Welcome to my Spring has Sprung blog event. This week it’s my pleasure to introduce romance author, Rebecca Grace. She’ll be chatting about her latest release, Deadly Messages. For a chance to win a free Ecopy of Deadly Messages and a $4.50 to The Wild Rose Press main store, be sure to leave a comment!Deadly Messages
TV Investigative Producer Connie Romero is a woman on a mission. She’s gone undercover to hunt for her sister’s killer, but could he be turning the tables on her? Canadian Inspector Mitch Weldon is also on a hunting expedition. He needs to find a serial killer who is dumping bodies in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Can he stop the madman before he takes another victim?
SKY: Welcome, thanks for joining me this week!
REBECCA: Thank you for having me. I always enjoy communicating with readers and other writers. The world of writing can be so solitary sometimes. It’s always fun to hear what others have to say and to talk about what I’m doing.
SKY: Tell me, what inspired this story?
REBECCA: So often I am inspired by events or people around me for my story ideas. My friends and family all know by now that if they do something that intrigues me and my imagination, look out!
This idea came to me while I was walking around downtown Vancouver’s beautiful Stanley Park with my sister. She’s in much better physical shape than I am and she went on ahead while I took a shortcut across the park—just like the opening scene in my book. Well, as I was sitting on a bench waiting for her to come around the bend, it suddenly hit me, what if she never showed up? Why could that happen? I started thinking about it more and more. That led to thoughts of what if there was a secret part of her life I didn’t know about. We lived in different cities and didn’t see each other all that often. And just from those crazy thoughts, DEADLY MESSAGES was born.
SKY: Nice! What makes your heroine fly off the pages? I’d love a glimpse of who she is.
REBECCA: Connie’s an independent woman who is used to doing things on her own and getting the results she wants. She’s used to digging for information but this time around she finds more than she bargained for in her sister’s closet. She’s also not used to letting a man stay in her life for long, but she finds herself drawn to Inspector Mitch Weldon in a way she never believed could happen. She’s a single woman who has always been content on her own, but when she realizes she wants Inspector Mitch Weldon around, suddenly her carefully structured life is thrown into turmoil. And she finds she’s not quite as invulnerable as she’s always believed. She starts questioning what she really wants and who she is and by the end she makes some interesting discoveries that helps her grow into a new life.
A slight smile slashed across his angular face. “Do you ever stop talking?”
“You think I talk too much?” Connie asked, her voice light and flirtatious. “No, I’m simply curious. It’s what makes me good at my job. As soon as someone tells me one thing, I want to know the next step or why stuff happens.”
His smile widened, and her stomach jumped. Damn, she had not realized how handsome he could be. The two of them had never spent much time together. Their talks were usually confined to the phone where he gave her lots of “perpetrator” and “victim” talk.
“You talk about my language usage, and you say ‘stuff?’ Is that supposed to convey some actual meaning?” he asked with a laugh.
Connie slapped her knee as she joined in the laughter. “Sorry, Inspector. And you know something else? I’ve never heard you laugh either, until now.”
He chuckled again, but this time, she heard an edge. “I live in a world where there isn’t much to laugh about.”
A shiver raced down her spine, despite the warm air which fanned her face. She was getting a lesson in his world–a world of violence and a search for murderers. Perpetrators.
“I can’t imagine doing that all the time, trying to find killers.” She studied the angular lines of his face which had hardened into a chiseled mask. Just what kind of a man was Weldon when he was away from his job? What really existed behind the crisp, pressed suit and shirt and cool demeanor? Was there an inch of softness in there somewhere? Maybe she should try to find out. He had not answered her comment, as though it was simply a statement of fact.
“My world can be hard-edged,” she added. “In the news business you hear about gruesome things, you report on them, but then the next day you’re doing a dancing dog story.”
“I thought you were an investigative producer.” His face softened slightly as he cast her a quick glance.
The look was long and sent a quick surge of excitement through her. She fidgeted with her coat buttons. His long fingers turned the heater dials, taking the heat a little lower, but she doubted it would lessen the spurt of internal heat that was beginning to rush through her body like a deadly virus.
“Well, yes,” she said, fighting to calm her accelerating pulse, “but I really want a job with one of the big networks. I’d love to produce for a news magazine where you get to travel on their dime. This gig at Puget Sound Cable is just another step in that direction. I’m going to spend my life traveling, having fun.”
“You’re a woman who knows what she wants,” he said. “Does that life include a man?”
SKY: Great excerpt! So what makes your hero worth knowing─lusting over?
“You think I talk too much?” Connie asked, her voice light and flirtatious. “No, I’m simply curious. It’s what makes me good at my job. As soon as someone tells me one thing, I want to know the next step or why stuff happens.”
His smile widened, and her stomach jumped. Damn, she had not realized how handsome he could be. The two of them had never spent much time together. Their talks were usually confined to the phone where he gave her lots of “perpetrator” and “victim” talk.
“You talk about my language usage, and you say ‘stuff?’ Is that supposed to convey some actual meaning?” he asked with a laugh.
Connie slapped her knee as she joined in the laughter. “Sorry, Inspector. And you know something else? I’ve never heard you laugh either, until now.”
He chuckled again, but this time, she heard an edge. “I live in a world where there isn’t much to laugh about.”
A shiver raced down her spine, despite the warm air which fanned her face. She was getting a lesson in his world–a world of violence and a search for murderers. Perpetrators.
“I can’t imagine doing that all the time, trying to find killers.” She studied the angular lines of his face which had hardened into a chiseled mask. Just what kind of a man was Weldon when he was away from his job? What really existed behind the crisp, pressed suit and shirt and cool demeanor? Was there an inch of softness in there somewhere? Maybe she should try to find out. He had not answered her comment, as though it was simply a statement of fact.
“My world can be hard-edged,” she added. “In the news business you hear about gruesome things, you report on them, but then the next day you’re doing a dancing dog story.”
“I thought you were an investigative producer.” His face softened slightly as he cast her a quick glance.
The look was long and sent a quick surge of excitement through her. She fidgeted with her coat buttons. His long fingers turned the heater dials, taking the heat a little lower, but she doubted it would lessen the spurt of internal heat that was beginning to rush through her body like a deadly virus.
“Well, yes,” she said, fighting to calm her accelerating pulse, “but I really want a job with one of the big networks. I’d love to produce for a news magazine where you get to travel on their dime. This gig at Puget Sound Cable is just another step in that direction. I’m going to spend my life traveling, having fun.”
“You’re a woman who knows what she wants,” he said. “Does that life include a man?”
SKY: Great excerpt! So what makes your hero worth knowing─lusting over?
REBECCA: Mitch Weldon is the sort of man who has always put duty and service to others above himself. At first he’s intrigued by Connie, but he’s also concerned that she’s getting in over her head with her investigation. He knows how dangerous investigative work can be and she’s a novice. Part of him wants to protect her, but he’s always been the type of man who looks at cases impartially. It’s how he does his work and how he succeeds. He can’t afford to get sidetracked, but beneath his dedication to duty he’s also flesh and blood and he can’t shake his attraction to her. He’s the sort of spit and polish guy we’d like to see with his neat hair a little mussed and a couple of buttons of that pressed shirt undone….
She gave him a wink, a dark lash sweeping across her cheek. Was it really as soft as it looked? He had never been so tempted to check. What the hell was he thinking? Certainly he had become more and more aware of her since that day she stepped under the police crime tape in the park and got into his car, but today everything had seemed to explode as he watched the tears roll down her cheeks as she viewed those terrible photos. He wasn’t certain what was going to happen next or if he should prolong this contact with her. They would probably both be better off if he just sent her home. Instead he fussed with his napkin, pulling it across his lap.
“You have some very nice things,” she said, sitting across from him, hazel eyes shimmering in the candlelight. He’d never really noticed the light flecks in her eyes before. In fact he’d always considered them on the dark side. Or maybe that was usually her mood when she was dealing with him. A strand of black hair teased the front of her shoulder.
“My mother left them to me when she died,” he admitted. “My brothers and sister were all married, and I was in the process of getting a divorce...” he stopped. “You don’t want to hear all my personal problems.”
Her quick laugh made his stomach jump. This was getting crazy. One thing was for certain—he’d never consider her only an intriguing annoyance again. She was getting under his skin…
SKY: Another wonderful excerpt! Thanks so much for visiting and sharing.
REBECCA: Thank you for giving me a chance to talk about DEADLY MESSAGES. By the way, I am working on a sequel to it, which I am calling DEADLY INTENTIONS. It involves Connie’s sister, Lisa, and that mysterious Professor, Will Lonetree, who really got under my skin while I was writing this book.
4 ½ stars – Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews
Suspense, betrayal and murder are all in this thrilling book along with a very sexy inspector. Rebecca Grace did a great job in bringing all these elements together to make a highly recommended suspense. I loved that Connie was not your usual damsel in distress and fought all the way until the end. Mitch is definitely an alpha male wanting to protect his woman and I loved that Connie wouldn’t sit still. This is definitely one of those books that will grip your attention and once the killer is found it will shock you. Rebecca has a way of pulling your attention to one thing and then putting in an obstacle that blows your mind. I loved it.
Interested in learning more? Visit Rebecca’s Website.
“You have some very nice things,” she said, sitting across from him, hazel eyes shimmering in the candlelight. He’d never really noticed the light flecks in her eyes before. In fact he’d always considered them on the dark side. Or maybe that was usually her mood when she was dealing with him. A strand of black hair teased the front of her shoulder.
“My mother left them to me when she died,” he admitted. “My brothers and sister were all married, and I was in the process of getting a divorce...” he stopped. “You don’t want to hear all my personal problems.”
Her quick laugh made his stomach jump. This was getting crazy. One thing was for certain—he’d never consider her only an intriguing annoyance again. She was getting under his skin…
SKY: Another wonderful excerpt! Thanks so much for visiting and sharing.
REBECCA: Thank you for giving me a chance to talk about DEADLY MESSAGES. By the way, I am working on a sequel to it, which I am calling DEADLY INTENTIONS. It involves Connie’s sister, Lisa, and that mysterious Professor, Will Lonetree, who really got under my skin while I was writing this book.
4 ½ stars – Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews
Suspense, betrayal and murder are all in this thrilling book along with a very sexy inspector. Rebecca Grace did a great job in bringing all these elements together to make a highly recommended suspense. I loved that Connie was not your usual damsel in distress and fought all the way until the end. Mitch is definitely an alpha male wanting to protect his woman and I loved that Connie wouldn’t sit still. This is definitely one of those books that will grip your attention and once the killer is found it will shock you. Rebecca has a way of pulling your attention to one thing and then putting in an obstacle that blows your mind. I loved it.
Interested in learning more? Visit Rebecca’s Website.
Thanks so much for popping in. Don’t forget, for a chance to win a free Ecopy of Deadly Messages and a $4.50 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press, be sure to leave a comment by Friday, June 4th, 12 PM EST.
~Sky
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