In a previous blog post I wrote about my heroine Naomi from Deadly Intent , so here, I’ll mention the hero, Devon. Devon is 35. His personality isn’t anyone I know, but his job is borrowed from the orthopedic surgeon who repaired my ACL (twice). Dr. King is the official orthopedic surgeon for the Oakland Raiders. He’s totally nice. Devon has a good heart, and he's very successful in his business as an orthopedic surgeon, but he has a very hard father. His father's personality and the pressures he put on his son has made Devon rein in his emotions. He is close to his warm, fun sister, and she is the reason he goes to the Joy Luck Life spa to see his ex-wife—to retrieve his mother's Tiffany necklace so his sister can wear it for her wedding. Of course, things go awry when his ex-wife kind of sort of DIES at the spa ... I pictured Devon Knightley to look like Alex O'Loughlin from the (sadly, cancelled) TV show Moonlight . (Don’t judge me! I thought his character was ...

6 reasons why you will enjoy Deadly Intent: 1) It's set in a SPA! 2) Devon (the hero) is totally HOT! 3) Did I mention the SPA? 4) Naomi (the heroine) is cute and fun 5) Naomi is a massage therapist! 6) Naomi is a massage therapist in a SPA! Naomi is 27 years old, and half-Japanese, half-Caucasian, so she looks a little exotic, but not too much so. I pictured her to look like Natalie Portman. I admit I named her after a girl in the youth group at my church because I honestly couldn’t think of a name. Also, the real-life Naomi is half-Japanese and half-Caucasian just like my character. My character Naomi’s personality isn’t based on anyone I know, but I always thought being a massage therapist would be a cool job, so I did a lot of research for Naomi’s career and for the spa. Naomi’s a maiden or Persephone archetype. They tend to be easygoing and carefree, but Naomi has been thrust into a more responsible role by her father, who just had a stroke. Worried about the future...

My Sonoma series started with 3 books starring the 3 Grant sisters in Sonoma. Book 4 starred Nathan, who was a minor character in book 3, and then I wrote Necessary Proof , which stars Jane, who was a minor character in book 2 and a cousin to the Grant sisters. In the next book, Unshakeable Pursuit , I brought in the Whelan family, Jane’s cousins who are also second cousins to the Grant sisters. It was rather confusing to come up with the family tree! The way I have it set up, the Whelan siblings’ mom, Emma Whelan, is sister to Jane Lawton’s mom, Eleanor Lawton. The Grant sisters’ mom and her sister, Aunt Becca, were first cousins to Emma Whelan and Eleanor Lawton. I thought it might be fun for you guys to see my created family tree, so here it is! It’s rather large, so click on the image to see the larger version.

Weigh in: Diamonds or pearls? For me, it’s diamonds. That’s why Jessica’s necklace in my Christian Romantic Suspense, Deadly Intent , is diamonds. I based Jessica’s necklace on an actual necklace from Tiffany, the Jean Schlumberger “Lynn” necklace. The photo is copyrighted so I can’t post it on my blog, but you can see the necklace online here . Isn’t it lovely? Tell me which you prefer, and post pics/links to your favorite jewelry!

The best part about writing novels is that I get to include little personal things in my books. I absolutely love food, so I always include one or two foods in my books that are special to me. In my romantic suspense, Deadly Intent , the heroine’s family is having a get-together with friends and family. At get-togethers with my family, my mom will usually make Chinese chicken salad. It’s a really yummy dish that’s surprisingly easy to make. It’s also not too exotic (unlike some other Asian food I grew up with). As kids, we loved it, and my mom was happy since we were eating our veggies. :) Chinese chicken salad 1-2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded 1 head iceberg lettuce 1/4 c. cilantro, coarsely chopped (optional) 1 package won ton skins (optional) DRESSING: 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil 1/2 cup salad oil 2 Tablespoons sugar 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper finely shredded celery (optional) Whisk together dressing, adding or sub...

This post about my first romantic suspense novel, Deadly Intent , was originally posted on another website. However, the post is now lost in an internet black hole because the website was taken down. So I decided to repost it here on my blog. DEADLY INTENT back cover blurb: SCENE OF THE CRIME The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust? Ten Things That Inspired Me to Write Deadly Intent: 10) It's set in a spa. Can we say, research??? 9) The heroine is a massage therapist. Again, research??? I ...

Captain's Log, Supplemental I'm totally thrilled to be interviewed on Mark Young's blog! Check it out here ! Mark's a former police officer and I absolutely love his blog. I read it all the time because he has great interviews with mystery/suspense authors and also law enforcement officers. Really cool stuff!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.20.2010 I was thrilled to get a phone call from the Oklahoma RWA chapter that Deadly Intent finaled in their National Readers’ Choice Awards contest! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY !!! It finaled in the Inspirational romance category. I’m also deeply honored by the other finalists! Look what illustrious company I’m in! Inspirational LAURA SCOTT - THE THANKSGIVING TARGET ROBIN LEE HATCHER - A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ROBIN LEE HATCHER - FIT TO BE TIED CAMY TANG - DEADLY INTENT COLLEEN COBLE - THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER Click here to see the rest of the finalists in the other categories!

Captain's Log, Supplemental I’m on Janalyn’s blog in an interview! Come by and say hi!

I'm over at Nora St. Laurent's blog today in an interview! You find yourself in a life threatening situation who would you pick to save you? You are the author her you can be creative, the sky is the limit. Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. Because he's HOT! Click here for the rest of the interview

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.15.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. It's the end of my blog tour! Finishing the tour is: Fellow Love Inspired Suspense author Cara Putman asks me about any embarrassing research books I had to check out of the library, and she also reviews Deadly Intent . I blog about ideas for new novels on Myra Johnson’s blog .

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.13.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. My friend and women’s fiction author Christina Berry reviews Deadly Intent and I show the necklace that inspired Jessica's diamonds in the book! :) (pre-order Christina’s debut novel, The Familiar Stranger !)

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.12.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. My friend and Love Inspired romance author Betsy St. Amant reviews Deadly Intent .

Do you want bookmarks or signed bookplates (or both)? I have Deadly Intent bookmarks available! (Actually, they came in a while ago, but I forgot to post on my blog that I had them. Doh!) I also have these really cute pink bookplates that I can personalize to you and autograph for you to stick in your copy of Deadly Intent . Just email me at camy {at} camytang {dot} com with your mailing address and how you want your bookplate(s) personalized. Let me know if you want more than one!

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.05.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. Alison Strobel Morrow interviews me about the genre switch, my next book coming out, and what I'm reading right now.

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.04.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. Deborah reviews Deadly Intent .

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.03.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. Patricia reviews Deadly Intent --I like her take on my "voice."

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.31.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. Laura Domino reviews Deadly Intent .

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.30.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. My hero, Dr. Devon Knightley, talks about his own spiritual battles on Laura Domino’s blog I'm on the blog of my friend and fellow Love Inspired Suspense author Janet Dean with a guest blog post about my heroine, Naomi, and her family pressures--which I hope/think a lot of you will relate to!

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.28.2009 The complete schedule of the Deadly Intent blog tour is here. My friend MJ reviews my book on her blog, Creative Madness That Makes Me Myself . Writers, read about the Basic Building Blocks of Good Story Structure at the blog of contemporary romance author Cheryl Wyatt .