I’m so thrilled to have Kat Martin here today to share a bit about what it’s like to be a writer.

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A Character’s Voice

Hearing a character’s voice in your head is one of the strangest parts of writing. Each voice is distinct, unique to that person in some way. How does it happen?

That is a question I have yet to satisfactorily answer.

A novel is constructed by using different tools, description, narrative, setting, and dialog among them. Letting a character tell the story through his own point of view is my favorite way of crafting a novel.

Not all authors use this technique as much as I do, but for me it’s what makes the story move swiftly. As I’m writing, I hear the characters’ voices in my head, not clearly at first, but as the novel progresses, I et my writing instincts take over and listen to what the characters say, let them lead me in the direction that will tell my tale.

Once they start talking, I let them talk. Later I can use the editorial side of my brain to polish their words, make them sharper, more precise.

To practice, one day I sat in front of the post office with my car windows rolled up and tried to hear the voice of every person walking along the sidewalk. It was amazing–no two voices sounded the same!

In THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, Jessie Kegan is the daughter of a colonel, a young woman raised in a military family. Now an investigative journalist, she’s strong and determined, which I hope her voice reflects. Brandon Garrett was once a special forces soldier, which gives him vast confidence tinged with a hint of arrogance. The voice in my head reflected those qualities.

In the novel, when Jessie’s father, Colonel Kegan, is accused of treason, she’s determined to clear his name. Realizing her life is in grave danger, Jessie turns to Brandon for help. But time is running out and the game being played is deadly. Working together, Bran and Jessie risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat–before it’s too late.

I hope you’ll watch for THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL and that you enjoy it. Until next time, all best wishes and happy reading, Kat

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The Ultimate Betrayal

by Kat Martin

Blurb:

When investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name. Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend–a true heartbreaker, according to her brother.

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly. Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat–before it’s too late.

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Betrayal-Maximum-Security/dp/1335080600

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-betrayal-dwayne-t-martin/1125832346?ean=9781488056048

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-ultimate-betrayal-26

Google https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kat_Martin_The_Ultimate_Betrayal?id=GqmqDwAAQBAJ

Itunes https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-ultimate-betrayal/id1477473206

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Excerpt:

She yawned as she closed the door, more exhausted than she had expected. She fell asleep quickly and slept far better than she had the night before, then rose at the first gray light of dawn. She went in to shower and get ready for the day, dressed in a conservative dark brown skirt suit and heeled pumps, then quietly cracked open the door to the living room.

Bran was already up, standing with his back to her, one hand on his hip, the other pressing his cell phone against his ear. A pair of white cotton briefs that hugged his round behind was all he had on.

Jessie’s mouth went dry. His suntanned back was smooth, except for a jagged scar on one side, and ridged with solid muscle. Bands of muscle defined his shoulders and arms, and long sinewy legs tapered down to narrow feet.

She told herself to close the door before Bran caught her staring at him like a juicy piece of meat, but instead she just stood there, her heart pounding, her breathing a little ragged.

She was just pulling herself under control when he turned, the phone still pressed to his ear. Jessie froze. Her gaze shot to the heavy bulge at the front of his briefs and she felt a rush of heat so hot it made her dizzy. Muscular pecs and six-pack abs. A lean, hard-muscled chest and amazing biceps. Desire hit her so hard she swayed on her feet.

She didn’t move till Bran jerked the blanket off his make-shift bed and wrapped it around his waist, knocking her out of her self-imposed trance and flushing her face with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she managed to breathlessly whisper, stepped back and slammed the door.

Ohmygod, ohmygod. She hadn’t felt the least attraction to a man for so long she’d forgotten what it was like. Correction, she had never felt the jolt of desire she had felt looking at Brandon Garrett. Ohmygod.

She told herself he was probably used to that kind of reaction from a woman, or at least the women who had seen him nearly naked. Jessie sank down on the bed. What could she possibly say to him? How could she explain?

But no words of explanation popped into her head.

Since she couldn’t hide in the bedroom all day, and because Bran undoubtedly wanted to take a shower, she inhaled a deep breath, opened the door, and walked out into the living room.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

He had pulled on his jeans but the rest of him was still gloriously bare. “No problem. I should have grabbed one of those terrycloth robes in the bathroom.”

She just nodded. “Yeah.” Her fingers curled into the palms of her hands as she walked past him toward the counter where he had brewed a pot of coffee.

“Mind if I use the shower?” he asked.

“Of course not. You’re paying for the room.” When he opened his mouth, she held up a hand. “Sorry, no more talk about money.”

“Exactly.”

She took a mug down from the cabinet above the sink and filled it with coffee, her hands still a bit unsteady.

“Why don’t you order us something to eat?” Bran suggested as he crossed the room toward the bedroom. “I won’t be too long.”

“Bacon and eggs?” she asked.

“Sounds great.” As he disappeared through the door and closed it behind him, Jessie sank down on one of the chairs at the dining table, coffee mug gripped tightly in her hands. At least now she knew the abduction hadn’t completely destroyed her desire for the opposite sex.

Or at least one member of the opposite sex. She grimaced. She just wished the man who had rekindled her long-dead fire wasn’t Brandon Garrett.

Bran turned on the shower, set the nozzle to cold, and climbed in beneath the icy spray. He clenched his jaw, fighting to block a memory of the look on Jessie’s pretty face when he had spotted her in the bedroom doorway. Trying to block the erection he got every time the image reappeared in his head.

Bran knew women. He knew when a woman wanted him. He swore softly, cursing the fate that had brought the two of them together, putting them both in a situation that could only get worse.

So far he had managed to suppress the desire he’d felt from the moment Jessie had walked into his office. With her fire-touched blond hair and fine features, she was beautiful. He liked her body and admired her brain. In a softly feminine way, she was sexy as hell, and he wanted her–no doubt about it.

But aside from the erotic dream he’d had about her last night, he’d been doing an admirable job of controlling his lust.

Until this morning. When the flush in her cheeks and the heat in her eyes had made it clear that the desire he felt was returned. She wanted him. Which meant he had to be the strong one because no way could he have her and just walk away.

Jessie wasn’t the type he usually slept with, women who didn’t require exclusivity and didn’t expect to give it in return.

He was fairly sure Jessie hadn’t been with a man since she was abducted. He sure as hell didn’t want to be the first, didn’t want to deal with whatever trauma she had experienced, maybe make it worse.

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Author Info:

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.

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