Covert Danger Blog Tour: Author Interview + Giveaway

 

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Covert Danger by Jerusha Agen, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Covert Danger 

Series: Guardians Unleashed #2 

Author: Jerusha Agen 

Publisher: SDG Words, LLC 

Release Date: September 22, 2022 

Genre: Christian, Romantic Suspense

A K-9 protection team. An assassin. Only one can survive.

An assassin is on the loose in the Twin Cities, aiming to kill FBI witnesses the Phoenix K-9 Security and Detection Agency is hired to protect. Rogue CIA agent Amalia Pérez and her protection K-9 must get the edge on this deadly opponent before he kills her childhood best friend—the only man who knows her true identity. 

Investigative journalist Michael Barrett can’t believe his eyes when the woman he’s spent years searching for walks back into his life. But he soon fears the woman he loved is lost forever beneath the secrets Amalia wears like armor. 

As the assassin closes in, Amalia will risk anything to keep Michael safe—anything except believing in the God he trusts. When the layers of deception become as dangerous as bullets, can Amalia and Michael uncover the truth in time to stop the assassin from completing his lethal mission?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound | BookBub

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jerusha Agen imagines danger around every corner, but knows God is there, too. So naturally, she writes romantic suspense infused with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jerusha loves to hang out with her big furry dogs and little furry cats, often while reading or watching movies.

Connect with Jerusha by visiting JerushaAgen.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Welcome Jerusha! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and allowing my readers a chance to get to know you and your new book Covert Danger.

I like to start these interviews the same way, with something fun to break the ice. Can you share 5 random facts about you that we will not find in your bio?

1. I adore snow and winter more than I can say.

2. Some of my dogs have weighed more than I do.

3. I was once the only girl on a boys’ basketball team.

4. I loathe spiders and centipedes.

5. I get depressed when spring rolls around (see #1).

When did you first discover you had a passion for writing?

The day I made my mom cry! That sounds awful, but it really was a pivotal moment in my life. (Sorry, Mom!)

But seriously, I wrote a story for a contest when I was twelve years old. I didn’t place in the contest, but that didn’t matter. Because when I first showed my mom the story, it moved her to tears.

As a twelve-year-old, the realization that I could touch an adult so deeply with my words that she would cry was mind-blowing.

That day, I realized the power of story. And I knew I wanted to keep writing stories that would impact people at their deepest level.

What drew you to romantic suspense?

I probably should’ve known I would want to write romantic suspense earlier than I actually realized that, since I’d long gravitated toward movies that featured both suspense and romance.

And I fell in love with reading romantic suspense with classics like B. J. Hoff’s Storm at Daybreak Series and Dee Henderson’s O’Malley Series.

But when I first started writing novels and getting published, I was focused on writing romance. As I completed my first published series (the Sisters Redeemed Series), I noticed something. I was adding more and more suspense to each book in the three-book series.

It was something that happened naturally, and I found I loved writing those suspense elements. Since I’ve always been a person who imagines danger everywhere, I think it was inevitable that I would finally recognize that tendency and use it for good—in crafting romantic suspense stories!

I am always curious about what a suspense writer’s search history might look like! If we were to take a look at yours, what is the most suspicious thing we’d find?

Hmm. I’m not sure I should admit it in public! But if you promise not to tell…I did get a bit nervous when researching Rising Danger, prequel to the Guardians Unleashed Series.

At that time, I had a search history that included investigating security at river dams, how to make improvised explosive devices, and what would happen if a major river flooded!

Before writing novels, you brought stories to life in a different way—in the film industry. How did that experience impact you as a writer?

You’ve really done your research! That experience has impacted me as a writer in many ways.

It helped me realize how cinematic my writing style naturally is and enhanced my awareness and application of those elements in my work. It also increased my understanding of the power of story, especially in the visual medium.

I met people during my time in the film industry who were very different from people I had previously met. As a fiction writer, it was invaluable to experience first-hand a different culture than the one I had lived in until then and to come to understand people of varied personalities, backgrounds, and values. Those experiences have shaped my ability to craft characters who are vastly different from myself and portray them realistically in my stories.

I also learned more about God and the great need for His truth, hope, and redemption to be declared in my writing and my life.

What was the most challenging part of bringing this story to life? The most rewarding?

For me, the plotting stage of my stories is always the most challenging part. I build all my stories around the main character, rather than creating the plot first. In Covert Danger, the heroine Amalia Pérez is a rogue CIA agent, so I knew I wanted to make this a fast-paced, action-packed ride to fit her crazy skills and lifestyle. That meant coming up with nearly non-stop exciting elements to surprise readers and keep them at the edge of their seats. And I also had to put my brain through some mind-bending cartwheels to figure out some twists that will hopefully add some surprises readers won’t see coming!

The most rewarding part of bringing Covert Danger to life was reading it after it was basically finished, in my final editing pass, and seeing all the moments God somehow brought about to make this book all I hoped it would be. As I’m writing, I usually can’t tell if the book is any good, and I fear it isn’t. But when I got some distance on Covert Danger and all the pieces were in place, I could stand back and marvel at what God had done to bring His story to the page.

Can you tell us a little bit more about Covert Danger?

In addition to being a thrill-ride and romance about Amalia Pérez and her reunion with her childhood best friend, Michael Barrett, another aspect of Covert Danger that early readers tell me they enjoy is the team from the Phoenix K-9 Security and Detection Agency.

An elite, all-women agency, the Phoenix K-9 team is made up of five ladies and their K-9s who appear in all the books in the Guardians Unleashed Series.

These women and their dogs have an easy camaraderie and a deep bond that makes them more of a family than co-workers. Each woman, and dog, brings something special to the table, both professionally and relationally as they make each other stronger.

I’ve enjoyed featuring the PK-9 team members’ interactions and how they support one another in Rising Danger, Hidden Danger, and now Covert Danger.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

I hope they come away from Covert Danger with a greater understanding of what truth is and how important truth is, not just to believe, but to live.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go, are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?

I’m busy working on Book Three in the Guardians Unleashed Series, Unseen Danger!

I’m in the exciting phase of figuring out what suspenseful and dangerous situations I can throw at my heroine, Nevaeh Williams of the Phoenix K-9 Agency and her prospective hero, Branson Aaberg.

Nevaeh has reasons for not trusting Branson from the get-go, but they’re forced to work together to protect a celebrity from an unknown assailant.

Should be another suspense-filled story with twists, romance, and hope!

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card, a signed Covert Danger paperback, plus a Covert Danger mug and swag.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 26, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 3, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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