Rescued by a Stranger -- The Official Interview!

RESCUED BY A STRANGER 

Avon Impulse

October 1st

She’s a woman full of dreams

When a stranger arrives in town on a vintage motorcycle, Jill Carpenter has no idea her life is about to change forever. She never expected her own personal knight in shining armor would be an incredibly charming and handsome southern man—one with a deep secret—who could  change the direction of her Olympic dreams. 

He’s a man hoping to outrun a tragedy

When Chase Preston jumped on his motorcycle to escape a wounded life, he didn't expect the perfect woman to fall into his arms... literally! But though he can't deny his feelings for the sweet and beautiful Jill, he doesn't see any way he and his mistake-filled past will fit into her bright future. 

Falling in love may require more than either can give

The longer Chase stays in Kennison Falls, the more deeply Jill and the people of her home town pull him in. The more Jill discovers heroic qualities in Chase, the more she wants to find a home in his arms—if only he would trust her with the truth. But will truth tear them apart when Jill’s dreams start coming true and Chase’s past finally returns to haunt him? Or, can they get beyond dreams to find the love that will rescue their two hearts?

READ A LITTLE and you'll be hooked!!

The dog in the middle of the road was all legs and mottled black patches. It stood still beside the yellow centerline, a good fifty feet away but too close to ignore, and Jill Carpenter eased off the accelerator of her Chevy Suburban.

“Get out of the way, sweetie,” she murmured, switching her foot to the brake.

Because she’d worked at the only vet clinic in the Kennison Falls area since junior high school, she knew most of the dogs in the area. This one, however, was shabbily unfamiliar. And stubbornly unmoving. It stared at her with a mutt-in-the-headlights look that didn’t bode well.

Finally, twenty feet from the unblinking animal, Jill blared her horn and stomped her brakes until the anti-lock system grabbed, and loose pebbles pinged the chassis like buckshot. At the very last moment the dog leapt—directly in front of her.

Accidents supposedly happened in slow motion, but no leisurely parade of her life played before her eyes. The jerk of her steering wheel, her shriek, a blur of darting, raggedy fur, and the boulder of dread dropping into the pit of her stomach all happened in something under five nanoseconds.

Then her stomach dropped again as it followed the nose of her truck across the narrow county road and down a six-foot ditch. The Suburban gave a carnival-ride fishtail, its rear axle grinding in protest. Something warm spurted into her face, and she came to rest parallel to the road on the steep ditch bank, wedged in precarious place against a slender maple sapling.

For a moment, all she noticed was her own wheezing breath—her lungs forcing twice as much carbon dioxide out as they sucked oxygen in.

Had she missed the dog? She was sure she had. Please let her have missed the dog. Her heart pounded in concern until she peered out her windshield, shifted to see better, and the Suburban rocked. The dog’s fate was forgotten in a gasp.

The world was sideways.

Something sticky ran down one cheek, and an old Counting Crows song filled the truck interior. The turn signal ploink-ploinked to the music like a metronome. Through the windshield and up to her right she could see the edge of the road. To her left through her driver’s window lay the bottom of the ditch three feet below. All she’d have to do was shift just the wrong way, and she’d be roof down, hanging from her seatbelt.

A flurry of sailor-approved words charged through her mind, but her frantic heartbeat choked them off before they turned into sound—almost certainly a good thing, since the air stream caused by swearing would probably be enough to roll her. She pressed her lips together and tried to slow her respiration. Her shoulder, jammed against the door, ached slightly, her seatbelt effectively throttled her, but as far as she could tell, she hadn’t hit her head.

The Creature, her un-pet name for the vehicle she’d detested since buying it, growled as if angry that its spinning back tire wasn’t getting anywhere. “Crap!” Jill shot her arm forward, ignoring the pinch of her seatbelt, and turned the key.

The truck rocked again, the Crows quit Counting, and the turn signal halted its irritating

pinging. At last time stopped whizzing past like an old Super 8 movie, and her thoughts careened into each other with a little less force.

This was definitely going to wreck an already no-good, very bad day.

Sudden pounding startled her, rocking the SUV again. She swiveled her head to the passenger window and let loose a terrified scream. Pressed to the glass was a smoosh-nosed, flattened-featured face. Jill squeezed her eyes shut.

“Ma’am? Ma’am? Can you hear me?” The window pane muffled the gargoyle’s voice.

Slowly Jill forced her eyes open, and her panic dissipated. The face pulled back, the nose un-flattened, lengthening into straightness with perfect oval flares at its tip, and divided a strong, masculine face into two flawless halves. Inky, disheveled bangs fell across deep furrows in his forehead. For an instant Jill forgot her straits and her mouth went dry. A brilliant sculptor somewhere was missing his masterwork.

The rest of chapter one.

Come visit LIZBETH at GLIAS for the next three days and read some “deep cuts”—

new excerpts from the heart of RESCUED BY A STRANGER.

A LITTLE ABOUT LIZBETH

Lizbeth Selvig writes fun, heartwarming contemporary romantic fiction for Avon books. Her debut novel, The Rancher and the Rock Star, was released in 2012. Liz lives in Minnesota with her best friend (aka her husband), and a hyperactive border collie named Magic.  After working as a newspaper journalist and magazine editor, and raising an equine veterinarian daughter and a talented musician son, Liz entered Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® contest in 2010 with The Rancher and the Rock Star (then titled Songbird) and won the Single Title Contemporary category. In her spare time, she loves to hike, quilt, read, horseback ride, and play with her four-legged grandchildren, of which there are nearly twenty, including a wallaby, an alpaca, a donkey, a pig, two sugar gliders, and many dogs, cats and horses (pics of all appear on her website). She loves connecting with readers! 

ANGI: What do you like about the hero of RESCUED BY A STRANGER?

LIZBETH: I love the fact that Chase is a lost alpha with a broken heart. In his “real life” he’s a hero every single day, helping to save lives at a clinic in the heart of Memphis’s gang territory. But the tragedy of a little girl’s death, for which he feels responsible, was one crisis too many. When he arrives in small, quiet Kennison Falls, MN he has to find that hero all over again—and it’s tough. He needs help—and it’s not easy for him to trust the help that comes. I love that he makes mistakes along the way but finally learns to trust himself by falling in love.

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading RESCUED BY A STRANGER?

LIZBETH: I don’t always have a full playlist for my books, but I often have a signature song or two that either appear in the story or evoke the right emotions in me. For RBAS I have three:  “Accidentally in Love” by Counting Crows (what’s on the radio when Jill runs off the road); “Running Down a Dream” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (what I hear when Jill makes Chase take her on a 100-mile motorcycle trip); and “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders, because that’s precisely what both Jill and Chase have to learn to do!

ANGI: Does RESCUED BY A STRANGER have any connection to THE RANCHER AND THE ROCK STAR?

LIZBETH: It does! It takes place in the same small town of Kennison Falls, MN where Gray Covey from “Rancher” came to find his son. Gray even makes a couple of cameos in “Rescued by a Stranger.” RBAS stands alone, but there are some other favorite characters returning, too – the cockatiels Cotton and Lester, and The Sisters, Gladdie and Claudia. And Dewey, who lost out on his dream girl completely in “Rancher.” In fact, Dewey is scheduled for his own love story soon!

ANGI: Where is your favorite place to write?

LIZBETH:  My very favorite spot is in my own cluttered office in perfect quiet. If it’s very late at night (we’re talking 11 p.m. – 3 a.m.) it’s even better. Most of the shiny things that distract me during the day have gone to bed and I can concentrate. Finally.

ANGI: Where is your favorite place to visit? Will you ever set a manuscript there?

LIZBETH: I have two favorite places:  Alaska, where I was lucky enough to live from 2005-2008. And England, where we took a month-long vacation last summer. I have a series planned for Alaska – three siblings, each one’s story set in a different location.  One and a half of those books are rough-drafted, and I’m working on getting those into the publishing queue!  I have some ideas for books set in England – but right now I settle for putting an English accent somewhere in every book. In fact, the hero of my next story is British!

ANGI: Where have you visited that you'll never go back?

LIZBETH: This sounds so cliché, but I love to travel and I’ve never been to a place where I didn’t find something fascinating—big foreign cities or tiny North Dakota towns. But, I think a place I don’t ever need to go back to is Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in central Germany. This is where Anne Frank died. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible place to visit, and it’s beautiful. There are no more original buildings and nothing physically gruesome. But, it is somber and sad and hard. I would recommend a visit—but once was enough. I’ve learned I would not do well at one of the concentration camps where buildings still stand. I don’t think I could deal with that emotion.

ANGI: What is your best traveling tip?

LIZBETH: I have no practical tips, mind you. For example, I’m the poster child for inefficient packing. But, the very best tip I do have is to try and spend time with or talk to a native/local of the area you’re visiting. Listen to him or her speak, and catch the nuances and mannerisms.  Barring that, find a small, local favorite restaurant and people watch. They say write what you know—well, get to know a place you visit the best you can. Try to imagine what questions you might ask if you were writing about the area: what is believable weather? What might you smell? What kind of a plant would grow in someone’s yard? Do people dress up or dress way down? Is there a favorite local dish? You might never use such details, but you’ll be able to create a scene of your own that’s rich with authenticity.

ANGI: How is it working with hot guys and sexy women all day?

LIZBETH: Ooh, it’s like getting to play in a candy store all day and watch people come in and drool. Plus, I get to sample now and then and I get to arrange the chocolate in whatever ways I want!  Really, it’s a wonderful, wonderful way to spend a day – even those days when I feel like I’ve had enough chocolate to last forever.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: What was the #1 thing you enjoyed about hiking across England? 
LIZBETH'S GOTTA ANSWER: The most astounding thing about that trip was the absolute spiritual experience of it all. The act of getting up for 16 days in a row and putting one foot in front of the other for 192 miles is still, a year later, indescribable. The incredible scenery and the sheer joy of being in England were secondary to the sense of wonder at our accomplishment. That whole, “wow, I can do anything I put my mind to” feeling is totally real!  Plus, the sheep were adorable—and there were a lot of them!

Plus—bonus favorite: we made the dearest friends on that walk – Joy Miller and Andy Chisnall from Warrington (near Liverpool). We bonded thoroughly with them in a short time! 

FIND LIZ

Contact    website   Facebook     Twitter  @lizbethselvig

Previous GLIAS interviews

PREVIOUSLY RELEASED by LIZ

THE RANCHER AND THE ROCK STAR

Avon Impulse  

To the world, Gray Covey is a rock superstar. But to his runaway son he’s simply the father who never has any time for him. To prove that he’s more than his rock star lifestyle for the next few weeks Gray must put aside his fame and become … a farmhand?

Abby Stadtler has built the perfect, quiet life for herself. Neat and orderly is the name of the game for her and her beloved farm. When Gray shows up on her doorstep, looking like he stepped straight off the front cover of a magazine, she is determined that he won’t upset her routine.

But what neither counts on is the love that springs up between them. Abby knows that life on a ranch in Minnesota can never compete with an exciting world tour. But for Gray, it’s time to decide what’s really important in life. With Abby’s help, will he be able to decide, once and for all, that love and family are the answer?

LIZBETH IS GIVING AWAY an electronic copy of “Rescued by a Stranger” – each of the next four days here on GLIAS. At the end of the four days, one commenter will receive a paperback copy of RBAS and a mini-goodie bag of fun swag. You’re invited to come back each day for new excerpts from the story! Please leave your e-mail address to enter the giveaway (see below).

Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only.  Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

Lizbeth & Clover Autrey, Atlanta 2013

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join LIZBETH tomorrow as she continues her PRE-RELEASE PARTY. ~Angi

LIZBETH WANTS TO KNOW:  Angi’s question got me to thinking: Have you ever been to a place you’d just as soon never go back to?  Or, do you have a travel “horror” story, or better yet a funny one, you can share?