Aloha to J.J. Montgomery and GUN FOR HIRE - Romantic Suspense on Maui!

I am excited to host J.J. Montgomery today with her debut novel, GUN FOR HIRE, set in my beloved Hawaii:

The job should have been easy—patrol a swank beach that serves as a backyard for Maui’s rich, kick out the riffraff, and get a tan in the process. But rent-a-cop Samantha Winters didn’t anticipate a deliciously grumpy cop, Sergeant Grady Roark, who comes down to the beach to bust her chops and instead leaves her breathless…and wondering why the one man who could help her seems determined to thwart her at every turn.

Grady is keeping secrets from Sam that have him walking the line between attraction and duty. But when Sam becomes the target of a shadowy organization, Grady will have to choose between the law and the temptation of a woman who has him breaking every rule he’s ever known.

The job should have been easy, but when the bullets start flying, Sam learns nothing is as easy as it seems when you’re a Gun for Hire.

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press 

I invited J.J. for a cozy chat ... from her bio (link),

I now live in Bogota, Colombia with Romeo, Little Man, Princess Pretty and a rescue mutt better known by her informal name, No-No-Bad-Dog.

So how do you keep a full time job, mother two children and a dog, move to a new country every couple of years and publish a novel? I’m hoping to figure it out! Check out the blog for updates on whether or not I’m still sane, or you can reach me on Twitter, Facebook, or my favorite, Instagram.

Kim:  Bogota - what is your favorite sight, sound, and smell?

J. J.: Oh, I love Bogota so much. It’s going to be hard to narrow it down! Sight: Parque El Virrey on a sunny Sunday when there are just hundreds of people, dogs, and children wandering around enjoying life. It is so vibrant and truly, what they say about Colombia is true – Colombianos are the most beautiful people on earth, inside and out.

Sound: The sound of Bogota during Semana Santa – when everyone leaves town! It’s a really congested city, and then all the sudden there is this magical week where it’s just so peaceful. Still the same gorgeous place but with half the decibels.

Smell: Carimañolas frying. They’re these stuffed fritter things they make on the coast from a yucca dough. Yucca is a root vegetable and it turns into this lighter-than-clouds dough – it’s like eating a meat filled donut. I cannot express to you how delicious these things are.

Kim:  Frequent moves - what do you collect from each country where you live or visit?

J.J.: My husband and I wanted to collect paintings from every place we went, but that hobby got real expensive real fast. It resulted in one spectacular painting from Italy that convinced us we’d need much better paying jobs if we were going to keep that up! I’ve scaled back and now earrings are my thing. My favorites are this dangly green pair I got from Puebla, Mexico. And I recently had the joy of buying my daughter her first big girl earrings from the gold souk in Dubai. That place was incredible!

Kim: Maui - what inspired you to set GUN FOR FIRE on the Valley Isle? 

J.J.: I grew up in Oregon and Maui is a direct flight from my home town. My family used to go there for vacation. My best memories of my young life and my family happened on Maui. I got engaged to my husband on a cliff overlooking Honolua Bay. My son’s first swim in the ocean happened on Kamaole I beach. I would say that choosing Maui as the setting for my book really came from a place of love and respect for that gorgeous island.

Mahalo, J.J. for sharing GUN FOR HIRE with us!  J.J. is hosting a giveaway at this link:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and offers an excerpt below.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

“The sunlight was intense after a half hour in that gloomy space, but I squinted hard and kept moving toward a narrow set of steps down to the parking lot. Grady walked a few paces behind me, and if he heard the crinkle of paper as I moved, he elected not to say anything. 

Grady hit the remote to his truck and grabbed for the passenger side door, his hand light on my elbow as he helped me up. Paper crackled as my butt hit the seat and Grady’s eyes narrowed. Without a word, he slammed my door and went around to the driver’s side, climbing up into the cab and stabbing the keys into the ignition.

“So, I—” I hesitated as I shifted in my seat and my movement was accompanied by the distinct sound of cardboard bending.

“No,” Grady muttered, and clicked on the radio. “No talking.”

