Glaswegian single mother Ariadne McSween is not having a happy New Year. Instead of celebrating with family and friends in time-honoured tradition, she’s helping her scallywag brother and his even less-savoury friends burgle a mansion in the Scottish Highlands. And nothing is going right.
First there’s the bad weather and car breakdowns. Then, instead of a quick, quiet robbery under cover of a noisy party, Addie finds herself flirting outrageously with the house’s owner, sexy concert pianist and accused murderer, John Maxwell. Worse, her violent and erratic accomplice, Shug, takes their hosts hostage.
Another complication: The house turns out to be haunted, and not just by the ghost of eminent composer Christopher Maxwell. Two randy spirits drawn to the lust of living want to join the party—along with the vengeful shade of John’s murdered wife.
Soon Addie becomes entangled in a host of mysteries, like why are Ariadne and her cohorts being paid to rob a house that holds nothing more valuable than dusty musical manuscripts? And most of all, how does she avoid falling in love with the chief victim of her crime?
Visit Marie Treanor's web site
Read an excerpt from Ariadne’s Thread
About Marie Treanor
Marie Treanor was born and brought up in Scotland, but for some years moved around the UK working and studying. Now she is back home and happily married with three young children. Having grown bored with city life, she lives these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing stories of romance and fantasy.
You can find out more about Marie and her books on her website: www.marietreanor.com, and catch all the latest news by subscribing to her Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter.
She also shares a friendly Yahoo chat group with fellow authors Kyla Logan and Kara Griffin: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sexydelights.
Marie loves to hear from readers! Drop her an email at marie@marietreanor.com.
Back list:
With Samhain Publishing:
Killing Joe
Gothic Dragon
With Changeling Press:
City of the Damned:
Loving the Wolf
Loving the Vampire
Loving the Man
Christmas Cookies: Christmas of the Damned
Dragul Rising:
Dragul Dawn
Dragul in Daylight
Dragul in Darkness
Rogue Warriors:
Rebel
Soldier
Queen
Jack o’Lantern: Witch of Alloway
ESCAPE: Devilish Fantasy
Hot Flash: Swan Song
Heat Stroke: Cool Pool
Big, Blooking and Wild!: Willow the Wisp
An Interview with Marie Treanor
By Holly Hewson for The Romance StudioHH: Marie, thank you for talking with us at TRS BLUE. Please tell us about your featured book, Ariadne's Thread. MT: Thanks for having me =) It’s great to be here again.
Ariadne’s Thread is part ghost story, part crime-caper, with a hot romance and a touch of humour. It’s all about Ariadne (Addie) McSween, a struggling single-mother who decides to make a bit of easy money by helping her brother and his friends (not the sharpest tools in the shed) to burgle a mansion in the Scottish Highlands. But it’s New Year, there’s a party going on, the house turns out to be a bit dilapidated and haunted by an array of eccentric ghosts, and the chief owner is dangerously gorgeous. Literally dangerous, possibly, since he recently stood trial for the murder of his wife! Anyway, victims and criminals end up trapped together in the house, and it’s up to Ariadne to get them all out their various messes.
HH: Your heroine made a bad judgment call and ended up in a lot of trouble for it. Where did you get the ideas for this story? MT: Like most of my ideas, it just sort of formed =) I wanted a situation where good guys and bad guys were thrown together and a romance blossomed against all odds. I had a few eccentric characters floating around my imagination too, and they all added to it – whether as ghosts or as the living!
HH: Okay, what do you like best about the ghosts in this story? MT: Hmm...I think I like how they interact with the living. Of course, my two randy ghosts who’re drawn to the lust of the living, have a field day around Addie, whose hormones are in overdrive from the moment she meets John Maxwell. But all the spirits are hanging around for a reason, even if we never discover what some of those reasons are, and they’ve no hesitation in interfering with the living if they feel like it, sometimes with bizarre results! And I love the way the whole family accepts them, even if they can’t all see them or talk to them.
HH: What are your thoughts on John Maxwell? MT: I like Johnny =) He’s a brooding, handsome devil and a brilliant musician, but he’s also a bit strange, having grown up among all these ghosts, to say nothing of his eccentric family! He’s rather of a tortured soul, and there’s an edge of danger about him at odds with his “gentle” profession. Basically, he needs someone who understands him…
HH: Given a similar set of circumstances, would you do what your heroine did? <g> MT: Do you mean burglary or Johnny? =) Assuming it’s burglary, I hope not! But I think most people have a breaking point, when they’re driven, however temporarily, to act out of character and against their own morality. I hope I never discover what mine is!
HH: What else do you have for readers to look forward to? MT: Ooh, lots, actually! On 13th November, there’s the release of Machinations, the first part of Steamy Nights, a new steam-punk trilogy with Changeling Press, which is really exciting. Then, on 2nd January, a re-release at Samhain: The Devil and Via, all about sun, sex and Satanism =). I believe the second Steamy Nights will be in January too and the third, hopefully, in March. I’ve two more books scheduled with Samhain in 2009, and my first with The Wild Rose Press should also come out next year!
And there are a few new ideas nagging at me to be written =).
HH: Marie, the genre is filled with talented authors and great stories. How does an author keep up with all of this and remain successful as you have? HH: You’re right, there are so many wonderful writers and stories out there that I’m still slightly dazed to be in among it! If I’m successful (thank you for that =)), it must be because the ideas keep coming and I keep writing them down. I do try to learn as I go on. And I suppose I love my characters and become obsessed with what makes them tick.
KR: What do you see for the future of ebooks? MT: I think they’ll continue to grow in popularity. There seem to be new and better ebook readers on the market to boost interest. Even in the UK where, until recently, hardly anyone knew what an ebook was, there are signs of growing popularity. You can actually buy a Sony reader here now – when I got mine a year or so ago, my husband had to get it for me through ebay in America! More people are seeing the quality of today’s ebooks as well as their practicality, and that can only be good…Will ebooks replace paper books? I really don’t think so, but they do have a definite and growing place in the market. Especially in genres like romance and sci-fi, where books are consumed addictively in large quantities!
HH: What would you most like to accomplish in your writing career in 2009? MT: Well, I’d love to make a living from writing!
But coming back down to Earth, I’d like to write some more longer stories. And - as always! - reach more readers.
HH: Any special plans for the holidays this year? MT: Not sure yet. Usually, we have two sets of family staying over Christmas and New Year. We have Christmas dinner at home (cooked largely by my wonderful husband!), and we go to the local village ceilidh to bring in the New Year. It’s a bit hectic and a lot of fun - I’m looking forward to it enormously! Hope everyone at TRS (including all your readers!) has a fantastic festive season =)
HH: Thank you!
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