What was your inspiration behind The Men of Black Ops, Inc?

I have such admiration and gratitude for our military warriors and their families for all they sacrifice and put on the line for us every day.  I wanted to write something to honor those heroics and explore the bonds these men and women make during their service as well as write compelling, action packed reads.  But I was also curious about what happened to our Special Operations warrior when they parted ways with the military.  My research revealed that many of them chose law enforcement post military and many more continue to use their special skills as private contractors and fight the war on terror as civilians.  Black Ops. Inc. was born from that.  The BOIs are not mercenaries.  They don't hire out to the highest bidder.  Instead, they fight on for everything that originally called them to service.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this novel, the fourth in the series?

It's always a challenge to come up with a new, fresh and gripping story line as well as integrate a compelling romantic relationship between the main protagonists.  Feel The Heat has such a complex and action orientated story line that it proved difficult to interject the emotional conflict readers expect in my books.  Having said that, however, I'm very pleased with the end result.  Both B.J. Chase and Rafe Mendoza were amazing characters to write - I found them to be one of my most intriguing couples yet.

What are your future plans for the series?

I just finished book 5 in the series, Risk No Secrets featuring Wyatt - Papa Bear - Savage, yet another action packed, edge of your seat thriller set in Sal Salvador, El Salvador.  Secrets will be released in June 2010.   After that - who knows what BOI will show up in the next adventure?

How do you keep writing fresh, fun, and interesting for your own needs?

I try to always learn something new when I tack a fresh project.  Whether it's better acquainting myself with a new and exotic locale as a back drop for a story or simply creating characters and story lines that interest me.  I figure, if the story can't hold my attention, it's sure not going to hold a reader's attention.  And I love to explore certain personality types, figure out what makes them tick, what makes them dysfunctional and then set about fixing them.

You have an incredible trailer on your website, www.cindygerard.com. How did you make it happen?

I knew I wanted something short, powerful and impactful for the video to showcase Show No Mercy, the kick off book for the Black Ops Inc series.  So I toyed with the basic bullet points, then pared them down to a very few, laid them out in the rhythm I wanted and with the help of my webperson, fine-tuned it into what you see now.  And I'm glad you like it!  It turned out to be everything I had hoped for.

Tell us about your contributions to the blog, Riding With The Top Down.

I'm so honored to have been invited to 'ride in the convertible' with the rest of the talented authors on the Topdown blog.  We try to keep things interesting over there and mix it up by tackling any and all subjects (except politics and religion :o).   I've written about everything from 'hair' issues to weight to movie and tv show reviews to motivation to feng shui.  We laugh a lot but we're also serious at times and offer thought provoking pieces.  Mostly, though, we just have fun - and since there are 10 contributors and we're pretty prolific, we give away a LOT of books!

How has ITW benefited you?

I'm a relatively new member of ITW and I'm thrilled - pun intended - to be here.  I'm thoroughly enjoying the newsletters and inside industry info and look forward to attending my first ITW conference soon!

What are you working on now?

I'm just off deadline and getting ready to talk new contract with my publisher so I'm working on my house.:o)  As in cleaning.  Things get a bit dicey around here during the last month of a deadline.  I don't often see daylight or the world outside of my office during that last long haul.  Now it's time to play catch-up on all those little things that turned into a great, long 'to do' list. As for my next writing project ... all I can say is, there are great things in the wind and I'm really excited to dive back in to the deep water... 

Lori A. May is a novelist, poet, and freelance writer whose work has appeared in periodicals and anthologies such as The Writer, Tipton Poetry Journal, and Van Gogh's Ear. She is the author of two romantic suspense novels, THE PROFILER and MOVING TARGET, and is currently working on a YA suspense. Up next for Lori is a book-length collection of poetry, stains, with an autumn 2009 release. Her blog at http://loriamay.blogspot.com focuses on the writing life as well as author interviews, book news and reviews.