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Learn to Knit with Maisey Yates and Megan Crane!

Register here: CONFESSIONS FROM THE QUILTING CIRCLE LAUNCH EVENT

Want to learn beginner knitting techniques and get started on a basic scarf? Join Megan Crane and Maisey Yates for an evening of knitting and conversation May 4th, 2021 and 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST.

A supply list and links to videos are available in the file above! We hope you can join us!

My Favorite Recipes from Lockdown

As I’ve previously posted, I have done a LOT of cooking these last few months, so I thought I’d share links to the most successful recipes I used during lockdown!

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sandwich and Sauce – This was amazing. I can’t wait to make it (eat it) again.

Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks – this was definitely the fluffiest, lightest bread I’ve made. It is SO good. I’ve made them twice and each time they were fully devoured by my family.

Indian Butter Chicken and Naan – This was a huge hit with EVERYONE. I’ve made this a couple of times and every time there are no leftovers. I have one kid who is very, very picky and he at least eats the naan with white rice. 🙂

Flatbread – I’ve made this plain, I’ve used it as a base for pizza, and for bbq pork flatbreads with pineapple (I’ve done this about three times…). I’ve had total success with it every time, and the texture is just SO great.

Key Lime Pie – I bought graham cracker crust for this and it could NOT be easier.

Sunny No-Bake Lemon Ice Box Cake – I’ve been making this for years, but it’s one of my favorite things EVER so I had to share it in this post.

Pavlova – I first tried this in Australia (with apologies to New Zealand, I know it’s yours) with passion fruit curd. I tried to make it once and failed miserably, and then somehow have made three perfect ones during lockdown and they’re SO good.

Passionfruit Curd – I’ve been wanting to have passionfruit curd again ever since I tried it in Australia but have not been able to find passion fruit in my corner of Oregon. So I ordered passionfruit pulp off the internet. It doesn’t have seeds, but it made a very tasty passionfruit curd!

Chicken Tamale Pie – We’ve made this a few times using leftover chicken or leftover pork, shredded up. I also like to add olives to mine because I love olives. I use Jiffy Cornbread mix because it’s both cheap AND easy.

What are some of your favorite recipes?

Why I Write Things Down

I was going to add this to my mindfulness post, but I realized that this is slightly different, though for me, it serves the same purpose.

I love paper planners. I’m also not a joiner, so when I saw people posting about certain types of planners it made me not want any of those planners, and then when I did end up with one of those planners it made me never want to post about it. Is anyone else an angry, but basic, hipster in their heart or is that just me?

I think it’s a holdover from high school. I want to be unique, but sadly, I’m mostly just like everyone else. Super mainstream. A Target-loving, pumpkin-spice-consuming, athleisure-wearing woman who is apparently susceptible to pretty planners with stickers.

Okay, so I admitted to it, and now I can proceed with the post.

A lot of my adult life has been spent learning to be honest with myself about who I really am. (You know, like the fact that I LIKE mainstream things, okay?) Honesty with myself about how my brain works has been key to my writing process. Because I like to work with my brain and not against it. I can’t work the way someone else does if it runs counter to my own strengths.

I’ve never been the neatest person, and I think because of that I’ve spent a lot of time under the delusion that I’m not one for organization. I’m also deeply skeptical of ‘methods’ or ‘programs’ because in my experience, while I might start something with enthusiasm I typically fall right off the wagon and revert to type within a few months.

But especially as my kids have gotten older life has gotten a lot more chaotic. And I discovered I do not keep track of appointments that are stored in my phone. It goes in the phone and it’s invisible to me. So in a desperate bid to figure out how to get more on top of my schedule, I got myself a paper planner.

I think I stuck with the first one for 6 months. Then I fell off the wagon. And then I got a new one after missing a couple of appointments, and this time I lasted eight months.

This year I finally jumped hard into the Erin Condren planners (which, yes, I was avoiding because EVERYONE had those) but it has been the best layout for me, by far. It makes me feel a lot more organized, and a lot more prepared for the week ahead.

So why does this work for me?

I think for a few reasons, and most of them come back to the principle of mindfulness, and being in the moment.

If I sit, and take the time to write out what’s coming in the week ahead, and what my work goals are, it doesn’t feel like interruptions are hitting me every few minutes and throwing me off my game.

I hate it when my week/day doesn’t go how I expect it to. I find that I’m much better off when I have a whole calendar in front of me, with all the upcoming appointments and deadlines, right there so I can build in a general expectation of what’s coming up. And spending an hour or so on Sunday night looking over the week ahead and making a game plan, then writing it out, really cements it for me.

When I don’t writing things out, it’s easy for me to feel like there’s a big, fuzzy ball of BUSYNESS somewhere out there in front of me. I don’t know what all has to get done, I only know that it feels like a lot.

Writing it out, breaking it down, is really helpful for me. It helps me stare down those events that are making me feel overwhelmed, helps me break my tasks into chunks that are manageable, rather than a static ball of anxiety.

So what kind of things do I write in my planner?

I write out a basic meal plan that I often don’t stick to exactly, but it’s nice to not have the specter of: what will we have for dinner? hanging over my head.

I write my goals for the month, and then when the month is over I write out everything I did. What I knitted, if I tried new recipes, what I read, what I watched on Netflix, if we went on any fun family outings, and how much I wrote.

My month view of all my deadlines and appointments.

Weekly and daily tasks.

So it’s pretty basic, but it really helps me get my head on straight and get life broken up into manageable tasks, and it helps me remember what I have on my plate for the coming days.

Have you found a method that works for you?

The Power of Small Moments

Why are people suddenly baking?

That was a question that came up a lot in conversation with family and friends, as we looked around at grocery stores and couldn’t find a bag of flour of a packet of years anywhere. What’s with the bread making?

I decided, of course, that I was not part of this group bread making drive since I have made bread in the past. Not for years though. And not in the quantity I have in the past four months or so.

I’ve made French bread, bread sticks, Hawaiian sweet rolls, dinner rolls, Irish Soda Bread (when I couldn’t find yeast!), flat bread, naan…

I’ve baked a lot.

I’ve also made passion fruit curd, pavlova, countless cakes, many frostings, cookies, copycat Chick Fil A, tamale pie, Australian meat pie, excessive cheese boards…

You get the idea.

I’ve always liked cooking, but usually, I don’t make a lot of time for it unless it’s a holiday. But I like to host things, and I like to make things. For me, cooking is creative. In the same way knitting and writing is.

So why, during the lockdown, during this uncertain time, are people baking bread?

I think there are a few reasons. I know for me some of it was about sinking into home. Making home feel special. My kids’ schools closed in early March, and they’ve been home pretty much every day since, barring the odd hike here and there. So the idea that we needed to make home something special played a part. (probably more for myself than for them, kids are resilient, and watching them during these months has really driven that home. They’re great at taking what the world throws at them and just catching it).

Mostly, I think it’s about moments. About Mindfulness. Mindfulness in a therapeutic sense is defined as: a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

As someone who has an anxious personality, especially connected with travel, this is something I’ve been working on for a while.

Jackie Ashenden, a fellow author, told me once that anxiety is worrying about things that aren’t happening. I was explaining my flight anxiety to her and she said: but all those things aren’t happening now. So be in the moment. Where nothing bad is happening. She also told me to curl my toes in my shoes to ground myself in my body. Sounds weird, but it works. I think that’s on Die Hard. Which is just another reason that movie is brilliant.

I’m lucky to have two author friends who are pretty expert in anxiety and techniques to handle it. Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews is a great breathing coach. She’s also my knitting guru.

I started knitting about a year and a half ago when Megan put yarn and knitting needs in my hand during a particularly stressful time in my personal life. There are a few things about it that I love. One is that I can’t be on the internet and knit. It’s forced disconnection from that electronic overlord. It’s also something that forces you to be in the moment.

I’ve found that focused on the moment I’m in, and on the task I’m engaged in has been the most effective way to cope with anxiety and in general to have a better sense of well being.

Getting lost in small moments – kneading bread dough, knitting, staring at the sunset – and just being wholly in that moment can give a sense of clarity even when the world is chaotic. Even when the next moment is unknown.

I think that’s why people are baking bread.

Also, bread is delicious. So that’s probably another reason.

What brings you small moments of joy? Have you done things differently or the same these past few months?

Where Can I Order Maisey Yates Books?

So many places! If you’re unable to make it to stores you can order my print books from:

For SIGNED copies email an order to Rebel Heart Books

Harlequin.com

Walmart.com

Target.com

Amazon.com

Bookdepository.com (FREE shipping worldwide!)

Barnesandnoble.com

Booksamillion.com

To find out if you can get an order through your local indie check out Indiebound.

The Coffee Klatch: Episode 1

In this episode we’re talking about romance novels! Our gateways and our favorites.

Books we talked about in this video:

Covert Complication by Nicole Helm

Cowboy SEAL Redemption by Nicole Helm

Montana Sky by Nora Roberts

Nighthawk by Beverly Jenkins

River’s End by Nora Roberts

The High Society Wife by Helen Bianchin

Part Time Cowboy by Maisey Yates

His Forbidden Pregnant Princess by Maisey Yates

A Cowboy For All Seasons by Caitlin Crews, Nicole Helm, Jackie Ashenden and Maisey Yates

Coffee Klatch

Join Nicole Helm and Maisey Yates every Tuesday and Thursday, LIVE onFacebook as we talk books, coffee, friendship, baking, and more.

Pop on over to my Facebook page to join us for a life video every Tuesday and Thursday at 12 PM PST and 3 PM EST. We’re getting together for a little social visit, and we want you to join us!

We will also aim to get the videos uploaded to YouTube when we’re finished, so you can watch there too.

Every week we’ll chat about a different topic, probably rabbit trail into something completely unrelated, and then answer your questions. Click here to get to my Facebook page.

How I Got Started Crafting

A year ago I would have told you I wasn’t crafty at all. I’ve always done drawing and panting, but I stopped short at making anything. I have emotional scars from attempting to make raffia scarecrows in Girl Scouts that have not faded over time.

Glue gun burns and items so ugly only a mother could love them (and I was not their mother) were basically the beginning and end of my crafting. So, when I was no longer required to do them for school or groups I was a part of I never made another craft.

I was homeschooled, and often surrounded by other teenagers who could sew beautiful things, craft whatever they could envision and bake circles around me. It just wasn’t my thing. And that’s something I’ve worn almost like a badge ever since them. When I would do blog interviews people would say: is there anything you can’t do.

CRAFTS. That was always my answer. I didn’t think I had a knack for it, a talent for it, a head for it…whatever the excuse, I had it.

Until I signed up to participate in an author event that required 100 promotional items. I was tired of ordering the usual promo. I’m a control freak, and I love personalization.

I started doing research and I discovered the existence of the Cricut. These have been around forever in one form or another, but being the staunch NONcrafter that I was (and of a noncraftng people) *I* had never seen them before.

I went to the Cricut website and watched a video about the Cricut Maker. And I HAD TO HAVE IT. If I could use it to make my own promotional items, surely it would be more cost effective than ordering them? (Spoiler alert: not so much. there are people who craft more efficiently when it comes to $$, I know, but that’s not why I do it. More on that later!)

What is a Cricut? If you didn’t watch the video, I’ll give a brief and very non-technical explanation here. Basically: it’s a machine that cuts things.

More in depth? The Cricut machines of yore used cartridges, but the new Cricut machines use a web based interfaced called Design Space. There you can use some of their images (some are free, some require Cricut Access or Cricut Access + purchase) or you can use your own, to create a design that can be cut out of…glitter paper, leather, adhesive vinyl, iron on vinyl, fabric, paper, balsa wood…etc etc. It sounds simple, but there are so many things you can do with it.

The Design Space is easy to use, and you can really be as drag and drop or as custom as you like with it. You can easily import SVG files you buy on Etsy or if you’re really artistic, you can make your own with Illustrator or Affinity Design.

That’s one thing I love about it. It’s easy for me to find really cute pre-designed projects when I’m in a hurry, or I can use elements that are in Design Space and do some light customization. Or if I’m feeling extra I can design from the ground up in Illustrator and import the file.

Here’s an example of how my tote bag design looks in design space:

From there you choose your materials. For my tote bags, I use Cricut Iron on vinyl. I’ve used floral, rose gold, etc etc. The material you use can create a totally different look. Here’s one of the first totes I made with this design:

So you can see how it goes from idea on the screen to physical object. For me, it’s the precision of the Cricut that thrills me. It’s neat, it’s clean, and every other time I’ve crafted in my life…that has not been the case.

Anyway, after I saw the video of the Cricut Maker online, I immediately went to Michael’s and got one. Which is insane for a person who has never crafted, has no idea if they can or if they’ll even use it. Luckily, I did.

I started thinking about the possibilities of what I could do for my author event. Coasters, I decided. 100 coasters. I found these blank coasters and ordered them, and bought several rolls of gold vinyl, iron-on and adhesive. Then I designed the image, using a combo of Cricut design space and an image that I traced.

This was not the brightest of beginner projects. But you may have figured out by now that I don’t go halfway. It took…roughly forever and I didn’t manage to make quite 100. The letters were small, weeding out the excess vinyl took forever (Iron on worked better than adhesive) but I liked the result. I also learned some lessons as I cursed the endeavor, so there’s that.

But it did produce precise, wonderful results that I would have told you I was absolutely incapable of producing. I was…in awe of my own ability to make something. For the first time in my life.

