My Wilds of the
Bayou series (Black Diamond is #2, but they can work as standalones) features
danger—and love—for a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
enforcement agent working deep in the marshes and bayous of Terrebonne Parish.
Yeah, yeah. That’s fancy “new
speak” for Game Warden.
Before I began my research for
this series and realized what badasses these agents are, I had this nebulous
idea of what a game warden did. You know the stuff—checking hunting licenses,
catching poachers, doing boat-safety classes. Turns out, it’s more complicated
than that.
Here are 10 things you might not
know about the modern “wildlife enforcement agent.”
1. They’re cops. Really. Wildlife departments have biologists and educators,
but the enforcement agents? They can stop you for speeding, arrest you for drug
possession—or nab you for poaching. Anything a state police officer can do, a
state wildlife agent can do.
2. They’re highly trained. Think special ops. Not only do they have the
training for regular police officers, but they also undergo intense specialized
fitness, tactical and firearms training during a six-month stint at “the
Academy.” In case that isn’t paramilitary enough for you, they also aren’t
allowed facial hair or tattoos that are visible in uniform.
3. If you’re lost in Louisiana, the first guys to come looking for you will
likely be wildlife enforcement agents, who lead the state’s search and rescue
efforts. They are your first responders. Which is good, because there’s a lot
of water in Louisiana and they have big… boats.
4. We’ve all seen cop shows where the officers gather at the beginning of a
shift in a muster room and go over the case work. No. Enforcement agents are on
call pretty much 24/7, set their own hours in many cases, and live in whatever
parish (aka county) they’re assigned to. They spend a LOT of time in their
vehicles.
5. Their vehicles are big black pickup trucks. (Can’t sling a gator in the
back of an SUV or a sedan.) They might or might not be hauling boats or ATVs.
6. They will be VERY well armed, including what most of us call assault
rifles, which they began carrying after taking fire from civilians as they
tried to rescue trapped flood victims in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Sigh. My adopted hometown does have its issues.
7. They have cool toys. Case in point: if you want to catch an alligator
poacher, what’s the best toy to have in a stakeout? That would be a motorized
fake alligator head operated by remote control. Suspected poacher comes along,
click the remote, and the “alligator” glides along the bayou with only his head
visible. Downside: when the poacher shoots the “gator,’ he also breaks the toy.
8. They have good night vision. Hard to sneak up on an illegal hunter,
poacher or drug dealer with headlights. Hard to do a nighttime stakeout in a
rural unlit area with big flashlights. Enforcement agents must have really good
night vision.
9. They’re predominately male. Sure, women can become Louisiana wildlife
enforcement agents but there are very, very few. I assumed it was the physical
requirements of the job—I mean, slugging through swampland for hours carrying
heavy gear is not for sissies. But my law enforcement consultant said it was
mostly the longstanding culture of male game wardens and their association with
hunting and fishing…guy stuff. Which is why I made the main agent in BLACK
DIAMOND a woman. So there.
10. Their work is extremely hazardous. Never mind the alligators and snakes
slithering all over the bayous and swamps. Think about it—the people wildlife
agents encounter in the rural nooks and crannies are almost always armed and
know how to shoot. So our agents are badasses.
And badasses, as we all know,
make GREAT romantic heroes!
Black Diamond
Wilds of the Bayou Series
Book Two
Susannah Sandlin
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date of Publication: October 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1503940413
ASIN: B01F1Z6818
Number of pages: 266
Word Count: approx. 80,000
Cover Artist: Michael Rehder
Book Description:
For some people, the untamed beauty of the bayou is a place to hide. For Louisiana wildlife agent Jena Sinclair, it’s a place of refuge—one where she can almost forget the tragedy that scarred both her skin and her soul. But when the remains of yet another fisherman turn up, Jena realizes that Bayou Pointe-aux-Chenes is not safe for her…or anyone else.
The mysterious deaths aren’t her only problem. A dangerous drug known as Black Diamond is circulating through Terrebonne Parish, turning addicts into unpredictable sociopaths. Jena’s investigation leads her to Cole Ryan—a handsome, wary recluse struggling with his own troubled history—who knows more than he’s willing to admit. If they want to stop the killer, Jena and Cole must step out of the shadows of their pasts and learn to help each other…before the evils lurking in the bayou consume them both.
Excerpt:
Cole stood
inside the door, knowing she’d be there any second. She would knock, probably
with a firm rap to remind him who had the authority here, and it wasn’t him.
She would expect to come inside, and while he could deny her entrance without a
warrant, he wouldn’t. It would raise too much suspicion.
His fists
clenched and unclenched. Again. Again. The press and release of tension
filtered out some of the stiffness from his arms and shoulders. The woman was
striking, her wistful expression had resonated with him, and he had wanted to
look at her. He’d looked long and hard enough that she’d caught him standing in
the doorway like an idiot. Otherwise, he could’ve pretended to be gone and not
answered his door. Now, hiding wasn’t an option.
The last thing
he needed in his life was a woman. Especially a woman with a badge and a gun.
Though expected,
the sharp knock made his shoulders jerk upward, and his fingers clenched again
into fists. Weapons his body provided to protect itself, to protect him, to
keep everyone away.
“Sir, I know
you’re in there. I’m Agent Sinclair of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.” Her
voice was clear and no-nonsense. He tried to place her accent—she wasn’t from
Terrebonne Parish but didn’t have a typical Southern accent either. “I want to
talk to you about the gator in front of your neighbor Doris’s house. It’ll only
take a minute or two.”
Damn. Now that
he knew his neighbor’s real name, the Wicked Witch was dead. Now she was Doris.
He took a deep
breath, turned, and opened the door an inch. Maybe two inches.
A hazel eye,
heavy on the green, and the bill of a dark-green baseball cap came into view,
peering through the crack. A strand of hair that trailed over her forehead from
beneath the cap shone like pure molten fire.
“You can open it
all the way, you know. I don’t bite. I’d like to come inside for a few minutes
and talk, or you can come out on the porch. Having a conversation isn’t
optional, but where we have it is. For now.”
Damn it. Cole
had to admit he was stuck and it was his own damned fault for standing in the
doorway and watching her for so long. He opened the door wide, dread giving way
to curiosity when he finally saw her face up close. She was beautiful but
lightly scarred, more on her cheeks than her forehead, so she’d probably been
hit by flying glass rather than having her head go through a windshield. Fairly
recent too. The spots were still pink, but they were scars and not wounds. Five
or six months old, he’d say. Eventually, they’d fade and, with her fair skin,
would easily cover with makeup. If she hadn’t been so close—not to mention his
fixation on her face—he wouldn’t have noticed them even now.
“Are you going
to let me come inside, or are you coming outside, or do I need to make it an
official order?”
About the Author:
Suzanne Johnson writing as Susannah Sandlin is the author of the award-winning Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series, including the 2013 Holt Medallion Award-winning Absolution and Omega and Allegiance, which were nominated for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award in 2014 and 2015, respectively. She also wrote The Collectors romantic suspense duology, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner. Her new suspense series Wilds of the Bayou started in 2016 with the release of Wild Man’s Curse and continues with Black Diamond. Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama. Susannah loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, all things Cajun, and redneck reality TV.
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3 comments:
Black Diamond is a great story. It deserves a spot on your book shelf.
This is a terrific series. Dynamic characters and fast paced plot. Try it-you'll like it!
Thanks, guys!
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