Pictures and Writing

THIS MONTH WE ASKED INTRIGUE AUTHORS FOR A PICTURE INVOLVING THEIR WRITING.

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CAROL ERICSON

TRAP,SECURE, September 2013

I live within a mile of the beach, and it’s very much a part of our lives.  My boys are surfers and junior lifeguards, my husband runs on the beach, and I take walks to the beach and sometimes go to bonfire parties at night where I took this picture of the sunset this summer.  The beach is also part of my writing.  When I get the chance, I go to the beach to write.  I sit in my chair with my ice tea lemonade at my side and my AlphaSmart in my lap.  The beach can also serve as my inspiration.  A few years ago when my boys were younger, I took them to the beach to surf while I sat on the sand watching them.  It was the end of the summer and the end of the day, and the beach was mostly deserted except for a few other surfers and the lifeguard in his tower.  

As I gazed out across the ocean, I began to think about a story involving a female lifeguard.  What if she was working late in the summer and late in the day when the beach was deserted and she noticed two men out in the water?  She watched them through her binoculars and saw that they were struggling.  She takes the phone off the hook, sheds her sweats, and grabs her can.  She high steps over the waves and dolphin-kicks out to the flailing men.  When she reaches them, there’s blood in the water and one of the men is grasping a knife.  This is no ordinary rescue.  And that’s the beginning of NAVY SEAL SECURITY, which is a bonus book along with my October release, TRAP, ENGAGE.  Hope you enjoyed your waning days of summer and didn’t run across any dead men on the beach!

ELIZABETH HEITER
HUNTED, Harlequin MIRA, January 2014

This shot (get it?  <G>) was taken at the FBI Academy at Quantico.  I'm learning proper form on a Glock pistol, which is what the FBI profiler in my debut suspense novel, HUNTED, carries.  As you can see in the picture, my finger stays outside the trigger guard until I'm ready to take my shot.

HUNTED is the first in the Profiler Series, Harlequin MIRA. Available for pre-order now.

MALLORY KANE

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS,  Delancey Dynasty, January 2014

The pic is Smoke Monster and Mallory Kane. Monster is explaining what's wrong with my latest manuscript.

JULIE MILLER

TASK FORCE BRIDE, September 2013

"Writing Amidst the Chaos" has been my mantra this summer.  Between attending the fabulous RWA conference in Atlanta and taking a mini family vacation right here in the Midwest, as well as promoting my current release, TASK FORCE BRIDE, and editing hubby's newest YA novel, we've been doing lots of home repair work at our house.  

Some we've done ourselves (I'm an ace painter/stainer) and some we've hired out.  

New windows, new front door, new furnace & A/C, replacing hail-damaged siding, fresh paint in living room and bedrooms, and so on.  We had to make the most of hubby being off from teaching and not taking classes this summer.  

But that also means learning to ignore the hammering and drilling, extra bugs (bad year for flies here!), dog barking periodic alerts, furniture sitting in the middle of rooms, knocks on the door to answer workmen's questions, taking lots of pix because I'm so curious to watch the transformation, and so on.  In other words, it has been hard to concentrate on my writing this summer.  

But I keep plugging away.

Slow progress is still progress, and I'm finding that the further I get into my story (a new Precinct book, tentatively titled ONCE A COP), the easier it is to write.

ANGI MORGAN
THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE, January 2014

I'm writing the first three chapters of book 2 in my WEST TEXAS PROTECTORS series, THE RANCHER. My trips to Chicago have inspired the heroine. A city girl with no experience of animals or West Texas. It's going to be very interesting getting this heroine on top of a runaway horse.

I love visiting this city. I took an early morning walk last year. Six A.M., clear and crisp (actually around 20 degrees)  and almost all to myself…I walked from the convention center back to my hotel snapping pictures. I love this shot where nature and city meet.

I've visited the cloud many times. It's a huge tourist attraction and always surrounded by people. But on that morning, you can see the tourists slept in. >>grin<< It was the first time I'd ever gotten the city reflection.

I also have to share. I love that my husband is involved in some of my writing. He designs my temporary covers until I receive the real thing from Harlequin. I thought of my Texas-themed website, but he followed through.

ROBIN PERINI
THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY, December 2013

Robin Perini had the biggest fan girl moment ever at this year's Romance Writers of America conference in Atlanta. Cowboy in the Crossfire was nominated for the RITA® award.

Guess who stopped by at the Harlequin book signing? THE Rita Clay Estrada, one of the namesakes of the RITA award. 

What an honor! I got a picture to prove it.

PATRICIA ROSEMOOR 
(writing as Lynn Patrick ) 
A FOREVER HOME, September 2013

Edward and I sailed the Bahamas on a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise a couple of decades ago. I learned to snorkel as well as sail.


-- The beginning of my love for the ocean, early research for Written in the Stars.

AIMEE THURLO 
FALCON'S RUN, July 2013

I've recently developed a great interest in handmade teddy bears. A neighbor of ours made them and I fell in love with her creations. Sadly, she passed away, but we now have some of her collection, in addition to two of her very special hobby horses that have become my pride and joy! One's an antique, the other not, but both were made by the same company in England.

It was our neighbor's beautiful crafts and her collectibles, like the ones pictured here, that inspired our story Homespun Christmas (Harlequin Heartwarming) set here in New Mexico.

In this very special book, Independence, New Mexico has lost the industry that kept it going, and now is in desperate need of a lifeline, one Myka Solis is certain she can provide. She's determined to prove that locally crafted treasures like those she sells online can help transform their dying town into a vibrant, creative hub. And she knows exactly who can help make her plan a reality: Joshua Nez, the confident, big-city architect, now back in town to rebuild his own life. 

Thanks to Josh's expertise, Myka finds herself leading a revitalization effort that draws in the entire community. But working with Josh has to stay a business-only arrangement. Her childhood friend has dreams of his own, and those involve starting up an architectural firm far away from their home town. If only Myka can show him they both have a future in Independence…together. 

This book is all about the will to survive even when the odds are against you. It's also the perfect southwest Christmas story. I hope those of you who are reading this will get a chance to pick up the book, now available for pre-order at Amazon!

November we will also have Ghost Medicine. In this new Ella Clah mystery, Ella's life and career take a new turn, one she wasn't expecting. In conjunction with this book, our readers will get a chance to see the CBS script Lee Goldberg and Wm Rabkin wrote based on our Ella Clah series. It will be available in mass market at the same time.

REBECCA YORK 
BAD NIGHTS, Sourcebooks,  September 2013

DESPERATE MAGIC, Carina Press, Chronicles of Arandal, July 2013


Sometimes I do research for a book. Other times, I do something cool that may end up in a future book. Here I am getting ready to take off in a glider plane a few years ago. 

The pilot sat in back of me. We were towed into the air by a small plane and then let go for a half-hour flight where we circled over Reagan's former ranch. I used this experience in BAD NIGHTS, my September romantic suspense from Sourcebooks. When the hero has to rescue the kidnapped heroine from a militia camp where she's being held, he and his Rockfort Security partners fly in silently using glider planes and land on the rifle range. 

HAVE YOU GOT A QUESTION FOR OUR AUTHORS YOU'D LIKE ANSWERED? Send it to Angi.