A Perfect Storm by Lori Foster: Guest Post and Q&A

A PERFECT STORM

by Lori Foster

pub: Mar 27

Amazon/Goodreads/Website

He never saw her coming… 
Spencer Lark already knows too many secrets about Arizona Storm, including the nightmare she survived and her resulting trust issues. But in order to expose a smuggling ring—and continue avenging his own tragic past—the bounty hunter reluctantly agrees to make Arizona a decoy. Yet nothing has equipped him for her hypnotic blend of fragility and bravery, or for the protective instincts she stirs in him. 
Arizona wants to reclaim her life, which means acting as bait to lure the enemy into a trap. Sure it's dangerous, especially with a partner as distractingly appealing as Spencer. But as their plan—and their chemistry—shifts into high gear, Arizona may discover there's an even greater risk in surrendering her heart to a hero… 

Please welcome Lori Foster who's stopping by on her blog tour for a guest post and interview! 

GUEST POST 

Shedding Light on Human Trafficking

 I can’t say that any particular series has affected me in a great way. I’m a writer – I “make up stuff.” I know evil exists, but I also know love is there to help balance it. That said, obviously, after all the research, I’m more aware of human trafficking. It’s HERE, in our cities, our towns, sometimes our own neighborhoods. People you thought were safe, are not. Careers you considered mundane are intricately involved.

I have truck drivers in my family. GREAT guys. Totally trustworthy. Wouldn’t hurt a fly, and would do what they could to defend anyone abused.

Yet in my research I found that many sales of underage girls and captives happen at truck stops. Obviously, all truckers don’t take part, but enough do that it’s a key spot for surveillance when breaking down trafficking rings. I don’t know if the men are ignorant of the girl’s age and/or circumstances. Maybe they think these women are willingly taking part. Maybe they think the underage girls are older. Regardless, it’s unforgiveable.

I also learned that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have a *wonderful* organization. “We are committed to forcing sex slavery out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Freedom is a basic human right and slavery is one of the greatest threats to that freedom. No one has the right to enslave another person. Freedom - It's in our DNA.”

These days, I stop in to get my nails done, and I notice closed doors in the back, women who look like they’ve just awakened. I pass by shabby hotels or read about issues at restaurants, and wonder if one of the rooms is used to house innocents caught up in forced labor. I see kids on the street, and pray that they’re just out and about having fun, getting into the same mischief common to many youths. But I always worry now.

Author Q&A

Describe A PERFECT STORM in 15 words or fewer.
Alpha hero meets Alpha heroine. Wills clash, sparks fly, emotions tangle, and satisfaction awaits.

Which character in each of the Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor novels do you indentify with the most?
I don’t identify with any of them! LOL. They’re all beautiful, young, in some ways tragic, and they’re involved in exciting romances. I married at 19, hubby and I were made for each other (no tragedy and no danger) and I’m as boring as a woman can be. But I guess... since Molly was a writer, I can relate to that.

Where do you do most of your writing?
My office is in the downstairs of our house. It’s like an apartment – 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchenette, French doors facing the pond, big screen TV, treadmill... it’s where my 2 youngest boys were before they moved off to college. Since they’re all grown and on their own now, we a custom desk built for the space and I while we’re in town, I write there.

We also have a lake house we bought last year, and we’re in the middle of having part of that space remodeled to include a better desk area for me. Before the remodel, I wrote from the patio table in the sun room at the lake house, facing the lake. 

Why did you choose to give Arizona and Spencer such painful backgrounds versus some of the other leads in the series?
I don’t choose those things – the characters do. Arizona came about during Jackson’s story. He sort of told me about her (at the same time he was telling the readers, btw) and during Jackson’s book, after he introduced us to Arizona, she was in a bar... and Spencer just showed up. I said, “Well hello there,” and he proceeded to tell me about his story. I know, that makes me sound nuts. Aren’t all writers a little crazy?

What is, in your opinion, the key to a great romance novel?
Great romance!!! I don’t care who the characters are, what their backgrounds are, the conflicts – both emotional and external – that they have to deal with. If the romance is there, popping off the page, then I’ll love it. We as readers have to _feel_ it, and we have to believe it.

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Thanks for stopping by, Lori. And don't miss A PERFECT STORM, the fourth in her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series. It's full of hot guys, exciting action, and steamy romance!