Monday, October 6, 2014

Character Interview: Dr. Lydia Costa from Leslie Tentler's romantic suspense 'Fallen'





We’re thrilled to have here today Dr. Lydia Costa from Leslie Tentler’s new romantic suspense, FALLEN. She’s coming to us all the way from the great state of Georgia. It is a pleasure to have her with us today at The Literary Nook!

Thank you so much for this interview, Lydia. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?

My story was told pretty accurately. It was painful seeing parts of it play out, having old wounds reopened, but it’s a story that needed to be told. You see, my husband, now ex-husband, and I…we lost a child a couple of years ago. It tore us apart. At the beginning of FALLEN, I’m not in a great place, still struggling to get a foothold.

What do you believe is your strongest trait?

I’m not sure. But my ex-husband, Ryan Winter – he’s a homicide detective with the Atlanta PD – says it’s my bravery. He actually says it was one of the reasons he first fell in love with me. Am I brave? I don’t know. But I do believe in standing up for others.
I’m an ER physician at a large hospital in downtown Atlanta, by the way. In FALLEN, I get involved in a domestic abuse case after the wife shows up in my ER. Ryan’s a good man, and he steps in when I get in over my head with the victim’s husband, who’s trouble.

Worst trait?

(Sits quietly for several moments.)
Just one? I have a lot of them. You’ll learn about one of them in FALLEN, which is something I’m pretty ashamed of. I wasn’t dealing with my grief in the right way. I went down a pretty dangerous path.

So maybe that’s not a trait, but a weakness or failure?

Do you have a love interest in the book?

Well, Ryan is the other part of the story. I’m not sure an ex-husband can be thought of as a love interest, but I did love him deeply at one time. Our breakup was painful, but we’re not alone. The statistics are staggering…how many couples don’t make it through the loss of a child.

Ryan in particular has a lot on his hands in FALLEN. He’s part of an investigation regarding a possible serial killer targeting police officers. The case is very personal to him for obvious reasons. And then I get mixed up with an abusive husband situation in the ER…putting even more on his plate.

At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?

I can’t say much about that without giving some secrets away, but there is a point in FALLEN where I believed both Ryan and I might be taking our last breaths. I still struggle with the events that played out.

If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?

I wouldn’t want to be Elise Brandt. She’s the spousal abuse victim who shows up in my ER. She’s beautiful and wealthy, she lives in Atlanta’s most elegant neighborhood…but she’s also terrified to her core. When you meet her husband, you’ll understand why. 

How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?

There’s an old proverb – a shared joy is a double joy; a shared sorrow is half a sorrow – that figures prominently in FALLEN. I will tell you this: At the end of the story, I feel hope again for the first time in a long time.

What words of wisdom would you give your author if she decided to write another book with you in it?

I’d tell her not to. Or, at least not one with Ryan and me as the central characters. Our story’s been told. Maybe a story about Elise? I’d like to see a happy ending for her. 

Thank you for this interview.  Will we be seeing more of you in the future?

I’m not sure. There’s always a chance I might make a cameo appearance in another story one day. You never know!

About the Author:

Leslie Tentler is best known as the author of the Chasing Evil Trilogy (MIDNIGHT CALLER, MIDNIGHT FEAR and EDGE OF MIDNIGHT). She was named as a finalist for Best First Novel at ThrillerFest 2012 for Midnight Caller, and as a finalist in the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense for Edge of Midnight. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence. Her newest romantic suspense novel is titled FALLEN.

Leslie is a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The Authors Guild and Novelists, Inc. A native of East Tennessee, she currently resides in Atlanta.
Her latest book is the romantic suspense, Fallen.
For More Information
About the Book:

“If it wasn’t an armed robbery, it was a hit. An execution.”

Amid a sultry Atlanta summer, someone is targeting police…

The investigation becomes personal for APD Detective Ryan Winter when a colleague and friend is shot dead, the second victim in just weeks. But even as he finds himself being drawn into the tense hunt for a serial cop killer, he is forced to re-examine his own shattering personal tragedy.

An ER physician at Atlanta’s busy Mercy Hospital, Dr. Lydia Costa is no stranger to suffering. Still, the recent police slayings reopen barely healed wounds—and bring her face-to-face with her ex-husband, Ryan Winter.

As the body count rises and paranoia tightens its grip on the police force, Lydia and Ryan are pulled together by circumstances and fate…causing old passions to reignite despite their painful shared past. But as Ryan moves closer to discovering the killer’s identity, someone is watching, placing both him and Lydia in mortal danger.

For More Information

  • Fallen is available at Amazon.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.


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