Guess who’s back
Who’s ready for a sneak peek?!?! I’ve decided to give you all a little snippet of what’s next in the Reese Hawking series. You’ve seen the cover, now you get to see where we’re headed next. Book 3 of the series, Chaos is Coming, is all about David. We get to follow FBI Agent David Rickman as he races against the clock to find a serial bomber. We got a few clues about David’s case in Book 2: The Crew, but now we get to ride along while he chases a madman. Book 3 runs along the same timeline as Book 2. It will answer all of your questions about the ending of Book 2. Well, maybe not ALL, but definitely most 😉. Chaos is Coming is my favorite book of the series. It’s a non-stop rollercoaster ride of action, with a little bit of history mixed in. If you’ve read books 1 and 2, and ONLY if you’ve read books 1 and 2, click the link below for the first two chapters of Book 3 of the Reese Hawking series, Chaos is Coming. Happy Reading!
This is hard
People always ask me if writing a book, or 6 books, was hard. The answer is yes, but I know something harder. Way harder. Promoting a book. Especially when you hate selling anything, least of all yourself. I don’t exactly enjoy social media. At least not enough to post as much as I should. I also just don’t feel like I have the time. Of course, the solution is just to use one of the many, many, many online services who email me daily to help sell my book, but then there’s the question of who to trust. Are these people scammers? Which services do I actually need? Which one will actually work? And how much is too much money to spend on marketing? Part of me thinks I should just do some research and take a chance on a marketing company that other authors have vouched for. Another part of me wants to focus on just getting the final two books in the series out and then worry about sales later. I don’t know what the right answer is. And at the end of the day, I kinda don’t think there is a right answer. There’s just putting my work out there and little by little, letting the world find me. I’m sure that eventually I will push the Reese Hawking series, but for now I’m just focused on getting the books into the hands of people who love mysteries and thrillers as much as I do. And for now, that’s enough for me.
Twas the night before book fest…
I’m doing a new thing tomorrow. I feel like I’ve said that a hundred times in the last 5 years. I’m writing a book. I’m writing a sequel. How about another one? I’m self-publishing my books. I’m buying my website domain. I’m having a book signing event. And now…I’m participating in a local book fair. Tomorrow I’m headed to a local book event at the Lumberton Public Park and I’m kind of freaking out. I’ve prepped everything I can think of. I have 5 different ways to pay. Signs and decor for my table. A fancy tablecloth that won’t blow away. An easel for my fancy poster that also won’t blow away. I’ve even got custom bookmarks to give away. And still, I feel like I’m forgetting something. Then there’s the paralyzing fear that I’ve prepped all of this stuff and no one will show up to my table. What if I don’t sell anything? What if people hate the book? Maybe I should buy some candy to entice people to stop? I should have bought custom bags. How much change should I bring? Do people still use cash? The books cost $16 so I only need $1’s right. What time does the bank open? Surely no one will try to write me a check. Right? So. Many. Question. But you know what? At the end of the day, whether I sell 10 books or none, I’m grateful. And I’m proud of myself. Just for showing up. Cause sometimes that’s all you can do. Show up and let whatever is going to happen, happen. Good job Dani!
Books on Shelves!!
I recently had the amazing opportunity to partner with a local bookseller in Southeast Texas, Boss Lady Books. This boss lady started a mobile bookstore and recently opened a storefront in Lumberton, Texas with CJ’s Cookie Counter, a local bakery. At their grand opening this month I got the chance to see my books on actual shelves. What an incredible gift! Go buy a book and a cookie (or my personal fav, the chocolate brownie) and support these ladies. They’re doing it big and helping local authors in the process. What more could you want?!
Bienvenido a Miami!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Miami, Florida for the Readers’ Favorite Awards Ceremony. Stolen Sunshine placed as the Finalist for Urban Fiction. This was my first award for my first novel and I have to say, I’m kinda proud. If you know me, you know I’m terrible at self-promotion. Terrible at social media. Terrible at giving myself credit even though I would easily do the same for someone else. Because of all of that, I wasn’t going to go the ceremony, but my favorite person and my #1 fan convinced me to do it, and I’m so glad he did. My husband and I had the best time. We spent Saturday afternoon at the Miami Book Festival where I got to see my book on display at the Readers’ Favorite booth. It was the first time I got to see my book in the wild 😂 and it was surreal. Saturday night was the awards ceremony (pictures to come) and then we celebrated with tacos. No better way to spend the night. We had time Sunday to do some sightseeing around the city (Pitbull’s house is MASSIVE) and then finished the weekend with a steak dinner at Mastro’s Ocean Club. It was a fantastic weekend and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Big thanks to Readers’ Favorite and an even bigger thanks to my husband for always pushing me to do the things he knows I should. Love you forever babe!
Sneak Peek!!
Anybody want a sneak peek of Book 2 of the Reese Hawking Series? Well, here she is.
The Crew: Chapter 1
Desperation. More powerful than money. More motivating than power. And Benny was motivated. He pulled his ball cap down and watched the night sky through the passenger side window of the dark blue SUV. When G made the left onto Louisiana Ave towards the Garden District, Benny thought back over the last year. He remembered every tear he’d shed. He felt the pang of guilt as the faces of those he’d let down flashed across his mind. The anger rose in him at the thought of every single wasted dollar he had spent. He took the sorrow and the guilt and the anger and packed them all into that place in his chest that pushed him to do things he never thought he’d do. That place of desperation. He turned his focus to the faces of his targets. And their perfect white house on the corner.
He scoffed, thinking of their pristine white walls. The two-foot wrought-iron fence surrounding the front yard. The ivy-covered wall around back. And the perfectly pretentious couple, fast asleep in the upstairs master bedroom. Benny wondered if they would ever figure out why they’d been targeted. He doubted they ever would. Maybe he would tell them. As he stared into their terrified eyes, maybe he would recount everything their greed and hate had taken from him. Isn’t that what all the greatest villains did in movies? Explained to their victims exactly how it was all their fault. That he would never have done any of this if they hadn’t been so evil and heartless.
He dropped his head and stared at his hands. Was he a villain now? He couldn’t be. Not in the traditional sense. They did what they did for personal gain. Something inane like money or fame. Benny had higher motivations. He was a hero villain, like the Count of Monte Cristo. His sole focus was righting the wrongs that truly evil people had inflicted upon him.
A barking dog returned him to the SUV, the dark night, and the four men who rode with him. He watched the familiar houses go by and took a deep breath. By the time G stopped the car on the street behind the white house on the corner, Benny had decided that he was no villain at all. He was retribution. He turned in the seat to face his crew, his eyes darting to each man as he gave final instructions.
“One last time before we do this. As soon as we’re over the fence, D cuts the electricity. V cracks the glass on the back door. Once the door is open, we’re in and out in six minutes. J, you get the wife. D, you get the old man. I’ll do the rest. No shots. We don’t need a mess tonight.”
Benny turned to his driver. “G, leave the car running. When we leave, don’t peel out. No tire marks. Drive out of here just like you came in, slow and steady.” He turned back to the others. “Everybody got it?” Nods from everyone. He spoke into the walkie talkie on his lap. “We clear?”
Her voice came back, calm and quiet. “All clear.”
Benny took off his ball cap and replaced it with a black ski mask. He pulled it down over his face, leaving only his eyes visible. The others did the same before filing out onto the street. Getting over the fence took less than twenty seconds. D had the electric line cut ten seconds later. At forty-five seconds, they were inside. Benny punched in the alarm code on the panel by the back door before the fourth beep sounded. Then he flipped on the light attached to the barrel of his gun. He led the others through the dining room, past the kitchen and family room, to the base of the white carpeted stairs. The master bedroom door at the end of the second-floor hallway was wide open. Didn’t they know how dangerous that was? Benny heard the man snoring before his foot hit the top of the landing. If the wife could sleep through that, there was no way she heard them come inside.
He shone his small light down to the floor. Careful not to let the beam fall on their hosts’ faces. He motioned for J to turn his light off and go around to the right side of the bed, where the woman slept. D did the same, walking around to the husband’s side. Both men pointed their guns at the sleeping couple and looked back at Benny. He gave them a nod. D and J each put a hand over their targets’ mouths and shook them awake. The woman tried to scream. It came out more like a muffled gurgle. The man braced himself to fight. He settled down when he saw the gun pointed at his forehead. The woman was already crying. Her tears almost made Benny laugh.
He walked to the end of the bed and spoke quietly. “Stop fighting. No screaming. Give me what I want and we won’t hurt you.” Two minutes. Three minutes. Four. He checked his watch after closing the door to the SUV. Five minutes and thirty-two seconds.
He handed the papers to V and removed his mask. V already had the laptop open. “Get to work. Masks off. Heads down.” Benny put his cap back on and lightly hit G on the arm. “Let’s go. Nice and easy.” As they pulled off, Benny picked up his walkie talkie and gave her one final instruction. “All good. Let’s go.”
“Meet you there,” she answered.
He watched her in the rearview. She started the car and slowly pulled off in the opposite direction, car lights off. That’s my girl, he thought, his lips slightly turning up at the corners. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. They had been quick, but it was messy. They couldn’t afford those kinds of missteps. He would have to get that under control before the next one.
He pictured their next mark in his mind. Pristine front yard. Perfectly polished floors. Pictures of the family arranged on the mantel just so. He felt no guilt, just deep resolution. He was resolved to what had to be done. Resolved to the notion that someone had to pay. Might as well be them.
Writer’s block is real…
The first book I wrote probably took me over a year to finish. Stolen Sunshine may have taken 9 months. The other Reese books took maybe 6 months each. I feel like I’ve been writing book 5 of the Reese Hawking series for somewhere around 2 years. It hasn’t actually been that long but my brain feels every second I’m not finishing that book as if it’s an hour. I don’t know if I would call it writer’s block per se but it’s something. And it’s the most frustrating thing EVER. I know who Reese is. I know who David is. I know Al and every other character I’ve written. I know where I want them all to go. I just can’t make my brain find the path to get them there. It feels like I have too many ideas. Too many cases for Reese to solve. Too many triumphs and too many roadblocks. How do I organize them all to make sense in the universe I created? How do I continue to grow Reese and David into the people I envision them to be? How do I add new characters and evolve the ones on the periphery who I know have bigger stories to tell? And how do I make you all continue to love them all as much as I do? To say the least, I’m feeling the pressure. But I’m also loving the challenge. To find a way to break through the blockage and create. Let’s see if 3 days on the beach can inspire me.
And now for the hard part
What’s the best part of being a self-published author? Easy. Creating stories and entire worlds from scratch. What’s the hardest part of being a self-published author? Easier. Having to promote yourSELF. I am terrible at this part. Like super duper really bad. I hate being the center of attention. I hate hearing myself talk. And I hate talking about myself. Which is basically the point. I’ve been watching other self-published authors and taking their advice to get more review. I’ve been posting on social media and just made my first TikTok. And I am exhausted. But, if I want to do anything with my writing, this is just what I’m going to have to do. So I’m committing myself to start small. One thing a week to promote my book. I realize that the goal should be more like one thing per day, but baby steps friends. Baby steps. Thankfully, today’s work is done. Now let me me go find something mindless to watch on television cause my brain hurts. Happy Reading!
SHE’S HERE!!!
Reese Hawking is HERE! I really did it. I published a whole book. Last Thursday I came home from work super late. My husband had carried 3 boxes into my office. I knew what was inside (I had been tracking the packages for DAYS). Before I got out of my work clothes or took a shower, I sat in the middle of the floor and carefully cut the tape off of the first box. And there she was. My first published novel. The words I had written and edited and edited and written 20 times over. I held the book in my hands and cried like a baby. Like real sobbing and tears and snot. The sense of accomplishment mixed with pride and fear and disbelief to create this crazy combination of emotions like nothing I had ever experiences. It was like a dream and a relief all wrapped into one. I jumped off that cliff and put myself out there. I don’t know what will happen next and that’s okay. What matters is that I faced my fear. I presented my work to the world. What y’all do with it from here is up to you. My job is done…or is it just starting??
Welp…I did it
It’s 9:27pm on October 30th 2023 and it’s finally done. I just sent the payment in to self-publish my book. I legit don’t have too much to say right now except that there’s a distinct throbbing in the right side of my head and I’m also feeling a little nauseated. Totally normal right. To finally do something you’ve been dreaming about for almost 8 years is WILD. Now we wait for the books I ordered to arrive and then wait to see how people will receive it. At this point, that’s something I really have to make myself not worry about. I wrote the book I wanted to read. I love my characters. I love the story. And at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. I spent the money. I took a chance. And that’s that. Welcome inside my head friends. It’s interesting up here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.