Conning for Keeps
EBook: 110 pages
Release Date: February 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1662664719
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Synopsis:
Lovers undercover… Secret Agent Marissa Jones has a gift. A con artist to the core, after deep hypnosis she can turn into someone else entirely. Marisa’s gift has gotten her into hot water over the years, but now more so than ever. With her smoking hot partner by her side, she needs to convince him that not only is she her true self, but also that she can be trusted—even in spite of her past. …or traitors to the cause? Trevor Harris has his own issues with the mission, he’s got revenge to seek, a cursed painting to secure, and Marissa’s sugary-sweet alter-ego to ignore. But when he releases Marisa from her mental cage and things get a little too hot, he ends up finding out what falling for a con artist really means—bigger trouble than ever before.
Guest Post – Writing Strong Heroines
I’ve always loved the Joss Whedon answer when people ask him why he writes strong female characters. “Because you’re still asking me that question.”
The only problem is, when people think of Whedon and strong female characters, they think Buffy Summers, Zoe Washburne, River Tam, Echo, and Black Widow. They think of the chicks who kick ass and take names. Which is awesome.
But it’s not the whole story. You know who else were strong female characters? (We’re just sticking with the Buffyverse to keep this post from going too long.) Joyce Summers. And Tara Maclay. Joyce was a single mother whose daughter had pretty much the most messed-up existence known, and she rolled with it. She kept her little family going no matter how many vampires and demons got tossed her way. And Tara? She ran away from her ridiculously controlling family—and somehow managed to get into and pay for college on her own. Then, when her girlfriend started going to the dark side, she walked away. The kind of strength it takes to walk away from someone you love when it’s the only thing left you can do for them is insane.
So, while I have mad love for ass-kicking women, I have just as much for those women of quieter strength. Marissa Joens from Conning for Keeps is a little of both. And when the topic of writing strong female characters was presented to me, I didn’t want to discount either side of her. Because what makes a strong character…well, strong is their layers.
In the Agents of TRAIT series, most of my female leads can hold their own in a fight. They have to be able to because they’re spies. But their core strengths lie elsewhere. That’s where the real joy comes in writing them—because it means they all get to be different.
One thing people don’t know about me is that I hate writing women who are “weak.” The kind that always need to be saved by the hero or who can’t change their own flat tire if they had to. (Because let’s face it, if a hot guy offers to change my tire, I will let him even though I know perfectly well how to do it.) Those characters make me crazy because I hate the women I know who are like that. I wouldn’t want to hang out with them, so I certainly don’t want to read about them for pages and pages (or write about them—that’d be even worse).
So I write about women I’d like to know—even if I might not like them. (Thus far, I like all the ones in TRAIT, so you’d have to see my other books to know what I mean exactly.) I want women who are interesting and diverse. I want smart women and great moms and friends who’d take a bullet for their bestie.
If you’ve ever been through interview training (or interviews that actually use the same questions they do in training), you know the whole strength and weakness deal. When they ask what your greatest strength is, you name it, and when they ask what your greatest weakness is, you use a version of the same thing. Being detail oriented can make you slow to turn things around. Being a type A personality can make you not play well with others. All of that. For me, that’s one of the most fun things of character development. Why are they the way they are? (Which is basically what that interview question reveals.)
In the case of Marissa, she was raised in a family of thieves and con artists. She was brain-washed. Now she’s a government agent. Her past is her greatest weakness because it not only makes others question her motives—it makes her question them as well. But her past is also her strength. She’s a chameleon who can blend anywhere—get in anywhere. Without the training from her family, she wouldn’t be the best of the best.
That push and pull makes her interesting. As a reader, it makes me care about her—like her even though she has a criminal past. And for Marissa herself, it’s a big part of what makes her strong.
About Seleste:
Seleste started on her career path as a young child. Stories of talking animals soon gave way to a love of superheroes and science fiction. Her first foray into the world of romance came at age twelve when she envisioned a sweeping epic love story of two people thrust together and torn apart again and again by fate. As she recalls, the plan was for them to admit their love on his deathbed. But, as is often the case with pre-teen girls, a story of that depth gave way to other pursuits, and sadly it is completely lost other than vague memories.
After that, she occupied herself with short stories for a while, and then poetry until after she had earned a degree in chemistry, spent time as a high school teacher, and became a mother of two. Then she delved into writing fiction once more.
She never lost her love of the fantastic, and her stories now always reach into other realms. The worlds and people she creates occupy as much of her time as the real world, and she is most fortunate to have a family that understands her idiosyncrasies and loves her anyway.
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20 eBooks of GAMING FOR KEEPS International
Brandy Gibson says
Thank you for the giveaway. Good luck everyone.