Roxanne St. Claire's Guardian Angelino Book Tour: Interview and Giveaway

Welcome to this stop on Roxanne St. Claire's Guardian Angelino book tour!  Roxanne is with us today to tell us about her two new releases, Shiver of Fear and Face of Danger, and to answer a few questions I sent her way: 

Describe yourself in six words or less.

Relentless. Joyful. Maternal. Imaginative. Disciplined. Blessed.

Please give us some juicy details about your Guardian Angelinos series.

Juicy? Hmmm. The series is about a huge extended, blended Italian family of Angelinos and Rossis in Boston who start a security and investigation firm and name it The Guardian Angelinos. Not everyone in the family likes the Guardian Angelino name, I can tell you that. And that isn’t the only thing they fight about.

The Rossis were a family of five siblings, parents, and their grandfather Nino, until their two Italian-born cousins, Vivi and Zach Angelino, were orphaned and sent to America to live with their Uncle Nino. There’s a lot of love, a lot of arguments, and a lot of great food.

All of the siblings and cousins have special skills – some are law enforcement, some are investigators, and one is deep in the black ops. At the heart of the whole group in the grandfather/great uncle, Nino Rossi, who won’t reveal his age or his secret meatball recipe. That would be the juiciest detail of all, and if I told you, he’d drown me in Sunday Gravy.

Who was your favorite character to write and why?

Hands down, Vivi Angelino, the heroine of FACE OF DANGER is my favorite character. She fascinated me on every level. When I first created this slightly wild child, I wrote a woman driven by curiosity, who chooses a skateboard as her primary means of in-town transportation, who despises makeup, heels, and the girlier things in life. Who better to torture with the job of pretending to be an A-list movie star to lure and trap a serial killer who is targeting Oscar winners. The clothes and hair and makeup chafed Vivi, deeply. So, I had to know why. Why was Vivi so opposed to embracing her femininity? And why hadn’t she had a close relationship with any man?

The answers, as Vivi revealed them to me, were deep and painful. I loved discovering who Vivi was and helping her through her journey to happiness and love.

What was one of the most interesting things you learned in researching your book?

The poison used as a tool of terrorism in SHIVER OF FEAR is purified botulinium toxins. That would be…botox. If used properly, you get a smooth face. If turned into a gaseous form and released into a crowd on a subway or train…paralysis and death. Kind of made me want to embrace my fine lines.

What books have most influenced your life?

I cut my teeth on the masters of the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, and Louisa May Alcott. As a pre-teen, I read GONE WITH THE WIND (it took an entire summer) and that made a reader for life out of me. As a teenager, I glommed the glitz books: Sydney Sheldon, Judith Krantz, and early Sandra Brown. As an adult and new writer, I fell in love with Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This all led me to write sexy contemporary romance with strong elements of suspense.

Find Roxanne at: http://www.roxannestclaire.com/

About the Books:

SHIVER OF FEAR

Grand Central Publishing
ISBN:9780446566599
Release Date: 4/1/2011

The legacy that haunts her . . . The mystery she must solve . . . A man who threatens to reveal her secrets . . . and break her heart. Burned by a failed marriage, former FBI agent Marc Rossi wants back in the investigation game with no emotional strings attached. Taking an assignment for his enterprising Angelino cousins, he heads to Northern Ireland to pry a key piece of evidence from a missing socialite-any way he can. But when the ice queen turns out to be warm, beautiful, and on a secret mission of her own, the job becomes a passionate reminder of what happens when duty and desire mix.

FACE OF DANGER

Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 9780446566575
Release Date: 5/1/2011

Private investigator Vivi Angelino loves living life on the edge, but stepping into the shoes of a movie starlet to bait a serial killer isn't just a thrill . . . it's a ticket to the big time for her fledgling security firm. That is, as long as a certain risk-averse FBI agent stays out of her way-and out of her fantasies.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colton Lang isn't above using his well-worn rulebook to stop Vivi's latest walk on the wild side. But when they learn her client is involved in something far more insidious than bad acting, Vivi and Colt must work together despite the electrifying attraction arcing between them. For each new clue is bringing them closer to a high-profile crime with a dark and deadly truth at its core . . . and a cold, calculating murderer with nothing left to lose.

Giveaway Details:

Thanks to Hachette Books, I have 2 sets of Roxanne's latest releases to give away!  Two winners will receive a copy of both SHIVER OF FEAR and FACE OF DANGER.  To enter, please leave a comment with a way to contact you.

Contest open to residents of the US and Canada. No P.O. Boxes, please. Winners will be subject to the one set of books per household rule, which means that if they win the same set in two or more contests, they will receive only one set of books in the mail.

Contest is open until Saturday, 4/23/2011, at 11:59 pm Central Time. Winners will receive their books directly from Hachette. Good luck!