I’m excited to have DiAnn Mills guest blogging on my site today! She’s not only a price-winning and best-selling author but an amazing mentor to those who take the Craftsman course. That’s where we met and I’m so grateful. She’s a delight to work with and such an encourager. My writing journey has been enriched with her in it. Thank you DiAnn for everything you’ve done for me.
Grab a coffee (or tea), sit back, and read her blog. At the end you’ll find the book trailer to her newest release, The Survivor. You also have a chance to win it. Check it out. Enjoy!
With every DiAnn Mills book — you can expect an adventure!
Darlene
Castle Meets Cold Case
I’m an avid fan of TV’s Castle. Got to admit that Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett make a great team. Love the plots. Love the witty dialogue. Love the romance between Castle and Beckett. What is there not to love?
When Cold Case aired, I often lost myself in Detective Lilly Rush’s investigations. I admired her spunky personality and her ability to solve tough cold cases. She gave closure to the victims’s families, something no one else could do. I admired that.
When I thought about the two shows, my thoughts raced ahead. What if . . . Castle met Cold Case? What if . . . I switched the characters’ genders and set a suspense series in my home town, Houston? Then I talked to a good friend, who happens to be the media coordinator for Houston’s FBI, and we brainstormed. What if . . . I wrote a series based on solved cold cases from the files of Houston’s FBI? That’s how The Chase and The Survivor became books one and two of Crime Scene: Houston.
The Chase, the first book was birthed over coffee as I talked to my friend and scribbled on napkins. The research was heart-wrenching, but I learned a lot about human behavior. My heroine became Kariss Walker, a New York Times bestselling women’s fiction author. My hero? Special Agent Tigo Harris, a man who had no time or use for a woman writer who wanted to learn FBI procedure.
The Survivor, the second book in the Crime Scene: Houston series, uses information from a solved cold case that broke my heart. Made me angry. Victims of crime are either needy and dependent, or they are survivors and heroes. In this explosive story, Tigo is an agent in love … but he’s blown it. Kariss is searching for the truth of a twenty-year-old cold case. And we have a killer who will do anything to keep a secret.
I am forever grateful to Houston’s FBI for helping me write this story and for reading every word to ensure protocol was correct. Granted, I stretched a few procedures now and then to fit my characters—after all, I’m a novelist. Even as I write this blog and sneak a look at The Survivor poised on my desk, I swallow the lump in my throat. I take a deep breath and hope the reader feels Kariss’s and Tigo’s passion for this story like I do. It’s real and happening in my city.
Contest!
Now I want to give you an opportunity to talk about your favorite TV show—and why it’s your favorite. If you’re the one who writes the wittiest response to my question, I’ll send you an autographed copy of The Survivor. See if you can figure out the villain!
Contest ends Saturday, March 16th at midnight, so enter today! Put your witty response to DiAnn’s question in the comment section.
DiAnn’s Bio
Best-selling author DiAnn Mills is known as a writer who combines adventure with captivating characters to create unforgettable novels. DiAnn is the author of fifty books that have sold more than 1.5 million copies. Her books have won five ACFW Carol Awards, one Christy Award, and three Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards. DiAnn and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
Find DiAnn here:
Book Trailer for The Survivor
Read an except from chapter one here:
http://www.diannmills.com/contemporaryfiction/the_survivor.shtml
Thanks so much for hosting me!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for being here. 😀
Hey Sissy, What a great idea to do this. I read the Fault Line 1st chapter >DiAnn is an amazing writer. I see why she inspires you and you both like mystery. Love you Tks DiAnn for mentoring my talented sister.
Hi Darlene and DiAnn. Loved “The Chase” and especially enjoyed getting to chat with you on the phone after reading it.
My current favourite show is Justified on showcase. It’s set in the present but has an old fashioned gritty feel to it. It’s become a guilty pleasure 🙂
Oooo….guilty pleasure. Sounds intriguing! 😀 Thanks for sharing, Priscilla!
My favourite show is Blue Bloods.. Tom Selleck has always has a special part in my dream world.. ;} Blue Bloods is a show where the family is all involded in either detective work or are Police officers.. Their stories and cases are intriging and always have some sort of twist. I like the show the most as they portray a family who no matter what at the end of the day sits down to a family dinner and before they eat they thank God for the day/food…. Anyway that’s my man.. er I mean show.
Hey Di! Thanks for sharing your favorite show! Blue Bloods is definitely a good one and who doesn’t want to see Tom Selleck?! Loved him as Magnum PI (ooo…I’m dating myself now!)! ha ha! 😀
Hmmmm… I have grown to quite enjoy the shows already mentioned – Blue Bloods and Castle. And I think Diane nails it when she talks about the closing appeal of Blue Bloods and Castle is entertaining with action, the love intrigue and always some sort of laughs. One of the shows that we also quite enjoy is “The Mentalist.” The character of Patrick Jane is so off the wall, so brilliant, hilarious at times and yet also there’s the balance of needing resolution on the crime case. Though there are times that an episode of the Mentalist (just as with any other crime show) can be a bit dark or somber for my enjoyment – the number of times that my husband will laugh out loud at Jane’s antics keeps me coming back. I take so much delight in seeing my husband totally entertained and in awe of the character’s wiles.
PS – I tend to be drawn into books the same way that my husband is drawn into a show and so am particularly excited about these books! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michelle! Thanks for stopping by and taking part in our fun contest! I haven’t watched The Mentalist faithfully, but it does look very intriguing!! I appreciate you sharing. 🙂
My favorite show was ER. I loved the ER hospital setting and the relationship building that was there. I could have been a nurse as the people skills required for hairdressing could be used in a compassionate way for nursing. I enjoy doing all my clients but especially the nurses!
I should have known you’d say ER! I remember that being your fave and you have all the seasons, right? I would have to say my past fave is Alias. Love Sidney Bristow. My current fave is Castle! 🙂 Thanks for commenting. Love you Sissy! xo
We totally loved Alias too! Wish it was still on!
Me too!! Why can’t they bring it back? 😀