Warning: There are a few spoilers. If you haven’t read Deadly Valentine, you might want to first.

Q: Most readers love the unequivocal devotion you have for Tess, but a couple people have questioned what you see in Tess, especially since she was so cool toward you sometimes in the beginning?

Jack: Really? Hmm. Well, first, you have to remember that I met Tess long before that fateful night at Asa Worthington’s house. When I first met her, she was outgoing, witty, always willing to go on an adventure.  She was different when we reunited, but I could see she was still in there. A few hard-knocks made her guarded, but deep down, she was the same.

Q: How did you and Tess first meet?

Jack: I was meeting with my lawyer, Brad Chancellor. This is before he came to work for me. She showed up at the end of that meeting.

Q: On several occasions, you make it sound like love at first sight.

Jack: It was pretty close, which was difficult because she was engaged to Brad then. And Brad wasn’t just my lawyer, he was a friend.

Q: So what was it about her that had you falling so fast for a woman you couldn’t have?

Jack: I can give you the list of attributes – she’s smart, fast with a good retort, beautiful – but many women are. There was just something that grabbed me right in the gut. I suppose some people might call it chemistry. I don’t know how to explain it, but I remember feeling it deep in my soul. I’d never had that happen before.

Q: Did she feel the same about you?

Jack: You’d have to ask her. I think there was something, but again, she was engaged to Brad so it wasn’t something either of us considered pursuing. I had to settle being her friend.

Q: Didn’t she indicate there could be more between you two after she and Brad broke up?

Jack: She had initially come to me seeking support and comfort…a shoulder to cry on. It could have become more, but I think she would have regretted it. It was a difficult decision on my part to push her away, but I didn’t want to be the rebound guy or the way to get back at Brad.

Q: Did you have any sense of how profoundly that night effected her?

Jack: I knew she was hurting. She’d had experience rejection and betrayal before, and I think she saw Brad and my actions as reinforcing that. But I didn’t get at how deeply that pain went. Or how much it would alter who she was. I might have if I’d been able to stay in touch with her, but my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer right after that, so my priorities were caring for her.

Q: So you love Tess for her wit, adventurous spirit and that je ne sais quoi?

Jack: Among other things. I love that Tess doesn’t care about status or money-

Q: I guess that was always an issue with other women. You didn’t know if they liked you for you or your money.

Jack: Oh, I could tell. There was a time it didn’t matter, but I knew that in the long run, I wanted someone like Tess.

Q: What else attracts you to her?

Jack: I love how she challenges me and she gets me. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.

Q: And she has good taste in lingerie.

Jack: That’s a perk, yes.

Q: How do you feel about her relationship with Daniel?

Jack: Ah, Daniel. I have Jekyll-Hyde feelings. I like that he was … still is there for her. He and his family are important to her and I respect that. But, I am a man, and like most men, don’t like having other men eying the woman I love.

Q: You never asked her to stop being his friend.

Jack: No. First of all, she wouldn’t take it well. I think Daniel found that out when he asked her not to see me. But he’s important to her and I have to respect that.

Q: Did you ever worry that Daniel might win Tess’ heart?

Jack: I didn’t worry that he’d win her heart, but I worried she might choose the safer route. I know she loves and cares for Daniel, but not in the same way she loves me. Our love is intense and passionate, which also makes it riskier, scarier. I  worried she wouldn’t take that risk.

Q: Is that why you rejected her when she tried to mend your relationship after she broke up with you?

Jack: No. I’m impulsive and am willing to risk a lot if I think there will be a good outcome. I rejected her because I was hurt and angry. I still kick myself for that.

Q: Because she nearly died?

Jack: That’s one reason. But even if she hadn’t nearly died, she could have decided I wasn’t worth the effort after all and rejected me when I apologized.

Q: You and Tess seem to get mixed up in murder a lot. Did that happen before and do you worry that you two seem to attract trouble?

Jack: Except for my dad getting killed in the line of duty as a police officer, I’d never had a personal experience with murder. I’d only seen murder in the movies until Asa was killed. But I don’t worry that Tess and I have seen more than our fair share of dead bodies. It’ll take more than murder to keep me from her.

Q: Do you think you’ll have kids? Your lives seem a little dangerous for that.

Jack: Yes, we’ll have kids. But it will be awhile. I’m not ready to share Tess yet.

Q: Well, it’s clear you’re a romantic. But you can’t jet off to romantic places because you don’t like flying. Have you always been afraid to fly?

Jack: Yes. Actually, I’m not afraid to fly, I’m afraid to fall. It has nothing to do with heights. It has to do with crashing. It ruins the macho image, I know. But … well…I can’t be perfect.

Q: I think Tess thinks you come pretty close to it.

