Have you ever had a character or characters that stuck with you? You finished reading a great book loaded with great characters, satisfied with their happily ever after, but couldn’t stop thinking about them. Did you ever wonder what happened to them after it was all said and done? Or maybe you wished they hadn’t finalized their HEA so soon. Maybe, you wished the author had dragged it out a few more books.

I’m one of those readers. If I like certain characters a lot, I like to keep following their lives for a few more books. Continuance series are my favorite, because I do get emotionally invested in some characters and I want return to their lives again and again. And I’m a huge fan of suspense/thrillers. I love seeing those men and women get into trouble and watching them get out of it. That love affair with continuance series and danger brought about the conception of my Degrees of Darkness series, and its stars Detective Remy LeBeau and cowgirl Cody Lewis.

These two go way back. I mean to the dark ages of my life—High School. (Where’s the Law and Order duhn-duhn when you need it?) While my classmates were busy worrying about their next date, I had my nose buried in a mystery and/or romance novel or in many cases a notebook, furiously scribbling away at some plot idea banging around in my head. Remy and Cody came into existence during those days. Yes, I’m aware that their names are both 4 letters and both end in y, and in some cases gender confusing. But, hey, that’s the joy of being the author, you can make them whoever you want, and those names stuck like fly paper to me and to them.

Being a lover of all things mystery, this was how they started, though Remy hadn’t quite evolved into a detective. Eventually I got sucked up in my own happily ever after and Remy and Cody got shoved onto a backburner. Time passes, I got married and had twins. Well, as a stay-at-home-mom, I got bored in those moments when my babies were actually sleeping and I had nothing to do. Out came Remy and Cody. And for the next eleven years and 2 more kids, I wrote, molded, did extensive research until I finally came up with the right people to take center stage. In those years I’d toyed with the idea of making the series have a different set of characters be the main Hero and Heroine while Remy’s and Cody’s relationship played out in the background. But it never worked out as well, because those two dominated my thoughts and writing. Oh, believe me, I wrote plenty of other books with different characters, but I still kept coming back to those two.

Now these two get to be enjoyed by readers other than me or my plethora of critique partners and beta readers. Here’s where I get to the good part. Telling you a little about them.

Cajun Remy LeBeau is a detective with the Dallas police department. He came to Dallas from New Orleans under secret and deadly circumstances. He’s known around the department as IceMan, due to his coldness in confronting each case that crosses his desk. He trusts no one, especially his partner of 2 years, and he never gets involved with women. Until a certain redhead struts into his department one day, then a few days later becomes the witness in a homicide Remy has to work. And the sparks fly.

Barrel racer Cody Lewis harbors her own secrets and a past with tragedy. She’s got a one track mind when it comes to barrel racing, and no one, not even a relentless serial killer, will keep her from attending the National Finals Rodeo. Hard as she tries to separate herself from Remy, she’s drawn to him and the dark past that haunts him. Soon her dreams and life are threatened, and she might have that stubborn Cajun to thank for the upheaval in her life.

My first book, Relentless, released this week. It’s the first in a four book series. And I’m excited out of my mind to finally have these two out there for the world to read. Granted, I know not every reader will appreciate my Cajun detective and his tart-mouthed redhead. But I do hope for those that do, they love them as much as I do and the secondary cast of characters that have become as much a part of the family as Remy and Cody.

Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs.

Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . . .

As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention from the killer. Battling his partner, his attraction to Cody, and the demons of his past, catching the killer could cost Remy everything. Even Cody’s life.

BUY LINKS:

Crimson Romance: http://www.crimsonromance.com/upcoming-releases-romance-ebook/relentless

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Crimson-Romance-ebook/dp/B00B03EHUA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358262763&sr=1-1&keywords=relentless+winter+austin

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/relentless-winter-austin/1114192565?ean=9781440564444

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