Spotlight & Giveaway: Called into Action by Paris Wynters

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Paris Wynters to HJ!

Hi Paris and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Called into Action!

 
Thank you for having me. I absolutely love HJ. I’m a huge fan.
 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Called into Action is a romance that centers around a Latina female dog handler who drives to Vermont hoping to pass her certification test. Something unfortunate happens partly due to her four legged partner and they must temporarily remain in Maple Falls. She ends up having to work with a one of the park ranger’s on a project and sparks fly.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

Trust your dog (haha, this is something I included in the book bc it’s a quote every handler has to constantly tell themselves)

“I mean, you don’t know me, but I can tell you I was not meant to dance. No Magic Mike money for me. That’s why I’m a park ranger.”

What inspired this book?

I am actually a search and rescue handler myself so my experiences and the experiences of my fellow teammates inspired a lot of this book. Especially the one thing we always remind ourselves…trust your dog!! Oh, and of course my canine partners were huge influences.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

My main characters were a lot of fun. They were partly inspired by people I know so whenever I threw them into a certain situation it was like one of the real life people started talking. It was actually a lot of fun because it was like picking the funniest parts and the serious parts of all the people I know. Actually, the biggest surprise character for me was Gramps. He was straight up fictional and surprised me all the time.

What was your favorite scene to write?

I have so many and some of my favorites involved Gramps

“You look like you sucked a lemon dipped in pickle juice.” Gramps leaned his cane against the table and lowered himself to his seat, left leg held straight by a brace. The kitchen was remodeled sometime in the late fifties and still sported a white table with a metal edge and old-time metal chairs with red vinyl seats. In the eighties Gramps updated and purchase a yellow fridge and white stove. And the place always smelled like pot roast.
“And you look like you should be in bed.”
Gramps nodded to the coffee maker. The coffee was hours old and probably as thick as tar, but Gramps could drink it day or night. “Pour me a cup of that and keep your opinions quiet.” When Jay handed him a mug of sludge, he took a sip. “Why is it that your coffee always tastes like you mixed it with gasoline and manure?” Gramps shrugged and took another sip, hand that held the cup shaking slightly. Neither of them made mention of it, or the increasing frequency of it. The cup came down hard on the tabletop. “Now, tell me what has your britches tangled.”
His britches were just fine, but he sat across from his grandfather and looked down into his own cup. Muddy and so brown it looked almost black, like his mood. “Your buddy, Carter, making deals and passing sentences that…” He could tell Gramps all of it or he could sulk. Right now, he wanted to sulk.
“That what, boy? You can’t take so long with your stories. I could keel over and miss the end.” His grandfather toyed with his cup but stared at Jay so hard his skin burned. “Spit it out. Passing sentences that…?”
“That mean I’m stuck working with the woman who burned down the check station.”
Gramps raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong with that? Is she stupid? Does she wear her shoes on the wrong feet or pick her nose? What’s the problem with her? Just don’t leave the matches lying around, and you should be safe.”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

I think the most difficult scenes to write were some of the search and rescue scenes because it became a fine balance of having it not come across so technical yet balancing the fictional part with the accuracy.

There is also a scene where Jay, the hero, has to come to terms with his grandfather’s illness and that was hard to write on so many levels. I recalled when I had to come to terms with my own disorder and even when I had to accept and watched as my father passed away from cancer that had spread.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

This story definitely showcases my writing style and also showcases something I am highly passionate about, even from the obstacles of being a female handler and the things we encounter.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

First and foremost I would hope they would have a little bit better understanding of search and rescue including that SAR personnel are volunteers and our dogs are ours. We don’t belong to a department that funds us. There are many books out there that just don’t represent SAR correctly or what we do correctly. I also hope people learn that shelter dogs have so much potential. And while it will always be hard for some to understand, there is a different relationship between a canine partner and their handlers than people have with their pets. It’s hard to explain and that loss can actually affect handlers on a very deep scale. Even those who adore their pets don’t always understand the bond between a handler and their canine partner and I have unfortunately seen some insensitivity. So, I hope that this book might shed some light on that bond.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

The third book in my Navy Seals of Little Creek series is releasing July 22nd. I am so excited for that book. And I am currently working on a light romance set in NY featuring a mixed race hero and heroine.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 Mass market paperback copy of CALLED INTO ACTION by Paris Wynters, open to North American mailing addresses only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you could work alongside your pet, what job or sport would you want to do with them?

 
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Excerpt from Called into Action:

“Lurlene Clover. My great-grandpa opened this place, left it to my grandad who left it to my dad, who didn’t have any sons, so he left it to me.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the man still seated at the table. “That’s my husband, Fred. He helps out every once in a while, but not so much these days. What with the gout keeping him down.”
Well, that was a lot of information, but Penelope liked her, and she liked the atmosphere. Lurlene put a hand on Fred’s shoulder, gave a squeeze and a wink, then turned back to Penelope. The affection between Lurlene and Fred made her smile. “Now what can I get you?”
Penelope hadn’t even looked at the menu. “A burger?”
“No.” The woman shook her head. “You look thin. I think you need a nice big plate of roast beef and potatoes.” She scuttled around the counter and through a door painted in the same black and white subway tile as the wall. She returned with a heaping plate of food and a small basket of bread.
Penelope could eat for a week on this amount of food. But she accepted the plate and picked up her fork. Before she’d taken her first bite, a tall glass of iced tea with a lemon wedge hanging off the rim appeared in front of her.
Mrs. Clover seated herself across from Penelope. “Tell me, dear. What brings you to Maple Falls?”
Penelope moaned at the first bite of her food. It was heaven in her mouth, and she wanted to savor the flavor, but the woman cocked her head to the side as if waiting for an answer. “I came to take a test for Search and Rescue K-9 certification, but it was cancelled. And now I’m working out at the state park with the rebuild of the check station and raising money for the safety program.”
Fred shook his head. “Crying shame about that check station. All that money. And the way they crucified that poor girl…” His eyes sparked with recognition. He cocked his head. “You didn’t get a fair shake in the press.”
If only he knew how fair they’d been, considering how much she’d cost the state and the hunting program.
“That snooty TV anchor made it sound like you were out there having yourself a tantrum over a man and set the place on fire.” He clucked his teeth. “Irresponsible reporting if you ask me. Could’ve started a riot with all those hunters.”
In a nutshell, there wasn’t a lot about the story she could deny. Lurlene patted his shoulder. “Fred’s a vegetarian. He hates the hunting seasons. God’s creatures and all that.” She leaned in close and waved Penelope in. “He doesn’t hear good so I can tell you that sometimes I catch him in the kitchen eating sliced ham right out of the package. He can’t help it. His body craves it.” She shielded her mouth from Fred’s view with her hand. “I think it’s the Viagra.”
Penelope had just taken a drink and almost choked trying to keep it down. She swallowed but hacked and coughed until Mrs. Clover stood and came around to pat her back. “I’m fine.” Shocked but fine.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

They’ll find a way to work together. A young boy’s life depends on it.

Penelope Ramos has dreamed of being a K-9 search-and-rescue handler since she was a little girl. Armed with a quick mind and her German shepherd, Havoc, she rides into Maple Falls, Vermont, determined to get her certification. She isn’t expecting the gruff, unreadable park ranger assigned to evaluate her skills.

Park ranger Jay Gosling is a pro. It’s clear to him that neither Penelope nor her unpredictable canine has what it takes…although his boss feels otherwise. Whatever. Jay will never have to work with them and he has half a mind to escort them both right out of town. But when a young boy goes missing, he doesn’t have that luxury.

Working side by side tests their tentative peace, but Jay and Penelope are together on one thing: they’ll both do whatever it takes to find the missing child—before it’s too late.

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Meet the Author:

Paris Wynters is a multi-racial author who writes steamy and sweet love East Coast stories that celebrate our diverse world. She is the author of Hearts Unleashed, The Navy SEALs of Little Creek series, Love On The Winter Steppes, and Called into Action. When she’s not dreaming up stories, she can be found assisting with disasters and helping to find missing people as a Search and Rescue K-9 handler. Paris resides on Long Island in New York along with her family and is also a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.
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