Have you met Brynn Kelly?

A RISK WORTH TAKING

The Legionnaires #3

He can’t outrun himself…

Legionnaire Jamie Armstrong lives in the shadows. A medic haunted by his mistakes, he knows better than to hope for redemption. But his latest mission brings a threat he doesn’t see coming—an attraction as irresistible as it is dangerous. Hacker Samira Desta is a woman he swore to forget, but as a key witness to a deadly conspiracy, Samira is his to protect.

But the woman he rescues might be the one who saves him.

After a year in hiding, Samira’s worst fears come true when her cover is blown and the unlikeliest of allies comes to her aid—the secretive Scot with whom she shared one unforgettable night. Hunted by lethal forces and losing the battle against their desire, Jamie and Samira make a desperate play to take the fight to their enemy—but those at greatest risk of ruin may be themselves…

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As a journalist, BRYNN KELLY once spent her days chasing stranger-than-fiction news reports. Now she spends them writing larger-than-life novels, in a happy bubble of fiendish plots and delicious words. 

She's a current RITA® finalist for FORBIDDEN RIVER and RT Book Reviews Reviewer's Choice Awards nominee for EDGE OF TRUTH.

Brynn has a journalism degree and has won several other prestigious writing and journalism awards, including the Koru, Valerie Parv and Pacific Hearts awards. Her debut novel, DECEPTION ISLAND, finaled in the Golden Heart. She’s also a bestselling non-fiction author, in her native New Zealand.

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THE Q&A

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

BRYNN: Not often enough! Because I’m a writer, I find it hard to switch off the writer/editor brain—but when it happens, it’s magical. I find that magic usually comes with books outside the romance genre, because I’m not dissecting them to figure out what the author did, or storing away inspiration for my writing.

The last time I was lost was in the gorgeous All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which had been sitting on my TBR pile for years. I also enjoyed Alyssa Cole’s fascinating historical An Extraordinary Union recently, and was pleased to see it named RT Book of the Year.

ANGI: What’s your favorite thing about your book’s hero?

BRYNN: I like his layers and depths. Jamie’s a wise-cracking Scot who speaks fluent French, a super-smart former surgeon turned medic, and a quick-thinking commando. On the surface he’s a flirt and a charmer but he hides dark secrets and regrets beneath that façade, and Samira has a tough time drawing out the real Jamie. I love how he’s very different from my other heroes in this series—they’re all tortured but they hide their wounds behind unique defense mechanisms.

This line sums Jamie up: “He was ninety-five per cent tease and flirt. It was the five per cent that intrigued her, those flashes of frustration or concern that broke through the façade, like a solitary boom of thunder from a clear sky that left you wondering if you’d imagined it.”

ANGI: What’s your perfect day?

BRYNN: A day spent reading books and drinking tea, with a walk along a beach thrown in, followed by an unhurried evening of eating and drinking wine with friends. Why does that not happen often enough these days?

ANGI: Salad or soup?

BRYNN: I like a busy salad, with a lot going on and a lot of different tastes to discover. Soup can get a bit same-y.

ANGI: Would you put yourself in a Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?

BRYNN: Or maybe a fairy tale action adventure? A kickass princess, a complicated witch, a quest, and an intriguing mix of light and dark.

ANGI: Favorite TV rerun you watch every time you channel surf? 

BRYNN: M.A.S.H. I always find something new to love. It’s amazing how they kept up the quality through so many episodes.

ANGI: Favorite date night…fancy or at home? 

BRYNN: Somewhere in between. I have medium-sized children so it’s a rare treat to go out, but I’d much rather dine at a casual, welcoming neighborhood eatery than a stuffy expensive restaurant. It’s the company that’s important, not the cost, and fancy restaurants don’t have a monopoly on delicious food.

ANGI: Champagne or Soda?

BRYNN: Champagne. But only on special occasions—it doesn’t taste as good unless there’s something to celebrate.

ANGI: The most daring thing you’ve ever done… Care to share?

BRYNN: A parachute jump. It was on a travel trip for journalists, so I didn’t make a conscious decision to do it—it was just on the itinerary so I went along with it. I didn’t really think it through. I was terrified to discover how high 15,000 feet was. Luckily it was a tandem because there’s no way I could have got myself out of that door. I hated the freefall—one minute is a long time to fall—but the gentle float to earth was more my style.

Like any writer, I stored away the experience and used it in a novel—my debut, Deception Island, in which the hero and heroine parachute onto a deserted island in the Indian Ocean. No bad experience is ever wasted when you’re a writer! From the book: “Wind buffeted her jumpsuit, flattening the fabric against her. She didn’t need encouragement to wrap herself into him. If she could nail their bodies together, she would. He’d obviously done this before, and right now the more immediate threat was the deep blue sea—or worse, the land.”

ANGI’s GOTTA ASK:  Where is your favorite writing place & why?

BRYNN’s GOTTA ANSWER: I mix it up a little. Usually I write in my study, but sometimes I need a change of environment to crank up my brain (or get away from the internet!) so I’ll go to a café or a library or write at a window seat in my living room. My all-time favorite spot is on the sofa on my deck, especially on a gloriously sunny and still winter’s day—although sometimes I spend far too much time gazing at the garden, and it’s too easy to get a little sleepy. The one constant is tea. I can’t write without a pot of earl grey.

PREVIOUS RELEASES by BRYNN:

DECEPTION ISLAND

The Legionnaires, book #1

Read a little, Buy the book

EDGE OF TRUTH

The Legionnaires, book #2

Read a little, Buy the book

FORBIDDEN RIVER

The Legionnaires, book #2.5

Read a little, Buy the book

Angi Morgan

Get Lost on Facebook   @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories

AND OUR NEW Facebook Group: The Readers’ Spot
Catch Liz Selvig on GLIAS tomorrow

BRYNN WANTS TO KNOW: What do you look for in a romantic suspense? 

E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Texas Romance from Delores Fossen

Amazon

For Best of the West, I'm thrilled to be hosting bestselling author Delores Fossen, who has a brand new release out today...TEXAS ON MY MIND. 

Air force Captain Riley McCord has come home on medical leave to find one heck of a welcome reception. Every unattached woman in Spring Hill, Texas, wants to nurse him back to health. That includes his childhood friend Claire Davidson—the only person who understands how damaged he really feels. In high school, she chose his best friend over him. According to Riley's rules, that should make her off-limits forever. But when Claire suggests a no-strings fling, he can't refuse. 

Here's a brief excerpt: 

CHAPTER ONE

    There were two women in Captain Riley McCord’s bed. Women wearing cutoff shorts, skinny tops and flip-flops.

    Riley blinked a couple of times to make sure they weren’t by-products of his pain meds and bone-deep exhaustion. Nope. They were real enough because he could hear them breathing.

    See them breathing, too.

    The lamp on the nightstand was on, the milky-yellow light spilling over them. Their tops holding in those C-cups were doing plenty of moving with each breath they took.

    He caught a glimpse of a nipple.

    If he’d still been a teenager, Riley might have considered having two women in his bed a dream come true. Especially in this room. He’d grown up in this house, had had plenty of fantasies in that very bed. But he was thirty-one now, and with his shoulder throbbing like an abscessed tooth, taking on two women didn’t fall into fantasy territory. More like suicide.

    Besides, man-rule number two applied here: don’t do anything half-assed. Anything he attempted right now would be significantly less than half and would make an ass out of him.

    Who the hell were they?

    And why were they there in his house, in his bed?

Want more? Here's the link to the rest of Chapter One: http://www.deloresfossen.com/chapter-one.html

USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, is a former Air Force officer who’s sold over 100 novels. She's received the Booksellers' Best Award for romantic suspense, the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious RITA® Award. In addition, she's had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines.

Find out more or follow Delores:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

EE: What has been the most challenging part of writing books?

Delores: The hours needed to write and build a career. When I first started, I had no idea how much time it would take, but it really is a labor of love. I LOVE what I do, and I always hope that love shows through in the stories I write.

EE: How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Delores: I wanted to write a story from my “roots.” The hero, Riley McCord, is an Air Force officer who’s come home to his family’s ranch. I was also in the Air Force and was raised on a ranch so it seemed like the perfect mix for a book.

EE: What’s the first book you remember reading?

Delores: I was sick a lot as a child and learned to read early because I spent so much time in bed. I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t read, but the book that sticks out in my mind was THE GHOST OF DIBBLE HOLLOW. I’m sure I was too young to be reading it because it was spooky and gave me nightmares, but I loved it. I re-read it so many times that the book fell apart.

EE: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met?

Delores: My husband, of course. He’s a former Top Gun, a wonderful husband/father and a great source of inspiration. We met in a simulated war exercise at a base in England and have been together for over thirty years. Yes, thirty!

EE: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?

Delores: Action adventure, but I don’t mind some fairy tale mixed in. I love the Avengers, X-Men, Jack Reacher and the Mission Impossible movies. Basically, if the movie moves fast, I’ll probably enjoy it.

EE: What is your biggest vice?

Delores: Hands down, popcorn. I can’t resist it, and I think my love of going to the movies is actually a love of popcorn. And no, I don’t eat the healthy stuff. I drown it in salt, butter and other things bad for me.

EE: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go?

Delores: To eighteenth century Scotland to visit my ancestors. I’m obsessed with genealogy, and my DNA is about 70% Scottish. I have so many questions but one biggie: why did you come to the Colonies? I was able to visit my ancestral lands about seven months ago, and it’s so beautiful that I can’t imagine why they left.

Today, Delores is giving away two copies of TEXAS ON MY MIND (mailed in U.S. only) and 2 ebook copies of her novella, WHAT HAPPENS ON THE RANCE (either Kindle or Nook). The novella is a prequel to the new release.

Have you ever met a real-life hero? Who and why?

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E.E. Burke's Best of the West featuring B.J. Daniels

Today, I'm delighted to be welcoming best-selling author B.J. Daniels.  I love Western settings, romance and suspense...and B.J. has all three in her books. Trifecta!  I asked her, why does she write Western romantic suspense?

"I just write about the state where I've spent my life. I love Montana and love sharing it with my readers. I live in a small town where there are more pickups than cars, where I see cowboys and cattle most every day, and where the landscape inspires me. They say write what you know. I try."

Her latest book is ATONEMENT, part of the Beartooth, Montana series. The next book in that series is MERCY, out in September.

A year ago Sheriff Dillon Lawson lost his twin brother, Ethan. Imagine his surprise when Tessa Winters shows up claiming to be pregnant—with Ethan's baby.

Is Tessa is a con artist or a victim? And if Ethan isn’t dead, then where is he? And why is he hiding? 

Meet B.J.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and three Springer Spaniels: Spot, Jem and Ace. 

When she isn’t writing, she quilts, snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. 

Where to find her:

Snail Mail: B.J. Daniels, P.O. Box 1173, Malta, MT 59538 

Email: bjdaniels@mtintouch.net 

Website: www.bjdaniels.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BJ-Daniels/127936587217837 

Twitter: @bjdanielsauthor.

E.E. Is writing or storytelling easier for you?

B.J. I actually write better than I speak. Blame it on my parents who spoke a Texas version of the English language and taught it to me. But when I write, it is all about storytelling. I get lost in the story and try to tell it in a way that readers won’t be able to put the book down. In other words, I try to leave out the boring stuff. 

E.E. What is your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

B.J. I love suspense. Give me a murder mystery or some other puzzle, keep me guessing right up until the end, and I am one happy reader. As a writer too often I see the puppeteer behind the screen. I recognize his tricks and it spoils the story because I know exactly how it will end.

If I love the characters, I will keep reading. If not, I will put the book down. Keeping readers guessing is hard work. I’m faced with this every book. I try to mix it up, thinking of my readers out there trying to second guess me. They are a tough crowd.

E.E. What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

B.J. You mean besides cry? Writing is exhausting. Plus I’ve fallen madly in love with my characters. I’ve been living with this book for months. I’ve edited it usually about nine times. When I read it through the last time before sending if off to my editor, I am very emotional. I hope that my readers feel the same way at the end.

E.E. What do you do to unwind and relax?

B.J. Are you kidding? Most days there are characters in my head. They won’t leave me alone. But once a year, I try to leave them behind and head for Florida where I lie in the sun and lose myself in other writers’ books. That is my idea of relaxing.

I’m getting better at this. Usually if I don’t write for about three days, I start writing in my sleep. Now I can go for a couple of weeks but I have to actively refuse to listen to the characters.

My favorite thing to do for a break though is to get out in the boat. I love watching the water rush past. I have done some of my best plotting on the water.

E.E. If you could travel to the past where would you go and why?

B.J. This is an easy one. Helena, Montana back in the 1800s, during its heyday. Gold had been discovered. The town was jumping. There were shoot-outs in the streets, hidden tunnels under the city, thieves and outlaws. I would have to dress like a man though since it would have been a dangerous place for a woman who wanted to hang on to her virtue. I would walk around and take it all in. Ah, the stories. J Just to see for myself some of Montana’s rich history would be wonderful.

E.E. What is your favorite tradition from your childhood that you passed on?

B.J. Camping. I was in my first camp when I was a few weeks old. My daughter was no different. I loved to take her to Hebgen Lake. She spent many hours playing in the water, climbing over piles of driftwood, digging in the sand and staring into the campfire under a vast starlit sky. She is now passing that tradition on to her daughter.

E.E. Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them or let them influence your writing?

B.J. I read all my reviews and I consider what the reviewer has to say. My feeling is that the reviewer took the time to tell readers what she thought about the book, I should consider her opinion. Some reviews are very helpful. I remember one a long time ago. The reviewer said, “This writer has a secret baby in every book!” (I hadn’t written many books at that point.) I thought, that can’t be true. But sure enough, some of the babies had grown up, but there was one in the books she had read. I had to laugh.

So, yes, I learn from reviews. I try to take them in the spirit the reviews are offered. If they are just mean-spirited I figure that person had a bad day. We aren’t all going to like the same book.

E.E. What dreams have you realized as a result of your writing?

B.J. Wow. I never dreamed half of the amazing things that have happened. All I wanted was to tell stories. That’s still what I want. Every fun thing that has happened along the way came as a complete surprise. My first sale: ODD MAN OUT. My first fan letter. (I framed it.) My first nomination for an award. (Seriously?) My first review for my first book: 4 ½ stars! (I thought that was out of 10 but my editor was so happy…). My first award I actually received. The first time I made the USA Today List. Then the NYT Bestseller List. The friends I’ve made, both writers and readers, the editors, artists and marketing people who take such good care of me…. The list goes on and on.

I have pinch myself. But ultimately, I go back to my computer and I write another story. All that is fun, but for me, it is still about writing a story that my readers get lost in. That I get lost in. I love doing this.

E.E. Who influenced you most in the genre?

B.J. I didn’t grow up reading Louis La’mour novels. I read Trixie Beldon and Frank Yerby. But my dad loved western movies and history. We visited places like the Alamo in Texas, Judge Roy Bean’s, Virginia City, Montana and rode on stagecoaches and horses and old trains. My hero when I was young was Davy Crocket, king of the wild frontier. J

My life began in Texas before we moved to Montana when I was five. We lived in a cabin, always lived in some place fairly wild, so I guess I was destined to write what I do. Everywhere we went I was busy making up stories in my head.

Three new books in B.J.'s Cardwell Ranch series, coming soon from Harlequin Intrigue:

RESCUE AT CARDWELL RANCH
Out June 1

When Hayes Cardwell arrived in Big Sky, Montana, for his brother’s wedding, the Texas P.I. didn’t expect to play hero. But ever since he saved McKenzie Sheldon from a brutal abductor, he can’t get her out of his mind and heart.

McKenzie was drawn to Hayes from the moment she awoke and saw the tall, dark cowboy who’d saved her like some Western fantasy. But can he protect her from a danger that’s much closer than they think?

WEDDING AT CARDWELL RANCH
Out July 1
Texas single father Jackson Cardwell knows a beautiful lady in distress when he meets her.

Someone’s hell-bent on making wedding planner Allie Taylor think she’s losing her mind. 

Allie’s past has stalked her to Cardwell Ranch, and not even Jackson may be able to save her from a killer with a chilling agenda.

Today, B.J. is giving away a copy of her current release ATONEMENT to one of the readers who comments and enters the drawing. 

Do you read Western romantic suspense? What do you enjoy most about about it? 

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