Romance, Suspense, & Kick-Ass Heroines

G’day everyone!

In case you didn’t pick it from my opening line, I’m an Aussie.

Born and bred in Australia, I’ve travelled a lot of our beautiful country and always include vivid descriptions of Australia in my novels, and in the majority of cases, real locations.

Fiction has always been my first love, but despite that, I’ve spent several years concentrating on writing non-fiction books. I decided last year it was way past time I got back to doing what I love the most – writing novels.

I’ve won a lot of awards for my fiction writing over the years, so it dismayed a lot of my writing friends that my focus moved from this area of writing.

I write romance novels, mostly romantic suspense, but I also write contemporary romance.  My latest release is romantic suspense, but I have a contemporary romance in the pipeline that, fingers crossed, will be accepted by my publisher, The Wild Rose Press.  I also write short stories, which have been published by magazines such as (the now defunct) Arabella Romance Magazine.

Right now I’m working on another romantic suspense novel, and I’m about three chapters into a contemporary romance.

To write my latest release, Saving Emma – a romantic suspense novel, I had to do a lot of research.  I needed to learn about guns, private investigators, police procedures, and more.

I had a very strange experience during the research process when I visited my local library to look up the various guns available.  In particular, I was endeavouring to find a gun that would fit neatly into a handbag (pocketbook).

Asking for assistance from the librarian, she leaned over the desk, got right into my face, then told me “YOU” she said loudly, “are a VERY dangerous woman!”

She was not impressed when I burst into laughter.

But I digress.

The locations I chose for this story were places I’d visited personally many years earlier, and to ensure they hadn’t changed over the years, I visited them again before writing the book.

More than anything, I wanted to get a feel for the people and the atmosphere of the places.

Saving Emma is a story that I enjoyed writing – a lot.  My plan is to write the story of two of the secondary characters down the track, so look out for them in the future.

At the moment I’m working on another romantic suspense novel, and I’m about three chapters into a contemporary romance.

The majority of my novels are romantic suspense, and in every case the female protagonist is thrown into the deep end.

Most often they witness a murder and will then be on the run from the killers.

Of course “Mr Right” will come along and try to save the day, but my heroines are strong and feisty women – the tables may be turned and they’ll then need to save the hero!

To give you a feel for Saving Emma, here’s the back-of-book blurb:

Emma Larkin is running for her life–nowhere is safe. Stalked by her husband’s killers, desperate to protect her young daughter, Emma must find what the killers are looking for before she becomes their next victim.

When undercover cop Gary Bedford planned a relaxing break, he hadn’t counted on bumping into Emma. Now he can’t resist the temptation to discover all her secrets….

But should Emma trust her life and heart to Gary Bedford?

…And can they solve the mystery surrounding her husband’s death — and uncover his deadly secret?

——

What they’re saying about Saving Emma:

If you like your romance on the dark side with a little danger mixed in with your happy ever after or if you need your hero and heroine to be truly deserving of each other, look no farther. Just look for something to help ease those goose bumps you’ll get from the roller coaster ride that is Saving Emma.

— LASR

Love, action, and suspense are all in one great book by Cheryl Wright that will keep you entertained all the way to the end. I loved that Emma Larkin is no damsel in distress, but a fighter all the way.

— HEA Reviews

Secrets, treachery and Gary’s exuberant family are woven together into this brilliantly written suspense-filled romance.

— Margaret Tanner, Published Author

Here’s an excerpt, which starts at the beginning of the book:

What  had  they  done  to  deserve  this,  Emma Larkin wondered as she sat on Sally’s bed assessing the   damage.   The   padded   headboard   had   been slashed, clothes hung out of drawers, even the toy box had been up-ended.

“I thought we’d get away from all this,” she said, more to herself than to her four-year-old daughter.

Tears  slowly  trickled  down  her  face  as  she picked up Sally’s music box, trying to put the broken toy back together.

What they’d do now, she had no idea. The local police had been of no help. This was way out of their league,  and  Emma  left  what  little  family  she  had back in Melbourne.

She had absolutely no one to turn to.

The  move  to  the  countryside  was  a  last  ditch effort  to  get  their  lives  back  on  track.  All  this upheaval had achieved very little Emma decided.

“Don’t  cry,  Mummy,”  the  little  girl  told  her, reaching out to give her mother a hug. “We can clean up the mess, and Uncle Coop will fix the music box if I ask him.”

Sally planted a big sloppy kiss on her mother’s cheek before settling herself comfortably on Emma’s lap.

“Four  days  in  a  new  town,  a  new  home,  and already…” Emma quietly sobbed.

Life   had   changed   dramatically   since   her husband’s murder two years ago.

***

“But  mummy,  I  liked  that  house,”  Sally  said, pouting. “Why did we have to move again?”

Emma sighed, but explained patiently, “The bad people found us again, Sally. We couldn’t stay there any longer.”

Sally thought about it for a moment.  “So does that mean the bad people can’t find us now? Can we stay  here  forever?”  Sally  looked  to  her  mother  for reassurance.  “I like this place. Please can we stay? Please?”

“Sure,” Emma answered. “We’ll stay. We’ll make it so they can’t find us again.” Emma smiled at Sally with renewed confidence.

This large country town was the answer to their prayers  she  was  sure.  She’d  been  so  wrong  in choosing  small  towns  before.  It  was  too  hard  to hide—everyone knew everyone. But Bairnsdale was large enough that they would blend in. Their arrival wouldn’t even be noticed.

And the brown hair dye was a nice touch, she decided. There was nothing like flaming red hair to make a person stand out.

***

Taking  a  long  drag  on  his  cigarette,  Gary Bedford sat on the steps of the Rotunda at the Main Street Gardens in Bairnsdale.

Between assignments, his favorite past time was to come to these gardens and watch the local talent.

Women  didn’t  seem  to  go  much  for  cops.  And undercover cops? That was a whole different story. Gone for weeks on end depending on the assignment, finding  himself  in  dangerous  or  life  threatening situations—chicks just don’t go for it.

Naturally there’d been the occasional girlfriend, but they never seemed to work out. They just didn’t like his life-style. And when they found out his two brothers  were  private  investigators,  that  was  the absolute end.

His  family  was  fraught  with  danger—that’s what one girl told him. So at thirty-two, Gary was still  single  and  not  entirely  unhappy  about  the situation.

Life as an undercover cop wasn’t easy.

***

Smoke   drifted   from   his   cigarette   as   Gary watched a small girl running along the lush grass with  a  twenty-something  babe  close  on  the  young girl’s   heels.   The   bountiful   flowerbeds   scattered among  the  trees  provided  a  colorful  backdrop.  He looked  the  young  woman  over  more  thoroughly  as she came toward him.

Her  skin  seemed  pale  against  her  long  brown hair, and her above average height accentuated her long legs. As the wind came up, her white over-shirt flapped open revealing a scarlet tank top and a pair of black bike-shorts.

Families  picnicked,  children  played  and  dogs barked while adults talked or just relaxed. Gary had seen days like this before, but today he was oblivious to everything else as he watched the young woman’s disheveled hair drift about in the warm breeze.

He stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the step and stumbled down the steps of the Rotunda.

“Oh  boy,”  he  scolded  himself  as  he  collided heavily with the young woman.

She  gasped  for  breath  after  having  the  wind knocked out of her by the impact. She grabbed his shirtfront trying to get her balance.

How could he have been so damned careless, he wondered. The object of his attention scowled at him as  he  reached  out  trying  to  steady  her,  but  she flicked  his  hands  away.  He  watched  helplessly  as she  bent  forward,  her  hands  on  her  knees,  still gasping for air.

Gary  silently  observed  her  eyes  scanning  his body. From experience, he knew the first thing she’d notice would be his unusual height. Six foot five got everyone’s  attention.  He  reached  up  and  ran  his hand  over  his  chin.  Damn!  He  hadn’t  shaved  this morning—today,  of  all  days.  At  least  he’d  tied  his hair back in a ponytail.

She  stared  into  his  eyes.  Hers  narrowed  with rage while she checked him out. Her eyes slid to his open denim shirt, lingered on his chest before sliding down,  momentarily  settling  on  his  belly,  and  then drifted to his crotch. Damn her—she even checked out his… Nah, she wouldn’t do that—would she?

Her appraisal continued, focusing on his jeans— his threadbare jeans. He groaned inwardly. Why did he have to dress like a slob on his days off? At least he wore his cowboy boots…

Gary looked down. Oh God, thongs!

He felt a gentle pummeling on his legs.  “Look what you did, you big bully,” a small voice said.

He looked down, way down, at the child. “Sorry, I  didn’t  mean…”  He  leaned  toward  the  winded woman.

The  little  girl  began  to kick at his ankles. He reached  down,  picking  her  up  with  one  hand  and said,  “Okay Squirt, that’s enough. Your auntie’s all right.” His eyebrows rose quizzically as he looked the older female over. “You are, aren’t you?” he asked as an afterthought.

“Make  the  giant  put  me  down!”  the  child squealed.

“Take your damned hands off my daughter!” the woman  yelled,  still  slightly  breathless  but  now angry.  Gary  realized  she  had  only  now  become aware of the situation.

“You’re her mother?” He let out an audible sigh of disappointment, put the brown haired child down, and extended his hand to the now recovered woman standing in front of him.

Gary  watched  silently  as  she  stood  unmoving, pushing  the  child  behind  her.  Her  actions  puzzled him.

He noticed an involuntary shiver go through her body as he contemplated her.

Reaching  forward  he  picked  up  her  delicate hand,  and  noticed  her  blue  eyes  widen.  Was  she afraid of him?

A shot of pure electricity ran up his arm as their hands connected. Did she cause that thrill or was it his imagination?

“Gary  Bedford,”  he  said  as  his  eyes  leisurely roamed her body. When she pulled her shirt around herself, he unexpectedly felt guilty.

“Well,  Gary  Bedford,  I  hope  you  have  a  very good reason for almost knocking me off my feet.” Her words were more positive than her voice.

“I sure have, Miss, er, Mrs., er…” “This better be good!”

He could only imagine the expression on his face as he tried to withhold a smirk. “I, er, that is…”

She  straightened  her  back,  planted  her  feet firmly. Oh yeah, she was ready to rip into him. “Out with it! Why did you knock me over?” She may have sounded brave, but Gary could see the terror written all over her face. She confused him.

“I, er, wanted to meet you. But I didn’t mean to run over you. It was an accident.”

She  followed  his  gaze  to  their  still  entwined hands.  He  was  even  more  puzzled  as  she  quickly withdrew her hand then backed off.

Gary  watched  fascinated  by  the  variety  of expressions crossing her face. Maybe it was anger, annoyance, or fear? Whatever he saw, he decided to stall her premature departure.

“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”

She stood planted to the spot, her mouth pulled into a tight little line, obviously planning to ignore Gary’s question.

“Mister. Hey, Mister!”

Gary looked down to see the little girl innocently looking up at him.

“My mummy is Emma Larkin. And I’m…”

“James.  My  name  is  James,”  Emma  quickly added, frowning at the child.

What  the  hell  is  this  all  about  he  wondered. James? Larkin?

“Larkin…”  He  tried  to  remember  where  he’d heard the name before, but the little girl’s protest interrupted his thoughts.

“Mummy, I don’t like our pretend name.”

“Really,  Sally!  What  have  I  told  you  about strangers?” She grabbed Sally by the hand, pulling the child closer.

He  watched  mesmerized  as  the  wind  sent Emma’s  hair  sailing  across  her  agitated  face.  He reached out and untangled the wayward hair from her  lips.  A  frisson  of  excitement  trickled  through him as his fingers gently brushed against her cheek.

She took a step back.

Belatedly he realized he’d overstepped the mark. “I’m sorry.  I guess your husband wouldn’t be very happy…”

“I’m not m…” Her expression revealed she had said more than she intended.

“You’re not married?” Calm down boy. Don’t get carried away.  “I thought… Never mind. How about dinner?  There  are  lots  of  places  to  choose  from.

There’s AJ’s or the Terminus. Or maybe you’d prefer to go to the Coliseum?” You’re babbling, Bedford.

“No, sorry. I don’t do dinner. Come on, Sal.”

“You don’t do dinner? Of course you do. We all have to eat.” Gary stubbornly refused to back down.

The  dead-end  conversation  made  him—frustrated.

He  was  getting  nowhere  fast.  Right  or  wrong,  he wanted  to  know  Emma  Larkin.  Or  was  it  James?

The  lady  positively  thrilled  him,  intrigued  him, touching  a  part  of  him  no  one  else  ever  had.  He needed  to  know,  wanted  to  know,  what  made  her click.  “Maybe I didn’t make it clear. You can bring the Squirt.”

“I  wouldn’t  dream  of  going  anywhere  without her. The answer is still no.” Emma looked about her nervously, making Gary sure she was about to bolt.

Sally began tugging on her mother’s shirt-tail to get her attention.  “Mummy, Mummy. Is he a good giant or a bad one?” The child had a scowl on her face.

This was some feisty kid he decided.

“I’m  not  sure,  Sal,  a  good  one,  possibly.  Mr. Bedford has invited us out for dinner.”

His heart skipped a beat. “Does that mean, yes?”

The   child’s   eyes   lit   up. “Can   we   go   to McDonalds? Can we? Can we?”

“Sally,  No!  Mind  your  manners.  I’m  sure  Mr. Bedford doesn’t want to go to McDonalds.”

He liked Sally. She reminded him of his nieces.

She had spunk, and she certainly wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

“The  name’s  Gary,  remember?  And  if  you’re happy with Macca’s, then so am I.”

He smiled, and Emma took another step back, pulling Sally along with her. He took one forward.

“I, I didn’t say we’d go…” Emma said, sounding very   unsure   of   herself   and   taking   two   more backward  steps  as  she  spoke.

This  sure  was  one confused woman.

“But you said…” he started, and then reassessed the situation. He prided himself on being pretty good at reading people’s faces and their reactions. He had to be, it went with the territory. In this case, Emma acted scared, real scared. But why?

He  decided  to  take  a  step  back,  figuratively speaking. “You’re right. You didn’t actually agree to go  out  with  me…”  He  let  the  words  trail  off,  then waited for her reaction.

He  watched  her  fight  with  herself,  trying  to decide what to do. As her pretty face screwed up in a frown,  he  wanted  to  reach  out  and  stroke  her forehead…sooth, smooth.

Gary gazed down at his ankles. The kicking had started again. “Listen, Squirt…”

“You  made  my  Mummy  sad.  You  are  a  bad giant! And my name’s Sally, not Squirt.”

Without  warning,  Emma  grabbed  Sally  by  the hand and quickly walked away. Gary decided he had to do something, and fast, otherwise he might lose her before he’d even had a chance. He reached out and  caught  Emma  by  the  wrist,  softly  pulling  her back  to  him.

Without  warning,  he  dropped  to  his knees on the grass.

“Miss Larkin, um, James, would you do me the honor  of  accompanying  myself  and  the  Squirt,  er, Sally, to dinner at McDonalds this evening?”

The  smirk  appeared  again,  he  was  sure  of  it. Surely, she couldn’t refuse such an invitation?

***

“Can I go to the playground now?” Sally asked as  she  slurped  the  last  mouthful  of  her  chocolate thick shake.

“Okay,  Sal,  off  you  go,”  her  mother  answered. She stood as the child skipped away. Gary caught her lightly around the waist, only to have his hands flicked away.

“Where   are   you   off   to?”   he   asked   grimly, bringing his hands back up around her waist. This had to be the strangest date he’d ever been on.

“To  supervise  Sal  on  the  equipment  of  course! You’re welcome to join us.” She pulled herself free of his  gentle  grip  and  followed  Sally  out  to  the  play area.

Emma stood with her back to him, but it didn’t discourage Gary one iota. He was determined not to let  Emma  Larkin,  James,  whatever,  whoever,  slip through his fingers.

He quietly moved forward and lightly wrapped his arms around her. They fit together like a glove. Emma tried to shake herself free of him, which made Gary even more determined to keep a grip.

She   lifted   her   hands,   surprising   him.   He expected  her  to  shove  him  away.  Instead  gripping his strong arms, she sank back into his lean body, as though her life depended on him.

Gary  reveled  in  her  nearness,  sensing  her  ongoing battle with her conscience, her decision to let him get close to her. He’d no sooner feel her relax then she’d pull away again. It seemed she wanted to be  comfortable  with  him,  but  feared  the  risk  she could ill afford.

Even more perplexing, she’d insisted they meet there.  What  was  she  afraid  of?  Him?  He’d  sensed something from the second they met.

He needed to know, wanted to know, more about this new lady in his life.

Gary   leaned   toward   her   neck.   The   gentle fragrance  she  wore  drifted  into  his  nostrils.  The scent  was  familiar.

Lavender?  His  mother  had  a lavender bush he literally had to walk past to get through her front door.

The  scent  was  definitely  lavender,  he  finally decided. The fragrance suited her—soft and gentle.

He felt Emma shudder as his lips made contact.

“Don’t   push   your   luck,”   she   said   lightly-heartedly. “I don’t think neck nibbling is on the first date agenda.”

He chuckled at the gentle teasing she employed. “Really? I don’t think McDonalds is either, but here we are.”

A   determined   jerking   on   his   trouser   leg disturbed him.  “Mr. Bedford. Mr. Bedford! Will you give me a slide? Please?”

How could he resist? The Squirt was growing on him already, weaving her childish charms.

***

If you enjoyed this excerpt, please visit my website http://www.cheryl-wright.com/saving-emma.htm for a couple of little surprises!