At the end of last week, I turned in the manuscript for my
third Skeet Bannion mystery novel, Every
Hidden Fear, which will be published May 6, 2014. My mind is still awhirl
with the characters and events of that book. Yesterday, I received the cover
for Every Hidden Fear, and I’m
delighted with it, as I have been with each of the covers my publisher has
given me for this series. So I wanted to share it with you.
Every
Hidden Fear takes place in autumn just a few months
after the events of the previous book, Every
Broken Trust. Skeet Bannion tries to adjust to having her tough old
grandmother living with her and her son, Brian, while Brian goes through the
first pangs of unrequited love for his best friend, Angie Melvin, and Skeet’s
aging delinquent father has also fallen disastrously in love.
Meanwhile, Ash Mowbray, a bad boy from the wrong side
of the tracks, comes back to Brewster as a wealthy developer to polarize the
town where he was once scorned, pushing plans to build a shopping mall on the
outskirts of town that will destroy the courthouse-square businesses of
Brewster. The town council’s split on
his proposal, and feelings run high.
Mowbray makes things worse by threatening to reveal
dirty secrets about prominent citizens and announcing he’s the real father of
Angie’s quarterback boyfriend. It’s not long before Mowbray turns up murdered
with his son as prime suspect. Angie and Brian turn to Skeet to find the
murderer and save their friend.
From Brian’s classmate and his family to Skeet’s
friends among the shop owners of the town square, too many people wanted
Mowbray dead, and too many of them are people Skeet cares about. She must catch
the murderer to spare her friends, even if the killer’s one of them.
In this book, the plots and subplots are driven by people’s
hidden fears, hidden from others and often from themselves, and these hidden
fears often lead them to take ruinous actions. Skeet’s own hidden fear is activated
and intensified by the disasters of others in the story, leading her to
impulsive acts that will continue to affect her life for some time to come.
My beta readers and I think this is the most emotional and
personal Skeet Bannion book, so far. Fear of love and fear of loss lead Skeet
to places and actions she’s sworn she’d never go or do. I’m still excited about
it, and I hope you will be, too, when it’s published and you have the chance to
read it.
As soon as my publisher gives the okay, I’ll post a sample
chapter or two. Stay tuned!
Beautiful cover! It sounds like a great story, too. I can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I am looking forward to this soooo much! Wonderful art... xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joyce! I'm quite happy with this cover. My publisher, St. Martin's Press, has been wonderful to work with, especially about covers.
ReplyDeleteReine, I'm looking forward to its pub date, too. Publishing is always such a slow slog to get there. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading it, Linda!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! I really liked this one, even more than the earlier ones.
ReplyDelete"leading her to impulsive acts that will continue to affect her life"
ReplyDeleteReal people often behave impulsively. I cannot wait to read this, Linda. Skeet Is SO real, which is one of the things I like about her. For that matter, ALL of your characters are real - which is probably why I end up having nightmares in which I am terribly worried about the welfare of your characters. I feel like I know them. You do such a fantastic job of bringing them to life.
Does the same artist do all your covers? It feels like I could walk right into the scenery.
DebRo, yes, the same artist does all my covers. Isn't he fantastic? I also feel like I could just walk into it. I'm very lucky. St. Martin's has worked with me on these covers from the beginning. When I hear other writers talk about their cover catastrophes and nightmares, I realize how very fortunate I am.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm going to put Skeet and Brian and Angie and Joe and Miryam and Sam through the wringer this time, so hold on to your hat. I guarantee there will be one point where you're saying, "No, Skeet. Oh no." It is the most personal and emotional Skeet book I've done. It's also got more humor, I think, along with all the emo stuff. Can't wait to see what you think of it.
Next May is almost a whole year away, but I am more than ready for the book. xoxo
ReplyDeleteReine, I don't understand why they give tight deadlines and then don't publish for a year, either. But ti's not just me. Anne Perry at the conference I was just at said, "Publishers want you to meet their deadlines, but they never meet their own. It takes three times as long to get paid as it did to do the work--and seven times as long to publish." So I can't complain if they do it to her, too.
ReplyDeleteAnne Perry too? Well you're in good company then!
Deletexo
:-)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like another winner.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Warren. I'm very happy with the cover.
ReplyDeleteIt's a gorgeous cover—as are the others. This one promises to be even more moving than the others. I hope you can take a little break. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteReine, it is a more emotional book than the earlier ones. I've been taking a break by catching up on all the stuff I let slip through the cracks (my email inbox was completely overgrown) and doing a lot of traveling and events. Next week, I'm gone to NYC, and the week after it's Wichita. But I'm starting a suspense novel and expect to go full-tilt on that as soon as possible.
ReplyDelete