Compare and Contrast: Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery Novels

Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery are both subgenres of romance fiction that incorporate elements of suspense or mystery into the romantic plot. To learn the main differences and similarities of these subgenres, keep reading.

Genre Differences

Romantic Suspense novels typically feature a romantic relationship between the main characters that is threatened by a crime or other dangerous events, such as a murder or kidnapping. The suspenseful plot often involves the characters working together to solve the crime or escape danger, while also developing their romantic relationship.

Romantic Mystery novels, on the other hand, typically focus on a mystery or crime that the main characters are trying to solve, with the romantic relationship being a secondary aspect of the plot. These novels often feature an amateur detective, who is typically one of the romantic partners, who is trying to solve a crime or uncover a secret.

Genre Similarities

So what do these two genres have in common? Both genres have the following common elements:

1. Romance: Both genres feature a romantic relationship between the main characters, which is an important aspect of the plot.
2. Suspense or Mystery: Both genres involve elements of suspense or mystery, which add tension and excitement to the story.
3. Character development: Both genres focus on the development of the characters, particularly the romantic relationship between the main characters.
4. Emotional engagement: Both genres are designed to emotionally engage the readers, drawing them into the story and making them care about the characters and their fates.
5. Plot-driven: Both genres have a strong emphasis on plot, with the romantic and suspenseful/mysterious elements driving the story forward.
6. Happy ending: Both genres usually have a happy ending where the romantic couple end up together and the mystery or crime is solved.
7. Combination of genres: Both genres are a combination of romance and mystery/suspense genres and are designed to appeal to readers who enjoy both.

Conclusion

The two sub-genres are so similar it can be hard to distinguish between them. In romantic suspense, the mystery is secondary to the romance, whereas with romantic mystery, the love interest is secondary. So according to this research, my first romance novel, Suspicious Minds, and my Style and Profiles series novels are in the romantic suspense genre whereas my latest published novel, For the Love of Money, is a romantic mystery.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-holding-hands-walking-on-seashore-during-sunrise-1024960/

ALL THIS TIME

SUSPICIOUS MINDS

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

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#RRBC Spotlight Author: Micki Peluso

With great pleasure I’d like to introduce to you, Micki Peluso, this week’s Rave Reviews Book Club’s Spotlight Author. Welcome, Micki!

What’s In A Word?

“In the beginning was the word . . .”
John 1:1 King James Bible

Remember the childhood taunt, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me?” (from Robert Fulghum). This is not true. The “pen is mightier than the sword,” and the complexity of language plays upon everyday living. It can be subtle,(my favorite) sarcastic, ironic, menacing, hateful, loving, instructive; the list is long. Ultimately words hurt much more than stones, because the scars from hurtful words do not always heal.

Writing is how I express emotions that cannot be exposed through any other outlet. All the feelings that encompass my psyche, subconscious mind, and yes, even soul, are transposed to a large yellow legal pad with an Erasermate pen. This most sacred experience allows me to examine my feelings from other points of view, vent words that hide from me verbally as I cope with the school of life–hoping to pass the test.

Words make or break relationships, erase the tears of a crying child, soothe an aching heart, cheer on an athlete, or manipulate an enemy. Words are power and it is essential to learn to use them wisely, to understand their strength. As applied to writing, proper word choice is critical to a successful essay, short story or novel. Making an error in word usage can change the tempo and alter the perspective of any given piece of writing.

Years ago, four years of Latin was a required course in High School. Students groaned, but this arcane language was the best example of how the nuance of a word can completely change the meaning of a sentence or story. English, based in part, on Latin, is no different.

The words one uses in narrative or description develop character traits and personality.”He was a tempting, seductive piece of work,” shows the reader much about this character, as does, “She donned her reading glasses and began stamping books the children brought to the library desk.” Words in dialogue express emotions and character behavior. Words are all one has to work with, both in real life and in writing. It is prudent to choose them well. Roget’s Thesaurus should be every writer’s bible, packed as it is with synonyms that shift context and meaning in subtle ways.

Who and what I am or hope to become is evident in my stories. In romance, I am the character searching for love, in paranormal, I am the character facing his/her demons, real or imagined. Humorous stories disguise me in my character’s take on the foibles of daily living. In every story that I write, I am there–in words.

“Words express ideas, name things. They carry you from one place to another. . .  When your words change, you change.” Taken from The World Book Complete Word Power Library. “‘In the Miracle Worker,’ based on the life of Helen Keller, the little blind and deaf girl’s mother asks the child’s teacher what is to be taught first. “Language, I hope, replies the teacher . . . what is she without words?” Taken from the Dictionary of Problems and Expressions,” by Harry Shaw.

My losses, sorrows, joys, loves and dreams are forever etched in print. They cannot exist without me or me without them. Yet, I do not write to live, or live to write. Writing helps me make sense of the drama called life. Writing defines me. 

It is an avenue of escape in an uncertain, sometimes frightening world – where love is fragile, dreams shatter, hope is dashed, then renewed. Writing takes me through the dark tunnel to the awaiting light. I will one day pass on to another realm with writing as my epitaph. Writing is not what I do . . . It is who I am.

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Micki Peluso began writing after a personal tragedy. This lead to a first time publication in Victimology: An International Magazine and a career in Journalism. She’s freelanced and been staff writer for one major newspaper, written for two more and has published short fiction and non-fiction, as well as slice of life stories in colleges, magazines and e-zine editions. Her first book was published in 2012; a funny family memoir of love, loss and survival, called, . . . And THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG which won the Nesta CBC Silver Award for ‘Writing That Builds Character’, won third place in the Predators and Editors Contest and first place for People’s Choice Monthly Award. This book is close to her heart since it’s a deathbed promise to her dying child. It has the humor of ‘Cheaper by the Dozen,’ with the heart of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird. Some reviewers liken her writing to a cross between Erma Bombeck and Harper lee. She has over a dozen short stories in ‘Women’s Memoirs’, ‘Tales2inspire’, and ‘Creature Features’. Two of her short horror stories were recently published in an International Award winning anthology called “Speed of Dark.” She is presently working on a collection of short fiction, and slice of life stories in a book collection called, ‘Don’t Pluck the Duck’, due to be released in late 2017. Her first children’s story, ‘The Cat Who Wanted a Dog’ will be released in June of 2017. Author Peluso is a multi-genre and speculative writer who plans to tackle novels next.

And The Whippoorwill Sang
by Micki Peluso

It is a day like any other, except the intense heat wave has broken and signs of early fall are in the air.

Around the dining room table of her 100 year old farmhouse Micki Peluso’s six children along with three of their friends eagerly gulp down a chicken dinner. As soon as the last morsel is ravished, the lot of them is off in different directions. Except for the one whose turn it is to do the dishes. After offering her mother a buck if she’ll do them, with an impish grin, the child rushes out the front door, too excited for a hug, calling out, “Bye Mom,” as the door slams shut. For the Peluso’s the nightmare begins.

Micki and Butch face the horror every parent fears—awaiting the fate of one of their children. While sitting vigil in the ICU waiting room, Micki traverses the past, as a way of dealing with an inconceivable future.

From the bizarre teenage elopement with her high school sweetheart, Butch, in a double wedding with her own mother, to comical family trips across country in an antiquated camper with six kids and a dog, they leave a path of chaos, antics and destruction in their wake. Micki relives the happy times of raising six children while living in a haunted house, as the young parents grow up with their kids. She bravely attempts to be the man of the house while her husband, Butch is working out of town.

Hearing strange noises, which all the younger kids are sure is the ghosts, Micki tiptoes down to the cellar, shotgun in hand and nearly shoots an Idaho potato that has fallen from the pantry and thumped down the stairs. Of course her children feel obligated to tell the world.

Just when their lives are nearly perfect, tragedy strikes—and the laughter dies. A terrible accident takes place in the placid valley nestled within the Susquehanna Mountains in the town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On a country lane just blocks from the family’s hundred year old haunted farmhouse, lives are changed forever.

In a state of shock, Micki muses through their delightful past to avoid confronting an uncertain future—as the family copes with fear and apprehension.

One of her six children is fighting for life in Intensive Care. Both parents are pressured by doctors to disconnect Noelle, their fourteen-year-old daughter. Her beautiful girl, funny and bright, who breathes life into every moment, who does cartwheels in piles of Autumn leaves, who loves to sing and dance down country roads, and above all loves her family with all her soul. How can Micki let this child go?

The family embarks upon yet another journey, to the other side of sorrow and grasps the poignant gift of life as they begin. . .to weep. . .to laugh. . .to grieve. . .to dance—and forgive.

To learn more about Micki Peluso, or to purchase her book, …AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG,
please visit:
Twitter: @mickipeluso
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndTheWhippoorwillSang
Website: http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/
Email: mallie1025@aol.com
 

#RRBC Spotlight Author – Kim Cox

https://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

Asheville, North Carolina USA —Rave Reviews Book Club is pleased to introduce, Author, Kim Cox as their “SPOTLIGHT” Author for the week of May 22-28, 2016. Kim’s featured book, All This Time, is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Book Description

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 terminal diagnosis, he wants a grandchild before he dies. With her religious beliefs, a sperm donor isn’t an alternative. Jenny’s only 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 finds out 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 he convince Jenny of his love by then?

As if they don’t have enough on their plate, someone at the magazine is out to sabotage their marriage, their impending parenthood, and the magazine. Jenny is nearly killed in one such attempt. Can Jenny and Trevor work together to uncover their common enemy?

To learn more about Kim Cox, or to purchase All This Time, please visit:

Website: http://www.kimcoxauthor.com Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/kimcox

Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/KimCoxAuthor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimcoxauthor

For more information on Kim Cox, Rave Reviews Book Club, and other great authors, visit:

https://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

Rave Reviews Book Club authorizes the immediate use of any of the above information (in part or in whole) for publication.

#EggcerptExchange: Warrior Women by Janie Franz

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Eggcerpt Exchange.

Today, I am featuring Janie Franz, author of Warrior Women.

Warrior Women
By Janie Franz
MuseItUp Publishing

Jan-nell the bowdancer, now pregnant with her second child, and her daughter, Mira-nell, trek up a mountain where bards’ tales have said a village of warrior women exists. Jan-nell makes this trip in winter—and in her condition—in order to find a place for Mira-nell where the child’s precocious abilities will be accepted. The women on the mountain, though, are not fighters or even man-haters. They have chosen to live apart from the world in a village of only women, led by a sisterhood of hunters. Chandro, a beautiful trackfinder, rescues Jan-nell and her daughter, offering them a home and the promise of love.

EXCERPT

Nearing the bend in the trail, Mira-nell gave out a cry and pulled on her mother’s cloak. Jan-nell looked back at her. The child’s face was rapt as if she had seen the One before her. “Look,” she said, pointing ahead.

On the trail, silhouetted by the morning sun, a tall woman stood with feet spread wide apart, a hand on an upright spear that towered far over her head. The woman’s short red hair was set afire by the golden rays behind her. She wore a cape and woven pants with high boots made of goat hide. Her stance was powerful. No doubt she could bar their way further up the trail since Jan-nell possessed little strength to push past her, much less fight her for the right to pass, if that was her intention.

Before Jan-nell could ask what she wanted, another tightening spread across her belly. She was prepared for it this time, only turning slightly to hold her staff with two hands as she breathed with it.

When Jan-nell finally raised her head, the woman with the spear stood a few paces from them. Reaching into a pouch by her waist, she brought out two small leaves and offered them to Jan-nell. “Chew and swallow the juice but not the leaf.”

Jan-nell examined the leaves, sniffed them, and then raised an eyebrow to question the stranger.

“It will pause your labor,” the woman explained in quiet tones.

“Pause it?” she questioned with suspicion. “I have used plants to speed a birth and to ease it, but not one to make it stop. I know of no such plant. Where did you find it?”

“It grows in the waste places of the mountain near the edge of the snows.” Then she added, “It will not harm the babe.”

Jan-nell crunched on the bitter leaves and nearly retched as the vile fluid filled her mouth. With effort, she managed to swallow it.

The woman offered a rueful smile and put a strong hand on her shoulder in comfort. “‘Tis awful it is true, but it does the work.” Then her brow furrowed. “The pull of the earth hastens the birth. We must get you to shelter and off your feet—and soon….”

BUY LINKS

Museitup Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About Janie Franz

Janie Franz comes from a long line of Southern liars and storytellers. She told  other people’s stories as a freelance journalist for many years. With Texas wedding DJ, Bill Cox, she co-wrote The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book and The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book, and then self-published a writing manual, Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!  She also published an online music publication, was an agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, a radio announcer, and a yoga/relaxation instructor.

Currently, she is writing her tweveth novel and a self-help book, Starting Over: Becoming a Woman of Power.

Character Interview

1. Nickname or Name? My name is Jan-nell. For part of my life I was known only by my title, The Bowdancer.
2. Job? I am the Bowdancer, the keeper of the lore of my people. I am also a midwife and healer. I sing the songs of the One. Though I have left my people and that revered place in their village, I still do the work of the One, trying to find my place within this wild world I have discovered.
3. Most important goal? My most fervent desire at this moment of my life, before the birth of my second child, is to find a home for my clever daughter. Like I was as a child, she is quick-witted. However unlike me, she has no place where that gift is recognized. In the village below this great mountain I am climbing, she was ridiculed by child and adult. And her only future was to be the wife of a dull-witted farmer.
4. Worst fear or nightmare? My worse fear is that there will never be a place for my daughter Mira-nell, nor for me, for I, too, wish to finally belong somewhere again.

The Writer’s Journey – Guest Author, Lori Soard

Today, I welcome a good friend. I’ve known her for about twenty years, when we first met at the Writer’s Club message boards on American Online. We’ve been in many clubs together, even started a few ourselves. Of course, she had the idea and would ask me if I’d like to help, and I’d say, “Sure.”

She is always breaking new ground in the publishing industry–example: the first RWA online chapter: From The Heart, another writer’s club: World Romance Writers, and the first author promotion site (to my knowledge): Word Museum. She is a wonderful person as well as author and entrepreneur. So, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you, Lori Soard.

It All Started with a Giraffe Named Geraldine

My very first memories are of my dad telling me bedtime stories about a crazy giraffe named Geraldine. Geraldine was always getting into messes and had to be rescued. He would let me make choices in how the story would go. Does Geraldine go into the clearing or stay hidden? Does she follow the noise she heard or ignore it? These were the first stories I helped create and one of my favorite memories from my childhood.

I always loved books and stories. My parents bought me books as little gifts, played word games with me, and let my imagination have free reign. I truly believe that God gives us the parents he does for a reason and he couldn’t have chosen better with mine. I am thankful every day for their influence in my life and their love.

When my first grade teacher showed me how to string letters into words and words into sentences, I was thrilled. Now, I could read books for myself. And, I could write my own stories. I devoured every book I could get my hands on, started journaling and started writing stories. My early school years were all about finishing the busy work, because the teachers would let me read quietly if I finished early.

In high school, I would write stories and pass them to my friends between classes. They would add to them and we’d all swap stories again. I still have some of these silly stories, but they were so much fun. Some of them are about aliens taking over our friends’ bodies, but most are about romance. We had code names for our crushes in case anyone ever found one of our stories or a teacher tried to read it out loud.

It wasn’t until college when a journalism professor encouraged us to write an article and submit it to our local newspapers that I realized you could make money from your writing. The editor published my piece, put it on the front page, and gave me $25. At the time, I was more thrilled with that $25 than any amount I’ve ever been paid for my writing since. It was a light bulb moment for me and I knew I would always write from that point forward.

I’ve been published in multiple formats. Some of my first books were with ebook publishers, in the days when people said ebooks would never take off and they were basically a joke. I knew, even back then, that they were the wave of the future. I’ve always loved technology and I just felt in my gut that they would one day be a big deal. My very first book was titled Man of Means and was on a floppy disk. I recently republished that book, after extensive edits, for Kindle and in paperback.

Later, I was published by Thorndike for their Five Star line. I loved working with my editor, Russell, but they eventually moved away from contemporary romances and I felt a bit lost as I was another orphaned author. Eventually, I moved over to Amber Quill Press. In the last couple of years, I’ve moved to self-publishing. Just as I once thought that ebooks would be the wave of the future, I believe that being in control of my own books and how they are presented, packaged, and priced, is the next phase of my writing. I won’t say I’ll never again be with a traditional publisher. I enjoy the give and take of working with an editor and getting the intensive feedback that entails. I’m open to whatever direction the Lord wants to take my writing career.

One thing I’ve learned along the way is that you have to be open to writing different things. About 10 years ago, I began writing more non-fiction than I had. Although I’d always written a few articles here and there, I noticed the majority of my income was from articles and not from my fiction. The fiction income tends to come in spurts, but you never know just how big the spurt of income will be or when it will arrive. Writing non-fiction balances that for me. I also like to give my brain a break, as writing non-fiction requires different skills than writing fiction. I also edit for a couple of clients and do some web design. By varying tasks, I can stay busy most of the time and easily put in 40 hours a week or more. All the time, I’m loving every bit of it. I feel so blessed to do things I truly enjoy and make a living at it.

