Devil's Lake (Bittersweet Hollow Book 1) (29 page)

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Authors: Aaron Paul Lazar

Tags: #prisoner, #Vermont, #woods, #love, #payback, #Suspense, #kidnapped, #cabin, #Baraboo, #taken, #horses, #abducted, #abuse, #Wisconsin, #revenge, #thriller, #Mystery, #morgans, #lost love

BOOK: Devil's Lake (Bittersweet Hollow Book 1)
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She wanted danger.

She wanted someone new.

Anderson knew her body well, and within a few minutes they’d both exploded in pleasure. Him, panting and still hungrily kissing her. Her, wrapped up in another fantasy, as always.

As much as she loved her big teddy bear husband, she couldn’t peak without imagining someone new. Someone a little scary. A real bad boy.

It had always been that way.

She collapsed against him and sighed. “Thank you.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Thank me? Thank
you
.”

She giggled and patted his rear. “Have a great day at work, honey.”

He collected himself slowly, fastening his pants, then leaned down for one more kiss. “God, I love you.”

She smiled up at him. “Love you, too.”

Acknowledgments

 

Huge thanks to Sonya Bateman, my long time critique partner, for her constant and unwavering support. I’ve learned more about writing from Sonya than from anyone else over the past decade. Generous and always open to frank discussion, she’s been a port in the storm for me on many occasions. She also writes one heck of a synopsis. (Thanks again for this one, Sonya!) Please check out my favorite book of hers,
Broken Angel
, as well as her urban thrillers at:
http://housephoenix.wordpress.com

 

To Joan Hall Hovey, award-winning author of some of the best romantic suspense novels out there today, including
The Deepest Dark
,
her newest blockbuster. I have always loved Joan’s work and consider her the ideal novelist. But be warned – if you start reading one of her books, you won’t put it down! Thank you, Joan, for believing in my work.

 

To Robin P. Waldrop, who inspired me (okay, she nudged really hard) to try my hand at a new venture and who encouraged me along the way by offering insightful critiques and catching my dumb errors. See her very popular YA paranormal romance books at:

http://robinpwaldrop.com

 

Heartfelt appreciation to Sonia R. Martinez for her good-natured assistance and insightful edits. Sonia is my favorite food writer, who hails from Hawaii and never fails to bring a smile to my face. See her articles and photos at:
http://www.soniatasteshawaii.com

 

Gabriela Scholter, you read this manuscript in less than one day and came back with a dozen excellent catches. I so appreciate your support and feedback, and thank you for your amazing speed and quality in your beta reading. Your ten years of teaching English as a second language abroad has made you an amazing proofreader. You’ve helped me remember a lot of my own eighth grade English, and I’m in your debt. Say hello to Stuttgart for me!

 

Joan H Young, we have just discovered each other’s mysteries this year, and I must say I love your work. Thank you for taking a critical look at my manuscript even though you are as always swamped with multiple projects and many hikes across the great northeast woods! You really have an amazing knack for finding typos and mistakes, thank you for spending so much time on this. Joan’s cozy mysteries can be discovered here:
http://www.booksleavingfootprints.com
.

 

Joan Miller, I truly appreciate all the hard work you put into finding my errors and inconsistencies. I wouldn’t feel right unless you read through my manuscript multiple times before publishing, and I will always picture you and Gretchen’s cat Jessie reading at night outside by the chiminea. From the bottom of my heart – thank you!

 

Linda Bonney Olin, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a professional writing coach. Your sharp eyes and hard work with my manuscript have made it flow better. God has given you a wonderful gift, and I’m glad you honor him by writing those amazing hymns and more. Thanks for your deep reads and suggestions for improvement. Please visit her website here to learn about her creations:
http://LindaBonneyOlin.com

 

Thank you,
Kellie Dennis
, of
Book Cover by Design
(www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk), for your help with the cover art. I love the images you chose and stand in awe of your expertise. Way to go!

 

Maria Benzoni Lombardo lives on the same gorgeous ridge over the Genesee Valley that we do, and we have been friends for years. She is reading and reviewing my audio books, and recently offered to try her hand at beta reading. I’m very glad she did. Maria, thanks for finding the errors I made, especially the year that I skipped in the rough draft. I so appreciate your catches and value your input.

 

Deepest appreciation to Dina Von Lowenkraft, who writes Young Adult Fiction across the pond in Belgium, and whose new Twilight Times Book
Dragon Fire
was just released with a splash in the literary world. Dina, you are the ultimate finder of paradoxes. You have a brain like a steel trap and I appreciate your honest appraisal of the first part of this book before the rewrite. Kudos!

 

Jenny Woodall, who writes under the pen name of Victoria Howard, has become a wonderful author friend from “across the pond” in the UK. After we got past our UK/USA variances in writing styles, we have helped each other with stories, genre classification, and more. Jenny, I appreciated your insight into Portia’s psychological state in the original first chapters of this book. Thank you for taking the time and for making the effort. Jenny’s best-selling romantic suspense books can be found here:
http://www.victoriahoward.co.uk/

 

Mary Alice Grimes, we have only recently “met” over the past few years, but I'm glad we did. I thank you for your painstaking attention to detail and presentation of opportunities to improve the work. My books are always better after you’ve had a chance to go through them, and I will be thankful to you for that forever.

 

Karen Vaughn, you have been reading through my Gus LeGarde series and other books so fast I can hardly keep up with your wonderful reviews! Thanks for reading through this book, too, to find errors. I’m glad you liked Grace in that last scene where she really gave it to Murphy. ;o) Check out Karen’s books at:
http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Vaughan/e/B004PRN7ZO

 

Sharon Pribble, thank you for offering to read this manuscript and for looking for my errors! Grateful for the time you took, and I wish you the very best.

 

About the Author

 

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. A multi award-winning author of many addictive fictional series and more, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming release, THE SEACROFT (2015). You may contact him at [email protected].

 

 

Books by multi-award winning author Aaron Lazar:

 

LEGARDE MYSTERIES

DOUBLE FORTÉ
(print, eBook, audio book)

UPSTAGED
(print, eBook, audio book)  

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON
(print, eBook, audio book)

MAZURKA
(print, eBook, audio book)

FIRESONG
(print, eBook, audio book)

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON
(print, eBook, audio book)

DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU
(print, eBook, audio book)

THE
LIAR’S
GALLERY
(print, eBook, and audio book)

UNDER
THE ICE
(print, eBook, and audio book)

LADY
BLUES
(2014)
(print, eBook, and audio book)

THE LEGARDE MYSTERIES OMNIBUS
(eBook)

 

MOORE MYSTERIES

HEALEY'S CAVE
(print, eBook, audio book)

TERROR COMES KNOCKING
(print, eBook, audio book)

FOR KEEPS
(print, eBook, audio book)

 

TALL PINES MYSTERIES

FOR THE BIRDS
(print, eBook, audio book)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS
(print, eBook, audio book)

SANCTUARY
(print, eBook, audio book

BETRAYAL (
print, eBook, audio book)

 

LOVE STORIES

THE SEACREST

THE SEACROFT (2015)

 

BITTERSWEET HOLLOW ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

DEVIL’S LAKE
(print, eBook, audio book)

DEVIL’S CREEK
(print, eBook, audio book)

 

WRITING ADVICE

WRITE LIKE THE WIND
, volumes 1, 2, 3 (ebooks and
audio books
)

Aaron Lazar’s Book Awards

 

The Seacrest

2014 Best Beach Book Festival WINNER, Romance category

2013 ForeWord Book Awards, Romance, FINALIST

 

Double Forté
 

2012 ForeWord BOTYA, Mystery, FINALIST

 

Tremolo: cry of the loon

2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Grand Prize Short List

2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Honorable Mention, Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction

2011 Global eBook Award Finalist in Historical Fiction Contemporary

2011 Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award – 2nd place Mystery

2008 Yolanda Renée's Top Ten Books

2008 MYSHELF Top Ten Reads

 

For the Birds

2011 ForeWord Book Awards, FINALIST in Mystery

2012 Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Top 10 Reads

 

Essentially Yours

2013 EPIC Book Awards, FINALIST in Suspense

2013 Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award Finalist

 

Healey’s Cave

2012 EPIC Book Awards WINNER Best Paranormal

2011 Eric Hoffer Book Award, WINNER Best Book in Commercial Fiction

2011 Finalist for Allbooks Review Editor's Choice

2011 Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnson's 9th Annual Noble (not Noble!) Prize for Literature

2011 Finalists for Global EBook Awards

 

Terror Comes Knocking

2013 Global Ebook Awards, Paranormal – Bronze

For Keeps

2013
Semi Finalist in Kindle Book Review Book Awards, Mystery Category

 

Websites

 

www.lazarbooks.com

www.murderby4.blogspot.com

www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com

www.pureoils.blogspot.com

 

Contact

 

You may contact the author via email, at
[email protected]
.

 

Connect with Aaron Lazar:

 

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

LinkedIn

Google+

 

Table of Contents

Dedication

PART I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

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