I’m excited to welcome friend and critique partner, Brenda Whiteside, whose first book in a romantic suspense series is launching TODAY!
by Brenda Whiteside
I’m so pleased to be here today for the release of The Art of Love and Murder, book one in my Love and Murder series. Thank you, Heidi.
Blurb: Lacy Dahl never questioned her past until the deaths of her adoptive parents and her husband. A husband who wasn’t what he seemed. Her research uncovers secrets about the mother she never knew; secrets that dispute the identity of her father and threaten her life.
Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still haunted by the murder of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the name of justice. When he meets Lacy he is determined not to become involved, but their pasts may make that impossible. As they move closer to the truth, saving Lacy may be his only salvation.
Lacy begins to think the present is more important than her past…until Chance’s connection to her mother and a murder spin her deeper into danger and further from love. Will the truth destroy Lacy and Chance or will it be the answer that frees them?
Most often when I come up with a story, I start with the main characters. The Art of Love and Murder was no exception. This time I encountered a little bump, more of a giant speed bump, in my writing process.
My heroine, Lacy Dahl has been with me from day one – forty-three, widowed, half Hopi Indian and half Austrian, with a mystery in her past. She’d been adopted as an infant when her birth parents were killed in a plane crash, a crash she survived. I knew she’d go in search of her past, but that took some brainstorming to figure out. In her search, she’d meet Sheriff Lance Meadowlark.
Lance – my son’s name. When I imagined the sheriff of Flagstaff, Arizona, a man similar to my son came to mind. NOT my son, but someone of equal stature and rugged good looks. Lance Meadowlark had a good ring to it, so I ran with it…until the first intimate scene. My fingers twitched, I bit my lip and my writing came to a halt. There was no way I could write love scenes using my son’s name. What to do? Lance became Chance. And my pace picked up again.
EXCERPT:
Momentarily struck dumb by his eye color, she stared back. Why hadn’t she noticed until now? Although not as light as hers or her father’s, the professor’s eyes were a startling green shade.
His hand nudged her arm. “Lacy?”
She jumped. “Oh, yes.” She slipped the tissue from the half-carved wolf. Another glance at his eyes and goose bumps riddled her arms.
He lifted the wood close to his face, using both hands as if handling a delicate hummingbird. His thumb traced the neck of the creature to the juncture of where it emerged from the wood. When he brought the piece to his nose, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, Lacy wanted to turn away from the oddly erotic gesture.
He swallowed, opened his eyes and set the wolf back on the tissue. His attention shifted to the photograph of the chest. He touched the photo, a smile on his lips. “Where is the chest?”
The chest. Like he knew it, had seen it before. “I’m having it sent. You’ve seen it before?”
He didn’t move, stared out the window as if deep in thought. “I’d like to show you something, Lacy.”
“All right.” She waited, watching his profile.
He turned and stared into her face a moment. “You’re so very lovely. A creation full of life and passion, surpassing any art form.”
His hypnotic voice floated on the classical strains drifting from the living room. She couldn’t speak. Didn’t know what to say. She’d been lifted upon a pedestal of admiration. With any other man, she might consider his words a means to a sexual end. The professor’s intentions, however, were crystal. He admired her like a work of art.
You can purchase The Art of Love and Murder at Amazon and through the publisher Wild Rose Press.
Brenda spends most of her time writing stories of discovery and love. The rest of her time is spent tending vegetables on the small family farm she shares with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Together, they’ve embraced an age-old lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United States – multiple generations living under one roof, who share the workload, follow their individual dreams and reap the benefits of combined talents.
Although she didn’t start out to write romance, she’s found all good stories involve complicated human relationships. She’s also found no matter a person’s age, a new discovery is right around every corner. Whether humorous or serious, straight contemporary or suspense, all her books revolve around those two facts.
Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.
Or on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/brendawhitesid2
She blogs on the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She blogs about writing and prairie life at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/
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I love this time of year when everything is in bloom. I was so happy to have several rose bushes already establishing when we moved into our house a year ago.
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Heidi M. Thomas 