trueromance

Setting: Modern day Fairview, a small, coastal city in the Pacific Northwest.

Subgenre: Paranormal romance/urban fantasy

Hero: Captain Reynard, younger son of family of landed gentry from the 1700s. He is an immortal guardsman of the Castle, a prison for the supernatural. After two and a half centuries trapped in the dungeon, he’s more than ready for a vacation.

Heroine: Ashe Carver, witch, kick-butt monster slayer, and librarian. As a single mother of a ten-year-old daughter, Ashe is also desperate for a holiday. But, instead of getting some R&R, she’s being stalked by vampires, demons, lawyers, and a killer rabbit.

One Two sentence summary (c’mon, I can’t do anything under 100,000 words!): Faced with a custody battle, Ashe Carver has hung up her stakes and taken a job at the public library, determined to show the courts and her ten-year-old daughter that she’s as good a mother as she is a hunter… but after centuries guarding a supernatural prison, Captain Reynard strides into her world like a hero from the library’s Must Reads. Smokingly gorgeous, passionate and courageous to a fault, he has only weeks to live unless Ashe finds the thief who took his soul.

Scene you like most and would never cut: Ashe and Reynard’s first love scene. They’ve both got huge emotional barriers and even bigger challenges at a survival level, but they finally connect and surrender to each other. They’re both looking for a shot at life before it’s too late—and for Reynard, every second counts. The fact that they can find joy in the face of such odds is incredibly affirming.

The scene gave me a chance to go deeper into the characters than I had before. This moment really moved me. I wanted so badly for everything to work out for Ashe and Reynard, and at times I had serious doubts.

Never mind that the fate of an author’s characters is completely at your own whimsy. I have these oddball fantasies like: what would happen to my characters if I were hit by a bus before I finished the book? Would they be stuck in limbo forever? The thought is utterly horrible to me. Yeah, writers are very weird people. But at least I watch for speeding cars.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Ashe is a tough girl—she’s had to be—but there’s a softer, feminine side buried under the motorcycle gear and bad attitude. However, she would never willingly wear anything baby aspirin pink. She’d fall on her own stake first.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy: Given that Reynard is used to historical dress, I would assume boxers, if anything.

Ancillary character you had the most fun with: I love the character of Errata Jones, the radio announcer of 101.5 FM CSUP, “the radio station denies and defies the normal in paranormal.” Writing her spots is often a highlight for me, because I can be totally loopy and serious at the same time.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby: Ashe enjoys any sort of extreme sports. Rock-climbing, wind-surfing, vampire origami.

Your hero’s favorite hobby: Reynard didn’t get much hobby-time as a Castle guard, but travel fascinates him—not a bad thing, since he ended up a time traveller of sorts. He’s also an avid horseman.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Non-stop action, hot sex, and killer rabbits.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Ashe and Holly Carver (Ashe’s sister and the heroine of Ravenous) have a half-brother, Brendan, on their dad’s side. He’s actually only mentioned in the Monsterpedia on my web site—he doesn’t have anything to do with the witchy side of the family—but a number of readers have picked up on his existence and started asking me when he’ll get a book. Soon, I hope—I’m planning some new Dark Forgotten stories right now!

What’s next: The next book after Unchained will be out in the spring of 2011. The title is still up in the air. It is about the young hellhound Alpha, Lore, and some very nasty, evil enemies that show up in Fairview.

**

Ashe is a slayer not only of vampires, but also any supernatural creature that threatens humans. What do you think would be the most dangerous monster to face? Vampires? Werewolves? Demons? The cable guy? How would you get rid of them? Give us your opinion, and somebody will win signed copies of the first two books in the Dark Forgotten series: Ravenous and Scorched.

And if you’re looking for inspiration in dealing with monsters, check out Ashe’s advice for shooing the undead and the fanged from your life by clicking on the following:

THE MISSING by Shiloh Walker
Setting: Gulf Shores, Alabama
Subgenre: Paranormal (psychic) Romantic Suspense
Hero: Cullen Morgan
Heroine: Taige Branch

One sentence summary:
Years and tragedy separated them…now another tragedy brings them back together.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
The scene where Cullen shows up at Taige’s house after his daughter is kidnapped—it’s almost painful, they are both feeling very raw and vulnerable, but underneath everything, they still feel that need for each other. Even after all the time that’s passed.
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
[To her boss, Taylor Jones—one of her pleasures in life is antagonizing him as much as humanly possible]
“Oh, sure, boss… I’ll do whatever you say.”

What is your heroine’s occupation:
Taige is sort of a freelancer—she’s a psychic who works on an as-needed basis for a special task force of the FBI. She’s not employed by the FBI, per se. Just when needed, and when her gift will be of use. She’s usually pulled in on the cases when a child is in danger.
What is your hero’s occupation:
He’s a writer.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
Hopefully? All of it. It’s got aspects that will appeal to paranormal readers with the psychic aspects, but it’s also got the romantic suspect slant, too.
For those who like the reunited lovers theme, they might like the book, too.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
When this book released in trade paperback, I had a lot of people ask me if I’d be writing a book for Taige’s boss, Taylor Jones.
My response was, ‘No. Oh, no. The guy is a jerk.’
But people kept asking. And asking. And asking.
This past fall, I was out to lunch with a friend, another author, Rob Thurman, who mentioned she’d read The Missing. She asked if Taylor would be getting a book and I laughed and gave the same response as above. She just shrugged and said, “But that’s why he needs one.”
Apparently people want to know why he’s such jerk.
Was there a story behind what made him so driven?
Oh, man. The last thing a writer needs is to be asked certain questions about characters they don’t want to write about.
And that was just the wrong—or the right—question. Because it got me to thinking. About him. Had something driven him?

What’s next:
In this series? Taylor’s book…LOL. It’s titled The Departed. I’ve also got some more Hunters books coming, some more in my Veil series, and my first ever trilogy, due out in 2011, I think, from Ballantine.

Taige’s psychic ability is both a blessing and a curse—it’s wreaked havoc on her life, and she knows it, but at the same time, it’s saved lives. It’s a burden, though, because sometimes she comes in too late—that burden isn’t one I’d want.
What about you? Would you want any sort of psychic ability? Even if there was a risk you’d have to take the burden as well? Why or why not? Leave your answer in the comments.
Five random commenters will be receive an unsigned copy of THE MISSING, provided by my publisher, Berkley Sensation.

I was reading a book by one of my favorite authors and was struck by how much less romance there was compared to her earlier works. It got me to thinking about some of my other favorite authors and how as they progress in their careers, the romance seems to lessen.

No, I’m not going to point fingers, nor will I speculate as to why their books start to veer away from the heavily romantic, feel good, heart squeezing books that made me fall in love with them in the first place. Maybe it’s just me who feels this way.

But in talking to other readers and listening to my mom and other women her age, I’ve often wondered if we outgrow romance. Even typing this made my eyes widen and I flinched. Do we become less tolerant of really romantic, awwww, “sigh” books as we age? Or do we become more cynical?

I’ll be the first to admit, I love romance. I mean not just a light smattering here and there. I want it pouring off the pages. I want to feel the emotion between the characters. I don’t want it glossed over and mentioned in passing. Basically, I don’t like being TOLD the characters are in love and will live happily ever after. I want to be shown. And lately…well, I’m not being shown much by some of my favorite authors that I’ve loved for years.

This makes me sad.

I’m pushing 40, and I can honestly say that I love romance every bit as much as I did when I was sixteen. But I wonder if I’ll feel that way at 60? I like to think so. I don’t want to become intolerant and roll my eyes at the notion of romance and happily ever after.

Romance novels…make me happy. What else could I ask for in a book?

What are your thoughts? Do you find that some of your long time favorite authors ease up on the romance the longer they’re in the game? And do you find as you grow older that you become more cynical of heavily romantic books?

3 book (print) GIVEAWAY from Samhain to 3 randomly chosen commenters — GOOD LUCK! & Free ebook backlist to an additional 5 randomly chosen commenters, winners email contests@samhainpublishing.com directly for your book!

Click here for more MAYA BANKS Books!

MASK OF THE BETRAYER
Book one in the sequel series

Setting: Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, present day

Subgenre: suspense/thriller

Hero: Diego Santiago

Heroine: Margot Montgomery

Villain: Michael DeVeccio

One sentence synopsis: When the whispers in the night, the whispers of her lover, are the whispers of a killer, will Margot escape before she becomes the next victim?

Scene you like most and would never cut: There are actually three scenes that I wouldn’t dream of cutting

Scene one: a masquerade in the grand ballroom of the DeVeccio mansion on New Year’s Eve. At the stroke of midnight, all the lights go out during a blackout. Zorro is the bell of the ball, dancing footloose and fancy free with every man at the party. But when the lights go out, one of the masked guests thrusts the Zorro sword straight through her heart and props her up in a satin-lined coffin.
A scream cuts through the manor, bringing in a stampede of drunken masqueraders. Out of morbid curiosity, they touch the corpse, track blood, and break into utter chaos. When Michael DeVeccio identifies the victim as his ex-wife, Margot takes off her rose-colored glasses and sees the man behind the mask.

Scene two: Caught between duty and desire, Detective Diego Santiago tries to keep a distance from Margot, the woman he has fallen hopelessly in love with while investigating the serial killings. Although he’d bet his badge the killer is Michael DeVeccio, Margot’s husband, he can’t prove a thing. Frustrated, he writes a love song “My Sweet Margarita” and strums it on his flamenco guitar. This scene really pulled at my heart strings.

Scene three: When Santiago teaches Margot how to use a gun to defend herself. In a trap to catch a killer, he sends her into a lion’s den and berates himself. The departing kiss they share sizzles with passion, knowing it may be their last. Afterwards, silence hovers between them, knowing the one thing they want most is the one thing they may never have.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: When Margot marries billionaire tycoon Michael DeVeccio after a whirlwind romance, she never dreams anything would come between them. But when she realizes she is married to a demented psychopath, a serial killer, she turns to Diego Santiago, the homicide cop investigating her husband and finds her destiny, her soulmate, her one true love.

What celebrity is your hero like: No one comes to mind, but I’ll do a character sketch of Detective Diego Santiago:
Part Spanish and part Navaho Indian, mahogany hair pulled back in a ponytail, dark, brooding eyes, muscular body of medium height, fiercely determined with a “Don’t mess with me attitude”, soft voice with steely edge, bound and determined to prove billionaire tycoon Michael DeVeccio, the arrogant billionaire tycoon with brilliant blue eyes and not a hair out of place is the killer.
What celebrity is your heroine like: If I had to compare Margot to a celebrity, Julie Roberts comes to mind. Margot is a green-eyed strawberry blonde, polished and sophisticated, poised and elegant, a woman who has no idea what she is made of until push comes to shove. In a race against time, she must outwit a madman who is master at the game of deception.

What is your heroine’s occupation or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Margot is head curator for an art museum. But once she marries Michael DeVeccio, he lays down the house rules. Her only job is to keep him happy and produce his son, the heir to his vast domain. And if she fails, she’ll be the next victim with a blade in her throat and a death mask on her corpse…

What is your hero’s occupation: Detective Diego Santiago is a homicide cop for the Las Vegas Police Department. Deep in the foothills of Red Rock Canyon, a serial killer stalks. He leaves his signature—a skull mask on the corpse. But when the homicide cop realizes the crimes are the reenactment of a case never solved ten years ago–all fingers point to Michael DeVeccio.

What you think readers will like most about this book: I hope they will feel Margot’s pain, the unquestionable courage it took to hang onto her own sanity, and the sheer torture of living with a madman in a seemingly no win situation. From a psychological point of view, I want readers to get a glimpse into Michael’s twisted mind and feel a pang of sorrow for the reasons that led to his insanity. What is it about serial killers that hold such a macabre fascination? Why are readers drawn to them and want to read all about them to learn what makes them tick? Is their disturbed psyche stemming from something so dark in their childhood that they have dissociated in order to block it out? But mostly, I want readers to cheer for Margot and Diego to outwit the killer so they can share in the happily-ever-after. I must warn you, though. Mask of the Betrayer, book one in the sequel, ends with a cliff hanger. So my biggest hope is that readers will anticipate the sequel.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Sophia Andretti, Margot’s best friend. She’s zany, as loud and rambunctious as Margot is quiet and sophisticated. Her quirky sense of humor cracks me up. She adds spice and fun to the story.

What’s next: The sequel is halfway done. That’s all I’m saying without giving the ending of book one away!

Now for the fun part! Answer any or all of the following questions for a chance to win an autographed copy of Mask of the Betrayer. I look forward to reading your comments. Thanks for having me as your guest today, Sue! It’s been loads of fun.

QUESTIONS: If you realized the man you had just married was a serial killer, what would you do? Do you have a knight in shining armor story in real life? What was your favorite romantic suspense/thriller of all times? If you discovered your engagement ring, a gorgeous rose-shaped rock surrounded by emeralds was the same ring your fiance had given to two other women, what would you do? Did I mention both women fell victim to the demented serial killer stalking the foothills of Red Rock Canyon?

To read an excerpt of Mask of the Betrayer, visit my website. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter and enter my Zorro Contest.
www.sharonadonovan.com

Setting: Chartreuse, Louisiana
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance
Hero: Zack Ferguson
Heroine: Katie Charmaine

One sentence summary: When hairdresser Katie Charmaine’s husband is killed in Iraq, she’s sure she’ll never love again–until her first love, Zack Ferguson, shows up in town, accompanied by the daughter she gave up adoption seventeen years ago.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
There are actually several scenes I’d never cut: the scene where Zack has just shown Katie a letter she wrote to the adopting parents of her baby, and the daughter walks in; the scene where Zack, Katie and Gracie are at dinner together, and Gracie is a total smartmouth; and the scene where the mother-in-law saves her cheating ex-husband’s life. There are also several bantering scenes that I like, and, of course, I love the ending, where the hero and heroine finally get together.
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Katie is an intrinsically kind character, so she would never knowingly hurt anyone. On the other hand, she wouldn’t tolerate somebody disrespecting her or anyone she cared about.

What celebrity is your hero like: Hmm. He’s better-looking than any one celebrity. Physically, he’s a hybrid of Hugh Jackman, a young George Clooney and a brunette Brad Pitt.
At the beginning of the book, he believes that love is nothing but a socially acceptable word for lust, that it will eventually burn itself out, and that marriage is a trap–so his take on love is pure George Clooney. His former affinity for playing poker makes him like Ben Affleck.

What celebrity is your heroine like: Katie is like Reese Witherspoon crossed with Jennifer Garner. She’s likeable, warm-hearted, generous and courageous.
Katie had a rough childhood — her mother was the town tramp–but she’s risen above it. She’s got heart, integrity and humor. Her fatal flaw is loyalty; she secretly fears that she’ll betray her late husband if she falls for Zack– especially since Zack was her first love.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: She owns the Curl Up‘N Dye beauty salon. She’s not only talented at cutting hair and running a business, but at bringing out the best in people.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He’s the CEO of a risk management firm and a former world championship poker player. The only risk he’s unwilling to take is with his heart. He likes to play the odds, but he doesn’t believe in luck; he thinks winning is the result of hard work, skill and determination. Katie teaches him that the most important things in life are beyond his control and require a leap of faith.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The way the characters are shaped by their individual life experiences. They end up at odds because they all view life differently, even though they’re all trying to do what they think is right.
I think readers will also like the way the characters find humor in even the darkest situations. The novel deals with some tough issues– the primary romance between Zack and Katie deals with teen pregnancy, grief, loneliness and loss, and the secondary romance deals with divorce, infidelity, alcoholism and aging– but it’s not a dark book. I think readers will like the way the characters support each other, find inner strengths they didn’t know they had and laugh in the face of adversity.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: I’ve gotten requests to write about Chloe, the artist sister of the heroine in How to Score.

What’s next: I’m working a new book about a marriage counselor who discovers that as the result of a prank, she’s legally married to a handsome but obnoxious divorce attorney. Since this character has two sisters who have their own stories, I think Chloe is going to have to wait.

I love to put a secondary romance in my books– usually a love story between older characters. The secondary romance in Still the One is the story of an older couple getting back together after being divorced for several years. They split because the man cheated after developing a drinking problem.

The sagas of Tiger Woods and Sandra Bullock’s husband have put infidelity in the news, so I was wondering:
Would you stay with a cheating spouse, or is cheating is an automatic deal-breaker? Why or why not? Is addiction a mitigating circumstance?
Do you think people can deeply, profoundly change, or will they eventually revert to type? Why do you think so?

