It is my great pleasure to introduce my beautiful friend and debut author Nancy Weeks. Nancy and I met through an online critique group and became fast friends. Then she joined Maryland Romance Writers and I was thrilled to meet her in person. She's a very creative person who has a wonderfully positive outlook on life and I'm so excited about her debut novel,
In the Shadow of Greed, which releases on April 29th.
Nancy, please tell us a little about
yourself.
I always choke-up when I’m asked for a short bio because I
have no idea who I am. That book is still being written and it changes
daily. I have been a wife for 31 years
and a mother for 24 years. I decided
before having kids that I wanted to be home with them. It went against the
norm, but I felt that one hectic career in the family was enough. After moving
back to Maryland from southern Germany, I
decided to give up my career and became a stay-at-home mom. The moment both my
kids were off to college, I began to write. Now I proudly call myself an
author.
Since I love reading the excitement of romantic suspense
almost as much as I love the romance, I decided to begin my writing career in
that genre. I throw an element of supernatural into the suspense to add to the
conflict and tension.
That must have been very interesting to live in another country and I totally agree about suspense and romance going hand-in-hand. What kind of things inspire you to write?
Everything---from the people in my daily life, to strangers
I meet, to conversations I overhear, television shows I watch to the books and
articles I read. Living my life inspires the stories that live in my head.
As for what brings out the emotion in my writing, there is
only one answer. Music. In my new release, In the Shadow of Greed, I listened
to Jason Mraz, Mika, Norah Jones, Adele over and over again. Their voices
brought out that heart-wrenching emotion I needed to write not only the love
scenes, but those dark moments when my characters were at their worst. Somewhere Only We Know and Silenced by the Night by Keane are
haunting beautiful love songs, but for me, they bought out my aggressive side.
Keane’s music helped me visualize violent fight scenes. And when a scene
demanded to be written in my villain, Ralph Singer’s voice, Keane’s Perfect Symmetry spoke to me like none
other. I guess it’s fair to say that I couldn’t be a suspense writer without
Keane.
That's a very diverse and interesting playlist! What would be a
*perfect day* for you?
My perfect day: To wake up to a clean
house, empty laundry baskets, dinner in the crock-pot, beautiful day with the
temperatures in the70’s and nothing on my schedule except to write. I make a
cup of coffee, and bring it out on the deck with my laptop. I load my WIP and
I’m lost for hours in my happy place. If I have a little chocolate to snack on,
I’m in heaven.
Ahhh, chocolate! I like that! Speaking of sweet things...what's
the most
romantic thing anyone has ever done for you?
I have such a great husband. I
really am an incredibly lucky woman. Ed is always doing sweet little things for
me. He began when we first started dating a lifetime ago at the University
Texas. To mark our first month anniversary, he dropped off this huge bouquet of
daisies at the front desk of my dorm. After we became engaged several months
later, he added a single rose. When we were married, he added two red roses.
That was just the beginning. I have had thirty-one years of sweet, adorable,
simple, romantic moments like that which show me how much I’m loved. And I
don’t take it for granted for a second, but thank God every day he is in my
life.
That's a really sweet real-life love story!
I can't wait to read your debut novel. Where can
readers pre-order In the Shadow of Greed?
In the Shadow of Greed can be pre-ordered
from
Amazon. Its release date is only ten days away, 29 April 2013!!!
Here's where you can find Nancy on the web:
Twitter:@NancyCWeeks
Brilliant cryptologist Dr. Sarah Tu races against
time to block the most dangerous Internet malware ever created, a botnet called
QUALNTO. While Sarah is closed off in her computer lab, her sister, Hanna,
is brutally attacked and left in a coma. As Sarah reels with guilt over
not being there for her sister, a web of deception closes in threatening her
and everyone she loves.
Hanna's condition is misleading. In her coma state,
she is able to build a psychic bridge with FBI Special Agent Jason McNeil. Her
cryptic messages plague Jason to keep Sarah safe.
Tough and street-smart Jason McNeil doesn't believe
in telepathic messages, and fights the voice inside his head. His first
impression of Dr. Sarah Tu is another stiletto wearing ice-dragon on the wall
path--until he witnesses her facade crumble after seeing her sister's bloody,
tortured body. Jason's protective instinct kicks in. He falls for Sarah--hard.
When an extremely dangerous arms dealer and
cybercriminal discovers that Sarah blocked his botnet, he kidnaps Sarah. Placed
in an impossible position, will she destroy the botnet to protect national
security or release to save the man she loves?
Excerpt for In the Shadow of
Greed
He thinks I’m dead. Sarah’s
coming. Help her!
The voice quivered inside Jason’s head. He pushed
away from the pillar and froze. No one was there. His gaze fell back to the
woman in the bed. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his jaw, biting down so
hard, pain shot up his inner ear.
The next instant, a petite woman with long,
straight, raven hair and the most beautiful, hazel eyes he had ever seen
charged through the trauma unit. A security officer followed close behind and
grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving any farther into the restricted area.
Jason stared at the woman in the bed and back to the
woman by the door. He knew, without a doubt, her name was Sarah. His mind raced
for an explanation.
“Ma’am, you can’t be back here.” The guard tried to
pull Sarah back through the doors.
Sarah yanked out of his hold. The expression on her
face was intense, unyielding. “Like hell I can’t. My sister is here. She needs
me.”
The charge nurse moved from behind a counter of the
nurse’s station and stood next to the security officer. “How can I help you?”
The nurse’s low, gentle voice seemed to have a
soothing effect on Sarah. “Hanna Tu.” Her voice shuddered.
Jason couldn’t take his eyes off Hanna’s sister. In
an instant, she transformed from a stiletto wearing, ice-dragon on the war path—just
the kind of woman he disliked—into a frightened, desperate woman whose
vulnerabilities brought out his protective instinct.
As her eyes wildly searched the trauma unit, the
nurse reached for Sarah’s arm and guided her toward the doors.
“We’re still assessing your sister’s condition. I’ll
have one of the doctors come talk to you in the waiting room as soon as they
can. She’s in good hands, I promise you.”
“I need to see her. I need to know she’s okay.
The police wouldn’t allow me into her apartment. No one has told me anything.
There was so much blood.” She sucked in a deep breath as tears clouded her
eyes. “Please let me see her for a moment.”
Her eyes narrowed on the cubicle surrounded by a
curtain. One of the nurses moved the fabric aside and left carrying a tray of
vials. Sarah’s gaze fell on her sister. “Oh God! Hanna!”
She took a step toward her sister, but her body
began to tremble and her knees buckled. Jason rushed forward and caught her as
her body collapsed. With one arm wrapped around her waist, he used his other
hand to lift the badge that hung around his neck and flashed it at the nurse.
“She’s with me.”
He then found an empty chair away from a direct view
of the cubicle and lowered Sarah into it. He knelt, keeping his arm around her.
Her body shook violently and she gasped for air. The charge nurse brought over
a cup of water and handed it to Jason. He brought it to Sarah’s lips.
“Drink, Sarah, it will help.”
She sipped the water and closed her eyes, taking in
several deep breaths. “W-who hurt her? W-why?”
“We don’t know, but we’ll find out. He’ll pay for
this.”
Sarah finally glanced up at him and pulled away.
“Who are you?”
And the ice-dragon’s back. Jason clenched his jaw to keep a
smile from spreading across his face. He couldn’t put his finger on the why, but this woman
intrigued him. “Detective Jason McNeil.”
“Why are you here and not out finding the person who
hurt my sister?”
Don’t let her push you away. She needs you, we need
you.
Jason was taken aback by the weak, small voice in his
head. What the hell was going on? Finding his voice, he said, “Someone tried to
kill your sister.” He glanced toward Hanna’s cubicle. A crushing anger boiled
up from deep within his gut. “The guy who attacked her has killed at least
three other times we know about and he didn’t mean to leave Hanna alive. I’m
not giving him a chance to finish the job.”
Oh God, he’s here… He’s here! Don’t let him near
Sarah!
