❤author: B.J. Daniels Interview and Giveaway!

❤ I'm thrilled to welcome the fabulous B.J. Daniels to the blog today. Welcome to ¡Miraculous!, B.J.! Will you please share a short bio with us?

B.J. Daniels wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of thirty-seven published short stories.

That first book, Odd Man Out, received a 4-½ star review from RT Book Reviews and went on to be nominated for Best Intrigue for that year.

Since then she won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and numerous nominations and awards for best book.

Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two Springer spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn't writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis.

She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America.

❤ Tell us about your newest release, Justice at Cardwell Ranch.

Justice answers all the questions readers had after Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch came out. Readers wanted to know what happened to Dana Cardwell’s sister and two brothers. In Crime Scene, her siblings are trying to force her to sell the family ranch. The only way she could save it was to find her mother’s latest will that leaves Cardwell Ranch to her. (Spoiler: The book ended with her finding the will.)

There is always trouble at Cardwell Ranch. In this book, I was thinking about high school and those old grudges. Do we ever really get over them. What if you closest friend committed suicide but you’d always suspected it had been murder? And what if you weren’t alone? What if someone else had discovered proof that your mutual friend was murdered – and the murderer still lived in Big Sky, Montana?

I love to have a lot going on, lots of mystery. This one has it all including babies, an old murder or two, a few new murders and a wild chase scene off Lone Mountain. It was very fun to write. Oh, and did I mention our hero and heroine? They are two of my favorites. Bad Boy Jordan Cardwell and Deputy Marshal Liza Turner. Oh yeah :)

❤ How do you choose the names of your characters? What about the title?

Names are tough after you’ve written more than 70 books :) I’m always looking for names. I try out a lot of them before I decide on ones that fit my characters.

Titles are another story. The editors usually chose those. Only a few times have they gone with ones I have suggested. Which is fine since I’m not very good at it :)

❤ How did you get published? Tell us your call story.

I was working at a newspaper so I didn’t have much time. I decided to write short stories for Woman’s World. The problem was WW wanted romance. I kept getting rejection notes that said: TONE DOWN THE ADVENTURE!

I had a friend picking up my mail because I was on an adventure of my own. She told me the news. I can’t tell you how excited I was to have sold my first fiction. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.

What is amazing is that my first story was about a game warden who’s attacked by a mountain lion. He fires three rifle shots, a signal he’s in trouble, and a local ranch woman hears them and saves him. The two have a history in that he has asked her to dance at community functions but she’s always turned him down. In the end, she asks him to dance.

Yep, that was as romantic as I got :) And it sold!!! Also there was quite a bit of adventure. I went on to sell 40 short stories and my first book. But none were like that first sale!!

❤ What do you consider your biggest strengths and weaknesses as an author?

Biggest strength: stubbornness. I don’t give up. When I kept getting rejections from Woman’s World, it only made me more determined to sell to them :)

Weaknesses: Gad, where would I begin? I never know where a book is going. It’s very scary. Sometimes I think I will never finish the book because I have no idea what happens next. True, it usually works itself out, but I never feel like I know what I’m doing.

❤ Give aspiring writers a piece of advice you wish you would have known before getting published.

Just do it. I know that sounds simple. But unless you WRITE you will never get published. If you’re serious, make the time to write. Read a whole lot. And take classes. I still take classes every year because you always need to be striving to get better and better.

❤ Now give us your best personal advice — something you wish you had known when you were younger and would offer to your own kids.

Whatever you do, do it with your heart. Also work hard and you will succeed.

❤ What’s something you love to see your readers do or say?

I have the most loyal readers! They are absolutely wonderful. We share recipes and stories and I love hearing from them. There is nothing like hearing that someone loved your book. Nothing :)

❤ Agreed! It's an emotion of mixed pride, sentiment, and gratefulness! Where can you be found on the web?

Website | Purchase

❤ Thank you so much for being here today, B.J.! It was a pleasure getting to know you and the story behind the Cardwells! 

Giveaway!

Thanks to Little Bird Publicity, I have one print copy of Justice at Cardwell Ranch up for grabs. To enter, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway runs through October 17th, 2012 at 11.59 pm (EST).

Open to US residents only!
Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.

As a reminder, you do not have to follow my blog to enter, though it is always very much appreciated ❤

Good luck!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Justice at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels

Justice at Cardwell Ranch (Cardwell Ranch #2)
B.J. Daniels

Release Date: July 17th, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue 

Page Count: 216

Source: Complimentary copy provided by publicist, Little Bird Publicity, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

Six years ago, Dana Cardwell found her mother's will in a cookbook and became sole owner of the Cardwell Ranch in Big Sky, Montana. Now happily married, Dana is surprised when her siblings, Stacy and Jordan, show up on the ranch... and trouble isn't too far behind.

As danger draws closer to the ranch, deputy marshal Liza Turner quickly realizes that Jordan Cardwell isn't the man the town made him out to be.

What Stephanie Thinks: Titillating suspense and plaguing mystery constitute Justice at Cardwell Ranch, the long-anticipated sequel to Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch. Because I hadn't read the first book in the series, the second was a little confusing at times—too many characters, relationships, and pasts to keep track of!—but overall that didn't detract too much from the book.

I have nothing against the Harlequin Intrigue line, but do have some reservations regarding series romances as a whole. I feel they're published just for the sake of publishing, just to meet monthly deadlines and fulfill subscriptions. This comes at the expense of quality, so don't expect too much out of Justice at Cardwell Ranch. B.J. Daniels is an organized, efficient storyteller, but she's also published so many series novels that she wouldn't be able to name them all off the top of her head. No personal attack here, but I must say this isn't one of your deep, dark, substance reads.

On the contrary, it's written with an breezy, smooth style gives no reader grief understanding the plot's progression. It's a very easy read in terms of level and page count, thanks to fast action and basic structure. The quick, sudden introductions of various characters that are all connected somehow is disorienting at first, but there's enough repetition for confusion to be clarified quickly. I wouldn't say Daniels's voice is particularly compelling or commendable; it's just good: fluid and direct, nothing to ever complain about.

A major theme is the prototypical 'troubled past' that almost all the characters have going on for them. Certain frightening and disturbing scenes will make you reevaluate all your personal decisions, want to repent for the mistakes among them, and hope to never, ever dig up your past again. 

The nightmares and corruption, as well as the ironically magical innocence of the high school social scene is also powerfully rendered in Justice, eliciting a sense of both nostalgia and nausea for the distorted, painful stage of adolescence readers all yearn to return to, but at the same time, fear. While the plot and characters are shallow, the emotions are authentic, one of the biggest strengths of the book.

I would not classify Justice as a romance. There is a cute married couple-dynamic between secondary characters Dana and Hud, as well as a very minor romantic elements involving our protagonists, Liza and Jordan, but the latter is a) unrealistic, b) ambiguous, and c) not even consummated. I would consider it brief, unmemorable flirting and lots of time spent together at best, but not a romance; there's not enough depth nor development to appoint it the title. The book does a great job focusing on their individual inner turmoils and aforementioned troubled pasts, but is it a love story? For me, not at all. I would recommend this one for readers who prefer thrillers and mysteries, but not for romance fanatics, because Justice surely disappoints in the latter department.

This is a fast-paced, standard mystery that's well-thought-out and well-enough-written. Daniels has talent in multiple different areas, though nothing stands out especially. The good guys are lovable and the antagonists loathesome, but they're not deep, haunting characters. The plot is clean, well-scripted, but it's nothing ground-breaking. The voice is reader-friendly, but not a reader favorite. Overall, this book is enjoyable (although pretty banal), featuring a long-standing mystery, as well as its ultimate, satisfying resolution.

Stephanie Loves: "'I'm serious, Liza. You have me thinking crazy thoughts.'"

Radical Rating: 7 hearts: Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