There are two fictional perfumes mentioned in my Lady Wynwood’s Spies prequel novelette, “Bidding on Treason,” and I actually had a lot of fun figuring out what they were. Mrs. Whichard’s expensive French perfume Enchanté Nocturne is based off of Christian Dior Poison. It has the following notes: Top Notes: Plum, wild berries, anise Middle Notes: Jasmine, incense, cinnamon, honey, rose Base Notes: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, cedar, amber Mrs. Whichard’s perfume is obviously much less complex, but it still has the plum, cinnamon, and cedarwood notes from Poison. The perfume Melinda suggests for Lena, Sauge Marine (Marine Sage) is based off of Jo Malone London's Wood Sage & Sea Salt. It has the following notes: Top notes: Ambrette Seeds, Sea Salt Middle note: Sage Base notes: Red Algae, Grapefruit I liked how it evoked the wildness of the sea, the quiet of the wilderness, and the freshness of grapefruit, reflecting Lena’s connection to nature and her desire for free...

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Preorder sale price: DANGER IN THE SHADOWS Danger in the Shadows is a multi-author Christian suspense and romantic suspense anthology I’m participating in. My book in the anthology is Year of the Dog . The book is now available for preorder on Amazon at a special preorder price of $2.99. It’ll go up when the book is published in May, so be sure to get it while it’s still 70% off. Preorder Danger in the Shadows for 70% off Preorder sale price: DON’T BLINK The other anthology I'm in, Don't Blink , is already up for pre-order at a special pre-order price of $2.99. It releases in October, 2025. My book in Don’t Blink will be Bento and Betrayal , from my Mahina Security series. (I’ll be posting it on my Patreon before it’s published in October, so you can join my Patreon to be able to read it ahead of the release on Amazon.) Preorder Don’t Blink at Amazon Preorder Don’t Blink at Barnes and Noble Preorder Don’t Blink at Apple Books Preorder Don’t Blink at ...

My Lady Wynwood’s Spies novella, Lissa and the Spy , was in the multi-author anthology, Once Upon a Courtship , which is now unpublished. Now that I have the rights back, I’ll be publishing it on Amazon, although I’m not sure yet when I’ll be doing that. In the meantime, I’m giving away Lissa and the Spy ebook FREE to my newsletter subscribers! What’s it about? Lissa and the Spy A Christian Regency Romantic Suspense novella in the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series In the opulent ballrooms of Regency-era London, Miss Lissa Gardinier struggles through her second Season with a singular goal: marriage to escape her mother's constant criticism. So she represses her cheeky remarks behind a quiet, innocent facade, but combined with her plain face, it only serves to make her uninteresting to potential suitors. It is her very unpopularity that enables her to notice the enigmatic Lord Jeremy Stoude and set in motion a chance encounter. An overheard conversation and faux dialogue later,...

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...

In chapter 27 of Year of the Dog , Mari takes the dogs running at Moluke’ia Beach Park. My grandma and my parents would often take us here to swim when we were kids. It has a lot of rocks near the shore, but the sand is soft and fine, and the rocks are fun to snorkel around. The last time I went to Hawaii, I took some photos of the beach, so you can see what it looks like. Running on the beach is actually super tough, so Ashwin isn’t a weakling or anything like that—Mari is just a beast! Year of the Dog is releasing in the anthology, Danger in the Shadows . Get it for 70% off at the special preorder price of $2.99!

In chapter 23 in Year of the Dog , I mentioned Auntie Nell’s acerola cherry jam. I promise I didn’t make that up—except my grandma made it, not my Auntie Nell. Grandma had an acerola tree in her front yard and would gather cherries every summer. It’s suuuuuuuuuper sour, so we didn’t often eat it fresh, but Grandma added truckloads of sugar to make it into jam, which we loved. Come to think of it, we probably tasted more sugar than cherry, but we were kids, what else is new? I only just learned that acerola cherries have 32 times the amount of vitamin C as orange juice, and tons of antioxidants! I wonder if that’s why Grandma lived so long! Now I’m missing that jam. Isn’t it awful how we take so much for granted as kids? Have you ever had acerola cherry jam?

In chapter 22 of Year of the Dog , I mentioned the Wahiawa Botanical Garden annual calendar and the brownea flower that was the flower of the month. Wahiawa Botanical Garden is a really beautiful place where my grandfather used to work. He got lots of unusual plants that he grew in his backyard, including this really beautiful brownea flower, which is still blooming today in my parents’ yard. I don’t think they actually have an annual calendar (which is in the chapter), but I would like to think the brownea flower would be included. This 27-acre garden and forested ravine dates back to the 1930s when this land was used by sugar planters as an experimental arboretum. The last time I went, I also took pictures, which includes a really beautiful eucalyptus tree. I’m afraid I’m not a great photographer or I would have framed them better. Sorry! I love the Botanical Gardens because they’re just so beautiful! If you’re ever in Hawaii, consider going to the Wahiawa...