Baton Blog Hop

Tags

baton blog hop, beverley bateman, blog hop, carol shaunghnessy, erotic romance, Kizzie Darker, lisa kessler, MJ Flournoy, romantic suspense

Today I’m joining the Baton Blog Hop. Blame it on my friend Beverley Bateman. Bev is a member of Kiss of Death chapter of RWA and a close friend. Beverley writes romantic suspense and medical thrillers. She lives in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Beverley has an extensive background in nursing that helps keep her medical thrillers “real.” Bev’s current release is A Cruise to Remember. Visit Beverley at http://www.beverleybateman.blogspot.com

Here’s how the Baton Blog Hop works, I answer the following questions and then pass the baton on to three other authors. We hope it doesn’t get dropped along the way. You know – you’ve seen it happen in relay races. But not this time. We got this!

1. What am I working on?
My current work in progress has the working title, The Serpentine Thread. It is the first book in my new romantic suspense series. It features a teacher who works with special needs kids, a hot FBI special agent with the OTD and an autistic student who is a computer whizkid.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?
My heroine is a teacher who is a regular person placed in an extraordinary situation. I draw on my 20 year career as a special education teacher to breathe life into Erin.

3. Why do I write what I do?
I write what I like to read. I enjoy putting my own twists on my plots.

4. How does your writing process work?
Who says it works? I like to base my plots on true life events, but fictionalize them to fit my plot. My current release, A Matter of Trust,was inspired by a news headline about a woman who had a “feeling” that a child was in danger and saved te child’s life when she reported it to the authorities.

That’s enough about me. Let me tell you about my three friends.

Lisa Kessler and I met on Facebook. We enjoy chatting and following each other around the web. Lisa Kessler is an award winning author of dark paranormal fiction. Her debut novel, Night Walker, won a San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror as well as the Romance Through the Ages Award for Best Paranormal and Best First Book.

Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award.

When she’s not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, and has performed with San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego.
You can learn more at http://Lisa-Kessler.com

Next up is Kizzie Darker, another Facebook friend, this one from across the pond! Kizzie Darker was born in may 1979 in the small UK brewing town of Burton on Trent.

She grew up in a small town outside of Burton where she lead a somewhat happy childhood until her parents divorced and Kizzie was taken into care where she lead a more fullfilled childhood.

She left school with the minimum qualifications and studied performing arts at college.

She now lives in the West Midlands UK with her husband Adrian and her pets. Kizzie’s new book, Destraction & Desire is currently free on Amazon, so snap it up!
Kizzie just sent me the link to her book in print! Squee!! http://createspace.com/4727671

Our third author is Carol Shaughnessy. Carol and I met at a Georgia Romance Writers meeting and hit it off right away. Carol writes paranormal menage erotic romance. Her belief in Happily Ever After and love at” almost” first sight ties her characters together through dangerous missions to protect their world from discovery. Filled with passion, secrets, and self discovery the stories are unforgettable.

Her latest book is fifth in the Sanctuary series. The Learning. See more at http:// carolshaughnessy. com

Don’t forget to check out these three authors in Monday, April 7th. You’ll be glad you did!

Intuition or Sixth Sense?

Tags

A Matter of Trust, child abduction, child find, intuition, kidnapping, MJ Flournoy, rescue, romantic suspense, sixth sense, walmart

Intuition or Sixth Sense?

I saw a news post about a woman at Walmart who had a feeling about a man. He was acting strangely and she wrote down his tag number. Later that same day the man abducted a seven year old girl. The woman gave the tag number to the police and the child was saved.

There was another case a few years ago where a woman had a feeling about a child being in danger and it turned out she was right. The child had been kidnapped and thanks to the woman’s intuition or sixth sense, that child was saved.

The second case is where the idea for A Matter of Trust was born. Have you ever experienced intuition that saved you or someone you know? Have you experienced a sixth sense? Tell us about it. You share one and I’ll tell you about one of mine.

A Matter of Trust

By MJ Flournoy

While watching a news account of the rescue of an abducted child, I became absorbed in the story. So much so, that I took that one event and built an entire plot around it. The person in the news story encountered a small child and her intuition told her something was wrong. Being a teacher, I have often encountered situations where that intuition kicked in to help a child. Often teachers have a sort of sixth sense where the well-being of students is concerned.
I took that grain of an idea and built it into the plot of A Matter of Trust. Jolie Wyngate is a teacher with a gift, or curse, depending on how she views it. She tries to keep knowledge of her ability undercover, but when the wellbeing of a child is at risk, she has to use her ability, regardless of the personal cost.
What would you do in a similar situation? If you had a special gift, but sharing that gift could cause you to lose the career you’d worked hard to establish, would you do it? Would you do the right thing regardless of personal costs?
I like to think that I would rise to the occasion. That my innate sense of always “do what is right, regardless,” would be strong enough to help me do what my conscious insisted I do.
That is exactly the dilemma Jolie faces in A Matter of Trust. She has learned through many personal setbacks that sharing her gift with others usually came with a steep price for her personally. Now she faces the ultimate challenge.
Mac Carlson is a man on a mission. Ex-Navy SEAL and security expert, Carlson’s mission is to save a kidnapped child. Jolie shows up on his radar as his major suspect. With serious trust issues on both sides, it seems unlikely that these two will be able to work together to save the kidnapped child, let alone develop a serious relationship.
Add to that the presence of the Maniac, the disembodied voice that is the source of much of Jolie’s information and the plot becomes very complicated. A Matter of Trust, by MJ Flournoy, available now.
Leave a comment here and visit MJ’s blog and leave a comment for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.
Excerpt:

