Rich Bullock – Romantic Excerpt – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Suspense author, Rich Bullock shares a romantic excerpt from his novel, Perilous Cove. Comment on this post for a chance to win a copy in e-book format or a PDF Download. Deadline: Aug. 4th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Rich:

Quote from Rich: Sheryl and I have been married for nearly 41 years, and it’s because of her I have any idea what true love can and should be. Otherwise, my life would be fiction!
Excerpt: Perilous Cove by Rich Bullock
The call of a circling gull brought his head up, and she examined his profile. Today he wore faded jeans, a chambray work shirt and tennis shoes, so different from his detective attire. He appeared completely at ease, and his face had lost the stress lines she remembered from Missouri.
He led her onward, and several times he seemed about to say something, only to turn toward the bay. Finally, she stopped, and the tug on his hand brought him around to face her. The main street of town lay a hundred yards ahead; the aroma of coffee from The Last Drop swirled on the breeze.
“What is it, Addison?” Now he looked like a ten-year-old called to the principal’s office.
“Ahhh, I…” He glanced down and placed his other hand on hers and she did the same. But he didn’t say anything, simply rubbed the back of her hand. A pink blush crept up his neck.
“Addison, if we keep standing here like this, people are going to think we’re pledging undying love or something.”
His eyes followed her nod toward the town and people walking along the boardwalk. He dropped her hands and stepped back, shoving his own in his pockets. “Oh. Sorry.”
Feeling bad for his embarrassment, she slipped her arm around his waist and hooked her fingers in a belt loop and smiled. “It’s okay. Come on. I’ll buy you a really good cup of coffee. Not like the stuff I make.”
He laughed and his arm draped across her shoulders, casual, natural, speaking silent words of safety and security, a message she hadn’t heard in many years.
About Rich: Rich Bullock writes stories of ordinary people put in perilous situations, where lives are changed forever. Perilous Cove is his first published novel—it was a semi-finalist in the Zondervan First Novel Contest, 2009. His second novel, Storm Song, won the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) 2010 Genesis Contest in suspense. Storm Song will be available soon.  
He is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Quills of Faith writing group in Redding, California. His first writing experience was at ten years old on a well-used typewriter, where several keys added extra spaces after striking, and clearing the tangled print arms was a continual chore. The old machine lasted through high school all-nighters.
Fortunate to grow up in small-town San Luis Obispo, California, he developed an eye for settings that remind people of home. He now lives and writes in Redding, California where, on most days, he sees Mount Lassen, Mount Shasta, and the inside of Starbucks.
About the book: What if your husband tried to kill you…after he was dead? 
Jack Clayton dies suddenly, leaving his wife, Natalie Clayton, with grief, funeral expenses, and a nasty mother-in-law. Now, someone wants Natalie dead—and all the evidence points to Jack. 
Detective Addison Conner, as a single dad, struggles to keep one step ahead of his teenage daughter while handling the department’s increasing caseload, but he’s losing on both fronts. An unexpected attraction to Natalie points out how empty his life is. Before he can solve Natalie’s case and look to the future, the attacks become intensely personal. Then Natalie disappears. 
On the rugged California coast, Natalie assumes a new identity and builds a new life, gaining at least part of the family she always wished for in the form of a needy young girl whose faith helps her deal with her messed up family. 
But if Addison can’t catch the killer, everything Natalie’s built may be destroyed. 
For life isn’t safe, especially not in Perilous Cove.
Come back July 27th for an in depth interview with Jennifer Rogers Spinola!