Lena Diaz's Blog, page 20

Laura Griffin’s Hardcover Debut: Far Gone

One of my favorite authors, Laura Griffin, has a new book out next week, and this one’s special because it’s her first hardcover release. Congrats, Laura!

FAR GONE is another fabulous addition to her quickly expanding oeuvre. A sexy, stoic FBI agent, and prickly, kick-ass cop, and a homegrown terrorist make for an explosive read that will keep you up long past bedtime.

Laura was gracious enough to stop by K&T to talk about FAR GONE, and give away a Starbucks gift card for one lucky commenter. (The caffeine is for the morning after you stay up all night reading. ;-) )

Your new book FAR GONE is a bit of a departure from your Tracers series. How is it different?

Thanks so much for inviting me to visit Kiss & Thrill!

FAR GONE is my first hardcover book, so I’m very excited about that. I spent a lot of time planning this story before I wrote a word, really trying to get my heroine down. Andrea Finch is a detective with the Austin Police Department who is on leave from her job after a shooting incident when she gets an S.O.S. call from her younger brother in West Texas. Andrea suspects her brother has gotten himself mixed up in a really bad situation and goes out there to investigate.

Did you do any special research for this story?

I love book research! While getting ready to write this one, I went on a police ride-along here in Austin. I love this city (my hometown), but I wanted to see it through a cop’s eyes.

Another big help for me was visiting the LAPD training academy with the suspense writers’ chapter of Romance Writers of America. [GH: That tour was awesome.] Touring their facilities and learning all about their rigorous training was really useful when I sat down to write this book. Also, I got to meet a number of women on the job, who helped me get a sense of what it’s like to be a woman in the male-dominated field of law enforcement.

This book isn’t an official part of your Tracers series. Do you plan to write any more Tracers book?

Absolutely! I love writing the Tracers series. And readers will recognize a few familiar faces from the series in FAR GONE. I couldn’t resist bringing some of my favorite Tracers in to help with the forensic aspects of the story.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on the new Tracers book, this one featuring Derek Vaughn and Elizabeth LeBlanc, who first met in the book SCORCHED. I don’t have a title yet, but I’ll keep you posted!

[I loved Elizabeth in this book. I'm excited to read her and Derek's story.]

Also, I’m excited to be writing a new addition to my Moreno & Hart mystery series with Allison Brennan. The book is called HIT & RUN and it features the female PI duo Scarlet Moreno and Krista Hart. Allison and I have had fun collaborating on this series.

Ooh, more Moreno & Hart. Yay! Anything else you’d like to tell readers?

I hope you’ll enjoy FAR GONE! And I would love to see some of you at the RT Convention in New Orleans this May, or the RWA Convention in San Antonio, where I’ll be signing books.

Can’t wait to see you in San Antonio!

GIVEAWAY! To celebrate the release of FAR GONE Laura is giving away a $15 Starbucks card. Leave a comment for a chance to win and then check back on Thursday.

 

Filed under: Gwen Hernandez Tagged: Far Gone, Laura Griffin, Romantic Suspense, Romantic Thriller, Tracers series

WINNERS OF 2014 RITA® BOOKS!

Congratulations again to the 4 romantic suspense RITA® nominees! We really enjoyed having this chance to meet you individually. And thanks for submitting your first lines, smoking-hot covers and back cover blurbs. We wish you all the best of luck on Awards Night!

And now announcing this week’s lucky winners!

JUSTICE FOR SARA by Erica Spindler goes to: JULIE O

THE KILLING GAME (DIGITAL COPY) by Toni Anderson goes to: CARMEN PACHECO

OFF THE EDGE by Carolyn Crane goes to: DIANE SALLANS

THRILL RIDE by Julie Ann Walker (2 signed copies) go to: DOMINIQUE BROTHERS and ELLEN CULVERWELL

WINNERS: Please click on the CONTACT US link above, and let us know where the nominees can send your books. Remember, you have 10 days to respond and this giveaway is only eligible to readers in the Continental US. (Sorry everyone else!) :(

