Reviews — Lost Series by D M Thornton

I read Lost, the first book in this series some time ago and recently found the two sequels. If you want to feel the emotions of the characters you will love them. 

LOST WITHOUT YOU:

This second book in the Lost Series is completely different from the first, in which Brittany Powers and Cooper Owens are the sole survivors of a plane crash in the Amazon.

While it is hard to put yourself in their shoes in the Amazon, every emotion expressed in this, the second book, is something with which readers can totally identify.

The author has done a wonderful job of showing the detrimental effects of the plane crash on both characters, and their struggles to get over their PTSD and mental problems, plus their onw personal tragedies.

The coldness of Brittany’s family and the warmth and love of Cooper’s brothers and parents make for huge emotional conflicts, not to mention the kindness and hospitality of Charlie, Brittany’s only friend in the world.

The two lovers’ desperate need to reunite keeps the reader turning the pages.

LOST FOREVER

DM Thornton is an excellent author. She has a way of making the characters come to life so you care about everything that happens to them, especially if you have followed their story in the other two books.

This author is also gifted in her ability to make the reader feel each and every emotion. You will have your heartstrings stretched taught and then broken as you experience the soaring highs and desperate lows as Brittany and Cooper wallow in the joy of being together again. There is no doubt they are hopelessly in love with a love that will never die.

And then your heart will be ripped from your body.

I love this series and I am a huge fan,, but if you suffer from depression or are easily saddened, you may find this book too deeply emotional. 

Find out more here: https://www.amazon.com/D.M.-Thornton/e/B01D91EN9A

Scorpio’s Sting Now Available

Scorpio’s Sting — Romantic Suspense — is available on Amazon after many hours of editing and a long wait.

This is the fourth book in my Zodiac Series, in which each heroine was born under a different star or zodiac sign and exhibits the traits associated with her sign.

ICE Agent Neelie Nelson and Drew McBain have a habit of meeting in strange circumstances.

Targeted by la Serpiente de Coral Cartel and the most powerful and ruthless drug kingpin in Mexico, Drew reels from heartbreak after catastrophic heartbreak. The desire for revenge festers while he fights to rebuild his life and protect what is his.

Neelie has never been able to forgive her deceased husband for his unmitigated betrayal, and for his lack of forethought that has put her and everyone she cares for in mortal danger.

Anger, fear, and a mutual passion for revenge fan the flames of their smoldering desire and then a desperate situation forces them to act against the cartel. But how can they match its power?

Buy now on Amazon

CHAPTER 1

Drew McBain’s eyes opened wide, and before he could do anything to stop her, a smoking hot blonde filled his arms. “Watch it,” he said.

She jerked her head up and yelped. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

“You should look where you’re going.” He held onto her longer than he should have. She smelled good, and he had just groped a delectable, firm breast. “I didn’t mean to . . .”

She ran her tongue over her lower lip, and for a moment their eyes met and held. The sudden intake of breath caught him by surprise.

“I’m sorry, again.” She held up the cell phone she had been checking. “My bad. I’m late for work.”

He released his hold on her, and watched her well-shaped ass until she disappeared into the darkness. Something held him there—some subliminal message that had passed between them compelled him to follow her. He stepped into the shadows. He shouldn’t have allowed her to get away. He rounded the corner to see her climb into her vehicle and slam the door.

“Wait!” he yelled and threw up a hand.

She didn’t hear him.

He stared after her…

NEELIE’S STORY

This is the prequel to Scorpio’s Sting. It is available FREE at the link below.

Neelie Nelson fears the worst. Her husband has been gone over a year on a dangerous assignment to infiltrate a powerful drug cartel in Mexico. Her hands shake uncontrollably when she unwraps the crystal ball. What will she do if she sees his death? 

Get your FREE download here.

My thanks to my wonderful editor, Caroline Tolley and Soul Mate Publishing.

Alter Ego by Tory Allyn

I’m happy to feature this suspense thriller this week. It looks like a book I’m going to have to read.

At Granite’s Mill, deep in the backwoods of Virginia, a body is discovered with unusual physical characteristics. By morning, the media erupts over a headline in a local newspaper, ‘The Son of Virginia’s Governor is Missing’. 

 FBI Special Agent Jack Stanwick is handed the case. Realizing he’ll have to go outside the brethren, Jack marshals the help of an old friend, Raymond Davenport, who hung a sign on a renovated brownstone in Washington, DC, with the verbiage: Davenport Detective Agency. To assist him, he hired three former police officers from various precincts, who like himself, blew the whistle on dirty cops only to deal with the fervent hostility from the brotherhood.

