Dear Reader,

      When I wrote Cody Walker’s Woman, I gave my heroine, Keira Jones, four brothers—all older, all former US Marines and all playing a role (good and bad) in shaping the woman she was.

      Then I wrote Alec’s Royal Assignment and Liam’s Witness Protection, the stories of two of Keira’s brothers. But even as I was writing Alec’s and Liam’s stories, in the back of my mind was Shane. The eldest. The toughest. The strongest influence on all his younger siblings.

      But Shane wasn’t easy to get to know—he eluded me for the longest time. It wasn’t until a personal family crisis that Shane became real to me, and I knew what could make a nearly invincible man vulnerable. Then I just had to write his story.

      After I understood Shane I realized I needed to find a tough-as-nails heroine to match him, but one with a tender, loving heart hidden beneath that tiger-shark exterior. Along came Carly Edwards, just in the nick of time. Carly wasn’t easy to get to know, either, because there’s nothing of Carly in me (I wish!). Once I accepted that, however, I suddenly knew who Carly was—a woman whose private pain once made the six-o’clock news…but never again.

      Shane and Carly fought the odds and won, and in doing so won my heart. Isn’t that what we all look for in a hero and heroine? Isn’t that why we read romance?

      I love hearing from my readers. Please email me at [email protected] and let me know what you think.

      Amelia Autin