Monday, September 24, 2012

Meet Louise James - Thriller/Suspense Author

Louise James, Author of Suspense/Mystery


     Louise James is nestled off the coast of Georgia busy writing a murder and suspense novel Sacred Murder, Marci Perez, Book 1, which will be released 2012. With notes for six books in this series, a working title Deceitful Murder is the second installment and Beautiful Murder is the third.

Deanna: What or who inspired you to write in the suspense/ thriller genre?

Louise: My favorite authors are Stephen King (Dark Tower Series) and Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta Series). I love reading dark, suspenseful stories and I’m a huge fan of the Alex Cross movies; “Along Came a Spider”, “Kiss the Girls” and “Double Jeopardy”. So it would make sense to try a hand at writing in this genre.

Deanna: Love those authors and anyone who can write in that genre. How did you come by your main characters in Sacred Murder and please describe them for us.

Louise: Marci is definitely like Salli Richardson from Eureka. Smart and sexy! She is 28 yrs old, 5’ 10”, a brunette with mulatto skin and brown eyes; half Creole and Cuban. Marci is very fit and excels at everything she sets her mind on. She is the only child of Caroline and Ernesto Perez (deceased), and she is very close to her mom.
     Detective Bill Gammon, Marci’s partner, is a ringer for Bradley Cooper. Oh, yeah! Yum. He is divorced, no kids and loves football; his favorite team being the Saints of course. Bill hides his true feelings for Marci; most of the time.
     I love the chemistry between Richard and Kate on Castle, Kay Scarpetta and Benton Wesley in Patricia Cornwell’s books and, Benson and Stabler on Law and Order SVU. Readers will see several emotions rise between Marci and Gammon throughout the series.

Deanna: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Louise: I came up with the characters first in Scared Murder, then the plot and since there is voodoo in the story, New Orleans fit as the location. During the series, however, Marci will travel to other cities to help solve murder cases as a consultant. She gets that good at it.

Deanna: Readers love series because they get to stay in touch with the characters and see what happens to them. Do you write under a pen name?

Louise: Yes, my significant other and I write in another genre under our real names.

Deanna: Where can readers find out more about you and Sacred Murder, and future works?

Louise: My links are below and readers can also view Chapter One on fReado. Join the site and play games to win books and Amazon gift cards!

Links







Sacred Murder, Marci Perez Book 1


Available Fall 2012 on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, OmniLit and Smashwords

     Working for the Orleans Parrish, Police Narcotic Marci Perez and her partner, Bill Gammon, keep drug dealers off the street. It’s a hard job, but Marci loves her profession and is up for promotion to Detective.
     However, the murder of three women connected to an escort service will have the homicide department recruiting Marci to work undercover. This fresh start in her career opens her eyes to a whole new world of murder and underground crime.
     Sacred Murder is darkened with evil voodoo and a twisted killer. Will Marci Perez be the only one who can stop the maniac?


Read an Excerpt from Chapter One 
and a snippet of Chapter Two HERE.

Deanna: Louise, thank you for visiting this week. Readers, Louise is giving away an e-Book copy of Sacred Murder upon release to two lucky readers. Enter the Rafflecopter below and good luck.

Louise: Thank you for having me here. I’d like to share Author Elodie Parkes’ review on the excerpts with everyone. When I opened her email it made my day!

     'Firstly, knew the characters Gammon and Marci right away, they just clicked, the report Marci wrote and the way she speaks is very familiar, it's the style that we know from this kind of book and other media so you do identify straightaway
      Lovely way you transfer her feelings to the reader about her assignment when she lies to her partner and then talks with her mother
     The killer in the basement part is very chilling and suspenseful, snappy dialogue and fast moving for the beginning of the book so that readers are captured.
   I find books written in the present harder to engage with because culturally all the books I have studied, and read actually now I think about it, are written with the past narrative style and that's how I was taught to write fiction, but that doesn't mean it's correct, it's just that I was taught script and screen writing, and that uses present, so I always look upon the style you have used and see it as a screen play. It's very hard to write the way you have; there are so many things to think about when writing in the present.
    Just from this small taste it looks to be a very good concept, and I can imagine people who like this genre wanting to read the book.
     I found the second chapter very strong, not that the first wasn't as it set scenes and expectations, but something unpleasant and menacing raised its head in the second chapter and that's just what makes great stories in this genre; the awful anticipation of things to come and the hope that Marci stays safe and gets the bad guy.
     This could be a kick ass book.' 

Deanna:  I've been reading also... you all are going to want to grab this one and not just the e-book! Louise, we're hoping it comes out in paperback, too! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sale!!! No Turning Back now .99!


.99
Now on Sale!
For a limited time!

