FAMILY PRESSURES

Hi there! This is Camy Tang, and I'm thrilled that Janet is letting me guest blog today!

I wanted to talk about something in my latest novel, Deadly Intent, that I think a lot of folks will relate to—parental pressures.

I have to admit that contrary to stereotypes, my Japanese American parents didn't pressure me about grades in my youth, nor did they nag me about getting married.

On the other hand, my husband's Chinese American family constantly harped on hubby's single state before he met me and brought me home to meet the fam. When we had just started dating, they'd ask us when we intended to get married, right in front of a huge room of people!

I am almost positive that a majority of you guys are cringing because you've had something similar happen to you. Am I right?

Even if you're Russian or Irish or Norwegian or Italian or whatever ethnicity, all families are alike. There are always a few people who think that their opinions, if voiced strongly enough and/or often enough, will sway you into doing what they want.

In Deadly Intent, my heroine's father has had a stroke. He's the owner of a very successful day spa in Sonoma, California, which caters to some very rich, elite clientele.

His oldest daughter, Rachel, is the spa's resident dermatologist researcher, who creates the unique skin care products that draw their clients to the spa. Rachel, obviously, is too valuable in her current role to take over the spa if something happens to her father.

His youngest daughter, Monica, has been a nurse in a San Francisco hospital for several years, and she and her father have always butted heads. While he admires Monica's strength of character, her contrariness makes her a bad candidate, in his mind, for taking over his beloved spa.

So he settles on his middle daughter, Naomi, who is the head massage therapist at the spa. He pressures Naomi to take over as acting manager while he recovers from his stroke, and he's grooming her to take over the spa eventually when he decides to retire.

Naomi, however, likes giving massages, not running the spa. She's always been a good daughter, and so she goes along with her father's wishes, but beneath the surface is a discontent with the direction her life is taking.

Then, one of her clients dies in her massage room. Talk about bad publicity for the spa! Her dad is not pleased, to say the least, even though he knows it's not Naomi's fault.

I hope you all read Deadly Intent to find out what happens—not just about the dead body, but also about Naomi's relationship with her father and how her life takes another turn when her crush, Devon Knightley, shows up at the spa and is a second suspect.

Thanks for having me here today, Janet!
Camy

DEADLY INTENT

SCENE OF THE CRIME

The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust?

About Camy:

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. She used to be a biologist, but now she is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads a worship team for Sunday service. She also runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every week, and she ponders frivolous things like dumb dogs (namely, hers), coffee-geek husbands (no resemblance to her own...), the writing journey, Asiana, and anything else that comes to mind. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com for a huge website contest going on right now, giving away fourteen boxes of books and 24 copies of her latest release, DEADLY INTENT.