chocolate lab
Reviews for Virgo’s Vice
All authors know reviews are important because they help readers to decide whether to buy your books or not, and we are always thankful to people who take the time to write a review, or even a one line comment.
Trish Jackson shows her familiarity with the African wilds in this book and uses it as a backdrop for her book. The characters are a varied lot, some good people and some not so good, but all are interesting. You find yourself rooting for some and not caring what happens to a few. It’s a lot like life. In the end, I’m reminded of a phrase from the old TV series, Maude, “God will get you for that.” I must admit that Jake was my favorite character, willing to give his life for Lexie, but I’m a dog person. Still, loyalty and self sacrifice are great qualities in any species. While part of the book is first person, in Lexie’s point of view, Trish also uses third person to let you know what other characters are thinking and seeing. It’s a fun read and keeps up a good pace throughout the book.
Hello 2016
Sometimes I find it hard to believe we are this far into the 21st century. When I think back to Y2K and all the hype about the end of the world, it seems like just yesterday. So much has changed since then, and yet so many other things have stayed the same.
Virgo’s Vice, published in 2015 is seeing some good sales and I’ve had some great feedback. The only thing readers seem to have a problem with is that there are too many characters all introduced at one time near the beginning. I knew that when I wrote it, but I felt that I had to give readers a little early information about each of the 12 contestants in the reality show.
All my stories highlight social problems, and this one addresses the terrible way childhood sexual molestation messes up a person’s life.
Lexie King suffers from PTSD and has anxiety attacks, but she desperately wants to heal herself, which is the reason she goes completely out of her comfort zone by agreeing to work as one of the two camera operators for a new Survivor-style reality show in Africa. It probably would have worked out for her but for two things–the producer doesn’t play fair, and one of the contestants is the monster who repeatedly raped Lexie when she was a child.
I got a lot of the information from a person I know who actually was molested and suffered the same way as Lexie.
I love animals and always include at least one in my stories. Jake is the producer’s chocolate lab, and he and Lexie have a special bond.
Billy Murphy is a real life cowboy from Texas. He works on the family cattle ranch. Apart from being hot, with a small ass, broad shoulders and intense green eyes, with dark hair that hangs down to his collar, he’s tough and resourceful. He’s also kind and caring, which is exactly the sort of man Lexie needs. When I lived up in the mountains in Arizona I met some real cowboys whose lives revolved around riding the open range, herding cattle, and camping out in the wilderness. They wore spurs that jingled, chaps and cowboy hats and were all cute, a little shy, and respectful to women.
Lexie’s Story is free for you to download in any format you need. Here’s the link: Lexie’s Story
Here’s the link for Virgo’s Vice
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I joined Romance Writers of America in 2015, something I probably should have done long ago. It’s an organization for romance writers who are serious about their writing careers, and they offer a wide array of useful resources. One suggestion they make is that writers should get a critique partner–someone they don’t know, who will give an unbiased opinion of their work. I checked out the list of members actively seeking critique partners and picked Tami Lund because it appeared that she writes similar stories to mine. We clicked right away and I’m extremely thankful for Tami’s wonderful help and advice. She’s made some excellent suggestions and I’ve implemented most of them to improve my next novel, Scorpio’s Sting. I hope I’ve helped her in the same way. Strangely, after we had already started critiquing one another’s work we discovered we both have the same publisher–Soul Mate Publishing– and we both write for the SMP blog on Wednesdays.
I plan to post the first three chapters of Scorpio’s Sting on my website soon. In this story I address the drug and illegal immigration problems in the U.S. and in particular, the abuse of power and horrific crimes of the drug cartels. I hope to have this novel released later on this year.
This story tackled ALS and was released at a time when people were enduring the ice water over the head idea to make a statement. It also touched on human trafficking, and there will be another book which will go into this in more detail in the future.
Virgo’s Vice — Available for Pre-Order!
I am thrilled to announce that the third novel in the Zodiac Series, Virgo’s Vice, is available on Amazon for pre-order. The publishing process always seems to take forever!

Now all she wants is to get away—as far away as possible. But how? They’re stranded one stop past nowhere in Africa.
When traumatic events start to happen, she draws comfort from Jake, the producer’s chocolate lab, and cowboy contestant Billy Murphy, who makes her laugh at the darkest of times, and heats up more than her heart with his touch . . .
Here’s the book trailer: