Interview: Joan Swan, author of 'Blaze'

Joan Swan's debut novel, Fever, ignited strong reader interest earlier this year. The embers are still burning, and she's already back with the next installment of her Phoenix Rising series — Blaze. Married to a retired firefighter, Swan brings us characters from that high-stakes environment, each endowed with his or her own special abilities. The result is sexy, sizzling romantic suspense with a paranormal twist. OK, OK — enough with the fire metaphors. (They're irresistible!) We reconnected with Swan to find out how her life has changed since her first book hit bookstore shelves and to learn what we can about Blaze — and its embattled firefighter hero and heroine.

Pamela: The last time we spoke way back in March, your debut novel, Fever, the first book in your Phoenix Rising series, was about to hit bookstores. Was the release of your first book everything you'd hoped it would be? How does it feel to be on the other side of the publishing threshold? What most surprised you about the experience of having a book out there?

Joan: Great to be talking with you again, Pamela!

Fever's release went great. It's difficult for a new author in this quickly changing industry to expect, so I left my expectations open. I was excited with the great feedback I received on both Fever and my writing style, which is a thrill and a relief. When I hear the common "I couldn't put it down" sentiment, I know I hit my mark. After striving for that mark for 10 years, yes, it's gratifying.

My threshold doesn't feel a lot different because there is very little sideways movement for authors in this industry. You're only as good as your next book (or in a reader's view, your last release), so there is a constant pressure in the back of my brain that reminds me we're all consistently living pretty darn close to that line between selling/published/under contract and not selling/not recently published/not under contract.

What surprised me most about the experience after having Fever out for a few months was not just how happy readers were with the book, but how genuinely interested they are in the series as a whole. How they want to know whose book comes next, when it will come out and where the overarcing plot will go from where it left off. I find that incredibly fascinating.

Pamela: I know you've been very busy since then. Tell us first a bit about Blaze, the second book in that series. How does it tie in with Fever? What should we know about Luke and Keira, the hero and heroine?

Joan: The storyline in Blaze takes place shortly after the end of Fever. In Fever, a member of a hazmat firefighting team is wrongly convicted of murder, manipulated by an elusive government agency cover-up. He escapes prison, and his team rallies around him to uncover the true murderer. They also discover that this agency is hiding far deeper secrets than anyone knew. In Fever, they may have won the fight, but not the war.

That war continues in Blaze when the enemy manipulates two other members of the team back into the conspiracy. Ex-lovers reunite when the agency ambushes them to gain access to a child who has similar powers to their own. And again, the team unites to join strength in their fight for the truth to what happened, justice for the misdeed, and freedom from their threats.

Where Fever unearths the existence of a conspiracy, Blaze digs in and exposes the underbelly.

Luke and Keira truly make Blaze the unstoppable read reviewers have described. Lovers torn apart by the aftermath of events stemming from the warehouse fire that injured the team and endowed them with paranormal abilities, neither Luke nor Keira has been able to move on. When they come back together to fight the enemy that originally separated them, they struggle with the past, present and future to find a way back to each other.

The fact that both are used to being in control, both are snarky, and both are harboring fears of being hurt again makes for some equally humorous and heart-wrenching moments.

Pamela: That sounds incredible. You've said Blaze is hotter than Fever, and we know Fever was scorching hot. How hot are we talking?

Joan:Blaze is hotter in pacing — it never stops. Blaze is hotter in intensity — the stakes are higher. And Blaze is hotter in the bedroom — Luke and Keira have explosive chemistry.

Pamela: You've also done some self-publishing since then with Intimate Enemies. Can you tell us a bit about that book, too?

Joan:Intimate Enemies is a two-time finalist in the RWA Golden Heart contest, and I love the premise and the characters. As a lifelong resident of California, I've been exposed to the heavily publicized and hotly debated topics of border wars and immigration. As an author, the conflicts inherent in these problems sparked a story and Intimate Enemies is the first book in the Covert Affairs series.

Intimate Enemies is the story of a woman on a quest for answers in the deaths of her mother and brother. She unwittingly inserts herself into the middle of a human-smuggling ring that is trafficking terrorists. And the only person she can trust to keep her safe is a man working at the heart of the trade.

Because I wrote the original manuscript several years ago, I completely revised and rewrote the novel to bring it up to my current writing standards, and I'm pleased with the richness of the characters and the depth of the story.

Pamela: Why did you decide to self-publish? What are the advantages of this decision for your readers?

Joan: I decided to self-publish because romantic suspense had stopped selling in New York, but I knew readers still loved the genre because it was selling well in e-book format. I really believed in the strength of story and character in Intimate Enemies and felt readers would, too. Intimate Enemies was deserving of a permanent home. (And not under the bed.)

Advantages to readers are many, but the two main benefits are 1) availability. Without self-publishing, great stories like Intimate Enemies and millions of others would languish in dresser drawers, and 2) price. I am able to price the book reasonably, making it accessible to even more readers.

Pamela: You'll be attending the Emerald City Writer's Conference in Bellevue, Wash., this weekend. What is your favorite part of attending conferences? Do you have anything special planned for your readers there?

Joan: Yes! I'm excited — mainly because this one is really for fun. I've never been to a conference purely for fun. I'm either speaking or meeting or attending … A lot of my author friends and readers live in the Pacific Northwest, and I can't wait to just hang out with them for a change. That is always my favorite part of the conferences — getting together with authors and readers just to hang and chat. (Usually at the bar, though I'm not a big drinker.)

I'm meeting a few of my longtime reader friends for the first time at ECWC. And I'll be at the book signing Saturday night with Fever and Blaze.

Pamela: What comes next in your Phoenix Rising series? And what comes next for you as an indie author?

Joan: In the realm of indie, I'm looking forward to writing book two in my Covert Affairs series as soon as my Phoenix Rising books are turned in.

Book three in the Phoenix Rising series is Rush, and it comes out September 2013, then book four will be out in April 2014.

Aaaaand … it just so happens that I just received the cover copy for Rush, so you'll get the first peek!

Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections, and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then one day he walked into a chemical inferno — and never walked out. Jessica has been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could bring a miracle or shatter her world — again.

Q has been a prisoner forever. He's honed his mind and body into weapons. He's developed abilities no one else understands. But he's still at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can't remember, his body can't forget …

The heat is on.

Thanks for having me!

Pamela: Thank you for taking the time!

For more on Joan Swan and her books, visit JoanSwan.com.

Pamela Clare is an award-winning journalist and nationally best-selling author of both historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense. She loves coffee, the Colorado mountains, and her two grown sons. Her website is PamelaClare.com.