With: Leslie Tentler
I just returned from a trip to
Beaufort, South Carolina, which, if you’ve never been there, has some of the
most idyllic settings the lowcountry has to offer. Steeped in history, there
are countless antebellum homes, a breathtaking waterfront park and the ocean is
just a short drive away. To give you an idea of the area, the majestic Southern
home where “The Big Chill” was filmed is located right there on the bay.

BEFORE THE STORM is my fifth book
and while still romantic suspense, it is a departure from the serial killer,
law enforcement-oriented books I have written thus far. It features a young
woman named Samantha Marsh, which in actuality is an assumed identity my
heroine has been living under for six unsettling years. Running from a dark
past and a very real threat on her life, Samantha has come to Rarity Cove
seeking to reclaim her Southern roots and to try to make some peace with
herself.
The book also introduces the St.
Clairs, a family I’ve held near and dear to my heart for some time now. The
equivalent of Southern, small-town aristocracy, the St. Clair name is
synonymous with a very old and elegant seaside hotel, which my hero, Mark St.
Clair, now presides over. On the surface, Mark has it all—wealth and
prominence, and a legacy that bestowed upon him a pre-made, successful career.
But Mark has also dealt with his own share of tragedy, losing his wife in a
tragic accident two years earlier and raising alone a sweet but troubled young
daughter, emotionally traumatized after witnessing her mother’s death. Mark was
convinced he could never be drawn to another woman until Samantha enters his
life.
But as in any story of this type,
Samantha’s dangerous past eventually catches up to her. To make matters worse, it’s
at the same time a powerful hurricane is barreling down on the small resort
town.
I hope you’ll come to love the
St. Clair family as much as I do—not only Mark and his little daughter, Emily,
but also Mark’s slightly overbearing mother, Olivia, and his adult siblings,
Carter and Mercer. Carter, by the way, is a soap opera actor and prodigal son,
with a tense history with Mark that adds an extra layer to the story.
Beaufort is much larger than I
imagine my fictional Rarity Cove to be, but it offers the same air of Southern
elegance and history. My dream has always been to live at the ocean, where I
can take my long morning walks at the water’s edge. Nowhere do I feel more at
peace. While I was there, I imagined Samantha walking similar shores, searching
for some connection and a safe harbor from her unspeakable, dark past.
Leslie Tentler’s October 2015 release is
titled BEFORE THE STORM. She is also the author of FALLEN and the Chasing Evil
Trilogy (MIDNIGHT CALLER, MIDNIGHT FEAR and EDGE OF MIDNIGHT). Learn more about
Leslie and her award-winning books at www.LeslieTentler.com.
EXCERPT:
Samantha sat on the stoop outside her
apartment, drinking a diet soda and watching kamikaze bugs incinerate
themselves on the streetlight. But her thoughts were still with the Memphis
postcard, which she had ended up tearing in two and throwing into the trash at the
café.
If only her memories could be
that easily discarded. Six years had gone by, but even now the slightest
reminder of her past could still throw her into a tailspin.
In her nightmares, Devin
Leary was coming for her, and he was going to make her pay.
But
that’s all they were—nightmares. Devin couldn’t hurt her anymore. And Trina
Grissom no longer existed.
My name is Samantha Marsh. Closing her
eyes, she repeated the statement in her head like some desperate mantra. She
had taken careful steps to create a new identity, a new life for herself. She
had to learn to relax and trust that she’d covered her tracks well. That no one
would ever find her.
A
full moon glowed in the dark night overhead, and the peace was broken by a pack
of boisterous young men headed to the beach with coolers in hand. One gave a
wolf whistle and asked if she wanted to come along and have a cold beer.
Samantha ignored them, just as she ignored most men, rising from the stoop and
going back inside to the air conditioning. It was getting late and six a.m.—the
time she met Luther six mornings a week to start food preparation—would come
early. Samantha double-checked the lock on the door and went to prepare for
bed. As she pulled pajamas from the drawer of the bureau, she uncovered the
jewelry box tucked among the clothing. On impulse, she opened the lid, lifting
the inexpensive cameo from inside it.
The cameo had belonged to her
mother. Along with Walton, a worn-out teddy bear that sat on the bed, it was
the only remnant of her true past that Samantha still clung to. Proof that she
had been someone’s child. That she’d had an actual childhood, at least for a
while, before her world had come apart.
Those sentimental items—along
with the cash she’d been saving—were the things she had foolishly returned for
that fateful night. Without warning, Devin’s hard features filled her vision.
She could still smell his musky aftershave and feel his bruising grip on her
throat.
Before closing the drawer,
her fingers touched the small derringer she kept there.
Loved this book!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jonetta! I really appreciate your posted review!
DeleteSuch a great read, kept me up late to see what was going to happen next! Loved Mark and Samantha!
ReplyDeleteWilla!
Thank you, Willa!
Delete