Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, Interview, Short Story on October 21, 2021

 

 

 

 

Title: The Last Line

Author: Robert Dugoni

Page Count: 53 pages

Release Date: October 21, 2021

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories

 

Synopsis

 

His old life in the rearview, Del Castigliano has left Wisconsin to work homicide for the Seattle PD. Breaking him in is veteran detective Moss Gunderson, and he’s handing Del a big catch: the bodies of two unidentified men fished from Lake Union. It’s a major opportunity for the new detective, and Del runs with it, chasing every lead—to every dead end. Despite the help of another section rookie, Vic Fazzio, Del is going nowhere fast. Until one shotgun theory looks to be dead right: the victims are casualties of a drug smuggling operation. But critical information is missing—or purposely hidden. It’s forcing Del into a crisis of character and duty that not even the people he trusts can help him resolve.

 

 

Amazon

 

 

Q&A with Robert Dugoni

 

From books to movies to television, police procedurals are incredibly popular with audiences. What do you think is the appeal of these stories?

 

I think the appeal is readers and viewers have good guys to root for and bad guys to root against. Readers also like a good mystery. They like to see if they can solve the crime, determine the bad guy and figure out what he did and how he did it, just like the detectives. It keeps them engaged in and part of the story.

 

Do you recall the first detective story you ever read or perhaps you have a favorite? What was it about this type of story that made you want to write in the genre?

 

Years ago, I remember reading Michael Connelly’s The Poet. I don’t know if it was the first detective story I read, probably not, but it was visceral and stuck with me. I do recall reading All The President’s Men when I was in high school, and though Woodward and Bernstein were not detectives, per se, they very much functioned like detectives in that story—finding clues, trying to piece together those clues, and then solve the puzzle. In many ways, that’s what a good detective story is all about: solving a puzzle. I think that is one of the appeals to writers, as well as readers and viewers.

 

Del Castigliano, the police detective in your newest release The Last Line, has worked in narcotics, arson, sexual assaults, robbery, and now homicide. He has definitely seen the worst that humans have to offer. What keeps him sane and on the job?

 

For most police officers I’ve spoken with, they do the job knowing that they are keeping people safe—maybe people they know or even love. It’s a tough job and burnout can be a problem. Most detectives have to be mentally tough and can be frequently rotated to help minimize burn out. It’s one of the reasons detectives and uniformed officers, I believe, are underappreciated. It’s a tough job.

 

Throughout The Last Line, readers get to see Del at his worst—he faces loss, failure, insecurity, loneliness…yet we also respect him. He is honest, hardworking, and clever. How do you see him? If you were to sit down to have a beer with him, what would you talk about?

 

In The Last Line, I see Del as a guy trying to find his way after life has thrown him a curveball. If we sat down for a beer, I’d ask him if, looking back, he has any regrets, or if time has helped him put life in perspective and he realizes that what he went through as a young man actually helped him to get to a better place in his life.

 

The Last Line ends in a way that will have readers wanting more. Do you have any future plans for Del and the larger cast?

 

Very much so. Del is a central character in the Tracy Crosswhite series, and in Tracy #9, What She Found, the story of Del’s first case from The Last Line comes back to Tracy, who is now working a cold case and trying to figure out what happened 24 years ago.

 

For fans of your bestselling Tracy Crosswhite series, will they feel at home with Del as the lead protagonist? For readers who haven’t discovered Tracy yet, will they be able to dip right in?

 

Absolutely. The Last Line is a standalone story that predates Tracy arriving at Seattle PD. I’ve had so many readers ask me for more of Del and Faz! Writing The Last Line was an opportunity to dig into how they got started and what shaped them. I have a thought now about Tracy #10 being a cold case that Del and Faz investigated 25 years earlier and telling the story from both time periods leading up to Tracy solving the crime in the present.

 

What do you have coming up next?

 

The third book in the Charles Jenkins espionage series, The Silent Sisters, will be published, February 22, 2022, followed by Tracy #9, What She Found, which will be out August 23, 2022. Beyond that, readers can look for a new standalone legal thriller introducing criminal defense attorney Keera Duggan. I’m excited about that novel and working hard to get it finished soon.

