EVERYWHERE TO HIDE by Siri Mitchell | #Showcase #Interview #Giveaway

Everywhere to Hide

by Siri Mitchell

on Tour October 1-31, 2020

Synopsis:

Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell

How can she protect herself from an enemy she can’t see?

Law school graduate Whitney Garrison is a survivor. She admirably deals with an abusive boyfriend, her mother’s death, mounting student debt, dwindling job opportunities, and a rare neurological condition that prevents her from recognizing human faces.

But witnessing a murder might be the crisis she can’t overcome.

The killer has every advantage. Though Whitney saw him, she has no idea what he looks like. He knows where she lives and works. He anticipates her every move. Worst of all, he’s hiding in plain sight and believes she has information he needs. Information worth killing for. Again.

As the hunter drives his prey into a net of terror and international intrigue, Whitney’s only ally, Detective Leo Baroni, is taken off the case. Stripped of all semblance of safety, Whitney must suspect everyone and trust no one—and hope to come out alive.

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: October 6th 2020
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 0785228640 (ISBN13: 9780785228646)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com® | Goodreads

 

Siri Mitchell

Author Bio:

Siri Mitchell is the author of 16 novels. She has also written 2 novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo.

Q&A with Siri Mitchell<.h3>

What was the inspiration for this book?

This novel came about because of an interview I heard on NPR (National Public Radio). A couple was telling the story of their relationship. He had a condition called prosopagnosia (face blindness) and she did not.

It’s estimated that about 2% of the population has prosopagnosia. It affects the part of the brain which maps facial features and then stores those memories. A person with face blindness might remember that someone wears glasses or has a beard or a moustache. Hair colour and hairstyles might also be recalled, but the memory of how facial features relate to each other is absent. A person can be born with this condition or it can be acquired from a head injury or trauma. Some people who think they have trouble remembering names actually have trouble remembering faces. And face blindness exists on a spectrum. Those with the condition can also have difficulty in mapping geography, noting differences in skin colour, and distinguishing within groupings of similar objects such as cars.

All that to say that the couple had some challenges due to his condition. At the end of their conversation, they talked about their breakup. For the first time, she revealed that sometimes she went to the restaurant where he worked so that she could still see him. It was an electrifying moment in the interview because he had absolutely no idea; he’d never recognized her.

The thought that she was effectively erased from his life, unless she chose to identify herself, haunted me. They had known each other intimately and yet she was unrecognizable. My writer’s mind turned that idea backward and forward, upside down and right side up. And at some point I thought, ‘When you can’t recognize someone close to you, that’s tragic. But when you can’t recognize someone who might be a threat to you? That’s dangerous!’

What has been the biggest challenge in your writing career?

Making a switch in genres from historical novels to contemporary suspense. I had to learn how to do a better job at plotting and how to pick up the pace on my stories. I checked out a stack of ‘how-to’ books from the library and I read many of the top-20 suspense titles on Amazon’s Best Sellers list. As I read, I took notes on what I was seeing.

What do you absolutely need while writing?

Even though I write from home, I’ve found that I need both time and space for myself. If my family is home, it’s difficult for me to concentrate.

Do you adhere to a strict routine when writing or write when the ideas are flowing?

I have a fairly strict schedule. I’ve found that my muse is like a cat. If I wait for her, she never comes. If go ahead and start working without her, however, she just won’t go away. I think she’s afraid she might miss something.

Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

I admire my main character, Whitney Garrison, so much. She’s learned how to navigate the world with face blindness, working toward her goals in spite of opposition from so many different sources. She’s unstoppable.

Who is your least favorite character from your book and why?

I’m afraid I might give the plot away if I say!

Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book?

My heroine is scooter-propelled. They are her main mode of transportation.

My heroine buys her interview suit at a consignment shop. When I included that information in the narrative, I was thinking of my own favorite consignment shop, Agents in Style, which is located in Arlington, VA. The owner has much of her inventory online. Check it out!: https://agentsinstyle.com/

This book, like my 2019 title, predicted the future in more ways than one.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Thank you for taking the time to read my books! There are so many things to do with free time, I feel honored that you choose to spend yours with me.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

I graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a business degree and have worked for local, state, and the federal government. My husband was in the military and we lived overseas both in France and in Japan. I started writing when we were living in Paris. Everywhere to Hide is my 18th novel (I wrote 2 of those novels under the name Iris Anthony).

What’s next that we can look forward to?

I have absolutely no idea! I have a list of story concepts that I was going to pick from back in March 2020, but we all know what happened then. Since I write political thrillers, I try to stay tuned to the national zeitgeist by taking in information from all sorts of places. As I mentioned above, the books I write have a way of predicting the future and at the moment – due to the pandemic and the contentious nature of politics – it feels like my brain is recalibrating. Some of my ideas won’t work in this new world we’re living in. Some may be adaptable. I’m letting my sub-conscious sort all of that out while I do the pandemic closet reshuffle and knit myself a few pairs of pandemic socks. And maybe a pandemic sweater.

Visit her online:
www.SiriMitchell.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

 

Read an excerpt:

The door was difficult to open. The tropical storm had transformed the alley into a wind tunnel, funneling the muggy air from one side of the block to the other. I raised a hand to pull my hair off my face and turned into the wind to keep it there, quickly turning my ponytail into a bun. As I stepped away from the door, I was surprised to see someone sprawled on the pavement in front of me.

He was lying face up. A red puddle had formed a halo around his head.

He wasn’t— was he— he wasn’t— was he dead?

As I stood there trying to process what I was seeing, the wind sent a recycling crate skidding across the cracked pavement.

I jumped.

I glanced up the alley, then down. Nothing was there. Nothing but the wind. And a dead man staring up at the cloud- streaked sky.

Behind me, I heard something scrabble across the low, flat roof.

I pivoted and glanced up. Saw a form silhouetted against the sky. Shock gave way to panic as I realized he had a gun in his hand. As I realized that he had also seen me.

I should have lunged toward the door.

But a familiar numbness was spreading over me. The prickle on my scalp, the sudden dryness in my mouth. I was living my nightmares all over again.

As I had done too often in the past, I reverted to form. I froze.

Please. Please. Please.

My thoughts latched onto that one word and refused to let it go.

If I could just punch my code into the keypad, I could slip back inside and pull the door shut behind me.

But I couldn’t do anything at all.

My fingers wouldn’t work.

Please. Please. Please.

I willed them to function, but they had long ago learned that in a dangerous situation, the best thing to do was nothing. Any movement, any action on my part had always made things worse.

And so I just stood there as my thoughts stuttered.

Fragmented.

***

Excerpt from Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell. Copyright 2020 by Siri Mitchell. Reproduced with permission from Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

 

 

Tour Participants:

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Giveaway!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Siri Mitchell. There will be 3 winners. Each winner will receive one (1) physical copy of Everywhere To Hide by Siri Mitchell (U.S. addresses only). The giveaway begins on October 1, 2020 and runs through November 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.

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