Kat Henry Doran/Veronica Lynch: Tangled Passions

. . . They both hate liars and yet both are being deceived. Will the truth tear them apart or bring them together?

Wild Women Authors focus on Diana Stout and Tangled Passions, #5 of the Laurel Ridge series of novellas, a February 2023 release.

About Tangled Passions:

When Senator Jefferson Jackson first meets Madison Butler while attending a friend's party back home in Laurel Ridge, he's immediately smitten. But then, he learns she's a lobbyist—probably the one who's been determined to schedule a meeting with him in Atlanta.

Jefferson doesn't trust that she's there by accident, to see mutual friends. Besides, he's sworn off serious dating. Getting involved with Madison could be trouble, and the last thing he wants is a scandal while in office.

Madison Butler isn't about to let Jefferson—even if he is the second biggest pecan grower in the state—deter her from meeting with him. At stake is her job, one she can ill afford to lose. But then, he tells her that she's been lied to by her employer.

He's sidelined learning a bracelet found in the car pulled out of the lake had belonged to his mother and meets with his father to learn the truth of that day where he had watched his parents' marriage breakup. In the process he learns who's been lying to him all these years.

When Madison and Jefferson meet again, can she forgive him for turning her life upside down? Can he trust that she isn't involved with anyone else, despite what he's seen and heard? Can he finally put a past filled with lies behind him so he can find love once again?

More about the entire Laurel Ridge Novella series:

A series of 7 books with 7 couples, 7 conflicts, 7 romances. Nine of the main characters are classmates. Three non-residents are best friends from Atlanta, and Connie with no family of her own is a waitress at the popular diner in town appears in every book and is a mom to them all.

These 15 people are in and out of each of the seven books. A main thread features a Volkswagen Bug that is fished out the lake in of Book #1 and becomes a mystery to solve while its being restored, with the mystery touching one character from every book.

Available only as an Amazon eBook at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTRKKJJK

We asked author Diana Stout about creating this series in this particular manner, she said: Why did I use this method instead of writing the book in a consequential time arc where each story follows the next? Because these characters started interacting in scenes of multiple books, plus I liked the idea of these classmates still getting together and caring for each other and their community.

So, who are these people and what is this mystery involving car?

Shattered Dreams #1 - Mason Baylock (judge) & Shelley Willis (waitress at the diner) were high school sweethearts, savagely separated at graduation. They see a yellow VW go by on a tow truck's trailer. Mason heard earlier that Cutter had fished the car out of the lake.

Burning Desires #2 – Aaron Rhett Sinclair Renoux (newcomer firefighter & house flipper) & Edwina (Eddie) Taylor first meet when Rhett and William are asking her if she knows anyone who restores cars. Then, her house burns and Rhett offers to help her repair it.

Arrested Pleasures #3 – Cutter Logan (sportsman) & Annie Martin (game warden). They had one date in high school and Annie said no more. Bad boy Cutter has been teasingly chasing her ever since and been satisfied in the best friend zone. Until now.

Buried Hearts #4 – Clint Anderson (archeologist professor) & newcomer Gabriella (Gabby) King (balloonist & psychic) meet when he hires the balloonist for his parents' 50^th wedding anniversary party. Afterward, when her truck won't start, she's stuck overnight, waiting for a part to arrive. Gabby finds a bracelet in the restored VW, [has some vibes about it], so she and Clint track down its owner.

Tangled Passions #5 – Jefferson Jackson (state senator & pecan grower) & newcomer Madison Butler (lobbyist) meet at the party Clint throws for his parents. Jefferson doesn't trust Madison’s reasons for being there. When Clint and Gabby reveal their find of a bracelet that had belonged to Jefferson's mother, he meets up his father and learns why the car was sold abruptly when he was in school. Later, Jefferson tells Madison the company hasn't been truthful with her and then discovers she hasn't been truthful with him about a personal issue.

Reserved Yearnings #6 – William Stuart (library director) & newcomer Charli Davidson (travel blogger) meet when Charli delivers Gabby's needed truck part. Charlie stays a few days to visit area landmarks for her travel blog, with William accompanying her, of course. That's when William suspects Charli is hiding a deep, dark secret.

Sweet Cravings #7 – Joe Benton (lawyer) & newcomer Josephine (JoJo) Wheeler (mechanic, car restorer) meet on a blind date set up by Clint, William, and Charli. When the date is a disaster, they attempt a do-over. When it's a disaster, they try again, and then again after yet another failure. Clint hosts a summer prom party in his backyard for his classmates and their new partners, where he unveils the restored Volkswagen and reveals how the car came to be in the lake and why it remained a secret, much to everyone's surprise.

A bit about our focus author:

A multi-genre award-winning writer, Dr. Diana Stout enjoys the crowd who surrounds her: characters who make her laugh or tug at her heart with their wounds and confessions, and the friends, loved ones, and even strangers who visit from the other side of the veil.

Today, she's an indie author / publisher and celebrates her return to writing full-time. Currently, she's working on the second nonfiction, motivational how-to book for a series of books for writers, students, and teachers. This one is about punctuation and grammar. The first book was published in 2022: Finding your Fire & Keeping It Hot: Discovering Your Why, Your Passion, Your Purpose in Life.

Additionally, she's finishing the last two novellas in the Laurel Ridge series and plotting a paranormal romance that she'd like to write both as a novel and a screenplay.

To learn more about Diana and her writing, go to: Sharpened Pencils Productions where her blogs about writing and her intuitive, paranormal experiences are listed. Her social media link are:

You can also find Diana at:

Goodreads

Private Facebook group

And, you can subscribe to her newsletter here.