I’ve got some wonderful news to share!  Kensington Brava has offered me a contract to write 3 more paranormal romances.  I’m thrilled by this news because I love working with the wonderful folks at Kensington and I do so love my paranormals.  So, yes, more paranormal beasties will be coming your way!

And…

I’ve also been offered a contract to write 3 romantic supsense novels for Grand Central Publishing.  I’ll be writing for the Forever line at Grand Central, mass market releases.  I’ve completed the first book in this trilogy (well, I’m polishing it now), and it has the tentative title of EVIL MINDS. Here’s some quick deal blurbage:

As Special Agent Monica Lavery tracks a serial killer who turns his victims’ worst nightmares into reality, she is forced to face her own dark past and the lover she left behind long ago in EVIL MINDS, the first of a 3 book series by Cynthia Eden about the SSD–the elite Serial Services Division in the FBI.

In this series, agents from the SSD will track and apprehend serials–serial killers, arsonists, kidnappers,  rapists, etc.  I’m very excited about this series and grateful to Grand Central for giving me the opportunity to publish these stories.

I’m ready to get started on the second RS novel now–it has the working title of EVIL DEEDS. My heroine in this story is a firefighter and I’m all set to begin my firefighter research. (Like researching firefighters is a hardship!)

As fate would have it, I also have the plot line for my next paranormal romance (for Kensington) ready to go, too.  And while the heroine in EVIL DEEDS is a firefighter, the heroine in my paranormal, well, she’ll be more of a fire starter.  🙂 I think both of these stories will be great fun to write and I can’t wait to get started!  (As soon as this polishing is done, I’ll start–so hopefully, in the next few days.)

I have no idea if I will be able to keep the titles for the RS stories.  In this industry, a title change is pretty standard programming.  So if the titles for this series change, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for letting me share my news!  Thank you, Kensington! Thank you, Grand Central! Thank you, Laura Bradford!  Thank you to everyone who has been reading my stories!!  🙂

I have a booksigning scheduled for February 11 at the Foley Public Library.  I’ll be signing with some wonderful ladies from my local RWA chapter:  Amber Leigh Williams, Allison Knight, and Bess McBride.

The event will kick off at 6 p.m.  We will all talk about our different writing processes, discuss books and then have our signing. If you’re in the Foley, Alabama, area, please stop by.

For the full description of the event, check out the Foley Happenings information on the library’s website.

On a different note, I have some very good news that I hope to be sharing soon with everyone. So, please, stay tuned!

So, I like horror movies.  If it’s a Saturday night, I’m either at the movies or I’m home enjoying Sci-Fi Saturday night. (And if you don’t know what Sci-Fi Saturday night is, well, just turn to the Sci-Fi Channel on a Saturday night and you’ll see what you’ve been missing.)  I like these movies. I like the shows about giant alligators, sharks as big as buses, and crazy female mummies who just want their mates. Ah, Sci-Fi Saturday.

And one of my ambitions?  To write a screenplay for the Sci-Fi Channel.  And I now have the perfect story for my screenplay.

You see…scientists have recently discovered proof that a creature known as Titanoboa existed. What?  You don’t know about Titanoboa?  Let me just give you a quote:  “A snake so huge it could swallow a crocodile in one gulp has been unearthed in a coal mine in Colombia.”  Here’s the full article.  Want to see an artist’s rendering of this beastie?  Click away.

So, let me sum up.  A snake that is big enough to eat crocodiles for breakfast (lunch and dinner).  Let’s throw in some cloning or maybe some mining that wakes up a sleeping giant snake–and bam, I have my movie.

So, Sci-Fi…call me.  We’ll work something out.

And, um, has anyone else read any real-life stories like this that make you just go…wow!?

Today’s interview victim is the very talented Denise Agnew.  Denise was kind enough to answer all of my questions (b/c she’s a trooper!). If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Denise’s award-winning work, then you need to get busy reading! How would I describe her stories? Sexy and thrilling.  Awesome.  🙂

1.    Please tell us a bit about yourself and the genre (or genres) that you write.

I write several genres within romance: romantic suspense, paranormal romance, erotic romance, contemporary romance and historical romance. In particular, I like to mix these subgenres. So I might have a historical with paranormal mixed within.

2.    Describe your current (or upcoming) release in 15 words or less.

IN HER DEFENSE is the second story in my HEART OF JUSTICE SWAT series and the next one to come out.

3.    LOL—okay, now use as many words as you’d like to describe IN HER DEFENSE.

Celeste Rice’s life has been shattered by terrible violence more than once. Violence threatens to creep back into Celeste’s world when her ex-boyfriend stalks her. When Celeste inherits her aunt’s home, she decides to move back into her childhood neighborhood after long years away. Upon her prodigal return, she encounters old friend and long-time object of her desire, Mick MacGilvary at a charity event and knows that she is finally ready to pursue that heart-stopping attraction. She believes she’ll stop craving him if she has sex with him once and gets it out of her system. She decides to test the wildfire attraction, even though Mick’s violent past and his SWAT position frighten her. Mick will do anything in her defense…

SWAT cop Mick MacGilvary’s instincts tell him Celeste’s ex-boyfriend has something evil up his sleeve. Mick’s uneasy past with Celeste makes him gun-shy around her. His protective feelings for Celeste have never abandoned him. Ten years ago, Celeste rejected his advances, and he hasn’t forgotten. The heavy-duty attraction he’s always had for her ramps up now that she’s near. Better yet, she’s obviously interested in bedding him. Danger lurks around the corner…

Caught up in a passion neither of them can deny, Mick and Celeste’s strengths and weaknesses are tested when her ex-boyfriend decides if he can’t have her, no one will.

4.    Which character do you like better from IN HER DEFENSE—the hero or the heroine?  Why?

Probably the hero Mick. He’s one of three brothers, but all three brothers are not related by blood. The boys were adopted by a SWAT cop. Each boy was a problem child with significant challenges and bad family backgrounds with their birth parents. Mick, like his brothers, had to turn his life around. He’s also…hot, hot, hot.  🙂

5.    What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

I think it is different for each writer. For me it is maintaining the spark of what makes me want to write in the first place and not allowing it to be overrun by the business side of writing. It’s possible to forget why I’m writing in the first place if I allow the business part overwhelm me.

6.    In a fight, who would win…Dracula or the wolf-man?

Well, I’ve written a vampire trilogy and I have a “wolf” oriented book coming up…I’d have to say my vampires would kick wolf ass, so I’m assuming Dracula would, too.

7.    What’s your favorite scary movie?  Come on, spill.  No explanations—just name it.  Let everyone else guess why.

The Exorcist.

8.    Tell me the one thing you wish you’d known about being a writer, um, before you became a writer.

That no matter what people say is the right way to write a book, you’ll find a million examples that prove that what people said about the “right” way…well, it isn’t right.

9.    What is your writing schedule like?

It’s a bit mental, really. My goal, though, is to meditate first, then grab my Alpha Smart or pen and paper and write without interruption for a few hours with breaks for food, drink, etc. Whether it all happens in that order or not is another thing.

10.    Tell me anything you’d like to tell me.  🙂

Ummmm….uhhhh….  Thanks much Cynthia for interviewing me! I appreciate the time you’ve taken with me and giving me an opportunity to allow a peek into my world. 🙂

Thank you, Denise!!

There’s a new blog on the scene that I’m really enjoying–it’s called Mama Writers.   The tagline is “Raising Kids. Writing Romance.”  A very cool place. If you get a chance, check it out.

And I want to send out a congrats to my friend Zoe!  Yay, Zoe!  Zoe has advanced to the semi-finals in the Better Sex Erotic Fiction contest.  You can read all the details on her blog, and, she needs your vote to continue to advance!

Now, my last bit for today is about friends. A good friend sent me a forward (and I tell you, really, I don’t normally post these. If you’re a regular to my blog, you know I don’t generally post forwards), but this one made me smile, so I’m gonna post.  (By the way, I have no idea who the author of this work is, so if you know, feel free to post so we can give credit.)

True   Friendship

None of that Sissy Crap

1. When you are sad – I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry butt who made you sad.

2. When you are blue – I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile – I will know you are thinking of something that I would probably want to be involved in.

4. When you are scared – I will rag you about it every chance I get until you’re NOT.

5. When you are worried – I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused – I will try to use only little words.

7. When you are sick – Stay the hell away from me until you are well again.  I don’t want whatever you have.

8. When you fall – I will laugh at your clumsy butt, but I’ll help you up.

Ah, friends!