Under a Paper Moon.
Hey y’all,
One of my readers contacted me and was having trouble voting from the link I sent the other day. So… here’s the link to InD’taleMagazine. If you haven’t subscribed, do that first, then they will send an email for you to verify. After that you can log in, click on 2019 RONE AWARDS, and go to week three. You’ll find Stowaway listed under Mystery.
Voting in week three ends tomorrow evening. I would love your support!
Best and Blessings,
Darcy
Hey Friends,
Week three of the 2019 RONE Awards Reader Voting opens today. Last month when Stowaway received an Elite Five Star Review from InD’tale Magazine, it automatically became a RONE Award Nominee. The reader voting is the second stage in the process and that’s where I need your help.
So… If you have a few minutes I’d really appreciate your vote. Stowaway is in the Mystery category.
Below is the link to the voting page. If this is your first time to vote in this award, you will have to create an account and log in. It’s super easy, just follow the prompt. And don’t worry, you will not receive any emails from InD’tale Magazine, this is simply to make sure it stays one vote per person.
Click here to get to InD’taleMagazine!
I want to thank you in advance for taking the time to cast your vote for Stowaway!
And here’s the link to the Elite Review if you’d like to read it!
Best,
Darcy
Hi Friends,
I’m thrilled to announce the release of my first romantic suspense, Stowaway!
It’s still has all the elements you’ve some to expect from a sweet, fun, Darcy Flynn Romance!
Here’s the book blurb and a excerpt! Enjoy!
Her identity is hidden … He’s determined to uncover it
Charleston, South Carolina shipping heiress, MIRANDA MERRICK, discovers one of her family’s cargo ships, the Elle Merrick, has suffered multiple attacks by a saboteur. The devious actions have put the company at risk for bankruptcy. Refusing to sit idly, she boards the Elle in hopes of gaining help from her uncle, the ship’s captain, only to find a stranger at the helm.
In an effort to discover the culprit and save her family’s company, Miranda stows away on the ship – keeping her identity a secret while conducting her own investigation. Making matters more complicated, she finds herself attracted to the new captain, who could very well be the enemy.
Captain NOAH SHEPPARD is hoping to merge his small, cargo shipping line, Clayton Company, with the multinational conglomerate, Merrick Shipping. Upon discovering one of Merrick’s ships has been deliberately and systematically sabotaged by a crew member, he agrees to captain the targeted vessel in hopes of discovering the identity of the saboteur.
Two days into the voyage, Noah discovers a stowaway, and assumes she’s either the saboteur or in league with him. But what Noah didn’t bargain for is having to deal with the mysterious, gorgeous, redhead, who wreaks havoc – not only to his patience, but to his heart.
Excerpt
“Who are you? How did you get aboard?”
The light bulb overhead gave him a clear view of her face and slender body. Dressed in jeans, white sneakers and a dark hooded sweater, she stood, wide-eyed, chest heaving, lips parted. She was young, early to mid-twenties at most. The wind lifted and whipped several loose strands of red hair from her ponytail. She licked her lips and gulped – even though her face was free of make-up, her cheeks, most likely chapped from the cold, gave her skin a rosy hue.
If this young woman was a saboteur, then he was Captain Kidd.
She stood – sneakers rooted to the deck, staring up at him with the prettiest green eyes he’d ever seen – their shifting emerald lights holding him spellbound.
As he watched her, something flickered in their depths and he could see the struggle, the uncertainty in her expression – as if weighing what to do next. She opened her perfect mouth as if she were about to speak, but then thought better of it and clamped her lips together.
The spell broke. He blinked. “Have it your way.” He didn’t suffer fools lightly. No way was he going to let a…
Heart-stopping.
Vulnerable.
Anxious green-eyed, redheaded vision turn him into one, either.
Keeping his hand on her upper arm, he marched her below deck. As they made their way, he gave her a swift, sideways glance. She moved quickly, taking two steps for each one of his. Visibly panting now, the crease between her eyes held more annoyance than fear. She was a tough one. But so was he. Maybe a day or two in the brig would loosen her lips.
His second officer, Scotty, had just surfaced from the belly of the ship when Noah spotted him.
“We have a visitor. Caught her sneaking around the bridge.” He glanced down at her. “She’s not talking. Lock her up, will you.”
Scotty gaped at her, then at the captain. “Noah, are you sure? I mean…”
“Fine. Get to the bridge. I’ll do it.”
Scotty gave a curt nod and left.
With his hand still on her upper arm, Noah led her to the lowest level of the ship. As they entered the compartment, the stowaway skidded to a halt.
“There’s a brig?”
“She speaks.”
Her eyes glazed over with apprehension and stared, unblinking, at the metal bars.
He unlocked the cell door, pulled it open, then stepped aside for her to enter.
“Since when does a cargo ship have a brig?”
“Since she occasionally sails through pirate-infested waters.”
Wide-eyed and mouth gaping, she stood rooted to the spot. When she didn’t move, he placed his hand to her back and gave a slight push.
The young woman dug in her heels, her back muscles tensing against the palm of his hand. She stood rigid, unblinking. Her earlier tough, annoyed manner had vanished, to be replaced by a troubled expression.
Intrigued, he watched her.
“I…I just need a second,” she said.
What an odd thing to say. Her voice shook with a husky sweetness he found extremely appealing. For some inexplicable reason her resignation to her current predicament touched him.
Easy, Noah. She could be playing you.
He lowered his hand from her back and waited.
She swallowed, glanced at her feet and slowly stepped through the cell door, as if willing her sneakers to enter. She stopped inside the opening. For a second he didn’t think she’d turn around, but in one slow robotic pivot, she faced him.
Her breathing had become quick and shallow, like a dog panting in the hot sun. In a matter of seconds she had it under control as if she’d done it many times before.
For a brief second her vivid green eyes held his gaze, before flickering over him – curious and assessing. What? Was she trying to intimidate him? He couldn’t resist asking. “So. How do I measure up?”
“You don’t.”
Obviously, her recent discomfort hadn’t lasted long. Probably figured her dramatic act was wasted on him. He was no one’s fool. Better she learn it now, than later. “I’ll get you some water and something to eat,” he said. “I imagine you’re hungry and thirsty.”
She’d pulled her ponytail free of its clip causing her hair to tumble in a disheveled golden-red mass around her shoulders. Under the glaring indoor lights, the soft waves framed her ashen face. Her hands shook slightly as she pushed the strands away from her temples, proving she wasn’t nearly as controlled as she’d tried to make him believe.
A dark substance streaked its black mark across her left cheek, highlighted by the stubborn tilt of her chin. Her intense gaze never left his face—
As if daring him to close the door.
As if he had no right.
Today, It’s my pleasure to have Romantic Suspense author, Diane Burton, on my blog! Diane is one of my wonderful “Author Helping Author” friends and this isn’t the first time she’s been a guest on Under A Paper Moon! Diane is here to tell us about her new release, Numbers Never Lie! Welcome Diane!
Darcy, thanks so much for having me here today. I’m thrilled to share with you and your readers my new release, Numbers Never Lie, a romantic suspense. This book was over fifteen years in the making. I was almost done then had to set it aside because Life intruded. This winter, I delved into it and discovered I wasn’t as far along as I thought. LOL
Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
Tell us a bit about your new release?
Numbers Never Lie was over fifteen years in the making. I was almost done then had to set it aside because Life intruded. This winter, I delved into it and discovered I wasn’t as far along as I thought. LOL Even worse, the manuscript was spread across several old floppy disks. Thank goodness, Hubs had an external floppy drive reader. Though it required a lot of work recovering the many files, it was worth the effort. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed Maggie, Drew, and Jack’s story.
Dang girl! Floppy disks – hadn’t heard that word in a while. LOL That is old school. So glad you had the tenacity to stay with it and recover those files!
Before you gasp and think I’ve written a M/F/M managestory, I’d better tell you Maggie and Jack are siblings and Drew is Jack’s best friend. Though stunned by Jack’s accident, too many inconsistences worry Maggie, and she drags a reluctant Drew into her investigation.
What’s a typical working day like for you?
As soon as I get up, I grab a cup of coffee (thank goodness for my Keurig) and open my laptop. I wish I could say I don’t open email or play a game (or 2) but open my work-in-progress first. Some days my eyes don’t function that quickly, I play a game to wake them up. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.) I’ll write until lunch, take a break, then either get back to writing or read/respond to email, read blog posts, and work on promotion.
My day is similar. During my lunch break I watch an episode of Stargate SG 1. Love, love, Richard Dean Anderson! *sigh*
So tell me, if a book were being written about your life, what would the title be?
That’s hard. If you’d ask me to name a song, I’d say Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” How about My Life is an Open Book? Oops, that’s a song title, too. Seriously, if anyone reads my blogs—and I’ve written a ton of them since 2011, both on my own blog and on others’ plus Facebook—it wouldn’t be hard to piece together my life. In my forty-six-year marriage, with two kids and 5 grandkids, I’ve experienced highs and lows, like most people. Fortunately, the highs way outnumber the lows.
Wow, forty-six years! That’s amazing!
If you could have any meal delivered to your door right now, what would it be?
Ooh. P.F. Chang’s. I’d start with the signature lettuce wraps and dim sum; Oolong Chilean seabass with lobster and shrimp fried rice, and a side of crispy green beans. For dessert, banana spring rolls. Mmm, now I’m hungry. Because all of that is way too much food for me to eat alone, Hubs would have to help me. The best part is my son is a culinary partner with Chang’s, and he would ask me what I was in the mood for and cook that meal accordingly. I am so lucky.
Thanks, Darcy. Those were great questions.
So happy to host you and your new release, Diane!
NUMBERS NEVER LIE
A Romantic Suspense
By Diane Burton
Romantic Suspense
Length: approx. 80,000 words
Available at Amazon http://a.co/gUmO9wZ
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Blurb:
A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie.
As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack’s an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Upon returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother Jack’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse.
Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that–an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong.
A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack dothat puts Maggie in danger?
Excerpt
The garage door rose. All by itself.
Maggie Sinclair’s heart shot into high gear as she set down the camping equipment next to her SUV. She wasn’t anywhere near the button next to the door to the house. And the remote was right where it belonged, clipped to the Suburban’s visor. Shehadn’t opened the door.
Someone had keyed in the code.
As the door lifted, a pair of athletic shoes and legs encased in wrinkled khakis came into view. Only one other person knew the code to her garage. The numb-nut scaring her half to death had better be him.
In case it wasn’t, Maggie moved quietly to the rack on the wall where the garden tools hung. As the figure outside bent in half and ducked under the door, Maggie raised the shovel, ala Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera, fully prepared to whack the intruder. When he straightened, his look of surprise almost matched hers.
“Jack Sinclair,” she yelled. “What are you doing sneaking up on me?”
“Whoa!” Her brother recovered fast, right after dropping a plastic case on the dusty garage floor. A CD spilled out. “What are you doing here?”
She lowered the shovel. “Gee, I don’t know. Ya think maybe because I live here?”
Jack picked up the CD and case. “Are you sick? It’s Friday. And only—” He checked his watch. “—one o’clock. Why aren’t you in school?”
About to lambaste him for scaring her, she gave him a long look. Shadows rimmed his eyes, and his mouth had creases she hadn’t noticed the last time she saw him, a couple of weeks ago. Her neatnik brother never looked disheveled, yet there he was in wrinkled slacks and part of his sport shirt hanging out.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look tired.”
Actually, he looked like his shoulders carried the weight of the world, as their mom used to say. “With Ben out, I had to take over his clients on top of my own. You never said why you’re home in the middle of the afternoon.”
“School is out for the summer.” She returned the shovel to the rack, securing it properly while cringing at the screech. “And you never said why you’re sneaking into my garage?”
He gave her a cocky grin. The creases along his mouth and across his forehead eased. “Can’t I visit my kid sister?”
“When you thought I wasn’t going to be home? Try again, Ace.”
Jack cuffed her around the neck. “Okay, you got me. I wanted to try out a new CD on your system.”
She ducked out from under his arm then hip bumped him. “The truth comes out.”
His combination Christmas and birthday gift to her a couple of years ago was a sophisticated sound system. After he set it up, he’d left detailed—printed, no less—instructions for its use. That was Jack. Always covering the bases. Heaven forbid, he left anything to chance. Even his sister’s entertainment center.
While she pulled the fixings for lunch out of the fridge, Jack went into the living room. When the music didn’t come on right away, she called out, “Forgotten how it works?” She couldn’t resist a smirk. “Why don’t you read the instructions?”
“Nobody likes a smart-ass,” he called back.
Because he seemed so tired, she was surprised by the music. Head-banging rock would not have been her first choice.
“Could you maybe turn it down?” she yelled to be heard over the music. “The neighbor kids will get the wrong idea about their English teacher.”
Jack lowered the volume. When he came out into the kitchen, he grabbed her around the waist and spun her away from the counter. “Maybe those teenage delinquents you insist on trying to educate will think you’re a normal person.”
While he whirled her around the small kitchen, Maggie laughed. “Normal? Instead of the Wicked Witch of the West?” She gave an evil laugh. “‘I’ll get you my pretty.’”
“’And your little dog, too,’” Jack quipped. “You gotta work on that image, Mags.”
“Hey, it works for me.”
Numbers Never Lie is available at Amazon.
About the Author:
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into 
writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and five grandchildren.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com
Connect with Diane Burton online
Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmburton72
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor
Goodreads: Diane Burton Author
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/
Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf
If that doesn’t work, here’s the link to Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/16cf1daf21/?
Take a trip to fascinating, breathtaking, beautiful Africa, without ever leaving your home! These stories will send you on a journey filled with danger, love, and excitement. Travel from Casablanca to Morocco, across the plains of the Serengeti, to the ruins of Carthage, from the desert of Algeria, to the shores of Tripoli. Six international romance authors share spellbinding love stories told across time.
I can’t wait to read these! Here’s a bit more information about each story.
Dangerous Liaison – Historical Romance by Denyse Bridger
In late 1942, Casablanca, liaisons can be deadly, especially those that involve intelligence the Germans are willing to kill for…
A Pirate’s Lady – Time Travel Romance – Lynn Crain
Amanda Hoskip, a Time Travel Bureau agent, is intent on discovering who is tampering with time. But when she’s captured, she must pretend to be the wife of fellow agent and rescuer, Trevor Haines, which seems impossible because he thinks she’s failed her mission.
Dying to Love You – Contemporary Romance with Paranormal Elements by Alicia Dean
To avoid purgatory, unloving and unlovable Autumn Baines is sent to the Serengeti where she must perform a selfless deed and find someone to fall in love with her. What she didn’t count on was falling in love herself, or that her selfless deed could save a life, but sentence Autumn to eternal damnation.
Treasured Times – Romantic Suspense – Gemma Juliana
Nerissa Noir is a woman with many secrets. Leon Rizzo intends to figure them out, without revealing his own. From the shops of the exotic souk in Tunis to the ancient ruins of Carthage and beyond, deadly mysteries must be solved before time unravels… can they trust each other?
The Ravine of the Wild Woman – Historical Romance by Marie Laval
Algeria, North Africa, 1865.
Lenora Sharp is Azerwal’s perfect woman. Brave, determined and unconventional, she is also related to the man who stole his name, his childhood and his identity – the very man and he has vowed to destroy, even if it takes him all the way to hell. Will love get in the way of revenge, or will Azerwal lose his soul before he loses his heart?
An Object of Desire – Romantic Suspense by Jenny Twist
Two students on holiday in Morocco discover that two sinister looking characters are following them. They meet an attractive man who offers to take them to their next destination. All seems well until one of the girls disappears.
Wow! These sounds fantastic! Pre-ordering my copy today!
Purchase here: Amazon
Find excerpts and more here: World Romance Authors
BENEATH THE LAKE ~ A Time-Slip Romantic Suspense
by Casi McLean
USA Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/2jB4JXp
Worldwide Amazon Link: http://smarturl.it/BeneathTheLake
Casi’s Inspiration For Beneath The Lake: (PG13)
I love to talk about my, Beneath The Lake, and the eerie lake lore that inspired my muse. A town that time forgot––the history and creepy stories attached to a rural area that sleeps beneath Atlanta’s famous man-made lake, Sidney Lanier, fascinated me. Homes, churches and businesses still linger beneath the surface. The moonshiners of the 1940’s added built-in suspense, and the birth of NASCAR. Looper Speedway, a half-mile dirt track where bootleggers competed with their souped-up cars, exposed its cement stands in a recent draught.
There’s a Lady of the Lake who haunts the ghost town too––the spine-chilling lore is the basis for book three in my Beneath The Lake series, Between The Shadows. Some say she lures victims to her watery grave. The truth is, swimmers get trapped among the deadfall of sheered-off trees and town remains. Even expert divers get tangled beneath the murky surface, hence the lake’s unnerving label: Lanier never gives up its dead. The inspiration swirled in my mind, begging for a story to be told. What a perfect setting for my romantic time-slip suspense series.
Why time-slip? Ever since my childhood imagination discovered Madeleine L’Engles, A Wrinkle In Time, the idea of time travel intrigued me. And Lake Lanier, a man-made lake with mesmerizing history, presented a plausible theory. What if the excavation explosions triggered a seismic shift? Given enough energy, could the blasts rip a portal into a different dimension or a crack in time? The possibilities were endless.
The birth of Lacey Montgomery evolved through my young adult love for Jude Deveraux’s A Knight In Shining Armor. The time-slip novel introduced her endearing Montgomery family. I hope my books honor her inspiration. My high school friend, Hilary Johnson, inspired the persona of my heroine, Lacey Montgomery. A lawyer, discouraged with defending criminals, yearned to help honest people in trouble. Some of Hillary’s finer qualities became part of Lacey––the dysfunctional relationships came from my own personal experiences. LOL. Once these elements entwined, Beneath The Lake blossomed with an energy and life of its own.
The sequel, Beyond The Mist, picks up where the first story ends incorporating two minor characters as the new hero and heroine. Beyond The Mist is complete, in editing, and will be published in a few months.
For a Free Gift, and a chance to win my entire short story collection, Destiny: Five Novelettes With a Twist, click here: https://spark.adobe.com/page/pxekfzj8Rx4el/
Trailer, blurb, and the opening excerpt follow:
Blurb:
A ghost town submerged beneath Atlanta’s famous man-made Lake Lanier reportedly lures victims to a watery grave. But when Lacey Montgomery’s car spins out of control and hurtles into the depths of the icy water, she awakens in the arms of a stranger, in a town she’s never heard of–34 years before she was born.
When the 2012 lawyer tangles with a 1949 hunk, fire and ice swirl into a stream of sweltering desire. Bobby Reynolds is smitten the moment the storm-ravaged woman opens her eyes and, despite adamant protest, Lacey falls in love with a town destined for extinction, and the man who vows to save his legacy.
Threatened by a nefarious stalker, the wrath of bootleggers, and twists of fate, Lacey must find the key to a mysterious portal before time rips the lovers apart, leaving their star-crossed spirits to wander forever through a ghost town buried beneath the lake.
Excerpt:
Lake Lanier, Georgia—June 2011
A final thud hurled him backward, flailing through brush and thickets like a rag doll. Grasping at anything to break momentum, Rob’s hand clung to a branch wedged into the face of the precipice. Spiny splinters sliced his skin. Blood oozed and trickled into his palms, and one by one, his fingers slowly slipped.
A sharp crack echoed through the silence of the ravine as the bough succumbed to his weight. He plummeted into free-fall. Clenching his eyes, he drew in a deep breath, terrified of the pain, the mauling that waited on the jagged rocks below.
When icy water broke his fall, the chill kept him from losing consciousness. He spun, straining to see, but darkness enveloped him. Soggy clothing pulled him deeper—deeper into the murky, fathomless depths. He wrestled to squirm free from the waterlogged jacket dragging him down to a watery grave, watched the coat disappear into black obscurity. Panic gripped his stomach, or was it death that snaked around his chest, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing the air, the life from his body? Lack of oxygen burned his lungs, beckoning surrender, and a shard of rage pierced his gut as reality set in. He lunged upward with one last thrust and burst from the water’s deadly grip, gasping for air. A gurgling howl spewed from the depths of his soul and echoed into silence.
Sunlight shimmered across a smooth, indigo lake, but aside from the slight ripples of his own paddling, nothing but stillness surrounded him. He floated toward the shore, sucking deep breaths into his lungs until the pummeling in his chest subsided. When he reached the water’s edge, he hoisted his body onto the soft red clay and collapsed while the sun’s warmth drained the tension from his body.
No one knew he had survived. The rules had shifted. Now he could reinvent himself, become a stealth predator. His target: Lacey Madison Montgomery.
Contact Links:
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Author Casi McLean’s Bio:
Award winning author, Casi McLean, pens novels to stir the soul with romance, suspense, and a sprinkle of magic. Her writing crosses genres from ethereal, captivating shorts with eerie twist endings to believable time slips, mystical plots, and sensual romantic suspense. Beneath The Lake won the 2016 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for BEST Romantic Suspense.
Her stories entwine strong, believable heroines with delicious hot heroes to tempt the deepest desires then fans the flames, sweeping readers into their innermost romantic fantasies. Ms. McLean weaves exceptional romantic mystery with suspenseful settings and lovable characters you’ll devour. You’ll see, hear, and feel the magical eeriness of one fateful night. You’ll swear her time travel could happen, be mystified by her other worldly images, and feel heat of romantic suspense, but most of all you’ll want more.
What if your memories were not your memories? What if the drug hailed as a cure became a curse and ultimately your destruction?
locations as London, New York and Croydon! She currently reside in Devon, UK with her family. Forbidden Colours is her second novel. Her career has spanned over 3 decades working in PR and marketing within the music industry. She currently works within healthcare in the UK.Follow Nicole Here
Website address: https://www.nicolefittonauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolefittonauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MisoMiss
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/fitton3818/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nicole-Fitton/e/B01A3NSIL6/
I’m thrilled to have, dear friend and fellow Author Diane Burton as my guest today. She’s here to tell us about her Romantic Suspense, One Red Shoe. Take it away Diane!
Reinventing One’s Self
Jane Pauley was on the Today Show last week. While getting my coffee and trying to pry open my eyelids, something she said caught my attention. The words “reinventing herself.” Whoa. I can identify with that.
I always wanted to be a teacher. When we were little, my younger sister and I played “school” and I was the teacher—that’s when we weren’t playing “church” and I was the priest. But I digress. Being the oldest of seven, I was a natural teacher. I helped Mom with the little ones and gradually taught them new skills. Eventually, I went to college and became a real teacher. When my own children came along, I was a stay-at-home mom who taught her own kids. (Not home schooling, though.) I did some substitute teaching when they were in school, but never went back full time.
When my husband was downsized in the late 1980s, I looked for work. Going back into the classroom meant going back to school for an advanced degree and recertifying. I didn’t want to be a substitute again. So I looked for something I could do. I was pretty good with computers, word processing, some data inputting, very little but some spreadsheet experience. What job did I get? Inventory clerk for a flute store. All because I happened to see a little sign on the counter when I went in to buy reeds for my son’s saxophone. I was the only non-musician in a company that not only sold flute music in the local store but worldwide through their catalog. Lest you think I was a complete dunce regarding music, I have to say my dad was an opera and classical music buff. I grew up listening to the Metropolitan Opera on radio every Saturday afternoon. Frankly, I wanted to listen to Tiger Baseball. But that’s another story.
They say when a door closes another opens. Or are you supposed to open a window? Maybe I’m mixing metaphors. At any rate, whenever I’ve needed a job, I’ve taken existing skills (like word processing, data entry, and spreadsheets) and found a position where I could use them. My last was with an oil and gas exploration company where I discovered the cure for insomnia, reading oil and gas leases.
In my romantic suspense One Red Shoe my heroine is an elementary teacher (well, they say write what you know. LOL) and she’s stuck in a rut. When she was orphaned at thirteen, her older brothers came home to take care of her. As she approaches the big THREE-O, they still treat her like she’s a kid. She yearns for adventure and she finds it in writing mystery stories. Not content to live vicariously through her own heroine, she’s about to set off on her own adventure. She gets more than she bargained for.
Blurb for One Red Shoe:
Wannabe writer rescues wounded spy while risking her heart.
Daria Mason’s life is too predictable. Nothing ever happens in her small Iowa town where everybody knows everybody else. But when she travels to New York City looking for a little excitement, she never expects to bring home a wounded spy.
From the moment agent Sam Jozwiak steals intel vital to US security from a Russian Mafia kingpin, Murphy’s Law takes over. No matter how he covers his tracks, the kingpin’s assassins find him. What’s worse than getting shot in the butt? Accepting help from an Iowa tourist.
Sam and Daria flee cross country with the assassins right behind them. Sharing danger and excitement—and a few kisses—with Sam soon has Daria convinced he’s the man for her. He thinks she’ll be better off once he’s out of her life for good. With their lives on the line, can she convince him they belong together?
Excerpt from One Red Shoe:
Daria started running up the stairs to the fifth floor, hoping she would get to the restroom in time. As a teacher who couldn’t leave second-graders alone, she’d trained herself to hold it until scheduled breaks. But she should never have waited this long. Despite the cramping in her legs, she put on a burst of speed. As she passed the door to the fourth floor, she realized the stairs had gotten darker. She looked up to see if a light was out. On the half-way landing stood a man…pointing a gun at her.
She nearly wet her pants.
“What are you doing here?” the man demanded as he whisked his gun out of sight.
Daria froze. She clutched the rail with one hand, her bag of books with the other. She suddenly understood the line from Romancing the Stone because, just like Joan Wilder, Daria was paralyzed from the neck up. The rest of her wasn’t moving, either.
“Where are you going?” He had a faint accent. British, maybe. His eyes flickered with impatience. Hard glacial blue eyes. His voice, cultured with a hint of menace, frightened her more.
His shoes were level with her eyes. Shiny brown Florsheims. His jeans were new with distinct creases from being folded. They brushed the tops of his polished dress shoes.
Brown Shoes came down three steps and halted. He reached inside his black light-weight jacket and Daria prayed it wasn’t for a gun. That made no sense. Why didn’t he use the one he’d tucked behind his back? He pulled out a leather folder and flipped it open. A gold badge. He was the police. Daria sagged in relief.
With a quick motion, Brown Shoes flipped the folder closed and stuffed it back in his pocket. “What is your business?” He tapped his brown shoe impatiently.
Her throat began to close in fear from his anger.
One Red Shoe is available at:
The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1082
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00FDXRHZA
And wherever ebooks are sold.
About the author:
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched series, she is the author of The Pilot, the first book in a series about strong women on the frontier of space. One Red Shoe is her first romantic suspense. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and two grandchildren.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com
Connect with Diane Burton online
Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmburton72
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor
Goodreads: Diane Burton Author
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/
Diane is giving away a $20 eGift Card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble to a lucky commenter. For extra chances, please follow the link below to use Rafflecopter:
http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/2014/01/one-red-shoe-worldwide-release.html