I’m giving away a signed copy of my book to two randomly selected commenters on this site. And since Katie is a hairdresser, I’m also giving away a hair care gift set on my website, robinwells.com. Please stop by, read an excerpt from the book and share your comments with me!
All my best,
Robin

Lucky Winners noted below — contact SueG sgrimsha@bordersgroupinc.com with your snail mail so we can get you your prize!

Monday - Susan Mallery winners: Charlotte S; Marlene B; Nancy B

Tuesday - Tracy Wolff winner: Martha Lawson

Wednesday - Leanna Renee Hieber winners: La Tessa gets Darkly Luminous; Larena W gets Strangely Beautiful

Thursday - Margo Maguire winner: Courtney

Friday - Sheila’s winner (s) + # ROMCON Winner(S): Jeanette J ; Romcon winners = Michelle; Rosie G; Suzan

Saturday - Susan Grant winner is Jennifer E; Donna Ann

Don’t miss next week:

Monday with Jaime Rush

Tuesday with JR WARD

Wednesday with Gabi Stevens

Thursday with Sheila!

Friday with Donna

Saturday with Charlotte Featherstone

Whew — great guests so get ready for another great week!

Thanks for blogging with us at www.bordersblog.com/trueromance,
SueG

& to think, it all started way back when . . . . DARK SHADOWS . . .

Ok, thought it would be fun to get everyone’s feedback on their fav paranormal author & OMG — there was passion here — look at the votes!

Who’s your favorite paranormal Romance author?

* Christine Feehan
14, 3% of all votes
* Sherrilyn Kenyon
44, 9% of all votes
* JR Ward
78, 16% of all votes
* Lara Adrian
45, 9% of all votes
* Jeaniene Frost
48, 10% of all votes
* Yasmine Gaelenorn
6, 1% of all votes
* Nalini Singh
21, 4% of all votes
* Nicole Peeler1
16, 3% of all votes
* Charlaine Harris1
18, 4% of all votes
* Larissa Ione1
58, 12% of all votes
* Kresley Cole1
17, 4% of all votes
* Cynthia Eden1
4, 1% of all votes
* gena showalter1
8, 2% of all votes
* Meljean Brook1
4, 1% of all votes
* Sharon Ashwood1
1 ,0% of all votes
* Laurell K Hamilton1
12, 2% of all votes
* All of them1
30, 6% of all votes
* Christina Dodd1
1, 0% of all votes
* Mary Janice Davidson1
1, 0% of all votes
* Jayne Ann Krentz1
2, 0% of all votes
* Patricia Briggs1
4 ,1% of all votes
* G.A. Aiken/Shelly Laurenston1
2, 0% of all votes
* Marjorie M. Liu1
1, 0% of all votes
* Ilona Andrews1
2, 0% of all votes
* Shayla Black1
20, 4% of all votes
* Dara Joy1
1, 0% of all votes
* Shiloh Walker1
2, 0% of all votes
* not fair have too many fav’s Laurell K Hamilton, Jr Ward, Shayla Black. Lara Adrian, Charlaine Harris and the list goes on …sorry1
20, 4% of all votes
* Jacqueline Frank1
1, 0% of all votes
* I too cant choose bc I love all the authors I have read my list goes on and on1
3, 1% of all votes

Total Votes: 484

Are you surprised at some of the votes? What are some of the similarities you see in the authors that received the most votes; what is unique in their stories to hold them so high above the rest?

I’ve got my ideas — you tell me yours . . .plan to share this with our publishing partners so they know the type of books you want to read.

Happy Romance!

Welcome to the Book Lovers Message Board

Some days it seems like everyone in Romlandia is discussing books – new books, old books, about-to-be-published books and everything in between. Be it on Twitter or Facebook, at All About Romance or Babbling About Books, at an author’s website or right here at Borders True Romance Book Chat, romance readers love to talk about books.

