WELCOME TO THE BLOG TOUR:
To tell you the truth, I've never read a Love, Inspirational book but there's always room for expanding out of my go-to genres. Terri Reed is here today talking about her latest release, The Secret Heiress. Let's give her a warm welcome:
HOWDY TERRI!!
Meet Terri:
Where To Find Terri: Love Inspired Authors | Blog | eHarlequin
Thank you for having me here to day. Great questions!
Kati: Who is Terri Reed? Author, mother, avid gardener...
Terri: Author, yes. I sold to Love Inspired Romance in 2003. Since then I have written 25 books. Mother, another big yes. I have two kids that I love beyond measure. Now that they are teenagers they keep be on my toes. My oldest is looking at colleges. I have to say I’m not anticipating her going away. Avid gardener—not as much as I used to be or as much I’d like. I used to have a rose garden and flower bed that I tended to consistently, but as my deadlines have increased and my kids have grown older, I don’t find myself out in the garden like I used to. When the kids were little, I’d putter in the flowers while the kid’s road their bikes or did sidewalk chart art. Those days are sadly gone.
K: Tell us about your book (no copy and pasting the blurb)
T: I wanted to do something a little different than I’d done before so I set this book in the deep south on an old plantation. I tried to give the setting a gothic feel, which I think the art department captured in the cover. I had introduced Caroline Tully and Donovan Cavanaugh in my November 2009 release Chasing Shadows. Caroline had been adopted as a baby. And like most adopted children wondered about her birth parents. When a man claiming to be her birth mother’s father asks her to visit his estate, she’s compelled to go. Only with an inheritance at stake, someone doesn’t want her to live long enough to uncover the secrets from the past. She hires a bodyguard to accompany her, a man who’d once piqued her interest but showed no interest in return. Concerned for her safety, Don agrees to accompany Caroline, and posing as her fiancé seems the best way to explain his presence. But as a killer draws closer, Don and Caroline find pretending to be engaged comes easily. Don now must not only protect Caroline from a dangerous threat that wants to keep her from knowing about her birth parents, but also from breaking her heart.
K: How did you break into writing and why did you choose Love Inspired romance?
T: Growing up, whenever asked what I wanted to be I’d say an author. I loved all my English writing assignments, especially the creative writing ones. I had many teachers encourage my writing all the way through college. But other interest sidetracked me from my childhood dream. I started pursuing a writing career in the early 90’s. My first attempt was a historical. I had a hundred pages written when I joined RWA and learned I didn’t know a thing about craft or POV or third person narrative. I hope someday to resurrect that story. When Harlequin opened Love Inspired I found where my voice belonged. It took ten years of submitting before I finally sold.
K: Do you have any writing rituals? (blasting music, sitting in silence, eating cookies...)
T: I prefer to write to music. I listen to a wide variety of styles, mostly upbeat with fast rhythms. I drink a lot of tea when I’m working as well. And usually keep some small snack nearby—animal cookies, hot tamales or gorgonzola flavored crackers and sometimes pop tarts.
K: What can readers expect from you next? I have two more books coming out in 2012.
T: 1)June 2012, The Deputy’s Duty, a Love Inspired Suspense. This book is set in a fictional New England fishing village and revolves around the lives of the Fitzgerald clan, the majority of which are in law enforcement. The first book in the continuity is out this month. A murder has shocked the close-knit community. And one of the Fitzgerald’s is the prime suspect. Through the course of the six books, the investigation into the murder progresses as each story features a different Fitzgerald and their love interest and the danger each faces. My book, The Deputy’s Duty, is the last of the six and wraps up the murder investigation but is also fraught with a new threat. Deputy Chief Ryan Fitzgerald must bring down a murderer, rescue a missing baby and choose between protecting his family or the love of free-lance journalist Meghan Henry. Meghan will stop at nothing to bring her cousin’s murderer to justice, but when she uncover a Fitzgerald scandal, she will have to choose between her career or love.
2)Fall 2012, The Doctor’s Defender, a Love Inspired Suspense. This is the third book in my own bodyguard mini-series, The Protection Specialist-Guarding the Innocent. Set in Chicago at the end of summer, Doctor Brenda Storm is being targeted for murder and she doesn’t know by whom or why. She has no choice, but to hire a bodyguard, former Navy SEAL Kyle Martin. As danger closes in, Kyle has to not only protect the pretty doctor but his heart as well.
In 2013 I have two book contracted by Love Inspired Suspense for release.1) The fourth book in the Protection Specialist series will be out early in the year. This book is as yet untitled.2) May will see the release of (working title) Cold Case Murder, book 5 of the Texas K-9 unit continuity series. This is a series about the special canine detectives and their handlers. My book will feature an adorable drug sniffing Beagle named Sherlock and his handsome handler Parker Adam.
K: Authors choice.
T: What was the name of the heroine in Chasing Shadows where Caroline and Don first appeared? (hint: Find the answer here)
THE SECRET HEIRESS:
Finding out she is heir to a fortune shocks Caroline Tully to her core. And to “qualify” for the inheritance, she just has to visit her newfound grandfather’s Mississippi home from Christmas to New Year’s. Adopted as a baby, Caroline knows nothing about her mother’s family...and doesn’t realize they can’t be trusted. When attempts are made on her life, there’s only one man who can protect her. Donovan Cavanaugh—a man who made her lonely heart want to love again. Posing as her fiancé, Don promises to find the would-be killer. But will his protection-and his love-be enough to keep her safe?
Protection Specialists: Guarding the innocent.
EXCERPT:
“Mr. Maddox will see you now.”
A flutter of nerves hit Caroline as they followed Horace up the stairs and down the hall to the other end of the second story. He opened a door and stepped aside.
The room was shrouded in shadows. The curtains closed and only a small table lamp in the corner glowed near a full-sized bed where a wizened old man lay. Thinning silver hair covered his head. He stared at her with bloodshot eyes and lifted a hand, beckoning them closer. “Isabella?”
Heart hammering in her chest, Caroline walked forward. She wasn't sure what to say to this obviously ill man. Her grandfather. Compassion filled her, as it would for anyone brought low by sickness. She took his hand in hers. His skin had darkened on his arm and felt clammy, and the bones were so fragile. “No, I'm Caroline. And this is...my fiancé, Don.”
The old man seemed to shrink a little. “I'm sorry,” Elijah Maddox said in a raspy voice. “I shouldn't have brought you here, child. It's not safe.”
Stunned, Caroline glanced at Don. Good thing she had him to protect her.
A thundercloud of anger darkened Don's expression. He stepped closer. “So you know someone has tried to kill her?”
Elijah's eyes widened. “No!” He closed his eyes for a moment, a spasm of pain crossed his bony features. When he opened his eyes, real fear shone bright in the amber depths. He looked toward the door then back to Caroline. “Someone's killing me!”
Where To Buy: Amazon(pb) | Kindle | B&N(pb)/Nook | Harlequin
Okay my lovelies, Terri is giving away a $10 Visa gift card to one(1) lucky commenter during her blog tour. Here's how to increase your chances at that prize:
- Leave a comment for Terri answering her question: What was the name of the heroine in Chasing Shadows where Caroline and Don first appeared?
- Leave your email ninja style: yourname at gmail dot com
- Leave a comment at each stop of her blog tour:
January 3: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object
January 4: Romancing Rakes
January 4: REVIEW ONLY: Reviews by Molly
January 5: The Plot Thickens
January 6: I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
January 9: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
January 10: The Character Connection
January 11: Rogues Angels
January 12: Kathryn Lively - Award Winning Mystery Author
January 13:Me, My Muse and I
Remember: The more you comment, the greater the chance you have at that fabulous gift card!
A huge thank you to Terri for hanging out at Romancing Rakes and to Marianne at Goddess Fish Promotions for forwarding correspondence between Terri and I. A thank you to Terri for providing the giveaway prize.
