by Julie Leto

My current release is my first ever sequel. I’ve written spin-off books before (where characters from a previous book appear as secondary characters in a new book or where secondary characters from a previous book get their own story) but this was my first foray into the world of “part two.” Writing the book was an interesting journey, on many levels. Unlike J.K. Rowling, I have no solid idea what is going to happen to my characters in each book. Unlike J.D. Robb, the series isn’t, at least in my mind, open-ended.

The focus of the series comes from the original conception of the first book as a chick-lit mystery–growth for the protagonist, Marisela Morales. The growth will be personal, romantic, physical…the whole nine yards. The second book, DIRTY LITTLE LIES, will be released as a romantic suspense, but luckily, no one asked me to change anything editorially to accommodate what is, essentially, only a change in marketing strategy. In the first book, DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, Marisela is a former gang girl, ex-bounty hunter doing one last job as the favor for a family friend when she gets caught up in the business of a big time investigation and security firm, Titan International. Because they’re willing to pay her big bucks and because her super-sexy ex-boyfriend is working for them, she signs on as an agent for one case. Near the end, it looks like she’s totally blown her shot, but like any good heroine, she manages to come out on top. She becomes an official agent of Titan International–the first time, in her mind, that she hasn’t screwed up a really good thing.

In the second book, she’s completed three months of her training, but proving herself (to her bosses, yeah, but mostly to herself) is key. I had to take her to the next level, but once again stay true to one of the main themes of the story–the very basic difference between what is right and what is legal and how it affects a morally ambiguous character like Marisela. What is wrong, but defensible? Where do people draw the line? It took me a while to come up with exactly the right plot for Marisela to address the level of conflict I wanted her to explore, but it helped when I picked the setting.

Boston.

Have you been? Boston represents so many things symbolically. It’s the birthplace of our democracy and represents hard-won freedom. It’s famous for its own particular brand of high society, rooted in the country’s oldest and wealthiest families. Think Kennedy. Heck, think Kerry (I saw his townhome during my explorations.) And on top of all of that, Boston is a melting pot that would make Miami and New York proud. Boston has an increasingly diverse population which I knew I could work with to enhance the Latina flavors and rhythms inherent to this series.

From the setting, I borrowed the idea of an old crime, unsolved and perhaps, one where the perpetrators were never punished because of their status and wealth. I added to the mix an assassin who only takes assignments where the target escaped justice. Then I added in Marisela, who struggles daily with choosing between what is right and what she can get away with. And of course, there is the struggle she fights between which man (if any) is right for her? The man who knows her better than anyone else because of his ties to her past? Or the new man who offers her knowledge, sophistication and money?

So that’s a little bit about the layers of depth I have tried to explore in this ultra-sexy, fast-paced romantic suspense. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

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