Jana DeLeon Takes Us Into the Spooky Bayou!

interview with Suz



Fellow Bandits and Bandit friends please help me welcome my dear friend Jana DeLeon to the Lair! Jana is a multi-published author who has her first book with Harlequin Intrigue, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU, coming out on March 8th. Jana, pull up a chair and we’ll get the cabana boys to bring you your favorite drink. (Isn't this a great picture of Jana and her dog Bogey reading together?)

Suz: Congratulations, Jana. THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU received a 4 1/2 start TOP PICK review from Romantic Times magazine! Can you  give us a glimpse into THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU?

Jana: I would call the book a "gothic lite." It's a bit of a ghost story set deep in the Louisiana swamps.

Suz: Your heroine, Olivia Markham is a horror writer, but she has a very unique way of researching her books, doesn’t she?

Jana: Olivia rents reputed haunted houses to stay in while writing her books. She says the location provides the ambience for creating a good horror novel.

Suz: Okay, that's like way too much realistic research for this author! Your hero, John Landry, isn’t quite the caretaker he is supposed to be, is he?


Jana: John in an undercover cop with his own agenda, and Olivia is not part of it. In fact, she's in the way. But he has good reasons for wanting her to leave the house even though he ultimately becomes her champion and protector.

Suz: And he's all secretive, yet sexy, too! One of the best parts of your book is how you made the setting a character in this book. How did you make the bayou feel so alive?




Jana: By writing what I know. I grew up in the bayous of Louisiana. I know the appearance, the weather and the peculiarities of small-town bayou inhabitants well. It's easy to write something so familiar.

Suz: Setting often has big impact on a story. The mansion where the book takes place is La Malediction? What significance does this have to the plot?

Jana: The name laMalediction means "The Curse." Legend has it that the house and all its future inhabitants were cursed by the original owner, who went insane and murdered his wife. The house is isolated deep in the swamp with a single, muddy path connecting it to the closest town. A big rainstorm can leave people stranded at the mansion without power.

(Check out the exerpt here: http://janadeleon.net/harlequin-books/the-secret-of-cypriere-bayou-excerpt/ )

Suz: While this is your first novel for Harlequin, you’ve had several single titled books published. Would you tell our readers about them and how they differ from THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU?



Jana: Prior to writing for Harlequin, I wrote five single title contemporary humorous mystery/romance novels. The combination of mystery and romance is the same and all my prior works are set in Louisiana, but the big difference is the humor. While the plots are serious, the humor is a key component to all my previous work. All of my previous books are available in ebook format.(Check them out @  http://janadeleon.net/ )

Suz: What future books do you have on your agenda?

Jana: In July 2011, BAYOU BODYGUARD releases. This book is a related book to THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU and finished up the overarching mystery surrounding the house and its history. I have another book under contract with Harlequin scheduled for a release in early 2012. So far, all of my books with Harlequin have that hint of spooky.


So dear readers, Jana wants to know, Do you believe in them and if so, do you think you've ever seen one? One lucky commentor will receive an autographed copy of THE SECRET OF CYPIERE BAYOU.

Thanks so much for having me!Source URL: https://itistheforkhead.blogspot.com/search/label/harlequin%20intrigue
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Guest Author Dana Marton: Passion + Action = Paction (and Giveaway!)

I'm so happy to welcome author Dana Marton to the Lair! Dana Marton is the award-winning author of twenty-three books with Harlequin Intrigue. The latest is The Spy Who Saved Christmas, more of a Die Hard kind of Christmas story than It’s a Wonderful Life. High stakes, instead of fruitcakes. Dana is known for her fast-paced action and sexy, emotional romance. Dangerous men, thrilling women. Connect with Dana online at danamarton.com and facebook.com/danamarton.

Thank you for the warm welcome, Kate!

I read a wide variety of books. My favorites are romance novels, of course. Specifically, romantic suspense, the kind of story I also write, like this month’s The Spy Who Saved Christmas. But even when I read outside of the romance genre, the stories I like best are those that include a love story.

Love is a part of every human story. In fact, love is what makes us human, and the search for love is what makes our characters relatable.

In a good romantic suspense novel, the passion and the action are inextricable. Paction, you might say.

The romance is the motivation for the suspense. The hero and heroine love each other – even before they admit it – so they put their lives on the line in order to keep the other safe. They throw themselves into the path of danger on each other’s behalf.

Here are a few movies that adeptly combined passion and action in such a way that one would not exist without the other. Paction movies.


• Avatar – The hero entered a new world and fell in love. If he hadn’t fallen in love, he would likely have succumbed to the pressure to leave that world behind. But because he loved his heroine, he fell in love with her world, so much so that he was willing to fight to the death to save it.


• Casino Royale – First, let’s get this out of the way: Daniel Craig is H-O-T. Can I hear an “Amen”? Now, about the movie… In past James Bond movies, there was always a romantic interest, but we knew that she wouldn’t hold his interest for long. But in Casino Royale, the prequel, James found true love, and the loss of that love explained why he would never let himself feel that deeply again.


• True Lies – This is an old movie but not old enough to be cool. However, I’m naming it anyway because it’s one of my favorites. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a mild-mannered salesman, or so his wife believes. But in truth, he’s a spy whose frequent trips are actually dangerous missions. When his restless wife gets pulled into one of those missions, the stakes rise, and the hero will do anything to save the woman he loves. And she puts herself in danger’s path to save him, too.


When I write a Harlequin Intrigue, I write a paction story. The romance and the action are inextricably combined. In The Spy Who Saved Christmas, Reid Graham and Lara Jordan share one night of passion, and then Reid is killed in a mysterious fire, leaving Lara pregnant and alone.

Reid is an undercover spy, and he had no idea Lara was pregnant when he allowed her to believe he had died two years ago. Now he’s about to break the biggest case of his career, and Lara reappears in his life at the worst possible moment. For the first time, Reid has something to lose – the twin sons he’s never met, and the one woman he could never forget. With bullets flying and enemies hot on their heels, Reid and Lara have to work together to bring their babies home by Christmas.

Paction.

Do you love paction books and movies as much as I do? What are some of your favorites?

Contest: Each time I reach another 100 people who “Like” my Facebook page (facebook.com/danamarton), I’ll select a random fan to win an Amazon.com e-gift certificate. Please come to my page and click “Like” for your chance to win.

Also, one lucky commenter on today’s blog will win a free copy of a book from my backlist.Source URL: https://itistheforkhead.blogspot.com/search/label/harlequin%20intrigue
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