Meet Melinda Leigh, Montlake Romance debut author of SHE CAN RUN

I’m giving away 2 copies of SHE CAN RUN today!  Comment for a chance to win.

This is my first time blogging with Coffee Time Romance, but I feel at home already.  I’m addicted to romantic suspense, and I nearly always have a great big cup o’ Joe on my desk.  Here’s a little about me.

I’m a former banker turned stay-at-home mom who discovered a few months into my youngest child’s first full time school year that I wanted to write a book.  With a lifelong love of romances, mysteries, and thrillers, romantic suspense was the natural choice.  I enjoy stories that keep me on the edge of my seat, yet also give me the emotional satisfaction of a happily-ever-after.

When I begin a new story, I start with the bare skeleton of an idea: two characters coming together via the worst situation. I generally know how I want my book to end.  At this point, it’s the middle that’s still murky.  What obstacles will my characters need to overcome to maximize the emotional payoff at the end?  I gear my conflict toward their deepest fears.  After all, the more grueling their ordeal, the sweeter their triumph.  In romantic suspense, the hero and heroine have to earn their happily-ever-after the hard way.

In SHE CAN RUN, the heroine, Beth, is faced with her darkest nightmare. Her bad decision has put her children in danger. In order to survive and save her kids, Beth will have to make an other, even harder, choice.  She got into this situation by trusting the wrong man. Can she ever trust another?  Can she afford not to?

What makes a happily-ever-after extra special for you? 

SHE CAN RUN, recently released from Montlake Romance, is the first story I sat down and decided to write. The book is a part of me, and I am delighted to share it with all of you. 

SHE CAN RUN

Ten months ago, Elizabeth Baker uncovered a dangerous secret about her politician husband—a secret that nearly got her killed. Now she and her children are running for their lives. When Beth is hired as the caretaker of a remote Pennsylvania estate, she dares to hope she has found a corner of the world where Congressman Richard Baker can’t find them. But when her new boss dies suddenly and his nephew inherits the estate, Beth is faced with outwitting a former homicide detective who is very smart, very suspicious—and very attractive.

Forced into retirement by an injury and grieving the loss of his uncle, Jack O’Malley is unprepared to share his new home with a strange woman and her two kids. He is even less prepared for the instantaneous attraction he feels whenever Beth enters the room. She is beautiful, intelligent, kind…and obviously terrified of someone or something. As Jack’s investigation uncovers the shocking details of Beth’s past, the rural community is shaken by the murder of a local woman  Driven by instinct and desire, Jack is determined to keep Beth and her children safe, even if doing so means putting his heart—and his life —on the line.

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a copy!