Lena Diaz's Blog, page 28

THURSDAY WINNER

 Congratulations to our 2 winners from Tuesday’s ‘heroine blog’ by MISTY EVANS!

JULIE OEST: Wins the blingy tiara keychain! (Only if you are a resident of the continental US)

BRENDA RUMSEY: Wins her choice of one of Misty’s ‘Super Agent’ books!

PLEASE JOIN US NEXT TUESDAY WHEN MANDA COLLINS HOSTS KATIE REUS, romantic suspense debut author of TARGETED!

Filed under: Thursday Winner, Uncategorized Tagged: Misty Evans, The Blood Code, Thursday Winners

Guest Post: What Type of Heroine Captivates You?

Misty Evans

Readers: Meet Misty Evans, a multi-published author in multiple genres! Writers know there are many ways to create a realistic heroine who’s thrown into the fray of adventure. Misty explains how she came up with Anya, the heroine of the latest book in her Super Agent series: The Blood Code. Welcome, Misty!

   If I was going to cast you in the leading role of a heroine in one of my books, would you be an international spy, an FBI agent working undercover, or perhaps an everyday woman wrongly accused?

  In other words, which type of romance heroine are you? Suspense? Mystery? And would you rather star in a contemporary romance or a historical?

  I write in multiple genres, including paranormal and urban fantasy, but today I want to talk about romantic suspense and romantic mystery heroines. Do you like angst and drama? Heroes with sketchy backgrounds and no-win situations? Move over Angelina Jolie, you’re a romantic suspense heroine. You’re bold, brave, and take no prisoners. You know how to handle a gun (if only in your imagination) and can outmaneuver anyone in a car chase.

   Maybe you prefer things a little less hectic, but are thrilled to find a dead body buried in the rose garden. You like a plot that asks lots of questions and throws suspicion on everyone. You cross off the suspects one by one until you figure out it was Mrs. White in the Ballroom with the wrench. You’re a mystery heroine.

   How about contemporary versus historical? Would you rather be a heroine running a million-dollar internet start-up? Or a heroine running slaves on the Underground Railroad?

   What if you were a lost princess? You could be in a contemporary mystery or a historical romantic suspense. And what if the president of your homeland blackmailed you into returning so you could have his babies and restore a royal bloodline…would you do it?

   That’s the premise of my latest Super Agent novel, The Blood Code. The heroine, Anya, is not your typical contemporary romantic suspense heroine. At least not at the beginning. She’s not a trained undercover agent, nor does she have a clue how to outmaneuver the Russian president who wants to use her to build a new family of royals. But she’s one determined gal, and she’s not about to let the bad guy win, even if it means sacrificing her own life.

   And that’s what makes all heroines – no matter the storyline or genre – great. Each one, whether funny, angsty, or highly trained – sacrifices something during the story so that good wins over evil, and the bad guys eat dirt. Throw in a sexy hero who can help, and they’re guaranteed to save the day.

   *************

THE BLOOD CODE: Fifteen years ago, Anya Radzoya fled Russia with her grandmother after the suspicious deaths of her parents, but she can’t escape the royal genes that make her one of Russia’s last living princesses. When President Ivanov blackmails her into returning to Moscow in exchange for her grandmother’s life, Anya discovers he’s planning to unleash a nuclear war. With no one else to turn to, she joins forces with CIA operative Ryan Smith.

Undercover at the nuclear summit, Ryan recruits Anya to find proof Ivanov is resurrecting the Cold War, but he suspects his new asset is a double agent. Anya is determined to rescue her grandmother with or without his help, however, and Ryan finds himself falling for the beautiful princess before he even trusts her.

Trapped inside the Kremlin with a cunning and ruthless opponent, the two must risk their lives and their hearts to save Anya’s grandmother as well as millions of innocent people.

Bio:

USA Today Bestselling Author Misty Evans writes the award-winning Super Agent series as well as urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy theories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When her muse lets her on the internet to play, she’s on Facebook and Twitter.

Read more about her stories at www.readmistyevans.com Or visit these booksellers:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/17SI9l5

B&N: http://bit.ly/18N2UOD

iBookstore: http://bit.ly/18PHoWM

Kobo: http://bit.ly/14MO43Q

So how about it, readers? What type of romance heroine would you be and why? One commenter will win a blingy tiara keychain (US only, please) and another will win a copy of their choice of my super agent books (US and International)!

Filed under: Guest blog, Sarah Andre Tagged: heroines, Misty Evans, Romantic Suspense, The Blood Code

Book Winner & Devils

Reblogged from DIANA BELCHASE:

Before we announce the winner of Allison Leotta's book, she stole a few moments out of her busy life and book tour to answer a few questions.

Diana:  Where did the title of your book, Speak of the Devil,  come from?

Allison:  I called this book Speak of the Devil  for two reasons.  First there is a villain named Diablo -- the Devil -- whom my heroine is trying to bring down.  

Read more… 359 more words

THURSDAY WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS TO jdh2690!

Winner of WHY DUKES SAY I DO by Manda Collins

Please click on the ‘Contact Us’ tab and let us know if you prefer digital or paperback and where to send it.

LINE UP OF DISTINGUISHED GUESTS:

Tomorrow is Part 2 of Diana’s interview with Allison Leotta

Tuesday 8/13 we welcome Entangled author, MISTY EVANS

Filed under: Announcements, Thursday Winner Tagged: Manda Collins, Sarah Andre, Thursday Winner, Why Dukes Say I Do

Devils, Presidents & Secret D.C. Sex Clubs

Reblogged from DIANA BELCHASE:

Allison Leotta is a former federal sex crimes prosecutor.  That brings to mind a stereotypical image of a hardened woman, more male than female, tough enough to toe it with the big boys, and able to stomp down on the revulsion most of us would feel when confronted with the atrocities she had to face every day.

Well, the last two may be correct, but when meeting Allison, she's more soccer mom than calculating crime fighter.  

Read more… 417 more words

Downton Abbey Meets Sherlock Holmes

“Your Grace,” Lady Isabella Wharton coaxed, from the other side of the Ormonde library, “really, you must put the knife down. Whatever will your grandmamma think?”
 
But the Duke of Ormonde, accustomed to ignoring his family’s dictates, didn’t lower the knife at his wife’s throat.
 
As Amazon would say: If you like PBS’s Downton Abbey and Sherlock Holmes you’ll love the Wicked Widow Series by Manda Collins.
   In the first of the trilogy, Why Dukes Say I Do, Manda artfully mixes murder, blackmail, sabotage and a who-done-it mystery with genteel life on a country estate.
   The hero, Trevor is a newly titled Duke who wants nothing to do with the responsibility the title holds, especially since it means leaving his land and tenants for the chaos of London. The heroine, Isabella is blackmailed by her godmother (the hero’s grandmother) into forcing Trevor to do exactly that.Neither can afford to lose, which makes for a lovely clash of wills. As Isabella experiences the drama of ’laid back life’ on Trevor’s country estate it struck me that this was deliciously similar to my favorite show Downton Abbey.
 
So I asked Manda about it:Would you describe your heroine’s personality traits more like a Mary, Edith or Sybil?
 
Hmm. I’d say she’s a Mary from probably the second or third season. Once she’s softened up a bit and acknowledged that human frailty exists and is okay. Not the First Season “hellish beyotch” Mary.
 
If you had to cast your Dowager Duchess of Ormonde for a Hollywood movie, who would you choose?
 
I think Judi Dench could pull it off quite well. Or maybe Gemma Jones (the mother in Sense & Sensibility). But definitely the Dowager Duchess of Ormonde shares some traits with the DD of Grantham!Robert Crawley is a laid-back Earl, who rarely capitalizes on his title. I would even call him a reluctant Earl, more interested in country-life at Downton Abbey and keeping his tenants happy than dealing with the politics and social mayhem of London society. As an audience, we generally gravitate towards mayhem for entertainment, yet both you and Julian Fellowes make this trait seem heroic and keep us enthralled. How did you do this and why do you think we are fascinated by the slower pace of life on a country estate?

