Note from Ada Brownell: Today I feature K. Dawn Byrd. You might remember her book, Lessons From the Open Road that revolved around motorcycles.  We featured it here.

The mystery  novel we tell you about today, A Case of Fatal Attraction, surrounds blood bank thieves. People who give blood to others is an amazing gift, because it gives life. I interviewed a man one time who received an award for the large number of gallons he donated over the years.

Blood is even more important to obtain eternal life. In the Old Testament and also the new we’re told,  “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). “But Jesus suffered and died outside the [city’s] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God]” (Hebrews 13:12 Amplied Version).

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K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance and romantic suspense with seven books published so far. Recently, she tried her hand at young adult fiction and found that she really enjoyed writing it, which led to a contract for four young adult books for 2012.

K. Dawn Byrd is an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most of which are signed by the authors. She's also the moderator of the popular facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444.

When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years while walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.

Links:

Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Twitter: kdawnbyrd

Book trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1epz5ezneY

Cover Blurb:

Short version:

Zoe Mack faints at the sight of blood. When her detective agency takes a case involving the disappearance of blood from a local blood bank, can Zoe determine if a creepy vampire-like guy is stealing it to use in some weird cult ritual?

Long version:

Zoe is thrilled when she lands her first paying case until she learns she'll be going undercover at a local blood bank. The fact that she faints at the sight of blood makes working there more than difficult. Who would steal blood and what would they do with it? Is her creepy vampire-like coworker using it in a cult ritual?                                

When Zoe learns that Nate will be working undercover with her, she's overjoyed. She soon finds that the gorgeous Rikki's attraction to Nate is too distracting and considers throwing him off the case. Zoe questions his loyalty even as Nate proclaims that she's the only girl for him.

Nothing is as it seems and Zoe has no clue who can be trusted. Who's stealing the blood? Is it the director? The vampire-like guy with the fangs who wears all black? Or, her gorgeous co-worker who has a thing for Nate?

Questionnaire:

1)      How did this story come to you?

Sometimes I get the strangest ideas! I love a good mystery and I love romance, but you don't find the two together very often. Also, there are very few books available with college-age characters. I pitched the idea of combining all of the above to Desert Breeze and the rest is history.

2)      Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.

I had already published several books with Desert Breeze when they opened a young adult line. I'm excited that they liked the idea for this new series.

3)      Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

1)      I own two hairless Chinese Crested dogs.

2)      I love sour things....pickles, lemons, sour candy.

3)      I used to ride a Harley, but gave it up in order to have more time to write. (My husband always wanted to stay out way too long and take the scenic route home. He still has his bike, but I don't miss mine at all.)

4) What is your favorite writing tip?

Write something every day. All of my books are written in 30-day marathons. I decide how many words I want to write in 30 days and map them out on a calendar, so I can keep track of where I am and where I need to be.

5) What are you working on now and what's next for you?

I'm working on my December release, which is the third book in the "Identity Series." It's called Double Identity and is about two seventeen-year-old identical twins who never knew about each other. One, raised by her mom, is a Christian, the other, raised by her father is a wild child. When the two meet up and the wild one falls for the Christian one's boyfriend, sparks of the worst kind begin to fly.

6 )Parting comments? Thank you for hosting me! For those of you who love Christian fiction, please check my blog for weekly book giveaways. I interview 3-5 authors a week who give away their books. www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Interview with Zoe Mack (a character in A Case of Fatal Attraction, one of the books in K Dawn Byrd’s Zoe Mack Mystery Series).

1)      Tell us about your latest mystery.

My grandfather owns a detective agency and needed my help, but he was afraid to give me this case. It involved going undercover in a blood bank and finding out why blood is disappearing. My grandfather knows that I faint at the sight of blood. It wasn't easy and I had my moments when I became really sick, but I'm no quitter.

2)      What was the greatest obstacle to solving this case.

My boyfriend, Nate, went undercover at the blood bank too. He worked as a janitor and once, when I puked after an accident with the blood, he got to clean it up. I thought I'd die of embarrassment. Back to your question, the greatest obstacle in some ways was just having Nate hanging around. You see, I had this gorgeous coworker named Rikki and she had a crush on Nate. We couldn’t tell her that we knew each other because that would blow our cover. Do you know how hard it is watching another girl go after your boyfriend, especially a gorgeous girl?

3)      What did you learn from working on this case?

I learned that I can do things I never thought possible. I never overcame becoming queasy at the sight of blood, but I did learn to live with it. I also learned that I hate snakes and that sometimes creepy vampire-looking guys who wear black aren't all bad. I also learned to trust my instincts even when Nate says I'm wrong.

4)       So, how is your relationship with Nate after solving two mysteries together?

We had some rocky times, mainly because of Rikki, but I've learned that sometimes, things aren't as they seem and you have to learn to trust people. Nate is a great guy and I love him more than ever. I've learned to accept the fact that my mother will never be crazy about him, but that's another story.

5)      Will there be another case any time soon?

College is getting ready to start up and I’m taking a little time off to concentrate on school. Of course, if Gramps needs me, I'm always up for a good mystery!