Surprise for Ladybug Farm Lovers!

Buy Christmas on Ladybug Farm by clicking

here

'Twas the Night Before Christmas... 

It’s Christmas Eve, and Cici, Bridget and Lindsay are busy preparing for their annual holiday party.  The tree is sparkling, the turkey is roasting, the wreaths are hung and the eggnog is chilled.  The scene is set for the perfect Christmas... with one or two exceptions.

The entire state is in the midst of a heat wave.   No one can find any mistletoe.  The Christmas tree lights keep exploding, and, perhaps worst of all, something has gone terribly wrong with Ida Mae’s fruitcakes.   It wouldn’t be Ladybug Farm if everything went according to plan, and as the ladies deal with one mishap after another, they remember Christmases past, laughter shared, and lessons learned. 

But when nightfall descends upon Ladybug Farm and one of their own still has not come home, they begin to worry that this Christmas will be one to remember for all the wrong reasons.  All they can do is cling to each other as they watch and wait ...  and pray for miracle.

Christmas on Ladybug Farm is a short novella-- less than 200 pages-- with a bonus recipe section, that I wrote specifically as a Christmas thank-you to all my loyal readers who have begged for another Ladybug installment.  I hope you'll find it as much fun to visit the ladies of Ladybug Farm again as I did! 

  Now available in print and e-book editions!

New Suspense Thriller

Have you ever done anything you're ashamed of?

Well, hasn't everyone?  But if you're a celebrity talk show host with an uncertain past there are some things you would prefer to keep private.  Because when secrets fall into the hands of a stalker, shame can quickly turn to terror.

Exposure one of my favorite books (yes, writers have favorites too!) because it has all the elements I actually like to read: psychological suspense, deep characterization, a tad of crime procedure-- but not too much-- and a hint of romance.  The twist at the end had even  me guessing-- and I wrote it!     

From the back cover:

For Jessamine Cray  it all started with a a piece of slightly weird fan mail, a single typed sheet that read: Have you ever done anything you're ashamed of?  No one takes it as a threat until the second communication comes, and then the third… a blood-stained prom dress, a disfigured photograph from a high school year book, copies of private papers to which no one but Jess should have had access. Every celebrity’s worst nightmare has come true for Jessamine Cray: she is being stalked, and shame is her terrorist’s secret weapon.

For me, the most fascinating part of developing this book was exploring how that one question-- Have you ever done anything you're ashamed of?-- changed each character who had to answer it.  Jess learns things she never wanted to know about her friends, her colleagues, her lovers,  and even herself.  The way each character answered that question became so integral to the plot that now I don't consider a character sketch complete until I have answered the question, What is this character ashamed of?

I hope you enjoy Exposure, which is now available for 4.99 for your Kindle and other e-readers, and in trade paperback for those die-hard paper lovers.   And if  you would like to write a review for Amazon.com on this title, all you have to do is contact me (DonnaABall@aol.com) for a FREE digital copy.  I  do ask that you post your review before the end of July, however, so better hurry-- this baby is 90,000 words long!

New Raine Stockton Dog Mystery

I'm so excited to announce the release of BONE YARD, the first Raine Stockton Dog Mystery since 2007-- and the only book I've ever written for no other reason than the fact that readers requested it!  FULL DISCLOSURE: Bone Yard  is a novella, approximately half the size of a regular Raine Stockton Dog Mystery, and it is available only in digital format.  You can buy it from Amazon.com for your Kindle, or read it on any e-reader with the Kindle app (or wait a couple of weeks and it will be available for IPad, Kobo, Nook, etc.), or on your computer.  But the only way you can read it in print is to load up your printer with paper and push the print button.  This is why it only costs $1.99!

This is breakthrough for me.  I have not written a book that was not commissioned by  a publisher  since 1982.  What an oddly thrilling and terrifying experience it was to take my story directly to the readers, and to do it for no other reason than because they asked for it.  But because they continued to ask for it, I had the incredibly satisfying experience of going back to a world I love-- the world of Raine and Cisco, the populace of Hanover County, N.C., dog training, search and rescue, therapy dogs, agility trials--  a world which, except for the arbitrary decision of one publisher 800 miles and an entire planet away from the land of Raine and Cisco, I would never have left.  So thank you everyone for begging me to continue.  Power to the People!

And this gives me the perfect opportunity to answer two of my  most frequently asked questions: 1) Why did you stop writing the Raine Stockton books/ The Ladybug books/ the Devoncroix books?  2) Why aren't your new books available in print/ why can I only read them if I have an e-reader?

