DEAD RINGER - Susan Sleeman - One Free Book

Welcome back, Susan. Why did you become an author?

Honestly, it was because I was sidelined by a chronic health issue. I always wanted to write a book, but I was busy with family and my career, and I don’t think I would ever have slowed down enough to learn the craft and write that first book if God hadn’t brought life to a screeching halt for me. But once I started writing, I pursued the work because I loved creating the stories and loved being able to share my faith through them.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job? 

I would love to be a graphic designer. I love doing website design—I have designed my own site and the site for www.TheSuspenseZone.com—and creating promotional graphics. And I just love fonts. Weird I know, but I think they convey so much, and I also think graphic design would be a great outlet for my creative side. Of course, I am untrained and would need lots of schooling but it would be fun to learn.

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?

I would definitely need indoor plumbing. LOL I love shows and movies set in the 1920’s and 30’s so I would choose this time. Not only for the promise our country held in those days, but I would like to see the timeframe my parents experienced, and then as an adult, to see what was really happening in our country when I was growing up.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to?

I have lived in nine states and traveled a lot for my prior job, but have not spent any time in the New England states and would love to visit.

I would, too, especially in autumn. How about a foreign country you hope to visit?

I would love to go to England or Scotland. I watch a lot of BBC television shows and would like to see some of the places featured in the series I love to watch. And I wrote a mystery set in Scotland so had to do a lot of research and would love to see the actual places I spent so much time investigating.

I haven’t set a novel in Scotland, but I’ve used several Scottish characters in novels, and I understand all the research, but I love it. What lesson has the Lord taught you recently?

I have been recently diagnosed with a second chronic illness that is really trying my faith, and I am having to learn that we have to live beyond our circumstances. That God is in them and on the other side of them, and He will bring us through the difficult things. I need this hope to make it through some of the most difficult days.

Tell us about the featured book.

Dead Ringer is book one in my Truth Seekers series, where people are rarely who they seem

A twin who never knew her sister existed, a mother whose child is not her own, a woman whose father is anything but her father. All searching. All seeking. All needing help and hope.

The Truth Seekers—unsung heroes of the Veritas Center—is a team, six strong, that includes experts in forensic anthropology, DNA, trace evidence, ballistics, cybercrimes, and toxicology. Committed to restoring hope and families by solving one mystery at a time, none of them are prepared for when the mystery comes calling too close to home and threatens to destroy the only life they’ve known.

And here are the details of this first book, Dead Ringer -

She was hiding from her past…
When a local woman goes missing and Sheriff Blake Jenkins delivers her blood sample to DNA expert Emory Steele for analysis, Blake discovers Emory is a dead ringer for the missing woman. Blake’s gut says the woman is related to Emory. But Emory rejects the notion, requiring a DNA test before she’ll concede that she does indeed have a twin sister she never knew about.

Now she’ll do anything to see it come to light.

Emory joins Blake in a search for her missing sister, but when an attempt is made to abduct Emory as well, they begin to think the abduction is related to Emory’s birth parents. Blake vows to keep her under his watchful eye until they discover what this maniac is looking for and bring him to justice. But Emory balks at his constant surveillance as she’s struggling to come to grips with a former brutal attack, and she wants nothing to do with a man who might want to get close to her. When it becomes clear that Blake is the only one who can keep her safe, will she let him get close enough to do so?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Blood-infused water circled the shower drain in Caitlyn Abbot’s bathroom and disappeared. Like Caitlyn. Like her life. Like everything she touched.

“This is your last chance, Caitlyn.” Her captor lurked in the shadows, his large nose seeming even bigger in an otherwise unremarkable face. “Tell me where she is, or I swear I’ll kill you before the night’s out.”

“If I knew, don’t you think I’d have told you by now?” She struggled against her restraints—twisting, turning her wrists as she sat tied to a chair in her bathroom shower. The heavy duct tape held firm—had held firm for five long hours of pain and mental battering by the man she’d come to think of as Igor.

He lumbered across the tiny bathroom. The white coveralls he wore whispered against his legs as his rubber boots thumped on the tile floor. He circled his calloused fingers around her neck. Rough, sandpapery fingers rested lightly against her skin, a grin overtaking his wide mouth.

She stared up at his face, zoning in on a chipped upper tooth as she’d done for hours to keep from recoiling in fear. He rubbed a hand over his blond hair, and it came to rest behind an ear that protruded like Dopey’s ears, though this man was far from a dwarf. He was sturdy and tall.

His smile vanished, and he curled his fingers tight, his nails piercing her skin, adding to her already unbearable pain level.

“Stop lying to me.” Spittle clung to the corners of his mouth.

Cait bit her lip to keep from crying out and giving him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting her. “I’m not lying. Please. You have to believe me.”

Intriguing. How can readers find you on the Internet?

