Today, I am featuring Kasia Radzka, author of Lethal Disposal.
Lethal Disposal
by Kasia Radzka
Blurb
Lexi Ryder vowed to never return to the Gold Coast, but after a desperate phone call from an old friend, she returns only to learn her friend is dead.
Was it murder or an accident?
Lexi finds herself embroiled in a game of politics, assassinations and secrets. A world where people are not who they seem.
Detective Matthew Ryan wants Lexi as far away as possible from him and the case. But Lexi knows too much. After a public assassination they discover that whoever is responsible is willing to go to great lengths to dispose of those who get in the way of their plans.
Is Lexi willing to risk her own life to seek the truth?
Money, status, and power. Some people will do anything to get it, others will do whatever it takes to keep it.
Excerpt
He pushed her hard and she slammed into the wall of the building, the rugged bricks cutting her palms as she tried to protect herself from the impact. This couldn’t be the end. She turned to face her attacker. She didn’t recognise him. In the darkness she could just make out his features. He had a face that could easily get lost in a crowd, olive skin, a freckle beside his eye, and brown hair. It’s funny the details you notice when you face your killer.
“I’ll give you whatever you want, please, take my keys, my wallet, there’s two hundred dollars in there, just don’t hurt me, please,” Lexi pleaded as he pushed her against the wall.
He stared at her. No smile. No reaction. Then she noticed the glimmer of a gun in his hand.
He pushed even closer until she felt his lips against her ear. “You’ve been asking too many questions.”
Lexi squeezed her eyes shut and pushed him away with all the strength that she could muster as pain seared through her body. She kicked him but he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her towards him pressing the cold metal barrel against the flesh of her lower back. This was it. She was about to die. And all for nothing. She wondered if Dana had known she was going to die at the exact moment her car had veered off the road and slammed into the tree.
Kasia Radzka is an author, athlete wannabe, food & wine lover, and blogger, living with her husband and son on the Gold Coast, Australia. A run along the coastline generally gets her muse buzzing. You can contact her at kasiajradzka@gmail.com or stop by her website www.kasiaradzka.com.
Today, I am featuring Maryann Miller, author of One Small Victory.
One Small Victory
by Maryann Miller
BOOK BLURB
Life can change in just an instant.
That thought wove its way in and around her mind as Jenny fingered the clothes jammed along the wooden rod in the closet. His funny T-shirts promoting the likes of “Prince” and “Dilbert.” His one good shirt, only worn under duress. His leather jacket that still carried a faint aroma reminiscent of saddles and horses.
Sometime soon she’d have to clean out the closet. Isn’t that what usually happens?
Tears burned her eyes and she turned away. She didn’t know what was supposed to happen. No one had ever told her. And a multitude of questions swam through her mind like restless minnows in a pond.
There were books on choosing a college. Books on how to plan a wedding or how to help your child find a job. But no one had ever written one on what to do when your son dies.
Thus begins what is a mother’s worst nightmare, the loss of a child. For most women, that loss would hold them in a grief so pervasive they couldn’t function, but Jenny Jasik doesn’t give in to the paralysis. After discovering how rampant drugs are in her rural Texas town, she bullies her way onto a Drug Task Force and works as a confidential informant to help bring down the main distributor. This isn’t done without considerable risk, not only to her safety but to her sanity and to the sanctity of her family.
EXCERPT
She sank to the edge of her bed, the pain threatening to drag her into the dark abyss. Her blood pounded so loud in her ears it took a minute to realize someone was knocking on the door.
“Mom?” Scott’s voice called from the hallway. “Can I come in?”
Jenny took a deep breath, then rose and opened the door.
“I was wondering . . . uh,” Scott’s eyes had difficulty resting on hers. “Has Dad called back yet?”
She shook her head.
“Well, uh . . . do you want me to call him?”
Again, she shook her head. “It’s something I should do. I’ll try again as soon as I’m finished here.”
Scott hesitated a moment more, then backed out of the doorway. Jenny quickly closed the door. Better that he not see the flush of anger that warmed her cheeks. She’d tried to call Ralph last night, sometime during those hours of agony between leaving the hospital and finally collapsing for a brief period of fitful sleep, but there’d been no answer.
Last night she’d been too numb to care. It was just so typical. He had never been there for her, or the kids. Not while they were married, and not in the years since he’d left. Most of the time she just accepted it and tried to ease the disappointment for the kids as much as possible. But even though little was said, the message was clear. Ralph wasn’t involved with the kids. Not like a father should be.
But the truth was like a kick in the gut this morning.
“You stupid, sorry, son of a bitch,” Jenny said, running a brush through her dark hair with quick, angry strokes. “Why should I care how you find out? I should just clip the obituary and send it to you.”
It gave her a perverse rush of pleasure to consider doing that, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Out of respect for the fact that he was Michael’s father, she would call again.
Jenny crossed the room and picked up the phone on her bedside table. Still no answer after ten rings, and she started to worry. Maybe it wasn’t even his number anymore. He had a penchant for moving and not getting around to giving them the new number for weeks. She could try him at work later, but she wasn’t even sure that number was current.
Longevity, either professional or personal, was never one of his strong suits.
She slammed the phone down. “Couldn’t you be there for me? Just once?”
AUTHOR BIO
Maryann Miller is a best-selling author of books, screenplays and stage plays. One Small Victory was her first hardcover release. Other books include a police-procedural mystery, Open Season, which is the first in a new series that features two women homicide detectives. Think “Lethal Weapon” set in Dallas with female leads. Miller has won numerous awards for her screenplays and short fiction, including the Page Edwards Short Fiction Award, the New York Library Best Books for Teens Award, and first place in the screenwriting competition at the Houston Writer’s Conference.
What on earth possessed you to join a drug task force?
If I hadn’t been numb with grief, I might have reconsidered. Everybody kept telling me to, even my best friend, Carol. But I just got so mad when I found out that drug dealers were hanging around the school and other places where kids, even very young kids, were put in danger. People keep saying we need to do something about drugs, so I figured, why not? It took some convincing to get the captain to agree, and I know he was shocked when I passed the tests to work undercover with the task force. I think I was shocked, too.
So what now?Will you do it again?
Are you kidding? I was scared to death most of the time, so I don’t think I’ll do it again. Although, I must say that I liked that Jenny who took no crap from the drug dealers and actually made a huge difference.
Did you have any previous law-enforcement experience?
Heck no. I barely graduated from high school. Like so many young teens, I was madly in love, or so I thought, and couldn’t wait for Ralph and I to get married. Getting pregnant sort of helped that along. And like a silly teenager who believes every word a guy says, I thought we really would live happily ever after. That didn’t happen. Ralph didn’t want to be a husband any more than he wanted to be a father. I’m only sorry that it took so many years for us to figure that out. However, had it not, I wouldn’t have had my three wonderful kids.
What was the most difficult part of your life?
That’s pretty obvious, I think. Losing Michael was like losing part of myself. I’d heard people say that a parent should never outlive their children, and I’m here to tell you the truth in that. Even thinking back to that horrible day the pain is as strong as it was then. There were days I didn’t know if I even wanted to go on without Michael, but I had the other kids to think of. And then the opportunity to get some vindication. That helped.
Do you see another man in your life in the future?
Funny you should ask. I worked with a detective, Steve. He was the one I reported to and who held my hand through the whole process of applying and then working on the task force. We both recognized that there was some chemistry between us, but his professionalism held him back. Plus, we were both dealing with a lot of emotional pain. He had lost his wife. So we didn’t want to rush into some kind of relationship that would put his job at risk and maybe we weren’t ready for anyway. Now that some time has passed, we are considering trying to make something work for us. Maybe I can convince Maryann to write that story. I’ve been bugging her about it.
Hi and “WELCOME” to Rave Reviews Book Club’s BACK-TO-SCHOOL BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY at Kim’s Author Support Page!
Location: Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
Giveaways are available internationally in English language only!
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AND THE WINNDERS ARE
Here’s What I’m Giving Away Today:
*($25) Amazon Gift Card – MARGARET DALY
*One (1) e-book copy of ALL THIS TIME – TRACI SANDERS
*One (1) e-book copy of HAUNTED HEARTS – RICHIE GERBER
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# of Winners for this stop: 3
To enter for prizes, please leave a comment at the end of this page. If you’re leaving a comment for the first time, your comment will need to be approved. But if you’re a returning visitor, your comment will go right through.
I’d like to introduce you to my books and to me as a person as well as an author.
