Cold Light of Day by Toni Anderson

By Don Helin

In COLD LIGHT OF DAY, physicist Scarlett Stone is the daughter of the man considered to be the most notorious Russian agent in FBI history, but with the help of FBI Special Agent, Matt Lazlo, she’s determined to prove he’s innocent. As Scarlett and Matt dig for the truth, they begin to fall for one another. But the real spy isn’t about to let anyone uncover their secrets, and resolves to remain firmly in the shadows—and for that to happen, Matt and Scarlett have to die.

Toni Anderson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. A former marine biologist, Anderson traveled the world for her work. After living in six different countries, she finally settled down in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children. Combining her love of travel with her love of romantic suspense, Anderson writes stories based in some of the places she has been fortunate enough to visit.

She is the author of several novels including Dark Waters, The Killing Game, and A Cold Dark Place. Her novels have been nominated for the prestigious Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award, Daphne du Maurier Awards, and National Readers’ Choice Awards in Romantic Suspense.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Toni the other day and ask her a few questions.

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about COLD LIGHT OF DAY?

COLD LIGHT OF DAY is the third book in my Cold Justice Series (Romantic Suspense books). The Cold Justice Series loosely follows agents in the FBI’s BAU-4 unit, but the books have plots ranging from serial killers, political conspiracies, terrorist attacks, and in this third book, a classic espionage tangle.

I particularly love the heroine in COLD LIGHT OF DAY. Dr. Scarlett Stone is a physicist/electronics genius who is trying to prove her father innocent, even though he confessed to spying for the Russians fourteen years ago. The story happens over a 36-hour period, which is a challenge in terms of both the suspense part of the plot, and the romance. It’s also a Christmas story and has a slight fairytale quality to it—for me at least. I really hope readers enjoy it.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

I’m a news junkie so I wouldn’t say any one event inspired the story. It was more a case of me playing “what if” in my head after reading accounts from espionage and counterespionage agents around the world. I think, for a while, most people believed spying ended with the Cold War, but it simply isn’t the case. Obviously there’s no truth in any of the events in my book—it’s total fiction—but I’d like to think the story is theoretically possible.

What are you doing to promote your book?

In the run up to release day, I did a seven day countdown on my blog with daily rafflecopter giveaways. I also organized my very first Facebook Event with lots of fun guest authors and prizes. I did a couple of guest blogs on specialist Romantic Suspense sites and, of course, emailed the lovely people on my Mailing List. I gave away a print copy on Goodreads and spread the word on Facebook. I find promotion is an ongoing thing, but by far the best promo item is always writing the next book.

When you’re not writing, what are you doing (hobbies, family, etc.)?

When I’m not writing I’m an indentured servant a loving wife, and mother of two great kids. Also, chief walker of one squirrel-chasing mutt, and general cook and bottle-washer.

I’m a homebody who likes to travel. Some years I don’t leave the city limits, others I’m in Europe or Australia or driving two thousand kilometers on a road trip to the coast. I’ve discovered a passion for gardening and growing things, but I’m not good with bugs.

I take a lot of photographs on my travels so I guess photography is my major hobby, that, and avoiding the cold in winter (impossible considering I like in the frozen north). This Christmas we’re headed to Costa Rica for a desperately needed vacation. Naturally I’m going to take lots of notes and hopefully use the setting in a story.

What’s next?

I’m working on the fourth book in my Cold Justice Series—a classic serial killer story set in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The hero has been in all three previous Cold Justice books and readers have been demanding his story for a while now. I’m also working on a possible spin-off series featuring FBI agents from the TacOps unit.

Thanks for sharing some of your story with us, Toni. Your book looks terrific.

*****

Toni Anderson is a New York Times & USA Today best-selling author of Romantic Suspense. A former marine biologist, Anderson traveled the world with her work. After living in six different countries, she finally settled down in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children. Combining her love of travel with her love of romantic suspense, Anderson writes stories based in some of the places she has been fortunate enough to visit.

Toni donates 15% of her royalties from Edge of Survival to diabetes research–to find out why, read the book!

She is the author of several novels including Dark Waters, The Killing Game, and A Cold Dark Place. Her novels have been nominated for the prestigious Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award, Daphne du Maurier Awards, and National Readers’ Choice Awards in Romantic Suspense.

Her latest release is the third book in her Cold Justice Series called Cold Light of Day. Find out more on her website.