Sunday, June 1, 2014

TRUE Blue By Susan Rae Interview & Giveaway






TRUE Blue - PROMO Blitz
By Susan Rae
Romantic Suspense
Date Published: May 16, 2014

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png
  
Sometimes we must revisit the past to embrace our future.
Twenty-four years ago, the murder of a Chicago police officer changed Joey DeLuca’s life.  He lost his best friend and first love, Meghan McConnell, when her mother whisked her out of town.  Now, on the eve of another officer’s death, Meghan is back and about to step into his life again.

There is very little gray in Joey's line of work as a Lt. Detective--it is either black or white, right or wrong. But Meghan’s insistence on finding answers to her father's murder threatens those beliefs and throws his marriage to CPD Detective Andi, his career, and the entire DeLuca family in jeopardy when new revelations come to light.

Can Joey save his marriage, solve the murder, and keep his family together all at the same time?

The third book in the DeLuca Family Series, TRUE blue can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

About the Author: Susan Rae

Author Susan Rae photo cropped20pic_susan-rae-3_20113_zps902229ec.jpg

Susan Rae grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, Missouri with an emphasis in creative writing. She penned her first melodrama in fifth grade for a Girl Scout Drama badge. Complete with hero, heroine, and dastardly villain, it wasn’t so different, really, than the romantic suspense she writes now.

“I love writing romantic suspense because it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale—in my opinion, the best of both worlds.  It also allows me to express my appreciation for the outdoors in the settings that I recreate on the page.”

Freefall,  Susan’s second novel, takes place in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine Forest and beautiful Door County.  ICE blue returns to the busy streets of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan to continue the story of the DeLuca family which began in her award winning first novel, heartbeats. In TRUE blue, the third book in the DeLuca Family series, Susan was thrilled when it became apparent that her characters must take a trip to Montana’s majestic Glacier National Park.

When she is not sketching characters, you might find Susan on the golf course working on her handicap, or traveling around the country seeking out new settings for her novels with her husband and empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute.  To read more about Susan’s novels and the writing life, please visit her website/blog at www.susanrae.com

Author Links


Buy Link


Susan Rae TRUE blue Virtual Tour--Interview June 2014
What inspired you to write your first book? I’ve always been a voracious reader, ever since my father introduced me to Alice In Wonderland at the tender age of 3. Okay, I couldn’t read then, but I loved looking at the pictures. I started writing as soon as I could put words together. I wrote my first melodrama in fifth grade for a Girl Scout Badge, complete with hero, heroine, and dastardly villain—not so different, really, than the romantic suspense novels I write now. But it wasn’t until I was a mom in my twenties with three children at home that I decided it was time to write a novel—as a way to keep my sanity. My first was a Historical Romance novel—a real bodice ripper if you will, because those were all the rage back then. It was never published, but I’m thinking, given the writing experience I have now, maybe it’s time to dust it off, clean it up, and see what happens.
Do you have a specific writing style? I think this question is similar to, “Do I have a specific voice?” I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I did until I started getting feedback from my readers. Then I went back and read some of my books and realized I have an uncomplicated, hard hitting style that puts you very much in the scene. I also enjoy making my characters as real as possible so that by the time the reader is done with one of my books, the characters almost feel like family.
 How did you come up with the title? TRUE blue came out of the need to tie the book to the second one in the DeLuca Family Series, ICE blue. When I wrote the first book in the series, heartbeats, I hadn’t thought of it as being the beginning of a series.  I was just intent on writing the best darn romantic suspense novel I could and get it published. I was thrilled when it was accepted by Berkley Publishing during the same month that it was nominated for an RWA Golden Heart Award. I also realized at that point that I had created a whole family of characters that were ripe for the picking, so to speak. The title ICE blue came about from the need to show that that book is about an ICE agent and Angela DeLuca, the cop family siblings who is the black sheep in the family—she became a paramedic instead of a cop. The title also ties in with the fact that ICE blue takes place in a very frigid January in Chicago. In TRUE blue, we are dealing with the oldest of the DeLuca siblings, Lt. Detective Joey DeLuca. The book explores the themes of fidelity, both to family and to the badge. Thus, I thought TRUE blue was the perfect title.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? There are quite a few messages in the book: being true to yourself, your loved ones, and the badge; taking the time to enjoy life even in this hectic world we all live in; honoring friendship; and just the idea that life is short so we must live each day to the fullest.  But all I really want is for my readers to enjoy the novel. If they get any messages out of it, then that is just the icing on the cake.
How much of the book is realistic? I would hope that most all of the book is realistic.  That is my goal with a romantic suspense novel, to make the writing and the events as real as possible to keep the reader engaged.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Not really. I glean much of my story ideas from articles I read in the paper about both events and people. I am also a keen observer and listener and am always interested in people’s stories. Every one of us is unique in some way and I find that fascinating. But then I take all that and spin it around to come up with what I hope is a storyline all its own. I will say, though, that I do know a lot about love, and marriage, and family, having come from a large family myself, so of course that colors the novel and makes it more “real.”
What books have influenced your life most?  Now that is a very difficult question. I read so many different kinds of books, from the classics, including Shakespeare, which I love for the character development, to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, The Lord of the Rings, Tom Clancy’s novels. From Stephen King for his amazing attention to detail which makes the most absurd things seem real, to Mary Higgins Clark, Nora Roberts, and Jayne Anne Krentz.  I hope that they all have had a great influence on me and helped make my writing what it is today.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? See the previous question. However, I would also have to add that I had a couple of teachers in my creative writing classes who really made me believe that I could do this.  Also, I am a member of Chicago North Romance Writers of America and I have learned an incredible amount from the published authors in the group who are so generous in sharing their knowledge about writing as well as the business of writing.
What book are you reading now? I have three that I am in the middle of on my Kindle—Mary Higgins Clark’s, Daddy’s Gone a Hunting, Dan Brown’s, The Lost Symbol, and Tracie Ingersoll Loy’s, Deep Into the Night. Now that summer’s here, I plan to get them read!
What would you like my readers to know? How much I very much enjoyed writing the DeLuca Family Series and making each book its own story, each heroine’s and hero’s journey as dynamic and “real” and unique as possible. I would also like them to know each book’s romance and mystery/suspense story is complete within that book so that each one can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel as well as part of the series.
Thank you for spending this time with me. For more insight into my writing and my books, please visit me at www.susanrae.com. Also, please leave a comment below and tell me what you are reading now or who your favorite author is.  I am always interested in learning about new authors.
Happy Reading!
Susan Rae
a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

  1. What is intriguing is that it is a romantic suspense, one of my favorite genres.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The cover intrigues me most about this book! Looks good, and he is HANDSOME!

    ReplyDelete
  3. it sounds really good, and i like the cover thanks for the giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love that its a romantic suspense novel

    ReplyDelete
  5. The cover intrigues me.

    rounder9834 @yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that this is a thriller! :)

    ReplyDelete