Donna Shields - Author Spotlight!

I'd like to welcome Donna Shields to my blog today to celebrate her new release, Secrets of Jenkins Bridge

Here's a great blurb for what the novel is about:

Hunting down a dangerous mob boss has brought FBI agent Mitchell Donovan home, reawakening an old flame, resurrecting a dead best friend, and discovering fatherhood. As if those aren’t enough, his new case will push everything else aside: finding the kidnappers who took the daughter he never knew he had.

Katherine Delaney never forgot the heartbreak Mitchell had caused with his abrupt departure all those years ago. With her dead ex-husband accused of murder and her daughter kidnapped, she will place her trust in the one man who could trample her heart again if she gets too close. But, will the resurrection of Katherine’s ex-husband and Mitchell’s chase for a killer destroy their second chance at love and happiness?

Sounds like a great read, and definitely one to be placed at the top of our TBR lists!

Now, here's a little info on Donna:

Donna Shields grew up on romance and scary stories. With her love for suspense and the slightly unusual, she enjoys tying these elements together to create stories full of love, danger and the paranormal.
She lives in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina with her husband, her children, and some great haunts. She’s a mom, a ‘gramma’, a wife, a friend, an avid reader and writer. When she’s not occupied with all that, she loves traveling to Playa del Carmen and Jamaica.

Hook:

An FBI agent discovers more than embezzling and murder when he takes on the kidnapping case of a daughter he never knew he had.

I love this hook! It promises pasts catching up to the charectors, I love that :)

Now here's a sample of Donna's novel, yep, it'll draw you in wanting more and more from this author:

Excerpt:

They followed the paramedic toward the ambulance while Gladys and the other woman continued to talk.
He’d had a nightmare in the early hours before Gladys’ call had awakened him. The Camaro from his dream sat in the same exact spot. Aidan pointed out the car and told Mitchell he had to save ‘her’, whoever that might be. He figured he was about to find out. If, in fact, he wasn’t losing his marbles.
As they rounded the corner to the back of the ambulance, Gladys stopped short causing Mitchell to nearly colliding into her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he croaked, and then cleared his raw throat. “What’s the victim’s name?”
The paramedic shook her head, blonde ponytail swishing. “We don’t know. Haven’t found any ID yet, and she’s a little confused. Has a nasty bump to the head.”
He let Gladys climb aboard. Her upward movement stopped in midair, one leg dangling a little too close to Mitchell’s jewels. He jumped back as she whipped around, almost losing her balance. In a barely audible tone, she said, “I know her.”
“You know practically the entire town.” Mitchell gestured toward the victim. “Say something. Who is she?”
Her gaze stared off in the distance above his head. “It’s just so weird. It’s the widow whose husband drove off that bridge.” She pointed toward Jenkins Bridge, the old wooden-covered overpass in the distance.
An icy chill ran up his spine. Gladys moved aside, giving him full view of Katherine Delaney. She may be battered and bloody, but Mitchell could never forget her face, her high cheekbones, or the tiny, turned up nose. Shit.
Their eyes met, and his chest instantly tightened, his throat constricting. Something was wrong. She seemed to stare through him. Surely, she recognized him. He hadn’t changed that much. He managed to find his voice. “Hello.”
Katherine closed her dazzling emerald eyes. “What happened?”
He put his trembling hands behind his back interlocking them. “You were in an accident. What’s your name?”
She shook her head, the confusion apparent..
“It’s all right. This is Detective Freeman and I’m Detective Donovan.” Would the name register?
If it did, she didn’t react. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from them.
The paramedic announced, “Gonna have to finish this at the hospital after the doctor examines her.”
Mitchell reluctantly backed away allowing Gladys to jump down. Once the ambulance left, Mitchell said, “She didn’t recognize me.” Hundreds of miles apart and fifteen years later, and none of that mattered anymore. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her. What was her life like now? Did she still live on the ranch with Aidan’s mother? Or did she have another whole life somewhere else?
Would she be okay? What if something happened to her? He couldn’t think like that. He wouldn’t.
“You know her?”
Of course he had. When he left Addison, he had been running from the hurt they’d caused one another. And his mother’s death. And his own demons.. “You keep forgetting. I grew up in this town.”
“What’s your connection?”
He didn’t want to get into his and Katherine’s complicated past at the moment. “We went to school together. Her husband, Aidan, and I were best friends.”
Gladys’ milk chocolate eyes grew large. “Oh wow. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. That was a long time ago.” Life goes on.



You can find Donna at:
blog: http://donna-realworldwriting.blogspot.com
On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/shieldsdonna
On Twitter: @Donna_Shields
On SMP’s Author Blog: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/
You can buy Secrets of Jenkins Bridge at: http://soulmatepublishing.com
Coming soon to Amazon and Barnes and Noble also.

Now, let's get into the nitty gritty of the author and her answers to my interview questions:

Author Interview
1.) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? In 6th grade. My English teacher gave us an assignment where we had to write a short story with all the major elements. I instantly fell in love with writing right then.

2.) What type of genre do you write in? I write in both romantic suspense and paranormal romance.
3.) What inspires you to write in this genre? I’m a sucker for plot twists and if ghosts and other paranormal pieces are a part of the story, even better.
4.) Where to you get your ideas for your writing? They come to me in all different ways. But, usually when I’m driving down the road, working out on the treadmill, or in a dream.
5.) Who are your favorite authors and why? Patricia Cornwell, Tom Clancy, John Grisham because they write suspense well. And of course my all time favorite author is Stephen King for his epic imagination and going where not too many authors will go. His is endless.
6.) In your opinion, what key parts of a story make it great? The struggle for romance between the hero and heroine and the conflicts.
7.) What activities do you undertake for inspiration? Believe it or not, just surfing the web through news stories can trigger a great idea for me.
8.) Do you belong to any writing communities, or critique groups? I belong to Up and Coming Writers Group, Soul Mate Publishing Authors Group, and Chapter by Chapter critique group. I’m also a member and moderator over at Savvy Authors.
9.) Do you have a day job? Yes, I’m a full time warehouse receiver. My husband and I also own a motorcycle repair shop, and as if all of that and my writing isn’t enough, we’re going to be starting another business – an auction site.
10.) If you could do it over again, what aspects of the writing/submission process would you change before becoming published? I would’ve had a synopsis all prepared.
11.) What is the title of your upcoming/newly released novel, and where can we find it? Secrets of Jenkins Bridge can be found over at http://soulmatepublishing.com/secrets-of-jenkins-bridge

Donna, thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here on my blog today, good luck with all your writing endevors, and I wish all the success :)