Update: Thanks everyone! The signed paperback copy of Rarities Incorporated winner is Fedora! Congrats, Fedora!

For as far back as I can remember I’ve always been fascinated with towns, places, communities and what makes a family. I enjoy watching the interactions of those around me. I’m curious about all that makes towns, places or communities come together. Work, play or just become. So to those who know me or read my books it comes as no surprise that I love to create towns, places and communities. People who are families – some not by blood but by choice or circumstances. Communities that are tightly woven and you know your neighbors. Towns that you feel comfortable with and love being there.

I’ve created many towns, places and communities. In Club Immortality I’ve created a club where paranormal beings, humans and all those in between can come and have their deepest fantasies and desires fulfilled. With Rarities Incorporated I’ve built a world/community of beings that retrieve various artifacts, provide protection and some are closer than blood- literally. Nefer Investigations Force is a world where agents work to protect humanity from all those things that go bump in the night, everything in between or things that can end the world. In Seductive Pursuits and Olympus Unleashed I’ve used two towns that I along with two other authors have built on a free reads site called Satin Notes. On Satin Notes we have two towns Trescott Cove is our contemporary town and Savoy Valley is our paranormal town. They are neighboring towns and their worlds sometimes overlap. In Seductive Pursuits and Olympus Unleashed – my two series that have some stories set in those towns there is a sense of community. A sense of people knowing who you are and those wonderful quirky things that don’t happen any place else.

All the towns, places and communities I’ve created or helped to create have two things in common. People would want to live there to become a part of the fabric of the place and there are little idiosyncrasies that enhance them. Building towns, places and communities to me are fun. I love coming up with the concept of the place I want my characters to inhabit. In my opinion the town, place or community is its own character. It adds a level to the story. Gives it a texture that brings it to be more.

In my latest book I’m working on I knew I wanted to build a new town. A medium sized town where there are various communities. I call it my town of intrigue. Halliwell is a quaint seemingly idyllic town. The town is medium sized so not everyone knows each person in the town. In those communities where people know each other they help each other when needed. Neighbors get together for fun, everything in between and when there is need. In these communities there is the bookstore owner, baker, butcher or a variety of stores that people in that community frequent. There are faces in the crowd at the stores they will recognize. They are their neighbors, family or friends. They know these faces. Or so they think. In creating Halliwell I wanted to bring to life the old adage “everything is not always as it seems”. This seemingly idyllic town and community have a lot of secrets. People on the surface may seem one way but in reality they are different.

In many discussions I’ve had with friends and family we’ve talked about the layers of people. The face if you will that people present in certain circumstances. Although many people may not realize it but there are different “faces” you use when dealing with various people. In very general terms here are a few “faces” I’ve thought of. The “professional face” is the one you present to the public to people you do business with but aren’t anything more than that. “Family/Friendly but not to close face” is one which is for those people who you are not well acquainted with but have a passing one. “Friends face” the one where you share some of your secrets, confidences and things with. “Close family/friends who are like family face” is the one where you share almost all your secrets/confidences, cry with, celebrate and so many other things. “Deepest face” is the one where all your secrets/confidences are shared, fears are exposed and all else is done. There are so many “faces” we use in our interactions.

The variety of “faces” is the general premise of what I wanted to create when I built the town of Halliwell. I wanted to get below the surface of who a person presents in a variety of circumstances. In Beneath the Skin, the first book in the series set in Halliwell this is exactly what I explored. The blurb sets the tone for the book.

Beneath the Skin

A woman with secrets she wants to forget, a detective with a case he needs to solve and a past that will not be forgotten.

Too many people, Lena Holland seems to be the easygoing bookstore owner in the quaint town of Halliwell. Yet if you ask, no one knows much about her. Lena has strived hard to find the peace and solitude she needed to rebuild her life. She has the scars both physically and emotionally that are testament to all she has done in her previous life. All she has lived through. It is all in the past. A past she does not ever want to be a part of again. With one act of violence Lena knows her past has caught up with her.

Detective Malik Williams gut tells him that there is more to this case. His instincts warn him that Lena isn’t all she seems. The laid-back woman everyone seems to think Lena is clashes with what he has seen. He knows that personal involvement should be out of the question yet there is something about the fiery tempest that sets his primal needs ablaze.

Lena tries to hide what she feels although she feels him under her skin. Getting involved with a man much less one who is a cop is a bad idea. Isn’t it? Malik knows getting to the bottom of what is going on is priority but he wasn’t letting go of this woman who set all his senses haywire. As the danger mounts and things get more complicated they must come to terms with Lena’s past in order to face a future. Lena can no longer forget all that should be left in the past. Someone wants her to not only remember. They want her to pay. Pay with what is … beneath the skin.

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As I wrote Beneath the Skin the town and communities came to life. It is a fabulous feeling as I built the first layer of the town. The book is done but I’m going back through it then I have to decide where I want to submit it. I already have plans for more books set in Halliwel. Each book will create another layer of the fabric of the town, place and community of Halliwell – a town of intrigue.

Now for a contest. I’m always on the lookout for great books so come on and share what are some of your favorite towns in books you have read? Give me the title of book or books, author and town name. I’m giving away a signed paperback copy of Rarities Incorporated to one winner chosen from the comments below! Contest will end on 7/22/10 at 11:59pm EST. I’ll post the winner at the top of this blog post on 7/23/10. Be sure to check back. Good luck!

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Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, and Total-E-Bound. Taige has been enthralled with the written word from time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance. With novels set in today, in alternate dimensions, or in the future she writes with adventure, fun sassy heroine’s, and sexy hero’s. Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun, frolic, interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels. You can find out more about Taige at her website: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com or blog: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog.

The lovely folks at Grand Central Publishing (a special thank you to Anna!) are giving away 15 copies of DEADLY FEAR over at GoodReads. Fifteen copies!  The contest runs until July 27.  So hurry, enter!

And speaking of some good reads…

What’s on your shelf?

We’ve got two fabulous guest authors heading in tomorrow and Friday, so if your shelf is empty, perhaps you’ll get some reading urges.

It’s just one week until the release of DEADLY FEAR!!! Awesome!  I can’t wait for my romantic suspense to be out in the world (and I sure hope folks enjoy it!).

And…also in just a week, I will leave for the annual Romance Writer’s of America National Conference. This year, the conference will be held in Orlando, Florida.  Mickey’s house–here, I come!

If you are in the Orlando area, you should definitely come to the Literacy Autographing. This event is open to the public, and over 500 authors will be signing books–yep, I said over 500! (Proceeds from the signing are donated to charity.) 

Here’s the Where and When info: The signing will be held Wednesday, July 28, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort, Pacific Exhibit Hall, in Orlando, Florida.

So if you’re in the area, come on in! I’ll be autographing copies of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU and DEADLY FEAR.

And, since I’m talking about RWA, I thought I’d offer a few survival tips today for those folks who are registered to attend the conference. This will be my 3rd RWA conference, so while I don’t have what I’d term vast experience, I do have a few tips:

1. Keep business cards on your person (I keep mine tucked in the back of my nametag holder) at all times. You never know when you’ll meet an author, editor, or agent who will need your card.

2. Don’t ever arrive late at the meals. EVER. With almost 2000 authors there, those seats will fill up and you don’t want to desperately search for a spot when the luncheon speaker is already talking.

3. Don’t just stay with the folks you know. Talk to a stranger–or twenty. These events are about networking, so network!

4. Don’t forget band-aids and aspirin.  Yeah, don’t.

5. Bring some energy bars to keep in your purse. You’ll need them.

6. If you wanted to pitch to an editor or agent but were told that person’s appointments were already full, don’t despair yet.  You can check on the day of pitches to see if any folks cancelled (or just didn’t show up).  Their absence can be your gain.

7. Ask questions.  If you’re attending a workshop or a publisher spotlight, don’t be afraid to raise your hand and ask those questions that have been swirling around in your head.

8. Don’t bash.  You never know who is walking behind you (or in the bathroom stall, etc).  If you can’t say something nice…

9. Take advantage of the freebies…because there will be PLENTY of free books.

10. Don’t become so stressed that you forget to have fun. The event is a ton of fun–so enjoy yourself!
Got any tips you want to share?

Update: The winner is…Heidi Shafer-Wilson. Congrats, Heidi!

Okay, so today, I wanted to talk about a curious phenomenon…

I”m a Dexter fan.  I thought the first season was awesome.  I loved the idea of the series (it was similar to a plot in my old Idea File–I’d wanted to write a story about a serial killer who only killed other serial killers–cause it was more fun that way, but, whoops, I’m sliding off topic…).

Dexter is dark.  He kills. He dismembers. He lies. He frames. He does any number of incredibly un-heroic things.  He’s not the hero.

Um, is he?

The character of Dexter is the lead protagonist of the story, and he’s a villain, right–definitely. But I still rooted for him. I found myself hoping he wouldn’t get caught as the series progressed.  He’s a killer. I should want him to get caught, but the writers managed to turn this bad guy into something else. Something different. Not a hero. Less. More?

And the first time I saw Silence of the Lambs, I thought Hannibal was horrible (you know, in a horrible, killer kind of way). He was to be feared. He was to be hunted. He was to be caged for the rest of his life so that he’d never hurt anyone else.

But then…

The movie Hannibal came out, and suddenly, there was more to learn about the Cannibal.  You began to see a different side of him.  People in the theaters were actually cheering for him.

When Hannibal Rising opened at the movies, I was there on opening night.  I was very curious about the evolution of this character and I wanted to see how the script writers handled things.

In this movie, there was no denying it. Hannibal was supposed to be the killer.  This was a young Hannibal, and the viewer saw the horror he endured in order to eventually become the Cannibal.  That horror was supposed to make people understand Hannibal. Supposed to make folks care for him.

Judging by the reaction in that theater, it worked.

Two killers…turned into something more. Dark, disturbing, dangerous.

Do you know any other “killer” characters who have become more or less than you expected them to be? And how do you feel about killers who are the leads in stories or movies?

Leave me a comment–I’ll pick one random commenter to win his/ her choice of any Cynthia Eden book.

And have a good Monday!!

Want to read the first 47 pages of DEADLY FEAR? Well, here’s your chance! (And in just over a week–on July 27–DEADLY FEAR will be released into the wild!)

And today I also wanted to go ahead and share the blurbs for my next two Deadly books.

Here’s the blurb for DEADLY HEAT (available 02/11):

She wants revenge . . .

Six months after her lover died in an arsonist’s blaze, firefighter Lora Spade calls in the FBI’s elite Serial Services Division to track the elusive killer. When Special Agent Kenton Lake is lured into a violent inferno, Lora pulls him to safety and is stunned – not by the fire, but by her own searing attraction to Kent. For the first time in months, she longs for something other than vengeance.

He wants her . . .

Kenton’s interest in Lora should be purely professional. But one fleeting kiss and he can’t get her out of his mind. Her combination of strength and vulnerability makes him want to protect her, and that means solving this case – and fast. For even the passion igniting between them can’t hide a terrifying truth: Lora is the next target in a murderer’s sadistic, fiery game.

A vicious killer wants only . . .

DEADLY HEAT

***

And, in March of 2011, DEADLY LIES will be published:

She wants to hide the past…

FBI Special Agent Samantha Kennedy is haunted by memories of the serial killer who abducted her. To keep the darkness at bay, she pretends to be a different, more confident woman. This Samantha doesn’t fear every unknown face. So she throws caution to the wind and shares a night of unbridled passion with a handsome stranger.

He needs to uncover the truth…

One night isn’t enough for successful entrepreneur Max Ridgeway. He wants more of the sexy, smart, mysterious woman who slipped away before dawn. When they meet again, their attraction is undeniable—until his stepbrother goes missing, and Max realizes that Samantha isn’t who she seems. But they must trust each other to trap a ring of blood-thirsty kidnappers before the nightmares that terrorize Sam become irrevocably real.

As a merciless criminal spins a web of . . .

DEADLY LIES

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I plan to post an except of DEADLY HEAT very soon, but, if you read to the end of this DEADLY FEAR teaser, you can go ahead and have a sneak peek.

Enjoy your Sunday!