Carey Baldwin’s Dark Marriage Secret

Today I’m reviewing Carey Baldwin’s book, The Marriage Secret. But first, here is the back of book blurb:

A completely unputdownable and twist-filled psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Carey Baldwin.

He married me despite my darkest secret. But am I safe now that I know his?

Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com

From the outside, my marriage to Zach was perfect: dream home, a perfect baby girl and passionate, all-consuming love. When we met, I confessed my darkest secret to him and he never judged me for it. Instead, he vowed to always protect me whatever the cost.

But as I cradle my gorgeous baby, I have to accept that the husband who used to be my everything, has changed. At first it was little things: expecting me to keep to a strict schedule, picking out my clothes for me. Now, he controls every aspect of my life: from how much money I have, to when I leave the house and who I can see.

One fateful night, a young woman is found murdered and Zach is a potential suspect. Turning towards me, a look of warmth returning to his eyes, he swears he’s innocent, and I realize there is only one solution. If I agree to be his alibi, he will keep my secret and our daughter can grow up in a loving home. In that moment, I do what any faithful wife would do: I stand by him.

But I know deep down, only one of us will make it out of this marriage alive.

Ok, if that isn’t enough to tempt you, you’re probably made of stone. LOL. But seriously, If you’re not a fan of Carey Baldwin already, you should be.

What separates Baldwin from other authors is her background as a both a physician and a psychologist. When she writes medical characters in a psychological thriller no one does it better.

Carey Baldwin

With Baldwin, you never have that feeling, gee why is the character doing this or that? Why does the heroine fall for the villain’s spiel, or that scene in the hospital is rife with errors. Instead, the continual authenticity fuels the believability of the story and makes the dark passages all the more horrific. Further, while some may believe this subject has been covered before, it’s never been done like this, or this well. Her expert insight on how people think and act, especially those in vulnerable situations, or those with psychotic tendencies, add a layer to this book that made it riveting and an essential read to young women everywhere. Frankly, it would make a terrific film.

Overall, this was a roller coaster ride filled with twists that will keep you turning pages until its shocking end.

YESTERDAY’S NEWS is Today’s Hot New Crime Novel by R. G. Belsky!

Former Journalist turned Crime Novelist, R.G. Belsky, has a New Book out. Happy Release Day to R. G. for YESTERDAY’S NEWS, a Clare Carlson Mystery!

A CLASSIC COLD CASE REOPENED―ALONG WITH PANDORA’S BOX

When eleven-year-old Lucy Devlin disappeared on her way to school more than a decade ago, it became one of the most famous missing child cases in history. The story turned reporter Clare Carlson into a media superstar overnight. Clare broke exclusive after exclusive. She had unprecedented access to the Devlin family as she wrote about the heartbreaking search for their young daughter. She later won a Pulitzer Prize for her extraordinary coverage of the case.

Now Clare once again plunges back into this sensational story. With new evidence, new victims, and new suspects―too many suspects. Everyone from members of a motorcycle gang to a prominent politician running for a US Senate seat seem to have secrets they’re hiding about what really might have happened to Lucy Devlin. But Clare has her own secrets. And, in order to untangle the truth about Lucy Devlin, she must finally confront her own torturous past.

Amazon       Barnes&Noble    iBooks   kobo   Oceanview Publishing

This is the first novel in a new series, featuring Clare Carlson as the protagonist. If the rest of the series is anything like YESTERDAY’S NEWS, it will be suspenseful and exciting with satisfying twists and turns.

If you haven’t read a novel by R. G. Belsky, this is a great place to start. I highly recommend his work, particularly because R. G. has led a fascinating life and incorporates the wisdom and unique experiences of being a former crime reporter into each story that he crafts. But don’t take my word for it. Look at what critics and other fellow authors have to say.

“Belsky’s Yesterday’s News elicits all parents’ deepest fear―the disappearance of a child. But this intelligent, gripping novel is about so much more: ambition, secrets, and, most shocking of all, truth. Read it.” ―Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times best-selling author of What You Break

“[Yesterday’s News is an] engrossing mystery…Belsky puts Clare’s journalistic integrity to a dramatic test in this gut-wrenching tale.”―Publishers Weekly

“Belsky’s behind-the-headlines story of the story news director Clare Carlson can’t let go has enough twists to keep even the best-read fan on their toes. Yesterday’s News is a thriller about truth, lies―and how much of each we’re willing to live with.” ―Lori Rader-Day, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of The Day I Died

“Taut, fast-paced and compelling characters make Yesterday’s News a page-turner.” ―Mary Burton, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Move

“What a terrific book! A complex and compelling non-stop cat-and-mouse chase―and you’re never quite sure which one’s the mouse. Even the savviest of readers will be gasping in awe at Belsky’s impressive story-telling skills.” ―Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author

“…Belsky’s extensive news-media background allows him to paint behind the scenes of a TV-news set realistically and with a wry sense of humor.”―Booklist

Below are just some of the interesting things about R. G. and some tidbits about YESTERDAY’S NEWS, along with some pictures of him both as an author and as a reporter. And now, in R. G.’s own words…

I’ve covered a lot of big murder stories as a journalist – Son of Sam, O.J., John Lennon. But I’ve always felt that missing persons cases could be even more tragic. Especially when it involves a missing child. At least in a murder, there’s a sense of closure for the friends and family of the victim. But when someone goes missing – and is never found – there are never any answers. That’s why I decided to write this book about an 11-year-old girl named Lucy Devlin who disappears on her way to school in New York City and is never heard from again. Until my character, TV journalist Clare Carlson, goes digging for the truth years later.

Yesterday’s News (Oceanview – May 1, 2018) is the first in a series featuring Clare Carlson, a former newspaper reporter who is now the news director of Channel 10 News in New York City. A second Clare Carlson book THE CINDERELLA MURDERS will be published by Oceanview in the spring of 2019.

APPEARANCES

• There will be a book launch party at Mysterious Bookshop in New York City on May 8.
• I will be attending numerous mystery conferences including Maine Crime Wave, Thrillerfest, Deadly Ink, Killer Nashville and Bouchercon.
• There will also be appearances at a number of bookstores in cities around the country.
• You can check out my website for more details on my schedule. Wwwrgbelsky.com

I write about what I know. My book (like all my earlier mystery books) is set in the world of the New York City media where I worked as a journalist for many years as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. The inspiration for many of the mystery novels I’ve written have come from stories I covered (the “Ripped from the Headlines” technique) and colorful people I worked with at all those places. Whenever anyone has asked me where I got the ideas for my crime novels, I always replied: “Hey, I just go to work every day!”

I’ve done some pretty good things as a journalist, but the thing I became most famous for was something that wasn’t even my idea. The famous New York Post Headless Body in Topless Bar headline. I didn’t write that headline, but I was in the newsroom that day and helped pull together the bizarre story for it. About a holdup man who robbed a topless bar, killed someone, cut off their head and then – for some unfathomable reason – took the head away with him. It became a legendary tabloid headline, and I’ve written about how it was created numerous times since then. So I’ve become linked with that headline as maybe the most notable thing in my journalistic career. Oh, well there are worse things to be known for.

Amazingly enough, I interviewed best-selling author Douglas Preston recently about his new book City of Endless Night with co-author Lincoln Child. That book is about a murderer in New York City who cuts the heads off his victims – and takes them away with him. And yes, he remembered that New York Post headline! Even though he said the idea came from somewhere else. But we had a pretty interesting discussion about that once I told him about my involvement in the Headless Body in Topless Bar headline.

Yesterday’s News is my 11^th mystery novel. Most of them were written while I was working fulltime as a journalist. Lots of people wonder how I could work all day in a newsroom and then sit down for a few hours every day on top of that to write a novel. Hey, writing a novel is fun and relaxing compared to working in a newsroom. My job in the newsroom involved lots of work and stress to make sure the stories – and all the facts in them – were completely accurate. As a mystery novelist, I get to make stuff up. How cool is that!

I have plenty of journalist friends who actually believe that my characters are based on them. I’m sure when this book comes out, there will be women I worked with in newsrooms telling me: “I’m the real Clare Carlson, right?” The answer is no. Clare Carlson, the hard-driving, news-obsessed TV journalist in this new series, is not based on any one person. But she is a compilation of plenty of women I’ve met in newsrooms. Let’s just say I’ve worked with a lot of Clare Carlsons in my time.

