Pamela Clare's latest romantic suspense novel.

Hi everyone! Sorry we’re late posting this morning. Today I’m happy to introduce a guest blogger, Pamela Clare. Pamela is the extremely talented author of a kick butt romantic suspense series as well as mouth-watering historical romance. She creates multi-dimensional characters, wonderful plots, and edge-of-the-seat thrills in her romantic suspense and her historicals. Today Pamela is giving away a paperback of one of her books, so be sure to comment. She’ll be back later today to pick a winner. .:) Without further hesitation, I introduce one of my favorite authors, Pamela Clare.

***

For two years, I’ve gotten daily e-mails from readers anxious to know when my next I-Team book would be out. That day came last Tuesday. After two long years, my I-Team series continues with Naked Edge. A contemporary romantic suspense novel set in the Colorado Rockies, Naked Edge tells the story of Navajo journalist Kat James and Gabe Rossiter, the park ranger who saves her life when she’s injured in the mountains.

The story is was inspired by my own near-fatal climbing accident in 1994 and the years I spent reporting on events in Indian Country — two completely unrelated things that I drew together to tell Kat and Gabe’s story.

Write what you know, they say, and I know what it’s like to fall 40 feet and almost die in the mountains. I know what it feels like to slip and know that you might well have taken your last breath. I know what sounds like when your own bones break. And I know how desperate a person can feel when they realize that they are almost completely helpless.

I was backpacking with my father, a lifelong climber, when it happened. We came to a cornice of snow and ice that we hadn’t anticipated. Lacking the right gear for climbing ice, we decided to give it a go anyway. It was no problem for my father, who simply kicked footholds in the ice and climbed 20 feet down to the steep slope of talus and boulders below. But it didn’t go so well for me.

I slipped from the top, and the game was over. I remember hearing my father shout for me and thinking I might die. I remember hitting rock over and over again and knowing that I was being hurt, but not feeling a thing.

In the hours that followed, I went from being barely coherent and in shock to realizing I had no choice but to keep climbing, even though I couldn’t stand. Readers will recognize Kat’s attempt to crawl to a trail where help could find her with my own effort to crawl, dragging a broken leg through the snow, to a safe place where I could rest while my father went for help. Fortunately, both Kat and I were rescued by a ranger on his day off who just happened to be nearby.

In my case, the ranger was named Rick. I haven’t seen him since. In Kat’s case, the ranger is Gabe, and meeting him changes both of their lives.

Kat’s Navajo heritage is drawn from more than a decade of reporting on news from Indian Country. The Navajo reservation is a 12-hour drive from my house, and it’s a drive I’ve made countless times over the years, hoping to bring awareness about Native concerns to a mainstream audience.

I was hesitant to write a Native heroine because I feel there’s a great responsibility that comes with depicting someone from another culture. I didn’t want to resort to stereotypes, nor did I wish to portray Navajo culture inaccurately. And let’s face it — no amount of time on the rez can make up for the fact that I am was not born and raised Navajo.

Still, the character of Kat came to me, and I was committed. I drew on my own memories of events and ceremonies, using as the outline for the story actual events that I reported on, including the desecration of a sweat lodge ceremony in which Native people from several Indian nations were participating together.

You’d think that, with all of this real-life experience in my mind, I’d have written Naked Edge quickly. Wrong! Somehow the fact that it felt so real to me made the writing an even slower process than usual. I felt so strongly that the details needed to be correct and that the characters, especially Kat and Gabe, had to embody the world I’d seen.

I doubt any of this will really matter for readers. What matters to them is being able to pick up the book and lose themselves in a love story. And Naked Edge is a love story. It’s a story about two people who meet under strained conditions and go on to mean more to one another than they could possibly imagine. With the Rockies as the backdrop it tells the story of one man’s courage as he puts his life on the line to protect an innocent woman from killers — and one woman’s selfless fight against the past to save the soul of the man she loves.

Written with real sweat and blood, I hope it’s a story that will stay with readers for a long time.

Here’s the cover blurb:

What do you do when desire drives you to the very brink?

The day Navajo journalist Katherine James met Gabriel Rossiter, the earth literally moved beneath her feet. Nearly killed in a rockslide while hiking, she found her life in the tall park ranger’s hands. Although she can’t forget him she thinks she’ll never see him again. She is crushed when she recognizes her rescuer among the law enforcement officers raiding a sweat lodge ceremony one night, throwing her and her friends off Mesa Butte, land they consider sacred.

Gabe long ago swore he would never again lose himself to a woman — not even one with long dark hair and big eyes that seem to see right through him. But from the moment he first sees Kat, the attraction he feels is undeniable. Appalled by what he has been ordered to do, he’s determined to get to the bottom of recent events at Mesa Butte and to keep Kat safe.

But asking questions can be dangerous — almost as dangerous as risking one’s heart. And soon Kat and Gabe’s passion for the truth — and each other — makes them targets for those who would do anything, even kill, to keep Native Americans off their sacred land.

For excerpts, go to www.pamelaclare.com and blogspot.pamelaclare.com.

I’ll be giving away a signed copy of Naked Edge today to one lucky person who posts. And although I’ll be at work, I’ll do my best to answer any questions anyone might have.

And thanks to Denise and the Bradford Bunch for letting me blog with you today!

Pamela Clare

**

Thank you Pamela! It’s a pleasure having you with us today.

Inspired by mountains near my home.

All last week I tried to think of a topic for a blog entry, but couldn’t seem to think of a thing. Yesterday, while serving as a panelist on dialogue in historical novels, it hit me. I had a hot topic.

Society works hard to tell us there is only one way to cross a T.

I’m here to tell ya, there is more than one way to peel a banana.

Have patience. This does have something to do with writing, I promise you.

Since I was a child, I’ve been bombarded by messages that say there is only one right way to do things. Clean a house, make a cake, play a game, make a friend. Failure was not permitted, but it happened to me anyway. My experiences with attempting to fit in and do things the right way started at childhood, but it lingered way beyond that. Mathematics says one plus one is two. A word can only be spelled one way. Peer pressure demanded there was only one right way to dress and speak. Any deviance from the norm meant there were consequences to pay.

Internally, I chafed against that advice even as I did what I was told and tried to do it the “right” way. As an avid reader, I sometimes came across books written by Irish, British, Australian, and Canadian authors. I noticed they sometimes spelled things differently than Americans, like flavour instead of flavor, honour instead of honor, or tyre instead of tire. My young brain started mixing up the spelling. So what did my teacher do? Instead of noticing that her student was spelling things the British way and explaining that Americans spell it differently, she told me the British way was wrong. Yep. Wrong. My mother was angry that the teacher told me this, but I don’t recall my mother getting on the teacher’s case.