Thank you to ALL the many, many commenters who stopped by this week! It was so exciting hosting the 4 RITA® RS nominees and we appreciate you joining us.

 ~~~~~~~

Be sure to check in next week when we host Laura Griffin and learn about her upcoming release–her hardcover debut–FAR GONE!

Filed under: Sarah Andre, Winners Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, Carolyn Crane, Erica Spindler, Julie Ann Walker, Toni Anderson, Winners

2014 RITA® nominee Julie Ann Walker

Welcome 2014 RITA® romantic suspense nominee Julie Ann Walker!

Her nominated novel is: THRILL RIDE

HER FIRST LINE IS: “They say he’s gone rogue.” 

HE’S GONE ROGUE

Ex-navy SEAL Rock Babineaux is as Cajun as they come—spicy, sexy, and more than a bit wicked. But would he actually betray his country? Even his best friends on the special-ops Black Knights team aren’t sure they can trust him. Now the target of a massive manhunt, Rock knows the only way to protect the team—especially his partner, Vanessa—is to run…

SHE WON’T BACK DOWN

Rock might think he can outmaneuver them all, but he hasn’t counted on how stubborn Vanessa Cordero can be. And she refuses to cut him loose. Sure, her partner has his secrets, but there’s no one in the world she’d rather have by her side in a tight spot. Which is good because she and Rock are about to get very tight…

Julie Ann Walker is the award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Black Knights Inc. romantic suspense series. She is prone to spouting movie quotes and song lyrics. She’ll never say no to sharing a glass of wine or going for a long walk. She prefers impromptu travel over the scheduled kind, and she takes her coffee with milk. You can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission.

For more information on Julie Ann Walker: (just go to our Nov 7th blog; she guest-hosted!)

Website: http://www.julieannwalker.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jawalkerauthor

Julie Ann is generously giving away 2 signed copies of THRILL RIDE to 2 lucky commenters.

Check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Filed under: Author Spotlight, Sarah Andre Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, Julie Ann Walker, Thrill Ride

2014 RITA® nominee: Carolyn Crane

Welcome 2014 RITA® romantic suspense nominee Carolyn Crane!

Her nominated novel is: OFF THE EDGE

HER FIRST LINE : Laney Lancaster avoided the restaurant host’s patient gaze, trying to think what to say, hyper-aware that he was waiting, one hand on the back of the chair she was to sit in.

SHE MAY BE HIS WORST ENEMY…

For deadly secret agent Peter Macmillan, language is a weapon—one he uses to hunt criminals, destroy plots, and charm enemies. Seducing information out of a beautiful singer in a Bangkok hotel should be easy…except this particular singer has the power to destroy his cool façade, and with it, his last defense against a dark past.

HE MAY BE HER ONLY HOPE…

He tricked her. He helped himself to her body and her secrets. He has enemies everywhere. Laney Lancaster should hate Peter, but when she discovers him shirtless, sweaty, and chained up in the hotel’s dungeon, all she can think about is freeing him. Because she knows what it’s like to be trapped and alone. And she could use a dangerous friend.

They might be wrong for each other, but the instant they join forces, Laney and Peter are plunged into an odyssey of hot sex and dark danger. To survive, they must trust each other with their lives—and their hearts.

After spending her youth thoroughly obsessed with Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy and convinced that her suburban neighborhood was awash in dangerous secrets, Carolyn Crane grew up to write romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and other tales of adventure and love; she also writes erotic romance about bank robbers as Annika Martin. Her books have been published by Random House and Samhain, and she indie publishes, too. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two cats and works a straight job as a freelance marketing writer. During rare moments when she’s not at her computer, she can be found reading in bed, running, or helping animals.

For more information on Carolyn Crane:

Website:  http://authorcarolyncrane.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolynCrane

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynCrane

Newsletter: http://carolynjeanjackson.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f2412c16d838ecf6c1fe740a1&id=fc81556a81

Carolyn is generously giving away a digital or print copy of OFF THE EDGE to one of our commenters.

