Sara Davison – Real Life Romance & Romantic Excerpt- Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Sara Davison shares insight into her real life romance, and her fictional romance in her latest Romantic Suspense, The Color of Sky and Stone (In the Shadows – Book One). Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a print copy, Canada or the US. Deadline: Jan 13th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Sara:

Knowing at First Sight

I’ve never believed in love at first sight, but the moment I met my husband I understood that there is definitely such a thing as knowing immediately, on some deep level, that this is your person, the one you are meant to spend your life with.

I have shared on this blog before that I knew with absolute certainty when I accepted an invitation to go with friends to play ball with the college and career group from their church and they introduced me to Michael that the two of us would get married.

We talked all through the game and he handed me his business card at the end as I was leaving. I hadn’t asked him his last name, and I have a vivid memory, twenty-eight years later, of standing in my parents’ kitchen that night, clutching that card. I was afraid to look at it in case I didn’t like his last name, since I knew it would be mine one day (thankfully, I did).

We started dating in October and I met his parents for the first time on Christmas Day. Three days later, we had dinner with his parents and mine, the second time I had ever been with my future-in-laws. Between the main course and dessert, Michael proposed.

My parents, who lived in the same town and had seen how virtually inseparable we had been for ten weeks weren’t surprised, but my poor in-laws. Although they didn’t say so, I’m sure the thought uppermost in their minds was Who are you again?

We married eleven weeks later, and after almost twenty-eight years of marriage and three kids now in their twenties, I have never once questioned the realization I had the night I met him that we would spend our lives together.

The experience of my hero and heroine in my latest romantic suspense release, The Color of Sky and Stone, is quite different. They connect when a letter Lia writes for someone else falls into undercover cop Tane’s hands by mistake. Although he knows he shouldn’t, he writes back as the intended recipient—his partner who was killed next to him on a mission.

Tane only intends to write her once, to let her know how much her words meant to him. Instead, his response ignites a correspondence that changes both their lives. Their relationship develops through letters, but they don’t meet in person until two-thirds of the way through the book, in this scene.

Excerpt from The Color of Sky and Stone by Sara Davison:

Tane tightened his grip on the handle of the weapon.

The door opened slowly. Too late to call his handler. Tane gripped his weapon tighter as he pressed his back to the wall behind the door. A hooded, shadowy figure glided past the edge of it, and Tane lunged forward and pressed the muzzle of the pistol against the guy’s temple.

Neither of them moved for a few seconds, until the intruder spoke. “Would you mind removing your gun from my head?”

A woman. Which didn’t make her any less of a threat. Keeping the weapon where it was, Tane reached past her to flick on the light. She lifted her hands slowly and then tugged off the hood of her navy sweatshirt. Intense blue eyes met his and he jerked the Glock away from her. Shock reverberated through him, leaving tingles of electricity sparking over his skin. “Lia.”

Her eyelids closed briefly. “Until you said that, I wasn’t sure you were him.” She opened her eyes. “Him but not him.”

Him but not him. That sounded about right. “I almost shot you.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” she said calmly. “Because the two of us have things to discuss.”

By the time they discover who the other one is, Tane and Lia have already fallen for each other. When their identities are revealed, however, they realize it is far too dangerous for them to be together. If they ever hope to be, it will take a miracle…

Not all relationships are this challenging, but whenever two broken, fallible human beings attempt to merge their lives into one, it always takes a miracle from the gracious God who brought them together. And it takes His good gifts of love, patience, perseverance, forgiveness, kindness, and grace to forge a marriage that lasts a lifetime.

Question for Readers: What do you love about Romantic Suspense?

About Sara: Sara Davison has a passion for writing stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats—and maybe swooning a little. A finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including the Christy Award, Davison is a Cascade, Word, and two-time Carol Award winner for romantic suspense. She lives in Ontario with her husband, Michael. Like every good Canadian, she loves coffee, hockey, poutine, and apologizing for no particular reason. Learn more and connect:

Sara’s Website – subscribe to her short, monthly newsletter.        Sara’s Facebook

Sara’s Instagram            Sara’s Goodreads              Sara’s Bookbub

 About the book – The Color of Sky and Stone:

She is the only one who truly sees him.
Which makes her his greatest threat.

Black ops undercover agent Tane Temauri—code name Vapor—has made it his life’s mission to stay out of sight. Given the dangers inherent in his job, the last thing he can afford is to step into the open and become a target. Again.

Then a letter from a mysterious stranger changes everything. Although the letter was not meant for him, somehow, on a greater, cosmic scale, it feels as though it is.

But answering it will make Tane vulnerable.

How can he emerge from the shadows to risk everything for a woman he has never met?
If he does, more than his heart could be on the line. So could his life.

And hers.

Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Sara’s other titles?

Get your copy/copies now!

The Color of Sky and Stone             Sara Books

Come back Jan 9th for Regina Rudd Merrick!