Samantha Shaw on Vacation…

I'm getting a lot of really nice fan mail (thanks!) that is asking me when the next Samantha Shaw book will be out.

I don't know.

I'm so sorry! This is the way of publishing sometimes. I have several books under contract at the moment, so we are giving Sam and the gang a little vacation. I'm sure by the time I get to write the next book, she will be in all kinds of trouble and expect me to sort it out.

I really loved writing THILLED TO DEATH! (See a really nice review here.) Sam has grown a great deal since the first book DATING CAN BE MURDER. For those of you who have asked, here's the list of the books in the series, in order:

1) DATING CAN BE MURDER
2) DYING TO MEET YOU
3) NINJA SOCCER MOMS
4) BATTERIES REQUIRED
5) THRILLED TO DEATH

I also get a lot of email about Gabe and Detective Vance. Gabe is Sam's very HOT boyfriend, while Vance is the sexy detective whom she has a love/hate relationship with. My email runs about 2 to 1 in favor of staying with Gabe, but there's a growing group of fans who think Vance has a shot with her. So do I know what Sam's going to do in the future?

Nope. Let me rephrase that—I think I know, but half way into writing every book, the characters take over and I often find out that they have better ideas than I do. It's a little hard on my ego, but I usually give in and do it their way.

So while Sam's on vacation, I'm working on some sexy romantic mysteries. The first one will be in January 2007. I haven't gotten the final okay on the title, but as soon as I do, I'll let you all know.

Happy Reading!

Frank Thinks He's Elvis

On Monday's post on my other blog, Murder She Writes, I mention Frank. Frank is pretty cool. He just showed up at my house one day.

Well actually, when I was Co-President of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers' of America, we were doing raffles. Frank was a prize.

I wanted Frank. I coveted Frank. I didn't win Frank. And I couldn't pout either because it just doesn't look right to pout when you are the Co-President.

Okay, maybe I pouted a little.

But a week or so later, I got a package the mail from Jackie Radoumis. Jackie was the woman running the raffle. I was baffled. Why would Jackie send me a package? Did it have something to do with chapter business? I opened it up.



It was Frank! My very own beloved Frank! I danced with Frank all night.

Oh I should tell you that Frank is a little mixed up. He's a monster, but he sings "Wild Thing" and he dances like Elvis. I think Frank might have a little identity crises going on.

But I love Frank!

Have a good weekend!

I know I've been missing all week :-) I had a project I had to get done and off my desk. Mission accomplished! Now I need to catch up. So this is just a quick note, but I'll be back next week.

Have a great weekend!

Telling Stories to Cope...

I can't believe it's Friday already! I don't know where the week went…

You've seen my first inspiration—Duke. I had so much fun talking about him! This blog isn't as much fun to talk about, but it's probably a key reason I started telling stories to myself.

On the very last day of third grade, I was walking home from school. I remember it was hot, and I was thinking that I got to spend the whole summer swimming in our backyard pool. Unfortunately, while I was walking home, feeling happy and carefree, a little boy down the street from me, a boy whose house I walked by that day, found a gun up in his parent's closet. He had his best friend over and they decided to play cops and robbers.

He killed his best friend. It was a horrific, tragic accident that to this day still gives me chills. The little boy—and remember he was just a child—told the police that his friend was killed by someone driving by and shooting a gun through the front window where they were playing in his parents bedroom. That was the story that quickly spread around the neighborhood.

Our house was a similar design and my parents slept in the bedroom with the window facing the front of the house. I was terrified someone was going to drive by, shoot and kill my parents. Even after I learned the truth, this terror stuck with me. I couldn't sleep in my own bed, and I spent much of the summer sleeping on the floor in my parents' bedroom.

My parents didn't care what the "experts" said. They let me sleep there, and over a month or so gently coaxed me back into my room. In the day, they patiently answered my endless questions and worries and helped me process what had happened.

To deal with my fear at night, I started telling myself stories as soon as I went to bed. I created worlds that I could control. Where curious little boys don't accidentally kill their best friends then have to live with the tragedy for the rest of their lives. Where two families aren't torn apart by the grief, anger and sheer helplessness. Where I could change the outcome if I didn't like it.

Telling stories to myself became an integral part of my personality.

Eventually, I wanted to write stories that took people away from real life for a little while. I don't have the power to change reality, but I hope I can write a good book that makes people smile.

So how about you all? What got you interested in reading books? Or writing books?

Beloved but Ugly Inspiration

This week I'm going to talk about the different things in my life that led me to writing stories. I was born late in my parents lives. My two brothers and my sister were busy teenagers so here is my first real playmate--Duke.

Yes, I know he's not exactly handsome, but I loved him to death. This dog would put up with anything. I would attach a towel to his chain so he could have a cape and be a superhero or a prince. I once covered him in baby powder, and I'm told, nearly gave my mom a heart attack when she saw him. I made him play dolls with me. We went on adventures together while playing outside. We also had a pool and if I managed to get close to the pool, Duke would put himself between me and the pool to protect me.

Pretty cool, right? I credit Duke for helping me build my imagination as a kid. I was never lonely, even though my brothers and sister were off with their friends. And my mom knew that if I wasn't in her sight, Duke was keeping an eye on me.

It took me two days to convince Blogger to post this picture! Tomorrow or the next day I'll talk about why I learned to tell stories to myself.

Wisdom Teeth, Pet Peeves, A Contest and Dark-Hunters...

An update on my son's wisdom teeth extraction can be summed up in two words MURPHY'S LAW. Everything that can go wrong, did. Dry sockets, infections...ugh. We are hoping he's turning the corner today and will start to improve. Trust me, it's painful just to look at his poor face. I don't know how he's dealt with the pain and misery. The good news in all this is that the doctor and his office staff taking care of him have been terrific and very kind. A little kindness goes a long way in these situations.

With all this going on with my son, I haven't gotten much reading done. I read one book that I'll talk about in a minute. First I wanted to tell you all that this week on my other blog MURDER SHE WRITES we've been talking about our pet peeves. Hop on over there and join in!

Also my friend, Natalie R. Collins is have a cool contest for free books and more on her blog, TRAPPED BY THE MORMONS

I love talking about books and I'm sure I'll be doing it here occasionally. I might mention things that don't work for me, but I won't be bashing authors or trashing books. The respect for the work of writing a book is just too deeply ingrained in me.

So late to the party, I finally got to read Sherrilyn Kenyon's first book in her Dark-Hunter series NIGHT PLEASURES. This book didn't disappoint! I couldn't put it down. I loved the powerful characters, the banter, the action and my favorite joke at all involved an "I See Dead People" T-shirt that had me laughing out loud. My husband gave me That Look.

Loosely translated, That Look means that he knows I'm insane but he loves me anyway.

Anyone who enjoys vampire romances with humor and dark scenes as well will love this NIGHT PLEASURES.

Hope you all are having a terrific week!

Fun stuff

Hi All,

If you are interested in learning a little bit about my editor, the incomparable Kate Duffy, she has an interview at Squawk Radio. I love working with Kate!

And in another part of my life, I do the blog for the Orange County Chapter or Romance Writers of America called A Slice of Orange. On that blog we ran a contest called 25 Days of Romance where we posted a new romantic blog every day. Mary-Theresa Hussey, Executive Editor for Silhouette, judged the blogs. Our two runners up and winners are:

The 2nd Runner Up is...
MR. PERFECT by Dana Diamond!

The 1st Runner up is...
ROMANCE HEROES; ALWAYS THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM by Michelle Thorne!

And now the winner is...
FAIRY TALES DO COME TRUE by Gillian Doyle!

Click on the links and go read the blogs! They are touching and fun. It was such a pleasure to run this contest!

Hope you all have a great day!

Life Gets Crazy and A Book Signing

A couple people in my family have had minor surgery in the last week. One of them is my middle son, who had his wisdom teeth extracted. He's recovering, but as any of you know who've been through this, it's no fun.

I had a book signing on Saturday at a local independent store, THE BOOK LADIES in Corona, California. I arrived just on time, worrying those really nice book sellers! I had to laugh, because I'm normally (okay compulsively) early. But I'm a mom first, and I was cooking my poor son something soft to eat before I left for the signing.

In fact, as I write this, I'm cooking him some noodles and jumping up and down to keep a warm compress on his slightly swollen face. Since my kids are older now, I'm not as good a multi-tasking as I used to be!

So where was I?

Ah, the book signing. I always have a blast at THE BOOK LADIES. But watching these booksellers in action was just amazing. They hand sold to every customer. They recognized all returning customer, greeted new customers and went out of their way to make every person the bookstore feel comfortable and NOT pressured to buy books unless they wanted. That's especially important to me as an author signing that day. I want people to feel comfortable enough to come over and pick up one of my books to browse through it, or maybe just chat with me, without feeling pressured to buy. I've had really fun conversations with people who never bought a book, but I still enjoyed meeting them.

That's part of the fun of book signings. And here's a secret—sometimes those very customers come back and buy the signed stock that I've left behind.

So a Big Thank You to all the wonderful book sellers out there! I appreciate them both as a reader and an author!

Oh yes, my sister came by my signing. My sister has never ever walked out of a bookstore empty handed. She loves books. And the two booksellers were so wonderful to her, that she ended up buying a big stack of books. Jackie (book seller and long time friend of mine) gave her a really nice canvass bag to carry her books in.

I immediately started harassing my sister, trying to get her to give me the canvass bag. (Never mind that she'd bought me a really cool doggy-keychain!) I cajoled and pouted, insisting that when we exchanged all the books we bought, she should give me hers in the canvass bag.

My sister just laughed at me. Isn't that mean?

To my surprise, THE BOOKLADIES took all my whining seriously and gave me my very own canvass bag! Do these ladies rock or what?

Okay sure, they took pity on my sister and just wanted me to Stop Whining, but still…it really is a cool canvass bag 

Happy Reading! Oh and for the record, I bought two Sherrilyn Kenyon books. I've been dying to read her!