Readers and Roses, please welcome Jo Grafford as our guest blogger today.
Ever
wonder how much research goes into writing a romance novel? A lot more than
sheer imagination and daydreaming. Trust me!
The
people who think they know me best would fall over in shock if they ever
scanned my Internet search history. They might start off thinking I’m a woman
of wildly upscale tastes because of all the sites I’ve browsed on penthouses,
yachts, fast cars, and billionaire enterprises.
But
my friends might find my obsessions with other things a little strange: the
rise of the American mafia post 911, most common money laundering techniques,
most notorious federal agents who turned dirty…
Those
same friends might consider un-friend-ing me on Facebook when they see the next
few entries in my browser history: the deadliest and most silent ways to kill a
person, how to exit the scene of a crime without leaving a shred of forensic
evidence, and yeah…you’re starting to wonder yourself.
Surprise!
That’s my actual browsing history. I had to research every topic mentioned
above while writing Designed For You, first book in an all-new romantic
suspense series. It releases April 19 but it’s available now for pre-order.
I
also had to delve into interior design techniques, stalkers and how they troll
for their victims, various types of cyber hackers and want they want,
helicopter evacuations, safehouses, and I’ll stop there at the risk of spoiler
alerts.
Sometimes
it takes a truly incredible amount of research to spin the kind of
heart-pounding romantic suspense our readers want and deserve.
If
any of these topics are tickling your reader senses, join the Designed For You
pre-release festivities and reserve your copy for our limited time 99 cents
sale. J This is nearly a 70%
discount off normal price.
I currently have a March giveaway going on for a bestselling paperback copy of Jeannie Moon’s UNTIL YOU + a Jo Grafford (yours truly) swag pack.
Click Here for the Drawing!
I currently have a March giveaway going on for a bestselling paperback copy of Jeannie Moon’s UNTIL YOU + a Jo Grafford (yours truly) swag pack.
Click Here for the Drawing!
Happy
reading! Enjoy the ride.
Jo
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Despite a string of
personal tragedies and setbacks, Jillian Lang's interior design company is an
enormous success. If she doesn't count the cyber stalker who hounds her daily…
Knowing she can’t keep up
with her fast-growing list of bids and contracts without help, she reluctantly
breaks her number one personal rule of "don't depend on anyone" and
hires an office manager. Not only does Holland Sparks do an incredible job of
running Lang Interiors, he provides a much-needed buffer between her and the
cyber stalker, while steadily chipping away at a thousand barriers she’s put up
to keep men out.
When the stalker suddenly
moves his game from the cyber world to the real world, Jillian discovers no one
in her immediate circle is exactly who or what he claims to be. Not her
landlord. Not even her two brothers.
Will Holland be the one
man she can turn to, or will his own secrets be reason enough to scrap her
designs on the man of her dreams?
AMAZON
KINDLE US – http://amzn.com/B01AU8SEAO
Jo loves to stay in touch with readers on Facebook, Twitter, BookBub, and Amazon. Plus you can read free chapters of all her books on Wattpad. To receive a free copy of one of her bestselling stories, visit JoGrafford.com to sign up for her newsletter.
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS (Please Complete The Ones You Use Feel
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12 comments:
Welcome, Jo! I definitely believe. My search history is equally as disturbing! (I also write romantic suspense.) My hubby got me a book of poisons one year for Christmas. (What a guy, right?) :-) The book sounds fantastic. Wishing you much success!
Ditto Leah's welcome. While I haven't killed anyone in my books or researched how, my browser history is an eclectic mix of science, space, private eyes, cyber crimes, etc. Like Leah, I write romantic suspense. I also write science fiction romance. Your book sounds very interesting. I pre-ordered my copy. Best wishes.
Glad to have you here, Jo. Your book sounds like a page-turner! Yes, research is our middle name. But think of it this way, if we wrote science fiction or paranormal, we'd have to build our own worlds...at least we can take from history what already happened and build on that!
Welcome Jo! Sounds like you've done your homework. My weirdest browser history was probably researching Bigfoot for my most recent release. If Big Brother is snooping, he probably thinks I'm a loon...
Yes. Welcome. So nice to know I'm not alone. Just this morning I researched 'pathology of someone burned to death' Made for some pretty interesting reading. Your latest sounds like a thriller. Best of luck.
Welcome, Jo! I totally get it. My browser history could definitely raise flags. But, you know, we have to know how to get by with murder, right? :) Sounds like a great read...best wishes!
A book of poisons? For Christmas, no less. LOL That's more than supportive, Leah. What an amazing accomplice you have on your home team. :)
Cheers,
Jo
Your research sounds fascinating, Diane. Thank you for pre-ordering your copy. I'd love to hear what you think.
All best,
Jo
Hi, Rolynn! Excellent point about researching vs. world building. I do both since I write across the genres, and I'm not sure which is more challenging. All I know is I enjoy it and always go through a wee bit of withdrawal when I'm exiting the world and writing THE END on the manuscript. Fiction writing is the best job on the planet! --Jo
Too funny, Jannine! I know fiction writing gives us some artistic license, but savvy readers still expect us to get our facts straight. Even about Big Foot. LOL Thanks for sharing. :)
Cheers,
Jo
Thank you for the well wishes, Margo. And if I ever see you coming my way with a lighter in hand, I'll be sure to run. Haha!
All best,
Jo
Alicia, your comment totally reminds me of a writer t-shirt I once saw that read, "I kill people for a living." I don't come close to "killing all my darlings" like Stephen King recommends or like George R R Martin is so good at doing, but it definitely happens now and then. LOL
Write on!
Jo
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