The Writer's View: Lisa Regan

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lisa will be awarding an eCopy of Hold Still to five randomly drawn commenters during the tour and a print book of Hold Still to five randomly drawn commenters (US and Canada ONLY). A grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Writer's View: Lisa Regan

This is something that people are always shocked to know. I don’t have a writing space. That’s right. No room, no desk, no area. Nothing, nada. My laptop doesn’t even have a space. It is just wherever I used it last—on my coffee table, on my dresser. I used to have a writing space—when I was younger and single. In fact, I always had one. Then I became a mom. The truth is there is simply no time in the day for me to sit down in any one place and have dedicated writing time. I would love to, believe me, but it’s not in the cards. I have a full-time job and a family. The only time I get to write is in the spare minutes when no one is paying attention to what I’m doing (which is almost never) and/or when I’m waiting on something. I keep a small notebook in my purse at all times so that I can whip it out and start writing whenever an opportunity presents itself. Some of my best work has been done while waiting in line at the post office. I also write while waiting in the doctor’s office. If I am out with my family and my daughter has fallen asleep in the back seat, I will convince my husband he needs something at Home Depot or Lowe’s (it doesn’t take much convincing) and while I’m waiting in the car with the sleeping child, I can get a solid 20 minutes of writing done. The best time is probably when my daughter is winding down for the day. She lays in bed and watches television for 20 minutes to a half hour and I can sit in the corner of her darkened room with my laptop or my notebook and a book light and write. Sometimes in the evening if my husband finds something particularly engrossing to watch on the Military Channel after our daughter has gone to sleep, I can get a lot of work done. I always say I’ll get up an hour before everyone else and write but I was never a morning person. I’ve tried and I can never do it. So I just write when I can. I usually stop whatever scene I’m working on in mid-sentence so that the next time I have ten minutes to work, I don’t have to spend it wondering what I was going to write next. I can pick right back up. The story is always on like a movie in the back of my head so that I’m always ready to go. It doesn’t make for the best first drafts but there is plenty of time for revising later on—time I have to squeeze out just like the notebook time. I always dream that one day I’ll have a desk or a room where I can actually sit down to write, but I’m not banking on it.

Three men are viciously assaulting Philadelphia's prostitutes, and it's up to veteran detective Jocelyn Rush to stop them. She catches two, but they won't betray their partner, the most dangerous of all, and the attacks continue, striking closer to home. Jocelyn's only real clue comes when a monster from her past resurfaces--now she must race to connect the demons of her past with the villain of her present--before the sadistic attacker sets his sights on her.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Pacing, Jocelyn loosened the brace on her wrist and rubbed the skin lightly before tightening it again. Exhaustion made her legs ache. It was nearing the end of her shift, but she knew they’d be there well after their shift doing paperwork. She remembered she’d promised Olivia they would go get a Halloween costume in the morning.

“This isn’t right,” Jocelyn said. “Why are they protecting this guy?”

Kevin sighed. “Who cares? It isn’t our problem anyway. Let’s just charge ‘em and leave ‘em down there till SVU picks them up.”

“With what?”

Kevin ran a hand over the thinning hair at his scalp. “Jesus Christ, Rush. With whatever we can. Rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault.”

She stopped pacing and looked at Kevin. “We need the third guy.”

“This is not our case. We’re not going after the third guy. We’re charging these guys, and we’re going home.”

Jocelyn stood before him and put her hands on her hips. She arched her brow until Kevin groaned loudly, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling as if he wished aliens would abduct him right that very second. “What the hell, Rush?”

“When SVU takes over, I want to make sure we did our job.”

Kevin shook his head and looked back at her. “We did our job. Look, we’re not getting the third guy through these two. Did you offer Warner a deal?”

Jocelyn nodded. She rifled through her desk for the bottle of Ibuprofen she kept there. “He’s not taking a deal.”

About the Author:

Lisa Regan is a crime fiction author. Her first novel, Finding Claire Fletcher won Best Heroine in the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards 2013. It was runner-up for Best Novel. It was also a Digital Book Today Best of 2013 ebook selection. In December 2013, Finding Claire Fletcher and her second novel, Aberration were #1 Amazon bestsellers in the Kidnapping and Serial Killers categories, respectively. Hold Still is her third novel and was released in March.

Lisa is a member of Sisters In Crime. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.

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