From my paranormal novella Guarding His Heart, one of the awesome Wiccan Haus series. This week, I'm cheating and giving you four sentences instead of three. Enjoy!

Trevor Greene, injured again while protecting a charge, recuperates at Wiccan Haus. His leg wound almost healed, he's relaxing by the pool when the island's head of security Rekkus arrives with a message about his new assignment, who's already on the island.

Special guest? Shit, was it one of the Syndicate’s big wigs this time? Can’t be. I
can’t even successfully protect a little boy. They wouldn’t give me one of the chairmen
to guard.


Come back next week for more magic!

1. How does your writing impact your inner life?
I live a hectic, routine and generally undramatic life. It's the way I like it. Generally. But this mother of two, happily married wife craves adventure and magic. 

Writing inspires me. I can walk through a doorway to another world in my mind and live another life through my characters. Anything is possible, magic pervades every scene, sparkles in the air.

2. How do you hope your books affect your readers?
I hope to take them on a magnificent emotional ride that always ends with a happy ending. We all need an escape where we see ourselves in someone else's struggles, where we can celebrate another's success in overcoming adversity. I hope we can remember that no one is perfect and even flawed individuals deserve second chances for love and happiness. Most of all, I want to celebrate diversity. No matter a person's race, creed or heritage, we are all more alike than different. And different makes life so much more interesting.

3. Has anyone ever told you your book changed their life? If so, how?    
As a newly published writer, I haven't had the pleasure of such a statement. I do love when my critique partners tell me they love a particular scene or metaphor. That is pure magic.

Hop on over to Rebekah Ganiere's blog to discover how she's feels about impacting her readers! I bet she wants heart and soul, blood and passion.

From my paranormal novella Guarding His Heart, one of the awesome Wiccan Haus series. This week, I'm cheating and giving you four sentences instead of three. Enjoy!

Trevor Greene injured again protecting a charge, recuperates at Wiccan Haus. His leg wound almost healed, he's relaxing by the pool when the island's head of security Rekkus arrives with news.

     “When do I have to go back?”
     A slight smirk curled the other man’s lip.          “You don’t. Your new charge is
right here on the island.”

Thank the gods this hot hunk of hero didn't die. What a waste that would be. Come back next week and find out more about the sexy to-die-for Trevor Greene.

From my paranormal novella Guarding His Heart, one of the awesome Wiccan Haus series. This week, I'm giving you five sentences instead of three. Enjoy!

Cassidy Sinclair and her class of first graders hasten to elude a gunman in their school. Her student Allan Branson has a  bodyguard who comes to their rescue and fights the attacker.  In the instant after he's shot, she swears he changes to something else. She blinks and he's the same quiet man on the floor, bleeding from a mortal wound.

Fear balled in her throat, choking her, as she checked the wound. It still gushed, so she pressed harder.

“Cassie, I’m sorry.”

His voice, just a whisper, trailed off.

He was gone.


Come back next week for more. What will Cassidy do next? How will she deal with the loss of her sense of safety? Will she tell anyone what she saw?

Romance Weekly's Authors answer questions about serious and non-so-serious aspects of writing. Enjoy! This week's questions come from JJ Devine. 

When someone finds out you’re an author, how do you handle the statement, “I have a story you should write”?
This doesn't happen much. Many of my friends are writers. If they have a great idea, they use it or jot it down in their story file to write at a later date. Friends have suggested plot twists or that I use a situation in a story but never offered a plot to me to write. If a person ever did, I'd propose that he or she would have a better perspective for writing the story themselves and offer assistance and resources. Maybe he or she has a writer trapped inside just aching to be set free!

Do you write what you read?
Well, I read what I write  (paranormal and contemporary) and what I call "Men's Fiction".  I am drawn to stories with magic but where the hero or heroine must find the answer within themselves to save the day versus relying only on any special powers. Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island trilogy is my favorite. She is a master at crafting a trilogy or series with that overarching theme/impending doom conflict. I especially love that the women are not actual sisters, but sisters in the craft and sisters in friendship.

