All Things Romantic Suspense: Jerri Drennen

Hi y'all! Today I'm joined by Jerri Drennen, author of Untouched. She's here with an interview and excerpt, and if that hotsmexy cover hasn't reeled you in by now, I don't know what to say to get you to stick around and shoot her a howdy. Anyway!

1.Howdy! Please introduce yourself, tell us an interesting fact about you, and if you were an animal, what would it be?

I'm Jerri Drennen. I'm a wife and mother and I love to go to yard sales. If I could be any animal, I think I'd be a cat. They are crazy critters.

2.Tell us a bit about your book--something you wouldn't find in the blurb.

Both Travis and Madeline are running away from something. You'll have to read the book to find out what that is.

3.What was your inspiration for this story?

Well, my husband is a Mason and he is into watching anything Knights Templar. I guess it wore off on me. I used the mystery of where they disappeared to, along with their missing treasures, as a way to get my hero and heroine together.

4.Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser?

Panster for sure.

5.When diving into a new work, how much research do you do and how do you go about doing it?

It depends on the book. My current Wip I've done a lot. Untouched I have to do quite a bit as well, but usually I do a little along the way when I need to.

6.If you could be one character from your book, who would it be and why?

I guess Mattie since she has a lot of me in her.

7.And if you had to be stuck in an elevator for 42 hours with one of your characters…?

Definitely Galen, who is the hero of the second book in my jungle series.

8.What was the hardest part of writing this book?

The love scenes are always hard for me.

9.Why romantic suspense?

I love the thrill of throwing two people into a bad situation and see how they use their heads to get out alive.

Do you write any other subgenres of romance?

Right now I'm writing a paranormal romantic suspense but I've written contemporary romance, time-travel and action-adventure romance.

10.What books have most influenced your writing or your outlook on life in general?

That's hard. I think every book I've read has influenced me in some way. At least has given me the desire to write.

11.Quick! The Departed, Shutter Island, or Inception?

I'd have to say The Departed. Not a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan. Inception was hold for me to follow.

12.Anything I didn't ask you about that you want to shout out to the world?

Just that I live and breathe writing.

Untouched

Blurb

Botanist Madeline Wentworth is relieved to be heading into the Amazon, far from the university and the vicious rumors circulating about her failed love affair. But on arriving in Peru, her team finds their guide dead with a small puncture wound to his neck. Waiting to replace him is Travis Kane, Amazon guide, treasure hunter, and superhunk. Mattie is instantly attracted but uncomfortably suspicious. When a member of her team falls ill and a similar puncture wound is found on his body, her suspicions deepen.

Travis has stuck with being a jungle guide for over ten years despite a run of unsavory clients. The rain forest is full of hidden ruins and undiscovered treasure, and he’s determined to find his share. But when his grandfather dies, leaving a letter boasting of Templar gold, he’s sure it's nothing more than an old man’s delusion. Everything changes when he finds his grandfather’s map. With high hopes, he leads Mattie’s team into the rain forest and finds himself overwhelmed by the beautiful blonde. When the group is attacked and has to fight its way out of the jungle, Travis discovers something more precious than gold--the love of a woman who’s made him want to be a better man.

Excerpt

Travis waited until the last of the crew turned in for the night then breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was his chance to take a dip in the pool, wash away the day’s dirt and sweat from his body.

He glanced at the makeshift clothesline where they’d hung their wet clothes after changing. For a good two hours the team had swam and then washed their garments.

The whole time, his attention had been on Mattie. She stared at him as if she’d wanted to eat him up, her gaze so intense that it’d almost made him lose control and dive in after her. The woman was magnificent with water glistening on her skin, the sunlight magnifying every droplet. She’d looked like a mythical water nymph. On that image alone, a man could masturbate for weeks.

Travis stripped the clothes from his body and waded into the cool water, determined to lose that picture before his swim was over.

He had to get a few hours sleep tonight or he’d have a hard time staying awake tomorrow.

For what seemed like an hour, he swam, gliding fluidly on the surface of the water, hoping it’d tire him out.

A splashing sound from the edge of the pool put him on alert.

He treaded water, his gaze darting around the pool, then coming to land on Mattie, whose barely-clothed body skimmed through the water, the moonlight casting a glow around her as if she were a ghost.

Travis sucked in a breath, caught up in her movement as she closed in on him.

What the hell was she doing? He had only so much control, and it was being seriously diminished by the look in her eyes.

As she neared, he struggled to breathe. “What do you want, Mattie?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” The words came out in a seductive whisper, and his cock throbbed under the cool water.

Christ Almighty.

How was he going to fight his desire when everything she did turned him on?

“You’re going to be worn out if you don’t get some rest.” Was he telling her or himself that?

“You haven’t been sleeping either, have you?” She inched closer to him.

If not for the water swirling around him, he’d have gone up in flames. “I’m used to not getting much rest in the jungle.”

She smiled, then dunked her head under the water and resurfaced.

As if in a trance, Travis watched her hands glide down her long blonde tresses, wringing out the water, the droplets on her face shining in the moonlight. He was lost in her eyes--lost in one particular drop of water on her plump bottom lip. Never in his life had he wanted to kiss a woman so badly. He could almost feel her mouth fused on his--taste the cool water on her lips.

This was insane.

She was on the move again, skimming through the water, her intent clear. She wanted him to kiss her, and more. How could he resist the open seduction, especially with his body screaming to stop thinking and start kissing?

When her toes curled around his beneath the water, an electric current shot up his leg, spreading out to every appendage, causing one in particular to go rigid.

She reached a wet hand out and traced the line of his bottom lip. “You have a beautiful mouth.” It was said so low he wondered if she’d meant to say it aloud.

This whole thing was getting out of control fast. He either had to stop her now or kiss her until she passed out.

Her index finger dipped into his mouth.

Shit.

Review

http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/recommended-reviews/november-2010-recommended-reads/untouched-by-jerri-drennen

Now available on Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Untouched-ebook/dp/B004D9FY14/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1291377630&sr=1-1