Five Star Publishing

Series: A Moriah Dru/Richard Lake Mystery

Hardcover, 308 pgs

August 17, 2016, $25.95

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis

Saudi Arabian prince, Husam al Saliba hires Dru, a PI specializing in tracing missing children, to find his missing wife, Reeve Cresley and daughter, Shahrazad (Shara).

At a dinner to introduce himself and his story to Dru—and Richard Lake, her lover and an Atlanta police detective—he strikes Dru as charming but unbelievable. He tells of falling in love with Reeve, of turning his back on his possible ascendancy to the power structure in the kingdom for the woman he loves. He also talks of his king’s disapproval of him marrying and siring an infidel. But then he says his family wants him to return, marry his betrothed Aya and get in line to be an heir to kingship. Confused Dru thinks she’s fallen into a fairy tale. After all the prince is known to be a great storyteller and is partial to reciting tales from the Arabian Nights.

The investigation had just begun when Reeve’s parents, Lowell and Donna Cresley, who do not seem disturbed that Reeve is missing with Shara, are killed. That brings the Atlanta police into the case.

A U. S. resident, Prince Husam is a partner in a New York law firm. Reeve is a scientist who works for NASA. The couple spend little time living together. Husam goes off to Paris to see his Saudi princess, Aya, and Reeve is in an affair with Thomas Page. As Dru remarks, nobody in this tale is faithful. Then she finds out all have something too dreadful to hide.

Purchase Running With Wild Blood

Guest Post

 

Publishers Weekly reviewed my first novel in the Moriah Dru/Richard Lake series, The End Game, writing:

“A well-researched plot and snappy dialogue—plus some fine rail-yard K-9 detecting by Buddy, a German shepherd, and Jed, a Labrador retriever—keep the action moving.“

What? The PW reviewer didn’t think I knew all about trains and dogs without researching?

Having hopped a train once, I knew I had to jump off before it got moving too fast, and there have been few years in my life when I haven’t had a dog. But what did I know about a train yard and search-and-rescue dogs? Only what I see in the movies, on television and read in other books.

That easy way aside, I love to research. At times, I’d rather research than plot action or get inside a character’s head. When I’m stuck in a corner of my own making, I’ll throw something into the mix of which I know nothing, and go on a research mission.

I also love authenticity, which means I have to get to the source, the gritty in the nitty.  When I wrote The End Game, I knew from the start trains and dogs would figure prominently in my story. Computers, too, along with cops and prisons. Cops were easy. I worked with them when I reported for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. My heroine, Moriah Dru, is a former cop, now the owner of a PI firm specializing in finding missing children. Her lover, Richard Lake, is still a cop, handy for her to get all the information she needs on cases that involve cops.

The Moriah Dru/Richard Lake series is set  in Atlanta, where I’ve lived most of my life. But their investigations take them far and wide. The Last Temptation begins in Atlanta and then head West to Palm Springs. I’d gone there to play golf with my husband and decided I wanted to write a thriller set in that glitzy, zany place, and I did. We spent a week there, but I had to bone up on casinos, the Native Americans, the desert, the neighborhoods, the night spots—oh the night spots where the spirit of Frank Sinatra lingers large.

In The Devil Laughed I needed to learn about wine. I’ve drank my share, and have grown grapes in the past, but what did I know about wine-growing—the particular type of grape that makes either a cabernet or a sauvignon blanc or a pinot and what goes together to make other vintages. Our mountain region in Georgia grows different varieties of grapes than the Fear River region of North Carolina, another region I visited for the novel. Great place to be a tourist and visit the wine boutiques. In Running with Wild Blood, I got to get up close to motorcycle clubs.

In my most recent book in the series, America Nights, the research required was heroic. I had to learn all about the Saudi Arabian family, its food, culture, customs because Moriah Dru hired on to find the American wife of a Saudi prince. The prince loved to recite from the Arabian Nights. Fun to read those old tales again

To revolve back to SAR dogs—given to us mortals by a benevolent goddess—in my next life, I’m going to be a trainer. These canine specialists, I learned, do it for the pure joy of showing off their talents and a treat or two at the end of the search. They are tireless in their quest, and, like us, they suffer disappointment if they don’t succeed. In countless reviews, like PW’s, Buddy and Jed, came out heroes. Maybe because when I wrote them into the plot, they were my heroes.

Gerrie Ferris Finger

About the Author

Retireed journalist for The Atlanta-Journal Constitution,Gerrie Ferris Finger won the 2009 St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel for The End Game. The Last Temptation is the second in the Moriah Dru/Richard Lake series. She lives on the coast of Georgia with her husband and standard poodle, Bogey.

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Synopsis

Cassandra Webb’s every waking minute is devoted to being a great mother and wife. She takes five-year-old Noah to the library each week, volunteers in his kindergarten class, and even coaches his soccer team. She makes sure her husband’s uniforms are always laundered—even though he hasn’t worn them the last six years—always has his game day snacks on hand, and meets him for date night every Friday—which consists of one sided conversations at his bedside and watching his favorite take out remain untouched.

Pearl, a mysterious visitor at the care center, suggests that it is only Cassie’s love still tying Devon to Earth when he has been ready to move onto Heaven for quite some time. If Cassie will but open her eyes and heart, she will discover the path she should travel, one that will bring relief to Devon and much joy to her own life. But Cassie vowed never to give up on him. She never has and she can’t now, even after meeting hapless, single soccer-dad Matt.

Review

This story touched me in so many ways, I was a blubbering mess in many parts. Not that I could personally relate to Cassie’s life, but because she was so strong for her son and had such faith that her husband, Devon, would come out of his vegetative state. She did all of this for over 6 years and she never lost hope.

Enter Pearl (the matchmaker) – who imparts her wisdom to Cassie. But don’t think that her advice was heeded immediately, that wouldn’t make an interesting story if she did what she was told right away. Matt is a single dad having lost his wife to an aneurysm and life without her isn’t easy because he raising 2 rambunctious boys (4 and 6). However, Matt and Cassie meet and become friends and help each other out and improve each others lives.

As in all romance books, you know they will get together eventually….but the story leading up to it is one of strength and fortitude and patience. And maybe even a little laughter.

We give this 5 paws up.

Synopsis

Carrie McCrite, a volunteer librarian at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, discovers two versions of a portrait on loan to the museum. When a reporter writing about that portrait disappears, Carrie must choose between honoring Henry’s request that she stop jumping into danger on behalf of people in trouble–or work to find the woman who was a college friend of her son’s.

Praise

“A charming marriage of love and mystery.” —Nancy Pickard, author of The Virgin Of Small Plains

“A delightfully clever novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Radine Trees Nehring’s warm and believable characters are like good friends that I am happy to see again.  The Civil War history, train ride, antiques and diner food were icing on the cake! I look forward to Carrie and Henry’s next adventure.”  —Earlene Fowler, author of Love Mercy and State Fair

“What a great mix for Carrie’s latest adventure!  She and Henry have their hands full with suspicious characters aboard an excursion train, switched identities, Civil War treasures, stolen jewelry, rifled rooms, and a “safe house” incident. Did I mention a dead body?  Radine Trees Nehring has given us another ‘can’t put it down’ read.” —Joe David Rice, Arkansas Tourism Director

Excerpt

An excerpt from “A Portrait to Die For” by Radine Trees Nehring with two sentences with spoilers removed

At 8:20 the next morning Catherine sat in her car outside the workshop at Fred’s and wondered who was inside the building. There were two trucks parked in the lot. She supposed the newer pickup with the business name and logo on the door was Freda’s.

The other truck was unmarked. Maybe it was the older pickup she had seen here yesterday. She hadn’t paid much attention to it then, and wasn’t good at identifying trucks unless an automaker had displayed their company name and vehicle style prominently on the tailgate.

8:25.

Well, nothing ventured. Daddy had said that. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

    Zero hour. Catherine opened her car door and slid out, putting her cell phone in her pocket.

Twenty steps to the open shop door, and then Catherine was inside. It was very quiet. Should she say something? No, not yet at least.

Two steps. Lots of stuff, but no person, no sound, no movement but her own.

Two more steps.

Something on the concrete floor caught her attention. Blobs of oil? She stopped to stare, bent over to look more closely.

Drops of blood. Fresh enough to be red. Oh, dear God, NO.

    Catherine started to turn back toward her car and run. Panic had her breathing like a steam engine though she was trying to be quiet, to give no sign she was there. She must get to her car and hurry to safety, to be with Carrie and Henry. Get away, Get away! Get to Carrie and Henry, get them to come back here with her.

A groan stopped her, freezing her steps as she started toward the door.

Her mind tried to work sensibly. Someone groaning probably wasn’t going to attack her. Someone was hurt and needed help.

She turned around again and took two more steps into the building, avoiding the drops.

Step. Step.

A weapon! She should have a weapon in case something horrible and dangerous faced her on the other side of those boxes. The workbench next to her offered a huge hammer. She started to lift it, found it too heavy for one arm, re-enforced her grasp with her other hand and, hammer raised, moved forward again.

End of the row of boxes. With the hammer held as high as she could lift it, she went around the stack.

A shriek. Oh! That was her voice.

A choked laugh came from someone propped up against the back of the box stack. Another person faced her–Freda, with a raised hammer.

About the Author

For more than twenty years, Radine Trees Nehring’s magazine features, essays, newspaper articles, and radio broadcasts have shared colorful stories about the people, places, events, and natural world near her Arkansas home.

In 2002, Radine’s first mystery novel, A VALLEY TO DIE FOR, was published and, in 2003 became a Macavity Award Nominee.  Since that time she has continued to earn writing awards as she enthralls her original fans and attracts new ones with her signature blend of down-home Arkansas sightseeing and cozy amateur sleuthing by active retirees Henry King and Carrie McCrite King.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * LinkedIn

Dying for Data (Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth)
Cozy Mystery
Release Date – August 21, 2016
2nd in Series
Paperback: 176 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1533676399
E-Book ASIN: B01JGHOQFW

Synopsis

Bad karma, a rival suitor, and a deadly attack are enough to put a damper on any date.

Just when Adina’s social life is looking up, her night out is interrupted by the scream of police sirens. Afraid her bartender boyfriend might be accused of murder, Adina’s neighbor enlists her assistance, and in the process exposes her to the seamier side of illegal immigration and crime in the city. Hard as she tries to limit her involvement, the more Adina learns, the more she needs to know – until a case of mistaken identity lands her in hot water. Will she uncover the truth before it’s too late?

Review

This is a second in a series and I enjoyed this as much as the first book. I also liked the discussion about immigration, not too much, just enough. and since it is set in DC, it wouldn’t be a book without discussing politics and even brief mentions (generically) of the upcoming election.

Adina is a caring person, especially when she helps her Russian neighbor’s boyfriend who was attacked behind the restaurant where they work. It is quite interesting how they uncover who is behind the crimes and help the police take them down. The mystery is not complicated, but isn’t easy to figure out either. Enough twists to keep me guessing.

Adina has a couple of love interests, Bruce (volunteers at the animal shelter with her) and Jack (the police detective). Luckily it is an easy decision for Adina on who to keep and who to dump!

We give this 5 paws up.

About the Author

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries (both cozy and traditional) and police procedurals.  Cassidy also enjoys reading historical fiction focused on American and world history, as well as the classics.  When she’s not reading, she enjoys music and spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia.

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September 16 – T’s Stuff – SPOTLIGHT

September 17 – Community Bookstop – INTERVIEW

September 18 – Lori’s Reading Corner – SPOTLIGHT

September 19 – Ashleyz Wonderland – SPOTLIGHT

September 20 – Cozy Up With Kathy – INTERVIEW

September 21 – Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

September 22 – Island Confidential – INTERVIEW

September 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

September 24 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

September 25 – Varietats – REVIEW

September 26 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW

September 27 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

Book Title: The Stranger

Author Name: Anna del Mar

Series: The Stranger, A Wounded Warrior Novel, Book Two

Genre: Romantic Suspense, Contemporary romance, SEAL romance, Military Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Date of Publication: August 22, 2016

Synopsis

When a mysterious stranger is your only hope…

The scars of the past have left their mark, both physical and emotional, on former military pilot Seth Erickson. Off-grid in the far reaches of the bitter Alaskan wilderness, he wants only to be left alone with his ghosts. But he can’t ignore a woman in need—beautiful, stranded and nearly frozen with fear.

Summer Silva never imagined that the search for her missing sister would leave her abandoned on a wintry back road, barely escaping with her life from a cold-blooded killer for hire. Now, hiding out in the isolated cabin of the secretive wounded warrior who saved her, Summer knows she must do what she fears most. Putting her trust in a stranger is all she has left.

All defenses are down

After a fiery first night together, Seth and Summer are bound by a need as powerful as a Bering Sea superstorm—and vulnerable to enemies just as fierce. For Seth, reawakened by desire, there is no sacrifice too great, no memory too dark, to keep Summer safe. But murder and treason lurk everywhere and Summer may not survive Alaska’s ruthless winter.

Kobo * Google Play * Carina Press

Guest Post

The Story Behind The Stranger

By

Anna del Mar

I never really wanted to go to Alaska BAK, Before Adventuresome Kids. San Francisco and New York? Sure. London? Check. Rome and Paris? Absolutely. Alaska? Not so much. That is, until my daughter insisted on a trip that led to my son volunteering at Denali National Park. Each time I went back to Alaska, I fell deeper for it. So I kept going back for more.

From this personal, life-transforming journey comes my latest romantic suspense, The Stranger, the story of Summer Silva, a warmth-loving Miami architect who chases her reckless sibling to Alaska when her sister runs away with a guy she met on the internet. Summer is a tropical being, kind of like me, and yet as her story begins, we find her stranded on a desolate Alaskan road, having just survived a murder attempt with a Bering Sea superstorm bearing down on her.

The Stranger who reluctantly comes to her aid is Seth Erickson, an Alaskan tycoon with a quarreling family as complicated as Summer’s own. Seth is also a helicopter pilot, a wounded warrior struggling to recover from injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan. He’s got no time for a lady in distress and yet he can’t just abandon Summer to fend for herself. When they shelter in his high-tech cabin and she comes to his bed, he embraces her sweet seduction. Entwined in his arms, she becomes the superstorm of his lifetime.

But Summer has a secret. Dream chasing, the Native Athabaskans call it. You’ll have to read the novel if you’d like to know more about it. Yes, I’m grinning. And now two strangers from different worlds and opposite spectrums of the thermometer are caught in a vortex of passion that defies their differences and enrages their enemies. To survive, they must unravel the intrigues that threaten their lives and chase after a new dream in spectacular Alaska.

About the Author

Anna del Mar writes hot, smart romances that soothe the soul, challenge the mind, and satisfy the heart. Her stories focus on strong heroines struggling to find their place in the world and the brave, sexy, kickass, military heroes who defy the limits of their broken bodies to protect the women they love. Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and the sea. Writing is her addiction, her drug of choice, and what she wants to do all the time. The extraordinary men and women she met during her years as a Navy wife inspire the fabulous heroes and heroines at the center of her stories. When she stays put—which doesn’t happen very often—she lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.

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Synopsis

Kate Fox is living the dream. She’s married to Grand County Sheriff Ted Conner, the heir to her beloved Nebraska Sandhills cattle ranch, where they live with Kate’s orphaned teenage niece, Carly. With the support of the well-connected Fox Clan, which includes Kate’s eight boisterous and interfering siblings, Ted’s reelection as Grand County Sheriff is virtually assured. That leaves Kate to the solitude and satisfaction of Frog Creek, her own slice of heaven.

One night Kate answers a shattering phone call from Roxy at the Bar J. Carly’s granddad Eldon, owner of the ranch, is dead and Ted has been shot and may never walk again. Kate vows to find the killer. She soon discovers Ted responded so quickly to the scene because he was already at the Bar J . . . in Roxy’s bed. And to add to her woes, Carly has gone missing.

Kate finds out that Eldon was considering selling his ranch to an obscenely rich environmentalist. Some in town hate the idea of an outsider buying up land, others are desperate to sell . . . and some might kill to get their way. As she becomes the victim of several “accidents,” Kate knows she must find the killer before it’s too late.

Review

I had read some other reviews of this book and wondered if I was going to like the storyline…so glad I decided to not listen to the reviews and judge for myself. the book was enjoyable and there were some twists and turns when tracking down the killer….I was shocked but probably shouldn’t have been because the killer usually turns out to be a person you least suspect.

Now when it comes to the relationship between Ted and Kate – how could everyone in town know he was cheating on her and not say anything to Kate? Of course, from the hints we are given into their lives, it isn’t too surprising that he cheated.

As it is with pretty much all small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business and it is hard to keep anything a secret. But that is to Kate’s benefit as she tries to figure out who killed Eldon and why Ted is trying to take the blame. Her family is a bit dysfunctional too, but that isn’t always a bad thing because despite everything they do stick together.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Shannon Baker is the author of the Nora Abbott mystery series from Midnight Ink. A fast-paced mix of Hopi Indian mysticism, environmental issues, and murder. Shannon is an itinerant writer, which is a nice way of saying she’s confused. She never knows what time zone she’s in, Timbuck-Three, Nebraska, Denver, or Tucson. Nora Abbott has picked up that location schizophrenia and travels from Flagstaff in Tainted Mountain, to Boulder in Broken Trust and then to Moab in Tattered Legacy. Shannon is proud to have been chosen Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2014 Writer of the Year.

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Synopsis

Julie and Brad Evans are house flippers. They buy low, clean out the old occupants’ junk, and try to make a profit. Enter Hemmings House on Bedlam Street in scenic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Too good a deal to pass up, but with an ominous secret. The old Victorian Mansion has dwellers that do not want to be dispossessed. As the house reveals it’s past, will the couple’s marriage survive The Flip?

From Publisher’s Weekly- The Flip

Michael Phillip Cash (Stillwell) again succeeds in setting an engaging supernatural thriller in the world of Long Island real estate, though he’s stronger at depicting human relationships than he is at generating scares. Julie and Brad Evans have hinged their hopes of financial security on house flipping, a work-intensive strategy that offers them few opportunities for relaxation. Brad has misgivings about their latest acquisition, a creepy Victorian mansion, ominously situated on Bedlam Street in Cold Spring Harbor. Those feelings are validated when he’s victimized by Tessa, a voracious female ghost with very carnal appetites. Cash is effective at creating his version of the afterlife, where ghosts like Tessa exist in fear of more powerful entities known as the Sentinels. His best work comes, however, in his plausible portrayal of a marriage under stress from the need to hustle to stay solvent. (BookLife)

Excerpt

I said I’m not going back there. That house is haunted. There, I’ve said it. It’s a haunted house.” “Julie!” Heather protested. “Stop that. You are so much better than this.”

Brad sighed. “Look, I’ll call Sal. His girlfriend works or that medium you talked about. If she comes with us to the house, will you come home?”

“It isn’t home, Brad. I thought you hated the house.”

“I did. I do. Well, it’s been kind to us,” he said.

“Are you nuts? What are you talking about?”

“The crap we’ve pulled out of there. We stand to make a considerable amount of money. I feel like the house is sort of saving us. Come home with me, Julie.”

Julie looked at his face, the lines of worry around his eyes. She put her hand in his, asking, “You’ll call the lady, Georgia?”

Brad pulled out his phone and dialed Sal. “Hi. Yeah, fine. Listen, Sal, you think you can ask Molly if she can get the psychic out to Bedlam House? Just because. For Julie. OK, call me back.” He turned to his wife. “He’s calling. He said he’s sure he can get her out there. She was interested in the house when he had coffee with her last week.”

“He had coffee with her?” Heather asked. “Small world.”

“What should I do?” Julie asked her sister.

“You know what you should do. You belong with Brad. Go home, Julie. Go confront your ghosts.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I think you believe you’ve had a ghostly encounter. But, honestly, I think you’re just overtired.”

“Come with us, Heather. Maybe if you’re there, you’ll see it, too.”

“Just go with Brad. Call me.” Heather kissed her sister. “It will be fun—the psychic—go on.”

Brad’s phone rang loudly. It was Sal. Georgia Oaken had agreed to visit them tomorrow morning. Everybody was looking forward to it. Sort of.

About the Author

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His novels are best-sellers on Amazon under their genres – Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Ghost, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror.

Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.

 

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Oh, how the years fly by!

A whimsical coloring journey. . .

&

A whimsical inspirational journey . . .
by
Annette Bridges

Genre: Inspirational Adult Coloring & Quote Books

Date of Publication: August 1, 2016

Publisher: Ranch House Press

# of pages: 72

Scroll down for Giveaway!

Oh, how the years fly by! A whimsical coloring journey is an adult coloring book that features thirty vibrant original illustrations and quotes that will take you on an enchanting voyage of reflection. Be reminded of the simple pleasures that make you feel happy. Find the encouragement you need to nourish your soul and refresh your spirit. Get out your colored pencils or crayons and discover the stress relieving, calming pleasure of coloring.  

Oh, how the years fly by! A whimsical inspirational journey is a smaller hardcover full-color rendition of the coloring book featuring the same illustrations and quotes.

Amazon coloring book * Amazon quote book * Author Website

*Spiral bound coloring book only available through website

Coming soon to the Ranch House Press Etsy Store!  

This is a companion book to the coloring book by the same author. And while I didn’t know this until I read a review by a fellow blogger, this illustrated book is the same as the coloring book, consider it a guide to using the coloring book if needed.

This book is filled with inspirational quotes that will lift up anyone’s day and will make a great gift for a graduate or a friend or anyone needing a little pick me up.  I have a few favorite quotes from the book – “Be the reason someone smiles” – it is a great reminder that there is so much negativity in this world that a friendly smile or gesture can make the difference in someone’s day.  I also like “Stay True to You” – this reminds me to not be someone I am not because it does no one any good especially myself!

And if you need help with the coloring book, you can draw upon the pages here to spark your imagination (or if you are like me and do not have a creative bone in your body!)

We give this 5 paws up and I can’t wait to share it with friends and family so they can be inspired as well.

**I was given a copy of the book and coloring book for an honest review**

Annette Bridges is an author, publisher and women’s retreat host on a mission to help every woman realize her story is extraordinary, valuable and noteworthy.

Before writing books, this former public school and home school educator spent a decade writing hundreds of helpful, instructive, and lighthearted columns published by Texas newspapers, parenting magazines, websites, and bloggers.

Annette lives on a Texas cattle ranch with her husband John, dachshund Lady, and lots of cows. She can drive a tractor but only if wearing a fresh coat of lipstick and it’s not her pedicure day!

Annette loves to journal in color and create word art. She especially enjoys coloring with glitter markers. She looks forward to spending hours with her daughter coloring this book and giggling together as they remember their many happy adventures.

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YouTube * Amazon Author Page * Let’s Color Our World * Your Beautiful Escape

 

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9/12	Review	Hall Ways Blog
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9/15	Review	Missus Gonzo
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9/19	Author Interview 1	Margie’s Must Reads
9/20	Excerpt	It’s a Jenn World
9/21	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
9/22	Free Download	Forgotten Winds
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9/24	Review	Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books
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THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER

By Jenny Colgan

William Morrow Paperbacks

September 20, 2016

ISBN: 9780062467256; $14.99

E-ISBN 9780062467263; $9.99

Synopsis

 

Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile—a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling.

From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

 

Purchase from Harper Collins

Excerpt

The problem with good things that happen is that very often they disguise themselves as awful things. It would be lovely, wouldn’t it, whenever you’re going through something difficult, if someone could just tap you on the shoulder and say, “Don’t worry, it’s completely worth it. It seems like absolutely horrible crap now, but I promise it will all come good in the end,” and you could say, “Thank you, Fairy Godmother.” You might also say, “Will I also lose that seven pounds?” and they would say, “But of course, my child!”

That would be useful, but it isn’t how it is, which is why we sometimes plow on too long with things that aren’t making us happy, or give up too quickly on something that might yet work itself out, and it is often difficult to tell precisely which is which.

A life lived forward can be a really irritating thing. So Nina thought, at any rate. Nina Redmond, twenty-nine, was telling herself not to cry in public. If you have ever tried giving yourself a good talking-to, you’ll know it doesn’t work terribly well. She was at work, for goodness’ sake. You weren’t meant to cry at work.

She wondered if anyone else ever did. Then she wondered if maybe everyone did, even Cathy Neeson, with her stiff too-blond hair, and her thin mouth and her spreadsheets, who was right at this moment standing in a corner, watching the room with folded arms and a grim expression, after delivering to the small team Nina was a member of a speech filled with jargon about how there were cutbacks all over, and Birmingham couldn’t afford to maintain all its libraries, and how austerity was something they just had to get used to.

Nina reckoned probably not. Some people just didn’t have a tear in them.

(What Nina didn’t know was that Cathy Neeson cried on the way to work, on the way home from work—after eight o’clock most nights—every time she laid someone off, every time she was asked to shave another few percent off an already skeleton budget, every time she was ordered to produce some new quality relevant paperwork, and every time her boss dumped a load of administrative work on her at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon on his way to a skiing vacation, of which he took many.

Eventually she ditched the entire thing and went and worked in a National Trust gift shop for a fifth of the salary and half the hours and none of the tears. But this story is not about Cathy Neeson.)

It was just, Nina thought, trying to squash down the lump in her throat . . . it was just that they had been such a little library.

Children’s story time Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Early closing Wednesday afternoon. A shabby old-fashioned building with tatty linoleum floors. A little musty sometimes, it was true. The big dripping radiators could take a while to get going of a morning and then would become instantly too warm, with a bit of a fug, particularly off old Charlie Evans, who came in to keep warm and read the Morning Star cover to cover, very slowly. She wondered where the Charlie Evanses of the world would go now.

Cathy Neeson had explained that they were going to compress the library services into the center of town, where they would become a “hub,” with a “multimedia experience zone” and a coffee shop and an “intersensory experience,” whatever that was, even though town was at least two bus trips too far for most of their elderly or strollered-up clientele.

Their lovely, tatty, old pitched-roof premises were being sold off to become executive apartments that would be well beyond the reach of a librarian’s salary. And Nina Redmond, twenty-nine, bookworm, with her long tangle of auburn hair, her pale skin with freckles dotted here and there, and a shyness that made her blush—or want to burst into tears—at the most inopportune moments, was, she got the feeling, going to be thrown out into the cold winds of a world that was getting a lot of unemployed librarians on the market at the same time.

“So,” Cathy Neeson had concluded, “you can pretty much get started on packing up the ‘books’ right away.”

She said “books” like it was a word she found distasteful in her shiny new vision of Mediatech Services. All those grubby, awkward books.

—

Nina dragged herself into the back room with a heavy heart and a slight redness around her eyes. Fortunately, everyone else looked more or less the same way. Old Rita O’Leary, who should probably have retired about a decade ago but was so kind to their clientele that everyone overlooked the fact that she couldn’t see the numbers on the Dewey Decimal System anymore and filed more or less at random, had burst into floods, and Nina had been able to cover up her own sadness comforting her.

“You know who else did this?” hissed her colleague Griffin through his straggly beard as she made her way through. Griffin was casting a wary look at Cathy Neeson, still out in the main area as he spoke. “The Nazis. They packed up all the books and threw them onto bonfires.”

“They’re not throwing them onto bonfires!” said Nina. “They’re not actually Nazis.”

“That’s what everyone thinks. Then before you know it, you’ve got Nazis.”

—

With breathtaking speed, there’d been a sale, of sorts, with most of their clientele leafing through old familiar favorites in the ten pence box and leaving the shinier, newer stock behind.

Now, as the days went on, they were meant to be packing up the rest of the books to ship them to the central library, but Griffin’s normally sullen face was looking even darker than usual. He had a long, unpleasantly scrawny beard, and a scornful attitude toward people who didn’t read the books he liked. As the only books he liked were obscure 1950s out-of-print stories about frustrated young men who drank too much in Fitzrovia, that gave him a lot of time to hone his attitude. He was still talking about book burners.

“They won’t get burned! They’ll go to the big place in town.”

Nina couldn’t bring herself to even say Mediatech.

Griffin snorted. “Have you seen the plans? Coffee, computers, DVDs, plants, admin offices, and people doing cost–benefit analysis and harassing the unemployed—sorry, running ‘mindfulness workshops.’ There isn’t room for a book in the whole damn place.” He gestured at the dozens of boxes. “This will be landfill. They’ll use it to make roads.”

“They won’t!”

“They will! That’s what they do with dead books, didn’t you know? Turn them into underlay for roads. So great big cars can roll over the top of centuries of thought and ideas and scholarship, metaphorically stamping a love of learning into the dust with their stupid big tires and blustering Top Gear idiots killing

the planet.”

“You’re not in the best of moods this morning, are you, Griffin?”

“Could you two hurry it along a bit over there?” said Cathy Neeson, bustling in, sounding anxious. They only had the budget for the collection trucks for one afternoon; if they didn’t manage to load everything up in time, she’d be in serious trouble.

“Yes, Commandant Über-Führer,” said Griffin under his breath as she bustled out again, her blond bob still rigid. “God, that woman is so evil it’s unbelievable.”

But Nina wasn’t listening. She was looking instead in despair at the thousands of volumes around her, so hopeful with their beautiful covers and optimistic blurbs. To condemn any of them to waste disposal seemed heartbreaking: these were books! To Nina it was like closing down an animal shelter. And there was no way they were going to get it all done today, no matter what Cathy Neeson thought.

Which was how, six hours later, when Nina’s Mini Metro pulled up in front of the front door of her tiny shared house, it was completely and utterly stuffed with volumes.

Praise for Jenny Colgan and The Bookshop on the Corner

“Losing myself in Jenny Colgan’s beautiful pages is the most delicious, comforting, satisfying treat I have had in ages.” — Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of Summer Secrets

“With a keen eye for the cinematic, Colgan (Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery, 2016, etc.) is a deft mistress of romantic comedy; Nina’s story is laced with clever dialogue and scenes set like jewels, just begging to be filmed. A charming, bracingly fresh happily-ever-after tale…” — Kirkus

“This is a lovely novel with amazing characters who are hooked on books… at least some of them. The plot is believable and is a joy to read. The main female character, Nina, is the librarian who always figures out the best choice for a patron without fail. Jenny Colgan thinks outside the box and creates a memorable book.” — RT Book Reviews

“This charming tale celebrates the many ways books bring people together” — Booklist

“This light, fresh romantic comedy is the perfect escape for bibliophiles. Enjoy it with a cup of tea on a crisp day.” — Real Simple

“[A] love story about reading and the joys books can bring to people’s lives.” — All About Romance

About the Author

Jenny Colgan is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, includingLittle Beach Street Bakery, Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, and Christmas at the Cupcake Café, all international bestsellers. Jenny is married with three children and lives in London and Scotland.

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Title: Scar Tissue
Author: MC Domovitch
Publisher: Lansen Publishing
Pages: 396
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Paranormal

Synopsis

When successful model Ciara Cain wakes up in hospital, remembering nothing of the weeks she has been missing, her only clues are the ugly words carved into her skin. According to the police she was a victim of the Cutter, a serial killer who has already murdered three women. For her protection the police and her doctors give a press conference, announcing that because her amnesia is organically caused, her memory loss is permanent. But, whether her memory returns or not is anybody’s guess.
Overnight, Ciara’s glamorous life is gone. Her scars have killed both her modelling career and her relationship with her rich boyfriend. With nothing to keep her in New York, she returns to her home town of Seattle, moves in with her sister and goes about building a new life. But when her sister lets it slip that Ciara’s memory is returning, the killer comes after her again. If Ciara is to stay alive, she must keep one step ahead of the Cutter.

Excerpt

It was the pain that pierced the fog in her brain. It seemed to come from all over her body, more intensely from her right leg, where it pulsated to the rhythm of her heart. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids felt…so…very…heavy. It was easier to fall back into the haze inside her mind. She floated there, vaguely aware of somebody calling her name.

“Ciara, it’s me.” The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. “Please wake up.”.”” She drifted off again.

Time had lost all meaning. She wandered in and out of a great void. She might have been sleeping for minutes or days. Occasionally her eyelids fluttered for a few seconds, only to grow still again. One day when she opened her eyes, the fog had lifted. The first thing she saw were old acoustic ceiling tiles. Puzzled, she blinked. A beeping caught her attention and she shifted her gaze to the side. Next to her was a monstrous machine. Tubes were running from it to her and back again. Where was she?

She tried to speak, but there was something in her mouth. She moaned, and then a woman was bending over her, her eyes full of tears.

“Ciara. Can you hear me?” Her sister? Deirdre was here? All the way from Seattle? She must be in a hospital. If she was sick, whatever she had was serious.

“If you can, squeeze my hand.” She strained to move, but her limbs were great weights. Her movements were sluggish. But she must have squeezed because suddenly Deirdre was yelling, “She’s awake. Ciara is awake.” But she was asleep again.

Over the next few days, there were more and more moments of awareness. The tube in her mouth was removed and she was given ice chips, and then water. She couldn’t seem to get enough.

“Good morning, young lady,” a doctor said.

It was morning? She’d had no idea. He shone a penlight in her eyes. She vaguely remembered him doing this before. She must have drifted off again, because she blinked and he was gone.

A different doctor came to visit. He wore surgical greens. He too peered into her eyes with a light and then asked her a number of questions, starting with her name.

“Ciara Kelly,” she said in a voice she barely recognized. From a corner of her room came an excited voice. “Oh, my God! She’s speaking. That means she’s fully out of the coma, doesn’t it?”

She hadn’t dreamed it. Her sister truly was right here in New York.

This is New York, isn’t it?

