Spotlight & Giveaway: Detection Detail by Terri Reed

Posted April 14th, 2022 by in Blog, Spotlight / 51 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Terri Reed to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Terri and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Detection Detail!

 
Hello and thank you for inviting me here!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

An alleged arsonist. A deadly cover-up.
Can this K-9 sniff out the truth?
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Officer Nelson Rivers puzzled over the mysterious car fire he and his accelerant detection dog, a yellow Lab named Diesel, had recently worked. An unconscious, unidentified victim. A possible missing baby. Who set the fire and why? So many questions. He hoped the forensic team would be able to provide answers at this morning’s briefing.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • this book has an accelerant detecting dog
  • there are several mysteries running through this book
  • there are several mysteries running through the series which consists of eight novels and two novellas
  • I learned new information about DNA and how it can be extracted from hair
  • While writing this book I was planning my daughter’s wedding and I kept mixing up the
    heroine ‘s name with my daughter’s name. They both start with the letter M.

 

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

Nelson is first attracted to Mia when she gives Diesel water even though Nelson and Diesel were at her house, basically accusing her of a crime. Her thoughtfulness made an impression.

Mia is first attracted to Nelson when he insists on protecting her, despite learning of her past.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Protective, exciting, poignant, tender, whirlwind
 

The First Kiss…

She placed a hand on his biceps. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he managed to say as he straightened.
Maybe it was the shared trauma of the chase or the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, but he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her close and placing his lips on hers.
*
Shock gave way to sweet sensation as Mia melted into Nelson’s kiss. The thrum of fear from nearly being run off the road by the semitrailer truck abated under the onslaught of rioting emotions coursing through her veins. She snaked her arms around Nelson’s neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.
With her eyes closed, her head filled with the sandalwood scent she’d come to love. The world seemed to shift beneath her feet.
Nothing had prepared her for this. The few times she’d ever been kissed in the past paled in comparison to Nelson’s kiss. This was what poets wrote about, or so she imagined. The intoxicating awareness of their hearts beating in time. Their breath mingling. Their lives intertwined. Could one kiss change everything?
She didn’t know the answer and at the moment she didn’t care. All she wanted was to revel in the touch of his lips against hers, his hand smoothing out a warm trail down her back, her fingers threading through the short ends of his hair, loving the texture and the way the strands glided across her skin.
The high-pitched whine of sirens approaching barely penetrated through the foggy haze Mia found herself entrenched within.
As the pressure against her mouth eased, she protested with a growl in her throat, pulling him closer. He complied, deepening the kiss. For this moment in time, this was all she wanted, all that mattered. She didn’t want to face the reality that someone was trying to kill her and in doing so almost killed Nelson and Diesel.
Finally, Nelson tore his mouth from hers, breathing hard as he dropped his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was…”

 

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

I enjoy writing the moments of downtime where the hero and heroine have a chance to be with each other for a respite from the danger. It’s here that the falling in love can happen.

Nelson kept pace with Mia as they glided through the water. Eventually, she guided them toward a small body of land. They beached the kayaks on the shore. Diesel jumped out and ran into the woods.
“Is there anything I should be worried about for Diesel?” Nelson asked Mia as he carried the smaller cooler they’d packed and strapped to her kayak, to where she spread out a blanket.
“No, he’s free to wander.” She sat down, pulling the cooler close and popping the lid. “There’s nothing that would be a danger to him.”
Folding himself into a sitting position, he stretched his legs out and leaned back on his elbows. Overhead, the clouds floated across the blue-gray sky. The expansive mountain views surrounding the lake were enough to take his breath away. It was so peaceful here.
Diesel burst from the bushes and skidded to a halt, sniffing at the cooler. Nelson snapped his fingers. Diesel rounded the blanket and plopped down beside him. Nelson’s tension eased to have his dog settled on one side of him and a beautiful woman on the other. They were just two people needing some downtime—there wasn’t any reason to make more of this moment than that. And if he kept that in mind, maybe noticing the way the sunlight danced off Mia’s platinum blond hair or the way her toned legs drew his attention wasn’t such a bad thing. He lifted his gaze to her face, tracing the straight line of her nose, the contours of her cheekbones and her well-shaped lips. So pretty.

 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

A bright searchlight blinked on, blinding him. The pontoon boat roared past him, causing a wake that rocked the kayak. Nelson grabbed Diesel’s life jacket and hung on as they rode the wave.
The pontoon boat aimed straight for Mia, who was also waving her paddle in the air, but the driver clearly wasn’t going to stop.
Fear exploded inside Nelson. “Watch out!”
Before the boat reached her, Mia’s kayak tipped over and she disappeared beneath the water. The heavy pontoon boat ran over the top of her kayak with a shriek of fiberglass on fiberglass.

 

Readers should read this book …

Reader should read this book for the action, the romance and of course, for the dog! This story is of second chances at life and staying true to the truth.

 

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

I have a book, Forced to Flee, coming out in Oct 2022. A Texas US Marshal goes undercover to protect an innocent woman from a dangerous cartel.
I’m currently working on two new books–the second US Marshal book and a new continuity book– both will be published by Love Inspired Suspense and released in 2023.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: I’ll be giving away a $ 10 Barnes and Noble gift card, a signed book and swag.

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: In Detection Detail, Mia and Nelson go kayaking on the lake. What are your favorite water (either lake, river or ocean) sports?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Detection Detail:

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t stay here.” She pointed to the front door. “You need to leave. I can take care of myself.”
“I’m not going to argue the point. We are staying.” His tone held a determined note that made her wince. “We’ll be out in our SUV.”
“The temperature will get down into the low teens.” Empathy squeezed her tight. She couldn’t let him do that. “You can’t stay the night out in your vehicle. It’s not healthy for the dog.”
She looked at the handsome Lab with his big brown eyes watching her. His tail thumped against the wooden floor, a rhythmic noise she found soothing. He really was a sweet-looking dog. She didn’t have much experience with canines. Especially, working canines. Though she did love animals of all sorts. She couldn’t subject the dog to such cold temperatures, yet she needed to make the officer go away.
Resigned to revealing part of her suspicions, she asked, “If I tell you who I think may be behind tonight’s attack, will you leave?”
Nelson cocked his head. “I’m listening.”
She gritted her teeth at the noncommittal answer. That was the best she was going to get from him. Clenching her fists, she said, “Ron Davies is most likely the culprit. The man is obnoxious and arrogant. I could see him pulling a stunt like this to scare me off.”
“And who is Ron Davies?”
“My competitor.” The burn of resentment sizzled through her. “He opened a rental equipment shop by the marina. He’s been doing everything he can to try to put me out of business. He’s posted negative online reviews, discounted his prices to nearly nothing. He’s been giving away gifts to people who rent with him. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who slashed the tires on the truck out front.”
“Did you report this?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course. A lot of good that did me.”
“What does that mean? Why aren’t the police taking you seriously?”
His intent gaze made her antsy.
“You know my history.”
“You were seventeen,” he said. “And acquitted. The local LEOs shouldn’t be holding that against you now.”
She pushed away the old, familiar ache spreading through her chest. “People in this town have long memories. And hold their grudges even longer.”
Guilt and sorrow nearly choked her. She was doing everything she could to uncover the truth of that night, seeking redemption for both her and Lindsey. But she wouldn’t share that with this man.
He was an officer of the law. Despite the assertion of innocent until proven guilty, that really wasn’t the way the law worked. What had happened to her and Lindsey was proof. And despite how genuine Nelson’s concern sounded, there was no way she could let down her guard.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

An alleged arsonist. A deadly cover-up.

Can this K-9 sniff out the truth?

Evidence at a fiery car crash leads K-9 officer Nelson Rivers and his accelerant-detection dog, Diesel, to Mia Turner—a woman previously accused of arson. But when a gunman targets Mia during their first meeting, Nelson suspects she might actually be innocent. Only Mia’s hiding something, and Nelson’s been burned before. Can they trust each other to catch a killer…before the threat engulfs them both?

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Terri Reed’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publishers Weekly top ten Mass Market Paperback, Publishers Weekly top ten Religious Fiction, Nielsen Bookscan top fifty, Amazon #1 Bestseller and featured in USA Today. Her novel A Family Under the Christmas Tree was adapted into a Hallmark movie and retitled Picture a Perfect Christmas. Contact Terri @ P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97224
Website | Facebook | Twitter | | Instagram |

 
 
 

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51 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Detection Detail by Terri Reed”

  11. Jennifer Shiflett

    At this point in my life, I’m content just to sit on the beach or maybe ride in a boat a little bit.

  20. Janine

    I’m not a sporty person, on water or dry land, but when I used to go to the ocean, I loved watching surfers.

  22. Glenda M

    I used to love water skiing — now I’d probably do myself serious physical harm if I tried. These days I am happy floating with a book.

  24. Amy R

    What are your favorite water (either lake, river or ocean) sports? no sports just swimming or floating

  29. Marisela Zuniga

    I honestly don’t even know how to swim but water skiing looks fun

  34. Kay Garrett

    Since hubby never learned to swim, our water sports are limited. I do love to swim though having been fortunate enough to have olympic sized swimming pools to learn in as an Army brat.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  35. Diana Hardt

    I don’t really have a favorite water sport, but I have gone river kayaking before.

  39. Patricia B.

    I love to canoe. I gave my husband a white water canoe for Christmas the first year we were married. I enjoyed many hours on the lakes and rivers of the Northeast. Our son used it on white water and hit a rock, putting a hole in it. We fixed the puncture and then he wrapped it around a rock damaging the side. It is too long for a single person to handle, but of course he didn’t listen. It is 50 years old and we haven’t fixed it. I am not even sure I can get into and out of a canoe anymore. I really do miss it.

  43. Laurie Gommermann

    I’m lucky to live on a small lake in central Wisconsin during the summer. My favorite water sports include swimming, canoeing, wind surfing and paddling by myself on the base of our wind surf board. We do not own a motor boat. We do own one of those Rubber Dockies floating mats. My grandchildren love to jump off it.

  45. Cindy Swanson

    I’m not a big fan of water but I don’t mind boat rides as long as I have a life jacket available. Lake or river are preferred for boating. I will get in the pool or hot tub but it’s not something I have to do when on vacation.

  48. Gloria Larsen

    Not a fan of being in or on water. I do enjoy watching from land and actually have a small river close to my house which I like to watch for changing conditions and for the wildlife that visits!