Author Interview w/Excerpt & Giveaway ($25 PP) - Violated by Carolyn Arnold

Violated

by Carolyn Arnold 

GENRE:  Police Procedural, Thriller 

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BLURB: 

Sometimes the past should stay there…

The murder is one of the most heinous Brandon Fisher has ever seen, but that’s not why it has his and his colleagues’ attention. The FBI’s interested because the prime suspect is one of their own, Paige Dawson.

But Paige didn’t go to Valencia, California to kill anyone. She had set out on “vacation”—her new lover in tow—only to confront the man who had raped her friend twenty-some years ago. While the hands of the law are tied, she wants him to face the fact that he destroyed a young woman’s life and know that, as an FBI agent, she’ll be watching his every move. But instead of accomplishing her goal, she wound up in the back of a police cruiser.

Now Paige must face off with a hard-nosed detective determined to stick a murder charge to a fed. But with the trained eyes of the FBI on the case, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the evidence lends itself to a serial killing, not an isolated incident. And as long as the local authorities are focused on Paige, the real murderer is still out there, possibly waiting to strike again…

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EXCERPT: 

MONDAY, AUGUST 24TH, 11:10 PM PACIFIC TIME

CANYON COUNTRY, CALIFORNIA 

THE MARK WAS IN HIS FORTIES, had no kids, and worked a white-collar job. Average height, average looks. Nothing was truly memorable about him except for his uncommon first name, and that was only because it belonged to a character from a popular eighties movie.

Ferris Hall.

She had followed him to some honky-tonk in Canyon Country, an unsavory location at any time of day, but factor in the late hour and it was even worse. But Ferris had chosen this dive as his hunting ground. Women were easier to lure in with a little chemical persuasion, and that was easy to pass off around here. 

He entered the bar with head held high, his back straight, the tease of a smirk on his lips—the end of the evening a foregone conclusion in his mind. He was sipping on his first bourbon, though he was acting as if he was on his third by slurring his words and talking loudly. He’d even thrown a sway into his swagger. Somehow he always managed to make his eyes look bloodshot, too, furthering the charade. And the women would come. And the women would fall for his tricks. 

Tonight, she’d be that woman, but she’d be his last. He had to learn there was a price to pay for his actions. 

She was sitting down the bar from him. Occasionally, he’d pass her a look—the predatory kind that made her blood boil. She smiled at him, doing her best to convey carnal hunger with her gaze, smearing on a seductive curve to her lips. She dipped her finger into her manhattan and sucked on it—the cherry juice sweet, the whiskey bitter. 

Ferris was off his stool and sidling up her to within three seconds. 

The ruse worked every time. It also helped that she exploited what nature had given her—a slender frame and shapely legs. High heels accentuated her well-defined calf muscles, and men stared when she walked into a room. When she paired even higher stilettos with a short skirt and crossed her legs, men’s mouths tended to fall open. She utilized all these virtues tonight.

She flashed another sultry smile, and he lifted his glass toward her before tilting his own back and draining it. He set it back on the bar and knocked on it to get the bartender’s attention.

“I’ll have another on the rocks and—” he rolled his head toward her “—get the lady whatever she’d like.” 

Time to feign innocence and flattery. 

She waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “I really shouldn’t.” 

She saw the quick look he gave her glass before meeting her eyes again. “Nonsense. Please, it would be my treat.” 

If she stripped his voice of its candy-coated tone, his words were pushy and controlling. 

“Well”—she angled her glass, showing how little of her drink she had left—“only if you’re sure.”

If she had actually been given a chance to prove her acting skills, she could be living in a sprawling mansion by now. 

“Absolutely. What will it be?” Ferris asked, a grin teasing his lips as he tugged down on his left earlobe. It wasn’t hard for her to figure out what was going on. Ferris was asking for something “special” to be added to her drink—the “special” being some kind of date-rape drug. 

She lifted her glass to the bartender. “Another manhattan.” 

“Coming right up.” The tender left to make their drinks, and she watched him, taking the time to calm her heartbeat and flow of adrenaline. 

“I like a woman who can handle her whiskey.” Ferris was looking quite comfortable beside her now. He was fully facing her, his left elbow perched on the counter, and he wasn’t discreet about his drifting gaze, which gravitated to her thighs. 

“What can I say? I’m a little whiskey girl.” The words from the country song rolled off her tongue, cinching her gut, but she had to do what was necessary to pull him in. 

“Toby Keith,” he said. 

“Pardon?” 

“Toby Keith.” He pointed to a speaker on the ceiling. “The singer who sings that one.” 

“Ah, yes.” And here, she thought she was doing well by knowing it was even a country song. She smiled at him again. He truly thought of himself as a woman’s man. 

Pathetic. 

“Have I seen you here before?” he asked. 

She dipped her head.
 

“I knew it. I never forget a beautiful face. So what’s your name?”

“Names really aren’t important, are they, baby?” She extended her hand, her long, narrow fingers bowing before him in feminine elegance. 

“Oh, she’s mysterious. I like it.” He kissed the back of her hand, and she was proud of herself for not rolling her eyes. 

The bartender returned and placed their drinks in front of them. “Here you go.” 

From her observations, Ferris seemed to keep a running tab here. Rape now, pay later? 

Oh, and Ferris would pay… 

“You never told me your name,” she said, falling into her role. 

“Oh, I can tell you mine, but you can’t—” 

“Uh-huh.” She sucked on the tip of her finger again. 

“Ferris.” He still held onto her other hand, and she pulled it back shyly. 

“Are you from around here?” she asked, resorting to the necessity of small talk. 

“I just fly in from time to time for business.” 

“Ah.” She’d have to call upon her acting skills for this performance. She knew he lived less than three miles away from this place. “What business?” 

He tapped his jacket pockets, then slid a hand inside one. “How embarrassing. I don’t have any cards with me. Besides, I don’t really want to bore you. Why don’t we talk about you?” He leaned toward her and lifted his rocks glass. “To a fun night.” 

“To one we won’t remember.” 

They toasted, and he took a long pull of the amber liquid. She pressed her own glass to her lips and pretended to take a sip. 

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Talking with author Carolyn Arnold!
 

What is your writing environment? 

I write in my office and I love to do so in peace and quiet. There are times, however, I’ll put music on when I’m writing different scenes but this a rare occasion.

 

What type of book have you always wanted to write? 

For the most part, any type of book that I’ve wanted to write, I have. I love writing investigative books, killing people in fiction and solving their murders. But over a year and half ago, I had the urge to write an action adventure. I wanted to offer a fresh take on the genre so that was when I started writing City of Gold. It was released last November and is the debut novel in the Matthew Connor Adventure series. 

I’m about 20,000 words into a political thriller and I was having a lot of fun writing it, but that project has been set aside for now.

 

Top 3 things on your bucket list?

To have a beautiful lakehouse estate, to visit Australia and Europe, and to be on the Ellen Degeneres show.

 

How did you get the idea for this particular novel?

The idea was sparked from someone I met, however, I can’t elaborate without giving away the motivation for the killer. I will say that the message in this story was one I both needed to be reminded of and I feel others will benefit from as well. So often we can become weighed down with the past—whether it be pain or regret. And it doesn’t even need to be due to a decision we made. Maybe we lost someone we loved. But we only hurt ourselves by dwelling on the what-ifs and if-onlys. Life needs to be lived forward. That’s the powerful message enclosed in Violated.

 

What is your favorite scene in Violated?

There are quite a few, but I love a scene that involves my main character Brandon Fisher and the agent accused of murder, Paige Dawson.  

Now, there’s always been chemistry between the two agents, but the below excerpt is from when they first see each other since Paige became a murder suspect. Please note that Grafton is the hard-nosed detective ready to stick murder charges to Paige.

 

Here’s a snippet from Violated: 

The front door opened, and my legs took me there before I even gave it conscious thought. Paige was stepping inside, Jack following her. 

Her eyes met mine instantly, and our gazes locked. Her mouth twitched as if she was debating whether she should smile or not. The legs that had swept me to the door now grounded me to the floor. She was prettier than I’d remembered. Crazy, I know. And why did my mind even go there? We were friends and colleagues, nothing more. 

“Hey, Brandon.” Her voice was soft, bordering on sultry. Of course, I probably wanted to hear it that way. She didn’t warrant any double takes from Grafton or Jack. 

“Hey.” I was like a bumbling teenage boy, and I couldn’t keep my hands still. I was rubbing my thighs, then my ribs. I forced myself to stop and put on a smile, which I could only imagine came across as a tad insane. “How are you?” 

Paige’s eyes darted to Grafton, back to me. “Super.” 

Forget professional decorum. I hugged her tightly. She fell into the embrace, and it felt so good to have her chest pressed against mine. I inhaled her familiar scent of honeysuckle, feminine and sweet. It would have been all too easy to lose myself in this moment and overlook the fact that we had company, that we had ended things, that— 

“Paige?” 

—that Sam was now her boyfriend. 

The sound of his voice had me backing away from Paige. “Great to have you back,” I said to her

“Thanks, Brandon.”

 

This excerpt from Violated (Brandon Fisher FBI Series) is protected by Copyright.

You can pre-order Violated in e-book, paperback, and hardcover formats. Visit the Violated Purchase Options page for retailer links in your country.

 

What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?

Currently, I’m writing the next in my McKinley Mystery series and the next in my Detective Madison Knight series is going through the editing process. In the Line of Duty, the Detective Madison Knight novel, is slated for release September 22, 2016 and Halloween is Murder, a McKinley Mystery novella, is slated for October 13, 2016.

 

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I love to read and watch movies. Sometimes I love to hop on the train and visit my older sister. I also love to visit Toronto.

 

What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?

I hate being governed by the clock. I’m a free spirit. I have no problem with reaching deadlines when it comes to my books, but if I have an appointment to make, I can get all worked up and drag getting ready out until the last second. When I had a day job, I was late more often than I was on time, just because my heart wasn’t into it. But in my defense I worked hard while I was there and my employers never seemed to mind my tardiness.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

CAROLYN ARNOLD is the international best-selling and award-winning author of the Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher, and McKinley Mystery series. She is the only author with POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.™

Carolyn was born in a small town, but that doesn’t keep her from dreaming big. And on par with her large dreams is her overactive imagination that conjures up killers and cases to solve. She currently lives in a city near Toronto with her husband and beagle. She is also a member of Crime Writers of Canada.

 

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:

Website - http://carolynarnold.net/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold  

And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.  

 

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GIVEAWAY:

Carolyn Arnold will be awarding a $25 Paypal to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway