Title: Tainted Waters
Author: Maggie Thom
SYNOPSIS:
He didn't commit suicide but who's going to believe her...
Frustrated at being fired from her latest job and overwhelmed by her consolatory family, Sam decides to move to the family's cabin at the lake. A place she hasn't been since her dad committed suicide there twenty years before. Or did he? Snooping is something she's good at but someone seems to be taking offense to her looking too closely at what has been happening at the lake. What she discovers is shocking. Now she must uncover what's real and what's not. All that she learned growing up, may be false. Keegan, who has recently moved to the area to finish his latest book, is also trying to find out if his grandfather, who'd passed away ten years before, died of natural causes or was murdered? The descendants of the four families, who own the land around the lagoon, are dying off. Since Sam and Keegan are the only ones questioning the deaths, they find themselves working together to seek the truth. Are people being murdered? Who would benefit from their deaths? Why would there be barricades and armed guards at the north end of the lake? To stay alive, Sam and Keegan must find the answers and convince others, before more people are killed...including them.
"This is a book that will have you on the edge of your seat. Just when you think the story is over, think again." Read Your Writes Book Reviews
Title: Captured Lies
Author: Maggie Thom
SYNOPSIS:
She was kidnapped not once but twice and now someone wants her dead because of it...
Her life was a lie!
Bailey knew her upbringing wasn't normal but she's worked hard to stabilize her life. At 29, she finally has a good business, a stable home; her life is miles from that of her childhood. Then suddenly her mother dies, leaving a gaping hole and a discovery that they may not even be related. If Guy, the private investigator is to be believed, her life is a lie. Using the skills she learned on the streets, Bailey travels back through a sketchy and dangerous past, to find answers. Dodging bullets, staying ahead of those who want her dead and convincing Guy she can do it alone, are making it difficult to discover not only the secrets of her mother's past but that of a family claiming she is theirs.
Everyone seems to have a story...but who's telling the truth? And who wants her dead? Is Guy part of the solution? Or part of the problem? To discover the facts, she'll have to untangle a web of deceit, lies, and secrets, dating back over thirty years.
But can she do it in time.
AUTHOR BIO:
Maggie Thom took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a full time twenty year career in management, to write full time. After her initial panic that she might need a straight jacket, she published her first book Captured Lies, October 2012. And now is excited to release her second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Her third book, Deceitful Truths (sequel to Captured Lies) available fall of 2013. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen. Married to her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins' teen years. Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape.
"Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!" InDtale Magazine
The Emotional Element by Maggie Thom
You know when you read a story and it makes you laugh? Makes you cry? Makes you anxious? Overjoyed? Sad? Mad? Well I can pretty much guarantee you it's the same for the author. Or at least it should be. For a character, a story to be real, to come alive for the reader, it has to be real and alive to the author as well. At least it is for me.
That emotional connection you have to the character does not happen by accident. To really make a story memorable, an author really needs to be invested in the story. In the people they are writing about. In the journey. The words, the actions have to be carefully chosen so that you are connected, drawn in. Interested in what is happening to that person.
What I was writing Captured Lies, I remember at one point realizing I was crying. Okay to be honest it happened more than once. But the first time was at her mother's funeral. Her mom suddenly dies and sadly it was after one of their fights so it made it doubly hard for her to handle. I guarantee you I felt every bit of guilt, remorse, anguish and loss that Bailey felt.
What I discovered in writing it was that I like reading a story that has that emotional element. I want to feel like I know the characters. I want to be able to like them or not like them. But most of all I want to believe they are real. They are someone that lives down the street from me (whether in my real world or my imaginary one). They are someone that I believe is a full flesh and blood person. So if that's what I like to read than I need to make sure that's what I'm writing. I need to ensure that you can connect with my characters and the story I am sharing with you.
So with my books, I want you as the reader to be so invested in the characters that you want to go on their journey with them. You want to cheer them on. You want to yell at them. You want to be that shoulder for them to cry on. You want to be that friend that kicks them in the butt to get on with life. You want to be there for every surprise, every twist and turn that comes at them. You want to escape real life and be immersed in theirs. I want you to smell what they smell. Taste what they taste. See what they see.
For me those are the best kind of books, the ones that grab you and pull you in. Once you turn to the last page there is a good feeling, that wow that was good. Of course that's soon followed by 'aahh it's over and you're already missing the characters and wondering what they're doing.
What is it about a story that really makes it a 'wow' for you?
Tainted Waters:
Captured Lies:
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