Live the Emotion

Twenty years ago this month, Intrigue released UNDER THE KNIFE by Tess Gerritsen, who of course would go on to become the bestselling author of awesome thrillers.  (Fun fact: the other Intrigue released that month was SWITCHBACK by Catherine Anderson, another future New York Times bestselling author.  Quite an auspicious month!).  I was still relatively new to Intrigue, having only started reading the line a couple months earlier.  UNDER THE KNIFE was the book that not only cemented my love of the line, but made it clear that this was the kind of story I wanted to write.  I didn't just want to write mysteries, as I'd always thought.  I wanted to write THESE.

The book had all the hallmarks I had already come to associate with the line.  Strong characters with a juicy interpersonal conflict.  A great mystery with plenty of suspects.  A well-developed love story.  Numerous twists and turns.  Suspenseful sequences.  But what really stood out about it was how emotional it was.  I found the hero's story incredibly moving, and the ending in particular hit me hard.  The story's emotional impact was what made it something extra-special and a book I knew would really stick with me.  As far as I was concerned, the book contained everything a great read could--and should, and set the bar for what I wanted to try and accomplish in my own stories--that perfect combination of mystery and emotion.  

It seems somehow fitting that my latest book, STRANGER IN A SMALL TOWN, is being released almost exactly twenty years later.  (Okay, it’s technically a May release, but it’s already available on eHarlequin, so close enough. )  It's a book that means a lot to me, partly because I think it really exemplifies the kind of story I've always wanted to write since reading UNDER THE KNIFE, combining a mystery I hope will keep readers guessing with (at least for me) that level of emotion I’ve been aiming for from the beginning.  It’s the story of two people, both running from their pasts in different ways and for different reasons, bound together by the creepy, crumbling house that each has been drawn to.  The house has largely been abandoned since two people were murdered there almost thirty years before, a crime that remains unsolved.  The heroine is determined to restore the house; the hero hires on to help her while keeping his true motives secret.  But no one in the town wants the house restored, least of all the killer.  When the danger surrounding the house escalates, the hero and heroine are driven to try to solve the murders.  Over the course of the story, they work to find the truth, and in the process find the strength to face their respective pasts and move on into the future.

All of my characters mean a great deal to me, but I especially felt for these two people, two lost souls who find a connection when neither expects it.  I just "got" them on a level I hope comes across on the page.  I admit, there were a few points while I was writing it where I felt a lump in my throat.  A tear or two may have even been shed.  I can’t guarantee that anyone else will have the same reaction (though I certainly wish I could!), but I do hope anyone who decides to take a chance on the book will enjoy it and maybe even find themselves as caught up in the emotions of the characters' story as I was.  

In the meantime, what are some of your favorite emotional reads that really got to you and stuck with you?  Do you have any books that really made you cry?

Kerry Connor
www.kerryconnor.com

In Their Footsteps

 

 
I recently realized that this week marks my anniversary with Intrigue—not as a writer, but as a reader. It was twenty years ago this week that I wandered out of the mystery section of the used bookstore I used to frequent in my youth and into the romance section without realizing it. I spotted these books with dramatic-looking white covers, shelved, fittingly enough, on what turned out to be the border between the mystery and romance sections. I didn't know anything about Harlequin, but I read a few of the back covers and these books sounded like something I’d like (i.e. mysteries), so I bought a few. Those first few soon sent me back for more, as well as to the new bookstore to get the current ones, since the used bookstore was several months behind and I couldn't wait that long knowing there were new Intrigues out there! I still remember the first Intrigue I bought new—Caroline Burnes’s original Fear Familiar, which was awesome. It was followed a month later by Tess Gerritsen’s Under the Knife, which knocked my socks off. I’d always wanted to write mysteries, but that was the book that cemented the fact that Intrigue was not just what I wanted to be reading, but what I wanted to write, and for me it remains the perfect example of exactly what an Intrigue should be.

It was many years later before I finally broke into the line as a writer, but my journey began with those early days, devouring those books until I’d read every one. I still have very fond memories of those early Intrigues, some of which remain all-time favorites, many of which I can recall the entire plots of all these years later. There were authors who became regulars with the line, some who moved on to big things, and others who only contributed a few titles before seeming to disappear. Wherever their paths led them, they were the authors and theirs were the stories that established my love for the line and showed me how Intrigue was done, for which I will always be grateful.

I figure the best way to pay tribute to those authors is to share their stories with others who may not have read them. So to celebrate my anniversary and those authors’ work, I thought I’d give away some early Intrigues by authors I particularly enjoyed (and whose books I happened to have spare copies of). They’re all used copies, but in good shape for their age (hey, they’re twenty year old books!). The spines are creased, but the books are holding together well with plenty of reading left in them. Most important, they're books that deserve to be read.  They are:

#84 – A Walking Shadow by Regan Forest
Forest wrote more books for Temptation than Intrigue, but her four Intrigues were terrific. This one has a great setting in the historic ghost town of Jerome, Arizona, and two compelling main characters with a cartoonist heroine and a mysterious hero hiding from his past.

#85 – Chain Letter by Elaine K. Stirling
Stirling wrote a number of creepy tales for Intrigue (Foul Play and Sleepwalker are particularly fun). This is a neat one too, as two strangers connected by a chain letter have to figure out why they’ve been targeted and who’s responsible when the others listed in the letter start being murdered one by one.

#89 – Red Dog Run by Jan Michaels
Michaels specialized in couple-on-the-run stories in her four Intrigues. Her first, Pursuit in the Wilderness, was probably my favorite, and one of the very first (and possibly THE first) true couple-on-the-run Intrigues. This is a good one too, with plenty of the rip-roaring action that was her forte.

#98 – Hot Pursuit by Fran Earley
Earley wrote several Intrigues set in Central America, an area not often visited in romantic suspense.  Ransom in Jade took place in Guatamala, while Setup took readers to Costa Rica.  This one is set stateside, but involves plenty of international intrigue as well. 

#102 – For Love or Money by M.J. Rodgers
Rodgers’s first Intrigue featured a strong heroine and a truly clever mystery, two elements that would be the hallmarks of the many excellent books she wrote for the line in the following years.

#110 – Stranger Than Fiction by M.L. Gamble
Gamble often wrote about characters with interesting and unusual careers, like the rock star hero and heroine who ran a celebrity impersonator business in If Looks Could Kill. This one is about the publishing industry (probably no surprise I'd find that interesting!) and the mystery surrounding who really wrote a guaranteed bestseller that's about to be released--and who will kill to keep the secret. 

#113 – Do Unto Others by Patricia Rosemoor
One of the earliest Intrigue authors, Rosemoor is obviously still thrilling Intrigue readers with her books today.  This was one of that first set of Intrigues I bought twenty years ago (not this exact copy), so I have a particular fondness for it. When her sister disappears inside a televangelist's compound, the heroine goes undercover to find out the truth and discover who's a saint and who's really a sinner. 

#118 – Cloak and Dagger by Jenna Ryan
One of Ryan’s was also part of that first set, though I don’t remember if it was this particular one. Either way, it’s a fun one, with a century-old legend that says a serial killer will rise a hundred years after his death, and a present-day murder that seems to indicate the legend is coming true…
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Of course, these books and these authors are well worth checking out even if you don't win, and there are many others I could have mentioned as well.  To enter, all you have to do is post a comment.  What are some of your favorite older books, Intrigue or otherwise, that you think not enough people have heard of?  Favorite authors who may not be writing any longer who you wish were or had written more?  Or what books brought you to Intrigue? Or any random comment you'd like to make.  

I'm thinking of choosing eight different winners to spread the wealth, with each winner getting one book, though if not enough people enter or are interested, I may pick just one winner who will receive the entire lot.  We'll see how it goes.  In any case, be sure to comment on eHarlequin before Wednesday morning, which is when the winner(s) will be chosen. 

Happy reading!

Kerry Connor
www.kerryconnor.com

Embracing the Journey

A few months ago I blogged about my then-upcoming move.  I’m happy to report it’s now been completed.  It’s been a crazy few months as I moved from one side of the country to the other, crossing the nation by car and plane several times, but I’m finally settled.  New city.  New apartment.  New possibilities.  It’s not just my traveling over the past several months, but my overall journey, that’s brought me to this point, this place.  This move is something I’ve want to do and have been working toward for a long time, something that sometimes seemed like it would never happen.  Now that it has, I’m hopeful and excited to see what comes next. 

Pondering my own journey and how I got here, it occurred to me how romance, and romantic suspense, is really all about the journey, too.  As readers and writers, we know the destination we want, we expect, to reach: the happy ending.  What really matters, what makes the story special and interesting, is the journey there, the journey that takes the characters to the truth, to justice, to growth, to peace, to love.  It may not be easy.  There may be missteps made and unfortunate detours taken along the way.  But eventually we will get there, and it will be worth everything it took to make it.

I found myself thinking about this as I was considering what to say about my latest Intrigue, TRUSTING A STRANGER, which is now officially available in stores.  I’m really excited to have it out there, because I’m particularly fond of this story.  In fact, of my four books that have been released so far, I think this might be my favorite. One reason I love writing--and reading--romance is for the emotion, and this book, perhaps more than any of mine released to date, is heavily focused on the emotional journey the characters experience over the course of the story.  It had to be. 

This is my attempt at a marriage-of-convenience story, a premise that’s not always easy to pull off in a contemporary.  In this case, the hero marries the heroine to prevent her from being deported to her home country, where there’s nowhere she can hide from the villain, a powerful man with limitless resources who’s out for revenge.  The hero and heroine enter the marriage with the understanding that when the threat to her life is over, they will end it.  Naturally, ending a romance novel with the characters getting divorced and going their separate ways isn’t going to be most people’s (or my!) idea of a happy ending.  So I knew from the start that by the end of the book, when the danger is over, they had to be at the point where they would decide to continue the marriage, which basically meant they had to be in love and admitting it openly.  I couldn’t have them still relatively at the beginning of their journey, having found each other and ready to see what happens next, as I have in several of my earlier books.  Naturally their story, their lives, will continue beyond the end of the book, but I had a definite route marker, so to speak, I had to get them to in a believable way by the end.

This was particularly challenging because, as the title indicates, these are two complete strangers who don’t entirely trust each other at the beginning of the book, with only the word of the mutual friend who brought them together to give them any reason to do so.  Throw in the fact that this a self-contained hero who’s already lost too much and refuses to feel anything as a means of survival, and a heroine who has been betrayed by her first husband and will not accept anything less than full openness, and these two are in conflict from the start.  Not to mention that preventing the heroine from being deported only results in bringing the danger stateside, sending them on the run. 

So these two people are not just on a physical journey as they try to elude their pursuers, but a huge emotional one as their feelings evolve over the course of the book in that grand Intrigue tradition, from wariness to trust, then beyond to something deeper.  I really loved these characters, and even knowing where I intended for them to go, their journey surprised me at times.  In the end, I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

I hope any reader who decides to take the journey with them will enjoy it, and wish you the best on your own journey, wherever it takes you.

Kerry Connor
www.kerryconnor.com

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So...What Do You Do?

It's the question that almost immediately comes up whenever we meet new people for the first time, an easy way to get an idea who this person is (and to fill any uncomfortable silences <g>).  After all, what we do for a living often says something about who we are as people.  That’s definitely as true for fictional people as for real ones, and one of the most interesting parts of a book can be reading about what the hero and heroine—and even secondary characters—do for a living.

When it comes to Intrigue, and romantic suspense in general, protagonists in law enforcement tend to be fairly common, which certainly makes sense.  Police officers, federal agents and investigators are more likely to be drawn into criminal matters or dangerous situations than the average citizen.  But there are plenty of Intrigues that don't involve characters in law enforcement.  From cat burglars to dream researchers, rock stars to toymakers, illusionists to cartoonists, Intrigue heroes and heroines have been a varied group over the years.  That's certainly true for my books. Personally, I tend to lean toward the type of romantic suspense where the main characters aren’t involved in law enforcement.  I love the added tension of two people without any investigative or protective training thrust into circumstances beyond their experience, usually for very personal reasons.  As a reader, I was probably influenced by the fact that that was more the case when I started reading Intrigue way back when, as you were more likely to find two regular people caught up in a mystery.  (Anyone remember when heroes in law enforcement were rare enough in Intrigue that there was a Lawman promotion one year to point out books that had them?)  Plus, I’ve always enjoyed reading about interesting and atypical careers and learning more about them.  As a writer, I wanted to write a wide variety of story types, and characters with a wide variety of careers are a natural extension of that. 

The hero of my first book was a bounty hunter.  Since then I’ve had a doctor hero and business executive heroine in BEAUTIFUL STRANGER, followed by a pro football player hero and writer heroine in A STRANGER’S BABY.  My latest Intrigue, November’s TRUSTING A STRANGER, features a hero who’s a corporate attorney and a heroine who's an interior decorator.  And yes, each of their careers—and why they chose them—says a great deal about who they are.  That’s not to say I wouldn't—or won't—write about characters in law enforcement, anymore than I wouldn't read one.  Actually, I just submitted a proposal with a hero who's a homicide detective.  I'm working on a few more proposals as well, each of which involves characters with completely different careers from any of the above. 

What about you?  What are some of the careers you enjoy reading about in Intrigues?  Can’t get enough of those cops, secret agents and bodyguards?  Are there some interesting careers you'd like to see more of?  Or what are some careers you've read about that were interesting, in Intrigue or otherwise?  Anything you might not have thought you’d want to read about beforehand that turned out to be fascinating?  

Technically, I’m supposed to be blogging Monday, but I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to get online, so I’ve decided to turn this into a two-day extravaganza.  One commenter will win a choice of BEAUTIFUL STRANGER or A STRANGER’S BABY, featuring characters with the careers mentioned above.  The winner will be drawn and announced late Monday.

Kerry Connor
www.kerryconnor.com

How did I pick my genre?

Recently, someone asked me where my weird ideas come from. I guess she meant, why are you so into paranormal? Why do you write about werewolves and demons and monsters from another time continuum?

When I was in elementary school, the D.C. Public Library sent a “book basket” to every classroom every month. In fifth grade, when the teacher put RED PLANET, by Robert Heinlein, up on the eraser ledge, the cover illustration made me want to read the book. So I rushed up to get it before anyone else could.

Thus began a lifelong interest in science fiction and fantasy. They were a big part of my recreational reading for years, with adventure and mystery thrown in.

In the early sixties, I didn’t have a television set. I got a TV for one reason–so I could watch a cool new program that my friends were talking about--Star Trek.

So I come by my interest in the paranormal honestly. The first novel I wrote was a kids' SF story, THE INVASION OF THE BLUE LIGHTS, about a bad alien and a good alien that land in the woods across the street from my house. (Only I gave the house to a 12-year-old boy who was a lot like my son.) In the 80's, the big romance boom started, and a friend asked if I’d like to write one. When I told her I hadn’t read any, she brought me shopping bags full. And I discovered they were all about the subplot that I’d loved in the science fiction and adventure novels I read–the development of a relationship between a man and a woman.

At first, I wrote straight romances. Then I figured out I was better at romantic suspense. And after a few romantic suspense novels, I began incorporating SF and fantasy elements into my stories. At first I wrote what I called stealth paranormals. There’s a ghost in my third Intrigue, WHISPERED IN THE NIGHT. And the hero of PRINCE OF TIME is a space alien. But the reader doesn’t find that out until she’s gotten a chance to know and love him. Now I’m fortunate that Intrigue lets me write books that are frankly paranormal. Like my latest, MORE THAN A MAN. The hero, Noah Fielding, has lived for hundreds of years, although he doesn’t know why. Then a dying millionaire discovers his secret and will do anything to find out the reason for his long life–even kill the woman Noah loves. It’s a fast, emotion-packed story that was a lot of fun to write.

What kind of Intrigues do you like best? And how do you like paranormal elements in them?

Rebecca

Playing Favorites

When I was trying to think of something to blog about, I started to make a list of possible topics, which then led me to think about lists in general. I love lists. I love to make them, love to categorize and organize things, whether it's to-do lists or Christmas lists or lists of places I want to visit before I'm too old and tired to travel.

So then I thought, hey, it's a blog for romance readers and writers, so how about a list addressing one of our favorite topics?

Heroes.

We all love heroes, or we wouldn't be reading romance. And we all have our favorite kinds of heroes, don't we? Whether it's the urbane and powerful billionaire, the hard-bodied Special Forces soldier or the football-loving guy next door, romance heroes are always a fun topic to discuss. And since this is a blog with comments, and therefore interactive, how about we all make lists?

Name your five favorite kinds of heroes, and if you can, list a real life or fictional example of that type of hero.

I'll start:

1) BAD BOY LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION. I love a good redemption story, and I also love a bad boy as long as he really wants to be a good boy (to a certain point). Sawyer on LOST is a great example--he started out as a darned-near irredeemable bad guy but over time, he grew and matured as a character until last season, he was actually the hero of the series. Still, even though he grew emotionally, he never really lost his edge. Fictional heroes don't have to.

2) HERO WITH A TROUBLED PAST COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM. Consider this the sequel to the redeemable bad boy: the full blown hero forced to face the consequences of his past sins. One example of this kind of hero is Mel Gibson's Benjamin Martin in THE PATRIOT. A peaceful farmer with a family to raise, he's trying to put the violence of his past behind him. But the Revolutionary War requires men with war experience, and Martin has to face down the specter of his earlier savagery and try to find a new path, somewhere between the brutality of his past and the false idyll of his present in order to forge a better future.

3) THE CHARMING ROGUE. I'm a sucker for a sexy, sarcastic-tongued devil. I like a guy who knows how to face danger with a witty quip and who isn't afraid to laugh at himself--and others. A guy who loves women and doesn't apologize for flirting his way through a whole bunch of them. Of course, in romances, the fun of this kind of hero is taming him and turning him into a charming rogue who only has eyes for you. From TV's Rick Castle of CASTLE, Tony DiNozzo of NCIS and Sean Spencer of PSYCH to saucy movie pirate Jack Sparrow of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies, charming rogues are always fun to fantasize about. Especially if that witty tongue is also a defense mechanism, hiding a hero's secret pain...

4) MY FAVORITE GEEK. I think I've blogged before about my penchant for a brainy, nerdy guy. I love them, especially in fiction. Because usually, behind the pocket protector beats the heart of a tiger, both in terms of courage and sexual attraction. Some of my favorite TV heroes are a bit nerdy, like Chuck of CHUCK, McGee of NCIS, and Gus of PSYCH. I also think that behind the stiff cravat and shiny Hessians, Mr. Darcy might have just been a bit of a Pointdexter himself--he was socially inept, romantically inarticulate and hung out with people like Bingley. Come ON.

5) THE PROTECTOR. It's almost a romantic suspense cliche--the cop, the bodyguard, the FBI agent, the soldier--but I love the protector anyway. I especially like one who gets sucked into protecting someone without quite knowing how it happened. The hero of my third book, Maddox Heller of FORBIDDEN TOUCH, is just such a hero. He's hiding from the world in the Caribbean, determined not to be anybody's hero ever again, since it went so badly the last time. But when Iris Browning literally stumbles into his life with a mystery to solve, and it becomes clear that Iris herself might be in danger, Maddox learns that old hero habits die hard.

So, there are my favorites. What are yours?