Check back on Friday to see if you won! 

 

 

 

Filed under: Author Spotlight, Sarah Andre Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, Carolyn Crane, Off The Edge

2014 RITA® nominee: Toni Anderson

Welcome 2014 RITA® romantic suspense nominee Toni Anderson!

Her nominated novel is: THE KILLING GAME

HER FIRST LINE: Dmitri chewed a piece of dried meat, then swallowed a lump of gristle.

 

Wildlife biologist Axelle Dehn isn’t about to let anyone harm her endangered snow leopards—not the poacher intent on killing them, nor the soldier who wants to use them as bait. But Axelle is unknowingly entangled in a conflict that stretches back three decades, a conflict that could spark a war between two of the world’s great nations.

British SAS soldier, Ty Dempsey, is on a mission to hunt down an infamous Russian terrorist in a remote region of Afghanistan. Dempsey hasn’t failed a mission yet, but when Axelle is kidnapped by the Russian, he is forced to choose between duty and his heart.

He risks everything to save the determined, prickly woman he’s fallen for, but in doing so sparks a deadly series of events that threaten to expose the most successful spy in history. A spy who will destroy anyone who gets in his way.

Toni Anderson is a New York Times & USA Today best-selling author of Romantic Suspense. A former marine biologist, Anderson travelled the world with her work. After living in six different countries, she finally settled down in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children. Combining her love of travel with her love of romantic suspense, Anderson writes stories based in some of the places she has been fortunate enough to visit.

Toni donates 15% of her royalties from Edge of Survival to diabetes research–to find out why, read the book!

She is the author of nine novels including Dark Waters, Dangerous Waters, and The Killing Game. Her latest release is the first book in a new FBI series called A Cold Dark Place.

For more information on Toni and her books please visit:

Website: www.toniandersonauthor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tonianderson

Toni is generously giving a digital copy of her book to one lucky commenter.

Please check back on Friday to see if you won!

Filed under: Author Spotlight, Sarah Andre Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, The Killing Game, Toni Anderson

2014 RITA® nominee: Erica Spindler

Welcome 2014 RITA® romantic suspense nominee, Erica Spindler!

Her nominated novel is: JUSTICE FOR SARA

HER FIRST LINE: Katherine McCall stood at the broken front gate and stared at the words that had been spray-painted in black across the yellow clapboard siding.

 

When seventeen-year-old Katherine McCall arrived home one night to find her beloved sister, Sara, brutally murdered, her whole life changed in the blink of an eye.  Kat was named the prime suspect and, on a string of circumstantial evidence, charged and tried. While the jury found her innocent, not everyone else agreed, and her only choice was to go into hiding. But she carried a dark secret with her, one that made her worry she might actually have had something to do with Sara’s death…

Now, ten years later, Kat still haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder, receives a chilling, anonymous letter that’s impossible to ignore: “What about justice for Sara?” What about justice for Sara? And for herself? Kat realizes that going back to Liberty, Louisiana, is the only way to move forward–and to catch Sara’s killer.  

But the town she’s come back to is hardly different from the one she left. The secrets and suspicions still run deep. Kat has an ally in Detective Luke Tanner, son of the former Liberty police chief, but he may be her only one. With plenty of enemies, no one to trust and a killer determined to keep a dark secret buried, Kat must decide if justice is worth fighting—and dying—for.

Erica Spindler is the New York Times and International Chart bestselling author of 30 novels and two eNovellas. Published in 25 countries, She has been called the “Queen of the romantic thriller,” her work lauded as “terrific twisted tales” and “must-reads for suspense fans.”

A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels FORBIDDEN FRUIT and SEE JANE DIE, won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence for her novel BONE COLD and is a four-time RITA® Award finalist. In 1999, Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel SHOCKING PINK a Listen-Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998. Her newest novel, the RITA® Award finalist JUSTICE FOR SARA, is in bookstores now.

