Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Goddess Fish Book Tours Guest Post: J.B. Lynn w/Tour Giveaway!

Welcome author, J.B. Lynn to A Chick Who Reads. J.B. is the author of Confessions Of A Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman!


Balancing Suspense and Romance

For me, getting the balance right when it comes to blending suspense and romance is about getting a character’s internal journey to keep pace with their external adventure.

At its heart, a suspense novel is driven by the threat of danger.

Maybe the heroine is being stalked by a vicious killer. That’s what happens to Emily Wright, the heroine of my romantic suspense novel THE FIRST VICTIM. That story is about whether the Baby Doll Strangler will be caught AND if Emily, and her childhood sweetheart Bailey, will find the love they deserve with one another.

In CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN, the heroine, poor Maggie Lee, agrees to kill someone (a very bad someone) so that she can earn enough money to pay for the best possible medical care for her hospitalized niece. Of course, by agreeing to do this job for her friendly local mobster, she puts herself squarely in the mob’s crosshairs if she fails to pull off the murder. And things just get worse (much, much worse) for her from there.

Simultaneously, Maggie is faced with taking a chance on the possibility of love.

Just as Maggie struggles with the moral and practical questions of whether she can kill her intended target, she is also faced with the possibility of finding love (or at least lust) with both a hitman and a cop.

Both stories within the story are mysteries. Will the evil be defeated? Will love conquer all?

I’m curious. As a reader, do you read romantic suspense for the love story, the thriller aspect, or because you adore the balance of the two?

Author Info: Most little girls dream of puppies, ponies and Prince Charming, but I grew up to write about murder, mayhem, and the killer next door.

I love stories. I love reading them and I love writing them.

Ever since I picked up my first crayon, I've been spinning tales in one form or another. I've published articles in magazines and on websites, short stories in print and online, and even optioned a screenplay.

Although fascinated by the dark and twisted, I'm also a sucker for tales of love conquering all. These dual interests show up in my stories as creepy, dangerous villains, and the heroines and heroes who must defeat them.

I write with a parrot peering over my shoulder and a dog curled up at my feet. When not writing, I spend the bulk of my time reading, cooking, training for half marathons (I walk more than I run, so don't go being all impressed) and playing Scrabble with my husband. (He tends to win more often than I do...I think he cheats!)

An admitted coffeeholic, I don't really care if the cup is half empty or half full...I just want to know whether it's regular or decaf!

Website: http://www.jblynn.com/Site/Home.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JB_Lynn_author
Blog: http://jblynn.wordpress.com/


Book Blurb:  Maggie Lee is not your average hitwoman. For one thing, she’s never killed anyone. For another, after hitting her head in the car accident that killed her sister, her best friend is now a talking lizard--a picky eater obsessed with Wheel of Fortune.

Maggie, who can barely take care of herself, is desperate to help her injured and orphaned niece get the best medical care possible, so she accepts a mobster’s big cash offer to kill his son-in-law.

Paired with Patrick Mulligan, a charming murder mentor (who happens to moonlight as a police detective), Maggie stumbles down her new career path, contending with self-doubt, three meddling aunts, a semi-psychic friend predicting her doom, and a day job she hates. Oh, and let’s not forget about Paul Kowalski, the sexy beat cop who could throw her ass in jail if he finds out what she’s up to.

Giveaway: J.B. Lynn is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter during the book tour. The rest of the tour dates can be found here.  The more comments you make on tour posts the more chances you have to win!

14 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thank you for hosting JB today.

MomJane said...

The entire story sounds great.

Mary Preston said...

I so want to read more about Maggie Lee. I know I'm going to love her.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

JB Lynn said...

Thanks for having me here.

Just in case everyone didn't see the review of the book that was done here last Thursday, make sure you scroll down the page or click http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-confessions-of-slightly.html

MomJane -- Thanks. I certainly hope it is!

Marybelle -- Maggie tweets under the twitter handle @neurotictweets
It's a great way to get to know her better!

Karen H said...

I'm loving what I'm reading here. You mentioned in another post that writing about a talking lizard was difficult, but in the same post you mentioned you write with a parrot on you shoulder! I say anyone who writes like that should not have trouble with a pesky old lizard! LOL

Are you a plotter or pantser? This story sounds like it flows like a pantser wrote it. Just going where the characters may lead you...

BTW, I love Damian Lewis...he would make a great Patrick!

kareninnc at gmail dot com

JB Lynn said...

Karen -- But I don't UNDERSTAND what or how my parrot thinks, lol.

Oh no, I'm a plotter for sure. I need to know the ending and all the major scenes before I can sit down to write it....otherwise I'd get lost...I do that enough in real life.

ClaudiaGC said...

I can't start my day without a nice cup of coffee, or maybe two. And decaf is not coming into my kitchen, ever. :)
Looking forward to reading your book!

claudic at msn dot com

JB Lynn said...

Claudia -- I tend to count the hours until I can brew my second pot of the day, lol.

Hope you enjoy!

Catherine Lee said...

The 3 meddling aunts sound interesting. Are they based on people you know?

catherinelee100[at]gmail[dot]com

Deb PelletierC said...

The book sounds great. The Baby Doo Stranlger, could be a good title too.
r.d1@myfairpoint.net

Deb PelletierC said...

Sorry, meant (Baby Doll Stranlger).

latishajean said...

What a great post Im loving the parrot :) I look forward to reading this book soon! thanks again.
tishajean@ charter.net

Unknown said...

Hello J.B., I kind of like to read about the love and romance in a book, but I also like to read the action and suspense. I think that a good story has all these elements. Thanks for taking time to share.
Sincerely, Arthur. highwayman99c@Aol.com

Malvina Beatrice said...

The balance of both romantic and suspense makes the story interesting, lol she never killed anyone and agree to be a hit woman, looking forward to see what happens.

darkenf(at)rocketmail(dot)com

 
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