One Night Stand (17 page)

When I’m not sitting at my laptop desperately trying to shush the voices in my head, I usually have my nose stuck in a book or have loud music playing while I create a fun new recipe in the kitchen. No matter what I’m doing, I’m usually flanked by my Boxer, who I absolutely adore.

I’ve been writing since I was a young girl. My beloved stepmother, who always said I was a hopeless romantic, introduced me to romance novels when I was in my early teens. I remember that first book, which I still read once a year, and I think every man I have ever met has been measured, in some form or fashion, with the hero from that story.

That’s the power of a good romance. It turns us on, makes us laugh, makes us cry … it feeds our soul.

Oh, how the times have changed from those early swashbucklers! Nowadays, bookstores are full of an abundance of alpha males and the women who can stand toe-to-toe with them and take them down. And I love every gun-toting, sword-wielding, sports-playing DNA-altered vampire shape-shifting demon on the shelf.

I’ll admit I’m a huge book junkie. At my house, deciding what I’m going to read next is a little like shopping at the bookstore! So many to choose from, and I just keep buying them. Some of my favorite authors, in no particular order, are Lora Leigh, Lorelei James, Larissa Ione, Maya Banks, Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole, and Sherrilyn Kenyon … just to name a few!