A reader of my author website had asked me a question: What is the order of the books I’ve written? In looking back at the posts, while I spoke about my writing and my characters, I never gave you, the reader, the order I wrote them in. I thought I’d do that for you.
The order may or may not surprise you. You see, my first book, Stolen Lives, was originally written as a stand-alone. My first publisher, however, had a different idea. While they loved that book, they wanted two things from me: first, can I make it a series? The answer was yes. At the end of Stolen, there were several loose ends I had purposely placed for the reader. And, the first book dealt with getting missing kids back home safely. But in that book, I never answered the question: What happens to the kids who had been held in captivity? How do they adjust when they get back home? That takes place in Shattered Lives and Splintered Lives, books two and three of the Lives Trilogy. Not only exploring those issues, but also finding and bringing to justice “those who got away” in Stolen Lives.
The other thing the publisher wanted was a prequel to introduce the reader to the series. That is how Taking Lives came into being. Taking Lives is actually the second book I had written. It takes place approximately two years before the action in Stolen Lives.
Fast forward to May 2021. My new publisher, Black Rose Writing, wanted to re-issue the Lives Trilogy and Prequel. That gave me an opportunity to revise and edit those four books, and David King and the design team at BRW gave each book a new, updated cover.
I kept writing. I took characters from the first four books and moved them forward into new adventures, exploring their new lives. After the trilogy, I wrote Caught in a Web. It won two awards. I followed that with Spiral Into Darkness, which won another award. And then came Betrayed, which won three awards. My newest, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is in preorder status, available on the BRW website.
Listed below are each of my books, their links, and a book blurb, letting you know what each book is about.
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
Book One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six men escaped and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no clues, no leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
A 14-year-old boy knows the end is coming. What he doesn’t know is when, where, or by whom. Without that knowledge, the FBI can protect him or his family. And he cannot protect himself. http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives
Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com
Bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee Metro area. They send Ricardo Fuentes from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer.
Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm
Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner!
Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one will talk. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
Blaze In, Blaze Out – New Release!
https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout. Purchase your copy prior to January 6, 2022, and receive a 15% discount. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 .
Detectives Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of a Ukrainian gang lord meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.
I hope you check out one or two, perhaps all. Let me know what you think.
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