Hope your summer was wonderful and that fall brings with it more of the same. I know not everyone’s summer ended well, and to those still suffering the aftereffects of Katrina and Rita, I hope the magic of books can in some small way give you a moment’s ease from the stress and tension.

I spent the summer working on my next book for Warner, BLACKOUT, which will be released in April ‘06. For those of you who read BLIND CURVE and asked about some of the characters there, BLACKOUT is the story of Jake Wise, Danny’s federal agent friend. I’ll have an excerpt up on the website in a few months, so watch for it.

Necessary Betrayals Almost Here!
But you won’t have to wait for April to read something new because I’m thrilled to tell you that my novella, Necessary Betrayals, will be out in December. It’s part of a romantic suspense anthology called HOT PURSUIT. Two other terrific writers are also part of the anthology, Karen Rose, and Carla Cassidy.

The Story
Necessary Betrayals is about Francesca Bern. When her baby sister disappears, the only clue sends Francesca back to the nightmare of her dead father’s mob connections. But when she follows that lead, she runs right into her ex-lover, the undercover cop who insinuated himself into her heart while gathering evidence that put her father in prison. He’s her best hope to find her sister, but how can she trust him again?

Necessary Betrayals is also the story of Detective Quinn Lewis. Francesca is the last person he expects to show up at the scene of a mob murder he’s investigating. Are the killings and the kidnapping connected? If so, he and Francesca would have to work together to solve both crimes. Can his battered soul go another round with Francesca? And more important, can he keep them both alive long enough to find out?

I had a great time writing this. It’s set on Long Island, where I grew up, so it brought back lots of memories. And being the kind of person I am, I can’t resist a romance that starts in betrayal and pain!

Find Out for Yourself
Go to my website and check out an excerpt of Necessary Betrayals.

Enter the Contest
Don’t forget to enter my contest! You could win a signed advanced reader’s copy of HOT PURSUIT.

Order the Book

The Rest of my Life
I couldn’t leave without telling you what’s going on in the rest of my life.

First off, I just saw the movie, Serenity, and loved it. Joss Whedon, who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is a gifted and clever writer. The movie is highly recommended.

Second, my total obsession, Farscape, is now in syndication in the U.S. (It’s already airing in parts of Canada and the UK). If you like high stakes, strong characters, unpredictable writing, and an amazing love story, check out this incredible TV show. Find out where you can watch in your town: http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35170 If it’s not airing locally and you have cable or satellite, check out Saturday afternoons on Superstation WGN.

Last but not least, I’ve recently fallen in love with, yes, you guessed it...another scarf. It’s called a “Pastiche Scarf” and it uses 4 different Berroco yarns. Eight rows each of the feather and fan pattern. Couldn’t be simpler. Check it out here: http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/pastiche2/pastiche_2.html