The last few days I have been enjoying the cold weather. LOL. I know it is strange. The last few days I’ve been happy. The crisp bite of winter has set in. People are moving fast to and from where we are going to get out of it. Instead of my usual rush I decided to stroll to and from my house. I took on the breathtaking beauty of winter. There is a scent in the air that can’t be mistaken. A crisp, fresh smell of winter. As I went through my day it followed me. There were a few people that was doing as I did. They had smiles on their faces as they walked like I did. We were enjoying being outside.

Although it is a cold days like today put a huge smile on my face and a song in my heart. Yeah I know I’m being sappy again but this is that sort of day. A good mood day that you want to share with everyone else.

McKenna Jeffries
http://www.mckennajeffries.com/
…. sensual, edgy, unexpected

Blog: http://www.mckennajeffries.com/blog
Chat Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/McKennaJeffriesList
Free Reads Site: http:/ /www.satinnotes.com/

Conquering Jazz – What’s a woman to do when she unwittingly makes a tantalizing proposition to her best friend?

Be brazen, bold and set some ground rules. Her offer. One night of carnal bliss. No emotion allowed.

His counter offer. A continued affair to fulfill all their sexual cravings.

His hidden agenda. Conquer to make sure their affair never ends.

Buy here at Liquid Silver Book.

We’ve all heard the old adage about scorned women. With that in mind, I came up with the concept of The Yearning, my first erotic paranormal, that will release on February 1 from Samhain. 

For me, my villainess Desiree had to be unique, spooky and yet I also wanted her to have a very good reason for what she did to Jasmine. Love drives Desiree. Her unquenchable need for one guy sets her off, while Jasmine—and then later Mike—gets caught in the crossfire. 

As most writers know, villains are fun to write. Desiree Zazou was no exception. Even when she’s not physically in a scene, she commands it. 

Here’s the blurb and an excerpt to show you what I mean: 

BLURB: 

To break this curse, they’ll have to turn the heat up. Way up.

Jasmine Dante prowls Key West’s nightlife, fighting a losing battle against a jealous rival’s curse that forces her to seek carnal pleasure, no matter the danger. Weakened from lack of sleep, driven by insatiable lust, she spots a man who stirs her desperate craving, and begins yet another dance of seduction.Except the dark stranger who returns her direct stare is no ordinary lover. Inside his powerful body lies a raw sexuality that just might be enough to break her curse. There’s only one way to find out: imprison him in her bed and feed on his passion.

Former U.S. Marshal Mike Stearn is many things, but he’s no woman’s sex slave. The deadly telekinetic power he ruthlessly suppresses comes alive again at Jasmine’s touch. Beneath her bold, potent sensuality he senses vulnerability and desperation. He may be in handcuffs, but she’s the one who’s enslaved. As Mike resurrects his power to free himself so he can find the curse’s source and defeat it, Jasmine revels in his masterful rule. Her ravenous yearning evolves into rapture as she surrenders to his hunger, her darkest needs—and the emotional connection that lies beyond. Unless the curse takes her life first…Warning: Tons of steamy sex, smoldering passion and a to-die-for love story with a hot Alpha hero who finds himself imprisoned by one sultry and desperate babe.EXCERPT: 

He grabbed the color printouts. Jasmine had enlarged Desiree’s image in the photos, some candid and some posed, taken at a mobile home park and at a variety of storefront businesses. The grainy quality didn’t compromise her impact. She had an unholy beauty that didn’t look real. Mike could recall only two other women with the same perfection: Liv Tyler and Angelina Jolie.
Hollywood stars with makeup people, hairdressers, professional lighting and award-winning photographers.

Desiree didn’t need any of it. Her wheat-colored hair, caramel-colored skin, and green eyes—so pale they looked see-through—would have generated envy in a starlet or an angel. Her expression, though. Mike saw obsession, anger. Jasmine’s earlier comment returned. “She blamed me. I tried to fight it and stop, but…”

He asked, “How did you meet her?”

“I didn’t. I met the man she wanted.”

His face lifted at the slight change in her voice, its dull, absorbed quality. She’d stopped fisting her fingers. They ran down her robe, opening it so he could glimpse her nudity. “What man is that?”

Her fingers slowed. “Connor.”

“How did you meet?”

“Why?” Ben asked.

