I met Jeanne Adams at a Kiss of Death romantic suspense writers retreat, but the fact is I feel like I’ve known her all my RWA life.  At that retreat, we connected immediately and it wasn’t long before we traipsed off to an ABC Liquor for, um, some Diet Coke, yeah, that’s what we wanted.  Shortly after, there were tarot card readings and a lots of laughs.  In the past few years, Jeanne’s blown into the romantic suspense world with two highly acclaimed novels from Kensington and another — that I just read and loved! — due out this September.

Jeanne’s here today to Blow Stuff Up ~ so let’s give her a real MSW welcome and some explosive comments!

Hello Murder She Writes writers and readers! Thank you, Roxanne, for letting me be a guest with you today! I enjoy your blog so much, it was a delight to be able to post here. I’m sure you’ll see some of my usual blog crew, The Romance Bandits, popping in to say hello too. (Be afraid…be very afraid as they tend to invade….) Grins. When Roxanne and I were talking topics, I decided I’d focus on your blog’s title, Murder She Writes. It seemed a good fit for me since I like to bump characters off with great regularity in my own books. If there’s a high body count wrapped around a good story, I’m your girl; I like to write them, I like to read them. I’ll skip movies where there’s just blood — Saw, anyone? — but if there’s a story, and a romance? I’m there. I also like books and movies where things blow up.

In fact, that’s my usual criteria for a date night movie — does something blow up? Is there a decent chase scene — physical or psychological? If not, I’m not that enthusiastic. My husband loves them too, thank goodness, or date night could be a real drag. Since date night’s expensive (babysitters are extortionists in teenage clothing!) we don’t do it that often, but it’s great to be compatible on this issue. I’m not that keen on seeing movies that make me weep copiously and leave me feeling like I just watched two solid hours of the worst of the evening news. Urg. Thankfully, my husband hates movies like A Night In Rodanthe (date night with another couple…sigh) as much as I did and gleefully chose Sherlock Holmes for the latest date night. I want movies like Con Air, The Rock, The Bourne movies, Fast and Furious; I want Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Iron Man, Avatar, and Wolverine. If it’s a “chick-flick” it can’t be a tear-jerker-and-no-happy-ending deal. The Holiday, Sabrina, Batman Returns…wait, that’s another one where things blow up. Grins. Still, you get my drift.

When it comes to books, I love the same thing. All the wonderful Murder She Writes authors are on my keeper shelf. While I know SJ, *waving madly* and Roxanne personally, you all keep me in stories of boom, thrill and wow! So, thank you! I like to do that in my own books as well, and I can only hope I’ll succeed as well as you Murder She Write-ers. My fellow blog-mates call me one of the “Boom-Girls” because I’m notorious for my tendency to kill-em-off or blow-it-up. Plot problem? All will be solved by a convenient bomb. Inconvenient character? A handy murder will fix that right up. My first book, Dark and Dangerous, starts with the heroine blowing up half her house (and a number of bad guys) when her ex-husband comes after her. The second, Dark and Deadly, starts with a pipe bomb. My third book which comes out in September, Deadly Little Secrets, starts with five murders. Grins.

As I said, when in doubt…kill someone off or blow something up… Ha! This topic of murder and blowing things up is near and dear to my heart and writing as you can tell. I even teach a class on body disposal, which gives you an idea of how much I’m interested in the topic. My darling husband loves to tell people that going on date night rocks, because we like the same kind of movies and I never drag him to a “weeper,” but he sometimes wonders if he should sleep with one eye open given how often I employ that body disposal thing in my books. Or how sharp I keep my kitchen knives. Bwah-ha-ha!

Obviously, if you’re a fan of this blog, you’re into this whole concept of Boom and Blast. What’s been your favorite BOOM movie this last year? Do you enjoy movies that start with a bang and never let up, or ones, like Bourne and Bond, that have more of a psychological element? Who’s your favorite blow-em-up, kill-em-off, psychological thriller authors? Do you go for Ludlum and Crichton as well as your favorite Romantic Suspense Authors? Or do you insist on some happily-ever-after with your boom? I can’t wait to read these lists…and thanks again for letting me come play!