All her life, Jane Drager wanted to be a writer. From high school on, she sold everything ever written, whether a short story, case study, or humorous article. But when it came to novels, she hit a brick wall. Publishers wanted writers to have agents, and agents wanted writers to be published authors. For 20 years, she tried to get someone to read her manuscripts, but the day came when she admitted defeat and put away the novels. Evidently, articles and short stories didn't qualify as writing.
Lo and behold, the ebook craze hit. A bunch of independent publishers took on the big guys and created a storm from which large publishers scrambled to compete. Jane is now on her 10th book contract with The Wild Rose Press and enjoying every minute.
Growing up, sports were a big part of her life. She made All-Star shortstop in softball but was a total klutz playing basketball. Field hockey ruined her left knee, and she will never again play lacrosse (broken eyeglasses are expensive). She plays a variety of musical instruments, including drums, keyboard, and guitar, but sings only in a car with windows closed and radio blasting. She traveled extensively when traveling was fun but is content to stay home and leave the stress to someone else.
One day on the tennis courts, she was pounding away on the practice wall in her standard workout clothes of bright orange sweatshirt and green plaid pants (she never worried about fashion) when a man called from the courts and asked her to play a set. One set led to two and six months later, they were married. He said he liked her sense of humor. She liked his legs. Over 40 years later, they are still married (Jane tells everyone she was a child bride). They live in a quiet town in Southern New Jersey.
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Title No Plans For Tomorrow
Author Jane Drager
Genre Romantic Suspense
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Carmen Santiago can't escape her tenacious ex-husband. He tracks her everywhere, even to a small mountain community where she hoped to find some peace. Local mountain sheriff, James Thomas, vows to protect Carmen to prove good men still exist, but Carmen's dangerous confrontation with her ex at a mountain overlook rocks the very foundation of his growing feelings. She endangered his daughter, and for that, he will never forgive her. How can Carmen convince James of the truth when her only defense is trapped inside a little girl too afraid to speak?
Excerpt:
A flash of light caught Carmen's eye. Snapping her gaze toward the road, she muffled a curse as a silver car rounded the curve.
Struggling to suppress the wave of panic for Lucy's safety, Carmen forced the girl to her feet and gripped her shoulders. “You remember the bad man from the soccer game? Lucy, look at me.” Carmen shook Lucy's shoulders. “That's him, honey. I want you to run and find your father. Don't turn back for any reason. Can you do that for me, Lucy?”
Eyes wide and lips trembling, Lucy shook her head. “I won't leave you. He's gonna hurt you.”
“Yes, he'll try, but I don't want him to hurt you. Do you understand? You're very important to me.”
The car tires crunched to a stop in front of her car, filling the overlook's stoned parking area.
Carmen tightened her grip on Lucy's shoulders. “Honey, this is not a time for heroics. Please, go find your father.” Whirling Lucy, she pushed on her back. “Run—now!”
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Title Memories For A Lifetime
Author Jane Drager
Genre Romantic Suspense
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Dr. Dana Null awakens in a deserted alley bleeding and with no memory. Lost, alone, and desperate after her pleas for help go unanswered, she physically accosts a Baltimore PD detective.
Detective Lance Barnes recognizes her distress and takes on her case. His investigation brings more questions than answers. He finds himself drawn to the beautiful doctor and struggles to maintain his moral code of conduct.
Dana has her own struggles besides Lance’s magnetic pull. Someone still wants her dead, and Dana must trust the one man determined to uncover the truth before her assailant strikes again.
Excerpt:
Oh, God, help me. She was about to meet her fiancé, a man from her past and one who might provide some answers. Would she recognize him? Even worse, would she like him? Above everything, she should refrain from comparing him to Lance and give the guy a chance. Just because Lance had become her knight in shining armor and the man who saved her from disaster didn't mean her fiancé wouldn't do the same.
Lance chuckled. The deep tone sent a flush of heat straight to her core. Yep, so much for not comparing. She glared at the overhead floor buttons. Why wasn't the elevator stopping at every floor? What were they in, some kind of express?
“Relax, Dana. He's not your execution squad.”
Her pacing increased. “I'm so scared.”
“Of course, you are. You're confronting the unknown. But look on the bright side. He may snap your memories to the forefront, and all your troubles will be over.”
The elevator jerked to a stop. They were here. Fists tight, she plastered her back to the wall.
He patted her shoulder. “Take a deep breath.”
Deep breath? She sucked in the entire volume in the elevator and half-expected Lance to drop from lack of oxygen.
The doors opened. A now or never time. Glancing at Lance for one last ounce of encouragement, she stepped out.
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Title Until We Say Goodbye
Author Jane Drager
Genre Romantic Suspense
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
In Manhattan for a special art course, Lauren Howell, a teacher and country girl, meets her roommate's brother and sparks fly. Stiffed by an ex-fiancé,she is wary of a relationship no matter how good-looking the guy. To counter his persistence, she establishes a rule—friends and only friends.
City-bred and wealthy, entrepreneur Deems Lambert is fascinated by the fiercely independent Lauren, but her insistence on friendship proves puzzling. He'd like to sweep her off her feet, and every attempt to make her life easier meets with stubborn resistance…until an assault in Central Park changes everything.
Two men are in hot pursuit of Lauren's backpack. When one man winds up dead, the other man attempts a bold and desperate move. Determined to protect Lauren from a mystery no one understands, Deems scrambles to tighten her security, but he may already be too late.
Excerpt:
“We’ll go to the bedroom together. Otherwise, I’ll blow off your head.” He yanked on her arm.
Gun or no gun, she wasn’t one to be pushed around. I’m dead anyway. Lauren swung a fist toward his head while simultaneously lifting a knee to his groin.
He released a loud oomph and buckled but recovered to swing the gun at her head.
Metal impacted. Bone cracked. The room whirled.
Eric clutched her throat and jammed the gun between her eyes. The metal felt cold against her skin, and the distinct smell of gun oil hit her nose. Images of her father and brother hunting groundhogs passed through her mind. Strange to think of something so silly when the hand gripping her throat tightened against her airway. Her father would never forgive her if she didn’t fight. Pain ignored, she again kneed Eric’s groin and buckled him enough to loosen his hold. But she hit the floor, too dizzy to escape. Nausea churned her stomach. She crawled along the floor, struggling to clear her vision. Blood dripped onto the white carpet. Oh, my God, Mrs. Stewart’s rug!
Eric released a harsh laugh, jerked her to her feet, and struck her jaw with the pistol.
Her head snapped, and a gray glaze covered her vision. She lost all sense of place and time. No sounds registered. No one rushed to the rescue. Eric forced her onto feet that refused to move. So, this is what it’s like to die.
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Title The Riddle Key
Author Jane Drager
Genre Romantic Suspense
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Antiques expert Marina Cavanaugh is offered an exorbitant salary to appraise a dead man's estate. For a chance at easy money, she accepts the job but soon discovers hidden cameras in the darkest, gloomiest house she's ever seen.
Jonathan Blandish, who hired her, wants to know why his murdered brother left a series of cryptic messages implicating Marina. Even a layman can see the house contains only rummage-sale junk. But his brother's forty-million-dollar fortune is missing, and Marina is the key.
From the second they meet, Marina and Jonathan are at odds. He's too bossy and reminds her of her abusive father. She's too independent…and too beautiful for him to ignore. A second murder and Marina’s disappearance raise the danger level. Convinced she was captured for the clues in the riddles, Jonathan races against time to find her before the killer realizes she knows nothing at all.
Excerpt:
“What in the world is he talking about? He has to be talking about another Marina Cavanaugh because I haven't the slightest idea what this means.” She paced the room, one hand on her hip, the other in her hair.
Three clues, all pointing to Marina. Why had his brother been so damn cryptic? Hell, I don't know what to believe anymore. He pursed his lips. “Which book was it in?”
She whirled to grab the book and read the binding. “The Art of Marquise Gelt.” She flipped the pages and gasped. “Jon, he's talking about diamonds! The book's dated 1907, but look, Roger's note mentions the cuts.” She showed him the page. “That's what this list means, diamond cuts!”
He flew around the desk, took the book, and flipped to a page illustrating the cuts. “Well, I'll be damned. The money's in diamonds, and Marina Cavanaugh holds all.” He turned to her and peered.
She elevated her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I do not know anything about your brother or diamonds.”
Jonathan reread the note. “I'll show this to Farnsworth.” He looked toward the ceiling. “The book came from the top shelves, right? Why hide a note so high? Why not his safe?”
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Title Secrets And Assumptions
Author Jane Drager
Genre Romantic Suspense
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Teegan Smith, a bona fide genius, never intended to hide her identity, but Budd Richardson’s assumptions about women got a bit under her skin. From the beginning, the attraction between them is strong. Teegan and Budd feel it…and Budd's stalker sees it. As a special ops agent for the FBI, Teegan is assigned to help capture the stalker, a dangerous killer whose body count rises with each encounter. She struggles in a triple role of protecting Budd, maintaining the secrecy of her job, and fighting an overwhelming desire to bed the man. The stalker sees through Teegan's charade and goes after her with a vengeance. A setup to capture the stalker turns into a disaster. Now more than ever will her training be put to the test. She must risk her very existence to defeat a criminal mastermind and race to save the man she loves.
Excerpt:
Teegan stepped into the light, pistol ready.
Anna's gun hand shook as she leveled it at Budd. “You have a nasty habit of foiling my plans. The agents secured the house and barn when they arrived. How did you get in?”
“I anticipated. Budd had instructions to unlock a back window the moment he arrived.” Every muscle in her body strained to pop through the skin from the rage of seeing Rommel and now Budd covered with blood. She approached, gun still aimed at Anna's head. “You're finished, Anna.”
Anna's gaze darted to the door. “Don't take another step, or I put a bullet into Budd's chest.”
Teegan stopped. “You know I won't let you do that.” Her finger itched to squeeze the trigger. Come on, bitch. Make my day. She glanced at Budd who stared with wide, blue eyes. Surprise, surprise.
The copter sound increased.
Sweat formed on Anna's brow as her gaze shot from the door to the ceiling to Teegan. “They weren't supposed to come.” She stepped closer to Budd, her glare never leaving Teegan. “Did you get on Budd's radio?” Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
“That was the strange tapping I heard!”
“A simple signal, Anna. Now, drop the gun.”
“You won't kill me. You don't have the guts.”
“Try me, bitch.”
Anna swung the barrel of her gun toward Teegan.
Teegan squeezed the trigger and fired.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Universal Link https://books2read.com/u/b5vQvl
Website www.janedrager.com