Blog Tour: Unauthorized

 

About the Book

Book: Unauthorized, a prequel novella

Author: Sherri Wilson Johnson

Genre: Faith-Based Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Release Date: October 7, 2025

Daisy Blackwood has always played by the rules. As a meticulous budget analyst in Nashville, she’s built a life of quiet routines and steady work—until one discovery shatters everything. She uncovers evidence of embezzlement at her firm and sets off a chain of events that leaves Daisy framed, frightened, and fighting to clear her name.

With her career—and freedom—on the line, Daisy finds an unexpected ally in Owen Mackenzie, a sharp-witted IT auditor who’s more comfortable behind a screen than in the middle of corporate chaos. As danger closes in, Owen steps out of the shadows to protect her, and a slow-burning connection sparks into something deeper.

Set against the soulful backdrop of Nashville, this heartwarming romantic suspense blends ”wrongfully accused,” “slow burn romance,” and ”protective hero” tropes into a story of courage, trust, and unexpected love.

As Daisy and Owen dig deeper into a dangerous conspiracy, they’ll have to risk everything—including their hearts—to uncover the truth.

* Unauthorized is the prequel novella to book one in Sherri’s The Silas Holcomb Legacy series, coming out in the fall of 2025.

About the Author

Sherri Wilson Johnson writes romantic suspense from her home in Georgia where she lives with her husband, their two dogs and spoiled Bombay cat. Sherri loves spending time with family, vacationing at the beach, reading or working on her current work-in-progress. She dreams of a second home on some beach somewhere some day, where she can plot romantically suspenseful novels around the clock.

 

 

More from Sherri

When I started dreaming up the Silas Holcomb Legacy series, I knew I didn’t want to write about traditional heroes and heroines. You know the type—confident, charismatic, effortlessly brave. Instead, I wanted to explore the quieter, quirkier people we often overlook. The dependable coworker. The quiet thinker in the back of the meeting room. The ones who aren’t flashy or bold or naturally brave. The ones who doubt themselves more than they should. The ones who never imagined they’d find themselves at the center of a high-stakes mystery… or a love story.

That’s the heart of The Silas Holcomb Legacy series, and specifically the vibe you’ll feel in Unauthorized, the prequel novella. Daisy and Owen are the kinds of people who don’t usually get the spotlight—but should.

Daisy is a sharp-minded budget analyst working in the competitive corporate world of Nashville. She’s smart, driven, and meticulous—but doesn’t exactly stand out in a room. (Well, to Owen—the quiet, nerdy guy from IT—she does, but she doesn’t know that!) After the recent death of her estranged grandfather, she’s emotionally raw and not at all ready to play detective. But when she stumbles across an embezzlement scheme and someone tries to frame her for it, she’s forced to step into a role she never imagined: the one who solves the mystery.

And she doesn’t do it alone.

Owen is not your typical romantic lead—he knows more about server logs than small talk. He’s not suave, he’s not smooth, but he’s steady and loyal and brilliant in all the ways that matter. Together, they dig into the company’s secrets, unravel a trail of deception, and prove that you don’t need to be the loudest person in the room to change the story.

This story is about rising to the occasion, even when you don’t feel like the kind of person who’s supposed to save the day. It’s about finding strength when you’d rather hide. About realizing you were never a side character—you were just waiting for your moment to lead.

And yes, it’s about love that grows not from charm or swagger, but from courage and kindness. Daisy and Owen prove that sometimes, the least likely heroes are exactly the ones we need. Their journey is close to my heart, and I hope their story encourages readers to believe in their own quiet kind of brave.

And the most exciting part? This is the first book in a thrilling and mysterious new series that brings an estranged family back together. Will they stay together? Well, you’ll have to stay tuned for the rest of the series to find out!

I can’t wait to show you what’s next.

Sherri

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 21

Stories By Gina, October 22 (Author Interview)

The Mommies Reviews, October 22

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 23

History, Hope & Happily Ever After, October 24 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool , October 25

Simple Harvest Reads, October 26 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, October 27

Artistic Nobody, October 28 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, October 29

Guild Master, October 30 (Author Interview)

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 31 (Author Interview)

Devoted To Hope, November 1

Fiction Book Lover, November 2 (Author Interview)

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 3 (Author Interview)

Lily’s Corner, November 3

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sherri giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/3d281/unauthorized-celebration-tour-giveaway

An Interview with Sherri

What is your favorite thing about being a writer? – Brainstorming with other writers and meeting readers.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? – The stories are always deeper than I think. There’s always a certain amount of healing that I go through in the process of writing a book, and I often don’t realize it until it’s done.

Can you share a real-life event that inspired your writing? – Yes, my current book is about a family estrangement, and my extended family went through an estrangement for a while.

What questions do you ask yourself when preparing to write a new book? – How long will it take me to write it? Who will want to read it? What genre is this going to be? What unusual career can I come up with for my hero or heroine? What is the takeaway? Will this be a series or a standalone?

What was the best money you spent as a writer? – Research trips to the beach for my Jeopardized Reunions series.

How are your characters like you? Different? – My heroines are almost always pretty feisty, like me. They are also usually pretty curious, like me. They are probably braver than I am, because I can’t say that I would walk into a situation where I knew a killer might be waiting for me.

How do you come up with story lines/book topic? – Most of the time, story ideas just pop into my head while I’m doing random everyday tasks. When I came up with the idea for Desolate Escape, book one in my Jeopardized Reunions series, I was sitting on a secluded beach and said to my husband, “I see a dead body down there.” As I pointed down the beach, he asked, “Where?!” I think he was going to call 911. I told him it was in my imagination. For several years, every time we’d go to that same beach, I’d say it again. Then finally, I wrote the story. They do usually just pop in at the most random of times.

Why do you write in your particular genre? – I like to write about love, but I also like to have my hero and heroine running for their lives.

What is one thing you wish you could do? – Retire and write full time!!

What was your favorite childhood book and why? – The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge. I always loved how the little red lighthouse always felt insignificant but then quickly learned that he had a purpose—to keep ships from crashing into the bridge and the rocks on the shore.