Sex and the Serial Killer

I love writing the tension, suspense, and passion in my romantic suspense books. Wrap those elements together, throw in a little fear, and give the hero and heroine a villain or a serial killer to catch. Woot, sit back and watch the fireworks. These troubled, sexy alpha males and independent minded women ease the tension in a number of ways. Full throttle danger and heart-stopping action can produce mind blowing sex. These characters love as voraciously as they defend the innocent.

This isn’t the only genre around you can find these elements, but it’s where I belong. It’s where I love to research the inner workings of the deviant mind, such as the monsters who kill without caring who gets hurt.

Even more, I loved researching the FBI and the Atlanta Police department for THE LAST EXECUTION. Learning how our law enforcement actively pursues, captures, and prosecutes criminals was interesting. I actually spoke with an FBI agent who graciously answered all my questions.

If I’ve brought all the above to the table then I’ve done a good job. If I’ve kept someone up a few hours extra, made them cheer for the hero and heroine, or touched them with the resolution and happy ending, then I’ve done a good job. After all is said and done, that’s my goal!

The Last Execution blurb:

To survive, she must put the past behind her. To love, she must learn to trust.

Homicide detective Leigh McBride’s first assignment with the FBI brings her face-to-face with a past she’s tried hard to forget. And when her temporary partner, a cynical ex-marine, lights a fire in her she thought long-extinguished, her darkest secret is threatened.

Scarred both physically and emotionally, Special Agent J.T. Nobel is a man of few words. He prefers to keep people at a distance–until he meets Leigh. He’s attracted to her strength and drawn in by her secrecy. But in their line of work, secrets can be deadly.

When the killer they are hunting aims his vigilante justice at Leigh’s past assailant, the fine line between right and wrong blurs. To heal the past–and find their future together–Leigh and J.T. must learn that only through trust and forgiveness can love grow.

The Last Execution excerpt:

Ethan turned his head sideways as he studied J.T.’s face. Wide eyed, the boy pointed at the scar with his index finger. J.T. wasn’t surprised. The kid was probably curious.

“How’d you get that?”

“A piece of shrapnel—” He paused and considered Ethan’s age. “I was in the war. A bomb went off and a piece of metal smacked me in the face.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore.” J.T. marveled at the innocence in Ethan’s eyes.

“Can I touch it?”

“I guess so.” J.T. breathed in and waited. Ethan hesitated, leaning closer.

“I’m not supposed to talk about your scar.”

“Who said?”

“Mama.”

“It’s okay. I won’t tell.”

J.T. turned his head to the side. No one had outright asked to touch the constant reminder of a day when his best friend caught the worst of an IUD. Hell, people shied away from his right side. Except Leigh, she looked him square in the face. He lay still while Ethan poked a finger into the scar a couple of times. After a few seconds of investigation, the kid cupped the scar with his small hand and patted lightly. The oddest thing happened to J.T.’s heart. It swelled inside his chest and then clenched.

“Mama said you were a brave soldier.”

Alien emotions swirled through J.T. and an unexplained urge to hug Ethan put a weird lump in J.T.’s throat. Unable to cope or understand, his mind raced for an idea, anything to end the moment

Find Jerrie!

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About Jerrie

A student of creative writing in her youth, Jerrie set aside her passion when life presented her with a John Wayne husband, and two wonderful children. A career in logistics offered her the opportunity to travel to many beautiful locations in America, and she revisits them in her romantic suspense novels.

But the characters went with her, talked to her, and insisted she share their dark, sexy stories with others. She writes alpha males and kick-ass women who weave their way through death and fear to emerge stronger because of, and on occasion in spite of, their love for each other. She likes to torture people, make them suffer, and if they’re strong enough, they live happily ever after.

The author of THE GREEN-EYED DOLL, and THE LAST EXECUTION, Jerrie and her husband live in Texas. She loves sunshine, children’s laughter, sugar (human and granulated), and researching for her heroes and heroines.

BIG Change for Pam Crooks!

Have you read the bestselling motivational book, ‘WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?’?  This little blockbuster gives the reader courage to face change by way of a story so simple a child could understand it.

I could certainly relate.  As an author who cut her eyeteeth on western romance back in the 90’s, I wrote nothing but that time period, and finally in 2000, I sold my first one.  I continued writing western romance until 2010 when my gut–and the market–told me it was time to make a change.

