Drama is raw. Drama is pure. Drama evokes emotion like no other. That’s why I write it. And when you combine it with tall, dark, and handsome, it’s positively electrifying.

My desire for these things started when I was a little girl playing with dolls. My imagination would create a tumultuous storyline that eventually ended up with Ken storming out of his and Barbie’s dream home and peeling away in her pink convertible.

Years later (I won’t tell you how many) I took this yearning and put it to paper. Minutes, hours, and months slipped away until I had written my first novel. Now what?

I decided to self-publish. I was hesitant at first, but three years later, I can honestly say that I’m glad I went the indie route. Why? Because going rogue allows you the freedom to publish on your own terms, and your own time. Your royalties are yours (you don’t have to give a cut to the middleman), and the rewards are instantaneous. If you’re thinking about self-publishing, just make sure that you have a good support group in place, consisting of other authors who’ve been around the block. Indies Unlimited is a great site to go to as well as Chris, The Story Reading Ape’s Blog. I find that both of these are a tremendous help.

When I wrote After All Is Said And Done, I wanted to depict the long-term ramifications of adultery in a relationship, especially one that ends up producing a child. Most of the time, we only see the immediate effects that an affair has on a couple, not the permanent ones. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides that this is the day they are going to cheat on their spouse, but when the opportunity presents itself, it ultimately becomes a choice-and that choice, whether good or bad, can have irrevocable consequences.

This story follows Drs. Ethan & Jessica Harrington, along with Drs. Sarah & Gavin Williams for two years. When we join them, the affair between Jessica and Gavin is over and the four of them have spent the better part of a year trying to put their respective marriages back together. Sarah and Gavin are still reeling from a devastating miscarriage, while Ethan and Jessica are hesitantly looking forward to the birth of their first child.

It isn’t long however, before Sarah learns just how far Gavin’s infidelity has gone. Suddenly thrown into an unwanted independence, she fights to find her way.

Ethan struggles to forgive Jessica, but her betrayal with Gavin has left him hurt beyond words. That hurt slowly begins to heal with the birth of his son, but when he finds out the secret that Jessica has been so desperately trying to keep from him, his world steadily begins to crumble. And his drinking, fueled by this discovery, slowly engulfs him.

With his marriage now in pieces, Ethan struggles to come to terms with his alcoholism and face a past that he has spent a lifetime trying to forget.

Once I finished writing After All Is Said And Done, I quickly realized that there was more of Ethan’s story to tell.

Growing up with a mentally unstable mother, who eventually took her own life, has left a deep mark upon his heart. Left alone with his controlling father in an isolated farmhouse, he struggles to live among the shattered remains of a family that was never functional to begin with.

As Ethan and his father try and move on, Natalia’s life is tenderly told through their eyes in vivid, and haunting, flashbacks that weaves throughout the book.

Seasons of Darkness is a coming of age novel that depicts the sometimes difficult, and oftentimes complex, relationship experienced between fathers and sons when tragedy strikes in this stand-alone prequel.

Ideas for my stories come in different ways. A few years ago, my husband and I, along with our two sons, went to Mammoth Cave. Although I’d been years before, I was excited to learn that they had found a new entrance to the cave. To get there you had to take a bus. OK, no problem. We’re on the bus. So far so good. But as we are winding our way along a narrow road I begin to study the driver. He looks to me like this is his day job—and at night he has to return to his prison cell. With my imagination being what it is, I immediately began to plot a story involving a serial killer of women set in a small town.

Seven weeks later, The Monster of Silver Creek was born. A serial killer of women, who leaves a most unusual calling card, is striking terror in this small town in Prairie County, Montana. Police Chief Nathan Sommers is on the hunt, but every road leads to a dead end.

Nathan is battling his own demons as he tries to cope with the tragic death of his wife. He feels her dying was a direct result of his actions and is consumed with guilt.

As he draws nearer to the killer, everything in his life suddenly comes undone. He is forced to deal with his feelings for Katie, the pretty new owner of the bakery as well as his love for his dead wife.

Besides writing, I love the outdoors, even if I’m only out there to pull weeds. I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead and am counting the days until Season 5 premieres. Hailing from the bluegrass state, I currently reside there along with my husband of twenty-four years, my nine-year-old, who loves me unconditionally, and my fifteen-year-old, who loves me only when we’re not in public. When not finding lost phones and socks, or wrangling hamsters that have escaped, you can find me in my office/closet deliriously typing away on my keyboard.

I love to talk almost as much as I like to write so come chat with me on Facebook, or Twitter, and if you’re a pinner, come find me on Pinterest. You can also link up with me on Linkedin.

To learn more about my novels or my upcoming releases be sure and check out my website which includes my character gallery of tall, dark, and handsome as well as book excerpts. I also have a blog in which I post musings on life with a teenager and other random things.

I’m also on Goodreads, Smashwords, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, & Amazon.fr

Thank you, Chris, for inviting me to be here today. It’s been a pleasure. Oh, and btw, first impressions aside, the bus driver was very nice. He actually pointed out a rattlesnake about fifteen feet away from me as I was getting back on the bus. Needless to say, I hurried.