Shannon here: Heidi Glick shares how she met her husband and how her characters meet in her debut Romantic Suspense, Dog Tags. Comment on this post to enter the drawing for an e-book copy. Deadline: May 3rd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Heidi:
I met my husband, John, in college. We were both studying secondary education to become teachers, and we were introduced through mutual friends. When we met, we were dating other people, but eventually, the Lord brought us together.
The hero of Dog Tags, Mark Graham, a prior service marine and college professor, and my heroine, Elizabeth (Beth) Martindale, a middle school teacher, have known each other since childhood. Mark was best friends with Beth’s brother. However, they haven’t seen each other for several years prior to the beginning of the book.
Excerpt (from the end of a scene where Mark is trying to help a woman with a flat tire, unaware that it is Beth):
“Everything OK?”
The woman stopped, held up the card, and turned around. “It says here you’re Mark Graham.”
“That’s right.” She appeared to be older than the average Riversdale Community College student—mid-twenties perhaps. But if she did attend there, that made her completely off limits. “Are you taking one of my classes next semester?”
“No.”
An attractive woman. Not a student, yet she knew him. Interesting. “Should I know you?”
She gave him a once over. “Nah.” The woman began to walk away but stopped. “Mark Graham from Beaumont, Ohio?”
He flinched. His mind searched through memories of all the pretty girls from home, but he drew a blank. “I’m sorry I can’t remember your name, though I wish I did.” He bit back a grin.
She stretched out her hand to shake his. “Beth…Elizabeth Martindale.”
The warmth of her touch jolted him, and it took a moment for her words to register. He studied her face again and factored in for age progression. Those cheekbones, that nose. Yep, a Martindale all right. Heat raced up his cheeks as he remembered his earlier thoughts. Very complicated. She might as well have been a student—definitely in the untouchable, out-of-reach category.
Beth stared at him then at the ground.
Had she noticed the look of fear that must have shown on his face?
“Anyway, thanks.” She walked toward her car.
“You’re welcome.” His mind flashed back to the last time he’d seen Private Martindale, or his sister, for that matter. The only thing about her appearance that might have given away her identity earlier was her slight Midwestern accent, which he recognized the more she spoke. What was she doing here?
Beth rested one hand on the door handle before entering her car. She turned toward him. “I have a question for you. Sort of personal. But you’re here, so I might as well ask.”
Had she recognized him in front of the Hometown Café, ten years prior? He’d stopped in Beaumont for coffee on his last trip home, but as he’d left, he ran into Beth. Back then, she’d been so young, and she’d given little indication she’d recognized him. Shoot, when he’d first come home from duty, he hardly recognized himself. And she certainly had changed over the years—blossomed into a beautiful woman.
“I ran into Bob Overmeyer in Beaumont a few weeks ago. He told me you were injured trying to save my brother.” Beth lowered her voice. “Is that true?”
Leave it to Overmeyer to have such a big mouth. Mark avoided eye contact. How much did she know? His shoulders tensed.
About Heidi: Heidi Glick has a B.A. in biology, a minor in Bible from Cedarville University, and a passion for writing Christian fiction. Additionally, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and has written two articles for Intercom. Heidi’s debut suspense novel, “Dog Tags,” was released in June 2013. Learn more and connect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQPwihJMrI&list=PL159CB48F1BA11ABF, heidiglickbooks.com, http://sleuthsandsuspects.blogspot.com, http://queencityquill.blogspot.com, http://www.facebook.com/authorheidiglick, https://twitter.com/sheglick, http://pinterest.com/sheglick/
About the book – Dog Tags: When disabled ex-Marine Mark Graham reconnects with his best friend’s sister, he finds himself falling in love. But Beth Martindale’s presence is a constant reminder of events he’d rather forget. Mark wants to move forward, but the secrets surrounding her brother’s death as well as his own confinement to a wheelchair threaten to tear them apart. When a psychopath who calls himself The Knight fixates on Beth, Mark is determined to give her the protection he failed to give her brother on the battlefield, yet he discovers that a wheelchair isn’t the only impediment he has to keeping Beth safe. Will terror win or can Mark find the strength of mind and body to rescue Beth and find his own redemption?
Purchase Link
http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=27bfd1b51c09d69e2d0df0afdfa6e60b&keyword=dog+tags
Also, “Dog Tags” is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christian Book Distributors.
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Interesting read. Would like to be entered in the giveaway.
Well, I am certainly intrigued by this one. I would love to read more of this story, for sure. Thank you.
melback at cebridge dot net
Would love to read this book…….
Please have a terrific day
God bless you
Chris Granville
Sounds like a great read! 🙂
I’ve been looking forward to this book for awhile. Sounds intriguing.
Sounds like Love can overcome the fears. Sounds like a great story. Will she blame him for her brothers death? Just like the stories of all great novels…and they lived happily ever after. I hope…LOL!!! Would love to read this book.
Thanks for stopping by!
I’d like to enter the draw… I’ve been hearing good things about Dog Tags!
Please enter me in the drawing. Something completely different for my bookshelf. 🙂
I have a winner! Anna won the drawing. I appreciate Heidi for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.