Guest Blog: If you lived during the Regency era, who would you be by Elyse Mady (+ Giveaway)

If you lived during the Regency era, who would you be?

If I lived during the Regency era, I’d like to think I’d own a dress shop.  Or a millinery shop.  Something where I got to play with gorgeous fabrics and trims all day long.

 

When I’m not writing, I sew.  A lot.  I like to embroider and I love historical clothing.  Just go look at my Pinterest boards if you don’t believe me J) Now I know the conditions were abysmal for apprentices in dressmaking and millinery shops, so I don’t want anyone to think I’m glossing that over.  This is more a ‘you can have any job in the world and it’s guaranteed to be fabulous’ speculation here.   And since everyone who knows me knows that if I was required to rely on my filing skills to get a job, I’d quickly starve and end up in the streets, I think I’ll stick with something I actually know something about.

Historically, there weren’t a lot of jobs open to women who wanted (or needed) to support themselves without a man.  Service was one option but the pay was crummy and the hours really long.   For the more genteel, you had the option of being a governess or a companion.  Having a shop was another option and there were lots and lots of women involved in trade, for sure, but they were often brought up in the trade or ran it with a spouse before they ran it alone.  Dressmaking was one of the few branches where women really dominated and could make a handsome profit.

Hester Aspinall, the heroine in my novel THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR, helps her brother in his tailor’s shop.  When he is arrested, she tries to continue the business but is driven out by an angry mob.  Robert Aspinall is of course based on a real person, who was a tailor by trade prior to his being caught up in the raid on the White Swan, and given my interest in historical sewing, I think that was one of the reasons I was drawn to him in the first place, as I was plotting my story.  The greengrocer from Essex or the out-of-work servants weren’t quite as appealing.

Here are some random fun facts about sewing and dressmaking in the 18^th and early 19^th century.

·         There were no paper patterns as we know them today.  Those didn’t make an appearance until the 1850s and 1860s.  Clothes were generally draped directly on the body (hence all those trips to the dressmakers that we Regency writers love so!).

·         A skilled seamstress could make a basic daygown in one day, working for approximately 8-10 hours. That would include the cutting, basting, fitting and construction.   An elaborate dress, especially if it featured custom embroidery, could take upwards of six weeks to three months.

·         All needlework was not the same.  There were specialists for all branches of clothing production:  stay makers, coat makers, leather workers, tailors (who made riding habits for men and women), dressmakers, embroiderers, goldwork embroiderers, white work embroiderers, glovemakers, menders and more.

·         Most clothes were not made at home, despite what you were taught in grade school.  Draping a gown takes a high degree of skill which is why professionals did it. What most women sewed for their families was known as ‘plain sewing’: household linens (sheets, pillowcases, blankets), and underclothes like men’s shirts, petticoats, baby clothes.  And if you couldn’t sew (or didn’t have the money for custom garments), there was a booming business in second hand clothing.

·         There were no tape measures.  Really.  There were rulers and yard sticks but no cloth tapes.  So how did a dressmaker know how big to make that gown?  Well, they used lengths of paper tape, and simply marked the tape with a pencil as they needed it.  Width of Shoulder. Length to Waist.  Diameter of Upper Arm.  It didn’t matter what the number was, just its relationship to the clientele’s overall figure. Cool, huh?

Author Giveaway:

I’d like to say ‘thanks’ for having me visit today.  If you could have held one job in the past, what would it have been and why?  I’ll give one lucky commenter a signed ecopy of my latest novel, THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR in their choice of format!

Elyse Mady is the author of historical romances “The White Swan Affair” and “The Debutante’s Dilemma”, with Carina Press and two contemporary romances.  Upcoming books include the Regency novella “The Debutante’s Desire”.  She blogs at www.elysemady.com.  You can also find her on Twitter at @elysemady, Facebook and Goodreads.

In addition to her writing commitments, Elyse also teaches film and literature at a local college. With her excellent writerly imagination, she one day dreams of topping the NY Times Bestseller’s List and reclaiming her pre-kid body without the bother of either sit-ups or the denunciation of ice-cream.

About The White Swan Affair - Goodreads, Amazon, B&N
London, 1810

After the tragic death of her beloved, Hester Aspinall vowed never to be ruled by her passions again. Still, she is drawn to her landlord, handsome adventurer Thomas Ramsay–but she doesn’t fool herself that a man of his station would look twice at a poor tailor’s sister.

