Monday, August 3, 2009

Welcome Joyce Lamb!

It is my extreme pleasure to welcome the first of my spotlight authors this month, Rita award nominee romantic suspense author, Joyce Lamb. Joyce's latest release, COLD MIDNIGHT, will be on bookshelves August 4th and it looks like a great read. Click here to read a first chapter excerpt.
As is my custom, I decided to ask some incredibly astute and revealing questions, but then good sense kicked in and I went with my norm. :) So, jumping right in.....

Erin: Joyce, inquiring minds want to know...Have you ever been frightened for your life?

Joyce: I'm frightened for my life every day when I drive to work in D.C. traffic! I once read a book in which a character "drove the Beltway" so he could relax and get his head around a problem. (The Beltway is an interstate that loops around the D.C. metro area in Virginia and Maryland.) I knew right then and there that that author had very likely never driven on the Beltway. There's no way you can possibly relax in all that crazy traffic. On the other hand, all the aggression I suppress during those daily drives comes flying out when I sit down at my desk to write. So in this case fear is good, right?

Erin: Hey, I can relate. I'm always scared to death, and sometimes just of myself....

Okay, next (not so) brilliant question...What is your most favorite place on earth?

Joyce: My most favorite place on earth is the beach. Doesn't matter which beach, as long as there's sand, waves and nothing that smells bad. I fell in love with the beach when I lived in Fort Myers, Fla., in the early 1990s. On Sundays, I would take a book and trek to THE best beach spot in Naples, about 30 miles away. Very few tourists and lots of places to park (a huge luxury in that area). Sometimes, I'd stop in at my favorite Barnes & Noble to pick up something new to read. I met Tami Hoag at a signing there once. That was so cool -- even cooler when a decade later, Booklist compared my writing with hers. But I digress. When I get stuck in a story, a trip to the beach can really get the creative juices flowing again. It’s also good for the tan.


Erin: I love the beach as well. I recently took my 15 year old daughter and best friend to San Diego and we spent the best afternoon there. sigh. You met Tami Hoag--huge fan. Dark Horse was one of my favorite books, so dark and tortured. I would be happy dancing around the moon to be compared to her. Well done YOU, girl! Hear that readers? You gotta read COLD MIDNIGHT.


Next question....Do you believe in aliens?


Joyce: I'd like to believe in aliens, as long as they're benevolent space explorers who don't arrive on Earth to dominate the human species. And if they look like Teal'c on Stargate SG-1, even better! All those muscles, oh, yeah, uh huh … where was I? Oh, yes, aliens. A part of me must believe in aliens, because some of my favorite TV shows have revolved around aliens or outer space. Farscape. Firefly. The X-Files. Invasion. The recent Battlestar Galactica. I have no trouble suspending disbelief. I probably wouldn’t write a book that has aliens in it, though. I’d have trouble topping such top-notch writing as what I’ve enjoyed in shows like Farscape and Firefly and BSG and … you get the picture.


Erin: I'm with you there, girlfriend. I LOVED the Battlestar Galactica series (although I've yet to find out who the last cylon is--got the DVDs but haven't watched yet, I dunno why). I have not seen Stargate yet, but it's in my Blockbuster queue. I never manage to watch anything when it first comes out. Again, dunno why. I just recently finished watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time, if that gives you any indication of how behind I am.


Now, onto the REAL question...Tell us about your new release and why YOU think we'll like it.


Joyce: Cold Midnight is about a woman who was on her way to being a tennis sensation when a brutal attack ended her dream. Unable to deal with the aftermath, she fled everything she loved – including her childhood sweetheart. She returns to her hometown 10 years later to try to reclaim what she’s lost. She’s changed, her ex has changed, and neither knows how to deal with it – and they don’t deal with it well (it’d be no fun if they did, right?).


Erin: No, indeed, it would not. :)


Joyce: It doesn’t help that there’s a killer trying to finish what he started 10 years ago.


At the most basic level, Cold Midnight is about an imperfect couple mired in an imperfect situation. Sometimes they act like jerks, and sometimes you might want to throttle them. But, to me, that’s what makes them human. Oh, and they have some pretty freakin’ hot and sweaty sex. Someone has to have priorities, you know.



Erin: Indeed they do!


Joyce, Cold Midnight sounds like a fabulous book and I can't wait to read it. Cold Midnight will be on bookshevles everywhere on August 4th so run, don't walk to your local bookstore and get your copy now. :)
To celebrate our new releases, Joyce and I are giving away autographed copies of our previous titles. Click here to enter!

Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your new release!

14 comments:

Corrina Cowan said...

Fabulous interview! Can't wait to read Cold Midnight!
Corrina

Eliza Knight said...

I had to laugh like a maniac when you said you read a book once about the beltway being relaxing... It is SOOO not! I was so glad when we moved to Northern MD and I started working from home and didn't have to deal with it anymore...however you may see my hubby raging from Maryland to VA every morning! lol

Great interview can't wait to read it!

Chicks of Characterization said...

Fabulous interview ladies!!!

COLD MIDNIGHT sounds like a wondeful read and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

And Joyce, I'm with you girlfriend, driving anywhere near DC is like taking your life in your hands- you always know the DC drivers, they're all full of aggression! :O)

Congratulations on your relase! I wish many, many sales!!!!!

Andrea Snider :O)

Joyce said...

Hi, Corrina,
Thanks for stopping by! It's hard to believe that Cold Midnight is out there already ... and finally. I have to work today, and I don't imagine I'll be getting much done. It's like Christmas morning! :)
Joyce

Joyce said...

Hi, Eliza,
Yep, I laugh like a maniac every day when I'm tooling down I-66 toward the 495 interchange and hoping that guy glued to my back bumper looks up from his cell phone in time to see that I'm stopping fast. Whee!
Thanks for stopping by! :)
Joyce

Joyce said...

Hi, Andrea,
Thanks for the many sales wishes! I stopped at a B&N last night, and they had only 2 copies. Being the glass-half-full girl I am, I thought, "OMG, they're almost sold out. They probably had 50 copies an hour ago and now look!" I love the world I live in. :)
Take care!
Joyce

Donna Del Grosso said...

Nice Interview!
Joyce- your book sounds exciting!! Good luck with it. PS- remend me to take a cab when in DC!

Gwynlyn said...

I remember being in labor on the beltway going to Bethesda at 7:30 a.m.--and that was 30 (and 2 days) ago. You're right, that author hadn't a clue!!! Especially when the southbound lanes bottle-necked near the Temple spires. Sheesh!

Coming home from National, our son thanked us for moving out of the area.

Great interview. Best of luck with your book. Sounds like a great read.

Pat McDermott said...

I enjoyed this interview, ladies. One of the first lessons I learned as a driving student in Boston was how to fake out other drivers. Of course, there were no cell phones then! Joyce, best of luck with your new release!

Joyce said...

Hi, Donna!
Be sure to take a cab in DC. :)
Take care!
Joyce

Joyce said...

Hi, Gwynlyn!
OMG, you were in labor on the Beltway?!?!? And I thought I had it bad when I had a full bladder while stuck in construction traffic. You win!
Thanks for stopping in!
Joyce

Joyce said...

Hi, Pat!
So what's the secret to faking out other drivers? I've got the one down where I know where the cops hide, so when someone is tailgating me excessively, I change lanes at just the right moment, and then when they fly by me, they're nailed by the cop. Bwahahahaha. :)
Thanks for the good wishes!
Joyce

Estella said...

Hi Joyce,
You are a new to me autor. Cold Midnight sounds like a great book.

Virginia C said...

Hello, Joyce! I loved your thoughts on aliens. My favorite alien is "Starman" as played by Jeff Bridges. That movie still makes me cry. "Cold Midnight" sounds delicious. Please enter my name in your drawing. gcwhiskas at aol dot com