Author Guest Post
Telling Your Truth
After completing the Chasing Evil trilogy, I had an idea germinating for a new romantic suspense, one that was still set against the investigational aspects of law enforcement, but that also told a parallel story about a once happy couple who had come apart in the face of a terrible loss.
The truth is, this book took more time to write than I’d planned, perhaps because I was struggling with some of the heavier story aspects. My heroine, a skilled ER doctor at a large downtown hospital, was also different from the other strong-but-fragile women I’d written about before. Brilliant, caring and brave, Dr. Lydia Costa is also flawed, scarred by the events of her life, and the cracks are beginning to show. I worried for a time that some readers wouldn’t like Lydia for some of the mistakes she’d made. But Lydia spoke to me…and I wrote on. I wanted to tell her truth.
Fallen is also the first of my books set in Atlanta, which is where I reside. For the Chasing Evil trilogy, I set books in idyllic places that have always appealed to me. I sampled the gothic influences of New Orleans, the serene horse country of Virginia and a cozy beach bungalow on the Florida coast. But I wanted to place Fallen in Atlanta; it just felt right. It gave me a chance to look at this place I’ve lived in for two decades now in a different way, to see it as a story venue. Some of my favorite areas and landmarks appear in the story, from the newly renovated Ponce City Market to Olympic Centennial Park.
I don’t want to mislead. Fallen is a romantic suspense story built around the tense hunt for a serial cop killer. But what is playing out at the same time between my two main characters – Lydia and her ex-husband, APD Detective Ryan Winter, who are thrown together again in the midst of chaos – is at the story’s heart.
As an author, I’m often asked about the rules of storytelling. How many points-of-view in a story are too many? Are prologues good or bad?
To me, there are no rules to writing other than to tell the story that’s in your mind and heart in the way that only YOU can. Don’t be compromised by doubt or fear of failure – because they’re cold-blooded story-killers. Make sure your story has characters your readers will care about and an emotionally charged reason to keep reading.
If you read Fallen, I hope that Lydia and Ryan will stay with you long after the pages are turned.
About The Author
Leslie Tentler is best known as the author of the Chasing Evil Trilogy (Midnight Caller, Midnight Fear and Edge of Midnight). She was named as a finalist for Best First Novel at ThrillerFest 2012 for Midnight Caller, and as a finalist in the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense for Edge of Midnight. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence. Her latest romantic suspense novel is titled Fallen.
Leslie is a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The Authors Guild and Novelists, Inc. A native of East Tennessee, she currently resides in Atlanta.
AUTHOR WEBSITE
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Book Review
Fallen by Leslie Tentler
Publisher: Left Field Press
Publication Date: October 12, 2014
Format: Paperback - 396 pages
Kindle - 2801 KB
Nook - 685 KB
ISBN: 978-0990639008
ASIN: B00NQERJF6
BNID: 2940150550469
Genre: Romantic Suspense
BUY THE BOOK: Fallen
Discuss this novel at PUYB Virtual Book Club at GOODREADS
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Pump Up Your Book Tours.
Book Description:
Amid a sultry Atlanta summer, someone is targeting police…
The investigation becomes personal for APD Detective Ryan Winter when a colleague and friend is shot dead, the second victim in just weeks. But even as he finds himself being drawn into the tense hunt for a serial cop killer, he is forced to re-examine his own shattering personal tragedy.
An ER physician at Atlanta’s busy Mercy Hospital, Dr. Lydia Costa is no stranger to suffering. Still, the recent police slayings reopen barely healed wounds—and bring her face-to-face with her ex-husband, Ryan Winter.
As the body count rises and paranoia tightens its grip on the police force, Lydia and Ryan are pulled together by circumstances and fate…causing old passions to reignite despite their painful shared past. But as Ryan moves closer to discovering the killer’s identity, someone is watching, placing both him and Lydia in mortal danger.
Book Excerpt:
“GSW, two minutes out!” Jamaal Reeves made the booming announcement from behind the ER admittance desk at Mercy Hospital. His words put medical personnel on alert, including Dr. Lydia Costa, who stood in the jaundiced glow of the light box, reviewing chest films for an eighty-two-year-old with suspected pneumonia.
“It’s a ten-double-zero, people,” he added, using police code that over time had slipped into the level one trauma center’s vernacular.
Officer down.
A momentary hush fell over the staff before the beehive of activity resumed, leaving only Lydia frozen. Gunshot wounds were always nasty injuries, but it was the ten-double-zero that caused anxiety to pool in her stomach. There were hundreds of police inside the city, she reminded herself. Still, leaving the X-ray hanging, she shouldered her way through the scrubs-clad crowd. Reaching Jamaal’s desk, she asked, “What else do you know about the incoming?”
He slurped from a Varsity cup. “Multiple bullets to the chest and abdomen, intubated by paramedics on scene—”
“Do you have a name? A precinct?”
“What? Uh, uh—didn’t ask.” Jamaal shrugged, his eyes returning to the stack of paperwork in front of him, information forms for the three dozen or so coughing, vomiting or otherwise miserable-looking people who waited in rows of vinyl-covered chairs for treatment.
“Plainclothes, though,” he murmured as an afterthought, scribbling directives onto one of the forms.
Lydia felt her knees weaken. Still, her inner voice spoke to her, pointing out that she was one of the attendings on a busy Friday night. She moved briskly toward the automated, sliding glass doors that led inside from the ambulance bay, joining the assembling team and preparing to take charge of whatever faced her with the paramedics’ arrival.
“Get trauma room three set up,” she ordered, raising her voice to be heard above the din. “We’re going to need an echocardiogram. Have a crash cart and thoracotomy set ready.”
All the while, a mantra repeated inside her head. It was more like a prayer, if she believed in such things. She used to, but didn’t anymore.
Please don’t let it be him.
“It’s a ten-double-zero, people,” he added, using police code that over time had slipped into the level one trauma center’s vernacular.
Officer down.
A momentary hush fell over the staff before the beehive of activity resumed, leaving only Lydia frozen. Gunshot wounds were always nasty injuries, but it was the ten-double-zero that caused anxiety to pool in her stomach. There were hundreds of police inside the city, she reminded herself. Still, leaving the X-ray hanging, she shouldered her way through the scrubs-clad crowd. Reaching Jamaal’s desk, she asked, “What else do you know about the incoming?”
He slurped from a Varsity cup. “Multiple bullets to the chest and abdomen, intubated by paramedics on scene—”
“Do you have a name? A precinct?”
“What? Uh, uh—didn’t ask.” Jamaal shrugged, his eyes returning to the stack of paperwork in front of him, information forms for the three dozen or so coughing, vomiting or otherwise miserable-looking people who waited in rows of vinyl-covered chairs for treatment.
“Plainclothes, though,” he murmured as an afterthought, scribbling directives onto one of the forms.
Lydia felt her knees weaken. Still, her inner voice spoke to her, pointing out that she was one of the attendings on a busy Friday night. She moved briskly toward the automated, sliding glass doors that led inside from the ambulance bay, joining the assembling team and preparing to take charge of whatever faced her with the paramedics’ arrival.
“Get trauma room three set up,” she ordered, raising her voice to be heard above the din. “We’re going to need an echocardiogram. Have a crash cart and thoracotomy set ready.”
All the while, a mantra repeated inside her head. It was more like a prayer, if she believed in such things. She used to, but didn’t anymore.
Please don’t let it be him.
My Book Review:
If you like reading riveting romantic suspense novels that keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat, then Fallen is the book for you! Author Leslie Tentler weaves a thrilling tale that follows the murders of Atlanta police officers by a serial killer that unwittingly brings an ex-married couple back together for an unexpected second chance at love.
Atlanta Homicide Detective Ryan Winters and ER Doctor Lydia Costa were once married until a tragedy tore their marriage apart, leaving them with a painful divorce that neither has gotten over. Ryan and Lydia are brought back together when a series of serial cop killings occur in Atlanta. With unresolved painful personal issues between them and a dangerous threat existing, can Ryan and Lydia survive the serial killer's ruthless murders and find their way back to each other?
Fallen is an intriguing romantic suspense thriller that easily draws the reader into Ryan and Lydia's story. It has enough drama, tension, emotion, unrequited love, and surprising twists and turns that keeps the reader sitting on the edge of their seat guessing what will happen next. You can't help but feel the palpable chemistry and connection that still exists between Ryan and Lydia, and when you add in the suspense and mystery of who the serial killer could be, you get a riveting story that you simply won't be able to put down. The author does a wonderful job of interweaving the suspenseful mystery with the intense and passionate second chance romance. The storyline flows seamlessly with a strong realistic cast of characters and witty dialogue that makes you feel like you are transported into the action and drama that make up this exciting story.
What could be better than reading a story about two people torn apart by tragedy, only to find their way back to each other in the face of danger? Wow! Fallen is a must read for every romantic suspense fan, you won't be disappointed!
RATING: 5 STARS
Virtual Book Tour
Tour Schedule:
Character Interview at The Literary Nook
Tuesday, October 7
Book Featured at Fiction Zeal
Wednesday, October 8
Book Featured at Examiner
Monday, October 13
Book Featured at Booklover Sue
Book Featured at My Life. One Story at a Time.
Tuesday, October 14
Book Featured at Authors and Readers Book Corner
Book Featured at Midnight, Lace and Mayhem
Wednesday, October 15
Book Review at Becky on Books
Thursday, October 16
Interview at Deal Sharing Aunt
Friday, October 17
Book Featured at Maureen’s Musings
Monday, October 20
Book Review & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews
Book Featured at Bound 2 Escape
Interview at From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, October 21
Interview at The Writer’s Life
Wednesday, October 22
Book Review & Character Guest Post at Bless Their Hearts Mom
Thursday, October 23
Book Review at Undercover Book Reviews
Friday, October 24
Book Review at Jane Reads
Book Review at My Life, Loves and Passion
Monday, October 27
Book Featured at CBY Book Club
Tuesday, October 28
Book Featured at Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
Wednesday, October 29
Guest Blogging at Carol’s Notebook
Thursday, October 30
Book Featured at Mysteries, Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews
Friday, October 31
Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
I'm reading this at the moment and am riveted. Tis such a moving storyline for Lydia and Ryan - am really rooting for the pair of them to get together.
ReplyDeleteI notice this is self published - have you enjoyed the freedom of the ride? And what is next for you? ☺
Hi Willa, yes this is my first Indie venture (my first three books were traditionally published). I definitely wanted to give it a try for the very thing you mentioned - freedom and control over such aspects as deadlines, release dates, cover art, etc. So far I'm really enjoying the experience. I come from an entrepreneurial background, so there's a part of me that really likes being the publisher, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad you're enjoying Fallen. Lydia and Ryan's story is very special to me, too!
Thank you for answering my question! ☺
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Willa! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThank you Willa for stopping by and visiting with Leslie. :)
DeleteKathleen, thank you so much for hosting me today and for your lovely review of Fallen! ~ Leslie
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie! Thank you for the opportunity to host your virtual book tour event. I love reading romantic suspense stories, and Fallen was an exciting story that easily kept me captivated and turning the pages. :)
DeleteYay! That's so great to hear and thanks again!
Delete