Romantic Suspense Blog Tour & Giveaway

I’m thrilled to be a part of Forever’s Romantic Suspense Blog Tour featuring the delightful Dee Davis, author of DEADLY DANCE, and Jami Alden, author of RUN FROM FEAR.

Both ladies have graciously answered some questions for me and are offering a special giveaway. I have 3 book packages which includes a copy of DEADLY DANCE and RUN FROM FEAR to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines.

Mason - How has the writing industry changed since your first begun writing?  

DEE - Great question. And it has changed a lot since

my first book debuted in 2000. We’ve seen trends come and go. Remember how big Time Travels were after Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander? And Westerns bit the dust only to be rising again from the proverbial ashes. Historicals fell out of fashion (at least the non-regency ones) but they too have seen a resurgence. And we saw a shift from lighter paranormals to dark ones like Twilight and J.R. Ward’s series. Vampires seem to be still going strong.   

In the industry itself we’ve seen the birth and growth of digital publishing. And now of course the rise of the indie author thanks to programs like Smashwords, Pub-It and Kindle online. What happened to the music industry with the advent of the ipod and to some extent with the movie industry and VOD is happening to the publishing industry with the rise of e-readers. Which leads to your next question.

JAMI - It's changed immensely, with the availability and ubiquity of eBooks being the most obvious. But everything has changed, from how many hard copy books are available on shelves to how often authors need to have a book out to keep career momentum going. When I first started reading romance, most of my favorite authors only published one book a year. Now there's pressure to put out as much as you can as fast as you can, and that can be very daunting. 

And don't even get me started on trends! Since I started seriously writing ten years ago, I've seen so many "hot new trends" come along - unfortunately never anything I happened to write!

Mason - Do you think eBooks have helped or hurt the industry?  

DEE - I think as long as people are reading, no matter the format, then it’s a good thing. The hard part is adjusting the business models to incorporate a new method of reading and selling books. And, as is the birth of anything new, it’s going to be a difficult process as we all try to adjust—both readers and writers. But in the end, I think it will prove to have been a wonderful thing. A step into the twenty-first century!

JAMI - I don't think eBooks in and of themselves have helped or hurt the industry. I think the options now available for authors so self publish or publish with smaller presses has created a huge amount of opportunity for authors, both for original works and to help them breath life into their backlist titles. I think the major publishing houses are all working hard to figure out the publishing and pricing strategy that will please best serve readers and still keep them profitable.

Mason - What can readers expect next from you?  

DEE - Next up for me, the sixth book in my A-Tac series, DOUBLE DANGER, featuring A-Tac member and ex-SEAL Simon Kincaid. Simon is forced to face not only the threat of a terrorist act in Manhattan, but also the return of the woman he once let get away.  

JAMI - I'm currently working on at the first of two more romantic suspense novels  for Warner Forever. It doesn't have a title, but readers will recognize my hero, Tommy Ibarra, as Sean Flynn's buddy from HIDE FROM EVIL. 

Thanks ladies for answering these questions for me. Sounds like you both have more wonderful books for fans to look forward to. Now for a bit of background on both ladies.

Dee Davis has a BA in Political Science and History, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. During a 10-year career in public relations, she spent three years on the public speaking circuit, edited two newsletters, wrote three award winning public service announcements, did television and radio commercials, starred in the Seven Year Itch, taught college classes, lobbied both the Texas State Legislature and the US Congress, and served as the director of two associations.

Her highly acclaimed first novel, EVERYTHING IN ITS TIME, was published in July 2000. Since then, among others, she’s won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards. To date, she has sold 18 books and three novellas, including CHAIN REACTION and A MATCH MADE ON MADISON. 

 
She’s lived in Austria and traveled in Europe extensively. And although she now lives in Manhattan she still calls Texas home. For more on Dee, visit her website at www.deedavis.com.

