Donnell Ann Bell

The Past Came Hunting

Fifteen years ago a young Colorado Springs police officer arrested a teen runaway accused of aiding a convenience store robbery and attempted murder.  She was innocent, but still served prison time briefly.  Her testimony sent the real thief to jail for much longer.  Now she’s a young widow raising a son, and the man she put in prison is free and seeking revenge.  She moves to a home in a new neighborhood—then learns that her next-door neighbor is the by-the-book officer who arrested her.  Now he’s a Colorado Springs P.D. Lieutenant.  Like it or not, he may be the only one who can protect her and her son from the past he helped create.

Doesn’t that sound like a suspenseful read?  It is.  I couldn’t put it down and highly recommend it.

So read on about how coincidences can alter your life, then leave a comment, and you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of THE PAST CAME HUNTING (either in print or digital—winner’s choice).   And for more information about Donnell and her books, drop by her website at www.donnellannbell.com.

And now…Take it away, Donnell!

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Conflict or Coincidence:  I had to Choose

If you’ve been writing as long as I have, chances are you’ve received your share of rejections.  There are myriad reasons a book is rejected– Pacing’s off, too much backstory, failure to hone one’s craft, the story doesn’t resonate with the editor or agent, lack of conflict, the story feels contrived, it’s cloudy, the agent doesn’t care for her new haircut. . .

In my case, however, my book was rejected because the agent or editor couldn’t buy a coincidence.  Which for me was a little hard to accept because I’ve been the recipient of coincidence my entire life.

When I was in grade school, my mother took my little sister, my friend and me to the movies.  Charlene and I coerced my mom into letting us watch the show from the balcony, and eventually Mom relented.  Excited, my schoolmate and I gathered our popcorn and soda, scrambled  up to the second floor like the big kids, and while tugging off my coat, I knocked my soda off the railing.  On the way home, my sister cried that some idiot above her had drenched her with a drink.  Oops.

In fourth grade I had my appendix removed.  A nurse entered my room and said that a boy around my age had been severely burnt in a fire.  The nurse wondered if I might be willing to spend some time with him.  I agreed.  Turns out, I dated that boy my sophomore year in high school.  At a dance I  put my arms around him and felt the scars through his shirt.  He explained he’d been in a fire as a boy.  When I asked how it happened, we were both amazed as we remembered our talks in the hospital.

Last February when my husband and I went to Key West, my cousin ad her significant other gave us a tour of the island.  After she took us back to our bungalow, she said, “You’re staying here?”  Worried we were staying in a disreputable place, I replied, “So far.  Why?  What’s wrong?”  “Nothing,” she replied.  “It’s just that this is the same bungalow your mother stayed in with your brother when your dad shipped off to Okinawa 55 years earlier.

My future daughter in law and I were born in the same hospital in Lubbock, Texas.  She lives in Fort Worth, I live in Colorado Springs.  An innocent conversation about where we were born confirmed we were both born at St. Mary’s Hospital.  I ask you:  What are the odds?

Last but not least, the coincidence that hit me the hardest was learning that my dad passed away on the same day as his father, sixty-one years apart.  That is an incredible, emotional coincidence I  find myself thinking about every June 29^th .

As you can see, I’m no stranger to coincidence, which brings me to the focus of this article.  During my stint at the Citizen’s Academy, I asked some deputies what’s the worst thing that could happen during the course of their career?  Without hesitation, one deputy answered, If an ex-con moved next door to me.

I’d been plotting THE PAST CAME HUNTING for some time by then, and that comment provided the ideal solution for me.  I needed a conflict for my protagonists, one an ex-con, the other a police lieutenant.  I heaped on additional conflict by adding their teenage boys to the scenario and making them inseparable.  Contrived?  Maybe.  But I think I made it work.  Further, if I would have moved Melanie down the street or into a different neighborhood, I would have lessened the conflict, and it wouldn’t have been the same story.

Conflict or Coincidence, I simply had to choose.  For me, it made sense to pick the latter.

Have any coincidences altered your life for the better or worse?  Leave a comment and maybe win a copy of THE PAST CAME HUNTING.  Good luck!

THIS JUST IN:  KOBO Books is promoting THE PAST CAME HUNTING in its Great Reads for under $4.99. http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Past-Came-Hunting/book-bAE7VJ2fa0mouqeVy6gpIg/page1.html   And now Amazon Kindle has matched it.  Check it out!

I’ll be announcing my winner on my blog at the beginning of February.  So be sure to check back to see if you won.  Good luck!

K

P.S.  Did you know you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter?  Hope to see you there!

 

Genevieve Graham

Today I’m delighted to introduce Genevieve Graham, the ONLY Nova Scotian to be published by Berkley/Penguin, and one of only four Canadians to have that honor.  Also, this is the first book she ever wrote and it sold right away!  So she must be doing something right.  (And just so you know, I’ve read UNDER THE SAME SKY, and she did a lot right.)  This is an exciting, well-researched, captivating novel with a touch of magic and an enduring love story about two people who’ve lived an ocean apart and have never met, yet they’ve loved each other all their lives.  Sound intriguing?  It is.  So read on, leave a comment and you’re in the drawing for a copy of her fabulous book. 

Under the Same Sky

WINNER (1)!  Chosen by random drawing, our first winner is DIANE McCORNACK!  Diane, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com  and I’ll get out your 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy right away.  Thanks for participating.

TODAY’S QUESTION #2 (12-5):  (In keeping with the Scottish trend)…Have you ever eaten haggis?  Is it as awful as it sounds?  Leave your answer at http://on.fb.me/u7eaVf.  Good luck!

WINNER (1)!  CHRISTINA LASSWELL!  Christina, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com, and I’ll get your copy of COLORADO DAWN off ASAP.  Thanks for participating!

WINNER (1)!  DEBBIE McLEAN please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com, and I’ll get your 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy in the mail right away.  Congratulations!

TODAY’S QUESTION #3 (12-6):  Neeps and tatties?  Wear them or eat them?   (Hint:  bet most of you are familiar with them.) 

WINNER (1)!  JUANNA LANZENDORFER please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll send out your 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy right away.  Congratulations!

WINNER (1)!  HARRIETT KABRICK, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll send out your advance copy of COLORADO DAWN as soon as the shipment comes in.  Congratulations!

TODAY’S QUESTION #4 (12-7):  In rembrance of those who fell at Pearl Harbor on December 7th…Do any of you have family in the military?  Will they be able to come home for Christmas? 

WINNER (1)!  JOYCE WARD, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll mail your 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy today.  Congratulations!

WINNER (1)!  TERRI ZINCHIAK, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll mail out your 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy right away.  Congratulations!

WINNER (1)!  KIM CORNWELL, please send your mailing adress to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll mail out your advance copy of COLORADO DAWN as soon as it comes in.  Congratulations!

TODAY’S QUESTION #5 (12-8):  (And one of my favorite topics)  Who’s your favorite?  Brady, Hank, or Jack?  What about Declan?  (Just wait until you meet Ash.  Mmmm.)

TODAY’S QUESTION # 6 (12-9):  Do you have a unique or favorite holiday family tradition you want to share?

MORE WINNERS (7)!  Copies of COLORADO DAWN go to Doughty Howell, Lisa Chance, Julie Hilton Steele, and Colleen Conley Cruff.  Three-book sets of the Bloor Rose Trilogy go to Margaret Sholders, Claudia Arendt, and Amy Long.  Congratulations, and thanks for participating!

TGIF AFTERNOON WINNERS (2)!  Christine Taylor-Faltynowski gets a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy and Donna Duffy Cuddihy gets an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN.  Ladies, send your mailing addresses to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll mail out your books ASAP.  Congratulations!  

QUESTION #7!  What’s your favorite part of the Holiday season–what do you look forward to most throughout the rest of the year?

SATURDAY MORNING WINNERS (2):  Teri Iezek wins a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy, and Jackie S. Thomson wins an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN.  Congrats, ladies!  Please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll send them out ASAP.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON WINNERS (2):  Maureen Carol wins an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN and Tonia Harbour wins a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy.  Congrats, ladies!  Please send your mailing addresses to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll send them out ASAP.  Thanks for participating.

QUESTION #8:  Are you having Christmas dinner at home this year?  At Grandma’s?  Traveling?  Is there a special dish that marks this special day?

TODAY’S THREE WINNERS (3)!:  Sharen Pierce Skelton, Kelly Mann, and Virginia Horton.  CONGRATS!  If you ladies will send your mailing addresses to kaki@kakiwarner.com, I get your signed 3-book sets of the Blood Rose Trilogy out right away.  Thanks for participating!

TODAY’S QUESTION #9:  Do you still believe in the fat guy?  If not, tell us where and when you stopped believing in the REAL Santa.

MONDAY MORNING WINNERS (2)!  An advance copy of COLORADO DAWN goes to Larisa LaBrant, and a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy goes to Marsha Brooks.  CONGRATS!  You know the drill–send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll ship them out right away.

Only three days left to win nine more prizes.  TODAY’S QUESTION:  Do you have a favorite Christmas song or book?  A favorite TV special or movie? 

WINNER WINNER (2)!   Terry Low Martini wins a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy and Theresa Romain wins an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN.  Congratulations, ladies.  Please send your mailing addresses to Kaki@kakiwarner.com and the books will be on the way!

WINNER (1)!  Christi Corbett wins an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN!  Congratulations, Christi.  You know the drill and thanks for participating!

QUESTION # 11:  What is your favorite holiday dish or drink or party treat?  Egg nog?  Peppermint schnapps?  Mulled cider?  Hot buttered rum?  Mmmmm.  They all sound good.

WINNER WINNER (2)!  Duffy Jane Towell wins an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN.  Eli Yanti wins a 3-book set of the Blood Rose Trilogy.  Congratulations!  Send me your addresses and the books are on the way!

AFTERNOON WINNERS (2)!  Advance copies of COLORADO DAWN go to Diane Sallans and Tiffany Rose Ibarra.  Please send your mailing addresses to kaki@kakiwarner.com.  Congrats!

TODAY’S WINNER (1)!  Carole Fiore, please send your mailing address to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll send out your copy of COLORADO DAWN.  Congratulations and thanks for participating!

This is the last day of my first 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway, and I’m sad to see it end.  It’s been great fun reading your wonderful comments and getting to know so many of you better.  Sadly, I’m all out of 3-book sets, but I’ll be giving away 3 copies of COLORADO DAWN to mark the end of the giveaway–one today, and two tomorrow morning.  Thank you all so much for participating.  I really appreciate it.  Now for the final question… 

 TODAYS QUESTION:  Print or e-book?   Are you hoping to find an e-reader under the Christmas tree?  Are you going to order COLORADO DAWN first thing?  Excellent.  Merry Christmas to me and to you.

FINAL WINNERS!  Amy Kay Short and Jamie Khambatta.  And because there were several readers who wanted to participate but don’t have facebook accounts, I had a special drawing for them, and the winner is Dee Pollack.  Please send your mailing addresses to kaki@kakiwarner.com and I’ll mail out your copies of COLORADO DAWN right away.  Thanks everyone, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This is the place where debut authors get to spout off about their literary de-flowering, and their sometimes scary, sometimes confusing, always exciting journey from timorous writer to happily published author. 

Today I’m very excited to introduce our first virgin-no-more…Sarah M. Anderson, whose debut book, A Man of His Word, is being offered by Harlequin Desire in both print and ebook on December 6^th!

Sarah Anderson

Available Dec 6th!

Here’s a summary of Sarah’s first book–A Man of His Word:   Attorney Rosebud Donnelly has a case to win. And she never lets anyone see her sweat.  But her first meeting with Dan Armstrong doesn’t go according to script.  No one warned her that the COO of the company she’s fighting would be so…manly. From his storm-colored eyes to his well-worn boots, Dan is an honest-to-goodness cowboy.  But is he honest? Her yearning for the Texas tycoon goes against reason, against family loyalty, against everything she thought she believed in.  And yet, in Dan’s strong arms, Rosebud feels she might be ready to risk everything for one more kiss….

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? 

So there you have it.  Take it away, Sarah!

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Name that Author!

Okay, I’m going to give you the answer up front:  The name of your guest author today is Sarah M. Anderson.

But it almost wasn’t.

Sarah M. Anderson is my real name.  It’s on my driver’s license.  The bills are all addressed to Sarah M. Anderson, and I pay them with checks that have Sarah M. Anderson printed on them.

When I started writing four and a half years ago, I thought about taking on a pen name.  I didn’t for a good-at-the-time reason:  I already had a second name.  I have a family nickname, which means I already have what borders on a split personality.

I remember the first date I went on with my future-husband.  We’d been set up through work, which meant he kept calling me Sarah.  I knew pretty quickly that he was at least a man I was going to have a relationship with, if not wind up marrying, so I had to tell him on that first date to call me by the friends n’ family name.  It took him a few weeks to get the hang of some people calling me one name, and other people calling me a different name, but he did.

When it came time to pick a pseudonym, I didn’t think I could handle adding a third name to my brain.  So I stuck with the official name.

I did choose to add the M, however.  Sarah Anderson, it turns out, is a pretty common name.  I was trying to register domain names, and www.sarahmanderson.com was the only one available without having to add ‘author’ or some other additional word to the address.

So I had a name.  And for three and a half years, I had no regrets about using my own name.  Mostly because no one else really noticed it.

But then something wonderful happened:  I sold a book! (A Man of His Word, available from Harlequin Desire this month!)  Suddenly, I’m everywhere.  On twenty different guest blogs.  Doing radio interviews.  Book signings.  Websites.

And now?  I wish I’d gone with a third name.

Why?  Well, I have a six-year-old son.  I am also naturally a little paranoid.  I’m one of those parents who do not believe in putting my child’s name, face, and embarrassing activities out there in the cyber world where anyone, anywhere can see it.  I want to preserve as much of a normal childhood as I can for him—which includes not having strangers come up to him and start talking about the time his mom wrote that hilarious blog about when he wet the bed (which, for the record, he doesn’t do.)  (I do write about less embarrassing stuff, like when he lost his first teeth, though).  Until he’s old enough to provide informed consent to having his name and likeness broadcast around (which, at least by Facebook standards, is 13), I’m not going to put him out there.

Except that I’m using my real name.  Which means that if someone is really serious about it, they could track down not just info about my son, but much more personal information than I’m comfortable with complete strangers knowing.  Chalk it up to that natural paranoia I have. 

So, for all you other virginal writers out there, take a few moments to think about your name.  What’s more important to you—seeing your real name on the cover of book, or preserving your privacy?

And readers—this is what I want to know.  Do you care whose name is on the cover?  Do you like it better when an author is using her real name, or does it not matter as long as the story is good?  I’ll give away a signed copy of A Man of His Word to one lucky commenter, and I’m also giving away a Locket of Love on January 1^st!  You can find details on my website.

Giveaway on Jan 1st!

(NOTE:  This post is brought to you as part of the A Man of His Word Blog Tour. U.S. residents only.  For a complete tour schedule and rules, visit www.sarahmanderson.com.)

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

K

Don’t you hate it when characters aren’t forthcoming?

Since I write without a firm outline (OK, even a limp one—but that’s a word you’re NEVER supposed to use around a romance novel) I was almost at the end of HEARTBREAK CREEK, Book 1 of my new runaway brides trilogy, when the hero, Declan Brodie, whispered in my ear, “You do know I’m afraid of heights, don’t you?”

Hell, no, I didn’t know.  And why did he have to tell me that at page 300?  Gads.  I had to re-do a lot of stuff and change the entire ending (which made it better, I think.  Darn him.)

Then in Book 2, I was at the halfway point when that hero, Angus Wallace, Fifth Viscount Ashby, looked over my shoulder and said, “What’re you writing there, lass.  Being dyslexic, so I am, I canna read all those words.”

What?  Dyslexic?  They didn’t even have dyslexia back in 1870.  What the… 

But then I realized that was probably the reason he hadn’t written to his poor wife, bless his heart.  Still…he could have told me sooner. 

In Book 3, the hero has an odd voice.  One with sort of a whispery, rusty, gravely quality.  I thought it was just part of his charm until he showed me the scar on his neck and happily related the details of his near death by hanging.

He was hanged?  (And hung—this is a romance, after all).  What had he done?  And how did he get away?  And why did he wait until now to mention it? 

Do you see a pattern here?

It’s the guys who aren’t communicating.  The heroines are right up front with all their likes and dislikes and fears and such like.  I always know what’s on their minds.  They tell me constantly, in fact.  But the guys?  Pathetic.

Women have a lot to say—just ask them.  But men?  Think onion.  Layers upon layers upon layers.  And not very thick ones, if you catch my meaning.  Whoever said women were complicated must have been a man.  At least women bring all the pieces of the puzzle to the party.  Maybe even more pieces than we’ll ever need.  And maybe ones that don’t even fit.  But at least they give you something to work with.

Heavens, my own father didn’t tell me he was blind in one eye until I was thirteen!  When he saw my shock, he just shrugged and said, “It’s not important.  The other works fine.”

Seriously?  That’s it? 

It’s a little disturbing.  That’s what I think.  But what about you?  Any “why didn’t you tell me?” stories you’d like to share?  Just leave a comment sometime between now and Sunday, July 10^th and your name will be entered to win one of several entirely FREE, AUTHOGRAPHED (by a RITA-WINNING AUTHOR—meeee!), DELIVERED to your door copies of HEARTBREAK CREEK!  What a country!

Available July 5th!

P.S.  Did I mention PIECES OF SKY won the RITA for Best First Book?  Woohoo!!!!

• PIECES OF SKY (Brady’s story):    Jane for Louis Gettinmehot
• OPEN COUNTRY (Hank’s story):    Ron H. for Peter “Pockets” Poole
• CHASING THE SUN (Jack’s story):  Marcia Montoya for Yor Plaything
• Honorable Mention goes to Paula DeMent because she alone showed my “boys” the respect they deserved by giving them manly-non-porn names.  Bless her heart.  (She gets a book, too).

All of the winners will be receiving a signed copy of CHASING THE SUN!  So Jane, Ron, Marcia, and Paula please send your mailing addresses to me at kaki@kakiwarner.com.