This fall, I created something special for my readers.

Unseen Enemy, a Dive Team Investigations novella, will be arriving in newsletter subscriber inboxes later this month.

Unseen Enemy is Dive Team Investigations 3.5/Defend and Protect 0.5.

The events of Unseen Enemy take place in between the end of One Final Breath (Dive Team Investigations, Book 3) and the beginning of Unknown Threat (Defend and Protect, Book 1).

For those of you who have been missing Ryan and Leigh, Adam and Sabrina, and Gabe and Anissa, the gang is all here.
The Dive Team is called out to help with a case that has Dr. Sharon Oliver, their favorite medical examiner, working overtime dodging bullets and grenades while reeling from the surprise appearance of the man she said goodbye to ten years ago, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Benjamin North. He usually protects the President, but will he be able to keep Sharon safe from the unseen enemy stalking her every move?
I’d love to give you Unseen Enemy as a gift, but you’ll have to sign up for the newsletter in order to receive it. You can do that here.

I hope you love it!

Grace and peace,

 

It’s hard to believe that the l-o-n-g wait for Unknown Threat is almost over!

Unknown Threat releases in March (yay!) and it’s time to find the people who are most excited about getting the word out to readers everywhere.

That moment when a reader looks at another reader and says, “You have GOT to read this book,” will always be the best way to generate buzz for a new book. But it has never been more crucial to the success of a book than it is now.

And that’s where Street Teams come in.

A street team is made up of enthusiastic readers who are committed to getting the word out about a new book.

They do this by reading the book, sharing about it with their real-life friends and family, posting reviews with on-line retailers, requesting it from their local indie bookseller and library, encouraging their book club to select it, and anything else they can think of to help get the book in the hands of more readers.

You might be wondering what the Street Team members get out of this deal? It varies, but usually there’s a copy of the book in some format, as well as bookish swag that is exclusive for the Street Team members.

We’re still nailing down the details for the Unknown Threat street team, but I know members will receive an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and will be able to read the book as early as January. That right there is probably a pretty solid incentive for many. 🙂 But there will also be an exclusive FB group just for street team members where I will pop in to chat during the lead-up to the release date. And of course Unknown Threat swag and bookish prizes will be in the mix, too.

The application for the street team will be in the Dec. 1st newsletter. If you think you’d like to apply, be sure you’re a newsletter subscriber by clicking here.

Here’s another opportunity for you to win some fabulous prizes from the Romantic Suspense A-Team!

  • Lynette Eason is giving away her brand new release, Acceptable Risk, and a copy of Collateral Damage, and a $15 Amazon gift card.
  • Janice Cantore is giving away three e-books!
  • Dani Pettrey is giving away an e-copy of The Crushing Depths and a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble.
  • DiAnn Mills is giving away an e-copy of Airborne.

 

You can enter the giveaway here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Grace and peace,

 

My publisher, Revell, is hosting a summer reading challenge. You only have to read 3 books in 3 different genres (only one of which has to be a Revell book) between now and August 30 in order to enter to win a fabulous selection of novels, bookish goodies, and more! The more you read, the more times you can enter.

You can click on the photo below to get all the details and to find the current coupon code (good through July 19) for some great savings at Baker Book House on many Revell titles.
I was thrilled to see Beneath the Surface included in the summer reading checklist (you can click here to see it). Any book on this list that has an asterisk beside it will be on sale at some point during the reading challenge.

 

Baker Book House will be offering Beneath the Surface, Book 1 in the Dive Team Investigations series, at a huge 40% discount from July 20 – August 9th. This would be a great time to snag the first book in the series at an incredible price.

 

 

Grace and peace,

It’s time for the second giveaway of the Romantic Suspense A-Team’s Summer of Suspense! This time, we’re highlighting the newest release from Dani Pettrey. The Crushing Depths is the second book in the Coastal Guardians series. Check out the details below!

When an accident claims the life of an oil-rig worker on the first drilling platform off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard investigators Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are sent to take the case. Tensions surrounding the oil rig are high and the death has everyone on edge. Environmental activists are threatening to do whatever it takes to stop the structure from being completed, while rumors are being whispered about ancient curses surrounding this part of the ocean. 

Mounting evidence shows the death may not have been an accident at all. Was he killed by one of the activists or, perhaps more frighteningly, a member of his own crew? Rissi and Mason have to sort through not only a plethora of suspects, but also their own past and attraction to each other. 

Just as the case seems like it’ll break open, worse news arrives. A tropical storm has turned their way and soon they’re cut off from any rescue–and right where the killer wants them. It’s a race to discover his identity before he eliminates the threat they pose.

To celebrate the release, Dani is giving away an e-copy of The Crushing Depths and some ocean inspired candles. You can also be entered to win three e-books from Janice Cantore, an Amazon gift card from Lynette Eason, and an e-book of DiAnn Mill’s latest, Airborne.

Grace and peace,

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am privileged to be a part of The Romantic Suspense A-Team over on Facebook and we are hosting a fun Summer of Suspense! Three of our members have summer releases and there’s a fun giveaway each month.

In June, you can enter the giveaway for a chance to win DiAnn Mill’s latest, Where Tomorrow Leads, Book 2 in the Hope for Sudan series.

WHERE TOMORROW LEADS

Once a member of the royal family in Sudan, Paul Farid now carries a price on his head for becoming a Christian. Called to aid his persecuted countrymen, Paul risks his life nearly daily but worries that his sometimes-reckless actions may bring harm to his wife, Larson. This war-torn country is certainly no place to raise a family . . . but that’s little comfort when Larson realizes she’s pregnant.

After fighting more than two decades against the Sudanese government’s mandates, Colonel Ben Alier is wary of the fledgling peace treaty meant to unite the north and south again. Ben vows not to give up the fight, but a pressing health concern turns his thoughts toward securing his legacy and finally acknowledging his son.

The days ahead hold no promise of peace, so Paul, Larson, and Ben must learn to trust God in all things, no matter where tomorrow leads.

You can find more information about DiAnn’s heart for the people of Sudan and Where Tomorrow Leads, as well as the link for the giveaway here.

Grace and peace,

 

I love the smell of sawdust.

One whiff and I feel like a young girl standing in the barn, holding the end of a board while my Daddy cuts it with a Skilsaw. I’m transported to a safe place to talk, to spill my troubles, to ask questions, to get answers.

With each deep breath, I can remember the unique smell of my Pa’s flannel shirts – a combination of sawdust, gasoline and sweat. I’m transported to Friday evenings sitting beside him watching Knight Rider. Or riding on the back of a tractor down to the mailbox, giggling all the way.

To me, sawdust smells like hard work and childhood.

To me, sawdust smells like love.

I thought of this several years ago as I walked through our home which, at that moment, was covered in sawdust. Despite the mess and mayhem, this home was clearly a part of God’s plan for my life, but, as usual, nothing was unfolding in the way I had expected.

God’s ways are unsearchable. His plans beyond our grasp. And sometimes, He feels so far above us, so far beyond us, as to be unknowable.

But He wants us to know Him.

As I walked down the stairs, leaving footprints in the sawdust, breathing in the delicious aroma, He whispered to me in that still small voice….

“I love the smell of sawdust, too.”

I froze on the stairs.

What?

God loves the smell of sawdust?

Really? And why would He take the time to tell me? What was He trying to reveal to me about who He is?

Perhaps it reminds Him of long talks in a barn, holding the end of a board while Joseph made practiced cuts with a handsaw. Maybe He recalls childhood laughter with His siblings as they built towers and forts with the scraps left over from Joseph’s latest project.

Or maybe, there was a hint of sawdust in the air as He bore the cross, as the nails pierced His flesh, as He died for me.

Maybe, to Him, sawdust smells like love.

I John 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (ESV)

 

Note: I wrote the original version of this post 9 years ago. I had no idea that in 2020, we would find ourselves celebrating Holy Week from our homes due to a pandemic. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even when our world is, quite literally, turned upside down, we know can know that He loves us because He sent His only Son to die for us. In the midst of chaos and confusion, this is Truth. This is Love. This is why we Hope.

Grace and peace,

Hey y’all!

I hope many of you participated in the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt over the weekend! Almost 800 readers made it all the way through and were entered to win the prizes!

WINNERS of the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt:
#1 Lisa Hudson
#2 Kathryn Bochman
#3 Heather Olsen
#4 Jan D.
#5 “DR” of New Zealand
–check your inbox!

I also had my own giveaway!

Congrats to:

Susanne M.

Gail H.

Carol E.

Emails have been sent to the winners so check your inbox!

