Back To the Dark Side

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I write contemporary romance, for the most part. Of my eighteen published novels, fifteen are contemporary. The other three, however, are paranormal—the Ramos Family Trilogy that I wrote for Berkley InterMix about a family of mediums in San Antonio. That trilogy was so much fun to write that I’ve always had a secret wish to […]

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The Billionaire Problem

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The billionaire plot has been a familiar romance trope for a lot of years. In the usual plot line, the ruthless billionaire falls in love with a decidedly less rich heroine who teaches him that money isn’t everything. In its bare outlines, it’s close to a fairy tale: a poor woman (it’s almost always the […]

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(In)elegant Variation

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I suppose it was inevitable that editing apps would become available eventually. After all, pattern recognition is something computers do very well, and a lot of copyediting comes under the heading of recognizing and, in some cases, changing authorial patterns of language. For example, most of us have words we habitually overuse. Some authors keep […]

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Not Doing Sex

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In my last post I talked about the trials and pleasures of writing sex scenes in historical romances, and in my introduction I said that all romance novels have sex scenes. Of course, that isn’t actually the case. So consider this post a sort of footnote to the last one. Some romance novels don’t include […]

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Doing Sex, Historically

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Now that I’ve got your attention, as they used to say… Romance novels have sex scenes. That’s not a big revelation to those who read and write romance. But some writers have an easier time of it than others. Assuming your hero and heroine are consenting adults, in contemporary romance you can usually work a […]

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Hello Again, World

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A couple of years ago, I stopped blogging. At the time, blogging seemed like a lost cause—all the social media gurus were telling us it wasn’t worth the bother. Plus it seemed to take a lot of time. Plus, frankly, I wasn’t sure I had anything to say that anyone wanted to hear. Surely there […]

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Night Owl Reviews Winter Wonderland Scavenger Hunt

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Hi Readers,   I’ve got a winter treat for you. I’m one of the sponsors of the Night Owl Reviews Winter Wonderland Scavenger Hunt.   During this event I’m going to help you find some great new books. Make sure to check my featured title out along the way.   The grand prize is a $100 Amazon […]

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Ghoulies and Ghosties

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My first paranormal novel, Medium Well, is still one of my favorite writing experiences. The three novels in the Ramos Family trilogy are ghost stories because, well, I’ve always been sort of intrigued by ghosts. Haven’t you? When I was a kid, I devoured every ghost story I could lay my hands on at the […]

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