Thanks so much
to Mark for hosting me on his great blog. I’m excited to be here.
Mark is a
prolific short story writer. Plus, he writes novels. We’re somewhat similar in
that regard--when I first began to write fiction, I started by writing short
stories.
All my life,
characters, premises, beginnings, endings, and sometimes complete stories have
lived in my head. I thought everyone was like that. One day, I realized I
should try writing them down. I’m a little slow on the uptake about some things
at times--don’t judge J
I’ve always
read a lot. And I’ve always written a lot, but my writing was totally different
from fiction. I wasn’t a technical writer, like Mark, but mostly prepared
proposals and marketing-type material.
The stories in
my head tumbled over themselves faster than I could write. I wrote this story,
that story, bits that fit photos, ideas, what-ifs, until finally a little patch
of clutter was cleared.
In my life,
I’m happy, upbeat, and optimistic. Imagine my surprise when my stories turned
out to feature a dark side I didn’t know I had.
I wrote from
the point of view of killers, of people at the end of their ropes, women out
for vengeance, and more. There were a few lighter stories, but for the most
part, I wrote dark and darker tales. I kept wondering where it all came from.
After I
cleared my brain of more clutter, I could take a good look at what
remained--and that was my love for novels. So I dug in.
I was pretty
much a pantser at this point. I planned to write a dark tale of a female
homicide detective on a case involving the rape and murder of a local
anchorwoman. That was all I knew.
Imagine my
surprise when my detective is on scene where the body is found and who shows up
but a handsome on-air reporter who insists on calling her things like cupcake
and sugar dumpling. Plus he has a big friendly dog, and she finds herself
attracted to both. They share funny banter. I think I was more surprised than
the character.
Remember I
said I’m sometimes a little slow on the uptake? It took another book or two
before I realized I couldn’t stop seeing the humor in most situations. So there
it is. I start with the dark, but I can’t stay there for the long haul of a
novel. Truth: I don’t really want to
stay there for the long haul. Life’s too short not to have a little fun and
romance along the way.
And so, I
write Crime Fiction with a Kiss. I hope you’ll give one of my novels a try.
Except for the one with the homicide detective and the reporter with the dog.
That one was practice J
---
Life was so simple—until she had to
save one.
By the end of a long evening working as a special set of
eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off
her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe
sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely
sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities
were so simple.
As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of the first lady’s dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.
Available
September, 2014
Kindle and
Paperback
---
Carol writes
grocery lists, texts to her family, new lyrics to old songs for her dogs, love
notes to her husband, and novels for herself. And for you. In between, she
blogs weekly at Under the Tiki Hut and is active on Facebook and Twitter.
She sees
mystery and subterfuge everywhere. And she’s a sucker for a good love
story—especially ones with humor and mystery. Crime Fiction with a Kiss
gives her the latitude to mix and match throughout the broad mystery and
romance genres. Having flexibility makes her heart happy.
You can
connect with Carol here:
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