I made a conscious decision to leave the line I was writing for.  People thought I was crazy.  I had a good career going, I had name recognition and a reputation for writing some decent westerns.  Hundreds of writers, maybe thousands, would give their right arm for what I had.  Countless writers had tried to get their foot in the door to my powerhouse-publisher and failed.  Why would I give it up?

Life got in the way, and I went a couple of years without a new book out.  I felt adrift, for sure.  I had friends happily announcing new sales.  I was stuck at a day job with no book deadlines, no covers to anticipate, nothing to update on my website.

During that time, the ebook revolution was in full swing.  I got the rights back to my first four western romances, and I self-published them.  Big change there.  I never thought I’d read on an e-reader, and here I was, selling books for them.  I found myself loving my Kindle more than I ever thought I would.

Fast forward to November, 2012.  I had this romantic suspense I’d written, just sitting on a disc on my desk.  Contemporary.   Nothing like the other books I’d written before.  Was I good enough to pull off a story like that?  Would readers get hooked by the suspense, the action, the romance?

Evidently, they did.  The first two months have brought me more sales than my first four books combined.  HER MOTHER’S KILLER was a big change for me, but thankfully, it’s been a good one.  I’ve pushed through a new wall, enabling me to continue on to write more romantic suspense if I wanted.

But wait.  There was more change in store for me.  I wasn’t idle in the time since my last western romance was released.  I’d been working on a new series so different, so hugely sweeping that I was compelled to take a pseudonym before I introduced it to the world.

THE SPYGLASS PROJECT, by Frankie Astuto (that’s me!) is Book 1 of the Secret Six series and mostly written from the male point-of-view.  It’s not western, and it’s not contemporary, but it’s an historical suspense set in the 1920s.  Mafia, Prohibition, Nazis.  I threw in an ex-military hero brimming with American patriotism.  He’s hurting, and he’s angry, and he wants revenge.  Mostly, he just wants the truth.  And with a little help from a beautiful Italian woman and the mysterious double-agent who betrayed him . . . well, his story needed to be told.

There you have it.  HUGE change for Pam Crooks.  Who is now Frankie Astuto.  But I’m exhilarated by the change in my career.  I’m thrilled someone moved my cheese to a new place far more exciting.  It’s going to be a good thing.

The Spyglass Project on Amazon.

www.pamcrooks.com

www.frankieastuto.com

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Spyglass Project

by Frankie Astuto

Giveaway ends January 20, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

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MOONLIGHT DANGER

DANGEROUS MEMORIES is a story about unlocking memories.  Jolene Atkins witnessed her mother’s brutal murder when she was five. Twenty years later, someone’s afraid her memories are resurfacing and she’s become a target. U.S. Marshal Levi Cooper promised to protect his witness and strives to help her remember the little things…like the identity of the murderer.

Thank you ladies for inviting me to share your moonlight today. I was curious as to how much moonlight was actually in DANGEROUS MEMORIES and did a search. Here’s the first time it’s mentioned:

~ ~ ~

It was time to grab some shuteye. He checked the locked door one last time and shifted the outside window curtains so just a sliver of moonbeam lit the bed. With his holster on his hip, he turned in the chair until he found a halfway decent position. Better to doze uncomfortably than fall into a dead state of exhaustion.

Besides, he wasn’t squeezing his torso onto the smaller upper berth and wasn’t waking Jo to move her back to it. His eyes had barely shut when something pushed his brain into gear.

A small foot peaked out from under the covers. Jolene’s back was to him. No way to tell if she was awake or still in slumber land. He kept his lids slightly parted to see what she’d do.

Did she really think she could get away from him on a train? Where would she hide?

The compartment lock turned.

Key.

Not Jolene. Not the steward.

He wanted to let whoever threatened inside, catch them, eliminate the danger.

Not alone. He had to protect Jo who was vulnerable in that bunk. He shouldn’t have put the vest away with his gear.

~ ~ ~ Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ~ ~ ~

Seems like my moonlight isn’t full of romance… LOL  Even though Levi and Jo don’t spend a lot of time under the moon, they spend 99% of their story together. And 100% of that time attracted to each other.  My husband and I recently spent five days at St. Pete’s Beach in Florida. A real vacation. The first one since our honeymoon where we weren’t camping or had kids with us. Each day, we made it a point to catch the sunset. The best dinner we had was from a beach shack and catching the green flash.

But the best evening was our stroll along the beach. Hand-in-hand, warm water lapping our bare feet and fruity drinks tickling our taste buds. A great night with a thousand stars above and just a sliver of a brilliant moon.

Moonlight Stroll

Watch even a minute of the YouTube video…that’s a moonlight stroll on my wish list.

THANKS FOR JOINING ME TODAY. Leave your email in a comment for a chance to win a Harlequin Intrigue–I have a stack to choose from. ~Angi

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Angi Morgan writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Hill Country Holdup went on sale the very night it won the RWA Golden Heart® award and is a Bookseller’s Best & Romantic Times Best First Series Book Nominee. Her second Harlequin Intrigue®, .38 Caliber Cover-Up, was a Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence & Daphne du Maurier Nominee.

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ENTER TO WIN a CRYSTAL NECKLACE. The November Giveaway ends on November 30th, winner announced December 2nd. Registration will be through Rafflecopter.

~ ~ ~

Angi’s ABM giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Nov. 14th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email Angi@AngiMorgan.com with a subject title of ABM GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway. The Crystal Necklace giveaway is a separate registration through Rafflecopter.

~ ~ ~

THE QUESTION FOR TODAY: What’s your most romantic moonlight stroll or moment?

Just over a year ago, as I watched my little town tremble in the wake of the worst wildfire Texas has ever recorded, I wrote that I prefer my drama in book form, not up close and in my own backyard. In the twelve months and a few days since the fire was officially declared ‘out’, we’ve moved on. We had to–there was no way to go back. For instance, within three months the first pile of debris and soot gave way to a rebuilt home and a family was moving in! Celebration time. Of the uncountable trees that fell in flames, more than two million are being replaced by seedlings. The Lost Pines will rise again. It will take time, probably more time than I have left on earth and I won’t be here to see it, but my grandchildren’s children will play in the woods, hear the mockingbirds, and see the land I love bloom again.

Last Sunday at my church we solemnly gave thanks for the recovery effort. One of the most touching things in that service was a small bowl set aside to collect house keys, car keys, pet collars, and tiny remembrances of the things we lost. A single key–an insignificant item in itself–is now the only tangible thing left of a home and the memories it housed. A pet collar–the symbol of a memory that haunts one dear friend who devoted her life to the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned cats. She saved as many as she could but thirty-eight of her beloved fur-friends died in the fire. She moved away because the pain of rebuilding was too much.One pet collar spoke more eloquently than words of her loss.That little bowl held a sea of tears shed in twelve months and an ocean of memories.

The Sunday service sifted through the ashes of our remembrances. It brought us across the dark moments to the other side, the side where new homes are beginning to fill the gaps left in the wake of the fire. It reminded us that while we suffered a traumatic shock, we could have lost more than homes and possessions. We lost pets but we lost no children. Collections and photographs and heirlooms burned, but no one lost a parent or a grandparent. We survived more than one hundred days of temperatures above one hundred degrees and the worst drought we could imagine, but this year has been cooler and wetter. We are grateful for the relief that winter rains brought us. So we sifted the ashes, we gave thanks for what we salvaged and for the arms stretched across the country offering help, and we turned away from the destruction. This little town, part of Stephen F. Austin’s Little Colony, has been here since 1832. We survived the Texas Revolution, we endured the Civil War, and by golly, we made it through three attempts to burn the town to cinders. I think we can admit to a quiet sense of accomplishment. Texans are known to brag a bit, but I think we’ll just nod, give thanks, and go on about our business this time around. Like that mythological Phoenix bird, we’re rising up and starting over. And that’s all right, too.

Fleeta Cunningham

DON’T CALL ME DARLIN’

BLACK RAIN RISING

ELOPEMENT FOR ONE

HALF PAST MOURNING

CRY AGAINST THE WIND (forthcoming)

I’ve been seriously writing twenty years now. I remember discovering my love for historical romance novels and thinking that I could do this…after all, my daydreams were vivid, so why not put them to use? I sat down in my chair, started to write a novel about a pirate crossing the seas, falling in love with an Earl’s daughter…screeching of tires can be heard. What did I know about Pirates and Earls? I started spending my afternoons at the library and discovered something about myself. I hated history. So what on earth was I writing them for? So after a good 4 attempts at writing these books–the first never seeing the light of day–I realized…I needed to switch gears.

