Spotlight & Giveaway: Dangerous Lies by Claudia Shelton

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Claudia Shelton to HJ!

Hi Claudia and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Dangerous Lies (Shades of Leverage Book 2)!

 
Hi, everyone! I’m happy to be here.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Mitch has always felt responsible for other people’s welfare, so being a protector fits him perfectly. Liz, on the other hand, was raised by a strict father and submissive mother. What Mitch sees as protection, Liz sees as control. Fighting to stay one step ahead of all the lies and secrets crashing in on their survival, any chance of a future together may depend on nothing more than a swim lesson.
 

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

In the future, he’d need to watch himself around her. Attraction was unprofessional—could damn well get you killed, too. For now, he focused on cold, the Artic, snowpack, avalanche, ice, icicles, ice bergs, ice caps—falling head first into ice cold freezing water.
“Stop moving.” He gritted his teeth as he spoke the barely there words.
She instantly stopped. “You’re alive.”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“Not yet.”
She tried to turn over. “I was trying to get out from under you.”
“Shhhhh. Quiet.” Ice water. Ice water. Ice water.
“I was just trying to explain.” She wiggled back to her original spot then gave another tiny, breathy grunt.
Or was that a moan? He lost all concept of the ice-water scenario. “Liz. Please be still.”

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Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• When I vacationed on Sanibel Island, the no-see-ums considered me their appetizer, meal and dessert. So I made sure to mention the guys were slathered in pest control and she was given a pump-spray bottle of the same.
• We all know how the Internet likes to target shoppers with ads, so doing research online is always interesting. After visiting various web sites to find the exact look of Neoprene I wanted my hero to wear, I was bombarded with advertisements of guys in all styles and brands of the latest in scuba, surf and swim wear.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Even though she doesn’t know he’s to be her protector, the first time she meets him she can’t believe someone with blue eyes and tight buns would ask her to dance. For him, she’s just another assignment. Then, out of nowhere, his body betrays him and he realizes that’s never happened before when guarding a client. No problem…he knows how to be professional, how to control himself, how not to think about her long legs and little green two-piece. But when she gives him an almost-sweet-thank-you kiss, he responds with what a kiss should be–knowing that’s a mistake he can’t make again.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Dangerous Lies, and the entire Shades of Leverage series, is about strong professional alpha protectors, so writing this scene where he discovers he’s vulnerable where she’s concerned had me and my critique group laughing.

In the future, he’d need to watch himself around her. Attraction was unprofessional—could damn well get you killed, too. For now, he focused on cold, the Arctic, snowpack, avalanche, ice, icicles, icebergs, ice caps—falling head first into ice cold freezing water.
“Stop moving.” He gritted his teeth as he spoke the barely there words.
She instantly stopped. “You’re alive.”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“Not yet.”
She tried to turn over. “I was trying to get out from under you.”
“Shhhhh. Quiet.” Ice water. Ice water. Ice water.
“I was just trying to explain.” She wiggled back to her original spot then gave another tiny, breathy grunt.
Or was that a moan? He lost all concept of the ice-water scenario. “Liz. Please be still.”

Readers should read this book….

If you like your romantic suspense to be fast-paced, full of plot twists and high chemistry between the hero and heroine, then Dangerous Lies is the book for you. In fact, the entire Shades of Leverage series fits that description. Good news is they are standalone books.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Entangled Publishing has given me the go-ahead to write the third book in the Shades of Leverage series, which will be set in the northwest. Any guesses who this might be about? Let’s just say that Cat and Stealth will be going on assignment together.

Now that Dangerous Lies is released, my two remaining releases for this year will be indie-pubbed. The one coming out the beginning of October will be a Contemporary Romance with only a touch of Suspense and is a Christmas story. And my other indie book will be the beginning of a new series set to release the end of December.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: From readers commenting on my question, two lucky winners will receive a digital copy of either Slater’s Revenge (Shades of Leverage Book 1) or, from my backlist, Risk of a Lifetime (their choice). This is an international contest and winners will be randomly chosen.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Since the third book in the Shades of Leverage series will be set in the northwest, there’s a good chance there will be river rafting, hiking and rock climbing, but there will also need to be lodging. So where would you like Cat and Stealth to end up staying for a bit and why:
–Regular tent camping or Glamping?
–Luxury cabin or bare-necessities cabin?
–Airstream or a Class A RV?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from Dangerous Lies (Shades of Leverage Book 2):

A second later, he slid his hand to cover the gun and motioned for the men to be quiet. What had he heard? A clink? A thud? A door closing? Footsteps on the stairs? What? He pulled his gun in front of his chest, resting it on the edge of the desk.
“I think someone’s moving around downstairs,” Mitch mouthed with barely a whisper as he got to his feet.
Another sound. Something like a stifled pinch of pain echoed from downstairs, up the stairway, and into his open doorway to the hall.
Racing out of his bedroom, he crouched low, hugging the wall as tightly as he clutched his gun. Should he alert Liz? Set up his perimeter at her door? No. Right now, he had a clear lead on the intruder. Other movement might put him on the defense.
Slowly, he inched down the stairs. Heard muffled footsteps. Saw a flash of light turned on. He inched farther down. Darkness flashed as the switch was evidently thrown off, leaving only the kitchen’s nightlight casting a slight glow.
The footsteps headed toward him. A loud pop cut through the air.
Mitch jumped the railing. Landed, rolled twice, stood, and aimed his weapon. “Stay right where—”
Liz’s terrified expression greeted his aim as she sucked in a panicked breath. Caught in the glow of the night-light, she scrunched her arms against her sides, shielding her chest by holding her hands in front of her, one of which held a chocolate milk.
“Wha-what are you doing?” Her shaky voice matched the tremble of her body.
“I heard a sound. Thought it might be CT.”
She flipped on the overhead light, which illuminated her hair dripping wet. Her oversized sleep shirt skimmed more than halfway up her thighs. “Do I look like CT?”
Redundant question. No need for an answer. He was the one who needed answers. And, to keep his eyes on her face. “What was the loud pop I heard?”
Liz bent and retrieved a bag from the floor. “I dropped my cookies.”
His eyes zoomed back and forth between her and the bag of chocolate chip cookies in her hand. “What are you doing down here by yourself? I told you to let me know if you left from upstairs.”
“I knocked on your connecting door, but you didn’t answer. So, I opened it a crack and told you I was going downstairs. Even asked if you wanted anything.”
“Well, I didn’t hear you.”
“Really? Because you said ‘no’.” She did that whole cock of the hip that women did when they wanted to make a point. “And don’t you go all ballistic on me. When we were in the kitchen earlier, you said that if I needed anything else to… Get. It. Myself.”
The side door slammed open, and she screamed as she dropped the bag again. Plus the bottle of milk this time.
Pounding footsteps raced toward them as Mitch spun to face the attack.
CT had moved in fast. Faster than he’d imagined possible.
No Kevlar to protect him. None for his client. He’d trained for this day. Knew it would come. He stepped in front of her, his gun aimed level at the approaching danger. Whoever rounded that corner was a dead man. After that, it was anybody’s guess.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

To ex-Navy SEAL Mitch Granger, responsibility isn’t just a word. It’s his Code of Honor. But when assigned to protect Coercion Ten’s latest target, she challenges his authority, defies his rules, and wreaks havoc on his personal willpower. Fighting for her isn’t a problem. Giving his life for her isn’t a problem. Forgetting their world-stopping kiss? Definite problem. And if he can’t concentrate solely on keeping her safe, it may cost them both their lives.

Journalist Liz Walkert’s missing father sent her a cryptic message that she was in danger. What he didn’t tell her was why. Unbeknownst to Liz, her family has been in Witness Protection all her life. Mitch may be her bodyguard, but his protection comes close to being control, the one thing she has none of in his presence. After a kidnap attempt and a narrow escape from attacking CT forces, they both realize they’re going to need to focus on the mission and fight their attraction if they have any hope of surviving.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Award-winning author Claudia Shelton could write her name before the first day of school, but now she writes romantic suspense, thrillers and contemporary romance. In addition, she presents workshops for readers and authors. Her debut novel, Risk of a Lifetime, released to 5-star reviews, reached Amazon’s Best Sellers Romance Series Top 100 and was named one of eBooks Galore top reads for 2014. She is also a two-time nominated Daphne Du Maurier (Unpublished) finalist for excellence in mystery. Claudia is the author of the Shades of Leverage action-adventure romantic suspense series.

On a personal note, Claudia considers herself a traveler, music lover and water person. A cool drink while listening to the splash of waves is always nice—so is a mug of hot chocolate in the falling snow. Her main priority is spending time with family, friends and her two sweet, conniving rescue dogs.  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |