Cover Reveal & Interview ~ Closer by Sarah Greyson

Closer (The Unit): War on Terror Meets Much-Needed Love in Suspenseful New Romance Novel by Sarah Greyson. 

With a premise that is wholly-unique, Grayson’s ‘Closer (The Unit)’ sees two unlikely lovers’ worlds collide as the world of erotic fiction gets a thrilling new spin. When a tireless female engineer working on a top-secret Government prototype falls for a PTSD-riddled solider, fresh out of combat in Afghanistan, they both need to make up for the passion their careers have hampered. However, danger strikes……

Synopsis:

The terrorists want her alive. The CIA wants her dead, and Michael just wants to love her.

Emma, an ingenious female engineer, finds a protector in an unlikely source.

Michael is a warrior, a Green Beret, fresh out of the military. He suffers from PTSD and recurrent nightmares of his five tours in Afghanistan. Something in him fundamentally changes when he meets Emma.

Emma has top-secret clearance for her work on a governmental prototype to help fight the war on terror. She has spent her entire life pursuing her career and developing her brain child labeled Project Hummingbird. She lives in her intellectually driven mind . . . that is, until Michael awakens something buried deep inside her: something she didn't even know existed.

Michael needs to prove to Emma that he is not who she thinks he is. He must work to win her trust and her heart. Will he be able to persuade her to trust him? Will he be able to save her from the dangers that await her? Will he win her heart?

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What got you started on the path to becoming an author? 

Sarah: I read a lot.  I try to read a book every two days.  I don’t watch much television and our household doesn’t have cable television. So I read. I have read many, many great books. When I find an author I like, I try to read everything by that author.  Some of my favorites are Sylvia Day and H. M. Ward to name two. I have also read some not so great books. One day, I was reading a really bad book. It was poorly written and lacked a story line. That got me to thinking. If that book, which I paid for, could be published, I knew I could too.  I had always enjoyed writing and have a talent for it, or so I have been told. I sat down one day in January to write “Closer” and two months later, it was ready for the beta readers. I wasn’t sure I was going to publish it, but the beta readers insisted that I had a great book and that the world needed to see it.  So, I hired an editor and the rest is history. Now I am working on the second book in the series titled “Stronger.”

What are you currently working on?  Would you care to share a snippet?

Sarah: I am currently working on the second book in “The Unit” series titled “Stronger.” I am attaching the first chapter.  Please understand that this is the raw version. You are the first to read it. I haven’t even edited it yet. So please forgive any errors that you find.

Chapter One

     Lola was lost in her own world as she moved her hips to the sensuous Latino beat.  Alone, she attracted men, but on the dance floor, she ruthlessly reeled them in. She felt the man pressed up against her rear though she never turned around to see what he looked like. She was there to dance. Some would consider her a tease; she would never go home with this man or any other man at the club. She never did. She just wanted to dance. So she did. She whirled her hands erotically over her head and held them in the air while she gyrated her hips. She shuffled her feet to the carnal beat. The ballad screamed sex; many couples mimicked it right there on the dance floor. She pressed against the man behind her and felt his hardness thrust against her. Her lascivious moves belied the fact she was still a virgin, but it had been ingrained in her to wait until she was married.  Her first act of rebellion against her father could have been to have indiscriminate sex with as many people as possible. Except she wanted to wait for the right man.

     “I’m saving you,” Jessica shouted into her ear. Lola opened her eyes for the first time during the song and saw her best friend standing before her on the dance floor.

     “From what? Lola asked with a smirk playing on her lips. Oh, how she loved to tease.

     “Come on,” Jessica responded, grabbing her hand and leading her off the dance floor. Lola heard the groan the man made but never turned around to look at him. She followed Jessica to the table where Sam (short for Samantha) and Monica waited with drinks in hand. Lola picked up her vodka-cranberry and took a nice, long swallow. She needed a glass of water, or she would have a killer hangover in the morning.

     “Excuse me. Can I get a water please?” Lola asked. The passing waitress nodded and disappeared into the crowd of people. Lola couldn’t wait to tell the girls about her lunch with that snob, Shelty. Though she desperately wanted to be part of their group, no one wanted Shelty as a member.  The foursome was down-to-earth even though they all grew up filthy rich. Sam’s father inherited his money from his father; they were old money, and Sam was the most frugal of the group. Shopping with Sam was always a trip. She only frequented the sale racks though she could easily afford to drop $4,000.00 on the latest handbag. Sam’s frugalness was what Lola admired most about her. That, and they shared the same dream: to escape from under their fathers’ thumbs. To be free, independent women ruled by no man. Lola’s first act of freedom after moving into the dorms at Harvard was to purchase a fake ID.  Hers was so professional it could fool trained police officers. That’s how she frequented all the Boston hotspots.

     “Grant is good,” Monica said admiring her fake ID. She couldn’t believe he had made it in under a week.

     “That’s why they are so expensive. He’s the best,” Lola replied.,

     “You’ll never believe what that bitch Shelty did today,” Lola shouted to her three friends huddling at the table.

     “Why do you even hang out with her? Just ignore her like I do,” Monica replied.  “We all know what a spoiled, little brat she can be.” Monica took a sip of her Ketel vodka martini. She may be down to earth, but she never skimped on her alcohol.

     “We were sitting there and Shelty raised her voice and yelled to get the waitress’s attention, like she owned the place. Everyone stared at us in disgust at her obnoxiousness. She has no manners, I swear.” Lola bellowed through the music.

     “Then she ordered broiled Mahi-mahi with fresh lemon on the side, with no bones. ‘If I find a bone, I will send the whole entre back,’” Lola said pinching her nose to create her best snooty impression of Shelty.

     “Her broccoli had to be done to perfection, a crisp green, or she would be sending it back. And, for an appetizer, she ordered a Zen Plate at $150.00. She is the most pretentious woman I have ever met. I will not be going back out with her no matter what Daddy says,” Lola huffed.

     “You’re much better off slumming it with us,” Jessica said, a bright smile lighting her face. Just because they were rich and privileged didn’t give them the right to treat others the way Shelty had. They had good manners and actually cared about the feelings of others.

     “One more dance then we’ll call it a night. It’s already after 1:00,” Lola begged her three friends at the table. One by one, they finished their drinks and followed Lola onto the dance floor. As they approached, several men did as well begging for dances. They were incredibly good looking, so the girls each grabbed a partner. Lola moved her body against her man’s with eyes closed, absorbing the beat. She felt his hands on her waist then creep higher to right under her breasts. She permitted it and kept on dancing. The backs of his hands were now brushing the underside of her breasts. He pulled her closer, and she could feel his breath against her neck as he buried his head into her long, golden blond hair that hung down past her breasts. She could feel the sweat drip down between her ample bosoms. Her killer curves captivated her partner.

     All of the sudden, her eyes popped open as the hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle.  Her body was covered in goose bumps. She felt two holes burning into her. Someone, somewhere meant to do her harm. She could feel it. She frantically searched the crowd, but she couldn’t identify who it was that was staring at her. She hurriedly thanked the man for the dance and tried to pull away. He wasn’t letting go.  She caught his eyes and dread crept up the back of her throat. She had been so busy looking at others, she failed to notice he was the one staring at her.

     “With your killer body and looks, my finder’s fee just tripled,” the man whispered menacingly more to himself than to her. He held her deathly tight; she couldn’t move.

     “You’re going to come with me, and you’re going to be quiet about it, or my friend over there,” he motioned, “will kill your three girlfriends.” The man turned his eyes in the direction of his friend. Her eyes followed and locked onto the man in question. He smirked and waved at her. Then she watched as his gaze found Jessica.

      The man held her arm tightly and jostled her through the crowd. She was too afraid to make a noise to notify security. If anything happened to Sam, Jessica or Monica, she would never forgive herself. She had always felt safe and secure in Boston. She never felt threatened in Cambridge at Harvard University. Boston had a good police presence, which dramatically increased after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. She moved quietly beside the man. He was an attractive Latino man with a large frame and muscles that were visible through this button-down shirt. She’d felt no warning bells go off when he first approached her. That was always her tell, what her gut said about someone. She was rarely wrong.

      “He must be really good,” she thought as they moved their way past her friends. Her friends were busy dancing and having fun. They would surely go crazy at the end of the night when they couldn’t find her.     

      Thankfully, she only had her cell phone and debit card, both in her back pocket. The man pushed open the door to the club tightening his grip on her arm.

     “Very good,” he said to her with a sincerity that scared her. He patted her down and felt her back pocket. Great, now he was going to know her name, if he didn’t already.

      What did he want from her? Perhaps he knew who she was and was planning to ransom her father. What would happen to her now? He forced her down the block to an alleyway where a dark blue cargo van was parked. He opened the side door and looked around. He pushed her inside and crawled in behind her never letting go of her arm. When she was seated in the van, he pulled out rope and duct tape. With precision and speed, he tied her hands together behind her and tethered them to a metal hook jutting up from the floor of the van. Next, he duct taped her feet together at the ankles. Finally, he ripped a piece of duct tape and placed it over her mouth. She sat in the back of the van, bound and gagged for several minutes. Her abductor shut the side door and got in the front, passenger’s seat. He must be waiting for someone. Another few agonizing minutes passed as she prayed to God that his friend had not harmed her friends. She was strong; she would make it out of this. But she was also afraid. She didn’t know who was taking her or what was happening; she just wanted her friends to be okay. She was facing the back of the van as she heard the driver’s side door open and felt the van shift as a second man climbed inside the van.

     “What do ya think?” the driver asked the passenger.

     “At least ten, if not more. She is a knockout. If she’s a virgin? Twenty . . . easy,” the passenger assured the driver. “Do I know how to pick ‘em or what? All that long, blond hair and she smells so good, like honeysuckle. Her body rocks! You can tell she takes care of herself. I felt her arms and her body; she definitely works out . . . a lot.”

     She could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat. The more the men talked, the worse it got. She couldn’t get sick; she would choke to death. She did her best to swallow what was rising. Sweat trickled down her forehead. Where were they taking her? What are they talking about? It was at moments like this that she wished to God that her father hadn’t sheltered her as much as he had. True, he was the CEO of a major airline company and had more money than she ever had to worry about, but he kept her under his thumb. He sheltered her from any dangers the real world possessed. She was treated like a princess kept under guard in her tower while God only knew what was happening in the real world. He wouldn’t even allow her to watch the news for fear of corrupting his princess.  Look at the good it did, she was tied up in the back of a van. At least she knew her friends were safe. There was no way the driver had enough time to kill all three of her friends and make it to the van as quickly as he did.

     The passenger crawled into the back of the van. Lola shrank into herself. She wasn’t sure what he planned on doing. He pulled out a syringe. He gently moved the hair from the side of her neck and pushed her head to the side. She struggled against him pushing back against his hand. He managed to get her head in a hold to where he was able to plunge the needle into the carotid artery. As she faded into unconsciousness, her last thought was of a plan.

Do you include some of your own personal experiences in your books or do you prefer to use your imagination?

Sarah: I use my imagination and research to write my books.  There are some things that are my own personal experience, but the majority is my imagination and research.

What genre do you typically write in and why did you choose this over others?

Sarah: I love the contemporary romantic suspense genre, although my book has been labeled erotic romantic suspense. I love the intensity of combining these genres. I want my writing to be raw, complete with sex, violence, love, good, and evil. The finished product will of course be polished, but the writing itself is crafted to be raw and graphic.

Do you have a specific process or a ritual you go through when sitting down to write?

Sarah: The first thing I do is grab a cup of coffee.  I must have coffee while I write. When starting a novel, I use the Snowflake method. I found it in my research on how to even begin writing a novel. I bought the software and use it to outline my story, write biographies for the characters, and keep track of information like eye color and last names.  It is a very useful program. I have used it with both of my novels.  I tend to write only on the weekends. I have a day job and a family, so I am busy throughout the week. But weekends are my time to write. I try to write four chapters per weekend. After I finish, I edit it and that version goes to my great beta readers who suggest changes for a better read.  I make those changes and then edit that copy.  Finally, it goes to my editor for her edits and plot points. I revise and edit again. Then after all final edits and changes are made, I send it to a different editor to catch any typographical errors of scene glitches that were missed in all the other rounds of edits. You would be amazed at what is missed!

Where do you find your inspiration for your plots?  Do you have any tricks of the trade you would care to share? 

Sarah: My plots come from my imagination.  I do have a tactical adviser that I use to write some of my scenes.  So, if I am not using the tactical adviser’s advice, then I research what is in my imagination. Believe it or not, I live with my characters.  I know this may sound crazy, but the characters help me write the story. I know them so well and live with them in my head.  Often times I will change the original scene from my outline to one that is more realistic for the characters.  You could say they talk to me.  Crazy, I know.

What is the oddest place/situation where an idea for a book/plot has come to you? 

Sarah: My ideas usually come to me when I am alone.  So I get ideas in the shower, before I fall asleep, and while driving to work. I have a 45-minute commute, so I get a many ideas in the car. 

What makes a book stand out and perk your interest?

Sarah: I like to read books in the same genre in which I write.  I love suspense mixed with love and graphic sex scenes.  I even like a little angst.  If a book has those qualities, I will more often than not, love it. Of course, it has to be well written and free of grammatical errors. To sum it up, I like reading professional quality books. 

We all have our favorite authors.  Can you share some of yours and tell us why you like them?

Sarah: I like Iris Johansen for his use of suspense and his ability to craft a thriller.  I also like the way his characters fall in love.  The first two books I have written have been love at first sight. But Johansen gives the characters time to get to know each other.  I am going to try to model my third book in the series “Harder” after Johansen’s style.   I like H. M. Ward for her ability to draw the reader in and hold them. She has sold over a million copies of The Arrangement series which mix suspense, angst, love, and sex. I love her writing. Lastly, Sylvia Day for her ability to craft a love story complete with sex scenes. I love reading her work. I also like Abbi Glines who tells sweet, romantic stories without the graphic sex scenes.  Ms. Glines really develops her characters, and I am trying to model her style of development with my second novel “Stronger.”

We all have a pet peeve, care to share yours? 

Sarah: Poorly written novels are my pet peeve.  Authors who do not hire a professional editor make the list. Sure ever professional misses things as I found out with my first book, but a book should be written as error free as possible.  I know, for example, that there is a misspelling in my first book that no one caught.  I didn’t catch it; my professional editor didn’t catch it; my final editor didn’t catch it. Things are going to slip through. I have learned that I need to take more care with my writing.  Autocorrect is a nasty bugger.  When I purchase a book and can’t read past page two because the writing is so bad and the mistakes are so evident, I get upset. I never leave a bad review though. I have tried to talk to several authors that needed a professional editor, and they thought their friends did a great job. That has to be my biggest pet peeve.

When you’re not writing, what are the things you enjoy doing to relax?

Sarah: I love spending time with my two boys. They are older now, teenagers, and do not wish to spend as much time with me as they once did.  This leaves me a great deal of time to myself. I love reading a good book that makes me blush while enjoying a glass of pinot grigio. That’s basically it. I work, I take care of my family, I read, and I write.

Thank you so much for joining me here today, I know my followers will enjoy this interview as much as I have conducting it.  Good luck on all your future endeavors. 

Sarah: Thank you for having me.  It has been a pleasure.

Sarah knows that writing contemporary romance novels and erotic suspense novels is a process, and she has come to love it!  Although she didn't start writing until later in life, she hopes that you will love her work as much as she does! She loves creating a new world for her complex characters to interact with and react to.  

When she is not writing, she spends her time escaping into novels or spending it with family.  She has two boys, one teenager and one pre-teen.  They don't need her as much as they used to. This leaves her a great deal of time to read. She reads a book every two to three days. She enjoys backyard barbecues with friends and family, a cold glass of pinot grigio, a cold glass of milk, campfires complete with marshmallows, and helping her children with their homework (not necessarily in that order). 

Her reading interests span all genres: from Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to Slave by Shari Hayes to The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama XIV .  But her favorites are romantic suspense and erotic suspense novels. She cannot get enough of the intensity that is created by combining the genres (romance/erotica and suspense).  That is why she has chosen to write in this genre.  It is her sincere hope that she creates an intense environment for you to lose yourself in, if only for a few hours.

Website

sarah@sarahgreyson.com