Please welcome back Amber Dalton. to This Writer’s Life..
Dark Hearts Aflame: A Journey to a New Series
Dark Hearts Aflame was one of my favorite stories to write. Initially, I envisioned it as the fifth and final installment of the Arresting Onyx series. However, once I finished, I realized it diverged significantly from the previous books—so much so that it didn’t even take place in the same country! Yikes!
Not only did this book introduce new characters, but it also opened up exciting possibilities for more stories. I had a tough decision to make: should I cut the book from the Arresting Onyx series and leave it unpublished? Keep it in the series despite its issues? Or create a spin-off, which would be the most time-consuming option?
Well, I’m sure you can guess what I decided on: a new series!
The prospect of expanding this fictional world was both exciting, scary, and frustrating. The day I made my decision, my husband and I spent hours weighing the pros and cons. Once we hashed it out, and I cried a bit (hello to you, stress!), I was finally clearheaded enough to tackle this challenge.
So, I revised Dark Hearts Aflame to better serve as the first book in the new spin-off series, the Lozano Cartel. It’s now available for download at all major online retailers! Currently, I’m hard at work on the second book, Lost in His Spiderwebs, with a few novellas and more novels to follow.
The Lozano Cartel series is darker and steamier than Arresting Onyx. Some readers may love this shift, while others may not, but it was essential to honor the characters and the treacherous world they inhabit. I hope readers will enjoy the twists, turns, and happily ever afters that await them!
Dark Hearts Aflame
Series: Lozano Cartel (book 1)
Release Date: April 8, 2025
Publisher: Daulton Publishing
Cover Designer: Satin Rose Designs
ASIN: B0D18CB8CF
Genre: Dark Romance
Length: 90k
Heat Rating: 5 Flames
Blurb
A drug lord on the run. A cartel princess in hiding. All it takes is a spark to set their world ablaze.
Bristol Rieger left his criminal life behind for a fresh start in Mexico. Flying under the radar of the government and the cartels alike, his best-laid plans go awry when a woman from his narco days discovers his whereabouts. Carmen Lozano, however, is no longer the innocent girl he remembers.
Carmen escaped the chains of her tiara and her abusive marriage to join a group of resistance fighters. The last thing she expected was the now-retired capo setting out to seduce her with his wicked touch. Embracing the blood on his hands is easy, but his secrets wear on her patience.
When their enemies close in, Bristol will have to summon his inner monster to protect her. But can that monster be tamed again?
– Book one is an Interracial (Hispanic woman/white man) dark romantic suspense novel in the Lozano Cartel series. All the books can be read as a standalone, but are part of an interconnected series.
– Scenes featuring torture/violence, kidnapping, attempted assault, infertility issues, child abuse (discussed), and suicide (discussed) may be uncomfortable for some readers.
– No cheating and HEA guaranteed!
– Written in 3rd POV.
Tagline: He gets more than he bargained for with his runaway cartel princess.
Excerpt:
Bristol sighed, more angry with himself than with her. “Believe me when I say I wish we could have more. Just trust me and know we can’t. It’s for your safety.”
Carmen slowed to a stop and trailed her index finger over the line of his jaw.
The resignation in her eyes scorched him.
“Your mind is like stone. If you never tell me your secrets, the truth you think I will not understand or accept, then it’s your loss. Not mine.” She notched her chin. “I know my worth, Bristol. Maybe I can do better than you. Maybe not, but at least I’m happy with you, and that’s all I ever wanted. So fine, keep your secrets. Someday, if I’m safe enough, I will find a man who can trust me implicitly and love me without reservation. When that happens, I hope your secrets will keep you warm at night because I’ll be gone.”
Though he intended to let her go, the idea of losing her almost cracked his knees on the floor. He had to protect her, but what about her heart? And his? He couldn’t push her into the arms of another man. He wanted—needed—her for himself. Bristol pulled her close and kissed her, desperate to feel her soft lips with his firmer ones and her tight body in his arms.
She opened her mouth, inviting his plunder. Her scent invaded his nostrils. Her sweet, delectable taste rolled through him, seeking to claim him.
After three days of starvation, he needed more. How could he survive three years? Thirty years? He couldn’t do this anymore, couldn’t keep quiet. He wanted her to be happy, yet the idea of some other man giving her everything she deserved sickened him to his core.
“Let’s go, Carmen. I have something to tell you.”
Add to Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211106548-dark-hearts-aflame-lozano-cartel-book-1
Check it out on BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/dark-hearts-aflame-lozano-cartel-book-1-an-on-the-run-dark-cartel-romantic-suspense-by-amber-daulton
Download Links
Only $2.99 for a limited time.
Universal – https://books2read.com/darkheartsaflame
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3WMhySS
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-hearts-aflame-amber-daulton/1144724204
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-hearts-aflame
Apple/iBooks – https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-hearts-aflame/id6544805264
Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=vtfwEAAAQBAJ
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509101
About the Author
Amber Daulton is the author of the Lozano Cartel, the Arresting Onyx, and the Ramseys in Time series, as well as several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Social Media Link
Universal link – https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton
Exclusive Newsletter (free ebook to new subscribers) – https://amberdaulton.com/newsletter-signup/