Pimping Out My Friends

Over the years, I've met and made friends with a lot of fabulous authors, some of them are members of our local RWA NYC chapter. I thought I would use this post to highlight just a few of them and their latest books.

Dark Deceptions by Dee Davis:

From the back cover: A-Tac is an elite CIA unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college. Brilliant, badass, and seemingly bulletproof, the members of A-Tac are assigned to the riskiest missions and the most elusive targets. 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. When Nash and his group find her, the smoldering passion between Annie and the man she swore she'd never contact again 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.

Coming out June 1st is Sara Lindsey's second book in The Weston Series: Tempting the Marquess.

From the back cover: The Weston siblings have been blessed with Shakespearean names and an affinity for impropriety. Prepare to fall in love while discovering how the Westons are won. While Olivia Weston loves matchmaking and romantic novels, she intends to make a suitable match. But first she wants an adventure, and when given the opportunity to visit a reclusive widower living in a haunted castle, Livvy can't possibly resist. After his wife's death, Jason Traherne, Marquess of Sheldon, shut his heart to everyone but his son, and until now he has succeeded in maintaining his distance. But there's something about Livy and her unique blend of sweetness and sensuality &emdash; that tempts him beyond all reason.Though there's nothing suitable about the feelings he inspires in her, Livvy can't help falling for the marquess. But can she persuade him to let go of the past and risk his heart again?

Another RWA NYC author Kathleen O'Reilly and her partner in crime Julie Kenner.

From the back cover: No fooling: hot sex is about to happen!
Cam's Catastrophe

A reckless adventurer, Cam is about to take the wildest April Fool's Day plunge ever: jumping into bed with Dr. Jenna! But it's her own recklessness that fools them both….
Darcy's Dark Day

The clouds lift when Darcy has a sudden opportunity to reel in her longtime crush, Evan! Who'd have guessed that a foolish curse could set up some amazing sex…?
Devon's Dilemma

She's about to take a sexy Chance…but will it be a lucky one? It's a dangerous gamble. But it could transform Devon's devilish dilemma into a delicious one!
Reg's Rescue

Anne desperately wants Reg in her life—for good! But for that to happen, the curse has to be lifted. So she intends to help him break the jinx—just as soon as they get out of bed….

 
And coming out next week is the hotly anticipated sequel in Leanna Renee Hieber's Strangely Beautiful series. The book hasn't even come out yet, and already it's gone into a second printing. And the first book has been optioned for a Broadway musical. What's that sound? Broadway performers like Constantine Maroulis getting their audition material ready.

Welcome Dee Davis!

The Lady Novelist welcomes Dee Davis this week to Got it Goin On. 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 fifteen books and three novellas. Her most recent novel, Chain Reaction, was a Golden Leaf finalist for Best Single Title at the New Jersey Romance Writers conference this October.

A town destroyed…A sole survivor…A terrible secret…
Artist Mia Kearney has the perfect life: A successful career, a home she loves, amazing friends…until her world explodes one hot August morning. Lone survivor of a nuclear accident, Mia awakens in a government facility, faced with Homeland Security agent Nicholas Price, a man who wants answers she knows she doesn’t have.

When Mia escapes, Nick has a choice to make. The CIA wants him off the case, but instinct tells him not to let Mia out of his sight.

Now the web of deceit that’s woven tightly around them is about to unravel, and someone out there won’t be satisfied until Cedar Branch’s last surviving resident is dead…


Q: Tell us a little about yourself, what is your background and how long have you been writing before you were published.

Q: Tell us about when you got “the call”

I was actually asleep. And was so excited by the news that I hung up on my agent before I realized that I had no idea who I’d actually sold the book too. Had to call her back to find out for sure. And then spent the rest of the day shaking with amazement and excitement.

Q: What made you choose romance?


