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LIFE
Karina Pasian

Love in Suspense: Dual Interview with Jay Crownover and Karina Halle

Vilma Gonzalez
Special for USA TODAY
Dirty Deeds by Karina Halle.

I am so excited about today's feature on Love in Suspense. I've got a dual interview between two of my favorite authors — USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling authors Jay Crownover and Karina Halle. Both are known for sexy, suspenseful reads, with well-developed, gritty characters we can't help but fall in love with. In today's post, they interview each other, covering bad boys, boundaries and more about their latest, upcoming romantic suspense novels.

On Tuesday (Feb. 3), Jay Crownover delivers the second book in the Welcome to the Point series, Better When He's Bold. This is Race's story, and it's an intense, suspenseful page-turner about a man who isn't wholly bad, but isn't entirely good either, especially as he rules such a dark and dangerous place like the Point.

Karina Halle is set to release Dirty Deeds, the next novel in the Dirty Angels trilogy. This story's protagonist is Derek Conway, an assassin who doesn't do love … until a chance encounter turns into something that can change it all.

JAY INTERVIEWS KARINA

Jay: Since we all know I'm a Karina fan-girl and well versed in all your work, tell me if there is a line you won't ever cross with your characters. I mean, you put them through some really horrible things and write some really dark and difficult individuals, but is there ever a point where you go, "This is too much" or "He is too terrible"?

Karina: Well, I didn't feel comfortable with the anti-hero Javier in Dirty Angels (or in The Artists Trilogy) being an outright rapist. Call me old-fashioned, lol. I know I did get a lot of flack from readers for not having him rape her, but in my mind, the hero would never rape the woman, no matter how deranged or "dark" or anti-hero he was. Javier, of course, does some things that go in the "gray area" and are always questionable and sometimes disturbing, and I'm sure would be pushing the limits for other people. But all-out rape, where the woman is saying no and is distressed and he is forcing her, despite her tears and cries for him to stop ... no way. For the villains, yes, but even then I'm not going to go into detail about the rape. It's a trigger for a lot of people, and I think it *can* be gratuitous if done for shock value. I know a lot of readers want that gratuitous rape and feel cheated if they don't get it, but it's just not me. That's my limit.

Jay: Why do you think corruption, power and the lifestyle that goes along with maintaining that is sexy? How does all that darkness and violence find a place in a romance platform?

Karina: Anything that involves dark subjects gets the adrenaline up. Adrenaline is a great precursor to sex. It's why going to an amusement park and riding the roller coasters is a great idea for a date if you're looking to score, lol. Your heart rate is up, you're flushed and excited — you feel like you cheated death. It's all very sexual. So the lifestyle that hinges on danger fits very well with romance in my opinion. OK, maybe it fits more with sex than with romance, but a romance set in darkness is a beautiful contrast. Plus, who doesn't dream of having an untouchable, brutal, stone-cold bad boy warm up because of love?

Karina Halle, author of Dirty Deeds.

In my upcoming Dirty Deeds, the hero, Derek Conway, is basically an assassin with a heart of gold. He has a terrible job and has lived a very tragic, numbing life doing these "dirty deeds," but when he meets the love interest, Alana, he realizes she's his one shot at redemption. It's a dark setting with dark motives, but beneath it all there is light. Derek, of all my anti-heroes, is the one who actually strives for this lightness and for change. But it doesn't come easy when you're that deeply damaged. Do killers deserve love, too? I hope the book answers that.

Jay: What special characteristic do you think the women who end up with these hard and often brutal men have that make them special? What makes them able to love and accept these guys for all the wicked ways they are .... obviously besides the superhot sex? ;)

Karina: I think the women in these books and scenarios all find themselves relating to the man's dark side. We all have it. I have it big-time. To find someone who shares that darkness is freeing. I also think the women often feel they have sins to atone for or something they need to make up for in their lives, and they think that if they can "change" the man or open him to love, that it makes up for it. That said, I also think most of these women don't want to change the men entirely since the bad boy is part of the appeal, but they do want to feel like they've reached the man where many women have failed before. They want to feel "special."

Jay: What's your favorite scene that really showcases how bad your bad-bad man can be ... and what's your favorite scene that shows just how good he can be?

Karina: In Dirty Angels, Javier tortures a man in quite a gruesome, explicit way. He also cuts the head of someone, very brutally. Both of these were done to show power, but more than that, he did it for a woman, Luisa. I thought it was sweet, heh heh. But continuing on, his good side was very good when he went out of his way to rescue her ailing parents so they would be out of harm's way. Then he went to "go get the girl." I love men who can balance love and violence.

Jay: What question do you wish I was smart and clever enough to ask you that I probably didn't think of?

Karina: Hmmmm. Have I ever been involved in drug cartels or have I ever been a con artist? Really, have I ever been a very bad girl? And the answers is no. I have bad thoughts, of course, but I rarely act on them. I did do some bad stuff when I was younger, though, including breaking into a water park after dark, and then a whole bunch of other s***. But I was a rebellious teenager. If you don't rebel then, when will you?

Jay: What is your favorite dark and gritty romantic read that isn't one of your own and why?

Karina: Ooooh. Savages by Don Winslow. There are more, but that's the first off the top of my head. Winslow has a very unique writing style that may be hard for some to get into, but it was a wild, hard-hitting ride. His book The Power of the Dog is even better. Wonderfully brutal and very inspiring for me.

Better When He’s Bold by Jay Crownover.

KARINA INTERVIEWS JAY

Karina: What made you take the leap from the Marked Men series to the gritty romantic suspense of The Point?

Jay: The cliché of a bad boy. They are everywhere. They were dominating romance, and it was starting to frustrate me that every boy with a tattoo and some attitude was getting stuck with that label. I had this idea that I wanted to do the term justice … I wanted a boy who was bad and not just a romantic caricature of what a bad boy should be. I always like to write on the edge of the standard trope and format, so with the idea of a real anti-hero in mind, I went WAY over the edge and just let every raw and gritty thing I could put into one character flow, but in an honest and real way. And since violence and crime can't happen without victims and consequences, I ended up with an entire cast of really interesting men and women hovering on the edge of the law demanding their stories be told.

Karina: What's your favorite book you've written so far and why? (I know that's not really a fair question, so you can pick two.)

Jay: Lol … It is hard. I think I always like whatever I'm working on at the moment the best because I'm so in tune with the characters and what they are going through at the time. But Asa from the Marked Men series really has stuck with me longer than most of my other boys, and I'm not sure that's because he's my favorite or because his story turned me inside out in so many ways. I spent five books with him, watching him get to a place where he could be a man who understood he deserved to be loved so I dunno … we were connected in a profound way, the Southern charmer and I. I also really LOVE writing all the Point books. It feels free and unconstrained by rules and regulations. It feels like I'm in the middle of a blockbuster movie just watching chaos and crazy happen all around me, so Better When He's Bad holds a special place in my writer heart for setting that series in motion, and honestly, Bax is over-the-top hot. I want to touch that star tattooed on his face so bad!

Karina: How do I get to be cool like you?

Jay: You know how funny that is since I always tell you that you're the coolest chick I know. I totally wanna have Karina levels of awesome when I grow up … but I have managed to stay true to myself and the things that matter to me along this journey and I think that's one reason I'm pretty chill and relatable to most people. I love what I do, and I never forget that, but I also don't take myself too seriously. Romance and writing is fun, it's a joy, it's an adventure and that's what I want to put out there in the book world … plus, I have a lot of tattoos, and in my book that always ups the cool factor. ;)

Karina: OK, time for a shallow question. Let's talk book covers. First of all, all the men on your covers are beautiful — do you have any say with the publishers about the men? Also, of all the men on your covers, who is your favorite?

Jay: I am very involved in the guys who go on my covers. There have been a few here or there that weren't 100% what I was after, but for the most part, those boys get the idea I have for the men in the books across. It is such a silly thing to say but, honestly, finding just the right hot guy can be really difficult. Models have schedules that don't work with when we need them, sometimes a portfolio pic doesn't really do the model justice as to what he looks like now, sometimes stock is just easier, and then you find out the picture you love has already been used 100 million times on different books … so, yeah, finding a cover guy actually takes some work. Luckily, my publisher appreciated my vision and always listens to my feedback, so we are always pleased with the final outcome.

Jay Crownover, author of Better When He's Bold.

Right now my favorite is a tie between Asa and Rowdy. I love that Rowdy is the only guy whose ink is real and not Photoshopped in, and let's face it … Steve Boyd, the model on Asa's cover, is just a beautiful man. I'm currently in the process of getting Titus' cover for Better When He's Brave squared away, and I gotta say it's going to be SMOKIN'! My hot cop may take the title.

Karina: You obviously have a talent for writing flawed, witty and intriguing characters — real folks from all walks of life. What genres are you interested in dabbling in that you haven't already?

Jay: I love real romantic suspense and more traditional contemporary, like Kristen Ashley. I would want to write like YOU across genres into romance and horror and even into the really darker content like you write … it's sooooo good! I like things that surprise, thrill and make readers tingle. That's really all that I want to write, no matter what genre or category the book may fall into.

Karina: When you published Rule, you were totally taken by surprise at the way it took off, but you've handled the ride with a lot of grace (yes, you!). If you had any advice for aspiring authors — wanting indie or traditional — what would it be?

Jay: Lol … since we hang out, you know how funny I think it is that "grace" is mentioned anywhere in connection to me. I sort of stumbled (in true clumsy, unrefined Jay fashion) into this magical career that is now mine and have navigated my way very carefully ever sense.

I think it's important to write! And when you think you're done, write some more. Nothing can be done if you don't have a finished product in front of you, so that is always the first step.

I also think it's important to write because it's something you want to do. You should write because you have YOUR story to tell. Not a knock-off of another book that sold 100,000 copies on release day, but a story that is uniquely your own dying to get out. You should write because you can't not write.

And I've mentioned before that to have peace of mind in this business you have to know your own truth. If you love your book, your characters, you covers, your voice … if you love what you have created and know in your writer's heart it is the best of you, then that is the only truth that can matter.

You can read never-before-seen excerpts of both Better When He's Bold and Dirty Deeds on Vilma's Book Blog, plus you can enter to win signed copies of both books!

Find out more about Jay and Karina at their websites, www.jaycrownover.com and authorkarinahalle.com.

Vilma Gonzalez is a blogger, reader, marketer, wife and mom. She has an insatiable appetite for happily ever afters and a deep love of the written word. You can find more about her and read full book reviews at Vilma's Book Blog. Please e-mail Vilma at loveinsuspense@gmail.com about content related to this column. Due to the volume of mail, e-mails may not be answered personally, but all will be read.

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