Latest Book: A Matter of Trust
Buy Links: Amazon: http://amzn.to/XWJsZ1
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/14bVJxe
iTunes: http://bit.ly/XuM9OS
BIO:
For those who don’t know me, my name is Sandy Loyd. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City and consider myself a Western girl through and through. I love the west, but I didn’t stay there as long as I would have liked. My job in sales meant extensive traveling and relocating. I’ve worked and lived in some of the most fabulous places in the US, including South Florida. I now call the blue grass state of Kentucky home, where I write full time. I will admit that as much as I love Louisville, I miss the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and need to go back to my roots to get my mountain fix at least once a year. It helps refresh my muse and keeps me writing.
To date, I’ve published eight books with several in the works. The first four are contemporary romances set in the Bay Area of San Francisco or the Florida Keys. I’ve also published four Romantic Suspense novels. A Matter of Trust is my latest and one that I loved writing.
Q: What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why?
A: For me dialogue is the easiest to write. I’ve always had little conversations with myself and I just imagine if I were that person, what would he or she say in this situation? It usually turns into a decent conversation because I’ve had lots of practice talking to myself. When I get older, I’ll probably be one of those who hold conversations with invisible people and others will just assume I’m a little nutty.
Q: What part of the book is the hardest for you? Why?
A: Conflict. I guess it’s because I don’t like conflict in real life. I had a lot when I was growing up and I like order. My parents were divorced back before it was common and they didn’t get along. That’s tough for a kid to go through.
Q: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
A: Josh Buchannan is my favorite character. He’s funny, smart, and good looking, yet he has a vulnerable side that he covers up. He’s an ex CIA agent who feels his efforts did nothing to stop the threat of terrorists. They just kept killing. And while he was off trying to save the world his grandmother, the one person he felt closest to and was always there for him, developed Alzheimer’s. By the time he could spend time with her she no longer knew who he was. He wasn’t there for her when she needed him most and he doesn’t believe he can be what Cat needs either. He’s an easy character to fall in love with.
Q: Do you eat comfort food when writing?
A: I have a love for popcorn. I don’t know if it helps my muse or not, but I can’t write in the afternoons unless I’ve had a bowl. It doesn’t inspire me, but while eating it I have plenty of time to think of what I need to write. And like most writers, my biggest comfort food is chocolate. I love dark chocolate and I’ll never pass up a Rollo.
Q: What is your favorite romance book that you’ve read?
A: I have a ton of favorites, but only one that I’ve read probably 100 times. Shauna by Kathleen Woodiwiss will always be my favorite. I loved the hero. I loved the adventure. I loved the romance. No one did it better than Woodiwiss back in the day.
Q: Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Chats, or Twitter. Which do you like best and why?
A: I like Facebook the best. I do Twitter, but it’s not the same as Facebook. I can keep in touch with my friends and read what’s going on in the world. I love the jokes and pictures that come through. You can tailor it anyway you want. I have a fan page that is slowly gaining likes. It’s an easy way to keep in touch with readers who like what you do. The only negative is that it can be a huge time waster. I play on it when I should be writing.
Tell us where to find you:
Website: http://www.sandyloyd.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sloydwrites
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sloydwrites
BLURB:
Tired of living in fear of an abusive ex-husband, Cat Tyler is taking charge of her life by learning to fly. Unfortunately, she discovers what true fear really is when her cross-country flight ends in a forced landing. Now she’s trapped in the Montana wilderness with her flight instructor, Josh Buchannan—a jerk who’s been riding her butt since she first stepped into the cockpit. She definitely doesn’t like the attraction that has sprung up between them. Worse, someone is trying to kill them.
Josh doesn’t wait to find out why they’ve become a target—or who’s behind it. Instinct takes over and Josh spirits Cat away to safety. Yet, while on the run, he discovers that an incident from his past, one he’s tried to forget, connects him to Cat. He was in charge of a failed mission in which her parents lost their lives. Is this her twisted way of getting revenge? Josh can’t trust Cat, but he protects her as they narrowly escape fiery graves, not once but twice.
Unwittingly, the two are fighting more than trust or attraction. An unknown terrorist cell has unleashed its secret weapon—a human Trojan horse—which gives a new meaning to terror.
As Cat and Josh struggle to stay alive, their trust in each other is threatened at every turn. Josh senses Cat’s somehow involved in this mess and works doubly hard to keep his attraction to her under control. Still, he craves her belief in his innocence, impossible once she discovers the truth about his involvement in her parents’ deaths.
As they work together to uncover the plot that threatens western civilization, they must come to grips with the past in order to create a relationship built on mutual trust in the future.
EXCERPT:
“What were you thinking just then?” Cat asked, clearing the dishes away when they got up from the island.
“Shit,” Josh muttered under his breath, reaching for his wineglass. “Why do you ask?”
Standing by the sink, Cat eyed him intently, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze, his attention absorbed with taking a sip.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Something wrong?” Josh eyed his wine and cleared his throat. “That’s a silly question.”
“Call me silly, but your expression changed all of a sudden.” For one fleeting moment he’d had this ravenous, intense look about him, like he could eat her alive and then, in a flash, the look turned cold and unyielding. Now he was being weird. Wouldn’t meet her eyes again. Was acting awfully suspicious, as if he was hiding something.
Damn, she thought. She’d done or said something stupid. She just knew it. Up until a few minutes ago she’d begun to think he was as attracted to her as she was to him. But that obviously wasn’t the case, so she had to make things right again. “Look, I’m sorry if I said or did something to upset you.”
Her apology got his attention and he finally looked at her, searching her face for what seemed like forever.
Then he flashed his sexy, disarming grin before erupting into uncontrollable laughter.
Great! Now he was laughing at her.
Cat turned and stormed out of the room, only she didn’t get very far. He’d followed on her heels and now gripped her arm, stopping her.
“What? Am I amusing you?” she yelled, fighting to keep from crying. She would not cry. Not in front of him.
“As a matter of fact, you are.”
“Jerk,” she cried. “You’ve made your point, so let go of me.”
“Oh, no. I haven’t begun to make my point.” He pulled her closer. The next second his lips were consuming hers, kissing her as if he couldn’t get enough. His tongue invaded her mouth while he inhaled her, not letting her back off, demanding a response. And then she felt his hands roaming over her body, gripping her, making her come alive with want and need. His lips broke from hers, and he trailed kisses across her face, causing even more sensations to course through her.
“You feel that, Cat?”
He licked her ear and nibbled on her lobe, eliciting a moan she couldn’t contain. It felt so decadent. So wonderful.
“That’s called an adrenaline rush. That’s what I’m fighting. Have been fighting since yesterday when my plane blew up.”
When he moved into her, pressing against her so she could feel the heat from his full arousal, Cat almost erupted into flames as hot lava flooded her system with more pleasure.
“The attraction’s an illusion. It’s not uncommon for someone in our situation. We’ve been riding on the edge of fear and I’m dying to have you,” he whispered urgently in her ear, exacting another moan.
“I want you so damn bad I can barely hang on. Do you understand what I’m saying?” He hesitated a heartbeat. “Your attraction is caused by a surge of hormones designed to keep you alive in times of crisis. It’s not real.”
Once the words were out, his mouth covered hers. Only this time, his lips and hands gentled while he kissed her for what seemed like forever. All of her senses came alive and she succumbed to his mouth’s demands. She could taste the wine on his tongue, could smell the faint scents of deodorant and soap.
His soft lips were still thorough, still invading, still not letting her back away.
When she moaned into his mouth, totally absorbed in his kiss, he finally pulled away, breathing heavily as if he’d run a five-minute mile. “You’d better stop now. This is all I can take without finishing. You want this. Fine. You don’t. Fine. The choice is yours. But make the decision now and make it knowing where the emotions are coming from.”
This can’t be happening, she thought, searching his earnest gaze. His eyes were like liquid fire, causing her to flinch from their intensity. Oh God. He was leaving the choice up to her and at the same time, he was telling her it meant nothing. If it was nothing more than elevated adrenaline, then why did she feel as if she would die if she backed away?
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