Heartbeat Interrupted is Live!

Good morning on this beautiful last day of September 2017

My novel, Heartbeat Interrupted, the sequel to Between Heartbeats, is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions. To view all of my books, click on the link or go to Amazon Books and type in Donelle Knudsen.

Excerpt from Chapter One:

  Diana dropped her backpack on the terminal floor and fell into Emily’s outstretched arms. James, her husband, edged in, encircled the women with his arms, and said, “No one will ever hurt us again. No one.”

  The airport crowd thinned, leaving the family huddled in the middle of the concourse. When Diana lifted her head, she saw the blue eyes that had visited her childhood dreams: her mother’s eyes, which were now damp with tears of joy.

   “I’ve waited eighteen years to hear your voice and see your beautiful face.” Emily swallowed. “I almost gave up, but God told me to hold on even when all hope was gone.”

  “Mother.” Diana leaned into the cleft of Emily’s shoulder to fit like a puzzle piece and complete the perfect picture of mother and daughter.

Link to Amazon Books Donelle Knudsen

Writing Sequels - The Promise of More to Come

After completing my first novel, Between Heartbeats, I decided to write a three-part series. Publishers love it and if the reader enjoys the first book, it is likely he/she will stay with the author. It's a win-win!

The cover reveal for Heartbeat Interrupted will be coming soon. It is the sequel to Between Heartbeats and Book Two of the Heartbeat Series. It is in the hands of my editor and if the schedule goes as planned Heartbeat Interrupted will be available on Amazon and in local bookstores through Seiders House Publishing shortly after the first of the year.

I am about halfway through the first draft of Book Three in the Heartbeat Series. It is a departure from the first two in that my heroine, Diana, who is twenty years older, finds herself enmeshed in a baffling mystery surrounding an estate built during the Civil War era. There are many supernatural qualities to it, so it is a Gothic/Urban Fantasy.

I love writing, because I'll never be too old to write; I won't have to retire or wonder what to do in my spare time. 

Donelle Knudsen's Amazon page

A Writer's Journey

I'm giving a big thank you and a shout-out to Susan Faw for granting me an interview. Today's author spotlight is shining on Donelle Knudsen! http://susanfaw.com/2016/06/author-spotlight-donelle-knudsen/

Author Spotlight - Donelle Knudsen - SUSAN FAW susanfaw.com Today’s author spotlight has found Donelle Knudsen, the native Oregonian wandering the dusty trails ...

Between Heartbeats Re-publication

Author update: To turn a phrase, I learned how to change sour lemons into sweet lemonade when my publisher closed its doors in May. After experiencing an interesting month, I’m happy to announce my novel, Between Heartbeats, is back on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. The Kindle price is $2.99 and the paperback edition is now $12.95. I extinguished this unexpected blip and have resumed writing Book Two of the Heartbeat Series. I plan to release the title and cover this fall, and anticipate its publication in December 2016. 

Between-Heartbeats-Donelle-Knudsen


My future publisher posted this link yesterday and I just had to share it, too.

http://www.seidershousepublishing.com/donelle-knudsen-between-heartbeats/

My novel, Between Heartbeats Kindle edition, is FREE - Today, February 14 through February 15, 2016.  Buy your Valentine a gift. Download on Amazon links: 
Download a FREE Kindle copy

My novel, Between Heartbeats, is featured in the Fanfare section of Portland State Magazine's Winter 2016 edition.

http://www.pdx.edu/magazine/news/fanfare-winter-2016

My novel, Between Heartbeats Kindle edition, is FREE - Today, January 18 through January 20 download on Amazon links: Between Heartbeats Kindle edition is FREE today, January 18-20 download on Amazon:

Can life change between heartbeats? Diana awakens on her seventeenth birthday in a joyful mood. But at breakfast she is told, during a heated argument with her mother, that the man she has loved as her father is not her father at all. Diana decides to unravel the mystery of her childhood and the reason for their secrets and travels across the country to visit her step-father. And so, Diana begins a journey where she discovers shocking truths hidden just beneath the surface. To further complicate her summer, she meets Kevin Wright, a college junior. When Kevin vanishes without a trace, Diana learns family is more than shared DNA and discovers who will help her when it appears all hope is gone. In Donelle Knudsen’s Young Adult novel, Between Heartbeats, a young woman’s quest to find her roots enables her to discover love and the power of forgiveness.

Buy a Kindle, Nook, or iTunes copy of my Booktrope novel. Between Heartbeats for the Sale price of $1.99 now through November 15.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012BL7G6G/?tag=btnewsletter-20

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-heartbe…/1122538458…

https://itunes.apple.com/…/book/between-heart…/id1031333795…

Debut of Donelle Knudsen's novel, Between Heartbeats

For the latest on my newly released novel, "Between Heartbeats" and memoir, "Through the Tunnel of Love..." view my Amazon Author page.



http://www.amazon.com/Donelle-Knudsen/e/B004X31KDQ
Amazon Author Central - Donelle Knudsen

Booktrope novel - Between Heartbeats

My #booktrope #novel Between Heartbeats #Kindle will be available August 28 on #Amazon and #paperback in September.

Who can pass up a sale? For only $0.99 you can receive a copy of my debut novel, "Between Heartbeats." Click on this link to pre-order a Kindle copy and Between Heartbeats will be auto-delivered to your device on August 28, 2015. Sale price is good only for pre-orders. 

http://www.amazon.com/Between-Heartbeats-Donelle-Knudsen-ebook/dp/B012BL7G6G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1437781808&sr=8-2&keywords=donelle+knudsen

		Rhoda D'Ettore July 7 at 3:54am 3 book set is FREE on Amazon Kindle today only.
My writer friend is offering an unbeatable deal today only. Please check it out. http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Family-BOX-Rhoda-DEttore-ebook/dp/B00UAR1IW2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1436265648&sr=8-7&keywords=rhoda+dettore Thank you, Donelle Knudsen

Skeletons in the Closet

October brings a dramatic change in the weather; the air chills, trees begin their shift from soft and vibrant greens to yellows, brown, red, and orange, and the sun sets earlier. As an adult I miss the nice warm days, but as a child I was more excited that Halloween was just around the corner. In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, this year I received some information about a deceased relative, news that surprised and saddened me: a true skeleton in the closet.

My mother's cousin is our family historian and genealogy expert. I am the writer of our group and often use her findings for short stories or character types. However, with her recently discovered facts, I'm not sure how, when, or where to use it. Growing up I idolized this person and admired him for his strength, skill at overcoming adversities, and for his myriad accomplishments. I still do, but realize he was only human and made some serious errors in judgement, not earth shattering ones, but mistakes all the same.

On the tenth anniversary of my mother's death, I wrote a short story about the days immediately following her passing. It was cathartic, and helped me to understand Mother, myself, and our fractured relationship. In the story, I revealed our family tree included a Salem, Massachusettes' witch who was hanged during the trials. Her inclusion was appropriate and enhanced the mood of the scene by adding punch to the subject of death. I do believe in the unusual, the supernatural, the unexplained, the things that make your skin crawl and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

So I will include some of our family's flawed characteristics and a sampling of their unexplainable actions in future short stories. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Stay tuned... 

Update: I did include some of the above subjects in my novel, Between Heartbeats, which was released in August 2015

Ship in a Bottle

The first time I saw a sailing ship sitting in a small glass bottle, I was a child. I couldn't believe my eyes and asked my father to explain it. To the best of his ability, he explained how this feat was done, and I was awed by it. I still am.

Writing is something like building a ship in a bottle; the writer constructs an idea which is transformed into words, sentences, and paragraphs to form a story, poem, or a book. Certain confines and accepted parameters should be followed in order to create a cohesive, readable piece that not only entertains, but instructs the reader as well.

Thinking about a delicate, intricately constructed ship sitting within a solid glass container reminds me of my book, which was carefully crafted, strung together with my heart and soul, and endless hours of creating and editing. When it was finally inserted between the covers of a book, my "ship" was complete and ready to launch.

My first book was purely a practice piece and I kept it in the family. Then, I switched to poems and short stories and found I loved the challenge of getting to the point in as few words as possible. My second book, Through the Tunnel of Love, A Mother's and Daughter's Journey with Anorexia published in April of 2011, was born from a labor of love. And now I can say I am a novelist. My Booktrope novel, Between Heartbeats, was published August 28, 2015. It is the story of a young girl's coming of age.

Think about creating your own ship in a bottle, in whatever form you choose. I assure you that it will be one of the most worthwhile and rewarding things you can do in life.