I grew up an Air Force brat, moved around a lot, and other than my siblings, I didn’t develop any close friends. Sure, I found people to hang with, but if I moved, I forgot them.

Funny thing happened when I became a writer. Suddenly, I was among people just like me. People struggling to conquer the craft, conquer the publishing industry, and desperately searching for someone to share the exciting things going on inside their own heads.

I banded first with my sister, Myla Jackson, whom I didn’t really have that much in common with until we both started writing. We banded with Layla Chase who was seeking critique partners, and we all improved as writers together, which forged an even stronger bond between us. We banded with a group of ladies inside the San Antonio Romance Authors and formed Roses Colored Glasses, because we hoped to build an even bigger community of friends.

Along the way, I’ve added Kimberly Kaye Terry and the Allure Authors group as friends, and we’ve helped each other, produced anthologies together, and become sounding boards for story ideas, whine sessions, career strategy advice.

You can’t have too many friends. So, this weekend I’m hanging with two women from the Diamond State Romance Authors group. We’re having a writing weekend, and hopefully, I’ll pick up two more friends to add to my ever-expanding circle (if the pictures I share here don’t get me killed!).

Reviewer Jennell at RRTErotic had this to say about Sin’s Gift, the beginning of my new series for Ellora’s Cave:

“…A turbulent relationship and sexy, spooky thrills await readers in SIN’S GIFT. Sin is a woman who feels her call to duty strongly and takes the bumps in her life head-on. She will submit to Jake only in the bedroom, and the tension between them is a sizzling battle of wills. But, Jake has a couple of surprises in store for Sin, as do some other members of San Antonio’s finest. This is a well written and engrossing tale with complex characters who have hidden depths. Enter into other realms with the highly recommended SIN’S GIFT.“

Hot Blooded is in the can!

The draft is done. I’ll give it one more read-through before I ship, but if you’d like to see what I’ve been up to, here’s where we first see the hero and heroine together. Now, back to Texas Men.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hot Blooded

Sunlight broke through the clouds by mid-afternoon. Although the rain had stopped an hour before, chaos still reigned in the park. All the low water crossings were impassible. Climbers and hikers all along the trails had been stranded. When the Canyon Volunteer Fire Department called the ranch, Adam Youngblood bit back a curse.

The last place he wanted to be today was anywhere near the park and one particular little park ranger. But he headed straight for the headquarters building near the entrance of the park where the rangers had organized search parties to rescue stranded campers and hikers.

Mavis Benson who manned the information desk sidled close to him with a clipboard in her hands. “Adam,” she said hesitantly.

“What do you need, Mavis?”

“We have a situation.”

He glanced at the organized chaos around him and nodded his head. “We certainly do.”

She pulled at his shirtsleeve and tilted her clipboard toward him. “Cass–Fortress Cliff–0800,” was scribbled in purple ink. “She hasn’t checked back in.”

Adam didn’t want to care. In fact, he hated the way his belly knotted at that piece of news. “Have you sent anyone to check it out?”

“They’re still assigning teams to sections of the park. Thought you might like to take this one yourself,” she whispered, her eyebrows rising.

Adam grimaced, tempted to tell her flat out she had the wrong man for the job. She didn’t know his interest in Cass McIntyre had been obliterated the night before.

However, he didn’t want to tarnish the trust and respect shining in Mavis’s eyes whenever he entered the building. Mavis was a lifelong resident of the nearby town of Canyon and attended the same church his mother had.

Adam blew out a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll take a look around the cliff.” Read the rest of this entry »

Kensington’s Aphrodisia authors have launched a new website. Go take a look and hit the blog because that’s where I’m playing today!