Diane Demetre: Retribution


http://goddessfishpromot ions.blogspot.com/2018/06/nbtm -retribution-by-diane-demetre. html 

Diane Demetre will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Author Interview:  Diane Demetre

1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book? Retribution chose me. I hadn’t consciously set out to write a romantic suspense, but I did feel strongly about a couple of social and moral issues. This story is my way of paying tribute to the people who have endured more than most. Those who have lived hellish childhoods, those who have fought for our freedom, those who have experienced unimaginable trauma and those who may never recover from their suffering. With the overarching theme of forgiveness and redemption, Retribution pays homage to the human condition in all its glory and misery.

  1. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a first born, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world? I’m an adopted only child, which I love and wouldn’t have it any other way. I have a rare insight into human behavior, which I have studied all my life, as I’m an only child by nature and by nurture.3. Where is your favorite place to write? In my spacious purpose-built office overlooking a canal on the Gold Coast.4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains? When I first started writing this was difficult, so I put them into a Darlings File in my pc, thinking I might use them one day. I never did. Now, I happily kill them off to make my stories sharper and tighter.

    5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? Hard question, as I don’t have one favorite author. However, I think I’d like to sit down with Nora Roberts and ask her what she’d do differently if she was to commence her career today.

6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows. I trained in ballet and have recently set up my own dance studio at my home. I love working at the barre again and practice every day when I’m not at the gym.

7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a back pack for company. What three items are in your survival pack? I’m very practical so I would take fresh water, a blanket and a lighter

8. If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be? To time travel

9. Favorite snack? Raw almonds

10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit? I know where I’m going, and I drive ‘pedal to the metal’ 😊

Retribution

by Diane Demetre

GENRE: Romantic suspense

BLURB:

She’s a ballerina with a dark secret. He’s a retired sniper with a tortured past. Will they find love or fall prey to a stalker’s deadly game?

Professional ballerina Jessie Hilton wraps her battle scars in satin pointe shoes, but there’s a deeper hurt that haunts her sleep. When a handsome man steps in to save her from a mugging, something about her hero makes her heavy heart leap. Though her career can’t afford distractions, he may be her sole source of safety when she gains the unwanted attention of a relentless stalker.

Ex-sniper Brad Jordan survived his tour of duty, but a tragic accident cost him the lives of those closest to him. With his faithful border collie Whiskey by his side, Brad gets a second chance when he protects the beautiful Jessie from danger. When the ballerina’s stalker grows more brazen, Brad’s tactical training may be their only weapon against tragedy.

Will Jessie and Brad survive a deadly game, or will the assailant destroy their chance at love?

Retribution is a standalone romantic suspense novel. If you like tough-as-toe-shoes heroines, second-chance romance, and page-turning plots, then you’ll love Diane Demetre’s heart-stopping saga.

 

Excerpt:

Cold, damp and hard—wherever she was, it wasn’t her bed. Scattered thoughts whirled in her head as she searched for recent memories. A pungent smell lingered in her nose wakening her further. It reminded her of science class. What was it? Chloroform? Crunched on her side, her body cried for movement and she strained to focus on her surroundings. But she couldn’t. She was groggy and dazed and there was no light by which to see. Exhausted, she heaved her hand in front of her face, but she couldn’t see that either. It was as if it wasn’t there. Absolute, petrifying blackness. A nightmare. It was another nightmare. But she knew it wasn’t. Now fully conscious, she lay somewhere dank and cold, in pitch blackness. The inability to see rendered her immobile, preventing her any chance of escape. Even if she began to crawl, feeling her way, she might tumble down a precipice or a staircase. She didn’t even know whether she was lying on the ground or on something man-made. All she knew was it was rock-solid, cold and a little uneven. He’s left me here, alone, to die. The thought scared her even more than her captor returning.

She rolled carefully onto her back. Stretching her body, she used her hands and feet to check that she wasn’t about to roll off wherever she lay. Once assured she was safe, she relaxed a little. Deep, controlled breaths cleared her mind and nose of whatever drug he’d used. With no idea how long she’d been unconscious, she existed in an abyss of unknown time. She struggled not to panic. As she stared into nothing, her sense of what was up and what was down destabilized. The subtle illusion of losing her balance teased her inner ear, increasing the fear. Rolling over slowly, she managed to get onto her hands and knees, connecting with the surface below to correct her equilibrium. Head lolling forward, she froze— humiliated, helpless and hopeless, overcome with despair. Minutes slipped by or was it hours?

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Being a passionate woman who’s always done things a little differently, Diane’s diverse career began as a school teacher before she moved into a full-time career as a professional choreographer, director and dancer, strutting her stuff on many stages throughout Australia. She was responsible for the original multi-million dollar extravaganzas at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino, Gold Coast—Starz & Galaxies.

Following her onstage career, Diane’s thirst for knowledge led her into the field of self-development. Using her highly developed communication skills and love of people, she spent many years as a stress & life skills therapist and life coach, teaching individuals, couples and groups the methodologies of personal success and fulfilment.

With her business acumen, Diane launched into the corporate arena, working in a variety of positions as a consultant in marketing, special events, tourism, business strategies, quality management and human resource management. Combining her entertainment and business backgrounds, she returned to the stage as a keynote speaker and corporate facilitator, educating business leaders in the ‘new mindset’ for business and relationship building in the 21st century.

Assuming the pseudonym of the Goddess of Love, she appeared as a guest presenter on Gold FM radio, Gold Coast, a national radio program broadcast to 1.4million listeners. Her weekly program proved popular with Diane providing empowering advice on life, love, sex and relationships, sprinkled with a good dose of humour. Her passion for life and compulsive sharing nature made her a great inspiration to her listeners. As the Goddess of Love she also appeared as a regular guest on the national television program Beauty & the Beast, where her practical insights were televised to viewers across Australia.

When she launched into a writing career, Diane’s debut erotic romance series, the Dance of Love was voted Luminosity Publishing Readers’ Choice Best Books and Best Covers for 2015 and 2016.

Her romantic suspense, Retribution won the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Pro Award 2017 for Best Unpublished Manuscript. Diane loves to write genre-busting stories with a twist. Her works are packed with emotional punch and feature empowered heroines who live life to the fullest, much like the author herself.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

WEBSITE   http://www.dianedemetre.com/

BLOG   https://dianedemetre.com/blogposts/

FACEBOOK   https://www.facebook.com/dianedemetreauthor

TWITTER   https://twitter.com/DianeDemetre

AMAZON  https://www.amazon.com/Diane-demetre/e/B015P878H4/

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blair McDowell: Romantic Road

VBT_TourBanner_RomanticRoad

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/03/vbt-romantic-road-by-blair-mcdowell.html

Blair will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

Author Interview

1. Woohoo! You are a published author. Describe a strong character trait you possess, good or bad, and how it helped you become a published author. I believe in myself. I believe I write interesting stories, peopled with believable characters. This belief sustained me through two years of rejections of my first novel, The Memory of Roses. I knew I would eventually find a publisher or an agent, and I did.

2. Sometimes an author begins writing a story before they are aware of its genre. Did you choose your genre, or did it choose you? I have sort of slipped gradually into my genre. I write romantic suspense. I’m aware of that now. I wasn’t aware of it when I wrote my first book, but even that one, had elements of suspense.  Now, with Romantic Road, and with my work in progress, “Where Lemons Bloom”, I am firmly grounded in the genre.

3. The plot thickens, or does it? Which one are you, a pantser or a plotter? I am very much a plotter. I work with a chapter by chapter outline. But every once in a while one of my characters just refuses to follow the plan. I change the outline when that happens.

4. Fear 101: As writers it is our duty to make our characters face their fears. Have you ever included one of your own fears in a storyline? Of course. How can anyone write well about something they haven’t experienced or feared experiencing? In the opening lines of my work in progress, “Where Lemons Bloom”, a character is drowning. I swim. I love swimming in the ocean. I fear drowning. I’ve been tumbled more than once by an unexpected wave.

5. Fear 102: Yes, deadlines are terrifying. Have you conquered the juggling act between writing and the rest of your life? What do you do when it feels like the balls are dropping all around you? I run a B&B summers. Talk about my time! But I write afternoons. I’ve become a past master of stopping mid-sentence when I have to, and picking up again later. Life does interfere.

6. Switch positions with one of your main characters in a scene. What is the outcome, disaster or divine intervention? If I were Ian in “The Memory of Roses”, the whole plot would have changed. I’d have stayed with Maria and to hell with my cold, unfeeling wife.

And there wouldn’t have been a novel.

7. Where is your favorite place to write? Add that one comfort food that you can’t do without. In Canada, it’s in my comfy recliner with a lap board. In the winter I retreat to my home on the tiny Caribbean island of St. Eustatius.  There I write on the veranda, where I can see the sea and watch the birds at their feeder. In Canada I drink hot apple cider. In the Caribbean, pineapple juice (occasionally with rum).

8. Writing inspirations? Places. Interesting wonderful places always seem to suggest stories to me.

  • Corfu –  We were there for eighteen days. The story came to me almost completely before we left. “The Memory of Roses”.  
  • The Romantische Strasse in Germany, “Romantic Road”.
  • The Amalfi Coast of Italy, my work in progress, “Where Lemons Bloom”.  

I’m in a place and my mind says “What if…”
9. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? The hardest part of this question for me is “favorite author”.  I have too many.  It depends upon what kind of book.  Let’s say I choose detective fiction. The author would be Donna Leon. And my burning question would be “How have you managed to create and sustain one brilliant character through-out19 books?”

I wish I could manage even a three book series. I think in complete stories. I’d like to write series but can’t seem to do so.

10. I’ve gone mad – why don’t you come with me? Some people just don’t understand us writers. Name a quirky, writer-thing you do that friends wish you didn’t. I carry a notebook with me at all times. I write down snippets of conversations I overhear on buses and in restaurants. I try to write dialects and unusual accents down. I talk to waiters and hotel clerks and anyone else I can get to talk to me when traveling and make notes as they talk to me. It drives my traveling companions mad. But it’s all grist for the mill.

perf5.000x8.000.indd

Romantic Road

by Blair McDowell

Blurb:

When Lacy Telchev buries her husband she finds herself in treacherous waters. Igor, much older than Lacy, had secrets. Suddenly Lacy is being chased across Europe by men who believe she can lead them to those secrets. Evading her pursuers with the aid of a chance acquaintance, the handsome and mysterious Max Petersen, Lacy travels across Germany, Austria and Hungary, to a shattering discovery in Budapest.

Along the way, she meets three women from Igor’s past. As Igor’s story unfolds through them, Lacy is less and less certain who her husband really was. Who can Lacy trust? Will she survive to find out?

 

Excerpt:

They were leaving the hotel when Lacy grabbed Max’s arm. “Stop!”

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a man waiting at the station.”

Max looked at him. “The one in the raincoat?” “He’s one of the men who threatened me back in the Berkshires that night. And then again in Wurzburg.”

“Are you sure?”

“What’s he doing here?” Lacy’s voice rose on a note of hysteria. “How did they find me? Why are they doing this to me?”

As Max studied him, the man was joined by his partner.

“You’re with me, Lacy. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You must believe me. These people have no authority here. Now, let’s just go take the train down the mountain. We’ll lose them when we get off, I promise you.”

“Didn’t you say it was possible to hike down?” “Yes, but…”

“Please, Max. I don’t want to be anywhere near them. I don’t want them to see me.”

 

AuthorPhoto_RomanticRoadAuthor Bio and Links:

Blair McDowell wrote her first short story when she was eleven and has never ceased writing since, although only recently has she been able to return to her first love, writing fiction.  During her early years, she taught in universities in the United States, Canada and Australia, and wrote several highly successful books in her field.

Her research has taken her to many interesting places.  She has lived in Europe, Australia, the United States and the Caribbean and Canada, and spent considerable time in still other places, Iceland, the Far East, and the Torres Strait Islands off the coast of New Guinea. Now she travels for pleasure. Portugal, Greece and Italy are favorite haunts.

Her books are set in places she knows and loves and are peopled with characters drawn from her experiences of those places.  The Memory of Roses takes readers to the Greek Island of Corfu, where a young woman finds her future while searching for her father’s past.  In Delighting in Your Company, the reader is transported to a small island in the Caribbean, with a heroine who finds herself in the unenviable position of falling in love with a ghost.  The setting for Sonata is the city of Vancouver, with its vibrant multicultural population and its rich musical life, and the heroine is a musician who finds herself in unexpected danger.

In her most recent release, Romantic Road, Lacy Telchev, is pursued along Germany’s famous Romantische Strausse as she follows clues left by her late husband in order to solve a mystery that she doesn’t understand, while being chased by dangerous and cunning adversaries.

She hopes her readers will enjoy reading these books as much as she enjoyed writing them.

Blair is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America (Greater Vancouver Chapter),  the Romance Writers of America (Women’s Fiction), and The Writers’ Union of Canada.

 

Contact, Website, etc.

Website:  http://www.blairmcdowell.com/

Blog:       http://blairmcdowellauthor.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5807790.Blair_McDowell

Visit my  Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/BlairMcDowellWriter

Visit me at  Twitter  https://twitter.com/mcdowell_blair

Visit my  Google+  https://plus.google.com/b/105171661057794970957/+BlairmcdowellAuthor/posts

 

Buy Links:

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/romantic-road-blair-mcdowell/1121115819?ean=2940149950683

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Road-Blair-McDowell-ebook/dp/B00RGWK7GW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420912707&sr=1-1&keywords=romantic+road+blair+mcdowell

AllRomance.com:  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-romanticroad-1722205-149.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tanya Anne Crosby’s Speak No Evil

Welcome Tanya Anne Crosby to the blog for a look at her first book in the No Evil series:

speaknoevil-vbtbanner

Speak No Evil (No Evil #1) by Tanya Anne Crosby

Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Categories: Mystery/Thriller

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: March 7, 2013    Heat Level: Sensual    Length: 283 pages

Available at:  

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00AKI4IPU     B&N: http://bit.ly/1azcZk2

iTunes: http://bit.ly/17rjJcJ   Kobo: http://bit.ly/135V3Yz

 Tour link: http://www.cblspromotions.com/2013/08/booktour-speak-no-evil-no-evil-1-by.html

 

 Description:

“Dangerously addicting. “-Sherrilyn Kenyon #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Crosby serves up suspense, secrets and Southern scandal like no one else! “ – Harlan Coben #1 New York Times bestselling author

 

Lifting the veil of secrecy on a grand Southern family in decline, New York Times bestselling author Tanya Anne Crosby explores the lives of Caroline, Augusta, and Savannah Aldridge, three sisters who share a dark past and an uncertain future…Caroline Aldridge was surprised by the number of mourners at her mother’s funeral. Evidently the newspaper heiress who had caused her children so much pain was well-loved by everyone else in Charleston. Now she was gone, leaving behind countless secrets–and a few demands: Caroline and her sisters must live together for one year or lose their inheritance. And Caroline must take over The Tribune. But a killer is making headlines, and Caroline may have unwittingly stepped into the crosshairs…

A series of kidnappings and murders resurrect the sisters’ memories of their brother’s disappearance as a child–and Caroline fears she may be next. Yet in the midst of her turmoil, she may be rekindling a romance she’d extinguished long ago. With Jack back in her life and the tattered bonds of sisterhood slowly mending, Caroline hopes the family can restore its position in Charleston society–unless a sinister force beyond their control tears them apart forever. . .

 

speaknoevil-cover

Excerpt: 

He took another swig of his Guinness and reached into his pocket to grab his cell phone. Three missed calls from Kelly. Zero from Caroline.

Then, again, he hadn’t expected Caroline to call. She was as prideful as her mother—damn her! Even ten years later, she wasn’t about to forget a stupid mistake. He set the phone down on the counter and drained his glass, eyeing the cell with some malice.

The bartender eyed him curiously. “Bad day?”

Jack shrugged. “Buried a friend,” he said.

And fought with the woman who somehow still managed to consume his thoughts even after all these years, but he didn’t offer up that part. It was nobody’s business.

Caroline was the sole reason he couldn’t settle down with Kelly, he realized. Every time he’d considered it, Caroline’s face popped into his head—like one of those annoying carnival games. He didn’t think that was the way it was supposed to be—married to one girl, obsessed with another.

There was nothing wrong with Kelly.

She just wasn’t Caroline.

“I’ll take another.”

Kyle nodded and complied.

Okay, so maybe as a description of the past several years, “obsessed” was a bit of an overstatement, because he had pretty much managed to put Caroline out of his head—except whenever life-changing decisions were about to be made. This minute, however, it was a full-on obsession, complete with phantom touches that were hijacking his body. Just seeing her had done that to him. It left him with a sense of longing that was acutely disagreeable, and he couldn’t shake it.

Eyeing the phone again, he considered calling her—just so he could stop thinking about her—and it dawned on him that she was probably the reason he had never changed his number. That thought had never even entered his brain before this moment, but he was pretty sure it was true. He wasn’t over her. Worse, he was afraid he was never going to be over her, and the thought of living his life in limbo made him feel like chain-smoking half a dozen packs of cigarettes right in front of her.

His cell phone rang and his heart thumped hard. Then he saw the number and felt the letdown: Kelly.

He couldn’t avoid her forever.

Draining his glass once more, he took out his wallet, paid the tab, grabbed his cell, and almost as an afterthought, reached into his pocket, digging out his last pack of cigarettes, still half full, and tossed them on the bar, then walked out. The phone stopped ringing, but he would call her back. Now that it was all clear in his head, he realized holding on wasn’t fair.

It was time to let go.

 

About the Author:

Tanya has written seventeen novels, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times and USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two dogs and two cats in northern Michigan.

 

Connect with Tanya Anne Crosby

Email: tanya@tanyaannecrosby.com

Website: http://tanyaannecrosby.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanyaannecrosby

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TanyaAnneCrosby