Gravedigger by Ceeree Fields Book Tour and Giveaway :)

Gravedigger

The Rayburn Mysteries Book 1

by Ceeree Fields

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Hunting a killer is easy. Learning to love is hard. 

Josephine 'Jo' Rayburn has no luck with love. Between the demands of her job as a homicide detective, finding the perfect yarn for her knitting projects, and her nosy family, she doesn't have time to find her happily ever after, nor does she really believe it exists. Until she's assigned to the Gravedigger task force where she meets Rhysian 'Rhys' Harrison, the sexy Coroner's assistant.

Rhys Harrison thought he had found love with the perfect woman. But his parents' deaths forced him to choose between his fiancée and caring for his brother, he chose his brother. His only regret, the medical degree he abandoned to work in the Coroner's office. When the Gravedigger leaves his latest victim at the gates of a cemetery, Rhys and Jo are thrown together, her prickly personality interests him, but it's her deeply hidden romantic side that captivates him.

After one of the task force members is shot, Rhys's fears of losing Jo, like he's lost so much already, threaten to rip them apart. Can she convince him that love is worth having no matter the risk? Or will he play it safe, leaving before his heart becomes too attached?

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~Their first date at a craft show~

They rounded the corner and Jo released a startled gasp when Rhys led her to another booth. “And this is the reason I wanted to bring you here.” Her gaze bounced from all the colorful yarn in front of her, to him. She narrowed her eyes. “Did Sullivan talk? Because if—” “Sullivan knows?” Rhys held his palms up, shaking his head. “No, I kind of spied on you . . . sort of.” She took a careful step back. Could she have read him wrong? God, she had the absolute worst luck with men. “Get that look off your face. I wasn't following— Wait, I kind of . . . Dammit.” It was the first time she'd seen him at a loss for words and had heard him curse. He took a deep breath, then released it as he rubbed his palms across the sides of his pants. Nervous was good . . . maybe. Rhys's gaze tangled with her and she read the sincerity in it. “I take my brother to the library on Wednesdays. They sponsor a reading program, and I like him to have real books. Borrowing the books teach him to take care of items, especially if he's responsible for turning them back in or paying for damages out of his allowance.” “I thought I saw you on the escalator, but . . .” she trailed off unsure if she wanted him to know she'd almost followed to see if the man really was Rhys. Jo hadn't followed though, not wanting to embarrass herself if she were wrong. “Yeah, probably. I followed you—” “And saw the knitting books. Crap.” Jo stepped into his space, jabbing a finger at him. “No telling anyone. Sullivan knows, but I have enough blackmail video of him that he won't ever spill.” “I'm not going to tell anyone, Jo. I mean I don't get why it's a big secret—” Rhys's hand caught hers, linking them together again. People who didn't work in law enforcement rarely understood the weird sense of humor and pranks that occurred because of it. “If any of my coworkers know, I'll get orders showing up on my desk for knitted speedos, with sizes I'm sure—” “Are you kidding?” Rhys's mouth fell open when she shook her head. “With just the Digger case, Sullivan and I have gotten three different adverts for zombie apocalypse survival kits. Not to mention a few axes, and tons of emails with videos on how to survive a zombie attack.” “I thought cops had more important things to do.” Jo snorted. “They do, but they also know levity keeps you from sinking into the deepest darkest hole you can find. We see the absolute worst humanity has to offer. Grandmothers killing grandkids because they were high. Or parents selling their kids. Kids shooting parents or other family members. If someone can dream it up, we've seen it.” He gently pulled her close, cradling her in his arms. Safe. His chest was solid under her cheek. His heart a steady beat in her ear, she stifled a gasp at how right he felt. “I know. I've only worked for Jim for a few months and I already know I'm not cut out for it.” Gathering her composure, Jo kept their hands linked and leaned back. “You wanted to be a doctor? I thought I heard that.” “Yes, a pediatrician.” His thin lips softened from the hard-flat line they'd been in. “I planned to go into practice with a couple of friends I'd met in school. One was studying to be an OBGYN and the two others were studying general medicine. I wanted to help kids.” “And what stopped you?” “My parents died, and I needed to take care of Rian.” Rhys set her away from him. “And this is depressing. How about we get off these subjects and back on this amazing yarn.” Deciding to go along with him, Jo turned and fell into her second love. Knitting. Jo wanted to dig into all the questions she had: why Rhys quit medical school, why he'd taken a job at the Coroner's office and why he still drove his father's car after they'd been dead for two years, she tamped down the urge. Focusing on his smiles and laughter. But especially the bubbly feeling of happiness he drew so effortlessly from her.

CeeRee Fields currently lives in Groningen, the Netherlands with her husband and cat. Since she was born in Alabama and moved to the Netherlands, Dutch is not her first language which gets her into mischief in various stores around town when she tries to speak it. She loves writing, building worlds that her characters can explore and break if they feel the need. Action, adventure and love are her favorite things. And when stuff gets blown up who says the guy is the only one who gets to do it?

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Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

I learned a good bit writing the book. I had to delve into the psychological aspects of my bad guy which was interesting. I read a lot of information and studies about what would press someone into going to these extremes.

I also refreshed my memory about brain damage and the causes to make sure I got Rian's character just right. I based him off of a person I knew ages ago who also had severe brain trauma when she was a child. She was fully functioning except for a few tremors sometimes. Her body was that of a thirty-year-old when I met her, but her mind and the way she processed information was that of a twelve- to thirteen-year-old. She was a lot of fun to hang with, always positive and upbeat unless something hit her wrong. Then she'd frown and if we didn't get her out of the mood asap she'd throw a temper tantrum that was very hard to control.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Someone like Mila Kunis as she's small and feisty like Josephine, she has the snarky personality as well based on some of her previous work.

When I wrote Gravedigger, I was re-watching the Mentalist, because that show ROCKED. So, when I picture Rhys for some reason I had an image of Simon Baker. Though Rhys isn't as sarcastic or mischievous as Patrick Jane, the laid-back persona Jane turned into when something serious happened was what I was looking for with Rhys. That trait that showed he cared and would do what was needed to make it right.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

I'd have to say the Thanksgiving piece. Just writing it made me tear up as living in the Netherlands I miss my family, so adding that scene and how I had Carl taking Rhys into the boat house/garage for some bonding time. It happened somewhat that way when my husband came over to visit before we were married. My dad and him went to the three car detached garage and Pop showed Meint, that's my husband, all the fishing equipment and his boat and so on. The only difference was it wasn't at Thanksgiving, Meint came over in January, and there weren't any massive family events. It was pretty quiet.

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I'd have to say Rian. He's a trip (that's slang for funny... I know, I'm showing my age again. Avert your eyes, it'll pass) and I'm working on a few blog stories with him featured in them.

I can see us going to my parents' house and getting them to take us tubing on the lake. Maybe stop at Fat Man's BBQ, just thinking about their pulled pork sandwiches with a side order of coleslaw is making me hungry.

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

It's a mixture. My characters start with characteristics of my crazy family and friends, usually, and they morph from there into their own person. Other times, the character is just there screaming to get on the page and they resemble only themselves.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story?

* * *Heads up Maia reins was misspelled as reins are what you use for driving, reigns are what monarchs do * * *

It varies. With Gravedigger, sometimes Jo and Rhys ran the show and sometimes there were certain points that needed to be reached so I held up the cuffs and was like 'You can come peacefully or we can do it the hard way.' I'm glad they agreed to play along and pretend I was in charge at those times.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

I'd hate to force anyone to read anything. I swear I just had a flashback to high school English where I spent the summer reading seven or eight mandatory books. One of the positives was reading Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. I liked that one. I did not like Lord of the Flies, it was disturbing and gave me nightmares.

So, instead of saying it's a MUST read. I'll say this, the characters are fun, there's snarkiness to be had by all scattered throughout the book. If you like action with a little mystery, a lot of first love stumbles and watching as a couple learns to merge their lives, then this is a good fit.

This is my trailer as well... maybe it can convince you... **snaps a mind control device on the trailer**

https://youtu.be/mjE9oHTrJCk

There we go... Are you convinced yet? =D

Have you written any other books that are not published?

Yes, I've got the next two books of Josephine and Rhysian's stories written. I just need to have a good read through and edit before I ship them to the publisher for review.

Other than that, I have the fifth installment of my futuristic self-published series written and am working on editing now.

I also, have Karma's story almost finished.

If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?

Hahahahha. I have no idea. Sandalwood? Definitely NOT lavender as one, I'm allergic to it, and two that scent puts you to sleep. Oh, maybe jasmine. Or ginger. Now, I'm thinking Chinese and as Jo loves Chinese food, let's choose that scent.

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