Spotlight & Giveaway: K-9 Defense by Elizabeth Heiter

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Elizabeth Heiter to HJ!

Hi Elizabeth and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, K-9 Defense!

 
Thanks for having me here!
 

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

K-9 Defense is about Kensie Morgan, a woman whose sister was abducted right in front of her fourteen years ago. Kensie has been searching for that sister ever since and the latest lead has brought her to a remote town of Alaska. Desparre, Alaska is where ex-Marine Colter Hayes and his Combat Tracker Dog Rebel are hiding from the world, recovering from injuries that ended their careers in the Marines and killed the rest of their unit. When Kensie learns about Colter and Rebel’s specialties, she’s sure they can help her, but the last thing Colter thinks he needs is a new mission. Still, when danger threatens, he can’t stop his natural protective instincts and soon finds himself making a promise he’s not sure he can keep. As they search for Kensie’s long-lost sister, a killer begins to track Kensie…
 

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

“Tracker?”
There was too much hope in her voice. A dozen swear words lodged in Colter’s brain. “Not that kind of tracker.”
“But what—”
“She tracked back to perpetrators from explosion sites.” Just saying the words filled his mind up with images of a military convoy, blown to bits. Bomb fragments lodged in everything. Limbs not attached to people. Friends, gone in an instant.
An L-shaped ambush that had come in two waves, one for the people he’d come to help and one for the responders. His chest started to compress again, the edges of his vision dulling.
“But couldn’t she—”
“No,” Colter snapped, more harshly than he’d intended.
Even if he and Rebel did the kind of tracking she wanted, she had no idea what she was asking. If he tried to help her, he knew what would happen. He’d have a mission again. A reason to reconnect with the world.
And connections meant pain.

What inspired this book?

Ever since I visited Alaska as a teenager, I’ve wanted to set a book there. I was inspired by the breathtaking beauty, the weather that could unexpectedly turn deadly, and the reputation Alaska has for being a “last frontier” for people who want to hide from something. For my hero, that’s the whole world – and from having to move on with his life.

I was also inspired by the menagerie of pets I’ve had in my life. I’ve always wanted to include animals in my books, but pets are tough when I usually write about law enforcement characters who aren’t home enough to be responsible pet owners. So, when my editor suggested I write a K-9 book, I knew I wanted a unique twist. When I read about Combat Tracker Dogs, I was hooked.

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

I always create extensive character sketches before I begin writing. Kensie and Colter’s pasts play a big part in shaping who they are. For both, their lives changed in an instant and they’ve been reacting to that change ever since. For Colter, getting to know him also meant researching Marine Military Police and K-9 handlers, which helped to shape his character and his loyalty to his K-9 partner.

Along the way, they still surprised me sometimes. Kensie surprised me with both her single-mindedness and her empathy – and the way they mingled. And Colter surprised me with the intensity of his survivor’s guilt, but his insistence on sticking to a promise, no matter what happened.

What was your favorite scene to write?

One of my favorite scenes in the book happens toward the end. Without giving too much away, Colter, Kensie, and Rebel are in a situation where it seems not all of them will survive. The “mind over matter” determination Colter had to save the people he loved, no matter what happened to him, brought tears to my eyes as I wrote the scene. It felt especially poignant because he still didn’t believe he was worthy of Kensie’s love.

Here’s a brief snippet as Colter helps Kensie:

He loved her.
The very idea was shocking. He hadn’t thought he was capable of loving anyone new. Hadn’t thought his heart had any room left in it after the loss of his brothers.
He loved his family, loved Rebel. But that was all he could handle. A woman like Kensie deserved so much more than he could give her.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

I think the most difficult scene to write was the scene where Colter finally shares with Kensie the full story of why he and Rebel are hiding out in Desparre and what happened to his Marine brothers. It was tough to tell his story and get in his head as he relived that moment where his unit was ambushed. But even more so, it was tough to convey the overwhelming loss he felt when he woke in the hospital and learned the fate of his unit. Showing just how traumatized he was, how much he felt he deserved to go with them, was emotionally draining. But showing the bond between him and Rebel – and how Rebel pulled him through – built me (and Colter) up again.

Here’s a brief snippet from when Colter talks about his long road to healing physically:

His physical therapy had been driven by an equal mix of unrealistic determination to get himself back into fighting shape and the desire to just be mobile enough to go and see his brothers’ families in person. Apologize.
He’d never done it. By the time he’d healed enough to be released, he’d broken down every time he’d picked up the phone to book the travel. Since then, one of his brothers’ wives had given birth to their first child. Another’s oldest had graduated from high school. So much they should have been around to see.
Instead, it had just been Colter. And no one had been waiting for him because he’d never made that commitment to anyone or anything outside the service.
It wasn’t fair. But staring at Kensie now, as she sniffled and swiped a hand over her face, where tears ran freely, he realized how much had changed for him. For the first time since that day, he was actually glad he’d lived through it.

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

Because I write in two genres (both psychological suspense and romantic suspense), there are obviously some differences in how I approach each. But generally, I think my writing style is consistent enough that picking up any book with my name on it feels identifiable. I place a lot of emphasis on character, on their conflicts and journey. I also love a lot of twists and turns in my mysteries and this is no exception.

Where it does feel like a bit of a departure is the fact that this is the first published book I’ve written where neither character is in law enforcement (because even though Colter was an MP in the Marines, he’s not anymore). It was a new challenge for me to have characters trying to solve a mystery without the help of law enforcement resources, but I loved it.

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

I hope people take away the resilience of spirit that both Colter and Kensie show as the book progresses. Everyone faces challenges in their lives – some that seem impossible to overcome – but learning to forgive (yourself and others) and learning to let others help you matters. I also hope people take away the importance of knowing your own self-worth. Survivor’s guilt is very real, but every life is valuable and I hope Kensie and Colter’s journeys emphasizes that.

