BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR DONNELL ANN BELL

Donnell Ann Bell makes return visit to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers today. Writing around the theme “Suspense too Close to Home” she’s the author of three books: The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, and her newest release, Betrayed.  Her debut and sophomore releases have been e-book bestsellers, and Deadly Recall is a 2014 EPICON nominee for best thriller/suspense. She co-owns Crimescenewriters with retired Veteran Police Officer Wally Lind.  To learn more about Donnell and her books, visit her website. 

A Muse for Every Creative Endeavor

I’m always a little intimidated when I’m invited to blog on Lois Winston’s Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers.  Although I write about killers, I’m hardly crafty about it, and when it comes to crafts, I’m something of a disappointment.  Take my sewing class –that worked out well.  Not.  My jump suit evolved into a pair of gauchos.  I’ve dabbled in painting, crocheting, and floral arrangements, and although I love gardening, the point is, I don’t have the right muse for any of these jobs.

It never crossed my mind that craft makers, artists and tradesmen, among the myriad others, had muses.  After all they can look at a picture, right?  They can follow schematics, correct?  Boy, was I misled.  I have a friend who is an interior decorator.  One of her side jobs is decorating homes for the holidays.  I’ve gone into her basement and observed what appeared to be heaps of garland, ribbons, ferns and beads and watched her transform these items, seemingly magically, into some of the most gorgeous wreaths imaginable.  Companies hire her to make their business environment festive.  When I asked how she does it, she says, “I’m no different than you.  I have a muse.”

  

A few years ago, I had my kitchen remodeled.  I was so excited. After seventeen years of austere white and plain cabinets and aging appliances, I would at last have the kitchen of my dreams. 

"Before" Kitchen

My contractor didn’t simply come into my home and begin demolition.  He brought with him a decorator and an interior decorator and they consulted me about my tastes.  But I’ll never forget the first words out of my contractor’s mouth when he entered my home and examined the floor plan, “What a train wreck,” he said.  “Why would anyone close in all this beautiful space?”

"During" Kitchen

I looked around and went, “Huh?”  His muse (skill and experience no doubt) was already hard at work the moment he walked in the door.  In his mind he was already taking down soffits and knocking out walls.  He could see something that I couldn’t even dream of.  He was listening to his muse. 

No, I’m not handy or crafty but I do see stories in my head, and they’re rather vivid.  I love to think about characters and what makes them tick, and then put them into “What if” and sometimes impossible situations.  My tools of the trade are words, and yes, my drafts often look like a construction site in need of OSHA supervision. 

"After" Kitchen

But much like my creative interior decorator friend or my contractor, I believe we all have muses that inspire and set us on a journey of creation.  My talent and passion is storytelling.  Further, I love suspense.  My third book from Bell Bridge Books is called Betrayed.  I hope you’ll check it out and see how my muse operates.

Do you have a muse that speaks to you? 

Betrayed

A cold-blooded conspiracy that strikes at our most precious bonds.

When Oklahoma City resident, Irene Turner learns the incomprehensible, that the stillborn baby she delivered 28-years earlier is alive, she takes the evidence to where her daughter now lives—Denver Colorado. 

Detective Nate Paxton can’t believe what Irene’s evidence shows him.  Kinsey Masters, a world-class athlete, raised by a prominent Denver family, an unattainable woman he’s known and loved for years, was stolen at birth. 

Irene Turner, Nate Paxton, and Kinsey Masters are united in a sordid conspiracy.  Irene’s foundation of trust will be ripped from its core, as kidnapping, murder, and a thirst for revenge lead her to learn she’s been betrayed.

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook