A Visit with Jordan Dane. [ Edited ]

[EloisaJames]

When I started doing research for this month's column on romantic suspense, one name kept jumping out at me. Jordan Dane! Jordan currently has a back to back trilogy coming out with Avon books. I positively loved her debut No One Left To Tell! When I invited Jordan to visit the Book Club I had to ask her two questions. How do you make scary sexy? And how does she create such intriguing characters? Here is her answer:

Why is Bad so Sexy?

I love the hero and heroine in NO ONE LEFT TO TELL - Christian Delacorte and Raven MacKenzie. With her being the detective and him being the lead suspect, things can't get any worse. For them, breaking the ice comes with an intimate frisk - all very professional and in the line of duty, of course.

But for this article, I'd like to talk about one of my bad guys.

I'll admit up front that people in my books sometimes get away with murder. I'm a fan of morally challenged anti-heroes and occasionally my villains do the right thing for all the wrong reasons. Case in point, Nicholas "Nicky" Charboneau is a crime boss in NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. I picutred him as a sexy Tony Soprano who can order someone killed with remorseless ease yet maintain a fierce loyalty for people he loves. His dark humored sidekick is the beautiful and exotic Jasmine Lee - Nicky's bodyguard, lover, and assassin (when it suits him.) They are both fascinated by death and they love their work. 

A match made in heaven...in my world.

Nicky is the epitome of the powerful bad boy in designer threads with expensive and deviant tastes. And Jasmine is intensely devoted to her employer and secretly in love with him. As you might have guessed, these two are not the hero and heroine in my story - quite the contrary - yet they have seduced me from the start. NO ONE LEFT TO TELL sets the stage for Nicky's story of a misguided vengeance infused with his twisted brand of love and loyalty - the driver behind the plot. And in the sequel NO ONE LIVES FOREVER, everything NIcky values is at risk after he's kidnapped, forcing him to examine his life's choices in the harsh light of what he has become.

Villains are the heroes in their own story. For me, I want to capture the depth of every character, including my bad guys. And if I happen to fall in love with them along the way, that makes the story richer for me. I hope my readers will agree.

I love depicting characters that aren't clearly black and white, good or bad. And I like to bend a reader's traditional sense of morality by creating characters with pliable ethics and not easily defined in a conventional sense.

Showcasing characters in varying degrees of redemption is my thing. Some deserve sympathy or forgiveness while others may be a total waste of skin. And good men handicapped by their own personality flaws intrigue me. A fine line can separate a hero from a villain in my books. As in life, not everything is black or white. I like my stories and my characters to reflect the gray in between. So in NO ONE LEFT TO TELL and its sequel NO ONE LIVES FOREVER - welcome to Nicky and Jasmine's world where ethics and morality are only handicaps.

Who are some of your favorite anti-heroes or villains on TV or in the movies? And why do you like them so much?

Jordan will be visiting with us tomorrow, Monday, May 19, to talk about her new series and how sexy can be bad.

Message Edited by Melanie_Murray on 05-18-2008 12:43 PM

[becke_davis]

I'm halfway through No One Heard Her Scream and it's really good.  (I hope I have the title right -- it's the San Antonio one, or do they all take place in San Antone?)  Anyway, I like it a lot.  I can see I'll have to add even more book to my TBR pile if she has a linked series out.

[Jordan_Dane]

Thanks for checking out my book, Becke. As a new author, everything is a thrill for me. And I'm glad you're enjoying it. I wanted to write the type of book I liked to read with a cross genre feel--forensics, police procedural, romance, a bit of humor, with the pace of a suspense/thriller.

NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM is my debut book and is set in San Antonio, my old hometown. And for more info on the locations I used in the book and what they meant to me and my family, I've got a Story Behind the Story link on my website that shows digital pics with excerpts so you get a feel for them. For example, I changed the name of the burned down theatre to the Imperial but it is the gorgeous and historic Magestic Theatre in reality. (I didn't want to burn down that beautiful theatre with all the memories it held for me.) Plus, I wrote about some tourist spots that most folks would recognize (the Riverwalk and Mi Tierra's, for example) but also wrote about some off the beaten path places too (like some of my favorite eateries and places I grew up). The city of San Antonio definitely plays its part in the story, along with the Hispanic culture.

This book is standalone in plot. My next two books NO ONE LEFT TO TELL (released late April) and NO ONE LIVES FOREVER (released MAY 27th) are connected by characters and the story line continuing. TELL is the heroine's story with FOREVER being HIS story, dealing with his unresolved past. TELL takes place in Chicago but FOREVER is more exotic--in Brazil.

Romantic Times reviewed these books and gave them both a TOP PICK rating for May and June. I was very honored by that. And I'm listening to TELL in audio right now, to see how the narrator Tavia Gilbert did. She's an amazing talent and I'm loving her. I hope she's the narrator for FOREVER. Normally, I love a male voice for a male story, but she has really nailed Christian's nuances in her reading and I love what she's done with him.

Anyway, I hope you'll still add my next two books to your TBR pile. I love the characters in these books. And my next thriller series is set for release in Feb 2009. I'm writing these now and having a blast doing it.

Take care and have a great week. Thanks again for your support of a new author.

[becke_davis]

Jordan -- I read in your book blurb that you won thirty-some contests before selling three books.  That's impressive, but after reading your first book I'm not at all surprised.

You really know how to abuse your main character -- they say a good writer in this genre puts the heroine in a lot of tight positions, and it would be hard to imagine how any heroine could go through tougher scenes than yours did. 

Even though the book started out on a dark note, the initial interaction with Diego and Rebecca was a tease, kind of flirtatious.  I made the mistake of thinking the book was going to be good but fairly straightforward.  Boy, was I wrong.  I thought of Lisa Jackson, Linda Howard and yes, Sharon Sala when I read your book and just like their stories, this one held me on the edge of my seat.  During one scene -- I'm sure you know which one -- I had to force myself not to skip ahead and make sure it turned out right.  Whew!  I never read so fast in my life -- I hadn't planned to finish it last night but I couldn't put the damned thing down.  It was so freaking scary, I had to read it through to the end so I could sleep without all the lights on!

And now I have to go get your other books.  My TBR pile thanks you but I've learned my lesson -- I'm not reading those books unless it's broad daylight and my husband is home!

I bought this book first, by the way, because of the setting.  My sister lives in McAllen and a friend got transferred to San Antonio last year.  I went to visit them both and LOVED San Antonio.  The night my sister and I arrived in San Antonio the Spurs made it to the playoffs -- we were in a hotel on the Riverwalk and could see the traffic (and hear the uproar) into the wee hours of the morning.  We gave up on sleep and just sat on the balcony watching the drunken celebrants running across the tops of cars.  Yup, I knew I was in Texas -- we don't get much of that in Cincinnati!

Message Edited by becke_davis on 05-19-2008 10:52 AM

[Jordan_Dane]

I have to ask--what anti-heroes have you ever seen in movies or on TV that were really sexy to you? And why did you find them so fascinating?

Some of my favorite anti-heroes are: Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry & his spaghetti westerns), Johnny Depp (in anything), Jason Statham (The Transporter), Hugh Laurie (House on TV), and Josh Holloway (Sawyer on LOST-TV show).

I love the loner. The brooding angsty male who is worthy of redemption but doesn't know it yet. A part of me wants to fix them, but another part wants them just the way they are.

[Jordan_Dane]

I am so thrilled you loved NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM, Becke. And sorry I kept you up reading and losing sleep (but not really) <grin>.

With the crime of human trafficking, this book is a little gritty for a reason. I needed to portray a heinous crime without sugar coating it but I also wanted to give voice to the victims of this crime. And by affecting the heroine, the police detective--and dragging her into the story as she filters her investigation through her own grief and pain--I thought that might show how violence is like a ripple effect on the water. It affects many many more people than just the victims. Instead of the detective working the crime, the crime worked her.

Publishers Weekly gave me a rave review for this book and compared me to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner and Tami Hoag--some of my all time favs. And they called it "plain thriller country" and loved my men, good and bad.

I don't try to compare me to anyone, but I'm thrilled others see it, especially being compared to such amazing authors. And Sharon Sala read my unpublished manuscript for SCREAM and jumpstarted the auction where my books sold when she picked up the phone and raved about my work to her editor and agent.  Now we share the same agent. My FIRST SALE story is on my website and tells not only the Sharon Sala part but how I wrote this book in the 6 weeks I was on medical leave from major surgery. The story was in me and it just flowed.

The next two books in my series were both rated as a TOP PICK by Romantic Times and I am especially honored by that. NO ONE LEFT TO TELL is my woman detective's story with NO ONE LIVES FOREVER being the continuing story of my hero's life. Even though they read as standalones with loose ends tied up, they are best read in order to get the whole picture of the main characters in these two books.

And thanks for your kind thoughts on my work. GO SPURS GO!!!

[becke_davis]

---

Jordan_Dane wrote:

I have to ask--what anti-heroes have you ever seen in movies or on TV that were really sexy to you? And why did you find them so fascinating?

Some of my favorite anti-heroes are: Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry & his spaghetti westerns), Johnny Depp (in anything), Jason Statham (The Transporter), Hugh Laurie (House on TV), and Josh Holloway (Sawyer on LOST-TV show).

I love the loner. The brooding angsty male who is worthy of redemption but doesn't know it yet. A part of me wants to fix them, but another part wants them just the way they are.

---

I'd have to add Robert Downey, Jr. (in anything) and Russell Crowe (I'm thinking of Gladiator).  Oooh, I love Jason Statham in The Transporter -- it's a guilty pleasure!

[Jordan_Dane]

You're going to make me want to see Iron Man now (with Downey).

And I got a chance to see Russell Crowe up close in Chicago when I walked by him on the street outside The House of Blues. He was with his wife. She was the one all disguised with sunglasses and hoodie (like someone might recognize her) but he was his glorious self. And I have to say, he looked damned good. He's not very tall but he looks just as good in person as he does on the big screen.

[becke_davis]

---

Jordan_Dane wrote:

You're going to make me want to see Iron Man now (with Downey).

And I got a chance to see Russell Crowe up close in Chicago when I walked by him on the street outside The House of Blues. He was with his wife. She was the one all disguised with sunglasses and hoodie (like someone might recognize her) but he was his glorious self. And I have to say, he looked damned good. He's not very tall but he looks just as good in person as he does on the big screen.

---

Definitely go see Iron Man -- the movie is AMAZING and Downey is terrific.  Have you seen him in Only You or Hearts and Souls?  Or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?  I like him in pretty much everything.

I am soooo jealous of your Crowe close encounter.  I've stayed at the hotel -- it's not called House of Blues anymore but it's still cool.  Great location, too.  Guess I'll have to go hang out there and hope for a Crowe sighting if I hear he's in town (my son goes to school in Chicago so I'm up there a lot).  You are so lucky!

Who did you base Diego on -- anyone in particular?  I pictured him as a cross between Andy Garcia and Benjamin Bratt.  Yum!

[cheri2628]

I recently read an excerpt of No One Heard Her Scream, and it really made me want to read more.  No One Left To Tell sounds really good, too.  Congratulations on your new books.  This must be an exciting time for you!

[Jordan_Dane]

Hello Cheri--Thanks for joining in.

Even as an author, it's hard for me to express in words how I felt to achieve a lifetime dream to write and be published--especially by such a large publisher. It's an experience my heart understands fully but my mind is still grappling with.

And now that I'm writing full time (retiring early from my day job in the energy industry), my mind is filled with stories 24/7. Fueled by my creative juices, I'm living a dream and counting my lucky stars for every day of it.

[Jordan_Dane]

I love Andy Garcia and got to see him in Beverly Hills once. And Antonio Banderas too. It was a day for star sightings when I was there with customers of mine from my oil & gas days. And let me tell you, Antonio looks REALLY good too.

I also love Benjamin Bratt. Man, I can see him in the role too. But I usually pick an actor or image off the Internet and work with that for the entire book on days that I'm writing the character's scenes. And the actor I used for the sexy Diego Galvan was Eduardo Verastegui. Google that guy and you will be blown away at how gorgeous he is. Here's another link but there are countless pics of him on the Internet. He's a Mexican movie actor and soap star but I first saw him in a J Lo music video as a gypsy and also in one episode of Charmed when the witches tried to conjure up the perfect male. I think they succeeded.

[EloisaJames]

Hello Jordan! Thank you so much for joing us today.

What did you do to celebrate when you found out you sold three books?

[KimCastillo]

Hi Jordan. I'm so excited that you're visiting today. I'm positively chomping at the bit to gobble up your trilogy. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres and everyone is just raving about your books!

Do you find it difficult to keep an even mix of love and scary in your writing?

Some of my favorite bad boys: Cole (I really had hoped him and Peobe would end up together.) and Jason Statham (swoon!).

[Jordan_Dane]

You're probably going to find this hard to believe but I really didn't do anything special. I think I was afraid the auction hadn't happened and I had dreamt it all. But mostly, I'm a pragmatic person with long term career goals in mind. I saw my sale as the first step of a toddler and that I wanted many more.

It wasn't until my book launches in OK, TX and NC that I took the time to celebrate with friends and family by hosting a party for each one with food and drink for my guests. Pictures of these are on my blog at MySpace.

But a memorable "quiet celebration" has stuck in my mind most. The day my cover flats came for the first time and the marketing packet with the Advance Reader Copy for my debut book NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM marked a time I will always remember. I was calm (yet excited inside) until my husband saw them. He walked away for a moment and I thought that was the whole of his reaction until he came back with a tear in his eye saying, "My God, you're going to be in a library." We both cried and held each other--our quiet celebration. We'd been at a hectic pace for four years (with both of us supporting my efforts) and it finally hit us. He knew what it meant to me, even more than I did. He's clever that way.

That's why my first book was dedicated to him when I wrote "To John--You are the cornerstone for every hero I will ever write."

And the funny thing was, the dedication was put on the copyright page. And right underneath my dedication came the words - "THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION." We also got a big kick out of this...and wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It was so US.

Thanks for asking, Eloisa.

[becke_davis]

---

Jordan_Dane wrote:

I love Andy Garcia and got to see him in Beverly Hills once. And Antonio Banderas too. It was a day for star sightings when I was there with customers of mine from my oil & gas days. And let me tell you, Antonio looks REALLY good too.

I also love Benjamin Bratt. Man, I can see him in the role too. But I usually pick an actor or image off the Internet and work with that for the entire book on days that I'm writing the character's scenes. And the actor I used for the sexy Diego Galvan was Eduardo Verastegui. Google that guy and you will be blown away at how gorgeous he is. Here's another link but there are countless pics of him on the Internet. He's a Mexican movie actor and soap star but I first saw him in a J Lo music video as a gypsy and also in one episode of Charmed when the witches tried to conjure up the perfect male. I think they succeeded.

---

You should have issued defibrillators with that link -- now I'm going to have to reread Diego's scenes with Eduardo's imagine in mind.  Holy moly, I'm going to have to start watching that soap he's in.

And it looks like I should be following you around, since you manage to bump into all my favorite stars!

Message Edited by becke_davis on 05-19-2008 02:46 PM

[becke_davis]

---

Jordan_Dane wrote:

I am so thrilled you loved NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM, Becke. And sorry I kept you up reading and losing sleep (but not really) .

With the crime of human trafficking, this book is a little gritty for a reason. I needed to portray a heinous crime without sugar coating it but I also wanted to give voice to the victims of this crime. And by affecting the heroine, the police detective--and dragging her into the story as she filters her investigation through her own grief and pain--I thought that might show how violence is like a ripple effect on the water. It affects many many more people than just the victims. Instead of the detective working the crime, the crime worked her.

Publishers Weekly gave me a rave review for this book and compared me to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner and Tami Hoag--some of my all time favs. And they called it "plain thriller country" and loved my men, good and bad.

I don't try to compare me to anyone, but I'm thrilled others see it, especially being compared to such amazing authors. And Sharon Sala read my unpublished manuscript for SCREAM and jumpstarted the auction where my books sold when she picked up the phone and raved about my work to her editor and agent.  Now we share the same agent. My FIRST SALE story is on my website and tells not only the Sharon Sala part but how I wrote this book in the 6 weeks I was on medical leave from major surgery. The story was in me and it just flowed.

The next two books in my series were both rated as a TOP PICK by Romantic Times and I am especially honored by that. NO ONE LEFT TO TELL is my woman detective's story with NO ONE LIVES FOREVER being the continuing story of my hero's life. Even though they read as standalones with loose ends tied up, they are best read in order to get the whole picture of the main characters in these two books.

And thanks for your kind thoughts on my work. GO SPURS GO!!!

---

Jordan -- I just read about your first sale (thanks for the link) and I swear, it gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes.  I hope you are fully recovered and that your books all become best sellers.  What a story!

[Jordan_Dane]

Hey Kim---Nice to see you here. And Cole is the great anti-hero from Charmed. Julian McMahon (Cole) also made a really great character in Nip-Tuck as the sexy plastic surgeon with a never ending sex drive who once traded his girlfriend for a sports car. But whenever he shed a tear for the wreck of his life, he made all the women swoon and want to FIX him.

And Jason Statham has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Yummy. He can "transport" me anywhere.

>Do you find it difficult to keep an even mix of love and scary in your writing?

Yes, I do. I tend to focus a bit more on the action or plot to make sure the character motivation stays true to that thread first, but I also think that a book is made that much richer with a man & woman in danger. The emotional layering is important to tell a deeper story. All pretenses are stripped away and each of them can see who they really are in an instant. And love can follow if they are lucky but the stakes are also higher because of it. What's not to love about that?

Thanks for the great question, Kim!!

[Melanie_Murray]

Jordan! Welcome to the board!

I too just read your "first sale" story. How inspiring! You had a guardian angel! And your husband is a prince!

I also popped open that picture of Eduardo Verastegui, and, um, yowza.

So, what's next for you after this trilogy?

[Jordan_Dane]

LOL I like the defibrilator idea, Becke. OPEN LINK WITH EXTREME CAUTION. NOT FOR THE WEAK OF HEART.

And when I was in Beverly Hills, I was the only one spotting people but I am very low key. I hate spoiling their day with pointing and gawking. Antonio was on the street and racing by all of us, hoping none of us noticed him. I'd hate to live my life that way but that's the price of fame, I guess.

I was an organizer for a convention in Toronto for the TV Show Witchblade. (Long story) And I got to be in the "green room" with the stars of the show. Here's a link to the cast pic. Most of the cast showed up for the convention (and Lord I never thought I'd be one to go to a Star Trek type convention but I was there for some strange reason--because I was a writer of fanfiction and wanted to meet the other writers).

But the guy who I pictured as my hero in NO ONE LEFT TO TELL (Christian Delacorte) was actor Eric Etebari of Witchblade--the dark & quiet assassin. Here's a link to a pic of him--and I like him best with short hair. I really like my men dark and swarthy with expressive eyes.

And I love to portray them as borderline alphas with vulnerabilities who are not afraid of a strong intelligent woman. A brooding angsty male with smarts works for me.