Maggie Shayne dives back into romantic suspense
Funny that Maggie Shayne mentions here the thrill of meeting Karen Robards at last month's RWA conference. I had the same thrill of meeting … Maggie Shayne. What an energetic, positive force! Here, Maggie reminds us of her romantic-suspense-writing chops. Anyone who's not familiar with her RS can check out her re-release of The Gingerbread Man, free now for a limited time.
Maggie: I had the thrill of my lifetime at the recent Romance Writers of America convention when I got to meet my writing hero, Karen Robards. She stopped me in the middle of my gushing about her work to tell me that she had been reading me for years, has an entire shelf of my books, and thinks I'm "an amazing writer." For me, that moment outshines every award I've ever won.
Since the beginning, I've been a reader and an author of romantic suspense. I've published seven big single-title romantic suspense novels, not counting the category romances I did that also fit that description. But I wrote a lot more in the paranormal genre, and so my name has become more associated with the supernatural than with the suspense genre. However, it's in the suspense genre where my most impressive critical acclaim has shown up. In addition to Karen Robards' words of praise for my suspense, I've garnered quotes from Lisa Gardner, Publishers Weekly and a Reviewer's Choice Award from RT Book Reviews magazine for my romantic suspense novels. Four of my 16 RITA award nominations have been for my romantic suspense novels. That's one-quarter. All the rest were divided between my 48 or so other novels and 25 or so novellas.
I was enjoying my paranormals, and writing suspense comes so much harder for me, that I kept feeding the former with the majority of my time, and only focusing on the latter every now and then.
Now, however, I'm diving back in with both feet. In advance of a new set of thrillers (with a slight paranormal twist) coming from MIRA beginning this fall, I'm re-releasing one of my best romantic thrillers ever, Gingerbread Man. And, just to be sure readers who've come to think of me as a paranormal writer get a chance to try it, I'm making it free.
Gingerbread Man// will be free in electronic formats through Sept. 24. Publishers Weekly said this about the novel: "Shayne's haunting tale is intricately woven, and her quirky supporting characters including a retired horror movie star, his mysterious young niece and an omnipresent Native American physician will capture the reader's sympathy. A moving mix of high suspense and romance, this haunting Halloween thriller will propel readers to bolt their doors at night."
And when you get to the end, keep reading. I've included an extended excerpt from my fall thriller, Sleep With the Lights On, on sale from Mira Books Sept. 24 in print and electronic formats wherever books are sold!
If you enjoy freebies, join me on Facebook, where we have frequent book giveaways, constant announcements of free and bargain books, several contests per year with huge prizes, and daily positive-thinking posts to help you live a happier life.
About The Gingerbread Man:
Maggie Shayne's Gingerbread Man is about a woman struggling still with the trauma of her little sister's abduction 18 years ago. She's blocked memories related to Ivy's kidnapping, but lately the past has been coming back to torment her. Stressed-out detective Vince O'Mally is fresh off the unsolved case of two murdered children. He's supposed to be taking a mental health break, but instead he's following the case's only clue to the small town of Dilmun in the Finger Lakes region of New York, where he probes the wounded mind of Holly Newman and stirs her most terrifying ghosts to life all over again. When another little girl is taken, they both have to put their own traumas aside. All that matters is getting her back alive.
To find out more about Maggie and her books, visit www.maggieshayne.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter (@maggieshayne).