Welcome, Diane.
Romancing the Genres
I think
I’ve probably mentioned numerous times, I grew up on romances, the first one
being read to me by my older sister, Margaret. The Princess Bride – still one
of my favourite tales.
Then there
were those naughty little Mills and Boon my mother kept on her bookshelf with
enticing covers which hinted of passion. Where we lived, we had a mobile
library. Every Tuesday we could get 6 more books out and no, I did not choose
children’s books specifically, I chose adventure and romance and love and life.
Some of my
favourite books are the ones that defy age groups. I was read the Hobbit when I
was about seven by a fantastic English teacher. The Lord of the Rings was given
as a gift when I was twelve.
But I must
admit to enjoying those reads I wasn’t really supposed to have. When the Lion Feeds, Wilbur Smith. At the age
of fourteen, when I picked it up after my dad had finished reading it, he
quietly went to my mum and asked if it was appropriate. Her reply – if it’s
not, she’ll put it down. I’ve read every Wilbur Smith book since, but I still
remember the thrill of that first novel, the great feel of it being just a
little bit out of my league.
In recent
years, I’ve read prolifically and I’ve found I tend to stick to the same main
genre – that of romance. Within this wide genre I have discovered the delights
of :
Contemporary
- Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Anne Stuart, Lori Foster
Humour -
Jennifer Cruisie, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson,
Historical
– Julie Garwood, Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Teresa Medeiros
Fantasy
– J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole, Gena Showalter
Thrillers
– Karen Rose, Julie Garwood, Karin Slaughter
Suspense
– Cherry Adair, Linda Howard
Is it any
wonder then that I feel the need to romance the genres myself? My first series
- Atlantic Divide is Contemporary, with a touch of humour. It currently has
three books Loving Lydia, Bad Girl Bill and Finding Zoe
Flight of Her Life is an all-out comedy. A great romp through a
short story.
Flynn’s Kiss, the first book in my Disarmed & Dangerous series is a humorous contemporary with a
touch of grit and certainly the next in that series, Barbara’s Redemption is
even grittier. I’m almost finished that and believe me, the heroine is giving
me a hard time.
I loved the
historical I wrote for Nanowrimo, Her Captured Groom – a real challenge, and
I have to re-look at this again before I can sub it, but worth the effort and I
enjoyed it so much, that I currently have Book 2 as a work in progress – Hawk’s Lady.
The great
news I have today is I have just signed a contract with Hartwood Publishing for
a full length paranormal 75k word novel called Banshee Seduction – Montgomery’s Sin Book 1.
While I was
writing Banshee Seduction, I was
asked to join several other authors for a Christmas anthology, Paranormally Yours and my contribution
was For Heaven’s Cakes – a builder
by day, a wolf shape-shifter by night.
So, like my
reading choices, I have found in my writing that I am blurring the lines a
little in the genres – and loving every moment of it. And just to prove it,
here’s my new Sci-Fi, Time Travel
Romance.
Short Circuit Time by Diane Saxon
In the year 2086, Zaphira is alone, the last
survivor of biological warfare on Earth. Before he died, her scientist father
promised other survivors would come. Nobody has. So when a horribly mangled
android shows up claiming to be her father’s assistant, Aiden, who has been
sent through time to rescue her, she’s both frightened and astounded.
The last time she’d seen Aiden, she’d been
sixteen, head-over-heels in love with him and had literally thrown herself at
him, leaving her devastated by his rejection and him running for the hills. The
following day, she’d been told of his death.
Eight years later he’s miraculously back, this
time asking for her help. Without it, he won’t survive. But can she really put
a dead man back together with tweezers?
For Aiden, everything has changed. There are
no other humans, no government, and time travel has left his new android body
unexpectedly weak and suffering from inexplicable genetic changes in eye and
hair color, brought about by his molecular shake-up. Unbelievably, the
scientist who sent him is dead, and he must rely on the scientist’s daughter to
help him. A woman who he’s not so sure has his best interests at heart.
The last time he’d seen her, Zaphira had been
a sixteen year old with a dangerous crush on him and he’d been rocked by the
turmoil of his own feelings. Now she’s twenty four and literally holds his
survival in her hands. Too bad everything he does and says seems to annoy her.
Trusting her might be his undoing. But he is
left with no choice.
For
Zaphira, getting used to the transformation of old Aiden to android Aiden
requires a large mental leap. But when android Aiden starts to rebuild his
human form to a new and improved standard, things start to get tricky.
The
Aiden she loved as a little girl was her father’s nerdy assistant. The new
Aiden is hot. But are her feelings as strong eight years later or are they
simply a cherished memory?
Excerpt
Prologue
She narrowed her eyes and squinted at
the skinny geek stumbling backward out of the passenger seat of her father’s
car. She’d waited all day for the rumble of the engine of her daddy’s
convertible. The old car had a distinct stutter and a sly rev she fantasized
was because it had a mind of its own.
She smiled awkwardly, her mouth pulled
tight across her braces and she pressed her fingers over her top lip to stop it
from catching on the edge, rolling and making her look like a feral cat. Her
face ached. They’d tightened the braces again and it hurt so much more this
time. The smile dropped from her lips only to ping back up again as the geek
caught his shoe on some piece of equipment in the foot well of her daddy’s car.
He flipped backward, his gangly arms pin wheeling until he landed on his ass on
the floor, minus his shoe.
He whipped his head up and she stepped
back from the window hoping he hadn’t heard her girlish giggles. He wouldn’t be
impressed. He was so much older and more mature.
Not many would believe he was twelve
years her senior. Not with his thick russet hair falling in a boyish flop over
his forehead, his fine gold-rimmed glasses perched right on the end of his
nose.
Her heart fluttered in her chest as
she chanced another peek.
His arms full of equipment, flushed to
his hairline, he staggered toward the front door of her home. Adrenaline pumped
hot through her veins. She took a few skips toward the hallway, ran back to the
window to see her father’s car pulling away from the curbside. Her mother was
out. She was the only one there to open the door. She darted back, hesitated,
her pulse thrumming in the base of her throat.
A dull thud shuddered the door in its
frame and she shot forward, wrenched it open before he did any further damage.
His shoulder slid across the oak panel and he shot sideways through the
entrance, his skinny limbs racing to keep up with the speed of his body, but to
no avail. His foot skidded and down he went. The clatter of laboratory
equipment skidding across the wooden floor filled her ears as did his quiet
Irish curse.
“Bollocks.”
Stifling another snigger, she crouched
to help, casting furtive little glances at him as he came to his knees,
straightened his waistcoat and touched his fingers to his bow tie, ensuring it
was still there.
“Hi Aiden.”
His deep frown almost made her
stutter, but she knew he couldn’t sustain his annoyance. His small nervous
cough made her smile.
“Hey.” The sound of his soft, smooth
voice made her light-headed and she stopped what she was doing to gaze deep
into his eyes.
He pushed his glasses further up his
nose and glared at her. Unperturbed, she met his beautiful gaze with a lovesick
one of her own.
“Do you need a hand down to the lab?”
He dropped his gaze to her mouth. Her speech lisped embarrassingly through her
clenched together teeth. She hated her braces, couldn’t wait to have them
removed.
“No.”
Not wanting him to go yet, she piled
another few items on top of the ones already in his arms and resisted the urge
to stroke her fingers along the sleeve of his tweed jacket.
“Can I get you a coffee?”
“Zaphira…” he sighed, “Thank you, but
no. I have work your father wants me to complete. I don’t want to be
disturbed.”
Her chest ached. Just a little. The
same as it always ached when he rejected her offers.
She bent to pick up Paco, her new
puppy, snuggled her face into his thick fur and took comfort from his
squirming, plump body as she hugged him close and let him lick sweet kisses
across her chin.
Aiden paused at the lab door then
glanced at her over his shoulder and her heart hitched again. There. It was
there, the glint in his eye. The one that told her every time she was about to
give up that there was a spark of interest. There was hope.
Buy
Links for Short Circuit Time
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About the Author
Diane Saxon lives
in the Shropshire countryside with her tall, dark, handsome husband, two
gorgeous daughters, a Dalmatian, one-eyed kitten, ginger cat, four chickens and
a new black Labrador puppy called Beau, whose name has been borrowed for her
hero in For Heaven's Cakes.
After working for
years in a demanding job, on-call and travelling great distances, Diane gave it
all up when her husband said “follow that dream”.
Having been hidden
all too long, her characters have burst forth demanding plot lines of their own
and she’s found the more she lets them, the more they’re inclined to run wild.
Previous Books:
Loving Lydia -Atlantic Divide Book 1
Bad Girl Bill – Atlantic Divide Book 2
Finding Zoe - Atlantic Divide Book 3
Flight of Her Life
Flynn’s Kiss – Disarmed & Dangerous Book 1
For Heaven’s Cakes – Paranormally Yours
Anthology
Thank you for having me here. I really enjoyed talking about the genres I love.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you could be here, Diane. Best wishes on the release!
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