“It’s still too soon to be certain, but things look good so far.” The doctor continued with his questions. “Can you count backward from one hundred for me?”

She had to think hard. “One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight.” Had she gotten that right?

“Very good.” After another half dozen questions, the doctor smiled at last. “Welcome back, Ciara. You’ve had a lot of people very worried for a long time. Do you remember what happened?”

“I was in an accident?” she guessed.

“That’s right. Do you remember it?”

She wrinkled her brow in concentration. “I was at a photo shoot for Prêt-a-Porter,” she said, naming a popular magazine. “Oh, my God. I was supposed to fly to Milan today. I’ve got to get out of here. My agent will kill me if I miss my flight.”

“You already missed that flight,” her sister said. “You’ve been in a coma for a while.”

“In a coma?” Ciara looked at her blankly. “How long of a while?”

There was a hesitation, until at last Deirdre said, “Seventeen days.”

“Seven…” That was impossible. Why, that photo shoot was only yesterday. She was sure of it. She’d been looking forward to her flight to Italy and auditioning for all the glamorous designer shows. Could that really have been over two weeks ago? She suddenly noticed her forearms. She hardly recognized them as her own. They were so thin. She must have lost a ton of weight. Her first reaction was one of joy. Even her agent would have to agree she was thin enough now. She imagined what she might say when she saw her. Why Ciara, you’re a perfect size two. Armani will adore you.

But from what her sister had just said, the collections were already half over. And come to think of it, she had no idea what kind of shape she was in. How badly was she hurt? Could she even walk? She flexed her toes and was relieved to see movement under the bedsheet. At least she wasn’t paralyzed.

“What’s wrong with me?” At the same time she became aware of a dull pain in her right leg. “Please tell me I don’t have a broken leg. I don’t have time for that. I have to get back to work.”

Deirdre came closer, placing a comforting hand over hers. “Work will have to wait. You have some healing to do first. You were pretty banged up when you were brought in. You had a compound fracture of the leg, not to mention a lot of cuts and bruises. But, didn’t I always tell you, you have a really hard head, Ciara Kelly, because with the blow you got you should have had a broken skull. Instead, all you got was a concussion.”

The doctor took over from there. “But as far as concussions go, yours was a beauty. Your leg will be fine. We had to put in a few screws, so from now on you might beep when you go through airport security. Your cuts are healing nicely. All in all, you are one very lucky young lady.”

He called this lucky?

“What about my head? Am I… Will I…” She could deal with all of that, but the thought of having a brain injury was too much.

“You did have a brain bleed when you came in. But we were able to treat it without surgery. You’ve had an MRI, and from what we can tell, except for a tiny bit of scar tissue in the posterior cingulate cortex, everything is fine. If you had lingering problems, they most likely would have shown up by now.”

“Posterior cingular…What does that area of the brain do?”

“The posterior cingulate cortex,” he repeated with a teasing smile. “That’s an area most people have never heard of. It’s one of the most metabolically active regions of the brain, but the simple truth is nobody really knows what its true cognitive role might be.”

“Are you telling me I might have brain damage, and you don’t know how it might affect me?”

The teasing glint was gone, but his tone was still light. “No idea whatsoever.” He picked her chart and scribbled a few words. “But we’ll keep an eye on you and if we notice anything, we’ll deal with it then.”

Her sister gave him a reproving look. “You’re fine, Ciara. Don’t worry about it. They’ve taken every possible test and everything looks perfectly normal.”

A nurse walked in at that moment, signaling for the doctor’s attention. “The police are sending somebody over to question the patient.”

“The police?” Ciara said. “Of course. The accident.” They’d want her version of what happened.  “Why can’t I remember anything between the photo shoot and waking up here?”

The room became quiet. “That’s not abnormal,” the doctor said at last. “You’ve only been fully awake for a few hours. It could take days, maybe even longer before everything comes back to you.” Ciara nodded, her eyes darting from the doctor to her sister. She had the feeling they were keeping something from her.

About the Author

M C Domovitch is the author of nine novels, four of which were published under the name of Carol Ann Martin (by Penguin), another two under the name Monique Domovitch (by Carina Press) The other three are published as M C Domovitch, Scorpio Rising, The Sting of the Scorpio (Both now republished in one single tome) and Scar Tissue. The decision to use a different pen name was based on her departure from cozy mysteries and entering the Romance and Romantic Suspense genres.

Before becoming an author, Monique had multiple careers, beginning with modeling. She won a modeling contest in the 70s and became one of Canada’s top models. After retiring from the fashion industry, she studied finance and joined an investment company. This led to a new career as host of her own television show about investing, with the television network, WTN. Following her retirement from finance, she decided to pursue her true passion, writing. At a writing workshop at San Diego’s Writers’ Conference, one of her unpublished books caught the eye of a publisher and of an agent. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Domovitch lives with her physician husband and their dogs. They divide their time between homes in Victoria and Toronto Canada and Key Largo Florida.

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