It's Spring time and I find myself feeling the need for change. My mother and grandmother often resorted to "Spring Cleaning" to fill this need. I think it is natures way of getting nesters to freshen up their abode.

 I look around and catch myself thinking about "spring cleaning." Trust me, this urge will pass. Just find a comfortable chair, a good book and settle in until the urge passes.

Seriously, everyone knows that Spring is a time for renewal and growth, a time for making changes. But, did you know that retailers are aware of this quirk of nature and exploit it everytime you go to the store?

Their goal is to separate you from your money. You go into a store and everything is grouped into colorful displays. Color coordinated and beautiful to lead into impluse buying that you never intended to do. Check out this link and you will see what I mean:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/26/buy-me-7-ways-stores-get-you-to-make-an-impulse-purchase/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl11%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D156288#photo-2

What can you do to protect yourself from the assault of this color-coordinated retail stratagem? First, when you enter the store be aware of their ploy. Those eye catching displays are there for a reason. The bright colors are to encourage you to liven up the drab little winter nest with the vibrancy of spring. Those new towels, shower curtains, shower hooks and other items are color-coordinated to help you realize the dull grey world of winter you've surrounded yourself with and offer, for a price, to liven up your abode.

Walk on by, stick to the list in your pocket. Don't be trapped by their attractive displays.

The next little trick you'll encounter is all those bright colorful flowers beside the door. Don't they just make your fingers itch to be outside planting your spring garden? Hold tightly to the handle of your buggy as you walk by, this too shall pass.

Now that you are aware of the pitfalls of going into the retail areana at this time of year, go on, pack the kiddies in the car and take a trip to your favorite mall or store. Be brave, but just don't say I didn't warn you.

  Continuing with Small Blog, Big Giveaway, two lucky commentators will win copies of TO LOVE A HERO, international romance, or FRENCH PERIL, romantic suspense.

I've been often asked: What made you write this particular book? Why did you set your story in that particiular setting? So let me explain the whys behind three of my stories.

When I started writing, I already knew that my heroine would be an all-American gal, educated, assertive and independent. But I wanted my hero to be different from the men she met everyday at work. While traveling abroad, I observed the foreign male and study how he could attract my American heroine and be worthy of her love.

During my business trips to Belarus, I dealt mostly with officers, handsome, reserved, aloof at first sight.

TO LOVE A HERO --available for $0.99--highlights the hospitality and warmth of the gorgeous and valiant Belarusian officers who sing, toast with vodka and make a woman feel like a goddess.

The Russian hero, such as the handsome Major General Sergei of TO LOVE A HERO, is a perfect example of alpha hero: a patriotic officer, authoritative and chauvinistic but protective and gallant, honest and loyal.

FRENCH PERIL was inspired by a vacation in a modernized chateau, in the historical Loire Valley. I was so impressed by the magnificence of the French chateaux and the wealth of history of that area, I visualized gallant aristocrats entertaining beautiful women in lavishly decorated galleries and plush gardens. Stories played in my mind. I upped the stakes with a missing statue and the murder of a professor to create a romantic suspense, FRENCH PERIL--available for $0.99.

In France, the old gallantry has survived and many Frenchmen would not hesitate to write a poem to their beloved. The aristocratic male greets a woman by bowing over her hand for a kiss while the average Frenchman kisses her three times on the cheeks. The French hero is a playboy and a womanizer, determined not to be entrapped, but also a generous and passionate lover.

In NO MORE LIES, Dr. Luc George is a charming psychiatrist and gallant aristocrat, the perfect French lover a woman can wish for. He detests secrets, but the woman he loves, Dr. Olivia Crane, has secrets by the bucket-load.

A lie that brings a smile...or the truth that draws tears?

Olivia doesn’t want to remember the past, doesn’t want to talk about it and carefully hide it from her daughter and from the man she loves. As a successful doctor, she treats abused patients, yet she is so afraid of seeing the past destroy her daughter’s peace of mind, that one little lie leads to another, and another,…

All hell breaks loose when Luc strolls into her office, with open arms and a confident smile. Should she return his scorching kisses, or should she lock her door before he digs into her many secrets?

Secret daughter, secret friend, secret enemy. Had Luc really known his sweet Olivia back then? He wants her back, but he wants the truth too. Now, Olivia has to face her past before she can grab her second chance.

NO MORE LIES --available for $0.99--is a sweet and sensual story that will make you smile, laugh and cry— the story of two psychiatrists with conflicting theories on how to treat their patients and tame their own emotions.