Approaching the murder mystery/thriller/crime fiction genre from every viewpoint from both sides of the Atlantic: reader, writer, editor, agent, librarian.
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Donna Fletcher Crow

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Donna Fletcher Crow (US) is the author of forty-some books, mostly novels dealing with the history of British Christianity. She is the author of The Monastery Murders series; The Lord Danvers Victorian True-Crime series; The Elizabeth & Richard literary mysteries, GLASTONBURY,A Novel of the Holy Grail and more.
www.donnafletchercrow.com

Fay Sampson

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Fay Sampson (UK) is a writer of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction, including A MALIGNANT HOUSE, #2 in the Susie Fewings series, a British Crime Club Pick.
http://www.faysampson.co.uk

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Welcome YA Author K. Dawn Byrd

By Donna Fletcher Crow ~ February 5, 2012

Today I'm doing a blog exchange with K. Dawn Byrd. K. Dawn is a multi-published author who writes romance, romantic suspense, historical, and young adult fiction. She's an avid blogger and interviews authors who give away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com. If you're the winner of a book, be sure and ask the author to sign it for you. So when you finish here, hope on over to her blog to read my interview and enter the drawing for A Darkly Hidden Truth. 

When she's not reading or writing, K. Dawn enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years. Their favorite evening consists of a leisurely walk beside a gorgeous lake near their home while plotting the next story waiting to be told. 

Donna: K. Dawn, tell us about your new Zoe Mack series. What is the central concept of the series? The theme of your first book The Secret of the Love Letter?
 
K. Dawn: In this book, Zoe must learn to trust the guy she's in love with. He's caught some criminal charges and she can either believe the girl who has accused him of abusing her or she can fight to clear his name.
 
Donna: Tell us about Zoe. What will make YA readers fall in love with her?
 
K. Dawn: I believe readers will fall in love with Zoe because she's real. She's not perfect and she has insecurities just like the rest of us. For example, she lacks the curves of some of her friends and considers herself to be too tall and skinny.
 
Let's face it, we're all afraid of something. Snakes may make your skin crawl. A friend of mine is terrified of earth worms. Zoe is afraid of crickets and she faints at the sight of blood. In book #2, which will release in June, Zoe goes undercover in a blood bank. You can imagine what kind of challenges she faces when she comes up close and personal with one of her greatest fears.
 
Donna: What are the joys and challenges of writing for the YA market? I've heard it's a tough market to break into, why did you choose to take it on?
 
K. Dawn: My step-daughter, who is 22, loves to read young adult romance. She started recommending young adult books to me years ago and I found that I enjoy them also, as long as there's quite a bit of romance. For this reason, Zoe Mack is mystery that's heavy on the romance.
 
The young adult market is challenging to write for because they expect characters to be real. They expect characters they can relate to and situations that are believable. Young adults are smart and they know when an author is trying to pull something over on them. With my first book, Mistaken Identity, which was a young adult romance, it took me a while to get the voice right. That was a little bit of a challenge, but I must have done something right because several young adults have emailed to say that certain characters in the book reminded them of friends or acquaintances.
 
Donna: What other projects do you have in the works?
 
K. Dawn: I just finished book #2 in the Zoe Mack series, which will be out in June. I'm currently plotting book #3, which will be out in December. In April, a young adult romance called Shattered Identity, will release. It's the sequel to Mistaken Identity, which sold more copies than all my other books combined.
 
Donna: That's great, K. Dawn. Thank you for being my guest today and best wishes with your writing for young adults!
 
 

Donna Fletcher Crow (US) is the author of forty-some books, mostly novels dealing with the history of British Christianity. She is the author of The Monastery Murders series; The Lord Danvers Victorian True-Crime series; The Elizabeth & Richard literary mysteries, GLASTONBURY,A Novel of the Holy Grail and more.
www.donnafletchercrow.com

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