Journey’s Edge

The Secret of the Love Letters by K. Dawn Byrd

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

Zoe’s cousin Emma thinks she’s the recipient of some sick joke when an old boyfriend she thought dead shows up on the internet. Can Zoe solve the mystery that’s causing Emma so much pain when her attraction to the town bad boy is so distracting?

When Zoe Mack moves in with her grandparents to start college, she’s thrown into more mystery than she bargained for. Her cousin, Emma, is terrorized by a stalker who breaks into her house and leaves a photo-shopped image of Emma hanging from a tree. Nothing is as it seems and Emma soon learns that even the man she thinks she can trust is suspect.

Zoe can’t wait to reunite with Nate, the bad boy who doesn’t talk about his feelings much, but the passionate kiss he gave her last summer had to have meant something. When she arrives back in town and discovers that he’s in trouble with the law, she must take matters into her own hands in order to clear his name. She has her hands full with a needy Emma, a cop who gives her the creeps, and Nate, the guy she desperately wants to call her own. Can Zoe solve the mystery, clear Nate’s name, and make him fall in love with her?


K. Dawn, how did this story come to you? 

Sometimes I get the strangest ideas! I love a good mystery and I love romance, but you don’t find the two together very often. Also, there are very few books available with college-age characters. I pitched the idea of combining all of the above to Desert Breeze and the rest is history.

Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I had already published several books with Desert Breeze when they opened a young adult line. I’m excited that they liked the idea for this new series.

Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I own two hairless Chinese Crested dogs.
I love sour things….pickles, lemons, sour candy.
I used to ride a Harley, but gave it up in order to have more time to write. (My husband always wanted to stay out way too long and take the scenic route home. He still has his bike, but I don’t miss mine at all.)

What are you working on now and what’s next for you?
I just finished the edits on my April release, Shattered Identity, which is the sequel to Mistaken Identity. I’m now working on the second book in the Zoe Mack series.

Parting comments? Thank you for hosting me! For those of you who love Christian fiction, please check my blog for weekly book giveaways. I interview 3-5 authors a week who give away their books. www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Bio:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance and romantic suspense with five books published so far. Recently, she tried her hand at young adult fiction and found that she really enjoyed writing it. Three books in the Zoe Mack Mystery Series are scheduled to release January, June, and December 2012. Shattered Identity, the sequel to Mistaken Identity, will release in April.
K. Dawn Byrd is an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most of which are signed by the authors. She’s also the moderator of the popular facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444.
When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years while walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.
Links:
Website: www.kdawnbyrd.com
Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com and www.zoe-mack.blogspot.com
Twitter: kdawnbyrd
Book trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1aJrlR0fd4&context=C37a6c3aADOEgsToPDskI03937RSubxSN3pzKZqfrl

My Review of HEARTS KEY by Marianne Evans

/ Dora Hiers / 6 Comments

A sweet, irresistible romance from the first page to the last…

My review:

Hearts Key opens with a heart-wrenching scene, the dissolution of a marriage. Once a vibrant youth leader, Amy Samuels barely escapes her husband’s drunken rage with her daughter, Pyper. Estranged from family and friends because of her husband’s abusive behavior, Amy places a collect call to her former pastor for help.

A year later, settled within the loving arms of the Woodland Church family, Amy and Pyper begin the healing process. Hiding behind the safety of a camera lens, Amy arrives at Woodland Church to shoot the homecoming of Tyler Brock. Tyler Brock, whose love she’d tossed aside because she’d been enamored with football star, Mark Samuels. Now a powerhouse in Christian music, Tyler is still the gentle, faithful guy Amy knew in high school. And he still loves her. With his gentle spirit, Tyler breaks down Pyper’s fearful “male” barrier and reminds Amy that God’s love is all she needs to overcome her self-doubts.

I have to admit that once Tyler entered the scene, I wondered if Ms. Evans would be able to sustain the book, but did she ever deliver! Not only does Tyler battle his own fears when an agent woos him with crossing over into mainstream music, but he also helps break down Amy and Pyper’s insecurities. Ms. Evans built the romantic tension to such a level that I found myself whispering, “Kiss her! Just kiss her already!”

Hearts Key is a sweet, irresistible romance from the first page to the last! Even at two hundred and fifty four pages, I wasn’t ready for Hearts Key to end. Sadly, Hearts Key is the last in the series, but that won’t stop me from going back and reading the first three books. Congratulations, Ms. Evans. Five stars from this reader!

Available with White Rose Publishing.


Disclaimer: An unbiased review, based on my purchase of this book.

My Review of LOST IN LONE CREEK by Mary Manners

/ Dora Hiers / 10 Comments

Great book to curl up with on a rainy afternoon…
Ms. Manners tugs you right in to the sights and smells of Lone Creek Ranch where you’ll want to kick your cowboy boots up on the coffee table and sit back with your coffee mug and linger awhile. Lost in Lone Creek is the perfect size to curl up with on the couch for a couple hours on a rainy afternoon, but at seventy-three delicious pages, you’ll wish it were longer.
Land Developer Jessica Tate isn’t so likeable when she first appears at Lone Creek Ranch in her high-heeled pumps, designer sunglasses and snooty attitude. Although Rancher Carson Merrill hasn’t seen Jessica since she stomped away a year ago, that doesn’t stop him from looking past her bitter exterior into the heart of the girl he fell in love with and planned to marry. With Carson’s gentle encouragement, Jessica’s attitude melts, along with the brick wall she’d erected since her brother’s accident, making it impossible not to fall in love with this cowboy.      
A sweet, irresistible romance, Lost in Lone Creek is the first in the series. As usual, Ms. Manners leaves us eagerly waiting for the next book. Congratulations, Ms. Manners. Five stars from this reader!
Available now with White Rose Publishing. 
Disclaimer: An unbiased review, based on my purchase of this book.