Last month I kicked off my Undercover Operatives series with the release of SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE, and I shared a peek into the gossipy fun that goes on in the small town of Black Oak as the town’s two Information Matriarchs (much classier than gossips, right?) dished the dirt on the return of bad boy, Caleb Black.   And boy, oh boy is the dirt dishing now that he’s not only back, but engaged.  Just when the ladies are ready to settle back and start rehashing the shocking events of the last month, Black Oak gets another shocking visit.  Not only is Maya Black back, but she’s brought her own sexy entertainment along as well.

Wanna hear what Hazel and Hortense had to say about this newest twist?  It went something like this…

Shifting irritably in her favorite chair, Hazel tapped her spoon impatiently on the side of her teacup.  She wasn’t sure what bothered her more.  That her guest for morning tea was later, or that things had been so exciting lately, morning tea was likely the only bright bit of excitement she had to look forward to for the next little while. 

Before she could take a sip, though, the front door opened and shut with a snap.  Less than a minute later, her neighbor and dear friend–bless her, she’d gained at least five pounds over Christmas–was seated next to her pouring tea.

“I know, I know,” Hortense said waving one pudgy hand before Hazel could issue a complaint.  “I’m late.  But I had to give my grandbabies extra kisses goodbye, didn’t I.  I love the holidays, but it’s so hard to see everyone head home when they are over.” 

Extra time with the grandbabies was a get out of a late-lecture free card.  Her own eyes still burning from the cry she’d had after saying goodbye to her own, Hazel sniffed back her complaints and offered a plate of scones.  “Have a treat, it’ll help distract you from thinking about the children all gone again.” 

“It’s so hard after they leave the nest.  Oh, we have a full life and plenty to do.  But it’s just not the same as having all the loved ones close.”  For a second Hortense looked like she was going to sob on her lemon scone.  Then she took a deep breath and blinked away the melancholy.  The look left in her eyes, pure glee, made Hazel sit a little straighter in her chair.

“I suppose Tobias Black is happy these days, having one of his children moving back to Black Oak,” she said before nibbling the iced corner of her scone. 

“I suppose he is.  Especially with Caleb engaged and ready to settle down here,” Hazel agreed slowly, trying to figure out what Hortense was up to.  That gleam only meant one thing, the other woman thought she had a piece of gossip that would trump Hazel’s gold star for the best gossip of the year.  The gold star she’d scored when she’d brought news of Caleb’s return. 

“I wonder if this means the other two will soon follow.  Wouldn’t Tobias be thrilled to have both Maya and Gabriel back, too?” 

Hazel narrowed her eyes.  What did Hortense think she knew?  Since Caleb’s return, Hazel had taken to checking on the Black doings at least once a day.  If there was news, she’d have it.  Wouldn’t she?

“I’d imagine Tobias would be overjoyed to see any of his children,” she agreed slowly.  “But Gabriel’s exit was even angrier than Caleb’s.  And Maya, well, I don’t know what came between her and Tobias, but it must have been something major.  She was always so devoted to her father, then poof,” Hazel snapped her fingers in emphasis, “She was gone.”

“I’ll bet it was that woman Tobias was dating,” Hortense said with a sage nod.  “None of those three liked her much, did they?”

“Did anyone?”  Hazel thought back to the hard-edged floozy who’d tried to rope Tobias Black.  Luckily he’d kicked her to the curb a few months after Maya’s departure.  “You’d have thought the man had learned his lesson about dating inappropriate women then, wouldn’t you?”

“Obviously not, if he’s dating someone as tacky and obvious as Lilah Gomez.  And her the same age as his own daughter.”

“Poor Maya,” Hazel said with a tutting shake of her head.  “Can you imagine her reaction if she knew that her father was dating her arch-enemy?”

“Actually, I don’t have to imagine.” Hortense set her plate aside and leaned forward.  “I hear we’ll get to see it firsthand.” 

Hazel bobbled her teacup, shock making her immune to both the splash of hot liquid and the stain on her new pink slacks.

“No…?”

“Yes.  I heard it from Ham Bollinger when I was out at Black Oak Manor this morning to say goodbye to my cousin.  Maya booked not one, but two rooms at the Inn.”  Hortense gave a gleeful nod, practically bouncing in her chair.  “Maya Black’s coming back and she’s not coming alone.” 

And she’d been worried after all the recent excitement, things might seem boring?  Not likely in Black Oak.  Hazel leaned back, her grin so wide it made her earrings wiggle.  “Well, this should liven up the New Year, shouldn’t it?”   

Wellll… There you go.  Maya’s home and she’s on a mission.  Not only that, but she’s not alone! The ladies are right.  The New Year is going to be pretty exciting in Black Oak.  And you can, of course, read all about it in SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT if you’d like :-D   To make that easier, I’m giving away a signed copy today to one commenter – just let me know what wild plans you have for New Years Eve, and what you want to see happen in the New Year to be entered in the drawing. 

And don’t forget to check out my Holiday Survival Tour as I celebrate the Undercover Operatives series with contests, giveaways and lots of good times. 

In my story, the cats Paulie and Bonnie belong to the heroine, Pandora. They live in her family’s new age store, where they not only get to interact with all of the customers, bask in the positive energy and keep things interesting. Especially when they help solve the case that brought prodigal bad boy, Caleb Black, home. I loved bringing these two cats into the story, not only for the fun pets add to anything, but because I think the way characters interact with animals shows so much about them, adding layers that interacting with people just doesn’t show. I hope readers enjoyed getting to know them, too.

Paulie and Bonnie were both rescues at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter in Barrie, Ontario. Bonnie is a darling black and white 5 year old female with the sweetest habit of tilting her head to one side. She’s sweet and friendly, always willing to share attention. And if people aren’t around to play with, she’s all about taking care of the other cats. Which worked well for Paulie, a super-friendly long-haired black 2 year old male who loves nothing more than lying in doorways, over shoulders, on laps. All while snuggling sweetly.

Obviously, I love pets. Especially this time of year. And not only because I can dress them up in silly elf hats, either! *g* although that is fun. We have 2 dogs (3 if you count my grandpuppy who I babysit 4 days a week), 2 cats and a bird. Like the rest of the family members, our pets all have their own Christmas stockings. The three dogs are getting new tags, a couple of stuffed squeaky toys and homemade treats. This time of year also reminds me that there are a lot of sweet animals out there that don’t have homes. Some, like Paulie, one of the feline stars of SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE, will get adopted and spend a happy holiday in their new home. Others, like sweet Bonnie, are still at the shelters without a family to love them. So we try to do a little extra for the local shelter by collecting towels and blankets, donating food and toys.

This is last year’s holiday picture of my puppies. Tinkerbell is my baby, a 5yo Rottweiler. Sierra is our rescue, a 7yo Shepherd mix. And here’s my grandpuppy, Betsey, who is 5 mos now.

How about you? Do you enjoy seeing pets in stories? And do you have pets at home? Are they a part of your holiday celebration? And if you’re a dog lover, do you have any wonderful homemade doggie treat recipes to share?

I love anniversaries. They are such a wonderful affirmation of the longevity of love, or in this case, of hot love stories.

Anniversary celebrations are even more fun, right?!  Even better are anniversary gifts.  Cuz, yanno, I really love gifts :-)  And I’ve always been fascinated by the traditional anniversary gift list, so before I married, I was excited to follow it.  But as fun as that idea was, it really hasn’t worked out.  For our first anniversary, the paper anniversary, we bought a really nice camera and justified it as photos are printed on paper.  In the third year of our marriage, our stereo was broken.  There is some crystal thing in the stereo (my husband can explain it.  I just nod along) so we fixed it as our gift to each other.  Justifying the new stove in our seventh year took a more clever route – finally we came up with the fact that there were copper coils somewhere in that appliance, making it a suitable gift.

Pretty much the only anniversary that we did hit the tradition, well, traditionally, is the tenth when my husband gave me a gorgeous diamond anniversary ring.

Anniversary Gift List

More anniversaries here...

