ANNIE SOLOMON, Day 17, Month of Romantic Suspense

[dhaupt]

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becke_davis wrote:

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dhaupt wrote:

Annie, I agree with Becke, the teaser sounds amazing and I love the cover. I'm afraid that to be read pile is deeper than the snow here. Oh well what could be better than a great romantic suspense read to keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense and warm you with the romance.

Thanks for visiting us there at the mystery club. I'm sorry to say that I haven't read your works yet so I'm a future fan, but from the look of the blurb you will be on my go to list very soon. Thanks to Becke this month I've met several new authors who I can't wait to read.

Debbie - I think you and I could be the cover-children for reading addiction!

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My name is Debbie and I'm addicted to reading  

[becke_davis]

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Marie-Nicole wrote:

Dynamic opening, Annie. It draws me right into Edie's story.

Hi Marie-Nicole, thanks for joining us! Your name is beautiful!

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[becke_davis]

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Annie-Solomon wrote:

Unfortunately, Becke, even the tropics are cold! I'm in Florida getting my mom settled and the weather has definitely been off. The pools are positively deserted! But I do admit, it's better than most places in the country. No snow and temps in the  mid-60s, so I'm not complaining!

Is ANYWHERE warm? My daughter's in Orlando and she said it was supposed to drop to the 30s last night.

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[becke_davis]

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Annie-Solomon wrote:

My "call" came just as I was ready to give up on the whole writing adventure. I'd had rejections from every house my first book, Like A Knife, had been sent to. I'd even had a request for a rewrite, which I did, and it STILL got rejected. The book was out at one last house, but I didn't think they'd be interested. I was applying to grad school when my agent called and asked me if I was sitting down... When she told me I sold, I was so numb from all the rejections--had turned off my feelings, so to speak, so as not to get hurt--that I could hardly enjoy the good news!!!

Of course, it all eventually sank in, and I can't tell you how thrilled and excited I was when I saw my first book in an actual book store!

Wow, Annie - that gives me chills! Sounds like your motto should be "never give up!"  As to covers -- you've been lucky with those. Yours are great!

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[becke_davis]

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Annie-Solomon wrote:

Great questions, Becke! Since I'm out of town with limited internet access, I'll answer them now.

1. The 5 senses: I tend to use touch and sight the most. I have a terrible nose, so how things smell rarely occurs to me. And taste is difficult to convey, though I like food, so I often throw in a few of my favorite things, which my daughter gets a big kick out of. I use sound, too, but usually only so far as it comes into the story. But the first two are great for portraying character: what you see is often a reflection of who you are. And you can't write a romance without touch!

I thought this was a great question - thanks to my chapter-mate Carey Corp for coming up with it! I'm intrigued by your answer. In some stories I've read recently, food was practically a character!

2. Funny, my faves are mostly historicals. As for which ones I wish I'd written, two come to mind: Laura Kinsale's Flowers From The Storm and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. The Kinsale book is a near-perfect romance with a great love story and very high stakes for both hero and heroine. And Outlander is an epic adventure with a to-die-for hero.

Okay folks, don't hit me -- I have both of these in my TBR pile but haven't read them yet. I've read other books by Laura Kinsale and her latest is on order; as for Diana Gabaldon, I'm so sure I'll love those books, I've already bought the whole set (to date). Now I need a week to shut myself away and just read.

3. I enjoy Castle and am thrilled to see Nathan Fillion's career take off. I'm a big Firefly/Serenity fan. And how can I not support someone who started out on One Life to Live? I liked Gerard Butler in Dear Frankie, but not his recent Hollywood forays. GB fans--don't shoot me!

I loved Dear Frankie! I first discovered Nathan Fillion in Dr. Horrible - my MOM thinks he's "just darling," mainly because she remembers him from his soap opera days. I'm not allowed to speak of Gerard Butler -- my critique partner gets vicious when other women mention his name!

4. I like police procedurals with a lot of characterization and interplay among the protagonists: Bones, NCIS (not the one set in L.A.), The Closer and In Plain Sight. I also like Burn Notice for the same reasons. I watch 24 for the plot twists and turns and the use of tension and high stakes--great for a suspense writer. I haven't seen a lot of great movies lately. Not much Hollywood has done recently appeals to me. I have a list of terrific romantic thrillers on my blog (scroll down to the Feb. 6 entry, The Thrill of Romance), but most are 20-30 years old!

I'm going to go check out your link right now - 20-30 years old? I bet I know them all. 

5. I'm always casting my books in my head! For One Deadly Sin, I'd go with Ben Browder of Farscape (I'm a huge 'scaper!) for the small town sheriff who realizes he's falling for the lead suspect in a string of murders. For my revenge-seeking, biker-chick heroine with a secret soft side, I'd go with someone like Lena Headey, who played the lead in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Wow, I wouldn't have thought of those. Great casting!

6. I'm both a plotter and a pantser. I tend to panic when I don't know what's coming next, so I do a general outline of the plot. But I don't go in for charts and strings of  note cards or fifty-page synopses. Which usually means quite a few panic attacks during the writing process! But I discover so much about the characters and reactions as I write that doing a detailed outline would be useless anyway.

Thanks for sharing a little of your process with us! That always fascinates me.

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[becke_davis]

Annie referred to this blog post so I thought you all might be interested in reading it:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010

The Thrill of Romance

I decided to take a break from my own work and think about someone else's. So I was cruising around the 'net and came across a topic in Yahoo Answers. The question was:

What's the best romantic thriller ever made in Hollywood ?

Sadly, there was only one answer and I didn't like it: The Saint and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Although The Saint is a great romantic thriller, even with the silly cold fusion plot, but the Brangelina vehicle is too campy to be romantic or thrilling.

So, I scroll through my brain for my own picks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(this is me, scrolling my brain) . . . . . . . . . .

Okay, so there are probably plenty I've forgotten, but here are the ones I remembered, in no particular order:

1. Romancing the Stone. Romance writer Joan Wilder tries to save her kidnapped sister in Venezuela by enlisting the unwilling aid of a sexy smuggler who his own reasons for helping. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. 1984

2. Tequila Sunrise. Childhood buddies, now on opposite sides of the law, and the woman (and drug deal) that comes between them. Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer. Written by Robert Towne, of Chinatown fame. 1988

3. The Terminator. The one that spawned all the sequels (and James Cameron's career) with one of the most romantic lines: "I came through time for you, Sarah." Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, and Arnold Schwartzenegger in his career-changing role ("I'll be bahk..."). 1984

4. The Bodyguard. Probably my top choice. The romantic and thriller story are intrinsically entwined in this tale about a retired Secret Service agent, skilled to the bone, trying to protect a spoiled, self-indulgent pop idol from a deadly assassin. Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston. 1992

5. Blink. Not a big movie but I've seen it many times. A newly-sighted blind woman is witness to a murder but the cops assigned to the case don't believe her. Aiden Quinn, Madeleine Stowe. 1994

6. Notorious. Another top choice. Alfred Hitchcock directed this story of a "bad" girl hired to go undercover with a dangerous group of post-Nazi Germans. Ingrid Bergman is the amateur spy and Cary Grant her government agency handler. 1946

7. The Big Easy. More mystery than thriller, it still has one of the best bedroom scenes ever filmed: when Ellen Barkin's insecure assistant DA says she's never had much luck with men, smooth, easy-going homicide detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid), gives her a slow, sexy grin and says, "your luck's about to change, cher." Sigh. 1987

8. Last of the Mohicans. You may not think of this as a thriller, but the race through the eighteenth century American wilderness to evade a vindictive Mohawk is as thrilling as any contemporary cop drama. And it contains another of my all-time favorite lines, as a desperate Hawkeye is forced to abandon his love to the encroaching natives: "You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you." Another sigh. Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. 1992

9. Witness. A young Amish boy witnesses a murder and when it turns out the killer is a cop, the only place the boy will be safe is back on the farm. Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis. 1985

10. In the Cut. The grittiest one on the list. A serial killer is loose and a closed-off English professor may be the only lead the cops have. Mark Ruffalo is terrific as a tough, sexy detective putting the moves on Michelle Pfeiffer. 2003

11. Blade Runner. This futuristic sci-fi is another genre-bending entry. But who can resist Harrison Ford's weary, reluctant detective falling for an is-she-or-isn't-she-human beauty, knowing that if she isn't, he may have to kill her. 1982

12. Ghost. Love overcomes death in this supernatural thriller that has the ghost of a murdered man coming back from the grave to protect his love from his killer. Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg in her Oscar-winning role as the medium between them. 1990

13. Out of Sight. A bank robber plays a roguish cat-and-mouse game with the beautiful federal marshal trying to arrest him. George Cloony and Jennifer Lopez. 1998

That's it, folks. All I could come up with. Weird how the most recent one is six years old, and many are in the '80s. Is that a sign of my age, or a sign that Hollywood doesn't do these movies anymore?

[becke_davis]

How did I miss Tequila Sunrise? I've seen all the others - LOVE The Terminator, Bodyguard, Ghost and Out of Sight.

I would add Cary Grant in both North by Northwest and Charade.

Not sure if I can include Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile - they have romance and suspense, but are they too funny to count? What about Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair? I'd count it, even though it is funny, too.

Speed would be on my list; while Malice and Deceived count as almost anti-romantic suspense.

[becke_davis]

Hurray! Annie's publisher sent me a smaller image of her new book cover. Let's hope this works:

[Annie-Solomon]

Thanks, Marie-Nicole. I especially appreciate it coming from a great writer like yourself!

[becke_davis]

Annie - sometimes when I meet an author in person I find out all kinds of cool things I would never have thought to ask them. Are there any "little known facts" about you or your career?

[becke_davis]

Annie - thanks so much for joining us today. I know it was difficult for you since you're out of town without regular internet access, and appreciate the extra effort you made.

This is your thread now, and you are welcome to come back and update the information here whenever you like. I hope you'll post when you have a new release, an interview or a special blog post, or whenever you have B&N book signings coming up. We'd love to see you again!

THANK YOU!!

[BartleBee]

Annie Solomon is one of my favorite authors!!!  I'm so glad B&N featured her here.  Looking forward to her new book!

[becke_davis]

Hi BartleBee - thanks for stopping by! I'm excited about Annie's new book, too. I hope she'll come back and talk to us about it more later on!

[Annie-Solomon]

Glad to hear you're liking the covers, Becke. I think I had a few stinkers in the beginning, but they're coming around now!

[Annie-Solomon]

Thank YOU, Becke, for inviting me. It was lots of fun. I hope to come back and visit again.

[becke_davis]

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Annie-Solomon wrote:

Glad to hear you're liking the covers, Becke. I think I had a few stinkers in the beginning, but they're coming around now!

Your latest cover is GORGEOUS!

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