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

Right now, I’m about to dive into a continuity for Harlequin Intrigue. It’s a series centered around an FBI special unit, with an ensemble cast, and a different author for each book. It’s a new challenge for me – which I love. My book in that series will be out next year, and then I’ll have several more Intrigues following on its heels. I’m also working on a short story for an anthology and a new standalone thriller, which I hope to have release dates for soon!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A signed print copy of K-9 Defense (international)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: My hero, ex-Marine Colter Hayes will be the first to admit he’s damaged – both physically and emotionally. But he’s also loyal, strong, and determined. What qualities matter most to you in a hero? 

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Excerpt from K-9 Defense:

KENSIE GRIPPED THE steering wheel until her knuckles hurt, stomping her foot on the brake. But it didn’t help. Her rental truck still slid backward, angling toward the edge of the road, toward the drop-off beside the steep hill she was trying to climb.
Why did Colter Hayes have to live in the middle of nowhere?
According to the few locals who would talk to her, he was an ex-Marine hiding from the world after being badly injured. No one seemed to know how he’d been injured or why exactly he wanted to hide. In fact, none of them seemed to know much more about him than the few details he’d shared with her on the street. And yet he’d lived in Desparre for almost a year.
“People come this far into the Alaskan wilderness for three reasons, honey,” the grocery store owner had told her, then ticked off those reasons on gnarled fingers. “Either they love a good adventure, the kind that’s as likely to get them killed as not. Or they want the entire world to leave them the heck alone. Or they’ve done something they don’t want anyone to know about—probably something illegal—and they figure no one will ever track them down here.”
Then she’d narrowed her eyes at Kensie. “We all assume Colter is the middle one. But you’ve got to be careful who you trust.”
Her words echoed in Kensie’s brain as her truck finally stopped its dangerous backward descent. She kept her foot wedged down hard on the brake, her hands locked tight on the wheel, afraid to move. Should she keep pushing forward or turn back?
She leaned forward, craning her head up at the hill in front of her. Snow was still falling on it, obscuring what was little more than a dirt trail. She had one more crest to go and she wasn’t sure if her truck would make it. But she wasn’t sure she could turn it around, either.
Now it was her brother Flynn’s voice she heard in her head. “You’re going to Alaska, Kens? Are you crazy? People venture out into the woods there and never come out again. You could die up there and we’d never even know where to start looking.”
At the time, she’d thought he was overreacting. He always had when it came to her, even now that they were both adults. He’d already lost his little sister and she knew, somewhere deep down that he’d never admit, he was afraid of losing his big sister, too.
She realized now how ill-prepared she’d been for this trip. Desparre was insular. People here already distrusted each other, but they distrusted her double for being an outsider. Some of them had been nice but ultimately dismissive. Others had just eyed her suspiciously and refused to talk. Questioning as many people in town as she could had told her that either no one knew anything about Alanna other than what they’d read in the news, or they just weren’t going to tell her.
But Colter understood this place. And regardless of what he’d said about his tracking skills, she knew one thing. Trackers found people. Whether it was someone who’d set a bomb or someone who’d been kidnapped, she had to believe he could help her.
And she might not be prepared, but she was determined. If Alanna was really here, Kensie wasn’t leaving without her.
Assuming she could get up this mountain.
Gritting her teeth, Kensie switched her foot from the brake to the gas as fast as she could, not wanting to lose traction. The truck’s wheels spun, spraying snow at a crazy angle, and then it shot forward, up the hill.
Kensie grappled to keep control of the wheel, her muscles aching. The truck veered left, then right, but it kept moving upward until she could see the top of the hill. She was going to make it.
As if thinking those words had been bad luck, the truck veered right again, straight off the side of the road. It sank down several feet, jolting her forward as the front end planted itself in a snowbank.
Kensie swore, tears of frustration pricking her eyes. For fourteen years, leads on Alanna had come and gone like rabbits in a magician’s disappearing act. One minute promising and solid and right in front of them. The next minute poof! Like they’d never even existed.
This time might be no different. Her family didn’t think it was. But they’d come to accept years ago what statistics said was a near certainty: Alanna was gone. She was never coming home.
Kensie had never been able to do that. And she didn’t think it was guilt eating at her gut this time, telling her something was here. She had to believe that this time, if she looked hard enough, maybe the magic trick would become real.
Colter could help her. She knew he could. If she could find him. If she could convince him.
Was she even close to where he lived? She had no idea. She assumed she’d followed the directions properly, but what if there’d been a turnoff she’d missed? She could be miles from his cabin.
She peered through the windshield at the snowflakes, falling faster and thicker from the sky. It had been cold when she’d arrived, but temperatures had dropped to near zero in the hours since. And that was down in the main part of town, not up in the mountains where Colter lived.
Fear settled low in her belly as she zipped her coat up to her chin and slid her hood over her head, fastening it tightly. She didn’t need to gun the engine to know there was no way she was getting her truck out of this snowbank.
She was walking from here. She just had to pray Colter’s cabin was nearby and she wouldn’t walk right by it in this snowstorm and then freeze to death.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

To help a desperate woman’s search, he’ll have to brave treacherous territory.

In the wilds of Alaska, grieving former marine Colter Hayes shuts out the world…until he and his combat tracker dog become Kensie Morgan’s last hope of finding her long-missing sister. The improbable mission starts to rekindle Colter’s desire to rejoin the world—while saving Kensie from a killer unsettles his heart. Can they find all they are searching for before it’s too late?

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Meet the Author:

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages; they’ve also been shortlisted for the HOLT Medallion, the Daphne Du Maurier award, the National Readers’ Choice award and the Booksellers’ Best award and won the RT Reviewers’ Choice award.
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