  
Jami Alden is the Holt Medallion nominated author sexy romantic suspense. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her socially well adjusted alpha male husband, her sons, and a German shepherd who patiently listens to dialog and help her work out plot points. 

You can find out more about Jami and her books at www.JamiAlden.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jamialden, or by following her on Twitter @jamialden. 

Here’s a brief synopsis of the books.
DEADLY DANCE  -  As the intelligence officer for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Hannah Marshall is used to working behind the scenes. But when a brutal murder hits too close to home, Hannah finds herself in the middle of the action, falling in love while racing to outwit a sadistic mastermind. 

A KILLER CLOSES IN. After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she's reluctant to trust him - or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison.

Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility - his sister's murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer, the desire simmering between them ignites. And when Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves. 

RUN FROM FEAR  -  With each step she takes, he tracks her every move, waiting for the perfect time. The perfect revenge. Until then, he'll watch her . . . RUN FROM FEAR More than anything, Talia Vega wanted to leave behind her harrowing past. Moving eight hundred miles away, she succeeded . . . until the one man who knows her darkest secrets wanders into the restaurant where she works. Now the agonizing memories come crashing back-along with an undeniable desire for Jack Brooks, the ex-Green Beret who rescued her from a sadistic monster two years ago. 

Jack Brooks knows that showing up unannounced is a purely selfish move. Talia doesn't need his protection anymore, but he can't get the raven-haired beauty out of his mind. And when a twisted madman is hell-bent on resurrecting her torturous past, Jack vows to do anything to keep her safe-even risk his own life to save the only woman he's ever loved. 

Now the giveaway guidelines. To enter this giveaway, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com). Your subject line should read, “Win ROMANCE SUSPENSE.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, the publisher is advising winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from the publisher). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at one of the 3 book packages (400-page DEADLY DANCE and 464-page RUN FROM FEAR) will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 30.

Has the changes in the publishing industry affected you? Thanks so much for stopping by.

Dee Davis, Guest Blogger

It’s my pleasure to welcome award-winning author Dee Davis back to Thoughts in Progress as a special guest blogger on her virtual blog tour.

Dee is busy promoting the third book in her A-Tac series, DESPERATE DEEDS. Thanks to Dee, Anna and the folks at Hachette Book Group I have five copies of the book to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines.

Here’s a brief synopsis of DESPERATE DEEDS: “As the demolitions expert for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Tyler Hanson has two great loves: literature and explosives. She lives by the motto "Duty First" and doesn't have time for personal attachments . . . until a steamy one-night stand turns into a professional partnership.

When Tyler meets Owen Wakefield, a handsome British operative, she seduces him with no intention of ever seeing him again. But then the sexy Brit is brought into A-Tac, and despite Tyler's efforts to keep her distance, she finds herself falling for him. Trusting him.

Owen seems too good to be true - and he is. He's hiding his true motives and identity, and no matter how he feels about Tyler, he can't keep her secrets. One of A-Tac's members has turned traitor and helped terrorists to hijack a shipment of nuclear weapons. As witnesses start dying and evidence starts disappearing, Owen and Tyler must race to find the mole - and prevent a final, cataclysmic act of destruction.”

I asked Dee, “When you started your first book in this series, did you plan to do a series or did the other books just come to life?”

A-Tac sprang to life somewhere in the dark of the night as I was sleeplessly trying to work out a plot twist for an earlier book.  And it was crafted into a full-fledged idea sitting beside the pool at my best friend’s house after she didn’t laugh at the idea of a black-ops CIA united using a college for cover.   

So it was very much a series from the beginning. And the characters came secondarily to the idea (which is not always the case –as in Just Breathe where the heroine Chloe was the catalyst for the story.)

From there the individual stories began to take shape. Nash and Annie came easily. As did Tyler and Owen. Drake came more slowly, his character development in Dark Deceptions reshaping my ideas for his story. And Madeline actually had a complete character renovation, her backstory evolving as I began to seriously plot Dangerous Desires.  

