It may seem kind of silly but I love the character Bronwyn in the “Charmed & Dangerous” series. I’m beyond excited that the first book is coming out in mass-market paperback on Dec. 4. Hopefully that means more people will get to read about this amazing chick. When I first conceived the idea of her, I wanted someone who was strong and didn’t take crap off of anyone. Bronwyn is certainly that. She’s one of the most powerful witches in the world, but you wouldn’t know it to look at her. I like that she has a little bit of an attitude, but she has a soft heart. That one minute she can be caring for an elderly man with Alzheimer’s, and the next she’s blowing up bad guys. Bronwyn is also an adventurer who loves to travel. People ask me all the time if I’ve been to all the places she has – I wish. (Smile) I do a lot of research into places where I would like to travel, and then I send Bronwyn on her way. I like that side of her, where she can adapt to most any situation. She always manages to make friends, even…

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…

Yesterday my book, Divorced, Desperate and Delicious was released and I’m tickled pink. This isn’t my first book, but it’s my first novel in thirteen years. Why the long break? Well, I was actively pursuing my career in photojournalism. About six years ago, I decided I was tired of being a one book wonder and fell headfirst into novel writing again. I had totally forgotten how much I loved it. The ideas were pouring out of me, I couldn’t write fast enough. I got book one written, got book two, three . . . I got all the way to book eight. Ahh, but I also got some rejections. Oh, the editors loved my voice, but my plots were always . . . crossing a line. I was too quirky, too sexy, too suspenseful, too something. Yeah, I know, I’m good at crossing the line and pushing the envelope. It’s just how I’m wired. But then I got lucky. (Not that kind of lucky!) I got the most amazing call from my agent. I hadn’t just sold one book, I’d sold four in one day. Dorchester loved my crossing-the-line, pushing-the-envelope quirky, sexy, suspenseful style. Now that was a good day….

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…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Know why? Because it’s Thanksgivingweek! Hooray! Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. As the years havepassed, it’s moved up the list to take the number-one spot in my heart. Knowwhy? Because it focuses on some of my favorite things — food, family, andfootball. The food, well, that’s pretty obvious. Turkey, cranberry sauce, mashedpotatoes, green beans, cornbread stuffing, buttermilk biscuits, lime partysalad. Mmm-mmm! I’m getting hungry just thinking about all the yummy thingsthat will be on the Thanksgiving table this year. As for family, Thanksgiving is a chance to spend time with them. To enjoy ameal together and share what we’re grateful for. For me, that’s my family,friends, and so many other things. Too many to list here. And then, there’s football. After I’ve had all the food and family I can stand(and sometimes a little of both goes a long way), I get to snuggle under awarm, fleece blanket on the sofa and nap my way through a whole day of gridironaction. What could be better than that? I know what you’re thinking — what about Christmas? Don’t you like gettingpresents? Well, yeah, I do. But let’s face it,…

Since it’s shortly after the release of my first book, I’ve been thinking ofthe start of this journey. I’d known since I was twelve that I wanted to be awriter, but it took me almost twenty years to start writing. Why did I wait solong? Here were the biggest things that held me back. Excuse #1: I need to take classes/go to a conference before I can write a novel. Wow, that kept me from trying for over ten years! The truth is while classesand conferences are helpful, they aren’t necessary. Now, I’m not recommendingskipping college or thumbing your nose at literary courses, but don’t let thatbe a stumbling block in your path to writing a novel. Do you read a lot? Areyou a (reasonably) good speller? Are you willing to take constructive criticismand revise when necessary? Then you can do this. Excuse #2: But I don’t know HOW to write a novel. I used this one far longer than I want to admit. When I repeated it a severalyears ago to a writer friend of mine, she just smiled and said, “Then read abook on writing, dear.” Guess what? That worked! There are many great, usefulbooks aimed at helping…

People are always asking, Where do you get your ideas? Oh honey, if they only knew! Here are some of my favorite idea generators. Eavesdropping. I do that a lot. It’s easy, fun, and good for getting those creative juices flowing. Also, when friends say something intriguing, I let them know that some day their story or clever word usage could end up in a book. Fictionalized of course, so that often they won’t recognize themselves. With strangers…. they’ll never know.Observation. People watching is such a kick. Even more fun is making up stories about those you watch. Why are they behaving that way? Who are the people they are with? I’ll bet even non-writers do this. TV, radio, music and the movies. I’ve been known to take a premise or a snippet of and run with it. The end results never look remotely like the show from which I drew my inspiration. Magazines and newspapers. Tons of great stuff there. Especially those advice columns and the stories of personal triumphs over bad situations. And of course, life itself. Something happens to me or a friend or relative, or a friend’s friend, and I get to thinking, What if? I’m…

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…

When considering a topic, I’ve decided to go with one few writers talk about–How do we get back up when we fall. In my writing career of nearly twenty years, like most writers I’ve had my ups and downs. Once, just after my fifth book came out, my numbers were so bad my editor assured me I wouldn’t be writing another book for them, except for the fact I’d signed a two book contract. I was down and almost went back to teaching. I’d already written book six, so I decided to try one more time. I won a RITA with that sixth book. Since then I’ve learned to take the ups with the downs. I love the ups—the awards, the lists, the money—but I think it’s been the downs I’ve had that have taught me the most in this game of writing. Sometimes I’ve learned to try harder. Sometimes I’ve learned to trust myself. This year I decided to take another chance. With my next Historical Romance, TEXAS PRINCESS coming out in November, I’m hard at work on something different. In April I’ll have a book of a different kind released. TWISTED CREEK, I can only hope my readers…

How did a small town Midwesterner ever decide to write about witches?? Well, I’ve always been the type of person who believed if I could read about it, I could do it, so when at the tender age of 48, I decided to write, I bought every book about the craft of writing that I could. The first piece of advice was to write what you like to read, and at the time I was reading a lot of romance. Okay, so we’ll try our hand at romance. I bought (again) the books I deemed necessary to help me with my quest and set about writing a romance novella. I leaned two things. First of all, I can’t write a love scene to save my life!! And if one is going to write romance, love scenes are kind of important! The second thing I learned is that if you use a password, be sure, and write it down. You might not remember it six months down the road if you don’t. Yes, I pass worded that terrible novella, but forgot what it was! The good thing is—that piece of literature, and I use the term loosely, is forever lost and…