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 finished writing Sushi and Suspicions and turned it in! To celebrate, I ate my favorite peach jelly from Minamoto Kichoan ! I was a bit surprised to realize at the end of the book that there wasn’t as much romance as in some of my other books, maybe because there were a lot of characters in this book compared to other romantic suspense novels I’ve written. Sushi and Suspicions will be releasing in June in the multi-author box set Summer Suspicions . Even though it’s a box set, each Christian Romantic Suspense novel in it is a full book, so it’s a great deal! Preorder Summer Suspicions for only 99 cents!

I had a terrible week for my IBS. The problem is that I don’t know what I ate that caused it. I’ve been keeping a food journal but no matter how much I pore over it, nothing jumps out as being the culprit. So unfortunately I didn’t get much done on Sushi and Suspicions , a Christian contemporary romantic suspense that will be releasing in June in the multi-author box set Summer Suspicions . I wanted to have finished it by now, but it’s just too hard for me to concentrate when I have nausea from the IBS. Please continue to pray for me! I really need the IBS symptoms to die down so I can finish this book! Preorder Summer Suspicions for only 99 cents!

In a previous blog post I wrote about my heroine Naomi from Deadly Intent , so here, I’ll mention the hero, Devon. Devon is 35. His personality isn’t anyone I know, but his job is borrowed from the orthopedic surgeon who repaired my ACL (twice). Dr. King is the official orthopedic surgeon for the Oakland Raiders. He’s totally nice. Devon has a good heart, and he's very successful in his business as an orthopedic surgeon, but he has a very hard father. His father's personality and the pressures he put on his son has made Devon rein in his emotions. He is close to his warm, fun sister, and she is the reason he goes to the Joy Luck Life spa to see his ex-wife—to retrieve his mother's Tiffany necklace so his sister can wear it for her wedding. Of course, things go awry when his ex-wife kind of sort of DIES at the spa ... I pictured Devon Knightley to look like Alex O'Loughlin from the (sadly, cancelled) TV show Moonlight . (Don’t judge me! I thought his character was ...

I’ve been working on Sushi and Suspicions , a Christian contemporary romantic suspense which will be releasing in June in the multi-author box set Summer Suspicions . Trouble follows Liv on her vacation to Hawaii when she is framed for the theft of an antique rifle. Only a handsome investigator can help clear her name ... and maybe give her a reason to stay in the islands. If you want to read a snippet of what I wrote last week, check out my last newsletter !

6 reasons why you will enjoy Deadly Intent: 1) It's set in a SPA! 2) Devon (the hero) is totally HOT! 3) Did I mention the SPA? 4) Naomi (the heroine) is cute and fun 5) Naomi is a massage therapist! 6) Naomi is a massage therapist in a SPA! Naomi is 27 years old, and half-Japanese, half-Caucasian, so she looks a little exotic, but not too much so. I pictured her to look like Natalie Portman. I admit I named her after a girl in the youth group at my church because I honestly couldn’t think of a name. Also, the real-life Naomi is half-Japanese and half-Caucasian just like my character. My character Naomi’s personality isn’t based on anyone I know, but I always thought being a massage therapist would be a cool job, so I did a lot of research for Naomi’s career and for the spa. Naomi’s a maiden or Persephone archetype. They tend to be easygoing and carefree, but Naomi has been thrust into a more responsible role by her father, who just had a stroke. Worried about the future...

My Sonoma series started with 3 books starring the 3 Grant sisters in Sonoma. Book 4 starred Nathan, who was a minor character in book 3, and then I wrote Necessary Proof , which stars Jane, who was a minor character in book 2 and a cousin to the Grant sisters. In the next book, Unshakeable Pursuit , I brought in the Whelan family, Jane’s cousins who are also second cousins to the Grant sisters. It was rather confusing to come up with the family tree! The way I have it set up, the Whelan siblings’ mom, Emma Whelan, is sister to Jane Lawton’s mom, Eleanor Lawton. The Grant sisters’ mom and her sister, Aunt Becca, were first cousins to Emma Whelan and Eleanor Lawton. I thought it might be fun for you guys to see my created family tree, so here it is! It’s rather large, so click on the image to see the larger version.

My Christian Romantic Suspense novella, Necessary Proof , is FREE at all ebook retailers. Here’s the back cover description: Necessary Proof Sonoma series, book #4.1 (novella) After opening his heart to Jesus in prison, Alex Villa has left his criminal past behind him. However, his efforts to take down a gang producing meth in Sonoma have made him a target. Set up to look like he’s being bribed by the gang, the police blame him for the death of a cop. Only the evidence on an encrypted laptop can prove he’s innocent. Software engineer Jane Lawton has been betrayed by the men closest to her, including a God she thought would protect her. She won’t let Alex down, because she knows what it feels like to be disbelieved and abandoned. However, the men after them have orders to repossess the evidence and make sure Jane and Alex take their knowledge to the grave. Can they prove Alex’s innocence before time runs out for them both? ** Those of you who have read Formula for Danger w...

