When I first started writing, I was told to write what I know, and what I knew was American history. But ever since reading Austen in grade school, the books I loved to read were Regency romances. So when my editor told me she desperately needed more material for the Signet Regency imprint, I helpfully provided her with a few. That’s how the Regency Nobles started—as three small related category Regencies (they’re still available as e-books online, published by RegencyReads.com. Two characters appeared in the last of those stories who absolutely begged for their own books—the American marquess who inherits a dilapidated manor, and his mysterious “brother” Michael, who doesn’t seem to have a name of his own. My editor agreed that the American marquess deserved a bigger book, and Signet published THE MARQUESS in 1997. After a bidding war, I sold THE ENGLISH HEIRESS, Michael’s story and another sequel, to a new publisher. Except the publishing world was in turmoil then, as it is today, so THE ENGLISH HEIRESS and the sequel never made it to print. I kept the advance and walked away with two manuscripts years later, when I was contracted for too many other books to…

There are many things I’m not super comfortable doing. Topping that list would have to be exercising. I know I’m supposed to do it, that it’s good for me, that it’ll keep me healthy and improve (and potentially prolong) my life. After a gestational diabetes scare with my last kid, exercise is pretty much essential. Sadly, I do everything else on my list before exercising. It has never been a huge priority, and I’ll be honest: gyms scare me. Recently, I got my rear in gear, and attempted to overcome my fear by going to an exercise class – one of those popular barre classes – near my home. It was completely intimidating. All those beautiful women sculpting their already-perfectly toned bodies freaked me out. So what did I do? I signed up for five more classes, just to prove to myself that I could keep up with the big girls. Did I get thinner? No. Did I get toned? A little bit. Did I change? Definitely. It motivated me to ditch the classes and start power walking with a friend. A friend who’s a great conversationalist, who keeps me honest, and who has similar motivations for exercising. In my…

Welcome to Mia Marlowe and her latest release LORD OF FIRE AND ICE. Mia’s work has been featured in PEOPLE magazine and one of her books is on display at the Museum of London Docklands next to Johnny Depp memorabilia. Her previous release TOUCH OF A ROGUE was tapped for Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Romances for Spring 2012.  Want to learn more? Pour yourself a cup of coffee and listen in to Mia’s recent conversation with FreshFiction! Q: Most of the historical romance world is fixated on Regency England. Why did you decide to write about Vikings? A: I love the Regency time period. In fact, right now I’m collaborating with New York Times bestseller Connie Mason for a trio of Regency stories due out in 2013. (Check out my Coming Next page for more about the “Royal Rakes” Series!) But I’ve always been fascinated by Norse culture.  Could be because I’m married to a guy of Norwegian descent. Unlike my hero Brandr, who’s a blond god-like fellow like Thor, my DH is a “black viking,” which means he has dark hair and eyes instead of the usual fair Scandinavian coloring. My DH says it’s because the Vikings used to…

When I started Drake’s Rakes, it was meant to be a trilogy. And then I realized there were nine rakes. Well, ten actually, but one of the rakes emphatically refused to have his own book (his does get his own girl, though. I couldn’t leave Chuffy love-starved and alone). Now, I love long series. But I don’t like having to wait to see how they turned out. I didn’t read the Harry Potters until that last book was out (and a good thing I waited. If I’d gotten to the end of that second last book and had to wait a year for the outcome, I would have strangled somebody). So how do I fix that? Easy. Nine divided by three is three. I’m dividing the series up by heroines into trilogies. Which means it’s just about time for Trilogy #2. Last Chance Academy, the nickname given to the school that our heroines attended. At first that was all I knew about them. Well, except that they had to meet three (okay, four) Rakes and turn their lives upside down while the Rakes attempt to save the Empire from nefarious evildoers (come on. You didn’t think I’d write a book…

Years ago, when I first started writing, my very first completed manuscript was a fantasy romance, a story about a band of heroes charged with ending an evil that had traveled from their world to ours.  After several rewrites, it ended up being set in the American West, but with aliens.  Yes, aliens.  That book never sold and is safely tucked away somewhere in my office, but even after all these years I still remember how much fun I had creating the world they lived in. Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of writing another fantasy someday, and I’m happy to say at long last, that day is here.  The first book in my Warriors of the Mist trilogy, MY LADY MAGE, will be out this week from Signet Eclipse. I’ve had such a great time creating my warriors and the world they live in. Captain Gideon and his men serve as the avatars for their gods, and when they are not needed, they sleep beneath the River of the Damned. Each time they are called to do battle, they strive to restore their honor and ultimately to find peace in death. To get to know them, to understand the differences…