But most of all it catapulted me into an obsession. I started trying to think of all the different things I could make, how I could use the different features in design space to customize the images in Cricut Access. This is going to sound over the top, but I would have told you I wasn’t the kind of person who could figure out how to construct a paper box, or figure out the logistics involved in designing a keychain or a pair of earrings, but having the materials and feeling suddenly empowered by making a few successful products totally broke that barrier for me. Now I’m the person annoyingly walking through every gift shop going: I could make that.

So after the coasters, I used the image I’d made and did tote bags with iron on. Using the Cricut Iron On Vinyl on heavy canvas material produces some of the most amazing results, and I love it.

I started experimenting with leather, which I’ve had mixed luck with. Stiffer leather works best, but you can buy scrap at your local craft store, and while what you get is a crapshoot, for the $7 or so it costs it’s also not so emotionally painful when it gets mangled. The leather inspired me to experiment with making keychains and bracelets, so I had to get the tools to bend metal, and to put snaps in.

What started out as ideas for promotion quickly because…gifts, decor and school projects for my kids. And the best and most unexpected side effect? I love it.

I’m a creative person, and always have been. For years, if you asked me what I did for creativity I’d say writing. But I’ve been writing professionally for nine years, and so much of that is now tied up in a business element. It’s still creative, but it’s how I earn a living. I have to please my publisher, please my readers and work to deadline.

Crafting, for me, is creativity for the sake of it. And I love it. I find helps with anxiety for me, in a really serious way. And, unexpected bonus…it also helps with my writing. Letting my brain focus on other forms of creativity actually knocks ideas loose for books all the time.

The Cricut is so easy to use, even I can do it. And if I can, you can. And if not the Cricut, maybe another form of creativity you didn’t THINK you could do. The benefits of it have been amazing for me. True to form, I’m obsessed now, and the owner of more vinyl and paper than any one person should be.

My favorite projects are consistently iron on projects, and paper projects, whether they be cards, invitations, or art for my house. The results are awesome and fun, and less experimental than some of the other things I’ve made, so usually drama free.

I also ended up getting into laser cutting and got a Glowforge laser so I could work with thicker materials like wood and acrylic, but that’s another post.

I know I sound weirdly enthusiastic about this. But it’s because I am. Learning to do something I didn’t think I could do has made me reexamine a lot of things in my life.

I think it’s easy (at least it has been for me) to say: Well I’m not good at that. So and So is just GOOD at it.

And when you look at things that way it discounts the fact that when people are good at something it’s probably because they worked at it. Yes, some people have natural aptitudes for sports, art, crafts, building, design, etc. But they also work at what they do.

I know this when it comes to writing. And yet somehow I didn’t think it applied to other things. But I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks to my Cricut Maker. 🙂

I’ll close out with a few FAQs:

1. What is Cricut Access and do I need it?

Cricut Access is the subscription service to all of Cricut’s images and project files. I bought a year subscription with my machine (a little over $100 for the year) so that I could really play around with the Cricut Maker and get a sense for my usage. For me, it’s 100% worth it. I now have some design experience with Illustrator, but when it comes to making a quick project, I love having access to all the templates and images on there. I don’t always want to build my own image from the ground up, or scour the internet for what I’m after. Most fonts and images are free with your subscription, but there are licensed images like Disney (all those great family Disney T-shirts you see people wandering around in at Disney’s land and world? CRICUT made!) that you can get for 50% off. I was perfectly happy to pay $1.50 for a really great Tangled image.

2. Are there cheaper materials than the Cricut leathers, iron ons and vinyls? 

Yes absolutely. And you can use them! There are a lot of great pinterest posts on finding scrap vinyl. But I have to admit…I tend to just get Cricut products. They’re the right size, they work well, and I’ve basically given up trying to lie to myself that what I make is economical. It CAN be when you find clearance items (Like mugs or pillows), but for the most part I’m in it for the joy of making and the kick I get out of having personalized items.

The couple of things I DO get that aren’t Cricut are paper and leather. Michael’s usually has leather scrap bags for cheap. But half of it may not be usable in your Cricut, which is the chance you take.

I also buy the big super pads of paper that all the craft stores have. Each pad has tons of colors and patterns, and they’re ideal for decorations, invitations and wall art. Regular priced they’re around $20 but you can almost ALWAYS find the ones going out of season on clearance for $5 or $6. I have a cabinet full of them.

3. But do you use it often enough to justify the purchase?

As I panic made my son a Grinch T-Shirt for Grinch day at school at 10 PM the night before, I asked myself what I did without it. I mean, that’s dramatic, but I actually do use it all the time for random little things. I keep a stockpile of clearance t-shirts, mugs, and other things I buy mostly at Target, plus vinyl and paper from Michael’s and if one of my kids needs something for a school project, a part invitation, a themed day at school…I can almost always get something together very last minute. So I have nice projects that I plan…and a whole lot of: WAIT I CAN MAKE THAT!

