Christina Dodd's Blog - Posts Tagged "cape-charade"

I have three confessions:

I've got the scar of gunshot on my forehead.
I don't remember an entire year of my life.
My name is Kellen Adams … and that's half a lie.




Girl running… from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellan Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There, amid towering storms and lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman's dead and mutilated body, she’s soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder…then another.

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face hides a mask. Every kind word sounds like a lie. Kellan is driven to defend her job, her friends, and the place she’s come to call home. Yet she wonders—with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and an amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past, could the killer be staring her in the face?

DEAD GIRL RUNNING, the first in the Virtue Falls falls spin-off series, Cape Charade, coming April 24, 2018 in hardcover, trade paperback and ebook.

Add the book to your Want to Read list here: http://bit.ly/2y3gFwp

Join Christina's mailing list for updates!
http://bit.ly/2h18o1q


Christina Dodd
New York Times Bestselling Author

Dear Ones,

Saturday, my newsletter went out without a hitch (YAY!) and The Husband and I went off to buy manure so we could plant garlic. Tell me my life isn’t the epitome of romance.

Also:
Husband: “Is chicken manure okay?”
Me: “When did I become the expert on manure? … Sure, it’s great.”

We came home with our manure and I discovered all the links on my newsletter were dead. When I asked what happened, I was told, “The freables divorced the bambosh and destroyed the quatch.” At least, I think that’s what they said…

Good news! Apparently the freables and the bambosh have reunited and the links work again! So if you were one of my readers who got a dead-in-the-water newsletter, please accept my apologies, take the time to peruse this informative and entertaining missive again, click all the links you wish, and read this brand-new bonus excerpt from DEAD GIRL RUNNING:



“Because you’re suspicious of him. For murder? Or smuggling?” Max followed, not too closely, and he moved quietly.
But she knew he was there. He had a presence, and she wanted to put her desk between them. She took the stairs. “Leo and Annie filled you in on all the details?”
“What there is of them. I suspect we’re looking at the tip of an iceberg.”
“I hate being on the Titanic,” she muttered.
“Full speed ahead,” he said, proving he had good hearing. “And no way to turn away from the peril. You don’t mind if I play the Kate Winslet role, do you? I don’t even like to walk in the rain.”
She turned and laughed at him. “You’re our new security man!”
He was two steps down, smiling faintly. “A good security man knows when to duck and run. I was a linebacker. I’m very good at running.”
“So…you’re fast?” She winced. That sounded faintly sexual.
He sobered, and suddenly he was no longer big and handsome, but rather sad and lonely. “Not always fast enough.”

All your questions answered:
You: Is DEAD GIRL RUNNING part of the Virtue Falls series?
DEAD GIRL RUNNING is the first in the Virtue Falls spin-off series, Cape Charade.

You: Why are you quitting Virtue Falls?
I didn’t say I was quitting Virtue Falls! Do you remember in VIRTUE FALLS, the first book in the series, after the earthquake, when Margaret Smith (owner of Virtue Falls Resort) spoke to Annie Di Luca (Yearning Sands Resort)? (Christina waits while you run to re-read VIRTUE FALLS.) DEAD GIRL RUNNING is set at Yearning Sands Resort. Yes, even that far back, I was planning this book. I’m going to own all books set on the Washington state coast! BWAHAHAHA!
:cough:
Ahem.

You: You said Annie Di Luca. Aren’t the Di Lucas the family from your Bella Terra series?
That’s very astute of you. The Bella Terra series is set in the California wine country, and features the Di Luca family. The Di Luca family owns three resorts; one is their Washington resort of Yearning Sands. Again…author planning!

You: My head is spinning. Why are you mixing and matching series like this?
We all know authors who write book after book after book in a successful series, and the stories get tired because it’s clear that the authors are bored, but they can’t break away? I’m taking the series that I love, expanding the worlds, and assuring that I continue to write thrilling stories with characters and settings that you love.

You: What happens to my favorite character, Kateri Kwinault?
She’s the county sheriff. There are crimes occurring at Yearning Sands. She might make a cameo appearance.

You: Do I have to read all of Bella Terra and Virtue Falls before I can read DEAD GIRL RUNNING?
Yipe! No! Characters carry over from one book to another, and that might enhance your enjoyment, but all these books read as stand-alones. Really! Read the reviews!

You: You said DEAD GIRL RUNNING is coming April 24, 2018. What takes you so long to publish a book?
Hey! That’s only eight months since THE WOMAN WHO COULDN’T SCREAM. My new publisher has created an accelerated publishing schedule for me, and I’m thrilled! DEAD GIRL RUNNING links are up, and you can pre-order it in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook.

You: In trade paperback, eBook and hardcover???
Yes, it’s true. For those of you who collected all the Virtue Falls books, DEAD GIRL RUNNING is in hardcover. Book club readers will be thrilled to see it come out in trade paperback (the larger format.) And eBook readers will enjoy the convenience of reading the newest Christina Dodd suspense on phone, computer or eReader. Win for everybody!

You: What can I do to prepare for DEAD GIRL RUNNING?
— Put it on your Goodreads to-read list. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
— Mutter darkly when I send an excerpt that makes you want to read it right now. (The excerpt on the website is pretty darned good, too.) http://www.christinadodd.com/book/dea...
— Wait for me to announce a newsletter contest for advanced reading copies so you can taunt your friends about reading it early.
— Re-read Virtue Falls and Bella Terra. And heck, Darkness Chosen which also uses Western Washington as a home base and is another one of my most loved series.
— Communicate with your friends about the books you enjoy, because reading is a wonderful adventure to be shared.

One final thing: I have a new question on the website pop-up survey: Do you read the pages past “The End?” It’s a yes/no response, but there’s a comment box for you to tell me details. Due to the volume of responses, I don’t have time to respond, but I read every word!

http://www.christinadodd.com/

I hope this letter answered all your questions. Wishing you a great week and happy reading!

Christina Dodd
New York Times bestselling author of
the Bella Terra Series
#1 SECRETS OF BELLA TERRA
#2 REVENGE AT BELLA TERRA
#3 BETRAYAL
And the Virtue Falls Series
#1 THE LISTENER: A short story
#2 VIRTUE FALLS: Full-Length Thriller
#3 THE RELATIVES: A short story
#4 OBSESSION FALLS: Full-Length Thriller
#5 LOVE NEVER DIES: A short story
#6 BECAUSE I’M WATCHING: Full-Length Thriller with two bonus chapters from:
#7 THE WOMAN WHO COULDN’T SCREAM: Full-Length Thriller, today!

— A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT: A compilation of three short stories: THE LISTENER, THE RELATIVES, and LOVE NEVER DIES, as well as extras from the Virtue Falls series.
— THE WATCHER: A Virtue Falls short story, free to you on my mailing list! Download and read on your eReader or use an app to read on your phone or computer.

Dear Readers,
In book #3 of the Cape Charade series, which I'm writing now, seven-year-old Rae Di Luca gets a dog and it needs a name. Thank you to everyone on social media who came to my rescue and suggested a name.



There were thousands! I narrowed down the choices based on:
— Names I love (I'll use it a lot!)
— Names I haven't used before in one of my books (Think about it! I've named hundreds of characters/pets.)
— Names that aren't the names of my friends or relatives (Rule #1: Never name anything after your mother-in-law! ;) )

Then I created a survey, and it is waiting for your vote. But first!

To help you choose, I wrote an original scene with Rae, Max and Grandma Verona Di Luca, that introduces the new dog. Read, then vote!

Rae ran into the kitchen yelling, “Grandma! We got a dog!”
Verona turned away from the accounts spread across the table. “Well, let me see it… My God, what’s that?” She pulled off her reading glasses and stared as the fifty pounds of red muscled beast bounded in, tail wagging, and explored her kitchen.
Rae ran after it. “It’s my dog! It’s my dog!”
“That’s not a puppy. You were going to get a puppy!” Verona's horror was palpable.
Max wandered in, hands in his pockets. “Rae and that dog looked at each other, and it was love at first sight.”
“What is it?” Verona demanded.
"It's a dog!" Rae said.
“According to the animal shelter," Max said, "she’s half Australian cattle dog, half full sized poodle.”
“And half some other breeds. That is a mutt!” Verona turned in her chair and watched the dog race into the living room, nose to the ground. “How old is it?”
Rae ran after it.
“About eighteen months. It's a stray."
In a goaded voice, Verona said, "Maximilian, you promised you were going to get a small dog. A puppy! A Pomeranian or a…a Puggle."
"On the bright side, she's housebroken."
From the living room, they heard a crash and Rae yelling, "It's okay! Nothing's hurt. It was her tail!"
"House broken is exactly the term I would use," Verona said ominously. "We won't be drinking wine in the living room any time soon."
The dog ran back into the kitchen and for the first time seemed to notice Verona. It stopped, stiff-legged, and stared her full in the face.
Verona stared back.
The dog smiled. It actually smiled, pranced over in a display of delight and affection, leaned against Verona's leg and put its head in her lap. And smiled some more. "Oh, no," Verona said. "It likes me."
Max and Rae exchanged smirks.
"She loves you, Grandma," Rae said.
"Of course it does." Verona sighed. "What's its name?"
"We don't know. What do you think we should name her?"
"She's part French poodle, so how about Fifi?" Max laughed at his mother's expression, laughed hard.
His laugher warmed Verona's heart. He hadn't smiled for so long… "How about Luna, like the moon… and lunatic?" she asked tartly.
"I could call her Bella Luna. Beautiful moon. That's a great name!" Rae said.
Max got a mixing bowl out of the cupboard, filled it with water, and put it on the utility porch. "She looks like a Sadie."
"Calamity." Verona absentmindedly scratched the dog between the ears.
"Or a Mabel," Max said.
"Quirky, because she's so funny and fun." Rae knelt down and hugged her new dog.
"Since she's half cattle dog and half poodle, how about Canoodle?" Max grinned at his little girl.
"Daddy, that's a funny name. I like Cara Mia." Rae crooned to the dog in a perfect Italian accent. "My beloved."
With a sigh, the dog subsided onto Verona's feet.
"Ramona, like Ramona in the Beverly Cleary books Rae is reading now," Max said.
"But Daddy, Ramona's always in trouble!" Rae protested.
"How about that?" Verona muttered.
"She'll be a superhero like Mommy and me, so — SuperNova!" Rae stretched out on the floor, her head on the dog's side. "When Mommy comes home, she'll be so excited to meet my new dog!"
"Yes." Max took a painful breath. "She will. Now, let's all vote on a name!"

Vote here by June 25 at midnight. I can’t wait to see what name you choose!

Warmly,

Christina Dodd
New York Times bestselling author of
DEAD GIRL RUNNING Out now!
WHAT DOESN'T KILL HER (Had Better Start Running) Coming 1/29/2019
Printable Book List (Updated)
Books by Series And In Order

"They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich and just moody?"