His Reluctant Bodyguard by Loucinda McGary

Literary Nymphs Interview

Title: His Reluctant Bodyguard

Author:  Loucinda McGary

Publisher: Loucinda McGary

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

Release Date: Sept. 14, 2012

 

 

What inspired the story?

A combination of things. The heroine, Avery Knox was a secondary character in my previous novel High Seas Deception, and she was such a fun character that I decided to give her a book of her own, so His Reluctant Bodyguard became Book 2 in the Adventure Cruise Line series.

I love cruising and on several trips to the Caribbean, I was inspired by the history and culture of the islands in the West Indies. Many of those islands have gone back and forth between British, French, Spanish, and even Dutch rule. Also, the people have developed an interesting blend of various cultures that I found fascinating.

EXCERPT:

Concierge level guests had their own box seats in a special balcony of the Imperial theater, Rip learned. He sat in the second seat of the four in the front row. Agent Williams sat beside him on the aisle with his swollen ankle propped on a cushion and a hostile scowl on his face...
The waiter no sooner returned with their drinks than the lights dimmed. A male announcer came on and welcomed everyone, ending with, “Here are your co-cruise directors, Ginger Judd and Avery Knox!”
Apparently the second show was a repeat of the first, for the curtain went up to reveal a montage of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals posters. The irritating red-head roller skated onto the stage warbling somewhat off-key, “Starlight Express! Starlight Express!”
Then the posters parted, and Avery stood at the top of a wide staircase in a tight black dress with a shiny gold jacket, her blonde hair pulled back into an elegant roll. She belted out a couple of lines from “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” and the audience burst into applause, none more enthusiastically than Rip.
As Avery swept down the stairs, Williams leaned over and muttered, “If you let her get away, you’re dumber than you look.”
Ignoring him, Rip settled back and enjoyed watching Avery make her brief introduction. She looked poised and elegant while Ginger appeared to be a clumsy buffoon, and Rip didn’t think the latter was purely an act. After a few quick minutes of banter, the two women exited in opposite directions and the show started....
After one huge finale number, the cast took their bows, then Avery and Ginger came back out. Without her roller skates, the red-head barely came up to Avery’s shoulder. They took turns telling the audience what to expect tomorrow when the ship docked in San Juan.
“Gotta hand it to you, Pollendene,” Williams said with a grudging kind of envious tone. “You know how to pick a bodyguard.”
Rip couldn’t keep his huge grin under control. “Good, then you’ll understand why I’m meeting her for a late dinner in fifteen minutes.” Then he climbed over Williams’ outstretched leg and sprinted out of the balcony.
“Wait a minute!” He heard the agent call after him, but he didn’t stop.

Where can we find your website?
http://loucindamcgary.com/ 

I also have a FaceBook author page:

https://www.facebook.com/loucinda.mcgary

I love hearing from readers! They are what make this whole writing gig worthwhile, so I'd love for you to stop by my website or author page and leave a comment.

Though it is the second book in the Adventure Cruise Line series, both His Reluctant Bodyguard and High Seas Deception are stand alone stories and can be read in any order.

I'm giving away a free download (Kindle or Nook, winner's choice) of His Reluctant Bodyguard to one randomly selected commenter. I'm also giving away a $20 gift card to one lucky commenter at the end of my blog tour (Dec. 5th).

Thank you again for having me as a guest on Literary Nymphs today!

HAPPY READING!

 

 About Loucinda (Cindy) McGary

Blessed with the gift of “Irish Blarney” Loucinda McGary (everyone calls her Cindy) became a storyteller shortly after she learned to read. If she didn’t like the way a story ended, she made up her own ending.

A long-time reader of romances, Cindy discovered and joined Romance Writers of America in 2001. But her stressful career as the manager of a multi-million dollar State and Federally funded program prevented her from doing much writing or traveling. She still managed to squeeze in a little of both, but not enough of either to be truly satisfying. Finally, at the end of 2003 she decided to take an early retirement from her career to fully pursue her twin passions of travel and writing.

On Sept. 14, 2007 Cindy received “the call” from an editor that changed her life, and she sold her first book (actually the third book she’d written since she left her job four years earlier). The Wild Sight was released Oct. 2008 and received a rare and coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly magazine. It also went on to win the “Best First Book” category in the More Than Magic contest. In 2010, the electronic version of Wild Sight became an Amazon bestseller in their Top 100 of all books.

In Sept. 2009, her second published novel, The Treasures of Venice was released. This story previously finaled in the prestigious Golden Heart contest in 2006 under the title Jewels of the Madonna. Treasures of Venice went on to win the Judge a Book By Its Cover contest and to final in several other regional contests.

In July 2010 her third traditionally published novel, The Wild Irish Sea was released, and received a four star review from Romantic Times Book Review magazine.

Cindy likes to set her novels of romance and suspense in some of the fascinating places she has visited. To date, she has visited 47 states and 32 foreign countries.