Maisey’s Best Romances of 2017

It’s that time of year when the Best of Lists are making the rounds, and I thought I’d made one of my own! I had a great reading year, and I LOVE sharing books I love.

My criteria of a 2017 Best Book is that it has to be published in 2017, and it has to be a GREAT romance. I want to laugh and cry, and FEEL. I want to close the book feeling happy and hopeful, and believing in the power of love. That’s a great romance to me.

Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas —

I discovered Lisa Kleypas in 2015 when Cold-Hearted Rake came out and I’ve been binge reading her ever since. Devil in Spring was more of what I love about Kleypas. She writes the absolute best innocent heroines. The first kiss in this book is Kleypas at the top of her game, with a heroine so overwhelmed by her introduction to pleasure she’s not even sure of what’s happening to her. It’s a beautifully romantic book and Pandora is a cute, determined heroine who makes a great foil to Gabriel, a hero who is determined to do the right thing, even though the heroine really wishes he wouldn’t.

Mess With Me by Nicole Helm —

Take a gruff mountain man, his best friend’s secret half-sister, and a mountain cabin and what do you have? My catnip. Mess With Me has so many romance elements I love. The forbidden best-friend’s-little-sister angle, an older hero and younger, more innocent heroine, and…well, cabins. And beards. Hayley is sweet and determined in her efforts to connect with her newly discovered half-brothers, and in her mission to help her hero, Sam, put his demons to rest and contend with his grief. If you like your heroes gruff, a little grumpy, and possibly hermits, then you’ll love Sam as much as I did.

Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfield —

I’d never read anything by Eve Dangerfield before, but I saw her book listed in the also-bought with an author I enjoy, and clicked on it. I’m not big on ebooks, and I’m always hesitant to try a new author, but this story caught me and sucked me in right away. Erotic romance works for me when the author does a good job of explaining why the characters need the sort of sex they need, and what they get out of it. Dangerfield did a great job explaining what the characters’ get from their kink, without heading into self conscious Over Analyzed territory, which always pulls me out of the story. Kate, the heroine is quirky and vivacious, and very, very sad. I was rooting for her happy ending so hard! Tyler, the hero, is older, hot, and just the kind of Uber alpha I like. If you enjoy well drawn characters and BDSM this might be for you.

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt —

Oh what can I say about Raphael. He’s one of the darkest, most tortured heroes I’ve ever read. And given my reading preferences, that’s saying something. Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series is one of the best series I’ve ever read, and this final book was a fitting end. Her books all share a common theme: Everyone deserves to be loved. Iris was a wonderful bright spot for Raphael, who is consumed with her from the beginning and yet convinced he can never truly risk having her. When she finally broke through his walls and found her way to his heart, it was SO satisfying. Which is why I love a dark alpha. That happy ending is just that much sweeter when they have such a hard climb. Raphael is no exception!

The Billionaire’s Secret Princess by Caitlin Crews —

What’s a princess being forced to wed a king she doesn’t love to do when she meets her doppelgänger in the women’s room at the airport? Switch places, obviously. Princess Valentina wanted to escape her life, but certainly didn’t count on what life would be like as personal assistant to Achilles Casilleris, who is tall, dark, sexy and too alpha to live. As with all Caitlin Crews books, the verbal sparring in this is fantastic, and the high fantasy fairytale component of the modern day Prince and the Pauper is the perfect escape. Plus, Achilles is just hot.

Devil’s Own by Megan Crane —

I love all of Megan Crane’s bikers, but this one is my favorite. Chaser is a hot biker single dad, and there’s nothing about that I don’t love. Lara, the heroine, is Chaser’s daughter’s teacher, and Lara and Chaser end up having a parent/teacher conference that is downright x-rated. The atmosphere of the Bayou and the continued interplay between the guys in the Devil’s Keepers Motorcyle Club adds to the charm of the book, and Lara and Chaser might melt an ereader. I’m not normally into biker books, but if an author can give me a fantastic romance I’ll read anything, and Crane has certainly done that.

The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn —

This was my first Julia Quinn, which feels like a SIN coming from a historical romance enthusiast like myself. But this is also the book that sent me down a pretty intense JQ binge read. This story is basically While You Were Sleeping during the revolutionary war, with sex. The banter between the hero and heroine is delightful. Cecilia is an extremely cute heroine, and Edward is just So Honorable, which I’m always into. In spite of the lightness in tone, Quinn manages to infuse a lot of emotion into her books, which is an absolute must for me.

