Guest blogger Camy Tang!

Please welcome my guest today, author Camy Tang! Camy's latest release, Deadly Intent, is a Love Inspired Suspense. To be entered in a drawing to receive a signed copy of Camy's book, just log in with a valid e-mail address and leave a comment before midnight Tuesday, August 18. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday.

Hi there! This is Camy Tang, and I'm thrilled to be guest blogging here with my Seekerville sister, Myra!

Myra originally asked me to talk about how I got the idea for my latest novel, Deadly Intent. However, other people for my blog tour beat her to the punch! (If you're interested, the posts are here and here and here.)

So I thought I'd do something fun for my guest blog post and talk about ideas that would inspire OTHER novels!

1) I would really like to write a story set in England. In London. The research trip on that would be expensive, but how cool would it be???

2) I think I'd like to do research into the knitting books/patterns/magazine industry. It's a bit like the fashion industry, and think of how much fodder for stories there would be!

3) Kind of related to the knitting industry, I'd love to set a story on an alpaca farm. We visited one when I was in Denver last month, and the animals were SO CUTE! The research would be fun, and wouldn't it be romantic to have a really HOT alpaca farmer?

4) I think a neat heroine career would be someone who mixes aromatherapy oils and soaps and candles and stuff. It's kind of related to the massage therapy career that my heroine in Deadly Intent has, because they tend to use aromatherapy oils for massage, to help relax people, or draw out toxins from the skin.

5) I love music, and I've always toyed with having a hero who maybe makes guitars. Or pianos. I think that would be interesting and romantic. One of my uncles used to make hand carved ukuleles out of koa wood—they were beautiful. I know there are still some artisan acoustic guitar makers. I'm just not sure how I'd go about researching instrument making.

How about you? Any ideas for new novels? Myra and I promise not to steal them unless you're not a writer and you'd like us to write about something! LOL

Thanks for having me here on your blog, Myra!
Camy


About DEADLY INTENT

Scene of the Crime: The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and  relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust?

About CAMY:

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. She used to be a biologist, but now she is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads a worship team for Sunday service. She also runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every week, and she ponders frivolous things like dumb dogs (namely, hers), coffee-geek husbands (no resemblance to her own...), the writing journey, Asiana, and anything else that comes to mind. Visit her website for a huge website contest going on right now, giving away fourteen boxes of books and 24 copies of her latest release, DEADLY INTENT.

Comments

[Glynna]

Ooooh, I'd definitely like to read one of your books with a London setting, Camy! And if you need a research assistant... I'd love to go back again! :)

[Myra]

You might have to fight me for the airplane seat, Glynna! I've always wanted to visit England!

My apologies to Camy for neglecting to add my review of Camy's book. It's been one of those weeks around my house!!!

Deadly Intent is a fun read. I enjoyed the glimpse into the world of rich spa-goers and couldn't help feeling a little envious--except for the getting murdered part! Camy's heroine, Naomi Grant, is spunky and determined as she sets out to prove she had nothing to do with the crime. And who wouldn't fall head over heels for a handsome doctor named Devon Knightley? The story is an intriguing blend of mystery, suspense, romance, and family relationships.

[Jessica]

Cute post. :-) I'm not sure I come up with any great plots. I need to work on having more interesting characters, career-wise. LOL

I totally think you should go for the knitting book! Make it a suspense where the victim is found dead, killed by the heroine's own knitting needles (or whatever they're called, lol).

I'm looking forward to reading your book. Thanks Myra for posting this!

[Julie Lessman]

Fun blog, Camy and Myra, and gosh, I am SO impressed at how you come up with ideas and brainstorm them. Brainstorming is a weakness of mine, but thank God I have a pretty wild imagination because I think that saves my butt!

Hugs,
Julie

[Janet Dean]

Interesting post! Thanks, Myra, for having Camy on your blog.

I love your plot ideas, Camy, especially those related to knitting since that's a passion of yours. I have trouble with fragrances so I avoid candles, aromatherapy--all things scented. But it would make a fun read.

Knitting turned out to be a great marketing tool for Debbie Macomber. When she spoke at a RWA luncheon a few years ago, she'd come out with her knit shop books. Each attendee had a skein of yarn on her chair. That started me back to knitting. And into reading her books. :-) Find a twist and make it your own, Camy!

Janet

[Carla Stewart]

Camy, what great ideas! I especially love the British idea and the alpaca farm (what adorable animals). Settings add so much depth to a story, esp. when combined w/ great characters. Camy, you've got the groove on cool characters.

Brainstorming was on my mind this morning, so this post fits perfectly. Thanks, Camy and Myra!

[Hazel Witherspoon]

Camy-
Love the British idea - set it in the "Debatable Lands" (England/Scotland border) - years of conflict to drawn on and they were sheep farmers for generations.

[Janet Lee Barton]

Hi Camy--
I like stories set in England. Maybe you could combine the knitting idea with it? But I like the soaps and candles idea, too--and you could set it in England, as well. If you set two or three books in England it would certainly make that research trip pay off. :)

[Audra]

Hi Camy, Hi Myra!

Great topic! They always say write about something you know. How cool to research some fun fact on knitting and build a plot and characters around your passion.

Hmm, gotta try that approach : )

Thanks guys!

[Camy Tang]

Thanks for having me here, Myra!

Thanks for the ideas, guys! I'll store that away for my next books!

Camy

[Myra]

I personally was intrigued by your idea of a character who builds musical instruments, Camy. I have a special fondness for the "beta hero" types--quiet, introspective, yet with a subtle strength.

Here's a question to think about: What's the most out-of-the-ordinary hero or heroine's occupation you've come across in books you've read recently?

[Jan Warren]

Hi, Camy and Myra!! I always have fun ideas for plots running through my brain. I write suspense so that's where I gear everything with the "what if" to trigger the imagination.
So, what if...the heroine (or hero) was an airport security guard? Or the person who check baggage through the xray machine? (Probably stems from the upcoming ACFW conference flight I'll be taking. ;0)

Would instinct kick in when the airport had to be shut down because of.....storm...biothreat...terror threat, etc. What had they seen that triggers the answer?
Or...how about a traffic accident late at night the heroine is knocked out not before she knows it wasn't her fault...but she wakes up in the hospital charged with vehicular homicide? The bad guy kills his wife...or business partner or whoever using the accident he caused to execute his plan but a witness sees the whole thing and blackmails the bad guy and tells everyone she was to blame. I have lots more but will stop here. Thanks for letting me brainstorm some ideas with you. Blessings to you and yours, Jan

[Tina]

Hi there Camy. I just want to say that I didn't even mean to start your book. I bought it and was putting it with the rest of the TBRs, as I have a pretty hectic schedule. I made the first mistake. I opened it. I was on chapter three before I knew what hit me. It really pulled me in. THAT IS HOW A BOOK SHOULD TREAT A READER!!!

[Honey]

Sweet! I have to tell you, I LOVE that you asked this question!

Like Jan, I always have tons of plot ideas running through my mind, which then get fleshed out when I email the idea to my friends.

Some of the ideas I have include two Louis L'Amour-ish westerns (one being a completed short story that begs to be expanded!), a YA series set in a Christian boarding school in Scotland, and a modern contemporary romance featuring a horse trainer, a equine veterinarian, and an artist with a past. Then there's the various other YA horse stories, a YA novel set in Australia on the Gold Coast (involving surfing), a novel series featuring pirates, and then the one I'm currently working on:
A top-selling contemporary romance novelist goes to Italy on a two-fold mission: to research her next best seller AND to surprise her boyfriend. Imagine her surprise (and horror!) when an InterPol agent confronts her, telling her her BF is actually an international arms dealer, and that he (the agent) MUST find out where and when the next deal will take place, or else Jihadist terrorists will have all the weapons they need to make another 9/11!

Also, me and my brother have just started writing a fantasy-fiction series together.

* Honey