Thanks to a good friend and most excellent storyteller, Gayle Lynds, I took off with a group for a writers tour of the CIA at Langley, Virginia. I don’t know what I expected. A small, gloomy building where everyone wore a trench coat? And underground bunker. A huge building behind a regular old door, Something out of Men in Black? Not exactly. But with our group of ten writers, many of us down for Bouchercon in Baltimore, we headed out with a great driver in a small van. We’d sent ahead our license numbers and SSNs. There was an outer building where we did stop for name tags, and we were then shuttled over to the new and old buildings.

On the one hand, it felt like visiting a small mall. People were everywhere. Going here, going there. But one of my fellows asked our guide, “How many people work here?” It seemed innocuous enough, but the answer was, “I can’t tell you that.” Hm. Of course, there are covert agents and overt agents. How many, of course, we don’t know.

Our first real stop is a small museum that traces the history of espionage. I’m assuming–and since I see other groups being led around–that the CIA has planned this for visitors. But the little museum–surrounded by offices and folks just at work going to and fro–is intriguing. There are guns–hidden in everything from umbrellas to wallets–miniature cameras, binoculars, and more are displayed. Very neat stuff–the stuff of spy stories! Then, onward to lunch. At the food court. Yes, the CIA has a food court. And a Starbucks! Go figure.

We headed in for speech by the CIA historian. That speech ended with a look at the movies–and what the historian liked, and what he didn’t like. He was really indignant about those flicks that make the CIA look like an evil organization that allows its members to hide their dirty secrets. Hey, I get it. Pick on my kids, and I’m ready to take you down. So what is true, and what isn’t? They certainly can’t tell us that. They do answer one question for me. “Say,” I ask, “that you’re an agent operating in another country. You’re not caught as an agent, but you do get in major trouble for a car accident or the like. What then?”

“Whatever, happens, happens,” I’m told. And it’s serious, of course, so I know, when you sign up, if you’re caught, you’re on your own. A goner. Obviously, I guess. That’s why it’s secret.

Now, we did frequently get the answer, “I can’t tell you that.”

However, never once did we get, “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

We did learn that the CIA folks often date other CIA folks.Much easier than trying to hedge an explanation of your day job when you’re at Harry’s Bar. It often makes for better marriages. “Hey, hon, I’m off to the middle east to spy,” is probably much more believable when you do work for the government, the same as your partner. Obviously, our tour hostess and hosts were “overt” agents. Her degree was in publicity and marketing, and she was charming, and people do know where she works. I’m thinking that if any of our covert agents were walking around, they weren’t wearing name tags that identified their positions.

I left fascinated, newly impressed, and newly confused. But I’m still in awe. One amazing fact stands out in my mind.

Even at the CIA, there’s a Starbucks.

I’m grateful for the tour.

A couple years ago, NYT bestseller James Rollins spoke to my local RWA chapter on blending genres. His presentation was fantastic–not only is Jim a great writer, but he’s also a fun and informed speaker.

He suggested that one way to break out, or to write that something “fresh and different” that editors say they want is to take an element from another genre and blend it with the “rules” of an established genre. JD Robb’s books are a perfect example of a blended genre–romantic suspense novels set in the future. They’re truly three genres–mysteries, romance, and light science fiction.

Romantic suspense has become it’s own distinct genre. There are those of us who write romantic suspense that’s heavy on the romance, such as the incomparable Roxanne St. Claire. There are those of us who write romantic suspense that’s heavy on the suspense, such as me. And our own Heather Graham has successfully incorporated paranormal elements such as ghosts into her romantic suspense novels–she helped forge the trail, as Heather has blended paranormal elements into her stories before that genre was so hot.

In fact, genre blending is nothing new–established authors have been doing it for years. In the 60s and 70s, gothic romances led the way to the modern romantic suspense novels. Romance writers who tended to write sexier than their peers became the new erotic romance writers–and there are sexy paranormals, suspense, and historicals, another branch off the tree. With the explosion of urban fantasy–which may or may not have strong paranormal and/or suspense elements; the successful science fiction romances of Linnea Sinclair; the increase in romantic mystery series (or, rather, mysteries with a nice dose of romance), our imagination is truly the limit in what we can create and blend together to make something new, different, and exciting.

When you look at some of the biggest authors of our time, they are not considered “genre” at all, even if they are shelved in an established genre. For example, Stephen King and Dean Koontz may be identified as “horror” or “suspense” but both have gone beyond genre to write stories that appeal to a large cross section of the public, largely because they incorporate ALL genre elements successfully. Stephen King’s books often deal with the supernatural or paranormal, while almost always having a relationship story (that may or may not be a romance.)

I think this is all good–it gives our imaginations more room to roam. But there’s a pitfall for up-and-coming authors, including myself: how do we market our books? Specifically, how do we create covers that appeal to cross-genre readers?

You can put Nora Roberts or Stephen King in white letters on a black cover and sell books. Their name is their genre, in a sense–they are a brand in and of themselves. They tend to have more “generic” covers without a lot of gimmicks. HIGH NOON, for example, is a simple cover that evokes a mood, but it’s Nora Roberts’ name that has you buying the book. While I’m sure bad covers for even the most popular authors can affect sales, bad covers–or the wrong covers–can negatively impact a growing author’s career.

When you write romance, you have parameters for your covers. Harlequin covers have certain guidelines and are designed to meet their reader expectations. Avon Historical Romances have certain guidelines to meet their reader expectations. When you write thrillers, there’s certain elements that tend to recur, but many of the covers either have a strong setting or image that directly relates to the story (such as James Rollins and Steve Berry) while others have a more generic or art look like Lee Child. Then there’s the running man, or other elements of speed and chase incorporated into the cover that gives the reader a sense for the type of story they are getting.

But when you write romantic thrillers, what do you focus on? The romance? The thrill? Both? To what degree?

I’m one who believes that the cover should reflect the tone of the story. More romance in the story, a more “romance focused” cover; more suspense in the story, a more “suspense focused” cover. But finding that balance that’s going to appeal to the readers who would enjoy that type of story is not easy, yet it’s probably one of the most important things for a book’s success–or failure–after the writing itself.

I recently bought a book solely for the cover. David Hewson’s THE GARDEN OF EVIL. (Great title, too!) But I was looking at covers that evoked a mood, specifically for my upcoming supernatural thriller series, and this one jumped out at me. It’s not that this cover would fit my story, but it gave me the right feeling.

Genre blending is no longer new and different, but because of the endless permutations of the genres, it will continue to grow and thrive. Yet for those of us who are trying to establish our careers, who mix it up with the genres primarily because that’s where our voice and interest takes us, finding the right covers is not always easy. And until we get to the point where our name alone puts us at #1 on the NYT list, covers will always be important.

What do you think of genre blending? Do you prefer your mysteries to be mysteries and your romances to be romances and your science fiction to be science fiction . . . or do you like mixing and matching?

I just spent a week in LA–for several reasons. The first book in a series is out–Deadly Night–to be followed one a month in the next two months by Deadly Harvest and Deadly Gift. I like holidays, so it was lots of fun, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and you got it–”Gift” is Christmas! I went to the West Hollywood Book Fair which was super, cool, and lots of fun. I spoke with Alex Sokoloff on a panel in which Adrienne Barbeau was also speaking, led by Les Klinger, who is also a friend. How can you go wrong? Well, I was impressed, having come of age during the reign of Maude, a show that I loved, ahead of its time just a bit. All right, I have already discovered that Hollywood’s leading ladies can be amazing–Harley Jane Kozak is simply one of the finest human beings I have ever met, bar none. Gracious, gorgeous, sweet. Adrienne was charming, as nice as could be. One other thing I noted about them both–was it the perfect bodies? No, though they have them.

Teeth! What perfect, gorgeous, glorious teeth!

Onward to my very favorite promotional tool of all time–the satellite media tour. That means you sit in one room, and they pipe you out to whatever stations want you across the country. The negative aspect of being in California for such a tour is that your call time is four A.M. You have to hit the early news stations in the east. But I was more than willing for this opportunity. One room, a whole country. Cool.

Onward to some personal time, as the baby daughter (who is six feet even) is now going to school in California, an arts school where the kids are amazing, musicians, animators, actors, actresses, artists and all. The energy around the kids is like a strange high, so it’s very cool to be with them, and see them run around the school like determined bees. I’d loved to have gone there–it is an amazing place. They’re still young, of course, so several members of the family came in and we took several of the students and a family friend to horror nights at Hollywood Universal. What a blast. Saw the new Wolfman preview. It certainly holds promise. The tram ride is fun, the haunted house on the ground level a definite A plus.

Now, I am your worst coward. I know that these are high school and college kids in costume, but they can usually make me jump anyway. There in comes our family friend who accompanied us–Josh Perry. Josh has Downs Syndrome, and, yet, he is amazingly more mature than most of us many a time. He has a show on the Internet, Youtube–top rated–called The Retarded Policeman. It’s very funny, and most people love it. Some are offended, thinking someone is using poor Josh. The truth of the matter is that Josh is an actor, and he loves what he does. At Universal, he was recognized by many fans. My suggestion, to those who want to check it out, is the episode about The Mexicans–it also stars his real life mom and dad. There are sex jokes, drug jokes, you name it jokes, but the most important part of it is that Josh loves his job. As he says in an interview segment with his sister, “I may have Downs Syndrome, but if you have a problem with me, YOU’RE retarded!”

Which brings me, oddly, to the debates. We’re all supposed to be free to pursue our own dreams which includes the freedom to aspire to any goal in life, no matter what handicaps we might face. Here’s my wish. All candidates stop telling me what’s bad about each other, and tell me instead what they’re going to do to help America stand tall and proud again. I don’t want to be told that I will or won’t vote for someone because they are black, white, or yellow, male, female, young or old. I want to hear their dreams and visions, and how they’re going to make those visions come to pass. Ah, hell. I did come of age at the very end of the hippy days, only to see many hippys become yuppies. I do dream of a Utopian world in which we fill out forms that don’t ask us about our color or ethnic origin. I mean, isn’t the point that we are all Americans?

Back to Josh and Universal. There is no one who is more fun to be with in a haunted house! Once he had a light saber–a bargain at five dollars!–he was super brave and ready to face any masked Freddy or Jason! A few pairs of bunny ears on the girls (and Brendan, who just liked them and wore them well!) and we were good to go. Except I made it home at eleven o’clock–as in home to Miami, on Monday–and took off this morning at eleven for Baltimore. But I am incredibly excited to be here. It’s my first time at Bouchercon, so I am anxious to learn and to participate. More on that later.

Heather