Denise Weimer: Let’s Chat!
Welcome, everyone!
Denise Weimer joins our circle today. This author writes historical and contemporary romance and romantic suspense set in her home state of Georgia. She’s authored over ten novels and a number of novellas. As a managing editor for the historical imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, she also helps others reach their publishing dreams.
Denise is offering Fall Flip, The Witness Tree, Spring Splash, or Traces in ebook format to someone who joins our chat circle below. You can find her and her books on Amazon at https://amzn.to/38CAo3w.
Now, here’s our honored guest, Denise Weimer.
A Historical Author and Editor Writing Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense? Why, yes!
It stands to reason that a girl who grew up steeped in Gone With the Wind, Eugenia Price, and Civil War living history and vintage dance would write historical romance. And for many years, that’s what I did. I had a number of historical novellas and novels published before my agent told me that contemporary romance was often easier to place with publishers. So … I wrote several contemporary stories, all set in my home state of Georgia.
Fall Flip was the first off the press in September 2019, gleaning reviews as warm and fuzzy as its Hallmarky/HGTV vibe. I’m hopeful its readers are eager for Spring Splash, releasing this month along with Traces. But some may wonder … why an athletic romance? And Traces, a romantic suspense techno-thriller? Boy, Denise has really gone off the deep end with these.
Allow me to explain.
Spring Splash
Spring Splash combines two great loves of mine. For almost fifteen years, writing and being a swim mom ran on courses that appeared would never intersect. My two daughters, Emily and Abigail, started their athletic journeys at ages six and four, respectively. The sport played a huge part in molding them into the confident and compassionate individuals they are today.
When my older daughter first participated in high school meets, a special competition hosted during intermission captured my attention. The coaches of a local organization named Extra Special People (ESP – extraspecialpeople.com) fielded two relay teams. ESP is a non-profit in the Athens, Georgia area that serves children and young adults with developmental disabilities and their families. The crowds went wild as those enthusiastic athletes stroked through the water, and the inspiration for Spring Splash was born—even though I didn’t realize it for about five more years. As I became aware my time in the stands was winding down, the idea came back to me.
And Traces?
As a writer, I look for the unique and the little-known—but the truthful or realistic—to inspire settings and plots. The idea for Traces began with a reality TV show that ran only one season in the U.S. (2017), but it captured my attention because I recognized many of the filming locations here in Georgia. The U.S. version of Hunted was an offshoot of the original, ongoing British version. In both shows, contestants seek to evade skilled investigators for a set amount of time in a set area in order to win a cash prize.
The second piece of Traces was The Eye, technology that may seem futuristic but for all intents and purposes already exists. Constant Hawk was developed in the early 2000s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system weighed around 1500 pounds and was flown on manned aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The technology from Constant Hawk has continued to evolve. Brazilian officials mounted four Simera cameras on weather balloons and small blimps to surveille the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Thirteen full-motion cameras capable of zoom captured real-time footage with sixty times the resolution of high definition at three frames per second.
From these examples of existing WAMI systems, it’s not hard to picture one being installed on a skyscraper. That type of surveillance makes some feel secure, but for others, it would represent a total loss of freedom. A perfect and unique setting for a suspense novel.
So will you genre hop with me? I hope you’ll find it worth the adventure. Bring along your happy-tears tissues for Spring Splash and your chamomile tea for after you read Traces.
Connect with Denise Weimer
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Lord, please bless each word Denise Weimer writes for You.
For Jesus’ sake
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