In the opening chapter of my upcoming book, K-9 DEFENSE, Rebel β a five-year-old
Malinois-German Shepherd mix β saves the life of my heroine, whoβs come to the
wilds of Alaska in search of her long-lost sister. Rebel doesnβt need to be told
what to do β when she sees a car sliding out of control through the townβs
snow-covered streets, she leaps on the heroine, knocking her out of the way.
Itβs a role she knows well β that of a hero. Before coming to Desparre, Alaska,
with ex-Marine Colter Hayes, she served beside him as a military Combat Tracker
Dog. After serving together for two years, she saved his life during a sniper
attack. Both man and dog were injured that day, ending their military careers.
Since then, Colter has been hiding β and trying to heal from his emotional
wounds as much as his physical ones β and Rebel has stayed by his side.
When Harlequin approached me about writing a romantic suspense with a K-9, it
didnβt take me long to agree. Iβd never written a dog into a main role in a
novel before β primarily because in all of my previous mysteries, my hero or
heroines were in law enforcement, in situations that would make having pets
tough. And needing to have a constant role for a K-9 seemed challenging. But as
soon as I started writing K-9 DEFENSE, Rebel made it all easy.
From the first page, it was natural to have her in many of the scenes. There was
an obvious role for her to play and I quickly came to love my fictional dog. In
real life, I grew up with a menagerie β we had dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, a
ferret, an iguana, ducks, chinchillas, and fish. So having pets around is normal
for me β to this day, I often write my novels with either a parrot or a lovebird
on my shoulder!
And for K-9 DEFENSE, Rebel plays an integral part not just in the plot, but also
because sheβs so connected to Colter. Sheβs the reason he made it through
multiple surgeries when he was injured during his time in the military. And day
to day, she helps him cope with his PTSD. From the moment she meets the heroine,
Kensie Morgan, the two of them also bond. So, when Colter or Kensie find
themselves in trouble, Rebel is always ready to help.
Hereβs a little snippet from the beginning of K-9 DEFENSE, as Rebel saves
Kensie: Colter Hayes didn't know what happened.
One second, his retired Military Working Dog, Rebel, was goofing off,
chasing a stick as naturally as she'd once tracked dangerous bombers back to
their hideouts. The next, she was racing away from him so fast he knew her
injured leg would be acting up later.
He heard the engine a second after that, spotted the old station wagon
careening around the corner, cutting through the slippery snow way too fast. And
a woman frozen in the middle of the street.
"Move!" he screamed at the woman, cursing the injury in his own leg -
sustained at the same time as Rebel's - as he raced for both of them.
He'd never make it in time.
The world around him seemed to move in slow motion as panic shot up his
throat, mingling with the cold and making it hard to breathe. The car
slip-sliding out of control. His five-year-old Malinois-German Shepherd mix -
the only friend he had left in the world - running straight in front of it.
Colter pushed his leg as hard as he could, trying to follow, trying to be
any use at all. But it was no good.
Rebel leapt up high, slamming into the woman's chest with her front legs,
knocking both of them out of sight as the car raced past Colter. It slowed for a
second, then sped off.
The panic dropped lower, making his chest hurt and his heart beat too fast.
The memory of a year ago, of Rebel jumping on him as a bullet passed so close he
felt its trajectory over his head, made it hard to breathe.
He tried to push it out of his mind, willed himself not to fall into that
darkness as he raced across the street, sliding in the snow toward the two
figures lying prone on the ground. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the pop in
his knee and the pain that rushed up his thigh.
Another memory from a year ago, of surgery after surgery as he begged to
know the condition of his unit. No one would tell him.
Colter blinked the present back into focus.
Critically acclaimed and award-winning author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her
suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists,
and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the
minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI
Academyβs shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen
countries and translated into eight languages; they've also been shortlisted for
the Daphne Du Maurier award, the National Readers' Choice award and the
Booksellers' Best award and won the RT Reviewers' Choice award.
The heroine of Elizabeth's Profiler novels was called "one of the most amazing
characters created in print" by Fresh Fiction. Her novels have received praise
from Lee Child, J.T. Ellison, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, R.L. Stine,
Allison Brennan, Laura Griffin, Suzanne Brockmann, Hank Phillippi Ryan and ZoΓ«
Sharp.
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