It’s time for ZERO HOUR
I was lucky that I grew up in a household where both my mother and my sister were avid readers. They instilled in me very, very early a love of books and taught me the pleasures of reading. Their preferred genre was mystery: stories that follow a crime from the moment it is committed to the moment it is solved. Mystery novels are often called whodunnits, because that’s the theme–finding how who committed the crime. I read books (showing my age here) by Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett. Then, as I grew older, and romantic suspense which many say is an offshoot of Gothic romances. I binged on authors like Mary Stewart (I still love Nine Coaches Waiting), Victoia Holt (Menfreya in the Morning), Phyllis Whitney and so many more. I also got hooked on police procedurals reading those by the author who set the benchmark for them, Dell Shannon.
My ultimate goal in life was to write a romance novel, a mystery (I thought), and I spent the last year I worked outlining and planning that book. It was supposed to be a mystery with romantic elements , but a funny thing happened when I sat down to write. I managed to get three chapters done, but at the end of three months I still had the same three chapters. The story would not move.
Then I read a book by Linda Howard, Cry No More, and I was hooked on romantic suspense. This, I said to myself, is what I was meant to write. I fell totally in love with her hero, Diaz, and wrote my first book in an effort to create a hero that exciting and memorable. That first book when thorough many iterations, starting its journey as Run For Your Life and eventually (after many other books) seeing life as Moving Target (Book #1, Guardian Security). I don’t know if Quinn is as memorable as Diaz but he certainly tops the list for me.
My journey as an author progressed, and while I dabbled in many other genres, I always came back to romantic suspense. It’s where my heart is. And as my love affair with the military progressed, me heroes generated naturally to current and former military. And it is my friendship with best selling author and former SEAL Jack Carr that made SEALs my everpresent heroes, the symbols of strength and courage and honor.
Tomorrow is release day for ZERO HOUR, Book #2, Heroes Rising, a series about SEALs searching for their new place in the world after leaving the service. Sheriff Alex Rossi, himself a former SEAL, is cleaning house at his office in Montana’s Crazy Mountains and filling the vacancies with former brothers in arms. There are two prequels and two books in the series.
Guarding Jenna and Unmasking Evil kicked it off, followed by Desperate Deception and (tomorrow) Zero Hour. Come to the party! We’re going to have fun and celebrate how I got here after sixteen years.
It all happens here on Tuesday
Thank you for your story of how you got where you are! Hard work and dedication found it’s place in your story too. Thanks for your efforts you stay on top of your game.
I remember my first Linda Howard book too. She is a master of mixing romance with action. So are you!
Keep on keeping on and we’ll keep on reading.