It’s that time of year…October is here, nights are cool, almost time for trick or treating. The leaves are turning. Something about this time of year makes me want to check out haunted houses, scary movies, spooky books. I love a good thrill. I love it when something gets my heart to pounding…it doesn’t matter if it’s one of those fake haunted houses where you just know they are going to jump out at you with a knife, or if it’s a walk through a house that just may really be haunted. Scary movies, scary books…give me a good scare…a safe one, and I’m happy. That’s the appeal of romantic suspense for me—the edgier, the better. If You Hear Her is the first book in my romantic suspense trilogy…followed by If You See Her and If You Know Her, releasing this winter. While I’ve written several romantic suspense books before, this is my first trilogy and I was able to go a little deeper, took it a little darker…got to play with all those things that go bump in the night. And it all started with a scream…the heroine is awakened one night when she hears somebody screaming for help….
I’ve been blogging a lot about my re-entry into the dating world post-divorce. Last week I joined a certain well-known online dating site in a conscious move to meet men who want to be in a relationship. So far I had two dates with a Team USA athlete who sent out inspirational quotes via text everyday and will remain anonymous, which went south when it became obvious he was only out for one thing. Not that I have any objections to that “one thing” but it was far too explicit in his behavior, making it clear that it was all he was interested in. A pity. We had quite a bit in common. Then there is the high-paid account executive. The scientist. The Arnold Schwarzenegger look-alike. And the man who works for the military. Juggling all these dates is no easy task, let me tell you. Perhaps the site should have a queuing system: “your date shall be answered in the order in which it was received,” etc. It would make the on/off communication a lot easier to take. Ah…Johnny hasn’t emailed me in three days, he must have gone on a date. Oh, look, he’s back online. I guess…
When I was in second grade, my mother asked us, “What do you want to be for Halloween?” I looked down at the plate of food in front of me. “A baked potato.” She should have guessed I’d pick something I could see at the moment. A couple of years before, I’d chosen to be a telephone. It didn’t matter. My mother loved making costumes, the more challenging the better. I’d worn a wonderful telephone costume, and she fashioned me a glorious baked potato costume. It was round and lumpy but lightweight, with eyes (potato eyes, not people eyes) sewn into the brown fabric body, and fluffy white fabric at the top. I was to peer out through holes in the pat of butter, a yellow-painted box, at the top. In those days, the entire school afternoon was devoted to the Halloween party and parade, and we tried very hard not to let anyone guess who we were. I went home for lunch, put on my brother’s old brown cords and shoes, then slid the costume on top. It was a little bulky, but I had the use of my hands, if not my entire arms. I dodged through neighbors’…
Guardian Angelinos #3 May 2011 On Sale: April 26, 2011 Featuring: Colton Lang; Vivi Angelino 400 pages ISBN: 0446566578 EAN: 9780446566575 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Best reads from our 2011 Readers & ‘ritas authors Face Of Danger by Roxanne St. Claire She’s a risk-taker playing a deadly role…He’s a rule-follower fighting to keep her safe…Together they’re facing a killer who could be anyone, anywhere, anytime… Private investigator Vivi Angelino loves living life on the edge, but stepping into the shoes of a movie starlet to bait a serial killer isn’t just a thrill . . . it’s a ticket to the big time for her fledgling security firm. That is, as long as a certain risk-averse FBI agent stays out of her way-and out of her fantasies. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colton Lang isn’t above using his well-worn rulebook to stop Vivi’s latest walk on the wild side. But when they learn her client is involved in something far more insidious than bad acting, Vivi and Colt must work together despite the electrifying attraction arcing between them. For each new clue is bringing them closer to a high-profile crime with a dark…
Pink Carnation #8 January 2011 On Sale: January 20, 2011 Featuring: Gaston Delaroche; Andre Jaouen; Laura Grey 416 pages ISBN: 0525951997 EAN: 9780525951995 Hardcover $25.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Historical, Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Getting ready for Readers & ‘ritas — some of our favorites from attending authors The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig “Pride and Prejudice lives on” (USA Today) in Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series, which has been hailed for its addictive blend of history, romance, and adventure. In The Orchid Affair, Willig introduces her strongest heroine yet. Laura Grey, a veteran governess, joins the Selwick Spy School expecting to find elaborate disguises and thrilling exploits in service to the spy known as the Pink Carnation. She hardly expects her first assignment to be serving as governess for the children of Andre Jaouen, right-hand man to Bonaparte’s minister of police. Jaouen and his arch rival, Gaston Delaroche, are investigating a suspected Royalist plot to unseat Bonaparte, and Laura’s mission is to report any suspicious findings. At first the job is as lively as Latin textbooks and knitting, but Laura begins to notice strange behavior from Jaouen-secret meetings and odd comings and goings. As Laura edges herself…
He’s the gorgeous man on the cover of HAUNTING EMBRACE. He’s also the evil druid Brandubh (pronounced Brawn-doov) who’s been trapped inside the Book of Fennore for eons. On the surface, he’s far from hero material. But deep down? A man just waiting to become a one. I won’t lie; it was a challenge getting him there. Áedán fought me tooth and nail, insisting he was too dark, too far from humanity to save. I disagreed. I saw a man who’d been betrayed, used and abused but who’d never given up. I fell in love with Áedán while I was writing HAUNTING DESIRE, Book #3 in the Mists of Ireland series. I admit, I fall in love with all of my heroes. How could I not? I create them. But as they each emerge with their own special qualities and quirks, I begin to see what really makes them the men of legends. Áedán tries to pretend he has no emotions, but deep down he feels as strongly as any other man and he wants…oh how he wants a life again. His rough exterior may fool some, but not those who know him. Or people like me who’ve already fallen…
Crimson City #2 September 2011 On Sale: August 30, 2011 Featuring: Keeli Maddox; Michael 371 pages ISBN: 0062019848 EAN: 9780062019844 Mass Market Paperback (reprint) $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Great the first time it was out, now finds more fans! Hoping for MORE! A Taste Of Crimson by Marjorie M. Liu Los Angeles is no longer the City of Angels… Dark, restless things prowl the L.A. streets. A series of unexplained murders threatens to shatter an uneasy peace among humans, vampires, and werewolves. Keeli Maddox needs to find the answers. And now, if she and her kin are to survive, she must trust a man as different from her as night is from day. Michael is a slayer, a betrayer. . . an enemy. But Keeli, herself no stranger to shadow, knows that nobility can lurk in unexpected places— and that this remarkable being who takes her breath away is meant to be with her. . . forever. In the midst of gravest peril, their lives are about to change, as together they rediscover the unparalleled pleasure of skin on skin, and the sweet, forbidden ecstasy found in a taste of crimson. A world divided…
I’m very happy to announce the birth of my new book. It’s been a long labor of love, but I know you’re going to enjoy the next Harmony book, THE COMFORTS OF HOME. I want readers to feel like they are walking the streets of a small town. You’ll laugh at some of the people, worry about others and fall in love with a few as they find their way through life. As the people of Harmony began to sit down and tell me their story (in my head) I found one quiet woman fascinating from the first. At a time in her life when she was young and should have been going out on dates and having a ball, she was silently working at the post office without one person she called friend. The story whirls around with people falling in love, breaking up and living life, but in the corner of my mind, Ronelle Logan waited for her story. People in general frightened her. One by one they were terrifying. Chapter 2, The Comforts of Home. In the opening of THE COMFORTS OF HOME she is about to meet a man who will petrify her at first and…
Harmony #3 November 2011 On Sale: November 1, 2011 Featuring: Reagan Truman; Noah; Tyler Wright 336 pages ISBN: 0425244482 EAN: 9780425244487 Kindle: B0052RHDA6 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Small Town delight says our book club! The Comforts Of Home by Jodi Thomas In Harmony, Texas, twenty-year-old Reagan Truman has found her place, and found her family. But with her uncle taken ill and her friend Noah lost and disheartened with his life, Reagan is afraid of ending up alone again, and she’s not the only one. When a terrible storms threatens the town, the residents of Harmony are forced to think about what they really want. Because making the connections they so desperately desire means putting their hearts at risk… A compelling and passionate story of the rsidents of a small town facing the truth. Previous Picks
When I drafted the initial opening scenes to FLAWLESS, I set out to write my first genuinely self-centered, arrogant, know-it-all-but-ultimately-redeemable alpha hero. Did I succeed? Kinda. And it depends on who you ask. That first draft presented Miles, Viscount Bancroft as a real…well…jerk! He eyed the maid, tipped cigar ash on the heroine’s evening gloves, and generally behaved as a boor. I read the first twenty pages to Chicago North, a group critique chapter, and poor Miles got ripped apart! There I was trying expand beyond my lovably earnest warriors and composers and, apparently, went too far. I went back to the drawing board and found out that Miles had more of a scampish streak. He’s cheeky, daring, quick-witted, and occasionally carries a whip like Indiana Jones. He even sits on the right side of history and has very good manners. Check out this scene where he decides to intervene against a foul-mouthed wagonmaster on the Cape Town docks: Across three months, the colony had subjected Miles to many such scenes. Perhaps the difference, on this occasion, could be traced to the bitterness Viv churned in his blood. His arms ached with the need to pummel his fretfulness into submission–or…