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!
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