Romance Author Hotspot

Virna DePaul is a former criminal prosecutor whose debut paranormal romantic suspense novel, Chosen By Blood (Book 1 in the Para-Ops series), came out May 3, 2011 by Berkley Books. To read an excerpt, click here.  To watch the trailer, click here.  Chosen By Fate (Book 2 in the Para-Ops series) launches October 4, 2011.

In addition, Virna writes contemporary romantic suspense for Harlequin Romantic Suspense (Dangerous To Her, September 2011) and HQN.

Visit her at www.virndepaul.com.

First questions:

Beach or camping? Beach all the way.  My dream is to live on a beach someday.  I go to South Carolina every year for a writing retreat put on by Low Country RWA.  It’s HEAVEN. If you love writing, great accommodations, great food, and a gorgeous beach, you should check it out!

Bathing suit or mountain gear? Why?Ugh.   Contrary to my answer above, mountain gear.  I’m not feeling bathing suit confident.  I’ve been writing a lot and not working out enough. 

Margaritas or Spritzers? (If you answer club soda, we’re gonna have to talk.) Not sure what a spritzer is, but I love margaritas!  Oddly enough, I don’t like wine or beer—just mixed drinks or tequila shots!

 Please enter. Cabana boys are under that umbrella. We’ll even let you pick one to hold your shade…and your pen. 

Where is one place you would love to spend the Summer? Why?  I’d love to bring my family to spend the Summer in Isle of Palms in South Carolina.  Every year I go there for a week-long writing retreat and it’s wonderful.  I know my kids would enjoy the beach and the cute little town.

What is your ideal writing haven? Are there men or beach bunnies involved?  Hmmm, I can pretty much write anywhere.  Starbucks is a great place, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a haven.  I’d love to write in a beach house overlooking the beach, and if there happened to be some cute guys (and I’m counting my husband and little boys) surfing, that would be even better!

What season do you write best? And why? I think spring.  I love moderate weather.  Can’t stand being too hot or too cold.  I’m a bit of a baby that way. 

Have you ever been on a writer’s retreat? What’s one embarrassing moment you’ve had?  I’ve been on lots of retreats.  I love them!  I guess one embarrassing moment was when I was experimenting with erotica and had to read some pages out loud.  I write far grittier than I talk, so it was a little uncomfortable for me.  But in the end, I’m glad I did it!

What inspires you to write during the summer? Deadlines.  :)

When plotting a book, what determines your setting and characters? I usually just come up with an idea for a character.  Like an ambitious DA with a secret past.  Or a woman who witnesses a clue to a crime before she goes blind.  Setting hasn’t really inspired me yet. 

If you’re going on vacation, what items would I find in your bag? And why?  Books.  I lugged a bunch with me to Ireland.  I still love the feel of a book more than an e-reader.

What is one thing you cannot live without during Summer? Okay, you can list two things… My family and my friends.  I don’t care where I am or what season it is as long as I can access my favorite people!

What are you working on right now?  I just finished up an initial draft of Shades Of Desire, my first single title romantic suspense for HQN. The series launches April 2012.  I’ll be working on revisions as soon as I get notes from my editor.

What news would you like to share with your readers?  My first contemporary romantic suspense, Dangerous To Her, comes out at the end of August with Harlequin Romantic Suspense.  This is one of Harlequin’s category line.  I love the story, and it has plenty of action and sensuality, so I hope you’ll give it a try!

Where can readers find you?

1. Twitter: @virnadepaul
2. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1555372930
3. Website: www.virnadepaul.com
4. Others: www.justsoldabook.com

List other books you have out:

Chosen By Blood, Berkley

Chosen By Fate, coming October 4, 2011 by Berkley

Dangerous To Her, HRS, August 23, 2011

Other e-book titles: This Magic Moment, A Vampire’s Salvation, Wraith’s Awakening (a free prequel to Chosen By Blood), Wild For Him & Love Writing (How To Write & Get Your Romance Novel Published (Without Losing Your Perspective, Passion or Sanity).

Will you be willing to answer questions in regards to writing and publication today?  Yes.

Thank you so much for joining us at Romance Author Hotspot!

Giveaway: $20 Amazon gift card (winner picked from anyone who joins my mailing list and puts RAH as how they found me) + copy of Chosen By Blood to someone RAH picks      

Dangerous To Her:

For years, court reporter Mattie Nolan kept her child a secret. The man she once loved chose his dangerous job—undercover cop—over her. But now, Sacramento detective Dom Jeffries is all that’s standing between her and the drug kingpin set on revenge against everyone who put him away. Including Mattie.

Though teetering on the edge of burnout, Dom goes undercover as a bailiff in Mattie’s courtroom. While he pretends not to remember her, thoughts of her touch, her smell and the smile that had been his alone keep resurfacing. Then he uncovers the secret she’s protecting. To save the daughter he’s never known and the woman he’s never forgotten, Dom’s ready to sacrifice not just his job, but his life.

Available for Pre-Order! Release date: August 23, 2011

 Chosen By Blood:

Five years after the Second Civil War ends, humans and Otherborn— humanlike creatures with superhuman DNA—still struggle for peace. To ensure the continued rights of both, the FBI forms a Para-Ops team with a unique set of skills.

Leader of an Otherborn clan, half-breed vampire Knox Devereaux would do anything to find a cure for the anti-vamp vaccine slowly starving his people into extinction. When the FBI contacts him about leading a team of hand-selected Others on a mission to reclaim the stolen antidote, Knox accepts. His new assignment places him in direct contact with Special Agent Felicia Locke, the beautiful human he’s craved since their very first meeting.

Excerpt: A firm knock interrupted them. Muscles pumped as if for battle, Knox slowly stood. He didn’t turn, not even when Mahone called for his visitor to come in.

“I came as soon as I—”

It didn’t matter that he was in Mahone’s office, that Mahone was watching him, or that he and Mahone had just been discussing something as important as his clan. He hadn’t been in the same room with her in years, but his body’s reaction to her presence was the same as it always was: instantaneous. Her scent hit him like a sledgehammer and was followed by a wave of longing so intense it almost felled him. His skin prickled and his fangs ached as he fought to keep them sheathed. He couldn’t stop the hardening of his dick, however, or the urge he had to grab her and transport her to the Dome. To his bed. To someplace where duty and time dissolved, and he could just be with her.

She didn’t gasp or take a breath. Her words simply stopped. Something rare crystallized inside him.

Had she gotten over him? Had she found someone else? Another emotion—pure, undiluted rage—filled him at the thought of her with another. It made everything else, every other emotion he’d ever felt, seem innocuous. Made him want to rip off his clothes—the luxurious symbols of civility that he normally loved—and make her see him as he truly was—primal, lethal, and fucking ready to prove to her that she was his, once and for all. Instead, he took a deep breath and willed himself to calm. He opened his mind. Just a hair. Just enough to sense the desire buried beneath her resolve. Enough to dismiss that foreign emotion of fear and tamp down his rage.

When he was assured of his control, Knox slowly turned and faced the human female he’d wanted to bite from the moment he’d seen her. She was dressed conservatively in a white oxford shirt and navy blue pants, her auburn hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Taller than most females, she was neither delicate nor bulky. While most would consider her average in looks and sex appeal, Knox saw what most didn’t.

He saw the strength in her supple body.

He saw her courage, her compassion, and her integrity.

And at that moment, he saw the fiery sensuality that flared in her eyes before she banked it and stared at him with a practiced look of mild curiosity.

Felicia had always tried to hide her attraction to him, but she’d always failed. Nevertheless, he’d abided by her wishes and kept his distance. But not anymore.

Not-the-fuck-anymore.

He didn’t speak the words, but given the way her eyes widened, she’d guessed at his thoughts. Knox dipped his head in a courtly bow. “Hello, Felicia. Imagine running into you here.”