Locked Out by L.M. Schukraft Book Tour and Giveaway :)



Locked Out
Welcome To Rebuild Book 1
by L.M. Schukraft
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Emeline Watson hoped that by changing careers and going back to her home town, Waverly, it would be a new beginning for her. She could forget her horrible ex and the troubles he caused, move on from her father's passing away six months ago, and start over. She finds out quickly enough that her past has followed her. 


Amid overhearing clandestine conversations, her ex stalking her, and her home town being plagued with recent break-ins, Emeline's first week at Rebuild, a local chain hardware store, is anything but easy. The only bright spot is her gorgeous new co-worker, Ethan Walker. They're paired up together the first day, and the mutual attraction is undeniable, but Emeline senses there's more to Ethan than he's letting on. 

Starting out a new job, in a new town, is never easy but Ethan Walker has become a pro at blending in and adjusting to change. He figures this should be one of the easier changes he's had to face in a while. Little did he know the trouble that was awaiting him when he first set eyes on Emeline Watson. Her girl next door blonde hair, curvy fit body, and stunning eyes catches his attention instantly. Time and again, he finds himself playing knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress. 

Waverly is experiencing its first wave of crime in centuries and Emeline seems to be mixed up in the center of it. No matter how much she denies needing Ethan to rescue her, the two are thrown together after Emeline discovers the grizzly remains of a body. 

Can Ethan and Emeline figure out who's behind the crimes? Will their attraction, and Emeline, survive the sinister plot threatening the entire town? Or will their secrets keep them locked out of each other’s lives?

Time is running out and the stakes are getting higher with each passing day....the danger is real and it's coming for Emeline.



L. M. Schukraft is a long time writer, a quirky novelist, and a semi-passive blogger. 


With the release of her third novel, Locked Out, Ms. Schukraft is excited to share with you a cast of new characters in a mystery that keeps you guessing. She is currently writing her next adventure - a YA fairy tale retelling - that she anticipates releasing in 2018. 

Ms. Schukraft graduated with a degree in English Creative Writing which she's finally putting to good use. She loves reading but being a picky reader limited her choices. She found herself going long periods of time waiting for her favorite authors to release their next books. Using her inclination towards creativity, Ms. Schukraft started writing a few novels years ago. Life and circumstances, along with some writer's block and doubt, delayed her finishing the first two books she started to write. Hop forward to a competition along with a butt-load of determination and Ms. Schukraft finished Even Halos Can Be Crooked. Her next release followed shortly after that, Castles in the Skies, a collection of poetry and short stories. 

Ms. Schukraft has several ideas waiting to be written and looks forward to sharing each and every single one with you. Keep an eye out for her YA fairy tale retelling, a children's picture book, the second book in both her series, and a stand-alone romantic suspense thriller. 

Ms. Schukraft actively updates her blogs and Facebook pages with information on current releases, giveaways, promotions as well as what she's writing at the time. Please follow, like, and share her blogs and Facebook pages to stay up-to-date and not miss any new releases!



What inspired you to write this book?
I started writing Locked Out about...oh wow...this will age me, let's just say, 10 years ago. I'd wanted to write a book for the longest time and then I got the idea while I was working a large home improvement store at the time. I had the whole series plotted out by department. I was excited. I would hand write the chapters on my lunch hours and would type them up when I got home. I thought I had something pretty original and then I started seeing a bunch of cozy mysteries with themes close to mine and I got hit with doubt. Then I injured my right wrist and I couldn't write much less type for a number of months after that. Life got in the way and I didn't revisit Locked Out again until I finished Even Halos Can Be Crooked. I read the first 15 chapters and fell in love with the story all over again. I had to finish it to know how it ended!

What can we expect from you in the future?
I've got ambitious goals for the future. I've got the second books to write in both the Crooked Halos and Welcome to Rebuild series. I'm this close to finishing Dead Princess Walking, the first book in a Snow White Fairy Tale retelling. I've got a couple Romance Suspense Thrillers - stand alones - that I want to write. There's the children's picture book I've written and need to finish the illustrations for.

All in all, I'm set for at least another 7 books in Crooked Halos series, 14 in the Rebuild series, and 7 more in the Dead Princess Walking series. Plus the 2 stand alones and the picture book. I really hope I get to write them all!!

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
Yes! Desmin has a few short stories. I have the idea to do a collection of short stories for him based on holidays but I haven't had time to write them yet. That was another book idea I have. I'm considering doing a separate Fairy Tale retelling for one of my characters in Dead Princess Walking. He's set to be part of another Fairy Tale and I feel his story needs to be told! Ye gods, that makes almost 34 book ideas waiting for me to write them! I also would like to tell Brandon and Hawk's stories, Ethan's brothers in Locked Out. Theses aren't written yet but keep an eye out for them..

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Locked Out?
Emeline is a twenty-something young lady who's made a few big changes in her life. She recently broke up with an ex and lost her job because he didn't take kindly to being dumped. She's started a new job that is completely different from anything she was doing before. She's generally happy, quick to laugh, a loyal friend, and being deceived in so many ways that her world is turned upside down by the end of the book.

She meets Ethan Walker at her new job and the chemistry is all there but she can feel somethings off. Even though he's charming, funny, and obviously interested, she's not so sure she can trust him.

I want to share more but I don't want to risk giving away anything to do with the mystery! Not even about her food stealing cat!

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
That's hard to explain. My characters developed with the idea for the story. They grew as I wrote it. Sometimes they took over and changed my plot on me. I try to make my characters as real and relatable as possible. I'll start writing with a general idea of what I want the story to be, plot point areas and scenes I want to include and then I steer the characters to where they make those scenes happen. Sometimes I get to a point and I get stuck, such as figuring out exactly who was behind the murder and crimes. I had an idea but as I wrote, that evolved, changed, and then it hit me! The perfect plot twist. So, I guess, the best answer is I came up with everything as I wrote it based off a general idea I had.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?
Picking names is hard!! Sometimes I have to think on it for a bit. I'll toss out a few names or even leave a place holder until the name that suits the character comes to me. Emeline was always Emeline but her first full name was Emeline Murie Topaz. Since I'd used Murie Autumn Topaz as the name for my main character in Even Halos, I had to pick another full name for Emeline. Ethan was easy. He was Ethan Walker. That name just suited his character. Then I decided for Emeline I wanted to play with her name and I picked a popular crime solving last name for her - Watson! It was perfect. Picking her middle name took a little longer but when I said Emeline Annette Watson out loud, that was her name. It flowed and had strength to it.


I try to go across the alphabet when I'm picking names since I don't want a novel filled with everyone's names starting with an 'E' or an 'H' and sometimes I make up the names. I try not to get too wild because I want people to be able to pronounce the names. I really try to make sure the name fits the character. Names really mean a lot to me and my characters in my books. They help me develop the character so I am willing to wait until I've picked the right one!

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yuletide at Moonglow by Deborah Garner Blog Tour and Personal Review!

Typo Squad by Stephen Lomer Tour and Giveaway!

Putin's Useful Idiot by Kenyon Kane Book Tour and Giveaway :)