Posted in Cozy, Guest Post, mystery on February 28, 2018

Craks in a Marriage (Mah Jongg Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Florida
Self Published (February 6, 2018)
Print Length: 204 pages

Synopsis

When Sydney Bonner overhears a fellow mah jongg player arguing on the phone with her husband, she realizes the couple’s “perfect marriage” isn’t all it appears to be. A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him.

Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders.

Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them.

Guest Post

Ten Signs You Could Be a Mystery Fan

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a mystery fan already, but just in case you still have doubts or you want to convince a friend to read a mystery, here are some suggestions about who would most likely enjoy reading this genre.

  1. You never (okay, maybe once or twice) peak at the last page of the book to find out how it ends. You want the thrill of getting there on your own.

I was surprised when a friend once told me she did this with every book she picked up. It was such an alien concept. Even when I haven’t liked a book enough to finish it, I don’t recall first reading the last page. For the detective, solving the mystery may be the goal, but the challenge of getting there is the motivation.

  1. When meeting new people, you like to guess their occupation before they tell you and get a little ego kick when you’re right.

This applies to other personal information as well, like their age and marital status. It certainly is a great help when it comes to making conversation.

  1. If you’re a fan of soap operas, you constantly guess their storyline (and not from what you’ve read on social media).

It’s not that you’re that anxious to know, you just want to prove you’re ahead of the other viewers.

  1. You finish sentences for your spouse or best friend.

Bad habit, right? But you can’t help it. It’s not you’re an impatient type. You just can’t help yourself.

  1. When sampling a chef-prepared dish, you’re not happy until you’ve identified every ingredient.

Okay, you have to be a bit of a foodie as well, but for you, there is a greater joy in ingredient identification than simply enjoying the wonderful food.

  1. When watching a film or TV show, you can’t rest until you figure out what actor is playing a certain character.

Thank goodness for the availability of online searches. What did people do before the Internet?

  1. Films and movies are no longer fun for you because you know the ending long before the last line, but you keep watching because you have to reassure yourself you were right.

Have friends or family stopped watching TV or movies with you due to this tendency? It may be fun for you to announce what’s coming, but probably not for them. If this is you, you may want to get used to being a loner.

  1. Magic tricks make you crazy because if done well, it’s difficult to figure out how they were done.

Me, personally? I’m not a big fan of magic for this reason.

  1. You’re a fan of question marks (you like asking questions).

Not only does this make you a great interviewer, which is what detectives do, it also makes you a pretty good conversationalist. Like #2 above, you can handle yourself at social events. Stuck for something to say? Just ask a question.

  1. At the grocery store, when you stand in line waiting for your own items to be tallied, you like to see what the person in front of you has selected.

You might just be curious or nosey, but the food purchases of others fascinate you because they suggest habits and lifestyles.

Do any of these resonate? Maybe you’re aware of others? If so, I’d like to know more.

About the Author

Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.

Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job as a human resources analyst for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and one novella, she has returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.

Craks in a Marriage, the first book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who seek the murderer of another mah jongg player’s husband before she is charged. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.

Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft.

Barbara is married to a man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.

Now retired, she is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in Iowa, her home state. She earned her B.A. degree in History from the University of Iowa and her Master’s Degree in History from Drake University.

When not in front of her laptop creating her next story, she plays Mah Jongg, knits, and enjoys lunches with friends.

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February 28 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW

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Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, romance on February 28, 2018

Title: Bad Bachelor

Author: Stefanie London

Series: Bad Bachelors, #1

Pub Date: March 6, 2018

Synopsis

Everybody’s talking about the hot new app reviewing New York’s most eligible bachelors. But why focus on prince charming when you can read the latest dirt on the lowest-ranked “Bad Bachelors”—NYC’s most notorious bad boys?

If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to Reed McMahon, someone’s gonna get hurt. A PR whiz, Reed is known as an ‘image fixer’ but his womanizing ways have caught up with him. What he needs is a PR miracle of his own.

When Reed strolls into Darcy Greer’s workplace offering to help save the struggling library, she isn’t buying it. The prickly Brooklynite knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy she should avoid. But the library does need his help. As she reluctantly works with Reed, she realizes there’s more to a man than his reputation. Maybe, just maybe Bad Bachelor #1 is THE one for her.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | IndieBound

Excerpt

They stopped beside a black car with tinted windows. Out of nowhere, a driver appeared and opened the door for them. Darcy suddenly felt underdressed, which was stupid since they were only going for a ride.

“So tell me: What’s so appealing about Five-Star Darren?” Reed asked as they slid into the back seat. A glass partition separated them from the driver.

“None of your business.” Oh God, they were not having this conversation. Not while a billion dirty thoughts were driving her to distraction. Damn him, why did he have to mention sex?

Her hormones hadn’t been this rowdy since high school. But the second he got close and his clean, warm scent invaded her nostrils, it was like the sexy bits of her body started doing tequila shots.

“Oh come on, you can trust me. I might even be able to give you some advice.” His brown eyes twinkled.

They were framed by full, thick lashes—the kind of lashes that had no business being on a man.

God, they were far too close in the back seat of the car. Her bare leg was mere inches from his, and the scent of his aftershave invaded her nostrils. It was crisp, clean, with a hint of citrus.

Damn delectable.

“You were late today,” she blurted out, hoping the abrupt change in conversation might steer him away from delving into her nonexistent dating life—and perhaps jolt her brain into not focusing on how good he smelled.

“Half an hour late and I was sitting there, waiting.”

“My meeting ran over and my phone died. I could have gone back to the office to email you, but that would have meant being later than I already was.” He reached for a bottle of water that sat in a compartment in the door. When he offered her one, she shook her head. “I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Now, back to your dating life—”

“No. We’re not having this conversation.” She held up a hand. “Besides, why do you care?”

“Because, after careful deliberation, I’ve decided that you are interesting.”

“Gee, thanks.” Darcy snorted. “I’ll pass on that so-called compliment.”

“So-called?”

“You do know ‘interesting’ is usually a code word for ‘weird,’ right? It’s not much better than telling a girl she has a great personality.”

“What’s that a code for?”

“Ugly.”

He brought the water bottle to his mouth and sipped. Full lips hinted at sinful activities and Darcy tried to quash the flutter low in her belly. He probably knew exactly what to do with his lips too.

Stop it.

“You are interesting…in the non–code word sense. Even if you do think I’m a jerk. And Five-Star

Darren would be a terrible match, for what it’s worth.”

Curiosity tugged at her. She knew nothing about the dating world, and it was clear he was well experienced. Surely there wouldn’t be any harm in gleaning some information from him…for research purposes, of course.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“All these women have rated him highly, yet they haven’t stayed with him. Why would that be?”

“I don’t know.” She frowned. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right time.”

“For all those women?”

Okay, so that did sound a bit suspicious when he put it like that. “But the reviews—”

“What do the reviews say?”

She pulled up Darren’s profile on the app and scanned down the page. “‘Great guy but the timing wasn’t

right.’” She shot him a smug look. “See? Told you.”

“Keep reading.”

“He’s a total gentleman, but they didn’t have many common interests. Uh, another one says their jobs made dating too hard but that he was a nice person. Apparently, he’s romantic, but there wasn’t enough spark.” Darcy kept scrolling. “He’s kind and funny, a great conversationalist. I can’t see any red flags here.”

“He’s got a small dick.”

Darcy almost choked. “Excuse me?”

Reed shrugged. “Or he doesn’t know how to make a woman come.”

“Stop,” she hissed, the heat flushing through her body in a way that was entirely too pleasurable. Totally, totally inappropriate. “You can’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s just sex. And sometimes you have to look at what people aren’t saying to understand what they are.” He nodded. “Words can be unreliable like that.”

Darcy shook her head and stuffed her phone into her bag. This conversation had shot out of her comfort zone. Like a whole solar system out of her comfort zone. Listening to Reed talk about sex was… God, she didn’t even know. Her imagination was serving up all kinds of dirty scenarios, but she tamped them down.

Reed was off-limits.

Not only because of the bad reviews, but also because it was clear he could run circles around her verbally. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he would do the same thing in the bedroom.

About the Author

Stefanie London is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romances with humor, heat, and heart. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Stefanie now lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband. She loves to read, collect lipsticks, watch zombie movies and drink coffee. Her bestselling book, Pretend It’s Love, was a 2016 Romantic Book of the Year finalist with the Romance Writers of Australia.  

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram * YouTube * Pinterest

And, get the latest dirt on Bad Bachelor #1 at the site badbachelors.weebly.com!  

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Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, romance on February 27, 2018

Title: Every Deep Desire

Author: Sharon Wray

Series: Deadly Force #1

Pub Date: March 6, 2018

ISBN: 9781492655602

Synopsis

He’s taking it all back

His honor, his freedom, and the woman he loves

Rafe Montfort was a decorated Green Beret, the best of the best, until a disastrous mission and an unforgivable betrayal destroyed his life. Now, this deadly soldier has returned to the sultry Georgia swamps to reunite with his brothers, and take back all he lost. But Juliet must never know the truth behind what he’s done…or the dangerous secret that threatens to take him from her forever.

It took Juliet Capel eight long years to put her life back together after her husband was taken from her. Now Rafe is back, determined to protect her at any cost, and it’s not just her heart that’s in danger. The swamps hold a secret long buried and far deadlier than either of them could have imagined…

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Chapters | Indiebound

A Note from Sharon

Dear Readers,

As an author, I both love and fear release days. I’m thrilled that the book I’ve spent years on is entering the world, ready to find readers. Yet terrified because the fictional world I’ve spent so much time in—dreaming about, thinking of, planning for—is no longer my own.

The story and everything in it, especially the characters, now belong to you. All the feels you experience, whether I intended them or not, will be filtered through your own life’s events. Your memories, your dreams, your joys, and losses will determine what you take away from the story. And that’s the way it should be.

Yet, while reader reactions are completely out of my control, it’s also scary. Especially when one makes changes to the genre. Every Deep Desire, and the other books in the Deadly Force series are all romantic suspense stories—yet they’re also different. And we all know how the world feels about change.

The Deadly Force series is about a group of ex-Green Berets, under the command of Colonel Kells Torridan, who were charged with a crime they didn’t commit and dishonorably discharged despite their innocence. Some of the men from the unit are in prison, but the men in the series, including Kells, are living in Savannah, GA, managing Iron Rack’s, a run-down, pirate-themed gym in a not-so-nice part of town, and working as bouncers at a goth strip club. They’re hiding in plain sight, teaching Krav Maga classes, tossing drunks, desperate to find any information that can lead them to who destroyed their lives, and why.

But these books aren’t just about the men and their weapons. They are also romances. To be more specific, each love story is a retelling of one of Shakespeare’s greatest love stories. Just add in sexy, down-and-out Green Berets, dangerous arms dealers, and strong heroines who teach these alpha males that Grace always defeats Reckoning. <grin>

Every Deep Desire, a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet and first in the Deadly Force series, is about Rafe Montfort and Juliet Capel. Rafe, a man in Kells’s unit, left his men and his wife to join the Prince and his Fianna army only to end up in prison. Now, eight years later, Rafe finds himself released without explanation. His only clue is a note telling him to return to the remote sea island off the coast of Savannah where he and Juliet grew up. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that his wife Juliet, the woman he’s adored his entire life, is in danger.

Juliet, a landscape architect, has struggled for eight years to recover from Rafe’s abandonment and disappearance. Their early marriage had been a disaster both their families had warned them about, but they’d been too young and too in love to understand. Now she’s determined to live her life on her own terms without help from anyone. And the last thing she needs is her ex-husband returning home with vague warnings of danger.

But when vague warnings become real threats, Rafe and Juliet realize that both of their enemies, the Prince and Remiel Marigny, know a 17th century secret about the Isle where they both grew up, a secret both of their families have kept for hundreds of years. Now, in order to figure out why an army of assassins, a brutal gun runner, and a team of ex-Green Berets are interested in Juliet’s ancestor—a Puritan woman accused of witchcraft—Rafe and Juliet must face their past together.

Now they’re running out of time. And not only is Juliet’s heart and Rafe’s freedom in jeopardy, the secret they uncover is far deadlier than anyone could’ve realized.

I hope you all enjoy this first book in the Deadly Forces series. It’s a world where sexy, smart heroines must teach these ex-Green Berets bent on redemption that physical strength and combat experience isn’t always enough to win. Sometimes a person’s greatest weapon—true courage—comes from seeking forgiveness and accepting love.

 

Excerpt

Juliet’s house had disappeared.

Rafe Montfort scrubbed a hand over his face. A strangling ache invaded his chest, filling the empty space that once held his heart. He shifted the Army duffel he’d shouldered for the past six miles, moving the burn from one arm to the other. Why had he assumed her father’s trailer would still be standing? That she’d be living there? Waiting for him?

Because he wasn’t only a bastard who made assumptions. He was a fool who once believed the Prince’s brutal goals justified Rafe’s ruthless actions.

Or, as Escalus used to say, “a fool whose violent delights have violent ends.

Summer cicadas hummed in the Isle of Grace’s surrounding woods, their mournful drone filling Rafe’s head with rhythmic disapproval. Sweat soaked his T-shirt, pooling low in his back above his waistband. Where he used to keep his gun.

He wasn’t just a bastard. He wasn’t just a fool. He just wasn’t the man he’d once hoped to become. With a nod to his broken past, he left the overgrown property and headed home.

Keep it moving, Montfort. That’s right. One boot in front of the other.

He kicked an empty beer bottle into a ditch, shattering the brown glass, and marched toward Pops’s trailer tucked between the towering Georgia pines a half mile down the Isle’s dirt road. He’d given up his honor, his wife, his men. Thank God his mother had died before he betrayed everyone he loved. In the years he’d been away, he hadn’t just cut out his heart; he’d sold his soul.

Despite the breeze, questions about Juliet’s departure burned his blood.

Why had she left? He climbed the pine steps to the deck alongside the double-wide.

Where’d she go? He jumped the last two steps to avoid the missing planks.

Did she ever think of him? The Capels had arrived on the Isle long before the American Revolution. It’d never occurred to him that her family would leave. For eight long years, he’d been counting on that.

His duffel landed with a thud next to an outboard motor and buckets of fishing gear. He rubbed the knotted muscles in his shoulder and faced the broken screen door. His vision faded until all he could see was the blurry mesh.

What the hell was he doing? Why had he even come home? Because he’d had no choice. Everything depended on him remembering that. With renewed determination, he raised his fist and hit the metal door.

No answer. He closed his eyes, took another breath, and knocked again.

Juliet’s family was gone. Had his left as well?

He heard a banging around back, pulled out his leather jacket, and covered the tattoos on his arms. He’d rather die of heat stroke than start an argument. Then he jumped over the deck rail. His combat boots made it easier to walk through the tall weeds to the red barn a hundred yards behind the trailer. Three times larger than the home, the barn and surrounding yard held remnants of every American classic car ever made.

Everything stood as if he’d never left, except for the cell boost antenna on the barn’s roof. From the height and distance, it probably provided a cell signal the width and depth of Pops’s property. Pops had joined the twenty-first century? Maybe miracles were possible.

He drew closer and saw his daddy’s gray head bobbing up and down beneath the hood of a black 1958 Chevy Impala. He stopped on the other side of the car and exhaled until his lungs ached. “Pops?”

His dad raised his head, his eyes squinting. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Rafe.”

A man, shorter than he remembered, stood. In a stained red T-shirt and overalls with one strap hanging down, his father waited a few moments before nodding. At least he wasn’t holding a beer. Or his shotgun.

Rafe waved at the car. “She’s a real beauty. She yours?”

“No.” Pops wiped his dirty hands on an oily rag, and Rafe focused on the remaining finger on his father’s right hand. He’d given the other four to the Marines. “She belongs to your brother.”

“Good for him.”

Pops tossed the rag onto the engine and gripped the side of the Chevy’s frame. His hard stare took in Rafe’s leather jacket in what had to be triple-digit heat. “What you doin’ here, boy?”

He held out his hand. A hug would only be an invitation to an ass-kicking. “The Army released me from prison.”

“Released?” His father picked up a dirty wrench, his face brown beneath a haircut the Corps would salute. “What the hell for? Good behavior?”

“No, sir.” He dropped his hand. If disapproval were a color, it would be the dark, muddy brown in his father’s grim gaze. “I don’t know why.”

Since he’d spent two years in a Russian jail and then the last nine months locked in isolation in Leavenworth, he wasn’t sure what to think. “I was told to return to Savannah and wait for a call.”

While it went against every one of his hard-earned instincts urging him to run, he’d come home to find out what the hell was going on. Besides, it wasn’t like he had anyplace else to go.

“You still a sergeant?”

A sharp ache hit Rafe’s back molars, and he eased off the teeth grinding. On his left, he noticed a band of magnolia trees surrounding a white glory cross. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and forced himself to meet his father’s reproach. “I don’t know what I am.” Sergeant? Prisoner 061486? The Prince’s warrior? Hell if he knew.

“I know what you are,” Pops said. “Damn traitor. Not to mention adulterer, liar, thief.”

Rafe’s exhale sounded more like a hiss. While he wasn’t all of those things, he’d done other things—worse things. “I was also dishonorably discharged.”

About the Author

Sharon Wray is a librarian/archivist who studied dress design in the couture houses of Paris and now writes stories of adventure, suspense, and love. She’s a three-time Daphne du Maurier® winner and an eight-time RWA Golden Heart® Finalist. She lives with her super-hero husband and teenage twins in Northern Virginia.

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Posted in Giveaway, romance on February 26, 2018

I hope you have enjoyed the Romance is in the Air Promotion! There are $500 in Giveaways as part of this event. Be sure you have entered all 17 giveaways!

Be on the lookout for our next clean author event “Love in Bloom” which will take place in April.

Links to ALL GIVEAWAYS

 

Giveaway Details

$25 in Paypal Cash or a $25 Amazon.com eGift Card

Ends 3/13/18

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via PayPal or gift codes via Amazon.com. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the participating authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Posted in 4 paws, excerpt, Review, suspense, Thriller on February 26, 2018

Synopsis

A gripping psychological thriller with chilling twists, from a unique new voice.

Keller Baye and Rebecca Brown live on different sides of the Atlantic. Until she falls in love with him, Rebecca knows nothing of Keller. But he’s known about her for a very long time, and now he wants to destroy her.

This is the story of two families. One living under the threat of execution in North Carolina. The other caught up in a dark mystery in the Scottish Highlands. The families’ paths are destined to cross. But why? And can anything save them when that happens?

Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter 2 – Death Row

When they arrived at Turville, there were many cars in the lot. You might have thought you were attending a concert. There was no landscaping, nothing to soften the bricks of this death house which had been painted grey some time ago and had begun to flake. The Harfield logo hung on a large metal plaque. It too was faded and chipped.

Without a word of leave, the escorting officers walked away from the passengers and new staff took over. The minibus occupants were told that their belongings would be locked in the van until post-procedure. They were asked if they would like to take quarters into the building as there was a vending machine with snacks and drinks.

Then another officer, a woman, just young, set about asking them security questions and issuing tags on neck bands. ‘You have to sign your name in a ledger. That’s first.’ She made herding movements with her arms and the group passed through a body sensor and then there was a cursory pat down. The officer held her thumb and forefinger up, like a diver’s affirmative. Good to go.

Keller noted that indeed the older man he had marked out as a journalist, was permitted to take a notepad in with him. The redhead girl was also permitted writing material. Their pens were tested in a small scanning machine and he overheard the girl saying that she was preparing her doctoral thesis.

‘Nice subject for a PhD,’ Keller muttered beneath his breath. ‘Classy.’

Somehow, he thought there would be a long walk now, time for contemplation but almost straight away the group were led into a small waiting room. The walls were solid, there was no viewing window. This was not the place then. But there was a vending machine. Keller could see fresh apples in the bottom row.

The redhead sat opposite Keller. He wondered if she would like the look of him. Women usually did, at first. It wasn’t really the time or the place but a woman like her was hardly one for etiquette. She looked at her watch and said to the student wearing the plaster cast that she could barely cope without her cell. She then realized that there was some sort of joke to be made of the pun on ‘cell’ and actually laughed. Keller had a sudden vision of being in a lifeboat, sitting next to her, and pushing her over the side. She scribbled away in her big A4 pad, a ring with a diamond on her wedding finger. She was engaged then, and no doubt believed that she had everything to live for. The death penalty has a way of driving home a point like that. The girl sighed like she had done a hard day’s work. As if taunting him, she let the pad rest upside down on her lap, so that he could make out the words. She had big, babyish writing. Not like the American cursive they were taught. She had a bit of an accent too. Probably went to one of those expensive schools in Europe. Keller looked down at her notes.

…2002 Uzbekistan authorities boiled men to death in water… China have mobile death units, small buses with in-house execution equipment which travel to far lying provinces…. Neighboring South Carolina executed a 14 year old in the electric chair…

Keller stared hard at the redhead. What a charming companion for the day. Fleetingly, he wondered if he should follow her home tonight and get in a bit of target practice. He could get himself match ready and make the world a better place without this member of the population. He dug his knuckles into his thigh and told himself to stop getting distracted.

Keller knew that there would be no stay and no clemency. He knew that the procedure would begin at 12 noon prompt. He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the cool plaster of the wall behind the bench. Without vision, the thrum of the AC filled his ears fully and he shut out the hushed voices and fell asleep, as he had done in moments of stress as a child. He had Aunt Joya to thank for that technique. Every time she locked him out of the house, he’d nap, no matter what the temperature. If he were to have died of cold before waking, that wouldn’t have been much of a tragedy. There was a point in the coldness when you stopped noticing and the sleep just washed gently over you. He trained that sleep to come to him when he needed it, like a faithful dog.

When Keller was woken in the Turville waiting room, his legs had loosened and sprawled out before him. ‘It is time,’ someone seemed to have said in his ear. As the day’s reality cleaved through his head afresh, the redhead opposite had the nerve to offer him a look of disapproval. She picked her way through his sleepy limbs and walked out of the door, sober and straight-faced.

There was a walk now. They passed doors, like random choices. They all looked the same, all the colour of pale nicotine. But some of those doors were in the business of living and some were not. As you walked past them, you could feel hope slipping away. Which door? Which one? It was like a game the devil might play as you entered hell. Eventually the passengers reached the end of their journey and were shown into another room which was similar in size to the last but with what looked like a window on one side. The window was dark for the moment, with a black blind pulled down and opposite, there was a gallery with seating. The seating was slightly raked, like a theatre. They were here for a performance.

Review

This story is told from two perspectives – Rebecca and Keller.  Rebecca and her siblings live with their grandparents and all they know is that their parents were killed in a car crash.  Keller is the son of a man that was a getaway driver for a heist but ended up killing a judge.  Keller lived with a very uncaring and cruel Aunt and I think this is part of the reason why he became much like his father, a killer.

The story spans a little over a decade as it starts when Rebecca and Keller are younger.  Then the story jumps forward to when they are in their early twenties.  Keller in this time has watched his father die via the death penalty and has become quite sadistic.  Rebecca always wonders what happened to her parents and thought she might have been adopted and wonders who her biological mother might be and if she was still alive.  All of this is based on her grandfather’s dying words to her.

While reading the book, it took a long time for the connection between Rebecca and Keller to emerge, over fifty percent.  The story still builds from there and the last 10% of the book is probably the best because that is when everything is coming to a head.

As a disclosure, there are several descriptive sex scenes and quite a few f* bombs in case that is the sort of thing you don’t like to read.

We give it 4 paws up

About the Author

Jenny is a novelist, screenplay writer, and playwright. After a series of ‘proper jobs’, she realized she was living someone else’s life and escaped to Gascony to make gîtes. Knee deep in cement and pregnant, Jenny was happy. Then autism and a distracted spine surgeon wiped out the order. Returned to wonderful England, to write her socks off.

Jenny would like to see the Northern Lights but worries that’s the best bit and should be saved till last. Very happily, and gratefully, settled with the family. She tries not to take herself too seriously.

Website

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Posted in excerpt, fiction, Literary, Spotlight, women on February 25, 2018

Synopsis

Eight years after the 9/11 attacks, Samia-Al-Sayyid an Iraqi immigrant is living a quiet life in New York City after she fled her home to avoid imminent death.

She works hard for her cold, heartless, high-strung boss, loves her seventeen-years-old-son, and cherishes the close friendship she has formed with her best friend Susan.

Nothing can go wrong, or so she thinks – until the estranged brother she left back in Iraqi shows up on her doorstep. Then she finds herself in a cab, on her way to the hospital to identify her son, a terror suspect who has blown the city, and with it her boss’ husband, and her best friend’s son. With everything lost, she is forced to flee to Iraq where she confronts her past. Will she make peace with her past? Can she get forgiveness for all the damage she has caused?

Full Circle is a contemporary fiction tale of friendship, family, and hope. It explores the devastation of loss, the great capacity to forgive and the lengths our loved ones will go to protect us.

Excerpt

For hours, Samia sat next to her Aazim’s bed like a zombie, clutching his hand. She did not cry, she just sat there – staring into space with his cold hand in hers. A few times she tried praying for her son, but nothing came to mind. So she gave up on the idea. Instead, she thought. She thought of the first day her uncle came to her when she was thirteen. She looked like she had been run over by a train by the time he was done with her, and it was months before she was able to shed her abaya. She thought of the day she found out she would have Aazim; she was barely a woman, engulfed in paralyzing fear and the endless pit of loneliness. She thought of her daring escape in the middle of the night aided by her best friend Mannar and auntie Menna when they found out her brother’s planned to stone her the next morning. She thought of her journey to Turkey and her terror when she got to Mardin refugee camp. She thought of the relief she felt standing in the refugee camp when she was given her refugee papers to fly to America. She thought of the first time she set foot in the United States – tired, hungry, homesick, and three months pregnant. She thought of the first time she had been called the enemy, the first time her son had been called a terrorist. Now they were the enemy.

“How am I going to make it without you, Aazim?” she asked aloud. “I’ll be lost without you, you know? How will I get rid of this pain in my chest? It’s so hard for me to accept that after today, I will never see you again, hear your voice, feel your touch, see your smile across the room, or even hear your infectious laugh. Oh, the laugh! God, will I miss that.” She sighed.

“A part of me feels like I made all these sacrifices in vain. Like all the lives that were destroyed were for nothing, and all I did was make it worse. That part of me is angry. Angry at you for not realizing or acknowledging all my sacrifices to give you a better life; angry at me for not working harder to keep you safe, to protect you from the evils of this world, and my mistakes, and my past – like my brother Adham; and angry at Adham for bringing you into all this, sucking you back to a world I thought I had left behind, a world filled with lies, betrayal, and bloodshed, all in the name of God and honor. That angry part of me makes me feel like wrapping my fingers around your neck and squeezing with all my strength until there is no more life in you.

“But then there is also this part of me that is disappointed. Disappointed that, despite my best efforts, I did not protect you from my past, from my mistakes, and the struggles of your people. You had to pay the price for a war that had nothing to do with you. ‘Casualty of war’ is what your uncle called you. Just another fallen soldier of the struggle, a mere statistic. All that means nothing because this is not what you signed up for; this was not your war to fight.

“You are my son, and you are forever gone from me. There is not a damn thing I can do about it, and I don’t know how to accept that.

“How do I say goodbye? Do I shake your hand, kiss you on the cheek, or just walk out?”

About the Author

Regina lives in a picturesque village in Kenya where she enjoys amazing landscapes, exotic wildlife, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises. She always had an active imagination. By chance, she started blogging in 2010, which rekindled her love for writing and telling stories. When not writing she enjoys watching classic movies (she’s a movie buff), going to the theater and auto shows.

Goodreads * LIbrary Thing * Twitter * Blog

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Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, romance on February 24, 2018

A feisty ballerina with a broken heart. A minister-in-training whose faith can work miracles. Can two strong-willed people find true love and a match made in heaven?

JESSICA & JAMES: A Love Story is a boxed collection of two romances set in Snow Valley, Montana—the saga of rising star ballerina Jessica and the sparks that fly between her and gorgeous James Douglas, the new pastor in town.

This collection includes new chapters, and a Brand New Bonus Wedding novella!

Suffering with a broken heart, Jessica has struggled to forgive herself for that fateful night when her childhood love was killed in a car accident. After staying away from home for years, she finally returns for Christmas and meets James Douglas who is unlike any minister-in-training she’s ever known. James can not only dish back Jessica’s finely tuned sarcasm but understands grief all too well, turning Jessica’s world and her faith upside down. Is she ready to take another risk on love?

Living 2,000 miles apart proves difficult and Jessica and James’ love is tested in a myriad of ways, but James can’t get the spitfire Jessica out of his mind. When she comes home to Snow Valley to accept an inheritance with her male ballet partner in tow, James and Jessica’s passion for each other takes on a new edge.

Clean romance with heart, and a surprise wedding you won’t see coming.

A Great Love Story for everyone!

This was a very moving romance about loss and moving forward with life and forgiveness. It shows how much we can inhibit our growth after a devastating event. Recommend this collection for teens to adults, along with a few Kleenex. Have liked the Snow Valley Series. Wish it was a real place to go and visit for Christmas!

I absolutely loved this book! It is a touching & emotional story about family, friendship, love, and faith. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story of Jessica & James. A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!!!

