Christine Presents: THe Danger Game

Please welcome Caitlyn Nicholas  author of Danger Game.

Caitlyn will be awarding three prizes: a $25 Amazon GC and Caitlyn Nicholas gift bag to one randomly drawn commenter, and a Caitlyn Nicholas gift bag to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour.(International)

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win.

The Danger Game

by Caitlyn Nicholas

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1.What or who inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always loved to write.  Before I was writing fiction I used to spend hours writing long emails to family and friends.  I sat down to write my first novel back in 2005 when I was pregnant with my second daughter.  It was my me time.  That novel, Running Scared, was published with Samhain Publishing in 2006.

2.As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I’m working on a trilogy at the moment.  The first draft of the first book is nearly done (the series is tentatively titled Plan X, and the first book Running With The Hunted) and the next two novels are planned out.  I’m hoping that we can get Running With The Hunted out by the end of the year (crossing fingers). So that project is going to keep me occupied for the rest of 2013. 

I’m also keen to get on with a historical or two.  Everything I’ve written up to this point has been contemporary, but I have a degree in history and would like to put it too good use.  Trouble is I can’t decide on a time or a country.  England / Australia? Romans? Greeks? Egyptians? World War 2?

3.When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

I wrote The Danger Game over Christmas last year, it ended up being novella length, as it was just a little project to keep me occupied over the long Christmas holidays (they go from early December to end January here).  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.  So I let it sit, and focused on getting my next full length novel out there (Drive Me To Distraction which came out in November 2012). 

I attended the Romance Australia writing conference in August that year, and at the conference Harlequin announced its new imprint Escape Publishing. Over the course of the conference I found out more about Escape, and when I got home I subbed The Danger Game right away.  They got back to me soon after with a contract. It was so exciting!

4.What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

Best writing advice…You’ve probably heard it before, its… write!  I remind myself almost every day that I need to write.  Doing promo and marketing and all the rest is all wonderful, but I need to write, that’s my main focus.

Worst writing advice. E-books won’t catch on.  My first book Running Scared was e then print.  At the time e-books were just getting off the ground and I was told by many that I was making a mistake signing with an e-publisher.  I wasn’t a mistake!  The e-version of that book is still selling nicely six years later, but I only sell about one print copy every six months.

5.Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I outline the life out of them. Then I mostly ignore the outline and start the story. But then I’ll re-outline as I go along.  I’m very goal focused and work best if I know when I’m going.  There’s nothing so overwhelming as a blank page and the thought in your head that you’ve got to get 70 – 90,000 words down

6.Do you have an all time favorite book?

I’ve got quite a few keepers.  They’re the ones by Diana Gabaldon, Ken Follett, Jilly Coooper and Barbara Erskine.  I love horses and have read Jilly Cooper’s Riders time and time again.

7.Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book?

I have quite a few buns in my oven at the moment (hmm, that sounded like a multiple pregnancy reference, I mean lots of writing projects).  I’m currently editing next release, The Bunker.  I’m also nearly done with the first draft of my next novel, Running With The Hunted, which is going to be part of a triology, and will hopefully be out before Christmas.

The Bunker, is out in July 2013.  It’s a romantic suspense set in a bunker deep under the idyllic green hills of England.  Geeky Dimity Pond is the only person who can save the world from an epic financial meltdown, but to do it she’s going to need help from the reclusive and terse Lord Richard Summerhayes.

8.Do you have any family traditions or recipes you might like to share?


I LOVE a brownie.  I did a post for Cathryn Hein recently and let her have my recipe http://cathrynhein.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/friday-feast-with-caitlyn-nicholas/

You’ll notice the post is called ‘how to poison your dog.’ This is because my dog managed to eat a pan of brownies and be rushed to the vet (chocolate is poisonous to dogs)!  He was fine, bright eyed and bushy tailed the next day, ready to do it all againJ

9.What is your favorite reality show?

Masterchef. I love a cooking show, and even better if its Masterchef Kids.  I love the ups and downs, the disasters, the victories, and I so wish I could taste / smell it all J

Flick likes computers. She’s good with them, and they do what she tells them, mostly. People, however, are more of a challenge.

But when a terrifyingly dangerous program is stolen, and her mentor killed, Flick finds herself on the run. The police are convinced she’s committed murder, and a sinister weapons developer will stop at nothing to force her to work for him.

In Ben’s line of work being suspicious keeps you alive. So when Flick turns to him, he quickly realises that she’s up to her neck in trouble and hasn’t fully grasped the danger she is in. 

First he has to keep her safe, and then, together, they have to figure out how to save the world from an epic meltdown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Ben asked.

Flick looked at his reflection in the mirror.  “I don’t know.”

His face had a closed off look, and at her words a deep frown creased his forehead.  He folded his arms across his chest.

“What exactly don’t you know?”

“I don’t know who you are. That’s for certain.”

His eyes narrowed and a muscle jumped in his jaw.

“I think I should talk to the police.” She pushed past him, out of the bathroom, aware that they were alone.  “I’ll take them up to Andy’s office, they’ll need to know about it.”

“That sounds sensible.”

She glanced at him, but his face showed nothing but bland impassivity.

“It seems unreal to me. Like a bad dream.”

“Civilians always feel that way at first. Its normal.”

“Civilians?”

“People.” He shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I began writing in 2005. Exhausted, pregnant (sure I was going to expire from morning-sickness) and coping with a demanding toddler, I decided the time was right to embark on a writing career. (In hindsight I may have been suffering from a scorching case of sleep-deprivation).

Still, it kinda worked out. My debut novel - and the first manuscript I'd ever written - Running Scared, was published in January 2007.  My next book, Secret Intentions followed.  Then I had a short story published in the Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance (MBSOR) in 2010 - my story is called The Grey Man.

In 2012 my novel Drive Me To Distraction was published, and my novella The Danger Game came out just before Christmas.  My next book, The Bunker, will be published in July 2013.

Author Links

You can find me online at: http://www.caitlynnicholas.com

My blog: http://www.caitlynnicholas.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CaitlynNicholas

Fb: https://www.facebook.com/CaitlynNicholasAuthor

Google plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105412279044420141735/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/783424.Caitlyn_Nicholas

Buy links

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Danger-Game-ebook/dp/B00AK3GTTI/

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Danger-Game-ebook/dp/B00AK3GTTI/

Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/THE-DANGER-GAME/book-4CHaOFNh70yB3UeAWKA7lg/page1.html?s=shBHL7QvTEeR0uGd3fnOsA&r=1

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-danger-game-nicholas-caitlyn/1114588729?ean=9780857990105

Ibookstore https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-danger-game/id585508156?mt=11

Or on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16280752-the-danger-game