Mike wanted him to shut the fuck up. His Glock in the boy’s hand warned him not to be too blunt or to make any unnecessary moves. “I’d like to understand what’s going on.” Certain Ben would question him—as he had on every other point—Mike spoke quickly to Jasmine. “Did Desiree see you and Connor together?”

“Not at first.” Her gaze turned inward. Rain streamed down the panes, creating shadows on her cheek that looked like falling tears. “I met Connor in Miami at a business management seminar. He runs, or rather ran, a financial services business. I was at the conference to get some ideas on operating my sisters’ dress design shop.” Her brows drew together. Renewed shame rose in her eyes. “I didn’t want to lie to you, Mike. I just couldn’t allow them to be involved.” She leaned forward suddenly, her hand on his ankle. “It was my idea to bring you here. I only wanted to do it until I could find Desiree and stop this. When it’s over, promise me you won’t tell the authorities about my sisters. I don’t care about me, but I can’t let anyone hurt Violet and Lily.”

Too many questions played in his mind. Stop what, exactly? How and when would it be over? “No one will know about them or you.”

Her hand remained. She lowered her face.

He could see she didn’t believe him any more than he’d believed her a few minutes ago. The mounting lust he’d seen in her eyes had changed his opinion on one point—no actress could produce the agony he kept witnessing. “You met Connor at a seminar?” he asked, wanting her to talk so he could gain her trust.

Her hair bobbed over her shoulders with her nod. “I had some questions about one of the presentations. He explained it to me over drinks and got to talking about his job in financial services. I didn’t understand a lot of the jargon he used, but I didn’t let on. I was flattered he would even be speaking to me. Every woman there thought he was so hot. They called him the eight-by-ten glossy, referring to the headshots actors use as they try to get parts. As far as I was concerned, he was better-looking than any actor I’d ever seen. When he asked if I wanted to have dinner when we returned to the Keys, I said yes. I didn’t know about Desiree.”

“Because he didn’t tell you,” Ben said, then spoke to Mike. “That bastard didn’t do squat to protect Jas. He lied about knowing Desiree. When she started stalking Jas, and we needed to know what he knew about her, he disappeared suddenly. Poof. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth.”

Mike followed the boy’s flailing arms, the pistol swinging wildly in his hand. “Connor’s missing?”Jasmine answered. “Shortly after Desiree saw us at the restaurant for our date, she started to follow me.” 

Jasmine’s tale grows more frightening from there…and only Mike has the power to help her. 

The Yearning will be available February 1!!!! 

Buy Link:  http://store.samhainpublishing.com/the-yearning-p-6248.html 

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahueFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

Building a Focus Group

by David Richards

When writing a manuscript it is nice to have an objective reader critique early drafts. However, even better, is entertaining points of view from several readers. Perhaps one of the most essential assets I have as a writer (outside of a good editor) is what I have come to loosely refer to as my focus group. It is an assembly of individuals who have never actually met but who share a few common attributes. Each of them enjoys reading, they don’t mind helping me out, all are very capable of forming an opinion, and none are shy about sharing it. Of no small importance, collectively they represent the type of readership that I am trying to reach.  

At the beginning it was a matter of cold-call solicitation to find volunteers. A great pool to draw upon, of course, is relatives and immediate friends, which I did. However, over time I extended my network so that it came to additionally include work colleagues, business associates, friends of friends and even business colleagues of relatives.

This was achieved, in part, by establishing an intermittent email that I would send out ‘newsletter’ style. It was nothing more than funny anecdotal updates from my life. Friends and family would, in turn, forward any which they thought amusing. As a consequence: 1) an audience became familiar with my writing style and 2) a few more people requested to be added to the email list. By the time I was ready to start looking for perspective volunteers to critique drafts of my novel I had a decent number of sympathetic readers to approach.

The other path I chose in finding members of my focus group was to pay individuals to read my work. A great source for this type of service is the Masters program of the English department at a local university. I simply left a brief description of the editorial work that I was looking for and my email address with the department secretary and within a few days I had several proposals. There was a very wide range in the tendered rates. It is important to keep in mind that students are not professional editors and what they propose to charge should reflect that. I ended up paying a Masters Student a very reasonable 10.00/hr. His observations were relevant and valuable. This process could be repeated with each manuscript revision until the final draft, at which time you will want to involve a professional editor.

Through direct request, networking vicariously by email and hiring, I reached a fortunate position where I could compartmentalize and ask some members of my focus group to read a particular draft and then have another set read the resulting amended revision.  The process was immensely helpful.

D.W. Richards is a member of the Canadian Authors Association and beyond being a novelist he is also a script-doctor and freelance writer. An excerpt from Pairs will appear in the October 2010 issue of the international literary PDF quarterly Cantarville as a standalone fiction piece. In addition to creative writing, D.W. Richards has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology from Carleton University and is a Certified General Accountant. He divides his time between Venice, Italy and Ottawa, Canada.

Visit his website at www.pairsthenovel.com or connect with him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DW_Richards.

You can purchase a paperback copy of Pairs online by clicking here or order the Kindle edition by clicking here.

Hi everyone.  Before I begin, I want to thank Romance Junkies for allowing me to guest blog with them today.

I love romance novels.  I’ve read them for a long time and a few years ago I decided to actively pursue my dream of writing for publication.  With this goal in mind, I immersed myself in the genre.   I joined Romance Writers of America and my local chapter, Virginia Romance Writers.  I read websites and blogs, chatted on forums, and subscribed to RT Book Reviews.  I was surrounded by people who loved to read and write romantic fiction.  We have lots of disagreements and differing views based on sub-categories, but we all have the utmost respect for the genre.

So I was surprised to recently find myself in a situation where I was put on the defensive regarding my choice of subject matter.  I was at a writing event with unpublished writers of other genres.  You can picture it, men and woman in various stages of dishevelment, palming a cup of coffee, the sickly glare of our open laptops reflecting off our skin.  We went around and introduced ourselves and what we write.  We had Sci-fi, Sci-fi, Fantasy and then me.

“My name is Tracey and I write contemporary and paranormal romance.”

**crickets**

Eyes lowered quickly to their computer screens and then back up with the “Oh, how nice” look.  You know that look:  the surprised raised eyebrows, the false bright smile.   Introductions moved on around the table.  Maybe I was being a little sensitive, so I paid attention to the reaction other people got.  Mystery got supportive nods.  Sci-fi got some genuine smiles and a “me, too.”

Later, when we left the protection of our laptops and moved into smaller groups, I overheard one person lament, “I’m trying to write a love story, but I think it’s so stupid.  What’s the point?  All they do is bitch and moan about their problems and then kiss and make up.  Who reads this stuff?”

I froze.  Did I hear that person correctly?  Did they know they were speaking loudly?  Did they forget that’s what I wrote?  Or maybe they didn’t care?

“You know ‘who reads this stuff?’  How about 74.8 million people* who bought romance novels last year?  Would they all continue to read stories where people “bitch and moan” for 200 pages?  Would they have spent $1.36 billion dollars* on “stupid” books?

“Instead of denigrating an entire genre, why don’t you focus on creating a plot for your story?  Who are your characters?  What are their goals and motivations?  Have you heard of internal and external conflict?

“But the real question is if you find romances so repulsive, why are you attempting to write one?  It couldn’t be because you did your research and found that in 2009, romantic fiction dominated the best seller lists, second only to movie tie-in books*?

“So please, don’t do us any favors.  Don’t lower yourself to write ‘love stories.’  I think we’ll survive.”

But of course, all of those witty comebacks occurred to me in the car on my way home, actual data compiled a little later.  But if I’m in another situation, and someone says the same thing…

Has this happened to any of you?  What did you do?  Have any awesome comebacks?  Share them and post only if you don’t mind them being used the next time someone needs to be put in their place.

*Data taken from 2009 RWA Reader Survey & Norris, Business of Consumer Book Publishing 2010

It hasn’t happened yet, but Tracey Livesay remains focused on her dream of being published.  Follow her path to publication by visiting her website:  www.traceylivesay.com

After the personal turmoil of last year I’ve been trying to get back into my life. Get the feel of what I was and who I used to be. However I realized that I have changed. Some of the changes are subtle but I noticed a difference. Others are more obvious and even others have taken note. Thankfully in my opinion and those who noticed the changes are for the better.

With these changes I had to reevaluate what I was used to and work to get to a new place. As I did this I found out something about myself. The change has revitalized my passion for things that I hadn’t realized that I had stopped taking time for. One for instance is my love of movies. I used to eagerly look forward to certain movies coming out. But in the last little bit I would make noises of wanting to see it but not actually do it. Now I am not saying it alone. Now I am doing it to.

As for other changes. I have sat and evaluated my writing and the way I do things. As I’ve mentioned as few times before I love organization and knowing what I will be working on next. I’ve streamlined some things I do in my writing and it has freed up some time for me to get more writing done. Ah… more writing means more books. More worlds to explore and build. More characters to bring to everyone. I’m loving this new norm.

Taige Crenshaw
http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/
…increasing the sizzle factor

Blog: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog
Chat Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crenshawcafe
Newsletter: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/newsletterandgroups.shtml
Free Reads Site: http://www.satinnotes.com/

Wilde Seduction – What happens when a woman who doesn’t know how to relax meets a man whose lust for life will change her and make all her deepest desires come to life?

Buy here at Total-E-Bound.

 I’ve put a lot of thought into this question because character and conflict are the keys to great story.  Before I can begin to build a detailed plot, I must first focus on character.  I love to create and juxtaposing opposites because they can really make the sparks fly, but to make their relationship believable, there has to be more.

 When I start a new book, I focus on my character’s internal goals and motivations.  I need to know what they want out of life.  Once I’ve figured that out I create life roles that are complete opposites.  In SENSELESS, Eva Rayburn is brilliant student who can master any task.  She is driven by reading and learning.  She is also an ex-con, convicted of manslaughter.  When the book opens, she is trying to rebuild her life and get back to her education and a sister she’s not seen in a decade.  Life had toughened her attitude, hardened her mannerisms and erased her fear of breaking the rules.   She’s learned the hard way that nice girls finish last. 

Whereas Eva is the ultimate outsider, hero Detective Deacon Garrison is the ultimate insider.  He has been in the police department for thirteen years, he is committed to solving crimes and he is close to his parents and sister.  He has a clear vision of right and wrong and good and evil.  He lives by the rules.

Both characters are fiercely independent and each will do what it takes to get the job done.   And while Eva and Garrison are opposites in so many ways, their internal aspirations are quite similar.  They both value loyalty and commitment and both will do whatever it takes to protect their family.  When one makes a promise it is for life.  Though opposites at first glance, they learn there is a great deal to share and love about each other.

Writing Eva and Garrison was great fun.  Strong people with strong goals make for great conflict and ultimately a great story.  So what are some of your favorite “opposite” heroes and heroines?  I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Mary Burton captivates readers with stories of mystery, crime and relationships–destined to keep readers on the edge of their seats.  Her January 2010 book SENSELESS is a romantic suspense set in Virginia.  When she’s not writing her latest novel, she is most definitely in the kitchen cooking.

“Good morning. I’m Jack O’Gara—Aidan Douglas, the Earl of Kilronan’s cousin, partner in crime, and all around fabulous Fey-born Other. Due to a major mental hangover following the holiday rush, Alix Rickloff has asked me to sit in for her on this interview.”

“You know all about hangovers, don’t you, Jack?”

“Ouch. I haven’t even introduced you yet and already you’re insulting me.” He gives a grin and a wink to the woman beside him. “But enough witty banter. Let’s welcome Cat O’Connell. Courageous, beautiful, clever, and Dublin’s favorite arch-rogue.”

Cat nods graciously, though her gaze grows wary.

“Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I mean not many gently-bred young women end up thieving on the street.”

“Unfortunately, it’s a common enough story among gullible debutantes in their first season out.”

“Yet rarely do you find those young women burgling for a living.”

She stabs Jack with a hard glare. “I did what I had to do in order to survive.”

Clearing his throat, Jack tugs at his collar. “So quickly moving on from your life prior to coming here—let’s talk about now. What was your initial reaction to Aidan’s proposal—be thrown in prison as a thief or decipher his father’s diary?”

“I thought he was mad. But I had nowhere else to go. It was the lesser of two evils.”

“And as you grew to know my esteemed cousin?”

Cat’s expression grows wistful. “He’s pig-headed, arrogant, and single-minded bordering on relentless—”

“I assume there’s a “but” coming up.”

“But he’s also gentle, patient, and accepting of who I really am, sins and all.”

Jack crosses his arms. “But if you knew when you broke into Kilronan House, you’d be dragged into a murderous conspiracy of power-crazed Other and  stalked by a dangerous medieval warrior raised from the dead, would you still have done it?”

