My interview with Author Elizabeth Dyer
I am a huge fan and you have just started your writing
career with two books out and a third on the way. You have blown me out of the water with the
amount of detail of technical knowledge in the first book (Defenseless) to the
created fear of the mafia in the second book (Relentless). I can't wait for the third book (Fearless)
due to come out in November 2018.
I am an avid Romance book reader but recently started
reading Romantic Suspense genre for a little more sustenance in a story. I have read a couple books and need to dive
deeper into those authors. But you came
right out of the gate with yours, that after one book, I was a fan.
ED: Thank you so much! I’ve always
really loved the romantic suspense and military romance genres because it’s
almost like getting two books in one. I love when a deep romance twines with a
compelling plot, so it was a natural, if challenging, genre for me to write in.
Also, I am an ex-Army girl and was impressed with your
attention to detail about military operations. (1) Did you research this
separately or how did you come across that knowledge. Because, let me tell you, nothing irks me
more that reading about the military and the author doesn't know what they are
talking about.
ED: I did do a lot of research, and
of course, I took some liberties, too. Since so much of the Somerton Security
books take place around an off-book military group, that gives me a lot more
leeway to fictionalize. But I do like to make it *feel* authentic. So in
general I do tons and tons and tons of reading and research, but only about
10-15% of that will make it onto the page. In Fearless, which is book 3 and
coming on November 9th, my heroine is an expertly trained sniper,
and to get a better picture of her in my head, I listened to several
non-fiction audiobooks written by about military snipers. It was SUPER
fascinating!
(2) Writing romantic suspense books seems a colossal
undertaking. It has to take a crazy
amount of planning to keep all the facts straight even for one book, never less
story lines running over into 3 or more books.
ED: Yes! It’s a lot to juggle and
gets harder with each book because I have to reference decisions I made in
previous books to make sure everything lines up.
(3) How has the
Somerton Security series been?
ED: Mostly it’s been
really, really fun to write. I love getting to work in this genre because it
gives me so much room to explore really unique and fun characters. Parker will
always be a favorite of mine, because he breaks the mold for what a romantic
suspense hero usually is. I also really loved exploring the complex nature of a
character like Natalia, who was so inherently good, yet at the same time, had
done some objectively terrible things.
(4) Was it very
tedious keeping your story lines straight?
ED: Not
tedious so much as surprising (and a bit difficult). I keep pretty extensive
notes, but sometimes I need to reference things and have to go searching back
through previous books for. Secondary characters, for example. I can never
remember what they look like, LOL, and I have to go check. The big story
pieces, those are a little bit easier. It’s the tiny details (and the
timelines!) that drive me crazy.
(5) Do you have a
book blurb for your third book yet? I am curious who is "Fearless."
ED: Yes! And both of
these characters are Fearless, in very different ways.
A broken man. A desperate woman. And a love that
could save them both.
William Bennett lost
everything to a Special Forces operation gone wrong. A year of captivity and
torture has stripped him of his strength and decency. At the edge of losing all
hope, the one woman he's never forgotten storms back into his life, giving him
more than just his freedom. All Will wants now is to put the agony and violence
behind him . . . but he won't go home until she can, too.
Cooper Reed has been a lot
of things--soldier, sniper, spy--but she never thought traitor would be one of
them. Now she can't stop running. Not from the partner sent to kill her, or
from the CIA who used her to cover up a dangerous experiment. Cooper needs
help, she just never expected to find it in the one man with every reason to
hate her--even if he doesn't know it yet.
As Will and Cooper race to
stay one step ahead of those who want them dead, they'll each have to decide
what lines they're willing to cross and what price they're willing to pay . . .
and if love really is worth dying for.
(6) Can you
reveal what kind of world we will be diving into in Fearless?
ED: I can tell you that the vast majority of it takes place
is South and Central America, and that it’s a long and winding road home for
Will and the woman who rescues him.
(7) Anything else
you would like to add?
ED: Thanks
so much for reading and cheering me on! I’m so glad you found my books—the
romantic suspense genre is HUGE and there are so many amazing books out there,
so I’m always thrilled when mine find their way into readers’ hands.
