Did you notice the double exclamation marks? Can you tell how excited I am?

There is nothing like a book release. I get that flutter in my stomach the night before. I toss and turn all night. Then on the morning of pub date I jump out of bed and immediately want to go to the book store.

The release of this new book, UNSPEAKABLE, is particularly special to me because I’ve had this story in my head for such a long time. Well, not the story exactly, but the people. Every time I’ve met a female cop or interviewed an FBI agent or read a book about the FBI Academy, I’ve been thinking about this heroine. And now here she is, alive on the page.

Her name is Elaina McCord, and she’s the rookie agent who gets in way over her head when she goes to a popular Texas beach resort to help local police solve a string of brutal murders. Elaina is sharp, stubborn, resilient, and also a fish out of water in the Texas border region. Lucky for her (and because this is a romantic suspense story) true crime writer Troy Stockton shows up to help her navigate the local politics… but of course his help comes with some strings attached.

It was so much funresearching this book! I got to interview FBI agents all over the country and hear some amazing war stories. I had a chance to tour the Academy at Quantico. I got to fire a Glock for the first time. I got to walk around Hogan’s Alley, where agents-in-training practice takedowns. I got to fire a Glock. 

Did I mention the Glock? That was my favorite part.                                                                             

And then I got to sit down at my computer and let the story flow and weave in all the details I’d gathered and … I can’t explain it. I just felt like it came together. So when the cardboard box arrived on my doorstep filled with books, you can imagine how excited I was. I hope readers enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Let me share a review, and then get to the fun part. THE GIVEAWAY!!

“A tight suspense with the sexiest of heroes and a protagonist seriously worth rooting for!” 4 1/2 STARS! –RT Book Reviews

Oh, and Fresh Fiction put a smile on my face, too:

“Laura Griffin’s Tracers series is spellbinding and full of twists and turns. A page-turner until the last page, it’s a fabulous read.”

I hope you will like the book, too! To celebrate the release this week I’m giving away a signed copy of UNTRACEABLE, along with a $25 GIFTCARD TO BORDERS. Just leave a comment for a chance to win! And drop by my Web site at www.lauragriffin.com if you’d like to read an excerpt.

Before I begin, I need to follow up:  A few weeks ago, I blogged about not having a title for my current WIP.  I ran a contest offering “your name in a book” if you could come up with a title for me.  I will tell you that all of the suggestions helped my creative wheels to turn, and although I didn’t choose one offered here, I did wake up one morning and the right title popped into my head.  Last Friday, it was approved by my editor!  So, with great gladness, I can officially announce that the first three Guardian Angelinos books will be….drumroll please:

EDGE OF SIGHT (November 2010)

SHIVER OF FEAR (April 2011)

FACE OF DANGER (May 2011) 

So, in keeping with the Something of Something theme, I’ve titled today’s blog Change of Heart, because I want to talk a little bit about the mystifying and miraculous human ability to change, grow, and transform…and the thrill we experience when it happens. 

The human change of heart, I think, is the very soul of any great story.  In the books we love to read and write, the hero and heroine conquer their fears, find skills they didn’t know they had, and dig deep to go from “I can’t do this” to “I can and must and will do this” — and each and every time we love and cheer their success.   When we experience that kind of transformation in real life, even on a small scale, that’s something to celebrate.

Here’s a confession:  for my entire life, I didn’t like dogs.  To be perfectly honest, I hated them.  I was raised by a dog-fearing mother who taught me that these creatures bite, stink, shed, lick, poop,  and carry germs that no human should be exposed to.  We never had a pet in my house (well, I had a turtle named Davy Jones – of the Monkees, not the pirate — and he lived for one whole week). My husband likes dogs, though he’d never owned one, and without really discussing the matter, I fully assumed I would go through life petless. 

When my son was about ten, I noticed that he had inherited my dog dislike, and even stopped going to friend’s houses who had dogs.  That worried me. About the same time, his younger sister started coming into her own personality and, lo and behold, a veritable Dr. Doolittle animal lover had emerged from my womb.  Before long, the pressure started:  she wanted a dog.  And I worried that my son would grow up with the same trepidations that had plagued me around animals.  My husband and I are both home twenty-four/seven (another blog topic, that) and I knew that our house was tailor-made for a four legged creature.  That barked.  And pooped.  And shed.  And licked.  And bit.  And harbored unknown diseases.  After more than a year of soul-searching, I finally said yes, mostly because my husband sneaked up behind me after one heated dinner discussion about the pros and cons of a dog and whispered, “You’ll see.  You’ll love it the most.”  Something about his pronouncement rang true, and I finally caved.  We could get a dog.

After much research for the perfect breed that would fit into our family, we settled on an Australian Terrier — a “hearty” version of a Yorkie, purported not to shed, stink or chew expensive shoes, with an even-keeled, gentle temperament, great with kids.  When the litter was ready, we traveled eight hours to the only breeder in Florida.  I know, I should have rescued, but I decided early on that if we picked a dog, we kept a dog, and I thought I had a better shot at success with a new puppy than an older dog.