I’m a sucker for happy couples and could never get enough. Wanted more with Meg and Calvin, cried when I didn’t get to see Cinderella get married (TV version), thought Aragorn and Arwen should have had more “screen” time…you get the idea. Basically, I love a happy ending. And as a romantic suspense writer, I love the idea of integrating the suspense plotline with the romance.

Q: What you do love about writing romance?

The riding off into the sunset moment, and the moment when the hero and/or heroine realizes they don’t have to go through life on their own.


Q: Your new book A Match Made on Madison is kind of a departure for you, being more women’s fiction. It also involves professional matchmakers. What sparked the idea? Was it a character? A scene you just couldn’t get out of your head?

The idea actually came from an article in the New York Times that my agent sent to me. From there the idea of Match evolved. My love for Jane Austen’s Emma also played a part in that evolution.


Q: Did you have to do any major research for this book? Did you stumble across anything really interesting that you didn’t already know?

Unlike my suspense novels, I really didn’t do major research for the book. Although I did call on my experiences in Manhattan and of course on my favorite places in the city. Hence, many of Vanessa’s favorites are in actuality also mine.


Q: You started out writing time travel, and now you write romantic suspense for HQN, and anthologies for Berkley (Hell with the Ladies, Hell on Heels) along with Julie Kenner and Kathleen O’Reilly. What has that been like? How do you juggle multiple projects?


I like writing different kinds of projects. Although to be honest, both the time travels and the anthologies are romantic suspense at their basic core, which means that it’s not as much of a departure as one might initially think. Juggling projects can be tricky. Good time management is the key. And a lot of BIC (butt in chair).


Q. What/Who do you like to read?


I read a little bit of everything really. Madeline L’Engle was a favorite. Also C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Mary Stewart is my favorite author. I am currently into Emily Giffin, and Barbara Samuel. And I always buy Michael Crichton. I tend to love books more than authors, although I do glom when I find someone new. My favorite book is probably To Kill A Mockingbird. Although My Brother Michael and A Wrinkle in Time are close seconds.


Q. What is your writing process? Do you plot extensively first or do you tend to “fly in the mist?” Has your process changed over time? Do you write multiple drafts or clean up as you go?


I like to think of it as a road map. I know where I’m starting and where I’m ending. And a few main points along the way. The rest tends to develop during the journey. I think my process has remained pretty much the same over time. But I will say that each book is a little different. Sometimes the plot comes wholly baked and sometimes it’s a bit more sketchy. But with suspense there has to be at least some idea of plot right from the get go. I pretty much write one draft and clean up as I go. I have to know what’s happened pretty much as is in order to be able to know what’s going to happen next. It’s anal, I’ll admit it. But there you have it.


Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring novelists?


Write something every day, do your homework, treat writing as a career not a hobby, listen to others—but filter that through your own common sense, trust your instincts as a writer, and believe that dreams can come true.


Q. There was a recent article called "Harm in reading romance novels," Do you think romance novels harm or empower women?


I think it’s too easy to try and label things one way or the other. It’s a trap we’ve fallen into of late. A book, movie, game, whatever – does not have the power to do any of that. It can inspire us – but ultimately the choice is ours. So I’d argue vigorously with those who say there is harm – because the truth is that it’s a story. And at the core, its purpose is simply to entertain.



Q: Romance has garnered the biggest market share in genre fiction, yet it gets the least respect in popular and literary culture. Do you have any thoughts on why that is? Do you find this prejudice changing?


I know that a lot of people believe it’s improving. But personally I haven’t seen any change at all. But the truth is that all genre fiction is degenerated. And pretty much always has been. I think there are a multitude of cultural reasons for that. And in all honesty, it’s not particularly fair, but also not likely to change.


Q. What are you planning to work on next?

I’m currently working on Set-Up in SoHo, the follow-up book for A Match Made on Madison. And playing with new ideas for my next romantic suspense.


Thanks Dee! You can purchase both of Dee's books Chain Reaction and A Match Made on Madison from Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com.