HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE Selected as a Nook First Pick

I've kept my lips zipped about my latest news for awhile, but it's time to share -- my debut novel, HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE, was chosen as a Nook First pick! The people over at Barnes and Noble want to get my book out to their readers, and I am thrilled to reach the awesomely ravenous Nook romance community. HEIRESS will be available exclusively on the Nook for one month after its release. If you have a Nook, you can read HEIRESS as soon as it launches, on January 23, 2012 (cue champagne and fireworks). If you don't have a Nook and can't wait for some fun, lovely drama between a spinster-slash-actress and the duke who loves her, you can download the free Nook app for iPhone, iPad, Android, or PC/Mac. HEIRESS will release everywhere else, including in paperback, on February 23, 2012.

Happy reading! I can't wait to share Madeleine and Ferguson with you.

ONE NIGHT TO SCANDAL is a 2011 Golden Heart finalist!

I'm so excited to report that my latest project, ONE NIGHT TO SCANDAL, is a 2011 Golden Heart finalist in the Regency historical category! I got the call this morning from Sylvia Day (after some back-and-forth due to the fact that I live in a strange cabin-like house in the 'woods' of Palo Alto and have poor cell reception), and have been celebrating like a crazy person for the past hour. More to come on this project in the next few weeks - it's finished and in the hands of my agent, so hopefully we'll start submitting to editors soon. For now, it's on to the next book, with some much-needed downtime to celebrate and regroup.

Congrats to all the other finalists in both the Golden Heart and RITA contests - I'm looking forward to meeting all of you in NYC!

In Which Reality Stages a Slow Comeback

While I can't say that I'm still on cloud nine after the Golden Heart announcement, I can safely say that I'm on cloud seven-point-five. I would still be on cloud nine if I didn't have a day job; while my day job is fun and rewarding, it is also demanding, and the demands of the job didn't end just because I went off and did romance-writer stuff for a week. However, I'm incredibly lucky that my coworkers and bosses (all the way up to my VPs) know about my writing, support it, ask about it, etc. without wanting to fire me for it. Many writers keep their aspirations hidden from their coworkers for fear of retribution, but my workplace is incredibly tolerant of this type of pursuit. That means that I could wear my Golden Heart necklace to work and get a hug from my director instead of a pink slip -- and that means I can keep eating while I write, which is quite fortunate.

A writer only needs a few tools -- a computer, a dictionary/thesaurus, a printer, and a red pen for edits. But, she can greatly improve her likelihood of success if she has a supportive network of family and friends -- and the chances that she will fail increase tremendously if she's hearing poisonous whispers that destroy her faith in her dreams. I have the supportive network of family and friends, and that's really all I need. Of course, it would be nice to expand that "support" to include someone to pay all my bills and make my bed while I write, but I won't get too greedy :)

If you're a writer, or even if you're just pursuing a non-standard career, I would love to hear your thoughts -- how vital is others' support to your work? How do you deal with the inevitable insensitive remarks that make you want to pull your hair out?