Launch of Julie Flander's Turnagain Arm & Brinda Berry's Tempting Fate

Today, Idea City presents two new reads from talented authors, Julia Flander's The Turnagain Arm, a prequel to her novel Polar Night, and Brinda Berry's NA romance Tempting Fate. Coincidentally, both are in the suspense wheelhouse. Make sure to scroll down and enter both Rafflecopters for some amazing swag and books!

First up, Julia Flanders. Polar Night's Aleksei Nechayev leaves war-torn Russia in 1917 and makes his way to Alaska. Settling at a railroad camp, Aleksei comes up against an adversary who seems to know the truth about the newly-turned vampire's identity, and who gives Aleksei much more than he bargained for at The Turnagain Arm.

Cover design by Michael Di Gesu

Only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle

Book Blurb: 

Locomotive wheels screech to a halt. Potters Creek, Alaska is nothing more than a small camp set up alongside the tracks. A weathered sign dominates the scene. The Turnagain Arm Saloon, Est.1917

Only one passenger remains and exits.
The early afternoon full moon peaks through a shimmering snow fall as a shadow casts over each split rail. The wind howls, sweeping the cloak of a hooded figure. He follows   the tracks toward the distant saloon. A hulking man crunches through the snow, attracting his attention. Calling out to him in a foreign accent, the townsman stops in mid step. The stranger catches up and engages him. Until…

The man disappears under the stranger’s cloak.
Blood drips from his lips, and he wipes the remaining trickles from his mouth. After disposing of the body, the mysterious figure continues on his journey. He glides through the snow as if on a sleigh, leaving no footprints behind. Within a short period, he convinces Vasyl, the owner of the saloon, to hire him. Aleksei charms everyone he meets. But soon mistrust enters every tense line on Vasyl’s face as others disappear, and his wife falls under Aleksei’s spell.
The classic game of cat and mouse continues, but who will win? Is a mere mortal any match for Aleksei? A spark ignites within Alexei after yet another of Vasyl’s attempts to disgrace him. This man knows of me. He must be a witch. Aleksei laughs. You are no match for me or my plan.

Julie Flanders is a librarian by day and a writer the rest of the time. She's also a television addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Bengals. A life-long animal lover and animal rescue advocate, she shares her home with her rescued dog and cat.
Published novels include the paranormal thriller Polar Night and the historical ghost story The Ghosts of Aquinnah. Both are available from Ink Smith Publishing. Polar Day, the sequel to Polar Night, will be published by Ink Smith in January, 2015.

Julie is a proud member of the speculative fiction writing group Untethered Realms. Meet the rest of the group and explore their books at http://untetheredrealms.blogspot.com/. Please visit Julie at her website at julieflanders.net or contact her at julie@julieflanders.net. She can also be found on Twitter at @JulesFlanders.

Enter to win one of two prize bundles featuring a $15 Amazon.com gift card and an ebook copy of The Turnagain Arm. 

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***Next up, Brinda Berry and Tempting Fate!

Tempting Fate (a Serendipity novel)
by Brinda Berry

New Adult Romantic Suspense

Available October 1

When two worlds collide, it can only be fate. 

Collin knows trouble when he sees it. A beautiful girl crashing into his car? She should be flashing a neon DANGER sign. He knows better than to get involved with a fresh-faced babe who could break his already-tattered heart. After graduating from college, he's on track to start over in a new place. He's discovering what he wants from life, away from the shadow of his overbearing father and the betrayal of his cheating ex-fiancé. 

Veronica's home life morphs from trailer park to homeless after a bloody fight between her brother and her ex. She's on the run from a situation that promises to be deadly. Without a home, money, or friends, she's at Collin's mercy. 

Fate brought them together. Will a secret from her past tear them apart?

Amazon   /    iBooks   

Tempting Fate Book Trailer:


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Studying the Anthony Murder Trial for Tips on Writing Suspense

Has anyone been following the Casey Anthony trial? I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten transfixed. This has only happened a few times with me: during the OJ and the Menendez brothers’ trials.

How does this relate to writing, you ask? A lot. I’m interested in analyzing what goes into a good mystery or thriller, or simply how to write great, prolonged suspense.
A complex trial like this one, with so many unexpected twists and turns, and with such rampant lies and weird pathology, by its very nature, is buzzing with suspense.

How could a pretty, popular mom kill her child? Is Casey Anthony a violent sociopath, or was her two-year-old daughter's death a swimming accident? There were no eyewitnesses, so the prosecution must build its case on what's called “circumstantial” evidence—putting together pieces of the puzzle, such as a search on the home computer for chloroform 84 times! Or the question of why would one need to apply 3 layers of duct tape to a drowning victim. And why did this mother decide to throw her father and brother under the bus by saying they did nefarious things to her, when all along the father and brother were her staunch defenders? And then, there’s the meter reader, Roy, who found the little girl, Caylee’s skull, buried up to its eyeholes, in a trash dump. If you believe the defense theory, he arranged the bones and duct tape to get the cash reward (That he never received). If you believe the prosecution, Roy was the hero, who finally found the remains of little Caylee, and helped bring her one step closer to justice. The way the lawyers present their witnesses, and all of the forensics testimony, is truly fascinating to me. One person is a hair expert. Another is an expert in detecting volatile gases. And they all want to drivel on about their gadgets.

Will I ever try to tackle writing trial scenes? A very intimidating idea! One would have to speed through the typical minutia of an actual trial to get to the meat, where someone’s sobbing on the stand, or obviously lying, and perjuring themselves. In the Casey Anthony trial, even though spectators have traveled from all over to get in the courtroom, many have fallen asleep from the droning “experts” only to be kicked out for snoring.

Has anyone tried to write a trial scene? To Kill a Mockingbird comes to me. Have you learned how to write suspense from watching a trial, used forensics in a scene, or written a mystery with any of these aspects? Anyone recall a children’s or YA novel that includes some part of a trial? Dish here.