 

And yesterday, my interview with Karen Ball and Erin Taylor Young, the hosts of Write From the Deep, went live. I’d love for you to check it out! 🙂

Last but not least, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo – that’s short for National Novel Writing Month – and I am doing my best to keep my focus on nothing but my current novel. 🙂

But beginning in December I’m excited about some fun things planned for the blog and newsletter. So stay tuned!

 

Grace and peace!

Welcome to the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!

If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 11/7 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 11/10 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Hi! My name is Lynn H. Blackburn and I write romantic suspense with a southern accent.

You can learn more about me and all my books here on my site and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The best way to stay up to date is by subscribing to my newsletter or hanging out over at my Facebook reader group, The Deep Divers. My most recent novel is One Final Breath, the third and final (sniff!) book in the Dive Team Investigations series. Here’s what it’s about: 

When investigator Gabriel Chavez had his cover blown by an aggressive reporter, the silver lining was being able to rejoin the dive team. The downside? Dive Team Captain Anissa Bell—a woman who both fascinates and frustrates him.

Anissa grew up a missionary kid on an Indonesian island and always planned to return after college. But she remained stateside, determined to solve the case that haunts her—the murder of her best friend and the disappearance of a three-year-old child.

When Anissa’s fractured past collides with Gabe’s investigation into the tragic shooting death of a teenage boy in Lake Porter, they’ll have to put their complicated history with each other aside in order to uncover the identity of a killer. What they’ll discover is that revenge has no statute of limitations.

I’m a Carolina girl and I set the Dive Team Investigations series in the fictional city of Carrington, North Carolina.

WHY I CHOSE A FICTIONAL SETTING

Carrington, North Carolina isn’t real, y’all, but I wish it was! 

One of the reasons I chose a fictional setting for my Dive Team Investigations series was that the city in my mind doesn’t exist! But that’s what makes fictional settings so fantastic. They can be whatever you need them to be. I set Carrington in central North Carolina, roughly in the area between Chatham and Randolph counties. In my mind, I simply squeezed those counties to the sides and put Carrington County and the all-so-important to the story Lake Porter right there in the middle. 

The fictional Lake Porter is modeled off several major lakes in that area of North Carolina including Badin and Jordan, but also three of the lakes of the Upstate of South Carolina—Keowee, Hartwell, and Jocassee. I learned to scuba dive in Keowee and Jocassee and definitely had those lakes in mind when I pictured the diving scenes. Jocassee has multiple dive sites and I can envision the team teaching Dr. Sabrina Fleming (from In Too Deep) to dive there. And the point where Leigh lives in Beneath the Surface—and where the opening scene of One Final Breath occurs—is a version of a real area on Lake Keowee. 

If you want to see some of the images I used to inspire the story scenes, I have Pinterest boards for all three books and I’d love for you to visit me there!

Here’s the Stop #21 Skinny:

If you’re interested, you can order One Final Breath on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook.com or at your local bookstore! 

Clue to Write Down: adjectives

Link to Stop #22, the Next Stop on the Loop: Deborah Raney’s site! 

But don’t go just yet!

I’m offering any one of my Dive Team Investigations series books to three entrants.

All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter (top right of my home page) or note that you’re already a subscriber. Additional points to those who join my reader group, The Deep Divers and to those who follow me as an author (@LynnHBlackburn) on Goodreads, Instagram, BookBub, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter! (USA only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grace and peace,


One Final Breath is out in the world and the reception has been amazing!

To celebrate the release of One Final Breath and the conclusion of the Dive Team Investigations series, my publisher, Revell, has put together an absolutely fabulous giveaway.

The Grand Prize

is a Carolina Basket from Southern Supreme and a full set of Dive Team Investigations books. Southern Supreme is located in central North Carolina and I’m 100% sure that it is a favorite of the Dive Team! 😉 It’s absolutely a favorite of the author!

The First Prize

is a Coffee Sampler and a full set of Dive Team Investigations books. Let’s face it, Anissa’s not the only one who can’t live without her coffee in the morning. 🙂

The Second Prize

is a $10 Starbucks gift card and a full set of Dive Team Investigations books. If your heart is warmed by some pumpkin spice lattes, then you’ll be able to grab one and maybe another to share with a good friend!

To enter, you can click here. You’ll have opportunities to grab more entries by signing up for my newsletter, checking out my author page on Facebook, following me on Twitter, and following me on Goodreads.

I hope you’ll take advantage of this fabulous opportunity and I cannot wait to find out who wins!

Grace and peace,

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