8 Questions with P. A. DePaul, author of Shadow of Doubt.

Michelle Alger flees when her secretly recorded tryst winds up on the internet. She has no option but to hide. Her one-night stand—the son of a powerful US senator—was murdered. Learning she’s the prime suspect is traumatizing. Already a member of witness protection thanks to a Colombian drug lord kidnapping her in college, she now has to run from the senator and law enforcement. To make matters worse, the drug lord finally knows her location and is hot on her trail. There’s only one man she trusts. He saved her once, can he do it again six years later?

Captain Jeremy Malone no longer wears a Green Beret. He’s traded in his fatigues for a new life leading Delta Squad, a covert unit within SweetBriar Group. His latest orders from the senator: find the unknown woman and bring her to me. But Jeremy knows her identity. He once rescued her from a Colombian cartel, and has never forgotten her. He assigns his squad a new mission: find Michelle first and learn the real story.

Michelle and Jeremy can’t deny their explosive chemistry. But, with every new piece of evidence, Jeremy’s faith in Michelle’s innocence is questioned. Is her plea for help a ruse…or a trap set by a beautiful woman determined to expose Jeremy’s own secrets…

This is the second book in the SweetBriar Group (SBG) series and can be read as a standalone.

 

See the tour–wide giveaway at the end.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

Inspirations for stories sometimes come from real-life situations in the world. I think in high concept when I see a news story or read an article (war, bioweapon, terrorist) and play the “what if” game. Example: What if a small terrorist cell gets their hands on a bioweapon, how would my black ops team stop them?

Other story ideas just hit me from nowhere. Characters start to introduce themselves and I try to “talk” to them to understand who they are.

How did you do research for your book?

For this book and series, I used a combination of hands-on, internet, and interviews. A few years ago, I attended The Writer’s Police Academy. It’s a hands-on, comprehensive conference given by police officers, first responders, and federal law enforcement. It was amazing and taught me so much. Especially when they let me shoot lasers from a real (but modified) gun. I also interviewed anybody and everybody that would talk to me about so many topics.

Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?

Wraith was the hardest character to write. She’s complex. She’s a badass sniper who made a horrible mistake during a mission. I had to show her losing the ability to compartmentalize emotions to feeling everything. And make it so the readers still rooted for her.

Talon seems to be the easiest character to write because he hogs every scene and wants to be the center of attention. I’m constantly reining him in.

There are many books out there with black ops teams in romantic suspense. Why should you read mine? 

The SBG series not only deals with life-and-death situations, but also with emotional complexities and dynamics within a team of people who’re closer than family. You’ll read both heavy-action and intricate emotional entanglements. These operators are badass, trained to save the day/world at all costs, but they’re also human with human emotions and responses.

Your book is set in a couple of US locations. Have you ever been there?

Most of my books have international settings. I like to hop around the world to keep the suspense engaging. That said, Shadow of Doubt has two main locations in the US: A fictional town in the North Carolina mountains, and Indianapolis. I’ll admit I chose these locations because I’ve been to both and could picture the places as I set the scenes.

How long have you been writing?

I started late in life. I’ve been an avid reader from the moment I sounded out “See Jane Run,” but it never occurred to me to write a book myself. That happened in 2009. Oy. Some days I wonder if the elevator got stuck on the bottom floor of my brain when I decided to “give it a shot.”

What advice would you give budding writers?

I have two pieces of advice. One is for those who’ve never attempted to write an entire book: Don’t angst and worry about story structure and trying to make it perfect. No matter if it becomes published or not, you will always have a story you want to read.

The second advice is for those who reached the end of their draft and are saying “now what?” Celebrate the victory. It’s tremendously hard to achieve this milestone. Revel in your success.

What is your next project?

I’m in the process of brainstorming an anti-hero. I’ve always written alpha characters and strong villains. Now, I want to see if I can write a villain worth rooting for.

Find Shadow of Doubt at Amazon.

We are doing a tour–wide giveaway of a signed print copy and some swag. P.A. has FIVE sets available for US winners. She also has FIVE ebooks to send to readers worldwide.

Just click below.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/463009dc7/

Author Bio:

1. A. DePaul is a Publishers Weekly Bestselling and award-winning author.Her books are full of action, suspense, and romance.

As a hybrid author, she has books traditionally and independently published. Her traditional publishers include Berkley, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Harlequin Books.

 

 

Website: https://padepaul.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/padepaul/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/padepaul/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@padepaulauthor

Amazon: https://amzn.to/46xJJZ9

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195639188-shadow-of-doubt

 

© 2014-2023- Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.