A: I hope so.

Do you have questions for Jack that I didn’t ask? Ask them in the comment section below and he’ll answer them!

I’m still waiting to hear back on the book I sent to Harlequin. In November, I won a spot to do an online pitch, and on a lark decided I’d pitch a romance I had sitting on my computer. The editor asked for three chapters and then back in February, she asked for the entire book. I can’t decide if/when I should email and ask for an update. It’s one of those situations in which you want to know the outcome if it’s good news, but not if it’s bad news.

I also read at the Harlequin forum that if editors want to buy a book, they ask about other books the author has. I don’t have anything that fits the line at this point. So I’ve been working on a synopsis and first few chapters of a sequel to the book I sent…just in case Harlequin wants to buy the first book. I’ve never written a synopsis before having plotted and written the book. And since so much of the story comes out while I’m writing, I can’t be sure that the story will stick to the synopsis. But I want to have something to share, if/when Harlequin wants to buy Southern Comfort.

I put the second Delecoeur story on hold for now, which bums me, but I can only write so much at one time. I wanted to blog a prequel story for them too, but I haven’t managed that yet. And interestingly, I have a vampire-type story rattling around in my head. I’m not sure yet if it’s an adult or YA story yet. But you can bet there is romance! Finally, I have a time-travel YA idea if I can only figure out the rules. I’ve picked up a book on time travel for writers to help me.

I want to thank everyone who has read the books and to all the readers who have left a review and/or started following me here, on Twitter or Facebook. Your feedback and encouragement is what keeps me going.

- Soft-Caress (Implied intimacy only)
- Nothing shown behind closed doors (Foreplay only)
- Read about the lead in, but then use imagination for the big finish
- Emotion over moves (Emotional details, few touches, but nothing explicit)
- Sex (All details, start to finish)
- Scorching (All details plus. Think Fifty Shades of Gray).

With the popularity of “Fifty Shades” and books like it, I thought the “Scorching” option would do well. But interestingly, there wasn’t a single vote. The vast majority of participants (87.5 percent) voted for “Sex: All details, start to finish. (Caressing, kissing, insert tab A into slot B)”, which suggests they like it hot, but not bondage or submission hot. The only other option chosen was “Emotion over moves: Emotional details, few touches, but nothing explicit. (Caressing, kissing)”, which received 12.5 percent of the vote. None of the other three options received votes.

Interestingly, those are my top two options, as well. I like it hot, but I’m not in games, bondage, submission, spanking and all that. I like the details, but I find that my favorite love scenes are heavy on emotion and sensation over details. I’m not into the “alpha male as teacher” type stuff. I’m not knocking it, I’m just not into it.

Of course, my poll isn’t scientifically significant. Pollsters probably have read and enjoyed my books and therefore have the same taste as I do, so they voted as I would have. But I will admit that I was surprised that there wasn’t a single vote for “Scorching” considering how popular those books have become recently.

If you like it hot, but not scorching, I hope you’ll check out my books, which include passion and intrigue, with a little bit of humor.

As Nora Roberts books go, this was pretty good. I like how different Eli was from many of her other male protagonists. In the beginning, he was broken mentally and physically. I could never get used to the name Abra, but she was a fun character, as well. The story involves Eli, whose estranged wife was murdered a year earlier. While there’s not enough evidence to arrest him, many, including the lead detective on the case, believe he did it. He returns to his grandmother’s home in Whiskey Beach for respite and to care for the home while his grandmother is recuperating from a fall. There he meets, Abra, a Jane-of-all-trades who nurtures him back to health by feeding him, challenging him and of course, falling in love with him. The mystery is pretty good, with a little twist right when you think you’ve got it solved.

As a writer, I wish I had a place like Whiskey Beach, although I’d want it in Hawaii or somewhere warm all year long.



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I was reading a book the other day related to success and goal setting, and I had an epiphany. People tend to gravitate toward that which they focus on. So if fiction writing is important, I need to focus on it. Shoving it aside, day after day isn’t giving it the priority it needs to move me toward my goal. So, for the month of May, I’ve decided that not only will I write fiction every day, but I’ll do it first thing in the morning. The idea is that by putting it first in my day, I’m giving it importance.

So, for the last seven days, I’ve worked on book 4 of the Valentine series every morning. Most mornings I get 500 to 600 words, but I wrote only 73, Still, in the last week, I’ve written a total of 4,100 words, which doesn’t sound like much, but it’s 4,100 more than I would have had. Even better, I’ve still been able to get all my other work done.

My hope is that by putting my fiction writing first, it will grow, books will sell and I’ll be able to focus most of my time and energy on love and murder and not on belly fat.

Written with precision and care, this intriguing romance/murder mystery is a fun read that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

I was worried about this review. Book tastes are subjective, which makes reviews difficult. Deadly Valentine has 43 reviews at Amazon, some who rave about it and some who are ho-hum about it. Same book. Different reactions. I was happy that I got a reviewer who understood what I was trying to do and enjoyed it. Even if the book didn’t score high enough to get into the semi-finals.

During the contest I received two other reviews from Amazon Vine readers. Since they were complementary, I thought I’d share their feedback as well. I put a couple of comments (in italics) responding to the reviewers.

ABNA Expert Reviewer One:

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt? : It gets right into the characters. Not too much description. It’s easy to picture the setting. It drew me in and I wanted to know more.

What aspect needs the most work? : It was unclear as to how all of a sudden Tess was feeling so ill. Was something slipped into her drink? (I’ve heard this before and while I mention a 24-hour bug later in the story, perhaps I need to make that clearer in the beginning)

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt? : This was a very good start. The characters were introduced smoothly and the murder was being set up very well.

ABNA Expert Reviewer Two:

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt? : The strongest aspect of this excerpt is the tension between Tess and Jack. He is from her recent past, a relationship that didn’t last. He is back now in her life but she is trying to resist his charms.

What aspect needs the most work? : It would have been nice to get a little more of a back story on what happened with Jack and Tess in the past. That can sometimes help to get a feeling for the character and how they behave. (This is dribbled throughout the book because the not-knowing is part of what leads to suspicion of Jack.)

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt? : Overall, I think this is a very good story. I would love to keep reading the finished book. It is a story of romance first and foremost but there is also a murder mystery involved and secrets from the past. In this excerpt I was left very interested in knowing what would happen next.

Have you read Deadly Valentine? If you did and you enjoyed it, please leave feedback at Amazon! I’d appreciate it!

I normally prefer Nora’s romantic suspense and JD Robb books, but I’m also interested in staying at the Inn, so I thought I’d read this trilogy. The first two were a little too sweet but okay. I was looking forward “The Perfect Hope”, because of all the brothers, I liked Ryder the best. I guess I liked his gruffness, although I think if I met him in real life, I probably wouldn’t think much of him. Once I finished this book, I realized it was a lot like The Return of Rafe McKade (one of my favorites). Like Ryder, Rafe was surely, restoring an old building and had a ghost. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. If you like Nora’s romances, I think you’ll like this.



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Deadly Valentine (book one in the Valentine series) has made it to the quarter-final round in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Contest. The book is now competing with 100 other books to reach the Semi-final (top five books) in it’s category. Editors from Publisher’s Weekly are doing the judging and critiquing this round. I’ll be curious to find out what they think.

My romance novel is with an editor at Harlequin. Last month, she was intrigued enough by the first few chapters to request the entire manuscript. My fingers are crossed that she’ll buy it. I’ve been thinking that if she does, she might ask for other books in the works that would fit the line, since many Harlequin authors write multiple books. I do have some ideas for the female protagonist’s brother and friend. Perhaps I should flesh those stories out … just in case.

Last October, my writers group had a challenge to write a scary story for Halloween, which I wasn’t able to complete, but I did come up with a paranormal novel idea. Right now I’m doing a lot of research on vampire folklore in Eastern Europe. It’s very interesting and in some ways very different from the Dracula and other vampire characteristics we accept as the norm.

I want to thank you for supporting me through this new adventure in my life. It is thrilling that there are people who find enjoyment in the stories and characters I write. And I appreciate, beyond measure, the kind comments and reviews you have given. Thank you!

In my Pollyanna world, I like love at first sight that never goes away even if time or circumstance keeps them apart (i.e. Persuasion or my own Deadly Valentine). Some might argue that I have a love triangle between Tess, Jack and Daniel, but no. Daniel never stood a chance even without Jack coming back into her life.

I always wonder about authors that have love triangles, particularly with two seemingly perfect men that the female bounces between (literally and figuratively). Is that to make it seem more like real life? Is it to keep the tension up and the reader guessing? To me, it makes her wishy washy. Pick a guy already!

I know my view is fairy tale-ish. It’s an ongoing joke in my writer group. So much so that some writers warn me if the love is going to go bad. I don’t mind angst. In fact, I kind of enjoy it, as long as everything turns out in the end. While many make fun of this quirk of mine, I’ve decided not to apologize for it. Why not have have a couple who are devoted, respectful, loving and passionate? Because it’s not real? Vampires aren’t real, either. Neither is a boy living on a life raft with a hungry tiger. But that doesn’t stop people from enjoying paranormal stories or “The Life of Pi.”

Maybe I could start a club. The “I hate love triangles” Club. I wonder if anyone else would join?