trueromance

Setting:Moscow in the near-future (a very dark, dystopian Moscow)
Subgenre: Paranormal romance
Hero: Bad boy fallen angel Brends Duranov
Heroine: Always-in-control good girl Mischka Baran

One sentence summary: Mischka Baran temporarily sells her soul to fallen angel Brends Duranov in exchange for his help finding her missing cousin—only to get more than she bargained for when Brends decides he’s playing for keeps and Mischka is his pre-destined soul mate.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
When my editor and I were discussing Bond with Me, she suggested giving Mischka Baran’s missing cousin her own romance with a fallen angel. Mischka’s cousin, Pell, has a very naughty side and her angel stages a very wicked seduction. The Fallen can make wishes come true. All a woman has to do is accept the Fallen’s dark offer: bond with him, swear to serve his every desire, and receive one favor. Whatever she names, he’ll deliver. All she has to do is serve him, in bed and out, letting him drink of her soul through their bond. Of course, the greater the favor, the longer the bond will last. Name too large a request and you’ll serve forever. Pell and Dathan bond in a bathhouse—in a very steamy, very sensual seduction that sets the stage for their growing relationship.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Whatever you say, dear. Mischka is a strong, independent woman—she’s not used to handing over control and letting someone else drive her life. She has her hands full dealing with an alpha male like Brends.

What celebrity is your hero like:
Ah… the dreaded compare-your-hero-to-a-movie-star question. Honestly, I don’t watch too many movies that aren’t animated children’s movies (I have an incredibly low tolerance for bloodshed and violence in my movies) and Mr. Incredible just isn’t my idea of sexy. Large. Dark. Predatory. The vampire king in Underworld, perhaps.

What celebrity is your heorine like:
When I was searching for a face for Mischka, I wanted her outward appearance to be beautiful and serene. Outwardly, she’s a classic dark-haired Russian beauty like Oxana Federova. She’s a self-composed woman—who hates to lose control. Secretly, however, she’s always wanted to give up that control and to explore some of her darker sexual fantasies. She’s looking for a bad boy who can tempt her to turn over the reigns to him temporarily—and Brends Duranov is more than up to the challenge. The first time he sees her walking towards him, he wants to unwrap her and all of her secrets.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Mischka is a restaurant hostess. When Brends shows up and demands to be seated, sparks fly between them. She’s torn between doing the responsible thing—her job—and giving in to her feelings and demanding he hit the road.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Brends Duranov is one of the Fallen, an elite band of former warrior angels. When he’s not defending his sire and hunting down fallen angels gone bad, he runs an extremely popular club. The human residents of Moscow love G2’s—it’s a damn sexy club, the sort of place you visit when you’re in the money and feeling very, very lucky. Put on your best dancing clothes, flash your cash, and get ready to bargain very, very hard—because only the select few are allowed inside.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The fantasies. Mischka is a very sensual woman and, like many of us, she has a number of secret fantasies. When she decides to give herself permission to explore those fantasies, watch out! Brends wants to make all of those fantasies come true for her—so there are plenty of extremely sexy scenes in the book.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
Two names have been popping to the top of the list: Zer and the archangel Michael. I’d love to write Michael’s story, but next up is Zer.

What’s next:
Next up for me is Zer’s story. The leader of the Fallen, Zer believes he’s way past redemption—so, when he meets a woman who is a potential soul mate, he believes she must be a match for one of his brothers. He doesn’t deserve her and he’s going to run far and fast from his forbidden attraction to her. Zer’s story, His Dark Bond, will be published by Kensington Brava in early 2012.

Do you enjoy stories about fallen angels? Recommend a great fallen angel story for me to add to my To Be Read pile and one commentator will win a $20 Borders gift card.

Do you know about Borders Rewards Plus?

Wow… How on earth do I give the awesomeness of this book justice in my review? I think it’s taken me three hours, at least, to finally think of something to say.

I enjoyed SIN UNDONE. I adored Sin and Con and the dynamics of their relationship. I loved the way Larissa skillfully weaved problem after problem into the book without ever making me sick of all the drama. (Let me tell you, there was a lot. I actually gave a sigh in relief when everything was finally resolved.) And most importantly: I love how Sin’s origins–how she’s the only female Seminus demon–is explained. Yeah, it was brief, but it worked.

