Please welcome back our wonderful guest this month, paranormal romantic suspense author Jaime Rush. (a.k.a. Queen of a the Fabu Covers )

Jaime is here today to talk to us about her wonderful “Offspring” series, as well as psychic abilities. Do-do, do-do, do-do, do-do. Let’s see what she has to say…

What, are you psychic or something?

I grew up on stories about ghosts and my mom’s psychic experiences, so I never questioned that psychic stuff was real. My earlier books (written as Tina Wainscott) played with themes such as body switching, near death experiences, twin connections, cellular memory, and psychic connections. I love that it could be real. It’s on the edge, accessible to all of us. Who hasn’t had a whoo-whoo experience? A knowing? If you haven’t, someone you know has, I’ll bet. Just recently a man I met, upon hearing what I write about, recounted an out of body experience he’d had. I’ve heard of several people who saw a relative’s spirit in the night and discover they passed over. I have had knowings.

When I was 19 and doing temp work, every time I saw a Toyota Supra, a sports car way out of my current financial picture, I knew I would have one. It baffled me, frankly. (Hullo, between jobs, 19 years old.) When I heard the local rock station was hosting a hand-a-thon and the winner would get a brand new Toyota Supra, I went, “Whoa. I have got to enter that one!” Without that knowing, I probably wouldn’t have, considering it was a competition where twenty-eight people put their hand on the car and whoever was the last person standing won it. I kept that knowing with me hour after hour, hallucinating, people dropping off in fugue states and sleeping right there, even when it came down to me and one other guy, and he tried giving me the evil eye. Seventy-four hours later, I won that car. It was the same with getting published, knowing I would meet a great guy, and recently, lingering when the light turned green instead of gunning it (I still have a Supra). The car in the right turn lane came into my lane and would have hit me if I’d been in my usual spot.

I believe we all have the ability to expand past our five senses. What could be more fascinating, more mysterious, than the human brain? Our soul? We are amazing creatures. If we don’t get in our own way, think of the things we can accomplish.

Our government created a program that used gifted people to remote-view (psychically spy on) our enemy, which was primarily the USSR at that time. Several agencies had custody of this program, best known as Stargate, over twenty-four years starting in 1971. The Soviets were also pursuing paranormal means for spying and warfare.

It was this program, in fact, that inspired my “Offspring” series. The government had also given one of their own people LSD without his knowledge to see if it would make him more susceptible to interrogation. It only made him hurl himself out a hotel window to his death. My mind started playing the writer’s What If? game. What if the government created a program that employed people with different, and potentially dangerous, psychic abilities? What if these people were given a substance that enhanced those abilities, but ultimately made them crazy and so they had to be terminated to protect the program? What would happen to their Offspring, who might have inherited both the ability and the insanity? What if the man behind the original program began searching for the offspring, to either use them for a new program or terminate them? And thus, my group of Offspring began forming, joining together to find the truth about who they are and who killed their parents. Different people, outcasts, fierce, loyal, banding together to survive.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is Book Two of the series, and I’ve tried to make sure new readers are caught right up to the action without an information overload. In a flash, Zoe Stoker goes from tattoo artist to target of an assassin. All her life she’s felt like a freak, and now the Offspring, people who also have remarkable psychic abilities, are her only hope. The enemy grows more dangerous…and so do her feelings for one sexy loner as she gains command of her powers and loses control of her heart.

So has anyone here had a whoo-whoo experience? Do you have a special “talent”? Do share!

Thank you, Jaime!  I love psychic, supernatural stuff & can’t wait to see what kind of stories readers share with us today.

And don’t forget, Darlings, that Jaime will be giving away an autographed copy of her newest release, OUT OF THE DARKNESS (Book 2 of her “Offspring” series) after today’s visit.  U.S. residents only, please, but all you have to do to enter is chat away!

I’m delighted to welcome paranormal romantic suspense author Jaime Rush back to the The Dungeon today for Mistress Heidi’s version of Twenty Questions.    (There are actually only seventeen, but who’s going to be brave enough to tell her that? )

So tell us, Jaime…

What is your favorite color? I have two, teal and purple, and they even look good together.

