Sunday, August 26, 2012

Reading leads to writing...

This blog first appeared at Just Romantic Suspense. I thought I'd share it here with you...


When I was eight, Nancy Drew and I hid under my blankets with a flashlight so Mom and Dad wouldn’t clue in. Reading at midnight was frowned upon in our family, maybe because I couldn’t get up for school the next day, or because I used too many batteries.
By the age of ten, I’d moved on to raiding my big brother’s stash of slasher, gangsta, and soldier novels. I craved action and adventure. There seemed to be sex involved in bro’s books, at least the ones hidden under his mattress, but I didn’t really understand those parts yet.
At thirteen, my girlfriends and I discovered romance novels, and life was great. We’d take our paperbacks to the school library and cover them with brown paper. The librarian didn’t mind—she read romance, too—we’d see her reading out on the lawn during lunch. After school, my brothers and I did homework at the dining room table under Mom’s eagle eye.  And I’d read romance. Yep, I’d do it right under her nose. Of course, Mom clued in when I had to retake Latin in summer school. I also got my first kiss and paw that year—Blechh!—and I wished teenage boys read romance novels.
While my tastes in reading material have expanded over the years, one thing has never changed: my love of romantic suspense. Mary Higgins Clark was an early icon for me. I knew I wanted to write after reading her mysteries. Later, Lisa Jackson, Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann, and Cindy Gerard got my feet moving to creative writing classes. I had to do this! Weave romance and action, add a contemporary flavour, and pit strong-minded gals against their polar opposites...Alpha males who insist on protecting “the little woman” at all costs.
And so, the Shadow Soldier series was born. These Special Ops guys have finished their tours of duty, but are still bound to each other by their reserve Spec Ops unit. They moved back into society as a lawyer, homicide cop, RCMP special agent, Search and Rescue, and the list goes on. They avoid romantic entanglements that last longer than a few hours, but have a code of loyalty and honour that just won’t quit. All they really need is the love of the right women to straighten them out. Of course, there is always danger to the women they meet. Jeopardy throws them together whether they like it or not. Hard hitting action and complex relationships are what my books are all about.
I hope you enjoy reading Dark Abandon as much as I loved writing it. This is the first book in the series, and I’m busy writing more. I’m hoping for a 2012 release date for Deadly Abandon as well.
A special thanks to the many accomplished authors who have provided me with hours of reading pleasure, and the desire to fulfill my own dreams as a writer. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me curled up by the fireplace or down on the dock with a great book.
Tune in tomorrow for an interview with Theo Sauvage, the hero of Dark Abandon.

Happy reading everyone! Kallie




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