Welcome Roxanne St Claire, Award Winning Author

We’re in for a treat today! Meet our guest, Roxanne St. Claire. We’re barely a year old and already we have this fabulous guest.

Roxanne St. Claire is a bestselling, RITA-Award winning author of twenty-two novels of romance and suspense. She currently writes a popular romantic suspense series called “The Bullet Catchers” that features a cadre of bodyguards and security professionals. Her books have won many prestigious awards, and are routinely selected by Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs as featured selections. In addition to the RITA, her books have won the National Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne Du Maurier Award, the Maggie Award, the Booksellers Best, the Book Buyers Best, The HOLT Medallion, multiple Awards of Excellence, and Borders “Top Pick” for Romance in 2007. In 2008, readers are enjoying the first “Bullet Catcher Trilogy” featuring three connected stories titled First You Run, Then You Hide and Now You Die.

Prior to launching a full time career as a romance novelist, Roxanne spent nearly two decades as a marketing executive and public relations consultant. She is a graduate of UCLA, a national speaker and workshop presenter at the regional and national level, and active in several chapters of the Romance Writers of America. She counts among her many accomplishments a brief acting career that included appearances on two classic television shows, and hosting one talk show. She lives in Florida, with her husband and two children. Visit her web site at www.roxannestclaire.com

Please welcome Roxanne St Claire, our very special guest blogger for this week. Her friends call her Rocki.

Hello Pink Fuzzies and thank you so much for the warm welcome to your fledgling blog. I’m honored to be here, among some of my favorite authors and good friends. These days, you can find me straddling two worlds: the ecstasy of a brand new release in the book stores and the agony of writing the last 20,000 words on a manuscript. I’m thrilled that the latest in my Bullet Catchers series, NOW YOU DIE, is in stores everywhere, and tickled to be getting such a positive response from readers. On the other hand, I’m at that critical point in a romantic suspense when there is non-stop action, lots of loose ends that need to be tied, a huge emotional juggernaut to get through, and…a deadline looming like an oncoming train and I’m tied to the railroad.

Mary asked me to answer a few questions today, which I’m delighted to do, and I’ll also pop in throughout the day, check your comments and answer any questions blog readers might have about writing, life, bodyguards, whatever!!

What was your first published book and who is the publisher?

My first book, a romantic suspense called TROPICAL GETAWAY, was published by Pocket Books in 2003. I’d spent about two years in Submission and Rejection Hell, and my first book was NOT my first manuscript. (That never sold!) Since then, I’ve celebrated the release of nine more romantic suspense novels, ten category romances, one chick lit, and three novellas. It’s been a VERY busy five years!!

Currently I write a series of romantic suspense books, still with Pocket Books, called “The Bullet Catchers.” This is an elite cadre of hot, sexy, fearless bodyguards and investigators run by a very shrewd and gorgeous woman. I’ve had six stand alone books released in the series, and the last three were “a trilogy within the series” – which was a lot of fun and very challenging to write.

What themes go through your books?

I don’t really think about the theme of the book until it’s done, or nearly done, then the theme becomes clear to me. Certain elements are always found in my books: strong external conflict that drives both the story and the problems within the romance; high profile characters/premises that include glamorous settings, international drama, and “big” crimes; and, finally, a delicate balance of romance and suspense, assuring my readers that they will get equal parts of both, the two aspects so intertwined that you can’t have one without the other.

How did you write with kids and deadlines?

It ain’t easy. ☺ When I was first starting, my children were 3 and 7, so I wrote early in the mornings or late at night. When my daughter entered preschool and kindergarten, I wrote every minute they were in school. Now my kids are 11 and 15 (HOW did that happen????) so I write while they’re in school, and even when they’re home. I also have an incredible secret weapon: my husband is retired and he shops, cooks, and chauffeurs the kids to all of their activities while I write. And he doesn’t just “cook” – he’s a gourmet chef! Go ahead, hate me. I understand.

How many other jobs have you held? There are some mentioned in your bio, but we want details.

Before I became a full time writer, I was an executive in public relations and marketing. I had a fantastic career that included many years as a Senior Vice President of the world’s largest public relations firm, and a very successful consulting business that I started when my son was born. I really loved the business of promotion and publicity, and, of course, that’s helped me a lot in this career. But I was quite happy to hang up my panty hose and say goodbye to the corporate world when I started writing. However, being in PR and marketing was great fun – it exposed me to dozens and dozens of different businesses and clients, and I’ve used a lot of that in my writing. Of course, it gave me some promotional tools that I use today. And, I traveled the world and met unforgettable people who I greedily use as characters. But now, I’m perfectly happy to write and be a mom.

Oh, yes, I was also an actress – and I can be seen briefly on TV shows like Bosom Buddies and LaVerne & Shirley!!!

What do you love most about writing and what do you not like?

I hate writing. Did someone say I loved writing? They lied! I do, however, love to REWRITE and I could do that all day and all night. But fresh writing – the blank page? It *terrifies* me. Writing is hard work. I just finished a love scene and, for fun, I calculated hours/pages. It took me 17 hours, total, to write a 14 page chapter that included the build up, the foreplay, the love scene, the aftermath, and the hook. And I haven’t even started the rewrite, edit, and polish on that scene. Writing is so hard! I do love when the book is finished and all I have to do is shine ‘er up. I love to hear from readers, to see my book in stores, and to fall in love with every new hero. (No matter how many hours it takes to give him a night he won’t forget!!!)

What are you writing now?

I’m writing another Bullet Catcher book that will be out in the summer of 2009. It’s Dan Gallagher’s book, in case there are any fans out there, and I’d love to say “it’s a blast” but see the above paragraph. It’s sheer hell on a daily basis, but I pray that it will all come together and be one of my best. I hope!!!

Also, I’m very busy promoting the trilogy that came out this year. The three books are FIRST YOU RUN, THEN YOU HIDE and NOW YOU DIE. They are all Bullet Catcher books, and each one can and does stand alone. However, there is a mystery story thread that starts in the first, gets knotted up in the second, and is untangled in the third. That was very challenging to write, but I’m thrilled with the final outcome and hope readers are, too.

What would you write if you could do write anything you wanted to write?

The End.

Seriously, I love finishing a book. That is my Happy Day. All the questions are answered, all the conflict is resolved, all the bad guys are destroyed, the happily ever after is complete and All Is Good In My World.

I love writing romantic suspense, but I also love other genres. I’ve done a lot of category books (Silhouette Desire) and although I’m not doing any now, I expect to again, one day. I love reading Young Adult and think I would totally enjoy writing it. I just want to *write* for the rest of my life, and I’m thrilled to have a job where I get to do it every day. And no pesky panty hose!!

Go ahead, Fuzzies. Ask me anything and I’ll be by all day. One commenter will win FIRST YOU RUN!

Xoxo
Rocki