I’m excited to have Amber Daulton back on the blog. Her latest book, Lost in His Spiderwebs released today. And the title is perfect for an October release. Here’s Amber.

Lost in His Spiderwebs is the second book in the Lozano Cartel series, where we dive into the lives of Rubén Lozano and Drina Cabrera in a dark, second-chance romance neither one of them saw coming.

Rubén is not someone you want to cross. A cold, calculating cartel kingpin, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Flip the coin and you got Drina—a widowed mother who’s raising her daughter alone while struggling to keep the darkness of her own mother’s anti-cartel resistance group out of their lives. These two couldn’t be more different. But when Drina’s world falls apart, she finds herself entangled in a dangerous cartel web, with none other than Rubén as her unlikely savior. The twist? He’s the man she’d loved and left long ago.

As for my inspiration… Well, that’s a bit of a story in itself.

Rubén and Drina were introduced as secondary characters in book 1, Dark Hearts Aflame. From the moment Rubén showed up on the page, I knew he deserved his own story, but at first, I couldn’t figure out who his heroine would be. After playing around with a few ideas and scrapping them, inspiration finally struck—Drina! She was the perfect fit for him. I’ve always loved the “opposites attract” trope, so I started plotting their story with her as his love interest. But something just didn’t feel right. At this point, Rubén and Drina were complete strangers when they meet in Chapter One, and that bothered me. There wasn’t enough depth or chemistry between them to make the story truly compelling.

I spent weeks, literally weeks, brainstorming how to make this connection feel real. And then, it hit me. Second-chance romance! Another favorite trope. What if Rubén and Drina had a past? What if they were once lovers, and he’s the father of her daughter, though he doesn’t know it? Once that idea clicked into place, I had everything I needed to take the story in a fresh direction.

I’m a plotter, and I like to outline chapter by chapter. I use pen, paper, and colored pencils, but sometimes I plot in a Word doc. I try to follow my notes exactly, but more often than not, the characters take control and steer my story in another direction. Beyond the initial plot issues, Rubén and Drina were pretty well-behaved. I didn’t have to get into a lot of arguments with them or force them to follow my painstakingly plotted outline, as I’ve had to do with other characters in other stories. It’s always a relief when my H/h play ball.

Who am I outside of writing, you might ask? I’m not sure I know. Writing is my life. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I’m on my laptop, researching, editing, or writing something fresh. When I’m brain dead from that, I like reading, hiking, binge watching my favorite TV shows, digging in my herb beds, and playing with my cats. Though, usually, I’m writing with a cat snuggled up beside me, so I’m always spending time with the furballs. I’m married to a supportive man who loves cooking (lucky me!), though I can’t get him to sweep the floor to save my life. Haha!

Today is the release day for Lost in His Spiderwebs, and I’m super excited. It’s my 20^th published work to date. That’s right. The big 2-0! I’m already working on the next book, Corrupting His Wife, which is currently in the draft phase. The Lozano Cartel series will span several standalone novels, so be sure to subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social media to stay updated. In the meantime, add Lost in His Spiderwebs to your reading list. You don’t want to miss it!

Amber Daulton is the author of the Lozano Cartel, the Arresting Onyx, the Embracing You, and the
Ramseys in Time series, as well as several standalone novellas. Her books are available in ebook, print
on demand, audio, and foreign language formats. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats. Follow Amber at https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton

Kidnapped by the enemy. Bought by the jefe. Will his smoldering touch thaw her frozen heart?
Rubén Lozano, the new leader of the Lozano Cartel, craves peace amidst a legacy of bloodshed and
death. He never expected to find his ex-lover, Drina Cabrera, in the clutches of his vicious rivals. Her
haunted eyes compel him to rescue her, but freeing her is another matter.
After five months of captivity, Drina trades one captor for another. Though she succumbs to Rubén’s
masterful touch, the bittersweet memory of her daughter and the life she was stolen from is a constant
wedge between them.
When Rubén’s darkest secret comes out, he will have to wash his hands in crimson. Will Drina let her
king face the danger alone, or stand at his side as his cartel queen?