Luke’s Redemption
by Anni
Fife
GENRE: Contemporary
Erotic Romantic Suspense
BLURB:
Chased by her
criminal kingpin father, Katya Dalca runs to New Orleans and straight into the
arms of Luke Hunter. Sucked into the carnal world of the French Quarter, she
succumbs to Luke’s potent sexuality. He not only steals her breath, he steals
her heart and the only leverage she has against her father. She is left with no
choice except to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life alone.
Undercover DEA agent
Luke Hunter thought his newest assignment—recover a stolen flash drive to gain
the trust of the Russian mob—was like any other. But his target brings him to
his knees, and after one taste of her intoxicating beauty, he's in too deep. Doing
his job means walking away, leaving his heart behind with nothing but a promise
to reunite. It's a promise he can't keep.
When Katya's past
reaches out and her world unravels, her only hope is the one man she is most
vulnerable to—Luke.
Excerpt:
The smell of beignets wafted up and
distracted, I lifted the bag and took a deep breath. Whoosh! Fine sugar blew up
out of the bag and coated me.
“Shit, honey, you look sweet all
over.”
Oh, just great.
Blinking sugar out of my eyes I
looked up. And up. He was tall, well over six foot. Midnight-blue eyes rimmed
by a deeper blue-black smoldered lazily down at me. “You’re holding the best
beignets in the world. You gonna stand there or you going to take a bite?”
“Umm.” Jeez, Katya. Say something.
“Here, let me hold that for you.” He
took the coffee from my hand. “Go on, babe. Take a bite. It’ll be the best
thing you’ll ever taste.”
Still struck dumb, I did what he
asked and lifted a beignet out of the bag and took a big bite. Oh! It was like
sinking my teeth into a sweet pillow of ambrosia.
“Good huh?”
I nodded and stared back at him.
Then, without uttering a word, I stuffed the rest of the beignet into my mouth.
He grinned at me, shaking his head. “Want to wash it down with this?” He held
out my coffee.
My fingers brushed against his.
Yikes! I couldn’t stop the slight tremor caused by his touch. I took a gulp of
coffee - half rich chicory, half hot milk - and finally found my voice. “Would
you like one?” I offered the bag of beignets to him.
“Would be like taking candy from a
baby,” he grinned. “But don’t worry, I’ve got my own.” He dangled a packet like
mine in front of me.
Then we both stood there and smiled
at each other while we gorged on sugary donuts. He would reach for my coffee to
free my hand. Then after I ate some fluffy yumminess, he’d hand it back to me
so I could take a sip. We swallowed the last of our beignets and licked our
fingers.
I didn’t even know his name, yet I
was more turned on than I had ever been in my life.
Interview
with Anni Fife
What inspired you to
write Luke’s Redemption?
I began
writing Luke’s Redemption in June last year. It was one month after I packed up
my city life and relocated to the beach, changing my life forever. It was also
the first book I had ever written, or even attempted to write. I always had a
secret passion for steamy romance so my choice of genre was easy. My storyline
came flowing into my head a few nights before my departure. It was around
midnight. I don’t know what triggered my muse, but suddenly I could hear
Katya’s footsteps beating a desperate rhythm down a dark cobble-stoned road in
the early hours of the morning. It was deathly quiet. New Orleans was hung over
from Mardi Gras. As I watched her, I realized I was looking through the scope
of a sniper lens. Was I her hunter or her hero? Or both? My story unfurled at
such a rapid pace that I spent the next hour typing manically on my iPhone.
When I turned off the light, I had the beginnings of my novel.
I wrote
Luke’s Redemption for my own tastes. So if you like contemporary erotic
romances with a lot of angst and some suspense; hot alpha heroes with damage;
smart sassy heroines, also with some damage; and burning chemistry that drives
lots of conflict, and even more heat—then why don’t you give this story a go?
When or at what age did you know you wanted
to be a writer?
Never! I
always loved making up stories in my head, but I never believed writing novels
was a feasible career choice. I’d daydream about it, but my decision to follow
my passion was sudden. A confluence of life events and opportunities came
together and allowed me to make a life-changing decision. I shut down my
business, cancelled my apartment lease, and packed up my city life. A month
later I arrived in a small seaside village, and began my new life…as an author.
What is the earliest age you remember reading
your first book?
I think I
was around three or four. It was a pop-up book of Sleeping Beauty. I loved that
book! I read it over and over until the pop-ups were in tatters. Maybe that’s
where I got my love of romance and HEA’s…
What genre of books
do you enjoy reading?
Contemporary
Romance. Thrillers and Adventure. Mainstream quality fiction. Absolutely NO
horror!
What is your favorite book?
The
Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
You know I think we
all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
I have
two. They are in completely different genres but both have the ability to move
me to tears. The first is Wally Lamb. The man takes years to finish each novel,
and no wonder. His characters are filled with such a depth of humanity that I
can only aspire to reach a fraction of his brilliance in my own writing. The
other is the inimitable Kristen Ashley. When she releases a new book, I turn it
into a day of celebration. Out comes the red wine, chocolates and a comfy
pillow. Then I curl up and spend the whole day alternatively laughing and
weeping—and, of course, crossing my legs to contain the delicious tingles of
desire. Her alpha heroes invade my dreams. Her heroines are funny and
beautifully accessible. And her stories are both heartbreaking and uplifting.
If you could travel
back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
I’d stay
exactly where I am. It took me forever to find where I wanted to be, why would
I want to go somewhere else?
When writing a book
do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
Both. The
story and character development and dialogue comes easy for me. But crafting
the prose takes a lot longer. Longer than I ever anticipated. I think this
comes from my lack of experience. I’m hoping that by the time I get to book
ten, I will be a whole lot quicker.
Do you have any
little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
Sadly
not. My current home does not have a fence, so I have to make do with enjoying
my friends’ dogs.
What is your "to
die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
Pizza—with
ham and mushroom and extra avocado—and a glass of red wine, or two, or three…
Do you have any
advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Oh no, I couldn’t
possibly advise another author. I’m still a beginner. I’m in awe of how so many
romance authors pump out books at a rate faster than I can down a bottle of red
wine. Ask me again in five years time.
AUTHOR BIO:
Last
year, Anni Fife closed the door on a twenty-year successful career in
television production, to fulfill her lifelong passion, writing. In the space
of one month, she closed her business, packed up her city life and moved to a
small seaside village. ‘My writing has always been constrained by client
briefs,’ Anni says. ‘Now, I finally have the opportunity to write to the beat
of my own heart.’ LUKE’s Redemption is Anni’s debut novel and she hopes you
enjoy it as much as she loved writing it. Anni loves to spend hours walking on
the beach searching for pansy shells, more hours drinking red wine with her gal
posse, and the most hours writing romance novels filled with women you can
relate to and men you love to dream about. She is currently working on her
second novel, GRAY’s Promise.
Anni
is published by The Wild Rose Press.
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