Author & Sewing Designer June McCrary Jacobs: ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE BORDER BREACH ~

Thursday, April 2, 2020

~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE BORDER BREACH ~

~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~

BLOG TOUR STOP FOR:

-- 'BORDER BREACH' --

AUTHOR DARLENE L. TURNER

~Post Includes: Book Spotlight, Author

Bio, Unique Author Guest Post &

Giveaway~

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Border Breach by Darlene L. Turner, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Border Breach
Author: Darlene L. Turner
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Release Date: April 1, 2020
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense

When drugs are smuggled across the border, it’s their duty to stop the culprits . . . at any cost.

Forming a joint task force, Canada border officer Kaylin Poirier and police constable Hudson Steeves have one objective: take down a drug-smuggling ring trying to sell a new lethal product. But when the smugglers come after Kaylin and Hudson, this mission becomes more than just a job. Can they live long enough to solve the case?

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message. You can connect with Darlene at www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.

Can Research Be Fun?

Research—a chore or an opportunity? Every author has a job to do when it comes to writing a book. They need to get their facts straight. It must be done to make our stories authentic.

Why do many authors hate this aspect of the process? The number one reason is probably because it takes time. Time is very precious to all of us and we just want to get to the story. But don’t we want it to be realistic? Research can be exciting! It’s not just visiting a library or scouring the internet for information. Here are some ideas I’ve done while researching:

Field trips – For one of my manuscripts, I wanted a setting of a quaint, sleepy town, so I took a trip near the Detroit/Windsor border to do research on the town I wanted to use as the setting in one of my romantic suspense manuscripts. I was able to go to a coffee shop and talk to some locals. Got a great idea from an older resident who told me about the history of the town. Walking the streets of these places gives the author the layout of the land and it can be valuable in bringing the fiction story to life. Be sure to take a lot of pictures. As they say…they’re worth a thousand words and can help us bring our stories to life.

Enroll in a local Citizen’s Police/FBI Academy – I love this option. I was able to do this a few years ago and loved it. I even got to do a ride-a-long! It gives an author first-hand experience in the life of a police officer. Highly recommend it.

Interview when possible – Getting information first-hand from our subjects is the best way to go. This isn’t always physically possible but emailing or calling law enforcement can be done too. We need to stay away from television cop clichés. Not every cop eats donuts!

What type of research did I do for Border Breach? Here’s a list:

--Googled information about the drug doda and poppy straw

--Contacted Canada Border Services Agency with these types of questions: do they work with other law enforcement agencies, do they carry firearms, do they make arrests, their biggest border smuggling challenges, how their operations are structured.

--Contacted police law enforcement with these types of questions: type of guns they use, if they work with CBSA, go undercover, forensic roles

--Visited their websites to get more details on their practices such as: uniform details, dog services the CBSA uses to help look for goods being smuggled

--Researched what flowers can be brought across the border and what documentation is required, weapons, Controlled Drugs and Substance Act, differences between Canada and the US, different prisons in the area

Yes, research CAN be fun! It not only helps writers be authentic but can be a blast.

You never know what you will learn!

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CONNECT WITH DARLENE: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a cross pendant, bookmarks, pens, and $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 31, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on April 7, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!