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
1 comment posted.
My head is more than "sorta'" swinging from reading this month's rundown of new novels in your list, but it's an enjoying swing!
(Mary Lou Loyanich 8:29am October 6, 2012)