Romantic Suspense

As a kid, I read mystery, thrillers, science fiction and fantasy. In fact I didn’t even know there was a genre called “romance” until I was in my thirties and a friend asked me if I wanted to try to write one. I did write and sell several romances, but after my initial excitement in discovering the genre, I started slipping in the danger, suspense, and paranormal elements I’d loved as a kid. And gradually I morphed into a writer of “romantic suspense,” the perfect genre for me, where a man and a woman fall in love against a dark and dangerous background. I love researching the action sequences in my stories. I love plotting books where the hero and heroine are on a knife edge of tension as they battle to save their lives. But their love for each other grows and develops throughout the story, and their reward for defeating the bad guys is always a happily-ever-after.

Private Affair

(ISBN: 978-1402280061, Sourcebooks Casablanca, January 2015)

Olivia Winters and Max Lyon knew each other way back when, but she was one of the cool kids, and he was a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Olivia’s a successful model now, and Max a PI much in demand.

When Olivia’s old high school friend is murdered-and a raft of “accidental” deaths may be murders, too-Max is the only man Olivia can trust to help her investigate.

As they team up, Max is blown away by Olivia’s courage under fire, and Olivia finds that the bad boy she remembers from the fringes of her social circle might just be the best man she’s ever met.

Diagnosis: Attraction

(ISBN: 978-0373697571, Harlequin Intrigue, April 2014)

Dr. Matt Delano’s life is turned upside down by his intense connection to a beautiful amnesiac.

No medical test could ever detect what Dr. Matt Delano experiences while taking the pulse of his beautiful amnesia patient. For a few shocking moments, he feels more deeply connected to Elizabeth Forester than he thought humanly possible. And to his shock, a scorching sexual heat flares between them.

As a professional, the handsome doctor tries to stay away from Elizabeth, but finds it impossible. He’ll risk his life to help her regain her memory and discover who’s trying to kill her—and why. Only then can he try to solve the more baffling mystery of their powerful bond: What’s turned two loners into passionate soul mates?

Bridal Jeopardy

(ISBN: 978-0373697519, Harlequin Intrigue, March 2014)

P.I. Craig Branson finds himself falling for a woman he should be staying far away from

Love at first sight can’t begin to describe the attraction detective Craig Branson feels when he locks eyes with gorgeous Stephanie Swift. It’s more powerful, passionate and deeply emotional than anything he’s ever felt. But the P.I. is in New Orleans to track down a killer…not to have a fling.

Still, he can’t resist the intense sexual pull he feels the first time he kisses Stephanie. He’ll risk everything to rescue her from her rich, possessive fiancé. Taking her on the run, Craig faces danger from two relentless pursuers—one who would expose the secret of their bond…and one who would keep him from his soul mate forever.

BAD NIGHTS

(ISBN: 978-1402280009, Sourcebooks Casablanca, September 2013)
When Morgan Rains finds a naked man stumbling through her woods, she doesn’t realize her life will change forever. He’s former Navy SEAL, Jack Brandt, who’s escaped from an undercover assignment gone wrong. Can they team up to save their lives from a dangerous enemy? And will each of them realize they’re better together than alone?

Carrie’s Protector

(ISBN: 978-0373697021, Harlequin Intrigue, June 2013)

Still smarting from a failed mission, bodyguard Wyatt Hawk tries to distance himself from photographer Carrie Mitchell, who’s set to testify about a terrorist plot. After an ambush has them fleeing in a hail of bullets and their safe house is compromised, they’re forced into close proximity, where the attraction both of them have denied flares. As they try to uncover a shocking conspiracy, Wyatt and Carrie must work together to save both their lives.

Her Baby’s Father

(ISBN: 978-0373696420, Harlequin Intrigue, September 2012)

Sara Carter is trying to drive herself to the hospital in a snowstorm. She’s in labor, but the father of her child, Jack Morgan, is dead. He’s from a rich family who have turned their backs on her. When her car skids off the road and plows into a tree, she knows she and her baby are going to die. But angels sent to escort her to heaven decide to send her back ten months in time.

To her astonishment, she meets Jack Morgan all over again. She knows what he doesn’t–that someone is trying to kill him. Can she save his life this time around? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Sudden Insight

(ISBN: 978-0373695942, Harlequin Intrigue, January 2012)

New Orleans tarot card reader Rachel Gregory foresaw a dark, sexy stranger but she had no idea Jake Harper would be her soul mate. Someone who literally read her thoughts…and she his. But when they were both nearly killed, Rachel had a feeling they were never meant to be together.

On the run, they searched for the source of their eerie connection—one that grew more powerful with each fevered kiss and heated caress. But were they willing to risk everything to uncover their secret past hidden deep in the bayou for decades? They had to hurry, before Rachel could foresee their deaths.

Sudden Attraction

(ISBN: 978-0373695997, Harlequin Intrigue, February 2012)

They were never supposed to meet. Hidden on a New Orleans plantation were secrets Gabriella Boudreaux was never supposed to uncover, either. And after Luke Buckley saved her life, she couldn’t get him out of her head…and she couldn’t get out of his.

At the slightest touch, they established the most intimate connection of their lives. So vulnerable, so dangerous…so right. Now they knew everything about each other—almost.

He came with a secret identity, but wasn’t the type of man who would run away from trouble. He could keep her safe. But when being together meant exposing themselves to more danger than either could prepare for, they had to reconsider just how “chance” their meeting really was.…

DARK WARRIOR

(ISBN: 978-0425243701, Berkley Sensation, September 2011)

An ancient struggle between two powerful forces erupts into an explosive confrontation in modern times.

In the first century BC, the Ionian Priestesses (rivals to the Oracle at Delphi) made a dangerous bargain with a group of cursed warriors called the Minot. In return for saving them from a barbarian invasion, the women took the Minot as consorts, but the uneasy truce disintegrated when the warriors tried to dominate their partners.

Centuries later, the women hide their true identity from the world and run the Seven Sisters Spa in Sedona, Arizona. Still mistrusting men, they ruthlessly use them for procreation but never marry.

Now Minot, Jason Tyrone, and Ionian, Sophia Thalia, confront truths neither wants to acknowledge.

Only if Jason and Sophia dare to form a strong psychic bond can they save themselves and the Ionians from destruction. Or will the women discover Jason’s true identity and rip out his psychic powers first?

An ancient struggle between two powerful forces erupts into an explosive confrontation in modern times.

Centuries later, the women hide their true identity from the world and run the Seven Sisters Spa in Sedona, Arizona. Still mistrusting men, they ruthlessly use them for procreation but never marry.

Now Minot, Jason Tyrone, and Ionian, Sophia Thalia, confront truths neither wants to acknowledge.

Day of the Dragon

(ISBN: 978-0425238189, Berkley Sensation, December 2010)

I first wrote about Ramsay Gallagher in Dragon Moon. I was so fascinated with him, that I wanted to give him his own story. He’s the hero of Day of the Dragon, which I hope is the start of a new series.

The search for clues to an ancient civilization sends Ramsay to an archaeology conference in Las Vegas where he meets Dr. Madison Dartmoor. Her current dig in Italy has put her in mortal danger, and when Ramsay saves her from thugs bent on stealing a copy of a startling artifact, the two of them team up to unearth the secrets of an ancient civilization. As their relationship heats up, Ramsay guards his own secrets that may tear him and Madison apart or save their lives.

Day of the Dragon was picked as one of the best books of 2010 by joyfullyreviewed.com .

Powerhouse

(ISBN: 978-0373694549, Harlequin Intrigue, February 2010)

Shelley Young comes to Matt Whitlock to beg for his help. The son Matt never knew he’d fathered has been kidnapped, and Shelley thinks Matt is the only person who can help her find four-year-old Trevor. Years ago, Matt himself was kidnapped, and the terrible memories of what happened to him are locked up deep in his mind. But he knows one thing–he came back home with a unique paranormal power. Can it help him and Shelley find Trevor? And can they elude the bad guys bent on stopping them?