The secondary team members also changed and morphed as I grew to know them better. And the fourth book (coming next year) actually found itself a new hero, with a completely different plot from what I’d originally conceptualized.  The ideas for books five and six (coming in 2012) were also complete surprises. So it will be interesting to see how they evolve as well.

The truth is that every book is a little bit different. Some of them springing practically fully formed from my subconscious with others having to be coaxed along the way. And still others, refusing to reveal themselves without a heck of a lot of sleepless nights.  

And this series has been no different. So even though it was conceived as a series, each book has brought its own set of roadblocks as I’ve worked to create compelling stories involving all members of the A-Tac team. But for me that’s half the fun of writing. Letting the characters take control to lead me on their journey.  Sounds crazy, no?  But hey, I’m a writer.

So what do you as readers look for in a series?

Dee, thanks for stopping by again. I can see how some characters just take over and create their own series.

Dee has a BA in Political Science and History, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. During a ten-year career in public relations, she spent three years on the public speaking circuit, edited two newsletters, wrote three award winning public service announcements, did television and radio commercials, starred in the Seven Year Itch, taught college classes, lobbied both the Texas State Legislature and the US Congress, and served as the director of two associations. She’s lived in Austria, traveled extensively in Europe, and although she now lives in Manhattan, she still calls Texas home. Her website is http://www.deedavis.com/index.php

Now the giveaway. I have 5 copes of the 400 page paperback, DESPERATE DEEDS (ISBN: 9780446542029) to giveaway. To enter the giveaway send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with “Win Desperate Deeds” in the subject line and be sure to include your name and address in the body of the e-mail. The giveaway is open to residents of U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. The giveaway ends at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28. Just so you know, I don’t share your information with anyone or use it for anything else.

 

Dee Davis, Guest Blogging

Please join me in welcoming award-winning author Dee Davis on a return visit to Thoughts in Progress as the special guest blogger here today.

Dee is currently touring the blogsphere with her latest book, DANGEROUS DESIRES, the next installment in her A-Tac Series.

Thanks to Dee, Anna and the folks at the Hachette Book Group I have five copies of DANGEROUS DESIRES to giveaway. Please see the giveaway guidelines at the end of this post.

Dee has stopped by today to explain how she goes about doing research for her series and to tell us if she tries to keep it realistic?

Doing research for a series can be daunting at times. Especially when you’re trying to maintain accuracy across a number of books. Although it’s important to get the big things right. And often you spend most of your time researching these.

It’s also important to nail the little things. If a heroine makes fun of umbrella drinks in the first book—she’d better not be caught with a Mai Tai in book six. And if the hero has a problem with all things technical—we’d better not see him hacking into a computer without a lot of complaining.  

If a character has a mustache or a scar in book two, he’d better still have it in book three unless there’s an explanation as to why. Readers remember. Sometimes authors don’t. Which is why for series we often create story bibles. Notes that remind us of the details of our characters’ lives. 

For bigger issues, research can come from anywhere. I typically tend to do it as I go along – unless I need to do advance research for a particular part of the plot. For instance when I wrote Enigma, the heroine was an expert in bombs working with the ATF and I wanted to be sure I had at least of basic understanding of how her job would work, as well as rudimentary knowledge about the bombs the antagonist was going to use in the book. To do that I started with basic information about working for the ATF and then moved up into more specifics as I began to explore different kinds of bombs.  

For Dancing in the Dark, I read Mind Hunter, an excellent book about the inner workings of serial killers. For Chain Reaction, I read about the poisonous frogs of South America in an effort to understand how the venom could potentially (and only in my imagination) be used as a weapon of mass destruction. That research actually lead me to deciding to set Dangerous Desires in Colombia. And so for my newest book, I read a lot about the Colombian jungles and the specific area of the Andes that I chose for the book’s setting. 

As I mentioned earlier, I also do a lot of research as I go along. As the story develops I may come up with a scenario that I think will take me to the next plot point. But I need to be certain that it’s at least plausible. I talked with experts in climbing to assure that the climbing scene in Dark Deceptions was reasonable. I’ve talked with prison employees about what bus one would take when being released from Rikers Island, linguists to make sure my use of Gaelic in my two Scottish books was correct, and even secured permission to use excerpts from websites about the real life places I used in A Match Made on Madison.

So is everything I write realistic? No. It’s fiction. And as a writer, I’m allowed to stretch the truth. Move a building. Invent a city. Even a weapon. But I always try to make certain that it’s at least plausible. And in some cases, like with Desperate Desires, I work hard to make certain that the setting, even one I’m not completely familiar with, is believable.  

One of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten on a book was that the reader believed I was from Atlanta, where Dark of the Night was set. I’ve never lived there – I just did my homework. And that’s what research is all about.

So do you tend to notice inaccuracies in a book? Or does it just wash on by?

Dee, thanks so much for stopping by today and explaining about your research. Keeping the details from one book to the next is important. As a reader I know I’ve read a series where one of the main character’s name was changed from book one to book two and later an occupation was changed for another character. Guess it happens.

For more information on Dee check out her website at www.deedavis.com and she also blogs at The Whine Sisters.

Here’s a brief synopsis of DANGEROUS DESIRES: “As the extractions expert for A-Tac, an elite CIA black ops unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college, Drake Flynn knows how to survive behind enemy lines. But he's about to meet one adversary he can't subdue . . . or resist. A RACE FOR SURVIVAL Stranded in the Colombian jungle after a mission goes bad, Drake has only one objective: evade the mercenaries hot on his trail and deliver "the package" to U.S. officials. But "the package" has a mind of her own, and she has no intention of trading one set of captors for another. Madeline Reynard is beautiful, headstrong, and hell-bent on escape after years as a crime lord's pawn. She'll risk everything for freedom, even if it means deceiving the dark, handsome operative who now holds her life in his hands. Drake has been burned too many times to let a woman manipulate him, especially a secretive one like Madeline. Even so, they cannot deny the attraction between them. Now as enemy forces close in, Drake and Madeline must trust each other with their lives-or face certain death.”

Now for the giveaway guidelines: I have five copies of DANGEROUS DESIRES to giveaway. To enter the giveaway send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with “Win Dangerous” in the subject line and be sure to include your name and address in the body of the e-mail. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. The giveaway ends at 8 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, July 15.

Guest Blogger, Dee Davis

Today I’d like to welcome author Dee Davis as the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress as part of her virtual blog tour.

Dee’s latest release is “Dark Deceptions” Book 1 in the A-Tac Series and it hit bookstores April 1. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: “Covert operations expert Nash Brennon has spent the last eight years trying to forget Annie Gallagher, his former field partner and the only woman he ever loved. Annie betrayed him when he needed her most, then vanished without a trace. Now suddenly she’s back in the game—this time as a suspected traitor and threat to national security. 

Annie’s son has been kidnapped by political terrorists. The price for his life? Assassinate a UN ambassador. Then Nash finds her, and immediately, the smoldering passion between Annie and the man she swore she’d never contact again almost blazes out of control. But can Nash trust her? The stakes couldn’t be higher: their enemy’s endgame is personal, and one false move could cost them their lives.”

Thanks to Dee, along with Anna and the folks at Hachette Book Group, I have five copies of “Dark Deceptions” to offer in a giveaway. Please see the end of this post for details.

Dee has stopped by to talk about how she came to write romantic suspense.

When I was a little kid on certain summer nights, my mom would tell my brother and I to get our pajamas on right after dinner. A good couple of hours before our bedtimes. But we didn’t protest because we knew what was coming next. We were going to the drive-in movie theatre. Now the rule was that we were allowed to watch the first feature but during the second we were supposed to go to sleep. I never did. And so in a small Oklahoma town, I saw all the James Bond movies, Matt Helm movies and various war movies (mostly starring John Wayne).

When I hit the point where I outgrew juvenile fiction, my mother introduced me to Mary Stewart’s books. My Brother Michael, This Rough Magic and the Moon-Spinners soon became favorite books, and I branched out into the works of Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum. From there I grew into Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, and Mary-Higgins Clark. And while living in Vienna, starving for books written in English, I discovered the works of Helen McGinnis.

When I graduated from college, I took the entrance exam for the foreign service and interviewed with the CIA. Ultimately, we agreed that it wasn’t going to work. We both agreed that I talk too much. But it didn’t curb my interest in all things spy oriented. And so it wasn’t really a surprise that when I started writing books I turned to romantic suspense. It was what I was raised with in a literary sense. And as a political scientist with a concentration in international relations, my interest in the posturing of governments as they move together and apart was also a natural feeding ground for my imagination.

In short, although I’ve never been a spy, and never worked for any of the many government intelligence agencies, I was a natural to write romantic suspense set in and around my fictional version of the CIA and various organizations  connected to it. And the American Tactical Intelligence, the group around which my new series is based, is the newest creation of my overly active imagination. 

But in order to make it believable, I did need to do my research. And as with all research it can be broken down into two distinct categories: Background and specific. Background research consists of understand the overview of whatever it is I’m writing about. For that I read books about real people involved with the business of stopping threats against our society. Books like Ghost, Profiles

in Murder, No Heros, The Anatomy of Motive, and Mind Hunter give insight into the minds of both criminals and the men and women who work to stop them. And as my characters are created, this insight helps in developing their backgrounds and personalities.

For specific research, I look to history books, how-to books, children’s books (which offer simple explanations) and books written by people in the professions I’m trying to understand. Tyler Hanson, in Desperate Deeds, the third book in the A-Tac series, is a whiz with ordnance. And to make sure that there is a sufficient level of believability to her character, I had to learn about ordnance, and about bombs in particular. In addition her father is a military man, and I wanted to be sure I got things right when she spoke about his career and experiences. So I turned to books on the Army and on the war in Vietnam.  

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received about a book came from an FBI agent who told me that I got it right in my book Midnight Rain. That meant the world and made all the hours researching worthwhile. My books are primarily about relationships. About two people coming together in extraordinary circumstances and learning to trust each other enough to fall in love. But the fact that this usually happens in the midst of car chases, gunfire, explosions and the occasional helicopter escape isn’t all that surprising. 

After all, the seeds were sown long ago at the drive-in movie when I stayed awake for the second feature.

What about you? How have your reading (or viewing) experiences shaped your life?

Dee thanks so much for guest blogging here today. I can see where growing up watching Matt Helm and James Bond could be a foundation for creating the A-Tac Series.

A cool new micro site for "Dark Deceptions" was recently launched. You can "Enter A-Tac" where you can get character profiles and listen to excerpts , as well as hear a mysterious voice that speaks of scary things.
 
Now for some background on Dee. She has a BA in Political Science and History, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. During a 10 year career in public relations, Dee spent three years on the public speaking circuit, edited two newsletters, wrote three award winning public service announcements, did television and radio commercials, starred in the Seven Year Itch, taught college classes, lobbied both the Texas State Legislature and the US Congress, and served as the director of two associations. Her highly acclaimed first novel, Everything In Its Time, was published in July 2000. Since then, among others, she’s won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards. To date, she has sold 18 books and three novellas, including Chain Reaction and A Match Made on Madison. 
 
She’s lived in Austria and traveled in Europe extensively. And although she now lives in Manhattan she still calls Texas home. She blogs at Whine Sisters and her virtual blog tour schedule can be found at her Website.

Now for the giveaway. I have five copies of “Dark Deception” to give away. To enter, send an e-mail to me, be sure to put “Win Deception” in the subject line and include your name and mailing address in the body of the e-mail. The giveaway is open to U.S and Canadian residents only and no post office box addresses accepted. The deadline to enter is 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, April 16.