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October 21, 2007 Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall season so far, which is hands-down my favorite season. But as I’ve been telling folks on my Yahoo Group, it’s hard to enjoy this time of year when we’re having ninety-degree weather here in San Antonio. I definitely miss living in Maryland and watching the leaves change color on the trees. All those warm, vibrant colors! Makes me homesick just thinking about it. I’ve received some very nice e-mails from readers who enjoyed my novella in the LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS anthology. Thank you! I hope you guys are enjoying the rest of the stories as well. Well, I’ve been a busy bee, finishing up three proposals that were sent off to my agent and editor. I’m waiting to receive word on my mainstream project, but I just signed another two-book contract with Harlequin. The first contracted book, SECRET AGENT SEDUCTION, will be part of a continuity series to be launched by Kimani next year. The other two authors in the series will be Marcia King-Gamble and A.C. Arthur. My book, which will be released in September 2008, features Secret Service Agent Lia Charles, who is assigned to protect Armand Magliore, a sexy, brooding revolutionary leader from the fictional province of Muwaiti. Armand is scheduled to testify before the UN about his corrupt government’s plot to assassinate the U.S. Secretary of State. The book will be chock full of international intrigue, danger, and most of all, passion. This book also includes some paranormal elements, since Lia possesses the ability to read minds. But will she be able to read Armand’s mind? And will she be able to keep him safe from ruthless assassins? You’ll find out when SECRET AGENT SEDUCTION comes out next year! Of course, A RISKY AFFAIR, the third and final installment in my popular “Affair” series, will be released in March. Woo hoo!! I hope to have a cover to share with everyone sometime in December. To celebrate the book’s release, I will be holding a contest in January to give away a very cool gift basket valued at over $50. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks! Until next time, happy reading!
August 19, 2007 Greetings! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! It has been quite a year for me, filled with ups as well as a few downs. I celebrated the release of three books and one novella, enjoyed the publication of my very first official newspaper review, and bid farewell to a beloved friend who will never be forgotten. On Sunday, August 5, my husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married for 12 years! We’re relatively young, so most of our friends and associates are either single or have only been married a few years. I can honestly tell you that with each passing year, my love and admiration for my husband grow stronger and stronger. He is truly my soul mate, and God willing, I look forward to growing old and gray with him. This month marks the release of LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS, the second erotic romance anthology released by Parker Publishing. The anthology features four sensuous novellas by AC Arthur, Sapphire Blue, Barbara Keaton and yours truly. Check out the gorgeous cover to your right, then mosey on over to Amazon or Parker Publishing and order your copy today! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my steamy novella, “Falling Into You.” If you haven’t already, be sure to join my Yahoo Group for news and lively discussions about my current and upcoming releases. Until next time, happy reading!
April 10 , 2007 Greetings, friends! I hope you enjoyed the holiday weekend and took time to refresh your spirit and mind. This has been a busy year so far! My January release, TAMING THE WOLF, still seems to be resonating with readers. I’ve received so many requests for Michael Wolf’s story that I have decided to write a sequel, so I’ll probably tackle that project sometime later this year. It’s a tremendous compliment to a writer when readers not only connect with the main characters in a novel, but the secondary characters as well. So thank you!
Right now I’m working on the third installment in my Harlequin “Affair” series. A RISKY AFFAIR is the story of Evan Washington and Dane Roarke, as well as Crandall Thorne (Caleb’s father from A LEGAL AFFAIR). When Evan arrives in San Antonio seeking a new life, she never suspects that the wealthy attorney who just hired her is actually her long-lost grandfather. In this novel, readers will see Crandall Thorne interacting with Tessa Philbin, his old childhood flame and the wife of his worst enemy. Will Tessa finally leave the mayor to be with the only man she's ever truly loved, especially when she discovers they have a grandchild together? And will that granddaughter finally find true love and acceptance in the arms of dark, sexy private investigator Dane Roarke? You’ll find out when A RISKY AFFAIR is released in March 2008!
Until next time, happy reading!
January 6, 2007 Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays, ate good food, and spent quality time with family and friends. I had a two-week break from the community college where I work, and let me tell you, it was a welcome vacation! I actually relaxed for the first time in months, did a little reading and shopping, and went on a few dates with my wonderful husband, Lorrent. We watched Dreamgirls and The Pursuit of Happyness, which were both terrific. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to go see these movies! This month marks the release of my debut erotic romance, TAMING THE WOLF. I’m so excited about this super-sexy novel that I had such a great time writing. I hope you’ll run out and buy a copy (or order it online, which might be easier). I look forward to hearing your thoughts! I have finally started my own Yahoo Group. I hope you’ll join and participate in the fun, lively discussions. And please feel free to invite others to join—the more, the merrier! Until next time, happy reading!
December 4, 2006 Hello! I’m finally surfacing from the abyss of back-to-back deadlines that have been kicking my butt. I just turned in completed manuscripts for A GUILTY AFFAIR (the sequel to my December Harlequin romance), WHISPER MY NAME (my next romantic suspense), and “Falling Into You” (an erotic novella to be included in an anthology LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS). I have been living in my home office for the past three months trying to finish these projects, and now that they’re finally out of the way, I’m just looking forward to some downtime before I tackle the next book. I’m going to spend some quality time with my family and get ready for the holiday season. But I also plan to participate in a couple of local book signings and online chats, so I’ll definitely keep you posted as those dates approach. September 4, 2006 Happy Labor Day, everyone! It’s here! It’s here! I’m thrilled to announce the September release of my fourth novel, WEAPON OF SEDUCTION, which is available in bookstores around the country. Some of you have already e-mailed to let me know how much you enjoyed the book, which means you must have read it very quickly. Thank you for making my day! I’m currently working on my next romantic suspense novel, WHISPER MY NAME, which is scheduled for release in June 2007. In a nutshell, this book is about a cold, methodical serial killer who marks his victims with a spider tattoo. The case will be investigated by sexy homicide detective Sebastien Durand and entomology professor Francesca Purnell, whose chance encounter at a coffee shop sets the stage for a very sizzling romance. I’m really excited about this story, and I can honestly say it’s going to be my scariest book yet! Even as I’m writing it, I keep looking over my shoulder and creeping myself out. LOL. This fall, I plan to hold another contest to give away an autographed copy of my next book, A LEGAL AFFAIR, which will be published by Harlequin/Kimani in December. I’m still waiting for high-resolution cover art from my editor so that I can post it to my Web site, but in the meantime, check out the cover on Amazon. I love it! Drop me a line and tell me what you think! Enjoy the holiday, eat good food and pick up a great book (preferably mine – lol). August 13, 2006 Greetings, friends! I hope you are enjoying the summer and taking long, relaxing vacations on exotic tropical islands. If not for yourself, then do it for me so that I can live vicariously through you! LOL. Between back-to-back deadlines and having to save money for a new house, I wasn’t able to take a vacation this summer. But I’m not complaining, because I have so many things to look forward to! For starters, I’m counting down to the September release of my fourth romantic suspense novel WEAPON OF SEDUCTION. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the excerpt, which I hope will whet your appetite for more! I recently participated in an online chat with Sexy Ebony Book Club, which was a ton of fun. If you missed it, please join me for another chat on August 25 at 9 EST with fellow Kensington Dafina authors Ann Christopher, Patricia Sargeant and Sophia Shaw on Romance Divas. I’m also very excited about two more upcoming releases! December marks the release of my debut Harlequin Kimani novel, A LEGAL AFFAIR, a contemporary romance about a PI who goes undercover as a law student to investigate her sexy law professor—and ends up falling head over heels in love! I’m also thrilled about the publication of my first erotic romance, TAMING THE WOLF, which will be released by Parker Publishing in January 2007. Super HOT…that’s all I’m going to say for now. Stay tuned for more details, cover art and excerpts…I promise! Until next time…Happy reading!! March 24, 2006 Greetings and salutations! I know it’s been a while since my last post, so thank you for bearing with me and coming back to my Web site to check for updates. I’m gearing up for the September release of my fourth romantic suspense novel WEAPON OF SEDUCTION. I recently received my cover art (there to your right), and I absolutely love it! It’s an illustrated cover that looks like a canvas oil painting – the colors are so rich and vivid. What do you think? Drop me a line and weigh in with your thoughts! I’ve also included a brief description of the novel and an excerpt. I hope you all will enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I’m also very excited about the November release of my debut Harlequin novel! A LEGAL AFFAIR is a super-sexy contemporary romance that will be published under Harlequin’s new Kimani Press imprint. Once I receive the final back cover blurb and cover art, I will happily share it with you! A LEGAL AFFAIR signifies my official foray into writing contemporary romances that don’t have suspense subplots. I hope and pray that you all will like this story as much as you’ve liked my romantic suspense novels. My game plan is to keep writing romantic suspense for Kensington, and save the contemporary romances for Harlequin. Until next time…Happy reading!! October 4, 2005 So much has happened since my last diary entry, so I will try to recap as briefly as possible. First