Dominant doesn’t equal psychopath, and while I’m at it, submissive doesn’t equal victim. I have recently seen several kinky erotic romance novels where the ‘dominant’ is actually a psychopath. Maybe I get hung up in terminology because of my degree in psychology, but I feel the urge to make this distinction, and to call things… Read More
Recently a friend and I planned a trip with Scottish guide James Campbell that would allow us to get away from the popular tourist destinations—Edinburgh, Urquhart, Stirling Castles—and see remote parts of Scotland. After arriving at the Edinburgh airport (where Customs/Immigration is the easiest I’ve ever experienced…you simply put your passport on a screen, wait… Read More
Teaching children about discrimination could make a huge lump in your throat. No one feels comfortable discussing situations that make you wiggle in your chair, but we have to. People can be discriminated against for any number of reasons, including age, gender, weight, religion, income level, disability, sexual orientation, and race or ethnicity. According to… Read More
Covid-19 has upended life almost everywhere on the planet. Daily activities, family dynamics, travel, healthcare concerns, and how and where we work changed overnight. A lot of us are operating within bubbles—sticking to the closest grocery store, and spending time face-to-face with only one or two family members and friends. Which is difficult. Any large… Read More
In Trained by Her Daddy, the heroine is a twenty-four-year-old crime fiction novelist who wants to write stories within the Daddy Dom genre. Unfortunately, Lori’s publisher knew her lack of success was due to an absence of knowledge in the alternative lifestyle. Of course, in real life— there is a plethora of romance authors who… Read More
I promise this won’t be a long post about how I learned how to make bread from scratch or am now crafting my own soap. I’d love to be that skilled, but that’s not happening. Homeschooling parents deserve an award—I can’t stress this enough. The OGs who actually chose to be homeschooling parents before COVID… Read More
I’m beginning to write my next romantic suspense in my Northern Shore Intrigue series. My heroine is a late-40 something grandmother. That’s why I asked my question in the subject line. Here’s the first page of the book. Does it grab your interest? Do you mind that Lois is not in her twenties? Driving north… Read More
While it’s a common enough topic among writers, I don’t see a lot of people saying it out loud. So allow me – This year is hard. Being creative in the face of a global pandemic, social and political unrest, economic disaster, and catastrophic wildfires is… well, not impossible, but it is damn difficult. As… Read More
by Chris Jayne All fiction writers ask themselves this question a thousand times in every book. In fact, the conflict for any book should be able to be summarized in a “what if” question. The genre is irrelevant. From John Grisham’s “The Firm” (What if a new associate at a law firm discovered that the… Read More
by Brooke Williams One of the questions I hear a lot as a romantic comedy author is, “where do you get your ideas?” It’s a good question, really, but it’s not something I can answer in just a few words. And, as an author, it’s much easier for me to write about the answer than… Read More
Didn’t want you to miss these rare limited time offers. Two of my books are on sale right now for 99 cents. Spring’s Storm, Clean Romance Mystery Thea’s cute new neighbor turns her small town—and her heart—upside down. “pure reading pleasure, loved each minute of it…hard book to put down” “Lyn Cote has such a… Read More
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