Sizzling PR VBT: Interview with Toni Anderson, author of Dangerous Waters

Please welcome author Toni Anderson to the blog today. Toni, can you tell us about your new release?

TA: I’m so excited by my next release, DANGEROUS WATERS. It’s a Romantic Suspense story set in a remote town in the Pacific Rim. My heroine is RCMP Sergeant Holly Rudd and my hero, Finn Carver, is a former Special Forces soldier turned dive master who finds a dead body in a shipwreck. The story is about these two dealing with their attraction while Holly tries to solve the case and Finn tries to protect the people he cares about.

Describe the heroine in three words.

TA: Smart. Dedicated. Cop.

What traits does the hero posses that makes the heroine swoon?

TA: Finn Carver has the requisite tall, blonde and built down, but it’s his unexpected chivalry that sweeps the heroine off her feet—literally at one point. Plus, he’s got ingrained, unswerving loyalty to the people he loves and a strong sense of honor.

Who is your favorite character from this book? Can you include an excerpt involving this character?

TA: It’s hard to pick one character, but I think Finn Carver might just be my favorite. There’s an excerpt at the end.

What are you working on now?

TA: Another Romantic Suspense set in the same remote community on Vancouver Island It’s gorgeous out there.

Can you describe your daily writing routine?

TA: My writing routine is simple. I walk the dog at the same time as the kids go to school and as soon as I get home I sit down and start writing, and I finish when the kids get home from school. When they’re around I can edit but I find it hard to write first drafts. I write in forty minute segments and then take a ten minute break from the computer. Then I check my email and maybe twitter or FB, and then I get back to writing for the next forty minutes. If I’m editing or brainstorming things are more fluid. I try to do promo or blogs in the evenings, while watching TV or when everyone else is out. I might give myself a few hours break if I finish a book, but truthfully I just want to start the next story.

Where do your best ideas come from?

TA: The last one came from a dream . Many ideas get sparked by news stories and they tend to combine with a setting that I find particularly intriguing, like this latest story is set in Vancouver Island where I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time.

What is your favorite book that you’ve read?

TA: I have too many to name one. I’ve totally glommed Jill Shalvis’s LUCKY HARBOR series and I’m loving THE PAST CAME HUNTING by Donnell Ann Bell.

Where can my readers find you?

TA: I have a website and Amazon Author Page with a list of current titles and a blog for more life details, especially travels and adventures. I’m on Facebook and have an author page there too, and Goodreads. I’ve also started some picture boards for my novels and travels on Pinterest. And I tweet @toniannanderson

I have a Mailing List for new releases and giveaways. To be added to the newsletter, please sign up here (http://eepurl.com/rpTMD). No spam, ever.…I love to hear from readers.

Where can my readers find your books?

TA: DANGEROUS WATERS is available from Amazon in print, digital and kindle format. All my titles are available in digital format. DANGEROUS WATERS & HER SANCTUARY are available in print, DANGEROUS WATERS, EDGE OF SURVIVAL, STORM WARNING, SEA OF SUSPICION are available in audio format. If you scroll through the titles on my webpage I have links on each title for other sites too, like Kobo and Carina Press too. (http://tonianderson.shawwebspace.ca/profile)

Dangerous Waters:

Known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, Barkley Sound is notorious for surging swells with the power to pull helpless victims into its merciless abyss…

Sergeant Holly Rudd arrives in the coastal community of Bamfield after local divers discover a body with a knife jutting from its chest in the waters of Barkley Sound. As she investigates the crime, Holly soon realizes the sleepy town is rife with secrets. But what unsettles her most is the residents’ insistence that she bears a striking resemblance to the victim of a murder from three decades earlier. She shrugs off the uncanny likeness as a coincidence. But her simmering attraction to Finn Carver, one of the divers who discovered the corpse, isn’t so easy to ignore.

