January 2022 newsletter 🌨

 What's the big news out of December 2021? It's time to catch up! 🎄😁📺 

Of course, the BIG news from December is my NEW book, Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions). This is my 16th book, the 11th book in the Hernandez series. Just in time for Christmas! 

In case you missed it, here's what the book is about: 

The fact that Jorge Hernandez is contemplating ‘doing good’ in the world should be enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine. He may be living a seemingly legit lifestyle with his family in Canada, but don’t be fooled; this former Mexican cartel boss holds a powerful grip on everything from politics to media, and he’s never beyond getting a little blood on his hands. 

When his daughter Maria steps up to someday head the familia, it is with great pride that Jorge breaks down the lessons that will secure her position in life. Giving her a glimpse into his daily activities, she quickly witnesses the stark view of the criminal mastermind at work. It doesn’t matter if he’s yelling at the prime minister or making plans to take someone down; Jorge does so with a powerful and unapologetic swoop. But how much is he willing to reveal? Is he ready for his daughter to learn about his brutal, murderous side? 

In a world where trust is essential, Jorge teaches her the powerful lesson; Loyalty above all. There are no exceptions. 

You can find this book at all your favorite retailers including Amazon, Chapters, and Apple. 

I also posted a few videos/blogs talking about my writing:

Christmas themes in my books 🎄🎄🎄

     Video

     Blog

Why I don't write warm and fuzzy books 🧸

     Video

     Blog 

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) ☠️

     Video

     Blog 

I will soon be sending out my year-end review newsletter, which will catch you up on everything you missed from the year. What does that include? All the videos, blogs, new books, and media attention in one newsletter. See last year's year-end HERE. 

We also can't forget the book birthdays for January!

Different Shades of the Same Color was released in January 4, 2016.

And of course, my first book, Fire was released on January 20, 

Now you're up to date! See you in February! 

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) ☠️

If you read the back cover description of my latest book, Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions), you're only getting the prevalent theme in the story. Jorge Hernandez has two nemeses throughout the series; the prime minister of Canada (Alec Athas) and Big Pharma. This book is no different. 

Let's check out the synopsis before I explain what I mean.

The fact that Jorge Hernandez is contemplating ‘doing good’ in the world should be enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine. He may be living a seemingly legit lifestyle with his family in Canada, but don’t be fooled; this former Mexican cartel boss holds a powerful grip on everything from politics to media, and he’s never beyond getting a little blood on his hands.  

When his daughter Maria steps up to someday head the familia, it is with great pride that Jorge breaks down the lessons that will secure her position in life. Giving her a glimpse into his daily activities, she quickly witnesses the stark view of the criminal mastermind at work. It doesn’t matter if he’s yelling at the prime minister or making plans to take someone down; Jorge does so with a powerful and unapologetic swoop. But how much is he willing to reveal? Is he ready for his daughter to learn about his brutal, murderous side? 

In a world where trust is essential, Jorge teaches her the powerful lesson; Loyalty above all. There are no exceptions. 

The likelihood of Jorge and Alec ever becoming best friends is highly unlikely. Jorge will always have an issue with the man who once had a relationship with his wife, even though it was probably about twenty years ago. Although he insists his frustration with the prime minister is because Canada's leader is too much of a 'pussy', deep down, we know that there's something else that incites his anger. The two men have one heated battle that takes things up a notch in this book. While behind the scenes, Jorge continues to control the Canadian prime minister. 

Jorge's long-standing battle with Big Pharma is also unlikely to end anytime soon. You have to remember that Jorge started his fortune in the cartel. In his eyes, people were getting their drugs from both him and Big Pharma however, the latter didn't have any consequences to their actions, despite both were selling drugs that people used to get high. In his view, they were legalized drug dealers. When he took over the cannabis business in Canada, his battle against the pharmaceutical industry only grew more contentious and remains ongoing. 

I like to keep as many irons in the fire as I can to keep things interesting. This book is no exception. 

Why I don't write warm and fuzzy books 🧸

When people learn that I'm an author, they're often surprised to learn that I write about violent criminals who think nothing of murdering from time to time. Perhaps I don't give off that crazy vibe as much as I thought I did, or maybe it's because I'm a woman, and generally speaking, female authors are more known for books that fall more on the softer side. It's not something I give a lot of thought to but from time to time, I do get asked why I don't write books that are warm and fuzzy. 

In truth, I tend to read darker, sinister books, so it's not surprising that I also choose to write them. As a writer, it mightn't surprise you that I also tend to write what I see reflected in the world around me, and you don't have to look far to understand why I write about a protagonist that is rich, powerful and isn't afraid to get blood on his hands. This is merely symbolic of the elites that rule our world - thus, my title Psychopaths Rule the World from earlier this year. 

Although I don't write warm and fuzzy books, I tend to show the softer side of characters. To not do so wouldn't be a fair reflection on human nature. Even the most rotten, soulless person has an unexpected sentimental side, just as the kindest person you know may occasionally have a temper tantrum. People are complex, and so are characters. 

Maybe someday I will write warm and fuzzy books. As soon as our world becomes a warm and fuzzy place. 

Any day now. 

Christmas themes in my books 🎄🎄🎄

You wouldn't think that Christmas themes quite fit in with books about criminals, corruption, and murder, but I managed to do it in my 15th book, Psychopaths Rule the World. Not such a stretch when you consider how many psychopaths seem to show up during frantic moments at the mall and of course, family events (we all got at least one in our families!) at Christmas time.

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I love contradictions in my books, and you don't get much more of a contradiction than murder at Christmas. I will admit that this is a theme I've noticed in other books (usually with a detective trying to find the person who killed the bakery shop victim or something of that nature), but my books tend to be a tad more brutal. For example, in Psychopaths Rule the World, one person is brutally murdered with a very heavy Christmas ornament. There's also a haunting scene at the end of the book that might traumatize you, but let's not get into that right now. 😉

I wanted to get some Christmas in my last book, but it wasn't always easy to work into the story. After all, this isn't exactly a family that bakes cookies, watches holiday movies, or makes snowmen on the lawn. Granted, I do love contradiction, so wouldn't it be fun to see gangster Jorge Hernandez do any of those things?

Of course, you have to give me credit because at least Psychopaths Rule the World has a festive color for the cover♥️