BWW Interviews: Need a Private Protector? Call Adrienne Giordano

Meet Adrienne Giordano, romantic suspense and mystery writer. Adrienne's a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband, sports obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She's a co-founder of the Romance University blog and Lady Jane's Salon-Naperville, a reading series dedicated to romantic fiction.

Adrienne's newest release, Opposing Forces, is due out on June 10 and is the latest in her Private Protectors series, which follows the hot, hunky men of Taylor Security. The first five books in the series - Risking Trust, Man Law, A Just Deception, Negotiating Point and Relentless Pursuit - are currently available from Carina Press. I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview Adrienne recently about Opposing Forces, the series, her writing process and what's next for her. Here's what she had to say:

How did you get started writing novels? And why romantic suspense?

I have a newspaper advertising background and eventually went on to work for an ad agency that specialized in newspaper advertising. I've always enjoyed writing fiction and have tinkered with stories from childhood. It's always been a great outlet for me. As for romantic suspense, as a reader, I'm a fan of both thrillers and romance so romantic suspense gives me a little bit of both my favorite genres.

Where did your inspiration for the Private Protectors series come from?

The series actually started with Roxann, who is the heroine in Risking Trust. I've always been fascinated by Katharine Graham, who ran the Washington Post at a time when men were typically at the helm of large metro newspapers. I always wondered what it would be like for a woman to suddenly take on such a role and decided that my heroine (Roxann) would become publisher at her family's large Chicago newspaper after the sudden death of her father.

I think because the series revolves around Taylor Security employees, most people think Michael Taylor was the character that started it all, but it was actually Roxann's story I wanted to tell.

Tell me a bit about your next installment in the Private Protectors series, Opposing Forces.

Opposing Forces is book six (five novels plus one novella) of the Private Protectors series. Jackson (Jack) Lynx is an executive at Taylor Security and he's steady, smart and reliable. He's also approaching the one-year anniversary of kicking his prescription-drug habit and has spent the last year avoiding emotional involvements with women. At least until Jillian Murdoch asks for his help. The poor guy is toast after that.

Jillian is a manager for a pharmaceutical distributor and becomes suspicious when she sees an unscheduled delivery late on a Friday night. When someone breaks into her home, she knows she saw something in that late night delivery she wasn't supposed to see. She asks Jack for help and from there, they find trusting each other is the only way they can stay alive.

What are the pros and cons of writing a series?

The pros are you get to revisit characters from previous books and keep up with how their lives are progressing. In Opposing Forces, Vic Andrews (hero from Man Law) becomes the dad of twins and I had a ball with that scenario! The cons are you are locked into whatever has happened in previous books. With the heroine in Negotiating Point, I'd never planned on giving Janet her own story. My intention was for her to always be a minor character and I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about her last name. When my publisher asked me to do a novella, I knew Janet would be the perfect heroine. I wanted to give her a different last name, but couldn't because I'd mentioned her name in a previous story.

What kind of heroes/heroines do you like to write best?

I tend to write alpha males. They aren't all what I call "chest-bumpy" alphas but they like to be in charge and have no problem taking control of a situation. My heroines are also always strong women. Two of them are lawyers, one is a newspaper publisher and one runs a billion dollar hotel. The heroine in Man Law is the widow of a fallen firefighter and she's raising three kids on her own. She might be the strongest of them all because her teenaged son is no picnic. No matter what their situation, the women all make their own way in the world and have the gumption to set the bossy heroes straight. Some of the most fun I have is when the heroines make these big, tough guys a little afraid.

I noticed on your website you have a playlist for each of your books. How do you come up with them?

Typically, I'll hear a song and it'll somehow connect with me for a certain character. The song Home on the Man Law playlist represented Vic Andrews finally giving up his dangerous job so he could be around for Gina and help her raise her kids. I still get a little teary when I hear that song. Vic gave up everything he'd worked for so he could find the place where he belonged.

To date, which has been your most difficult book to write, and do you have a favorite?

Opposing Forces has been the most difficult. I spent enormous time researching how addiction impacts individuals and families, which turned out to be quite wrenching. Plus, to have the hero suffering from addiction was a challenge because romance readers want strong heroes and there were times in this story where Jack felt weak. It was a delicate balance. I wanted to be respectful of people suffering with addiction issues and also put the necessary emotion on the page. I love how the book came out though. I'm proud of what I was able to do with it.

Do I have a favorite? I'm going to cheat and say I have favorite aspects of each book. If I had to pick one though, I'd say Risking Trust will always be the book of my heart. It was my first serious attempt at writing a book and I wrote it while my father was dying. For emotional reasons, I wanted it to find a home.

What's the best thing about being a writer?

I get to go to work in my pajamas (smile).

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Keep writing! When I finished Risking Trust, an editor friend told me to write the second book while I was shopping the first one. It's some of the best advice I've ever received because when I finally got an offer from a publisher, I had three books ready to go and was halfway through the fourth. In my debut year, I had four releases. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing.

What's up next for you? Is there more to come for the Private Protectors?

What's great about the Private Protectors series is all the books are stand-alone stories and they keep spinning off. Currently, I'm writing two Harlequin Intrigues due out in 2014 and I'm working on another single title romantic suspense. I always like to have a couple of projects going. Keeps me busy.

You can learn more about Adrienne and her books at www.AdrienneGiordano.com, or follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AdreinneGiordanoAuthor and Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdriennGiordano

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