Interview with Susan Page Davis and #giveaway!!!

Today we welcome Susan Page Davis to my blog. Susan is very graciously offering a copy of her new book Heartbreaker Hero. Please leave contact information. To enter, answer Susan's question in bold, below.

Susan, tell us about Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie’s Story – a brief blurb:

   All detective Eddie Thibodeau wants to do is marry the woman he loves, but after a Facebook post goes viral, that may not be easy. It seems half the women in Portland, Maine are in love with the handsome detective, and Leeanne Wainthrop isn’t sure whether she can trust Eddie’s declaration of love or not.

   A dead man found in Chief Mike Browning’s back yard on Christmas Day is the first clue to a plan hatched from vengeance. Can Eddie ignore the distractions of his love life and measure up when he comes face to face with a hired killer? The men of the Priority Unit are ready to stop a released criminal intent on murder. Once again, they set out to deliver Maine Justice.

Is there one particular message or “moral of the story” you hope readers walk away with?

Eddie would probably say, “Discretion is the better part of romance,” but I would say to the reader, “Forgiveness is essential in any relationship.”

What one question would you like us to ask your readers? 

Eddie asks his friend what he would say to his mother, who has caused Eddie great stress. What would you advise someone whose loved ones have brought on heartache and stress to say to them?

Tell us about the giveaway you’re offering.

I’m giving away a copy of the new book, Heartbreaker Hero. But since this is Book 4 in the Maine Justice series, if the winner hasn’t read the other books, she may choose any one of the four in the series, either paperback or Kindle. (Titles are: The Priority Unit, Fort Point, Found Art, and Heartbreaker Hero)

How did Heartbreaker Hero get started?

Eddie Thibodeau (pronounced Tib-a-doe) is a main character in the first three books, and he has become a favorite with my readers. I absolutely had to tell his story. This young detective of French-Canadian descent has a difficult family and a bad reputation in romance to live down. Since he became a Christian six months ago, he’s tried to clean up his act, but scores of women claim they’ve cried over him. He’s tired of being the “bad boy,” but will a nice girl trust him?

Tell us about your research process.

For this series, the most challenging research has been on police procedure. My fictional Priority Unit handles some things in an unorthodox manner, but mostly they are by the book. That means I have to ask questions of real policemen, to make sure they’re not way off-base. I also had to research the immigration of French-Canadians to Maine for this book. Thousands of them crossed the border in the early twentieth century to find jobs in the woolen and paper mills of Maine. This led to some tense times and discrimination that most residents today don’t remember. But Eddie’s grandmother remembers, and I felt that story was worth telling.

What impact did your research have on you personally?

I was shocked when I learned that the Ku Klux Klan was active in Maine in the 1920s and 1930s, targeting French-Canadians and Catholics in general. I had grown up with many friends and classmates of French-Canadian descent and did not see any prejudice against them by that time. Nearly 4% of Mainers still speak French in their homes, but that number is falling. It was very common when I was a teenager to go shopping and hear people conversing in French in the store. I felt it was worth mentioning the earlier tension in Eddie’s story, so his grandmother tells how it affected their family.

While you were writing Heartbreaker Hero, do you think it mattered where the book was set?

Absolutely. I live in western Kentucky now, and it is definitely a different culture from Maine. This series is set in a state that accepts changes slowly. Attitudes and values can be different as well, as can basic everyday life. For example, we exchanged blizzards and mosquitoes for tornados and poisonous snakes when we moved south. I’ve tried to give the readers a taste of what it’s like in northern New England.

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than seventy published novels. A Maine native, she now lives in Western Kentucky with her husband, Jim, a retired news editor. They have six adult children, ten grandchildren, and two cats.

Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com, where you can see all her books, sign up for her occasional newsletter, and read a short story on her romance page.

Social media and buying links

Find Susan at:

Website: www.susanpagedavis.com

Twitter: @SusanPageDavis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor

Sign up for Susan’s occasional newsletter at https://madmimi.com/signups/118177/join

Buy Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie’s story

Kindle: http://amzn.to/2sPeut9  

Paperback launch coming on Jul