I’m very excited about the stories I’m working on and where the series is headed for these books.

I’m almost done with Tagalong Bride.

Love Under Desert Skies Series: Book 1

(In case you’re wondering why I’m not using the updated cover, I went back to this one because I like the look of it.)

The sister has been rescued, so here’s not much more to go. Currently, I’m wrapping things up for the main couple in this story. As you probably know by now, I like to make Book 1 the foundation for the rest of the books in any series I write. I had a request to feature a hero or heroine who was older than average. I think the request was for a character to be in the last 30s or in the 40s. In this series, I will do that. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work for Book 2 or 3.

That’s why I spent some time setting up the foundation for both of those books. I had to figure out the framework for Books 2 and 3. The hero of this book is Lucas. His sister is Bernadette. Bernadette’s book will be Book 2. In order to figure out which man to fix her up with, I had to give a few scenes in her point of view. Now, I have it figured out. I will be going with a heroine in her late 30s in Book 3. I couldn’t get too much older than that since the hero of Book 3 will be in his late 20s. I have never done a setup like this before and am looking forward to doing it. But first, I have to get to Book 2.

The Hero Least Likely

Love Under Desert Skies: Book 2

This is Bernadette’s book. I wanted to take my characters across actual desert terrain in Tagalong Bride but was unable to since Flagstaff doing north is mostly trees. (I have been learning so much about Arizona while writing this series.) So I did some research and picked out an area to send these characters that will actually take me to the desert. Long story short, one of my favorite attractions at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is the Desert Dome. Before starting this series, I thought it’d be fun to write a series that took place in an environment similar to the dome. I picked Arizona because I went to a writer’s conference in Phoenix years ago. (Good memories from that one.) I picked Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon at random. As I was looking over the terrain while sending my characters to the Grand Canyon, I saw that there were a lot of trees and realized I had to change my scenery in the story to match it.

Anyway, this is the book where I can finally get in the desert. But I need a reason to send my group of characters there. So I decided to have them go after some outlaws who are on their way to get alleged treasure near Quartzsite, Arizona. During this journey, a romance will blossom. I don’t want to say who the hero is until after Tagalong Bride is out.

I will say, however, that I thought it would be fun to throw in some spooky legend to add some humor and suspense. (If you’ve read enough of my books, you know I like to throw in something a little “spooky” from time to time.) I stumbled across the legend of the Red Ghost that was big in the last 1800s and early 1900s in this area of Arizona. The creature is said to be a huge red camel that goes around carrying a human skeleton on its back. There are quite a few reports of it from the people in that area of the time that will be fun to add to the mix. (Fun fact: the military was bringing camels over here pre-Civil War to go across arid terrain. Hence why this beast is a camel, though there was speculation that this thing was 30-feet tall. But with legends, we often find the more sensational, the greater the stories tend to be.)

So anyway, that is the backdrop for this story. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m over halfway into Anyone But the Marquess

Marriage by Obligation: Book 5

I didn’t make as much progress in this one as I wanted. I got very little done last month. So I have little to report on it. I am at a turning point where the main characters are finally getting along, but the heroine isn’t ready to fall in love with the hero yet.

I have an announcement to make that has been over ten years in coming. This will be my 100th romance when it’s done! Back in 2010, my goal was to write 100 romances. It’s exciting to finally be reaching that goal. 😀

I have started a new historical western series.

For this one, I decided to travel northwest to Oregon. The inspiration for this location comes from another Henry Doorly Zoo exhibit that features the northwest Pacific.

If you read Suitable for Marriage, you will remember the wedding scene between Erin and Alex. In this, I brought Amanda (Larson) and Ben (characters from The Imperfect Husband) into the story. Amanda and Ben were never able to conceive their own children, so they ended up adopting. One baby they had just adopted in Suitable for Marriage was a girl whose birth mother couldn’t keep. I always wondered what happened to the birth mother. I also wondered what her backstory was. Why was she unmarried and pregnant? Why did she head out to northwest? What happened to her? That is why I’m writing this book.

While writing the opening scene of this book, I bring in not only the birth mother (Lisa), but I have her come into Ocean City with a family. Specifically, this family is composed of an elderly mother and her two grown children, a son and a daughter. The son and daughter will probably be featured at some point in this series. It’s too early to tell yet. I have only finished one chapter. But I already know what situation with daughter is going through. Though the daughter is not the main character in this book, she will play a big role. Beyond that, I will have to find out how the brother and mother factor into the equation. All I know is that the brother is not a significant player in this story.