Welcome everyone! Today we have Karyn Good as part of the New Voices weekly feature. She's here with her debut romantic suspense, BACKLASH. Because the emotional ties are what make Romance so gratifying, I've asked her to talk about her characters emotional journey. Please make her feel welcome -- and don't forget! Karyn has a giveaway to go along with this guest spot.
 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? |
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Thanks to Claire for hosting me today! It’s a lovely day to be here talking about my debut romantic suspense, Backlash, and sharing a bit about the emotional journey of my main characters.
In Backlash, I toss together a small town teacher and a returning city cop who have an intimate history with each other. They come together again after a decade apart in an effort to save a thirteen year old boy from attacks by a wanted gang leader. Small towns and gangs are two extremes colliding and parallel the main characters emotional arcs.
Lily Wheeler is happy where she is and her well-ordered life is turning out exactly how she planned it, with the possible exception of her love life. She plays it safe, never straying too far outside her comfort zone. Never risking her heart. My hero on the other hand has spent the last ten years building a career and using that as excuse to avoid emotional connections of any kind. Obviously, the villain in this story is on the run, but so is the hero. He’s emotionally closed off and desperate to stay that way. That’s their starting point.
Lily’s relationship to the victim and Chase’s link to the villain bring them into close proximity and force them to work together. To Chase their backstory is, or should be, a non-issue. But Lily wants answers. As they do the whole one-step-forward-one-step-back dance, they drag each other into the next stage of awareness. Both protective, they each have valuable background information to share. As the stakes rise, so do Chase and Lily’s hormone levels. There’s a quote from one of my favorite movies, Speed, that seems to fit. Jack says to Annie: “I have to warn you, I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work.” Annie replies, “OK. We'll have to base it on sex then.”
But we all know it’s about so much more than sex. After which comes the self-reflection hangover. As Chase and Lily journey forward they come to realize it’s less about simply reacting to the familiar scent of a past lover and more about coming to grips with moving forward. Together or separately.
In Backlash, Chase must also deal with a family past he’d rather forget. Being back in Aspen Lake and connecting with Lily revives all his old insecurities. But it’s the idea of destiny and hereditary colliding and offering different alternatives to the ones he’d considered written in stone that give him pause. And eventually the hope that you can fall off that wall and shatter into a million pieces and have those pieces put back together again only in a different way.
It’s about Lily being in a rut, waiting for that elusive something she can’t quite put her finger on. With Chase back in town she has an opportunity to purge or at least down-size Chase from the man-by-which-she-judges-all-others status. It will take more than a kiss to erase ten years of separation. That sometimes the best laid plans are the ones that never come to fruition.
Thank you for having me here today. I’m happy to try and answer any questions.
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You're most welcome, Karyn! And it's information like you've supplied, that gives a peek into the true heart of the story, that really inspires me to read. Backlash sounds very compelling!
Let's take a peek at an excerpt and see how these two co-exist with one another.
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EXCERPT
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“I remember you.” His arms tightened.
Her heart sighed, and the scent of him cast a spell. A trace of soap, a whiff of man, and a fragrance so familiar it made her think of bush parties, bonfires, cheap wine, and the back seat of an ’86 Firebird.
She remembered every little detail.
“What’s this about, Lilypad?”
That he remembered that awful nickname he’d labeled her with when they were kids was a visceral punch to the gut.
She wrinkled her nose. “I hated that name.”
“I know. I’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t.”
“Why ‘Lilypad?’”
“I don’t know. I thought of it one day when a bunch of us were catching frogs.”
“You’re such a sweet talker.”
He hadn’t moved an inch, yet he seemed closer. “You don’t want a sweet talker. Remember?” He ran a finger down the side of her cheek. “You want someone who’s going to let you know exactly what he plans to do to you. And believe me, there won’t be anything sweet about it.”
In the second needed to catch her breath, she changed her mantra to: Live in the moment. Forget Tessier and his bag of terrors. Forget everything. For the next hour. One more hour.
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YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM BACKLASH
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Yum! Yes, that's definitely some tension brewing there.
While Karyn's here, let's learn a quick bit more about her:
 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. |
Karyn will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow her stops -- the more you enter, the better your chances of winning! Complete tour dates can be found here.
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
Posts
"I remember you." I could melt with those words. Lily and Chase sound like they belong. I love that.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for hosting Karyn today.
Thanks for the wonderful compliment, Marybelle! I think sometimes it's the simple, honest lines that carry the most heartfelt emotion.
I loved that line between Jack and Anne from Speed. Aside from the action, it was the get-together all us romantics were waiting for!
I like the reunion aspect of this story. Love it when two old lovers find their way together again.
kareninnc at gmail dot com
Hi Karyn,
It is so true that our pasts re visit us and we have to deal with them . It will be interesting to see how Chase and Lily resolve their past and build to their future.
Yours truly,
Annette
Hi Karen! I love reunion stories, too. That sense of getting a second chase to get it right. Also, that line from Speed of one of my all time favorite movie lines!
Hi Annette! Yep, definitely true! First the walls have to come tumbling down so you can rebuild them stronger than ever!
It sounds intense, but lovely. Congratulations on the release!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Is that Aspen Lake setting in Canada? Do you still live in Canada? It seems like there have been quite a few Canadian authors coming to my attention on blogs recently.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Thanks, Anonymous!!!
Hi Catherine! Yes, Aspen Lake, a fictional town, is indeed set on the Canadian prairies, which also happens to be where I live!