Desolate Paths - Romantic Suspense

Blurb:

When rehab is Brooke Hollen’s only chance at redemption, she runs straight to it. But can she survive the serial killer who hides amongst the damaged and healing? And can she trust Kyle Reston, another rehab resident, who wants to take her under his wing? Or is he responsible for the residents who keep disappearing?

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Today I am so happy to introduce author, Erin Unger. She has written a romantic suspense called Desolate Paths and I'm super excited!

Romantic suspense is one of my personal favorite things to read so you know I jumped at the chance to interview her.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

If I could go back—and boy do I wish I could—I’d tell myself to start writing!! Like right now. I wish I’d figured out God’s plan fifteen years sooner because it’s a long and arduous process becoming an author.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Funny you should ask. My Kryptonite is way more persistent than Superman’s. It’s my mostly grown kids. As soon as the ‘Do not disturb’ sign goes up on my office door, suddenly they have a million questions and emergencies. And I have to help them right then. Nothing can wait. It’s so hard to send them away without dealing with their crises.

What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

Ooh, this is an easy one. Erynn Newman’s book Out of Darkness is absolutely one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, yet few people know about it. It should be on the NYT bestseller’s list for sure.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? I love hiding a secret mulligan in every book I write. It’s a single name. I dare my readers to search for it. It can be a place or a person. And it means a lot to me because it stands for the beginning of a lot of things for me. Like where I first started writing and where I matured the most.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Writer’s block is worse and more real than the biggest monster in your closet. I’ve suffered from it several times in my writing career. And I have friends who’ve struggled with it too. I even almost considered quitting because I had it so bad at one point. But thankfully God has kept me going and equipped me with better writing techniques to get past it.

Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

I write because I feel God called me to be a writer. I even tried to give up and tell Him he was wrong about me becoming a writer. I’m sure you can imagine it didn’t work. It’s the way I minister to others in this world, and it’s very spiritual watching my characters grow in Christ. I even find myself growing with my characters as they are learning spiritual truths sometimes.

A big thanks to Erin for her thoughtful answers.

See Below for Information on Erin Unger

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Social Media Links:

www.erinungerwrites.com

https://www.facebook.com/ErinUngerWrites/

 https://twitter.com/erinungerwrites

https://www.instagram.com/erinungerwrites/




Short Bio:

Erin Unger was raised in the hills of Virginia, exploring abandoned houses and reading the scariest books she could find. After marrying so young it would make a great romance novel, she has enjoyed an exciting life with her hubby. But her fast-paced life sometimes rivals the suspense in her books thanks to all her mostly grown children and a couple grandkids. Her novel, Desolate Paths, released January 11, 2019.

The Dim Zone - How Far Is Too Far?

Today I am featuring a science fiction novel by Chris Turner with a bonus free Booktrack!

The Dim Zone

How far is too far?

Mercenary Yul Vrean is hired by billionaire CEO Mathias of Cybercore to bring back alien samples from a remote planet in the Dim Zone. It’s a region rife with murderous space pirates and slavers, the warlike Zikri and Mentera.

This alien technothriller is full of deadly space battles, extreme action, bio-mechanical fusion, killer aliens, a touch of the bizarre and fantastic… it will certainly intrigue fans of Alien, Predator and The Matrix.

In a race for mechnobot technology, genius Sigmund Hresh has engineered a prototype for what may be the holy grail of AI. The uses of such technology vary from the sinister to the saintly. Yul and his space thugs may be the only link preventing the next galactic war and saving the human colonies from hostile aliens.

The Making of The Dim Zone...

The booktrack audio component was based on many space classics with similar textures to Alien Covenant and Life. I created composite alien effects from mixes of digital samples and animals, using pitch effects and warping. All in all, an eerie backdrop to the alien planet Xeses, and later, the corridors inside the starship Orb of the Zikri hunters.

Enjoy The Dim Zone, the next book in The Timelost series:

Booktrack (free)

Find The Dim Zone on Amazon

Follow the author on Twitter

Blood Blizzards - Trembler Weather Pt. 4

In book 2 of The Blackburn Chronicles, the Wind Reapers, Charlotte and Sheriff Riley brave the tumultuous Wasteland to secure a cure for the deadly Ashen Croup -- a devastating illness that drowns victims in their own lungs. Caught up in a storm just outside the glowing electric dome that protects the city, they find a way in through the decaying grid...

