Today’s guest is the phenomenal Shiloh Walker! I was first introduced to Shi through a Romantic Times advertisement that led me to her Hunters series. I was hooked, and immediately devoured all of them. When I finally met her in person, I loved her as much as I love her books.

One random commenter wins a $15 GC to Amazon.com. Enjoy!

First off…thanks to Sylvia and the Murder She Writes gang for letting me crash here while I’m supposed to be promoting my latest release.

The problem is… I’m running out of clever, witty, inspiring things to talk about when I guest blog.  I’ve talked about the inspiration behind my latest book, The Missing.  I’ve had one character offer insight into another character.  I’ve talked about favorite themes used in romances.  I’ve talked about the Top Ten Reasons You Should Try This Book, even.

Instead of trying to think of something terribly witty or clever, I’m going to talk about something that strikes me as kind of cool.

My daughter.

Now, I think all of my kids are cool—I’m a proud mama, why shouldn’t I?

I’ve got three of them and even when the youngest has me ready to put my head through a brick wall just to obtain peace from the delirium that would follow, I do know they are pretty good kids—they are wicked smart, they are polite (in public) and they behave (in public) and so what if they drive me bonkers at home…?

In the end, if they are behaving in public and being polite, that’s the big thing.  They don’t get in trouble, they’ve got manners and they do understand how to treat people with respect—they are awesome kids.

But lately, I’m getting a kick out of watching my oldest.

Why? Well…because of this.

This is my bratlet.  My pre-teen, hormonal, chock full of attitude bratlet.

See what she has on her lap?  It’s her netbook.  I bought it for her on her birthday.  I told her if she stuck to a project, I would get her a decent computer, instead of my old clunker of a desktop that I gave her a year or two ago.

Her project… is a book.

She’s writing.

And the book she’s writing is over 25,000 words.  About 80 pages…typed.  I was writing roughly around her age, but that much?  Nope.  She’s almost done.  She’s actually going to be talking to somebody this summer—not necessarily trying to sell the book, but to get some pointers, craft advice (I suck at craft advice), that sort of thing.  She’s got ideas in her head for a second book, a third book…maybe not a series, but other ideas.  She’s thinking past the book she’s writing, and that’s huge.

I’m….well, suffice it to say, boggled.  I wasn’t putting that much drive into it until high school, at least.  It’s amazing to watch her.

I took that picture one night when I was working on my current WIP and I just happened to glance up, saw she was doing the same thing…working on her book.  She likes to try to write at night if I’m writing.  I don’t always write when they are home—three kids (especially the four-year-old) aren’t conducive to creativity…unless it’s creative ways to go hide yourself from the drama.

But this night, the story was flowing and I was getting some work done.  And apparently, so was she.  It dawned on me that she almost always tries to take my chair when I write, too.    Thief.

Now I don’t necessarily take don’t a lot of pride in my writing.  I’m not not proud, so to speak.  But I’ve been writing since I was roughly her age.  And for me, it’s like breathing.  So it’s like having somebody tell me, Oh, look at you breathe… that’s so amazing…

But when I’m watching her, it takes on a different light.

Not that long she received an award from her school, and one of the reasons was for her writing.  Her principal mentioned her writing and said, “I’ll see a book in the stores one day from her, I know it.”  And I sat there watching her, thinking… Some of that came from me…huh. Yeah.  It took on a different light.

She’s always been imaginative, pretty much from day one. Even knowing that, though, I don’t really think I was expecting to see this…and it’s pretty cool to watch.

And since you listened to me ramble, and since I’m supposed to be promoting my new book, I’m going to do just that… I’m going to do a give away…maybe if you win, you’ll use the GC to buy my new book, The Missing. Tell me something unexpected that’s happened to you lately.  One random commenter wins a $15 GC to Amazon.com

Since I am supposed to promoting my new book while I’m out on my random guest blog spree…the blurb is below and you can read an excerpt at my site here. http://www.shilohwalker.com/website/

Thanks for dropping by, and again, thanks to Sylvia and the rest of the Murder She Writes gang for having me…!

Shiloh Walker

http://www.shilohwalker.com/website/

Now available in paperback…

Available Now!

As a teenager, Taige Branch was able to do things with her psychic gift that others couldn’t understand—except for Cullen Morgan, the boy her stole her heart. He did his best to accept her abilities, until his mother was brutally murdered—and he couldn’t forgive Taige for not preventing her death.

PASSION FOUND

Now a widowed father, Cullen Morgan has never forgotten Taige. But what brings her back into his life is another tragic event. His beloved little girl has been kidnapped, and Taige is his only hope of finding her.

A LOVE THAT NEVER DIED

Working together against the clock, Cullen and Taige can’t help but wonder whether—if they find his daughter in time—it isn’t too late for the overpowering love that still burns between them…

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

7  1

Today’s super-talented guest is Vivi Anna! Always fun, this smart and savvy gal writes some seriously bad-ass heroines paired with ultrahot heroes “to kill for”. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, both as a writer and friend, so I’m thrilled to have her here with us. Enjoy!
- Sylvia

I love when a book is set in Europe. I don’t know what it is about European settings and, in essence, the people that draws me in. It has that…Je ne sais quoi type of sensation. The thing I can’t put my finger on.

Vivi Anna

I long to see Paris, and Marseille, and Nice, and Lyon, and Nouveau Monde. Say what? Nouveau Monde? Yes, that’s right. It’s that picturesque city where the Otherworlder community has congregated. Vampires and lycans and witches, and even humans live in relative peace and harmony in the beautiful progressive city. It has much of the same look and feel of Lyon, with a long and wide river winding its way through the bustle of the city. You should go there. It’s gorgeous. Just watch out for the nightlife…they just might bite.

Available Now!

Cat Smith of PNR reviews says this about THE VAMPIRE’S KISS, “Vivi Anna still has it, a perfect blend of mystery, suspense, paranormal and romance! In this fifth installment of the Valorian Chronicles series, she shows why she is still on my must read list! I really like how with each new book we are able to see more sides to the characters. Ms. Anna is able to portray characters in such a way that they seem to come alive for me. It is not often that you can say the fifth book in a series is better than the previous, but this is the case with The Vampire’s Kiss.”

What kind of settings do you love? Europe? Asia? Good old America? What kind of settings do you long for?

–
You can find Vivi at:
Website - www.vivianna.net
Twitter - www.twitter.com/authorViviAnna

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

2  1    2

Our guest blogger today is none other than Simon Wood – the author of the thriller TERMINATED. I’ve met Simon several times, and he and I serve on the Board of Directors of Mystery Writers of America, he’s the President of the Northern California chapter of MWA. Simon is a great guy, with a wicked sense of humor, and I just have to say this…although he’ll probably kill me…he has an accent to die for I just love hearing him talk.

So Welcome Simon to Murder She Writes!

I get a kick out of global espionage tales where the world is at stake, but I prefer stories with a small focus.  While James Bond can sweep me away by crossing the planet in order to save it, a crime story set amongst a close-knit family that barely leaves the confines of a single location will intrigue me more.

It’s a matter of intensity.  There might be a lot of intensity in a spy thriller featuring a high stakes game, but I find more intensity in a spat between two friends.  I think this is because I can relate to a spat more than I can to global espionage.  I also think the little things bother us no matter how we pretend they don’t.  recently, I came across a study that made the claim that small things were responsible for most divorces.  Yes, things like cheating and violence were the headline grabbing motives, but the majority of divorces were caused by petty and minor things such as inattentiveness, lack of respect and forgetting to throw socks in the laundry.  The effectiveness of little things to drive us nuts is like water torture.  The continual drip, drip, drip of a minor infraction to the forehead will eventually make us snap.

My latest book, TERMINATED, deals with a minor slight turning into something deadly.  This takes place in the workplace and not the home.  The ignition source in the book is a bad employee performance evaluation.  For the resentful coworker, the bad review is the final straw that breaks the employee’s back.  Now, this might seem like overkill, but not really.  We’ve all worked somewhere where an innocent or a not so innocent comment develops into a grudge or a clash of personalities is grounds for a war of words.  We all have our pet peeves and triggers that can turn us into someone we’re not.

I was a little worried that a bad review was too extreme to be the reason behind all the carnage in the book.  My fears were allayed when I looked into some workplace violence claims.  Just as with most divorces, the most minor of issues work as the flashpoint between people.  The more I looked, the more the root cause of the violence turned out to be someone crossing someone else’s boundaries, such as stealing their lunch from the fridge, poor taste in jokes, a backfiring prank, a careless remark, or a bout of pride where no one was willing to stand down.   The strangest reason I encountered was a disparaging remark said at a company picnic.  That one incident escalated in a four-year campaign of terror leading to a murder attempt.  After I’d finished reading that, the motive in my book seemed more than reasonable.

I’ve worked at places where restraining orders have had to be taken out against coworkers.  I once witnessed an exercise in anger take place across the street from my office.  An employee was fired and he responded by hurling an office chair through his boss’ window on the street below.  He came back a couple of night later and drove his car through the building’s main doors.

