by Stephanie Tyler

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk everything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

Risking It All was an important book for me – my second Blaze, the second in my SEAL series, and as much as I loved (and still love) Coming Undone, I knew I needed to do something a bit different. The above quote really helped me to shape my book (I love quotes!) and the more I read it, the more I realized how right Erica Jong was about risking it all for love.

I was going for a series of loosely connected stand-alone books, if that makes any sense, so I wanted to keep a bit of the surfing theme I started in Coming Undone. I wanted to write about SEALs while focusing a little more on the inherent danger in that job, but also the inherent danger in not taking any risks at all. In doing so, I made good use of one of Hunt’s teammates in Coming Undone – Cash aka John Cashman, and I knew I wanted him to be my next hero. So I had my hero – now I just needed a heroine who could deal with him. (FWIW, my original working title of this book was Dropping In, which changed to, To The Limit, which ultimately became Risking It All.)

Rina’s a documentary film-maker and Cash is a big wave surfer as well as a SEAL, so I wrote in my notes: If Coming Undone’s theme is losing control, then this book is about dropping in – dropping in uninvited on another person’s wave (aka another person’s life.) Dropping In, in a surfer’s world, isn’t a cool thing to do at all, but when Rina drops into Cash’s life, she creates a wave she can’t resist. They meet when Cash is working undercover on a Gray Ops mission in for the DEA and Cash has to save Rina from bringing trouble on herself. They both think it’s just a one-night stand, until fate brings them together again.

Both Cash and Rina have big things going on in their lives – Rina’s filming the most important documentary of her career and Cash is working toward his own major career goals. Love is the last thing on their agenda. So all that was left to do was force both Cash and Rina to confront their biggest fear – giving their hearts to each other. And trust me, they didn’t go down easy. Especially Cash. Then again, the alphas always need some wrestling before they’ll admit to anything. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m giving away a copy of Risking It All, my June 2007 Blaze to two readers who answer the questions below.

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