Alanna Morgan is no stranger to being in the news. As a former kidnap victim who turned in the “parents” who’d kidnapped her – and raised her from the ages of five to nineteen – she’s also no stranger to conflict. When she decided to turn in two people who’d loved her – and who she’d loved in return – it meant she’d be going home to a family she barely remembered. A brother and sister who had grown up without her. Parents who had given up hope that she was still alive. For the heroine of Alaska Mountain Rescue, it wasn’t easy to transition back into a life she’d been taken from when she was only five years old. Even harder was trying to reconcile the feelings of love she still had for the “parents” who had kidnapped her, for the “siblings” she’d grown up with, and the fact that she’d decided to break up that “family.” Since returning from an isolated cabin in remote Alaska to Chicago, she’s worked hard to rebuild her relationships with the family who thought they’d lost her forever. She’s also tried to maintain long-distance relationships with the “siblings” she’d grown up with. But…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE VIOLENCE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Three generations of women escape the cycle of abuse during a pandemic that causes random bouts of animalist violence. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was living in Tampa at the time, and mosquitoes were a constant annoyance. It made perfect sense to create a disease spread by mosquitoes and set it in my sunny suburb. Once I started writing, I felt a wave of paranoia every time a mosquito landed on me… which was often! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? There are three POVs: Chelsea, her daughter Ella, and her mother, Patricia. Chelsea and I don’t have much in common, and Patricia and I would hate each other, but I would’ve been friends with Ella when I was in high school. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? For Chelsea—victim (at the beginning), mother, fighter (at the end) 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I grew up with the kind of domestic violence Chelsea and Ella experience in the beginning of the book. Writing it was…

I’ve only read your paranormal romance. Tell me about this suspense anthology you’ve done with Lisa Jackson and Lisa Childs. How did this collaboration come about? It was a suggestion from my editor at Kensington. Lisa Jackson wrote the first story and created the St. Cecilia’s School for Girls in Salzburg, Austria. The school is the connecting point for the three stories. I wrote the second story and then Lisa Childs did the third.   How does this work differ from writing your other types of stories? This one is more of a thriller. My full-length stories are romantic suspense that are heavy on the mystery. A shorter format makes it hard to do a mystery.   Do you enjoy doing an anthology? It was so much fun. Usually, writers work in solitude so when I get a chance to collaborate, I’m always excited. The short format is a challenge, but it’s always a creative way to write a story I’ve wanted to do, but didn’t feel as if it had enough to become a full-length novel.   It seems like each story has the past haunting the present. What do you find compelling about that theme? You’re right! I…