Today we are having a big PARTY with Piper J. Drake who is celebrating both her newest title, Contracted Defense, and her own birthday! Woo hoo!
Hello Piper and welcome back to That’s What I’m Talking About! First of all: Happy Book Birthday for Contracted Defense! and Happy Birthday to you! Are you doing anything special to celebrate either/both events?
[PJD] Super happy to be back! Thank you!
I’ve got quite the online celebration going on for the release of Contracted Defense this week, including our chat here and other fun blog stops. Even my puppy, Corbin, posed for some shots with Contracted Defense on my mini iPad to celebrate. 😛
For my birthday, though, we’re not doing anything huge on the day of my birthday. Instead, Matthew J. Drake tends to make little gestures every day of September to make my whole birthday month special. It might be a new pack of sticky notes one day or a bar of dark chocolate another day. It’s always thoughtful and makes me feel really cherished.
Awww… big shout out to MJD and his sweetness! If you could celebrate your birthday doing anything, anywhere in the world, what would you do and where would you go?
[PJD] Wow, huge scope there. I think if it were anything, I’d take the entire month of September and rent a flat somewhere inspirational. Perhaps Hawaii or the UK or maybe Copenhagen in Denmark or Tallinn in Estonia. I’d immerse myself in that new place and write all the stories!
That sounds like a great idea! Contracted Defense is the third novel in your Safeguard series. Can you share with us a little about the main characters, Adam and Victoria, and how it fits into the larger Safeguard world?
[PJD] Adam is a man who has had to make difficult choices. He’s come a long way, carrying the weight of those consequences with him, and he’s done a lot of soul searching with his family in New Zealand prior to joining the Safeguard team. He might be the rookie, but he brings a lot of prior experience with him. He’s not going to be satisfied with any sort of “just do this” role and will apply critical thinking to his contribution to their mission.
Victoria has been with our original Safeguard team since the beginning with Hidden Impact. She’s incredibly professional and detail oriented, maybe a bit of a control freak. And that’s okay. She owns it. There’ve been people in her past who were too intimidated by her to work well with her and she has never settled. She’s one of the best, which is why she’s one of our Safeguard originals. As loyal as she is to the team, it’s hard for her to see the majority of her team entwined in their happily ever afters.
In Contracted Defense, it’s time to make the Safeguard team whole again, and tell the story of how Victoria find happiness too.
Thanks so much for stopping by and celebrating your birthday with us! Sending virtual birthday hugs!
About the Book:
Time is running out and the enemy is at the gate.
Adam Hicks may be the rookie at Safeguard, but he’s no novice in the field. Retired from active duty after multiple tours and back fresh from a brief rest in New Zealand, he’s itching to return to action. But the challenge he hoped for arrives in an unexpected form: his sexy yet stern new partner.
The last thing Victoria Ash wants is to work with the new guy—especially one as gorgeous as Adam. His relaxed attitude about their first “easy” assignment together—setting up a private home defense network for a reclusive client—doesn’t impress her. Easy usually means trouble. She’s proved right when Adam discovers that the multiple incursions on the physical and cyber security systems aren’t just glitches. They’re under attack…and there’s a traitor in their midst.
As tension mounts, so does the attraction between Victoria and Adam. They must protect their client and the research he’s desperately trying to keep secret. Working together, they have to find the mole before their defense measures, in the fortress and online, are compromised and the deadly secrets they’ve sworn to protect are revealed.
Purchase Links:
Amazon : Kobo : Google Play : iBooks : Barnes & Noble
Excerpt:
Adam stepped back, drawing her attention to him and tapping the dry-erase marker against the palm of one hand. “If one of us was planning an attack on this place, what would we do?”
Easy. Planning an attack was easier in her mind than planning the defense of a place. She immediately ran through any number of possible approaches to gather information about the defenses and security.
And his point hit her right in the chest. “The alarm. It wasn’t to check to see if there was an alarm. It was to time the response from the security team and local police.”
Possibly, it was to time how long it would take for Victoria and Adam to arrive on site.
Adam turned to face her. “There is an impending attack in the works. We have no idea what the scale is or even why. But Roland is not delusional.”
Suddenly, this mission was a whole lot more serious, and Adam, to her eyes, was looking incredibly dangerous.
“Let’s get back to setting up the layered defenses then.” Before she jumped him, right against the wall.
About the Author:
Piper J. Drake is a bestselling author of romantic suspense and edgy contemporary romance, a frequent flyer, and day job road warrior. She is often distracted by dogs, cupcakes, and random shenanigans.
Play Find the Piper around the Internet for insight into her frequent travels and inspirations for her stories.
On the web:
PiperJDrake.com
Facebook.com/AuthorPiperJDrake
Twitter @PiperJDrake
Instagram.com/PiperJDrake
YouTube.com/ PiperJDrake