WINNERS: Patricia in California, Vikke in Idaho & Lily in Nevada 

I've been very excited about my Q&A with Laura Griffin. She is one of the best suspense authors I've read in a while and her latest, Whisper of Warning, hits the shelves Tuesday March 31st. Please join me in welcoming Laura to Reading With Monie.
Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog, Monie!
1. What books do you have in the pipeline?
The big focus for me right now is WHISPER OF WARNING, which hits bookshelves March 31. Later this year, will be UNTRACEABLE, the first book in my new Tracers Series.
2. Do you base any of your characters on people you know?
My characters are all fictional, but many have traits or foibles from people I’ve met over the years. I’m constantly people watching and listening for good anecdotes, interesting turns of phrase.
3. How did you pick a forensic artist as Fiona’s job in Thread of Fear? How much time was spent researching that field?
The character of Fiona Glass started taking shape after I caught a news broadcast about a high-profile kidnapping in Utah. I was fascinated by how a forensic artist stepped in to help solve the case, and I decided my next heroine would be a forensic artist. The work is so challenging, and the people who do it well have an amazing gift.
4. Do you schedule your writing time daily or do you just write when the ideas come?
Mornings are great for me. Sometimes I wake up with snippets in my head. By nighttime, I usually find it hard to be creative. That’s when I’d rather curl up with a book.
5. How did you choose romantic suspense as the genre you write in?
Ever since my journalism days, I’ve liked writing hard news stories. I guess mysteries come easier to me than other kinds of fiction.
6. What's the biggest obstacle you face when writing and how do you overcome it?
For me, the hardest part is letting go when the manuscript is finished. No matter how much time I spend on it, I always want to add and fine-tune things.
7. Do you have someone you share your work with as you go along or do you wait to the end to reveal it?
I share my work with my agent, then my editor. I don’t have a critique partner.
8. Who are your favorite authors and what are you reading now?
My tastes are all over the map! I just started ATONEMENT, by Ian McEwan. I enjoy literary fiction, but commercial fiction is my favorite—Linda Howard, Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner, Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King, the list goes on. When I have time to read for pleasure, I want to be swept into an exciting story and really feel my pulse pound.
9. Do you have any special writing quirks? Hmm… I’m sure I do. You should probably ask my editor.
10. What’s your best reader story?
It’s always so gratifying to hear from readers. One woman told me my books provided her with a much-needed escape while she was undergoing cancer treatments. That really made my day. I love to read to get a break from the stress of day-to-day, so if I can help other people do that, I feel like I’ve done my job.
11. Has your family read all your books and what do they think?
My family has been so supportive. But I’m sure they haven’t all read everything. I’ve got a lot of engineers and computer nerds in the family, so you’d be more likely to catch some of them with a mathematics tome. My mom, bless her, reads everything the instant it comes out.
12. What character from your books would you say is your favorite and why?
I don’t have a favorite. I relate to each heroine and hero in a different way. Courtney from WHISPER OF WARNING was a roller coaster ride to write because of her larger-than-life personality. It was challenging, but also fun. And I guess that’s the point. If the writer has fun with the story, hopefully the reader will, too.
If you missed them here are my reviews of Thread of Fear and Whisper of Warning.
Laura has graciously donated 3 sets of both Thread of Fear and Whisper of Warning to be given away.
For your chance to win visit Laura's Website and enter the name of the college newspaper she wrote and edited for in the form below
For 2 extra chances to win, Tweet the message below:
Enter to win Thread of Fear and Whisper of Warning at Reading With Monie: http://tinyurl.com/cqfa7w
For 3 more chances to win, Follow (using the sidebar widget) or Subscribe to my blog. Current followers and subscribers will also earns extra entries.
Giveaway open worldwide. Winners will be selected and announced on March 30th (that way you can run out a buy your copies on March 31st if you're not the lucky winner).
Winners will have 48 hours to respond to winning email or a new winner will be selected.

Q&A with Laura Griffin and Giveaways
http://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/03/q-with-laura-griffin-and-giveaways.html