Leap Year

By: Patricia Rasey

Giveaway alert!

LEAP YEAR. It happens every four years where we get an extra calendar day. Instead of 365 days, this year we get 366 to keep our calendar year synchronized with our seasonal year. So what are you going to do with your extra day? Is it a time to rest, a time to catch up on all those projects you are putting off? Or a time to reconnect with friends you haven’t seen for awhile? An extra day to read or write?

The trouble with life is we do not have enough hours in the day. Even with modern technology that claims to make our lives easier—we still seem to be busier than ever. We let life get in the way and are always trying to catch up, which never does seem to happen. Which means we don’t take the time for important things like see old acquaintances, tell those we care about how much we love them, let alone smell the roses. My challenge to you this Leap Year, is to take your Leap Day and make someone else feel special. Do something nice for someone else.

The movie LEAP YEAR, with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, comes to mind. It was a cute movie about a young woman, running off to Ireland to chase down her boyfriend of four years so that she could propose to him on February 29^th, due to the Irish legend: a woman can propose to her loved one on Leap Day. Matthew Goode, being the good guy, offers to take her to her destination. She spends her brief time in Ireland in such a hurry to get to her boyfriend that misses what’s going on right beneath her nose: adventure, fun and … nearly misses the true love standing right beside her. If you haven’t watched the movie, do … it really is a cute one.

Some old Folk Traditions regarding proposing on Leap Day even went as far as requiring a male to purchase 12 pairs of gloves (Denmark), purchase enough fabrics for a skirt (Finland), or even require a kiss or purchase a gown to soften the blow (Scotland), for those males wishing to decline the proposal. Greece considers it unlucky to marry in leap year and 1 in 5 couples will avoid the year for a trip to the altar altogether.

Speaking of romances, there is nothing like that first shared kiss. As in LOVE YOU TO PIECES, Detective Jaycen McCain sees Dax, a man that his late wife, Kelly Jo, had been reportedly having an affair with, now with his hands all over Kelly Jo’s cousin, Sara St. James, someone Jaycen has no right being attracted to. Check out the excerpt from my latest book:

~Standing, he walked over to the sink and stared at his pale reflection. What had Kelly seen in Dax that she hadn’t in him? A warm body. Turning on the cold water full blast, he splashed his face and washed his hands. Upon exiting the men’s room, he saw Star talking with a shorter girl, wearing a tight pleated skirt and black leather bra.

Perfect. He’d rescue Sara and get the hell out of here.

Sara stood with her back to Jaycen, so when he leaned in and whispered in the ear Dax wasn’t lathering in spit, she jumped and set herself away from Count Dracula. “Jay?”

“We’re leaving.”

Her gaze widened. “So soon? But—”

Jaycen gripped her arm and pulled her toward the staircase. She looked back at Dax, who no doubt, stood watching the spectacle Jaycen created. He didn’t give a damn. Dracula should feel damn lucky dragging Sara away had been his only move. Had he followed his gut instincts, the man would be lying in a pool of blood.

Outside on the sidewalk, Jaycen gulped in fresh air. He released Sara and leaned against the building. She planted her fists on her hips. “You mind telling me what this is all about?”

Several cars buzzed down the busy avenue as the street lamps cast an eerie amber glow to the cloudy night. Hell, where would he start? The part where his wife likely snorted the white stuff? Or the part where she had Dracula securely wrapped between her thighs as he slammed into her in a public restroom? He stabbed his hand into his hair and fought another oncoming panic attack. He drew in oxygen, squared his shoulders and faced Sara head on. Maybe telling someone might help him cope with Kelly Jo’s betrayal. He certainly wasn’t handling it well on his own.

Seeing his distress, she stepped closer and laid a hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong, Jay? You’re scaring me.”

Jaycen bowed his head, not shaking off her touch. He leaned into the heat like a moth drawn to flames. Her gaze widened, her lips parted, and he kissed her…

To read more of LOVE YOU TO PIECES, visit my website or you can get your copy at Kindle or NOOK.  On Sale now for $2.99.

Even though I write Romantic Suspense, I still love a great romance when it comes to movies. I’m giving away a Kindle or NOOK copy of LOVE YOU TO PIECES (winner’s choice). All you have to do to enter is comment below with your favorite movie of all time…and don’t forget your email address so I can contact you if you win. 


Giveaway ends 9pm EST March 1st. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

Researching "the strip"

By: Kat Martin

Congratulations to "LS", the winner of Kat Martin's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated.

For years I wrote historical romance novels.  The time-frame and settings demanded a lot of research.  Now I’m writing mostly Contemporary Romantic suspense and the odd thing is, in a different way, they required just as much research as the historicals. 

For AGAINST THE NIGHT, my latest release, out the end of February, my husband and I headed for Los Angeles.  Of course, having been raised in the San Joaquin Valley about a hundred miles away, I’d spent a lot of time in L.A. and pretty well knew my way around.  But AGAINST THE NIGHT is set on the Sunset Strip, and I wanted to refresh my memory and also learn a little more about the night life on the Strip.

The novel is Johnnie Riggs’ story, the fifth in my AGAINST series, that started with Against the Wind.  Johnnie’s an ex-Army Ranger turn P.I, whose specialty is the underbelly of the city.  He knows the Strip, lives and works in of an apartment that looks out over his domain.  In a place called the Kitty Cat Club where he’s working on assignment, Johnnie first spots Angel Fontaine, a petite blond exotic dancer. 

From the moment he sees her, John Riggs wants her in his bed.  The problem is that Angel Fontaine is really Amy Brewer, a kindergarten teacher from Michigan, a young woman risking her life to find her missing sister, whose job she has taken in the club.

For our research trip, we stayed at the London West Hollywood, a swanky hotel just off the Strip that caters to rock stars, international travelers, and the hip crowd.  A great place for a writer to just sit and do some serious people watching.

My hubby and I went to dinner at a restaurant called Boa our first night in town, kind of an in-spot for the neighborhood.  The next night we walked the Strip.

What a fun experience that turned out to be!  Not only did it help me get a feel for the area, but as we were meandering along, we walked into a large, old-fashioned bookstore, long-established in the area.  I had just hit the New York Times for my second AGAINST book, which my hubby told the booksellers and they were really excited for me.

So excited they insisted we stop by a little offbeat restaurant they said had great Mexican food and they were sure we would love.  We almost didn’t go.  It was getting late and we were leaving for home in the morning.  Then we thought, what the heck?  Let’s go inside and at least say hello.

We were glad we did!  The booksellers had called ahead and the owner was waiting--with a flight of some expensive brand of tequila, which he insisted we drink to celebrate the Times list.  I’m a wine drinker normally, but this just looked like fun and so we tried it and it was amazing.

Then someone came in and brought us a flight of cocoa tequila and peppermint tequila and so we tried those, too.  We were walking not driving, but still... 

I was glad when the food arrived and the booksellers were right--the meal was delicious.  Or maybe everything just tastes wonderful after a few shots of tequila!

I hope you’ll look for AGAINST THE NIGHT and that you enjoy Johnnie and Amy’s story.  After that, AGAINST THE SUN will be out the end of May.  

Till then, all best and happy reading, Kat

Kat will be giving away give away a copy of Against the Night to one lucky commenter. The winner may choose from Kindle, Nook or paperback format.

Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 28th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

AGAINST THE NIGHT

He knows what goes on in the dark.

She’s got the face of an angel and the body of…well, isn’t that what he’d expect from an exotic dancer? But there’s something about this girl that Johnnie Riggs can’t shake. The former army ranger is hot on the trail of an elusive drug lord—and suddenly very hot under the collar, as well.

Amy’s got her own agenda to pursue: her sister is missing and Amy seems to be the only one who cares. She’ll enlist Johnnie's help and do her best to ignore her growing attraction to finally get some answers. But when the two trails begin to converge and reveal something even more sinister than they imagined, their mutual desire is the least of their problems. They’ll bring the truth to light…or die trying.

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Breaking Leonard’s Rule Number 9

By: Cathy Perkins

Congratulations to Kai, the winner of Cathy Perkins' giveaway. Cathy will be contacting you directly. Thank you to all who participated!

Leonard Elmore’s Rules of Writing made the rounds of the Internet again last week.

For those of you who missed them, here’s the list:

1.  Never open a book with weather.
2.  Avoid prologues.
3.  Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

* Excerpted from the New York Times article, “Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle”

While I’m not big on rules for the sake of rules, I can get on board with most of these. But I slowed a bit over number 8 & 9. I’ve read a few of Elmore’s books and he belongs in the “writes lean” camp. Haven’t read Elmore? Think John Sandford and Lucas Davenport’s half page scenes and staccato guy-speak. Works great for him.

I think we can all agree about just-shoot-me-now descriptions like this:

Mary batted her long-lashed green eyes and swept an errant blonde curl off her shoulder.

Yeah, I’d be skipping that part along with the rest of the description of her dress, apartment and cat. I’m not looking for a catalogue of what’s where and what color is it.

For me, setting defines the characters. Can you imagine Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum anywhere other than Jersey or Toni McGee Causey’s Bobbie Faye outside of Louisiana? Or at the other end of the spectrum, Fargo taking place anywhere besides, well, Fargo?

As an author, we want the reader to see the story world as the characters see it, not as we see it. So once the scene’s framed – conflict, tension, narrative drive – the setting accessorizes it (visual orientation, textures, sounds, smells). One of my teachers referred to the scene as a basic black dress with the setting as the jewelry.

I think it can go one step further. The heroine in the story may view the accessories as classy or trashy, while a police officer may assess the threat potential and a thief would consider the best way to relieve her of that jewelry. The way the scene is described should tell you a bit about the point of view character. What and how she sees the scene reveals character.

So rather than “setting the scene” with long block of description, I like to use setting as a delivery vehicle for characterization and emotion. The way characters experience a place, and the way they feel about it, tells readers much more about them as people than Mary’s laundry list of attributes up above.

What about you? Do you like stories where the setting is practically a character in the story? Or would you be perfectly happy with nothing more than, the heroine’s in her car/office/apartment?

The Professor is set in South Carolina, amid crimes scenes, “cop-shops” and small college campuses. Here’s the opening paragraph:

The body lay in dappled shade. Patches of light caught pale flesh—an ankle here, a hip there. Resurrection ferns spread lacy fronds, partially concealing the limbs. Mick wondered if the irony was deliberate.

Can you see the scene?

Cathy will be giving away a digital copy of The Professor to a commenter.


Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 26th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

Bio: Cathy Perkins’ suspense writing lurks behind a financial geek day-job, where she learned firsthand the camouflage, hide in plain sight, skills employed by her villains. Born and raised in South Carolina, the setting for THE PROFESSOR, she now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her work-a-holic husband and a 75-pound Lab who thinks she’s still a lap-puppy. You can learn more at www.cperkinswrites.com. Cathy can also be found on Facebook at http://facebook.com/CathyPerkinsAuthor and Twitter at http://twitter.com/cperkinswrites.

The Professor available at

Amazon  

Barnes & Noble  

Carina Press 

How to Spot a Serial Killer

By: Kylie Brant

Congratulations to Heather E, the winner of Kylie Brant's giveaway. Kylie will be contacting you directly. Thank you to all who participated!

Writing dark romantic thrillers, it’s a given that I spend an inordinate amount of time pondering serial killers. Not every novel features one, but enough do that I’ve spent more than my share of hours in the bad guys’ heads. A not always pleasant place to be, but unfailingly educating, nonetheless.

Based on the serial killers that have inhabited my novels and others I’ve studied, I’ve developed a checklist for you to be able to recognize one on sight. You might want to clip this post and carry it with you in your purse. It could save you some time on a blind date, or perhaps when introducing yourself to your strange new next door neighbor.

1—He collects road kill. Red flag. Follow this guy home and you’ll likely discover that his hobby is raising dermestid beetles. These rather unusual bugs survive by stripping dried flesh off skeletal remains. The road kill is just to keep them alive until he has a new corpse to feed them.