Know what I found out? Sometimes you could get the answer without doing it the way the teacher said (and I don’t mean by cheating). My brain hates things in linear. I’m much more likely to just pull the answer out of midair without understanding how I got the answer. As a very right-brained individual, I sucked at math. Sucked big ones! When I was fourteen, my vocabulary and comprehension when it came to reading was tested at college level. School administrators were friggin’ baffled. They decided to test me to see why I had a difficult time with math. I could have told them, if they’d asked. My second grade teacher ran her class like a boot camp. There was abuse in the classroom, but that’s a whole different story. I’d learned in that class to be helpless when it came to understanding math. After all, failure was not an option and there was only one right way to do it. Since I couldn’t get the answer the teacher’s way, or get the answer as quickly as the other children I failed. If failure is your only result, pretty soon you give up.

Anyway, back to this figure-out-what-is-wrong-with-this-kid test. On a lark, I imagine, the school psychologist asked me two questions I shouldn’t get correct because I hadn’t taken Calculus or Trigonometry. I got the right answer by pulling it out of thin air. Her mouth flopped open. The psychologist told my mother that she had a very smart daughter, but that said daughter was an enigma. Okay. That helped a lot. (See Denise pulling sarcastic expression.) No one could figure out why a supposedly highly-intelligent child couldn’t do math. They stuck me in a special class with kids who had trouble reading. Go figure. But it was in that class that I discovered my love for writing. I’d always read voraciously, and had done well on essay tests. I adored writing stories, and from that point forward I was always writing something. Sometimes it was poetry, sometimes it was short stories, sometimes it was an entire handwritten, eighty page gothic novel. I was hooked.

As an adult, when I decided I wished to write for publication, I took short story writing courses, novel writing courses, and also attended workshops through my Romance Writers of America chapter. All of it in pursuit of the right way to create a novel. Once I got published, I figured that all of that learning had paid off. Last year while I attended yet another novel writing workshop, it dawned on me it was time to stop taking courses and stop listening to the messages that said there is only one right way to write a novel.

Why?

It sucked my creativity right out of me! I discovered that all the outlining, plotting, and synopsis writing didn’t do jack for me. That’s not the way my brain works. My brain is only happy when it can create unfettered, without a ton of rules to pin it down. Structure, in my mind, means a lack of creativity, not a flourishing of ingenuity. This is why outlining or writing a synopsis beforehand means I don’t want to write the novel afterward. Writing the book without a surefire plan is the easiest way for me to write the best book I can.

So, this last week while I was telling writers how to put sizzle into their novels, or how to write historical dialogue, I sometimes felt like a fake. Because all you have to do is read a novel that doesn’t follow the rules and understand there was something about that novel that got a publisher’s attention. Didn’t matter whether they broke all the rules or not. Who was I to tell writer’s how do anything? Plus, I’m not the best at explaining to others how I do things. For me creating is organic and comes out of thin air. How do you explain that to other writers and have it make sense?

That being said, here’s my advice to writers out there. Yeah, read all those how to books, take all those workshops, but realize that at some point you have to decide when to stop listening to the right way to create a book and just write it.

So when have you broken the rules and the norms to satisfying results?

Marshall's Law available now from Samhain Publishing

How was everyone’s New Year’s celebrations? Hope you had a great time. New Year’s Day was special for me. I had a book come out that day. MARSHALL’S LAW is a reprint, but I’m so glad it’s out again. I really, really like this book.

How often do you read a romance novel where humor, paranormal and suspense are mixed? For some editors, that could be a problem. Often readers want a similar experience in their reading. A suspense is a suspense. A humorous novel is a humorous novel. What if you just want a good story and it happens to have more than one element in it? In the case of my latest release, MARSHALL’S LAW (Samhain Publishing www.samhainpublishing.com), I started the novel like I do all my others. A kernel of an idea. A crazy notion. A plot idea. A character idea. Then I run with it. As a true by the seat of the pants author, this means things can creep into my novel by surprise. When I write a novel it’s an organic process, not a preperpared or outlined thing. My brain simply hates the linear, logic motion required for outlines. I wrote MARSHALL’S LAW a long time ago, yet when I read it now, I feel very satisfied with the story. I was on the mark with this one. This book has more humor than any of my other books, I think, but the suspense is hard core and the sexual tension between the hero and heroine is thick.

I’ve never found writing humor easy, and I can’t do it on demand. But something about the hero and heroine in this story made it easier. Here’s a scene I particularly like. It’s got the heat and the humor mixed.

If Dana Cummings was inclined to list the best ways to meet men, having one arrest her for burglary—during a tornado, no less—wouldn’t be in the top ten. Dating isn’t high on her agenda, period. She’s sworn to never again fall for know-it-all men with fiery gazes and devastating smiles. Besides, she’s only in Wyoming to help her eccentric aunt find out if horny ghosts really do haunt the family bed. And hopefully bust a hellacious case of writer’s block. Extracurricular activity with a gruff, hunky lawman is off limits, even if he does fire her libido. Witnessing too much of life’s seedy side led Brennan Marshall to live by three simple rules: work hard, play hard, and never fall for a sweet-faced female with a witty tongue and snappy comebacks. Especially the ones with a dollop of vulnerability—like Dana. But their razor-sharp sexual tension cuts right through his defenses and leads them on a dangerous journey. One that will test the limits of their beliefs—and could cost their lives.

**

“What did Lucille tell you about these strange occurrences plaguing her?” he asked, leaning his arms on the desk.

“She called my mother a few weeks back. Mom said Aunt Lucille had this trembling voice, like she was scared. That’s not normal for Aunt Lucille. She bends under pressure but never gives in. She’s one tough lady. Anyway, Aunt Lucille said that she’d heard noises in the attic and in the basement. Especially the basement.”

“What kind of noises?”

Dana wished she hadn’t opened her mouth and mentioned the basement. “Uh…well…” She glanced up and saw he waited, twiddling his thumbs like he had all day. “You’re not going to believe this but—”

“Trust me, I’ve heard just about everything at least once.”

“Not this you haven’t.”

He tossed her a smile. “Humor me.”

“Okay. You asked for it. You know that big…uh…heart-shaped bed downstairs?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she started hearing people having…” She squirmed in her chair and made a face.

“Go ahead. People what?”

“People having sex. She heard people having sex on the bed. But when she went downstairs there was no one there.”

Marshall never twitched. Yet Dana saw the suspicious twinkle in his eyes before he managed to smother it. Instead, he did something much more disturbing.

Rising from his chair, he came around the side of the desk and paced the broad area behind her chair. She craned around to watch him.

“What kind of sounds exactly?” he asked.

Her chair made an obnoxious protest as she turned it so she could observe his purposeful stride. Eight big steps one way, eight big steps back. Eight big steps one way, eight big steps back.

“I’m going to get hypnotized watching you do that. Would you mind taking a seat?”

He increased his pace. “I think better this way.” He came to an abrupt halt, leaned against the wall, cocked one booted foot across his ankle and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.

She gulped. Good thing he wore that flannel shirt. If he’d stood there in that tight T-shirt—

“What kinds of sounds?” he asked, jerking her back to the real world.

She couldn’t say it. Come on, Dana. You aren’t a blushing teen talking to a boy in high school. Spit it out.

When she didn’t answer fast enough, he walked toward her and rested his hands on the arms of her chair. She leaned back, inhaling a quick, startled breath.

“What are you trying to hide from me? Maybe you know something about the sounds?” The query came filled with subtle, sensual nuances that caused his voice to vibrate in his chest and made her tingle in places that shouldn’t be tingling.

In defense she crossed her arms. “Of course I’m not hiding anything.” When he glared, she took the plunge and elaborated. “You have heard people having sex before, haven’t you, Marshall? Gasps. Sighs.” She shrugged. “Grunts. Moans. She said it’s like people having sex, and they never get to…you know.”

A thunderstorm seemed to build in his eyes, but not the kind that promised rage. The type that guaranteed sinful, daring pleasures. She’d never seen a man look at her this way. Predatory and intense all at once, ready to eat her alive. No mistaking that look.

His lips parted and she stared at his mouth.

“No, I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me?”

A tiny, rebellious corner of her almost refused to speak. What could he do to her anyway? Spank her?

A hot blush swept into her face. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Marshall’s devouring gaze cruised over her face. His attention landed on her lips.

Crazy arousal spiraled through her, and she leaned forward until they almost touched noses. Dana couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so out of control and so turned on all at once. Hell, she’d never felt this way before. “These…these horny ghosts or whoever they are never get to finish—”

“Coming?”

Her entire body felt like it might go up in flames. Oh man! Why couldn’t he have said something like climaxing? Did he have to use a word that described the nitty gritty?

“Yeah. That’s it,” she said, licking her lips and swallowing hard. She slumped in the chair.

**

In the next scene I layered on the heat because this couple demanded it.

Marshall stepped forward and without preliminaries tugged her close. Dana’s hands found purchase at his powerful shoulders. His arms slid around her waist, and before she knew it he had her plastered closer to him than peel on a banana. Taking a chance, she gazed into his eyes. Warm, sinful flutters entered her stomach and made her want to shift closer to him.

She licked her lips. “I thought you had to work.”

“Just got off.”

“Did you really send Logan to keep an eye on me?” She wanted to feel indignation, but couldn’t.

“Not exactly. He said he’d be here, and because of your case, he’s keeping a close watch for strange activity. You qualify as strange activity.”

“Thanks, Marshall. Remind me to write you out of my will.”

He nodded toward Aunt Lucille, who did a slow waltz with an older man. “I really want him to keep tabs on Lucille, but he’ll also keep a watch on you.”

He tugged her against him, and it forced her arms to slip around his neck. Moments ago she’d appreciated Logan keeping his distance. Now she allowed Marshall to press tight against her from chest, to groin, to thighs, to knees. Dana shivered, but not with cold or distaste. She stifled a groan of pleasure. Maybe she could give in, for a while, to the overwhelming physical attraction churning in her gut. Perhaps one night of—

No!

Her excruciating relationship with Frank Bevans all those years ago had served to spoil her on men for the last several years. Besides, a one-time bed session wouldn’t solve the intermittent craving she had for male companionship. She hadn’t known a man’s lovemaking in almost ten years, but her body hadn’t forgotten what it felt like. Something deep inside always reminded her of her sexuality and that she hadn’t lost her human needs along with her broken heart. Dana eased away from old memories. Her broken heart mixed with the shame and guilt she experienced when she thought of Frank.

Not a good time to reminisce.

Marshall’s gaze slid down to her low neckline and warmth filled her face. He swept a heated glance over her that almost melted her knees. Her feelings jumped from amazed to excited. Inhaling deeply, she caught his warm, spicy scent. How can I think about a man’s crazy-making sensuality at a time like this? But she did. His eyes held a thousand mysteries and made her want his protective embrace. Brennan Marshall inspired fantasies of satin and velvet pillows piled high by a roaring fireplace, popcorn and hot cider. She didn’t dare go further than that. Venturing deeper into fantasy meant visions of him naked in bed. With her.

No. That went way over the top.

He nodded toward her neckline. “That’s an interesting piece of jewelry. I haven’t seen too many women wear a ring on a necklace.”

She almost touched her Dad’s ring. “Thanks.”

“Old boyfriend’s college ring?”

Dana let out a tiny laugh. “No. Not hardly.”

She half expected him to probe for answers like a good cop would. Instead, he kept his mouth clamped shut.

When Clint Black and Lisa Hartman sang about love forever more, Marshall moved her a little faster, drawing her into a sinuous, sensual tempo. The man danced with a sexual rhythm that sent her libido into trip-hammer overdrive. Continual heat washed through her as his body slid against her in ways that made her want him.

Stop, Dana. Don’t give in to some odd hormone rush. It doesn’t make any sense.

“Are you going to stare at me like that all night?” she asked in defense. “Or do I have to drag that information out of you too?”

“Don’t try driving a hard bargain with me, Dana. Logan’s here as a consultant. That’s all you need to know.”

“What is he? A psychic?”

Marshall closed his eyes for a moment as if he might lose patience. When he opened his eyes, he slipped his right hand a little lower on the material covering her hips. Any lower and he’d cup her butt.

She doubted he’d do that in public, but the hint of the forbidden made her want to squirm. She made a tiny, uncontrollable shimmy with her hips.

His hand moved back to her waist. Damn! Damn!

“I don’t think he’s got a psychic bone in his body,” Marshall said.

“A sex therapist?”

He jerked his head back almost as if she’d slapped him. “What?”

Dana’s hands slid down to his shoulders. “A sex therapist. You know, they—”

“I know what a sex therapist is.” His eyes narrowed, his brows lowered. “Why would you think Logan is a sex therapist, for God’s sake?”

She shrugged. “Well, maybe we need someone to decipher the noises coming from the heart-shaped bed.” She dragged her gaze back to his and observed his heightened color. “Are you embarrassed, Marshall?”

“Why would I be embarrassed?”

“You never know. A man your age might find the topic—”

“My age? How old do you think I am?”

“Forty?”

He cursed softly. “Thirty-six.”

“Keep your voice down. Someone will hear you.”

Marshall tightened his grip around her waist and she felt nothing but a powerful chest and the unmistakable hint of his…arousal. Oh, my lord. This time her face flamed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Uh, nothing.”

“Huh.”

“You know, I think ‘huh’ is universal man language. Guess we haven’t progressed that far from the cave.”

“Huh.”

“See what I mean?” Once on a roll, though, she found she couldn’t stop baiting him. She shifted gears. “Logan is a striking man.”

He grunted. “I’ll let him know you said that.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“How are you going to stop me?”

“I…” She didn’t have a clue, and she almost whacked his shoulder with her fist. “Don’t tell him.”

“All right.” Something challenging, angry, and yet excited flew through his gaze. She saw it all and it made her stomach tingle with equal urgency. “But it’s going to cost you.”

***

I hope you enjoyed a small look into MARSHALL’S LAW. Stop by my website at www.deniseagnew.com and be sure to enter my monthly contest.

Happy New Year everyone!

Maneater available December 14 at Ellora's Cave

Hey all! Wishing you all a fantastic holiday season. I can’t believe it’s December already! This month I’m talking quickly about my upcoming release December 14, MANEATER. MANEATER is a crazy little novella that started off my Special Investigations Agency series at Ellora’s Cave www.jasminejade.com. It was in the Winter Warriors Anthology and is being released again December 14 as a single novella download. The Special Investigations Agency is a secret government agency that deals exclusively with paranormal threats. In this first story we meet Mac Tudor and Destiny Tremayne, who’ve been hot for each other for a long time. This story features danger, adventure, humor, bizarre goings on, romance, and of course…seriously hot sex. Here’s an excerpt to suck you in. WARNING: This excerpt is explicit NC-17.

Destiny hesitated at the gym interior entrance with her hand resting on the doorknob. She frowned at the goofy Santa someone had plastered on the door. She could return to the locker room and dress and then leave.

Sure. Then Quinton will put in papers for your transfer, and you know he doesn’t threaten if he doesn’t mean it.

Annoyed with her conscience, she took a deep breath and twisted the door knob. She’d come this far and tangled wits with Mac Tudor on more than one occasion since the first time she saw him. Working with Mac would be bad enough, but their cover story made Destiny consider jumping off a ten-story building.

Buck up. You’re an SIA agent.

Right. She walked into the room.

A man stood with his back to her as he completed the graceful movement of T’ai Chi. Every flowing position defined muscles in his arms and legs. He finished and swung around, an alert cat-like grace in his big, muscular body. Like a man used to taking down the enemy with economic, lethal force.

When his deep brown eyes captured hers, the same thing happened that always occurred whenever she saw him.

Her heart almost stopped, her breath seized up, and her knees felt weak.

Damn it.

He advanced, his stride assured and not the least hurried. She swallowed hard. A dark blue muscle shirt covered his chest, but left his arms and stomach bare.

No man on this planet deserved to have such a gorgeous body. Wide, muscular shoulders commanded attention. The short cut of his shirt revealed a sprinkling of hair down over his rock-hard abs and into the waistband of his shorts. Without remorse she allowed her gaze to wander over his body. Mac also possessed the best-looking muscular legs she’d ever seen.

Oh, yes. She understood why the section secretary couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

Destiny had felt his muscular legs brush against her when they’d danced last Christmas. She’d also felt the undeniable arousal pressed against her stomach as he’d moved her about the dance floor. More than enough evidence that, although he couldn’t stand her, his cock liked her very much. Worse than that, she’d wanted his spike-hard cock buried inside her. Thrusting.

To her mortification her face flamed.

“Tremayne.” His voice rumbled, husky, deep, and sexy enough to curl a woman’s toes at fifty paces.

God, how she hated him.

She started toward him and they met near a punching bag. Barely a foot and a half separated them. She tilted her head up a little to look at him. Although she was five feet eight inches tall, he must be at least six feet four inches.

Her gaze snagged on those disgustingly dazzling eyes ringed with thick lashes. Bedroom eyes, hell. Tudor’s gaze said he could make her come anywhere, anytime, and she couldn’t do a thing about it.

Orgasm by remote control.

A smile escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

“What’s so funny?” he asked softly.

She shrugged one shoulder, unconcerned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

A curious, but unwilling-to-give-into-it expression touched his face.

And, oh, that face.

Craggy didn’t describe his countenance. No one would dare call him merely handsome, because the description didn’t do justice to his presence. He was too hard, too rough-and-tumble. Too masculine to ever be thought of as a pretty boy.

Combine Mel Gibson and Hugh Jackman, throw in a little Colin Farrell for good measure, and you got Mac Tudor. His short hair waved, and she imagined if it grew longer it would explode out of control. Tudor possessed a beautiful nose, neither too large nor too small. His mouth was made for kissing, the lower lip the tiniest bit bigger than the upper. Perhaps to show a little defiance toward convention, he often kept a little five-o’clock shadow along his firm jaw. Today was no exception.

His hot, admiring attention slid over her breasts, down to hips, to her legs. She could feel the burn in his devouring look right through her clothing. A flush spilled into her stomach at the heat in his perusal. She swallowed hard, determined not to be the first one to speak again. She realized with a shock they had stared at each other almost a full minute without saying anything.

Mac gave her a crooked smile that probably sent lesser women into a faint. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for the long haul, Tremayne.”

He edged closer. She sucked in a slow, deep breath to calm her reaction. “Unfortunately. Don’t think I didn’t try to get out of it.”

“I’ll bet you did.”

“Since Quinton thinks we’re the best pairing for this case, we’ll have to accept it and proceed.”

He nodded. “Then let’s get it on.”

Destiny wanted to scream at his penchant for double entendre. She could tell him where he could shove it. Maybe if she hacked off Mac enough he would leave, then she could go to Quinton and say Mac made the decision not to work with her. Once Mac transferred out of Colorado, she could breathe easier.

Sure. Like that would happen.

“I’m not fighting you today,” she said.

“Could have fooled me. It looks like you’re dressed to kick some major ass.”

She wore her usual workout attire of T-shirt and shorts, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. “I’m here to work out.”

“So let’s work out.” A teasing grin touched his mouth, and he started to circle her like a lion homing in on prey.

“What are you doing?”

He continued to walk around her, and his warm, spicy scent teased her nose. “Maybe you’re afraid to fight me.”

Every alarm went on a high alert status. “What did you just say?”

His swagger owned complete assurance. “It’s understandable. I’m stronger and quicker. I’d win easily.”

Warning, imminent blast likely.

Common sense told her she couldn’t allow him to goad her into taking up his challenge. “Of course you’re stronger, but that doesn’t mean you’re the better fighter.”

“So you’re saying you can beat me?” He kept circling her, the space between them getting smaller and smaller. “I think you’d get hurt.”

“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”

“Oh, but I think you need to verify something to yourself.”

She’d fought men before and won, but never another SIA-trained agent, and never a man as powerful as Mac.

But she couldn’t turn her back on his challenge, or give Quinton a reason to send her to the outer reaches of Mongolia.

She attacked.

Mac blocked her arm movements, coming in with a quick feint that sent her sailing over his shoulder. She flipped and landed on her feet.

“Oh, baby,” he said as he whirled around, his eyes turning hot with danger. “Do that again.”

**

Stop by my website at www.deniseagnew.com for another excerpt and my monthly contest. Once again, wishing you all a fantastic holiday season! To all a wonderful New Year. See ya in 2010. Wow, it feels weird saying that.

Within His Embrace, available at Liquid Silver Books

Okie dookie all. Some of you know that the last story in my HEART OF JUSTICE SWAT series came out this last Tuesday at Liquid Silver Books www.liquidsilverbooks.com. Hope you’ve had a chance to pick up your copy. I have to admit of all my characters in this series, the hero in this book is probably my favorite. He’s the most rough around the edges, and I had to work hard to smooth him  out. He’s a little too overprotective, and the heroine isn’t taking it well. I think he deserved a heroine who was a bit of a spitfire, a bit harder to deal with, with some rough edges of her own. I hope you enjoy their adventure and seeing how they help each other work through issues. This story definitely is hot, and it has some suspense and danger.

**

Though they hadn’t finished discussing the list, she snapped closed the portfolio and placed it on the coffee table. She crossed her arms and turned toward him. “Oh, you do? Fine. Tell me everything you think you know about me.”

God, Leigh, do you honestly want to know what he thinks?

Part of her didn’t. The other part egged him on with sheer delight. “Go on. Tell me, Mr. know-it-all.”

An answering rebellion filled his gaze. She’d hit something raw inside–she could tell. He turned toward her as well, his gaze seeking and finding her eyes, her mouth, and back to her eyes in a way Leigh found intimate. Disturbing in a sensual way that brought her awareness of him to a height she couldn’t ignore.

“You’re intelligent as hell. Quick. You don’t forgive and forget. You’re fast to judge, and even faster to apologize if you think you’re at fault. You like planning over spontaneity. You prefer whisky over wine. You wear a lot of green. I’d say more than any other color. You’re self-conscious about your hair. I notice you fuss with it a lot.” He stopped. “Should I go on?”

Uncomfortable with his dead-on assessment, she narrowed her eyes. “Okay, so you’ve watched me closely. That figures. You’re a cop. You’re paid to observe.”

“I was that way before I was a cop. But I have to admit I would have noticed you anyway.”

She dipped a toe into the waters, unsure she wanted to hear why. “Oh? Why is that?”

“You’re hot.” His voice held a sexy undertone she couldn’t ignore.

Pure, delicious excitement flowed through her body. Her heartbeat quickened, her mind swirling in disbelief. Only two words would escape. “Thank you.”

“Just because we don’t see eye to eye doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re pretty.”

Satisfaction made her smile. She’d gotten him to admit he thought she was hot. Now that she knew it, her body reacted even more strongly. Heat filled her face.

She cleared her throat. “We’re off track. Way off. Here’s what we need to do.” She ticked off items on her hand, finger by finger. “You were worried about me picking up the cake from Helga Swanson’s right?”

“Yeah.”

“Celeste is going with me. So it’ll be fine.”

He crossed his arms. “Okay.”

He sounded halfway relieved, if not totally satisfied.

“And, like I said before, you can help with the bachelorette party. You can be the bouncer.”

He leaned nearer, the amusement in his eyes evident. “Why the hell do you need a bouncer?”

She smiled. “I’m teasing. But you said you were up for the challenge with helping, so you can help with the party.”

His expression looked mutinous, as if the idea of hanging with a bunch of women at a girly party offended his sensibilities. “I could back out.”

“But you won’t.”

For a half second she wondered if she’d pushed him too far. “I sense you don’t like this stripper thing.”

“Let’s put it this way–you’d never catch me doing it.”

“Of course not.” An idea, a wicked, wicked idea flitted through her head and demanded a voice. “You might not for a bachelorette party, but would you do a private striptease for a woman?”

Crap. I can’t believe I asked that.

Craig’s eyes turned hungry, immediate in their interest. Yet he didn’t say a damned thing.

“Forget I asked,” she said.

Right. The guy’s too uptight to really let loose like that.

She sighed. Damned shame.

A vision of Craig slipping out of his sheriff’s uniform and revealing his chest, stripping his pants off, his briefs, to reveal…

Her body responded violently to the fantasy, her nipples turning berry hard, a burning need glowing red hot within her. Suddenly she became even more aware of him, every nuance of his virility slamming her from all sides. She tried to imagine any red-blooded woman ignoring him and couldn’t. Swallowing hard, Leigh shifted to her feet and closed the portfolio with a snap.

Embarrassment, an emotion she rarely experienced, caught up to her with a vengeance. She’d lost her cool. Lost her edge. And that pissed her off. Losing the edge made her feel too vulnerable. And she wasn’t going that route again.

Deciding to cut and run before she said another stupid thing, she hurried to pick up her purse. “I’d better head out.”

“Leaving so soon?” His voice was dark velvet, sending warmth spreading through her body in a tingling wave that settled low. “I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because my mother taught me right.”

“Uh-huh. That protective streak of yours again.”

“Sue me.”

Her plan had backfired. Sure, she’d wondered what would make him lose control. He hadn’t.

“I don’t need a man to escort me everywhere.”

He crossed his arms. “Are you one of those women who thinks a man wanting to protect a woman is Neanderthal?”

“Yes.”

His face went hard, as she imagined it would before an interrogation…narrowed eyes and a tough-guy voice.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “Did a guy in your past overprotect you?”

“I’m not getting into my personal life.”

“Or maybe he did more than protect you; he used it to control you. To make you feel inadequate and inferior. Maybe you had a boyfriend who verbally abused you?”

Her mouth dropped open. He’d hit far too close to the mark, and a tiny panic blossomed inside Leigh.

“If you were in a relationship, would you still scoff at his protection?” he asked.

She hoisted her purse over her shoulder. “It’s time for me to leave. I’m not a criminal and under your arrest, MacGilvary.”

She stalked toward the door.

He followed, and the implacable look on his face told her he wouldn’t back down.

Within a few seconds they were in the elevator.

Leigh stared at Craig, her tension ratcheting into the double digits as he met her gaze. His protectiveness raised her libido higher even as it ground against her independence. His eyes penetrated, demanded, searched with a searing attention that screamed sexual interest.

No way. Arrogant, cold, uptight Craig MacGilvary was not sizing her up for sexual conquest. At the same time, she wondered how she could be wrong about him. She hated the confusion. She hated not knowing his intentions.

“What are you staring at?” His question came out specific, with a frosty, almost belligerent tone.

She leaned back along the cool elevator wall and refused to look away. Yeah, he was probably used to people cowering under that intimidating stare. Leigh had never lost a staredown with a man. Never. She wouldn’t start now.

“I was just wondering why you believe you can intimidate me. Why you dislike me so much,” she said.

His eyes widened only a fraction before narrowing, lips turning tight. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t dislike you.”

She smiled, skeptical. Right buddy. Crossing her arms, she hooked one ankle over the other. “That’s you liking me? Giving me icy, confrontational stares at every opportunity? Running like I’m poison whenever I get within a few feet of you?”

He mocked her stance, his arms crossed. Eyes hot, he scanned her slowly. “You’re mouthy.”

Not surprised by his admonishment, she grinned. “I haven’t always been that way.”

“What changed you?”

“I acquired a taste for it.”

His gaze traveled over her hungrily, and she soaked up the attention. Lingering on her breasts, skimming down her legs, his interest gave no illusion. The man had a serious male appreciation for her figure, even if he liked nothing else about her.

Time to call in the heavy artillery, as her sister would say.

