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Thursday, February 28, 2008

What I Love About Blaze


If you’ve been reading my Blazes for any length of time—say, at least a year—you may have already guessed that I have a hard time settling down with any one style of story. I’ve written a Blaze time travel, several dark cop dramas, a Sex in the City style series set in South Beach, a Wrong Bed, and a couple of pseudo-pirates on the prowl. In March, I’ll add a cursed sports agent and a psychic investigator to the mix. Some of my stories have been more along the lines of a sexy romp while others have been angsty explorations of sensuality. There’s a chance my rampant story explorations have made it tougher for readers to know what to expect from a Joanne Rock read. But I’ve gotta say—I love that I can do so many different things in Blaze.


Where else can readers find such huge diversity in plot lines? From strong suspense plots to the occasional ghost or vampire, Blaze charts a huge amount of story terrain in six books a month. With a wide range of recurring miniseries like Forbidden Fantasies, the Wrong Bed, Extreme and Blush, the line makes it easy for fans to find the type of Blaze that most appeals to them. This summer, the series charts all new territory in a traditionally contemporary line when Blaze introduces its first historical—Hope Tarr’s Bound and Determined. I’m hoping readers are excited about seeing a Blaze style premise played out in a historical setting as I am.


Because, quite honestly, writing for Blaze is a writer’s dream from a creative perspective. With the only dictate being a red-hot premise, the sky’s the limit on plot development. I have the freedom to listen to my Muse and follow where she dictates.


Take for instance GETTING LUCKY, my March release. I wanted to write a story set in the Thousand Islands ever since I read a book about Boldt Castle. The setting is remote and romantic, the kind of backdrop you’d see in an old Gothic novel. Furthermore, I hoped to use some of those Gothic elements to enrich the story. But what would work in a Blaze?


Enter my blue blood sports agent who is losing his career and his assets at an alarming rate. He retreats to the family place where he grew up to meet with a psychic investigator in the hope she can remove whatever curse is hanging over his head. And before I knew it, spooky things were happening left and right while my couple discovered the unlucky hero definitely hadn’t lost his mojo in the bedroom. I had so much fun with this story. And it could only happen in a Blaze.


Here’s an excerpt I hope you’ll enjoy. And even if my March Blaze isn’t up your alley, I hope you’ll check out the rest of the month’s offering. I’ll bet you’ll find something fabulous…

9 comments:

Cherie J said...

Getting Lucky sounds really good. I like the unusal plot.

Gigi said...

Hi Joanne,
I read the excerpt for Getting Lucky. Poor Dex, when you write a curse on a guy you do it right.
I know I am going to enjoy this book. A tad on the paranormal side.

I enjoy reading the Blaze line. Like you said there is just about something for everyone in that "Hot' line of books.

I love historicals. They are my first love. I am glad to see that the Blaze line is adding them to the line-up.

Pat Cochran said...

Hello, Joanne,

I've just read your blog entry and
the excerpt you presented - verrrry
interesting!! I look forward to
reading Getting Lucky! Thanks for
blogging with us today.

Pat Cochran

Maureen said...

Your book looks great and I do like Blazes too.

Estella said...

I love Blazes! Getting Lucky sounds great.

Dina said...

Joann, what is the title of your time travel book?

I'm new to many books and I like time travel stuff.

A KNIGHT MOST WICKED looks real good, can't wait.

Thanks.

Wolfy said...

Your excerpt was great. I look forward to getting this book. Thanks for blogging with us.

Joanne Rock said...

LOL, Gigi. I had so much fun with Dex's opening scene. I think we've all had those days when things go bad to worst and I just piled on everything I could think of :-).

Dina, my time travel Blaze is HIDDEN OBSESSION, which I fondly remember as the book that practically wrote itself. The story truly exploded in my mind and all I had to do was take notes. Those books don't come along nearly enough! But it felt like a story I was meant to write-- perhaps because I'm a bit of a medieval soul at heart and my husband is very much a contemporary guy :-).

Thanks so much for the kind words about the excerpt! I appreciate the chance to hop in for a visit.

Dina said...

Thanks Joanne.:)