When we think of the struggle for women’s rights, the rights we most often think of are the right to vote, the right to property and the right to work and equal pay. These are all phenomenally important rights, and ones that women in the West have fought hard to secure. However I would argue that the most important right of all is the right to love. Many of the novels I’ve been most drawn to in this life – JANE EYRE, ANNA KARENINA, PRIDE & PREJUDICE, MIDDLEMARCH – have had at their heart these incredibly strong and courageous women; women who’ve battled the popular perceptions of their time and have courageously loved despite the obstacles and scorn flung their way. Now 150 years later, it may seem as if their struggle is antiquated. But what these women fought for in the nineteenth century is exactly what so many women in the Muslim women are struggling for now. 20 years ago I spent 12 months as an idealistic, young aid worker teaching in a school and an Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I had…

Killing people on paper is terrific therapy.  We mystery writers are very, very lucky that way.  If anyone dumps us, hoses us, lies to us, annoys us or is rude, hostile or so much as gives us a dirty look in line at the supermarket we have a coping mechanism that most people who live outside of the federal penal system don’t have.  We can bump them off.   My newest Berger-Mitry mystery, THE SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS COOKIE, is my ninth novel to feature the mismatched romantic duo of pudgy Jewish film critic Mitch Berger and beautiful black Connecticut State Trooper Des Mitry.  All of the books in the series take place in a picture postcard historic village on the Connecticut coastline that I call Dorset.  I’ve also written eight mysteries about the dapper celebrity ghostwriter Stewart Hoag and his faithful, neurotic basset hound, Lulu, including my Edgar Award-winner, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, as well as a pair of thrillers. You know what? I just did the math and I must have bumped off at least forty people by now.  Pretty amazing, isn’t it?  I’ve shot them, stabbed them, bludgeoned them, nail-gunned them, poisoned them, drugged them,…

Many years ago, when I worked in a bookstore, a guy came up to me looking like he was on the verge of committing homicide. “How come I can’t find any J.D. Robb books?” he demanded. “You don’t carry them?” “Sure we do. Right over there.” I pointed to the aisle labeled, in gi-normous letters, ROMANCE. A mixture of terror and indignation washed over his face. He turned to me with a steely glare. “J.D. Robb does not write romance. Those books are mysteries.” J.D. Robb, of course, is the pen name of bestselling romance writer Nora Roberts. Still, the customer is always right, so I pretended to look alarmed. “Sorry, sir. Must be a glitch in the shelving system. I’ll look into it.” “You do that,” he snapped. Then he marched into the pink aisle, snatched up the latest J.D. Robb book and stormed out. “They’re not romance,” he insisted, on his way out the door. It’s easy to look back and laugh, but his attitude shines a spotlight on something most guys will never admit. Believe it or not, guys need good relationships in a story. It might not seem like it, but every good story is a…

In my mind, one of the best things about reading is the way books can take you around the world. As a little girl growing up in South Bend, Indiana—not the most exciting place on earth—I relied on this method to feel like I had experienced far more travel than I was likely to for a very long time if I had to rely on airplanes or even cars. It started with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books. How I loved them! I could picture the Wisconsin woods, wide prairies, Plum Creek gurgling in front of the dugout, and the deep snow of harsh Dakota winters. From there, I went south, as Margaret Mitchell tempted me to follow Scarlett through GONE WITH THE WIND and the red earth of Georgia. After that came England, first through Jane Austen and then Charles Dickens. As an adult, I started to travel more in “real” life, but I still haven’t seen Elizabeth Peter’s Egypt or Kafka’s Prague. I did, however, make a conscious decision to try to bring my readers the world the way so many authors have done so for me (although I would never, ever claim to have…

You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone reading a cozy mystery these days. What gives? Not all that long ago grandma’s and aging aunties were the only ones with their nose stuck in a cozy but not any more. I think the BBC’s new Sherlock Holmes had something to do with it. That Sherlock is young and sexy and Dr. Watson is to die for. Then again I have a crush on Sherlock so I give him credit for everything mystery. The cozy craze might be a backlash to the dark vampire blood-sucking reads. With titles like LAST WOOL AND TESTAMENT, BEEF STOLEN-OFF, DEAD AS A SCONE and DUE OR DIE, what’s not to like. No whack ‘em and hack ‘em stories with blood guts and gore everywhere but some fun. Remember that? When was the last time you laughed out loud over a book? And then there’s the cozy characters. The ones who solve the mystery are just like you and me. They’re tooting along and then something happens to a friend or family member and they’re sucked into the finding the killer…just like you and I would. Friends don’t leave friends hanging. In cozies the main…

