Today
I’m delighted to welcome my friend and colleague Seelie Kay to
Beyond Romance. She’s celebrating the release of the fourth volume
in her Feisty Lawyers series, Hope.
Q.
Why do you write romance?
Because
I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting
relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the
courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture
in my stories.
Q.
Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?
I
adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the
edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret
agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I also love
strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they
want, even love.
Q.
Why did you write “Hope?”
Hope
Ali has been a minor character in past books and has made no secret
of her desire to join the Agency. She had to grow up first. Now she
has and it’s time for her story. She enabled me to tackle two
issues: The number of people who are “disappeared” for opposing
governments and leaders, and post traumatic stress disorder. In this
book, Hope helps rescue a writer in the UAE who has been put under
house arrest for authoring a book exposing the ties of the ruling
families to gunrunning and terrorism. Unfortunately, Hope gets
attacked and is broken, mentally and physically. This very vital,
strong woman must find her way back from that traumatic event and the
path is not easy. It is a story of courage and survival.
Q.
How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?
My
friends say I am obsessed with justice and I guess that’s true.
After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in
my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens
through which I view the world and that naturally guides my
characters and plots. Injustice infuriates me, but it also leads me
to great stories!
Blurb
At
only age twenty-two, she’s the best Probie the Agency has ever
had—until her past catches up with her, leaving her devastated and
broken. Without hope.
No
one knows what they’re made of until they’re broken. At the
tender age of twenty-two, Hope Ali has finally joined the
organization of her dreams, the Agency, an elite group of attorneys
who go undercover to right wrongs the law can’t. The requirements
are stringent, the training exhausting.
After
seeking asylum in the United States when she was sixteen, Hope and
her father, Sheikh Harun Ali, settled in a quiet Wisconsin town,
hiding from those who had placed a price on their heads. Still, she
excelled, finishing her university and law school education by the
time she was twenty-one.
Now,
after breezing through the Agency training program, Hope appears to
be indestructible—until she is assigned a simple task during the
rescue of an author among the disappeared in the UAE. The task? To
distract the woman’s captors until she can be spirited out of the
country.
Unfortunately,
a member of MISix has other plans. In an attempt to disrupt the
Agency’s mission, she tips off one of Hope’s enemies, alerting
them to her location. Hope manages to lead the author’s captors on
a merry dance, freeing others to rescue her, until she is
unexpectedly confronted with a violent angry mob intent on harm.
She
is left bloody and broken. No one knows whether Hope’s body or her
mind will heal. Suddenly Hope is no longer just her name. It is also
the one thing she must embrace to find her new normal.
Excerpt
Dianna
smiled. “This is your new obstacle course. It’s called The
Ballbuster. Obviously, the other one wasn’t challenging enough
for you, so I thought we’d try something else.” She smirked.
“What’s the matter, not up to it, Probie?”
Hope
scowled. “I thought you were my friend.”
“When
you’re on Agency grounds, I’m your trainer and mentor first. You
know that, Hope. My job is to make sure that when in the field, you
can overcome every obstacle. Failure isn’t an option. Failure could
mean death.”
Hope
snapped, “Don’t you think I know that? God, everyone seems
duty-bound to remind me of that every damn day. I’m not a child. I
know my limits. I know my weaknesses. You don’t have to bludgeon me
over the head with a cudgel.”
Dianna’s
expression hardened. “Here’s the thing, Hope. The second you
begin to believe that you can overcome every obstacle put in front of
you is the day you should quit. Confidence is one thing. Feeling that
you’re omniscient is another. Out in the field, fear is what drives
you, and it could very well be what saves you. I don’t need you
taking stupid chances because you think you’re Wonder Woman,
able to thwart every threat. I need you to calmly assess each
situation and rationally weigh the risks. You need to know when to
walk away. Just as you need to know when a risk is worth taking. You
have no real superpowers, woman. And you need to remember that.
That’s why you’re on probation until we’re confident you can
survive, Probie.
“This
job isn’t about physical skill. It’s about being able to clearly,
quickly, and competently analyze the risks. What I see right now is a
young woman without fear, willing to take on any roadblock. I need
you to recognize your limits and work around them. There is no shame
in admitting defeat. And there most definitely is no shame in asking
for help. That’s why each obstacle has a kill bell. Hit that and
the exercise stops.”
“And
then what,” Hope muttered. “I get kicked out?”
“No,
then we step in and help. This Agency leaves no man or woman behind,
Hope. They proved that to me when I was sent to Bolivia. The minute I
sent out the Bat Signal, they began putting together a team to
extract me. They saved my life.”
Coming
soon to all other major booksellers!
About
Seelie Kay
Seelie
Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than
30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public
relations. When she writes about love and lust in the legal world,
something kinky is bound to happen! In possession of a wicked pen
and an overly inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple
works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series,
the Feisty Lawyers series, The Garage Dweller,
A Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife, and
The President’s Daughter.
When
not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for
lawyers and other professionals. She resides in
a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home
with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic
gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.
Ms.
Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily
basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You
define MS, it does not define you!
Author Links
Prior
Books
2 comments:
Thanks so much for featuring Hope today!
Hello, Seelie!
I'm always delighted to have you as my guest. I hope "Hope" does really well.
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