Everyone, please: I didn't stop writing; the publisher stopped publishing.  I loved Raine and Cisco as much as you did, but the publisher was not making enough money to justify continuing to publish the books.  The same is true of  other series you've loved and can no longer find.  Fortunately, e-publishing has created a cost-efficient way for authors to continue to get books into the hands of readers who want them.  Whenever possible, I will try to create print versions of  these books, but be prepared to pay print prices for them.  In the case of novellas such as BONEYARD, however, the physical properties of a print book make it impractical to bind, so it is only available digitally.  Of course, you can always download a free Kindle app for your computer, and you don't have to miss any installments in your favorite series.

And now to the good part:

 BONEYARD takes place a month after GUN SHY ends.  Cisco digs up human bones in Raine's back yard and all sort of mayhem ensues.  Could this be the work of a serial killer, evidence of a long-unsolved mass murder, or something even more sinister... and closer to home?   Raine juggles her chaotic personal life, a persistently disappearing collie, and the ever-whimsical ways of her canine crew in order to find the truth.  I have been so encouraged by reader response to BONEYARD that I am planning a full length sequel later this year.  Look for SILENT NIGHT, in print and digital format, for Christmas.

Thank you to all my readers for cheering me on-- through tornadoes, power outages, and internet blackouts--to get this book finished.  It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 

Mother's Day Special on Autographed Books

From now until Mother's Day I'm offering all of the Ladybug Farm books, plus Keys to the Castle, autographed to your mom--or any other special lady in your life---for only $10.00 each.  This includes Recipes from Ladybug Farm.  You can find an order form by clicking the "Order Books" form at http://www.donnaball.net./

Mother's Day is May 8! 

New Book-- Free!

Sanctuary

SANCTUARY is available for your Kindle, Nook or IPad!

I am so excited to announce the release of SANCTUARY,  a  supernatural suspense/horror novel and  one of my favorite books of all time.  And the best part is, if you are willing to leave a product review for Amazon.com, you can have this e-book free!  Just follow this link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/50923

Scroll down to choose the format in which you would like to download the book, and when you get to check out enter this coupon code:AH67M.  All I ask is that you post a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon.com's product page before the end of the month.

Warning: Bad things happen in this  book.  This suspense is intense.  If you plan to sleep after starting this book-- wait!  The chances are you'll wish you had waited to start reading until you had more time.  But if you like good old fashioned scary stories with a strong moral imperative, not too much gore or graphic sex, and characters who could be your next door neighbors... I think you'll like this one.  Here's the  cover blurb:

Fleeing the violence and crime of life in the city, architect Laura Kane and her five year old daughter Christy move to an exclusive planned community deep in the untouched  wilderness of the Smoky Mountains.  Legend has it that their home is built on holy ground.  Other legends tell of hideous beasts that roam the mountainside,  Yeti-like creatures so terrifying that no one has ever dared disturb their sanctuary… until now.

First there are random acts of vandalism, then small pets begin to disappear, and then men go into the woods and don’t come back.  When Christy’s nightmares begin to suggest that she can actually communicate with the creatures who are wreaking such havoc on their small and vulnerable community, Laura is terrified.  Because Christy’s dreams tell her that the monsters are coming for her next.

And she is right.

In the terrifying tradition of the best of Dean Koontz, Sanctuary is a suspense-filled tale of love, courage and redemption that will take you in its grip from the first page and leave you breathless by the last. Because sometimes the real monsters are the ones you can’t escape, no matter how far you run...

 I hope you enjoy Sanctuary!





A Brief Commerical Announcement

I just wanted to let everyone know that there are  less than ten days left in the great 99- cents e-book sale, so now is the time to start downloading  if you are looking for something fun to read.  And that price includes my new suspense/thriller NIGHT FLIGHT (which I don't think anyone would call "fun", but it is a wild ride-- and a great price!).

  Other 99-cents titles are:  

The 99 cent sale ends March 30, but, as always, anyone who would like to review my e-books can contact me for a complementary copy. 

Happy Reading!

New Suspense/Thriller

An exclusive e-book limited-time promotion  for 99 cents!

Cathy Hamilton was just a small town schoolteacher who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Now her head is full of information that could get her killed, and she is forced to flee through the night across unfamiliar territory in a car that’s almost out of gas with no weapon, no money and no phone. A government agent has tried to kill her , the FBI has set a trap for her, and her only hope for survival is a man she doesn’t dare  trust: a cop who’s willing to risk his badge—and his life—to save her.

You'll never look at a deserted telephone booth the same way again!

Praise for the Work of Donna Ball:

“A maelstrom of suspense… gripping, intense”

--Rendezvous

“[Ball] knows how to keep a story moving”

--Kirkus Reviews

  “A Major talent of the genre”

--Publisher’s Weekly

“A must read”

--Examiner.com