I also read adventure, thriller and mystery, which I'll call "Men's Fiction" because there's romance only where it suits the story. Hardly ever. My favorite authors are Brad Thor, Matthew Reilly, Brad Meltzer, Clive Cussler, Steve Berry, Lee Child and James Rollins. I love a book that grabs me by the throat and takes me on a runaway train ride of a story. All of these authors have books so well researched and written that I learn something new-and sometimes frightening-with the break-neck fast-paced plot. These men write the kind of men who are heroes in my stories: strong, moral but flawed men who stand up for what is right, even if it may not be lawful.

People often mistake the lifestyle of a writer as glamorous, give us the scoop, what about your lifestyle would shock your readers?  

The only scoop: I'm personally pretty inhibited. I let loose with my heroes and heroines.

Nothing about my lifestyle would shock a reader. I have a family and husband who require much tending and nurturing so I'm not sitting around popping bon bons and sipping champagne. Even if I could, it's not me. I'm totally down-to-earth and my ideal afternoon is curling up beneath a tree with a good book or working in the garden. I would say most authors are a bit more introverted and introspective. I definitely am a people watcher, a ponderer and a thinker. I am more comfortable in jeans and t-shirt than sequins and heels so I do not qualify for the glamorous life. 

This is what the actual writing process looks like much of the time:

From my paranormal novella Guarding His Heart, one of the awesome Wiccan Haus series.


Last week, Cassidy and her class of first graders were attempting to elude a gunman. The bodyguard of one of her students had not only found them and intercepted the bullet meant for her and his charge, but had revealed a secret ability. We left her with a decision to make: Escape to safety or save the man with a beast within...

She pushed off the wall she’d been glued to and hurried to him, pressing hard against the red stain on his jeans.

“Cassie. You should go.”

She met his potent sea blue gaze, caught in how pale his face had turned, struggling to make the pieces of what she’d witnessed fit in her reality. 


Return next week to see what happens. Will she save him?

1. Do you have a recurring theme in your work, either intentional or unintentional? What is it and why do you think you chose that particular theme?
Magic is a common theme in my work. Love is a kind of magic and everything is possible with both. It is stepping into the unknown and dangerous. Love (and magic) can be glorious and exciting or it can be treacherous and tear us apart. Sometimes we take the chance and sometimes we are thrust into the situation by forces beyond our ken. 
Trust and honor and honesty are also themes because these are the building blocks for a solid relationship foundation. Naturally, human foibles and past experiences provide roadblocks and speed bumps in the crooked path to a Happily Ever After. Without those, it wouldn't be close to reality!

2. Do you carefully plot your stories, or do you plot as you write? Why do you think this particular ethos works for you?
I'm a hybrid plotter/pantser. And it depends on the story. Some pour out of me, like a flood following a long winter. Some start as a basic "what if" and I have to build it. Last year, I read the 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt and I used it to plot out my work-in-progress ghost story. This book is genius for getting to know your characters and letting the natural conflicts reveal themselves. I found that I don't have to work for plot twists because the questions posed in the book help me develop a depth to the heroes and antagonists. I also think you need to use whatever model works best for you.

3. Is there a particular genre (within romance) you could never write? Why?   
I don't write dom/submissive and can't see myself doing so. It is impossible to see myself allowing someone that much control over my body and mind. This is not to say I don't see a committed couple using role play as part of their foreplay and lovemaking. I mean, who wouldn't love to be ravaged by a hot pirate or taken by the  rogue highlander? Men find it incredibly sexy to have a shy retiring lady turn the tables and get wicked and wild with them. But an entire relationship where I have no say? This strong independent woman can't do it so I don't write it. 

Hop on over to visit the fabulous and fantastic J.J. Devine's blog to find out how she writes and what she can't bring herself to compose.