With: Delancey Stewart
Congratulations to "Mary C.", the winner in Delancey's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
I’ve talked to lots of readers lately about the kinds of
heroes they love to root for, and beyond the typical descriptions of their jobs
(CEO, fireman, rock star), one thing comes up over and over. Lots of readers
love a tortured hero. We love rooting for the guy that’s got something dark and
anguished twisting in his soul, the guy so deep in his own troubles he doesn’t
see the girl coming his way—or at least he doesn’t realize she just might be
his salvation.
WITHOUT WORDS
Rob deRosa is that kind of hero in my new book, Without
Words. He’s a firefighter—or at least he was, before he suffered a terrible
injury in the line of duty. Now he’s an ex-firefighter trying to figure out how
he fits in a world that doesn’t make sense anymore, and the only creature that
seems to understand him is a huge German shepherd he rescued as a puppy,
Sampson. Words don’t come easily to Rob as a result of his traumatic brain
injury, but when words are set to music—specifically his own guitar—the world
slows down for a while. He’s focused on the music one night at the club where
he plays, and when Dani Hodge walks in he knows he hasn’t got a shot…but he’s
wrong.
Dani’s renovating a small storefront where she’s going to
open her dream—a small wine and book shop in San Diego. But she doesn’t have a
lot of experience with renovation, and she could use a hand. When the hot
guitar player she saw at the club downtown appears out of nowhere and offers to
help, she accepts…
This is from Without Words—the scene where Rob offers Dani
some help using the tile saw she’s trying to wrangle as she works on her shop.
Excerpt:
“What’s your plan for this place? Or are
you just the construction crew?” The smile appeared again and my heart jumped
back to attention, along with a few other parts of my body that were supposed
to be on hiatus. His words were clear enough, though each one sounded labored,
and I wondered again what affected his speech that way. It might explain why he
hadn’t responded to my babbling when I’d gotten up the nerve to try to talk to
him in the club. Maybe I hadn’t given him enough time. I decided to blame Amy
for forcing me to approach him. Clearly, neither of us had been ready.
“I’m opening a bookstore and lounge,” I
said, trying to avoid the gravity of those eyes by looking into the shop. “And
I’m the construction crew, too.” I shrugged. “Keeps the costs down.”
He nodded and made no move to go, so I
stuck out a hand, pulling my glove off first. “I’m Dani.”
He took my hand in his own. “Rob deRosa.”
The buzz from the club was still there, zinging between us as he took my hand.
I wondered if he felt it, too. I’d never experienced anything so elemental
before. It was like my cells were responding directly to his, trying to line up
for some kind of atomic tango. It was compelling and frightening all at once. “This
is Sampson,” he added, nodding at the giant dog.
Sampson recognized his name and got back
to his feet, stepping forward as if indicating that I could pet him now.
I glanced at Rob to make sure it was okay
and then held out a hand. Sampson nosed at it and then pushed his huge head
under my palm. I laughed, kneeling down and petting him properly. “Hi, buddy,”
I crooned. “Hi Sampson. Nice to meet you.” Sampson’s huge, expressive eyes
never left my face, and I felt my heart soften a little bit. For the first time
in my life, I found myself thinking maybe I needed to get a dog. I grinned up
at Rob. “He’s amazing.”
He nodded, something soft passing through
the fierce eyes. “Need a hand with this?” He waved a hand toward the store.
I stared at him, unsure what he was
offering. He wanted to just hang out and lay tile with a stranger? “The tile?
Seriously?” I rose back to my feet, and my gaze met his again. Zing.
He lifted a shoulder and looked up and
down the street. “Not much else to do today.” He paused again, a furrow
appearing between his eyebrows. “Happy to help if you need it.”
I considered turning him down. Spending
the day—hell, spending five minutes—with this guy would be a challenge. Not
because of his unusual speech or the way he seemed to move just a few beats
behind the rest of the world, but because I would have to admit to myself that
I was insanely attracted to him. And I didn’t need that kind of distraction.
Tell
him no, my mind said. Thank him and send him on his way.
My mouth didn’t get the memo in time. “I
could definitely use help.”
Stupid
mouth. Now we’re both screwed.
Buy links:
About the
author:
Delancey
Stewart writes contemporary romance from her home outside Washington D.C. In a
house populated by two tiny pirates and one full-sized Marine aviator,
inspiration for her heroes is never hard to find—though quiet time to write
often is!
Connect:
Author Website: http://www.delanceystewart.com/
Author
Blog: http://www.delanceystewart.com/news/
Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DelanceyStewart
Author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delanceywrites
Author
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6581742.Delancey_Stewart
Newsletter: http://www.delanceystewart.com/contactme/
Giveaway:
Do you have a favorite tortured hero? I’d love to hear what books you’ve loved for their dark heroes in the comments section! Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card!
Congrats on your new book, Delancey. Tortured hero is among my favorite characters, though I'd be hard-press to mention any one title. Perhaps Tibby Armstrong's characters in her Surrender the Dark, Astrid Amara's Trustworthy, or the hero in Shana Figueroa's Valentine Shepherd's series among others.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy a good tortured hero story. One of the one I can remember is Piers from Eloisa James' When Beauty Met the Beast.
ReplyDeleteWithout Words sounds great. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThe Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is one of my favourite books. Ian is one tortured hero.
Well the hero in Astrid Amara's "Song of Navigator" is tortured physically. That book is one of my most beloved read.
ReplyDeleteDain from Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase is a favorite tortured hero of mine.
ReplyDeleteLove The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.
ReplyDeleteSeb from Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
ReplyDeletealysap at yahoo dot com
Tyson in Coulda Been a Cowboy (Dundee, Idaho #8) is my favourite tortured hero but it sounds like Rob is going to bump him as soon as I read Without Words.
ReplyDeleteno fav
ReplyDelete