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...

I finished Year of the Dog a couple of weeks ago and got it back from my editor and beta readers. It looks clean and will be released on May 13, 2025. (If you’re thinking of grabbing it, the preorder is still 70% off for a little while longer.) In the meantime, here’s a short snippet: *** “Are you all right?” Mari asked. “I’m fine, now.” Lana gulped. “The Rottweiler was only curious. I could tell he wasn’t going to attack, but I also didn’t want to take any chances.” Lana took a deep breath. “Tell me this,” she said in a more normal voice. “How can you face a 75-pound Rottweiler without blinking an eye, but you’re too afraid to face your own sister?” The words fell between them slow and measured, like huge water drops. Mari glanced back at the Rottweiler, then pictured her sister. Her stomach clenched again just at the mental image. “You’re absolutely right.” Then she sighed. “But it’s not like I can erase years of bickering, misunderstanding, and criticism in a single mome...

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 ...

In chapter one of Protection for Hire , Elizabeth St. Amant is wearing some droolworthy gold shoes. I imagined them looking a bit like this—elegant, expensive, and completely out of place in a women’s shelter. The shoes are a reflection of Elizabeth herself—sheltered, from a wealthy family, but thrust into a new life and feeling out of place when she takes her infant son and runs away from her abusive husband. Elizabeth hires my heroine, Tessa, to protect her. But Charles, the lawyer who comes to their aid, happens to be the man who helped put Tessa in prison years ago. Tessa and Charles get caught up in a romantic suspense story with humor, danger, and faith. If you’re a fan of stories with sassy heroines, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud moments, you’ll love the world of Protection for Hire . It’s like your favorite rom-com collided with a high-stakes thriller—and those gold shoes are just the beginning. I love beautiful shoes but can’t wear them because I have flat...

I was recently just listening to my music playlist and it cycled to one of my favorite songs, “Gold” by Britt Nicole. This was one of the songs that inspired me as I was writing Gone Missing . Joslyn, my heroine, was from a poor background, so she was working at an electronics store in Los Angeles and putting herself through school in computer programming. When she got involved with her ex-boyfriend, who murdered her father, she ran away to Oregon. She lost her baby and the woman she was working for helped her through that ordeal. The woman also talked a lot about Christ to her, and so Joslyn has been seeking Christ more and more. She’s lost a lot and has gone through a grieving process after her father was murdered and she miscarried her baby. She had to leave school and her job to run away from her ex, so she has to start the school year all over again. At least she’s able to work for Liam and Elisabeth in Sonoma, California, at their new skip-tracing agency rather than try...

I just joined Sweet Romance Reads, a group of authors who all write sweet romances in a variety of sub-genres. I’m friends with several of the authors from my days writing for Harlequin/Love Inspired, so it’s nice to be able to join their group. If you’re on Facebook, this is their Facebook page , and this is their Facebook group . I posted my introductory post yesterday on the Sweet Romance Reads blog (Blogger), where I listed three strange things about me. Click here to read the post, and tell me three strange things about you!

I admit that my husband, Captain Caffeine, and I really liked the TV show Supernatural . We started watching the episodes from season 1 on syndication on cable TV and just got completely hooked. I’m not a huge horror fan, but my husband likes to watch it occasionally, and I ended up liking the show because it had so much humor and tongue-in-cheek moments. I liked that it simply didn’t take itself all that seriously, which made for entertaining TV (despite the monsters). So while I was writing my romantic suspense, Gone Missing , I admit I might have been a little bit influenced by Supernatural . Those of you who have read my blog already know that I completely suck at coming up with character names. I was staring at my computer, trying to find a name for a minor character, when I had the brain fart breakthrough to use the names of the characters from Supernatural . Bwahahahahahahaha! At last count, there are about 33 references to Supernatural in Gone Missing , although a co...

August 27, 2024 Update on Year of the Dog While I originally was posting this as a free serial read on my blog, I wasn’t able to keep working on it while also working on my Christian Regency romantic suspense series, Lady Wynwood’s Spies. To be honest, this story has languished for over two years now, and I decided to simply finish writing it. Rather than continuing it as a monthly serial novel (which is really too slow to release chapters of a book), I’ll be releasing Year of the Dog in May 2025 as a completed novel in a Christian Suspense anthology. Once I have the preorder information, I’ll post it here.

Thank you all for praying for me! My IBS is getting better, although I’ve had to eliminate more things from my diet. :( It’s so bland now, I was complaining to my mom that I should just eat rice and eggs. The good news is that I’m able to each mochi, and I’m thinking of making some for New Year’s. I actually found an old Regency recipe I had posted before, “Mr. Darcy Would Be Appalled White Soup,” can be easily modified for my IBS diet, so I made that a couple weeks ago. It was very yummy and perfect for our cold weather lately. If any of you know some good gluten-free recipes, please do send them my way! (I’m not actually sensitive to gluten, but I can’t eat wheat because it contains too much fructans, so essentially I have to go gluten-free.) As I’ve been feeling better, I’ve been able to get more and more writing done each day! I’m slowly progressing on Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer . Even though my health has taken a turn for the worse thi...

The following is a mashup from my November Camy Tang newsletter and Camille Elliot newsletter which both went out this past Wednesday, but I thought it might be nice to post it on my blog, too. *** My health this past month has been like a particularly gruesome car wreck. I’ve had IBS flareups and also sinus headaches, sometimes both at once. I had really thought I had finally started to get control over my IBS and the foods that I need to avoid, but I made a few mistakes (didn’t read ingredients lists closely enough). The sinus headaches have been a little more frequent because of the change in weather here in California and the increased rain showers. I’m finally feeling better and continuing work on volume 4 of my Christian Regency Romantic Suspense epic serial novel, Lady Wynwood’s Spies . I started trying to train myself to write via dictation because once I get used to it, it’s supposed to be significantly faster, and it will help ease the workload on my hands and wrists...

I’m happy to announce that my first Contemporary Romance story in 5 years releases today! The Wedding Kimono is one of TWELVE novellas in this massive Christian Contemporary Romance collection. Here’s the back cover description: Weddings for every season and occasion. Adventures, mishaps, and dream destinations—this collection has it all! As our guest of honor, you’re cordially invited on a journey through twelve heartwarming and inspirational novellas that will take you from small-town America to romantic Paris, from the sunny shores of Hawaii to New Zealand. Office romances, friends-to-lovers, second chances, and more await you in these stories full of forgiveness, redemption, laughter, and love. Say “I do” and claim your copy of this limited-time anthology by your favorite USA Today and bestselling Christian romance authors! January Hope by Kari Trumbo Clothing historian Cleo goes on the hunt for an 1880s fashion magazine wedding dress. Discovering it's part of a mu...

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter I have to admit, I haven’t read any YA in a while, but the storyline of this book reminded me so much of the movie and TV series Hannah that I just had to read it. And I was so glad I did! It sucked me in from the very first page and wouldn’t spit me out until hours later when it was time for me to cook dinner. This is a wonderful romantic suspense YA with a strong heroine with a smart mouth. She’s funny and sassy and very cute. And she can throw a hatchet like it’s nobody’s business. The boy she grew up with has changed because of what happened to them both in the prologue, but he really grew on me and showed his passion and earnestness as the story went on. This is not a Christian book, but it’s clean. It’s incredibly compelling and entertaining, and it made me go look for more Ally Carter books to read. I can’t recommend this one enough!

Just a reminder, prices go up on August 1st, which is this coming Saturday! Necessary Proof and Unshakeable Pursuit now in print and on sale! Two novellas in my romantic suspense Sonoma series,  Necessary Proof  and  Unshakeable Pursuit , are now available in a  two-in-one print book  for the first time! Previously, they were only available as ebooks. For a limited time, this two-in-one print book is only $8.99! The price will go up on August 1st.  Buy  Necessary Proof and Unshakeable Pursuit  print book on Amazon. In celebration of the print book release, I'm also reducing the price of  Unshakeable Pursuit  ebook to only $0.99. The price will go back up on August 1st.  Buy  Unshakeable Pursuit  in  Kindle ,  iBooks , and  Kobo  ebook formats. Necessary Proof  is still available as a FREE ebook on Kobo, Nook, and iBooks (I'm working on getting Kindle to price match). You can als...

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

New review of Gone Missing by Tom from Pulp Den! Thanks a bunch, Tom! PULP DEN: Gone Missing : As a skip tracer in training, Joslyn Dimalanta knows she has the skills to track down her missing friend. As long as her friend's sta...

I’m over at Suspense Sisters blog today talking a bit about the quandry I’m in over the murder and mayhem in my current Regency romance work-in-progress.

Beth's new book just hit the shelves! To celebrate the release of Backfire (Mountain Cove) Suspense Sisters had a full week last week hearing from Beth about her book and running a giveaway. Here's the back cover blurb: NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE Tracy Murray had thought she'd be safe disappearing in the wilds of Alaska after her testimony put away a gang leader. But the gang symbol tattooed on an attacker's arm means the clock has run out. She's been found—and she knows the killers won't let her escape alive again. She can't fight an entire gang alone—she needs help. But when she finds herself relying on widowed firefighter David Warren, a new struggle emerges. Fleeing Alaska and cutting all ties could be the only way to survive…but it would mean leaving her heart behind. Mountain Cove: In the Alaskan wilderness, love and danger collide Be sure to visit Suspense Sisters for all the posts last week: Giveaway of BACKFIRE Excerpt of BACKFIRE A message ...

I’m currently working on two projects, one a Regency novel and another a sort-of dystopian/near future series that I’ve felt God laying on my heart to write. The problem with the dystopian is that I have too many ideas! I wanted to do the third Protection for Hire series book as the start of my near-future world, but suddenly I had six or eight new characters appear in my head, each with their own stories. I’ve been writing my ideas down as I get them, but now I feel like I’ve been dissing poor Tessa and Charles because the other stories seem more interesting to me right now. I guess I’ll continue with my plan: to write the third Protection for Hire book as planned, and table these other characters’ stories. Or maybe I’ll introduce a couple of them in Tessa and Charles’s book? It’s actually been rather interesting to subtly alter Tessa’s old story world to mesh with this new dystopian world idea that God gave to me.

I’m over at Team Love on the Run talking a bit more about my hero, Clay, from Gone Missing . He’s a bit close to my heart for several reasons. :)

I’m over at the Suspense Sisters blog talking a bit more about my heroine, Joslyn, from her introduction as a minor character in Treacherous Intent to her love story in Gone Missing .