Merry Christmas!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, from my family to yours. Hope you remember what matters most and will love and appreciate them.

Behind the Pages #30: Dana Volney on Sexy Suspense to Sweet Holiday Romances

It's exciting to have Dana Volney as the last Behind the Pages featured author of 2016, because not only does she write in one of my absolute favorite genres, she also writes stories perfect for Christmas. And since it is the holiday season, Dana is contributing a digital copy of her latest to one lucky ready. So check out her awesome interview below and enter for the chance to win A Heart for the Holidays.

1. Where are you from and when did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I am from Casper, Wyoming (where I currently live), but when I worked in Seattle I was reading a lot and caught the bug to write there. I didn’t do anything about it for a number of years, until I was back in Casper and my sister urged me to take a class at the college on writing fiction. It opened my eyes to my love of the industry and I’ve never looked back!

2. I read that you also work with a marketing consulting company. How does that impact your life as an author, and how do you balance the two?

I run my marketing business, so I can, mostly, set my own hours. I have made an effort in the last couple months to divide out my schedule to make sure my clients are taken care of and I still get my writing time in—unfortunately, I have yet to have a week where it actually works out that way, but I get in the time for both. Some days my sleep is what suffers though!

3. Tell us a little about your latest, A Heart for the Holidays. How did you come up with the plot?

I love writing a holiday novella every year. From The December Deal, I knew Silver would be the next one to have her own story. I knew she’d been out of town for a while and that she was smart and driven. I also knew I wanted it to have something to do with a heart transplant situation. Last summer at the lake with my sister (who is a nurse which came in very handy for research) and brother-in-law, we formed the general story picture after a harrowing game of Yahtzee. It took some turns when I actually sat down to write, but the general premise was kept. I love Fisher and Silver and I hope people enjoy their heart-tugging story!

4. What do you hope readers will take from this story and from the characters, Silver and Fisher?

There’s always hope. Never give up. You never know when your Silver Morgenstern will walk through your doors!

5. How challenging is it to transition between suspense and holiday romances?

They definitely take two different strategies when I plot and when I write. When I am writing the sweet, holiday stories, I have to think about all the season entails both with the festivities and weather (which is funny because I usually write them in the summer). When it comes to the suspense, they’re all about the danger, mystery, and generally darker thinking. Sometimes the worlds collide, but that’s what editing is for. 😉

6. Have you considered writing outside of both genres? If so, what other genre would you like to tackle?

At the moment I haven’t. I enjoy a couple different Sci-Fi shows and think that would be fun to write, but I don’t know enough about it yet. I generally read romantic suspense and contemporary and haven’t strayed too far out of those zones. Hopefully someday!

7. Dana, since your debut till now, How have you evolved as a writer?

I’m sure there are numerous ways in which I’ve grown—thankfully! One that’s been more evident to me lately is my plotting. I’ve come to realize my life is a bit easier (especially with the suspense novels) when I plot my stories out in more detail before I start. I still stray from my original notes here and there, but overall it creates an easier flow of creativity during my writing time.

8. Was there ever a moment that you wanted to focus on your business and step back from writing?

I think that every day it is a choice. I’ve thought about a lot of different scenarios (clients, time, etc) over the last couple of years, but never once did I commit to quit writing. Even if I take a couple of months off, I always come back to it. I’m constantly thinking of plots and characters and scenes. It’s a part of me now and I truly love it and hope to be publishing for years to come.

9. How do you unwind after finishing a book?

I usually binge watch a show I’ve been saving or order pizza or get some serious family time in, sometimes all of that in one weekend. But mostly I just start thinking about the next book and the timeline. I think if I give myself too much time to relax then nothing really gets done and it’s harder to get back into the routine.

10. What's next for you? 

I am working on my next series, and I’m pumped! It will be a romantic suspense series following assassins on the road back to redemption. Look for the first novel in the series on February 22, 2017!

11. Thank you so much for taking the time. Please leave any tips for aspiring writers. 

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received (or that truly resonated with me as a new writer), is that “there are no new stories, just new voices.” This actually helped me a TON. When I first started exploring writing fiction I was almost paralyzed because I thought “I have to come up with something that has never, ever, EVER, ever been done before”. And while, of course, fresh ideas are never a bad thing, chances are some form of an idea has already been written. That one simple tip put my mind at ease and allowed me to be creative.

Thank you so much for having me! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

More About the Author

Dana Volney lets her imagination roam free in Wyoming, where she writes romances and helps local businesses succeed with her marketing consulting company. Splitting her time between telling sexy, fast-paced suspense stories and sweet holiday romances, she likes to try new adventures in real life whenever she can (which, let’s face it, means tasting all sorts of delicious cuisines). Dana is bold, adventurous, and—by her own admission—good with plants, having kept a dwarf lemon tree alive for six months.

www.danavolney.com | facebook.com/DanaVolney

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CAN'T WAIT TO READ: A Heart for the Holidays by Dana Volney

Release date: November 21st 2016
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:

From the author of The December Deal comes another charming holiday story of finding love in the least likely places.

Silver Morgenstern had a thriving, meaningful career as a surgeon working for charity organizations in war-torn countries. Then her life changed with one flick of the wrist. Now she’s back in Wyoming, serving as an administrator at the local hospital. But shuffling paperwork is nothing compared to saving lives.

Five years ago, Fisher Tibbs founded the successful social program Combat Children’s Hunger. Giving back to kids brings a sparkle to his eye, especially after the loss of his own young daughter, but it can’t mend the very real fissure in his heart. Ready to see his child again, he’s preparing and planning a future for CCH that he won’t get to witness.

But when Fisher’s application to be removed from the heart transplant list comes across Silver’s desk, her next mission is clear: convince him life is worth the fight. But she never expects that the struggle to rescue his heart might just save her own.

About the Author

Dana Volney lets her imagination roam free in Wyoming, where she writes romances and helps local businesses succeed with her marketing consulting company. Splitting her time between telling sexy, fast-paced suspense stories and sweet holiday romances, she likes to try new adventures in real life whenever she can (which, let’s face it, means tasting all sorts of delicious cuisines). Dana is bold, adventurous, and—by her own admission—good with plants, having kept a dwarf lemon tree alive for six months.

www.danavolney.com | facebook.com/DanaVolney

Guest Post & Spotlight: Author Marlene Bateman on "For Sale By Owner"

Check out Marlene Bateman's newest release.

Release date: October 3rd 2016
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Stressed by a year of intense, ongoing problems, McKenzie Forsberg decides to quit her high-powered job and move back to her hometown. Determined to rebuild her life, Kenzie desperately needs the peace and security she is sure will come from buying the home she grew up in. But when she arrives in town, Kenzie discovers that a handsome widower, Jared Rawlins, has already put an offer on the house. However, he can only close the deal if he sells his own house by Christmas Eve. 

When Kenzie unexpectedly runs into a couple who are considering buying Jared’s house, she unthinkingly gives them information that changes their mind. Jared, who had been more than a little interested in Kenzie, has second thoughts when he begins to believe Kenzie attempted to sabotage the sale of his home. 

Despite his misgivings, and Kenzie’s own concerns, sparks of attraction between Jared and Kenzie grow into something more. Then, Kenzie makes a stunning discovery about her past. In that moment, everything changes. Will the power of love be enough to bring Jared and Kenzie together and allow them to find their happily ever after?

~GUEST POST~

I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and most often, I get a spark of inspiration from reading books or watching TV. For Sale by Owner started with a germ of idea I had while watching a movie. Some ideas fade away, but this one stayed, so I worked to expand the idea of a main character inadvertently doing something that appears self-serving but wasn’t meant that way.

When writing, I always start with developing the characters. Knowing who they are and what they want helps drive my fiction. I believe we all are a product of our upbringing and experiences so I like showing how my character’s background and past experiences have molded them into the people they are now. It’s a pleasure to create characters and make them into real people.

I’ve found it useful, when developing characters and story ideas, to just sit back and think. I keep a pad of paper and a pen with me to jot down my thoughts. As I play with ideas and characters, I try to expand and explore the story line. 

With my latest book; For Sale by Owner, I first came up with a character, McKenzie Forsberg, who has been through a bitter divorce, had trouble at work, and problems with her father. Kenzie decides to make a change. To start a new life for herself and her daughter, she decides to move back to her hometown, hoping to gain the peace and security she needs by buying the home she grew up in.

However, any good story has conflict, so I had to come up with an opposing force. And I found it in Jared Rawlins. A single father, Jared also wants the house, and for many of the same reasons Kenzie does. He wants a stable environment to bring up his young son. So, I brought Kenzie and Jared together, without knowing at first how each of them were going to deal with the situation.   

Because I strive for rich characterization, I wanted to give Jared and Kenzie moral dilemmas. I wanted to display their humanity and show that each of them had a moral compass—a belief in God—that prompted them to strive to be loving and caring people. But people are human and the characters in For Sale by Owner make mistakes that affect people around them. Kenzie has a serious relationship problem with her father. Since there is fault on both sides, I wanted to show the situation from Kenzie’s point of view and her fathers. Nothing is ever black and white.

One thing I did want when writing this book was a happy ending. It took a while to figure out how Kenzie and Jared were going to get past all their distrust and complications to get together in the end. So I threw in a little surprise at the end that helps things along.

For Sale by Owner is the first pure romance I’ve written. Previously, I’d written a mystery/romance and three whodunit mysteries. But the idea for this book grabbed ahold of me and wouldn’t let go. It was a lot of fun to write Kenzie’s and Jared’s story and shape it into a novel. When the writing flows, as it did for this book, it’s a deeply satisfying experience. I sincerely hope people love reading For Sale by Owner as much as I enjoyed writing it!

About the Author
Marlene Bateman Sullivan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and grew up in Sandy, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in English. She is married to Kelly R. Sullivan and they live in North Salt Lake, Utah. Marlene has been published extensively in magazines and newspapers and wrote the best-selling romance/suspense novel, Light on Fire Island. She has written three other mysteries; Motive for Murder, A Death in the Family, and Crooked House. 

Marlene has also written a number of LDS, non-fiction books: Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines, And There Were Angels Among Them, Visit’s from Beyond the Veil, By the Ministering of Angels, Brigham’s Boys, Heroes of Faith, Gaze into Heaven; Near-death Experiences in Early Church History, and The Magnificent World of Spirits; Eyewitness Accounts of Where We Go When We Die. 

www.marlenebateman.info