Protecting the citizens of Beartooth, Montana, is never an easy job. One year later, Sheriff Dillon Lawson still feels guilty that he couldn't save his twin brother, Ethan. But the biggest test of his bravery comes when Tessa Winters arrives, claiming to be pregnant…with Ethan's baby. At first, Dillon can't decide if this beautiful woman is a con artist or a victim. If Ethan didn't die in that car crash, then where is he—and why is he hiding? Now, Dillon is prepared to do anything to uncover the truth…anything except admit his growing feelings for Tessa. But with violence threatening, Tessa and Dillon must trust in each other to save not only themselves…but also Tessa's unborn child.
Atonement, book #4 in the Beartooth, Montana series by B.J. Daniels,
will be released in a few days (Harlequin, February 25) and today I'm
thrilled to have the author on the blog for a very pleasant chat about
her new romantic suspense novel.
Welcome to Mina's Bookshelf! Tell us a little bit
about your upcoming release, Atonement.
I wanted to write about Dillon Lawson, undersheriff in my
Beartooth, Montana series. I’m also fascinated by twins – especially the
identical ones who have taken different paths in life. With all my heroes the
hard part is finding them a woman who is equal to them. Dillon deserved a
strong, capable woman as a partner. A year ago, he buried his twin who he feels
he failed, so he has his own demons when Tessa Winters comes into his life.
Nothing is easy for Dillon so it should come as no surprise that Tessa is
pregnant – and claims it is his brother’s child.
You moved to Montana
at a very young age and many of your stories take place there. How do you think
living in Montana has shaped you as a person and as a writer?
Life in Montana from the age of five has had a huge impact
on me and the stories. I first lived in a cabin my father built from logs in
the Gallatin Valley. My brother and I had the run of the mountains with all its
rocks and trees and creeks and river as well as wildlife. We often had black
bear, moose and deer in the yard. My brother and I even had pet squirrels.
Later I lived on Hebgen Lake. We didn’t have electricity or
a phone, but we waterskied for hours, played in the woods and had grizzly bears
on the patio. I still live in a wild isolated place three hours from the
closest Target store. Today, I am pretty much snowed in as a blizzard just blew
through and all the roads out of town will be icy and snowpacked. But this is
what I love writing about, my experiences growing up in the state I love.
What book is on your
next to-buy list?
I can’t wait for Lisa Gardner’s next one. Actually, I can’t
wait to get to a bookstore. That is the hardest part of living in the boonies.
I miss walking around a bookstore and touching and smelling books. I order a
lot of books online (I still love the feel of them so most are paperbacks.)
What’s your go-to
snack when you’re writing?
Coke Zero. I made a rule about eating at my computer. When
you’re writing you lose track of time – and anything you might be eating. J I
have a friend who had a bowl of dried bananas next to her computer. One minute
it was full, the next…she realized she’d just eaten 18 bananas. That’s what I
would do if I had snacks while I was writing.
Where do you do most
of your writing? Do you have a certain place that inspires you the most?
I love taking the pickup and driving out into the wilds. I
have written many scenes sitting on the tailgate staring out at the country. I
have an office three blocks from my house, but if I am stuck on a book – I’m a
seat-of-the-pants writer, so I never know what will happen next in a book -- I
hit the road. For some reason, the story really comes once I leave town. Where
I now live there is something like .03 people per square mile so there is a lot
of space to create in without seeing another soul.
Are you for or
against books being turned into movies?
LOL, I would love for one of my books to be turned into a
movie. But we all know that the book is always better than the movie.
You’re an avid
quilter. Tell us a bit more about that creative process and how is it different
from the writing process?
Actually, it is a lot like writing. You start with nothing
but a vague idea. (At least that’s the way I write – and quilt.) I often buy
fabric without any clue what I am going to make with it, then I let my
imagination run wild.