My last book before this was Blonde Ice (Atria – 2016), the third in a series featuring Gil Malloy, a New York City newspaper reporter. (Like I said, I tend to write about what I know.). That book was about a cold-blooded woman serial killer – a kind of female Son of Sam – who murdered men on the streets of New York City just for the thrill of it. One interesting footnote on that book: I was able to get an author blurb praising it from from Joe Eszterhas, the legendary Hollywood screenwriter who wrote Basic Instinct – featuring Sharon Stone as a blonde murderer.  Joe and I go way back together. We were best friends in college at Ohio University in the ‘60s, working together when he was editor of the daily paper there. Years later, when I was at Star magazine, we covered him as a Hollywood celebrity. So I thought it was really cool to get that praise from him on my book.

I try to write the same kind of books that I like to read. Colorful characters; a fascinating story with lots of twists; and fast-paced, taut writing that keeps a reader turning the pages (this last one is easy for me because of my tabloid background of telling a story quickly and clearly). I had a lot of fun writing Clare Carlson and Yesterday’s News. Hopefully the readers will enjoy it too.

 

Thanks R. G.! Congratulations and good luck with the new release. Readers, below is a complete book list by this fascinating author. I hope you read and love YESTERDAY’S NEWS!

COMPLETE BOOKLIST

As Dick Belsky…

• ONE FOR THE MONEY – Academy Chicago (1985)
• SOUTH STREET CONFIDENTIAL – St. Martin’s (1989)
• BROADCAST CLUES (Paperback version from Berkley Prime Crime of South Street Confidential) – 1993
• LIVE FROM NEW YORK – Berkley Prime Crime (1993)
• THE MOURNING SHOW –Berkley Prime Crime (1994)
• SUMMERTIME NEWS – Berkley Prime Crime (1995)

As R.G. Belsky….

• LOVERBOY – Avon 1998
• PLAYING DEAD – Avon 1999
• THE KENNEDY CONNECTION – Atria (2014)
• THE MIDNIGHT HOUR – Novella – Atria (2015)
• SHOOTING FOR THE STARS – Atria (2015)
• BLONDE ICE – Atria (2016)
• YESTERDAY’S NEWS – Oceanview Publishing (2018)

Learn more about R.G. Belsky by visiting his website.

KaT’s Carey Baldwin is a USA Today Bestselling author!!!!

The Kiss and Thrill ladies would like to congratulate our own KaT, CAREY BALDWIN, for hitting the USA Today Bestseller list with her thriller, STOLEN! This is Carey’s first time on the list. We are so proud of her! Congratulations, Carey!!!!!

 

 

 

Who0 Hooo!!!

Yay!!!!

Congrats!

Amazing!!!

 

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | HarperCollins

Is she missing…or a murderer?

When Laura Chaucer, daughter of a U.S. senator, vanishes from her college campus, celebrated FBI profilers Special Agent Atticus Spenser and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caitlin Cassidy are called in. Thirteen years ago, Laura and her nanny disappeared from her family’s Denver home. Laura was found alive, but her nanny wasn’t so lucky… and the killer was never caught. Laura could identify him—if only she didn’t have a deep, dark hole in her memory.

Now she’s missing again. Did the troubled young woman run away or has the kidnapper returned? As women who look eerily similar to Laura’s nanny begin turning up dead, the Chaucer family psychiatrist renders a disturbing opinion: Laura is unstable, a danger to herself and others. Who knows what terrible secrets lurk in the shadowy recesses of her mind? Cassidy and Spenser must solve one of the most infamous cold cases ever to uncover the answer: Is Laura a killer, or is a monster still out there, waiting to claim another victim?

Congratulations to KaT’s own 2017 RITA and GOLDEN HEART Finalists!

The Kiss and Thrill ladies would like to congratulate two of our own, on their tremendous achievements.

Congratulations to SARAH ANDRE for being the first KaT ever to become a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® awards!

Congratulations to DIANA BELCHASE, a former winner of the RWA Golden Heart® awards, who has just become a Golden Heart finalist for the…wait for it…FOURTH time!  We’re so happy for both of you and will be cheering you on at the award ceremonies!!!

Sarah Andre

Wow! We all knew that Sarah Andre was talented. We knew she was a wonderful friend. We knew she had a generous spirit. But we did not know she would be the first among us to garner one of the highest honors in the romance writing community: a coveted RITA final, which is like the academy awards for published romance novels. Congratulations, Sarah! We love you and we are so proud!

What folks are saying about her Rita finalist book, Tall Dark and Damaged:

“…Although the build-up pretty much had me rocking back and forth in the fetal position, the ending was fantasmically awesome! It really plays out like a movie, with every scene described in such vivid detail that you could really picture everything playing out with absolute clarity. Another unique feather of this ending is that although it ends happily, it in no way ends perfectly.” Romance4theBeach

“Solid romantic suspense with strong characters and surprising plot twists.” Kirkus Review

“Get comfortable and be prepared to stay up all night, once you start reading TALL, DARK & DAMAGED.” Susan Breeden

“Brilliant! Five star read, five star plot, five star writing! The plot of Tall, Dark and Damaged is amazing. So many twists and turns and a spectacular ending. I would never believe anyone who told me they saw this ending coming–and yet it makes perfect sense AND it makes you happy! How does that even happen with such a thick, juicy plot??” Leigh

Here is the list of finalists in the romantic suspense category for the 2017 RITA. Sarah is one of only EIGHT finalists!

Romantic Suspense
All the Dead Girls by Rita Herron; Montlake Publishing; Alison Dasho, editor
Atone by Beth Yarnall; Penguin Random House, Loveswept; Sue Grimshaw, editor
Field of Graves by J. T. Ellison; Harlequin, MIRA Books; Nicole Brebner, editor
Killer Countdown by Amelia Autin; Harlequin, Romantic Suspense; Carly Silver, editor
Mr. and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon; Penguin Random House, Loveswept; Shauna Summers, editor
One Minute to Midnight by Nico Rosso; Carina Press; Rhonda Stapleton, editor
Repressed by Elisabeth Naughton; Montlake Publishing; Charlotte Herscher and Christopher Werner, editors

Tall, Dark and Damaged by Sarah Andre; Self-published; Anya Kagan, Touchstone Editing, editor

Rita Finalist Novel Romantic Suspense

Diana Belchase

Her manuscript, VENGEANCE, is a finalist in the Romantic Suspense category.

The Golden Heart is to unpublished authors what the Academy Awards are to actors and actresses. It’s an incredible honor that thousands of authors aspire to. But only a handful ever become finalists, and even fewer actually win. Diana has done both! She has won the Golden Heart before, and we’ll be rooting her on this year to win it again! But win or not, just being a finalist puts her at the top of the pack, the cream of the crop, a writer who stands out from others as being extremely talented with a very bright future ahead of her.

CONGRATULATIONS DIANA!

Diana is a truly kind, intelligent, wonderful person whom we all love. We KaTs are so happy for her! Below is a list of just some of her writing accomplishments, in addition to this year’s Golden Heart final!

Golden Heart Finalist 2015 (Escape from the Harem)
Daphne Du Maurier Nominee 2015 (By the Skin of Her Teeth)
Daphne Du Maurier Nominee 2015 (His Brother’s Child)
Daphne Du Maurier Nominee 2015 (At Midnight)
Golden Heart Winner 2011 (Spy in the Mirror)
Golden Heart Finalist 2012 (Spy in the Harem)
Silver Quill Winner 2011 (Spy in the Mirror)
Wisconsin Fab Five Winner 2011 (Spy in the Mirror)
Jack Reid Award 2010 (The Spy Next Door)
NEORWA Cleveland Rocks 2nd Place 2009 (The Spy Next Door)

Here is the list of finalists in the romantic suspense category for the 2017 Golden Heart. Diana is one of only SIX finalists!

Romantic Suspense
“The Fire Beckons” by Lynnette Labelle
“The Guide” by Sarah Morgenthaler
“Seductive Strokes” by Patty Hoffman
“Semper Fi” by Meta Carroll
“Shot Down” by Tracy Brody

“Vengeance” by Diana Belchase

 

CONGRATULATIONS SARAH AND DIANA!

 

Move over Jack Reacher…Enter Gil Malloy!

Meet Crime Fiction Novelist R.G. Belsky

and the newest installment in the Gil Malloy series…

BLONDE ICE

Son of Sam. Ted Bundy. The Boston Strangler. All of these infamous serial killers who made front page news shared a common trait—they were men who killed women for a sexual thrill.

But now Gil Malloy—ace reporter for the New York Daily News—is on the trail of a different kind of serial killer who breaks all of the rules. Dubbed “Blonde Ice” by the media, she’s a sexy blonde who picks up seemingly random men at bars and clubs, has sex with them, and then brutally murders them afterwards.

Malloy—who is already in the middle of a major political story about the election of the next New York City mayor—finds himself drawn to the case by secrets from his past. As he digs deeper, he begins to suspect that there could be some kind of link between the mayoral race and the emergence of the Blonde Ice killings.

