Author Q&A and Giveaway: FEVER by Joan Swan

Ready for a hot new paranormal romance? Joan Swan is one of my fellow 2012 debut authors, and it was great fun to read her SERIOUSLY suspenseful novel, Fever, out this week from Kensington. Want a copy? Read on!


(Note: for this week only, the Preternatura Book Club is running on Thursday!)

THE OFFICIAL BLURB: When Dr. Alyssa Foster is taken hostage by a prison inmate, she knows she's in deep trouble. Not just because Teague Creek is desperate for freedom, but because the moment his fingers brush against her skin, Alyssa feels a razor-sharp pang of need. … A man with a life sentence has nothing to lose. At least Teague doesn't, until his escape plan develops a fatal flaw: Alyssa. On the run from both the law and deadly undercover operatives, he can only give her lies, but every heated kiss tells him the fire between them could be just as devastating as the flames that changed him forever.

MY THOUGHTS: I loved the hard edges of Fever—the opening scene takes place in a prison, and Swan does a great job of slowly unraveling the mystery behind Teague Creek, what he’s up to, what he’s running from—and what, exactly, his powers are and how he got them. That doesn’t mean the book is slow; while those things are unfolding, we have a tense, page-turning story of mistaken identity, reluctant attraction, and danger. Alyssa is a strong heroine, with a logical mind that feels realistic for a physician (and Swan herself works in the medical field), while Teague is hot (in more ways than one) and full of mysteries. The paranormal element to the story is subtle, giving the book a romantic-suspense-with-paranormal-elements feel.


Now, I'd like to welcome author Joan Swan to the blog!

Give us the “elevator pitch” for Fever:

A man with unnatural powers is wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for life.  He escapes by abducting an innocent woman with plans to trade her for the one person he wants most, only to find out she’s not who he expected.  And as trust and attraction build between them, the police close in.  But the cops aren’t the only ones chasing him.  The black ops members who put him in prison to begin with have discovered he’s escaped and if they reach him before the cops do, they’ll silence him permanently. And they won’t leave any witnesses.

It’s 45 second pitch – trust me, I’ve practiced it far too many times not to know :-)

What's your favorite scene:

I love pivotal scenes – usually concerning the internal landscape of a character: a personal epiphany, a moment of crisis when the character’s true essence or vulnerability shows or that second the character pushes themselves past a fear and acts.

In Fever, I love the scene when Alyssa is tired of Teague’s repeated rejection of her physically when they both know he wants her.  She finds a bag of condoms in the medicine cabinet, ones Teague had been given in a getaway kit supplied by accomplices and carries them into the bedroom where Teague is not yet sleeping. 

Indecision zinged around her chest like a firefly trapped in a jar.  She pulled in a slow breath then blew it out.

“Wrong room, Lys.”  His voice came out low and languid and lusty, giving her firefly a shot of adrenaline.  But his eyes stayed closed, his body still.

“I…don’t think so.”  She garnered another ounce of confidence and walked toward the bed.

“I don’t want to talk anymore, Alyssa.” 

He didn’t move even a millimeter, but his lids cracked, and he tracked her with his eyes.  The heat there, the longing, gave her the final flash of confidence she needed to make her move.

“Neither do I.”  She dropped the condoms on his chest.  Watched as they scattered over muscle.  Teague’s gaze darted to the little packages and held.  “I had something else in mind.”

I think that is fun and gutsy. She has to push past her fear of making a mistake, of being rejected yet again and trust what she believes in her heart.

Hardest scene to write:

The ending scene of Fever was the hardest.  I rewrote the second half of Fever after it sold and in the end, my editor wanted the book to immediately end after the climax – no last scene for resolution where I could tie up the loose ends comfortably.

Since my last scene is a volatile race to survive catastrophe combined with a face to face confrontation with all the strongest forces in the book…simply tying everything off in a bow was not at all easy.  But I managed it and in the end, it was a fabulous ending.

What’s on your nightstand or top of your TBR pile:

Two of my friends new and upcoming releases are next on my TBR piles – Kristina McMorris’ Bridge of Scarlett Leaves and, oh, look, your Royal Street!  Can’t wait!  For my drive to work, I’ve got Darynda Jones’ Thrid Grave Dead Ahead on my audiobook list.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Where the Red Fern Grows and all of the Nancy Drew Mysteries series.

Book you've faked reading:

Most of my educational texts and every assigned Shakespeare.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Dean Koontz’s What the Night Knows – fabulous novel for stellar craft in action.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Hot Rain by Kat Martin

Favorite book about books or writing:

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont

Thanks, Joan!

Author Bio:  Joan Swan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist and writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist.  Her debut novel with Kensington Brava, FEVER, releases February 28, 2012.  Her second novel, BLAZE, follows in October, 2012. In her day job, she works as a sonographer for one of the top ten medical facilities in the nation and lives on the California central coast in beautiful wine country with her husband and two daughters.

Buy links:  Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Booksamillion

Author links:  Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

THE GIVEAWAY: Want to win Fever? Do you like the combination of romantic suspense and paranormal? Is it something you’ve read before? Four entries possible:  +1 for comment, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow @Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for Tweet or Retweet. Also, all commenters are eligible for Joan's blog tour grand prize of either a Color Nook or a Kindle Fire! To enter that contest, go to Joan's Website. Go!