Books & Reviews
Sometimes it takes a mystery to get a romance started …
Welcome to
The Barefoot by Moonlight Series
Each book in the series is a romance wrapped in a mystery for one of the friends in the Barefoot by Moonlight writers’ group who dare each other to write their best book in a setting the others will choose.
One by one each friend accepts the dare and has their own story, where upon arriving at the chosen location, they discover that there’s no time for writing when they find themselves in an unfolding mystery and a developing romance.
All Fired Up
BOOK 1
He needs a room.
She needs his bad-guy hunting skills.
When Marianne and Jack meet on the ferry to Orcas Island, it couldn’t be more awkward—for Marianne, that is. Jack has no problem with a woman landing on top of him. It’s a case of opposites attract. Although they each have their reasons not to get involved, fate has other plans. On this small island, avoiding each other isn’t to be.
When an old tale of stolen jewels resurfaces, revealing a dangerous secret kept by both of their grandfathers, it will take Marianne and Jack together to uncover the truth before one of them gets hurt. But solving the mystery means working out an arrangement. Jack needs a place to stay. Marianne has rooms to spare.
In close quarters, it’s soon apparent that solving the mystery might be easier than trying not to fall for each other as they realize that they both long for the same thing.
Who says nothing ever happens in a small island town?
Romance and intrigue on a Pacific Northwest Island.
The author supports independent booksellers and has made this title available through Ingram Spark for distribution to all retailers and libraries. Check with your favorite indie bookshop and request this title or check with your local library.
On the shelf at these indie bookshops:
Book Tree - Kirkland, WA.
Coming next in 2026
Book 2
All You Desire
Reviews for All Fired Up
Short Stories
The Last Blind Date
When Mimi’s best friend sets her up with Derek on a blind date, not in her wildest imagination could she have foreseen how the evening would play out.
She soon discovers that she’s been set up in more ways than one on this champagne-fueled evening complete with a handsome detective and a crook intent on spoiling the fun.
Hang on for this ride through the shadowy foothills of the Cascade Mountains, set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
“The Last Blind Date’ is energetic and highly readable. Mimi is a spunky, endearing heroine readers will root for.”
–InD’tale Magazine
One Step over the Mistletoe Line
An Amazon best-seller!
A cozy cabin, hot chocolate, and two hearts that belong together. They just need to take that step over the mistletoe line.
Just days before Christmas and her boyfriend’s proposal, an accidental moment under the mistletoe with her close friend RJ changes everything for Claire.
To avoid one man when she has feelings for another, Claire takes drastic measures to avoid Christmas.
But her escape plan to clear her head goes awry when a snowstorm sends the man on her mind, RJ, to her hideout. RJ is seeking shelter after a failed attempt to pursue a crook in a Santa suit who stole his new dog, Rosco.
As if a Christmas Eve in the cold Cascade Mountains couldn’t get any more dangerous with a manhunt underway for the puppy-stealing bad Santa, Claire’s heart is in hazardous territory as she weighs the consequences of telling her friend RJ of her feelings for him and risk destroying their friendship. Or is it possible that RJ feels the same way?
“Carmine Valentine’s ‘One Step Over the Mistletoe Line’ comes around the final turn with a nail-biting window-steamer that lunges gloriously over the finish line.”
–InD’tale Magazine