Coming soon: Action, Adventure, Skulls and Swordplay!

Hey all!  In about a week or so, my next release hits bookstores, cleverly disguised under the Alex Archer pseudonym.  This is the second book I've written for the Rogue Angel series, and I just can't get enough.  I love this series, the action and adventure and the capable and very smart heroine.  I allows me to explore plots I wouldn't normally get to in romance.  And I do love to mix together odd ideas.  For example THE BONE CONJURER involves a missing infant's skull rumored to be the Skull of Sidon, a Ukrainian bone conjurer (or necromancer), a Forbes 100 businessman on the rise who suffers debilitating migraines and has a daughter dying of brain cancer, a 500-yr old immortal man with abs of steel (hee), much swordplay and a fun action scene on the NY subway, and a rockstar professor who likes to play guitar and cruise the young girls when he's not teaching archaeology.  Toss in a sniper or two, an awesome battle with the heroine wielding an air nailer as a weapon (Yes!  I so wanted to shoot someone in the head with an air nailer!), and I think this is a pretty fun and action-packed story.

Whew!  With all that going on, there should be something in there to appeal to everyone, eh?  Add to it the recurring character of Annja Creed, archaeologist and adventurer, and that's my kind of read.  Think Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft.  For me, it's a nice break from writing romance because I don't have to think too much about developing a new intimate relationship for the heroine (that's not allowed in the series), yet she can flirt and have relationships on her own terms (when she has time; but who has time when you're always chasing down adventure?).  In other words, it feeds my inner Bombshell.  :-)

So do you like that cover?  I love it.  Though I have to say nowhere in the story does the Statue of Liberty ever make an appearance.  I assume that was the artist's means to quickly and easily show the story is set in NY.  (Cover art is by the amazing graphic artist Tim Bradstreet.)  And I had hoped for a skull, and didn't actually find that until I'd had the cover for weeks.  Can you all spot the skull?  Also, the story is set around Thanksgiving, and it's snowing.  A lot.  I promise you I would never send my heroine out in the chilly weather wearing a short leather mini skirt, but...sigh...  The audience for this series also includes men, so you know, it's all good.  ;-)

So this is what I want to know today.  I believe the majority of Riding's readers love romance.  But when you need a change of pace, what genre do you like to read in?  (And did you spot the skull?)

Michele