It’s not that I didn’t love to read these books. They were romantic and fun. I loved being swept away to another time, allowing someone else to tell me about history or time period. But my love of reading the genre didn’t mean I should be writing them. A published friend suggested I write something darker after reading some of my dark, quirky short stories. Deadly Obsession was born out of that darkness. Suddenly, I loved the research I was doing. I understood doing 110% research and only putting 10% in your books. I couldn’t get enough of police work (it helps when your brother is one), forensics and about everything thrown my way. So why had I ever tried my hand at historical romances? Because I loved to read them and I love romance. It took me about 5 of those 20 years to discover, my love of reading wasn’t the same as my love of writing. My reading tastes pull me out of the darkness of my writing. Sometimes I need a light-hearted read to pull me out of that darkness in my mind.

Research and writing go hand-in-hand. Investing in a 100,000 word project is hard work. Making sure your facts are as correct as can be is even harder if you don’t like what you are doing. Want to write a book? Try your hand at research first. Look up the facts…see if you’re enjoying yourself, digging through books, looking for treasures you can add to your stories. Your reader depends on you to have the facts correct. If you aren’t enjoying the hunt, then maybe the genre you thought you should right, isn’t the right one after all. Seven books later…I know dark romantic suspense is the right move for me. And delving into the paranormal? I’m finding that I love that research as well…stay tuned for my newest project.

Good luck on all your writing projects, whatever they may be. But most of all–have fun with them! Life is short…enjoy what you do.

Welcome to September…and cooler weather. Bring on the bright fall colors. What a great season for writing….

Patricia

I suppose as long as we have people who write, we will have readers who ask, “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” and some of us will make a stab at answering. This is my version: Some of my best story ideas come from that social no-no EAVESDROPPING. Yes, I know it’s rude. And I was taught not to do it. But what can a storyteller do? You’re having a quiet lunch, the people at the table behind you–total strangers–mention the excitement at a recent wedding when the bride suddenly refused to say “I do’ . Well,I don’t know about you but when it happened to me, the next thing I did was dash home and make notes for ELOPEMENT FOR ONE before I forgot the details. I had a lot of fun finding out why the bride ran away and who she ran to.

Another great place for story ideas to take root is off-beat little feature stories in the local newspaper. I think small town newspapers are the best for this kind of inspiration because they print personal stories that aren’t news-worthy in the metropolitan press. Small town newspapers will give the reader the total guest list of a recent party or a button-by-button description of the gown Mrs. Hoopenlooper wore to the Knights of Columbus ball. The reader gets intimate tours of the engagement parties, baby showers, and small celebrations that are part of daily life. From a small town paper I learned about a valiant librarian who was defying civic leaders and refusing to remove a popular book from the shelves. Outraged mothers were insisting the book was endangering the moral fiber of the young people who might read it and discover–mercy on us–sex, sin and rock-a-billy music. In that librarian’s stand I found the basis of the story that became DON’T CALL ME DARLIN’. I’ve always been grateful to librarians for broadening my world.

One place I’ve found to be a gold mine of possible story ideas is the much maligned family reunion. Just get a group of older aunties together and listen. Sitting quietly in a corner, forgotten and ignored, I’ve heard enough family scandal to supply the cornerstone of a ten book series. By the time I’ve figured out why Aunt M doesn’t speak to Uncle J or how it was that Cousin BB had a baby that looked just like Cousin DB’s husband, whole plots, subplots and sequels are falling into place. The bits and pieces of one such reunion gave me the underlying story for the new book CRY AGAINST THE WIND coming out next year. Hope the dear old aunties don’t recognize the source of that one.

Don’t overlook personal experience as a source worth developing. When I was a small girl I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. Granddaddy had a little country band and a radio show on Saturday morning. One of my great treats was to go to the radio station with him and watch the ‘fellers’ do their show. While searching for a way to connect Evie and Dallas, the heroine and hero of BLACK RAIN RISING, I remembered my early trips to that tiny radio station and made it the center location of the book. Thanks for the memories, Granddad.  Writing the book gave me a chance to borrow back a treasured moment from my childhood.

Finally I find that my own hobbies and interests offer a hook that will support a story. I’ve been a classic car enthusiast since I fell in love with a TR-3–the boy who drove it was secondary. I attend car events, belong to a club that puts on classic car shows, and find myself avidly listening to people who own those pieces of engineering art. Out of that fascination I built the story about the disappearing groom and his 55 T-bird that became HALF PAST MOURNING.  I owe a lot of people many thanks for taking the time to help me understand the finer points of driving and how a road rally is planned. Hobbies or passions are ripe for harvesting for story ideas. I’d bet any organization devoted to a collective interest is full of quirky characters just waiting to be plugged into a story.

Where do story ideas come from? Well, perhaps they wait to rain down out of the atmosphere. They may lurk in high school annuals. Some can be overheard in elevators between floors. Possibly they are picked up from  casual encounters in the grocery store. Now I’ve told the absolute truth about where my ideas come from, but I’ve only told it to other writers. Needless to say, when a reader asks, I’m never going to admit my inspiration is anything as mundane as a family reunion or an old newspaper. What do you tell people when they ask the inevitable question?

Fleeta Cunningham

Don’t Call Me Darlin’

Black Rain Rising

Elopement for One

Half Past Mourning

Cry Against the Wind (forthcoming)

We’ve made it to August…I never thought I’d say that I am anxious for fall…but there it is. I said it. We’ve had a heat wave of a summer here in Ohio. Rain has been hard to come by, my flowers are either dead or dying…and my fruit tress, I ‘ve been watering every day. Even my dog doesn’t want to do sit outside–yes, that’s Todd, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, at the campgrounds. Looks like he might be saying: “Can we go inside yet?”

Which sort of puts a damper on the summer when you don’t even want to go outside. But with the worst of it behind us–I now look to the fall. Cool air, bright colors, wind whispering through the trees…oh, and I need to get that book done it seems I have been working forever on! Summer seems to get in the way of writing as well. Busy times for all. So how, as a writer, do we manage our time? If anyone has an answer for that…comment below please. All suggestions welcome.

And speaking of warm weather…it brings to mind a favorite hobby of old: riding motorcycles! It’s no secret of the love I have for them, though I no longer ride. Check out one my fav books Eyes of Betrayal (sequel to Kiss of Deceit) where my hero is a former outlaw biker…Egan ‘Villain’ Tate wants the Doc in the wurst way. But Whitney Montgomery can’t seem to get beyond his past with the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

I love the smell of fresh flowers and moist dirt as we head into the April showers part of the year. Here, in Ohio, we have been experiencing unseasonably warm weather, and a bit of rainfall. So flowers are already sprouting as we go into the May flowers part of the year, way ahead of schedule. Do you have a favorite flower? Mine is the lilium longiflorum, or otherwise known as the Easter Lily. According to Wikipedia, the lilium longinforum in Chinese Medicine is said to nourish lung yin, stop cough, clear heat and calm the spirit. I do know one thing, the Lily certainly has a calming affect on me. Easter Lilies are also a popular flower for funerals. According to the Art of Mourning site, the Lily is “Majesty, innocence, purity, and resurrection. Often associated with the Virgin Mary and resurrection. Often used on women’s graves. The use of lilies at funerals symbolizes the restored innocence of the soul at death.”

So here you may be wondering where I am going with this and what death has to do with my blog post…”Why is she being so morbid?” Because all my life, I have been fascinated with the dark side of things. This is where I will formally introduce myself. I just joined Authors by Moonlight and I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful group where romance is always in the air. You see–confession time: I like dark. I didn’t realize how much so until I started writing my first romantic suspense novel. I stared writing historical romances, even though I really hated the research. But I loved romance and I loved to read them, which meant I thought I should be writing them. Boy was I wrong. A published friend of mine asked to read some of my quirky short stories and decided she liked them much more than the historical romances I had written. From her suggestion, my book, Deadly Obsession was born. I started a romantic suspense and found that I suddenly absolutely loved the research and I have never looked back. Who wouldn’t like forensic science, entomology (the study of bugs, and in my case on a dead body), police work, and the like? Maybe that’s why CSI is so popular, because I’m not alone.

That’s me in a nutshell. I love romantic suspense. I start books off by asking myself, “What scares me?” and I adore the spring of the year because everything is new and filled with life. The trees are coming to life and the flowers are beginning to bloom. I sound like a walking contradiction. I don’t like winter because everything looks, well…dead, from the trees with their bare branches to the cold, pristine snow. But yet, I write dark. I’m not sure what makes my mind work the way it does, other than to say it just does. So with that–I’ll leave you with ‘I’m an thrilled’ to be here…and I do hope you will give my brand of fiction a read. Even though I write dark…my Lily in the novel is the romance side…the calming effect of the story. I do so love a happy ever after.

Please leave a comment below…let me know what your favorite flower is. You will be automatically entered into the drawing for a $25 gift card.

May the sun always shine in your part of the world.

Patricia

Sherry James recommends–

Okay, I have to admit Julie Miller is a good buddy of mine, and my critique partner, but she is also one of my favorite writers. If you love action, suspense, and heroes to die for, be sure and check out Julie’s books. She is definitely at the top of my “authors who never disappoint” list. And I’m not just saying this because she’s a friend. I’m saying it because she’s an awesome writer. Find out for yourself by trying one of her books

KANSAS CITY CHRISTMAS

A detective with no badge, Edward Kincaid’s brooding nature scared medical examiner Holly Masterson, but couldn’t dim her holiday spirit. It was when she attracted a stalker that the most wonderful time of the year turned into the most frightening. Working together to reveal a conspiracy too many people had died covering up, Holly found Edward’s protection–and powerful embrace–hard to resist. Now, as new clues surfaced, could she bust the case wide open and give her silent knight the Christmas miracle he deserved?

“I’m Grateful”

The past couple of months have been a particularly trying time for my family. We lost my dad just last year, and this year, we’ve had two more family funerals. Never mind the stress of the holidays, deadline pressures, helping grieving family members, and the regular real life stuff we all have to deal with—it has been tough.

But my mom—she’s as tough as she is funny and smart and loving—has gotten me onto a new way of thinking that truly has helped put recent events into perspective. Her advice not only keeps me moving forward and helps me sleep at night, but it’s also helping me keep on top of all my responsibilities (who wants to get behind at this time of year?) and is helping me remember to celebrate and find true joy in this holiday season. So, thanks, Mom!

Her secret is simple. Be grateful. Instead of dwelling on losses, worries or frustrations, figuring out new responsibilities, and feeling overwhelmed by it all, focus on the positive. Every night, between turning off the television or shutting my book and going to sleep, I lie there and mentally list all the things in my life I’m grateful for. It’s a form of praying, I suppose. But even for those who aren’t faith-inclined, it’s a good mental exercise to bring balance back to a busy life. And, throughout the day, in moments of crazy stress, I stop and go through my “grateful” list. Sometimes, I have to actually write the list down to get past the walls of stress/anger/frustration/grief/whatever that’s blocking my ability to think. But it works. At least for me.

Here is a sample of some of the things I’m grateful for. Some of them come and go from the list, but many of them have a permanent home there.

1. That my son turned out to be such a fine young man.

2. A good husband who makes me laugh.

3. That I could rescue such a lovable, smart, entertaining dog from the Humane Society.

4. My friendship with my mom.

5. A contract to write a new Precinct miniseries for Harlequin Intrigue (work is always good!).

6. My fertile imagination. I’ve never been at a loss for new story ideas to write about. I hope I never lose that gift.

7. That my dad was such a blessing in my life, and that I was honored and lucky to know him for 50 years.

8. Supportive, caring friends who laugh with me through the good times and are there for me in countless ways through the bad times.

9. A roof over my head (sure, there’s always some new project that needs to be taken care of, but I’m out of the Nebraska wind and I have a warm spot to go to when the worst of winter really hits!)

10. Readers. I’m continually humbled and amazed that other people (who aren’t my mom <g>) like reading my stories. I’m honored by the messages that say I’ve touched a life or made someone think or created a character one could relate to or a plotline that another says was a non-stop thrill ride. Utterly cool. You don’t have to take the time to share, but I do appreciate it. Thank you!

What are you grateful for? What makes you sigh with relief or smile or think, “Yeah, it’s gonna be okay.” Share your thoughts. I’ll check in throughout the day to answer any questions or comments (and hey, it’s always okay to talk about books and writing). I’ll give away a copy of my brand new release, NANNY 911  (an Amazon.com  Romantic Suspense bestseller!), to one lucky commenter.

Happy Holidays!

Julie Miller