by J . Willett

ROMANCE – emotionally optimistic ending

OBSERVE – examine the evidence

MEN – Heroes

ANTICIPATION – the thrill of the hunt

NOTICE – look for connections and clues

THRILL – a roller coaster of adventure

INTEREST – a romance that connects

COPS – law enforcement on the move

SINFUL – a villainous escapade

URBAN – location, location, location

SASSY – romance on the run

PARANORMAL – mystical things

EXHILARATION – take a breath

NIGHT – when all goes wrong

SUPENSEFUL – hang on to your seat

EXCITEMENT – the race to the end

Do I have your attention? Romantic suspense is a genre full of all of that and more. What’s not to love about a story that carries you away from everyday life into a world of excitement, murder, mystery and suspense? It provides a glimpse into fields of study and areas of expertise, teaching every reader along the way. From psychology, criminals, drugs, money, terrorism, and politics to forensics, dogs, fire and guns, characters live lives full of adventure. They fill rolls in everything from firemen to lawyers, from cops to spies, from florists to moms. Within the words is something for every reader who thrives on living on the edge through fiction.

Murder, mystery, mayhem and James Bond all rolled into the pages of a romantic suspense make an escape inevitable. With an emotionally optimistic ending for the romance and a satisfying conclusion for the suspense, the reader is taken on a thrilling ride with the characters, knowing as the end draws near they will be satisfied and ready for another adventure. What’s not to love about romantic suspense?

J. is one of the many talented authors who belong to the Romance Writers of America’s Kiss of Death chapter. At Kiss of Death we believe that every great romance should include suspense. Whether a spy thriller in Regency times, a paranormal romance with a revenge-seeking zombie, or a traditional serial killer after the heroine, romance relies on suspense, leading the reader through the trials of the heroine and hero to see if they will get their happily ever after ending. If you can call your writing suspenseful, then the Kiss of Death has something for you! Find out more and join at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org and follow us on Twitter at @RWAKissofDeath.

So, how does that interest you? Maybe winning a print copy of Allison’s book, Love Me To Death, would interest you even more? (Sorry, US only.) All  you’d need to do is answer one simple question, and I may pick you to get it. (Please don’t forget to leave an email address.)

Here’s the question — What is your favorite thing about romantic suspense?

Want another chance to win a book?

Check out the next stop at Lindsay’s Books tomorrow.

Love Me To Death

By Allison Brennan

“Grabbing the reader by the throat from almost the first page, this pulse-ratcheting romantic suspense from Brennan (Original Sin) delivers intense action, multifaceted characters, and a truly creepy bad guy. FBI hopeful Lucy Kincaid is trying to heal from a brutal attack six years earlier. She volunteers at a program dedicated to luring and rearresting repeat sex offenders via the Internet, but then discovers a horrifying connection between her work and the execution-style murders of the parolees. PI Sean Rogan, a friend of Lucy’s brothers, becomes focused on protecting her at any cost, and their mutual passion flares. As Lucy draws closer to the truth, effective red herrings litter the way and throw her deeper into confusion. Also confusing are a too large cast and intricate backstory from the previous related titles, the only things marring this fast-paced, engrossing read.” – Publisher’s Weekly

And you only have until the end of January to get all Beachwalk Press books for at least 25% off. (Sale ends Jan. 31.)

An Unplanned Rendezvous — Part Four

 “I’ve never lied to you.”

She twisted her arm out of his hold and backed from him. “Do you even remember what you said to me?”

“Yes.”

She shivered as his fingers caressed down her bare arm, entangling his fingers with hers. Sadness filled her as an emotion she’d tried to hide away from for years slithered unchecked in her heart. “Not every word, though.”

“Yes, every word.”

Annie pulled her hand away. “If you meant every word, why did I see you half-naked with my bitch cousin? In a very compromising position two nights later?”

He tightened his fingers around her hand and pulled her closer to him. ‘It wasn’t what you thought, Annie. She was upset because her father was in the hospital. Your uncle.”

