DESPERATION FALLS - Rich Bullock - One Free Book

Welcome back, Rich. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’m getting more and more requests to teach. This is exciting, since I love helping others. I’ve also spent a lot of time recently helping others get their books ready for self-publishing. It’s so fulfilling to see someone’s dream of getting their story online come true.

Tell us a little about your family.

My wife is a life and business coach, so our work is portable. We have a grown son and daughter, and each has a son … so we have two grandchildren.

James and I have two great grandsons. They’re so much fun. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

I love reading now more than ever. However, now I’m looking for what holds my interest, what gets me into the character’s head, and how the author paces the story. Such amazing talent out there!

What are you working on right now?

I’m just beginning my fourth novel, Shattered Glass, about a glass artist. The story is still in the brainstorming stage, so I don’t know what happened, who did it, or even the main character’s name yet. But I’m anxious to find out!

What outside interests do you have?

My wife and I do marriage mentoring for engaged couples, preparing them for marriage. We also co-lead a church growth group. We bought a small travel trailer at the end of last summer, so we’ve enjoyed getting out into nature a little more on some camping trips.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Some of this comes from reader feedback. So many commented on how much they love my fictional settings of Perilous Cove and Storm Lake, that I based my third book, Desperation Falls, in the same setting. I really like the advantage of developing a community of businesses and secondary characters that give continuity to the books, even though the main characters are new. Although fictional, I grew up in areas like Perilous Cove and Storm Lake, so I’m writing from experience. I know the flora and fauna, the woodsy and fishy smells of the mountains and coast, the lingo, how the roads twist, the ethnic heritages of the old families. I write what I know, and I love the area. In fact, I want to live at Storm Lake!

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

I’ve always been a fan of 20s–30s Fords, so I’d like to meet Henry Ford in his early days, before he began building the Model T in 1908. I’d like to hear his passion for what the automobile could be.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

How much fun it is to finish books and have people love them. Wow, what a rush! Since Desperation Falls is in the same setting as Storm Song, I included a map of Storm Lake in it. One reader said: “It’s exactly like I envisioned it!” So cool! I should have started writing about twenty years earlier.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

The critical value of faith. It’s the basis of our trust in Him, the confidence that He has our best at heart, and the hope we have for our future with Him.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

It’s all about the character.

1. The natural inclination is to tell the action, but action means nothing without us first caring for the character. Get us into their head. Make them real to us. Know their wants, desires, fears, embarrassments, and strengths, and bring those out in the story.

2. “Sense” the world through them. Too often characters travel through scenes objectively, not being present by touching, smelling, hearing (those 5 senses), and the story reads like the character is disconnected from the scene. Description is fine, but do it through the character.

3. Show the reactions to events. Sort of like #2. I helped a new writer who wrote about going to an airshow and seeing the Blue Angels, then going home and swimming in the pool. I asked: “Were the Blue Angels loud? Did you like them? Was it cloudy, humid, hot?” He responded: “Oh, yeah! It was just like that!” But he hadn’t put us “there” in the scene by giving character reaction. So critical. We fixed that.

Tell us about the featured book.

Desperation Falls is the third book in the Perilous Safety Series, and this one is more romantic suspense than straight suspense.

Back cover copy:

A year after surviving a shocking attack, former Los Angeles cable TV carpenter Lena Blaylock buys some dilapidated fishing cabins on the shore of Storm Lake on California’s Central Coast and fixes them up as rentals. It’s the fulfillment of a dream, and a chance to build a new life free of her violent past. But she never intended sharing this unique setting with mysterious ex-lawman Alex Stone, or damaged teenage runaway Teal Kinshaw.

And she especially didn’t plan on sharing Desperation Falls Camp with a dead body.

As the hot summer progresses, Teal becomes a vital part of Lena’s life. And after a few barbecues together under the stars, Stone rises several notches from irritating to intriguing.

But when Lena and Teal unwittingly expose information from Lena’s past, it triggers a murder attempt on a friend in Los Angeles. Then a local girl at the lake disappears. Are they connected?

Teal’s own past might be a critical key, but only if she reveals all her ugly secrets. She could lose her new boyfriend, and the by-the-book local sheriff will throw her back into foster care.

Lena and Stone must figure out the connections, because everyone she loves—everything she’s built—is in danger.

Please give us the first page of the book.
“You’d better step away from that laptop, buster, or I’m gonna have to get my new gun.”

Lena McKinley’s husband, Bobby Blaylock, had grabbed their MacBook the moment he’d come home from the office. It wasn’t like he didn’t spend enough time on his work laptop he carried everywhere.

Bobby raised his hands. “Don’t shoot.” He flashed her his movie-star grin, not a bad imitation for someone not in “the industry.” He might be a Los Angeles assistant district attorney, but he had star qualities in Lena’s eyes.

“I promise I won’t be long, babe.” Bobby’s head dipped in concentration as his fingers flew and clicked. “I just have to copy some files on the office server.”

Lena blew wayward hairs out of her eyes as she placed the bread and salad on the dining room table. She’d been slaving in the kitchen all afternoon, trying not to ruin their special dinner. No easy task, that. As a carpenter and general contractor, she could handle a down-to-the-studs remodel easier than preparing a perfectly timed dinner.

She recognized Bobby’s laser intensity as he slipped back into work mode. Clearly, breaking his focus tonight would take some extra effort. She walked behind the couch and snaked her arms around his neck. Bobby half closed the laptop screen, hiding his work. Something big and secret. Whatever it was, it deepened his worry lines when he didn’t notice her watching him. He turned into her kiss, his lips soft and warm against hers.

“You taste like pasta sauce,” he said, licking his lips as she broke the kiss. He reached an arm around her head and pulled her down until they met again.

“Okay, Mr. Hotshot Attorney,” Lena mumbled against his mouth. “I’m giving you a two-minute warning. I busted my butt on this anniversary dinner. So if you’re not done with work, I’ll have to arrest you.”

Bobby trailed kisses along her jaw toward her ear. “Are you going to use handcuffs?”

He’d reached the sensitive spot on her neck and Lena’s knees went weak. She would have chucked the whole dinner idea right then if she hadn’t heard a splat and sizzle from the other room. Lena put a hand on his chest.

“If I don’t get back to the kitchen, the pasta will boil over and you’ll be cleaning the stove.”

Bobby raised an eyebrow, then released her. “Later then.”

It was a promise Lena would hold him to.

“I’ll be done soon,” Bobby called as she hurried toward the kitchen.

Of all the guys who’d gone gaga over her cable TV persona—including a few memorable nut cases who gave her the creeps—he was the one who had wrangled an introduction by calling in every favor he could with the show’s production people. Lena kidded with her friends that he’d had to fix a thousand parking tickets to win her hand. It was probably true. But she was the lucky one.

For their first date, he’d come to her door not just with flowers but also with a super cool Leatherman Multi-Tool with belt sheath. She almost wore it on the date.

So most of the time Lena didn’t mind that he was tenacious in his work and passionate about his cases. She understood. She was just as bad when it came to tools. Just not tonight.

Lena drained the pasta in a colander, filling the kitchen with white steam. He’d wanted to take her out for their six-month celebration, but with their hectic schedules they already spent too much time in restaurants. Tonight she wanted him all to herself.

Plus, she had a special gift for him. The flat box on the dining table contained her renewed contract—never a sure thing in LA—and she’d had the studio officially change her last name to Blaylock. From now on, it would read that way on the show credits, and allow Bobby to boast all over again to his colleagues that he’d married the sexy carpenter from the Nail It! TV show. She grinned. He’d love it.

I love your main heroine’s name. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.perilousfiction.com

www.facebook.com/perilousfiction

rich@perilousfiction.com

Thank you, Rich, for sharing this new book and a slice of your life with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Desperation Falls (Perilous Safety) (Volume 3) - paperback
Desperation Falls (Perilous Safety Series) - Kindle

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