If you enjoyed Unshakeable Pursuit please leave a review so you can let other readers know what you thought about it. You can leave reviews on Amazon , Apple Books , Kobo , Barnes and Noble , Google Play , Smashwords , and Goodreads . Thank you!

Weigh in: Diamonds or pearls? For me, it’s diamonds. That’s why Jessica’s necklace in my Christian Romantic Suspense, Deadly Intent , is diamonds. I based Jessica’s necklace on an actual necklace from Tiffany, the Jean Schlumberger “Lynn” necklace. The photo is copyrighted so I can’t post it on my blog, but you can see the necklace online here . Isn’t it lovely? Tell me which you prefer, and post pics/links to your favorite jewelry!

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...

When I write, I usually come up with the characters in a story first. Sometimes I feel a bit like Zeus, whose daughter jumped out of his head fully grown—the characters start walking and talking in my brain as I develop the story. When I start writing the manuscript, I will often pick an actor or actress to use for when I visualize the characters. It makes it a bit easier when I have to describe them, although sometimes I have a difficult time finding just the right “look” for my characters. I recently unearthed my copy of an old blog post that had been taken down from the original website. I wrote the blog post when I was writing my Christian Romantic Suspense, Stalker in the Shadows , but it’s never been posted on my blog, so I thought I’d repost it here: I just saw an article about actor Karl Urban, and drooled a little over his yummy photo: Karl Urban is the actor I envisioned for my hero, Shaun O’Neill, in Stalker in the Shadows , except that Shaun has very blue eyes an...

The following was a cute interview of my heroine, Rachel Grant, from my Christian Romantic Suspense, Formula for Danger . The original guest blog post was on another website that was taken down, so I’m reposting it here. It gives a little more insight into Rachel’s character and the spiritual themes of Formula for Danger , which is book 2 in my Sonoma series . Today we're welcoming Rachel Grant, the heroine of Formula for Danger . Wow, you've just had quite an adventure. 1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. I was working on a new scar-reduction cream product to launch at my family's successful day spa, Joy Luck Life Spa, in Sonoma, California. But someone was trying to steal my formula--and take me out in the process. 2. So, during the book you met Edward Villa. Tell us a bit about him. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love? I met Edward several months ago when I hired him to grow the ...

This post about my first romantic suspense novel, Deadly Intent , was originally posted on another website. However, the post is now lost in an internet black hole because the website was taken down. So I decided to repost it here on my blog. DEADLY INTENT back cover blurb: SCENE OF THE CRIME The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust? Ten Things That Inspired Me to Write Deadly Intent: 10) It's set in a spa. Can we say, research??? 9) The heroine is a massage therapist. Again, research??? I ...

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...

I know I just posted about Necessary Proof , but I also have a new cover for Unshakeable Pursuit ! Isn’t it awesome???? I absolutely love this cover! This one was also done by Dineen Miller . If you got it, be sure to update your copy on your computer/ebook reader so you can get the new cover! If you haven’t, it’s only $2.99. Here’s the back cover description: A doctor and a nurse, both survivors of their painful pasts, go on the run from Asian hitmen with a secretive agenda. A Christian Romantic Suspense novella Book #4.2 in the Sonoma series Doctor Geoffrey Whelan was in Japan when the tsunami hit, killing his cousin and grandmother. He has worked in medical missions for years to assuage his survivor’s guilt, and now that he’s back in Sonoma to help his family, he can’t figure out why he still feels so wounded and God feels so far away. Then a mysterious young woman warns him that he and nurse Maylin Kinley are in mortal danger. Maylin notices that Geoffrey is not the sa...

Isn’t it beautiful? Thanks so much to Dineen Miller ! She completely gets my tastes. If you got it, be sure to update your copy on your computer/ebook reader so you can get the snazzy new cover! If you haven’t gotten it yet, Necessary Proof is FREE at all ebook retailers. Here’s the back cover description: Christian Romantic Suspense Sonoma series, book #4.1 (novella) After opening his heart to Jesus in prison, Alex Villa has left his criminal past behind him. However, his efforts to take down a gang producing meth in Sonoma have made him a target. Set up to look like he’s being bribed by the gang, the police blame him for the death of a cop. Only the evidence on an encrypted laptop can prove he’s innocent. Software engineer Jane Lawton has been betrayed by the men closest to her, including a God she thought would protect her. She won’t let Alex down, because she knows what it feels like to be disbelieved and abandoned. However, the men after them have orders to repossess t...

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...

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 .