Today's special guest is Jeanne
Bannon. Jeanne has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, first as a
freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor for LexisNexis Canada. She
currently works as a freelance editor and writer and is represented by Karen
Thomas of the Serendipity Literary Agency.
Jeanne’s
debut novel, Invisible, is a young adult paranormal romance, published by
Solstice Publishing and has recently been optioned for film. Invisible is an
Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally and continues to
receive wonderful reviews.
On
October 3rd, 2014, Nowhere to Run, Jeanne’s latest novel, is set to be released
by Etopia Press. Nowhere to Run tells the story of Lily Valier, a woman of
substance and beauty, and her dilemma when she falls in love with a man whose
mission it is to bring her down.
Currently,
Jeanne is finishing up work on her third novel, Dark Angel, a paranormal
thriller.
When
not reading or writing, Jeanne enjoys spending time with her daughters, Nina
and Sara and her husband, David. She’s also the proud mother of two fur babies,
a cuddly and affectionate Boston Terrier named Lila and Spencer, a rambunctious
tabby, who can be a very bad boy.
ABOUT THE BOOK
With the murder of her only sister, Sara, just a few months past,
Lily Valier—a woman of beauty and substance—tops the sheriff’s list of suspects
in small town Maine, and for a very good reason. Dear old Dad had willed his
fortune to Sara and only Sara, leaving Lily to fend for herself. However, with
no murder weapon or witnesses, the evidence against Lily is only
circumstantial.
Enter P.I. Aiden O’Rourke, black-haired and blue-eyed, charged
with gaining Lily’s trust and learning her secrets, all to finally get the
goods on her. Things move fast and feelings run deep, yet when Lily discovers
the truth about Aiden, everything begins to come apart.
Aiden’s torn. Despite his feelings for her, Lily is the most
logical suspect, with a great big fat motive. Except something’s not quite
right. Aiden trusts his instincts and they’re screaming at him to have a look
at a former suspect with far more to hide than first appeared. With little left
to lose, Lily decides to stand her ground, and staying put has its consequences
when the murder weapon finally turns up—and it’s Lily’s gun.
What happens to love, when trust is betrayed?
AN EXCERPT
The ghosts of those we love never
leave us. They live on in our hearts but break them too, Lily thought as she
flipped the sign on the door of the Higgstown Diner from “Open” to “Closed.”
Then she sank wearily onto a stool at the counter, finally at the end of the
workday. Now she could let loose the heaviness weighing her down. Hot tears
stung her eyes and she let them. It was OK. There was no one around to witness
her breakdown. She rested her head in her hands and heaved with sobs.
“Sara, please talk to me. Give me a
sign you’re still around,” Lily said to the air. “I miss you so much.” More
tears washed down her cheeks. It had been three months since her sister’s
death, and there was still no escaping Sara’s ghost. Even the chipped Arborite
counter where she now sat, with the wonky red upholstered stool that swiveled
just a little too much to the right, brought back memories. Lily could see her
older sister as plainly as if she were standing in front of her now, black hair
piled high in a bun and that blue eye shadow she was so fond of. Lily smiled
through her tears.
Sara had been a whiz at the grill,
whipping up orders faster than Lily ever could. God, how long had the diner
been a part of their lives? More than twenty-five years, she guessed. They were
just kids when their mother, Nancy, bought the place—Lily, seven, and Sara,
twelve.
A creak came from the back of the
diner. Lily lifted her head to listen. Another small groan of the floorboards.
Could Sara be giving her a sign?
“Sara?” Lily slid off the stool.
A tall, dark figure loomed in the
doorway.
Lily froze, her heart near
exploding. “What do you want?” she choked out in a thin voice.
He stepped nearer. “Open the
register.” His voice was a deep whisper.
A balaclava hid his face; the seams
of a dark gray coat strained over a thickly muscled physique. He aimed the gun
in his right hand at her chest.
Her feet seemed rooted to the floor.
“I said, open the register.”
The man moved close enough for Lily
to catch his scent—a mix of sweat and cheap aftershave. He shoved her forward,
snapping her from her stupor, and followed as she made her way behind the
counter to the cash register.
A glowing red light caught her
attention. She hadn’t turned off the coffee maker! In one quick movement, Lily
grabbed the pot’s plastic handle and launched the scorching brew at the woolen
knit of the intruder’s balaclava. The gun landed with a thud between his booted
feet as he clawed at the steaming mask plastered to his face.
Now was her chance. Lily shouldered
past him to the front door. Her fingers, thick and clumsy with panic, fumbled
as she tried in vain to turn the two deadbolt locks. She ordered herself to calm
down. Take a breath. C’mon, you can do this, she told herself, but her heart
jackhammered in her chest, and her ears pulsed with the rush of blood behind
them.
Suddenly, a face appeared on the
other side of the glass front door of the diner, sending Lily backward, nearly
tripping over her own feet.
The stranger on the other side of
the door took her in. A look of confusion flickered across his face. Then, as
if coming back to himself, he yelled, “Hurry. Unlock the door!” The cold night
air whipped his dark hair wildly around his face. His pale blue eyes locked on
hers.
Panic had hijacked her brain. She
didn’t know what to do. He could be an accomplice.
SPECIAL LINKS
Twitter:
@JeanneBannon
FB
author page: https://www.facebook.com/Jeanne.Bannon.author
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Jeanne-Bannon/dp/1466368756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318029462&sr=8-1
Jeanne will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn
host.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway