Authorpreneur Dashboard – Vicki Hinze
Deep Freeze: An Excerpt from Stormwatch, Book 2
Romance
In a storm, weather isn't the only threat. Emma Miller, a probationary security consultant posing as a reporter, is stranded at Portal International Airport in the worst storm in eighty years. She’s reassigned to protect a top-secret High Containment Lab in the international airport that houses the deadliest bio-contaminate diseases on the planet. A lab under attack by international terrorists who want those pathogens to sell on the black-market.Dr. Gregory Mason Martin is a bio-containment specialist who runs the top-secret lab, and he knows Emma well. They grew up together, went to school together, and she’s always fascinated him, but she has a long-standing habit of going through men like water, so he’s kept his distance. He doesn’t dare to trust her or her abilities.Now, all these years later, they must work together to protect the lab and stop the terrorists from obtaining the pathogens. And they must protect the pathogens from Holly, the deadly storm barreling mercilessly toward them. If those pathogens are stolen, the world will be held hostage, and worse, if mishandled, the country could be facing the worst pandemic in history. A pandemic that in short order could wipe out not just cities and states, but the entire nation.
Book Bubbles from Deep Freeze: An Excerpt from Stormwatch, Book 2
WHEN YOU THINK THINGS CAN'T GET ANY WORSE
We all have times when we're facing insurmountable obstacles. Sometimes they are, and we struggle to find anything good. Maybe the best we can tell ourselves is, "This is it. At least things can't get any worse."
Sound hollow? In that situation, often it is comforting. You've been sacked and sacked and there is relief in knowing there'll be no more hits. That's Emma and Mason's position. They're facing a horrific killer storm and high risk of attack to the high-containment lab they're tasked with protecting. And then there's trying to deal with each other. Things can't get any worse sounds pretty good. But then they do. And reeling, they get even worse. They see that "can't get any worse" in a whole new light. They're eager for it to be true. These times try the soul. They also reveal who we really are. Scary because it's true, you know, who we really are can be in ways better or worse...The One She Never Got
Every woman has one. A memory of a man who captivated her and broke her heart because he was the one who got away. Emma's one man is a little more complex. Oh, he is the one she wanted, and he did captivate her, but he didn't get away. He's the man she never got. And she still, years later, has no idea why things didn't work out with them. She'd tried everything to get his attention--they'd been friends forever--but Mason kept his distance. Yet in this reunion, she discovers he's kept tabs on her. Why would he do that? Especially when he clearly isn't pleased to see her and he doesn't trust her. But trust her, he must. And she must trust him, too. If they're to survive what is coming their way...
Closed Doors That Reopen
We all have run into doors we wanted open that slam shut in our faces or just close and there's no way to open them. But then something odd--some would say extraordinary--happens and suddenly that door opens wide seemingly unassisted.
It's always when we least expect it. Or long after we stopped thinking about it (no matter how much our hearts longed for it to open wide). We're stunned, we don't trust that door not to slam shut again. And yet the lure of it beckons us like a sea siren. "Give me one more try. One more chance. Just one more..." That's the heart of the challenge between Emma and Mason. And boy do they see the folly of their ways! I loved the way their relationship twisted and turned, and hope you do, too!
Bringing Home Christmas
Romance
On the eve of their wedding, Lauren Holt receives a text message from her fiancé David Decker saying their marriage would be a mistake. He is out of the country and will not be returning to Holt Ridge, Tennessee. Lauren is devastated and the pity and questions from friends in the community drive her to leave her home and move away. Time passes, a couple of years, and now she’s summoned home due to her ill widowed mother. Lauren returns and finds David, who had no ties to Holt Ridge, has moved his business there and has been there living what should have been her life! Now they must work together to plan and execute the community’s Christmas celebrations. In doing so, can she discover why David called off their wedding? Can they find their way back to each other?
Book Bubbles from Bringing Home Christmas
When You Don't Know What You Don't Know
Breakups are always rough. But on the eve of your wedding, with no explanation that makes sense--via text--they can be impossible to accept.
Why? That's the haunting question. And how long it will haunt you is another. Often, the mind creates a reasonable explanation. But when it does, there's always the doubt that it's the real reason. That doubt keeps gnawing at you. That's the place Lauren finds herself when she gets "the" call we all dread getting about our parent. Of course, she rushes back home. Of course, her sister hinted during the call something was amiss. And of course it went right over Lauren's head because she was so worried about her mom. When the present and past collide, Lauren struggles with it, as we all would. Will she get her answers? If she does, will she be able to accept them? Christmas is a time for miracles both large and small. But a series of them? Honestly, I worried all through the writing. She still loves the man, and I wanted her happy! Was that asking too much?
The Marked Bride: Shadow Watchers Series
Romance
THE SHADOW WATCHERS RETURN! Former Shadow Watcher, Tim, receives a stunning text from his ex-fiancé, Mandy, on their secure phone. She’s in trouble and needs help. Against objections—she’d broken their engagement to marry another man—Tim responds, and discovers NINA, Nihilists in Anarchy, an international terrorist group the Shadow Watchers have faced before, is after the them again. This time, through Mandy. The breakup had devastated Tim, but what he discovers now forces him to work with Mandy to reveal yet another layer of operatives in the NINA organization. A layer that, for Mandy, strikes close to home and makes her The Marked Bride. Few are who they seem. Facts are mercurial. And even those fighting this enemy on the Shadow Watchers’ side are withholding vital information that endangers all the Shadow Watchers’ lives, leaving Tim and Mandy wondering. Can they reveal the truth and protect the nation’s interests? Can the team succeed at fighting the enemy and its own side? When all is done, who will survive? And of the survivors, if Tim and Mandy are among them, will they stand together or be robbed of their future once again and be forced apart forever?
Book Bubbles from The Marked Bride: Shadow Watchers Series
You've Forfeited Everything. Now You're Forced to
It's reasonable to expect that you know your mother. After all, you've lived with her all your life. She's been there for every bump and bang and bruise. Thorough all the victories, she's celebrated with you, and through all the defeats she's comforted you. Then something happens and you realize this unconditionally loving ally isn't the person you believed, which naturally begs the question, "Who is she?" You've followed her advice--even in breaking your engagement to a man you loved madly. You forfeited the life you planned. Now you're confused. Alone and confused and in doubt--and only the man you'd abandoned can help. You have no right to ask him, but do you dare? Do you dare to not ask? These are the thoughts that spurred the story in The Marked Bride. I had to write it. I had to know the answers...
The Marked Star: Shadow Watchers, Book 2
Romance
Nick and Elle have a history. He left her without even saying good-bye, determined to never need or want or to love anyone--not after surviving his horror show of a family. He didn't know Elle too had been walking wounded. Now she's back in his life--with baggage that could get him and the Shadow Watcher team killed. Allies and enemies are hard to define. Who are they? What do they want? And can Nick and Elle find out before they end up dead?
Book Bubbles from The Marked Star: Shadow Watchers, Book 2
The Best of Life Often Comes from the Worst Interr
Isn't it just the way of things to finally get a fix on what you want to do and--wham!--something unexpected happens that takes you on a totally different path. We all hate it when that happens. It requires us to stop and shift and rethink everything we planned. But so often in life, that's when the best things happen. Something we hadn't considered or thought of or dared to dream we could have or do. That's how this segment is going to impact Nick. Without warning, his life is going to change forever. I couldn't wait to see how he handled that news. I wasn't disappointed--and I hope you enjoy his awakening as much as I did! Blessings, Vicki
Life Can Change On a Dime.
You can never expect the unexpected--or be certain how you'll react. We all like to think we'd do the right thing. But what if it costs you everything? What if you must forfeit everything. You're just doing your job on a normal day. Then--wham! Something happens out of your control and nothing is normal. Worse, it will never be normal again. How do you deal with that? And what if the life that is changed isn't just your own...?
Her Perfect Life
Romance
In Her Perfect Life, ex-POW Katie Slater is finally rescued. But coming home isn’t the sweet reunion she’d dreamed it would be. Everything that had made her life perfect is gone. Her husband’s remarried, her kids are strangers who call another woman mom, and her former co-pilot and best friend, C.D. Quade—the sexy best friend who’d deserted her in the desert—is all she has left. How is she supposed to cobble together any kind of life? Katie struggles to determine what’s real and what are tricks of the mind, to build a new life and rebuild relationships, and she makes an astounding discovery. Her perfect life hadn’t been so perfect. But when she sees C.D.’s memorial to her—that she forever walks in his soul—Katie realizes this new life holds promise and could be perfect—if she has the courage to face her past and claim her future. If she has the courage to dare to love…
Book Bubbles from Her Perfect Life
Hope In Hopeless Times
We all lose hope. For Katie, the loss is huge. She's a POW, six years separated from her family and her life. Now, the one person good to her is leaving.
When there is no light at the end of the tunnel, how do we get through it?
Many adopt a quote that helps them hold on. For Katie, it's "That which is endured is conquered."
About those Life Warning Labels...
One the questions that nagged me into writing HER PERFECT LIFE was "What if you came home from the most horrific experience of your life, and home wasn't there anymore?" I thought about that for a long while, and the more I did, the more difficult I imagined it would be to find my feet again in this new, revised life. About how much I'd miss my old life, and how in the world could a woman begin again when everything that sustained her through getting home was gone? I had to write the story to see what happened. How things turned out for her. When you've lost so much, it's just absurd to have to endure more. Admittedly, I was angry about that. But as I wrote, something strange happened. Katie took over and showed me her way. It was amazingly better than mine, and I discovered that sometimes when you think you've lost everything, you haven't. You have to make way to find the everything you wanted most. That, I humbly submit, should be one warning label that comes with life. But it doesn't. And maybe that's a huge blessing...
Down and Dead in Dixie
Romance
Kay Hooper , New York Times bestselling author, (on Not This Time) "I know I can always count on Vicki for an absorbing story I’ll remember long after I’ve closed the book.” Peggy Webb, USA Today bestselling author “Move over Janet Evanovich! Vicki Hinze is romping through Dixie’s criminal underbelly, and she’s bringing the sassiest heroine since Stephanie Plum. Down and Dead in Dixie is a rip-roaring page-turner that delivers laughs, fantastic characters and twists galore. This one is a must read!” Clean Read. This book is suitable for most readers. To live, sometimes ya gotta die! Daisy Grant is in a heap of trouble. She stumbles into a mob turf war and now somebody wants her dead. Daisy may be small-town to the bone, not at all the kind of woman to deal with the Southern Mafia, but she knows how to get creative fast! Enters the way-too-attractive Mark Jensen... He didn't mean to rescue anybody, and he certainly didn't mean to go on the run because of a stubborn, sassy woman. Soon they are up to their ears in so many wacky characters they don't know who's on their side. Daisy and Mark decide that to live, sometimes ya gotta die. And sometimes to die right takes . . . practice.
Book Bubbles from Down and Dead in Dixie
The Problem With Kicking Up Dust
Often in life we must choose:
1. Take what others dish out, or... 2. Rebel. Rebelling is kicking up dust. It's what most of us do more often than not. We live for a time trying to keep the peace and to do what keeps us on the path of least resistance, but that wears us down and out because it isn't true to our nature or it fails to produce a tolerable result. Whenever we hit that point, the taker in us becomes the kicker. And kickers share their challenges, too. Our kicks sometimes miss the mark, or have unintended consequences. To us. And to others. That's the thing. But in a take or kick position, we can't see beyond possibilities. We can't be sure how things will work out. So we are driven by past results, logic, and hope. Of these, the strongest is hope. Sometimes things work out, sometimes we have bigger challenges. But on the rare occasion, things work in ways we couldn't begin to imagine. And those are the best results of all...Life Throws Us All Curve Balls
We dream and plan and work our plans. Yet we all know the feeling of having something come up we didn't expect. A wrench. A storm. A tragedy. And it seems the more we've been through and the harder we've had it, the more prone to these unexpected we are. That's certainly the case in Down and Dead in Dixie. And yet, when all is said and done, we recognize we are who we are largely because of our experiences. Bad things do happen to good people. And then the people must choose... Do they forget becoming who they wanted to be? Give in to who they are and stop fighting? We all have to choose. At some point, we all have to choose...
BLACK MARKET BODY DOUBLE
Romance
Captain Amanda West is assigned to the elite S.A.S.S. Unit. All its Secret Assignment Security Specialists are highly trained and well experienced covert operatives. While on a mission, Amanda is buried alive in a tomb by S.A.S.S. nemesis and black-market broker Thomas Kunz who elevates ruthless to new heights. Amanda escapes and is astonished to learn she has been missing not for three days but for three months! And soon she discovers another who has an unexplained three-month absence. An operative in a highly classified and sensitive position, Captain Mark Cross. Working together, Amanda and Mark must discover what happened to them and why. And they must determine if there are others like them. In their line of work, finding the truth is essential not only for their careers but for the lives of those in the nation they have taken oaths to defend and protect. What Kunz could be up to chills them both. But as bad as that is, it pales to what he is actually doing. Can Amanda and Mark stop Kunz before he attains his goal? Kunz wants nothing more than to destroy the entire nation!
Book Bubbles from BLACK MARKET BODY DOUBLE
Admit and Lose Everything, Deny and ...
Amanda hasn't made a dent in figuring out what happened to her in the three missing months. To her, it's been a few days. Now she is smacked in the face with a truth that until now has been theoretical. Her job is so sensitive that she can't have medical treatment without someone present to vouch for what she says and does while being treated. Which puts her in a really awkward position. If she admits she has no idea what happened during the three months, she loses her clearance and her job. If she doesn't admit it, she can't be trusted with the type of operations she works, so she loses her clearance and her job. In the hands of a lesser commander, this would be a significant issue with dire consequences. But Amanda's commander is Sally Drake. She will not sacrifice one of her top operatives if there's a way to spare her. Especially now that she knows others too have gone missing and returned and have no idea what happened to them!
Black-Market Body Double
You never know your full strengths until your full vulnerabilities are tested.
What could make you more vulnerable than your own life being a complete mystery to you? The not knowing makes for great suspense--provided it is happening to someone else. But what if it's happening to you? What if you can't tell the truth because you don't know the truth? How far would you go to find out exactly what that truth is? Would you want to know if it cost you everything? Amanda faces these hard questions with the uncertainty any of us would have. But with the courage we hope we'd have, too. That's important, because she soon learns her life isn't the only life at risk...Her Deepest Fear: A Breakdown Series Short Read
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
BEFORE THE BREAKDOWN BEGINS... In every life there is a defining moment. That one event that forever changes you and the direction of your life. This short read is that defining moment in the life of Dr. Dana Perkins, a psychologist and kindergarten teacher determined to help kids start out right in school so they’ll love learning forever. But then the unthinkable happens. For Dana, it changes everything…
Book Bubbles from Her Deepest Fear: A Breakdown Series Short Read
Purpose: Making a Difference
Making a difference can but doesn’t always mean sweeping reform that changes every life. That may or may not be your purpose or your mission.
Your mission might be to encourage or care for a single person. To help someone with no one else. You might think that seems small, as purposes go, but it is not small to the person on the receiving end who needs your encouragement or help to get what that person needs to fulfill his or her purpose. Your purpose is inextricably tied to the other person’s achieving his or her purpose. That makes your purpose imperative. Critical. The other person can’t do what they need to do without you—and who knows how many are impacted by what that person must do? Could be one individual, thousands, or millions. The point is, there are no small purposes. We never know how much we impact others. Often we don’t know exactly what they need or what is required from us. But innately we will give it to them when it is most needed in a way that provides the opportunity for success for the other person. We must believe that. Know it. Trust it.Meet Dr. Dana Perkins
Stuff happens to us all. Unfortunately, the worst stuff, we rarely see coming. Yet it does come, and when it does, it rocks our entire world.
One such event happened to Dr. Dana Perkins. Her Deepest Fear is the story of that event, and how and why it changed her life forever. This event occurred seven years ago. And today Dana feels its impact as strongly as she did then. This is about her life-defining moment, and her life before the BREAKDOWN begins in Shutter Lake. That story is told in So Many Secrets. When fear strikes us, we react in many different ways. Some fear is healthy and has a positive outcome. Some don't. All can break your heart or make you stronger. Her Deepest Fear does both...SO MANY SECRETS: BREAKDOWN
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
THE BREAKDOWN DEEPENS... Seven years ago, Dr. Dana Perkins came to idyllic Shutter Lake seeking safety from a traumatic experience in Phoenix. She became the principal at Shutter Lake School—and found her refuge . . . until Sylvia Cole was killed and one of Dana’s best and brightest students, Vinn Bradshaw, confessed to the murder. A murder Dana is certain he didn’t commit. But who is he protecting? Why? Seeking the truth shatters Dana’s safety. Yet who could have predicted proving Vinn innocent would jeopardize her friends and neighbors . . . and expose so many secrets? The novel, so many secrets, is part of a groundbreaking, fast paced 4-book suspense series that will keep you turning pages until the end. Advance reviews describe BREAKDOWN as "unique," "brilliant" and "the best series of the year." The complete series includes the dead girl by Debra Webb, so many secrets by Vicki Hinze, all the lies by Peggy Webb and what she knew by Regan Black. You'll want all four books of the thrilling BREAKDOWN series!
Book Bubbles from SO MANY SECRETS: BREAKDOWN
Girl's Night Out
We all have tough weeks. We give our all and then something happens and our all has been for nothing.
Our effort wasn't wasted. We learn new tricks. Still, it's hard on the patience. I maxed out on long days and new wrinkles, squinting, fearing dreaded email in my inbox. It was there. Repeatedly. I finally got the hoped for one--my project was done. Then--boom!--slammed again. Had to undo all I'd done. That went faster. Doesn't it always? Everyone has tough weeks. Struggles to do and undo. Luckily, we keep our gains and learned tricks. It's hard to appreciate that when feeling the sting of hard work being a bust. I wished I could crawl into SO MANY SECRETS for a Girl's Night Out with Dana, Laney, Julia and Ana. They chat through troubles. Sharing lightens their burdens. They support each other. With no group here, in my mind, I met with them. My virtual Girl's Night Out was the perfect escape. If you need a virtual Girl's Night Out, join the Breakdown women. Good can come from it--and you can do this Girl's Night Out in your PJs after a self-indulgent hot bubble bath. Ah, bliss!Down and Dead in Dallas: Down and Dead, Inc.
Romance
Sometimes to live, ya gotta die. And sometimes dying right takes practice… Christine Branch is elated. Finally her sister, Caroline Branch Easton, has left made the break from her abusive ex, Martin Easton, and returns to Dallas to Christine’s ranchette to heal. Only Martin refuses to let her go. Within twenty-four hours, his thugs are doing everything they can to intimidate Christine into returning home. Christine knows she must do something to get her sister the time and space she needs to heal—and she concocts a plan: Operation Switch and Bait. The sisters trade lives and Christine baits the thugs into following her. It works! Caroline undergoes counseling, eventually divorces Martin, though he refuses to accept it, and the operation continues… until Martin shows up at the ranchette and issues a return-home ultimatum. Christine’s had enough. She ends the operation, resumes her identity and disappears. Christine continues with the switch, hoping confusion of two Carolines will assist in a clean getaway. On Christmas, Caroline calls Christine. A chef from Dallas is assisting her. She’s in Even, Georgia but within an hour leaves for Sampson Park. She’ll call again as soon as she’s settled. But Caroline doesn’t call. And three months later, Christine remains unable to find anything on the mysterious Sampson Park, or on her sister’s whereabouts. She must take the risks of leading Martin to Even to find out what happened to Caroline. Has she escaped, or is she to remain Down and Dead in Dallas?
Book Bubbles from Down and Dead in Dallas: Down and Dead, Inc.
How Far Is Too Far to Go for Someone You Love?
By design in mind games or by chance, our heads can trip us up. We convince ourselves to do things we twist to make logical and right. We have an amazing ability to delude ourselves and others, but mind games, powerful as they are, don't hold a candle to the games played by the heart. It can deem the wrong and illogical right and logical and justified--maybe even noble. Why? Because the heart views and perceives through the lens of love. Some insist hate is equally strong, but it's not. Oh, hatred is powerful but its power ends. Love's power--superpower, really--continues on. At times, seemingly boundless. That's the dilemma--how far is too far to go for love--in Down and Dead in Dallas. We all know the lengths to which some will go for love. The sacrifices, the risks, the impossible odds. But it is too often only after we've done what we feel we must do that we grasp whether we've been tripped up by our head or heart. Only then we reap the full consequences of our choices and discover wisdom.
Free Preview of Down and Dead in Dallas
Down and Dead in Dallas is the 3rd book in the Down and Dead Inc. series. This story connects directly to the second book, Down and Dead in Even. For a limited time, I'm giving away free copies of Down and Dead in Even to all newsletter subscribers from my website. vickihinze.com. I do recommend that you read Even before reading Dallas. It isn't required, but you'll enjoy added layers to the story by doing so. Blessings, Vicki