 I think there is something enthralling and noble about a high-ranking person choosing to devote themselves to actually tending to their responsibilities. We’ve seen time and time again the hellraising Rake or politically active peer spending all their time in London carousing or trying to get some legislation to pass the Lords. Not to say that politics don’t have their place. But that gentleman who really cares about his tenants satisfies–at least for me–a need to see someone doing the right thing.

As to how I did this? I have no idea! I’m totally an organic writer. I might tinker with the prose or make changes my editor suggests, but I don’t consciously think–oh, he needs to look more sympathetic here…I wish it were that easy!

In both the TV series and your novel there is a ‘confidant’ relationship between the main characters and their servants. In your research do you believe this was so in the Regency period/early 20th Century? (Like we have with our hairdressers/bartenders today?)

Manda Collins

I do. As much as we’d like to think that all people in the upper echelons of society saw their servants as furniture, I just can’t believe all of them were so callous to the people around them that they didn’t share some part of themselves with their closest servants like maids and valets and the like. Do I think that it was all jolly and Mary Poppins and happiness all the time between them? Of course not! But I do think, in some cases there were confidant relationships between them. And the servant would then use that reputation for discretion if they needed to get another position. It was as great a commodity as a letter of reference!

The murder, sabotage and blackmail is right out of a Sherlock Holmes plot and not usually seen in historical romances.  What made you blend genres (tricky at best) and are you finding a captive audience?

Well, thank you for the compliment, but I certainly do not see myself as the second coming of Conan Doyle (though wouldn’t that be awesome?) Like most writers I write what I like to read. And what I like to read most are Regency Historicals and Mysteries. So what I’m trying to do is blend together some combination of the two.

Sometimes I think it works better than others. I do know that my mystery plots aren’t always as complex or difficult to figure out as a true mystery–I think that’s because I sacrifice a bit of the mystery to the romance. After all, it’s not much of a romance if your hero and heroine never talk about anything but the mystery they’re trying to solve. And also there MUST be some sexy times! I insist upon it! So you get what I like to think of as Nancy Drew meets Jane Austen–or maybe Georgette Heyer if you want to be more precise.

As far as captive audiences, I don’t know! The number of positive reviews outnumber the negatives. But of course it’s the negatives I remember. And let me tell you, there is at least one person who DOES NOT like to have mystery mixed in with her romance! But that just means my books aren’t for her. Which is absolutely okay! There are enough books out there for everyone to find something they enjoy!

Can you give us a hint about the next novel in the series?

The next novel in the Wicked Widows Series is called WHY EARLS FALL IN LOVE and it is the story of Isabella’s friend Georgie, who also suffered a not so great marriage. The hero is the Earl of Coniston. He’s mentioned briefly in WDSID but is never onstage. The action of this one takes place in Bath and let us just say that our blackmailer is back in full force! Lots of adventures all over the spa-town!  It will be released the last week of January 2014.

OOOO! Scanty cover…Looking forward to another great read, Manda!

K&T Audience: to read an excerpt of Why Dukes Say I Do please click here : http://www.mandacollins.com/why-dukes-say-i-do/#read-an-excerpt
For more information on Manda please visit www.MandaCollins.com or www.facebook.com/mandacollinsauthor

One lucky commenter will win a digital or paperback copy of Why Dukes Say I Do. Question: Who is your favorite Downton Abbey character and why? Check back on Thursday to see if we picked your name. (Paperback only available to mail in the continental states.)

*****

Join us tomorrow for Diana Belchase’s video interview of Allison Leotta and a preview of Allison’s latest book!

Allison Leotta

Filed under: Author Interview, Manda Collins, Sarah Andre, Uncategorized Tagged: Downton Abbey, historical romantic suspense, Manda Collins, PBS, Sherlock Holmes, Why Dukes Say I Do, Wicked Widows Series

Body of Evidence Winner!

Rachel, thanks so much for giving us the low down on your newest release! I loved the book and can’t wait for other readers to discover it!

Congratulations to Heather Ashby for winning a copy of  Body of Evidence!

Be sure to contact us with your email address and your ebook preference–kindle or nook–within 10 days

Be sure to join us on Tuesday, when our very own Manda Collins is up with an interview about her newest Regency romance Why Dukes Say I Do. This is the first book in her newest series that’s filled with romance, gothic suspense, and the lovely prose Manda is known for.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Go Ahead, Judge a Book By Its Cover: Rachel Grant’s Body of Evidence

That’s one awesome cover, right? And it captures the essence of the book so well. Smart. Sexy. Desperate. Exotic. Political.

Body of Evidence is a fantastic read that will challenge you, inspire you, terrify you, and lift you up in the end. I always learn so much when I read a Rachel Grant book, but I’m entertained in the process and don’t notice. This is an unputdownable, intense romantic thrill ride that cements Rachel Grant’s place in the vanguard of new romantic thriller authors.

I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Here’s the low down on

BODY OF EVIDENCE

“Top-notch page turner! The perfect mix of suspense and romance.”~ Jill Barnett, New York Times Bestselling Author

And she thought facing a firing squad was bad…

When archaeologist Mara Garrett traveled to North Korea to retrieve the remains of GIs lost in combat, she never imagined she’d be arrested, convicted of spying, and sentenced to death. Her only hope is Curt Dominick, the powerful, ambitious, and infuriatingly sexy US attorney prosecuting her uncle, a former vice president of the United States.

What starts off as a rescue mission quickly morphs into a race across the Pacific. Someone is after Mara, and they’ll risk everything to stop her from reaching Washington DC. With betrayal around every corner, Curt and Mara have little reason to trust each other and every reason to deny the sparks between them that blaze hotter than the Hawaiian sun. Still, desire clashes with loyalty when they discover a conspiracy that threatens not only their lives but the national security of the United States.

Turnabout is Fair Play.

Now let’s ask Rachel some of the same questions she likes to ask her victims, er, I mean the authors she interviews.

Carey: What published author (any genre) turns you into a total fangirl?  Is there a particular book or is this based on their entire body of work?

Rachel: I think I could meet most if not all of the authors I discovered as an adult and keep my cool, but there are three authors I discovered in my teens, who, if I were to meet them in person, would turn me into a blithering, dumbstruck fool:

Dean Koontz – I read WHISPERS at age 12 or 13 (1983, I think) and was blown away. From that moment forward, I was done reading kids books.

Elizabeth Peters – it’s her fault I became an archaeologist. The first book I read by her was THE CAMELOT CAPER. Pure pleasure.

Mary Higgins Clark – I discovered her at the same time I discovered Dean Koontz, and started with THE CRADLE WILL FALL. Dean Koontz made me a reader, Elizabeth Peters made me want to be an archaeologist, Mary Higgins Clark made me want to be a writer.

Carey: Have you ever written fan fiction, and if so, what work was it based on?  If you haven’t, what would you be tempted to write fan fiction about?

Rachel: I’ve never written fan fiction, but I think my writing developed from the desire to take the kinds of books I enjoy—romance, mysteries, and thrillers—and write the kind of book I want to read—a suspense heavy romance, or a romance heavy thriller.

I’ve read my share of thrillers that I thought would have been better with the emotional impact of a romance, and plenty of romance that I would have loved if there were more focus on the suspense.

Carey: I’m with you on that front! Facebook or Twitter?

Rachel: Twitter.

Carey: Once again, I’m with  you! I love the instant interaction of Twitter. What is the strangest weapon you’ve used to kill off a character, either on or off-scene?

Rachel: I haven’t gotten creative in this area, although, in Concrete Evidence, my heroine does defend herself with a sharp Marshalltown trowel. Does that count?

(And yes, archaeologists do speak about trowels by brand name—as long as the brand is Marshalltown [Goldblatt isn’t worth mentioning in my opinion]. Also, I’ve been to the Marshalltown trowel company’s headquarters in Marshalltown, Iowa. Yeah, archaeologists, we’re that cool.)

After reading this to my husband he pointed out that in CONCRETE EVIDENCE a character is killed with a refrigerator.

Carey: LOL. Tell us about Body of Evidence.

Rachel: BODY OF EVIDENCE was a gift. From the moment the concept hit me—an archaeologist working for JPAC in North Korea sentenced to death by firing squad, her only hope for rescue, a US Attorney on the verge of prosecuting the biggest case of his career—I knew I HAD to write it. But the year following the initial inspiration was a difficult one on a personal level, and my writing was derailed for about ten months. Finally, when I got back to the story, writing was a way to process grief and move forward. I wrote the last half of the book (50k words) in 15 days, and found my voice again as a writer.

Writing this book was exactly what I needed. I got to escape into Mara and Curt’s problems. I got to write my favorite kind of hero and heroine—smart people who get caught up in an extraordinary situation—and give them the happy ending I wish we all could have.

I loved writing Mara’s understandable but conflicted hero worship of Curt, and Curt’s legendary control slowly crumbling. I wish every couple, every conflict, came to me this clearly.

Carey: Thanks so much Rachel. I loved this book and I know our readers will too!

Body of Evidence opens in North Korea and then races across the Pacific. What settings, exotic or otherwise are your favorites for romantic suspense? One lucky commenter will win a digital copy of BODY OF EVIDENCE!

Connect with Rachel!

Website Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads

 Books by Rachel Grant

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Filed under: Author Interview, Carey Baldwin, Rachel Grant Tagged: Body of Evidence, Concrete Evidence, Evidence Series, Firing Squad, JPAC, Marshalltown trowel, North Korea, political thriller, Romantic Suspense

Juliette Sobanet’s Winners for Dancing with Paris and Midnight Train to Paris!!!

 Thank you so much, Juliette, for spending the day with us. We hope you’ll come back soon!

Congratulations to jdh2690 for winning a copy of Dancing with Paris. 

Be sure to contact us with your email address and your ebook preference–kindle or nook–within 10 days.

And congratulations to Sunnymay for winning a copy of Midnight Train to Paris.

Be sure to  contact us  with your email address and your ebook preference–kindle or nook–within 10 days.

Since our busy, busy “Summer of Reading” is far from over, we have some wonderful interviews, previews, and exciting news to share in the next few weeks. First up, tomorrow our very own Rachel Grant is celebrating the release of her third romantic suspense book (and a Golden Heart Finalist!) Body of Evidence. It’s a fast-paced, chilling read which will keep you glued to your couch, hammock, or beach chair.

Then, next Tuesday, our very own Manda Collins is up with an interview about her newest Regency romance (which came out yesterday!) Why Dukes Say I Do. This is the first book in her newest series that’s filled with romance, gothic suspense, and the lovely prose Manda is known for.

Congratulations Manda and Rachel!

We are so proud of both of you!!!!!

Filed under: Announcements, Author Interview, book recommendations, Diana Belchase, Sharon Wray, Thursday Winner, Winners Tagged: Dancing with Paris, Juliette Sobanet, Midnight Train to Paris, Montlake romantic suspense

Juliette Sobanet’s Murder, Suspense, and Time-Travel Romance . . . in Paris!

Today I’d like to extend a warm K&T welcome to Juliette Sobanet, bestselling Montlake author of Parisian-inspired romantic suspense stories. And in celebration of her latest releases, Dancing with Paris and Midnight Train to Paris, we’re chatting about Paris, romance, time travel, and, of course, murder. I am also honored to say that Juliette is my critique partner and one of my dearest friends. (But before we start, I have to pour the cafe au lait and serve the French pastries!)

JS: Thank you so much for having us on Kiss and Thrill!

SW (a little confused at the three beautiful women suddenly sitting in front of me eating my chocolate croissants): You brought friends?

JS: A funny thing happened on the way over here. Two of my heroines, Claudia and Jillian, heard you were serving pastries and just showed up!

SW (who didn’t need to eat three chocolate croissants anyway): Welcome, ladies. Before we get started, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Claudia (sighing and looking bleary-eyed): I’m a marriage and family therapist from San Diego, and normally I’ve got it all together. But lately…not so much. I’m pregnant from a one-night stand, in love with a gorgeous French actor, and after a spill in my grandmother’s San Diego Dance studio, I woke up to find myself in a 1950s Parisian cabaret club. (And no, I haven’t lost my mind).

SW (slightly shocked): Wow.

JS: Well, if I had to time travel, 1950s Paris sounds pretty glamorous. What’s the problem?

Claudia (shrugging): Oh, I’ve got much bigger issues than the whole time travel debacle. When I woke up in the cabaret club, I was speaking fluent French, and I’m not me anymore. I’ve found myself in the voluptuous body of the star of the show—Ruby Kerrigan. Apparently, I was Ruby in my past life (still trying to wrap my head around all of this!), and it just so happens that Little Miss Ruby is under investigation for the murder of a fellow dancer. Apparently I have five days to figure out if Ruby (or rather, if I) actually committed the murder, or I’ll never make it back to my life in San Diego…or to my baby.

JS: I see why you’re a little freaked out about arriving in 1950s Paris! And I do hope you make it back to your baby–

Jillian (snorting): Stop whining, Claudia. At least you’re not on the brink of a World War.

SW (hoping to keep things peaceful): And who are you?

Jillian (nodding gracefully): Jillian Chambord from Midnight Train to Paris. I’m a reporter for The Washington Daily, and I was just about to break the biggest story of my career when I found out that my twin sister was abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps. And as luck would have it, the lead investigator on the case is my ex…my smoldering, former CIA agent ex. Ugh.

Claudia (rolling her eyes): At least you haven’t time traveled to the past with no obvious way of making it back.

Jillian: Um…actually we have. As soon as we stepped on the midnight Orient Express train, something crazy happened, and we ended up in the middle of the Alps in 1937, on the same night that another mysterious train abduction took place. Now it looks as though we have to solve that crime before we have any hope of making it back to the present day and saving my sister.

JS: Looks as if you’re both in a pickle. Jillian, at least you haven’t traveled back in time to a past life, though.

SW: And it sounds as if Claudia may have it a bit worse.

Jillian: In the past twenty-four hours, I’ve had three people try to kill me. Please don’t tell me my situation isn’t serious.

SW (cringing): Sorry, Jillian.

JS: But you’re a tough reporter with kick-ass self-defense skills. And with that sexy investigator by your side, I think you can handle it.

Jillian (slamming down her coffee cup): I don’t want to talk about the sexy investigator.

Claudia (with one of those hidden smiles pregnant women are famous for): Sounds like you’re repressing some serious feelings for this man, Jillian. Are you still in love with him?

Jillian: Please don’t go all therapist on me, Claudia. Samuel and I are doing what we have to do to find these innocent women, my sister included, and once we’ve found them, we’ll part ways. That’s all there is to it.

Claudia: You’re stuck in the middle of the Alps with your gorgeous ex, and you’re telling me nothing is going to happen?

Jillian: Why don’t we turn the tables, Claudia? How about that mysterious French doctor who recently came to your aid? Why don’t you tell us more about him? Antoine is his name, correct?

Claudia (clears her throat): Um…yes, Antoine. He approached me on my first night at the club…and he happens to be the brother of the woman I’m being accused of murdering. Really not someone I should let myself fall for….but….

Jillian (glancing at Claudia’s still-flat stomach): Let me guess. He’s tall, handsome, with a super hot bod which you couldn’t possibly fall for? Because you would never do something like that.

Claudia (blushing): I feel like I’ve known Antoine for my whole life, even though we’ve only just met. And there’s something about him that makes me all tingly and light-headed every time we talk. But I couldn’t possibly tell him the truth about who I really am, or that I’ve time-traveled here! He’ll have me committed.

