, I was reminded how vital having a Team is. These are the people that protect your life like it is their own, and they are hyper-conscious of your survival and ability to achieve a goal. My husband is retired from SEAL Team and he has taught me a great deal about being a Teammate, which in the Teams is considered a label of honor….

Hello, all y’all at Fresh Fiction. I’m honored that you’ve asked me to come back to your site and visit a spell about the newest book in the Spikes & Spurs series, JUST A COWBOY AND HIS BABY! It’s not exactly a Christmas book but since it ends on a Christmas note, it’s perfect for the holidays. Gemma O’Donnell always wanted to be the first woman to win the ProRodeo buckle for saddle bronc riding but Kaila Mussell beat her to the punch on that one. However, she’s darn sure got her mind set on being the second woman to win it so the sexy cowboys on the rodeo circuit can just move over because a cowgirl has come to town. Trace Coleman doesn’t care a lot about the title. He wants the prize money to buy his dream ranch. But one sexy, determined cowgirl gets in his way every time he turns around. Since the only way most of you folks know Trace and Gemma might be by their pictures on the cover of the book (Isn’t it just gorgeous with the stars twinkling in the background? And you did notice that she’s wearing red boots, didn’t you?), I…

At the risk of giving away my real age, I can remember watching cartoons on a black and white television. I can remember using rotary phones and the excitement of having my father—who worked for the telephone company—bring home the first push-button telephone I’d ever seen. I remember learning to type on an honest-to-goodness typewriter, and not an electric one, either. I wrote my first—unpublished—manuscript on a word-processor. I can certainly remember what things were like before cell-phones, when you took your life in your hands going on a daytrip in the car. What if you had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, and no way to phone for a tow-truck? You might be stuck overnight, miles from anywhere! And you know what? I’m not as old as you think. That all happened within the past 40 years. Hell, most of it happened within the past 20. Some of it within the past ten. I bought my first cell phone in 2005. Seven years ago now. Almost eight. It wasn’t a smart-phone, either. It didn’t take pictures. It didn’t play music. I couldn’t surf the internet on it. It was a phone. One I could use to call…

When I wrote WEB OF LIES, I intended to take my reader back to her teenage years to think about the risks she took as she learned about her world and where she fitted into it. While she cared for her seriously ill aunt, Stephanie’s world was full of pressure. She dated Lachlan and found the love she so desperately needed. After saving the stranded whale, their emotions ran high, feeling superhuman and bringing them closer than either of them could have thought possible. With Lachlan’s imminent departure for the United States the next day, tension between them was high and the only way they could make sense of their situation was to turn to each other. Making love seemed to be the logical way of showing what the other one meant to them. A child was conceived and because they were only 16 and 17, Aunt Sonia and Lachlan’s parents believed the best outcome for the child’s future would be to adopt the child out and tell some ‘harmless’ lies that wouldn’t tie the young people down. Eight years later, Lachlan is a changed man and Stephanie is the victim of an abusive relationship. They reconnect and learn lies…