“Oh, really,” she said, yanking her hand free and stepping in the sand. “You were doing more than just comforting Beth than.” She turned on him and moved down the beach. “Just leave me be now. I’m not interested in listening to any more lies.”

“So you’re running away again?”

No anger sounded in his tone now, no harshness, no recrimination. Instead was the voice of the man who’d finally said those words she never thought he would say. The voice of the man who’d made her feel like a woman again after she’d found out her ex-fiancée’s had sleep with her bitch cousin.

“I do love you, Annie,” he whispered. “I always have.”

Even now, her heart screamed inside her. She wanted to believe, yet…

“Nothing has changed, Annie.” He stepped in closer to her and reached for her arm. “I never regretted being with you.”

One tear escaped her control and she swiped it away. “Sweet words,” she turned toward him, “but that’s all they are, Luke.” She shook her head and backed away. “That’s all they were three years ago when you first said them to me, and it’s all they are now.”

“They aren’t just words.”

Another tear escaped. She allowed it to fall this time. “Good-bye, Luke.”

“No,” he said, anger echoing in his deep voice now. “Not this time.”

“Luke?”

He grabbed both her upper arms and lifted her off her feet, tightening her hard against his front. Her heart beat fast and rough under her breasts as it remembered a night that should’ve never happened. One when two friends turned into something more. She’d needed him that night. She’d needed to take something her cousin never had — and always wanted — in payment for her sleeping with her ex.

“We’re going to talk about what happened, Annie.”

For two days she’d believed she’d finally gotten back at her cousin until she caught them together. “You weren’t comforting her that night, Luke. I saw the look of triumph on her face. I heard your laughter.”

“Yes.”

Don’t forget to check out all the other Beachwalk Press author micro-novels.

Pat Bates

Lacey Wolfe

Tamaria Soana

Ella Jade

Kaylie Newell

I’ll keep you posted.

So love this one.

An unedited blurb of The Dressmaker’s Dilemma

Ghosts are not the main thing causing Barb Grant’s trouble. She can handle the bothersome dressmaker’s spirit just fine, thank you.

She can even put up with the added work forced on her by the Winter Creek Historical Area.

And the pre-teen girl who suddenly decides she would make a good substitute mother.

Yet the ghost from her own past the girl brings to mind isn’t so easily dismissed.

Or the girl’s father.

Wyatt Campbell has been the bane of her existent since their first meeting. No matter what she did or said, he’s wanted to get pass the friendship stage.

All he wants to do is talk.

But Barb wants so much more.

Until one day he stops talking to her.

And the rumors about him start flying.

Could they possible be true?

Could a man, capable of pissing her off one second only to have her wanting to rip his clothes off the next, truly be a horrible lover?

Barb doesn’t want to believe it, yet she needs to know if the rumors are true.

And that is the only reason she says yes to his date request.

She would have sex with him and then say good-bye.

Unfortunately Wyatt has other plans.

For him, it has more to do with love.

And he plans on making her completely his.

http://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com

Now let’s get to Avery –

Thank you so much for having me over at your place today!

(You’re welcome.)

What are you wearing right now and how does it mesh with your personal sense of style?

It’s freezing cold today so I’m all about the layers. I have black leggings, a gray turtleneck, a white T-shirt and a thick gray sweater. What does the outfit say about me? Well, that cookie season just ended and I need stretchy pants. Sure, I could have lied and said I’m all about comfort and practicality – but I’m still wearing black knee-high boots with three inch heels, so you know that’s a lie. The truth is I’m all about chocolate.

What excites you most about the genre in which you write?

Steamy romantic suspense is a thrill ride for the heart, the mind and the body – who wouldn’t love writing that? I love that the stakes are so high and then there’s a twist that raises them even more. It’s a heart-pounding adventure – and shouldn’t that be the case when it comes to falling in love?

How is your current hero an echo of the people in your life?

I don’t know if Hank Layton in A Dry Creek Bed is an echo of any particular person in my life. Perhaps he encompasses some of the great qualities of people I’ve known in that he’s loyal, funny and hot as hell. Hank was the star quarterback at the University of Nebraska, which in that state pretty much makes you a god among men but he never let that spoil him.

Who is your favorite heroine that you’ve written?

You know I really loved Claire from Up a Dry Creek was a ton of fun to write, but Beth Martinez from A Dry Creek Bed really got to me. The secret she’s hiding is really tearing her up inside and then she has to deal with a developer trying to force her to sell her grandparents’ house and sever the last tie she has to her family. When she decides to stand up to the developer it’s not because she’s a brash, in-you-face type of person, it’s because she really believes it’s the right thing to do.

Tell us a little about A Dry Creek Bed.

Gladly! Dry Creek County Sheriff Hank Layton is the stuff of dreams. Nasty, steamy, delicious fantasies that leave Beth Martinez weak-kneed and desperately wanting the man she can never have.

Hank can’t stop thinking about Beth to the point where he’s afraid of becoming permanently bowlegged. And even though the sexual tension between them is thick enough to trip over, she runs every time he chases.

But when a mysterious developer forces her neighbors off their land, Beth becomes the one person standing between the scoundrel and millions of dollars. Only Hank can help her uncover the truth. Together they risk their lives exposing decades-old secrets and learn that everything is not as it seems in their rural Nebraska town.

A Dry Creek Bed Excerpt – The Kiss

She stopped with her back to him. “One kiss?”

“One little kiss.”

A fall breeze brushed the tips of her mahogany hair across her back and she straightened her shoulders. Spinning around, she made her way back to him with a fuck-you strut. Stopping just short of his feet, she dropped her gym bag. It hit the pavement with a thud, the whole world seeming to have gone silent around them.

“Let’s get it over with.”

Something primal inside of him howled its approval. He wanted to devour her full lips then and there.

Stick to the plan, dude.

He held firm. Barely. “OK, you can kiss me.”

“Wait a minute -”

“You’re the one who says there’s nothing between us, so I figure you should set the tone of the kiss. It’s up to you to disprove my theory.”

“Of all the stupid things.” She huffed out a breath. “Fine.”

Hank held his breath, hoping all his bluster would pay off. God, this woman undid him.

She laid her soft hand against his chest. There was no way she could miss the hammering behind his ribs. Navy blue nails shone bright against the red of his cotton shirt. Her shoulders twitched with a shiver. A flicker of doubt shook him. Maybe she’d ignored him after the party for a reason.

Then her lips touched his. Chocolate and caramel coffee teased his taste buds as their tongues twisted around each other.

His hands roamed to the bottom of her soft, wool sweater, snuck underneath the hem and caressed the soft skin above the low waist of her jeans.

Her vanilla perfume surrounded him as he lowered his mouth to taste the sweetness of her neck. He lost himself to the hungry lust streaming through his veins and the moaning woman in his arms. There was no street, no gawking neighbors, no one else in the world.

“Hank, stop.” Beth’s breath brushed against his cheek.

More plea than demand, her words sliced through his euphoria. Unwilling to let her go yet, he lifted his head but kept his fingers tucked into her waistband. Still tasting her on his lips, he couldn’t form any words.

A flush pinked her cheeks as she pursed her kiss-swollen lips. “So … that’s … out of the way.”

Her hand shook when she patted him on the chest, her fingers lingering for a few seconds over his pounding heart. With a sigh she pulled out of his embrace and trudged up to the house, never looking back.

She thought this was over? After a kiss like that? His balls couldn’t be any bluer if they were made of blueberries. For a smart woman, she sure wasn’t thinking straight.

And more about the author –

Avery Flynn, the author of UP A DRY CREEK and A Dry Creek Bed, books one and two in the Dry Creek series set in Nebraska, grew up in a small town in the western part of that state, a far cry from her present day home just outside of Washington, D.C. It was no accident that she went back to her roots for the small town setting for her romantic suspense.

“When I graduated high school,” she says, “I couldn’t cross the state line fast enough.  The older I got and the farther I moved away, the more I realized what a wonderful place Nebraska had been to live.  I swore I’d set a novel there as a way to give people a look into the amazing folks that live in my home state.”

