About the Book

Book: Bold of Heart

Author: Susan K. Beatty

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release date: May 28, 2024

A reporter, a rich man, and a chaplain walk into a mystery…

Tamzin Murray has three goals: Follow Jesus. Control her no-filter mouth. And no romance. When her friend offers her a job as a reporter on the South Pacific Suamalie Islands, she jumps at the chance for a fresh start. But when she’s forced to meet the handsome, wealthy investor, she not only finds herself involved in a love triangle, but also a dangerous mystery.

When Wentworth “Sully” Sullivan’s yacht is sabotaged, he did not expect to fall for the reporter covering his story. Especially since his experience with women has mostly been with gold-diggers.

Émile Durand is too shy to date, but when he meets his sister’s new coworker, he can’t help his attraction to her. And the more he helps her out of scrapes, the further he falls in love with her.

As the mystery becomes more dangerous, and the more their hearts get entangled, how will Tamzin, Sully, and Émile get out of the messes they’ve put themselves into?

Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Susan K. Beatty is in her third career—from journalist to homeschool tech writer to her life-long dream of becoming a novelist. She is proof you can start a new writing career late in life. Susan released her first published fiction in September 2019, and now an awarding winner author, this is her third novel, with several novelettes and short stories to her credit. She is passionate about finding courage through faith and grit. Susan lives with her husband of forty-nine years in Southern California. Add children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to the mix and she has little time for her favorite hobbies of reading, watching classic movies, British crime dramas, and traveling.

More from Susan

I love to follow my characters from struggling with a character flaw (or two or three) to victory, even if it isn’t complete. Yet. It blesses me when I see the characters becoming bold and courageous through following Christ and with the support of those around them.

Yes, I know I’m talking as if they do this without my help as the author. And, in some respects, that would almost be true. I may have an idea what the character is going to say or do next, but often what appears on my computer monitor is not what I expected. Yes, as if they had a mind of their own.

Such is the case with my three main characters in Bold of Heart. I had planned that Tamzin would fall for one character, only to have her go for the other one. Then there was of who was Sully’s bad guy. Again, I thought was going to be one character until another character shot to the forefront. And Émile? I didn’t expect him to be so bold. It would be a spoiler if I gave more detail here. (Do you hear Simon Legree-like laughing here?)

I’ve known a couple people who just have no filter on their mouths, but still good-hearted, well-meaning folks. Thus, Tamzin’s major character flaw. Getting her to the Suamalie Islands, and away from her prime example, her mother, for a fresh start, gives Tamzin a chance to work on softening her remarks.

How can a hospital chaplain be shy? Well, that is Émile’s issue. Actually, he’s only shy outside of the hospital room. Near women.

I’ve never been wealthy, and don’t expect to be, so I had to imagine how our millionaire Sully could be wary of dating. It didn’t help he’d already been through an unpleasant experience after his wife passed away.

Love triangles are a familiar Christian romance trope, but to keep it from getting sticky, I threw in some mystery and suspense. It was a bonus that the experiences helped the characters develop their bold hearts.

Interview with Susan

When did you write your first book, and how old were you?

In 2019 and 2020, I wrote two novelettes and one debut, full-length standalone novel, published variously from 2019 to 2021. In 2019, I was 72 years old. Just goes to show, you can start writing and publish at any age!

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

I never realized how many details an author needs to keep track of: Concise but evocative sentence; Showing, not telling; Interesting dialog; A storyline and plot that keeps the reader interested; Grammar/punctuation/spelling; And of course when writing a series, consistency in character and plot details. And so much more. Sometimes I feel like the proverbial variety show plate spinner struggling to avoid dropping the plates. However, it is a fun challenge.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I have written ten books—eight fiction, one devotional containing flash fiction stories, and one non-fiction book. My favorite fiction book is Faces of Courage. It is about a woman with breast cancer, and because my daughter was a breast cancer patient, she advised me on all cancer aspects. Working with her has a special place in my heart, because she recently passed away from battling metastatic breast cancer for more than 13 years.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

You can find my Amazon author page, my website, several Facebook pages/groups. Here are a few of those links:

https://www.amazon.com/author/susankbeatty

https://www.susankbeatty.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SusanKBeattyAuthor/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1169775503218317/

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I’m working on my third novella for the Suamalie Islands series, called Rachel’s Chaplain. It follows some characters from my previous two. The main male character is Émile, a chaplain from books one and two. Introduced at the very end of book two is Rachel, a widow whose abuse from a chaplain has shaken her faith. Because Émile’s sister is marrying Rachel’s brother, they get continually thrown together. The real tension begins when Rachel is involved in an accident and hospitalized where Émile serves. How can he break through her barriers and lead her back to Christ?

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, June 28

Stories By Gina, June 29 (Author Interview)

Karen Baney Reviews, June 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 30

Artistic Nobody, July 1 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 1

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, July 2

She Lives to Read, July 3

Back Porch Reads, July 4 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, July 5

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 6

Holly’s Book Corner, July 7

An Author’s Take, July 8

Sylvan Reads, July 9

Blossoms and Blessings, July 10 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2c561/bold-of-heart-celebration-tour-giveaway