So far I’ve received two reviews for Blood and Bone. The first from Book Pimps Reviews where they gave Blood and Bone 5 stars. “There wasn’t one moment where I was bored with this book, I honestly could not put Blood and Bone down until I finished it. It is definitely a chilling romantic suspense with just enough emotional ups & downs, sex, humor and twists and turns to keep the reader totally enthralled.” They said a lot of other nice things and you can read the entire review here.

The second is 4 stars from Night Owl Romance. “Blood and Bone starts out with a chilling meeting between a crime writer and convicted murder setting readers on the edge of their seat from the first eerie meeting to the last page…This book is a thrilling adventure to unravel the mystery of who committed the murders twenty-five years ago…” You can read the entire review here.

I’m so pleased with the feedback so far. Anyway, that’s it until Wednesday.

Marika!!! Congratulations, Marika. Send me an email at dawn@dawnbrown.org letting me know which format you prefer and I will send your book to you.

Thanks to everyone for playing. But I’m not quite done yet. Anyone who leaves a comment on today’s blog will get a chance to win their choice of books from my back list.

I also received a glowing five-star review from Book Pimps’ Reviews. “There wasn’t one moment where I was bored with this book, I honestly could not put Blood and Bone down until I finished it.  It is definitely a chilling romantic suspense with just enough emotional ups & downs, sex, humor and twists and turns to keep the reader totally enthralled.”  WooHoo! You can read the entire review here.

I need to start getting ready for work, but in the meantime here’s an excerpt from Blood and Bone.

Today for All Things Romantic Suspense we have Kiki Howell to tell us about her writing and her book Torn Asunder. Welcome Kiki!

Dawn: When and why did you begin writing?

Kiki: I couldn’t say exactly. I started writing little stories as a child. I really started writing actual stories for classes in High School and College (English Major), but then took about a decade off after having my boys. As of 2008, I started again, but this time I tried getting published as well. How do you create your plots and characters?

Dawn: Do you use any sort of formula?

Kiki: I do a chapter by chapter outline that includes my research to create the storyline and develop characters. I try to weave each genre I am writing in into each chapter as I go including the profound journey (s) of the characters heads I am writing in so they can grow with the story. With the suspense genre I think this outline is very important, as it is almost like writing a story backwards, and I need to mark what secrets are going to be revealed when.

Dawn: What do you consider the most important elements of good writing?

 Kiki: I think that varies a bit by genre. For me, writing in paranormal romance, I look at the building of my world, building of the relationship along with character development. Also, during my writing process, I go through looking at show verse tell, especially making sure I am touching on the different senses in my descriptions. The suspense genre on the other hand is all about build of story and timing I think.

Dawn: What music groups/artists do you listen to while you write?

Kiki: None actually. If I listen to anything at all, it is a Hami-Sync CD. You can read more about it here: I personally love the one for concentration and creativity.

Dawn: Have you experienced writer’s block? And if so, what did you do to overcome it?

Kiki: I do from time to time, even in the middle of a story. I find it means I just need to recharge, invest some time into me physically, mentally and spiritually to renew myself. Depending upon my mood at the time, I may read, watch movies, draw, sit at my lake, etc. Being a wife, mom and writer, it is easy to get run down.

Dawn: What do you do when you’re not writing?

A. Taking care of my family mostly. But, I also review for Suspense Magazine which feeds my reading habit. But, if we are talking other hobbies, I like to knit and draw and watch movies.

Dawn: What are you reading right now?

Kiki: Guess you could call it research, “Cottage Witchery” Well, it started as reseach for a story, but I am finding it is calling to the Feng Shui side of me. I am a certified Feng Shui practitioner, and a lot of the information in the book overlaps making me want to update my house

Dawn: What’s next for you?

Kiki: Right now, I am getting together the cover letter and synopsis to sub my first mainstream paranormal, romantic suspense novel to agents. The novel is based in Salem, MA where I visited this summer.

 ”Kiki Howell spins a wonderful tale of passion, magic, betrayal, and a love that conquers all. Enjoy.” ~NY Times Bestselling Author, Hannah Howell

Torn Asunder: Aubrey Griffen is a witch whose true reasons for coming to London soon fall to the wayside when she catches the eye of Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury. He seduces her into a whirlwind romance until the lies and threats of his mother force her to flee to Triaill Brimuir, a secret island of her ancestors off the coast of Ireland. Edmund goes after her only to be hit by Aubrey’s confusion and anger when she magically transforms him into an elemental beast of her own creation.

 However, it is when Edmund’s lust mysteriously turns him back into a man that the couple are forced to deal with a family secret and untold of powers. Now, Edmund must learn to shift himself into the beast in order to save her in a battle of black verses white magic.

Fraught with scenes of explicit intimacy, romantic spells and mystical shapeshifting, Torn Asunder is a unique blending of the age of manners with sexual magic.

Genres: Historical (Regency), Paranormal (Witches & Shifters), Erotic, Romantic Suspense

Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language, Violence

You can purchase Torn asunder in eBook and Trade Paperback online at retailers like Amazon , Barnes & Noble , All Romance Ebooks , Smashwords , and Excessica Publishing .

Praise for Torn Asunder: Kiki Howell I feel has a major hit on her hands with Torn Asunder. I was so glued to this book that I was up til 4AM reading it, and mind you, I had to be up at 7AM to see my kiddies off to school….lol. I was just so captivated… In between all the chaos our couple must endure is the most breath taking love story. Their hearts and minds are linked for all time by an unforeseen connection that real couples only dream of. On a scale of 1-10 I give this book a 10 and encourage everyone 18 and over to get a copy of this book and fall under Aubrey and Emund’s spell. It is so worth the ride. ~5 out of 5 Stars, Review by Raquel Vega-Grieder for Sinfully Tasty Reads

To learn more about Kiki and her work, visit her website.  

Thank you so much for visiting, Kiki!

 Welcome to another week of All Things Romantic Suspense. Today we have Jerri Drennen here to talk about writing and her Men of the Jungle series.

Before we begin, here’s a little about Jerri’s current release, Untouched, a recommended read from Joyfully Reviewed. Untouched is available from Amazon.

Botanist Madeline Wentworth is relieved to be heading into the Amazon, far

from the university and the vicious rumors circulating about her failed love affair. But on arriving in Peru, her team finds their guide dead with a small puncture wound to his neck. Waiting to replace him is Travis Kane, Amazon guide, treasure hunter, and superhunk.

Mattie is instantly attracted but uncomfortably suspicious. When a member of her team falls ill and a similar puncture wound is found on his body, her suspicions deepen.

Travis has stuck with being a jungle guide for over ten years despite a run of

unsavory clients. The rain forest is full of hidden ruins and undiscovered treasure, and he’s determined to find his share. But when his grandfather dies, leaving a letter boasting of Templar gold, he’s sure it’s nothing more than an old man’s delusion. Everything changes when he finds his grandfather’s map. With high hopes, he leads Mattie’s team into the rain forest and finds himself overwhelmed by the beautiful blonde. When the group is attacked and has to fight its way out of the jungle, Travis discovers something more precious than gold–the love of a woman who’s made him want to be a better man.

Travis stripped the clothes from his body and waded into the cool water, determined to lose that picture before his swim was over. He had to get a few hours sleep tonight or he’d have a hard time staying awake tomorrow.

For what seemed like an hour, he swam, gliding fluidly on the surface of the water, hoping it’d tire him out.

A splashing sound from the edge of the pool put him on alert.

He treaded water, his gaze darting around the pool, then coming to land on Mattie, whose barely-clothed body skimmed through the water, the moonlight casting a glow around her as if she were a ghost.

Travis sucked in a breath, caught up in her movement as she closed in on him.

What the hell was she doing? He had only so much control, and it was being seriously diminished by the look in her eyes.

As she neared, he struggled to breathe. “What do you want, Mattie?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” The words came out in a seductive whisper, and his cock throbbed under the cool water.

Christ Almighty. How was he going to fight his desire when everything she did turned him on?

“You’re going to be worn out if you don’t get some rest.” Was he telling her or himself that?

“You haven’t been sleeping either, have you?” She inched closer to him.

If not for the water swirling around him, he‘d have gone up in flames. “I‘m used to not getting much rest in the jungle.“She smiled, then dunked her head under the water and resurfaced.

As if in a trance, Travis watched her hands glide down her long blonde tresses, wringing out the water, the droplets on her face shining in the moonlight. He was lost in her eyes–lost in one particular drop of water on her plump bottom lip. Never in his life had he wanted to kiss a woman so badly. He could almost feel her mouth fused on his–taste the cool water on her lips.

This was insane.

She was on the move again, skimming through the water, her intent clear. She wanted him to kiss her, and more. How could he resist the open seduction, especially with his body screaming to stop thinking and start kissing?

When her toes curled around his beneath the water, an electric current shot up his leg, spreading out to every appendage, causing one in particular to go rigid.

She reached a wet hand out and traced the line of his bottom lip. “You have a beautiful mouth.“ It was said so low he wondered if she‘d meant to say it aloud.

This whole thing was getting out of control fast. He either had to stop her now or kiss her until she passed out.

Her index finger dipped into his mouth.

Shit. 

And now a little about Jerri. Welcome Jerri!

Dawn:  When and why did you begin writing?

Jerri: I started late. I think I was thirty-eight and my youngest child was three. I needed an outline to remain sane and I started writing a story about a boy band hero and a much older/friend of his mother, heroine. It was awful, but my sister encouraged me to keep writing.

Dawn: How do you create your plots and characters? Do you use any sort of formula?

Jerri: No, not really. I get some idea about plot but let my characters tell the story.

Dawn: What do you consider the most important elements of good writing?

Jerri: I think it’s creating characters who are not only believable but you can relate to. I was tickled that with Untouched, I had a reviewer say that she could see herself being friends with Mattie, my heroine in the book. I think that is crucial to writing a great story.

Dawn: What music groups/artists do you listen to while you write?

Jerri: I hate to say this but I hardly ever listen to music when writing, and I know this is going to sound strange, but I usually have the TV on MSNBC. I do need background noise to write and that seems to work for me.

Dawn: Have you experienced writer’s block? And if so, what did you do to overcome it?

Jerri: Yes. Too often than I want to think about. I’m in a good place right now–writing

almost every day. I have gone over a month without writing a single new word. And let me tell you, I wasn’t a very happy person in that month’s time. I need to write to be happy.

Dawn: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Jerri: Watching TV. I love that commercial where they talk about how much TV has shaped people. That’s me in a nutshell. I couldn’t live without Television, but in the Spring and Summer, I love to yard sale.

Dawn: What are you reading right now?

Jerri: Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords. I started it a while back but things got crazy and I just got back to it.

Dawn: What’s next for you?

Jerri: I’m about to get edits for the second book in my Men of the Jungle series, Unplanned.

Here’s the blurb.

Galen Hall wakes in a Ecuadorian jail with a murderous headache, a murder

charge, and a memory gap where his alibi should be. How does the jungle guide prove his innocence? His best friend comes to help, only to bring with him the woman whose unplanned love sent him fleeing the Amazon to begin with.

One night of steamy jungle passion has botanist Dana Rutherford carrying a

stranger’s baby. While coming to terms with raising a child on her own, she learns of the father’s captivity. In a town where corruption reigns, she unknowingly initiates a jailbreak, and finds herself again face-to-face with the hunky, green-eyed devil who has changed her life forever.

To learn more about Jerri and her books check out her website. Thanks for visiting Jerri!

Hi all, it’s All Things Romantic Suspense again, and today we have Veronica Lynch. But, before we get started, I’m being featured on Rachel Haimowitz’s blogtoday, and giving away a copy of The Curse of Culcraig. So, hopefully, once you’ve read Veronica’s interview you pop on over. 

 Now, let’s get started. Welcome Veronica! Hi, Dawn, thanks for inviting me to your blog today! 

Dawn: When and why did you begin writing?

Veronica: It was 1987; the kids were home on February break. I’d received a birth announcement from a friend at a former job. My response to her card, catching her up on what was new with us, took 27 pages of lined tablet paper before I realized I might have something going for me.

 Dawn: How do you create your plots and characters? Do you use any sort of formula?

Veronica: Snippets from the national news or the newspaper tend to set up the ‘what if’ response in me. After I mull it over for a few days, I focus on the type of character who would respond well [or not so well] to the ‘snippet’. Then I work on character development, goals, motivation and conflict.

Dawn: What do you consider the most important elements of good writing?

Veronica: Believable goals, realistic motivation, strong conflict, good quality character development. Quick, snappy dialogue. Humor. Supportive secondary characters. And a setting so vivid it becomes a character of its own.

Dawn: What music groups/artists do you listen to while you write?

Veronica: Depends on the story, but I’m a sixties and seventies girl. I am the BeeGees, the Four Seasons, Johnny Mathis, the Eagles, the Temps, MoTown, Carly Simon.

Dawn: Have you experienced writer’s block?

Veronica: I’m not aware of it.

Dawn: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Veronica: I design and make tote bags and purses, infant items [swaddling blankets, boppy covers, slings, diaper bags for Moms and Dads], and princess costumes for my grand-daughters.

Dawn: What are you reading right now?

Veronica:  JR Ward’s “Crave”. These are not your granny’s guardian angels!

 Dawn: What’s next for you?

 Veronica: I’m working on a series of short novellas for Decadent Publishing based on a poem by Henry vanDyke titled, “Those Who Love”. It is set in a small fictional city on the shores of Lake Ontario in western New York State and features H&H’s who are connected to the criminal justice system in the city of Easton, county of Umberland.

The caller’s voice was low, husky, and exquisitely male. “Do you know the difference between a barracuda and a victim advocate?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe two. “Lip gloss.”

“Well damn,” Investigator Keenan Rossi muttered. “You already heard it.”

“An oldie but a goodie, pal.”

“Aren’t we all. How you doin’ on this gorgeous February day, gorgeous?”

Bringing the face of the handsome sheriff’s detective to mind took no great effort. After several moments of imagining twinkling eyes and a dimpled grin, she said, “Not too bad. How’s by you?”

“Lemme tell you, cara. If I was any better, I’d scare myself.”

To learn more about Veronica and her books you can visit her blog or website. Thanks for stopping in, Veronica.

Anyway, Christmas was very nice. Spent time with family, ate delicious foods and enjoyed myself immensely. DH bought me the Sony E-reader, which I was very excited about. Not only was I hoping to find one under the tree, but, as an e-published writer, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see E-readers on the shelves of Canadian stores. Every time the add played on T.V. I’d do a little happy dance.

Though I have to admit, I wasn’t entirely sure I would enjoy reading on an e-reader. I’m a big fan of books. I enjoy browsing bookstores, like the feel of a book in my hand and the look of a book on the shelf.

To be honest, I haven’t noticed huge difference as far as reading goes. The e-reader is lightweight, and once I start reading, I don’t even think about the difference between the page versus the screen. The only minor downfall is I can’t use it if I want to read in the bath. And as I read a lot, I’ve had to become very selective about the books that make it my keeper shelf. I think the e-reader will help to cut back on the number of books that land on my will-never-read-again-and-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-now shelf. Which is a good thing, really.

Anyway, I hope you all enoyed your holidays. After avoiding the computer for so long, I have a lot to get caught up on. Wish me luck.

Music: Tangerine – Led Zeppelin

Mood: Good.

Well, it’s Monday and I’m wiped. I had very busy weekend. Friday and Saturday morning, I wrote like crazy and got a lot of stuff done. I still feel a little like I’m playing catch-up from the bookkeeping, but at least now I see a dent in all the things I wanted to get done, and I’m feeling more organized. So to celebrate, I went book shopping Saturday afternoon. I picked up to new paperbacks (a J.R. Ward and a Carla Neggers) and a Killers CD.

Then Saturday night, we had my mom over dinner. Sunday we hosted a barbeque and I babysat my two-year-old neice. I had forgotten how much work goes into watching a toddler. So by nine o’clock last night I was ready for bed. Even today, I’m still dragging my butt a bit.

Still, it was a great weekend. Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!!

Mood: Good

Music: Losing Touch – The Killers

I’m sure by now most people have heard about Amazon stripping GLBT books of their sales ranking because they are ‘adult content’. Given the bizarre inconsistencies for what Amazon considers adult content, this move by Amazon is clearly discrimination.

If you haven’t heard about any of this, Dear Author explains in detail what’s happened, and what you can do about it.

I generally don’t get all political on my blog, but this kind of censorship feels small-minded and wrong to me.

Truth is, I discovered there are two issues that have cropped up. The first, the scenes I wrote last week are leading to a major plot point, but it’s coming up too soon. I need for more information to be revealed before this happens. The second is the romance element has fallen by the wayside while I develop the mystery. Again, this happens. Sometimes I become so fixed on building the story I forget the relationship between the characters and I need to flesh that out some.

This is tricky. I don’t want to spend a great deal of time fixing things further back for fear of losing momentum. At the same time, making the changes now while the ideas are fresh in my head means less work on the rewrite. Hmm, what to do?

I’ll have to deal with the plot point problem immediately, and the write around will be minimal. It’s the fleshing out of the relationship that will be the most work. Hmm. I’ll think on it awhile.

Made a trip to the bookstore last night, and bought three new books because God knows I can’t leave the place empty handed. Today the weather is gorgeous, and what I really want to do is sit in my backyard with a cup of tea (This week’s tea is Bengal Spice, in case anyone cares.) and read one of my new books. What I should be doing is weeding my garden.

So many decisions. 

 Mood: Good

Music: Strawberry Fields – The Beatles