Candy's September Picks

The air is cooler and for some reason that makes me want to read more than ever. I'm going to get straight to it this month because there are a lot of great books on the way.

Alexis Morgan has a new Harlequin release, Savage Redemption. "When I first introduced Conlan Shea as a character (in Vampire Vendetta), I saw him as a retired lawman, one who was a bit past his prime and happy to have a desk job out in the middle of nowhere," Morgan says. "For that insult, Conlan refused to cooperate on anything until I accepted the fact he had great hero–potential and deserved a book of his own. I've found that there's just no arguing with a character when that happens. Of course, I put him through hell before I'd give him a happily–ever–after, but it made for a great story."

In Jeffe Kennedy's Hunting the Siren, she had to please someone close to her. "This is the second book in my post–apocalyptic vampire erotica series (which is totally a thing), this one features a vampire queen living on the Russian Steppes. It features furry boots and yurt sex, just to please one of my critique partners."

Liz Talley's Road to Bayou Bridge was a different kind of challenge for her. "Shifting locales from East Texas to South Louisiana caused more than a little trepidation for me as a writer because the customs, history and people are vastly different in the two states," Talley says. "But I'm happy to say, I survived the jump merely by taking inspiration for my fictional town of Bayou Bridge from the very real town of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. After a fascinating research trip stretching between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, my imagination shifted into overdrive when I discovered the founder of Breaux Bridge to be a strong courageous French–speaking woman, Scholastique Picou Breaux. The small town is, of course, given part of its name for the bridge spanning the Bayou Teche, but the other part comes from the family who bought land and formed a small settlement. The Acadian woman who established the town of Breaux Bridge was a perfect model for Picou Dufrene, my superstitious, manipulative and ever bold matriarch of the Dufrene family. In my September book, Picou's journey comes full circle as her youngest son Darby finds his way back home to a secret wife. Throw in a housekeeper who makes Bourbon pecan pie, a mysterious sibling and whooping cranes and you have a recipe for fun on the Bayou."

The story behind Laura Bickle's The Hallowed Ones makes me want to read the book even more. The ravens in the book have some of the qualities of the ravens at the Tower of London. The ravens in my story flee the countryside just ahead of disaster. The myth about the ravens at the Tower of London suggests that if the ravens ever flee the tower, then the empire will fall. As a result, a few are kept around with their wings clipped! Unfortunately, none of my characters has considered this as an option to keep the apocalypse from coming."

"Like many authors, my mind doesn't work the same way as most people's," says Denise Swanson author of Murder of the Cat's Meow. "Seeing a commercial for an online matchmaking service right after an ad for Fancy Feast cat food, made me wonder what would happen if there was a dating service for cat lovers. And if there was such a specialized group, what would happen if a murder occurred during a cat show/speed–dating event hosted by that business."

Finally Home hits close to home for author Helen Scott Taylor. "The main setting for the story," says Scott Taylor, " is a country house hotel on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, which is based on the hotel my parents owned when I was young."

Training Amber, the sequel to Teaching Molly, will be out in September, says Desiree Holt. "I wrote both books because I was intrigued by the concept of older woman/younger man combined with elements of BDSM. I wanted my heroes to be true alpha males and my heroines to be feisty women who explored their submissive side. The hero and heroine are a blend of strong personalities that take a big turn once the bedroom door is closed. I also wanted to show readers how being a submissive doesn't mean giving up who you are, and that a real Dom respects that part of you. The people I talked with gave me an excellent perspective and opened my eyes to a lot of the nuances of he relationship. I hope people will love reading this as much as I loved writing it."

I'm a big fan of Lisa Kessler's book Night Walker, so I was excited about the prequel Night Thief (available at end of September). Kessler says, Night Thief takes place in Paris in 1840. It was so fun to twist paranormal elements into real historical locations and events! Readers will get to meet Kane one of the original Night Walkers and a little glimpse of what's to come in Night Demon next spring."

I've had to make up creatures for some of my books and it's not easy. Zenobia Renquist had the same problem with Wet. "The series is about creatures who inhabit water, not to be limited to mermaids," says Renquist. "That made coming up with a story for this series a little difficult until I turned my focus from a creature inhabiting water to a creature made of water. The possibilities for plot and meetings became endless after that. In fact, Undercurrent spawned a sequel because I loved the characters and playing with the hero's ability to change the water at his discretion."

See you next month!

Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist, who has interviewed just about every celebrity there is in Hollywood and written thousands of articles. She is the author of the Charmed & Dangerous series including Charmed & Ready Charmed & Dangerous, Charmed & Deadly, and Like A Charm. Her latest books include TAKE IT LIKE A VAMP and an upcoming release for Blaze. DRAGONS PREFER BLONDES is available now!

Her non-fiction prose includes Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy, and essays in Alias Assumed: Sex, Lies and SD-6, and Five Seasons of Angel. She's also the entertainment critic providing the latest on TV, film and celebs for the radio station 96.3 KSCS. And she's the managing editor for FYI Television.

You can visit Candy daily at her blog or her website