August 2018 New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Contemporary Romance: Out of Their Element by Angela Breidenbach, Robin Lee Hatcher, Vickie McDonough, and Deborah Raney -- They are totally out of their element! Four mismatched couples find unexpected romance. (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)

   

The Redemption Road by Christa MacDonald -- As Alex awaits retribution, he means to keep Annie safe at any cost, but she knows it’s redemption he needs and she’ll pay any price for him to find it. (Contemporary Romance from Mountain Brook Ink)  




Scarlet Tears by Laura Hervey -- Caught in a romantic triangle with her brother’s best friend and a charming pastor, former call girl Carly Lawrence struggles to start a new life. (Contemporary Romance from Alabaster Box Press)




Historical Romance: Rebecca’s Legacy by Betty Thomason Owens -- After a threat against her family, a spoiled heiress is sent to the country to work on her aunt’s produce farm and finds love. (Historical Romance from Write Integrity Press)  

 


The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse -- Faith Jackson is a wealthy widow, friend of George Washington, and staunch supporter of the Patriot cause. Matthew Weber is friends with both Ben Franklin and his son William, who increasingly differ in their political views; and Matthew finds himself privy to information on both sides of the conflict. When a message needs to get to a spy among the Loyalists, Faith bravely steps up and in turn meets Matthew Weber. Suddenly she believes she could love again. But someone else has his eye on the Faith she portrays in elite social circles. What will Matthew and Faith have to sacrifice for the sake of their fledgling country? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)


Cozy Mystery: Deadly Harvest by Marissa Shrock -- Georgia’s biggest challenge in the farming town of Wildcat Springs, Indiana, is figuring out how to win Evan Beckworth’s heart. Until the day she discovers the body of a former student in the woods. When she starts to suspect this wasn’t an accident, memories stir of her father’s murder nine years earlier. A murder never solved. As Georgia works with the sheriff's department’s newest detective, Cal Perkins, she finds her heart slipping into his hands. But her head is pummeled with conflicting evidence and anonymous threats of severe consequences if she digs any deeper. In the end, Georgia faces a paralyzing choice. Ignore the dark secrets inside the family and friends who surround her or be willing to risk her own life to uncover the truth. (Cozy Mystery, Independently Published)

  Unknown Enemy by Janet Sketchley -- A young woman with a traumatic past must discover the truth about who's playing mind games with the Green Dory Inn's owner. (Cozy Mystery, Independently Published)




Romantic Suspense: Hiding in Plain Sight by Mary Ellis -- When a Charleston PI rents a room above an Italian restaurant owned by a handsome chef, she lands in the middle of a family feud with robbery, arson and murder for the daily specials. (Romantic Suspense from Severn House Publishers LTD)  



Wildfire by Gayla K. Hiss -- A female wildfire scientist and a firefighter team up to solve the mystery behind the outbreak of wildfires in the Rockies and find themselves at the center of a firestorm. (Romantic Suspense from Mountain Brook Ink)  

 


Amish Country Ambush by Dana R. Lynn -- A police officer and a dispatcher travel deep into Amish country to rescue her nephew and to escape a killer. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])  




Imperfect Promises by Elizabeth Noyes -- When a homegrown terrorist threatens the woman he loves, former Special Forces soldier Jonas Cameron calls on old friends to help him eliminate the danger. (Romantic Suspense from Write Integrity Press)  




Cold Fear by Susan Sleeman -- When a sniper’s ex-girlfriend, a musician, is framed for murder during her summer tour, he jumps to defend her from an imminent arrest and a killer’s deadly rage. But the evidence against her stacks higher as three bodies are found with her name tattooed on their wrist. (Romantic Suspense from Edge of Your Seat Books, Inc.)  


