When I first started writing, I wrote what I loved to read—romantic suspense.  When that book (mercifully) didn't sell, I dabbled in other genres.  Though some of those books sold, I kept getting comments like "too dark," and one memorable rejection (for a comedy) that went something like "the heroine's parents were eaten by sharks?  NOT FUNNY!"   Okay, so I like putting dead bodies and tense situations in my stories.   I love how danger and excitement can heighten emotions and bring together people who might not like each other at first, but click once they get under each others' skins.  So I returned to romantic suspense, wrote an Intrigue about DNA and genetic testing ('cause they say write what you know and that's my  background), and sold DR. BODYGUARD a few months later.  These days I'm happier than I've ever been... because in Intrigue, it's OKAY if the heroine's parents are eaten by sharks—and it's even better if the sharks were set up to take the fall for someone else.

Writing for Harlequin Intrigue is a natural for me because I love romantic suspense. I love the mix of mystery, suspense and romance. Toss in a ruthless villain and fast-paced story, and I'm in heaven!  I love putting my characters into dangerous situations that test their courage and inner strengths and force them to confront their worst fears.  In the end, good always prevails over evil—and my hero and heroine fall hopelessly in love.  It just doesn't get any better than that. 

I started writing for Intrigue because I've read them since the line first started.  I love the mixture of romance and suspense.  And I'm in such wonderful, talented company! 

I always planned to write straight mysteries and suspense.   Then I started writing short stories for WOMAN'S WORLD magazine. I realized I could have suspense—and romance—and I liked the combination!  When I discovered Harlequin Intrigues, I thought, hey, these could be fun to write.  And I was right! 

I was a huge Intrigue fan before I ever started writing romance. I love the mix of romance and suspense—and it all takes place in a story that I can finish in one night. Since I have three kids and a busy life, that's a definite plus.

Before I started writing, I'd been reading all the category lines, as well as Sandra Brown and Mary Higgins Clark, and although I loved all of them, my favorites were the stories that combined romance and mystery/suspense.  When I discovered Intrigue, I found the best of both worlds.  I love the adventure, the turn-the-pages action, the mystery and the sexy heroes.  I think Intrigue plays into every woman's fantasy of living an exciting life and of being rescued by a handsome strong man!  The editors are also wonderful to work with.  In fact, I actually sent my first manuscript to Intimate Moments. That editor said I had an Intrigue voice, so I turned around and submitted the book there.  Although the editor rejected that first book, she wrote me a great letter (yes—a great rejection) and encouraged me to try again.  And I'm glad I did! 

I've always written, poems, short stories, fairy tales. But when I joined a critique group to learn to write romance, my critique partners complained that I always threw in the plot to kill the president. So ultimately, I quit trying to excise the plot, and instead, started weaving the plot and the romance together.  Luckily, the Senior Editor of Intrigue liked my "slush pile" manuscript, and gave me a chance to write the kind of stories I love. Then, to my surp rise and delight, she offered me the chance to do my own mini-series—ULTIMATE AGENTS.  These stories have everything I love—dangerous heroes, dauntless heroines, romance, intrigue, and my name on the cover.  My favorite books have always been romantic suspense—Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, Lisa Gardner.  I feel very fortunate to be in this very special group of writers.

Money .
 

I'd always wanted to write, but never thought I could do it.  I was one of those  people who said, "Someday I'll write."  A serious illness made me realize that if I wanted dreams to come true, I couldn't wait for some day.  During that recovery, I happened to read one of Tess Gerritsen's first Intrigues and thought romantic suspense had everything I wanted to write about.  These stories give a feeling of hope after a storm and the bad guy always gets his :-).

I discovered years ago that almost everything I wrote had a romantic element and a mystery or suspense element.  Harlequin Intrigue is an excellent blend of both and seemed like an ideal fit for both my writing passions! 

No matter what kind of romance I tried to write, my books always ended up being women-in- jeopardy stories.  Intrigue was the perfectfit for me—sexy, suspenseful, full of action and emotion, which is the way I tell my stories.

I wanted to write for Harlequin Intrigue because I've always been a fan of the line—ever since Book #1 came out—THE KEY by Rebecca Flanders.   I was still in school at the time. I have always loved mysteries and romances, and had recently discovered romantic.  But—being a diligent student (most of the time...really!), I didn't have as much time as I wanted for leisure reading.  But when I discovered Intrigue, I discovered a whole world of books that I could consume quickly. I got all the thrills I wanted—a clever mystery; dangerous, nail-biting action; sexual tension; hunky heroes; heroines I could relate to—and, of course, a happy ending.  (Which for me includes not just a happily-ever-after for the hero and heroine, but just desserts for the villain.) 

When I became a writer, I wrote what I loved to read—romantic suspense!  And since Intrigue had such a fond place in my heart, that's where I sent my manuscript.  I had written three contemporary paranormals with romantic suspense elements for another house, but as a consumer (and in my sensitive, hopeful writer's heart) I kept coming back to Intrigues—even when I had more time to read!  I knew a line I felt such a long and loyal connection with had to be a good home for me.  I was most fortunate in that the first manuscript I submitted to Intrigue, they bought!  That was ONE GOOD MAN, the first in what turned out to be a wonderful series to write—THE TAYLOR CLAN.  So my instincts had been right—my voice, my characters, my storylines fit what Intrigue wanted.  It's a chicken and the egg thing. I don't know if Intrigue shaped my writing, or if I loved them so much because those were the stories I wanted to write.  At any rate, I'm eternally grateful for the opportunities I've had with the line.  How absolutely cool is that—to get to write what I love?

I've always loved writing suspense, but I hadn't read that many Intrigues in the beginning of my career.  Then one day, I picked up ACCESSORY TO MARRIAGE, a 2002 Intrigue release by Ann Voss Peterson. The book had all the elements of what I consider a great read—fast-paced action, pulse-pounding suspense, surprising twists, multi-faceted characters, and, of course, romance.  I thought the book—which centers around a woman whose sister marries a serial killer and the FBI profiler she enlists to help save her sister—was so unique and SCARY, and it prompted me to read a few more books by other Intrigue authors.  It only took a handful before I realized that Intrigue was the line for me.  I think we authors have a lot of freedom to write truly cutting edge, edge-of-your-seat books within the Intrigue line, and I'm happy to have found a home there.

I grew up reading the darkly romantic stories of the Bronte sisters and Daphne du Maurier, and I also loved contemporary fiction of all kinds.  So when I discovered Harlequin Intrigue's intense blend of contemporary romance and breathless suspense, it was the perfect fit for me as a reader and a writer!

I really liked the balance of mystery and romance that defines Intrigue as a line.  This allows me to indulge my  love of both genres.

As a reader I went from reading Gothics as a teenager to mystery and action-adventure as a college student to adventurous historical romances as a young working woman.  My interest has always been split between romance and suspense.  So shortly after my first romances were being published in 1984, and I heard Harlequin was going to launch a line of romantic suspense novels, I knew I wanted to write for Intrigue.  I sold the following year, a few months after the line was launched.

I love to write mystery, action and suspense so when you combine that with romance, Harlequin Intrigue is a perfect fit for me.  While a number of people and events steered me in this direction, I'd have to say one of the defining moments came at a local conference years ago where Debra Matteucci was a guest speaker.  Then senior editor for the line, she became a catalyst when she made a statement that she was looking for a hidden baby story with a twist.  Being a newbie I had no idea exactly what she meant by a hidden baby story so I decided to give her the baby and hide the parents.  Thus MYSTERY BABY was created and so was my career at Harlequin Intrigue.

I didn't so much choose Intrigue as Intrigue chose me.   When I started wroting my very first romantic suspense, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, I knew so little about the market that I wasn't even aware there was an Intrigue line.  I hooked up with an agent who told me that's what I was writing, though she said I really needed to let the hero do more as my heroine was stealing his thunder.  Intrigue bought the manuscript and that began my relationship with them—one I have never regretted.  I've branched out now to writing single titles, continuities and novellas for various Harlequin anthologies, but I still love writing Intrigues. 

I looked at a lot of the lines before realizing that Intrigue was the kind of story that comes naturally to me.  I love the way I can let my plot sweep my characters along!  Intrigue is the best!

I grew up reading Victoria Holt, Daphne Du Maurier, Helen MacInnes, and Mary Stewart.  I always enjoyed the way they added suspense to a great love story.  Although my first published novel was a historical, it had those same elements of mystery and danger.  And at the same time I was writing that first historical, I was also working on a story that had many of the old Gothic elements—a blind hero, who might be a villain; an isolated location; and a heroine who comes to work for a powerful and difficult man, with whom she falls deeply in love.  (It also had amnesia, an element that I found out later Intrigue loves.)  When I submitted the book to the line, they bought it.  I really consider that first Intrigue, ECHOES IN THE DARK, as my attempt at an old-time Gothic and a tribute to the woman listed above, who were pioneers in the field of romantic suspense.  Although I haven't written any more Intrigues that are so clearly patterned after the Gothic masters, they all embody that combination of danger and romance, which I think is the essence of Intrigues. 

At the beginning of my career, I penned conventional romances.  But I wanted to write books with a mix of mystery, suspense and romance.   I did that first with The Peregrine Connection, a series originally  published by Dell in the late 80's and later reprinted by Intrigue.  My agent suggested Intrigue would be a good place to keep writing fast-paced  books with the romantic suspense mix I love.  I wanted a series that readers could come back to book after book.  So 43 Light Street was born.  Each book has its own hero and heroine who fall in love against a background of suspense and danger, but readers can keep up with their favorite characters in subsequent books.

 
• Sylvie Kurtz will give away a signed copy of her Intrigue, UNDER LOCK AND KEY on her website.

• Delores Fossen will give away an autographed copy of her July release, VEILED INTENTIONS on her website.