The Lies That Shatter
By: A.V. Asher
Series: Truth & Lies
Book: 2
Publication Date: September 28th 2021
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
They say love never dies…
Devastated and lost, Former British Intelligence officer Alec McKinley knows he must move on. Still, he can’t forget the love of his life. The woman he tried so hard to protect and failed. When Alec arrives at the trial that will determine the fate of those responsible for destroying his world, he discovers how deep the lies run.
Mercedes Elliot has suffered through a lifetime’s worth of trauma, but finally, the end seems near. The trial that could free her from witness protection is around the corner, which means Alec will be waiting for her at last. She can’t wait to drop the charade she’s been living. But when Mercedes returns, she finds Alec isn’t alone and everything she thought she knew is a lie. There’s no one left to trust.
Deceptions run deep, and Alec grows more and more desperate to protect Mercedes, even as she is slipping through his fingers. Can he keep her alive long enough to prove he has never forgotten her? Or will evil succeed this time…
I honestly don’t know how authors in the past created worlds outside their own without the help of the internet. I would truly be lost without it.
Often times, I begin by researching the setting where I want the action to take place. I will go to city websites and look into a community or I will use google street view to see if it makes sense to set the story in a certain area. With this book, I was lucky enough to travel to San Francisco to see the city through a writer’s lens. I could breathe in the air or listen to the foghorns coming off the bay. It really helped me put details of the city’s vibe into my book.
For both books, I had to research how pharmaceutical companies work to develop new drugs. In my readings, I came across a ‘catch and kill’ lawsuit that had been filed against a large drug maker by a smaller company. This became the basis for the overarching scheme in both books. I also had to learn how drug makers find patients to use in human trials. I try to be as accurate as possible, even though I sometimes have to take liberties to make the story work.
This book is also very heavy in legal action. There is a major trial that has captured the attention of the world. I did as much research as possible before I started writing to try and make it accurate. Some of things are naturally kept close to the chest, like the workings of the Witness Protection Program. With those things, I was able to be creative with how it works. I also consulted an author friend who was a prosecutor before she began writing full time. Her help was so invaluable to getting things right.
My advice for new authors is to do the heavier research during your planning/plotting phase. That way, you will be able to jump right into the storyline and not have to stop to look it up. This really breaks the flow of writing and it’ll save you in rewrites later down the road. And keep lots of notes. I have a notebook filled with research and a file of images on my computer that help me keep settings consistent.
American writer AV Asher (Avie) was one of those kids always who got in trouble for reading in class. She has been creating stories since childhood, but only recently began writing them down. The Truth Keeps Silent is Avie's debut novel. The second book in the duet, The Lies That Shatter, is expected to be released in the Autumn of 2021. Avie lives in Northern Nevada with her husband and three children.
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Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds really good, and I love the cover.
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