Whether you've read my latest book, Blindsided, or not, you might enjoy this interview with the hero, Scott Kramer, over at Read Your Writes Book Reviews today. I had fun getting Scott to reveal a little about himself. He's usually a bit reticent. Oh, and foul-mouthed. š
As a nice bonus, reviewer Gemini gave Blindsided a five-star review with some interesting insights. Enjoy!
What better way to celebrate than with a new romance? I hope you love Blindsided as much as I enjoyed writing it. š
SHEāS RUNNING FOR HER LIFE
Framed for espionage, reformed hacker Valerie Sanchez has no choice but to run. Worse, when the proof of her innocence is destroyed, things turn deadly. Can she trust the sexy terrorist hunter who mysteriously turns up to protect her, or is he the real threat?
HEāS HOT ON HER TRAIL
Former Marine sniper Scott Kramerās job was supposed to be easy. Follow the hot computer geek who stole plans for classified weapons until she meets her buyer, then let law enforcement take over. But when Valerie becomes an assassin's target, Scott's gut says sheās innocent. Now, he must risk his lifeāand his heartāto keep her safe.
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Get Blindsided now in ebook or print at your favorite retailer, and check out my book page for fun factsĀ and an excerpt.
BLINDSIDEDĀ (Men of Steele #3) is up for preorder now, and releasesĀ Feb 14th!
Iām excited to share this fast-paced romantic suspense between former Marine sniper Scott Kramerāwho played a key role in Blind Ambitionāand gutsy white hat hacker Valerie Sanchez.
Hereās a short description and a preview of the first chapter. Enjoy!
SHEāS RUNNING FOR HER LIFE
Framed for espionage, reformed hacker Valerie Sanchez has no choice but to run. Worse, when the proof of her innocence is destroyed, things turn deadly. Can she trust the sexy terrorist hunter who mysteriously turns up to protect her, or is he the real threat?
HEāS HOT ON HER TRAIL
Former Marine sniper Scott Kramerās job was supposed to be easy. Follow the hot computer geek who stole plans for classified weapons until she meets her buyer, then let law enforcement take over. But when Valerie becomes an assassin's target, Scott's gut says sheās innocent. Now, he must risk his lifeāand his heartāto keep her safe.
CHAPTER ONE (EXCERPT)
Valerie Sanchez summoned her most dazzling smile and prepared to lie through her teeth. She unzipped her long wool coat as she approached the Westgate Defense Systems security desk before the early crowd of employees arrived.
āHi, there. Itās my boyfriend Brianās thirtieth birthday today, and Iād like to decorate his cubicle before he arrives.ā She tugged the bouquet of Star Wars-themed helium balloons she had picked up that morning, making the shiny Darth Vader and R2D2 bounce.
The security guard, his badge pinned proudly to his chest, glanced around the empty lobby and swallowed. āIād like to help you, maāam, but I canāt let in anyone without an employee ID or visitorās pass. Your boyfriend would have to vouch for you.ā
āThat would kind of give away the surprise, wouldnāt it?ā she asked, her grin cheeky. āBut, I understand.ā Resting her free elbow on the counter, she leaned forward enough to give the man a glimpse of her already ample, plumped-to-the-max cleavage.
When his eyes strayed to the shiny little charm sewn to the front of her bra, she asked, āWhat if you escorted me?ā
He snapped to attention, raising his eyes to meet her gaze, and cleared his throat. āI canāt leave my post. Not until the other guy shows up.ā He checked his oversized sport watch. āAnd even then, youād need someone to sign you in.ā
Based on her previous surveillance, she was ninety-nine percent positive the other guard wouldnāt arrive for at least ten more minutes. Her partner Jay had pegged this one as more vulnerable and figured if she could get him alone, heād be more susceptible to her āwiles.ā
āI could be your guest,ā she said, pushing the red-framed prop glasses onto the bridge of her nose.
His eyes widened. āBut I donāt know you.ā
āWell, letās change that.ā She held out her hand and smiled. āIām Vanessa Rios.ā
His face reddened all the way up to the roots of his receding brown hair. For a full five seconds, he didnāt respond. Then he grasped her hand in his own thick, clammy one. āJohn Watkins.ā
She resisted the instinct to slide her palm against his. If she laid on the sex appeal too thick, heād question her devotion to Brian, the programmer whose computer had access to the entire network at Westgate. A man sheād never met.
āNice to meet you, John. I work in human resources at Farmington International. Thatās where I met Brian before he got the job here. Weāve been dating for about two years.ā She raised her eyes in thought. āLetās see, what else? Iām a Libra, my friends call me Van even though I hate it, I have a sister, two cats, and a small apartment in Georgetown. I love living in D.C., but hate the traffic, and someday I want to do something important that changes the world for the better.ā
He was giving her a funny look, but she was pretty sure she had him. āOr would it be easier if I just showed you some ID?ā
A small part of her almost hoped he wouldnāt give in. As much as she wanted her pretext to work, this guy would be in big trouble if she succeeded. And he seemed nice.
