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HOT CONTRACT by: JODI HENLEY When Jen Stalling, chief geologist on a new magma-based power plant known as the Pele Project witnesses the murder of a fellow scientist, Project officials don't want the negative publicity of a murder investigation. "An accident," they say. Jen knows better. So does her father, billionaire Art Stalling. But having pushed Jen away years ago, he can't now reveal his interest without exposing her to danger. He hires DalCon, a Seattle-based security group to watch over her.Keegan Dalfrey has his own problems. Four days ago, during a routine mission gone wrong, his brother was captured by South Pacific extremists. They want two million in ten days. Keegan can make that in nine days by neutralizing the threat to Jen. It's an all or nothing gamble with his brother's life in the balance. He never expected to fall in love.Read An Excerpt or Buy it now! Rose (220 pages) Spicy
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Reviews for Hot Contract:
Hot Contract is an action-packed, suspense thriller, with secret operatives, secret
societies, psychotic family members, and romance. What more could you ask for in one book?
Keegan and Jen are explosive together and it isn't good for either of them or the mission.
But sometimes love just works that way! Jen doesn't have a clue which way is up as time after
time people she thought she knew and could trust seem to betray her but she isn't a baby about
it. Jen is a lot tougher than you'd expect her to be. Keegan, even with the help of his
family, doesn't have much of a handle on what is going on either but he is determined to save
Jen, at all cost, and it isn't just for the money. I got pulled into their drama from the
first page and held on by the tips of my fingernails for the ride of my life all the way to
the end. This is not a book you can put down and walk away from. I loved it! And as a bonus,
the end of the book also sets up a sequel perfectly so I can't wait until the next installment
from Ms. Henley!
--The Romance Studio
Don't just add this book to your to be read pile or even your must be read pile, place it
front and center on your read now pile, you won't be disappointed. I gave the book Simply
Romances highest rating, but it has now become the standard I will judge all books of this
type by. Good Job, Ms. Henley!
--Simply Romance Reviews
...I enjoyed the unique setting in Hawaii among the volcanoes. Also the characters, full of
angst and passion, were interesting to read. I felt there was a lot going on in the book,
and that, at times, the multiple plots and many characters made the story a little confusing.
Overall, Hot Contract is a fast-paced, enjoyable and engaging story.
Vee--from Night Owl Romance
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=1534
Plot Threads and Subplots Part 1
…or how to tell if a story line is a subplot or a plot thread.
In Kill Velocity I started out with the hero (his name is Tris) coming in full throttle to a
fire which guts the place his family stores their crazy relatives. Then he finds a clue to his
father's whereabouts. He hates his father and wants to kill him. Now I thought this was a plot
thread. A plot thread is a part of the plot, which if taken out, can't stand on its own. It is
an integral part of the story in that it forms part of the structure you're building on. Sort
of like the steel framework inside poured concrete. You need it, or the building would fall over.
So...enter plot thread two. Merlin wants to take over the family and Tris is in his way. I know,
seriously--this is part of the story. I want it to be about Tris and his battle to accept who and
what he is, and part of what he is the head of StallingCo Intelligence. Merlin and Tris need to be
there. The thread in which Merlin runs his power play can't be taken out of the story or the story
wouldn't go forward.
BUT, Tris's dad can be removed without much hassle, and his departure to subplot land won't affect
the original story. Which makes him a subplot. Something that can be removed, and while the original
story might be weaker, it won't collapse, which makes for a true definition of subplot.
A subplot runs alongside the story, a story thread runs inside the story.
Subplots should always have some element of reinforcement to them. Like for example, if Tris has issues
with control, (which he does), Merlin should have issues with control taken to a higher level. Your villain
should reflect all that is bad about your hero. If Tris is a control freak, the reason Merlin resonates
should be because his drive to control his surroundings has exploded into uncontrollable paranoia and murder.
That way when Tris has his ah-ha moment and stops himself from rushing headlong off the cliff of control-ism,
and finds out love is the answer. It's counterpointed in Merlin's failure to see what should be obvious.
It works on lots of levels, and the more levels you operate on, the greater chance of creating "buy-in".
Subplots and continuing series.
This changes if you want to use the subplot over a course of books. Then having Tris's dad show up would
be a legit subplot. Having a planned series helps divvy up plot points and subplots.
The San Francisco Romance Writer's Conference 2008
San Francisco, where thousands of romance writers not only get together--they wear name tags. I met people from TWRP and RD--had a fan-girl moment when I was lucky enough to meet Karen Harbaugh--drank AMP until it came back up, ate Korean food, and walked the streets of Chinatown at sunrise. Guess I looked like I knew where I was going, because tourists kept asking for directions. I kept the camera in my back pocket. First impressions are forever when you only meet once.
