Aloha to Lauren Hope and SCREAMING TO BE SOLVED

Aloha from a chilly, rainy February in Tennessee! Hopefully your weather is faring better wherever you may be … and if not, all the better atmosphere to cuddle up with a good book I say!

After an interview with Kim in 2010 about The Shadow Series, I am so glad to be returning to SOS Aloha again.

I contemplated what to write about for this post – there are so many fun topics to be discussed in the book world – but with the release of my latest novel, Screaming To Be Solved, only days behind me, I thought I'd share with you something I was thinking over in the last few weeks and posted on my own website recently. Often, if I'm introduced to a new author or TV show or movie, I wonder what to expect. Is the context scary, suspenseful, gory, sexual, romantic, depressing, heart-wrenching, thought-provoking? What will I get when I open the book or turn on the TV? Here’s my attempt to fill you in on what to expect from my work.

Even if you’ve read The Shadow Series, you might see a slight difference in Screaming To Be Solved; not just in the content and story line, which is probably pretty obvious, but in the style and tone of writing. I believe as you grow and mature in life, you evolve, changing and tweaking small or large things about yourself, hopefully in an effort to become a better, more well-rounded, kinder version of you. I hope those are the changes reflected in Screaming To Be Solved – along with an even better story, of course!

While I ultimately love the good guy to win and love to last forever (Romance Suspense is my genre), I remain fascinated by all the ‘in between’ that can take place before those things happen. The human mind and its motivations are so complex, intriguing, mysterious, and often times unexplainable, that as a writer I don’t see how I can’t explore that. One’s choices can lead to lovely or revolting things – and discovering those choices and the people that make them are, for me, what makes a story. Sometimes a motivator is simple, sometimes it is deep-rooted or justifiable, righteous or noble, other times it is just insanity. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is you should expect to find anything in my stories. J

Simply though, my aspirations as a writer include: good old fashioned suspense, a la Agatha Christie - no bad language, lots of great suspense; Romance, a la Beverly Lewis - lots of love, little to be seen behind the bedroom door; an entertaining, interesting story, a la my imagination! Suspense, romance, mystery, all written in a way that your little guy or gal could pick it up and read without you being too embarrassed or having to explain things.

As I say many times on my blog, if I can entertain you for just a while, taking you away from the dirty dishes or the crying baby or the hectic day at work, or even if my story is with you as the waves crash or the fire crackles or the rain pours, I've done my job.

I hope to accomplish any number of those things with Screaming To Be Solved! Good luck in the giveaway! (If you’re not the lucky one, check in to Amazon or my website for your copy).

Also, on Monday, hop on over to my website (laurenhope.net) where I’ll be giving away an autographed copy of The Shadow Series! That’s right, if you visit me on Monday, February 25th, you’ll have a chance to receive two books for free and start reading Lauren Hope.

See you there; until then, happy reading!

Mahalo, Lauren, for joining us today!  I am giving away an ecopy of SCREAMING TO BE SOLVED ton one randomly selected commenter:

Marxie Vaughn becomes a widow at twenty-five years old when her police officer husband, Evan, is tragically killed—reduced to ashes in an explosion in the line of duty in their small Georgia town. Without even a body to bury, Marxie is left to deal with the sorrow of his abrupt and brutal end. Seeking to start anew, she packs up and moves east to Savannah.

But when Detective Grant Carter knocks on her door two years after the accident, Marxie’s carefully rebuilt world turns upside down once more. The grim detective gives Marxie unimaginable news: Evan’s body has been found in a nearby canal.

Desperate for answers, Marxie embarks on a fascinating, complex and heart-wrenching journey to find out exactly what happened to the man she loved. And though the intriguing detective may be working under ulterior motives, he puts his whole being into helping the young widow bring closure to a mystery that haunts her every waking moment. Together, Grant and Marxie work to unearth a secret that runs as deep and murky as Savannah’s canals.

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about mystery authors you enjoy - I'm a fan of Daphne du Maurier.

2. Comments are open through Saturday, February 23, 10 pm in Hawaii.

3. I'll post the winners on Sunday, February 24.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii