Back to Top

  

Romantic & Western headerbarSuspense Novels

Monthly Archives: April 2021

Pam S. Thibodeaux and her Latest Book

Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Sign up to receive Pam’s newsletter and get a FREE short story!

Character Interview

Beverley : What’s your name?

Mike: Mike Guidry

Beverley: Where did you grow up?

Mike: Lafayette, Louisiana

Beverley: During what time period does your story take place?

Mike: 2005

Beverley: What’s your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about you?

Mike: I don’t have much of a story of my own, but I’ve been blessed to be a part of my friends, Scott and Katrina Hensley’s story for years.

Beverley: What’s your goal in this story?

Mike: To get through the tragedy of losing my best friend and the constant chaos in an ER physician’s life with my heart and sanity intact.

Beverley: What conflicts are you facing?

Mike: Other than being in love with my best friend’s wife? Patients going ballistic, hurricanes, death….the life of a physician isn’t easy on the best of days. They’re even tougher on the worst.

Beverley: Do you have a plan for resolving them?

Mike: Time, faith, trust, and truth are the only way to resolve any problems in life.

Beverley: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?

Mike: I’m loyal and faithful even in the worst circumstances.

Blurb for Tempered Truth :

Fate declared them neighbors. Scandal insisted they were brothers. The fact that they looked enough alike to be twins only added fuel to the rumors flying about their parentage.

For fifty-plus years Craig Harris and Scott Hensley have enjoyed a bond nothing can sever.

Not the insinuations that they share the same father.

Not the years of strife and grief and heartache.

Not even death.

Will the truth set them free or will it destroy the friendship that has lasted a lifetime?

Excerpt from Tempered Truth

A movement caught their eye and the entire family faced Scott’s longtime friend and colleague, Dr. Mike Guidry, as he strode through the ICU doors. Crevices of fear, grief, and uncertainty lined his face. Fatigue clouded his eyes.

“How is he?” Craig asked.

Mike heaved a breath. “Right now, he’s stable. We’ve stopped the bleeding, but he’s pretty banged up.”

“What the hell happened, Mike?”

“A patient in ER went ballistic, slinging a knife around and demanding drugs. Scott got caught in the crossfire along with several others. By the time they got the patient under control, most of the ER staff had cuts and bruises. No one, not even Scott himself, realized how often and how badly he’d been stabbed until he collapsed. They rushed him into surgery and repaired what damage they could. Now all we can do is wait and see.”

Purchase Link:  

https://books2read.com/TemperedHearts

Social Media Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Newsletter: http ://bit.ly/psthibnewsletter

FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1jUVcdU

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pamela-s-thibodeaux

Instagram: https://instagram.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1268453.Pamela_S_Thibodeaux

Proofreading

Do you proofread your work? Here are some hints to help you with it.

After you’ve finished writing the book and editing it, probably several times. it’s the time to proofread. You might use your computer’s technology, spell check, grammar check, etc. But don’t take their suggestions as always correct. They can assist you, but when you’ve gone through your book with spell and grammar check you still need to go through that book and proofread it yourself.

Here are seven tips for Proofreading.

– Do it last.

– When you finish writing and editing put that book away for at least a week, maybe longer, so you have a little distance from it and you can read it with fresh eyes.

– Read it from a different perspective. Some people say print it out and read it that way. Others feel it’s a waste of paper, so prefer to proofread on a tablet or e-reader, an alternative to what they used to write it. Anything that changes the format from how you wrote it, even a font change or maybe change the print color.

– Read it out loud.

– Focus on one or two issues at a time on each proofread, such as spelling and punctuation, or dialogue and overused words.

– Proofread when you’re alert and fresh. Do it in short time periods, for maybe twenty or thirty minutes. Then take a break. Do something different. Get some fresh air. Then go back for another short period. It prevents mistakes and those eyes from getting blurry.

– A proofreading checklist can help as you go through the book.

Death Southern Style Front Cover FINAL 500 PIX

A Feel For The Killer #MFRWhooks

Sara’s emotionally abusive husband dies unexpectedly. She’s struggling to reclaim the intelligent, independent person she was before she married. She vows never to let a man take over her life again. Now she’s part of a special team, training to help other women.
 
Mac is has been responsible for training women in special ops techniques so they are prepared when they are challenged to save other women. When he meets Sara sparks fly between them. He wants her to quit the training and let him take care of her.
 
Sara graduates and now she and her team have to save Sara’s daughter from a serial killer. Can Mac step back and trust her in a dangerous situation? Can Sara and Mac resolve their issues, or will they go in opposite directions?

 

 

Buy links:

 

  

Print Edition

Excerpt

Connor leapt out of the car and hurried to the gate. He lifted the latch and the gate squeaked. The body had been found at the bottom of the stairs, probably before she got through the gate. She’d opened the gate, seen someone, turned and ran. The shooter had followed her out and shot her.

A robbery gone bad didn’t make sense. If she was running away why would someone shoot her? He hadn’t been going through the house to steal something. He’d been waiting for her to come through the door. That was the only thing that made sense. It wasn’t a robbery. A robber would have heard the gate squeak when she came home. He had time to get away.

Conner squatted down by the markers and used his hand to figure out the general direction the shot came from. He’d get forensics to do a technical check, but it looked like it came from outside the front door and to one side. Connor ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek.

If it had been a robbery, why did it appear that the person stood right there by the door, waiting for her to open it? He should have been searching the house for something he could steal. Had the killer been waiting for her? Had she even opened the door? Had she known someone was inside? And if she had, how?

Conner ducked under the ribbon. From his pocket he pulled out the key he’d picked up before he originally came out to check on the angry woman from New York. He shoved it into the old brass lock.

Before he turned the key, he bent down to observe the fresh scratches around the keyhole. Connor took out his notebook and made a notation about the scratches. It looked like someone had picked the lock. Forensics would have picked it up, or they’d pick it up when they returned. He pulled out his camera and took several shots. He wanted to make sure nothing got missed.

Had forensics also photographed the scratches? He’d check with Frank.

He pulled gloves out of his pocket and snapped them on before he turned the key and pushed open the heavy, blue painted wood door. He stood quietly in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room. With the curtains pulled shut, the inside was dark and cool.

Connor closed his eyes in an attempt to get a feel of the robbery and the murder.

Nothing came to him except this niggling feeling that it wasn’t a robbery. If that was the case it was a deliberate murder. It made more sense, but what was the motive?

How the hell could he convince anyone, especially Tozer, that he had a ‘feeling’ it wasn’t a robbery? The death needed to be investigated as a murder. Maybe forensics could give him something.

Death Southern Style Front Cover FINAL 500 PIX

April 2021

April Showers I can’t believe April is here. We’re a quarter of the way through this year. Spring was supposed to be March 21, but we brought April in with a snow squall. I was raised on the prairies and I’d never heard of a snow squall. I couldn’t believe the wind warning and the heavy blowing snow. We had a fifty – seventy vehicle accident that morning. Winter appears to have passed and spring may be popping its head up occasionally. (fingers crossed) 

Easter is in April this year. Also, we get our second Covid vaccine this month.  It will be nice to feel ninety-five present protected, even though we’ll still mask and social distance. 

Covid appears to be increasing again, mostly with the variants, even with more people are getting vaccinations against it. With spring and warmer weather coming, I’m still beginning to feel things may improve. My muse is back but not working yet. I think it’s sort of a post Covid response.

I’m drafting notes, starting to write. Not a lot, but more than I have been. I’m also taking a break from my novel and writing a novella. We’ll see how it goes. I’m doing a one hundred words a day and Word by Word.

 

Death Southern Style Front Cover FINAL 500 PIX

Here’s another excerpt from Death Southern Style.

Marie L. growled a low guttural sound deep in her throat and stood up on the bed. 

Julie Ann rolled over and automatically moved her hand toward the dog. “It’s okay. Good dog, good girl. Go back to sleep.” She closed her eyes. 

Marie uttered another growl. This time the hairs on the back of Julie Ann’s neck stood on end. She could hear a noise downstairs. Footsteps? A door? 

Damn, she’d forgot to put the chair in front of the front door, but she’d put the new lock on. 

She laid quietly, patted Marie and shushed her. She could hear a creak on the stairs. 

She reached for Marie, but the dog jumped off the bed and ran toward the stairs. 

Julie Ann hesitated then moved to the closet and pulled the hangers aside. She closed the secret room door and climbed on to the cot. She wrapped her arms around her legs, listened and waited. She couldn’t believe someone was back again, especially after the attack on Savannah. The stakes appeared to be getting higher. Perrine had died but that wasn’t enough. What did they want? What were they afraid she knew and might expose?

She heard Marie growling and barking.

A man’s voice shouted, “Go away and get out of here. Damn dog, go.”

The barking continued. 

Julie Ann heard steps come into the bedroom. The cupboard door was opened and slammed shut. The man swore and stomped off into Perrine’s room. Marie continued to bark and follow him. Julie Ann could tell where he was by the sound of his feet. She wasn’t sure but it sounded like he might have a limp.

Maybe he had a bite on his ankle.

She sat quietly and shivered at the sound of someone wandering through her home, sure that it was the same man who had killed her mother and probably attacked Savannah. He probably had a gun. She offered up a silent prayer that he didn’t decide to shoot Marie.

Why was he back here? This was the third time. He hadn’t found anything on his previous visits so the only reason she could think of for this one was that he wanted to kill her. There was no other motive she could think of and so far, no one had found a motive for any of the killings. Why?

Maybe Connor was right – maybe she should move to a hotel.

No, she wouldn’t let them chase her out of her home. Besides, she was safer here anyway. If they wanted her dead, they could find her in a hotel. They had the first night. And she might not have the same safety she had here, in Perrine’s secret room. Still shivering she listened to the steps move downstairs and out the door, Marie barked at his heels.

There was silence, then a scratching at the closet door.

“No, Marie – go away.” Julie Ann whispered. 

Marie continued to whine and scratch. Julie Ann jumped up, opened the door and let the dog in. “Shh, be quiet.”

Marie jumped up on the cot and snuggled next to Julie Ann. Julie Ann patted her absently, “Good dog, good girl.”

Everything had gone deadly quiet.

She waited for another few minutes. There still wasn’t a sound. “Okay girl, let’s check and see if he’s gone.”

Julie Ann slid the door open and slipped out into her bedroom. She stopped, pressed her back against the wall and listened.

Silence.

“Okay girl, we’re going downstairs to make sure he’s gone, so no barking.”

The house was in total darkness. Julie Ann crept out into the hall and down the stairs. Silence echoed through the house.

She flipped the light switch. A soft yellow light flooded the room. There was no one there. The front door had been closed and locked. He’d picked the lock. She should get a new one with a bolt.

Julie Ann noticed a scrap of paper caught under the front door frame.

He must have dropped it when he left.

She scuttled across the room and grabbed it. It was folded in squares. She opened it and read it. Blindly she reached for a chair and collapsed into it, the note clutched in her hand.

I can’t continue. The guilt is too much.

I don’t want to live without her.

This is the only way I can escape.

 

Julie Ann

 

April - Marcia Anderson’s Go Pets Blog https://marciajames.net/blog/ 

April 1 - Darlene Fredette’s Blog A Day in the Life Spotlight https://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-day-in-life-beverley-bateman.html 

April 17 - Group blog How do you choose your characters' names? Are there any you avoid?) https://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/ 

You can still follow me follow me on my blog Tuesday and Thursday at https://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/ for how I’m doing, tips, hints and guest authors. There are some exciting authors and their new books this month. Have a good month. 

Beverley Bateman Blogger

 

And you can follow me follow me on my blog Tuesday and Thursday at https://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/ for how I’m doing, tips, hints and guest authors. There are some exciting authors and their new books this month.