I’d like to thank Liana for inviting me to visit her blog today. I am very excited about my upcoming new release from Limitless Publishing, When First They Practice to Deceive. This is the third book in the Secret Lives series and I am absolutely in love with this cover! The artist, from Wicked by Design captured my vision perfectly and I hope you love it as much as I do.
Writing is something I have always done. In the beginning it was a way to pass the time late at night when I couldn’t sleep. My husband is a police officer in a pretty active city who he worked the graveyard shift for a decade. Some nights my overly active imagination just wouldn’t settle down so I began to channel it into stories. Mostly, I just sent them to friends to read in the beginning. With my background in forensic science, I especially enjoyed mysteries and crime stories where I could work in the science of investigation along with the entertainment of a fast paced story and the hint of romance.
Several years ago I joined an online group on a social media site made up of other police wives. It is a small group that began with the idea of supporting each other through some of the challenges of law enforcement family life. It grew into a group of friends that would pretty much do anything for each other. It was from that group the idea for my Secret Lives Series blossomed. Each book tells a story of intrigue—and yes, romance—for one of the wives in a group of close friends. They are all married to cops at some point in the story and find themselves caught up in some crazy situations. The series is fun and entertaining and I am so excited to be close to finishing it up.
The first book, Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos is about Cyndi Mills and her quest for something in her life that is all her own. She makes some wild choices that she ultimately has to own up to for the safety of her family and the sanctity of her marriage. My favorite part of the story though, is the steaming hot chemistry between Cyndi and her husband Jason. Not all romances are best before marriage.
The second book in the series, In The Shadow of the Shield tackles the big what if of being married to a cop. What if something happens to him in the line of duty? What if the reason has to do with other cops? It was a tough topic to tackle for me personally because I was basically forced to face my own biggest fear—loss of my husband. Diana not only has to figure out how to move forward in life but allow herself to love again—with a younger man determined to crack the mystery of her husband’s death. Romance—and chemistry— doesn’t die at age forty.
When First They Practice to Deceive is Jessy’s story. The youngest in the group, she struggles with self-confidence, especially after losing her job and learning about her husband’s infidelity. She discovers her own strengths as she goes through the trials of divorce and finding out that her husband had been doing a lot more behind her back than she had ever imagined. Things kick up a notch when she finds herself falling in love with the man who is determined to bring her husband to justice. A man carrying his own heartbreak and loss who has Jessy hoping she can be enough to save him the way he saves her.
Each book in the series has colorful supporting characters because we all know that the world is not at all black and white. I had almost as much fun writing them as I did the main hero and heroine. Johnny the bartender is by far my favorite (Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos) but Lookie Louie the pot head(In the Shadow of the Shield) and Arnetta and Surrey the servers that teach Jessy more than her job(When First They Practice to Deceive) had me laughing out loud. The best part about creating characters is the ability to let my imagination run wild.
When First They Practice to Deceive has a release date of May 3, 2016. I can’t wait to hold a copy of that beautiful cover in my hands! If you’d like to read the first two books before then, they are both available on amazon at the link below, along with all the books I’ve written.
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