Marketing has changed a lot over the years. Today, you have to be active on social media, advertise, and stay in touch with your readers by blogging. However, I also believe you need to be vocal that you’re a writer and your books are available. I have a friend, and everywhere we go she is talking about her books to people. I’m trying to learn from her boldness, because I have a really hard time doing that for myself. I actually will hide out and never mention I’m a writer unless someone knows it already. I don’t know why, but this is definitely something I’m trying to overcome.

I have found it really hard to line up in-person book signings for this latest book. There used to be a lot of independent small booksellers out there. They’re all but gone. That makes it a bit more difficult to get out there and meet new readers. I’m going to be trying some festivals and different events instead in the coming year. I’m hoping that will allow me to get the word out more. I am also doing some online book tours and connecting with friends who are bloggers.

I actually wouldn’t change anything about my writing journey so far, even the mistakes. I believe that we learn from every mistake, every success, and every failure. These things all come together to make me who I am. I like who I am in Christ and the skills, knowledge and lessons along the way. I would do it all again.

I would encourage new writers to dig in their heels and never quit. Focus on why you are writing. It likely isn’t to get famous, because there are easier ways to achieve that. It is probably because you have something to say or a message to share. If you can share that with just a handful of people, then you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. Learn to focus on the reason and not the result and you’ll always be a success with your writing.

Lori’s Latest Book

Lori’s latest book is Cupid’s Quest, which is the first in her Cupid’s Crossing series. It is a contemporary inspirational romance available in paperback and ebook.

The only life Gracie has ever known has been the nursing home and the residents who are like family to her. Now, she risks losing it all and her friends scattering to different homes if she can’t come up with the money to save the business.

Between caring for his ailing mother and running the family farm, Brandt is stretched thin. Too thin. When his mother begs him to enter a local scavenger hunt, win the prize money, and convert the farm into an orchard, he knows he can’t refuse her anything, so he reluctantly agrees.

While seeking clues to the scavenger hunt, Gracie and Brandt keep bumping into each other. Gracie’s always had a crush on him that keeps her from stringing two coherent words together. Brandt doesn’t understand why she dislikes him so much she won’t even talk to him. If the nursing home residents would settle down and stop getting into crazy shenanigans long enough, the two might figure out that they have more than a little in common.

You can sign up for Lori’s newsletter by visiting her website at http://www.LoriSoard.comand clicking on “Newsletter” at the top of the page. She regularly gives away prizes such as autographed copies of her books and gift cards to Starbucks and Amazon. Plus, you’ll stay updated on her latest news.

 

#EggcerptExchange: ASSAIE’S GIFT by D. E. Howard

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Today, I am featuring D. E. Howard, author of Assaie’s Gift.

Book blurb:  Kia Deering is a normal teenage girl looking forward to celebrating her 18th birthday in style. What she didn’t anticipate was the revelation that would change her life beyond recognition.

The Goddess Assaie fell for a human and gave up everything, including her identity, to be with him, sacrificing everything she ever knew in the name of true love.

When Kia discovered she was a descendant of the Goddess she had a year to embrace all that it meant or to turn her back on her destiny forever.

Kia had always believed herself to be ordinary but now she was extraordinary she had no idea if she could handle the potential of the power within her. Perhaps the handsome young man she meets in a nightclub could be the distraction she needed, or perhaps he will open up a whole new set of questions himself.

“A pantheonic love story with several twists on the theme, I can highly recommend this first novel by this author”

“Amazing book from start to end”

“I shall be recommending it to my friends”

Events from the past come together, in this fantastical romance, to change the present and nothing will ever be the same again, for any of them.
Read D E Howard’s début novel Assaie’s Gift and follow a love that began in another era.

Author info: D E Howard was born and raised in the small seaside town of Southport where she still resides. Enjoying writing for most of her adult life she only recently decided to turn her ideas into books. Part time gardener (just at home!), part time dog walker (for a crazy cairn terrier) and part time author she still has time for a full time job. Work pays the bills but writing feeds the soul. Her second book “Spirit of the Book” will be out soon.

Egg-cerpt:

While Sofia fumbled in her bag for her mobile phone Kia raced around to the front of the car. From the back seat she hadn’t been able to see the other vehicle which it appeared they had hit side on, crushing both the driver’s door and the front of the taxi.  The driver, and sole occupant, of the other vehicle was motionless, blood covering his face as it ran freely from a large cut in his forehead.

“Are you all right?” She shouted, the driver’s eyes flickering open in acknowledgement. “It’s okay, we’ve called an ambulance… just stay where you are.”

Racing around to the driver’s side of the taxi Kia stopped dead, the taxi driver was sprawled across the road before the car, his leg at a painfully unnatural angle, his body bloodied from the many cuts he sustained from the windscreen’s glass. The thing that made Kia stop and take a deep breath however were his eyes, they were now wide open and staring up at the sky unblinking, they showed no sign of life.

Approaching him slowly Kia took some deep steadying breaths, she had taken a few first aid courses in college but nothing could have prepared her for this.

“Hello?” She said as she crouched down beside him. “Hello can you hear me?”

Getting no reaction Kia reached out a hand and gently shook the taxi driver’s shoulder.

“Hello?” She said again, already knowing that it was too late for him to ever hear her again but unable to stop trying. “Please be all right… hello?”

Kneeling down closer to the driver Kia leaned over, holding her hair back, as she tried to listen for any sounds of breath but there were none, his eyes still stared lifelessly at the sky.

“What do I do?” Kia said quietly to herself as tears began to fill her eyes. This was not the way her birthday was supposed to end and she was certain that the taxi driver hadn’t anticipated such a final end to his evening either.

Unable to do anything else Kia took hold of the driver’s hand gently and closed her eyes. It didn’t seem right to just leave him.

She didn’t notice the burning sensation in her palm at first as her body was already full of aches from the collision but after a few minutes it was impossible to ignore and her eyes shot open to look down at the hand that held onto that of the driver. Kia wasn’t certain but she thought she could see a strange white glow around their hands and then, as quickly as it started, the pain faded away and seconds later so did the glow.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Kia decided she was imagining things due to the stress of the accident.

Then the driver began to cough.

“What happened?” He asked, rubbing his free hand over his face as he straightened the leg that moments ago had seemed irrevocably broken.

“Accident,” Kia said, unable to form any more coherent words than that, relief flooding her body at the sound of the ambulance sirens rapidly approaching.

Time to get to know a little more about Kia Deering with this questionnaire:

1. Nickname: My name is a little short to do much with, but friends do sometimes just call me “K”
2. Job: I’m currently a student, I was going to get a part time job to help out but mum wouldn’t hear of it.
3.  Level of schooling, or self-taught: That’s still ongoing!
4. Birthdate: August 19^th – summer birthdays are the best
5. Birthplace: A little town you wouldn’t have heard of – nowhere very exciting I’m afraid
6. Currently residing in: Still living at home with my mum
7. Favourite type of pet: I don’t have one myself, but who can resist a puppy? I have to have a cuddle any

Buying links:
Amazon: myBook.to/Assaie or http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TJ2Y4YI
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4566626

Author Links:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DEHAuthor/
Blog:  https://dawndelivers.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @dehauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13529086.D_E_Howard

#EggcerptExchange: JEM by Michelle Abbott

 

Today, I am featuring Michelle Abbott, author of Jem.

Author Michelle Abbott writes new adult romance. She currently has four books published.

JEM

Two injured, stubborn souls meet unexpectedly. Will they save each other from their demons or have they been too damaged for too long to see past the pain?

Growing up, all Jem knew was hatred and the pain from his father’s fists. Taunted by the kids at school, he was alone, until a girl with carrot coloured hair sat next to him.

She smiled.
She listened.
She cared.

She was his angel, and he knew he’d love her forever. But Jem’s father hurts him in a way he never expected by taking him away from her.

Now eighteen, scarred inside and out, Jem trusts no one and has worked hard to ensure he’ll never be helpless again. But then he runs into his angel. The only problem is she doesn’t recognize him. Jem needs her to remember him, to show him that their time together meant to her what it did to him. For once in his life he wants to have mattered to someone, to her.

Devon is attracted to the muscular, tattooed, pierced hottie standing by the pub quiz machine. That is, until he punches a guy clean across the bar for daring to touch him. She’s had her fill of violent men and intends to avoid this one at all costs.

Eggcerpt from JEM

I pull back the duvet and try to make as few movements as possible as I crawl in beside her and let the warmth from her body and the duvet envelop me. Her red hair is splayed across my pillow. I reach out and stroke my fingers through the silken strands. My pillowcase isn’t getting washed again. It can smell of her forever so that whenever I lay my head on it, I can pretend she’s with me. Maybe it will be okay to move a little closer. I’m right on the edge of the mattress. If I fall out of bed I’ll wake her. I scoot closer to her, close my eyes and inhale. She smells of roses. Maybe I should get her some flowers. I picture myself holding a bunch of red roses and chuckle to myself. Nah, I’m not the suave type. Maybe I’ll get a rose tattoo to remind me of her scent.

Buy Links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U65KU22
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00U65KU22
http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00U65KU22
 

Interview with Jem

1. Job?

I work at an amusement arcade, fixing the machines when they go wrong, handing out change and that kind of thing. It pays my bills, it’s local and the hours suit me.

2. Currently residing in…?

Hemsby in Norfolk. I’ve got a trailer right by the sea. There’s nothing like walking along the beach every morning. It keeps me calm.

3. Level of schooling, or self-taught?

I had to quit school when I was small because my asshole of a father moved us all at the last minute after someone reported him to social services for child cruelty. He never enrolled me in another school. I taught myself all I need to know.

4. Favorite food?

Don’t have one. I eat to live, I don’t live to eat.

5. Most important goal?

To get Devon to remember me and love me again. To take care of her and show her that I never forgot her and never stopped loving her.

 

Michelle Abbott lives in the UK and hates describing herself in 3rd person.

She  loves to write new adult romance about heroes who begin as the underdog and are protective of their girl.

She’s an avid reader of romance, is addicted to coffee and loves wine and chocolate, so yeah, not the most healthy eating and drinking habits 🙂 She spends way too much time online when she should be writing. She collects teddy bears and occasionally knits a couple of rows on a sweater she started years ago, which she may eventually finish in time to wear for her funeral 🙂

Website http://www.michelleabbott.com/
Twitter   https://twitter.com/michelleabbott4
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/MichelleAbbottRomanceAuthor
Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7034278.Michelle_Abbott

#EggcerptExchange: IN THE CONTEXT OF LOVE by Linda K. Sienkiewicz

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Throughout the months of February and March, I plan to delight you with exciting information about books and authors who are or could become your favorites. So make sure to check this out and let each amaze you with their ability to write awesome stories.

Today, I am featuring Linda K. Sienkiewicz, author of In The Context of Love.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz writes women’s fiction/contemporary romance. Her debut novel is titled In the Context of Love.

What makes us step back to examine the events and people that have shaped our lives? And what happens when what we discover leads to more questions? In the Context of Love, contemporary fiction by Linda K. Sienkiewicz, revolves around the journey of Angelica Schirrick as she reevaluates her life, and its direction.

Returning with her children from their first visit with her now imprisoned husband, she tries to figure out where it all went so wrong. Can she face the failures and secrets of her past and move forward? Can she find love and purpose again? Her future, which once held so much promise, crumbled like dust after the mysterious disappearance of her first love, and the shattering revelation that derailed her life, and divided her parents. Only when she finally learns to accept the violence of her beginning can she be open to life again, and maybe to a second chance at love.

Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Michigan Notable Book MOTHERS TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS, says “Sienkiewicz’s powerful and richly detailed debut novel is at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey. It should be required reading for all wayward daughters, and their mothers, too.”

Eggcerpt from In the Context of Love:
I lay, stomach down, on my bed with my head hanging off the edge. I was an analytical person, a conscientious honor roll student, a quick learner. I’d studied literature, ancient history, read Shakespeare and Salinger, yet none of it, nothing, had given me the skills or words to make sense of this.

The following morning, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had opened my curtains to an ash-filled sky, charred houses, trees burnt to stubs, the ground still smoking. Instead, the sun had risen like a relentless machine, and the sky wafted like a freshly-washed blue sheet above us. My house was the same house, with the same eggshell white ceilings, dark wooden floors and braided rugs. The only difference: I understood reality was a dark beast, capable of shifting under my feet.

I fingered the silk edge of my blanket, trying to reframe my past in light of what I now understood to be the truth. Everything I’d thought about myself had been a falsehood. In many ways, our family operated like any other family. Dad paid the bills, fertilized the lawn, and kept us free from foot pain. Mom knitted and purled, chased after flesh-eating germs, and smothered me until the sound of my own name made me cringe. We played Uncle Wiggly and Chutes and Ladders. I went trick-or-treating on Halloween. I had a sandbox. I pushed my plastic baby doll in her flimsy buggy back and forth along the sidewalk while squirrels scolded me from the trees. We had two cars, one and a half baths, and a color television. Hot and cold water. Electricity. We ate pot roast on Sunday, spaghetti on Wednesday, and tuna casserole every Friday and we weren’t even Catholic.

My friend Becca was terrified to stay in the house alone with her addled grandfather because he would forget who she was and try to kick her out. Lizzy was ashamed to be seen with her mother, who was so obese she couldn’t walk to their mailbox without wheezing. Jessica’s father owned a motel where a man was found shot in the head in room thirty-six. Paige suspected her parents were swingers who went to sex parties. Skip seemed to have been deserted by his folks…

Yet, I was certain no one’s family had a secret as hideous as mine.

In the Context of Love can be purchased in paperback or e-reader on Amazon http://amzn.to/1IiVWEs  or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1QFs340

Here’s an interview with Angelica Schirrick, the narrator of In the Context of Love:

1. Do you have a nickname?
   I’ve been called troublemaker, short stuff, hot stuff, cupcake, angel, and hure (by my German grandmother — don’t ask why), but most people call me Angie.
2. What do you do for a living?
   I’m the marketing and community service director for Safe Harbor, a non-profit women’s domestic violence shelter in Cleveland, Ohio. Not too bad for someone with an associate’s degree from a community college.
3. What’s your most important goal?
   To see my two children grow up to be happy and well-adjusted, despite having a crazy activist for a mother and a felon for a father.
4. What’s your worst fear or nightmare?
   That my two children do not grow up to be happy and well-adjusted.
5. What do you do when you can’t sleep at night?
   Not so long ago I had horrible nightmares that left me wide awake and sweating in the sheets. I sleep better now, but if I find myself tossing and turning, I fix myself a glass of warm milk. That usually does it.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz attributes her creative drive to her artistic mother, who taught her to sew, and her father, who let her monkey around with the gadgets in his workshop. Her poetry, short stories and art have been published in more than fifty literary journals. She has a poetry chapbook award from Bottom Dog Press and an MFA from The University of Southern Maine.

Website http://lindaksienkiewicz.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/LindaKSienkwicz
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lindaksienkwicz/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lindaksienkiewicz/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lindasienkiewicz.author

 

#Eggcerpt Exchange: STILL CRAZY by Diana Rubino

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Throughout the months of February and March, I plan to delight you with exciting information about books and authors who are or could become your favorites. So make sure to check this out and let each amaze you with their ability to write awesome stories.

Today, I am featuring Diana Rubino, author of Still Crazy.

About Diana

My passion for history and travel has taken me to every locale of my books, and short stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. My urban fantasy romance, FAKIN’ IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. I live on Cape Cod with my husband Chris. In my spare time, I bicycle, golf, play my piano and devour books of any genre.

About STILL CRAZY…

Can an obsession continue from beyond the grave?

Clay Lynch is obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Alyssa Tyler. Convinced they’re destined for each other, he stalks, pesters and torments her…he creeps up to her bedroom window, he follows her onto planes, he wrecks her wedding by abducting her. His arrest and prison sentence assure her he’s finally out of her life… until his remains are found in the Arizona desert. On the anniversary of the day they met, she receives a haunting text message. Is he now stalking her from beyond the grave?

Where did STILL CRAZY come from?

It went through many incarnations over the last 26 years! In 1989, I took a detour from my romance genre and wrote a thriller about a stalking ex. It was set in the present, then, but I updated and revised it many times. Back then there were no cell phones, no internet, no GPS’s, and none of those songs or bands existed!

An excerpt from STILL CRAZY:

She brought her car in for servicing the next morning, parking in his lot next to a red and white taxi. Her mechanic called her a little after two. “Your car is ready, Alyssa. Hey, do you know you have a GPS tracking device attached underneath it?”

“What?” She shook her head, baffled. “I have a GPS in the dashboard, but not under the car.”

“Oh, yeah, you do. This is a tracking device. Somebody has a GPS and a dot will flash on the screen to show your exact location, as long as you’re within range. You want me to take it out?”

She instantly knew who this ‘somebody’ was. She felt as if a ton of bricks clobbered her square in the face.

Purchase STILL CRAZY:
Amazon Paperback
Kindle
Solstice Publishing
Book Goodies

Contact Diana at:
My Website
My Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
LinkedIn
GooglePlus
Amazon Author Page

Meet Sara Hathaway

Enjoyed your story. I took have to write technical for work and it is killing my muse at times. Do have any suggestions for turning the business writer off when writing stories?