trueromance

Well, aren’t you surprised to see me again? Wires got crossed & lucky you all, here I am

Today, I would like to start the discussion on emotion in romance. There have been a couple of books of late I’ve read that had an emotional level of 300% — you know those books, “WOW, that was something”, as you wipe the tears from your eyes. I’m really not that emotional of a person, but if something really hits the mark, or resonates with me in such a way, those feelings start to take on a life of there own

So! to start, I’d like to tell you about what I’ve almost finished reading, ETERNAL HUNGER by Laura Wright — let me qualify this review by saying, even if you are not a paranormal romance fan, this story has characters you & I adore — the heroes are very tortured, set apart from vampire society. The Roman brothers escaped the world of where they were raised. The culture, their family, did not support them & how they wanted to live their lives. Unfortunately, a threat to the Roman brothers emerges & guidance is needed from the higher power. The thing that sold me on this book was definitely the emotion but also the strong heroine - Sara works in a hospital, psychiatric ward, where her brother is a patient. Sara is a strong women, that cares about her family especially after all they went thru. Sara also feels responsible for the fire that killed her father, sent her mother away & is the reason that she has had to hospitalize her brother. The strength she shows as the book develops is one you can only respect, as does Vampire Alexander, the man who literally sweeps her off her feet. Now, Alexander is a very tortured character who finds a connection with Sara, his soon to be mate. Alex sees her strength & respects her loyalty & commitment to her family & in the end tries to help her heal her brother.

Together these characters fight their own battles but also help each find answers to their own demons. The emotion is huge & you feel the depth of Alexander’s emotion immediately which makes you want to fly thru this book.

Characters readers, don’t miss this -

Another book that I’ve recently read is Maya Banks, THE DARKEST HOUR.. The beginning of a new suspense series, The KGI, Navy Seal, Ethan Kelly, finds out his wife is still alive. After a year of guilt, feeling as if he drove her away from him & their marriage, he receives a message of her being alive & how she can be rescued. All works well & she comes home, however, what Ethan is not prepared for is her memory loss & the guilt that just gets stronger & stronger until he finally faces Rachel with his feelings & the truth. OMG, people, talk about emotion! & does this author know how to make you read until wee hours of the morning — each chapter is a clincher to transcend you into the next — WOW! The reader is literally taken on an emotional roller coaster, so if you like that intensity — read this book.

Robyn Carr’s, PROMISE CANYON, is another one! No surprise there, as Robyn’s Virgin River series has taken us on one big emotional ride — well, in PC you meet a man & woman who are of Native American descent & learn a little about their very traditional cultures & families. The reader understands that partially because of their upbringing these characters are very committed people . . to their families, friends, work & in the end to one another, however, both have had pasts where someone has not felt the same way & has badly hurt them. The story is about being able to overcome the fear that comes with learning to trust someone again .. .. & if you’ve ever been there, it is something that is not easy to do. Robyn does a phenomenal job in portraying these characters & how they overcome their pasts. Need I say, this was a verrrrrrrrrrrrrry emotional book!

I could not find a cover but hopefully you’ll enjoy this picture of the grand canyon

So see where I’m going here? I personally have thought, that this level of emotion I’ve described in these books has been missing in the genre. . . not that you want this commitment in every book you read, but you want there to be strong values, feelings . . help me out here . . . Ladies, where do you want the level of emotion/commitment in your books? What author does that for you?

Comment below, 2 randomly chosen will win Sue’s Stash — Thanks for chatting with me,
SueG

Thanks Sue (and Borders and the folks at RomCon) for the opportunity to visit here today. I am still, weeks later, totally thrilled and honored at having Ghostland win the Readers’ Crown in the paranormal category.

Ghostland is a book I loved writing. It’s an urban fantasy romance, a departure from the erotic romance stories I write for Ellora’s Cave, though there are still plenty of erotic moments in it.
Authors are often asked where they get their ideas from. For me, Ghostland was born from my desire to explore a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. I wondered what life would be like after a war so far-reaching and devastating that human populations were decimated and supernatural beings no longer feared making their presence known.
What kinds of societies would be formed? And what if, unseen by those who live on Earth, there is war brewing between ancient, unseen enemies (angels and Djinn) for who will control it—and the heroes and heroines who find love and want their own “happy ever after” play a part in preparing for that war?
In Ghostland, a Djinn prince and a gifted human shamaness are faced with an unbearable choice. Follow their hearts or stay true to their honor and risk losing an eternity of pleasure.
Aisling is able to enter the ghostlands and speak to those found there, human souls and long-forgotten gods, beings capable of protecting and punishing, but who always demand a payment. She has no idea of her heritage or the destiny intended for her. And when she’s taken against her will to Oakland in order to perform a shaman’s service on behalf of an important man, she has no choice but to summon the Djinn prince Zurael en Caym.
Her existence is one of harsh survival edged with fear. His is defined by privilege and power.
A prince to the House of the Serpent, Zurael would see the Earth cleansed of humans. He dreams of the day the Djinn will be able to reclaim their birthright—little knowing that when Aisling summons him against his will from the Djinn kingdom deep in the ghostlands, and commands him, he’s meant to become a slave to passion—and his joining with her, the harbinger of things to come.
One of the things I really love about writing stories set in this post-apocalyptic world is the chance to explore it in my imagination. It’s a place of opposites and extremes. Of horror alongside beauty. Extravagant wealth juxtaposed to hard-scrabble poverty.
San Francisco is claimed by vampire families while across the bay, Oakland is ruled by powerful non-gifted humans. And beyond those cities, smaller human settlements are carved out and defended in vast territories controlled by Were and Fey.
Since Ghostland, I’ve written three more stories set in this world. Spider-Touched is Araña and Tir’s story.
I fell in love with Tir the first time I saw him in my mind. Shackled, caged alongside animals and Weres, an angel with no memory of what he is, and no way of freeing himself.
Healer’s Choice (releasing September 7!) is Rebekka and Aryck’s story. She’s a gifted healer who works among the outcast in the shapeshifter brothels of Oakland. He’s a Jaguar Were, a pack enforcer in territory where no humans are allowed and outcasts can be killed on sight.
The angel Addai plays an important role in Healer’s Choice. His story, Angel-Claimed will come out next February in the Primal anthology with Lora Leigh, Ava Gray and Michelle Rowen.

As I think you can tell, I really enjoy spending time in this post-apocalyptic world, and would love to share it. Two signed copies of Ghostland (or Spider-Touched if the winner already has Ghostland) are up for grabs to a couple of randomly drawn posts answering the question: If you were part of a human minority, and had to live in a city/territory controlled by one type of supernatural entity, which one would it be?

Between desire and love there are some things that can’t stay buried, even in the deep of the ocean.

Many thanks to Sue Grimshaw and Borders for letting me have an opportunity to post to their readers about my new book, Siren’s Call. Tomorrow is going to be the day my first mass market title debuts and I’m so excited I just can’t sit still, LOL.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Devyn Quinn. Since 2007, I’ve written several titles for Kensington under their Aphrodisia imprint. Readers familiar with Aphrodisia titles are aware these are some pretty steamy books that really push the boundaries. My style is very dark and devious and downright dirty, so imagine my surprise when I received an email from my agent saying that Lindsay Nouis at NAL was looking for some darkly themed submissions.

Since that was right up my alley, I quickly wrote up a proposal and chapter for a vampire/slayer series I’d had in mind and sent if off. An answer soon came in from the editor. She liked my style of writing and saw potential in the proposal…But she wanted something differently dark.

She wanted mermaids.

Now picture Devyn sitting there scratching her head. How had a vampire series morphed into mermaids? I emailed my agent back to make sure I was reading the note correctly.

Correct, says my agent. Dark mermaids.

Well, as someone who lives in the desert and has never seen the sea (a nice mud puddle after a rain is as deep as the water gets around here), I was stymied. I knew nothing about mermaids, their lore, legend and I hadn’t even seen The Little Mermaid. What did I know about mermaids? The short answer was nothing.

Still, I am one determined cuss when presented with a challenge so I quickly went online and began to research popular lore. Armed with what I thought was a good angle, I wrote up the proposal and sample chapters and sent them back in. My agent soon got back to me with an answer from the editor. The news wasn’t good. Other writers were already using some of themes I had touched on and the editor wanted something else that didn’t use those elements.