Favorite song? That depends on my mood. For something uplifting, I love U2’s “Beautiful Day.” When I’m grumpy, Alanis Morissette’s “You Ought To Know.” For dancing around and being happy, “Dawn of the Dead” by Does it Offend You, Yeah? Right now I’m digging Helmut Fritz’s ” ça m’énerve” (which is on my Myspace page: www.myspace.com/jaimerush)

Favorite movie? While You Were Sleeping, with Sandra Bullock. Such a great feel-good movie.

And of course, favorite book? There are many, but the one that comes to mind is Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts.

What are you currently reading, & how are you enjoying it? I’m reading The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. It’s an alternate-reality, Big Brother kind of book, very suspenseful.

Name three books on your TBR pile that you can’t wait to read. Linnea Sinclair’s Shades of Dark; Terri Garey’s You’re the One that I Haunt; To Free a Dolphin Ric O’Barry.

What was the first book in your chosen genre that you remember reading, or that made you want to write the same? I loved reading Alfred Hichcock’s short story compilations and V.C. Andrews’s first two series. I read a lot of unsolved mystery type non-fiction, too.

What do you think of Heidi? She’s great, right? Fab, dahling!

How did you get started writing? As a kid, I wrote and wrote and wrote. In my late teens, I wrote longer short stories and took writing classes, and borrowed every book in the library about writing and the business.

Tell us a little bit about your first sale. It was my third completed manuscript, and it had won RWA’s Golden Heart award. It was different, and back then, most of the paranormal that was out there was either ghost (just a few) and time travels. Mine was about a woman who dies and gets a second chance, but it’s in the body of another woman. (ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN, under Tina Wainscott). I got a call from my agent’s boss who was looking for my agent, who happened to be down in my town on vacation! I felt like screaming, “Find her!!!” Not long after, my agent called me with the wonderful news.

Fill in the blank—If you like Christine Feehan, you’ll love Jaime Rush!

Now, I know this is slightly hush-hush, but since we’ve already let the cat out of the bag, can you give us a little background on why you’re writing the “Offspring” series under a new name? And how did you go about deciding what your pseudonym would be? (I find that sort of thing fascinating. *g*) I had gone off into psychological suspense for a couple of books, and then I decided I needed a change in many ways, not just genre. So I let my mind play, coming up with a series (a first for me!) that encompassed the things I loved about television series that weren’t around anymore, like X-Files, The Highlander, and Roswell. My agent sent it out and I went to a new publisher, who felt that bringing me out as a fresh new author was the best way to go.

The name…well, that was really hard. I kept brainstorming all these names, thinking about alliteration and shelf placement, but Jaime Rush kept coming back to me. I even found it on a map! So I figured there must be a reason, and I chose it. Then I realized that the hero’s name in my first book was named Jamie and the last hero was named Rush. Destiny!

Tell us about OUT OF THE DARKNESS and why we’ll love every word. In a flash, Zoe Stoker goes from tattoo artist to target of an assassin. The Offspring, people who have remarkable psychic abilities like she does, are her only hope. The enemy grows more dangerous…and so do her feelings for one sexy loner as she gains command of her powers and loses control of her heart.

I love Zoe and Rand. She’s a tattoo artist and he’s a graffiti artist. They are different and similar at the same time, and I love their conflict, their emotional connection, and their chemistry. I love how they grow and tear away each other’s shields.

You gave me a sneak peek (it’s good to be Mistress *g*) of this awesome tattoo designed just for this series.  Can you give us the background on that? I had it designed from a sketch I’d come up with for my series. Zoe, my heroine in book 2, is a tattoo artist, and she dreamed about this symbol. When she joins the Rogues, she realizes it fits them perfectly: the name of the program their parents were in was called BLUE EYES, the O of the iris is for Offspring, and the slashes in the iris look like an R for Rogues. This becomes their symbol, permanently inked on their bodies.

If your plane crashed in the Andes, would you convince the other survivors to eat Heidi first or last? I have heard she’s awful sweet…

If you could write anything—whether in the same genre/sub-genre as you’re writing now or another—what would it be? I miss writing romantic comedy. I did it for Harlequin for a few books and liked the change from the suspenseful drama.

What are you currently working on? I just turned in the revised manuscript for book 3 of the series, book 4 is already plotted and ready to submit for contract, and now I’m doing promotion. I’ve got a special promotion planned. Everyone who signs up for my mailing list will have their name in my third book of my Offspring series, TOUCHING DARKNESS, scheduled for July 2010. It’s my way of thanking my fans, friends, and those who have supported my books. All folks have to do is fill in their name and email address in the form at my website: www.JaimeRush.com

Thank you so much, Jaime! Love the “Offspring” tattoo & cannot wait to have you back next week to talk even more about this fabulous series!

Remember, everyone, Jaime will be giving away an autographed copy of her first “Offspring” book, A PERFECT DARKNESS, after today’s visit.

And then next week—WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH—she’ll be drawing a winner for Book #2 (the brand new one!), OUT OF THE DARKNESS.

This is not something you’ll want to miss, so stick around & help us keep Jaime company!

In one minute, Zoe Stoker goes from tattoo artist to a woman with assassins hot on her trail. All her life she’s felt like a freak, and now the Offspring, people who also have extraordinary psychic abilities, are her only hope. As their group grows stronger, and the enemy gets more dangerous, one sexy loner pushes her to the brink of love.

Missing the romance, relationship drama, and action of her favorite television shows, X-Files, Roswell, and Highlander, Jaime Rush has created her own mix in the “Offspring” series, from Avon Books.

This new paranormal romantic suspense series about the Offspring of parents involved in a mysterious experiment gone awry began with A PERFECT DARKNESS in January & continues this month with OUT OF THE DARKNESS.  The Offspring possess extraordinary psychic abilities—and they are in terrible danger.

Jaime Rush is a pseudonym for bestselling Tina Wainscott, author of eighteen novels for St. Martin’s Press and Harlequin. Her website is www.JaimeRush.com.

Since her bio kind of let the cat out of the bag, I guess I can go ahead & say that I am very happy to have our friend Tina Wainscott back in The Dungeon for a visit.  But today we’ll be calling her by her new pen name, Jaime Rush.  (This is a concept I know you’ll all understand, since you’re very good at balancing the Heidi/Mistress Heidi thing. )

I also have to say that I am loving the covers Jaime has gotten for this series so far.  Artwork envy! Artwork envy!

I can’t wait to find out more about Jaime’s new series, & maybe ask her about her pseudonym switcheroo.  But first, let me tell you, my Darlings, about a couple of very neat things Jaime will be sharing with us during her stay.

First, free books!

At the end of her second visit, Jaime will draw a name for an autographed copy of her first “Offspring” title, A PERFECT DARKNESS.  And after her third, an autographed copy of the latest installment, OUT OF THE DARKNESS.  (U.S. residents only, please, but everyone is welcome to chat!)

And this week, she’s sharing a couple of opportunities that are really neat!

BE IN A BOOK! YOUR NAME, NO CONTEST, NO KIDDING!

Whenever I’ve dedicated a book to someone, it’s so much fun to see the thrill on their face. Sometimes I don’t tell the person and I wait to see if they notice. A friend who lives in another state called me, totally revved about discovering her name in the book. So when I saw that a band named Building Rome was including fans’ names in their liner sheets, I thought, what a great way to do something special for a lot of people! I wouldn’t have borrowed the idea had another author been doing it, but a band is a different type of medium, and I gratefully give them credit. I cleared the idea with my publisher, who would be adding several more pages to my book, and the plan was put into action.

Here’s how it works, and it’s really simple. Go to my website (www.JaimeRush.com), fill in your name and email address in the form on the “Be in a Book” page, and that’s it. There is no contest, no “lucky” winner. You’re all winners to me. Tell your friends and family so they can be included, too. Names will be in the third book of my “Offspring” series, TOUCHING DARKNESS, scheduled for May 2010, from Avon Books.

I also have a contest, one I’ve been running for every book for several years now. Everybody loves contests. Early in my Tina Wainscott career, I decided I wanted to do a contest that would be fun, would stir your imagination, and would be open to readers and writers, because hey, a lot of readers want to write, or at least dream of being a writer. So I came up with my “Kick Butt First Line” contest. Shocking, suspenseful…make us want more! I offer cash prizes, and the contest runs from September 15 through November 1, 2009. For aspiring authors, it’s a chance to get your name out there and add a “win” to your bio. For readers, it’s a chance to play at being a writer. Even if you’re not inclined to write a line, check out the entries—they’re a lot of fun! For details, go to www.JaimeRush.com and click on the Contest link.

Remember, Jaime will have an interview up for us next Wednesday, September 23rd, & then be back to really chat all about her new series the following Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 30TH.  You won’t want to miss it, so mark your calendars now!