Guest Author: Dana Nussio and Her Dark Web Defender

This month, my guest is a former member of of my local RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter. Dana Nussio has been one of the real success stories of our organization. She made a name for herself writing inspirational romance for Harlequin’s Love Inspired line as Dana Corbit. This summer we all rejoiced with her when she announced that one of her  stories, Child in a Manger, would be made into a  movie! She’s also written mainstream romance, such as Home to You (one of my reading picks in my post last December), and now the gritty world of law enforcement. Book Two of her True Blue miniseries became available earlier this month, and I asked her to share with us a bit about her journey from Inspirational Romance to Romantic Suspense.

Why Romantic Suspense?

Romantic Suspense has always been my favorite Romance sub-genre as a reader, so I was thrilled when I had the chance to write books for the Harlequin Romantic Suspense line. And writing police stories was no-brainer for me. I’ve had an interest in criminal justice since college when I took so many elective CJ classes that I nearly fulfilled the requirement for a second minor and since my early days as a newspaper reporter, where I covered the weekend cops beat. I love writing stories where honorable law enforcement characters face the types of challenges found in today’s headlines, but where good always triumphs over evil in the end. My research has included everything from ride-alongs with officers from various police agencies to attending the Lakes Area Citizens Police Academy, where I learned to shoot a Glock and was Tased (by choice).

My inspiration for A DARK WEB DEFENDER was born of the many articles I read about online predators and the law enforcement heroes determined to bring them to justice. I liked the idea of building a character who looked a predator in the eye as a child having the chance to make a difference by helping to track them as an adult.

Writing as both Dana Corbit and Dana Nussio:

I made the decision to move into the Contemporary Romance and eventually Romantic Suspense as some of the stories in my head were a better fit for those markets. I still enjoy writing a good sweet story. In fact, I’m working on one right now, another Christmas book because I love them.

One my earlier stories, “Child in a Manger” a novella I wrote in 2004 in the anthology, A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS, (Harlequin Love Inspired) with my late friend, Irene Brand, has been made into the TV movie this year. BABY IN A MANGER, from Brain Power Studios, will play in Canada on Super Channel Heart & Home on Nov. 15, 20, 25, and 30 and in the U.S. on Dec. 24 on UPtv. The DVD is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2WRIK30.

 

Bio: Dana Nussio began telling “people stories” around the same time she started talking. She’s continued both activities, nonstop, ever since. She left a career as an award-winning newspaper reporter to raise three daughters, but the stories followed her home as she discovered the joy of writing fiction. Now an award-winning author and member of Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she loves telling emotional stories filled with honorable but flawed characters.

Blurb for HER DARK WEB DEFENDER –

How can he protect her from a predator
When she’ll risk everything for vengeance?

State Trooper Kelly Roberts joins Special Agent Tony Lazzaro’s task force, determined to bring down a cybercriminal preying on young victims. Solving this case is a chance for redemption. If Kelly catches the killer, she’ll be one step closer to solving her best friend’s abduction. She never expects to fall for Tony. But trusting him means risking everything she holds dear…

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Harlequin

Author links: You can find Dana at her website and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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My thoughts: THIS IS A MUST READ for anyone who likes to read romantic suspense! It’s dark, it’s gritty, and it makes you keep turning the pages to find out who’s behind the murders. And Tony is a class act, despite his rough edges. I found myself wanting to shake Kelly and yell, “What’s wrong with you?” every time she found an excuse not to let herself fall in love with him. My recommendation: Get. This. Book.

 

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