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WILDE TEMPTATION Preorder is here!

Preorder for WILDE TEMPTATION now for a September 1st release!   Who would be tempted by an apple that makes you happy? Plant geneticist Sam Wilde hopes everyone. He spent his life savings genetically engineering a unique variety and now needs an investor for his “happy apples” before his orchard’s foreclosure. But when fortuneteller Faith Shields mixes Sam’s brand new apples into her old world chutney recipe, the result is more than happiness – it’s horniness! As Candlewood Falls hungers for chutney, Sam and Faith experiment with their arousal hypothesis and soon discover their test subjects aren’t the only ones tempted by desire. Is the impassioned pair’s attraction a byproduct of the aphrodisiac or do they have true chemistry? Add into the equation Faith’s jealous ex-boyfriend—the only investor interested in the forbidden fruit—and Wilde Orchards is about to live up to its name. Pre-order WILDE TEMPTATION Now Enjoy a trip

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Cover Reveal – WILDE TEMPTATION

I’m thrilled to show you my cover for my first small town contemporary romance, WILDE TEMPTATION, releasing September 3rd as part of the Candlewood Falls series.   Plant geneticist Sam Wilde spent his life savings engineering an apple variety to increase happiness. Now broke, he must find an investor before his orchard’s imminent foreclosure, but no one wants his red-fleshed, bitter-tasting happy apples—except for single mom Faith, whose apple peel readings are a hit in her fortunetelling business. Awaiting her ex-boyfriend’s return for a second chance to become a family, Faith makes and sells her apple & chili chutney at Sam’s orchard. But when the chilies’ heat reacts with Sam’s genetically modified apples, the condiment does more than make people happy. It makes them horny! As the town hungers for chutney, Sam and Faith create an experiment for their arousal hypothesis and soon discover their test subjects aren’t the only

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The Best Martial Arts Style

Which self-defense or martial arts style is best? I’ll answer after this little story told to me by my teacher Arcenio J. Advincula (retired USMC Master Sergeant and 1st generation student of Tatsuo Shimabuku, the founder of our style, Isshinryu). One day, after a training session, the students were enjoying a drink with Master Shimabuku. Some were drinking beer, some awamori (a distilled alcoholic drink), and some pine juice. Using this social time as an opportunity to teach, the Master asked which bottle was the best. Those drinking beer said theirs was the best. Those drinking awamori claimed theirs was the best. Those drinking pine juice said theirs was the best. The Master replied, “All bottles are good. They all serve their purpose.” Though Master Shimabuku never mentioned why he asked the question about the bottles, Sensei Advincula believes he was relating it to karate styles: that all styles of

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What Running Injuries Taught Me About Writing

Last fall I injured myself…twice! You may know from reading the blog that in addition to being an author I am a martial artist. But did you know I’m also a lifelong runner? My love for running started in the 6th grade with track. In middle school, I found road races and cross country. I ran competitively in high school and lettered in cross country, indoor tack, and outdoor track every year for all fours years earning a total of 12 varsity letters. I was recruited to a Division I university where I competed mostly in the 800, 1500, and 3000 meters as well as cross country. I even met my husband at a road race! Over the years we’ve run many races together—at our own paces, of course, as he’s a lot faster than me. I’ve run trail races, tough mudders, and a few half marathons. I had even

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Game of Characters

In my character building blog series we discussed how to bring people (and aliens) to life through words. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. This month, I thought I’d share a characterization game my daughter and I used to play. A few years back my daughter (now 20) came to me with a list of Disney princess movies she used to watch over and over when she was younger, and asked me to list my favorite princesses in order from most favorite to least favorite. What my writer brain heard was, “Which heroines do you like the best and why?” We each put them in our desired order and then shared and discussed our lists. Then we did the same for the Disney heroes, the Disney villains–which was an interesting discussion about what makes a villain enjoyable to watch–and then she surprised me

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Winter Car Safety

For many of us, winter means snow, sleet, and icy road conditions. It’s a perfect time to stay home and snuggle by the fire. If you must travel out in bad weather, however, be sure you and your car are prepared for a winter emergency. Get your vehicle tuned up, keep the gas tank full, and be sure you have the following in your car. Cell phone and charger Reflective triangles or flares Spare tire, wheel wrench, and a jack Jumper cables Tool kit Shovel Ice scraper and brush Bag of salt, sand, or cat litter for traction Flashlight and extra batteries First aid kit – be sure to include medications and baby items (formula, diapers, etc.) if needed. Exterior windshield cleaner Extra clothes – hats, gloves, coats, boots Blankets or sleeping bag to keep warm inside the vehicle Non-perishable, high-energy foods like energy bars, candy bars, dried fruits, and

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Buillding Character: Bringing People (and Aliens) to Life Through Words – Part 3

In Part 1of my Building Character blog posts, we discussed how a character’s unique traits will determine how they react to anything and everything in the story. I gave a list of 14 things that make a character unique. You can read that post here. In Part 2, we dove deeper into three of them: experiences, perspective, and beliefs. You can read that post here. In Part 3, let’s discuss the unique ways our characters can sense their world. SENSING THE WORLD Whether on Earth, another planet, or in a spaceship, your characters will sense their worlds differently. Everyone is familiar with the five basic senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. But did you know there are other senses?   Proprioception is the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body. Dancers and athletes can be very in tune with where their body is in

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Captive Christmas Sale!

She can escape her alien captors, but she can’t escape her heart! “Fawcett delivers a suspenseful and captivating science fiction romance!” – Caridad Pineiro, bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold. * Hurry! * Captive: An alien Abduction Sci-Fi Romance (The Survival Rave book 1) is on sale for $0.99 for a limited time! Click here to get your copy!   Barnes & Noble requires this coupon code at check out: BNPCAPTIVE33. Price is already discounted at all other retailers!    

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Building Character: Bringing People (and Aliens) to Life Through Words – Part 2

In Part 1 of my Building Character blog posts, we discussed how a character’s unique traits will determine how they react to anything and everything in the story. I gave a list of 14 things that make a character unique. You can read that post here. In Part 2, I want to dive deeper into 3 of them: experiences, perspective, and beliefs. EXPERIENCES (Backstory) Many factors, including physical attributes, cause people to experience life differently. You can start imagining what impacts sex, color, and body measurements (height, weight, musculature, body fat, etc.) may have on a person, real or imaginary. These experiences aren’t just based on the strengths or limitations of their body, but by the way others who see them treat them. Were they treated differently because of their sex or their skin color? Were they unable to play a sport they loved because they didn’t have the correct

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Building Character: Bringing People (and Aliens) to Life Through Words – Part 1

Characterization is more than physical appearance and word choice. When I give my Building Character workshop to writer’s groups, I discuss ways to use motivation, fear, conflict, flaws, backstory, belief systems, and more to write vivid, unforgettable characters that will come alive for readers. Characterization is an entire representation of a being, whether person, vampire, or alien. As a writer, your number one goal is to make the reader fall in love with your characters! If you succeed at this, your story will be a success. If your reader doesn’t like your character, they won’t care about anything else in the book. That’s not to say your characters must be likable. They need to be interesting. Perfect characters are boring and one-dimensional. Give your characters flaws to add dimensions to them. Multidimensional characters keeps the reader guessing. Your readers will want to read more to find out what the character

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