Tony Hillerman Prize

I’ve worked so hard on this novel, and it took so long to get it just right, but sadly I haven’t had the time to promote or find ways to market it because I work fulltime as a UX/UI Designer for the government.  I just learned about the Tony Hillerman Prize which is a competition for mystery novels set in the American southwest, written by a first-time author in the mystery genre. A perfect fit for Blue Moon Bench. So off it goes!!

St. Martin's PressThis novel was in inspiration that came from my love of the southwest, its culture, and its beauty. Now that I’m living on the east coast I often look back at when I was writing it while living in Tucson, Arizona, and it brings great joy to think it might actually find an audience that loves the southwest and romantic fiction like I do.

I’m very excited about sending my novel off to the competition, and hope you will all wish me well. This is my first attempt since self publishing it (besides this site, and my book trailer) at trying to get this novel off the shelf and into the hands of the readers!

Best Summer Novel Ever!

BMBCoverKindleAre you looking for a great summer novel? An escape, an unexpected story that you can lose yourself in? Stop looking, and download Blue Moon Bench!

Every woman’s dream is to find the perfect soul mate, the man who has everything. Jessica meets her handsome husband, a wealthy ranch owner, intelligent, tall, dark and loving, and knows this is what every woman dreams.  They marry after knowing each other only three months, and she leaves her career in San Francisco to move into his amazing ranch house built by his family a generation before. He even renovated the old ranch house into an art studio so she can continue to do illustration with every detail down to the beehive fireplace in the corner. How could any woman resist?

Then one day, while visiting the Hopi reservation, her husbands best friend takes her aside and says, “Did you know his alibi the night his wife died is a lie? I’m worried about you. I’m here if you need a friend.” Did she marry a murderer? How well did she really know this new husband of hers and could she trust him? Hurt and determined Jessica begins the journey of finding out just what happened that night out on Blue Moon Bench, a vast and beautiful area of the Navajo Reservation on the Grand Canyon’s edge. Rachel’s car was found deserted; her dead body at the bottom of the canyon. Jessica knew if it was murder, her new life on the ranch was about to get very complicated.

Amazon, iBook or Barnes & Noble. Thanks for reading my novel!

Author Dawn L. Blanchard hiking in the New Mexico desert
Author Dawn Blanchard enjoys hiking in the southwest, pictured here in New Mexico’s northern desert.