#WriteWed Inspiration for Tommy in ONE SPECIAL NIGHT

It’s been a while since I wrote DANGER CALLS in The Calling Vampire Novel series. The hero in that story, Sebastian Reyes, is a computer specialist and definitely not the kind of big, bad ass alpha hero that you see in a lot of paranormal romances.

That was a tough call for me, but I knew that Sebastian was the perfect man to deal with the heroine in that book, Dr. Melissa Danvers. She needed a sensitive man who could understand her and be supportive. A man who wouldn’t mind being younger and dealing with a woman whose profession required a lot of time away from home.

Not to mention a lot of time being the keeper to vampire Ryder Latimer.

Sebastian was very much a beta hero when I wrote him, but morphed into a slightly more alpha hero during revisions on the book.

Jasmine “Doc” Reyes is very similar to Melissa Danvers in some respects. Driven, compassionate and not above risking her life for others. Serious, maybe too serious, at times.

I knew she needed a man who would make her smile and could help her heal. She needed someone strong and protective, but not in that big macho alpha kind of way.

Enter Tommy de Salvo with his big smile and even bigger sense of humor. Tommy is the kind of man who can take away the shadows in Jasmine’s eyes and help her feel whole again.

Tommy is the kind of hero that I wanted Sebastian to be, but just couldn’t get away with in a dark paranormal story.

In ONE SPECIAL NIGHT, a sexy tale of two strangers coming together, it was totally possible to finally explore a very different kind of hero. I hope you’ll take a chance and check out this novella.

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#WriteWed Inspiration for the Sin Hunters Series

AlphaImmortalsWow! I can’t believe that it’s been five years since the first release in the SIN HUNTER series and now I’ve re-released both SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN.

Not to mention that THE LOST will be part of the fabulous ALPHA IMMORTALS box set which will be available in early October.

So what inspired the series? For starters, my love of science. I was, and still am, a science nerd. I love watching all those shows on the Discovery Channel and reading about what’s happening, especially with genetics. It’s what led me to use genetic engineering gone wrong as the basis for the first two books.

My love of history combined with my love of science inspired the next two books, THE LOST and THE CLAIMED.

As a kid I avidly read all kinds of history books, especially ones dealing with the history of the Americas. It’s how I got the idea to incorporate Mayan practices and the Quechan language to create the otherwordly Hunters like Adam and Christopher.

What’s going to inspire the next one, THE SHATTERED? Yes, I do plan on writing another one. So many of you have been writing to ask about what happens to Sammie and Ryan and they will get their story. Plus, you’ll get to see more of the Carrera clan and find out how they are all doing.

Back to what will inspire it: I don’t know. It’ll definitely be a meld of the first two in the series with the last two. Genetic engineering meets Hunters with special powers. I’ve just got to figure out how who is going to be the ultimate villain and what they want with the Carreras and the Hunters!

#WriteWed One Special Night Inspiration

One Special NightIt’s really tough to say what inspires a book. When I wrote JUST ONE NIGHT, it was really just intended to be a standalone novella, but by the time I got to the end of the book, I wanted to see more of what happens with Jase and Nickie and I also wanted to find out more about Tommy. After all, he’s Jase’s best friend and Nickie’s brother, but beyond that, he was not only able to see that they were right for each other, he was also able to push Jase to do the right thing and finally confront those feelings.

It made me wonder about Tommy and what he was really like. Why could he see those feelings? Did he have feelings of his own for someone? Was he going to get his happily-ever-after?

Dealing with Tommy’s future also meant dealing with Jase and Nickie. What would be happening with them? Would their one night become something more serious? Would Jase’s military service impact the relationship and if so, how?

Of course, Jase’s military service inspired the heroine, “Doc” Jasmine Reyes. I liked having a military connection in the first story because I honor and respect our military men, women, and their families. I knew the second story (and also other ones since I realized just two wasn’t going to be enough to satisfy me! LOL) would also have a military hero.

“Doc” was the perfect choice! Jasmine is a real hero and I loved letting her have her one special night and who knows, maybe more than one.

I hope you liked these behind the scenes look at the inspiration for One Special Night.

#Throwback Thursday #JerseyShore Inspiration

So sorry to miss you yesterday, but it was a crazy day! I’m getting so many things ready for you, like ONE SPECIAL NIGHT, the next novella in the Take a Chance series, the SOUTH BEACH SIZZLES boxed set with all 4 books set in that location and last but not least, a re-release of SINS OF THE FLESH. Whew.

So today is kind of a mix of Write Wednesday and Throwback Thursday! The throwback is photos of these Jersey Shore homes pre-Sandy. During my strolls along the boardwalk, I got ideas for the locations and homes for all of the SIN HUNTER series as well as the beachside mansion in ONE SPECIAL NIGHT where, as you can guess, something very special is going on at the start of the book. I won’t say what and spoil it if you haven’t read JUST ONE NIGHT yet.

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To see some more of my Jersey Shore inspiration and throwback photos, you can check out this album!

#WriteWed An Ugly Inspiration

Ugly is such a powerful word. It can shape so much of a person’s perception of themselves even when they are not truly ugly. Truly ugly isn’t about the physical. It’s about that person whose heart knows no compassion or love and is only interested in itself.

My heroine in ONE SPECIAL NIGHT (available August 12), Jasmine “Doc” Reyes, thinks she’s ugly, or at least part of her is ugly. She’s come home from war with both emotional and physical scars. Both are hard to handle, but the physical ones are more out there. More visible and therefore hard to hide or avoid.

Enter Tommy de Salvo who has his own ugly inside. His fiancee cheated on him during wedding preparations and Tommy is not about to trust another woman. But there’s something about Jasmine that calls to him and Tommy just can’t resist the puzzle that she is: strong and determined, but also vulnerable and lonely.

I loved bringing Tommy and Jasmine together to help them heal and put the pieces of their lives back together.

Yes, ONE SPECIAL NIGHT is an erotic romance novella, but I still want the romance and emotion of a full read. I hope that when you check it out, you’ll think that I accomplished that.

ONE SPECIAL NIGHT will be available everywhere on August 12th.

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#WriteWed What to do next? & #HumpDay #ManWars

STRONGER THAN SIN Romantic SuspenseI have a dilemma. I just got the rights back to SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN.

For those of you who read the books, you may recall that these were more romantic suspense with paranormal elements than paranormal with romantic suspense.

Because they didn’t really fit into the paranormal genre, my editors asked me to ramp up that part of the story line and the Sin Hunters were born in THE LOST and THE CLAIMED.

Now here’s my dilemma: I was plotting out the next book in the series – THE SHATTERED. It was really leaning toward paranormal sci fi with the introduction of Hunters from an alternate universe.

Now that I have these rights back, I’ve been toying with the idea of directing the books and the Hunters back toward being more romantic suspense. My idea was to have humans discovering more about the Hunters and somehow posing a threat to the existence of the Hunter clans. I’d also still have to deal with Christopher’s psycho father, but that could be handled as part of the romantic suspense.

So what do you think? Alternate universe and heavy on the paranormal elements or romantic suspense with lighter paranormal elements.

This is your chance to decide how the series will continue and I’d love to have your thoughts on it!

While you’re pondering my dilemma, how about some #ManWars to help you past #Humpday. For those of you who don’t use Facebook, just leave a comment here for a chance to win the print copy of IMMORTAL TEMPTATION.

#WriteWed Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss

shannaI think I’ve mentioned that I wanted to be a writer since writing my first book in the fifth grade. After that taste of story-telling, I keep on writing and of course, reading. I read anything I could, even the cereal box at the breakfast table. I was an avid reader and a lot of what I read was passed down to me by my mom.

Back then we didn’t have young adult books. We just kind of jumped into adult reading. So at an early age, I was reading the Brontes and then Taylor Caldwell and whatever else I could put my hands on.

But even then I gravitated toward stories with a strong romantic element, not knowing that I was meant to be a romance writer. In fact, it wasn’t until one summer that I realized that’s what I wanted to be.

Back then, department stores had book sections and since everyone at the store (B. Altman’s, now long gone sadly) knew that I liked to read, I was the natural summer fill-in for someone who was on medical leave.

My job was to recommend books, ring up the sales, and fill in stock when it emptied. There was this one dump, a bright orangey one, that was empty when I got there and people kept on coming in and asking for Shanna. I had no idea what it was and after some research, discovered that it was a novel that had been sitting on the NY Times bestseller list for a while.

When we finally got a shipment, I was kind of surprised by the cover. Orangey pink and with a couple in a passionate embrace, it wasn’t like what I’d seen before at home. I was kind of put off by it for a moment, but I had a job to do, so I filled the dump and within a couple of days, it was empty again.

This continued for the next week or so. Got a shipment and it sold out.

Well, I finally had to find out what the big to do was about and bought myself a copy with my store discount.

Wow. I could not put it down. Action. Adventure. Romance. More action. More adventure. Betrayal. More romance. Hot steamy romance.

Not only was I hooked on the story, but it occurred to me at that moment that this was the kind of story I wanted to write. This was just like the stories I’d had rattling around in my brain for so many years.

This was the book that made me realize I wanted to be a romance writer.

Thank you, Ms. Woodiwiss. I am eternally grateful for that and for one of my all time favorite books – The Wolf and the Dove.

If you’re a fan of historical romance and haven’t checked out these books, take a moment and do so. You’ll be glad you did.