A Coke, a fat one, or an orange soda.
“Not gonna happen.” Jolie Wyngate shrugged, climbed from her car and hurried toward the convenience store to pick up a quick snack before continuing on her way south.
And why not?
“Because I have to drive another hundred and fifty miles, and I don’t intend to stop every half hour for potty breaks.”
You are so not any fun! It’s just a Coke, for Pete’s sake.
“And you, lady, are so predictable.”
Make it chocolate then.
Jolie smiled. Chocolate, a compromise with which she could live. “Right.”
And stop speaking out loud, people will think you’re crazy.
“Me crazy? Get real, Maniac, I’ve talked to you since childhood. If I haven’t landed in the
loony bin by now, I hardly think it’s going to happen.”
Humor me, then.
Jolie shrugged, continuing toward the store. She’d pick out a chocolate bar to keep her unseen companion happy.
Serve you right if I quit talking to you all together.
“Put it in writing.” Jolie reached for the door handle.
A giggle erupted within Jolie’s mind. Then, in the tone Jolie hated hearing: Shush, pay
attention. There’s something wrong in there.
Oh, hell. Jolie bit the soft flesh of her lower lip. Her hand tingled as if the door was
electrified. Shit, this was the real reason for the Maniac’s sudden thirst.
The cool, dry air of the convenience store surrounded her when she stepped through the open door. For a second, the young clerk behind the counter looked up from the newspaper spread in front of her. Nothing. Jolie expelled a breath of relief, exchanged a quick smile with the clerk, and then headed toward the candy isle.
Then she saw her. The little girl wandered listlessly down the candy isle, her small hand
trailing over the rows of candy, gently touching, but taking nothing. Jolie watched her for a moment, then scanned the store and saw no one in sight.
The child turned, her gaze lifting until it found Jolie. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes searching Jolie’s for an instant. Then she moved closer and stared up at her. The expression on the small face caused Jolie’s heart to turn over. She knelt to the child’s level and touched the riot of red curls. A jolt of emotion skittered along Jolie’s spine, but Jolie forced herself not to pull away.
“Hey, sweetie, does your mommy know you’re out here alone?”
The little girl looked about three. She continued to stare mutely. Jolie smiled at her. “That your mommy behind the counter?”
She lifted the child into her arms. Unprepared for the sudden shock of pain and despair that engulfed her, Jolie almost dropped her. Instead, she tightened her arms instinctively around the frail body.
Something’s not right.

Blurb

Her paranormal abilities had always caused her grief. But can they save the life of a child who has been spirited away from her parents and the life of the man she loves?

Jolie Wyngate is a middle school teacher with an extraordinary gift—or is it a curse? Throughout her life, she’s been never been sure. Now, when she is implicated in the disappearance of a child, the ultimate value of her powers will be put to the test.

Mac Carlson, former Navy SEAL and security expert, is tasked with rescuing the girl, Rachael Anne. From the moment he meets Jolie, his suspicious and protective nature sets its sights on her as a prime suspect. Can Jolie clear her name and gain this man’s hard-won trust?

More importantly, can she save the girl before time runs out? She won’t be able to do it without her psychic abilities—but Mac has a hard enough time trusting Jolie as it is, let alone trusting her powers to lead them to Rachael Anne.

As Mac and Jolie realize they have no choice but to work as a team—and as they slowly warm to each other in the process—they realize they have a new problem: the man they are after has set his sights on Jolie. Now Jolie will need all of her abilities, and all of Mac’s strength and skill, to stay out of the fiend’s hands and bring Rachael Anne back home.

Bio for MJ Flournoy:

MJ Flournoy loves crafting stories of romance and suspense. Her interest in writing grew organically from her love of reading. A late bloomer, MJ attended college as a non-traditional student and earned a degree in history with an eye toward writing historical romance.
After graduation from college, MJ became a middle school teacher, which helps to keep her grounded in the real world while her plots take her away to the extraordinary worlds of imagination and creativity. MJ enjoys adding a twist of paranormal to her plots.
MJ makes her home in rural Georgia with her husband. She has two children and two
grandchildren. Her favourite activities are writing, reading, and travel.

Links:
Trailer for A Matter of Trust

Buy link for A Matter of Trust
http://amzn.com/B00FDWOL3C
MJ Flournoy
https://authormjflournoy.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/authormj.flournoy
http://twitter.com/authormjflourno