I always love when readers ask me where I come up with ideas for my books or
characters. Actually, wait, I don't always love it. Sometimes I don't
even have a semi-interesting answer. When people ask me about the concept for
Man Law, I dive into my story about being at a party where a drunken
guest stood to declare a man law that his wife wouldn't be allowed to shop
anymore. That, for me, was a classic and my friends have learned that anything
they say or do might wind up in a book. That's the danger of being friends with
a writer.
But my latest release, RELENTLESS PURSUIT, doesn't
have one of those fun stories. What happened here was one of my critique
partners, Kelsey, read the following passage from MAN LAW:
Striding to the back door, Vic put his hand on the knob. "I just
want to get the hell out of this house and take you on a date. Can we forget
about everything for a few hours and have a nice time?"
He opened the door when Gina started toward him.
"Okay, but I'm not having sex with you tonight."
"I'm available," Billy yelled from outside.
At that moment, Kelsey decided she wanted Billy (a secondary character) to have
his own book. I thought about it and decided, yes, Billy can have a book. Oh,
the power a writer yields.
Still though, the story of how RELENTLESS PURSUIT came
about isn't all that interesting.
Plus, it took writing two more manuscripts before I could figure out what
Billy's story would be. Why? Well, the honest truth is, Billy scared me. His
energy is endless and he always has a fast comeback, whether his friends want
one or not. I wondered if I had the stamina to keep up with Billy. Then he
started chattering at me and wouldn't go away.
I had to face the fear with him. At times, writing Billy's story became
maddening. Not to mention exhausting. This guy is always on. 24/7 he's
smart-mouthed and good looking. All at the same time. He could truly make a
woman insane, but he's also a guy who promised his mother he'd quit swearing and
continuously tries to come up with replacement words.
Just saying.
In a demented, chaotic way, he was fun to write because I had to figure out what
made him such a handful. And, let's face it, I needed to find a special woman
who could keep him in line. I needed a woman with an extra dose of patience, a
wicked sense of humor and a can-do attitude. I needed Kristen Dante, the
ultra-responsible general manager of a billion dollar hotel. With her, Billy has
finally met his match.
Readers, who are some of your favorite high-energy characters? Leave
a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of RELENTLESS PURSUIT.
Billy knocked on the door to Kristen's suite wondering if it was too
late to be paying a call. A second later, the door opened. She stood there
wearing black yoga pants and a light pink, belted sweater tied loosely at her
waist.
He wiggled his fingers at his sides. It would be so easy to just
grab the belt and give it a yank.
Focus.
"Is everything okay?" Kristen asked.
"Uh, yeah. Fine. You didn't answer your phone."
"I was on the balcony. What's up?"
"I called my sister."
"I'm sorry?"
"You told me to call my sister."
Her head lopped forward. "And you did it?"
Of course he'd done it. She'd given him an assignment. What did she
expect? "You told me to call, so I called."
She held the door open. "Come in. Let's not talk about this in the
hall."
Billy stepped into the suite and was greeted by floor to ceiling
windows that, in daylight, would offer an ocean view. On his left was a seating
area with a red sofa and two cream chairs. The glass coffee table held a small
stack of books, one open and face down on top. "Nice room."
"Thank you. Can I get you something?" She pointed to the mini fridge
in the corner.
"Nah. I just wanted to tell you my sister said everyone thinks my
other sister is prettier."
"I see."
"And that made me a little sick. I love both my sisters. The one I
called though? My older sister? She's the effing bomb. So, yeah, maybe my
younger sister is prettier on the surface. But my older sister's the one you
call when you've got a problem. You remind me of her actually. She's strong and
capable and doesn't whine about bullship things. That's what makes her who she
is. And you're like that. Plus, you're sexy as hell. Total package. I wanted to
tell you that."
Kristen's sea-green eyes darkened. Seriously, he needed to kiss her.
Just—whammo—lay one on her, but she made no move toward him.
Not a bleeping inch.
"Sit," she said.
From somewhere down deep, he managed to find the strength to say,
"No. I'm gonna go. I just wanted you to know."
Kristen grabbed his arm, shoved him against the wall and kissed him.
Talk about whammo.
Holy fudging smokes.
The woman could kiss. And that body? All soft and warm against him.
Keeping his hands to himself was impossible, and he didn't bother to fight. He
slipped his arms around her and pulled her close to make sure there would be no
mistaking his level of arousal. Homeland Security would call this an elevated
level.
Extremely elevated.
