Dear Blog readers, join me in welcoming fellow Anaiah author, Jennifer Chastain. Jennifer, please introduce yourself...
My name is Jennifer Chastain and I’m from Charlotte, NC. I’m originally from a small
dairy farming community in New York State with a total population of less than 2000
people. It was a shock moving to the big city. I guess the thing that people notice about
me is my quirky sense of humor. But I’m also laid back and kind of shy.
Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb?
This is the second book in the Targeted for Elimination series, Lethal Pursuit. The first book
is Lethal Intentions.
Blurb:
Heather Jensen is just trying to survive after her husband’s death. Widowed with two young
children, Heather struggles to make ends meet. But when she receives a storage unit key for
a locker in Hawaii, things go from desperate to dangerous. With nowhere to turn, she enlists
the help of her brother’s former best friend, Mark Hawkins.
FBI Special Agent Mark Hawkins is on the trail of counterfeiters, and he’s traced the
laundered money to Heather. In his gut, he knows that his former best friend, Heather’s
brother, is responsible, but everything points to Heather and her deceased husband.
When events turn deadly, it’s a race against time.
But a greater danger awaits them in the exotic paradise of Hawaii. No stranger to dangerous
situations, Mark has faced death before. But this time, the danger is personal. Can he protect
Heather and her children without losing his heart in the process?
Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this book?
I think the most challenging part of writing this book was keeping the locations consistent
from the first book as well as some of the scenes. Fight scenes are difficult to write.
Share an excerpt?
“This was fantastic. Thank you.” Heather leaned her arms on the table and sipped from
the water goblet. “I know there’s a reason for this dinner. I’m not under any delusions that this is a date. Tell me, Mark. What’s going on?”
He exhaled, but her gaze never left his face. She saw the various emotions scroll across
his features, each one warring with the other until he finally turned away to face the ocean. “Care to join me for a walk?” He held out his hand, and she stood.
Dropping the napkin on her chair, she followed him to a small side gate and down to the
beach. The wind was stronger here, and it whipped her hair around her head. Cool sand squished between her toes, and she shivered. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Mark stood with his back to the ocean. Hands in his pockets, Mark’s muscular body was
silhouetted against the moonlight. “I was able to contact Griff this afternoon.”
She couldn’t read him. She needed to see his face. “What did he say?” Hope crashed to
the shore along with the waves.
“We’re to meet him the day after tomorrow.”
“Why? I thought we’d come here, make the exchange, and get back home. Griff is the
one who told us to come here. Oh Lord, have we made a mistake? What about my kids?” A wail
rose within her.
Mark placed one finger on her lips. “Shh. Not so loud. The kids are fine, and Travis has a
tail on Griff.”
“He’ll tell us if anything changes?”
“Yeah.” He turned and walked up the beach, his pace faster than her short legs.
“Wait up!”
He stopped for a moment. “What? What do you want me to say?” The foamy ocean
swirled around his feet.
“That’s it? That’s all you were going to tell me? I kept quiet all during dinner, and
you…” She closed her eyes and inhaled. Mark’s aftershave mingled with the scent of the ocean.
The mixture made for a heady fragrance.
Mark reached out and captured a few strands of her hair in his fingers, tucked it safely
back in her ponytail. “The less you know, the better.”
She shivered, but not from the wet sand. “Why can’t you trust me?”
“I do trust you, Heather. So much so that I’m…” Mark shook his head, then wrapped an
arm around her shoulder. “Later. We’ll talk about this later.”
Oh, he was frustrating. If she pushed him, he might not tell her anything. “Alright.”
“Come on, let’s get back to the bungalow. You’re shivering.”
Yeah, well, so what if she was cold? She wanted answers, not just some random
statement thrown out to appease her.
Heather stopped next to the walkway that led them to their bungalow. “Can you tell me
what is going on here?” She pointed between them.
Why wouldn’t he just tell her how he felt? He was like an air conditioning unit on the
fritz. Blowing hot air one minute and cold the next. She liked her men to be dependable.
Trustworthy. Reliable.
“What do you mean?” He stepped closer, his body blocking the wind. His T-shirt flapped
against his flat stomach. She’d never noticed before how toned he was until this moment. His
warmth surrounded her. Or maybe she was simply hot and bothered by Mark’s nearness.
“Us.” She licked her dry lips.
He groaned and ran his fingers through his windblown hair. Moving closer, he wrapped
his arms around her waist and tugged. Every inch of her body felt as if it was on fire.
“Heather, I...” His warm breath fanned across her face. He ran one finger over her
cheekbone and then over her lips. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Me neither,” she whispered.
His gaze searched her face, the intensity searing, setting her soul on fire. He groaned, and
in an instant, his mouth covered her, his lips warm and gentle. He tasted like salty noodles and
pineapple. He deepened the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in to his
kiss. Willing his lips to help her forget the past forty-eight hours. This kiss was one she’d longed for since she was a teenager. For once, she wouldn’t overthink things.
She wanted to remember this night. Memorize every detail of this evening. She opened
her eyes a sliver and noticed a man jogging on the beach, his form a dark shadow against the
faint moonlight. A shout directed at them startled her, and she reluctantly pulled away from
Mark’s embrace and his kisses. The shouting intensified and brought her back to reality. This
wasn’t real. This was only a fantasy.
Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two? Let's get to know each other. :)
What was your favorite vacation spot as a kid growing up?
Have you ever been to someplace exotic, like Hawai’i?
What has been your most challenging thing you’ve had to do/overcome as an adult and how did you handle it?
Share your social media and buy links!
Website: https://jenniferchastain.com
Newsletter Sign-up: https://bookhip.com/RRDSTTG
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JenniferCwrites
Goodreads:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/40i11HC
Barnes and Noble: Lethal Pursuit
Sounds like a great book. Hope to read it. We were too poor as children to have “real” vacations. But we did enjoy going to grandparents house once a year. when I was 15 we went to Rehobath Beach in Delaware. That was fun even if very cold. Was early June.
The most exotic place we went, hubby and I, was the Bahamas. It was a 20th anniversary trip. Had hubbys sister watch our 5 kids while we went. Great. In September will be 50 year anniversary. Hardest thing I think I ever did as well father in law who had dementia of some kind. I had 5 kids still at home, two or 3 still not in school. …
I love romantic suspense. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you. Please stay safe and warm. Have a wonderful week. God bless you.
Hey Jennifer,
I am a fellow author and live just east of Charlotte. As a kid, we didn’t vacation, but we did go camping many summer weekends at Pymatuning Lake on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. (I grew up in northeast Ohio.)
My most exotic travels were to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Virgin Islands. I love the Caribbean!
The most difficult thing I’ve done was taking in my 90 year old mother-in-law. We cared for her until she became bedridden and then placed her in a nursing home. All of that was heart wrenching, physically and emotionally exhausting.
Jennifer, your book sounds intriguing! Answers to your questions:
My favorite vacation spot was the Adirondacks of N.Y. I grew up on Long Island, but my dad was from the Adirondacks and had relatives there. When I was quite young, my uncle served as caretaker for a huge privately owned camp on St. Regis Lake. Later, we went to my cousin's camp on Follensby Pond. If I remember correctly, that land was obtained on permit from the state. My sister and I would get up at sunrise and skirt the shore in a rowboat. We swam for hours with our cousins and had a blast on the rope swing that extended out over the lake. Then there were the motor…
My favorite vacation spot growing up was Treasure Lake located in Dubois, PA it had everything swimming, fishing, boating, golf, tennis and more. Although my very exciting vacation was when I was in Elementary school, I came home that day with my two younger sisters who were fraternal twins and mom met us at the door and surprised us with a trip to Niagara Falls.
Never been anywhere exotic.
The most challenging thing I have had to overcome is being thrown into the caregiver role which I'm still doing today for both my parents and another thing I'm still trying to overcome is why am I still single, no kids I just do not understand why I was blessed tha…