It’s no surprise that when writing a book (or three!) set both in the past and in another country, some research must be done in order to successfully place your book in its time and place. I think it’s important to give enough detail and information so that readers find your story authentic and believable. My three books, all part of my gothic romance series, Disfigured, are set in France in the 1870s, a time period which happened to be very volatile.

I honestly don’t know what writers would do without Google! I am so thankful that so much… Read More

Mon Bébé, An Erik and Sylvie Valentine’s Story
France, February, 1876
(Note: this story takes place shortly after the events described in Book Three of the Disfigured Series, “Spirit of Revenge”)

I stood before the tall cheval mirror in our bedchamber, clad in my white cotton nightgown, scrutinizing my reflection, a scowl on my face. I would turn thirty-two this July. Three and a half months earlier, I had given birth to a son, my beautiful Stèphane, now sleeping (for a change) in his crib near the fireplace. It had been a long, difficult… Read More

Isn’t this a fabulous image? I told my photoshop wizard friend Sharon Robertson that I wanted a picture somehow that showed the first time the heroine of my book, Disfigured, a Gothic Romance, visited the Paris Opera House. Early in the book, Sylvie befriends Madame Giry, who invites her to visit the building where Madame Giry lives and works for a tour. Unbeknownst to Sylvie, her new friend is auditioning her for a job. As Sylvie stands alone upon the empty stage that morning, she has the eerie sensation of… Read More