My Novels
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “Passing in the Night,” Book 2 of the Love and Danger in Paradise series, Angela Spencer, touring the Caribbean in her dad’s sloop, decides to remain at her first stop, the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. She has fallen love with Jean Aguillard, a dashing Maritime Police officer. The problem is, he always seems to be at sea, in command of his patrol boat, rushing from one daring mission to another. Leaving her alone. Angela gains purpose when she volunteers to help save endangered sea turtles, but that leads to temptation and danger. Making things worse are uncanny noises in her beach-side bungalow. But Angela is a fighter – for love and for life.
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “Sailor Take Warning” Book 1 of the Love and Danger in Paradise series, Angela Spencer just wanted to spread her wings after four years at university. Sailing her dad’s yacht Second Wind to the island of Guadeloupe, she’s loving her solo adventure until her boat is attacked one night by pirates. With her life in jeopardy, her only hope is to use her special gift for shape shifting until help from the French Maritime Police can arrive. The dashing captain, Jean Aguillard, soon arouses romantic feelings in Angela. But more trouble looms on the horizon, casting Angela and Jean into a deadly battle where all is not Calypso rhythms and Caribbean paradise.
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “Reluctant Host,” Bret Parker is living in Manhattan while undergoing experimental treatment to cure his cancer. A threatening Spanish word repeatedly pops into his head: azoramiento. It translates to ‘trepidation,’ which is exactly how Bret feels. As days pass, more words emerge, just as terrifying, all in Spanish. Is his mind being taken over, one word at a time? Veronica Navarro, assistant curator at the prestigious Museum of Hispanic History, meets Bret by chance. He has a certain charm and is muy guapo. Finding him appealing, she tries to solve the mystery of why angry Spanish words bubble into this Anglo’s brain. But will they discover their source before they get him killed or he succumbs to his disease?
In my Romantic Suspense novel “New Girl on the Island,” Book 1 of the Island Series, ex-Marine Richard Drake is on the lookout for threats to his high-profile client living on St. Mark, smallest of the US Virgin Islands. His cover as a charter sailboat captain enables him to gather gossip among the US and British islands during lazy days and balmy nights. Richard’s peaceful routine is shattered when a terrified Sophie Cooper arrives on the run and begs him to take her to isolated St. Mark. Richard agrees. She has good reason to be scared – her ex-boyfriend, Cliff Webb. She has overheard one too many party conversations at his Palm Beach mansion, where they lived together. And the day before, she witnessed much worse. All she wants is out. But Cliff is coming to St. Mark, where solving the Sophie problem is job one.
In my Romantic Suspense novel “Stranger on the Island,” Book 2 of the Island Series, ex-Marine Richard Drake treasures his laid-back life on St. Mark, smallest of the US Virgin Islands. To make ends meet, he works as a charter boat captain and provides security for a high-profile client. To nourish his soul, he spends lots of time with enchanting Sophie Cooper. Once, when she sought safe haven, Richard saved her life. Then she stole his heart. Now they fill each other’s lives, hand in hand by day and even closer during tropical nights. But Sophie has a problem. Her morning trek through the tranquil beauty of St. Mark’s rainforest turned horribly wrong when a knife-wielding stranger attacked her. Richard vows to find the scoundrel and deliver him to justice. Unfortunately, Richard’s odds of success appear slim. Sure, he was Force Recon, but that was in arid Afghan mountains, not a claustrophobic rainforest. How to find his way in such an environment, much less locate and track the stranger, is a conundrum. Worse, the attacker demonstrates combat skills that point to special operations training, making him a lethal foe. Worst of all, to search for the intruder is to leave Sophie unguarded.
In my Romantic Suspense novel “Stowaway on the Island,” Book 3 of the Island Series, Judge Luisa Alverez sees beyond her wealthy Latin American roots and strives to help Venezuela live by the rule of law. But robber-baron Hector Pardo knows how to deal with a judge who can’t be bought. When bent police attack her doorman and chase her into the dark night, she flees in desperation to the nearby harbor and hides aboard a small sloop.