She walked toward him, half thrilled, half scared to bits. After all, from her first meeting with him, he’d given her an A-number one brush off.

The lights flickered wildly.

The elevator plunged.

Leigh’s life didn’t pass before her eyes. There wasn’t time for that.

Hey all! Sorry about the slow post today. I usually try to post early (even set my post to go up several days ahead of time). I got behind the power curve.:) Today I’m doing random wanderings.  I was thinking this morning about what makes an awesome read. To me a good book is all about subjective tastes. If  you think about, though, that means that authors have really hard work ahead of them. They spend a lot of time hearing in workshops “how” to write a great book, but then they read published books that are written exactly the opposite of those “rules and regulations.” Then you hear, “Write to the rules until you get a handle on the rules. Then you can break them.” I think what people really mean is to color between the lines until you get published, then your publisher might allow you to color outside the lines.” In any case, it’s a very subjective thing what makes a well-written book. What do you think?

On a totally non controversial subject, I wanted to share my latest four covers with you (which I probably did already but what the heck). I think they are both awesome and speak to the stories inside pretty well. The first one is WITHIN HIS EMBRACE, which comes out November 23 at Liquid Silver Books www.liquidsilverbooks.com. It’s the last book in my HEART OF JUSTICE SWAT series.

Then we have MARSHALL’S LAW, a book that is filled with a bit of humor and some major suspense, along with ultra hot romance. Not hot as in erotic romance so much, but sexual tension designed to heat you up while you wait for the hero and heroine to realize what they have between them just can’t be denied any longer. MARSHALL’S LAW will be released January 1, 2010 at Samhain Publishing www.samhainpublishing.com.

Then there is MAJOR PLEASURE. If you like military romances, this novella might be for you. It was originally published in the BY HONOR BOUND Anthology at Ellora’s Cave. It’s being released again as a single title novella at Ellora’s Cave www.jasminejade.com on January 27, 2010. Whoohoo! I loved writing this story, and I hope you’ll love it as well.

Last but not least is MANEATER, a tongue-in-cheek romantic suspense novella that was a part of the WINTER WARRIORS anthology at Ellora’s Cave www.jasminejade.com.  MANEATER is my first story in the Special Investigations Agency series. It features erotic romance, otherwordly happenings, and razor-sharp suspense. If you never had a chance to read MANEATER, it’s being released December 14 by EC.  That’s all for me today! Hope you all have an excellent weekend!

‘Tis the season for ghostly whisperings. It’s not uncommon to see numerous television programs on all things paranormal during Halloween, including various ghost hunters tromping through scary places for hours. I’m all for it, as I am truly a Halloween fan and armchair ghost hunter. With that in mind, and because I’ve always been fascinated in the paranormal, today I’m interviewing fellow Danger Zone Author (www.dangerzoneauthors.com) Marianne LaCroix and paranormal investigation team, ALPHA (Association For Locating Paranormal and Haunted Activity) of Florida. Read through this entire blog and be sure to comment. Mari will be offering a copy of MEN AFTER MIDNIGHT to one lucky winner.

First up, author Marianne LaCroix.

Denise: Welcome, Mari. It’s wonderful to have you here. You have an impressive array of novels. When did you set a goal to write for publication?

Mari: Thank you for inviting me. I’m honored. I dabbled in writing romance for years, but in 2003 I decided to write and try to get published. My first published book was LADY SHEBA, a campy—yet erotic and romantic—comic book adventure. The character of Lady Sheba was inspired by the Egyptian mythology of the goddess Bast, the cat goddess. Anyway, that’s where it started, writing a book I wanted to read. After LADY SHEBA I wrote several subgenres of erotic romance, but mainly focusing on erotic paranormal romance. I really hit it when DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS began to be released in short story installments. I wrote them as a pass time, but then the series took off. They were packaged together in paperback and went on to be a Romantic Times Top Pick and Reviewer Choice finalist. At that point, there was no going back.

Denise: Do your books form with a character idea first or a plot idea first?

Mari: I’m more character focused in my writing, so I have to say character first. When ALPHA came in to do a Paranormal 411 workshop for my local RWA chapter, FPHRW, I was broadsided. Literally. We took the guys out to lunch that day before the workshops, and I was already formulating a book in my head. And yeah, it did start with character ideas—hot male paranormal investigators. And by unbelievable coincidence they bear uncanny resemblances and personalities to Ron and Scott. LOL Imagine that. But yeah, character first.

Denise: Here’s a cliché question for you. How does your imagination work? Do you have to plot a book ahead of time, or do you let it all hang loose and by-the-seat-of-your-pants when writing a book?

Mari: I noticed that if I plot too much before I sit down to write, the book doesn’t get written beyond the outline. So, I sit and let the story flow for a few chapters, then I go back and do some basic plotting. I don’t do many details, just the bare bones. So I am a mix of a pantser and a plotter.

Denise: When did you first become interested in the paranormal?

Mari: I was always reading books and watching movies with paranormal themes. The Mummy (Karloff) and Dracula (Lugosi) were two of my favorites. I loved the old Universal monster movies. As a kid I loved (and you’re going to laugh) The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and the Abbott and Costello’s The Time of Their Lives too. Can you tell I’m an old movie buff? Heh…but it took me years to get up the guts to go in Disney’s Haunted Mansion. That is until I was a teenager—and some hot Navy men tried to jump into my ride car when they saw I was by myself. I loved the ride after that. Hmm, hot guys and ghosts. Maybe I was on to something…

Denise: What is the most frightening paranormal experience you’ve had?

Mari: I don’t ever recall ever being frightened. I’ve had several experiences over the years. I’ve been visited by my grandfather I never knew when I shattered my left ankle. I had a metal plate, screws and pins surgically inserted, and I was in a lot of pain because of it. My first night home from the hospital, he came and massaged my throbbing ankle….through the cast. I knew it was him. I was comforted, not scared. I do notice that often I have an experience while half asleep. I am of the belief that the dream state is easier for those who passed to make contact. I recently had an experience at the Wakulla Springs Lodge during a writer retreat. Something woke me up. I didn’t see anything, I felt it there by the bed. I had a similar experience in my home when I was pregnant (and sick as a dog for the entire time). I actually saw something that time. I was alone in the house, so it wasn’t anyone to be easily explained away. I simply turned over and told it to go away. I wasn’t scared and I didn’t see it again.

Denise: When did you decide to join ALPHA?

Mari: I met Scott and Ron a few years ago while they were with another group. We kept in touch since then through their email announcements. Then Scott emailed me last year about the start of ALPHA Ghost Team. Immediately I was on board in support. They were the ghost guys to me from the beginning, so I didn’t think twice. Later we made some plans for a workshop presentation for the Tallahassee RWA chapter, FPHRW. They came in to do their Paranormal 411 presentation in April. After that I got chatty with the guys, and eventually, I asked to join the group. Hot guys and ghosts. See a pattern here?

Denise: Your first investigation with ALPHA is scheduled for February 2010. Tell us some of your feelings heading into this investigation.

Mari: I am so excited. I really want to be a part of things. I want to see the guys in action. They both love doing this, and that kind of passion is very contagious.

Denise: What will be your main function/job at the investigation?

Mari: Officially I’m an ALPHA Tracker with the group, and not an investigator. My purpose is to help the team in whatever way I can. They’ll let me know what they need me to do on a site when the time comes. I’m anxious to experience an investigation first hand. The best part of ALPHA is the stress on the team. Several of us have our talents that we use to help out. Mine just happens to be a little business experience and advertising. I love doing what I can to help. Hmm, that reminds me, Ron owes me a lunch…

Denise: Many investigators have discovered their lives altered for both good and/or bad when they begin partaking in paranormal investigation. Do you plan any type of personal protection before you jump into your first investigation?

Mari: I sometimes wear a talisman, the Goetia Seal of Solomon, but more for the fact I think it looks cool than for any deeper belief of the protection from evil. I think the best bet of personal protection is to simply remember ghosts were once living people. I am a firm believer in the thought of treating people like you wish to be treated. You get back what you put in.

Thanks much Mari! Be sure to stop Mari’s website at www.mariannelacroix.com and read all her excerpts!

Second up, the investigative team of Ron Bordner and Scott Tepperman of ALPHA Ghost Team http://www.alphaghostteam.com/

Denise: Gentlemen, it’s an honor to have you participate in this interview for The Bradford Bunch. I know many readers here are excited to learn more about you. Your first anniversary as an organized paranormal investigation team was October 11, 2009. Has your experience as paranormal investigators been anything like you expected so far? What has surprised you the most about the experience?

Ron: Honestly, my experience as a paranormal investigator hasn’t been anything like I imagined it to be. Before I became an investigator I had several preconceived notions about the ghost hunting field in general (What was it all about? Why was it still being thought of as taboo?) It was only when I started to learn more about paranormal phenomena that the puzzle pieces of the “mystery” behind this field fell into play. The major surprises that I have experienced over the years have been many, but probably the single most important surprise was the reality of how much there is still left to learn about paranormal phenomena as a whole. This field is really 95% theory and 5% fact (in regards to proving the existence of spirits) so that was definitely an eye-opener for me personally.

Scott: Although ALPHA has just celebrated its one year anniversary, the core members of ALPHA have all been paranormally active for over five years in a previous group. As I became more and more involved with “ghost hunting”, I was disheartened to find a great deal of phonies and opportunists out to make a quick buck. Ron and I originally conceived ALPHA to help return legitimacy to the paranormal field which has recently been favoring sensationalism over substance.

Denise: Why are some of your team members called trackers and what is the difference between a tracker and an investigator?

Ron: The members of our “street team” are called the ALPHA TRACKERS. They are a separate entity from the ALPHA GHOST TEAM however; they play an intricate part in marketing the ALPHA name and getting the word out about our organization. The main difference between a tracker and an investigator is the fact that members of the ALPHA TRACKERS are strictly put into play as a tool to help ALPHA prosper and grow as a business. An investigator is a full –fledged member of the ALPHA GHOST TEAM and has received the necessary training to be a certified paranormal investigator.

Scott: We are a cohesive whole comprised of highly trained investigators and an effective “street team”. While there is a clear difference between members and “street team”, the success of ALPHA benefits equally from everyone’s contributions.

Denise: When new people approach you wanting to assist with investigations, what qualities do you look for in a tracker/investigator?

Ron: The main traits that we look for in a prospective investigator is that the member has to be dedicated 110% to the group, they have to very educated (must have a good mix of street & book smarts) and above all else, they have to be willing to breathe, eat, and be ALPHA at all times. This group is my passion and my life, and that mentally must be shared by all prospective members as well.

Scott: First and foremost, prospective members need to be of strong moral character. You can not decide to set precedent by not following your own rules. Second, you must want to join ALPHA for the right reasons – no hidden agendas. If someone is out for themselves, they are contradicting the “team” mentality that Ron and I have worked so hard to develop.

Denise: Do you believe interest in the paranormal has steadily increased over the last ten years? If so, why?

Ron: I believe that the interest in the paranormal has skyrocketed just in the past four years alone because of the various “ghost hunting” shows that are on network television. These shows have brought ghost hunting to the masses, and have stripped away the taboo labels that were placed on the ghost hunting field over the years. However, these shows have been a disservice to the field because they don’t represent the field in general. For example: If a member of the public watches one of these shows and perceives the investigators to be con artists, it gives the more legitimate ghost hunting groups (like ALPHA) a black eye because the public lumps us in the same category as the con artists because we are in the same field (ghost hunting) as they are.

Scott: Yes, because of “Ghost Hunters”.

Denise:  Does your investigation format differ from a group like TAPS?

Ron: Our investigative formats and techniques differ from TAPS greatly. First and foremost we don’t go into a location to strictly debunk paranormal claims ala TAPS. We simply go on location and log what we find. If we find paranormal activity then we document it, however if we are able to debunk any claims we do that as well. We really don’t have a strict mantra of proving or disproving paranormal phenomena. Also, our techniques differ from TAPS because we don’t believe in antagonizing the spirits or helping to stir up any latent negative energy that could still be remaining at a location. We believe that this behavior does nothing but breed unacceptable investigator attitudes and has the potential to ruin an investigation.

Scott: I believe that, at our core, TAPS and ALPHA were very similar before “network bosses” and others with vested interests imposed demands on TAPS in exchange for popularity, a TV show, etc. No disrespect to TAPS – it’s understandable. However, for TAPS to bring an industry to the forefront of public interest and pretty much spearhead it for a good five years, I believe that their recent questionable credibility has undoubtedly cast a dark shadow over the entire field.

Denise: Tell me about your scariest investigation or personal experience on an investigation? (No places or names required unless you want to reveal them.)

Ron: I personally haven’t had any “scary” moments on an investigation site. I’ve been unnerved plenty of times, but never really scared enough to leave a location. I been witness to people being grabbed by unseen entities, and I’ve seen objects move on their own, but nothing overtly scary enough to make me want to quit this field.

Scott: One of my first investigations was of the “Old Jail” in St. Augustine, FL. I was leaning on a table in general population and videotaping two of our then-members using a Ouija board. About a half hour into the Ouija session, I was physically grabbed on my right arm and pulled off the bench. We actually caught that incident with two different cameras. Wild stuff.

Denise: What is the difference between a ghost hunter and a paranormal investigator?

Ron: The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably in this field. You have some people who use the same term to describe the same thing i.e. ghost/spirit etc. However, my personal opinion is that a “ghost hunter” is someone who recreationally looks for spirit activity as a weekend hobby and has little to no formal training in the paranormal field. A “paranormal investigator” is someone who is dedicated 110% to their field (they’ve had years of field and book training) and regards themselves to be a professional in every aspect of the word.

Scott: “Ghost hunters” are nothing more than hobbyists running around cemeteries aimlessly taking pictures. “Paranormal investigators” are educated, trained and professional researchers who try to uncover unexplained phenomena in a responsible, thorough manner.

Denise: Many people say there’s no place for psychics in a scientific team. How do you feel about that?

Ron: I feel that in order to run the full gamut at an investigation site you have to implore the use of all the tools that you have at your disposal. Now, whether that is psychics, scientific tools, or skeptics you have to use all the ammo you have. I personally don’t have a problem with psychics on my team; however I cannot say that whatever information they would be channeling would be 100% accurate. In ALPHA we document everything and present it to the client, so if a psychic has information about a location we include it in our formal write up to the client, but we cannot call their “visions” to be hardcore evidence, thus we CANNOT stand by their personal conclusions.

Scott: I personally have problems with psychics due to their lack of credibility. Quite often, they are nothing more than swindlers who prey on weak and vulnerable clients who are desperate to find any solace for what they have experienced. However, since I do feel that it is important to get as many “takes” on an investigation as possible, I welcome the use of a well-established psychic/medium with good credentials and a proven track record as evidenced by their previous caseload.

Denise: One slightly controversial question. In the last several years there’s been an upsurge in claims that some hauntings are actually demonic in nature. How do you feel about this trend? Is it hysteria or is there something to it? Have you ever encountered what you believe was a non-human entity?

Ron: I personally haven’t been privy to the demonic possession trend that seems to be on the upsurge. I can only assume that the hysteria is feed by the constant labeling of “demonic” possession that you see on the ghost hunting television shows. It really seems that once these television shows took hold, the public was convinced their homes were haunted and haunted by a “demon” I’ve never personally encountered a demon/non human entity (or known of anyone that has) so I’m not totally convinced that the whole concept of “demons” actually does exist.

Scott: Again, demonic possessions are good TV fodder. While demonic forces are quite rare, they do exist. While I do believe that a person can be possessed, they are - in fact - just mentally disturbed people who have convinced themselves of being possessed. This is a legitimate phenomenon due to the fact that these people actually require some medical and/or psychological assistance.

Denise: Last but not least, what is your advice to those interested in getting into paranormal investigating and please tell us about the DVD you have coming out soon.

Ron: My advice to anyone who is interested in getting involved in the paranormal field/investigations is that don’t go into it half- hearted and to treat it with respect and professionalism because the amateurs always make the professionals look bad.

Scott: Our DVD is titled, “Dead Air [LIVE] From the Windsor Hotel”. This is our first foray into the home video market. We are quite excited about this project because we fully immerse the viewer into our world by explaining the “ins-and-outs” of paranormal investigation in real time while conducting an actual, thorough investigation of one of “America’s Top 10 Haunted Hotels”. We didn’t doctor anything on film – everything the viewer experiences is legitimate. We have just begun pre-production on the second and third installments.

That is what ALPHA is all about: Real. Raw. Paranormal.

Thank you so much Mari, Ron and Scott for taking time out of their busy schedules to chat with us. I very much appreciate it!

WITHIN HIS EMBRACE to be released January 2010

Hey guys! Just got this great new cover by April Martinez for my next Liquid Silver Books release. Within His Embrace is the last story in my Heart of Justice SWAT series. This book was harder to write, I think, than the rest of the books in the series. Craig is a hero who has some really rough edges because of his teenage years, yet he’s now an adult, a cop, and a SWAT team member.

As the months go by I’ll give you excerpts and more information on this book. Oh, and there will be a perk at the end of the book. A short story! I wrote a story about Ian, who is featured in a few quick scenes in WITHIN HIS EMBRACE. As I was writing WITHIN HIS EMBRACE, Ian sort of screamed for a quick story. The short story that evolved is called WITH HIS KISS. I knew his story didn’t want to be any larger than a short story, and yet it was fun creating this little piece that could be attached to a larger novel.

Okay everyone, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Have a fantastic day!

I think by now you all know how crazy I am for Halloween. October snuck up on me, though! September kind of went in a whirlwind. I’m hoping October will be more relaxing, thank you very much.

To me one of the best spooky elements of a good Halloween story is a castle. Castles have always been a part of my world. From the time I was little I loved castles. When I was a teenager I read gothic romances where a castle or fortified manor house or some other amazing haunted edifice was a centerpiece to the story. I’ve  certainly written about castles before, and in my current work in progress, a huge castle is also a part of the world. Why am I obsessed with them? Could it be in my genes? Since my ancestors hail from Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales and France, it makes sense. My travels through Britain and Ireland showed me that amy obsession was a forever thing. I was lucky enough to see many castles and even stay in a pseudo-castle. I also discovered a few short years ago that a branch of my family has a long history with Picton Castle in Wales. The Phillips family. I wish I’d known that when I was traveling in Wales. I would have stopped there and introduced myself.

I think these huge buildings, with their mysterious shadows, dark hallways, endless staircases, and desolate dungeons will always draw me back.

Have you visited any castles? And if so, did you find them beautiful? Scary? Haunting?

Denise A. Agnew

Last week I was dealing with a medical thing, but despite that, I have excellent news! I’ll admit my creative juices have been low lately, so this is totally raw promo today.

PRINT BOOKS

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from readers on if/when my SWAT series at Liquid Silver Books will come out in print. I wish I could say. Does that mean they’ll never come out in print? Not necessarily. Rest assured that if there are plans for this series to go into print, I’ll be the first one to give a scream of joy.

PRIVATE MANEUVERS AND CLOSE QUARTERS COMING TO PRINT!!

I’ve also had many questions on when the last two stories in my Hot Zone series at Samhain will come out in print. Answer is…hopefully soon. I don’t have a definitive date yet, but I heard they will come out in print as an anthology. Whoohoo! I’ll let you know as soon as I know!

Meltdown comes out October 11 at Liquid Silver Books

MELTDOWN

Meltdown, a firefighter romance with paranormal elements, comes out on October 11 (after 7pm EST) at Liquid Silver Books www.liquidsilverbooks.com MELTDOWN was once a part of the MEN TO DIE FOR anthology at Ellora’s Cave.

OLDIES: MIDNIGHT ROSE AND MARSHALL’S LAW RETURN

I’m happy to announce that Midnight Rose and Marshall’s Law, two of my previously published titles, are returning! I don’t have a release date on Midnight Rose yet (and it will have a new title), but we’re shooting for a January release on Marshall’s Law at Samhain Publishing. Stayed tuned to My Space, Twitter, my webpage, this blog and my newsletter for more information and excerpts.

MAJOR PLEASURE RETURNS!

More great news! I can hardly keep up with it. MAJOR PLEASURE, which is a military romance novella available in the BY HONOR BOUND anthology at Ellora’s Cave, will soon be out as an individual download at Ellora’s Cave. So keep your eyes peeled, and I’ll let you all know asap as soon as I have news on when it’s released.

Whew! That’s it for now. Everyone have a fabulous day.