First Page-An Eye for An Eye-Author Irene Hannon

AN EYE FOR AN EYE by Irene Hannon (RITA finalist)

Book 2—Heroes of Quantico

Chapter 1

His quarry was late.

Very late.

Shading his eyes, the man scanned the deserted jogging path and shifted the rifle cradled in his arms. He couldn’t linger much longer without risking detection. In the past couple of hours he’d already seen a few too many runners and dog walkers, despite the oppressive August heat. But no one had yet ventured anywhere near his concealed position in the woods at the edge of the park.

After studying his quarry’s habits, he’d chosen the time and place with care. And he’d walked through the exercise dozens of times in his mind. Park behind the First Congregational Church, unoccupied on this sultry St. Louis Saturday. Leave the car at the far end of the isolated parking lot, next to the woods that separated church property from the park. Cut through the dense thicket. Wait for his target. Take his shot. Return to the car, slide the rifle back inside the weed-eater box on the back seat. Drive home. Dispose of the gun.

He stroked the sleek steel barrel, the taste of regret sharp on his tongue. He hated the thought of destroying his favorite hunting rifle. But hanging onto it once this job was finished would be too dangerous. His only consolation was that it would end its life doing God’s work.

Shifting his position, he lifted his arm and wipe the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his dark green shirt. Then he turned to scan the empty church parking lot, barely visible through the shrubby undergrowth beneath the trees. He hadn’t sought out a house of God as his staging area, but it was fitting. For he was here to follow a directive from the Good Book. To claim an eye for an eye.

www.irenehannon.com

2010 RITA Nominee-Author Irene Hannon

Lyn:What does it mean to you to have a book nominated for a RITA?

Author Irene Hannon: It means I’m absolutely thrilled! Even though I’ve won the RITA once and this is my fourth nomination, the thrill never diminishes. For a romance writer, there is no higher honor than a RITA. It’s the Oscar of this genre. So in a very real sense, it’s a validation that all of the hard work of mastering the craft, the longs hours at the computer, and the painful rejections along the way to publication have been worth it.

What makes the RITA especially valuable to me is the judging process. Only published authors judge—five in the first round, five in the second. In other words, a finalist book goes through two complete judging process and is read by 10 published novelists. So the credibility of the contest is very high. For that reason, to me being a RITA finalist is as good as a win in almost any other contest.

I also feel honored to be in the company of so many wonderful authors. The competition is always stiff for this coveted award, but I can honestly say that in the years I’ve been a finalist, I’ve never had an issue with a book that won over mine. In one case in particular, if I’d been a judge I would have picked the book that won! So no matter who wins this year, I still feel like a winner just to be included in such an amazing group of authors.

www.irenehannon.com

Irene's book is An Eye for An Eye, out by Revell. Drop by a past blog using this link to read about this book.

http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/2009/09/author-irene-hannon-her-unmarried.html

First Page-Against All Odds-Author Irene Hannon

AGAINST ALL ODDS by Irene Hannon

Book 1—Heroes of Quantico series

Prologue

“Sir? I think you need to hear this.”

With a preoccupied frown, David Callahan looked up from the security briefing in his hand. His aide, Salam Farah, stood on the threshold of his small office deep inside the fortified U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. The man was holding a tape recorder and a single sheet of paper.

“A new message from the terrorists?” David lowered the briefing to his desk.

“Yes. And another personal threat.”

“I’m not interested in threats directed at me.” David waved the comment aside. “Let our security people worry about them.”

“This one is different, sir.”

After forty years in the diplomatic service, most of them spent dealing with volatile situations in the world’s hot spots, David had learned to trust his instincts about people. And in the two months he’d been back in Afghanistan trying to help stabilize the local government, he’d come to respect Salam’s judgment. His aide wouldn’t raise a red flag unless there was good cause.

“All right.” David adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and held out his hand. “Let’s see what they have to say.”

In silence, Salam set the recorder on the desk, pressed the play button and passed the sheet of paper to David.

As the spoken message was relayed in Pashto, the language favored by the Taliban, David scanned the translation. The warning was similar to those that had come before: Convince the country’s struggling fledgling government to release a dozen incarcerated terrorists and pay a twenty-million-dollar ransom, or the three U.S. hostages that had been kidnapped a week ago would die.

But as he read the last line, he understood Salam’s concern. The nature of the personal threat had, indeed, changed.

If you do not convince the government to meet our demands, your daughter will be our next target.

www.irenehannon.com

First Page-In Harm's Way-Author Irene Hannon

IN HARM’S WAY by Irene Hannon
Book 3—Heroes of Quantico

Prologue
In a matter of minutes, the baby would be hers.
Forever.
Debra flexed her fingers inside the snug latex gloves, tightened her grip on the loop of wire in her hand, and melted deeper into the shadows at the back of the dim, gothic-style church. As the final organ notes reverberated through the deserted sanctuary, their hollow echo fading into the murky alcoves along the perimeter, the woman behind the keyboard tilted a bottle of water against her lips, emptying it in two long swallows.
The hint of a smile touched the corners of Debra’s lips. Rebecca O’Neil was nothing if not predictable.
Standing, Rebecca leaned over the pew behind her and rearranged the blanket on the infant in a pumpkin seat. She cooed a few words Debra couldn’t distinguish, smiling as the child gurgled gibberish in response.
The mother bent close to press a gentle kiss to the tiny forehead, and Debra’s fingers twitched on the wire, itching to pick up the baby, to cuddle her close, to breathe her fresh scent. To experience all the sweet joys of motherhood that had been denied her. But they would be denied her no more.
Today she would rectify that wrong.
www.irenehannon.com

First Page-A Father for Zach-Author Irene Hannon

A FATHER FOR ZACH by Irene Hannon
Book 4—Lighthouse Lane series
First Page

Nathan Clay gazed out over the sparkling blue waters off Nantucket, scanned the pristine white beach and took a long, slow breath. What a change from the tiny, windowless cell he’d left behind four days ago—his home for the past ten, long years.
The juxtaposition was surreal.
Settling back in the white folding chair, he tugged at his unaccustomed tie, surveyed the seventy-five wedding guests assembled on the lush, garden-rimmed lawn that abutted the beach, and tried not to feel out of place.
But it was a losing battle. He doubted anyone else in this high-class group had served time in prison. Especially the Supreme Court justice on the other side of the aisle, who was a longtime friend of the Morgan family.
The family his sister, Marci, would be marrying into in just a few minutes.
Talk about moving up in the world. She deserved it, though. Marci had worked hard to build a better life. To rise above their tough upbringing. He wished he could have done as well.

Then again, his childhood had been even rougher than Marci’s or his big brother’s had been. Thanks to the secret that had darkened his life for more years than he cared to recall. Bile rose in his throat, and he forced himself to swallow past it, to suppress the ugly memories. Those days were history. They couldn’t hurt him unless he let them. And he’d resolved never again to give his past that kind of power. www.irenehannon.com

Book Monday-Author Irene Hannon & In Harm's Way

My guest today is Author Irene Hannon and her latest book is In Harm's Way. I'll be interested--What do you think of Irene's choice?

Here's Irene:

Just Say No

Early in my writing career, before the inspirational market took off, trying to sell romances without sex scenes was tough. Publishers were demanding more and more explicit romantic encounters, many of which happened outside marriage, and that’s not what I wrote.

On the other hand, I wanted to sell a book.

As time went by, I began to think that compromising my principles might be the only way I would become a published author.

I was more convinced of that than ever when I submitted one of my novels to a well-known publisher and got a serious nibble. The editor liked the story, liked the characters, liked the writing—but there was one little problem.

No sex scenes.

She sent me a letter, pointing out places in the manuscript where sex scenes could be inserted, and went on to say that if I added a few she’d love to take another look.

In other words, the book was fine as it was—except for the lack of sex. Put that in, and I was pretty much assured a sale.

Every writer who aspires to see his or her work in print knows how tempting it is to say yes to any offer. Writers have been known to make any requested changes, practically give their books away, or even go the vanity publishing route just to hold that printed volume in their hands. I was no different.

But I couldn’t compromise my principles. No matter how much I wanted that sale, the price was too high. If I did what the editor asked, I’d end up ashamed of the book. I’d know that the story had been perfectly fine before the sex scenes, and that I’d added them just to satisfy a boilerplate requirement. To me, this was gratuitous sex, plain and simple. And outside of marriage to boot.

So I said no. And resumed my search for a publisher.

It took a few years, but eventually I found one. And I sold that book—without the sex scenes. More than two dozen books later, I’m still selling books without sex.

I tell this story not to toot my own horn, but to encourage other writers to stick to their principles, despite the lure of publication. You won’t be sorry.

I’ll illustrate this with one final example. A few years after my moment of truth, I ran into a well-known inspirational author at an airport while we were waiting for our flights after a conference. We’d never met, and I was still very much a newbie. We chatted about our publication history, and she mentioned that early in her career, she’d tailored a number of books to the secular market (i.e., included sex scenes) and that she had always regretted doing that.

I’m glad I don’t share that regret. And I continue to believe that good writing will win out in the end. Maybe not in our time—but in God’s. Patience, hard work and integrity really do pay off.

RITA-award winner Irene Hannon is the author of more than 30 novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico suspense series. A four-time RITA finalist (Book 2 in her Quantico series, An Eye For An Eye, is a current finalist), she has also been honored with a Reviewers’ Choice award from RT BOOKreviews magazine and a HOLT medallion. Her latest book, In Harm’s Way, has just been released. For more information, check out her website, www.irenehannon.com.

So did she make the right decision?--Lyn

Author Irene Hannon & Her Unmarried "Grandmother"

My guest today is Irene Hannon, a longtime Love Inspired author who is now also writing for Revell. Irene today tells a family story of faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness. Here's Irene:

"Today I’d like to pay tribute to a woman I never met but who I suspect had a tremendous influence on my life.

Her name was Catherine Hannon, and she was born in Ireland more than 100 years ago. Still single as she approached 40, she was drafted by her newly widowed brother to take care of his two pre-school children, James (my father) and Cis, while he set off for America. He promised to send for the siblings soon and to provide financial support.

So Aunt Kate, as Dad called her, moved into her brother’s home. In that small rural cottage without indoor plumbing, electricity, or heat (except for a fireplace, where she also cooked), she took on the temporary job of substitute mom.

Except it wasn’t temporary. Her brother never sent for the children. And financial support was sporadic. Aunt Kate worked in the fields, took in laundry, served as a midwife, prepared bodies for burial—no job was beneath her as she struggled to put food on the table and take care of the two little children in her charge.

Years later, as adults, my dad and his sister did come to America. They both regularly sent money to Aunt Kate, who never married. When she died, they paid tribute to her with a headstone that said, “In Loving Memory of Catherine Hannon…erected by her ‘children’ James and Cis.”

In a country that was very traditional, Aunt Kate took on a role usually reserved for men—the head of a household. I have to believe that her competence and strength and independence had a profound effect on my father, who never factored gender into any challenge I faced, nor limited my opportunities based on sexist stereotypes. He encouraged me to reach for the stars. And I did.

While I’ve never consciously based any of my heroines on Aunt Kate, I always write about strong, brave women. Psychologist Emily Lawson, the heroine in my latest suspense novel, An Eye For An Eye, (Book 2 in my Heroes of Quantico series) is a good example. Though a sniper turns her world upside down, she carries on with grace, courage and even a touch of humor as she reconnects with her first love, FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Mark Sanders. Yes, she’s afraid. But she doesn’t let fear paralyze her. The same is true for Monica Callahan in Against All Odds, Book 1 in the series, after terrorists mark her as the next victim. Both of these women endure—and triumph—in the face of obstacles.

I have a feeling Aunt Kate would have liked them.

If you’d like to know more about the brave women who are the heroines in my stories, please visit my Web site at www.irenehannon.com. And drop me a line, if you like. I love to hear from readers!"--Irene

On Irene's website, she has a page titled, "What's Cooking?" She's features a new recipe every month. And she also has a page "News and Notes" where she keeps her fans up to date on her activities.

Thanks, Irene, for a wonderful story.--Lyn