Please
describe your novel twitter style 140 characters or less.
Thank you for having me today on your lovely blog! I enjoy
the opportunity to share my experience of writing and to interact with readers.
Now for the twitter-length description.
Danger rides on Ben Kirby's shoulder. At least that's what
Sterling Aegar, heroine of Dancing with
Detective Danger, believes. And that's a problem.
Two years ago Sterling ran away from a passionate
relationship with Ben because his work scared her. A cop herself turned private
investigator, she's suffered more than her share of losses, and with the death
of her sister's husband, also a cop, she couldn't contain the idea of loving
Ben, then losing him to police work. But now, a mutual case has slammed them
together again. Though for Ben, encountering Sterling has triggered physical
attraction that has never gone away, it's also reminded him of his deep love
for her. As Sterling and Ben confront grave danger on the job, they both must
face their troubled pasts and choose love or let it go.
What
is the one thing you wish you knew before you tried to get published? It
would be an understatement to say I've learned a lot from writing, so it's hard
to pick one thing I didn’t know that I wish I had. Hmm…here it is. I wish I'd
learned all about effective marketing.
What
to you is the best part of being a writer and what is the part you wouldnt mind
giving up? I love the exhilaration of getting to know the characters and
their story. I'm a pantser, so though I do a lot of preparation and research
before I begin writing the story, there is a lot I don't know. It's fun to find
out as I go.
The part of being a writer I wouldn’t mind giving up is not
knowing everything. It fuels my self-doubt. Why can't I be a genius?
What
city would you love to set a story in but the right one hasnt come along yet? I would love to set a story in Chicago. I love
the feel of an urban center, which is why Dancing
with Detective Danger is set in a fictitious mid-size city that I feel has
a sense of that excitement, just on a
smaller scale.
Vampires,
Shifters, Zombies, Angels - who wins the final ultimate battle? Well,
can't we all just live together happily ever after?
If
you could witness any historical event past, present or future what would it be
and why? Interesting question. It seems like historical events come in different
sizes and don't necessarily have a huge impact all at once. So with that in
mind, I would like to have been there when the Beatles first learned one of
their songs was a hit. Very fun moment to be a part of.
If
you were going to cowrite a new book, who would you want to write it with? My
blog partner would be a good choice. She's a good writer.
What
books are currently on your nightstand? I've come sort of late to
reading the Dresden Files books, by Jim Butcher, so I'm presently reading Death Masks. I love paranormal romances
and Dresden has both, even though the series is not romance. I just finished reading Rena Koontz's new
release from Crimson Romance, The Devil
She Knew. Great read.
What
is the best thing you have done in the name of research? Started paying
more attention to everything. That was way back when I first started writing
fiction. Paying attention really made the world come alive for me.
When
writing what is your favorite part of the story? I love to write highly
charged emotional moments that reveal things about the plot and the characters.
Anything
else you would like to share today? I'm working on a second book about
the sisters in Dancing with Detective
Danger. In the first book, Sterling's sister Lacey is grieving the death of
her husband, Nicholas, though he has reappeared in her life. In the second
book, Lacey is learning to continue to love the life she has had with Nicholas
while considering moving on without him.
DANCING
WITH DETECTIVE DANGEROUS
By
Lynn Crandall
BLURB:
Uncovering
secrets and exposing truth are all in a day’s work for private investigator
Sterling Aegar. But when her latest case threatens to reveal her own buried
feelings for an old love, Sterling runs for cover.
A
body in the bathtub and pleas from a jilted wife to find her wayward husband
mean a welcome break from the usual humdrum cases Sterling and her sister,
Lacey, are called to investigate. But when Sterling’s old flame, Detective Ben Kirby,
walks into the murder scene, she feels her world spin out of control. Danger
from thugs and murderers poses no greater threat than the peril she’d suffer if
she lets daredevil Ben get too close.
Seeing
Sterling for the first time in two years is for Ben like drinking in a healing
tonic. He could never forget the way it felt to run his hands over her
delicious curves or the way she touched his soul. She remains the one person
who can make the emptiness in his gut go away. Finding the murderer is his job,
but protecting Sterling from seriously dangerous people is his mission.
As
the case unfolds, Sterling and Ben not only solve the murder and locate the
missing husband, they confront secrets that set them each free from a painful
past.
EXCERPT:
Ben wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of
his hand and reached up again for the bar. Bench-pressing his usual two hundred
and fifty pounds, he gritted his teeth and willed his mind to focus on the
fifth repetition.
Thoughts of Sterling had been working his mind,
stirring up emotions, ever since the moment he’d walked up to her at the Witt
murder scene. It didn’t help that this morning when he’d dropped by the Aegar
Investigations office Sterling had looked flawless, perfect. Her red suit was
the picture of professionalism, but it couldn’t hide her gentle curves. And he
could never forget the exquisite joy of running his hands along those sweetly
feminine curves.
“Okay, let’s add another twenty pounds, Chris,” Ben
said, sitting up and reaching for another weight. It’s the past, man. Forget it.
“What are you training for, the Olympics?” his
spotter asked, adding on another steel weight to match the one Ben added.
Lying back down on the weight bench, Ben ignored
Chris’s question. Best if no one knows what’s eating me up. He reached up and
put everything he had into hoisting the barbell over his head.
Memories of peering deeply into the wells of
Sterling’s eyes, dusky with passion, grabbed hold of his gut. The two of them
had always connected in such a way that intimacy went beyond the physical
realm. It bordered on the spiritual.
Well,
that didn’t work. Now I sound like some gushy nut job.
Ben finished the last rep. and sat up to straddle
the bench. “That’s it for me, Chris. Want me to spot you now?”
“No. Thanks, Ben, but I’m done for the day. See ya
later.”
Ben lumbered to the locker room. Stripping off his
shorts and muscle shirt, he walked to the shower and plunged his head into the
hard spray. Maybe I can wash her out.
Hadn’t he tried to pull his life together after she
left him? It had been damn hard and it had taken the better part of the two
years, but he’d thought she was finally out. Or at least as far out of his
system as he could ever hope Sterling could be.
Clearly, nothing had changed with her. Sterling wanted
no part of him. Ben closed his eyes and leaned weakly against the shower wall.
It still hurt. No wonder running into her messed him up so easily, he thought.
A gaping hole still bled inside him where she belonged.
REVIEW SOUND BYTES
Lynn Crandall writes a compelling tale of intrigue that is sure to keep you on
the edge of your seat. From the first page to the last, Dancing With Detective Danger will keep you guessing what will happen next as Sterling Aegar and Ben Kirby search to find a killer, as well as answers to the
past they thought they had left behind—a past that is at times painful, but one
that neither can forget. Dancing With
Detective Danger will quickly become a must read for all fans of romantic suspense and have readers looking for more books
by this talented author.
– Kathie DeNosky, USA Today
Bestselling Author
Lynn Crandall held my interest from start to finish with unexpected surprises and a satisfying story. Her characters are alive and easy to relate to as they struggle with inner
stories that affect their lives—real issues people live with daily. An engaging
plot made it hard to put the book down.
There is a broadness
in this book's world where emotions and awareness of life beyond the physical are acknowledged. Her
characters effectively illustrate the struggles of finding balance in the
battle between self-protection and reaching
for help while fearing to need it. The issue of being walled off to feel safe
from the danger of being open and vulnerable
are a familiar human experience. I'd like to follow this cast of characters in
new adventures.
-Lynne McLewin, Counselor and Healer
Dancing with Detective Danger is filled with intrigue, many twists and turns as well as a passionate love story well
weaved together from page one to the end. Ms. Crandall writes beautiful prose that make the reader
unable to lay the book down.
Elizabeth Butler, award-winning author of nine novels, her latest Happy New Year, Emily Rose
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
I started spinning stories as a child
when I tried to entertain my younger sister at night when we were supposed to be
going to sleep. In the dark, my stories typically took on a scary or paranormal
element -- didn't do much to put us to sleep. Today, I hope my stories still
fail to put readers to sleep, but rather take them on a journey. That's what
I've been on since I decided to make writing my focus. As a reporter and
magazine feature writer, I truly enjoy learning as I work on stories. As a
romance writer, I enjoy doing the research and following an evolving story of my
characters. I'm still learning as I go.
GIVEAWAY:
Lynn will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift card
to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour
