“Catching the Bud Guy” by Marie Astor
Guest Post
“Why does romance sell?”
There is no denying that romance is the bestselling fiction genre: ask any publisher or literary agent, they will confirm it. Why is it that romance sells so well? The skeptics will argue that readers are eager for an escape, but I think that the reason romance is so popular is that ultimately love is something that makes life worth living. When we have love in our lives it fills us with happiness, and when we do not, we yearn for it. And if it is possible to experience this beautiful emotion through a book, if only for a brief while, then I think that the genre that brings such an experience to readers should be a bestselling one.
In my humble opinion (and I know that many will disagree) novels that truly touch the reader have an underlying theme of a love story in them. Now I’m not saying that a novel has to have a love story to be great (take Moby Dick for example), but I do think that novels that have a love story at its core reach the reader in a very unique way. Take, for example, one of the greatest American novels, The Great Gatsby: at its very core, it is a love story between Gatsby and Daisy. Of course there are many important elements to this magnificent novel: Fitzgerald’s eloquent prose, the incredibly well-captured period of American history, social commentary, but it is Gatsby’s romantic nature that tugs at the reader’s heart strings.
As you probably have already guessed, I am a sucker for love stories. In my books I try to capture the complicated nature of human relationships: both the joy as well as the sadness that they sometimes bring us. I write both in contemporary romance and romantic suspense genre. If you would like to learn more about my books, please stop by website www.marieastor.com. I would like to conclude this post with a quick excerpt from my latest novel, Catching the Bad Guy. Thank you for reading!
EXCERPT of “Catching the Bad Guy”
David Muller motioned to the waitress for another round of drinks. A few moments later, a pretty blonde brought two dirty martinis to the table. The service at Delmonico’s was top-notch. David was a frequent patron, and the waiters practically fell over themselves in order to please him.
“To fortuitous outcomes,” said David as he raised his drink, smiling at his lunch companion, Tom Wyman.
“Cheers.” Wyman took a long swallow of his drink. “I must admit that I thought it was going to be touch and go for a while,” Wyman added, popping an olive into his mouth.
“For a while,” David conceded, “but not for long.” Wyman deserved much of the credit for the happy outcome, but that did not give him the right to rub it in. Had Wyman not introduced David Muller to Aileen Finnegan, David would not be celebrating his exoneration, but that was where Wyman’s contribution ended. David did the rest of the work himself and would have to continue doing it for the foreseeable future. The authorities had built what seemed like a bulletproof case against David Muller and his hedge fund, Emperial; the broker David conducted his dealings through; and Bostoff Securities, along with its owner, Jonathan Bostoff. Fortunately, however, there was no such thing as bulletproof evidence—not when one was dating the daughter of New York’s attorney general. Aileen Finnegan was far from being a beauty, but her father’s political clout more than made up for her physical shortcomings.
“Aileen sure has fallen for you. But then you were always quite the ladies’ man.”
David downed the rest of his drink, refusing to dignify Wyman’s remark with an answer. Wyman had been in just as much hot water as David. The services that Wyman had performed for Jon Bostoff and Bostoff Securities were egregious enough for Wyman to lose his law license and would have cost him a huge fine and possible jail time. David had been the one to take the bullet for both of them. It just so happened that Aileen Finnegan fancied David’s British charm. Despite his last name, David Muller had little to do with Germany except for his ancestors who had left their homeland for Great Britain somewhere in late eighteen hundreds. Not that David cared: his was not a pedigree worthy of a family crest. But while his Essex accent placed him solidly in the middle-class in his homeland, to Americans he was bona fide English nobility.
“You are aware that Cornelius Finnegan is expecting you to propose marriage to his daughter, right? He already thinks of you as his son-in-law.” Wyman would not relent.
David flinched at the reminder of the hefty price he had agreed to pay for his and Wyman’s freedom.
Marie Astor is the author of Janet Maple romantic suspense series: To Catch a Bad Guy and Catching the Bad Guy, contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, Smitten at First Sight, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back. Marie’s next novel, book three of the Janet Maple Series, is expected to be released in late fall of 2013.
In her spare time, Marie enjoys being adventurous out-of-doors. She often gets new story ideas while she is hiking up a mountain or trying to avoid bumping into a tree while skiing.
Marie loves hearing from her readers and always answers all of her email personally. Please visit www.marieastor.com to join Marie’s mailing list for updates on contests and new book releases or drop her a line at marie.astor@yahoo.com.
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