Blog Tour: Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes

 Today, we have author, Sherri Hayes, who is promoting her new book, Behind Closed Doors.  

Author: Sherri Hayes

Publisher: The Writers' Coffee Shop Publishing House

Date of Publication: February 2012

Elizabeth Marshall spent the last nine years doing all the things she was supposed to do. She went to a good college. Married a man with a promising future. Elizabeth even had a nice house in a respectable part of town. There was even the promise of 2.4 kids in her future. From the outside everything looked picture perfect.

One night, six months ago, the world she lived in came crashing down. Her husband dead and her friends gone, Elizabeth moves to the small town of Springfield to start a new life for herself where no one knows who she is or anything to do with her past.

Christopher Daniels enjoys the simplicity of his bachelor life. After his divorce three years ago, he swore off women. He has no desire to change that philosophy.

When Elizabeth Marshall moves into the apartment below him in the small Victorian house, she makes him begin to reconsider the motto he’s lived by for the last three years: women are trouble. She is everything is ex wife was not and it doesn’t help that she is his wet dream come to life.

He is determined to resist her charms, however when someone starts sending threatening messages to Elizabeth, he finds himself in the role of protector. Can he protect Elizabeth and still be able to resist the pull she has on his body and his heart?

Behind Closed Doors is not only a great mystery, but it is a story about second chances and new love.  Both Elizabeth and Christopher have been hurt in the past by their spouses.  Yet, they are drawn to each other from the first.  I loved them together and it was so fun watching them fall in love with each other. The epilogue was just so sweet!  The peripheral characters, especially Christopher's family, round out the story nicely.  I hope Ms. Hayes will feature more of the brothers in future books! The mystery of who is trying to scare Elizabeth was well written.  I was kept guessing until the end and I will admit that I was wrong about who it was..I love when that happens!  I definitely recommend this book.  It will suck you right in and you won't want to put it down until you finish it!

 

Sherri was nice enough to answer a few questions for us.  Welcome Sheri!

Kari: What inspired you to become a writer?

Sherri : To be honest, I never imagined becoming a writer. I’ve always been a storyteller, however. In high school I was a thespian, and I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, English was one of my worst subjects in school. I’m a bad speller even to this day. There are a lot of words that I’ve had to memorize because phonics never worked for me. Thank goodness for spell check and editors!

Four years ago I wrote an alternate ending to a television show on a fan site. It was purely out of frustration because I didn’t like where the writers were taking the romance between two of the main characters. I never expected it to go anywhere, but the story became one of the most popular ones on the site. By the end, I had many encouraging me to write something original I could publish and Hidden Threat was born. 

Kari: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?

Sherri : My ideas come from everywhere. Sometimes I’ll be watching a television show and think, I wonder what would have happened if they would have done this instead. Or I’ll see something on the news or in a book or just in my day to day life and go, what if this mixed with that? What would happen then? I’ve always had a vivid imagination. The only difference is that now I’m writing it down.

Kari: What is your favorite book so far?

Sherri : That’s a difficult question. My books are all different. If you’re making me pick one though, I’d probably have to go with Hidden Threat more for the fact that it was my first published novel than anything else. There’s a sentimental quality that I doubt will ever go away. Plus, I love all the teasing and sexual tension that built up in that one.

Kari: What is your favorite part of Behind Closed Doors?

Sherri : When Chris finally gets his head out of his behind and goes after what he wants.

Kari: What exciting projects are waiting in the wings?

Sherri : I turned in my manuscript for the second book in my Finding Anna Series, Need, on January 25th. We’ll be starting editing on that one soon. In the meantime, I’ve started writing another romantic suspense, Red Zone. It will be a Daniels’ Brothers novel just like Behind Closed Doors. If all goes as planned, Gage Daniels story should be available winter 2013.

Kari: Who is your favorite literary character and why?

Sherri : That would probably be a tie between Jamie from the Outlander series and Alexander from The Bronze Horseman trilogy. They are both very strong male characters who would lay down their lives for their lady loves. They always try to do what’s right even if it isn’t always easy or legal for that matter. They both live by a gentlemanly code that I admire.

Kari: Just for fun, if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

Sherri : Right now, I’d have to say a cat. I look at mine curled up and sleeping most of the day and think, yeah, that would be really nice right about now. 

About the author:

Sherri Hayes is a country girl at heart. She lives outside a small town in Ohio with her husband and four cats. Her mother encouraged her love of books and fondly remembers childhood story times. Sherri satisfied her need to be creative through singing and performance throughout her high school years. About three years ago, the urge to write started and she has not stopped since. It has become an outlet for her and is excited to be able to share the characters and stories that constantly float in her head.