Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Body of secrets…

As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss. His business is trafficking vulnerable Las Vegas strippers overseas for twisted sex games. Natalya’s business is to blow the ring wide open and bring down Dmitri and his American contacts. But the stakes are raised when she learns that the next target is her own sister Kate, a dancer in the famed club Fantasia. Only now does Natalya realize how personal her mission has become, and how far she’s willing to go to complete it.

Body of lies…

The manager of Fantasia is Brandon Moretti, an undercover detective who keeps a close eye on his girls, and an even closer one on his sinfully sensual hire. For Natalya, working the club could be the break she’s been waiting for. But for Moretti, Natalya is a possible link to a killer. Only he never counted on her being so lethally seductive or so dangerous to get close to. As every forbidden pleasure between them is stripped away, his own secrets threaten their security, but it’s Natalya’s that could destroy them both.

Review:

Black Opal operative Natalya Trubachev goes undercover at a Las Vegas club called Fantasia. She walks a delicate line as she juggles the needs of her crime boss Dmitri, her own safety and her growing fascination with Brandon Moretti. Brandon is actually an undercover detective, but Natalya doesn’t know this and she suspects him of being the contact she needs to neutralize.

I suspect that this is one of these books that readers will either like or dislike intensely because of the subject matter and the heroine’s occupation/past history. While deep undercover Natalya has killed and also lead innocent women into a life of drug addiction and prostitution. She feels deep remorse for the acts she has committed and this both shapes her and snaps at her heels, putting her under deep mental pressure. If she fails in this mission, more women will suffer the same fate, and this time her twin sister is the chosen victim.

While I could understand the heroine’s motivations, I didn’t like or enjoy the plot. That said, STRIPPED packs a real punch. Ms. St. Claire writes fresh, vibrant prose that the writer in me aspires to, and the sexual tension between Natalya and Brandon crackles each time they meet. I swear smoke poured from my iPad each time I opened this book! If you prefer a sweet romance then this isn’t the book for you. Stripped has numerous explicit love scenes, which showcase the hero and heroine’s growing relationship.

Characterization, check! Both main and secondary characters are rounded and real with clear motivations and conflict. One small problem I had was the familial relationship between Brandon and Sergei. While I could buy that Natalya and Kate were sisters it seemed a little too convenient that Brandon and Sergei were long-lost brothers too. I had to stretch my imagination to accept this coincidence.

While the plot didn’t do it for me, this is an interesting story where the characters are racing to beat a ticking clock. It’s full of danger and passion and characters with much at stake. The author’s voice grabbed me, and I’ll definitely be looking for more from Ms. St. Clare. Luckily for me there’s a sequel due out later in the year. Fans of romantic suspense—give this one a try.

Purchase Stripped

Tori St. Claire, the author of Stripped is visiting today. Tori grew up writing. Hobby quickly turned into passion, and when she discovered the world of romance as a teen, poems and short stories gave way to full length novels with sexy heroes and heroines waiting to be swept off their feet. She wrote her first romance novel at seventeen.

www.toristclaire.com
www.claireashgrove.com
Twitter: @claireashgrove

1. Give us an elevator pitch for your book, Stripped.

Eeegads! That’s what I have an agent for. (Laughing). So now that I’ve fallen over in shock over condensing my book into a handful of words… let’s give this a whirl: (Be careful what you ask for, you have no idea how truly bad I am at this.)

A dark, edgy, romantic thriller with a splash of 007 action, a healthy helping of twisting intrigue, and a hotbed of erotic encounters. STRIPPED takes risks, breeches accepted boundaries, and blends sin, danger, and pleasure.

Thirty-five words – short enough? Did I pass?

2. Where did the idea for your book come from, and did you originally envisage more than one book in a loosely connected series? Do you intend to write more Black Opal stories?

At the core of what it is, Stripped came from my deep love of on-the-edge characters, men and women you aren’t sure whether or not you should root for. I find it fascinating when I can fall in love with a character whose moral compass is so drastically different than mine, and yet, I want them to succeed. The other fascination I have is with characters who are portrayed as operatives. People like Diva on NCIS. Or Sayid from LOST. They are fulfilling a “good” role, but their backgrounds are dark. They’ve done things that would make us normal folks have nightmares. Blend those loves together and Natalya, my heroine in STRIPPED, took form. The rest of the story fell to simple plotting.

Did I envision more than one book? Yes and no. I always write with an option for “what could I do with this.” But where it began, and where it ended – with the Black Opals – are two different things. Natalya was just a covert agent, in the initial design. It wasn’t until I signed the contract with Berkley that the Black Opals popped up and her specialization took shape. And that just was one of those things that hit me out of the blue, I put into an editing pass, and it stuck with my editor as well.

More Black Opal stories – you betcha! In fact, the second in the series, LIE TO ME, is slated to come out in July of 2012.

3. Some of the action in Stripped takes place in the famed club Fantasia. Describe the club and tell us some of the sights, sounds and scents we might experience if we were to step into the club.

Mm. Fantasia. You’d find opulence – crystal chandeliers, red velvet, dark supple leather, and polished brass. Your nose is teased with the scent of cigars, expensive colognes, and money. It’s a show house, a little more burlesque than come in, take off your clothes, and prance around the stage. The dancers are the elite of the elite, their acts even more so. And it is truly an act, not a dance, though dance is obviously part of the routine. Each act tells a story of seduction. Each seduction plays to the fantasies of the wealthy clientele.

4. How do you go about developing your characters? Do you normally start with a character or the plot?

I plot heavily, but where I begin varies book to book. Sometimes a character jumps out at me and the plot has to be crafted around him/her. Sometimes the plot is there and I just need the players. But whichever the case, nine times out of ten the character presents intact. Personality, appearance, what he/she’s hiding, his/her goal – it comes as a package deal in my head. Which also means sometimes I have to set the character aside and wait for his or her story to strike.

5. Is there any part of the writing process that you find particularly challenging and why?

I despise synopsis writing. I think that’s somewhat of a given with a lot of authors, but I truly detest the process. I hate condensing, I hate picking out “the important stuff”, and sticking it all into a boring, monotonous read. And I can’t stand revealing plot secrets when I’m crafting intricacies like are what involved with STRIPPED and the Black Opal series. I simply don’t want to spoil the reaction, not even for my editor.

6. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

My favorite author is Steve Berry. I love the level of complicity that he puts into his writing. Just when you think you understand – eh, not so much. There’s always a surprise, always a twist, and the way he merges historical fact with fiction makes me weak at the knees.

Now Tori has a question for you – What do you expect from an erotic romantic suspense?

CONTEST: Everyone who comments on this post will go into a draw to win a $25 Amazon GC. To increase your chances of winning follow Tori St. Claire’s blog tour!

Body of secrets…

As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss. His business is trafficking vulnerable Las Vegas strippers overseas for twisted sex games. Natalya’s business is to blow the ring wide open and bring down Dmitri and his American contacts. But the stakes are raised when she learns that the next target is her own sister Kate, a dancer in the famed club Fantasia. Only now does Natalya realize how personal her mission has become, and how far she’s willing to go to complete it.

Body of lies…

The manager of Fantasia is Brandon Moretti, an undercover detective who keeps a close eye on his girls, and an even closer one on his sinfully sensual hire. For Natalya, working the club could be the break she’s been waiting for. But for Moretti, Natalya is a possible link to a killer. Only he never counted on her being so lethally seductive or so dangerous to get close to. As every forbidden pleasure between them is stripped away, his own secrets threaten their security, but it’s Natalya’s that could destroy them both.

Purchase Stripped

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

~ Grab your current read
~ Open to a random page
~ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~ Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today comes from Stripped, an erotic romantic suspense by Tori St. Claire.

A slow, lazy smile settled into the corners of Brandon’s eyes. Whether it touched his mouth, she couldn’t decipher—she stood too close. But if it had, she was certain it would be amused, definitely cocky.

page 20, Stripped

Blurb:

Body of secrets…

As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss. His business is trafficking vulnerable Las Vegas strippers overseas for twisted sex games. Natalya’s business is to blow the ring wide open and bring down Dmitri and his American contacts. But the stakes are raised when she learns that the next target is her own sister Kate, a dancer in the famed club Fantasia. Only now does Natalya realize how personal her mission has become, and how far she’s willing to go to complete it.

Body of lies…

The manager of Fantasia is Brandon Moretti, an undercover detective who keeps a close eye on his girls, and an even closer one on his sinfully sensual hire. For Natalya, working the club could be the break she’s been waiting for. But for Moretti, Natalya is a possible link to a killer. Only he never counted on her being so lethally seductive or so dangerous to get close to. As every forbidden pleasure between them is stripped away, his own secrets threaten their security, but it’s Natalya’s that could destroy them both.

Purchase Stripped