DOWNSTROKE Book Tour: Guest Post and Giveaway with Desiree Holt

The Making of a Book

by Desiree Holt

Downstroke, the story of an anguished love and its chance to mature, is my 100th release. And it’s appropriate that for a milestone like this the book should be one that came straight from my heart.

I didn’t begin it as I do many of my stories, with a kernel of an idea or a character who wouldn’t get out of my head. Or in the case of one book, one line of dialogue. To tell you about the birth of the book I have to explain that in a life that’s been fortunately varied and exciting I spent ten years in the music industry, as a booking agent and a manager. The music has changed and technology has altered many things in the industry. But one thing hasn’t changed at all–the excitement of a performance and the magic that an electrifying performance brings.

Driving into town one day I happened to pull an old cassette out of the console in my truck (yes, I know, cassette – LOL! That’s how long ago I was in the business!). It was the recording of a concert with a major headliner that one of my bands opened for. As I listened to the music I was transported back to that night in the open air amphitheater, the crowd stirring restlessly as it waited for the concert to begin, the notes of the band tuning up behind the curtain. The anticipation that something magic was about to happen.

Except for one story I hadn’t really drawn on those years of experience in my writing but now ideas began dancing around in my mind. I wanted people to know what it was like in the industry, to share the excitement I’d felt so many times over those years. I’d have a hero-Dallas Creed-and a heroine (ultimately named Charley) and against a backdrop of the music business and the tension of a stalking killer I’d tell their story.

When I walked into my appointment that day I came face to face with the man who would become the inspiration for Dallas Creed-lean and muscular, mid forties, blond with streaks of grey in his hair. Smoky eyes filled with wisdom and anguish. I couldn’t wait to get home and get started.

As I listened to the music again on the way back the title popped into my head - Downstroke. The word refers to the motion of the hand from the top string to the bottom on a guitar. And in my book it would also refer to the rise of my hero, his fall to the bottom and his rise again. I could feel him in my heart-a man who’d thrown away a chance at happiness for the glitter of fame and success, who’d nearly died because of it and now was back on top again but with an emotional emptiness he couldn’t fill.

And then back into his life comes Charley, the woman he’s always loved. Top notch security agent with a successful business but also a void in her life. Twenty years of bitterness lies between them when she’s hired by his brother to find the killer stalking him.

This is a romantic suspense novel and a story of an exciting industry. But most of all it’s a love story of two people in midlife who have a chance to recapture what they threw away. Writing Downstroke was my reward to myself for all the time I’d spent learning my craft, earning my stripes. However you want to define it.

I hope you will love it as much as I do.

Desiree, thank you for being here today!  Places to find Desiree Holt on the web:

Website: http://www.desireeholt.com/

Blog: http://www.desireeholttellsall.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/desireeholt

About the Book:

It’s been twenty years since Charley Roper and Dallas Creed parted with great bitterness. In that time she’s made a career for herself with the FBI and private security and he’s been a country rock music icon…tumbled to the bottom and risen again. Now someone’s trying to kill him and Morgan Creed wants Charley to protect his brother and find out who’s after him. When they meet again after all this time it’s obvious the chemistry is still there, stronger than ever. They’re older but are they wiser? Caught up in the bitter wash of memories and the tension of a killer in stalking mode, Charley and Dallas begin a roller coaster ride that is emotional erotic and suspenseful. Is their love strong enough after twenty years to pull them back together?

Twenty years ago Dallas Creed and Charley Roper were lovers with their entire future ahead of them. Until they split. Badly. Now he’s a country rock icon who made it to the top, hit bottom but is back at the top of his game. And Charley’s the private security specialist hired to protect him from an unknown killer in stalking mode. Caught up in the bitter wash of memories they begin a roller coaster ride that is suspenseful, emotional and erotic. Is their love strong enough to erase the past and bring them back together before the killer strikes again?

EXCERPT:

He spun away from the window and was beside me in three quick strides, his fingers closing over my wrist. “How about a little truth, Charley.”

He was completely in my space, so close to me a piece of paper would get stuck between us. He might be older and more used up but the rampant sexual heat was still there between us and the flare of it terrified me. I closed my eyes to hide what I felt, but his fingers tightened fractionally.

“It’s still there.” Statement, not question. “Look at me, Charley. Tell me you didn’t feel it the minute you walked into that trailer. Just like I did.”

Silently I cursed my traitorous body, the way his touch and his words made my nipples harden into diamond points and the lips of my cunt swell with desire.

Shit, shit, shit.

Before I could even take a breath, his other hand gripped my face and those lips I’d remembered every night since the last time I’d tasted them came down on mine with ferocious hunger.

The slightly rough surface of his lips, the heat of his mouth, the possessive greediness of the kiss brought back every memory I’d worked so hard to bury. When his tongue pushed inside and sought mine, I was lost. Truly lost.

I couldn’t move. Not just because Dallas had me gripped in both hands but because my legs were so weak I wasn’t sure they’d even hold me upright, and my brain had suddenly gone on vacation. When he finally lifted his head I was dazed and shaking. What the hell had just happened? What had I let happen?

We were still pressed together, tightly enough that I could feel his rock-hard erection hard against me through the worn denim of his jeans. Age and circumstance apparently hadn’t diminished that part of his anatomy at all.

“Go ahead, Charley.” His mouth was still only a breath away from mine. “Tell me you didn’t feel that the way I did. Tell me it didn’t affect you one bit. And tell me there hasn’t been a piece of your life missing all these years.”

Giveaway Details:

Desiree is giving away a Downstroke t-shirt to one person who leaves a comment on her book tour! Click HERE for Desiree's tour schedule. The more tour stops you comment on, the better your chances of winning! Please leave a way to contact you in your comment. Good luck!