Perilous Waters and Fun Facts with Sandra Orchard!

Suspense on the open waters! What could be cooler than that? Don’t say glaciers on open waters. I’m chatting with author, Sandra Orchard about her new Love Inspired Suspense, Perilous Waters. I asked Sandra to share with us what inspired the story (don’t say love) and to tell us 3 fun facts about herself! Thank you, Sandra, for hanging out with us today…so, what inspired Perilous Waters?

The inspiration for Perilous Waters began with a
newspaper article about Alain Lacoursière, a Montreal police detective who
founded one of the top art-theft units in the world. The FBI estimates that the
international black market in art is worth about $6-billion a year. It sounded
like great fodder for a story! I began gleaning articles on the Internet and
even read a biography of the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, long before I
had any notion of where I would se the story. Then…
My husband and I took an Alaskan Cruise to
celebrate our 25th anniversary.
When I saw the art gallery and on-board auctions, not to mention a slew of
potential deathtraps, I knew I’d found the perfect setting for the story. Find
more behind-the-scenes tidbits, including location pics at: http://sandraorchard.com/extras/bonus-book-features/#perilouswaters
The above pic is an auction I attended aboard ship. I also
had a behind the scenes tour of the ship, which provided more ideas for mayhem
than I could possibly use in the story. J
      Book Blurb for Perilous Waters:

UNDER SUSPICION 
For FBI agent Sam Steele, there’s no room for error or emotions on his
latest undercover assignment. Getting close to gallery owner Jennifer Robbins
while on an Alaskan cruise is the only way to catch her dealing stolen art. Out
on the icy seas, Jen suddenly goes from suspect to victim when she’s targeted
by a deadly enemy. And Sam’s mission goes from investigating an art crime to
protecting the woman who’s begun to melt his heart. As danger looms closer,
he’ll do anything to save her life—even if it costs him his own.

      
  LINKS: 
    Connect on Facebook ~ http://www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard
    Subscribe to newsletter ~ http://bit.ly/OrchardNews 
    Buy Links For Perilous Waters ~ http://sandraorchard.com/books/perilous-waters/
THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT SANDRA!
  • I’m a “nana”! It is soooo much fun. And the best part is
    that my three-year-old granddaughter and not-yet-one grandson live only a five
    minute drive away, so whenever I’m in need of a hug or a smile or a good belly
    laugh, I can hop in my car and escape my uncooperative characters to play with
    real ones. J

  • I love to play games, and I got to tell you that I was never one of those moms that let her kids win. Uh, uh, I’m pretty
    competitive. Around here, we enjoy a good game of Settlers of Catan, usually
    one of the extended versions to make it more challenging. And just like week a
    played hooky from writing to attend the afternoon “adult fellowship” (which is
    the code word for seniors group, which despite being a nana, I’m still at least
    a decade or two too young to qualify), because…they were playing games. We had
    a rousing game of Rook, which I didn’t lose. Almost, but I did manage to win
    the last hand which saved me from finishing dead last. J Oh, and I totally justify
    going out as “character research.” I came home totally inspired as to how to
    write my heroine’s frustration at losing!

  • Last fun fact, I’m a Jill-of-all-trades. I’ve renovated two
    houses doing everything from installing windows, doors, trim, flooring, siding,
    insulating, shingling, hanging cabinets, plumbing—even put in the kitchen sink J. I also designed and
    built a small horse run in. I’ve tried my hand at just about everything except
    the electrical stuff—that’s hubby’s department. And here’s the rest of the story. Renovating is a GREAT excuse for having a messy house. I
    much preferred building something than cleaning, because…you still had
    something to show for it three hours later! Sadly, I can’t say the same thing
    about writing. The house is a disaster, but eight hours later, I might have
    less words than when I started the day and no one sees them anyway!!!
Thank you so much for hanging out, Sandra! 

       Sandra Orchard is
the award-winning author of several inspirational romantic suspense/mysteries,
including Deadly Devotion and Blind Trust from Revell Publishing. Her Love Inspired Suspense titles have
garnered two Canadian Christian Writing Awards and a Romantic Times
Reviewers’ Choice Award. Sandra has also received a Daphne du Maurier Award for
Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. In addition to her busy writing schedule,
Sandra enjoys speaking at events and teaching writing workshops. She lives
in Ontario, Canada. Learn more about Sandra’s books and check out the special bonus features, such as deleted scenes and location
pics, at http://sandraorchard.com.
What is one fun fact about yourself? 

Things You Don’t Know About Liz Johnson and a Giveaway!

@lizjohnsonbooks
Hey
everyone, I’m so excited to have my friend and author Liz Johnson here today!
Liz and I bonded over a favorite Monday night TV show. Teen Wolf. Don’t judge!
Great cast, great writing, great romance and suspense…speaking of romantic suspense
Liz is sharing the inspiration behind her newest Love Inspired Suspense, Stolen
Memories
, sharing some fun facts about herself as well as giving away a copy of
the book! Liz, thanks so much for being here! Tell us what inspired this story.
(Liz) “Stolen Memories came about
in an entirely new way for me. A little over a year ago, I received a call from my
literary agent. The editors at Love Inspired Suspense were putting together a
continuity series featuring books from six of their authors, and I had been
invited to participate. My agent asked if I was interested. Of course, I was. I jumped at the
chance to work with the talented authors writing the other books in
the series. We were each assigned a book in the Witness Protection series and
worked together to keep the overall story arc flowing smoothly between books
about the different characters. It was a brand new writing format for me. I’d
never collaborated with other authors like this, and, while there were some
unique challenges to keeping all the story lines and secrets in place, I really
enjoyed the camaraderie and encouragement of working together.”
(Jessica) That
is so cool, Liz! Now I have to read the other ones. Now that we know how the
story came about, tell us three fun facts about yourself so readers can get to
know better.
3 fun facts about Liz:
I played
the alto saxophone from 5th to 10th grade. And there’s a
very good reason that I haven’t picked it up since then. (I wasn’t very good.) J But I
always wanted to have a musical talent.
When I was
a kid, I wanted to live during the American Civil War. Now that I know it
wasn’t as romantic as the books made it out to be, I’m glad to be alive in
modern times. But I’m still fascinated with the 1860s and love to read fiction
and nonfiction about the people and places of the era. And since I moved to
Middle Tennessee, I love visiting the historic plantations that played a part
in America’s history.
I’m a
terrible cook, but I made a commitment to get better at it this year. So far
I’ve conquered BBQ chicken in my slow cooker and tacos and frozen…just about
anything.
(Jessica)
Ha! I’m good at frozen anything too and I just made BBQ in my crock pot on
Monday. Great minds, eh?!
Thank you
so much for visiting with us today and congratulations on your new 3-book  Contemporary Romance contract with Revell. Can’t
wait to read them!
Buy the Book! 
Sneak Peek
at Stolen Memories:
IF ONLY SHE
COULD REMEMBER…
Attacked
and left for dead, “Julie Thomas” has amnesia, and doesn’t know why
anyone would want to hurt her. But when surveillance video of that night shows
Julie holding a baby—a baby nowhere to be found—she panics. Is the child hers?
Where is she now? With no answers and no place to go, Julie accepts Detective
Zach Jones’s offer to help her solve both mysteries. The handsome, loyal cop
makes her feel safe. But someone is trying very hard to make sure her memories
stay buried forever.
Witness
Protection: Hiding in plain sight
Liz has graciously offered to give a
copy of Stolen Memories away! To
enter, help us out by entering an easy and favorite recipe in the comments. For
extra entries, share on facebook and twitter and tag me so I can enter you!