Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

I confess, I've been in a bit of a writing slump.  I try to write, but I am easily distracted by any shiny object that comes my way.  It's hard to get my tush in the chair and just focus and write. One thing I do love, especially at this time of year, are the short holiday romances.  I love to read them-short, sweet, full of holiday magic.  I also like to write them, but lately it's been challenging to find the motivation. So this year I decided to do things backwards.  Usually, I will write a story, then look for a cover.  This time, I decided I needed a little motivation first.  So voila!  Here is the cover for my new Christmas short story, Miss Devine's Christmas Wish! What is Miss Devine's Christmas wish?  I suppose I'm going to have to write the story to find out!  Now that I have a beautiful cover, I am getting inspired to write the story.  I know it's a bit backwards, but getting the cover first has inspired me! If y...

I broke my foot. Unfortunately, when I went to the ER that night they misdiagnosed it as a sprained ankle. I was told the best way to heal was to get it moving again, so I spent two months walking on it and even went on a 10-day hiking trip! I diligently did exercises that were very good for a sprained ankle and very wrong for a broken bone. After two months I finally had an MRI that showed a broken navicular bone. It was back to the crutches!  Unfortunately, because I walked on it instead of letting it heal, the healing process may take a bit longer, so I'm going to be non-weight bearing on it for a while. This is the kind of minor disaster that is supposed to teach you important life lessons.  So I sat down to write this blog about the important things I learned...and I drew a blank. The only thing I could come up with is - don't break your foot!  Now this is very good advice, but perhaps not exactly earth shattering, so I thought about it again, especially since if...

I am chronically busy.  Relentlessly busy.  Drag my tired butt from work to the grocery store to piano lessons to soccer practice busy.   With the day job and the kids I have an endless barrage of commitments and obligations, keeping me pulled in multiple directions.  Of course there’s fun in all the craziness, but it’s not terribly conducive to finding time to write the next bestselling novel (see Heather’s blog from yesterday to get some ideas).  I was hanging by my fingernails at the end of my rope when I finally I realized I needed to take a break.  A quick search for places to retreat led me to the St. Placid Priory , a Benedictine Monastery Retreat House.  Yeah, I really ran away, away.  The accommodations were not fancy by any stretch.  It was plain. It was simple.  And it was quiet.  Blessedly quiet.  Take a deep breath and try to remember who you are quiet.  It was exactly what I needed.  I w...

I live in the Northwest corner of the U.S.  I'm used to drizzle, showers, rain, downpours, deluges, and all other forms of precipitation.  This year has been a wet one--one of the soggiest seasons in recent memory.  So it was a bit of a shock when for a few hours the other day the weather turned.  I was driving to work, listening to the news when I heard this report, "This just in. The giant fireball in the sky has been identified as the sun." Yeah, it had been a while since that celestial object had made an appearance.  All us northwesterners crawled out of our homes like blind moles, blinking in the sunlight.  Spring had arrived!  Well, at least for a few hours until it started raining again.  Still, it gave me a chance to go down to the beach and remember why I live here.  Truly, it is a beautiful place--when not quite so water-logged.  Time to shave my legs, paint my toes, and get ready for the sun!  Here are a few of my favo...

I am so excited to release My Highland Rebel !  I enjoyed writing a bad boy hero, Cormac MacLean, who really wanted to be anything but.  He thought it would be easy to take an unprotected keep, but he was unprepared for Jyne Campbell! A Conquering Hero Cormac Maclean would rather read than rampage, but his fearsome warlord father demands that he prove himself in war. Cormac chooses what he thinks is an easy target, only to encounter a fiery Highland lass leading a doomed rebellion and swearing revenge on him. Meets an Unconquerable Heroine Jyne Cambell is not about to give up her castle without a fight, even though her forces are far outnumbered. She's proud and determined, and Cormac can’t help but be impressed by her devious plots to force him to leave. Soon, his allegiances are as confused as his feelings for the fair Jyne—though he may have captured the castle, it is she who captures his heart. There’s trouble in the Highlands when Forester’s charming hero and ...

Hello!  I hope everyone is enjoying preparing fro the holidays and not running about in a mad dash like me.  Every year I say I’m going to plan ahead and every year…well it always seems to get a bit crazy.   To celebrate with you, my friends, I would love to offer a special Christmas gift!  I am offering a FREE read of my Highland short story, Highland Christmas Bride!   Here's an excerpt for you! Highlands, December 23, 1361 “We will come to yer aid. We’ve always honored the bonds o’ manrent between our clans.” Gregor Brodie nodded to the laird of the Mackensies. He had responded to the call for help and opened his gates to welcome in his neighboring clan who had run from the attack of Red Rex. The old laird attempted something of a smile but with his injuries it looked more like a grimace. The old man had two black eyes from where his nose had been broken. He leaned back in a chair across from Brodie on the other side of the hearth where the...

I admit, I'm addicted. With the presidential election campaign in full swing, I have become obsessed with the news. I read the articles, ponder the editorials, and stare into the blue light of the TV as the talking heads comment non-stop on every twist and turn of this election. It's a train wreck…but I just can’t turn away! I can only look forward to the upcoming election as some relief, but I doubt it will be the end of the negativity that pervades the media. This bumper sticker I saw pretty much sums it up: Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket? So I've been rethinking my decision to tune in to the news. Of course, I do think it’s important to be aware of what’s happening around me. I don't want to be like an ostrich and hide my head in the sand. But how do you know when you’ve gone too far? I do love quizzes, so I here is my news watchers quiz: Watching/reading the news makes me feel: 1.      Happy 2.      ...

