I’m delighted to feature Natalie Walters and her second Harbored Secrets romantic suspense today. Natalie garnered many fans with her debut novel, Living Lies. She returns with Deadly Deceit, featuring two characters readers will recognise from the first book, with one needing quite the transformation! I love character spotlights and gaining more insight into how the author sees their characters, and I hope you do too.

Once again – thanks to the generosity of Revell Books – we are giving away a copy of Deadly Deceit, so be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Enjoy meeting Vivian and Ryan through Natalie’s eyes!

Independent and tenacious journalist Vivian DeMarco is back in Walton, Georgia, for one reason–to do her job and get out. When her boss suddenly dies under suspicious circumstances, Vivian’s only hope for finding the truth–and the next big story–is small-town law enforcement’s lanky poster boy, Deputy Ryan Frost. But the deeper they dig, the more twisted the truth becomes, and Vivian finds herself fighting for not only answers but also her life.

False leads, incriminating emails, and someone called The Watcher force Vivian to confront the secret of her past and decide: How much is she willing to risk for the sake of a headline?

Introducing Ryan & Vivian

Physical Stats

Height:

Ryan: 6’1

Vivian: 5’4”

Hair colour & style:

Ryan: Reddish blonde hair cropped close to his head but with a little length at the top for styling.

Vivian: long brunette hair, wavy, that’s pulled out of her face when she’s working but in the past she’s been known to style it to her advantage.

Eye colour:

Ryan: bright blue

Vivian: rich brown

Favorite accessory or clothing style:

Ryan is most proud of his deputy uniform and wears it with honor.

Vivian traded in designer chic, happily giving up the heels she needed to pound the streets of Washington D.C. looking for a story, and embraced the sophisticated comfort of coastal Georgia.

Resembles

Strengths

Vivian is strong-willed and tenacious. To get to the truth, she’s willing to risk a great deal if it means helping another. She’s also very good at trivia games.

Ryan is loyal. At a young age he became the man of the house and took the care of his mother and sister seriously. He’s also got a great sense of humor.

Vulnerabilities

Vivian is very guarded when it comes to allowing herself to get familiar or close with anyone. She believes maintaining distance makes her a good reporter but it’s also a way to avoid getting hurt by others.

Ryan fears becoming like his father—chasing after dreams to the detriment of others.

Passions

Ryan loves computers. Programming, hacking, technology is his forte. His skills earned him a visit from the FBI when he was in high school after he hacked a gaming convention.

Vivian’s favorite part of reporting is the hunt for details, clues, sources, that all lead to finding the truth. She’s believes knowing the truth is always better no matter how difficult the truth might be.

What book or movie would they recommend?

Vivian: Any Marvel movie. Thor Ragnarok is her favorite but she’s beginning to enjoy Captain America more.

Your inspiration for the character

What I love about Ryan and Vivian is they are both characters of growth.

Some readers might have strong feelings about Vivian from the first book, Living Lies, but I wanted to write her story to reveal the history behind who she is and why. So often, I think it’s easy for us to judge someone based off a single moment/decision/mistake causing us to overlook how they got there. I love that Vivian is this difficult character to like at first but when you look beyond the façade she’s built to protect herself, you see she’s really got a heart for others.

Ryan was a fun character to write. I loved him from his very first appearance in Living Lies and I enjoyed developing his character in Deadly Deceit. His devotion to family drives him but also holds him back in fear of becoming like the man who abandoned them. Watching him grow in confidence in his skills as a deputy and then surrendering his role was very cool—one of my favorite transformations.

Background to the story

Truthfully…finding a unique way to kill someone off (fictionally speaking). I had this idea for how to kill someone and the story developed around it. This was probably the first time I’ve really wrote a story without plotting very much and it was fun but also really hard for my Type A personality. Given the method of murder, I also wanted to give Vivian the redemption she deserved because who doesn’t need redeeming?? The relationship between Vivian and Ryan might be one of my favorites to date and has made me on more than one occasion wish they were real!

Thanks Natalie!

Natalie Walters is a military wife of 22 years and currently resides in Hawaii with her soldier husband and their three kids. She writes full-time and has been published in Proverbs 31 magazine and has blogged for Guideposts online. In addition to balancing life as a military spouse, mom, and writer, she loves connecting on social media, sharing her love of books, cooking, and traveling. Natalie comes from a long line of military and law enforcement veterans and is passionate about supporting them through volunteer work, races, and writing stories that affirm no one is defined by their past.

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Buy at Amazon: Deadly Deceit or Koorong

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