2—He carries a chain saw with him everywhere. Granted, I’ve never written about this but all those Texas Chainsaw massacre movies can’t be wrong. Never ever go on a date with a guy like this. Recall the Mae West quote. She did NOT say, “Is that a chainsaw in your pocket, or do you like me?”

3—He drives a yellow Volkswagon. Remember Ted Bundy?

4—He’s a religious zealot. Okay, maybe not all of them are serial killers but enough of them are whacko that you should just steer clear, to be on the safe side.

5—He keeps his dead mother stuffed in the home where they live together. Sure she might make a perfect mother-in-law in SOME ways, but this guy could be on the far side of weird…

6—In his childhood, he hit on all three counts of the terrible triad—bed wetter, fire setter and animal torturer. Run. Fast and far.

7—The guy in your cooking class might seem charming but people he invites for dinner often end up as the main course. Don’t even exchange recipes with the very charming Hannibel Lector…especially the one for liver, fava beans and a fine Chianti…

8--Every time someone goes missing—surprise—this guy has planted a brand new garden. Check out the fertilizer that makes those prize roses so special.

9—He’s an amateur spelunker and he offers to show you this out of the way cave he’s found. This is a no-brainer. You just know that’s where he stashes bodies. And even if he’s on the up-and-up---caves = bats. Which means this guy is plain weird even if he isn’t a serial killer!

10—Despite his kindly demeanor, sweater vests and command of trivia, there was likely a reason for the tall fence keeping Wilson separated from the Tim Taylor clan. Just beware of sweater vests in general. Nothing good can come from the fashion impaired.

Have I missed one that would be a dead giveaway?  What’s your trick for recognizing the truly deranged among us? <g>

I’m giving away a copy of the charity anthology SEAL of My Dreams to one lucky commenter today.

Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 24th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

The Title Is What?

By: Adrienne Giordano

Congratulations to "bn100" the winner of Adrienne's giveaway. You will be contacted by the author. Thank you to all who participated.

That's the question I'm probably asked most often about my romantic suspense, Man Law.

I typically explain that my my hubby and I were at a friend's 40^th birthday party when the husband of another friend stood to offer a toast. I would be remiss if I didn't tell you the party had been in full swing for a couple of hours and, well, the man doing the toasting was rather—er—toasted.

He spent five minutes pounding his fist on a table and declaring a man law that his wife would no longer be allowed to shop with the birthday girl.

Man law? Hmmm. I turned to my hubby. "What if," I said, "I write a book about a guy who only follows his own set of goofy man laws."

That's how Man Law began. I started dreaming up backstory for my hero. He'd be a rebel. A rule breaker. Except when it came to man laws. Man laws would be the only rules Vic Andrews followed.

My research into man laws began immediately. I asked male friends questions, I scoured the internet, I read men's magazines.

I came up with a list of man laws and started plotting around the concept of those laws.  The one thing I knew for sure? My character, who staunchly followed his man laws above any other set of rules, would have to break every one of them.

And that's when I really started to have fun.  Commitment issues? No problem. Let's see how he handles a widow with three kids (including a teenager). Undercover job? I'd blow his cover.  He likes being a loner? Easy. I'd surround him with people for long stretches of time.

I had no mercy.  I'll tell ya, though, out of all my characters, Vic was the hardest to break.  Yes, he had plenty of issues, but he had been emotionally shut down for so long it took some work to get him to realize it was time to let someone love him.  And for him to reciprocate.

I think back to that birthday party and my friend's husband entertaining us with his silly man laws and it always makes me smile.  Not long after that, the birthday girl from that party gave me a plaque that now sits on my desk.  It reads:

Careful or you'll end up in my novel.

I don't think she realized how true that statement is.

Adrienne will be giving away a digital copy of MAN LAW to one lucky commentor.


Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 23rd. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

Bio: Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and women's fiction.  She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband, sports obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She is a co-founder of Romance University blog. For more information on Adrienne's Private Protectors series please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AdrienneGiordanoAuthor and Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdriennGiordano.

Man Law available at:

Carina Press

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Hollywood Secrets

By: Dee J. Adams

Congratulations to Janette, the winner of Dee's giveaway. You will be contacted directly regarding your prize. Thank you to all who participated.

