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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Spies by Candace Havens


I say this a lot, but I love spies, fictional ones that is. My fascination with the others began with James Bond, or maybe even “The Avengers.” Those British spies were always so suave and sophisticated. I always thought it was so cool how they could go into any situation and take care of business.

That love for the covert continued with the television shows “Alias” and “Burn Notice.” Come on, who wouldn’t want to be Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) on ‘Alias’ with that beautiful body, clever mind and hot handler Michael (Michael Vartan).

Then there’s one of my all-time favorite spies Michael Westin (Jeffrey Donovan) on “Burn Notice.” He’s a recently burned CIA agent, who uses his special skill set to help others in trouble. He’s charming and lethal, which is one of my favorite combinations when it comes to spies.

Michael is also the inspiration for Jackson in my new book “Take Me If You Dare.” I wanted to take that character a step further. What would happen if he didn’t have any friends around him and had to find his way out of Thailand? What if he ran into a sexy detective and saw her as an opportunity to make it out of the country alive?

That’s how “Take Me If You Dare” begins. Jackson runs into Mariska, who is trying to solve the case of a missing man. He realizes she has incredible resources and pretends to be someone else so that he can get close to her.

What I love about Jackson, and yes I know I wrote him, is that he has a heart. Even when he does bad things, he feels guilty about it. He’s also incredibly charming. This is a Harlequin Blaze, so I had to be a little careful about not doing too much spy stuff and keeping the focus on the romance. That was something a little different for me, but I can’t wait to do it again.

I mean, there are worse things that writing hot, sexy shower scenes for a spy and his girl.

Who are some of your favorite spies? Do you have a favorite actor who played James Bond? I’m kind of partial to Sean Connery with Daniel Craig running a close second. Tell me, I really want to know.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I adored Roger Moore. I wanted to marry him. He's also the reason I'm such a rabid Anglophile to this day.

However, I'm not much for serious spy movies. Sadly enough, I always preferred the goofier side of the spy business with Get Smart and I Spy. Strangely enough though, I do like spy books. Weird, I know, but I never claimed to be normal. I especially enjoy historical spy romances like Celeste Bradley's The Royal Four series and The Liar's Club series. Yes, a spy with a heart is one of my weaknesses.

Great post!

Unknown said...

Gotta love those spies. Jason Bourne is a favorite as well as The Saint and who can forget Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

Tarot By Arwen said...

MMMM. I adore Sean Connery but I thought Daniel Craig was a very good new Bond. He seemed drier and edgier to me for some reason. And I always loved Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. Did you know Ian Fleming helped with that show?

Alexis Morgan said...

One movie I liked was about a fictional covert operation in WWII--The Eagle Has Landed. Michael Caine heads up a team of Germans who go on an undercover mission. Donald Sutherland plays an Irishman who spies for the Germans. Not quite the same as a Bond or Bourne movie, but an interesting film about good men caught up in a no-win situation.

Alexis

Charity said...

omg. You named my favorites. I am a HUGE Alias & Burn Notice fan. *le sigh*

Also, new movie coming out in the summer called the LOSERS. Spy-ish. You should see it.

I realize I'm totally off-topic... what was the question?

Answer: MICHAEL WESTEN. :)

For Bond... I couldn't tell you.