By our eleventh anniversary, we finally admitted that we suck at this gift thing.  So we started a new tradition of going away, just the two of us (no kids no kids no kids) for at least a weekend.  Our anniversary is in April, but we might make the getaway in March or May.  As long as we make it, it doesn’t matter.  I love this tradition.  It works really well for us since there is no clever gift-buying justification required.  And it gives us that one gift that we tend to ignore too often -time together to focus on just each other.

So how about you? What’s your favorite anniversary story? Do you follow the traditional gift list or do you have your own traditions?

There are no workshops here. There is no bar. There are, sadly, no happy writers thrilled to see me (unless you count my daughter, whose written 3 books for the Young Authors program, but I don’t think she’s very thrilled). I didn’t have to choose clothes and get a pedicure. I don’t get to strap on my cutest shoes and show them off. I won’t be dancing and drinking and celebrating at the renowned Harlequin Party. I won’t even have email, a plotting session or my CP to distract me.   And I wont’ be hanging with the fun Blaze authors, celebrating Blaze’s 10th Anniversary!

In other words, it’s hellishly boring here.

Which is usually okay, but not this week!!! Because I have to miss the Romance Writers of America National conference. It’s in New York. Right there, in Times Square. But I have family commitments and just couldn’t make it happen this year.

So now I have to find some way to distract myself.  To stay busy.  I could write — I have a book due September 1st.  I could scrapbook – I have about 10 years of photos screaming to be put in albums.  I could work in the garden – my backyard is horribly ugly and sad right now.  So I have plenty to do before I head to Idaho.  But… I don’t wanna.

I wanna be in New York.  Partying Blaze style.  Hanging and learning and enjoying.

So help me out – when all your friends are off having a good time and you’re not, what do you do to distract and entertain yourself?

I’m ecstatic, and have to say, the last five years have been both a learning experience and a wonderful ride. In no little part because of my fab editor, the amazing Blaze authors who’ve always been there for me, and all of the awesome readers out there. So I’ll start my celebration by saying Thank You!

Some people know my call story, and for those who don’t, here is a peek into just how neurotic I actually am (please love me anyway, though *g*)

So… I was born in a small Idaho town in the winter of… Oh wait, this is my call story, right? Not my life story? Okay – After about 3 years of writing and submitting to Harlequin (Temptation until they closed *sob* and then Blaze) I entered and won the unpublished category of the Blaze Contest in late 2005 with the opening chapter of my manuscript, Undercover Seduction. A part of the prize was to submit the full manuscript for consideration to Blaze. Since I had only written the opening for the contest, I then had to write and submit the rest. In April of 2006, I saw Brenda Chin at a regional conference (and got to go to dinner with her, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Kimberly Raye and many other fabulous writers, which was awe-inspiring, let me tell ya!) During a chat with Brenda, I mentioned that despite the manuscript having just finaling in the Golden Heart, I didn’t think I’d be attending the RWA National conference that summer -at least, not unless I sold.

It was Memorial Day morning (okay, as you can see by the photo, early is subjective. But still…), about a month after the conference, when the phone rang. My husband answered because I, of course, was asleep. “It’s Harlequin!” Oh man, talk about walking up fast. Or, at least, pretending to. After greeting me, Brenda told me, “Book your tickets, you’re going to conference.”

Holy cow.

I know she said more. I’m sure we nailed down details. I’m positive we discussed the story and what came next. But all that’s a blur. All I remember was hanging up and collapsing into my husband, who was hugging me through the entire conversation.

Then, because it was Memorial Day, we had a neighborhood party to attend. Nobody there really understood the hugeness of selling my first book, so after a couple of happy hugs, the celebration turned to pretzel jello recipes. I did try to call writing friends to share the news, but again, holiday happiness had taken them all off to celebrate. So I reached nobody.

By the next morning, I was second guessing if I really sold or if I’d imagined it all. I desperately emailed Brenda to ask her if it was real, because I was seriously doubting the reality LOL. So all in all, my I Sold celebration wasn’t quite what I’d always imagined. It was much more foggy

And here we are, five years later. This month saw my eleventh Blaze release and I’m putting the finishing touches on my fourteenth contracted book this weekend. I’ve got to say, I’m definitely loving this journey.

So how should I celebrate? Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries? Tootie horns and party hats? Dinner out and a decadently indulgent dessert? Sleep? What would you do to celebrate your first sale anniversary? Or the anniversary of something you’d worked really hard for and cherished as a major life accomplishment?

Do you have a pile of books waiting on your nightstand? Are your To Be Read books stacking up on your eReader? How do you decide what you’ll read next? Do you go in order of purchase or order of publication? Or just what appeals at the moment?

I’m super excited about May for two reasons. First off, I have a new book out. JUST FOR THE NIGHT is the first book in the 24 Hours: Blackout series, with Samantha Hunter’s MINE UNTIL MORNING out in June and in finishing up in July with Heather MacAllister’s KEPT IN THE DARK. So that’s reason one to celebrate.

Reason two is that my fabulous critique partner, RITA author Beth Andrews has a SuperRomance, THE PRODIGAL SON, out in May as well. It’s rare that we get to celebrate our releases together (even though we really do go through every step of writing those babies together), so we thought it’d be fun to make it a kind of party and share with you. Because while we write for very different lines, there are some strong similarities in our process (and not just the neurotic parts, either!). The main one being our focus on hooks.

Hooks are essential to any story, but in category, they define not only the story, but the line itself.

Tawny says: Blaze is all about the sexy hook. Yes, that means sex—and lots of it. But it also means the story revolves around something sexy. From there, almost anything goes.

Beth says: SuperRomance’s tag line is Real life, real love! To me, that means taking traditional hooks and making them as realistic as possible. Supers is a very diverse line with many story types: light, dark, suspense, family sagas and everything in between.

One of the things that makes each line so unique is how that line hook takes traditional story hooks in different directions. For instance, Beth and I have both used a variety of traditional hooks, but our stories end up nothing alike.

Tawny says: I love the Bad boy/bad girl. This is a hook I tend to use in quite a few of my books. I had bad girls in Double Dare, Feels Like the First Time and A Babe in Toyland, and bad boys in Does She Dare and Risqué Business. It’s a hook I’m fond of, because I love me them naughty characters. But it’s also a hook that works great for Blaze because naughty and sexy go so well together. Naughty characters almost create that sexy Blaze hook all by themselves.

Beth says: I’ve used this hook a couple of times. Kelsey in Not Without Her Family was a bad girl and her brother Dillon in A Not-So-Perfect Past was a bad boy (although I tend to think of him as more of a lost soul *g*) For these two books it was a hook that amped up the romantic conflict as the hero in NWHF was a by-the-book cop, and in ANSPP the heroine is the town good girl, someone who had a lot to lose by falling for someone like Dillon. And I’m all for anything that helps me torture my characters (in the best way possible, of course)

Reunion. I love reunion stories! There is something so powerful about seeing a couple with a past overcome their baggage and find lasting love. I’ve done three stories with reunion hooks, including my upcoming May release, Just For The Night.

I love reunion stories, too! In my August release, Feels Like Home, the hero and heroine are divorced and had a lot of emotional baggage to deal with in their story. And while I enjoyed helping them heal from all their hurt and anger, what I really loved was how they got to know each other as who they are now as opposed to who they were seven years ago. They’ve both grown and changed and now are able to work through the issues that tore them apart before.

Another hook I love is the protector. This is a great hook because it means someone (usually the heroine) is in jeopardy. Talk about a double duty hook with built in conflict. I’ve used this one a couple times. My last book, Breaking the Rules had a protector hero and a heroine who didn’t want his bossy protection LOL. And in my 2009 release, Going Down Hard, my hero was a bodyguard. Now that was a fun one to write

The protector is another favorite of mine as well! The hero if NWHF felt the need to protect the entire town while Dillon in ANSPP found himself protecting the heroine even though that was the last thing he wanted to do. His Secret Agenda and Do You Take This Cop? both had elements of this hook as well. I agree with Tawny – it’s a double duty hook with built in conflict and if that person being protected doesn’t want protected, it amps that conflict up even more *g*

So really, it’s all about the hooks, right? I mean, a strong plot, solid characters, an enticing emotional arc –those are vital. But for me, it starts with the hooks.

Yep, me too. I think it’s fun to pick a hook (or even better, more than one hook) and try to come up with a strong story to support those hooks. And it’s so interesting to me how Tawny and I can make the same hook work for two very different lines

What are some of your favorite story hooks? Are you drawn to a particular category line (like Blaze or SuperRomance *g*) because that line’s hook resonates with you?

Tell us what you think, and we’ll draw a name to win a copy of Beth’s new book, THE PRODIGAL SON and my latest, JUST FOR THE NIGHT.

Soon I’ll be filling my flower pots with annuals. Pansies and petunias, stock and impatiens. And finally this year, after living in our house for just over a year, we’re ready to plant the gardens. I’m beyond excited. My old gardens were a joy. My lilac and lavender, ground roses and daisy bushes, salvia and jasmine. I miss my koi pond, and know I can’t put one in here because the raccoons are a major problem. So instead, I’ve been mulling over garden designs and missing the joy of bright flowering colors.

But now I’m ready! (I think) I want to put in a dry creek bed meandering down the hillside, with lots of color and brightness along the sides, as well as some fun. Climbing roses along the fence and another lilac tree. Evergreens and Lavender, anything to attract the butterflies and lots of luscious scents. I love flowers!! So much, that I think I’ve been a little intimidated at the vast possibilities, and had trouble narrowing it down to a basic starting design.

Have you ever done that? Wanted something but had so many options and ideas, it was hard to narrow it down?

And what are your favorite flowers- spring or otherwise? Do you garden, and grow them yourself? And am I the only one who feels mean cutting flowers to bring inside when they look so happy there on the bush or in the ground?

AND THE WINNER IS: ROSIE!! Thanks, everyone for all the wonderful Birthday Wishes

It’s my birthday and I’ll party if I want to, party if I want to… Yes. I’m ruining wonderful lyrics, but if you’ve ever heard me sing, you’d know that ruined lyrics are a given even if I did get the words right

But… it is my birthday (and yesterday was Jillian’s. Go Pisces Blaze Babes!). And I’m celebrating, as I always do, with cake. Because I love cake. The biggest discussion in my house each year in the last week of February is cake. What kind do I want? Almost always, I default to my favorite, German Chocolate. But the discussion is still great to have, because, well, it’s cake. I love talking cake LOL.

This year, besides the German Chocolate, we debated Black Forest, tirimisu cheesecake, ice cream cake and strawberry shortcake. Mmmmmm, I love them all. I love making them all, too.

But since I refuse on principal to make my own cake, this had to be something my daughter could make. So… we decided to go with both the German Chocolate and the Black Forest. Doesn’t that sound decadent? How will we do both and not be huge? She’s making cupcakes! YUMMMMMMY! Single serving, not too fattening, easily contained deliciousness. And so much easier to pawn off on visiting guests to take home, so all I have to face the next day is a single leftover cupcake.


So what’s your favorite birthday cake? Do you have a traditional one? Or do you like to change things up? Do you bake, or are do you do the bakery cakes?

Aaaaand… Because we all deserve pressies on a birthday, I’ll draw one random commenters name to win a copy of BREAKING THE RULES (or if you have it, any of my backlist)!!!

So in the meantime, let’s talk kisses. There are story book kisses and hot, sexy kisses. Romantic kisses and ewwww kisses. There are sweet kisses and saucy kisses, and everything in between.

But what I want to hear about is first kisses. The first kiss is one of the sexiest moments in book. It’s the shift, that scary step over the line into intimacy. The first kiss can tell you everything about the relationship. Who’s in charge? Is the dynamic sweet or tender, sexy or intense? Is it equal ground or is one partner a little more aggressive than the other? Who initiates it? Who ends it? And most of all… did they like it?

I love writing first kisses. And in real life,since I adore my husband (this week *g*) I soft of figure I’m through with my own first kissing adventures. But I do have very, very fond memories of our first kiss. And I’ll admit, I have fond memories of other first kisses, too. Like my very very first kiss,when I was in second grade. Awwww, it was the fastest brush of two sets of lips, complete with giggles and blushing (heeeheee his, not mine). But even as sweet as that first kiss was, I’m still going to claim my first with my husband as my all time favorite.

Do you remember your first kiss? Do you have a favorite first kiss- of your own or in a book?