All Things Romantic Blog Tour...Week 7...

I'm very pleased to introduce S.R. Claridge author Tetterbaum' sTruth and No Easy Way. 
SR has been kind enough to share some information on herself and her books. Let's make her feel welcomed. 

Bio

S.R. Claridge grew up in St.Louis, Missouri where she graduated from Lindbergh High School and furthered her education at the University of Missouri, Columbia, with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology. She now resides in Colorado with her husband, two children and dog named Gigi.

She began her writing career being published for her poetry, lyrics and greeting cards, expounding into script writing and has found her niche in the fiction world of mystery and romantic suspense. She says it is her background in theatre and psychology that help her fill the pages of each novel with enough dramatic suspense to keep readers guessing until the very end.

Similar to the writing style of best-selling authors, Janet Evanovich and Mary Higgins Clark, S.R. Claridge's novels are sure 


(FYI I just love your author photo. Very lovely and professional)


Interview

1.       Have you considered self publishing?If so elaborate on whatever your decision was.  Though it is a viable option for many writers, I never considered it for myself.  I desperately needed an outsider to read my work and love it enough to publish it.  It may sound strange, but I needed to feel “believed in” by someone outside of family and friends so that I could truly believe in myself. ( I can understand that. It's commendable and admirable)

2.       What’s the best/worst writing advice you have ever received?  One of the best pieces of advice I received was to enter contests and have my work critiqued.  These score sheets from publishers and editors were invaluable in helping me improve my skills as a writer. (I like that advice as well. I've entered contests and it's like with anything experience building is key to growing.)

3.       Do you feel that a romance has to have sex in order for it to be great?  Absolutely not! Sometimes I think sexual tension between two characters can be way hotter than the actual act of sexual contact.

4.      
           What draws you into a book?  An easy read, not too descriptive… I want to be able to use my own imagination and not have every teeny-tiny detail explained to me.  Likeable or humorous characters and a story that isn’t predictable.  (I agree. I love the tension in a story.)

5.       Where do you project to see yourself one year from now?  Wherever God wants me… I’m just along for the ride.  

6.       How would you define your writing career as a “success” and have you achieved it?  I have had some success in signing with a great publisher and jumped that hurdle of getting published.  Now, I think I determine my success in how people are responding to my books and how many books I can get out into the open market.  I don’t want my books only in the hands of a couple hundred people… I want them to go viral.  




Now for the Books...

NO EASY WAY  by S.R.Claridge  

BOOK BLURB

Swerving with the kind of deliberate precision only blind rage can empower, the black pick-up crushes Kansas Oil Tycoon, Lou Martin Miller, leaving Miller’s widow with an impossible choice:  Cover the sin that lead to her husband’s death and conceal the identity of his killer, or risk the destruction of her family.  She carefully weaves a net of protection around her family, but the day she dies it begins to unravel, leaving her grandson, Tom, and his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Kate, in grave danger.   

Missing evidence, mistaken identity and manipulation leave private investigator, Stephen Braznovich, trapped between white lies and dark lusts, as he races to piece together a family secret before the next victim falls prey to deep-rooted revenge.  The trouble is anyone who gets close to the truth winds up dead. 

On the verge of an unwanted divorce, Tom must decide between a confession that could save his marriage or lie to save himself.  Tension mounts as Tom and Kate’s lives hang in a twisted balance of crossed lines and misunderstood motives, all pointing to one simple truth.  There is No Easy Way.

BUY LINKS

VHP Author Page

http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/S.R.html

AMAZON Paperback  -  NO EASY WAY

http://tinyurl.com/23tpk6a

Amazon Kindle US Edition

http://www.amazon.com/No-Easy-Way-ebook/dp/B00452V850

Barnes & Noble Paperback

http://tiny.cc/agxzg

Smashwords Multiformat (Kobo, Sony, Diesel, B&N ebooks, iPad, etc)

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/25512

http://tiny.cc/9g2cr

OmniLit 

http://www.omnilit.com/product-noeasyway-469029-152.html

AllRomanceEbooks

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-noeasyway-469029-152.html

 Book Blurb

Angel Martin plans to marry Tony and live happily ever after… until Tony disappears.  Nursing a broken heart, she takes a job at Tetterbaum’s Pub, unaware it is the most prestigious Mafia hangout in Chicago. 

In a world filled with a pretense of innocence and a past filled with iniquity, Angel’s life hangs in a twisted balance of deception and revenge. Through an unlikely turn of events, Angel discovers her entire life has been a carefully orchestrated lie. No one is who they say they are and everyone has an agenda of their own. 

  Finding herself in the middle of a revengeful scheme from a past she’s never known and a Mafia blackmail scandal that’s already left several dead, Angel races to find answers.  The trouble is, the closer she gets to hidden evidence and tainted truths, the more the crime families want her out of the way.  With her true identity now exposed, learning who she can trust becomes a matter of life and death and unraveling the past is her only hope for staying alive. 

Video

Tetterbaum’s Truth Video Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxAUn0ksn58

Buy Links

AMAZON TETTERBAUM’S TRUTH kindle edition

http://tinyurl.com/4kgdqg9

AMAZON TETTERBAUM’S TRUTH paperback edition

http://tinyurl.com/4p6yb2n

SMASHWORDS

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/39486

http://tinyurl.com/47ur7dw

Thank you so much for visiting and answering my questions. I'm excited to have more books on my TBR list. I vow never to have it conquered.

Guest Post By UK Author Rachele Brimble

 

I am so happy to be here as part of the Romantic Suspense blog tour I am taking part in along with Bri and fifteen other authors. It gives me a chance to talk about the one sub-genre of romance I write that, to be honest, I haven’t ventured into for over two years now.

I intend to remedy that in 2011!

Romantic suspense is my favorite genre to read and so the first book I wrote was also romantic suspense. After all, the one of the best piece of writing advice to new and aspiring authors is ‘write what you love to read’. This worked for me and in 2007, my debut novel, ‘Searching For Sophie’ was contracted by The Wild Rose Press, followed by my second romantic suspense novel in 2008, Reluctant Witness.

I love both of these books (and will be giving away a free pdf of either one to a random commenter) yet haven’t felt the spark of another romantic suspense story until recently. So what have I been doing in between? Writing other sub-genres of romance, of course!

After Reluctant Witness, I wrote a romantic comedy, followed by an historical and since then two straight contemporary romances. All of which have sold, yay! But as I started writing novel number seven (my second historical), the germ of an idea for a new romantic suspense formulated in my mind.

I scribbled it down in very sketchy detail but basically, it was the hero’s voice asking for help that I heard first. He was talking to the heroine and asking her to provide him with a false alibi. Hmm, not exactly heroic behavior, is it? But then I wondered why he was asking such a thing? What has happened to him? Why doesn’t he plead innocence? Why does he feel the need to ask the heroine to lie for him?

All great questions that have led to my basic story idea of a man falsely accused of murder and the woman who helps him catch the real killer before he is due to appear before judge and jury. I am not sure if will work out like that, but it’s a start and I’m excited to be re-visiting the sub-genre of romantic suspense after such a long absence, (even if all my books seem to have some kind of villainous character in them!).

So look out for a new romantic suspense title some time soon, but in the meantime here is the blurb for my latest contemporary romance, published by Lyrical Press. Enjoy!

Getting It Right This Time

 She's back, but this time she’s a mother…intent on protecting her young.

Two years after her husband’s death, Kate Marshall returns home seeking security and stability for her three-year-old daughter. But when her path crosses with ‘the one who got away’…her husband’s best friend, she has to fight the desire to be with him for the sake of further heartbreak for her and her daughter.

A tough, straight talking theatrical agent, Mark Johnston is dangerously handsome, exceedingly rich, irresistibly charming – and branded by the tabloids as one of the UK’s most eligible bachelors. So even though Mark lost the girl of his dreams to his best friend, he finds no hardship in being single. Or so he thought.

Determined not to lose her a second time, Mark has to find a way to convince her they can work.  But can Kate cope with the media interest and ruthless, money-hungry clients surrounding him, being anywhere near her daughter?  Or accept that Mark Johnston is really the family man he claims to be?

Rachel’s Buy Links:

http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=89_78&products_id=427

http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=89_78&products_id=1011

http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_25&products_id=296

Rachel’s Personal Links

www.rachelbrimble.com

www.rachelbrimble.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/rachelbrimble

 

Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK.  Having always believed there’s someone for everyone, Rachel started writing her own tales of love once her children were at school.  Since then, she’s had several books published with The Wild Rose Press, Eternal Press and Lyrical Press.  She aspires to secure an agent in the near future.  A member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, Rachel cannot imagine her life without romance or writing!

