Blog by VONNIE DAVIS -- International, Award-Winning Romance Author: Adventurous...Humorous...Amorous.
Showing posts with label Rae Monet-graphic artist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rae Monet-graphic artist. Show all posts

Saturday, March 15, 2014

A Glimpse of Paris #romanticsuspense #SPeekSunday

I can't believe an entire week has passed since I posted my last Sneak Peek. Perhaps it's because I've been battling the same chapter. Writing, deleting, writing, banging head on keyboard, deleting, re-writing the previous chapter in hopes the chapter from hell that follows will eventually become a heavenly chapter to read.

Speaking of heavenly, the sneak peek I'm sharing today was written about my favorite city--Paris. If money weren't an issue, I'd live there. But a small one-bedroom apartment in the City of Light, with a miniscule walk-thru kitchen, runs about the same as a three-bedroom rancher with garage here in the States. 

I have two romantic suspense novels set in Paris, books one and two of the Red Hand Conspiracy. Today I'm sharing a snippet from book one, Mona Lisa's Room. By the way, the cover for this book just took first place in the Mystery/Adventure category of the EPICon event this weekend. The cover artist, Rae Monet, is fabulous.

This book has also won the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit in two categories: Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book by a Virginia Author. In this sneak peek Alison, an American high school art teacher, has unwittingly foiled a bombing attempt at the Louvre ...


 
Alison was unceremoniously hauled to Paris police headquarters, the Prefecture de Police, and interrogated for nearly three hours by various detective teams, each more stern-faced than the last. Visions of being locked away forever in a French dungeon flashed in front of her like a neon “No Exit” sign. She had zero rights in this country. No passport. No one to help her. If they were to grant her one phone call, whom would she call? The American Consulate. Surely they would help.

When the door to the interrogation room opened and two men walked in, the testosterone level rose by a factor of five. If one were to categorize the first man, middle-aged with graying temples and silver-framed glasses riding low on his nose, as good-looking, one would have to call the younger man striking. Or, as Gwen, her free-spirited sister, would say, “Oh my God, he’s make-my-panties-damp gorgeous.”

Although the young man wasn’t overly tall, he was excessively male. Sex appeal oozed from every pore on the man’s skin. Alyson’s body responded which surprised her.

She judged him to be around thirty, with the firm and muscled, yet slender build of many European men. He had an olive complexion and short, wavy black hair styled like that of a GQ cover model. His eyes were dark and angry. What’s his problem? I’m the one held here against my will, hungry and thirsty. And, dammit, I have to pee.

The older man sat while Mr. Macho Male prowled the room like a tightly-reigned panther. “Ms. Moore, I’m Field Supervisor Henri Moreau. I head the French task force on counterterrorism. The irritated man behind me is my second in command, Niko Reynard.”

The young man deigned to spare her a nod in greeting. Oh, she knew the type. She nodded once in return with a dose of her own attitude. After all, she hadn’t been a teacher all these years without perfecting a piercing glare. One of his eyebrows quirked in response. She raised her chin and held eye contact with him for a few seconds. TouchĂ©. Okay, so she was being bitchy, but after all she’d been through, frankly she didn’t care.
 
TO READ MORE GREAT SNEAK PEEKS TODAY, CLICK ON THIS LINK--
 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

THE RED HAND CONSPIRACY -- Vonnie Davis

Book one of The Red Hand Conspiracy, MONA LISA'S ROOM, releases on Friday. As with most books, it's been a long time coming, and my excitement has been building exponentially.
BLURB:

Gwen,
 

You won't believe this email. I'm sitting in a French safe house, eating caviar and drinking champagne with a handsome government agent, Niko Reynard. He's wearing nothing but silk pajama bottoms and mega doses of sex appeal. I'm in big trouble, little sister. He's kissed me several times and given me a foot massage that nearly caused spontaneous combustion. I'm feeling strangely virginal compared to the sexual prowess this thirty-year-old man exudes.
 

When I came to Paris for a bit of adventure, I never imagined I'd foil a bombing attempt, karate-kick two men, and run from terrorists while wearing a new pair of stilettos. I've met a German musician, a gay poet from Australia, and the most delightful older French woman.
 

Don't worry. I'm safe--the jury's still out on yummy Niko, though. The more champagne I drink, the less reserved I feel. What an unforgettable fortieth birthday!
 

Alyson
 
 

Today, I received the cover art for book two in the series, RAIN IS A LOVE SONG. I'm so tickled with it, I have to share. Rae Monet gave me exactly what I asked for. She's the greatest.

BLURB:

What should be a wonderful trip to Paris turns menacing when Gwen Morningstar’s daughter is kidnapped by The Red Hand terrorist group. Fortunately, Jean-Luc LeFevre of France’s Counterterrorism Unit is there to rescue her little girl. Gwen is grateful, but her need to apprehend the abductors must override any desire she feels for the handsome agent with his own brand of justice…and danger.
 

Jean-Luc is not pleased when Gwen, a crime scene photographer with just enough training to get them killed, is assigned to work with him. Not only does she take too many risks, she drives him to distraction.
 

As Gwen and Jean-Luc track the terrorists, their feelings for each other grow as fast as the danger. Jean-Luc is determined to protect Gwen and her daughter, but the sinister grasp of The Red Hand is strong and far-reaching. It will take more than love to keep them all safe.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

My First Book Cover -- Where are my tissues??

All writers imagine what their first book cover will look like. We make suggestions to the graphic artists or the publishers. We wait. We wonder. Then when the finished product wiggles into our mailbox like a cocoon about to burst, we take a deep breath and click on the attachment, eager to see the book cover butterfly that bursts forth on our screens. Smiles bloom. A whoosh of air escapes and we realize we've been holding our breath in anticipation...or fear. Our eyes drink in every aspect, every artistic nuance of the cover and then it lands on our names. A long-held dream come true: my name on the cover of a book. And the tears start. This was my experience last night.

Enemy Of The KingRae Monet, a talented graphic artist at The Wild Rose Press and the one I'd requested because of her beautiful cover for Beth Trissels's Enemy of the King, did a super job on my cover as well. She'd taken my garbled "wants" and turned them into a cover that is perfect for my contemporary romance set in the Hill Country of Texas. Did I cry when I first saw it? Does chocolate melt in your mouth?

Here's a blurb about Storm's Interlude:

Nurse Rachel Dennison comes to Texas determined to prepare her new patient for a second round of chemo. What she isn’t counting on is her patient’s twin brother, Storm Masterson.

Half Native American with the ability to have “vision dreams,” Storm dreams about Rachel for three nights before her arrival. Both are unprepared for the firestorm of emotions their first chance encounter ignites. Even so, Storm has two things Rachel won’t abide: a domineering personality and a fiancĂ©e.


Yet, ultimately, it is Rachel’s past—an abusive, maniacal ex-boyfriend—that threatens to keep them apart…and Storm’s dreams that bring them together again.


Thank you, Rae, for a job well-done. Doing the happy dance here in Lynchburg, Virginia. Hugs to you and your fabulous talent, Rae Monet.