In 2010, I decided to write a book. That was the first book I had ever written, and I had never entertained the idea of creating such a thing. With the birth of that book, so began my passion for writing.
The first book was My Blood Runs Blue, and in that story, I created a world of vampires unlike any other world created. How the vampires were created, how they reacted to humans, and even how they smelled to each other came from my fantasies.
Shortly after the first book, I wrote Blue Blood For Life. There were a few years between that book and the next, The Pulse of Blue Blood, and that third book became the second in the series to explain how Kristin got to where she was. During that time, I rewrote parts of the first two books of the series and then quickly went on to write Mixing the Blue Blood and Blue Bloods Final Destiny.
As I was writing that final book, I realized I wasn’t ready to let Kristin go. She was a police officer who gave everything to protect those she swore an oath to. Kristin was me, and I wasn’t ready to let go of who she was and what she had become. So I did the only thing a writer can do, I created another world and spun Kristin off into Blue Blood Returns 40 years later.
With this new series, I could bring new life to the stories. I could intertwine pieces of the past and introduce new characters. Kristin is still the lead, but her sister is right beside her. New and old faces were together where questions from the original series, never answered, finally were.
The new series was darker, grittier, and much steamier than the first one, but that is what I saw for my characters in the future.
In this final book, Reckoning, I had a hard time. I knew what needed to happen but struggled to get the characters to behave. I started and stopped this book several times. I realized that one of the things that held me back was knowing that I would have to say goodbye to these characters.
Kristin was no longer a cop in this book, and neither am I. It took me a while, but I finally realized that both Kristin and I needed to move on. It was time to let the past become the past and move on to new things.
I have already been asked by some earlier readers if there will ever be another spin-off, and the answer to that question is, I honestly do not know. Did I leave it where I could jump into the future? Yes. But will I? Who knows. Only time will tell. For now, I will step away from the paranormal world for a while and finish a few other books that need my attention.
For all of you who have followed the stories of Blue Blood through the years, I thank you. You will never know how much it has meant to me to share these stories with you.
Now, it’s time to say goodbye to Kristin, Zander, Alex, Gabe, Olivia, Angelina, Trent, Hugh, and Garda and turn the page. At least for now—
We have all seen how much the world can change in the last two years. With that, so do priorities. With significant issues needing to be focused on around my house, I had to prioritize my family and our household. In doing so, I started working outside the home again.
My job is a very important one, and I am passionate about what I am doing, but it is intense, and it is hard to switch that intensity off to write sometimes. I travel a lot and spend hours teaching classes online and in person. My creative side isn’t always at its best when I am home.
I have been working on Mission: Gratitude for the last several weeks. It was set to release in November, but unlike the first four books, this story is not flowing the way I expected it to. It’s been like pulling teeth, and I know better than to force the issue.
With the deadline closing in, the stress was growing. These books go through a much more in-depth editing than my other romance novels. Scenes are reviewed by special people who have given input on the technical aspects of the story. The story is then read by a couple of ARC readers before it even goes to editing, then it goes through 3-4 rounds of editing with my main editor before it goes through two separate proofreaders, and then on to more ARC readers. This process takes months, and I don’t even have a quarter of the story nailed down.
That is why I have canceled the pre-order for Mission: Gratitude. It was a tough decision, but one that I believe I needed to make. I will not rush this story. It is not like I am just trying to give two characters a happily ever after, but I am showing how people overcome struggles that some of us could never quite comprehend.
When will it be released? Well, when it’s ready. I will not put it on pre-order again but will immediately release it once it has been written to my satisfaction and has gone through the entire editing process.
My sincerest apologies to those of you who have been waiting for it. I know this is the second time I have canceled the pre-order, and it frustrates me to no end that I have had to do that. I just can not rush the books in this particular series. I do hope that you can understand how difficult this decision has been.
Join 10 Award-Winning, New York Times, and USA Today Bestselling Authors as they gather together to give back to Ukrania Refugee Relief: Stephanie Queen, Desiree Hold, Zoe Dawson, Stacy Eaton, Suzanne Jenkins, Tammy Ferguson, Dani Haviland, Patricia Rosemoor, Susanne Matthews, Christine Tetreault
100 Percent of Proceeds will be donated to International Relief Organizations to assist the Ukranian Refugees
Books Included in the Heroes Fighting for a Cause Limited Edition Box Set
The Beachcombers by Stephanie Queen
Ex-special ops legend Dane Blaise never wanted a partner, but he owed the governor. Working alongside gorgeous Scotland Yard detective Shana George to find a missing heiress would either drive him crazy–or get someone killed….
