Gwyneth Bolton and Those Sexy Hightowers

First, I want to thank you for having me this week, Wayne. I think the discussions are a great way for readers to get to interact with the authors and I have enjoyed taking part in them with some of my favorite authors here. So, it is truly an honor to have a chance to discuss my novel and my new series here.

My inspiration for the series came from me wanting to set a series in the town I grew up in. I had never read a romance novel that was set in Paterson, NJ. And, as I thought about it, the family just sort of came to me. They were a family with a legacy of service and honor that only came from a history of being heroes in the true sense of the word. They were a family of cops and firemen. Once I could visualize all of those fine brothers in uniform, the proposal for the series pretty much wrote itself... Okay, that was an overstatement. But I had a pretty clear vision of the series.  

Gwyneth

Cops and firemen bring sirens to mind—red-hot-blazing sirens. And these men offer just that, loud, heart-pounding sirens of seduction. Hightower Honors is a four part series that chronicles the lives and loves of four very hot and sexy brothers from a strong upper-middle class Paterson, New Jersey family with a rich legacy of public service. Most of the Hightower men are either cops or firemen and have been in this line of work for several generations. These Hightower brothers add two cops and two firemen to the family lineage of service.

In Protect and Serve (July 08), Jason Hightower is a police detective for the Paterson police department who needs to conquer his past by finally confronting the first love he thinks betrayed him. He needs to do so before a threat from her past takes her away for good. In Make It Hot (September 08), Joel Hightower is a fireman injured on the job and forced to think about a career outside of his dream job. Too bad he can’t think around the spunky physical therapist helping him recover.  In The Law of Desire (December 08), the woman Lawrence Hightower finds himself falling in love with could very well be a criminal. He needs to figure out who she really is before the criminals looking for her find her. In Sizzling Seduction (October 09), Patrick Hightower is used to putting out fires, but a sweet and sexy kindergarten teacher breaks through his protective shield and gets him thinking it might be more fun starting one.

The Hightower men are all tall, dark, handsome and alpha. Their upbringing dictates that when push comes to shove, they should always do the right thing. The only catch is that sometimes the right thing in their minds has to be done the right way, their way. Raised by two loving parents, James and Celia Hightower, the brothers know what real love looks like and they want it for themselves. Eventually. On their own terms.

Their father James’s dedication to the city that raised him means that even though he became very successful with his security company, Hightower Security, he never moved his family away. The Hightowers are as close to royalty as a small urban city like Paterson, New Jersey gets. But they are also very down to earth and take their positions as leaders in the community very seriously. This is a family trait instilled in the Hightower brothers most heavily by their father’s older sister, Sophie Hightower. She has never married and has made it her business to make sure her “unworthy” sister-in-law, Celia, raises her nephews properly. After investing so much time in her nephews, she of course needs to make sure that they find mates worthy of them and the Hightower name.

Their mother, Celia Hightower, may not be of the same elite background, but she also has very specific ideas about the kinds of down-to-earth, sweet women she’d like to see her sons end up with. A small subplot of each book is the tug of war between these two sisters-in-law. The Hightower Honors series offers four books about love, family, and romance in sometimes gritty, urban settings that explode with passion and deep emotion. The two firemen stories are hot sexy, courtship tales about the thrill of the chase and the glory of surrender. The two cop stories are deeply emotional and passionate stories with a hint of intrigue.

Thanks, Tiffany! I'm glad you enjoyed Protect and Serve. That's a great question about coming up with the characters. I had a pretty clear idea of the main characters after I wrote my proposal for the series. Since I wrote a pretty detailed proposal I could see them clearly in my head. Their goals and motives were pretty clear to me since they had invaded my dreams and my thoughts all day every day. That's right, i'm one of those authors who dreams and day dreams about her characters to flesh them out...

The fun part was the side characters that popped up as I was writing. Like the nosey old lady next door, or the little boys outside playing. I loved those characters even though they only appeared for a brief moment because they really fleshed out the story and added flavor.

Basically, I came up with the characters by thinking about all the funny folks I've had the pleasure or displeasure of dealing with throughout my life. Some of them are a mix of folks. 

Gwyneth 

I'm glad you like Protect and Serve. I love engaging with other readers. So having a place to talk about and exchange information about the books we all love is awesome for me. I love reading your blog and the other blogs to see if we liked the same books.

