Character Spotlight ~ Dani Pettrey’s Kayden & Jake with a giveaway

Silenced

Meet a fitness fanatic & a former cop in

Dani Pettrey’s

romantic suspense

Silenced

Bethany House

~~~~~~

The Story

Jake Knew Something Was Wrong.
But He Never Guessed
How Wrong.

A relaxing day of rock climbing takes a disturbing turn when Kayden McKenna’s route brings her face-to-face with a dead climber. Is it a terrible accident or something darker? When the case is handed to overburdened sheriff Landon Grainger, he turns to Jake Westin for help. With Jake’s past now revealed, he’s ready to use his talent for investigation again–but he could never prepare for where the mystery will take him.

Kayden’s climbing expertise soon leads her and Jake to the realization that the death was no accident. And worse, it seems the killer is onto them. When strange things begin happening in Yancey, Jake is terrified that once again his world may put someone he loves in danger. But the truth is far worse than he could ever imagine.

Introducing Kayden & Jake

Brief physical description

Kayden McKenna ~ Kayden has long, beautiful dark brown hair and almond-shaped hazel eyes. She’s tall, slender, and athletic in build. Kate Beckinsale

Jake Westin Cavanaugh ~ Jake is tall with a rugged, muscular physique. He has short brown hair and brown, soulful eyes.

Resembles…

Kayden: Kate Beckinsale

Jake: Jeremy Renner

Strengths and weaknesses

Kayden is best described as a strong woman—physically, mentally and emotionally. She works hard to remain strong and, at times, that is her greatest weakness.

Jake is excellent at tracking and deduction. It’s part of what makes him such an amazing detective—whether formally employed as such or not. His weakness is not wanting to rely on others. Feeling he Jeremy Rennerneeds to carry the load all by himself.

Quirk

Kayden is a uber healthy eater

Jake is more comfortable sleeping in a boat than on land

Your inspiration for the character

My oldest daughter is very bright and athletic so that portion of Kayden was based off of her. The rest was simply who Kayden turned out to be once I started writing.

I knew I wanted a strong yet wounded hero—one that reminded me on the most basic level of Aragorn from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Granted Aragorn could never be replicated, but I think he was the inspiration for Jake whether I realized it or not.

Background to the story

Silenced is the story of deputy Jake Westin Cavanaugh and Kayden McKenna. The inspiration primarily came from the characters themselves as they grew and developed through the earlier books in the Alaskan Courage series. It’s been so much fun watching Kayden’s apprehension of Jake fade and be replaced by deep and abiding love. Unfortunately, a killer stands in the way of their happiness.

Thanks Dani

Relz Reviewz Extras
Reviews of Shattered and Submerged
Character interview with Bailey Craig
Character spotlight on Bailey Craig
Dani’s Pop Quiz
Interview with Dani
Author Alert @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Dani’s website and blog
Buy Silenced at Amazon or Koorong
Enter the RUGGED ROMANCE Sweepstakes from Author Dani Pettrey

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Share This!



47 Responses to Character Spotlight ~ Dani Pettrey’s Kayden & Jake with a giveaway

  1. Woohoo! I adore this character spotlight – and three cheers for the actor inspiration. Love both.

  2. Oh my gah, I need this story in my life! Sounds delectable, Dani! Can’t wait.

  3. Janet Estridge

    Of course, doesn’t everybody ??

  4. Thanks so much for another amazing job, Rel! Hugs, dear one.

  5. Yes I visualize the characters as I read a book. Can’t wait to read this one. Love the series so far!

  6. Connie Saunders

    Yes, I often “see” the characters and pick the perfect actor to portray them in a movie. Can’t wait to read this! Thanks for this giveaway!!

  7. I am just being introduced to Dani Pettrey’s work and I’m looking forward to reading this series. Thanks for sharing this character spotlight!

  8. Yes, I thought everyone did. Have I been under a false assumption all my life?

    Silenced sounds great!

  9. I visualize them to a degree but not nearly like many others it appears! LOL I enjoy seeing who the author thinks they’d look like, though… and it IS helpful. HIGHLY looking forward to Silenced! Have LOVED the series! Thanks for the giveaway!

  10. Margaret Nelson

    I agree that it’s great to hear the author’s comments on what her characters look like. Looking forward to reading this book.

  11. Yes I visualize characters as I read… That why sometimes I don’t like watching a book turned into a movie because I am so disappointed when the actors look nothis like I imagined! 🙂 LOVE Dani’s books!!!

  12. I really like your character spotlights. Thanks for the giveaway.

  13. Definitely!

