Undercover Research

Sandra Orchard here.

Hi Everyone! I’m sorry I’ve been incognito for the past while. We’ve had a very full few months around our home.

In August we welcomed an adorable new grandson into our family.

Then in early October, we welcomed a beautiful new daughter-in-love into our family.

The happenings have all been great inspiration for happy endings. Then...

There were a couple of romantic upsets amongst other loved ones. Interestingly, they remarkably mirrored the romantic conflicts, fears and weaknesses/personality quirks our editors are always after us to exploit in our stories.

In other words…I’ve been doing research!

In addition to the incognito kind above, I returned late last night from an awesome research trip to Martha’s Vineyard to scout out locations for my current mystery work-in-progress. 

My friend even indulged me by demonstrating where my victim might be sprawled.

I toured the hospital, interviewed police officers, and scouted hiking areas and beaches for locales suitable for the nefarious activities that are bound to happen. I also found the perfect homes for my characters down roads like this one:

Lots can happen on a road like that don’t you think?

Yup, so much could happen that... while I was there, I plotted the new Love Inspired Suspense my editor has patiently been waiting for me to get around to.

And of course, the Island has many perfect locations for the happy ending.

While I'm working on my new stories, if you haven't had a chance to try out my Port Aster Secrets mystery series, book 1, Deadly Devotion is currently free at online retailers. 

I'm also very excited to share that my most recent Love Inspired Suspense, Emergency Reunion, is still available in paperback and was recently nominated for the 2015 RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award.

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense with Revell Publishing and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint. A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren. Learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: Emergency Reunion by Sandra Orchard

SAVED BY THE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY 

Paramedic Sherri Steele refuses to believe someone's out to get her—until she's held at knifepoint in her own ambulance. It'll take her high school crush to convince her she needs protection—and deputy sheriff Cole Donovan is as persuasive as he is handsome. But when his brother rises to the top of the suspects list, Cole's torn between family duty and the woman he's never forgotten. With every emergency call to the paramedics turning into an attack on Sherri's life, Cole's convinced Sherri has a stalker. Cole needs to know whether his brother is the culprit before things spiral out of control. Survival—and a future with Sherri—depends on discovering who wants to cause trauma to this EMT.

Interview:
1.    Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. 

My name is Sherri Steele. You may have met my cousins, firefighter Jake Steele, and former FBI agent turned Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Steele, in previous stories. I’m the youngest paramedic on Stalwart’s EMT staff and the only female, which along with getting my very first partner fired for working under the influence, and failing to save the life of my second partner at an emergency-call-turned-deadly, has left me with a lot to prove and more enemies than friends. One or more of those enemies seems determined to convince me to quit, or worse, kill me, and I’m equally determined to not give him the satisfaction of succeeding. I only need a few more weeks of work to qualify for the newest flight medic position. And I’m sure if I can hold out that long, all this will settle down once I’m no longer working out of the same base.

2.    I understand that you’ve known Cole Donovan since you were a child.  Tell us a bit about him.  When did you know it was love? 

I’ve had a crush on him since I was a kid. He was one of the most popular boys in school and in our youth group, but he was always really nice to me, even when sometimes it probably made him look not so cool in the eyes of his friends. His parents’ breakup really shattered his world. He had a hard time accepting it. I thought we’d made a deeper connection when I tried to help him, but then he left for college and I never saw him again until a few weeks ago. I tried to deny the feelings that came rushing back when I saw him. I told myself he was more interested in clearing his brother’s name than actually protecting me. But when he defied orders to save my life and risked his job to stand by me, I knew I’d been lying to myself.

           

3.    What are your strengths and weaknesses?      

I’m well-trained and follow the rules, dedicated to doing the best job I can. I guess my weakness would probably be not wanting to admit to any.

           

4.    What scares you?   

The possibility of losing a patient due to my own wrong decisions.   

5.    If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Sigh. I guess I’d stop isolating myself from the people who care about me and only want to help.

6.    What do you think about your spiritual life?

I thought it was pretty solid, but I’m starting to see that I have a tendency to rely on myself more than God. I need to be more open to his plans, especially when they don’t seem to fit with mine.

           

7.    What do you admire about the hero?

I confess to being a sucker for his mile-wide protective streak. I also think it’s wonderful that he willingly chose to give up a promising career with the Seattle police department to come home and try to help his brother.

8.    Why could you never see yourself ending up with the hero?

I can’t afford to let anyone get too close, too much is at stake.

9.  What is the one thing you would never do?

Quit my job as a paramedic. I promised Luke (my second partner) before he died that I wouldn’t quit and I owe him that much.

10. What do you hope people will learn from your experience?

That it’s okay to let people see your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That sometimes being willing to talk about them can help others and yourself in ways you might not imagine. God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses.

Are Holidays Overrated? (and giveaway)

My newest heroine thinks so.

Hi Sandra Orchard here. In Canada, where today is a holiday.

A day off. Woohoo!

In my newest release, Emergency Reunion, Sherri Steele, the paramedic heroine resists taking time off even at her boss's urging, because she thinks half the mishaps that have happened on her shifts are the hazing of her male colleagues, while the other incidents, such as getting sideswiped by a speeding car or threatened with a knife are hazards of the job, and she refuses to let either break her.

Not when her last partner made her promise, with his dying breath, that she wouldn't quit.

Thankfully, Deputy Sheriff Cole Donovan is convinced otherwise and watching her back. It makes for much different fireworks than we will be seeing here tonight.

I learned so much interviewing paramedics while researching this book, and gained a deeper appreciation for their dedication in the face of dangerous situations. Not to mention the emotional toll of devastating accident scenes or losing a patient.

My heroine eventually learns that being open about what she's feeling helps not both her and her colleagues work through their emotional traumas and not let it eat away at them and lead to self-destructive behaviors to numb the pain.

Emergency Reunion will hit bookstore shelves within the next few days. It received a "Top Pick" designation from RT Book Reviews

and the reviewer Leslie McKee invited me to talk a bit about the book on her blog today, too, where...

we're also giving away a copy!

So please click Leslie's name above to pop over and leave a comment to be entered.

And...you'll find a second giveaway and super fun character interview here: http://www.jessicarpatch.com/2015/06/win-book-and-play-fun-game-w-sandra.html

I hope you enjoy Emergency Reunion!

Paramedic Sherri Steele refuses to believe someone’s out to get her—until she’s held at knifepoint in her own ambulance. It’ll take her high school crush to convince her she needs protection—and deputy sheriff Cole Donovan is as persuasive as he is handsome. But when his brother rises to the top of the suspects list, Cole’s torn between family duty and the woman he’s never forgotten. With every emergency call to the paramedics turning into an attack on Sherri’s life, Cole’s convinced Sherri has a stalker. Cole needs to know whether his brother is the culprit before things spiral out of control.

Survival—and a future with Sherri—depends on discovering who wants to cause trauma to this EMT.

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense with Revell Publishing and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint. A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren. Subscribe to Sandra’s newsletter to receive a subscriber-exclusive mini-novella. Learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features, as well as writer helps, at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

 
fireworks image courtesy of satit_srihin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net