New Book

My fourth Love Inspired Historical is out this month. A Gentleman's Homecoming is set in one of my favorite periods, Victorian England. I delved into the field of engineering for this one. I was interested in all the great projects being built in the second half of the 19th century: railroad bridges, tunnels, the first subways, skyscrapers, etc.
So, what if you have a prominent male engineer and a female who's always dreamed of being an engineer, an old crush, a child...
Mix it all up and you have A Gentleman's Homecoming.

Debut of new Steeple Hill line

It's kind of exciting to be part of the debut of a new line of fiction, in this case, Steeple Hill's new series of historicals: Love Inspired Historicals. Their previous Love Inspired lines (Love Inspired contemporaries & Love Inspired Suspense) have been so successful, that they are now taking the plunge and publishing a line of two titles per month of historical romances.

Time periods and storylines in the first few titles run the gamut from medieval to World War II. My own story, Hearts in the Highlands, is a Victorian setting, a time period which I love. This story takes place in London and in the Scottish Highlands. A woman who thinks she is safely a spinster and beyond all foolish romantic ideas has another think coming when she meets handsome Reid Gallagher, fresh from the archeological digs of Egypt. Imagine a combination of Indiana Jones & Denys Finch-Hatton (of Out of Africa fame).

I love the cover the Steeple Hill art department came up with for this story. It fits soooo well! The Scottish Highlands scene accurately portrays one of the scenes in the books, and the hero and heroine are perfect!

The line officially debuts in February with books by veteran authors Catherine Palmer and Jillian Hart. As part of the promotion, Steeple Hill is hosting a forum featuring LIH authors and editors. Come join us this month at www.eharlequin.com.

August Fog

August in downeast Maine means fog.

I arrived a few days ago to glorious weather. Nowhere are there skies as blue as in Maine. The black-eyed susans are in full bloom, the asters are just starting to come out, a few raspberries are still visible on the yellowing bushes.

But after a night and morning of rain, fog has set in. From my office window facing the front yard, I see puffs of the white vapors blowing in every once in a while. It's a good day to write.

I've been studying fashion plates of Victorian era teenage girls' outfits. With the exception of the occasional sailor-suit outfit, they dressed more like their mothers. The only difference are the calf-length skirts and hair worn down (just as frequently it seemed to be worn up).

I'm working on writing the first few chapters of a Victorian story, which will be one of Steeple Hill's new Love Inspired Historicals next year.

So, I'd better get back to work...