New and Old

Oooo, look. Shiny new print book. I think that may be my favorite cover so far. There’s something about the 3D effect. And hey, check out that name with mine on the cover. I was thrilled to be included in an anthology with Josh Lanyon. I love his voice. His story "The Dickens With Love" is a really fun read, and I highly recommend it (either in the print or separately in digital).

My story is the historical Christmas novella that came out last December, “An Improper Holiday.” It’s funny that it wasn’t until my sixth published work that I sold a historical. When I started trying to make a living at writing, I always thought that I would write historical romance. After all, it was my first love as a romance reader. I went right from The Black Stallion and Trixie Belden to Shanna. As far as my published work goes, I think it’s my best piece of writing, maybe because I wrote the first draft of it twenty years ago, never imagining it would ever find a market. Twenty years is a nice long time to get the revisions done! That early draft was full of overblown prose and sappy declarations, but I loved the structure and the characters: a twelve-day house party, a wounded veteran with issues, and the holiday traditions of another time.

No one could be happier than I am to see Nicky and Ian’s love story make it to the page after all these years. I have a few other old gay historicals hanging around in my drawers—my file drawers, thank you very much. I think maybe Deverell and Ethan are due to be dusted off and spruced up.