Cat laughs. “That’s an impossible question. I didn’t know Aidan then. All I knew was that someone was willing to pay an enormous sum for that book.”

“And now that you know him? Know what that book really is?”

She grows serious. “All we can do is try to stay alive long enough to decipher the Kilronan diary and hope it leads us to the truth behind Aidan’s father’s death and his brother’s disappearance.”

“One last question before I let you depart. What happens afterward? If you translate the diary and discover the truth? If you survive? Aidan’s an impoverished earl. You’re socially beyond the pale. Is there any hope for a future together?”

Cat gives a mysterious smile. “I suppose you’ll just have to linger until the end of the story to find out.”

Visit more with Cat and Aidan at www.AlixRickloff.com or leave a comment and be entered to win a free copy of EARL OF DARKNESS.

About Earl Of Darkness:

The magic she tries to hide… Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. But Cat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Fey and human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.

…is the magic he desperately wants.

From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . .and into the violence of the Other world that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

It’s amazing the places an idea for a story can come from.  Years ago, my first book, MAGNIFICENT PASSAGE, started swimming around in my head as I watched a TV show called The Quest, a tale about two half brothers.  I’ve actually had people ask me if that is where my story idea began. 

NIGHT SECRETS was inspired by the old song “Brandy,” about the tavern maid who fell in love with a sea captain whose heart belonged to the sea.  Fortunately, the story was only loosely connected to the song–which saved me from a lawsuit by the people who wrote it!Often my Contemporary novels blossom from something I’ve read in the newspapers or seen on TV.  SEASON OF STRANGERS was about a young woman and her sister who had an encounter with a UFO, a subject I’ve read a great deal about.

My new book, AGAINST THE WIND, began in a similar fashion.  I was cruising along the 90 Freeway crossing Montana, enjoying the crisp fall weather, the brilliant colors of the leaves, and listening to the country channel on the radio.  As I headed toward home, a Trace Atkins song came on, How do you like me now?  It’s a wonderful tune that tells a great story.  And it gave me the kernel of an idea for a story I was able to expand into a book.In the song, a young girl humiliates a boy who has a crush on her.  Later that boy grows up to be extremely successful and he wonders how that girl feels about him now. 

In my mind, that boy and girl became Jackson Raines and Sarah Allen, the hero and heroine in the book.  Years later, Sarah returns to the small Wyoming town of
Wind Canyon, in trouble after her failed marriage.  Unfortunately for Sarah, the only person who can keep her and her little girl, Holly, safe is Jackson Raines, the boy–now a man–she humiliated in high school all those years ago.

Most of the time, my story ideas seem to come out of nowhere.  One day I’m looking for a plot for a book and then suddenly, I know that I want to write about Gabriel Raines and his struggle to find the arsonist who is trying to kill him.  Then I search for the woman Gabe is going to fall in love with, no easy task for a macho man like Gabe.  Lady architect, Mattie Baker, filled the spot perfectly, and the book became AGAINST THE FIRE.

AGAINST THE LAW, the third book in the trilogy, seemed to come fairly easily once I got started.  I loved Dev Raines, the sexiest and wildest of the Raines brothers.  Once Lark Delaney walked into his life, the plot began to roll.  The novel developed as I wrote it, which is unusual for me, and it turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.

I’ve discovered that readers seem to like trilogies.  I wonder how you all feel about them?  Like them?  Hate them? 

I hope you’ll watch for the Raines Brothers trilogy, AGAINST THE WIND, AGAINST THE FIRE, and AGAINST THE LAW.  They’re coming January, February, March.  Till then, happy reading and all best wishes, Kat 

(more…)

By: Marie ForceThank you so much for having me today to discuss Fatal Justice, book 2 in my new Fatal Series. Here’s a little bit about the book to get us started:

She looked into the dead face of the man she’d dined with the night before Standing over the body of a Supreme Court nominee, Lieutenant Sam Holland is hip-deep in another high-profile murder case. The fact that she was one of the last people to see Julian Sinclair alive just complicates things even more. On the plus side, her relationship with Senator Nick Cappuano is heating up—but it’s also attracting a lot of unwanted media attention and blinding flash bulbs.The pressure is on for Sam to find Sinclair’s killer, but a new lead in her father’s unsolved shooting puts her in unexpected danger. When long-buried secrets threaten to derail her relationship with Nick, Sam realizes that while justice can be blind, mixing romance with politics has the potential to be fatal…

