Guest Post and Giveaway: Suspicious Behavior by L.A. Witt and Cari Z.

We’re so pleased to welcome the writing team of L.A. Witt and Cari Z. today, on tour to celebrate the release of their latest collaboration, Suspicious Behavior, book two in the Bad Behavior series from Riptide Publishing. They’re here talking about co-writing, as a matter of fact, and there’s also a great giveaway, so be sure to check out the entry details below.

Welcome, L.A. and Cari!

So, How Do You Co-Write?

Every co-writing relationship is unique, and every team has their own techniques. Some write in real-time (both logged into a Google doc at the same time), some alternate chapters. Just depends on the writers.

Cari and I have wildly different schedules and live on opposite sides of a surprisingly large body of water, so writing in real-time doesn’t work well for us.

Our technique is thus:

1. Via email, we come up with a couple of characters and a basic plot.
2. We each take one of the characters and flesh them out. Personality. Back story. Family. Etc.
3. After exchanging info about the characters, we hop on Skype and hammer out a more detailed plot. There’s usually a fair amount of cackling at this point because we know we’re going to make our characters’ lives hell.
4. The writing commences. Sometimes Cari writes the first chapter and sometimes I do. It basically plays out like this:
   1. “Okay, we’re off! Have fun!”
   2. “hehehe Here. Have some tension.”
   3. “…did you just set me up to write a car chase? When you know I hate car chases?”
   4. “Hahaha! Nice car chase! Okay, here’s a quiet moment.”
   5. “Aww, they’re so cute. Oops. I broke your character. My bad.”
   6. “OMG what did you do to him? Siiiiigh.”
   7. Etc etc etc until we start approaching the climax/black moment…
   8. “DUDE HOW DO I GET THEM OUT OF THIS MESS YOU MADE?”
   9. “Oh, well-played. Wait. Now how do *I* get them out of the mess *you* made???”
   10. “Awwwww that was adorable. We should be meaner in the next book.”
5. And then we edit.

So when you see us tweeting at each other about breaking the other’s character or doing evil things….we’re not exaggerating. LOL

About Suspicious Behavior

Detective Darren Corliss is hanging by a thread. In between recovering from a near-fatal wound and returning to work at a hostile precinct, he’s struggling to help care for his ailing brother. His partner and boyfriend, Detective Andreas Ruffner, wants to help, but doesn’t know how. And with his own family crises brewing, Andreas is spread almost as thin as Darren.

For cops, though, life takes a backseat to the job. When a stack of unsolved homicides drops into their laps, Andreas and Darren think they’re unrelated cold cases. But when a connection surfaces, they find themselves on the tail of a prolific serial killer who’s about to strike again.

Except they’ve got nothing. No leads. No suspects. Just a pile of circumstantial evidence and a whole lot of hunches. Time is running out to stop the next murder—and to pull themselves back from their breaking points.

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About the Bad Behavior Series

It’s “hell no” at first sight for newly partnered detectives Andreas Ruffner and Darren Corliss. Darren is too chipper, Andreas is too gruff, and that whole “IA wants me to prove you’re a dirty cop” thing really doesn’t get them off on the right foot.

It doesn’t matter if they like each other. They’re partners and that’s final. Though Andreas is easy on the eyes. And Darren is kind of cute. And . . . okay, maybe they can make this work.

They’d better, because as their cases get more horrifying—and more personal—they’ll have to trust each other with their lives, and with their hearts.

 

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About the Authors

Cari Z was a bookworm as a child and remains one to this day. In an effort to combat her antisocial reading behavior, she did all sorts of crazy things, from competitive gymnastics to alligator wresting (who even knew that was legal!) to finally joining the Peace Corps, which promptly sent her and her husband to the wilds of West Africa, stuck them in a hut, and said, “See ya!” She also started writing, because some things she just thought she could do better. She’s still climbing that ladder, but can’t stop herself from writing, or from sharing what she creates.

Cari enjoys a wide range of literary genres, from the classics (get ‘im, Ahab) to science fiction and fantasy of all types, to historical fiction and reference materials (no, seriously, there are so many great encyclopedias out there). She writes in a wide range of genres as well, but somehow 90% of what she produces ends up falling into the broad and exciting category of m/m erotica. There’s a sprinkling of f/m and f/f and even m/f/m in her repertoire, but her true love is man love. And there’s a lot of love to go around.

Cari has published short stories, novellas, and novels with numerous print and e-presses, and she also offers up a tremendous amount of free content on Literotica.com, under the name Carizabeth.

Connect with Cari at her Website or via her Blog.

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L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut . . .

L.A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Suspicious Behavior, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit and their choice in an ebook from each of Cari and L.A.’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on August 26, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!