First, I have a relaxing video; second, an interview between the characters from two different book series. Third, is the Story of Kim Cox, and fourth, I’ve included a short blurb on each of my books to help you make the perfect decision in your next book selection. You can also click on a link to read an excerpt of each book. If you like what you read here, please share with your friends, fans, etc. There’s also a surprise cover reveal. I hope you enjoy the (mostly) fall pictures in my header. They were all photographed near my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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This video isn’t a book trailer. It is the first and only video I’ve ever done. I hope to produce a few book trailers around the first of the year. This one was created for a class project in Web Technologies in 2012, and it portrays some of the gorgeous waterfalls of Dupont State Forest in Transylvania County, North Carolina–only about an hour from our home. Our final project consisted of many multi-media projects that ended with a full Web site about hiking trails. I chose Dupont for its beauty. The voice isn’t mine but that of a friend of my youngest son’s. I hope you enjoy the video and find it relaxing. It sounds better with earphones on my computer.
Dupont State Forest – Video
Unique Trails and Amazing Waterfalls
The below video is an introduction to the Dupont State Forest, which offers almost 100 miles of unique trails with amazing waterfalls, pristine lakes, and other attractions. Some trails pass over large expanses of solid rock on large granite domes.
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ABOUT THE INTERVIEW
Jenny Morgan Drake and her husband, Trevor Drake, from my book, “All This Time” of the Style & Profile series, visits Lana Malloy to interview Lana for Jenny’s family magazine, Morgan Fashions. This interview will take place between books 2 & 3, GET OUT OR DIE and THE WEDDING CRASHER, from the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series.
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A Little Backstory
Trevor reluctantly accompanies Jenny on the trip to James Island in South Carolina. He agrees to go only because Jenny refuses to wait, and he doesn’t want her to go alone in her much pregnant condition.
Trevor doesn’t believe in ghosts roaming the earth, much less someone who can see and talk to them. He expects to see a rundown witch/voodoo shack in the swamp. He’s done his research and knows Lana’s fiancé, Tony Calabria is a man of means, but he figures Tony probably hides his girlfriend out in the boonies as to not scare the town folk.
On the other hand, Jenny has read all about Lana’s experiences and believes she is exactly who she claims, a private investigator for the unusual.
Lana is in the process of moving stuff into their getaway home on James Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, where they will live part-time after they’re married. She loves the house and wants to show it off.
***
The Interview
Lana meets them at the front door. “Hello. Jenny, Trevor, welcome to my home. Please come in? And help yourselves to the tray of iced tea and cookies here in the den. Please forgive the mess. I’m in the process of moving a few things into this house.”
“Lana, how lovely you are.” Jenny touches her belly as she wobbles inside.
Trevor stands in the doorway listening and looking around the house as if something might jump out at him.
“Thank you.” Lana says, as she leads them to the den.
“You have a lovely home. It’s exquisite and huge, but also has a homey feel. I love all the porches.” Jenny elbows Trevor playfully in the ribs. “Doesn’t she, Trevor?”
Trevor clears his throat nervously. “Yes, it’s very nice. The Weeping Willow trees along the long drive are nice.” He straightens his tie.
“Tony bought the house as a wedding present to me. He’s a sweetheart. He knows how I hate living in the city.”
Jenny asks, “But didn’t I read somewhere that you did live near the beach front in Charleston?”
“Yes. I’m transforming it into a full-time office.” She glances at Jenny’s girth. “How far along are you?” Lana asks. “Have a seat, please.” She motions them toward a sofa near the picture window.
“Oh, I’m a little over six months.” Jenny sits on the couch as Lana sits in her favorite chair opposite them. Trevor slides in beside his wife.
“If you’d like, after we finish our snacks, we can go out on the back porch for the interview. It’s shaded from the hot sun this time of day.” Lana takes a bite of her chocolate chip cookie.
“That sounds nice.” Jenny sips on her tea, already having finished off three of her own cookies.
Lana ushers them to the back porch overlooking the pool in the back yard. She turns on the porch’s ceiling fans to stir the air and guides them toward the four rocking chairs lined up across the porch.
As they get settled, Lana feels a kindredship to Jenny. She senses the loss of Jenny’s mother and sister. And that her father, although still alive, had a health scare a couple of years ago.