Tomorrow is the beginning of fall and I am so looking forward to the season. I know January is technically the beginning of the new year, but September always feels to me like the start of the year. Why do I love fall so much?  Well, let me count down the reasons I love the fall!  10.  Sweater weather. I enjoy when the weather starts to cool and it’s time to break out the comfy sweaters. Pair that with leggings and my fuzzy boots and I’m in wardrobe heaven. 9.  Great deals on office supplies.  I love the deals, the smell of fresh binders and notebooks. A new notebook holds endless possibilities! 8.  Rain. Strange as it might sound, I look forward to the rain. What can I say? I’m from the Northwest. I like rain. I especially love to listen to the rain fall on the roof as I drift off the sleep. Of course, by January I’ll be desperate for some sun, but now I’m happy to have a little rain. 7.  Fall colors.  I admit I probably take t...

It's the first question every kid gets asked when they return to school. What did you do this summer?  It starts off as a fun question and usually ends up being the first essay. So as summer is winding down, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights from my summer.  One of the best events for me was the release of If the Earl Only Knew !  I know I'm biased, but I love this book.  Kate is absolutely one of my favorite heroines.  Yes, I like them feisty! Our big vacation/work trip this summer was to drive down to San Diego for the Romance Writers of America Annual Conference. It was truly amazing. So much information, so many good people! Here I am at the Casablanca Author dinner next to Shana Galen and Theresa Romain - both were RITA nominees for  Earls Just Want to Have Fun  and  Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress , respectively. I admit, I was hoping to catch some of the some of the positive mojo from these two talented ladies! ...

I am thrilled to announce the release of If the Earl Only Knew , a new Regency adventure romance and the first in my new Daring Marriages series. Orphaned at a young age, Lady Kate Ashton and her brother have spent most of their lives on the high seas, seeking to restore their family fortune through somewhat dubious means. When Kate is thrust into the treacherous waters of high society, she must rely for help on the one man she is trying to avoid, the Earl of Wynbrook. To the annoyingly clever, temptingly handsome, and altogether troublesome Earl of Wynbrook, society ladies are a dead bore. Kate, on the other hand, is scandalous, alluring, and altogether fascinating. Yet as they delve deeper into the secrets of her past, it awakens a danger that threatens to destroy them both. I LOVE this cover. It is my favorite of any book. Why? Perhaps because this is the first cover to feature just the heroine. And she looks fierce! I love it! That is Lady Kate. She is independent, ...

I confess, I have a problem.  It started innocently enough.  Last December I had a bad cold and spent a week in bed.  Flipping channels I came across HGTV and watched my first home improvement show.  It was amusing. It was fun. It was…addictive. At first I would just watch a little Fixer Upper, you know, just for fun. Then it was Property Brothers, Love It or Leave It, Flip or Flop, and before I knew it I was watching YouTube videos on how to tile a shower at 2am. The worst part was the discontent I now felt towards my own home. Was that peeling linoleum on the floor? Peach tile in the bathroom? And (horror of horrors) laminate counters in the kitchen? Gasp! After a few months I became convinced that not only did my entire house need to be refinished, but that I could remodel my house with nothing but a charge card and my how to videos. Oh yes, I was going to be a Do-It-Yourselfer! Nope. I thought I would start easy. I would replace a door....

What’s on your Christmas list this year? How about a hunky Highlander who needs the find the true meaning of Christmas? Oh yeah, I got it. I am excited to offer my first ever short story: The Highlander’s Noel . Lady Sabine escapes an arranged marriage by traveling from her native France to the Scottish Highlands to be a lady-in-waiting, yet when she arrives a few days before Christmas, she finds she is no longer needed. She cannot remain an unwed lass in a Highland castle so she is given the choice between returning home, joining a convent, or a hasty marriage of convenience. Even worse, Sabine finds that Highlanders do not celebrate her cherished Christmas customs. Sir Braden is the Master at Arms for the MacLaren clan and is assigned to guard Lady Sabine until her situation is resolved. Despite his intention never to marry, Lady Sabine shows him the joy of Christmas and his icy heart starts to melt. Now for the best part - you can get a free read of this short story by ...

Have you ever had a moment in time you wish you could do over? I have a looming deadline to submit my next manuscript, so I decided to take my laptop with me to write on the go. I had the laptop in my purse and left it on a table just for a second and...imagine one of those slow motion moments when you see a priceless item fall and you dive to catch it just in time...except I didn't catch it and my brand new laptop hit the floor.    Noooooooooo! I rushed the patient to the computer repair folks and got the bad news. The motherboard was cracked. Maybe they could retrieve the data. Maybe not. And the laptop was dead. Oh, and it would take several 2-3 days just to see if my data was retrievable. Time to panic! I begged the computer repair folks to work on it faster. I begged them to revive the computer. I may have even offered a ritual sacrifice (yeah, ok, this was not my finest moment). I left the store in a daze, hoping it was all just a bad dream and I would wake ...