1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I studied creative writing, and later specialist fiction with the London School of Journalism. My non-fiction articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online. 

Two of my short stories, Duplicity and Perilous Truths, will appear in Crime Anthologies released in 2012. An Unfamiliar Murder is my first novel.

Apart from my personal blog, Caffeine’s Not a crime - http://www.janeisaac.co.uk/blog/   I blog about my writing experience, Diary of a Newbie Novelist - www.newbiewriters.com and am co-author on the Pyjama Club - http://pyjamaclub.blogspot.com/

I currently live in rural Northants, UK with my husband, daughter and dog, Bollo. When I’m not writing, I’m passionate about travel, love to read, walk my dog and spend time with my family. I believe life should be an adventure! 

2. What genre do you write?
Psychological Crime Thrillers

3. Please tell us about your latest release, AN UNFAMILIAR MURDER, and how you came up with the idea.
Let me share my blurb with you:

What secrets lurk beneath a normal, healthy skin?

Arriving home from a routine day at work, Anna Cottrell has no idea that her life is about to change forever. But discovering the stabbed body of a stranger in her flat, then becoming prime suspect in a murder enquiry is only the beginning. Her persistent claims of innocence start to crumble when new evidence links her irrevocably with the victim...
 
Leading her first murder enquiry, DCI Helen Lavery unravels a trail of deception, family secrets and betrayal. When people close to the Cottrell family start to disappear, Lavery is forced into a race against time. Can she catch the killer before he executes his ultimate victim?

Ideas pop into my head all over the place, a legacy of an overactive imagination, I guess! I do love to watch and listen to other people’s conversations too, and I’m sure snippets seep into my work.

I’m fascinated by what happens when extra-ordinary things happen to ordinary people. How do we react? The book is born out of this fascination and I try to make my characters real, so that we feel their journey.

An Unfamiliar Murder’s storyline developed as I wrote, I’m a definite pantser not a plotter, and I literally didn’t know how it was going to end when I first started it.

4. Is it part of a series?
Absolutely. I was only part way into this novel when I released that there was so much more I could do with my main character, DCI Helen Lavery. I am currently writing a sequel and enjoying stretching her character further.

5. A must have snack while you write.
Chocolate, always. And plenty of coffee.

6. A fact that someone might not know about you.
I dye my hair and have done since I was sixteen. I have no idea what the natural colour is now!

7. Advice to writers who have yet to be published.
Read everything you can get your hands on in your chosen genre and try to pen something every day. I don’t believe in imposing the pressure of word counts on myself, but my book is never far from my mind.

8. Any quirky habits?
I listen to music while I write and sometimes sing along into the headphones. Can be quite annoying for anyone else in the room!

9. What are you currently reading?
Payback by Simon Kernick

10. What are you currently working on?
I’m currently writing ‘Murderous Consequences’, the sequel to An Unfamiliar Murder. Hopefully this will be out by the end of the year.

What readers are saying:
"The characters are brilliantly crafted.... I can't wait for the sequel!"
 
"...as fast paced as it is full of twists and turns... "
 
"...compulsive reading. Brilliantly written, gripping plot."
Buy the book here:

 Paperback US:
 http://www.amazon.com/Unfamiliar-Murder-Jane-Isaac/dp/1937758060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326864285&sr=8-1
Paperback UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unfamiliar-Murder-Jane-Isaac/dp/1937758060/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328031646&sr=8-2
 Kindle US:
 http://www.amazon.com/An-Unfamiliar-Murder-ebook/dp/B006YK6U18/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326864285&sr=8-3
 Kindle UK:
 http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Unfamiliar-Murder-ebook/dp/B006YK6U18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326868728&sr=8-1

Contact details: 

You can contact me on my website at www.janeisaac.co.uk. I love to hear from readers and writers. Sign up to my newsletter for updates on An Unfamiliar Murder and its sequel which should be out by the end of 2013. Alternatively, follow me on Twitter: @JaneIsaacAuthor or on Face Book: Jane Isaac Author. 

Welcome to the Naughty After Dark blog hop. (Feb 15-22)

I'm Lacey Wolfe and I am a romance author who likes to kick up the heat. My stories are sweet romances until the two hit the sheets. Then I like to let my readers know just about every detail.

So as a thank-you for hopping by, I am offering you not 1 but 2 giveaways!

Giveaway 1 - a $5 amazon gift card! Your welcome to use it toward a new naughty book of your choice.

Giveaway 2 - A signed PRINT copy (unless you prefer e-copy) of the all new anthology that I am in. Love, Again from Ruby Lioness Press.

Info on the book (will open in new window)

How to be entered for either of these? Leave a comment and please include your email address in the comment sections since it doesn't always tell me the email address when you enter it in the form. Happy Hopping!
Be sure to stop by and thank Natasha Blackthorne and Nikki from Close Encounters for putting this blog hop all together.

The Love, Again anthology is for sale! It is available in e-book and print format! And my story Wanted: Wife is featured in this anthology. Along with 6 other wonderful authors. So be sure to check it out! You just might find a new favorite author.
Buy Links (E-book): Amazon / Smashwords / Nook
Buy Links (Print): Ruby Lioness Press

Darcy White is between jobs and is about to lose everything she has. She reads the help-wanted ads every morning. Day after day, she fails at finding anything—that is, until one morning when she comes across an ad she finds intriguing. The help-wanted ad in the paper states that a man is looking for a wife. Before she knows what she’s doing, Darcy’s exchanging emails with him, agreeing to meet him for lunch.

Steven McDonald is looking for a wife in order to keep his family business, an apple orchard, as his grandfather told him that he couldn’t keep this orchard unless he got married. He gets the crazy idea to put a want ad in the paper. After a lot of nutty women respond, one e-mail comes through with a name that sounds very familiar: Darcy White. He was in love with Darcy in high school, but was too afraid to step away from the popular crowd to talk to her. He spent countless nights just thinking about her. Could this be his second chance?

From the moment they enter each other’s lives again, the chemistry is there. Steven believes that Darcy is even better than he remembered her. This is Darcy’s dream come true; she hopes that Steven might start to feel the same way about her as she feels for him. 

Buy Links (E-book): Amazon / Smashwords / Nook
Buy Links (Print): Ruby Lioness Press 

Welcome to the next installment. If you missed the other weeks, follow the links.
week 1, 2 , 3, 4

Enjoy!

A week had passed since she’d seen Nick, but there was no way he was letting her forget him. Every day when she came home from the office, on her door step there was something from him. And tonight, a box of Godiva chocolates and a red rose waited for her. She smiled, and picked up her gift then let herself into her apartment as usual.

Plopping down on the couch, she opened the box and decided to snack on a few of the candies. As she enjoyed the delicious flavor, she wondered if she was being too hard on Nick. He had called several times during the week and of course, she ignored him. She made a point to stay away from the wine. That was one lesson she learned.

Jenny laid the box on the coffee table and then wondered what she was going to do this evening to entertain herself. She typically filled her weekend nights with some date who just passed the time by. But she was through with Jeff. And when she’d told him, he didn’t care. Then again, she didn’t really expect that he would. Things had really fizzled out between them anyway.

Who did she want to be with? Well that was a no brainer. Nick. But could she really allow him to just waltz right back into her life as though nothing had happened?

A glance around her apartment with all the flowers, teddy bears, and assortment of candy boxes, she supposed she could. But that would just be too easy, wouldn’t it? To just forgive him and pick up where they left off?

Jenny headed to her room and changed out of her work clothes and into jeans and a tank top. A walk on the beach was just what she needed. Time to think and let the smell of the ocean clear her thoughts.

Slipping on her tennis shoes, she left through the back sliding door. The sun was starting to set and she knew a cool breeze would start soon. Perfect.

As she walked along the beach, she felt like she was on auto-pilot. She couldn’t remember how she got there, but she had walked right to their spot. And to make things more complicated, Nick was there sitting on their rock, watching as the sun set.

Today I have Allison Merritt on the blog telling us all about herself and her latest novel. Sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy.

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in the Ozark Mountain region of southwest Missouri. I think that was a major influence on my writing. Harold Bell Wright's The Shepherd of the Hills is set in the Branson area and it was really the first book that attracted me to writing. I think I was about eleven or twelve when I read it. There's no other place in the world I'd rather be than at home in the hills. Walking and hiking is another passion of mine and we have plenty of places to do it, plus a Civil War national battlefield. I love history and you can almost feel it come to life around here.

My husband is a home-grown boy, but he's from the next county over. We both love the area, although he'd high-tail it to the Rockies if I'd let him. We live in the same house I grew up in with our bratty, kid-like dogs.

2. What genre do you write?
My most recent interest is steampunk. Of course, I have to put romance in there because I don't if I've ever written a story without romantic elements. My first love is historical novels and I have two unfinished manuscripts, but since I learned about steampunk, I don't know if I'll go back to them. I've also written a couple of short contemporary stories and I like that genre too.

3. Please tell us about your latest release The Treasure Hunter's Lady and how you came up with the idea.
The Treasure Hunter's Lady is set in 1884 between Boston and what was then Dakota Territory.

Romy Farrington seems to have the perfect life—a world-famous archeologist father, a pretty dowry and an upcoming marriage to a wealthy businessman. But to Romy, her new life among the elitists is like a punishment.

For years, she traveled the world at her father's side, exploring new lands and uncovering ancient secrets. It was everything she ever wanted, until a near-fatal encounter with hostile natives forced her and her father into a life of retirement in Boston and an undesired advance into proper society.

Everything changes again when she's saved from an accident by a brash Texan in a back alley. Abel Courte may act like a care-free cowboy, but he's harboring a secret—he's searching for the Diamond of Uktena, a legendary jewel that can cure any disease known to man. He needs information Romy's father has in order to get to the jewel. When he traces the origin of the Diamond to Dakota Territory, he sets off to claim the treasure, only to find the archaeologist's fiery redheaded daughter stuck to him like a bug in sap.

In a race against time, Romy and Abel must learn to trust each other as they undertake a cross-country journey that will expose them to lands uncharted by white men, a deadly battle against the fearsome creature in possession of the Diamond and a fight to return to civilization where they might make the greatest discovery of all—love.

The Treasure Hunter's Lady has kind of a crazy story behind it. A few years ago after a long break, I decided to start writing again and I was researching a historical romance set in Australia. I fell in love with everything I learned about that country (unfortunately, I've never been) and around the same time I was re-watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I thought, wow, I would love to write a story with crazy paranormal elements and cool technology set in Australia. So the first draft, which is way shorter than the finished MS is set in Australia. When I started pitching and trying to get an agent, they all seemed repulsed by the idea of setting it out of the country and I ended up writing a version set in America.

4. Is it part of a series?
Yes. I'm planning three novels set in this steampunk world. I'm about three quarters of the way through the second one and have a few thousand words done on the third.

5. A must have snack while you write.
Lately I'm into popcorn. I like light butter because popcorn has a sweet taste of its own that I don't like to drown with salt and butter.

6. A fact that someone might not know about you.
This is kind of embarrassing, but I didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was 14. I had a really bad accident on one when I was 7 and I thought, nope, that's not for me. I'm really glad I learned though and I think it's a lesson that while you might have a goal and really want to accomplish something, sometimes you have to do more learning before you reach it.

7. Advice to writers who have yet to be published.
Find a critique group, either local or online. There's nothing better than getting together with people who share a similiar interest and experiencing the support they can give you and all the things they can teach you.

8. Is there a genre you haven’t written yet that you want to?
I'd love to write westerns, but I don't think I could ever reach the Louis L'Amour level. And they'd all have romance in them, so I might as well just write historical western romances.

9. What type of hero do you enjoy writing about?
I like my heroes to be funny. They have to have some alpha traits, because I'm just not a beta fan,  but I feel like readers can understand them better if they have a sense of humor.

10. What are you currently working on?
Right now I'm working on The Sky Pirate's Wife. It's about the airship captain from The Treasure Hunter's Lady and the airship heiress he tricks into marriage. It's also got a paranomal element to it. I'm really into Native American mythology right now and so far it's been pretty exciting. I 'm hoping to release it this fall.

Buy Links: Amazon / Nook / Smashwords
Visit Allison at her Website

Today I have author Gabrielle Bisset on chatting with me from what she likes to snack on while writing, to her latest release. Sit back and enjoy. :) And be sure to leave a comment if you stopped by saying "Hi."

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
  I'm a college history teacher in my day job, in addition to being a homeschooling mom.  When I'm not teaching my own son or other people's children, I'm an erotic romance author. 

2. What genre do you write?
  I've written in the historical genre in the past, and since I'm a history prof, history tends to make its way into everything I write.  But recently, I've found I'm more at home in the paranormal realm. 

3. Please tell us about your latest release, Blood Avenged, and how you came up with the idea.
  I wrote a novella last June entitled Vampire Dreams, and the villain in that story was a character named Vasilije.  I loved him, but I wasn't sure readers would.  Turns out, they did too, and it wasn't long before they were asking about a book for him. I had always intended Vampire Dreams to be sort of an intro to his character, but when I began writing his book, it very quickly became a novel length story.

Whereas Vampire Dreams was set in Victorian times in London, Blood Avenged is set in modern day and much of the action takes place in New Orleans. Here's the blurb for a little taste of the story:

I am everything you desire.  I am vampire.

Powerful and manipulative, Vasilije does as he pleases. A vampire beholden to no one, he takes what he desires, drinking deeply the pleasures this life has to offer.

When one of his own is staked, Vasilije must travel to New Orleans to exact his revenge. There he meets Sasa, a beautiful woman who arouses him like no other has for centuries. Vasilije’s need for vengeance is equaled only by his passion for her, but what he finds in his revenge is just the beginning...

4. Is it part of a series?
  Blood Avenged is the first book in the Sons of Navarus series.  The second and third books, Blood Betrayed and Blood Spirit, are scheduled for release later this year. 

5. A must have snack while you write.
  I love to eat soft pretzels, so I'll always have one when I'm writing.

6. What type of hero do you enjoy writing about?
  I love heroes who you fall in love with despite how flawed they are. The more flawed the better is what I find most enjoyable to write.  Vasilije in Blood Avenged is a complete hedonist.  I had someone mention to me that I must be a good writer to convince readers to care for such a character.  That was very nice of her, but I have to say that in my experience, readers love flawed males as much as I do.

7. What are you currently working on?
  I'm currently working on the second book in the Sons of Navarus series, Blood Betrayed.  For as hedonistic and earthy as Vasilije is in the first book, the hero of the second book, Saint, is darker and more haunted by his past.  Vasilije would never think twice about the past, except when it suits him, but Saint is very much a man dealing with loss from years ago. 

8. Anything that you’d like to share.
  I love to hear from readers, and they can find me all over the web. 

Website:  Gabrielle Bisset
Blog:  Gabrielle Bisset: A Writer's Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Author Page
Email:  gabriellebisset@gmail.com

Thanks for the chance to spend some time at your blog, Lacey.  It was great!
Thanks for coming. I love having visitors. :)