Interview with Jordan Ekeroth, author of ‘The Fulton Incident’

Jordan Ekeroth is a young man with a clear voice, wisdom beyond his years, and always a story to tell. From a young age, you could find him either buried in books or bearing the adventure of his imagination into the great outdoors. He’s met some people and seen some things that have given him a radical desire to impact the world in a positive way. A person of deep faith, his dream in writing is to take people along on the adventure of a lifetime, while simultaneously creating a space for them to learn about themselves and the world around them.

His latest book is the adventure/suspense, The Fulton Incident.

You can visit Jordan Ekeroth’s website at www.jordanekeroth.com.

Would you call yourself a born writer?

I think it’s something that I was born better-equipped for than many are, but it was never a sure thing. It took a lot of determination and the decision to pursue writing over other hobbies and interests.

What was your inspiration for The Fulton Incident?

I was volunteering in Uganda and one afternoon, as I stood on the balcony of the guest house I was staying in, I wondered, what would I do if I went back into my room and discovered that my passport and my things had been stolen? My imagination started racing with intrigue and possibilities, and the plot was born.

What themes do you like to explore in your writing?

I like to bring my characters to a place where they are forced to confront something they would rather avoid. People crave comfort, and none of us like to deal with our own issues. Even people that we describe as confrontational are actually those that are far more interested in other people’s problems than their own.

How long did it take you to complete the novel?

About 10 months.

Are you disciplined? Describe a typical writing day.

I wasn’t writing full-time while working on this project, I just found time whenever I could to continue writing and editing. I didn’t have the luxury of a typical writing day.

What did you find most challenging about writing this book?

I would have thought that sticking with it until it was done would have been the biggest problem, but it was actually resisting the impulse to call it done when it was still in an early phase of editing. I was so excited to have finished my first couple drafts, I just wanted everyone to read them!

What do you love most about being an author?

I’d be lying if I said some of the benefits weren’t egotistical. But before and after anyone ever praises the book, I just love that I was able to create something that I’m proud of.

Did you go with a traditional publisher, small press, or did you self publish? What was the process like and are you happy with your decision?

I self published because I wanted this to be a personal project from start to finish. Amazon made it incredibly easy, and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out.

Where can we find you on the web?

www.jordanekeroth.com

www.twitter.com/jordanekeroth

www.gamechurch.com

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5 Questions with Kat Flannery, author of LAKOTA HONOR

Kat Flannery has loved writing ever since she was a girl. She is often seen jotting her ideas down in a little black book. When not writing, or researching, Kat enjoys snuggling on her couch with a hot chocolate and a great book.

Her first novel, CHASING CLOVERS became an Amazon’s bestseller in Historical and Western romance. This is Kat’s second book, and she is currently hard at work on the third.

When not focusing on her creative passions, Kat is busy with her three boys and doting husband.

Find the author on the web:

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Website

Q: Congrats on the release of your novel, Kat! Tell us why readers should buy LAKOTA HONOR.

A: LAKOTA HONOR is set in the late 1800’s yet deals with the same issues people face today. The story of Otakatay and Nora will appeal to everyone because the problems they face are real. There is suspense, drama, action and romance.

Q: What makes a good Paranormal Historical Western Romance?

A: That’s a lot of genres. J I choose to write my characters with real problems and real emotions. I strive to have the balance of the two and give my readers good three dimensional characters that they can connect with. The Paranormal genre can be tricky to write. I didn’t want to write about vampires or werewolves, they’ve been done thousands of times. I wanted to write about something that had a huge effect on history like the Salem Witch Trials. With this genre, you can give the reader a little bit of history, a fantasy, and romance.

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

A: Once the kids are off to school, I grab my coffee and do a bit of marketing before I delve into writing. I generally write while the kids are at school and late in the evening. This sometimes doesn’t work and when I’m in the middle of a book I generally write late at night and into the early hours of the morning.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about being an author?

A: Being able to tell a story that will touch people’s lives. What I find fascinating is that no matter what year I chose to write my novels in people haven’t changed. This allows me to connect to my readers on a personal level and I love that.

Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received that you’d like to pass to other authors?

A: Not to give up. In my early years as a writer I knew that this was what I wanted to do but I didn’t know how to get there. So I took classes, and went back to school. I researched until my eyes couldn’t focus on the page in front of me. I asked questions. I never turned down criticism, even when it hurt, even when I was told not to pursue this career. I read every rejection letter and I made notes. I took what they said and applied it to my writing. I worked my butt off. In this industry there is always something to learn, and just because I am published doesn’t mean I’ll stop learning.

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Fate has brought them together…but will a promise tear them a part?

Otakatay is hired to kill the witkowin-crazy women. A deadly bounty hunter, he has found his last victim in timid healer Nora Rushton. Marked as a witch, Nora uses her gift to heal those in need, and the bounty hunter is one of them. Will the desire to complete his promise drive him to kill her, or will the kindness he sees in her blue eyes push him to be the man he once was?

Nora and Otakatay must fight for their freedom in a time when race and discrimination are a threat and innocence holds no ground.

Purchase LAKOTA HONOR on AMAZON US /  AMAZON CA / AMAZON UK 

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5 Questions with Rosemary McCracken, author of BLACK WATER

Rosemary McCracken is a Canadian journalist. Born and raised in Montreal, she has worked on newspapers across Canada as a reporter, arts reviewer, editorial writer and editor. She is now a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance and the financial services industry. She advocates greater investor protection, and improved financial services industry regulation and enforcement.

Rosemary’s short fiction has been published by Room of One’s Own Press and Kaleidoscope Books.

Safe Harbor is her first published novel. It was shortlisted for Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger in 2010.

Rosemary lives in Toronto with her husband, and makes frequent retreats to her stone cottage in Ontario’s Haliburton Highlands.

Rosemary’s published stories include “Crazy” in Kaleidoscope Books’ anthology, Mother Margaret and the Rhinoceros Café; and “Putting Mother in Her Place” in Room of One’s Own, vol. 19:4, winter 1996. 

Her latest book is the suspense thriller, BLACK WATER, available from Imajin Books. Also on Amazon.

Q: Congrats on the release of your book, Rosemary! Tell us why readers should buy Black Water.

A: Take a look at a few comments that readers of Safe Harbor, the first book in the Pat Tierney series, made. “I can’t wait for the next Pat Tierney instalment,” one Amazon review wrote. “I look forward to seeing what trouble Pat Tierney gets herself into next,” another reviewer added.

Well, Pat is back! In Black Water, she leaves Toronto and heads out to Ontario cottage country where an elderly man has been brutally murdered. Her daughter Tracy’s friend Jamie is a suspect in the murder, and when Tracy asks her mother for help…well, Pat is a softie when it comes to family.

Pat is also fully committed to her clients. She’s a financial advisor with integrity and ethics. Because the financial services industry revolves around money, it provides opportunities for those who are clever and greedy enough to challenge the system. She doesn’t want to see people taken by these bad apples. She has the courage to stand up for what she believes is right.

This is probably why The Toronto Star called Pat “a hugely attractive sleuth figure.” 

Q: What makes a good suspense novel?

A: A good suspense novel grabs the reader’s attention in the first few pages, and keeps the tension mounting through the rest of the book. In Black Water, the initial grabber is a prologue from the point of view of Lyle Critchley. This elderly man drives into his detached garage one evening and the building goes up in flames. Lyle is trapped inside. The prologue sets the novel into motion, and it raises some important questions for the reader. Who set fire to Lyle’s garage? And why did this person want to kill Lyle?

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

A: I’m a working journalist as well as a fiction writer so I find it difficult to carve out a set chunk of time for fiction writing every day. My days are often shaped by interviews for my articles and publication deadlines. But because I’m now a freelancer, I have control of my schedule and I try to keep my summers free for writing fiction. I spend most of the summer at my country home in the beautiful Haliburton Highlands north of the city of Toronto, where I can get a lot of work done on a novel. I can often complete the work, and work on subsequent drafts when I return to my home in Toronto over the fall and winter.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about being an author?

A: I love seeing my books on a shelf, and picking them up and opening them. Ebooks are wonderful and they’ve brought my books to people all around the world. But there is just something so thrilling about holding a book in your hands that has your name on it.

And I’m thrilled beyond words when a reader tells me that he or she enjoyed my novel. That is the reason I write!

Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received that you’d like to pass to other authors?

A: Keep writing. And take advantage of every opportunity to get your work published and launch your writing career. Enter writing contests, attend conferences for works in your genre, and network with other writers. And don’t let negative comments about your work get you down. They’re often just sour grapes.

BLACK WATER is available at

Black Water (A Pat Tierney Mystery – book 2)

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Book Review: Blood Moon, by Alexandra Sokoloff

Book Description

Book II of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers

Twenty-five years have passed since a savage killer terrorized California, massacring three ordinary families before disappearing without a trace.

The haunted child who was the only surviving victim of his rampage is now wanted by the FBI for brutal crimes of her own, and Special Agent Matthew Roarke is on an interstate manhunt for her, despite his conflicted sympathies for her history and motives.

But when his search for her unearths evidence of new family slayings, the dangerous woman Roarke seeks – and wants – may be his only hope of preventing another bloodbath.

Purchase BLOOD MOON

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

My thoughts…

This novel was a hell of a ride. Sokoloff has a gift for creating engrossing plots and heart-racing thrillers. I read the first book in the series, Huntress Moon, and although I loved that first instalment, this second one was even better.

First of all, the whole thing about the female serial killer–actually, a vigilante–is quite compelling, especially because our protagonist, Roarke, develops torn, conflicting feelings toward her. And we can’t help but do the same! Sokoloff has done her research well and she incorporates lots of information about the mind of the serial killer. She does this skillfully, however, without including long information dumps like some other authors do. Roarke is a sympathetic hero with a high sense of honor and justice. There are lots of twists and turns, yet the story evolves organically, with the right balance of quiet moments between the thrills. Lots of atmosphere, lots of interesting setups.

If you haven’t read Sokoloff’s novels yet, I highly recommend you do. She’s one of my favorite authors these days and her stories never disappoint. One more thing, although Moon Blood is the 2nd one in the series, it holds well as a stand-alone book, as the author incorporates bits of backstory here and there to quickly draw readers right into the central plot of the series. In sum, if you’re a fan of suspense and thrillers, I strongly recommend you pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

Read my interview with Alexandra Sokoloff HERE.

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5 Questions with Alexandra Sokoloff, author of BLOOD MOON

It’s a thrill to have here Alexandra Sokoloff as my guest today, not only because her books are awesome, but because she happens to be one of my favorite writers. Needless to say, I’ve read all of her books.

Alexandra is the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill award-nominated author of multiple supernatural thrillers, and the Top Ten Amazon bestselling Huntress/FBI thriller series (Huntress Moon, Blood  Moon), which has also been nominated for a Thriller Award for Best E Book Original Novel.

The New York Times Book Review has called her a “daughter of Mary Shelley,” and her books “some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.”

As a screenwriter, Alexandra she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She has also written two non-fiction writing workbooks: SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS (highly recommended, by the way!) and WRITING LOVE, based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog, and has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA, west and the Board of the Mystery Writers of America.  

Find the author: her website, blog, on Facebook , Twitter andPinterest.

Q: Hi there, Alexandra. Thanks for stopping by The Dark Phantom. Tell us why readers should buy BLOOD MOON.

A: If you’re at all interested in unusual psychological crime thrillers, this one will probably grab you. The main character is an FBI agent who is on the trail of what looks like a female serial killer, which Agent Roarke knows very well doesn’t occur in real life.  So there’s a real psychological mystery about who this female killer is and why she does what she does. Readers find their expectations challenged and their sympathies conflicted, just as Roarke does.

Q: What makes a good thriller?

A: I think different people are looking for different things in thrillers. There’s such a wide variety of experiences and sensations available from different books in the genre. Personally I am bored senseless by car chases and gun battles and international intrigue. What I love in a thriller is nail-biting suspense and psychological game playing and sexual tension and mystery and moral dilemmas and twists. So that’s the kind of thing I write, of course!

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

A: I start by seven or eight a.m. and write for seven or eight hours a day, much more if I’m on an intense deadline. Some of those hours are business, of course. But I’m a full-time writer, I treat it like a job because it IS my job.  One thing that is not like a regular job is that I change clothes a lot during the day.  Some days I am quite dressed up. I need to entertain myself some way other than eating!

Q: What do you find most rewarding about being an author?

A: Without question, having readers read my books and experience the world and the characters just as if they’re caught up in a film. And then being able to dialogue with them about the story and characters and their experience of the story. It’s such an intimate relationship. Incomparable.

Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received that you’d like to pass to other authors?

A: For aspiring authors, “Find a small room in a big city and sit down at your desk in front of the window. When you stand up ten years later, you will be a writer.” That’s from Saroyan.

And for authors in general, “E-publish.”  It’s more complicated than that, of course, but you asked for the best advice!

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Book II of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers

Twenty-five years have passed since a savage killer terrorized California, massacring three ordinary families before disappearing without a trace.

The haunted child who was the only surviving victim of his rampage is now wanted by the FBI for brutal crimes of her own, and Special Agent Matthew Roarke is on an interstate manhunt for her, despite his conflicted sympathies for her history and motives.

But when his search for her unearths evidence of new family slayings, the dangerous woman Roarke seeks – and wants – may be his only hope of preventing another bloodbath.

Purchase BLOOD MOON

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

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Book Review: The First Secret of Edwin Hoff, by A.B. Bourne

This is a heart-stopping, spaghetti bowl of a thriller.  Smart, complex, graceful and filled with the type of insider information (the tech world, government intelligence, Jihadist hierarchy) that drives me, as a reader, to distraction. 

The story takes place at the turn of the millennium and centers around the title character – Edwin Hoff – a mysterious and brilliant leader in the tech industry.  One of a handful of Ivy League wunderkinds who became an overnight billionaire during the tech boom of the 1990s, Edwin is anything but the frivolous materialist.  Unlike a certain other young billionaire from a different franchise, he doesn’t need to distract himself with a chorus of babes and an array of unusual sex practices.  Nor does he need to work through his ennui – a now painfully clichéd side effect of having too much too soon, or so we readers have been told. 

On the contrary, Edwin hides a dark and secret past and carries the weight of the world on his muscular shoulders.  Instead of offering on-premise sushi bars and other perks to his already spoiled team, he gives inspiration, the chance to make history, and he delivers unapologetic discipline – moral and otherwise.  His own indelible character takes root inside those around him, bringing out qualities they didn’t know they had.  Or had not existed before Edwin came into their lives.  In short, Edwin Hoff is a leader – the kind we ache for.  

And Edwin Hoff is also something else. 

Edwin Hoff, we learn, is a spy of the highest caliber. 

From the dizzying heights of the high tech revolution to the terrifying events of 9/11, The First Secret of Edwin Hoff shows us that nothing is as it seems.  A.B. Bourne takes us not only through the evolution of the characters she’s written, but the reinvention of the world as we know it, and with a skill that’s uncommon for a first time novelist.  She’s like Daniel Silva in a dress, and writes with a classical notion of masculine valor, yet one imbued with the unmistakable touch of a woman. 

The First Secret of Edwin Hoff is well worth the read, and will undoubtedly leave you eager to get your hands on an advance copy of the second secret.  All in good time, Edwin Hoff might say.

A.B. Bourne is the author of The First Secret of Edwin Hoff, c. 2011 Watch Hill Books.  The thriller reached #4 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases in Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue, and spent over a year as one of Amazon’s Top-Rated Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue.  In her cover life, Annie Bourne is also VP of Business Development and General Counsel at Kinvey, a start-up in Boston, MA.  She mentors start-ups at TechStars Boston and serves on the board of Libboo, Inc.  Previously she worked  at Akamai Technologies in multiple executive roles and managed Akamai’s IPO, raising $234 million in 1999.  Before joining the start-up world, the author graduated from Yale College and the University of Michigan Law School and practiced law in Boston.  She lives in Massachusetts with her family, writing The Second Secret of Edwin Hoff. 

About the reviewer:

Victoria Dougherty has for nearly twenty years distinguished herself as a master storyteller, writing fiction, poetry, drama, speeches, essays, and television news segments/video scripts.  

In Prague, Ms. Dougherty co-founded the acclaimed Black Box Theater, translating, producing and acting to sold-out audiences in several Czech plays – from Vaclav Havel’s riveting “Protest” to the unintentionally hilarious communist propaganda play “Karhan’s Men.”  Black Box Theater was profiled in feature articles in USA Today, International Herald Tribune, and numerous European publications. 

Currently, Ms. Dougherty lives with her family in Charlottesville, VA, and has recently completed a thematically linked Cold War thriller series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Questions with R. Barri Flowers, author of BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN: A Veronica Vasquez Thriller

R. Barri Flowers is an award winning criminologist and internationally bestselling author of more than sixty books–including thriller and suspense fiction, relationship fiction, young adult mysteries, true crime, and criminology titles.

Bestselling mystery and thriller fiction, including SEDUCED TO KILL IN KAUAI, MURDER IN MAUI, MURDER IN HONOLULU, KILLER IN THE WOODS, DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL, STATE’S EVIDENCE, PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE, and JUSTICE SERVED.

Other novels by the author include the bestselling relationship novel, FOREVER SWEETHEARTS, and young adult novels, COUNT DRACULA’S TEENAGE DAUGHTER, GHOST GIRL IN SHADOW BAY, and DANGER IN TIME.

Flowers has also written a number of bestselling true crime books, including THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS, THE PICKAXE KILLERS, SERIAL KILLER COUPLES and MASS MURDER IN THE SKY. He was editor as well of the bestselling anthology, MASTERS OF TRUE CRIME.

The author has been interviewed on the Biography Channel and Investigation Discovery.

Official Website: 
http://www.rbarriflowers.com/

Q: Tell us why readers should buy BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN: A Veronica Vasquez Thriller.

A: BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN is a crime thriller written by an award winning criminologist and bestselling author of such true crime books as THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS and thriller fiction, including MURDER IN MAUI and DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL.

This book is about an FBI profiler and criminal psychologist who returns to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, to assist the police in tracking down a serial killer, who murders beautiful women in pairs.

As someone who has written extensively about real life serial killers, BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN brings verisimilitude to the perpetrator and his psyche as he pushes the boundaries in handpicking his victims.

For readers who love thriller fiction where the villain is a frightening serial killer who matches wits with the beautiful protagonist and homicide detectives on the case—or are fans of TV series such as Criminal Minds, Dexter, and Hannibal-- this is a novel you are sure to enjoy.

Q: What makes a good thriller novel?

A: A good thriller novel is one in which there is a constant sense of danger and a suspenseful whodunit, with three dimensional characters who bring you along for the ride as they converge for a heart pounding conclusion.

Within this regard, the thriller should also convey a strong plot with smart twists and turns and deft pacing that will allow the story to play itself out while keeping the reader thoroughly engaged.

Some great thrillers that come to mind include Robert Ludlum’s The Aquitaine Progression and John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief. I believe that BEFORE HE STRIKES AGAIN also fits in this category.

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

A: A regular writing day for me involves getting up at 6 a.m. and heading to my computer at 7 a.m. (after an hour of working out and having breakfast)—where I spend the next five hours writing and rewriting my latest book.

After a noontime lunch and chores, I am back at it by 1 p.m., where I go at it on computer till 5 p.m. (sometimes 6 p.m., if really on a roll), typing away in faithfully sticking to the plot in my head.

I call it quits for the night after that and am back in the grind the next day.

This is a routine I follow seven days a week. I am the type of writer who is not easily distracted by other things—understanding that I get out as much as I put in as an author.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about being an author?

A:  What is most rewarding to me as an author is being able to successfully write in multiple genres (thriller, true crime, young adult mysteries, and criminology). As such, I have fans in these different genes, giving me a good reason to try and keep up with them in bringing out fresh material they can take pleasure in reading.

Aside from that, I enjoy the camaraderie with other authors, having found some great friends over the years to seek advice and words of wisdom from while returning in kind.

Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received that you’d like to pass to other authors?

A: That’s a great question. Hmm… I’d have to say that the best writing advice I’ve ever received and have passed along to other authors came from a bestselling crime writer who told me when I first got started: “The thing that separates serious writers from those who aren’t in it for the long haul is the ability to shake off rejections and look at as constructive criticism rather than personal attacks—making yourself a better writer in the process with each rejection letter.”

Definitely words to live by for any writer willing to work at it to hone your craft till you get where you’re going in finding success in the business.

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Book Description:

From R. Barri Flowers, award winning crime writer and international bestselling author of Dark Streets of Whitechapel and Killer in The Woods, comes a gripping new psychological thriller, Before He Kills Again: A Veronica Vasquez Thriller.

FBI psychologist and criminal profiler Veronica Vasquez returns to her hometown of Portland, Oregon to assist police in apprehending a ruthless serial killer dubbed “The Rose Killer,” who kills beautiful women in pairs, leaving a rose on top of each corpse.

Heading the investigation is homicide Detective Sergeant Bryan Waldicott. Veronica must win him over, along with the entire task force, and prove herself worthy of the job. Since losing her husband three years ago, Veronica had been focused on her work to escape the pain of loneliness and separation. A romance with Waldicott, who has issues of his own, complicates things for them both as they try to stop a serial murderer before he kills again.

When she begins to suspect that the new husband of her estranged sister Alexandra could be the killer, Veronica pursues that delicate angle and, in the process, becomes a target herself.

Before He Kills Again is tense thriller that will keep readers on edge till the very end.

 Purchase:

Amazon Trade Paperback / Kindle /Kindle UK / Kindle CA / Barnes and Noble Nook eBook / Smashwords / Kobo

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Book Review: Before He Kills Again, by R. Barri Flowers

Book Description:

From R. Barri Flowers, award winning crime writer and international bestselling author of Dark Streets of Whitechapel and Killer in The Woods, comes a gripping new psychological thriller, Before He Kills Again: A Veronica Vasquez Thriller.

FBI psychologist and criminal profiler Veronica Vasquez returns to her hometown of Portland, Oregon to assist police in apprehending a ruthless serial killer dubbed “The Rose Killer,” who kills beautiful women in pairs, leaving a rose on top of each corpse.

Heading the investigation is homicide Detective Sergeant Bryan Waldicott. Veronica must win him over, along with the entire task force, and prove herself worthy of the job. Since losing her husband three years ago, Veronica had been focused on her work to escape the pain of loneliness and separation. A romance with Waldicott, who has issues of his own, complicates things for them both as they try to stop a serial murderer before he kills again.

When she begins to suspect that the new husband of her estranged sister Alexandra could be the killer, Veronica pursues that delicate angle and, in the process, becomes a target herself.

Before He Kills Again is tense thriller that will keep readers on edge till the very end.

My thoughts:

Before He Kills Again is indeed  a very entertaining read, one of those suspense thrillers that will keep you turning pages late into the night. At least, this was my case. I finished it in 2-3 days, as I couldn’t put it down. The heroine, criminal psychologist and FBI profiler Veronica Vasquez, is a sympathetic character, smart and independent but with a gentle side. I found all the information about serial killers fascinating, and thoroughly enjoyed all the setups, twists and red herrings devised by the author. Just when you think you know who the killer is, something happens to deter you from suspecting. The love story between Veronica and Homicide detective Bryan Waldicott  adds some spice without getting in the way of the mystery. The novel does have some graphic violent scenes, so if you’re squeamish about this sort of thing, be warned.

If you’re a fan of thrillers about serial killers, you should pick this one up!

Purchase:

Amazon Trade Paperback / Kindle /Kindle UK / Kindle CA / Barnes and Noble Nook eBook / Smashwords / Kobo

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Book Review: Chasing Victory, by Joanne Jaytanie

Chasing Victory is a delightful debut novel by first-time author Joanne Jaytanie.

Our beautiful protagonist, Victory Winters, is a veterinarian and geneticist specializing in molecular biology for Claremont Research in Poulsbo, Washington. She also has a special innate ability she keeps secret: she has almost a telepathic gift to communicate with animals. As head of her department, she’s currently researching canine DNA and its potential benefits to humans.

Then one day, Victory receives a cryptic call from Jeffrey, an old friend and colleague who she hasn’t seen or spoken to in 5 years. Like her, he’s also a veterinarian and geneticist working for a competitor company, Biotec. Jeffrey insists he needs her help and asks her to meet him in a picnic spot. But, to her horror, once there she secretly witnesses his murder.

Soon after, she’s approached by a representative of Biotec with an offer to work for them. They claim that Jeffrey is working overseas, and they want her to take his place. Though she doesn’t trust them, she decides to play along in order to investigate her friend’s murder. But things go unexpectedly wrong when instead she’s kidnapped to a secluded island and forced to do research, injecting humans with wolf DNA. Unbeknown to Victory at first, the madman CEO wants to create the perfect invincible army.

Thus, Victory is soon pulled into a vortex of intrigue, blackmail and murder. Together with the hero, Tristan Farraday, a naval officer who also has telepathic abilities and who is sent undercover to investigate Biotec’s experiments, Victory must find a way to stop the company from carrying out their horrific plans and to get out of the island alive.

This was a fun, light, entertaining read! They story is compelling and the hero and heroine sympathetic. Victory is intelligent, yet caring and sensitive. Tristan is the perfect combination, not too alpha, not too soft. The action moves at a pretty quick pace, and there’s a lot of action and romantic suspense to keep readers turning pages. One thing I especially enjoyed about this story is that the love between Victory and Tristan develops gradually and organically. I certainly look forward to reading more works from this author. Recommended for fans of paranormal romance!

Visit the author’s website: 
http://www.joannejaytanie.com/

Purchase from Amazon.

My review previously appeared on Blogcritics.

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Author Profile: Anne K. Edwards

Like so many authors, Anne K. Edwards grew up with her nose stuck in a book. “I couldn’t get enough stories,” she says.

In the third grade, she fell in love with Walter Farley’s exciting Black Stallion series. An avid horse lover all her life, she reread the series over the years and still enjoys them. Though no one read to her when she was a child, her mother always encouraged her to read and write. “Books weren’t a necessity when I was a child,” states Edwards, “but Mom taught herself to write music and play the piano which wasn’t bad for a gal who left school at 15. We lived our creative dreams together.”

At 9 years of age, Edwards began writing stories which she was sure would be accepted by top known magazines and she submitted often, with The Post being a favourite target. Now retired, Edwards modestly hesitates to call herself a fulltime writer because of all the “many furry distractions that rule our home. I write while they snooze between meals.”

Today, Edwards is an award-winning, multi-genre author who writes both fiction and nonfiction for adults, as well as children’s picture books. She has penned novels in genres ranging from cozy mysteries, to speculative and fantasy, to suspense thrillers. A reviewer for more than a decade, she also regularly writes short stories and articles for magazines.

Presently, she’s promoting the release of her suspense novel, Shadows Over Paradise, the story of a young woman who travels to the South Pacific Islands to attend a friend’s wedding, but ends up nearly killed because she finds a dead body—none other than the groom’s—on her first day there.

It often takes her a year or more to finish a novel. Some have even taken her ten years due to stops and starts when another story has beckoned. She loves new ideas and often drops what she’s working on to see what would happen with a new one. As for her writing space, “I have a computer in a corner of a room that is cluttered with cats and paper and books,” she says.

Edwards describes her writing process as follows: “It begins with an idea that I want to follow to some sort of conclusion. For instance, I just worked on a new Death and Detective story where Death who is a guide for the souls of those passing over was revealed to have a special problem. Like the other such stories in the series, I wanted to see where the idea that became a plot, then a story, would lead. I usually have my ending for all stories before I begin to write. Following these ideas means I take the side roads that open up, follow false clues, and let the story unwind as I go. Having the ending is a general goal to work toward and has the ability to be changed if necessary and of necessity keeps the story focused on that point.”

After falling victim to a couple of online scams, one that resulted in a book being held by the publisher for a full seven years, and after wasting her time and efforts with agents and large publishers, Edwards is happy to have found Twilight Times Books (www.twilighttimesbooks.com). “Twilight Times Books is a very honest publisher that promotes their name and their authors and I feel lucky to be an author there. It took me several decades to find them as I started submitting at age nine and I’m now older. Lucky for writers in general there are more quality publishers out there than bad ones. One factor about find a publisher, no matter your age, do learn how to write before you submit,” warns the author.

For Edwards, the most rewarding aspect of this business is seeing the finished product of her efforts and having someone read it and say they really enjoyed or understood it.

A native of the Pennsylvania, Edwards resides in Gettysburg, where she keeps herself busy reading and writing. “I have about two million books I want to write and that many new ideas to follow.”

Visit the author at www.annekedwards.com.

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