New Releases

A benign business trip to Mexico turns sinister when one man turns up dead and another--impossibly--returns in the flesh! Penelope Moon couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her fiancé, Simon Decker, a man who had been languishing in a coma for months, on board a passing yacht with a man who would die within hours. But this Simon wasn't the kindly accountant she'd fallen in love with, who knew her intimately as though he'd read a brief on her needs and desires. This man was altogether different. Tougher, stronger--sexier than she'd known. And she secretly liked it.

Soon Penelope found herself drawn into a deadly conspiracy involving an illegal pharmaceutical and border infiltration. More than just her wedding was at stake. But would her heart end up as collateral damage...?

Matchmakers Underground--Coincidences...Chance encounters... 
Thatt's what one Houston, Texas, firm specializes in. Who knows what lies around the next corner...?

Her desperate plan to save her brother left Melanie Andrews with a dead body on her hands, a killer at her heels and nowhere to run--except into Roderick Laughlin's arms. As soon as she saw the seductive, self-made man in the crowded ballroom, she knew she'd found a temporary haven. And as the clock struck twelve, Melanie pressed a burning kiss on his lips and escaped into the night, thinking she'd never see him again.

She thought wrong.

The taste of her was seared into his mind, and there was nowhere Roderick's mysterious Cinderella could hide. Because she'd gotten mixed up in a deadly game, one only Roderick could protect her from--as soon as he convinced her he was the only man to trust….

Light Street P.I. Morgan Kirkland came to André Gascon's bayou estate to track a killer.  Over the internet, the man had intrigued her.  In person, she found him compelling and sexy.  Yet he seemed to live like a captive on his own estate, disappeared at sunset, drank a mysterious homemade brew--and refused to tell her the truth about himself.  And when she closed her eyes at night, she found her strange, erotic dreams as disturbing as the man himself.  Was she falling for a killer?  Was she falling under a voodoo 
curse?  Or was she the only person who could save André from a terrible fate?

Rebecca says: "As many of my readers know, I'm deep into paranormal themes.  And Spellbound was a perfect opportunity to explore some of the enticing ideas floating 
around in my head."

• Rocky Mountain Manhunt by Cassie Miles, Colorado Crime Consultants 

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Question of the Month

"Have you ever presented an idea or proposal that was so far out you
were sure it wouldn't be accepted--but then it was? Tell us about that book."

Rita Herron: 
Yes, I did!  Actually, it was the second book I sold to Harlequin Intrigue called Her Eyewitness.  The basic premise was that a cop was blinded in a shooting and had a corneal transplant. When the bandages came off, he could see again, but he was seeing through the eyes of the man who donated his corneas--in fact, he saw the man being murdered.
I was sure when I wrote that premise that Intrigue would turn it down, but my agent loved it and so did Intrigue. It became my second book for them. Later, the senior editor wanted a medically related series from me, something similar to that, so that was how my series Nighthawk Island was born.

Mallory Kane: 
When I presented my idea for the book that became Seeking Asylum (Aug 05), I was sure it wouldn't fly. It had a mad scientist, an eerie old mansion converted into a mental institution, a psychic hero with an insane twin brother, a cruel grandmother, and a psychiatrist heroine whose goal in life is to wipe out mental illness.  I was truly surprised when they liked the concept of the hero going undercover as his insane twin brother to expose the scientist. I hope readers will enjoy reading about Eric and Rachel as much as I enjoyed writing the book. 

Susan Kearney: 
Intrigue has never bought my far out ideas. Luckily for me, other places are more open-minded. However, sometimes it takes years to sell a far-out story. Twelve years ago I began my writing career, and I wish I could tell you the process was easy. It wasn’t. I wish I could say that I never received a rejection, but I could have wallpapered my bathroom with all those rejections. I wish I could tell you I sold the first book I ever wrote--well I did...sort of. 
               The Challenge was completed in 1992. However, at the time, no one was buying sexy, paranormal romances. I could claim I was ahead of my time, but the truth was that to tell this story I had to learn to hone my craft. Twelve years later, after selling thirty-eight books, I heard that Tor was about to launch a paranormal romance line.  Finally, I thought. Here’s my opportunity to sell the first novel I’d ever written. I adored the concept of combining science fiction with romance. And I wanted to write a story hot enough to singe the eyeballs. So I dug out the old file and promptly deleted every word. Quite simply, the writing sucked. However, the story was still compelling and one of my all-time favorites, so I rewrote the entire novel from scratch and sold it to Anna Genoese at Tor. So yes, The Challenge is the first book I ever wrote, but it’s also totally new and it will finally hit the shelves this month in Feb. 05. If you'd like to find out more, there's an excerpt on my web site. I enjoy hearing from readers, especially if they ignore my mistakes and give me lots of compliments. 

