Please welcome Nina Croft, bestselling author of the new hit Thriller THE DESCARTES LEGACY, for a little bit of Straight Talk!

We’ve invited Nina Croft to the Entangled in Romance blog today to chat about her newest release, THE DESCARTES LEGACY. Join us for few minutes and discover why readers on Goodreads are hooked on this new Romantic Thriller!

“…I highly recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers mixed with a hefty dash of romance.” ~ Tory Michaels, Goodreads Reader

“This is the perfect book for fan of adrenaline-filled adventure or thriller novels.” ~ Mara, Goodreads Reader

“This book is a very intriguing and thrilling read with a touch of science fiction.” ~ Eva Millien, Goodreads Reader

What is the (high) concept is in THE DESCARTES LEGACY?

The death of Jenna Young’s father plunges her into a whole new world where she must learn to survive quickly or die. With the help of Luke, a hard, bitter man bent on revenge, she must unravel the secrets of her past. Jenna soon discovers that her whole life up to that point has been a lie and that the truth is far stranger and more deadly than she could have ever imagined.

What was your inspiration for THE DESCARTES LEGACY?

I love reading thrillers of all types; political, scientific, murder mysteries… But probably my main inspiration for writing THE DESCARTES LEGACY was the TV show, 24. I’m a huge fan, and when I first discovered the show I managed to watch three seasons in a week (this was on a trip to the UK after we’d moved to Spain and I’d been living without TV for about a year). I love the fast pace and the life & death situations. I also love Jack Bauer as a hero—the sort of person who is willing to do bad things for a good reason. I find the idea of people being pushed beyond their ethical limits fascinating and that’s what I wanted to explore when I wrote THE DESCARTES LEGACY.

What features distinguish THE DESCARTES LEGACY from others on the subject?

THE DESCARTES LEGACY is primarily a high action thriller with an imminent terrorist threat at its heart; it’s quite dark and edgy, and I wanted the characters to reflect that. But at the same time it’s also a romance, and I needed to balance the need for the characters to be strong, determined, and sometimes slightly unsympathetic, while revealing them as real people capable of falling in love. People who actually needed that connection to keep them human.

Share a bit about your hero with us, and what makes him “hero” material:

Luke is a man bent on revenge but also justice. Ten years ago he lost everything including his family to a shadowy organization, the Conclave, and he’s been hunting them ever since. Now he has discovered that the Conclave are preparing for an imminent terrorist attack—code-named Descartes—that could kill millions and change the world forever. Luke will do anything to prevent the attack, or so he believes until he meets Jenna, and for the first time in ten years, his resolve is tested. He’s essentially a good man who has had to step beyond his own ethical code to do what he knows is right.

Tell us what makes your heroine the “leading lady” in your book:

Jenna is a mystery. She is somehow tied to Descartes by a twenty-five-year-old secret, but neither she nor Luke can unravel the connection. Jenna is beautiful and strong but has grown up believing she has an incurable genetic illness and is indelibly flawed. Her father, a doctor, has been treating her all her life, and every single day for as long as she can remember she’s been taking medication. When her father dies suddenly, her medication is cut off and as time passes, it becomes clear that the medication is not treating an illness but suppressing something entirely different…
Who are your favorite authors? What authors have influenced your book?

I love Harlen Coben for fast-paced thrillers, and the way he immediately grabs your attention from the first words. I like Michael Creighton for books with intriguing science fiction and the way he pushes the boundaries of science. But if I want a good dose of romance with my thrills, then Sandra Brown, Anne Stuart and Allison Brennen. I’m always impressed by the way they seamlessly build the romance amid all the danger and excitement. And that’s what I was aiming for with THE DESCARTES LEGACY.

Is your book part of a series? If so tell us about what’s next and/or what else you’re working on:

I wrote THE DESCARTES LEGACY as a standalone story, but I think it very likely I will revisit the world of the Conclave and discover what other nefarious plots they are up to.

At the moment, I’m working on the first draft of a contemporary romance for Entangled Publishing’s Brazen line. It will be number 3 in my Babysitting a Billionaire series about female bodyguards and the men they protect.

But I have a whole load of books coming out over the next year: a mix of contemporary, paranormal and sci-fi. Some of the most exciting for me are the next few books in my Blood Hunter series: sci-fi romance with a paranormal twist (think vampires in space). Books 3, 4 and 5 will be releasing over the next few months.

What challenge, if any, did you face turning your story into fiction?

While I’ve written across many sub-genres: paranormal, science fiction, contemporary, and even mixed science fiction with paranormal, all my books tend to have a strong element of romance at their center. But when I set out to write The Descartes Legacy, the intention was that it wouldn’t be a romance at all.

I was sitting at breakfast one day, when my other half looked up from his paper and asked me, “Why don’t you write a good book?” He survived, and when the knives and forks stopped flying, we got into a discussion about what exactly he considered a ‘good’ book to be. It turns out… no romance, no vampires, no werewolves, and no science fiction. All my favorite things! Anyway, I like a challenge, so I said I’d have a go.

I decided I wanted to write a thriller. The problem is, I love romance, and I can’t have a man and a woman who are so obviously perfect for each other (and I mean that in the romance writing sense that there were so many reasons these two shouldn’t fall in love… so much potential conflict) and not hunt for ways and means to bring them together. So, the ‘no romance’ slid a little. (Okay, maybe more than a little.)

What local community or charitable organizations, or writers groups do you belong too?

I actual live on a remote mountain in southern Spain. The nearest village is about five miles away and there are no local organizations or writers groups. I do belong to a couple of online groups though, Writers Abroad, a group of expats all over the world who write everything from poems to novels and Passionate Critters, a fabulous group of romance writers.

Tell us anything about you as a working writer that you think might be interesting or unusual:

I live on an almond farm in southern Spain between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Mediterranean. It’s very remote, we have no electricity (other than solar) and it took four years to get the internet, but it’s the perfect place for writing. There are very few distractions and the stunning scenery is an inspiration.

But it does mean that I spend quite a lot of time talking to my animals (I have four dogs, two cats, two goats, a horse and a three-legged Vietnamese pot-bellied pig) and most of my plots get discussed with them in detail. If I have a case of writer’s block and I don’t know where my story is going, I’ll take my mare, Gencianna, out for a ride and talk it out with her. She doesn’t contribute much to the conversation but I’ve usually sorted out the problem by the time we get home.

Connect with Nina at her website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About the Book : THE DESCARTES LEGACY

Her truth is more deadly than his revenge…

Lucas Grafton has spent the last ten years hunting the Conclave, a secret organization that took everything from him: his wife, his child, his very identity. Now he has a lead—an imminent terrorist attack on London, code-named Descartes.

Born with a genetic illness, Jenna Young has always known she was different. But the unexpected death of her father catapults her into a world she never expected. In order to stay alive, she must solve a twenty-five year old mystery. Her only ally is a hard, bitter man in search of retribution, her only clue the Descartes Highlands, an area on the near side of the moon.

Luke’s need for revenge collides with Jenna’s hunt for the past, and together they must stand against the Conclave. They must do this while uncovering the truth behind Jenna’s illness, a truth that will make Jenna question her humanity.

Information:

Title: The Descartes Legacy
Author: Nina Croft
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: 275 pages
Release Date: September 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62266-106-0
Imprint: Entangled Edge