Spotlight & Giveaway: Shamrock by Janie Crouch

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Janie Crouch to HJ!

Hi Janie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Shamrock!

 
Thanks for having me back on HJ!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Meet Aiden Teague. Military Codename: Shamrock. The lucky one.
But all luck runs out eventually.

Every mission has a price.
He never meant for her to pay it.
 

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

“I left you behind. You suffered so much more because I couldn’t get you out that first night.”

Her gaze flew to his. “What? No. You tried.”

He shook his head. “Leave no fallen comrade behind. That’s part of the army warrior creed. And I failed miserably.”

Those hazel eyes held such anguish her heart might shatter. She’d never once considered that he’d paid a price in all this too.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The hero’s name in Shamrock (Aiden Teague) was chosen by my readers in a “Name the Hero” facebook contest
• Violet is an engineer by trade, but a pastry chef by passion. That was a hat-tip to one of my good friends from college who went on to become a wonderful chef
• The “Do my boobs look good in this bustier?” scene (believe me, you can’t miss it) is my personal favorite scene ever

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

Aiden and Violet’s first meeting is very untraditional…she’s trapped in a human trafficking ring, and Aiden is working undercover. He risks everything and “buys” her for the evening to try to get her out.

But fails.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I’d use the part where Aiden and Violet have finally put the past of her human trafficking experience behind them. Bree doesn’t want to be a victim any more. She wants Aiden. This scene:

She knew what she wanted.

No more being passive. No more agreeing to what might in fact be good for her but wasn’t what she really wanted.

“You respect me,” she said gently.

The relief flashed and those hazel eyes. “Yes. I have nothing but respect for you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, trailing her fingers through his thick hair. “And thank you for getting me home safely last night. And like I said before, thank you for getting me out of that hellhole a month ago, for figuring out that I was in trouble when to anyone else it just looked like a normal part of that situation.”

His brows furrowed. “You’re welcome for all those things. But there’s no need—”

She put her finger up to his lips. “I just wanted to say it one more time to make sure I’d been clear. Because now I’m done saying thank you. And I think you better take me inside. Otherwise, Mrs. Mazille and her neighborhood watch might get quite an eyeful with what I’m planning to do to you.”

Readers should read this book….

Because of what people are saying!

“It will pull out all the feels… well-written, heart-wrenching story. What a ride!” ~ Books & Spoons Reviews

“This book was amazing! Ah-may-ZING!” ~ Erin Book Reviews

“The emotions and feels are deep… a sensational romantic suspense read!!!” ~ April R Symes Top 1000 Reviewer

“Heart-poundingly exciting story…definitely a must read!” ~ Momma Becky Book Reviews

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

The Linear Tactical series continues with ANGEL in February!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Winner’s choice of any of Janie’s ebooks

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Excerpt from Shamrock:

Violet was in the corner of the windowless room again. Her wrists were zip-tied and attached to a hook on the wall above her head. Agony burned through her shoulder joints every time she tried to move. Which wasn’t often because no other parts of her body seemed to be working right either.

Everything hurt.

When the door to her room opened a few minutes later, she whimpered and tried to sink back further into the corner. It couldn’t be Randy—she could hear him out in the living room.

At her small sound, a beam of light flew into her face. The light after so much darkness caused her to blink and turn away. It immediately shut off.

Before she could even ask who was there, a hand closed over her mouth. She tried to move away, gasping at the pain even as the thought crossed her mind that screaming would probably bring more trouble than help.

“It’s me, Firefly.”

Aiden?

“You’ve got to be quiet, okay?”

She nodded under his hand. He let go of her mouth and reached over her head. A second later she felt the tension in her arms suddenly relax as he cut through the zip tie that had restrained her. Even that tiny movement sent anguish screaming through her shoulder joints, and she sucked in her breath, swallowing her sob.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

Before she could ask him why, he pulled her arms from above her head, straight down into her lap.

This time swallowing her sob wasn’t an option. All she could do was keep it as low as possible. She felt like her arms were being ripped out of their sockets. His fingers pressed firmly into the balls of the joints, massaging the swollen and aching tendons. The spike of agony flew down her spine, and white dots danced in front of her vision.

“You’re doing so great. Breathe with me, Firefly. In. Out.”

She couldn’t see him but followed his instructions, breathing as his deep, gentle voice told her to. Grimly, she hung on to consciousness as his fingers continued kneading the traumatized tissues for a few more moments until the pain lessened, and she could at least move her shoulders.

“How did you find me?” she finally asked. “Randy took the jacket. Wouldn’t let me bring it.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead before reaching behind her ear. She felt the tiny lick of pain of an adhesive being ripped from her skin.

“Oh.” The tracker had been on her person all along. The fight for the jacket—and all the pain she’d endured afterward because of it—had been for nothing.

Aiden had kissed her just to put the tracker on her.

To be hurt by that was beyond ridiculous. Aiden had been doing a job. She should be thankful he was so good at it, not act like a teenager who’d been scorned by her crush.

But she was still hurt, stupid as it was.

“We need to get you away from this wall,” he whispered.

“Why?”

“I’m not here alone. We just want to make sure you’re safe if things get a little more rowdy than we planned.” He touched his neck. “Control, this is Shamrock. I’ve got the package. You’re clear to proceed.”

“You’ve really got a whole team here?”

“Absolutely. Now, let’s get you away from this wall in case any shots are fired.” He stood and held his hand down to assist her.

She tried to stand but her body had taken too much damage today. Too much trauma. Her muscles just wouldn’t work. “I can’t seem to move. I’m sorry.”

He reached down and scooped her into his arms.

“Wait! I’m too heavy.”

He kissed her forehead again, keeping her high against his chest as he crossed the room. “Featherweight.”

The way he moved so quickly with her, so easily, she almost believed him.

He set her gently on the ground behind him, then pressed something on his neck again. “Control, Shamrock. We’re on the south wall. You’re clear to breach.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Every mission has a price.
He never meant for her to pay it.

Aiden has never left anyone behind. Not a comrade and certainly not an innocent. But when an undercover mission goes wrong, he’s forced to abandon a woman trapped in a human trafficking ring.

Violet learned brutally that no one is promised a happy ending. She knows Aiden blames himself for his part, but she refuses to let her abduction define the rest of her life.

She won’t be a victim again. And she’s going after what she wants: Aiden.

Watching Violet transform herself into a fierce warrior is the sexiest thing Aiden has ever seen. The honorable plan would be to stay away from her—let her heal and grow without the shadow of his mistakes clouding her progress—even though every instinct tells him to claim her for his own.

But when they discover the danger they thought they’d left behind is closer than ever, they’ll have to face their deepest fears and fight side-by-side in order to survive.
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Meet the Author:

USA TODAY bestselling author Janie Crouch writes what she loves to read: passionate romantic suspense. She is a winner and/or finalist of multiple romance literary awards including the Golden Quill Award for Best Romantic Suspense, the National Reader’s Choice Award, and the coveted RITA© Award by the Romance Writers of America.

Janie recently relocated with her husband and their four teenagers to Germany (due to her husband’s job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia for nearly 20 years. When she’s not listening to the voices in her head (and even when she is), she enjoys engaging in all sorts of crazy adventures (200-mile relay races; Ironman Triathlons, treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp) traveling, and movies of all kinds.
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