Under Fire is available everywhere! You can purchase it at your favorite local retailer, online, in e-book formats, and audio formats – wherever you buy your books, you can find it!

If you are one of the many readers who pre-ordered Under Fire, THANK YOU!!!!

If you’ve been waiting for release day, it’s here!

This is Book #3 in the Defend and Protect series, and it is a bittersweet day because I hate to say goodbye to the Raleigh team.

Here are the details about this final installment:

USSS Special Agent Zane Thacker has landed his dream assignment protecting the president of the United States. When the president plans a fundraiser at the exclusive estate of a political supporter in Raleigh, Zane is thrilled to be working again with Special Agent Tessa Reed, his best friendā€“and the woman he desperately wishes could be more.

Though Tessa almost lost everything, she battled her demons and came out on the other side healthy and healed. But when her role as the liaison between the Raleigh office and the presidentā€™s protective detail wrenches her past back into the present, her greatest failure threatens to come to light.

Zane refuses to let Tessa go through this alone. But can he stand by the woman he lovesĀ andĀ protect the president from a mounting threat at the same time?

Sparks fly as award-winning romantic suspense writer Lynn H. Blackburn closes out her Defend and Protect series with this explosive tale of secrets kept, lies exposed, and relationships restored.

I hope you fall as much in love with Zane and Tessa (#Zessa!) as I am!

Grace and peace,

 

If you follow me on social media at all, you already know that Under Fire, Book 3 in the Defend and Protect series, releases March 7! Just 3 weeks, yā€™all!! I love this story so much, and Iā€™m busy doing lots of launchy (I just made that word up) things for that.

But Iā€™m also on a deadline.

Iā€™m working on the first book in a new romantic suspense series. The book is due March 1st and will release March 2024. It has a title, and I love it, but I canā€™t share it yet. šŸ™‚

Someone asked me about my writing the other day. When I stopped hyperventilating (kidding, but not completely) I decided to take a hard look at where I am.

In case youā€™re wondering, writing it all out did *not* help. I thought it might. I was wrong.

State of the Deadline:

Date Due: March 1

Completion Status: Trying to land the plane. Circling the runway. Not down yet. Close. Very close. Stress level – šŸ¤¢

Word Count: I will probably finish writing this bad boy somewhere between 95K-100K and then Iā€™ll have to cut 10% of it. (My word count is 85-90K). Stress level – šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«

Plot: Yeah, we have a few holes. Some dangling threads. A few things that I started but still havenā€™t finished. Stress level – šŸ«£

Characterization: Hate to say it, but today as I was driving I realized that my hero is too perfect. Heā€™s had some hard stuff happen, and life has roughed him up. But he need some more flaws. The heroine has a few flaws that I think Iā€™ve done a decent job of showing, but one of her big arcs is also one of those dangling threads I mentioned earlier. And the villain needs more time on the page. Stress level – šŸ„“ šŸ˜’

Romance: Yā€™all. I wrote a line the other day that made me all kinds of swoony. But there are some issues here as well. Stress Level – šŸ˜¬ šŸ«¶šŸ¼

Suspense: Not gonna lie, weā€™re leaning hard into the romance in this book, but the suspense is pretty creepy. At least, I think it is? Maybe? I should stop overthinking it, but I wonā€™t. Stress Level – šŸ˜–

Focus: None. Absolutely none. You know what I keep thinking about? The first line ofā€¦wait for itā€¦BOOK 3 in this series. Thatā€™s right friends. A book that isnā€™t due for 2 MORE YEARS. Stress level – šŸ¤Æ šŸ¤Æ

Sleep: I either donā€™t sleep, or I have incredibly random dreams. Last night I dreamed that I returned to my job (a job I left unexpectedly 20 years ago when I went on bedrest when pregnant with Emma and never returned to). They offered me my old job back on the spot. And I was all kinds of awkward about it because I donā€™t have any plans to ever return to engineering, and it was a little bit like the scene in the Matrix where he tries to sneak out of the office. None of it made any sense at all. I woke up confused and discombobulated. This happens a lot when Iā€™m on a deadline. My subconscious goes haywire. Stress level – šŸ„ŗ šŸ˜“

Life: This is whatā€™s on my schedule over the next 2 weeksā€¦teach 2 Latin classes; homeschool 2 children; help youngest finish a big presentation/paper due March 3; visit an adult day facility that is a possible place for Emma when she ages out of the school system; celebrate Emmaā€™s 20th birthday; celebrate Drewā€™s 12th birthday; get the dog groomed; go to the chiropractor; get a massage – these are not fun massages – these are ā€œyou spend to much time sitting in a chairā€ massages; take the boys to five baseball practices and one baseball game; cook the meals, wash the clothes, and do all the normal things that just have to get done in the background no matter what else is happening; all the launchy things for Under Fire. Stress Level – šŸ¤ÆšŸ„ŗ šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«šŸ™„šŸ«£šŸ¤Æ

Needs: Prayer. ALL.THE.PRAYER. (Also, chocolate, coffee, and booksā€¦.noā€¦.not the booksā€¦.theyā€™re too tempting). šŸ™šŸ™šŸ™šŸ™šŸ«šŸ«šŸ«ā˜•ļøā˜•ļøā˜•ļøšŸ“ššŸ™šŸ™šŸ™šŸ™

I’m going to go eat some takeout now.Ā And maybe take a nap. šŸ™‚

More soon…

Grace & peace,

 

 

 

I know it’s December. And we’re all busy. But this won’t take long!

It’s humbling to me how many people want to help promote my books! And many of you- my wonderful readers – do this all year long and I appreciate it SO MUCH! No matter how much marketing and publicity I do, there is still no better way to find new readers than word of mouth. No social media blitz can do the same thing as a devoted reader telling their friends and family about this book that they “just have to read!” And I am so very thankful for all of you. It thrills me to see posts on Instagram and FB, and I love it when you tag me in your stories and reels!

In support of each new book, I gather a small launch team. Every team is unique, and every author handles things in their own way. But in general, launch team members intentionally promote a new book by sharing posts, images, quotes, and reviews on social media and on major retail sites.

Unfortunately, there is a limit to how many people can be on each launch team. My launch team manager knows that if it were left up to me, I’d have 200 people on the team. This is why I don’t personally select the team!

Under Fire releases March 7, 2023, and the launch team will be active in January, February, and March. Launch team members will receive an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) in January and will be asked to commit to a handful of promotional activities. I’ll be sending out some promotional materials and goodies to each team member in January.

If this sounds good to you, the link to the application will be in the newsletter that goes out on Tuesday, December 20, 2022.Ā 

Please be certain you’re signed up and check your email on Tuesday. Newsletters are funny things. Sometimes they go into junk/spam/trash and sometimes they arrive a day late, so if you normally get my newsletters, be sure you check.

If you aren’t already signed up, you need to do that today! Go to my website: https://lynnhblackburn.com and click on the “Newsletter & Free Gifts” tab. Make sure you follow ALL the steps and receive the confirmation email with the links to the freebies. (Again – check your spam/trash/junk folders).

I cannot WAIT to meet those of you will will be on the launch team!

 

 

 

Christmas comes early

with this amazing giveaway from Christian romantic suspense authors Mary Alford, Lynn H. Blackburn, Patricia Bradley, Lynette Eason, Elizabeth Goddard, Melissa Koslin, Nancy Mehl, and Natalie Walters.

The prizes include:

  • A copy of Among the Innocent and an ornament from Mary Alford.
  • A copy of Malicious Intent and Targeted from Lynn H. Blackburn.
  • A copy of Deception from Patricia Bradley.
  • A copy of Crossfire from Lynette Eason.
  • A copy of Critical Alliance from Elizabeth Goddard.
  • A copy of Dangerous Beauty and Never Miss plus bookmarks for each from Melissa Koslin.
  • A copy of Dead End and a matching journal from Nancy Mehl.
  • A copy of Lights Out and Fatal Code from Natalie Walters.

To enter, simply click here to go to the Rafflecopter site!

Ā Grace and peace,

 

Targeted is here!

