Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Lynn H. Blackburn & Malicious Intent

Please join me in welcoming the fabulous Lynn H. Blackburn to the blog today to share some behind-the-scenes facts of her new romantic suspense, Malicious Intent! I LOVED the first book in this series & I can’t wait to read this one too!

MALICIOUS INTENT by Lynn H. Blackburn
SERIES: Defend and Protect #2
GENRE: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2022
PAGES: 365

Dr. Ivy Collins, founder and CEO of Hedera, Inc., is ready to begin clinical trials of her company’s cutting-edge prosthetic. Her work has been heralded by government, medical, and advocacy groups and everyone hopes the device will be a success. Well, almost everyone. Someone is trying to sabotage Hedera and the launch, but to what purpose–and how far will they go to get what they want?

Meanwhile, U.S. Secret Service Agent Gil Dixon can’t believe he’s finally been reunited with Ivy, his childhood best friend. Now that he’s found her again, Gil intends to spend the rest of his life with her. But it will take all his skill to uncover the truth in time to save Ivy’s life’s work, her own life, and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire.

Perfectly balancing chilling suspense and uplifting romance, award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn delivers a story of revenge, greed, and overcoming that you won’t want to put down no matter how late it gets.

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by Lynn H. Blackburn, author of Malicious Intent

Thanks for having me on Reading is My Superpower! I’m always intrigued by what leads a writer to choose names or professions in a story, as well as if any of the scenes were inspired by real life events. So, I thought I’d share a few of those details with you today regarding my newest release, Malicious Intent.

The hero, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Gil Dixon, is named after Gilbert Blythe, of Anne of Green Gables fame. Gil’s twin sister, Emily, is named after Emily Starr from Emily of New Moon. Both books (and all the books that came after them) were some of my favorite books as a young girl, which is probably why I’ve wanted to have a hero named Gil for a while. I considered making Emily an Anne, but decided Emily was a better fit. Gil and Emily’s mom, affectionately known by their friends as Mama Dixon, is an English teacher and her L.M. Montgomery love is strong.

The heroine, Dr. Ivy Collins, named her company Hedera, Inc. because Hedera is the scientific name of ivy. For those who care, Hedera is the genus and there are many different species of ivy. The common English ivy that covers many walls and buildings is Hedera helix. Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is not actually an ivy. It’s a poisonous member of the cashew family.

The idea to give Ivy a PhD in bioengineering came about because when I was at Clemson, I had a work study job in the bioengineering department, and I was fascinated by the work the grad students and professors did there. My degree is in Chemical Engineering, but if I had decided to pursue a Master’s, I would have gone the bioengineering route.

One of Ivy’s favorite spots at Gil’s house is his porch swing bed, which became the setting for one of my favorite scenes. Even though I could picture it perfectly in my head, I had a tough time accurately describing it in the book. It’s quite literally a twin-sized bed that swings from the ceiling. I got the idea for it from the one at my sister’s house, which was made by my father. My kids love it, as do I. I have plans to have one of these at my own house if I can ever talk my husband into screening in our porch!

My boys love to play sports and right now they are both into baseball, so I spend a lot of time at ballparks. It was a natural fit to give Gil a history with baseball, and also to have him coach a Little League team in his spare time. There’s a scene near the end of the book (I have to be careful here, so I don’t spoil anything) that was inspired by my mad dash to my van when a storm rolled in across the ball fields and proceeded to soak through everything. The worst thing that happened that night was that a lot of people got wet! But as a suspense writer my imagination took off and started thinking of worst-case scenarios. One of which made it into the book.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek behind the curtain of my weird writing brain. 🙂

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn is the award-winning author of Unknown Threat and the Dive Team Investigations series. She believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. Blackburn is passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Learn more at LynnHBlackburn.com.

Revell is offering a print copy of Malicious Intent by Lynn H Blackburn to TWO of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Malicious Intent by Lynn H Blackburn?