Today I would like to welcome to the blog author
Tori St. Claire. Toni is currently on tour promoting the release of her erotic romance suspense book
Stripped. Please everyone, give a big welcome to Toni.
The theme… the theme… egad the theme.
Where did it come from? Honestly? I have no idea. It is, hands down, a story that just presented itself. I had to work out a few details, and I’ll share those.
The idea of a romantic suspense novel in a strip bar hit me from a song. But I knew that was a pretty generic romantic suspense theme. I wanted something a little darker, a little different, of course.
I’ve always had a passion for Russia. This probably came from my mentor, who is a Russian immigrant. Add in the fact that I cut my teeth on movies with my father and James Bond, espionage came rather naturally. Only, I don’t tend to be that future-sighted to create fancy little gadgets like 007 has, so I had to steer clear of the fantastical.
Russia, Moscow especially, has a deep history in the mafia. Everything, for the most part, is tied in somehow. You want protection? You go to the mafia. You want retribution? Well… I think you get my point. So I did some research on what mafia groups (there are many as opposed to our US understanding of Italian mafias) were doing what, which were international threats as opposed to regional, and so forth. Enter the Solntsevskaya Bratva. Scary bunch, let me tell you.