 

***

 

Excerpt

 

Del drove from the parking garage into a blustery and cold November morning—cold being relative. In Madison, anything above freezing was balmy for November, though Del was starting to understand what Seattleites meant when they said it wasn’t the temperature that chills you; it’s the dampness. He could feel the cold in his bones. A stiff wind rocked his metallic-blue Oldsmobile Cutlass.The wind had started blowing late the prior evening; branches of a tree scraping against Del’s bedroom window had kept him awake half the night.

He drove from Capitol Hill with the defroster on high and worked his way around the southern edge of Lake Union, noting marinas and water-based businesses. He pulled into a parking lot where Moss stood beside a black Buick LeSabre, sipping coffee and towering over a patrol officer. Moss was almost as big as Del, who stood six foot five and weighed 250 pounds.

Del pulled up the collar of his coat against the howling wind as he approached the two men. He recognized the green logo on Moss’s Starbucks coffee cup, the company name taken from Captain Ahab’s first mate on the Pequod, the whaling ship Moby Dick sent to the bottom of the ocean. The logo, a green siren, tempted sailors to jump overboard and drown. Neither was a good omen.

“Look what the cat dragged out. Did we wake you, Elmo?”

“Funny.” Del had heard iterations of Elmo since his teens, when the beloved puppet first appeared on Sesame Street. Moss introduced Del to Mike Nuccitelli, the patrol sergeant. “How’d you get here so quick?” Del asked Moss. He understood Moss lived in West Seattle, twenty minutes farther from the marina than Del’s apartment.

“I didn’t take time to do my hair.” Moss rubbed the bristles of a crew cut. “I’m like my name. You know. A rolling stone.”

Del knew. More than once, Moss had told him his parents bequeathed him the moniker because as a child he never remained still. Vic Fazzio had said it was more likely Moss gave himself the nickname. His Norwegian first name was Asbjorn.

“Halloway here?” Del asked.

“At this hour of the morning?” Moss scoffed. “Stayaway doesn’t come out this early on a cold morning unless he thinks the brass might show up and he can shine their badges with his nose.”

“What do we got?” Del asked.

“Two grown men. Looks like they drowned,” Nuccitelli said. “We’re waiting for the ME.”

“What more do we know about the victims; anything?” Del asked.

Nuccitelli raised the fur collar of his duty jacket against the wind. “Hispanic is my guess, though the bodies are pretty bloated and their skin the color of soot. I’m guessing roughly late twenties to early thirties, but again . . .”

“They didn’t have any ID?” Del asked.

“Not on them,” Nuccitelli said.

“That strike you as odd—they didn’t have ID?”

Nuccitelli smiled.“Not my job.That’s your job.”

“How far out is the ME?” Moss looked and sounded disinterested.

Nuccitelli checked his watch.“Should be here in ten.”

“We’ll take it from here.”

 

 

About the Author

 

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series, which has sold more than seven million books worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling Charles Jenkins series; the bestselling David Sloane series; the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, Damage Control, The World Played Chess, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni won an AudioFile Earphones Award for narration; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He is a two-time finalist for the Thriller Awards and the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, as well as a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for mystery and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

 

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Posted in Alzheimers, excerpt, fiction, Interview, Medical on October 9, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

When Allison began to care for her mother with Alzheimer’s, she started to ask some difficult questions. At what point is a life no longer worth living? Would dementia be in her future too?

Worried that her mother’s fate may be her own, Allison comes up with an unusual approach to try and control her own demise: start smoking. After all, she would rather die of cancer or a lung infection than the way her mother did—unable to recognize her own family, to take care of herself, or even speak. The tough part will be getting her family and friends on board with her new perspective.

Full of compassion for both Alzheimer’s victims and those it affects—caregivers, family, and loved ones—Allison’s Gambit brings a taboo topic to the forefront and asks us all—what would we do?

 

 

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Excerpt

 

Chapter 2

 

Considering I had a front-row seat for my father’s last days, it might seem ironic that I took up smoking. The fact is, my habit has nothing to do with him and everything to do with my mom, Nancy MacPherson. Now they have both passed away, and I smile when I think of my father. The emotions I go through when I think of my mother are complicated. On a good day, I manage a slight smile, but on most days, I just feel relief that she finally died.

Now it is so clear that, despite knowing what my father went through, if I had to choose a death, I would choose his in an instant. He died; my mom suffered. Actually, that’s not exactly true—everybody else around her suffered.

