Less than three weeks now until A Lady by Midnight is available! I’m so excited for Kate and Thorne’s story, and I’m excited that a lot of readers seem to be excited for it too. 🙂

If you’re counting down to (A Lady by) Midnight, I have a few little amusements to offer while we’re waiting for August 28th–namely stickers, and a new excerpt! (One with guaranteed kissing.) Click the image to learn more about the Countdown to Midnight, and feel free to spread the word to your romance-reading friends.… Read More »

Oh my goodness!

The RWA Conference was spectacular in so many ways.  How could it not be? I mean, I was presented with jewelry and cake! (Thanks, Diana, Edna, Carrie, Lisa, and Marni!)

But my highlight of the year (and many years!) came on Saturday night, when I was honored to receive the 2012 RITA Award for Regency Historical Romance, for A Night to Surrender!

I can’t even describe how much this meant to me.  To receive a RITA award is a tremendous honor, and to have it happen so close to home, with so many friends and my husband in attendance — it was like a dream come true.

Thank you to all the readers, friends, and colleagues who made this conference so special!… Read More »

Today, thousands of published and aspiring romance writers descend on Anaheim for the 2012 RWA National Conference! If you’re anywhere in the Southern California area, please consider attending the…

“Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing
Wednesday July 25, 5-8 PM – (open to the public)
Come join 400+ of your favorite authors in the Anaheim Convention Center. We’ll be autographing books to support local and national literacy charities! Full details and seating map here. I will be at table 502.

Here are some of the other places I’ll be (these events are only open to conference attendees):
Thursday, July 26, 9:30pm – Marriott Bar, meetup with Ballroom Blog authors and friends
Friday July 27, 9:45 – Avon Publisher signing
Friday, July 27, 3:00 – Samhain Publisher signing
Saturday, July 28, 9:45 – “Have a Ball with your Blog” – panel with fellow Ballroom Blog authoresses

And on Saturday night, I’ll be at the RITA and Golden Heart awards ceremony! I’ll be the one in the black sparkly gown (well, one of the several in black sparkly gowns, probably). I am honored to be a finalist in the Best Regency Historical category with A Night to Surrender, and I have so many friends and favorite authors to cheer on.

After conference ends, it’s all about counting down to A Lady by Midnight‘s release on August 28. Some lovely reviews have started to appear, including a Top Pick! from RT Book Reviews magazine:

With this third installment, Dare will

Read More »

Exciting news! A Night to Surrender, the first book in the bestselling Spindle Cove series, is now discounted to just $0.99 at major e-book retailers! Yes, a full-length book for under a dollar. This is the perfect time to try Spindle Cove, or to recommend the series to a friend. Just don’t delay! This price is like a popsicle in a heat wave–it won’t last long.

It’s July, which means I’m getting ready to attend the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference. I’m honored that A Night to Surrender is up for a prestigious RITA award, and I’ll be participating in a panel with my fellow Ballroom Blog authoresses. And one of my favorite parts of conference is the annual literacy autographing to raise money for national and local literacy efforts. This year’s signing will take place Wednesday, July 25th, 5-8pm, at the Anaheim Convention Center. It’s open to the public, and I’d love to see you there! For those who can’t attend, I have a new contest posted – you could win my conference tote bag, full of books and fun freebies.

I’ll also be speaking and signing books at the Garden Grove Regional Library (California) on the afternoon of Saturday, July 21st.

Release day for A Lady by Midnight is less than two months away! In the meantime, don’t miss Three Weddings and a Murder, our limited-time $2.99 anthology to benefit breast cancer research. … Read More »

I’m thrilled to announce the release of Three Weddings and a Murder, a new digital anthology featuring Courtney Milan, Carey Baldwin, Leigh LaValle, and yours truly!

As I write this post, the book is available from Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

Three Weddings and a Murder includes four fantastic all-new novellas–three historical romances and one romantic thriller. My own contribution is a fun, sexy, enemies-to-lovers tale called “The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright” (excerpt here), but the anthology also includes a sneak-peek excerpt from A Lady by Midnight as a bonus for any readers anxious for Kate and Thorne’s story. 🙂

This is a limited-time anthology we created to raise funds for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Santa Barbara this September. All profits (approximately $2 per copy sold) go to our team fundraising. More information about the 39-mile walk and our fundraising efforts can be found in our Press Kit. If you purchase the anthology, thank  you for bringing us one step closer to our goal. Direct donations via our Team Page are also very welcome!… Read More »

UPDATE, May 16 – The new story has a page! And an excerpt! And it should be on sale within two weeks. More info to come, soon.

I have an exciting announcement! It may be four months until A Lady by Midnight is available, but I have an all-new novella coming out toward the end of May, in a digital anthology with the fabulous Courtney Milan, Carey Baldwin, and Leigh LaValle.

Three Weddings and a Murder will have its own page within a few weeks. For now, I can tell you my story is called “The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright.” It’s not related to Spindle Cove or any of my other books–just a fun frenemies-to-lovers romance between Miss Eliza Cade, a thwarted debutante, and Harry Wright, the devilish rogue who is all kinds of Wrong.

The anthology is special to us not only because we’re good friends, but because it’s for a good cause. We’re committed to walking the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Santa Barbara this September. To help meet our fundraising commitment, we’re putting together this limited-time collection of all-new stories. As Carey explains:

Three historical romances and one romantic thriller in four distinct voices, united for one cause. All profits from the purchase of the anthology will be donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Walk, “supporting research to find a cure or prevention for breast cancer, as well as programs that enable all patients to access quality care.”

In related … Read More »

The RT Booklovers Conference in Chicago was fantastic! Many thanks to all who came to say hi at one of the sessions or book signings.

There’s no rest for A Week to be Wicked, though. 🙂 I’m on the move again!

This Sunday, April 22nd, I’m excited to be participating in the LA Times Festival of Books! The “Love, Actually” panel will be at 2:00 PM, and my fellow panelists will be DeAnna Cameron and Jill Sorenson, with moderator Dee J. Adams. A booksigning will follow the panel discussion.

And then the following Tuesday, April 24th, I will be joining the fabulous Sophia Nash at the Mission Viejo Public Library for a discussion in their “Writers Present” series. The program begins at 7:00 PM. Book sales and signing will also take place on site.

What a great job I have, getting to talk about books and reading and romance in so many exciting venues. Hope to see familiar faces and meet new friends!… Read More »

What a fantastic few weeks it’s been, with A Week to be Wicked hitting the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and continuing to garner great reviews, including a new starred review from Library Journal:

Compelling characters, lively dialog, offbeat situations, and some of the most hilarious romantic scenes written result in a sexy adventure that will have readers laughing out loud…

I am ready to celebrate! And what better way than jetting off to Chicago to hang out with a thousand writers, readers, booksellers and librarians at the 2012 RT Booklovers Convention? If you’re in the Chicago area, even if you’re not attending the convention, please consider stopping by the open-to-the-public Giant Book Fair on Saturday, April 14th, 11:00 AM to 2 PM.

For anyone attending the full conference, here’s a list of where I’ll be, when:

Wednesday, April 11:
Romance Family Feud (1-2pm) – A fun game for readers, hosted by Zoe Archer, Nico Rosso, Vivian Arend, Louisa Edwards, and me. Promises to be a hoot!

Thursday, April 12:
“He Said, She Said” (1:30-2:30pm) – A panel on writing dialog, featuring Sarah Maclean, Lauren Willig, Sophie Jordan, and yours truly.
E-book and Indie Expo (4-6pm)
Samhain Stampede barbeque mixer (6:15-7:15pm)

Friday, April 13:
RT Reviewers Choice awards (4-6pm)
Avon Indigo Lounge social (6:15-8pm)

Saturday, April 14:
Giant Book Fair (11am-2pm)

Hope to see many of you in Chicago!… Read More »

Today, I got the most thrilling of phone calls from my editor, Tessa Woodward, at Avon Books. A Week to be Wicked is a bestseller! The book will be #98 on the new USA Today Top 150 bestsellers list and #31 on the New York Times e-book list! This is my first time hitting USA Today with a full-length novel, and my first time hitting the New York Times list at all. I couldn’t be more thrilled, or my grateful to my readers.

My heartfelt thanks to all you wonderful readers who stayed up late with Colin and Minerva, laughed and sighed and wept along with them, and recommended the book to your friends. Thank you so much for giving their wild journey this perfect, fairy-tale ending.

(By the way, if you haven’t already found them yet, the “Colin Kept Me Up All Night” winners are posted here.)

I’m hope you’re as excited as I am about the release of A Lady by Midnight on August 28th! … Read More »

Thank you so much to everyone who made A Week to Be Wicked‘s release week so much fun!


Today, April 2nd, I’m helping Kat Brauer kick off her fabulous Crits for Water campaign, an effort to raise money for clean-water projects in developing countries. Kat’s collected an amazing assortment of writing critiques from authors and agents working in the romance, mainstream fiction, and young adult genres. As for me, I’m offering an in-person brainstorming or strategy session at either the RT Booklovers convention (Chicago, in April) or the RWA conference (Anaheim, this July). If you’re interested, click here for specifics.

Dozens of critiques will be up for bids over the next 90 days. By bidding on critiques or simply making a donation, you can help raise $10,000 for wells, water filtration systems, and sanitation projects around the globe. Clean, safe water is something everyone needs, and 100% of money raised goes directly to projects in the field. Every dollar helps save lives!… Read More »