With the sea for a mistress, Thomas has no intention of entering into matrimony. And yet, he can’t get the plain-spoken and desirable Hester out of his mind, even though she’s never tried to secure his attentions as other women do.

Everything changes the night Hester’s brother is arrested during a raid on a gay brothel, the infamous White Swan. With no one else to turn to, and terrified Robert will hang for his crime, Hester accepts Thomas’s offer to bear the cost of the defense. A true gentleman, Thomas expects nothing in return–but Hester is no longer able to deny her own desires…

She may offer her body eagerly, but can she protect her heart?


Tour Giveaway (separate from the author comment giveaway)

Win a digital copy of any of Elyse Mady's books, just simply use the Rafflecopter form below.



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Into the Past with Denise Jaden (Never Enough) + Giveaway Entry

Today I welcome Denise Jaden, author of Never Enough who is here to talk about her favorite books and other things at ages 5, 11, 15 and 19.  I love these types of posts and I hope you do too, so enjoy!

Books and Other Favorite Things From the Past

I wasn’t much of a reader as a young person, so I’m expanding this blog post to include a variety of my favorite things from the past. I think it gives a much fuller view of who I was growing up.

Age 5 – At age five, I don’t think I was reading at all yet. I tried a bit of ballet this year, but didn’t do particularly well at it. I was a scrawny little thing, regularly picked on by my older brother. I liked Barbie’s and riding bikes with the neighborhood kids. I have one book that I read to my son when he was younger and my mom says it was one of my favorites, though I don’t remember it. It’s called The Dog Book by Jan Pfloog.

Age 11 – By age eleven, I was really into dancing with my Polynesian dance troupe. I was involved with competing and our group acted as a real team. I loved working together, aiming for excellence, and it kept me focused as a pre-teen. As far as books go, I wasn’t much of a reader, but I did delve into a bit of Nancy Drew and Judy Blume during this time. I especially loved Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Age 15 – By age fifteen, I was smitten by soap operas. I rushed home from school each day to rewind my VCR and promptly watch my episode of General Hospital. I was one hundred percent in love with Jack Wagner (Frisco).  I would even leave the beach at two o’clock while on vacation because I wouldn’t miss an episode.

As for reading, this was my rebellious phase. Because teachers and parents were telling me how important reading was, I did everything I could to avoid it. I remember watching The Outsiders movie so I could avoid reading the book (which I’ve read and loved since).

Age 19 – This is around the age I started college. I was forced to read a certain amount of literature for school, but surprisingly still remember a few things I read back then. I wouldn’t call them favorites by any means, but the memorable ones included works by author Robertson Davies (I’ve always loved his name) and Geoffrey Chaucer. I was in the theatre program at university, so most of my reading at this age was either plays to perform (I was in Of Mice and Men, playing Curly’s Wife) and non-fiction writing about the stage.

I was in my late twenties before I discovered a love for reading, and people are always surprised when they hear that. I hope my lack of early love for books will serve as inspiration for other late starters, because now I truly can’t stop!

Thank you Denise for the great guest post.  It's interesting to find people that came to reading later in life. I feel you at age 15, I hated everything they made me read, I think I lived on Cliff Notes.  That was my period where I was turned off to reading, but I picked it back up in college when I had more freedom and I haven't stopped since.  And I agree, I hope this encourages people that are starting to read later to keep it up.  Reading is wonderful no matter what your age!

Giveaway:
See this post on Denise Jaden's blog for the wonderful prizes she is giving away during the blog tour.  If you comment on posts during the blog tour, you get an entry into the giveaway, so make sure to leave a comment for Denise here on this post for your entry on this stop!  There are some great prizes up for grabs!

Check out the Trailer for Never Enough:

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Dark Heroes and the Moral Code by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez (Sacrifice of Passion Tour)

Dark Heroes and the Moral Code

I’m a mystery writer.  My Lola Cruz Mysteries with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled are soft-boiled.  My Magical Dressmaking Mysteries with NAL are cozies. 

And Sacrifice of Passion, the first in my Deadly Legends trilogy with Dead Sexy, a new category imprint from Entangled Publishing, is much darker than my other books. 

Shifting from writing smart, sexy, sassy mysteries to small town cozies to darker romantic suspense books sometimes makes me feel as though I have multiple personality disorder!  There's never a dull writing day, that's for sure. 

When I began to think about a darker story, I automatically focused on the dark hero.  The damaged heroine.  And I got into Dexter. 

I should note here that I'm a teacher, as well (Southern Methodist University with the creative writing CAPE program and Savvy Authors).  One thing I love about teaching is that it forces me to continue my own learning in new and unexpected ways.  Discovering a new (to me) television show and realizing it can teach me something about characterization, is thrilling.  I went through this with Supernatural (love love love those Winchester boys).  I went through it with Lost (rife with conflict, those plane crash victims were).  I’m going through it with Breaking Bad (Walter White is one heck of a conflicted cancer victim).  And I’m going through it with Dexter.

If you haven’t seen Dexter, here’s the lowdown:

Dexter Morgan is a forensic scientist. He studies blood spatter. This television series is based on a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, although, in the vein (no pun intended!) of True Blood, the series has taken on a life of its own.   My observations are based on the TV series, not the books.

The further into the shows I watched, the more I wondered: Is Dexter a Villain or a Dark Hero?

My take on Dexter is that he walks a thin line between being a dark hero and a villain.  This line is blurry and complicated; he is fascinating, which makes him an excellent case study.   One could probably write a dissertation on the subject, in fact.  The bottom line?  He's a layered character who does horrible things for all the right reasons.

The show has been great food for thought when it comes to crafting my own characters (for any of my different series), developing their layers and depths and figuring out how to build conflict into my stories (particularly in the romantic suspense books like Sacrifice of Passion which is, by nature, dark).

When I develop a character, good or bad, I craft his/her moral code.  Even the darkest hero and the villain have a moral code.  It may be twisted or skewed, but it exists and in his/her mind and actions are justified because of the code.  I’ve always written this way, but the point was driven home as I watched the end of season one in Dexter.  We began to see flashbacks to Dexter’s adoptive father and the code he helped Dexter establish.  Harry’s Code.  It’s the guiding force in Dexter’s life, informing all of his decisions.  It’s his moral compass. 

Dexter is an anomaly within humanity in that he doesn’t feel anything. He says he has a hole inside him where those feeling should go. If he could feel something, he’d care about his sister, also a cop.

Harry, Dexter’s father, steps in to help Dexter adapt to the world he lives in. He teaches him how to survive, kill effectively and efficiently, how to never get caught, and, on an emotional level, how to interact with the people around him so that he can fit in.

We all have our own moral code, we just don’t recognize it or live by it as intentionally as Dexter.  But when crafting a character, knowing his/her code can help you stay authentic to him/her.  As I am writing the third book in the Lola Cruz Mystery series, Bare Naked Lola, the mystery takes Lola to a nudist resort.  The big question (one I haven’t answered yet) is, “Will she or won’t she?” Go naked, I mean.  See, Lola lives by a code of striving for gender equality, seeking justice, being true to her sexy, sassy, smart, kick-ass self, preserving her family’s culture within her life, and respecting herself and her family.  She’s also a good Catholic girl.  A few of these elements conflict when I try to answer the question of whether or not Lola’ll take it all off in order to solve a case. (You’ll have to stay tuned to find out the answer!)

Harlow Cassidy, the sleuth in Pleating for Mercy, has her own moral code, as well.  It revolves around the idea of justice, preserving the safe, small town Texas town she grew up in, and keeping family close and safe.  She's not an ends justifies the means kind of woman, but she is a go-getter, willing to put herself on the line if it's the right thing to do.

Just like in Dexter, people can make a choice to go against their code.  There are consequences to those decisions, and in a book, that’s exactly what you want.  If Lola doesn’t go nude, she upholds parts of her code, but sacrifices other elements.  If she does, she may solve the mystery, but will she respect the decision knowing what she did and how she compromised?  Does the end justify the means? 

In Curse of Passion (which will come out in the spring next year sometime), someone is killing women and making it look like the drownings of la Llorona, a 500 year old mythic woman (think Madea).   The killer lives by his own code and sees what he does as justified.  Skewed, yes, but authentic.

In Sacrifice of Passion, the reasons for the killings going on in the cursed town of San Julio are very personal (and justified) to the killer. 

Now, Dexter’s backstory is important in framing who he is (as is the case for any dark hero...or any hero, for that matter). Dexter witnessed his mother being killed, which is the catalyst for his emotional emptiness. This also drives his bloodlust and desire to hurt those who are hurting others (as he does with a dog who constantly yaps and irritates his adoptive mother to the point that she can't sleep), thereby achieving a warped sense of justice. With Harry’s guidance, he develops the “Code”--to only kill those who “deserve”  it (those who are killers themselves). The God Complex here is obviously huge, and the whole premise is layered with moral dilemmas.

