Introducing Myself

I'm so happy to be here, I'm probably going to start gushing clichés right and left. Please bear with me. I'm a brand new Harlequin American author, and it only took me eight years to get here.

My path was not only long but fraught with ups and downs. For any of you unpublished authors out there, take heart. The book I sold to Harlequin American last August, His Only Wife, was a two-plus year process that involved two separate revisions. It was hard work, but well worth it. And now that I'm here, I hope to stay for a very long time.

My hero in His Only Wife is a wilderness firefighter, specifically a Hot Shot. I got the idea for the book a few years ago when my family and I went on a weekend trip to our cabin in Young, Arizona. That summer, the state suffered the worst wilderness fire in its history. We could see the mountains blazing and the many columns of rising smoke from the front porch of our cabin. At one point, the fire got so close to Young, we were put on alert for possible evacuation.

I had the honor and pleasure of meeting the Payson Hot Shots when the eleven men and one woman, on a short reprieve from fighting the fire, came into the local restaurant where we were having dinner. The town was hosting the Hot Shots, feeding them and putting them up for the night in the community center.

One look at them, and I knew I'd found inspiration for a book.

The good news is that the fire was contained before it reached Young and our cabin. Unfortunately, thousands and thousands of acres were lost. Writing the book was, in small part, my way of paying tribute to real-life heroes who put their safety on the line for others every time they report for duty.

I want to thank Michele Dunaway for inviting me to participate in the Harlequin American Blog and all the Harlequin American authors who have made me feel so welcome. This really has been a dream come true for me (there goes another cliché!).