Spotlight on Lies That Bind (Anastasia Phoenix, #2) by Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Plus Top 5 Female Spies, & a Giveaway!
Today we're excited to spotlight Lies That Bind by Diana Rodriguez Wallach! Read on for more about Diana and her book, plus the top 5 female spies, and a giveaway!
Meet Diana Rodriguez Wallach!


What if saving yourself meant destroying everyone you love?
Still reeling from everything she learned while searching for her sister in Italy, Anastasia Phoenix is ready to call it quits with spies. Then she and her friends learn that Marcus’s—her kinda boyfriend—brother, Antonio, has also gone missing. Luckily, they track down Antonio in a fiery festival in England, only to learn he has been working for the enemy, Department D, the whole time. But Antonio wants out. And so does Anastasia.
But before any of them can leave espionage and their parents’ crimes behind them, a close friend turns up dead. No one is safe, not while Department D still exists. So Anastasia and her friends embark on a dangerous plan to bring down an entire criminal empire, using every Dresden Kid they can find.
As their world becomes surrounded by spies, and the children of spies, Anastasia starts to question who she can really trust. Including her best friends…
To pre-order your copy of Lies That Bind, click HERE!
Top 5 Female Spies
When you think of spies, you think of men, right? James Bond, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, even Austin Powers. So when creating Anastasia Phoenix, a seventeen year old kick-butt heroine thrust into the criminal espionage pasts of her parents, I did a lot of research on female spies. I even came across an amazing WWII poster with an elegant woman casually strewn on a couch between soldiers with the slogan “Keep mum, She’s not so dumb!” Epic, right?
So in honor of the release of LIES THAT BIND, and all of the spies Anastasia Phoenix has to face in in this book (and in Book One, PROOF OF LIES), I’ve created a list of my Top 5 Female Spies.
1.) Carrie Mathison in Homeland (Claire Danes)
Like any self respecting child of the 90s, I have loved Claire Danes since My So-Called Life. But she’s long since put away her Manic Panic, and in Homeland portrays one of the most layered, complicated characters ever on television (male or female). In Season 1, she doggedly goes after POW hero Nicholas Brody, often on a reckless solo mission, which helped inspire my character, Anastasia Phoenix’s, singular obsession in finding out what happened to her sister, Keira, no matter what anyone says.
2.) Maya in Zero Dark Thirty (Jessica Chastain)
I lived five blocks from Ground Zero on 9/11, and like any New Yorker at that time, I had numerous dream sequences of being the one to find bin Ladin. “Maybe I’ll run into him at Duane Reade and then I’ll just....” You get the drift. This true story of a female CIA analyst (whose real name is still kept secret) makes me want to hug her, bow to her, and salute her all at once. When researching female spies, much of the anecdotes I found were from wars long gone (and declassified). So to be able to appreciate the real work of a modern day female spy, who isn’t using sex or stilettos to get the job done, was a big inspiration for Anastasia Phoenix.
3.) Sydney Bristow in Alias (Jennifer Garner)
Okay, there is a lot of sex and stilettos in this one, but I still love Sydney Bristow. Seriously, I own the DVD box set. I’m a spy junkie, which is why I wanted to write the Anastasia Phoenix series to begin with, and I would say of all the shows and movies out there, Alias was probably my biggest inspiration. And Bradley Cooper is in it! Like you need another reason to watch it.
4.) Ingrid and Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids(Carla Gugina and Alexa PenaVega)
Proof of Lies has been described by many reviewers as Spy Kids meets Jason Bourne (a comparison I will gladly accept). As a mom myself, I have to give love to Ingrid, a female fictional spy who manages to save the world and raise two children all at the same time. Plus, the story of the Cortiz kids, Carmen and Juni, eventually discovering their parents’ past and getting wrapped up in their espionage world rings very true to my character, Anastasia Phoenix. Only Spoiler Alert—Anastasia’s story is a bit darker, hence the Jason Bourne comparison.
5.) Anna Devane in General Hospital (Finola Hughes)
Oh, yeah, I’m going there. I’m a soap fan. My Puerto Rican grandmother learned to speak English from watching soap operas, and she babysat me every day after school. So I knew Victor and Nikki, Luke and Laura, and Josh and Reva a lot better than I did Bert and Ernie. (Bonus points for anyone who can name the shows associated with these couples in the comments.) Anna Devane, played by the ageless Finola Hughes, is an agent with the fictitious WSB and she’s been given action- packed storylines for decades. She’s who I picture in my mind when I picture Anastasia Phoenix’s mom, and if there’s ever a movie based on Proof of Lies or Lies that Bind, I hope to throw Finola’s name in the casting ring.

Lies That Mind
By: Gina Ciocca
Release Date: March 6, 2018
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
One winner will receive a signed copy of Proof of Lies (Anastasia Phoenix, #1) + a bookmark (US only).

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Comments 11
Love this book summary! How have I missed this author before?
Also, YES to Alias. My favorite!
The covers of both books are really cool. The synopsis is exciting. Both books seem to be thrilling reads.
the cover design made me stop and read this feature! I am so glad I did! Thanks for chance to win, Kara S
I love the cover, it is intriguing. I love the description, and really agree with her answers. I grew up on General Hospital with my mother, and remember Anna and this was fun to read.
The cover sets the mood nicely. The book sounds so intriguing and thrilling, can't wait to read!
These books sound so good and the covers are quite mysterious!
The covers are perfect for the mystery and trust issues promised in the synopsis.
I like the exciting urban covers. The stories sound like a non-stop ride.
I love the covers, and the book sounds very interesting