All those Happily Ever After lovers out there, this is a story for you to grab, snuggle up with a comfy blanket and get lost in the love story of two characters who are not perfect but growing, healing and learning to love and be loved. Be warned that you might just be sucked into it and not want to set it down or to say goodbye to these characters once the final page has been read. I can’t recommend this one enough.

 

More Romance by Kimberley!

 

 

It was only a small-town Christmas talent show, but Jessica tried to become the Sugar Plum Fairy and dance as well as she did for her job at the New Orleans ballet company. Lighter, lighter, float through the air, she repeated in her mind when the final leaps and spinning began. She was almost finished. The performance had been flawless. Jessica could go home knowing she’d done her best for her old ballet teacher and the people of Snow Valley.

Then she spotted him, and her heart stopped inside her chest. He was sitting in the audience. Right in front of her parents, sister, and younger brother, Sam.

The man. From the cemetery. James Douglas.

A tiny whimper sounded in Jessica’s throat.

Second row, stage right, crisp white shirt, suit coat, red tie, one leg crossed over his knee while the other stuck out into the aisle seat due to their long length.

No, it couldn’t be that same guy. He was too uptight, too perfect and suave and—and crisp in his starched white shirt. He wasn’t the type to come to a ballet, was he? In Snow Valley of all places. Maybe it was someone who just looked like him. But this dude was staring at Jessica. Intensely staring. She stared back, shocked, wondering if she was seeing things, but the stage lights were too bright, blinding her.

The Sugar Plum Fairy crown began to slide off her head. Her left leg that was supposed to bow in the concluding move of the dance stiffened up from the raw Montana December day. It probably hadn’t been the wisest decision to sit in a snowy cemetery earlier that afternoon.

That man watching her leaned forward in his chair and gazed at her in such a mesmerized stance, that the auditorium whirled around her in a frenzy of faces and self-consciousness.

Jessica crashed to the stage, falling into an ungraceful heap, her ankle burning as if she’d broken it. There went her ballet career. All because of some guy’s gorgeous crystal blue eyes.

 

 

When she was in Paris, Kimberley Montpetit spent most of her souvenir money at the La Patisserie shops with their beautiful and delicious pastries. She grew up in the fabulous city of San Francisco, loves all things chocolate, and now lives in a small town along the Rio Grande with her engineer husband and three sons.

She once stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland and didn’t sleep a wink, sailed the Seine in Paris, rode a camel in the ancient world wonder of Petra, shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria.

Kimberley also writes Award-winning Middle-Grade novels with Scholastic and epic Young Adult novels with Harpercollins under the name, Kimberley Griffiths Little.

 

 

Giveaway Details

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway

Ends 3/13/18

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Posted in 4 1/2 paws, Cozy, Giveaway, mystery, Review on February 24, 2018

Murder is a Dirty Business
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Soul Mate Publishing, LLC (November 15, 2017)
Print Length: 254 pages

Synopsis

When Cece Cavanaugh’s husband empties their joint bank account, steals her designer luggage, and runs off with a younger woman, Cece must decide whether to ask her manipulative mother-in-law for a handout or get a job. Choosing the easier path, Cece lands a job cleaning a crime scene where a high school coach was murdered. When his wife is implicated—a young woman Cece practically raised—Cece finds herself mopping floors, balancing an empty checkbook, and ferreting out a killer.

Amid all this messy business, Cece bumps heads with a handsome detective. She tries to ignore her growing attraction to the detective, but he gives new meaning to the term “hot flash.”

After she stumbles onto a clue that could vindicate her friend, her elation turns to panic when she haphazardly confronts the killer. Through the danger and romance, Cece discovers self-reliance and inner strength.

And that crime—at least, someone else’s—does pay the bills.

Review

This is a brand new cozy series and I think it is going to be a winner!

As the author’s website says, she writes books about women with class, sass, and a touch of kick-ass, and Murder is a Dirty Business and the main character, Cece Cavanaugh, definitely fit that description.  Cece finds out at the beginning of this story that her husband is leaving her for a younger woman.  To top it off, he has cleaned out the bank accounts and she has nothing to her name but a huge house that is six months behind on the mortgage payments.  She also has two daughters, one that is a spoiled brat, and the other is self-sufficient (thank goodness!), and a very controlling mother-in-law. But does Cece let any of this get her down?  Heck no!  She goes out and finds a job that will pay the bills.  Of course, it is a job that I probably wouldn’t want to do – clean up crime scenes.  But Cece finds that this is her niche, especially since she is a former nurse so if there is any blood it isn’t going to affect her too much.

There was so much that I enjoyed about this book: Cece’s character, the hunky detective, a mystery to solve and lots of humor.  But just so you don’t think that she is automatically going to find romance with the detective, there is a condo developer that has taken a shine to Cece too.  After all these years in a controlling marriage, she should get out there and play the field.  Cece finds herself pulled into a murder investigation since her daughter’s friend is being accused of murdering her husband.  Cece has known Karen many years and can’t believe this is possible.  Plus the body was found at a B&B where Karen, Jessie (her daughter) and another friend were staying for the night.  And wouldn’t you know that her new job has her at the B&B to clean up the scene, perfect for a little snooping to see what might have been missed by the police.

The mystery was well written and there are several suspects to choose from to be the killer.  However, the actual killer was quite a surprise because this character was not on my radar.  The reasoning made sense but sadly it was all for naught.  I don’t want to say too much and give away the ending.

The only thing I hope doesn’t happen is that Cece just signs the divorce papers presented to her because from what was mentioned, it was not in her favor and she needs to get what she can from Philip, if not for herself then for her sixteen year old daughter.  Hopefully, her friend, Angie, will keep her from doing anything rash.  Angie is definitely the friend we all need!

We give this book 4 1/2 paws and highly recommend it to you the next time you are looking for empowering to read.

About the Author

Tricia L. Sanders writes about women with class, sass, and a touch of kickass.  A former instructional designer and corporate trainer, she traded in curriculum writing for novel writing, because she hates bullet points and loves to make stuff up. And fiction is more fun than training guides and lesson plans.

When she isn’t writing, Tricia is busy crossing dreams off her bucket list. With all 50 states checked, she’s concentrating on foreign interests. She’s an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, so don’t get between her and the television when a game is on. Currently, she is working on a mystery series set in the fictional town of Wickford, Missouri. Another project in the works is a women’s fiction road trip adventure.

Her essays have appeared in SaseeByLineThe Cuivre River Anthology and Great American Outhouse Stories; The Whole Truth and Nothing Butt. She is a proud member of The Lit Ladies, six women writing their truths into fiction.

Website * Facebook * YouTube * Twitter * Pinterest

Giveaway

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Posted in Awards, fiction, Texas on February 23, 2018

The Lone Star Book Blog Tours team has voted, and the results are in!  From Best Fiction to Most Engaged Author, we have seventeen awards to hand out to the awesome Texas books and authors featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours in 2017.

From February 15-23, 2018, please join us as we hop around the LSBBT blogs and share the winners, runners-up, and shortlisted titles. Don’t miss it!


 Click to learn more about:

Badlands by Melissa Lenhardt
Hidden Sea by Miles Arceneaux
Comfort Plans by Kimberly Fish
The Big Inch by Kimberly Fish
These Healing Hills by Ann Gabhart
The Day the Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker
Blood Oath by Melissa Lenhardt
The Grave Tender by Eliza Maxwell
Bonnie & Clyde: Resurrection Road by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall
Before the Rain Falls by Camille DiMaio

AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: AWARDS: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: AWARDS: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: AWARDS: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: AWARDS: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: AWARDS: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: AWARDS: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: AWARD: Best Texas Book
2/22: AWARD: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: AWARD: Best Fiction Book

 

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Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, romance on February 23, 2018

 

 

Against the Magic by Donna K Weaver

Reese Hamilton has big plans to help make the world a better place and a new job lined up to help her do it. Before starting work, she heads to England for a Regency immersive experience. She doesn’t expect her best friend to invite her heart-destroying brother to join them. Two years hasn’t been long enough for Reese to forget him. Then fae magic rips them back to 1850. It’s a time when women have few rights. It’s also a time when a determined woman could make a difference, with the right man at her side. Reese finds she will have to choose between two men and two times.

Jem Taylor messed up big when he walked away from Reese to pursue his dream job. He hasn’t been able to forget her and jumps at his sister’s invitation. Suddenly hurtled into Victorian England, he has the chance to woo Reese again. But to do it, he’ll have to fight the magic that brought her to 1850 and an Earl with the means to keep her there.

 

“I don’t usually like time travel novels but the humor, banter and the attraction kept me enthralled. A great love story with a little history lesson, a happy ending and a hook.” ~K.B.

“A magical read” ~ Jennifer Soppe


“And where might you be going, Miss Hamilton?” The Earl surveyed the items stacked behind her.

“To your tenant village, my lord.” When his gaze darted to hers, she arched a brow, daring him to stop her.

“My tenants are none of your business.” His voice had turned hard, unrelenting.

“One visit there showed me they have been none of your business either,” she said sharply before remembering he could stop her efforts right now. “My lord.”

The Earl shot her another of his hard glances. “I shall accompany you then.” He waved to the groom. “In the back.” When the young man had vacated the seat beside her, Gareth took his place. He snapped the whip and the horse surged forward. “I have not visited there in years.”

“That was obvious,” Reese muttered. “Do you have someone handle the management of your estate for you?”

“Yes.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “My man of business.”

“You might want to consider hiring a new one then,” she said, “because I’m underwhelmed.”

“Underwhelmed,” the Earl repeated. “I don’t believe I have heard that word before. Is it something you Americans invented?”

“Yankee ingenuity,” she said.

“Yankee arrogance, I would say.”

“Americans don’t have a monopoly on arrogance.” Reese kept her face forward.

 

 

 

Award-winning author, wife, mother, grandmother, Harry Potter geek, Army veteran, karate black belt, and online gamer girl.

 

 

Giveaway Details

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway

Ends 3/12/18

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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