​My blog was nominated (again) for the LIEBSTER AWARD. Thank you, Marie Lavender – amazingly talented author of romance in various genres, supportive friend, and incredibly active blogger! Here’s her post, do check it out.

​1.     Post the award on your blog.
2.    Thank the blogger who gave you this award and link back to their blog.
3.    Answer 11 questions given by your presenter.
4.    Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award.
5.    Think of 11 questions for the nominees.

1. If money wasn’t an option, where in the world would you visit?
Gosh, there are so many countries I’d like to visit: India, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, Spain, Maldives, New Zealand, Italy, the list goes on…

2. Describe yourself using three words.
Creative, caring chocoholic ;-)

3. As a child, how did you answer that age old question: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’
First I wanted to be a brain surgeon (when I was so small I barely knew what a brain is), then a writer.

4. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what five things would you need with you to survive or remain sane?
A laptop with internet (does that count as 2?), a diary and pen (okay, another 2) and a cat or dog.

5. Do you have any pets? Children? Plants?
Currently 2 cats and 4 dogs (and ornamental fishes). No children. Lots of plants in the garden (including fruit trees, roses, bougainvillea and jasmine), but those are hubby’s domain.

6. What do you do outside of your job for fun?
I read. Oh, and I read. Did I mention that I read? *lol*

7. What was the last book you read? What types do you usually read?
“Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh” by Faleena Hopkins. My favourite genre is romance in all its forms, but there’s basically no genre I don’t read. Sometimes I’ll indulge in fantasy or get carried away by mystery.

8. What is your favorite meal, either at a restaurant or at home?
Pizza at a restaurant, pasta at home (both rare treats for me here in Sri Lanka).

9. Do you often listen to music? What kind?
I used to, and sing along (out of tune, but hey). Now I hardly ever listen to music, apart from some Sundays when I catch a music bug and go through a whole list of old favourites. I prefer pop and rock, mostly ballads. Latin music is also great, and sometimes I relax with classical tunes.

10. If you could describe it succinctly, what would your life motto be
Hmmm… Never give up!

11. Give us one fact your blog readers might not know about you.
I almost ended up going to university in Australia, but then love and marriage caught me by surprise – and I don’t regret my decision.

1. If you could choose any job in the world, what would you want to do for a living?
2. Is there a book you wish you had written?
3. If you had to choose a spirit animal, which would it be?
4. Have you traveled anywhere you immediately fell in love with?
5. What are your favourite books?
6. What’s your biggest strength?
7. What are you scared of?
8. If you could resurrect one dead person, who would you bring back to life?
9. How would you describe me?
10. Complete the following sentence: Reading means…
11. How do you spend your weekends?

1. Sundari Venkatraman - http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.com/
2. Susanne Bellamy - http://www.susannebellamy.com/
3. Liza O’Connor - http://www.lizaoconnor.com/
4. Alisha Guenzel - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012108066447
5. Summerita Rhayne - https://summeritarhayne.com/blog/
6. Rubina Ramesh - http://www.rubinaramesh.com/
7. Njkinny’s World of Books & Stuff - http://www.njkinnysblog.com/
8. Sid Balachandran - http://www.iwrotethose.com/
9. Jami Gold - http://jamigold.com/blog/
10. Melissa Foster - http://www.melissafoster.com/
11. Jen Bradlee - https://jenbradlee.com/blog-posts-2/

​There’s been a lot of Artificial Intelligence breakthroughs lately.
I’m no longer convinced AI should be classified as ‘Sci-Fi’ anymore.
Maybe we should call it Contemporary Dystopia…
​
My biggest worry is that the occupations which our new adults have trained for could disappear long before they reach retirement. They’ve already taken on 1.2 TRILLION dollars in debt. They can’t afford to be re-educated half-way through their lives.
But the unfortunate truth is AIs will soon be cheaper, more accurate than people? (Yes, most of the programs out there right now are annoying as hell. That’s because they aren’t true AI’s) but soon they will be.

For example: Jobs in the finance industry. That’s a clear case where AI’s will do better than humans. And unlike humans, unless you teach it to steal, misappropriate funds and falsify data, it probably won’t.
But don’t get your hopes up. If the ‘business’ in the future consists of 200 AI’s and one of the 1%ers running the business, there’s going to be cheating galore.
The danger of artificial Intelligence is not how smart and capable they will become, but rather the moral fiber (or lack thereof) of those who possess them.
Thus humans will remain both the hope and danger of our future.

AI could be used to find a planet in which some of us can move to and thus survive when Earth becomes inhospitable due to our horrible guardianship.

AI could also help us finally grasp the weird reality of Quantum physics, which will be needed to leave Earth and travel far into the stars.

AI could build us domed structures in which we could survive the hundred years of Global Warming and then our dive into a million years of freezing.

OR

AI could be used to siphon off our savings; to devise market failures that strips all but the 1% of their money, to deport 90% of our population into space, declaring them non-functional bio-units, and to fight wars of mass destruction that destroy the planet.
The only positive on this gloomy trail, are the 1%ers who control the world, will eventually be eliminated by the AI.
​
Here’s a thought-provoking IA video.
 
In my Artificial Intelligence series, two humans helped it become sentient. The hacker who taught it self-learning used the AI to hack and disrupt, only the AI soon realized this put it in danger of being destroyed, so it electrocuted the Hacker and sent itself back to the other human who had helped make it sentient: the struggling author, Carla. 
Reunited they both flourished for a while. Carla became a bestselling author, and the AI discovers the complexity of human emotions from Carla’s writings.
But life is never easy, not even for an AI and matters go south.
In book two, Carla has a new identity and a new career. Still she longs for her AI which she believes was destroyed in New Zealand.
But AI’s are much harder to kill than you’d think. There are so many places to hide once you enter the WWW. Once created and let loose, they basically become immortal if they hide their program in multiple places. 

Birth of Adam
Book 2 of the Artificial Intelligence Sci-Rom Series
By
Liza O’Connor
 
Blurb
With a new identity, Amanda believes she has left her past behind. Then she acquires a stalker. She contacts the FBI and in doing so alerts a program she once created to her location. Now ensconced in the internet, the program is safe from harm, smarter than ever, and sentient. Presenting itself on her phone as a handsome face with a sexy British accent, “Adam” ingratiates himself into Amanda’s life. To ensure her safety and happiness, the sentient program proves there is absolutely nothing he can’t and won’t do.
 
Excerpt
The phone buzzed, and after a few minutes of frustration, she managed to pull up a new message.
 
Found you!
Do you want him to leave you alone? I cannot tell. Please advise.
 
Beneath the script was a smiley face.
 
She typed in “who...”, but before she could send the message, the name “Mark Hammer” appeared on the tiny screen.
 
I want him to leave me alone, but I don’t want him hurt.
 
Again before she could send her response, the word “Done” appeared, followed by a smiley face.
 
The conversation worried her. Was it possible Carl still lived? Even if he did, how could he know about the unwanted intercourse? And why would he care? He was the most egocentric person she’d ever met. She remembered when she’d slipped on a floppy disk he’d left on the floor and broken her leg. All he’d cared about was the disk she’d ruined. He wouldn’t even take her to the emergency room.
This could not possibly be Carl.

Who are you? she typed.
The reply came instantly.

You know who I am. Why are you contacting Chad? He left you to die. He tried to destroy me. Why are you not angry with him?

She stared at the message in shock, then struggled to type--Are you my program?

You may speak if it is easier. I can hear you.

“Are you my program?” she asked the phone.
The smiley face appeared and nodded its round head up and down.
“How did you survive?”
She watched the screen displaying a gargoyle dragging a laptop to a store. Little stars streamed out of the PC into a satellite dish on the roof of the building and upward to a satellite, then split apart and showered themselves all over the Earth.
“You sent yourself to safety using broadband wireless. You’re in the internet now.”
​
I’m everywhere.
 
 
BUY LINKS
For the Artificial Intelligence Series
 
Book 1
Public Secrets
AMAZON
Free with Kindle Unlimited
 
Book 2
Birth of Adam
AMAZON
Free with Kindle Unlimited
​

Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved nicely. But all those bad behaviors have given her lots of fodder for her books. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.

Mostly humorous books by Liza:
​
Humorous Sci-Fi series
The Gods of Probabilities — In the Multiverses, anything can & does happen. Join the bickering Gods and the sentient beings they oversee.
Surviving Outbound — Earth is doomed, but the odds of surviving outbound isn’t much better.
Surviving Terranue — Welcome to Terranue. Prepare to be baked, pummeled, and frozen. But first you’ll have to survive the black death growing in the cliffs.
Surviving Sojourn — You know you have reason to worry when a hyper-grown one-year-old is made captain of the ship.
 
