Here’s the fairytale version: Our heroine has lost her way in the forest. She’s been trudging along for far too long and is of course, tired, hungry, and losing sight of where she was headed in the first place. And then, magically (because this is a fairytale, remember) a tiny cottage appears up ahead. It is warm, light, and stocked with delicious food. Perhaps even a writing desk. Real life isn’t like that. Or I should say, life isn’t usually like that. But sometimes, when we’re in the thick of it, a moment of grace presents itself. And that moment carries with it exactly what we need. Maybe even exactly what our hearts desire. Let me back up a bit here to tell you about my own trudging along through a forest’s worth of manuscript pages. THE UNDERSIDE OF JOY is my debut novel. But I’ve been writing fiction for years–decades, even–ever since I graduated with a degree in journalism and promptly realized that what I really wanted to do was make things up. I took a lot of workshops, wrote short stories, wrote a novel, wrote another novel, then wrote yet another. I worked as a copywriter, writing advertising…

I’m lucky enough to live in a small community inside a much larger one. My little part of big-old-Melbourne-town is small enough to know the shop-keepers and greet the school-crossing guards with a wave. In summer, it deals with an influx of tourists and visitors, keen to hang out at the beach, or visit some of our gorgeous restaurants or groovy bars. Every now and then, the roads get closed for a festival, or a marathon, or a street party. I like my neighborhood so much, it’s not a surprise that it ended up as a “character” in my book. My first novel, CASSIE’S GRAND PLAN, a Harlequin SuperRomance, is out on 6 March. And my hero and heroine, Ronan and Cassie, take a business trip around Australia that sees them visit Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. But it’s their time in Melbourne that’s the key changing point for them – and I’m not going to say any more on that front, or I risk giving away spoilers! I can talk more about the places they visit, though. They go for a leisurely walk down Acland Street, St Kilda, and they take a ride on a rollercoaster at St Kilda’s Luna…

Having a SEAL in a wolf title probably doesn’t sound like that big a deal, right? Hot and sexy SEALs are the rage right now. I almost feel sorry for the Rangers and Special Forces men, or others that go through so much rigorous training, but aren’t getting all the rave publicity. My son is in going through some now for the AF even. When you combine SEALs with wolves, sounds like the perfect combination, right? But there’s a problem. Mentioning the title means the listener can’t see the capitalized SEAL, as in Navy SEAL, and that’s a whole ‘nother story. Ohmigod, she’s flipped out. That’s the look I get. She’s now writing about seal shifters? With wolves? Really? No one is ready for that. And I have to smile before I go on and explain. SEALs as in US Navy SEALs. Oh. I can see the relief on their faces. I’m going to be all right. I haven’t gone off the deep end. Yet. Titles are so important in marketing a book. It can catch your attention and make you read the blurb, then want to go further and read the book. So I can just envision the images…

Thanks for inviting me on to your blog to talk about my new novel, THE NEEDLE IN THE BLOOD. The novel is a love story set against the backdrop of the Bayeux Tapestry which – for readers who aren’t familiar with it – is a strip of embroidered linen over 230 feet long which tells the story of the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066. Its survival for nearly a thousand years is little short of miraculous (and it has had some hair-raising adventures during the various wars that have been fought in Northern France over the centuries, not least at the hands of the Nazis!), and what it tells us about military and social life in the eleventh century is invaluable. Despite all this, in England, we take it very much for granted. 1066 is the one historical date everybody knows, and the Tapestry’s images are almost the wallpaper to our history. They crop up everywhere, from mugs to mouse mats, and have been lampooned in all kinds of ways from political cartoons to one image I found recently of Batman stitched into the narrative! (You can see this on THE NEEDLE IN THE BLOOD‘s Facebook page.) What made…

I know a lot of readers enjoy going over the music playlist a writer listens to while writing a particular story. One of my favorite writers, Laurell K. Hamilton often talks about what music she’s blasting as she’s writing a scene.  I’ve tried this…It doesn’t work for me. See, the problem for me is that if I blast music, or even play it very very softly, I’ll start singing along. (And who wants that, right?) I mean, I like to think I have at least a little bit of skill, but I’ll admit I don’t have the kind of coordination it takes to sing while trying to follow the scene playing out in my head and search for the best way to put it to paper. More often than not, I end up typing out the lyrics. I do, however, use sound to block out other distractions. And I am SOOO easily distracted. I’m talkin’ borderline ADD—oh look, a chicken! Conversations between family members, movement too close to my desk, the random floating fuzz…whatever, it all bumps me out of my writer’s head. And since I can’t use music—or at least music with y’know, lyrics, I use mundane sound. White…

Dear Readers, I loved crafting HIS DUTY TO PROTECT for Harlequin Romantic Suspense! It is a novel from the Black Jaguar Squadron series. Best of all, it’s a series-within-a-series because it features Rachel Trayhern, daughter of Noah and Kit Trayhern. Those who have faithfully followed Morgan’s Mercenaries from the original 3-books, Love and Glory in the Silhouette Special Edition line, will now get to read her story. Presently, I’m working through a book on each of the children of Alyssa Trayhern and Noah Trayhern. I’ve already finished the books on Morgan Trayhern’s children. It’s fun to develop a story for each of them and yes, dear readers, I’ll continue to write about each and every one of them. Not to worry :_). Many of you remember Melody Sue Trayhern, Kit and Noah’s first daughter. In HIS DUTY TO PROTECT, she wants to be called Rachel. And the explanation as to ‘why’ is in there, so I hope you enjoy that tidbit ;-). I love to create rockin’ and rollin’ adventure/danger/suspense molded with romance in my books. And in this novel, I am onna roll! I also love the back cover copy where it says: “Why the hell are you here?”…

With my last two books being ménage à trois romances  (RULE OF THREE and  ONE WICKED NIGHT), I’ve been writing a lot of blog posts about ménage and the fantasy of it and how wonderful it is. I’ve talked about the benefits of having two (hot) guys around – if one of them doesn’t know how to change a flat tire, the other one hopefully does. If one guy doesn’t give great massages, hopefully the other one does. If one’s afraid of spiders, hopefully the other will kill any big arachnid that come crawling into the house. My husband’s okay with home repairs, but he’s really busy so it would be great to have another guy to fix that crack in the drywall or repair the broken hinge on the gate. But there has to be a downside right? I love my husband, but living with a guy does have its challenges. Like socks and underwear always left ON the hamper instead of IN the hamper. Like every morning when I come downstairs, the jar of peanut butter is sitting open on the counter, surrounded by toast crumbs.  Like, the television is always on in every room that he has…

I have a few names for myself: chef, server, laundry attendant, shopper, maid, psychologist (not licensed), mom, wife, daughter, nurse (licensed)… but one of my favorite is ‘author’. The problem is that after the dinner has been made and served, clothes and groceries put away, the house cleaned, conversations placed, and—oh yeah—the eight hours of work have been put in… well, I need some more minutes please! When my first book was published and released, I said aloud, “I’m an author.” Little did I know I was adding more names to my already long list: marketing director, researcher, blogger, and financial coordinator. Yet another name I have for myself is ‘Supergirl’! Although I only use it at times with my husband and son, I think I’m going to put it to some good use under my ‘author’ title. Let’s face it, I’m here and I’m not about to give up now. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and there’s no other way to get rid of the stories roaming around in my head. It amazes me how so many writers are able to manage their lives and have the time to get their books out. During my research,…

We’ve all heard about it, if not experienced it for ourselves – the empty nest. It’s that time in our life when we find ourselves at a loss. We usually associate it with our adult children leaving the family home to begin a life on their own. Suddenly, there’s a gap in our lives. Our carefully mapped out routine is no longer viable. We have time on our hands we don’t know what to do with. And then, there’s that empty room in the house. Walls that once were the backdrop for hopes, dreams and memories stare blankly now, waiting for us to define their new purpose. I’ve been there – in the literal sense, twice now. Both our girls have left home – more or less – and I’ve managed to fill my extra time with a new writing career. It fills the empty place in my life with purpose. I have a reason to get out of bed, something to nurture, something to inflict my life-views and values upon. But there’s another kind of empty nest syndrome that is unique to this new career of mine. Writer’s Empty Nest Syndrome. It occurs when our baby, the child of…

Since Academy Awards Night is one of my favorite evenings, I thought it might be fun to talk movies.  Old favorites, new favorites, worst picks of all time. Let’s start with the positive.  Who doesn’t love ET?  Star Wars?  Gone with the Wind?  Wizard of Oz?  They’re classics, never to be forgotten. Sometimes I look back and realize some of the books I’ve written were probably inspired by films I had seen and loved.  Gone with the Wind, at least the pre-civil war time in the South, elegant hoop skirts and Georgia mansions led to CAPTAIN’S BRIDE and CREOLE FIRES.  I went on to follow CREOLE FIRES with SAVANNAH HEAT and NATCHEZ FLAME.  Actually stayed in a gorgeous old plantation house in Natchez built in the 1840’s. I’m a Star Trek fan, a total Trekie.  Maybe that’s how I got interested in UFO’s and wound up writing SEASON OF STRANGERS.  I did a ton of research for that one and was amazed to find myself convinced there’s a very good possibility UFOs are real. I love Western movies.  Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck is a personal all-time favorite (if you haven’t seen Tom in a pair of chaps you…