If writing this book has taught me anything, it’s to watch what you say, treat everyone with respect and don’t take someone’s yogurt from the communal fridge.

BIO: Simon Wood is an ex-racecar driver, a licensed pilot and an occasional private investigator. He shares his world with his American wife, Julie. A longhaired dachshund and five cats dominate their lives. He’s had over 150 stories and articles published. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines anthologies, such as Seattle Noir, Thriller 2 and Woman’s World. He’s a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. He’s the Anthony Award winning author of WORKING STIFFS, ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN, PAYING THE PIPER and WE ALL FALL DOWN. As Simon Janus, he’s the author of THE SCRUBS and ROAD RASH. His latest thriller, TERMINATED, is out in mass paperback. Curious people can learn more at: www.simonwood.net

And Simon is offering up a book to some lucky random commenter! He’ll be checking in periodically to answer questions too…

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

4  3  3

Hi, Everyone. Please welcome today’s fabulous guest, HelenKay Dimon! There’s so much to say about HelenKay, from how witty and sharply intelligent she is, to how generous and gracious she can be (she’s the 2010 PRO Mentor of the Year!) She’s also a very awesome writer whose work has been showcased in Cosmopolitan magazine multiple times, as well as praised on E! Online. Enjoy!

HelenKay Dimon

Now a little about me…

I sold my first book to Kensington in 2005. By the time February 2009 rolled around, I had sold sixteen books, including novellas and single titles, and decided to try writing category/series romance for Harlequin Intrigue. I did this for many reasons: my Kensington editor was very sick and I wanted to leave her alone; I had option clauses that covered single title lengths and restricted what I could write outside of Kensington; I wrote faster than my Kensington contracts and wanted more books on the shelves; and, I wanted to try something different.

Available Now! - June 2010

What I wasn’t quite prepared for were the questions. Isn’t writing category after writing single title a huge step backward? Since they are so easy to write, can’t you do five or six a year? Aren’t they all about formula over substance? Wouldn’t you rather write a single title romantic suspense? Won’t you get stuck just writing category forever now? Now, to be fair, some of these questions came from well-meaning folks. Others…well, not so much.

I thought I’d go ahead and answer some of those burning Intrigue questions for anyone thinking of writing one or wondering if it’s worth it for a published author to try:

May 2010

1. The easy thing: They are not easy to write. They’re just different from single titles. It’s a delicate balancing act that requires wild pacing, believable suspense and a realistic love story. If that all sounds easy, try to write one. I think you’ll be surprised. You get about 55,000 words to create and resolve a full-blown romance and a compelling mystery/suspense/thriller. It’s tight. You don’t have room for extras or a lot of chatting. You have to get there and get there fast. When I’m done writing one I’m exhausted. The good kind of exhausted.
2. The formula thing: I hear this about romance, in general. My answer is always the same: I wish it were as simple as plugging in names, shifting a few sentences around and cashing the advance check. If it were I could spend hours watching tv, doing family things, hanging out or doing something that doesn’t require me to think too hard. The reality is that I spend hours plotting, writing, revising and engaging in the business end of writing. Every author I know does the same thing. It’s not coal mining but it is hard work in that it grows out of nothing and only gets on the page when I put it there.


March 2010

3. The backwards thing: I once heard author Nancy Holder speak at a writers meeting. She writes paranormals, tie-in novels for several television shows and a bestselling (and recently optioned) YA series. So, yeah, she writes just about everything. It’s hard to view her as anything other than a professional writer. She said when she’s asked to do a writing project, if she’s interested she says yes and then she figures out the rest later – timing, deadlines and if she’s familiar with the show she’s supposed to be writing about. What I learned from her was the simple truth that writers write. I love suspense, enjoy the Intrigue line, want to write for a living and enjoy collecting paychecks…so, why wouldn’t I write Intrigues?
4. The single title thing: There are some authors who make their entire living on category. And it’s a pretty good living. For me, I already write single titles. I plan to keep on writing single titles. As I do, I also intend to write for Intrigue because I enjoy it. I admire my fellow Intrigue authors and am thrilled to be one of them. I didn’t land at Intrigue because I couldn’t write anything else. I have other contracts with other publishers. I write for intrigue because I want to.


March 2010

5. The stuck thing: I’m hoping to be “stuck” writing for a very long time. I don’t complain about deadlines because, honestly, a lot of very talented authors don’t have them right now. It’s humbling.

So, as I go into the second half of 2010, I hope to continue writing what I want as much as I can. It’s a gift.

Anyone have any Intrigue questions? If so, post them or a comment and I’ll give away a copy of my first Intrigue, UNDER THE GUN, to someone who posts here.

——-

You can find HelenKay at:

Her website: www.helenkaydimon.com
Her blog: www.helenkaydimon.com/blog/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/helenkaydimon

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

6  1  4

Everyone, please welcome the phenomenal Cie Adams, best known to many of you as C. T. Adams and as Cat Adams. Along with Cathy Clamp, Cie has written both the USA Today bestselling Sazi and Thrall series with Tor Books, as well as the stand-alone Magic’s Design. This month, she has an all-new treat for you — the first book in a new urban fantasy series that will appeal to both adult and young adult readers.

One lucky commentor will win an ARC of the second book in this awesome new series! Enjoy!

C. T. Adams

As an art writing requires inspiration, the author’s unique view and perspective, creativity and observation.

As a craft it requires a grasp of the language, the mechanics of storytelling.
This is a wonderful thing. Because it means that all writers (the best and the worst) can grow, improve, and get better.

Blood Song (Blood Singer #1)

The plotting and the characters may be no better. (They may even be worse. Deadline stress can cause real problems for established writers, and it sometimes shows.) But the writing itself will probably have improved by leaps and bounds.

To prove my theory I pulled out first and most recent books in two different series:

Guilty Pleasures and Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton; and
Storm Front and Turncoat by Jim Butcher.

Siren Song (Blood Singer #2)

You can’t learn the art part. But you can and should do everything you can to learn and practice the craft. Your readers deserve the best you can give them.

Fortunately, writing is something you learn by doing as well as by studying. So read. Then write. And keep writing. Then write some more. The results will show, even if you don’t notice it at the time.

——-

You can find Cie at:
website: www.ciecatrunpubs.com
Twitter : @ctadamsauthor
blog: ciesblog.blogspot.com

And don’t forget to comment for your chance to win an ARC of Book #2, Siren Song. Book #1, Blood Song, releases June 8th (but is shipping from many vendors now…)!!

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

4  1

I’d like you all to give my good friend and the nicest person in publishing, Cindy Gerard, a warm MSW welcome! (oh, and that hunk ‘olicious pictured below is RISK NO SECRETS hero Wyatt Savage, the pretty lady is Cindy  )

And The Years Roll By

     Sometimes I have to sit back, take a deep breath and remind myself that once upon a time my goal had been to write a book someone would want to
buy.  Amazingly, after 4 rejections it actually happened.  That was a few years ago and this week I’m celebrating the release of my 43rd novel and I’m working on #44.  When I sold that first book, I never dreamed I’d be looking at 44 books (and counting). I’m not going to take you back through the maze that prompted all those books but I would like to tell you a little about how Black Ops., Inc. came to be and about RISK NO SECRETS, Book 5, in the BOI series that  officially hit the bookshelves this past Tuesday, May 18th! (Yea!)

     I started out on the BOI quest some time ago with the intention of writing a 3 book series about a group of elite shadow warriors who fought for freedom and justice even after they had parted ways with Uncle Sam.   It all began in a back alley behind a seedy cantina in Buenos Aires where the hero and heroine of my 6th Bodyguard book, Into The Dark, had found themselves boxed into a corner with the baddest of
the bad guys closing in. I had no idea how they were going to get  themselves out of their fix when out of the shadows, stepped Gabriel – the Archangel – Jones.

     Gabe was larger than life, totally unexpected and on the dark side of shady.  It was lust at first sight on my part.  I didn’t know who this guy was or where he’d come from but one thing I did know: THIS man was amazing. THIS man was going to have his own book!!

     So when Gabe, in turn, introduced me to his buddies, the stoic Sam Lang and the outrageous flirt, Johnny Duane Reed, I had my 3 heroes and Black Ops., Inc. was born. But, guys like these, capable, courageous, loyal and well, hot, they had to have some buddies, right?  So I tossed in their boss at BOI, Nate Black, the cute Latino, Rafael Mendoza, and then stirred two former CIA agents, ‘Mean’ Joe Green, and Wyatt – Papa
Bear – Savage into the mix.

     I should have known that these secondary characters were going to demand stories of their own. That worked out pretty well because as it turned out, I heard from a LOT of readers who also wanted to hear their stories which meant my publisher wanted more, too. It was a win/win all the way around. (Thank you all by the way, for putting the first 4 BOI books on the New York Times! I’m still stunned over that turn of events and I owe it all to you!)

     Anyway, RISK NO SECRETS is Wyatt Savage’s story.  This slow talkin’ Georgia boy – Papa Bear to his buddies – was content playing wing man until someone very special to him ended up in trouble and needed his help. And that’s when Wyatt willingly stepped up to the plate and into a true hero’s role. I love this story about Wyatt and Sophie. I love the action, the surprises I discovered about Wyatt, and the love story that survived in spite of all odds against it.

     Naturally, I hope you’re going rush right out and buy RISK NO SECRETS but most of all, I hope that if you do, that you love the story as much as I do.

     Just to whet your appetite, here’s a link to an excerpt
http://www.cindygerard.com/excerpt_may2010.html
AND here’s a link to the book video. http://www.cindygerard.com/
AND, a little something extra if you click this link
http://www.simonandschuster.com/search?term=cindy+gerard it will take you to the Simon and Schuster website and you can check out several short videos of me talking about the books. How’s that for a test drive or two to help you decide to buy the product?

     Seriously, check it out and then come back and make a comment about either the excerpt, the book trailer or the videos featuring moi ) OR about your favorite BOI character OR about your favorite hero of all the books you’ve read and I’ll send an autographed copy of RISK NO SECRETS to a randomly selected winner.

BTW – thanks for letting me join you today, ladies.  You guys rock!
www.cindygerard.com

Thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule and visiting us today, Cindy!

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

5  1    8

When Karin Harlow asked me to read an early copy of Enemy Lover, I hesitated—I’m not a huge fan of vampire stories. But after only one chapter I was hooked. Harlow’s characters are so compelling, the action exquisitely written, the dialogue sharp and realistic, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to like a vampire story. Jax and Marcus are two of the most gripping characters I’ve read in a long time. When I recommend to new writers that they not be afraid to torture and torment their characters, from now on I’ll simply refer them to Harlow.

One reviewer said, “Marcus Cross gives whole new meaning to Alpha male. Jax Cassidy put the kick-ass in the word ‘heroine.’” . . . I couldn’t have said it better myself. I love strong heroines who don’t need a man—but realize they are a better, more complete person, with passion and love in their lives. That’s Jax.

Fresh Fiction called Enemy Lover, “Black Ops meets the paranormal” which I think sums up this original story perfectly.

So now it’s time for you to meet the incomparable Karin Harlow! Read on because you’ll have the chance to win a signed copy of Enemy Lover and a limited edition L.O.S.T. mug!

AB: Thank you so much for being here with us at Murder She Writes! We are all thrilled to have you. (applause, applause, hoot, woot!) Please give us a brief synopsis of ENEMY LOVER, book one in the L.O.S.T. series.

HARLOW: Thank you Allison for taking the time to chat with me and have me as your guest at Murder She Writes, and double thank you for all of that lovely praise!

Left for dead by his platoon in the violent hills of Afghanistan, special ops sniper Marcus Cross was given a second chance at life. His newly heightened skills make him the perfect killing machine, and as Lazarus’s right hand man, he’s quickly rising to the top of his dark empire, purging enemies with speed and precision. Only when dangerous beauty Jax Cassidy is sent to bring him in does he begin to question Lazarus’s motives and his own actions. But when Jax’s life is threatened by the one thing that can destroy them both, Marcus must make a bitter choice—her death or his.

AB: Is this a series? A trilogy? Stand-alone?

HARLOW: ENEMY LOVER is a stand alone book, but it is also book one in the L.O.S.T., Last Option Special Team, series. I hope for a long long run!

AB: Tortured heroes. Tortured heroines. Bad, bad, bad villains. Talk a little bit about your characters and how you made them come so alive in this book.

HARLOW: I’m a people observer. I’m always fascinated with people’s issues. What makes them tick. Why does one woman curl up and hide from the world when something bad happens to her while another woman will roll up her sleeves and kick some ass? I’m hooked on the show Intervention and anything Dr Drew is involved in. It’s a wonderful window to real peoples’ very real issues, in that, I give my characters real depth. They can and will do bad things, sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes not, but there is a valid reason other than being stupid or just plain old mean. That goes double for the bag guy. In ENEMY LOVER, while Marcus is an assassin and believes in what he does, his boss who also happens to be his creator, Joseph Lazarus, wants to control the White House. Not because he’s power hungry, though that is part of his motivation, but more than that, what drives him is the fact that he’s a hardcore patriot and will use the White House to eliminate any threat to his country. However, he sees fit. It’s the, however he sees fit, that’s the problem.

AB: In some ways, ENEMY LOVER is a political thriller. In others, a romantic suspense. And of course, there are vampires–though very original and thoughtfully created, while still holding to the basic vampire mythology. In fact, one might call it a paranormal romantic suspense with political thriller overtones. (bawahahaha!) How did the plot come together for you? It’s quite complex–did you plot it out ahead of time? Did your characters take over?