It must come across as callous to those who don’t know what happened, but my mom’s dementia caused a suffering like no other. It made me realize that there are different ways to die. I won’t say I became fixated on death; I just became aware it was going to happen, which I know sounds stupid. We all know we are going to die. It’s just…we don’t think about it. We push it into the recesses of our minds. But somehow I know I’m destined to die like my mom. And I have consciously decided to try and alter that reality. Why die of Alzheimer’s when you can die of something else—anything else?

I have generally learned not to express my uncommon beliefs, so they won’t attract disdain. No one enjoys opening themselves up for criticism and feeling like an emotional punching bag. Reticence seems the wiser option. But I have decided to change that and tell my story despite realizing that many will look at me like I am a pariah. If this diary were a YouTube video, I would likely have far many more thumbs-down than thumbs-up. How do I know this? Because this is not my first foray into asking the world to pass judgment on my feelings.

Though you have probably already learned this lesson, don’t say anything political or controversial on social media. Random people you don’t even know will actually threaten you because you provided tips on how to save water. Water! I wish I were making this up, but I speak from experience.

I’m sure the same surprise hits people after they post their first video on a public site, maybe of their six-year-old daughter at a ballet recital. The social-media affirmation complex doesn’t make

up for the rather surprising number of thumbs-down they receive. It’s enough to make you question yourself. “Maybe she isn’t such a good dancer? Perhaps I should have made her practice more.”

Now that it has been a while since my mom passed away, emerging from my cocoon seems imperative somehow, and there doesn’t seem to be a minute more to lose. I need to reach out to all of those other caregivers who are like me. I realize now that I have not only been grieving; I have been avoiding the well-wishers who often leave me more depressed. But mostly I have been avoiding telling my family and friends about my philosophy.

It is time to tell my story and convince at least my friends that I have something to offer from my experience. I am stronger now emotionally. I’m ready to take on the world, even the strangers who will pleasantly yell at me, “Just shut up and die already.”

 

From Allison’s Gambit Copyright C.A. Price, 2021

 

 

Q&A with C.A. Price

 

If you knew that dementia was in your future, would it change how you lived now?

 

This question is not too dissimilar to “If you knew when you were going to die…?” The response, however, could be different if one considered being alive with dementia worse than death itself, which is the presumption made by Allison in the book.

It would be fair to say that until we get to a certain point, we aren’t sure how we would answer the question. But the goal of the novel is to challenge the reader into doing this thought experiment for themselves. And the true hope, we realize at the end, is that the author WANTS people to live their life differently. What this means for each person can be quite different. But a personal example I wish to share: I am a father of an amazing eighteen-year-old young man. I am also a dedicated physician. I can’t tell you how many meetings I have sat through that I found to be a waste of my time. In the past, I would politely sit them out. After writing this novel, I began to just get up and walk out, returning home to my son and enjoying his company.

 

As nursing homes seem not to be desired by anyone, can you imagine a better way to care for the elderly?

 

I think that nursing homes are a necessary part of our lives as we age. But there is a stigma about nursing homes that likely would be different if we changed our philosophy about dying. I know this will likely be controversial, but I do feel that if we were more comfortable with death, we would choose comfort care and hospice much more frequently. Nursing homes would still exist, but I don’t presume they would feel as depressing. I think they would feel more vibrant as we would move to celebrating the end of someone’s life, rather than prolonging it at all costs.

 

Why do families take so long to choose hospice when they overwhelmingly feel more at peace once they do?

 

I think if you asked ten hospice volunteers this question you would receive ten different answers. There would, however, likely be a few themes. There is a cultural fear of dying. Further, a sense of failure when it occurs.

I recall first coming to understand this as a resident. While working in the Intensive Care Unit, you might start with six patients when you took over that evening. If all six were alive in the morning, this was a success. Even if one or two died within hours of you being off shift! Death on your shift was a sign of failure. Similarly for families, not trying every single treatment, medicine, etc. is felt to be “giving up.” “How dare you suggest that we stop trying?”

What I hoped to leave the reader with was a sense of how we remember our loved ones. What I have found is that if we remember them as feeble, incapable, in pain, it can detract from who they were for the majority of their life. Further, when we start to imagine ourselves this way, patients universally seem to say, “I don’t want to live like that.” In other words, part of the goal in writing this book is to shine light on this paradox. When we think about what we want done for ourselves we seem to universally embrace the concept of hospice. However, for our loved ones, we seem burdened with a sense of guilt in not doing enough.

 

Why did you feel the need to write this book? For example, do you hope that it will help someone who is in this caregiver position feel like they’re not alone?

 

There are several reasons I began to write, but only one reason I decided to publish. The reasons I began to write came from my shock at the unusual choice of my patient—planning to continue to smoke so she wouldn’t live long enough to suffer from dementia. The shock evolved to interest as I explored this philosophy with writing. Writing helped me explore my own thoughts about dying. And oddly, this led to a recognition that I wanted to start living differently as a result. When I got to the end of the book I recognized that I had a great deal of sympathy and understanding for Allison. I realized that no matter what is going to happen to me in the end, I wanted to live my life differently NOW.

Why I decided to publish is that I began to realize the difficulty with caregiving. The physical and mental toll it can take on an entire family. I started to realize there are few services for this and even fewer conversations. It has become my belief that until we start having real conversations about our feelings, the guilt, the physical burden that often prompts moving to a nursing home, we aren’t going to get any better. I really want this book to begin a conversation that screams we must do better. This can’t simply remain part of life that will work itself out. And we can’t leave cost out of the conversation. I can’t tell you how often I have felt that if families had to pay five percent of the cost of treatment they would suddenly have a change of heart when it came to demanding that all must be done.

 

What have been your personal experiences with elder care, Alzheimer’s, and caregiving?

 

Perhaps the best decision I made was to start doing home visits. And yes, I seem to feel I’m the only physician who does them. This allows me to get three different perspectives:

–Seeing patients in my office

–Seeing patients in nursing homes (or assisted living)

–Seeing patients in their own home

 

Home visits are incredibly interesting and rewarding. The love people show is different than any other environment. For this reason alone, I can never imagine not doing home visits.

One thing that complicates dementia is that medical insurance doesn’t pay for caregiving when a person is not “homebound.”  If they don’t have a “medical need” such as wound care, requiring IV antibiotics, or they are so debilitated it would be great difficulty to leave the home…there is little nursing care that can be obtained. Patients with dementia often don’t need any of these things, and yet they require full time care, including during the night when they can be particularly active.

I find that by going to a patient’s home I can far better assess the difficulties shared by the caregivers. I think it has given me greater empathy and a recognition that there is a big gap in potential care for those with Alzheimer’s.

Another thing that happened early on in my career was understanding and appreciating the role of hospice care, which has evolved to now include supportive care. Briefly I’ll explain the difference: Hospice asks the physician to give a diagnosis and an expectation that a patient has less than six months to live. Supportive care also asks for a diagnosis—typically one of only a few such as heart failure, kidney failure or cancer—and that “it wouldn’t be surprising if your patient didn’t live for more than a year.”

What’s absolutely amazing about both is that their statistics completely surprise everyone. With hospice, those who join tend to live LONGER than their counterparts that don’t. With supportive care, the overall happiness is greater and the cost of care is lower.

What I would like to see is a greater move to accepting “supportive care” for other diagnoses such as dementia. This would allow nurses, caregivers, spiritual therapy, psychotherapy for patients that would get paid. Right now this is not the case. Why this tends to be cheaper is that families begin to accept the dying process differently. They recognize that this care, the socialization, the comfort is more desired than another trip to the emergency room or ICU.

 

 

About the Author

 

C.A. Price is a family practice physician in California. The philosophy of Allison’s Gambit was inspired by patients of his who have been caregivers to those with dementia and his continued observation that these family members often end up with tremendous guilt. His work with hospice has taught him that those who change their views about dying seem to live so much better. It is his first novel.

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Historical, Interview, Western on September 12, 2021

 

RIO BONITO

 

The Three Rivers Trilogy, Book 2

 

By PRESTON LEWIS

 

 

Categories: Western / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Five Star Publishing

Pub Date: August 18, 2021

 

Pages: 336 pages

 

 

Scroll for the Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

With Lincoln County teetering on the edge of lawless turmoil, small rancher Wes Bracken avoids taking sides, but his goal is complicated by his devotion to what he sees as justice and by his friendship with William H. Bonney, who’s developing a reputation as Billy the Kid.

As Lincoln County devolves into explosive violence, Bracken must skirt the edge of the law to guarantee the survival of his family, his spread, and his dream. But dangers abound from both factions for a man refusing to take sides. Before the Lincoln County War culminates on the banks of the Rio Bonito during a five-day shootout in Lincoln, Bracken is accused of being both a vigilante and a rustler. As the law stands idly by, Bracken’s ranch is torched, and his wife is assaulted by the notorious outlaw Jesse Evans. Survival trumps vengeance, though, as Bracken tries to outlast the dueling factions aimed at destroying him.

At every turn Bracken must counter the devious ploys of both factions and fight against lawmen and a court system skewed to protect the powerful and politically connected. Against overwhelming odds, Bracken challenges the wicked forces arrayed against him in hopes of a better life for himself, for his family, and for New Mexico Territory. And throughout it all, Bracken stands in the growing shadow of his sometime pal, Billy the Kid.

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Books-a-million

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Preston Lewis Discussing Writing

 

 

Every writer has a unique writing approach to a novel.  What’s yours?

 

I go through three drafts.  The first is the worst because you’re staring at a blank screen.  You don’t have anything to work with until you finish the first draft, so I try to get through it as quickly as I can.  Then with the second draft I work on resolving plot issues, improving transitions, polishing the dialog, ensuring story coherence and sharpening the prose.  In the third and final draft, I focus primarily on polishing the prose and finalizing it for the editor.

 

Do you use an outline or plot your chapters in advance?

 

It depends.  If I’ve got between 100,000 and 120,000 words to work with, I generally just start writing and let the plot take me where it goes.  I generally in these cases know where the story will start and how it will end, but not necessarily what happens in between.  This is the most fun because the story twists and turns often surprise me.  Now when I’ve got a word target I’m shooting for, say 75,000 to 85,000 words, I generally do a chapter by chapter synopsis so I hit the word target.  That takes more time on the front end, but generally saves time in the writing process, though it is less spontaneous.

 

How do you deal with deadlines?

 

My background is in journalism so I started out working for four daily newspapers in Texas.  I dealt with daily deadlines every workday and on longer pieces weekly deadlines.  So, deadlines are not intimidating.  I also know my limits.  There was year when I had contract for five books.  Four I managed okay around my day job, but the fifth was closing in on me so I took ten vacation days and completed the first draft of 300-plus pages in that span.  The first draft is always a chore, but the subsequent drafts are a breeze.

 

What is the best advice you ever got about writing? 

 

Perseverance trumps talent.  That came from Jeanne Williams, an award-winning and best-selling author of historical novel.  I consider Jeanne my writing mentor and her encouragement helped me in my early years of writing.  She said she had seen many talented writers give up, but lesser writers succeed because keep at it.  Jeanne told me if I kept at it, I would eventually earn some writing awards.  Her encouragement and faith in my abilities kept me going.  The second best piece of advice came from western novelist Elmer Kelton, who told me as he did all other young writers, “Don’t quit your day job.”

 

Were you ever tempted to quit your job and try writing full-time?

 

No, I had a family to support and my first obligation was to them.  Writers face two limitations:  time and money.  Some writers can deal with money issues and others can manage time constraints.  I’m disciplined enough to make efficient use of my time, but I could never have kept my writing sanity and temperament if I was worried about making the next mortgage payment or putting food on the table for my wife, son and daughter.  It’s a moot issue now that I am retired.

 

Any advice for aspiring writers?

 

Perseverance trumps talent and don’t quit your day job are still solid starting points, but writing has changed so much in the 40 years since I began developing novels.  There are more opportunities and options than ever before for your writing through the Web.  So the key is determining what it is you want out of writing, whether it’s a living or riches, whether it’s the personal satisfaction or public acclaim, and then mapping out a strategy that you think will get you to your goal.  There may be bumps along the way, but I’ve found the journey was as much fun as the destination.

 

 

 

 

Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of 40 westerns, historical novels, juvenile books, and memoirs.  He has received national awards for his novels, articles, short stories, and humor.

In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary accomplishments.  Lewis is past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association.

