First of all I’d like to thank the wonderful folks at Fresh Fiction for making this possible. It’s always a pleasure to reach out to readers. You make all those solitary hours writing worthwhile. You are incredible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. During this wonderful holiday season we are especially reminded of the joy of having a close, loving family. The Graysons of New Mexico is such a family. Four gorgeous, successful brothers and one beautiful, outspoken baby sister. There was only one thing wrong – or so their loving mother thought – they weren’t remotely interested in getting married. So, Ruth Grayson with a mother’s uncanny perception of what her children want in a soul mate, places in their unwitting path the perfect candidate. For Luke, the protector and the oldest, she’d chosen Catherine Stewart, a noted Child psychologist in UNTIL THERE WAS YOU. The ideal match for Morgan, the defender, in YOU AND NO OTHER, was Phoenix Bannister, a renowned sculptress. For her middle child Brandon, the nurturer, the perfect woman was Faith McBride, executive manager of a 5 star hotel in DREAMING OF YOU. Pierce, the thinker and last bachelor, learned there…

The Ugly Duckling. Poor little guy, ostracized by the ducks because they thought he was ugly, not knowing he’d grow up to be a beautiful, self-assured swan. Those ducks made fun of him, ignored him, brought him to tears. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His offense to reindeer kind? A nose that lit up, something they saw as a liability–and ended up being Santa’s saving grace. Victoria’s Secret models. Who’d have thunk they’d have something in common with the Ugly Duckling and Rudolph? Well, it turns out they do. In a recent story on Fox News, these ideals of female perfection talked about how they were teased for being too thin, too plain, too whatever. It seems when it comes to others, none of us is ever perfect enough. We’ve all experienced that middle school torture, those kids who made seventh grade hell (or freshman year, or whatever). I went through it; my own kids have gone through it. And now, in Really Something, my latest release from Zebra, my heroine, Allie Dean, goes through it, and thinks she is the only person in Tempest, Indiana, to be tortured for being different. But what Allie doesn’t realize is that we’re all…

As a long-time visitor to the Fresh Fiction site, I’m thrilled to be guest blogging in celebration of my new romantic suspense novel, The Salt Maiden. I thought I’d take some time to talk about why I think writing romantic suspense is the best job ever. 1. Real life can be tough. The news reminds us daily that terrible things can and do happen to good people, and the perpetrators all too often get away with their misdeeds. Not in my books. As tense and harrowing as they can get, by the end of each book, the deserving protagonists will find the happiness they deserve, my version of justice will be served, and the villain will pay. 2. I can indulge my passions and introduce the reader to them. From dogs to the prairies, deserts, and small towns of Texas to a host of fascinating pursuits (lately, I’ve flown in gliders and traveling to research an upcoming book), I can enrich my life – and I hope the lives of others – with the new things I learn while writing each and every tale. 3. I get to wreak havoc (car wrecks, fires, assaults, and an occasional murder-most-foul) in a…

Cue the James Bond music and call the Geek Squad! If you like your espionage with thrills, romance and a touch of humor look no further. You’ll find sensuality and sass in my new high-tech action romance, DEAL WITH THIS. It’s lights, camera, action as this novel brings you inside the Vancouver film industry. It’s a fun look at the industry itself while taking you through a rollercoaster ride of spy action and hot romance. And maybe just a little humor. Michelle Buonfiglio of Lifetime TV’s Romance: B(u)y the Book says, “Lucy Monroe excels at creating alpha bad boys and authentic erotic romance.” And Romantic Times gave DEAL WITH THIS four stars calling my characters “sexually empowering.” Truth is, the love scenes sizzle and I worked to make the characters the highlight of every scene. My “alpha bad boy” Alan goes undercover to find out who is trying to auction off international secrets and finds himself on the set of a scifi TV show with the star of the show, Jillian, set to help him whether he likes it or not! I am especially pleased with this novel because of the character development of both the hero and heroine. Alan…

Trilogies are an interesting beast—especially back-to-back trilogies. Readers enjoy them since it means they don’t have to wait long between books to find out what happens in a series they’ve discovered and come to love. On the flip side, it does mean that once the trilogy is concluded, it’s over for a good long while––at least if the follow-up trilogy is another back-to-back.That’s the situation that occurred with my first two trilogies––both of them written back-to-back-to-back! After the best-selling success of my debut Trap Trilogy, I was excited when my editor told me she wanted a second back-to-back trilogy. I rubbed my hands together and got right to work. But that excitement was soon tempered with expressions of frustration from some fans who wanted more books as soon as possible. While the time between trilogies seemed a bit too long to a few of my readers, it seemed very brief to me as I hurried to write three new books in the shortest amount of time I could manage. Still, in the intervening months between trilogies, my readers have been wonderfully supportive and patient, eagerly counting down the days with me!I’m happy to confirm that the wait ended last month…

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, if it was that time of year where you live. If not, I hope it was simply a beautiful day for you! Reaching out to readers is something I really love doing. I travel to as many readers’ conferences/conventions as I can afford, I participate in book signings and guest blog when asked, and I try to keep my website as accessible as possible with areas like my blog and message board, an interactive Q & A section, and fun things like book trailers. Funny thing is, when I meet up with readers at events I usually talk about anything but my books. Recent all-night reads, favorite recipes, interesting things to see and do in the area, mutual fan-girl moments for other authors… those are the topics I touch on most. I’m a shy person (though some who’ve met me don’t believe it *g*) so focusing on other things is more comfortable for me. Then, late last month, I tried a new way to interact with readers that I’d never attempted before — podcasting. Have you listened to podcasts? Do you enjoy them? I was a bit apprehensive at first, plus…

So here’s the deal. I am a Romance writer (I write historicals), and I do what most writers feel a compulsion to do — I make an effort to promote my books so that not just my mother will read them. I’ve done everything from purchasing print ads in magazines to sending shelf talkers (those pretty little flaps that hang off a store shelf under your book) to thousands of retailers. I have a website, I do book signings, and I hang out on reader message boards to connect with readers all over the world. The one thing I had not done yet, however, was a book video. I’ve been watching the whole video trailer phenomenon with interest over the past few years, and since my husband has an interest in filmmaking and we love to do things together, I was keen to give it a try. I knew I could trust him with the project because he’d already directed a short film that made it into some major film festivals, but also because hey – he’s my soul mate — and most importantly, he has great sense of humor. This was key, because I wanted to do something fun….

Good morning. I am so pleased to be here blogging to you. You will notice that I use no contractions in this blog. This is because, while reading the posts below, I happened to notice that everywhere there should be an apostrophe, there is instead a question mark. I have no desire for my blog to? appear? thus??? It is very distracting and even crazy-making for someone who is a born editor. Guess I should say why I am here. To promote my new book! It is called The Con Artist of Catalina Island: A McAfee Twins Christmas Novel, the fourth book in the McAfee Twins novels. The McAfee girls are Terry and Kerry; identical in looks, opposite in personality. Terry is a lesbian biker with a prison record; Kerry is a good-girl type who considers herself to be the keeper of Terry. They drive each other crazy but can’t conceive of being apart. Kerry says that when Terry was in prison it was like living on borrowed air. The girls are the proprietors of Double Indemnity Investigations, a two-woman PI firm. Normally they zip around Los Angeles solving crimes from the back of their hot pink Harley Softail Deuce,…

No, I’m not going to ask you to buy my book—you couldn’t even if you wanted since it doesn’t come out until March. I need a different kind of help—the kind of help only readers can give. First, let me introduce myself. I’m CJ Lyons and I’m a pediatric ER doc turned medical suspense author. My first novel, LIFELINES, will be published by Berkley on March 4, 2008. I love my new job as a writer—not only can I go to work in my pj’s, I also get the chance to meet lots of interesting people and ask questions that no one else would dare. I mean, how many 9-5er’s get to visit the FBI academy at Quantico or talk to crime scene experts about the “best” way to kill someone and get away with it? And no beepers, trauma alerts, or 3am calls to deal with—for the first time in 17 years, I’m finally getting some sleep! But there is one thing about being a writer that I’m not too happy about. It’s ruined me as a reader! All my life I’ve been a voracious reader, following my favorite authors blissfully into the worlds they created for me. But…

Hey everyone! I’m really excited to be here blogging with you! I thought it might be fun to reveal to you the top three questions I’m most often asked by readers. Starting at number three: What made you want to become a romance writer? The answer is, my love of books. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books. As a kid I loved Nancy Drew. Thanks to Nancy I wanted to solve crimes, travel to exotic locations, and find a guy like Ned Nickerson—smart, loyal, and heroic. I also loved the Cherry Ames series. Thanks to Cherry I wanted to join the Army and be a nurse. Then came Vicki Barr, the airline stewardess (bet you can’t guess what I then wanted to be??). Then I graduated to Agatha Christie and my family was grateful that those books didn’t inspire me to become a criminal, although reading about Miss Marple did inspire me to learn how to knit—not with very good results, I’m afraid. I managed to eek out one very crooked, bunched up scarf and half of an argyle sock. (have you ever tried to knit an argyle sock??? There’re like 12 bobbins hanging off the…