As the body count and the political stakes continue to rise, Malloy soon realizes he’s covering what could be the biggest story of his career. All he has to do is live through it.

Amazon       Barnes&Noble      Simon&Schuster

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, in New York, NY (John Makely / NBC News)
NBC News
Dick Belsky.

Does that sound like an awesome story or what? This is the third novel in the Gil Malloy series. Now meet the fabulous author, R.G. Belsky.

R.G. Belsky is an author of crime fiction and a New York City journalist. His new mystery BLONDE ICE – the latest in a series featuring newspaper reporter Gil Malloy – was published by Atria on October 18. Previous books include SHOOTING FOR THE STARS and THE KENNEDY CONNECTION. Belsky is a former managing editor of the New York Daily News; metropolitan editor of the New York Post; news editor of Star magazine; and managing editor at NBCNews.com. He recently won the Claymore award and finished as a Silver Falchion Finalist at Killer Nashville.

Lena – Welcome to Kiss and Thrill! You have a long, prestigious history as a journalist and are still an active journalist. But you also write crime novels. Did you always want to write novels? What finally made you take that leap?

R.G. – I’ve actually been writing crime novels for a long time. I started back as a young journalist when I first read Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and a few others – and got inspired to try my own. Most of my crime novels have been written while I was also working as a fulltime journalist at the NY Post, NY Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. I always thought that gave me a big advantage in my fiction career because:

• Being a news person gives you great ideas for crime novels. I’ve covered most of the big crime stories over the years – Son of Sam, O.J., Jon Benet, etc – and also been involved in some of the most sensational tabloid stories like “Headless Body in Topless Bar” – the famous NY Post headline. So when people ask me where I get the ideas for my crime novels, I always say: “I just go to work in the newsroom every day:”

• There’s no place better than a New York City newsroom to find colorful characters. None of the characters in my crime novels are real, but they certainly have been inspired by many of the real life characters in my journalistic life. Much of the dialogue in my books too comes straight out of newsroom banter. I don’t think I ever could have created someone like Gil Malloy if I hadn’t been around a lot of Gil Malloys as a real life journalist.

• A journalist has to deal all the time with the facts. He or she is consumed by them – everything in a news story has to be accurate. But in fiction, I get to make stuff up! I generally start with some real life facts as in The Kennedy Connection – pegged to the JFK assassination. But then I create fictional items like a secret son of Lee Harvey Oswald to propel the plot forward. Now that kind of freedom is really fun to do for a longtime journalist like me!

Lena – When you and I last spoke, your first novel in the Gil Malloy series, The Kennedy Connection, was coming out. Since then, you’ve published the second in this series—Shooting Stars. And the third, Blonde Ice, just came out (Happy book release!) This series has received amazing critical acclaim. To what do you attribute your success? What makes your books so different? What makes Gil Malloy so compelling?

R.G. – I follow a pretty basic rule when writing my fiction. I try to make the books – especially the characters – things I would want to read about. That’s especially true with Gil Malloy. He’s flawed, immature at times, and has a lot of other issues = but he’s basically a good guy with integrity who’s also very interesting. I guess I patterned him to a degree after some of the TV characters I’ve loved over the years like Jim Rockford and Columbo. I also try to make sure the story has as many twists and surprises as possible – but the character is still the most important thing to me. One of my favorite reader reviews on Goodreads consisted of just three words: “Gil Malloy rocks!” That’s the reaction I’m going for.

Here’s what critics and fellow authors are saying about his novels…

• “Bombshell Twists” ~ Publishers Weekly
• “Sensational! R.G. Belsky dazzles with his new mystery novel…Gil Malloy shines!” ~ Killer Nashville, Book of the Day
• “Sinewy, compelling and addictive” ~ The Huffington Post
• “Excellent thriller…establishes Malloy as a formidable hard-boiled hero.” ~ Booklist
• “Malloy is a terrific character” ~ Sandra Brown
• “completely entertaining” ~ Hank Phillippi Ryan

Lena – What’s next? More Gil Malloy books or a new series? Something else?

R.G. – I recently won the Claymore award at Killer Nashville for “Forget Me Not,” the next book I’ve been working on. It’s about the long ago disappearance of a child in New York City and a woman TV reporter who becomes obsessed with finding out answers about the case. I think it’s different than the Gil Malloy books – but still captures that same New York City media world that I know so well. Of course, I also hope to do more Gil Malloy books in the future too. I like writing Gil!

COMPLETE BOOKLIST

As Dick Belsky…

• ONE FOR THE MONEY – Academy Chicago (1985)
• SOUTH STREET CONFIDENTIAL – St. Martin’s (1989)
• BROADCAST CLUES (Paperback version from Berkley Prime Crime of South Street Confidential) – 1993
• LIVE FROM NEW YORK – Berkley Prime Crime (1993)
• THE MOURNING SHOW –Berkley Prime Crime (1994)
• SUMMERTIME NEWS – Berkley Prime Crime (1995)

As R.G. Belsky….

• LOVERBOY – Avon 1998
• PLAYING DEAD – Avon 1999
• THE KENNEDY CONNECTION – Atria (2014)
• THE MIDNIGHT HOUR – Novella – Atria (2015)
• SHOOTING FOR THE STARS – Atria (2015)
• BLONDE ICE – Atria (2016)

R.G. is giving away a PRINT COPY OF BLONDE ICE to a random commenter (Giveaway limited to U.S. mailing addresses.)

Just answer the below question to be entered into the drawing…

Who’s the scariest serial killer you’ve ever read or seen on screen?

Learn more about R.G. Belsky by visiting his website.

Giveaway for an Astonishing Debut!

Congratulations to WINNERS: Nan Dixon, Erika Kelly and Janice Hougland! All three of you have won a digital copy of RACE THE DARKNESS, by Abbie Roads. Thanks for commenting on Tuesday and celebrating her debut. Please click the CONTACT US page and let me know the email address of where you’d like your copy sent. -Sarah Andre

RACE THE DARKNESS (excerpt)

They weren’t going to make it.

Not unless he suddenly sprouted blue tights and a red cape. The hope of escape morphed into despair and resignation and finally reckless pissed-off-ness. No fucking way was he going to die running. He stopped, turned, and faced the truck barreling toward them. The tires ate up the ground at an indecent rate. He clutched Isleen tighter to his chest. For her sake, he wanted it to be a quick death. No more lingering. No more pain.

That thought infuriated him. None of this was right. They shouldn’t be on the verge of death. Again.

The truck kept coming—now twenty-five feet away.

Everything slowed, happening as if through the quicksand of time. A white dandelion floaty meandered on the breeze directly between them and the truck. His heart no longer ran a staccato rhythm. Duh…dum. Pause. Duh…dum. Pause.

His life didn’t flash before his eyes. The future did. Isleen’s future. In an ethereal dream beyond time, her skin was gilded by firelight, her eyes devoid of sadness and fear, her body whole and healthy. She smiled, an expression so full of warmth and tenderness and undiluted joy that it plunked itself down inside his heart and wouldn’t leave.

He ached to create that kind of smile on her face, but their lives were over. It all could’ve gone so differently if he’d only listened to her, believed in her, found her years before now.

The air changed, displaced by the truck only a few feet from them. Heat from the engine blasted his face, smelling of burning oil, gasoline, and a scent reminiscent of popped corn. He locked eyes with the bitch behind the wheel. Her pudgy lips ripped back over her teeth in a snarling scream.

Xander knew anger—his best friends were fury and rage—but the look on the bitch’s face went beyond mere anger all the way to unholy.

The truck imploded.

The sound was supersonic, a resonation that rippled through his skin and muscle to rattle his bones and shake the earth underneath his feet. Metal and glass and fire shot outward, skyward, backward, in a near-perfect arc of destruction. Flaming debris rained around them.

He stood there holding Isleen, watching it happen, not believing the message his eyes sent to his brain.

“What the…?” The last of the truck parts hit the ground. The pieces burned. That’s all that was left—pieces. Nothing touched them, like they resided under an invisible dome of protection.

He glanced down at Isleen for an answer, but she was unconscious, her head lolling so limply on her neck that it looked as if he was carrying a corpse.

Today is DEBUT DAY for my insanely talented author-friend, Abbie Roads. RACE THE DARKNESS is the first book in her ‘Fatal Dreams’ series, and mark my words- she is launching like a superstar. Note the date and where you first heard her name mentioned, folks, because I’m introducing you to a future bestseller!

To celebrate this exciting occasion I’m giving away three digital copies of her debut romantic suspense to three lucky commenters. Even if it’s a “congratulations, Abbie,” consider yourself in the running. 🙂

Check out her book trailer:

Buy Links

Amazon    iBooks   Barnes and Noble   Google

 

For more on Abbie Roads, please visit her Social Media Links:

Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Pinterest

 

A Writer / Reader Conference Not to be Missed!

Austin Camacho is incredible. Not only is he former military and the author of ten gripping books, he is also the force behind the C3 Conference. C3 is short for Creatures, Crimes and Creativity — and the event is geared at writers, from those yet to pick up a pen to bestsellers, as well as fans of genre fiction. Whether you love horror, mystery, thriller, science fiction, or fantasy, this con has something for everyone. Loads of international bestselling authors, innovative workshops, and best of all — lunch! Because, I don’t know about you, but I can’t be creative on an empty stomach. Here are the details:

September 30 – October 2, 2016

at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center in Columbia, MD.

For more details, please go to creaturescrimesandcreativity.com

Author Austin Camacho is director of the C3 Conference

And if that isn’t enough reason for you to register, here is C3 founder, Austin Camacho on the top 10 reasons you should attend. I particularly like #1 all the way at the bottom.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Con

by Austin Camacho

I want to thank Diana for giving me this opportunity to tell everyone why they want to attend The Creatures, Crimes & Creativity (C3) Con this year. The C3 Con is the Mid-Atlantic’s book lover event of the year. And this year, we have two international bestselling authors as keynote speakers. But that’s only the beginning.

 

We draw readers AND writers of genre fiction: horror, mystery, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy and paranormal authors will gather in Columbia MD, Sep. 30-Oct 2. Before the Con our little community hangs out at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452670518248659

So let’s count down the top ten reasons for attending the C3 Con:

#10 – FELLOWSHIP: Imagine being surrounded by avid readers and excellent writers for an entire 3-day weekend!

#9 – REED FARREL COLEMAN: Author of the heralded Moe Prager series and Jesse Stone novels, he’s been called our noir poet laureate. He’ll give a keynote address at dinner and teach a class.

#8 – ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF: Known for her Huntress/FBI thrillers, her smooth blend of paranormal and crime fiction is some of the most original and unnerving work around. She will give the other dinner keynote talk and offer a one-woman class.

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What Readers Want in Female Protagonists

Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker are thriller and mystery writers who have, between them, published 19 books. When they realized Jess’s thriller, Salem’s Cipher, and Shannon’s mystery, Stripped Bare, were set to launch on the same day, September 6, they joined forces for the Lourey/Baker Double Booked Tour.  Doesn’t that sound delicious?

Today this phenomenal duo are discussing whether female sleuths need to be alpha-heroes for today’s readers or if the old-fashioned, Ms. Marple-type character still works? We hope you readers will chime in and let us know what you think, too! Take it away Shannon:

Jess and Shannon are giving away a copy of Salem’s Cipher and Stripped Bare. For a chance to win tell us your favorite women protagonist or leave a comment.

 

Shannon: Thanks, Diana, for letting us drop by. I hear a lot about the “kick-ass” woman detective or sleuth when people talk about women protagonists in crime fiction — and while I’m glad the crime writing world has progressed far beyond the idea of women protagonists only knitting and sipping tea — I’m not sure all women crime fighters need to be tough, gun-toting mamas. So today Jess and I are going to answer the question about our women protagonists—Miss Marple or V.I Warshawski?

Shannon and Jess

When I started writing about Kate Fox, the star of my new series, I didn’t set out to write a tough crime fighter in the Nebraska Sandhills. In fact, Kate walked right into my life, and like meeting a new friend, I’ve been getting to know who she is. Kate is a person, who happens to be a woman and accidently falls into a new career. One she never expected, or wanted.

For me, writing a character is a lot like raising a child. You give them guidance and discipline, love them and nurture them, and maybe prod them along, but they come out of the womb already loaded with who they are. I can push Kate into situations that test her mettle, but she’s going to react according to who she is, with very little help from me. (I know, writers are crazy, and explaining how would take much longer than we have space for in this blog.)

Diana: I love that Shannon! How would you characterize your heroine, Kate?

Shannon: I don’t think of Kate as kick-ass. She doesn’t go looking for trouble. In fact, she goes to great lengths to avoid it. She’s smack in the middle of eight brothers and sisters, so there’s always some crisis brewing. Her MO is to duck and weave.

But she doesn’t run from a problem. She might clench her teeth and bow her neck and barrel in reluctantly, but … READ THE REST OF THE POST BY CLICKING HERE