Many Things for which to Be Thankful

Hello There, Sandra Orchard here.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada and our family has much for which to be thankful.

On Sunday, we celebrated my youngest daughter's wedding and although the temps had dropped considerably since midweek and clouds were threatening, sun shined down on the outdoor event.

Serena Jones's mom dreams of a day like this. My daughter even wore my wedding dress that I sewed almost 30 years ago!

Who is Serena Jones, you ask.

She's the FBI agent heroine of my art crime mystery series with Revell Publishing. And the only fancy dress she's getting into any time soon is the maid of honour dress for her best friend (if they live through the shopping trip).

Although...
Serena does try her hand at babysitting in Another Day Another Dali--a scene inspired by my oldest grandson Jed when he was going through his toddler stage with a three-word vocabulary coupled with two dozen intonations of "uh".

Grandchildren are something else Serena's mom longs for and I consider myself very blessed to have four and that they were all able to attend the wedding. (My youngest was born at under 2 pounds this summer and my oldest grandson was in the hospital for four months following a serious accident.)

What a blessing to have him escort me down the aisle.

With how far he's come since losing his leg, it's pretty cool that Another Day Another Dali is dedicated to him--a decision made a year ago, because of that babysitting scene I mentioned.

Goodreads Giveaway

If you enjoy light-hearted mysteries, with a bit of romance, this is the series for you. And if you're a Goodreads member, there's still one week left to hop over and enter the giveaway for 5 copies of Another Day Another Dali

About Another Day Another Dali

When Serena's grandmother asks her to investigate the switch of a valuable Salvador Dali painting, Serena hopes tracking down the original will also mean finally measuring up to Nana’s expectations. But when the evidence points to members of the owner’s own household—friends of her grandmother’s—it becomes increasingly clear that Serena won’t be winning any popularity contests.

To make matters worse, the Dali isn’t the only painting that’s fallen prey to the forgery-replacing thief, raising the specter of a sophisticated theft ring–one with links to dirty cops, an aspiring young artist, and the unsolved murder of Serena’s grandfather.

Learn more about Another Day Another Dali and buying options at: http://sandraorchard.com/books/another-day-another-dali/

Sandra Orchard is the award-winning author of 7 Love Inspired Suspense in addition to her mystery series. Her

writing has garnered several Canadian Christian Writing

Awards, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, a National Readers’ Choice Award, a HOLT Medallion Award

of Merit, and a Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence

in Mystery/Suspense.  She lives in Ontario, Canada. Connect with Sandra at sandraorchard.com or Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

The Mystery of Love

Hi Sandra Orchard here.

This month I'm celebrating the release of A Fool and His Monet, the first book in my new Serena Jones Mysteries series about a plucky FBI agent who specializes in investigating art crimes.

If you enjoy laugh-out-loud stories with quirky characters, a mind-twisting whodunit, and a root-for-your-favorite-guy romance, than this book is for you.

Now Serena is so caught up in trying to nab the bad guy and recover the stolen painting that she's a tad oblivious to the interest of the men in her life. So...

I'm inviting my readers to help her (and me) choose the one who's right for her. 

The choices are: 

Tanner Calhoun

and Nate Butler

So what traits in a man do you think make for a good choice? 

Because let’s face it, there are lots of people in our lives we can love, but how many of those relationships can we make last forever?

Here’s some things to consider...for Serena and for ourselves: 

• Does he respect her?

Respect her opinions, her choices, her values?

• Does he protect her?

Both physically and emotionally. Does he run on the outside closest to traffic while out for a jog? See her to the door after an evening out? Guard his words to not crush her? Stand up for her against the harsh words of others, whether she is present or not? Take her side, not her mother’s, or worse, his mother’s?

• Does he make sacrifices for her?

Give up a golf game or night with the guys so he can attend that event that is so important to her. Is she more important to him than his career? More important than his friends? More important than his family? More important than living where and how he’s always dreamed of living?

Your Turn: Any other questions you'd add to the list? 

If you read A Fool and His Monet, afterward, please pop over to this page to register your vote for your favorite man.

Multi-award-winning author Sandra Orchard leaps off the garden trails of her herbal-researcher-turned-amateur-sleuth (Port Aster Secrets) series, to the museum corridors of her plucky FBI art crime agent Serena Jones, in A Fool and His Monet. When not plotting crimes, Sandra plays make-believe with her grandchildren or hikes with her hubby along the escarpment, near their home in Niagara, Canada. 

To learn more visit www.sandraorchard.com and for subscriber-exclusive stories and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter at: http://bit.ly/OrchardNews

Undercover Research

Sandra Orchard here.

Hi Everyone! I’m sorry I’ve been incognito for the past while. We’ve had a very full few months around our home.

In August we welcomed an adorable new grandson into our family.

Then in early October, we welcomed a beautiful new daughter-in-love into our family.

The happenings have all been great inspiration for happy endings. Then...

There were a couple of romantic upsets amongst other loved ones. Interestingly, they remarkably mirrored the romantic conflicts, fears and weaknesses/personality quirks our editors are always after us to exploit in our stories.

In other words…I’ve been doing research!

In addition to the incognito kind above, I returned late last night from an awesome research trip to Martha’s Vineyard to scout out locations for my current mystery work-in-progress. 

My friend even indulged me by demonstrating where my victim might be sprawled.

I toured the hospital, interviewed police officers, and scouted hiking areas and beaches for locales suitable for the nefarious activities that are bound to happen. I also found the perfect homes for my characters down roads like this one:

Lots can happen on a road like that don’t you think?

Yup, so much could happen that... while I was there, I plotted the new Love Inspired Suspense my editor has patiently been waiting for me to get around to.

And of course, the Island has many perfect locations for the happy ending.

While I'm working on my new stories, if you haven't had a chance to try out my Port Aster Secrets mystery series, book 1, Deadly Devotion is currently free at online retailers. 

I'm also very excited to share that my most recent Love Inspired Suspense, Emergency Reunion, is still available in paperback and was recently nominated for the 2015 RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award.

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense with Revell Publishing and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint. A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren. Learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

What a Summer!

Hi Everyone, Sandra Orchard here.

Can you believe that September has arrived already?!

This has been an eventful summer around our home, both personally and professionally.

In June my son proposed to the love of his life and they will wed this fall!

Also in June, two of my novels were recognized with The Word Award, one for romance, one for mysteries. And at that same conference, I had the privilege of rooming with and getting to know Kay Strom, former script writer for Murder She Wrote--super cool!

July brought the release of my 10th novel and my first visit to NYC and a Romance Writers of America conference. If that wasn't exciting enough, my new editor Giselle Regus joined me for the National Readers' Choice Awards, where Identity Withheld won the action/suspense category--against a slate of mainstream/non-inspy book--super cool!

I also got to attend my first...and second Broadway show. And...enjoy a ball at the Waldorf Astoria courtesy of Harlequin. Waaay cool!

August brought the COOLEST event of all...the birth of my 3rd grandson!

And I got the fun of having my four- and two-year-old grandchildren sleep over for a whole week. While the eventful summer didn't leave me a lot of time for writing, it definitely filled up my creative well and I'm looking forward to diving into a new story this very day! 

...in between a trip to the pool with the grandkiddoes <wink>

How about you? What are your plans for the new month? Did you have an eventful summer?

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense with Revell Publishing and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint. A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren. Subscribe to Sandra’s newsletter to receive a subscriber-exclusive mini-novella. Learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features, as well as writer helps, at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: Emergency Reunion by Sandra Orchard

SAVED BY THE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY 

Paramedic Sherri Steele refuses to believe someone's out to get her—until she's held at knifepoint in her own ambulance. It'll take her high school crush to convince her she needs protection—and deputy sheriff Cole Donovan is as persuasive as he is handsome. But when his brother rises to the top of the suspects list, Cole's torn between family duty and the woman he's never forgotten. With every emergency call to the paramedics turning into an attack on Sherri's life, Cole's convinced Sherri has a stalker. Cole needs to know whether his brother is the culprit before things spiral out of control. Survival—and a future with Sherri—depends on discovering who wants to cause trauma to this EMT.

Interview:
1.    Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. 

My name is Sherri Steele. You may have met my cousins, firefighter Jake Steele, and former FBI agent turned Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Steele, in previous stories. I’m the youngest paramedic on Stalwart’s EMT staff and the only female, which along with getting my very first partner fired for working under the influence, and failing to save the life of my second partner at an emergency-call-turned-deadly, has left me with a lot to prove and more enemies than friends. One or more of those enemies seems determined to convince me to quit, or worse, kill me, and I’m equally determined to not give him the satisfaction of succeeding. I only need a few more weeks of work to qualify for the newest flight medic position. And I’m sure if I can hold out that long, all this will settle down once I’m no longer working out of the same base.

2.    I understand that you’ve known Cole Donovan since you were a child.  Tell us a bit about him.  When did you know it was love? 

I’ve had a crush on him since I was a kid. He was one of the most popular boys in school and in our youth group, but he was always really nice to me, even when sometimes it probably made him look not so cool in the eyes of his friends. His parents’ breakup really shattered his world. He had a hard time accepting it. I thought we’d made a deeper connection when I tried to help him, but then he left for college and I never saw him again until a few weeks ago. I tried to deny the feelings that came rushing back when I saw him. I told myself he was more interested in clearing his brother’s name than actually protecting me. But when he defied orders to save my life and risked his job to stand by me, I knew I’d been lying to myself.

           

3.    What are your strengths and weaknesses?      

I’m well-trained and follow the rules, dedicated to doing the best job I can. I guess my weakness would probably be not wanting to admit to any.

           

4.    What scares you?   

The possibility of losing a patient due to my own wrong decisions.   

5.    If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Sigh. I guess I’d stop isolating myself from the people who care about me and only want to help.

6.    What do you think about your spiritual life?

I thought it was pretty solid, but I’m starting to see that I have a tendency to rely on myself more than God. I need to be more open to his plans, especially when they don’t seem to fit with mine.

           

7.    What do you admire about the hero?

I confess to being a sucker for his mile-wide protective streak. I also think it’s wonderful that he willingly chose to give up a promising career with the Seattle police department to come home and try to help his brother.

8.    Why could you never see yourself ending up with the hero?

I can’t afford to let anyone get too close, too much is at stake.

9.  What is the one thing you would never do?

Quit my job as a paramedic. I promised Luke (my second partner) before he died that I wouldn’t quit and I owe him that much.

10. What do you hope people will learn from your experience?

That it’s okay to let people see your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That sometimes being willing to talk about them can help others and yourself in ways you might not imagine. God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses.