First, I want to say how much fun it was to have Christy Reece here on Monday. Thanks to all of you who posted, and congrats to the contest winners! I know you’ll enjoy your books when they arrive.
As release day for Naked Edge draws closer, I’m getting more and more excited. I thought it might be fun to share that excitement, or at least to torture you a bit while I still can. And what better what to do that than to give you a glimpse of the man you’ll be meeting between the covers… (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Those of you who’ve read the second and third I-Team books (Hard Evidence and Unlawful Contact) are familiar with Katherine James. I’ve been getting reader e-mails about her since her debut in Tessa and Julian’s story. Readers seemed to connect with her in some way, or at least found her interesting due to her Navajo heritage, and wanted to know when she would get her own book.
But very few of you have met Gabe Rossiter, the hero in Naked Edge. I thought it might be fun to share a little bit about him. And who better to tell you about him than his fellow characters? I’m thinking particularly of Julian Darcangelo, aka Dark Angel, and Marc Hunter, who get to know Gabe quite well during the course of the story. So I’ve asked them to join us today.
(Julian and Marc walk in, look around and wonder how they got here and where here is…)
PC: Hi, guys. How’s it going?
Julian nods, sits, leaning back in his chair, one long leg stretched out in front of him. “Going great. How are you?”
Same as always, I tell him. Not enough sleep, long days at the paper, longer nights writing.
Marc turns his chair backward and straddles it. “You know, you really ought to get out from behind that computer and meet a man. There’s more to life than writing.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is there someone you’d like to hook me up with, Marc — a fellow SWAT officer, maybe? If not, then we’d better just stick with the blog topic. If we talk about my sex life, this is going to be a very short and boring blog post.”
He laughs. Julian grins.
Julian: “So what do you want to know about Rossiter?”
PC: “Why don’t you each tell me how you met him and describe your first impression of him.”
Julian: “I met Rossiter a few years back when Hunter here broke out of prison with poor Sophie as his hostage and tried to evade law enforcement—
Marc: “You mean ‘succeeded in evading law enforcement,’ don’t you? Because — let’s be honest — you didn’t have a clue where I was.”
Julian glares at him, but goes on: “—and disappeared into the high country. We needed help from officers who could handle the deep snow, the sub-zero temps and the terrain. The last thing we needed on a manhunt was injured, hypothermic or missing men. Don’t forget that we knew Hunter was armed and dangerous. We knew that anyone we sent into the mountains might find themselves in a firefight with him. We had to send men who could handle that, and Rossiter was one of the few who could.”
PC: “What skills did he have that set him apart.”
Julian: “Have you watched him ski? There’s no terrain he can’t handle. He has all the outdoor survival skills, plus he’s good with firearms.”
Marc grins: “But you all froze your nuts off for nothing. You had no idea where to find me.”
Julian: “Ah, but I did find you, didn’t I?”
Marc frowns: “Yeah, because you cheated.”
Julian gives a snort. “Right. Cheated. You were armed, had an innocent hostage, had broken out of prison, but I cheated.”
PC: “So, Marc, how did you meet Gabe?”
Marc: “Sophie got a call from Kat one night. Kat was very upset and needed a ride home. I picked her up at Rossiter’s house.”
PC: “What was your first impression of him?”
Marc: “I took one look at him and figured him for a horn dog. It seemed to me that he just wanted to get between Kat’s legs. She had absolutely no experience with men, and I wanted to make sure Rossiter didn’t take advantage of her, even if I had to kick his ass.”
Julian laughs, shakes his head: “This from the man who put a gun to his future wife’s head and took her hostage.”
Marc: “That was different. Besides, I’m not proud of that. [silence] But, yeah, Rossiter can ski like no one I’ve ever seen. And in the end he turned out to be a good guy. What he did for Kat… I respect the hell out of him.”
Julian nods: “The man’s got balls of granite.”
PC: “Can you tell us what he looks like?”
Julian and Marc look at each other, obviously confused.
Marc: “He’s a guy. What do you want us to say?”
PC: “Is he, you know, ripped, hot?”
Julian laughs: “You’re asking the wrong people.”
Marc: “He’s a good guy and all, but he’s not what I’d want in bed next to me, if that's what you're asking.”
PC rolls eyes: “Okay, guys, thanks for your time. Can you send Holly in? I think she can tell us what we want to hear.”
Julian nods, grins: Sure thing.
Julian and Marc stand and head off. A few minutes later, Holly hurries in, a big smile on her face, her heels clicking on the floor.
Holly: “They said you wanted to talk about Gabe.”
PC: “Give us the inside scoop, Holly. Woman to woman, is Gabe hot?”
Holly moans: “He’s so incredibly sexy! Six-foot-four, dark hair, blue eyes and the body of a god — not that I’ve seen all of it, mind you. And the way he moves… He could have been a dancer if, you know, he didn’t ski and climb and stuff. Kat is soooo lucky! And when I think what he went through for her… I wish he had a brother!”
PC: “Thanks, Holly.”
Holly’s eyes narrow: “While I have you here alone, when am I going to get my book? Everyone else has one. How much longer do I have to wait?”
PC: “You know I adore you, Holly, and I know I'm not the only one who does. I hope to give you a story soon, but I can’t say for sure when it will happen. Don’t worry. I won’t forget you."
Okay, so there you go. I’m not sure that Julian, Marc and Holly were as informative as I wanted them to be, but I guess the best way to learn about Gabe is to get inside his head, which you’ll be able to do in five short days.