It doesn’t take much research to prove that the “bad boy” is one of the most popular hero types in romance fiction.  For the Regency, the operative term is “rake” or “rogue;” enter that word as a title name on Amazon, and you currently get 1816 books with “Rake” in the title, 9087 with “Rogue.” Whether he comes kitted out as an ancient Roman gladiator or medieval knight, an arrogant Regency rake or Victorian duke, a contemporary cop, private eye, billionaire businessman or a futuristic shape-changing warrior or vampire, it’s clear most romance readers love the the alpha male Bad Boy.  But what is it that we find so appealing? Maybe it’s the idea of all that hot, exciting, masculine energy, teasing and tantalizing you.  Maybe it’s the challenge of trying to tame him, or the heady thrill of believing you may be the only woman who can do so.  Maybe it’s the thought of all that barely-controlled sexual energy pulsing just under the surface, knowing it can sweep you to ecstasy at his whim, maybe at yours.  Maybe hooking up with someone who doesn’t play by the rules and gets away with it calls to the rebel in us…

I have a story to tell you about having a dream and not giving up, no matter how many times you get knocked down. Most of you know me as a historical romance writer.  Over the past 11 years, I’ve written 15 historicals for three different publishers, so I think it’s safe to say I’ve been branded as a certain kind of writer. Occasionally, however, a writer needs to step out of the box, and it can be both exciting and nerve-wracking to venture into risky, untried territory.  I know this for a fact, because I have just released my first women’s fiction mainstream contemporary novel, THE COLOR OF HEAVEN – and let me tell you, it was a good lesson about perseverance, because I had a very hard time selling it. I first came up with the concept for the book six years ago, because I’ve always been fascinated by near-death experiences and the question about what lies on the other side of this life. My interest in the subject grew after a serious car accident at the age of twenty-five.  Somehow, miraculously, I survived a horrendous wreck and walked away without a scratch. I’m still not sure why…

They’re everywhere and on everything—great debates and moral dilemmas.  I expected to run into a few when I tackled human trafficking in DEADLY TIES, and I did.  But I also ran into one I didn’t expect. Writers love it when that happens—when they get surprised, I mean.  But it’s hard to love a surprise that kicks you in the gut, and this unexpected surprise did.  And it didn’t mess around.  It kicked hard. You see, Lisa, the heroine, knows a domineering, controlling husband is holding her mother, Annie, virtual prisoner.  But her mother won’t leave.  She’s refused to leave for years.  Annie holds with the strict view that when you marry, for better or worse, it’s for life.  She’s far from alone; it’s a valid position many women hold. But there’s the other side of this, too.  The opposing view that says there should be no moral dilemma or great debate in leaving a man who is a control freak and guilty of emotional abuse.  I personally fall on this side of the scale.  To me, a loving and imperfect father wouldn’t want his child abused or living in an abusive environment.  If a loving imperfect father wouldn’t want that,…

In my latest novel, I delve into what it means to be a mother and all its manifestations ~ good, bad, attentive, indifferent. These Things Hidden is the story of an infant who left at an Iowa Safe Haven site and the women who pass in and out his life. It is the story of four women’s undeniable love for one little boy who was abandoned at a fire station as an infant. The individual manner and at times questionable means the women display this love will cause the reader to reflect upon their own loved ones and to the lengths they would go to ensure their safety and happiness and begs the question –  What does it mean to be a good mother? I love reading novels about motherhood. Amy Tan’s THE JOY LUCK Club introduced me to a new and wondrous culture where past and present is intertwined to tell an age old story of wanting what’s best for our children and wanting to make our parents proud. Of course there is benevolent Marmee from LITTLE WOMEN and patient Caroline Ingalls from the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder who made us believe that…

I love building relationships between main characters. In writing romance in particular, it’s a lot like playing matchmaker – creating the perfect yin for another character’s yang. “Yin and yang” is a Chinese concept that describes how seemingly opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent. Sort of how you want any exciting, romantic couple to be. In MIDNIGHT CALLER, my debut romantic thriller, FBI agent Trevor Rivette was created first. Handsome and intelligent (as most leading men are), he’s also serious, intense and hiding some pretty troubling aspects of his past. I wanted to balance him by creating a female lead with more lightness – but not too light, since after all it’s a dark thriller. Rain Sommers emerged from that. She’s a witty, somewhat eccentric radio show psychologist who has developed a following among New Orleans’s Goth community due to her famous (and many years ago, murdered) mother. See? I told you, not too light. In fact, that spooky “following” is how she becomes entangled in Trevor’s serial murder investigation. This is important, since in romantic thrillers not only do your lead characters need to have a strong physical chemistry, there also has to be a darn good reason for…