What I love is that a bunch of quilters can take the same
fabric and yet make something so entirely different. Same with a book. Give a
group of writers the same basic plot and you will get completely different
books. With quilting and all the different fabrics and pattern ideas, you can
get as crazy creative as you want.
Also quilters are as creative and fun as writers, so I love
that.
Who is your favorite
author and why?
I really could not pick one favorite author. I love Lisa
Gardner, Elizabeth George, Dennis LeHane, T. Jefferson Parker, Stephen King,
Gillian Flynn…. I love any author who writes a book that half way through I
don’t know how it is going to end.
One of the problems of being a writer is that I often see
the puppeteer behind the curtain. I hate that. I love authors who fool me. I
get very excited when I’m reading a book and really have no idea how the author
is going to finish the book.
How did you find the
courage to pursue your dream of writing?
I come from a family of storytellers. When I was a child my
family camped a lot. I used to lie in the tent at night and listen to the
adults sitting around the campfire telling stories. It made me want to be a
writer. My father always told me I could be anything I wanted to be. I believed
him. He also taught me that if I wanted something, I had to work to get it. So
I went at being a writer by learning as much as I could, writing a whole lot
and not giving up.
Do you have any
special techniques for writing effective suspense plots?
I love to scare myself. If I am on the edge of my seat while
I am writing a scene, then I figure my readers will be too. I’m the kind of
person who always looks in the back seat of my car at night to make sure there
is no one back there.
Recently I was working on my next HQN and I realized I was
breathing hard – and it wasn’t the love scene. I was anxious, afraid my heroine
wasn’t going to get away. That is why I love writing so much. J
What is your favorite
fairy tale?
Cinderella. I think we all want to have that kind of magic
in our lives – not to mention love and a handsome prince. I lucked out and got
mine, but it took kissing a couple of frogs. J
Cinderella is also about justice. The stepmother and
stepsisters got what they deserved at the end.
So that appeals to me because I write mysteries where the bad guy is
going to get his. J
With more than 40
short stories and 70 books published, how do you come up with new and
compelling stories that capture your readers’ attention?
It’s funny, but the ideas are always there. I’ve been
fortunate that way. As I’ve mentioned, I’m a seat of the pants writer. I start
with a blank page and just begin typing. I never know what is going to happen –
and I love that. I couldn’t write a book that I knew the ending. I would feel
as if I’d already read it. So mostly I write books that I want to read. I think
that keeps me from writing the same book over and over.
Who is your fictional
character crush?
Right now it is Dillon Lawson from
Atonement. He’s the kind of man we know we can depend on. You just want to curl
up in his arms and ride out the winter. J
I love strong men, men who would fight for their woman.
Montana cowboys live by a Code of the West and Dillon is no different. There
are lines he won’t cross, so he fights his growing feelings for his brother’s
woman.
What is the first
book you remember reading as a child?
I wasn’t much of a reader when I was very young. Then I got
hooked on Trixie Beldon mysteries. Then I read Frank Yerby’s adventure books
before stumbling onto Kathleen Woodiwiss and Stephen King and James Michener.
As you can see, I was all over the map. I still am.
What are you reading
right now?
The Obituary Writer by Ann Wood. I love the way two separate
stories come together from different decades. Before than I was reading
nonfiction books on serial killers for my upcoming HQN titled MERCY out in
September. I’m also listening to Elizabeth George’s new book, Just One Evil
Act, on CD in my car. I always have a couple of books going at the same time.
What are the latest
trends that you are noticing in romance/romantic suspense novels these days?
I don’t read a lot of romantic suspense because I write it.
But I feel that we all take a different approach to it. Some are more romantic.
Most of mine are more suspense, I think. They’re hard to write because you need
a balance between the two. But I think that is what a lot of readers really
like. They love suspense and romance. Kind of like chocolate and peanut butter.
J
In pagan religions, a
spirit or totem animal is meant to be a representation of the skills and traits
that you are supposed to learn or have. What is your spirit animal?
The bear. I wear a silver one on a chain for luck. The bear
for me is a symbol of strength.
What advice would you
give to a struggling writer?
Don’t quit. Read everything you can get your hands on. Never
stop learning. And remember, it is all about the story. Tell a good story. One
of my favorite writing books is Stephen King’s On Writing. So much about
succeeding is putting in the hours at the computer writing.
I think the hardest thing for most writers is staying off
the Internet. If you write a lot of emails, you feel as if you wrote that day
and yet your book never seems to get finished. I know how that works.
I put together all my suggestions for aspiring writers after
being asked this question. The book, Write Your damn Book, is available only
digitally online.
What is your favorite
line or phrase from “Atonement?”
It’s the first time my hero and my pregnant heroine meet:
“Look, I’m not sure
what your story is, but that baby you’re carrying? It isn’t--.”
“If you dare say it
isn’t yours…” Her right hand dipped into her shoulder bag. An instant later he
was staring down the barrel of a .45.
What are you working
on next?
I just finished my next HQN titled MERCY. It was the hardest
book I have ever written but now that it is done, I love it. I wanted to do a
different take on serial killers, so I did. I am fascinated by how two people
can grow up in the same house, same genes, etc. and turn out so differently. I
find it interesting also that the same horrible childhood that makes a serial
killer can do just the opposite to someone else.
I also love seeing what happens to the continuing characters
in the series. While each book stands alone, I like some characters who I can
check back in with and see how their lives are going.
Read on for a sneak peek of
ATONEMENT
by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author
B.J. Daniels
One year later, sheriff Dillon Lawson still feels guilty
that he couldn’t save his twin brother Ethan. But the biggest test of his
bravery comes when Tessa Winters arrives, claiming to be pregnant...with
Ethan’s baby.
“You bastard.”
“You’ve made a mistake,” Dillon said.
“The mistake was ever falling for you.”
He shook his head sadly. “I’m not who you think I am.”
“You’re
telling me? Put me down.”
Dillon did as she’d ordered and watched her struggle to get her
feet under herself. Seeing him had been a shock for her, that much was clear.
And yet, she’d come here looking for him as if…
He frowned as he tried to make sense of this. Ethan had been dead
a year tomorrow. Why would she think he was Ethan? Not to mention… He stared at
her swollen belly. The woman looked as if she might deliver that baby at any
moment.
“You knew my brother?” he asked suspiciously.
She had dropped her large shoulder bag. She now bent to pick it up
from the dirt before turning to glare at him. “I just want my money,” she said
as she slung the bag over her right shoulder.
“Your
money? Are you
talking about the insurance money?” The check had come only a few days ago.
Apparently his brother had taken out a half-million-dollar policy on himself
and made Dillon the beneficiary. Ethan had always been full of surprises. This
woman was apparently another one.
“Insurance? Is that what you call it? Just give me what’s mine and
I’m out of your hair for good,” she said, and glanced toward the mountains as
if she couldn’t bear looking at him any longer.
“Why don’t we go into the house?” he suggested. “I think we can
settle this easy enough. Just let me get the halter rope off my horse—”
“If you think you can sweet-talk me, you’re dead wrong. And you
sure as the devil aren’t seducing me. Not again.” Her hand went to her stomach
and he felt his heart drop.
She wasn’t really going to try to convince him that she was
carrying Ethan’s baby, was she? He’d never been the brightest kid in school,
but this one was a math no-brainer. Even if the woman did look as if she could
give birth any moment, his brother had been gone twelve months tomorrow.
“Look, I’m not sure what your story is, but that baby you’re
carrying? It isn’t—”
“If you dare say it isn’t yours…” Her right hand dipped into her
shoulder bag. An instant later he was staring down the barrel of a .45.
Is this beautiful woman a con artist or
a victim, and if Ethan didn’t die in that car crash,
then where is he—and why is he hiding?
then where is he—and why is he hiding?
Find out what happens next in ATONEMENT
by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author B.J. Daniels, available March 2014, only
from Harlequin.
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