As I mentioned in an earlier post, my original plan for the Children of Night series was to create a sort of cozy mystery series—with vampire PIs. I’ve been trying to write cozy mysteries for years now, and it never works out. This was no different. Which is not to suggest I’m unhappy with the […]
I was thrilled when my publisher announced they were putting In the Dark on sale, just in time for Halloween. Several books in the series take place (at least in part) at this time of year, so it seems especially fitting. However, a few of my vampires harbor a dislike for the holiday. They find […]
In the Dark was definitely one of my favorite books to write. Usually, I know where I’m going when I sit down to write. Not this time. Instead, the characters took over and completely rewrote the story to suit themselves. When I started writing, I thought this was going to be a fairly straight-forward mystery–the […]
Are you a fan of serials? Ever since my first book came out, I’ve had reviewers comment that my books would make great serial reads. Unfortunately, there hasn’t always been a viable market for stories that are released one episode at a time. Now, thanks to Radish Fiction, that seems to be changing. I currently […]
I’ve always been something of a dendrophile—that’s a lover of trees, in case you’re wondering. I come by it honestly. When my parents were building the house in which I grew up, my mother was adamant that as few trees as possible be cut down. In addition, there was a vacant lot next to our […]
I love telling the story of how I first came up with the idea for my book IRON. I was taking part in an online chat when the question was posed: “What’s the most unlikely pairing you can imagine for a hero/heroine?” At the time, I’d been researching wrought iron for a character who had […]
Wouldn’t you know it? It seems that most of my Irish and/or St Patrick’s Day themed stories are currently unavailable as yet another of my publishers gets ready to go out of business. Luckily, however, we still have the Walsh Clan cousins at the Wild Geese Inn–although these stories will be going away too, at […]
January 1, 2001 Julie pulled the string on another party popper. Confetti shot across the living room, accompanied by a faint smell of gunpowder. Marc sighed wearily. “C’mon, Jules. Don’t you think that’s enough now?” “It’s New Year’s Eve,” Julie replied, stubbornly setting off another one. Tangled strings of paper floated lightly to earth, and […]
December 31, 1999 New Year’s Eve Damian leaned against the railing of the second-floor balcony and cast a jaded eye over the crowded ballroom below. The decorations were a tad overdone, in his opinion. Gaudy gold-and-silver Mylar festooned every surface—the bar, the tables, even the walls. The glare all but blinded him. Overhead, a billowing […]
New Year’s Eve, 1981 Try as he might, Conrad could not decide which aspect of tonight’s event was the most aggravating. The lights had been an early contender. They glared blindingly at him from nearly every wall, every surface, every fixture in his house, making him yearn for the past, for those halcyon centuries long […]
I’m not giving them away (although there is a free read related to the series on my blog: http://rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com/p/free-reads.html) but two of the books in my Children of Night series are heavily NYE-centric. Now Comes the Night (book three in the series) opens with a flashback to NYE 1969 and also contains a flashback to […]
My second temporary free read is Inked Memories–which also occurs over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday week. Not that my characters paid the holiday much attention, being as they were otherwise occupied. 😉 Head on over to Instafreebie and grab it quick (this giveaway ends January 8). https://www.instafreebie.com/free/eE2l7 Blurb: All Sophie wants is a tattoo […]
Are you ready for a GREAT 2018? I so am. And to get things started right, I’ve got a couple of freebies for you. The first is my story Sea Change, which is a sequel novella to my Oberon series. You can find it on Instafreebie between now and midnight on January 8. https://www.instafreebie.com/free/Ky3Dd Love is […]
Blurb: Nineteenth century Ireland. Blacksmith Gavin O’Malley is a bitter man, with a heart as hard as the iron he forges. He wants his life back—the one that was stolen from him the day his wife died in childbirth—taking their firstborn son with her. When Aislinn Deirbhile, an immortal, shape-shifting fae, arrives on his doorstep, […]
Here’s a snippet from the third book in the Children of Night series, Now Comes the Night. In this scene, vampire Julie hangs out with her human lover and his son. Blurb: You can choose your lover…if only you could choose your family. Twins Julie and Marc Fischer have always been taught one fact: You […]
One of my favorite Christmas cookie scenes can be found in the first book of my Children of Night vampire series, In the Dark… Blurb: When you live forever, a few mistakes are bound to happen. Vampire Conrad Quintano has been around for centuries — long enough to know falling for a human is a […]
It’s kind of surprising how often my heroes bake cookies. But, at Christmas it almost seems inevitable. Here’s Aldo–one of the heroes of my futuristic holiday menage Finders Keepers–baking one of my personal favorites. Blurb: Sometimes finding what you want is the easy part. Caleb is a bionic soldier with little-to-no memory of his past. […]
Here’s a glimpse of how my steampunk family might have celebrated Christmas a hundred and forty seven years ago. After the excerpt, there’s also a link to a free story (a prequel of sorts) featuring the same characters. Blurb: Santa Fe, The Republic of New Texacali, 1870 Eight years ago, Ophelia Leonides’s husband cast her […]
Blurb: Nineteenth century Ireland. Blacksmith Gavin O’Malley is a bitter man, with a heart as hard as the iron he forges. He wants his life back—the one that was stolen from him the day his wife died in childbirth—taking their firstborn son with her. When Aislinn Deirbhile, an immortal, shape-shifting fae, arrives on his doorstep, he […]
Blurb: ‘Tis the season to be jolly, but Jasmine Quinn is far from happy about her mother’s latest folly: her upcoming wedding to former Wall Street financier, Sam Sterling. Jasmine doesn’t like her future stepfather, or his values. Anybody with as much money as Sam, should be spreading it around, aiding worthy causes, making it […]
Here’s a timely excerpt from The Oak King to heat up the year’s longest night… Blurb: Twice each year, Aine Murphy ventures into the woods to hold ceremonies to honor the Oak King and the Holly King, never dreaming these Lords of the Forest could be anything more than myth. When the legends spring to […]
Chay Johnson is a traditional man; and the educator, flute maker, apprentice shaman has a lot of traditions to uphold, especially when it comes to choosing a life mate. Erin Allridge is a modern woman, with modern ideas about relationships and a painful personal history she has no intention of repeating. When terror and tragedy […]
Of all the mistakes Conrad Quintano has made, driving Damian away is the one that haunts him the most. He hates the fact that’s he’s hurt the man he loves more than anything. For the sake of the twins, though, Conrad and Damian parent as a united front, a challenge that grows more and more […]
San Francisco, 1969. Vampire Conrad Quintano has been around for centuries—long enough to know that falling for a human is a terrible idea. Much less falling for adventure-seeking hippie Desert Rose. An even more terrible idea? Agreeing to raise her babies and protect them with his life. Present day. Marc and Julie Fischer have always […]
Of all the mistakes Conrad Quintano has made, driving Damian away is the one that haunts him the most. He hates the fact that’s he’s hurt the man he loves more than anything. For the sake of the twins, though, Conrad and Damian parent as a united front, a challenge that grows more and more […]
