Maggie by the Book

KELLY'S LAW #1: Just when things seem to be settling down, the other shoe drops...with a vengeance.

In this case, it's more like a Regency-era riding boot belonging to Alexandre Blake, Viscount Saint Just, hero of the bestsellers I write. When he defied all laws of time and space by walking out of my dreams and into my living room, I figured there must be a way to get him back home to the corner of my fevered imagination from which he'd escaped. Okay, so I was wrong.

KELLY'S LAW #2: All's fair in love and WAR.

WAR being We Are Romance, the country's largest romance writers' group. Although the WAR-riors unofficially kicked me out of their club, I still got an invitation to their Manhattan conference. How Alex convinced me to go--and take him along--is another story. I just knew it would be a bad thing. Bad for my blood pressure...and very bad for my budding flirtation with NYPD Lieutenant Steve Wendell.

KELLY'S LAW #3: That thing sticking in your back that looks like a knife? If you're at a writers' conference...it probably is.

The best part of WAR has been witnessing Alex mistaken for a cover model competition contestant. The worst part? The publisher of the country's leading romance book review rag being offed in the elevator. Now, Alex is on the case. And so is Steve. And so am I. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking...again.