Lea's Book Blog: DEADLINE BY SCARLET HAWTHORNE BLOG TOUR!

He wants her body and heart, but a killer wants her soul.

After her erotic romance novels become international bestsellers, writer Gillian Tate cannot enjoy her long-sought success once her husband files for divorce and she becomes the target of threats from a religious fringe hate group; but when she tries to find peace in the solitude of a remote lakeside cabin to complete the third novel in the trilogy, not only does she meet the man who can fulfill her secret desires, she also finds she hasn’t escaped danger by leaving the city.

When the Adirondack town's police chief Sam Taylor learns of the threats and checks in on the notorious author, he is surprised to find she is nothing like he would have expected from her erotic novels but everything he has imagined in his own fantasies.

Can he and the woman of his dreams escape her waking nightmare?

*Adult Content: This erotic romantic suspense includes scenes of bondage between consenting adults.*

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1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I live in South Louisiana, so I drink my coffee with chicory, like most girls (and some boys) I have a wide variety of feather boas, and I bleed black and gold (even when the Saints keep stealing defeat from the hands of victory).
I am a 24/7 submissive and have spoken at national conferences on how power exchange can enhance relationships. I hope by writing about typical, average people who are in the lifestyle, I can do something to reverse the negative stereotypes portrayed in the media. On television and in the movies, BDSM is always shown in a negative light.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?

I started writing novellas in middle school, which I think were inspired by reading romance novels and watching soap operas. They were always romantic tragedies – the heroine either was murdered, committed suicide, or was executed for a crime she didn’t commit – so I think a lot of teenage histrionics contributed as well.

3. How did you come up with the title DEADLINE?

I think everyone who dares to pursue the craft of writing needs a mentor, and mine told me that I should write a story about “a raunchy sex author who goes out to some secluded cabin in the woods and is stalked and attacked by a Christian fundamentalist terrorist who opposes her writing, but who in the end, we find out was so caught up in one of her m/m books he went out and nailed some sissy” (he’s not exactly politically correct); and he told me to call it DEADLINE. Based on that run-on sentence, I wrote this novel.

4. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
I am quite thorough in my research, so I contacted Dr. D.P. Lyle for information on some of the forensic details and learned quite a few things there; but I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. On the other end of the spectrum, I also learned a great deal about the creation of Austria and Henry the Quarrelsome.

5. Have you ever done anything strange or weird in the name of research?

Constantly. In fact, one such anecdote of research for my male/male romance I included in DEADLINE. For this novel, though, I think having my husband simulate fellatio on me while I pretended to stab him in the back is way up there on the strange spectrum.

6. How long does it take you to write a book?

Anywhere from a year to a month for a first draft. I had been writing a mainstream novel under another pen name for a year, and it came out at over 115,000 words. Then conventional wisdom says to wait a month before going back to begin the second draft. While waiting that month, I took my mentor’s advice and wrote DEADLINE.

7. Do you have any writing rituals?
My bedroom is where the magic happens. ;) I always write in bed with my laptop, but if I get stuck on a scene, I go old school with a notebook and pen. There’s something about paper and ink that brings the write words to the surface. If I really get stuck, I use proprioceptive writing techniques to get the creative juices flowing.

8. What book are you reading now?

I have so many works in progress, I am only reading drafts of my own manuscripts right now. As Hemingway said, the first draft of anything is shit. I usually go through eight drafts before a work goes to press. If I’m not reading my own manuscript, I’m doing research for a work in progress. I wonder when I will ever get to read for pleasure again!

9. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Normally, I write with deep, deep point of view, where we know all the thoughts and feelings of a character or characters. In DEADLINE, I wanted to stretch myself as an author and attempt a panoramic point of view, which is more like watching a film. It was quite an exercise, but I do not include any inner monologue for the main characters – neither the hero nor the heroine – which is quite unique for a romance novel. Primarily, the only thoughts we read are the delusions of the killer.

Random Questions:

1. What’s in your fridge right now?

Wine – several kinds, including mead and sauternes – St~Germaine, champagne, vermouth, martini olives, maraschino cherries, spicy green beans (my daughter likes them in her bloody marys), lemons, limes, and pear brandy with an actual pear in the bottle. Oh, and butter, cheese, and eggs.

2. What song do you sing at the top of your voice every time you hear it?

EPIC by Faith No More

3. Other than writing, what special or unusual talent(s) do you have?

Please note contents of my refrigerator. Everyone lauds my cocktails. Margaritas, chocolate martinis, bloody marys – but most of all, my vodka martinis: very dry and a little dirty, just like me.

4. Where did you last go on holiday?

Amsterdam and Belgium. Amsterdam is by far my favourite place to vacation in the summer, and Belgium is probably the best kept secret in Europe. Beer and chocolate – how can you go wrong?

5. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time