This blog was originally published two years ago today at the Kill Zone, and the link popped up in my facebook feed. It’s not only as relevant as it was two years ago, but perhaps more so as the glut of self-published books has increased. Plus, as I re-read the history behind my first (unpublished) book, it reminded me not only of how far I have come since 2002 when I decided to commit myself to a writing career, but how far I’ve come in the last two years … and how far I still need to go. I’ve been… Read More

This blog is for my writer friends. I went back and forth for two weeks about whether to publish this blog. I could leave quietly, and that would be that … but change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I don’t know if my exit survey will be taken seriously or even understood. Maybe I didn’t explain myself well enough. So I’m posting this blog. I care about RWA and the organization and people who have championed romance for so many years. I just don’t have the energy to try and fix what is so seriously broken. Maybe others will. My prayers go… Read More

The buzz on social media is whether the 8-season run of CASTLE can continue into Season 9 without Kate Beckett. Hands down, NO ONE I know plans to watch it. They’re done. I want to be done as well, but truth is I’m a television addict and will likely watch it and bitch and complain the whole time. (Sort of like SUPERNATURAL season 6 and X-Files seasons 8 and 9.)   What I want I don’t think I can have, and that’s a clear ending to the series with a fabulous series finale ala JUSTIFIED and what’s planned for PERSON… Read More

In 2002, I had just started writing. I wrote every night from 9-midnight — after the kids went to bed. Yes, I had to give up television, but in hindsight it was worth it. (Some nights, when I was tired and crabby and the muse was being a bitch, I considered vegging out in front of the television … but usually I didn’t cave in to the doubt demons.) My first book was a mess, an epic romantic suspense that had every possible romantic suspense trope on the planet, from a serial rapist to a virgin heroine to a stalker… Read More

I’m thrilled to introduce romantic suspense author Lena Diaz to Murder She Writes! I’ve known Lena through the Kiss of Death chapter for … years. 🙂 … I love how close the writer community is, especially our romantic suspense chapter. Lena herself was a Navy Brat, moving around the country following her father. Now, she resides in Florida with her husband of more than 20 years. Wow! Please welcome Lena … Readers often ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” Do they come from all those research books sitting on my shelf (see picture above)? Do they come from dreams?… Read More

I’m thrilled to introduce romantic suspense author Lena Diaz to Murder She Writes! I’ve known Lena through the Kiss of Death chapter for … years. 🙂 … I love how close the writer community is, especially our romantic suspense chapter. Lena herself was a Navy Brat, moving around the country following her father. Now, she resides in Florida with her husband of more than 20 years. Wow! Please welcome Lena … Readers often ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” Do they come from all those research books sitting on my shelf (see picture above)? Do they come from dreams?… Read More

I’ve been a fan of Lisa Gardner since I read THE THIRD VICTIM in 2001. THE THIRD VICTIM wasn’t Lisa’s first book, but it was the first book of hers that I read. I became a life-long fan and Lisa Gardner is one of the few authors I consistently buy (in hardcover!) and read. But there’s another reason why THE THIRD VICTIM is close to my heart: it was one of the books that inspired me to write.

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

Five days until STALKED is finally out! It should be available wherever books are sold. I’m excited because every book feels like a gift. Like kids. Hard work, painful at times, but hugely rewarding. I’m currently writing a Lucy Kincaid novella, “Reckless,” which will be out in March. And I’m waiting for my editorial notes for the revisions of STOLEN, my 20th book. It’s also the first book that is mostly in the hero’s head. It’s Sean Rogan’s story, where his past affects his present and he has to make some very difficult choices. For me, writing the hero’s POV… Read More

I joined Romance Writers of America in early 2003 when an acquaintance brought me as her guest to a Sacramento Valley Rose meeting. It was the January meeting, a panel of category romance writers who also wrote single-title length romance in all different sub-genres. Even though I don’t write category romance, I was stunned at the wealth of information I’d never imagined would be so readily available to those who just ask. I never regretted joining RWA. It’s one of the few professional writers organization that was also open to aspiring writers. I joined the Kiss of Death chapter in… Read More