and foremost: On September 28, I received a contract offer from Harlequin!! I was at work and had just returned to my office after a particularly long meeting when I checked phone messages and heard my agent’s voice calmly relaying the news. If I wasn’t at work, I probably would have let loose an ear-splitting shriek and commenced to do the Snoopy dance. I grew up an avid reader of Harlequin novels, so needless to say, I was thrilled at the prospect of writing for their new African-American line, which will be launched sometime next year. As many of you may have already heard, Harlequin recently purchased BET Books, so all of us—readers and authors alike—will have to wait and see how this merger affects future releases by BET and Harlequin’s newly acquired African-American authors. The Harlequin contract came on the heels of other exciting news I’d received that week. The day before, a marketing representative from iUniverse, the publisher of my very first novel GHOSTS OF FIRE, e-mailed me with an invitation to participate in a professional photo shoot in New York City! The publisher is launching a new ad campaign based on author testimonials, and I was one of eight authors they selected. So last week, off to NYC I went on all-expense paid trip to have my hair and makeup done by a celebrity stylist, and to be photographed in a real studio by a professional photographer! It was an amazing experience, one I thank iUniverse for making possible. The author testimonial ads are supposed to run in the New York Times at various intervals, so if anyone ever happens to run across my grinning mug in one of these ads, give me a holler! I’d love to hear about it! To backtrack a little, the project I sold to Harlequin is a straight contemporary (no romantic suspense); it will be my first official foray into the world of contemporary romance, so I hope readers will respond to it as well as they have to my romantic suspense. But not to worry: I will still be writing romantic suspense for Kensington. My next novel, WEAPON OF SEDUCTION, is scheduled for release in September 2006. I will let you know if anything changes, and please check back often for cover art and an excerpt. I’m also currently at work on a very edgy romantic suspense anthology with my friend and fellow author, R. Barri Flowers. We’re both very excited about this project and are hoping to begin shopping it around soon (as soon as I finish my part and stop holding up the process)! And speaking of R. Barri Flowers, I encourage you to visit his Web site and check out his books, particularly PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE and JUSTICE SERVED. These exciting legal thrillers are sure to keep you up all night trying to figure out whodunit! And be on the lookout for the upcoming BET male anthology SLOW MOTION, featuring two stories by R. Barri Flowers and Wayne Jordan (also a good friend of mine). I know I can’t wait to get my hands on this anthology featuring two incredibly talented male authors who promise to take the romance world by storm! And finally, the great reviews for A HEARTBEAT AWAY keep pouring in, from readers and reviewers alike! I am humbled and thrilled beyond measure to know that so many people are enjoying this book! I will post some official reviews to the Web site over the next several days, so please check back often!
September 4, 2005 The first thing I want to say is that my thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of Hurricane Katrina. My husband and I, like many of you, have spent hours watching news coverage of this devastating tragedy and shaking our heads in utter disbelief. We visited New Orleans for the first time last December and enjoyed the experience immensely. Wherever we went, the good folks of New Orleans greeted us with hospitality, warmth and charm. Little did we know that, less than a year later, the lives of some of those very same people would be irrevocably changed. As thousands of hurricane evacuees pour into San Antonio, I hope they are greeted with the compassion, hospitality and warmth they so richly deserve. I have complete faith in my fellow San Antonians to welcome our devastated Gulf Coast neighbors with wide open arms. As for the U.S. government’s inadequate response to this terrible crisis…well, perhaps I’ll save my thoughts for another diary entry. I would be lying if I said that my excitement over the release of A HEARTBEAT AWAY has not been tempered by this national tragedy. In times like these, we as fiction writers often find ourselves reexamining the importance of what we do in the grand scheme of things. I want to say thank you to all of the readers who have already contacted me to share how much they enjoyed A HEARTBEAT AWAY. Your letters mean the world to me—please keep them coming. A HEARTBEAT AWAY is featured in a contest in the September issue of True Confessions magazine—be sure to pick up a copy! Also, I’m expecting cover art any day now for my 2006 Kensington/Dafina release WEAPON OF SEDUCTION. I’ll be sure to post the new cover to my Web site and, as always, I welcome your feedback. Let’s all keep the victims of Hurricane Katrina in our thoughts and prayers.