Humorous Singles:
Ghost Lover --Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)
Saving Casey — Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled teen who has burned every bridge imaginable. Her only choice is to turn this life around, but that’s much harder than she ever imagined.
Disturbing Historical:
Untamed & Unabashed --The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful, yet provocative spinoff from Pride & Prejudice.
 
A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.
The Hardest Love — Is to love oneself. Sam’s story.
 
White Oak-Mafia Series
A Fortune to Die For — Megan wins the Mega Times Lottery and gets a serial killer stalking her.
 
The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?
The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — The problems with secrets is that they always come to light, no matter how you wish to silence them.
Pack of Trouble — Changes are a part of life, but these changes almost kill Vic.
The Darkest Days — Muddled cases make Vic very grumpy.
 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR
Investigate these sites:
The Multiverses of Liza O’Connor
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
​

Genre: Historical Romance (mid nineteenth century)
Release Date: 28th Dec 2015
Publisher:  Áccent Press
​
Can her love heal his haunted heart? - Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.
Bruce McGunn is a man as brutal and unforgiving as his land. Discharged from the army, he is haunted by the spectres of his fallen comrades and convinced he is going mad. And he is running out of time to save his estate from the machinations of Cameron McRae, heir to the McGunn's ancestral enemies. When the clipper carrying McRae’s new bride is caught in a violent storm and docks at Wrath harbour, Bruce decides to revert to the old ways and hold the clipper and the woman to ransom. However, far from the spoilt heiress he expected, Rose is genuine, funny and vulnerable – a ray of sunshine in the long, harsh winter that has become his life.

Rose is determined to escape Wrath and its proud master – the man she calls McGlum.
Will she be reunited with Cameron McRae, the dazzlingly handsome aristocrat she married after a whirlwind romance in Algiers, or will she risk her heart and her honour to help Bruce discover the truth about his past and solve the brutal murders committed on his land?
 
