When I first read the description for your book REMEMBER ME GONE, I was immediately fascinated. It seemed very Stephen King or David Lynch-ish. What inspired you to write REMEMBER ME GONE? It’s funny that you mention Stephen King. Growing up, he was my mom’s favorite author and she often left his books lying around the house. When she wasn’t looking, I would sneak-read as many pages as I could cram in, or until I scared myself so badly I’d have to stop. So I guess you could say he’s had a big influence on my writing and even my desire to be a writer from a young age. He’s also the reason I still look behind me whenever I walk down a hotel hallway. But the inspiration for REMEMBER ME GONE came from an episode of True Blood, the HBO series based on The Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. In the episode, someone hires a vampire to erase her husband’s memories in the hopes of curing his PTSD. I started wondering what it might be like to run a memory-taking business and, boom, the idea was born. Sans vampires. Did you always plan on having Lucy, your…
Your book BOSS WITCH comes out April 5th. It’s described as an “opposites attract paranormal romcom”. What attracts you to stories with characters who are opposites getting together? Opposites are like magnets with a positive and negative charge. They’re drawn together irresistibly, but the challenge is whether the characters can make it work long-term. And that’s where the fascination comes into play. Two people with wildly different viewpoints… the idea that they can form a lasting partnership and turn those variations into a complementary relationship—where one supplies what the other lacks? It’s the ultimate form of optimism and makes us feel brighter about real life opposition. How would you describe Gavin in BOSS WITCH? What makes a good hero to you? Gavin is lonely and tormented. He hates his job, and he’s been isolated from the world by an emotionally abusive parent. What he wants more than anything is a place to belong. As for what makes a good hero, as long as he meets his fictional partner’s needs, that definition can apply to any type of character. Your thriller THE THIRD MRS. DURST sounds intriguing. As an author, is it a much different process writing a thriller…
1–What is the title of your latest release? BROKEN HEIR, A Dark Fated-Mates Romance 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? He’s a ruthless warlord out for revenge and redemption. She’s his enemy’s daughter with a big secret of her own— and he’s about to leave her breathless, begging, and broken. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? BROKEN HEIR is the third book in the Ruthless Warlords series and so I knew early on that this book would be about the beautiful, broken alpha Alexi’s book, the third oldest brother in the Skolov family, and his search for his missing brother among his enemies, the Sartins. I also knew he would find his fated mate in the midst -and that it didn’t matter that the timing was all wrong, or that he was promised to someone else, or that she was involved in her own mess and that their attraction ruined all their plans and only made everything more complicated, dangerous, and more of a mess. I knew they’d be unable to stay away from each other, and I knew she would help heal him while he saved her too. I knew it…
1–What is the title of your latest release? TEMPTING THE EARL, Wright Bastards Book #1 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The Earl of Wright is determined to acknowledge his illegitimate sister and provide her with the life she’d been denied. But first, he must convince the stubborn Scotswoman who raised her that he isn’t the villain his father had been. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The hero in this book first appeared in an earlier book of mine, Luck is No Lady, which was set in Regency London. I wanted to continue his story and though he makes a short trip to the Scottish Lowlands, most of the book takes place in London where more characters from previous books make appearances. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Of course! With her straight-forward attitude and fierce loyalty, Ainsworth would be a great friend to have. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Reserved, shy, passionate 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned that although I love an alpha hero, there is something to be said for the quieter, more restrained hero who finally…
1–What is the title of your latest release? THE TREASURE OF LOVE which is lucky thirteen in my Book of Love series, a charmingly humorous Regency romance series that deals with a mysterious book that seems to hold the secrets to finding true love. When I signed on to write these stories, my publisher and I were contemplating maybe six books in all, but they are so much fun and have developed a following, so I would love to keep writing them until I turn 100! 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Think of the ‘traveling pants’ stories. In my series, each heroine passes along the mysterious Book of Love to a friend or relative ready to make their debut in London Society in the hope the wisdom in this book will lead them to finding their true love. The strength of these stories is that while they are cute and fictional romances, the advice in this Book of Love is quite real and based on the neurological behaviors in our brain associated with love. Male and female brains work differently, so these stories delve into these different aspects. What first attracts a man to a woman? How…
My success as an author depends on my creativity—my ability to imagine interesting characters in fascinating predicaments and intriguing settings. When the pandemic first hit, as a writer, I thought, “Welp, going to have more time to spend on those happily-ever-afters!” (What I thought as a non-writer went in a very different and less-printable direction.) Initially, I did get a fair amount of new material drafted. I also worked on revising some older titles that had reverted to me, and I took on some website updates. But after a few months, the “extra” no longer resulted in any “extra” words. What’s an author to do? I wasn’t exactly blocked, but the fire hose of words and ideas was producing at a trickle rather than a gush. Upon reflection, I could see what was afoot. If we want our minds to get out of predictive text mode, where we’re on auto-pilot much of the time, then we have to put ourselves in situations we haven’t seen before—or haven’t seen often. Take a different route to work, order a different entré at our fav restaurant. Ask a different co-worker to join us for lunch. Try on some new clothes outside of our…
1–What is the title of your latest release? I WANT YOU TO WANT ME 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A grumpy wounded hero makes a marriage of convenience with a sunny heroine in trouble. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The hero is wounded physically and a recluse at his country estate. The heroine lives at a nearby estate, so the characters really dictated the setting. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? The heroine is Amelia, and I would absolutely hang out with her in real life. She’s really fun and likes to have a good time. She’s also a very compassionate person who cares deeply. I think she’d make a great friend. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Grumpy, vulnerable, guarded 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a lot about Gloucestershire Old Spots, which is a type of pig. The heroine has a pet Gloucestershire Old Spots named Sweetie. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I wait until I’m done, but sometimes I do go back and change or add to something I’ve…
1–What is the title of your latest release? LEAVE YESTERDAY BEHIND 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A popular actress at a turning point in her career. A professional athlete forging a new path as a fiction writer. And a serial killer interested in seeing both of them dead . . . 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My heroine is an actress who shoots her TV show in New York City. I wanted a bulk of the action to take place far away from that world, especially since she has gone through a traumatic experience and needs time to heal. I decided to take her back to her childhood home of Aurora, a small town just outside of New Orleans. She would feel safe there, staying with her great-aunt and being around friends she trusts. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? AB-solutely! Callie is fun, feisty, and loyal. She would always tell me the truth and have my back. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? I would say HOT, HOT, HOT—but I’m sure you want something a little more descriptive than that! Let’s go with…
Excerpted from A Match Made in Lipa. Copyright © Carla de Guzman. All rights reserved. Published by Carina Press. Anton quickly spotted the cold goods refrigerator and walked toward it. He had discovered very early on in his trip what he wanted out of a Japanese convenience store, and very rarely strayed from what he knew. Onigiri triangles and milk tea. Maybe a beer if he was feeling extra melancholic, but not yet. He spotted the onigiri triangles. There was only one tuna mayo left. Santi reached out to take it, only to have another hand shoot forward and grab it, leaving him with nothing but air. “Sumimasen,” he said gruffly, wondering if he was pronouncing that right. “That’s—” “My onigiri? Yes it is.” The English sounded familiar, making Anton turn his head to face his opponent. Which was how he saw Kira Luz again after twenty years. And wow. She was beautiful. Still beautiful, actually, with those dark, upturned eyes that hadn’t changed since she was ten. They were eyes that could see everything, see through him without much difficulty. It was the same face he used to know, just older. Changed. Santi used to be told a…
1–What is the title of your latest release? DEAD WIND 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? DEAD WIND is book three of the Shana Merchant series, about a female investigator with the New York State Police who now lives in upstate New York’s Thousand islands. When a body is found at the base of a wind turbine on a small Canadian island, and the victim has ties to Shana’s new town, she must dredge up dark secrets and old grudges while also hunting the man who’s been terrorizing her for years. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Like all of the Shana Merchant novels, DEAD WIND is mainly set in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York, but some of the most important action occurs on Wolfe Island across the border in Ontario, Canada. I visited Wolfe Island a few years ago and was floored by the landscape: it’s a very flat island, but it’s home to a wind farm, and those massive turbines felt otherworldly to me. I hadn’t even started writing the series at that point, but I knew that a turbine on the island would make an eerie crime…