Hybrid author P. A. DePaul is chatting with me today about her new romantic suspense, Shadow of Doubt, An SBG Novel.
Bio:
P. A. DePaul is a Publishers Weekly Bestselling and award-winning author.
Her books are full of action, suspense, and romance.
As a hybrid author, she has books traditionally and independently published. Her traditional publishers include Berkley, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Harlequin Books.
Please tell us about your current release.
Michelle Alger flees when her secretly recorded tryst winds up on the internet. She has no option but to hide. Her one-night stand—the son of a powerful US senator—was murdered. Learning she’s the prime suspect is traumatizing. Already a member of witness protection thanks to a Colombian drug lord kidnapping her in college, she now has to run from the senator and law enforcement. To make matters worse, the drug lord finally knows her location and is hot on her trail. There’s only one man she trusts. He saved her once, can he do it again six years later?
Captain Jeremy Malone no longer wears a Green Beret. He’s traded in his fatigues for a new life leading Delta Squad, a covert unit within SweetBriar Group. His latest orders from the senator: find the unknown woman and bring her to me. But Jeremy knows her identity. He once rescued her from a Colombian cartel, and has never forgotten her. He assigns his squad a new mission: find Michelle first and learn the real story.
Michelle and Jeremy can’t deny their explosive chemistry. But, with every new piece of evidence, Jeremy’s faith in Michelle’s innocence is questioned. Is her plea for help a ruse…or a trap set by a beautiful woman determined to expose Jeremy’s own secrets…
What inspired you to write this book?
This is the second book in the SBG series. Quick note: readers do NOT have to read the first book before they read this one. All the books stand on their own, but, if a reader wants to see the character growth and changes, they might want to pick up the first book, Exchange of Fire, at some point.
I love these characters. Delta Squad is more than a black ops unit tasked with stopping horrific events. They’re a family. They live, eat, and breathe together. And with that comes the usual squabbles and tight-knit community. With this book, I had to write about Cappy, the commanding officer of the unit. His background is a mystery in the first book, and I wanted to explore what happened to him to make him the way he is. I also wanted to introduce a character like Michelle. She’s overcome terrifying circumstances and is strong in a quiet way.
Excerpt from Shadow of Doubt:
(For this excerpt, the hero and heroine haven’t seen each other in six years. That was when Cappy rescued her from the Colombian Cartel’s torture. At the time, he was a Green Beret and part of a task force to take down the cartel.)
_____
Had she done the right thing calling Cappy? How long had he been in Indianapolis? God, had she been this close to him all this time? What if he’d seen the news? Would he call the police or FBI to tip them off? She started to panic. Oh no. What had she done?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Michelle jumped at the sound on her door. The blood drained from her face, and her heart pounded against her ribcage. No way could Larry’s friend have the wrong room again. And it was too early for Creepy Stevie. Which meant . . . He’s here. All her insecurities rushed forward as she stared at the door. Everything from her thunder thighs to her lack of makeup and hungover status swamped her.
“Michelle?” a muffled, deep male voice called on the other side. She’d know that intonation anywhere. It slid over her, tightening the knot in her stomach. She rubbed the dancing area and snagged on a button. Jerking her head down and wanted to cry. She still had on the ugliest uniform ever. The drab olive and gray clothing drained every ounce of sexiness.
Sweat pooled under her arms, not helping her confidence and—
Wait, what was that? She squinted and dabbed a spot on her shirt. Great. She had on the most God-awful stained uniform ever.
This was so far from her fantasy that she could only hang her head. About par for the last twenty-four hours.
Knock. Knock.
“Michelle,” Captain Jeremy Malone said again. “It’s safe to open the door.”
No one shouted “POLICE” or “FBI.” That was a good sign, wasn’t it? Didn’t they have to identify themselves first before entering? That meant he hadn’t called them, right?
She threw her shoulders back and strode across the room. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and opened the thin wood.
Holy Cheesus on wheat toast.
How could she not have recalled how HUGE he was? And that was saying something, since she was considered tall. But he had to be at least a half a foot over her head. Not only tall, but ripped with muscles . . . Like no-way-could-this-exist-in-real-life muscles sprouted beneath a tight T-shirt. Since he had worn a helmet the last time they met, she had never gotten to see that he had dark-brown hair, buzzed in a military crew-cut. His stance was all business, exuding strength and power and don’t-mess-with-me-cause-I-know-eighty-ways-to-kill-you. But one feature commanded her attention—the same one that had been haunting her for years. His eyes. Those wonderfully expressive, deep, coffee-colored eyes.
“Cappy.” She shuddered. After so many years of longing, she was finally staring into their depths . . . and he was staring right back.
“You’re real,” she whispered, her brain trying to catch up to her eyes. “Not some made-up vision in my nightmare, right? I mean,” a depreciating laugh bubbled out, “I know I just talked to you, but . . .”
“I get it. I’m a little disoriented too.”
_______
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’ve been reworking the very first book I ever had published. It’s a Romantasy about angels, demons and the human caught in between. Since it was the very first book I had published (back in 2013) there is a lot that needs to be worked on. Not only has the technology and mindsets changed since then, but my writing has also grown. So, it’s a matter of rolling up the sleeves and diving in to see if the story can be flushed out better. Or maybe it’s better to stay hidden. I won’t know until I really dig in.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In 2009, I got this crazy idea I should write a book. I went to bed that night and woke with two characters and a slim story idea, but I had no idea how to turn it all into a full-length novel. So, I took a class from Writer’s Digest. By this point, I had written a couple of different versions, but no winner yet. The instructor insisted I needed to make the story a romance. At first, I was resistant. (I don’t know why. Only that my idea was geared toward new adult and the hero’s journey.) But the more I thought about it, the more her urging made sense. I finally wrote a whole novel I felt was worthy of pitching to agents and editors. In 2013, a very small press contracted the book and published it. But the pitching wasn’t easy. My book wasn’t really paranormal nor was it Urban Fantasy. It didn’t really have a home yet. At the time, Romantasy wasn’t a genre yet. So, I went back to square one and wrote the first book in the SBG series—this is a thrilling Romantic Suspense. The first and second books were sold to Penguin where they were published in 2014 and 2015. I eventually asked for the rights back and am now putting the whole series out myself.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am a full-time writer. My workdays vary depending on whether I have a deadline or not. If I have a deadline, I’m writing every single day. I have a daily word count I have to reach in order to stay on track, but a lot of times I surpass the goal. Also, within that day, I’m answering emails, working on social media, and marketing projects.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have to have silence. I can’t write to music. My scene’s pacing is usually never in sync with whatever song is playing so it throws me off. But, I love music so much, that I make up lists of songs I’d consider a soundtrack for the book.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A gymnast. Then a school psychologist. Then a deaf interpreter. I never imagined I’d become an author.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Lately, I’ve published two vastly different writing styles. One is a set of three books for Harlequin that are super sweet, meaning zero sex. They have suspense but absolutely nothing sexual. The other style is spicy romantic suspense. The SBG novels are filled with hard-hitting action, thrilling suspense, and spicy sex (scenes are thoroughly described). So, no matter your mood, I have you covered if you’re looking for suspense and romance.
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Thanks for hosting me!!