Roxanne Rustand - DEADLY COMPETITION - Free Book

Welcome back, Roxanne. What other books of yours are coming out soon?

Save the Last Dance will be out in August, 2009. This is an Everlasting, and will be shelved with Harlequin Superromance. The themes involve the importance of family, life-long love, trust and forgiveness--and not waiting until it's too late, even if the past has been rocky. Though it wasn't written for an inspirational house, the heroine is a woman of faith. There's a thread of suspense in it, too. I loved writing it!

Final Exposure, the first book in my Big Sky Secrets series for Love Inspired Romantic Suspense, will be out in September of 2009, and the second in that series, Fatal Burn, will be out in February, 2010.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

I think an evening with Michelle Obama would be fascinating--and fun. She is an intelligent, accomplished woman in her own right, and seems to have such strong family values.

How long have you known that you wanted to be novelist?

I never gave it thought until 1993, when a friend asked if I'd like to write articles for her regional horse magazine, and offered me a computer. Once I found out what a joy it was to use a word processing program, I kept writing articles and eventually toyed with a story...wishing I could create the kind of magic I read on the pages of my favorite novels. I never dreamed that I could ever actually sell a book, until I stumbled upon the 1995 RWA Golden Heart contest, entered it, and gained the interest of an editor. I owe my old friend a great deal, for guiding me toward a part of my life that I now enjoy very much.

What can you tell authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

Very few people enter this business without facing rejections first. I've heard stories about the incredible determination of some aspiring authors who have overcome many, many rejections. Thirty, fifty, even a hundred of them--but these people persevered and ultimately, succeeded. I guess the saying I used to have above my computer is true: "God doesn't give the desire without also giving the ability." We just have to work hard at improving our craft, keep writing, hold on to our dreams, and never let go!

I submitted my first manuscript to an editor in 1995, and made my first sale in 1998. During the interim, I faced my own rejections, but I now see that they were a blessing. If my first novel had sold, I wouldn't have had enough experience to successfully follow an editor's revision guidance. I didn't have even a glimmer of an idea for a second book. I knew nothing about the business. Those extra years gave me time to learn, and grow, and to become better prepared.

Tell us about the featured book?

DEADLY COMPETITION is part of a Love Inspired Suspense series called "Without a Trace." In this story, my heroine is on the run and is hired by the hero to help take care of his young niece...in a town where danger is already lurking, and where murders have taken place in recent months.

Please give us the first page of the book.

At the sound of his sister Leah's old Mustang pulling to a stop in the driveway, Clint Herald opened his front door to the damp, gray January evening, his heart heavy.

Could his three-year-old niece even grasp the concept of death? Did Sarah still think her daddy would be coming back?

There'd been no forewarning of her father's apparent suicide two days ago, and it still made no sense. And now the troubles were just beginning for his widow and young daughter.

Clint leaned down to scoop Sarah up for their customary hug, but did a double-take at the stark expression on his sister's face.

"Keep her safe," Leah whispered, casting a swift glance over her shoulder. She thrust her daughter forward into his arms and backed away. "Please."

Surprised at the tension in her voice, he reached for her hand, but she took another step back.

"What's going on?"

"N-nothing. I just have to go." But from the oddly desperate look of yearning on Leah's face as she turned away from her daughter and hurried to her car, she must be in even deeper trouble than she'd revealed.

"Wait a minute!" Clint called out.

She climbed into her car, shut the door, and rammed the stick shift into reverse, grinding the gears. Something she never, ever did to her beloved old car.

"Leah?" He felt his pulse quicken. "Leah!"

I ask for the first page for a teaser. Wow! You really gave us one. I'm hooked. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.shoutlife.com/roxannerustand
http://www.roxannerustand.com/

Thank you, Roxanne, for spending this time with us. It's always interesting.

Readers, if you can't wait to get your hands on the book, here's a link where you can order it:

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