Denyse Bridger Chats About Hidden in the Mist

Welcome to Paranormal Romance Month! This week I’ve the pleasure of interviewing Denyse Bridger about her latest release, Hidden in the Mist. As always, there’s a contest involved. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Hidden in the Mist and a $5 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press!

HIDDEN IN THE MIST

The misty evening air of a Winter in Venice cloaks many things…. some passionate lovers hoping for stolen moments….. others merely the cutthroats and thieves that plague any city filled with the wealth of visitors and citizens of palaces….. But what else lies hidden in the mist? The voice of an angel lures…. each perfect note beckons and promises untold pleasures…. until, finally, a broken heart succumbs to desire…. and Fate weaves a new thread into the tapestry that is the mystery of life itself…. or more…

SKY: Welcome, Denysé. Thanks so much for visiting this week!

DENYSE: Thank you for having me here as your guest, Sky! I’m looking forward to meeting your readers, and will be around to answer any questions folks might want to ask! We’ll even give away a copy of the book over the next day or two!

SKY: Fantastic! Erotic and mysterious, Hidden in the Mist tempts the curious mind. Tell me, what inspired this story?

DENYSE: This story was inspired by two things, as the dedication on it implies. Ezio is a photographer, and he sent me an incredible photo that he’d taken while he was in Venice one week. He just happened to be at the right place and snapped this shot. The moment I saw it, my mind kicked into story mode. Riccardo is my friend Riccardo Foresi, who is an Italian singer, and I was listening to some of his music while looking at the photo, and all of a sudden, voice and image coalesced and I had a story screaming at my brain. Took almost no time to write it, and I continued to listen to Riccardo while I wrote, and placed the photo on the file until it was ready to submit. Anyone who wants to hear the voice, check it out. Click HERE – and I can also supply the image if anyone’s curious.

SKY: In my opinion, Venice is one of the most beautiful and romantic places on Earth. I well remember the charming old world ambience unique to an evening in Italy. Allow us to crawl inside the pages of Hidden in the Mist. Was there a particular scene in Venice you adored writing about? One tidbit of tantalizing setting you feel rose above all others?

DENYSE: The scene I loved most was the walk along the Grand Canal, with the mist swirling and the ice fog making shapes and atmosphere that I hope I conveyed to some reasonable extent. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place in the world than Venice on a cool Winter evening.... There is also the moment when the heroine finally comes face to face with the mysterious man who’s been calling out to her psyche. Cool stuff that... LOL

SKY: Your alluring heroine captivates me. I sense, though she’s vulnerable, great courage lies within her heart. Would you agree? Disagree? Elaborate. Tell us a little bit about her!

DENYSE: There is a fine line between the allure of madness and the sensuality of love and passion experienced from a distance, but obsessive in its hunger... She has been both victim and survivor, and it’s made her a little crazy, but determined to end the insanity she feels in her head, on way or another. I think with this heroine, I tested that line and let her cross back and forth as the mood needed. This is part of the scene where you meet her walking along the canal, intent on finally confronting the object of her desire:

Somewhere ahead of her, hidden in the mist, was the end of her journey. She pulled her cape closer in an effort to block the insidious damp of the fog. That cloying wetness rising from the murky waters was intent on seeping into her bones, chilling her inside and out. Or was it her reason for walking in the night that was really creating the ice in her veins? The dress she’d chosen offered beauty but no warmth, and that paradox had not escaped the part of her mind that still thought in rational terms.

Shuddering, her heartbeat pounding a frantic beat in her ears, she hastened her footsteps, heading unerringly for the theatre at the end of this pathway. He’d be there still, despite the lateness of the hour. She wondered if he ever left the place?

A sound caught her attention in the eerie stillness of the gloomy atmosphere. She whirled, straining to discern what was in shadows that were nothing more than shifting grey with the ambling clouds of fog that coiled around her. She sensed something, a presence. Or was it merely the product of her conscience? The shade of her escalating terror coming to haunt her footsteps?

Impatiently, she turned on her heel and began walking at a more rapid pace, praying fervently that she wouldn’t miss finding him. Less than five minutes later, she stood at the rear entrance to the massive theatre. It was rivalled by few other buildings, even in the majestic city of Venice, and she was suddenly horrified by what was in her heart and her mind. Deeper still, there was a different knowledge disrupting her calm; low in her body an awareness as old as time itself was waking and craving.

Music drifted from inside the spacious theatre, spilling outward to agitate the quietude of the night. The perfect, yet fragile notes were quickly swallowed by the dense mist, as though it, too, wanted to silence the beauty within the vast stone walls. His voice was that of an angel, soft, sensually crooning, each exquisite word of the song a definition of the emotion it spoke to… an evocative seduction that was both hypnotic and heart-breaking.

I love you…

She wasn’t certain if she’d spoken the words, or simply cried them from her soul and sent them spinning into the vortex of the churning vapour that was reaching up from the canal with greater intensity now. She turned her back to the building and leaned against the cold, damp stone, a sob of utter anguish choking her as she fought the pain that was threatening to make her abandon her purpose. Could she really do this?

She did love him. Every moment of the day it consumed her to the point of madness, and drove her quietly to despair each night she spent alone, aching for him.

SKY: Something tells me your hero is going to knock me off my feet. I’ll bet he’s incredible. Fess up. Is he as hot as he sounds?

DENYSE: Well, the hero tends to be my favourite character, too, so he also tends to be alpha and powerful in most stories. In this one, I wanted to create the question of whether he is ghost, vampire, or some otherworldly combination. I want you to still wonder what he is at the end of it, because then you can let your imagination decide what you like best. As to how hot he is – the two men who inspired this story are the embodiment of “romance heroes” in looks and charm, so yeah, he’s hot!! Here’s the “first glimpse” of him from the heroine’s eyes:

The sound of his voice, the silvery sweet notes of the piano he played, they enveloped her now, a lover’s embrace that wrapped around her and warmed her through the chill that clung to her cloak. She stumbled toward the angelic serenade, her heart lightened as though it had grown wings. She climbed an endless flight of stairs, drawn upward, into the highest reaches of the ageless theatre.

He continued to sing, the lyrical, lilting Italian words caressing her spirit and pulling her closer to him. When she finally stepped into the chamber where he was, she stared in wonder. The room was lit with what appeared to be a thousand candles, their soft glow reflecting off the polished wooden floor and throwing frenetic shadows everywhere. Seated at the piano was a slender man, dressed all in black. His hair was dark, and the hands that whispered over the keys of the instrument were long-fingered and elegant. Hands shaped for making love in any form he chose.

He played the last notes of the mesmerizing song and slowly turned to look at her. His dark eyes glittered, flames dancing wildly in their ebony depths, and he held out his hand to draw her forward. She went to him and dropped to her knees, head bowed, tears streaking her face as she let the hood of her cape fall to hide her shame.

“You came to end my life. Why?”

“I cannot bear the pain of not knowing you.”

“But you do know me. I am part of you.”

SKY: Oh, I loved that. Great job, Denyse. He sounds fabulous! I won’t keep you too much longer. You’ve enjoyed a very successful writing career. Over 400 publications. Incredible! I see you dabble in many genres. Most impressive. What’s next for you? Do you have any upcoming releases you’d like to tell us about?

DENYSE: I can’t stay with one genre exclusively, it bores me to death and I’m sure it would bore readers to tears. I love to mix things together and jump in with styles that aren’t always expected. I did a set of two stories that were set in Victorian England at the time of the Ripper murders – they’re among my best books – and they are erotic romances with a mystery theme, and a violent murder at their core. The hero of those two tales, Michael Devane, is one of the best heroes I have ever created.

My next book is a non-erotic title due out from Hearts On Fire Books, March 1st. It’s a full-length novel called “Shades of Death” and is part thriller, part vampires, and a touch of romance in the intrigue. Dara England did a superb cover for me, and here’s the blurb:

SHADES OF DEATH: Available March 1st

Deep within the ageless Carpathian Mountains, an ancient evil wakes. Imprisoned many centuries ago, the creature has waited, patiently, for the one destined to grant her freedom.

Arienne Lereaux has studied the preternatural menace called "vampyre" for most of her life. She is an expert in the field. Loosely affiliated with a secretive organization called The Institute of Paranormal Research and Investigation, she turns to them when she unearths what may be the first representation of the vampyre ever to exist.

The enigmatic and attractive Head of the Institute, Adam Raven, has spent a lifetime tracking the clues left by his mother's disappearance in the mountains of Romania nearly twenty years past. When Arienne arrives at the secluded island headquarters of the Institute, he wonders if she holds the key to finding his lost mother. But before too many days pass, the city of Vancouver is rocked by a series of grisly murders. As it races to find the culprit, the Institute faces an evil unlike any it has encountered before...

In the middle of their hunt, another branch of their network is making a scientific breakthrough in genetically heightened telepathy. The team responsible may soon hold a weapon that will have world powers at their door—until their lead scientist vanishes after leaving Toronto to consult Raven and his people. Ancient myth is suddenly not myth, and evil may take many guises before the Institute can restore the delicate balance that was destroyed the night Arienne stumbled into a remote castle in the mountains half a world away…

SKY: It’s been super having you visit, Denysé. Thanks so much for sharing!

DENYSE: Thank YOU so much, Sky. It’s been my pleasure, really. So, to your readers, please ask any questions and I’ll be happy to answer, and we’ll pull a name from the comments in a day or so and send you a copy of “Hidden In The Mist” to read, ok? Blessings to everyone, always!

Denysé

Purchase Hidden in the Mist. Click here.

Visit Denyse at her Website

BLOOD WINE AND PALE ROSES

5 cups: Denysé M. Bridger has written a heartfelt story of love and emotional healing. Sean will tug at your heartstrings. His loneliness will creep into your heart the way the sun creeps up on a new day!

Coffee Time Romance

THE HUNT

Rating 4 ½ : The Hunt is a sizzling dark and erotic love story between two ambitious vampires. The sex scenes are so scorching that I could not put the book down until I got to the last page. Denysé M. Bridger blazes a fiery tale that will surely leave you breathless.

Reviewer: Tee, May 2004 Reviews

MIRAGE

5 Cups: Technically, there are four main characters in this tale, John Smythe and his assistant Kristy, Karen Wheeler and police detective, Peter King. Kristy is a wonderful character smart, strong, and ambitious. When she falls in love, she falls completely. Even when John is being accused of horrible things, she remains loyal and confident in her love. The love scenes between her and John are steamy and plentiful. The story itself is a pleasure.

Within these pages, you will find danger and intrigue, mystery, along with lots of sizzling and sultry sex. Considering the book is only a mere 98 pages, the fact you can find all that inside tells you a lot. The story is well written and nicely delivered at a pace crisp enough to hold the reader’s attention without being hurried. My first by Ms. Bridger and it will definitely become the first of many!

Johnna Flores, Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance

Don’t forget. For a chance to win a free copy of Hidden in the Mist and a $5 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press you must leave a comment by 12 PM EST on March 19th!

~Sky