Happy New Year! 2009 marks Harlequin's 60th anniversary--and Intrigue's 25th!
This year, our newsletter questions will celebrate all that's suspenseful and wonderful about Harlequin Intrigue.

Speaking of beginnings... as an author, would you tell us a bit about your very first book for Intrigue? Title? Characters? Setting? Whatever you'd like to share. What did you learn from that first book that you use now in your current or upcoming books?

Julie Miller: My first book for Intrigue was One Good Man--the story of Kansas City police detective Mitch Taylor who reluctantly becomes bodyguard to a reclusive judge's daughter, Casey Maynard. Though I wrote it as a stand-alone book, I gave Mitch the background of coming from a large, loving, law-enforcement family. That book had a whip-smart, resourceful heroine with an achingly painful past, a larger-than-life hero with justice and a fierce need to protect running through his veins, a great villain and, of course, my favorite city serving as a backdrop. I sold that book shortly before a national RWA conference, and two weeks later at the conference, the editor asked me if I had any more books like that... and thus, my Taylor Clan series was born. Each of those law enforcement Taylors got to tell his or her own story in subsequent books.

I think I learned several things from that first Intrigue that I still use in my stories. One--deep, complex characters are what make my stories tick. Two--protector heroes are hot! And three--I'm not the only one who likes to read about a community of characters. When I ran out of Taylors, I broadened my community to include the entire Precinct, and I've continued to develop supporting characters and revisit personal and reader favorites in my books. That community of characters, the rich backdrop of family and friends and Kansas City, remain a vital part of my books, including the one I'm writing now, Beauty and the Badge, which will be out in December of this year.

Delores Fossen: My first Intrigue, His Child, came out seven years ago in 2002. Wow, that seems so long ago in some ways and not so long in others. The setting for His Child is San Antonio, Texas, which is where most of my books are set because I write about the city and area I love most. The heroine, Jessie, is a cop on a deep cover assignment trying to solve her best friend's murder. She's kidnapped by someone who has no idea she's a cop and is used as a pawn to try to ruin wealthy rancher-turned-politician, Jake McClendon. So, I had cowboys and cops way back then--I still do in most of my books. Jake and Jessie will always be close to my heart because I learned so much from writing their story, and they paved the way for others who followed.

Ann Voss Peterson: My first book for Intrigue was a legal thriller titled Inadmissible Passion (August, 2000). It was the story of Britt Gerritsen's quest to make her best friend's killer pay. But to do so, she must first bring down celebrity defense attorney, Jackson Alcott, the man who broke their engagement and her heart.  I learned innumerable things in writing this book. The biggest, perhaps, is to allow the characters to shape the story. A story always hinges on its characters.

Dana Marton: My first book for Intrigue was a 2003 release, Shadow Soldier, about a secret commando soldier who guards the daughter of a controversial U.S. senator without her knowing. His identity is soon revealed, however, when he must save her from a kidnapping attempt. This book started the SDDU series and taught me to start with a hot and tough hero and keep the action rolling through thick and thin. It's still one of my favorite books.

Mallory Kane: My first book for Harlequin Intrigue was The Lawman Who Loved Her, which came out in 2001. It was set in New Orleans, and is still one of my favorite books ever. Interestingly, I've been thinking a lot about Cody and Dana, the hero and heroine of that book. As I look back, I can see that they are prototypes of all my heroes and heroines. It took me a few years and a few books to realize that what I happened upon through no fault of my own in that book is exactly what I want for all of my books. A sexy, protector hero whose life is fraught with danger, a brave and gutsy heroine, lots of close calls, near misses, scary incidents, and sexy interludes, a great, diabolical villain, and an ultimately satisfying happily-ever-after.

I've got three back-to-back books coming out in September, October and November of 2009 that embody those attributes I love so much. What can be better than a sexy hero and a brave heroine? Three sexy heroes and three brave, gutsy heroines!

Rita Herron: My first book was in 1997 and titled Send Me A Hero. The story was set in Atlanta, Georgia, my own home state and town. It was a woman in jeopardy story where the heroine had repressed memories of her parents' brutal murder. When she moves back to the hometown, the killer gets nervous that she'll remember. The story is full of family secrets which I think are always intriguing. In writing this story, I realized that I loved writing women in jeopardy stories, stories about families, and stories with a gothic tone. Those elements have been a common thread in my books, although some of my heroes have definitely gotten darker.

Paula Graves: My first book, Forbidden Territory, had been rejected by Silhouette Intimate Moments soon after it was first written, and I put it on a shelf and mourned it awhile. Later, however, my writing pal Kristen Robinette urged me to give the story another look. After a radical revision, wins in a handful of contests and a Golden Heart final, the book landed on my editor's desk at Intrigue and she made an offer. I was, of course, thrilled. But I also had a raftful of revisions ahead of me. I learned more about writing for Intrigue by revising that first manuscript than I had in years of researching the line. From pacing to hooks to how to keep readers turning the page, that revision my editor asked for was a crash course on writing for Intrigue.

Forbidden Territory was the first "book of my heart." I loved the characters of Lily and McBride, their troubled pasts and their current heartaches. The paranormal elements of the book (and the two sequels) gave the story a hint of horror mixed in with the suspense, which I see as my tip of the hat to some favorite writers like Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz. And, like so many of my stories, Forbidden Territory was a tale of lives redeemed through the simple yet radical act of loving another person more than oneself.

B.J. Daniels: My first book taught me that it wasn't going to be easy -- but the rewards would be huge. No financially. But there is more to writing than money. My first book was Odd Man Out set in my old stompin' grounds near West Yellowstone, Montana. I loved putting in local things that meant something to me -- it's something I still do today. My revision letter was a nightmare: love your pacing and your characters but if you want to change the plot that's fine with us. What do you do with that? Rewrite completely. Then rewrite again. The good news is that the finished book received 4 1/2 stars from RT and was nominated for best 1st book. And I learned a whole lot about revision -- and about writing and publishing. That was my toughest book but I stuck with it and it paid off.