His historical novel Blood of Texas on the Texas Revolution earned a Spur Award as did his True West article on the Battle of Yellow House Canyon.  He developed the Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series, which includes two Spur finalists and a Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award for western humor for his novel Bluster’s Last Stand on the battle of Little Big Horn.  His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin and two of his YA novels have won Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative work on West Texas from the West Texas Historical Association.

He began his writing career working for Texas daily newspapers in Abilene, Waco, Orange, and Lubbock before going into university administration.  During his 35-year career in higher education, he directed communications and marketing offices at Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Angelo State University.

Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Baylor University and master’s degrees from Ohio State in journalism and Angelo State in history.  He lives in San Angelo with his wife, Harriet.

 

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Posted in Book Release, Fantasy, Interview on May 25, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

How do you stop being a thief? Zizy assumed quitting her job, stealing from her boss, and flitting magically across the continent was one way to give it a go.

Getting in and out of sticky situations is typically Zizy’s specialty. A little spellwork here, a pinch of deception there, and she’s home free. Quick-fingered, fast-talking, and charming the gnome knows traveling across a shattered continent won’t be easy. Still, she has the skills to keep herself from getting killed.

Too bad she was followed on her one-way trip. Pressed into a mission she can’t say no to Zizy feels desperate, out of place, and as lonely as before. But when she meets a charming book hoarder with bold curiosity, Zizy can’t help but want to bring her along on this one last job. She’ll just hide her past, her present, and complicating info about herself. What could go wrong?

Either she finishes the job and protects those she loves, or it all falls apart. Is this journey the final key to unlock a new path or just another sticky situation she has to run from? She’ll use every tool she’s got to get what she wants.

 

 

Amazon

 

Interview with the Author

 

How did you come up with the idea for Tools of a Thief?

 

I started with the deities first. Beginning with them was not the easiest thing to have started with, but I love a good creation myth. Their personalities and desires shaped the world, the inhabitants, and conflicts. I drew on my inspiration from classic fantasy and Greek and Egyptian mythology.

I knew I wanted to do two things. I wanted to hang out at the beginning of this world with these deities as their powers grew and I wanted to hang out after everything went horribly wrong for them.  I outlined the first part, built the world, and set it aside to use as a campaign setting (for Dungeons and Dragons). Then I sketched what the world looked like after a massive upheaval. I asked myself who would be the most entertaining person to explore the “Oh shit” timeline of the world with. Anyone who asks that question and doesn’t pick a thief is really missing out.

Zizy and Laysa came to be because I wanted to explore the world and see what had happened to it after the “Oh shit” cataclysmic part. A gnome who has more wits than sense and really just wanted a break. A Brix (earthy creatures with a natural knack for agriculture) who just wanted to learn everything she could about the wonders of the world. They’re just both parts of me fleshed out as characters.

I wanted to explore what it was like to start something new mid-way through your life. When you’re on a path already, good or bad, and you really want to be doing something else. It mirrored where I was several years ago. I was over my perfectly lovely job in my perfectly fine life that was, in my mind, exactly where I should’ve been. And I hated it all. But I’ve always believed you can do anything, start anything new at any age. I have had some really great mentors in my life who have stoked that fire of thinking.

 

How did your personal experience as a dungeon master influence your novella?

 

Poorly. Haha, it’s nice to have characters who will take the bait you leave out because you’re literally writing them to. Ultimately though it kinda ends up the same way. They do stuff you didn’t think of at all, and it takes you in a new direction. Having played games like this for years with various people has helped me broaden my horizons, stretch my imagination, and try to think of new twists on things people expect.

ToaT is a pretty light-hearted novella. It’s not about killing things or gaining XP. I leave all that to the campaign setting for the pre-cataclysm portion of the world.

— The setting is open to Patreon subscribers

 

As an avid reader yourself, what types of books do you tend to read?

 

Currently,  it’s fantasy that satirizes like Orcanomics or character-focused works like Silver in the Wood. I love AU spec fic, sci-fi comedy, and of course, romance novels outside of fantasy. If I need something to read but just want a comfort book, I’ll re-read Jane Austen’s books for the 450th time. Now that I’m older Persuasion is my go-to.

 

Why is creating diverse characters important to you?

 

Creating characters who look like me or share my worldview is important because I grew up reading and watching characters who looked nothing like me. They had grand adventures while people like me were background characters. It took a few dozen years to even contemplate that I could change that by starring women or POC in the adventures that I always wanted to be on. So it’s literally a post-it on my monitor as a reminder that I can include all different types of people! And now I have these stories to share with people like my little sister, and she knows she’s in there and I’m in there and that really matters.

