Take Five and Meet Author Donna Schlachter

Today we get to meet one of the authors in the "Pony Express Romance Collection". 

I can't wait to see what it's all about. Come meet Donna Schlachter

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Donna.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book  Echoes of the Heart?

Thanks for having me as your guest today, L.A. I discovered since I started writing seriously that I love history. I hated it as a subject in school, where I’m from, it seemed history meant memorizing dates of reigns of Monarchs. I met up with Mary Davis at an ACFW conference (here’s a great reason to go to conferences) and asked her what she was working on. She said she and three other authors were putting together a proposal on the Pony Express. I said if there was an opening, I’d love to join. A month later, she emailed and said one of the ladies had to drop out and now there was an opening. In the meantime, I read everything I could about the Pony Express, visited a couple of stations within a day’s drive of where I live, so I was ready. I wrote about a subject I knew nothing about at the beginning, but I know a lot now! 

When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?

The plot comes for me first, and then the character to fulfill that plot. I love asking those “what if” questions.

What is most difficult for you to write?  Characters, conflict or emotions?  Why?

Emotions. Especially romance. Which is funny, since I write historical romance. I have no problem with writing conflict, bickering, fighting – which probably says a lot about me.

What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

Write a synopsis. Then go back and fill in the holes, add in the romance—if it’s a romance—and then make sure there is a spiritual thread. The synopsis gives me the structure for the book, keeps me on track, but gives me enough room for creativity and surprises—even for me.

If you were a TV, film or book character, apart from one you've created, who would you be?  And why?

Miss Marple, Agatha Christie’s little old lady amateur detective who lives in St. Mary Mead. I’m fairly observant, and I love knowing the story behind the story. However, I’m not white haired, and I don’t knit fluffy pink baby outfits.

Give us a brief summary of Echoes of the Heart:

This is a 9-in-1 novella collection from Barbour Books centered on the Pony Express, which ran from April 1860 through November 1861. The Pony Express already seems to be a romantic snippet of Americana, and so it seemed to make sense to write a collection of historical romance set on the trail. My story, Echoes of the Heart, features a mail order bride responding under an assumed name, a crippled station master who thinks no woman will want him, and their search for a future—together or separately.

Buy:

Donna's Amazon Books | The Collection


Bio:

Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a hybrid publisher who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own name.

Her current release, Echoes of the Heart, a 9-in-1 novella collection titled "Pony Express

Romance Collection" released April 1. Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. 

She will be teaching an online course for American Christian Fiction Writers in June 2017, “Don’t let your subplots sink your story”. Donna loves history and research, and travels extensively for both.

Find Donna:  

Blog | Website |  Facebook Author | Twitter

Author Spotlight Featuring Terri Reed's New Release, Guardian

Terri Reed's latest Release from Love Inspired Suspense. 

I can't wait to read this, and I'm hoping you won't be able to resist it either. 

Thanks L.A for having me as your guest today.  Did you know that dogs can literally taste the air?  In doing research for my K-9 officer, a water search and rescue dog name True for my book Guardian, I discovered that dogs not only have wonderful noses that can detect human scent from the bodily gases rising to the surface in or under water, they also have an organ inside their nasal cavity and into the upper part of their mouth that also is used to smell the air. This special receptor is called Jacobson’s Organ. Many animals have this organ but in dog’s it is highly sensitive, which is why dogs are so good at searching and rescue, both on land and in water.

Excerpt From Guardian:

When they were within shouting distance of the rocks, Leo noticed fishing poles and a tackle box. This must have been where Alicia and her son had been when they’d seen the killer.

Alicia pointed upstream and yelled, “He came from that direction and stopped about three hundred and sixty feet straight out from here.” She gestured to the rocks beneath her feet.

“That’s helpful and gives us a place to start.” Leo stared, admiring the pretty lady. Her hair lifted slightly in the wind that had kicked up. Sunlight reflected in her piercing blue eyes. “You and the officers can head back to the station.” He didn’t want her here to see the body when they found the victim.

Alicia shook her head. “I want to make sure she’s found. Someone has to stand up for her.”

Respecting her decision, he saluted her then turned to Craig. “You heard the lady.”

Craig slowly turned the boat toward the middle of the river. True stood on the bow, his head up, gaze alert. Leo tuned into the dog’s nuances the farther away from shore they traveled. He documented the time and distance from land on the notepad he carried. They circled the area where Alicia had pointed. True showed no signs of alerting.

“Head downstream,” Leo instructed Craig.

Since the body hadn’t been weighted down, it most likely had been swept along by the river’s current.  Craig zigzagged the boat from one shore to the other, moving farther and farther away from the spot. Leo wondered if maybe the suspect had come back and removed the woman’s body. Frustration curled in his stomach.

Then True shifted. He licked his lips and shuffled his paws, clear signs he was picking up a scent. Leo’s pulse jumped. The dog’s tail went down as he craned his neck, dipping his nose toward the water. He pivoted, and then leaned over the starboard side. Keeping his snout at the surface of the water, True walked the length of the boat and stepped easily over the bench seat.

Anticipation revving through him, Leo gestured for Craig to make a slow turn. True retraced his steps, barking an alert. He scratched and nipped at the water. Knowing the animal had scent glands in the roof of his mouth, Leo interpreted these actions as the sign this was the spot.

“Good boy.” Leo grasped True’s life vest to keep the dog from jumping in.

Leo nodded at Craig, who shut off the motor, then strapped on a buoyance compensator, his mask and oxygen tank. The man sat on the side of the boat and fell backward into the water. True barked and lunged for the water. Leo continued to hold him back.

“No, boy,” Leo said adjusting his grip on True. “We’re staying here.”

Leo and True both watched the surface of the river. Leo pulled on latex gloves in anticipation of handling the body and prepared the large, waterproof plastic body bag. His gaze darted back to the shore, where Alicia stood sentinel on the rocks, flanked by the two officers.

She held her head up and her shoulders back like a fierce warrior. She was tall and so very appealing. He admired her commitment to being a voice for the victim. Most people would want to bail the second they could. Not Alicia. He liked that about her. 

Buy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Harlequin Store

The Blurb:

PROTECTING THE SINGLE MOM

When a fellow FBI agent is kidnapped and a protected witness vanishes, Leo Gallagher will stop at nothing to find them both. So when he discovers a link between the case and a single mother in Wyoming, Leo and his trusty K-9 partner rush to question Alicia Duncan. 

Could she be the key to locating the missing persons? Not if a killer has anything to say about it. Someone is determined to keep Alicia from talking, so Leo and his chocolate Lab must keep her and her little boy safe on their family ranch. With danger lurking around every corner, Leo must work overtime to not lose another person who’s important to him.

Classified K-9 Unit:

These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.

  

Bio:

Terri Reed’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top 25, Nielsen’s Bookscan top 100 and featured in USA Today, Christian Fiction Magazine and Romantic Times Magazine, finaled in RWA’s RITA contest, National Reader’s Choice Award contest, ACFW’s The Carol Award contest. 

Contact Terri: P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97224

Find Terri: 

Website | Facebook