But primarily? I adored Sin and Con.

I’ll admit, I was curious about how the two were going to connect as a couple and resolve all their issues. Con had to have issues, otherwise, the pairing wouldn’t have been convincing. Not when Sin’s past was so messed up. In this regard, readers are not let down. Con’s got emotional baggage up the wazoo, just like Sin. It definitely made for an interesting read, that’s for sure.

Unlike other paranormal romance series, Larissa continually reconnected readers with her past couples. That is something I find fairly important while I’m reading. Usually, when I’m reading other series, I start to ask myself questions such as: are these past couples dead? Is the current couple living on a deserted island away from civilization? What the hell happened to the past heroes I used to drool over!?  (okay so maybe I don’t think so much about the first two questions… but the last one is fairly important)  I mean, older characters/couples were painstakingly created, why not bring them back for a quick scene or two? Well, Larissa did that, and so much more. They became an integral part of the storyline… much like every other book in this series.

There was sap with the reunions, yes, and usually sap will make me cringe, but I felt it was necessary for SIN UNDONE… especially because this book was also the end. We, as readers, participated in a family’s journey. First with Eidolon, then with Shade, Wraith, Lore, and finally with Sin. And I must say, the journey was draining, heartbreaking, heartwarming, gut wrenching, holy-shit-I’m-going-to-bite-all-my-nails-off dramatic, sappy, lovey dovey, and AMAZING.

For some reason, though, I wanted to see more fighting in this book. Especially because Sin’s the leader of the Assassin’s Den. I mean, there was a lot of fighting, but I wanted a little bit more. I think it’s because I had a True Blood marathon for three days straight. Right before reading this book… Yeeah.

Oh and before I forget: Luc’s in this story! If you’re like me and you were rooting for this poor were’s HEA, prepare yourselves, because you’re gonna get it.

SIN UNDONE is a stellar finish to a wonderful series that I am somewhat sad to see go. I say somewhat because, while I will miss the Demonica series, I cannot WAIT for Larissa’s spinoff series with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. If you buy this book, I highly suggest checking out the preview of ETERNAL RIDER, book 1 of the Lords of Deliverance series coming out in March 2011.

As for SIN UNDONE? Well, I already think highly of this series, and Sin and Con’s story is one you would regret missing out on. All five books were definitely worth their price and time.

Overall verdict: 5/5 Stars

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

-Tori
Check out my paranormal book review blog, Book Faery (http://book-faery.blogspot.com/).

Writing Herstory

Hi, all! It’s me (Sylvia Day) again. Back as one of my other selves (Sylvia Day, S. J. Day, Livia Dare).

The idea for the Marked series came to me while I was in the shower. This is actually where a lot of my new ideas begin. Also, when I’m driving. I think this is because my brain goes into standby mode at those times, and my subconscious can take over. Sometimes, it rears its head somewhat ferociously, which is what happened with the Marked series. A scene unfolded in my head and it was so vivid and so different from anything I’d ever written before, I knew I couldn’t stand losing it. I hopped out of the shower with soap still in my hair and dashed off a few paragraphs of notes on my laptop, which was–very luckily–sitting on my bed.

After I finished my shower and got dressed, I sat down with the notes and realized the Marked series begins as a woman’s story, not a couple’s journey. It’s an urban fantasy tale, but it came to me in third person and with multiple points of view–the heroine’s and the two heroes’. There are angels and demons, vampyres and werewolves, and a host of somewhat lesser known creatures from the lore of various cultures around the world. Set in Orange County, CA–home of the Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland)–it’s not so much urban gritty (crime-ridden metropolis at night) as it is urban sunny (affluent tourist destination with lots of sunshine) . Just as IN THE FLESH is a little of this and a little of that, so too is the Marked series.

Focusing on one character’s adventures was awesome for me. I’m grateful to my character, Evangeline Hollis, who made it fun to spend a year writing the first three books in her story. She’s far from perfect. As a Mark (one of thousands of sinners drafted via the Mark of Cain to hunt demons on God’s behalf), she’s supposed to be kick-ass, and she is, but her greatest weapon is her brain. She’s horrible with a sword and knives, which–go figure–are the two primary weapons of Marks. She doesn’t deal well with celestial bureaucratic red tape, and she definitely doesn’t tolerate the ultra alpha tendencies of the two men in her life–Cain and Abel.

