Backlash Blog Tour: guest post, excerpt & giveaway

Backlash
by Karyn Good
Genre: Romantic thriller
Format: Paperback (233 pages) and ebook
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press (June 1, 2012)
BLURB: What he’s sworn to protect, she’s willing to sacrifice to save those she loves...

When dedicated teacher Lily Wheeler interrupts a vicious gang attack on one of her students, she vows it won’t happen again. But her rash interference puts her in the path of a cold-blooded killer and the constable tracking him—a man she has little reason to trust, but can never forget.

Constable Chase Porter returned to Aspen Lake to see justice done, not renew old acquaintances. But when he rescues the woman he once loved from a volatile situation, he realizes his feelings for Lily haven’t lessened over the years.

Now, the dangerous killer Chase has sworn to capture has Lily in his sights. Can Chase and Lilly learn to trust each other again before it’s too late—or will old insecurities jeopardize their future?

An excerpt from Backlash: 

“You’re being ridiculous, you know.”

Hell. On. Earth. It had to be. Where else would he find himself stuck in a confined space with someone who looked and smelled like candy coated chocolate and thought like a Rottweiler?

“And unreasonable.”

“If by unreasonable you mean right, then, yes I am.”

“Turn left here.”

“I know where to turn.”

“See what I mean.”

Someone shoot him. He knew from firsthand experience it was less painful. “So besides ‘female intuition’ do you have any other reasons why he might be hiding in the woods?”

“Not really. But it’s a small town and there aren’t that many places to hide. So, I’ve been trying to think of any abandoned buildings, that kind of thing.”

Her idea made sense, and it stung. Hell, he should have thought of it. Would have thought of it if lust and rational thinking made a compatible combination. “Okay, we’ll give it a shot.”

His old hideout in the woods was a bust. No sign of recent habitation, nothing but tall grass, wild bush, and bad memories. “Any other ideas?”

“One or two. There’s an old house, you might remember it, used to be the Danforth place. It’s close enough to town without being in town. It’s empty, has been for a while.”

“I remember it.” Without thinking he offered a smile and held out a hand to her like he had numerous times in this same spot. “Come on, let’s go check it out.”

She paused for a couple of seconds. Her thought patterns played across her face. He kept his hand out anyway. She ignored his offer and his hand. Instead, she walked past him to climb into his truck. He swiped his hand through a patch of thigh high grass. Message received.

Guest Post: The theme of trust in romantic suspense

Thank you so much for hosting me here at Reader Girls and for giving me such an interesting topic. I love talking about themes. 

There’s a good reason we see trust as a theme in romance and suspense. Relationships of any kind involve some level of trust. Romantic relationships even more so. Chase feels the weight of Lily’s reluctance to trust him again. With her life in danger, he feels her trust is key to keeping her safe. Relationships involving life and death decisions make trusting each other crucial. Chase and Lily have to work together to gain the trust of an abused 13 year-old boy. To survive Jason must put his life in their hands. 

But is it possible to rebuild a trust for someone who has hurt you greatly? Lily doesn’t know how to come to grips with her desire for Chase and a trust she doesn’t feel. Emotional intimacy is all about trust. There’s a kind of chain reaction to these things. The first step is forgiveness. Can Lily forgive Chase and allow them the opportunity to start over? Honesty and the realization that we’re all imperfect human beings builds trust. But who’s willing to take that first crucial step? Can Chase forgive himself and trust in a future with Lily? Can they climb the mountain and find commitment and allow themselves to love freely? 

Another theme popping up in my story is ‘going home’. Backlash is a reunion story. Chase returns to Aspen Lake after a ten year absence. Lily never left. How often have we heard the old adage you can’t go home again? The perception being that nothing stays static. You change as a person, the place moves forward without you making it impossible to recapture the feelings of the past. Chase’s reasons for leaving are still with him but the hometown he grew up in is not the same place he left. Can this work in his favor, as he begins to deal with the reasons he left in the first place? What exactly does home mean to him? 

Strong themes tie plot and character together. They should raise questions and make the reader think. Those are the stories we remember and stick with us. Do you have a favorite theme?

About the author: I grew up on a farm in the middle of Canada's breadbasket. Under the canopy of crisp blue prairie skies I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue - romance and the gut wrenching journey towards forever.

Author links: Website and Blog | Facebook | Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

Karyn will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and a $15 Amazon GC to the host with the most comments (excluding the host's and the author's). Better your chances of winning by following the tour and make sure to leave comments. The tour dates can be found here.