I’m so jazzed to be back here for the release of my second book in the Adrenaline Highs Series! Danger Zone is out today with Carina Press and all those other fine e-book sellers out there. Danger Zone is especially close to my heart for several reasons. The main one being that I share a secret with my heroine, Ellie Morgan. Ellie and I both discovered something very important about ourselves at an early age. I discovered it later than Ellie did. Without giving away her secret, I’ll just say that discovering something about yourself at any age can be an eye opening experience. You can either choose to learn from it and grow or hide from it and go nowhere. (Personally, I’m not a fan of nowhere. LOL. I like to learn from my mistakes. Did I mention I make of ton of mistakes?)

Anyway, the other thing I loved about this book was writing about Hollywood. I think for most people it’s this elusive place where pretty people live and everything is perfect. Ha. Not. Show business is a tough place to work. The pressure is intense and the hours are brutal. The pretty people stay pretty because they have a team of people to keep them that way and that team works endlessly to make what you see look perfect. Be it the actors, the set or the wardrobe, there are hundreds of people working to make every project the best it can be. I hope I bring a little of the reality to life in Danger Zone so people see what’s involved in the making of a movie.

Now the making of a romance…that’s one of my favorite things too. Hook ups on the set are common for obvious reasons. Put two pretty people in the same proximity for anywhere from one to six months and depending on the relationship status of those two people, sparks may fly. Hollywood is famous for it. How many marriages have broken up because people have met on a set and fallen in love? I lost count. (Okay, I didn’t really try counting, but I would’ve lost count if I’d tried!)

Anyway, so those are just a few of my favorite parts about Danger Zone. What are your favorite parts of a book? The first meet? The first love scene? The last love scene? Or maybe a specific action sequence in a book? What turns you on when reading? 

Comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Danger Zone!

You can find Dee J. on FaceBook and Twitter @deejadams or visit her website at www.deejadams.com.

Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 21st. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

My Advice: Don't Plot a Murder in Public

By: Robin Perini

Congratulations to Janet, the winner of Robin's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated.

Writing can be a risky business. Let me rephrase that…plotting books in public places can be a VERY risky business.

I have one of those voices that carry. I can't even whisper without the entire room hearing me. It's great if you're speaking to someone who's hard of hearing…not so great when you're trying to be secretive. Not that I'm a pro at that either.

Most of the books I've written (some of which will never see the light of day) have suspense in them. And frankly, most have dead bodies. I just can't seem to help adding a corpse into my book. In Her Sights, my debut novel, has several. My second book, coming out in just a few weeks, Finding Her Son from Harlequin Intrigue, has nine…or maybe it's eleven. I lost count after about seven.

So, it probably won't surprise you that one of the things I do before starting a book is to make a list of unique and different ways for my villains to do their dirty work. Such was the case one evening in a local restaurant. The staff were kind enough to let me and my plotting partners to sit in a booth for hours upon end. I'm not sure if we were simply entertaining or disturbing, but they let us stay anyway.

I was working on a new story that was set nearby, in some spooky tunnels below a hospital. I'd walked down the corridors and decided, as is my predilection, that the cool, damp rooms would make a perfect murder site. I had my victim identified as well. An anatomy professor who had given me a grade that made me very unhappy. (Yes, I was one of those irritating A-students most people despise).

I couldn't use his name in the book, of course, but I would take my vengeance out on his doppelganger in my book. I mean, not getting an A has to be worth a painful death? Doesn't it?

So, I plotted my professor's demise, slipping back and forth between the real person and the character as writers sometimes do. So engrossed were we in our conversation—whether a gun would be too loud, or a silencer would dampen the noise enough, or whether a scalpel to the carotid would be too messy (we finally settled on potassium chloride)—when a man came up to our table.

I looked up. He was frowning, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Ladies," he said, his tone somber and serious. "I have to ask you what you're talking about."

He flipped open his badge.

My eyes grew as big as saucers. We began rapidly explaining all at once. When finally we clarified what we were doing, he smiled. "I thought it must be something like that," he said. "You're too smart to be real criminals."

Hmmm…I kind of grin when I think of that last statement, but the lesson is clear. It's not good to plot a murder in a public place. You don't know who might be listening.

Have you overheard or has someone overheard something you've said in a public place that you wish hadn't happened? Comment and you'll be entered to win a copy of my latest release, Finding Her Son from Harlequin Intrigue®.
Giveaway ends 9pm EST Feb. 19th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

FINDING HER SON

 

THE ONLY MAN A DESPERATE MOTHER CAN TRUST…

Investigating a cold case is SWAT cop Mitch Bradford’s worst nightmare—especially when it involves a kidnapped infant. But thanks to an injury, he’ll have to settle for following Emily Wentworth instead of breaking down doors and cuffing criminals.

The prime suspect in a mysterious disappearance, Emily has always claimed she was framed. And as he earns the trust of the incredibly desperate—and unbelievably beautiful— mother, every instinct tells Mitch to believe her. Then new evidence unfolds, revealing an elaborate conspiracy and forcing Emily into a deadly spotlight. Now, torn between loyalty to the badge and his promises to Emily, Mitch may have to make the ultimate sacrifice if he’s to bring her little boy home.

Chapter One

Cursing under his breath, Mitch Bradford yanked his collar up against the bitter Colorado wind. Where was Emily Wentworth going? He stalked across Colfax, on a stretch of the street known as a candy store for illicit drugs and prostitution. He could've been home alone in front of the fireplace, his bum leg propped up, nursing a stiff drink and a double dose of ibuprofen. The irony didn't amuse him. He'd been tapped for the Wentworth case because of his injury. One more reason to kill the guy who'd shot up his leg during his last SWAT operation.

Mitch ducked his head and plunged forward into the night, ignoring the exchange of money on the corner. He would've busted the dealer any other time, but he refused to let his suspect out of sight. When she approached a group of gang-bangers, he tensed and reached for his weapon.

Award-winning author Robin Perini is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes adventure with a love story sure to melt their hearts. Her mission's motto: "When danger and romance collide, no heart is safe." After seven prestigious Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finals, Robin sold seven novels within one year. She won the Golden Heart® in 2011, and that title became her first Harlequin Intrigue, Finding Her Son (March 2012). She is the author of In Her Sights (Montlake, 2011), Finding Her Son, Cowboy in the Crossfire and Christmas Conspiracy (Harlequin Intrigue 2012).

Robin loves to interact with readers. You can read excerpts, read reviews, sign up for her quarterly newsletter and mailing list, and even request trading cards or a Kindlegraph on her website at www.robinperini.com. She's also on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. She'd love to hear from you.

Real Life Heroes and Heroines

By: Beth Cornelison

When looking for inspiration for romantic suspense heroes and heroines, one doesn’t have to look far to find plenty of examples of heroism. Our military is full of men and women who are sacrificing their comfort, time with their family and sometimes their lives to protect and defend us. Firemen and police officers put their lives on the line daily to serve and protect as well. While I admire these individuals and respect the work they do, I like to write about a different sort of hero. The ordinary person forced into extraordinary circumstances who rises to the occasion in most heroic ways.

            Every once in a while I hear about these real-life heroes, and I’m inspired and awed all over again at what some people can and will do when the need arises. A few examples…in June of 2008, Colorado hiker Jessica Bruinsma found herself trapped on a ledge in the German Alps with a dislocated shoulder. This smart cookie signals rescuers by hooking her sports bra to a supply line that ran down the mountain on a pulley system. That’s the kind of level-headed thinking and ingenuity I want my heroines to have!

            This past Valentine’s Day marked the 4-year anniversary of the shooting at Northern Illinois  University, during which Daniel Parmenter lost his life. Daniel was sitting in on the class where the shooter opened fire because he wanted to spend time with his girlfriend on Valentine’s afternoon. When the shooting started, he covered his girlfriend with his body, saving her life when he took a bullet for her. That is true heroism and the kind of noble, loving gesture that inspires me when I write my romantic suspense heroes!

            Do you remember the New York subway hero, Wesley Autrey, who threw his body over a man who fell on the subway track while having a seizure and protected the man from an oncoming train? His quick thinking and selflessness saved a life. What an example he set for his daughters and all of us that day!

            But not all heroes are jumping under trains or facing bullets to save lives or help their fellow man. What about the utility worker braving an ice storm to return power to a hospital or nursing home? Or the nurse who shows infinite patience and kindness to the sick and frightened patients in her care? Or the teacher who spends her own money on supplies for her students, volunteers extra hours tutoring a student who’s struggling and inspires her class to pursue their dreams?

            Real-life heroes are all around us, going the extra mile, putting the needs of others first, and sacrificing for the common good. I’m a firm believer that that there is a hero inside all of us, if we are willing to make a difference and have the courage to act. Who do you see as a real-life hero? And have you thanked the heroes in your life for all they do?   

For more information about Under Fire, or Beth’s latest release, a small-town contemporary romance called Trust In Me ... plus so many more fantastic romantic suspense novels, visit Beth’s website at www.bethcornelison.com

Award-winning author Beth Cornelison worked in public relations until she moved with her husband to Louisiana, where she decided to pursue her love of writing fiction. Since that time, she has published numerous romantic suspense books with Harlequin/Silhouette as well as single title books with Five Star Press, Sourcebooks, and Samhain Publishing. In December 2011, she released her first independently published contemporary romance for Kindle titled, TRUST IN ME. She has won numerous honors for her work including the coveted RWA Golden Heart. Her books have been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewers Choice awards, the RWA Rita and her 2009 release, THE CHRISTMAS STRANGER, won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Best Series Romantic Suspense. Beth lives in Louisiana with her husband, one son, and a variety of cats who think they are people.

The Faces of Evil and Building a Series with Motive

By: Debra Webb

Congratulations to Tammy, the winner of Debra Webb's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated.

At the end of October I launched a brand new endeavor, the Faces of Evil series. Sounds creepy, doesn’t it? The concept came to me several years ago (at the time it was called the Scales of Justice). I wanted to create a scale of evil and write a series focused on that scale beginning with the least heinous of deeds. Mind you, the least heinous of those evils doesn’t exactly equate to light or vanilla when it comes to bad. Even the lowest level of evil can include murder. The seemingly nicest person can snap or be pushed into a situation and end up committing murder. Where that act fits in terms of depravity is all in the motive.

Jess Harris, formerly a special agent with the FBI, can tell you a little about evil.

Any act of evil committed by one or more persons against another is driven by motive. Every motive tells a unique personal story, painting a vivid picture that reveals the dark inner nature hidden beneath the image presented for the world to see. All of us possess a basic goodness, but we each also harbor the potential for evil. The choice not to cross that moral line ultimately separates the good from the bad. For those who cross that line life’s journey is forever altered. Where that journey begins and how far one drifts into the depths of depravity is fueled by desire and desperation. Some plummet directly into the deepest, blackest recesses of that hungry abyss. Others linger near that thin line, clinging to a rapidly unraveling thread of goodness while the darkness seduces them closer and closer until the thread snaps and evil is born.

Something else Jess points out is that expert opinions differ on the idea of whether serial killers are born or are made but the one point they all agree on is that neither Charles Manson nor Ed Gein were serial anything until that first act of evil was committed.

Once I found myself in the right place to begin the series, I realized that motive was indeed the foundation for what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. Originally, the concept was more focused on solving the case and finding justice. As I fleshed out the series I realized it was the motives that intrigued me the most. The impetus for the crime and the differences between the truly heinous villain and the heinous act committed by your average, everyday person.

Eventually the main protagonists emerged. Jess Harris in the midst of personal and professional crises. Dan Burnett, the seemingly has it all guy who has never faced personal or professional hardship. Jess and Dan have two things in common: the relentless determination to ensure justice and the smoldering desire to have what they seem to have lost—each other.

With the main protagonists on page, I needed a compelling ensemble cast. Sergeants Chet Harper and Lori Wells showed up on the scene. Both hardworking, dedicated detectives. Each with their own personal and professional baggage. Other members of the team seemed to create themselves. Once I started, they came to me in a rush.

