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Donna Cummins

Goodreads Author

Born

in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, The United States

Website

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22009022-ra...

Twitter

https://twitter.com/dcummins327

Genre

Mystery, Romance, Suspenseful Short Stories

Member Since

April 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomdonna_cummins

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New Release NIGHTMARE
I'm pleased to announce that my new release NIGHTMARE, Book 5 in The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series, is now available in print and eBook on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-Blac...

I hope you will check out NIGHTMARE as the final webs of mystery are untangled and for the exciting and shocking conclusion of The Blacklick Valley Mysteries. Love to have you give it a read and leave your comments in a review on Goodreads and Amazon. It's your interest and opinions that keep us writers inspired to keep on writing!

Here's a little taste of the Prologue (slightly revised to avoid spoilers):

"The rain moved in from the west, over the hazy, steel-blue mountains and across the verdant valleys below like a sheer gossamer New Release NIGHTMARE
I'm pleased to announce that my new release NIGHTMARE, Book 5 in The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series, is now available in print and eBook on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-Blac...

I hope you will check out NIGHTMARE as the final webs of mystery are untangled and for the exciting and shocking conclusion of The Blacklick Valley Mysteries. Love to have you give it a read and leave your comments in a review on Goodreads and Amazon. It's your interest and opinions that keep us writers inspired to keep on writing!

Here's a little taste of the Prologue (slightly revised to avoid spoilers):

"The rain moved in from the west, over the hazy, steel-blue mountains and across the verdant valleys below like a sheer gossamer veil as fine as any Laotian silk. It moved slowly, steadily, forward—at first, silent as a Pharaoh’s tomb, then with the faintest whisper of sound. On it came as if by some invisible force, and with it came the change of light that cast the landscape in luminous green, almost as if the terrain itself projected some ethereal light from within. Then the whisper turned to a stirring and the stirring to a thrum, and jagged bolts of lightning zigzagged across the darkening sky, cutting with razor-sharpness through the swelling thunderheads on the charcoal horizon.
An evening thunderstorm in late April was not uncommon to the inhabitants of Blacklick Valley, and the man who hunched over the litter-strewn desk in the study of the neat, two-story colonial on Fennimore Street barely took notice of the oncoming storm. The patter of fat raindrops against window glass was little more than white noise, a mere distraction.
He rested his head in his hands, his splayed fingers slicing through a swathe of unkempt hair now receding from a high forehead. He sat alone, unmoving, his vacuous eyes staring at nothing but the desk’s wood-grained surface. In front of him rested a half-empty glass of Jack Daniels, the amber contents long ago grown warm and diluted, its filmy surface mirroring the overhead light in distorted reflection.
He was deep in thought. But he was not at peace. His mind tumbled with unformed thoughts like flickering scenes from a fast-forwarded film. An image of (XXXXX’s) face once again flitted across the canvas of his mind.
“Damn it!” he mumbled aloud, his words indistinguishable, slurred as they were by agitation and alcohol. “Why the hell couldn’t you have done it right? Why didn’t you stick to the plan? Stupid…! Should have taken care of it myself from the beginning.” He continued his angered and disparaging litany for some minutes, senselessly berating (someone) who was long dead and gone.
It wasn’t the first time.
Again, he ran trembling fingers back through his thinning hair, then rubbed at his burning, blood-shot eyes as his mind skipped back in time to that September day now over a year and a half ago when he’d run into (his former friend) on a busy street in downtown Pittsburgh.
He had (suggested they have coffee and his friend had) accepted—more from curiosity than interest. And thus, began the clandestine conversations over the next weeks and months that led them down a path of evil intent, each motivated by greed, avarice, and malicious vindictiveness….
(They) met as frequently as possible between the months of September and December, devising a plan, developing a scheme where they could kill two birds with one stone, as they often laughed about. By December they were ready to put their plan into action. No one would ever suspect their connection to one another nor the connection between (their victims’) demise—just another psychotic serial killer, choosing his victims at random.
Now, (he) picked up his lukewarm drink and took a sip, thinking that it all could have worked out so splendidly. Could have—if (his friend) hadn’t been so stupid. Had stuck to the plan. But, no. No! Did nothing but get … killed.
Thank God, he’d gotten away with his own part i ...more

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Donna Cummins My advice for aspiring writers is to just start WRITING! Writing is no more than putting your thoughts on paper. Write as you speak, think, feel. Let …moreMy advice for aspiring writers is to just start WRITING! Writing is no more than putting your thoughts on paper. Write as you speak, think, feel. Let your imagination run free. Picture a scene, then describe it on paper. What are your characters thinking, feeling, smelling, tasting, touching, seeing at the moment? Write it down. Make your characters come alive! Why are they doing what they're doing? How does it move your plot forward? Think about how you want your story to end and how you're going to get there.

When you think you're done, you're not. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Edit those parts that need improvement. Don't be afraid to add and delete. Don't quit until you have a polished, finished product.

Writing is a magical journey where characters can take on a life of their own and lead you to unimaginable places! (less)

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What are you currently working on?

Donna Cummins I have just released my new book DEADLY SECRETS, Book 4 in The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series! Now available in print and eBook on Amazon at:

http://w …moreI have just released my new book DEADLY SECRETS, Book 4 in The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series! Now available in print and eBook on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Secrets-...

From the author of Rain of Terror, named to “Best Kindle Books of 2015” by Digital Book Today, DEADLY SECRETS is a powerful, fast-moving, emotionally-charged Mystery/Romantic Suspense sure to keep you up at night as the tension ratchets up and sweeps you along on a nail-biting roller coast ride. Come along as dark and deadly secrets explode across the pages; and find out if love does, in fact, conquer all.

* * *
*The handsome and rugged sheriff, Jed Tyler, whose marriage hangs by a thread…
*The exotically beautiful Laura Kinkaid whose affair with Tyler nearly destroys his marriage…
*The mysterious and dangerous stranger, Tripp Castleberry, obsessed with love for another man’s wife…
*Jenny Tyler, whose heart’s secret longings lead her down a path of destruction…
*A malevolent predator who brings torment and death to his victims…
…their secrets about to explode in vivid detail, tearing their worlds apart.
Each with a secret…so many secrets…Deadly Secrets.

If you’re a fan of Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, or Lisa Jackson, you’ll LOVE Deadly Secrets

* * *

Sheriff Jed Tyler’s tenuous marriage is being tested. His affair last winter with the stunning and provocative Laura Kinkaid has left his marriage in shambles—he, struggling to regain his wife’s trust and confidence, Jenny seemingly unable to forgive and forget.

As the couple’s relationship continues to deteriorate and it seems things can’t get any worse, Tyler suddenly finds himself embroiled in the brutal murder of a young woman who works at the newly-acquired real estate company of Samantha Jessup—the tough-minded, take-no-prisoners business woman who grew up the hard way.

In the midst of Tyler’s investigation, he is hit with yet another bombshell when he accidentally runs into Laura Kinkaid one chilly autumn day. The secret that he learns will turn his world upside down.

In the meantime, Jenny Tyler gets some surprises of her own when the man she had so passionately loved long ago, the man she had committed her life to, the man who had then mysteriously vanished from her life—Tripp Castleberry—suddenly reappears at her doorstep, declaring his steadfast love for her and stirring emotions that lay buried in her heart. Torn between her commitment to a failing marriage and her renewed feelings for her old love, her first love, Jenny spirals toward despair and destruction.

When a second woman is found murdered—her body also mutilated almost beyond recognition—the terror-stricken people of Blacklick Valley wonder which of them might be the psychotic madman’s next victim.

Will Tyler learn the identity of the serial killer that threatens Blacklick Valley and uncover the dark secret that drives his insanity?

Will Jenny Tyler succumb to the obsessive passion of the mysterious and elusive Tripp Castleberry and her own secret longings?

Will Laura Kinkaid’s secret destroy the Tyler marriage or bring resolution?

So many secrets—Deadly Secrets….

(less)

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Donna Cummins’s books

Average rating: 4.44 · 218 ratings · 72 reviews · 8 distinct works

	Rain of Terror (A Blacklick Valley Mystery #1) 4.29 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Reason To Kill (A Blacklick Valley Mystery, #2) 4.49 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Anguish (A Blacklick Valley Mystery, #3) 4.70 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deadly Secrets (The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series, #4) 4.60 avg rating — 20 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nightmare 4.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Burning the Midnight Oil: Tall Tales and Random Reflections it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hair Loss and Restoration by Jerry Shapiro (Editor), Kristen LoSicco (editor), Nina Otberg (editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hair Loss and Restoration by Jerry Shapiro (editor), Kristen Lo Sicco (editor), Nina Otberg (editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Donna Cummins…

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Donna Cummins's Blog

New Release NIGHTMARE

I'm pleased to announce that my new release NIGHTMARE, Book 5 in The Blacklick Valley Mystery Series, is now available in print and eBook on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-Blac...

I hope you will check out NIGHTMARE as the final webs of mystery are untangled and for the exciting and shocking conclusion of The Blacklick Valley Mysteries. Love to have you give it a read and leave your co Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 03, 2018 09:53 • Tags: crime, donna-cummins, mystery, mystery-series, romantic-novels, romantic-suspense, suspense, thriller, whodunit, women-s-fiction

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Series by Donna Cummins

A Blacklick Valley Mystery (5 books)
by

Donna Cummins (Goodreads Author)

4.44 avg rating — 216 ratings

Donna is Currently Reading

Donna Cummins is currently reading

Near Dark (Scot Harvath, #19)

by Brad Thor (Goodreads Author)

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Jun 10, 2021 06:55PM

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The Highway (Highway Quartet #2)

by C.J. Box

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Mar 22, 2021 07:38AM

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Make Me (Jack Reacher, #20)

by Lee Child (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 30, 2016 08:55PM

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Donna Cummins is now friends with Charlotte
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Quotes by Donna Cummins (?)

“It is the Valley of Fear, the Valley of Death. The terror is in the hearts of the people from the dusk to the dawn. Wait, young man, and you will learn for yourself.

---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle”
― Donna Cummins, Rain of Terror

tags: crime-thriller, mystery-thriller, romantic-suspense, the-blacklick-valley-mysteries

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