Interview with paranormal romantic suspense author Jeanne Adams

I’m chatting with writer Jeanne Adams, today. Her romantic suspense short story, “Lost in Time” is in the Who’s Your Daddy?!? romance anthology with Nancy Northcott and Caren Crane.

During the virtual book tour, the authors will be awarding one copy each of Kick Start by Caren Crane, Dead Run by Jeanne Adams, and Danger's Edge by Nancy Northcott to a randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit the other tour stops for this anthology and enter there, too!

Bio:

Jeanne Adams writes award-winning romantic suspense, fantasy/paranormal, Urban Fantasy and space adventure that’s been compared to Jack McDevitt and Robert Heinlein. 

She also knows all about getting rid of the bodies—she teaches a class on it for writers! Both traditionally and indie published, Jeanne has won a variety of writing awards and has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. She teaches highly sought after classes on Body Disposal for Writers and Plotting for Pantzers, as well as How to Write a Fight Scene with her pal Nancy Northcott.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

Working in a shorter form—short stories, or in this case a novella—is a challenge for me. I tend to write long (100K word novels!) and so I have to really condense both narrative and description to fit the form. That said, I like a challenge and I love getting down to a story that moves fast and is still a wonderful adventure.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

This particular novella, from the anthology Who’s Your Daddy?!? Is called “Lost in Time”. It’s a fast-paced, urgent romantic suspense full of personal and DNA-based discovery, family, and greed. One of my hobbies is genealogical research, so writing about tracing family through the ages is a particular delight for me. I was able to have Alexis, my genealogist heroine, walk through all the steps that I do when trying to find someone. That was super fun. Another recent short story, The Pekkamodo Hunt, in the anthology Predators in Petticoats, isn’t a love story, but it is about female empowerment, so that was fun too!

Excerpt from "Lost in Time":

Derek opened another box in his late grandmother’s attic. His name jumped out from the first document.

Derek Jacob Millington, Juris Doctor

His commencement announcement from Yale law. Gram and Pops, who’d been a lawyer too, had beamed with pride that day. Below it, bundled envelopes and greeting cards filled the box. He’d have to sort through it downstairs, in better light.

“Jesus, Gram, did you keep everything?”

There was no answer from the swirling dust motes. Banker’s boxes lined the attic three deep and three or four high on the long axis of the house. He’d barely made a dent.

He swigged from his Coke, then returned to his task. His grandmother would’ve been the first to tell him the job wouldn’t get done by staring at it.

Derek crab-walked under the eaves to retrieve another box. His hip ached. He was still recovering from a serious car accident and probably should’ve started with something less strenuous. But the boxes were easier to face than rooms haunted with the scent of his beloved grandmother’s perfume.

The latest box was tattered and dusty. He flipped the lid expecting another box of letters or ancient tax returns.

Instead, the fat leather photo album on top creaked open to a shot of a bride and groom. The groom wore a morning coat; the smiling bride a lacy gown.

The bride was his Gram, but the groom wasn’t his Pops.

The groom was Derek’s dark-haired twin.

“Oh. My. God.”

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I tend to write most in either paranormal romantic suspense or romantic suspense because I can’t seem to ever write anything without a love story and some “blood on the pavement,” so to speak! I like movies where things blow up and pretty much any and all thrillers. Add in a little witchy magic and I’m there. So…since it’s what I like to read, it’s also what I love to write!

What exciting story are you working on next?

Thanks for asking, Lisa! I’m working on several things at once. That’s how I keep from ever getting writer’s block! Ha! I’m working on a novella in my Haven Harbor Witches series which will be featured in the anthology Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle, coming out in September. I’m also working on the second book in my popular Slip Traveler series, called The Rum Runner’s Ghost. That’s set in Savannah and was so much fun to research! Last but not least, I’m working on a full length novel in my Haven Harbor Witches series, called Chief of Magic.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

What an interesting question. I first considered myself a writer when I quit my job with the intention of seriously trying to get traditionally published. Back in 2005, indie publishing hadn’t really taken hold yet. Five manuscripts later, I sold to Kensington Zebra Romantic Suspense. (That book is now re-printed under my indie banner as Dead Run).

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

One of the best ways to find out about short story and novella markets is to check the various publishers who do Kickstarters. For instance, I found out about Joshua Palmatier’s Zombies Need Brains when someone on Facebook posted the Kickstarter. From there I began to look for Joshua’s announcements that he was putting together a new venture. I found Michael Ventrella’s Across the Universe anthology the same way. So watch Kickstarter and see who’s doing the work. You can also find out about new projects through writer’s organizations like Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Fun question! I don’t actually have many quirks when it comes to writing, but I like to write when it’s noisy. I love to work at a restaurant or coffee shop, or in patio seating at a strip center where there’s a lot of foot traffic and people energy. I love the people energy – I’m an extrovert – and somehow it helps me tune in and drill down and get a lot of writing done. Go figure, right?

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to write, but thought that I couldn’t do that because only mystical magical people got to be writers. Ha! Careerwise, initially I wanted to be an architect but I was told that girls couldn’t do that. You’d think in the late 20^th and into the 21^st century we wouldn’t have been doing that, but…there you are. Then I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian. That lasted until I did a shadow-day at a vet’s office. Yeah, no. (I settled into being a corporate marketing executive and then a writer instead.)

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I’m super grateful to be able to do what I do––write and raise my boys––and it’s all because of readers who buy, read, and positively review my books, so thank you! Thank you too, to bloggers like you, Lisa, who help get the word out about fun books like this anthology. If you like urban fantasy, paranormal romantic suspense, romantic suspense, or space adventure without romance, I hope you’ll check out my website or find me on social media!

Links:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Thanks for joining me today.

Thank you so much for having me on the blog today. Your questions were fun to answer, and I hope you and your readers enjoy the answers!

Bios for Caren Crane and Nancy Northcott:

Caren Crane began writing warm, witty contemporary romance and women's fiction to save herself from the drudgery of life in the office. An electrical engineer by training, she longed to create worlds where things were any color except cube-wall gray. She still works in a cubicle, but gets to hang out with witty, fabulous people whenever she's writing, which greatly encourages butt-in-chair time.

Caren lives in North Carolina with her wonderful husband and semi-feral rescue cat. She has three fiercely intelligent, gorgeous grown children, having neatly side-stepped her mother’s threat that she would have children Just Like Her. You can find info and excerpts at www.carencrane.com.

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Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman.  Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, history, and genre fiction. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes (and sometimes the magic) she loves in the books she writes.

She’s the author of the Light Mage Wars/Protectors paranormal romances, the Lethal Webs and Arachnid Files romantic suspense series, and the historical fantasy trilogy The Boar King’s Honor. With author Jeanne Adams, she co-writes the Outcast Station space opera series. Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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