Cold Case Cover-Up by Virginia Vaughan -- The first thrilling Covert Operatives tale An infant is believed to have been murdered thirty years ago—but investigative journalist Dana Lang is convinced she’s that baby. Now someone’s willing to kill to stop her investigation. And only secretive deputy Quinn Dawson, whose grandfather may have faked Dana’s death to protect her, can keep her safe. But a killer’s dead set on burying the past—and them—for good. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])


Thriller/Suspense: Pretense by John Di Frances -- A dark cloud hangs over Europe after the brutal murders of two heads of state just days apart. A diabolical plot appears to stretch westward to the United States, implicating the CIA. But do the facts reflect reality or is there a sinister force working behind the scenes to destabilize Europe and NATO? The team of investigators led by Interpol’s Marek Frakas, 'The Wolf,' moves quickly to track the perpetrators and uncover the identity of the unseen mastermind behind the conspiracy. This cadre includes the lovely Adrianna, a young forensic weapons expert who can hold her own on the male-dominated international team of investigators. Together they seek to understand reality versus the shattered mirror-like reflections meant to obfuscate the truth and shroud the mastermind’s identity and ultimate purpose. (Political Thriller from Reliance Books Publishing, LLC)  

Thirst of Steel by Ronie Kendig -- Dismantled centuries ago, the sword of Goliath is still rumored to thirst for its enemies' blood. Cole "Tox" Russell wants only to put the dangers of his past behind him and begin his new life with Haven Cortes. First, though, he's called to complete a final mission: retrieve the sword and destroy the deadly Arrow & Flame Order. The AFO, however, is determined to reunite the sword. With the Wraith team slowly being torn apart, things worsen when Mercy Maddox, a new operative, emerges with the stunning news that the artifact is tied to a string of unsolved serial murders. Tox and the others are forced to set aside fear and anger to target the true enemy. No matter the cost, Wraith must destroy the AFO . . . or join them in the flames. (Military Suspense from Bethany House [Baker])

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Office Tour with Christy Barritt

Greetings!

I’m Christy Barritt, and my newest book is The Good Girl. I’m also the author of the Squeaky Clean mystery series and five books from Love Inspired Suspense.

I’d love to give you a “tour” of my writing space. I wanted to straighten up some since I had company coming, but I didn’t have a chance. Instead, you’ll see my place as it really is!

Last year my husband and I went through a major renovation project (that had

me pulling my hair out—that’s another post for a different blog, though!). In the process, we added a room and rearranged everything else. So, now I have a nice little office nestled in the corner of the house, a space that used to be our dining room.

My office mate is my beta fish Sushi. He’s quiet company, so I kind of like him.

Above my desk I have two awards that I’ve won for my published work. I like to keep them where I can see them, not to boost my ego, but to remind myself when I get caught in a slump while writing a book—a slump where I’m convinced I’ve got no talent, usually—that I can do it.

A bulletin board on the side of my desk contains pictures of my kids, my goals for 2013 (I love setting goals!), some deadlines, a list of projects, and handmade art by my six-year-old.

On top of the cabinet behind my desk is a glass head I picked up at a flea market in college. That noggin has gone everywhere with me and been used in more practical jokes than I can count. Today, an FBI hat sits atop it. I got that hat when I went through the FBI’s Citizens Academy. I’m not much of a baseball cap girl, but I love seeing it displayed in my office!

Oh, and I also have a “Caution: Crime Scene” rug I keep under my desk. My friend gave me the rug, and it’s fun to look at—especially as I’m diving into writing a suspense novel.

Despite my lovely workstation, I can only work here about 50 percent of the time. Why? You ask. Simple. I have a 2-year-old and a first grader who, even when their dad is watching them, manage to find me in my office. If I lock the doors, they bang on them. My little guy presses his teary-eyed faced against the glass of the French doors as he looks at me. My dogs get anxious and start trying to scratch their way through the wood. Yeah, really. Talk about not being able to concentrate.

Really—I promise—I spend time with my family. It’s not like I keep myself locked up in my office all

the time. But my family just likes being together. Despite that, there does come a time when I *must* work, like it or not.

This means, I escape to my minivan. Yep, really. Sometimes my minivan is parked in the driveway. My neighbors probably think I’m crazy, but really it’s a great place to work. On nice days, I put down the windows and let the breeze waft through. It’s quiet, it’s got a view, and I’ve got a drink holder for my Coca-cola.

I don’t only work in my minivan when I need to escape from my crazy family. I pretty much keep my netbook with me at all times. This works out great when I’m in between places. So, if I have to swing by my son’s school to pick him up but have 30 extra minutes, I know exactly how I can spend that time (hint: it’s not going to Starbucks!). It’s amazing what can get done in that half an hour! I find I actually meet a lot of my word count by using moments like those.

My husband likes to make fun of me, saying that we spent how much money on this renovation and I go to the van to work? My theory is—whatever works! That’s what I’ll do to get the job done.

So that’s me. The world is my office.

You can find out more about me by visiting my website at: www.christybarritt.com or finding me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/christybarritt. 

Come back tomorrow and enter to win a free copy of Christy's newest release, The Good Girl!

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Writing a Series with Other Authors by Sharon Dunn

My new book Guard Duty is part of a larger Love Inspired Suspense series called the Texas K-9 Unit. Each book features a separate police officer and their canine partner and of course has a romance element to it. My book had the only female officer in the series. Valerie’s K-9 partner is Rottweiler named Lexi.  

Though you can read any book separately and get a complete suspense and romance story, all the books are linked together by a big storyline which concerns a missing police dog and a crime syndicate that has taken over Sagebrush, Texas, the fictional town where the books take place.

This was my first time working on a series like this with five other authors. I had a ton of fun. Writing is by its nature a solitary activity so it was a nice change to be a part of a team. The process by which one of these series is built was interesting and I thought I would share it with you.

Once all the authors have been assigned a book to write, we get what is known as the bible, which is written by editorial staff. The bible contains a summary of the larger storyline that carries over from book to book. A list of all the characters as well as a short synopsis of each book is part of the bible. Something known as continuity elements, which are the events that have to be in your story so it fits with the other books is also included. Because this particular series all takes place in the town of Sagebrush Texas, the bible also contained descriptions of places around town where the officer were likely to go like cafes and churches.  

While the bible is a starting point, it’s a somewhat flexible document. What works in a summary doesn’t always work in a full blown story. In the summary, characters might make an appearance and then disappear without explanation, so as I writer, you have to figure out what to do with that character. With this series, there was some debate about a secondary villain. Did he die or was he in jail? The bible didn’t make that clear. 

The fleshing out of characters, details and storylines is left up to the writers. Though we each have a separate book to write, the work is very collaborative. We’re all on an email loop as well as having a place online to post files and pictures. A character who was the hero in book one, might have a walk role in book three. So we have to coordinate our descriptions as well as how the character’s life has changed from book to book. Also, the setting expands as each book is written, so we have characters frequenting the same businesses and restaurants and going to the same veterinarian.    

Once all the books are turned in and the individual books have been edited, a continuity editor reads through the whole series to deal with any inconsistencies. For example, Valerie Hansen wrote the book after mine, Explosive Secrets. Her heroine makes a brief appearance at the end of my book. In my book I said her heroin was four months pregnant.  At the beginning of Valerie’s book, the same character was three months pregnant. I just don’t think that is physically possible. All those oversights need to be dealt with.   

Like I said, writing the series was a ton of fun and would do continuity in a heartbeat. Below is a list of each of the books in the series.      

Jan. 2013. #1, TRACKING JUSTICE by Shirlee McCoy 

Feb. 2013 #2, DETECTION MISSION, by Margaret Daley 

March 2013 #3, GUARD DUTY by Sharon Dunn (that's me) 

April 2013 #4, EXPLOSIVE SECRETS, by Valerie Hansen 

May 2013 #5, SCENT OF DANGER, by Terri Reed 

June 2013 #6, LONE STAR PROTECTOR, by Lenora Worth

Sharon Dunn writes both humorous mysteries and romantic suspense. Her book Night Prey (Love Inspired Suspense) won a Carol award for 2011. Her first book Romance Rustlers and Thunderbird Thieves was a Romantic Times top pick and finalist in the inspirational Novel of the Year. Sassy Cinderella and the Valiant Vigilante, the second book in that same series (The Ruby Taylor mysteries) was voted book of the year by ACFW. Guard Duty (releasing March 2013) part of the Texas K-9 series is her sixth novel with Love Inspired Suspense. When she is not writing, Sharon spends time with her husband, three children, two cats and a nervous little border collie named Bart. 

Find Sharon here:

Website: www.sharondunnbooks.net

Blog to which I am a regular contributor: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com  

Sharon will be giving away a copy of her newest book on Friday, here at The Borrowed Book!

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