Confession: I put secret things in my books to make them more fun for me.  In my current book, THE PRINCESS AND THE OUTLAW, the heroine Princess Pippa has bad hair. This idea stemmed from how I suffered from bad hair last summer.  It came to me that if I was going to have bad hair, why should my heroine have long, lustrous locks that behaved well even in humid weather?  Pippa doesn’t go the keratin route to fix her hair.  She just usually sticks it on top of her head in a bun.  After all, she has more important things to do, such as help Nic Lafitte with his dying mother’s wish. That said, I seriously think the artist airbrushed Pippa’s hair for the book cover.  Don’t you? Which brings me to my next fun thing about this book.  Nic Lafitte.  Have you heard of Jean Lafitte?  He was a famous pirate in the Gulf of Mexico.  In my story, Nic’s father stole the heart of Nic’s mother, Amelie from the former ruling Prince of the island country of Chantaine.  There’s still a huge grudge between the families.  I’m fascinated by old-style pirates, not the new ones today and…

I love haikus because they can be amusing. Well, yeah, mostly just for that reason. Oh! And they’re made even more amusing for being short. They’re the Hershey’s Miniatures of poetry. Today I thought I’d communicate aspects of STARLIGHT, the second of my Christies series of Victorian romances from Pocket, through the medium of haiku. Maybe I had more fun writing them than you’ll have when reading them, but I can’t help it—I like counting on my fingers. Glaswegian redhead Who lives to bicker and tease. Union? What union? Sitting in a place Where the faithful come to pray. A refuge from rain. Easily flustered When flirting with an angel. He loves to watch stars. Venerable school In Massachusetts where the Hero played polo. The heroine leads Weavers toward days of justice Because he is ill. Use the excerpt on my website to tell me who or what these haikus describe. See below for giveaways if you do! What’s next for me: After RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick  STARLIGHT hits the shelves, I’ll be looking forward to the release of HIS VERY OWN GIRL, a historical romance set in World War II. It’s not women’s fiction. It’s not literary…

In THE MOST IMPROPER MISS SOPHIE VALENTINE I developed my story around a part of Regency-era life that is not very often used as a backdrop for romance these days. I wanted to try something different. Rather than create my heroine Sophie’s world in the drawing rooms and ballrooms frequented by the London ton, I set her down in the English countryside, in a small village called Sydney Dovedale. It is the sort of place where everyone knows your business, whether you want them to or not. They don’t sit about discussing “Prinny” (the Prince Regent), politics, war, or any of the world’s larger concerns. The residents of Sydney Dovedale are interested primarily in what their neighbors are up to. Since that will most directly impact them and their lives, that’s what they want to talk about. They know everybody’s foibles and faults. And what they don’t know for sure they’ll gladly speculate upon. When it comes to Sophie Valentine, a scarred woman with a scandal in her past, the rumors abound. In an age long before reality TV and soap operas, I suppose gossip helped entertain and that is certainly the case in this fictional village. Sophie —source of…

I’ve been thinking about some shared elements of a really great book and movie. Some are easy to spot: great characters, chemistry, sexual tension, decent plot. But one of the unnamed ingredients in a book that makes a reader sigh, cry, and hug the book to her chest in pure love is the knock–out ending. In the romance novel, happily ever after is a given. Most readers insist on a wonderful satisfying journey to get to the happy ending. But what about the ending itself? Whether it be the quiet revelation of love or the bigger than life explosion of a character realizing he or she must take a risk, I’m a sucker for the final payoff. Let’s list a few. The Proposal – The journey between this prickly couple made for the sleeper of the year, and when the hero finally realizes what he’s lost, he goes after her in the big chase and confession we love to see. My Best Friend’s Wedding – Had it all. The hysterical truck chase, the confession, and the realization this hero was not her happily ever after. Alone at the wedding, trying to be cool with her loneliness, her gorgeous best friend…

Ivy Beasley has appeared in all three series of my novels. In the Round Ringford six books she was a miserable old tab, dominating her two friends, Ethel and Doris, and much of the traditions of village life in general. Then, in the first of the murder stories, she pops up in an old folks home in Suffolk in the East of England. This residential home, Springfields, is not to Ivy`s liking! She did, however, agree to move to be near her much younger cousin, Deirdre Bloxham and at first bitterly regrets it. But Ivy is not easily daunted, and sets about reorganising her new home to suit her requirements. Bored, and determined to fill her time usefully, she sets up an enquiry agency, Enquire Within, in company with an attractive fellow resident, Roy Goodman, her cousin Deirdre, and Augustus Halfhide, almost certainly an ex-spy. This unlikely foursome, including a blossoming romance for Ivy and Roy, has now solved several crimes of murder, in spite of considerable scepticism from the local police detective department. I have been asked frequently if there was any one person I used as a model for Ivy, and I`ve always managed to avoid answering! However,…