Interview with Leslie Wolfe – Dawn Girl
Give a warm welcome to Leslie Wolfe, author of Dawn Girl.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Leslie and Dawn Girl.
Leslie, what is Dawn Girl about?
A terrific team of investigators solving crimes. FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett is a powerhouse woman, relentless and smart as a whip, but damaged, wounded, and doing a poor job at hiding it. Yet nothing stops her from chasing the perp, at times not even procedure. She teams up with a duo of Palm Beach County detectives, and, while the three of them are not a match made in heaven, they somehow manage to work together well.
What would readers remember after they finish reading the book?
A bit of avant-garde forensic science, some cutting edge investigative procedures and methodologies, an interesting dive into the psychology of a serial killer, and all that sprinkled with the latest technology in the field.
Your writing style is fast, filled with dialogue, almost at the expense of descriptives and narratives. Why is that?
This is how human beings interact, especially when under pressure or stress. We stop paying attention to our surroundings, and focus on the task at hand. People interact with one another, talk to one another, and have feelings for one another and for everything we do. That’s what I’m focused on, rather than specifying each article of clothing someone wears, or the color of the flower vase in an office somewhere. This technique isn’t necessarily good or bad; just somewhat different from mainstream.
What’s the biggest compliment you received from a fan?
It’s when readers tell me they stay up all night to finish the book, because they couldn’t put it down. That’s music to my ears Like any other artist and entertainer, I thrive knowing that I deliver that escape into the fictional world in a grasping, gritty, and memorable way.
You mentioned science, technology, psychology. How do you keep it real?
I do extensive amounts of research for my work, and I’m fascinated by what I have the opportunity to learn. Additionally, sections of my books go through a process of validation at the hands of several fantastic partners who are law enforcement officers, scientists, doctors in medicine. In Dawn Girl, for example, there are sections that speak about using certain plant extracts and animal venoms to achieve certain goals. Despite the extensive research, my hands were shaking a little as I wrote them, metaphorically speaking, and I was relieved when my research “passed scientific review.”
Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
Apart from social media and email interactions, I’m a veritable recluse. Email is the best and quickest way to reach me, and I was fortunate to build true friendships with readers over email. The majority of my readers ask me when’s the next book coming out, not when I’m getting out of the house, so I get the hint and I keep on writing.
Is Dawn Girl going to be continued?
Yes, Tess Winnett, the leading lady of Dawn Girl, has been very well received by the readers, and my fans have been adamant: they want more. Therefore yes, there’s more, and there will be even more, coming soon. It all starts with Dawn Girl.
Tell us a little more about Dawn Girl?
Her blue eyes wide open, glossed over. A few specks of sand clung to her long, dark lashes. Her beautiful face, immobile, covered in sparkling flecks of sand. Her lips slightly parted as if to let a last breath escape.
Who is the beautiful girl found at dawn, on a deserted stretch of golden sand beach? What is her secret?
FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett searches for answers relentlessly. With each step, each new finding, she uncovers unsettling facts leading to a single possible conclusion: Dawn Girl is not the only victim. Her killer has killed before.
Hiding a terrible secret of her own, Special Agent Tess Winnett faces her inmost fears, in a heart-stopping race to catch a killer who’s getting ready to end yet another life. Will she find the killer in time? Will she be able to stop him? At what cost?
The rules of the game have changed.
So has the textbook definition of a serial killer.
Special Agent Tess Winnett is the bold, direct, and short-fused heroine of Dawn Girl. Putting her life on the line, she doesn’t pull any punches, searching only for the truth, and for the man who takes lives on her watch. Intelligent, resourceful, and uncompromising, Tess will take readers on a memorable, white-knuckled journey in this suspenseful, gripping serial killer thriller.
How about a snippet from between the pages of Dawn Girl?
She made an effort to open her eyes, compelling her heavy eyelids to obey. She swallowed hard, her throat raw and dry, as she urged the wave of nausea to subside. Dizzy and confused, she struggled to gain awareness. Where was she? She felt numb and shaky, unable to move, as if awakening from a deep sleep or a coma. She tried to move her arms, but couldn’t. Something kept her immobilized, but didn’t hurt her. Or maybe she couldn’t feel the pain, not anymore.
You can get Dawn Girl at the online retailers listed below:
About the Author:
Bestselling author Leslie Wolfe is passionate about writing fiction, despite spending a significant number of years climbing the corporate ladder. Leaving the coveted world of boardrooms for the blissful peace of the Florida-based “Wolves’ den,” Leslie answers one true calling: writing.
Leslie’s novels break the mold of traditional thrillers. Fascinated by technology and psychology, Leslie brings extensive background and research in these fields that empower and add texture to a signature, multi-dimensional, engaging writing style.
Leslie released the first novel, Executive, in October 2011. It was very well received, including inquiries from Hollywood. Since then, Leslie published numerous novels and enjoyed growing success and recognition in the marketplace. Among Leslie’s most notable works, The Watson Girl (2017) was recognized for offering a unique insight into the mind of a serial killer and a rarely seen first person account of his actions, in a dramatic and intense procedural thriller.
A complete list of Leslie’s titles is available at http://wolfenovels.com/titles
Follow Leslie on Twitter: @WolfeNovels
Leslie’s Goodreads profile: http://bit.ly/LWolfeGR
Like Leslie’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wolfenovels
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfenovels
Visit Leslie’s website for the latest news: www.WolfeNovels.com
Tour giveaways
For readers – 3 $20 gift card combos, “Coffee and a Book,” Starbucks and Amazon gift cards $10 each.
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Dawn Girl.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Crime Thriller, Dawn Girl, FBI, Leslie Wolfe, Police Procedural, Suspense by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.
Sevyn by Author Renee Dyer
Give a warm welcome to Renee Dyer, author of Sevyn a Thriller/Romantic Suspense!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Renee and Sevyn.
When life hands you impossible choices, can you become the man you want to be? Now there’s a question and I have a few more for you Renee!
What inspired this particular story? To anyone who reads Sevyn, they may find it hard to believe, but the first time I heard 7 Years by Lukas Graham, the entire story line started flowing through my mind. I called up my friend, Amy, and told her what I was thinking. She was so excited for me to write a darker book, but it took me eleven months of letting the story play out in my head before I decided to start typing.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why? Oh, that would definitely be Mickayla (Mick). She’s sassy, wild, and I never know what she’ll say. Although I haven’t written her book in the Healing Hearts Series yet, she has found her way into all the ones I have written. I can’t wait to devote an entire book to her. My stomach is going to hurt from all the laughing. Oh, sounds like my kind of book!
How long have you been writing? I can’t remember a time I wasn’t writing. As a child, it was an outlet. Writing allowed me to escape when I felt awkward, which was quite a lot. I never quite knew what to say to others, but I was always great at putting how I felt on paper.
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer? Other than my husband, my mom was the first one I told. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in my family when I started writing books. I told my mom when I was eight that I would write books someday.
And so you did!
Tells us what’s Sevyn about.
Born into rival drug cartels, Kevyn Zozlov and his best friend Esperanza Torres defy the odds, finding laughter in a world full of pain. Ripped away from her at a young age, Kevyn has to learn the difference between family, loyalty, and obedience. Fear keeps him focused each day. Memories fill his dreams at night.
Torn between the death he sees daily and what he believes is right, he struggles to decide the kind of man he wants to be—until a promise he makes to his mother, the person he loves more than anyone, changes everything.
“Get out of here and find Esperanza. Promise me.”
Now, Kevyn has to figure out how to make his way to the only friend he ever had—the one person who understands his damaged world. Will she welcome him back with open arms, or turn him away, leaving him more lost than he already is?
With time against him, can he find Esperanza and his happiness, or will he be another casualty of the drug war, buried in an unmarked grave with no one to mourn his loss?
A snippet from Sevyn:
There is no way to explain the punch in the gut you feel seeing someone murdered. The sound of the gun shooting. The way their head jerks. That moment before the body realizes that its essence is gone, eyes staring nowhere, devoid of all emotion, before finally crumbling to the ground. Blood dribbles from their lips and pools on the floor. It’s like your soul performs one last dance before wrenching away to find out what lays beyond. One last morbid, horrific waltz, it gripped onto me and imbedded every detail into my young mind.
I would never be the same.
He was really gone.
I never wanted to be responsible for someone’s death, but I was responsible for this. My father was dead because of me. As he laid there, his eyes devoid of life, no longer able to judge me—hate me, I looked up to the sky and silently thought to my mother…justice is yours.
About the Author:
From a young Renee Dyer had a love of writing, starting with a doodle pad at age four that morphed into journals. Poetry became short stories and short stories a novel. Although she’s surrounded by males all day having three sons, a husband, and a hyperactive chocolate lab, she still finds time to be herself by escaping into the fantasy of reading and writing romance. That is, until she needs a male’s perspective and garners eye rolling from her husband at all of her questions. Renee is a true New Englander. You can find her screaming profanity at the TV while the Pats play and cuddling under blankets during the cold seasons (which is most of them), reading a good book. She doesn’t believe snow is a reason to shut things down, only to slow down and admire the beauty. Ask her anything. She’s an open book—pun fully intended.
Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReneeDyer
Twitter https://twitter.com/ReneeDyerAuthor
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/reneedyer
Pinterest Page: http://www.pinterest.com/reneedyerauthor/
Google + Page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ReneeDyerRomanceAuthor/posts
Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7529668.Renee_Dyer
It was wonderful having you with us today Renee. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Sevyn!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Dark Romance, Renee Dyer, Suspense, Thriller by Tena Stetler with 5 comments.
Legacy Lost an Exciting Paranormal Western from Author Jillian David!
Give a warm welcome to Jillian David, author of Legacy Lost just released March 27, 2017! It’s book two of Hell’s Valley Series.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Jillian and her new release Legacy Lost .
Jillian David lives near the end of the Earth with her nut of a husband and two bossy cats. To escape the sometimes-stressful world of the rural physician, she writes while on call and in her free time. She enjoys taking realistic settings and adding a twist of “what if.” Running or hiking on local trails often promotes plot development.
www.Twitter.com/jilliandavid13
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Tell us about Legacy Lost.
Growing up as an honorary Taggart, Eric Patterson found the family he’d always wanted. Almost. He couldn’t ever manage to see the clan’s youngest and only daughter, stubborn spitfire Shelby, quite like a little sister. Suddenly, his long-suppressed feelings are determined to come to light.
Too bad Shelby’s cursed. Her double whammy psychic powers to read emotions and locate anyone anywhere have always made relationships impossible—and now they’ve begun to endanger her life. If she uses her echolocation skills again, it just might kill her.
But when a malevolent supernatural force invades the valley, threatening the Taggarts and their neighbors, the Brands, Eric and Shelby must contend with both their blossoming feelings and the increasing danger. Does Shelby dare risk using her powers one more time, sacrificing her own life to save Eric?
Here’s a tantalizing snippet from Legacy Lost.
Wait until Eric found out she could read anyone’s emotions.
Not that she’d ever tell him.
It was bad enough he knew about her homing beacon skills.
A wave of something else wafted over her filters. Warm, smoky caramel. The scent of Eric’s concern and worry about her.
Great.
His light brown brows drew together. “So, how’s your breathing? Really?” By the way he asked, he damn well knew the answer.
“Fine.”
“Want to try that answer again?” The curve of his sensual mouth pressed into a hard line as he studied her. Did he seriously move into a wide alpha-dude stance? Not that she was affected by him. No way. Her disgust stemmed from the fact that hard muscled, denim-clad legs like those should be illegal to display without a license.
“Sure.” She suppressed a betraying wheeze. “How about it’s none of your business and let’s get back to work?”
He barked what passed for a laugh and moved not one inch. “You bet it’s my business.” He extended a work-roughened hand toward her then dropped it. “I can’t believe you’re on call for Search and Rescue in this condition.”
“In this condition?” Virtual heat steamed from the top of her head. “Now you’re checking on my condition?”
“I’m an EMT, same as you. Someone should assess how you’re doing since you refused medical treatment after the fire.”
“Don’t need to assess anything. I’m fine.”
He rolled a gloved hand into a fist and propped it on a central beam, leaning like he wanted to shove down the entire structure. “Damn it, Shel, you’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t take care of yourself. I’m one of the team leaders on Search and Rescue. And I will pull you from a mission if you’re not healthy.”
Irritation crackled along her nerves. No way could she give in to the undertone of concern in his voice. “That would be the last thing on earth that you did, getting in my way of doing my job.”
His mouth barely moved. “If it’s a medical call, I’ll do it.”
“This conversation was getting too serious too quickly. And she couldn’t detect a rock bottom for this uncomfortable chat. “So now you’re a medical expert?”
“As close as we’re going to get right now.”
Spin the topic, damn it. Change the subject. Now. “No way, dude. You’re not evaluating my medical condition. Because then I’d have to make you wear the stupid nurse costume and call you ‘ma’am.’”
He paused then shook his head. With a glint in his dark blue eyes, he shot her a broad grin that made her heart flop. “How about I wear the hat?”
“Well . . . ”
“And nothing else.”
Today’s verbal judo wasn’t working like it normally did. Her cheeks warmed up at the thought of an exam by Eric. With him wearing only a nurse’s cap. That image cast her childhood friend in a whole new and uncomfortable light. She broke eye contact. Nope. Nothing would ever happen beyond friendship, and life was better for both of them that way.
Because, with her crappy gift to detect emotion, Shelby’s problem wasn’t intimacy, it was the aftermath, the judgment, the inevitable disapproval, the garbage and static that came along with even the nicest thoughts. Way too much closeness.
She and Eric were friends. That’s the way it had been for years, and that’s how it would be for years to come. Period.
“Fine, Nurse Patterson.” She sniffed. “But I get to decide how to use the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.”
Get your copy today at: Amazon BN Kobo
Thanks so much for stopping by to tell us about Legacy Lost and share a little about yourself. Pop on by anytime!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Jillian David, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Western by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
A Moment with M.S. Spencer & Her New Sizzling Hot Release Lapses of Memory
Give a warm welcome to M.S. Spencer, author of Lapses of Memory!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about M.S. and her sizzling HOT Lapses of Memory.
Thank you for having me at your great site today, Tena. I’m offering a little background on my new romantic suspense/adventure Lapses of Memory, and a spicy little excerpt.
Lapses of Memory follow the exploits of two journalists, Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies, as they travel the globe reporting on various world catastrophes. The first time they meet as adults, Elian is about to infiltrate a fictional Greek revolutionary group, and Sydney is off to Cairo to stud Arabic. The next time they are both covering the initial stages of the revolution in Iran and only barely escape.
Since I lived through these same events, I wanted to convey both the excitement and the trepidation associated with being in the midst of a world-shattering crisis. As reporters Sydney and Elian sensed that something important was going on, but couldn’t know the extent or the consequences of it. To add that dimension, Sydney tells the story of her life to her daughter. I hope you find it as romantic as I do.
Tell us a little about what inspired this particular story?
Lapses of Memory came about when a former publisher tossed out the idea of a series based on “love in the air.” Rather than starting with a plot of my own devising, I had to come up with one related to someone else’s theme. Sitting quietly in what I euphemistically call my lotus position, I mulled. “Planes,” I said to myself. “Love in the air…snakes on a plane (nah, overdone)…old planes…my first trip on a plane…” Eureka (or aha, whichever you prefer)! There rose before me the image of an enormous, bulbous silver bird with EASTERN written in red across the side. I’d recently seen it at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which had made me feel really old, since the plane was, in fact, the very first plane I’d flown on at age four. A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, one of the first to make the transatlantic voyage a regular event, it allowed—with its sleeping berths and formal dining—for luxurious air travel in the 1950s.
My heroine, Sydney, would take that plane. And so would the hero Elian. Everything was going swimmingly, until I realized that, this being a contemporary romance, Sydney and Elian would be too young in 1958 to fall in love. So I was forced to make them suffer through an intermittent romance as they (and airplane design) matured.
This gave me the opportunity to extricate bits from other adventures I’ve had, and so Sydney and Elian became journalists and were subjected to Egyptian/Israeli tensions, to the breakout of the Iranian revolution, and to the civil war in Lebanon. They held up rather well considering.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down?
My stories come in one of two ways. I usually start with the setting, followed by extensive Googling. My upcoming release, the Pit and the Passion, is set at the Ghost Hotel, a hotel begun by John Ringling of circus fame in 1926 in Sarasota, and left to crumble for forty years. What do you find at a ghost hotel? Anyone? Sometimes I
Tehran in the 1960’s
allow the Googling its head and discover the most amazing facts that work their way into a story. The Mason’s Mark features a shadowy renegade Mason, who was based on a real person who cropped up on the internet. Lapses of Memory, my new release, actually came out of reminiscing on my rather adventurous past.
Do you find it easier to write from a male or female point of view? Why?
Funny you should ask that. Up to now all my stories have been written from the female point of view—the heroine is the protagonist, although my heroes usually have a large presence. But in my current work-in-progress, the hero nudged his way into the lead despite all my best efforts. Even though he clearly belongs in charge, it has been a real struggle for me. Is he too effeminate? Is he thinking the way a guy thinks or the way a female thinks a guy thinks? Thank God he’s a nerdy academic type and not a big, strapping cowboy! I’m still working on it…
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Stare out at the tropical sky? Oh, you mean, get off my butt. I happen to live in paradise—Gulf Coast of Florida—so I spend a couple of hours at the beach when I can, swimming and watching the dolphins and magnificent frigatebirds. I like to kayak and bird watch and cook when I can lasso a guest.
You’ve got a time machine, a cloak of invisibility, and one hour. Where would you go, and what eavesdropping would you do?
I think the most fascinating place to listen would be at the Constitutional Convention—to hear our founding fathers formulating what is the most amazing document ever produced by Man would be fabulous.
Oh, I so agree. That’s a good one. Now on to Lapses of Memory.
Sydney Bellek first meets Elian Davies in the 1950s on a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser when she is five and he is seven. They run into each other every few years after that, but while he knows from the start that she is his true love, she does not. Later, as rival journalists, they vie for scoops on international crises from the Iranian revolution to the Lebanese civil war. The handsome and intrepid Elian beats her out at every turn, even while keeping his love for her secret.
Only after years of separation does she finally realize they are meant to be together, but this time, in a twist of fate, it is Elian whose memory of her is gone. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?
How about a sneak peek into Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies’ world?
Sydney took her daughter’s hand and squeezed it. “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”
Olivia shook her off. “We’ve been over this. I sent Ben away. I think he was relieved. I really do.”
Sydney recollected a man standing, shoulders slumped, as Olivia drove off the day before. “I’m not so sure.” She picked up a small enamel box that lay on her bureau and opened it. “Here, I want you to have this.” She held out a thin gold chain. A small teardrop pearl hung from it.
“What is it?”
“It’s the first gift your father gave me. He bought it in the bazaar in Tangier. I want you to have it.”
Olivia’s voice broke. “Oh, Mother.”
Sydney put it around her daughter’s neck and closed the catch. “Olivia, true love is not to be discarded lightly. You could find yourself regretting your decision years from now.”
“I know, every night in the shower for the rest of my life, wondering where he was and what he was doing. But that was you, not me. I know what I’m doing.”
The Wild Rose Press, itunes , Amazon, Barnes and Noble, KOBO, and Bookstrand
Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents, the last thirty years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent. After many years in academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Ms. Spencer has published ten romantic suspense novels, and has two more in utero. She has two fabulous grown children and an incredible granddaughter. She divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
Contacts
Blog: http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com
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http://romancebooks4us.com/Romance%20Author%20M.%20S.%20Spencer.html OR
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Lapses of Memory.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Airplane, M.S. Spencer, Romance, Suspense, Tehran by Tena Stetler with 17 comments.
