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

Heartbeat Interrupted, Book Two of the Heartbeat Series Coming Soon

I am excited to announce news about my second novel in the Heartbeat Series. My new publisher, Seiders House Publishing, is releasing Heartbeat Interrupted this fall. Follow Diana's journey which continues where Between Heartbeats left off.


Kidnapped from the hospital nursery, Diana Baker concentrates on bonding with her newly-found birth parents. Her family seeks to bring Roberta Baker, the nurse who had stolen Diana and raised her for eighteen years, to justice. Diana, eager to begin a new life, struggles with Roberta’s intrusions and pressure from her boyfriend to make a commitment. What will she do to stay true to her heart while legal entanglements and emotional tug-of-wars threaten to tear her family apart?

Stay tuned for updates and links to purchase in paperback and Kindle.

Fellow writer, Andrea Murray, is spotlighting me today on her website. Thank you, Andrea, for letting me share a little about my life as a writer, as well as news about my three books: Through the Tunnel of Love, A Mother's and Daughter's Journey with Anorexia, novel, Between Heartbeats, and its soon-to-be-released sequel, Heartbeat Interrupted. Click on the Author Spotlight link below.

Author Spotlight

Interview on Eleanor Parker Sapia's Blog: The Writing Life

Today I have the privilege of being the guest author on Eleanor Parker Sapia's blog: The Writing Life. Becoming a writer doesn't happen overnight. For me it has been a life-long process. Eleanor's insightful questions helped me to come out of my shell and talk about a variety of topics and how writing has opened a whole new world for me.

Enjoy!
The Writing Life Blog by Eleanor Parker Sapia

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

Take a look ... stay tuned for more.

Here's a "teaser" from my novel, Between Heartbeats, which will be released in August 2015 through Booktrope Publishing.

Coming Soon - My First Novel - Between Heartbeats

Synopsis of my novel to be released summer of 2015. Stay tuned for more!

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.

"Between Heartbeats"

Two years ago I pitched my idea for a Young Adult novel, Between Heartbeats, while attending Write On The River writers' conference in Wenatchee, WA. The agent's response was encouraging and helpful, and so the journey began. Fast-forward to one year ago at the same conference when I seriously pitched my novel to a representative from a publishing house. Again, not only was the individual encouraging, but she asked me to submit the entire manuscript upon completion.

Here I am today, April 8, 2015 with a completed novel under my belt. The process has not been easy, but with diligence and with the help of my critique group, family, and my beta-reader, I sent it off to the publisher a couple of hours ago. Now the wait. Will they like it? Will they want to publish it? Time will tell.

How do I feel? It feels similar to when I sent my kids off to school on their very first day. I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride and hoped they were as ready for the next step in their journey as I was. 

Whatever happens next, I can say, I DID IT. The goal was set and the book is finished. What next? I'm already working on the sequel.

Labor of Love

Labor Day is coming! As a youngster I enjoyed the last holiday weekend of the summer. It meant potluck picnic-time at Duke and Velva's rambling log house in Estacada, a sleepy town just east of Portland. Velva, my grandma’s niece, was the most interesting lady I had ever met; in my child mind, she was unparalleled. She had flaming red hair, an exuberant personality, and would scoop me up and say, "Well here you are, Donelle! You've grown so much, hardly recognized you!" Velva hosted a mouthwatering spread of food that guaranteed an afternoon nap in the hammock or under a tree if you ate too much. But I couldn't help myself and ate one too many pieces of Grandma’s pie and Velva’s fried chicken, as well as an extra helping of Mom’s famous potato salad. Good times.

Labor Day was officially the end of summer vacation; school started the next day. Between bites of lunch and races with the cousins, as we hid from each other in the dense forest and behind the barn or woodshed just beyond the yard, thoughts of the first day of school would crop up. Nervous butterflies took flight and collided with the lunch in my full tummy as I thought about the next day; what teacher would I have? Would it be the dreaded Dragon Lady? Would my best friends, Linda and Kathy, be in my room? Would the cool kids and the cutest guys be in my class? Important stuff for a kid of any age. It would be a long school year.

Labor Day means as much to me today, but in a different way. I can savor the good times of the yesterdays and remember our beloved relatives who have passed on. Gone are the "first day of school" jitters, but they have been replaced with new feelings. Today, I treasure our family: grown kids and their children, and anticipate our grandson who will join us in February. This weekend promises to be chock full of new memories. and I will enjoy every moment of summer's last hurrah. Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

Potter-Mania

My daughter and I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two last weekend and thought it was a fitting and beautifully told conclusion to a book series that may have changed the course of juvenile reading habits forever. Throughout my lifetime, I have always been in love with the written word. My tastes are eclectic; I tend to read suspense, the classics and memoir. But I was drawn to the Potter series shortly after its publication.

Harry has taught us many lessons, I believe. When faced with loss of family, an unhappy home life, challenging surrounds which are fraught with danger, and the ultimate forces of evil, he drew upon the friendship and loyalty of good friends and the love and support, albeit from another realm, of his parents.

From my perspective, I believe if one lives long enough, tough times and even powerful adversaries will cross our path. Presently, our family is dealing with the darker side of human nature and are experiencing first hand how selfish and dishonest people can turn your life upside down.

As I watched Harry and his comrades face the ultimate force of evil, I admired how they handled adversity and even the injury and death of friends and loved ones. They were uncertain and fearful, but willing to jump in and DO something.

Was Harry naive? Perhaps at times, but I like to think that beyond his disarming crooked grin, lay a strong individual who could face seemingly impossible challenges and come out a winner.

So, as our family deals with a negative presence that has temporarily disrupted our lives, I take heart in our fictional Harry, who has entertained and inspired so many people for so many years. Thank you, Ms. Rowling and happy reading to her millions of fans.

Remember Our Fallen Heroes

Memorial Day weekend brings back memories when, as a youngster of ten, eleven,and twelve, I would bicycle through my Portland neighborhood and count the American flags hung proudly from porches and flag poles. There were too many to keep track of, even after riding only a few blocks. Today, however, I see few flags flying in our neighborhood and it saddens me. I'm proud of our Stars and Stripes and grateful to all the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

My Uncle Jim, whom I never met, was killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was either asleep or having his morning coffee while stationed on the U.S.S. Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked. He was not quite twenty years old. Uncle Jim and my father were close in age, almost like twins. They shared a bedroom, childhood friends, learned to drive Granddad's '36 Ford in Northeast Portland and attended Benson Tech High School together. Jim's untimely death was a terrible blow to many. My nephew's son, who just turned one, was named after Uncle Jim and so his memory lives on.

During my high school and college years, headlines of the Viet Nam War filled the newspaper and nightly news. At our ten year high school reunion in 1977, our class learned that we too had lost several friends to war.

My husband hung our flag yesterday as a humble token of remembrance to the thousands who died, especially Uncle Jim. I also honor my father who served in the Navy, but was able to return home, attend college and become a teacher. Thank you to all of our heroes and God bless their families.