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Author Interview featuring Bill Blodgett and Love, Lies, and Bad Guys w/a rafflecopter giveaway! #romanticsuspense

Love, Lies, and Bad Guys

by Bill Blodgett

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GENRE:   Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

When US Marshal Jay Stonewalker sees a possible terrorist comment in a chatroom frequented by anti-government radicals suggesting a nuclear threat to New York City, specifically the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, he can’t get it out of his mind. Against his boss’s orders he heads off to NYC to investigate on his own time. While there he follows a suspicious character into a secluded recess of the New York Subway system and foils what he believes is the terrorist event.  In a shoot-out with his suspect he’s wounded and calls the NYC PD for backup.  When he sees NYPD Detective KC Daviau and other uniformed officers slipping into the darkness from the subway platform he’s relieved, but to his surprise he’s met with resistance and disrespect by Detective Daviau. Against his objections, KC takes custody of the evidence and leaves the scene. When Jay asks an officer if she is always that way he’s told that, “Since her parents died, she’s been… let’s say… a little cold.”   When they are assigned to work the case together,  KC’s icy exterior soon begins to melt away as they begin to fall for each other, but KC has to hold back. She has a dark secret and knows he can’t ever know her truths because if he did he would hate her just as she hates herself for what she’s about to do.

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Excerpt One:

 “I was surprised to see you had body art.”

“It isn’t body art. It is my belief. I guess that’s why I don’t show them.  It’s personal. They are of my Goddess, Mother Earth and the symbol of our tribe, the mighty eagle. The Mother Earth Tree Goddess demonstrates the circle of life. Where all things on land, air and water are connected. They are all one. If one element is removed, the tree will wither and die. We believe that it is the same for people. We must be as one or we will all eventually suffer. The Eagle is our symbol for bravery, something that is essential to take on such a derêp.” He saw her puzzled look and continued before she could speak. “Derêp is our word for job or chore. The Eagle is dedicated to protecting our tribe, which is a very difficult job. I use his image to remind myself each day that my task is difficult and not to falter.  If you were just another chick, maybe I’d say they were body art, but I want to share that part of me with you.” 

“So…” she teased. “How many other chicks have admired your body art?”

He laughed lightly with maybe a hint of a gallows laugh, “Not as many as you might guess.”

Welcome Bill Blodgett! Please start off by telling us a little about yourself. 

 

I am a proud husband, father and grandfather. My wife and I have been married 46 years this coming June and were high school sweethearts. We have two daughters, two wonderful son-in-law’s, and four beautiful grandchildren ranging in ages four to twenty years old. 

 

As far as writing goes I tend to follow my heart to a subject or genre that sparks my interest. In all of my books I like to include subtext to help people think about a social issue. In my first book, Dead or a Lie, I tried to make the point that the age of the damsel in distress in the real world was over.  The heroine was a no nonsense vampire hunter, yet still feminine. She actually saves the hero at the end of the book. My second book, Saint’s Sword, spoke up for witches and wiccans. In the writing world there seems to be a lot of people with these beliefs and many have shared stories about being mistreated because of their beliefs. Saint’s Sword speaks to that issue and tries to right that wrong. Unrequited, a novel with romantic elements, deals with substance abuse and survivor’s guilt. My book, The Last Prejudice, addresses the issue of how a family might react when a family member discloses he or she is gay or lesbian, and how they eventually accept him/her.  Love, Lies, and Bad Guys speaks to the nuclear power industry and the harmful events that have been caused by atomic research over the years. The hero of Love, Lies, and Bad Guys, Jay, is the son of a Downwinder. Most people in America are not aware that many Native Americans were exposed to radiation during the tests of the atomic bomb when radiation was blown downwind of the detonation site. Many Native Americans have developed various forms of cancer due to the exposure.

Is Love, Lies and Bad Guys a single title, or part of a series? 

 

At the moment Love, Lies, and Bad Guys is a single title with a sequel planned. I included the subtitle, The Waldorf Astoria Connection, to accommodate the sequel which will take place in Washington, D.C. The characters in the sequel were introduced in this book and will take up where Jay and KC leave off. 


What were your inspirations for the story? 

 

The inspiration for Love, Lies, and Bad Guys comes from a personal real life experience I had while riding a subway/train into Washington D.C. from Waldorf, Maryland. While on the train, with my entire family for a day of sightseeing a suspicious acting young man entered the train and kept reaching around to check his backpack. At that time, right after the September 11th attacks, there were signs everywhere saying different variations of, “See Something – Say Something.” Being in the mindset of our recent attacks and because my job at the time was considered a prime target I took training to recognize possible threats. I guess I let my imagination as a writer take the wheel and I imagined this guy was a madman with a dirty bomb. Of course he wasn’t, but it gave me the inspiration for Love, Lies, and Bad Guys.

Please share your setting for Love, Lies, and Bad Guys. Have you ever lived or visited there? If so, what did you like most? 

 

The main setting in Love, Lies and Bad Guys is New York City and especially Astoria, which is found in the borough of Queens, a part of New York City. My daughter lived in Astoria and I fell in love with this quaint city within the City. It’s a Greek neighborhood and I wrote a description of Astoria in the book to introduce the reader to its charm. It seems like a throwback in time, with small mom and pop stores and well-kept one or two family homes lining the clean unlittered streets. It reminded me of my hometown when I was younger with a busy downtown were people knew one another and would stop to chat.  It actually mimicked the downtown scene I wrote about in my third book, Unrequited, that took place in the mid 1950’s.

When did the writing bug first bite? 

 

While taking an English Literature course in college we began to dissect some of the works of history’s famous authors including Shakespeare. I was amazed when I learned that beneath the main story line of the play or novel there was something more. I was so intrigued by it my professor tried to steal me away from the  math and sciences by suggesting I change my major, but I was an adult learner and needed the math and science degree to further my career and pay for the necessities of family life. I keep in touch with that professor from time to time and share my books with her,

Who are your favorite authors, book/series? 

 

I like Nicholas Sparks, John Grisham and several others, but I don’t follow one particular author. Most of the time, when I’m not writing, I like to read books authored by my friends in my writers group and those of people I have met online.


Do you have any hobbies or special things you like to do in your spare time? 

 

I like working on my 1972 MGB English sports car, especially when I hit a brick wall while writing. It gives me time to relax and get my head out of the book.  Since the car is so old I have to be creative in a new way to keep it road worthy and eventually this seems to free up other creative energies and the next scene of the book comes into focus.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve heard or seen? 

 

The strangest thing I’ve ever encountered happened while we were camping in a New York State campsite just outside of Watkins Glenn, NY.  We got in late after a sports car race at the racetrack and set up camp in darkness. After sharing a bottle of wine in front of a glowing campfire we retired for the evening looking forward to the next day’s events. Sometime in the middle of the night the ground started shaking which was accompanied by a deafening sound.  I raced outside only to find our campsite was less than 50 yards from a train track which was separated from our site by a chain-link fence that wasn’t visible in the dark when we set up camp. When the dust settled from the freight train that had just rolled through at high speed we tried to get back to sleep. Sunrise seemed to come early that next morning and we packed up camp vowing never to return!

What is the one thing that you would tell an inspiring writer to do?

If I could tell anyone anything about wanting to become an author it would be that it’s okay and that you can do it. Go ahead tell the world or maybe at least your FAMILY that your dream is to be an author!! Don’t doubt yourself just because it seems like a daunting task. Seek out help. Join a writers group. Join a critique group. There, you’ll find the support you desperately need and you’ll be with like-minded people who will all understand the trials of becoming an author. Family will be sympathetic and supportive, but there is something special about sharing your story with people who have had similar experiences.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I still live in the community where I met and married my lovely wife, Janice. Actually, she lived around the corner from me and we both ignored each other until our teen years when the hormone thing kicked in and we suddenly realized that the cute little girl skipping rope and that goofy boy riding a bike had both grown up. 

We are the proud parents of April and Lindsay; both of whom are now married. April married Darren and they have two beautiful boys, Brian and Owen. Lindsay married Tim and they have two beautiful children: Kailyn and Evan. 

 I enjoy hiking, kayaking, camping with my family, golfing, making candles, and restoring my antique European sports car, a 1972 MGB.

They say to write from what you know, so I do. I write of love, life and relationships. In addition to the romantic plot we all expect from a Romance novel all of my books deal with a real-world issue as a sub-plot  that we all have had to deal in some manner in life, but not in a preachy way. I find that including this sort of theme helps me identify with my characters on a personal level. My hope is that the reader will also feel that connection with my characters.

I have four other published novels. Dead Or A Lie and Saint’s Sword are vampire Romances. Unrequited is a contemporary novel with romantic elements and received 4 stars from Romantic Times Book Review magazine. The Last Prejudice is a family saga that deals with the issues a family must address when a family member comes out. 

I have been a member of the RWA and the Central New York Romance Writers since 2004 and have held various posts in my local group. By day I am a construction inspector for an engineering company.

Please visit my website: www.billblodgett.com   or email me at  bill@billblodgett.com You can also find me on Facebook at @authorbillblodgett and Twitter @bill_blodgett 

Buy link:

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lies-Bad-Guys-Connection/dp/B084DFQWWB/ 

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Love%2C+Lies%2C+and+Bad+Guys+by+Bill+Blodgett

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

Bill Blodgett will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 thoughts on “Author Interview featuring Bill Blodgett and Love, Lies, and Bad Guys w/a rafflecopter giveaway! #romanticsuspense

  1. I am enjoying these tours and finding all the terrific books my family is enjoying reading. Thanks for bringing them to us and keep up the good work.

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