 With the investigation under way, the detectives stumble upon a group of men known as M.A.G.O.C., who’re muddled in a governmental conspiracy involving a top-ranking official at the White House. With their many resources, they dig further and unearth Prescott Chemicals. Years earlier, the owner and his lead chemist had stolen an elixir from the Mayapo natives of the Amazon rainforest and have transformed it into a formula to be used in a congressional scheme. 

When the detectives accidently come into contact with the new formulation, something undesirable happens to one of them, altering his life forever.

Here’s where to buy it: Alter Ego

Tory Allyn currently resides in Upstate New York. Although born in Syracuse, he was raised in the quaint town of Baldwinsville with his brother and two sisters, who drove him into becoming the zany person he is today. As a child, he made up many a tale. Some funny; others dark and brooding, but all started him on the path to writing. Today, his nephew, lovingly referred to as ‘The Monster Child’, is his partner in crime. Most days you will see them playing ball at a nearby park, going for a dip in the backyard pool or snowboarding down a popular mountainside. 

Which Blurb is the Best?

Like most writers, I find it challenging to write the logline (or Facebook hook), and pitch or Amazon blurb for my books, and I now have three templates for creating them. Each template has its merits, but I do favor one of them over the others.

When I completed Aquarius Addiction, at the end of 2014, I didn’t have a template to use, and now I think the blurb I wrote then was too wordy, so I plan to change it.

I’ve placed all four of my efforts below and I would love it if readers and other writers would take a look at all of them. Tell me in the comments section below which one you think is the best. As a reward for giving your honest opinion, I’ll be happy to share all three templates with you.

1. THE ORIGINAL (NO TEMPLATE)

Logline, One Line Pitch or Facebook Hook

FBI Psychic Arlette Xylander has two goals – to beat death, and have wild passionate sex with Andre Rossouw.

Blurb

Why did hunky Andre Rossouw come into Arlette’s life on the same day her doctor told her she was about to die?

Attractive FBI Psychic Arlette Xylander displays all the character traits of her star sign, Aquarius, being feisty, eccentric, freedom-loving, flirtatious, rebellious and unpredictable. She may be only five feet tall, but she epitomizes the old adage that dynamite comes in small packages.

Her emotions rage between denial, anger and tears when her doctor tells her she is suffering from a rare terminal disease. When hunky Andre Rossouw asks her to help find his sister who has been missing for four years, Arlette makes two decisions. To beat the disease and find a cure, and to have wild and passionate sex with him.

Then she finds out he has a fiancée.

Arlette’s country home on the banks of Bayou LeGue was left to her by her mysterious aunt Lucie, whom she never met, and whom her dysfunctional parents have never been willing to discuss. She often wakes in the dark hours of the night to hear ghostly voices downstairs, and wishes she could find out who they are and what they want.

A mysterious letter arrives from her aunt, hinting at a secret in the house, and her friend, Reay, agrees to research her home’s recorded archives, while Arlette plans to dig into her family history. She starts by visiting her aunt’s grave, where she finds a mysterious woman wearing a hooded cloak, who leaves in a hurry. Arlette’s instincts tell her the woman holds the answers to all her questions, but how can she find her?

~~~~~~

2. Logline:

FBI psychic Arlette Xylander couldn’t predict that her doctor would give her such devastating news on the same day she met the man of her dreams.

Blurb:

Arlette Xylander’s aging New Orleans mansion on the bayou is haunted. She wishes she knew what the ghosts were saying, but she’s a psychic, not a medium.

She doesn’t allow the shattering diagnosis—a death sentence—from her doctor to prevent her from accepting the assignment to use her psychic powers in an attempt to find Andre Rossouw’s missing sister.

At the Rossouw farm she and Andre share a passionate kiss. Then she finds out he has a fiancée. It doesn’t deter her from placing him—or what she wants to do to him—at the top of her bucket list.

The kidnappers cannot risk being identified. Arlette knows she’s getting close to finding the missing girl when she’s viciously attacked. What desperate and terrifying lengths will they go to next?  

~~~~~~

3. Logline

FBI Psychic Arlette Xylander meets the man of her dreams on the same day her doctor gives her an earth shattering diagnosis. Will she have time to fulfill her bucket list?

Blurb:

FBI psychic Arlette Xylander accepts the mission to help find Andre Rossouw’s missing sister, but her doctor has given her six months to live. Will she be able to complete her quest in that time?

A strong mutual attraction draws her into Andre’s arms for a stolen kiss—and then she finds out he has a fiancée. But it doesn’t stop her from putting him at the top of her bucket list, and failure is not in Arlette’s vocabulary. She is an Aquarius, after all, and true to type—rebellious and independent..

There’s only one way you can stop a psychic from getting information, right? A vicious attack tells Arlette she’s getting close to revealing the kidnappers’ identities, and she has to find the strength and resourcefulness to overcome their terrifying and reckless attempts to thwart her investigation.

Could a mysterious woman wearing a hooded cloak hold the key to a cure for Arlette’s disease?

~~~~~~

4. Logline: 

How would you feel if you met the man of your dreams on the same day your doctor said you were dying?

Blurb:

When hunky Andre Rossouw asks FBI psychic Arlette Xylander to help in the search for his missing sister, she puts him at the top of her bucket list—to have hot passionate sex with him, that is. 

She also wants to find the secret hidden in the walls of her aging New Orleans mansion before she dies. The ghosts who meet at her dining room table in the darkest hour of the night probably hold the answer, but she’s a psychic, not a medium.

Her quest to find the missing girl brings clues, and the shattering information that Andre has a fiancée.

Tensions escalate when Arlette is viciously attacked, and she wonders if she’ll run out of time before fulfilling her quest.

~~~~~~

. . . And just in case you want to buy it, here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Aquarius-Addiction-Trish-Jackson/dp/1619359618/ 

Suspense vs Mystery

Back in the day identifying a fiction book genre was simple. The choices were limited to romance, suspense, mystery, comedy, historical, western, etc. Most were identified with one word. Now, it is almost impossible to classify a book’s genre using only one word, as so many sub-categories have been created, originally to facilitate search engine keywords.

A lot of people don’t seem to know the difference between a suspense thriller and a mystery, so here it is:

In suspense, the reader knows what the bad guy (antagonist) is up to before the protagonist knows. The reader’s inside knowledge that someone is lying in ambush waiting for the unsuspecting character creates suspense.  The actual ambush makes it a thriller.

In a mystery, the reader only knows what the primary characters know. If they’re hunting for a clue, you don’t know where they may find it, and if someone is going to ambush them, you won’t know until it happens.

My Redneck P.I. Mystery Series are romantic mystery/comedies.

My Zodiac Series are romantic suspense/thrillers.

Animals always play an important part.

FREE downloads for Kindle or you computer — http://www.trishjackson.com/#!free-stuff/cjci

Vote for Scorpio’s Sting on Kindle Scout

Woohoo my newest story is finally ready to be published! I entered it into Kindle Scout and if I get enough votes, Amazon will publish it. So please would you guys click on the link below.

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/4F7TZYPWYZOM

You’ll be able to read the first few chapters, and then vote if you think it deserves your support. This story is more of a suspense thriller with romantic elements than pure romantic suspense. Here’s the low down:

Is revenge really sweet–or totally crazy?

Scorpios are passionate lovers. Drawn together by strange circumstances, Drew McBain and Neelie Nelson’s hypnotic personalities and magnetic intensity make for an intense and profound relationship. They find themselves with a common goal when the la Vibora de Coral Cartel causes unforgivable harm to their loved ones. Ferocious anger and a brooding and passionate desire for revenge draws them together, but how can one man and one woman take down the most powerful and malicious cartel in Mexico?

I will owe you if you vote, so if you are an author I’ll be happy to promote your work in social media in return. Just let me know how I can reciprocate.

If you’re a reader, I’ll give you a free download of my psych thriller novelette, Sheer Panic.

Thank you, thank you, thank  you!

Reviews for Virgo’s Vice

All authors know reviews are important because they help readers to decide whether to buy your books or not, and we are always thankful to people who take the time to write a review, or even a one line comment.

Unfortunately, some readers take great delight in dissing books, and earn themselves the title of ‘troll’. If you don’t like a book, it’s okay to say so and to explain why, but there is no need to be hateful and nasty like the review for Virgo’s Vice from a woman named Libby. If you go to her profile and check out her stats, you can see she is a committed troll.  She’s rated 1019 books and her average rating is 2.92 stars. It appears she was expecting a sweet little innocent romance. She probably doesn’t understand that romantic suspense or suspense thrillers with romantic elements can be dark and intense.

Thankfully, most readers who leave reviews are good people who want to express their honest opinions in a decent and respectful manner. I personally don’t publish reviews if I believe a book is worth less than three stars. I usually contact the author and explain why I feel the way I do and leave it at that.

Here are three great reviews Virgo’s Vice received this past week:

From Ron (4 Stars)

Virgo’s Vice asks, “What if Survivor were about actually surviving?” When a disparate group of contestants, with two camera operators, are parachuted into Africa with few supplies, they are confronted with just that question. Each has a reason to win the contest with a cool million as a prize and each has a reason to make sure no one else does. But how far will they go to win? Literally landing on her butt in the brush, Lexie King is right in the middle of it. When she took on the assignment to film the event, she had no idea what she was getting into. She is haunted by demons from her past and soon finds the present ones can be just as bad. She is confronted with the the possibility that one of the contestants feels that a million dollars worth killing for. Or are other evil forces at work?