In this second book, Sam and Nick are dealing with a lot of issues as they launch their relationship, he begins his one-year term in the Senate, she takes command of the District’s homicide detectives’ squad and pursues new leads in her father’s unsolved shooting. As this series unfolds, one of my goals is to keep Sam and Nick’s romance front and center. I am also determined to make sure there is nothing formulaic about these books. So, even though it’s a romantic suspense, Fatal Justice opens with the romance. There’s plenty of mystery, suspense and politics, too!

Here’s a brief excerpt:

At two minutes to midnight, Nick couldn’t find Sam and panic was setting in. A heartbeat away from asking the DJ to page her, he spotted her tucked into a corner, checking text messages on her phone.Pushing his way through the crowd, he took the phone, stuffed it into his back pocket, reached for her hand and tugged her up.She resisted. “Hey! What’re you doing?”“Come,” he said, leading her out of the room to a stairway.“Where are we going? Isn’t it almost midnight?”“Yep.” Nick charged up the stairs, almost dragging her along with him. At the top of the darkened stairwell, he pushed open the door to the roof. Their city stretched out before them. Above, the clear sky twinkled with stars.“Oh, wow, Nick,” she said breathlessly. “Oh, look at this!” She spun on her heel to get the full view of the Capitol, White House and monuments at the far end of the Mall.Nick drew her into his arms. “You like?”“Totally. This is amazing!”“Are you cold?”“No,” she said, gazing up at the stars.From the sidewalk below, they heard revelers counting down the final ten seconds of the year.He brought his hands up to frame her face. “I love you. This year, next year, every year.”She reached for him, and as fireworks burst into the sky above them, she kissed him softly, thoroughly, deeply. “I love you, too. Thank you for the best New Year’s ever.”“The first of many.” He kissed both her cheeks. “I promise.”“Can we do this every year?” Her eyes brimmed with excitement, the way he liked them best. “Can we come back to this very spot to ring in every New Year?”“It’s a date,” he said, his throat tight with emotion. He’d had no idea, no idea at all, that it was possible to love someone this much. “Next time, I’ll remember the champagne.”“We don’t need it.”

I’m really excited to get Fatal Justice out to readers this week! You can find it at http://ebooks.carinapress.com under the Romantic Suspense tab. This is the start of a big year for Sam and Nick.

Coming up in February, we’ll be asking readers to help us plan their wedding. Watch my website (www.mariesullivanforce.com) and blog (http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com) for more information about how you can participate in the wedding planning and qualify to win some great prizes. Then in July, watch for book 3, Fatal Consequences. In September, we’ll release the Fatal wedding novella, Fatal Destiny, and then comes Fatal Flaw in February 2012.I’m happy to take any questions readers might have about the Fatal Series or any of my other books, including my Feb. 1 print release, Everyone Loves a Hero. Sam and Nick are also happy to take questions!

If you want to talk writing, parenting teenagers, puppies and senior citizens, I’m your girl. If you want to talk about the new season of the Bachelor and whether Brad will actually choose someone this time around, bring it on! I’ll give away a copy of Fatal Justice to one commenter.

Thanks again for having me!Marie Force is the author of FATAL AFFAIR (June 2010) and FATAL JUSTICE (Jan. 2011), Books 1 and 2 in her new Fatal Series from Harlequin’s Carina Press. Book 3, FATAL CONSEQUENCES, is coming in July 2011, FATAL DESTINY in September 2011 and FATAL FLAW in February 2012. “This novel is ‘The O.C. does D.C.,’ and you just can’t get enough.” (RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars for FATAL AFFAIR). In its July 2010 issue, RT Book Reviews named Marie a “Future Star of Romantic Suspense.”Marie is the author EVERYONE LOVES A HERO (Feb. 2011), LINE OF SCRIMMAGE (Sept. 2008) and LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT (July 2009). Of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” Marie is also the author of TRUE NORTH and THE FALL, available as ebooks via Amazon.com and Smashwords.Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to RWA. She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest Chapters.While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of Emily, 15, Jake, 12, and a feisty dog named Brandy.Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, where she runs the popular weekly Romance & Oreos Book Club, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909, and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.