There’s something about Florida that gets under your skin.
Gene and I bought a house in Florida so we could spend our winters there, and I fell in love with the lifestyle almost immediately. The warm weather, the water, the laid-back atmosphere, the sense of community, all of it felt right.
Before long, I knew I needed to write a series set in Florida.
And almost instantly, the Warriors came to mind.
Finding Home in Blossom Springs
When I began imagining Blossom Springs, I wanted to create the kind of Florida town I had come to love. A place near the water where neighbors know one another, friends become family, live music fills the evenings, and people put down roots because they’ve finally found somewhere that feels like home.
That’s what happened to Gene and me.
And, as it turned out, that’s what happened to my characters too.
The men and women of the Warriors of Blossom Springs found their way to this little Florida community and stayed.
Sarge’s Sandbar sits on the beach and has become one of the gathering places in town. Sid lives up on a bluff overlooking the water, just down the road from the Sandbar. Quinn lives nearby, surrounded by beautiful horse pastures.
And then there’s Jace.
Jace and Margot live in the former governor’s mansion, which Jace managed to purchase for a steal. The former governor had a rather shady past, and I have to admit, Jace takes a certain amount of pleasure in knowing that he’s the one living in the man’s beautiful old house now.
Mason made Blossom Springs home. So did Marco and Mitch.
One by one, these characters built lives there.
They found a place they loved and decided to call it home.
Just like Gene and I did.
It Started with the Warriors of Blossom Springs
The Warriors of Blossom Springs were the beginning.
These are protective men, strong women, friendships, family, romance and suspense, all set against the backdrop of the Florida lifestyle I’d grown to love.
But something happened as I wrote the series.
Blossom Springs stopped being simply a setting.
It became a town.
I began to know where people lived. I knew where they gathered. Characters from one story had connections to characters from another. Businesses and landmarks became familiar places.
And once that happened, I wasn’t ready to leave.
Fortunately, Blossom Springs had more stories to tell.
Then Came the Music
One of the things Gene and I love about our Florida community is the live music. When we’re there, we can listen to live music every night.
Naturally, the romance writer in me started thinking about musicians.
And Blossom Springs: Rogue Anthem was born.
Hart & the Hurricanes brought a completely different energy to Blossom Springs. The series gave me a chance to explore the music side of the community while still keeping those relationships and familiar connections that make the town feel like home.
It also showed me something important.
Blossom Springs didn’t have to belong to just one series.
It could become an entire fictional world.
But Every Town Has Secrets
Then I started hearing rumors.
Nothing I need to share here, but let’s just say there were whispers about some shenanigans happening in our little community.
And that got my writer brain going.
Because isn’t that probably true everywhere?
We go about our lives. We wave to our neighbors. We meet friends for dinner. We listen to music, play pickleball, walk the beach and enjoy our communities.
But how much do we really know about what’s happening behind the scenes?
What if something darker was happening right under everyone’s noses?
That question became Blossom Springs: Shadow Ops.
The Shadow Ops team operates beneath the surface, protecting a town that doesn’t even know they exist. While the residents of Blossom Springs are living their lives, these covert operatives are uncovering the corruption and danger hiding behind the town’s idyllic exterior.
It gave me another layer of Blossom Springs to explore.
Same town.
Very different view.
And Blossom Springs Isn’t Finished Yet
By this point, I had a problem.
I loved Blossom Springs too much to leave it, but after everything the Shadow Ops team uncovered, I also thought my little Florida town deserved a break!
That led me to Shadow Ops Guardians.
Instead of continually bringing new threats into Blossom Springs, Shadow Ops can expand its reach. There are plenty of people outside the town who need their particular kind of help, and plenty of bad guys elsewhere who need dealing with.
The missions can take them beyond Blossom Springs.
But when the mission is over, they come home.
Blossom Springs remains their home base.
And I love that, because it brings me right back to what started this entire world in the first place.
Home.
You can travel. You can have adventures. You can face danger. You can go wherever life or the mission takes you.
But there’s something special about knowing where you belong.
Where Should You Start in Blossom Springs?
If you’ve never visited Blossom Springs before, you have a few ways to begin.
If you want to experience the town from the beginning, start with Steamy Nights, the first book in Warriors of Blossom Springs.
If rock stars, musicians and romance are more your style, start with Don’t Stop Believin’, the first book in Blossom Springs: Rogue Anthem.
And if you’re drawn to covert operatives, hidden threats and the idea that danger may be lurking beneath the surface of an idyllic small town, begin with In the Shadows, the first book in Blossom Springs: Shadow Ops.
And once you’ve met the Shadow Ops team, their world will continue in Shadow Ops Guardians. The first book in the Guardians is Blind Horizon.
Whichever door you choose, you’ll eventually start recognizing the people and places that make Blossom Springs home.
And I hope you’ll love spending time there as much as I do.
Come Visit Blossom Springs
What started because Gene and I fell in love with our Florida home has grown into something much larger than I originally imagined.
Blossom Springs has become a world filled with protective heroes, capable women, musicians, covert operatives, friendships, danger, romance and happily ever afters.
And there are still more stories to tell.
So, welcome to Blossom Springs.
I hope you’ll stay awhile.