Is there ever enough of it? It seems our lives fairly leap from one moment to the next, barely allowing the time to savor the moment, sometimes even “taste” it! Parenthood, careers, schedules, social lives, volunteer work—it wraps us up so tight sometimes that we long to stand alone on a mountaintop and scream to release the stress! (Okay, that may be “my” vision and yours may be different.) REALITY ALERT: (not for the faint of heart) But in reality, I have to ask myself would I want it any other way? Here is a glimpse of my past week—Deadline of a novella, football game (away) Band contest (45 minutes drive each way) -parent-sponsored/served lunch, transporting grandmas to and from contest parade and field contest-sitting all afternoon waiting for your band to perform, drive home, launder kids clothes, pack to leave Sunday morning-them going to a two day choral festival, us to see oldest son on opposite side of the state. Pick up another son next day, and transport him back home to participate in a football game-where we sat most of the game watching him play in the pouring rain. (They won, that made it all worthwhile) Pick up…

There’s a lot to be said for the submarine sandwich. There can be as much bread, cheese, veggies and cold cuts as the maker desires. If you want two kinds of cheese, go ahead. Mayo and mustard? Why not? The only limit is appetite. Which is all good until your boss points to a sandwich box made for the usual peanut butter and jelly sized affair. That moment of “hmm, how am I going to get this sucker in there?” sums up my experience of writing the paranormal romance. I have to tell a many-layered story as clearly and efficiently (and as briefly!) as I can. For any author, there’s a lot on the kitchen counter when they’re building the universe of their book: there’s character, plot, and setting, plus: In a romance, there’s the whole fall-in-love experience. If it’s a historical novel, the author needs to bring the past alive, right down to the horseshoe nails, gun smoke and corsets. If it’s science fiction, fantasy, or paranormal, there’s the whole supernatural universe, with its vast array of creatures, rules of magic, and other cultures to explain and make compelling. For a good paranormal or urban fantasy romance, where you…

People often ask me where I get story ideas. With my latest romantic suspense novel, THREAD OF FEAR, the idea took shape as I watched a news broadcast about a kidnapped girl. It wasn’t the kidnapping itself that caught my attention, but the forensic artist who helped solve the case. How does a person interview a traumatized victim, and come away with a life-like picture of a criminal? This is the job of a forensic artist. They listen to people’s heart-wrenching stories and transform them into concrete leads for the police. Fiona Glass’s talent at forensic art has made her the best in the business—which is why she’s quitting. She’s haunted by the stories of victims and the faces of sadistic criminals. She’s working on her last case when rugged Texas police chief Jack Bowman bulldozes over her resistance and convinces her to help him hunt down a serial killer who is terrorizing his small town. Jack never intended for Fiona to become so involved in his case. Or in his life. But he knows she’s his best hope for finding a psychopath who’s lurking in plain sight. He desperately needs Fiona’s help, but he never counted on her ending…

It is GREAT to be here at Fresh Fiction. Frankly it’s just great being! I’m riding a major high because why, you might ask? Well, because I recently found out that SHOW NO MERCY, book 1 of my new Black Ops., Inc. series hit #15 on the New York Times. Yowser! I’m still in shock. And it got me to thinking … how did it come to this? I wasn’t always a writer. I was a lot of other things, all things, that at the time, represented who I was and what I was about. So, it made me wonder… Is the sum total of who we are determined by what we’ve done? While a lot of us are writers (and readers) most of us were, at one time, something else, right? Like I said – I’m a prime example. I was once a beautiful black wild stallion – but we’ll save that for another day. :o) Before taking on writing as a living, I worked in the county treasurer’s office computing and collecting taxes, I kept books in a lumber yard, did retail sales and alterations in a men’s clothing/sporting goods store, and sewed custom draperies – all of…

As a writer, I work hard at breaking away from stereotypes, which isn’t always easy, especially if it involves a culture you’re not that familiar with. Such was the case with GRAVE INTENT, my second book. One of the main characters was from a particular Roma clan, and I knew very little about gypsies except what I’d seen on television or read in books. A good bit of research, including spending time with an actual Roma family, did wonders to help me break out of any mental stereotypes about the culture. In my newest book, WATER WITCH, I didn’t have that problem since many of the primary characters are of Cajun decent. Being Cajun myself, it was easy to write what is real instead of winging it on perception. Oddly enough, I ran into a situation not long ago that, for me, really put a different spin on stereotypes. I say ‘oddly’ because it happened here in the south, in territory I’m pretty familiar with. For the story to make sense, however, let me take a moment to clarify the definition of a stereotypical southerner…. Below are some common traits often used to portray a stereotypical, modern day Southerner: •…

I spent most of my spring and all of my summer finishing my fourth novel, How Can I Tell You? (Touchstone, August ’09). Hours blurred into days which turned into weeks which…well, you get the idea. The only thing I really remember about this time is asking myself every morning as I sat down and every night as I curled up into a fetal position in bed was, “How the heck did I manage do it the last three times?” You’d think that I’d have some sort of idea of how to write a book by now. I’ve even taught a course on it. True, I have the basics down, but somewhere in the midst of the process, I always find myself scrambling. The worst thing I can ask myself is: What am I doing? Nothing derails a productive, if not creative day, in front of the computer more than self-doubt, self-pity and all those other wonderful little demons that run rampant when the mind is looking for reasons to shut down and take the body to the movies. This time, around late May and early June, I abstained from playing hooky and instead invested in books on plot and…

Do you believe that people are born either good or bad? That your genes determine whether or not you have a temper, are violent, or lose control? That’s only one of the premises I explore in my Demonborn series. Vincent Valtrez, the hero of book one, INSATIABLE DESIRE, has only faint memories of his traumatic past. Memories which disturb him because he feels a darkness in his soul. Memories and a killer that bring him back to his hometown. A hometown full of secrets and evil. A hometown he swore he’d never return to. A hometown plagued by danger and the girl he left behind. Vincent had no idea what is in store for him. Or that his destiny is calling. Only that his need for sex and darkness have begun to call his name again. But giving in to the dark side could be his downfall and cause him to lose his soul once and for all. Do you have a dark side? If so, can you resist the call? Rita Herron http://ritaherron.com/ Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

People often ask authors where they get their ideas. The answer for me is, I’m not sure. But I do know that I’d never have a writing career if it weren’t for my subconscious mind (SM). Everyone has this amazing tool at their disposal. Scientists still don’t understand quite how it works, but they do know that we all have a duality of minds: your consciously thinking mind, and your subconscious mind. Whether you are creating a character that people will want to read, composing a song, or trying to solve a dilemma at the office, your SM can do the work for you. It’s true! Ever been with friends discussing a movie or a song, and you can’t remember the name of the lead actor? “It’s on the tip of my tongue!” you might say. Finally, you give up. The next morning it hits you. You remember the name. Well, folks, that is your SM at work. It’s a very simple example, but proof that your mind can problem-solve while you are not consciously thinking about the problem. There are two basic things to remember about your SM. First, it never sleeps. It’s always working, regardless of what you…

I’ve been a geek since birth. I was raised on Star Trek (the original, styrofoam-rock, red-shirt-guy-killing Star Trek) and my parents took us to see both Barbarella and Planet of the Apes at the drive-in. So, when I was asked by an editor at Penguin to take a stab at writing in the genre of Chick Lit, I sort of balked. I mean, what do I have in common with those elegant Chick Lit writers? I associated them with cheerleaders, slutty high school girls (not the same thing, mind you), makeup, high heels, and the felonious application of Newton’s Laws of Motion. But then I had what I thought was a great idea: Chick Lit for geek girls like me. That led to the creation of The Queen Geek Social Club, and subsequently, Queen Geeks in Love and Prom Queen Geeks, which debuts this month. I had great fun writing the books; the main character, Shelby, was the person I would have been in high school if I’d had any confidence and a better sense of fashion. But one thing in the books has had an interesting impact on readers: the inclusion of Euphoria, Shelby’s humor-impaired robot, nanny, and tracking…

My debut novel, OFF THE MENU, hits bookshelves on August 5th, and recently, a lot of people have been asking me how I went about getting published. The short answer? By keeping my chin — and optimism — up even though I was receiving stacks of rejections every day. The long answer takes me back to a Facebook question I answered for my profile, which called for my most embarrassing moment. Unfortunately, my life is riddled with heinously embarrassing moments, and one of them occurred at a writers conference I attended in the mountains of California, where I met my agent. I’d been invited to an industry cocktail party out of the graciousness of one of the conference’s board members, and being an unpublished writer who was desperate to make a good impression, I researched the guest list, which included dozens of publishers and agents. This was my chance to wow them, I thought. And maybe snag an agent. So, I perfected my pitch. Practiced my smile. Wore a cute outfit. As ready as I’d ever be, I showed up at the party, determined and excited. And it would have been a great party had I managed to stay upright…