We Have Winners!

We have lots of winners today, folks.  Here goes:

The winners of Catherine Kean’s book are lori meehan and donna ann.  The winner of my book, My Favorite Countess, is Melody May.

The winner of Sally MacKenzie’s book, The Naked King, is Dalila G.

The winner of Gina Robinson’s book, The Spy Who Left Me, is Laurie G.

Congratulations, ladies!  I’ll be in touch.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  My guest authors next week are contemporary romance writers Sophia Knightly and Patricia Sargeant.  Be sure to stop on by!


Guest Author: Gina Robinson & Giveaway!

The lovely and talented Gina Robinson is back on the blog today, with her special brand of humorous contemporary novels full of suspense and romance.  Let’s turn the blog over to Gina, so she can tell us about the latest book in her acclaimed Agent Ex Series, just out from St. Martin’s Press.

Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies.

–from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Readers often wonder where writers get the ideas for their stories. The short answer is everywhere. My latest release is the second book of my Agent Ex spy romances, Diamonds Are Truly Forever. The title Agent Ex refers to secret agents and their ex, or nearly ex, spouses. So Diamonds Are Truly Forever had to be a reunion romance.

I set up the hero, Drew Fields, as the sidekick of the hero, Ty Miller, in the first book of the series, The Spy Who Left Me. I knew something about Drew, which made writing his book easier in some ways than starting from scratch. I knew he had a marriage that was on the rocks. He hinted at it in the first book. Now I needed a heroine for him, a perfect match, but one who would provide lots of romantic and story tension. And I needed a plot, preferably one that would supply some humor because I write lighthearted, hopefully funny, books.

Before I began the series, I brainstormed a long list of all the downsides of being married to a spy like James Bond, Jack Ryan, Chuck, Michael Westen, or even Max Smart. I also made a list of spy archetypes using everything from the classic The Art of War to former CIA agent memoirs to contemporary fictional spies to humorous sources like Get Smart. For each book, I pick a spy archetype and one of those downsides and run with it to create a story.

For Diamonds, I chose the downside of your husband being a professional liar. Could you ever trust what he said? What secrets could he be hiding from you? The perfect opposite, and hence estranged wife for my purposes, for a professional liar would be someone who couldn’t lie to save her life or his. And so Drew’s wife Staci Fields was born, or created, if you will. As for the plot, wouldn’t it be funny, I thought, if Drew had to go undercover as himself? From there, I just kept spinning the story as I wrote it. Many writers plot out their stories ahead of time, but I generally have an idea of where the story is going, but discover it and more about the characters as I write.

If you were a spy, would you like to be undercover as yourself? Or as someone different? What would you want your cover to be?

Diamonds Are Truly Forever

SHE CANNOT TELL A LIE

Staci Fields loves her gorgeous husband—and that’s the honest truth. Unfortunately, her inability to lie is a major liability for the wife of a CIA agent. During a previous mission, her loose lips nearly got her husband killed. So now Staci’s filing for divorce to keep him out of danger—no matter how much her lips still crave his kiss…

HE CANNOT HIDE HIS LOVE

Drew Fields knows that his wife doesn’t want to play the spy game anymore. But when he learns that Staci may be a pawn in her stepfather’s secret dealings with terrorists, he has no choice but to step back into her life. This time, the stakes are higher than ever. The closer he gets to Staci, the deadlier the odds. And the more he loves his ex, the more he has to lose…

Vanessa, here.  Gina’s latest book sounds great, doesn’t it?  Be sure to visit her website to get all the details about Diamonds Are Truly Forever, and all her other books.  You can also follow Gina on Twitter and facebook.

For my readers today, Gina will be giving away a copy of The Spy Who Left Me.  Just answer her question above for the chance to win her book! 


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Darcy Burke’s contest is Chelsea B.  Congratulations!  Darcy will be in touch.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  My featured guests next week will be romantic suspense author Gina Robinson and historical romance author Sally MacKenzie.  You won’t want to miss either of them!


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Gina Robinson’s book, Spy Games, is Debbie S.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch.

I have a special guest tomorrow – my friend and fellow writer, Teresa Morgan.  She writes really fun, hot Sheikh books, and tomorrow she’s going to tell you exactly why you’ll want to read them!


Guest Author: Gina Robinson & Giveaway!

It looks like this is turning into Romantic Suspense week here on the blog!  My featured author today is Gina Robinson, who writes sassy romantic suspense with a good dollop of humor.  Like many romance authors,  Gina didn’t start out as a writer.  In fact, she worked for several large defense contractors as a software engineer – with a background like that, is it any wonder she was drawn to spies and romantic suspense?

When Gina got married and had children, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom.  Lucky for us, because that gave her the chance to begin her writing career.  Gina’s first book was Spy Candy – really good title, btw – which got great reviews.

Acclaimed romantic suspense author Beverly Barton called it “sassy and delightfully entertaining.”  And RT Book Reviews gave it 4 stars and said this:

“HOT! Robinson delivers with this excursion to spy camp!  With the perfect amount of suspense and humor, this story will stay with readers long after the book is over.”           

Here’s the blurb for Spy Candy, which is a whole lot of fun:

From her sensible shoes to her dating choices, bank officer Jenna Jarvis has always played it safe. But her fantasy life is a whole other story. And now Jenna’s got a golden opportunity to play a real-life secret agent, courtesy of her generous best friend and a fantasy spy camp set smack dab in the red-hot center of the Arizona desert…

The stay starts off with a bang—literally—as a car explodes to greet Jenna and her fellow covert trainees, each of whom have a spydentity based on an iconic undercover agent. But it’s the real-life operatives who capture Jenna’s attention, particularly super-buff ex-CIA agent-cum-instructor Torq Toricelli. Confidence boosted by playing a bold-as-brass hot babe, Jenna might just have a fighting chance with Torq—if she can make it through camp in once piece…

A few near-misses have made it frighteningly clear that someone is taking this fantasy way too seriously. Jenna’s mission: find out who’s gunning for her fellow spies—and live to die another day…

Don’t you want to read this book right now?!

Gina’s latest release is from St. Martin’s Press, and it’s the first book in a brand new series.

The Spy Who Left Me  has been getting great reviews, including this one from Publishers Weekly:

“Punctuated with Bondworthy downhill car and bike chases and near-death surfing parties, Robinson’s clever concoction of lust and longing is a refreshing tropical cocktail.”

Here’s the blurb:

If there’s one thing that can ruin a vacation, it’s running into your ex. Just ask Treflee Miller. If she’d only known that her husband Ty would be here in Hawaii—muscular, sun-bronzed, and infuriatingly gorgeous—she would have brought the divorce papers for him to sign. But life is full of surprises when you’re married to a world-class spy…

Ty Miller can understand why his wife is tired of playing Mrs. James Bond. He’s never home, he’s always on a mission, and he’s usually surrounded by exotic informants. He has to admit that the perfect spy makes a pretty lousy husband. But for the sake of Ty’s security and Treflee’s safety, they can’t blow his cover. Not here. Not now. Not when his longing is so strong, her lips so tempting—and his enemies so close…

Yum!  To get a good taste of Gina’s book, why don’t you watch the trailer for The Spy Who Left Me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCaAeTRcsZE]

For one of my readers today, Gina is giving away a copy of her second book, Spy GamesJust tell me who your favorite spy is – movie or TV – for  a chance to win the book!  And be sure to check out Gina’s books on her website – if you like fun, sexy romantic suspense, I think you’ll love her!


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