Really, I couldn't have planned it better. My paranormal romance, titled A TASTE OF ICE, was
released yesterday, December 31 ... right in the heart of frigid winter.
A TASTE OF ICE is set in
a snowy, desolate, historic town in the Colorado mountains. The funny thing is,
when I sold my paranormal romance series, The Elementals, to Berkley
Sensation/Penguin, the winter release date for A TASTE OF ICE, the second
in the series, was set long before I had ever turned in the manuscript. How
perfect that turned out to be!
One of my goals in writing The Elementals was to
change the locations for each book to best suit the storyline of the hero and
heroine I feature in each. I really didn't want to keep them all in one place,
and I wanted to expand beyond an urban setting. LIQUID LIES, the first book
in the series, takes place in beautiful Lake Tahoe. The third book, coming 2014,
will take place ... well, I can't really say because it would give away a major
plot point from A TASTE OF
ICE, but let's just say it's someplace exotic and warm and far off the
California coast (hint hint).
It's not a coincidence that I put Xavier and Cat, the hero and heroine of A TASTE OF ICE, in the
fictional Colorado town of White Clover Creek just as a big international film
festival turns the small community upside down. In 2004 I attended the Sundance
Film Festival in Park City, Utah and was amazed by how a small place
accommodated such an influx of people. I was fascinated by the effect of such a
spotlighted event on the locals.
In A TASTE OF ICE,
Xavier has chosen to reside in White Clover Creek because of its isolation--he
is extremely damaged and lives an insular existence--but has to deal with the
barrage of tourists coming in for the film festival every year. I loved using
this kind of event we see in the tabloids and setting a world of hidden magic
and frightening evil and intense desire against it.
What are some of your favorite unique settings for paranormal--or any!--romance?
Fresh Fiction Contest!
ABOUT THE ELEMENTALS AND A
TASTE OF ICE
The Elementals follows the secret, warring races who command the classic
elements (earth, air, water, fire) here on Earth. RT Book Reviews says:
"New talent Martine's world of the Elementals is a gripping creation that
pushes the envelope, populated with races which regard each other with distrust
and anger. Emotionally intense and riveting."
In A TASTE OF ICE, there
is an untapped world of magic that any man would covet...
Five years ago, Xavier escaped from the Ofarian Plant. Today he calls a Colorado
mountain town home. It's there he buries himself in his work, swearing off magic
and relationships—until a woman threatens every promise he's made to himself.
Cat has always known she is different. Water speaks to her on an uncanny level,
and she channels this gift into beautiful painted waterscapes. Now, a gallery is
debuting her work in Colorado—and it'll reveal far more about her than she
imagined.
The spark between Cat and Xavier is enough to throw both of them off balance.
Every tantalizing moment sends them dangerously close to a rising flood of
desire. Dangerous because Xavier comes to suspect that Cat is an
Ofarian—his people's enemy. But they're both about to discover a far
greater, more malicious power at play...
Click
here to read the first two chapters.
ABOUT HANNA MARTINE
Hanna Martine left a
decade of office work in order to show her daughter what it meant to go after
one's dream. She loves bar stools, books, travel and her friends. Though she and
her family live outside Chicago, her heart resides in Australia.
Like her on
Facebook | Follow her on Twitter | Add her books
on Goodreads
Well, I like hearing about London and other foreign places in general so any places not in Canada is good for me!
(May Pau 10:59am January 1, 2013)
Historical settings are great because we can learn about a period as well as a location. Extreme locations such as Alaska or Hawaii are very interesting, because the environment will affect the plot and characters.
(Clare O'Beara 12:30pm January 1, 2013)
I'm a fan of unusual settings, as you know, but I particularly enjoy it when the setting is integral to the story. I enjoy feeling as if that story could ONLY happen in that place. Sounds as if you have done exactly that!
(Blythe Gifford 2:31pm January 1, 2013)
For romance,there are beautiful settings all over. You have beautiful flowering meadows and prairie-type lands, to waterfalls on the other extreme. Sitting along a babbling brook can be romantic, as well as a walk along a secluded beach. All of these examples are dependant upon 2 things - the Author, the way they depict it, and the Reader, the way they interpret it. Have a wonderful New Year!!
(Peggy Roberson 8:37pm January 1, 2013)
I love the story settings. They introduced me to places I have never been or will not even get a chance to go to visit. It is the best way to learn about places and the social environment of these places.
(Kai Wong 10:13pm January 1, 2013)
My favorite type of settings are those that are fictional but have a real feel to them. That way my imagination can take off without feeling guilty that I am not doing justice to a real place.
(Annetta Sweetko 5:03pm January 2, 2013)
romance settings anywhere were there is great scenery we can image and tranquility. Paranormal needs to be set in scary places like a cave or something . Not good with geography :(
(Danielle McDonald 10:38am January 3, 2013)
White Clover Creek has one of those down home names that can fool you into looking up the place when you're near other towns in Colorado. Love the ice on the cover as it reminds me of the icycles dangling from my gutters waiting for someone to walk by when the weather breaks.
(Alyson Widen 2:04pm January 24, 2013)
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