My Books

The opening of Identity Withheld (November 2014) changed a few times in the draft stages (including the name of the heroine). I dropped the prologue (which was a different backstory than ultimately went into the book), because I felt that it was stronger to let the reader learn it as the hero did. My editor…

My editor has a fun sense of humor, which gives me a good chuckle in the midst of edits. Such as in her suggested change for this line: With one eyebrow quirked raised, the mayor slipped on his sunglasses. Her reason for changing “quirked” to “raised”: “Quirked went from an unusual word to a plague…

Below is the unedited ending to a horribly boring scene I deleted long before the manuscript went to my editor. It starts out showing Kate and Tom enjoying a romantic day at the beach and I wrote it, because I wanted to give them a reprieve from their troubles to give them a chance to…

1.    Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of yet another police investigation.  My name is Kate Adams and I was just trying to help out my elderly neighbor by picking up a few groceries for her at the store. I had no idea the money she…

Catnip is a perennial herb and member of the Mint family that is best known for its ability to make cats high. Originally native to Europe & Asia, it is now common to North America. There are over 200 species of Catnip. The most common are typically Catmint (purple flowers, small grey/green leaves, grows to fifteen inches…

1¾ cup whole wheat flour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp cinnamon ⅓ cup sunflower oil ¾ cup milk 1 medium egg ⅔ cup granulated sugar Topping Ingredients: ¼ cup melted butter ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon In a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients. In…

“Please tell me those women aren’t why you’re really in town.”  Sam Steele shifted his gaze from the gorgeous heiresses dining in the corner of the dimly lit Seattle bistro and grinned at his brother. “They’re not why I’m in town.” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Right.  Now tell me the truth.” “What?” Sam brandished his most…

1.     Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.   My name is Jennifer Robbins. My twin sister Cassandra and I were raised in a small rural Washington State community, where our mother taught art and our father managed a store. Then Mom’s art was “discovered”…

  1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. My name is Sam Steele. I’m an FBI agent, with our art crime team. Art crime is overlooked by a lot of police departments. Yet, it’s a seventy-billion-dollar-a-year crime with criminals using paintings as collateral…

Happily, my editor made only minor requests for changes, of which I’ll share a few.  Original: Jake hoofed across the parking lot with Sam on his six.  Editor was not familiar with the expression “on his six” used by pilots and others, meaning at six o’clock position.  Final: Jake hoofed across the parking lot with…