Nicole had posted about this a few days ago. It is RS, which I dont’ read much of. But hey it is a hotel setting so I am there.

The first book in the series is In the Dark by Judith Arnold. A new to me author… excerpt can be found on her site.

The most beautiful hotel in New Orleans, and someone’s out to destroy it.

The party at the Hotel Marchand is in full swing when all the lights suddenly go out. What does head of security Mac Jensen do first? He’s torn between two jobs — protecting the guests at Hotel Marchand and keeping Julie Sullivan safe.

Mac knows Julie has no idea that he took the job at the hotel in order to act as her bodyguard. But now he feels a loyalty to both the hotel and the Marchand women who run it. As for Julie, she’s being harassed by someone from her past…and what Mac feels for her is anything but professional.

A woman to protect. A hotel to secure. And no idea who’s determined to harm them.

author letter some of you guys hate

Dear Reader,

I was thrilled to be invited to write the launch book for the Hotel Marchand continuity series. The opportunity presented an abundance of pleasures: the chance to work with some wonderful editors and eleven dazzlingly talented authors, several of whom are good friends of mine; the chance to tell a fascinating story teeming with family intrigue, danger, love and passion; and the chance to write a book set in sultry, sexy New Orleans, the home of jazz and blues, beignets and po’boys, Mardi Gras and First Night.

Within weeks of my having completed my manuscript for In the Dark, however, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Along with the rest of the world, I watched in horror as televised newscasts showed the swamped streets of the city, the destroyed neighborhoods, the desperate evacuees and the courageous emergency crews who rescued stranded flood victims from balconies and rooftops.

All around me, people mourned that New Orleans would never be the same. Of course they were right; Katrina has altered New Orleans. But as a native New Yorker, I know how cities can rebuild and recover from disaster. I know how, when people love a place, they will nurse and nurture it until it’s not just on its feet but dancing. I have faith New Orleans will once again fling a necklace of Mardi Gras beads around her neck and burst into song. No flood could ever wash away the city’s magic.

I hope you find that special New Orleans magic within the pages of In the Dark and the entire Hotel Marchand series. Happy reading!

Judith Arnold

The Unknown Woman out in Aug

They were supposed to be tourists, not detectives. There’s a dead woman in Matt Anderson’s hotel room and he has no idea how she got there. When Kerry Johnston appears from next door to help, both she and Matt recognize the woman as a local waitress and practitioner of voodoo. That’s all anyone seems to know about her, but it’s not enough forMatt and Kerry. While alive, this woman had sensed a hidden sadness in the two strangers and directed each of them to a special healing ceremony. As Matt and Kerryinvestigate her death, something strange starts to happen: the sadness lifts, replaced by a growing certainty that the two of them are meant to be together.