What happens when your idol becomes
your mentor? Magic!
Mentors are the people we look up to,
people we admire for their various skills and expertise. They are the
people we'd like to resemble when we grow up. Debra Webb, one of the
top names in romantic suspense, has been that person for me for the
majority of my career. She's driven, prolific, and quick with a plot
twist.
We first met at a Smoky Mountain
Romance Writers conference ages ago (miraculously, neither of us has
aged a day since). Her advice from that weekend still carries me in
good stead. Though our publishing paths differed, I’ve been
fortunate that Deb has always been a tremendous source of support and
encouragement throughout my career.
Deb gave me my first cover quote for
Justice Incarnate (my first published novel). She taught me
how to write a synopsis (a feat my critique partners greatly
appreciated) and helped me sort out the editorial language of
revision letters. In 2011, she introduced me to the editor of the
Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance, who purchased an original Shadows
of Justice novella for that anthology.
In the spring of 2012, amid the
stunning success of her Faces of Evil series, Deb called to
check on me. My year wasn't going nearly as well as hers. In fact, I
was sure my career was going down in flames. I had the obituary
written (some of my best work), but Deb refused to believe it. More
importantly she refused to let me believe it.
That phone call was a catalyst. I took
pages of notes while she dissected my circumstances, assessed
my strengths, goals, and productivity, and laid out a plan to move me
forward. Deb always has a plan.
The Unknown Identities series
resulted from that call. We tweaked the marketing plan and assembled
a collaboration which resulted in me joining her on the USA Today
bestseller list. Six months later, another career-changing phone call
united us as a writing team.
The Hunk Next Door (coming from
Harlequin Intrigue 11/1/2014) is our first contemporary romantic
suspense novel, kicking off The Specialists: Heroes Next Door. Deb
and I are excited to share these books with our readers. Being Deb’s
co-author has been a joyful, energizing experience and I can hardly
wait to see the results of my next phone call with my mentor.
Live the adventure!
~Regan
$4.70
In the season of hope, someone's out
for blood. Police Chief Abigail Jensen is determined to protect her
town—and avoid falling too hard for Riley, the new guy next door.
But deciding who to trust can be deadly, especially when he has deep
secrets….
Agent Riley O'Brien's mission is clear
when he joins the CIA's covert Specialist task force: protect a
small-town cop from a terrorist, no matter what. Trading his identity
for the undercover guise of a handyman is part of the plan…getting
close to Abigail on a personal—and passionate—level isn't.
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