Hi everyone! It’s a real treat to be here at Fresh Fiction. Before I start, I’ve a quick question to ask you: How often do you read authors outside your own gender? Based on my formative reading material, I should by rights be the worst chauvinist author imaginable. I’m not kidding when I say the first time I read a complete book by a female writer was THE LOVELY BONES in 2005. And before that, most of the female literary characters I’d read were either barbarian queens or damsels-in-distress, women locked away in modes of male fantasy inside stories written about men, for men. I know the hero journey inside out, sideways, jutting jaw to bloody hilt. Growing up with the tales of H Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and JRR Tolkien will do that to a boy. And it was wonderful. Wonderful…and incomplete. Then something bizarre happened. Carl Sagan’s rambling but extraordinary novel, CONTACT, introduced me to a larger-than-life heroine in a traditionally (at least in my SF) male pursuit. Ellie Arroway didn’t just dream of becoming an astronomer and discovering the secrets of the universe, she went out and made it happen. She had flaws, deep scars from…

I recently had the chance to combine three of my favorite things: to meet a favorite author of mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, be around other avid readers, and have a fancy high tea at the famous Dallas Adolphus Hotel. It was all so nice and a luxury to be there. Some of my friends find it so fun and interesting that we thought of having a book group gathering around high tea. They can also attest to the great excitement I possessed for meeting one of my favorite authors again. We were celebrating the release of Susan’s newest book, CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE. In Susan’s new book, Meg Koranda has to go out in the big bad world and make it on her own, without the help of her famous parents (who were the stars of one of Susan’s previous books, GLITTER BABY), other siblings, or her best friends. And to make it a little harder–she is loathed by an entire town for the perceived break up of Ted Beaudine’s wedding–the town’s beloved son. One of the great things about Susan’s female characters is that they are always women who even though they hit rock bottom, do not let it stop…

We’d all like to think that given the opportunity, we could be heroic. Last spring, I had my moment. I’m sitting in the bleachers at my son’s baseball game, chatting with the grandmother of one his teammates. Betsy and I hit it off from the beginning of the season and always had laughs together watching the games with the other parents. So along comes a line-drive fly ball heading directly at us. I wrapped my arms around that older woman, pushed her head down and protected her from certain injury. Well, that’s what I should’ve done anyway… What I did do was anything but heroic. I ducked behind her and let her shield me from the ball, which then—in a moment of cosmic revenge—smacked into my leg, leaving a gigantic bruise. When I emerged from behind that lovely older woman, I was in a state of shock. All my life I’d waited for my opportunity to prove that I was made of heroic stuff. And when the moment arrived, what did I do? Duck and cover, baby! We laughed ourselves silly over the entire episode that night and many nights thereafter. To this day, Betsy sees me coming and says,…

Karen Harper’s historical novel, THE IRISH PRINCESS, tells the true story of a woman who belonged to the Fitzgerald family of old Ireland, a family known as “The Uncrowned Kings of Ireland.”  Gera Fitzgerald’s story of loss, love, rebellion and reconciliation, set in Ireland and Tudor England, is out in time for St. Patrick’s Day—Erin Go Bragh! And, the author says, the real-life hero is in the tradition of the swashbuckling heroes like Errol Flynn, Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp. In Search of The Irish Princess It’s a special challenge to research and bring to life a woman who actually lived, especially if most of the clues to her character must be found in her relationship with better known figures.  In Gera’s case, my search for her started with a trip I took to Ireland when I didn’t even know about her.  But I fell in love with the Kildare County countryside, the charm of Dublin and the people.  And I wondered how long the Irish love/hate relationship with the English went back. Then, in researching Queen Elizabeth I for another novel, I found that for many years she had an Irish woman in her court, a beautiful redhead, who…

Fonda Raine lives for one thing: killing Eric Aruda for slaying her lover. But she’ll have to be careful–Eric can set fires with his mind. Seconds from plunging a knife into his heart, an assassin tries to take them both out. Now, she must choose: join forces with the man who’s burning through her defenses or go down in flames. I didn’t intend to write a story about two enemies who fall in love, but as my series evolved, I knew that there was no better heroine for my bad boy Eric Aruda than the feisty woman whom he wronged so badly. Not only do these two believe the other is the bad guy, Eric murdered her lover in a most horrendous manner. So how could I possibly, and realistically, bring these two together? It could not be love at first sight, even if their bodies betray them with their reactions to the other’s physicality. Once the idea of these two popped into my head, I loved it. Mostly, I loved the challenge from the writer’s point of view. Of course, it has to happen slowly. On the other hand, they can’t hate each other for a lot of the…