My husband and I were taking our morning walk a few days ago when he suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me to a stop.“Snake,” he explained. Not a common occurrence in our suburban Central Florida neighborhood. But as we looked, we realized the shiny black thing in the grass wasn’t a coiled snake, but merely a broken fast food container. I would have sworn it was a snake because it shivered in the breeze and the shiny plastic looked very much like wet snakeskin.

When I got home, I started thinking about how that experience was similar to the devices used by those of us who write suspense. Things are rarely as they seem. If the villain is exposed early on or the solution to the mystery is laid out in the beginning, what keeps us reading?So many suspense and mystery stories use a red herring, or fake-out to lull the reader down a certain path of belief. As a reader, I expect that, I look for it. Yet I still step onto that path where the author wants me.As a writer of romantic suspense, I try to make my readers think they saw a snake when it really wasn’t that at all.Have you ever been sure you were seeing one thing, something really frightening, only to get closer and have it be something completely different?

 In Protective Custody, Megan witnesses a murder—or does she?

Check out Protective Custody from Carina Press and find out.

 

Witness to a murder, but no one will believe her…Shocked by the brutal crime she witnesses through the window of her small office, Megan Jackson calls the police and is devastated when they question the truth of her story. With no body and no evidence of a crime, she’s written off as a nutcase.Megan suspects the killer saw her face. Terrified, she calls the only person she can trust—her ex-boyfriend and former police officer, Will McCoy.Despite a devastating breakup,Will jumps at the chance to help the woman who broke his heart. When the killer ramps up the stakes, Will is forced to take her into hiding—where the passion they once shared reignites, deeper and hotter than ever. But can Will keep Megan alive long enough to win back her heart?

Two chances to win!I will give away a download of Protective Custody to one commenter and my friend Clare London has generously offered to give a download of The Tourist, her M/M erotic romance.

Wynter Daniels lives in Central Florida with her husband of more than twenty years and their two nearly grown children. They are all the slaves of two very demanding cats. After careers in marketing and the salon industry, Wynter’s wicked prose begged to be set free. She writes for several publishers including Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id and Red Sage. Join her Facebook fan page HERE and her Yahoo! Group HERE. She loves to hear from readers, but only if it’s good.

Find Wynter on the web at http://www.wynterdaniels.com/Visit her blog at http://wynterdaniels.blogspot.com/

Text Copyright © 2011 by Wynter DanielsCover Copyright © 2011 by Harlequin Enterprises LimitedPermission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.