SUNDOWN - Susan May Warren - One Free Book

Bio: Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 90 novels with more than 1.5 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series, as well as Sunrise and Sunburst. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers’ Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota. Find her online on Facebook @SusanMayWarrenFiction, and on Twitter @SusanMayWarren.

About the story: Former Delta Operative Colt Kingston knows when someone is lying. He may not know the truth, but he sure doesn’t trust Tae, the woman his family rescued from an Alaskan blizzard. But behind those beautiful blue eyes, he can tell there is a troubled woman.

Although a few of her stories prove true, her tale of survival seems too incredible to believe—until the thugs who are pursuing her show up and threaten Sky King Ranch. Now Tae must disappear, along with her secrets.

When Colt and his brothers discover that Tae’s secrets include the antidote to a plague that could threaten the world, it’ll take all three Kingston brothers to find Tae and protect their country from a biological attack.

Join Susan May Warren for this epic ending to her Sky King Ranch series.

Welcome Back, Susan. Please provide a brief summary of your new novel, Sundown. Sundown is the epic conclusion to the Sky King Ranch trilogy. Taylor “Tae” Price is hiding something—former Delta Operator Colt Kingston knows it. But she’s not talking . . . at least until she’s targeted by a Russian assassin. Then suddenly she has a story that no one believes, except, maybe Colt. And not just because she helped nurse him back to his feet after his terrible captivity in Nigeria. There’s something about Tae’s story that rings true, even if it feels unbelievable that she alone holds the antidote to a terrible biological threat. Colt and Tae—and the rest of the Sky King Ranch family—must race against time to stop the attack.

Your female protagonist, Tae, comes to Sky King Ranch with a lot of secrets. Can you offer some hints as to how these secrets could have a huge impact on the world? Tae works for a private group that researches rogue, virulent strains of already known diseases—Ebola, hantavirus, smallpox, etc. When one of these kinds of diseases is unleashed, it’s up to her to find the cure.

Colt Kingston, one of the three triplets featured in the Sky King Ranch series, is a former Delta Operative. Can you explain what this profession entails and why it is important in Sundown? Delta Force is a special ops group within the US Army that operates under special command of the Joint Special Operations Command. They specialize in counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and recon, often with high-value targets. This is especially important because Colt comes to the story with specific skills that allow him to direct action against the group producing the virus. His experience is exactly what they need to find and stop the terrorists.

The Sky King Ranch series is set in Alaska, which is often referred to as the Last Frontier. Why did you choose this setting? Alaska is its own amazing character! I love the setting because it challenges our characters to go beyond themselves to look within and find courage they didn’t know they had. Setting a book in Alaska allows me to create desperate scenarios that add to both the suspense and character growth. It is just hands-down, mind-blowingly beautiful.

Sundown is the final book in your Sky King Ranch series. What is the connecting element for all of the books in this series? All of the brothers have returned home wounded in some way, both physically and mentally, so coming back to the ranch offers them a place to confront those wounds and heal. Also, the appearance of Tae in book 1 is threaded through the series and connects all three books in the epic plot.

Are there any threads that run through the whole series that will be wrapped up in Sundown? There are many threads!! Some, of course, I can’t give away, but all the characters have ongoing problems, question or issues that in some way get resolved or answered, from family problems to health issues to backstory questions.

What inspired the idea for this series? The idea began years ago when I penned a different series about Alaskan smokejumpers and readers first met Larke, the brothers’ oldest sister. My fans reached out and asked me for the triplets’ stories, and suddenly all three brothers walked into my brain with their problems and started talking!

What lessons do you hope readers can gain from reading Sundown? The series is really about how we need to take a long-range view of our lives, because God is active and working on our story even when we feel alone. I hope readers are encouraged to trust the Lord and see that no situation is out of his control.

What do you love most about writing romance novels packed with both action and adventure? I love meeting and falling in love with my heroes! They are so fun to write about, and getting them into trouble—and out of it—with the right partner is a blast!

How can readers connect with you? www.susanmaywarren.com

Thank you, Susan, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. You know how much I love reading your novels.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sundown+susan+may+warren&i=stripbooks&crid=YZL42O7F6QET&sprefix=sundown+susan%2Cstripbooks%2C126&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_13

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 2 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 

SUNRISE - Susan May Warren - One Free Book

Bio: Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 85 novels with more than 1 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers’ Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota.

Welcome back, Susan. Can you please provide a brief description of Sunrise? Sunrise is the epic first book in a trilogy set in beautiful Alaska. This series is about three brothers who return home after serving their country. Our male hero, Dodge, sets about healing a terrible rift that has driven the brothers apart—starting with forgiving the woman who betrayed him. In the mix, he discovers the ignition of a plot that spans the globe and will bring his brothers home to help save the world.

Can you please provide more information on your new Sky King Ranch series? Small-town Alaska. Bush pilots. Three ex-military heroes. The Kingston triplets have come home defeated, broken from war, and feeling anything but heroic. But the sons of Sky King Ranch have returned just in time because the world is in danger, and these flyboys, rescuers, and soldiers just might be the only ones who can save it. It’s a fight to save the people—and country—they love, and along the way, they’ll discover healing and become the heroes they are meant to be.

What was the inspiration for your new novel? We first met the Kingston brothers and Sky King Ranch via their sister, Larke, in the Summer of the Burning Sky series. This series was also set in Alaska and revolved around a team of smokejumpers. I had so many requests for the brothers’ stories that I put together an idea that had been floating around in my head for years. It was about a woman on the run in Alaska who carries a secret that can save—or destroy—the world. I also wanted to create another epic community like Deep Haven, only set in the foothills of Alaska. Thus, Copper Mountain was born.

Sunrise is the first book in your Sky King Ranch series. What is the common element that ties each of the books in this series together? This is a rich family series wrapped around one central event—a massive family fight that drove everyone into a different branch of the military. Now, after their father is injured in a plane crash, the sons return home one by one to save the ranch—and then, of course, the world.

Can you provide readers with some background on the male protagonist, Dodge Kingston? Dodge, the firstborn son of the Kingston family, is capable, serious, and driven, and has always loved the heroine, Echo Yazzie, even after she broke his heart. He doesn’t plan on sticking around his hometown, but when he discovers his father needs him, he’s the first to sign up to help. Dodge is dependable and loyal, but he also struggles to forgive the people who have betrayed him. I’d pick Dodge as the leader of any SAR team.

Echo Yazzie is referred to as a “true Alaskan.” What does this classification mean? Echo knows how to survive. She and her father are homesteaders, meaning they live off the grid and they’ve eked out a nice home in the wilderness. Echo hunts, fishes, gardens, chops wood, and runs dogs (as in a dogsled). She works as a wilderness guide for the Fish and Game service, helping researchers, and if there is anyone you want to get lost with in the woods, it’s Echo.

You have set your new series in the heart of Alaska. Why did you choose this location? I love Alaska. My son Peter was born there, and something about the rugged wilderness calls to me. I love the personal challenge that living in Alaska brings and the epic beauty of it. For an epic-adventure author, it’s the perfect location to get into trouble!

What do you hope readers will experience when reading Sunrise? As always, I bring the thrill of adventure, the hope of second chances, and a true romance with epic heroes and brave heroines into the story. But I also hope readers like the theme of what it means to love unconditionally, to forgive yourself as well as others, and to heal after betrayal. In the end, I hope readers love joining the Kingston family.

Your books are full of action, danger, and romance. Do you find it difficult to include all of these components in a novel? It’s a challenging balance, for sure, but I love these kinds of books, so writing these stories is super fun. They certainly keep me on my toes (and up at night, as I imagine the trouble the characters will get into)!

What are you working on next? Having finished book 2, I’m working on book 3—the epic conclusion to the series!

How can readers connect with you? Stop by my website, www.SusanMayWarren.com, or find me on Facebook and Instagram @SusanMayWarrenFiction.

Thank you, Susie, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it. You know I love all your books.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sunrise+Susan+May+Warren&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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 

KNOX - Susan May Warren - One Free Book

Dear Readers, when I first met Susan May Warren, her family was missionaries in Russia. That was many years, and many books, ago. And what wonderful books they have been. I’ve loved reading her unique stories. Her characters are fully developed with flaws and endearing qualities. They meet and overcome obstacles, and there is always a happily-ever-after ending. What’s not to love? She really knows how to write a satisfying romance.

Welcome back, Susan. What genre do you write and why?

I write the genre I love to read—epic romantic adventure! Give me a great story about a hero and heroine trying to survive trouble (and the occasional bad guy!)

If you were to choose one superpower, what would it be?

FLYING. For sure.

Do you ever get stuck when you’re writing a book? What do you do to get unstuck?

Yes, of course. It’s usually because I don’t know what the immediate problem of my character is or what the stakes are in the scene. In order to get unstuck, I call my writing partner, Rachel Hauck, and we talk through what the character wants now, and why, what happens if they don’t get it, and what obstacles can we throw in the way! That usually sparks my imagination.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

PROOFING. I am the worlds worst proofer. And, by that time, I’ve read the book so many times, I’m tired of it!

I know what you mean. I’m good at proofing, but by the time I reached the fourth, and last, book in my first series, I was sick of the setting. If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?

Fajitas. Or maybe my homemade pizza.

Yum. They both sound good. What is your typical day like?

I’m up around 6:30 and if it’s summer, I take a walk. If not then I do some stretching, then I make coffee and have my quiet time. Then I look at my schedule for the day using my writing planner (shameless plug! http://www.mybrilliantwritingplanner.com). I budget my time in time blocks, so my first time block is from 9am-noon, and usually I do business work – marketing, newsletters, emails, finances, etc. My next block is 1-3, and usually that is my first writing block. My last time block is 3:30-5:30 and often write at that time, also.  (I try for about 2500 words per writing block).  We eat dinner at 6ish, then the rest of the evening I hang out with hubs. I usually go to bed around 9pm and read for an hour.  Not a super exciting day, but I like it.

Maybe I need to order one of those planners. What is most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict, or emotions? Why?

I think emotions are always the most difficult. It’s hard to dig deep and find exactly the right emotion for your character, so usually that takes a couple passes. I will often lay down the foundation and structure for the scene, then go back and add in storyworld, mood and finally nail the emotion of the character.

How likely are the people you meet going to end up in your next book?

Somewhat. Strangers, tho—I don’t put friends in my books. I often will put people I meet on airplanes, or while travelling. I enjoy hearing their stories, and since I don’t know them, I can use pieces of them if I were to have a story idea.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

My hero is my husband. He is kind, patient, a listener, deeply cares for others, an amazingly hard worker, knows how to have fun and laugh and loves the Lord. I’m so blessed to be married to him.

Please give us the text on the first page of your first chapter.

Oh goody, now Knox got to watch his troublemaking little brother break his ornery neck.

“Tate, this is a bad idea.” Knox said it in his big-brother voice, but Tate hadn’t a hope of hearing him over the cheers as he walked into the straw-padded arena under the hanging lights of the beer tent toward the mechanical bull.

His renegade brother nailed the rough-edged charm of a cowboy, complete with his faded jeans, a black Stetson over his dark brown hair, a scrape of off-duty dark whiskers, dusty boots, and a swagger that suggested he’d been born on a bull.

Tate always did know how to put on the game to charm the ladies.

The organizers of the after-hours entertainment of NBR-X, the professional bull-riding tour, knew their crowd—beer-gesturing, cowboy-hatted rowdies who spent the evening watching young men pit their lives against angry, thousand-pound animals hoping to crush their rider into the dirt or against the rodeo boards.

The scent of blood spilled today turned wannabe cowboys into daredevils.

The crowd knotted around the circle, shouting smack and laying bets for or against Tate’s success. The ruddy rodeo aroma—horsehide, dust, hay, and plenty of craft beer—only added to the trouble brewing in Knox’s gut.

Probably Tate would survive. Knox had seen Tate ride—had taught him how to stay on the back of a real bull, and frankly, a smart man would ante up a Ben Franklin to the bookmaker collecting cash in an oversized boot.

But Knox worked too hard for his cash, and to his knowledge, Tate hadn’t been on a bull in years.

“C’mon, Tate, let’s go,” Knox said, a last-ditch effort to put a halt to the crazy. But when Tate got something in his head, he practically turned into one of those bulls in the nearby barn. Red-eyed, focused, and lethal.

The crowd exploded with fervor when Tate handed his red Solo cup to a blonde wearing a hot-pink Bull Riders Know How to Hang On T-shirt. When she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him to herself for a quick good luck kiss, Knox just wanted to shake his head.

He should probably hightail it out of the Tent-o’-Trouble and back to his room at the Hyatt where he could take a shower and whisk off the grime that seemed to hover in the air.

Tell us about your next book and when is it being published?

The next book out is TATE, book 2 in the Montana Marshall series, out in July! I can’t wait for people to meet this amazing hero, a bodyguard who must save the woman he loves.

I will want to feature it on my blog too.

Where can my readers find you online.

www.susanmaywarren.com or on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SusanMayWarrenFiction

Thank you, Susie, for sharing this new book with me and my blog readers. I’m eager for my copy to arrive.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Knox  - Christianbook.com
KNOX: The Montana Marshalls - an inspirational romantic suspense family series - Amazon.com

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

TARGETED FOR DANGER - 8 Christian Romantic Suspense Novelists - One Free Book

TARGETED FOR DANGER

CROSSFIRE

NEW from RITA, Christy, and Carol Award-winning, and USA Today Bestselling Author SUSAN MAY WARREN
The woman he loves is caught in the crossfire of revenge…but he’ll have to face his crimes to save her.

Bio: Susan May Warren

With over one million books sold, critically acclaimed novelist Susan May Warren is the Christy, RITA, and Carol award-winning author of over forty-five novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill, and Summerside Press. Known for her compelling plots and unforgettable characters, Susan has written contemporary and historical romances, romantic-suspense, thrillers, rom-com, and Christmas novellas.

With books translated into eight languages, many of her novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA's Inspirational Reader's Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. She’s a three-time RITA finalist and an eight-time Christy finalist.

Publishers Weekly has written of her books, “Warren lays bare her characters’ human frailties, including fear, grief, and resentment, as openly as she details their virtues of love, devotion, and resiliency. She has crafted an engaging tale of romance, rivalry, and the power of forgiveness.”

Susan is also a nationally acclaimed writing coach, teaching at conferences around the nation, and winner of the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Mentor of the Year award. She loves to help people launch their writing careers. She is the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com and www.LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com, a writing website that helps authors get published and stay published. She is also the author of the popular writing method The Story Equation.

www.susanmaywarren.com

TAKEN BY DARK

NEW from Award-winning, Bestselling Author CHRISTY BARRITT
Willa Shields is being taunted by someone desperate to get her attention. When the threats escalate, the only person who can help her is her new neighbor, FBI agent Parker Stone. But will he reach her before the darkness overcomes them both?

Bio: Christy Barritt

USA Today has called Christy Barritt's books “scary, funny, passionate, and quirky.”

A Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Christy writes both mystery and romantic suspense novels that are clean with underlying messages of faith. Her books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery, have been twice nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and have finaled for both a Carol Award and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.

She is married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she's not trying to be. Christy is a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado.

When she's not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident-prone she is.

www.christybarritt.com

LETHAL HOMECOMING

A Reader-favorite from Award-winning, Bestselling Author LYNETTE EASON
Callie Ainsworth just wants to go home. When her stepfather dies, she believes it’s safe to do so. But when someone tries to kill her minutes before she reaches her mother’s driveway, she realizes that danger still lurks—but this time, she’s not running away.

Bio: Lynette Eason

Lynette Eason is the best selling, award winning author of almost forty books including the Women of Justice series, the Deadly Reunions series, the Hidden Identity Series and the currently releasing Elite Guardians series. She writes for Revell and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line. Her books have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists. She has won several awards including the 2013 and 2016 Carol Award in the Romantic Suspense category. She also placed in the top ten (out of thousands of entries) in the James Patterson 2016 co-writer contest. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Romance Writers of America (RWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), International Thriller Writers (ITW), and Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of RWA as well as the Kiss of Death (KOD) chapter.

www.lynetteeason.com

TREASURE

NEW from Critically-acclaimed Author GINNY AIKEN
Freelance writer Chloe Williams's first find at the newest Qumran Caves dig is the dead C/OPS Security guard. Steven “Ridge” Ridgeway, founder of C/OPS, must deal with the murder of his man while keeping the two of them alive. It won't be easy, now that he and Chloe have seen the stolen treasure, since assassins don't give up until all witnesses are dead.

Bio: Ginny Aiken

Born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Valencia and Caracas, Venezuela, Ginny Aiken discovered books early. She wrote her first novel at age fifteen while she trained with the Academia de Ballet Clasico Venezolano de Nina Novak. She burned that tome when she turned a “mature” sixteen. Stints as reporter, paralegal, choreographer, language teacher, and retail salesperson followed. Her life as mother of four sons and herder of their many friends brought her back to books and writing in desperate search of her sanity. She’s now the author of more than forty published works. Ginny lives with her husband of forty years in northwest Indiana, and they’re the grandparents of three amazing young men.

DEADLY SECRET

NEW from USA Today Bestselling Author MARGARET DALEY
Secrets. Revenge. Reunion. The past comes back to haunt Sarah Patterson, and she turns to the only man who can help her—the man she left at the altar.

Bio: Margaret Daley

USA Today Bestselling author, Margaret Daley, is multi-published with over 100 titles and 5 million books sold worldwide. She had written for Harlequin, Abingdon, Kensington, Dell, and Simon and Schuster. She has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Carol Award, Holt Medallion, and Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest.

She has been married for over forty-five years and is enjoying being a grandma. When she isn't traveling, she's writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household.

www.margaretdaley.com

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

NEW from Award-winning, Bestselling Author ELIZABETH GODDARD
Tara Blackburn witnesses a village decimated at the hands of armed men. Grant McCall is working undercover in a race against time to find Tara before the hired killers, but even more deadly is the illness to which she was exposed.

Bio: Elizabeth Goddard

Elizabeth Goddard is the ECPA bestselling, award-winning author of more than thirty-one romance novels and novellas and counting, including the romantic mystery, The Camera Never Lies—a 2011 Carol Award winner. She's a double finalist in the 2016 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for her books Buried and Backfire in the Mountain Cove series, and a 2016 Carol Award romantic suspense finalist for Submerged.

A 7th generation Texan, Elizabeth graduated from North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in high-level software sales for several years before retiring to home school her children and fulfill her dreams of writing full-time.

www.elizabethgoddard.com

COLD TERROR

NEW from Award-winning, Bestselling Author SUSAN SLEEMAN
Forensic artist Hannah Perry and her young son barely escape from a killer and nearly lose their lives to the cold terror of the ocean. Former Navy SEAL Gage Blackwell comes to their rescue and appoints himself their bodyguard. Suddenly, not only is Hannah’s and her sons life at risk—so is her heart.

Bio: Susan Sleeman

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a bestselling and award-winning author of more than 30 inspirational/Christian and clean read romantic suspense books. In addition to writing, Susan also hosts the popular website TheSuspenseZone.com. Susan currently lives in Oregon, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a retired church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law, and an adorable grandson.

www.susansleeman.com

ONCE A THIEF

NEW from USA Today Bestselling Author JAN THOMPSON
She sets a thief to catch a thief.
Will he also steal her heart?
Private investigator Helen Hu must team up with art thief Reuben Costa to rescue her mother, who has vanished while trying to return a bejeweled egg she stole fifteen years ago. That is, if Reuben still wants to cooperate after what the Hu family has done to his father.

Bio: Jan Thompson

USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multi-ethnic contemporary Christian romance, Christian romantic suspense, and inspirational international romantic thrillers. Her books are for readers who enjoy stories of faith, hope, love, and happy endings. Always.

Jan graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and worked as a database programmer and information technology consultant for over a decade before transitioning from writing software programs to her lifelong dream job of writing fiction books that she wants to read. When she is not busy writing and publishing, Jan is a wife, mother, educator, family scribe, avid reader, and chief of staff to the family cat.

Jan loves to hear from her readers. Join her mailing list to receive book publication news, sales and specials, cover reveals, and exclusive details and content.

http://www.JanThompson.com

Thank you, authors, for sharing this new collection with my readers and me. Y’all are some of my favorite suspense novelists.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

Targeted for Danger: Eight Christian Romantic Suspense Novellas

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, 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

BURNIN' FOR YOU - Susan May Warren - One Free Ebook

Dear Readers, here’s book three in Susan May Warren’s Montana Fire Series. I’m very exited about reading it. I know you are, too.

Welcome back, Susan. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I write the kind of books I like to read!  I love epic romantic adventure and I try and write the kinds of stories that I and my target reader (who is similar to me!) would like to read. I also need encouragement in my walk with Christ, as well as an inspiring faith story, so that is the kind of spiritual thread I put in my novels.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

When I married my handsome husband. I still can’t believe that God gifted me with this amazing man.

Me, too. I love how He creates someone who is just right for us. How has being published changed your life?

It’s made me more aware of my need to be a good steward of my gifts—that biblical phrase, to whom much has been give—I know I’ve been given much, and I’m not only grateful, I’m humbled and aware of the calling to write life-changing fiction.

What are you reading right now?

I am just finishing writing a novel, so my first book on my TBR is James L. Rubart’s The Long Journey to Jake Palmer.

I’m eager to read that one, too. What is your current work in progress?

I am just finishing up A Matter of Trust, book #3 in my Montana Rescue series, about a man who has to rescue the woman who betrayed him.  An epic story set in Glacier National Park in the winter!

What would be your dream vacation?

Hawaii, two weeks of SCUBA diving and surfing, great seafood, and a stack of books—with my hubby. (Actually, we do it every year…so it’s a fulfilled dream!)

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I find a setting that I want to visit (or my readers want to visit) that I can use to create more tension for my story, as well as a place that people will enjoy spending time in or learning more about.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

Besides my husband, kids and bestie, Rachel Hauck?  I think, maybe I’d like to hang out with Michael Buble and let him sing to me. J

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I like home repair (really!), yard work (seriously!) and outdoor activities (skiing, scuba diving, kayaking…things that involve different forms of water, apparently. J)

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

I’ve written over 50 novels now, so finding that unique twist or storyline can be a challenge. Oh, and names. I tend to like to use them over and over again!!

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Getting published is not magic…it’s hard work. Do the hard work and you’ll see success. But also—remember that your journey is different from anyone else’s—trust the Lord as he guides you through the journey to do what is best for you.  Don’t take your eyes off Him.

Tell us about the featured book.

Burnin’ For You is book #3 in my Montana Fire trilogy! It brings to a conclusion the question of the arsonist in book one. I loved this story about pilot Gilly Priest and sawyer Reuben Marshall who they race to save their friends after a terrible place crash.

Please give us the first page of the book.

If they started running now, they just might make the lake before the fire consumed them.

At least that’s what Reuben Marshall’s gut said when the wind shifted and rustled the seared hairs on the back of his neck, strained and tight from three days of cutting line through a stand of black spruce as thick as night.

After a week the fire in the Kootenai National Forest had consumed nearly twelve hundred acres. And as of breakfast this morning, his team of smokejumpers, as well as hotshot and wildland firefighter teams from all over Montana and Idaho, had only nicked it down to sixty percent contained.

Now the fire turned from a low crackle to a growl behind him, hungry for the forest on the other side of the twenty-foot line that his crew—Pete, CJ, and Hannah—had scratched out of the forest, widening an already cleared service road. CJ and Hannah were swamping for Reuben as he mowed down trees, clearing brush. Between the two of them, they worked like an entire crew, still determined to prove themselves. Pete worked cleanup, digging the line down to the mineral soil.

Reuben’s eyes watered, his throat charred from eating fire as he angled his saw into the towering spruce—one more tree felled and it would keep the fire from jumping the line or candling from treetop to treetop.

Chips hit his safety glasses, pinged against his yellow Nomex shirt, his canvas pants. His shoulders burned, his arms one constant vibration.

In another hour they would hook up with the other half of their crew—Jed and Conner, Ned, Riley, and Tucker—dragging a line along the lip of forest road that served as their burnout line. Then, the team would light a fire of their own to consume all the fuel between the line and the active fire and drive the blaze to Fountain Lake.

The dragon would lie down and die.

At least that seemed the ambitious but attainable plan that his crew boss, Jed, had outlined this morning over a breakfast of MRE eggs and protein bars. While listening, Reuben had poured three instant coffee packs into one cup of water and tossed the sludge down in one gulp.

Deep in his gut, Reuben had expected trouble when the wind quietly kicked up early this morning, rousing the team tucked in their coyote camp—a pocket of preburned space, their safety zone on the bottom of the canyon near a trickle of river. Already blackened, the zone shouldn’t re-ignite, but it left ashy debris on Reuben, the soot probably turning his dark-brown hair to gray under his orange hard hat. His entire team resembled extras on the Walking Dead.

He felt like it too—a zombie, barely alive, fatigue a lining under his skin. Ash, sawdust, and the fibers of the forest coated his lips despite his efforts to keep his handkerchief over his mouth.

They’d worked in the furnace all day, the flame lengths twenty to thirty feet behind them, climbing up aspen and white pine, settling down into the crackling loam of the forest, consuming bushes in a flare of heat. But with the bombers overhead dropping slurry, the fire sizzled and roared, dying slowly.

He’d watched them—the Russian biplane AN2, which scooped water from the lake, and the Airtractor AT, dropping red slurry from its white belly. And, way overhead the C-130 circled for another pass, a loaner from the National Guard.

Reuben wondered which one Gilly piloted—a random thought that he shoved away. But not before imagining her, dark auburn hair tied back and cascading out of her baseball cap, aviator glasses over her freckled nose. Petite at just over five feet, the woman had don’t quit all over her when she climbed into a cockpit.

But it did him no good to let his thoughts anchor upon a woman he could barely manage to speak to. Not that he had any chance with her, anyway.

Keep his head down, keep working—wasn’t that what his father had always said?

They all had expected the Fountain Lake fire to fizzle out with their efforts.

Until the wind shifted. Again.

And that’s when the fine hairs of Reuben’s neck stood on end, his gut began to roil.

A dynamite intro to the story!! How can readers find you on the Internet?

Yes, head over to www.susanmaywarren.com!!

Or, on facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/SusanMayWarrenFiction/

Thank you, Lena!

My pleasure and great blessing, Susan. I love introducing you to new readers. I often get new readers on the blog.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

Burnin' For You: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 3) - Kindle

Comments starter question:

If you've read any of Susan's books, what is your favorite? If you haven't, why would you like to win a copy of this one?

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You can read all the stories that are only ebooks that way.

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PLAYING WITH FIRE - Susan May Warren - One Free Ebook

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

Oh, I think to be authentic, a writer has to dig around inside and pull out pieces of their own journey, whether it be experiences, or truths, or life lessons or emotional situations. One of my techniques for getting into character is to ask: when have I felt the way my character is feeling, or been in a similar life situation? What authentic emotion, thoughts and actions can I bring to the page? In that way, each scene, each character has a little piece of my own experience or emotion. (even if I haven’t experienced the actual event!)

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Quirky? Oh, I don’t know—my son Peter says that if you tied my hands behind my back, I’d be unable to speak. (and it’s true—my videos are a blur of my hands moving on screen! Ack!)

I’ve been told the same thing. We’re just more expressive. When did you first discover that you were a writer?

First grade. No, seriously—I wrote a book in first grade, and it won the school-wide book writing contest. J I have been writing stories ever since.

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

I read all genres—historical fiction (LOVE!), contemporary romantic suspense, thrillers, memoirs, westerns, biographies….but my favorite? TIME TRAVEL. No, seriously, I’m silly over time travel books!

I thought no one could write a Christian time travel book that I would accept. Lisa Tawn Bergren and Lynne Gentry changed my mind. The way their time travel happened was believable, because our God could have worked that way. Maybe He actually has. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I have a motto—work hard, play hard. Which mean, when I’m working, I’m all in. But when I’m NOT working, like in the evenings, or the weekends, I cast it aside completely. And, I try and get away complete a couple times a year. Also—I keep it simple. It’s okay to have $5.00 pizzas from Papa Murphy’s once a week. Or to buy a big pre-made salad at the grocery store and toss it up with rotisserie chicken. I figure … hey, enjoy people, enjoy what you do, enjoy God, and don’t worry about what the world tells you to do.

I like that last statement. How do you choose your characters’ names?

They have to embody the character, so I am always looking at the meanings of the names, and how they feel on the page. I go through a few iterations before I settle on the final name.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

My four amazing adult children who love Jesus, love their families, are hard workers, and show up in life to be everyday heroes.

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

Oh, I’m a Labrador retriever. I’m super loyal, like to play, like to run around the woods, and will sit at your feet and sigh happily for hours. (okay, the RIGHT feet).

We had one when I was in high school. They’re wonderful dogs. What is your favorite food?

Popcorn. With parmesan cheese and real butter.

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

I love to write! But it is hard—you have to take your time, think through all the layers. Give yourself white space. That’s the hardest thing for me—I ALWAYS have something on my to-do list, so taking time out to just sit and think and pray is the one thing I must do and yet it is the hardest to give myself permission to do. (That, and exercise. Don’t get me started.)  

Tell us about the featured book.

Playing With Fire is book #2 in my Summer of Fire trilogy. It features Conner and Liza, two Team Hope and Deep Haven. They showed up together in a Christiansen family book (Take a Chance on Me) and I’ve been waiting to write their story ever since. It was a fun story to write—I went back three years and put them in Deep Haven, into the situations from the previous book, got to revisit previous characters, and was able to dive more into the current mystery. Plus … Conner finally got his girl. J

characters who were a part of two other series I did years ago,

Please give us the first page of the book.

Excerpt from Playing with Fire

This was not how Liza Beaumont wanted to die.

Not that anyone ever wanted to die, but certainly Liza could think of a dozen or more ways that would be preferable to ending up as an early-morning snack for a six-hundred-pound grizzly.

First choice might be tucked into the embrace of Conner Young, their golden years fading into a molten sunset, perhaps drifting off into sleep, to wake up in glory.

There she went again, wishing for things she didn’t have. Like bear spray. Or a tranquilizer gun.

Or maybe even better than spotty cell service here, high up on a remote trail in the middle of the Cabinet Mountains in western Montana.

She glanced down the trail, back up at the bear now rocking back and forth. What had the camp wildlife expert said about bears? Stop, drop, and roll—no, no—

Drop. Play dead. Except her instincts, frankly, were to scream first, then—well, run.

Of course, that was always her instinct.

But this time it felt right, because, really, who had the courage to just lie there while a grizzly sniffed her prone body, ready to take a tasty bite out of her neck. Not when she had heaps more life to live, hopes, dreams …

Only, one of those included a six-foot-two blond smokejumper with devastating blue eyes, wide sinewed shoulders, and a body honed by the rigors of fighting fire who claimed to love sunrises as much as she did.

           

But Conner wasn’t here. Just her, her sharpened colored graphite pencils, and a fresh canvas to paint her artist’s view of the sunrise. The perfect place to remind herself—and her fellow camper—that they didn’t need men to live happily ever after.

Can’t wait to read it. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Stop by www.susanmaywarren.com or visit my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SusanMayWarrenFiction/

Thank you for having me, Lena!!

It's always a pleasure to host you, Susan. 

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

Playing With Fire: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 2)

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, 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

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE - Susan May Warren - One Free Ebook

Dear Readers, Susan May Warren and I first got acquainted online while her family were missionaries in Russia. I love missionaries and have many missionary friends in other countries. We also shared a love of writing. We met face to face at the first ACFW conference in a Kansas City hotel. I love Suzie, and I love her writing. I’ve watched her grow from that first novel written in Russia to a national bestseller. She loves to mentor other authors as much as I do. I’m eager to read this new series.

Welcome back, Susan. What genre(s) do you write and why?

I’ve been blessed to write in four major genres—Romantic Adventure/Suspense, Thrillers, Historical Romance, and Romantic-Comedy. I love to keep it fresh, to challenge myself as a writer and frankly, I just love reading all these genres, so writing in them allows me to do tons of research!

If you were to choose one superpower, what would it be?

Flying. Hands down.

Do you ever get stuck when you’re writing a book? What do you do to get unstuck?

Yes, of course! To get unstuck, I arm myself with a few key questions: What does my character want right now, and why? What stands in his/her way? What is the worst thing that could happen to them right now? What is their secret desire? Then I take these questions and call my writing partner, Rachel Hauck, or my in-house book doctor, my son, David (who works for me) and they can usually help me brainstorm my way out of the corner.

How great to have a child who can share your love of writing and help you. I raised a marvelous hairdresser, so my hair always looks good. What is your least favorite part of writing?

Wow. I have a love/hate relationship to every part. I love creating…but it’s exhausting. I love editing, but it’s tedious. I love research, but I get antsy to start writing, and I love promotion, but I’m eager to start on my next project!

If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?

Either homemade pizza (which I’m pretty good at), or perhaps a crock pot pork chalupa, served over rice, with beans and lots of fresh veggies. Or, if I’ve been writing all day, steaks on the grill, a chopped salad.

I could eat the first one and the last one, but I can’t eat pork. They all sound yummy. What is your typical day like?

Up early, walk the dog, make coffee, have my quiet time, read the news (I read the Daily Skimm) then attack my email. I will then give feedback to student homework (I have an ongoing writing course, the Online Storycrafter Program). After that, I turn to my current writing project, whether it be writing a class, a book on how to write or my current novel. I usually end the day with some more email and perhaps some PR for an upcoming book. Hubs comes home around 7, so we usually eat late. I usually take a book to bed, and read a couple chapters before I go to sleep.

What is most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict, or emotions? Why?

Probably the spiritual thread. I need to get that just right, so weaving that in correctly takes a lot thought and contemplation. It’s the core of the story, so it can’t be tacked on—it has to start on the first page, albeit subtly, and continue throughout the story with the right momentum and depth. I spend the most time on this aspect of the story.

How likely are the people you meet going to end up in your next book?

Not super likely unless you’re in a field that I’m writing about. But, I’m always watching people. More likely to end up in a book is a subject or big story question that I’ve read about recently.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

My hero in Where There’s Smoke is a man named Jed Ransom. He’s been the crew boss of a group of Hotshots for a number of years, and just recently got asked to lead a team of Smokejumpers whose boss (and six others) died in a terrible fire nine months prior. On this new team that Jed must lead is the daughter of the man who died, a woman who he’s been in love with for years. She’s a legendary smokejumper, very capable, but the last thing Jed can do is watch her jump into danger…

Jed is a complex character. On one hand, he admires and respects Kate—on the other, he feels like she is going to get hurt (it’s almost inevitable), and he doesn’t want to watch that happen. So, he has a lot of inner turmoil that comes out in how he reacts to her, not only when he first meets her, but later, as she joins the team. He was challenging to write because of his “two” minds—but then again, don’t we all have beliefs that seem to contradict? I love Jed because he’s capable and a great leader and still the guy who just wants to save the girl he loves.

Please give us the text on the first page of your first chapter.

She’d come three thousand miles to burn to death.

“Kate, if you don’t deploy right now, you’re going to die!”

Kate Burns could hear Jed, his voice muffling around in the back of her brain, but the roar of the fire simply had her by the throat. Three-hundred-foot flame lengths chewing up the pristine Alaskan wilderness, torching Fraser firs, white pines, black spruce. The blaze candled along the tops of the birch trees, the fire storm churning up its own wind.

It felt like that hand of God, reaching out to grab her in a paralyzing chokehold. It kept her brain from firing, from reacting to Jed’s words.

From reaching for her shake-and-bake fire shelter, folded and tucked in the pocket of her jump pants.

Because, what would it matter? They were in the green, a highly combustible area, and they’d bake to death under the thin tinfoil even if the fire didn’t scurry underneath and scorch them.

And that vivid picture had her knees buckling.

Her father would be so angry.

“Kate!”

Hands on her shoulders shook her, jerked her around. “Get your shelter on!”

Kate got a glimpse of Jed a second before he threw her to the ground. Face blackened, his eyes fierce, red bandanna pulled up over his nose. And balancing hard on a makeshift crutch she’d fashioned for him only hours before.

He looked like she felt—wrung out, broken, and on the edge of unraveling.

Except, he wasn’t standing still, waiting for the wall of flame to hit him. In fact, he had his shelter out, already unfurled, and now shook it over her. She fell to the ground, an old, dry riverbed, filled with gravel and rock, moss and brush. But, where he pushed her down, mostly sand and dirt.

 “Pin it down! Remember your training.”

Training. Oh—the three years as a hotshot—a wildland firefighter—and her last six weeks with the Midnight Sun Smokejumpers where, two weeks ago, she’d passed her final exam.

Don’t die. Her training boss said it as he’d handed her the Midnight Sun patch. Laughter. She’d grinned.

Jed landed in the dirt next to her, having apparently yanked her shelter from her pocket. He wrestled with it in the superheated winds, his teeth gritted as he yanked it down to the earth. Pinning it there with hands, elbows, knees, feet.

Except, in a flash that struck her in the heart, she knew the truth.

She might not die, but Jed Ransom didn’t have a prayer of holding down all four corners, not to mention the edges, of his shelter. Not with his injured leg.

Not with those bare hands.

Kate threw off her shelter and, in a second, it caught the wind and flew—no turning back now.

“What are you doing!”

She didn’t answer him as she rolled herself under his tinfoil, grabbing a corner, drawing it over her. She clamped down her side with her hand, elbow, and leg.

He caught on fast. Or maybe not as much as she’d hoped, because even as she nailed down the side with her limbs, he covered her upper body with his, protecting her.

She felt the length of his body against her, his powerful arms, honed from chopping through the dense forest, digging fire line with his fire ax, aka Pulaski. For a second, her heart just stopped with the sense of it. She’d spent the last decade wishing she might end up right here.

In Jed Ransom’s arms.

Hopefully right before he kissed her.

Except, maybe she’d omit the part where they would bake.

Jed secured the top of the shelter with his hands, the other side with his elbow, knee, his good leg.

Then, her helmet crushed next to his, he said in his low baritone, “Dig us a hole to breathe into.”

Outside, the fire cycloned around them, exploding through the trees into a storm of flame, the sound of it a locomotive ready to drive over them.

Kate started to shake as she clawed at the ground, scrubbing away pebbles and stone, finding the cool riverbed. She widened the hole for him, and his whiskers brushed her face as he fought to find cooler air.

“Deeper. We need to protect our faces.” He balanced his helmet on the rim of the hole, his breath on her skin as he turned to her. “We’re going to live, Kate, I promise.”

She longed to believe him.

The ‘shake and bake’ flapped, the fury of the fire starting to bake them. Sweat dripped down her face, saturated her body under her jumpsuit and turnout jacket.

And then Jed’s breathing caught. Tiny sounds, a deep groan as the heat began to sear his skin. But she couldn’t lift her head, because suddenly the fire washed over them, a wave of heat and flame and fury that made her press her face to the earth.

She didn’t know who screamed first.

Wow!!! What comes next??? Tell us about your next book and when is it being published?

The next book in the series, Playing With Fire, came out July 5th, and the third book, Burnin’ For You, hits the shelves August 2, 2016. It’s a summer trilogy that jumpstarts my next big novel, Wild Montana Skies, out in October.

Where can my readers find you online.

www.susanmaywarren.com

or, on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SusanMayWarrenFiction/

Thank you for having me!!

It’s my great pleasure to host you on my show, Susan May Warren. Always.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Where There's Smoke: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 1)

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. 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, 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