Spotlight & Giveaway: Keeping Guard by Sandra Owens

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sandra Owens to HJ!

Hi Sandra and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Keeping Guard!

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

Noah Alba hasn’t had an easy life, but he found a home with his SEAL team… until an operation goes south in the worst possible way. He blames himself, and the guilt is crushing him. On leave from the Navy, Noah goes to Asheville, North Carolina to spend some time with Jack Daniels, his friend and former teammate. All Noah wants is a bit of peace. What he gets is a runaway bride in need of protection.
 

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

This woman! Noah swiped his hand through his hair. “Sassy and bossy.”

“Well, aren’t you just precious?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re insulting me again, aren’t you?”

“A little.”

Humor flashed in those pretty blue eyes, and he ordered himself not to grin. What was it about her that made him feel alive inside?

What inspired this book?

I love writing about men who are tortured about something and the women who are strong enough and sassy enough to tear down those walls the hero has built. For this series, I wanted to write about a band of brothers, three men whose lives took an unexpected turn. I wanted each man to meet his love interest in a unique way, and it was fun writing their meet cutes.

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

They surprise me ALL THE TIME! I do have a mental idea on how I think a story is going to unfold. Nine times out of ten, my characters disagree. That’s so annoying because nine times out of ten they’re right. I do have a character questionnaire that I’ll answer the questions off the top of my head. I don’t use all the answers, but some great gems do pop out of my head.

What was your favorite scene to write?

My favorite scene was when Noah and Peyton meet. Here’s a little peek…

“I’m a runaway bride.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, but he definitely had thoughts. Like, there you go, just more proof that brides can’t be trusted. Then another one…at least that meant there wasn’t a dead groom under that wedding dress. That one was definitely a relief. And why was she only wearing a corset and veil, and her dress floating in the pool?

“Do you need some help?” he finally said, hoping she said no.

“Yeah, with this champagne. It’s not good to drink alone, you know.”

He did know that, not that it stopped him. Why wasn’t she afraid of him? She picked up a second, still-corked bottle, and held it out to him. “You can even have your own if drinking out of a bottle my mouth has been on bothers you.”

His gaze fell to said mouth. Negative. He’d have absolutely no problem putting his mouth anywhere hers had been. Situation dire! Time to retreat. He didn’t do brides, even ones with sky-blue eyes and lips made for kissing.

“Come on. Don’t be a stick in the mud.” She waved the bottle like it was a red cape and he was the bull.

Apparently, he was a bull because his feet took him to the edge of the boulder. “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“Should I be?”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

When Noah’s therapist had him write about the mission that went horribly wrong. He didn’t want to, didn’t want to relive that day. It took him several tries, but when he finally managed to get the words on paper, he began to process his grief. That was a really hard scene to write.

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

KEEPING GUARD definitely showcases my writing style. My stories are character-driven and come with tears and laughter. Happily ever afters guaranteed.

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

What I really love to hear from my readers is that they laughed, cried, and sighed when reading my books, and I do hear that from fans of my books. I want readers to get lost in my stories. I want to hear that they had a feel good smile on their face when they finish one of my books.

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

I’m currently working on edits for MOUNTAIN RESCUE, book three in the Operation K-9 Brothers series. Mountain Rescue releases December 28th.
A woman on the run. A wounded SEAL who wants to become invisible. Two strangers, one mountain cabin.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 Mass market paperback copy of KEEPING GUARD by Sandra Owens, open to North American mailing addresses only.

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Excerpt from Keeping Guard:

“You don’t have much stuff,” Peyton said as she stood in the middle of Noah’s living room, her gaze taking in the bare walls. There were no knickknacks on the coffee and end tables, not a thing that gave her a clue about the man who’d rescued her.

“Just moved in.”

Where were the boxes filled with his stuff? The apartment was small, the living room and a tiny kitchen in view, and then a hallway that she assumed led to a bedroom and bathroom.

A dog barreled into the room, heading straight for Noah. At least she thought it was a dog, but that was questionable. Ignoring it, Noah took a few steps, which put him in the kitchen. He set the champagne bottles on the counter.

“Want some water?”

“Do you have any green tea?” She could really use a cup of calming hot tea.

He looked at her as if she’d asked for a serving of bird brains. “Do I strike you as someone who drinks green tea?”

“No, you strike me as someone who drinks the blood of wombats.” When he snorted, she put her hands on her hips. “How am I supposed to know what you drink? You could just say, ‘No, Peyton, I don’t have any green tea.’”

“No, Peyton, I don’t have any green tea. That better?”

“Much.” It was obvious he didn’t want her here. It wasn’t like she’d asked him to take her home with him, but she was sorry she’d involved him in her mess all the same.

He leaned back against the counter. “Yes or no on the water?”

Finally, she was getting a good look at his chest and abs, the question of whether they were a six or an eight-pack answered. Lordy! Eight it was. Even with those abs—the likes of which she’d never before had the pleasure of viewing—he wasn’t over built. Yes, he had muscles, but they fit his body perfectly. Yummy was the word that came to mind, and she had a strong urge to lick her lips.

“Peyton?”

“Hmm?”

“Eyes up here.”

She jerked her gaze up to see him pointing at his face, and heat traveled up her neck and into her cheeks. “Sorry, what?”

“Two things. Do you want a glass of water? And secondly, don’t look at me like that. It puts ideas in my head.”

She so wanted to know what those ideas were. For a girl who’d never had a man have ideas when he looked at her, she suddenly felt cheated. Good gosh, she was twenty-six years old. At some point, shouldn’t at least one man have had ideas about her?

It wasn’t fair. She’d had a boyfriend in college, but he’d been a gamer, more interested in his games than her, and sex with him had been about as exciting as shelling beans. Okay, she was being her silly self, but it was almost true. At least Dalton had been an improvement, but he had never blown her mind. She wanted her mind blown. She wanted a man to have ideas about her. Now, Noah? She’d bet her favorite beer recipe that he could curl her toes, and she really, really wanted her toes curled. Seriously, Peyton? She slapped her forehead. What kind of woman fantasied about another man on her wedding day? Okay, a wedding that didn’t happen, wasn’t going to, but still…

“I can’t decide if I want to know what all is going through your head or not.”

She focused back on Noah. His arms were crossed over his very, very fine chest. “You really don’t.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Finding the future they deserve will mean leaving the past behind…

Navy SEAL Noah Alba is on extended leave after a terrible mistake resulted in the loss of his K-9 partner. He arrives in Asheville, North Carolina, hoping to get his head on straight before he returns overseas. When an old friend recruits him to train service dogs for veterans, he doesn’t feel ready. Still, rambunctious rescue dog Lucky is awfully hard to resist—as is the drop-dead stunning bride Noah encounters while hiking.

When she finds out her fiancé is only marrying her to gain control of her family’s brewery, Peyton Sutton’s I do turns into a hard pass real quick. But Peyton’s father and now-jilted ex are determined to force the match at any cost. Running away can only get her so far, until Noah—and his adorably fierce canine companion—step in as an unlikely protector.

Guarding a runaway bride in the close quarters of her downtown loft is no way to avoid a simmering attraction. But Peyton can’t outrun her ex, and Noah can’t outrun his past; they’ll have to find a way to move forward together, or risk making another terrible mistake.

Operation K-9 Brothers
Book 1: Operation K-9 Brothers
Book 2: Keeping Guard
Book 3: Mountain Rescue

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Meet the Author:

A best-selling, award winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She’s jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed death-defying stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing.

A member of Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll, Sandra is a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. In addition to her contemporary romantic suspense novels, she writes Regency stories.

Join Sandra’s Rowdies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1827166257533001
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