July 18, 2005 I’m back!!! Okay, it was never my intention to take such a long time to post a new diary entry, but I’ve been frantically trying to finish my fourth novel, which is tentatively titled WEAPON OF SEDUCTION. The good news is that I finally completed the manuscript…But wait, it gets even better, folks. On June 9, my agent Sha-Shana Crichton called me with the most wonderful news: I have been offered a two-book contract by Kensington Publishing!! This means that the novel I have been working feverishly to complete will have a new home at Kensington, and my upcoming release, A HEARTBEAT AWAY, will be my second and final book with BET. I will truly miss working with Demetria Lucas, my fabulous Arabesque editor, but I’m also looking forward to working with Karen Thomas at Kensington. The tentative release date for WEAPON OF SEDUCTION is June 2006, so be sure to look for my debut Kensington title under the Dafina imprint next year! In related news, I have finally posted an excerpt of A HEARTBEAT AWAY to the Web site. I’m really excited about this book, and I look forward to hearing all of your responses once the novel is released in September. (Because, of course, you’re going to run out and buy it as soon as it hits the shelves, right?) My editor Demetria positively loves A HEARTBEAT AWAY and thinks it is even better than WITH EVERY BREATH, which is saying quite a lot considering how much she really enjoyed that book. I don’t know if I have a favorite novel yet. I just write and hope that with each new endeavor, I learn more about myself, the craft, and how to keep my readers happy and coming back for more. Anyway, be sure to check out the excerpt and book cover for A HEARTBEAT AWAY and e-mail your thoughts to me!
May 30, 2005 Today is Memorial Day, and I’m enjoying a very relaxing day off from work. You know, coming into this three-day weekend, I had every intention of getting a lot of writing done and possibly finishing my current book. Ah, the best-laid plans of mice and idealistic writers…It’s Monday, and I haven’t written more than a few paragraphs this entire weekend. In all fairness to myself, I have a perfectly legitimate excuse for not meeting my writing goals this weekend. Yesterday was my sister’s birthday, and she drove in from Houston to spend the day with us, along with her children (who came earlier in the week). We went downtown to the Riverwalk, took a boat tour down the river, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at one of the many restaurants along the Riverwalk. Vendors were there selling unique items for an arts and crafts show, families and couples were out leisurely enjoying the holiday weekend, and the weather was glorious. At one point during dinner, my husband remarked that being at the Riverwalk made him feel like we were on vacation somewhere, and not merely fifteen minutes away from home; I wholeheartedly agreed. If you’ve never visited San Antonio, I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful city that is rich with culture, history, and great food. And let’s not forget that San Antonio is home of the world-class Spurs! Speaking of the NBA playoffs, while at dinner last night, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns sauntered past our table. He didn’t respond too enthusiastically to my sister’s friendly greeting. But, considering that the Spurs are leading the Suns 3-0 in the playoffs series, who could blame Amare for looking so glum! Go Spurs! I’m going to sign off now and try to get some writing done before we begin our Memorial Day cookout. My looming deadline isn’t going anywhere! Oh, and be sure to check out my recent interview in The Motivated Writer.
May 23, 2005 But first on a personal note: My husband and I recently returned from beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I surprised him with the trip for his birthday. We had a fabulous time and stayed in the Pacifica Holistic Retreat and Spa, a gorgeous new resort with breathtaking views of Okay, now onto writing news…I’m gearing up for the September 2005 release of my second BET/Arabesque novel, A HEARTBEAT AWAY. I will be posting an excerpt from the book soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share the cover – there it is to your right. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you think the cover is intriguing? If you saw it in the bookstore and knew nothing about the author or plot, would you reach for the book based on the cover? What do you think of the models? Send me an e-mail and share your honest opinion!
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Next month marks the official release of my seventh novel, A GUILTY AFFAIR, which is the sequel to A LEGAL AFFAIR. But you don’t have to wait until May to get your hands on a copy of the book! It is available for early purchase at 
And last but certainly not least, I’m gearing up for the June release of my next romantic suspense novel WHISPER MY NAME. Be sure to check out the 
the Pacific Ocean. If you’re ever in Cabo San Lucas, I definitely recommend staying at the Pacifica!