Hi, I’m Sue Ward Drake and I’m pleased to meet you.
I write sexy romantic suspense with heart. And I’ve been doing this a lot longer than I ever imagined possible. For years I wrote in the evenings after my day job in a university computing department. They say it’s good for a writer to be well-rounded, and multi-talented and I pretty much filled that bill: Spanish teacher, bi-lingual secretary, copywriter, linen supply salesperson and computer analyst. Most of these I held while living in New Orleans where I had once gone to a little French kindergarten and then much later, college. In between I lived in a small town nearby, drove across Texas every summer to visit grandparents, and worked a summer in Nantucket as a housemaid in a private home. Possibly my biggest claim to fame outside of writing is that I’ve lived in both a small farmhouse on a Greek island and in an equally small apartment in a historic house in the New Orleans French Quarter. I’ve used both of those places/experiences as fodder for my stories.
I write two series at the moment: The Greek Legacy series and the Big Easy Brothers series. My very first published romance was the best-selling Hear No Evil with Silhouette/Harlequin in 1994. After rewriting and updating, Hear No Evil became the first story of the Greek Legacy series. Here’s the blurb for the Greek Legacy series:
The Greek Legacy Series
The rich don’t have life any easier than the rest of us. They just have different enemies. But no matter where the evil originates—the canyons of lower Manhattan or picturesque Mediterranean islands—the heirs of a Greek shipbuilding empire and their friends will always protect the women they love.
This series currently contains Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. I’m looking to write more including one for Will’s FBI friend, Clay LeBlanc, and Nikos’s younger sister, Sophia.
My other series, about the four Guidry brothers (Mitch, Hal, Jack, Kurt) and their friends, is Big Easy Brothers.
Finding a fugitive takes skills of all kinds. No matter what background brought them together, each of the Guidry brothers and their friends strive to keep dangerous criminals off the streets.
All Alphas to the core, they’re a little rough around the edges, a little undisciplined, and they absolutely hate reporting to any boss except themselves. Face to face with feisty, never-say-die women intent on playing by the rules or protecting family, these hunters must learn to compromise in order to catch their prey—and protect their own renegade hearts.
While Mitch’s love story is profiled in Walking the Edge published by Sourcebooks, he’s still a brother and part of the family headquartered in the residence of the brothers’ elderly aunt in a neighborhood where I lived seven years on the historic Esplanade Avenue that ends at the art museum and near the Dueling Oaks.
I set Hal’s story (Casting the Dice) in the used bookshop where I met with friends after work, across the street from my apartment in the French Quarter.
Jack meets his match in Fleeing the Storm and I got to use my many, many drives to escape the city at the approach of a hurricane.
Currently in the works are Kurt’s story, Defying the Odds, and Trey’s story, Igniting the Fire. Trey, Hal’s friend and Navy buddy, is introduced in Casting the Dice. I love both of these stories and can’t wait for you to read them.
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Title Hear No Evil
Author Sue Ward Drake
Genre Romantic suspense/action & adventure
Book Blurb:
A lovely artist needs a painting commission…
The scarred billionaire agent who grants her the prize…
To complete the job they must travel together to Greece.
Believing she’ll never marry again because of a hearing loss, artist Molly Light wants a generous commission to buy the art school where she teaches children. Encouraged by the school’s owner and a trusted friend she manages to convince a handsome billionaire to choose her for the award.
Scion of a wealthy family, Stefanos Metadorakis has dedicated himself to humanitarian service. Intent on redeeming himself for a failed mission, he accompanies Molly to Greece to track her movements and prevent her aiding the brutal dictator responsible for his ruined hands.
But Stefanos finds himself falling hard for the woman he needs to hate, and Molly, in turn, with an enigmatic man she can’t trust. When threatening strangers keep showing up, she believes she’s safest on her own. But will she instead become a pawn in a deadly international conspiracy?
Excerpt:
Stefanos Metadorakis would make being in love intoxicating….
He switched off the inside light, casting the car interior into shadow. The hand near her shoulder grazed her chin with the velvety glow of a sunset fading into twilight. He slipped his hand around her neck and leaned closer.
Starbursts rode her spine and every cell poised like a diver on the edge of a board. His mouth hovered close.
Stop him! Don’t complicate things.
But she could no more stop his kiss than she could have tuned a musical instrument.
His mouth found hers with heat and urgency, and heat pooled in her like hot wax under the flame of a candle. She slid a hand over the smooth fabric of his shirt and up over his shoulder. The hardness of his muscles, the way his hand curved around her rib cage—everything—pulled her down into the sea of sensation. How wonderful to be held again….
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
ebook/dp/B06Y328S3S/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hear-no-evil-susan-
drake/1001864969?ean=2940166693631
Author Biography:
An award-winning author of romantic suspense, Sue loves using her experiences living in a farmhouse on a Greek island and her years in the French Quarter as fuel for her stories as often as possible. Publishers Weekly and other reviewers have called her work “sizzling,” “gripping,” “emotional,” and “an edge of your seat thrill ride.”
To discover more about Sue and her books, visit www.SueWardDrake.com.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://x.com/SueWardDrake
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWardDrake/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/suedrakeauthor/
Title See No Evil
Author Sue Ward Drake
Genre Romantic suspense/action & adventure
Publisher: Cate Square Press
Book Blurb:
A scarred billionaire boss with a dangerous past…
His beautiful assistant secretly in love with him…
On the run for their lives in a foreign land.
When marine engineer, Nikos Metadorakis, invites his lovely assistant, Erin Raffelo, the woman he secretly adores, along on his last overseas trip, he expects to be at the Athens shipyard. Instead, he must travel to Lidracros, a place he fled as a child.
In another lifetime Nikos shepherded a prisoner from the clutches of the dictator who still rules half the island. When his own family is annihilated, he’s adopted and brought up in the wealthy Metadorakis shipping family.
Erin, pretty, smart and resourceful, has had a crush on Nikos forever. At a turning point in her life, she’s desperate to discover her boss’s faults so she can file him in the folder labeled Forget.
Kidnapped on the orders of Nikos’s childhood nemesis, now a powerful enemy colonel, they manage to escape. On the run, they discover each other’s feelings and grow closer. But, stranded and hunted in hostile territory, can they reach freedom before they’re captured—or killed?
Excerpt:
He became aware of Erin’s warm, vibrant shadow pressing against him. A tingling rippled over him. He bent his head and caught the scent of her hair, flowers basking in sunshine. She leaned against him, and he easily found and encircled her waist and he pressed his forehead to hers.
How many times had he fallen asleep dreaming he held Erin with her curves pressed against him? With her delectable mouth only inches away? He inhaled deeply, and her sweet scent captured him again.
No one seemed to be directly outside, but the soldiers wouldn’t be giving up. They’d keep searching for him and Erin, and they might not escape again. Would he get another chance to hold her…to kiss her?
She shifted, sliding her hands down his chest as if she meant to step back. Please don’t. Not yet. He tightened his hold on her waist. “Erin…”
He cradled her cheek and pressed his thumb to her lower lip, bending until his nose touched hers. He tilted his head and brushed his lips over hers, waiting for her to pull back or protest. Instead, she slipped her hands around his neck, and he covered her mouth, kissing her again and again, unable to get enough of her.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Amazon: Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1B38NJ
Title Speak No Evil
Author Sue Ward Drake
Genre Romantic suspense/action & adventure
Publisher: Cate Square Press
Book Blurb:
A former military special ops…
A shy medical researcher…
Must together escape dangerous forces.
Microbiology investigator, Gwen MacLaine, temporarily in charge of her research laboratory, is anxious to prove herself. When she’s followed across New York City to retrieve a book from Will Strongbow, she grows increasingly wary.
Will, ex-military intelligence officer, now marine engineer for Metadorakis Shipping, is immediately struck by smart, beautiful Gwen. Someone is obviously hounding her, though, and he’s not about to let her out of his sight.
When they discover her stalker isn’t alone, and her family is also threatened, they join forces to stay safe. But can they put their simmering attraction on the back burner, protect the lab, and dodge the dangerous criminals intent on owning the lethal germ?
Excerpt:
Don’t look back. Gwen forced her gaze straight ahead, her heart pounding like a panicked horse. What she really wanted to do was run away.
Instead, she clung to Will’s arm, soaking up the strength coming through his tight muscles. Behind her, lingering in the forecourt of the building, stood the guy with long, black hair who’d been staring at her in Midtown. And taken the same bus downtown. Was he waiting for her to be alone?
Her lungs stopped working, and she forced herself to breathe.
“What made you change your mind about going for coffee?” Will asked, his steady gaze focused on her. His body radiated an intensity typical of athletes, who always seemed wired for the next quick action. A lightning smile flashed over his honed features. “Not that I object.”
“I figured I should grab a sandwich and a coffee while I could.” And she’d wanted company. She dropped her hold and indicated the deli with its wraparound windows across the street on the corner. From there, she’d be able to keep an eye on her “stalker.” She hoped.
A large, warm, very masculine hand encircled her arm.
She jerked her gaze up and met Will’s intense blue eyes. His chiseled features, not to mention the tan that couldn’t quite camouflage a scar on his chin, gave him a slightly dangerous look, and one deadly serious.
His gaze searched her face, a furrow cutting between his mahogany brows. “You okay?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Title: Casting the Dice
Author Sue Ward Drake
Genre Romantic suspense/action & adventure
Book Blurb:
Former Navy deep-sea diver turned bounty hunter, Hal Guidry, needs to collar a fugitive now. Not yesterday. Right now.
But inside the New Orleans mansion, he instead finds a woman who fires his blood. A woman who knows only her name. A woman definitely in danger.
As her memory returns, girl-next-door librarian, Annie Swanson, questions how she knows the oh-so-handsome hunk calling himself a friend. Then she discovers he’s a bounty hunter like the men who killed her father, and she flees…
…only to be nearly kidnapped…in broad daylight…in the French Quarter.
Annie runs to Hal with questions, but when they’re both nearly killed in a fiery explosion, he needs answers of his own.
As the sexual attraction between them heats up, can Annie cast the dice in his favor? Or will they become victims of the deadly forces intent on keeping secrets?
Hal and his brothers have the skills to keep dangerous criminals off the streets and protect the women they love. They don’t need easy.
Casting the Dice, set in New Orleans, is a standalone romantic suspense with steamy scenes and heart-wrenching revelations as Hal and Annie learn to overcome prejudices and pride while fighting for their lives and their Happily Ever After!
Excerpt:
“Don’t lean on the shelving.”
“I can fix this for you later.” Hal loomed over her in all his masculine glory. Not by too much, but hard muscle packed every inch.
“There’s no point. I’ll have to clear out all these books before I can sell the shop.”
That was something else Annie hadn’t considered when planning this trip. Along with kidnappers and exploding cars.
The overhead light gleamed on the hard butt of the gun Hal wore in a sling under his arm.
She pointed to the pistol, keeping her hand as close to her chest as possible. “Be careful with that.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
BARNES AND NOBLE:
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/casting-the-dice-a-big-easy-brothers-romantic-suspense/id1577611662
Title Fleeing the Storm
Author Sue Ward Drake
Genre Romantic suspense/action & adventure
Book Blurb:
No matter what else he is, Jack Guidry, former New Orleans undercover cop turned bounty hunter, is a stubborn cuss who never gives up. He works all the angles necessary to nab his fugitive, even if that means getting up close and personal with the lovely, but wary French Quarter pastry chef, Grace Comstock.
Grace isn’t talking, certainly not to the handsome rogue who suspiciously pops up everywhere she goes. All she wants is to keep her orphaned niece safe, so when a masked kidnapper ambushes them, she flees New Orleans—straight into the path of a dangerous hurricane.
Though she agrees to talk to Jack, she hadn’t planned to ride out the storm with him. But that’s what happens once he saves her and the baby from drowning. Even though he denies his attraction, Jack can’t help feeling protective of this beautiful, frightened woman. When they wind up fighting for their lives, can Grace trust Jack enough to help him bring his fugitive to justice?
Fleeing the Storm, set in New Orleans, is a standalone emotional romantic suspense with steamy scenes as Jack and Grace learn to trust each other on their way to their Happily Ever After!
Excerpt:
“I need your help.” Jack gave her a roguish smile.
Grace wanted to help, but she needed to evacuate for the hurricane right now, too. “Let’s talk when I get back.”
Jack lowered his voice. “Every day I lose makes it harder to find my skip. I can follow you to where you’re going and buy you that coffee I promised. Then we can talk.” His lips quirked, and his smile melted her insides like a pat of butter in a skillet. “Please.”
“Are you begging me?”
He got down on his knees and steepled his hands. “Say ‘yes.’”
“Look, he’s proposing,” one of the beer drinkers hanging out on the street corner shouted.
The guy coming out of the adjacent store with a bag of groceries stopped and stared. A businessman crossing the street paused and stepped back onto the curb.
“You’re creating a scene.” Grace waved frantically for Jack to get up.
“Is it working?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. But this wasn’t funny.
Jack’s smirk stretched into a real smile, and the tightness she’d been feeling all day in her shoulders deflated like a rubber balloon. If he wanted to follow her, he could—and would—find a way. She asked, “Where’s your car parked?”
Jack bounded to his feet and called over his shoulder to the on-lookers. “She said ‘yes.’”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3afpo2v
Kobo: https://bit.ly/38pgNd4
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