Shannon here: Cindy Bonds shares how she met her husband and how her characters meet in her debut Romantic Suspense novel, Hostage. Just a reminder, Cindy’s book will be published by Scrivenings Press, my joint venture with Linda Fulkerson. All comments will go in Friday’s drawing. Deadline: July 21st, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Cindy:
When we first met…
Back in the early 2000’s, I was attending the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville Arkansas. I had never really considered meeting my spouse while in college, although I had several friends that either had plans to do so or were already engaged by my senior year.
After failed attempts of dating, I had decided to simply enjoy my last year of college, no attachments or drama. I worked not only as an RA but also as an intramural official.
At the beginning of my senior year, I was helping to referee the flag football season. As a small college, we had no football team so intramural flag football was very competitive. One of the teams that year had several freshman and one of those guys apparently tried to speak with me while on the field, during the game.
Garrett has commented since then that I ignored him on purpose, but I swear, I never even heard him!
(I do want to point out that although we were almost four years apart in college, we are only two years apart in age…)
We were all part of a large group and through our friends, we became friends. During the winter formal that December, a mutual friend of ours asked me to go with him. At the formal, we all sat together and by the end of the night, my date had gone to a party and Garrett walked me back to the dorm.
And that was that! (And yes, that is his jacket over my shoulders because it was freezing and my sweater wasn’t enough. What a gentleman!)
The heroine and hero in my book are Macy Packer and Kane Bledsoe. Unfortunately, their love story begins in a very dark place.
Trapped in a prison, Kane finds himself watching over a woman that was brought in unconscious. Knowing the danger she would be in once she wakes, he does his best to convince her to get out no matter the cost. She becomes a focus, someone to help instead of dealing the pain around him.
Macy appreciates the encouragement from Kane but has never considered those kind of odds. His intense eyes and gruff voice give her comfort as she sits in her own cell all alone. She finds herself a victim of interrogations and ends up taking Kane’s advice.
They become friends in that terrible place and as they find each other back on free soil, that friendship starts to become much more.
About Cindy: Cindy lives with her husband Garrett in the small town of Clinton Arkansas. They have two children, Conner and Kenzie, and are surrounded by farmland and cattle. With a full time job, a part time job and being a mom, carving time for her writing has become an art!
Cindy loves to read romantic suspense, write and spend time with her family. Her first novel, Hostage, comes out September 8th by Scrivenings Press.
Visit her at cindybonds.com to sign up for more info on her first release!
About the book – Hostage:
Her confidence shot, Agent Macy Packer desperately wants to go back to her regular life, before she was taken hostage. To forget the pain, the fear and forget the man that helped her through all of it, then disappeared.
Kane Bledsoe is finally healed, his scars serving as a reminder of his time in prison. But all he can think about is the blue-eyed woman that saved him. She had saved them all and left him with a burning hope.
When a chance meeting and attack proves Macy is once again a target, Kane decides to do what he can to protect her. But as the familiarity of their enemy grows, so does the connection between them.
Kane will have to decide how far he’s willing to go in order to protect Macy. Can he risk captivity and torture a second time in order to save her?
Question for Readers: Is there anyone you met in school or college who ended up being a constant in your life?
Come back July 24th for Jessica White!
I’m super excited about Cindy’s upcoming debut novel! Congratulations! All your hard work will be worth it when you hold your book baby in your hands. 🙂
Hey Cindy, glad to have you here. I have a really good friend I met in high school. We get together for birthdays, Christmas and sometimes just because to eat out, visit, and shop. Also, my husband was my high school sweetheart. I didn’t go to college, but I was a hair dresser for ten years. I went to cosmetology school with my hair dresser, so I have several people in my life that I met in a school setting.
What a wonderful story <3 I love the pictures!
The book sounds great too! I'd love to read it!
Answering the question, yes, I have couple friends that are still here for me – no matter the different countries and the distance in between 🙂
I married my senior prom date! 44 years later – here we are! We also stay in touch with many of our high school friends. They are a great bunch!
While I have not kept in contact with anyone from high school, I have many friends from college—our campus group from church bonded well & forever. My husband & I met in church during college (dated for 2 months before becoming engaged, married 9 months later, just celebrated 25th anniversary this year!). My best friend & I met during college (nursing school) & have been through thick & thin together for almost 30 years now. Looking forward to reading the new book!
I met my husband in college and my best friend and I have been friends since kindergarten. Fun question!
I met my best friend Julie in middle school!still friends to this day!