HARLOW: ENEMY LOVER has been called all of the above plus action-adventure! I love it all, because ENEMY LOVER is all of the above! Ok, so here’s the deal: When you have no other alternative, then you call in L.O.S.T. Because with L.O.S.T. it’s do or die.

And, yes, my characters took over long before I started the story. I really was consumed by them.

AB: One of the things I greatly admired in this book was your dialogue. It’s fast, it flows, and is very natural. What’s your secret? Do you read it out loud? Act out the scenes?

HARLOW: Thank you! I love dialogue and equate it to action scenes. I don’t have a secret, it’s one of those play to your strengths kind of things. I have snappy repartee going on all around me in my home life, so I write what I know. I don’t usually read out loud, mostly because I forget to! I’m not much for acting out scenes either, but with this book since there is so much high-octane action, I found myself walking through many of the scenes with my husband. He was a great help.

AB: ENEMY LOVER is as sexy as it is suspenseful. Your characters live large in everything they do. What are your thoughts on writing larger-than-life characters who love—and fight—passionately, without making them caricatures?

HARLOW: I have a big emotional family. We love hard, play hard, get pissed off hard, and we are loyal to a fault, it all comes out in my characters. I write them true to themselves. I know some people who live so large they are a caricature, but I think they are caricatures because they don’t show the emotional sides of themselves. With my characters, you may not see it in their actions right off the bat, but you will immediately feel it from their insides out.

AB: Do you have anything else you want to share with MSW? Like maybe, what’s up next?

HARLOW: I’m working on L.O.S.T. book two, working title LOST SOULS. It features L.O.S.T operative Nikko Cruz, who has good reason to despise manipulative women, pitted against the mistress of manipulation, half daemon, half elf, Selena de la Roja posing as a sexy Cubana club owner in sultry south beach, who uses her club, LOST SOULS, to lure daemons in, then makes hash out of them. She has her reasons. She’s an amazing woman. Amazing. Though passing herself off as a human to blend into their world, Selena has no interest in humans except to use as bait to lure daemons from hell. Unfortunately, she needs Cruz to save her mother from her daemonic father and Cruz needs her to locate three hijacked centrifuge-laden semis spinning uranium-235. Not a good thing in the hands of the wrong government.

AB: And now the fun stuff! Here’s some questions I asked Ms. Harlow:

Sun Sign: I’m a Leo of course!
(Of course? Is there something I don’t understand here?)

Do for fun: Wine tasting!
(I’ve made a new friend!)

Dumbest thing you’ve ever done: Let’s not go there…
(Shoot, you’re no fun! How much wine do I have to ply you with to get you to spill your guts???)

Smartest thing you’ve ever done: Threw caution to the wind, packed up my car and moved to California with my boyfriend who I married.
(Smartest or craziest!)

One thing you want to do, but doubt you will: Take two months and travel Europe.
(I want to live for a year in Ireland.)

One thing you want to do, and know you will: Rent a nice motor home (the kind with indoor everything!) and travel across this great country of ours.
(My grandparents did that . . . you’re not that old!)

Favorite TV show: Castle. I know, frivolous escapism.
(We all need frivolous escapism!!)

Favorite movie: ugh so many. Zeferelli’s Romeo and Juliet
(Very cultured of you!)

If you could marry anyone (other than your husband!) who would it be? If that hunk on my cover has half a brain, him!
(No comment! LOL)

Enemy Lover goes on sale next Tuesday. Five days. Would you like a copy? Then comment below—or ask Karin a question–and one very lucky winner will win a signed copy of this breakout book. And she’s also giving away one of these cool custom L.O.S.T mugs! (It is a REALLY cool mug!) And if you want to learn more about our special guest, visit her website!

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

2  4  1  2

It is my honor and pleasure to welcome debut author Leigh Duncan as a guest today.  I’ve known Leigh for pretty much all of my RWA life (round it off at ten years) and it’s been a thrill to watch her achieve her dream of publication.  I can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone who embodied the concept of “relentless persistence” in the face of a seemingly endless uphill journey as much as this determined lady.  Her tenacity paid off when The Officer’s Girl was released last month by Harlequin American.  She may have doubted that would happen, but I never did.  The night I read the manuscript, tucked away in my favorite reading chair, doing a favor for a dear friend who has done so many for me, I knew by page five this book would be published.   It just had that sparkle…and so does Leigh when she talks about writing in general and her first sale in particular.  I never doubted she’d make it, and will continue to shine in this industry.

I’ve invited Leigh here to talk a little bit about villains, one of our favorite subjects.  Since she writes a straight contemporary romance, readers might not realize there’s a “villain” at all – not like the classic bad guy we meet in most of the books by MSW authors.  But any student of literature will tell you there’s always a villain, or at least an antagonist.  In some cases, the villain is another character, in others it can be any obstacle the main characters face, such as stormy weather.  Either way, the villain makes conflict, and there’s plenty of that in Leigh’s wonderful book.  So, let’s give a big MSW welcome to debut author, great friend, and all around awesome person Leigh Duncan! (For tons more info about Leigh and her books and an excerpt, be sure to head on over to www.leighduncan.com.)

First, let me give a special thanks to Roxanne for inviting me to Murder She Writes today.  This blog has long been one of my favs, and I’m truly honored to be here.  Especially since murder and mayhem are not part of my daily writing routine.  Because I write for Harlequin American Romance.  Where the fear quotient is usually limited to the incredible thrill-of-his-lips-against-hers, rather than the heart-stopping rush of a gun aimed at the heroine’s head. 

Not that I don’t have my villains.  I do. 

In fact, in my debut, The Officer’s Girl, which was released in April, there are several.  Including two pretty nasty characters.  Each plays a critical role in the developing relationship of Brett, an ultra-hunky cop, and Stephanie, a gal so new to Florida’s east coast she doesn’t realize she’s unpacking in the path of a hurricane.  The discovery of one of these “bad guys” provides Brett and Stephanie with ample opportunity to work together as they build a case against him.  But the appearance of the second is more threatening—both to Brett’s life and to his relationship with Stephanie. 

See, in the books I write, the villain is a catalyst for the romance and, at its core, the book is all about the relationship.  And that, I think, is one of the main difference between contemporary romances, like Harlequin Americans, and the throat tightening romantic suspense of, for example, the Bullet Catcher series.  In my books, we might have a villain or two, but the story is more about the relationship than it is about the suspense.  Can a disgruntled cop find—not just love, but the answers to his personal demons—in the arms of a woman who sees a relationship, any relationship, as an impediment to her career?  Will the bad guys help to push them together, or drive them apart? 

In my second book for Harlequin American (which releases in early 2011), I faced a real challenge in that the hero and the heroine are both villains…for each other.  Not that they aren’t nice people.  They are.  Jess is a widowed fly fishing guide who’s determined to protect a pristine stretch of the riverside for future generations.  As goals go, that’s an admirable one, right?  Sure it is.  But so is the medical clinic thoracic surgeon Dan intends to build on the very same site, especially since the profits will fund a home for foster kids.  The lengths Jess and Dan go to in order to fulfill their dreams put them squarely in the other party’s villain camp.  But, Harlequin readers shouldn’t worry.  The book is tentatively titled Catch of a Lifetime,  not “A Case of Murder Justified.”  

The thing is, no one wants to read a story about how Dick met Jane, they fell in love and lived happily ever after.  While we might want to live those stories, we don’t want to read about them.  No, there has to be conflict if we’re going to keep turning page after page, instead of nodding off three-quarters of the way through.  Our heroes and our heroines have to overcome tough obstacles.  In a word, that usually means there’s a villain.  Or two. 

So, what do you think about villains and conflict?  Are you content to have a solid obstacle keeping your hero and heroine apart?  Or do you think it takes a true villain to those pages turning?  Since we’re talking today on Murder She Writes, I suspect I already know the answer.  But I so look forward to hearing from you that one lucky commenter will win a autographed copy of The Officer’s Girl.

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

1  1

Today we have a guest blog from up-and-coming author and all-around fabulous gal, Nikki Duncan! She has a new release to celebrate and a prize for one lucky winner. Enjoy!

“I get paid to kill people” is what I could have said during the “how well do you know your friends” game we played not long ago at my sister’s baby shower. I wasn’t that clever. I never am “in the moment.” The object of the game was to tell two truths and one lie about yourself and then see how well this person knows her friends. In a room of 50 or so women, this is quite challenging. Even with the advice to make the truths outrageous and play down the lies.

Now, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit outrageous—in groups of friends. I did earn the nickname Naughty Nikki. But my day-to-day life is so routine and often mundane I struggle to come up with clever and witty things to say on things like that paper. So instead of doing something fun like saying “I get paid to kill people” or “I kill people for entertainment” or “I kill several people a year” I wrote “I’m a romance writer.” It was the truth, but not as fun as it could have been. And it was a tad alarming my sister more easily figured out who I was by my lie. Though, I don’t know why she wouldn’t believe that I have tons of spare time which I love filling with running and yelling children. Isn’t that how everyone wants to spend their down time?

Anyway… These women were writing things like “I had sex with the school district’s superintendent” or “I have more guns than a swat team” and other torrid, scandalous things I can’t remember. Oh, I do remember one woman wears a size 7 shoe on her left foot and a 6.5 on her right. That was an odd one. These were their truths. The woman having sex with the superintendent… He’s her husband, but the room played it up as if there’d been a major scandal in this small town, which is sort of strange when you aren’t familiar with these people and the town. Lol The woman with the guns is a former cop who apparently collects weapons and has one on her or in her purse at all times. Not what I think of when I picture a grandmother, but I liked her immediately. I had no clue my sister’s friends were so colorful, but shouldn’t have been surprised.

If I was playing the game as if I were Kami from my latest release SCENT OF PERSUASION I could see this game being way fun.

Her three might be something like:
~ I have an aversion to suited, white-collar men.
~ I’ve had sex for money.
~ I faced my first penis at age 7. He was my best friend. We were in a shed behind the house. Nothing happened.

So let’s have some fun. Tell me two truths and one lie about you. Let’s see if we can guess which are lies and which are truths.

Here are my three:
~ I’m a practiced seductress.
~ I’m techie stuff phobic.
~ I’m a 35 year old wife of almost 16 years and mom of two.

Chat it up to be entered into a drawing I’ll be having for a copy of SCENT OF PERSUASION. Kami will announce the winner Tonight – Monday, May 3 (at 7:00 Central Time) – on my website during a live Chat. If you can’t make the chat or don’t want your email publicly listed on the blog, email me at contests@NikkiDuncan.com with Kami in the subject line. I’ll be sure to enter you. And tell me your preferred eBook format in case you win.

Read more about Kami and Breck, and their story SCENT OF PERSUASION!, that releases tomorrow from Samhain Publishing. You could also find hints into her truths and lies.

Visit Nikki at her online homes:
www.NikkiDuncan.com
www.NikkiDuncan.com/blog
www.Twitter.com/NDuncanWriter

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

1  2  2  2

Everyone, please give my good friend and one of the nicest people in the world, Eileen Rendahl, a warm welcome to MSW!

Thank you so much for inviting me to guest blog here at Murder She Writes. If you can judge a person by the company she keeps, then I hope everyone sees me here. It’s an honor to blog with such a talented fabulous group of writers.

I thought I’d continue what seems to be a theme here this week and talk about the heroine of my new book, DON’T KILL THE MESSENGER. Melina had a near-death experience as a three-year-old and started seeing and hearing a lot of things that no one else seemed to see or hear. Since then, she’s been pressed into service delivering messages and packages for supernatural beings. Be it a note from a love-sick Sasquatch or a package to a dwarf, Melina has to suck it up and take it where it’s meant to go or suffer the consequences. And trust me, there will be consequences.

Melina strolled into my life completely unbidden. I wasn’t looking to start a book or for a new idea. In fact, I was on deadline for another book. She just showed up and while I had to figure out how she came to be and what precisely she was, I knew instantly what kind of person she was. Smart, sarcastic and a bit of a slacker. Or, as my mother put it after she read it, “she reminds me of you, but she has bigger problems.” 

After I figured out how she came to be, I needed to start populating her world. Where did she work? What did she drive? What was her family like? And most importantly of all, who were her friends?

I grew up surrounded by sisters and female cousins. I’m very comfortable surrounded by female company and have to admit that I’ve become suspicious of women who don’t have girlfriends. The last few times someone has zinged me with one of those back-handed compliments or nastygrams that we’ve been discussing this week? It’s been a woman who later made some comment about how hard it was to get along with other women.

Go figure, huh?

My characters tend to be surrounded by girlfriends and sisters. As a writer, they give me a great opportunity to show different sides of an issue or different ways of handling similar situations. There’s another side to this coin, though. If you’re writing a romance, having a loner heroine makes it so she might not have anyone else to turn to except the hero. Now that’s good romance.

 Sadly, though, as a reader, my suspicion of girls who don’t like girls colors my perception of heroines who don’t have other women in their lives. Melina has a lot of faults. Really, she has a lot of them. Maybe too many. Not being able to get along with other girls is not one of them.

So how about you? Is a loner heroine with no friends a deal-breaker for you? Or do too many friends make it harder to focus on the relationship between the hero and heroine?

©2010 Murder She Writes. All Rights Reserved.

1  1