“But—”

“Shh.” Grady put a finger to his lips, his eyes still on the road. “Any minute you’re going to tell me about the felony crime you just committed. And then I’m going to have to deal with the fact that I was an accessory to a felony crime."

“Umm, yeah.” I reached around to the back of my pants and eased the file folder up from my waistband, working it out slowly so as to not lose anything as Grady headed up the hillside toward his house. As I brought it around to look at it, the red block letters damning me to years of incarceration should I get caught, a muscle ticked in Grady’s jaw.

“You stole classified documents.” He shook his head from side to side.

I looked up at Grady and then down at the mangled file with the red Top Secret heading. I took a corner of the front sheet and ripped across the width of the page, separating the words “Top Secret” from the rest of the paper.

“They’re declassified now.” I crumpled up the classification and shoved it in my pocket.

Grady sighed.

I shrugged and opened the file.” 

Aloha tp Melinda Curtis and A MEMORY AWAY - Author interview and giveaway

I recently spotlighted Melinda Curtis' A MEMORY AWAY.  I was intrigued by her bio, so I invited her for an interview. From her website bio,

Although Melinda has lived in Georgia and Texas, she's a California girl at heart. Her earliest memories are of life on an isolated 50-acre sheep ranch in rural Sonoma County, California. Picture rolling hills covered in brown grass, a eucalyptus forest, a long gravel driveway lined with plump sheep and no sidewalks. It was a big deal to drive into town on a one-lane road in a ramshackle, bubble-fendered pickup for an ice cream.

Flash forward to this century. Melinda lives in California's hot central valley with her husband - her basketball playing college sweetheart. With three kids the couple has done the soccer thing, the karate thing, the dance thing, the Little League thing and, of course, the basketball thing.

Learn more about Melinda and her books at melindacurtis.net.

Maui beach with Lanai in the distance

Kim:  You mentioned Maui in your guest post (link).  What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Valley Isle?

Melinda: Anyone who has experienced finer dining at Maui has to say Mama's Fish House is where you go for outdoor dining, a beautiful lagoon, fantastic food and great drinks. You'll see bridal parties getting their pictures taken at the lagoon, famous faces, and other vacationers in flip-flops. This is what Maui is to me - a combination of come as you are relaxation in a beautiful setting.

Kim:  Who or what helped you along the path to publishing?

Melinda:  Paula Eykelhof at Harlequin put up with me...er, mentored me until publication. I submitted to her for two years, accepted her feedback and made changes until she bought my first book for Harlequin Superromance. Never underestimate the power of being easy to work with and able to take direction if you want to pursue a career in traditional publishing.

Kim:  What inspired the Harmony Valley series and A MEMORY AWAY?

Melinda:  I was born in a small, isolated Northern California town, so I feel very comfortable setting stories in small worlds. But what gives Harmony Valley heart are its elderly residents. More than a decade ago, the mill blew up, jobs dried up, and everyone but the retired moved out of Harmony Valley. What could be more fun than a town of old people who are welcoming (or not) the younger generation moving back to town? My parents are 90 and their friends are the inspiration for many of the characters in the series. My dad has been known to get up in the middle of the night and drive to Jack in the Box for tacos wearing his long johns. A few years back, my mom promised not to drive, but refused to sell her car. She had two walkers - one in the car which we used when we drove her places and one she used around the house. My brother came to visit one day and found the car gone but the house walker next to the driveway. Mom had escaped! It's that kind of independence and pride that make Harmony Valley characters so much fun!

A Memory Away was created on a dare from Harlequin Heartwarming senior editor Victoria Curran. I was pitching new stories for the series and mentioned an idea for amnesia. She said she hadn't seen the trope done well recently. A couple of drinks later (did I mention this was in a bar?) I had a story. It's the first series book of mine that Harlequin as categorized as romantic comedy. I think Victoria owes me a drink.

'Iao Valley, Maui

Mahalo, Melinda, for sharing Maui and small towns with us!  I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash.  To enter the giveaway,

1.   Do you have a favorite "valley" - Maui is home to the 'Iao Valley, a sacred place with pristine beauty.

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 19, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 20.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Waterfalls along the Road to Hana, Maui