Lisa Renee Jones (Interview & Giveaway)

Hello everyone and happy December!!! To kick off this jolly month I have award-winning romance author Lisa Renee Jones joining us for her newest release, The Storm that is Sterling. (SO good BTW!!!) She's stopping by for an interview and giveaway that I hope you'll enjoy!

Good Morning, Lisa, and thank you so much for joining us today for an interview!

Can you start off by sharing with our readers a little something about yourself please?

I owned a staffing agency with offices all over Texas and I’d just expanded to Tennessee right before I sold the company.  Those were rough corporate years with long long hours. Those years make my ability to write for a living all the more valued now.

What is your writing process like? Is there anything that you must have in order to write?

I write every day even if it’s only a small amount. I  start the day out with my coffee, my cat, and my favorite chair. I keep a play list for every book on my ipod.

For readers who aren’t familiar with your Zodius series, can you give us a brief introduction to it?

The series is based on the secrets of Area 51. A group of Special Forces soldiers were given experimental DNA pulled from a wreckage and they became something very special and very lethal.

Was there anything in particular that inspired the Zodius series?

My ex-father in law who is now deceased was at the mystery site and ship cleanup. He went to his death bed sworn to secrecy but he mumbled some information in the last few days that was pretty intriguing.

Can you please tell us a little about your new release and second novel in the series, The Storm that is Sterling?

In the Storm that is Sterling – Sterling  is a damaged hero who knows a lot of pain but has never become one of those bitter, dark people. I love that about him. He is still so capable of opening his heart.

I was excited to get my first Booklist review for Sterling:

The Storm That Is Sterling.
Jones, Lisa Renee (Author)
Nov 2011. 384 p. Sourcebooks/Casablanca, hardcover, $6.99. (9781402251597).

The exciting Zodius futuristic suspense series features soldiers enhanced by a GTECH secret military experiment. Sterling Jeter, who is assigned to guard Rebecca Burns, the scientist working on an antidote for the highly addictive and fatal drug ICE. But Rebecca is also the high-school dream Sterling was never able to realize. She has cancer and tangling with bad guys who want her science skills for their ends has left her an ICE addict, too. She wants to take advantage of her time left with Sterling, while Sterling wants to protect her. As danger mounts, they try to sort out who is trustworthy. The GTECH and science details can best be followed with the help of the index, but they do not overwhelm the appealing characters or action. Jones’ suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann. Alpha, military, and paranormal romance readers will want Jones’ entire series.

What kind of research did you do for both novels?

For all three of the Zodius books (The Danger That is Damion is out in May 2012) I had the military info handy because of my ex-father in law and all his brothers being Special Forces. Then my cousin is married to a Special Forces soldier.  My fiancée is in medical school so he helped, and asked an instructor for help, with some of the DNA and medical stuff.  I did a lot of reading up on Area 51 as well. 

So far we've seen stories of second chances; what is the draw for you and your characters with this type of romance as oppose to new love?

You know, I really didn’t even think about them being second chances but certainly I love that idea of love lost being found again. There is a lot of emotion to call on and certainly the characters have history to use when writing. In The Danger that is Damion the characters don’t know each other before their first meeting in chapter one. 

What makes Sterling and Rebecca perfect for each other and what do you think readers will love best about this couple?

They are both fighters, both filled with conviction for saving people, and making a difference in the world. Neither of them have let horrible events in their life make them bitter. They are each others reward.

Why is a HEA important to you and your books?

Part of writing romance rather than straight fiction is the HEA. And writing romance is special.  Love is life and we all deserve a happily ever after.

In one sentence, why should reader’s pick up The Storm that is Sterling?

Oh my gosh you are the second person who did this to me. I have performance pressure lol! I am bad at one line pitches.

One hot super soldier and an even hotter romance J

How many novels do you have planned for the Zodius series and what can readers expect next?

The Danger that is Damion is coming in May. You will meet Chale in that story and he is my next planned book. I have 6 drafted. We shall see!

Thank you again, Lisa, for stopping by! It was great having you and Happy Holidays! J

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Thanks to the wonderful people at SourceBooks I have one copy of The Storm that is Sterling to give away to one US or Canadian reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this interview and then fill out the rafflecopter below with your name and email address. Extra entries are available as well but not required. Good luck!