     I've made the price change at Smashwords and the other online stores should show the price change within a week or so! This is for those who have not yet read the book so that you'll recognize characters in the upcoming release of Whispers at Ghost Point. I've reincarnated the souls of the characters into the future where they aren't sure why they've been brought together and how their pasts were linked. A ghost truly could destroy her future!


     Whispers at Ghost Point is a stand alone book and reading No Turning Back isn't necessary but may make the read even more fun if you fall in love with Nathan and Vanessa. You can read Ch 1 of Whispers by clicking the book on the left side. I'm so close to being finished but you can watch my progress on the left also. I can't wait to work on the book trailer! Thank you for stopping in and I hope you share the post on your favorite links!



Monday, September 17, 2012

Meet KayDee Royal - Erotic Romance


Kay Dee Royal
Erotic Romance

     Welcome to this week's guest author interview who is also a fellow wolverine from Michigan! I don't live there any longer but was born and raise in Saginaw where I still have friends and family. We've been invited by Kay Dee to lounge around on an isolated island in paradise, sandy beaches, blue ocean water where her book, One Plus One, takes place. Grab your favorite summer beverage while we soak up the last rays of summer while we can. Thank you all for stopping in and be sure to get in on the contest Kay Dee is doing at the end!


Kay Dee Royal writes paranormal and fantasy romance—maybe because it's also her favorite genre to read! She pens tales with wild, rugged heroes and strong, intelligent heroines. She'll give them both a few shadowy secrets, making her stories intriguing and fun. She resides in Southern Michigan with her family (her dogs, her cats, her caged husband... you get the idea). You can reach her at her blog and find the latest on her titles from her publisher, MuseItHot.
  
Deanna:  Kay Dee, welcome! The beach is warm and sunny and the Pina Coladas are tasting pretty good! Tell us a bit about yourself.

KayDee:  Hello Deanna and everyone. I’m excited to be here ~ you have such a lovely place. I have a great appreciation for spending time with friends. Thanks for stopping by.
     Okay, a bit about me ~ I love reading and writing romance, my favorite kind of romance is spicy hot and paranormal…although I enjoy contemporary, fantasy, and historical romance also, especially spicy hot;  I’m an author/writer, editor, promoter, and blogger, but I’m moving away from blogging so much in hopes of opening more writing time. Left a corporate job twelve years ago and have never looked back…I’m doing what I absolutely love.

Deanna:  What made you want to become a writer?

KayDee:  Like so many other authors, I began writing stories at a young age. It’s been a passion always. I decided before I left my twenty-year corporate job that it was time for writing to be my career.

Deanna: I love hearing that an author can just write full time. Not all of us can say that. What type of hero do you like best?

KayDee:  Rugged, built tough, loyal, proud, a man on a mission…all the traits of an alpha, and the only thing making him vulnerable is his heroine.

Deanna:  Ladies, isn't that why we read? How many plots do you include in one of your books?

KayDee: My novellas usually have one major plot with a few sub-plots…most of those are drawn from relationships. My novels have one major plot with a multitude of sub-plots (threads) weaving twists and turns and hopefully a surprise or two throughout the story:)

Deanna:  I like reading books where they author knows their readers can handle more than one or two plot lines! Now readers love to know more about us and what we do. Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

KayDee:  I continue to be WIP (work in progress) as far as a schedule. I think I have one down, and BAM, something unexpected happens to change everything. So, I’m up early promoting the guest on my blog, run through emails, spend the rest of the day editing OR writing OR working on promoting/marketing, check email again, upload blog post for next day. I have a fairly flexible schedule.

Deanna:  Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

KayDee: My common theme in all of my books is the HEA ending. No matter what happens throughout the story, it will end well for the hero and heroine.

Deanna:  I do enjoy knowing at the end they'll be together but we know that doesn't always happen. Reading isn't reality but it's a great way to 'get away' for a while. How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?


KayDee:  One Plus One took me about two months, two others took almost a year each, the one I’m presently writing is going on eighteen months. Yeah, I’m ready to be done with it. The story-stars are sick of me, too.

Deanna:  Readers, keep an eye on her sites so you know when her new books come out! Kay Dee, do you have to be alone to write?

KayDee:  I create best if I’m alone, but I can handle writing when others are around.

Deanna:  How do you go about naming characters?

KayDee: Sometimes a name will simply come to me, other times I brainstorm…saying the name out loud, getting a feel for if it makes a good fit with the part/character, but honestly, if the character doesn’t like his/her name, I’ll know it in the first couple chapters. Even secondary characters – I changed Mazie’s name a few times before she settled down with it. She has a strong personality, assertive and a bit on the wild-side, yet, she helps run a pretty major corporation. She wanted a fun name. I believe she also wants her own stor. *wink*

Deanna:  I love it when the characters help out with the storyline, including names! Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

KayDee:  I have a definite picture in my mind of what the hero and heroine look like before I start writing. Once the idea for my story is down solid, I write up fairly thorough character sketches. Because I’m such a visual/picture person, I bet having a picture of my hero and heroine would be a benefit to me while writing the story. I’ve never done it though.

Deanna:  Oh, trust me, it does help if you have the visual while you're writing! LOL How do you pick locations for your stories?

KayDee:   Mostly my locations are places I’ve visited and loved (write what I know). BUT, for One Plus One, the location really went with the theme of the story – a cruise ship. My locations are either familiar places to me, or they are what make sense for the story and I do research to find what will be the right fit.

Deanna:  I've not been on a cruise ship...YET! Tell us about your book and your characters. We’d love to read an excerpt!

KayDee:  I’d love to share with your readers!

Info from One Plus One:

     Lacinda’s in her mid-twenties and runs an animal shelter. She lost her husband-to-be two years prior and has more or less closed herself off from everything outside her animal sanctuary. After a few glasses of wine her best friend talks Lacinda into filling out a sensually explicit survey questionnaire as a dare. It ends up the survey is a contest entry for a three-week singles cruise.
     Then there’s Blade…oh, so yummy:) He’s too rich for his own good and is tired of too many possible relationships being more about his money. He’s done with women, only his female business partner and long-time friend, Mazie, has something to say about that. She pulls together a singles cruise with the idea she’s going to find Blade a mate for life.

     This book was so fun to write, sparks flew between Lacinda and Blade from the get-go…love when that happens. *wink* 

 Here’s the blurb and a short excerpt of One Plus One: (Contemporary Erotic Romance)

      Coerced by her friend, Lacinda, a woman crushed by love, winds up on a three-week singles cruise.
      Blade, a man of means, discovers Miss Right under the guise of a singles cruise set up by his business partner.
     Once Blade focuses his efforts he always gets what he’s after, until Lacinda throws his arrogant reputation back in his face.
     Can Blade break through Lacinda’s angry barriers? Will she ever see him as anything more than a player?

One Plus One Excerpt ~ *Warning – this book is rated for 18 or older, explicit love scenes.*

     “Lacinda Gainesly,” a steward called her name. She saw the sign he held with her name printed in bright purple. She slipped on the first step leading down onto the ship and stumbled past the steward. The sign dropped from his fingers and his arms latched around her body from behind. His quick reflexes saved her face from biting the deck, but his hands cupped both of her breasts and squeezed. Lacinda threw her elbow back into his side.
      “Hey, a little respect for the guy who saved your life.”
     Lacinda shrugged out of his grasp. She met his gaze and realized this was the same man who picked her up from her hotel in a long black limo, only then he was dressed in black instead of the white uniform he now wore.
    “You’re the driver.”
    “I’m a lot of things, like possibly a hero.” His eyes looked as happy as his lips.
     She noticed his smile, the same he shared earlier when he asked her questions about why she took the cruise quiz. Lacinda thought he was simply a driver for the cruise company so she shared some of her story. He knew about Alex dying in a car crash on the way to their wedding. She searched her memory for anything else she might have shared which could embarrass her later.
    “Alas fair maiden, your chambers await your timely arrival,” he said, faking a British accent. He held his gloved hand out. Lacinda refused it.
    “I’m ready for my quarters.” She needed relaxation, maybe take a nice hot scented bath and get prepared for the swing of things, anything to distract her from the past that never left her alone.
     “As you wish, my lady,” he said, again with a British accent. The steward turned, led her across the deck, and down a stairway. She saw men and women following other stewards or each other. Once on board everyone began mingling, even flirting, judging by the tinkling female laughter and deep manly chuckles.
    “There will be an announcement left under your door regarding tonight’s dinner seating arrangements. May you enjoy your day and make sure you take time for a relaxing massage. There’s always a masseuse available. Their extension is listed beside your phone. You’ll find your room key there as well.”
       Lacinda followed him down a narrow hallway until he stopped in front of a door with an elegantly scrolled number 216.
      “This is you. May I answer any questions before I go?”
    Lacinda dug in her purse for a tip. Clueless on how much was appropriate and not wanting to give him anything. He got his gratuity when he copped a feel of her breasts.


Kay Dee’s LINKS:




Twitter: @KayDeeRoyal



CONTEST:  I’m offering a PDF copy of One Plus One to a commenter who answers a question Deanna asked me:  What type of hero do you like best? Drawing will be held on Saturday 9/22. GOOD LUCK!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway