AccessRomance interviews author Jamie Denton.

AR: November marks your first single title romantic suspense coming from Kensington Brava. What would you like to tell your readers about THE MATCHMAKER?

Jamie: That it's creepy and scary and romantic and sexy and hopefully everything a good romantic suspense is supposed to be <g>.

I had so much fun writing this book. There were times when I scared myself while writing THE MATCHMAKER, especially a scenes that were in the killer's viewpoint, that I had to take a break and go watch a Disney movie or a romantic comedy just to "lighten up" a bit.

AR: Do you have future books in the works from Brava?

Jamie: Next up is PRIME SUSPECT, another romantic suspense, with a heroine falsely accused of murdering her business partner and a hero who is reluctant to practice law again after turning his back on a brilliant and promising career as an Assistant District Attorney when a key witness and her young daughter were gunned down because he forced the woman to testify against a well-known crime lord. Content, or so he believes, living life out of the fast lane, the last thing on our hero's mind is the law. Until he receives a call from an old friend accused of murder.

The heroine is facing not only a murder charge, but the death penalty for a crime she didn't commit – the brutal murder of her business partner. With an ambitious ADA determined to get a conviction, the deceased's powerful family out to destroy what's left of her reputation, the hero and heroine face a race against time to not only prove her innocence but to keep her alive, because someone wants her dead.

AR: Are you still writing for Harlequin Blaze, and what can we anticipate from you there?

Jamie: No maniacal serial killers on the loose! In fact, my next Blaze promises to be lots of fun and a much more light-hearted romp than what I've been doing in Brava. It's part of a four-book mini-series with friends and fellow Blaze authors, Lori Wilde, Carrie Alexander and Isabel Sharpe. We had a blast brainstorming and planning the series, which is scheduled to run September thru December of 2007.

AR: Was romantic suspense a natural progression of your storytelling ideas? Didn't many of your category romances contain a suspense element?

Jamie: Romantic suspense is something I've always wanted to write, so yes, I do believe it has been a natural progression. More and more my series books started leaning in that direction, particularly my last few Blaze novels which contained more of a romantic suspense element than my previous books, however nothing at all like what I've done in THE MATCHMAKER.

AR: What is your personal take on balancing suspense and romance in a book targeted for the romance market?

Jamie: It's truly difficult. There is a fine line to walk in romantic suspense, and I've found if I'm not careful, it's very easy to spend too much time on one side of that line or the other.

AR: What is your favorite part of writing the single titles, the category books, or novellas?

Jamie: The end.

I promise, I'm not being flip here. For me, one of the best parts writing is the sense of accomplishment and fulfillment I receive every time I finish a project. Plus it means my office will get cleaned, the cat's nails will get trimmed and the bathroom will no longer resemble a science project.

Single title, series and novellas are all so different and each has their own set of challenges and rewards. I think what I enjoy the most about writing single title is the absolute freedom, which essentially translates to meaning that I'm limited only by my own imagination. It's a heady experience.

That said, I also enjoy writing within the parameters of series romance and pushing the series envelope where and when I can. There's no "formula" (I hate that word) in series, but there is reader expectation. Meeting those expectations within the framework of a series novel can in and of itself be hugely challenging.

Novellas are a blast to write. I love them. I remember when I was first asked to write a novella, I didn't have a clue how to pare down my story and was crazy intimidated by the thought of having to write in such a limited word count. So I did what any self-respecting writer would do – I went to the experts. The best piece of advice I learned was from Dee Holmes. She told me to "write down." Of course I scratched my head and said, "huh?" In a nutshell, she explained to me that instead of "writing wide" by having a series of incidents or plot points spread throughout a story, I had to pick only one major incident and write down from there.

AR: Did you do any unique research for THE MATCHMAKER that you'd like to tell us about?

Jamie: Would the fact that I now have our local county coroner's office on speed dial be considered unique? Or hanging out a funeral parlor? Or that our local sheriff is now convinced I'm a kook because I asked him if I could accompany him to an exhumation? I didn't, by the way. We didn't have any bodies to exhume in our county.

AR: Are you doing anything special to celebrate the release of your first single title?

Jamie: Handing out candy on Halloween. I know that doesn't sound like much of a big deal, but here in the east, we take our ghosts and goblins seriously. Our quiet little neighborhood comes alive on Halloween night.

AR: In addition to the Access Romance blog, you're a regular blogger on other sites around the web. Where can readers find you?

Jamie: I can be found at Deadline Hellions, a group of writing friends who devilishly funny. Then there's Romancing the Yarn, which was the brain child of Barbara Bretton. Romancing the Yarn is a group site of writers who are obsessed with knitting. Oh! And I also blog on occasion at the new Brava Authors website.

Interviews Index > Jamie Denton (November 06)