Get Lost with Bad Boy FBI Agents and Award-Winning Author Sandra Owens

Today Sandra Owens is joining the crew. We met as Golden Heart finalists in 2013 - the Lucky 13s. She's talking about her latest release, KING OF CLUBS, from the Aces & Eights series. 

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR LATEST RELEASE! (I had to shout above the pop of the prosecco bottle!) 

Want to get Book 1 in Sandra's Aces & Eights series? Make sure you comment for a chance to win. (See below)

MEET SANDRA OWENS

A best selling, award winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity, but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She's jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed death-defying stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing.

Sandra is a member of Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll and a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. In addition to her contemporary romantic suspense novels, she writes Regency stories.

Amazing right?

Nan: I'm way behind. I haven't read this series yet! :-( 

THE STORY BLURB

Covert FBI agent Court Gentry loves his brothers, his job, and his Harley-Davidson. Once he loved a girl, too, but when she broke his heart, he put his emotions on lockdown…until she crosses his path again.

On vacation six years ago, free-spirited Lauren Montgomery fell hard for Court Gentry. She returned home happier than ever, only to descend into a spiral of abuse by her ex-husband, Stephan. When Stephan threatened to kill any man who touched her, Lauren cut Court from her life—but not from her heart.

When Lauren and Court meet again six years later, Court guards himself against the person who made him feel such intense passion and pain. Except the undeniable spark between them is impossible to contain and heating up fast. Six years ago, it was love. Now, it’s just lust. Keeping it merely physical is a foolproof plan…right?

When Stephan is released from prison, Lauren can’t outrun her past anymore, and Court vows to protect her. But with Lauren in imminent danger, Court must question his heart and risk his life to save the woman he never stopped loving.

Nan:  I can't wait! 

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

After they had some breakfast, he’d put his plan for the week in motion, first taking Lauren to a shooting range, teach her how to use her gun.

 

He made his favorite morning meal, scrambled eggs and bacon on buttered toast. Sandwiches made and orange juice poured, he called Lauren in.

“I’m not really hungry,” she said, following him into the kitchen.

“We have a long day ahead. You need to eat.”

She eyed the two sandwiches on her plate. “I can’t eat two of these.”

“That better?” he said, taking one of them.

“You’re going to eat three?”

“Growing boy.” They ate in silence. Not happy with her at the moment, he didn’t bother trying to start a conversation. Although she’d claimed not to be hungry, she ate all of hers. He put a half one on her plate.

“Thanks. These are good.”

“Welcome.” He was glad to see she had an appetite after all, but he still didn’t want to talk to her unless she decided it was time to trust him with her secrets.

“I guess I’ll get ready to go to work,” she said, pushing her plate away. “If Madison hasn’t left yet, I’ll catch a ride with her.”

“You’re not going back to the bookstore this week.” He stood, collecting their plates.

“Because?”

“Because your life is mine for the next six days.” He paused in loading the dishwasher, glancing over at her. “And don’t give me that frown. If you want to learn how to disappear and how to protect yourself, we’ll need every minute of that time.” How he was going to keep his hands off her until she left, he didn’t know. But he had to. She’d ripped his heart out once. No way in hell he was going to let her do it again.

“Why don’t you tell me about your husband?” Maybe she could explain her omission in mentioning she’d had one when they’d first met.

Her eyes shifted away. “I don’t have a husband.”

“But you did once. Seems like something you should have told me. That was pretty damn major, Lauren. Not like neglecting to tell me you stubbed your toe or overslept.”

Her lips thinned in displeasure, but he didn’t care. For years he’d wondered what he’d done wrong. Turned out it hadn’t been him at all. He’d loved her and would have protected her if he’d only known she needed it. She’d taken his chance to take care of her away with her silence.

“That was the most beautiful week of my life. I didn’t want to ruin it by bringing him into what we had between us.”

Her voice was so soft that he had to strain to hear. Okay, he got that a little, but it still rubbed that she’d kept something that big from him. “Did you ever plan to tell me?”

“Yes.” She lifted her gaze to his. “The next time I saw you I was going to.”

“That didn’t work out so well, did it?” Her bottom lip trembled, and he called himself an ass. But she hadn’t given them a chance by keeping her secrets back then, and she was still doing it with her refusal to tell him why she was so determined to run.

Buy KING OF CLUBS  -  Amazon 

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH SANDRA OWENS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

SANDRA: Hello, Nan. First, thank you and Get Lost in a Story so much for having me. To answer your question, every single day! I’m either reading a book or writing a book seven days a week. My Kindle goes everywhere with me, so I can get lost in a story while waiting at the dentist or doctor, my hairdresser or wherever I can snatch a few minutes. If I were ever taken prisoner, the worst torture anyone could inflict would be to take away my laptop and books. 

Nan: That would be pure torture.

NAN: What’s the first book you remember reading? 
SANDRA: The Nancy Drew books. I devoured them, wanted to be Nancy Drew and go off on adventures and solve mysteries like she did.

Nan:  They were fun.

NAN: Is there a “Blooper” in your story (it may have been changed before printing)?
SANDRA: Ha ha! Yes. I know of two in two different books that my editors, copy editors, proofreaders, and I all missed. The first one was in THE LETTER, a Regency romance, and my first published book. A reader caught it and emailed me. It’s the more embarrassing of the two. My heroine is bathing, doing her “absolutions” (divine forgiveness) instead of her “ablutions” (the act of bathing). The second blooper, in one of my books I have a male dog named Sally. At the very end of the book, I refer to him as a she. That also got past all my editors, and I only caught it after the book was out.

Nan:  You would think with all the sets of eyes on a book...but it happens.

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

SANDRA: It’s so much fun! I’m not sure why, but I find it easier to get into the heads of my heroes than my heroines. Truthfully, I think men are an open book. I mean no insult to men, but in a way, they haven’t evolved far from their caveman days. In order, sex, food, and providing for those they care about occupy the greater part of their minds. They’re so easy to understand. Women are more complicated. Sometimes my heroines want me to know what they’re thinking and feeling, and sometimes, they’re closed up tighter than a clam shell. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking?” I’ll ask her, and I get, “Nothing.” Well, that sure helps! 

Nan: Darn closed-mouth characters. And I love all the animal pictures you post on Facebook. People, check them out!  FACEBOOK

NAN: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

SANDRA: A romance! I love the character arcs, the way heroes and heroines have to grow and change to reach that happily ever after. For me, plot is secondary to character.

NAN:What would you say is your most interesting quirk?
SANDRA: I’m one of those people who reads the last few pages first. Even when it’s a romance and I know that there will be a happily ever after, I just have to read the end. I usually do it after I finish the first chapter of the book and know who the characters are.

Nan: I can't do that!  It's just wrong.

NAN: What sound or noise do you love?
SANDRA: The sound of water. Waves crashing on shore tops the list with a creek rushing over rocks coming in second. At the ocean or by a creek are my two favorite places to write.

Nan: This looks so relaxing

NAN: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
SANDRA: Start writing the next one. Sometimes I think I should take a break for a few days or a week, but so far, I never have. There’s always a new story I’m biting at the bit to get started on. If I ever start feeling like I’m getting burned out, then I’ll take breaks between books.

Nan: I must admit--when I finish a book I pop a bottle of prosecco!

NAN: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
SANDRA: The Aces & Eights series began as a joke based on a tweet my agent posted, saying she wanted someone to write a motorcycle riding undercover cop romance. I whipped up a synopsis about three undercover motorcycle riding FBI agent brothers. The synopsis was intentionally tongue-in-cheek; it’s only purpose to amuse her. Imagine my surprise when she emailed back, saying, “You have to write this!” So, Aces & Eights evolved from tweet to joke to the idea for a new series because of these two paragraphs I sent her:

 There are three brothers, all bad to the bone and as deadly as the venom of an asp. Dressed in black leathers—reflective sunglasses hiding their eyes—their Harleys rumble a warning to beware as they pass by. Mothers pull their children close at the sight of them, bad girls just sigh, and the good girls never expect to fall in love with one of them.

Alex, Court, and Nate Gentry ride the edge of two worlds, that of the criminals who would just as soon kill them as not, and the one on the side of the law. As deep undercover agents for the FBI, the last thing they need or want, is to fall in love. To the brothers, love is a dangerous emotion; one they have no time for. To infiltrate Miami’s criminal underworld, they open a biker bar, Aces & Eights. They plan to earn acceptance by the scum of society, but they fail to plan for the women who invade each of their lives.

Nan: That is such a great story. And the premise is fantastic!

SANDRA: This was fun, Nan! Again, thank you and all the amazing Get Lost in a Story authors for inviting me to spend a day with you.

Nan:  You are so welcome!  Thanks for stopping over.

FIND SANDRA OWENS:

Contact: sandra@sandra-owens.com

Website: http://www.sandra-owens.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandraOwensAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SandyOwens1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sandraowens9404/

Blogs: http://www.sandra-owens.com/sometime-blog/

Previous GLIAS Interviews:  Click HERE

SANDRA WANTS TO KNOW:   If you could step into the pages of a book, which would you choose? A romance story, a mystery, or a fantasy?   

Sandra is giving away a signed copy of JACK OF HEARTS (Book 1 in the series) to one lucky commenter! (North America only)