RETURNING TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

MARGARITAS AT SUNSET

My guest is Lisa Brackmann. I'm glad to have her visiting Over Coffee again. If you remember, I interviewed Lisa last year when her debut—ROCK PAPER TIGER (Year Of The Tiger in the UK)—was released. 
Lisa's second book, GETAWAY (Library Journal Reviews lists it as a must read this summer), has just been released. Lisa is currently down in Puerto Vallarta (hence the margarita above, directly from her to us) attending a book event and will be checking in from Mexico through out the day.  

I’m here in Viejo Vallarta, a few blocks from the beach, close enough to feel the ocean breezes. To my left is a ravine, where several donkeys stomp on the hillside, waiting for their nightly appearance at Ánadale, a bar down the street in La Zona Romántica.

At this point, some of you who read my latest novel, GETAWAY, may be saying, “Waaait a minute. Didn’t you just write a scary book about an American woman who goes on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, and things go very, very wrong? Aren’t there headless bodies on every street corner?”

It is true that there are some very scary stories coming out of Mexico, largely centered on the violence that has exploded since Mexican President Calderón declared war on the drug cartels a few years ago. This war has claimed upwards of 40,000 casualties, and though most of them are involved in the drug trade, journalists, officials and innocent bystanders have also been targeted or caught in the crossfire.

All of that said, it’s important to understand that this violence is largely localized, focused mainly in the border zone or in other areas where different cartel factions vie for control of the market.

Puerto Vallarta is still a safe destination for tourists and a wonderful place to spend your vacation. In fact, every time I visit, I ponder relocating here. I could live in this town. Write on a terrace cooled by ocean breezes. Take a break on Los Muertos Beach. Have a margarita or two.

So, why did I write a book that made the place seem dangerous?

My primary reason was that I am familiar enough with the location that I felt I could do the setting justice. A lot of readers want to be taken to an unfamiliar place and get a sense of what it might be like, and providing that experience is one of the things I most enjoy when I write books.

The other? It’s the job of a suspense author to, well, provide suspense.

This trouble looks pretty 

good to me, especially after a 

Margarita or two...

So, after deciding that I would set a suspense novel here, I had to figure out where the suspense would come from. I had a sort of vision, of an American woman on vacation, sitting on the beach, watching the passing carnival of tourists and locals, drinking beers, selling trinkets and serapes. She was unhappy, I knew that, but I didn’t know why. I wrote the first chapter, and figured that part of it out. Set up the situation that would get her in trouble.

Then, I had to determine what that trouble was.

You work with what’s plausible, or at least with what you can sell as plausible. Involving the drug trade in protagonist Michelle’s problems made sense. But I hope what people will take away from the story is not, “Mexico is scary!” and that the drug trade is a Mexican problem, one that has nothing to do with us in the US. But rather, that the story deals with corruption in general, and on both sides of the border.

A friend of mine who lives here asked, why would setting a crime novel in Puerto Vallarta be any different than say, setting one in Los Angeles? I think it’s a very good question.

Most Americans wouldn’t hesitate to visit Los Angeles, setting of countless crime novels, or New York, or Navaho country, or Oslo, or Beijing, or most of the places where countless authors have created fictional mayhem. In the case of Mexico, it’s true that there are areas you probably want to avoid, but I think that the many stories of drug violence with little to balance them have created a perception that does not match the reality of the country. Yes, the drug war is one reality. One aspect. And it’s a tragedy of epic proportions.

But, life goes on as well. And in most of Mexico, life is peaceful and ordinary.

So, adiós, for now, from Puerto Vallarta! It’s time for me to walk down to the beach, and have a margarita.

~*~*~*~

GETAWAY  Available in stores and online bookstores.

AMAZON, B&N, BAM, POWELLS

Michelle Mason tells herself she’s on vacation. A brief stay in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a chance to figure out her next move after the unexpected death of her banker husband, who’s left behind a scandal and a pile of debt. The trip was already paid for, and it beats crashing in her sister’s spare room. When a good-looking man named Daniel approaches her on the beach, the margaritas have kicked in and she decides: why not?

But the date doesn’t go as either of them planned. An assault on Daniel in her hotel room, switched cell phones and an encounter with a “friend” of Daniel’s named Gary gets Michelle enmeshed in a covert operation involving drug runners, goons, and venture capitalists. Michelle already knows she’s caught in a dangerous trap. But she quickly finds that running is not an option. If she’s not careful, she’ll end up buried in the town dump, with the rest of the trash. Now she needs to fight smart if she wants to survive her vacation. EXCERPT

"Brackmann strikes exactly the right mood in this frantic look at an ordinary woman who can't seem to claw her way out of the mess in which she's managed to land."—Kirkus Reviews

Getaway:  

My Review 

~*~*~*~

Lisa Brackmann has worked as a motion picture executive and an issues researcher in a presidential campaign. A southern California native, she currently lives  in Venice California, with her three cats. Her critically acclaimed debut novel Rock Paper Tiger, was an Amazon best book of 2010.

You can find Lisa: Website, Twitter, Facebook

Kat's Monday Maundering – Toys for the Reader’s Brain

Here's to you Kat! And Thank you.

First of all, no, I’m not Sia. Sia has kindly allowed me to hijack borrow her blog while she takes a well-deserved rest and enjoys the long weekend. With any luck, she’s sitting by a pool with an iced coffee (or other adult beverage!).

Today’s blog topic was prompted by reviews I read on a book I loved, by people kvetching remarking they were unhappy with what they viewed as an unresolved, ambiguous ending. To them, I want to say pffft have you never watched Gone With the Wind? Shane? Read pretty much any literary novels?

I remember seeing Gone With the Wind for the first time when I was 15, as part of a class assignment. Rhett delivers his lovely line and slams the door. Scarlett cries and says she’ll think about things tomorrow. Fade to black. Lights up. I remember standing and yelling “I sat through four hours of boring war scenes and two intermissions for this??? This non-ending?? This…this…” At that point I became pretty much incoherent.

Many years later I watched it again. And discovered that I loved the ending. I loved discussing and debating it with friends. Did Scarlett chase after Rhett? Chase after someone else? Learn her lesson and become a nicer person (pffft!) Margaret Mitchell didn’t spell it out for us because she trusted us, as readers, to be discerning enough to figure it out ourselves. She didn’t need to wrap a pretty bow around it and deliver it on a silver platter. When asked, Mitchell herself said she did not know and said, "For all I know, Rhett may have found someone else who was less difficult."

The movie Shane ends much the same. The hero kills the villain and saves the town, but is wounded in the process. He gets on his horse and rides away into the sunset. Does he die? Find a doctor? Go on to save some other town? Marry Miss Kitty (oops, wrong Western). The thing is, we don’t need to know. The ending is satisfying just as it is, and the discussion/debate around it is even more entertaining.

So long as an author ties up all the major plot points, vanquishes evil (at least temporarily), and has cemented a memorable protagonist in my mind, I’m satisfied. Does the hero live to fight another day? Does the heroine look toward the future—no matter what it may hold—as a changed (or not!) person? I’m good with that.

I look at ambiguous/open/temporarily resolved endings this way: Let’s say on Christmas morning, you are given two presents. The first is all tied up with silvery wrapping paper and tied up with a pretty bow. Inside you find a doll house—the walls are decorated, it’s filled with tiny furniture, and comes with a little doll family all ready to move in.

The other package isn’t nearly as pretty—it’s kind of lumpy and unwieldy and has sharp corners poking out. When you unwrap it, you discover a pile of Legos. OK, so you can make your own doll house with them. Or you could build a skyscraper. Or a rocket. Or a pirate ship. They can be just as entertaining as that pretty ready-to-go gift, but some assembly is required. You’ll need to think. You’ll need to use your imagination.

But Legos—that daunting pile-o-stuff—comes with the best thing of all: possibilities. They can become whatever you want.

And so it is with books that have those open, ambiguous endings. When I read books like that I thank the author for respecting my intelligence, for trusting that I will discern their meaning, and for gifting me with whatever possible ending I can imagine for the characters.

***SPOILER ALERT***

If you’re up for a “flying off into the sunset” kind of ending, one that manages to combine BOTH a wounded hero AND a woman trying to figure out the next step in her life, I highly recommend the newest thriller from Lisa Brackmann, Getaway. Lisa herself will be here to talk with you on Wednesday, but I love her work so much, I wanted to recommend it ahead of time!

• So tell me: do you like your endings wrapped up with a pretty bow, or do you walk on the wild side and play with Legos?

Kat Sheridan is a recovering project manager and business analyst whose hard-bitten persona has always hidden a secret romantic. She likes her stories with a dark and dangerous flavor, so long as—in the end—the villains are vanquished and true love triumphs. She is inordinately fond of glitter nail polish, shiny things, bourbon, and any comestibles on which frosting can be placed.

Kat splits her time these days between the Midwest in the summer and the South in the winter because she dislikes snow, driving on ice, and wearing shoes (except for flip-flops, preferably with rhinestones). Her peripatetic life is shared with her own real life hero who shows her every day what happily ever after means.

Taking A Much Needed Break

I'll be taking advantage of the long Memorial Day weekend to take a nice break. Plan on getting in some fishing (perfect time for thinking and dreaming) and a few other things to relax. I'll have my notebook and trusty pencils for writing. I'm having fun with this one. 


Wednesday, May 30th Lisa Brackmann will be my guest. Monday, June 4th will be my Insecure Writers article. Wednesday, June 6th historical author Donna MacMeans and on Friday, June 8th I will have Joanne Kennedy.

• Do you have any plans for this Memorial Weekend?

  

MONDAY'S MUSINGS: TAKE THE NEXT SMALL STEP

When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer, just take the next small step. 

This begs the question, what's the next small step? And really, only you can decide what that step should or will be. 

This is where determination comes into play. Of course, life has no guarantees, does it?

With our writing, if it’s something we enjoy, if it gives us a sense of accomplishment or makes us feel good to create, why stop? If our goal is to be published then we can’t let rejections or fear slow us down or stop us.

I think setting goals are important, but it only works if we have realistic (do-able) goals. You have to think smart and have the skills, resources, and support needed to accomplish the goal. For me, setting a series of goals helps.  Yes, I want to be published. That is my big goal. Realistically, what I write today probably won’t get published tomorrow. To get there I have to break that large goal into small steps. I need to know the craft of writing (skills), have the resources (the time), and I need support (knowledgeable people) willing to cheer me on. Or give me a swift kick when I need it. 

Set a goal and a time frame to achieve it. Setting a time frame 
helps keep you focused on your target goal .

  

Personally, I need to accomplish something so I feel I’m making steps towards the main goal I've set. Isn’t that true with any set of goals we set? When we achieve a step towards that goal, doesn’t it make you feel good? Encourages you to go on?  Gives you the needed excitement to reach for the next step on your goals plan?

One thing I’ve noticed from those who have been successful. They have set personal writing goals.  Possibly setting word count. Maybe we need research to make the next step successful. Or having someone read what we’ve written and give us some constructive critiques. When I give something I’ve written to someone, I read it with fresh eyes because I start to see it as another would. That helps too.

The point is there has to be a next step to fulfill our goals.

When in doubt, just take the next small step…


If you're a writer what sort of goals have you set for yourself?

• If you're not published: what goals are you setting to become published?

• If you are published, what are some successful goals you've set for yourself? 

FROM HISTORICAL TO CONTEMPORARY

My guest today is bestselling paranormal romance author, Donna Grant. I loved reading Donna's Dark Sword Series. When I learned she was moving some of her warriors to the future, or contemporary times, to fight evil, I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to see how these medieval warriors would adapt to modern times and to modern women. Oh, I could see some sparks flying with these stories. 


Her new series, Dark Warriors, has it's first book releasing May 22, 2012. It's Logan's (one of my favorite warriors) story and he's been brought to our time by Druid magic. I'm looking forward to reading these stories. But I was curious, as many of Donna's fans are, what made her decided to move her series into modern times. Donna chats a bit about what was behind the change.  


I've fielded so many emails over the past few months regarding my move from historical/paranormal to contemporary/paranormal.  First, let me say, the Dark Sword series name might have ended with DARKEST HIGHLANDER (Jan 31, 2012), but the story continues in the Dark Warrior series.

Same characters.  Same story line.  Just a different time period. J

Some of you may be asking why I did that.  Well, I’ve always liked to push myself as a writer.  I feel that’s how writers grow and expand.  I had every intention of continuing the series in medieval times, but then a strange thing happened.

It was contract time, and I really wanted back-to-back releases.  My amazing publisher was all for that, but I had to do something different with the series.  Now, you have to understand, I had already written one of the books for that contract we were negotiating and was half way through another.

So, imagine my surprise when my editor asked what I thought about bringing the Warriors forward in time.  It wasn’t something I had ever considered, but my editor had never steered me wrong, and I trusted her.

After a two hour phone call where we talked over every aspect of me keeping the series in historical (which they would have done) or moving it to contemporary, I made the very scary decision of time traveling my Warriors to present day Scotland.

I had to totally rewrite Logan’s book (MIDNIGHT’S MASTER – May 22) and scrap the part of Ian’s book (MIDNIGHT’S LOVER – June 26) that I had already written.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened than I was that next day when I pulled up my files to start work.  I had dipped my toe into contemporary before, but never for a full book.  Would I be able to do it?  Would my historical voice of my books be able to carry the contemporary sound?  Would I fail miserably and end my career?

Remember when I told you I liked to push myself?  Well, it also helps when you have as wonderful an editor as I do.  She told me she had faith I could do it, so I dove right into the story.

The entire time I kept thinking it was the worst book ever.  Every day I would walk out of my office, my husband would take one look at me and pour me a glass of wine.  When I finished the book, I so dreaded reading over that first draft for my revisions.  But…I was shocked to find it didn’t suck as much as I thought it did.  By the time I turned it in, I was excited.  Really, really excited. 

Because of the deadlines I couldn’t wait to hear from my editor before I began Ian’s book.  Once more I was half way through when I got her email saying she absolutely loved it. 

I remember gathering up the family that night and going out to eat to celebrate.  I was prepared to have to do another rewrite, or at the very least have major revisions.  But my editor loved it.  I still have that email and pull it up occasionally to prove to myself that I can do something that is scary and could potentially be a career ender.

The book is set to hit shelves in a matter of days, and I’ve never been more nervous about a book release.  The real test is you, the readers.  Will you love it?  I know many readers were very upset with me leaving the historical setting, but I’m not done writing historicals.  I love them too much.  Yet…I’m having so much fun with my contemporaries. 

The heroines are stronger than ever, and it’s freeing to be able to say modern slang without having to wrack my brain to come up with a medieval term. 

The best part, however, is watching my alpha heroes thrown forward to modern times and dealing with the modern women.  Just imagine the first time they see a car or a toilet.  And the first time Logan finds Gwynn’s pink razor.  Now that was a fun scene to write.  Ah, but to see those modern women dealing with medieval Highlanders.  Who’s going to win the battle of wills? J

MIDNIGHT’S MASTER…available in stores and online

A MYSTERY OUT OF TIME

Gwynn Austin has no idea why her father has disappeared on a mysterious trip to Scotland.  When she goes on a desperate mission to search for him she finds more than she bargains for in a ruggedly handsome, wickedly exciting Highlander who exudes danger and mystery.  And when she discovers her own link to Scotland, she’ll have to trust her heart to help lead her…

A LEGEND IN THE FLESH

Propelled through time by powerful Druid magic, Logan Hamilton uses his immortality and powers of the god inside him to help prevent the awakening of an ancient evil in the modern world.  He never expects to find help in the form of a beautiful, alluring, and all too tempting woman whose passion and strength matches his own.  Together, Logan and Gwynn must fight for their love – before a demon from the past destroys them both…EXCERPT

To find out more about Donna please visit her website at www.donnagrant.com.  To read more about the Dark Sword and Dark Warriors series, see pics of the Warriors, take the quiz, download wallpaper, search characters, or watch the book trailers, please visit www.donnagrant.com

DONNA GALANTI— CHARACTERS ARE WHO WE WANT

It's my pleasure to have suspense author, Donna Galanti visit with us today. She discusses characters and how readers may view characters in their heads and might not match what the author had in mind as they wrote the story.

How many times have you been irritated by actors chosen for the movie a book you've loved?

Books. They fill a need. We create the faces of our characters in our mind. We create their stage, their world. No one else visualizes our books like we do. The people, places, and events in them.

 

I fell in love with Lord of The Rings as a teenager, decades before the book hit the big screen. Aragorn, also known as Strider, was my first crush. I knew his face, his stance, his body. He was so in my heart that I dressed up as him for Halloween. Brown woolen hooded-cloak, darkened face, cracked leather boots. I strode down the hall at school, face hidden, my cloak swirling behind me as if I parted the foggy woods I dashed through on a perilous mission. This only validated the fact a therapist had once said that my problem in life was that I wanted to be a boy instead of a girl.

