Liz's Lair: Welcome Multi-published RS Author, Melanie Atkins.

Please give a great big M & M welcome to my friend and fellow author, Melanie Atkins. She's a multi-published author of romantic suspense, a fan of crime dramas, and an avid reader. Writing is more than an escape for her -- it's a way of life. She grew up in the Deep South listening to tall tales and penning stories about her cats. Now she writes gripping stories of love, suspense, and mystery with the help of her furry little feline muses. And guess what? She's giving away one of the e-books from her New Orleans Detective series... winner's choice. I've read some of her work, and I can tell you, it's a good prize. Without further ado, here she is:

Yay! I Just Hit the Rockypot!

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for allowing me to guest blog. I'm just going to dive right in. Don’t you just love technology? I love my laptop and use Microsoft Word all the time. I like most of its features, including Find and Replace, a great tool for making quick changes, such as switching character names, replacing problem words, and doing away with over-used words and phrases. One has to be careful with it, though. I learned that the hard way. Make sure to click More, and then choose Whole Words Only -- or you just might invent some strange new words. Here's an example: While working on one of my as-yet-unsold romantic suspense single titles, I decided to change a secondary character’s name from Jack to Rocky. No problem, right? I hit Control + H and made the change. No big deal.

Then I reread the manuscript.

My characters are cops and often get excited when they find vital pieces of evidence. Imagine my surprise when I read, “Hey, Sam -- we just hit the rockypot!” I spit out my tea. Too funny! Later, Sam pulled his pad and pen out of his rockyet pocket. I stopped and reread that sentence over and over, trying not to have an apoplectic fit. OMG, I thought, not knowing the best one was yet to come. Then I flipped the page, and Sam said, “Don’t worry. We’re gonna catch that rockyass.” I laughed until I cried.

The best one of all time, however, was when I replaced the name "Mary" with "Priscilla" in a companion book… and forgot that Sam is Catholic -- and that I had included a scene where he goes to confession. The good part came when the priest ordered Sam to say one Our Father and two Hail Priscillas after he was done. I laughed so hard, I needed Depends. Tee hee!

Let this be a warning to everyone! Always, always, always proof your manuscript after using Find and Replace. You just might discover a few new words.

Hope you'll check out my latest release, Keller County Cops Book 2: Shield of Valor, from Desert Breeze Publishing, too. It's available here:

In Shield of Valor, Detective Mitch Ransom is in control of his life until he agrees to testify before the grand jury against a brutal serial killer. Then he’s kidnapped, threatening his appearance in court, and finds himself trapped with a woman he doesn’t like and believes he has to protect. Tiffany Golden, a police dispatcher, is trying to break the mold set for her by her stripper mother. She wants to become a cop and is on the road to reaching that goal when she’s kidnapped along with Mitch and is forced to help him find freedom.

You can read more about this book and all of my books on my website: and my blog:

Other upcoming titles:
VOODOO BONES -- October, Desert Breeze
KKC Book 3: QUEST FOR JUSTICE -- January 2012, Desert Breeze
BLOOD RITE -- January 2012, Whiskey Creek Press
KKC Book 4: DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL -- June 2012, Desert Breeze
And more to come…