Curses, thinks I. Foiled again.

So I dug a little deeper into mermaid lore (and there isn’t that much to work with, folks, these being mythical creatures and all…) Finally I hit upon the lore of the Assyrian mermaid and their goddess, Atargatis. Pretty soon a new story was boiling in my head.

I rewrote and resent the proposal. Once again the wait for an answer began. A week passed. Finally an answer came in. The editor liked the idea, but wanted some changes to the chapters to clarify some points.

By this time I pretty much figured I was well on my way to getting a turn down for the series. I went ahead and rewrote the chapters as requested, adjusted the lore a bit and sent the package back to my agent for forwarding. My initial hope wasn’t so much to make the sale, but perhaps the editor would be interested enough in my work to look at other proposals at a later date.

The weeks passed. And passed. And passed some more.

As much as a writer hates it, getting a rejection is disappointing. I had gone ahead and put the proposal out of my mind when my agent called. NAL had just made an offer for a three book series chronicling the lives and loves of my three mermaid sisters, and their search for their lost world even as they attempt to keep their secrets while living among humans.

Holy cow, Batman! You could have knocked me down with a feather. I was so shocked I burst into tears when my agent hung up and cried for the rest of the day. (Good news tends to do that to me) And, to tell the truth, I was more than a little scared. Writing a proposal and a few sample chapters is one thing. But writing a whole series about a world I’d just made up was one scary prospect. I didn’t have a clue of where to begin. After a few days of panic, I sat down and began to write. Slowly the story of Tessa Lonike and her sisters, Gwen and Addison, began to take shape on the page…

And that is how Devyn Quinn became acquainted with mermaids.

As I continue to write the series (Siren’s Surrender, book 2, will be released 2/11/2011) I’ve come upon some really great pieces of sea lore and other sea creatures, such as the Nyx, which I will be introducing in book 3.

Oh, and as for the vampire/slayer proposal. It did sell to NAL after all, and the first book will debut in Summer 2011!

So here’s a question for readers: What is your favorite bit of sea lore and why do you find it fascinating? Are you crazy for Poseidon, or do you really believe that Atlantis existed?

Give away 5 copies of Siren’s Call to 5 lucky randomly chosen commenters! Good LUCK!

AWAKENED BY A KISS
By Lila DiPasqua

Three classic fairytales—“Sleeping Beauty,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Little Red Riding Hood”—cleverly retold with enough sensual twists to prove wickedly ever after does exist…

Sleeping Beau – Five years ago, the notorious rake, Adrien d’Aspe, Marquis de Beaulain, was awakened by a sensuous kiss—and experienced a night of raw ecstasy that was branded into his memory. Years later, he spots his mysterious seductress—and this time, he has no intention of letting her go…

Little Red Writing – Nicolas de Savignac, Comte de Lambelle, has been assigned by the King to uncover the secret identity of the author writing scandalous stories about powerful courtiers. He never expected his investigation would lead to his grandmother’s house, or to a ravishing woman who would stir his deepest hunger…

Bewitching in Boots – Elisabeth de Roussel, daughter of the King, is accustomed to getting what she wants-and she wants Tristan de Tiersonnier, Comte de Saint-Marcel, an ex-commander of the King’s private Guard. A recent injury has forced Tristan to leave his distinguished position, but Elisabeth is determined to make him see he’s every bit the man he once was-and more than man enough for her……

Setting: 17th century France – when the genre of fairy tales was born!
Subgenre: Historical Romance
Heroes: There are 3 yummy heroes in this collection:
Adrien d’Aspe, Marquis of Beaulain,
Nicolas de Savignac, Count of Lambelle, and
Tristan de Tiersonnier, Count of Saint-Marcel.
Heroines: Catherine, Countess of Villecourt,
Anne de Vignon, born into minor nobility but impoverished
and
Elisabeth, daughter of the King.

One sentence summary:
AWAKENED BY A KISS is the first in my Fiery Tales series of three classic fairy tales, “Sleeping Beauty,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Little Red Riding Hood”, wickedly retold!

Scenes you like most and would never cut:
The love scenes in this book. They’re scorching hot, yet there’s as much emotion as there is heat. Try as they might, these characters can’t hold to simply a physical encounter. Their hearts are as engaged as their bodies. I love writing passionate, emotionally charged scenes.

Things your heroines would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Catherine would never be caught dead gossiping. Having felt its sting, she despises gossip. The cruel gossip surrounding her late husband’s death was humiliating and difficult to endure.

Anne would never say, “I want to quit writing!” She believes strongly in using her writing to help women – to be their voice in speaking out against the injustices inflicted by the men who have authority over them.

“Women shouldn’t fence” is something that would never pass Elisabeth’s lips. She is as passionate about fencing as she is about the only man who won’t give her the time to day, beyond what duty dictates, the gorgeous ex-commander of the King’s private Guard, Tristan.

What are your heroines’ occupations, or if unemployed, what should they be doing:
Catherine is a lady, a widow, a woman who is set to remarry, that is until she crosses paths with the very man whom she surrendered her innocence to five years ago. She’s just realized that the beautiful stranger in whose arms she experienced a night of raw ecstasy happens to be Adrien, the bastard son of the King.

Anne is the secret author of books about powerful courtiers. Her volumes have caused quite a stir among the upper class – especially with the men!

As the favorite daughter of the King, Elisabeth’s many siblings want to knock her from her perch and gain the King’s favor. She spends her time surviving the intrigue at court, protecting her younger sister, and wishing she wasn’t so under the spell of the impossible Tristan de Tiersonnier.

What are your heroes’ occupations, or if unemployed, what should they be doing:
Adrien is the bastard son of the King. He spends much of his time doing two things, first, keeping his distance from his powerful father whom he is always at odds with and second, trying to forget the mysterious beauty who has haunted his every erotic dream for the last five years.

Nicolas is in the King’s private Guard. He is on his first mission for the King – to discover the identity of the author writing telltale stories about prominent men of the realm. He’s narrowed down the suspects writing under the nom de plume Gilbert Leduc to the three sisters living at his grandmother’s house.

Tristan is the ex-commander of the King’s Guard, but a recent injury has forced him to leave his distinguished position. Elisabeth sees him as every bit the man he once was—and more than man enough for her.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
It’s a fresh take on classic fairy tales. I think they’ll like my sexy rakes and the strong heroines. This book is romantic, fun and super steamy.

What’s next:
I have a second Fiery Tales collection, THE PRINCESS IN HIS BED, being released in Nov. 2010. It features more scorching fairy tale retellings —“The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Ugly Duckling, and “The Princess and the Pea,” scandalously retold and renamed, “The Marquis’ New Clothes”, “The Lovely Duckling” and “The Princess and the Diamonds”. This book is based on fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. I also have a full-length Fiery Tale due out Oct. 2011.

About the Author:
At age fourteen, Lila’s best friend sneaked a romance novel out of her grandmother’s house. After devouring it, Lila was hooked on romance novels for life. Today she lives with her real-life hero husband and three children and is a firm believer in the happily-ever-after. She loves history and enjoys traveling. She has been to four continents so far. She writes wicked and witty historical romance for Penguin/Berkley. Her debut novel, AWAKENED BY A KISS is featured in Doubleday as well as Rhapsody Book Clubs. To learn more about Lila and her books, visit http://www.LilaDiPasqua.com

QUESTION: What is your favorite fairy tale or movie adaptation of a fairy tale?

GIVEAWAY – A signed copy of AWAKENED BY A KISS to a random commenter.

Chosen, by Jeanne C Stein, available August 31

Setting: Sunny San Diego. What better place for vampires? Especially ones like mine who have adapted to sunlight.
Subgenre: Urban Fantasy
Hero: Well, none yet exactly.
Heroine: Anna Strong– it’s her story.

One sentence summary: It’s been almost a year since bounty hunter Anna Strong became a vampire, but as she’s about to discover, her greatest powers have yet to be unleashed…

Scene you like most and would never cut: That’s a tough one because usually the scenes I like most, are the ones that have little to do with the story line. For instance, introspection and Anna’s constant battle with the dual sides of her nature feature prominently in my books. Coming to understand why she is the Chosen One is an important part of that process.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: She would never be caught eating real food (can you say projectile vomiting) or taking up archery for a hobby (an accident with a wooden arrow could have dire consequences).

What celebrity is your hero like: Well, the most recent romantic interest for Anna is a male model (think Eric Northman from True Blood–the short haired Eric)

What celebrity is your heorine like: A combination of Kate Beckinsale in Underworld and Yancy Butler in Witchblade.

What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be
doing: She was a bounty hunter as a human and still has that business with a human partner who as yet does not know she’s a vampire. Since she was no wilting violet as a human, she’s certainly not one as a vampire.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Anna Strong will appeal to fans of Buffy (though she’s a vampire, not a slayer). She combines the physical attributes of a vampire with the desire to retain her connection to humanity. I like to think she has the qualities most women and girls find inspiring: loyalty, strength, a strong moral compass. Her appeal to men is honesty, sexual equality, protectiveness.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Culebra–the shapeshifter who runs the Mexican bar where vamps go to feed safely. Humans are paid to be donors. Because I thought the need for human blood is an important part of the vampire mythos, I had to come up with a way to let my protagonist get her fix without becoming a predator. Culebra has his own interesting back story which has yet to be shared. But it soon will be,

What’s next: After Chosen, the seventh book, Crossroads, is scheduled for a 2011 release. Anna hears about a Shaman who has the ability to restore a vampire’s humanity. Anna will have to make the biggest decision of her life.

If you write about vampires, immortality is a subject you give a lot of thought. It goes with the territory. Besides needing to drink blood to survive, the one constant in all vampire mythos is eternal life. In fact, it’s what distinguishes vampires from other supernatural creatures—while a werewolf, for instance, emphasizes what is mortal in us—primal urges—a vampire emphasizes what is immortal—never ending life.
As I get older, the thought of immortality sounds better and better. For the first time in my life, I may have more years behind me than ahead of me. It’s scary. I think back on all that’s happened in my lifetime. Wonders of space and technology, both for good and bad, are opening up new frontiers. Who wouldn’t want to be around for a hundred or a thousand more years to see what will be accomplished?

But at what cost?

My protagonist, Anna Strong, a newly turned vampire, has a human family. She was turned by accident and trick of fate. Now she deals with the ramifications. She knows she will have to face the loss of everyone she has ever known and loved. Can she ever regain the warmth of a family? Or will her existence be reduced to mere survival?
As a vampire, as a woman, Anna seeks satisfying relationships, sometimes with other vampires. But vampires more often seek relationships with humans and not just as a convenient food source. Perhaps vampires recognize that having a finite life span enables mortals to have deeper, more meaningful relationships than immortals with unbounded lives.

So my questions to you are: Can vampires fall in love? Can they really care for each other? Power and control are part of the makeup of a vampire. Does being forced to associate with such beings make eternal life more of a curse than a blessing?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please post a comment. One of you will be chosen at random to receive a complete set of Anna Strong books as well as a $25.00 gift card to Borders and a surprise or two as well.

Borders: Writing Romance and Mystery

Thank you, Sue, for inviting me to guest blog here at True Romance today. I love Borders, so this is a real thrill for me. And it’s especially exciting for me to celebrate the release of my first romance, The Millionaire Meets His Match, with your readers. My first two books, If Books Could Kill and Homicide in Hardcover, were both cozy mysteries.
I have always loved reading both mystery and romance, so to be able to write in both genres now is a dream come true. And to see my name on the NYT bestsellers list – my arms are perpetually bruised from pinching myself.
Most readers are generous. When we finish a book we loved, our first thought is, “Who can I share this with?” We want to give others the same thrill and satisfaction.

Reading becomes a community event. We gossip about the characters as if they’re real. We dream about the hero. (Or is that just me?) We post reviews online, we buy the T-shirt.
(Note to self: Gotta get some T-shirts. Maybe some that say, “Hey millionaire, meet your match right here!”)

That’s why sites like True Romance are so wonderful. They give us an opportunity to talk books with like-minded readers. When we meet someone who likes the same books we like, we learn about other books she liked that we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.
How fabulous is that?!

In the spirit of generosity, I want to share with you a few books I’ve enjoyed. These books speak to me because the authors and I look at the world in a similar way. A slightly skewed way, to be honest. With lots of humor. I can’t seem to help it. Humankind is goofy. And with lots of sexual tension, which I also can’t seem to help.
What’s really cool is that all these authors have excerpts online, so you can take their writing for a test drive. I have mine online, too, by the way. You can read an excerpt of The Millionaire Meets His Match at http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?itemid=21852&cid=416 and of my mysteries at www.katecarlisle.com.
CEO’s Expectant Secretary by Leanne Banks
Leanne’s writing is fast-paced and fun, with lots of humor. CEO’s Expectant Secretary is both a secret baby book and a marriage of convenience book, two themes that are popular for good reason. One of the things I love best about this book is the first time the hero and heroine meet. Leo thinks Calista is sexy right from the start, but he admires her personality and intelligence as much as he does her body. I love a man with depth.

Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie
I read this romance when it first came out in 1998, and when it was reissued this past March, I snatched it up. (It’s that reader’s generosity again – I loved it so much that I gave it to a friend… then I regretted it because it’s one I wanted to reread.) Hands down, one of the best first lines of any book in any genre:
One hot August Thursday afternoon, Maddie Faraday reached under the front seat of her husband’s Cadillac and pulled out a pair of black lace bikini underpants. They weren’t hers.
I don’t know who could resist buying a book after reading that opening. I didn’t even try. I don’t think I even put it down until I finished. Seriously. I stood in line at the Borders store where I bought it, reading while I waited for the other customers to check out. I felt a little resentful when the salesgirl took it out of my hands to scan the barcode.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
I love the whole Stephanie Plum series, but I’m naming the first because if you haven’t read the books, you really should start with the first in the series. You’re in for a treat, I promise! Quirky characters, laugh-out-loud moments on just about every page, lots of action, and not one but TWO romances. They can’t both have happy endings, but it sure is fun to be along for the ride!
I love romance novels, and I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America for years. So, like Evanovich, I have included a lot of romance in my mystery series. The romance simply develops more slowly, over the course of several books. All those dead bodies slow things down.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What else have you read recently that you loved? Share the love, share your recommendations here! I’ll give a random commenter a $25 e-gift card to Borders so you can put some of these recommendations to work for you!

My Dangerous Duke

Setting: Regency London; a “possibly” haunted castle in Cornwall; and a dash of high-seas adventure in an Undisclosed Location (If I told you, it would be a spoiler!)

Subgenre: Regency Historical Adventure

Hero: Rohan Kilburn, the Duke of Warrington, aka “The Beast”

Heroine: Kate Madsen…or IS that really her true name??? (Hmmmm…still no spoilers!!!)

One sentence summary: A defiant beauty abducted by cutthroats is given as a gift to a powerful, dark stranger…

Scene you like most and would never cut: Kate tries to escape the castle but Rohan’s men corner her on the edge of a Cornish sea-cliff. What happens next??? Those chalk cliffs on England’s coast are awfully fragile…but far be it from me to give spoilers!! *gg*

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “I can’t.”

What celebrity is your hero like: Gerard Butler could play him…but we’d have to give him long hair.

What celebrity is your heroine like: Looks-wise, I’d say Megan Fox (sans the tattoos & her odd rude remarks).

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: As a pirate’s daughter, she would probably be a lady shipping magnate–gutsy, bossy, driven, and hard-working. But she also loves books, so maybe she’d have a job like yours, Sue! *g*

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He is a big, tough, scary duke with a bad attitude, but as a secret agent of “the Order” (SEE TRAILER) he is also the one tasked with the dirty work of killing bad guys. [In this series, Max is the slick team leader, Jordan is the oh-so-smooth code expert, and Rohan is the one you just don't mess with.]

What you think readers will like best about this book: Rohan! He is all alpha male. Also the adventure. If you want a summer beach book that truly takes you away, give it a try!

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: From my previous series, The Knight Miscellany, the most requests I got were for the Hawkscliffe Harlot’s story. This was the (deceased) duchess mother of the Knight brothers, the woman who had all the flings with all her different lovers and thus had a bunch of different kids with all her various men. I said no to writing this because she dies in front of a French firing squad when she was caught rescuing aristocratic children from the guillotine mobs during the French Revolution. It was her favorite lover that dragged her into this adventure. This wouldn’t work for me because I do happy endings, period!

What’s next: Book 3 of the Inferno Club. This will be Jordan, Lord Falconridge’s story. As I mentioned above, he’s more the smooth, cool-nerved, elegant James Bond type than the rugged warrior Rohan. His book is going to be called MY IRRESISTIBLE EARL and it’ll be coming out in April 2011, so the Inferno Club saga continues!

MY DANGEROUS DUKE is a story where the hero is given a beautiful young woman as a gift…SO I think the obvious question for all my readers is, if someone were going to give YOU the gift of a hottie of the opposite sex, who would you want to be given, and what’s the first thing you’d make him do? Enjoy, ladies! *g* Sue, who would you go for? (Husbands and boyfriends don’t count!)

Readers are invited to read Chapter One of My Dangerous Duke on my website at www.gaelenfoley.com.
Also, I will give away one signed copy of My Wicked Marquess, Book 1 of the Inferno Club series. (My Dangerous Duke is Book 2.)

A couple of great review tidbits if these are useful:

4 ½ Stars, Top Pick for July! “This adventure romance sweeps readers into an unforgettable twist on the Beauty and the Beast theme.”
–Kathe Robin, RT Book Reviews

4 ½ Top Pick! “A fantastic entry in the Inferno Club series…Highly entertaining.”
–Night Owl Romance Reviews

4 ½! “MY DANGEROUS DUKE is an extraordinary book full of secrets, suspense, romance and blistering hot passion!
My advice to all you romance readers out there…run…do not walk to your nearest book store and snatch up everything you can find that this amazing author has ever written!” –Tammy Faris, The Romance Readers Connection

Setting: Ashland, a dark, violent, gritty, corrupt, fictional Southern metropolis in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains
Subgenre: Urban fantasy and the second book in the Elemental Assassin series (after Spider’s Bite)
Hero: Donovan Caine and Owen Grayson (Hey, it’s urban fantasy – I can have more than one hero!)
Heroine: Gin Blanco

One sentence summary: Former assassin Gin Blanco comes out of retirement to help an old friend – and takes on her deadliest enemy yet in Web of Lies.

Scene you like most and would never cut: There’s a really great scene near the end of the book where Gin is trapped in a collapsed coal mine. I just love how she uses a combination of her wits and her Ice and Stone elemental magic to help her escape. It really shows how tough and self-reliant she is, along with the fact that she never, ever gives up no matter how bad the situation is.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Gin is a tough, sassy, sarcastic, kick-butt heroine, so she’d never, ever talk about going shoe shopping. She’d be more likely to kill you with the pointed heel of a stiletto.

What celebrity is your hero like: I always think of Donovan Caine as a Benjamin Bratt type of guy, back during Bratt’s Law & Order days. Owen Grayson is a darker, tougher, more mysterious man, like Daniel Craig in the James Bond movies (although he looks more like Pierce Brosnan in my mind). I don’t think a girl could go wrong with any of these gentlemen!

What celebrity is your heroine like: Gin has a lot in common with Jennifer Garner – or at least Garner’s character Sydney Bristow on the TV show Alias. Gin is definitely a take-charge, kick-butt heroine who always gets her man, just like Sydney.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: In Spider’s Bite, the first book in the series, Gin retired from being the renowned assassin the Spider. At the beginning of Web of Lies, Gin is running the Pork Pit, the barbecue restaurant that her mentor left her, and taking classes at the local community college. But there are some skills that an assassin just never forgets …

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Donovan Caine is a detective with the Ashland Police Department and is one of the few honest cops on the force – which makes his attraction to an assassin like Gin all the more troubling. Gin’s other potential love interest is Owen Grayson, a wealthy businessman with his fingers in a lot of money-making pies. Gin isn’t quite sure what Owen wants with her, but she knows that he’s one of the most determined men she’s ever met and she finds that very, very attractive …

What you think readers will like best about this book: Since I’m writing urban fantasy, there’s a little bit of everything in Web of Lies – action, danger, drama, romance. I just hope that folks like the mix and that they enjoy reading more about Gin and her many adventures – romantic and otherwise.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Several folks have asked me about Finnegan Lane and whether or not he’ll get a love interest. Finn is Gin’s foster brother and general partner in crime who’s also a notorious womanizer (and the comic relief on occasion). I’m happy to report that Finn will meet his romantic match starting in book #4 in the series when he finally finds a woman who is immune to his many charms. Or at least appears to be …

What’s next: Venom, the third book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, is due out Sept. 28. Right now, I’m working on books #4 and #5 in the series, as well as a new urban fantasy series about spies – think Alias/James Bond with magic.

Discussion question: Which do you guys prefer – urban fantasy or paranormal romance? What do you like about both genres? Comment for a random chance to win a copy of Web of Lies (Canada & US residents only). Happy reading!

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

Title: Tease Me by Tracy Wolff

Setting: New Orleans in the summertime

Sub-Genre: Erotic Suspense

Heroine: Lacey Richards

Hero: Byron Hawthorne

One Sentence Summary: True-crime novelist Lacey Richards is investigating an infamous human trafficking ring in New Orleans, but as one source after another dries up she finds herself in deeper than she ever imagined—with both her investigation and her red-hot neighbor, Byron.

Scene You Like the Most and Would Never Cut: There’s a scene about halfway through the book where Byron tries his best to open up the emotionally closed off Lacey. When all subtleties fail, he suggests a game of 7 questions—one for each article of clothing/jewelry that they are wearing.

What Your Heroine Would Never Be Caught Dead Doing/Saying: Lacey would never give in to intimidation. No matter how hot the investigation gets, she’s determined to find the truth—for the girls involved in the trafficking ring, and for their families.

What Celebrity is Your Hero Like: I think he’s a lot like Matt Damon—sexy, smart, with a great sense of humor and a secret soft side that not many people get close enough to see.

What Celebrity is Your Heroine Like: Gwyneth Paltrow, because she always plays smart, guarded characters who see deeper than what’s on the surface.

What is your hero’s occupation: He’s a stockbroker-turned-carpenter. When the stress of working twenty hour days got to be too much for Byron, he pulled up stakes and moved to New Orleans to follow his dream of creating beautiful furniture.

What is your heroine’s occupation: True crime novelist, who runs a sexy blog on the side.

What do you think readers will like best about the book? The out-of-control chemistry between Byron and Lacey—it starts on page one and continues to build right up until the end.

Is there anything you’re concerned readers won’t like as much?: I’ve created a pretty heinous villain in this book. While I’ve gotten some interesting feedback about him so far, I still worry how readers will react to him. I dislike him intensely, but then that’s pretty much what the villain’s for …
The person readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: A character from my first novel, Full Exposure. His name is Michael LaFleur and he is the brother of one of the villains in the book. He’s also the strong, silent type with a heart of gold.

What’s Next: Next for me is the July launch of Dragon’s Heat, my brand new dragon shapeshifter series. I’m writing it as Tessa Adams and the first book, Dark Embers, launches in July. It’s the love story of the dark and tortured dragon king Dylan MacLeod and Phoebe Quillum, the Harvard bio-chemist he enlists to help him find a cure for the virus that is ravaging his clan.

My next Tracy Wolff book is actually a July Harlequin Superromance, called Beginning With Their Baby. It is a sequel to my June 2009 book, From Friend to Father, and follows capricious Camille Arraby, the girl voted most likely to sail around the world by her high school class, as she falls for—and gets pregnant by– Matt Jenkins, the smart, sexy architect who always has a plan … and a back-up plan.

Giveaway:

Tease Me, like my previous erotic suspenses, takes place in New Orleans. I went to graduate school at Tulane in the late 90s and spent four of the most wonderful years of my life in the Big Easy. It’s one of my favorite cities and one I try to go back to as often as I can. How about you? What’s your favorite city to visit—or to live? One commenter will be randomly chosen to win a copy of Full Exposure, my first Romantic Times 4 ½ star, Top Pick. It’s also my first book set in and around New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou.