Guest Post with Author Loucinda McGary

Loucinda McGary took early retirement from her managerial career to pursue her twin passions of travel and writing, and sets her novels of romantic suspense in the fascinating places she has visited. She was a finalist in the 2006 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest in Romantic Suspense. She lives in Sacramento, CA.

I was lucky enough to get the author to agree to write a guest post for my site.  Here’s what she had to say:

First I want to thank you for inviting me to guest blog. I’m thrilled to be promoting my new release The Treasures of Venice, because even though it is my second romantic suspense to be published, it is actually the first I wrote.

Long ago I had never traveled much of anywhere. But I dreamed of exotic places and pined to visit them. Venice was at the top of my list. This city built on water captured my imagination from the first moment I learned it existed. All the pictures of the beautiful, elaborate buildings and the boats floating serenely on the canals looked incredibly romantic to me.

Finally, after years of drooling and dreaming, my DH and I made our first trip to Europe. Italy, of course! Like most first-time tourists, we went to the big three, Florence, Rome and Venice. I must say, La Serenisima (Venice’s nickname which means “the serene one”) did not disappoint. From the moment our train pulled into the Santa Lucia train station on a misty February morning, I felt like I was in a completely different world.

So when I sat down to write my first romantic suspense novel, it was only natural for me to set it in Venice. I got to re-experience some of the magic and mystery of that beautiful city by writing about it. Plus, I hoped that someday, readers would also enjoy the same wonder that I had. I’m very happy that ‘someday’ is here!

You can join me and my heroine inside the elaborate Doge’s Palace, admiring the large and small Renaissance era paintings attached directly on the plaster walls. Hop on the vaparetto (a boat that takes the place of a city bus) with my hero and heroine, or ride in a gently rocking gondola. Ah yes, there’s so much romance in Venice. But in The Treasures of Venice, there’s danger too! I love to mix my romance with some danger and suspense. Add a hunky Irish hero, stir it all up in an exotic setting and you have all the ingredients for one of my novels!

Here is the back cover copy of The Treasures of Venice to whet your appetite:

He’s a charming Irish rogue who never met a lock he couldn’t pick…
Keirnan Fitzgerald is desperate to locate the missing Jewels of the Madonna. With danger at every corner and time running out, he must use whatever means possible to uncover the stolen jewels in time to save his sister’s life…

She’s simply in Venice to relax and heal her broken heart…
Samantha Lewis is shocked when a dashing stranger approaches her in a Venetian cafe pretending to know her. She’s ready for something new and exciting in her life, so she throws caution to the wind and accompanies the Irish charmer into his dangerous world of intrigue, theft, and betrayal…

As the centuries old story behind the Jewels disappearance is revealed, Samantha must decide whether the man she’s so compellingly drawn to is her soul mate from a previous life or if they are merely pawns in a relentless quest for a priceless treasures…

What are some of the exotic places you dream of visiting someday? Or maybe you’ve already been there.