Isabelle Drake

A character I named Belmont showed up in my book, Servant of the Undead, due to necessity. He's lumpy and easily over-looked but with time he grew on me. He's been to, lived in , and escaped, the place where Hayden, the poor struggling main character, is just now arriving. This section below was one of my favorites to write. It gave me the opportunity to consider how humor can function in horror. The laughs make the terribleness even more terrible.  Excerpt from  Mistress of the Undead Belmont pushed himself off the floor, shuffled to the bathroom, not bothering to flush the toilet after he pissed. Still naked, he made his way to the kitchen, set the kettle on, grabbed his French press. He reached into the cabinet over the sink for the bag of coffee beans but all he found was an empty space. Rolling onto the balls of his feet, he reached further back, felt around the vacant space, smacking the bottom of the cabinet. “Don’t bother looking. I drank it all.” Hayden froze. Waited ...

If you are a reader who also drinks, and if you're here, I'm going to assume yes on both counts, this cocktail was practically invented for you. If you go looking for this recipe online there are versions everywhere, and some of them have gone completely off the rails. Blue curaçao? Crème de menthe? We are not doing that. We're doing the version from Greg Seider, a New York bartender who also wrote Alchemy in a Glass, which means he has both the credentials and the vocabulary to be trusted. His Tequila Mockingbird is a spicy margarita riff built around something we don't use nearly enough in cocktails: watermelon. And I know, watermelon sounds like it should be easy, but it's actually a bit of a diva. Too little and you can't taste it. Too much and it waters everything down. Get it right, though, and you have something bright and juicy and just a little dangerous. The good news is you don't need a blender. Just a muddler, some fresh watermelon, a jalap...

1. It's the first real warm Saturday of the season. You: A) Drive to the nearest body of water with a tote bag full of snacks and a book you've been saving since March. B) Text five people "what are we doing today" and let chaos decide. C) Open every window, put something good on the speaker, and spend the morning just… existing in it. D) Start planning. Itinerary, reservations, the works. Summer doesn't organize itself. 2. Your summer drink is: A) Whatever's cold and comes with a little umbrella. B) Something spicy...a jalapeño margarita, obviously. C) A big glass of iced tea on the porch, no rush. D) Champagne. It's always the right answer. 3. Pick a summer shoe: A) Sandals you've had for six years that go with everything. B) Sneakers because you never know when you'll need to run toward something fun. C) Bare feet, honestly. D) Wedges. You didn't come here to be comfortable, you came here to look good. 4. Your ideal summer read: A) A big, sw...

The past couple months were filled with conference travel.  In early March, I attended an academic/literacy conference in Baltimore. It's an event I've attended on and off for over a decade. When I first started attending, I went as an MFA student. The faculty of the MFA program I was attending told us the event was a blast - super fun! I am, and was back then, all about having fun especially if it involves books and writers. So, expecting the sort of fun I typically had at a writing event, off I went.  As it turned out, as I figured out the first time I went, it was not that kind of fun. I found the other attendees to be a tad stuffy at times. No laughing in the halls. Very literary. As it turned out, it was a serious event filled with serious people. I did have the promised "good time" but it took some rethinking on my part. Once I caught on to the serious nature of the event, I decided not to tell anyone I was a romance author. Meanwhile, over the years, I continue...

Motivational speaker and personal improvement expert Jaya Vinar is out of control--or so people keep telling her. When her boss pairs her with a handsome personal consultant, things get even more out of control. She wants to scare him off, he wants her in his bed. Only one can win. And neither is exactly who they’re pretending to be. Sometimes wild, and rocky, starts lead to even wilder, and happier, endings. Excerpt The Troy, Michigan hotel bar was circled by oil paintings of thoroughbreds grazing on rolling hills. Thanks to the wall paneling and brass fixtures, it was businesslike and sophisticated, yet still cozy. An ornate mirror ran the length of the bar, reflecting the brightly-colored liquor bottles. The only person seated in the row of tall stools was a brown-haired man in a nondescript navy jacket and khaki pants. A glass of white wine sat in front of him and his full attention on his phone. She stood back, watching him, a plan forming in the back of her mind. The idea ros...

The Sloe & Cranberry Sour may feel like a vintage classic—something your great‑aunt might have sipped in a velvet‑draped supper club—but in truth, it’s a relatively modern creation born from two intersecting trends in cocktail culture: the revival of sloe liqueurs and the renaissance of the sour. Sloe berries—tiny, tart, wild relatives of the plum—have been steeped in gin and spirits in the UK since at least the 1700s. Traditionally, sloe gin was a farmhouse project: pick the berries after the first frost, prick them with a needle, drown them in gin and sugar, and wait for winter to do its magic. By the mid‑20th century, sloe gin had a reputation problem. Cheap, overly sweet versions flooded the market, and bartenders largely ignored it. But the craft spirits movement of the 2000s changed everything. High‑quality, small‑batch sloe liqueurs—like Edwards 1902 Mulled Sloe Liqueur—brought the ingredient roaring back into fashion. Enter: The Modern Sour Revival The classic sour (spirit ...