YOU DID WHAT?

 

If you've wondered how a writer feels after launch day, look no further than the cartoon above. It's exactly how I feel after yesterday's launch...all the while trying to finish the next book due in 23 days...

Even though I'm exhausted, I am really excited to send my baby out into the world. And praying that no one thinks I have an ugly baby...

Have you ever wondered what a writer researches while writing a book? Then wonder no more. I've researched blowing up cars, poisoning someone, guns, rifles, ammo, Kevlar vests. I've watched countless videos of someone shooting a rifle with a suppressor on the barrel to see how loud it sounds.

And in Deadly Revenge, (I called it Deadly Vengeance all the time I was writing it and it's been hard making the switch), anyway, I researched how to blow up a dam. 

And you think Homeland Security doesn't have a file on me? They may even have a file on the guy I called and asked about explosives...

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Research is one of the things I love about writing whether it's explosives, or finding the exact word or action that shows the reader how my character feels, or the type of vehicle will fit my character, or eminent domain...

Eminent domain was one I was already familiar with, having experienced it not once but two times. When the highways that intersect my county were widened to four lanes, land had to be bought and not everyone wanted to sell. In fact, deputies had to be assigned the surveyors who surveyed the possible routes because occasionally they were threatened or even shot at. I learned then that landowners didn't like giving up land that had been in their families for a hundred years or more. 

Even though I was familiar with the process, I still needed to brush up on the facts. And while most of the time, there was a legitimate reason for taking property, there are abuses. And that was what I was looking for when I wrote Deadly Revenge. I asked myself what if...what if someone believed their property was taken just to line a politician's pocket...and I was off and running. 

Check out Deadly Revenge and see where my what ifs took me. 

Deputy Jenna Hart has only been working in her sleepy hometown of Pearl Springs for seven months when city officials begin to be targeted by a killer. Twenty years ago, the construction of a dam caused people to lose their land to eminent domain. That wound has not healed with time, and someone bearing a grudge is clearly set on revenge. With the former mayor of Pearl Springs now running for the US Senate, Jenna will have to call in backup to ensure his protection.

That's where Agent Maxwell Anderson comes in. He and Jenna used to work together in the Chattanooga Police Department, and there was even a smoldering fire of attraction. Now they team up to track down the killer before a big political rally that promises to bring not only the former mayor into the crosshairs but hundreds of civilians as well.

As the sparks of romance reignite and the threads of the investigation get tangled when another suspect comes into play, Jenna and Max will have to draw on all of their skills to stay alive and prevent the wave of disaster poised to hit the community of Pearl Springs. The question is, can either of them fully trust that the other has their back?

Are there questions you'd like to ask about the things a writer researches? Leave them in the comments or just leave a comment and I'll enter you in a drawing for Deadly Revenge! (print copy US addresses only; others digital copies)