Last year Steeple Hill released HOMECOMING, my first western historical with an inspirational theme. The story is set in a fictional Texas frontier town named Glory and I found myself so involved in the characters and the setting that I wrote a second book, THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN, set in the same town. The hero and heroine from HOMECOMING make cameo appearances, so readers who missed that book might want to order it as well when shopping for THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN. (Okay, enough of the shameless self promotion–for now.) Though I’m known for the emotion and characterization in my books, there is always a touch of humor that sneaks in, too. In THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN, humor comes to play in the opening scene, an accident that propels an unassuming writer with the dream of publishing his own newspaper into the unlikely position of the first sheriff of Glory. Hank Larson has moved to Texas to escape his old life, one that continually reminds him of his late wife. He’s spent his entire savings on a printing press to enable his dream and is all set to launch “The Glory Gazette.” He’ll be editor, writer, and publisher. The problem? There is no…

Aloha to all of you readers out there in cyberspace. How exciting to be back on the Fresh Fiction Blog and in such good company. This month I have plenty to celebrate. HOMECOMING, my first book for Steeple Hill, will go on sale today. Set in the 1870’s, it’s the story of a young woman who is “rescued” from the Comanche clan that abducted her as a child. She has no memory of her past when she is taken in by Hattie Ellenberg, a woman who has suffered at the hands of the Comanche herself. Joe Ellenberg is Hattie’s son. He’s a man who has lost his faith and his hope for the future—until this lovely young woman searching to know “Who am I? Where do I belong?” comes into his life. It’s a book I truly enjoyed writing, even though I began with a little trepidation. I’ve never written an inspirational before and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to achieve the goal I was going for: a page-turner filled with emotion, tension and characters readers would remember long after the last page was read. So, when I finished, I gave the book to two friends and fellow writers…

Aloha One and All: A big Mahalo (thank you!) to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to blog today. This is such a fabulous site, one that makes promotion painless for those authors like me who somehow look up from the monitor only to discover a year has gone by and I’ve yet to let readers know what’s been going on and when to expect my next novel. I’m pleased as punch to announce that next year my first single title novel for Steeple Hill will be published in July ’08. The title is now officially, HOMECOMING, and for those of you who have read my early Western Historical Romances and have been asking for more, this one is for you. Written as a Western Inspirational Romance, HOMECOMING is the kind of story I love to tell about characters who find the strength to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It’s a book that romance readers can pass along to their daughters and grandmothers as well. Whenever anyone asks how I was able to switch from secular romance novels that were on the sensual side to Inspirational Romance, I remind them that I’ve always tried to instill a sense of hope and triumph…