Because all three of the main characters have separate agendas, switching point of view among them was part of the process of sharing the many facets of Eve’s story. Seeing her through the eyes of those around her is important to knowing who Eve is. One of those facets is her love for the two heroes, which brought in the romantic elements I love so much as a reader and writer. I can say without reservation that the Marked series, while so very different from anything else I’ve written (hence the pseudonym), is very dear to me. There’s a lot of my history in the locations used in the books (I’m a SoCal native), so in some ways, it’s very personal. From my heart to your hands, you could say.

I have a FREE Marked series story, “Eve of Sin City,” that is available for your downloading pleasure (in multiple popular e-reader formats). You can enjoy the short story without having read the first three Marked books. For those of you who are already fans of the series (thank you!) the next original Marked story is in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE 2 (with Lara Adrian, Karen Chance, Ava Gray, Gail Carriger, and many more!), which releases in October. “Eve of Warfare” picks up where EVE OF CHAOS left off.

So, my question for you is this: have you found books set in places where you’ve lived or live now? Does that increase your enjoyment of the story or not? What’s a particularly good example of book set near you?

One commenter will win a $25 Borders gift card!

What I Learned from The Reader’s Crown …

Authors are sensitive types. (Most) of us don’t have thick skins but learn to develop them during the “I’m trying to sell my book” process. Rejection after rejection becomes the norm and it is hard not to take it personally. In my case, it took me 7 years and 10 completed manuscripts, revised over time, resubmitted, re-rejected, before I sold my first novel, BRAZEN, to Harlequin Temptation in 1998. And though you’d think that once you sell, that’s the end of the pain, the truth is that’s just the beginning. There’s still rejection by publishers, bad reviews, etc. so that that thick skin must keep … well getting thicker. Every once in awhile, in the middle of this career we have a love/hate/really love relationship with, there’s a shining star of success that validates everything we do, at least for a little while, LOL! What could be better than winning an award (RomCon’s The Reader’s Crown) in which my book is chosen by READERS? The very people we write for? Just to final in a talented field of my peers was an amazing thing. But to win? It’s THE BEST. In my case, this award came at a particularly good time in my life, so the thank you’s can not be said enough!

The truth is, a writer never knows whether a story they’re working on will please readers. The one universal truth is that we can’t please everyone, so it’s most important to please ourselves. If we don’t enjoy the writing process, I firmly believe our readers will know. It’s also important to live up to reader expectations – if someone pays good money for our books, they should know what they’re getting content-wise. Beyond that, writers do the best they can. Some books are hard. As in, gut-wrenching, painfully hard. LUCKY BREAK, my Reader’s Crown winner was one of those. I barely remember how I made it through, LOL. So the win was especially sweet.
Then there are books that are just pure joy to write – and those are, simply stated, A GIFT. My current book on the shelves KISS ME IF YOU CAN was such plain fun, it was a definite gift. It’s sequel, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE fell somewhere in between on the scale.

I think what I learned from The Reader’s Crown contest was this: Authors write the best books they can at any given time. And thankfully, reader’s don’t always know from the reading how painful … or blissful the process was for the author. And THAT is a very good thing!

So as a discussion topic today, I want to know … do readers ever wonder if a book was an easy one for an author? Or a hard one? Or is this just something WE live with and you, thankfully, never know, LOL!

1 lucky random chosen commenter will win from Sue’s Stash! & 1 lucky random commenter will win a $25 Borders Gift Card — Good Luck!!

I know there are some of you out there that just are not into Paranormal/Urban Fantasy romances.

Let’s face it, vampires, werewolves and shape-shifters do not make for tender, cuddly hero-types.

Ah, but they do, it seems. And therein, I believe, lies the appeal. These guys are really no different from the world-weary soldier just home from war, perhaps scarred inside and out, the bored and decadent rake who sees no real purpose in his life, the rich and propertied Duke who must marry to continue the line, duty and honor ruling and guiding his whole life.