The Wicked Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden —

Jackie Ashenden writes the kinds of books that make you feel hungover after. They’re so emotional. The characters always have to go through SO MUCH darkness to get to the light, and as I mentioned earlier: I love that. Nothing demonstrates the power of love as keenly as when those who feel absolutely unlovable find it. And Ashenden has done that beautifully here with her Navy SEAL sniper, Lucas, and her artist, Grace. Grace is the widow of Lucas’s best friend, who is turns out was engaged in some corrupt military stuff before his death. That has all now come back to haunt his widow, and Lucas has sworn to protect her. The attraction between them is intense and raw, and blisteringly hot. I said Raphael in Duke of Desire might be the darkest hero I’ve read, but Lucas gives him a run for his money. This is an intense, emotional read about the power of redemption & love.

Stone Cold Christmas Ranger by Nicole Helm —

Nicole Helm’s Intrigues remind me of the mysteries I grew up reading, so I always feel wonderfully nostalgic whenever I pick one up. But these are better than what I used to read becasue there’s sex in them. 🙂 This one has a bounty hunter heroine, Alyssa, joining forces with rule-following Texas Ranger, Bennet. If you’ve read my list of recs down this far, you already know I like books that make my heart hurt a little. Alyssa is a heroine who makes your heart hurt. She’s spent years being held hostage by a madman and after her rescue has struggled to find a normal life. Watching her pretend to be Bennet’s fiancée is heartwarming and heartbreaking, and her wearing high heels for the first time about killed me. If you like hot men in uniform, fake relationships, and bit of mystery mixed with Christmas magic, this one is for you.

Edge of Power by Megan Crane —

I’ll start by saying you really should read the whole Edge series by Megan, becasue it’s fantastic. But Edge of Power is the 2017 release from the series, and legitimately one of the best books for me this year. Wolf is alpha alpha. He’s the raider king, the baddest fighter around in this post-apocalyptic version of earth. He willingly gets taken captive by the king of the Compliant People and ends up crossing paths with the king’s daughter, Princess Kathlyn, whose only value lies in the fact her father is intent on auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder. I mentioned earlier I don’t like bikers all that much in general, and yet I love Megan’s. I would say the same is true of post-apocalyptic type books. But Crane tells a fantastic love story, whatever the setting, and she’s an incredible world-builder who sucks me right in. Her originality, fantastic writing and unflinching storytelling make me a fan of whatever she does. She is a woman who never pulls a punch, and I appreciate that.

Beautiful Liar by Zara Cox —

This book is an unapologetic, filthy thrill ride. All you can do is buckle up and hang on. I started this book and was completely and totally sucked into it. Zara Cox has such a compelling writing style. She pulls you right in and doesn’t let up until the story is finished. Quinn Blackwood is one messed up hero, and Lucky, the heroine, has been anythign but lucky in her life. By the time she makes a devil’s bargain with Quinn, who she knows only as Q, her options are limited, and he’s happy to take advantage of that. This one is hot, full of twists and turns, and incredibly romance in the end.

Sin For Me by Jackie Ashenden —

This book takes so many things I love and throws them all together. Tortured older hero, innocent heroine. She’s his foster sister, which kind of makes it ‘older brother’s best friend’ on crack. Gideon is both, in some ways, the older brother AND the villain putting his hands on the younger, sweeter heroine. Zoe, for her part, has loved Gideon forever, and living with him while he sees her as nothing more than a kid, when she’s DEFINITELY A WOMAN NOW, is torturous for her. Their coming together is fraught and full of angst and guilt on Gideon’s part. (I love an angsty, tortured hero). But they’re two damaged people who NEED each other, which is another thing that makes a great romance for me. When I feel like the hero and heroine can’t possibly be with anyone else, which Ashenden excels at always, and very particularly with this book.

Colton and Lydia, Bonus Scene!

Sometimes I like to check in with my characters and see what they’re up to. (Because I miss them!) 

If you want a little more of Colton and Lydia from Tough Luck Hero, here’s a scene I wrote for my newsletter last year: 

Lydia Carpenter was about to cut the red ribbon when she felt a twinge low in her stomach, accompanied by a tightening in her belly that made it hard for her to breathe.

“Are you okay?”

Her husband, Colton, was looking at her with concern. But then, he’d been looking at her with concern for the last nine months. If there was one thing both she and Colton were combined, it was concerned. And prepared. And well-read on all the books that told them all the potential catastrophes.

“Yeah,” she said, putting her hand over her stomach and breathing through it. “I’m fine. It’s…Braxton-Hicks probably.”

Colton didn’t look relaxed, but Lydia turned her focus back to the crowd of people awaiting the opening of the new shopping center — a quaint little affair that had taken the old diner building at the edge of town and turned it into a small run of shops — and then back to the red ribbon.

That was when the other pain hit. Only this one started to gather intensity down low, and then it just kept on going until she felt like a knife was stabbing her all the way through.

She grabbed hold of her stomach and bent over, but she couldn’t give Colton any reassurance because she didn’t have the ability to talk.

“Out of the way!”

Lydia looked up and saw her friend Sadie Garrett making her way through the crowd, clutching her baby in one arm, and tugging on her husband’s uniform sleeve with her free hand.

“Are you in labor?” Sadie asked, stepping up to the little ribbon cutting platform. “Do you need a police escort? Eli,” Sadie turned her laser focus to her husband, “you need to escort her. Go get your sirens on.”

“Sadie,” Eli said, long suffering, “I doubt she needs a police escort.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Sadie,” Lydia said, standing upright and panting. “I’m really…fine. It’s…not going to be that quick and anyway there is no traffic in Copper Ridge.”

“What if there is?”

“I think as expectant father it’s my job to panic,” Colton said, looking indignant.

“No,” Sadie said, shaking her head, her blonde hair swinging with the motion, “it is your job to stay stoic and let her break your hand or maybe bite you when she feels pain.”

“She may also shout you did this to me a few times,” Eli said, looking bland faced and innocent even as his wife shot him an evil glare.

“Is that all?” Colton asked.

“She also might threaten to cut off…body parts,” Eli said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Your penis, Eli,” Sadie said, enunciating. “I threatened to remove your penis.”

Eli cleared his throat. “Thanks, Sadie.”

Lydia couldn’t help but feel they were beginning to look like the beginning of a corny joke. A sheriff, a cowboy, a woman with a baby and a pregnant mayor all met up at a ribbon cutting…

“I’m not going to threaten Colton,” Lydia said. “I have a birth plan. Colton, we need to get the birth plan.” She turned her focus to her husband. “Is my Go Bag in the car?”

“Yes,” he said.

Sadie and Eli exchanged a glance, and then Sadie started laughing. “Oh, they have a Go Bag. And a birth plan. Never mind, I’m sure everything will go right along the lines of said plan. What are you doing? Playing whale noises?”

Lydia felt appalled. Down to her soul. “Obviously not. We’ll be playing classical guitar.”

“Oh good,” Sadie said cheerfully. “Well, make sure you turn it up to drown out the swearing.”

“I will not sw—ah fuuuu…” Lydia bent over again, clutching her stomach as she waited for the next pang to pass.

Then she straightened up and snipped the ribbon quickly. “Welcome to the new shopping center!” she said. “I’m going to the hospital now.”

A few hours, and yeah, a few dozen swearword later, MacKenzie Michael West was born.

Lydia drifted in and out of consciousness all through the day, and when she finally woke up it as dark outside. And Colton was sitting in the window seat, holding their baby.

He was talking to him, or maybe singing. It was hard to tell with Colton, since he was tone deaf. But MacKenzie didn’t seem to mind.

And neither did Lydia.

She pressed her hand to her chest, emotion expanding there. She had spent so long feeling lonely. Partly because of her parents. Because of the loss of her sister. And then, as the years wore on because of herself.

Because she was afraid to hope for love.

Here in this room she had more love than she’d ever though possible.

“Are you awake?” Colton turned to look at her, then immediately looked back at the baby.

“Yes,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’m awake.”

Colton stood, then walked over to the hospital bed, offering her the little bundle in his arms. “Do you want to hold your son, Lydia?”

Her heart clenched tight, and her breath caught. “Yes. Yes I do.”

She reached up and took MacKenzie from Colton, and cradled him against her breast.

“You know,” Colton said, “when we got marred in Vegas, and had to stay married, I thought I was having a run of tough luck. But I was wrong.”

“Oh, were you?” she asked, leaning down and brushing her lips over the baby’s forehead. “You’re welcome to expand on that.”

“I was wrong,” he reiterated. “Marrying you was the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She looked up at her husband, love expanding inside of her, so big she thought she would burst with it. “Same goes, Colton West. Same goes.”

Jennifer Ryan (and me!) Share Our Favorite Cowboys!

This post originally appeared on the Harlequin blog! It’s an interview with  myself and the wonderful Jennifer Ryan!!

