Hi friends, let’s welcome romantic suspense author Chloe Flanagan to Stories of Hope! I’m very happy to have you here, Chloe, and I’m looking forward to reading your next book!
Candace, thank you so much for having me on your blog and for everything you do to support your friends in the author community!
Friends, Chloe is offering to one commenter Forward to What Lies Ahead and A Time for Every Matter in e-book format, so be sure to comment at the end of this post! Random drawing will be April 24th!
I’d like to share an excerpt that comes early in my third book No Longer a Stranger, which I’m expecting to release in June.
Excerpt:
He peeked in the window next to the MacArthur’s front door to ensure that the faint yellow light seeping through the sheers really meant they were home. Inside, their front hall stretched before him and, just to the side of it, a shadow passed across their living room doorway.
Good.
Next, he contemplated the task of leaving his package on the porch. He really hadn’t thought his plan through this far. Should he just set it down with a note, and hope they came out and found it? What if that didn’t happen until the next morning? Leaving it out all night was a bad idea.
Maybe he could ring the doorbell and then run and hide behind a tree, so he could watch. No. That sounded juvenile, even for him.
He was just setting the case down when a hand abruptly grabbed his right arm and yanked it around behind him, while another hand gripped his left shoulder. A sharp sting shot across his shoulder blades.
“Hey! That hurts! What are you doing?” he whined.
“I might ask you the same thing,” a low, sonorous female voice responded.
“I – I’m a friend of the people who live here! Who are you?” He squirmed and attempted to wrest his arm free, all while trying to glance over his shoulder at his attacker.
“I’m Detective…” There was a brief pause then: “Just stay where you are!”
“Alright fine, Detective Just-Stay-Where-You-Are, but I think you’re making a mistake.”
The front door swung open then and Regina MacArthur stood on the threshold, her eyes twice their normal size. “EJ, what in the world???”
“Hey, R, could you please tell Diana Prince here that I mean no harm?”
Regina’s eyebrows sprang higher for a second before lowering into a scowl as her scrutiny turned on the figure behind him.
“Detective Sloan, why do you have my friend in an arm lock?!”
The human vice that was clasped around his right forearm slowly loosened and released him.
EJ blew out a breath and stumbled toward the front door, prompting Regina to scoot out of his way.
“I apologize, Mrs. MacArthur,” the detective’s voice rumbled behind him. “I saw him peering in your window.”
Regina released an exasperated sigh and glared at him. “EJ, why were your peering in the window? Don’t you know how doorbells work?”
He flashed a grin at his friend. Even though the tall, pretty blonde was in her early thirties, just like him, she occasionally scolded him in a tone that reminded him of his Grandma Tillie.
“I do know how they work, actually. I just wanted to see if you all were home. I have a surprise for Jasmine.”
As if on cue, the short African American teenager appeared on the staircase behind Regina. “Hi EJ.”
Her eyes darted over the scene before her. “Regina, is something wrong? Why is Detective Sloan here?”
The girl jogged down the last few stairs to the bottom floor and focused on Regina, who placed a hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about, hon. It was just a misunderstanding.”
“I apologize again,” the detective muttered.
EJ rubbed his arm. “Well, I guess it did look weird. Thanks for not cuffing and arresting m—”
His breath hitched as he turned and looked into the most intense pair of dark eyes he’d ever seen. It was tough to put a name to the expression they held as they regarded him—it was a mixture of thoughtful, grave…sad even—but it pulled him in like the undertow of a stormy night sea.
He finally managed to blink and observe the rest of her. Her face had sharp, but graceful features, and her skin was tan and smooth. Dark brown hair hung loosely around straight, confident shoulders. She stood several inches shorter than his six-foot frame, but as far as he was concerned, she was perfectly proportioned.
It took a second for him to realize that the facial features he’d just been admiring were now set in a deep scowl, probably because she thought he was nuts.
His throat finally opened again and he moved a step closer, giving his best attempt at a winning smile. “Then again, you do have a duty. Do you need to take me down to the station for questioning or something?”
Her scowl only intensified, causing a nervous giggle to escape his lips before he could stop it. “I guess not.”
He groaned inwardly. Man, he was smooth.
Regina cleared her throat. “EJ, you may have met her several months ago. This is…”
“I would have remembered,” he interrupted.
“Oh. Well, as I was saying, this is Detective Marion Sloan. Detective, this is EJ Handler.”
Blurb for No Longer a Stranger, An Offer of Grace Book 3 (May 2019):
EJ Handler is the perpetual class clown, but he’s also a loyal friend and dedicated worker at the tech company he helped found. Friendship and work are the only commitments he needs. Yet a dangerous scandal quickly upsets his laid back life and dredges up the old heartaches that made him fear responsibility in the first place. His only hope rests in his faith and the reluctant assistance of a mysterious female detective.
Sloan is a tough, unemployed cop with a penchant for taking on the cares of the world by herself, when an unexpected job offer gives her the opportunity to do what she loves. Little does she know that a simple job will bring the infuriating, but endearing EJ and a chance at the friendships she’s avoided for so long.
Check out Chloe’s first two books!
About Chloe:
Chloe S. Flanagan is an author, technical writer, blogger, and graduate of New York University. She enjoys exploring the Christian walk frankly and thoughtfully in her fiction and in her blog, The Candid Corinthian. When she’s not writing, Chloe loves music, travel, reading books in all genres, and spending time with family.
Connect with Chloe:
Website: https://chloesflanagan.weebly.com
Blog: https://candidcorinthian.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candidcorinthian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/candidcorinth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candid_corinthian
So Happy to see one of my favorite people here today! Love you, Chloe!
So happy you stopped by, Paula! Blessings!
Hey, Paula. Thanks for stopping by. You rock!
First I would like to say the covers are just BEAUTIFUL. And I enjoyed read that small clip. Makes you want to read more and get to know the author.
I’ve read both, and they are great, Amanda! Good luck on the giveaway! I’m glad you visited!
Amanda, I’m glad the covers are eye-catching. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. Have a splendid day!
Hey, an interview with one of my favorite people! 🙂
Enjoy, Crystal! 😊