BFFs Elizabeth Lowell and Jayne Ann Krentz chat about their new releases
Elizabeth Lowell and Jayne Ann Krentz chat each other up about their new releases, Elizabeth's Perfect Touch and JAK's Siren's Call (writing as Jayne Castle) — both out today.
EL: What happens when best friends forever have books out at the same time?
We talk about them, that's what. Want to listen in? (And remember that Jayne Castle, Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz are the same person!)
JAK: Give me the express-elevator version of Perfect Touch.
EL: Ack. This is romantic suspense. The heroine, Sara Anne Maddox, is a businesswoman who has vowed never to marry and have kids and live in rural poverty like her mother did. The hero, Jay Vermilion, wants another generation of Vermilions, who will hold and work the family ranch in rural Wyoming. Sara and Jay discover they want each other, too, but there's a murderer after them. If they hope to survive long enough to discover the difference between lust and love, they have to find the murderer before he or she kills them.
Now, you do an express-elevator version of Siren's Call.
JAK: This is futuristic/paranormal romantic suspense. The heroine is a psychic Siren — she can literally sing a man to his death. But there are other uses for her talent, too, and Rafe Coppersmith happens to need her for a very special job on Rainshadow Island. The only problem is that he stood her up on their first and only date and disappeared from her life. Sirens don't forget that kind of thing. Also, there is a dust bunny. And dinosaurs. Don't ask.
EL: Don't ask? I love dust bunnies!
JAK: Don't get me started. Dust bunnies have taken over my Jayne Castle writing life! I will say no more. I tend to get emotional on the subject.
EL: OK, how about the dinosaurs?
JAK: Rainshadow Island has them. They eat people. What about your helicopter?
EL: The chopper isn't carnivorous, but the pilot is murderous. He darn near killed my own hero and heroine before I put a stop to it.
JAK: When I read Perfect Touch, one of the things that I really liked (besides Jay and Sara) was the sense of place. How do you do it?
EL: I go there. Take pictures. Absorb the feel of the place. Then I think about how the landscape will affect the hero, heroine and the development of the plot.
Since Siren's Call has an imaginary geography, I'll ask about your hero's last name, Coppersmith. I'm terrible on names, but haven't I seen this before?
JAK: Good. No more dust bunny questions. Rafe Coppersmith is a future descendant of the Coppersmith family featured in my Dark Legacy series. Readers who liked those books might be interested to see what is going on with the clan in the future.
EL: I certainly was. Readers, don't miss Siren's Call.
JAK: And don't miss Perfect Touch.
Find out more about Elizabeth Lowell and Jayne Ann Krentz at their websites, elizabethlowell.com and jayneannkrentz.com.