Then again, if he wasnāt doing his job properlyā¦
John chuckled and shook his head. āIf you can wait until my partner shows, Iāll take you up.ā
She glanced at her watch. āUnfortunately, I canāt. I have to leave for work in the next five minutes or Iām going to be late.ā Frowning, she asked, āYou know what? When your other half gets here, can you put this stuff on Brianās desk for me? I was going to really do it upāāshe placed a sack of streamers, banners, and party favors on the deskāābut the balloons will have to do. Oh! And donāt forget the cupcakes.ā
Popping the lid on the Tupperware full of chocolate cupcakes with colorful confetti candy on top, she pulled out two and leaned over the counter to set them on Johnās workspace. āOne for each of you.ā
The guard laughed outright and shook his head. āYouāre something else, Van.ā He glanced around the empty lobby, chewed on his lip, and stewed for several seconds before nodding. āAll right, surrender your ID and Iāll give you five minutes.ā
āOh, my God, thank you.ā She flashed him a smile as she lay her jacket and scarf over a nearby chair. Then she traded the fake license for a clip-on visitorās badge, grabbed the party supplies, and turned for the elevators. āIāll be quick.ā
āIāll be watching.ā He pointed to the TV monitors.
Heart pounding, Valerie had to keep herself from running across the gleaming white marble. Not that she could have run in her heels anyway. She didnāt have enough practice wearing them, and they were pinching her toes. A minute later, she emerged onto the third floor and made her way along a row of blue, cloth cubicles. Based on the map Jay had found God-knew-where, Brianās desk was the fourth one on the right.
The entire space was eerily hushed, with no sound but the faint hum of fluorescent light bulbs and the whoosh of warm air coming from vents overhead.
She glanced up at the camera stationed on the ceiling behind Brianās cubicle and waved. Then she clipped the balloons to the desk, casually positioning them to block the cameraās view of the computer. Draping streamers with one hand, she leaned over the keyboard, giving the guard a shot of her ass. She let her dress ride up as she used her other hand to snap a tiny gadget into a slot on the back of the computer.
Quickly, she finished decorating the small workspace and hightailed it to the lobby. āThanks so much. I really appreciate this, John,ā she said, smiling as she returned the badge for the license and donned her winter armor.
āBrianās a lucky guy,ā he murmured as she walked toward the tall glass-encased exit.
If he only knew. She gave the guard a little wave and forced herself to stroll nonchalantly into the cold.
A hacker framed for espionage. A sniper hot on her trail. Enemies who can't resist falling in love.
Framed for divulging state secrets, reformed hacker Valerie Sanchez has no choice but to run. Worse, when the proof of her innocence is destroyed, things turn fatal. She must decide if the sexy terrorist hunter who mysteriously turns up to protect her is an ally or the real threat.
Former Marine sniper Scott Kramerās job was supposed to be easy. Follow the hot computer geek who stole plans for classified weapons until she meets her buyer, then let law enforcement take over. But when Valerie becomes an assassin's target, Scott's gut says sheās innocent. Now, he must risk his lifeāand his heartāto keep her safe.
In Blindsided, Valerie works for a company called Aggressor, but I had originally called it Red Team. Why? Because, in penetration testing (i.e. testing a company's or computer network's resistance to invaders) and military training exercises, the red team is the one that plays the enemy. But it turned out that Red Team is a popular company name in real life, and it's been used in a couple of fiction series as well. So, I asked my husband (retired Air Force) for ideas, and he came up with “aggressor.” An aggressor squadron is the one trained to act like the enemy in military war games. Perfect!
The city of Zachari is a fictionalized version of Oxnard, California (so I could take some liberties with it). According to Wikipedia, sugar magnate Henry Oxnard originally wanted to name the town Zachariāthe Greek word for sugarābut encountered too much bureaucracy, so he named it after himself instead. So, this one's for you, Henry. Here's a picture of Oxnard from the beach.
Adobe stock image
Four Corners, California is also part of my imagination, but would be in the Central Valley, near Yosemite, in the vicinity of Visalia.
Scott is the only hero in the Men of Steele universe (so far) who is not a former Air Force pararescueman (aka PJ). Don't ask me why, he just came to me as a Marine scout sniper.
I lived in San Diego for two years in college, and it's always been one of my favorite cities. When I wanted a break from the beach (say, what?), I would sometimes hang out at the Botanical Building inĀ Balboa Park. In Blindsided,Ā Valerie and Scott make a stop here to meet someone.
Adobe stock image
Scott listens to indie/alt rockāand has pretty much built a wardrobe from T-shirts displayingĀ his favorite bandsāand both he and Valerie share some of my own taste in music. My playlist while writing this book included “Starstruck” by Santigold, “Renegades” by X Ambassadors, “First” by Cold War Kids, “Waves” by Blondfire, and “Ophelia” by The Lumineers.
Want more Scott Kramer? Check out this interview with him at Read Your Writes (explicit, because he's foul-mouthed š ).
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Bethesda, MD Friday, 7:00 a.m.
VALERIE SANCHEZ SUMMONED HER MOST dazzling smile and prepared to lie through her teeth. She unzipped her long wool coat as she approached the Westgate Defense Systems security desk before the early crowd of employees arrived.
āHi, there. Itās my boyfriend Brianās thirtieth birthday today, and Iād like to decorate his cubicle before he arrives.ā She tugged the bouquet of Star Warsāthemed helium balloons she had picked up that morning, making the shiny Darth Vader and R2D2 bounce.
The security guard, his badge pinned proudly to his chest, glanced around the empty lobby and swallowed. āIād like to help you, maāam, but I canāt let in anyone without an employee ID or visitorās pass. Your boyfriend would have to vouch for you.ā
āThat would kind of give away the surprise, wouldnāt it?ā she asked, her grin cheeky. āBut, I understand.ā Resting her free elbow on the counter, she leaned forward enough to give the man a glimpse of her already ample, plumped-to-the-max cleavage.
When his eyes strayed to the shiny little charm sewn to the front of her bra, she asked, āWhat if you escorted me?ā
He snapped to attention, raising his eyes to meet her gaze, and cleared his throat. āI canāt leave my post. Not until the other guy shows up.ā He checked his oversized sport watch. āAnd even then, youād need someone to sign you in.ā
Based on her previous surveillance, she was ninety-nine percent positive the other guard wouldnāt arrive for at least ten more minutes. Her partner Jay had pegged this one as more vulnerable and figured if she could get him alone, heād be more susceptible to her āwiles.ā
āI could be your guest,ā she said, pushing the red-framed prop glasses onto the bridge of her nose.
His eyes widened. āBut I donāt know you.ā
āWell, letās change that.ā She held out her hand and smiled. āIām Vanessa Rios.ā
His face reddened all the way up to the roots of his receding brown hair. For a full five seconds, he didnāt respond. Then he grasped her hand in his own thick, clammy one. āJohn Watkins.ā
She resisted the instinct to slide her palm against his. If she laid on the sex appeal too thick, heād question her devotion to Brian, the programmer whose computer had access to the entire network at Westgate. A man sheād never met.
āNice to meet you, John. I work in human resources at Farmington International. Thatās where I met Brian before he got the job here. Weāve been dating for about two years.ā She raised her eyes in thought. āLetās see, what else? Iām a Libra, my friends call me Van even though I hate it, I have a sister, two cats, and a small apartment in Georgetown. I love living in D.C., but hate the traffic, and someday I want to do something important that changes the world for the better.ā
He was giving her a funny look, but she was pretty sure she had him. āOr would it be easier if I just showed you some ID?ā
A small part of her almost hoped he wouldnāt give in. As much as she wanted her pretext to work, this guy would be in big trouble if she succeeded. And he seemed nice.
Then again, if he wasnāt doing his job properly…
John chuckled and shook his head. āIf you can wait until my partner shows, Iāll take you up.ā
She glanced at her watch. āUnfortunately, I canāt. I have to leave for work in the next five minutes or Iām going to be late.ā Frowning, she asked, āYou know what? When your other half gets here, can you put this stuff on Brianās desk for me? I was going to really do it upāāshe placed a sack of streamers, banners, and party favors on the deskāābut the balloons will have to do. Oh! And donāt forget the cupcakes.ā
Popping the lid on the Tupperware full of chocolate cupcakes with colorful confetti candy on top, she pulled out two and leaned over the counter to set them on Johnās workspace. āOne for each of you.ā
The guard laughed outright and shook his head. āYouāre something else, Van.ā He glanced around the empty lobby, chewed on his lip, and stewed for several seconds before nodding. āAll right, surrender your ID and Iāll give you five minutes.ā
āOh, my God, thank you.ā She flashed him a smile as she laid her jacket and scarf over a nearby chair. Then she traded the fake license for a clip-on visitorās badge, grabbed the party supplies, and turned for the elevators. āIāll be quick.ā
āIāll be watching.ā He pointed to the TV monitors.
Heart pounding, Valerie had to keep herself from running across the gleaming white marble. Not that she could have run in her heels anyway. She didnāt have enough practice wearing them, and they were pinching her toes. A minute later, she emerged onto the third floor and made her way along a row of blue cloth cubicles. Based on the map Jay had found God-knew-where, Brianās desk was the fourth one on the right.
The entire space was eerily hushed, with no sound but the faint hum of fluorescent light bulbs and the whoosh of warm air coming from vents overhead.
She glanced up at the camera stationed on the ceiling behind Brianās cubicle and waved. Then she clipped the balloons to the desk, casually positioning them to block the cameraās view of the computer. Draping streamers with one hand, she leaned over the keyboard, giving the guard a shot of her ass. She let her dress ride up as she used her other hand to snap a tiny gadget into a slot on the back of the computer.
Quickly, she finished decorating the small workspace and hightailed it to the lobby. āThanks so much. I really appreciate this, John,ā she said, smiling as she returned the badge for the license and donned her winter armor.
āBrianās a lucky guy,ā he murmured as she walked toward the tall glass-encased exit.
If he only knew. She gave the guard a little wave and forced herself to stroll nonchalantly into the cold.
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