HE TAKES THE CAKE is Now Available for Pre-Order!

June 7, 2017Leave a comment

The past couple months have been absolute insanity around here. But fans of Sweet Somethings will be happy to know that, at long last, HE TAKES THE CAKE will soon be here!

Sometimes it just takes a little spark to reignite an old flame…

Life is good for Tess Gardiner: Her Savannah, Georgia, bakery and cafe is thriving. She’s earned Master Pastry Chef status from the American Culinary Federation. And she’s attending a regional culinary convention in Charleston, where she’s been invited to sit on a small business panel discussion. The opportunity to tout her success will, hopefully, lead to bigger and better things in her professional life. As for her personal life? The relative contentedness she’s enjoyed for years receives a sudden jolt when she comes face to face with Tyler Brinks, the ex-boyfriend she summarily dismissed from her life eight years ago.

Tyler’s success as a highly-trained chef has launched him into the stratosphere. He already owns one ridiculously successful restaurant, and he’s aggressively working on plans for a second. But he’s never quite gotten over Tess, and he’s never really been sure what actually went wrong between them. So when a pastry and baking competition is announced for the week following the culinary convention in Charleston, Ty jumps at the chance to tempt Tess with the challenge of being his partner, giving him the perfect opportunity to remind her how good they once were together.

As the competition heats up in the kitchen, it soon becomes clear to Tess that Ty has more than cream puffs and cupcakes on his mind. And she can’t deny that her feelings for Ty never truly cooled, but have been simmering all these years, despite the way their relationship ended. Now Ty’s attention has her wondering—is this just the path to final closure? Or could this be a second chance at true love?

Coming June 21st from Soul Mate Publishing!

Preorder Now at Amazon.com!

HE TAKES THE CAKE Cover Reveal and Release Date Announcement!

April 21, 2017Leave a comment

Hey all!

I know I’ve been really incommunicado the past couple months. It’s not on purpose, I promise. And I do have lots of things rattling around in my brain that I would like to talk about at some point in the near future.

BUT luckily for you, I do have something to share this evening,

Something . . . sweet.

It’s a COVER REVEAL for the final installment of the Sweet Somethings series, HE TAKES THE CAKE!!!!

HeTakesTheCake2_850

Coming June 21, 2017 from

The Sweet Somethings Series Soundtrack

March 28, 2017Leave a comment

Music has played an important role in my life since I was a child. Chorus, band, marching band, high school and college musicals, and an eclectic collection of albums ranging from Mozart to LInkin Park to, at one point, Live.

Like, the early 1990s Live that was more hard rock than mainstream. Throwing Copper.

I digress.

Often when we think of soundtracks, we think of movies and TV. And for me, a good soundtrack and make or break a movie.

So it should come as no surprise that my novels have soundtracks, too.

As a writer, I listen to music all the time. When I’m plotting, writing, editing, and so on. Songs can take on a variety of meanings, depending on what you’re working on. I tend to listen mostly to popular music, what you’d hear on the radio, when I’m working on a contemporary romance. When I’m playing around with a historical project, I veer more toward instrumental music, often movie scores, with a few other select items with vocal tracks thrown in.

At the beginning of March, I was fortunate enough to attend a CRW workshop with author Cecy Robson. She talked about visualization, character development, and how you can use music for inspiration and to set the tone of your writing.

I was internally clapping as she spoke and shared some of her strategies, because I have long had a “soundtrack” for my Sweet Somethings series.

Each of the four novels (remember that HE TAKES THE CAKE will be coming out in a few short months – stay tuned for more details) has very different main characters, though all share certain common themes. Self-discovery alongside the discovery of true love. So some of the songs that go with Sweet Somethings are specific to a novel, while others are more general and could go with any of them.

If you’d like to check out the full playlist that makes up my Sweet Somethings Soundtrack, you can find it here.

Inspiration for Better Than Chocolate

Inspiration for When in Rome

Inspiration for The One I’m With

Inspiration for He Takes the Cake

Better Than Chocolate, When In Rome, and The One I’m With are all available for Kindle, and He takes the Cake will be coming in June. Better Than Chocolate and When In Rome are also available in print.

WHEN IN ROME is Now in Print!

March 6, 2017Leave a comment

Well the month of February completely got away from me, between work and writing and a sick toddler (followed by a sick mama). BUT I got awesome news last week.

WHEN IN ROME is in print!

Love isn’t always picture perfect…

Atlanta-based photographer Kate Miller doesn’t believe in fairytale romance or relationships of the forever kind. She’s determined to build her own happiness through hard work and professional success. So, when the opportunity arises to join an exclusive fashion photo shoot in Rome, she jumps on the chance to gain international recognition. But she’s not counting on an instant attraction to the charismatic, sexy, and irritatingly arrogant director of the shoot.

World famous, Domenic Varezzi is used to calling the shots. His clients trust his instincts and they’re willing to pay for the best. But while his career is thriving, his personal life has been lackluster at best. Hoping Kate could be the answer he’s been looking for, he’s determined to win her over. Every challenge she sends his way drives him to break through her tough-as-nails exterior to reach the vulnerable heart that matches his own.

Surrounded by the beauty and magic of Italy’s “Eternal City,” a foundation begins to form that could lead to a lifetime partnership, both in business and in love. Until Domenic’s past comes back to haunt the present and threatens to destroy everything.

The print edition of WHEN IN ROME can be purchased through

And don’t forget that all three of the Sweet Somethings books (Better Than Chocolate, When in Rome, and The One I’m With) are also available for Kindle!

want to stay up to date on announcements and news? Sign up for my email newsletter and follow me on my socials (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube).

Welcome to 2017

January 2, 2017Leave a comment

I hope everyone has had a fun and refreshing holiday season, whatever holiday(s) you may celebrate. My own holiday hiatus was insane, between work and writing and family. But now that the cookies are gone and the confetti has settled, it’s time to get back to business.

champagne-1110591_1920

And as usual, that means it’s time for the annual….

Goal Setting Post!

I took a quick peek back at my goal setting post for 2016 and found, well, I didn’t do so hot.

Resolutions and me tend not to get along well.

That said, let’s take a look at some goals for this year.

Finish Sweet Somethings Book #4. It took me a while to really get into this last installment, despite the fact that it’s been plotted since, like, February (I went back and forth over whether Book 4 should have come before THE ONE I’M WITH, so I had both plotted way early on and sort of went “eeny, meeny, miney, mo” with them). I have a soft-ish deadline to get the draft to my editor by the beginning of February, so once again, this is a no brainer of a goal. It’s non-negotiable.
Have at least one hour-long writing session a week. I’ve struggled to pin down writing sessions once September rolled around, when I started a new position at a new school. Much of my extra time has been spent building a kick-ass online course platform for my 7th graders. However, since I’ve streamlined a lot of how my in-school planning time is being spent, I’m doing less at home and more at work. So that’s helping.
Peddle my post-Civil War historical romance. I did some serious editing over the summer, and still need to do some touch ups (plus write the damn synopsis and query letter). But once Sweet Somethings Book 4 is in the bag, I can devote some time to this project and start making the rounds with the manuscript.
Return to the “Magnum Opus”. I actually spent a good chunk of time this summer looking at Volume 1 and marking some areas that still need a bit of spit and polish. And I spent a full day’s work just reading through the mess that is Volume 2 (OMG THE HEAD-HOPPING!!!!). So at least I’m up to speed on what I actually wrote…four years ago…
Flesh out some short synopses for future project ideas. Several years back, I started compiling a list of novel ideas, but most have just the barest basics of a plotline. I’d like to sit down later this year and build on a few of the frameworks, in part to decide where to go next.
Be better at promotional opportunities. This encompasses a lot of things. In addition to the standard stuff I do around a new release, I’m also going to start hitting up review bloggers, looking into getting print releases into local bookstores (and potentially setting up more signings), participating in local author events, and doing more online promotional events, like the Romance Writers Gone Wild Facebook event I did in November.

As far as writing goes, I think I’ll leave it at that. Yeah, a couple of those are repeats from last year, but I don’t think I’m being overly ambitious with this list.

2016 proved a very tumultuous year in Casa de Rowan, for a variety of reasons, but overall our year has us moving in a very positive direction as a family and professionally. I have high hopes for 2017 to continue in that same vein.

And just to get you all excited, Sweet Somethings Book 4, HE TAKES THE CAKE, is slated for a spring release. Lots more details to come, so make sure you keep an eye on my socials, the blog, and sign up for my email newsletter to stay in the loop!

Here’s a little taste to jump start your craving…