Posted in Horror, Spotlight on August 19, 2014

last infection

 

Synopsis

The Last Infection chronicles the fall of civilization and the rise of the dead and the evolution of the infected. The infection swept across the country like a tidal wave. Survivors cling to life as the infected own the night and the dead walk the streets. Chris has endured on his own and bumping into Jake and Alicen weren’t in his plans. The young brother and sister have plans of their own, but Chris has heard too many promises of sanctuary and infection free zones. Jenn’s arrival turns his attention to the one thing he never thought he would face again, hope. They make a pact to reach the kids safe haven, but only time will tell if anyone can survive the last infection.

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About the Author

michael garzaMichael W. Garza often finds himself wondering where his inspiration will come from next and in what form his imagination will bring it to life. The outcomes regularly surprise him and it’s always his ambition to amaze those curious enough to follow him and take in those results. He encourages readers to peek at his latest work as well as the material he’s published in the past. He sincerely hopes that everyone will find something that astonishes, surprises, or simply scares the heck out of you.

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Posted in Blog tour, fiction, Giveaway, mystery on August 19, 2014

Dead On Arrival

A Malia Fern Mystery

By Kym Roberts

dead on arrival

 

Catch the Wave of a wild new paranormal mystery series that will leave you locked in the middle of the impact zone!

Bikinis and board shorts are all in a day’s work for surf instructor Malia Fern. Life is good on the island of Kaua’i, even if her social calendar is lacking and a big surf company is droppin’ in to steal her customers. When Malia stumbles upon the body of tourist who speaks to her from his sandy grave, life as she knows it disappears in the outgoing tide.

She didn’t expect to find herself investigating his death, she has no experience, nor any desire to work in the family business of law enforcement, but that’s exactly what she’s doing because the victim keeps asking for help and a group of mystical Menehune men need her protection. If she knew how to offer it, things would be a whole lot easier.

To make matters worse, her love life is out of control. Makaio Natua, the forbidden bad boy cop, is everything she wants and his charming, security specialist cousin, Alapai Lincoln, is everything she needs. What could be worse than meeting the two of them at the same time? A curse designed to control her future.

With life turning wacky, Malia is determined to discover if the victim’s death was an accident, a dope deal gone bad, or something more sinister than she could possibly imagine, because this time her last big wipe out may leave her

Dead On Arrival.

 

handled by officer 

Handled by Officer (Women Behind the Badge)

Recruit officer Kiley Gibbons has walked in her twin sister’s shadow her entire life—born two minutes after, she’s five inches shorter with curls gone wild and the exact opposite of her outgoing, athletic sister. But that’s exactly why she’s the one woman who caught Walt Raynham’s eye, and threatens his future in the tactical unit.

Officer Raynham is everything Kiley needs to distract her from the daily grind at the police academy, too bad his drop dead gorgeous body is wearing the uniform of her boss. And when the academy is finally behind her, Kiley must find the strength to walk away from the man she shouldn’t touch.

But when her friend’s death leaves Kiley with two children to raise and a custody battle she just might lose, there’s only one man strong enough to step in and fill the role of her fiancé. Now Kiley’s not sure she wants to resist the temptation Walt causes, and he’s not so sure a family would be such a bad thing. Together, they discover love and an engagement of convenience could be unstoppable force for happily ever-after…until a killer has another idea that may cost them everything they didn’t want.

 

 Coming Soon!

dead mans carve

 

 Dead Man’s Carve (A Tickled to Death Mystery)

“There’s nothing wooden about Dead Man’s Carve.  Roberts mingles a sparkling, unique voice with a great old-fashioned mystery.” – Wendy Lyn Watson: Mysteries a la Mode and Pet Boutique Mysteries (as Annie Knox)

Rilee Dust isn’t your typical wood carver, she’s young and making a go of it in the small village of Tickle Creek, Oregon. She’s also the only one in town who isn’t determined to get rid her strip club neighbor. Everyone else, however, is ready to evict the Girls, Girls, Girls.

When a dog adopts her and turns her life upside down, Rilee’s not so sure it’s a good thing. Especially when he leads her to a moose, a man and a dead body. Because the moose kicked her butt, the man saved her life and the dead body is one of her customers.

Now Rilee’s smack dab in the middle of all the small town politics with a killer on the loose who has an ax to grind. And Rilee just may be the next victim to have her name carved in stone.

 

About the Author

Three career paths resonated for Kym during her early childhood: a detective, an investigative reporter, and…a nun. Being a nun, however, dropped by the wayside when she became aware of boys—they were the spice of life she couldn’t deny.

In high school her path was forged when she took her first job at a dry cleaners and met every cop in town, especially the lone female police officer in patrol. From that point on there was no stopping Kym’s pursuit of a career in law enforcement—even if she had to duct tape rolls of coins to her waist to meet the weight requirements to be hired.

Kym followed her dream and became a detective that fulfilled her desire to be an investigative reporter, with one extra perk—a badge. Promoted to sergeant Kym spent the majority of her career in SVU. She retired from the job reluctantly when her husband drug her kicking and screaming to another state, but writing continued to call her name, at least in her head.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cozy, Monday, mystery, Review on August 18, 2014

FFF

 

Synopsis

“The Great Gatsby” meets “Boardwalk Empire” in this soft-boiled Jazz Age mystery, inspired by actual events. Real-life rival gangs fight over booze and bars during Prohibition in 1920s Galveston, Texas—the “Sin City of the Southwest.”

Jasmine Cross, a 21-year-old society reporter, feels caught between two clashing cultures: the seedy speakeasy underworld and the snooty social circles she covers in the Galveston Gazette. After a big-shot banker with a hidden past collapses at the Oasis—as speakeasy secretly owned by her black-sheep half-brother, Sammy Cook—Jazz suspects foul play. Was it an accident or a mob hit?

Soon handsome young Prohibition Agent James Burton raids the Oasis, threatening to shut it down if Sammy doesn’t cooperate. Suspicious, he pursues Jazz, hoping for information (and some romance), but she refuses to rat on Sammy.

As turf wars escalate between the Downtown and Beach gangs, Sammy is accused of murder. To find the killer, Jazz must risk her life and career, exposing the dark side of Galveston’s glittering society. Now available in a revised trade paperback version with a glossary of 1920s slang.

Review

The roaring 20’s in Galveston Texas…who knew that there were gangs in the town controlling the liquor despite prohibition? Jazz (Jasmine) is a society reporter trying to get in on the big news action but it is hard to do as a woman. Nathan is the hotshot photographer and Jazz’s pal. Then there is Burton, the hunky Federal Agent trying to shut down the illegal liquor that is killing people.

The story has several murders that tie in quite a few characters but it is easy to keep them straight. There wasn’t a real big “reveal” with “whodoneit” but it left the story open for the next installment in this series.   I thought that the story was well researched and I felt like I was back in time during the 20’s while reading this book with the language/slang of that time and setting the scene  with what they were wearing or what Jazz was shopping for in the way of accessories.

We give this 4 paws up and I’m in the middle of reading book 2 in this series, so look for a post on that next week!

pawprintpawprintpawprintpawprint

About the Author

ellen collierEllen Mansoor Collier is a Houston-based freelance magazine writer and editor whose articles, essays and short stories have been published in a variety of national magazines. During college summers, she worked as a reporter (intern) for a Houston community newspaper and as a cocktail waitress, both jobs providing background experience for her Jazz Age mysteries.

A flapper at heart, she’s worked as a magazine editor/writer, and in advertising and public relations (plus endured a hectic semester as a substitute teacher). She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Magazine Journalism and served on UTmost, the college magazine, and was active in WICI (Women in Communications), acting as president her senior year.

Flappers, Flasks and Foul Play is her first novel, published in 2012, followed by the sequel, Bathing Beauties, Booze and Bullets, released in May 2013. Gold Diggers, Gamblers and Guns is the last novel in her Jazz Age Mystery series, published in May, 2014. She lives in Houston with her husband and Chow mutts, and visits Galveston whenever possible.

Website

Posted in Book Blast, excerpt, romance, Spotlight on August 18, 2014
WGDWAC Release Day Blitz Banner

 

Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy
by Jodi Linton
Series: Deputy Laney Briggs, #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery
Publisher: Entangled: Ignite
Release Date: August 18, 2014

 

On Wednesday, August 20th from 8:00pm – 11:00pm EST I am hosting a Facebook Party to help celebrate the release of Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy. There will be special guests, lots of fun & prizes, and tons of cowboys!

Click here to join the party!

synopsis

Some cowboys are worth getting dirty for.

In her latest adventure, sassy Deputy Laney Briggs discovers the local high school football coach passed out under the stadium bleachers wearing nothing but a smile…and his wife’s lingerie.

Things really start to get wild when she runs into the smoking hot Federal Marshal, Colt Larsen, snooping around the Granger’s house. Quicker than a cold snap comes and goes in Texas, Laney finds herself up to her eyeballs in a case involving a ruthless motorcycle gang, a Mexican drug cartel, a kidnapping, and a shoot-out to rival the O.K. Corral.

In over their heads, Laney calls in the big guns—her very own Texas Ranger, Gunner Wilson, who’s ready to fulfill every last one of her desires. But as things heat up between them, the stakes get higher than ever, and Gunner’s help may not be enough for Laney to get out alive…

 

excerpt

I plopped into my chair, tossed my hat on top of the desk, then did the same with my legs. Leaning back, I shifted my weight to get comfortable and opened my mouth  to begin telling him everything that had gone down since we’d parted ways at the stadium. “The gentleman I was speaking with is—”

“What the pretty lady was about to say,” a voice said, cutting me off in mid-sentence, “was that I’m the federal marshal she met at the Grangers’ place.”

I peeked past Elroy and wanted to die on the spot.

There, hunkered down in the back corner of the station, a hip resting against the wall, and a muscular arm tossed over the Igloo water cooler, was Colt Larsen. “How the hell…?”

He moved away from the wall and stood in the middle of the room, straight and tall. “More precisely, I’m Federal Marshal Colt Larsen from Tarpon Pass.” The smug asshole extended his hand toward Elroy.

“Tarpon Pass,” Elroy said, shaking his hand. “Now where might that be?”

“It’s down on the coast. Not too far south of Rockport,” Colt answered.

“Never heard of the place,” Elroy said.

“It’s a nice town,” Colt replied, then fixing his eyes on me, he added, “We’d love to have you come out and visit. We welcome folks of all kinds in our town.”

Elroy wiped his mouth. “My, my, a federal marshal.” He shot a look my way. “I bet Gunner’s going to lose it when he finds out you’ve tagged yourself another cowboy.”

Colt let out a short cough. “Do you mean Gunner Wilson?”

“Yeah. Who else would I be talking about?”

“I’ll be damned.” He smiled. “You’re the Laney Briggs.”

I shrugged. “And your point is?”

“It just all makes perfect sense why you shot at me tonight, that’s all.” He smiled some more, crossing by the desk and making a turn down the corridor leading to the single jail cell.

I got up and stalked after him. “Colt Larsen,” I shouted at his distancing back, “I’m warning you. If you take another step, I’ll…”

He spun around. “You’ll what? Shoot me?”

“Maybe.” I fisted my hands at my side. “Are you always a pain in the ass?”

He pulled off his hat and scratched his head. “Yes, ma’am. Well, that’s what my ex-wife used to always tell me.”

That silenced me for a minute. Before I could cough up a reply, Colt took it upon himself to help me out.

“I can’t believe it. The infamous Laney Briggs is speechless,” he taunted, winking. “Is it that you don’t see me as the marrying type?”

I narrowed my eyes and called, “Elroy, get the keys to the cell. We’re about to have ourselves a little chat with Mr. Granger.”

 

 

 

 

Jodi Linton lives and works in Texas, with her husband and two kids. She can be found cozied up to the computer escaping into a quirky world of tall tales, sexy, tight jean wearing cowboys, and a protagonist with a sharp-tongue quick enough to hang any man out to dry.  She is currently at work on her next Deputy Laney Briggs book.

 

Have you met Laney Briggs and want to help promote and support the Deputy Laney Briggs novels and all things Jodi Linton? I am always looking for active members to join my Facebook Street Team, the Pink Pistol Readers. If you are interested, click here to request to join the group!

 

 

 

Jodi is also offering a giveaway for anyone who leaves a review for

 

Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy!

 

 

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Posted in Adventure, Blog tour, excerpt, Science Fiction, Spotlight on August 14, 2014

Double Blind banner

 

Double Blind

 

Title: Double Blind
Author: Tiffany Pitts
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Pages: 280
Genre:Action/Adventure/Humor/Sci-fi
Format: Paperback/Kindle

Purchase at AMAZON

Delilah Pelham’s brother, Paul, is missing. She should probably be worried about that but honestly, he’s been in trouble since the day he learned the words “trust me.” In fact, if it weren’t for his roommate, Carl, she would gladly leave him to his fate.

Carl is a good guy, even if he’s a bit of a dork. Okay, a large slice of a dork. Possibly the entire cake.

But he wants to help, as do his gamer friends, which is how Deli finds herself in the middle of Hong Kong with the King of the Dorks, running from creepy guys with slicked-back hair and shiny black guns.

Back at home, Carl’s friends aren’t faring nearly as well. All they had to do was monitor the situation and feed Deli’s cat while she was gone. How could that possibly end in bloodshed?

There is an answer, of course, but no one ever thinks to ask the cat.

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Excerpt

Deli’s Living Room

Later That Evening

Because of his size, most people assumed that Toesy was more dog-like. To some extent, that was true. He liked to go for walks. He liked chasing cats. He even played a very specialized game of fetch, which could be very rewarding—provided, of course, you were in need of a dead bird or half a rat.

But in some important ways, Toesy was very feline indeed. For instance, the second Jake’s breathing slowed from the syncopated wheeze of someone doing too many things at once to the drawn-out rhythm of sleep, he pounced.

No, pounced is too harsh a word. He crept, as well as any thirty-two pound cat can creep, from the far side of the couch to the man’s lap. It wasn’t easy. The man had minimal lap to start with and it currently held many electronic whatsits. However, Toesy’s ability to squish all thirty-two pounds of himself into tight spaces was quite remarkable, and soon he was cozied up between the man, his gadgetry, and the back of the couch.

After a while, the man woke up enough to move the whatsits from his lap to the coffee table. He discovered Toesy tucked in by his side and took the opportunity to reclaim the other half of the couch by propping his feet up on it. Toesy allowed the man to get comfortable before stretching out again. Delighted at this turn of events, he began to purr.

“You’re not such a huge monster, are you?” The man mumbled more contented laziness at him and scratched behind his left ear. A small drop of saliva gathered on Toesy’s lips.

The man must have been very tired because he soon returned to snoring. Toesy took advantage of the situation by climbing up to sleep on his chest.

Toesy considered his mistress a near-perfect human. She was easy to live with, generous with the catnip, and willing to stay in bed until noon on Sunday mornings if it was raining outside. Yet for all her fine qualities, Delilah Pelham had one major flaw. She was too small for him to sleep on.

Usually, as soon as he achieved the prime comfort position, she complained that he was too fat or that she could not breathe. Sometimes her arms fell asleep. Toesy loved Deli endlessly, but occasionally he suspected that she might be a bit of a wimp.

This man, who knew to feed him the Seafood Flavor without any prompting, would not complain about Toesy’s extra girth, for he had extra girth himself. Toesy suspected he might be a holy man. Certainly, no regular human he ever met had been so awe-inspiring.

He kneaded the lumps of stuff in the man’s shirt pocket into an arrangement conducive to long-term napping. Perfection attained, he tucked his nose into his furry belly and purred himself into a trance.

Or at least that’s what he intended to do.

A few moments into his joyous nap, Toesy heard a faint tick-tick sound and opened his left eye halfway. Normally, he didn’t allow tick-tick noises, on the principle that they always precluded some sort of funny business, like a bird or a squirrel. Then he would have to go kill something, eat it, and spend the rest of the day fighting off vermin-induced heartburn. But thanks to this great man, he wasn’t hungry just now. He refused to allow one tick-tick to ruin his repose. He closed his tawny eye.

Another tick-tick ticked. Both of Toesy’s eyes shot open.

One tick-tick was understandable, but two tick-ticks? He would not stand for it. Toesy was a sweet creature as far as sharp-fanged, mildly feral cats go, but there was a streak of murder in him that would not stand for a good nap to be ruined by ticking jackassery.

He lifted his head to look at the nearest window. If that crow was back again, he intended to kill it completely this time. But the kitchen window was empty.

More ticking ticked, this time followed by faint scritchy-scratchy noises, which confused his senses. Toesy closed his eyes and focused his ears on the unusual sound. It came not from the window, but somewhere close.

He flicked his ears twice, once in recognition and once in disbelief. The ticks were coming from the man’s trouser pocket!

Toesy searched until he found the fold of the man’s pocket and cautiously stuck his nose inside. The smell of cheese overpowered him for a moment, so he lay still and waited for his brain to adjust. After a moment, he was able to pick out more subtle scents. The tangy brine of coins, oily keys, and the cold, blank smell of glass—all surrounded by a diffuse aroma that Toesy could not place. It smelled awake.

TICK-TICK.

The glass jumped toward him, hitting him in the nose. Toesy backed away, affronted.

Surely this man does not want all this tick-ticking in his pocket, he thought. I must put a stop to this nonsense.

He reached in through the folds of cloth with a giant furry paw. The glass surface was round like a tube, with a little fluff stuck in one end. As Toesy rummaged, the tube slid free from the man’s pocket and started to roll away toward the floor. He flashed a claw and caught it by the fluff.

Inside the tube, small bugs hopped and popped. Normally, Toesy wouldn’t bother with bugs of this size, as he preferred something juicier. However, these particular bugs had just punched him in the nose and obviously needed a short, sharp lesson in consequences.

The wad of fluff at the end of the tube squeaked along his claws as Toesy dug deeper. He got a good grip and shook hard, loosening the cotton until suddenly it jerked free. This caused the glass tube to shoot across the room, where it hit the television with a tink and dropped to the floor.

Toesy did not want the bugs to escape before he could inspect (and possibly eat) them, so he power-jumped across the room.

When using all the muscles in its hind legs, the average house cat can jump six to seven feet from a resting position. Toesy, however, was not an average house cat. He was more like two or three average house cats shoved into the body of one. The force exerted by all thirty-two pounds of Toesy, power-jumping off the man’s sleeping abdomen, was approximately equal to being sucker punched by a gorilla.

That’s why the man woke up gasping for air and clutching his gut. He tried to roar, but without any breath, it came out a thin squeak.

“What the…” Wheeze. “…hell…” Gasp. “…are you doing?” Cough, cough.

Toesy had no attention to spare. He landed within inches of the glass tube, all thoughts laser-focused on the floor.

Now that he was better able to see them, the bugs didn’t look like bugs at all. They looked like shiny, hopping beans. He sniffed them. They smelled like shiny, hopping, metal beans. He reached out with a tentative paw and batted at them. One of the beans popped up, half an inch into the air. Toesy quickly clamped his paw down on it.

“What have you got there, Toesy?” the man asked after he went back to breathing right.

Toesy flicked his tail in deference to the man but did not turn around. He was trying to figure out how to let go of the shiny bean and eat it at the same time.

“Let me see, boy.”

The man was on his knees now, shuffling around on the floor next to Toesy.

“What’s this?” he said, holding up the cracked glass tube. “That’s not… No, it can’t be. What have you got?” His voice grew alarming and insistent.

No! No, no, no, no, no! What have you done?”

Toesy admired his volume as the man yelled and scooped two of the beans back into the cracked tube.

“What are you doing with the Elevators? You can’t have those! They don’t even work! Carl is gonna kill me!”

Another bean popped into the air. Toesy clamped a free paw down on it while his eyes dilated all the way up to crazy. He loved everything about this day.

“What the—?”

The man sat back on his haunches and examined the two beans he captured earlier. They sat at the bottom of the tube, vibrating back and forth gently.

“That…has not happened before,” he said. Then he looked at Toesy and added, “Do you see this?”

Toesy, still splay-legged with trapped beans, rejoiced at this turn of events. The man was getting in on the game, too! They would eat the beans together! He broke into spontaneous purring. The beans under his feet began to wiggle around, and he dug his claws into the carpet wildly.

The beans in the man’s hand vibrated faster. He peered at them, then he peered at Toesy. He brought the beans closer to Toesy. They began to pop inside their tube. He drew the beans away from Toesy. They quieted down.

“Holy shit,” the man said. “Cat, do you realize what this means? I could kiss you!”

But he did not kiss him. Instead, the man leaned over, lifted Toesy’s right paw and extracted the bean from underneath. Then he tousled Toesy’s shredded ears. Toesy dug the claws of his other paw deeper into the carpet. He did not want the man to take away his last bean.

“You,” he said, pointing to Toesy and smiling huge. “Are the most awesome cat in the universe! I gotta tell Carl.”

He stood up, grabbed something from the table, and walked to the kitchen. He was making little boop-boop noises on the electronic whatsit when he stopped suddenly.

“Shit, he’s still on a damn plane.” He turned to Toesy and continued talking. “I’ll have to email him about how awesome you are, Toesy.”

At the mention of his name, Toesy purred louder. The bean struggled beneath his paw.

“Now, where does Deli keep your cat treats?”

The Great Man continued to talk at him as he combed through the kitchen, but Toesy had stopped listening after cat treats.

There was no doubt in his mind now that this was indeed a holy man. Toesy loved him, whisker and claw. Deli was gone for now, but she would return. When she did, could he convince her to let this man stay? The thought of him sleeping on the couch forever made Toesy purr even louder.

The bean beneath his paw struggled again. Cautiously, in case it escaped, Toesy lifted his foot. The bean popped up but fell back down in the same spot, seemingly resigned to its fate. Toesy sniffed it twice, then ate it.

It tasted of metal and victory.

About the Author

Tiffany PittsTiffany Pitts grew up in the Seattle area in a time when the Super Sonics were huge and Starbucks was just a store at the end of the Market. Tragedy struck early in her life as her family moved to New Jersey mere months before Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” album hit record stores. It took nearly a decade to wean herself off the hairspray. But Seattle called her back, so she went; eventually earning a degree in Botany (pronounced “Bar tending”) at the University of Washington.

She made one more valiant attempt to leave the PNW after college by travelling around the country doing not much of value and making very stupid decisions. She is thankful every day that the internet was not a huge deal in those years. Then Seattle called again so she picked up and moved home where she spent many years being a scientist of middling talent in several labs that she absolutely did not blow up—except for that one time and everyone agreed not to talk about that any more.

Now she divides her time between writing fiction and raising two kids who are wonderful but, for some reason, will not stop licking things.

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Posted in Book Blast, Spotlight, Thriller, Young Adult on August 14, 2014

Out Now!

August 14th, 2014

Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas

Three teens venture into the abandoned lake house one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense?

Or murder?

Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…

 

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Choice

Early Praise

“Dangerous Boys is a taut, compelling thriller balanced on the razor’s edge of suspense. I could not put it down, and could not stop grinning wickedly as I raced through the pages.” — Leah Raeder, USA Today bestselling author of Unteachable

“Abigail Hass is a master at her craft! This is a special book and a special author. This is the kind of storytelling and writing that stick with you no matter how much time passes.” — The Book Geek Blog

“As with Dangerous Girls, the closing left me with a huge, admittedly rather twisted smile on my face. I don’t know how Haas manages to turn me into such a gleefully evil creature.” — Dahlia Adler, blogger.

“Dangerous Boys was an intense, psychological read which was full of suspense and drama,…Abigail Haas has a way of writing books which reel you in and keep you there, hooked and addicted until the very last page.” — Goodreads.com

 

About Abigail Haas

Abigail Haas has written two adult novels and four young adult contemporary novels under the name Abby McDonald. Dangerous Girls is her first young adult thriller. She grew up in Sussex, England, and studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Oxford University. She lives in Los Angeles.

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Posted in Giveaway, Spotlight, suspense, Thriller on August 12, 2014
Mercy Killing
By Kathryn Johnson

 

            Artist and Washington, D.C. socialite Mercy O’Brien Davis married for love and gave up a promising job as a Smithsonian
curator to support her husband’s diplomatic career. But while accompanying him to Mexico City, she learns  her famous photo-journalist mother has disappeared without a trace in Ukraine. Desperate to find her, Mercy runs afoul of the U. S. State Department and stumbles into a maze of lies, crime, and international intrigue. When she appeals to her husband for help in locating her mother, he is strangely reluctant. With her marriage already on shaky ground in the aftermath of her husband’s infidelity, and the U.S. government ignoring her entreaties on her mother’s behalf, Mercy accepts help from a mysterious American agent who enlists her to spy on sexy cattle baron Sebastian Hidalgo, suspected of heading a Mexican crime cartel. Hidalgo is determined to keep her from discovering his darkest secrets, even as he lusts for her.

Manipulated by the men in her life, and their hidden agendas, Mercy wonders if there’s anyone she can trust, and what price she will have to pay for her mother’s safe return.

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Excerpt

A yellow torch beam flashed across the front of the house. Mercy huddled in the shadow cast by the platform beneath her. The guard muttered that it was probably nothing more than a bat flying into the side of the house. The men returned to their posts.
Mercy squeezed her eyes shut in relief. She breathed, letting her runaway pulse slow.
The next jump she got almost right. Banging her ribs again but stifling her cry of pain. However, her final leap was worthy of Olympic gold.
All right! But before she tried the door she checked for alarm wires, triggers, or infra-red beams. Seeing none, she carefully turned the knob. The door eased open. No lock. No screaming alarms. Nothing. She was in.
While passing Sebastian’s office before he’d left that day, she’d glanced through the open doorway and quickly memorized the placement of furniture. She was confident she could negotiate the room without bumping into things in the dark.
Standing with her back to the now-closed balcony door, Mercy let her gaze drift across the black space before her. She could see nothing other than vague shapes but recalled the layout of the room and its contents. Vertical files along the left wall. Three oil paintings hanging over them in a row. A huge ebony desk had occupied the center of the room, facing the door. Lamps, two visitors’ chairs, a tall 18th-century armoire she’d need to investigate as a possible hiding place for files and correspondence. Wet bar along the right wall. Nearest to the door would be the couch and coffee table.
She took a cautious step toward the center of the room.
One of the shapes moved.
Startled, Mercy froze and sucked in air. Was it an illusion? Her heartbeat—bang, bang, bang in her ears—like gunshots. Her mouth, sand dry.
She waited, talking to herself: You’re the only one here. Stop imagining things.
She felt like a rabbit caught away from its warren, instinct messaging its bunny brain—Don’t move and the fox won’t see you!
The sharp scratch of a match strike broke the silence. A whiff of sulphur, followed by a wavering yellow flame. Mercy stared at it, mesmerized, breath held.
The flame moved downward, its faint glow revealing a pillar candle set on one corner of the desk. One. . .two. . .three wicks were lit, revealing the room in a dim amber glow.
“You waited much longer than I’d expected.” His voice.

 

 

About the Author

Kathryn Johnson (aka Mary Hart Perry), author of over 40 published novels, teaches in Washington, DC for the renowned The Writer’s Center, and is a popular speaker at many conferences and venues including The Smithsonian Associates programs and the Library of Congress. CEO of Write by You, a writer’s mentoring service, she’s an Agatha Christy Award nominee, winner of the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller’s Best Awards. Recent novels include Victorian thrillers featuring Queen Victoria’s daughters. Kathryn’s new contemporary Romantic-Suspense series, AFFAIRS OF STATE, launches the first two titles in 2014. She is Vice-President of the Mystery Writers of America,
Mid-Atlantic chapter, a member of the Author’s Guild, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Novelists Inc, and the Historical Novel Society.

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Posted in 4 paws, Blog tour, Cozy, Monday, mystery, Review on August 11, 2014

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Well Read, Then Dead(Read Em and Eat Mystery)
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Read Em and Eat Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (August 5, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-0425270288

 

Synopsis

First in a new series!

Nestled in the barrier islands of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Fort Myers Beach is home to Mary “Sassy” Cabot and Bridget Mayfield—owners of the bookstore café, Read ‘Em and Eat. But when they’re not dishing about books or serving up scones, Sassy and Bridgy are keeping tabs on hard-boiled murder.

Read ‘Em and Eat is known for its delicious breakfast and lunch treats, along with quite a colorful clientele. If it’s not Rowena Gustavson loudly debating the merits of the current book club selection, it’s Miss Augusta Maddox lecturing tourists on rumors of sunken treasure among the islands. It’s no wonder Sassy’s favorite is Delia Batson, a regular at the Emily Dickinson table. Augusta’s cousin and best friend Delia is painfully shy—which makes the news of her murder all the more shocking.

No one is more distraught than Augusta, and Sassy wants to help any way she can. But Augusta doesn’t have time for sympathy. She wants Delia’s killer found—and she’s not taking no for an answer. Now Sassy is on the case, and she’d better act fast before there’s any more trouble in paradise.

Includes a buttermilk pie recipe!

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Review

First in a new series that combines several of my favorite things – food and books!  Sassy & Bridgey are best friends that opened this restaurant/book store and have turned it into a hit in this small FL town thanks to some of the residents and the snowbirds.  They have several book clubs with a myriad of interesting attendees – and some nearly come to fisticuffs!  Then Miss Delia is found dead and her friend Augusta knows she was murdered…so it is Sassy & Bridge on the case.

I think this is the first cozy I have read in awhile where there isn’t a romance brewing between some of the main characters.  I think that will come in future books so I’m interested to see who becomes involved, but I have my guesses.  I liked that the restaurant employees are like one big family especially when the cook falls and breaks his leg, they rally around him to make sure he knows they want him back.

The killer is not an obvious one, although looking back I did not like this character and too see what the killer goes through near the end has you wondering about their sanity.

Well written and can’t wait to see what book two has in store for us.  Oh and don’t forget the PIE recipe at the back of the book!

We give this 4 paws up.

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About the Author

Twice short-listed for Best American Mystery Stories, Terrie Farley Moran’s cozy mystery novel, Well Read, Then Dead is the first book in the Read ’Em and Eat Café and Bookstore series. You can find Terrie blogging amid the grand banter of New York writers known as the Women of Mystery. Terrie tells anyone willing to listen that hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren provides life’s grand and joyful moments.

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Giveaway

Print copy of Well Read, Then Dead
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Tour Participants

August 1 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Review, Giveaway
August 2 – deal sharing aunt – Review, Interview, Giveaway
August 3 – Books Are Life – Vita Libri – Review, Giveaway
August 4 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – Review, Interview
August 5 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – Review
August 6 – dru’s book musing – Guest Post, Giveaway
August 7 – Books-n-Kisses – Review, Interview
August 8 – Back Porchervations – Review, Giveaway
August 9 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Giveaway
August 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
August 12 – Mystery Playground – Interview, Giveaway
August 13 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 14 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

Posted in Romantic Suspense, Spotlight on August 9, 2014

COLD FIRE NEW COVER

 

Synopsis

A cold and unfeeling firefighter, Jaxon Good, with little to no regard for his own life takes one more chance and saves a little girl from a burning school. After questions and speculations rise about how and why the fire was started, a reporter, Cassidy Irons, enters his life with a stubborn streak that matches and sometimes overpowers his own. When Cassidy learns what happened to the little girl Jaxon Good saved, Madelyn Ward, her life suddenly becomes in jeopardy. Death threats and one phone call forces Cassidy to rethink her decision to tell Madelyn’s story, but she continues with it against better judgment. It ends up with her kidnapped and Jaxon is the one who ends up saving her, nearly killing himself in the process and that does not set well with Cassidy. Animosity for putting his own life in danger stems from Cassidy and they end up developing an explosive love/hate relationship, especially when Cassidy doesn’t fall into Jaxon’s arms like every other woman he’s saved throughout the years. Cassidy challenges him in ways Jaxon is not used to and with the hit man still on the loose, he has no choice except to become her new bodyguard of sorts. Living and sleeping together forces both individuals to swallow their pride and they grow to have a newfound understanding of each other, falling for each other in the process. Jaxon fights it every step of the way, not wanting to feel because then it means he’ll have to face his own dark past and demons. He won’t let Cassidy die either though. Can Jaxon get Cassidy out of his life before she tries to teach him to feel again? Or will Cassidy change him into a person he’s not sure he wants to be?

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About the Author

elainaBrought up from the streets of Chicago in a small town called East Hazel Crest, Jaden wasn’t meant to succeed in anything.  Most people brought up in the conditions she did went down the same path as their parents, but not Jaden.  Instead, she witnessed what happened to her parents with drugs and alcohol and went down the opposite path.  From the young age of 10, Jaden found her love for writing, thanks to her best friend Dusty Bennett, but never actually tried her hand in writing until the age of 12.  From the moment her fingers began typing on the keyboard, Jaden never looked back and let her imagination run wild.  During her teen years, she had a hard time accepting what her past was and being bullied in grades 5-7 before moving to a new town called Dixon.  From there, she continued writing and found a way to channel all of her emotions and inner turmoil into something creative.  Now, 16 years later she’s finally ready to try being a successful writer and her dream is to be on the New York Times bestseller list.  She is also a loving mother and wife, always putting her family first before anything.

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Posted in Cover Reveal, New Adult, romance on August 8, 2014

Cover Reveal

SampleCV1_Jersey-2

Book Title: Happiness in Jersey
Author: Jacinta Howard
Genre: Romance
Release Date: August 29, 2014
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Synopsis

The only thing in Jersey Kinkaid’s world that she has time for are keeping her grades up so that she doesn’t lose her scholarship to South Texas University, playing the bass in her band, The Prototype, and satisfying her coffee addiction. Oh, and the occasional random hook-up she indulges in to pass the time.

Love? Eh, not so much. Save that crap for a Katherine Heigl or Natalie Portman movie.

Jersey’s seen enough in life (courtesy of her Pops) to realize that undying romance is nothing more than a myth used to sell books and movie tickets. As she knows too well, the only thing inevitable in life is death— love is definitely not promised.

That’s why when Jersey meets Isaiah “Zay” Broussard with his soulful gray eyes, quick wit and easy charm, she’s determined to remain aloof. She doesn’t have time to get sidetracked by fleeting fantasies, even if she does feel an unexplainable connection to Zay she’s never experienced before.

But when his interest in her only seems to intensify, despite her attempts to brush him off, she gets to see a side of him and herself she didn’t expect…

excerpt

I’d never seen any of the Harry Potter movies or read one Harry Potter book and sometimes that made me feel a little weird, like I missed out on a vital part of my childhood or something.

There was this girl that I sometimes used to hang out with back in middle school, Chloe, who used to keep at least one of the books with her at all times, like the bible. She always complained that her mom thought it was sorcery and believed that her love for the books would somehow cause her to grow up and eventually become a weirdo magician like David Blaine—either that or one of those tarot card readers that are always at arts festivals. I didn’t exactly agree with her mom because she was a super religious and condemned everything outside of the Fourth Street Baptist New Beacon of the Everlasting Tabernacle of Life Church as unholy, but I sort of get where she was coming from. Chloe thought the meaning of life was in the Harry Potter series.

I leaned against the counter at work, bored stiff, watching one of the neighborhood high school kids engrossed in one of the Harry Potter books. I think the kid’s name was Jeremy but I couldn’t be sure because my memory was crap. I just knew the kid is a little strange. What fourteen year-old is purposely awake at eight-thirty every Saturday morning, sitting in a coffee shop reading Harry Potter? You’d think it had just been released the way this kid’s eyes were getting bigger and bigger with each sentence he read. How he managed to not know the ending was beyond me. Even I knew how the thing ended. Clearly he wasn’t a Wikipedia user.

I frowned because then again, little weird ass, non-Wikipedia-using Jeremy will probably end up being the next Mark Zuckerberg or something since in this world, that’s kind of how shit happens.

I sighed and picked at my now purple nail polish as I flipped through my Macro notes while I still had some downtime. It was Saturday so in a couple of hours when the campus kids finally woke up from their hangover slumbers I’d have the overwhelming joy of pouring coffee for them. In the year that I’d been working at Aroma, I’d found that there’s nothing more stimulating than serving college kids who ideally should have better things to do with their Saturdays than sip lattes and discuss meaningless pop culture happenings disguised as socio-political awareness (“What is it with Kanye West and his outbursts? I actually think he’s making a statement about post-Obama race relations and corporate dominance.”). College kids believe themselves to be very deep.

“Kitten.”

I jerked my head up, my eyes colliding directly with gray pupils. Dammit. How he managed to sneak up on me every time was beyond me.

“Must you always sneak up on me?” I asked aloud, furrowing my brow, although it was difficult because he was so damn handsome, it was nearly impossible to frown and look at him at the same time. He had on another white form-fitting v-neck with a pair of worn black jeans today.

He grinned disarmingly and shook his head.

“If you call walking up to a counter in a relatively busy coffee shop that’s located around the corner from a popular campus in broad daylight ‘sneaking up on you’ then yes, I guess I must.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I feel like you really are stalking me now,” I said when he just stood there, looking at me.

“I’m actually waiting for you to take my order.”

I stared at him for a second longer then grabbed a mug and poured him a cup of plain coffee.

“You remembered,” he said, sounding a combination of happy and impressed.

I rolled my eyes again. “Yes, that was so very difficult.”

“You said you had a bad memory yesterday… or wait, did you forget?”

He laughed like he’d actually said something funny.

“Aw, come on, Kitten,” he joked in his raspy baritone, his smirk back in place. “That was a little funny.”

He studied me as he leaned his hip against the counter, making himself totally at home.

“I think your button is lying,” he said after a few seconds of silence.

“Huh?”

“Your button,” he said again in his slow drawl, nodding toward my right breast. “It’s lying.”

I glanced down at the button that said “COFFEE MAKES ME HAPPY” and rolled my eyes again, unable to stop myself from grinning.

“So, how’d you learn to play the bass?” he asked casually, interest lighting his smoky eyes.

I shrugged, caught a little off-guard by his sudden change of subject. “I just… could play.”

“So, you taught yourself?” he asked. Again, he looked impressed. I found myself kind of liking his impressed look.

“Yeah. I was having a bad day, found my Pop’s bass in the closet and started messing around with it. I sucked at first, obviously. But it didn’t take too long for me to get the hang of it.”

He nodded and smiled. I was happy to see his impressed look again so quickly. He glanced over his shoulder at the table we’d sat at the day before.

“I feel kind of weird talking to you with a counter between us.”

I shrugged again. “You know it’s against company policy for me to fraternize with customers while I’m on the clock.”

He leaned forward a little, his eyes on mine. “But I’m really enjoying fraternizing with you.” His eyes skipped down my face to my breasts, causing heat to spread everywhere his eyes touched. “Besides, you’re already breaking company policy with all the eye rolling you’ve done this morning.” He nodded toward my HAPPY button. “Eye rolling is pretty much the exact opposite of ‘happy’.”

I stared at him blankly.

“Please?” he said, tilting his head a little when I didn’t move, flashing the half-dimple in his right cheek. Damn he was cute.

“Okay,” I huffed dramatically. I grabbed my own coffee, nodding for him to lead the way.

Meet the Author

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Jacinta Howard is a writer and avid music lover who resides in the Atlanta area with her daughter and husband. Currently the entertainment editor at Upscale Magazine, she finds her happy place deep in the pages of a great novel, on the beach listening to good music and hanging with her family.

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