The Book Lovers Message Board is a very special place to talk about books you love. On their masthead is this message: “The purpose of our board is to provide a forum for people to discuss all kinds of books”. Nothing too unusual there – but keeping reading. “Everyone is welcome but we want all posters to feel free to write their reviews of books without worry of how it might be received by someone else. We’re a Fangirl and Author-Free Zone.” Is that your jaw dropping? What’s the matter with being an author fangirl? I’ll fess up, in my reading universe, the Divine Mary Balogh is simply incapable of writing a bad book. What I so appreciate about the Book Lovers Message Board, though, is that even fangirls appreciate having a friendly knowledgeable place to really talk and discuss the books they’re reading, without any fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. As the co-founders, Andrea and Tracy say, everyone is welcome to come and share their honest reviews.

The BLMB was founded in July 2008 by two thirty-somethings, Andrea and Tracy. Andrea lives in Texas and Tracy in southern California. They both have 3 kids and it says something about the reality of online friendships if I tell you that although they’ve been friends going on 5 years, they met for the first time this fall in Las Vegas. There are 154 members. In the last month, they’ve had visitors from 8 countries. Last month they had over 600 unique visitors.

What I’m really excited to share is their new online book club. The first book chosen was Julie James’s “Something About You”. As Sunday, March 14th drew closer, the excitement grew. One member has over 1,069 books on her goodreads account (and she was lucky enough to win an advance copy of “Something About You”. Others, like me, raced out to Borders on Sunday afternoon to buy the book and start reading. The members are nothing if not diverse! A week later, there were 73 responses and everyone really got into explaining what worked, what didn’t and even how best to describe a book one really enjoyed. One conclusion, the word “love” is somewhat overused and occasionally raises expectations so high that no book, be it ever so good, can live up to the “hype”. Take a look for yourself at the discussion: http://members7.boardhost.com/bookreviews/msg/1268589553.html

Next on the agenda: an historical, Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter, a classic, Jane Austen’s Persuasion, an oldie-but-goodie, Envy by Sandra Brown and closing out May, Nora Robert’s Savor the Moment.

The Book Lovers Message Board has a Facebook fan page but the best way to capture what makes it really special is to drop by. Lurk, post, enjoy … and feel free to start your own threads! Tracy and Andrea will be stopping by to answer questions and share some of their stories with you. Welcome Romland, to another warm, welcoming place to share our love of romance books!

Question: What would you like to see in an online book club?

GENEROUS GIVEAWAY! one randomly chosen winner to receive $20 gift certificate to Borders! Thanks, Book Lovers Message Board! Note - winner must be US resident.

Setting: My characters travel a lot in this novel, so the setting covers Ft. Worth, St. Louis, New York, England, Las Vegas, Monaco, Bucharest, and Marseille.
Subgenre: Paranormal romance
Hero: Spade, real name Charles, centuries-old Master vampire
Heroine: Denise, 28 year old human

One sentence summary: Denise wants nothing to do with the vampire world and Spade is determined never to fall for a human again, but when a demon shapeshifter targets Denise, Spade is the only person who can help her.

Scene you like most and would never cut: It’s so hard to pick just one scene! I had several wouldn’t-cut-for-the-world favorites in this book. I’ll defer to readers, who’ve most commented about a scene where Denise and Spade are on a boat and the true effects of the demon’s brands on Denise are revealed (readers who’ve gotten an early look at First Drop, no spoilers in the comments, please :).

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: My poor heroine! Her life gets turned upside down in this novel, so whatever she thought she’d never end up doing/saying, happens.

What celebrity is your hero like: Hmm. I’d say he looks like a cross between actor Hugh Jackman and model Christopher Douglas (haven’t heard of him? Click here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v351/Kailyn/Models/Christopher%20Douglas/)

What celebrity is your heroine like: I picture her as a cross between Kate Beckinsale and Natalie Portman. And yes, as you can tell, I can never just pick one person in my comparisons.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
When the novel starts, Denise works in customer service at a bank. But circumstances soon require her to quit that job and plunge herself into the last place she wants to be – the vampire world.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Vampire society operates like a pyramid scheme, with the Master of the line responsible for the protection and well-being of everyone under him. Spade is a Master, so if someone killed a member of his line, Spade would have to avenge that death and provide for any of the deceased’s family/significant other/children. If someone stole a member of his line, Spade would be required to fight or bargain for their return. But there’s compensation for all that responsibility. Master vampires get ten percent of all their people’s income. If only our government took that small of a slice in taxes, right? *wink*

What you think readers will like best about this book: From early reviews, readers seem to love the heat between Spade and Denise, the deeper look at the vampire world, and the twist at the end (side note: I love it when readers say they couldn’t guess the ending in advance!)

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
This is easy – Vlad. I get more “please write a Vlad book!” emails from readers than any other character. I’m thrilled by this, because I’d love to write a few books featuring Vlad. We’ll see at the next contract time if I can convince my publisher to love the idea of Vlad books, too. Cross your fingers for me, readers!

What’s next:
Eternal Kiss of Darknesss, book two in the Night Huntress World novels, comes out July 27th. This features the mega-powerful vampire Mencheres as the hero, plus a new character named Kira as the heroine. In October, Cat and Bones have a short story in Death’s Excellent Vacation, an anthology edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner. And in early 2011, the as-yet-unnamed fifth book in the Night Huntress series featuring Cat and Bones comes out.

Thanks so much for having me on the blog! I’m very excited about First Drop of Crimson and can’t wait to share Spade and Denise’s story with everyone.
Since one of the events in this novel centers around an unexpected supernatural ability, readers – if you could suddenly have one superpower, anything at all, what would it be? Comment to be entered in a random drawing giving away three copies of First Drop of Crimson.

Sneak Peak - click here: (http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061583223

Setting: Los Angeles, California and Malibu
Subgenre: contemporary romance
Hero: Michael Warner
Heroine: Rebecca O’Neill

One sentence summary: BUTTERFLY TATTOO is the story of three scarred people—a man with a complicated past, a little girl in mourning and a woman who is stronger than she knows—being healed by the power of love.

Scene you like most and would never cut: When Michael gets it right on, Andrea’s, his daughter’s, birthday and they have an important talk. Don’t want to say too much because of spoilers. But that scene in the studio commissary, for those who have read the book, is probably my favorite because of how far the characters have come and because of the breakthrough they share in it.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Rebecca wouldn’t do anything to attract undo attention. She was in the limelight while starring on a successful sitcom and that nearly ended in her death at the hands of a stalker. So not only is she leery of drawing too much notice, she’s self-conscious about her resultant facial scars. In fact, this is part of her growth arc. She begins to step out of the dark (which is where the book literally begins) and into the light again. She stops hiding, both literally and figuratively.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy:
A boxer guy, definitely. Although he wouldn’t say no to commando!

Ancillary character you had the most fun with: Oh, this one’s easy! Trevor, Rebecca’s best friend and assistant. He was the one who found her after she was stabbed, and he’s the one who’s held her together and also pushed her the hardest. Always gentle about it, Trevor is firm with Rebecca when he needs to be. The velvet hammer! But the thing that’s interesting about him, too, is that because he’s gay, he has his own take on Michael’s bisexuality and is distrustful of Michael’s intentions. So that adds an interesting complication to the friendship between Trevor and Rebecca as her relationship with Michael deepens.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby: She loves to cook and experiment in the kitchen. She’s also a fitness nut, and runs every day. Staying strong is important to her because she’s fought so hard to come back from her life-threatening injuries.

Your hero’s favorite hobby: Surfing! It’s the family’s biggest hobby and that definitely comes to include Rebecca after the book ends. She even enters a women’s amateur surfing contest one day.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I hear from lots of people that it’s a multi-hanky read, but in the best possible way. So I think people will like the emotional journey they go on with these characters, wounded, broken people who find healing and love.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
That would be King Leonidas in my Gods of Midnight series. But guess what? I’m writing that book, RED MORTAL, now!

What’s next: In May, I have a digital e-read from NAL/Signet called RED BLOODED, the story of a blinded Iraq war vet who hunts vampires. Then in June, RED DEMON comes out and I am so excited to share Ari’s story with all my readers. He’s one of my favorite heroes that I’ve ever written.

QUESTION FOR READERS: In BUTTERFLY TATTOO Rebecca tries surfing, even though she’s terrified. It’s a pivotal moment in her journey to finally overcome her attack and embrace life again. Have you ever tried something that you were tremendously afraid of doing? What did you feel like after tackling the fear?

A free copy of BUTTERFLY TATTOO will be given to a randomly-selected reader who answers the above question or who makes another comment related to BUTTERFLY TATTOO.