Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

My parents and I went to visit my older sister when she was in college, I was about 15. Shortly after my arrival, she noticed my preoccupation with my new wrist watch. It even had one of those outer timing dials you could turn for purposes that were never quite clear, but I was deeply enamored of it. It also had that cool little AM/PM window where the "3" was supposed to be (the date window didn't come along until later). (And, yes, this was even before LED and other digital watches, waaaayyy before portable phones.) This is about the right age. (Cool shirt hunh?) So, the first thing my sister did after my parents weren't in the room was grab my watch and set it some random amount ahead (or way behind). "There!" She handed it back to me, quite pleased with herself. "That's Matthew time. You aren't allowed to calibrate it to real time, or anyone else's. Or explain what's going on for the duration of your entire visit." I soon le...

This month I had 2 novellas released (one erotic SFR and the other a paranormal romance —I think I have discovered a new writing love in SFR). I also found myself thinking ahead to July when The Outcast Prince is released. I had to book some ads, plan some prerelease blogs, set up a goodreads giveaway of the ARC… And while I was doing that I was also doing edits and writing and prepping a couple of different talks I have to give. After a couple of years of doing promo I still have no idea what works, only that doing something is required. There are so many books out there, traditionally published and self-published, add into that the long ebook tail and there are millions on books on Amazon. Getting noticed requires promotion. On the other hand some of my oldest books are selling better now than when they were first released simply because I’ve written other books and new people have found me and gone to my backlist. Backlist matters. So while I’m not quite free of my day...

Mother's Day is tomorrow and flowers are a popular gift. So this seems like the appropriate time to talk about the traditional language of roses...and catfish! Did you know that since Victorian times, the different color of roses had different meanings? For Mother's Day, at least in the South, it is traditional to a wear red rose corsage on Mother's Day to signify a living mother, and white roses to honor a mother who is no longer alive. My mother passed three years ago in February and there are several lovely white buds on my rose bush out in the yard this year. I think they will be full blown by tomorrow. When she passed my sister went through the ancient suitcase that held all her pictures and divided them up three ways. One for each of Mama's three kids...bless her heart, that couldn't have been an easy task. I know because I haven't touched that white plastic box she brought over here until today. I went looking for a good picture of Mama ...

It was an amazing, but exhausting trip that began last Friday just after dawn. My hubby and I drove to Wisconsin, I was invited to Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Luncheon, and couldn’t wait to attend. Mary Burton and I co-hosted a table of readers. I gave away ARCs for ONE DAY IN APPLE GROVE with heart-shaped measuring spoons and bracelet & earring sets that my daughter designed. Here’s a pic of what we gave away :) I had a blast filling a pretty wallpapered box with goodies for the door prize…with all three of my contemporary cowboy books and the first two books in my contemporary small town books—plus some really fun things: measuring spoons, strawberry ceramic measuring cups, candles, Kindle Paperwhite, etc. Here’s a pic of the box, unwrapped, and then with Jenny the winner and myself. After the luncheon we jumped in the car to drive down to Kansas City, MO…let’s skip the traffic and foggy part and go straight to arriving at 1:45 a.m. on Sund...

Last week was the RT Booklovers Convention, held in Kansas City, MO. It was a very fun conference, and it was so fun to meet up with authors, bloggers, and industry friends. Here are a few things I learned: 10: I’m really jealous of Jaci Burton’s genius marketing idea (our room keys!) 9: But, our marketing department came up with some VERY cute stuff, too (our table in Club RT) 8: Hotel elevators/escalators/floor plans never cease to be far too confusing. 7: Visiting a city that is known for its BBQ is really tough when you’re allergic to tomatoes. 6: Pomegranate mimosas match Susanna Kearsley’s The Firebird perfectly ! 5: I really need to suck it up and start wearing my cute shoes, not just comfortable shoes. ;-) 4: Our authors are adorable! Sara Humphreys Gina Lamm Grace Burrowes and her signing neighbor, Monica Burns Megan Mulry Leanna Renee Hieber 3: EL James (yes, that EL James) really knows how to make an impact !...

When I received the release date for Heart of Iron, the second in my London Steampunk series, I was doubly excited. It was due out on May 7th, which, coincidentally, is also my birthday. My first thought was: two cakes? My second was - how did Sourcebooks know? I don't think they did in the end, although a lot of people have asked me how I swung this, but either way I get to celebrate twice! It's the best birthday present ever! As for Heart of Iron, I am so excited to unleash this on the world. Featuring Will Carver, the brusque verwulfen bodyguard to Blade from Kiss of Steel, and flirtatious Lena Todd, it is jam-packed with action, sexual tension, a heroine who might just be in over her head, a virgin hero and an epic plot against the Prince Consort - oh, and did I mention the mechanical kraken? Want to see what the reviewers are saying about it? McMaster's second London Steampunk book dazzles and seduces, diving deeper into this remarkab...