Shot in the Dark: A Dark Steel Novel by Sum Saxworth
About the Book
Shot in the Dark, first in the Dark Steel Novel series, uncovers an explosive government connection arising out of a sequence of sniper murders that lead directly to the presidential candidates for the 2012 elections!
This exciting crime and suspense thriller opens with a nail-biting teaser that will fire up the reader’s imagination. As the story chillingly unfolds, a psychotic killer dancing as a puppet on a string for the highest office in the country, lets loose a reign of terror in the starry city of San Francisco.
Private detective Della Steel is sexy and unpredictable, with a backbone of steel and an affinity with knives. She’s a strong and tech-savvy sleuth who can play as dirty as the big boys. But can she solve the most convoluted and high-profile case of her career, even with the help of handsome psycho analyst Darren Hunt, who fires up her hormones? Will their professional relationship develop into something more exciting, or will the killer mark her first?
This fast-paced suspense novel weaves intricate intrigue with a memorable cast of characters, and cleverly reaches its climax with wit, character, and heart.
Born in New Delhi, India, Sum Saxworth, an avid fiction reader and a wildlife enthusiast, loves to travel, solve puzzles, sample gourmet food, and currently lives a full, cheerful life with her husband and two teenagers in sunny California.
Bette A. Stevens received her B.S. in Elementary
Education from the University of Maine at Orono before embarking on graduate
courses in Curriculum Studies at Chapman University in California. Following a
rewarding career in the business world at a Maine-based construction company,
she taught in elementary and middle school classrooms in California and
Virginia. She and her husband are now retired and living in Central Maine, where
they enjoy trips to the coast and gardening when they're not renovating their
37-acre farmstead. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. Stevens
enjoys gardening, walking, reading, writing, drawing, painting and sharing her
stories and her home with others. Stevens has written articles for 'ECHOES, The
Northern Maine Journal of Rural Culture' based in Caribou, Maine. Her love of
children, of literature and of learning inspired her to write 'The Tangram Zoo
and Word Puzzles Too!' She has used this book as a teaching/learning resource in
the classroom with students of all ages. Stevens's second children's picture
book, 'Amazing Matilda: A Monarch's Tale' was released in July 2012 on
Amazon.com. This creative tale of a Monarch butterfly and her meadowland friends
was written to inspire readers and listeners alike, not only to follow their own
dreams, but to encourage others to do the same.
"I love to walk and enjoy nature's beauty, whether at home or on the go. I'm
passionate about the beauty in the world around me and enjoy jotting down notes
and composing short poems. The coast is one of my favorite places to relax. I'm
a nature collector: everything from seashells to birds' nests. When I was
teaching, these treasures filled my classroom and provided inspiration for
reading, writing and research. It was hands-on fun and excitement and I enjoyed
every moment spent learning with, from and about my students.
One thing I learned is that many children don't have an adult to read to them or
listen to them read and talk about those books. Many of my blog and facebook
posts will focus on how we can improve childhood literacy by reading to the
children in our families and communities. My own childhood was filled with books
and adults who shared and encouraged a love of reading. I've written some poetry
and several short stories. I plan to write some adult fiction, including a
coming of age story, and write reviews on some of my favorite books. I'll be
sharing some of your stories, poems and tips on reading and writing, too. Let's
have fun learning, living, sharing and loving language together." Bette A.
Stevens
9/24/12 LINDA LOEGEL INTERVIEW excerpts:
Q: What prompted you to write "AMAZING MATILDA: A Monarch's Tale"?
Bette: As a prolific reader, and with some creative writing experiences in my
new 'teacher toolbox,' I was hooked right from the start. Meld that love of
literature with a desire to inspire students to be all they can be and you've
got a brand new children's book writer: me, the author of AMAZING MATILDA: A
Monarch's Tale, my second children's book. The teacher me wanted to integrate a
story with core curriculum
elements. A Monarch would be the perfect main character: as an indicator species
and with Monarch habitat (milkweed) rapidly disappearing, it would be a great
way for children to learn life science and environmental science concepts, all
while enjoying an inspiring story. Monarch research was my first step. I thought
the fit would be perfect because the challenges to be met in the natural world
parallel the challenges to be met in the lives of the children. And so, I
started to write and rewrite and rewrite... All of the tweaking was on the
literary side of the story. I wanted it to be used to teach (model) the use of
repetition, alliteration, metaphor and simile in writing stories. It was lots of
fun and the first year I placed Matilda's story in a storybook format in a
binder (no illustrations yet). I read it aloud and my fourth graders wanted to
read it during their free time and make their own illustrations. We were raising
silkworms in the classroom at the time. I continued to read the story aloud to
my students (4th, 5th and 6th graders) over the years. During that time, I
continued to make revisions and used those models as a teaching tool as well. As
a retired teacher, I've had time this year to create the illustrations (pencil
sketches and watercolor). My background in desktop publishing gave me the
incentive to check the internet to find out about self-publishing. Voila! After
more than a decade: AMAZING MATILDA, is now written, illustrated and
published.
Q: What's next for you? Bette: I recently started a blog and have been
writing some poetry and short articles. Also, I have a short story (unpublished)
that I want to expand into a YA fiction (coming of age in the 1950s and '60s)
novel. When I read the short story to my fellow students in a creative writing
class at college, they wanted to hear more. That's my next big project. I've
already asked some Web friends if they thought this type of book would have an
audience and I'm waiting for some feedback. I've also posted an article on my
latest WIP (Work In Progress) on my blog. The working title is "Pure Trash."
Q: What is your advice to would be writers?
Bette: NEVER GIVE UP: You can do anything you really want to do if you try
long enough and hard enough, especially with help and encouragement from your
friends. (The theme of AMAZING MATILDA) The internet is such a great resource
for connecting with other writers, readers, marketers, publishers. Join groups
that fit into your niche. Then, connect with other writers and find out what
they're doing. Read them, follow them, leave comments and ask questions. There
is a wonderful world of encouragers on the Web.
Matilda and her meadowland friends LOVE to inspire kids of all ages (4 – 94) to reach for their dreams.
In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with
Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no
significance for Victoria either. It was her father's decision to enroll her at university that
began to change all that. There she befriendes the rebellious and outspoken
Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a
talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her
future.
After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with
the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteeres but within months has
gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria's initial
attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous
assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and
later tempted to adultery.
Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced
to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a
world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that
Gerald will some day return that sustaines her through the dark days of hardship
and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.
"Dance The Moon Down". Published by Authors On Line (213 pages) An historical drama set against the background of the First World War. The novel attempts a new slant on an old theme by focusing on the lives of the women left behind. The books main character, Victoria, has been married for barely a year when her poet husband,Gerald, volunteers to fight and then goes missing on the Western Front, leaving her to fend for herself in a male dominated society. Her struggle to survive and her refusal to give up hope that her husband will one day return .
Georg Freese has traveled and lived in Europe, South America
and the United States, meeting and learning from many people from different
cultures.
His narrative is immediate and breathtaking, ushering the
reader to witness turn of events rather than read about them, evoking the
sensations of film rather than text.
The characters of his stories are flawed by excellence,
daring to explore human delusion and weakness, the dark side of the heart, in
worlds where nobility is a faint light extinguished by jealousy and greed.
Historical Fiction and Fantasy are his inherent realms,
though at times he has boarded space crafts to take him to constellations afar
where man meets cultures incomprehensible and creatures bizarre.
Regardless, the theme of his works invariably pertains to
the tragedy of human nature and the irony of circumstances, honoring always the
old proverb, "adversity reveals the true character of an individual."