 

 

About the Author

 

D. Hale Rambo is an avid reader, Pathfinder/Dungeons & Dragons player, bubble bath connoisseur, and author. She has been writing and creating other worlds since she was old enough to mark them on her bedroom wall. As a dungeon master and in life, D. Hale Rambo believes in the fun of morale bonuses, inspiration, and always using cover. Get updates on the series, say hello, or debate with her about the versatility of gnomes on her Website.

 

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HER EVERY MOVE

 

By Kelly Irvin

 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352 pages

Pub Date: February 9th, 2021

Categories: Christian / Romance / Suspense

 

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He’s a cop trying to stop a serial bomber. And she’ll stop at nothing to clear her own name.

When a deadly bomb goes off during a climate change debate, librarian and event coordinator Jackie Santoro becomes the prime suspect. Her motive, according to Detective Avery Wick: to avenge the suicide of her prominent father, who was accused of crimes by a city councilman attending the event.

Though Avery has doubts about Jackie’s guilt, he can’t exonerate her even after an extremist group takes responsibility for the bombing and continues to attack San Antonio’s treasured public spaces.

As Jackie tries to hold her shattered family together, she has no choice but to proceed with plans for the Caterina Ball, the library system’s biggest annual fundraiser. But she also fears the event provides the perfect opportunity for the bomber to strike again.

Despite their mistrust, Jackie and Avery join forces to unmask the truth—before the death toll mounts even higher.

Bestseller Kelly Irvin is back with a nail-biting romantic suspense where nothing is certain until the very last page.

 

 

 

Thomas Nelson | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Books-A-Million | Christianbook.com

 

 

Praise

 

“A gripping story that will have you on the edge of your seat until ‘The End.’” —Patricia Bradley, author of The Logan Point Series, Memphis Cold Case Novels, Natchez Trace Parkway Rangers series

“Explosive, tender, and races all the way through!” —Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, author, screenwriter, and forensic specialist

 

 

 

 

How has Texas influenced your writing?

 

I’m actually from Kansas, but I moved to Laredo after graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism in 1982. I spent 3 semesters as an exchange student in Costa Rica and I wanted to use my Spanish. Six years of border journalism taught me so much about the history and culture of this region. Another 34 years in San Antonio has made me feel like a Texan. The city, with its history and cultural diversity, is a perfect setting for romantic suspense novels.

 

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

 

I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer. That means I don’t do an outline. That can be very problematic when writing romantic suspense. I know what the crime was, who my heroine is, and sometimes, who did it. But nothing in between. I do a lot of revising. I’ll have an epiphany in the shower and have to change my trajectory. But it’s fun and I love it when characters show up and I’m totally surprised by their presence.

 

Which character from your book is most or least like you?

 

I took great pains to create Jackie Santoro as her own person. She’s a millennial and I’m a boomer. I had to think like her. She eats from food trucks, texts instead of calling, drinks fancy coffee drinks, and does DIY projects. She was a college basketball star, very athletic, and a sports fanatic. We do share a love of books, libraries, and cats.

 

Are you a full-time or part-time writer?  How does that affect your writing?

 

I had to retire from my day job for health reasons five years ago. Now I’m living my dream of being a full-time writer. It allows me to spend my days in my office talking to imaginary people and making up stories with them. When I was in public relations, I arrived at work at 6:30 a.m., wrote until 7:45 a.m., then wrote for an hour at lunch, if I could, and wrote weekends. I had two kids to raise and a husband. It was crazy. Now I’m an empty-nester and free to write everyday.

 

What are some day jobs that you have held?  Have any of them impacted your writing?

 

I was a reporter, which gave me a lot of information about law enforcement. Then I switched to public relations, which is helpful when it comes to promoting my books—an important part of my job as a published novelist. One part-time contract job that turned out to be super helpful was proofreading court transcripts for court reporters. I learned all about autopsies, crime scene investigation, forensic evidence, witness interrogation, and more.

 

What do you like to read in your free time?

