What caused you to stop writing romance and romantic suspense to do mysteries?

Dying on the Edge is a romantic voodoo mystery I’ve thought about for 20 years.  It has haunted me and I was somewhat afraid of voodoo before I bought and read many books about it.  It’s a brilliant blend of Catholicism and African paganism.  It began when the brutal Haitian French masters forbade their black Haitian slaves to worship their gods.  These slaves named their gods’ Catholic saints’ names and continued to worship as before.  This and the incredible African drums are what is credited with enriching the Haitian slaves to throw off their yokes, rebel and win.  Since these people were black, their story is not often told, but there is no excuse for us living in this day and age.  Of course, this is only a small part of Edge.  There is only so much room in a mystery.

I’ve read that Edge is a bit gritty.  What is your take on this?

Many terms are carelessly used to describe all books.  To me, gritty is when you tell a sexy, violent story for titillation and entertainment.  I think Edge is an orange and lemon slice of life.  You’ll find nothing there you haven’t experienced or heard of in your life.  Some live a life of denial, but that changes nothing.  Above all, I seek to treat everything I write about with respect.  I love my characters and I treat them accordingly, the bad as well as the good; we’re all blended.

What do you feel is the most important thing you learned in writing Dying on the Edge?

I'm glad you asked that one because it's so important.  I learned to go with writing about our passions and our deepest feelings.  We live in a time of sensationalism and the big guys are often the most sensational ones.  So one of the most pleasant surprises I got was when I posted six excerpts from Edge on my website and a houngan (voodoo high priest) talks with a woman who wants a spell to kill her hated rival whose husband she wants.  He tells her, "Evil is without power to create, it can only destroy."  She sharply tells him surely he knows that destruction is sometimes necessary to create.  And he gives her a warning we should all heed.  The thrust of Edge turns on that warning.

A Multicultural,  Multilayered Romantic Voodoo Mystery

SHE WAS LOOKING FOR  A WAY BACK INTO HIS HEART

Film star Maggi French is on top of her game, and she wants billionaire real estate mogul Kurt Wilder for herself, even though he's married and has a child.  He owns Wilder Film Studios, and Maggi's drive for power demands she have him as her husband.  She'll go to any lengths to get him, including voodoo.  Maggi lives on the edge of an emotional precipice.  Will her hunger for Kurt provide the thrust that pushes her over?

WAS HE LOOKING FOR A DEADLY WAY OUT?

Kurt Wilder has romanced many women and his wife knows all about them.  Once he thought he'd divorce his wife and marry Maggi.  Now he's drifting and she's clinging.  Has he figured out a way to be free of her forever?

Francine is a long-time, prolific, bestselling multicultural romance and romantic suspense writer for publishers such as Harlequin, BET and Kensington.  Her slogan is: Books that Warm the Heart the and Enrich the Soul.  She is also popular on the international front, especially in the UK, and gets treasured fan mail from readers in the United States and worldwide.  Several of her books have been translated and Harlequin distributed five as Introductory Books.  She feels that nobody values their fellow humans more than she does, but adds that they can be trying sometimes which doesn't keep her from loving them.

With DYING ON THE EDGE, Francine has written and self-published a romantic voodoo mystery with Wheatmark Publishing and her own imprint of Craft's New America Press.  Edge is well researched, written, edited and proofed.  A lot of people who've read advance copies have loved it and she hopes you will too.

Leave a comment and be entered to win a wonderful Harry & David tower of treats courtesy of Francine!  Winner will be randomly chosen by the author and announced on the last day of the tour.

 

Tell us about My Extra.

My Extra is the story of Tatiana Shaw, who is sexy and successful, with a seemingly picture perfect life.  But her happy life is nothing more than a facade, her life and marriage have become nothing more than convenient.  Feeling ignored and unappreciated, she succumbs to the smooth and sexy swagger of RJ Breaux.  Everything EXTRA she’s ever desired appears to be within him, but underneath his cool exterior lurks a secret life of desire, deception and demise.  A tangled web of seduction, love and lust. My Extra will take you on a mind blowing ride of temptation and betrayal.

Describe your writing style.

I would describe my writing style as sensual and seductive with a hint of mystery and the element of surprise.  I love to lure my readers in, addict and completely engross them in the drama of the story, and just when they believe they have things all figured out, in comes the moment of mystery and the shock of the surprise.  I want to leave readers with a jaw-dropping intensity that makes them thirst for more.

Your stories are known to be very sexy and filled with relationship woes and drama. How does My Extra compare to your past work? How does it differ?

My Extra definitely fulfills the sexy story promise.  It is filled with relationship woes, but much like many of my stories it questions the boundaries of different types of relationships, not just romantic relationships, but friendships, affairs and boundaries in relationships. It also has the twist and turns I love to write.  I believe that all of these elements are present in past works but My Extra has more suspense, the characters in this story play a role, but some of them have hidden secrets that leaves you to figure out who's who and what they're really up to.

Do you plan to offer My Extra in print?

It's possible, I've toyed with the idea of making it a full length novel.
 
You have shared several short stories on your blog. What should readers expect from you next?

I plan to keep the eBooks coming, my next project is a Print novel ROLE PLAY.  It's set for release at later this year.  It's a spicy story of a couple that dives head first in to the fetish of role play, only to find that their lives have become one big act.  It's the seductively edgy, "no she didn't" style of writing that has become synonymous with "DeiIra".
 
Why should readers add My Extra to their ebook readers?

It's a literary journey, full of sexy twist and turns that puts my writing style on full display. It's a fast paced, erotic, and emotionally driven story that guarantees to entertain.
 
Where can readers download a copy of My Extra?

My Extra can be downloaded on my website.  www.deiira.com

Enter from July 5, 2010 through July 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm CST. Winners are notified by email. You will have one week to claim your book. Unclaimed books are provided in the Monthly Grand Giveaway for email list subscribers.

Enter from July 5, 2010 through July 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm CST. Winners are notified by email. You will have one week to claim your book. Unclaimed books are provided in the Monthly Grand Giveaway for email list subscribers.

From New York Times bestselling author Francis Ray comes a dazzling new novel of the Grayson family and their friends—a duo destined to make beautiful music together...

IT HAD TO BE HER

Most musicians would do anything to work with the hot, young record producer known as “Rolling Deep.” R.D. can pick and choose any artist he wants—and he wants Laurel Raineau. A classical violinist, Laurel plays soaring music that touches R.D. to his very soul. But the last thing Laurel wants is to work with someone whose exploits with the ladies appear in the tabloids every week.

IT HAD TO BE...WHO?

Not one to take no for an answer, R.D. keeps trying—and failing—to let Laurel know that he’s not the player he’s made out to be. So he introduces himself to her by his real name, Zachary Wilder, hoping to win her over. But it’s Zach who falls under this beauty’s spell. Now it’s only a matter of time before Laurel learns who the man she’s losing her heart to really is—but can she walk away from a passion that feels so right?

Enter from June 21, 2010 through June 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm CST. Winners are notified by email. You will have one week to claim your book. Unclaimed books are provided in the Monthly Grand Giveaway for email list subscribers.

With the millions she received after divorcing her faithless tycoon husband, Bernadine Brown saved the historic town of Henry Adams, Kansas, from financial ruin and found loving homes for five needy children. Now there are other "projects" crying out for rescue.

If ever a town institution needed rescuing, it's the beloved Dog and Cow diner. Once it was Henry Adams's social center—or gossip central!—now it's in danger of becoming duct-tape central. But there are other distractions pulling Bernadine from the task at hand: a plethora of romantic entanglements, including her own with a disturbingly attractive Malachi July; a bitter young boy newly arrived in town with his widowed father; and a fugitive on the run with a six-hundred-pound pet pig that's wanted for murder (the pig, that is). And when Bernadine's philandering, troublemaking ex-husband rolls into town looking for a second chance, life in Henry Adams gets very interesting indeed.

Enter from June 14, 2010 through June 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm CST. Winners are notified by email. You will have one week to claim your book. Unclaimed books are provided in the Monthly Grand Giveaway for email list subscribers.

Coffee Confessions is an anthology featuring original short stories from JA Adams, LMBlakely, Darine Davis, Ja’Nese Dixon, Jean Holloway, TL James, and DeiIra Smith-Collard.

Coffee Confessions is a small fictitious coffee shop in Houston, TX. Owner Sandra James serves up coffee, books, music and good ole’ fashion customer service that keeps her shop full of eclectic patrons.

Readers will enjoy this page-turning read of seven stories ranging from inspirational to speculative fiction and just about everything in between.

Sit back, grab a cup of your favorite joe and prepare to be entertained by the authors of SIR Authors. Featured Stories Include:

• Caramel Surprise by Ja'Nese Dixon
• Death by Espresso by TL James
• Latte Lady by Jean Holloway
• A Second Cup Please by Darine Davis
• A Double Shot of Darkness by DeiIra Smith-Collard
  
• More Than Coffee by JA Adams
• Suite Mocha by LMBlakely

Enter from June 7, 2010 through June 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm CST. Winners are notified by email. You will have one week to claim your book. Unclaimed books are provided in the Monthly Grand Giveaway for email list subscribers.