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Good morning, and thank you so much for hosting me on your blog, Christine.
The first question for my guest is always what draws you as a reader to the romance genre?
My initial response is to say I love a happily ever after, but that’s too easy. What I love about romance is the relationships that form and the struggles the characters have. I love to see a character recognizing likeable traits in the other, even while fighting an attraction, and then to watch how that attraction goes haywire.
I love those haywire attractions!! What is the most difficult part of writing a love story?
I’m a bit of a realist, so for me creating the characters to be larger than life, or their situation to be larger than life, and yet keeping it believable is the toughest aspect of story telling. When I find I’m rolling my eyes at my own words then I know for sure I have to go back to the drawing board. :)
Is creating a book title easy for you? Tell us about the process.
Yes. For me the title often comes first. Something will pop into my head, or I’ll see something in my travels, and the story grows out of that. It’s hard for me to change a title. The 3rd book in my series (the Golden Heart finalist book) was originally Don’t Mess With Mick. I loved the title. When it went to a couple of contests I was told Mick is not a common nickname for an American male. I changed him to Michael and stuck the title Exposure on the manuscript, and the rest is history. However, when it was contracted to The Wild Rose Press it underwent another title change and became Desert Exposure.
Do your characters love the direction you take for them or do they have other ideas?
Oh, they love it. Ha ha. Especially the heroines. My heroines are often quieter in nature, but they have a certain resilience. For them to be the ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances is a real adventure. They get to see to what lengths they will go to right a wrong, catch a bad man, save an innocent. It’s exciting to throw off the ordinary life, especially when there’s a hunky guy in the shadows willing to protect. Right?
Any tips for writers that you’d love to share?
Keep on learning. Never stop learning the craft. Even if it takes ten years before you get published persevere, keep on submitting, and take the comments that are consistent and use them to strengthen your writing.
Book #2 Desert Heat
The Blue Dolphin: She’s determined to
expose a murderer, but opening her heart to love might be the greatest danger
of all.
When Debbie Williams discovers a dismembered body in the
dumpster behind her health spa, she’s determined to find out what happened. As
a single parent, she must be sure the town she loves is safe for her daughter.
Debbie won’t be deterred by anyone—not even the ruggedly handsome agent on the
case who doesn’t appreciate her amateur sleuthing.
After his partner’s body is uncovered, DEA agent Jack Davis
vows revenge. But three words shouted over the phone before his partner
died—azul, delfin, Almagro—are Jack’s only clues. Even worse, a sexy blonde spa
owner refuses to stay out of his investigation, and the chemistry between them
is difficult to ignore. As danger strikes ever closer, Jack and Debbie must
figure out what blue dolphins and a small California desert town have to do
with a dangerous drug cartel…all while protecting their hearts from an
attraction neither can resist.
Excerpt:
What did he want?
She gestured toward the bed and recalled how he’d stared at
her at the meeting. Perspiration began to bead on her brow and upper lip. She
moved closer to the doorway. “Go ahead and, ah, lie down. You don’t have to
remove clothing if you don’t want to…um, just your
boots. Maybe take off your jacket, too. Um, I’ll leave you
now,” she said, unable to stop the rush of words. “If you get cold there are
blankets folded at the end of the bed. I turn on the treatment switches at the
front desk. If you need anything, there’s a buzzer.”
“You don’t stay in here with me?”
“Nope.” Thank goodness. The very last thing she needed would
be to sit beside his gorgeous body while the bed undulated. She pointed to a
buzzer. “Press that if you get anxious. Remember it’s your private time to
relax and to let the vibrations soothe you.”
“Anxious?” He sat on the side of the bed and stared at her,
his dark eyes narrowing again.
“Well, some people feel claustrophobic. Most don’t, as a
rule. But just in case.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and turn off your cell phone so you don’t have any
disturbances.” She closed the door behind her, pulled in several deep breaths,
and scurried back to the desk. The man had her all on edge and not in a good
way. Actually, it was a good way, but one she didn’t want to explore with him.
He was all wrong. So big and dark, and she’d bet he had chest hair. In her
limited adult love life, she’d never been with a guy who had chest hair. She’d
often wondered what it felt like and—
“Oh, hell,” she said. “Snap out of it.”
Unlock the Truth and The Blue Dolphin are now available through
www.thewildrosepress.com in print
and all digital formats:
