I’m happy to introduce you to D’Ann Lindun, who will let us discover a little bit about her and her wonderful book, A Shot Through the Heart. Don’t you love the cover? Okay, D’Ann, you’re on, girl:
Callie: If you could be a character in one of your books, who would it be, and why? D’Ann: Hmmmm…. I’m not sure. I have several I like a lot.
Callie: It is hard to choose isn’t it? If you hadn’t decided to become a writer, what other occupation can you see yourself in? D’Ann: Cattle rancher, a lifelong dream.
Callie: Okay, – that seems to fit with your cover, lol. Do you prefer redeemable villains, or like them nasty through and through? D’Ann: Nasty through and through. I suppose they’re more human if they have some redeeming trait, but I like them to just be horrible.
Callie: My villains are usually pretty rotten, too. Is finding the right title easy or hard? D’Ann: Generally very easy. I usually have a line in the book that I use. But my current WIP has gone months without a name, poor thing!
Callie: I find coming up with a title difficult. But for a few of my books it came extremely easy. What did you do immediately after receiving your first ‘call?’ D’Ann: Burst into tears! Called my daughter in from the next room to pinch me and to read the email to make sure it was real.
Callie: Amazing, at how we find something good hard to believe. Now for a few fun things:
Mountain home or beach house? mountain home. I don’t like water, and I can’t swim.
Gloomy day or sunshine to get your muse going? Gloomy day, like now!
Coffee or tea? Coffee with lots of cream and sugar or chai tea.
Cat or dog? both!
Beach vacation or sightseeing? I don’t like to travel, so neither.
Jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers, or pencil skirt, silk blouse, and killer heels? Jeans with sneakers or boots!
Carrie Underwood or Lady Gaga? Carrie Underwood.
Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there’s just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, eight ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!
http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/DLindunAuthor
http://www.amazon.com/DAnn-Lindun/e/B008DKL9TU
Here is a little snippet from Shot Through the Heart:
“Help.” This time the sound carried clearly through the storm.
Spinning around, Derrick scanned the cliff. In the fading light, all he saw was gray cliff, jagged edges. The rain made seeing difficult. He scanned again. Halfway up, a girl sat on a narrow ledge. “Help me,” she cried.
Holy hell. How had she gotten there? No matter. She needed help, now.
He waved to show he heard her plea and raced for the horses. After throwing his saddle on Ash and mounting, Derrick galloped toward the trail. Reaching it, he slowed the gelding to walk. The narrow path quickly wound up the mountain. When he found a place wide enough to dismount, Derrick stepped off the horse and led him behind.
Taking care not to fall, Derrick knelt and peered over the edge.
The girl sat on a narrow outcrop jutting the cliff’s face, her white-knuckled hands curled around the ledge. She sat with her back pressed against the cliff, roughly fifteen feet below him, thirty or forty feet above the pond where her friend had landed. Her face, when she tipped it up to him, looked as milky as a full moon. “Please help me.”
“Hold on.” Derrick took his lariat from his saddle and made a loop. He tossed it down to her. “Put that around your waist, then around your behind. I’ll pull you up. Use your hands to push away from the wall. Are you strong enough?”
She grabbed at the rope when it swung past her face. “I think so.”
It took three tries before she snagged the lariat.
He made sure she had the rope secured around her, then tied the other end around his saddlehorn. “I’m going to lead the horse forward. I’ll go easy, but if it’s not slow enough, shout out. I won’t be able to see you.”
“Go,” she said.
With a light tug on the bridle, Derrick urged Ash forward. The rope tightened. Step by step, the horse pulled the woman up the cliff. When her face appeared over the lip of the trail, Derrick slipped by Ash and hurried to her. He reached under her arms, dragged her onto the narrow trail and fell back on his rear with her on top of him. Safe in his arms, the woman trembled like a leaf in a windstorm. Sobs wracked her body.
Derrick smoothed her tangled, coppery hair back from her face. “Shhh. You’re safe now.”
Oh, that left me drooling! I loved that excerpt.
Shot Through the Heart is available now: http://amzn.to/PdJKVq
D’Ann is offering a free copy of Shot Through the Heart to one lucky commenter. So show her some love, and say hello.
I really enjoyed the inteview, ladies!
Thanks, Jerri!
A wonderful interview, and that is a great cover! All the best!
Thanks, Jessica! I like my cover, too!
D’Ann, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ll be offline until this afternoon. Have fun, ladies! Enjoy the wonderful excerpt, and be sure to comment to have a chance to win a copy of Shot Through the Heart.
Thanks again!
Cattle rancher? Shocking! (sarcasm, sarcasm) So fun, D’Ann. Great interview!
R.T. Wolfe
Yep, a lifelong dream!
Enjoyed the interview! Always glad to learn something more about you D’Ann! You’ve had such an inspiring writing journey. Congrats on your latest release
Thanks for coming by, Christine!
Thanks for having me here today!
Congrats on your book. Even in the small clip you included your characters caught me wanting more. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and time with us.
Thank you, Brenda. That’s very nice of you to say!
Great interview. You definitely have the nasty villain down pat, D’Ann–nobody writes them better than you do!
LOL I do have some bad men, don’t I?
Another fun interview! A mountain home would be nice! I’d love a beach house too. For me, that would be hard to chose
LOL I think it would be for most people!
Great interview, ladies. Loved the excerpt. Shot Through the Heart sounds intriguing. I’ll have to add it to my TBR list.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! That’s very nice!
Great interview and I loved the excerpt. Good luck with your book.
Thank you, Cynthia!
Great excerpt from an excellent book! Love the interview, D’Ann.
Thanks, Allie!
Good interview! Also, excellent cover art and excerpt. Congrats on another fine new book!
Best,
Jacqueline Seewald
DEATH LEGACY–romantic suspense now in a large print edition from Thorndike Press–request it at your local library!
Thank, Jacqueline! That’s so nice!
fun interview, ladies! I’ll take Carrie over Lady Gaga, too, D’Ann!
Yup, no contest between them…although Lady Gaga is ok!
Great interview D’Ann. As for Gaga and Underwood…I like them both. Love the book excerpt.
Nikki
Thank you, Nikki!
Fun interview! I definitely would pick Carrie Underwood too. However, I would have to choose the beach over the mountains. LOL
Ha! We’re through! Kidding, of course!
Fantastic interview!! I love D’Ann’s books!! This one is awesome!! Congrats, D~!!
Thank you!!!
Awesome interview!! I didn’t know you didn’t like to vacation or know how to swim. Love learning something new in every interview
I HATE to swim. I almost drowned when I was a small child, and I’ve never really gotten over it.
Great interview, ladies. I’ve added Shot Through the Heart to my TBR list (love that title!).
Thanks, Ally! That’s awesome!
Great interview, ladies! Loved the excerpt you provide, D’Ann. It’s very intense.
Thanks, Dana! It was kind of hard to write!
Great interview, Ladies. And Liz is right, nobody writes a villain like D!
LOL. I like bad guys! (in fiction)!
Great interview and excerpt. And I love the cover!
Thank you! I like my cover, too!
Awesome excerpt. Sounds like you definitely have another winner!
Thanks, Daryl! This is one of my fave books!
Lovely interview and wonderful excerpt.
Thanks, Ella!
D’Ann, from what you’ve said here today, I think you’d make an excellent rancher! And I LOVE the concept of this book. Pretty dark, but then sometimes so are mine. Thanks for sharing a little piece of yourself here today! And best wishes with “Shot Through the Heart!”
Thanks, MJ! Yes, it’s dark. And I’m going to have those cows someday!
Very nice interview.
Your excerpt was fantastic.
Brenda! Thank you!
I am so a jeans and boots type of girl too. Thanks for the awesome interview and great giveaway! I love me some cowboys, so Shot Through the Heart would be awesome!
Good luck, Rhonda!
Very cool interview, ladies. And that excerpt.. mmm. Can’t wait to read it even more now.
Thank you, chica!
Thanks, Chica!
Jeans and boots and the way!! Yee-haw! Fantastic interview.
Yippee-ki-oh!
Loved the interview! I’m with you about a rotten to the core villain…. I don’t think any of my mine are redeemable. Love this cover! And can’t wait to read the book.
Thanks, Sara!
Loved the excerpt and the interview! I enjoyed learning more about the author.