It should be a surprise to no one that I am absolutely feral for a sexy, gruff detective. I grew up watching par-boiled detectives in countless TV shows and noir-style films. There’s something about that no-nonsense, jaded detective that called to me. Is it the one-liners? The rough and tumble look? That adorable little half-assed smirk? The appeal is undeniable.

But what sealed the deal for me was John McClane…* epic fucking swoon* He’s the total package.

Actual footage of me whenever I see this man. No lies. Gimme all the Bruce Willis.

Now, don’t come at me for loving that jaded, emotionally stunted, reckless detective. He’s got a monumental list of faults and bad habits, but no one could ever say he wasn’t loyal as hell and burdened with a single-minded determination. Did this make him husband material? HELL NO. But it certainly made him inspiration fodder for my own hard-ass, scruffy, 1980s detective.

Grant Richards began life as an off-page, secondary character in When I Found You. By the time I wrote Can’t Fight This Feeling, he took on a physical presence and came to Marcy and Rob’s aid. This gave me the opportunity to put a face with the detective. Funny enough, it wasn’t Bruce Willis as John McClane that appeared in my mind’s eye…it was Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman.

As I began writing She Gives Love a Bad Name, Grant resembled Driver in my head, but his mannerisms were one hundred percent Willis. It was an amalgamation of his characters from Die Hard, Fifth Element, and Moonlighting. He has the easy charm when he needs to use it, but he can flip to the I-can-smell-bullshit-from-a-mile-away-so-fucking-try-me cop within seconds.

The more I wrote, the further Grant evolved into a character of his own. He had his own broken past and messy history of relationships. His protective nature extended to those around him, including his brother, a veteran and amputee who struggled with his haunted past, and a feisty hellcat thief who appears on his doorstep, bloody and desperate.

Grant is a damn good detective, and it lands him in the middle of a case that he thinks ties into a larger string of unsolved murders. This book gave me the opportunity to tie in my love for detective stories and murder mysteries while keeping the focus on the romance. Part of the murder plot took root in my mind thanks to the popularity of true crime documentaries about serial killers in the 70s and 80s that keep popping up on my Netflix feed. The bloody crime scene laid the groundwork to push Grant and Quinn together.

No spoilers for the book if you haven’t read it. But if you’re looking for a steamy retro romance set in 1985 with a grumpy/grumpier pairing, forced proximity, and homicide detective falling for the snarky thief vibes, I definitely recommend checking out She Gives Love a Bad Name. Even if you’re not an Adam Driver or Bruce Willis fan…I’m sure you could do some creative casting in your mind as you read. *wink*

And yes, I had to use that as the title for the book, because it’s Grant’s love song to Quinn. I bet it’s stuck in your head now too, isn’t it?

Good. Here’s an image to go with it.