Harlequin Intrigue stories deal in serious romantic suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat as resourceful, true-to-life women and strong, fearless men fight for survival.
Showing posts with label .38 Caliber Cover-Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label .38 Caliber Cover-Up. Show all posts
ANGI MORGAN
writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines
actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous
situations. Angi's work has been a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award,
Romantic Times Best First Series, Carolyn Readers Choice, Gayle Wilson Award of
Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier..
To the rest of the world, Sabrina Watkins
doesn't exist. But to this cop, she is very much alive in Angi Morgan's The
Marine's Last Defense
After escaping a killer, playing dead was
the only way Sabrina Watkins could get out of Amarillo alive. Now she's living
in Dallas, where no one knows her true identity. Until homicide cop Jake Craig
shows up.
A half-frozen pup he finds at a crime
scene brings Jake to Sabrina's doorstep. Suddenly, the former marine is playing
hero to a desperate woman on the run. Sworn to clear her name, Jake's already
falling for the stunning brunette with the amethyst eyes. Can he keep her safe
and turn a rescue mission into a last chance at love?
I originally posted this blog in 2011. Forgive me for repeating, but I'm under deadline and not feeling creative. >>smile<< In the backyard the other day, we heard blanks being fired to scare some blackbirds from their trees. It reminded my husband and I of the time I was at the softball fields and...
... I was shot. I swear. Everyone heard the gunfire. Half the people in the bleachers hit the ground. The other half stared at the white smoke billowing around my feet. And me? Well, I froze. My life didn’t flash before my eyes, but I assure you, a thousand thoughts raced through my mind in a millisecond.
I can laugh about it now. Now that I know it was an over-aired inner tube exploding. But for all purposes, I experienced something as close to the real thing as I ever want to get.
I froze. My heart landed in my throat. Not just figuratively, but viscerally. I couldn’t move, speak, blink. I had no clue what was happening around me. It took me a good thirty seconds before I felt my chest to verify I was still whole. Honestly, I knew I’d been shot at. Just knew it. I didn't understand why my hands weren't bloody. The emotions ranged from astonishment to relief and back again to laughter once I moved the tire and saw the rather large hole in the side of the rubber.
To give you a better picture of what happened… I (used to) set softball fields for the city where I live. The stands were full of college students and parents at the Red River Conference tournament. I push 90 pounds of chalk and machine (hopper) around the field refreshing the foul lines between games. One of the front tires had been over-inflated and decided to blow out. The sound was incredibly close to a gunshot and managed to echo off the buildings. People really did think we’d been fired at, going so far as to dial 911. (Try explaining that your husband over-inflated the tires on your equipment...not easy.)
What does any of this story have to do with writing?
Well, I can tell you that I’ll be able to draw from that adrenaline rush for some time to come. I write romantic suspense, writing about gunfire and shots fired several times. And I’d say that I’m actually used to gunfire having been raised around guns. But this experience was different. The world really did move in slow motion for at least thirty seconds. My thoughts followed a progression from: I’ve been shot. Should I move? I’m okay—no wounds. Did kids put firecrackers in my hopper? If I move it will something else happen? What DID happen? Oh, goodness, the tire exploded! “It’s okay everybody, it was the tire.”
Again, you’re probably asking, what does this story have to do with writing?
It’s added a deeper perception to my gun scenes—that’s for certain. But it also reminded me that getting into the real world is important for authors. Life experiences are what we bring to our writing to make it unique. An emotional connection is what we share with our readers. That connection is what brings them back for the second, third, or a lifetime of reads. It earns us a place on their keeper shelves.
As for those over-inflated tires… I can blame my husband for that. Helping me out, he aired the hopper’s tires the night before. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten his glasses and just guessed at how high to fill them. LOL
I’ll be around to chat throughout the day and would love to know what unusual, silly, or dangerous thing has happened to you because someone forgot their glasses. I have a little something from Texas for one commenter.
BIRTHDAY MONTH GIVEAWAY
$20 Gift Certificate to Barnes & Noble or Amazon. Lots of chances to enter the Rafflecopter drawing.
Research trip: THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE Tim and I returned from Amarillo, Texas through Palo Duro Canyon. Just a quick drive-by because neither of us had ever been. It's now on our places we want to camp list. Some week in the future...because it would take a week to do all the hiking and exploring we'd like to do.
It's not the grand canyon, but it's still very majestic and breathtaking.
I've shared this picture before. Tex and Dallas (we lost her just a couple of days after this picture). She was fearless, jumping right up on the wall to get a look.
We snaked our way down the canyon walls. Tim's first thought: a great ride on his bicycle. Me? Not so much.
One of the paths at the bottom. We can't wait to go back and do some real hiking.
It would be nice to see everything in bloom. It would be a lot warmer too. A couple of days after this everything was covered in snow.
Of course, I was inspired. There's a book brewing about this canyon. Palo Duro didn't make it into The Marine's Last Defense (January 2014, Harlequin Intrigue). But our sweet Dallas did.
I'm giving away a book today to a random blog commenter. Would you like a signed copy of Protecting Their Child or Dangerous Memories? I'm also throwing in a Texas souvenir.
Tim and I spent last weekend in Branson, Missouri with the terrifying responsibility of acting like professional photographers. And it was such an act. We take pictures, but having the responsibility of capturing the most important day for two people... we were anxious about it for several weeks.
And man did we get lucky.
It was the perfect day, light breeze for the ceremony, the golden hour of light for picture taking, a beautiful small number of the most awesome people. It was easy to take great pictures of a gorgeous couple. By the end of the weekend we felt like we'd met long-lost family.
When I was told that the bride's colors with Lime Green and Hot Pink...I literally cringed. One of my bedrooms was painted those colors for two years. (They were the colors of a teenage girl, not me. LOL) I honestly didn't expect the arrangements to be so beautiful and inventive. The colors were just brilliant and worked so well together. And "lime green" has never been REAL limes before. >>>grin<<<
Jalynn & Chad M.
Many of our poses and ideas came from pictures posted on Pintrest. I'm really thankful for that medium of sharing.
Jimmy & Michelle "Communicate"
We had so much fun taking photos of the guests. The couples wrote wedding tips for the bride & groom.
Honestly, by the end of the day, Tim and I realized we'd been working over 8 hours. Between the both of us we'd snapped over 3,000 pictures of the rehearsal, the pre-wedding, the ceremony, and the reception. We loaded them on thumbdrives (yes it took 2) and handed them over for the couple to go through.
I definitely know why wedding photographers charge so much.
I still haven't looked through all the pictures. LOL
ENTER
ANGI'S June contest: register
at Rafflecopter through July 31st for a
hand-painted Texas tile. LEAVE A BLOG COMMENT for a chance to win a signed Intrigue...I don't know who, I'll be picking it up at the national conference next week for you!
This month Angi Morgan sends two people on the run with the desperate goal of Protecting Their Child:
A RANGER WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS--AND A BABY ON THE WAY
Cord McCrea was the Texas Ranger of her dreams...but their life together ended like a nightmare. They were too proud and stubborn, and there was no repairing the damage done to their family. All Kate Danver McCrea had now was the reminder he'd left growing inside her.
Now the crazed gangster who'd shattered Cord's life was a free man, and he wanted to settle some old scores. Cord would do anything to protect his ex-wife, but once she was safe, they would go their separate ways again. Only, the baby changed everything. If they could survive the perils of a west Texas winter while outmaneuvering danger at every pass, they might have a second chance. Because with a traitor in their midst, they had no one to trust-except each other.
Angi Morgan's latest takes readers on a suspenseful quest to unlock some Dangerous Memories:
THE MORE SHE REMEMBERS…
After witnessing her mother’s murder as
a child, Jolene Atkins had forced the memories from her mind. Now the killer
had resurfaced, but this time Jo had Levi Cooper to protect her. Even if he was
disobeying direct orders from the U.S. Marshal service to do so….
THE MORE ONE U.S. MARSHAL HAS TO PROTECT
HER
Levi had vowed years ago to always keep
the innocent beauty safe. So when Jo insisted on finally getting some answers,
Levi had no choice but to help her. But watching as the pain of the past
threatened to crush a spirited Jo, Levi ignored every professional instinct and
pulled her into his arms. After one night together, Levi was more determined
than ever to close this case. Because that one night would never be enough….
Lena Diaz and Angi Morgan have
a lot in common. They're Unsinkable Sisters, both 2010 RWA® Golden Heart finalists, are celebrating the release of
their third books, both won the Daphne du Maurier (unpublished) and both have U.S. Marshal stories out in February: DANGEROUS MEMORIES
& THE
MARSHAL'S WITNESS (click on the title for an excerpt).
EXCITING !! So exciting
they decided to share a blog today and talk about their heroes!
U.S. Marshals make great
heroes. What's not to love about a man who's willing to die for someone?
Criminal or innocent witness, Marshals put their lives on the line protecting
people every day. And of course, in Angi and Lena's stories, Levi Cooper and
Ryan Jackson are sexy protectors doing just that. Levi has known Jolene for
several years, but Ryan has just been assigned Jessica Delaney. Reading these
similar--yet completely different--stories should be lots of fun.
So Angiand Lenathought they'd compare Marshals in a fun way.
Remember that old tune MY DOG'S BIGGER
THAN YOUR DOG? by Tom Paxton? Well
the fun "sharing" became a very fun "comparison." LOL
So Angi, why don't you start
us off …
Well, I never claimed to be a song writer, but here goes.
My
guy's bigger than Lena's guy,
My
guy's bigger than yours,
My
Marshal's bigger
and
he chases big bad men,
My
guy's bigger than yours.
So not a song writer.
Lena’s turn…
Size DOES matter Angi and I assure you my guy is the PERFECT
size!
My
guy’s tougher than Angi’s guy,
My
guy’s gorgeous too,
My
Marshal’s a former Green Beret (top that Angi!),
And
a much better lover!
My
guy’s tougher than yours.
A better lover, Lena? I don’t think so. One kiss rocked my
heroine’s world for four years. LOL
Our
train's faster than your car,
Our
running's faster than yours,
We
have sirens,
and
murder and lots of guns,
Our
train's faster than yours.
Just remember to smile while you’re reading this and think of
the tune. LOL
Faster isn’t necessarily better, darlin’. Remember that better
lover line above? Ha!
Our
explosions are louder than yours are,
Our
guns are louder than yours,
My
heroine’s in trouble,
So
my hero’s there on the double,
My
Marshal’s bigger, tougher, louder than yours!
And he has stubble. Who can resist stubble???
Can anyone resist stubble? Angi?
My Marshal has stubble… and I think Lena's much better at song
writing than me. (grin)
My
Marshal's …umm. My Marshal's…well, darn. UNCLE.
I
give up since I'm making my Marshal sound, well… (grin)
Marshal
Levi Cooper is committed, loyal, dedicated and--of-course--gorgeous (did you
see how cut he is on the cover?). He's the go-to guy in the Denver office. A
work-a-holic who longs for more when he meets Jo. Deep down he knows his Sunday
afternoon check-ins on the Atkins duo are more than routine visits. And then
his witness, Jo's father, goes outside the program and is murdered. Levi vows
to protect Jo no matter what and hates hurting her by dredging up buried
memories. IF she remembers, he'll lose her to WITSEC. If she doesn't…she'll be
killed. DANGEROUS MEMORIES was a cool story to write and I can't wait to hear
from readers about their impression of Levi.
(Thank goodness she cried Uncle because I was so there, ready to
cry off!)
Okay,
Marshal Ryan Jackson would totally look cut on my cover if it weren’t for the
long sleeves he’s wearing. But he’s smart enough not to wear short sleeves in
the Smoky Mountains when it’s late fall. But come on, look at his face! He’s
HOT. What I love the most is his sense of honor and justice. And since the heroine
is a former criminal, it takes a LOT for him to move beyond his distrust of her
and to allow himself to see past the crimes to the real person, and to
understand why she made the choices she made. But even before that, because of
his deep sense of honor and duty to the witness he’s sworn to protect, he risks
explosions, fires, bullets, and bears to save our lovely heroine! I’m excited
to see what readers think about THE MARSHAL’S WITNESS and my sexy, honorable
hero.
~ ~ ~
LENA DIAZ is a romantic suspense author. Her debut novel, HE KILLS ME, HE KILLS ME NOT, released by Avon Impulse in 2011. The story was a finalist in the 2010 RWA Golden Heart and won both the 2009 TARA and the 2010 Daphne du Maurier awards.
Angi Morgan
writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines
actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous
situations. Angi has been a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award, Romantic Times
Best First Series, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier.
ENTER
TO WIN Angi’s January monthly contest. The January Giveaway ends on January 31st,
winner announced February 2nd. Registration is through Rafflecopter.
Angi's giving a copy of
Lena's book to a lucky blog commenter today (don't forget your email).
WHAT DO YOU
THINK about our Marshals? Or can you add a verse to the impromptu song?
I hope everyone survived the "holiDAZE" and unlike me, you have all your lights down and decorations put away. I have a deadline this week and a trip to NYC tomorrow. So why am I blogging? LOL Well...what was the question again? >>>grin<<< The beginning of the year's normally a time to reflect and evaluate what went right and what went wrong...and make goals to be better. So my contest to celebrate my February release is called FAVORITE MEMORIES. One of the things my husband and I do is short trips around the country, mainly in a pop-up camper or connected to one of his business trips. We love to take pictures (as many of you know I post on Facebook and A Picture A Day)-- What you may not know is that almost every picture in our house was also taken by us (just recently printed two by my cousin Rick Minick) or has been painted by my mom. I love this. (We do have professional portraits of kids. LOL) Having the pictures around us (which we rotate throughout the year using the same frames), well, it reminds us of the fun and good memories we had from that trip. So some of our favorite memories are constantly in view. I hope 2013 is filled with lots of memories that become favorites !!
~ ~ ~
Register for my January FAVORITE MEMORIES basket contest through Rafflecopter. You can get started by watching my book trailer (below).
I'm adding to the basket every week... right now, I have one of my favorite movies KNIGHT & DAY; and one of my favorite puzzles which features classic Harlequin Covers. No tellin' what favorite thing I'll add next week. You can earn an extra entry by tweeting about my book trailer every day.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE MEMENTO or souvenir or gift that you see to remind you of happy times. Leave a comment and you're name will be added to the Basket Drawing as an additional entry. ~Angi
I came back tanned and relaxed. Missed the pups, played with the pups who seem to have missed me and shadowed me for three days. I've got my head down, writing after a week-long stay in Florida. St. Pete's Beach to be exact. While we were there, we kept track of our days by sunsets.
This is a picture from our first night's dinner and sunset. We actually saw the "green flash" and had fresh boiled shrimp and crab legs. Awesome meal. Everyone kept directing us to restaurants, our reply: Anywhere to eat on the beach? We can eat inside in Texas anytime.
Second night we went to a Texas Rangers' game (they happened to be playing in Tampa Bay--lol). I think half the stands were Ranger Fans. Nice stadium. We were actually cold from the air conditioning (it's enclosed).
Their Ray tank was pretty cool. Can't believe my pictures turned out so well.
The third sunset was on Anna Maria Island accompanied by our favorite meal: red snapper that had been caught on the boat that morning, scallops, fresh coconut shrimp (tasted like it was still in the coconut) and the most amazing desert of kumquat pie. It was the oddest thing, part of the restaurant was a private party getting married on the beach, so we witnessed their ceremony (couldn't hear it because of the waves) and then watched them get their wedding pictures. One thing I would have changed...the bride and groom were wearing shoes.
Sunset number four was after a terrific day on the number 1 natural beach in America. We stopped on the drive back and had fresh toasted coconut ice cream, made locally. Oh and did I mention that just before that we had Hawaiian shave ice? Yes, the ice cream was a second scoop. Tim took this picture and called it: CUP O' SUNSET FOR TWO
Our last sunset...dinner on the beach, followed by sitting in the sand and watching the sun fall behind the horizon. Then a fruity coconut drink and a walk along the shore.
VERY PEACEFUL -- I even brought back a little to share.
I guess summer's officially over, even here in Texas the temperatures have dropped and we turned off the AC. SO WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER MOMENT? Did you have a cool sunset to share?
Leave a blog comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a B&N $10 gift card. And I remember --those of you have left comments for my past two blogs will be entered once for each comment.
I'm getting excited, my next release DANGEROUS MEMORIES isn't too far away now. The cover should be available soon.
~Angi
AngiMorgan.com
Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.
Sorry, I totally forgot I was to write a post this morning. I admit that I've been under the weather, I've been traveling, and I leave again Friday...so my schedule's totally off. But I laughed this morning and thought I'd share some DALLAS moments.
We normally have to coax Dallas to "sing". This time, she began all on her own and Moose joined in with barking. Tex was laid back under my elbow...he mainly barks at bicycles. LOL
Tim and I were very lazy this weekend and watched the entire BAND OF BROTHERS series on DVD. What did you do?
Blog commenters will be entered into my next drawing (of course). I have several books to give away on the 18th of this month.
So last week, I had to take the pups to the vet. Booster shots. Three dogs, all who behaved extremely well. I drive a classic Jeep Cherokee--it's the kind you see in movies, the one the good guys are always escaping in, or chasing the bad guys. They're very good SUVs with great engines that last. I still see them everywhere on the road. In fact, we used to own two. The other saved our lives in an eight car pile-up.
ASIDE: if you've seen the movie TAKEN, Liam Neeson actually goes after the bad guy in a Jeep just like mine, only he's in France. I'm immediately taken out of the movie saying, "Really? An old Jeep in Paris? And he just happens to find one?" LOL
Back to the story...
Our Jeep is 21 years old. We bought it used and a previous owner had replaced the ignition. Well, the dogs are loaded, I turn the key, but it won't turn. It's not the battery, alternator, or anything under the hood. Yep, it's the ignition New steering column needed. I'm stuck. Three dogs on a humid day. The hubby has to come pick us up, but he's an hour away.
Make lemonade, right? It's cloudy, there's a field, I have a blanket, I have great, calm dogs. I have a notepad...I have wifi on my phone. BUT... Ants. Everywhere.
So I pick up and head to the end of the road, to a grove of trees covering the dead-end, staying on the cement so the ants won't get us. See the cars way over in the top right-hand corner of the photo (below) ....I'm parked waaaaayyyyy over off the picture. LOL Arms full, three leashes.
I spread the blanket, sit down, open my notepad, dogs are content to lay on each corner. Plop. Plop. Plop. Plop. Rain.
Just enough sprinkle to keep us cool. But I can't write. Can't use my phone. Put everything into my waerproof purse. fold the corners of the blanket into the middle. Dogs can't sit still.
SO WE WALK.
The little grove of trees at the edge of the field had a gravel walk path around it. Grapevines galore. Very pretty. We walked in the sprinkling rain. We actually got a good workout. Stopped raining--we'd sit. Start sprinkling--we'd walk. Three hours later...we were finally headed home.
Finding the steering column is another story, for another day.
Love my dogs.I actually enjoyed being STRANDED. LOL
Care to share a story?
Leave a comment and I'll keep your name for the next drawing I'll have in two weeks.
We're celebrating the July (and some of the August) releases on Get Lost In A Story. There are give-aways all month. Try "getting lost" every day >>grin<<
JOIN US AND LEARN a few fun things about the July & August authors.
Wednesday the 11th: JESSICA ANDERSEN
Thursday the 12th: DELORES FOSSEN
Friday the 13th: ROBIN PERINI
Sunday the 15th: JULIE MILLER
Monday the 16th: DANA MARTON
Tuesday the 17th: We begin our features on the RWA RITA finalists which will include PAULA GRAVES on Thursday the 19th.
I was having trouble working through a latest synopsis for Intrigue. Tim found the latest puzzle featuring Harlequin old covers and I decided to put it together. Synopsis half hour, puzzle forty-five minutes. Synopsis half hour, puzzle over an hour. It went that way while I was by myself for several days. Unfortunately, I never noticed that the new puppies--Dallas & Tex-- decided to stick their noses into the pieces. If you look closely above there are three pieces missing. And let me tell you, they are totally gone. Never hit the floor gone. LOL
This is the puzzle we put together on the Easter camping trip. Even out college visitors worked on it. Just can't help trying to find a piece of a puzzle.
I love suspense, smart heroes & heroines who work the problem, finding the pieces that fit for the solution. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying jigsaw puzzles. I'm ready to start the next puzzle...and my next writing project: PROTECTING THEIR CHILD. (I'll be taking a road trip soon and will post pictures I'll be taking for research.)
It's been a busy month with the two new four-legged friends and the baby's graduation from Baylor University. So busy that I forgot to draw a winner from the picture blog. Didn't mean to avoid drawing...just got sidetracked by life. SO... the winners of a recently published Intrigue are:
KATHERYN & MARCIE R
Send me an email and we'll find you a book. And because of my forgetfulness, I'd like to give away the SIDNEY puzzle to someone leaving a comment today.
DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES of any type? Words, Pictures, Games, Jigsaw, Reading Intrigues?
Let me know which is your favorite for a chance to win the drawing.
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