Julie Miller: In the manuscript I just finished, Protective Instincts, which will be the first book in my Brotherhood of the Badge mini-series out in 2008, I paid special attention to the background elements. The four-book series begins with the murder of a veteran cop, and continues as his four sons (also cops) solve the mystery of his death and bring his killer to justice. The very first book is set during the funeral for the Kincaid brothers' father, and in the days right after. Since my hero, Sawyer Kincaid, is dealing with a profound grief, I wanted the background to reflect that dark, moody aspect of his character. So, I have it raining throughout the brief time span of the book. While there's the obvious symbolism of tears, to me, that gloomy, overhanging darkness projects what's in the hero's soul. He hates the rain. The one spot of sunshine in his life? The heroine and her toddler son. But when they're threatened by the prison escape of her murderous ex-husband, Sawyer storms into their lives and risks everything to keep them safe. The dark, stormy backdrops helped me create scenes of emotional intensity and sensual intimacy, and gave me lots of shadows and curtains of rain where my villain (or perhaps more than one? <wink-wink>) could hide.

Carol Ericson:  In my upcoming Intrigue, The Stranger and I, the location, weather, and season all set the tone for the book.  The story takes place in southern California and across the border into Mexico during late August/early September, typically the hottest time of the year in So Cal.  A portion of the book takes place in the desert, and the hot, dry weather gives the impression of stillness, but the desert is always alive with activity beneath the surface.  This creates a mood of impending doom in the story--the dry air that needles the flesh, the relentless sun beating down on hot asphalt, the waves of heat that rise from the desert floor...and let's not forget those hot nights!

Rita Herron: My upcoming December release Up In Flames is set in Savannah and is part of my Nighthawk Island series. In this book the hero is trying to find an arsonist, and the book starts out immediately with action and a fire. I use the fire and heat both literally and figuratively to heighten the suspense and sexual tension. The heroine runs a small New Age shop called Mystique which holds candles, aromatherapy items as well as voodoo kits, books on witchcraft and magic, and other items relating to the paranormal. This setting paints a mysterious, dark atmosphere and is tied into the mystery story line as well - the heroine is taking part in research experiment involving paranormal abilities.

Joanna Wayne: The setting for my new Four Brothers of Colts Run Cross series is a huge family ranch in a small town about an hour northwest of Houston, Texas. In fact, I live in just such a town so I'm very familiar with the area. The isolation of a ranch setting frequently adds to the suspense, but the primary role of this particular setting is the way the ties to the land and the family have influenced my marvelously heroic and extremely sexy cowboy brothers. I needed to have the series on a large ranch but near the city of Houston as the Collingsworth wealth comes not only from owning the second largest spread in Texas but Collingsworth Oil. The series started with 24-Karat Ammunition in June in a book that was action-packed but also extremely sensual. The second book in the series, Texas Gun Smoke, is due out in October. They are all Texas with strong elements of the cowboy mystique on every page. The setting is an essential part of all four books.

Mallory Kane: This is a great question, and it fits right in with my newest Intrigue, coming out in October. A Father's Sacrifice features FBI Special Agent Natasha Rudolph, who can handle anything that's thrown her way, except close spaces. She was trapped by a car bomb when she was a child (overseas), and the experience left her with terrifying claustrophobia. Unfortunately, her latest assignment is inside a fortress of a house built by Dr. Dylan Stryker to protect his little boy from terrorists who will do anything to steal his "super-soldier" technology he's developing for the government. Natasha must work in an underground lab and live in a house with no windows. It was loads of fun "building" that house with its underground tunnels and escape hatches. Of course, before the end of the book, the house blows up and she and Dylan have to escape through a long, dark, (you guessed it) underground tunnel.

I'm a little claustrophobic myself, so I knew how Natasha would feel, and I hope I conveyed the panic of being closed in and all the little things one would never think about (like windows) until suddenly they're not there, without creeping my readers out. Check out my video for A Father's Sacrifice.

Sylvie Kurtz: I really like writing stories with a gothic feel, and New Hampshire with its long winter nights, hard granite and thick forests makes the perfect setting for dark suspense.  For Honor of a Hunter (The Seekers, Book 6, Nov. 2007), I sent Noah to Seattle.  Because that made Noah a fish-out-of-water, I was able to keep the suspenseful mood.  Dark nights, a determined stalker, and empty skyscrapers helped sustain the gothic feel. 

B.J. Daniels: What I love about the setting of my current Intrigue series, Whitehorse, Montana, is the small Montana town atmosphere.  Not to mention, Whitehorse is isolated, far from another town let alone a city, and it borders wild country that a man can get lost in. It's a place where everyone knows each other and strangers don't go unnoticed; where people still watch out for each other and people keep their secrets close.  All of that adds to the plots, especially in the next two books in the series, The Mystery Man of Whitehorse out in November, and Classified Christmas out in December.  Meanwhile, my single title, Shadow Lake, comes out this month. This one is set in Washington state, high in the Cascades, and in another small isolated town. Shadow Lake, Washington however is a tourist town in early spring when only the locals are in residence -- and have been closed up all winter and getting a little crazy. The perfect place for secrets, mystery and murder, don't you think?