Sylvie Kurtz: 
Well, maybe not that far out, but I still thought A  Rose at Midnight stood no chance of being accepted because it had a musician hero and a Quebec City setting.  I was thrilled when I was offered a contract because I got to revisit my French Canadian roots and twist a fairy tale that had given me nightmares as a kid<g>. 

Kara Lennox: 
When I was first asked to submit something to Harlequin American Romance, I didn't really have anything simmering on a back burner that could be tailored.  But my agent was anxious to send something, so I sent a rejected Harlequin Temptation proposal titled, at that time, "The Perfect Seduction."  The book was set in the city and the hero was posing as a motorcycle-riding bad boy, while the heroine was out to end her cumbersome virginity.  The whole story was about seduction, and there was lots of sex.  I sent it as a writing sample only, along with a short synopsis for a book I thought was more suited to American (brides, babies and cowboys).  I was shocked when American bought the sexy book with no changes and didn't want the other.  That book came out as my first Kara Lennox Harlequin American, Virgin Promise, in August 2000.

Dana Marton: 
In my current release, Secret Soldier, the hero and heroine must flee across the Arabian Desert, pursued by terrorists. At one point they're captured and tortured. I wasn't sure my editor would go for such a gritty plot, but she loved the characters and the dynamics between them. Readers seem to agree. I have gotten a number of letters from readers who love the book especially for its realism.

Julie Miller: 
I thought my contemporary single title paranormal romantic suspense (already a mouthful!) that featured a dead hero, a bumbling guardian angel and terrorists would be a hard sell:) But as we hear so much these days, it's all in the execution. That book became my award-winning Always Faithful. The hero got reincarnated into the villain's body and was reunited with his soul mate and daughter, the angel got her wings and the terrorists went bye-bye in a very dramatic way. I still get fan mail on that one!

Ann Voss Peterson: 
When I got the idea for Accessory To Marriage, I wasn't sure my idea for the brutal serial killer book would fly at Intrigue.  After all it was only my third book, and I had just been assigned to a new editor.  My editor invited me to talk to her about the idea.  She said she could tell me if Intrigue would be interested.  But I was so unsure, I thought my best chance was to show her how I'd write it by sending her three chapters and a synopsis.  I received an offer for the book in record time, and when I talked to my editor later, she admitted it was a good thing I hadn't merely told her the idea.  She said she never would  have believed I could pull it off.  But when she read the first three chapters, she loved it.  And Senior Editor Denise O'Sullivan loved it as well!  After this experience, I knew that when I came up with the idea of Marital Privilege (Oct 2005), I'd better prove to my editor that the idea would work.  Again the strategy paid off, and the story of a married couple on the run from the Russian mob will be released this fall!  So if you have an idea you worry is too different, you may want to just write the book.  Prove you can make your idea work, and an editor will buy it!

Kelsey Roberts: 
Definitely...I proposed a time travel for an Intrigue as part of the Rose Tattoo series.  I was fairly sure that no one would like the notion of a book very loosely based on The Wizard of Oz.   I was wrong (thankfully) and The Tall Dark Alibi did amazingly well and is even an RT selection for one of the best time travels ever!

Dani Sinclair: 
Better Watch Out (1Dec 97) was rejected once and restructured three times for different editors. I was told it sounded too much like the movie, Weekend At Bernies. Except that it wasn't a comedy and had nothing at all in common with that movie. But what worried everyone was who would buy a book about elves and a disappearing body? Eventually an editor took a chance and did buy the story. She even kept my title and it was a Rita finalist that year. So you never know. 

Joanna Wayne:
Several, but then I tend to write books that push the envelope. One of the first that comes to mind was Mystic Isle with its voodoo content. Another was Attempted Matrimony in which the heroine is married and the husband is not the hero. And the furthest out there is probably my upcoming December Eclipse, The Amulet, which is part of a three-book series with Amanda Stevens and BJ Daniels. The three of us came up with the plot idea on a writers' retreat in a mountain cabin. I won't give away the plot, but I promise it will be far different from any Intrigue I've ever written. 

Rebecca York: 
Actually, my book, Spellbound (Feb 05), is one I thought Intrigue would never buy.  It's a beauty and the beast story, set in the bayou country.  The hero is suffering under a voodoo curse that was first hurled at his grandfather.  He's doomed to spend every night in the bayou and....  Well, I probably shouldn't tell the "and" part, although I think readers will guess fairly early in the book.  But the idea was so far out that I thought it would never fly at Intrigue.  BTW, the cover they gave me for Spellbound is fantastic.  It's on my web site and on Amazon.
 

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Still Available

Rocky Mountain Mystery by Cassie Miles, Harlequin Intrigue #820, ISBN: 0-373-22820-1
Undercover Babies by Alice Sharpe Harlequin Intrigue #823, ISBN: 0-373-22823-6
Bodyguard Rescue by Donna Young, Harlequin Intrigue #824, ISBN: 0-373-22824-4

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Coming Soon

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Author News

Sylvie Kurtz is pleased to announce the release of her first Bombshell, Personal Enemy.  Check the BombshellAuthors website for more details!

Julie Miller: If you need a quick fix of "The Precinct"  by Julie Miller, be sure to check out her prequel, The Precinct: Bravo-Tango, an online daily serial at eHarlequin.com, starting March 28. Bravo-Tango is a prequel to Ms. Miller's April Intrigue,  The Precinct: Police Business.  Julie is also pleased to announce the sale of a gothic suspense to Harlequin Intrigue's Eclipse mini-series. The Beast in the Tower (working title) is scheduled for Dec 2006.

Kelsey Roberts is thrilled to report that Bedside Manner was # 8 on the 2004 Best Seller (Paperback Mass Market) List at Murder on the Beach in Florida (the only series book to make the list). She also recently sold five more books to Intrigue.  She's also taped a feature for PBS to air in February on writing romantic suspense.

Joanna Wayne's upcoming single title, Gentlemen's Club, is now available for preordering. The book is a romantic suspense that takes you inside the private rooms of a slick strip club in the heart of New Orleans famed French Quarter.   She will also be teaching an on-line creative writing class, "Writing the Single Title Romance"  in March. The class will be offered by Outreach International Romance Writers. 

Gayle Wilson's first single title HQN, Wednesday's Child, will be on the shelves in April. "Susan Chandler's husband had vanished without a trace. . .along with their fourteen-month-old daughter. Now, seven years later, his car has been pulled from a river in some backwater Mississippi town. Inside is the skeleton of her husband and an empty baby seat..." 

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Calendar

• Feb 12:
• Lori Harris will be signing her February 2005 Harlequin Intrigue, Someone Safe at the West Oaks Mall's Waldenbooks, Ocoee, FL. 
• Julie Miller will be featured at a Friends of Romance celebration sponsored by the Prairieland Romance Writers, (Grand Island, NE). The event honors librarians and booksellers across the state who are special friends to the romance genre.  Anyone who loves books is welcome.  There will be awards, free books, a raffle basket, two author discussion panels, and cake!  For more details, check out the PRW website 
• Kelsey Roberts will sign books in the BookRacks in Palm Beach and Stuart, FL .
• Feb 18:
• Kelsey Roberts will be speaking at FRW Fun in the Sun Conference in Ft. Lauderdale 
• Feb 23:
• 9:00 pm EST- Rebecca York discusses Spellbound in the NovelTalk chatroom
• Mar 1:
• 9:00 pm EST: Intrigue Authors chat
• Mar 3:
• 9:00 pm EST - Dana Marton discusses Secret Soldier in the NovelTalk chatroom

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Contests and Special Offers

Susan Kearney is giving away to one lucky winner an autographed copy of two connected Blaze books--Bordering on Obsession and A Burning Obsession. You can enter at her website.

Sylvie Kurtz is pleased to announce that Madeline Furtado is the winner of the January contest.  Madeline will receive a snowflake pin and a signed book.  Congratulations! Check out Sylvie's revamped website  and enter the February contest.  Sylvie's giving away a Bombshellesque light and a signed copy of A Rose at Midnight to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Julie Miller announces her spring cleaning contest!  If you'd like the chance to win one of three signed copies of her second Precinct book for Intrigue, The Precinct:  Police Business,  (Apr 05), go to her  website and follow the directions to enter.  Entries will be accepted after February 1. The deadline for entering is March 17.

Rebecca York:  To celebrate the publication of Crimson Moon, her 100th book, Rebecca is giving away a magic wand like the one in Edge of the Moon.  To be eligible for the drawing on March 31, 2005, send an e-mail, mentioning "MARCH WAND CONTEST" in the Subject line.  Provide an address to send the wand if you win.  Rebecca will also autograph and send a copy of Talons of the Falcon to the winner of a drawing on May 1, 2005.  To be eligible for the drawing, send an e-mail, mentioning "Contest #31" in the Subject line.  Provide an address to send the book if you win. 

Watch for our weekly contests at NovelTalk as well! 

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