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Twenty years ago the top song in the US was Christina Aguilera’s and in the UK it was Westlife’s . The Sixth Sense came out as did The Boondock Saints, both of which became cult classics. But, what I was most excited about back then was the release of my first novel �� .




I admit that I’m a little shocked that 20 years has gone by already. I’d written for years, but I did it for myself. My friend Kathie encouraged me to submit my manuscript and I finally agreed, but didn’t really think much of it. Well, not until I got a phone call from making an offer on it. Being excited and surprised I promptly hung up on them. Yes. I hung up on them. I really was surprised. Luckily, they called back and I gathered the courage to say “yes�� to their offer.







When Dorchester cut 100 pages of the manuscript I was sad, but I realized that this is a business and I dealt with that decision. They also wanted me to include technology, which wasn’t something I really wanted to do since it dates the book, but I added it in. I’m asked about timelines and ages all the time and I never give absolute answers and some of that stems from the way Dark Prince was edited and changed back then.

(From the way back machine: my website from 1999)




When Dorchester went out of business bought the rights to those earlier books, which included Dark Prince. They were excited to have me add in those 100 pages that had previously been cut. That was in 2011. But, when I cut those and made the changes Dorchester requested it caused some difficulty adding it back in. It wasn’t just a matter of adding pages that were previously cut. It had to be added in a way that flowed well and didn’t disrupt the continuity. But, I made it happen! Now you can get what they call a special .



I’m thrilled and humbled that Dark Prince continues to be popular even today. I love it when I get a letter or email from someone saying they just read Dark Prince for the first time and then I chuckle when they ask if I have any more in the series. I do. There are currently a total of 32 books out in the series and as of Sept. 3rd will be number 33.









You can watch the Facebook Live video I did for the 20th anniversary celebration


You can read the first chapter of Dark Illusion














(Exclusives, Sneak Peeks, Discussions and more) -

It’s important to me that my heroines reflect a wide variety of women. Julija, from , is more powerful than she knows. She thinks things about herself and about love that is filtered through some terrible life experiences. She was taught from an early age not to trust Carpathian males. So, when she meets Isai things don’t go smoothly.


I’ve had people ask me why I write heroines who sometimes fight becoming a lifemate. Let’s face it, if it all went easy there’d not be a lot to write about. There’s always conflict in new relationships and Carpathians have to deal with that like everyone else. Especially the men. Especially the ancient ones who know little of modern women.



In my real life I am a 3rd degree black belt and earned my instructor’s license to teach martial arts. I love martial arts, though I’m retired now, but I did that for 20 years. I taught special women’s classes. This was for battered, abused women. Some had had very horrible things done to them and they needed to fuel their courage. I say “fuel�� and not “find�� because all women have courage. Sometimes they just need to be reminded or lifted up. Learning self-defense can help with that.



So, I’ve met all kinds of women throughout my life. Some who are quiet, some who speak up and out and aren’t afraid to tell you what they think or how they feel. Some don’t want to be noticed, but prefer to stay in the background. Some want to fight anyone and everyone they feel needs it. Large women, petite women, every ethnicity, social background, walk of life, they all matter to me. I want all of them to have a happy ever after. Whatever that means to them.

When I started writing the Dark Series I wanted a woman who could accept an unusual man. Raven, from , was psychic and so she already knew there were unusual people in the world. She was one. As a couple Mikhail and Raven were a great example light and darkness. Raven is brilliant, confident and accepting. Mikhail lucked out!

Not all women are accepting. Gabrielle from certainly didn’t start out wanting her lifemate. Trixie (also from Dark Promises) tried to kill her future lifemate even as she admitted to herself that he’s hot.

Ivory Malinov from is a formidable warrior. Emeline from was timid and vulnerable in a way even though she certainly had courage.



Julija is a fighter. Unfortunately, her need to fight doesn’t always serve her well when it comes to love. She has courage. But, I love that she has a vulnerability at her core that helps us empathize with her and love her.

Of all of the Dark series heroines I’ve written, which do you feel you’re most like? Which one would you want to be most like?














(Exclusives, Sneak Peeks, Discussions and more) -

How important is brotherhood? Do men form bonds outside of the family that are as strong as any “sisterhood��?



For Isai Florea this is something he has to face in . While he tried to keep himself from becoming a monster, sequestering himself at the monastery, his brother Iulian was faced with hardship and challenges of his own. Something Isai would be surprised when his brother’s story is revealed.



I come from a very big family. I have ten sisters and three brothers. I love them all. I learned early on that sisterhood was as essential as breathing for me. My sisters, both biological and my sisters of the heart, are incredibly important to me and I appreciate them all.



Recently, my brothers Matt and Phil came to visit for a few days. I love them so much and we had such a good visit. Getting together with my brothers seems to bring out the “kid�� in them so there was a lot of teasing and laughter and rolling-of-the-eyes. Brothers are every bit as important as sisters and watching my brothers together always reminds me of how important a strong brotherhood is.

Most readers recognize the “sisterhood�� of the Drakes, Sisters of the Heart, GhostWalkers and other female friendships that happen through all of my series. But, I feel I have a strong “brotherhood�� throughout my many series as well. The Carpathian ancients, , Prakenskii brothers, , there’s brotherhood there. Even the , who are often solitary, they found a way to work together as a team.



Isai found brotherhood with the other Carpathians at the monastery. They were all there for the same reason. They all felt honor-bound to protect humanity from themselves. They wanted to hold on to life, hoping their lifemate would be in the world. They had to watch over each other to ensure no one turned vampire. They shared blood. They had a promise to their lifemate carved into their skin. Once they found out that human women could be lifemates and they would need to go out in the world to look for theirs, they knew they could come to need each other out in the modern world.



But, these are ancient warriors who know nothing of modern women. The rules of today are not only unknown to them, but some are completely unacceptable to them. When Isai finds Julija there’s a clash that becomes nearly devastating for them both. Isai makes a decision to return to the monastery. But first, he would fight the evil mages Julija is trying to escape. Often you must call upon your brothers for help. But sometimes, only love will save you.















(Exclusives, Sneak Peeks, Discussions and more) -

First, I want to thank everyone who bought . I am so grateful to all of my readers and am excited about how well the book did!

Even though the book was released early in some places, you pre-ordered the book and those sales counted toward the bestseller lists.




It's not too late! Order by Aug. 3rd and you can have it signed and personalized! is at it again!
They are sponsoring the opportunity to have me sign and personalize the book for you or a friend! If you’d like to get a signed and personalized copy of Dark Song just go here-




If you don’t need your copy of Dark Song personalized, but would still love to have it signed, Barnes & Noble are offering signed copies at





with myself and my editor, Cindy Hwang. Talking about my books and writing. This was so fun since I’ve not done an interview with Cindy before!





Book Schedule for the rest of 2020



in paperback Aug. 4
in hardcover Sept. 1

in paperback Sept. 29

Nov. 10

with Walmart exclusive, collector’s cover Dec. 8



2021


Reckless Road Feb. 9th

Lightning Game (no date yet)

Shadow Storm (no date yet)

More to come



Aug. 7th come celebrate the paperback release of and listen on a bit about on Reader’s Entertainment Radio. We’ll be talking about my Dark series, answering reader questions and having a great time! It’s at 1PM Pacific/ 4 PM Eastern and lasts half an hour -

In Isai Florea is an ancient Carpathian warrior who fought vampires, keeping the human race safe, for centuries before he finally realized he may never find his lifemate and he’d become extremely dangerous. So dangerous he made his way to a monastery high up in the Carpathian Mountains where others, like himself, sequestered to keep people safe. Though some Carpathians decide to meet the dawn, to end themselves instead of turning vampire, Isai and the ancients of the monastery felt that was not the honorable thing to do. He and his brethren decided to wait.

Waiting was a double-edged sword. During that time, he and the other ancients carved a promise into their skin to hold out for their lifemate. But, waiting in such a remote place did not offer much hope. So, when outsiders came offering the hope of lifemates out in the world, Isai and the others took that call and went to the United States.

There, Isai would help keep humans safe, continuing his fight against vampires. He would continue to wait.



When he came across the woman who’d helped them save a long-lost Carpathian he wondered why she’d not talk to him. What was she up to traveling the mountains all alone?

When she finally spoke Isai’s wait was over.

He’d fought evil. He’d remained honorable. He’d sequestered himself to keep others safe. He’d carved his promise into his skin. When the wait was finally over…she rejected him.

I always knew Isai and Julija’s story wouldn’t be an easy romance. There would be struggle and doubt. Not all love stories are easy. Some required patience. Some required them to fight for it. Julija had her own reasons for what she did. They made sense to her. That didn’t make Isai’s long wait easy.

Of course, true love always prevails. It’s just not always predictable.

I hope you’ll enjoy