Critical Exposure by Ann Voss Peterson, Security Breach, Harlequin Intrigue, ISBN: 0373229526
 
Her brother had disappeared after a security breach and the detective assigned to help her find him assumed him guilty. But the flinty-eyed Rand McClellan was her only hope...especially when her baby was kidnapped and the ransom demanded was her missing brother.

Rand made a living on evidence, not emotion, but he couldn't stop the sympathy he felt for Echo. Or the attraction. The brave, fierce woman fought hard to find the family she loved. But Rand had a bad feeling. And for the first time he hoped his hunch was wrong....

Double Life by Amanda Stevens, He's a Mystery, Harlequin Intrigue, ISBN: 0373229542

Ash Corbett had been gone for twelve years. And now he was back in Jacob's Pass, Texas, as brash and as beautiful as ever. But something about him wasn't right. His family knew it...Emma Novick knew it. And what would take DNA typing precious time to reveal, Emma had only to look in his eyes and sample one kiss to know for sure.

As a child, Emma would watch the grand Corbett parties through the windows and from the trees, catching only glimpses of the gowns and glamour inside. She was the gardener's daughter, not the sort of girl Ash would ever be attracted to. He was educated and well-bred, the kind of man who commanded respect wherever he went. But he and Emma shared secrets that only intensified over the years. Even though they were little more than strangers now, the passion between them burned strong still. But someone knew about them and would use their forbidden past to forge a new future...without Ash.

A Colby Christmas by Debra Webb, Colby Agency, Harlequin Intrigue, ISBN: 0373229518

Golden boy Brad Gibson never expected his climb up the corporate ladder would involve dodging bullets. But after he discovered corruption at a leading financial firm, someone wanted his head. Even worse, he feared he was about to lose an exciting opportunity to join the Colby Agency.

Now on Christmas Eve he was locked inside a skyscraper equipped with a state-of-the-art security system alongside Colby receptionist Elaine Younger, a doe-eyed beauty not to be underestimated. But with four masked men intent on bringing the agency to its knees, it was going to be a long night of gunfire and dangling mistletoe before Christmas dawned on the most dangerous couple in Chicago.

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B J Daniels:
Ah pacing. For me, it's a combination of keeping the story moving forward but also building the suspense. If that means I have to kill someone, well then I'm always happy to do it. :) The big thing is not getting bogged down in the details. If there is any rule of thumb I think it would be to remember it's all about the story. As my Uncle Jack used to say, "If you're going to tell a story, make it good (exaggeration and lying encouraged) or don't bother."  

Delores Fossen:
I think so many things go into solid pacing in an Intrigue. It helps to start with a strong, compelling plot and then continue to escalate the stakes for both the romance and the suspense/mystery. Then, I like to keep the flow of clues, danger and romance coming hard and fast so that the reader doesn't have time to put down the book. I also try to end each chapter in such a way that the reader will want to continue reading to find out what's going to happen. With the exception of the last chapter, I don't use the chapter ends for resolutions but rather new twists and even mini-cliffhangers. In my latest Intrigue, Covert Conception, there's a lot of action and physical danger since someone is trying to kill the hero and heroine--so I had a great opportunity for fast pacing with lots of twists.

Mallory Kane:
Pacing is one of those ethereal concepts that is obvious when it's wrong, but is very difficult to describe. I believe successful books and stories have a rhythm. Part of this rhythm comes from the length of the sentences, the vocabulary the characters use, the sense of immediacy that derives from using the correct verb or verb tense,. Part of it comes from the story.

So pacing is a combination of what you write and how you write it. I love to speed up the action by using short, explosive sentences that hopefully pull the reader into the moment. Then at the high point of the climax--when all seems lost--it's often fun (and effective) to slow the action in the point of view of the character--think of the feeling people describe when their car loses traction and spins. It's scary and potentially deadly, but it unfolds as if in slow motion. Another trick I love is to end a chapter in the middle of an action scene or intense argument or conversation--usually between the hero and heroine. Hopefully the reader won't be able to stop reading until she finds out how the other character is going to respond.

Sylvie Kurtz:
In Pull of the Moon (December 2006) part of the tension comes from the secret Nick holds and Valerie needs to uncover. The closer she comes to it, the more Nick has to hold back, the more they prod and push, the more it gives the villain a chance to use that lack of trust toward his own end. And hopefully the tension that the situation creates keeps the reader turning those pages.

Julie Miller:
The main thing I try to do to keep pacing moving at a fast clip is to end each scene with a hook. That hook can be a question, a tense moment in the action (aka Perils of Pauline), an emotional revelation, cryptic or character-revealing dialogue, finding a clue or dead body, etc. That trick draws the reader in and, hopefully, makes them eager to turn the page and keep reading. Some of my scenes are purposely slower, meaning less intense emotionally and action-wise, to allow the reader to catch her breath and relax a bit so that I can hit her with something new and build the tension and increase the pacing again. If the entire story is wham-bam, then it becomes like a monotone (all the same) and the reader begins to tune things out. Think of good Intrigue pacing as a series of mountain tops, with the rises increasing as the book nears its climax, but with those little, well-placed drop-offs to let the reader catch her breath.

An old writing teacher's trick to speed or slow the pacing is to write short, concise sentences (even fragments) to speed things up, and longer, more complex sentences to slow things down. In my January 07 Intrigue, Beast in the Tower, the heroine believes her brother is in danger and follows to help him. I spend some time describing the scenery and people around her in that dark, vaguely unfriendly bar--that's the breather. But I follow it with an intense, deadly confrontation scene. That one is loaded with short sentences, action verbs, and even fragments to create that fast-paced intensity.

Ann Voss Peterson:
In my opinion, the intense pace of Intrigues is what makes them the greatest books to read and write. I keep my pacing strong by throwing my characters into a bad situation and then making things get more and more desperate from there. If the thing my hero and heroine love most in the world is at stake, they will go through anything to save it. And I hope if my characters feel strongly enough, the reader will, too! In my November Intrigue, Critical Exposure (part of the Security Breach series), Echo Sloane is desperate to find her brother. And when her baby is kidnapped and the ransom demanded is her missing brother, her situation grows even more desperate. Luckily Detective Rand McClellan, a flinty-eyed police detective with his own urgent agenda, can help!

Joanna Wayne:
Pacing is one of those things I feel more than think about, almost a sixth sense. But when I'm teaching classes I emphasize the importance of constantly escalating the danger and the romance. Every scene must move the story along by intensifying the development of the relationship and adding new twists to the mystery. Great chapter endings also add to good pacing. And always remember that even if the characters think the danger is over, the reader must always know it's imminent and inevitable. In Maverick Christmas, my November Intrigue, I also used the four children to increase the suspense and to enrich the characters personalities. While the story was heartwarming and occasionally humorous, I tried to make sure the danger never let up.

Rebecca York:
I think that people who become writers absorb principles and techniques from the books they read. As a kid, I read a lot of science fiction, fantasy and mystery–all with fast-paced plots. When I began my own career, those were the kind of stories I wanted to write. I knew what had worked for me as a reader, and I tried to do those same things in my own writing. Of course, as I gained experience, I got better at it. I learned, for example, that sometimes you have to slow down the pace–to create the full effect for the reader. What I mean is that if you go through an action sequence too quickly, the reader will miss a lot of the impact. I also learned that the most important thing about any plot element is tying the action to the emotions of the character. It doesn’t matter how exciting a chase or a knife fight or escape from death you write. It won’t grab the reader unless she feels the hopes and fears of the characters you’ve created.

• November 19
  • 1:00 pm -3:00 pm
    • Julie Miller will signed her latest book at a booksigning hosted by the Prairieland Romance Writers at the Waldenbooks at Conestoga Mall, Grand Island, Nebraska.

Julie Miller is pleased to announce her Autumn Contest.  That's right--new season, new book, new contest.  Go to her website for a chance to win an early-bird copy of her upcoming January Intrigue, Beast in the Tower.  Deadline for entering is November 22.  

Joanna Wayne: Answer a question from Maverick Christmas and win a copy of A Clandestine Affair. And please check out the the writing tips and news about Joanna while visiting her website.

Rebecca York will autograph and send a copy of Chain Reaction to the winner of a drawing on January 6.  To be eligible for the drawing, send her an e-mail and please provide an address to send the book if you win and the name of your favorite Rebecca York heroine, the book she was in, and why you liked her.  One contest entry per person and it starts November 5 and ends January 6. Visit her website for more details.