Got pictures? Not anymore!

There has been an astonishing amount of blogspeak lately with authors being sued or threatened by photographers for using their copyrighted photos. This is nearly always done without any harmful intent by the author, but it results in nasty lawyer fees. To this end, I am not going to post anymore pictures on my blog unless I took them or if I am positive they are in the public domain. I just wanted to give a heads up to my readers, who may wonder where all the nice pictures have gone!

FREE Excerpt from my new book, Mistletoe & Montana

     Joely emerged from the closet with a sweatshirt held in front of her to shield the fact she was only wearing a pair of bikini panties and the shirt she’d worn beneath her sweater the day before.

     “I was looking for a sweatshirt. Hope you don’t mind.”

     It only took a moment for his gaze to scorch her body, but when he averted his eyes, she felt like she’d just walked too close to a flame.

     “That’s okay. Take whatever you want.” He looked like he wanted to say something more, but then walked out of the bedroom. “I’m going to make some hot chocolate for the kids,” he called. She pulled on the sweatshirt and rushed back to her room to step into her jeans and pull on her boots.

He was in the kitchen, and this time, knew better than to interfere. She perched on a stool while he brought milk to a slow boil and added cocoa powder.

     “Wow, you make it right,” she said.

     “Thanks.” A slow smirk spread across his face. “I know you’re waiting to say something.”

     “No, I’m not.” She was all innocence and smiles.

     “Go on and ask me about her.”

     Her heartbeat jumped, but she pretended she was interested in the salt and pepper shakers instead. “Who? Mrs. Gomez?”

     “Yeah, right.” He got four mugs out of a cabinet and set them in front of her. “I saw your face last night when Molly brought her up. It’s okay. You can ask. I ask you about Matt all the time.”

He’d asked once, and that was after the first story of their dating broke on a cable entertainment show. Ben had shown remarkable calm and restraint, considering their divorce had only finalized a month before. It was only fair that he have a turn in being the one in the spotlight.

     “Okay. Who is Chrissy?”

     “I met her when I went up to the university two years ago to speak at graduation.”
      She wondered if her face blanched. “Is she a student?” It wasn’t possible so much jealousy could fill her until it threatened to explode. All the insecurities of dating the most popular jock in the state, if not the southwest, came back as fresh as when she was a senior in high school.

     “God, no! What do you think I am, a cradle robber?” He flushed a little. “She’s a professor. In the English department. You’d probably like her.”

     “I doubt it,” she said without thinking, then laughed in surprise at the force of her own feelings. Fortunately, he laughed, too. “Is it serious?”
      He shrugged, and poured the hot chocolate into the mugs so deliberately she almost expected to hear him make a wedding announcement.

     “Not anymore. She took a job teaching in London.”

     Not anymore. She sipped her drink too quickly, scalding her throat in the process. “The kids met her, apparently?”

     “She came by over the summer. To say goodbye.” He picked up two of the mugs and started walking out of the kitchen. “Come outside. I’ll let you throw a snowball at me.”

     “Aw, you don’t have to be so nice,” she said drily, but picked up the other mugs and followed him outdoors.

Mistletoe and Montana can be found exclusively in the Amazon Kindle Store!

Cool Summer Reading - My New Novella!

I wanted to write some shorter stories to kill time between the big book releases, and have succeeded with my first, a Christmas story called MISTLETOE AND MONTANA! I tend to write contemporary novels that deal with reunions of some kind or another, and forgiveness and looking forward to the future are key themes. In M&M, I was inspired by Ashton Kutcher leaving Demi Moore. I always thought she was better off with Bruce, and got the idea for a story based on the idea of her going back to Bruce. Of course, my hero, Ben, is a former football star, and my heroine, Joely, isn't a big actress, but that's where the inspiration came from.
This is my first foray into "Indie Publishing" and I'm very excited to have done the cover, editing, and complete packaging on my own. So if you enjoy heartwarming, sweet romances, this one's for you. I'd love to know what you think!

Mistletoe & Montana

IN THE ARMS OF AN EARL - new romance in 2013!

I was so happy and excited to sign a contract with The Wild Rose Press for my new regency-set historical romance. The release date is TBA but looks like 2013. In the meantime, here's a little bit of info about my new story.

Are you tired of the perfect "alpha" heroes who look and act the same? Tall, dark and handsome gets old after a while, so my new hero, Frederick Blakeney, is different. How? He's missing his left hand, which was wounded in the War of 1812. Unfortunately, our handsome Frederick is also a musical prodigy, so his injury has left him emotionally battered. Enter shy, withdrawn Ella, whose love of music helps Frederick find what he's been missing in life.

I haven't read many novels beyond Jane Eyre where the hero is scarred with something more than superficial, and it was challenging to create a hero who is both sexy and troubled, intriguing and unique.

What gave me the idea to write what I hope will be a new breed of hero? I was at Busch Gardens a few years ago and saw a handsome, sexy man with blue eyes and that trademark shaved blonde hair that told me he was a soldier. He was missing both legs, but I could see from his smiles and laughter that he was enjoying life. I realized it's not having all one's limbs that makes a man a man. And the same should go for literary heroes, too.

It's especially poignant that I'm posting this on the 4th of July. Won't you thank a soldier today? And remember all of the real heroes, abroad and at home, who fight for us every day.