I loooove Christmas! Okay, sometimes it can be a total pain in the neck getting there with gifts to buy, things to decorate and baking and cards to mail. But even with all that going on there’s that hint of magic. Everyone has that glow, something special’s going on. I guess that’s why there are so many engagements announced. How can two people in love resist not shouting it to the world! Well, I have two Christmas anthologies out that do just that.

In The Morgue the Merrier (Kensington Zebra) Rosemary Laurey, Karen Kelly and I wanted to write three connecting Christmas stories. And we wanted to create a little unique Christmas magic all our own. What better place to have a Christmas story than in Christmastown, in a wild snow storm and with three ghosts…ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future…to reunite three couples made for each other. We could have made this a sweet dreamy picture-perfect Christmas town but opted for the cheese. Reindeer on the roofs, Santas with gyrating Elvis hips, elves in trains and a bazillion lights everywhere. This Christmastown is just the place to escape from the everyday ho-hum of life, have tons of fun and bring lovers together forever.

In I’m Your Santa (Kensington BRAVA) Lori Foster, Karen Kelly and I give a gift to our readers by revisiting characters from past books. We all get letters asking what happened to one character or another so in I’m Your Santa we did just that. For my story it’s back to O’Fallon’s Landing and a visit with LuLu Cahill who wants to be anywhere but Home for Christmas. And then there’s Sebastian, a soldier on leave, left at the alter and facing a bed and breakfast full of relatives expecting a Christmas Eve wedding. Sometimes going home for Christmas brings it’s own set of complications along with the fun and love of family.

I wish you all a great Christmas and holiday season and hope The Morgue the Merrier and I’m Your Santa get you in the mood. And when things don’t go as smoothly as you’d like, think of Holly and Case and LuLu and Sebastian. They found happiness and magic in the chaos and so will you.

Hugs, Dianne Castell

One of the motifs I wanted to explore in my Silhouette Desire miniseries, Billionaire Heirs, was the idea that men and women can sometimes be trapped in situations which they never saw coming…and once they become lost in the labyrinth the actions they take to free themselves often only result in greater mayhem. The more the hero and heroine try to find the light, the destination they think they are seeking, the harder it becomes to find the way out.

In The Kyriakos Virgin Bride, my September 2007 release, the alpha hero, Zac, is a very rich guy who can trace his ancestry all the way back to the time of the Crusaders. He has everything he needs in life…except a wife. And family legend stipulates he must marry a virgin. So what happens when Zac discovers after his wedding night that Pandora, his new wife, is not a virgin? Walk away? Except there has never been a divorce in his family. As successful as he is, Zac cannot bear the thought of being a failure. When Pandora threatens to leave, Zac sees only one course of action: abduct his wife and trap her on his private island, until he can decide what on earth he is going to do. His body wants to stay married…his mind knows it’s not possible. While a furious Pandora is physically trapped on the remote, beautiful island…it’s Zac who caught in the trap of his upbringing, the expectations his family and society. And of course, the only way that either of them will free themselves is to sacrifice themselves to love.

Zac’s cousin, Angelo, the hero of The Apollonides Mistress Scandal (October 2007) owns several islands where he has established very sophisticated resorts. Gemma, the heroine, searches him out. But she’s trapped in a world of guilt after the suicide of her identical twin sister, Mandy. And she blames Angelo for her twin’s death. She wants to know what happened, and initially she intends to make him pay. But it’s not so easy. The more badly she thinks of Angelo, the more bitter vengeance makes her, the more miserable she becomes as the attraction between them grows. An attraction Gemma knows is doomed, because she has deceived Angelo—he thinks she is Mandy. Gemma can see no way out of the maze she has created. While Angelo is caught in the snare of his own preconceptions. Mandy betrayed him once, how can he trust her not do so again?

In the final book of the trilogy, The Desert Bride of Al Zayed, Jayne escaped the trap that her marriage to Sheik Tariq Al Zayed had become amid palace intrigue and the machinations of her powerful father-in-law. More than five years have passed and she’s now legally entitled to her divorce. She intends to come back to the sheikdom, secure her divorce, then she’ll be free. Forever. Except Tariq is trapped by circumstance. His father is dying—and wants to see Tariq happily married before he passes away. And then there’s the blazing passion that burns between Tariq and Jayne…will either of them ever be free of that?

It was a challenge to explore the emotions of the six main characters in the three books. I enjoyed using the geographical landscape as part of the motif…the islands in the first two books, the wide bleak desert in the final book—all places that exacerbated the confinement and confusion that the characters were experiencing. In the end, only when each pair of lovers succumb to love can they find the freedom and peace that they seek.

As we head into fall, it’s still warm…uh…hot in the desert southwest. Yet not so long from now, I’ll be enjoying my favorite month of the year. October. During this month I always remember the far off places I’ve had the good fortune to see, and the wonderful inspiration I discovered in this glorious places. Today I thought I’d share but a tiny glimpse into these adventures.

My bio mentions that archaeology creeps into my work from the fact that I’ve been an amateur archaeologist since 1985. Most of my excavation and site survey work happened in Colorado. One adventure in archaeology occurred at Hovenweep, Utah. Fierce wind, flying dust, and long hikes dominated that Memorial Day trip. We even woke up to snow one morning. It was my one and only tent camping experience. I know I’m a wuss. Nevertheless, archaeology found its way into my novels PRIMORDIAL (Ellora’s Cave), SHADOWS AND RUINS (Ellora’s Cave), FOREVERMORE (out of print), and UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER (coming up in October ’07 from Samhain Publishing.) I’ve managed to sprinkle it into other books as well.

While I wouldn’t call myself a world traveler, touring Britain and Ireland seemed to launch some of the most creative inspirations I’ve ever experienced. In 1983 I lived a dream come true. I’d wanted to see Ireland all my life, and I was able to travel for nine days from coast-to-coast and absorb memories that will stay with me forever. I’ve always adored castles, and Ireland is full of them, of course. One of the most authentic experiences I had was at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. To this day I affectionately refer to this hulking edifice as “Ratty Buns.” Castles like Bunratty assisted my inspiration years later when I wrote my reincarnation novel FOREVERMORE. Also an inspiration for this novel was the haunting Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland.

Even today Ireland is inspiring me; the round houses I viewed in Crannog gave me ideas for my heroine’s abode in my current work in progress set in Roman Britain.

When I heard in ’95 that the U.S. Army was transferring us to England, I almost screamed with joy. I’d always, always wanted to see Britain…Scotland in particular. Was I lucky lady or what? We lived in England for three years, and my productivity and creativity seemed to be at a triple high point. While visiting Windsor Castle one October day, I was hit with an idea for a time travel that I eventually set in 1318 Scotland. That story, BRIDGE THROUGH THE MIST, is being reissued by Ellora’s Cave in November 2007. Wish I had a cover for you already. Keep your eyes peeled on my website for a cover, blurb and excerpts.

Even the village next to where I lived (see my lovely little house picture) inspired me with its typical village high street, ancient abbey, beautiful churches and cobblestone streets. Walking along the Great Whyte Road in Ramsey on a cold, cold October morning would bring images to mind for the next story. Cool, foggy days seemed to surround me with the quiet, the atmosphere I needed to begin my story on Jack The Ripper (MIDNIGHT ROSE) and other stories with a paranormal slant.

Beyond living in places that gave me inspiration, I find these days that people are also giving me ideas for new stories. My experiences with the military introduced me to many intriguing characters, and my profound respect for our military continues to inspire me to write stories like those featured in my HOT ZONE series. MALE CALL, the first story in this series, is already out with Samhain Publishing. The next installment is UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER (October ’07.) Following that will be PRIVATE MANEUVERS, CLOSE QUARTERS and MISSION: LOVE. Military or former military characters have shown up in many of my other novels, too.

I’ll be forever grateful for my travels and the vast storehouse of ideas they’ve given me. I’m planning to see Williamsburg, Virginia in ’08, yet another place I’ve always wanted to visit.

Please post your wildest or most inspiring travel experiences. Tell me about those wacky adventures! You could win the prize for my Tell Tale today. Just in time for serious Halloween reading, I’m giving away the first book in my vampire trilogy, DEEP IS THE NIGHT: DARK FIRE.

Thanks so much for sharing just a tip of the iceberg with me in my many travels. It’s always a pleasure.

Denise A. Agnew
Step off the edge…
Into dark, delicious adventure…
www.deniseagnew.com

I believe that fairytales can be windows into our collective psyche. They’re storytelling at its most basic. In a fairytale there is no room for character development. Dialogue, setting, and description are all very sketchy. What remains are stories in which the fat has been removed; underneath are bare, beautiful bones in which it’s easy to trace motif, themes, and morality—especially morality.

In each of my two previous books, The Raven Prince (11/06) and The Leopard Prince (4/07), I’ve used a fairytale as a way of highlighting and mirroring the main story. In my third book, The Serpent Prince (on sale this month) I do so again.

The hero of The Serpent Prince, Simon Iddesleigh, Viscount Iddesleigh, tells the fairytale to the heroine, Lucy Craddock-Hayes. Throughout The Serpent Prince, Simon is pursuing a course of revenge—he’s challenging his enemies to duels—which makes him deeply ambivalent about accepting Lucy’s love. He doesn’t believe he deserves her love. When you read The Serpent Prince, watch how Simon tells the fairytale to Lucy—and how Lucy reacts. The fairytale he’s telling is a basic one about a goat girl who gains power over a shape-shifting magician by stealing his serpent skin.

Now, if you know anything about fairytales, you should be able to figure out how the story ends. The goat girl asks three wishes of the serpent prince magician, he grants them, and she wins the love of the king’s son. Simple, right? But remember that Simon is the one telling the story and he is the serpent prince. Lucy may very well not like the outcome of the story he’s telling and she’s not a woman without opinions.

One of the wonderful things about romance novels is the how they teach us to think outside the box. Very often the heroine makes a conscious decision to change her destiny, to not follow the path laid before her, to wander into the woods and greet the big bad wolf head-on. That’s the kind of fairytales I tell: the ones where the heroine decides her own fate. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

When I first heard that Harlequin had teamed up with NASCAR to cover romances, I thought it was a very savvy business move – I just didn’t realize I’d be one of the writers involved. I was invited to write one of the books and while I was still on the phone with the editor, the characters and the storyline popped into my head – a pampered daddy’s girl who’s always had everything handed to her on the sponsorship side and a down-to-earth rookie driver who’s fought his way up the ranks. It’s always a good thing when characters show up wanting their shot at happiness.

Now color me strange, but the other appealing factor was it had to have a romance and sexual tension, but it also had to be written at a PG-rating level. No on-page sex. No “earthy” language. And it was a longer word count than I’d ever written. Bear in mind I’d written for Duets, Temptation, and Blaze. This was an opportunity for me to write outside my norm, to tell a story that would appeal to NASCAR fans who’d perhaps never read romance before, and likewise to interest romance readers who weren’t necessarily NASCAR enthusiasts.

I hopped on-board.

And I quickly learned an important thing. You can like NASCAR racing and you can watch it but there’s a whole lot to know beyond that to write about people who live in that world because it is a world unto itself. It very quickly slapped me upside the head that I needed to do some major research.

I bought lots of books and read. The fam and I went to a race at Talladega and sat in the nosebleed section and when it got rained out on Sunday, we won the Bad Parent Award by keeping our kid out of school and going back to the Monday make-up race. It was very cool to “experience” a race at the track, although I could have definitely lived without the horrendous traffic. There’s a reason they fly the crew members in and out.

In May 2006, a group of us met in Charlotte for a tour of Roush Racing headquarters and the Lowe’s MotorSpeedway. Here we are, all assembled for dinner the night before:

Front, L to R: Carrie Weaver, editor Marsha Zinberg, Ken Casper, (Back) Gina Wilkins, Wendy Etherington, Me.

What an amazing experience to go through the garages where these cars are being built and fine-tuned, to see the assembly crews at work, to realize the depth, scope and sophistication behind those Saturday and Sunday races. We also got to tour one of the haulers – those big transport vehicles that take the cars to the track. When you think garage area, grease and oil and well…dirty immediately comes to mind. Uh, no. People, we are talking pristine. You couldn’t buy a spec of dirt or oil. It was cleaner than my kitchen floor. Actually, it was probably cleaner than my kitchen table.

And here’s the inside of Carl Edward’s hauler at Roush.

Then it was over to Lowe’s Motor Speedway where the Busch Series cars were practicing. It didn’t matter that we were there with NASCAR personnel. No one’s going in the in-field without registering and picking up a band at the Credentials office. Here we are sporting our wrist bands:

And who can resist the opportunity to stand in Victory Lane when the other guys have to fight it out on the track for this opportunity? Not us.

My other research trip was to Atlanta Motor Speedway in October. Fellow writer Wendy Etherington and I were lucky enough to get “cold passes” which granted us entry to the garage area and pit road until an hour before the race began and a pass to the NASCAR skybox which overlooks the start/finish line.