Erica lives just outside of New Orleans with her husband and two sons, where she is working on her next romantic thriller, FINDING TRUE.

For more information about Erica please go to

Website: http://www.ericaspindler.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EricaSpindler

 Erica is generously giving away a copy of JUSTICE FOR SARA to one lucky commenter!

Check back on Friday to see if you won.

 

Filed under: Author Spotlight, Sarah Andre Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, Erica Spindler, Justice for Sara

Sharon and Sarah Final in the Golden Heart (and a Thursday winner)!

Sharon, Gwen, and Sarah before the 2013 GH/RITA Awards in Atlanta.

Every year around this time, thousands of romance writers are sitting by their phones waiting for “the call.” Not the one from an editor or agent, but from one of the members of the board of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) telling them their manuscript or book finaled in either the Golden Heart® (unpublished) or the RITA® (published) Awards.

These prestigious contests are sort of like the Oscars of romance, complete with a ceremony emceed by an author-celebrity, lots of fancy gowns, and a golden statue for the RITA winners. The only thing missing is the E! reporter.

I can tell you from experience that there is no day so nervewracking as finalist announcement day. (Okay, except the actual awards ceremony.) I’ve been through it twice (2010 and 2011) so far. You think you will distract yourself with writing, but find that you’re constantly checking the RWA web page, Facebook, and Twitter to see if your category is done. And every time the phone rings your heart skips a beat.

Several of us at Kiss and Thrill suffered through the suspense again today, and I’m happy to announce that Sarah Andre and Sharon Wray are both Golden Heart finalists in the Romantic Suspense category!!

We’re so proud and excited and can’t wait to cheer them on this summer in San Antonio!

And now on to today’s winner…

 CONGRATULATIONS msrh0nda!

You’ve won the digital copy of Avery Flynn’s newest release: High-Heeled Wonder.

Please click on the Contact Us key and let us know where to send it.

Thank you ALL for stopping by and adding to our eyesore-fashion list!

 

Congratulations also to the 2014 RITA Romantic Suspense nominees:
Toni Anderson: THE KILLING GAME
Carolyn Crane: OFF THE EDGE
(Frequent K&T guest!) Julie Ann Walker: THRILL RIDE
Erica Spindler: JUSTICE FOR SARA
On Tuesday, April 1st, Sarah is posting the first sentence of each of their books! Please stop by and read the lines, see their covers and check out their bios. She’s invited each of the nominees to visit, so please come and congratulate them!
Filed under: Announcements, Sarah Andre, Sharon Wray, Thursday Winner Tagged: 2014 RITA nominees, Avery Flynn, Golden Heart Finalists, High-Heeled Wonder, Thursday Winner

AVERY FLYNN, High-Heeled Wonder!

Meet Avery Flynn, a petite fashionista with a larger-than-life attitude. Everywhere I’ve encountered her (workshops, Facebook, online writing chapters) she owns the venue with audacious fearlessness. Naturally, when I heard she had a new release out I jumped at the chance to interview her! Because basically I want to be her. (Too fan-girl-stalkerish? OK. Then let’s get to the interview.)

Welcome, Avery! Tell us how you got started writing?

There was a horrible industrial accident when I was stung by an irradiated spider. Wait. Oh you meant in real life? I got a baby blue typewriter as a totally-inappropriate-for-a-six-year-old gift in first grade. I couldn’t spell let alone write much of a sentence, but I wrote stories about my stuffed animals anyway. It turned out to be one of the best gifts ever.

This story is chalk-full of couture names and designer shoes (most of which, I’m ashamed to admit, were lost on me.) Are you a fashionista?

I have fashionista tastes on a Target budget … so yes and no. :) I do love my shoes though. And purses. And dresses. And ….OK, I’m beginning to see why the Fab Mr. Flynn gives me the side-eye whenever I come home from the mall. Really? Mine gives me the stink-eye.

Are you a lingering window-shopper or do you shop for something specific and go home?

Oh my God. My mom is one of those lingerers. She does a whole slow sweep of a store and then goes around again to start her deliberations. It is mind numbing. I am more of a power shopper. Go in, grab it and beat feet. Meeee too! (My husband calls my focused trek through stores “Mall Walking.” I cannot power-walk that fast in any other part of my life–I’ve tried.)

