Laura Marie Henion is a freelance writer and fiction author specializing in the genre of romance and suspense. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and EPIC Authors. She has obtained many of her ideas and accurate information from family members, friends and law enforcement personnel. She has always had an interest in the law enforcement field and enjoys creative writing. As a young adult, she created short stories and poetry to share with her family and friends. Laura integrated her creative writing skills in her professional career as both a sales center manager and a social worker. Laura is also the office manager for her husband's business and a Mom of three. She loves working with people and believes this stems from both her Bachelors Degree in Social Work as well as her strong, law enforcement family background. These factors add to the authenticity of her stories and the true to life qualities of her characters. She continues to work on multiple manuscripts including the new series Cop's Daughter. Currently Laura is also working towards her Masters in Professional Writing. Laura Marie presently resides in Historic Hudson Valley New York with her husband and three small children.

Thoughts from the Author First and foremost I believe that family comes first. In a world of chaos, corruption and survival of the fittest, it is important to have a strong family bond and network to get through the tough times, and celebrate all the good times. I am a Mom of three wonderful, healthy children who keep me motivated, happy and enthusiastic about life. There is nothing more touching then the sound of children laughing, especially those deep, wild, belly laughs. I am a wife to a wonderful, caring, affectionate husband who supports me, encourages me and loves me every day of our lives. It was his encouragement that pushed me to make my dream of becoming an author a reality. I am a daughter of two fantastic parents who continually prove, by their own actions and accomplishments, that hard work, continuous education, family bonds and traditions are key to being successful in life. I am also a sister to three wonderful big brothers, who in their own individual ways make me laugh, make me smile and make me proud to have them in my life. At least most of the time. Ha, ha, ha. I am proud to be an American and I support our troops. I pray for their safe return home to their loved ones and praise them for their service to their country. I honor them every day by being patriotic, showing my patriotism whether it be by wearing an American flag pin or ring as a reminder that we are at war, or by flying an American flag in my yard or in my car, and most importantly by praying for each and every one of them. Our soldiers have sacrificed so much in order to keeps us free and safe here in the United States; some have given the ultimate sacrifice, their life. May we never forget our soldiers. UNITED WE STAND. When people find out that I have written a novel, they ask me where the heck did you find the time with three small children and your husband's small business to run, never mind the housework? My answer is simple. I really, truly, with all my heart wanted to write a full-length mystery, romance novel. I finally found the courage to type my stories on the computer and give writing a shot. The courage came quick and fierce, but that same courage took time to find again when I needed feedback. When I finally found the courage, I went to the family first. I nearly passed out when I received encouragement, words of constructive criticism and support in my new endeavor. Why did I choose to write mystery one might ask? Well, first and foremost I love a good mystery. Trying to find out who the bad guy or girl is and all the steps taken by the police to capture them is intriguing, but it is also, I suppose, somewhat in my blood. I am a cop's daughter. Two of my three brothers are law enforcement professionals. I have a great respect and admiration for what they do. It's not easy putting on that uniform every day not knowing what the day will bring and whether or not that uniform may make you a target or a savior. I have learned so much about police work from my brothers and my father. My dad is an inspiration, a man to be proud of and boast about. There's nothing like growing up in a law enforcement family, never mind being the only girl, and Daddy's little girl. I learned at a very young age that 'evil people' walk the face of this earth. You need to always be aware of your surroundings and keep your family close. Friends come and go but family is around forever. Why add the romance into my writing? Well plain and simple, I AM A ROMANTIC! What better way to add the so-called 'icing on the cake' then to have the extra bonus of a romance in a mystery? With all that suspense, heated moments of not knowing whether the hunter will become the hunted and the tension building and building, what better way for two strangers, a man and a woman, to find one another and fall in love or in lust? I want my stories to be fulfilling from beginning to end. I want the reader to laugh at something funny, feel angry when the hero or heroine is angry or makes a mistake then celebrate when they solve the crime, catch the killer and remove one more evil doer off the streets. Then I'd love for them to think about the characters later, after they've finished the book and wonder what are those characters doing now? To me, that is a completely satisfying novel. JUST LOVE ME When I decided to write my first novel my thoughts were on a trip I had taken with my parents a couple of years before I got married. My father is retired from the N.Y.P.D. and was the Commander of Bronx Homicide. He has written numerous books and co-authored even more. He is considered 'THE' expert in his field. His book PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION: Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Techniques is considered to be the "Bible" of homicide investigation. His textbook Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives was written to address the increase in sex-related homicides and serial murders and is used throughout the world. He also developed a step-by-step crime scene guide called PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION FIELD GUIDE, which is used by all law enforcement personnel at a crime scene. I had the opportunity to attend one of his PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION® seminars in Honolulu Hawaii along with my mom. It was amazing. Honolulu was breathtaking and to this day I have yet to visit a more stunning or magnificent place of beauty. While there, I met numerous law enforcement personnel and true natives of the Hawaiian land. The culture was so diverse and the people were so inviting it was actually hard to leave. I had the opportunity to learn about the inside track, the world of law enforcement in Hawaii. Although the land is amazing, and most of the people are friendly and good, there are bad people as well. No matter where you are, what state, what city, it doesn't matter. Cops tell it the way it is. There's no sugar coating. I learned a lot about the diverse cultures, traditions and customs of those cultures as well as men and women in uniform who help to maintain a peaceful, enjoyable tourists playground in the state of Hawaii. JUST LOVE ME was a fun book to write and I hope my readers enjoy it. HARD HEADED WOMAN I actually started writing HARD HEADED WOMAN in the hopes of sharing a little bit of my Italian heritage. I had thoughts of conversations taking place in Italian, descriptions of various types of foods, and traditions celebrated from an Italian family. I partially did that. Ha,ha,ha,ha. The suspense side immediately took over my thoughts, and then, out of nowhere came the cowboys. I guess in my mind, when big trouble occurs, the Calvary is called in. In this case it was in the form of a Texas Ranger. There is that instant sex appeal associated with a cowboy. Then there is a Texas Ranger. Talk about intimidation, their presence alone would make the bad guys give themselves up. Texas Rangers have been around for generations and are still going strong in Texas today. As I conducted my research and applied it to my story it didn't seem so crazy or typical. That's what I like, to be unique in my writing and keep the readers attention throughout the book. Of course, the female characters in my books are independent, strong and professional. Texas Rangers are a hard act to follow so the best heroine and counterpart to that hero was a HARD HEADED WOMAN. I took all of my ideas and combined them giving the reader humorous information about organized crime, authentic Italian dialogue and some accurate Texas Ranger history. It's a combination that's sure to leave the reader smiling. COP'S DAUGHTER I live in a typical suburban town where large amounts of the community are civil service families. What I mean by this are families that consist of policemen and women, firemen and women, military personnel etc. It is a very patriotic community. My idea stemmed from the large gathering of the community for town celebrations and holiday events like Memorial Day. Once again the mystery took over the story line with a combination of corruption, jealousy, promiscuity and loss. When a crime so heinous, so horrific and heart wrenching as the murder of a police officer occurs the community comes together and everyone wants to solve the crime. As time passes and still there are no clues, no hints as to who may have committed the crime and the case seems unsolvable, someone has to stand up and take matters into their own hands. A cop's daughter emerges, focusing on one goal and one goal only, to find her father's killer. She was mortified by his murder, the pain and loss horrific and there was no closure in sight. A cop's daughter is tough, independent and more than willing to take on the challenge. There is a great pride, awareness and intellect in being a cop's daughter. I wrote this story in honor of all daughters of cops. There is a definite uniqueness in each of us, something deep inside that makes us powerful, giving us that extra 'oomph' to get the job done. The idea of creating a series emerged but not your typical series where the reader must read the books in a certain order. Instead, any book of the series can be picked up at any time for they are all unique stories. I plan on taking certain characters from the first book and mentioning them in the book to follow but the main connection will be the detectives working the cases. Anyone in law enforcement knows that sometimes numerous departments, precincts, detectives and other law enforcement personnel must come together in order to solve the crime. I hope the readers will enjoy the series and the stories I have created. In conclusion, I leave you with one final thought: God has given each of us an imagination an ability to see beyond the basics. An intelligence and ability to read and there are many great writers and touching stories just waiting to be embraced by your heart. Indulge in the opportunity to enter a different time or place, to see inside the thoughts and actions of characters you can relate to or simply despise. There is something amazing about witnessing that first kiss, or better yet, almost feeling it. To read with anticipation an ending that you hoped for, and getting way more then you expected. Enjoy the stories and thank you for visiting my web page. LAURA MARIE