To learn more about my books sign up for her monthly email that includes exclusive excerpts, giveaways, and other goodies. http://www.susansleeman.com/susans-newsletter/  
Or stop by any of these locations on the web.
Website - http://www.susansleeman.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/SusanSleemanBooks
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/susansleeman  
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/susansleeman/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4053429.Susan_Sleeman
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/susan-sleeman
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Sleeman/e/B003ANF6Z8
Review Site - http://www.TheSuspenseZone.com

Thank you, Susan, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I'm eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Dead Ringer: (Truth Seekers Book 1) - Paperback
Dead Ringer: (Truth Seekers Book 1) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

DEAD RINGER - V B Tenery - One Free Book

Readers, we have another new author today. I met her when I was a speaker for a book club in East Texas, and I'm thrilled to introduce her to you. I can't wait to read this suspense novel.

Bio: Author V. B. Tenery lives with her family in East Texas. Her passion is writing inspirational fiction with shinning characters, settings, and plots so exciting readers come away feeling delighted with the experience. Not content to stay in one genre, her novels range from contemporary suspense and supernatural suspense, to an upcoming historical suspense set in WWII England. When not writing she enjoys reading, hiking, and tube-floating down rivers in the Texas Hill Country.

God’s child trying to make Him proud.

Welcome, Virginia. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I never see myself as one of my characters, but my values and spiritual beliefs are reflected in most of the main characters, both male and female.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I let a friend talk me into entering an Arthur Murray dance contest. I’m still not sure how we did it, but we won a bronze metal in the tango. I was so nervous I didn’t remember anything from the moment we began until it ended—a total blank.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

In my teens, I wrote a lot of poetry, but it wasn’t until about twelve years ago that I realized I had a passion for storytelling. A friend and I took a creative writing course at a community college, and the professor gave me a lot of encouragement. He made me believe I could do it. That was the beginning of my first novel. Which, by the way, I rewrote about a gazillion times before it was published in March.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

My range isn’t large, I mostly enjoy suspense, but I’m not limited in the sub-genres. I like contemporary, historical, even speculative fiction as long as it isn’t too far out. I read to escape into an exciting place with characters I want to know. I have two favorite novels: In fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird and in non-fiction, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, the greatest book on faith I’ve ever read.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

By accepting my limitations as a human being. I can only do so much, and I don’t beat myself up if I don’t get everything done. I try to walk every day, preferably outdoors to appreciate the world God gave us. It lifts my spirits. In bad weather, I use the gym but it isn’t the same.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

It’s really odd, but the main character names just come to me when I begin a new novel. With secondary characters I look up names by their ethnic origin. I’m big on building a strong cast of supporting characters. I have one secondary character that is getting larger and larger. LOL. I think she wants the lead in her own novel.

I’m sure she does. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Raising my daughter to be a woman of faith and being the caregiver for my three grandsons whom I adore.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I can’t think of an animal I would want to be, but if I had to be one, I’d want to be a dog. After all, the dog is man’s best friend. Dogs are sensitive and loving; they don’t complain; and they gaze at you with adoring eyes. All they ask is an occasional pat on the head or an evening stroll.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Telling rather than showing was my nemesis. Learning the techniques of deep point of view helped me overcome most of it but it’s still a struggle.

Tell us about the featured book.

Dead Ringer is the story of Mercy Lawrence, just out of college and recovering from an accident. When airport facial identification security cameras mistakenly identify her as Tracy Wallace, a notorious missing model, her life is upended. Tracy’s husband, Thomas Wallace, believing Mercy is his missing wife, abducts her and takes her to his private island to care for their ill son. An orphan, Mercy deals with the emotions of abduction and immediately bonds with the little boy. Not the least of her problems is the discovery that her double had made enemies who want her dead.

Thomas is lured into a covert mission to rescue a CIA asset and uncover a government mole, leaving Mercy isolated on the island. Thomas finds himself stranded on foreign soil with a compromised mission and a wounded agent. He must escape alive and rescue Mercy and his son before assassins finish the job they started.

Please give us the first page of your book.

Hamilton, Bermuda

Friday, May 5

Mercy Lawrence wouldn’t have noticed the large man standing by the silver Mercedes except for the way he was dressed. Unlike the tourists on the sidewalk, he wore a light gray business suit and tie. Sunglasses hid the upper portion of his face, and the grim set of his mouth detracted from his otherwise handsome appearance. He stood beside the car’s open back door, arms crossed as if waiting for someone.

Not wanting to stare, she tore her gaze away. In jeans, T-shirt, and sandals, she blended easily into the vacationers along the boulevard. She’d spent the last five months in this wonderful country, recuperating from a head injury. Most of her memory remained intact after the accident, but dark recesses still refused to reveal their mystery.

But tomorrow, like a good soldier, she would return to Houston and report to her new job at Sabine Oil. The fulfillment of a goal she’d worked toward for the past six years.

The city’s main drag ran four lanes wide with a palm-tree-lined median. The sea on one side, shops and hotels on the other. A soft wind filled the air with the scent of sea kelp and brine, mixed with a light floral fragrance from the purple bougainvilleas hanging on the walls along the walkway. Seagulls swept low over the water, looking for lunch out past the rolling surf.

She shook her hair loose from the confines of its ponytail clip and turned her face to the balmy sunshine—mainlining vitamin D.

Her path took her within four feet of the parked car.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: www.vbtenery.com  

www.agatharemembered.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/teneryherrin

Thank you, Virginia, for sharing your new novel and part of your life with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Dead Ringer - Christianbook.com
Dead Ringer - Amazon Kindle and paperback

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com