Guest Author Jennifer Lowery and Playlists!

Hiya, readers! We've got a guest author on the blog today - USA Today and NYT Best-selling author Jennifer Lowery is going to give us a peek into The Maze and share her playlist with us, too! Take it away, Jennifer!

Hi WordWranglers and all you fabulous readers out there *waves* Thank you so much for having me today! My romantic suspense, The Maze, released this month so I’m very excited to be here! Thank you so much for sharing it with me!! 
In honor of my release I am giving away an e-book copy of any one of my books (go to my WEBSITE to choose) to one lucky commenter so please leave me a comment with your EMAIL so I can contact you if you win!!
I love music almost as much as I love writing. Probably because my hubby played in a band when I met him and my son has his own band now. Yeah, practice in my basement every weekend, lol. For most of my stories I have playlists. Songs that fit my story and my characters, the mood of the story, the theme. For The Maze I had a pretty short playlist, but it was intense and fit my story perfectly. Want to see it? Maybe you’ll recognize some of the bands. Or maybe it’ll show my age, lol. 
There is one song in particular that I just know was written for The Maze. The lyrics, the riffs, and, oh, James Hetfield singing-yep, meant to be! I wrote most of my ms to this song. See if you know it: Metallica-Until It Sleeps. It captured my heroine, Attie, and all she suffered so perfectly. Then Noah, her rock. 
And now, for the rest of my playlist:

Metallica-Load and Reload

Audioslave-Audioslave

See, told you it was short, lol. But, these awesome artists got me through the writing of The Maze and I thank them for it! To this day whenever I hear any song off any of these albums I am taken back to the scenes I was writing when I heard them and the emotions I felt as I wrote them. I fall in love with Noah and Attie and this story all over again!

***BONUS***

For everyone who signs up for my NEWSLETTER you will receive an e-book copy of my short story, Taking Chances ($.99 value) for FREE!
Thank you for having me today,WordWranglers!! I just want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn’t be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support! 
All my best, 
Jennifer

About The Maze:

Former Navy SEAL, Noah Kincaid, bears the responsibility of fellow counterterrorist operative, Atalanta Devayne’s, imprisonment, torture and retirement. Now the drug lord has resurfaced and set up an elaborate plan to exact his revenge on Attie. Noah and Attie must face challenges to overcome the past and accept their feelings for each other before the danger that tore them apart separates them forever. 

Excerpt: 

Trying to explain was out of the question, he knew she wasn’t in a place where she could listen, so he set the lantern on the ground and stepped back. “Come on, Devayne, take what you need from me.”

“You have nothing I need.”

“Oh, I think I do. Let’s work on your fighting skills before we meet up with Santiago.”

It worked. Attie took off her parka and hung it on a tree limb. Then she lunged. Noah simply allowed her to release her pent up emotions on him, parrying her blows, challenging her and offering what she needed. She flew at and around him with skill and agility that impressed him once again. She jabbed with her fists, kicked and danced as if she were weightless.

The ground below them grew muddy from rain and their boots. Anyone watching would no doubt think them crazy to be out in such weather—Noah would have agreed—but this was important. Attie’s state of mind took precedence over the storm.

Dodging a jab to his kidney, he put his hands together in a time-out gesture as lightning flashed overhead. Attie ignored it and trotted toward him. Deflecting the blow, he said loudly to be heard, “Enough. You’re going to catch pneumonia.”

Again, she ignored him.

Annoyed, he waited for her to turn just like so…and in one swift move spun her into his arms and trapped her arms at her sides, holding her tight against him.

Green ice met his stare and her beauty struck him again. Anger never looked so good on a woman. Raindrops clung to her lashes and slid over the smooth flesh of her cheeks. Her hair clung like a deep flame to her head and shoulders. She looked hostile and aggressive and sexy as hell with her eyes flashing, cheeks flushed and clothes plastered to her lithe body. Her chin jutted out stubbornly.

“I’ll tell you when I’m done,” she snapped, struggling against him.

“You’re done.”

Like a wildcat she fought to be released. She managed to slip an elbow free and slammed it into his ribs. The same as she had the night he rescued her from that cell. She’d landed a good blow to his jaw despite her battered state.

“Ouch,” he growled.

Somehow, she managed to wrap her leg around his. He tried to stop their descent, but the ground beneath them was slippery from where they had churned it up with their boots, and they both went down.

Noah managed to take the brunt of the fall, banging his elbow on a rock when they hit. Attie landed on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs and she was more furious than ever.

“Let me go.”

“Not until we finish this.” He clamped an arm around her waist to still her movements. She collapsed against him, her breath heaving in and out of her lungs. Her forehead dropped down on his shoulder and he tightened his arm around her waist. Slim and delicate against him, her curves fitting into his contours like puzzle pieces.

The air changed around them. Attie’s breath hitched. Like it or not, the chemistry was still there. Years of attraction, years of fighting it, broke him. His control snapped and he lifted his head and captured her mouth in his.

Buy The Maze: Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Kobo   iTunes

All About Jennifer:

NY Times & USA Today bestselling author, Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer.  Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side.  

Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn’t be happier to share her passion with her readers.  She loves everything there is about romance.  Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines.  She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.   

Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.  

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Other Books by Jennifer Lowery:

A SEAL’s Song (Book #1, SEAL Team Alpha)

Hard To Handle (Book #1, Sawyer Sisters Trilogy)

Hard Core (Book #1, Onyx Group)

Murphy’s Law

Taking Chances (short story)