I love to drive fast. I’m one of those people whose foot is made out of lead when it comes to acceleration. My husband constantly tells me to slow down, that I’m going over the speed limit. At my day job (where I’m a scientist), sometimes I rush through an experiment just because I want to know what the answer is — I don’t want to wait. I love the instant gratification of the drive-through, and the wind whipping through my hair as I speed down the highway. For me, life has always been about being in the fast lane. So you are probably all wondering why on Earth I would ever want to become a writer. For those of you who are non-writers, let me tell you a little secret: publishing is slow. Even in the world of ebooks, you have to wait for a response on your submission, wait for edits, wait for second round of edits, and then wait for your release. That’s if you’re lucky. Quite often your manuscript will get rejected, so you will have to revise and resubmit it somewhere else where the process starts all over again. Nothing about this industry is fast….

I’m on the cusp of a huge change in my life as ATLANTIS BETRAYED releases September 7th – in a few short weeks I’ll be moving clear across the world from Florida to Japan. In general terms, it’s really an exciting move with wonderful adventures to look forward to. In specific terms? It’s kicking my butt. All the millions of crucial details involved in an overseas move are crushing down on me and I wake up in a cold panic at 4 a.m. every night wondering what I forgot. Being a writer, of course, I’m working this into my fiction. Being a human being, I’d love some help! Please tell me how you de-stress when you’re facing enormous changes in your life. We’ll pick three commenters to win signed copies of ATLANTIS BETRAYED. And since the consensus of my latest poll of readers was that they’d WAY rather hear from characters than authors, here’s a snippet from ATLANTIS BETRAYED, where big, hunky warrior Christophe is facing a huge change of his own—he realizes he has feelings for Lady Fiona that he can’t control: Christophe pulled Fiona into the room and turned left until they were out of the line of…

I love writing about sexy vampires, werewolves and dragon-shifters. But I wasn’t always so comfortable with the world of dark fantasy creatures. Not when I was a kid with a vivid imagination. At the age of four, I moved with my family to an apartment building with an elevator that broke down periodically, trapping tenants for hours. I was afraid to ride that elevator by myself, so I’d dash up or down five flights of stairs to our apartment. Unfortunately, by the age of six, I’d learned about vampires, and they’d be right behind me in the dark stairwell, their cold breath chilling the back of my neck. To my relief, we moved into a house when I was eight. Where the kid up the street had a gruesome collection of Tales from the Crypt comic books that gave me nightmares. Why didn’t I stop reading them? Probably only a psychoanalyst can give you the answer. I graduated from comic books to scary novels and short stories. Dracula was my next vampire. I read Bram Stoker’s classic when I was 15, and the count scared me spitless. I was so traumatized that I couldn’t sleep in the same room with…

Twenty plus years ago, when I first started out to write a book, I managed to eke out about twenty-five pages before the story came to a screeching halt—as in I was screeching because I couldn’t make it go any farther. After some thought, I decided I’d started in the wrong point in the action. I tossed the original version in the corner and started over. Can you guess what happened? Yep, twenty-five pages later I once again found myself mired in the muck and going nowhere fast. Where had I gone wrong? I had internal conflict. I had external conflict. I had a hot undercover copy for a hero, and a heroine who had a lot of spunk despite finding herself being held captive by the bad guys. At the time, I couldn’t figure it out. And not only had I gone wrong, but I also gave up. I’d tried to write a book. Maybe it just wasn’t in the cards for me. But then, a few months later, another story idea started unfolding in the back of my mind. Hmmm. It was a western—sort of. You see there were these alien warriors who’d been drawn to the U.S….

There are all kinds of monsters to be found within the pages of romance novels these days. You can find sexy vampires, wild (and hot) werewolves, and dangerous demons. I love these monsters, and I usually have a wonderful time writing about them. Sometimes, though, readers have asked me if it is hard to create a character that is more “monster” than man. And, honestly, it’s not. You see…with every monster that I create (whether I am creating a succubus heroine or a vampire hero), I make sure that I always give these paranormal beings human traits and characteristics. After all, they are monsters, but they aren’t perfect. So my monsters have fears, they have bad habits, and they have weaknesses…just like humans. I’ve found that when you give paranormal characters human flaws, well, then it is much easier for readers to identify with those supernatural beings. But, now, let me mix things up a bit. ? For a while, I only wrote about my paranormal heroes and heroines, but last month, I released my first romantic suspense novel with Grand Central Publishing’s Forever line. DEADLY FEAR follows two FBI agents as they track a sadistic serial killer. With this…

What’s so sexy about Russia? Hint: it’s not just the mail order brides. Russia, through Western eyes, has always seemed more than a bit mysterious and exotically other. Russia also has more than a hint of the barbarian– from the Cossacks riding down their prey to the steely-eyed, sensual Moscow princes, Russian heroes are more alpha, more determined, more something. Russian heroes move through a fantastically wealthy world of expensive sables, vast country estates, long nights, and absolute, feudal power. Today, there are fewer Russian heroes—the ones I’ve met star in slightly older romance titles, where the heroes are deliciously alpha but slightly more questionable in their pursuit of sensual pleasure and happily-ever-after. Susan Johnson is the queen of the Russian princes. The sensual exploits of Nikki Kuzan (SEIZED BY LOVE) and Sasha Kuzan (LOVE STORM) are unforgettable. In Johanna Lindsey’s SECRET FIRE, Lindsay’s prince ruthlessly drags Lady Katherine St. John off to have his wicked way with her. The illegitimate daughter of a Russian tsar, Rosemary Rogers’ heroine is tracked by her hero through the glittering court of Petersburg in BOUND BY LOVE. Fern Michaels gives us medieval Russia, the Cossacks, and a rampaging hero in WHITE FIRE. The…

Hi everyone, I’m so happy to be here today, and a huge thank you to the Fresh Fiction staff for having me. It’s a real honor to be visiting here at their blog and chatting a little bit about my upcoming release Assassin’s Heart, which comes out September 7. I’m excited about the book for a number of reasons, one it’s Lysander’s story and he’s one of my favorite heroes of all that I’ve written to date. I love his and Phaedra’s story as well as the story of Maximus and Cassiopeia the ancient Roman couple in the book. There are a lot of reasons why I love Assassin’s Heart, but one of the biggest reasons, aside from Lysander, is the past lives aspect of the story. You see, I’m a firm believer in past lives. Why? Well, I guess it’s because I’ve lived many times before myself. Did your eyebrows just go up? A lot people do arch their eyebrows at me when I say that. I’ve even had people snort with contempt, with laughter and even tell me I need to seek mental health services. It’s okay, I don’t mind because belief structures are personal and rooted in…

Coming up with new blog post ideas for a blog tour can be challenging. So when I mentioned this to a fan, she suggested my having Leidolf as my studio guest. What she particularly wanted to know was: Does he work out and what he does in a day. And how many times? I’m sure running through the woods naked is a regular routine. But, he also must lift weights to get that great body and stamina. I heard he has stamina. All night long. –Diva Donna Thanks so much, Donna, for giving me some wolf ideas to discuss and your fun take on the subject. Absolutely, Leidolf has stamina. It’s a wolf thing, you know. Luckily, Leidolf Wildhaven, of Portland, Oregon and the surrounding area (he’s a pack leader, so the surrounding area is his home also), does indeed work out. Mostly, of late, with Cassie Roux, but since this is a G-Rated blog, I’ll have to suffice it to say, he wants to leave his legacy to the pack, and he’ll have a WHOLE lot of fun doing it. Plus, another blog wishes me to discuss the mating behavior of wolf packs. Hmmm…so I don’t want to get…

My Dragonfire series features heroes who are dragon shape shifters. That means they’re hunky guys one minute, and fire-breathing dragons the next. (And yes, this is tons of fun.) I’ve always been crazy for dragons and always have loved shifter stories. To me, this was a natural combo. Just to give you a bit of background, the idea of the series is that my dragon shifters (the Pyr) defend the treasure of the earth and are the guardians of the four elements. They’ve been around for millennia, and as you might imagine, they’ve had their spats with each other. They tend to be independent, opinionated and often hot-tempered. They are, however, locked into the final battle for the defense of the earth, against the Slayers — which are Pyr who have turned bad. Because these are romances, there needs to be a love story, too: when each Pyr meets his destined mate, sparks literally fly. That meeting, which occurs once in a lifetime and signals the opportunity to create a son, is called the firestorm. It’s not an easy interval for the Pyr hero – he has to romance his destined mate; convince her that when she sees him turn…

Calling all wanna-be studs! Have you overheard your significant other say this? “My man is great, but he would be the whole package if only he were more romantic.&mquot; What do you do? Hang your head in shame or beat your chest to prove your prowess? Do you buy a bottle of wine and grill her a lean piece of meat? Maybe pick up a bouquet of flowers in the grocery store? . That’s all well and good, big spender. But I, Gracious Jane Marie, author of historic romantic suspense, have discovered the perfect game plan for growing your romantic muscles. It requires only a pair of eyes, a sports magazine and a paperback romance novel to tuck inside it! Romance novels are the encyclopedia of love. Here you will learn what women want and how to give it to them: a tender word when all seems lost, a nuzzle to comfort a broken heart, perhaps a clever line with which to tease and flirt. So long as she hasn’t read the same book, you’re set. On the other side of the bed, as it were, if your guy imagines himself too macho to actually go to the store and…