SUSPENSE SISTERS' APRIL GIVEAWAY

 

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The gifts of children .....Roxanne Rustand

I love seeing how children's interests and talents can show up at a young age. An artistic eye, perhaps. A talent for math, or music, or writing, or something else.

Sometimes, it seems to mirror that of someone else in the family. 

Have you seen this in your own family tree?  In yourself--with a special talent or something you have deeply enjoyed since childhood? Do you think it's nature (through DNA), or through nurture? I would love to hear your answers!

I grew up loving to draw, and wrote poetry and stories (childish at best) without any thought about where those interests came from.

But recently, after making some remarkable contacts with close relatives via 23andMe, I found a sibling who is a gifted artist, and who strongly considered becoming a writer before changing course. 

On the other side of my family tree, I found a first cousin who writes poetry and has published a book. Another first cousin seriously considered becoming a writer before choosing a different career.

My daughter is a writer. And now, I have two young granddaughters in different states—in late elementary school and middle school—who love to write. Each is working on a story and has over a hundred pages done.  So apparently, by sheer coincidence or DNA, an interest in writing has shown up again!  

I would love to hear about you. Did your interests take after someone in your family tree?

Leave a comment, and you will be in a drawing for a free e-book, a title of your choice. To see them all CLICK HERE.  Be sure to click "Sort by popularity, or you will see some outdated books at the top."

Blessings to you all, 

Roxanne Rustand

What's HOT in Inspirational Suspense by Mary Ellis

Wondering what's new in inspirational suspense and mystery? Sarah Loudin Thomas has a brand new suspense, These Tangled Threads, A Novel of Biltmore, recently released from Bethany House. 

Here's a little bit about the story: Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of Biltmore Estate. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn't have the creativity needed. But there's an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her--if only she can find her.To track the mysterious weaver down, Lorna sees no other way but to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her old life, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of long ago. She'll have to risk the job that shapes her identity as well as the hope of friendship--and love--restored.

You can buy These Tangled Threads: A Novel of Biltmore HERE from Christianbook.com

Have a great week of reading, lovers of inspirational suspense and mystery! ~ Mary Ellis

THIS WEEK ON THE SUSPENSE SISTERS

We have exciting things planned for you this week on the Suspense Sisters!

On Tuesday, Suspense Sister Mary Ellis will tell us what’s hot in inspirational suspense and mystery.

Wednesday, author Roxanne Rustand talks about the new generation of writers growing up with big dreams. She’s also giving away a copy of one of her great books! Here’s a little something about her novel, FINAL TRUTH.

Dr. Jolie Maxwell had never planned to move back home.

She knew her sisters wouldn’t welcome her with open arms. But her family needs her. Her brother is in serious trouble with the law, and her dad’s health is failing.

The town needs her, too. It hasn’t had a local doctor in years.

Yet many of the locals aren’t happy about having another Maxwell in their midst.

And now, a hidden enemy will do anything to drive her away.

Coolness from her family, hostility from the townspeople, and a very real threat of danger make Jolie appreciate her new neighbor and his two young children all the more...

Unless he isn’t what he seems.

ORDER IT HERE 

Friday, Suspense Sister A.D. will review FATAL DOMAIN by Steven James.

When the past scratches its way into the present, it can leave deep scars.

A series of cryptic clues leads Department of Defense redactor Travis Brock to suspect that a grim chapter from his past is not yet over. With the help of his eidetic memory and his newly formed team, he must unearth the truth and stop a terrorist group from stealing one of the military’s most highly guarded technological breakthroughs. With it, the group plans to commit a daring act of espionage that could upend the work of one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms and impact millions of people worldwide.

In a high-stakes story of action and intrigue that reaches from a refugee settlement in Uganda to the shores of the Potomac in Washington, DC, shattering secrets from the past will be revealed, loyalties tested, and intimate betrayals brought to light as Brock is forced to decide how to forgive what he cannot forget.

From a novelist that Publishers Weekly has called a “master storyteller” comes an intricate and taut thriller that will have you guessing until the final page.

ORDER IT HERE 

Don’t forget to enter our monthly contest! You could win your choice of a $100 gift card from Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble or Christianbook.com.

THE SUSPENSE SISTERS

WE LOVE BOOKS

The Scariest Part of Suspense - Villains and Why We Love Them!

 

Okay, I confess, I love reading about villains who keep me up at night and stay with me long after I’ve finished the book.

In suspense, the villain is every bit as important as the hero and heroine. We need a bad guy to create conflict and set the story into motion. Villains unite the main characters in a single cause. Defeating the bad guy.   

Have you ever read a villain that’s just a level above normal bad guys? One that really gives you the creeps. There have been many villains who have accomplished this for me. One that comes to mind is the villain from Linda Castillo’s, Sworn to Silence. This is the first book in the Kate Burkholder series. If you haven’t read the book, it’s good, but it is hard to read.

Villains come in all different forms. Some are the person most trusted by the protagonists like the killer from Don’t Close Your Eyes, book one of my Hallowed Halls series. Angel was someone close to the FBI team searching for him and it came as a complete surprise when his true relationship to Megan was revealed.

Other villains are strangers with motives that range from revenge, to covering up another crime, to someone seeking financial gain such as a drug smuggler or a trafficker in stolen goods or human lives.

In my upcoming Love Inspired Suspense, Ambush in the Mountains, the villain is a human trafficker. The heroine has escaped, and he wants her back. He will stop at nothing to accomplish that.

But some villains have far more twisted motives. Such as Embalmer, the serial killer in my upcoming book, The Last To Know. 

So, what’s your favorite type of villain? Is there one you think is overdone, or maybe just too creepy.

I’ll be giving away a copy of my upcoming release, THE LAST TO KNOW, to someone who comments. Be sure to leave your email address. I’ll announce the winner in a few days!

Here’s a little about THE LAST TO KNOW:

An FBI agent with a dark secret.

A killer on a mission.

A murderous past that unearths an unexpected connection.

BAU Special Agent Hannah London’s troubled past reminds her that life is fragile. And hers has an expiration date that can’t be denied.

When the bottom drops out of Hannah’s world, and a killer ramps up his victim count, Hannah and fellow agent, Cooper Delaney are in a race against time to catch the killer. A bombshell revelation has Hannah and Cooper reeling after the killer’s cryptic messages seem to hint at a connection. . .to Hannah.

As Hannah’s feelings for Cooper deepen, her head tells her to end things before Cooper gets hurt. But her heart, the one that threatens to betray her, doesn’t want to walk away.

PREORDER IT HERE

 

Ten Years Gone

 by Sharon Dunn

Our first date was a motorcycle ride, a concert, food at a diner and then another motorcycle ride. He was fun, had a sense of humor and adventure and was interested in me as a person. We weren't that couple that broke up and got back together and wondered if we were right for each other. From the beginning we clicked. He became my best friend. The person I most liked to travel with. The person who celebrated the good parts of me and loved me even when I was unpleasant. My biggest cheerleader when it came to my writing. He was an engaged and hands on father to our three children. Michael could connect to anyone and make them laugh. He accepted people where they were at without judgement. 

On April 6, 2014, he died of cancer after having battled it for four years. He was 58. I am grateful for the nearly 27 years of marriage we had together and for the three children that share many of his quirks and personality traits.  I am grateful to have known what it was like to be loved unconditionally. 

Losing Michael when I was 49 and living as a widow is the hardest thing I have faced in my life. I don't ever stop missing him, and I think about him everyday. Sometimes it's a joyful thought when a good memory of us together comes back to me or I hear a song or meet someone and I think Michael would have loved that song or that person. Sometimes the thought is a sad one where I feel his absence. If our kids have a great victory or a struggle, I wish he was here to experience it with me. I miss the way he could talk me off of any emotional ledge I got myself onto with a hug and saying, "It'll be alright." The photo is of Michael on our wedding day. 

We all face hard things sooner or later in our lives. It is not a comfortable life where everything goes as planned that brings us closer to God. It is in our suffering and our loss that we identify more clearly with Jesus. A hard sell in America where the prosperity gospel infuses most church teaching to one degree or another. I don't know what people without Jesus and the hope of heaven lean on when this kind of loss happens. How about you? What loss has most affected you?  

Please leave a comment and your email address. I will be giving away copies of my soon to be released book Kidnapped in Montana.