The next morning, she awakens far out at sea and demands that the ship’s captain take her to the nearest land. Eduardo Garcia, with his crew, is sailing toward a regatta near the tiny Virgin Island of St. Mark and refuses to change course. Needing to be put ashore at a safe port, Luisa decides she must gain the crew’s respect if she wants their help. She learns about sails, jibes, and spinnakers from the ship’s crew and pitches in whenever asked. But the arrogant Eduardo is used to having his own way. Too handsome for his own good and transparently confident with those darn brown eyes and knee-watering smiles – he will be much harder to win over. Does the man even have a romantic side? She hopes so, because he’s stealing her heart all the way across the Caribbean.
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “The Jumbee’s Daughter,” meet Anika Hegner, who comes from a long line of Danish colonists on the island St. Thomas. She is pure Dane, except for a drop of Jumbee blood, straight from the Dark Continent. Since childhood, she has delighted in shape shifting to a black cat and scaring the unwary. She’s a young woman now and often seeks the peacefulness of her family’s abandoned estate on the wild south side of the island. But her peace is shattered when she finds a taciturn Army veteran trespassing. He claims to be working for the police to trap drug smugglers, but she is not so sure. Back in town she meets a handsome Latino who is a dream to dance with during the tropical evenings. He says he has come to the island to open a new business, though is vague about his line of work. She discovers that both men are engaged in a deadly contest, winner take all. Scary things begin to happen on the estate, especially at night. A final confrontation is days away. Anika chooses to help one man succeed. She prays that she has chosen well, for the decision is one of life or death – his and hers. E-book and paperback are available at Amazon.com. See below.
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “Death in a Carolina Swamp, ” war-weary Army vet Jack Slocum returns home from the Mid-East killing fields looking for a place to catch his breath. He decides that poling his skiff through the cypress swamp where he grew up will calm his nerves nicely. But fate presents a little surprise: a fully-preserved German U-Boat, miles from the ocean and encrusted with trees and vines. Baffled, he invites childhood friend, submarine analyst Amy Parker, to investigate. She jumps at the opportunity, never having met a submarine she didn’t like, and curious to see just how Jack Slocum turned out. Treasure hunter Billy Green catches wind of the discovery and comes on over with a certain manner that takes Amy by storm, and a nasty approach to life that promises a deadly future for all involved.
In my Romantic Suspense novel, “Scent of Death,” James Goodwin uses his olfactory equivalent of perfect pitch to sniff out people’s emotions, from love to malice. He earns a handy living by uncovering corporate cheats, but he’s growing bored. When billionaire Garth Cotton asks him to cook up the world’s first love potion, James smells a grand challenge, and accepts. But once on the high seas in Cotton’s mega-yacht, James smells treachery. He sniffs out secrets that land him and Cotton’s dazzling assistant, Samantha Heartgrave, on a timeline to death. To save himself and Samantha, James must exercise his gift of smell in ways he never dreamed possible.
In my Young Adult novel, “Spanish Phantom,” fourteen year-old Jenny McDonald from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands loves mysteries but never thought she’d be close enough to touch one. Everything begins normally enough when Jenny and her parents visit the Santos family in Sanlúcar, Spain, nestled where the wide Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Jenny and the Santos’ daughter, Teresa, become instant friends and look forward to riding horses through the swampy forest of El Coto to the ancient town of El Rocío at the spring festival. Jenny becomes intrigued by stories of a phantom who spooks local fishermen venturing too close to an old shipwreck in the Guadilquivir River. Another new friend, Eduardo, seems to know a lot about the mystery, but won’t talk. Then there’s easy-going Vincente who lives in El Coto. Jenny is sure she can figure out the mystery. All she needs is enough time and a little help from her new friends. But she soon realizes that one friend is part of the mystery, and not really a friend at all.