Some people fear spiders. For others, it takes rats or scorpions or snakes to really rev up the old goose bumps. For me, it’s alligators. American alligators, in particular those big brutes lurking the lakes and bayous near the Texas-Louisiana border. I’m fascinated by the creatures, which seem like something left over from the pre-human prehistoric past (which indeed, they are). While researching my latest romantic thriller, Beneath Bone Lake, I learned some fascinating facts about alligators. For one thing, their eyeballs always orient themselves so the slit-like pupil is vertical, even when the animal is rolling to drown its intended prey. Creepy, huh? In Texas, some are up to 16 feet long, and they more and more frequently wander into the human realm, from golf course ponds to backyard pools (yikes!) But in spite of their reptilian indifference to our charms and their nasty eating habits, I learned that at least in this state (I’m still talking Texas), there has never been a recorded case of human predation by an alligator. (There have been some injuries, many provoked by human idiocy, but basically, if you keep a respectful distance and use your head, you’re off the menu.) Click to…

Have you ever looked down at a sleeping child and realized you would do anything, resort to any measure, to protect the life entrusted to you? Have you ever loved so deeply that it’s almost like a physical ache? Excused behavior even when you knew it was wrong? If the answer to any of these is yes, perhaps you’ll understand the inspiration for my latest romantic thriller, Triple Exposure, where I explore the idea that even the best, most wholesome emotional attachment can be taken to deadly extremes. Fine art photographer Rachel Copeland is acquitted of the self-defense slaying of a nineteen-year-old student who’d been stalking her back in Philadelphia. But thanks to a heart-wrenching emotional appeal from the young man’s mother, a popular television personality and the doctored-pornographic photos the “victim” posted to the Internet, Rachel finds no peace, even when she returns home in an attempt to reclaim her life. What Rachel does find is a new assignment that leads her to photograph reclusive desert craftsman Zeke Pike without his knowledge. The picture taken highlights both his strength and sensuality as he creates his furnishings, igniting feelings Rachel had thought extinguished by her ordeal. But the lit fuse…

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…