I’ve always thought of myself as more of a night owl than a morning person.  I’m not even talking about my 20s and 30s when I’d go out to clubs with friends until 2, 3, 4 in the morning and then catch a few hours of sleep before getting up to go to work.  Even 15 years ago when I was in my late 30s, I’d stay up until 1 in the morning every night playing on the computer, surfing the ‘net, chatting with friends, etc.

I loved the days when I was a freelance writer and didn’t have to get up early to arrive at an office by 8:30 or 9 a.m.  I could make my own hours and sleep-in whenever I wanted.

In recent years, I’ve found that I get sleepy earlier than way back when.  Still, it’s usually between 11:30 p.m. and midnight before...

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I’m not sure when exactly the trend tipped, but at some point in the past couple of decades, romance heroines started to become more…normal looking. More like the kinds of ugly ducklings most of us are: we’re not gonna turn … Continue reading →...

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There are two kinds of authors. (Well, really, a bazillion kinds, but in this particular case, usually two.)

There are authors who love writing first drafts and hate doing revisions. And authors who love doing revisions but hate first drafts. There may be some who love both, but I haven't met one yet :-)

The authors who hate the revision part call it "Revision Hell." And I am usually one of them. But something interesting happened while I was working on my latest book, SEEDS OF CHANGE. I kinda, sorta enjoyed the revision process. I'll tell you why.

Let me start with a confession. (No, not about that. We're not talking about my personal life here.) My confession is this: I don't tend to do a lot of revision. Or at least, I don't do big post-first draft revis...

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The fabulous Romance Author Hotspot had invited me to Guest Blog about my creepy, psychological thriller, Her Forgotten Betrayal (availabe in June!).

I’m bringing Gothic overtones to the Dead Sexy suspense line launch for Entangled Publishing. And I’m getting lots of questions about my writing background, how it plays into what I’m doing with Dead Sexy, and about Shaw Cassidy’s story. Click over to learn more. Leave a comment for your chance to WIN a free download of Her Forgotten Betrayal, once it goes up for sale. And, basically, enjoy a few minutes of “Dark and stormy night…” in the midst of your beautiful, sunny Wednesday ;o)

Don’t forget to fol...

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Last week I spent a shift with one of Nashville’s finest. If I’m going to have cops as characters in my novels, I’d like to make them believable.

During the course of the day, I asked lots of questions. Off the top of my head, here are a few police myths I can debunk after my extensive one-shift experience.

Give someone a badge and a gun and they’re a cop; train ‘em whenever. Not in OUR town. After a lengthy hiring process, recruits spend twenty-two weeks in basic training. After graduation, they field train for another six months with full time officers in preparation for solo patrol. In addition, all officers must complete a minimum of continuing education annually (just like doctors). Cops aren’t friendly â€...

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