And unless he backed away from this scorcher of a kiss that made the
little voice in his head—the one that he constantly fought to
control—scream, Go, go, go, his elevated level might hit new
heights.
Kristen backed away, just an easy slide, and immediately he saw her
gaze dart around. He knew exactly what this was. She'd attacked
him—yes, sweet thing, you did—and the idea of that must have
finally absorbed into her most unspontaneous brain.
He grinned at her, kept one arm around her waist and held her still.
"So, not bad for a first kiss, right? It didn't have any of that awkward should
I do it this way, or maybe that way, or has it been too long, should I stop now
thing going on."
And the look of relief, that slack-jawed ease that Billy knew he was
brilliant at creating, appeared on her lovely face.
"You are a master at this aren't you?"
Pretty much, yeah. That didn't make him too happy, though.
True, seducing women had never been a problem. For years he'd bragged about it,
but hearing Kristen say it sounded a whole lot like a bad thing.
"So, my sister said something else."
Kristen made a move to back away but he continued to hold her there.
She glanced down at his arm. "Are you going to let me go?"
"No. Thanks for asking though."
She laughed.
"My sister told me I needed to back off, and I just want to point
out that I was not the aggressor in the whole kissing thing. That one's on you,
sweet thing, so I get a pass. I'll admit I was staring at you right before
you kissed me, so I probably get a demerit for that."
"What are you doing?"
"My sister said when she was single she would never have
trusted a guy like me. That's a little hurtful from one's sister, but I'm a big
boy."
"She said that?"
"Yeah. We're a family of honest people who occasionally have
diarrhea of the mouth."
"Good to know."
"She said if I liked you, I couldn't do my usual routine. That I had
to prove to you it's not about getting laid." He made a pffting noise. "I
mean who doesn't like to get laid? I totally like to get laid. No problem being
honest about that. But this is different—"
Kristen grabbed his cheeks. "Relax. You have some kind of ADD brain
surge going here."
A flaming ball of humiliation burned in his gut and he smacked his
lips together. Laugh it off. He rolled his eyes, made a show of snorting,
but that brief silence had burned him.
Adrienne Giordano is a
Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband,
sports obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She is a
co-founder of Romance University blog and Lady Jane's Salon-Naperville, a
reading series dedicated to romantic fiction. For more information on Adrienne's
Private Protectors series please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne
can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Ad
rienneGiordanoAuthor
and Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdriennGiordano
.
I love the excerpt. I definitely want to read to read this book. I find Bullying very interesting character. (Kai Wong 12:35pm August 20, 2012)
Puck ("The Sisters Grimm" By, Michael Buckley), Cimorene (Enchanted Forest Chronicles By, Patricia C. Wrede), & Karvonen ("The Raven Ring" By, Patricia C. Wrede) are a few of my favorite character but definitely not all of them. (Chelsea Knestrick 12:48pm August 20, 2012)
I also forgot to mention Daniel (A Night Like This (Smythe-Smith Quartet #2) By, Julia Quinn) I read this one a bit more recently but I still have many more characters that I love. (Chelsea Knestrick 12:51pm August 20, 2012)
Looking forward to this book. Stephanie Plum is one of my favorite charcters! (Nancy Gallagher 1:28am August 20, 2012)
Gin from Jennifer Estep is one of my faves (Darci Paice 5:01am August 20, 2012)
I couldn't come up with the name of a high energy character. But, I sure do like a man that can make a woman go insane. This sounds like a good book to put on my to read list. (Kathleen Yohanna 5:56am August 20, 2012)
Wow, what an excerpt - I love the characters already - Darci - Gin from the Elemental Assassin series is also one of my favorite characters, but I always love meeting new favorites! (Felicia Ciaudelli 7:05am August 20, 2012)
That is one seriously hot guy on the cover!!! (Debby Creager 7:30am August 20, 2012)
This sounds like a good book that I'd like to read!!! Thanks (Bonnie Capuano 7:46am August 20, 2012)
Blayne Thorpe in Beast Behaving Badly, the woman never quits. (Maria Munoz 8:48am August 20, 2012)
The book sounds great - and I would LOVE to win a copy. Best of luck with it!!! (Nancy Reynolds 9:14am August 20, 2012)
Really like the story line of this book. A new author to me! (Shari Santella 9:28am August 20, 2012)
I love the high energy of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades! He is the only one that comes to mind right now. Thanks for the chance to win! (Angie Lilly 9:38am August 20, 2012)
Good morning, all. I always love visiting Fresh Fiction and chatting with the awesome readers here. You guys rock! I'm taking note of all these favorite characters so I can check them out myself. Some of them I've read, but some are new to me and that's always fun.
Kai, thank you. I'm glad you liked the excerpt.
Hi, Chelsea. You have an awesome list here. I haven't read some of them and will have to do some downloading!
Kathleen, if you like a man that makes a girl insane, Billy is the guy for you! He drives Kristen crazy most of the time, but he also makes her laugh and she loves that about him.
Thank you, Felicia. I had a lot of fun with Billy and Kristen. :)
Debby, sometimes I think my cover artist climbs into my head when he finds the photos for the cover models. The guy on the cover of A Just Deception freaks me out because he is EXACTLY what I picture in my head.
Nancy, I'm a big Stephanie Plum fan myself. I'll take Morelli any day! LOL.
Darci, I haven't read Jennifer Estep, so I'll check her out.
Maria, I'll have to check out Blayne Thorpe. I can't resist a character who never quits!
Thank you, Nancy. I appreciate the well wishes.
Hi, Shari. Thanks for stopping to say hi. (Adrienne Giordano 9:42am August 20, 2012)
Adrienne's books are so funny! Billy is a hoot and I can't wait to read his book! (Rebecca Whitehead-Schwarz 9:53am August 20, 2012)
This a fantastic book! I read it in one day. I highly recommend this series. High energy characters are my favorites. Here are some of my faves...Wraith from Larissa Ione Demonica Series...Rhage & Lassiter from Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J. R. Ward...Nick from Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon... Nixie from Mary Hughes Biting series...Vic...from Adrienne's Protector Series.... Crusty from Catherine Mann's Wingman Series....Sissie Mae Smith from Shelly Laurenston's Pride series. (Michel Reinhard 10:00am August 20, 2012)
Great excerpt! Billy sounds like riot. I've gotta get the book 8D
This sounds like a fantastic book! I can't wait to read it. (Melanie Pashon 10:41am August 20, 2012)
um---buffy the vampire slayer??? I have brain slog today :) (Pamela Faye Howell 11:21am August 20, 2012)
Love the excerpt! Billy sounds like a great hero - can't think of a high-energy character like him, but Daemon from Obsidian springs to mind since he is basically MADE of energy! Thanks for the giveaway! (Laura Garofalo 11:52am August 20, 2012)
Hi, Angie. I have to admit, I have not read Fifty Shades yet. I'll get to it though! Thanks for stopping in.
Rebecca, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy "my guys". I do have a ton of fun figuring out how to annoy them. :)
Hi, Michel. So now I know that Vic is your favorite! I should have known when you wanted him to drive a Gremlin. :) I haven't read some of the books on your list, but I'll definitely check them out. The Catherine Mann series sounds like it would be right up my alley.
Thank you, Mindy. Billy was probably the most challenging character for me so far because he has such a silly side to him, but he can also be intense. I had to figure out a way to balance the two.
Thank you, Melanie. I hope you enjoy it!
Pam, yes, Buffy! What a fantastic character.
Hi, Laura. Now you've got me wondering about Daemon. I'll be adding that one to my TBR pile. (Adrienne Giordano 12:19pm August 20, 2012)
I'm glad Billy has his own book. He's likeable. In fact, I had a smile on my face by the time I finished the excerpt. (Anna Speed 1:11pm August 20, 2012)
This sounds great! You can get tired of the big, strong, silent-types and want someone who just puts it out there. (Lisa Elwood 1:31pm August 20, 2012)
Sounds wonderful... a high energy character... gee I know I have read some, but it is not coming to me... what about Eve Dallas from JD Robb's books... she is always on the go and Roarke helps her slow down and take a breath sometimes. (Colleen Conklin 1:31pm August 20, 2012)
Sounds like a great fun read! I want more already! (Nancy Ludvik 1:45pm August 20, 2012)
You Your book sounds really good. talk about Man Law but I would surmise that Woman Law rules! (Joy Isley 2:32pm August 20, 2012)
Thank you, Anna. He's one of those characters who is fun to write because he just says what's on his mind. He gets in trouble a lot! LOL.
Hi, Lisa. Yeah, Billy isn't the silent type. He'd probably like to be, but he can't help himself. :)
Hi, Colleen. Yes, Eve and Roarke are awesome characters. Love them!
Thanks, Nancy. There's an excerpt from the beginning of the book on my website (www.adriennegiordano.com). Thank you for popping in! (Adrienne Giordano 2:36pm August 20, 2012)
A high-energy male character would be Mike Chapman, an NYPD detective in Linda Fairstein's books about Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper; it's pretty much a double act. I'm trying to think of a female one and I can't this minute. I don't feel that its a very female trait. (Clare O'Beara 3:01pm August 20, 2012)
MY FAVORITE HIGH-ENERGY FEMALE CHARACTER WOULD BE FAYTHE SANDERS IN THE WARECATS BOOKS BY RACHEL VINCENT. SHE'S A FIGHTER AND FIGHTS FOR WHAT SHE WANTS AND GETS IT. (Shelly Caggiano 3:34pm August 20, 2012)
Thanks Nancy, I love your books. Couldn't tell you any one character that I love because they all are good, (Cynthia St. Germain 3:35pm August 20, 2012)
Great excerpt! (Cheryl McEwen 4:10pm August 20, 2012)
Blast! Someone took my pick for Eve Dallas!!
As to a male charactor that is as high energy as Billy seems to be, just from that excerpt, I really don't think there is one! He sounds totally off the wall!!
Hi, Clare. Another great suggestion! Love LInda Fairstein's books.
Shelly, The Rachel Vincent books sound terrific. Another new read for me. :)
Thanks for stopping in, ladies! (Adrienne Giordano 4:12pm August 20, 2012)
I also really liked Beau Russell (Beauty Dates the Beast By, Jessica Sims), Violet & Richard (Violet Eyes By, Debbie Viguié), & Marsfield & Preston (Masquerade Trilogy By, Laurie Brown). I read a lot & have discovered many characters that I love. (Chelsea Knestrick 4:14pm August 20, 2012)
I can't wait to read this book. Billy sounds like so much fun and trouble at the same time. Thanks! (Teresa Sullivan 5:24pm August 20, 2012)
I loved the excerpt, I think Relentless sounds fantastic! :) Good luck to everyone! (Krissy Malott 7:12pm August 20, 2012)
i cannot wait to read this book! (Debbi Shaw 7:24pm August 20, 2012)
I love the story so far can't wait to read the rest! Thank you for the chance to win. (Jane Thompson 7:59pm August 20, 2012)
This sounds like a very good book, I'd love to read it. (Wilma Frana 8:13pm August 20, 2012)
For the past 5 days I've been dog-sitting at my house, and trying to keep the dog away from my 2 loving kittens who don't understand why this dog hates them so much!! This has left me totally brain-dead!! lol To sit here and come up with a character outside of someone like Ranger from Janet Evanovich's books leaves me in the lurch!! James Bond would be a bit easy. I just can't think of one, since my choice of books lately have not been of the Romance variety. I loved the excerpt of your book, think the man on the cover is quite sexy, and would love to read a copy of your book!! Congratulations on your latest conquest, and I'm sure it will do quite well. I enjoyed your posting as well today. It was the highlight of an exhausting day!! (Peggy Roberson 9:11pm August 20, 2012)
Sounds like a great read. Really enjoyed reading your blog. (Sheila True 10:29pm August 20, 2012)
Fantastic excerpt! I don't think I've encountered a high energy character like Billy before. (Jan D 10:41pm August 20, 2012)
Book sounds great. Stephanie Plum is one of my favorite charaters.she always makes me laugh. Thanks for giving me a chance to win your book. (Linda Hall 10:44pm August 20, 2012)
I had to smile reading this great excerpt as the bits of sassy humor are great! Looking forward to reading "Relentless Pursuit!" (Connie Fischer 8:12am August 21, 2012)
Hi, Chelsea, I haven't read those titles, so I'll add them to my list. Such a fantastic list I've got going today!
Hi, Theresa. He is trouble! But he has a really sweet side too. :)
Peggy, you're a good soul for dog sitting. My Wheatie would have major issues with another dog in his space. LOL. He's cute and a total love bug but we call him the terrorist for a reason! Thanks for stopping in!
Krissy, Debby, Jane and Wilma, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt.
Thanks, Sheila!
Hi, Jan. Billy was a bit of a departure for me. The male characters in my books are typically alpha males. Billy is definitely an alpha, but he's a silly alpha. :)
Linda, I think Lula is a terrific secondary character. She's great for comic relief!
Thank you, Connie! I'm glad you enjoyed it. (Adrienne Giordano 8:45am August 21, 2012)
Thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me here. This is always one of my favorite blogs to visit. The readers here rock!
I really liked the excerpt and all your characters are high energy, couldn't pick just one, really would like to read this book! Billy sounds like a a high energy guy... (Carole Fiore 3:54pm August 21, 2012)
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