These guys are all those things…and more. Dark and tortured goes without saying.

They are usually all 6′5 or taller, their bodies and faces would make the Greek Gods weep, or romance cover models slink off in shame, not worthy being in their presence.

They are all hugely endowed, and in a perpetual state of arousal. They carry big weapons.

They usually have dark pasts, whether the curse of immortality, (hence centuries of pain and loss tossed into the mix), or their life state itself.

Complicating their lives, is dealing with that life-state. The burden they carry, the agony of being a vampire, a were-wolf or a shape shifter. A curse. No one can know what they endure. So, they shut themselves off, emotionally. Until they meet…her.

And in almost all cases, ‘her’ is a human. Why these men are drawn to human females, perhaps, to regain some humanity they lost long ago, if they had it at all. A human feels, shows emotion. Can touch one’s heart.
And what human female would not want some hunk of man who would see to her every carnal need, who would turn out to be amazingly tender, love completely and unconditionally. Protect her with his life.

Okay, so he has this…thing. No one is perfect. So he changes into a werewolf once a month, or can shape shift into a Jaguar, or has this bug-a-boo with blood. We can work around that, right?

I would. In a New York minute. It’s all make believe, fantasy. Another reason these appeal. The authors usually create amazingly detailed mythos and worlds to surround these dark, tortured hunks with, making for an immensely rich and satisfying read.

Dragons are popular. And Demons. And Angels. The darker it seems, the better. And for someone who loves dark and tortured, these books appeal.

And yes, the love scenes are smokin’ hot. As I said, these guys have incredible stamina, barely containing the beast within. Come on ladies, that appeals in spades.

But what I believe is at the heart of these books is finding your true soul mate, the love of your life, who will understand and accept you for what you are. Unconditional love. So rare. And it all is an extension of the fairy tales of old. Kiss a frog, you get a prince. Same concept. Only this time, you get the Prince of Darkness.

And the human heroines in these books are not some wimpy little mice, they usually are defiant, and stand up to these man-beasts, which appeals to them. But in the end? The women throw aside the shackles of their former lives to live with their new found love, and become part of his world. A real fairy tale ending.
Dark, sometimes violent. Intense and sometimes scary, but at the core, imminently romantic. Paranormals I feel, have something for everyone.

Do you have a paranormal series you just cannot miss? One you can recommend? If you do love paranormals, what appeals the most to you? What paranormal creature do you prefer the most, vampires? Werewolves? Something else? And if paranormals are NOT your thing, tell us why! We won’t bite, we promise!

One lucky commenter will win Sue’s Stash! Happy Romance!!

(Place the Romanorum Pic here) Visit Karyn Gerrard at ‘The Romanorum’ http://karynsromanorum.blogspot.com/ For some Book reviews, and more!

Vonna’s Last Release, TAMING THE COUGAR
Grandfather Lost

By
Vonna Harper

As a published writer, I’m sometimes given interview questions. The one that goes, “If you could talk to any person who has passed on, who would it be?” is simple to answer: my grandfather Homer Eon Flindt. He died at 38 when my mother was only six so why do I care about a man she barely remembers?

Reason number one is so I can thank him for passing his writing genes onto me. He too had been bitten and bitten hard by the bug, and I imagine the two of us talking for hours about the mysterious forces inside our minds that somehow wind up on the printed page. We’d shrug, shake our heads, and laugh because we accept that the muse dances to its own tune and is a strong-willed beast.

He’ll never read anything of mine which makes me sad because I believe Grandpa, a man from another century, would understand why I now write erotica. Yes, the genre intrigues me, but as he did to help support his wife and three small children, I also write what I do these days to pay bills. For grandfather and granddaughter, writing isn’t an art. Its a career, a job.
Self-taught like he was, I cut my teeth on the confession magazines, then moved onto category romance in a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. Later I became a research junkie while writing eight Native American historicals for Tor. My books haven’t caught the publishing world on fire, but its long been what the IRS sees me as and fulfills me as I can’t imagine anything except motherhood doing.

I’ve read almost everything Grandpa wrote thanks first to his widow (my Nana) and later his children. They kept the stacks of pulp magazines containing his stories and I know the names by heart: Lord of Death, Queen of Life, The Money Miler, The Devolutionist, the Emancipatrix, etc. His stories don’t make for light reading as they tackle social and political issues, a number of them under the science fiction umbrella. A letter he wrote his father about engineering and science when still in his twenties awes me. What an intellect! He co-authored one book The Blind Spot which has been republished at least a dozen times. Unfortunately nothing remains of the eight movie treatments he wrote for the then fledgling movie industry except for the titles: When Chemistry Counted, The Footprint Clue, With The Crooks’ Trick, Fast Fright 3205, A Six Shot Hero, The Cipher Telegrams, and To Save The Road.

The mostly short stories that paid family bills aren’t my only treasure. Nana also held onto his letters to various editors and those from them to him. Lets just say certain things about the publishing industry haven’t changed.
During the last year of his life, financial circumstances separated him from his family, and he and Nana wrote hundreds of letters to each other which are now in my possession. Those are unbelievably dear to me, his oldest grandchild. Here is his heart and soul, a pragmatic man living in San Jose California with his sister and working in his brother’s shoe repair shop while writing fiction evenings and weekends. Each letter ends with hugs and kisses for his wife, son, and two daughters. Sometimes the pain of being apart breaks through practical discussions and gossip.

Nana and the children had moved to an isolated Northern California mining town so she could she fulfill her contract to teach all eight grades in a one room schoolhouse—the same town my sister, and mother (also a teacher) lived in many years later. Shortly before Grandpa’s death, things had fallen into place for a reunion of sorts. A daily stage filled with mail, groceries, and supplies traveled between the little town and the county seat eighteen miles away. Grandpa had been hired to drive the stage. Although he’d have to live in the county seat, he’d see his family every day.
But it wasn’t to be. Two days before the anticipated move, he died at the bottom of a San Jose area canyon in a wrecked taxi. Nana, who never remarried, raised her children alone and helped raise me.

I said there were two reasons I’d love to talk to him. I need to ask him a question. “As I suspect, were you murdered?”

Is there anyone who has passed close to you that you would love to ask a question? What would that question be?

1 randomly chosen will win 3 FREE Kensington books!

Happy Romance!

Vonna’s July Release - FALCON’S CAPTIVE

The Search for a Soul Mate

Werewolves, vampires, shape shifters, oh my! On the rise in popularity, Paranormal Romance comes in as many varieties as shape shifters. What type of hero can make your skin tingle with a glance, a masculine scent, or the danger behind his mysterious secret? Is it an elusive vampire, a werewolf, or a regular, muscular guy in tight jeans confronting an apparition?

What we individually find attractive, sexy, romantic, or sensual is also as varied as the characters in a paranormal romance novel. The romance can build page by page throughout the book almost forcing you to hold your breath until that first magical kiss. Or, perhaps you prefer when the mysterious hero struggles with his dominant instinct to conquer the heroine with a kiss. When he kisses her without permission, and with urgency, the soon-to-be lovers discover they both desire more.

The century, the place, and the circumstances change in the storyline of romance, but to me the most important aspect of the romance is the connection between the characters. Connecting on an emotional level can lead to the physical level in a romantic novel. Perhaps that is why paranormal romance is so popular, it’s the primal desire and the all consuming need to find a soul mate.

Check out a variety of paranormal romances and experience the innate desires of the human or not-so-human need to connect with someone on the deepest level, the search for a soul mate. Leave a comment here about what you find sexy or romantic. I will be giving away a pdf paranormal romance book of my choosing to one winner that contacts me through my website at www.victoriaroder.com and mentions this blog post on Borders.

Connect with popular Paranormal Romances found at Borders:

Haunted by Heather Graham

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden Hotter

Blood Born by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

If THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY ends up being my sexiest book yet, there’s a reason. When I was developing the idea for this story – the second installment in my dog-walker trilogy – my editor threw down the gauntlet. She told me she was concerned that my heroine, Ginger Garrison, wouldn’t be sexy enough. She worried that a forty-year-old divorced mother of teenagers who suffered from psychosomatic menopause just wouldn’t cut it in the “hot” department. She said a heroine shouldn’t fantasize about Botox more than she does bad boys.

