Welcome to LaNora LaNotes.

I want to be one of the first people to introduce you to an up and coming mystery writer today, and her name is Tia Catalina. Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I appreciate all of the help you have provided in my publishing journey.

It's been a great pleasure.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My most recent job was as a self-employed real estate appraiser. That industry has changed over the last few years, and I have found myself disenchanted with a job I used to love. However, when one door closes, a window opens, so I have taken the opportunity to start writing again.

I live in central Indiana with my husband and a very spoiled dog. My yard is large and has extensive gardens, so I spend a lot of my free time weeding and chopping. I also enjoy biking, and walking. Since the pooch princess arrived at my doorstep, I have been walking year-round, even in snow.

What prompted you to begin writing and how long have you been writing?
I joined the Romance Writers of America about seven years ago. I took a writing class and went to a writing conference in the late 1980’s, but that was not the right time for me. Writing is something I have always wanted to do and when events in my life made it possible, I took the opportunity.

I can totally relate with that.  I understand that you have a new book out right now, "The Blue Falcon", which is a mystery. Tell us about it?
Grace Garcia is a former Marine living in a gang-infested area of South Phoenix. She is unable to come to grips with the lingering grief of killing a child in the war. She receives an old postcard that has been lost in the mail for 20 years. It was addressed to Graciano Garcia but the signature line is what touches her heart. It says, Always Faithful, Joy. Always faithful is the translation of the Marine Corp motto Semper Fi. Unable to locate Graciano, she looks for Joy Cooper, who wrote the love note.

Her search leads her to Joy’s son, Jared Cooper. Jared is the new Special Agent in Charge of the ATF. His predecessor was fired for a failed mission involving gun and drug trafficking. Jared’s agents feel the former SAC’s firing was unjust and they are slow to accept him. Jared witnessed his father infidelity and doesn’t believe Semper Fi is possible

Unbeknownst to them Grace’s search for Graciano has attracted the attention of the ringleader of the El Reyes cartel. At the same time, Jared’s efforts to slow the trafficking in and out of Mexico have created problems for the ringleader.

When a Green Light hit is placed on both Jared and Grace, he offers her protection. Green Light hits have a strict code of enforcement, and both the hit man and his family will be executed if he fails his mission. This places Grace in close proximity to Jared’s young daughter. Grace feels children are her own personal Kryptonite, but meeting his daughter brings out her nurturing side.

They can’t figure out why they both are the recipients of such a deadly hit, but when a trusted friend is murdered, his last words are “Blue Falcon.” This is a military term meaning someone who screws over a buddy.

Blue Falcon is Grace Garcia’s journey back from a life torn apart by war, and how the Cooper family’s love helps her to rebuild her strength to survive.

I absolutely loved this book and your writing voice. Will it become part of a series? And if so, when can we expect to see book Two?
This particular book is not part of a series per se; however, my work in progress carries over the theme of a strong woman who must come to grips with her past to protect her future. Naturally, there will be a tall and gorgeous hero.

What is the title of your next book?
I am working on Sweet & Savage. Annie Sweet is a private investigator who grew up in a dysfunctional foster home. A serial arsonist targets her neighborhood and the police believe she is the culprit. When Lieutenant Luke Savage of the local fire department intervenes on her behalf, the situation heats-up.

Would you be willing to share an excerpt so that my friends can read a sample of this amazing story?
Of course! Here you go:

Jared’s efforts to protect me only made me angrier, and I walked to the park in a huff. The cool weather made my leg cramp, so I found an empty park bench close to the jungle gym. Only a handful of kids were on the playground, and I embraced the solitude so I could seethe. My pride was injured and the best cure was a diabolical plot to destroy his manhood. I imagined him stripped naked and tied to a stake while starving rats nibbled on his privates.

A man in Jesus sandals and black socks sat down beside me, interrupting my bloodlust. My chaperone moved closer, as if to intervene, but I waved him off. The man seemed harmless. His shirt and pants matched, but they were wrinkled and out-of-date, as if they had been hanging in the closet for a while. A picture of Les, wearing a rumpled jacket and food-stained pants, flashed in my mind, jolting me out of my deliberations. The guy sported the same fruity scent Les had favored, and I had an image of him working the room in his Santa get-up just before he died. The memory rocked me.

The man turned. “How’d you get the limp?” He smiled, as if trying to engage me, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. His affable attitude seemed contrived.

Before I could answer, he asked, “Does the pain slow you down? Seems like an enormous obstacle for a young lady to overcome. How do you take care of yourself and the ones you love?”

He sat with his arm over the bench, and his legs were crossed. His body language was loose and open, but my instincts kicked up. I was relieved when the adults in the area began to stir and spread out in the playground as they came to collect their offspring for naps.

Feeling threatened, I looked for my escort and found him standing under a tree. He started to move my way the second our eyes met. Trying to buy some time until the officer reached me, I asked, “Which child is yours?”

“I don’t have a kid.” He turned his head toward the approaching officer. “Not yet, anyway.”

An excited child let out a whoop and distracted me, but a gun blast close to my ear sent me diving into the dirt. When I turned back to the stranger, he’d vanished, and the guard was lying on the ground.

Hope’s missing blanket sat in the stranger’s place.

Thank you, Tia for stopping by for this interview. I wish you much success in your writing career!

It was my pleasure. I wish you success in your writing career as well.

Thanks Tia for dropping by and for telling us about your new book for sale right now.
For more information about Tia Catalina, be sure to visit her at:
Facebook:http://facebook.com/[email protected]
Fan Page:http://facebook/[email protected]
Twitter:http://twitter.com/tiacatalina@CatalinaWinter6
Email:mailto:[email protected]
Website:http://www.tiacatalina.com
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Falcon-Tia-Catalina-ebook/dp/B00MS8QVWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409001003&sr=8-1&keywords=Blue+Falcon+Tia+Catalina

Welcome Rayna Noire!

Declaration is book three in the Pagan Eyes series, but also can be read as a stand alone book.

Ethan finds himself trapped between the world he knows and the world that could be. A sadistic bully, an unsympathetic principal, and an unreachable love interest make high school difficult for Ethan. He feels like he’s living a lie, trying to blend in at school in an effort to keep his head attached to his body.

Fear that he’s not the son his father wants negates the support his Wiccan family offers. An impromptu trip into the future saves him from an enraged bully while instilling doubts about where he really belongs. Somehow, he has to find a way to survive in his own world tossing aside his mask and doubts.

Early Comments

"An adventurous YA fantasy tale of time-travel, being happy with oneself, and the first blush of love." V.L. Locey, reviewer

"An inspirational and empowering read. Addressing many issues our society currently faces with the ability to overcome and preserve, Declaration is a tale of being yourself—enchanting at that!"- Stephanie Stamm, reviewer

Magic, Mayhem, Time Travel and…show tunes! A lot of laughter, a few tears and a big cheer for Declaration. A great coming of age story. Tamara Hoffa, reviewer

 

Declaration Excerpt

Ethan hid in a dark doorway, panting, while he considered his options. No way Caulb and his felons in training would give up once they figured out he outsmarted them. Shouts echoing in the cavernous hallway alerted him. Danger was closer than he’d thought. Great. Weren’t schools supposed to be crawling with staff members looking out for the welfare of the students? Yeah, right. Too bad, he’d left his cell phone in Leah’s car. Not that it would have done him much good since the school used a dampener to keep students from texting in class.

If high schools were a theme park, then tenth grade was the roller coaster. It started uneventfully. The most stressful part  had been fending off all the helpful staff members, who wanted to redirect him to the middle school, assuming, since he was shorter than a good portion of the girls, he wasn’t old enough for high school.

The voices veered off to the left, down the science corridor. A window of opportunity opened up. Ethan shot up the hallway to the gym, where the wrestling team practiced earlier. His father had nagged him to try out for the wrestling team. Even the coach asked him to give it a go, because they needed someone in his weight class. Most of his matches would forfeit due to not having anyone in his class or he’d end up wrestling a girl, the coach said. No thanks. He already had enough things to be teased about.

