1–What is the title of your latest release? DEADLY TARGET 2–What is it about? Criminal psychologist Erin Larson is running a podcast and caring for her mother when her ex—Detective Nathan Campbell needs her help. Someone shoots his father who was investigating a cold case. Erin’s podcast focuses on cold cases, so they join forces to learn the truth. But someone is trying to stop them. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love the spectacular and stunning setting of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. Thick green forests and beautiful pristine rivers. 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Erin’s secret past was unexpected, and I loved the twists and turns that arose as I wrote the story. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  My hope is always that my characters will be relatable. Erin’s character is complex and she’s relatable on many different levels. She has career dreams and goals but gives those up to help her mother. We can all relate to the fact that life is filled with hard choices, and we must choose our hard. She also wants to make sense of her past, but has no one she can truly…

Home Paris Ben climbed the stairs from the metro station at Saint Germain and turned north on Rue Bonaparte under the late morning sun. Its rays did nothing to ease the winter cold, and he altered his route to his flat in the 16th arrondissement to take him past a favorite café. In the ten months of Ben’s posting there, Paris had stolen his heart. He loved his country, certainly, but his American roots had thinned. His parents had him late in life and passed while he was still muddling around in his six years at Rice University, deciding what he wanted to be when he grew up. He knew he didn’t want to be a cabinetmaker, so he’d sold the family business, the last tie binding him to his hometown, and moved on. No siblings. No connections. The Company sought out people like him. They’d recruited him—­rescued him—­during his first year as a commodities trader. Life at the schoolhouse ended nine months later with his death. Drug overdose. Tragic. His professors at Rice would have never guessed. The Company resurrected him in London as Ben Calix, and he’d never looked back. With a fresh cup of tea to warm…

Chapter Four Amara’s next stop was the one she most dreaded. Zachary Coleman’s parents. When she’d phoned the father, his raspy, monotone voice penetrated her heart and sent an ache through her chest. The man’s joy was gone. Back in Property Crimes, she dealt with her share of angry and frightened people, but that paled in comparison to this. The Colemans lost their son. How did a person deal with that? When Amara’s dad died, the pain had been deep and overwhelming. How much more at the loss of a child? The death of Benjamin Reyes, the five-year-old boy who triggered the investigation into Cotulla, at least had a silver lining. Nearly fifty other children saved because of his bravery. Had that eased the pain for his parents? Could it? And the Colemans had nothing like that to cling to. Their son died and nobody could tell them why. Natural causes or OD or bad luck or homicide. Would any of those reasons be better or worse than the others? Zachary was gone, and he wasn’t ever coming back. Dr. Pritchard had texted last night to let her know the boy’s body was being released to the parents. The funeral…

Ethan was staring at the moon. He sat up, gasping and choking. He rolled off the padding and clawed at the raw planks of the floor. Then he heard the water. A soft summer breeze blew up tiny waves. They splashed like cymbals against the pilings that rose to either side of where he lay. He gripped the nearest strut and forced himself to his feet. The night was utterly dark. He was dressed in a pair of raggedy cutoffs and a T-shirt. On his feet were leather sandals curled and cracked by salt and hard days. He was completely alone. Ethan cried out, a choking sound wrenched from the terror and confusion that filled him. He knew where he was. What was more, he knew when. The summer before his final year at the university, when he and his best friend had wrangled jobs at the Holiday Marina. The long pier ran back to the shore, every plank in place, the pilings straight as arrows. The marina’s unmistakable form was silhouetted by yellow streetlights. Four A-frames housed the sailing classes, the repair shop, the store, and the stockrooms. An old canvas inflatable raft lay on the pier, with a…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present DiAnn Mills! WRITES: DiAnn Mills writes romantic suspense. Her latest title, Airborne, releases in print today, September 8, 2020. ABOUT: Romantic suspense writer seeking readers who want to ride the wings of a suspense-filled adventure with FBI Special Agent Heather Lawrence. She’s pregnant, her husband wants a divorce, and a deadly, mysterious illness appears onboard her transatlantic flight. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Expects every scene to vicariously export them into an adventure. Desires a suspenseful story seen through the eyes of a strong heroine or hero. Prefers a clean story that doesn’t hold back on the reality of crime and the world we live in. Craves an emotional experience through the heart and mind of point-of-view characters. Wonders how the FBI, CDC, and federal and local agencies work together to solve a horrendous crime. Questions how a virus could be unleashed to unsuspecting people. Wants a thrilling FBI story. Discovers how a heroine responds to betrayal and abandonment. Longs for a thread of romance…

I opened my eyes, and once more I was sitting on a bench between the sweet neighborhood to my right and the bustling downtown to my left. The thoughts I’d recovered earlier crashed into my brain, and their rumbling fears with them. My heart rate spiked. I could feel beads of sweat collecting at my hairline. I had to control this. Deep breaths. Internalize the fear. See it, switch it off, stomp it out. I’d been trained to do so. Wasn’t that what Dr. Loveless had said? “You came back,” the small voice beside me said. I turned and saw the high ponytail and unicorn shirt. “You lied to me.” The girl’s face went sour. “Did not.” “You said you would show me the game.” “I did. It’s not my fault you lost.” Lucy, remember, this is your mind. You are safe. Dr. Loveless’s voice echoed like a whisper in my ears. I had to keep my brain trained on the truth of her words. “Are there more games like that one?” I asked the child. “Oh yeah, lots,” she said, her eyes widening. “Can you show me?” “Not until you win the first one.” Fear beat against my heart….

Writing is a creative enterprise for sure, but there’s also an element of pragmatism involved. While considering the setting for a new book series three or four years ago, I wanted to find a place that had some familiarity for me (theoretically cutting down on research time), but at the same time might spark curiosity in my audience. What could be more fun than reading about the beginnings of a little Southern town that spawned one of the greatest rock ’n roll legends of all time? It just so happened that Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, was incorporated in 1870—precisely in the middle of the Reconstruction Era, the tumultuous setting I’d chosen for the Daughtry House series. Giving myself leeway to create whatever I needed to for the story (for example, there were no real plantations left in the area by the end of the Civil War; Ithaca/Daughtry House is based on Waverley Plantation, which is actually in nearby West Point, Mississippi), I tried as much as possible to ground the little town of Tupelo in life as it would have been back then. Boarding houses, saloons, mercantiles, and other businesses set in a grid not too far…

“Let’s try this,” she said. “Tell me what you know about The Dream, and I’ll be on my way.” “If I knew something, I’d tell you. Why is this Dream person dangerous? What did he do?” She leaned closer. “He murdered two men in cold blood.” “I never have gotten that saying. In cold blood. What does that even mean?” Agent Uribe gritted her teeth. “It means he showed no remorse. He feels no empathy.” The waitress walked back over. “Do you want to ordah somethin’ to eat?” “No, tha—” “Absolutely. I’m famished.” Samuel smiled and picked up the menu. “Hmm . . . are the jalapeño poppers good?” “If you like hot.” Samuel pursed his lips. “Maybe the burger, beer, and fries. What’s a Narragansett? Wait, isn’t that the name of a town?” Uribe was glaring at him. “They make lagahs,” the waitress said. “Eh, maybe I shouldn’t have a beer. What about . . . kabobs? You serve kabobs? That’s interesting.” “Is that what you’d like?” The waitress sounded slightly annoyed. “No, I don’t think so. Just give me a cheeseburger and fries.” He folded the menu. The waitress wrote down the order and went back into the…

Hi, there. . . Robin here. I’m getting so excited for the release of my thirty-fourth novel, DEAD SILENCE. I have to say, I love this book. The heroine is strong, yet flawed in how she perceives some of what is going on around her. She’s kicked into action when her son is threatened. Her love for her son–willing to do anything to protect him is a mother’s instinct I relate to so well, having three daughters and two grandsons. The love of a mother for her child is so ingrained in me that I forewent any romance in the story, allowing the love between mother and child to take the forefront emotion. I’ve been asked why I opted for a heroine who is an ASL translator and who has a deaf son. Many years ago, I became friends with someone who is deaf. She shared with me some of her frustrations, but also how her way of life is in comparison to mine. It got me to thinking that being deaf could be thought of as a disability, but could also be used as an advantage. . . it was all in how you looked at it. My friend…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Silent Shadows 2–What is it about?  Pecca Gallegos moved to the tiny town of Walton, Georgia, to protect her son and escape the dangerous lifestyle that once defined her. When a series of strange circumstances evolve into threats, Pecca finds herself confiding in an unlikely ally–her stubborn patient. Army veteran Colton Crawford is desperate to recover from the undiagnosed disorder that is ruining his life, and his instincts are on high alert when threats against his nurse and her son force him to take action. But Colton’s involvement only ramps up the danger when he uncovers a family secret revealing that whoever is after Pecca is closer–and more deadly–than they realized. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Feisty. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His vulnerability. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Pecca turns to her friends in Walton, who have become like family: Lane, Sheriff Huggins, Ms. Byrdie. Colton turns to his Uncle Jack and friends, Kekoa Young and Vincent St. James. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Sometimes smalltown living can feel claustrophobic or like a fishbowl, everyone knowing your business…