Finn, a former Special Forces soldier, knows it’s best to keep his distance from Holly. Yet it isn’t long before they both give in to the consuming desire they share. And as the danger escalates, Finn and Holly must rely on each other to thwart the plans of a cold-blooded killer who’s intent on keeping the past buried.

Available from: Amazon USA , UK, Canada, France, and Germany. Also Barnes & Noble.

Excerpt: 

Finn put his foot down, wanting to get home before dusk descended and the wildlife came out on the road and put a crimp in more than the occasional fender. He’d picked up his and Thom’s dive equipment from the cop shop. A small rebellious part of him had hoped to see Holly, but she hadn’t appeared and he’d had other things to do beside hang around a police station trying to score another kiss. She’d arrest him if she knew some of the thoughts he’d been having.

The back-up compressor had blown a seal a few days ago and he’d used the trip to pick up the spare parts. Rob had taken out a small party of experienced divers that afternoon, but tomorrow was jam-packed with novices’ first open water dives. A big day. He rubbed his eyes. He was tired and still had a few hours of work to do when he got back to the marine lab.

Still, busy beat brooding.

Dust trails told him several vehicles had passed this way within the last few minutes. It hadn’t rained all week—a minor miracle on the west coast—and that always made the conditions worse. He frowned at the skid marks on the bridge. It never failed to amaze him how boneheaded stupid people could be and that these people were legally allowed to reproduce. He shook his head as the skid marks continued.

Ah, shit. It looked like someone had gone off the road here. Finn pulled over to the side, away from the dangerous bend. A sense of foreboding warned him that he was about to find his second body of the week. Although the last thing he wanted to do was look at more carnage, he couldn’t very well walk away without checking for survivors.

He started into the bush and then down the steep incline. Branches were brutally shorn off and a deep furrow scraped through the unstable soil.

He pushed past some thick fir trees and caught a glimpse of something white in the bush down below. The chance of finding survivors was slim. His nose caught a whiff of something else—gasoline, probably leaking from a ruptured gas tank. The slightest spark could start a fire. He started running, slipping and sliding past the massive tree trunks.

Catching a clearer glimpse of the vehicle, Finn’s blood turned to ice and his heart pounded like a fresh recruit. The RCMP SUV was upside down, nose wrapped around the trunk of a big old spruce, tires spinning like a kid’s toy. The hiss of steam was the only sound in the vast forest. He skidded to a halt beside the driver’s door and peered inside, past the deflated airbags. He’d expected blood and broken bones. Expected his worst nightmare. But it was empty. There was no one there.

He spun, searching for a blood trail, and worked his way back up the hillside. Then he spotted something dark lying unmoving in the low brush, and he sprinted up the slope.

Holly, covered in blood.

Absolute terror shot through his veins. He ran to her side.

“Jesus. What did you do to yourself?” He squatted beside her, checked her breath and pulse. Her skin was warm. Pulse fluttering steadily beneath his fingers. Alive. Thank god she was alive. He moved her hair off her forehead to look for injuries. Dammit. He was torn about what to do. He couldn’t risk moving her. Couldn’t risk leaving her behind.

“Holly?” Most of the blood seemed to have come from her nose. Smears covered her chin and shirt, but he knew from experience it probably looked worse than it was. “Can you hear me?” He touched her shoulder gently, and she groaned and started coughing. It was the best sound he’d ever heard. “Steady. Steady now.”

He held onto her lightly so she didn’t try and get up.

“F-Finn?”

Relief punched his heart. Her gray eyes were cloudy with confusion, the surrounding flesh already starting to swell.

“Yeah, it’s me. What the hell happened?”

“Someone ran me off the road.”

Anger seared his flesh. She grimaced as she tried to raise her arm.

“Don’t move.” He ran his hands over her limbs to reassure himself she hadn’t broken anything. “Are you saying someone did this on purpose?”

She pushed his hands aside and sat up, squeezing her eyes shut, clearly in pain. When she opened them again, she stared down at the wreck at the bottom of the hill. “Holy crap.”

Finn stared too. “You’re lucky you’re not dead.” Christ, his hands trembled as he tried to examine her injuries. He was shocked at how much this totally freaked him out. Despite everything he’d told himself, the cop had slipped under his skin like a damn sliver.

“How’d you find me?” She pulled away slightly.

Finn didn’t like the suspicion that darkened her gaze but understood the nature of the beast. Why should she trust anyone after what she’d just been through? “I saw skid marks on the bridge; ground was churned up enough I knew someone had veered off the road. Are you all right?”

“No. Help me stand, will you?”

“You shouldn’t try to move. I can go for help. Get an ambulance out here.” But it would take hours and it was almost dark.

She shook her head, but then grabbed her skull. “I managed to throw myself out of the cab before it rolled and crashed. I didn’t hit anything harder than the ground and the airbag.” She touched her nose. “But that hurt like hell.”

Her cap was gone. Long dark hair strung around her face, which was a mess of stark white skin streaked with dirty crimson. Fuck.

“We need to get you up onto the road and get a crew out here to deal with the wreck.”

“That’s evidence of the attempted murder of a police officer.” Holly pointed at the SUV, her movements shaky. “IFIS need to process it before anyone else touches it.”

“As long as it doesn’t set the whole place on fire they can do whatever the hell they want.” Finn didn’t care. “Let’s get you out of here.” He eyed the steep incline. Before she could protest he eased her cautiously into his arms and started the difficult ascent. She wrapped her arms around his neck and it shouldn’t have filled him with anything except relief.

Holly Rudd stirred dangerous feelings inside him, feelings he wasn’t used to and did not want. The fact she’d almost died in a car wreck—caused by some frickin’ maniac—frayed his usually rock-solid composure. He’d wished her far away from Bamfield and out of his life. But not like that. Never like that.

At the top of the bank he stepped onto the road, breathing heavily, and carried her to his truck. He let go of her legs and leaned her gently against the passenger door. “How do you feel?” Christ, her color looked awful, and she was going to sport one if not two black eyes.

“It’s red.” Her voice broke and she sagged with whole-body relief.

He squinted at her, wondering how hard she’d hit her head.

“Your truck. It’s red.” She grinned at him, and although she looked like shit, it was probably the most genuine smile she’d ever given him.

“Yeah.” He leaned over and opened the door for her. “It’s always been red.”

“The truck that ran me off the road was black.”

Okay. “How do you feel? Any pain? Any sickness?” He stared at her pupils, watched them react to the light. So far so good.

“Don’t you get it? I know you weren’t the person who ran me off the road.”

He squeezed her shoulders carefully and smiled down at her. “I already knew that. Do you think I’m the kind of man to run anyone off the road?”

Her lips opened. Then she blinked away a sudden shimmer of tears and shook her head. “I’m just used to needing proof, not relying on instincts.”

“I’m beginning to think your instincts are pretty damn good if only you trusted them.” He leaned down and, for some crazy reason, kissed her forehead before helping her into the truck. He would never hurt a woman. He would especially never hurt Holly. As confessions went it was a dangerous one, so he kept it to himself. It wasn’t his own secrets he was guarding. And no matter what, he could not afford to get close to this woman.

About the Author:

Toni Anderson is a former marine biologist who conducted her Ph.D. at the Gatty Marine Laboratory in St. Andrews, Scotland, and traveled the world with her work. She was born and raised in rural Shropshire, England but, having lived in five different countries, finally settled in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children—about as far from the ocean as possible. She combines her love of travel with her love of Romantic Suspense and writes stories based in some of the places she’s been lucky enough to visit. Coming next are two Romantic Suspense books set in the wilds of Vancouver Island for Montlake Romance.

She’s a member of Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death Chapter, and The International Thriller Writers’ Association.

When not writing, she’s walking the dog, gardening or ferrying the kids between school, piano, and soccer games.

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