Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Love, Lies, and Bad Guys by Bill Blodgett

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bill Blodgett will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Genre:   Romantic Suspense

 

Book Description

When US Marshal Jay Stonewalker sees a possible terrorist comment in a chatroom frequented by anti-government radicals suggesting a nuclear threat to New York City, specifically the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, he can’t get it out of his mind. Against his boss’s orders he heads off to NYC to investigate on his own time. While there he follows a suspicious character into a secluded recess of the New York Subway system and foils what he believes is the terrorist event.

 

In a shoot-out with his suspect he’s wounded and calls the NYC PD for backup.  When he sees NYPD Detective KC Daviau and other uniformed officers slipping into the darkness from the subway platform he’s relieved, but to his surprise he’s met with resistance and disrespect by Detective Daviau. Against his objections, KC takes custody of the evidence and leaves the scene. When Jay asks an officer if she is always that way he’s told that, “Since her parents died, she’s been… let’s say… a little cold.”   When they are assigned to work the case together,  KC’s icy exterior soon begins to melt away as they begin to fall for each other, but KC has to hold back. She has a dark secret and knows he can’t ever know her truths because if he did he would hate her just as she hates herself for what she’s about to do.

 

Interview with Author Bill Blodgett

 

What inspired you to come up with the idea for your book?

Love, Lies, and Bad Guys has a very interesting story behind it. The original title was, The Waldorf Astoria Connection, which is the sub-title now. Shortly after the attacks of September 11th we traveled to visit my daughter who lived in Waldorf, MD. My other daughter lived in Astoria, NY.

 

While on a subway/train going into Washington, D.C. a young man got on the subway and was acting strangely by constantly checking his back pack. The “See Something –Say Something” signs were all over the subway so the writer in me imagined a story about a mad bomber on a subway. As a shout out to my daughters I set the story in both Waldorf, MD and Astoria, NY!

 

When you’re not writing, what are you up to?

Well, now that I’m retired I enjoy having time to take care of yard work without having to worry about going to work the next day. I also like to work on my 1972 MGB, an antique English sports car, but more importantly I love having time to spend with my wife, kids and grandkids. After all this isn’t a dressed rehearsal. You only get to do this once so I spend my time wisely with family.

 

Any tips to share with someone who wants to be published?

If I could tell anyone anything about wanting to become an author it would be that it’s okay and that you can do it. Go ahead tell the world or maybe at least your FAMILY that your dream is to be an author!! Don’t doubt yourself just because it seems like a daunting task. Seek out help. Join a writers group. Join a critique group. There, you’ll find the support you desperately need and you’ll be with like-minded people who will all understand the trials of becoming an author. Family will be sympathetic and supportive, but there is something special about sharing your story with people who have had similar experiences.

 

How do you go about choosing the names for your characters?

I use several sources for names. The most common is an online baby name site. There I can search for names or nationality names if I need a name that is common in a foreign country. In Love, Lies, and Bad Guys I made up the name Stonewalker. Kinda sounds  like an old Native American name, doesn’t it? For some reason I wanted the heroine to go by her initials because her given name seemed to feminine for her and she was bullied in school about it. So I settled on KC.  For the protagonist I searched Russian names until I found one that sounded like a master villain.

 

Print or e-books–do you have a preference?

I like both. I had one of the first versions of Kindles and reading eBooks is convenient and easy on the eyes wherever you go, but when I’m reading a friend’s book I like paperback so I can have them autograph it and when I’m finished I can display it on my bookshelf with the rest of the books written by friends. It’s an inspiration to me and helps me keep plugging away at my current manuscript, whatever it is.

 

What’s your favorite song on your playlist?

I have a play list for all of my books that I play while doing things other than writing. I can’t listen to music while writing because it distracts me too much. Before I know it I’m singing along and not even thinking about the book. My favorite song from my play list for my last book, The Last Prejudice, is, Get Together by the Young Bloods. It’s an old favorite of mine and it is about everyone loving and respecting each other.

 

Favorite time of day & why?

Morning – Early morning! I’m usually up early and enjoy the peace and quiet before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I would get up extra early when I was working so I could sit back, enjoy a cup of coffee or two before the day began. When my two daughters got up I had to be ready to hit the ground running to help them get off to school on time.

 

Book Excerpt

Because the Waldorf Astoria in New York is their flagship and it’s the symbol of everything that is America. They tried to bring the towers and the World Trade Center down in an unsuccessful attempt in nineteen ninety-three, but managed on September eleventh, two thousand one. What makes you think they won’t try something again? Their hate runs deep.”

 

“Jay, let it go. Maybe it’s just a disgruntled guest that had a bad experience after spending oodles of money there. Please let it go for your own sanity.” She pleaded and hated herself at the same time. How can I make such beautiful love with this man yet still lie to him? There must be something drastically wrong with me, but it’s too late to turn back now. She knew it wasn’t a terrorist’s threat. It was just her and her merry band of anti-nuclear activists making the world safe. She began to lather up his chest with a loofa body puff and watched as he closed his eyes.

 

“Just let it go, Jay,” she repeated.

 

He opened his eyes slowly. “I can’t just let it go. Maybe Gary wasn’t involved with the original chatter I found, but maybe he was. Maybe it’s a whole other source of crazies wanting to take a shot at the Big Apple. Maybe it’s the Russians….” Her heart skipped a beat while she tried to rationalize that Sergei and what Jay was alluding to was just a coincidence. Sergei was fighting the good fight. She was sure of that.

 

 

Author Bio and Links

I still live in the community where I met and married my lovely wife, Janice. Actually, she lived around the corner from me and we both ignored each other until our teen years when the hormone thing kicked in and we suddenly realized that the cute little girl skipping rope and that goofy boy riding a bike had both grown up.

 

We are the proud parents of April and Lindsay; both of whom are now married. April married Darren and they have two beautiful boys, Brian and Owen. Lindsay married Tim and they have two beautiful children: Kailyn and Evan.

 

I enjoy hiking, kayaking, camping with my family, golfing, making candles, and restoring my antique European sports car, a 1972 MGB.

 

They say to write from what you know, so I do. I write of love, life and relationships. In addition to the romantic plot we all expect from a Romance novel all of my books deal with a real-world issue as a sub-plot  that we all have had to deal in some manner in life, but not in a preachy way.  I find that including this sort of theme helps me identify with my characters on a personal level. My hope is that the reader will also feel that connection with my characters.

 

I have four other published novels. Dead Or A Lie and Saint’s Sword are vampire Romances. Unrequited is a contemporary novel with romantic elements and received 4 stars from Romantic Times Book Review magazine. The Last Prejudice is a family saga that deals with the issues a family must address when a family member comes out.

 

I have been a member of the RWA and the Central New York Romance Writers since 2004 and have held various posts in my local group. By day I am a construction inspector for an engineering company.

 

Please visit my website: www.billblodgett.com   or email me at  bill@billblodgett.com You can also find me on Facebook at @authorbillblodgett and Twitter @bill_blodgett

Buy link:

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lies-Bad-Guys-Connection/dp/B084DFQWWB/

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Love%2C+Lies%2C+and+Bad+Guys+by+Bill+Blodgett

 

Bill Blodgett will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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