Have you ever wanted more from a series? Wanted to know more about the characters and how their world came into being or maybe you wanted to visit the setting and walk around a bit, enjoying the literary places you’d visited before. Those thoughts are what lead me to write STAR-CROSSED DRAGONS. It’s a love story about two Dragons from different social classes and clans that fall in love. These Dragons, Sara and Ian, are the main character’s parents from the Going Down In Flames series. In the Going Down In Flames series, I mentioned that Bryn’s parents ran away from a secret society of shape-shifting Dragons to escape arranged marriages. Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to how that happened. When I sat down to write her parents’ story, I realized I needed to reread the whole series to make sure I kept my facts straight. You’d think as the author I’d remember all the details, and I do remember most of what happened to the main character and her friends but remembering the information about the side characters was a bit more difficult. Once I had my ducks or dragons in a row, I wrote characters I really liked…

If you have people in your life who aren’t huge fiction readers (why are you doing this to yourself), then you may find them rolling their eyes when you share some insight into life that you gleaned from a book. However, throughout my reading life, I’ve found myself taking away profound words of wisdom from some of my favorite characters. Today I wanted to share some words of wisdom from THE DATING DEBATE because, sometimes, fictional characters reveal real truths. Valentine’s Day was probably a marketing ploy thought up by florists, so they could sell overpriced flowers to desperate guys who were hoping to get laid. All meals should end in chocolate. You should buy a healthy mix of paperbacks and ebooks, just in case there is an EMP blast that knocks out all digital content. If you have no paperbacks you’d have nothing to read and that would be a true apocalypse scenario. In real life, if you’re unhappy, you need to work to change yourself. Having someone who cares about you helps, but it’s not a magic anti-jerk pill. Life lesson is code for things that suck. Dogs/pets unravel the stress in your soul. They’re like furry four-footed…

Why do I write about shape-shifting dragons? Because I’d really love to be able to blast annoying people with fireballs. No. Wait. I’m just joking. Mostly. As a five foot two female, I don’t have a lot of physical power. But if I could shape-shift into a dragon, I’d have all the power I ever needed. Other shape-shifting creatures always seem to have weaknesses. Vampires fear the sun. Werewolves can’t handle silver. But dragons can pretty much kick anyone’s ass, and they don’t have to worry about the weather or what metal their dinner forks are made from. What’s another perk that puts dragons at the top of the shape-shifting hierarchy? They can fly. In BRIDGES BURNED, Bryn says, “Flying is freedom.” I think that is exactly how it would feel. Then there is my favorite dragon trait–they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. Some people were annoyed by the amount of food mentioned in GOING DOWN IN FLAMES. I didn’t realize how obsessed I was with food until I started editing BRIDGES BURNED and had to cut ten food scenes. So maybe I should cut back on the hours I watch the Food Network when I’m…

Why do I write about shape-shifting dragons? I love all the possibilities involved with supernatural/paranormal worlds. In GOING DOWN IN FLAMES, Bryn learns she’s a shape- shifting dragon when flames shoot out of her mouth for the first time. She’s immediately thrust into a new world she doesn’t understand. Since I’m creating the world, I gave her a couple of perks to balance out the bad stuff. Due to her new faster shape-shifting dragon metabolism, she can eat whatever she wants and not gain weight. I think that’s a common female fantasy. I’ve never said, “I’ve had enough double stuffed Oreo’s, I’ll stop now.” It’s always more like, “I need to stop eating the double stuffed Oreo’s while my butt still fits in my jeans.” I also wanted to create a world where males and females were equal physically in power and strength when they were in their supernatural forms. As a small woman, I’ve had to ask people to carry heavy things for me most of my life. I hate not being able to finish a project because I can’t move something where I need it to go. When I’m really happy, I dream that I can fly. To…