His best friend’s sister. A deadly secret. A white-hot attraction they can’t ignore.
Hi there! Just dropping a quick note to tell you that all of my books are 50% off in the Smashwords Annual Summer/Winter Sale!
If you’re looking for a good read to get you through whatever your weather is doing now, or to enjoy while curled up in your favorite spot, don’t miss this chance!
Happy summer! If you’re in a part of the world experiencing record-breaking heat, please stay safe. Otherwise, I hope you’re enjoying the new season (happy winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere).
For military families, summer often means moving season. You know, new home, new friends, new streets to learn…
When we first moved to Dayton, Ohio, I got lost while test driving a used car. We’d only been there a few weeks, so I didn’t really know my way around. This was also pre-GPS, and before most of us had even basic cell phones. My husband had stayed at the lot with the kids while I pulled out onto the busy road, took a right at the next light, and then another right, expecting it to take me back in a big rectangle.
Wrong.
After forty-five minutes of mild panic on country-adjacent roads, I somehow found my way back to the car lot, a very stressed out husband, and a seriously annoyed salesperson. Which is how we ended up with a beater of a Camry with a soft clutch and a battery that kept dying. 😭
I’m starting a monthly update to share some behind-the-scenes peeks into my books. It’s how the sausage is made, but hopefully more appetizing.
And since nothing says summer vacation like a jungle paradise, I thought I’d give you the scoop on the first book I set in a Caribbean jungle, Blind Ambition (Men of Steele #2).
When I wrote Blind Fury (MOS #1), I wasn’t thinking about creating a series, but then I fell in love with the world and characters and wanted to write more for them. So, I tried to center the second book on Tara and Dan, who’d played pivotal roles. They did not work together romantically, despite me sort of trying to set that up in book one. 😭
My plan was for her to get taken hostage during a labor dispute in a Caribbean country and for Dan to come to the rescue. Sounds cool, right?
But, nope.
Then I tried to pair her with newcomer Scott Kramer and that fell flat. (Just like in real life, you can’t force chemistry.) So, I gave up on poor Tara for a while and let her mature through the series until book 5. And I loved Scott, so I found the perfect heroine for him in book 3.
Sounds wacky, but it was part of my learning process in the early days. I think I’m better at understanding my characters than I used to be, and I’m not so worried about writing quickly as I was back then either (sorry!).
Dan Molina did get to be the hero in the second book after all though, and I love his story. It’s a second-chance romance wrapped up in a jungle adventure, and I had a blast with it. Alexa really puts Dan through the wringer, but she has her reasons, and I think it makes their happy ending even sweeter.
There are kisses in the rain, feats of strength, so much yearning, forced proximity, he falls first, and plenty of danger.
If you’re looking for a hot summer book with a tough heroine and a sexy-as-hell hero on the run together, Blind Ambition is it. And it introduces most of the cast of the rest of the series. This is where the men (and women) of Steele Security really come together.
Learn more about any book by checking out its book page from the menu or Romantic Suspense Books by Series.
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LIE IN THE DARK has finally arrived!
Here’s an excerpt…
Chapter One
Taking a bullet to the chest hadn’t been on Natalie Nygaard-Brown’s bingo card for the day.
Sadly, it wasn’t even the first thing about her team’s op in Lucerne that had gone horribly wrong. An informant had been murdered right in front of her teammate, Emma. A man with dubious motives had ended up with the memory card she sought, forcing her and Natalie to use underhanded means to retrieve it. And Emma had just fled with the very man they’d duped, leaving her alone with a dead body.
On the plus side, the Swiss police were due any minute. Hopefully with paramedics in tow, because Nat might just bleed out on the cold tile if they didn’t hurry, and she’d rather live, thank you very much. She shuddered, an oppressive fatigue lashing her limbs to the floor. A bodyguard had saved her from a killer four years ago, but maybe he’d only delayed the inevitable. Maybe fate had her marked for a young, ugly death.
She would’ve laughed at her maudlin thoughts if her chest didn’t hurt so fucking much. “Get a grip. You signed on for this.” She’d knowingly put herself at risk by joining the Night Herons. Fate or not, she’d made that choice, fully aware of the potential for danger.
Flicking a glance at the feet of the gunman lying motionless on the other side of the kitchen counter, she forced herself to exhale slowly and trained her gaze on the plaster swirls on the ceiling. She weakly reapplied pressure to the bandage on her chest, and hissed air through her teeth at the bolt of pain triggered by the move. Perspiration trickled down the side of her face despite the chugging of the condo’s wall-unit air conditioning and the ice seeping into her veins. Biting down hard on her lip, she closed her eyes and took shallow breaths until the need to hurl subsided.
Hang in there.
Emma and Jason had wanted to stay with her, but Natalie had convinced them to run. If they were caught, the men they were after would not only win this round, but they’d also keep hurting people, and continue using their power and influence to escape the repercussions. The Night Herons’ efforts, their informant’s death, and Nat’s injuries would be in vain.
She’d do everything in her limited power to keep that from happening.
The Beretta Emma had left behind settled into Nat’s free hand, a cool, solid anchor. Something to focus on while she waited for the police and paramedics, their shrill sirens reverberating off the tightly packed buildings of the Altstadt—Lucerne’s old town.
With luck, the imminent arrival of the first responders would scare away anyone else who wanted her dead, but even if she made it to the hospital alive, she’d be a sitting duck there. Surely, her boss would send someone to protect her, but without knowing how the gunman had found this condo, was it safe to contact Gretchen?
The last thing Natalie wanted was to lead their enemies to the rest of the Night Herons. If someone had figured out what she and Emma were doing, getting in touch with anyone on her team could put them at risk.
She could only think of one other option.
Well, fuck.
Dialing from memory, she continued taking slow breaths and hunting for patterns in the ceiling’s plaster as the line rang.
“Ford Beaumont,” a deep, clipped voice said in her ear, achingly familiar.
Relief flooded through her. Four years ago, he’d made her memorize his number in case anything went wrong.
Unfortunately, today—as back then—things had gone very, very wrong.
Grab LIE IN THE DARK today from your favorite retailer!
Amazon | Apple | Nook | Kobo/Walmart | Google Play
The release of Night Herons #2, LIE IN THE DARK is just two weeks away!
I’m excited to share Natalie and Ford’s story with you. Writing about their adventures in love and danger in the south of France was a lot of fun.
He’s the rule follower. She’s the chaos he can’t resist.
Natalie Nygaard-Brown is allergic to sitting still, but with a bullet wound in her chest and a target on her back, she has no choice. Retreating to a remote cottage in France feels like a prison sentence—especially when her keeper is Ford Beaumont, the sexy, by-the-book bodyguard she’s never forgotten. She’s desperate to hunt down the enemy threatening her team and rejoin her life, but the more she fights for her freedom, the more she’s drawn to the man who sees the fire between them as an unwelcome distraction.
Four years ago, Ford let Natalie’s wild spirit distract him from his assignment, a failure his scars won’t let him forget. This time, his focus is absolute: keep her safe, keep her hidden, and keep his hands to himself. But as their close proximity ignites old sparks, Ford realizes the hardest part of this mission isn't staying alive—it's resisting the magnetic woman who has always tested his control.
Preorder today and it’ll automatically land on your e-reader on March 10th!
Amazon | Nook | Apple | Kobo/Walmart | Google Play
I’ve been wanting to quit social media for a very long time, and this year, I finally did it! It wasn't so much a New Year's resolution as a too-many-years-without-doing-it resolution, but it's finally done and it feels fantastic.
If you followed me on social media, don’t worry, I’ll still post news and updates here on the blog. In fact, Night Herons #2 is coming out later this year, and I'll have another announcement soon, so stay tuned.
To hear from me every month—and get access to free books and random thoughts and photos—join my newsletter.
Take care!
Happy November! Since this is the month of Thanksgiving here in the US, I want to let you know how grateful I am to you for being part of my community.
For the last 14 years, I’ve been privileged to help writers all over the world learn Scrivener, but now I’m ready for a new challenge. To that end, I’ve taken a full time position as a digital process analyst. I’m excited to get back into tech and process improvement, leave the house on a regular basis, and be part of a team again.
So, while I plan to keep writing romance—in Scrivener, of course!—you’ll see a few changes to my business, outlined below.
Thanks for all the support and feedback you’ve given me over the years. <3 Best of luck with your writing!
Today I’m discussing the parallels between drawing—something I’ve recently started learning—and writing. Come join me at WriterUnboxed.com to talk about your own creative outlets, and get a sneak peek at how my drawing skills are coming along!