The whole trip to Ebro, Florida (yes, astute readers, that’s the home town of Bullet Catcher Wade Cordell, an homage to my dog’s birthplace) I read books I’d bought on how to identify the best dog in the litter.  This decision should not be made lightly, I warned the family.  We have to examine every puppy, perform a battery of tests to determine intelligence, obedience, and inclination to go wee-wee on pricey Oriental carpets. Two minutes after we arrived, my daughter reached into the bin, plucked out a itty-bitty black spot of fur and announced, “This is Pepper.”  So much for testing.  

Minutes later, I took this picture, our family one hairy little dudette larger.

 I had to admit, Pepper was cute.  We shared her during the ride home, but about halfway across the state, she found her “spot” in the crook of my arm and…we bonded.  No, we crazy glued.  Okay, my life took an unexpected turn for the doggier.  Something inside my heart just slipped the first time she took a little lick of my hand, and looked up at me with those can-do-no-wrong eyes.  Maybe a dog-person does live deep inside me, after all, I mused.  Maybe I could be a good Dog Mom. 

Fast forward five years later:  I can’t imagine life without Pepper and don’t ever want to.  I love her with a fierceness I didn’t think was possible, and happily walk her, wash her, brush her teeth, teach her to bark “I love you” (which won first place at the Satellite Beach Doggie Olympics for Best Trick, thank you very much) and, yes, folks, she sleeps in my bed.  Correct that, she sleeps on my pillow.  She completes our home and owns our hearts. 

And, by the way, she doesn’t shed, stink, chew, or bark too terribly much and we’ve only had a few accidents.  On the Oriental, naturellement.  Best of all, I am a bona fide dog person!  I know every pooch in the hood, and love them all.  I dog sit for friends.  I have fantasies about Cesar Millan.  I talk about “the next one” and know that I will never again live without a dog. (Yes, a rescue dog next time, I promise!) I credit that little creature with a complete transformation that opened my mind and heart in a way I never dreamed possible.

My experience with Pepper really made me rethink my personal assumptions about what character traits of mine are set in stone, and what I could change.  Last year, after a lifetime of believing I was the not-so-proud owner of a brown thumb, I got sick of my barren patio and decided to try my hand at owning some plants.  My family actually laughed at the idea of me growing plants when I brought five home from Lowes one day last summer.  Well, sorry, but I am having the last laugh.  I not only can grow them, they are thriving.  I can instantly sense when one of my twenty-five plants isn’t happy, and I coax them back to health.  I have a “magic corner” on my patio (also known as ICU) where any plant will flourish in a week.  (No surprise, Pepper loves this spot and sleeps there for hours every day.)  I understand my plants, I treasure them, tend to them, and every morning, I visit them while I drink my coffee, before the 1.25 mile daily walk with Pepper.  Let it be known that I am officially a dog and a plant person.

These small changes had a profound effect on me.  What new mountain can I conquer, I wondered recently.  It seemed to be time to drag my transformative powers to the world of writing.  I know I’ve talked many times about my writing process and my desire to change how I draft a book.  I’m a lover of revisions, and hater of first drafts, yet “the dirty draft” concept has never worked for me.  I must edit to perfection before moving on to the next scene, regardless of the fact that many of those “perfect” scenes end up slashed and deleted during the revision process. I’ve tried many times to “write through to the end” and create a “discovery draft” and every single time, I’ve given up and given in to the urge to Edit As I Go. 

But this time, with Face Of Danger (love that title!), I’ve done it.  I wrote a rough, dirty, messy, seriously unattractive (I would never say ugly as a dog!  See?  I’m changed!)  first draft with at least ten chapters that ended with the words <need better hook>.  I gave myself nearly three times as long as I would normally have to do revisions, which has turned out to be at least an 80% total rewrite.  I’ve changed backstory, conflict, character traits, and the villain in the second draft.  And I’ve loved every minute of this revision/rewrite!  I don’t know if this is my “process” now — I think it would take a few more books for me to become “a dirty draft” person.  But then, it didn’t take me long to become a dog and plant person, so I’m optimistic about the change.

So, how about you?  What change has occurred in your life?  Has anyone or anything helped you to change your tune from “I will never (fill in the blank)” to “I’m a Believer!” (Speaking of The Monkees!)  Let’s talk transformation!  

One commenter will win an autographed copy of Make Her Pay, chosen because I’m celebrating the win of this year’s HOLT Medallion for Best Romantic Suspense.  (Thank you for that honor, Virginia Romance Writers!)

Book titles. You know a great one when you see/hear it. They’re original, catchy, and memorable. They often tell you something about the genre and give a hint to the tone–funny, sexy, dark, scary. Publishers take the selection of titles very seriously, sometimes rejecting dozens of variations before they find the one that strikes the right chord or follows a current trend (“dukes”, “darkness”, etc.). Some titles are used multiple times for different authors/books, and others are so unique or attached to a blockbuster book that they couldn’t possibly be recycled.

Titles that are plays on popular movie or song titles have a tendency to stick with me. Kim Harrison’s “The Hollows” series has titles taken from Clint Eastwood movies: Dead Witch Walking; The Good, The Bad, and the Undead; Every Which Way But Dead; A Fistful of Charms; For A Few Demons More; The Outlaw Demon Wails; White Witch, Black Curse. Michelle Rowen’s “Immortality Bites” series has witty titles that give you a hint to the tone of the books: Bitten & Smitten; Fanged & Fabulous; Lady & the Vamp; Stakes & Stilettos;Tall, Dark & Fangsome.

Some authors are really good at picking titles for their books and the majority of their books bear titles they came up with (Rocki is one of the lucky ones and talks about it here), and some authors can’t even begin a book until they know the title; it’s vital to their creative process to have one. I’m lucky I can work without a title, because aside from my Marked series titles and my novella-length works, I haven’t had much input into my book titles. My historical novels were all titled by the editor. After the first two books, I just turned in the manuscripts with titles like “Brava #8″ and left the rest to her. The team at Avon picked the title of the first book in my Dream Guardians series, and the second title was suggested by another Avon author to fall in the same vein as the first.

Sometimes the editors ask me to offer suggestions for titles. I can manage about a dozen suggestions before I leave it to them to have at it. Usually I’m trying to find a title that fits the book, but the publisher is looking for a title that fits a trend or has a specific sort of impact. In those cases, I’m grateful when they find what they’re looking for and we can just run with that. Then, I try to fit the selected title into the book, either through actual use of the title in the story or through tone, so the two connect.

Presently, I have two editors and publishers considering titles for my upcoming books, so I have titles on my mind. (No suggestions brewing. Just an awareness that I’ll have titles soon.) They’re both looking for something in particular. Once they have it, they’ll have to run it by sales and marketing to see if it will be a useful sales tool. While I dislike having to come up with more than a handful of suggestions, I do love having a final title for a book. It’s part of the production process that makes the book more than a figment of my imagination.

What’s on your mind now? With summer underway, what projects/tasks are you tackling?

A big week for giveaways on Murder She Writes! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to hang out and leave a comment.

The winner of an autographed copy of Debra Webb’s ANYWHERE SHE RUNS is Dorothy McFalls. Please contact debraewebb@aol.com with a mailing address.

The winner of a signed copy of CASTOFF COVEN by Juliet Blackwell is Dawn. Congratulations! Please email Sophielittlefield@me.com with your address.

The five winners of Allison Brennan’s ORIGINAL SIN from Toni’s blog are: commenter #7 Catherine, #16 Sherry, #22 Rachel, #23 Anne, and #27 Donna. Please contact toni@tonimcgeecausey.com with a mailing address and she will send you your prize via US or Canadian Amazon. If you are not eligible to receive either one, let Toni know and she will do a gift card instead.

The winner of an Advanced Reading Copy of THE BEAST WITHIN anthology is Chelsea B. Please contact Jen at Jenapodaca@aol.com with your mailing address.

And the winner of Laura Griffin’s new book UNSPEAKABLE, plus a $10 Starbucks gift card, is Jennifer D. Contact laura@lauragriffin.com with your mailing address to receive your prize.

Congratulations everyone! Looking forward to another great week on Murder She Writes!

If you are a mother, this has probably happened to you.

You’re standing in your closet holding a spatula and a pair of pink Speedo goggles and you’re looking for something, but for the life of you, you have no idea what it is.

No? You haven’t had this experience?

Maybe it’s me. Maybe I have an attention deficit disorder. Or maybe I’m simply juggling about sixteen too many balls in the air. Or maybe I’m having a string of senior moments a few decades early. For whatever reason, about once a week I find myself in the middle of something and I’m reminded of the book I used to read to my kids, If You Give a Moose a Muffin.Or a pig a pancake. Or a (fill in cute animal and high-carb bakery item) as I go about my life. For those of you not familiar with this story (which really is wonderful, by the way, even if I don’t enjoy the obvious parallels between myself and the pig, moose, et al.) it involves some animal that starts out doing something simple and gets distracted with a dozen other tasks along the way.

This is my life lately.  I have a book on my desk awaiting line edits, a novella on my desk awaiting copy edits, and a manuscript-in-progress on my computer that is woefully lacking in heft.

And what am I doing this afternoon? I am labeling socks. Forty-eight socks, to be exact. Each with the first and last name of a child who is leaving home for the first time this weekend (sniff) to go to summer camp.

Perhaps this is the real source of my anxiety. Probably, this is why I’ve been a bit muddled lately as I turn my house upside-down looking for fitted twin sheets, flashlight batteries, and drawstring laundry bags. It’s their first non-family journey away from home, and I’m a bit mixed about it. I know it will be a character-building experience. (I did six years of camp, so I can definitely attest to this). I also KNOW that I sorely need the work time without distractions so that I can make some progress on my writing. But still, I’m finding it harder than usual to get myself and my family organized.

Can anyone relate to this? Please tell me I’m not the only one out there with the attention span of a moose.

Because I’m feeling snacky after writing this, one lucky commenter will win a $10 gift card to Starbucks (buy yourself a muffin!) and a signed copy of my latest release UNSPEAKABLE, which hits bookstores on Tuesday. Woo-hoo! I’ll be blogging about the book next week! In the meantime, leave a comment and be eligible to win.