Trish Jackson shows her familiarity with the African wilds in this book and uses it as a backdrop for her book. The characters are a varied lot, some good people and some not so good, but all are interesting. You find yourself rooting for some and not caring what happens to a few. It’s a lot like life. In the end, I’m reminded of a phrase from the old TV series, Maude, “God will get you for that.” I must admit that Jake was my favorite character, willing to give his life for Lexie, but I’m a dog person. Still, loyalty and self sacrifice are great qualities in any species. While part of the book is first person, in Lexie’s point of view, Trish also uses third person to let you know what other characters are thinking and seeing. It’s a fun read and keeps up a good pace throughout the book.

From Ken (4 Stars)

Trish Jackson’s fast-paced crime and romance novel “Virgo’s Vice” takes us into the wilderness of Africa. The contestants and two camera people have just been parachuted into the wilds where they are going to take part in a television reality show. Stranded by the failure of the show’s producer to get funding, the characters have to survive a menu of murder, love, and disaster. Using a combination of first and third person narration, Jackson creates the sense that we are watching a television show that has gone out of control. This is a page-turner with strong action and excellent romance.

From Todd (5 stars)

Reality TV…nope, not for me. But a book about a reality TV show in Africa that had a lot of things go wrong… I loved it! There was romance, there was suspense, and most importantly there was a great story behind it all, unlike reality TV. Lexie King the main character in the book is well thought out and described. Her past is the main story in this book to me and Trish does everything right in making this affect her life as a contestant for the $1,000,000.00 prize.

Thank you SO much. I really appreciate you.

Here’s a link to more info and the Amazon page where you can buy this book.

Virgo’s Vice Cover Reveal

I just received my cover for the next story in my Zodiac Series, Virgo’s Vice. As always, Soul Mate Publishing’s artists did an amazing job and captured the essence of the story, which is a romantic suspense thriller set in Africa. 

Lexie King can’t believe she did this to herself — she signed up to work as a camera operator in Allan Dockery’s new survival type reality show.

She wanted to prove she could break her reliance on anti-anxiety meds, and make something of herself. But she had no way of knowing he would be there. The monster.

Now all she wants is to get away–as far away as possible. But how? They’re one stop past nowhere in Africa.

When shocking events start to happen, she draws comfort from Jake, the producer’s chocolate lab, and cowboy contestant Billy Murphy, who makes her laugh at the darkest of times, and heats up more than her heart with his touch…

Scheduled for release in October 2015.

Goodreads Giveaway — Capricorn Cravings

Capricorn Cravings was published in print format 10 months after it first hit the Kindle market, and with two new books being released over the holiday season I am only just now scheduling a giveaway.

Riley Shaughnessy has the perfect life. Her veterinary practice is thriving, and she loves living in the small town in the Colorado mountains, where no one knows the shocking secret of her past. She loves to gallop her palomino mare across the vast expanse of public land bordering the town, and after a long period of self-denial, she has even committed to a date with handsome horse wrangler, Randy Hansen. But now, she knows her assistant, Jamie, would never willingly abandon her child, so why has she disappeared? Something dark and sinister is taking place, and it all started on the day hunky Powell Stewart, with the piercing blue eyes, came into her life in a strange and unexpected way. Her inner voice tells her to stay as far away from him as she can…

Here are the details of the Giveaway:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Capricorn Cravings

by Trish Jackson

Giveaway ends March 20, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/127467

Aquarius Addiction – Review by Joan Ellis

UK psychological thriller author Joan Ellis just sent me this wonderful review for Aquarius Addiction. I am thrilled with it. 

Tight, taut and thrilling, Trish Jackson at her best.

Trish Jackson can tell a tale. Birth, death, love and hate form the bedrock with a generous helping of Voodoo, kidnap and murder thrown in to spice things up. Trish Jackson deals as expertly as ever with all the elements in this fast, sexy romance. Her fans will love this book and the gutsy story-telling is guaranteed to garner her even more readers.

Meet FBI Psychic Arlette Xylander. No ordinary agent.

When she discovers she’s terminally ill, far from buckling under, she behaves like a typical Aquarius, telling no-one, fighting back and vowing to beat the disease.

What a time for her to meet the gorgeous Andre who needs her help finding his sister who has been missing for four years. She feels an electric connection with him and puts him first on her Bucket List. Just one problem – his fiancée.

Of course, nothing is quite what it seems and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Trish Jackson does what she does best, expertly leading the reader through a maze of events before finally, wrapping up the loose ends as neatly as any good cop.

To give more clues to the story would spoil the plot.

If you like your romances tinged with danger, told tight and taut, this one’s for you.

Get it now from Amazon