Shannon here: Sara Davison shares the contrast in how she met her husband with how her characters meet in her latest Romantic Suspense, Driven. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a paperback copy. Deadline: Feb 20th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Sara:
Not Exactly Love at First Sight
I was honored to be featured on this blog in May 2020, at which time I shared with you how my husband, Michael, and I met. I’d been invited by friends to join them for their weekly church baseball game, and Michael was one of the first people I spoke to. By the time the game was over, I knew I had met the man I was going to marry. Ten weeks later he got down on one knee and proposed in front of both our sets of parents, and we were married eleven weeks after that. In March 2021 we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and I have never questioned the decision to spend my life with him. He is still my best friend and my soul mate and I look forward to every day God gives us together.
The hero and heroine of Driven, my latest romantic suspense novel, do not share similar feelings when they first meet. At least, Jax Rodriguez might, but Mikayla Grant decidedly does not. Her first impression of Jax is not favorable. She believes him to be arrogant, shallow, and far too self-confident for his own good, and it takes Jax quite a bit of time and some very difficult circumstances to convince her otherwise. Here is an excerpt from Driven describing how the two of them first meet.
Excerpt from Driven by Sara Davison:
The doors swung open and a tall man in black jeans and a fitted gray, V-necked T-shirt under a light khaki leather jacket stepped into the kitchen. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and even from across the room, his eyes appeared so dark they were almost black.
Mikayla pressed her lips together to stifle a groan. You have got to be kidding me. This was the random guy? In addition to the extra effort God had clearly put into him, the man definitely knew how to dress. Weren’t private investigators supposed to be good at blending in, not drawing attention to themselves? If so, he had to be the worst PI in the world. She sank onto the stool at the island.
“Hey, Nicole. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
Was that a Spanish accent? Made sense, given his name and the whole Latino thing he had going on. Mikayla shifted on the stool, but he didn’t glance her way. Hmm.
Nicole turned off the burner below the pot. “Thanks, Jax. Could you grab the gravy boat off the island and hold it for me so I can pour this in?”
Jax walked over to the island. Reaching past Mikayla, so close she practically had to lean out of the way, he grabbed the white ceramic dish. A faint hint of tantalizing cologne hung in the air when he straightened.
Seriously?
The corners of his mouth twitched, as though he could feel her ire and found it amusing as he turned away and carried the gravy boat to the stove. “Here you go.” He held it so Nicole could tip the pan and carefully pour the gravy into it.
“Thanks.” Nicole wiped the edge of the pot with the spatula before returning it to the stove. “As you can probably guess, that’s my sister Mikayla Grant. Kayla, this is Jax.”
The guilt in Nicole’s voice was gone, replaced by repressed laughter. Mikayla frowned. Is that why I’ve been brought in tonight? To be the appointed entertainment?
“Ah.” Jax’s face brightened, as if he was noticing her for the first time. He wandered to the island and set the gravy boat on the marble surface.
Mikayla started to hold out her hand, but he leaned in and kissed her on one cheek and then the other. The light stubble that covered the lower half of his face brushed against her skin. “That is how we do it in my country.”
Heat crept up her neck. “And what country is that?”
“Canada.” Daniel pushed through the French doors. “Don’t let the whole fake accent, this-is-how-we-do-it-in-my-country thing fool you. Dude was born in Toronto.”
Sara again: Their relationship gets worse from there—a lot worse—before it begins to get better. And, given that this is a suspense novel, you know their circumstances will as well. But, through the grace of God, Jax and Mikayla find their HEA in the end.
Just like Michael and me.
About Sara: Sara Davison is the author of three romantic suspense series, The Seven Trilogy, The Night Guardians, and The Rose Tattoo Trilogy. She has been a finalist for ten national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol, a Selah, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children, all of whom she (literally) looks up to.
Sara’s Website (sign up for monthly newsletter) Sara’s Twitter Sara’s Facebook
About the book – Driven:
Children aren’t the only ones who can disappear.
Driven by ongoing grief and relentless dreams, Holden Kelly is determined to track down the child his brother Gage abducted eight years earlier. The kidnapping that saved Matthew Gibson’s life had cost Gage his. Proving his brother hadn’t sacrificed his life for nothing might be the only way Holden can start fully living his again. And it could be the last chance he has to find his way back to the wife he loves but who is also mired in grief and a crisis of faith.
Mikayla Grant has nightmares of her own. A road trip with private investigator Jax Rodriguez—a man she is drawn to even though his primary goal seems to be to drive her crazy—can’t be the way to heal from a terrible loss. Can it?
As Holden, Mikayla, and Jax follow the missing child’s trail from Toronto to Chicago, their mission is not as secret as they thought. Someone knows they are coming and will stop at nothing to prevent them from finding Matthew.
And to make sure that no one ever hears from the three of them again.
Question for Readers: Have you ever had a bad first impression of someone you later realized was actually really great. Why did you have that initial impression and what changed your mind?
Come back Feb 16 for Lori Ramsey!
No, usually I have had the opposite experience. I will think someone is great and find out they are not so nice. Usually how I get myself in trouble is when I don’t listen to God’s whisper warning me. I can be oblivious so it usually takes God whacking me on the head to get my attention. 🙂
Yes, lol, my hubby…
Not necessarily bad impression but I didn’t like his name and his looks – man I was wrong…
He became my best friend and my partner.
Yes,a guy I met at work! First time I met him he had scraggly hair and biker jacket and tattoos,thought he was a hoodlum until I got to know him better and found him to be a really sweet guy who liked bikes.
No, I can’t recall that ever happening to me. This sounds like a great book, thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
I have a winner! Carol Lumley won the drawing. I appreciate Sara for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.