In researching the back-stabbing, power-hungry and drug infested world of high fashion did you watch reality shows like “Project Runway” or “Americas Next Top Model”?

I love both of those shows (don’t judge). I’m not! ;) I also interviewed fashion bloggers, read as much as possible about the industry and watched a ton of documentaries. Then there was the shopping. It was horrid. Ha! How we writers torture ourselves.

 Sylvie is a kick-ass heroine whose childhood was spent in an orphanage before being adopted by her 2 fathers. How did you come up with this fresh premise?

That is one of those muse-inspired, middle of the shower ideas when you get so excited you end up with shampoo in your eyes. I wish I could control it better—at least the timing. Then after I got the idea it was so perfect for Sylvie that it really helped to show how she was a real fighter. Parts of her backstory make me tear up even today.

Sylvie Bissette may be one of Harbor City’s youngest glitterati, but only her best friends know her most closely guarded secret. She’s the woman behind The High-Heeled Wonder, a must-read blog for fashionistas everywhere. Gossip, fashion advice, exposés. Too bad some people can’t take a little criticism. When an internet troll discovers her secret identity and escalates from stalking her to threatening her life, Sylvie turns to security expert Tony Falcon for help. The investigator from the other side of the tracks is the olive oil to her Evian water and aggravates her to no end, but it’s not just her temper he’s inciting…

Tony Falcon wouldn’t know a kitten heel from a tabby cat, but since most of the bad guys he tracks down aren’t wearing stilettos, it’s never been a problem…until he meets Sylvie. When a murder investigation leads him to the same place Sylvie works, he realizes the feisty fashionista may be his best chance at catching the criminals who killed his best friend. It all leads back to the cut-throat fashion world.

What is next in the “Killer Style” series and when can we expect it?

THIS YEAR’S BLACK is Ryder’s story and it comes out at the end of May. Ryder goes head-to-head with one of the big wigs at Harbor City’s most luxurious high-end department store and they have to work together to track down an embezzler who has hightailed it to a tropical island off the coast of Chile. It’s not just the climate that’s making things hot between Ryder and Devin.

In non-Killer Style news I have a fun novella coming out April 14, BETTING THE BILLIONAIRE. It’s all sorts of smexy fun with a car-loving heroine and a bad boy billionaire who is way too used to getting his way. :) Car-loving? Bad boy? I’m pre-ordering!

Designer you’d love to meet? (Hypothetical: can be living or dead.)

There are so many. Alive I’d have to go with Michael Kors, Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney. Dead I’d have to go with Alexander McQueen and Coco Chanel.

Food you make a pig of yourself for?

Oreos. We can’t have them in the house. I will eat the whole bag.

Favorite movie?

That’s like asking my favorite book. How do I pick? If you force me, I’ll go with Usual Suspects. I love the twist. Love. It.

What question did I NOT ask that you’d like readers to know about you?

Um …. how I survive when my writing partner is a dog who is trying to kill me with poisonous farts? Seriously. It’s a murder just waiting to happen and you, Kiss and Thrill readers, will be the only ones able to solve the case. Just tell the cops, “Gravy did it.”

Snicker! Thank you SO much for visiting Kiss and Thrill today, Avery! ‘See’ you on your Facebook FRIDAY MAN WARS. (Readers: You don’t want to miss Fridays…go ‘like’ her page immediately.) https://www.facebook.com/avery.flynn.7

TWITTER: @AveryFlynn,  WEBSITE: http://www.AveryFlynn.com

Q of the Day: What style, pattern or era of clothing is an eyesore to you?

Comment below for a chance to win a digital copy of HIGH-HEELED WONDER.

(Check back Thursday to see the lucky winner.)

Filed under: Author Interview, Sarah Andre Tagged: Avery Flynn, High-Heeled Wonder, Romantic Suspense, Sarah Andre

Darcy Burke Winner and a Sinful Seconds Teaser!

First I want to thank my wonderful friend, critique and plotting partner, Darcy Burke, for letting me post our IM chat on Tuesday. Before I name the lucky winner of Darcy’s SCOUNDREL EVER AFTER, I want to share with our readers the latest release from Darcy and my plotting partners (and also IM buddies) Elisabeth Naughton and Joan Swan…

From the six New York Times bestselling authors who brought you WICKED FIRSTS, an all new sinful anthology: SINFUL SECONDS

SINFUL SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton



He’s been watching her, and now he’s here, in the dimly lit bar of the swanky Vail resort, pretending not to notice her. Songwriter Grace Ryder has never liked the spotlight, but her skin tingles whenever his sexy gaze drifts her way. Only one night will prove whether he’s safety or sin.

Aegis operative Brian Walker’s orders are clear: observe, but don’t touch. Things change, though, the moment the leggy brunette makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Desire leads to seduction, but it comes at a price. Because someone wants her dead, and if Brian’s not careful, his obsession for a woman he never should have touched could get them both killed.

SINFUL RAPTURE by Alexandra Ivy



Holly Sullivan has always been the good girl, but when her fiancé jilts her at the altar she spends her non-wedding night at The Playhouse indulging her deepest desires.

Liam fell in love with Holly at first glance. Unfortunately, she hates him for buying her father’s business. Following her to The Playhouse, he devotes the night to fulfilling her fantasies. But will she forgive him when his secret is revealed?

SINFUL SECRETS by Cynthia Eden



One year ago, Catherine Donnelly spent a wild night in a stranger’s arms. Sexy and mysterious, Jason August broke through all of Cat’s defenses. But when dawn came, she ran from his bed, and she never looked back, until now…

Catherine vanished from Jason’s life before, and he isn’t about to let her escape again. Cat will discover that the only man who can truly keep her safe in a world gone mad…well, that would be the man she married a year ago, on one hot Vegas night….

SINFUL IN SPURS by Laura Wright



Champion bull rider, Sawyer Black has one goal when he isn’t competing in the arena: watch out for his best friend’s little sister. But Keely is turning out to be anything but cooperative. The once shy, small town girl has turned into a gorgeous and very stubborn hellcat with big city excitement on her mind. And when Sawyer returns from a rodeo to find her gone, he knows he will do anything it takes to bring her home.

Keely O’Hare is sick and tired of her brother’s best friend babysitting her. It’s her final year of college and she’s ready to explore the dark sexual needs she’s been keeping secret in her heart. So when Sawyer goes away for work, Keely escapes to the city and to the notorious sex club, The Playhouse. But when Sawyer finds her there, unexpected and explosive sexual tension flares hot and heavy between them—and Keely refuses to return home with him until he spends two nights in The Playhouse with her. If he wants to bring along his bull rope? Even better.

SINFUL SEDUCTION by Katie Reus



As an heiress from a prominent family, Mina knows the pain of living under a microscope. Which is why she loves her sleepy Key West home where nobody knows her name. She’s determined to make her way without being coddled—and no mugging is going to change that.

Former Marine Alexander Blue has seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime. When he sees a mysterious brunette attacked by a mugger, his need to protect kicks into overdrive. Mina brings him home and bandages him up, but her gaze cuts clear to his soul. An intense connection isn’t all Blue feels—he’s convinced Mina needs his protection. Just one problem: Mina doesn’t want saving.

SINFUL DECEPTION by Joan Swan



In need of fast cash to help her brother sneak into the US, Tova Sorenson takes a job as a sexcam operator, sparking an unlikely friendship with her very first customer. When Marcus Lucero’s border patrol teammate suggests a sexcam site for female companionship without heartache, Marcus figures he’s got nothing to lose.

While danger from Tova’s dark side brings them together in the flesh where their chemistry burns hotter than hell, it also exposes their divergent loyalties which could end not only their newfound desires, but their lives.

Purchase:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe  

And WICKED FIRSTS, the first anthology, is available everywhere for 99 cents for a limited time.

 <><><>

Excerpt from Elisabeth Naughton’s SINFUL SURRENDER, book 1 in the SINFUL SECONDS anthology:

She set her glass on the coffee table in front of her and leaned forward, all confidence and seduction, contrasting again with her youthful face and quirky movements. That fresh, alluring scent of hers drifted over him once more, bringing awareness to the forefront of his mind and his blood back to pounding. “And a professional athlete hanging out at a trendy ski resort. So tell me, Brian, why did you come up here with me instead of going with that voluptuous blonde at the bar who was hitting on you before we started talking?”

Her eyes were like warm pools of dark chocolate, and when she leaned forward like that, her arms pressed her breasts together, forcing them outward, drawing his attention straight to her cleavage, advertising the fact she was anything but a young girl.

“Because I know girls like her. They’re fake and immature. I’m not interested in that.”

“What are you interested in?”

You. Though I shouldn’t be. “I don’t know. Something different, I guess.”

Her top teeth sank into her bottom lip, and his gaze followed, his mouth remembering just how she’d tasted, his body vibrating with the memory of how she’d felt pressed up against him. And damn, but he wanted to experience that again. Right now.

“Different is good,” she whispered. “I’m definitely different.”

Get up. Leave. Go now before you fuck up your career.



She scooted closer, and her bent knee brushed his thigh, sending tingles all through his lower body as if he’d been shocked by a live wire. “The question is… What are you going to do about it?”

Something he shouldn’t. Something that was going to screw things with his boss for good. “Samara…I’m bad news.”

“Maybe.” Her gaze locked on his mouth, and slowly she ran her tongue over her bottom lip like she couldn’t wait to take her own sinful taste again. “But I doubt it.”

<><><>

Whew! I’ve been so excited for this anthology to release and can’t wait to real all 6 novellas!

And now for the winner of

SCOUNDREL EVER AFTER…

JDH2690!

Congrats! To claim your prize, please contact us within 10 days of this post.

Join us next week at Kiss and Thrill, when Sarah Andre hosts Avery Flynn!

Filed under: Rachel Grant, Thursday Winner Tagged: Alexandra Ivy, Cynthia Eden, Darcy Burke, Elisabeth Naughton, excerpt, Joan Swan, Katie Reus, Laura Wright, Scoundrel Ever After, Sinful Seconds, teaser

A Chat With Historical Romantic Suspense Author Darcy Burke

I’m very excited to introduce our Kiss and Thrill readers to Darcy Burke, who is one of my critique and plotting partners and an Instant Messenger buddy. Because we spend so much time chatting on IM together, Darcy and I thought it would be fun to do the interview via IM. This way I could blindside her with my deeply insightful questions. Plus I’d have my full range of emoticons to use, and anyone who has ever IMed with me knows I’d conduct entire conversations using only emoticons if I could.

We scheduled the interview in the evening, so we could each enjoy a glass of wine while we chatted…

RG: Starting off with the important question: what type of wine are you drinking?

DB: Viognier, from Jones of Washington. It’s a winery in Quincy, WA. We visit every year when we go see Dave Matthews at the Gorge Labor Day weekend. It was 65 degrees yesterday, so a nice white seemed apropos. (Yes, this bottle was opened yesterday – gasp!)

RG: I’m not one to judge when it comes to wine. Now if it were a beer you’d opened yesterday, I’d be concerned. 

Your Secrets and Scandals series started off as straight historical romance, but as the series grew, the secrets and scandals became less about gossip within the ton and more about thievery and murder. Was this a conscious decision?

DB: Not really conscious, no, but I suppose the Fight Club elements in books 2 and 3 (His Wicked Heart and To Seduce a Scoundrel) set up a segue into the underworld.

RG: They did! It was a natural progression. In which book did the shift toward historical romantic suspense occur?

DB: Once I realized Jagger, who was the villain in To Seduce a Scoundrel, needed his own HEA, I thought about how to set that up. Secrets and Scandals was only supposed to be three books and end with TSAS. Then Jagger happened, lol. And Lockwood. I was also incredibly interested in Lockwood’s story. It seemed a natural thing that they were in fact half-brothers.

In coming up with their story, which would be the second half of Secrets & Scandals, I wanted an overarching suspense plot that would link the books together. And it had to be suspense because of who Jagger was. If he was going to want redemption (and he sort of had to if I was going to make him a hero), I had to write an arc in which he dug himself out of the gutter. That started with the novella, To Love a Thief, which features Jagger as a major secondary character.

RG: Agreed (see this was a quiz, and your answer about your own book is correct) it was totally in To Love a Thief.

DB: rofl – glad I know my books!

RG: LOL – I learn stuff about my books all the time from reviews. Sometimes I learn that I write smut, but other times I see reviewers catching nuances even I hadn’t noticed.

DB: ditto

RG: Bonus Question: what have you learned about one of your books from a review?

DB: that my name is really Dana Burke.

RG:

DB: I don’t know that I’ve learned anything per se, but sometimes people have really pulled out the things I was trying to convey, which is always great.

RG: Have you ever had a book of M/M erotica named after you?

DB: why yes, I have! VAMPIRE M/M erotica.

RG: Lucky!!

Okay, Secrets and Scandals is now complete, but now that you’ve had a taste of writing historical romantic suspense, do you plan to include a suspense plot in future historicals?

DB: Most definitely. My next series, Regency Treasure Hunters is pretty much exactly that: a series of treasure hunts. It won’t have the, ahem, murder and mayhem that some of Secrets & Scandals had, but gosh, you never know!

RTH is in the vein of Romancing the Stone or Indiana Jones, lots of action and adventure.

RG: It sounds awesome! But I’m counting on you for some bloodshed.

DB: lol, I will keep your bloodthirstiness in mind!

RG: Who is your favorite plotting partner?  (Don’t worry, I’m sure Eli, Joan, and Erica won’t read this.)

DB: since YOU are one of my favorite plotting partners and will undoubtedly be helping me plot this series, I suspect you’ll find a way to suggest bloodshed. If memory serves, you are constantly suggesting I blow something up. 

RG: There is a decided dearth of explosions in historical romance.

DB: Yes, it’s a shame.

RG: Hmm… I notice Darcy hasn’t answered the favorite plotting partner question. She must be drinking more wine. Hands full, can’t type… 

DB: I said you are one of my faves, doesn’t that count??  (Eli and Erica will be crushed if I answer with the truth.)

RG: You can tell them I inserted your last sentence.  What is your favorite emoticon?

DB: oh, wow, hard to say! Probably the rofl one () because the people I IM with the most typically have me in stitches.

RG: Have you ever been flown to a foreign country and appeared on a reality TV show so you could meet a long-lost relative?

DB: Why yes, what a bizarrely accurate question, lol.

My brother and I were flown to Denmark in June 2012 to appear on This is Your Life Paprika Steen. Paprika is my first cousin and I just love, love, love her. Her mother and my father were siblings. They’ve both passed on, which is why we lost touch years ago, but thanks to Facebook, we reconnected and got to meet.

RG: Is there a link? Can we view the episode?

DB: Unfortunately it’s not online. I’d love to find a way to post the part where we meet (I have a copy, of course) because it’s pretty incredible, but I don’t think I have permission.

RG: Does your cousin have a website?

DB: No, but this is her imdb page: . You can see how alike we look (not—she’s gorgeous).

RG: Cool!

The first novella—Where the Heart Is—in your new contemporary series was released last fall. Can you tell us a little bit about the Ribbon Ridge series?

DB: Ribbon Ridge does not involve murder or mayhem, lol. It’s a family saga (about sextuplets and the seventh “oops” kid) sort of series, but each book is stand alone. There’s an overarching plot and some subplots carry over between books, but each love story has an HEA.

RG: In the novella, the hero is a friend of the Archer sextuplets. Which sextuplet is the hero or heroine of the first full-length book?

DB: The novella hero is actually their “almost-brother” in that he went to live with the Archers after the death of his mother. His father had died years earlier. He had a really sad backstory, lol. The first full-length book in the series features the youngest sextuplet (as in she was born last), Sara. She’s an event planner with sensory processing disorder, so she’s a little quirky.

RG: I can’t wait to read it! (When do I get to read it?!)

DB: uh, when I finish the revision. 

RG: Okay, final question – when the heck are we going to get together for more than a virtual glass of wine? I need to plot murder and mayhem with you. 

DB: right???

RG: Is there anything else you want to add?

DB: I can’t think of anything else, but then I’ve had almost two glasses of wine.

RG: Lightweight.

DB: True.

Darcy is giving away an ebook copy of the Scoundrel Ever After to one lucky commenter! To enter the drawing, tell us what sort of romantic suspense elements you think historical romances could use more of (e.g. explosions).

Scoundrel Ever After

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Filed under: Author Interview, Rachel Grant Tagged: Author Chat, Darcy Burke, historical romantic suspense, Paprika Steen, Regency Treasure Hunters, Ribbon Ridge, Scoundrel Ever After, Secrets and Scandals