Accused by Wendy Byrne (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

It is my pleasure to have a guest post from author Wendy Byrne!

 

What is my writing process?

by Wendy Byrne

I like to write in the morning. I’m an early riser and find that my creative energies are best in the morning. First I have to do my morning ritual and check emails, Facebook, and get my morning dose of chai tea going. After that—on a good day—I start writing. Yes, I’m human, so some days I’m more disciplined than others.

In my earlier writing endeavors, I would concentrate on one book at a time and wrote as a pantser (by the seat of my pants). This means I wrote whatever came to mind—sometimes those thoughts came chronically—most times they were random ideas for scenes or conversations. As I tried to be more productive, I had to develop a better plan for getting books written. Some writers do elaborate outlines, color-code scenes and conversations to make sure there’s a balance, but that wouldn’t work for me. Which is an important point—never let someone else tell you how or what your process should be. It’s important to do what works for you. Sometimes that changes as you grow as a writer.

I write for two different publishers and also self-publish, so that means I typically am working at multiple projects at a time. That took some getting used to, but I’ve managed to develop some ideas that work for me. I compartmentalize my time and work on one project for a period of time before moving on to another. I usually do something non-writing related in-between like take a walk or run to the store to clear my mind. I also have a much more structured approach to the process. I might not have everything set in stone when I begin to write a new story, but I have an idea of the high points of my story. I find there are some tools that help me along this journey—Scrivener helps me find things easier if I need to switch scenes around in terms of chronological order, and Jamie Gould’s collection of story beat sheets also keep me aware of where I should be at certain parts of the story. http://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/. I also find it invaluable to have other writers to keep me on track and give support in those times when I’m pulling my hair out. I’m also a big fan of NANO http://nanowrimo.org.  It’s a commitment I make in November to get 50,000 words on paper of a new work of fiction. It might not be pretty, but it’s something I can work with. In order to accomplish such a feat, it’s important that you don’t revise and just write, even when you have nothing to write. And I get it done because…well…I’m stubborn that way.

You have to find out what works for you as a writer, as we are each individuals and what works for some doesn’t work for others. Happy writing!

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Accused

by Wendy Byrne

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

Spawned from the depths of every parent’s worst nightmare, Jillian Beckett’s 16 year old troubled son is charged with murder. He’s unable to remember what happened and swears he’s off drugs, but should she believe him? Her ex-husband doesn’t. The high-priced lawyer she hired doesn’t. Where does motherly instinct intersect with reality?

Afraid and alone, she reluctantly enlists the help of her son’s football coach to find the truth of what happened. As they battle to uncover the guilty party, confidences are shattered, lives are on the line, while her son is one step closer to spending his life behind bars.

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EXCERPT

Sam spotted Travis sitting with his mother. In a sea of average, Jillian Beckett stood out. With a model’s face and body, she drew attention even when dressed in a pair of old jeans and a pink oxford shirt. There was a part of him that found her attractive—okay, a huge part of him—even though it made him feel like shit thinking of her like that. His first priority should be Travis, and it was. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he had a babe for a mom.

 He watched her get up and start to pace while Travis sat at the table looking nervous. Neither one seemed to be talking and Sam could sense tension between them even from across the room. It didn’t feel right to interrupt, but he didn’t have a choice once Travis spotted him and waved him over.

Jillian turned and stopped her frantic pacing. Hesitation played out on her face once she saw him. Something was going on between her and Travis and she didn’t want Sam’s interference. Before he could reconsider, Travis walked across the room and ushered him back to their table. “We could use some help, Coach.”

Her face was pale as she shook his hand and they both sat down. At least she’d stopped pacing. Still, he fought the urge to touch her as she clasped and unclasped her hands.

“What’s going on?” Sam didn’t want to linger on thoughts of his past.

Travis looked at his mother, then at Sam, then hung his head. “I am so screwed. The blood on my shirt matches Max Gill’s and the gun I had in my room was used in a killing a while back. I swear I didn’t do either, but the evidence says otherwise.”

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Wendy lives in the Chicago area. She has a Masters in Social Work and worked in the child welfare field for twelve years before she decided to pursue her dream of writing. 

Between teaching college classes, trying to get her morbidly obese cat to slim down and tempering the will of her five-year-old granddaughter, who's determined to become a witch when she turns six so she can fly on her broom to see the Eiffel Tower and put hexes on people--not necessarily in that order--somehow Wendy still manages to fit in writing. She spends the remainder of her days inflicting mayhem on her hero and heroine until they beg for mercy.

She has written three books in the Hard Targets Trilogy, Hard to Kill, Hard to Trust, and Hard to Stop. In addition, she has a contemporary romance through Entangled Publishing called The Millionaire's Deception , a self-pubbed Christmas short story called The Christmas Curse and two interracial romances, Fractured and Mama Said.

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GIVEAWAY


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The tour dates can be found here

Hard to Kill by Wendy Byrne (spotlight blitz, Bridging the Gap Promotions)

Hard To Kill

A Hard Targets Novel

Wendy Byrne

Gemma Halliday Publishing

Romantic Suspense ,@72k words

 
Hard To Kill 

Trained as children to become assassins by the infamous Goren Petrovich, Sabrina Shaw and her two brothers have had a less-than-normal upbringing.  After escaping his clutches, Sabrina and her brothers have tried to make a normal life for themselves.

Now Sabrina works for an organization called The Alliance, specializing in the kind of jobs that no one else can or wants to do.  Her current assignment:  find the daughter of a prominent politician who has disappeared, categorized as a runaway by the authorities.

It seems simple enough, until Sabrina uncovers the girl may have been the victim of a kidnapping that goes far beyond ransom requests.  Now Sabrina must put her training to the test as she infiltrates a sex trafficking ring operating in Europe in order to find the girl...all while dodging a mysterious FBI agent and the demons from her own past.

Excerpt:

“Get the hell out of there. Now.” Jenning’s voice crackled to life in Sabrina’s earpiece.

She ignored his command even while her skin itched, foretelling her sixth sense was kicking in. Yep, she was close.

“Now, Shaw. His friends are heading your way. You—"  

She clicked off the receiver to stop the tirade that no doubt would follow.  A few minutes. That’s all she needed.

Tip-toeing up the metal staircase in her black combat-style boots, she inched her way to apartment 203. Eddie Ramer might be able to fool the cops but not her. The bottom feeder had been enticing Caitlyn for weeks with his promise of high paying modeling gigs. And then she’d disappeared.

Coincidence? Yeah, right.

A heavy smell of weed permeated the air, despite the open balconies outside the apartment doors. The metal railing and no-tell-motel-appearance of the building didn’t shock her. In fact it worked in her favor. The thin walls made her privy to the conversations along the journey to her prize.

201. 202. Finally, 203.

Peeking inside was made impossible by the closed drapes. Instead, she crawled under the window, then slid along the wall stopping outside the apartment door. A cacophony of motorcycle engines in the distance signaled Eddie’s friends were getting closer.

Her heart beat heavily while her fingers tingled. Everything inside her longed to grab the gun strapped to her thigh, but she resisted the urge. Only if necessary. She held her breath, keying into the conversation on the other side of the door.

“Let me see what you’ve got, baby.” The voice came from inside.

Sabrina closed her eyes, dispelling the vile thoughts racing around her head. Focus remained the key to her success.

“I thought—" The girl’s shaky voice signaled her fear.

 “You have a smokin’ bod, but I gotta know you can sell the goods. That’s the way this works. Only then can I open doors for you.”

Enough.

With one strategically placed kick, her boot separated the lock from the flimsy door. Seconds later, she charged inside, tackling Eddie to the ground. He tried to reverse her dominant position, but she was one step ahead of him, bringing the tip of her blade to his throat, a mere flick away from his carotid artery.

She slid off his chest and eased them both to a standing position, never wavering on the location of the blade. “Now Caitlyn and I are going to leave without any trouble from you or your ragtag group of merry men. Got that?”

His eyebrows furrowed while his lips curled into a smirk. “Caitlyn? She’s ancient history.”

A sinking sensation settled in her gut as Sabrina turned toward the girl. Hovering close to the bed, a young Hispanic girl with striking looks and long dark hair stood, her blouse partially unbuttoned. Definitely not Caitlyn Collins.

Not good.

That half second of non-focus on her part was all Eddie needed to grab her forearm, dislodging the knife and sending it flying across the room into the wall. Despite his bulk, the alcohol reeking from his pores slowed his reflexes.  She easily ducked the clumsy punch he sent her way. When he grasped her bicep and pulled up, that left him open for her counter strike to the round part of his shoulder, followed by a punch to his liver through the intercostal nerve, robbing him of breath, then a chop to the side of his neck, hitting his vagus nerve with enough force to stun.

Sabrina grabbed the girl and ran.

Dread chilled her bones as she bounded down the steps, yanking the frightened girl along with her. For the first time in her life she’d failed her mission. She’d given the Collins family hope when she’d promised to rescue their daughter. Now she was coming back empty handed. There had to be another way.  

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iBook 

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Smashwords

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Author bio:  Wendy has a Masters in Social Work and worked in the child welfare field for twelve years before she decided to pursue her dream of writing.  Her first two books, Fractured and Mama Said were published in 2011 and 2012.  Mama Said was a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Contest. She self published The Christmas Curse in 2012.

Between teaching college classes, trying to get her morbidly obese cat to slim down, and tempering the will of her five-year-old granddaughter, who's determined to become a witch when she turns six so she can fly on her broom to see the Eiffel Tower and put hexes on people --not necessarily in that order--somehow Wendy still manages to fit in writing.  She spends the remainder of her days inflicting mayhem on her hero and heroine until they beg for mercy.

contact link 

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