Sentinels of the Night by Anita Dickason - Book Tour - Book Sale - Book Trailer - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Anita Dickason and her new book, “Sentinels of the Night”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Anita and to increase your chances of winning!

This book is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!  See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Sentinels of the Night

by Anita Dickason

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GENRE: Suspense/Thriller/Paranormal

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BLURB:

FBI Tracker Cat Morgan has an unusual talent, one she has successfully concealed, even from her fellow agents. That is—until she finds a body with a strange symbol carved on the forehead during a stop in Clinton, Mississippi and crosses paths with the town’s rugged police chief, Kevin Hunter. Despite his instant attraction to the sexy agent, Kevin is suspicious of her presence at the crime scene and isn’t buying her dubious explanations. He wants her out of the investigation and out of his town.

The discovery of another mutilated body with the same symbol sends Cat back to Clinton, and this time she isn’t leaving. To stop the killer, Cat must find a way to overcome Kevin’s distrust and will face an impossible impasse—truth or lies. But will either one matter, when the killer fixates on her for his next sacrifice?

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EXCERPT ONE:

Overhead, a deep hoot echoed, followed by the flap of wings. Two owls settled on top of the railroad car. Perched side by side, the formidable talons that could crush the spine of their quarry in an instant clung to the edge. Tufts of hair that protruded like horns and the glow of huge golden eyes gave the birds a fearsome appearance.

Motionless, she eyed the large raptors while she pondered their intervention. A bewildering deviation from their normal behavior.

“Hmm … that was a rather … dramatic entrance, even for you.”

They blinked, and their bills clacked, as if in protest.

“Not that I am complaining, of course.”

Heads swiveled in unison as their intense gaze shifted to the body on the ground. A few seconds later, they refocused on Cat. The magnetic tug twitched in her mind, and an odd sense of approval mixed with fear flowed into her thoughts. Jeez, this is getting even more weird.

“I’m wondering, though, how do I explain this one to Ben? He couldn’t miss seeing you, and he’s already suspicious.”

Another blink, then their wings spread as they lifted off. No help there, not that she expected any.

Her gaze returned to the body. Without their warning—well, she didn’t want to think about what might have happened. As for Ben, she’d come up with some excuse to fob off his questions. She always did.

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BOOK TRAILER:

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GUEST POST:

Evolution of My Writing Habits and How I’ve Grown into a Better/More Experienced Writer

When I retired from the Dallas Police Department, my retirement didn’t exactly go as planned. What I didn’t realize was the problem with all the free time on my hands. I decided to start my own business in accident reconstruction.

I received a call from a film company in California who had found my website. They were filming for a new reality TV series that dealt with unsolved mysteries. In the first show, an episode would be about the death of a key witness, Lee Bowers, Jr., to the Kennedy assassination. Bowers was killed in a motor vehicle crash in 1966. Over the years, the conspiracy theorists have claimed he was killed because of what he saw the day Kennedy was shot.

A date was set for the filming and the film company had obtained permits from the Texas Department of Transportation to shut down a section of the freeway outside of Midlothian, Texas, a small community about thirty miles south of Dallas. At first, I was not receptive to their offer. I did not want to appear on camera to talk about an accident that I knew nothing about and had little time to research. They asked if I would at least look at the material, and I agreed.

The packet I received included a video of a Geraldo Rivera episode that was filmed in the middle 90’s on the same topic, Bowers death. A man stood on the southbound lane of the divided highway pointing to a bridge where Bowers was killed. This location was the same one the film company intended to use. It didn’t take but a few seconds to realize that everyone had the wrong bridge. It didn’t even exist in 1966. In fact, documents I located at the local courthouse revealed the land wasn’t purchased by the state for the highway expansion until after Bowers was killed.

I was fortunate to find the actual accident location and the film company switched to the new site. I became so intrigued with the project, I decided to attempt a reconstruction of the accident. Talk about the ultimate cold case, this was it. Every single detail had to be evaluated by the standards and procedures in effect in 1966. I wrote a book, JFK Assassination Eyewitness: Rush to Conspiracy that details my results and conclusions.

While I enjoyed the process of writing the book, I had no intention of continuing as a writer until I spotted a website that ran a contest for short stories. Each month a picture would be posted. The story had to relate to the picture and was limited to 500 words. The picture was fascinating. A doll, tattered and torn, stood in the middle of this dilapidated barren room. I thought, what the heck and wrote a story, Not Dead, Not Dead. To my shock and amazement, I won third place. And that’s all it took, I was hooked.

My first fiction book was Sentinels of the Night, and it took two years to complete. I took online courses in writing and submitted chapters for critique and evaluation. I joined a local writing group. The title even changed. The original was Blood Moon. I wrote, rewrote, and rewrote again. I lost track of the number of drafts. With each change, though, the book improved. The day I sent off another chapter for evaluation and it came back with no changes recommended, I knew I had a finished manuscript. The trials, tribulations, and growing pains paid off when I wrote the next book, Going Gone! It took about ten months to complete.

One tip I would pass on to anyone who wants to write. Start with the challenge of a short story. It is a fun way to learn the dynamics of writing. When limited to 500 or 1000 words, you can’t ramble. Once the story is complete, submit it to a short story contest or magazine.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Anita Dickason is a retired police officer with twenty-seven years of experience, twenty-two with the Dallas Police Department. She served in patrol, undercover narcotics, accident investigation and was on a sniper on the Dallas SWAT team.

Anita is the recipient of the prestigious Law Enforcement Professional Achievement Award from the State of Texas House of Representatives. Other awards include Officer of the Year—Texas Women in Law Enforcement, Officer of the Year—International Association of Women in Police, Runner-up Officer of the Year—Dallas Police Department, Officer of the Month—Dallas Police Department and multiple Police Commendations, Certificates of Merit and Citizen/Business commendations from the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas community.

Anita was a certified instructor with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Her instructor certifications include Defensive Tactics, Batons, Spontaneous Knife Defense, Field Sobriety Procedures, Drug Recognition Expert program, and Accident Investigation.

She is a Past President of Texas Women in Law Enforcement, and Past Treasurer for the International Association of Women in Police.

Her first book, JFK Assassination Eyewitness: Rush to Conspiracy, is non-fiction and details the reconstruction of a 1966 vehicle accident near Midlothian, Texas that killed a key witness to the Kennedy assassination. The project opened the door to a new career, Author and Publisher. She owns Mystic Circle Books & Designs, LLC and provides manuscript and design services, helping other authors turn their manuscripts into a published book.

Her fictional works are suspense/thrillers and her plots are drawn from her extensive law enforcement knowledge and experience. Characters with unexpected skills, that extra edge for overcoming danger and adversity, have always intrigued her. Her infatuation with ancient myths and legends of Native American Indians, and Scottish and Irish folklore adds a touch of paranormal for the backdrop of her characters.

The experience of writing led to developing a knowledge of self-publishing and graphic design and a new business endeavor: Mystic Circle Books & Designs, LLC. It is a tossup of what Anita enjoys more, working on her books or helping another author publish their works. She has found an unexpected enjoyment in designing book covers, bookmarks, bookplates, etc. Email her for an autographed custom bookplate -- anita@anitadickason.com.

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CONNECT WITH ANITA:

Website:

www.anitadickason.com

Email:

anita@anitadickason.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AnitaDauthor

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/anita_dickason

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7396263.Anita_Dickason

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34602693-sentinels-of-the-night

Amazon Author Page:

http://amzn.to/2iLkZJY

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BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALE INFO:

**Sentinels of the Night is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!**

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2xA4zGZ

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2gMcZnJ

Amazon Hardcover:

http://amzn.to/2zQeCbx

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sentinels-of-the-night-anita-dickason/1126807924

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sentinels-of-the-night

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Anita will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.