In less than a month, I will be at the Golden Crown Literary Conference in Las Vegas. I'm beyond excited! I get to see my friends and meet new ones and it's just such a feel good time for me. For everybody really. There's always something going on so I probably won't sleep for days. 

Forget Me Not is up for a Goldie this year. This is my first Goldie Nomination and I'm thrilled beyond words. It was a fun book to write and has one of my favorite endings. 

If you are going to attend the conference and we haven't met, find me! I love meeting new readers and writers. 

I almost think Beth Burnett and I are in a hugging war?!?! Could this be true??  Stay tuned to find out...

Check list:

Writing style - first person, PAST tense (first time in past tense)
Characters - Butch/Femme  
Plot - Kennedy Wells is well put together - in the city. In rural America, she's a hot mess!  She's forever making the wrong decisions. Sexy ranger Brynn Coleman is close-by for all of the mishaps and saves Kennedy more than once.
Animals - I love animals and will including them in most of my books
​Wally - see above (animals)
Sex - yes. I don't fade to black and have at least 3 scenes. I love writing the start of relationships because the characters are trying to figure out one another's likes and c'mon... there's always a ton of sex in the beginning...
Intrigue - there's a twist in the story! I never have intrigue - it messes with my fluffy romance, but this book took a turn.
HEA - of course! I wouldn't have it any other way. 
Feedback - so far, so good! 

Touch has been in the top 100 for Amazon lesbian romance books for six weeks. That's incredible! Fantastic! I love everybody who bought it, liked it, reviewed it (or not) and is with me on this journey. 

I write romance because I am a dreamer and I love love. The concept of forever is a beautiful thing. Getting that to happen is the journey. I like discovering characters and watching them blossom in a story I'm writing. Right now, I'm in the middle of Listen and my character is severely flawed. She has anxiety to the point it affects her every single day. I'm anxious to find out how she turns out. I'm obviously going to steer her in the right direction, but learning her quirks and struggles is fascinating.

Writers are often introverts. We struggle with constant contact with people. A lot of the time, we need to get away from the noise so we can settle down. I enjoy spending time with my friends, but I have to really work at socializing during events I attend. That's why it's so important to me to talk to readers. Then we have a bond and I'm not so nervous during a reading or panel discussion. We are just as nervous as you are. You have to make the first move though. I'd hate to approach a reader and find out that she doesn't like my style of writing or just doesn't read me. We are at your mercy. 

GCLS is a few months away. Lone Star Lesfic is next month.  I encourage you to meet the writers you want to. We love hearing how our stories affected you. We are there to meet you and be heard. So, come find us and let's talk!

I'm halfway through Breakthrough edits and I really like this story. It has everything you want - romance, love, a mystery of sorts, and a really cute fur baby. I dabbled into intrigue with this one. It's not crazy or even what the story is about - it just kind of happened. My character, Kennedy Wells, is a celebrity journalist who made a bad decision and has been at her boss' mercy for six months writing crap about washed up famous people who nobody cares about. One more horrible story assignment and then she's free and clear to get back to her glamorous job she loves so much. 

It takes place in Alaska - a place I love and will visit time and time again. Kennedy lives in Los Angeles so it's definitely a culture shock when she arrives in Anchorage and has to deal with life in a different way. Long story short, she gets her ass kicked by Alaska, falls in love with a park ranger, and there's a happy ending. Some of my funniest lines are in this book. My personality comes out because I've been around long enough to relax a bit on the page. I like it when a book makes me laugh out loud. I hope to do this with Breakthrough for my readers. 

Also, this book is the first book that is first person past tense. It's easier to write and sounds better. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. 2018 is a busy year for me. I have 3 things (possibly 4) that will be released this year: 

Touch - January 2018
Breakthrough - May 2018
Against All Odds - Fall 2018
Listen (3rd in the sensory series) - Winter 2018/2019

I've given myself three months to finish Listen. This story is kind of a stretch for me because my character is seriously flawed and I like perfection. Lily Croft is near and dear to my heart because she struggles with social anxiety. As soon as my blurb is approved, I'll post, but just know that this love story is a little darker, a little sadder than the others. The ending will still bring a smile to your face, but the journey might weigh a little bit on your heart. 