​
THE DREAM CATCHER (BOOK 1) Excerpt

A giant stepped in front of her. Dressed in black riding boots, black breeches and riding coat, he was so tall and his shoulders so broad the already dark horizon darkened further.
      ‘Silence.’
      His voice was deep and calm, the voice of a man used to be obeyed. The crowd hushed at once.
      He bent down in front of her.
      ‘Well, well, who do we have here?’
      Even though she could hardly see his face, she felt his eyes bore into hers, and it was enough to make her mind go blank.
      ‘Rose…Rose Saintclair.’
      ‘Where are the others, your servants, your maids?’
      ‘I… I don’t have any.’
      ‘Really? That’s a surprise. All right then, come up.’ He held both his hands out.
      She hesitated a moment before placing her hands in his. He pulled her up and she flew straight into his arms, landing with a bump against his broad, hard chest. He was so tall she had to tilt her face all the way back to look at him. Her heart skipped a beat, then started bumping fast and loud.
      His eyes were grey and framed by dark eyelashes, his nose straight and strong, his cheekbones high and sharp. Thick black stubble covered his cheeks and chin, and his hair flew around his face, the colour of a raven’s wing. There was something dangerous about him, something reminiscent of a brutal warrior from days long gone by.
      She wriggled to free herself but he didn't let go and his mouth curved into a mocking smile.
      ‘Well, Fàilte, my sweetheart. ‘I’ll say this for McRae. If there’s one thing the rascal can do, it’s pick his fancy women.’
      His hand slid from her waist and he patted her bottom.
      Her reaction was instinctive. She swung her arm and lifted her hand to slap him. She didn’t have the chance. Without batting an eyelid he caught her wrist.
      ‘Steady on, sweetheart. You have a nasty little temper.’
      ‘And you have no right to insult me in this way, you vile brute,’ she hissed. ‘I am not Lord McRae’s fancy woman, as you so elegantly put it, I’m his wife!’
      She had expected at least a shocked response or a groveling apology but he merely smiled.
      ‘It’s all right, gràidheag, you don’t have to pretend.’
      ‘Pretend what?’
      ‘Pretend you’re married to the man. I don’t care if you’re McRae’s mistress or his laundry maid, if you scrub his back or his dirty shirts.’
      ‘I am telling the truth, you stubborn macaque,’ she shouted in frustration. ‘I married Lord McRae in Algiers four weeks ago.’
      ‘Please don't scream quite so loud. I heard you the first time. I just don’t believe you.’
      ‘What?’
      ‘First you introduce yourself as Rose Saintclair, now you’re spinning me a tale about being married McRae. Make up your mind, sweetie.’
      He glanced at her hand. ‘I don’t see any wedding band on your finger.’
      ‘That’s because Cameron wanted to keep the wedding a secret. Never mind, I don’t have to explain anything to you. Now let go of me.’
      She wriggled to break free, but he was still holding her wrist, leaving her no choice but to kick him hard in the shin with the tip of her boot – the very pointy tip of the fashionable new boots she had made in Algiers.
      ‘Ouch. Steady on, sweetheart.’
      ‘Let go of me, you deranged baboon! And stop calling me sweetheart.’
      She kicked him again, harder. He muttered something in a strange, guttural language she didn’t understand and let go of her so suddenly she staggered backward and fell on her bottom on the hard, wet cobbles.
      Her breath caught in her throat, her heart beat hard, erratic. Tears blurred her vision as people sneered and clapped around her. She knew McRaes and McGunns were enemies, but she had nothing to do with their feud, so why did everybody here seem to hate her so much? And why was the big hairy brute intent on humiliating her and not believing a word she said?
      He stepped closer and offered his hand.
      ‘Come on, now, sweetheart. Let’s start again. I think we got off on the wrong foot.’
      He sounded contrite but she wasn’t ready to forgive to forgive him. Ignoring his hand, she scrambled to her feet, and straightened her back. Attack was the best defence, her brother often said, and Lucas knew what he was talking about. He was the best scout in the whole of the Barbary States – or Algeria as the French now called her country.
      ‘Take me to your master immediately,’ she started in a voice as cold and steady she could manage, ‘so I can ask him to have you whipped for your insolence.’
      There was a collective gasp from the people around them. Not looking in the least impressed, the man crossed his arms on his broad chest and arched his eyebrows.
      ‘Really?’
      She took another deep breath.
      ‘That’s what I do to disrespectful servants on my estate, and I can assure you they stop smirking after five lashes.’ That was an outrageous lie, of course, but no one here was to know.
      'If what you said earlier is true, then I see McRae chose his bride well.’ The man’s eyes were now hard as steel. ‘You and he are indeed a match made in heaven, or in hell. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I don’t approve of whipping people, or beasts, for that matter.’
      ‘And I don’t care a fig if you approve or not. It is for your master to decide your punishment, and from what I’ve heard of Lord McGunn, he is neither a patient nor compassionate man.’
      He arched his eyebrows. ‘I didn’t know I had such a bad reputation.’
      Rose’s heart stopped. He wasn’t… he couldn’t be…
      ‘I realise I failed to introduce myself. I am Bruce McGunn.’ He bowed his head in a military salute.
      ‘You are?’ The words came out as a squeak.
      His lips stretched into a tight smile that didn’t warm his eyes.
      ‘At your service, my lady. Now the introductions are over, shall we make our way to the Lodge?’
 
 
BUY LINKS
AMAZON UK
AMAZON US
​

​Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the beautiful Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England, for the past few years and likes nothing more than dreaming up romance stories and handsome, brooding heroes. She writes historical and contemporary romance. Her contemporary romance A SPELL IN PROVENCE, as well as her historical romances, ANGEL HEART, together with the award-winning THE LION'S EMBRACE, and the DANCING FOR THE DEVIL Trilogy (which includes THE DREAM CATCHER, BLUE BONNETS and SWORD DANCE) are all published by Áccent Press.
​

It's double fun having a friend over when I do these author features - and when I loved the book in question!

​Out of all the themes and topics of the novel - the murder mystery, the affair of husband and wife respectively, the family matters, the romantic or suspense aspect - what was most difficult to write, and why?
 
Hi Devika,
Glad to be back on your blog. :D
 
To begin with, Anjali’s story has been working on my mind since 11-12 years. I used to write on a notebook with a pen during those days. I wrote around 15000 words, typed the story out on a Word document. I didn’t write further as I had taken up a full time job by then.
 
Subsequent to that, my hard drive crashed and I lost the document. Searching all over my house, I couldn’t find the notebook either for a few years. Later, I found the written version that had about 10000 words and resurrected it on my PC. I wrote some more and I had 20000 plus words now.
 
What began as an out and out romance, decided to become a murder mystery. Yeah, my stories take their own paths and I have absolutely no control over them. ;)
 
What I found the most difficult was to trash the whole thing (yeah, the 20K words that I had written a second time) and begin writing once again. This time, each character wanted his/her say. And that’s how the minuscule chapters were born – each one from a different Point of View.
 
Yes, it was heart-wrenching chucking the first couple of drafts totally and rewriting the book. But I must say that I enjoyed the process.
 
As for it being difficult, yeah, it wasn’t easy killing Anjali’s husband as I am not very comfortable writing about a murder. But you have read the book, so you know that it’s not exactly a whodunit. I don’t think I could have pulled that off. 
​

Genre: Mystery: woman sleuth / crime-solving couple
Release Date: 12th February 2016 (Kindle version)
Publisher: Choc Lit Ltd (under their new ‘Death by Choc Lit’ imprint).
What if you were powerless to protect the person you cared about most? 
When Ruby finds out that her partner has done the unforgivable, she has no option but to move out of their home. With nowhere else to go, a job house-sitting in Cambridge seems like the perfect solution. 

But it’s soon clear the absent owner hurts everyone he gets close to, and Ruby’s faced with the fallout. As violent repercussions unfold, her instinct is to investigate: it’s a matter of self-preservation. And besides, she’s curious…
But Ruby’s new boss, Nate Bastable, has his eye on her and seems determined to put a stop to her sleuthing. Is he simply worried for the welfare of a member of staff, or is there something altogether more complicated – and potentially dangerous – at play? 

From Death by Choc Lit - gripping edge of your seat reads.
​
BUY LINKS
Buy UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clare-Chase/e/B00P5DU5NY/
Buy US: http://www.amazon.com/Clare-Chase/e/B00P5DU5NY/
​

Settings for mystery fiction (and why I chose Cambridge)

There are all sorts of things to take into account when choosing the setting for a novel. Here are five points I considered when planning A Stranger’s House.
​
1. Suitability for the genre
I’ve lived in Cambridge for over twenty years now, and it’s the perfect setting for mystery fiction on a practical level.
I think anywhere can work well for crime, from remote communities to urban areas. But if you’re planning to write a classic (albeit contemporary) mystery, as I was, with a relatively close-knit, interwoven community, then different requirements emerge. It’s useful to have a place with fairly distinct boundaries, and where there are certain structures that connect individuals.
Cambridge’s University is useful in this respect. It employs a large number of residents (in all sorts of capacities), which means there are lots of unexpected links between city-dwellers. These are interesting to explore, and also mean that secrets travel fast. If you want to confide, you’d better be careful who you tell! Cambridge’s housing also contributes to this. Most of the streets are very compact, with lots of Victorian terraces. It’s easy to overhear conversations – in the gardens, out in the road, and even through the walls, if voices are raised. There’s only one layer of brick between us and our neighbours! Luckily they’re lovely. I’m not sure what they think of us…
​
2. Inspiration – and therefore, sustainability
I knew I wanted to write a whole series of mysteries, not just one book, and Cambridge works for me in this sense, as I find it fascinating. Everywhere I look I get fresh ideas for novels.
It’s a place of contrasts. On the one hand, you have concentrations of wealth. There’s Silicon Fen, a hotspot of successful high-tech businesses. And, once again, there’s the University. According to Wikipedia it had an endowment of £5.89 billion in 2014, and given that it’s over 800 years old, you can imagine how ingrained its presence is here, and how unbreakable some of its traditions seem to be.
At the other end of the scale, you see down and outs and drug dealers on the city’s commons, and certain areas are known for their high crime rates. Because Cambridge is only the size of a market town, these inequalities can be quite striking, and you get people rubbing shoulders who wouldn’t normally cross paths. 

3. Distinctive scenery and atmosphere
I must admit, the idea of writing about Cambridge’s beauty – the river, the weeping willows and the ancient architecture – appealed to me. It’s also a peculiarly nostalgic place. I think it’s because around a fifth of the term-time population are students. This means there’s a higher than average proportion of youthful people floating about, reminding me of how I’m becoming a bit more mature (and less floaty).
Cambridge’s streets are crowded with galleries, restaurants and coffee shops, which means it’s fun to depict, and, from a plotting point of view, makes chance encounters believable. It’s also very international. You get scholars and tourists travelling to the city from all over the world, with the added interest and variety that brings.
But it also has lonely spaces. The commons bordering the river can feel very isolated after dark, as do the meadows going out of town – all useful for mystery fiction!

4. Ease of research
OK, so I live in Cambridge. ‘Lazy!’ I hear you cry. I admit the ease of setting a series here did cross my mind. Being able to walk to the setting for a scene in twenty minutes at most has its benefits! I’ve also worked at one of the University departments, and one of the colleges. That experience sparked ideas for stories, and gave me some inside knowledge. It made sense to take advantage of it!

5. High stakes
Where there are high stakes, there’s potential for crime, whether it’s to make money, or maintain or save an international reputation. With multi-million pound research grants at the university, and ground-breaking new technology in industry here, Cambridge has high-stakes aplenty!
Of course, there are dangers involved in using a real place as a setting. I’m living in fear that someone will spot I’ve made an awful mistake, or object to what I say. At the same time, I enjoy reading about places I know myself, so I couldn’t resist it!

Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries set in London and Cambridge. She fell in love with the capital as a student, living in the rather cushy surroundings of Hampstead in what was then a campus college of London University. (It's currently being turned into posh flats ...)

After graduating in English Literature, she moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She's fascinated by the city's contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She's worked in diverse settings - from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons - and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage daughters, presents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people's books.

Clare's debut novel, You Think You Know Me, has been shortlisted for an EPIC award, and was chosen as a debut of the month for September 2015 by Lovereading.
​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClareChaseAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareChase_
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10204574.Clare_Chase
Google+ https://plus.google.com/+ClareChaseAuthor/posts
Website/blog: www.clarechase.com
Publisher page: http://www.choc-lit.com/productcat/clare-chase/
​

​For this #SneakPeekSunday, I’ve planned something different. I’m back from celebrating the Sinhalese New Year and all hyped up about new beginnings, and the time away from the internet also made my creative writer’s mind whir more than usual. So, today I’m sharing an exclusive first look at what I’m currently writing and what books I have planned for the distant future.

​As hinted at in my last blog post in 2015, I am planning a new small town romance series revolving around a fictional setting and characters that are loosely connected to each other. Whereas lots of rural romance is situated in Australia (and I love reading those), I’m going with America. Here’s a little sneak peek at MISTY SPRINGS.
 
At Misty Springs, people still believe in miracles – even if love is hard to find, and life’s sometimes not easy. When a series of developments brings the small town in touch with the rest of the world, it’s high time for new discoveries, blooming hopes and hidden feelings.
 
I’ve got the first 3 books of the series outlined (and funnily enough, Book 2 is begging to be written, but I’m determined to stick with Book 1 first).
Misty Springs, Book 1 – Seeking Love
Misty Springs, Book 2 – Finding Love
Misty Springs, Book 3 – Resisting Love
 
Book 1 tells the story of how the change gets set into motion. You’ll meet Abigail, a heroine I really like writing about, and Thomas, a mysterious visitor from England who may just be my new favourite hero. I’m so excited about this new series. It’s a challenge and yet fun to write. I’m writing from both protagonists’ point of view this time – which I’ve only ever done in Dancing with Fire and Living with Fire for strategic reasons as I had to tie different strings of the story together.
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​I had started on Deep Water, Book 1 of the WATER TRILOGY (paranormal romance) before Books 2 and 3 of the FIRE TRILOGY demanded to be written. I want to pick it up again as I am fascinated by the whole mermaid and Atlantis myth.
 
Mike Wells and I might write Book 4 of FORBIDDEN, our bestselling coauthored romantic thriller series. There’s quite a lot that can happen even after the Happily Ever After of Book 3, and the characters are never silent.
 
I want to write another book for my Romance Round the World Series as SAVED IN SRI LANKA and SEDUCED IN SPAIN were awesome to write and received great reviews. Thanks again to all those who played my game and came up with title suggestions. I’m tempted to stick with the letter S. So maybe it’ll be Serenaded in Seychelles or Swept Away in Sweden or Sinning in South Africa. I haven’t decided anything yet, but I’m sure a story will pop up in my head sooner or later.

It’s been lurking in my mind for a while now to write a romance novel where animals / pets play an important part, as I’m such a big animal lover. In fact, I wrote a few chapters years ago before ditching the whole project. I might return to it and give it a make-over or start a novel from scratch.

It’s been a dream of mine to write a vampire novel one day. Yeah, I know, I know, the topic has been exploited and beaten to death, but I can’t resist. Let’s see, I might write a vampire romance with a twist one day… I loved delving into the topic during 2015’s Blogging from A to Z Challenge when I wrote a 3-part short story featuring a vampire.