Interview with Irene Hannon!

Hello, everyone! I'm delighted to be bringing you today an interview with Irene Hannon, a wonderful romantic suspense author. I've read a bunch of her books lately, and have one more to go in the Heroes of Quantico series. Ha, I was at the library getting books, and the whole series was there...I tried my hardest to just get the first two and save something for next time, but was totally unsuccessful, brought them all home, and have been savoring them ever since. :) So far, though, I've only reviewed Against All Odds in the Heroes of Quantico series. I have also reviewed Fatal Judgment and the Deadly Pursuit review went out this morning. All awesome books! (Reviews of the others coming soon) Anyway, without any more of my jabber, let's move on this wonderful interview with Irene!

Welcome to Austenitis, Irene! Could you please give us a short auto-biography?

I’m a former communications executive with a Fortune 500 company who now writes full time and loves every minute of it! I live in Missouri, where I sing, take long walks, read and garden in my spare time. I have a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, and my books have been honored with a number of awards, including two RITAs (the “Oscar” of romantic fiction), a HOLT Medallion and a Daphne du Maurier and Carol award. I’m also married to my very own romantic hero!

What do you enjoy most about being a published author?

Two things in particular. I LOVE receiving my advance copies of a new book. Seeing the finished product and holding it my hands for the first time is a thrill that never fades. And I also love hearing from readers. I’m always touched when people take the time to write and let me know their thoughts about a book.

Is there any special story about the cover of any of your books?

Actually, what many people don’t realize is that authors have limited control over covers. With my contemporary romances, I fill out a cover questionnaire and suggest several scenes, but I never see the cover until the book’s in production and many times it’s nothing like I envisioned. I have much more input into the covers of my romantic suspense books. For example, there’s a Raggedy Ann doll on the cover of In Harm’s Way, my RITA winner from last year. In the book, the doll is badly battered. When I saw the first version of the cover, however, it was spanking new. At my request, the designer went back to the drawing board. The second cover had an old doll—but it was downright scary. Truly, it looked like a demon doll—nothing like a traditional Raggedy Ann. I finally sent the designer my vision of the doll from an online retailer. He actually bought that doll and dirtied it up. It still wasn’t as battered as I’d hoped, but a vast improvement over the first two versions!

If Deadly Pursuit was being made into a movie, which actors would you like to take the main
characters?

You know, I get asked this question a lot about all my suspense books, and I’m embarrassed to say that since I rarely watch current movies, I’m completely unfamiliar with most of today’s stars. Give me the old-time movie heroes any day!

You have a new book coming out in August called Lethal Legacy, the third book in the Guardians of Justice series. Would you like to tell us a bit about it?

I’m very excited about this book, which concludes my Taylor sibling trilogy. (Though I should point out that all of my series books can be read as stand-alone novels; each book is a complete story with no plot points that carry over from book to book.) Here’s a blurb:

The police say her father’s death was suicide. Kelly Warren says it was murder—and she has new evidence to prove it. Detective Cole Taylor doesn't put much credence in her claim, and nothing in his case review suggests foul play. But when Kelly ends up in the ER with a life-threatening medical condition, Cole digs deeper—and discovers a startling secret that links her to a long-ago crime. Is history repeating itself? And does someone want Kelly silenced?

What’s a book you recently enjoyed reading?

I judged several books in the first round of the RITA competition (not in the inspirational category, since my own books compete in that genre), and I very much enjoyed Angel’s Rest by Emily March. Also…speaking of the RITA competition—Book 2 in my Guardians of Justice series, Deadly Pursuit, has just been named a finalist in the inspirational category!

Which of your bookcovers is your favorite?

That’s a tough one! There are quite a few I like a lot—and some I don’t care for much at all. But I’d be interested to hear readers’ response to this question. If anyone wants to visit the Books page of my website (http://www.irenehannon.com/books.html) and comment on this blog, I’d love to hear your favorite!

Thanks so much for coming, Irene! How can our readers learn more about you, or contact you?

I invite everyone to visit my website (http://www.irenehannon.com/) , where they can find contact information and read synopses and excerpts of my books. I’m also on Twitter, so you can connect with me there, too!

Thanks again! Readers, make sure you answer her question about which cover is your favorite. :)