~ COMIC RELIEF AND ONE RED SHOE ~

I want to welcome back to my blog today, the wonderful and prolific Diane Burton! Take it Diane!

~ COMIC RELIEF ~

I enjoy watching some cop shows and not others. NCIS and Castle are my favorites. What I enjoy most is the occasional levity. A show that is too serious all the time is not for me. Rick Castle often contributes the comic elements in a show that starts with a murder. Sometimes, though, Beckett lets loose with a zinger that puts him in his place and brings a smile.



In the movie Galaxy Quest, itself a comedy, one of the characters thinks he’s expendable. Another character says he could be the “plucky comic relief.” Characters, either by their dialogue or their actions, can bring relief to an otherwise intense situation. In Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, the slapstick comedy is so laugh out loud funny I can’t read the books before I go to sleep because the bed will shake with my laughter and wake up Hubs.



Another form of comedy is witty repartee, as in The Thin Man movies. All right, so they are very old—definitely before my time—but they’re still classics. So is All About Eve, one of my all-time favorites. Betty Davis’ lines crack me up every time. One of my wishes is that I could always have a great come back line.



I love the role of a sidekick in my books. They’re allowed to be silly or goofy. In my latest book, One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, I had a great time with one of the bad guys. He is such a klutz. If he hadn’t been foisted on a legendary assassin, my hero wouldn’t have made it past the first chapter. Good thing.

BlURB ~

Wannabe writer rescues wounded spy while risking her heart.



Daria Mason’s life is too predictable. Nothing ever happens in her small Iowa town where everybody knows everybody else. But when she travels to New York City looking for a little excitement, she never expects to bring home a wounded spy.



From the moment agent Sam Jozwiak steals intel vital to US security from a Russian Mafia kingpin, Murphy’s Law takes over. No matter how he covers his tracks, the kingpin’s assassins find him. What’s worse than getting shot in the butt? Accepting help from an Iowa tourist.



Sam and Daria flee cross country with the assassins right behind them. Sharing danger and excitement—and a few kisses—with Sam soon has Daria convinced he’s the man for her. He thinks she’ll be better off once he’s out of her life for good. With their lives on the line, can she convince him they belong together?

EXCERPT ~

The guy with the itchy trigger finger had to be Korioff’s son. If so, the syndicate was in big trouble. Oh, darn. Sam smiled for the first time since the wee hours of Saturday morning when he found Yuri in his hotel room and rolled down the stairs with the bumbling partner. Only sheer dumb luck enabled Sam to escape then. Luck wasn’t with him now.

The two made no effort to conceal their locations. Yuri was searching one side of the room and Junior the other. Since they were separated, Sam could take them out one at a time. Christ, he hated hand-to-hand combat. Too close, too personal. Unlike a bullet. Though trained in self-defense, Sam was no assassin. Unlike Yuri.

Zzt-ping-ping-thud. Christ, the kid was shooting again. Bullets ricocheted off the industrial shelving and penetrated boxes. Yuri yelled at him again. From the vantage point of height in the center of the huge room, Sam watched the shadows of the men searching for him. One, big and clumsy. The other shorter with the stealth of experience. And no Teller. Could the day get more screwed up than this?

Zzzt-ping-ping—

Fire streaked across Sam’s butt. He clenched his teeth to keep from sucking air or, worse, crying out in pain. Carefully, he looked over his shoulder.

Damn. Those were his favorite jeans.



What’s your favorite type of comedy?



One Red Shoe is available for Kindle at: 

http://amzn.com/B00FDXRHZA

BIO ~

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing science fiction romance. Besides the Switched series, she is the author of The Pilot, a series about strong women on the frontier of space. One Red Shoe is her first romantic suspense. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and two grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com



Connect with Diane Burton online



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Diane Burton is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to a lucky commenter. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below or http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/2013/09/release-day-one-red-shoe.html


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The winner will be announced on October 31st.



Thanks, MJ, for helping me celebrate the release of my newest book.



My pleasure entirely!