A Snippet of CIRCLE OF DISHONOR

Posted on May 15, 2014May 31, 2014 by Carla Swafford, Author

The blurb for the small novella, CIRCLE OF DISHONOR.

John “Ice” Takahashi’s final job for The Circle has an unexpected hitch in it; he’s fallen for an innocent civilian and his enemies know. With his mission in a shambles, he’ll do anything to protect her, including kill. So how can a man without honor prove he’s worthy of her love?

Lena Matthews feels like she’s playing with fire by dating the mysterious Master J. He’s exotic, dangerous, and exactly what she needs in her boring life. With the bad guys bearing down on them, she discovers a whole new world of sensuality that binds her heart to his forever.

And here is the snippet from the first chapter.

Lena Matthews felt like a perverted voyeur.

Sitting in a coffee shop across the courtyard from the martial arts studio’s glass storefront, she stared at the tae kwon do class as they kicked and jabbed. Most of the students wore white pajama-like uniforms, except for the teacher. He stood out in black with his shaggy dark hair and ripped body. The man looked good enough to lick.

For the last five weeks after her tai chi class, she’d claimed the same chair and watched his every move. Behind her, others in the coffee shop chatted about the class and the mysterious man leading it.

From what she’d overheard, his name was John Takahashi, and the students called him Master J.

Master? Oh, yeah. She could imagine he’d master many things. With his strong hands and long muscled arms and legs, he likely controlled any situation or person. He could easily lift and hold her against the wall as he stroked her to a climax. She whimpered and squeezed her knees together.

A shake of her head knocked out the dirty thoughts racing through her mind. She knew better. He’d never be attracted to an ordinary person like her. The woman he chose would be totally the opposite of her: young, athletic with honey blonde hair. Lena was about as interesting as watching bread turn to toast.

Copyright 2014 Carla Swafford

I had hoped to have it out in June, but it will be later. No date at this time. Keep an eye out here. [Updated 5/31/14 – It will be out in June after all. YAY! Probably June 23. Be on the lookout for the announcement!]

Men, My Books

Strangers In The Night

Posted on April 6, 2014April 7, 2014 by Carla Swafford, Author

If you had the chance to be in the car alone for about twenty or thirty minutes with one of your all-time favorite authors, who would it be?

I had that opportunity in 2009. My writers group has a romance readers luncheon every first Saturday in November. That year it was Anne Stuart. Oh, my GOD! I was so excited. She and Linda Howard are two authors that I want to be compared to whenever someone reads my romantic suspense.

Anne was flying into the Birmingham airport and I volunteered (yeah, like I would let anyone else do that) to pick her up. I was so tickled, I even took off a half day from work. Who can concentrate when they’re picking up a rock star?

So there I was waiting for the time, unable to eat or read. If I can’t do two of my four favorite things, I’m really wound up. (By the way, if you’re curious, the other two are writing and sex, not necessarily in that order.)

The time finally arrives and I’m standing near the concourse exit. I’m holding a sign with her pen name on it, so she’ll know who’s picking her up. A large crowd comes through, warning me that the flight had deplaned. No Anne. Huh? Did I miss her in the crowd? Had she changed so much from Washington DC when I met her for the first time that I overlooked her? OMG! THE HORROR!

Then I crane my neck to look down the long hallway, and I see a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair. ANNE! (I read somewhere she has a bad knee.) Then I flip my sign, and she bursts out laughing (love her laugh). What did it say?

I had a feeling she would appreciate the humor, so I said, “And I don’t own a sledgehammer.” She roared with laughter and said, “I sure hope not.”

On the way to the hotel, I had around twenty minutes to gush all over her about how much I loved her books, telling her my favorites, and then I asked about what she was writing. And somewhere along the way, she asked about my writing. Before I knew it, we were at the hotel. Talk about loving every minute with her, it was fabulous. A time I’ll never forget.

Be sure to put her books on your list to read. In fact, the last couple weeks she has been celebrating forty years (amazing!) in the business and been giving away downloads at Amazon and sometimes B&N. Click here for her blog. Click here for her Facebook page. But be aware, most of Anne’s heroes are tough and almost scary alpha. Her Ice series are some of the best and most unique romantic suspense I’ve ever read. What makes them unique?

The hero doesn’t have issues with being a badass. They make hard decisions and don’t sit around mourning the results. They are at times rough and maybe even a little cruel to the heroines. The heroes are tough men and expect the women they are fascinated by (and they are always drawn to the heroines despite what is best for him) to understand where they’re coming from. Since this is fiction, I love these heroes. In real life, hell no. They would scare the shit out of me.

And her women are strong. Some can kick butt as well as the guys, but those who can’t (kick butt), know how to stand up them. Oh, yeah, with great results.

If any of that sounds familiar, it’s because I’m such a fan that my heroes and heroines are a little like hers. I’m not saying I’m the caliber of writer that she is. But I will tell you that one of my reviews did compare my first book to Anne’s Ice series. I was thrilled.

Maybe soon I’ll tell you how I met Sherrilyn Kenyon and Linda Howard.

My Books, Odd Observation

Avon Imprints

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Carla Swafford, Author

Hey, I came across this page on HarperCollins website — yeah, yeah, I was Googling myself again. Whenever I’m procrastinating, I do that.

Anyway, check it out. I’m so proud and tickled they mentioned me – twice. I really love Avon and hope to have more books published by them in the future.

The webpage has all of the imprints published under the HarperCollins corporate umbrella. To look at the whole page with all the imprints, click here.

My Books, Writing

Perseverance or The Need To Scream At the Top Of My Lungs

Posted on March 20, 2014April 7, 2014 by Carla Swafford, Author

Last year was a turkey of a year and let’s leave it at that. I rather dwell on good things, and that’s how I’m looking at 2014.

I’ve written a novella. The hero is Ice from The Circle series. His lady love isn’t even mentioned in the books. A totally new character. And since it is a novella, it concentrates on the discovery of love more than on the suspense. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Next on my agenda is to complete Jack’s story. As you may know, I had already started on it but got sidetracked by many things including the novella. Plus I’ve decided that Jack’s will be a novella too. Maybe a little longer than Ice’s, but still short.

Then I plan to work on Liam and Charlie’s. They so deserve a happy ending. After that I might do a short story for Ty Roman with a thread revealing what happened to Brody and Lucian Reilly. (How many people know who he was and what book he appeared in?)

You’re probably wondering why am I writing the rest of the series as novellas? Because I have two series that I would like to sell to publishing houses and my time should be and hopefully will be spent completing them. Besides, I didn’t want to wait on writing the rest of The Circle Series. So novella is the second best thing to do.

I have so many stories to write. I can’t wait until I retire so I can do this full time. Please hang in there with me. You won’t regret it. I think.

Blog Tour, Circle of Dishonor, My Books, Writing

My Writing Process Blog Tour

Posted on March 3, 2014July 11, 2020 by Carla Swafford, Author

Young model — John Takahashi
also known as Ice
CIRCLE OF DISHONOR

Thanks to the fabulous Katherine Bone (Katherinebone.com) for inviting me to take part in the My Writing Process Blog Tour. And I’m told this post will also show up on Novels Alive TV [updated 7/11/2020 – no longer valid website]. Pretty neat website. You need to check it out.

Now for the first question. What am I working on?

I’m completing CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE. For those who have read the other Circle books, this is Jack’s story but in novella size. Before DEFIANCE, I had finished Ice’s story, CIRCLE OF DISHONOR.

They should be out this summer. Here are their blurbs.

CIRCLE OF DISHONOR: After the death of her husband, Lena Matthews wants to explore the dark, sensual side of life. She dreams of having the mysterious martial arts teacher, John Takahashi, in her bed. His every move screams of how well versed he is in carnal knowledge, and she’s willing to be the perfect student.

John, known as Ice in the more deadly parts of the world, wants the shy woman watching him from the coffee shop. But if he introduces her to his lifestyle, the trap he set for his enemy may snap shut on them both. Yet, he’ll risk it all to make her his.

CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE: Katerina Savalas hates to ask anyone for a favor, especially The Circle operative, Jack Drago. She needs his protection, and he’s the only man in the small town capable of fighting off the local criminal demanding that she handover the treasure map she’s found.

Only problem is Jack rather drink and wallow in self-pity than be the hero she remembers. Being assigned in the hayseed town, he’s aware that his days are numbered, and he believes she’s making it up. Treasure maps, yeah, right. But when someone burns down her house and almost kills her, he refuses to let his curse kill another woman on his watch. Or he will die trying.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Well, I guess every author likes to believe their books/series are different from everyone else’s. Let’s see. When I’m asked what I write, I normally answer Romantic Suspense. But that’s not totally accurate. In fact, recently I started branding myself as Action – Adventure Romantic Suspense. My books are fast paced, sexy, and often violent. Usually I say they’re like James Bond or La Femme Nikita. So how many romance books out there can say that?

Why do I write what I do?

Because they’re the type of stories I love to read and watch on TV and in the movies. The guys are alphas and know how to handle themselves. They’re willing to protect women in a heartbeat. While the heroines can kick-butt or at least have the sense to stay out of the way if they don’t know how.

How does your writing process work?

At the start, I begin writing the book with a general idea of where I want to go. Then about halfway through I check my white board where I have written several notes of what should be happening in each section of the book. It’s broken down to twelve parts with the usual highs and lows for a three part story. I use Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CATand Michael Hague’s Six Stage Plot Structure (both are for screenplays but can be used to write novels) to make sure I’m on track. Then I go back and tweak what I missed in the beginning and then finish the book. Sometimes, if I feel stuck, I’ll write out a short synopsis and add a few bios of the characters. That usually clears my head and I can finish without worrying what I forgot.

I know, I know. Not a very exciting post. But I leave all the excitement to my characters.