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Sometimes (okay, more often than not) we crave a cowboy. A strong, protective, honorable-but-maybe-just-a-little-bit-bad, honest-to-goodness cowboy. Which is why we’ve asked USA TODAY bestselling authors Jennifer Ryan and Maisey Yates for input on their favorites. You know, for a rainy day…

Cowboys in Movies

Maisey: Adam Pontipee from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is, I think, my first cowboy love. (I’m calling him a cowboy since he rides a horse, wears a hat and works the land. And he lives in the mountains of Oregon, just like the cowboys in my Copper Ridge series do!)

It’s Adam’s confidence that appeals to me, right down to his marriage proposal to Millie.

Adam: So, how ’bout it?

Millie: How ’bout what?

Adam: How ’bout marryin’ me?

Jennifer: Daniel Craig. I know, I don’t really need to say anything else, except did you see him in those tight pants in Cowboys and Aliens? Those wide shoulders and washboard abs! Even though he’s lost his memory, the woman he loves haunts his muddled thoughts and tugs at his heart. She’s been taken and killed by aliens, and he misses her terribly. He wanted a life with her and to be a good man. He becomes that man when he falls for another woman and tries valiantly to save her. He loses her, but saves the world and gives up his outlaw ways—maybe. I love a bad boy with heart.

Okay, this isn’t the greatest Western ever made, but did I mention it’s gorgeous Daniel Craig? BONUS: Harrison Ford as a grumpy ranch owner. Yes! Double the cowboy sexy!

Cowboys in Books 

Maisey: The first cowboy I read was Kristiana Gregory’s Jimmy Spoon. In Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express, Jimmy, having spent a good portion of his childhood with a Native American tribe, is trying to fit back in with his family and failing. My favorite part is when he goes back to his childhood sweetheart, Nahanee, and they get married. Because a cowboy is always true.

Jennifer: Rory may be one Stone Cold Cowboy, but he’s got a heart of gold and eyes for only one woman. He’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe and make her his. He may be a man of few words, but when he tells Sadie how he feels, he’ll make your heart melt. Dedicated to family, his woman and his ranch, he’s the guy you want on your side—and the man you want in your life. Rory is intense, sexy, strong, well mannered and ready to steal your heart with one rare sexy grin. While writing Stone Cold Cowboy, I fell hard for this tough guy, so I just had to include him in my list!

Cowboys on TV

Jennifer: Sexy sweet and superhot, my obsession with this modern cowboy is totally Justified. Deputy Raylan Givens does things his way, even if the Marshal Service doesn’t like it. I love a bad boy on the right side of the law. Raylan grew up hard in rural Kentucky. Under the old-school gentleman, you’ll find a tough guy. He’s one tall drink of water with those intense eyes leveled on his prey under the brim of his signature hat. When he smiles, it hits me right in the gut.

Maisey: I prefer my cowboys on the big screen (the better to admire them!), so I’m going to cheat and list a second movie character here—Luke in The Longest Ride. Ok, I’m cheating even more, because I haven’t actually seen the movie/read the book yet. But I have seen a lot of pictures of Scott Eastwood in a cowboy hat. Those pictures are enough to put him in the “favorite” column. Not least because he looks a bit like Eli Garrett, the stoic, misunderstood, insanely sexy hero from my first Copper Ridge novel, Part Time Cowboy.

About One Night Charmer:

Copper Ridge, Oregon’s favorite bachelor is about to meet his match 

If the devil wore flannel, he’d look like Ace Thompson. He’s gruff. Opinionated. Infernally hot. The last person that Sierra West wants to ask for a bartending job—not that she has a choice. Ever since discovering that her “perfect” family is built on a lie, Sierra has been determined to make it on her own. Resisting her new boss should be easy when they’re always bickering. Until one night, the squabbling stops…and something far more dangerous takes over.

Ace has a personal policy against messing around with staff—or with spoiled rich girls. But there’s a steel backbone beneath Sierra’s silver-spoon upbringing. She’s tougher than he thought, and so much more tempting. Enough to make him want to break all his rules, even if it means risking his heart…

About Stone Cold Cowboy:

With their hearts’ desires on the line, nothing can stop the Montana Men

Sadie Higgins has a bad habit of bailing her brother out of trouble. But when he rustles a herd of cattle from the tough, honorable Kendrick brothers, it’s Sadie who’s in for it. Because the cowboy tracking them down is big, silent, and forbidding as hell.

Rory Kendrick is on the hunt to find out who’s been stealing from him. When he stumbles upon Sadie in the woods, he barely recognizes the quiet, vulnerable beauty who has always taken his breath away. His mission shifts in an instant: He will do anything it takes to keep her safe . . . and make her his.

Sadie has always protected her family—no matter the price. But when Rory ropes her heart, she’s forced to take a look at her life and make a dangerous choice—one that could cost, or gain, her everything.