Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Since we're talking about first kisses this month, I figured I post the first kiss scene from Hero . The problem with the first kisses I've written is that they're, well, let's just say I had to clean it up a bit for this particular blog. But I think you'll still get the general idea. To set the scene, Trag and Micayla have been denying the attraction they feel for one another, but as the tagline says, "She's the last of her kind... and the only one for him." Everyone is counting on them to mate, but both of them are resisting it to the bitter end. To give you an idea of just how long they've been denying the attraction, this scene falls near the end of Chapter 13. They've just left a discussion with some of their friends where it has come to light that, with the exception of Kyra, who is now his brother's mate and for whom Trag is still carrying a torch, Trag has only done the deed with hookers. The inference is made that he can only get i...

Are we still talking about change? Or maybe it's the back to school theme. I can't remember, but I'm ready for a change right now. Too bad I can't think of anything to write for either one. But you all know what I do when I can't think of anything to write, don't you? Wait for it. . . . Hold on. . . . No peeking now. . . . . There! That ought to do it! *sigh* I feel much better now! I'm heading to Dale Hollow Lake today with my buddies from the hospital, and the only place I can get internet is at the dock or at the Dairy Queen, so I may not be commenting much this week. We've made this trip plenty of times before, but there's been way too much change going on at our hospital lately, (most of it NOT GOOD AT ALL!!!!) and we need some new scenery very badly! A little down time watching movies and drifting on the lake will help some, but the readjustment when we get back will be even tougher than usual. Speaking of going back to school, we got my son, ...

I'd say it's time to break out the bubbly, but I think just looking at that cover is enough to get anyone in the mood to celebrate! When I was signing books at RWA in Orlando this past week, I told a lot of folks how much I loved my covers, and Anne Cain is the genius responsible for them. What's inside, however, is my contribution. I know a lot of readers have been chomping at the bit for Trag's book, but at last, the wait is over. I haven't found it for sale as an ebook or on Kindle yet, but hopefully that's coming soon! This was to have been the swan song of The Cat Star Chronicles, but there are now three more books in the works, and though I think you'll love the next guys just as much, Trag is THE hero of the series, and when you read it, you'll find out why. Speaking of Orlando, my author's copies of Hero were waiting for me when I got home yesterday. They're absolutely beautiful!!!! The blog tour kicks off here today, but there are also ...

Can you spot it hiding there among the flowers? And if you do, could you capture it with your bare hands? Probably not. We probably all think we pursue happiness on a daily basis, but for the most part, what we're actually doing is just getting through the day. I used to believe that if I reached a point where all of my work was done and my obligations fulfilled, I could then do only the things that I wanted to do, and my happiness would be complete. However, I've been there (briefly) a time or two in my life, only to discover that I'd forgotten what it was I wanted to do that would make me so happy. I learned a long time ago that acquiring material things won't bring lasting happiness. It seems fabulous for a while, but then the feeling wears off and you have to find something else to wish for. Eventually, you run out of wishes and have nowhere to turn for happiness, which is a very sad place to be. There are many activities that I enjoy, but finding the time to do th...

A friend of mine sent me this in an email yesterday, and I thought it was quite funny in light of the line of work I'm in. If you can't find the book you're looking for.... You're probably at the.... I wonder if Wong carries copies of the Cat Star Chronicles? Something tells me he wouldn't, so if you're looking for Slave or Outcast, this sentiment probably holds true. Hey, didn't I just do this? It couldn't be my turn to blog again so soon, could it? It MUST be a mistake! But, no, it's on the calendar. . . . and I can't argue with the calendar, can I? Blogging and I have become good friends over the past year or so. I write a blog nearly every day and some days I write several. So when do I write the books, you may ask? My reply is that I have no FOOK HING idea! Well, actually, I do, for though I occasionally stagger forth from my desk to make dinner or go save some lives, the truth is, like most writers, I pretty much sit at a desk in front ...

I'm writing this on Wednesday morning after missing a call from our dear editor Tuesday afternoon while I was out cutting the grass--and after I'd returned her call only to get her answering machine. This was, as you might imagine, a call I'd been waiting for since September 20th when I sent in the manuscript for the sixth book in the Cat Star Chronicles series, Hero. Right now, my hands and feet are cold and I feel an odd fluttering in my chest. How I managed to sleep last night is a mystery. This morning I had to get up early to go to a unit meeting at the hospital. My friend, Suzy, called me at 6:45 and told me not to come. It was cold, dark, and raining and she was sure that nothing very important would be covered at the meeting (she was right), but I went anyway just to give myself something to do before I could make that call. Now I'm writing this blog to kill time before I call her again. I hate being on pins and needles, but in all honesty, I've felt that w...

I find it amazing that anyone can come up with a tagline like that just from reading a synopsis that isn't even very accurate. If you're like me, it's not over til it's over and the synopsis that I start out with is NOT the one that gets handed in with the finished manuscript. Still, this is the gist of the relationship between Trag and Micayla. And, yes, sports fans, there is a FEMALE Zetithian in this one, and Trag (that engaging other brother in Rogue ) is her Hero. I won't tell you what else he does because that would be too much of a spoiler, but trust me, he's a hero in the truest sense of the word. Harrison Ford's heroes are like that. Just regular guys in extraordinary circumstances who rise to the occasion. I remember in one lesser known and poorly reviewed movie called Hanover Street , Ford plays an American pilot who rescues the husband of his lover, an English nurse. At one point, the husband, played by Christopher Plummer, remarks that Ford is...

I've been busy working on the final edits to Fugitive and tweaking the Hero manuscript, but lately I've also been doing a bit of reading on the side. I read Cindy's Treasures of Venice and enjoyed it very much. Before that, I read Marie's Love at First Flight , Kendra's Wild Highland Magic , and Beth's Healing Luke , and I'm currently reading Amelia's A Marquis to Marry . I've ordered Fire Me, and Loving Mr. Darcy . Over the course of the past couple of years I've read just about all of the Casa Babes' books and one thing is becoming clear: We're not just getting older, we're getting better! Not that our first books were terrible by any means, but I can see a definite improvement. I hope my own books are improving with each experience, but I suppose that only time, and the readers, will tell. My biggest difficulty right now is coming up with stories and heroes for the next three books in The Cat Star Chronicles series. Originall...

"Just when I think I don't know where a story is headed, some tiny detail comes back to me, and it takes on a life of its own." If anyone was ever going to quote me on something, that would be the quote I'd like for them to use because it describes my writing process to a T. How often have I given a character a particular skill or talent that I had no particular plans for, but just when I think I've lost my way, I suddenly remember that trait and, voila! the answer pops into my head. It's as though the secret to the saving of the day was there all along, just biding its time, waiting for me to see it. When that happens, the rest of the tale simply clicks into place and all I have to do is write it. That's happened to me several times during the writing of Hero , my current WIP. Sometimes I get stuck and I have to leave it for a few days, but during that time, my brain has been chipping away at the problem so that when I come back to it, the answer is right...

Vacation is over for another year, and I'm back at work this weekend. I was scheduled to be off for another six days after we got home from Myrtle Beach, but on the drive back to Indiana, I started coughing and was sicker than a dog by the time I got home. So, after seven days of fun in the sun (during which the sinus trouble I've had since Easter actually cleared up), I got another week of sniffing, sneezing, stuffy head misery. Like most things in this life, there's a trade-off. For every up, there is a down, and for every yin, a yang. Outcast has had it's launch, and I should be getting Fugitive from the copyeditor soon, but now, I'm back to writing the next installment in the series, Hero. I'm trying to learn from the comments of readers and reviewers as I write, and also from those of editors and copyeditors. I hope I'm improving as a writer, but I sometimes worry that if I try to please everyone, I'll end up making no one happy, especially mysel...