This novella collection has been in the works for a long time, and today is the day! It is LIVE and available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats!Ā 

Get ready for triple the excitement, intrigue, and romance with three heart-stopping stories from your favorite romantic suspense authors!

InĀ On the Run, Lynette Eason introduces you to IT Specialist Daria Nevsky, a highly skilled FBI agent with the ability to hack any computer. She must go on the run to find out who wants her deadā€“and Dr. Ryker Donahue refuses to let her do it alone.

InĀ Deadly Objective, Lynn H. Blackburn throws physical therapist Emily Dixon and Secret Service Agent Liam Harper into an impossible situation. They donā€™t know why the vice presidentā€™s son seems to be in the crosshairs of a killer, but theyā€™ll sacrifice anything to keep him safe.

InĀ Caught in the Crosshairs, Natalie Walters pits former Army PSYOPS officer Ari Blackman against his colleague, CIA officer Claudia Gallegos, when Claudia is implicated in the murder of a Saudi prince. Can he prevent a coup that would put America at risk?

Grab your copy today!

 

August 9th is a big day in the Blackburn household.

It’s our wedding anniversary. šŸ„°šŸ˜šŸ˜˜

It’s also National Book Lovers Day. šŸ“ššŸ„°šŸ“š

The best way to celebrate National Book Lovers Day is by sharing some book love!

As a reader, you already know you can do this by supporting your favorite authors.Ā But today I’m going to give you an opportunity to support an aspiring author.Ā 

Deborah Clack is a dear friend of mine. Her writing is phenomenal, and I’m just waiting for the day when she signs her first contract.

While we’re waiting for that fabulous day, she has a free novella that you can read on your computer, or on an e-reader. I read it a while back and it is hilarious, heart-warming, swoony, and sweet. There’s a fireman. There’s a middle school teacher. There’s mystery and mayhem. I loved it!

Here’s the link. When you “click here” you’ll provide your email address and subscribe to her quarterly newsletter. And then you’ll receive your free novella, False Alarm.

Here are the details about False Alarm:

After years of night school, Avery Lewis finally earns an interview for her dream job. If she can secure the seventh-grade English teacher position, she can finally redeem the false accusations of her past. But first she must survive a mortifying fire alarm incident at her gym.

Fire inspector Noah Jackson needs one professional win for his boss to endorse his arson investigator application. He doesnā€™t know the name of the beautiful wet mess he helped from the gym. But when he runs into her a second time, he wonā€™t make that mistake again.

Sparks fly, but when these two clash over a situation at Averyā€™s school, both of their jobs are at stake. With a studentā€™s future in the balance and pressure mounting on all sides, Avery and Noah wonā€™t make it out unsinged.

***

I hope you’ll snag False Alarm – and then let me know how much you enjoyed it!

Grace and peace,

 

Hey y’all!

Happy July! It’s hot here in the South and we’re spending a lot of time inside just waiting for Fall when we can bear to be outside again!

Sorry that it’s been a while since I shared anything here. I have a dream of posting on the blog more regularly, but until that happens, the very best place to stay in touch is through my newsletter.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty happening on social media. I post regularly to FB, Instagram, and Twitter (look for me @LynnHBlackburn). I have Pinterest pages for all my books (did you know that?) šŸ˜‰ and I even have playlists on Spotify for some of my favorite fictional couples.

But, as I’m sure you know, social media can be…finicky. How many times have you seen a post and then tried to find it later, only for it to be gone from your feed? The reality for authors is that in many cases, we’re sharing all kinds of cool info on the socials, but not everyone is seeing our posts.

This is where my newsletter comes in. You might not be on social media, or you might be on there, but rarely see anything I share. But if you subscribe to my newsletter, every 4-8 weeks you’ll see an email from me and you’ll be up-to-date on all the bookish happenings in my world.

Now, I realize that not everyone wants to sign up for newsletters, not everyone reads newsletters, and not everyone thinks they are a great idea. Fair enough.

But I try to make mine have some real value for my readers, and I don’t flood your inbox with tons of messages that you’re just going to delete.

