For those who don’t know, RG is my new Release Day Buddy – our books are both out on the same day – which is FRIDAY! Yay! This Time It’s Personal (#3) follows on from When Past Comes To Present (#1), and Lasting Damage (#2).
Blurb:
Sequel to Lasting Damage
Beckett Investigations: Book Three
Feeling the strain of lost business thanks to the vicious articles by The Wheaton City Brigade, the city’s most inflammatory newspaper, private investigator Tyler Beckett accepts a cold case from Lt. Danny Baxter to fill the gap. He’s less than happy, however, when he learns the case may involve the same man who made him the target for The Brigade to begin with: Jamie Carroway.
Then a new article uncovers an incriminating piece of Tyler’s past, and the level of information revealed proves someone close to him is sharing details no stranger could know. And the verbal attack is only the first. Realizing it isn’t just the paper’s lead journalist intent on destroying his life, Tyler is forced to hunt for suspects close to home who have motive to ruin everything. But with no leads and no sure course of action, he soon finds himself faced with the need to protect his business and his fiancé, Sean St. Claire, and the very real danger of losing them both in the unavoidable fallout.
Pre-order from Dreamspinner, Amazon or ARe.
So it is wonderful to have my R.D.B join me on my blog. RG: Hi Renae, and thank you so much for having me here! So your new release is This Time It’s Personal. It’s the third book in a series of Beckett Investigations. I haven’t read the series, (sorry – it’s on my TBR list) but does the series follow the same couple all the way through? RG: Getting through the third book is pretty exciting milestone for me, and yes, all the stories follow two of my favourite characters to write – Tyler and Sean. The other familiar faces are also there of course – Mark, Danny, and the ever-vicious Madison Huff – so each new story is a visit with old friends (and in the case of Madison, I suppose enemies). For me as well as the readers J Do you need to read the first two books before the third? Or will it happily stand alone? RG: Honestly, they should be read in order since some of the events in the previous books have an impact on the events of the latest one. Not always a huge one, and not really anything that would leave a big hole in the story if readers started with This Time It’s Personal, but more to create a complete picture of the characters and the storyline and to see exactly how past events play a part in their current actions and behavior. Starting at the beginning just means everything makes sense. This doesn’t mean the books end in cliff-hangers though. I’m not a big fan of those, so I make sure each book does have a satisfying sense of closure. What loose ends are left are mild enough to ensure nobody is left hanging. Is this the end of the series? Will Tyler and Sean get their Happily Ever After? Or do you plan another book? RG: I’ve actually got one more book planned for Tyler and Sean, so they’re not quite to their HEA just yet. They’re well on their way to it, but there’s still some bumps they’re going to have work through, with some more serious than others. And of course (though this *may* spoiler for the final book), while we’ve seen Madison take on Tyler throughout the series, we’ve yet to see Madison go toe-to-toe with Sean. That’s bound to be…eventful *grin* The series sounds extremely intense. Did you need to do a lot of research to get the legal bits right? What about the law enforcement side of things? RG: Getting the legal bits right is actually one of the hardest things about doing stories like Beckett Investigations. None of my stories are ever intended to be “legal thrillers”, but since most of them do involve the law in some capacity, getting the legal facts right is critical for the story to work. This means a lot of research goes into elements that are not necessarily part of the overall story, but the end result is worth it. In fact, during the editing process of my first book, Jumping at Shadows, one of the editors commended me for making the legal fallout not only valid, but also realistic. It gave me such a good feeling knowing I got it right, but it took some work to do it. But I guess it’s like they always say: the devil’s in the details, and it’s the details that can make or break a story. | |
RG: Oh yes, and I guess that’s pretty obvious judging by what I write. There’s just something about connecting the dots and following broken trails that really appeals to me, and I guess mysteries and law enforcement just seem to go hand-in-hand where stories are concerned. And when you add a couple of hot guys in the mix – it’s about as perfect as it gets. That’s not to say I won’t write (or read) other genres, because I will and I do, but yes, mysteries really are my favourite. Regardless of the time period the stories take place.
So in your novel Jumping at Shadows, your main characters are Eric and T.J. So are you a psychic too? Did you predict one of the greatest romances (Eric Arvin and TJ Klune) that happened under our own noses?
RG: Lol - I would love to say yes to this, but the truth is I had no idea of what would happen between Eric and TJ while I was writing Jumping at Shadows. I’m going to have to just chalk that up to pure coincidence, much as I wish otherwise *grin*
Tell us a little about you. Do you combine writing with a Real Life job?
RG: There’s probably nothing exciting to say here, but for the basics: I prefer small towns over big cities, the mountains over the ocean, and rain over sunshine, odd as that is. I grew up listening to my dad typing on his old manual typewriter, and what started as simple curiosity about what he was doing grew into "oh, what happens next?" - which started my love of books and kick-started my imagination about things that *could* happen...which then led to writing. Incessant curiosity and apparent gypsy blood makes me always want to see what’s over the next hill, although easily becoming bored means I can’t keep a hobby to save my life. But at least I’ve got the traveling bug out of my system, and even spent a few years living in Europe in addition to traveling around the US. My day job keeps my busy during the week now, but writing is what I would rather be doing. I just need to figure out how to put the two of them together J
So what is next on your writing/releasing schedule? When will your next novel be out?
RG: In addition to This Time It’s Personal, I have a stand-alone novel coming out early next year called Miller’s Creek. It’s a bit of a break from the mystery/detective stories I love so much, although there is an element of putting the pieces together in the story. After that it’s back to the mystery genre, and kind of a toss-up between the final Tyler and Sean story and a stand-alone I’m putting the finishing touches on. I guess we’ll just have to see which of those comes first *grin*
Lastly, where can we contact you?
Email if probably the easiest. Just drop me a line at any time at [email protected].
You can also visit my blog at www.rggreenbooks.wordpress.com
Thanks for joining me, and good luck with your release!
Thank you for having me, and I’m wishing the same for you with your new release! You’ve been an awesome RDB, and I’m so glad we’ve also become friends! So until later…take care and all the best to you!