DEDICATIONS!

Thank you Sia, for hosting me today, my chosen subject sounds almost impersonal but I've found the Dedication page of a novel to be most personal, and I'd love to know what your readers feel about it.

The dedication page comes after the title page of a novel and is an expression of thanks by the author towards the most significant person or influence for the book.

I dedicated my first book, Murder, Madness & Love to my grandmother, Lilly Opal Stansberry; she was the most positive influence in my life and still inspires me today. A writer of poetry, a strong and gracious woman, her response to my creativity was heartfelt and priceless. She had read an early copy of my manuscript but never saw it in book form.

I am dedicating Memories of Murder to nightmares, and the creativity that they inspire, because the idea for this novel came directly from a nightmare! An abstract dedication, but important because the life events during the writing of Memories were nightmarish and highly influenced the book.

The third book in the trilogy From Obsession to Murder is all about love, sacrifice, and heroism and is dedicated to T. R. S. – my hero – my husband. It may seem like he's been shortchanged by appearing third, but the truth is I followed my creative muse and recognized the true inspiration for each novel. The simple truth is – my husband is my hero.

Years ago, we saw one another across a crowded room and it was love at first sight, but it also involved a bit of a detour. On what I thought would be our first date we met again at a dinner celebration. The problem – he showed up with a date. To say I was devastated would be putting it mildly.

However, miraculously six months later and free from any other encumbrance, he did ask me for a date. He then shared with me the fact that my dear brother had warned him off. Big brother was trying to protect me from his best friend, the playboy. Needless to say, we've been together ever since!

T. R. S. is and always has been my biggest supporter. Through my entire writing journey and regardless of the mistakes I made or the many times I wanted to give up, he was always cheering me on. When I pleaded with him to read my unpublished work, he would refuse, claiming he'd only read it after it was published. His way of pushing me forward through the process – from creation to query – he stuck by that statement.

T. R. S. – is – my hero and the third book is the most appropriate place to make that statement!

• Who is your hero? As a writer, how would you use the dedication page – as a reader, does it matter?

 Thanks again Sia, this was a blast.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

BUY: AMAZON and B&N

A killer plays cat and mouse with a young widow against the snowy backdrop of an Alaskan winter.

Branded a black widow after the suspicious death of her millionaire husband, Sarah Palmer flees Seattle for Anchorage.

But the peace and quiet she hoped to enjoy in her hometown is soon shattered: The killer is murdering Sarah look-alikes on the 14th of each month, taunting Sarah with a valentine of evidence.

After her experiences in Seattle, Sarah is slow to go to the police. When she finally does, she finds Detective Steven Quaid, who is called on to protect the beautiful widow from a stalker intent on her destruction.

Steven is not entirely sure she is not behind the scheme herself, and before long Sarah has him wound up tighter than barbed wire. Is Sarah a victim or a very skilled manipulator?

With a killer on the loose and a climbing body count, Steven can't afford to hedge his bets-or his life. Excerpt

                                                                                                                                      

An adventurous spirit took Yolanda Renée to Alaska where she hiked the Brooks Range, traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and learned to sleep under the midnight sun.
She claims her vivid imagination as a blessing, a habit, a hobby, a calling and sometimes a curse.
Renée now resides in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and Boston terrier, Patches. 

You can find Yolanda: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.