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Author Interview,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Author Interview with Terri Reed & a Giveaway

June 12, 2024 /

This week, please help me welcome Terri Reed to the blog. She’s sharing about her most recent release, Shielding the Innocent Target.

Comment below by June 18 for a chance to win a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card and one of Terri’s backlisted books. (Paperback or ebook for a US winner or an ebook for an international winner)

Welcome, Terri! Let’s travel back to your childhood and learn what you wanted to be when you grew up? 

I had two great passions as a child. Dancing and books. I was always dancing. I would stand on the hearth in my grandparents’ house while they filmed me dancing. My kids got a kick out of those old videos. As I grew older, I channeled my need to dance into gymnastics in middle school and high school. I wanted to study dance after high school but alas there was no money for University. 

My other great passion of books translated into me being a storyteller. I loved to make up grand tales featuring my dolls and stuffed animals. My mom transcribed a couple of those early stories and I still have them tucked away in a box.

What precious treasures! Do you have hobbies? Have you incorporated any of them into your books? 

My hobby is doing dog agility. I have an 8-year-old Australian Shepherd and we’ve been training since she was eight months old. I’ve used many of the dog training techniques I’ve learned over the years in my books, especially the K-9 dog books.

A perfect combo! How and when did you start writing? 

After high school, I moved to the city where I worked in a department store and started taking community college classes. The professor in my creative writing course was very encouraging and told me I should pursue writing. Several years later, I finally decided I wanted to embrace storytelling as a career. For 10 years I learned and studied the craft of writing before I sold my first story. And I haven’t stopped writing since.

Your persistence and commitment to hone your craft is admirable. How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

On average it takes about three months to complete a book. It all depends on what else I have going on in my life. I build time into my deadlines for holidays, vacations, and conferences.

Wow, three months is fast! Good for you. What is the premise of Shielding the Innocent Target?

Shielding the Innocent Target is about a widowed mom who witnesses her boss’s murder. She must flee with her young son and trust their lives to a deputy US marshal who is familiar with the hitman on their trail.

Ooh, that sounds so good! Do you have a critique partners or critique group? What are the pros and cons of participating in such a group?

I have a critique partner I’ve been with for nearly 30 years. We met at a local writers’ club and joined a critique group with seven other writers. We were all unpublished and learning together. The others have moved on over the years leaving the two of us to continue to collaborate. She reads my first drafts and I read hers. We’ve become more than critique partners. I’d say she is one of my closest friends. 

As for pros to being in a critique group, it’s helpful to have someone read your story before you publish or turn your story in to an editor. Sometimes as a writer, we have a vision in our head that we don’t get clearly onto the page. That’s what a critique partner helps you with. As for the cons, sometimes personalities don’t mesh well, and people accelerate in their craft at different rates which can cause some friction.

What a blessing that your critique partner has become a best friend. Speaking of blessings, has a reader ever blessed your socks off? How?

I’ve had several readers who have been a huge blessing with their words of encouragement and support, either via snail mail or email. I’ve received several gifts over the years as well. Mostly handmade items that I treasure. It’s so gratifying to know my books have touched others’ lives.

That’s got to be an amazing feeling. What’s next from you?

Each year Love Inspired Suspense does a continuity series. In November 2024, I have book 8 of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit coming out. Search and Detect is about a single mom and her child who are in jeopardy and the special agent of the FBI who is determined to keep them safe, along with his bomb-sniffing dog.

Coming February 2025 I have a book titled, Trained to Protect, which is set on South Padre Island, Texas. It has a working dog named Raz, sea turtles, and lots of suspense as a canine officer works to protect his childhood crush from a vicious cartel.

In June 2025, the third book in the Dakota K-9 Unit continuity series will be released. This story is yet untitled and is about an estranged married couple who must put aside their hurts and disappointments when the heroine witnesses a murder and becomes the killer’s target. Our hero, a canine officer, and his dog, specializing in search and rescue, will do anything to protect his wife and their unborn child.

Then in the fall of 2025, my second book set on South Padre Island will be released. This book is just an idea at the moment, but it will showcase Christmas Texas Island style.

Wow, you are one busy lady! Congratulations on your success and all your upcoming books. Thanks for sharing on my blog this week. It’s a pleasure to “meet” you here and learn about your writing.

Comment on Terri Reed’s author interview by June 18 for a chance to win a $10 B&N gift card and one of her backlisted books. #giveaway #romanticsuspense

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Join the conversation. Are you a Romantic Suspense fan? Do you enjoy K-9 stories? What questions or comments do you have for Terri?

Be sure to comment below by June 18 for a chance to win a $10 B&N gift card and one of Terri’s backlisted books. (Print or ebook for a US winner or ebook for an International winner)

Shielding the Innocent Target by Terri Reed

Click the book cover for purchase link

A child under his protection…
and a hit man in pursuit.

After witnessing her boss’s murder, Paige Walsh must trust Deputy US Marshal Lucas Cavendish to bring her to safety. But when a notorious assassin targets her and her son, Lucas’s short-term assignment turns into a dangerous cross-country mission. For Paige to identify her boss’s killer, Lucas must get the family into witness protection. Except the hit man knows their every move…and trusting the wrong person could get them killed.

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

Terri Reed’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top five, Nielsen’s Bookscan’s top fifty, have been Amazon Bestsellers, and featured in USA Today. Her books have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America RITA contest, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, as well as finaled three times in the American Christian Fiction Writers The Carol Award contest. Contact Terri @ P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97224.

Connect with Terri: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Goodreads / Newsletter / BookBub / Amazon

Please share Terri’s interview on social media to help spread the word about her books!

If you missed last week’s June releases post, find it here.

As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and is a multi-award-winning writer, an active ACFW member, and ACFW Virginia president. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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36 Comments

  • Deena Adams
    June 19, 2024 at 9:49 am

    Congratulations to Doris, this week’s giveaway winner! You should see an email from me with details on how to claim your prize. Thanks to all who engaged in conversation!

  • Lynn Moore
    June 17, 2024 at 10:32 am

    Terri…. what a busy and interesting life you have going on there in there in Oregon! Blessings on all your writings! 📚

  • Lorelei Angelino
    June 16, 2024 at 8:25 am

    Great interview! I will have to check out some of Terri Reed’s books, as romantic suspense is a genre I’d like to explore more.
    I think it’s crazy that she can write a book in three months! That’s awesome!

    • Terri Reed
      June 19, 2024 at 1:17 pm

      HI Lorelei, I will confess it took my ten years to write my first book. With each one the time frame shortened as I learned more about the craft and leaned into my voice. Practice may not make perfect but it definitely makes the writing flow.

    • Terri
      June 19, 2024 at 1:19 pm

      HI Cherie, the K9 books are my favorites too. LOL I love dogs and I was recently asked if I could be an animal what would you be. I said a dog, more specifically an Australian shepherd.

  • Deborah Clark
    June 12, 2024 at 3:35 pm

    I enjoy reading romantic suspense. I have added your books to my to be read list because I can’t afford them right now. All of your books sound exciting and interesting.

    • Terri
      June 19, 2024 at 1:20 pm

      HI Deborah, I completely understand. If you read ebooks, occaisionally, Harlequin will put the books on sale. I never know when that happens. It’s usually my assistant or a reader who lets me know.

  • Jeanette Davis
    June 12, 2024 at 2:28 pm

    All these books sound fantastic! I am adding to my Goodreads list! In particular the ones with K-9’s sound like a different book than I have ever read. Love dogs, so these sound so good. If chosen, I would love a paperback book.

    thank you

    • Maryann
      June 12, 2024 at 9:14 pm

      One of my favorite genres is romantic suspense. I am a dog lover so I enjoy K-9 stories. Terri’s upcoming books sound like great page turners. It’s wonderful that your critique partner is such a good friend as well. That is a blessing for sure!

      • Terri
        June 19, 2024 at 1:23 pm

        MaryAnn, Yes, it’s a huge blessing to have my critique partner also be my best friend. We were strangers when we met but over the years a deep trust has developed. We have helped each other through some of life’s trials and joys.

  • Faith D. Cox
    June 12, 2024 at 2:19 pm

    I enjoy Romantic Suspense books. I enjoyed the interview and look forward to reading one of Terri’s books! She will be a new author for me to read. Thanks for sharing!

  • Dana McReynolds
    June 12, 2024 at 8:34 am

    I enjoy reading romantic suspense and I love that you have incorporated agility training into your books. All of the books sound interesting.

    • Terri
      June 19, 2024 at 1:28 pm

      Dana, yes, writing the K9 books sparked my desire to do training. When my girl was a puppy, I thought we’d do obedience training but then I discovered an agility trainer near me and I was hooked. In my book Seeking the Truth, I have my characters attend an agility competition. It was fun to write about what I was actually experiencing.