She Can Scream-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway with Melinda Leigh
Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. A life-long lover of books, she started writing when her youngest child entered first grade as a way to preserve her sanity. in 2007, she joined Romance Writers of America, learned a few things about writing a book, and decided the process was way more fun than analyzing financial statements. It was time to get serious about making her hobby a career. She began submitting her work in 2008. In 2009 she signed with an agent, who sold Melinda’s debut romantic suspense novel, SHE CAN RUN, in 2010 to Montlake Romance.
SHE CAN RUN released in November 2011 and became the #1 Bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense. SHE CAN RUN has been nominated for a 2012 Thriller Award for Best First Novel.
Melinda is also an avid martial artist. She holds a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and teaches women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house in the suburbs with her husband, two teenagers, a couple of dogs and one neurotic cat with an inexplicable fear of ceiling fans. With such a pleasant life, she has no explanation for the sometimes dark and disturbing nature of her imagination
TRC: Hi Melinda and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
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Melinda: I’m a mom, a dog lover, a martial artist, a writer, and a complete geek.
TRC: Your bio states you hold a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and teach women’s self-defense. What was the precipitating factor (for you) to study this line of martial arts?
Melinda: I actually started taking karate when my children were small. The karate studio offered a special discount for parents. A decade later, I’m the only person in the family still involved. It’s the best exercise. As a writer, I spend many hours sitting in a chair, and when I finally get up, I can’t get the story and characters out of my head. Karate is mentally and physically demanding. Full concentration is required, which makes it the perfect brain-clearing and stress-relieving exercise.
TRC: What do you believe is the biggest mistake women make as it pertains to their personal physical protection?
Melinda: Complacency. Many women believe it can’t happen to them. Women need to be aware of their surroundings at all times and think about their personal security. They must realize that physically, they are the weaker sex. Women of all ages, races, and socio-economic groups are attacked every day all over the world.
TRC: SHE CAN SCREAM is the latest release in your romantic suspense ‘She Can’ series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?
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Melinda: The plot of this book formulated as I scrolled through my Facebook feed and saw person after person “checking in” wherever they were at the moment. I immediately thought of the safety issues with reporting one’s whereabouts on a constant basis or posting personal information on any social media account. How easy does this type of posting make it for a possible attacker to find someone?
TRC: Can the books be read as stand alone storylines or do the plots and premises over lap with each successive installment?
Melinda: Every book in the She Can Series is a stand-alone read. Characters might make cameo appearances, but the plots do not overlap.
TRC: SHE CAN HIDE is scheduled for March 2014. Will you please tell us something about the premise?
Melinda: You can’t run from your past without first facing your personal demons.
TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?
Melinda: I haven’t planned that far into the future, but I have two more books in the back of my head. We’ll see after that.
TRC: Who or what was the influence behind the ‘She Can ‘ series?
Melinda: When I wrote SHE CAN RUN, I hadn’t planned for a series of books. But I loved the characters of this small town and wanted to give them more adventures.
TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?
Melinda: I’ve always been much more mathematically inclined than verbally gifted. As such, I approach plotting a book as a group of linear equations that must all intersect at the same point. Now everyone can see why I proudly wear my “geek” label.
TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?
Melinda: I’ve had a number of personal emergencies crop up while in the middle of this last contract. So far, I’ve been lucky and have been able to meet my deadlines by working pretty much nonstop for weeks at a time. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the full support of my husband and kids. Someone has to slip food under the door and remind me to shower.
TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?
Melinda: Every character must have a personal stake that readers can identify with, and it’s the writer’s responsibility to see that each character’s arc is developed throughout the course of the story. A writer has to put herself into the character’s position and think hard about how it would feel to experience that particular crisis.
TRC: Do you direct the characters or do the characters direct the storyline as you write?
Melinda: A little of each. I plan the major plot points of my books out before I write them, but sometimes characters have better ideas as the story progresses. I’ve learned not to plot out every little event and not to lock myself into the storyline I’ve plotted. Deviations from the plan are OK and often make the book stronger.
TRC: If you could select one reality TV show to be a contestant, which show would your chose and why?
Melinda: I don’t watch reality TV. I watch very little television, and when I do, I want a story. My latest obsession is Falling Skies.
TRC: Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, friends and family; with whom do you bounce ideas and why?
Melinda: My fifteen-year-old son has been a great help with several plot issues. I also bounce idea off my husband and my friend, Kendra Elliot, author of The Bone Secrets Novels Hidden, Chilled, and Buried.
TRC: On what are you currently working?
Melinda: I’m writing two projects at once, a first for me. I’ve just started a new book starring Conor Sullivan from the Midnight Series. I’m also working on a novella for the She Can series.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food: ice cream
Favorite Dessert: ice cream
Favorite TV Show: at the moment, Falling Skies
Last Movie you saw: A movie marathon with the family: Despicable Me 2 & The Sea of Monsters
Dark or Milk Chocolate: Yes
Favorite Flower: Daisy
Last Vacation Destination: The Bahamas
Secret Celebrity Crush: It’s no secret. I’ve had a crush on Tom Selleck since the Magnum PI days.
Pet Peeve: putting dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher. Seriously, how hard it this?
TRC: Thank you Melinda for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of She Can Scream.
SHE CAN RUN
She Can…#1
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: November 2011
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository
Elizabeth was a young widow with two small children when she met Congressman Richard Baker. Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…
Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.
She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!
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SHE CAN TELL
She Can…#2
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: December 2012
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A horse trainer’s homecoming turns deadly when a vicious stalker, a cold murder case, and a hot police chief threaten to expose family secrets that a killer wants to keep buried.
After a terrible accident ends her riding career, horse trainer Rachel Parker returns to her hometown to a hostile welcome. Her efforts to rebuild the family farm are hampered by her sister’s domestic crisis and a violent vandal who threatens Rachel’s new business and her life. She is also blindsided by the undeniable and unwanted attraction she feels for hot police chief handling her case. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her…
As his investigation uncovers the turbulent past Rachel keeps carefully hidden, Police Chief Mike O’Connell finds himself with too many suspects and too many feelings for his fiercely independent victim. His desire for Rachel is a conflict of interest that jeopardizes everything he stands for. Long buried family secrets, a skeleton, and a corrupt local official with a grudge against Mike complicate the case, but the escalating violence against Rachel convinces him he doesn’t have much time. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches twenty-five years into the past—before her stalker strikes again
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SHE CAN SCREAM
She Can…#3
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: September 13, 2013
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository
In one moment, high school teacher and single mother Brooke Davenport interrupts a vicious assault, saves a young woman’s life, and attracts the attention of a serial killer.
Sixteen years ago, Brooke lost her roommate to a brutal murder. Now she teaches women’s self-defense, still trying to heal from the guilt and grief that plague her. Convinced the predator knows his victims and is stalking his prey online, she is determined to find him before he strikes again. Her brother’s friend, Luke has the computer expertise to help. But Brooke’s unexpected desire for Luke complicates her investigation, and her fixation with the case provokes a deadly reaction from the killer.
Injured in terrorist bombing overseas, computer expert Luke Holloway is still haunted by flashbacks of his young assistant’s death in the explosion. But Luke can’t refuse the request of a deployed friend to look after his sister, Brooke. Taking on responsibility for Brooke’s safety threatens Luke’s tenuous recovery, especially after he develops feelings for her that transcend a promise to a friend. When Brooke saves a young girl from a brutal assault and becomes a killer’s obsession, Luke vows to protect her at all costs.
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SHE CAN HIDE
She Can…#4
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: March 2014
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/
From the moment Officer Ethan Hale pulls Abby Foster from icy waters, he senses there’s more to her than meets the eye. Abby has no memory of the accident that submerged her car in the frozen river. Three years ago, Abby was kidnapped and abandoned in a well for a week. The botched police investigation nearly killed her. Abby had moved to the mountains of Pennsylvania for a fresh start, but when it becomes clear that this car crash wasn’t an accident, she knows the violence from her past has caught up with her.
But Abby’s former assailant was convicted and imprisoned, so who else wants her dead?
Ethan uncovers a fresh string of murders tied to Abby’s past. Someone is trying to kill her, and this time the stalker seems determined to finish the task. As the killer grows bolder, Abby begins to trust Ethan enough to share the truth, her heart, and her life. But to stop the murders, Ethan must make a decision that could jeopardize it all.
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Melinda is giving away the following prizes at the end of her tour:
GRAND PRIZE: $25 Amazon card, plus a signed copy of SHE CAN SCREAM
RUNNER-UP: a signed cop of either SHE CAN RUN or SHE CAN TELL
NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway
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Click HERE for the complete blog tour schedule.
