Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh

By Don Helin

In her novel, MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE, Melinda Leigh unleashes a plot so exciting that RT Reviews says, “A refreshing plot-heavy tale featuring a believable and endearing hero and heroine.”

When two hikers disappear, their hometown in Maine blames the blinding storms. But the truth is far more sinister. Unaware of the danger, tabloid photographer Jayne Sullivan follows an anonymous tip to find the most reclusive sculptor in the art world. Instead, she finds sexy handyman Reed Kimball—and a small town full of fatal secrets.
Five years before, Reed buried his homicide detective career along with his wife. But when a hiker is found dead, the local police chief asks Reed for help. Why was a Celtic coin found under the body? And where is the second hiker? Avoiding the media, Reed doesn’t need a murder, a missing person, or a nosy photographer. Then Jayne is attacked, and her courage is his undoing. Reed must risk everything to protect her and find a cunning killer.

Melinda Leigh abandoned her career in banking to raise her kids and never looked back. She started writing as a hobby and became addicted to creating characters and stories. Since then, she has won numerous writing awards for her paranormal romance and romantic-suspense fiction. Her debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was a number one bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense, a 2011 Best Book Finalist (The Romance Reviews), and a nominee for the 2012 International Thriller Award for Best First Book. When she isn’t writing, Melinda is an avid martial artist: she holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate and teaches women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house with her husband, two teenagers, a couple of dogs, and two rescue cats.

I had a chance to catch up with Melinda and ask her some questions.

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE?

I love research, especially history. Writing MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE gave me the opportunity to learn about fascinating things like pagan rituals and the Roman invasion of Britain.  Fortunately for my readers, most of what I learned did not make it into the pages. But I enjoyed every article anyway.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

The plot was inspired more by my general geekiness.  I love history and documentaries, which is how a TV special on Stonehenge first inspired my villain.  I started with the basic writer question, “what if”, and the book rolled from there.  Did you know that people still practice Druidism today?  They do!  In fact, modern pagans still celebrate and perform rituals at Stonehenge today.

What are you doing to promote your book? 

I’ll be doing some blogs and interviews, plus a book signing or two. Readers can find details on my website, melindaleighauthor.com.

What’s next? 

My next book, SHE CAN TELL (the follow-up book to my best-selling debut novel SHE CAN RUN), releases December 4th.  I’m also finishing up a manuscript in the next few weeks.  MIDNIGHT SACRIFICE is the sequel to MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE and is due out sometime in the spring.  I’ll post the specific release date on my website as soon as it is available.

Thanks, Melinda.  Your novel looks exciting, and I plan to get a copy.

*****

Melinda Leigh abandoned her career in banking to raise her kids and never looked back. She started writing as a hobby and became addicted to creating characters and stories. Since then, she has won numerous writing awards for her paranormal romance and romantic-suspense fiction. Her debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was a number one bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense, a 2011 Best Book Finalist (The Romance Reviews), and a nominee for the 2012 International Thriller Award for Best First Book. When she isn’t writing, Melinda is an avid martial artist: she holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate and teaches women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house with her husband, two teenagers, a couple of dogs, and two rescue cats.

To learn more about Melinda, please visit her website.