Eventually this page will showcase my own books. Until then, I'll share some of my favorites that will always have a place on my "keeper" shelf.

I'm an avid reader, and while romance is my go-to comfort read, I love a good book regardless of genre. Here are my favorite books of all time--books I believe everyone should read before they die. They are not listed in any particular order.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

When you look at my shelves, the romances outweigh other genres two to one. I read so many that it is rare for a specific romance to stick with me after I finish it. If I still remember the characters, scenes, themes, and emotions months or even years after I close the book, then it wasn’t the average love story. These romances really made an impact on me, and I look to them as models of stellar work in the genre. I haven't read some of these books in ages, but each one made me a dedicated fan of the author. You'll find most if not all of these writers' books on my shelves. This list is also not in any order.

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Paradise by Judith McNaught

Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood

The Trouble with Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

Books on the craft of writing have been key in my growth as a writer, but I’ve learned all craft books aren’t created equal. I’ll periodically review craft books on my blog, so check there under the label “craft books” for more information about these and other titles. Here, I’m listing the books I use most often. I would highly recommend them to any beginning or intermediate writer.

The Marshall Plan by Evan Marshall

This book helped me figure out where to start. Deciding to write a novel is intimidating, but The Marhsall Plan breaks it down into steps and covers all the basics about word count, formatting, character creation, scene breaks, etc. It's a bit formulaic, but with any craft book, I take the bits and pieces that are useful to me and leave the rest. I will say that for a beginning writer, most everything in this book is useful.

Writing the Breakout Novel and Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass

Unlike some book/workbook pairs, the workbook in this set doesn’t just rehash the material in the book. Both go in depth with concepts like conflict, plotting, and backstory, providing plenty of examples and exercises. Working through these books is a learning experience.

On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels

This one covers all the basics of romance writing and gives a brief overview of the industry and the submission process. It's a great companion to the books listed above because it's specific to the romance genre.

How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery and the Rollercoaster of Suspense by Carolyn Wheat

The spine on this one is well worn. It is invaluable to me when it comes to plotting romantic suspense stories. I have yet to find a craft book on mystery/suspense writing as helpful as this one.

Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress

While Marshall, Maass, and Michaels all cover character creation, Kress goes into more detail and provides plenty of examples for each point. I've used her detailed method for creating character background on almost all of my stories.