Then she read the first three chapters. She saw that Ginger was nothing but a roiling volcano of repressed sensuality. She met the hero, hot-blooded Spaniard Lucio “Lucky” Montevez. My editor changed her mind, to put it mildly. And as a bonus, I got to say, “I told you so.”

Here’s what I think – there’s nothing sexier than the combination of a woman who thinks her life is over and a man who can show her it hasn’t even begun. And that’s what THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY is about.

Ginger is like many women I know. She’s juggling work, home, kids and finances all while trying to put herself back together after a painful divorce. It doesn’t help that she’s just turned the big four-oh and her was-band tells her she’s in need of a nip-and-tuck. Along with the other women in her dog-walking group, Ginger recently took an oath to officially give up on men and just be happy with her dog. After all, HeatherLynn, Ginger’s cute little bichon frise, is far more loyal than her husband ever was.

Ginger’s “no-man policy” gets chucked out the window the moment she meets Lucio, a globetrotting nature photographer known as much for his wild personal life as his wildlife images. She finds herself hopelessly attracted to the lusty lothario, knowing she’s probably making a huge mistake. But Lucio is genuinely interested. In fact, he finds himself falling in love with the spirited, sensual Ginger, and promises he’ll stay put for awhile and take time to get to know her. (It’s a promise he’s never made to anyone, ever.) But while their love and appreciation for each other grows, someone from Lucio’s playboy past is looking for revenge, and it could end up costing him everything.

Here’s a question for you. Do you think there should be an age cutoff point for mainstream romance heroines? How about heroes? Specifically, is there an age where you no longer want to read of the characters’ erotic exploits? Don’t fret – I’m not quite ready to move into the geriatric-erotica genre – but the fact remains: THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY features my oldest couple ever. (Ginger is 40 and Lucio is just a few months behind her.)

What do you think?

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

I am so thrilled to be here at True Romance to talk about my new book THE WISH LIST. It’s a contemporary paranormal romance set in San Diego. I have a soft spot for San Diego. I went to college there, met my husband there, my in-laws still live there, I have great friends there, and, let’s face it, it’s a beautiful city. So when I needed a good-sized American city that could be a center for a wide global area, of course I picked San Diego.

The Wish List sets up a world where the Arcani, humans with magical abilities, live amongst us. They have their own bureaucracy, rules, and Fairy Godmothers to protect the barrier between the magical world and the Groundling world. My heroine Kristin Montgomery is a CPA who loves her life organized and neat. But when she discovers her three aunts are fairy godmothers and she’s next in line for the job, her orderly world disappears like magic. No, not like magic; it is magic. The hero is Tennyson Ritter, a wizard of renown in the Arcani world. He is a historian who discovers Merlin’s long lost Lagabóc, which he’d be studying still if the Council hadn’t asked him to babysit…uh, be Kristin’s arbiter. They have to stretch out of their comfort zones and work together to expose a threat to the Arcani world.

If, in my dream of dreams, someone decided to make a film of The Wish List, I could so totally see Kate Walsh playing Kristin–smart, beautiful, and a woman you believe would stand up to the demands place upon her, but still love life. And although it might be cliché by now, Gerard Butler would make the perfect Tennyson.

While I love the paranormal genre, I was hoping to tap into a different type of book. The Wish List has no werewolves or vampires. It’s not dark, although it has its serious moments, and I try to inject humor throughout the story. It’s the story of fairy godmothers, but they aren’t your storybook characters.

Next up are books two and three in the Time of Transition Trilogy–Spellbound coming out in April 2011, and Toil and Trouble in March 2012. These books continue the story started in The Wish List and gives Kristin two more godmothers, Reggie and Stormy, to help her protect the Arcani world.

Magic is such a fun concept. As a child, I always used to pretend I had powers, and now I can give the world in my books magic. Yes, my godmothers do grant wishes, though they have rules to follow. So let me ask you: if you had a wish, what would it be? And no wishing for more wishes. And to one random commenter I’ll send a special “magical” gift–wishing stones, fairy dust, and a copy of The Wish List.

–Gabi Stevens