The Taken
Donnette Smith
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: November 6th 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
All Jenna Langley wanted was a chance to finally marry the man of her dreams. But when the spirit of a dead girl shows up at her wedding that only she can see, it becomes clear Jenna’s latest brush with death has caused the heightening of her psychic abilities to reach an unfamiliar and frightening level. Her new husband, Detective Cole Rainwater, vows to do whatever it takes to get to the root of Jenna’s disturbing sightings. But before he can investigate this mystery, his bride is taken right under his nose.
What started as a romantic honeymoon has turned into a fight for Jenna’s life. And the only path to freedom is through the help and guidance of a dead girl who was once the victim of the sex traffickers that have stolen away with Jenna.
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Interview with Donnette Smith
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written eight books in total. Five of them are published, and the latest one, Redemption on the Run, is in the hands of the publisher right now. The first and second book I ever wrote was when I was in my early twenties and quite green as a writer. The first one was a historical romance, and the second one was a contemporary romance. If I ever decide to publish the first two, they’d need a thorough overhaul before I’d consider sending them to my publisher.
I think The Taken is my favorite because it deals with human trafficking and writing the story gave me an opportunity to spread awareness of this unspeakable crime. The trafficking of women and children was something I learned a lot about when I worked as a journalist for a local newspaper. Movie producers came to the town I lived in to shoot a human trafficking movie called, Red Ridge. Interviewing the producers gave me a glimpse into the horrifying world of these poor victims. What I learned has never left me, even after all these years.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
The Taken is the third and final book of the Spirit Walkers series. The first of this series was Killing Dreams, and the second was Buried Alive. But my newest book, Redemption on the Run is going to be book 1 of the Love & Law series. This one is a romantic suspense. During the time ex-police officer, Remi Shaw is infiltrating a dangerous drug cartel to find her missing nephew, along comes her ex-lover, DEA agent, Lucas Kade working as an undercover agent to bring the cartel down. Remi quit the police force and ran far away from Lucas thirteen years ago when their love affair caused a shocking scandal to unfold. Now he’s back, and soon both their covers will be blown, and they will be running for their lives together.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
The only connection between each book of the series is the characters themselves. It was important to me to make sure each story could stand on its own. This way if someone read the books out of order, they could still understand and enjoy the story.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
As with most of my titles, it came to me while I was driving. Being alone in my car gives me an opportunity to think uninterrupted. This is where I come up with a lot of story plots too. However, the original title for The Taken, was actually, The Stolen. It wasn’t until I sent the book off to my publisher that I changed the title to what it is now. I thought it had a much better ring.
How long did it take you to write this book?
About a year. That was because after I finished writing about half the book, I sold my house, and we were concentrating on relocating. A few months after that, tragedy struck my life and my daughter passed away. As you can imagine, it took a while before I could sit and write again. But when I finally did sit down to finish the manuscript, I found myself wrapped up in the story all over again. It didn’t take long from there to complete the book and send it off to my editor.
What does the title mean?
The Taken stands for the poor souls who are kidnapped and sold into human trafficking.
What did you learn when writing the book?
I had to do a lot more research into human trafficking, which included tons of reading as well as watching documentaries on the subject. I discovered how truly disturbing and evil this crime is. As well as how widespread it is. Not just in the United States, but in every country. And that we don’t do enough to stop this scourge from growing.
What surprised you the most?
Human trafficking has manifested to become the second biggest crime in the United States. It’s second to drug trafficking, which is the biggest.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
I could never do that. I’m all about happy endings. I know how much time someone invests into reading a book. There’s no way I’m not going to leave them with a smile when they finish the last chapter.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
As I’m writing the story, I become my characters. I feel what they feel and think what they think.
Author Bio:
Although not a native Texan, Donnette Smith has spent more than half her life living in the Lone Star State. She is an entrepreneur and former business owner of Tailor Maid Services LLC. After spending a few years working as a journalist for the Blue Ridge Tribune, she realized her love for writing romantic detective novels. Her stories cover a wide range of genres, from horror, time travel, mystery, fantasy, paranormal, and thriller. But one theme stays the same, there is always a detective solving a crime, and a gorgeous victim he would lay down his life to protect. Donnette’s biggest fascination is with forensic science and crime scene investigations. Her novels include, Cunja, a horror/mystery/suspense that debuted in 2012. Book 1 of The Spirit Walker Series, Killing Dreams, a fantasy/romance story with a paranormal element became available in September of 2021. Book 2 of The Spirit Walker Series, Buried Alive, was published on March 14, 2022. And her latest, book 3 of The Spirit Walkers Series, The Taken.
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2 comments:
This sounds like a good book.
looks like a fun one
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