HIDE

I don't like to make life too easy for my publisher. Back in 2001, when I finished up THE NEXT ACCIDENT, my editor said, you know, readers really love Rainie and Quincy. How about doing another novel featuring them? And I said, actually, I have this idea see, of three women who are attacked by the same rapist and form something called the survivors club to deal with the trauma of the upcoming trial, except then the rapist is assassinated and they all become suspects in his murder.

So I wrote THE SURVIVORS CLUB. Halfway through that novel, however, I came up with the idea for the Eco-Killer, who happens to leave one of his victims on the grounds of the FBI Academy . Naturally, New Agent Kimberly Quincy would be perfect to handle the investigation, where she would be tested by sexy Georgia detective, Mac MacCormack. Rainie and Quincy could also assist, and it would be one kind-of-happy family reunion. Perfect! My editor cried. And THE KILLING HOUR was born.

Upon turning in THE KILLING HOUR, my editor tried again. Readers really love these characters. You really love these characters. Wouldn't it be nice to continue this series (translation: hey author, help us drum up some sales!). Yes, I said. It would be nice. Have I mentioned yet I have this idea for a state police sniper who happens to kill a husband holding his wife and child at gunpoint, only to find out the husband wasn't the threat that night, the wife was? And I proceeded to write ALONE featuring Bobby Dodge and the dark and dangerous Catherine Gagnon.

Halfway through writing that novel, I came up with a great idea for a ransom case that would require an FBI profiler to use his training in a particularly intense and draining situation. Rainie would be perfect to play the troubled wife, kidnapped in the middle of the night while driving along a deserted coastal highway. Kimberly and Mac would naturally arrive from Georgia to assist Quincy with the investigation. So I segued nicely from ALONEto the familiar cast and characters for GONE and my editor was happy.

I finished up GONE in August of 2005. Guess what I started writing next. Another Quincy and Rainie book? Come on, I'm not that kind. I came up with an idea for a sequel to ALONE, featuring Bobby Dodge.

I get a lot of mail on ALONE. Some people hate Catherine. Some people simply yearn for a more fairytale ending. I stand by my conclusion to that novel, but I have to say, Bobby haunts me. He's such a good guy. Smart, sexy, dedicated. He really does deserve a good woman. So that's what I set out to do, find Bobby the right kind of gal. Naturally, much murder and mayhem ensue.

HIDE, due out January of '07, opens with the discovery of a twenty-five-year old mass grave on the grounds of an abandoned mental institute in Mattapan, Massachusetts. Sergeant D.D. Warren immediately calls Bobby to the scene, with good reason. The underground chamber bears startling resemblance to the work of another known predator, Richard Umbrio aka Mr. Bosu, who kidnapped Catherine Gagnon in 1980 and held her in an underground pit for 30 days. Could Mr. Bosu have abducted and killed more girls than they realized?

One set of remains wears a locket inscribed Annabelle Granger. When this information is leaked to the press, Bobby and D.D expect to be contacted by the girl's family. Instead, Annabelle Granger herself comes forward, very much alive, but having spent the past twenty-five years of her life in hiding from a danger her father never identified. Even more interesting, Annabelle Granger is the spitting image of Catherine Gagnon.

What happens next? You have to read the book to find out. Told you I hated to be kind.

Of course, halfway through writing HIDE, I came up with a new book idea. Perfect for Kimberly and Mac. Probably involves Rainie and Quincy, too. Anything to keep from making my publisher's life too easy.