Grace Awards Showcase: Out For Blood by Marcy G. Dyer

Dialysis nurse, Danielle Battershawn's, life is turned upside down when her identical twin is murdered. As she strives to deal with yet another death, the killer sets his sights on eliminating her. Can handsome security consultant, Tyler Covington, keep her alive?

Excerpt

Under the cloak of darkness, the man donned latex gloves. He picked the lock on the back door to Janine's house and tiptoed over the threshold. The soft fragrance of her perfume permeated the air. Such a shame. Inquisitive mongrel. They could've shared an exciting time together, but she had to play buttinski and stick her beak into his business, cutting short their love affair. Anger threatened to engulf him, but he shook it off and turned his attention to his search.

In the living room, he pulled books off the shelves, thumbed through them, and overturned the bookcases. He slashed furniture cushions and dug through the foam, then ripped up the corners of the carpeting. As small as the drive was, the witch could've hidden it anywhere. He pulled her antique glassware off the fireplace and broke them open. Empty.

After he pulled pictures off the walls and slashed open the backs, he moved on to the air vents. He unscrewed each one, stuck his hand inside the duct, and felt around.

Cursing, the man moved from room to room, dumping out contents of cabinets, drawers, the dresser, and desk. He turned over the furniture and checked the backsides and underneath.

In the bathroom, he checked under the cabinets and behind the mirror. Where did the conniving broad hide the flash drive? He slashed her bed to ribbons, dug through the stuffing, and pulled out handfuls of the cotton batting, but found nothing.

He slammed his fist through the drywall. "Stupid witch." He composed himself and explored the entire house once again.

Slipping out the front door, he removed his latex gloves and stuffed them in his pocket. As he wove through the sprawling subdivision, he hummed the tune to "Death's Head."

Knowing Janine, she gave it to her sister for preservation. He would search Dani's house and, after he had the drive, he'd dispose of her. Doing away with both of the meddlesome twins would solve two problems for him. He allowed himself a smile at the thought of carousing with Dani before he got rid of her.

Dialysis nurse, Danielle Battershawn's, life is turned upside down when her identical twin is murdered. As she strives to deal with yet another death, the killer sets his sights on eliminating her. Can handsome security consultant, Tyler Covington, keep her alive?

Interview:

1.      Hi, Marcy; it can be pretty overwhelming to write a book. This is your second in the series. How do you find encouragement? Do you belong to a critique group?

I actually belong to three critique groups. A crit group is one of the most important tools in an author's arsenal of tools. The Bible talks about iron sharpening iron – a good crit group will help an author hone her craft and sharpen her writing skills.

2.      What is your favorite genre to write?

I love to write suspense. It's my favorite genre to read and to write. I also read other genres, but so I haven't ventured into writing in any other genre. 

3.      Were you ever told to give it up that you would never make it as a writer?

When I was first starting out, I had no experience writing and didn't understand the craft of writing, I had a critique partner tell me that I would never make it as writer, and I just needed to give up. She was part of a huge writing critique group and most of the others had been very encouraging. Her assessment of my writing skills, hurt, then made me a little angry, and I decided to prove that I could become a writer. I learned everything I could for the next several years, and honed my craft. The reviews to my first book, Down & Out, have been quite good, so I hope that means I've been successful at learning the craft. Of course I think, as writers, we must keep learning and honing our craft.

4.      Where do you find inspiration for your characters?

Actors, friends, family members – all provide a little inspiration for the characters. I can't say that any one person is an inspiration for any one character though. 

5.      How do you develop your characters?

I have a character interview chart from one of the classes I took. All of the major characters in a book go through an extensive interview process and the minor characters go through a truncated interview process. Of course, during the course of writing the characters do morph.

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Desert Breeze

 Enter the drawing for a copy of Marcy's new book on her blog!

About the Author:

     Marcy G. Dyer is a Registered Nurse and suspense author. Like so many other writers, she began writing at a very young age, but never took herself seriously as a “real” writer until about ten years ago when she began taking courses and learning the craft of writing. She currently has two books available: Down & Out, and Out for Blood.

     In addition to writing, Marcy is a freelance editor. She does editing for individuals, Desert Breeze Publishing, and Prism Book Group.

     Marcy is an alumnus of the Christian Writer’s Guild and long-time member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She hosts a small critique group for ACFW and is involved in two other critique groups. For anyone seriously interested in becoming an author, she recommends a strong, diverse critique group to help authors hone crafts.

     In addition to maintaining her website, http://www.marcydyer.com, Marcy hosts a blog to help those with autoimmune diseases. While many autoimmune diseases aren’t visible, they still cause chronic pain and disability. If you would like more information, please visit http://ragimp.blogspot.com

     As followers of Jesus Christ, Marcy and her family are active members of Crossroads Fellowship in Odessa, Texas. Sermons are carried live via the web at our online campus – http://crossroadsodessa.tv/ at the following times on Sundays – 9:30 &; 11:00 and 5:00 &; 7:00 central time.

Don't miss any of these great book showcases by participating authors in the Grace Awards book launch tour. Click on the author site links or find out details on each book on the Grace Awards site.

Mon. July 29 - Suzanne D. Williams - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LUCAS McGILLEY
Mon. Aug 5 - Barbara Brink, ENTANGLED

Mon, Aug 12 ~ Naomi Musch,  PAINT ME ALTHENA

Mon, Aug 19 ~ Marcy Dyer,  OUT FOR BLOOD

Mon, Aug 26 ~ Nike Chillemi,  DARKEST HOUR

Mon, Sept 2 ~ DeEtteBeckstead,  VICTORY                          

Mon, Sept 9 ~ JanalynVoigt,  DAWNSINGER                           

Mon, Sept 16 ~ Kenneth Winters, THE LOST CROWN OF COLONNADE

Mon, Sept 23 ~ BJ Robinson, LAST RESORT

Mon, Sept 30 ~ Laura J.Marshall, A HEART'S HOME
Mon. Oct 7 - Tammy Doherty, CELTIC KNOT