 Gwyneth

I've thought about it, Star. I just might....

For those of you who've read Protect and Serve, which character did you find most interesting and why? I would ask which character was the most annoying, but I'm sure everyone will say, Aunt Sophie. So, are there any suggestions for what to do about Aunt Sophie? I'll be picking to winners at the end of the day for a special prize. One  prize will be given for the person who can tell me about the character that they found the most interesting and one for the person who can offer the most creative suggestion for what to do with Aunt Sophie. One prize is an autographed copy of Make It Hot before it hits the stores. And the other is an autographed copy of a book of your choice from my backlist.  I can't wait to hear from you!

Gwyneth 

Hi Gwyn:

Just wanted to drop a few lines and congratulate you on your book "Protect and Serve".  I really enjoyed this book.  The characters, the plot and the steamy love scenes kept me into this book.  I also love series where the previous characters make appearances in the next books.  Those Hightower men definitely put a smile on your face.  I can't wait for the next book to drop.  Keep up the good work.

Keren C.

Of course, everyone's going to want her to get her comeuppance.  I suspect that's on it's way at the hands of Mrs. Hightower.

But why not have Aunt Sophie meet her match?  Let her meet and fall for someone who appears to be everything that she hates...but can't get enough of.  Let her experience some of the things for which she criticizes others.  Let her have to go to some of the same folks she's done wrong for help/advice.  It will expose her judgemental ways and make her rethink her behavior.

I know you've got it in you, Gwyneth!

I like Carla, too. She grew on me too. I'm glad I was able to somewhat redeem her.

Giving Aunt Sophie a man could be a good idea...

Gwyneth

Terrill is an intriguing character. I know if it was me I would have dimed her out as soon as it happened. I would been like, 'Man she lying!' LOL. Seriously, though he is a character that I hope to write more about he and Maritza have a nice chemistry that is coming out that I want to explore more.

I like your suggestions for Aunt Sophie... hmm.... LOL.

Gwyneth

The winners from yesterday are Star and Patricia. E-mail me at gwynethbolton@prodigy.net with your addresses so you can get your prizes. Thanks for playing!

Gwyneth

Thanks Gwyneth!!!  

Good questions Wayne. I also have one. I actually was going to ask Wayne since he mentioned sending a proposal and yesterday you said something about it also.

What's a proposal? Or rather I think I know what it is, but for Hightower Honors did you write a proposal for the four brothers and any subsequent books will need separate proposals.

Wayne - I got a little concerned about Daniel's story when you said you were sending a proposal for his book. I thought his story was included with the others as a package.

The proposal is usually the detailed synopsis for the story or series that sometimes includes 3 sample chapters. When I sent in my proposal for the Hightowers, I had a synopsis for each book in the series, plus some details about how I envisioned the series working together and the first three chapters of Protect and Serve. My editor at the time gave me a contract for the first two books and then I was contracted for the last two books later. For future books, I'll need to send in another synopsis and sample chapters to get another contract. It's a part of the business of writing. So, for example, I'll need to be working on my proposal for Terrill and Maritza's story since readers want to see them. And hopefully, my editor will want to give me a contract for it...

Does that answer your question?

Gwyneth

In case folks are curious about the third book in the series, here's the book blurb and a link to the excerpt for those who like teasers...

The Law of Desire
Release Date: December 2008
ISBN-10: 0-373-86094-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-86094-4

Book Blurb:

GUILTY PLEASURES

Decorated police detective Lawrence Hightower's instincts click into high gear when a beautiful but suspicious stranger appears in his stakeout zone. Soon he realizes Minerva Jones is in danger and needs protection. He can't trust her. But he can't get this tough, feisty, stubborn siren out of his head.

Desperate to keep a low profile, the last thing Minerva needs is a sexy cop getting too close for comfort. Not that she's guilty of anything, except her own intense attraction to the too fine detective. But she's got a few secrets, and trouble is closing in. Dare she surrender to the promise this sensual hero holds in his strong, protective embrace?

Excerpt: http://www.gwynethbolton.com/the_law_of_desire.shtml

Great to "see" you here! I love that "Men of Valor" I hope you enjoy Make It Hot! I think you will. And I know you're waiting for more of Ourlane... I promise to get on it! They have been coming to me and I'm seeing their future world so clearly I need to get it out there....

Gwyneth