It isn't easy to have a book published. If anyone tells you it is, run. Fast. Rachels' Rescuer was born out of frustration--the frustration of writing for several years and feeling like I was getting nowhere. There are certain things editors (and readers!) look for in category romance. Some of those are books with babies, brides, cowboys, marriages of convenience, and others. So I decided to write a book using a few of those elements. But instead of a "baby", I ended up with Cody, Rachel's six-year-old son. He was such a strong little boy, and so easy to love. But what about the cowboy? Lucas isn't exactly a "cowboy", but he is a rancher, so I was close. And he had such a sad past, I knew there had to be a woman who could teach him to love again. Along came Rachel, the "bride", ripe for a "marriage of convenience" to a man who didn't like women, but couldn't allow Cody to be taken away from her. The snowstorm blew in on its own, and a story was born.

Music played a part, too. Listening to Country music is like reading a book. So many Country songs have a story to them or are a starting point to a story for a writer. The ending of Rachel's Rescuer was created because of a song by a popular Country music artist. The artist is Colin Raye, but I won't give away the title. That would spoil the fun.

Real life and true experiences are often catalysts for a story. A Saddle Made for Two is from one of those things we hated when it happened, but makes a great story. I was standing on a shovel in my kitchen, talking to my oldest and dearest friend on the phone. Why was I standing on a shovel? Trapped beneath the blade of it was a bull snake. A big one. Even my voice must have been shaking—I know my knees and the rest of my body were—as I told her about the snake we'd just found in my kitchen. I can still remember telling her that this would someday be in a story. It wasn't long before tiny, sassy Ellie was born in my mind. A little bit of a woman like her needed a man who could deal with her...and fall in love with her. Chase not only was a cowboy who came to rescue her from a snake, but he captured her heart and eventually gave in to his own love for her, in spite of her bull-headedness.

Readers have asked me if I was or still am a barrel racer, like Ellie. The answer to that is a resounding NO. But one of my best friends in high school was a great barrel racer, and A Saddle Made for Two is dedicated to Cindy and her barrel-racing daughter Tracy. I can remember watching Cindy practice and I imagined what it would be like. Writing Ellie racing her horse around the barrels was almost like doing it myself—without risking my own neck. I may love horses, but I'm not that brave.

One of my biggest interests in high school (besides boys) was theater. Although the acting bug is probably and always has been racing through my veins, I never had the chance to really experience acting until my junior year in high school when I had my first taste of being a part of theater. I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to play the role of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Now, for those of you not "up" on theater, Pygmalion is the original My Fair Lady without music. But I know all the words to all the songs, because we added them to our "non-musical" and lip synced them for our special version.

The transformation of Eliza has always fascinated me, so when I wondered what it would be like if the tables were turned and SHE was the one who did a makeover on HIM, the idea for A Whole New Man was born. It wasn't difficult to come up with my Eliza (Elizabeth/Lizzie) or Henry (Hank). But as always happens, this is not Eliza and Henry's story, it's Lizzie and Hank's. And what a happy ending—once again?—for both of them!

While writing A Saddle Made for Two, I fell in love with Chace Brannigan's two younger brothers and knew they both had to have their own books. The Truth About Plain Jane belongs to Trey Brannigan, Chace's "baby brother", who eventually talked Chace into letting him make the Triple B into a working dude ranch. Trey is what my best writing friend, Kathie DeNosky, and I call a "stinker". He may be a ladies' man, but he's a sweetheart, who (of course) must learn that playing the field isn't nearly as great as finding and keeping that one special woman.

When I overheard someone talking about how hotels were sometimes visited by people who wore disguises to keep their identity a secret while rating the hotel, I knew it was the was perfect job for the woman who would be a darlin' in disguise and win Trey's heart.

Although Devon Brannigan, the middle Brannigan brother, never actually appears in A Saddle Made for Two, he is discussed by his brothers. Even in The Truth About Plain Jane, where he appears briefly, we don't really get to know him. But Dev has been an integral part of the Brannigan story from the very inception of the three brothers. Even in his brief moments in the two preceeding books, Dev was a character as fully alive as his brothers were. It was a matter of waiting for his turn to have his story told.

Dev is the black sheep of the family, but only because he believes himself to be that and has taken steps to ensure it. And where best for a black sheep to hide out from a past he can't yet face but a casino in Louisiana. The only decision was to decide where in Louisiana he would be and to find the right woman for him. Carly's innocence and impulsive nature are the complete opposite of Dev's hard, worldly darkness and purposeful nature. Mix in a little Cajun and a touch of French for atmosphere, and the Devil does indeed inhabit the Devil's Den.

Being a single mom, myself, I understand how difficult it can be. My own children are much older than Becca's, but the struggle to go from married with a family to divorced with a family has its similarities. As anyone who has had to deal with it knows, it isn't easy, but it can get better.

The story opens with Becca stranded on a lonely country road on a cold December night, a sick baby waiting at home, and a flat tire. It's all too much for her—until a brilliant comet streaks across the sky. Becca sees it as a sign and vows to do whatever is necessary to make a better life for her children.

Sometimes that knight in shining armor arrives in the nick of time, just as hero Nick Morelli does, but it's Becca's strength that carries this story and the growth of her belief in herself that brings about a happily ever after.