Clinton and Stacy go to the Demons

posted by Nancy

Jessica Andersen, a bestselling RITA and RT nominee and the author of more than 20 Intrigues and Nightkeeper novels, returns to the Lair with her latest hot Nightkeepers installment, Demonkeepers! I particularly like this hero, Lucius. He started out as a somewhat fanatical grad student, a scholar with an archaeological bent, as Jessica will explain in more detail. In this book, he comes into his own as a man of action, someone capable of taking the lead, not just taking direction, and finds the love of his life. Welcome, Jessica! Tell us about Lucius.

The other day on Smart Bitches, an emailer asked for help finding the author and title of a certain book that included an ‘ugly duckling leaves town, grows into a swan, and comes back years later to win the team captain’ plotline.

The request spawned a debate in the comment trail, with some posters admitting to a deep and abiding love for makeover plots, while others gagged at the thought of trying to relive high school or argued that team captains tended to age badly (paraphrasing- lol).

I thought the debate was interesting, not the least because my new release, Demonkeepers, is in part a male makeover story, paranormal-style. So I figured I would bring the discussion over here to the Banditas. (Thanks for having me here today, Nancy and company!)

In the first three Nightkeeper books, we see Lucius as a too-tall, somewhat awkward guy who wants to be more than his human self, and regularly makes his Mayan-studies coworkers do eyerolls over his belief that the 2012 doomsday—and mankind’s mythical Nightkeeper protectors—are real.

In Nightkeepers, he falls under the influence of a Mayan demon that spurs him to betray his mentor and steal an ancient scroll. This demonic weakness plagues him, causing him to do Very Bad Things until the demon is finally exorcised in Skykeepers.

During this exorcism, Lucius gains magic and acquires most of the mass and strength of a Nightkeeper male (i.e. check out the drool-worthy cover at the bottom!), becoming the beefy hunk he’s always wanted to be. But when he’s paired with Jade, the magic-wielding one-night stand he never forgot, he quickly figures out that a paranormal makeover didn’t solve his problems … in fact, it created a few new ones.

While I’ll confess to having a certain weakness for Biggest Loser and What Not To Wear, I’m not usually all that big on makeover stories, and the whole ‘ugly duckling returns home a swan and wins the team captain she always had a crush on’ thing typically makes me twitch. Trust me, when most of the guys in my graduating class friended me on Facebook the day I posted my (heavily Photoshopped) author photo—after having ignored and/or tormented my awkward nerdling self throughout high school—my life didn’t change noticeably.

So when Lucius’s story started gelling on the page, I thought long and hard before I went in the direction he was taking me. But then I started writing and an interesting thing happened: The old, extremely brave yet occasionally awkward Lucius started coming through stronger and stronger as the story progressed. Eventually, I realized that Demonkeepers wasn’t really about his makeover, it was about him and Jade learning to trust each other again while coping with change, pressure, expectations … and the threat that the world will go dark if they don’t break the sun god out of the underworld.

So I guess that’s my take-home: I can get behind the makeover plotline if the character’s growth doesn’t happen simply because he or she looks better and is more confident. Which isn’t to say I have anything against looking good (whatever your definition of the term!) and being confident … it’s that I want the physical improvements to be the cherry on my romantic sundae, not the banana on the bottom.

Er … so to speak. LOL.

Here's a prequel:

Last night

“It’s just not working. He can’t do it by himself.” Strike’s voice on the phone was digital-clear. Still, it took Jade a moment to pull her brain out of I’m-studying-hieroglyphs mode and put it into I’m-a-Nightkeeper mode.

Especially since, despite her ancestry, the whole magic-wielding-warrior thing had never fit her all that well.

As her brain processed Strike’s words, the walls of her borrowed office in the university’s Mayan Studies department got a little closer and the clay figurine she’d been working on seemed to stare at her a little harder, as if wondering what the hell she was going to do next.

Good question.

“I’ll do it.” For a second she thought Strike had said the words. Then she realized she had. Gulp.

The Nightkeepers’ leader seemed to catch her inner oh, crap. “You don’t have to.” But he didn’t say they would think of something else. The magi had already tried everything else, and they were running out of time.

If Lucius was going to connect to the magic, it needed to happen tomorrow. And since the magi had tried every spell, sacrifice, and uplink known to Nightkeeper-kind, they were down to their last real option: sex magic.

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it.” The churn low in her stomach suggested otherwise, but she ignored it. “Been there, done him.”

Not that her and Lucius’s previous wham-bam was making this conversation any easier—exactly the opposite, in fact. But she wasn’t about to mention that part to Strike. The Nightkeepers needed what they needed … and so did she.

“If you’re sure …”

“I’m sure. Period, end of sentence.”

“Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon.”

“It’s a date.” Which was true, except that her date didn’t have a clue she was coming.
Jade disconnected and dropped the phone back down beside the clay figurine, which now seemed to be wearing a look of are you sure this is a good idea?

“It’ll be fine,” she said, not sure if she was talking to herself or the little clay person. “It’s just sex magic.” Or in this case, friends-with-benefits magic.
What could go wrong?

… To find out how much does go wrong, pick up Demonkeepers from Signet Eclipse!

So tell me … where do you stand on makeover books, particularly paranormals? Got one you’d like to recommend?

All comments are entered to win a signed copy of Demonkeepers today on Romance Bandits! I’ll be checking in throughout the day, so stop by and say ‘hey’!

For more information on Demonkeepers and the other Nightkeeper novels, please check out www.JessicaAndersen.com

Demonkeepers is in stores now! Woot ☺ (I’m never sure how to punctuate happy faces … should there be a period after that?)

A Different Kind of Sunrise

posted by Nancy

Today we welcome Lair regular and award-winning author Barbara Monajem to discuss her dynamite debut paranormal, Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil. Welcome, Barbara!

We love call stories. Tell us how you sold Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil.

Oh, I just sat around polishing my nails and waited for the call. :)

Well, not exactly, but apart from writing the story and entering it in a contest, that’s pretty close to the truth (except that I’m really terrible at nail care). I was nowhere near as proactive as I should have been. I entered the Daphne du Maurier Contest in 2005 and finaled. Chris Keeslar at Dorchester Publishing was one of the judges. He asked for the full manuscript, so I finished the story (I was about 60 pages from the end) and sent it a few months later. Then I went on to write other novels, improve my craft, enter more contests, and submit to some agents. I didn’t follow up with Chris because I didn’t want him to say no! Three years later, he emailed to ask if the story was still available - if so, he would finish reading it and get back to me. The next day, he called and offered me a contract. So although I wouldn’t recommend sitting around waiting, in this case it worked for me.

Who are the hero and heroine, and what are they trying to accomplish?

The heroine, Ophelia Beliveau, is a hereditary vampire. My vampires are not undead. (I’m such a daytime person that I don’t think I could write characters who are awake only at night.) They sprout fangs at puberty and develop a craving for sex and blood. For Ophelia, this causes nothing but trouble. Eventually, she’s had one too many obsessive boyfriends and decides to give up on men. Fortunately (although it doesn’t seem that way at first), she gets caught in a web of vandalism, blackmail, and murder, and meets Gideon O’Toole, a hunky police detective. I was really surprised to find myself writing a cop hero. Generally, I’m not into cop stories, but Gideon strolled right onto the page and took over.

What’s the biggest problem between them, and what’s the biggest other problem they face?

Between them: Ophelia really, really needs to bury the past, and Gideon can’t help but dig it up. :)

Apart from that, it’s just one thing after another - death threats, blackmail, character defamation, and murder.


Can we have a peek inside the book?

Here’s a short excerpt:

Gideon left the headlights on and the engine running, got out, and held the door open for his dog. “Put the gun away, Ophelia.” He walked calmly toward her. “It’s only me.”

“I know who it is.” Ophelia’s voice broke, and a tear spilled treacherously down her cheek. “Go away!”

“Sweetheart—”

“Don’t call me that! I am not sweet.”

She watched Gideon control himself and start again. “I brought Gretchen to stay with you. She’ll warn you if there’s any danger.”

How had he come up with such a blessed idea? “I don’t need her. Take your dog and go home.” Ophelia bit down hard, piercing her lip, ignoring the blood, fighting tears, wanting the dog like crazy. She felt so alone.

Anguish in his voice, Gideon said, “Ophelia, don’t cry. Honey, you can’t think I’d harass you after what you’ve been through tonight.”

“You are harassing me,” she choked out. “I am not honey. I am poison. Get the hell away.”

Gretchen trotted up and stuck a cool nose under her hand. Ophelia’s fingers moved by instinct toward the dog’s curls, but she yanked her hand away, clenching and unclenching her fist, needing and wanting the animal so much it hurt. “Gretchen doesn’t want to stay with me. She’s yours. Take her and go away.”

“I discussed it with her on the ride over, and she agreed to stay with you.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” Ophelia cocked the shotgun. “Get off my property and don’t come back.”

Gideon swore under his breath. “Stupid or not, Gretchen is staying with you.” As if on cue, the dog planted her butt on the drive.

“Damn it, Gideon!” Ophelia let out a scream of rage and fired, kicking up gravel far too close to Gideon’s feet. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t move a goddamn hair. “Don’t you get it?” she yelled. “I’m trying to protect you from yourself. I am not safe!”

“‘That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life,’” Gideon echoed in bitter mockery. “You could at least come up with an intelligent lie.”

Ophelia opened her mouth and shut it again. Pissing him off was what she wanted. Still, the disgust in his voice tore into her.

“I’m out of here,” he said. “I won’t come back unless you need me.” He turned to the dog. “Stay, Gretchen. Stay with Ophelia.” He got in his car and backed into the turnaround, flinging his last words through the window. “What makes you think I give a damn about being safe?”

What’s next for you?

The next novel in the Bayou Gavotte Series, Tastes of Love and Evil, will be released in late August. It’s about another vampire heroine and a hero who can literally fade into the background. In spite of initial distrust, they work together to save a runaway and rid the world of some bad, bad people. :)

One person who comments will win a signed copy of Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil. Also, I’m holding a contest on my website with more free copies and socks. (Bayou Gavotte, Louisiana, the imaginary town where my story takes place, has a lot of fetish clubs. If I have a fetish, it’s for socks. But don’t despair - there are other prizes, too!) More information about the contest can be found on the contact page of my website, www.BarbaraMonajem.com

So tell us, what's your favorite cop story? Or your favorite story where the hero has to protect the heroine? What do you like to see in a heroine in such stories?

Double Author Booty - From Dianna and Lisa

We have winners from Dianna Love's blog of March 30 (yes, Cassondra is embarrassed to show her face in the Lair) and Lisa Shearin's blog of March 29 (and Nancy also is skulking).

Dianna's winners are:

One copy of Whispered Lies to Virginia--Whee!

One copy of Phantom in the Night to Pat Cochran--Whooo!

One copy of Whispered Lies to Denise --Wheeoo!

Grand prize of autographed copies of all three BAD Agency novels, an "I'm in a BAD Mood" t-shirt, and other goodies, all tucked inside a monogrammed "I'm in a BAD Mood" totebag, goe to Chey--whoot! whoot!

Email Cassondra via the Romance Bandits link on the blog with your snail mail contact info. Chey, your t-shirt choices are large or extra-large, so specify which you want.

Lisa's winners, each receiving a Raine Benares prize package, including a copy of Bewitched & Betrayed with additional book goodies (postcards and bookmarks from all four of Lisa's books, plus a fridge magnet from Bewitched & Betrayed) – all signed and personalized are:

Cybercliper and Bookie--Yippee!

Email your contact info to lisa AT lisashearin DOT com.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks for stopping by.

Something Scandalous Winners!!

CONGRATULATIONS to the following winners from my release party. Each of the winners will receive a copy of SOMETHING SCANDALOUS!!

MARISKA

KARYN GERRARD

KEIRA SOLEORE

Please send your names and addresses to me at christie @ christiekelley . com

My Idea of Hell....

by Jeanne Adams

So I was in Chuck E. Cheese the other day.... (Yes, now you know where the idea for this blog came from) I decided that it would be one of the worst tortures known to womankind to have to stay there for longer than the two-hour stint I survived.

Eating there? Oh, that's its own kind of hell. Cardboard pizza, wilty lettuce...yep, hell.

Yet, my sons love it. They love the noise and chaos and bings and whistles and endless, inane singing by the mechanical Chuck E Cheese. URG!!! For them, it's a kind of boy-designed-mad-rush-heaven. Games. Flashy lights. They want to go again. Tonight.

Nooooooo!

For those of you without children, I'm sure that it's even worse to have to enter one of these places.

Now my children would say that hell is Mom without coffee, sleep, or regular meals. I confess that I get a bit testy - yes, I said TESTY - if I don't have my coffee or eat regularly. (And yes, that IS me, before coffee. The hair's a lot blonder than it looks in this picture. Really.)

After a taste of heaven over the weekend - Easter! Treats! Jeweled eggs! - and a Launch Party for Christie yesterday (WOOT, WOOT!) you KNOW I had to go the other way, didn't you? Bwah-ha-ha-ha!

So, like I said, all this Chuck E Cheese business and lack of coffee got me to thinking about Hell, Circa 2010.

You see, I'm pretty sure that the whole fiery doom thing has given way to a 21st century modernization effort. I believe (a la Chuck E Cheese), that the devil has instituted a more psychological direction for the Modern Hell.

After all, individualization is probably MUCH more satisfying than mere across-the-board-flame. Truly, there are so many options in these modern times! (Wow, thinking about the devil's options really reminds me to keep on the straight and narrow, I tell ya'! )

For instance, it would be torture to me to have to watch even one episode of Hoarders. *shuddddddder* A whole season? I would simply curl up and die. There's something about it that horrifies me.... Euwwwwwww!

For others, it's having to watch endless CSI, Criminal Minds or Southland. All shows I love.

The devil would know this and plan accordingly. I would never get THAT room, the CSI/Crime show room with Nick and H and Derrick and Mac. Nope.

Another hellish prospect for me would be to have to listen to a steady diet of opera. Oh, Saints, preserve me!

I like it in small doses (Apologies, Louisa!), but to have it be my only listening "pleasure"? Hell. Pure, unadulterated hell.

(Remember, the ever-so-luscious Phantom of the Opera is musical theater, NOT opera...I could listen to musical theater allllllll day long....which would be my husband's idea of hell, btw!)

Then there's kids toys and shows. Some of them can, I know, make parents and grandparents shudder and quake at the very mention of their names.

The following give me the eye-twitch-shudder reponse:

Barney.

Large quantities of Playdoh, which the kids then mix to an amorphous, color neutral mass. Arrrrrrgh! It's TORTURE to me when they mix the colors! ARRRGH!!

K-nex and/or Legos scattered everywhere, and particularly the sound of them rattling up the vaccuum cleaner hose....

SpongeBob.

As I said, it's not just the kid stuff that gives me the creeps.

I can think of a lot more things that would constitute the tortures of hell without breaking bad and going all Disney on Old Scratch.

Going to the DMV. For anything. At all.

Reliving Prom. (No, that ISN'T me, I tore those pictures up. *shudder*)

Bikini waxes....

But the Crowning HELL for me is computer problems.

A Full Brazillian - which I'm convinced was a "beauty effect" dreamed up in the 9th Circle of Hell - would be preferable to a computer crash.

Did I mention that my laptop did just that - crash - in December? So I know of which I speak. Having to pray (and pay!) for the recovery of the data, was an unmitigated horror.

Thankfully, my September 2010 book, Deadly Little Secrets was turned in (Safe!), but the follow up book, Deadly Little Lies, which will come out next year, was NOT. AND....

*Shock! Horror! Agony!* it was NOT BACKED UP. (Now, before you scold me, this was because the auto backup feature was one of the things which FAILED!)

Like I said, Crowning HELL. In the middle of holidays, family crises and the general mayhem that is my life, would I have to recreate this book from scratch?

And did I mention that I had just been introduced to my new editor? For someone I'd just met, someone with her hands on my career, would THIS be her first impression? ARRRRGH!!!

May blessings rain down upon her, my GirlyGeek (that's the name of her biz, btw!) DID recover it, all but a few days of work.

That, I could live with.

I must be doing something right.

Truly, though, ANY computer problem is its own version of Hell, don't you think? We depend so much on them....scary, huh?

Beyond computers, though, there are so many other things that constitute hell, or at least hell-ish, things for me. I could go on all day.

Are you tired of this yet? Is THIS your idea of hell, me going on and on and on and on...droning....

Sorry. So, some other hellish things to me are:

Leather bikinis - Really? Who wears this, and more importantly who thought it was a good idea? I can only think they would be hot, uncomfortable, smelly after only a few wearings...the sensory isssues alone ...ewwww.

And as a corollary: Thongs. Seriously people. Instruments of torture in and of themselves.

*Drum roll* The ultimate torture devices:

Ultra-high-heeled shoes. I adore shoes in general and I love a lot of specific shoes (Don't get me or Tawny or Anna S started on the shoe thing...) But, do you NEED to have a more than 5 inch heel? Really? Who could walk in this?

Pantyhose. Purely created by some cranky imp on the 7th circle of Hell.

Car problems. Small or large, anything with the car is a pain. Sometimes in the neck, sometimes in the wallet, but ALWAYS a pain.
Okay, okay, I'll stop now. Are you writhing in agony?

That's just a taste of my extremely long list. I have a vivid imagination, as you all know. Heeeey! This could be a book:

"How Satan Tortures the Modern Writer Mom."

Now I know that some people think these are simple, easily brushed aside issues.

Hell for THEM includes such fine items as visits from relatives, speaking in public, and making dinner for (or even speaking to) the in-laws, all things which hold no fear whatsoever for me, which is why, I believe, the devil has had to change his tactics.

The whole one-size-fits-all-flame routine just won't do it anymore.

Since it's a fine, sunny spring day, and we're on an Easter high, I figure we can toss a few ideas around without attracting Old Scratch's notice, right? So what to do you say...

What's hellish for you? Let's talk torture...

Something Scandalous Party

by Christie Kelley


Break out the margaritas, it’s party time in the lair! I’m celebrating the release of SOMETHING SCANDALOUS, which officially comes out tomorrow!!

So, sit back and have some fun with me while we talk about scandalous things.


I’ve brought along some of my heroines from past and future books. Avis, the heroine of EVERY NIGHT I’M YOURS looked around the lair and noticed the writing cave. Needless to say, she ran off to finish her latest book.


Jennette, my heroine from EVERY TIME WE KISS is already having one of the cabana boys mix her a margarita. Someone needs to keep an eye on her for me. She tends to over indulge when I’m not watching her.


I just found Elizabeth, my current heroine from SOMETHING SCANDALOUS. She is attempting to create order out of chaos by organizing the cabana boys and the massages given by Sven. Someone hand her a drink and tell her to sit back and relax. It’s her day!

Where is Victoria? She’s my heroine from my October release, SCANDAL OF THE SEASON. Oh, there she is, sitting over by the wall and looking uncomfortable. Maybe she needs a drink. But only one for her, she’s a lightweight.

And for anyone who wants their future read, Sophie has already set up a table not too far from the bar. Sophie is my matchmaker for anyone who hasn’t read my books. She is matching all her friends with their true love. Her book may be titled HER PERFECT MATCH (or may not be, I don’t know yet) but her story will be out in June 2011.

Now that we’re all acquainted, sit back and have some fun. I started my Spinster Club series six years ago. It started when I was in the middle of another book and had two secondary characters, Avis and Banning, who wanted to take over the story. When I was writing the other book, my goal was not to write a continuing series or take any of the secondary characters and write a book for them. Well, Avis and Banning were having none of that. They wouldn’t let me sleep at night and then four other women were invading my dreams, too. Suddenly, I had the idea of writing about these five women who had no desire to marry. The only problem with that was one of the women was matching them with their true loves.

Now six years later, I just finished writing my last book in the series. It was a fun time, but I’m ready to move on and let them have their happy ever afters.

But now, let’s hear more about SOMETHING SCANDALOUS.

Raised as the youngest daughter of the Duke of Kendal, Elizabeth learns a devastating truth on his deathbed: he wasn’t her father at all. And because the Duke had no sons, his title and fortune must go to his only male heir: a distant cousin who left England for America long ago. Anticipating the man’s imminent occupation of her home, Elizabeth anxiously searches for her mother’s diary, and the secret of her paternity…

Arriving in London with his seven siblings, William Atherton intends to sell everything and return to his beloved Virginia farm, and his fiancée, as quickly as possible. But as Elizabeth shows William an England he never knew, and graciously introduces his siblings to London society, it becomes clear the two are meant for each other. Soon, Elizabeth finds herself determined to seduce the man who can save not only her family name, but her heart…

Now my heroines are here but where are my heroes? If you want to help me look for them that would be great! Other than Elizabeth’s hero, Will, all the men have been seen in one of my books. So where are they? Any guesses on who Victoria and Sophie will end up with?

I’m giving away a copy of SOMETHING SCANDALOUS to two lucky people today. I’ll choose two random names from the comments. So talk to me! If you haven’t read my books and don’t have a clue about my heroes, that’s okay. Tell me what you’re drinking and if Sven’s coming over for a massage.

Mostly, HAVE FUN!

Egg-straodinary Easter Eggs

by Caren Crane (title by my older daughter)

Easter is the time for eggs. Hand-tinted hard-boiled eggs, chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, candy-coated sugar-centered eggs, and - my favorite - good old pure chocolate eggs. As a matter of fact, I had planned to do a whole post about candy eggs for today, but my husband had a totally different idea (as he so often does). He said I should write about Faberge Easter eggs.

I have long been fascinated by Faberge eggs and it seems many other people are as well. PBS did a great program about the Faberge eggs as part of their
Treasures Of the World series. In the series, they presented the Faberge eggs as the relics of a fragile and doomed monarchy. They are regarded today as a symbol of just how out-of-touch the monarchy was and how little they understood the needs of the people they ruled. I found out my husband really wanted me to find out why Peter Carl Faberge began making Easter eggs in the first place. So I did and here is the quick and dirty version.

The Russian Orthodox church had a tradition that after Easter mass, family members would present each other with eggs they had decorated. The first egg commissioned by Czar Alexander III was a gift for the Czarina, commemorating the 20th anniversary of their monarchy on Easter in 1884. After his death in 1894, Czar Nicholas II (knowing only to follow the traditions of his much-beloved father) continued all of his father's traditions including the commission of the eggs.

Of course, the monarchy failed in 1917 and the Romanovs were all killed...except for the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, who hastily departed her homeland on the British battleship Malborough. She took with her the Order of St. George egg - the last Faberge Imperial Easter egg. The entrepreneur and socialist sympathizer Armand Hammer brought many great Russian treasures to the United States to be sold to support the Bolsheviks in 1931. Unfortunately, the Great Depression made selling them difficult. Eventually, though, they caught on with several great collectors and many are in private art collections today.


Of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs, only 10 remain in the Kremlin. Eight of the eggs are still missing, having disappeared during the sacking of the royal palaces during the revolution.



So what do you think happened to those 8 missing eggs? Are they hidden in humble homes in the Russian countryside? Resting in vaults of wealthy art collectors who bought them on the black market? As symbols of a decadent and lavish lifestyle that led to the downfall of Imperial Russia, should they be handed over to the Russian government? When you finish nibbling the ears off your chocolate bunny, let us know!

The Best of the Best

By Kirsten Scott

I admit it. I'm a simple girl. I like a good musical, a love story and a happy ever after. As I settled in this evening to watch the Sound of Music with my girl (her first time!), I couldn't help but smile. That movie does it to me every time. It makes me smile and it makes me sing. I fall in love with the Captain every time I see him.

"Were you this much trouble in the abby, Fraulein?"

"Oh much more, Captain!"

I could see from my daughter's shining eyes that she was falling in love too. It's the perfect movie, really. A love story, great music, a spunky heroine, a hunky alpha male, and cute kids.

Do they make them this good anymore? I mean honestly, I know I'm old and nostalgic, but I don't think they do. It seems to me that movies today are all about special effects, 3-D action and fancy animation. Where's the STORY? The heart of the thing?

Another best of the best -- Star Wars. It had it's share of special effects, I suppose, but the heart was the story. Boy on a quest. Spunky princess in distress. Alpha male starship pilot. And a cool wookie. What would this movie be like if they made it today? I haven't watched all of the more recent Star Wars, but I did watch the most recent Star Trek. It was good. Interesting story, cool effects. But it was one action scene after another, lots of things blowing up, and not much time spent on the story or the characters. I liked it, but I didn't stop, transfixed, eyes shining, when it came on.

That's what I want from my movies -- and my books. I want a "drop anything this guy is too hot and this girl is too spunky to put the book down" sort of experience. Like this guy. And this book:

Remember Anthony Malory? Oh man. I'd drop everything for that guy. He was old school. Rampantly seductive. Didn't really care about anything but getting the girl into bed. Loved women. All of them, really. You knew if Anthony had you in his clutches, you'd have a good time. Guaranteed. It wasn't realistic. It didn't make sense. He was between the legs of the heroine (if I recall correctly) within hours of meeting her. Yet somehow it worked.

So I'm wondering, as I'm feeling nostalgic tonight -- is it true? Has the best come and gone? Do they still make movies that take your breath away and you'll watch for the next forty years, eyes shining, heart in your throat? Name names, please!

As for books, we've got incredible writers in the Lair, and of course we're all writing keepers. :-) But I want to know what's on your best of the best list. What's been on your keeper shelf for the past twenty years, and what's going to be there twenty years from now? Please share so I can get an old, tattered copy of it and squirrel it away for my daughter when she's old enough to read it!

Kay Thomas' BULLETPROOF return to the Lair.

interview with Suzanne

Kay Thomas writes "bulletproof" romantic thrillers for Harlequin Intrigue. Her debut novel BETTER THAN BULLETPROOF (January 2009) is a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Nominee for Best First Series Romance. Her second book BULLETPROOF TEXAS was published in April 2009. And her third release, BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD, will hit store shelves April 13th as part of Intrigue's Bodyguard of the Month Series. Please help me welcome author Kay Thomas, one of my good friends back to the Bandit Lair.

Suz: BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD is the third book in your Bulletproof series and part of the "Bodyguard of the month" collection from Harlequin Intrigue. Can you give our readers a little bit about the book?

Kay: The story is about a young, widowed mother who is forced to help with a casino robbery on the Mississippi coast when her three-year-old son is kidnapped by `guests' staying at her bed and breakfast. Her only hope is an undercover cop with a troubled past who must choose between saving his career and saving her child.

Suz, wiping the drool from my mouth: Man I love the cover of BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD! Your heroes have been strong men caught in a situation where they needed to take control of things. How does Marcus North deal with the situation he finds himself in?


Kay: Marcus is an undercover cop. In the past he has been badly burned trying to maintain his cover and protect the innocents he meets through work. He's promised himself never to let that happen again.

Cally Burnett is completely different from his usual contacts and he hates the fact that she and her son Harris could become collateral damage in the robbery that is being planned. Soon Marcus is bending, then breaking his own rules to protect them. Keeping his cover becomes more and more difficult and before it's over he'll have to choose.

Suz: How does Marcus meet the heroine, Cally Burnett?

Kay: He is a guest at her bed & breakfast as part of his undercover casino bodyguard assignment.

Excerpt:

"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Burnett. How long have you lived here?"

"A little over eight years." She looked up from the registration book. "This was my husband's family home. His great-grandfather built it at the turn of the century."

"Oh, so it doesn't date back to the Civil War."

"No," she laughed softly. "Although I'm afraid the Chamber of Commerce wishes it did. They wanted to suggest that perhaps William Faulkner slept here. But the sad fact is nothing of historic significance has ever occurred at River Trace."

"Except raising the Burnett family of course."

Her dimples reappeared.

"So do you and your husband run the bed and breakfast?"

Again, her smile faltered. "No, my husband died almost four years ago. I run River Trace myself with the help of Bay and Luella Wiggins."

Now it was Marcus's turn to wince. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

She shook her head and looked back down at the paperwork. "That's all right. It...it happens all the time." She stopped writing to look up at him directly. "I know you don't know what to say."

Marcus nodded gratefully, feeling that he was definitely losing his social skills. He wondered what had happened to the husband.

As if reading his thoughts, Harris piped up, "Daddy dwowned...but not in bathtub."

Cally gaped at the child in shocked surprise. Marcus groaned. No wonder his earlier comment about drowning had caused such an unusual reaction.

"That's right, honey." She recovered herself and held him close as she patted his back and looked into his eyes.

"He lives in heaven with angels."

"Um-hmm," she murmured, still staring into the boy's face.

"Lulu says so. Bay, too."

"That's right, baby. That's right." She gazed at Harris a moment longer continuing to cuddle him and a took a deep breath. He laid his head on her shoulder.

Marcus shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with his eavesdropping. It usually wouldn't bother him, but in this case, it was extraordinarily awkward.

She seemed to sense his discomfort. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize he knew what that meant. I mean we've talked about it, but..." She stopped, blushed a deep pink, clearly at a loss for words.

"That's all right. I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Her forehead creased, "About?"

"About...the tub."

"Oh," she nodded. "You must be wondering after all this."

Her hand fluttered about Harris's back but her voice was cool and composed. "My husband was in a boating accident. He was duck-hunting and putting out decoys when the boat capsized. His waders filled with water and he drowned." "I'm terribly sorry."

"I am, too." She sighed. "But life goes on." She looked at the little boy in her arms and gave him a squeeze. "Here's the proof."

Harris giggled sleepily.

"Let me show you to your room. It's right up these steps."

Marcus followed her to the grand staircase. Their feet were silent on the carpeted steps.

"Your room was originally an attic when the house was built. At one time it was a nursery. Now it's definitely the most secluded spot at River Trace."

At the top of the second flight, Cally turned left and led him past several rooms toward the back of the house. Her hair had come out of its pins and was trailing halfway down her back in ringlets. Marcus watched as Harris opened and closed his fists around one of the curls.

The outline of her bra strap was clearly visible through the wet shirt. It was lacey, pink and distracting the hell out of him. She turned right and paused at another landing.

"I thought since you were going to be here a while, this would give you more privacy. You have your own bath and there's another stairway here if you prefer. It was originally a servants' stairway. And if you've had a really long day..." She didn't finish the sentence as she pointed toward the antique one-man elevator.

"It still works?" he asked.

Cally nodded, opened a door and led him up a narrow stairwell. He could see how the location would have been perfect for a child's nursery.

"We just finished getting it all together today."

Marcus stepped up into the room behind her. She crossed another oriental rug and sat Harris down on a wide window seat. As she leaned over to close the window, he got an unexpected but rather spectacular view of her butt in the water-soaked jeans. Her wet shirt had ridden up and he could see a line of milky-white skin along her back.

He caught himself staring, imagining the view under different circumstances. If she turned around without picking up the boy first, he'd get a peek at the latest Victoria's Secret had to offer. With a jolt he realized he wasn't paying attention to a word she was saying.

"…we painted earlier this week, but I wanted to make sure the smell was completely gone."
Marcus took in a gulp of air, attempting to clear the erotic images forming in his head. "Hmm.
All I smell is ah…flowers?"

"Yes." Cally smiled, completely unaware of where his thoughts had been. "That would be the potpourri." She nodded at a silver bowl on the captain's desk to his right.

"The bathroom's through here." She pointed toward the small hallway to his left; straight ahead was a queen-sized bed flanked by small antique tables. "We just moved the armoire in today."

He reassessed her as he took in the large cabinetry opposite the window. "You moved that yourself? Up those stairs?" He studied her slim build and tried to imagine her lifting the heavy antique. Even with a man helping her, it was a formidable job.

"Well, Bay and I did. I couldn't have done it on my own. I can't imagine doing any of this without the Wigginses. You'll meet him and Luella tomorrow. River Trace simply couldn't run without them. They're amazing."

"I'd say so." He mentally struggled to get focused again.

"Let's see. I need to get you more towels, and you need a brandy decanter." She ticked the items off on her fingers.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a gift when you check in. Our special label. Homemade peach brandy. Not to be missed."

She stared straight at him—open and friendly, but it wasn't a come-on. He knew that.
Facing him, she wasn't holding the kid. Marcus locked his eyes on hers and willed himself not to look below her neck at that transparent shirt.

"Now…what else. Oh, yes. Since you're up three stories here, the fire marshal insists I tell you how to get out in case the stairway is blocked during a fire." She headed for the window seat.
Marcus swallowed hard when she bent over to pick up Harris and lifted the lid on the built-in seat. Her shirt rode up again revealing more of that creamy skin that he was suddenly very curious to touch.

"There's a ladder here," she said over her shoulder.

She reached for the jumble of metal and rope, and he realized he was staring again. He was going to get busted if he didn't stop. He reached around her, accidentally brushing against her shoulder.

"Sorry," he muttered.

She startled. "Thank you," she murmured, stepping aside. "You attach it by those handles to the window and then you can ease down to the roof."

"Where do I go from there?" he asked, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. Touching her had been a bad idea, a really bad idea.

Cally turned to look at him with a sober face and sparkling eyes. "You jump."

He barked a laugh.

"Actually, you shimmy down to that sunroof on the second floor, and you jump."

"Does every room have one of these?"

“Oh, no. Yours is special. It's the only one on the third floor. There are two staircases up to the second floor and a window in every bedroom. The fire marshal figures if worse comes to worst everyone else can get out."

Obviously she was struggling to keep a straight face.

"I see."

"River Trace is the only residence to be converted to an inn in the county. The fire marshal had never done this before. I'm afraid he went a bit overboard. We barely talked him out of a sprinkler system. But I feel confident you will be safe during your stay."

The dimples were back.

"I think the worst thing that would happen if you had to jump is a broken leg."

"Hmm. We'll hope it doesn't come to that."

"Absolutely." A man could get lost in a smile like hers. Harris yawned widely as Marcus shut the ladder back into the window seat. "Someone is getting sleepy."

Harris was snuggling into her chest and clutching one of her ringlets. "Yes, I'd better put him to bed. I'll be glad to get you something after I get him down."

She was looking at Marcus again with those incredibly blue eyes, totally oblivious of the effect she was having.

"What would you like? A snack of some kind? Or I can fix you a sandwich? Whatever you want."

She had no idea what she'd just said. Marcus swallowed. God, he didn't usually get turned on by unintentional double entendres. "A sandwich would be great if it's not too much trouble. But
there's no hurry. I realize you'll have your hands full for the next few minutes."

"It's no problem at all. I'll just put Harris to bed and bring up your sandwich. And those towels and that brandy." She started toward the stairs before turning back. "How does roast beef on whole wheat sound?"

"Delicious."

"It'll be about fifteen minutes."

Downstairs the deep gong of the doorbell echoed through the house.

"That'll be my other guests. Let's make that thirty minutes on the sandwich?"

"No problem."

Cally nodded and headed down the steps. When the door closed, Marcus's smile faded. He looked around the room, taking in the rich red walls and antique four-poster.

This was not the set-up he'd been expecting. Oh, it was quite a place all right. But it was not the proper way for this to go down. What in hell was he going to do about the widow and the kid?

Suz: BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD takes place in Mississippi. Is there any particular reason you decided to use this setting for this book?

Kay, (smiling that shy southern belle smile of hers): I'm from Mississippi and my family still lives in and around the Delta. The original idea for BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD was based on the first riverboat casino ever built in the state in the early 90's. My big brother Tim gave me the idea and it all started over dinner one night with the words, "Kay, I've got a story for you?"

He has just gotten back from a long road trip with a friend who had worked as a security guard in that first riverboat casino located in Tunica. Tim's friend had some hair-raising tales about those early months the casino was open, before there was an infrastructure in the county to handle the huge influx of cash and people to the area. The casino was reported to be the most profitable per square foot in history, and the guards spent the first eighteen months worrying they'd be robbed blind because they didn't have all the backups they needed.

There's a bed & breakfast featured in the book based on my grandmother's house that I grew up next door to in Clarksdale.
















This was the first manuscript I ever finished, but it's gone through multiple revisions and rewrites since I first wrote "the end" ten years ago. Three years after I finished the original draft, that house my great grandfather built in 1900 burned. Thankfully no one was hurt. Even though the property was no longer in the family, three generations had lived there. In BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD, the house that held so many wonderful memories for us lives again.


For story purposes I moved my grandmother's house (the B & B), the casino, and the timeline to present day South Mississippi.


Suz: One of the things I like about your books is the sense of urgency and desperation you put your characters in. Is there a way to balance that with the sexual tension needed in a romance?


Kay: I love to write compressed timelines with a ticking clock. (As a writer this keeps me focused on making every scene count.)

For me that combination keeps the suspense tighter and the characters slightly off balance. Their emotions are "rawer," much closer to the surface. My hero and heroine don't have time to dissect their feelings (like we do in real life). They simply react and respond to circumstances around them. When I get bogged down in writing a scene or even in plotting, I usually find it's because my characters are "sitting and thinking" versus acting.

That lack of time for the characters to analyze the relationship, combined with the ticking clock is what I believe keeps the sexual tension building. For the reader, my hope is this "urgency" keeps one turning the pages and wanting to find out what happens next.

Suz: What's next for you and your Bulletproof series?

Kay: The next book is due to my editors at Intrigue in September with a release date for 2011. It's tentatively titled BULLETPROOF HEARTS. The story is about a woman who discovers her brother's hit and run accident was actually murder and she could be next if she doesn't accept help from a mysterious stranger. I'm almost through the first draft but I'm a multi-drafter, so the plotting is still very much in process. If anyone is interested in my week-by-week progress, they can check out my facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/KayThomasWrites. I chat about lots of different things - books, current movies, publishing- including what I'm working on right then. I also post deleted scenes from previous novels and give away books and gift cards from time to time.

Kay: This book features a fictional B & B. I adore bed & breakfasts and used to think I wanted to run one until I realized that:
1) I loathe doing laundry and housekeeping chores in general. And
2) it's considered an exotic breakfast at our house if I cook scrambled eggs & toast. No, this is probably not a career I should consider.

I figured out that what I really enjoyed was staying in a B & B vs the whole concept of running one.
So my question to you is: What's your favorite thing about staying in a bed & breakfast?
If you could, would you like to run one? Why or why not?

Suz: Kay will be giving away a copy of BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD to one lucky commenter. Kay, anything else you'd like to share with our readers and friends?

Kay: To celebrate the release I have a Bulletproof Sighting Contest called "Feeling Lucky?" that's currently underway. Spot my April Intrigue, BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD, on store shelves or in your mailbox and be eligible to win a gift card to Barnes & Noble for $15, $10 or $5. Details are at my website. www.kaythomas.net


Trailer for BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xFM59fprfg

APRIL's Bandit Agenda is NO JOKE!

by April blog mommy: Suz

It's April 1st.

The special day for all those people who are practical jokers to stand up and do their thing. Over the years I've been the recipient of a lot of those kinds of jokes from enthusiastic, but definitely demented coworkers.

Sigh.

I am not a big fan of practical jokes. Actually, I loathe them!! So, luckily for y'all, you can believe me when I tell you you're in for a great month of good-natured fun, laughter and debut books with the Banditas in the Bandit Lair! Trust me! Really, trust me!




Friday, April 2: Up first, Kay Thomas www.kaythomas.net returns to the Lair in an interview with Suz about the third book in her Bulletproof series: BULLETPROOF BODYGUARD, which is also a Harlequin Intrigue Bodyguard of the Month release.








Monday, April 5: IT'S PARTY TIME in the Lair as Bandita, Christy Kelley celebrates the release of her newest book, SOMETHING SCANDALOUS. Be sure to join the Banditas, Sven, the gladiators, cabana boys and hockey hunks as we show how to have a good time!!







Wednesday, April 7: Lair favorite Barbara Monajem chats with Bandita, Nancy about her debut paranormal, Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil.







Thursday, April 8: RITA nominee Jessica Andersen returns to the Lair with Demonkeepers, the newest installment in her dynamite Nightkeepers series. We'll chat about the transformation of its hero, Lucius, from a quiet scholar working in the background to a man of action on the front lines.







On Saturday, April 10: Anna Campbell www.annacampbell.info is giving away an ARC of her June release MY RECKLESS SURRENDER. Come and play some reckless games and hey, you might win a book!






Monday, April 12: women's fiction author Kim Wright makes her first appearance in the lair with her debut women's fiction novel Love in Mid Air. A chance encounter on an airplane leads her heroine, Elyse, to question her marriage and her life. Kim will chat with Nancy about that.








On Friday, April 16: one of our favorites in the lair, Annie West www.annie-west.com is back! She’s talking about her new release FORGOTTEN MISTRESS, SECRET LOVE-CHILD and giving away some books! Come and join in the fun!





Monday, April 19: Laura Anne Gilman returns to the world of the Cosa Nostradamus with Hard Magic from Luna. She'll visit us on April 19 to talk about this latest book set in the world of her Retrievers series.






Wednesday, April 21: One of my favorite authors, romantic suspense author, Dee Davis returns with Dark Deception, the action-packed first book in her new series.








On Thursday, April 29: historical author Margo Maguire www.margomaguire is back to talk about her new release THE ROGUE PRINCE. Giveaways!






APRIL CONTESTS:

Anna Campbell's latest contest offers one lucky reader the chance to win an ARC of MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, her June 2010 release. All you have to do is email Anna on anna@annacampbell.info and answer a simple question. In the excerpt on the Books Page (http://www.annacampbell.info/recklesssurrender.html )for MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, Diana the heroine quotes an old proverb to the hero Lord Ashcroft. What is that proverb? Here's a hint -- it's for the birds! Good luck! The contest closes April 30, 2010.

Nancy Northcott's website has a new look, complete with excerpts and updated graphics. Stop by www.nancynorthcott.com, take a look, and enter the contest she's holding to celebrate. Details on the site.