When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family.  And in the evening?  Well, a well-deserved glass of wine is never, ever refused…


Thank you kindly Rachel for visiting and sharing your thoughts and experiences in the romance genre and sub genre's. Also thank you for offering up the chance to win a free PDF book. So just leave a comment below dear readers and you could be the winner. I'm so glad to have met you Rachele and delight in your continued success.

Bri 

Week One of 17 weeks of Fantastic Romantic Suspense...Author Leanne Dyck

Welcome Dear Readers to the first interview  in a 17 week series where we will visit and talk with different Romantic Suspense authors. Something that I have learned in my journey through in the romance genre is that you really can't judge a book by it's cover. (But you can get a pretty good idea!)

Just because there is a half naked man or woman on the cover does not mean that it is necessarily erotica, or what would be rated R if it was a movie....

Take The Sweater Curse by Leanne Dyck (published by Decadence Publishing on January 10, 2011) for example. It's more of a thriller than a romance. The premise is new and intriguing and I'm very excited to have it on TBR pile.

Aspiring knitwear designer Gwen Bjarnson is stuck in Purgatory. To escape, she must re-examine her life, journey through her past and right a wrong.

But which wrong?

Young and in love, she works to establish her career, except fate has different plans. One rash act and she loses everything. Never resting, always seeking, and yearning for what she can no longer have, Gwen faces the truth:  if she remains, others are destined to die.

How will she solve the mystery before it is too late?

Preface...

This isn't Heaven. It isn't Hell. And I'm not alive.

Picture this:  a bus stop, tons of people packed into the same small space all waiting to continue their journey. Many buses stop here. Some passengers get off, others get on. Young children with sickly white complexions huddle together in the shelter. Teenagers with rope burns around their necks get off the bus. Old men with bullet holes climb on.

Throughout this confusion, the only constant is me. I remain alone.

Why?

I don't know, but I must find the reason. I must examine my life to discover the momentary lapse. The wrong I've committed. The task I've neglected. It's my only means of escape.

Now to meet the talented Leanne Dyck.....

Author Bio:  Leanne Dyck began her knitwear design career in August 2002. Her patterns have sold in North America and internationally. Shortly after The Sweater Curse is published, Leanne plans to close this business to write full-time.

She earned her first writer's paycheck for an article published in a knitting magazine and is a member of the Mayne Island Writers Group, the Victoria Writer Society, and Crime Writers of Canada.

 

      

 1.  Have you ever googled yourself? If so what did you see?

Yes, I’ve googled ‘Leanne Dyck’. The first entry on page was “Author Leanne Dyck knows her craft, her audience, and her setting” (wow that's awesome)

2.      Have you considered self publishing? If so elaborate on whatever your decision was.

Yes, I have self published an audiobook short story collection and a mystery.

I’ve written an article about my experience. If you like, in a future blog visit, I could share the article with you and your readers.( well ain't she slick...of course we want you to come back girl)

3.      Do you follow writing blogs? If so which ones and why?

Following writing blogs is an affordable means of learning the craft. Some of the blogs I faithfully follow are:  Story Fix, Story Flip, The Creative Penn and Writers Unboxed.

4.      How/where do you gather inspiration?

I’m inspired by things I’ve heard, books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, songs I’ve enjoyed, dreams I’ve had and on and on…

5.      How do you gather information/research for a book? What’s the most significant experience you had with research? 

I gather information by reading books, talking with people and by using search engines.

6.      What’s the best/worst writing advice you have ever received?

A gem I gathered from a writing magazine was a writer’s job is to write and submit.

7.      What’s the best/worst marketing advice?

Once upon a time, I had a craft supply store. One fateful day in walked a tourist. He spent hours examining all the merchandise, finally he found me hiding in a corner—knitting. “Your store is so well stocked. You should be very proud. If it were mine, everyone within in a 50 mile radius would know I was here and what I had to offer.”

Now, as a writer, I try to follow his advice. (I'd call this a gem too.)

8.      Is there anything you want to share or wished that were asked that hasn’t been?

I’d like to thank my readers for their kind support. (Talented, beautiful, intelligent and well mannered, we will definitely be inviting Mrs. Dyck back.)

For more information on The Sweater Curse click the highlighted link. To purchase The Sweater Curse click here.

Grazi, Grazi, Grazi!!! to Leanne for spending time with us today and I hope to have her back again soon to talk more.

Bri

No Resolutions Here Just Goals....

I have never been one for "resolutions." and I was even a smoker. Never resolved to quit. Perhaps it's because I'm just too cocky-- whenever I think I need to change course I just do it. Perhaps I'm perfect....No I'm not that conceded. My mother has always said I have a strong sense of self and mind. However, it wasn't until meeting and speaking with a friend and colleague JT Debolt that I finally had a label (And I'm not one for labels. I have no problem labeling others...I'm southern duh. I don't like to be labeled.) He called me "a high altitude thinker."

High altitude thinkers are people that think beyond their fears and make a daily decision to change or "shift their momentum" toward the goals that they have. You can find out all about it on his blog just click his name.





So first things first GOALS....DREAMS...DESTINATIONS....DESIRES....doesn't matter what you call them you got to know where you are going. So a list of my goals for 2011.

1. I will write as many digital shorts as I can in 2011 beginning with Caffe' Seduzione with Stone House Ink and Familial Witch with Astrea Press. (Yes I have an additional publisher now but that's for another post.)

2.I will release Glazier the debut book in a series as well as The Awakening the novel that will wrap the Familial Witch Series.

3. I will read, review and support fellow authors without ulterior motives or the attitude of what's in if for me.

4. I will attend at least one writers conference or convention this year...perhaps two.

5. I will move into a place where I can have my own office space that is not my bed.

6. I will leave for a few days and go to a place where the only thing expected of me is to take care of my own basic needs and write to my hearts content without fear of interruption or expectations. A writer's retreat if you will.

7. I will love...live..and laugh at anyone I can including myself.

What are your goals?

Bri

The Power of Senses

I had the great privilege of attending a talk by the multitalented Jason F Wright in November of 2008. He was speaking on the power of the hand written letter. While his words were poignant and true...and I agree with him in every way...the same potential for power hold true in other sources I believe.


Here are some examples for me...




 Music: The careful combination of strings by the guitarist, the skillful ambidextrous movement of the drummer, the tickling of the black and white ivories of the pianist coupled with the lyrics that a talented vocalist harmonized together to create music has the potential to enrage, sadden, empower, impassion or calm me. As an author I find music in the background to be a necessity for writing.

Pictures: Photographs, book covers and art any kind of sight enjoying piece is a picture for me. Pictures are the physical ability to conjure up recollections of memories, joys, triumphs or defeats. The power of sight is so strong, as strong as hearing, that once spotted the thoughts can appear without warning. As an author a book jacket is essential. While I often don't even have anything in mind for a novel I am confident that I will know what the dressing is that I require for my book when I see it.


Words: Awww...just the letters of word make me sigh with pleasure. As an author this is my euphoria on earth. Words can do what music and pictures do and more. Here is what words have done for me tonight. Lately I have been dealing with personal struggles, doubts and frustrations. I believe that for every situation that there are appropriate people that are in your life to help you. Most times this is a spouse, but other times it could be a colleague, a close friend or a relative, perhaps even a professional...it all depends on the situation. Really don't you want someone who is qualified to help you?


My friend that I find myself turning to for sometimes even just a distraction from the doubts in the form of a laugh or even advice on a problem they are qualified for, hasn't had much time for me. And as the large silence of their nonreplies pile up the doubts intensify and the sadness creeps in. Are they ok? (I always start with this worry.) Am I bothering them? There are plenty more because I am neurotic like that.

Once I asked that question Am I bothering you? The response was one that brought me great comfort. It was simplistic and honest...probably not even something they thought much of as they typed. For me it's message and it's delivery are an ongoing comfort...stored away safely to call upon as needed.

What is it that does it for you Dear Reader?


Bri

The Monsieur of Noir... Vincent Zandri

A review and an interview....

SOMETIMES THE PAST DOESN'T COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU! IT COMES BACK TO KILL YOU!

Thirty years ago, teenager Rebecca Underhill and her twin sister Molly were abducted by a man who lived in a house in the woods behind their upstate New York farm. They were held inside that house for three horrifying hours, until making their daring escape.

Vowing to keep their terrifying experience a secret in order to protect their mother and father, the girls tried to put the past behind them. And when their attacker was hunted down by police and sent to prison, they believed he was as good as dead.
Now, it’s 30 years later, and with Molly having passed away from cancer, Rebecca, a painter and art teacher, is left alone to bear the burden of a secret that has only gotten heavier and more painful with each passing year.But when Rebecca begins receiving some strange anonymous text messages, she begins to realize that the monster who attacked her all those years ago is not dead after all. He’s back, and this time, he wants to do more than just haunt her. He wants her dead.

Trailer for The Remains

The Remains was voted the No. 1 Amazon Bestselling Hot Hard-Boiled New Release and was No 8 on Amazon's Romantic Suspense list. It was published by the rising star of a publisher Stonehouse Ink. This novel was two firsts for me. It was my first noir genre novel and was also my first taste of Vincent Zandri. I have to say I'm addicted to Zandri now like a southern woman needs gossip. The noir genre is a big leap for me. Romantic fantasy, paranormal romance and romantic adventure are my genres of choice to read and write. You will notice the key word being "romance."

The Remains by all indications was an accidental romantic suspense...I still felt every exclamation point!

 I connected with Rebecca in a way I have only done from female authors before. Most reviews you will read (there are plenty)about the The Remains will talk about how suspenseful, frightening and scene setting it is. Believe me it is all those reviews and more. However, for me I enjoyed another element. It was subtle and woven in like the center piece of a braid, hidden but needed for a tight rhythm. It was Rebecca.

Rebecca has lived a life of tragedy from the painful experiences of a childhood event, to the loss of her twin and finally the ending of her marriage. Nevertheless, through all that she happily endures. Her love and empathy for those around her is inspiring. If Zandri ever tires of noir he obviously has more than potential for romantic suspense.

Vincent Zandri...The Monsieur of Noir
Vincent Zandri is an award-winning, bestselling novelist, essayist and freelance photojournalist. His novel As Catch Can (Delacorte) was touted in two pre-publication articles by Publishers Weekly and was called "Brilliant" upon its publication by The New York Post. The Boston Herald attributed it as “The most arresting first crime novel to break into print this season.” Translated into several languages including Japanese, Russian, French and the Dutch, Zandri’s work has also been sought out by numerous major movie producers, including Heyday Productions and DreamWorks. Other novels include Moonlight Falls (R.J.Buckley), Godchild (Bantam/Dell), and Permanence (NPI). His newest thriller, The Remains (Stone House) will be published in July, 2010 in E-Book and in November, as a Trade Paperback. Forthcoming novels include The Concrete Pearl (Stone Gate), a new detective series starring the brassy but beautiful construction business owner, Ava "Spike" Harrision, and the re-publication of the classic, As Catch Can (Stone Gate).
I was able to speak with Mr. Zandri... here are the spoils of that interview.

What is noir? Noir is my passion! It's truly American literature...dark detective type novels. When Europe caught on it became known as noir. Noir is French meaning dark, gloomy or black.

How do you write women so well?  As a child I was surrounded by women...I still try to do that as an adult. (can you see the smile in that line?) I had a single mother, two older sisters and I'm very experienced in relationships. What can I say...I love women.(see the smile again)

Have you ever received a bad review? No.. at least not professionally or from a blog review. Thank God. (He thanks God a lot. It's sincere too.)  However, I had one by a reader on Amazon, it's still there and I remember it well. This douche (yes he said douche) said I should be classified in the same pile of junk as LaHane. And I thought that's a good pile to be in.

Was The Remains meant to have a romantic element? No absolutely not. I had just ended my relationship with my second wife. That relationship very much inspired this novel. Don't get me wrong I loved her and we are still very close.(insert smile again) I didn't get much done creatively during our six year relationship. When it ended I went into a writing frenzy and the end result was The Remains.

Do you consider yourself a character writer? You set the scenes so realistically.  I like to set up the circumstances and then imagine how that character would react.

Do you base your characters off real people? Of course. I even use their real names until the end. (I'm curious if he will have to keep his laptop locked after that one.)

What's a typical day for you? Always have to have a good cup of coffee...at home I make it. In Italy I found myself going out for coffee. A great cup of coffee is essential for an author. I put on what's lying around and write a while. There is always writing to be done...whether on a novel, for my blog, or an article. I'm a gym rat so I always work that in. I have three kids so anything they need. I enjoy cooking for them.

After reading The Remains and now Moonlight Falls and Moonlight Mafia as well as interviewing Mr. Zandri this is my conclusion. I already knew he was a gifted rising author. However, now I find that he is wickedly brilliant and witty with as much baggage as his characters. Just like his characters he perseveres through the trials of circumstance and finds the joy of the moment. Which really I think is a requirement for any great author. Can you be a cutting edge anything and be described as delightfully normal?