Please welcome Terri to my blog and the hotseat! She’s talking about her latest release, Resolutions. You can also enter to win an ecopy via the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
Interview
What is your name (or pen name) and where do you live now?My name is Teri Riggs and I live in Marietta, GA.
First off, how has your week been?Great! I’m in Palm Springs, CA with my hubby, and having a good time. Lots of sunshine and a spa on sight I can’t seem to stay away from.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?
Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be? I was a NICU nurse before I quit to raise my children. Instead of returning to nursing, I was bitten by the writing bug.
What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it what would you say? My book is titled Resolutions. It’s about DEA agent, Eve Taylor, who is captured by a drug lord in Colombia. She comes across information about a planned terrorist attack against Washington DC during the op. Her ex-lover, Mac, is sent to extract her. Their unresolved feelings of anger and love threaten the mission. Mac and Eve have to learn to trust each other again in order to survive.
Please tell us about your current release.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? Pure imagination. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or plain old scary.
How does your family feel about the book? They like the book. My family is proud of my achievement. They’ve cheered me on every step of the way.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? I think I’d like readers to take away the idea that if you love someone with all your heart, you can work through almost any differences you might have. You should never toss love aside without putting up a good fight to save it.
What genre would you place your books into? Romantic suspense.
What made you decide to write that genre of book? Romantic suspense is my favourite genre to read.
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?Titles first.
Can you describe the feeling you had when you saw your published book for the first time? I have two ebooks available right now. When they went live, I called or emailed everyone I’ve ever met to tell them—and a few strangers off the street, too. Proud doesn’t begin to cover it.
Has anything surprised you about your writing life? Maybe how much I love writing and love spending time with my characters. I have a tendency to get really attached to them, and it’s kinda sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the book.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Learning the craft. Writing is a constant learning experience for me.
Learning the craft. Writing is a constant learning experience for me.
Have you ever suffered from a “writer’s block”? What did you do to get past the “block”? When my father died it seemed to take forever for me to get back to writing. I finally had to force myself to sit and write. I kept my butt planted on the chair for a set amount of time every day. Whether I wrote, or chose to stare cross-eyed at the computer screen, I sat. After a few days I was back in the saddle.
Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
Probably not in my lifetime. Too many readers are like me. They love the feel and the smell of paper books.
Probably not in my lifetime. Too many readers are like me. They love the feel and the smell of paper books.
What piece of advice would you give to a new writer? Never give up on your dream.
DEA agent Eve Taylor has had her fill of alpha males. When Resolutions’ operative and former lover, Dillon “Mac” McKenna, threatened her hard-earned independence, she ran. On a mission to gather evidence against a Colombian drug-lord, Eve discovers the drug-lord is helping terrorists plan an attack on American soil. Before she can escape with the vital information, she’s captured and comes face to face with her mortality…
As a teen, Mac watched his family fall apart after his mother died doing dangerous U.N. work. The possibility of losing Eve to a mission ignited an overwhelming need to protect her. When he forced her to choose him or her job, she walked away. Two years later, it seems all his nightmares have come true and he’s tasked with rescuing her from a Colombian prison. Mac has never stopped loving Eve, but does he dare risk his heart when he’s so terrified of losing…
On the run, Mac and Eve must learn to trust each other again in order to stay alive.
Note: Resolutions is a private black ops agency specializing in the near-impossible extractions of kidnap victims, hostages, and all forms of intelligence other agencies have failed to retrieve.
Beefy hands wrenched Eve awake from a fevered sleep, pulled her from the cell, and shoved her into a musty-smelling hallway. I’m being moved? A guard pushed her with one hand, keeping a tight grip on an AK-47 rifle with his other.
Her shoulder throbbed in perfect cadence with the pains shooting through her broken wrist, and she had one badass headache from being punched in the face a few too many times. Using her good hand, she walked fingers across one cheek, then the other. The right side was totally numb. Her eye had swollen shut, and she couldn’t see a damn thing out of it. She ran her tongue across her teeth and tasted the tart, copper flavor of blood. Three teeth loose. Well, at least they’re still in place.
In spite of the relentless pain, she stayed determined to survive whatever Mendoza dished out. She wasn’t a quitter. No, sir. Duncan Falls, Iowa didn’t grow quitters. Eve ignored the constant ache in her ribs, courtesy of a guard’s overzealous kick, and took in a deep breath. She willed herself to stay alert, to keep pushing. Escape. Third times the charm.
Eve slapped the guard’s dirty hand. “Hey, Pedro, stop being so damned pushy. Where we going anyway? We got a hot date I’ve forgotten about?”
He looked puzzled then shoved her again.
“Don’t understand English, do you, Diego? Bet you understand this.” Eve drove her elbow into the guard’s face. Thick rubbery cartilage gave, and she whooped triumphantly.
Blood squirted from his nose and he screamed.
Eve stepped back. “Yep, I’m pretty sure you understand that.”
Unable to grab the guard’s assault rifle, she clutched her injured shoulder, and took off in a slow jog, no longer able to push any harder.
Her escape was short lived.
Teri Riggs was destined to be a writer. As a small girl she didn’t read bedtime stories, she made up her own. Who needed Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs when there were so many great tales bouncing around in her head? When she grew up and became a mother to three little girls, she continued the tradition of making up bedtime stories. On the occasions she chose to tell conventional fairytales, Teri usually gave them a bit of tweaking here and there or added a new ending. Her girls loved it.
After her daughters had the nerve to actually grow up and leave home, Teri discovered she had a passion for writing and jumped right in. It came as no surprise she chose to write mysteries and happily-ever-after’s since that’s the genres she loves to read.
Website: http://teririggs.com
Email: teririggs@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teri-Riggs/329379907142621
Twitter: @TeriLRiggs (https://twitter.com/TeriLRiggs)
Teri lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, one of her daughters and two dogs that seem to think they rule the world. And some days Teri thinks maybe they do.
Sammantha,
Thank you for hosting Resolutions today!
Teri
Sammantha,
Thank you for hosting Resolutions today!
Teri
My pleasure. Thank you for sharing your release with us, Terri!
My pleasure. Thank you for sharing your release with us, Terri!