Christmas Spirit

(ISBN: 978-0373693566, Harlequin Intrigue, October 2008)

Christmas Spirit is the first book in the Return to Jenkins Cove mini-series. It starts one foggy night when Chelsea Caldwell is driving home and thinks she sees a young woman lying on the road. Then the woman vanishes. But her body turns up later. Local newspaper accounts of the incident bring investigative reporter Michael Bryant to Jenkins Cove. Michael thinks Chelsea is spinning a ghost story to make herself look important. Then a series of frightening incidents convince him that dark spirits haunt the isolated town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore–and that someone desperate to hide a terrible secret will stop at nothing to eliminate him and Chelsea.

Christmas Awakening, by Ann Voss Peterson, followed in November 2008. And Christmas Delivery, by Patricia Rosemoor, followed in December 2008.

BEYOND FEARLESS

(ISBN: 042521866X, Berkley Sensation, December 2007)

Anna Ridgeway’s mind-reading nightclub act takes her to the Caribbean Island of Grand Fernandino. She knows she’s being stalked by sinister forces. But she doesn’t realize that her destiny hangs in the balance when she meets diver Zachary Robinson. Zach and Anna are inexplicably and powerfully drawn to each other–sexually and psychically. As the physical intimacy between them deepens, so do their psi talents. But island shaman, Raoul San Donato, has plans of his own for Anna. Already a powerful force on Grand Fernandino, he plans to kill Zach and bind Anna to him in a shocking ceremony that will make her his consort and consolidate his hold over the island.

Royal Lockdown

(ISBN: 978-0373692613, Harlequin Intrigue, June 2007)

The eerie text message was only part of a night to remember for security ace Shane Peters. One minute he was dancing with Princess Ariana LeBron, holding her in his arms at a gala attended by world leaders, the next he was fighting for their lives when the lights went out and gunmen held them hostage. Their demands were simple: Give them the princess.

For Ariana, duty and honor were everything. Until she met Shane. Minutes in the brash American’s arms made her feel like a woman for the first time. But could the man who’d safeguarded priceless antiquities save her from the gunmen? With the lights low and the summer heat rising, he’d surely give the princess a night to remember.

Chain Reaction

(ISBN: 0373229461, Harlequin Intrigue, October 2006)

Chain Reaction is the first book in the Security Breach miniseries, starts with a bang–an explosion in Lab 7 at a company called Cranesbrook. Gage Darnell is caught in the lab accident. When he wakes up in Beech Grove, a private mental hospital, he tries to figure out why he’s being held captive and why nobody will give him any information. Escape seems to be his only option, but once he breaks out, he’s in even deeper trouble. And the worst part is that he drags his estranged wife, Lily, into danger with him.

The story is set in two of my favorite locales–Maryland’s picturesque Eastern Shore and the Baltimore area.

BEYOND CONTROL

(ISBN: 0425204421, Berkley Sensation, August 2005)

This is my first story of sexually linked telepaths whose powers develop when they meet one of their own kind. They feel compelled to touch each other, and the more physically intimate they become, the deeper their psychic bond. So the sensuality simmering between them is tied to their awakening powers.

Jordan Walker and Lindsay Fleming are the products of a genetics experiment gone wrong. When they begin investigating a murder at a secret government installation, they draw the attention of Kurt MacArthur, the head of a quasi-government agency who discovers their heritage and begins tracking them down. Can Jordan and Lindsay escape from MacArthur–and escape from another pair of bonded telepaths bent on killing them before they can develop their powers?

This is a story where I take strong advantage of the DC milieu. Lindsay is a staffer in a Senate office. Jordan is an investigative reporter who writes Bob Woodward-type exposés. I had fun setting a couple of scenes in the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral and also Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown.