Welcome to my stop on the book blog tour for Fatal Code by Natalie Walters. This blog tour was organized by Lone Star Book Blog Tours. On my stop, I have a deleted scene from the book. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win copies of both books in the series. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!
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Series: The SNAP Agency #2
Author: Natalie Walters
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: May 1st 2022
Print Length: 320 pages
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
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In 1964, a group of scientists called the Los Alamos Five came close to finishing a nuclear energy project for the United States government when they were abruptly disbanded. Now the granddaughter of one of those five scientists, aerospace engineer Elinor Mitchell, discovers that she has highly sensitive information on the project in her possession--and a target on her back.
SNAP agent and former Navy cryptologist Kekoa Young is tasked with monitoring Elinor. This is both convenient since she's his neighbor in Washington, DC, and decidedly inconvenient because . . . well, he kind of likes her.
Natalie Walters sucks you into the global race for space domination in this perfectly paced second installment of her SNAP Agency romantic suspense series.
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PRAISE:
"Fatal Code is reminiscent of cold war spy thrillers and riveted me to the page as I rooted for Kekoa and Elinor to expose secrets, survive danger, and fall in love." -- Elizabeth Goddard, bestselling author of the Rocky Mountain Courage series
"Warning: once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down!" -- Andrew Huff, author of the Shepherd Suspense series
"Enough suspense to make you need warm milk and a cozy blanket to calm you down." -- Jaime Jo Wright, author of The Souls of Lost Lake and the Christy award-winning novel The House on Foster Hill
It’s never fun to have a scene/chapter cut but sometimes it’s for the best. When my editor suggested cutting this scene, she mentioned that while the personal information revealed is relevant to Elinor’s character, it doesn’t truly move the story forward and could easily be interspersed throughout the rest of the story. The best part about an author/editor relationship is trusting one another enough to believe each is working to make the story the best it can be and in this case, I trusted my editor wholeheartedly and hit ‘delete.’ Here’s part one of what was cut:
Maple Valley, Iowa
When the church finally emptied, Elinor was left staring at the photo of her grandfather. It was one of her favorites. Arthur Conway stood, a stoic expression save for the way his right eyebrow arched slightly higher than the left. His hip pressed on the wrought iron railing that led up to the Chicago brownstone home he shared with his wife and only daughter—Elinor’s mom.
The photo was taken two years before Elinor’s grandmother died, leaving Arthur to parent their seven-year old daughter all on his own. Even though her mother never talked much about those days, the task must’ve overwhelmed her grandfather because he moved the next year to Maple Valley, a small town outside of Ames so he could take a job teaching at Iowa State.
That little cottage home in Maple Valley was the only home Elinor really knew. She was too young to remember her first visits to the quaint town tucked between rolling farmlands, but as a little girl she fell in love with the wide open space so different from the congestion of New York City or whichever city her parents moved her to next.
“It was a lovely service.” Elinor’s friend, Winnie Cooke, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “Artie would’ve been happy.”
“I think so too.”
“I wish you were sticking around for a while.” Winnie looked over to Steve, her husband, standing at the back of the church. He was pulling tissues from a box and dropping them from the air in an attempt to entertain their three-year-old daughter and eighteen month old son. He glanced over, desperation on his face. Elinor and Winnie giggled. “You coming over for dinner tonight?”
“I think my parents and I are going to have dinner tonight. Last one before we both head back to our lives.” Elinor sighed, as a different kind of sadness settled in. Elinor had adjusted to her parent’s absence but only because Gramps had stepped up and become her surrogate parent. Now, he was gone and an emptiness she hadn’t felt in a long time return. “But I promise to stop by tomorrow before my flight back to D.C..”
“You better.” Winnie hugged her. “I’m making my famous smiley face pancakes.”
“Well, I can’t miss those.”
Elinor waved at Steve and the kids as they left before she glanced back at her parents. They were talking to Pastor Rob and again, a sadness weighed on Elinor. The last week had been a mixture of emotion. Being back in Maple Valley, having her parents there for a week as they went through Gramps stuff. It had been nice and made her wonder more than once how different her life would’ve been had her parents stayed.
It had been more than year since she’d seen them in person. When Elinor picked them up from the airport she was surprised at how much they had changed. Her mother had allowed her gray hair to fill in, giving her light brown hair natural highlights that accentuated the sun-kissed glow from the African savannah. Her father had long since given to aging, his hair had turned a nice shade of salt and pepper, cut close to his head. Both wore the lines of age and months of sun exposure on their faces and moved around a little slower than she remembered, but they looked satisfied with their lives.
Her mom walked over and took the photo of Gramps. “Pastor Rob is going to make sure the flowers are delivered to some of the area hospitals.”
“May I have that photo?”
“It’s just a photo copy I took from the original.” Elinor’s mom looked down at it. “I have the original at home.” Home. In Africa. “I can send that one to you if you’d like?”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind the photocopy.”
“Alright, but if you want the original, just let me know.” Her mother handed it to Elinor. “It was nice of Winnie and Steve to come today. Their kids are adorable, aren’t they?”
Elinor smiled, thinking about her best friend. She hadn’t realized how different her friendship with Winnie was compared to the friends she had in D.C., which was mostly her fault. Work kept Elinor busy. And safe.
“The car is on its way.” Her father walked over, loosening his tie and removing his sports coat. “If we hurry, we’ll have just enough time to change at the hotel.”
Elinor’s brow pinched. “Hurry?” She reached for her purse, making sure her grandfather’s notebook was tucked safely inside and hustled after her parents who were already halfway down the aisle. “Hurry for what?”
They stepped out of the church and into the idyllic Midwestern community of Maple Valley. In the town square, Elinor caught sight of Mayor Milt who looked like he was coordinating another one of his great ideas—a festival of some sort, she was sure, but she didn’t have time to figure it out as she chased after her parents.
Natalie Walters is the author of Lights Out, as well as the Harbored Secrets series. A military wife, she currently resides in Texas with her soldier husband and is the proud mom of three. She loves traveling, spending time with her family, and connecting with readers.
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GIVEAWAY:
Win copies of Lights Out and Fatal Code by Natalie Walters - two winners! (US only)
(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prizes. The author, Natalie Walters, assumes all responsibility over this giveaway.)
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Fatal Code by author Natalie Walters sounds like a thriller that will be a real page turner!
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