Things get more complicated for Dexter as he continues to ‘role play’ his emotional attachment to the few people he pretends to care about (his sister, a girlfriend, and her / his children). The other fundamental conflict, or course, is that he works in law enforcement, yet he breaks the law--in a big way--every time he kills.  His secrets are close to being discovered more than once.

But from the beginning, we witness a process of humanization in Dexter because we understand why he is bereft of emotions, where that hole in him stems from, and when he begins to question his own code, we see his deeper moral dilemma. This character truly straddles the line between villain (because how do we ever condone a killer and this God complex?) and dark hero (because we see the good in his intentions). When he begins to recognize ‘real’ feelings within himself, the ambiguity of his ‘hero’ status deepens right along with his moral conflicts.

This is a fascinating, albeit violent and graphic, show (I cover my eyes... A LOT!). Despite the gruesomeness and violence, I love it, as I also love Breaking Bad, because this character is so fundamentally conflicted. The conflicts manifest in very unexpected ways. Watching both of these shows makes me really question and think about moral coded and values, applying what I know to my own characters and their development. 

A great character, dark or not, will force us to look more closely at ourselves, to examine what we think and feel, and any character who can make us do that is well worth watching or reading about, and will, ultimately, help us as we build our own conflicted, real characters--no matter how light or dark the book.

◦ What do you think of Dexter (if you’ve seen the show and know the character)? Do you think he’s a villain or a dark hero?

About Sacrifice of Passion

Texas rancher, Vic Vargas, finds himself facing more than his stubbornly silent son when the chupacabra, a supposedly mythical blood‐sucking beast, starts killing his livestock—and stalking Delaney West, the town’s newly returned veterinary assistant, the sensual woman who ran from the altar and broke his heart twelve years earlier.

Reluctantly, he seeks her help to get to the bottom of the disturbing animal mutilations, only to have her break through to his sullen son...and rekindle the love he’d thought was lost forever. But her refusal to share a terrible secret sends her running straight into the lair of the chupacabra, plunging her back into her worst nightmare, and forcing them both to confront the wrongs of the past—in order to stay alive for the future they desperately want.



Get your copy of Sacrifice of Passion at 

Also available from Melissa Bourbon Ramirez: Bare Naked Lola

Going undercover is second nature for Private Investigator Lola Cruz, but she’s out of her league when the case of a murdered Royals Courtside Dancer leads her to a local nudist resort. Parading around the sidelines of Sacramento’s professional basketball scene in a barely-there cheerleading outfit is one thing—but parading around in nothing but smile? If she has any chance of hiding this from her traditional family and on-again/off-again boyfriend Jack, she’s going to have a lot more than her duct tape bra and killer dance moves to keep under wraps….

Get your copy of Bare Naked Lola at:  

Books-A-Million     The Book Depository     Powell's Books


About Melissa Bourbon Ramirez

Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas.  She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.

She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox and two romantic suspense titles.

Visit Melissa at her website | Twitter Page | Facebook Home | Goodreads | and Books on the House, a website bringing books and readers together!

Giveaway:
Thanks to the author and Entangled Publishing, I have one copy of Sacrifice of Passion in ebook form to giveaway to a lucky reader.  It sounds like a great book and I know I am dying to read it.  And I'm also intrigued even more by the Dexter series as well!  So simply enter by the Rafflecopter below.  Open Internationally, ends 7/9.




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Book Review: No Hero by Mallory Kane

No Hero by Mallory Kane

New Orleans Finest - Book Two - by Mallory Kane

Author: Mallory Kane
Genre: Category – Romantic Suspense
Length: 309 pages
Release Date: June 2012
Imprint: Dead Sexy
ISBN: 978-1-62266-939-4

My rating: 5.0/5.0

My Review:

From the first page until the last No Hero provided me with the taut suspense that I love in a romantic suspense book. The emphasis in this book is on the suspense, but don't let that fool you, there is definitely heat between Reghan and Dev and you feel it page after page. But what I felt most was the driving need to find out who the bad guy was and how the book would turn out. That is what kept me turning the pages.

Dev and Reghan are great characters. Dev had a flawed childhood and he's trying to make up for it now. Reghan's view of the world is skewed and she believes that there can be no heroes and everyone has something to hide. Add to this interesting chemistry the fact that these two have kissed in the past so there is some definite sparks going between them and you definitely have the romance heating up. But I liked each character on their own. Dev wants to do what is right and he cares. Reghan is trying to do what she thinks is right but learns through experience about caring for people. It makes a great story right there with just their experiences, but it's not limited to that.

Then Ms. Kane adds in the extraordinarily plotted suspense storyline. Who is killing the boys that Dev is getting off the streets. You think it's obvious who is pulling the strings, but who is actually doing it? That is the question that haunted me through the reading. And wow, Ms. Kane can take you on quite a ride in a little less than 200 pages. A lot is packed into this book and it is very hard to put down. The thrills and chills keep coming until almost the very last page where things are tied up nicely. No complaints here at all with how the suspense was handled, especially for a shorter book. Ms. Kane doesn't waste time, she jumps right in and then gives backstory when it's necessary and it works really well.

Suspense that is spine-tingling mixed with romance that sparks is a great mix and No Hero has it in spades. I loved this book and can't say enough. As one of the books launching the Dead Sexy imprint for Entangled Publishing I know I will be checking out more of this line and I will also be checking out more of Ms. Kane's work. I'm not sure how I missed her in the past, but I will make sure to rectify that situation soon.

About No Hero:

A darkly handsome New Orleans detective who insists he’s no hero is blindsided by his one-time lover, a sexy investigative TV reporter who exposes his secret troubled past to the whole world…and nearly costs him his job. When the at-risk teens he mentors start turning up dead, his vow to protect the other kids hits a major snag…his only clue to finding the determined killer is held by the one woman he never wants to see again. Compelled to work together to solve the vicious murders before another child dies, their passion reluctantly reignites, and their mutual mistrust slowly turns to respect as she realizes there’s much more to being a hero than outward appearances, and his deeply wounded heart gradually opens to the possibility of love.

Contact or visit Mallory any of the following ways:
mallory@mallorykane.com
http://www.mallorykane.com
http://www.facebook.com/mallorykane
https://twitter.com/#!/mallorykane
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-hero/

***I received this book from the Entangled Publishing for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Author Interview: Mallory Kane (No Hero)

Today I welcome Mallory Kane, author of No Hero, a new ebook from Entangled Publishing's Dead Sexy imprint.  I had the pleasure of reading No Hero and it's a great book full of suspense and romance just what I love. My review will be coming later today, but first come get to know Mallory a little better and find out a little more about No Hero.

Describe the area you write in.
I usually write in our guest room, which has a comfortable chair and ottoman and a comfortable bed. Our house is a split-level, and the view out the guest room windows looks like the view from a treehouse. It's lovely in every season.

What's your favorite season?
Fall. I adore watching the leaves change and feeling the cool, crisp weather. The days are beautiful and the nights are chilly and perfect for cuddling.

Describe your ideal reading space (no expense spared here).
My idea reading space is a second story room in an old house in the South of France. It has a small balcony that looks over a lovely town square with a stone fountain and old olive trees. On the other side of the square is a boulangerie where I can buy bread every morning to eat with my coffee. Pretty vinyards and lavendar fields can be seen in the distance.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
This summer we went to the South of France, as described above, and to Italy. I would love to go back there and spend an entire summer.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I wrote my first poem, Miss Mousie Had A Tea Party, at around age eight and my first short story, a romantic suspense about a girl who visited a dude ranch, met a bad boy, falsely accused, solved a mystery and experienced her first kiss, at around age thirteen.

What's the first sentence of No Hero?
The fog off the river swirled around the lone figure as he stepped onto the abandoned wharf.

Do you have a favorite line in No Hero?
Actually I have a bunch of favorite lines. One of them is my hero Dev, in answer to a question he's asked by the heroine, Reghan Connor.
(Reghan)     "I thought you didn't watch my show."
(Dev)          "I don't. I'm a detective. I have people watch for me and report back."

Tell us what is No Hero about.
Teenagers are being murdered in New Orleans. Not just any teens, teens from Detective Devereux Gautier's Johnson Center for Homeless Teens. Dev is determined to catch the killer before any more kids are killed, but he has no leads. Then Reghan Connor shows up, telling him she knows who the killer is. He'd be more inclined to believe her if she hadn't exposed the past he'd worked for 20 years to hide on her TV news show. But when another teen is murdered, Dev begins to realize that Connor may have the key to catching the killer. But she nearly destroyed his career and his life once. If he works with her on this case, what will stop her from doing it again?

Dish, who’s your favorite character?
Oh, my favorite character is Dev. He's my favorite hero ever! He's been in my head for a long time. Now at last he's getting his own book.

How did you feel when you finished No Hero?
Relieved, exhausted, excited, wrung-out, satisfied, and really really proud of myself for getting it done.

For all of us impatient readers, what is up next for you?
Thanks for asking. Right now, in addition to No Hero from Entangled, I have a Harlequin Intrigue on the shelves in June. It's called Death of a Beauty Queen. My next releases from Harlequin will be an anthology called Bayou Justice in March of 2013, The Prosecutor's Star Witness in April and Special Forces Father in May of 2013. My next book from Entangled Publishing will be (tentative title) No Saint, As yet, we don't have a publication date.

Thanks Mallory!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed by you. These questions have been really fun.

Contact or visit Mallory any of the following ways:
mallory@mallorykane.com
http://www.mallorykane.com
http://www.facebook.com/mallorykane
https://twitter.com/#!/mallorykane
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-hero/

No Hero

New Orleans Finest - Book Two - by Mallory Kane

Author: Mallory Kane
Genre: Category – Romantic Suspense
Length: 309 pages
Release Date: June 2012
Imprint: Dead Sexy
ISBN: 978-1-62266-939-4



A darkly handsome New Orleans detective who insists he’s no hero is blindsided by his one-time lover, a sexy investigative TV reporter who exposes his secret troubled past to the whole world…and nearly costs him his job. When the at-risk teens he mentors start turning up dead, his vow to protect the other kids hits a major snag…his only clue to finding the determined killer is held by the one woman he never wants to see again. Compelled to work together to solve the vicious murders before another child dies, their passion reluctantly reignites, and their mutual mistrust slowly turns to respect as she realizes there’s much more to being a hero than outward appearances, and his deeply wounded heart gradually opens to the possibility of love.

Waiting On Wednesday (28)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's selection comes from one of my favorite suspense authors.  I found her a few years ago and now I can't get enough of her so of course I am eagerly waiting for her newest:

Criminal by Karin Slaughter (Georgia #4)

Release Date:  July 3, 2012

Karin Slaughter’s new novel is an epic tale of love, loyalty, and murder that encompasses forty years, two chillingly similar murder cases, and a good man’s deepest secrets.

Will Trent is a brilliant agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Newly in love, he is beginning to put a difficult past behind him. Then a local college student goes missing, and Will is inexplicably kept off the case by his supervisor and mentor, deputy director Amanda Wagner. Will cannot fathom Amanda’s motivation until the two of them literally collide in an abandoned orphanage they have both been drawn to for different reasons. Decades before—when Will’s father was imprisoned for murder—this was his home. . . .

Flash back nearly forty years. In the summer Will Trent was born, Amanda Wagner is going to college, making Sunday dinners for her father, taking her first steps in the boys’ club that is the Atlanta Police Department. One of her first cases is to investigate a brutal crime in one of the city’s worst neighborhoods. Amanda and her partner, Evelyn, are the only ones who seem to care if an arrest is ever made.

Now the case that launched Amanda’s career has suddenly come back to life, intertwined with the long-held mystery of Will’s birth and parentage. And these two dauntless investigators will each need to face down demons from the past if they are to prevent an even greater terror from being unleashed

What are you waiting on this week? 

Author This or That: Kristina McBride (One Moment)

Today I welcome Kristina McBride to My Reading Room.  She's here to answer This or That.  Welcome Kristina!

Breakfast or Brunch? Breakfast
Sedan or Sports Car? With 2 kids? Definitely a sedan.
Laptop or Ipad? Laptop – specifically my MacBook Air.
High Heels or Flip Flops? Flip Flops!
Trip around the world or trip to the moon? To the moon, please.
M&Ms: Peanut or Plain? Plain! Peanuts and chocolate? Not a good match. (I know a majority of the world would disagree with that statement, but I’m not afraid to go against the flow.)
Hair: Short or Long? Long.
Necklace or Bracelet? Neither.
Take a walk or go to the gym? Depends on if it’s raining. I’d prefer to go for a hike in the woods, but I’m always up for the gym.
Out to Eat or Take Out? Eat in.
Sunrise or Sunset? Either.
Math or English? Ha! English. Without a doubt. (I still remember walking – or should I say skipping – away from my last math class in college. Oh, happy day!)
Dogs or Cats? Dogs. I have a cat allergy :/
Spring or Fall? I can’t answer that. If I say spring, I’ll feel like I’m cheating on fall. If I say fall, I’ll feel like I’m cheating on Spring. And what about summer? Totally left out! There’s winter, too, ya know?