SW (smiling): Sounds like true love, Claudia.

JS: If I’ve learned anything from creating the two of you, I’ve learned that nothing is impossible. Both of you—and your sexy men—gave me some serious problems (can we say re-writes anyone??) but I never gave up on you.

Jillian: Are you trying to say that you set us up in these impossible situations, Juliette?

Claudia: And that you know how it’s all going to end?

JS (taking the last croissant): Before my characters try to kill me, I think we’d better call it a day! After all, Claudia and Jillian have murderers to catch, French pastries to eat, and sexy men to pursue.

Jillian: I’m in the middle of the French Alps in 1937. Where exactly am I going to find a pastry shop around here?

Claudia (smiling wide): The pastries in 1950s Paris are to die for.

Jillian: Oh, nice, Claudia. Rub it in, why don’t you?

JS: Ladies, ladies. You don’t have a lot of time to waste, remember? Now get back to your stories and keep my readers entertained!

SW: I agree! Juliette, can you please give us a short blurb for each story?

JS: Absolutely!

Dancing with Paris:

In Paris, a past life promises a second chance at love.

Straitlaced marriage therapist Claudia Davis had a plan—and it definitely did not involve getting pregnant from a one-night stand or falling for a gorgeous French actor. She thinks her life can’t possibly get more complicated. But when Claudia takes a tumble in her grandmother’s San Diego dance studio, she awakens in 1950s Paris in the body of Ruby Kerrigan, the glamorous star of a risqué cabaret—and the number-one suspect in the gruesome murder of a fellow dancer. As past lives go, it’s a doozy…especially when an encounter with a handsome and mysterious French doctor ignites a fire in Claudia’s sinfully beautiful new body.

But time, for all its twists and turns, is not on her side: Claudia has just five days to unmask the true killer, clear Ruby’s name, and return to the twenty-first century. To do so, she must make an impossible choice, one that will change the course of both of her lives forever.

Midnight Train to Paris:

When hard-hitting DC reporter Jillian Chambord learns that her twin sister, Isla, has been abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps, not even the threat of losing her coveted position at The Washington Daily can stop her from hopping on the next flight to France. Never mind the fact that Samuel Kelly—the sexy former CIA agent who Jillian has sworn off forever—has been assigned as the lead investigator in the case.

When Jillian and Samuel arrive in the Alps, they soon learn that their midnight train isn’t leading them to Isla, but has taken them back in time to 1937, to a night when another young woman was abducted from the same Orient Express train. Given a chance to save both women, Jillian and Samuel are unprepared for what they discover on the train that night, for the sparks that fly between them . . . and for what they’ll have to do to keep each other alive. Midnight Train to Paris is a magical and suspenseful exploration of just how far we will go to save the ones we love.

SW: Thank you so much, Juliette, for spending the day with us and for introducing us to Jillian and Claudia. And maybe next time we can meet Samuel and Antoine!

Now I’d like to ask our readers, if you had to time-travel to another city and time (with an incredibly sexy man, of course), where would you go?

And for two lucky commenters, Juliette is giving away one copy of Midnight Train to Paris and one copy of Dancing with Paris (Kindle or hard copy, depending on the winner’s preference)!  

Juliette Sobanet earned a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from New York University in France, living and studying in both Lyon and Paris. She worked as a French professor before turning a new page in her career, penning romantic women’s fiction with a French twist. She is the author of Sleeping with Paris, Kissed in Paris, Midnight Train to Paris, Dancing with Paris, and the upcoming novel Honeymoon in Paris. Today she lives with her husband and two cats in San Diego, where she devotes her time to writing and dreaming about her next trip to France. You can find her on her website, Twitter, or Facebook.

All photos of Paris courtesy of Juliette Sobanet.

Filed under: Author Interview, Sharon Wray Tagged: Dancing with Paris, Juliette Sobanet, Midnight Train to Paris, Montlake romantic suspense, Time travel