Here’s a pic of the crews setting up the pit boxes early in the morning:

Inside the NASCAR Nextel Cup Garage trackside:

and a crew waiting to take the car though to have it checked out by tech:

I’ll have to say the research was incredibly interesting and brought a nice authenticity to many of the scenes. When the hero or heroine is in the hauler, it’s authentic. Skybox? Check. Plus my husband and daughter were green with envy. No. I did not meet any of the drivers and that suited me just fine. Tucker Macray, the hero who is a rookie driver, is totally a person I built in my own head. He’s not based on or inspired by any driver out there. Tucker was so firmly in my head, I didn’t want to muck that up. Plus, I’m actually kind of shy. Other than “Hi, nice to meet you” I doubt I would’ve managed to say much more. And third, the kind of things I’d want to ask any of the drivers they wouldn’t want to answer because it’s the kind of “crawl into your head” stuff a writer wants to know.

But when all is said and done, it’s a love story set against a NASCAR backdrop. For two people with such different backgrounds, a stock car driver who attributes racing with literally saving his life and a pampered heiress, I really felt as if this hero and heroine were meant for each other.

I’m happy to pass along that RomanticTimes Book Club gave it a 4-star review: “Jennifer LaBrecque’s The Rookie (4) is a delightful story, in no small part because the main characters are flawed…They’re a refreshing change from the perfect cookie-cutter characters found in some stories.”

However, I’m thrilled to say that readers seem very pleased. It garnered the #3 spot on Harlequin’s Top 10 Reader’s Favorites List this week. Pardon me while I do the Snoopy Dance.

Whether you’re a race fan or a romance fan, I think you’ll enjoy The Rookie. And if you’re both…well, hey, that’s a double bonus.

There are so many tales to tell with this book! I mean, let’s start first with the series, The Bad Girls Club. I wrote my first BGC book back in…2003? Yikes! I can’t remember. I remember the book, though. It was the unfortunately titled Brazen & Burning (I wanted it to be called SLOW BURN, but the title was already taken) which starred a romance novelist heroine named Sydney “Slow Burn” Coburn and the man who had the audacity to forget her after suffering a major head injury. He never does remember her, but they start new memories in the most delightful ways. Fun story to tell, so it wasn’t surprising that when my editor contacted me, Leslie Kelly and Tori Carrington to revitalize the series for Blaze, we all jumped at the chance.

At the time, the project I was working on was a novella for a Harlequin collection that will be out in September called WITCHY BUSINESS. In this short story, the heroine, Regina St. John, had a sister named Lilith who actually never made an appearance in the story, but was mentioned. I figured anyone named Lilith had to be a bad girl, and thus the story of STRIPPED was born.

The novella in Witchy Business is very paranormal, but I knew my Blaze editor might be a bit put off by me putting in too much paranormal in an otherwise contemporary romance series. (I should note, however, that as I’d written the first paranormal Blaze back in 2004—UNDENIABLE—I had precedent.) So I decided that Lilith would have lost her powers in the beginning of the story because she’d been using her psychic powers for personal gain, rather than for the good of others. This is a tenet made popular by the television show, CHARMED, of which I am a great fan. I always loved this particular storyline on the show because it ensured the Halliwell sisters didn’t simply take over the world. I mean, who else didn’t watch Samantha Stevens on Bewitched and wonder why she didn’t run McMann and Tate? I’ve always been a huge fan of fictional witches (thus the naming of several characters in my early books Samantha, Serena, Tabitha, Endora and yes, even Maurice) and this book, which has now grown into the St. Lyon Witch series, is a homage to my favorite witches.

Of course, I’ve created my own world. In my world, there are two kinds of witches—sacreds, who possess magical powers and mundanes, who are simply Wiccan practitioners. Regina St. Lyon is the Guardian Witch, meaning that while she is not a ruler or a queen of the witches, she is responsible for the safety of her fellow witches, be them mundane or sacred. Threats are warlocks, vampires, demons and the like. Her sister, Lilith, is psychic, but doesn’t like living by the rules, so that puts her on her sister’s naughty list, though they are still very close and love each other deeply. In Lilith’s story, STRIPPED (out this month) she has to try and reconcile with the police detective who dumped her after he figured out she was using her powers to manipulate him. Lilith didn’t take kindly to being dumped, but the only way for her to get her powers back is to show the Council of Witches that she can do a good thing by helping Mac Mancusi, the hero, solve a case that revolves around a mysterious drug shipment about to hit the streets of Chicago. Without her powers, Lilith has to rely on her instincts and her smarts, both of which she has in spades, and is able to win back Mac as well (this is a romance, after all, isn’t it?!)

In creating this series, I even interviewed a wonderful friend of mine who is Wiccan in order to create the world as authentically as possible, but then adding my own fantastical spin. Any mistakes are, of course, my own. But I found many very interesting parallels between the Wiccan religion and Catholicism, which really isn’t all that surprising since I do, thanks to my Catholic school upbringing, know my history. I introduced secondary characters within STRIPPED, Rick Fernandez, a devout Catholic, and Josie Vargas, a born-and-raised Wiccan, to explore the differences and the similarities. And naturally, they get their own story next August!

So that’s my Tell Tale…starting with Samantha Stevens and carrying over to Pru Halliwell and even Hermoine Granger, I’ve always had a fascination with fictional witches. Now I’ve created my own. I hope the Access Romance readers will check them out!

Walk through the romance section at any bookstore and you’ll see cover after cover featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts and shapeshifters of all sorts. The trends is, and has been, for paranormal or otherworldly reads. The undead and their hunters, helpers and lovers fill the shelves. Whether humorous or serious, these covers and book titles are distinct and the subject matter easy to identify before you read a page.

While I enjoy many of these reads, I do not write them. I write contemporary romance. Simple, straightforward, everyone is alive and no one drinks blood for survival stories set in recognizable, real-life places. As I said, contemporary romance. In the case of YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY, my July ‘07 contemporary release, that here-and-now story is set on a stunning island known for its lush greenery, laidback lifestyle, old Hawaii charm, pristine beaches, clear water and a deep cavern of rock called Waimea Canyon. Kauai, Hawaii.

Kauai is one of those places you visit and immediately love. The hustle and bustle prevalent in Waikiki and Honolulu (on Oahu, Hawaii) and in most U.S. cities of a certain size is absent in Kauai. The pace is steady and the outdoor living is idyllic. Sure, problems that touch everywhere else touch Kauai. But that’s what makes it the perfect place to set a story…

I first got the idea for YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY while driving through Kauai. On the way up to Waimea Canyon in our trusty rental car, we gazed out over the ocean and marveled at the incredible flowers and quiet atmosphere. Then, in the middle of nowhere, hugging the side of the road and sitting behind a tall fence and a myriad of security equipment, we passed a government building. The scene started me thinking. What if I could capture all that beauty and throw in a bit of mystery and write a romance starring not only a hero and heroine, but Kauai itself.

Not that I succeeded on the first try, mind you. No, the first time around I forgot about setting. I knew where the story happened but failed to relay it in any meaningful way on the page. Thus began the enjoyable process of revising. A focus on what made this contemporary romance a bit special to me – its Kauai setting.

And what does Kauai add as background? Just as Las Vegas means something and New York City conjures up a certain mental picture, so does an exotic island locale. Kauai was just such a place, and it included a few extra challenges. Wild chickens, a changing topography and a rich history.

So, while you won’t find vampires or worldbuilding for fantasy locations, I can give you water and chickens, a police chief named Kane and a feisty heroine named Annie, a real setting and a sexy romance with some humor and a touch of romance. I’m hoping while you’re picking up those paranormal offerings, you’ll give YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY a try.

Aloha!

I love to be inspired. And I am almost every day. Everything around me inspires me in one form or another. I don’t think there’s been a day that goes by that I haven’t gotten a new idea for a story from something that happened around me.

Song lyrics work well for inspiration. Sometimes I’ll hear a line from a song or even just the song title and a scene will jump into my mind. Like this one…

“Sexy Back”

Dirty Babe
You see these shackles baby I’m your slave
I’ll let you whip me if I misbehave
It’s just that no one makes me feel this way

Mm, Justin, you had me at Dirty…

And the ultimate paranormal lover song…by Evanescence, whom I’m sure has inspired countless of authors to write dark vampire tales.

“Bring Me to Life”

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
before I come undone
(Save me)
save me from the nothing I’ve become

Television and movies also really help spark creativity for me. The show CSI was the inspiration for my Valorian Chronicles and in particular the creation of Caine Valorian, whom I fashioned after Gil Grissom. Watching the Bourne Identity sparked a new urban fantasy idea, and stories like Quick Silver in the Alluring Tales anthology are a homage to action flicks like The Transporter with Jason Statham.

People also inspire me. My sister’s frantic driving one day inspired me to write Hell Kat. At RT in Houston, I was captivated by a beautiful man named Brian Schell, one of the cover models. I saw him one night in a very hot suit with sunglasses and blam I had an epiphany. I mentioned it to him and to my bud Kimberly Kaye Terry and pow! We’re working on a series together. It’s funny how things work.

My latest inspiration is in the form of Vin Diesel.

He’s the perfect hero for my newest story, a very hip urban fantasy that I’m penning with my girl, Kimberly. I mean how could that man not stir the juices…creative juices that is!

Who has inspired you in your life? Whether it’s in your work or in your life?

One commenter will get a Vivi prize pack including a couple of books, and a deck of sexy playing cards.

“Can you write another half-Latin guy, like Alejandro in MIDNIGHT TOUCH?” asked my editor, when she conceived MEN AT WORK (Harlequin Blaze, July 2007).

“Sure!” I said, despite the fact that I am not half-Latin myself. Heh, heh, heh. Another opportunity to observe my friend’s husband and his brothers, covertly, with a notebook. I can’t wait . . .

(I mention the observation and the notebook because I was once accused of not having the “credentials” to write a half-Vietnamese character. Huh? Does this mean I don’t have the credentials to write a male character, despite my lack of a fifth limb?)

“Alejandro was really hot,” my editor sighed. “And macho.”

Ben Delgado, the hero of Through the Roof, my story in MEN AT WORK, is also hot . . . and plenty macho. In fact, like Alejandro, his machismo trips him up and inspires him to break his engagement and screw up his future with the heroine, Marina Reston.

I love writing these testosterone-filled alpha males, because often what makes them so delicious is also their fatal flaw. They cannot have their quintessential manliness challenged.

I live near Miami, Florida now and it’s a great geographical location for researching hot, charming Latin men with international flair. We also have lots of hurricanes here, and I dreamed one up for the sole purpose of destroying poor Ben’s business. Hey, no problem, right? I mean, he’s engaged to one of the richest socialites in Miami. She can support him to the end of their days . . . NOT!

Because Ben’s got his pride and he refuses to live off of his wife. He won’t be an ‘aprovechado,’ or kept man. If he has no money, then he has no business marrying this very expensive woman. He simply can’t afford her.

Marina isn’t about to take this verdict lying down. When she’s not contemplating various cosmetic procedures or trying to resist the ice-cream her best friend chases her with, she’s got a few tricks up her designer sleeves . . . tricks that will bring Ben back to her.

First of all, she hires Colleen’s character in MEN AT WORK, private investigator Gina Keys, to track Ben down. And then Marina conspires with Cindi’s character, Samantha Delaney, to restore Ben’s fortunes.

The results are sexy, fun and quite entertaining—you’ll gain new respect for the deviousness of a woman in pursuit of her happiness!

MEN AT WORK is a great summer beach read, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Wishing you a daiquiri, a sunny beach and a hot construction worker of your very own,
Karen Kendall

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk everything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

Risking It All was an important book for me – my second Blaze, the second in my SEAL series, and as much as I loved (and still love) Coming Undone, I knew I needed to do something a bit different. The above quote really helped me to shape my book (I love quotes!) and the more I read it, the more I realized how right Erica Jong was about risking it all for love.

I was going for a series of loosely connected stand-alone books, if that makes any sense, so I wanted to keep a bit of the surfing theme I started in Coming Undone. I wanted to write about SEALs while focusing a little more on the inherent danger in that job, but also the inherent danger in not taking any risks at all. In doing so, I made good use of one of Hunt’s teammates in Coming Undone – Cash aka John Cashman, and I knew I wanted him to be my next hero. So I had my hero – now I just needed a heroine who could deal with him. (FWIW, my original working title of this book was Dropping In, which changed to, To The Limit, which ultimately became Risking It All.)

Rina’s a documentary film-maker and Cash is a big wave surfer as well as a SEAL, so I wrote in my notes: If Coming Undone’s theme is losing control, then this book is about dropping in – dropping in uninvited on another person’s wave (aka another person’s life.) Dropping In, in a surfer’s world, isn’t a cool thing to do at all, but when Rina drops into Cash’s life, she creates a wave she can’t resist. They meet when Cash is working undercover on a Gray Ops mission in for the DEA and Cash has to save Rina from bringing trouble on herself. They both think it’s just a one-night stand, until fate brings them together again.

Both Cash and Rina have big things going on in their lives – Rina’s filming the most important documentary of her career and Cash is working toward his own major career goals. Love is the last thing on their agenda. So all that was left to do was force both Cash and Rina to confront their biggest fear – giving their hearts to each other. And trust me, they didn’t go down easy. Especially Cash. Then again, the alphas always need some wrestling before they’ll admit to anything. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m giving away a copy of Risking It All, my June 2007 Blaze to two readers who answer the questions below.