In the distance, lightning lit up the dark sky illuminating an enormous black cloud. I squinted, adjusted the violet lens of my goggles down over my right eye, and froze. A roiling mass of churning wind and ash, the dark cloud rumbled with flashes of light in its belly. It moved like a massive wave towards us.

Riley motioned and I followed him along a tacky path to an opening just ahead in the dome. The tar never could seem to set into its final hardness where the dome met the street. Lit only by the flickering pulses of the grid’s energy, we stole along the curved base of the protective covering. Behind us, the howling winds raced in from the dark, hot abyss of the wasteland. 

A deep rumble tore across the landscape as the mounting wave of ash and rain built to a colossal storm. It was far off still, but closing in. Already, frigid splatters of the Blood Blizzard flew at us. They hit the cross sections of the grid and hissed as water evaporated and ash burned to shiny hard spots on the ground. The tainted rain left red splashes on my gloves and sleeves and made me appear as if I had survived some terrible, bloody battle.

The strangely violent and unpredictable climate of the Blackburn Chronicles world was so much fun to use as a way to push the characters to the limit.  The Wasteland offered a multitude of dangers to anyone foolhardy or desperate enough to venture into the desolate lands between the domes.

Red ash from the fissure fires mixed with the water of the storm left anyone caught in the torrent dripping wet with crimson. Quite a frightening sight, but an appropriate warning for those thinking they might try the journey.

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If you like dystopian thrillers with lots of adventure and strange devices, they check out The Blackburn Chronicles.

For a taste of this fantastic world, try the FREE NOVELLAS here.

Fire and Terrible Beauty - Trembler Weather Pt.1

Elena Pleskevich

We don't have weather where I live. The southern California desert where I make my home and write my books has two modes. Hot and much hotter. That's it. I tell you this to explain my fascination with weather and natural phenomenon that is unusual. I try to incorporate the things of this world that I find strange and lovely in my writing.

When I was creating my Gothic mysteries, I used the soggy, gray weather of Noble Island to create isolation, even danger. The storms became antagonists unto themselves and it was great fun.

Now for my new steampunk series, the Blackburn Chronicles, I was able to truly play with all that mother nature had to offer. First with the calamitous quakes that fractured an entire nation to the terrible beauty of ignited gas seams that burn in brilliant colors. They light up the night and sand skimming craft use them to navigate the dark wasteland much like sailors avoided shores with the real thing.

Mount Chimaera, located in Olympos National Park in Turkey, is a flame that has burned for almost 2,000 years. Methane seeps through the vents in the rocks. It is quite stunning and a popular attraction. There are actually quite a few natural  'eternal flames' around the world. Here is a list of just a few of them.

I based the constantly burning seams of the Tremblers wasteland on these eternal fires. Beautiful, unpredictable, and deadly these flames from the center of a fractured world evokes a sense of ominous fascination for me. It was the perfect backdrop for an epic race against time and overwhelming forces.

To find out more about The Tremblers and Charlotte's battle to survive this chaotic world, check out my author page.

Next up...Blackened Skies and Ash

Last Chance to Win!

To celebrate the release of my upcoming steampunk thriller, I am giving away 4 copies of my Gothic mystery, Secrets at Crescent Point! Enter to win HERE.

But you better hurry...the contest ends at midnight on 1/18/18

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And if you love epic tales of strong heroines, dark heroes, and strange devices then check out The Tremblers, a steampunk thriller releasing tomorrow! 

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor who is the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation.

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

Radio Retrofuture Interview!

Come hang out with me over at Radio Retrofuture where we talk secret societies, global catastrophe, and air ship battles.

Don't forget to check out my Steampunk Thriller while its on pre-order sale...

The Tremblers on Amazon

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor, Nikola Tesla—the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation. 

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

The Tremblers Playlist

Music that inspired the YA Steampunk Thriller, TheTremblers

From what I listened to while writing the aero ship battles to songs that capture the desperate romance in a crumbling world...I hope you enjoy the songs and lyrics that moved me to create this world.

  

+Raquel Byrnes