GetToKnowTheBook: ‘Veil of Deception’ by Candace Morehouse, Michael Davis.

Often when I write, my sleep is disrupted by visions of new stories. On one such morning, I arose early and watched from my deck as a palette of crimson and blue embraced the sky and reflected a spectrum of colors against the mirror of the lake. The predawn mist that frequents the liquid surface on chilly mornings quickly blanketed the cove and partially obscured the shoreline. The vapor cloud offered an eerie ballet as it swirled and danced to a solitary spectator. Eventually, as I sipped my third cup of brew, the ghostly figures disappeared into the canopy of the forest surrounding the cove and I caught the outline of several new visitors at the apex of a wake headed my way. The string of serene images flooded my thoughts as I studied a brood of freshly hatched ducklings trailing behind two mallards.

The serenade of a mourning dove enticing his mate in the cedar tree to my right was interrupted by a radio from across the cove. The blaring news report reminded me of a horrifying mystery still haunting the community near where I live. My peaceful thoughts became corrupted by visions of evil things that wait just outside our civilized world for the opportunity to reach out and destroy the innocent. At that instant, there was a splash in my cove. I turned and where there had been five sets of small paddling feet, now there were only four. Nature, with all her exacting reality, had taken a life from an unsuspecting family to feed the blind hunger of one of her beasts.

The parallel between what I’d heard on the radio and what was unfolding in the cove electrified my muse. The juices began to flow for a new story, one based on the hidden dangers all around us, but it had to be anchored in truth and blended with a romantic core.

Then it hit me. Sometimes deception is the match that burns love to a cinder. Whether it’s an attempt to deceive our mate, or a lie to fool ourselves, deception only fosters pain. In the same way, evil deeds are generally carried out through a VEIL OF DECEPTION, and the plot for a gut-wrenching romantic suspense was born.

I discussed the opportunity to collaborate with an author friend, Candace Morehouse. Our intent was to achieve realism by blending both gender views. Was the collaboration effective? Why not come on over to Davisstories.com and read a few excerpts and reviews. Here’s a little blurb to wet your appetite.

BLURB: Something suspicious is happening at Spenser Lake. People are disappearing and their bodies never found. The fear and uncertainty affect the tranquil community, but especially Kurt Hawkins. The guilt that he was responsible for his wife’s loss precludes any normalcy in his life until he meets Danielle Gillette, a reclusive author with skeletons of her own. When the mystery to the disappearances is revealed, they discover sometimes truth cuts deeper than a lie.

Authors' website: http://davisstories.com/