Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Secrets Kill in Heat Lightning By Joan Reeves

 Joan Reeves is my guest blogger.  Joan is a popular romance writer who’ll be discussing her brand new work. 

Here’s Joan:

Heat Lightning, a romantic suspense novella, is my contribution to the Summer Fire Contemporary Romance Collection.

How I came to write this particular story is a roundabout tale linked to the “write what you know” rule of writing. Whether an author consciously begins a book with that dictum in mind or not, the resulting story ends up being something the writer does know either by personal experience or through knowing someone who lived a particular situation. As authors, everything we’ve ever heard, seen, or learned in some way filters through our author’s conscious and subconscious. What comes out is a story that resonates with us in some way.

In the Beginning

In Heat Lightning, I started with the idea of writing that popular trope of novels and movies: an amnesia story. Somewhere between that goal and the beginning of the book, my straightforward story was hijacked by something more dramatic. Something a bit darker than the stories I usually tell, based on the life-altering experiences of some women I know.

Like too many people, I know someone who has difficulty living their life because of past physical and emotional trauma. Memories may be a source of comfort, but they can also torture a person, taking control of a person's life and hijacking every attempt to be happy.

Some people would give anything to erase certain memories. Thus, the premise for Heat Lightning was born.


Heat Lightning Took Shape

From the premise, came the short blurb below. From that, the story about secrets and lies--and the harm those secrets can do--almost told itself.

Her husband found her, claimed her, rescued her. David’s touch makes Tessa throb. Desire flashes like heat lightning on a summer night. Her body knows David, but when she looks at him, he is a stranger to her. Not a flicker of memory is left of him or their life together. Everything and everyone she knew is lost to her since she awakened from a coma. All she has left are questions. Who is she? Why does David seem to hate her even as he pulls her into his arms? What is he hiding? How can she trust him when her gut says, “Trust no one”?

Add Summer Fire to Your Library

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Dv2jy3
Apple: http://bit.ly/1CVOgih
B&N: http://bit.ly/18d9QY0
KOBO: http://bit.ly/19QsJAD
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1wsmBsL

Giveaway

Leave a comment with your email address and be entered in a random drawing for a free copy of Summer Fire: Love When It's Hot Contemporary Romance Collection. Giveaway is open until May 23 midnight. Winner will be chosen on May 24 by Random Name Picker and notified by email as well as in the Comments section of this post.

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Bio Note:

Joan Reeves, whose book in Summer Fire is Heat Lightning, is a bestselling author of Contemporary Romance. Available as ebooks and audiobooks, her romance novels all have the same underlying theme: “It’s never too late to live happily ever after.” Joan lives her happily ever after with her husband in the Lone Star State. You can sign up for WordPlay, Joan's free email list for readers: http://eepurl.com/Yk61n.

6 comments:

  1. Joan, the book sounds wonderful! I love the way you explained how everything a writer has ever seen, heard or experienced is likely to bubble up some way in their work. Masterly!

    Susan, sometimes known as Janis - JanisPattersonMysteries@gmail.com

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    1. Thanks, Susan. I sometimes think we are all stew pots just simmering along until the heat gets turned up. *g*

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  2. I always love to read the story behind the story. This is a great book.

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    1. Me too, Mona. Love to find out how an idea takes life. Thanks.

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