Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Kat Martin and Giveaway

Friday, June 10, 2016

Guest Post with Author Kat Martin and Giveaway

Meet Kat Martin author of Into the Whirlwind.

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She is married to L.J. Martin, author of western, non-fiction, and suspense novels.

Kat has written more than sixty-five novels. Sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries, including Japan, France, Germany, Argentina, Greece, China, Russia, and Spain.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Kat currently resides in Missoula, Montana, on a small ranch in the beautiful Sapphire mountains.

Her last 10 books have hit the prestigious New York Times bestseller list. AGAINST THE WILD, AGAINST THE SKY, and AGAINST THE TIDE her latest release, took top ten spots.

Cover--Blessing or Curse

The cover of a novel is one of the most important ingredients in the success or failure of a book.

If the book is special enough and gets lots of word-of-mouth, even a bad cover can’t stop the novel from being a success. If the author’s name is well enough known, a bad cover might slow sales down but it won’t be a death knell, which if very well can be.

Most of us fall into the category where a good cover is imperative, the difference between success and failure.

Take the cover of my new book, INTO THE WHIRLWIND. At six-foot two and totally ripped, Dirk Reynolds is gorgeous to look at, tough as nails, and sexy as hell. He’s featured on the cover of the book, which is out May 31st.

Personally, I love covers that show bare-chested, hard-muscled men, but it turns out a lot of book buyers don’t like them. Or perhaps it’s just that there are so many of them out there right now.

I’m hoping the gorgeous cover on INTO THE WHIRLWIND will appeal to readers as much as it appeals to me. The book is Meg and Dirks’ story, the second in the BOSS, Inc. Trilogy following INTO THE FURY.

When Megan O’Brien's three-year-old son is kidnapped, the former lingerie model goes to the only man she trusts to help her, private investigator, Dirk Reynolds, her former bodyguard, the man who was still owns her heart. But their breakup had been bad, leaving Meg unsure if Dirk will agree. Desperate, Meg is willing to risk everything to save little Charlie.

Together, as they follow the clues, Dirk and Meg are pulled into the murky world of high-stakes gambling, international crime, and terrible danger. I think the picture on the front of the book fits the story perfectly.

Over the years, I’ve had good covers and bad. One of the prettiest covers I ever had was on an historical I wrote titled MIDNIGHT RIDER. The problem was the cover was completely white. The lovely embossed bird on the front didn’t show up until the reader picked up the book.

Not many did!

But the cover was chosen by the publisher and no amount of talking could convince them to change it.

On the other hand, my AGAINST SERIES, all twelve novels had fabulous covers, each with a profile of the hot-looking hero. Sales reflected how great those covers actually were.

I hope you like the cover of INTO THE WHIRLWIND. Even more, I hope you enjoy Meg and Dirks’s high action adventure.

Till then, all best and happy reading,

Kat

A bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a private investigator, no one can handle the heat like the men of BOSS, Inc.

Megan O'Brien is at her wit's end. Her three-year-old son has been kidnapped. No police, says the ransom demand. Fearing for her son's life, Meg has no choice but to turn to her former bodyguard, Dirk Reynolds.

Dirk's never forgiven Meg for the way she left him after their brief affair. But with bounty hunter Luke Brodie on his side, Dirk knows he's got to help Meg rescue her son.

The few clues they’ve gathered send them spiraling into a murky world of big banking and international crime. Meg may be way out of her depths, but she’s seeing a side of Dirk she never suspected—one no woman could possibly resist.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes | Google | Kobo |

Check out the BOSS, Inc. series:

Megan O'Brien parked at the end of the gravel driveway and quietly got out of her compact SUV. Through the trees, she could hear the roar of a chainsaw, hear see two-by-fours going up to form the sides of the house under construction.

The garage was already finished, undoubtedly full of Dirk's toys, including a Harley and a custom Dodge Viper. In the summer, he kept a boat docked on the lake below the house.

Though two other men were hard at work, her gaze went straight to Dirk. Hammer in hand, carpenter's belt dangling low on his waist, he was shirtless, though the January air was chill.

Hard muscle flexed across his back and shoulders as he pounded in a nail with an ease that said how many times he had done it. Long, sinewy muscles outlined by the soft fabric of his jeans stretched and moved as he worked on his house.

Meg's gaze went over the familiar dragon tattoo that wound over one shoulder and inched up the side of his neck. The colored ink seemed right with the sexy, short-cropped, horseshoe mustache that framed his mouth and curved down to his jaw, making him look like the hard, tough man he was.

Even her terrible fear for her son couldn't block the memories of how it had felt to lie with him. Couldn't lessen the yearning that burned through her body just at the sight of him.

On the fashion show tour, Dirk had been her bodyguard, and though every instinct had warned her not to get involved with him, the fierce attraction between them was impossible to resist.

Once the tour returned home, Meg had ended the affair. Dirk Reynolds was wild and fierce while she was a single mother with a son to raise. She had duties, responsibilities.

She couldn't have Dirk Reynolds.

But she had never gotten over Dirk.

Meg steeled herself and headed along the gravel driveway toward the house he was rebuilding after the fire that had nearly killed him five months ago. One thing she knew, Dirk Reynolds was a hard man to kill.

Which was the reason she had swallowed her pride and her heartache and come to him. She needed him, trusted him as she never had another man. Her little boy's life depended on gaining this man's help. This man she had loved and rejected.

She stepped out of the foliage and started toward him. With Dirk's usual keen senses, he turned, alert that someone was there, though the buzz of the saw hid the sound of her footsteps.

For several long moments, he just stared, watching as she approached. He was six-two, his body lean and sculpted. Wavy dark brown hair curled at the nape of his neck. She forced herself to keep walking, even as his jaw locked and a fierce scowl darkened his face.

Dirk grabbed a faded blue work shirt and shrugged it on, covering most of his amazing chest. He didn't bother fastening the buttons, just strode toward her, blocking her view of the house.

He stopped right in front of her. "What are doing here, Meg?"

"I need to talk to you. It's...it's urgent."

"You're trespassing. What do you want?"

She swallowed, fought to stay strong. He didn't want her there. She had known he wouldn't. Known he thought of her only with contempt. She wished he would hold her the way he used to when she was afraid. "I...I want to hire you."

The corner of his mouth edged into a ruthless half smile. "What for? Stud service?"

She wanted to cry. She wanted to beg his forgiveness. Tell him she had never forgotten him. That she never would. She knew it wouldn't matter to Dirk. Not anymore.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered, but saving the life of her son.