Jenny positions her pen above her pad to take notes, but asks, “Do you mind if I record our interview?”
“Not at all.” Lana spreads her hands over her sundress to smooth out the wrinkles.
Trevor takes the small recorder from his pocket and presses the on button.
“Jenny, I hope I’m not overstepping, but I was told to tell you that your mother and sister are pleased and thrilled that you and Trevor chose to name your daughter after them. Caroline Beth Drake, isn’t it?”
Trevor almost chokes on the mouthful of tea he’d just sipped. “What!”
“Oh and Trevor, your father hopes you’ll name your son after him. It doesn’t have to be your son’s first name but a middle name would be nice.”
Jenny appears shocked. She believes that spirits are all around them, and she believes in Lana, but just to have her come out and say that was chilling. She never figured her mother and sister would contact her like this. Tears come to eyes and she pulls a tissue from her purse. “Thank you, Lana, and can you tell them I love and miss them. And tell Alfred, we’re not giving our son his first name but we may give him the name David which is Alfred’s middle name.”
Lana smiles. “You just told them.”
Both women look at Trevor who has turned three different shades of red and his eyes are watering. Lana isn’t sure if he’s crying or if it’s from where he’d choked. “How do you, or my father for that matter, know that we’re having a boy this time?”
“Trevor!” Jenny gives him her most furious expression. “Don’t start.”
“No. I’m not trying to . . . I just need to know.”
“That’s okay. Trevor, the spirits know many things that are unknown to us. They give me bits of what they know when they want me to know about it. In this case, you father wants you to know how he feels.”
“Okay. That sounds like my father. Tell him I love and miss him, please.” Trevor sniffs and wipes his nose with a handkerchief. He loosens his tie and opens the top button of his shirt.
“He can hear you, Trevor.” Lana looks at him with concern. She hopes she hasn’t said too much.
He runs both hands through his hair. “I’ve got to take a walk. Will you be okay?” he asks his wife.
Jenny touches his hand as he stands up. “Are you okay, Honey?” she asks him. Concern is evident in her voice.
“I will be, I just need to rethink everything I’ve ever believed.” He walks off the porch and around the corner of Lana’s house.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset him,” Lana says, regretting she’d let Alfred talk her into telling Trevor about his presence.
“It’s okay. His father has always been a sore subject for him. He and his mother lost him when Trevor was only ten.” Jenny searches the area to see if she can see Trevor but he’s out of sight. She picks up her pad and looks at Lana. “Shall we get on with the interview?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Lana, you have been one busy psychic.”
“I suppose so.” Lana smiles.
“How do you do it? Do the ghosts just appear to you and help you solve whatever problem there is at the time?”
“Not exactly. Sometimes it’s hard to get them to talk and other times you can’t shut them up. An example of the latter would be my Aunt Lucy.”
Both women laughed.
“I heard that,” Lucy chimes in.
“Lucy has shown up, by the way. Go away, Lucy. I’m a bit busy here.” Lucy for once does as Lana requests and leaves without another word. “Go ahead. She’s gone.”
“I would love to have your gift, Lana. To know the things you do. To be able to help people, both the dead and the living.”
Lana clears her throat. “You mean you would like to never be alone, hearing people telling or showing you information all the time. And this information may or may not be something you can do anything about. When you least expect it, you’ve got a crisis to take care of. It doesn’t matter that you’re having a romantic dinner with your fiancé, you’re out with friends, sound asleep, or in the middle of a shopping mall. It doesn’t matter. They are demanding your attention.”
“Oh wow! I didn’t realize you’d have no control over the when.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Probably just wedding jitters. I’m very thankful for my gift, but it can be very disrupting to my life. I like being able to help people, and I love being able to talk to those I love after they’ve passed on, especially my Aunt Lucy. However, spirits can be very impatient. Their time isn’t like ours and it all seems urgent to them for some reason, particularly those who have recently passed. Those who have been gone for a while seem to be a little more tolerant.”
“I see.” Jenny wrote on her pad. “Did I hear you correctly? I think you mentioned twice about getting married.”
“Yes, Tony and I are getting married.”
“When?”
“In two short months, and I’m both excited and terrified about that.” Lana smiles and takes a sip of tea.
“I know the feeling. You met my husband, Trevor.” She laughs.
“Yes. He’s adorable. I could tell right off he’s a skeptic.”
“That’s stating it lightly. Trevor doesn’t believe in much of anything that he can’t see or touch unless he’s experienced it for himself.” She glances toward the edge of the yard but Trevor still hasn’t returned. “So, why are you so nervous? Don’t you know that your marriage is meant to be? If Tony is the one for you?”
“I do but not in the way you mean. I once caught a glimpse of our lives together.” She wrings her hands together. “But lately . . . I don’t know. I’ve not been sleeping well, and I have a strange feeling that something bad is about to happen.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
“That’s the problem. I have no idea.” Lana stands and walks to the edge of the porch, placing one hand on the railing.
Jenny leans a little forward. “But you’re psychic. I don’t understand. Don’t you know everything?”
Lana turns to face Jenny and leans against the post. “Most people don’t understand. I only get pieces of things I need to know in order to help someone else. Sometimes those pieces are hard to interpret. Every once and a while, I’ll get a premonition or see someone’s past. Sometimes it may be for no other reason than it’s something I need to know myself. But most of the time it’s to help someone else. I rarely see anything beneficial to me personally. My one vision of my life with Tony was an exception.”
Jenny writes furiously. “Oh, and can you give me an instance of a premonition you’ve had.?”
“Yes. When I was about twelve, I saw my grandfather’s death before he died. He was old and I thought I was dreaming it because he’d been under the weather for the last few days, and I was scared for him. He died within the week.”
“That must’ve been terrifying for you as a child that young.”
“It was. At the time, I didn’t believe in my own gifts. And I thought perhaps God thought my dream meant I wished it. I blamed myself.” Her eyes moisten from the memory. “I see how silly that was now. At times, I feel blessed to have this gift, and yet, cursed at others.”
“Since you didn’t believe in yourself, how did you come to terms with knowing and seeing things that no one else could see or hear?”
“Aunt Lucy and my best friend, Demi, helped me.”
“Demi?”
“Yes. Demi Lancaster.” Jenny clears her throat. “Off the record, please?”
“Sure.” Jenny turns off the recorder.
“I don’t want to get her into trouble. Her boss knows I know things, but he doesn’t want to know about spirits.”
“I understand.”
“Demi’s a Charleston Police Detective and a godsend to me. She helps me figure things out sometimes and gets information for me when I need it if it is a life and death situation.”
“She sounds like a good friend.”
“She is.”
“Back on the record, now?”
Lana nods her head.
Jenny turns the recorder back on. “But how did Demi convince you to believe in your gift?”
“Well, it was after my great aunt Lucy came to see me one night right after she died. Aunt Lucy told me to embrace my gift and stop suppressing it. That suppressing it would only make things worse.”
“I see, but how did that help you?”
“It didn’t really. Aunt Lucy told me I didn’t want to know what would happen if I didn’t accept my gift. She pretty much scared me more than anything else. Not so much her words but the look on her face when she said it.”
“What did Demi do?”
Lana sat back on the edge of her chair, turning slightly to face Jenny. “After I told her about it, she held me while I cried. She patted my back and let me get it all out. Then she said, ‘Now Lana, you know what you have to do.’ And I asked, ‘What?’ and she said, ‘You know you have to do what your aunt said. I believe in you, and you have to believe in yourself.’ She said it just as plain as that.”
“I don’t understand how that helped you.”
“You have to know Demi. She doesn’t give herself freely. She’s a very guarded person. She’s also a straight shooter. She doesn’t say anything she doesn’t mean. So, if she says it, you know it to be true. Demi has always been there for me and she’s always believed in me. She believed I had the gift. Never once did she think I’d lost hold on reality.”
“That makes sense.” Jenny jotted more notes on her pad. “So, you seem a little more relaxed.”
“I am. Jenny, you’re a natural. And you’ve made me feel at ease.”
“Thank you. Now, I want to know about some of your cases. I’m impressed with everything you’ve done.” She flipped through the pad. “You helped your Aunt Lucy and her fiancé move on, after twenty years, by helping solve their murder. Can you tell me how that happened?”
“We had a little show and tell at Tony’s house. I also had plenty of help from Tony, Aunt Lucy and Tony’s grandfather, Davide. Of course, Demi helped with that also. She and a few of her friends waited while the ghosts mostly scared a confession from Anthony’s second wife, and the rest of the family for different crimes they’d committed.”
“You make it sound simple.”
“Not really. We had to do a lot of research to figure out who to invite on pretense of Davide’s new will. Getting the family in one place at the same time was a huge undertaking.”
“Tony’s family, your fiancé, correct?”
“Yes.” Lana smiles at the memory of him from that morning, not wanting to leave her here alone to face the mean reporters. He could be overprotective at times.
Jenny jotted in her notebook again. “So, and then there was the angry ghost at a home near here, and you’ve done a lot of pro bono work for those living in the Charleston area.”
“Yes. Adam turned out to be not so bad. He just had some issues he had to work through.”
“You’re being modest, Lana.”
“Not really. I always have plenty of help from the spirit guides and the ghosts themselves.” Lana stands and pours herself more tea. “Would you like more, Jenny?”
“Yes. Thank you. Okay, so how did you help Adam work out his issues?”
Lana fills Jenny’s glass and places the pitcher on the table between them. “I saw into the past lives of both Adam and Sean. Sean was the father of the occupants of the house and Adam’s business partner. Adam and Sean had fought throughout history for one reason or another. When I explained it to Adam, it helped him mellow some. When I mentioned his wife, Kara, and how she’d loved the Ramsey’s children, and the promise he’d given to her on her death bed, he finally saw himself for what he was doing to them.”
“Wow! That took a lot of seeing into his life. Way back to previous lives. You did see his life, right. He didn’t offer you the information.”
“Right. He didn’t know about his past lives. I had a dream about that, and I think Kara showed me herself on her death bed.”
Jenny taps her pencil on the pad. “That sounds like a tough case.”
Lana smiled. “At the time, it was. I was also dealing with the reality that I could be possessed by a spirit if I didn’t prepare myself.”
“What? Possessed? How do you prepare for something like that?”
“A lot of prayer and focus.” Lana replied. Lana stood, picked up the pitcher of tea and her glass and carried them into the kitchen, in hopes that Jenny would take the hint that the interview was over.
Jenny followed behind her into the kitchen. “What now?”
“What do you mean?’
“Are you working on anything else, or will you soon?”
“I don’t know. Not any ghosts right now. I guess if something comes up, I will help. I do have a couple of small jobs, mostly computer work for Tony. Background checks on new employees and things like that. But for now, I’m happy just planning our wedding.”
Trevor walks into the kitchen. “Is the interview over?”
“I think it is. Thank you, Lana. It was a pleasure meeting you finally.” Jenny smiles and holds out her arms to Lana.
The two women hug.
“Yes, thank you, Lana,” Trevor says, a little choked up still. “I appreciate everything.”
Lana nods her head knowingly and holds her arms out to Trevor. He hugs her neck.
Tony walks in and Lana introduces him to the two visitors. He shakes their hands and says, “How did it go?”
“Fine,” Lana says.
“More than fine. Is she always so modest? You have an amazing fiancée, Mr. Calabria.”
“I sure do,” he says, wraps an arm around her waist and hugs her to him. He kisses the top of her forehead.
Tony and Lana walk Trevor and Jenny to the door.
In the car, driving down the long winding road, Jenny turns to Trevor and asks, “So what do you think of Lana Malloy, now?”
“As much as I hate to admit I was wrong, she’s the real deal. What do you think?”
“You heard me back there. She’s an amazing woman.”
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THE STORY OF KIM COX
Kim Cox lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her talented, chainsaw artist husband (http://leeschainsawart.com/) and their three dogs. She’s the mother to two sons and also has two grandsons (one starting kindergarten next year and the other a senior in high school this year). I know you’re wondering, so yes, you’re right, she married and started her family way too young. 😉 A recap of her life coming up.
In her younger years, she was one who never met a stranger which worried her parents to no end, because she smiled and talked to everyone she met. Yes, even strangers. Luckily, her parents rarely let her out of their sight. But they had to work and one time, before school age, the babysitter sort of kidnapped her. How can she sort of be kidnapped, you might ask. In truth, the babysitter took her to a friend’s workplace without permission and then she was afraid to take her back home. Kim cried her eyes out that night when they arrested the sitter. Kim loved her babysitter so much. The only way to get Kim to sleep that night, her father had to promise her he’d get the babysitter out of jail. And her father kept that promise. To her, her father could move mountains.
In her school years, Kim was a cheerleader from the 7th through 10th grades (head cheerleader in the 10th). Then letter girl in the eleventh grade. Luckily for her, back then, you didn’t need to have any of those special gymnastic abilities, only coordination and a big mouth which she had in spades. Kim loved cheering but sometimes, while focused on the football game, she had to be nudged to start a cheer. Her parents were very strict, so being a cheerleader provided her with the only opportunity to be out of the yard after dark.
Also in tenth grade, she was voted her grade’s Miss Torch Candidate (Torch was the name of the yearbook). She didn’t win, but it made her happy just to be nominated. Why? It meant she got to dress up in an evening gown and have her picture taken for the yearbook. She felt like a princess going to the ball.
Now, Kim is very much a grown up and each year brings her closer to retirement from the day job. At and after the age of fifty, she obtained two associate degrees, one in Office Systems Technology and the other in Web Technology. Kim also obtained a diploma in Medical Office Administration. While at work, she has many titles, including but not limited to, MIS (Management Information Systems) Specialist, Accountability, and Superuser.
On the writing front, she is a multi-published author of short stories, articles, novellas, and novels. Kim also creates and maintains Web sites, and designs and creates her own book covers. You can find her Web Design portfolio and services at Kim Cox Designs. See her published works below.
ALL THIS TIME is a romantic suspense novel. Book 1 in the Style & Profile Series.
“Obstacles occur every step of the way for it seems someone in the office is working to sabotage not only the business but Jenny and her father too. Filled with suspense, mystery as well as heart-filled emotion, All This Time offers a delightful read.” ~ Nancy Carty Lepri, Freelance Editor, Reviewer, and Author of Tommy’s Amigo and TinyAngel
At thirty, Jenny Morgan’s biological clock is ticking. But as a fashion magazine CEO with a busy schedule and no significant other, her wish is unlikely to come true. When her father receives a potentially terminal diagnosis, he longs for a grandchild before he dies. With her religious beliefs, a sperm donor isn’t an alternative. Jenny’s only immediate available option is her single co-worker and best friend, Trevor Drake. Can she really trust him to be a good husband?
Trevor has loved Jenny since college, but she only sees him as a friend with no ambition. After he learns of her predicament, he proposes and sets out to prove he can provide everything she needs. Jenny is determined to have a prenuptial agreement with an “out” clause after one year. Can Trevor convince Jenny of his love by then?
As if they don’t have enough on their plate, someone at the magazine is out to stop their wedding and their impending parenthood, and destroy the magazine’s reputation. Jenny is nearly killed in a sabotage attempt. Can Jenny and Trevor to make a life together while uncovering a common enemy?
In the city of Boston lies a story of revenge and hidden identity. Ryan Donatelli, posing as Thomas Randolph, sets out to avenge his sister’s death, even if it means using Sam Southard’s daughter to do it. After all, Ryan is sure Sam’s responsible.
Natalie Southard is determined to keep her family business out of the hands of known crime boss, Nick DeMarco. After her father is killed, Natalie and Ryan are forced to run for their lives. But, will they live long enough for their hearts to heal once everything is revealed?
Kim has pulled SUSPICIOUS MINDS from her publisher and plans to self-publish it in April, 2016 after she obtains her rights. Here’s the cover she created for this book about a year ago but has been unable to use it. However they may be a few updates to it before she decides this is the one.
“Twists and turns abound in this suspenseful novel having the reader on the edge of their seat until the climatic conclusion.” ~ Nancy Carty Lepri, Freelance Editor, Reviewer, and Author of Tommy’s Amigo and TinyAngel
“Haunted Hearts by Kim Cox is a charming . . . ghost story . . . The ghost characters and their living relatives were all delightful and fun. And of course . . . there is romance as well as the mystery.” ~ Fallen Angel Reviews
Will Lana Malloy solve the twenty-year-old double murder of her great aunt and her great aunt’s fiancé by Memorial Day? If she can, they’ll spend eternity together; if she can’t, they’ll be stuck as Haunted Hearts for another year.
“. . . In GET OUT OR DIE . . . Lana Malloy helps restless spirits, and the families they are haunting, find peace. The murder mystery aspect adds a nice touch of intrigue . . . a page turner . . .” Paranormal Romance Reviews
Since the news of her first case, Lana Malloy’s Private Investigating/Mediator business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband and learns of a frightening new ability she wasn’t aware she possessed-an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she’s not careful.
Lana struggles for control when she encounters the angry ghost who doesn’t want to leave and who doesn’t want the occupants of the house to stay. Will Lana be able to control the situation or will the ghost sense he can overtake her? Does she have other abilities she can rely on to save her?
A Lana Malloy Paranormal Mystery Series, #3 Lana Malloy is marrying the love of her life, Tony Calabria. The night before, she has a vision of a disturbing wedding and wonders if it’s a premonition of her own. Feeling silly for thinking that, she proceeds with her plans as scheduled.
During their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Lana has visions of a young woman abducted by a madman. The man plans to force his abductee to marry him if he isn’t stopped. Lana feels marriage isn’t the worst thing that could happen as she senses the threads of death circling this victim.
Lana can’t ignore these visions. Will Tony understand this isn’t an obsession, but a calling, and that Lana has to do whatever it takes for this young woman? Will she find the victim in time? If she doesn’t, life will never be the same.
In the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY SERIES, Lana Malloy is a psychic, private investigator who is on a mission to help the dearly departed even when they don’t realize they need help.
In the first novella, HAUNTED HEARTS, Lana sets out to solve her first case—the twenty-year old cold-case and double murder of her great aunt and her great aunt’s fiancé. If she succeeds, they’ll spend eternity together; if she can’t, they’ll be stuck as Haunted Hearts. With the help of the ghosts and a new love interest, she is able to find the murderer.
In the second novella, GET OUT OR DIE, the success of Lana’s first case has spread throughout the local Charleston area and her business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband where she learns of a frightening new ability—an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she’s not careful.
Coming up in the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series:
Projected Scheduled Releases: Book 4: Christmas Cruise – November 2015 Book 5: Haunted by Her Past – 2016 Book 6: Demi’s Serial Case – 2016 Book 7: Untitled – 2017
To read short blurbs of books in process, go to my Coming Soon page.
SHORT STORIES
Click cover to purchase!
A DREAM COME TRUE FREE Short Story Can Miriam Alexander give her heart to Rhett Yancey again after he stomped on it the first time?
IN HIS ARMS Can husband and wife rekindle their love, put their differences aside and salvage a marriage that was doomed two years ago?
ALL FOR LOVE FREE Short Story Will Carina and Tyler find their way back to each other, or will she turn to an old lover for support?
LOVE CONQUERS ALL Sequel to All For Love: Carina and Tyler are finally back on track when Javier is up to his old tricks
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Many writers struggle with writing the description for the stories they’ve just poured their soul into over the last few weeks/months/years.
Who am I to try and answer this question?
A few months ago I joined the launch of the Lei Crime Kindle World. (If you don’t know about kindle worlds, you should go look them up, after you finish this post, of course.) During that process, we exchanged our descriptions and offered them up for critique. I found that I enjoyed tinkering with those descriptions and trying to make them stronger.
Open with a question or a short, catchy description.
You don’t absolutely have to use a tagline, but thinking up some taglines will help you later with Twitter posts. Besides that, it will prime your mind to write an awesome book blurb. If you can pare your story down to a tagline, then you’ll have an…
Lexi Ryder vowed to never return to the Gold Coast, but after a desperate phone call from an old friend, she returns only to learn her friend is dead.
Kasia Radzka is an author, athlete wannabe, food & wine lover, and blogger, living with her husband and son on the Gold Coast, Australia. A run along the coastline generally gets her muse buzzing. You can contact her at kasiajradzka@gmail.com or stop by her website www.kasiaradzka.com.
Life can change in just an instant.
Maryann Miller is a best-selling author of books, screenplays and stage plays. One Small Victory was her first hardcover release. Other books include a police-procedural mystery, Open Season, which is the first in a new series that features two women homicide detectives. Think “Lethal Weapon” set in Dallas with female leads. Miller has won numerous awards for her screenplays and short fiction, including the Page Edwards Short Fiction Award, the New York Library Best Books for Teens Award, and first place in the screenwriting competition at the Houston Writer’s Conference.
Kim's Musings 