Before disappearing, the beautiful heiress entered a surfing competition on Martha’s Vineyard. Dane and Shana go undercover in the competition to track her down, but they find far more than they expected. The shady operation is backed by international players in the human trafficking trade. And now the human traffickers have their sights on Shana.
Dane is determined not to lose another woman on his watch, but can he stop himself from losing his heart and soul to Shana George?
For U.S. Navy SEAL, Bowie “Ruckus” Cooper, going on a mission into the most dangerous place on earth wasn’t new, neither were the orders to tag and bag an international criminal, but when Bowie finds a captive American reporter, that wasn’t exactly run of the mill. Neither was getting separated from his team, teaming up with her or protecting her against all odds, while working to keep his hands from around her neck and off her delectable body.
Fearless and bold photojournalist, Dana Sorenson never backed down from a fight or to showcase her dedication to reporting on the human condition. That’s what she thought until she meets Bowie and big, bad, and tough takes on a whole new meaning. Gratitude for saving her ass gets lost in his demanding orders and fighting for her life takes a back seat to falling for this alpha male who’ll risk everything to see her safe.
**Mission: Believe, Bronze Star Winner, Readers Favorite Awards, 2020** What can one disabled man do for military veterans who suffer from physical pain, mental anguish, social unacceptance, and disturbing thoughts of suicide?
Staff Sgt. Shane Logan is fortunate to have come from a privileged family, and after losing both of his legs in the war, he now has the best prosthetics that money can buy. While Shane is trying to move forward with life, he struggles with memories of his traumatic service and the way people react to him and his disability.
Dr. Lauren Falcone works tirelessly to assist veterans in dealing with the trauma and pain of their deployments and service. Her unique virtual approach to therapy keeps her busy, and the assistance she provides to service members as they recover mentally helps to resolve her own anxieties.
When Shane meets Lauren at a fundraiser for his father’s organization, he wonders if there might be a chance for him to get his dream off the ground and maybe have a normal life. If anyone can look past his flaws and see the man he is inside, it’s Lauren.
Shane and Lauren are drawn to each other by their hope to make life easier for veterans, both physically and emotionally. Their goal is to build Shane’s dream organization, Rise Again Warrior. An organization that will assist veterans to integrate more easily into society and receive state-of-the-art technology and therapy.
Now, if they can only have faith in themselves, learn to deal with their own demons, and believe in each other, they might find a way to bring this dream to fruition.
What does a lawyer using a cop as a beard, a beautiful detective in love with a member of teh SWAT Team, and a guy with a broken heart having in common? A Wedding!
Relationships are blooming as Spring approaches after a typical Michigan winter. Even the murders revolve around relationship and romance. Love is in the air for Detroit Homicide Detective Jill. Mark Castro, SWAT member of the Detroit Police Force never believed in love-at-first-sight until he saw Jill on the night he was assigned to be her bodyguard when former defendant Jacob Parker began stalking her.Family drama continues as Jill’s aunts and uncles, Jim and Maria Pappas make a final decision about their marriage, Liz and John Zannos try to exist in the same state without animosity, and Paula and Nick continue to cohabitate. Jill’s dad, Gus and his girlfriend Estelle find their stride, and Dido rededicates her life to a surprising new member of the family.
>>>Greek food, the atmosphere of Greektown in the midst of the renaissance of Detroit and the excitement of another murder investigation coming to end add to A Greektown Wedding.
After Ten Years Apart, Ashley Mitchum And Brian O’Neill Are Fatefully Reunited In Crystal Rock. Will Unveiling Their Families’ Dark Family Secrets Heal Two Wounded Hearts?
Growing up together in Crystal Rock, Wisconsin, Ashley Mitchum & Brian O’Neill have been at odds for years. Conniving and sometimes cruel when she doesn’t get her way, Ashley is someone Brian doesn’t want to feel attracted to.
Ashley’s the first one to admit she’s been spoiled rotten by her family. Brian has interfered with every relationship she’s ever had, but yet she’s never had the courage to tell him off.
It’s the summer after high school graduation, and one more week before Ashley will be moving to California for college, while Brian will be entering the army. The dynamic of their relationship suddenly changes when they share a haunting kiss.
Ashley finally realizes she’s been avoiding admitting her feelings for Brian because she’d have to make a serious commitment. But Brian is determined to make her understand they belong together, despite splitting up and focusing on careers.
But tragedy strikes when a Ponzi scheme is exposed, the accused being none other than Ashley’s father, who’s supposedly run away with Brian’s mother. The situation becomes more complicated when Ashley’s best friend’s father commits suicide after supposedly losing every penny in the scheme.
Forced apart by circumstances, Ashley and Brian are fatefully reunited in Crystal Rock ten years later. Will unveiling their families’ dark family secrets heal two wounded hearts?
Come visit Alaska! Romance sparkled with comedy and Brightened with second chances at the northern-most city in America.
Enjoy an Alaska summer with a stranded college graduate student and the young Inupiat medico who helps the spoiled and opinionated young woman grow up.
Sparks (and sutures) change their lives while working on an archaeological dig in the village of Barrow in 1994. Was she the woman of his dreams – his Red Raven – or just another cheechako, a tenderfoot from the outside world looking for excitement or a news story in his remote Alaskan village?
The trials, frustrations, and richness of life in Barrow (Utqiaģvik), Alaska and the local ‘healer’ change snobby intern Alexandra Oppenheimer’s philosophy on life in 1994. Twenty-two years later, will the area be the same? And will Rocky have returned to it, too?
ICE agent Quinlan McKenna Farrell is well acquainted with the darker side of human nature. His failure to bring down a human trafficking ring in Texas haunts him. Then he meets Luz Delgado, taken off the streets and sold to Quin as a virgin. He soon learns she’s an American who is trying to save her brother. Luz soon realizes Quin can read people and communicate with animals—psychic abilities inherited from his grandmother. Quin tries to protect Luz, but she’s determined to help bring down the human trafficking operation. And when she goes missing, a panicked Quin realizes Luz is his grandmother’s love legacy for him.
Paranormal Detective Ellie Taggart, a rakshasa capable of assuming the shape of a tigress, has always worked alone, searching for those responsible for her mother’s murder. When an investigation results in the death of a close friend and vampire, she’s forced to partner with handsome and mysterious peredhil, Steve Cassidy. Like her, the half-human, half-elf uses his special talents to fight evil wherever it exists. Rogue vampires, shapeshifters, zombies, practitioners of black magic, poltergeists, ghosts—none of them can beat him. That is until someone or something no longer plays by the rules. There’s a new villain in New Orleans, one who threatens both the humans and non-humans who make the city home. Is the enemy Draug, the wizard who murdered Ellie’s mother centuries ago? Is it someone from Steve’s shrouded past intent on revenge? Or are they facing a new enemy with an agenda all his or her own? As the tigress and her partner search for answers, trying to prevent the bodies from piling up, they must manage conflicting emotions and desires that threaten to overwhelm them. Can two such different creatures of the light join forces to defeat the darkness, or will the powers of evil triumph?
Today’s he’s a member of Elite Force Security, but sixteen years ago he belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Connecticut. Following his father’s conviction for investment fraud, Connor Anderson left behind his privileged life and everyone associated with it, including Becca André. All that changes the morning she sits down next to him inside a busy D.C. café and asks him to lunch.
For the past four years, Becca has worked in Washington, D.C., where the greatest physical threat she faces each day is a paper cut. However, everything changes when Becca’s stepsister goes missing and someone tries to kidnap her. Now, the only person she can rely on is her long-ago summer fling, Connor. A man she never forgot and the one she’s falling in love with again.
Despite the women who’ve passed through his life, Becca is the only one Connor’s ever truly cared about. And he’ll do anything to keep her safe. But will it be enough?
An introvert, Special Agent Francesca moves to Las Vegas to escape her powerful, domineering mother. On arrival, multiple obstacles challenge her. She needs to approach a father she’s never met, a man who doesn’t even know she exists. Then she must play the role of a loving fiancée with a stranger. One who makes her question every unexpected emotion he provokes. Craving the chance for real undercover work, she grabs the opportunity to be involved in cleaning up gang corruption in a nasty neighborhood. When she poses as the new owner of a hotel, the deadly-dangerous situation ramps up and she’s forced to fight her way from one conflict to the next.
Sean Collins, Psychiatrist and LVPD Profiler has never known anyone like Francesca Donovan. From first sight, he believes her to be a screwball but her beauty and maddening personality attracts him. Despite her prickly disposition, which gets them into a load of trouble, her rotten driving skills and her constant battles, he’s hooked. Once he’s roped into a mock engagement with her, his desire to make it real takes precedence over everything else in his world.
Tiffany Chanler, gun carrying, armored guard, guardian of donor organs, a driver for Angel Wings, convinced she was right. Others need to change. She prides her persona on badassery. Everything she does has a purpose. She owns it.
Tiffany was born wealthy because you can’t pick your parents, but her hero self has no time for that materialistic lifestyle. She trained to eat fear for breakfast. Then stop at the gas station to pick up cat food.
