Reading them.

Growing up, reading and writing did not come naturally to me. Let’s just say, I was not a straight A student lol. But then someone gave me an historical romance novel and I was hooked. It was years later when I had the thought I can do that.

I was humbled real quick.

The novel that came after that lightbulb moment will never see the light of day BUT that’s when I fell in love with the process behind writing a novel.

Friends to lovers are my comfort zone. That Golden Retriever MC just flows naturally when I’m writing. Mix that with a sassy FMC… chefs kiss.

The process typically starts with one little spark of “what if.” Most of the time it’s listening to music and people watching. Someone else’s words or actions plants a seed that my brain becomes hyper focused on and I’ll just start creating a whole scene. The characters and the setting become clearer as I’m writing the first draft.

For the most part I’m plotter, but there have been a couple stories that I’ve pants and just let flow naturally in the beginning process.

Lastly, (but alway consumed first and all throughout) coffee. Lorelai said it best, “I can’t stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking the coffee, I stop doing the standing and the walking and the words putting into sentence doing.”

I’m a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan. At the time of writing the Triplets series, there were three Bolts players we called the Triplets. I just took inspiration from the nickname since I wanted to write something with brothers. Put a twist on a hockey series by making each male lead have a different part in the world of hockey, instead of them all being players on a team.

These brothers have been the most fun to write so far.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn.

Longgg before it was on Netflix. I’m an OG Bridgerton fan.

• I design my covers. (Excluding All This Time but a revamp is coming)

• Ryan (the Fury’s Captain) and Kate who appear in the Triplets series were the first characters I’ve ever written. Their story never got finished, but I wanted to give them some recognition.

• I have a long-standing grudge with the name Stephanie, so often you might see that name—in various forms—used for an unfavorable character. I’m sorry to any Stephanie readers. Happy you’re here, but I will continue to dislike your name.

• After writing Jo from First to Fall I went on a shopping spree for Converse. Did not find them as comfortable as she did, however.