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Welcome to Friday Friends with our special guest, Harlequin author, CANDACE HAVENS.
Thank you, Candace, for being with us today.
HWH: First, tell us about your new book scheduled for release on February 1, 2010, TAKE ME IF YOU DARE.
CH: Thanks so much for letting me hang out with you! TAKE ME IF YOU DARE is a romance set in Bangkok and Phuket Beach in Thailand. Jackson is a recently burned CIA agent who is trying to get out of the country. Mariska is a detective on a the hunt for a missing man. Jackson agrees to help her, but he has his own agenda. He wants to use her resources to get out of the country, but he can't keep from falling for her. Mariska knows Jackson is a dangerous man, but she can't seem to walk away from him. When they come together it's hot!
HWH: WOW! I've always been a fan of the Blaze series so I'll be sure to watch for this one. While writing this story, tell us which one came first, the characters or the plot?
CH: The characters always come first for me. I had an idea for a mostly female detective agency. But Jackson, the burned CIA agent, is really who set this story in motion for me.
HWH: Besides having a sexy novel being released, you're also an award winning author for your paranormal romances. Tell us, during your writing journey what’s the best writing advice that you’ve been given or read?
CH: The best advice is the same I give: Sit your but down and write. People talk about writing, or how they don't have time, but if they took that time that they are complaining, to write, then they'd be more successful.
HWH: LOL. That’s funny and true! So tell us, what do you think makes a good romance novel?
CH: The characters. You need quirky, real people who make you want to take that journey with them.
HWH: With TAKE ME IF YOU DARE being your 7th novel, what have you learned while being published that you wish you knew before you were published?
CH: Wow! That it's a roller coaster ride. It doesn't matter what level you are at. There are good times and bad. There is always the chance for rejection. But you have to focus on the one thing you can control -- The writing!
HWH: Great advice! Thanks so much for being with us, Candace. Best of luck to you and please come back and visit any time.
HWH: First, tell us about your new book scheduled for release on February 1, 2010, TAKE ME IF YOU DARE.
CH: Thanks so much for letting me hang out with you! TAKE ME IF YOU DARE is a romance set in Bangkok and Phuket Beach in Thailand. Jackson is a recently burned CIA agent who is trying to get out of the country. Mariska is a detective on a the hunt for a missing man. Jackson agrees to help her, but he has his own agenda. He wants to use her resources to get out of the country, but he can't keep from falling for her. Mariska knows Jackson is a dangerous man, but she can't seem to walk away from him. When they come together it's hot!
HWH: WOW! I've always been a fan of the Blaze series so I'll be sure to watch for this one. While writing this story, tell us which one came first, the characters or the plot?
CH: The characters always come first for me. I had an idea for a mostly female detective agency. But Jackson, the burned CIA agent, is really who set this story in motion for me.
HWH: Besides having a sexy novel being released, you're also an award winning author for your paranormal romances. Tell us, during your writing journey what’s the best writing advice that you’ve been given or read?
CH: The best advice is the same I give: Sit your but down and write. People talk about writing, or how they don't have time, but if they took that time that they are complaining, to write, then they'd be more successful.
HWH: LOL. That’s funny and true! So tell us, what do you think makes a good romance novel?
CH: The characters. You need quirky, real people who make you want to take that journey with them.
HWH: With TAKE ME IF YOU DARE being your 7th novel, what have you learned while being published that you wish you knew before you were published?
CH: Wow! That it's a roller coaster ride. It doesn't matter what level you are at. There are good times and bad. There is always the chance for rejection. But you have to focus on the one thing you can control -- The writing!
HWH: Great advice! Thanks so much for being with us, Candace. Best of luck to you and please come back and visit any time.
To all our viewers, Candace will be here today to answer your questions. Be sure to check out her website at http://www.candacehavens.com/.
Have a great weekend everyone and before you go sign up to be a Heroines with Hearts FOLLOWER.
We hope to see you next week when our special guest will be author, PAMELA BRITTON.
congrats, Candace! I can't wait to read TAKE ME IF YOU DARE!
ReplyDeleteYay new book release!
ReplyDeleteNomadicdragon
Great interview! Thanks for sharing about your new book! As always, I can't wait to read it. Take care. Barb
ReplyDeleteLoved the book as I told you already. Of course I haven't read anything of yours that I didn't like.
ReplyDeleteHi Candy!
ReplyDeleteMy parents have actually been to Phuket. The last time was three weeks before the tsunami. Is your entire Blaze set overseas?
Congrats on the new release! I've absorbed all of your other books in record time--so glad I have another to read now.
ReplyDeleteI've not read any from the Blaze series, but will start with yours! Looking forward to it. Jackson sounds hot!
ReplyDeleteI need to post your advice in 50 font in front of me to keep my but in the chair and keep writing.
Thanks
Kim
Hey Heather,
ReplyDeleteThe majority of the BLaze does take place overseas. :)
Kim, I hope you'll give the BLaze line a try. I love the books!
Congrats on your book! I love reading books set in exotic locations. I've tried setting the plot first, and then the characters, but it just doesn't work well for me. Knowing your characters is the way to go. The only good reason I have to not write is that my cat is sleeping in my chair. LOL
ReplyDeletei am looking forward to you book singing on the 6th!
ReplyDeleteMichelle Kopra
Hi Candace - great interview. Can I ask how you decide on the settings for your books? Also whether you've ever been to Bangkok or Phuket, or whether you research the details of places? If it's the latter, how do you research them and manage to get a 'feel' for the place(s).
ReplyDeletePaula, I have never been there, but I have lots of friends who have. My husband was also in Bangkok, so I used him as a resource. But I almost always have exotic locales in my books, and I do a ton of research on the Internet. I look at real estate, hotels, maps, and use every source I can find to make it feel as real as possible. I also read reviews of the places where I set my books. So it's really a combination of things. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Candace. Obviously you had plenty of personal 'resources' which of course helps! I'm always wary of setting my stories in places I don't know personally, particularly famous places. I always feel I might get something wrong and readers who are familiar with the place will know immediately that it is inaccurate. One example was a story I read where the author had a car stopping in a street in Galway City that I personally know is closed to traffic! How important do you think details like this are in a story?
ReplyDeleteHi Candace -- great interview! Can't wait to get my hands on Take Me If You Dare. I suddenly feel a need to spend a birthday book voucher this afternoon!
ReplyDeletePaula, Details, small ones can be very important. If I don't know exactly then I usually speak in generalities. I try to uses the settings as texture, and I'm a sparse kind of writer. I only use a few details to give you the feel of the place. :)
ReplyDeleteMaree, You have to let me know what you think!
Glad you agree about the importance of small details, Candace.
ReplyDeleteI shall look forward to reading 'Take Me If You Dare' - and your details about Thailand. If I can't get it over here in the UK, I shall be in America in March so will look out for it then!
Hi Candace,
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to get your book. Congratulations!
Hugs,
Tambra Kendall
Thanks everyone for hanging out today! :)
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