Paranormal romance pushes all the right buttons for me. Danger and hot heroes, page-turning action, scenes that linger in the memory. It’s so intense. When I wrote Hollywood Demon I tapped into one of my true fears: the Earth moving.

I remember waking up during an earthquake once. It was about 3am. I sat up in bed, saw the small bookcase in my room (of course there’s a bookcase in my bedroom. Always!) kind of shimmy, thought “earthquake” and went back to sleep. But that’s because I was in a low-risk seismic zone. In a high-risk zone I’d have been outside or hiding in a doorway. I think the Earth should stay steady – and don’t start me on volcanoes! Aiee! I have ifestiophobia (a fear of volcanoes).

But back to Hollywood Demon and using intense fear as the inspiration for a romance novel. There’s a reason I’d do that, one based on psychology. Fear can convince us we’re in love, or on the road to being so. It’s the old scary movie for a first date ploy. By tapping into your fear, all your emotions are excited. That makes the book you’re reading all the more un-put-down-able.

And speaking of fear, here’s one to haunt you: can demons steal your soul through a camera? Excerpt from Hollywood Demon.

“There was a reason photographs used to be developed using a silver wash,” Mark said as they strolled out of the car park. “Silver protects against evil. Edgar used that in the Collegium spell. People no longer had to fear the possibility that the camera would truly steal their souls.”

Clancy shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. “The thought of my soul being stolen always gave me the heebie-jeebies when I heard that story.”

“And it happened—until Edgar and the others prevented it with their master spell in Paris in 1920. Once he’d set it, Edgar came here to California to join the emerging movie industry, secure in the knowledge that demons couldn’t contact people through the new moving images. But he couldn’t have anticipated digital photography.”

She rocked to a stop on the sidewalk. “No silver.”

But you’ll have to read Hollywood Demon to see if there’s a volcano in it!

Hollywood Demon is out August 27, and available now for the special launch price of 99c.

P.S. If you haven’t entered the Strong Women in Fiction giveaway, don’t forget! The cash prizes are awesome.