Tag Archives: suspense

New Year, Fresh Start, New Resolutions

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Have you noticed how hard it is to get used to a new year? At least for me it’s always a challenge for the first couple of months when I have to fill in the date. Thinking back of my childhood, it’s hard to imagine I’m in 2020. I mean, back then, that was the future! In one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future, Steven Spielberg had imagined a much more evolved 21st century. According to him, by now we should all travel in space cars, have voice-command appliances, and eradicate most illnesses. Wasn’t he an optimist, back in ’86 when he made the first movie?

While we’re working on technologies that will eventually make all of these things possible, everything is moving slowly. And although we can definitely survive without flying cars and smart refrigerators, our quality of life depends on our health.

When we’re healthy we are unaware of how important this is. It’s only when we’re confronted with illness—or worse, death—that we start appreciating what truly matters in life. I’ve had such a terrible revelation right after Christmas, when I learned that a high school mate of mine died of cancer at the age of thirty-three. The news was shocking for all of us who knew him. We all hoped and prayed for a miracle until the last minute, but in vain. I can only shudder when I think of his poor wife and six-year-old-son, who have to deal with so much grief. I was touched by how many people jumped in to help them, morally and financially. It’s probably not that much of a comfort, but seeing this proof of kindness reassured me there’s still hope for humanity.

It’s a bitter irony that I have just finished a book where the hero is a researcher and fights to cure cancer. Although the book is a fictional suspense romance, a lot of the medical facts are true. With medicine advancing fast, I pray this terrible disease will soon be eradicated forever and stop being a constant threat to us and those we love.

In International Affairs: LONDON, Dr. Gerard Leon develops not one, but two cures for cancer, with the help of Linda, a beautiful and wealthy Italian artist. If in life we’re not guaranteed a happy ever after, one of the things we can do is look for it in books…

She has the money; he has the brains. In their quest to cure others, can they also heal each other?

Gerard Leon is a physician and researcher. Linda Coriola is an artist and philanthropist. After losing loved ones to this silent killer, they both fight cancer in their own way—her with money, him with scientific breakthroughs.
Neither expected to fall in love, but when they do, it’s hard, fast, and mind-blowing.
But they have a common enemy who will stop at nothing to see them fail. Can they give into their feelings, stay focused on their goal, and live to fight another day?

International Affairs: LONDON is the first book in a new series of suspense romance novels, International Romance Collection. I hope you will love these stories as much as I enjoy writing them!
If this isn’t in your New Year’s resolutions list, remember: stay healthy. When it comes to most illnesses your body will give you signs so you can do something before it’s too late–don’t ignore them! It doesn’t matter that you’ll keep your job, or get that promotion, or keep that relationship, or do whatever you want to do if you won’t live long enough to enjoy them. We can find love, build fortunes, make dreams come true, but the one thing we can’t buy is our health. It’s the most precious thing we can have. Take care of yourselves above all else. ❤

Here’s a photo of me on Christmas Day. I had the best time of my life during the holidays because hubby took two weeks off work, so we spent every minute together. We didn’t go to any parties or fancy events, we just enjoyed our time together cooking, watching TV, staying at home, shopping or just walking the streets and goofing around. 🙂

How audiobooks changed my life #mgtab @melinda_de_ross

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Now a very popular format, ten years ago audiobooks were still making a shy debut – just when I needed them most. Reading has always been my biggest passion, but as I worked in an office all day with my eyes fixed on a computer screen, traditional reading became an increasingly difficult hobby. My eyes got tired easier, my neck became stiff from bending over a book. Not to mention that one can’t multi-task while reading a printed book. That was when my husband suggested I tried audiobooks.

At first I was reluctant. It seemed completely weird listening to someone read a book out loud. It didn’t sound the same when I read it in my head. However, my love of books was stronger than my stubbornness, so one day I took a chance and bought an audiobook. I remember it was Sandra Brown’s “Smoke Screen”, which was lucky because the narrator, Victor Slezak, is simply magic. From the first moments I was drawn in by his voice, fascinated by the way he interpreted each character, thrilled to hear the story brought to life. A love affair had begun!

Fast forward thousands of audiobooks listened and a career change later, and here I am today – a writer myself, who’s just producing her second audiobook. It’s funny how in the short run we never truly realize how much we’ve achieved, but sometimes in the rare moments when we take a good look back, we can be stunned by how far we’ve come from a certain period of our lives. Sandra Brown’s thrillers are still among my favorites, and although I like to think I’ve developed my own storytelling technique, her style will always be an influence on me. I know it shows in THE PLOT, my first suspense romance that was released as an audiobook. I had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented narrator, Austin Walp, who brought my characters to life in a way that still makes me grin in wonder whenever I listen to it.

An unconventional romance…

At 18, Yoko Hirano falls prey to a human trafficking organization and is forced into a lifestyle nightmares are made of. When the young Japanese girl escapes, her only focus is exacting revenge and saving other girls from the same fate by bringing down Michael Chen, the powerful mobster who destroyed her innocence.

Between two misfits…

Four years later she meets antiques dealer Mark Chandler, the only man who ever treated her with respect. Though she is torn by her unfamiliar feelings for him, Yoko’s grand scheme doesn’t involve falling in love, and a man like Mark would never want her if he discovered her past. What she doesn’t know is that he has his own dark secrets…

Brought together by love and revenge.

Mark never thought he could lose his head over a woman, but the haunted eyes of his beautiful new employee fill his soul with desire and tenderness. When he learns about what had happened to her, his vengeance knows no limits. Nor does his resolve to help her heal and discover love.

You can listen to a sample of THE PLOT on YouTube, watch the book trailer, and if you want to hear more, you can find THE PLOT on Amazon as well as on all major audiobook distribution channels. Enjoy!

Fondly,

Melinda

JUST A QUICK HOP

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I LEARNED ABOUT BOATING FROM …
JUST A QUICK HOP by Paul Risk

[as published in BOATING Magazine]
Changing wind and sea conditions dramatically changed this boater’s chances for a safe arrival.

In 2015, we took our Regal 35 SC on a six-day, 800-mile trip from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Michigan. To prepare, I plotted each stopover and secondary/emergency stops in a spreadsheet, and each harbor into my chart plotter.

Each leg was designed to keep at least 20 percent fuel in the tanks by arrival. The boat featured the latest in electronics: a sophisticated chart plotter, three VesselView screens, an EPIRB and two backup handheld VHF radios, in addition to the fixedmount radio, plenty of life vests and signaling equipment.

We filed a float plan with friends. We departed in flat seas and sunny weather, and it stayed that way for the next six days. It was a wonderful trip.

Our last hop would take us 90 miles from Holland, Michigan, to Chicago. I had planned to depart at noon, with an expected
arrival around 3 p.m. But we lingered to shop, despite the forecast for increasing waves.

We finally departed at 3 p.m. in rough waves of 4 to 6 feet, with a few
8-footers thrown in. The boat could barely make 10 mph. Any faster and it
would get mercilessly slammed. The kids already had their life jackets on. My wife and I donned ours, and despite the rough water I remained confident.

Then I checked the gauges. The boat normally gets 1 mile per gallon, and
at 90 miles to go with 162 gallons in the tanks, we had fuel to spare. Except
doing 10 mph in rough waves dropped the economy to 0.6 mpg—we’d run out of gas 20 miles from port in 6-foot waves, and it would be game over.

The alternative was to go back and try to hug the shoreline, but that was a much greater distance, plus the waves weren’t any calmer closer to shore. It was now 4:30 p.m. I realized that not only might we run out of fuel, but
we’d also run out of daylight.

If the marine forecast was accurate, the waves would slowly subside
the further west we went. If we drowned in the middle of Lake
Michigan, it would be because of the decision I was going to make
here and now, not in two or three hours.

I looked at the forecasts and fuel data again and again, and
decided to go for it. Then the sunroof belt broke, and it started slamming
back and forth with each rock of the boat. About an hour later, the waves had subsided a little, and I was able to increase speed to 5 mph. Then another hour passed, and we were doing 20 mph.

By the time we could see the Chicago skyline, we were on plane at 25 mph
and pulled into Montrose Harbor at 8 p.m. with fuel to spare. A trip
that should have taken three hours took five.

I learned a few things:
• Keep a close eye on the marine weather forecast. I’m now more conservative about departures.
• Know your boat, especially its fuel consumption in varying
conditions.
• I carry seasickness wristbands aboard now. They really work!
Paul Risk
Chicago
ILLUSTRATION: TIM BOWER

Writing Suspense

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After working in law enforcement for almost sixteen years, I have seen a lot, sometimes way more than I wish I had seen. Maybe that is why I enjoy writing suspense so much! Don’t get me wrong, I love writing romance too, but suspense plots are where I like to get lost.

I find that when I start a suspense novel, I quickly get lost in it, and I love how most of the time my characters will take over the story and I’m only the means to an end for them. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down to write a chapter and it ends up completely different than what I had first anticipated. That all has to do with the characters having their own way of doing things, and they expect me to allow them.

The best part about writing suspense to me, is adding the twists and turns. I love to keep readers guessing. There is never a better compliment to me than, “Holy cow! I never saw that coming!”

Right now, I am working on two Romantic Suspense series, and have another one planned for early next year. The Pleasure Your Fantasies series includes, Mistletoe Fantasies and Whispered Fantasies with Secret Fantasies coming this fall. I just finished writing that one and I’m so excited about it!

The other series that I’m working on is The Twisted Love Series. It’s intense and gritty and down right Twisted. The fourth book in the series just release and my readers have commented over and over again about how it is one of their favorites series! I love that!

If you’re interested in Romantic Suspense – make sure to check out The Twisted Love Series. Right now the first two books, Love Lorn & Love Torn are FREE. And the third book, Love Inked is currently $2.99. The fourth book, Love Drowned is on sale for just a little longer at $2.99 and will go up to $4.99 soon. So grab your copy at that price while you can.

And welcome to my Twisted World!