Dark of Night by Colleen Coble
Guest Post + Book & Author Info + Giveaway!
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Dark of Night
The law is about justice—not grace. But perhaps ranger Annie Pederson can find a way to have both.
As if the last few months haven’t been hard enough—complete with threats on her life and the return of her first love, Jon—Annie has to figure out whether or not to believe a woman who claims to be her sister, Sarah, who was abducted twenty-four years ago at age five. Annie’s eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, has plenty of questions about what’s going on in her mother’s life—but there are some stones Annie doesn’t want uncovered.
As Annie grapples with how to heal the gulf between her and her would-be sister and make room in her daughter’s life for Jon, she’s professionally distracted by the case of yet another missing hiker in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A woman named Michelle Fraser has now been abducted, and though the woman’s estranged husband is at the top of their suspect list, Annie and her colleagues will need to dig deeper and determine whether these recent mysteries are truly as unrelated as they seem.
In this second novel of bestselling author Colleen Coble’s latest romantic-suspense series, Annie and Jon must fight for the future—and the family—that could once more be theirs.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 2023
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 0785253742 (ISBN13: 9780785253747)
Series: Annie Pederson #2
To purchase Dark of Night, click any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Goodreads
Dark of Night — Guest Post
Research, The Engine for Story
By Colleen Coble
Research is a super important part of the writing process. I always want to make sure I get the details right. Seems simple, right? Just ask the right people. Ahem.
My first experience of how challenging this might be was when I needed to find out how to down a small plane in my first Rock Harbor novel, Without a Trace. Now ordinarily this shouldn’t have been difficult. A friend of my husband owned a small plane. But here was the problem: it was the week after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. No one wanted to answer such a question, not even Dave’s friend.
I finally found a plane forum and explained what I needed. I listed my website and assured them it was for a book. Finally, one brave soul told me what I needed to know, and I was ready to bow down and kiss his feet.
My next major foray into this research was for Alaska Twilight. One of the pharmacists at my local Walgreens had been a good source for me so I went to see her. I asked what drug would leave my victim unable to fight if someone threw her into the water. As my friend was giving me the information, the other pharmacist on duty came flying around the shelves with a horrified expression on her face. I held up my hands and assured her it was for a book. I’m not completely sure she believed me!
The research for Rosemary Cottage seemed straightforward, but I had to research something that was a little out of my comfort zone—cold water surfing.
A little background first. I’m a health nut. I’d been hearing about the benefits of cold thermogenesis. That’s immersion in cold water for those who don’t know. And bonus! I’d heard it would help sculpt your body, so I tried getting in my daughter’s pool in the winter to see if it would help me lose weight in my thighs. Oh what we women will do for vanity!
Now before you faint, let me assure you this was Arizona so the water temperature was about forty-five to fifty, not freezing. But it was still mighty cold. After a few minutes, it was rather comfortable though. Unfortunately it didn’t shrink my thighs. But that health research led me to an article about cold water surfing. Did you know brave souls in the Upper Peninsula surf at Lake Superior in the winter (I wrote about that in Rock Harbor Search and Rescue too) and also in Maine in the winter? Now that’s cold!
I got a book about cold water surfing, and I decided Edith, one of the supporting characters in Rosemary Cottage would be a cold water surfer. I had to figure out lots of things about that too, like what kind of wetsuit and other gear. By the way, Edith is based on my real Aunt Edith. You should have seen Ede’s face when I told her I had her surfing the North Carolina shore in November. I don’t think she was totally onboard with the idea. . .
For my newest book, Dark of Night, we go back to my popular setting of Rock Harbor, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. The setting didn’t take much research because I know it so well, but I’ve been immersed in learning about law enforcement rangers which is a fascinating subject.
Research is what keeps writing fun and fresh. And the really terrific thing about it is how one snippet of information can take you in a completely new direction. Research is what drives the idea for me.
Hope you enjoy Dark of Night!
Colleen
Colleen Coble — Author of Dark of Night
Colleen Coble is a USA TODAY bestselling author best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor series.
To learn more about Colleen, click on any of the following links:
colleencoble.com
Goodreads
BookBub: @colleencoble
Instagram: @colleencoble
Twitter: @colleencoble
Facebook: colleencoblebooks
Visit all the stops on the Tour!
01/09 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
01/10 Review @ sunny island breezes
01/11 Review @ Wall-to-wall Books
01/12 Review @ Melissa’s Bookshelf
01/13 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
01/13 Review @ Elaine Sapp
01/14 Showcase @ Brooke Blogs
01/14 Showcase @ Im All About Books
01/15 Review @ Paws. Read. Repeat
01/16 Review @ Urban Book Reviews
01/17 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
01/18 Review @ Novels Alive
01/18 Showcase @ Novels Alive
01/19 Review @ Reading Is My SuperpPower
01/20 Review @ Splashes of Joy
01/23 Review @ Melissa As Blog
01/24 Review @ Inkwell Inspirations
01/25 Showcase @ Nesies Place
01/26 Review @ mokwip8991
01/27 Podcast reading of excerpt @ Books to the Ceiling
01/30 Review @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews
01/31 Review @ Book World Reviews
02/01 Guest post @ The Mystery of Writing
02/01 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
02/02 Review @ Read Review Rejoice
02/03 Interview @ Read Review Rejoice
02/04 Review @ A Room Without Books is Empty
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery
The Foundation of Plot, a Wait, Wait, Don’t Query (Yet!) guidebook. Amazon #1 bestseller
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“Research is what drives the idea for me.” – Definitely!
You can always tell a good book by the research that was done first!
I don’t think you can fake it that good.
Always a good one from Colleen! 🙂
I love research! Great guest post.