FRIDAY FIRSTS with Darcy Burke

The first five sentences of... HER WICKED WAYS
“Stand and deliver!” Montgomery Foxcroft demanded a second time as he and the other four members of his band stepped out from the trees lining the rutted and muddy road. They’d scouted the two coaches for the last quarter mile. Each had a coachman at the reins and a footman on the back. The footman on the rear coach crouched low as both vehicles rumbled to a halt.

Genre: Regency romance

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT DARCY

1. What was the first romance you ever read? I'm not sure, especially since my mother recently told me that we read a lot of Harlequins. I have no recollection of reading Harlequins! I do remember reading Kathleen Woodiwiss' Ashes in the Wind and thinking it was the best book ever written.

2.What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?Buy a composition notebook for research and plotting notes. It becomes my "bible" for that story. I think I'm going to run out of space in the notebook for my WIP. That's never happened before! But it's a contemporary paranormal, which requires a lot of world building and it's so important to keep all of that straight. I actually find it more challenging than writing historicals!

3. When standing in front of a buffet line, what’s the first food that catches your eye? Dessert, but I rarely leave room to eat it! I also think many desserts look better than they taste. And this may shock you, but chocolate is not my first choice. I'll usually go for lemon or a creme brulee or similar.

More about Darcy:  Darcy Burke wrote her first bookat age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. An RWA Golden Heart® Finalist, Darcy loves all things British (except tomatoes for breakfast, or any other time of day, actually) and happy ever afters.

A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her devoted husband,their two great kids, and three cats. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.

You can find Darcy online here:
http://www.darcy-burke.com
http://www.facebook.com/darcyburkefans
Twitter - @darcyburke

Give Away! Sign up to receive Darcy's newsletter (go to her website-http://www.darcy-burke.com) before May 25, and be entered into a drawing to win an advanced electronic copy of Darcy's June release, His Wicked Heart!

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Sharon Hamilton

The first five sentences of...

HONEYMOON BITE

Anne looked down on the sleeping form of her new husband and, God help her, he looked like the first man she would murder. Nestled into his arms was the naked body of her maid of honor.

This made the second time today the bride had caught them together. First was at the reception. In the bathroom.

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT SHARON

1. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?

Block out the chapters, the scenes that have to be written. Get a general path of the story first, so I can find the Turning Points, the Black Moments and make sure there is a strong character arc for both the hero and the heroine. Often one of the two of them will want dominance. Not always the same each both, either.

2. Tell me about your very first date (ever).

A bunch of Stanford guys wanted to date several of us in high school. They went through the yearbook, and each of them picked one. I got picked by a nerdy boy from Brooklyn. He probably became the head of some huge investment firm, but we were a bit mismatched...LOL. I was scared to death!

3. What was your first date with your significant other?

We went to a jazz concert at Sonoma State University. I had been the night before with another guy, but didn't tell my husband that. I was thrilled he'd asked me. I'd wanted him to ever since I met him at school.

MORE ABOUT SHARON: Sharon Hamilton lives on 60 acres in beautiful Sonoma County with her chickens and other assorted wild life, including her husband of 40 years. When not pouring over a laptop, or reading, she can be found in the garden, dead-heading flowers and planting vegetables. She works out many of her story lines while covered in dirt.

FIND SHARON ONLINE:
http://sharonhamiltonauthor.blogspot.com/
http://www.sharonhamiltonauthor.com/
http://www.sharonhamiltonauthor.com/books.html

The first five sentences of... DEADLY OBSESSION

Don’t forget Nic—you belong to me. If you stray, she’ll pay.

The darkened theater closed around Nic Lamoureux like a cave, filled with unknown, unseen dangers. Clenching the cell phone in his fist, he glanced at his Bad Days co-star, Jane Carver, sitting on his right, then at his agent, Vivian Carmichael, on his left. How had the stalker gotten his private number and which woman was the message targeting?

Publisher: Self-published

Genre: Romantic Suspense

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT KRISTINE

1. What was the first Rated R movie you ever saw?

The first Rated R movie I ever saw was Risky Business starring Tom Cruise. It was my birthday, a group of girlfriends were sleeping over, and we pretty much had the run of the house. And for those of you on the younger side, let me tell you, Tom Cruise was hot stuff at that time. Two scenes I'll never forget: when Tom sings "Old Time Rock and Roll" in his pink shirt and tighty-whities, and the train scene. I've loved Phil Collin's "In the Air Tonight" ever since!

2. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?

To test this out, I first had to go look at some photos of hot guys. I figured out that the first thing I see is how tall and broad they are. Okay, that's more than one thing, but it goes together. I like men who "look" tall, which doesn't mean they have to be 6'5" or something like that. A man can be 5'9" or 5'10" and still look tall. It's a matter of proportion. In addition, I like men who have a broad chest and shoulders. No skinny model boys for me. LOL.

3. If you had a free afternoon, what’s the first thing you’d do?

My favorite thing to do on a free afternoon, weather permitting (which is quite a rare thing here in "sunny" Seattle), is to sit in my rocking bench on my backyard deck, with a cold glass of ice tea and some strawberries. Once I have all that and I'm well-settled, I dive into a steamy romantic suspense or paranormal romance and spend a couple hours reading in the sunshine. Ah, paradise :)

MORE ABOUT KRISTINE:  

Kristine Cayne is fascinated by the mysteries of human psychology—twisted secrets, deep-seated beliefs, out-of-control desires. Add in high-stakes scenarios and real-world villains, and you have a story worth writing, and reading.

The heroes and heroines of her Deadly Vices series, beginning with Deadly Obsession, are pitted against each other by their radically opposing life experiences. By overcoming their differences and finding common ground, they triumph over their enemies and find true happiness in each other’s arms.

Today she lives in the Pacific Northwest, thriving on the mix of cultures, languages, religions and ideologies. When she’s not writing, she’s people-watching, imagining entire life stories, and inventing all sorts of danger for the unsuspecting heroes and heroines who cross her path.

Readers can learn more about Kristine and her writing on her website/blog, Facebook and Twitter.

FRIDAY FIRSTS with author Lynn Crain

First Five Sentences of... A LOVER FOR RACHEL

“Come on, we’re going to be late! You’re the one who wanted to go to this thing. Besides, it’s the dead of night, so who’s going to see us?”

Rachel frowned at her best friend, Samantha Andrews, again. Yes, she was the one who wanted to go to the summer solstice celebration at Stonehenge.

Genre: Paranormal erotic romance

Publisher: Self-published

Smashwords|Amazon

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT LYNN

1. What was the first Rated R movie you ever saw? Wow...are you trying to get me in trouble? LOL! In the little town we lived in they never checked IDs at the door. We got into tons of movies that we’d have been kicked out of today. My first R-rated flick was High Plains Drifter. I thought Clint Eastwood was so hot that I tried to write a book with a similar character. No, I didn’t succeed. LOL!

2. What was the first romance you ever read?

Now, this will be a three part question for me. The first book I read that could be considered a romance had to be Gone With The Wind. At the time, I didn’t consider it to be one but an epic Civil War novel. The first ‘bodice-ripper’ romance I ever read was The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Boy was that one hot...LOL! The first Harlequin Romance I ever read, about the same time as The Flame and the Flower, was called Castles in Spain. It was really sweet but still the HEA pulled me in. I have each and every one of those original books.

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start reading a new book?

Well, with ebooks I can’t do this so much any more...but...what I used to do was this: I’d look at the cover, I’d read the back blurb, I’d read the inside cover and usually a page at the beginning, middle and end. If I liked those, I’d buy the book. Now, I just look at the blurb, look at the cover and if they show a portion for a ‘look inside’ moment, I’ll read it.

More about Lynn: Lynn Crain realized at an early age she wanted to write. Taking the long way to being published, sha has done a variety of things like nursing, geologist, technical writer and computer manager all of which have added to her detail-oriented stories. She’s a full time storyteller and weaves fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales as well as erotic stories for various publishers. She normally lives in the very hot southwest with her husband, son, two dogs, three cats and she’s gotten rid of her snakes. Don’t ask. Other members of her clan live nearby and include a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons as well as various long-time friends. She is a past national board member of the RWA; founding president of Las Vegas Romance Writers Chapter of RWA; has held the positions of president, vice-president, secretary and contest chair of EPIC. Her latest adventure has taken her to Vienna, Austria with her husband as he works for a UN affiliated organization. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog and various other places on the net (www.theloglineblog.blogspot.com; www.twitter.com/oddlynn3). Still, the thing she loves most of all is hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net.