Serving Sin

Listen to the Filthy Rich series on audiobook

I’m thrilled to announce that today — with the release of Serving Sin in audiobook — you can now listen to the entire Filthy Rich series.

The whole series was produced by Dreamscape Media, who produced audiobook versions of Helen Hoang’s The Bride Test, Veronica Roth’s Divergent, and Candace Bushnell’s Is There Still Sex in the City?, and narrated by the astonishing Scarlette Hayes.

Over the years, many of you have reached out personally to let me know how much you enjoyed Scarlette’s re-creation of these books. I say “re-creation” because that’s exactly what Scarlette did with them — make them come alive in a new way, even for me, the author! I remember the first time I heard Scarlette read one of my love scenes. I was laughing, blushing and shocked — and I wrote it!

Here’s what Audiofile Magazine had to say about her work on Lush Money: While their relationship is initially quite contentious, Hayes lets listeners hear how it gradually develops into something far more complex and passionate as they get to know each other.

As fantastic as her work was on it, she took it even in further in Hate Crush. I don’t know if at that point she knew my tone and the characters better, but listening to her reading Hate Crush is like listening to an audio play of it. She completely sweeps you away. And her reading from my hero’s point of view is so hot that I forget that it’s not a hot guy in my ear!

Audiofile Magazine said Hayes perfectly captures Sofia's incandescent rage at not being taken seriously despite her demonstrated excellence in her chosen field simply because she has the misfortune and audacity to be a woman.

Scarlette has over six years of voiceover experience and specializes in stories that are sassy, sophisticated, and sexy. Passionate about bringing characters to life, she has narrated titles in both English and Spanish as well as some in Greek. Give her a follow on Instagram!

I can’t wait to see what she pulls out for Serving Sin!

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My interview with Supernatural's bodyguard, Clif Kosterman

On Saturday, June 12, a dream came true for me when I got to interview Clif Kosterman, the close protection specialist for Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki for the last 15 years. Anyone who’s followed me on social media for long knows what a huge fan I am of the CW’s Supernatural, a fun horror-fantasy series that has the distinction of being the longest-running horror series in history.

I didn’t interview Clif for pure fan’s sake. I’d become fascinated about the job of close protection specialists — or bodyguards — when researching my bodyguard romance, Serving Sin.

Clif is a true good-guy hero in real life!

Some highlights from our interview include:

  • How he got involved with Supernatural way back in the first season

  • That time he had to go rescue Jensen, who’d been abandoned on the side of the road

  • The first time he knew Jared was head-over-heels for a woman on the show

  • How he and the guys feel about the enthusiastic Supernatural fandom

  • The incident when police handcuffed a man for trying to enter Jared’s house

  • Why this close relationship works for these “three musketeers”

Click below to watch full video!


Win a paperback copy of SERVING SIN signed by Clif Kosterman!

On Thursday, June 24, I’ll be releasing my monthly newsletter with an opportunity to win one of four paperback copies of Serving Sin with Clif’s signature! Sign up now and enter Thursday!

Join me as I chat with Supernatural's bodyguard Clif Kosterman

Join me as I chat with Supernatural's bodyguard Clif Kosterman

I am thrilled -- beyond thrilled, actually, more flabbergasted and still in shock -- to announce that, to celebrate the release of my bodyguard romance, Serving Sin, I will be chatting with bodyguard-to-the-stars Clif Kosterman, close protection specialist for Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, stars of the TV show, Supernatural.

The last five years and the conclusion of the Filthy Rich series

Last night I “finished” Serving Sin, the third book in the Filthy Rich series. Finished gets quote marks because there are a couple of revisions with my editor and copyedits to look forward to. But I emailed it to my editor, Carina Press’s amazing Kerri Buckley. 

And then I cried.

I cried because the conclusion of this series marks an amazing, awful, dream-fulfilling, endurance-test-running time in my life. I can’t believe what the last five years have involved.

Five years ago today, my father died in a truly awful highway accident. I put aside the book I’d been working on because of my father’s death and at Christmas of that year, came up with the idea for The Billionaire’s Prince, which later became Lush Money.

After twenty years of writing and a lifetime spent wanting to be a fiction writer, Lush Money became the book that got me my agent and my very first three-book publishing contract.

I can’t believe my dad has missed all of it. He would have gotten such a kick out of my publishing journey. Although I would have been very specific about what pages he needed to skip reading.

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I cried because the conclusion of this series marks an amazing, awful, dream-fulfilling, endurance-test-running time in my life. I can’t believe what the last five years have involved.

Four years ago, The Billionaire’s Prince was humming along. But my husband’s job was sputtering. And we knew our oldest son, a just-graduated senior, was unhappy. But we didn’t have the experience or vocabulary to help him understand why.

Three years ago, my husband was unemployed for a year and our incredible awesome-sauce of a son came home from his freshman year in college, diagnosed with a life-stopping social anxiety disorder.

Over the last three years, our whole family has learned to be different. More understanding. Less judgmental. With a broader view of how people in the world work. My sadly narrow view of mental health has grown exponentially. 

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I wrote Lush Money and Hate Crush while we were learning to support our son and help him understand how his brain ticks. Lush Money debuted to the world during one of the most harrowing times of his mental health journey.

Two years ago, I signed with my incredible agent, Sara Megibow.

A year ago, I signed a three-book deal with Carina Press. 

When the writing organization I’d relied on for 20 years, the Romance Writers of America, imploded right after my book debuted, I thought that was the worst thing that was going to happen in 2020.

Heh.

But while I wrote Serving Sin, the last book in the series, during a pandemic I:

  • Sold a house (during a pandemic)

  • Promoted the release of the second book in the series, Hate Crush, while defying the sophomore curse with good reviews (during a pandemic)

  • Kept my family balanced and emotionally healthy (during a pandemic)

  • Moved halfway across the country (during a pandemic)

Did I mention that all that happened during a pandemic?

So, yeah, yesterday as I sent Serving Sin off to my editor, there were a tears. A decent level of ugly crying. The book is going to be dedicated to my dad. And to my son. Next week, he returns to Rice University to continue pursuing his physics degree.

What an incredible five years it’s been.

 
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A RELUCTANT WARRIOR PRINCE MUST AGAIN PROTECT THE MEXICAN-HEIRESS-TURNED-CEO HE RESCUED WHEN SHE WAS A TEEN.

Announcing next book in Filthy Rich series...

In Lush Money, book 1 of my Filthy Rich series — about powerful, wealthy women who get what they want because they’ve earned it — we met self-made Mexican-American billionaire, Roxanne Medina.

In book 2, Hate Crush, coming June 29, you’ll get to read about millionaire winemaking princesa, Sofia de Esperanza y Santos.

Now, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Mexican heiress-turned-CEO, Cenobia “Cen” Trujillo, in book 3, Serving Sin. Serving Sin will be available early 2021.

Serving Sin is about Roman Sheppard, the half-brother of the royal family of the Monte del Vino Real, who we met in Lush Money and Hate Crush. He’s a decorated ex-Army Ranger raised in a Texas trailer park. Thirteen years ago, he became internationally famous for rescuing a kidnapped Mexican teenage heiress. Now, he's the head of a successful security firm and, although he's been named advisor to his kingly brother, he's known in the media as the "reluctant prince," unwilling to fully accept his place in his family and the small wine-growing kingdom in Northern Spain.

The teen heiress, Cenobia Trujillo, is now a 30-year-old CEO of the largest automobile manufacturer in Mexico who needs Roman's help again. There have been serious threats against her, and with a month until the launch of her car that will change the Mexican auto industry for the better, she doesn’t have the time to be distracted. She asks him to come to Mexico to protect her.

Protection isn’t the only reason Cenobia – who asks people to call her “Cen” – wants Roman around. She’s ready to dispel the teenage fantasy notion that he’s her “one” with some womanly real-life pleasure. And there’s a reason Roman has stayed a continent away. He’d been a 26-year-old soldier who knew better than to be fascinated by the girl on the cusp of 18. He’ll go and protect her. But the last thing he’s ever going to call her is “Cen.”

Serving Sin will be available from Carina Press early 2021.

Inspiration for Roman Sheppard and Cenobia Trujillo. To see more inspiration, check out my Pinterest board

Inspiration for Roman Sheppard and Cenobia Trujillo. To see more inspiration, check out my Pinterest board

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