Today at TRRC Reading, we have author, P.J. O'Dwyer discussing her latest novel DEFIANT.
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When love turns deadly, the beloved play dead.
Western Maryland farm girl Kate Fallon wanted
more than horse pastures. Now a trial lawyer in the affluent Annapolis law
arena and married to multi-millionaire Jack Reynolds, also the U. S. Attorney
of Maryland, she’s got it all—at least everyone thinks so.
Behind closed doors, Jack is as cruel as he is
intelligent, as controlling as he is handsome. When his tirades turn physical,
Kate must fight for her life. But her efforts to leave him will take her down a
rabbit hole to secrets she doesn’t fully understand, and that Jack will kill to
suppress.
Two years later, Kate’s keeping secrets of her own. Living as
Charlie Robertson, a take-no-crap general contractor, she’s secure most days
knowing her nightmare is right where she left him—two thousand miles due east
under FBI scrutiny. Wielding a nail gun instead of a briefcase suits her, as
does the small mining town of Creede, Colorado. With its scenic views and open
spaces, life is simple and so are her rules: Lock all doors, check for signs
she’s been followed, and don’t get involved romantically ever again.
Unfortunately, retired Navy
SEAL and tourist Nick Foster didn’t get the memo. Mysterious, sexy, and
powerfully attracted to Charlie, Nick typically likes things easy. Only “easy”
isn’t in Charlie’s vocabulary, and neither is trust. Worst part is, she’s right
not to trust him, and yet he can’t help falling for her. But love won’t save
either one of them if she discovers his true identity or doesn’t give him what
he came for. His boss won’t tolerate failure.
EXCERPT:
Seconds, Kate had seconds. She took down
the hall, her options limited, and then her eyes locked onto her purse. Davey’s
manila envelope had emerged from the bottom of her handbag, its corner now
visible and catching her eye when she rounded the banister of the steps.
She needed to get to it.
“Kate, get your ass back here,” he
bellowed down the hall, his chair clattering to the floor.
Her detour took five seconds—precious
time if she wanted to escape him. The teeth on the zipper of her handbag bit
into her palm. The throw rug at the bottom of the steps slid, and she fell to
her knees. On all fours, she climbed the steps and froze when his hand snagged
her foot. She kicked hard, and his hand fell away. She pushed up off the tread
and continued the climb to the second level. If he caught her, he’d go straight
for her purse. The fact she snagged it right in front of him made it a
bull’s-eye. The envelope had sunk back into her purse, but once he dumped it,
the envelope and its
contents would be his focal point. And
then she would be his next target.
She slammed the thick pine door of the
master bedroom, hit the switch to the overhead light, and then reached up with
quivering fingers to turn the antique-style key sitting in the lock. Her heart
fluttered like wings taking flight, except there was nowhere to fly, nowhere to
hide. The room seemed to twirl, and all she could do was stare.
The pounding of his fists brought her out
of her stupor. “Open the goddamn door, or I’ll level it. Do you hear me, Kate?”
She had to stall. “Not until you calm
down. You’re scaring me. I didn’t mean to spill the bottle.”
He laughed derisively. “Like hell, you
were aiming for my head.”
Kate winced. Damn.
She scanned the dresser. No good. The
mattress . . . he’d look there. Closet—forget it. She eyed the frame. It sat
neglected against the back wall under the window sill, the watercolor of Thomas
Point lighthouse. She had picked it up in the art gallery on Main the other day
and had every intention of hanging it. But she hadn’t gotten around to it. She
laid it down on the bed and sighed with relief. The back hadn’t been enclosed
in brown paper.
She tried to clear her mind. Ignoring his
verbal tirade and the blows against the door, she reached inside her purse,
searching for her nail file. Her fingers became agitated—there was so much crap
in her purse. Heart pounding, she grabbed the envelope and tossed the bag
across the room. She dug her fingernail under the first tong and gritted her
teeth when the metal slipped under her nail. A drop of dark blood appeared in
the underside curve of her French manicure. She sucked her finger and ignored
the bitter taste. If she left a fresh trail of blood on the frame, he’d become
suspicious. She continued to struggle with every stubborn piece of metal until
she could clear the cardboard back. She positioned the envelope in one corner,
replaced the cardboard, and pressed flat the tongs.
How long had he been in the house? An
hour, possibly? Enough time to thoroughly search it. She turned the frame
around, moved past her bed, and placed the picture back in its exact location
beneath the window. A loud crack brought her attention around. The entire
doorframe tore from the
wall. The door itself hung like a piece
of split skin, still attached, but barely.
She swallowed hard as he charged her.
If you missed RELENTLESS is a blurb:
Headstrong
horse rescue director Bren Ryan has been a red-headed streak of trouble for
more than one man in Clear Spring. She’s grown up needling local “kill buyer”
Wes Connelly, and since the sheriff ruled her husband’s sudden death an
accident, Bren’s been investigating things herself. She’s certain Tom was
murdered, and she’s hell-bent on cornering his killer the only way she knows
how—by tempting him to do it again. And she’s the bait.
Rafe Langston came to Maryland looking
for land and a fresh start. Or so he says. The sexy cowboy isn’t generous with
details, but Bren couldn’t care less—until he buys half her farm at auction and
moves into her childhood home. Suddenly, the last man she should befriend
becomes her only ally in solving her husband’s murder.
Soon their cozy stakeouts sizzle with unexpected
desire neither one can ignore, threatening his mysterious plans and her promise
to never fall in love again—especially with a handsome stranger whose secrets
could shatter what family she has left.
AUTHOR
BIO:
P. J.
O’Dwyer is an award-winning author and an active member of Romance Writers of
America. When asked where she gets her story ideas, she laughs ruefully and
says, “It helps being married to a cop.” She lives in Maryland with her family.
Visit her website at www.pjodwyer.com or www.blacksirenbooks.com.
GIVEAWAY:
Be a part of the discussion and be
entered to win your choice of either an autographed hardcover or an
“Authorgraphed” Kindle edition of Defiant
or Relentless.
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/pub/p-j-o-dwter.3a/633/825
