The most difficult part of being a writer isn’t the writing. Sure, our muse will desert us on occasion or our characters sometimes rebel, but writing is what we love or we wouldn’t be doing it. No one can make you write a full-length novel if you don’t want to. You might put 90,000 words on paper, but until the characters and the story come to life, you aren’t really creating anything. Editing isn’t so bad. Once the manuscript is finished, you go back and find sentences that are wordy and cumbersome and must be cut, but it’s still something you as the writer have control over. I edit as I go along, but I still find those sentences that make me go, “Huh? What was I thinking?” Revisions are more difficult because someone else has said, “Could you make the heroine more likeable?” or “Could you make this scene longer or more detailed?” Those suggestions may seem unreasonable at first, but eventually you realize that they do improve the book’s appeal and readability. Title changes are something else I’ve come to expect. Thus far, only Fugitive and Hero have retained their original titles. I recently put the Kindle app…

I did not go to Austria to view naked men. That was just a side benefit. We started our vacation in Vienna. The city provides a wealth of inspiration for a writer, with everything from richly decorated historical buildings to fabulous art and even the Lipizzaner horses (amazing show and the riders…yum). We visited the Spittleberg district, where 18th century men could “enjoy life to the full outside their home” — nice euphemism for red light district, don’t you think? It’s now an upscale neighborhood and we had drinks one evening at an outdoor cafe on a charming car-free side street. Totally romantic. I went inside to use the ladies room (identified by the bra on the door). As I was washing my hands, I looked up where I expected the mirror over the sinks to be. What I saw, however, was two young men doing their business about two feet from my nose. In place of a wall above the sinks, there was a large glass fish tank (immaculately clean and empty) which occupied the space between the men’s and ladies’ bathrooms. One could scarcely avoid the “view”. I was shocked, but I filed it away mentally for a…

Until fairly recently, I didn’t write trilogies. Mostly because I had to think up three stories all at once. It’s far easier to come up with one idea, develop characters, and work out a single plot. Earlier in my career, I did a number of related books. GYPSY LORD, SWEET VENGEANCE, and THE DEVIL’S PRIZE were linked books with characters who were friends. CREOLE FIRES, SAVANNAH HEAT, and NATCHEZ FLAME were also linked, but I had yet to write what I now consider a real trilogy. Then my agent came to Montana for a visit. She helped me come up with a story concept that was broad enough to last through three novels, and The Necklace Trilogy was born: THE BRIDE’S NECKLACE, THE DEVIL’S NECKLACE, and THE HANDMAIDEN’S NECKLACE. Even in a three book series, I write novels that stand alone. I think that’s important, since readers often buy them out of sequence. The best thing about linked books is that readers get to stay in touch with the people they’ve met in previous novels and come to care about. I get lots of e-mails from readers who comment on this and eagerly await the rest of the books in…

Who love pancakes? Raise your hand! I’ll bet you all have special memories associated with a tall, hot stack, drenched in butter and swimming in sweet syrup. When I think of pancakes, I think of firefighters. Why? Because although I now live in big, bad NYC, I was born and raised in a little town in Western Pennsylvania. Unlike the Big Apple’s 11,000-member force of professional firefighters, my tiny town had a volunteer fire department that raised money with fish fry dinners and pancake breakfasts. (Hence that pancake connection.) I was going to put this tasty recipe in my new Coffeehouse Mystery, Roast Mortem. The book’s storyline was inspired by New York’s firefighters. Of course, we all know about the FDNY’s heroism during 9/11. But I wanted to go deeper. I see these hunky, heroic guys almost every day in my Queens’ neighborhood and decided to research how they work and live—the research is layered into my latest mystery. If you’re not familiar with the Coffeehouse Mysteries, watch the trailer below. I just put it together to help new readers understand the series’ basic set up. What do you think? Oscar worthy? Now for that blueberry pancake recipe! Just click…

Things get blown out of proportion in our culture. It’s like when my kids howl “I’m starving!” and I look at them and say, “Children in Ethiopia are starving. You are hungry.” They roll their eyes, but I place great stock in the power of perspective and the leverage of point of view. Lots of things are out of our control, but how we react is always in our control. Enter the Epic Disaster. In this case, the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires. Definitely “epic,” on a scale rarely seen even though the word “epic” gets tossed around a lot these days. The city suffered crisis on every level–buildings, food, clothing, civil services, even social barriers were demolished in a handful of truly “epic” days. Rich people lost their homes alongside desperate families. Worthy people died while criminals survived–and vice versa mere feet away. The ruthless randomness of it all left people struggling to cope. We often miss that the disaster also unearthed new ways to hope. Did you know a record number of marriage licenses were issued in the wake of the disaster? America experienced philanthropy on a scale seldom seen. When I unearthed the story of…

We submitted a panel suggestion for the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) where over 20,000 people gather to discuss the latest in Film and Interactive (the music part is a few thousand more). This gathering helps to fuel what you’ll see on your smartphones, web browsers and other devices in the coming year. So it’s a GOOD thing to attend the festival and even better to be in the program! And so, I proposed “Book Blogs, Better Than NYT Books Reviews” a panel of top book bloggers along with Fresh Fiction to discuss the changes in where we find book reviews. And they accepted it. Now, here’s how it works. The public (that would be YOU) gets to vote on the panel. So even if you have NO intention of going to SXSW, your voice can be heard. VOTE FOR PANEL Yes, it’s part popularity contest, but it’s also geared to show the appeal of the panel, so here’s the scoop… I need thousands of votes, even if you don’t ever plan on going to South by Southwest, or care about it, or are totally confused, you can still vote for Fresh Fiction. It’s easy to do, just…

Before I started writing SUCH A PRETTY FACE, I asked myself, ‘What would it be like to lose 170 pounds?’ For years I was a freelance writer for The Oregonian. I wrote about homes, home décor, people, events, and fashion. When I started freelancing I had three kids under the age of five. I was buried in diapers, the housework was crushing, and I rarely slept like a normal human. I tried to remember to brush my hair. My most glorious of days occurred when I realized I did not have spit up on my shirt. My three little sweethearts were dear and wonderful, and oh, how I loved them and their sweet smiles, but the Role Of Mommy was all encompassing. I felt myself, I felt Cathy, slipping away, down a rocky cliff, out into the shark-filled ocean, no life raft or calm and serene, pineapple – filled deserted island in sight. Until I started working as a freelance writer. Freelance writing gave me something else to think about. It gave me an identity. It gave me something to do that I loved doing – write. I had a new, part – time job, complete with interviewing and photo…

The longer I live, the more I believe in and appreciate the power of women to transform lives, to nurture the future, to demonstrate that strength and gentleness are not mutually exclusive. Not that I don’t adore men. I absolutely do–not only do I treasure the ones in my life and thank them for how they enrich it, but I just like the male sex in general. Writing great heroes and falling in love with every one of them has been one of the very best parts of being a romance writer. In my women’s fiction debut, THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA, the roles women can play in the lives of other women are a crucial element in the narrative. Eudora “Pea” O’Brien desperately misses the sister who raised her and feels the need for Sister’s forgiveness. Because she so badly wants a do-over, she decides to gamble on Sister’s belief in reincarnation. In the hope of somehow finding the new body in which Sister resides, Pea hits the road with everything she owns in a beat-up sedan. Pea may miss Sister greatly, but that doesn’t mean she’s the type to sit around and wallow in self-pity. No, she charges…

No writer can assume that her career is without risks. Writing stories for public consumption comes with innumerable risks. No matter what the topic, fiction or non-fiction, someone out there abhors it, is offended by it, or decides to deride it publicly. I believe writing ethnic fiction is somewhat riskier than other kinds because it deviates from the typical readers’ perception and expectations. While most Indian authors write serious literary books, I write mainstream novels with romantic elements, something I enjoy immensely. When I started writing my debut book, The Dowry Bride, I wondered if there was a market for such a story. Would any agent bother to look at a manuscript that was so outside the box? It fitted into no particular genre, the setting was unusual, the theme controversial, and the author unknown. It was “Bollywood in a Book.” It could be a perfect recipe for disaster. Nonetheless I started querying various agents. It took me a while to find the right agent. Naturally I had my share of rejections, since fiction is so subjective–one agent’s food is another agent’s poison. Editors are no different. After some effort, when three agents offered me representation, I was thrilled that…

I’m planning to lock myself in a bookstore, any bookstore, overnight and re-shelve the books. Before you call the authorities, let me explain. Most categories make sense: art, self-help, travel, reference. But what about the “Fiction and Literature” category? Isn’t that redundant? Or is there some fiction that’s not literature? Is it IL-literate, then? There’s some literature that’s not fiction, but aren’t those volumes across the aisle in Nonfiction? While we’re at it, let’s think about the other bookcases. There’s one case, around the corner from “Fiction and Literature,” labeled “Mystery.” Hmm. Is Mystery neither Fiction nor Literature? Confusing, isn’t it. Mystery comes under the umbrella known informally as Genre Fiction, along with Romance, Western, and SciFi, to name a few. Mystery writers grumble about this seeming second-class citizenship in the world of books. We like to think we create engaging characters, interesting and complex stories, rich settings, and aesthetically pleasing turns of phrases. In other words, literature. As a mystery writer myself, with 13 novels published, I often envision all the mysteries in a bookstore coming to life and entering into a criminal conspiracy. I picture them infiltrating the Fiction and Literature shelf, until they are seamlessly woven in…