Pen Names and Me: Guest Post by Kris DeLake With Giveaway

Pen Names and Me

Kris DeLake

Author of Assassins in Love

     At first, I did it for sheer survival.
     Fifteen years ago, publishers had just started using computers to track book sales. And one thing publishers discovered was this: Some genres sell better than others. Mystery sells better than science fiction. Romance sells better than mystery.
     I’m a greedy little writer. I want to write in every genre—who cares how well the genre sells? I got my start in science fiction as Kristine Kathryn Rusch. So any move to a new genre would be a move up, right?
     Wrong. Editors from other genres would look at my science fiction sales numbers and laugh. Then they’d refuse to buy the new book. So first, I committed a mystery pen name (Kris Nelscott). And then, because that mystery novel was so darn dark, I had to write something funny to make me feel better.
     I wrote my first romance novel, and it was sweet and light and goofy. Enter Kristine Grayson.
     I discovered that I liked having different names. It gave me freedom. It also let my readers know what kind of novel they were going to get. Something unpredictable (but probably science fiction or fantasy in nature)? Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Something dark and brooding, set in the past? Kris Nelscott. Something silly with HEA? Kristine Grayson.
     I have other pen names as well. Some I share with my collaborator/husband Dean Wesley Smith (Sandy Schofield, Kathryn Wesley), and some are secrets, just for me. I have another romance pen name for contemporaries and romantic suspense. That’s Kristine Dexter, who needs to write another novel Real Soon Now.
     Then I wrote a short story called “Drinking Games” for an anthology. I published the story as Kristine Kathryn Rusch because the story is science fiction (kinda) and it’s short.
     What I knew—and the anthology editor didn’t—was that “Drinking Games” is the opening scene to a full novel. One with impossible space travel and non-techy world building. One that focuses not just on the characters (people expect all of my pen names to focus on characters), but on a hot, sexy romance between two unlikely characters.
     Oh, dear. The hardcore science fiction readers would hate the impossible space travel. The sweet-romance-only Kristine Grayson fans would turn away from the hot sex (and [I’m guessing here] the fact that the meet-cute is over a dead body). What to do?
     Simple: I invented another new pen name. And at first, this one was for me. I didn’t want to tell anyone who Kris DeLake was. Then I gave the opening three chapters to some hardcore sf friends of mine. They loved it. And I gave the same three chapters to some romance readers. They loved it.
     So I decided—then and there—to own up to the name. Yep, I’m Kris DeLake and Kristine Dexter and Kristine Grayson and Kris Nelscott and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. And I still have a few secret identities I’m keeping under wraps.

 My Review of Utterly Charming -->

     Guess it’s still a survival strategy for me, but more of a silly survival strategy. I keep thinking I might need a secret identity some day, if my life ever devolves into some kind of world-threatening crisis. And I don’t want anyone to know that’s me.
     Yep. I make things up. Fortunately, I do it for a living. And I have fun with it.
     Just like I had fun with Assassins in Love.
     I hope you do too.

Sourcebooks is nicely offering a copy of the book for giveaway.
TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY: 

1. Visit the author's website and tell me something that interests you there. This is required for entry.

2.  For an extra entry, comment on my review of Assassins in Love. (Preceding Post.)

3.  For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

4. For two more entries, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Five total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE ONE WINNER.

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on March 30, 2012.
The winners will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on March 31 with 72 hours to complete the winners form.

Book Review: Assassins in Love by Kris DeLake

Can two assassins meet or work together without killing each other?

Assassins in Love

by Kris DeLake

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402262825
• ISBN-13: 978-1402262821

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Product Description
A fast, edgy, and passionate story."
—Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author

When one killer falls for another

Agent: Misha
Profile: Highly trained in every method the assassins guild has to offer. Always goes by the book.
Agent: Rikki
Profile: Rogue assassin who kills only to rid the world of hardened criminals. Hates organizations. Always does it her way.

Love becomes a matter of life and death

Misha's mission is to get Rikki to join the guild or give up her guns. He completely underestimated the effect she would have on him...and what heat and chaos they could bring to each other...

Review:

This is fun and, in my opinion, better than Mr. & Mrs Smith, which had too much anger and bitterness. This story has gentleness, mishaps and decisions to trust or not to trust.
.
Rikki is a careful and successful assassin who is picky about the jobs she accepts. She doesn’t like organizational rules but she does have her own rules to follow. She only kills hardened criminals who deserve killing and she is particular to plan and execute the assassination in zones that won’t put her in trouble.

Misha is a highly skilled assassin who has been trained by the Assassins Guild and always follows the rules.  He has been questioned about several of Rikki’s recent kills so he seeks her out to determine what is going on.  Although Rikki doesn’t remember him, he remembers her from when she was a frightened child. Misha is drawn to the vulnerability he knows exists in Rikki and he tries to convince her to come into the guild as he thinks she can be better trained and safer there.

As Rikki wrangles an escape and a run from under Misha’s nose he begins to realize that she is much more clever than he first thought. Still he manages to follow her as he is pulled by their undeniable passion. Misha shows gentleness towards Rikki and growing respect for her skills. Can they really learn to trust each other? And why is someone seeking to hire Rikki for a job that could threaten both of them?

I was surprised that the betrayal isn’t revealed until the last thirty pages of the book. But there is plenty of action and anticipation that drew me along, eager to uncover the villain.  The alien world of space crafts, robots and futuristic gadgets is well developed and interesting.  The chemistry and passion between Rikki and Misha is intense and often, but not unpleasantly graphic. The villain seemed rather obvious, although there are a couple of possible suspects. Ms. DeLake does a good job setting up twists so that it is hard for Rikki and Misha to really trust each other. I especially liked the easy and fast flow of the story. If you are in the mood for a quick, light, fun, sexy read, this is a good choice!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for this book to read and review.

Comment on the author's guest post for a chance to win a copy of this book!