Then came the hard part, developing the stories. Each one had to feature a crime and a villain more heinous than the last. The idea sort of propelled me back to square one. After all, murder is murder, right? Not really. We’re back to motive again. That made my job a lot less difficult. The focus had to be on the motive of the crime and how that same motive resonated through every level of the story.

Once the plot line of the crimes was established, what about the relationships of the characters? Again, I turned to motive and the one thing in life none of us can escape—human nature. Humans make mistakes. They celebrate victories and mourn defeats. They have desires and hopes and needs. All I had to do was ensure my characters were infinitely human and the rest would take care of itself.

Jess and Dan have a long history. They were high school sweethearts. In their forties now, they have a lot more living to do and a lot of decisions to make. There are opportunities to right wrongs in their careers and in their personal lives. The journey won’t always be easy, but they have ten more books to get it right! If you haven’t already gotten your copy of OBSESSION and IMPULSE, the first two books in the Faces of Evil series, I hope you will. Both are available as e-books and in trade paperback. POWER, book three, will be out next month!

Tell me about your favorite series and one lucky commenter will win a trade paperback copy of both OBSESSION and IMPULSE!

The paperback giveaway is applicable to US and Canada addresses only. Outside of these countries any potential winner will receive a digital copy.


Giveaway ends 10pm EST Feb. 17th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.

TOP TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

By: Linda Conrad

Congratulations to Ellen and Linda, the winners of Linda Conrad's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated. The winners will be contacted by the author.

I’ve been talking to readers lately about the romantic suspense genre.  Many of the publishers and editors are saying that it is not selling as well and seems to be out of favor with readers.  Really?  As a reader myself, I disagree.  I love romantic suspense!


I decided to list a few of the reasons why I love romantic suspense.  Some of the things on this list also pertain to all romances (and I do love other genres of romance too) but there’s something about romantic suspense that really grabs me.


Especially these TEN Things:


1.  A hero who can shoot, ride, kill the enemy and kiss the heroine in a way that curls her toes.  Yeah, that’s the guy for me.


2.  Intelligent characters who can figure out who-done-it.  All stupid characters have to die!


3. Love at first sight (or right afterward)  This one is not just for RS, but it happens often in RS because there’s so much going on that the characters don’t have time to think it over.


4.  Characters who trust one another enough to lay their life on the line. Sigh. Now that’s love.


5. Heroines who see something special in their alpha hero that no one else sees.  He could be a monster to the world but she will know the heroic man underneath.


6.  A hero who loves the heroine absolutely—and we know he will have no desire for anyone else as long as he lives.  This is another thing that pertains to many kinds of romance but I think it applies to our alpha heroes more than others. 


7.  Heroes and heroines who believe in each other despite evidence to the contrary. Sometimes they believe in each other more than they believe in themselves.


8. A first kiss that makes me sigh and a love scene that makes me cry.


9.  Secondary characters who keep things interesting -- and dangerous.  Just love to get my heart racing.


10.  A Happily-Ever-After!  Yeah, I know.  All romances have HEAs.  But the Romantic Suspense HEAs are special.  :)


I am starting a brand new series for the Harlequin Romantic Suspense line called Chance, Texas.  Chance is the name of a small ranching community in Texas and also the name of a large family of ranchers who own the biggest ranch in the county.  It’s given me the opportunity to include all the things I love best about romantic suspense in the stories.


The first Chance, Texas book will be out in April and is available for preorder now.  It’s called TEXAS BABY SANCTUARY and it has one very cool cover.  (love the guy)  The second Chance, Texas book will be out in May.  Called TEXAS MANHUNT, it’s both romantic and full of suspense.  The third story for Chance, Texas will be a short story in a Christmas anthology (along with a story by Marilyn Pappano) that’s out in December 2012.  Working title for the anthology is Christmas Confidential.

So as you can see, I LOVE romantic suspense.  What about you?  Can you think of any other reasons to love RS.  Or don’t you?  Prefer paranormals instead?  I’m open to other opinions (sort of)

Linda will be giving away a copy of any of her backlist books to 2 lucky commentors!

Giveaway ends 10pm EST Feb. 16th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email justromanticsuspense @ gmail.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.