Abbie Roads is here to RACE THE DARKNESS

I have another Dreamweaver's Golden Heart sister visiting the Get Lost in a Story blog for the first time! Please give Abbie Roads a rousing welcome!  She's here to talk about her debut novel -- RACE THE DARKNESS which releases October 4th. It's been name a PW Top 10 Fall Romance for 2016! (Congratulations!)

Before we get to the good stuff--don't forget to comment below for a chance to win an Advanced Reader Copy of RACE THE DARKNESS. 


MEET ABBIE ROADS

Five Things about Abbie Roads:

1. She loves Snicker Parfaits. Gotta start with what’s most important, right?

2. She writes dark emotional books featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages.

3. By day she’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. At night she burns up the keyboard. Well… Burn might be too strong a word. She at least sits with her hands poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike. And when it does—the keyboard might get a little warm.

4. She can’t stand it when people drive slowly in the passing lane. Just saying. That’s major annoying. Right?

5. She loves taking pictures of things she thinks are pretty.

Nan: Love this!

Let's talk about RACE THE DARKNESS

THE STORY BLURB

Cursed with a terrible gift...

Criminal investigator Xander Stone doesn't have to question you-he can hear your thoughts. Scarred by lightning, burdened with a power that gives him no peace, Xander struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night-the voice of a woman begging him to save her.

A gift that threatens to engulf them

Isleen Walker has long since given up hope of escape from the nightmare of captivity and torture that is draining her life, her mind, and her soul. Except...there is the man in her feverish dreams, the strangely beautiful man who beckons her to freedom and wholeness. And when he comes, if he comes, it will take all their combined fury and faith to overcome a madman bent on fulfilling a deadly prophecy.

READ A LITTLE

I’m dying.

Tension grabbed hold of his spine. His heart stuttered, stopped, started again.

Those two words, spoken in that female voice, were not a product of The Bastard In His Brain. Those words were an auditory hallucination—another enduring effect of the lightning strike.

            It’d been a long time since that voice had spoken to him. But still, there was only one sane way to deal with it—booze. There was another way to get rid of the voice, but that involved psych meds and a trip to the nut house. And he had a severe nut allergy.

Nan: I can't wait for my copy to show up on my Nook!

PREORDER THE BOOK

Amazon   iBooks   Google Books  Books A Million  Barnes & Noble  Indigo

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH ABBIE ROADS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

ABBIE: My answer now is a lot different than it was before I started writing. Before I started writing I got lost in a story ALL THE TIME! Just about every book captured me. I read everything. But since I’ve started writing, I find myself critiquing everything I read. It’s very difficult for me to shut off that internal editor. But I’ve found a work-around. Audiobooks! I am way more forgiving in audio format than I am in print/digital format. I think that’s because I edit my own manuscript on paper and in the computer, but I don’t edit it by listening. The last audiobook I got lost in was PROMISE OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet.

 Nan: That's fascinating!

NAN: What sound or noise do you love?

ABBIE:  I love nature sounds. Birds singing on a spring morning. Crickets and tree frogs making their night noises. Cicadas. Bullfrogs. The whisper of wind through pine trees. Waves crashing onto the shore. The silence of a heavy snow.

Nan: I think that comes through in some of the photos you share.

NAN:  What’s your favorite movie of all time?

ABBIE: I’ve got a thing for  The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day Lewis. It’s the only movie I saw more than once in the theatre. I can’t remember exactly how many times I saw it, but it was more than two and less than six. And that’s not counting how many times I watched it on VHS at home. Or how many times I’ve watched it on DVD. I’ve practically got the thing memorized. And I alway always always cry when Uncas and Alice die at the end. Hawkeye was my movie boyfriend. I loved that he would do whatever it took to keep Cora safe. Even when Cora didn’t understand. And call me a bit twisted, but I love a man who’s willing to kill anyone who threatens his woman.

Nan: Oh yeah.

NAN: Who’s your favorite villain?

ABBIE: Hannibal Lecter! Oh, how I love him. Maybe it’s because he’s a psychiatrist and I’m a therapist and it intrigues me that someone in the helping profession could use his ability to twist people. The thing I love the most about Hannibal is that—in the books—he heals Starling. He forces her to confront the ghosts of her past and see them for what they are and deal with them. And somewhere along the way makes her fall in love with him.

NAN:  Describe an absolutely perfect day.

ABBIE:  Sleeping in. Not having to go anywhere. Not having to do anything. Just being with my husband and my dogs.

Nan: Sounds lovely.

NAN: What’s your favorite rerun?

ABBIE: Golden Girls! I love Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia. I remember watching them when I was growing up. They made me laugh then and still make me laugh now. Every once in awhile I binge watch a bunch of episodes and even though I know what’s going to happen, I can’t help but laugh. It’s one of those shows that puts me in a good mood for watching it. Not like Little House on the Prairie reruns. Every time I watch one of those I end up crying at the end. I didn’t realize what a sad show it was until I watched it as an adult!

NAN'S GOTTA ASK:  What’s the last show you binge watched?

ABBIE'S GOTTA ANSWER: I’m binge watching Shameless right now. The show makes me laugh, makes me sad, makes go OMGOMGOMG—I can’t believe what I just saw!

Nan: I might have to check that one out!

UP NEXT --- HUNT THE DAWN

Fatal Dreams Series Book 2

Out of darkness and danger
You can't hide your secrets from Lathan Montgomery-he can read your darkest memories. And while his special abilities are invaluable in the FBI's hunt for a serial killer, he has no way to avoid the pain that brings him. Until he is drawn to courageous, down-on-her-luck Evanee Brown and finds himself able to offer her something he's never offered another human being: himself.

Dawns a unique and powerful love
Nightmares are nothing new to Evanee Brown. But once she meets Lathan, they plummet into the realm of the macabre. Murder victims are reaching from beyond the grave to give Evanee evidence that could help Lathan bring a terrifying killer to justice. Together, they could forge an indomitable partnership to thwart violence, abuse, and death-if they survive the forces that seek to tear them apart.

Nan: Thanks for joining GLIAS and telling us about the launch of your debut!

FIND ABBIE ROADS

Contact: abbieroads@yahoo.com

Website: www.abbieroads.com 

Facebook: facebook.com/AbbieRoadsAuthor 

Twitter: twitter.com/Abbie_Roads.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8179024.Abbie_Roads?from_search=true

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/abbieroads/

Dangerously Dark Darlings Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DangerouslyDarkDarlings/

Newsletter: http://abbieroads.us11.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=331b26be376a5d1edd025d27c&id=da9b55abce

Blogs: http://abbieroads.com/blog-2/

ABBIE WANTS TO KNOW: What rerun do you love to watch?

One lucky commenter will win an Advance Reader copy of RACE THE DARKNESS. (North America only please.) 

Please remember to leave your email address.

Get AVENGED with Marnee Blake!

I'm super excited to welcome Marnee Blake to Get Lost in a Story. It's her first time on the blog - so lets give her a warm welcome!  Marnee was a 2016 RITA® finalist for Best First Book! (Congratulations again!) The effervescent Marnee is also one of my Dreamweaver Golden Heart sisters. :-)

Before we get to the good stuff--don't forget to comment and leave your email address below for a chance to win a AMAZON gift card.

MEET MARNEE BLAKE

Award-winning author and RITA® finalist Marnee Blake used to teach high school students but these days she only has to wrangle her own children. Originally from a small town in Western Pennsylvania, she now battles traffic in southern New Jersey where she lives with her hero husband and their happily-ever-after: two very energetic boys. When she isn't writing, she can be found refereeing disputes between her children, cooking up something sweet, or hiding from encroaching dust bunnies with a book.

Stay connected with Marnee by signing up for her newsletter at:  http://eepurl.com/b4i2av

Nan: I don't miss the days of referring disputes! And your high school students must have wondered if you were old enough to teach!!

Let's talk about AVENGED, Book 2 in the Altered Series.

THE STORY BLURB

Three terrifying months.

That's how long Kitty Laughton has been at the mercy of the scientist who experimented on her town, killing over a dozen people and giving the rest of them unique powers. But Kitty doesn't feel powerful, especially when she learns the crazy man plans to test his research on more unsuspecting people. She refuses to let anyone else die, but trapped with no one to help her she's out of options...that is until sexy and exasperating Nick Degrassi arrives.

Special-ops soldier Nick blames himself for Kitty's capture, and he'll do whatever he can to free the quiet beauty, but close quarters and a shared secret bring an attraction that neither of them expected. With the organization that started it all making mercenaries for hire, Nick and Kitty must save themselves and stop a madman...before it's too late.

Nan: Hot cover! And love the blurb.

READ A LITTLE

Check out the first chapter of AVENGED, The Altered Series – Book 2, on my publisher’s website!

http://entangledpublishing.com/avenged/

Nan: Love it!

BUY THE BOOK

 Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Kobo Books     Google Play       I-Tunes 

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH MARNEE BLAKE

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

MARNEE: Well, recently, I found both Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen’s books. I’ve read a bunch of their books now and each time I’ve gotten lost in their tales. They write some amazing characters that I really root for.  That’s what makes readers want to stay in a world, I think, and both of these authors know how to do that.

NAN:  Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?

MARNEE: Action Adventure. There are times I like a good fairy tale, but most of the stories I love have heroines who kick butt and heroes who appreciate them for it.  I love a fast-paced story with lots of high stakes.

NAN:  Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?

MARNEE: There is a playlist on Spotify for each of the books in the Altered Series.  Feel free to check them out!

ALTERED: https://open.spotify.com/user/marneejo/playlist/5hl593luGnKygSb0wBm9bn

AVENGED: https://open.spotify.com/user/marneejo/playlist/2olSZOUi5H9dCLclIvk6vV

NAN:  What was the first story you remember writing?

MARNEE: In sixth grade, my creative writing teacher asked us to pretend we were an inanimate object and write from its point of view.  I wrote a story about being a pencil, about how hard it would be to be a pencil in an elementary school with students rubbing my head against paper all day and then sharpening me when I got dull. My teacher loved it. I was hooked after that.

NAN: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

MARNEE:  Coffee and wine.  (Oh, that wasn’t an option? It should be, Nan…)  I take my coffee with cream, and my current obsession is International Delight’s Cinnabon creamer. I am sure it’s got who even knows what kind of preservatives in it, but it’s so delicious. And wine? Anything white.

Nan: I need to add wine to the options! (Prosecco!)

NAN'S GOTTA ASK: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

MARNEE'S GOTTA ANSWER: I have two elementary-aged boys. They make me laugh, and they remind me not to take myself too seriously. Those boys are sunshine.

Nan: I think they got their sunny disposition from their mom!

Marnee, thank you for spending the day with the crew of GLIAS!

FIND MARNEE BLAKE:

Contact: marnee.blake@gmail.com

Website: www.marneeblake.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarneeBlake/  

Twitter: @marneeblake

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14560173.Marnee_Blake

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/marneeblakeauth/

UP NEXT

(I’m not under contract, Nan, but I’m working on it!)

Nan: Excellent!

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

MARNEE WANTS TO KNOW:   The Altered Series revolves around a group of people who are changed by an experiment gone terribly wrong, but they find love in those hard circumstances.  Can you tell me about something that happened to you that changed your life forever—for the good?

One lucky commenter will win a $5 Amazon Gift card. Please remember to leave your email address!

E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Kaki Warner Returns with a new release, TEXAS TALL

It's no surprise to me that Kaki Warner has won multiple awards, including the coveted RITA for Best First Book. Her novels are as sumptuous as a fine feast, and the latest one is no exception. 

Today, I have the great pleasure of welcoming her back to Get Lost In A Story as my BEST OF THE WEST guest. We'll be featuring her new release, TEXAS TALL. 

She's giving away 3 signed copies, so be sure to enter the drawing!

Amazon | B&N

Tyree Benton joined the Texas Rangers to enact justice on the men who murdered his parents, but his brutal actions still twist his conscience. Now he’s found a woman he could love, but she deserves more than a man who makes a living getting shot at. Plus, the Frontier Battalion doesn’t take married men. If Ty were honorable, he’d leave her alone. But he can’t seem to stay away….

Orphaned at fourteen, Charlotte Weyland has used her talent for numbers to build enough of a fortune to fund Ty’s dream of owning a ranch…if he’s not too stubborn to accept her help. But when Charlotte’s past catches up to her, she finds herself on one side of the law with Ty on the other. To keep their dreams alive, they’ll have to make compromises, but doing so might cost them everything they have...

Here's an excerpt:

“Miss Lottie?”

Crossing her arms, Lottie turned to confront the man who had been following her. “What do you want?”

“To apologize.”

Why did he look so irritated? She was the one who’d been insulted. “You already did.” She started to turn.

His voice brought her back. “And, to thank you.”

“For what?”

This was the first time they had faced each other while standing and she hadn’t realized how big he was. She was almost five and-a-half feet tall, herself, and it wasn’t often her eyes were level with a man’s shoulder.

“For trying to help me after I was shot.”

“Anyone would have done the same.”

“But anyone didn’t. Only you.”

He had a nice voice. Deep and mellow, with a slow drawl that marked him a Texan, but not enough twang to make him sound straight off the farm.

He shifted his weight, stared down at his dusty, surprisingly large boots. “And I, uh, wanted to say I made a foolish mistake earlier when I thought you were a whore. I’m sorry for it.”

The pretty phrases had a rehearsed ring to them, but Lottie nodded anyway, just to put the ordeal behind her. “Fine.” Again, she started to turn.

This time he stopped her with a hand near her shoulder. A hand that completely encompassed her upper arm. “Could I buy you dinner to make up for it?” Not a very gracious invitation, since he was frowning when he issued it.

She gave his hand a pointed look.

He released her arm.

“No,” she said.

If possible, his frown deepened. “You won’t have dinner with me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Did he truly think she would enjoy a meal spent with a man who didn’t smile, barely looked at her, and acted as if every word he spoke was dragged out of him by force? “It’s not necessary.”

Ignoring her refusal, he pressed on. This time, there was a hint of desperation in his tone. “I hear the restaurant at the hotel sets a fair table.”

“Passable. But as I said, it’s not necessary.”

He let out a deep breath and scratched the whiskers on his square jaw. “Well, that’s the thing. It is necessary if I want to go into the Spotted Dog again.”

And suddenly it made sense—his irritation, the forced words, his inability to even look at her. “Juno’s making you do this, isn’t he?”

“Well . . . he does own the only saloon in town.”

“And brothel.”

At least he had the grace to blush.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or hit him with her reticule. And maybe hit Juno, too. The absurdity of the situation put the devil in her mind. If the ranger was being browbeaten into taking her to dinner then, by God, she’d make sure he had a miserable time of it. He didn’t like talking to her? Well then she’d make him talk by asking him every question she could think of. Then she’d go after Juno.

“Fine. The hotel it is.” Smiling through clenched teeth, she tucked her hand at his elbow. “Shall we?”

He wasn’t a talker, was even worse as a smiler, and wasn’t anything like the handsome hero her imagination had painted him to be. But his arm felt solid and warm beneath her hand, and his sturdy form made her feel almost dainty.

She was glad she’d bought a new dress.

Meet Kaki 

In between her years as a mother, teacher, commercial artist, reluctant collection agent and surly secretary, Kaki fooled around with writing. Finally, after twenty-five years of procrastination, she sent her first manuscript out into world. Berkley bought it and later that year, it won the 2011 RITA for Best First Book, and she was off and running. Now she has nine books in print (number 10 comes out on 10/4), one digital novella, and a story in an anthology (BOOTS UNDER HER BED). She and her husband (of 50 years—Yikes!) are happily retired on a mountaintop in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, doing whatever they feel like doing—which in her case is writing and enjoying the wildlife, gardening, and thinking up stuff for her husband to do. It’s a grand life.

You can follow Kaki on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kakiwarner/

What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

In ROMANCE, I’ll be diving into WILD HORSE SPRINGS by Jodi Thomas, and DO YOU WANT TO START A SCANDAL by Tessa Dare, and MIND TAMER by Moriah Densley.

As far as THRILLERS go, as soon as I finish BETRAYAL by Tim Tigner, I’ll probably get another of his books. He’s new to me, and like Jack Reacher (in Lee Child’s books), Tigner’s heroes are men of character, lethal, and take no prisoners. My kind of guys. I’ll probably follow that up with Lee Child’s next one, NIGHT SCHOOL. I might also check into John Hart’s latest. I absolutely loved his debut novel, THE LAST CHILD.

 What has been your most rewarding publishing moment? 

Signing my first contract with PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE was pretty rewarding. As was winning a RITA. But some of my best moments are when I get amazing letters and emails from readers who’ve been touched by my books. That’s validation on the highest level. And I’ll always remember the day I got an email from a man named Brady Wilkins (the name of the hero in PIECES OF SKY) wanting to know how I came up with that name. I couldn’t tell if he was happy or upset but I was shocked that there was an actual person with that name.

Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?

I have to laugh at this one since my task is to take myself OUT of my heroine. In fact, I have a dear friend (who’s more normal than I am…mostly) who reads every word and keeps me on track by saying “She would definitely be crying here.” Or, “No, she wouldn’t do that…she’s not crazy.”  Or, “Make her softer, more empathetic. No one likes a hard ass.” So even though I’d like to put myself in my heroine’s role, I know I wouldn’t fit very well.

What is your favorite tradition from your childhood that you would love to pass on or did pass on to your children?

The “last time bell”. I wrote about it in my first book, PIECES OF SKY, when the heroine was trying to mark the “last time” incidents in her life and wished there was a bell that would remind her that certain moments would never come again so she’d best enjoy them to the fullest while she could. Recently, my son said he often thought of that bell as he watched his youngest child grow from toddler to first grader. He said he wanted to remember every moment he has with her since it all passes so fast. 

What sound or noise do you love?

I think the sounds we love change through the years, depending on which phase we’re in. As a child, I loved the sound of mourning doves, cicadas, night crickets and whippoorwills, and the tick-tick-whirr of big hayfield sprinklers. After I married, I was always comforted by the sound of my husband breathing beside me (except when he added snores—then I fantasized about smothering him.) When I had small children, the sound of their laughter always made me laugh, too. (Now it’s coming around again with my grandchildren—YAY!) And now that I’m retired and living a mile past where God buried his socks, I love the sounds of the wildlife around me—meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds, cows, horses, my hound dog howling when we drive up to the house. No cars, no sirens, no sounds of other people. I guess we’re sort of reclusive.

What does it mean to love someone?

As my DH and I celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary on Oct. 1^st, I feel I’m fairly qualified to answer this. Loving someone means you give up total self-absorption and include another person in your life, warts and all. In other words, it’s not only about you anymore, so get over yourself. It means you accept the other person as he/she is, not as you wish he/she could be. You have to learn to trust, to forgive, to support, and to wisely pick your battles. Keep your expectations real, your demands reasonable, and your promises true. And if you don’t get back the same respect, honor and love you offer, then kick him /her to the curb and move on. Life’s too short and you deserve to have the best one possible.

What do YOU think loving someone means? 

Leave a comment and your name’s in the hat for one of three print books that I’m delighted to give away. And many thanks to Elisabeth Burke for her kind invitation to visit GET LOST IN A STORY today.

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