“Still Waters Run
Deep”
Publisher’s Info.
Publisher: The Wild Rose
Press
Title: Asylum Harbor
Series Name: The Salty
Dog Series, Book One
SubGenre(s):
Contemporary, Suspense
Imprint: Champagne
Length: Rosebud
Rating: Spicy (PG-13)
Page Count: 198
Word Count: 45,430
Welcome to my beach, Isla. We’re
so glad to meet you. Grab a cold drink and have a seat.
Hi
Sandra! Thanks so much for letting me
drop by today. I love Life’s A Beach, so
I’m really excited to be here. I’ll have
a sweet iced tea, please! J
I love the cover of your book.
I’ve always said The Wild Rose Press has fantastic artists. How did you find
your way into the Wild Rose Press garden?
I
feel so fortunate to be part of this amazing team. I had heard so many good things about The
Wild Rose Press over the past few years, so when I felt “Asylum Harbor” was as
good as I could get it, they were the first and only ones I sent it to. I had an incredible editor who pushed me to
make the story better and, I think, in the long run, a better writer. The cover artists are wonderful and my fellow
“Roses” have been supportive as well.
I’m sure everyone is curious
about you. One thing we always like to know – what is your writing space like?
Do you have a home office, travel around the house with your laptop, or spend
time in public places?
Oh my
goodness! I have a desk that’s cluttered
with pens, candy wrappers and an assortment of colored paper clips, that I
never sit down to write at. (Daryl, our
cat, uses the desk chair as a place to take his afternoon nap.) My laptop usually follows me into the living
room or on the front porch but doesn’t venture out the house much. The first draft of the stories I write are
handwritten so the notebook I use stays with me when I’m out and about. You never know when you’re going to have a
free moment. A lot of “Asylum Harbor”
was written in my car while waiting in the carpool lane at my daughter’s
school. I’d get there an hour early to
beat traffic and to write.
What are the favorite tools of
your trade? Do you prefer a desktop, laptop, or pen and paper?
I’m a
hoarder of pens, paper, post-it notes, you name it. I know I don’t need to buy anymore, but I’m
compelled to at least look down the aisles when I go to the store. But give me a pad of paper and a pencil and
we’re good to go.
Do you have anything special
close by; music, a pet, a lucky charm?
I’m
obsessed with music but I can’t have it playing when I’m writing—the quieter
the better or I’ll get distracted. Pets
are a completely different story. We
have three cats: Tori, Daryl and Loki. Loki is the one who likes to curl up on my
lap when I’m working while Daryl likes to get behind the laptop and watch what
I’m doing. Since Tori is the oldest, and
the self-proclaimed Queen Bee, she tries to sit on the laptop while I’m typing.
Let’s have a look at your blub ~
Trouble is the last thing Devon Brown needs when she leaves the
painful memories of her past behind and heads to Shell Island. As the Salty Dog’s new bartender, she finds
herself drawn to Kerr, the Shell Island harbormaster. But finding her happily-ever-after is
difficult when dealing with an obnoxious bootlegger who supplies the bar with
illegal liquor and a jealous coworker.
A standoffish loner with damaged emotions, Kerr avoids
relationships like the plague. Things
change when Devon catches his eye. As a
simple flirtation grows serious, the coworker and bootlegger quickly become
obstacles to any future Kerr and Devon may have together. As the situation worsens, Devon realizes that
even the still waters of Asylum Harbor are no refuge during a storm.
It sounds like your hero and heroine both have an intriguing
past. What three words would you use to describe Devon?
Independent
Strong-willed
Loyal
Now, give us three words for Kerr.
Stubborn
Reclusive
Protective
What were their first impressions of each other?
They are pretty dismissive of
each other. Devon and Kerr meet briefly
on the ferry headed to Shell Island.
She’s already uncomfortable being on the open water so when she bumps
into him and he’s rude to her, she’s hoping she doesn’t have to deal with him
again. He’s thinking she’s just another
out of place visitor to the island.
I think we sound take a peek at an excerpt ~
“You
already got dibs on this one Kerr?”
Porter shot an evil glare at the opposite end of the bar and
looked back toward her. “I’ll see you
tonight.” He flicked his tongue. “After work.”
He raised his glass in a mock toast and chugged it in one gulp.
The lights
dimmed for Victoria’s dance of the night.
Devon watched Kerr, who was usually headed for the exit by now, and
breathed a sigh of relief when he remained glued to his seat with his back to
the stage. He wasn’t staying for Victoria’s
peep show. There must have been
something about this Porter character that got under his skin in a bad way.
Devon was eager
for the quick break. She hustled to the
back as the chords to “Simply Irresistible” began to pelt over the speakers and
ran some cold water over her forearm. A
red welt was beginning to show where Porter had held onto it. She hoped he would be gone by the time she
got back.
Making it out before mid-song, Devon rounded the bar when
someone snagged her wrist and thrust her hard against the bar, knocking the
wind out of her. She could smell
Porter’s alcohol-laced breath as his weight pinned her under him. One of his grubby hands shot under her shirt
while the other wrestled with the button on her pants. “Let’s give them a real show.”
She struggled
to reach the Equalizer, but it remained hidden, out of her grasp. Devon hoisted her knee toward his crotch, but
Porter lost his balance and fell backward before she could make contact.
Kerr towered
over him. “Get your hands off her.”
It sounds like the Salty Dog is a pretty rough place. Sense
the series is named after it; I assume it will be a regular watering hole for
your readers. Perhaps you should prepare us by telling us a little about it and
how the idea for the place came to you.
Ha, ha! Not that I frequent seedy bars, but the Salty
Dog—the way it’s described—is a mix of a couple of places and believe it or
not, both are family restaurants. (There
is a stage in one restaurant, but, I promise, no stripper pole.) The Salty Dog is the only bar on Shell
Island. It’s a place where the locals
can get a drink, get a little rowdy and the waitresses provide live
entertainment. So, as long as we keep
visiting Shell Island, the Salty Dog will be there.
I first came up with the idea of
the story while on a trip to Shell Island.
The island does exist, but it’s uninhabited. Visitors make trips there during low tide to
collect sand dollars. I knew right off
that Devon was going to be a bartender and could picture this bar in the middle
of nowhere. The hardest part was the
title. It was the last thing I came up
with after the book was completely finished.
And now that we know Asylum Harbor is the first book of a
series, can you give us a hint about how many stories you expect the series to
be?
Right now, “Asylum Harbor” is
the first book of three. I’m working on
the second one with the idea for the third.
I have titles for both of them so I’m already a step ahead. There could be a fourth with one of the other
characters in the forefront.
Will we meet the characters for the next book in Asylum
Harbor? And, will Devon and Kerr show up in book two?
Devon and Kerr will be back in
the second book along with the others. I
really love these two so I’m not ready to let them go yet. There’s still plenty of havoc to cause. J
Before you leave, we’d like to know more about you ~
Isla Grey is from Central Virginia and still lives in the same
small town she grew up in. She developed a love of writing at an early age and
over the years has tried her hand at penning poetry (some good, some not so
good), screenwriting, newspaper articles and historical stories. She’s “old
school” when it comes to writing and is a hoarder of more pens, post-it notes
and writing journals than she’ll ever need. Isla likes to write different types
of stories from romance to mystery and anything in between and loves a “happy
for now but there could be some bad things coming” feel. When Isla’s not
writing, she spends her time being called “Mom, Mama, Mommy” (well, you get the
picture) by her daughter who is forever active, even in her sleep. She
considers herself an unofficial “cat whisperer” and is a pet human to a
plethora of cats that have taken up residence at her home over the years. Isla
also enjoys reading a good biography or ghost story, traveling even though
“there’s no place like home”, good music played loud and walking.
Isla loves movies and is the movie mistakes editor at Bellaonline.com
where she talks about…well…movies.
You can connect Isla at:
Thanks so much for
joining us on the beach today, Isla. Asylum Harbor sounds like a great the-kids-are-back-to-school book. Good
luck with it and the stories to follow.
Thank
you so much for letting me visit the beach today! I’ve had a great time and hope everyone
enjoys “Asylum Harbor”.
Question for our visitors
~
Have you ever encountered
someone in your workplace that made you uncomfortable? Tell us about it. If
not, comment anyway. We’d love to know you were here.
AUTHOR BIO:
