EXCERPT FROM EVERY DEEP DESIRE

How, after all these years, could she still be so susceptible to him? Because he’d once been her husband. The one man she’d loved beyond reason. Forever and always. She tilted her head, and the brush became a demand. The demand became an ache. And the ache became a need so great she threw her arms around his neck. Her world tilted, his arms tightened, and his lips explored hers as if he’d never kissed anyone else ever. The air around them vibrated, matching the motion of the kiss.

He broke away, leaving her a disoriented mess.

“Juliet.” The word rolled like a wave break. Forward, then retreating. His body heaved, and he ran his hands over his prison-shorn hair. “I’m sorry.”

Those words stung more than his rejection. He was sorry. Hadn’t he said so in his letter eight years ago? “You should leave.” She glanced at her clock. “It’s almost three a.m. We both need to sleep.”

And she needed to be alone. Because when he touched her, she melted. When he whispered, she caved. And when he kissed her, she begged for more. It’d always been like that. All he had to do was walk into a room, and she wanted him. When he looked at her, like she was the only woman he’d ever need, she dreamed of lying beneath him, his heavy body possessing hers. Her reaction to him was sad, pathetic, and wrong. She wasn’t sure who she hated more: him or herself for her reaction to him.

Without warning, he swung her up and laid her on the bed. “I’m asking you to help me fix what I’ve ruined. Then your life can go on as it was.”

Her eyes drifted closed. The nightmare’s adrenaline rush left as swiftly as it came in, leaving her depleted. She heard the words, but his face blinked in and out of time and space. The bed sagged, and she scooted over so he could adjust his body. Then, just before sleep hit, she reached to feel his warmth.

No, she wasn’t happy he’d been released from prison. She wasn’t happy he’d come home. She wasn’t happy he’d kissed her and she’d kissed him back. But she didn’t want to be alone. And that was going to be a problem.

SHARON WRAY’S BIOGRAPHY

Sharon is a librarian who once studied dress design in the couture houses of Paris and now writes novels of suspense, adventure, and love. A wife, mother of twins, caretaker of Donut the One-Eyed Family Dog, she’s addicted to snapping photos and eating Oreos. She’s repped by Deidre Knight and Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency.

INTERVIEW WITH SHARON WRAY

Sharon Wray’s debut novel, EVERY DEEP DESIRE, was published on March 6, 2018 by Sourcebooks. It is a romantic suspense novel, and it is the first in the Deadly Force Series. Since the publication of EVERY DEEP DESIRE, I have interviewed Sharon about her novel and her writing process.

Question- Please describe what the book is about:

Sharon Wray: Rafe Montfort was a decorated Green Beret, the best of the best, until a disastrous mission and an unforgivable betrayal destroyed his life. Now, this deadly soldier has returned to the sultry Georgia swamps to reunite with his brothers and take back all he lost. But his wife, Juliet, must never know the truth behind what he’s done or the dangerous secret that threatens to take him from her forever.

Q- Where did you get the idea?

SW: I was working on another book and writing in my journal and I ended up writing a scene about a man who’d been unexpectedly released from Leavenworth prison and had come home to find his wife. At the time, I had no idea what the story was about or who Rafe’s wife really was. But I did know it would be a retelling (in the most general sense of the word) of Romeo and Juliet as well as a redemption of the tragedy.

Q- What’s the story behind the title?

SW: My publisher picked the title because all of mine were terrible. But I think it’s perfect for the story and the genre.

Q- No spoiler, but tell us something we won’t find out just by reading the book jacket.

SW: When Rafe returns home, Juliet learns that her husband had joined a secret, current-day private army known as The Fianna who date back to pagan Ireland, during the early Roman invasions in the first century A.D. Irish myths say that the brutal Fianna army was the reason Rome never conquered Ireland.

Q- Tell us about your favorite character:

SW: My heroine Juliet Capel. Her life was torn apart by Rafe’s abandonment and just as she’s put her life back together, he returns. Except now, she’s unable to rely on or trust others which is exactly what she needs to do to save herself and those she loves.

Q- If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you do?

SW: I’d spend the day with Nate Walker, an ex-Green Beret, secondary character and hero of book 2 (still untitled), and we’d explore the Cemetery of Lost Children on the Isle of Hope (a fictional sea island off the coast of Savannah, GA, owned by Juliet Capel). I’d love to see this cemetery that’s the source of the mysteries in Every Deep Desire and Book 2. And I’d love to get Nate to tell me more about himself and how he and his men ended up in Savannah instead of having to learn it all by writing and rewriting drafts of his story.

Q- Are your character based on real people, or do they come from your imaginations?

SW: They are all imaginary. Although I wish they were real.

Q- How long did you take to write this book?

SW: I drafted and redrafted this book for a few years, off and on, as I wrote other things. Then I rewrote the beginning and my agent sold this book on proposal in July 2016. Since then I’ve been writing, revising, editing, and proofing this book while writing book 2 in the series.

Q-What kind of research did you do for this book?

SW: Tons. This series is about a group of ex-Green Berets trying to figure out who set up their unit and had them dishonorably discharged. But the brilliant man behind their disgrace is obsessed with history’s greatest mysteries. Each book revolves around an obscure historical fact or event that will eventually tie in to why these soldiers’ lives were destroyed. Despite the research, I fictionalize many things for the sake of the story.

Q- What did you remove from this book during the editing process?

SW: A lot. I removed a bunch of scenes from a secondary character’s point of view. I also removed a complete secondary story line.

Q- Are you a plotter or a pantser?

SW: Both. I do a brief outline of turning points, major scenes, etc. before I start drafting. Then I revise the outline before revising.

Q- What is your favorite part of your writing process, and why?

SW: Revising. Because I love the wordsmithing part more than the story discovery part.

Q- What is the most challenging part of your writing process, and why?

SW: Drafting. I’m not sure why, but figuring out the initial story details is always the most stressful part for me.

Q- Can you share your writing routine?

SW: My preference is to write every day in the morning through early afternoon. Then late in the afternoon until dinner. I usually write at home at my tiny desk in my kitchen. But sometimes I go to a coffee shop or bookstore to write.

Q- Have you ever gotten writer’s block? If yes, how do you overcome it?

SW: Yes, and it’s always during the drafting phase. I overcome it by sitting down and writing anyway. I’m on deadline with three books. I can’t afford the time that writer’s block steals from me.

Q- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

SW: Not to worry so much and that everything will work out at the right time.

Q- How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

SW: LOL. Too many to count.

Q- Do you have any writing quirks?

SW: Every time I sit down to write, I have a pattern of checking email and a few websites before I write. Then I do the same thing when I’m about to take a break. I don’t do anything with the email or websites, just scan the headlines to make sure the kids don’t need me and we haven’t been overrun by zombies. I get so deeply involved in my stories while I write that the neighborhood would be overrun before I noticed. LOL.

Q- Tell us about yourself.

SW: I’m a librarian and was also a wedding gown designer. And I have a one-eyed rescue dog that the kids named Donut.

Q- How did you get into writing?

SW: I’d had twins and had to give up my wedding gown designing gig (as well as turn my sewing room into a nursery). Then the library I was working in closed. I needed a creative outlet that let me stay home with the kids. It was through the Artist’s Way that I realized my love for books, reading and journaling might translate into writing novels.

Q- What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

SW: I love to spend time with my family and friends, and I love to travel. During the summer, I enjoy gardening even though I’m terrible at it.

Q- Apart from novel writing, do you do any other kind(s) of writing?

SW: I love blogging and journaling. Although I really need to find some more physically active ways to relax.

Q- Share something about you most people probably don’t know.

SW: I once lived in South Korea and worked for the American Red Cross.

Q- Which book influenced you the most?

SW: JANE EYRE. I read it when I was 14, in one sitting, and I was a changed person by the time I finished.

Q- What are you working on right now?

SW: Book 2 (still untitled) in the Deadly Force Series. This book is about Nate Walker, the secondary hero in EVERY DEEP DESIRE.

Q- What’s your favorite writing advice?

SW: Don’t ever give up on your dreams. It took me over 12 years to sell and almost 14 years to see my book in print. And it was worth the effort and time and patience.

Q- The book you’re currently reading.

SW: Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Q- Are you a daytime or a nighttime writer?

SW: I prefer writing in the morning and late afternoon but when I’m on deadline I’m at my desk 24/7.

Q- Are you more productive during certain seasons of the year?

SW: I’m a winter writer. For some reason the cold, bleak Virginia weather suits my writing habit. I always do my best work in the winter.