By Tanya Jean Russell (Guest Blogger)
Shadows
of Our Past wasn’t my debut novel, but it was the first novel I
wrote. The way novels have developed to mirror the changes in society
is fascinating, and no more so than in the romance genre. It’s easy
to look back and cast aspersions on the romance novels of the past
with their domineering men and overly agreeable women, but they were
incredibly successful and suited their time.
Today
we talk enjoy reading about strong characters, in both our hero and
heroine. We love the way they challenge and improve each other. I
love the way this reinforces our insistence on equality and how
fiction can encourage us to aspire to be better, even while we are
reading for pure entertainment.
I
adore reading romantic suspense and wanted to write something where
the normal approach for the genre was flipped. Instead of our hero
being the ‘man in uniform’, and by default the one with the
ability to fight, to use guns, to deal with danger, I wanted it to be
our heroine who did all of this. That’s not to say Jackson is weak
or incapable. After all, a heroine needs to be matched with someone
who is her equal, and someone who isn’t intimidated by her.
Shadows
of Our Past is a tale of romance, but also a tale of equality, a
way of showing that women don’t have to dull their shine to be
loved, but simply find a man who adores everything they are, and will
gleam alongside them.
Blurb
Jackson
Halland has spent ten years running from a mistake that cost him
everything, including Amory Parker, the woman he loved. With his
gut-wrenching response to her reappearance, he realizes that if she
will forgive him, then maybe, just maybe, he can forgive himself.
After
ten years of working undercover Amory agrees to one final mission.
Vowing to get justice for the woman she promised, and failed, to
protect, nothing will stand in her way, not the prolific criminal
she’s determined to bring down and certainly not coming face to
face with the man she fell in love with on her very first undercover
assignment, even if he has no idea who she really is, or the part she
played in his past.
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Links
Excerpt
Amory
was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn’t hear the approaching
sound of bare feet, padding on the smooth wooden floor, until a deep
groan broke through them and she looked up to see Jackson. His
mussed, dark blond hair was shot through with strands of gold in the
overhead lighting.
The man was incredibly made. His arms stretching up and behind his head caused the bottom of his t-shirt to lift a few teasing inches, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a tanned, rock-hard stomach. They weren’t the sculpted lines that came from the gym, but powerful, solid muscles. A fine trail of hair led the way to the top of his loose navy shorts. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, her gaze was transfixed.
His legs were long and thick, every muscle rippling as he moved down the stairs into the hallway. A rush of heat shot through her body, setting every nerve alight. Her stomach rolled as she absorbed the sight while a little lower everything tightened and tingled. She’d hoped that her memory had been flawed, tinted by the rose-colored lenses of what she had long since accepted was her first love. That clearly wasn’t the case. Rather than letting himself go he had become more impressive. The slenderness of youth had filled out, living up to the promise of overwhelming masculinity.
The man was incredibly made. His arms stretching up and behind his head caused the bottom of his t-shirt to lift a few teasing inches, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a tanned, rock-hard stomach. They weren’t the sculpted lines that came from the gym, but powerful, solid muscles. A fine trail of hair led the way to the top of his loose navy shorts. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, her gaze was transfixed.
His legs were long and thick, every muscle rippling as he moved down the stairs into the hallway. A rush of heat shot through her body, setting every nerve alight. Her stomach rolled as she absorbed the sight while a little lower everything tightened and tingled. She’d hoped that her memory had been flawed, tinted by the rose-colored lenses of what she had long since accepted was her first love. That clearly wasn’t the case. Rather than letting himself go he had become more impressive. The slenderness of youth had filled out, living up to the promise of overwhelming masculinity.
His lean muscles had broadened, and whilst the softness of youth had faded from his features, it had left a strong profile in its wake. Jackson had grown up all man. She gulped, heat flooding her.
The good feeling from her run was replaced by a more base desire to touch every inch of his perfect body. To pull it hard against her own and feel those muscular planes mold against her. She unconsciously licked her lips as she watched him.
As she met his eyes, the feeling of heat evaporated, replaced by a harsh chill of dread that sank through to her toes. His emotions were playing across his face and it was clear that, despite her DCI’s reassurances, Jackson had joined the dots and figured out who she was. The recognition clearly shocked him as his whole body jolted abruptly to a stop.
Unable to move, she stared helplessly as he began to walk toward her, his face a mix of unreadable emotions. As he reached out, her body began to respond to the heat that rolled off of him. The scent of his skin washed over her, but she moved back defensively. It was a tactical mistake, giving away that she knew who he was, that she had known all along.
“Amory?” he whispered, hope shining oddly through that one word.
Almost imperceptibly shaking her head, all her professionalism flew out the window, and with her heart sinking she managed a stuttered whisper, “N-n-no… No, you’re wrong. I’m Olivia.”
No amount of training was going to get her through this. Despite her only half-admitted hope that he’d see who she really was, Amory knew too much was at stake for this to happen, but it had. Now she had to endure the awful consequences of him recognizing her, the hatred that would follow this moment.
About
Me
I
live in England and am married to an amazing Elvis and Neil Diamond
tribute artist, thanks to whom I have a house full of jumpsuits and
trophies. This, of course, is a source of much embarrassment to our
two teenage children!
I
am a little obsessive about books and have an embarrassingly huge and
ever growing pile of things that I just 'have' to read next to my
bed.
I
squeeze my daydreaming ... ahem ... 'writing' around my family and my
day job in HR, and am convinced that chocolate and diet coke should
be considered a well-balanced diet!
Author
Links
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