New Book Deal: Imajin Books and Kristina Stanley

I’m thrilled to announce I’ve sold the eBook and print rights for my upcoming novel LOOK THE OTHER WAY to Imajin Books.

What’s LOOK THE OTHER WAY about?

It’s the beginning of a new series set in the Bahamas. The mystery takes place aboard a Lagoon 380 catamaran, which happens to be the type of boat I lived on for 5 years.

Mattina sailing
Mattina in the Bahamas

Here’s the blurb:

A year after her Uncle Bobby mysteriously disappears in the turquoise waters surrounding the Bahamas, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt to trace his last voyage. Shannon hopes the serenity of the sea might help her recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé.

Sailing their 38-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat, is Captain Jake Hunter, a disillusioned cop who has sworn off women. While Shannon tries to resist her growing attraction to the rugged captain, she uncovers some dark truths about her uncle’s death that might send all three of them to the depths.

Thank you to Imajin Books for once again supporting me!

Imajin Books is a Canadian publisher that publishes suspense, mystery, thriller, paranormal, horror, romance, fantasy, young adult and select non-fiction. They will be open for submissions April 2017, so keep your eye on the website if you’re looking to submit a novel this year.

Poll Results for Look The Other Way Back Text

Thank you to all who answered my poll. Talk about an amazing experience. Not only did people answer the poll, some were kind enough to leave comments to help me improve either version, others sent me personal emails with re-written text.

LOOK THE OTHER WAY is a mystery that takes place in the Bahamas. Compass Cay is one of my favorite islands and is also one of the settings in the novel. Why you ask? How could sharks swimming beside our boat not be dramatic?

Sharks

So the results of the survey.

61% preferred Option B.

39% preferred Option A.

I’ve put the descriptions below in case you want to refer to them. One thing I gathered is that mystery readers prefer option A, and romance readers prefer option B.

Next, I’m going to take all the wonderful feedback and re-write to the text to make the description shorter and tighter.

In case you haven’t heard, Imajin Books has their eBooks on sale this week. If you haven’t read DESCENT or BLAZE, they are only $0.99 until the end of the week.

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OPTION A:

Bobby Hall’s body washes up in the surf on a remote Bahamian island. His death is declared accidental. His grieving wife, Debi, hires Captain Jake Hunter, a former cop fleeing personal trauma, to sail with her on A Dog’s Cat and retrace Bobby’s final weeks at sea.

Shannon Payne is fired from the job she loves. Her engagement ends in disaster, and she no longer trusts her judgment of men. Giving up the life she knows as a reporter, she joins her aunt on A Dog’s Cat. The tranquility of life on a sailboat is what she needs. A tumultuous journey with the handsome captain is what she gets.

As tensions heighten on board, so does the attraction growing between Jake and Shannon. When Shannon learns a shocking truth about her childhood, a truth that might mean Bobby was murdered, the only thing clearer than the crystalline waters of the Bahamian archipelago is that someone is not telling the whole truth and hasn’t for a long time.

OPTION B:

A year after her uncle is lost at sea, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt on a journey through the idyllic Bahamian islands. She needs to recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé. And sailing the turquoise waters, tracing her uncle’s route as a tribute to him, may just repair her heart. But instead of tranquility, she uncovers dark secrets from her past that may destroy any chance she has at happiness.

Captain Jake Hunter joins the duo on the thirty-eight-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat. He’s running away from painful memories. He dreams of escaping his life as a cop but finds himself embroiled in an investigation. He’s sworn off women, and now he’s living in close quarters with his boss’s niece, a blue-eyed beauty he can’t resist but should. Could his life get any more turbulent?

Shannon and Jake suppress the attraction they feel for each other, Bobby’s mysterious death hangs over them, and someone out there doesn’t want the truth uncovered.

Thanks for reading…

Help Me Choose My Novel’s Back Text

My latest mystery novel, LOOK THE OTHER WAY, is written. My trustworthy beta readers have sent me their comments, and I’ve updated the novel. Each beta reader provided different input on the story, and each person helped me make it better.

So why not ask my beta readers for help with the book description? They’ve read the book and will know if the description is accurate. So ask, I did. After receiving feedback from 5 people, my two favorite versions are below.

Please vote on your favorite. Which description would entice you to read LOOK THE OTHER WAY?

OPTION A:

Bobby Hall’s body washes up in the surf on a remote Bahamian island. His death is declared accidental. His grieving wife, Debi, hires Captain Jake Hunter, a former cop fleeing personal trauma, to sail with her on A Dog’s Cat and retrace Bobby’s final weeks at sea.

Shannon Payne is fired from the job she loves. Her engagement ends in disaster, and she no longer trusts her judgment of men. Giving up the life she knows as a reporter, she joins her aunt on A Dog’s Cat. The tranquility of life on a sailboat is what she needs. A tumultuous journey with the handsome captain is what she gets.

As tensions heighten on board, so does the attraction growing between Jake and Shannon. When Shannon learns a shocking truth about her childhood, a truth that might mean Bobby was murdered, the only thing clearer than the crystalline waters of the Bahamian archipelago is that someone is not telling the whole truth and hasn’t for a long time.

OPTION B:

A year after her uncle is lost at sea, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt on a journey through the idyllic Bahamian islands. She needs to recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé. And sailing the turquoise waters, tracing her uncle’s route as a tribute to him, may just repair her heart. But instead of tranquility, she uncovers dark secrets from her past that may destroy any chance she has at happiness.

Captain Jake Hunter joins the duo on the thirty-eight-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat. He’s running away from painful memories. He dreams of escaping his life as a cop but finds himself embroiled in an investigation. He’s sworn off women, and now he’s living in close quarters with his boss’s niece, a blue-eyed beauty he can’t resist but should. Could his life get any more turbulent?

Shannon and Jake suppress the attraction they feel for each other, Bobby’s mysterious death hangs over them, and someone out there doesn’t want the truth uncovered.

 

I sailed on Mattina, a 38-foot catamaran, for five years in the Bahamas. She’s the sailing vessel used in LOOK THE OTHER WAY, and this is her, one beautiful day in the Exuma Islands.

Mattina sailing

 

Thanks for voting! Comments are most welcome.