Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Shades of Temptation by Virna DePaul (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Today I would like to give a very warm welcome to paranormal  romance and romantic suspense author, Virna DePaul! Virna is joining us today with the second book in her Special Investigations Group (SIG) series, Shades of Temptation. I am absolutely loving this series; the world-building, characters, intense plot and the sizzling romance of course...love! (Reviews coming soon.) So without further ado, I'll hand it off to Virna! 


Twice As Good…Or Bad

Writers are often told to write what they know.  I write paranormals and contemporary romantic suspense.  In one series, my Para-Ops team parachutes into North Korea from a spy plane—obviously not anything I’ve personally done.  In my Special Investigations Group series with HQN, I write about a blind heroine, serial killers, and the emotional and romantic difficulties that cops struggle with—again, these are all things I researched in order to create authentic characters and scenarios, but I can’t really “know” what it’s like to be blind, or tormented by a serial killer or one’s career.  (Actually, come to think of it, I might know a little about that last part.  But that’s another story…)

Something I do know based on my former career as a criminal prosecutor, however, is that the bad guys rarely work alone.  The more powerful a bad guy is, the more apt he is to let others do his dirty work for him.  Sometimes, the bad guys are even working in tandem and don’t always know it—such is the case when someone copy cats the crimes of another.  This is why I often have more than one villain’s point of view in my stories.  It adds twists to the stories and surprises for the characters, but it’s also more realistic.  In Shades Of Desire, for example, a very powerful and respected public figure manipulates another to cover up a murder and threaten the heroine.  In Shades Of Temptation, a young man obsessed with horror movies is determine to prove how smart he is, not simply by duplicating a serial killer’s work but “improving” upon it first.  Finally, I try to make my villains sympathetic in some way.  That was another thing I learned as a prosecutor—that as much as I fought for justice for the victims, I always tried to see the defendants as more than their criminal behavior and to understand what might have brought them there.




Shades Of Temptation is available at Amazon  | Barnes and Noble | Powells | Indie Bound

Shades of Temptation (SIG, #2)
WILL HE HELP PROTECT HER...Carrie Ward understands dangerous men, and she's got the scars to prove it. These days, the Special Investigations Group detective saves her risk taking for the job. But when she's asked to pursue a high-profile serial killer, she'll have to join forces with the last man she wants to depend on-Jase Tyler, an ace senior detective who's as reckless as she is cautious. And despite her best intentions, the sparks begin to fly. OR DRAW A KILLER FROM THE SHADOWS?As Carrie and Jase race to try to save the next victim, the passion that simmers between them ignites. But a cunning killer at the top of his game is challenging Carrie to play to the very end. Now all she can count on are her instincts-and Jase, the one man daring enough to keep her safe....



Virna De PaulBIO: A former criminal prosecutor and now national bestselling author, Virna writes paranormal and romantic suspense stories for Random House, HQN and the Harlequin Romantic Suspense line.  She loves to hear from readers!  www.virnadepaul.com


~*GIVEAWAY*~
Virna is giving away one copy of either Shades of Desire or Shades of Temptation, winner's choice, to one US reader today. To enter, just leave a question or comment for her on this post and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

23 comments:

  1. What a great post. Thanks for the insight Virna. Can't believe I'm going to have to figure out how to fit another series into my reads ;).
    vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. Great guest post - I do like getting the POV of more than one villain because as Virna states - it's not just the work of one person - the big fish always has little fish or minions who do all of the actual dirty work so that they always appear as if they are clean. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genre - though I do love Virna's Para Ops books too:)

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  3. Oh and my email in case you need it


    junegirl63 at gmail dot com

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  4. The titles of the books alone make me want to read more about these books! These sound like ones I would get lost in!

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  5. paranormal and serial killer. i love it. thanks for the giveaway.

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  6. I love Virna's books! what's up next?

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  7. Yes! I loved SHADES OF DESIRE, so I'm stoked for SHADES OF TEMPTATION. Oh well, I guess my dissertation won't get written this month either... pity :P

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  8. Glad you enjoyed it, Victoria. And I know what you mean about the growing TBR pile. I'm blogging tomorrow at Romance At Random about how I just can't resist buying more and more books... :)

    Maria D. - Maria, thank you so much for commenting. I LOVE hearing from those who've enjoyed my books. :)

    junegirl63 - Glad they sound interesting to you. Good luck with the giveaway!

    sherry fundin - I know. I'm twisted but it can be fun at times. :) Good luck with the giveaway!

    Barrie Mac - THANK YOU!! I've got a few category books with HRS coming out, then starting a new paranormal series with Random House. Teaser: "Some flowers thrive better in the dark." :D

    Cris - SO glad you enjoyed SOD. Thanks for reading me and good luck with that dissertation!! :)

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  9. Virna, this looks like another good one!

    suz2(at)cox(dot)net

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  10. Virna your books sound really great. I can't wait to read them. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

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  11. Great post. Love your books Virna! Can't wait for the next.

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  12. Your first book in the series was good so I'll look for this one too now.
    diane dot sadler at gmail dot com

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  13. Loved the blurb. Sounds like my kind of book! Thanks!

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  14. I just have to say Virna is awesome!

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  15. Thanks for a fun post and congrats on the newest release! I have had such major book lust for this new series :)

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  16. This series sounds great! Do you prefer to write about Alpha Males or Alpha Females or Both!?
    burbanette@yahoo.com

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  17. Congrats on the release!! I am so looking forward to reading this series.

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  18. CONGRATS on your latest, Virna!!

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  19. Great blurb and very nice cover. Look forward to starting the series. Thx for giveaway.

    blinkysthebest at aol dot com

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  20. I enjoy your paranormal series, so I'm going to have to give this series a try too, because I like contemporary romantic suspense too.

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  21. Susan W. Thank you so much! :)

    Tore - Hi there. I've loved reading romance for so long, I just never thought I could do it. When I was desperate to switch careers, I finally decided to try to write a book and I fell in love with the whole process. :-) Good luck with the giveaway

    Gossupgurl29 - Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoy them. Take care, V

    Diane - Thank you! Hope you enjoy SOT.

    Redheaded Bookworm - I"m glad you enjoyed the blurb. Good luck with the giveaway.

    Cassandra - :D THANK YOU! You rock!

    erin - Thank you Erin. I'm glad the series sounds good to you.

    burbanette - For some reason, it's easier for me to write alpha males, but I do enjoy writing strong women. My husband and I are both Tauras signs. Maybe that's why? :P

    donnas - Thanks so much!! Hope you are well!

    *yadkny* - Thank you!

    Lona - Thanks! I love the cover, too. Great colors. :)

    Anne - So glad you've enjoyed the Para-Ops series. Hope you enjoy this one, too! Take care, V

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  22. You are one of my favorite author with the Para-ops series that you write so this series has been intriguing me since its beginning. I hope to be able to get to the 1st one soon and would love to win a copy. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com

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  23. Do you stalk the book or author ranking list?

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