Lena Diaz Returns to Get Lost

THE BODYGUARD

Harlequin Intrigue

SHE HAD NO ONE TO FIGHT FOR HER-UNTIL ONE POWERFUL BODYGUARD REFUSED TO LEAVE HER SIDE.

Her perfect marriage was a sham and Caroline Ashton had the physical and emotional wounds to prove it. With nothing left to lose, Caroline is ready to walk away—and hires Luke Dawson as her personal bodyguard. But before Luke can do more than secure her a safe house, Caroline stumbles upon the body of the man she'd fought day and night to escape.

Now, as Caroline is confronted with fears beyond anything she ever imagined, Luke is the only man she can trust. Putting her life in someone else's hands isn't easy, but Caroline knows survival never is. Besides, Luke's proven himself to be a worthy protector—one who'll stop at nothing to see she never suffers again….

Read a Little, Buy the Book 

LENA DIAZ is originally from Kentucky, romantic suspense author Lena Diaz also lived in California and Louisiana before settling in northeast Florida with her husband, two children, and a Shetland Sheepdog named Sparky. A former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist, she won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier award for excellence in mystery and suspense and has been a finalist in the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards. She loves to watch action movies, garden, and hike in the beautiful Tennessee Smoky Mountains. You can contact Lena through her website.

MORE ABOUT THE BODYGUARD

ANGI: Hey Lena, nice to have you back again. I noticed there's a fountain on your cover. Is it important to your story? Can you share something about that scene?

LENA: Thank you so much for hosting me again, Angi! Isn’t that fountain gorgeous? I recognize it as the one in Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia. But, sadly, the fountain is not actually in my book. It’s just one of those beautiful, mood-setting touches the art department made to evoke the majestic, old-world charm of the historic district in Savannah.

ANGI: Can you share a little about the setting for THE BODYGUARD?

LENA: Absolutely. Savannah, Georgia is one of my all-time favorite places to set stories. It’s only about five hours from where I live, so I’ve been there many times and just love it. The historic district has these little parks, or squares, all over the place, each one with its own name and specific claim to fame (like the fountain on the cover). This story takes place in Savannah and in the rural area outside the city as well. I just love the ambience of the Spanish-moss covered oak trees, the historic mansions, and the Savannah River to provide the perfect atmosphere for a suspense novel.

ANGI: What's your favorite thing about your hero, Luke Dawson?

LENA: Luke is a tough, alpha hero, who tends to intimidate people with his size and strength. But from the moment he learns that Carolyn has come from an abusive situation, he does everything he can to make her feel safe and in control. He’s so tender and careful of her feelings. He treats her with respect, not pity. And he helps her become the independent, strong woman she was meant to be. And of course, when her life is threatened, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.

ANGI: Do you model your characters off movie stars or pictures? Care to share?

LENA: I really don’t model my characters off anyone that I know, or know of. But if I had to choose someone famous who reminds me of Luke--at least in the looks department--I’d say Josh Duhamel. Don’t let the blond hair on the cover of THE BODYGUARD fool you. The hero has dark hair in the story. Below is Josh Duhamel’s publicity shot from IMDB.com.

ANGI: What's your favorite thing about your heroine, Caroline Ashton?

LENA: Her strength. She’s been through so much and manages to find the strength to leave her abusive husband and everything familiar to her even without a support system.

ANGI: What's your favorite thing about THE BODYGUARD? 

LENA: I LOVE that I got to put Alex Buchanan from my “Deadly Games Thrillers” Avon series into this book as a secondary character. When Caroline needs a defense attorney, it only made sense to me that she’d get the best attorney in Savannah. And that would of course be Alex, the patriarch of the Buchanan family who is in my Avon books. It was such fun to include him. I hope some of my Avon readers will take a chance on an Intrigue book to see Alex in this story.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: Did you watch THE BODYGUARD with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston?

LENA'S GOTTA ANSWER:   Oh my goodness, of course! Loved that movie. Hated the ending. The hero always gets the girl at the end of my books. J

FIND LENA:

Contact     Website    Facebook   

Twitter @LenaDiaz     Goodreads    

KissAndThrill      Previous GLIAS interviews  

UP NEXT for LENA: The fourth installment in my Deadly Games Thrillers series with Avon comes out August 5^th and is called TAKE THE KEY AND LOCK HER UP. Isn’t that creepy cool? I’ve had such fun with the titles in this series. This story is about Devlin “Devil” Buchanan and is the darkest story I’ve every written. The hero is more of an anti-hero who does some really bad things. Did I mention it’s dark? And that he’s an assassin? It was a real challenge to write because I wanted Devlin to be a true bad boy hero with a tortured soul but redeemable. This is also an introduction to my new Avon print series about EXIT Inc., the company Devlin works for. But that’s all I’m saying about that! Here’s a draft of the cover. It’s close to what the final one will be. I adore the colors. All of my Avon books will have new covers soon. They’ll all have the dark background like this one so they look more alike.

PREVIOUS RELEASES by LENA:

He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

Avon Impulse (Harper Collins)

August 2011

Simon Says Die

Publisher: Avon Impulse (Harper Collins)

March 2012

Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead

Publisher: Avon Impulse (Harper Collins)

September 2013

Tennessee Takedown

Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue

February 2014

LENA is giving away  a complete set of my “Deadly Games Thrillers” from Avon, plus one of my Intrigue anthologies, in print, signed. Just get a friend to like my Facebook page and put their name and yours in the comments of my contest post to be entered in the drawing. I’ll draw the winner on Friday, April 25^th .

Also, I’m happy to give one signed print copy to North American readers of THE BODYGUARD to a random commenter on the GLIAS post.

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 unless specifically mentioned in the post. 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.

ANGI'S back on tomorrow with the

NAVY SEAL SURRENDER KICKOFF

& Back next Wednesday with:  DONNA KAUFMAN

~Angi Morgan  

Get Lost on Goodreads, Facebook

or @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories

LENA WANTS TO KNOW: Is there a particular setting or story trope you’re craving in romantic suspense that you haven’t seen enough of? If you could tell an author - write THIS - what would THIS be? I’d LOVE to read your comments on this one! J