The Dark Side: Autumn Jordon

The Dark Side aims to shed light on that deep, dark, mysterious side of an author, a face that she rarely, if ever, shows to the public. What secret is she hiding behind that enigmatic smile on her official photo (if any)? what juicy tidbit is she keeping from the world? What are some of the things that she liked, things we would never know, because it's not part of her bio?

Today, we have with us AUTUMN JORDON, author of EVIL'S WITNESS (ebook, print), who regaled us in a previous post with some fun facts about her book and an exclusive excerpt. Check out our review of Evil's Witness.

Remember, think dark, dark, dark... 

Do you believe in ghosts and supernatural phenomenon? Have you ever had a close encounter? Do tell us about it. 

Sure, I believe in spirits. A few years ago, my DH and I visited Gettysburg. While standing on a spot where a sniper had died, my leg shook uncontrollably. When I stepped off the spot it stopped. I stepped back on and it started again. I had this eerry feeling. The next year we stopped by the spot again and this time I couldn’t move or breathe. It was like a huge weight sat on my chest. My DH had to pull me off the rock. I always wondered if the solider was related to me somehow.

Are you afraid of the dark? Why or why not? 

No. I lived in the country and there are a lot of noises outside after dark, but I’m familiar with them. I love going out and watching the moon and stars. Even in a blizzard is neat to watch the snow blasting at you. If I was outside my element, I might be.

Imagine that for some reason, your lights suddenly went out! What would be the first thing you’d do or say? 

This has happened, once for six days. First word, AWESOME! I loved it. The kids had to learn to entertain themselves without tech devices and since it was winter, DH and I cuddled a little closer.

What is the most romantic thing your husband/SO/date has done under the cover of darkness? 

He gave me a massage, scalp to toes. It was wonderful.

How did you overcome a particular dark time in your life? 

We all have dark times in our lives. I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life 15 years ago, and I did it with prayer. I believe in spirits and angels. I believe there is a God and he does listen. He might not answer our prayers in the way we think he should, but he does.

Lightning Round.

white or dark chocolate : Dark

milk or coffee : milk

night or day : night

coke or 7-up : Diet coke

New York cheesecake or black forest cake : Black Forest Cake

vampire or werewolf : werewolf

football game or candlelit dinner : football

ebook or print : print but an e-reader is on my B-day list

spring or autumn : Autumn

sweet or salty : sweet

kitten or puppy : puppy

cook or take-out : cook 

Read our review of  Evil's Witness.

Autumn Jordon's EVIL'S WITNESS is now available at The Wild Rose Press (ebook, print). This title is also included in the list of giveaways for our ongoing contest.

Autumn's other title: Obsessed by Wildfire

Exclusive Peek: Evil's Witness by Autumn Jordon

From Autumn Jordon:

Let me throw two lines at you. Life is stranger than fiction, no truer words have ever been stated, and life is filled with drama and drama is what makes good fiction. Do you see the connection?

Many threads of my new release, EVIL’S WITNESS, are based on actual occurrences, such as my heroine’s, divorce and harassment from her ex-cop husband, a tractor-trailer targeted by the mafia, an infiltration of a government agency by an outsider and two people meeting under dire circumstances and falling in love.

You want to know where writers get their ideas for their stories, look at your life. If you’ve ever grabbed the aspirin bottle or shed a tear, you’ve had drama in your life. My son is getting married in a few months. Here we have the mingling of two families. Have you ever seen that scenario in a book or on the big screen? Sure you have—Romeo and Juliet or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I have family serving this country and the stories they can share with me cause me to tremble. The Green Zone comes to my mind.

Life is real. By reading we learn the drama of others and put ourselves into their shoes, or we escape our own drama and get whisked away into other world where our drama doesn’t seem as bad.

Here is a little drama from EVIL’S WITNESS. I hope you enjoy.

Exclusive Excerpt:

Gene aimed his gun at Victor. “You’re not going to hurt them. If you try, you’ll have to go through me.”

Victor’s spine stiffened. His glare smoldered like an enraged Satan.

The urge to turn and run made Stephanie quake inside. She knew running was no longer a possibility. Gene couldn’t take on all of them. They’d be gunned down within seconds.

“Don’t be stupid, son.” Morse put up his hand.

“Shut up. I’m not your son, and I’m not going to let them hurt Stephanie and my kids.” Determination made Gene’s tone dangerous.

She stared at the back of the man she’d once loved with her whole heart and had hated with her whole heart. He stood tall with his shoulders squared. He was laying his life on the line for Bobby and Em. And for her.

Gene was doing his part to save their children. She had to do hers.

The shadow crawled on his knees toward the embankment.

Mac’s and Dog’s full attention was on Gene.

If she kept herself in between the men and the kids, maybe, just maybe her children would live. She couldn’t think about her fate or Gene’s.

She inhaled and let Em slip to the ground, keeping her close while Gene’s stand against the man began to heat.

She squeezed Bobby’s small hand. He looked up at her; fear dulled his beautiful blue eyes. She nodded toward the back of the trailer and motioned with her hand for them to stay below the high grass. She mouthed, car. Behind her back she pulled them together and placed Em’s hand in Bobby’s. She waved them off, hoping Bobby and Em wouldn’t run but would back away slowly while she and Gene distracted their enemies.

Somehow she had to help Gene and draw attention away from them. Taking a deep breath, Stephanie swallowed her fear, gathered her nerve and pulled her flashlight from her belt.

“Gene’s right,” she said loudly, stepping forward. Her legs shook with each step, but she kept moving away from Bobby and Em. “You can trust me. I won’t say a word.”

She reached out and touched Gene’s arm. He didn’t look her way, but she knew by the way he leaned slightly into her touch that they were making their peace with each other for the sake of their children. “We didn’t see a thing. And we won’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t want to kill no kids, Victor.” Mac danced in place ready to dodge Victor’s wrath.

“You will do as I say,” Victor snapped.

She looked at the dead driver. His lifeless stare pleaded to her for justice.

“Don’t trust her,” Sheriff Morse ordered, turning his gun on her.

Stephanie refused to flinch under Morse’s scrutiny.

Gene moved in front of her. “Frank, what the hell are you doing? You’ve known Stephanie all her life.”

“There is too much at stake, Gene. She saw me kill that guy. I’m not going to jail.” Morse’s tongue skimmed his lips. “Why the hell are you trying to protect her anyway? You two have been fightin’ like junkyard dogs for years. You complain every day she’s milking you dry. This is your chance to be rid of your mistakes.”

“Steph was never a mistake to me,” Gene’s voice rose in response. Then it softened. “I was hers.”

Tears threatened to blur her vision and she blinked them away. She squeezed Gene’s arm and glanced at her ex-husband’s profile. He remained focused.

“Touching,” Victor said. “But, sorry, no. They must die here.”

Read our review.


Book Summary:

The Zosimosky Files

Elementary school nurse Stephanie Boyd's ordinary world changes forever when she and her children witness a blood bath. To escape the wrath of the Russian Mafia, she has no choice but to help the FBI uncover the Mafia’s mole inside the U.S. Treasury. While on the run with the handsome agent who is willing to die for them, Stephanie learns the meaning of self-sacrifice and love.

Agent John Dolton's only break in solving the case that cost him everything is a couple of kids and a beautiful woman. But keeping his witnesses safe seems impossible when their every move is foreseen by their enemy. Within weeks, Stephanie and her children soften the loner’s heart and John allows himself to let go of his all-consuming sorrow.

This time John vows not to fail to protect the family he loves.

Available at Wild Rose Press (ebook), (print).

REVIEW: Evil's Witness by Autumn Jordon

ISBN 1601547358
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
(c) June 2010, Wild Rose Press
Autumn Jordan's Website

Rating: 4 stars

Available at Wild Rose Press (ebook), (print).

This book has it all! From murders to lust and tension in their most extreme forms, to traitors and backstabbing, mystery and action-packed suspense, drama and high emotions, depression and happiness, and a hot romance strung throughout.

Agent John Dolton is an emotionally distressed FBI agent. His problems contain heartbreaking stories of loss in his personal life and in his career. He is assigned to a new case in which the Department of Treasury trucks are being hijacked and the cargo stolen. An unfortunate event at one of these heists gives him the very fortunate opportunity to meet Ms. Stephanie Boyd and her two adorable children who witnessed the heist and consequently, had spent the night in hell.

The absolute horrible thing about the particular heist that Stephanie and her kids witnessed is that it hits close to home. Gene, Stephanie's ex-husband, is somehow involved in this hijacking plot, and the Zosimosky family (the bad guys) wants Stephanie and her children dead when it was known that they were witnesses. After escaping the heist, Stephanie goes straight to the local police department where Agent Dolton comes to question her later that morning. There is instant attraction between them and even a dose of fear as Stephanie gives the details of her horrific night. Stephanie is clearly on edge and scared for her and her children's lives, and Agent Dolton can see it.

Stephanie knows that she can identify the man who was obviously in charge of the heist that she witnessed. She informs Agent Dolton and he decides to transport Stephanie and her children to a safe house. The transport goes awry and Agent Dolton knows that someone has leaked the information of the transport to the wrong people, those who are out to get Stephanie and her kids. Stephanie escapes a near deadly shoot out in a parking lot and agrees to meet John later at a new location.

Things go well for a while at the safe house, but as the story progresses and Stephanie goes through files and files of pictures of possible suspects, Agent Dolton starts to figure out that some things just don't add up and he's not sure how the Zosimosky family is getting the information about him and the family he has to protect. As John's personal story comes out, the romance starts to unfold.

The romance is very apparent as the characters of Stephanie Boyd and John Dolton interact. Stephanie is the first woman to cause a rise in John since his wife. Given that they are living through traumatic experience after traumatic experience together, the tension mounts and mounts and mounts until finally Stephanie is tired and wants to forget about it all. It is a beautiful love story that happens very fast, not that that counts against it, but given the whole situation, it is very believable. Agent Dolton and the children even have a love story that grows as the story progresses. It is very cute and the reader will be rooting for the story to be resolved in a way that they can all be together as a happy family.

The descriptions of the places that the characters go to are short, but worded perfectly so that you get the full effect. They were shown, not told to the reader, so the reader doesn't get bored reading a whole page full of unimportant descriptions. The characters actually spoke about their surroundings and the details flowed marvelously, creating an eerie mountain highway at night, a cabin by a lake with a view to die for, and a quaint small town. Even the descriptions of the characters and smaller settings were woven throughout the story with attention-grabbing prose.

The dialogue in this book was very well-written and thought out. I felt as though I was right there with the characters listening to them talk. It takes extreme talent to master dialogue, especially given that some of them happen during periods of intense stress and plenty of suspense.

As far as reccomendations go, everyone should give this book a go. I read it in two sittings; I just didn't want to put it down. Any contemporary romance reader who reads this book will love it and be asking Autumn Jordan, "When are we going to get more books from you?"

Reviewed by Paige
Writing, Reviews and A Little Bit of Me


Note: This book is provided courtesy of publisher/author. Ms. Jordon has also generously provided a copy of this book for the blog celebration contest giveaway!


Book Summary:

The Zosimosky Files

Elementary school nurse Stephanie Boyd's ordinary world changes forever when she and her children witness a blood bath. To escape the wrath of the Russian Mafia, she has no choice but to help the FBI uncover the Mafia’s mole inside the U.S. Treasury. While on the run with the handsome agent who is willing to die for them, Stephanie learns the meaning of self-sacrifice and love.

Agent John Dolton's only break in solving the case that cost him everything is a couple of kids and a beautiful woman. But keeping his witnesses safe seems impossible when their every move is foreseen by their enemy. Within weeks, Stephanie and her children soften the loner’s heart and John allows himself to let go of his all-consuming sorrow.

This time John vows not to fail to protect the family he loves.  

Evil's Witness by Autumn Jordon

Award winning author Autumn Jordon has graciously contributed an autographed copy of Evil's Witness (for US residents only) as part of the prizes for our blog celebration! Thank you, Autumn!

Summary from Publisher's website:

The Zosimosky Files

Elementary school nurse Stephanie Boyd's ordinary world changes forever when she and her children witness a blood bath. To escape the wrath of the Russian Mafia, she has no choice but to help the FBI uncover the Mafia’s mole inside the U.S. Treasury. While on the run with the handsome agent who is willing to die for them, Stephanie learns the meaning of self-sacrifice and love.

Agent John Dolton's only break in solving the case that cost him everything is a couple of kids and a beautiful woman. But keeping his witnesses safe seems impossible when their every move is foreseen by their enemy. Within weeks, Stephanie and her children soften the loner’s heart and John allows himself to let go of his all-consuming sorrow.

This time John vows not to fail to protect the family he loves.

Get it here.