What is it about vigilantes, rogue cops, and superheroes that keep us captivated? This trend is nothing new, though over the last few years the vigilante-as-hero has been on the rise. I look back to Westerns as the rise of vigilante justice. When America was a new country and there wasn’t any real system in place to keep people safe. People were responsible for each other–families for their own, neighbors for their neighbors, towns for their towns. Someone comes onto your land to steal your cattle, shoot them. Someone rapes your wife, shoot him. Someone robs the bank? Hunt them… Read More

On Tuesday, I got an email that many writer’s dread. The copy department wants a synopsis. This is particularly dire when you, the author, DID actually send in a (very) brief synopsis weeks ago. They want more. This doesn’t surprise me because I only sent them one long paragraph that I wrote as if it were back cover copy, with a few more details. I know there are formulas that people use, and I can write a log line, and I can put together the premise and backstory very easily, but I have no idea until I’m in my character’s… Read More

Three times in two days I’ve been asked who would play my characters in a movie. I have a few I absolutely know–like Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Nick Thomas in SPEAK NO EVIL. Or Timothy Olyphant as the sociopath Theodore Glenn in KILLING FEAR. Or Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Tyler McBride in TEMPTING EVIL. Or . . . well, he can pretty much play any character he wants to 🙂 Yes, I’m a bit obsessed. Timothy Olyphant as hero: (BTW, JUSTIFIED is the best show out there today–just FYI if you haven’t seen it! It’s on F/X. Wednesdays at 10… Read More

Before I started seriously writing, I read a minimum of one book a week. Usually two or three books a week, in addition to school or work or raising the kids. When I was on maternity leave with my son in the summer of 2001, I read 77 books in four months. Two of those books — THE THIRD VICTIM by Lisa Gardner and THE SEARCH by Iris Johansen — jumpstarted my dormant writing. I’d put aside writing when I started having kids, because raising kids + working full time = no time for writing. I changed that in March… Read More

I spent Tuesday night with James Ellroy. Okay, not all night. Just a few hours with Mr. Ellroy and a group of reporters–plus the talented and extremely nice Stephen Schwartz from my alter-blog, Murderati. The bestselling novelist of 18 books, Mr. Ellroy is most famous for his bestselling novels THE BLACK DAHLIA and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. He also has a tragic personal story, as he lost his mother in 1958 to murder. We all met at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena for a bus tour for Mr. Ellroy to promote his new television series, “James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons” on… Read More

Characters make the story, and nothing is more important to a successful series than good characters. This is doubly important for a romantic suspense series. There are very few out there where the hero and heroine have a growing relationship over the course of several books. JD Robb’s IN DEATH series is perhaps the best known example. 32 books in (which doesn’t include numerous short stories and novellas!) and Eve Dallas and Roarke are still interesting characters who are working through their conflicts without losing sight of the fact that they love, admire and respect each other. All while battling… Read More

ADDED 12.28: Whoops! the tinyurl in the TWITTER contest link comes here, when it should be going to a description of LOVE ME TO DEATH! Bad me. Here’s the correct link: http://tinyurl.com/2wel7a5 We usually take a break blogging over the Christmas season, so the MSW gals have graciously allowed me to pretty much take over the blog this week because my new book comes out tomorrow. And because it’s the first book of a series, it’s particularly important to spread the word. Even more so because this week is a heavy week in publishing–a lot of big books are coming… Read More

I may get in trouble for this blog, but Random House is closed until January 3rd, so who would I ask? I’ll invoke the “forgiveness” doctrine–it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission 🙂 In five days, LOVE ME TO DEATH will be released. It’s also my anniversary as a published author. Five years ago to the day (almost) THE PREY was released. LOVE ME TO DEATH is my fifteenth novel. I’m as excited as I am nervous. The book market has changed dramatically between my last romantic suspense release (August 2009) and this book. More readers are buying e-books,… Read More

Or is it? This is the first year since I’ve been published that I don’t have a deadline in December. Deadlines can mean a lot of things. Turning in the manuscript, copyedits, page proofs, proposal — important things that need to be done, preferably on time. But this December, I don’t have a major deadlines. I have little things to do. Blogs to write–such as the Amazon Kindle piece I was working on yesterday for the release of LOVE IS MURDER, a novella to be released exclusively for the digital market. The blog I turned in last week for Borders… Read More

I’m the keynote speaker for the upcoming Moonlight & Magnolia conference in Atlanta the first weekend in October. I like writing speeches about as much as I like plotting—which is to say, I’d rather walk over hot coals in bare feet being chased by a pack of hungry, man-eating arachnids. Rocki, of course, thought I was insane two years ago when I told her I wasn’t going to write a speech for the Emerald City conference. For those of you who have had the privilege of hearing Rocki speak, you know she’s an amazing public speaker. She’s poised, polished, professional,… Read More