 

Hmmm. Not sure about that considering I also wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. We had hogs too and I fattened them up with apples and slop. Then on slaughter day I got to keep their tails to roast and eat, just like Laura did. My mother drew the line about blowing up their bladders like balloons so I could play with them. And I really did believe that if I stayed in a closet long enough it would open onto another world that was just like Narnia.

 

Anywho, I get mad when movies are made of my favorite books with super stars. I boycotted The Bridges of Madison County because Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood played the main characters. They weren’t the people I envisioned as those characters (but I do love me some Clint though). How dare they! Then there’s the Jason Bourne series by Robert Ludlum. Really? Matt Damon as Jason Bourne? That’s just wrong. He’s too young, blond, and looks like a boy scout. Put him in a Disney flick (oh, wait, they did.) I’ll stick with the books.

 

And have you often debated with someone about scenes in a movie, and then realized you never saw the movie? It turned out to be the movie you created in your mind. Worth the argument I would say.

 

I discovered recently that readers see the characters in my book, A Human Element, different than I do. I purchased iStock photos of my main characters, Ben and Laura. Two friends told me I was wrong. That’s not Ben, they said. He wasn’t dark enough, cruel looking enough. They were right. The other man appealed to me, yes… but he wasn’t Ben. When a friend and I argued about the kind of person Laura was she said I was wrong. Laura didn’t cry too much in the book at all. I was told she had to be that way because she is a healer and sensitive. Okay. Okay. Too funny.

 

So whoever you envision your favorite characters to look like and speak like, they are yours. Cool, right? Then I guess I must accept the fact that my readers will darn-well envision my own characters as they please. Yep. We get to keep them just how we want them for ourselves. No one else. You can visit them, always. They don’t change. They don’t leave you. They are the perfect friend or lover.

 

Books. They fill that need of going home. When we feel lost we can go home to them. To our past, our first love, our childhood, our first broken heart. They are a safe haven for our unique memories. And no one can take them away. They are…ours.

Donna is giving away one ebook copy of A HUMAN ELEMENT. Just comment to win! Winner will be picked by Random.org and contacted by the author. Giveaway is international. (trust me when I say, you'll want to read this book)

 

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, CREATESPACE-print
SMASHWORDS

HUMAN ELEMENT by Donna Galanti


One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next.

Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test.

With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him. Excerpt

“A HUMAN ELEMENT is an elegant and haunting first novel. Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended.” 

Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of DEAD OF NIGHT

MY REVIEW 

Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense novel A HUMAN ELEMENT (Echelon Press). Donna has a B.A. in English and a background in marketing. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, The Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and Pennwriters. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in PA with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs. Visit her at:


Donna Galanti Website 
Donna's Blog

Donna’s AuthorFacebook page for news and updates!
Goodreads

Twitter

MONDAY MUSINGS: FIRST LOVES

Alex Cavanaugh has suggested using today as a First Loves Blog. His ‘inquiring mind’ wants to know what our first love was in movies, songs, books, and person.

You can find a list of participatingblogs here.

First Loves is a topic can cover pages. Alex said we couldn’t take pages, drat the man anyway. So I must do the best I can in fewer words. Keep in mind; falling in love with something isn’t the same as loving it. It’s a first.

BTW-MY MUSIC COMES ON AUTOMATICALLY. SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG AND CLICK THE OFF BUTTON SO YOU DON'T HAVE THE MUSIC AND THE CLIPS BELOW PLAYING AT THE SAME TIME.

FIRST MOVIE

I’ve loved a lot of movies. Everything from Call Of The Wild to Star Wars, but the movie I have to say I fell in love with enough to watch countless time and know much of the dialog is Princess Bride (in that context, I’d have to say my second is Star Trek, The Voyage Home). One reason I love Princess Bride is because it takes a common theme of fairy tales and mixes it up. It tells the fairy tale backwards—it begins where most fairy tales end—the commoner becomes the princess and is slated to marry prince charming. Great twist.  There are so many scenes in this movie I admire—just love the layers in this story. There’s Vizzini’s use of inconceivable, the battle of wits between Vizzini and Wesley, Inigo Montoya’s mantra, and I could go on, but here is a scenes I absolutely love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSHmVkjmuA

MUSIC

When it comes to music, it’s basically the same, too many songs I’ve loved. As a kid I fell in love with a musical storyteller. I loved the stories this man sang. Trust me, when I say, he packed a lot of emotion, conflict, heroes, and villains into a 4-minute song. Marty Robbins sang songs that I could listen to repeatedly because they were good stories. One of my favorites, was Big Iron (a funny anecdote to this is when I was little, I thought it was Pig Iron. My dad heard us singing it and corrected us, lol! Teased us unmercifully for years later).


<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OntwwcBVe6o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OntwwcBVe6o&feature=related

BOOKS

The first stories I remember hearing, as a little kid, Hiawatha (loved the rhythm of the words) and Heidi. This is how I was introduced to Treasure Island, My Friend Flicka, Big Red, and The Call of The Wild. I would beg for those stories. My mother never read cutesy stories to me; she read books, an installment at a time. I’ve always been a voracious reader and I have a list longer than I am, of books I loved. I have to say, the series I fell in love with was The Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey, a fine Celtic storyteller. I found The White Dragon and read that one first. When I realized it was #3, I went back and bought the first two volumes. I’ve read every book in that series that Anne McCaffrey wrote—didn’t like the ones her son wrote as much.  There are times I go on a Pern vacation. I love the characters and the setting. I LOVED the dragons and Master Robinton—I cried when he died and I still do. The second series I fell in love with is Roberta Gellis, Roselyn Chronicles—ah those were the joyous epic historicals I loved.

PERSON

You know? I can’t remember my first crush as a grade schooler. I think part of that was my parents’ directive and the fact I was a tomboy. I was much too busy running around with the guys and working with my dad to deal with crushes. But I do remember my first crush as a teen. His name was Paul and he was a senior when I was a freshmen and he lived up the street from me. French, six foot one, blue black hair, gold eyes, and a smile that would melt an igloo.  Parents squelched that quickly. Didn’t want their barely 15-year-old hanging around with a guy who was almost 19 and with ideas they didn’t want me to have. Can’t say as I blame them.

But I do have a first love of a person that is precious to me. The day I looked into my son’s dark eyes I fell in love. Children can do that to you. But for me, it was even more special. You see, I had lost several babies prior to my son’s birth. Ten years worth of anquish and loss. I had always wanted to be a mother and with the difficulties I had carrying a baby beyond the first trimester it was fast looking like it would never happen. The last one I lost, at four months and too young to live crushed me in spirit. I remember praying; Father, if I can’t carry them, please don’t let me get pregnant again. My heart can’t take anymore.

This my son and I from a couple years
ago, before I got sick.

That prayer was on February 25, 1993. My son, Jake, was born February 24, 1995. Almost to the day. It was a scary pregnancy and I was terrified something would go wrong. There were some problems, but this time, a miracle. A healthy baby boy, 7 lbs. 12 ozs, and 21 inches long. Great joy then, with my little man, great joy now. And this is also why Mother’s Day is very special to me—more than any holiday. I celebrate this holiday because of the greatest gift ever given to me, my son. I got the title of Mom.

Nothing can beat that in this life.   

CATS DOGS AND OTHER BEST FRIENDS

This a favorite drawing from Cyra R Cancel

Look at that smile!

My guest today is romance author, Dee Davis. She writes the series called A-Tac and Deadly Dance is the latest release and featured in Cosmo as a HOT READ FOR MAY. Dee is a full time writer juggling family and writing and has been published since 1998. Some of her hobbies are cooking, traveling, finding new restaurants, and exploring Manhattan. As for writing, she says the hardest part of the story is the middle and by that time she just wants to blow everything up and "have done with it."

Today Dee talks about using animals in her writing.

Animals play all kinds of roles in novels.  From lead characters, like Old Yeller or Black Beauty, to antagonists like the whale in Moby Dick or giant squid in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.   They can guide the protagonist like the unicorn in A Swiftly Tilting Planet or Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Sometimes they’re used to establish the character of their master, like Hagrid’s dog Fang in the Harry Potter books.   And sometimes they simply have a cameo—as in Asha, the cat featured in my latest book, Deadly Dance.

But like most characters, they often start out to be one thing and wind up being something else altogether.  Initially, I intended for Asha to have only a bit part, appearing in a video that Harrison Blake and Hannah Marshall discover.   But once I’d met him, I really liked the little guy and wanted to make sure he was taken care of.  So he wound up not only getting two additional scenes, but having his own happy ending. 

SASHA

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to feature several animals in my novels.  A dog named Mac, a horse named Jack, and another dog, a westie, named Bentley to name a few.  And each of them developed their own personality as their role in each story grew.   Of course, I do have animals of my own.  A cardigan welsh corgi and a tuxedo cat.  And both of them like to hang out (at my feet and in my lap, respectively) as I write.  So I suppose it’s no wonder that animals often make their way onto the pages of my books.

I suspect that Asha will not be the last.  But he is certainly the first to have helped solve a crime.

• How about you?  Do you pets play interesting roles in your life?  In others lives?  Got a great pet story to share?  Spill!

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, 

DEADLY DANCE  Dee Davis

Available in bookstores or online now 

As the intelligence officer for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Hannah Marshall is used to working behind the scenes. But when a brutal murder hits too close to home, Hannah finds herself in the middle of the action, falling in love while racing to outwit a sadistic mastermind. 

A KILLER CLOSES IN

After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she's reluctant to trust him - or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison.

Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility - his sister's murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer; the desire simmering between them ignites. And when Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves. Excerpt

 

---when not at the computer writing, award winning author Dee Davis likes to explore Manhattan with her husband and dog.  Check out her newest romantic suspense, Deadly Dance, book five in her A-Tac series. Available now. www.deedavis.com Facebook, Twitter

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE—MANU FORTI—WITH A STRONG HAND

This year, 2012, has been a period of reflection for me. Taking stock. Looking at what I’ve accomplished and what I still want to achieve. Revisiting and revising my goals. I’m not sure if this reflection is the result of losing a dear brother, days shy of his fortieth birthday and seeing what it did to my family. Perhaps it’s seeing my son finish high school and knowing a chapter is closing and another beginning. Maybe it was because I almost died. Any or all of them, most likely. Whatever the reason, I’ve been thinking about past, present, and future.

In case you were wondering, Manu Forti is my clan motto. My father’s family also had a coat of arms and motto, Non Sans Cause.  That motto dates back, according to the family tree passed down through the generations, to the 13^th century, with the Lord of Prideaux (he was one of the knights that came over with William the conqueror) and was awarded lands in Cornwall. Many of his descendents settled in the Devonshire, England. My paternal, many times great, grandfather, Walter Geere, married a daughter from the house of Prideaux (late 1400’s).

A Family tree chart

I mention this because both sides of my paternal family have some pretty tough mottos and have had some tough and strong people living them. My mother’s family have never been slouches when it came to stick-to-it thinking. They were real rebel rousers, literally, in the 1700’s in this country. Not particularly liked by the crown during the revolution. But they fought for what they believed in and very much a part of making this country free and independent. Two went on to be presidents—a father and son duo. Hey, we predated the Bush family by several generations, lol!

As a family, we’re not the type to give up easily. I’ve been taught that all my life. Determine a course of action, set your goals and do it. Be willing fight for what you believe in, what is important to you, and don’t give up. Strategic retreats are okay, but only for regrouping.

These mottos and all the stories surrounding them were the backbone beliefs that went into our immediate family. And there were lots of stories told of bravery, courage of convictions, and deeds of valor. One of these days I’d like to write some of those stories. Or use what I know as a basis for stories I want to tell. There were definitely heroes and villains and a good measure of happy ever after.

It didn’t matter what it was, we were taught to fight for what we wanted and stand for what was right. If you can envision it you will find a way to make it so. But we were also taught another lesson. Don’t just look out for your self but pay forward. Give a helping hand where you can, not for the accolades and praise, but because it is the right thing to do. Don’t ever compromise your principles.  I call that honor and having principles. 

Those principles and mottos worked well for my career, finally having a child, building a life I wanted, more or less. I can definitely apply that to writing as well as other pursuits. Yes, I’ve retreated more than once and there’s no dishonor in that. I set up strategy, made plans and regrouped—always with the plan of moving forward. I’ve maintained a sense on honor, chosen the right path based on principles. I’m teaching my son to do the same.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Use your experiences of the Past, in the experiments of the Present
To achieve your expectations for the Future. 

Personal goals work that way too. You have a goal and you created reasonable steps to accomplish that goal. Don’t give up when the going gets tough—and it always gets tough at some point. Retreat if you have to. Regroup, employ strategy, and move forward.

Conclusions? I like knowing my past. It determines my present, which determines my future. I’m not in control of my past or my future. I have a measure of control over the choices I make for this day. They are only small steps towards the future. But I know, the best things in life; be they large or small, are worth fighting for. 

Giving up is not an option.




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