Raquel Byrnes

~Edge of Your Seat Romance~

Secrets at Crescent Point - Cover Reveal!


I am excited to share the cover for my upcoming release! Secrets at Crescent Point is book two in my Noble Island Mystery Series and I am so loving the art work!

I think it goes so well with the first book in tone and theme. Gothic romance with a twist of faith...

 I can't wait to share Raven and Siyah's suspenseful story with all of you!

Great Hooks!


I love to watch and read suspense. One of the reasons is that when you come across a good one, you can't put the darned book down even when its two in the morning and you're dead tired and you KNOW you're going to regret it, but...you turn the page.

Great writers understand the power of a hook. Not only at the beginning of a book; that initial pull into the story that cements you with the character's fate...

I'm talking about the ones at the end of each chapter. Those last lines that make you suck in your breath and blink a few times as you decidedly ignore the clock and keep reading.

Some of my favorite chapter endings are usually a beat before the stakes ratchet up...
  • The hero mid-leap across a precipice.
  • An ominous prediction before entering a new scene.
  • A secret revealed or a mystery set in motion.
  • It can even be the shift of allegiance in the mind of a character
Something that vaults us into the next scene, the next scenario...a peek or teaser that beckons us and leaves us wanting to know what happens next?

Writers Write had a helpful photo up the other day. It was a list of some great hooks to consider using in your own work. Posted by Amanda Patterson on her Tumbler...

I hope you find it helpful. What are some of your favorite hooks and cliff-hangers? Are there any that just irritate you? Until next time...Go Write!




"The Q Manifesto" --A Christian Thriller You Don't Want to Miss!



Clash of the Titles presents...


 The Q Manifesto by Alan Schleimer.

A new Dead Sea Scroll stuns the world. Is it a forgery or the end of Christianity?

Not long ago, experts announced that an ancient papyrus referred to Jesus Christ as having a wife. It caused quite a stir before being quickly discredited. But what if an even more explosive papyrus was found that showed the gospels were faked and that document passed every modern test for legitimacy? That is the premise for The Q Manifesto. 

The story centers on Jay Hunt, who quit a lucrative Wall Street career to become a backcountry tour guide. Soon after, an ancient manuscript is uncovered that reveals the Gospels were an orchestrated fiction. Though its revelation stuns the world, Jay ignores it until his father, a retired Dead Sea Scrolls expert, gets in over his head investigating the scroll. Chased by assassins, Jay soon learns that the world’s only chance to survive Armageddon depends on him deciphering a cryptic trail of clues in his quest for the truth.


An Unlikely Prospect as an Author
Alan Schleimer wasn’t always a writer. In fact, he says that he was the least likely candidate to become a published author. About ten years ago, he was enjoying a career in the corporate world. The former energy trader and business development professional with a finance MBA claims he struggled writing a two-paragraph business letter. “I kept getting these cool ideas for a book. I thought some day, if I ever retired, I would write it. Well, I noticed that these ideas came more frequently while I was spending my quiet time meditating. Eventually, I became convinced it was a calling from God, and I began writing full-time. The story that started it all was a Christian fiction fantasy. It was a great learning process filled with numerous rookie mistakes. I took writing classes and attended writing conferences until deciding to write the kind of fiction I liked to read—mystery/suspense/thrillers.”

Police Academy
Besides studying writing, Alan is a graduate of Sugar Land’s Citizen Police Academy. He describes it as “A great program for anyone, but it was an ideal introduction for me to police procedures. You can read about police work, but the Academy brings to life the daily risks and snap judgments police officers must make to keep us safe.” Besides his Academy participation, he has studied martial arts, finance, and what he calls the divine source of all truth—the Bible.

Evidence that the Police Academy and other studies have enriched Alan’s writing is reflected in one reader’s review, which praised it as a “magnificent debut whose stunning depths, pivotal settings and tangible descriptions manifested themselves in imagery akin to an HDTV movie.” His storyline was cited as a “masterfully crafted, full-immersion thriller written with intelligence, heart and virtue, brilliantly plotted, and played out at machine gun pace.”  Pleased that his book is categorized as Christian fiction, Alan prefers to think of it as a family-friendly wild ride with a message of hope and a challenge to anyone’s faith.


Awards
The Q Manifesto was named the top inspirational/religious novel of 2012 by the national website Daily Cheap Reads. Previously the story garnered the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis award in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre. Schleimer’s debut novel is a suspense thriller and has been compared favorably to Dan Brown’s "Da Vinci Code" for its masterfully-executed twists and turns. 


Connect with Alan
The Q Manifesto is available as an eBook at Amazon and by month’s end at most online booksellers in a print edition. You can connect with Alan through his website www.alanschleimer.com and “Like” him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AlanSchleimer.Author.