Historical research behind the stealthy fashion of my lady spies What would you do if you were a woman in 1811 and needed to carry a weapon, but had no pockets and couldn’t very well strap a dagger to your thigh? That was the challenge I faced while writing my Christian Regency Romantic Suspense series, Lady Wynwood’s Spies , where my heroines don’t just attend balls and sip tea—they also sneak around carriages, spy on dangerous men, and fight off attackers when necessary. In Volume 7: Spinster and Volume 8: Traitor , two of my heroines—Lena and Phoebe—retrieve hidden knives from secret slits in their gowns. The sheaths are sewn directly onto their corsets. Naturally, you won’t find that kind of accessory in the pages of Ackermann’s Repository of Arts or La Belle Assemblée , the fashion magazines of the day. But I wanted my heroines to be both era-accurate and armed. So I dug into fashion history to find a creative (and plausible) solution. The Idea Behind the Hidden Knife Shea...

Avoiding the “Too Stupid to Live” Heroine in Regency Romantic Suspense Plus: Read a Deleted Scene from The Spinster’s Christmas If you’ve ever shouted at a movie screen because the heroine ran into the dark woods instead of toward safety, you’ve probably encountered what writers call a “Too Stupid to Live” (TSTL) heroine. As a reader and writer of Regency romantic suspense, I’ve always tried to avoid falling into that trap. But sometimes, even the most logic-loving authors can make mistakes. When I was about to release The Spinster’s Christmas , I hired a professional macro-editor to take a look at it. I wrote the book during a difficult season in my writing journey, and although I sensed something wasn’t working in the manuscript, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Turns out, it was a classic case of being too close to the story to see the problem. My editor pointed out a scene near the climax where my heroine—normally level-headed—suddenly runs away from safety and int...

When I first released the Sushi series, I had no idea how deeply readers would connect with Lex, Trish, Venus, and Jennifer—and with their wild, meddling aunties and one very stubborn grandma. The stories were a mix of my friends’ family chaos, my love of romantic comedy, and the joy (and frustration!) of navigating faith, friendships, and relationships as an Asian American Christian woman. Now that the rights have returned to me, I’m thrilled to be republishing the series on Amazon so a new generation of readers—and longtime fans—can dive back into the drama, the laughter, and the unforgettable auntie antics. Book 1, Sushi for One? , is available on Amazon now, and the rest of the series is up on preorder. Sushi for One? will go into Kindle Unlimited on May 19, 2025. Each book follows a different cousin in the extended Sakai family as they wrestle with romance, expectations, and God’s timing (and sometimes, Grandma’s interference). If you’re new to the series, here’s the ...

I’m thrilled to finally reveal the cover designs of the Special Edition paperbacks I created exclusively for my Kickstarter backers! These collectible Christian historical romance paperbacks feature dual-sided covers and beautifully designed interior pages that make each copy feel truly one-of-a-kind. I wanted these books to be more than just a different cover—they’re meant to be an experience. That’s why my graphic designer and I worked hard to style every part of the interior to match the tone, theme, and beauty of the story inside. 📖 What Makes These Special Editions Unique? Each Special Edition paperback includes: • A dual-sided cover with exclusive art and back design • Beautifully styled interior pages , unique to the edition, including color chapter headers and interior edge border design • Digitally sprayed edges in color These editions were produced as Kickstarter exclusives and won’t be available through regular retailers. I wanted to offer something special f...

A Beautiful Book—Inside and Out I’m so excited to show you the Special Edition hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 2: Berserker ! This edition was originally available through my Kickstarter, and thanks to the amazing support of readers like you, it’s nearly ready for print. If you missed the Kickstarter, you can still make a late pledge to get these exclusive editions before they’re gone—more on that below! 🖋️ Dual-Sided Dust Jacket Design My graphic designer recently finished the full dust jacket design, and I just had to share it! This wraparound artwork features both the front and back covers in a richly elegant design. We’re waiting on the rest of the graphic design elements before ordering the proof copies (these are being printed in the UK!), but this jacket is almost final. 📖 Full-Color Interior Chapter Headers The Special Edition hardcover interior is fully designed—and this is the part I had the most fun with! Each chapter begins with a two-page full-color s...

Year of the Dog has less suspense than my other books. It’s a romantic comedy suspense more on par with The Lone Rice Ball and Single Sashimi . Here’s a snippet that I wrote: *** Mari Mutou wouldn’t have rammed her SUV into the sleek, expensive-looking Audi if her brother-in-law hadn’t been cheating on her sister. Really, it wasn’t her fault. And if she’d been running late, as she usually did, she wouldn’t have even noticed the fire-engine red Corvette parked on the edge of the real estate agency parking lot, much less the two people in it. She’d have sped past it on her way to meet her potential dog training client. But for once in her life, she arrived early for her appointment with Jim Tong, who had asked her to meet him at his workplace during his lunch hour. Her SUV hustled into the lot, looking for a shady spot under a tree or, barring that, next to a new-ish luxury car, whose owner would be less likely to ding her new teal-green paint job. She found a good spot all righ...