So tonight, Megan Ullrich, Maggie Cummings, and yours truly are going to Skype until we finish editing Against All Odds. I think you're gonna like it. It has everything you want - romance, heat, intrigue, and kind of a cool ending. So instead of just my fluffy story, you get Maggie's perfectly crafted scenes and a splash of Megan's fuckery. You know what I'm talking about. The stuff that makes you go.... wha?????? Oh yeah, and there are a few animals because I can't seem to write anything without at least a cat, or a dog, or a raccoon. Wish us luck!  

So during the winters, I hibernate. We all know this. During the summers, I want to be outside and enjoy the sunshine, but I can't. I'm the kid who blisters in the sun. My skin turns pink and peels. Right now, I'm in the back corner of a dark coffee shop sulking. Everyone is outside having fun in the sun and I'm wondering if my face cream has SPF or not so that I can sit outside for ten minutes. 

So, instead of frolicking outside, I sit and write. I have a busy schedule this summer. Touch edits are due Monday and 40K words on Breakthrough is due in a month. And I'm struggling with writing in past tense. Breakthrough is a story I started in third, switched to first present, and got the contract to write it in first past. Editing a present tense book and writing a past tense book at the same time is hard. 

Even if I could enjoy the sun, I'm forced to stay indoors because of my deadlines. Remind me next summer to take a break!

First person isn't everybody's favorite read. I get it. We aren't used to it. We grew up reading Dick and Jane and Cat In the Hat. Our text books were all third person, informative pages we crammed in our brains.

First person is a different way to read and process a story. It's not something we are used to. It takes time to open up and let all of the rules of third person leave our conscious mind and allow first person to enter. 

I like getting into the mind of a character and focus on feelings and emotions. Yes, describing a tree swaying in the breeze brings imagery to your mind and can be written beautifully, but my story isn't about a tree. It's about the person sitting underneath it or the girl who walked by it. Why is she crying? Are they happy or sad tears? Did she have an argument? I love that part. I like my readers to be right there in the story with my characters. I want them to feel angst, anger, love, happiness, satisfaction, and all emotions within her story. 

First person is a challenge. I love that more and more writers are trying it. I hope that readers continue to support us and understand that while it might not be their favorite way to read a story, there is a story there that needs to be heard. 

Right now I am knee deep in page proofs for Forget Me Not AND I'm writing TOUCH. I'm doing both at the same time because I don't want to stop writing. My story is finally getting into a groove. Touch is about a pediatric physical therapist who agrees to work on a 28 year old hockey player with a broken leg and fractured ankle as a favor to her boss. There is a lot of touching and healing. It's a sweet story and I am at the exciting part where they are close to having sex. i love the learning that two people experience with one another at the beginning of a relationship. It's new, exciting, FRESH! This book is about a new relationship, and has very little to do with hockey. For the record, I know so very little about hockey. After this book, I will still only know a very little bit about hockey. If you like a good, old fashioned love story, you will enjoy this book. I will have it ready for Women's Week - at least 2 months before release date. 

Also, today I found out that TASTE, the first book in the sensory series, will be out on audio book this spring. I"m guessing March. So, audio book and Forget Me Not - all available by April 1, 2017. 

PHASE 1

Phase 2... coming soon....

I'm both excited and terrified about tomorrow. I've already decided to go see a movie tomorrow after work. I can't be around the TV or social media. I am the world's most impatient person. I want this election to be over. If I was running for office, I would campaign with cute dog, goat or kitten videos the last week leading up to the election because everybody is tired of all of this mud slinging and fighting. This has been the ugliest campaign I can recall. So, do your thing and go vote. Having lived overseas for several years of my life, I know the importance of voting and what a privilege it really is. Democracy isn't everywhere. Exercise your right to vote. Be proud. Be American. Be with her.