The name Avery Flynn is a pseudonym for the author who, at least for now, prefers to remain behind the scenes.  She believes having Avery as her alter ego is a very good thing because, as she says, “Pen name Avery is way cooler than me. Her favorite color is hot pink. She drinks single malt scotch on the rocks. She loves the Argentinean tango and stays at Iceland’s Ice Hotel.”

Author Avery has been writing since she was a child and her father gave her a baby blue Brother typewriter. She couldn’t read but nonetheless wrote numerous stories about her stuffed animals in gibberish. She hasn’t stopped since, though she maintains that her spelling has gotten much better and she now prefers to write in English.

Today she’s enjoying her own happily ever after with her dashing husband, three crazy kids and two arthritic dogs.  She dreams of one day having a floor-to-ceiling library à la Beauty and the Beast and is working to perfect the coffee IV drip.

 http://www.averyflynn.com

 http://www.evernightpublishing.com

Twitter: @averyflynn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Avery-Flynn/177161972329973

Relic Hunters Beware!

I’ve always been fascinated by archeology and the spectacular finds unearthed by tenacious scientists. Their research allows us to peek into the lives that once were and speculate about what brought about their end. Relics give us clues into our past- how people ate, worked, worshipped, etc. They have also been the source of much superstition. How many times have you heard about the curse of Tutenkamen’s tomb, for example? The Superstition Mountains of Arizona got their name for a reason.

Being a paranormal romance author, I started thinking one day about relics and their cultural significance. Some were depictions of gods and goddesses. Given the fact that the Brethren of my series manifested on earth in ancient Gaul, I decided to do some research for my second book on Gallic goddesses and up popped a page with a bronze statue of Sirona, goddess of healing. I knew then and there I had to have her in my story.

As the story fomented in my mind, I decided that the statue would contain the cursed soul of this ancient goddess. When it lands in the hands of my heroine, Serena, the cursed soul of Sirona would transfer to her body. And so the story of RELIC took shape. Now for the romance. Raphael is the Brethren of interest for this book, and the complication? Well, Sirona was Raphael’s wife! Oh, the implications!

So, relic hunters, beware! You never know what you are unearthing or what you are unleashing when you take that relic from the ground and hold it in your hands for a closer look. Who knows? You could find yourself possessed by the soul of a pharaoh, a god, or even a saint!

RELIC, Book 2 in the Brethren Series, releases January 27^th, from Decadent Publishing (www.decadentpublishing.com). Here’s a taste of what’s to come…

Raphael, a Brethren Savior, an angel with a forgotten past, has lost his power to heal and is on a self-imposed guilt trip to get it back. If he can’t, his tour of eternal duty as Brethren Savior will be revoked. On his journey, he winds up enmeshed in a web of attempted murder and resurrection all thanks to a woman he’s only seen in a photograph and by chance on an Arizona desert hiking trail.

Serena Sikes is a wanted woman. Desired by “undesirables” for a gift her brother gave her- a stolen relic with suspected healing powers. Hunted down in the Arizona desert and left for dead, she is found by none other than the angel who cannot heal.

Raphael and Serena are inexorably bound together, for locked deep within the relic’s heart had lived the soul of his long lost wife. Now, it resides inside Serena. Evil lurks around every corner as Raphael tries to keep both Serena and his dead wife’s soul alive and lustful temptation at bay.

Three souls bound together by an ancient relic, bound by a timeless gift, and bound by a love that is eternal.

**If you’d like a special gift from me, leave a comment with your email address and I will send you a sensual poem, written by me and inspired by Raphael and Serena.**

**Here’s the link to follow Relic on its month-long tour. I hope you’ll join me, as there will be something new at each stop: http://deenar116.wordpress.com/relic-blog-tour-2012/

About the author

It was the mystique of Arizona’s history and landscape that called to Deena and catapulted her career as an author. When she’s not writing romance novels and poetry in the wee, small hours of the morning or in the deep, dark of night, Deena teaches language arts to middle school students. She currently lives in Gilbert with her husband and two children, but New Jersey will always tug at her heartstrings. She loves connecting with her fans, so find her at deenaremiel.com.

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