Fallen by Leslie Tentler Interview & Excerpt

Title: Fallen
Author: Leslie Tentler
Publisher: Left Field Press
Pages: 396
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: Paperback/Kindle

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“If it wasn’t an armed robbery, it was a hit. An execution.”

Amid a sultry Atlanta summer, someone is targeting police…

The investigation becomes personal for APD Detective Ryan Winter when a colleague and friend is shot dead, the second victim in just weeks. But even as he finds himself being drawn into the tense hunt for a serial cop killer, he is forced to re-examine his own shattering personal tragedy.

An ER physician at Atlanta’s busy Mercy Hospital, Dr. Lydia Costa is no stranger to suffering. Still, the recent police slayings reopen barely healed wounds—and bring her face-to-face with her ex-husband, Ryan Winter.

As the body count rises and paranoia tightens its grip on the police force, Lydia and Ryan are pulled together by circumstances and fate…causing old passions to reignite despite their painful shared past. But as Ryan moves closer to discovering the killer’s identity, someone is watching, placing both him and Lydia in mortal danger.

Book Excerpt:

“GSW, two minutes out!” Jamaal Reeves made the booming announcement from behind the ER admittance desk at Mercy Hospital. His words put medical personnel on alert, including Dr. Lydia Costa, who stood in the jaundiced glow of the light box, reviewing chest films for an eighty-two-year-old with suspected pneumonia.

“It’s a ten-double-zero, people,” he added, using police code that over time had slipped into the level one trauma center’s vernacular.

Officer down. 

A momentary hush fell over the staff before the beehive of activity resumed, leaving only Lydia frozen. Gunshot wounds were always nasty injuries, but it was the ten-double-zero that caused anxiety to pool in her stomach. There were hundreds of police inside the city, she reminded herself. Still, leaving the X-ray hanging, she shouldered her way through the scrubs-clad crowd. Reaching Jamaal’s desk, she asked, “What else do you know about the incoming?”

He slurped from a Varsity cup. “Multiple bullets to the chest and abdomen, intubated by paramedics on scene—”

“Do you have a name? A precinct?”

“What? Uh, uh—didn’t ask.” Jamaal shrugged, his eyes returning to the stack of paperwork in front of him, information forms for the three dozen or so coughing, vomiting or otherwise miserable-looking people who waited in rows of vinyl-covered chairs for treatment. 

“Plainclothes, though,” he murmured as an afterthought, scribbling directives onto one of the forms.  

Lydia felt her knees weaken. Still, her inner voice spoke to her, pointing out that she was one of the attendings on a busy Friday night. She moved briskly toward the automated, sliding glass doors that led inside from the ambulance bay, joining the assembling team and preparing to take charge of whatever faced her with the paramedics’ arrival.

“Get trauma room three set up,” she ordered, raising her voice to be heard above the din. “We’re going to need an echocardiogram. Have a crash cart and thoracotomy set ready.”

All the while, a mantra repeated inside her head. It was more like a prayer, if she believed in such things. She used to, but didn’t anymore.

Please don’t let it be him. 

About the Author

Leslie Tentler is best known as the author of the Chasing Evil Trilogy (MIDNIGHT CALLER, MIDNIGHT FEAR and EDGE OF MIDNIGHT). She was named as a finalist for Best First Novel at ThrillerFest 2012 for Midnight Caller, and as a finalist in the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense for Edge of Midnight. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence. Her newest romantic suspense novel is titled FALLEN.

Leslie is a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The Authors Guild and Novelists, Inc. A native of East Tennessee, she currently resides in Atlanta.

Her latest book is the romantic suspense, Fallen.

For More Information

• Visit Leslie Tentler’s website.
• Connect with Leslie on Facebook and Twitter.
• Visit Leslie’s blog.
• More books by Leslie Tentler.
• Sign up for Leslie’s newsletter.
• Contact Leslie.

Interview:

Where are you from?

I’m a native of East Tennessee, but have lived in Atlanta for the past twenty years.

Tell us your latest news?

My new book is a romantic suspense titled Fallen, which takes place in Atlanta. A serial killer is targeting police officers inside the city, and my main male character, Ryan Winter, is an APD homicide detective taking part in the investigation. My main female character is Dr. Lydia Costa, who is an ER physician at a large downtown hospital, and is also Ryan’s ex-wife. The two were once a happy couple but their marriage came apart after the tragic loss of their three-year-old son.

When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve always been someone dreaming out little stories in my head. For years, I’d start writing and get a few chapters in, then lose interest or decide the story was too difficult. It wasn’t until about seven years ago that I admitted to myself that I needed to be more disciplined if I ever wanted to write and complete a novel. I was working full-time, so I made the commitment to write in the evenings and on weekends. I finally finished my story. That book was Midnight Caller, which is the first book in my Chasing Evil trilogy.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Before publishing my first novel, I worked as a senior writer and editor for public relations firms in Atlanta for two decades. So in many ways I’ve always been a writer. I never felt like an author, though, until my first book was published.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I’d visited New Orleans several times – on vacations and to see family as my husband’s brother lived there for a while. It really inspired me to set Midnight Caller there. And I’ve always enjoyed television shows focused on law enforcement. All three books in the Chasing Eviltrilogy are about FBI agents, and Fallen focuses on police.

Do you have a specific writing style?

Well, editors have told me that I have a strong “voice,” so I suppose there’s something specific about my writing. I write in third person and typically have multiple points-of-view.

How did you come up with the title?

Foremost, Fallen is a reference to slain police officers, but it also has a secondary meaning in the book. Lydia in particular is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her child nearly two years earlier. In many ways, she’s on a downhill slope and is still trying to regain her foothold in a world that changed so abruptly and harshly for her.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

There’s an old proverb – a shared joy is a double joy; a shared sorrow is half a sorrow – that figures prominently in Fallen. The latter part of that adage has special importance in Lydia and Ryan’s story.

How much of the book is realistic?

I think a lot of it is. There are a lot of couples who don’t make it through the loss of a child.

What books have most influenced your life?

I love anything by John Irving, Pat Conroy or Anne Rivers Siddons. I tend to read a lot outside of my genre. But when I write, I have a definite leaning toward romantic suspense or contemporary romance. My favorite genre author is probably Sandra Brown.

What book are you reading now?

I’m actually reading Tom Perrotta’s Little Children. I saw the movie years ago and loved it, and picked up the book recently when I was browsing at a bookstore.

What are your current projects?

I have another novel close to completion that I’m planning to publish sometime next year. While Fallen is a standalone novel, my next book, tentatively titled Clarity Bay, might be the start of a series. It’s my first foray into something outside of law enforcement-oriented romantic thrillers. While Clarity Bay certainly has aspects of romantic suspense, it also has a Southern, small town romance vibe. 

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?

Definitely my friends at Georgia Romance Writers, my critique partners – one of whom, Michelle Muto – has been with me from the very beginning – my agent and of course readers who have provided me with so much encouragement and enthusiasm. Okay, that’s more than one!

What would you like my readers to know?

That I love hearing from people who have read my books! They can email me through my website or connect with me on Facebook.