*** Blood Money is the sequel to Burnout, my very first published novel—an exciting moment, to be sure! Ironically, Burnout was initially a stand-alone book with no series in mind. But when a multi-book contract came a calling I adapted, and with the quick stroke of a pen a contract…
Category: Suspense
Behind the Book: Dancing with the Shadows “Bad is never bigger than good. It’s a trick, a game of shadows.” Our minds are the most amazing things. When I started listing everything they can do, it seemed limitless. Creating, solving, imagining. Loving, hoping, believing. Doing, thinking, understanding. With…
Crayons, glue sticks, and last year’s wrapping paper Writing the chaotic dinner scene in An Untouchable Christmas, I channeled the Christmases from my childhood. Christmas was a big deal growing up, with my mother doing everything in her power—even when money was tight—to give everyone a “perfect” Christmas; occasionally going…
Why fear throws spitballs and we must hit them out of the ballpark. I loved, hated, cried, pouted like a denied toddler writing Bound to the Bounty Hunter. I love the story; I adore the characters. I’d plant my butt, suck back Coke Zero, stare at the screen. So…
“Betrayed By a Kiss” started with a memory of the movie, “Marnie”, directed by Hitchcock, starring Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery (in his prime, yum). At its core, it was a story about a woman seeking happiness, billed as a romance, but was so much more. “Mystery! Sex! Murder!” A…
Oftentimes, characters develop fully while I’m plotting or writing. They start out rather nebulous (ie—alpha male with anger issues) and grow into “people” as the story progresses (and edits reinforce things). But every once in a while, I get lucky and meet a person where my very first thought upon…
From my staring-at-a-blank-page point of view, writing Romantic Suspense is double the work and double the fun. There’s still only one hero and one heroine, but woven within their story of getting together is one of survival from whatever bit of danger I decide to toss their way. Of…
I admit I don’t play a lot of Pokemon Go, but I’m not opposed to running through the neighborhood with the kids in search of an elusive Charizard. I personally am horrible at catching anything. I was also the girl on the side of the lake with no fish…
What if you were a woman who’d never had a chance to develop her own interests, who took on the interests of the men in your life, but failed to create your own identity? What if you’d lived through tragedy after tragedy until you said “enough is enough!” and…
How prepared are you for an emergency? If a major storm, earthquake or fire should occur, do you have a go-bag ready? If you were given ten or twenty minutes to pack your most important worldly possessions, what would you take? This wasn’t a mental exercise for me in…