  14. Love it! Kayden and Jake have been my favorite couple since book one. So to say that I’ve been looking forward to their story is putting it mildly. So fun to learn more about them! Thanks, Rel. 🙂

  15. Sonnetta Jones

    I can not wait to read Kayden and Jake story. I am rereading the others in preparation of this one. I will miss this family.

    Sonnetta

  16. Kris Markovich

    I so want to read this book! I loved the first one I read!

  17. Jennifer McIlwain

    These character spotlights bring such life to the story…Love them!!!

  18. I have so enjoyed reading this series. Kayden and Jake are probably my favorite characters in this family. We’ll see. Dani Pettrey certainly has a gift for writing.

    • I always visualize characters when I’m reading. It frustrates me when there are no detailed character descriptions in looks. I always love it when an author shows us a picture of a real life person who resembles their character. It can be a person in an ad or a next door neighbor (if they’ve received permission). Doesn’t have to be an actor or model; just somebody.

  19. I always visualize book characters as I read and I also visualize being right there with them.

  20. Yes. Sometimes I wish I was like them. Most books I read it’s like a movie in my mind.

  21. Dianne Sidebottom

    I am enjoying the Alaskan Series of the McKenna family each finding their partners for life. Just one more to go with Reef’s story… But Gage n Darcy plus Jake n Kayden most probably will be around in that story since two weddings took place in Silenced. I liked the pinterest posts of the weddings. I especially love Dani’s background on her blog beautiful scenery.

  22. Dianne Sidebottom

    I guess I missed the question in the last post. I picture the characters in my mind also…. Alaska being over the other side of the world to me in south west Australia. Don’t have mountains, snow, but have beautiful beaches. Kayden’s strong motive to not have children because of her mother’s illness was most profound to me. Most probable outcome for a lot of woman who have genetic issues… but the other party needs to have a say as well as Jake did.

  23. Yes, I do picture the characters in my mind.

  24. Oooo I love who you chose. Jeremy Renner is so sexy.

  25. I do visualize each character in my head, it makes me connect with the story and makes it more enjoyable.

  26. Melissa Oldaker

    I definitely visualize the characters as I read. I do enjoy seeing who the authors think each character resembles. Love this series! Can’t wait to read this one!

  27. I usually try to visualize characters. Thanks for the giveaway!

  28. Unless the description in the book and the character on the cover don’t match up, I usually don’t visualize anything different!

  29. Absolutely! I always enjoy seeing who the author’s perception of her characters are and sometimes I’m in full agreement, but other times I picture them differently.

  30. That’s really cool that Jake was inspired by Aragorn. 🙂 That helps me visualize him in the best way possible… from the inside out. I do picture characters as I read, and sometimes I immediately associate them with someone I know, or a Tv show character.

  31. Sounds interesting and the cover is gorgeous!

    • And I meant to add, I do visualize the characters as I read. If the cover doesn’t match the author’s description of the characters, it is harder to visualize sometimes.

  32. So glad you all are enjoying seeing what I imagine Kayden and Jake looking like. It’s so fun visualizing the characters in your head. I do it all the time!

  33. Always. I love books that have pics of their characters on the covers but often times my image of them will differ greatly.

  34. Stacey McClain

    I love this series. When I get a book in this series I can’t put it down until I finish it.

  35. I have to visualize characters as I read. If the cover has characters on it though I have a hard time getting away from that image.

  36. Yes, I always visualize characters as I read a novel. Looking forward to Silenced!

  37. I always try to visualize the characters but have such a hard time actually picturing them in my mind so I’m glad when the book cover has pictures of the characters…unless the cover picture doesn’t match at all…then that totally frustrates me 🙂

  38. I am so looking forward to this one.

  39. Yes! It helps me follow and get into the story to picture the characters, their expressions, and what they do. I often look at the cover if it has character pictures or in the case of Dani Pettrey check out her website for the characters dossier for a picture and more details of certain characters (love this!).

  40. Always !! I don’t know how you can read a book and not see them.

  41. Absolutely! I love when writers write good descriptions of their characters. And a good cover helps, too. 🙂

  42. I would love to read this book

  43. I would like to read this book 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *