Meet My Fellow Wild Rose Press Author Alana Lorens and Read About VOODOO DREAMS, Book 3 of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyer Series

As spooky season continues to creep up on us, I'm continuing my blog exchange with my fellow authors of The Wild Rose Press sharing our paranormal, horror, or all around creepy books and stories. I present Alana Lorens, a woman of many talents. Check out Book 3 of her Pittsburgh Lady Lawyer series:

About Alana

Alana Lorens has been a published writer for more than forty years, after working as a pizza maker, a floral designer, a journalist and a family law attorney. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She writes romance and suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal mystery as Lyndi Alexander. . She is the author of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series, which draws on her years as a family law attorney in the state of Pennsylvania. One of the causes close to her heart came from those years as well–the fight against domestic violence. She volunteered for many years at women’s shelters and provided free legal services to women and children in need. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and she is ruled by three crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.

About VOODOO DREAMS

When her big trial goes bad, corporate attorney Brianna Ward can’t wait to get out of Pittsburgh. The Big Easy seems like the perfect place to rest, relax, and forget about the legal business. Too bad an obnoxious—but handsome—lawyer from a rival firm is checking into the same bed and breakfast. 

 Attorney Evan Farrell has Mardi Gras vacation plans too. When he encounters fiery and attractive Brianna, however, he puts the Bourbon Street party on hold. He’d much rather devote himself to her—especially when a mysterious riddle appears in her bag, seeming to threaten danger. 

Strangely compelled to follow the riddle’s clues, Brianna is pulled deeper into the twisted schemes of a voodoo priest bent on revenge. To escape his poisonous web, she must work with Evan to solve the curse. But is the growing love they feel for each other real? Or just a voodoo dream?

See the trailer!

 

EXCERPT

             “Give me your hand, Bri. I’ll get you out of there.”

            She sat frozen, arms crossed tight.

             “For crying out loud.” He surveyed the immediate vicinity in the growing light, seeing not even a trace of the water rippling. “I think it’s gone,” he said, relieved. “Come on, let me help you over here.”

             “Are you sure?”

            Hell, no, I’m not sure. Wait, who was going to wear the pants in this relationship? When the trusty knight gave orders, the princess jumped. No time for this nonsense.

            “Of course I am. Hurry now.”

            She shivered and took a deep breath, still studying the water. When nothing happened, she stood up, a little shaky, and held out her hand. He seized it and dragged her ashore just as he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Across the inlet, the alligator’s huge tail smacked the water in challenge, and it charged straight for the boat.

             “Look out!” Brianna yelled. She snatched up the wooden oar Evan had dropped on the ground and headed for the water before Evan could stop her. The alligator launched itself into the now-abandoned boat, its mouth open, hissing horribly, and inches-long teeth snapped at her. Brianna swung the oar toward the open mouth of the creature. The impact of its jaws clamping down on the paddle nearly wrenched it loose from her hands.

            She wrestled for control of the oar, then the alligator jerked on it, pulling her into the shallow water.

            Lunatic woman. What’s she thinking? I’ve got to do something before she gets eaten. A distraction, that’s what was needed. Here goes…

            He launched himself into the swamp downstream from the monster. “Hey!” he shouted. “Hey, over here!” He smacked the water, trying to get the alligator’s attention.       “Evan, what are you doing?” Brianna gasped, yanking the oar back as the beast released it.

             I’m being a friggin idiot, apparently. “Come on, you big jerk, come and get me!”

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Meet my Guest Diane Burton and Read About THE CASE OF THE MEDDLING MAMA

Meet Diane:

Diane combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. She is also a contributor to two anthologies: Portals, Volume 2 and How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and five grandchildren.

* * *

Mothers

Wait. Mother’s Day isn’t until May, so why am I writing about mothers in February? Mothers deserve more than one day or month to be remembered. More than just remembered, appreciated. I was so blessed by having three wonderful mothers in my life.

My mom proved that women can do anything they want to. She was a pampered city girl, the baby of the family, transplanted to a mini-farm in the middle of nowhere. Dad and his brothers built our house, but once the drywall was up, separating rooms, he considered his work done. Mom learned how to spackle seams and nailheads, paint, and lay tile—not the peel-and-stick kind, the old asphalt tiles with a black sticky mastic that had to be spread first. Why? Because she wanted to see more than bare drywall and plywood floors. She did all that over a couple of years, while also having seven kids.

My mother-in-law knew that her future husband and his mother were a package deal. Her MIL lived with them for twenty-five years. I can’t imagine. Especially, having a strong-willed mother-in-law. My MIL had one child. Since he took his own sweet time finding the right girl (moi), she despaired of him ever getting married, let alone having grandkids. When our first was a girl, MIL was ecstatic. I didn’t need to buy dresses, MIL couldn’t find enough. But the best thing about her was that she never criticized. At least, not that I knew.

MIL’s sister was my third “mother.” In their later years, she and my in-laws did everything together. MIL didn’t drive, her sister did. An independent woman for years, she didn’t marry until her middle-fifties and only for less than ten years when he died. After my father-in-law passed away, she organized trips for herself and her sister. They were in their early 90s by this time. After the first trip to Europe, they invited my widowed mother to join them. (Mom was the spring chicken in her middle 70s.) The three of them traveled to Europe several times until age started taking its toll on the two 90+ year-olds, and Alzheimer’s began to rob Mom’s mind.

Mom lived to be 84, MIL 102, her sister 100. Our children consider all three their grandmothers. I considered them my “Moms.”

Not everyone is as blessed as I’ve been. Mothers range from doting to demanding, from prying to interfering to meddling.

In the 3^rd book in the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series, The Case of the Meddling Mama, her boyfriend’s mother comes for a visit . . . and stays. After Alex’s father and his business partner turned the investigation agency over to Alex, they moved to Arizona. That allowed her to be her own person without them hanging over her shoulder. Nice for her. Not so nice for the biz partner’s wife. Although it was her idea to move away from the bitter cold Michigan winters, she didn’t expect that her husband would get a mistress, one whose name is spelled GOLF. After a year of losing him to that sport, she gave up and moved back home. And in with Alex.

That put a big crimp in Alex’s love life. No way was her boyfriend sleeping with her with his mother down the hall. Since his mother had once been involved in the agency as secretary, receptionist, etc. and Alex’s last receptionist had been carted off to jail, she appointed herself office manager. That made her an integral part of Alex’s business and personal life. That also entitled her to express her opinion on both levels. Can we spell meddling?

* * *

About The Case of the Meddling Mama 

Once again, Alex O’Hara is up to her ears in mysteries. After surviving an attempted murder, all she wants is R&R time with Nick Palzetti. But his mother leaving his father (“that horse’s patoot”) and moving in with Alex puts a crimp in their plans. Then Nick leaves on assignment and the teen she rescued from an abusive father believes his buddy is doing drugs. Meanwhile, Alex has two easy cases to take her mind off her shaky relationship with Nick—a philandering husband and a background check on a client’s boyfriend. Piece of cake.

Excerpt

“Alexandra, is that you?” Maria Palzetti, Nick’s mom and self-appointed office manager, called out as I came in through the back door of the agency.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“It is I,” Maria corrected as she bustled down the hall. Short and a little on the plump side, she always looked stylish. Today, she wore a floral infinity scarf over a soft lavender short-sleeve sweater and a gray skirt. Her salt-and-pepper hair framed her face on which she wore light make-up. “Always remember to use proper English.”

“Yes, Mother,” I said, hoping my grin would take the sting out of my smart-aleck response. After Mom died, Maria had become the closest thing to a mother, even though she never tried to take Mom’s place. Actually, she was my mother-in-law—she just didn’t know it.

And I wasn’t saying.

The Case of the Meddling Mama: An Alex O’Hara Novel is available at:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Smashwords

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Meet Reily Garrett With DIGITAL VELOCITY, Book 1 of The McAllister Justice Series of Suspense Thrillers

DIGITAL VELOCITY

The McAllister Justice Series Book 1
by Reily Garrett

Exploring the Gun Issue in Fiction with My Guest Gary Guinn and Read About His Mystery Suspense Thriller SACRIFICIAL LAM

I always enjoy hosting fellow Wild Rose Press authors, and saw that Gary’s latest release went on sale in March. SACRIFICIAL LAM is a thriller involving the very controversial gun issue in our country.

About Gary

Gary lives in the southern Ozark Mountains with his wife, Mary Ann, and their lab mix, Seamus, and their Corgi mix, Peanut. He writes both literary and mystery/thriller fiction. His first novel, A Late Flooding Thaw, was published by Moon Lake Publishing in 2005. His poetry and fiction have appeared in a variety of magazines, and his short fiction has appeared in several anthologies, the latest being Yonder Mountain, from the University of Arkansas Press. His mystery/thriller novel Sacrificial Lam, released by The Wild Rose Press March 3^rd, is set on a small Southern college campus. His favorite pastimes are reading, writing, traveling, sailing, and brewing beer (and of course, drinking it).

About SACRIFICIAL LAM

When English professor Lam Corso receives a death threat at work, he laughs it off.  A liberal activist at a small Southern conservative college, he's used to stirring up controversy on campus.  It's just part of the give and take of life.  Even when violently attacked, Lam is convinced it must be a mistake.  He can't imagine anyone who would want to kill him for his beliefs.  When his home is broken into and his wife's business vandalized, Lam is forced to face the truth. His wife—a passionate anti-gun crusader—is outraged when Lam brings a gun into the house for protection. The police can't find a single lead. Left to their own devices, Lam and Susan are forced to examine their marriage, faith, and values in the face of a carefully targeted attack from an assailant spurred into action by his own set of beliefs.  What will it cost to survive?

Excerpt:

In the silence immediately after Susan screamed, Simon’s high wail came from upstairs. Billy’s voice broke through, “Mom? What happened, Mom?” His voice moved to the top of the stairs. “Mama, I’m scared. Where are you?” Simon was sobbing.

Susan grabbed the flashlight and scrambled to her feet. The darkness of the room pressed in on her, weighted with threat, the silence in the downstairs smothering her voice. She shined the flashlight toward the stairway, heading that way, and yelled, “Boys, can you see the light from the flashlight?”

She flicked the light around the room, and seeing nobody, she yelled again, with less panic this time, “Nothing to be afraid of, Billy. I’m sorry I scared you. You and Simon come on downstairs right now.” She shined the light on the stairway steps, fear crawling up her spine from the darkness behind her.

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Meet Wild Rose Press Author Kim McDermott--Today's Her Book Launch Day!

Kim's suspense romance novel HIDING hits the shelves today. Meet Kim and read about HIDING.

Kim was born and raised in Charleston, SC where she graduated valedictorian of Middleton High School and cum laude from the College of Charleston with a B.A. in English.  She received a Masters Degree in Counseling from the Citadel and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in S.C. She has nine years of experience in guidance.  She is also a Nationally Certified High School English and Language Arts teacher who worked for Charleston Country School District for 28 years as both an English teacher and a guidance counselor.  She is retired and currently teaches English and Creative Writing part-time as an Adjunct English Professor at Trident Technical College.

     She has freelanced for numerous regional and national publications including: The State, Charleston Magazine, Standard, Blue Ridge Country, Reader’s Digest, Christian Single, Home Life, Straight, Evangel, Smokey Mountain Magazine, and others.  She won the Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s award in l987.  Her first book, All Work, All Play published by Marco. She has two children’s books, a chapter book aimed at elementary age children entitled The Underwear Tree and a picture book, Les Petits Gardes. With Margie Clary, she co-authored South Carolina Lighthouses published by Arcadia Publishing. Her latest book is a suspense romance entitled Hiding published by The Wild Rose Press.

       Her manuscript won Honorable Mention in the Louisiana Romance Writers 2011 Contest and was a finalist in the Daphne Du Maurier Kiss of Death Contest at the National Romance Writer’s 2012 Conference. In the l980s she wrote two plays that were performed locally: Song of Susanna about the life of Susanna Wesley, mother of John Wesley and Stede Bonnet the Gentlemen Pirate. 

Praise for Katherine McDermott

Ms. McDermott received the RWA Kiss of Death Chapter Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in 2012 for an unpublished Romantic Mystery/Suspense.

She also received Honorable Mention Inspirational Romance for another one of her manuscripts in the 2013 Great Expectations Contest by the North Texas chapter of Romance Writers of America.

 

About HIDING

           Teresa Worthington flees an abusive relationship and moves to Paris where she hope to pursue a career in art. Distrustful of men, she avoids them until the thoughtful and charming, Serge Gervais, the concierge at the hotel where she is staying, slowly wins her over. Then Alex finds her and posing as a homeless vagrant, begins a series of harassing incidents that threaten both Teresa and Serge. When Alex sets the hotel on fire and abducts Teresa into the Paris catacombs, Serge is desperate to find her. Will he locate her in time?        

An excerpt from HIDING

Alex illuminated the crypt

with his light, and Teresa tried to interpret what she saw: uneven walls, a doorway surrounded by orbs, a floor littered with dried reeds. No, they weren’t reeds; they were bones. And the orbs were skulls! The catacombs! Her heart pounded in her chest like a jackhammer. Alex had withdrawn his knife. The blade glittered in the dim light of the torch which cast luminous shadows on the walls. What better place to kill someone? What was another set of bones among the many? Lord, as you helped the Christians long ago who met secretly in catacombs, help me.

 

An interview with Kim

 

Why I Wrote HIDING

       Unfortunately, many women in modern society experience dating abuse as does Teresa Worthington in Hiding. Teresa learns to stand up for herself and gain independence by successfully pursuing a talent for painting. The idea for the story literally started with a “blank canvas” the brick and stucco back wall of a courtyard behind a Parisian hotel. This wall just tempted the imagination and invited creativity.

Because, like my character, I also like to paint murals, I wanted to pursue the idea of creating beauty out of bare bricks.

 

More about Kim:

 

Tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C. 

Artistic, brainy, corny

What are your three favorite things?

My husband, my grandchildren, my kids and yes, in that order, sorry kids : (

Are you self- published or with a publishing company (if so, which one?)?

Both. I have two children’s books that are self- published: Les Petits Gardes a picture book and The Underwear Tree, a chapter book primarily for girls.

Margie Clary and I wrote The South Carolina Lighthouses published by Arcadia Publishing and All Work, All Play is a book of actitivities for career counselors published by Marco.

What for you is the best part of writing? What is the worst?

The best part is getting into another world and another person’s mind.  I especially like doing research on places I have not been. With the internet it’s like taking a mini-vacation on the web.  The worst part is editing and rewriting. You better really like your story because before you finish, you will have read it over and over and over . . .

Is there a process you stick to, or do you just write as it hits you?

I had to learn to write anywhere anytime, the doctor’s waiting room, jotting down an idea on a napkin at a restaurant, etc. Life is so hectic that you have to use idle minutes to accomplish anything.

Was there any particular inspiration for your characters or story?

The inspiration for Hiding was a real hotel in Paris with a courtyard that was just begging for a mural.

How much is your character like you?

Somewhat, we both enjoy art and painting. We both like to travel. But fortunately, I have not experienced an abusive boyfriend though in my years as a high school guidance counselor I did hear about them from others.

Music is a big influence on my writing. I have certain songs that inspire each chapter, or the whole book.

What helps to inspire you?

I like music as well and your idea is intriguing. But no, I did not have specific songs though Phantom of the Opera certainly resonates in parts of my story. I like ballroom dance so I did throw in some tango and waltz.

What’s the one thing you would do if you could be your character for a day?

Enjoy those Alpine views in Breil sur Roya

What is the ultimate goal you have for your career?

Just want to keep writing. I am challenging myself right now with a historical romance word count 70,000.  That’s almost twice as long as Hiding, but I do love history.

Describe your perfect day

Leisurely breakfast with good coffee, teaching a freshman English class at Trident Technical College, working on a novel, seeing my grandkids and a little painting after supper. I find that when I am stymied writing and I go paint for a while, the writer’s block lifts.

As the holidays approach, what traditions do you have?

I like to sing in the church choir and make gingerbread houses with my grandchildren. We go to candlelight Christmas Eve service.

Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books?

Not with the same characters. Wild Rose is currently looking at Dead Right, another suspense novel set totally in Charleston. It involves and female assistant medical examiner and a serial killer.

When not writing, what can you be found doing?

Grading papers, cleaning house, gardening.

Favorite item of clothing in your closet?

I guess my bathing suit, not because of how I look in it, but because I really like to swim.

If you could spend the day with any celebrity, who would it be?

I think Tom Hanks would be fun.

Favorite writer, book?

Oh man, way to many. To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Gray Mountain. I really like court cases.

When writing, which do you prefer to write with, computer or paper and pen?

Both and whatever is handy at the moment!

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Visit Me on Kim Headlee's Blog to Read About My Stalker novel STILL CRAZY

I'm on Kim Headlee's blog. I hope my #stalker novel STILL CRAZY will create awareness about stalking & #codependency.
http://bit.ly/1JJaNHS