I’m thrilled to be back at Fresh Fiction again, this time to celebrate the brand-new release of my contemporary romance, ONE NIGHT WITH A HERO, the sequel to HER FORBIDDEN HERO. ONE NIGHT is about two people damaged by childhood experiences who, deep down, believe they’re not worthy of love, and manage to find everything they never let themselves imagine they could have. Brady Scott is the hero, and he’s active duty Army Special Forces, recently sent stateside for a tour at Army Staff Pentagon. I absolutely love reading about military heroes, and now I’m really enjoying writing them, too. Today, I thought I’d share ten reasons I particularly love reading and writing military heroes: 10. They’re heroes. This seems sorta obvious, but here’s what I mean: the fact that they’ve sacrificed to devote their lives to defense of country paints them in a heroic light before you know anything else about them. As a reader and a writer, that usually earns them my respect and sympathy pretty quickly. 9. They know how to commit. Special Forces soldiers sign on for four-to-eight-year terms of service, and many of them become career military. These are guys who know how to stick,…

Hi everyone – I’m excited to be back on the Fresh Fiction Blog! 🙂 Since NIGHT WALKER, the first book in my Night Series, was published, I have received many emails from readers asking if the historical flashbacks in the novel were accurate.  I’m always happy to answer that they are. As a writer, it’s challenging and fun to blend true history into my paranormal worlds.  It makes the characters and the conflict feel more real, like they could actually have happened. My latest addition to the Night Series, NIGHT THIEF, is a prequel and it takes place in 1840 in Paris. Here’s the blurb: After the fall of the Mayan civilization, Kane, an immortal Night Walker, has taken refuge in France for over 800 years. The modern world holds little interest for him until the night he meets the Golden Thief and is robbed of much more than his pocket watch. Marguerite Rousseau is living a double life. By day she is the assistant to an eccentric French artist, Antoine Berjon, and by night she dons elegant evening gowns to woo French dignitaries before lifting their wallets. Sparks ignite when Kane captures the thief, but Marguerite harbors a dark…

Many readers love to follow linked stories. I’m partial to connected books that explore various members of a family. So when I planned my first series for Harlequin Desire, I invented a powerful dynasty with three very different brothers – then I threw in a “baby” kick-ass sister for good measure. Enter Cole, Dex, Wynn and Teagan Hunter. Cole bears the weight of being firstborn. Not only has his father become the target of an assassin, corporate decisions made by brothers Dex in Los Angeles and Wynn in New York have put strains on Hunter Enterprises, the family’s world-wide media-based company. Then there’s the huge make-or-break football contract he needs to seal, like, yesterday. To top it off, his Dad has it in his head that Hunter Broadcasting in Australia should produce a television program that is bound to bite the ratings dust as soon as it airs. Should be easy to convince his father to get out of the crosshairs and take a vacation, leaving Cole to get on with business, including cancelling that new producer’s contract. But nothing’s never easy, particularly when instant physical attraction is involved. When producer Taryn Quinn promises to give Cole everything he wants…

There’s a fine line between an alpha male and a complete, controlling jerk. With the alpha male, you pretty much want to jump his bones and with the jerk, you want to throw your book in his face. There is a difference between the two and nowadays you’d be hard pressed to find an adult book that didn’t feature an alpha male. Young adult is a bit different, but as one blogger coined, “baby alpha males” are started to make an appearance. So why are they so popular? An alpha male does tend to be controlling, but usually when it comes to keeping the heroine safe or when it involves the smexy stuff. They know what they like and aren’t afraid to be very descriptive about it. They tend to be dominant in the bedroom. In Tempting the Player, Chad Gamble is this kind of alpha male. He’s uber protective and likes to be in control when it gets down to the fun stuff, but that’s the extent of what he seeks to control. Otherwise, he’s playful. He’s not the brooding alpha male. He’s the ‘let’s have some fun’ alpha male. Alpha males tend to be territorial, which Chad shows…

I guess it’s not surprising that a vampire series would claw its way out of the grave. Lucky for me! This February, 2013, the new second book in the Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist series, BLOOD THERAPY will be released in the USA. The UK print and e-book versions came out September 13, 2012. I’ve heard a rumor that the USA Kindle edition might be out in time for Halloween! The first book THE VAMPIRE SHRINK and a novel that will now be the rewritten/expanded book #3, CRIMSON PSYCHE were first released in 2007 and 2008 by a small publisher. After those two books came out, that company and I parted ways. I flailed around for a year, trying to figure out how to remove the stake from the heart of my series, and then in early 2010 I self-published the e-book versions myself [I had retained the digital rights] at Amazon and other digital outlets. Within a month, my two books were best sellers. Nobody was more surprised than me! That situation caused me to come to the attention of my current agent, who arranged for my bloodsuckers to be published all over the world. So, thanks to a union…