A second post today! Surprise! But I couldn’t contain my excitement. COLD SNAP is a finalist in the 2014 Thriller Awards for Best Paperback Original. I am totally surprised and thrilled and humbled because I am in AMAZING company, including MSW alum Kendra Elliot. I have been a judge for the Thriller Awards in all but three years of the contest, and one of those years I was the awards chair, so I know how difficult it is for judges to narrow down a list to just a few books. There are so many fabulous thrillers published every year, and… Read More

I never thought I’d write that! Book Tour! Wow 🙂 I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve been out of town on and off ever since Left Coast Crime in Monterey. And when I’ve been home, I’ve been writing and playing with the kids because they’ve missed me. So my plan to blog twice a week with one guest has failed. Hoping that I’ll pick it up again in the coming month! So, what’s this book tour been like?

THANK YOU to Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills for helping launch NOTORIOUS. And a special thanks to my friend Brenda Novak who co-signed with me. Her newest book in her Whiskey Creek series COME HOME TO ME (set in California’s Gold Country) came out the same day! We had a fabulous turnout, and I greatly appreciate all the support from my friends and readers who came — including those who drove all the way from Napa! I was so humbled and thrilled to talk about Max Revere and meet so many of my readers. My husband took… Read More

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since last March, when I first turned in the revised manuscript for NOTORIOUS. Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since two years ago, when I signed the contract for my first hardcover thriller. Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since 2006, when my first book THE PREY hit the shelves in mass market paperback, and I dreamed of one day being in hardcover. NOTORIOUS is here.

Left Coast Crime is fast becoming one of my favorite conferences, for three primary reasons: 1. Location. It’s on the “left” half of the country and much easier for me to travel to. Two years ago it was in Sacramento! This year … Monterey, a three hour drive. Much easier (and cheaper) than spending a day flying cross-country. 2. Intimacy. LCC is neither large nor small, it’s just right. I have the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. 3. Readers. LCC is one of the few conferences that still is largely filled with reader —… Read More

This weekend I was one of 45 authors to participate in the Sacramento Library Foundation’s “Authors on the Move” fundraising event. They raised over $110,000 toward their summer reading program for children’s literacy. This marked the third time I’ve been invited to the event, and each time I’ve enjoyed the festivities. Patrons pay $200 each to have a wonderful 4-course dinner with 3 authors — authors rotate between courses. With 8 people at the table, we have the opportunity to answer any questions they might ask about our book or writing. It’s truly fun, though by the end of the… Read More

Look what came in the mail yesterday! The very first copy of NOTORIOUS, in hardcover. To say I’m excited is an understatement. I am THRILLED. It’s as exciting as when I got my very first book in the mail, THE PREY, back in the end of 2005. It’s very pretty 🙂

  I wrote this little story nearly four years ago for BLOOD LITE II: OVERBITE, the Horror Writers Association anthology. I was very pleased with the quality of all the stories, which are bite-sized tales perfect for when you only have 10-15 minutes to read. I’ll admit, I had a LOT of fun writing something dark and different with a (relatively) unhappy ending. The assignment was essentially to write a “light” horror story. At the time, I was writing the first of my seven deadly sins book and had been reading a lot about demons and possession, so the idea… Read More

Early in my writing career, I was asked to write a short story in an anthology with debut thriller writers, edited by Lee Child. Of course I said yes! But writing short isn’t easy … especially for someone like me who finds it hard to keep my novellas under 25,000 words and my books under 100,000 words. (DEAD HEAT, the book I just revised and turned in, clocked in at 107,000 words.) But I did it, because I love a challenge. “Killing Justice” was originally published in Killer Year in 2008, and again in a 3-story anthology by the same… Read More

Maxine Revere has dedicated her life to investigating murders…