Free-spirited Maddie Cooper never considered settling down—until Scott Fisher. But when the DEA agent left her with a broken heart and no forwarding address, Maddie dug in deeper with her first love: archaeology. Scott suffered a tragic loss while on assignment and gave up on all the things that brought light to his life, including Maddie. She deserves far better than the dark, dangerous world that consumes him. Staying away from her turns out easier said than done as the man he’s chasing leads him to Maddie’s latest work site. Her spitfire attitude and impulsive nature have a habit of getting her into trouble, and her latest stunt places her in grave danger. With Maddie’s life on the line, Scott must win back the trust of the only woman he’s ever loved in order to save her before tragedy strikes again.
Will Scott be able to save Maddie? Will Maddie be able to move out of the path of oncoming danger? Diane Holiday, author of Love Uncovered will share a little of what’s in store for Scott and Maddie, while we dig in her recent author journey. Diane, we’ve chatted a little before, but it’s great to chat with you again in a public way through an author interview. To get everyone up to speed, can you share a little about your journey through life recently?
We moved 7 times in six months after selling our Jersey shore home in ONE day! We sold everything we owned in three weeks and with no idea where to live, we went to Maine and rented through the summer. One tragedy after another struck at every home we rented, hence all the moving. At last, we came to South Carolina and found a gorgeous home on Lake Murray and moved here. I could write a book on my experiences.
Wow, selling your house in a day is impressive! It’s a shame that you run into all of that bad luck with those rentals, but where’s there’s trouble there’s always a good story, so hopefully, you’ll get time to get it all down on paper for us. While you were busy moving around did you have much time to invest in your author career? Have you made progress in the midst of all of these trials?
This book, Love Uncovered, won the Molly Contest in 2016 for romantic suspense. It also took second place in the Pages from the Heart contest that year. I didn’t enter any other contests until a few months ago and no finalists are named yet. I am super excited about this book and writing is always my priority. It’s a calling for me, not a hobby.
Congratulations on your wins! With those early results, it sounds like competitions might be a great way to raise your author profile, and fuel your calling. As we all know where Love Uncovered has ended up, can you take us back to the beginning and where it all started with us?
I started watching Breaking Bad and thought a drug lord would make a good villain. I saw how the tweakers were digging up artefacts and decided to link the idea of a drug lord who sells artefacts on the black market and have the heroine be an archaeologist who crosses him and ends up taking him down.
They are some interesting character choices. How did they develop from your initial thoughts?
The heroine is a sister in the first book, Love in Hiding. The DEA agent hero also was in the first book. They tend to develop as I write. I’m not a total panster, but they “talk to me” in my head and then I write them.
Do you find that the things that the characters tell you when they talk to you are inspired by events from your own life?
Yes. I lost my 13-year-old golden retriever over the summer in all the moves. It was and is still devastating. She was with me the entire time I wrote this book. I always stopped what I was doing whenever she wanted me to pet her. She used to crash through huge waves in the ocean to fetch her beloved stick, drawing crowds to stop and watch. Most of the interactions with the puppy in this book come from my experience of having such a loving, devoted companion.
I’m sorry to hear about your loss, but I’m so glad to hear that you had such a strong bond with a devoted companion for so many years of your life. Over the course of that time, I’m sure you both taught each other so much about the bonds between others, whether they be human or canine. I’m sure that you develop similar strong bonds with your characters as you write. Do you try and keep anything in particular about your characters in mind as you write?
What the characters will do and say.
I hope what they did wasn’t too unexpected! What did you learn from guiding, or being guided by your characters through this book?
I did a lot of research on archaeology and consulted with an archaeologist. There was a lot to learn and I hope I did her justice.
Was bringing a sense of justice to your characters the most important thing you wanted to say in your book or were you driven by something else?
I mostly just enjoyed writing about a very spirited and dedicated heroine.
That does sound like a lot of fun! Do you find working with spirited characters energising, or does it get a bit exhausting after a bit of time?
Both or either on any given day.
Ah, the joy of writing! And the joy of writing usually means more writing projects. What are you currently working on?
I’m working on book 3 of the Love Beyond Danger series.
Good luck with your third book. After three books do you feel that your voice as an author has improved with each subsequent project?
I don’t think my voice has changed, but I have learned through workshops and classes, so I like to think my writing is always improving.
One of the best ways I’ve heard to improve your writing is to try and challenge your mind. And I love to challenge writers through some quirkier questions, so let’s try a few now to get your author mind rolling. We’ll kick it off with what happens if Batman gets bitten by a vampire?
Count Batula is born!
*Laughs* Go Count Batula!
If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature what new animal would you create?
A flying dog.
Oh, that sounds so cute! I’d love to meet a flying doggie! And you never know, perhaps one day we will. But that’s a topic for another day. We’re just about to wrap up here, but is there anything else you’d like to share before you return to the third book in the Love Beyond Danger series?
I’d like to let readers know that book 1 Love in Hiding is also on promo for 99 cents from Aug 22-28.
Two awesome promotions are available right now, so don’t miss out. Diane, thanks so much for sharing a little of the book behind the promotion with the readers and me today, and I’m sure we’ve enticed some eager new fans of the Love Beyond Danger series!
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Excited to read the book we discussed today? Find it here on Amazon: ‘Love Uncovered ( ASIN: B07G7477TN )‘.
Want to find out more about Diane Holiday? Connect here!