To sweeten things up, I shamelessly offer exclusive content to my newsletter subscribers as an incentive.Ā 

Right now, my newsletter subscribers have access to the following goodies:

  • A deleted scene from Covert Justice.
  • A recipe booklet filled with tasty treats from the Dive Team Investigations series.
  • A flash fiction story that ties in best with Beneath the Surface.
  • A short scene, First Kiss, that sheds light on Gabe and Anissa’s rocky relationship (some people like reading it immediately, but I think it’s best read after you finish One Final Breath).
  • An ENTIRE novella (and honestly, it’s kind of long for a novella, but I tend to be wordy, so…) Unseen Enemy, that ties the Dive Team Investigations series to the Defend and Protect series.

And it’s time to add some more!

In July I’ll be sharing the letters written from Gil to Ivy, and Ivy to Gil, that are referenced in Malicious Intent. I had an absolute blast writing these. We actually considered dropping them into the book itself, but we never could figure out how to do it without breaking up the flow of the story too much. And it would have made the book way too long. But I’m excited to share them with you now!

Of course, they are only going to go out to newsletter subscribers, so if you aren’t already signed up, now’s the time!

Happy Summer!

Grace and peace,

Y’all.

As my kids would say, it’s been a minute! I haven’t posted an update here in WAY TOO LONG!

So for today, here are the highlights of what’s been happening and what’s coming!

First, a huge THANK YOU to my readers! Thanks to YOU Malicious Intent made the April ECPA Fiction bestsellers list! I have been thrilled with your response to Gil and Ivy and their story!

If you’ve finished Malicious Intent and are sad about how long it will be until March when the final book in the series releases, well, I have good news! Two novellas to help you tide you over!

Heroes in the Crossfire – Out of Time – Defend and Protect, 2.75

This romantic suspense novella collection is available NOW. I had a blast working with Lynette, Beth, and Lisa on this fun project. And before you ask, there’s no paperback available at this time. This is ebook only. For those of you who aren’t a fan of digital, I get it. But you don’t have to have an e-reader to read it. You can get the Kindle app on your phone, or for your PC or Mac, and read it on your computer. šŸ™‚ If the opportunity to publish this in print/audio comes along, we’ll definitely take it. But it could be a while.

My contribution,Ā Out of Time, features Hope Malone. Hope is the sister of Faith Malone (Unknown Threat) and it’s so fun to get to share her story. Novellas (and specifically, e-book only novellas) are sometime the only way authors have available to us to write some of these secondary character focused stories and I desperately wanted to write Hope’s story! Technically, from a timeline perspective, this story falls after the events of Deadly Objective (see below for details), but only by a few weeks and there are no spoilers. The two novellas can be read in any order and are written in a way that readers who have never read any of my previous books can hop in, enjoy the story, and hopefully want to read more!

 

Targeted – Deadly Objective – Defend and Protect, 2.5

This novella collection is coming to you from my publisher so it will be available in print, ebook, and audio (whoop!) in November! I teamed up with Lynette Eason and Natalie Walters for this one and again, chose a favorite secondary character to write about. Deadly Objective features Emily Dixon. Emily is the twin sister of Gil Dixon (Malicious Intent). We’ll have more to say about this novella collection as we draw closer to release day.

Under Fire – Defend and Protect, 3

Y’all. This cover! Talk about love at first sight – I gasped out loud and squealed a little when I saw it. Under Fire releases in March 2023 (I know – so far away!) but it is already available for preorder on several retailers sites. I have them listed on my website, and I’ll add to that list as they go live.

Whew! That was a lot! I hope your summer is filled with love, laughter, and lots of books!

Grace and peace,

Malicious Intent has been out in the world for three weeks and I’m so thankful for the new readers who are just now meeting the Defend and Protect team.

But since there are so many new friends visiting, I thought it would be a good time for a Meet Me Monday – the “this or that” edition.

I’d love to see your answers to these questions in the comments!

Introvert or Extrovert

***Iā€™m an introvert. As much as I enjoy hanging out with friends, throwing parties, and teaching classes, when the fun ends, I *need* to be alone to regroup.Ā 

Books or Movies

***Books. I enjoy movies, but yā€™allā€¦the book is ALWAYS better. šŸ™‚Ā 

Beach or Mountains

***Beach. But only by the tiniest of margins. I do love the mountains and the Blue Ridge mountains will always be the home of my heart. I was born there and Iā€™m so thankful I live close enough to see them regularly. And one of my favorite trips ever was hiking and exploring the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with my husband. And our recent trip to Montana and Wyoming with the boys was pure joy! Butā€¦sometimes my soul needs the wind and the waves in a wayI have no words to explain. My absolute favorite place to read is on the beach.

 

Night Owl or Early Bird

***Night owl. I can get up early, and I have to do that most of the time. But my natural rhythm is to stay up late.Ā 

Dog or Cat

***Dog. Sorry cat lovers, but Iā€™m #teamdog. Our petite mini goldendoodle, Bowman, pretty much rules the roost around here.

Mac or PC

***Mac. I bought a Mac with my very first advance when I sold my first book. And I have never looked back. When I have to use a PC it makes me twitchy. LOL!

Romance or Horror

***Romance. I read just about anything EXCEPT horror. NO. NO. NO. And I want romance in everything! #kissingbooksforthewin

Coffee or Tea

***Coffee. I start the day with coffee (with cream, no sugar). And I adore coffee! But I also love tea. I like it hot, I love it sweet, and Iā€™ve recently figured out how to make a home version of the Starbucks iced green tea and that is what I drink in the afternoons.Ā 

So…how about you?

And, by the way, if you’re new here? WELCOME! I’m thrilled to meet you!

Grace and peace,

Malicious Intent is available for preorderMalicious Intent, Book 2 in the Defend and Protect series,Ā releases March 1! ā¤ļøā€šŸ”„šŸŽ‰

I cannot wait for everyone to read Gil and Ivyā€™s story of forgiveness, reconciliation, romance, and survival in the face of vengeful villains willing to torture, maim, kill, and destroy everything Gil and Ivy have worked hard to achieve.Ā 

Iā€™m also thrilled to announce that Malicious Intent is the March selection for the Beyond the Book Online Book Club. This virtual book club meets in a public Facebook group so you can follow along if you prefer to lurk, or join if youā€™d like to participate. šŸ“š

I ā¤ļøloveā¤ļø talking to readers about books in general, but when those readers have fallen in love with my characters and start asking deep questions? #swoonšŸ¤© It makes my fragile author heart go wild! šŸ„°ā¤ļøā€šŸ”„šŸ˜

Malicious Intent is available for preorder everywhere books are sold, and will be available for purchase on Tuesday, March 1.Ā 

Iā€™ll be live on my author page on Facebook, Tuesday, March 1 at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) to chat about Malicious Intent, answer questions, and give away some prizes. šŸ™‚ I hope youā€™ll join me!Ā 

Want more info about Malicious Intent? Read on:

Perfectly balancing chilling suspense and uplifting romance, award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn introduced readers to her Defend and Protect series in 2021 with Unknown Threat. Now, Blackburn delivers a story of revenge, greed, and sacrifice in her second installment, Malicious Intent.Ā 

Founder and CEO of Hedera, Inc., Dr. Ivy Collins has dedicated her life to developing technology to help amputees like her stepfather, and the results have been lauded by government, medical, and advocacy groups worldwide. Now that she is on the cusp of having her cutting-edge prosthetic technology become a reality, someone is trying to sabotage her success.

When US Secret Service Special Agent Gil Dixon is assigned to investigate an issue involving his childhood best friend, Ivy Collins, heā€™s ecstatic that fate has brought them back together. Gil has always held a torch for her, and he doesnā€™t want to let her slip away again.

When Ivy continues to be targeted for her technology, Gil will have to use everything he has to keep Ivyā€”and her lifeā€™s workā€”safe from harm. Can they figure out who the culprit is before innocent lives are caught in the crossfire? Or will dangerous circumstances demand that Ivy give it all upā€”to save someone else?

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