The dimly lit hallway stretched as if it were endless. Maybe this was a dream and he’d wake up soon. Caulb’s voice filtered down the hallway. His bass timber was menacing enough without the eerie quality of it bouncing off the metal lockers and taking on an almost mechanical quality. Caulb was a deadly droid, on the mission of annihilating anyone who didn’t conform to his standards. Unfortunately, no tip sheet existed to specify what his standards were. All Ethan knew was, he didn’t meet them.

The gym doors came into view. Sanctuary. He swung the door open with a gasp, unsure what he was going to say. All he had to do was stick close to the coach. Maybe he could say he needed to use the phone to call home. His eyes darted around the empty gym. Where was everyone? An image of the wrestlers in their spandex suits came to mind. They were dressed in their team apparel when he’d seen them earlier, which meant they were probably at an away meet, and why no one was in the gym. The lights illuminated the wooden floor and abandoned mats.

He took a few steps into the gym, stopped, and turned slowly, seeing no sign of following bullies, or an almost friend who stabbed him in the back. His lips pulled down into a frown, remembering the different expectations he’d had for the night, much different.

Here's your chance to win a copy of Declaration and other goodies.  Check it out.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cb2bb8a68/

 Rayna Noire is an author and a historian. The desire to uncover the truth behind the original fear of witches led her to the surprising discovery that people believed in magick in some form up to 150 years ago. A world that believed the impossible could happen and often did must have been amazing. With this in mind, Ms. Noire taps into this dimension, shapes it into stories about a Pagan family who really isn’t that different from most people. They do go on the occasional time travel adventures and magick happens.

Author Rayna Noire

Keywords: Paranormal, Young Adult, Suspense, LGBT, Coming of Age, Wiccan, Pagan Eyes Series  Online

Amazon Author Page (US)

http://www.amazon.com/Rayna-Noire/e/B00J8XP14A/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1405882143&sr=8-2

Facebook  www.facebook.com/AuthorRaynaNoire

Twitter  www.twitter.com/raynanoire

Website  www.raynanoire.weebly.com

www.raynanoire.com

Youtube trailer  http://youtu.be/M-bbmC5-QcU

Thanks everyone for stopping my blog to read how I answer this week's three questions.  Luckily for me, the questions weren't too much of a challenge on my return to the kingdom of Blogging.

So here we go....

Does humor help or hinder you in your creative process?
It helps me because if I don't have a humor scene going on within the story, then I always have one playing in my head.  Sometimes inner laughter can also be creative.

What is a favorite go-to book or movie you use to unblock a problem in your writing.
Well, that's a hard one to answer because when I need to work through a problem that just isn't working and I see no foreseeable fix to the problem in the near future, I know it's time to set it aside and maybe take my mind off it by simply reading one of the books on my TBR shelf.  I have a lot of really great books on that shelf.  In fact, I have about 400 so there is no shortage to read.

What’s the most inspiring book you’ve read this week or month that’s generated a new idea? 
I recently read Robyn Carr's latest book and while it has nothing to do with my current work in progress, it has made me think more about the next book I want to write after this WIP is done.

Don't forget to hop on over to my writing pal's blog
Brenda Margriet http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog  to see how she answered these very same questions.   

Have a great day, everyone!

Hey Everyone,
Welcome back.  Sorry about the "No blogging" moment there.
During our time away, however, Romance Writer's  Weekly has celebrated our 6 month Anniversary just last week and if you missed it, I'm sorry.  It was a fun time had by all with games and prizes and just hanging out with some of these amazing authors.

In additions, we thought we'd jazz things up a little more by sprinkling other kids of questions for the week.  Don't worry.  We will also throw in three writing questions that we all must answer most times because, let's face it.  Those are fun to write and fun to read.

This week we were asked to post our best 15 minute dinner idea.

Well, mine isn't necessarily a dinner, but if you add a veggie side dish, it certainly can be one.

But usually this is an appetizer and it is delicious!

Bacon wrapped chicken bites.

• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 1 16 ounce package sliced bacon
• ⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons chili powder
• Have on hand:
• Toothpicks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut chicken breasts  or chicken tenderloins into bite-sized pieces.
   
3. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and chili powder.
4. Cut slab of sliced bacon into thirds.
5. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Make an assembly line: Take your bite sized Chicken, wrap your 1/3 piece of bacon around the chicken,  roll it in your brown sugar/chili powder mixture,  then secure the bacon around the chicken with a tooth pick.
7. Put it on the broiler pan.
8. . Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Be sure to hop on over to Vicki's blog to see what yummy ideas she has for you VickiMixon http://vickimixon.com

This is the blurb for Wanted
August Havens was a normal girl until the night of the accident. During that fateful evening, both her beloved parents and her memory of the event vanished in an instant. She thought it was a blessing in disguise not to remember until the CIA came after her wanting to know her parents' secrets. Now with the help of a gruff rogue agent and a young and clever inventor with secrets of their own, she must unlock her memories of the most horrible night of her life and manage to stay one step ahead of her enemies. It won't be easy, but sometimes the skeletons in the closet must be revealed.
It is a pleasure to introduce Shelby Haisley.

Hi Shelby, thanks for being on LaNora's LaNotes.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Thank you for having me! I am nineteen years old and I am currently studying to become a social worker (I’ll be a junior in the fall). I love to read and listen to music, especially Lindsey Stirling and Imagine Dragons. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family in my spare time. I currently work full time constructing and editing online classes for Indiana Wesleyan University. I am also working on my series, The August Havens Chronicles, whenever I can catch a spare moment.

Your creativity already seems to jump off the pages.  Some authors get the writing bug at a young age, was that the case for you?

I have always enjoyed writing from a young age. I was an imaginative little girl and I would tell stories to myself since I didn’t have a sibling to tell them to (I’m an only child). I used to fill up notebooks with story ideas, but I never acted upon them. However, there are some embarrassing ones my friends and I wrote in junior high! I came up with my main character, August Havens, when I was fifteen and knew I couldn’t cast her off to the side like I had done before. Thus, I created "Wanted" just for her because I knew it would be the perfect fit.

I bet the readers can't wait to find out more about her.  What were some of the factors that made you want to write your first book and then your series?

My teachers and parents were huge supporters of my writing. I have to thank Mrs. Sally Jo Herring for reading all my essays during my junior and senior years of high school. She encouraged me to write my first book after reading the first (awful) draft of Wanted and told me to expand upon my ideas. My dad was also a major factor since he would painstakingly read over my work and teach me how to write “realistic” action scenes. One day I sat down and decided I would just write one word at a time. As I planned the first book, I realized August and her friends deserved to be used in a series full of adventure and danger, so I created outlines for three more books and a prequel.

How did you come up with the idea to write Wanted? 

I came up with the idea for Wanted from my dad. Since he didn’t have a son, he would sit me down and make me watch his old 80’s and 90’s action movies with him. I grew up on Star Wars, The Bourne Identity, James Bond, and Mission: Impossible along with countless others. You’ll see some references to these series in my books. I became tired of the same main character who was a strong man who did all the work and the girl just stood off to the side and did nothing. When I created August, I knew she was the perfect character to break through that role. I wrote Wanted in order to share her story.

Shelby, so many of us writers feel this exact same way.  I understand that Wanted is book one in a series.  What is the time frame for your next release? 

Yes, Wanted is the first book in The August Havens Chronicles, which will be a four book series. I am planning on releasing one book a year since I am still in college and working. My next book, Twisted, is currently in the editing stage and I’m hoping to release it in January 2015. The other two books will hopefully be released in 2016 and 2017. The prequel will be released between the third and fourth books.

Awesome!  Would you be willing to share an excerpt of Wanted with our readers today?

Sure, I would love to share an excerpt!

~Wanted~
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

            My name is August Marie Havens. A strange name, right? My parents wanted me to be “unique.” Thus, they named me after a month of the year. I am fifteen years old; I have honey blond hair, and dark brown eyes. But enough about me. You want to know my story, correct? I’m guessing that’s why you’re here. Okay, here we go.

It was a normal summer night in June. My parents and I were driving home from a movie. I don’t remember the title, but I think it was a comedy. My mother had fallen asleep in the back, while my father and I were talking up front. Dad was teasing me over some boy I had a crush on.

“August, you’re too young to be dating!” he said with mock seriousness.

“Daddy!” I whined. “I’m fifteen! You and Mom were dating when you were fifteen!”

“Well this is different, Auggie. You need to slow down with this boy. You are only a freshman in high school. You have plenty of time to fawn over boys.”

I sighed. “I guess you’re right, Daddy.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Can we go to the shooting range this weekend?” I asked. “You said you would help me practice on your 9mm…”

He smiled. “Sure. Maybe I’ll even let you shoot the .45.”

“Really?” I implored with a grin.

“Of course! Any daughter of mine needs to know how to defend herself. That means knowing how to shoot any firearm she can get her hands on.”

“Wow, thanks!”

“Anything for my favorite girl.”

“I thought Mom was your favorite girl.”

Dad laughed. “She’s my favorite woman.”

I also laughed and leaned back in my seat. Little did I know that my life was about to change forever. We drove through an intersection, still laughing and talking. Just then, a bright light shone in my eyes. By the time I saw the car blaze through the red light, it was too late. I screamed right as the vehicle drove into the driver’s side of our car. I heard glass shatter and metal crumple as everything faded away.

~*O*~

I moaned softly as I awoke. I was still in my seat and the airbag was deflated in my lap. My face stung from it and I would later have bruises across my nose and cheeks.  My ankle was throbbing and I had some small cuts on my arms from the glass. I saw that my legs were covered in a red sticky substance. I gasped as I realized it was blood.  I examined my legs but found no horrible wounds. Where did it come from, then? I began to hyperventilate. It hurt to breathe since my seatbelt was so tight. “Daddy…” I whispered. I turned my head and started screaming again.

My father was covered in blood. I can’t even describe how horrible he looked without feeling sick. I realized in horror that the blood all over my lower body was from him. I looked in the back and saw my mother lying halfway across the backseat in an unnatural position. I knew she was already dead. “Oh, no,” I sobbed. “Oh gosh, no. Don’t do this to me. I don’t want to die.”

Dad took my hand. I tried not to notice that his hand was sticky with blood. “August, listen to me,” he said calmly.

“Daddy, what happened? Don’t leave me,” I begged. “Don’t leave me.”

“Listen to me, sweetheart. This was not an accident, understand?”

My heart sank. “What? What do you mean?”

“August, this was a setup. You need to get out of here. You need to run as far and as fast as you can. There’s a bag in the trunk. Grab it and run. Don’t stop. Don’t look back, no matter what happens. They will be looking for you, okay? So you just run.”

“Who are ‘they?’” I asked. “Who will be looking for me?” I was really confused and the fact that I had whiplash wasn’t helping. “I’m not leaving you,” I said. My father pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it in my direction. “Daddy?” I gasped fearfully.

He looked very determined. “Yes, you are. If they find out you exist, they will never let you go. Now go, August! Run!” He was breathing heavily now. “Go!”

I pushed against my door and managed to get it open. I stumbled on my burning ankle and fell to the pavement. “What’s going to happen to you?” I cried.

“Don’t worry about me. Just get out of here!”

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can. Be strong, August. You still have a lot of strength left in you.”

I nodded with tears streaming down my face. I pulled the trunk open, grabbed the black duffel bag inside, and ran down the Philadelphia streets. I didn’t know where I was going, but I was getting away from the accident. Why did this happen? Dad said that it wasn’t an accident. Why wouldn’t it be an accident?

I was only a few blocks away when I was forced to stop since my ankle was killing me. I slid into an alley and sat on someone’s back step. I put my head in my hands. “What am I going to do?” I sobbed. “My parents are dead, I’m all alone. What is going to happen to me?”

I sniffled and glanced at the bag. Something told me that it was important. I unzipped it and gasped when I pulled out a Smith & Wesson pistol. I dropped the gun in horror. “What the heck?” I wondered. I reached inside the bag and brought out a blue United States passport. I opened it and saw my photo, but a different name. “Madison Taylor Clark,” I read.

I was shocked. Why had my father packed a bag for me with a gun and a fake passport? I rummaged through the bag some more and found hair dye, colored contacts, a couple changes of clothes, a cell phone, and a large envelope filled with money. A lot of money. My eyes grew wide as I flipped through the bills. “What is going on?” I whispered.

All of a sudden, light flooded the alley. I turned towards the light fearfully. I saw black silhouettes getting out of an SUV. My heart began to pound. I grabbed the bag and ran into the shadows.

“Stop, August!” a voice called. “We’re with the police! We’re not here to hurt you!”

I didn’t listen. I just kept sprinting down the alleyway. Dad must have a reason for me to escape the wreck. It was his dying wish for me to run. He had a bag packed full of things for me to start a new life under a different name.

Just then, I ran smack-dab into a wire fence. I cried out as I fell back onto the concrete. Everything started to become very dizzy and I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t find my bag; I must have thrown it. Hands grabbed my wrists and ankles. I shrieked when they touched my bad one. “Let go of me!” I cried. “Let me go!” I continued screaming as the two people carried me out of the alley. Then I felt a needle enter my skin and my world went dark.

Thank you so much for letting me interview you, Shelby.  I wish you luck with the upcoming August Havens series.
Thank you so much for having me! I enjoyed it!

Wanted is available in both paperback and Kindle at

http://www.amazon.com/Wanted-August-Havens-Series-Volume/dp/1494861011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404506648&sr=8-1&keywords=Shelby+Haisley

http://www.amazon.com/Wanted-August-Havens-Shelby-Haisley-ebook/dp/B00I344K0Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404506648&sr=8-2&keywords=Shelby+Haisley

Or visit Shelby on her Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/theaugusthavenschronicles

RELEASE DAY FOR   THE UNKNOWN SON

So this is how it works; beginning at 7:00 pm tonight we'll be hosting a wild and fun time with champagne and cake (cyber worthy, no less!) and will ask questions though the party.  Once you locate the answer, be sure to leave a response on the event face book page for a chance to win something.

Easy, peasy!

I'll be giving away three (3) copies of Love Over Troubled Waters-Book One in the Emergency Calls series for anyone who might like to get in on the beginning.  I will also be giving away three (3) copies of The Unknown Son-Book Two in the Emergency Calls.

Mark your calendars tonight to hang out  with J.J Devine and I, along with a few hundred of our friends, from 7-9 pm.  We'll be on hand to answer any questions you have and we promise to make it fun!

~Excerpt 1~

Chapter 1

In Scotty’s mind, the move was straight out of a Die Hard movie scene where the lead guy risked his own life to save the woman he loved from drowning in the river below. Except, it wasn’t a movie and Jake wasn’t in love. In fact, he didn’t even know the woman who he was risking his life for. But that was Jake to a “T”.

Scotty Hartford glanced across the helicopter’s pit at his brother, who had been giving him a warning glare as if Cal Hartford could read his mind. Scotty got the message loud and clear. No heroics!

“You’re up next, Scotty.” Ben’s voice sounded in Scotty’s helmet, and he rechecked his harness and extra harness attached to him.

“Roger that.” Scotty spoke into his mic and caught Cal giving his harness a very thorough once-over to make sure it was safe. Once a big brother, always a big brother.

Scotty’s orders were similar to Jake’s. Two people were stuck in a tree. Scotty had to rappel down and get them out. Under normal circumstances, piece of cake.  The team trained and performed this maneuver hundreds of times over the past years, but the weather was angry. There would be nothing easy about this one.

“Same thing I told Jake goes for you, too, Scotty. Make it fast,” the pilot instructed.

“Got it,” Scotty responded.

Cal clicked off his mic and Scott did the same when they both stood a foot apart. “I mean it, Scotty. No heroics on this one.”

“Really? You still feel the need to tell me this bro?”

“Yeah.” Cal didn’t apologize. “I saw the way your eyes lit when Jake cut himself loose, and in case you hadn’t realized, there’s no water to cushion your fall where we’re going.”

“Give me a break, Cal. As cool as that seemed, I’m not suicidal.”

Cal glanced out of the doorway, “I know. But like Jake, you’ve been known to do whatever it takes to save someone and I just can’t lose someone important to me again.”

Scotty felt his gaze soften as he watched his brother. “I’ve got lots to do still in this liftime. You can plan on me sticking around.”

“We’ve got a visual.” Mark, the co-pilot,’ sounded over the earpiece, and both brothers clicked their mics back on.

“Young boy wearing dark blue jacket and a woman in a red coat,” Mark continued.

“I see them,” Scotty confirmed.

“Let me make a quick pass in front of them first,” Ben said.

While Scotty checked out the tree position and searched out any wires that he might get tangled in, he heard Cal begin the winch process.

“The tree seems steady enough. I’ll hover over the tallest tree but I can’t go any lower than that. A gust of wind can push us into the other trees if I do,” Ben instructed in his trademark calm voice.

“Roger that,” Scotty and Cal said simultaneously.

Scotty positioned his rappelling stance at the back opening with his butt hanging low. He gripped the line with his left hand and secured the tandem harness to his right hip.” Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself backward and out

~Exerpt #2~

As he eased closer to the kid, he smiled for reassurance. The kid was young, maybe eight, maybe nine. “Hey there, buddy. I’m gonna get you out of this tree, okay?”

The kid nodded and gestured about 50 feet across the tree. “My mom is over there. I think she’s hurt.”

Without turning back to the woman, Scott focused on securing the child into his second harness. He instinctively knew that if she was, in fact, hurt, she would want her child taken to safety before helping her. “I’ll come back for your mom, I promise. Okay?” Scotty looked the kid in the eye needing him to trust him.

“O-Okay.” The kid’s lips were a pale blue and he was soaked to the bone. He had to be freezing by the heavy pelt of rain and the ferocious winds.

“Ready, buddy?” Scott grabbed the kid and held him close while using the thumbs up signal to begin hoisting them up. Scotty held on tight to the young boy who did everything he was asked but he didn’t want to take a chance that the kid would freak out once they got higher toward the helicopter and start thrashing around. Luckily the kid never did. He just looked downward toward his mother and then back up at the approaching helicopter. When they reached the opening, Cal and Mark worked quickly to pull the boy inside and remove him from the harness.

Scotty knew the kid would get the immediate medical attention he needed from Cal and that Mark would switch over to winch operator. While Cal worked on warming the kid, Scotty spoke to Ben. “Can you get me closer to the outer edge? The boy says that his mother could be hurt. I’m taking the cart down in case that’s true.”

“I’ll do my best. Watch the updraft.”

“Got it.”

As quickly as safe to do so, Scotty was lowered again, but this time holding onto the rappelling cart as the wind threatened to blow him right out of the thing. While the cart was tethered to his harness, it wouldn’t fly away if the wind did whip it out of his hands but it would slow down the rescue if he had to rein it back to him.

When he approached the woman, he could hear her yelling over the rushing sound of winds. “Is Tommy all right? Is he hurt?”

“He’s fine, ma’am. We’re going to work on getting you out of this fine mess next.” He flicked one of the levers, which halted him and the cage. Securing the contraption on a sturdy branch, he turned to face the woman and froze in mid-motion.

“Aly?”   

Hey Everyone,

This is the kick off week to my new book "The Unknown Son" being released on Amazon, Wednesday, July 9th.

The book is the second one in the Emergency Calls series and will be Scotty's story.  You do remember Scotty, don't you?  He was in the same helicopter with Jake who so heroically released his harness and plunged into the river below to save the love of his life, Maggie.

Scotty's story picks up after the helicopter took them to the next rescue site. 

I'm really excited to share it with you and I hope that you like it.

One more thing, on the actual release date, I'm doing a co release party with my friend J.J. Devine with her Into the Darkness.  This is a great book not to miss.

So be sure to check out LaNora Mangano's face book page and this website for more information on how to win free prizes!

Thanks everyone!

~LaNora~

Do any characters you've written into your books remind you of yourself? Explain which ones and why.

Sure, there are two books being released over the next couple of months where the heroines remind me of myself a little bit.  My August release, "Love Encounters" is about an interracial love story.  It's a slow growing love story but when it finally takes off, it takes off in an explosion.  There are loosely based truths within the story that my husband and I experienced during our courtship.  So, Shelly Barnes and I have that in common, while Kevin Bradford is the patient, respectful man that my husband was.

My November release "A Dad for Christmas" is about a widow who lost her husband to cancer and had to make some hard decisions about her life and the life for the kids.  I recently lost my husband to pancreatic cancer and even though I wrote this book months ago, I tried to put myself in this heroine's mind.  So there is that, and there is some resemblance there as well.

 Was there a teacher or mentor in your life who helped nurture your writing?

Yes, my freshman English teacher, Ms. C. Finley.  I was kind of like this new kid, kind of a fish out of water among my surroundings at the time.  Even though I was outgoing, and friendly, it was during a time where I didn't believe I really fit in.  (Now, that I'm older, I realize that was just part of teenage angst.   I did fit in and all of the friends that I made back then have really shown me just how much I did with all of their support now).  I remembered when I turned in a writing assignment in class one day and received encouraging words from Ms. Finley.  When I turned in the second paper, she told me that she really liked it and she asked me questions trying to get inside my head about the piece.  The fact that she took the time to walk with me down the hallway and then down the stairs to discuss my creative writing peace, gave me a sense of pride in something that I wrote.  From that point forward, I developed a LOVE for writing and it was the catalyst that kicked off what is now a passion for writing "stories".  Thank you Ms. Finley.  I'll never forget what you did for me.

Every author has that moment when they doubt their ability to write. When that happens to you, how do you pull yourself up by the bootstraps and continue? What do you do to inspire YOURSELF?    

 Well the first thing I do is place that current story aside.  I stop working on it.  I know that if I continue writing, I could just end of with crap on paper that will begin the process of adding more crap to it.  I tell my writer friends that when this happens to me, it's usually because I went in the wrong direction somewhere along the line and my muse is trying to tell me to "Wait a minute, LaNora.  Let's stop and think about this."

So I do.  I stop and put the story on hold.  Then I spent every night before I fall asleep thinking about it.  Letting my muse talk with me and work out the problem.  I might even pull out a book on my 'to be read' list of books and immerse myself into a different story all together. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to Hop on over to my writing pal Amy Jarecki's  blog at http://amyjarecki.blogspot.com

Hi there and thanks for checking out this week's answers to the questions.

What’s your ideal: alpha or beta and why?
My ideal is a cross between both.  Alpha and Beta.
There's something sexy about both!

Do you have a male buddy or mate you use for confirmation or inspiration when crafting your heroes? 
I haven't had any males read my stuff for confirmation yet.  However, I do know a few males who I get some inspiration from; time to time.

What does any hero have to do to win your heart
I think any hero can win women's heart if they treat her like she's a precious gem.  He'd also have to consider her his equal and as intelligent if not more intelligent than him.  He'd have to be willing to help her if she struggles and willing to try new and exciting things together.  All of those traits would win my heart.

Be sure to hop on over to my buddy's page to see how she answers these same questions from her perspective at Mishka Jenkins https://awriterslifeformeblog.wordpress.com/

Thanks for stopping by.

Thank you for stopping by to read my answer's for this weeks Blog Hop.

I hope that you will check out the other participants answers as well.

Here goes...
Have you always written Romance?  Yes, I've always written in some form of romance.  It's my passion.

How do you deal with critiques about the romance genre?

When people "diss" romance books, I can tell it's because of their own bitter experience with romance.  I know a few people who willingly slap down this genre because they feel like what they read is so far more superior than our genre and I think that's a sad mentality to have because it means that they are close minded.  Their loss. 

What’s the one thing about our genre you’d like people to know. 
I'd really like them to know that romance books have come a long way from when their mother's were reading them.  Our books are not sappy and two dimensional.  Many of the heroine are strong and independent.  There are so many sub genres now from Romantic suspense, romantic mystery, adventure, comedy, thriller, para normal romance which has even more sub genres in and of itself.  I'd say that they should ask romance readers for recommendations and then try to read a recent book to give it a try

Don't forget to hop on over to my friend's J.J. Devine's blog to see how she answered these same questions.  She's at http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer