When an Author's Life View Infiltrates Her Romantic Adventure

Everyone has a driving force in their life. Mine's balance. It's the goal of just about everything I do. Balancing time with my kids and my husband and my jobs and writing. Balancing ignoring the unimportant housework and not letting my house reach "disgusting." Sleep versus relaxing in front of the TV. The convenience of take-out with our budget. Healthy food versus indulgent food. Exercise with all of the above.

Despite balance being the driving force in my own life, it's not usually a theme in my books. And I don't think you'd expect it to be when you pick up Fight or Flight, my new release from Carina Press. But it wormed its way in there anyway.

Regan Miller went on the run with her infant daughter when she was 19. The baby's father told her to run, just before dying in her arms. She did, but didn't run far enough, and shortly after Kelsey was born, "they" came and tried to take her. Regan stopped them, and ran again—and again and again and again. Her life is about survival and escape. Paranoia and distrust. And it has an irrevocable effect on Kelsey.

But Regan doesn't want her daughter's life to be hell, so she struggles to find any element that can make it normal. Letting her play soccer, staying in one school district as long as possible, even dating occasionally, because that's something single moms do.

So what if they know a hundred different ways to get home—or leave? So what if they never take something into their lives that they won't want to leave behind? All that matters is keeping Kelsey safe. The strain of also trying to keep Kelsey from hating her takes its toll on Regan.

The biggest toll is her personal relationships. When paranoia turns out to have been founded and someone is after her daughter again, Regan is forced to ask for help from her hunky neighbor, Tyler, and once again forced to find balance. This time it's between trusting and guarding not only her daughter's safety, but her own heart. It's a balance Regan fails to find, with unbearable consequences.

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Natalie J. Damschroder's latest romantic adventure, Fight or Flight, is available now from Carina Press, via Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and wherever e-books are sold. It's also available in audiobook! Her next book in this genre, Behind the Scenes, will be out late this year.

You can learn more about Natalie and her books at her website, eHarlequin, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook. She blogs with three other opinionated writers at The Gabwagon, and with four other obsessed passionate Supernatural fans at Supernatural Sisters.