I have a book coming out in September, called My Secret Life from Harlequin Blaze. But it’s not just any book. It’s the first book in a series I’m with my writers pals, Carrie Alexander, Isabel Sharpe and Jamie Denton. This series is particularly special because about the time we conceived of the idea, Jamie was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. We’d sent the project to our editors, but because Jamie was going through chemotherapy, we all decided it was better to back burner the project. Jamie gracefully volunteered to back out and let someone else take her place, but we wanted Jamie and we wanted her to know we believed in her recovery. I’m happy to report Jamie came through chemotherapy with flying colors and we went on to write the stories. Her bravery, optimism and all around darn good storytelling abilities make this a fabulous success story. So to give you a sneak peak into the Martini Dares, here’s the series proposal we sent to the editors. SERIES SET-UPThe Premise Desperate Housewives meets Sex in the City in this series featuring four desperate career women, four dark secrets, four steamy dares and four very sexy men….

How do writers get their stories? Much of our research is built into us, and we just need to find a story line in which to place it. I get my story ideas from everywhere: from my title or databases, from anything I see in the news/television, anything I see driving along the side of the road, a photograph, a drawing, or by just generally observing people. I’ve just finished the third story in the psychic triplets’ contemporary trilogy. The first story concerns Claire, the empath and the youngest, in AT THE EDGE. The second is Tempest’s story, A STRANGER’S TOUCH (4/08); she uses her hands to determine the history of an object. Leona’s story (11/08), the one I’ve just finished is as yet untitled, and concerns her abilities as a precognitive, or “precog”. Where did I get the idea for this trilogy? Since I am the mother of three daughters, I had some idea of their interaction. Their birth order also determines some of their personality traits. Claire, our empath, is basically in seclusion, in a cottage-type situation and she is a handcrafter, creating designer handbags. Since I am also an artist and have done handcrafting, including sewing, I…

I admit it. When I was growing up, I loved watching the Wizard of Oz, which was shown on TV once a year. I adored the magical and fantasy elements, and of course the HEA ending. But then I had teethed on fairy tales and already had magic, mystical creatures, resourceful heroines, and hunky, princely heroes firmly ingrained in my imagination. Then when I was eleven, I came across the book “Many Mansions” by Gina Cerminara, which was about the psychic Edgar Cayce. That was the beginning of my life-long interest in metaphysical subjects and in the Cayce readings. I was especially drawn to his readings about Atlantis (over 700 of them). So it’s no wonder that my books embraced romance and the paranormal from the very start. After I wrote the Shielder series (science fiction romance), I turned to romantic urban fantasy, and found the perfect venue for my fascination with Atlantis and all things paranormal. Enter the Sentinels, reincarnated Altantians whose sole purpose is to track Belians (evil Atlantians also coming to Earth to wreck havoc). Both Sentinels and Belians have superhuman powers, and they’re waging an ageless battle of good versus evil. But wait—there’s hope for our…

I’m so excited to be guest blogging on Fresh Fiction today! Thanks so much for having me! I’m Kelley St. John, and I write sexy, sassy contemporaries for Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner) and Harlequin Blaze. This year, I’ve begun The Sexth Sense, my Harlequin Blaze series about six Cajun cousins who happen to have an interesting family legacy – helping ghosts find their way to the other side. All of the current Vicknair mediums are in their twenties, at the peak of their lives, and to-die-for sexy. Oh, but don’t think that the sizzle stops with the family; those ghosts have plenty of heat going on as well. I’m having a ball writing about the Vicknair family and am thrilled that Harlequin has also purchased the next three books in the series to come out in 2008. Here is the book trailer/teaser for the series, if you want to check it out: See this video at www.OneTrueMedia.com Oh, and if you like the Louisiana plantation setting, be sure to register for the Louisiana plantation vacation giveaway at my website. I can’t wait to give one reader a trip to the gorgeous Oak Alley Plantation in the heart of Cajun…

I’m giving one lucky winner a signed copy of my new release, Lucinda, Darkly. So don’t be shy about posting a comment on this blog. Winner to be announced in the blog comment section the next day, so be sure to check back tomorrow. My editor just emailed me last night with the happy news that my single title LUCINDA, DARKLY is a national bestseller. And ON THE PROWL is a USA Today bestseller—my anthology with Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, and Karen Chance. So I guess that elation is definitely going to affect the topic of this blog: how I became an author. For me, turning writer was a complete turn-about in careers at the mid-point of my life, from respectable family practice physician to penning erotic dark fantasy/urban fantasy. Which is more fun? Well, of course, the latter. This new career has lead to TV appearances on Geraldo At Large and CNBC, won me several awards—my first ever in my life!—and forced me out of my normal reserve into public speaking and meet-and-greets with complete strangers at conferences. But then, writing those hot love stories in more explicit detail than I could ever have imagined when I first picked…

When I first began taking my Texas ladies to England’s shores, I had to do quite a bit of research about the Victorian period in order to understand how things would go for them. One of the best research books I found was How to Marry an English Lord. It went into quite a bit of detail about American heiresses’ obsession with marrying English lords. And English lords, many of whom had fallen into an impoverished state as a result of changing times changing their income, were quite happy to provide these ladies with a title in exchange for a nice settlement. I saw one political cartoon of the time that showed an old, crotchety looking fellow–obviously an aristocrat–kneeling before a young, haughty woman. The caption read, “American heiresses, what will you bid?” It was, of course, making sport of the American obsession with the nobility. What will you bid? That phrasing stayed with me for a while and one day, I had a vision of a penniless aristocrat who didn’t want to bother with courtship. Being pragmatic, he invited all the American fathers, who he was certain were tired of the Season, and told them that he’d marry the…