 

All the time. I love reading mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense. I read binge-read all of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch mysteries last summer (about 20 of them) and all of J A Jance’s P.J. Beaumont mysteries as well. I love losing myself in a good mystery. And it’s interesting to see how these authors have developed and grown their character as they age over time.

 

What projects are you working on at the present?

 

I just turned in my next romantic suspense novel. It’s entitled Trust Me. The heroine owns a shop in La Villita historic art district in downtown San Antonio. It involves two murders that happened ten years apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bestseller Kelly Irvin is the author of 28 books, including romantic suspense and Amish romance. Publishers Weekly called Closer Than She Knows “a briskly written thriller.”  The Library Journal said of her novel Tell Her No Lies, “a complex web with enough twists and turns to keep even the savviest romantic suspense readers guessing until the end.” The two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist worked as a newspaper reporter for six years on the Texas-Mexico border. Those experiences fuel her romantic suspense novels set in Texas. A retired public relations professional, Kelly now writes fiction full-time. She lives with her husband professional photographer Tim Irvin in San Antonio. They have two children, three grandchildren, and two ornery cats.

 

 

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Website | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Bookbub

 

 

 

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TWO WINNERS each receive signed copies!

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

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3/24/21 Excerpt The Page Unbound
3/24/21 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
3/25/21 Review Reading by Moonlight
3/25/21 BONUS Top Ten Hall Ways Blog
3/26/21 Review The Clueless Gent
3/27/21 Guest Post Texas Book Lover
3/28/21 Scrapbook Page Chapter Break Book Blog
3/29/21 Review Carpe Diem Chronicles
3/30/21 Author Interview StoreyBook Reviews
3/31/21 Review Jennie Reads
4/1/21 Review Book Fidelity
4/2/21 Review Tangled in Text
4/2/21 BONUS Promo All the Ups and Downs

 

 

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Posted in Giveaway, Interview, suspense, Thriller on February 22, 2021

 

 

NETWORK OF DECEIT:

 

An Amara Alvarez

 

Stand-Alone Novel

 

by

 

Tom Threadgill

 

 

Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Detective

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: February 2, 2021

Number of Pages: 384 pages

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

She’s following her instincts. They’re following her every move.

After her rescue of nearly fifty kidnapped children made international headlines, Amara Alvarez gets what she’s worked for: a transfer to San Antonio’s Homicide Division. But reality sets in quickly when her first case, the suspicious death of a teenager at a crowded local water park, plunges her life into chaos.

As the investigation moves forward, Amara finds herself stalked online by cybercriminals who uncover her personal life in frightening detail. With few leads, she’s forced to resort to unconventional methods to find the killer and prevent her first murder investigation from ending up in the cold case files.

Tom Threadgill is back with another riveting page-turner featuring the detective who is willing to put everything on the line to see justice served and lives protected.

 

 

 

 

AmazonBarnes and NobleBooks-a-Million

 

KoboIndieBound

 

Christianbook.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to Tom Threadgill for taking a few moments to answer a few questions for us.

 

 

How do you write? Any backstory to your choice?

 

I always tell people that the most useful thing I learned in college was how to type. That’s a knock on me, not the college. We used an IBM Selectric and did our share of “now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country” repetitions. Something about a “quick brown fox” too if I remember correctly. Since then, I’ve always preferred typing over writing. Nowadays, most of my work is done on my laptop.

 

What made you decide to write a sequel? Any unexpected hurdles in doing this?

 

I wrote the first book, Collision of Lies, with a sequel in mind. Although Collision works as a stand-alone novel, the characters have so much more to share. For the sequel, I wanted to take the relationships deeper and ratchet up the conflicts. So much work goes into getting the characters introduced to readers that it’s hard for me to go with a “one and done” story.

 

What did you find most useful in learning to write for publication?  What was least useful or most destructive?

 

My first step in learning to write for publication was to recognize that my early work needed considerable improvement before it could be released upon an unsuspecting world. Being an author requires constant training and research to get better. I attended quite a few conferences and read several books on the craft. I took feedback from publishers and editors seriously, even though I didn’t always agree. One thing I’ve never been a fan of is using beta readers. I may ask for input on specific scenes but for the most part no one reads my books before they’re finished.

 

Do you now or have you ever considered writing under a pen name? Why or why not?

 

I’ve never written under an assumed name and don’t ever plan to. My name is my brand. I can understand there might be situations where using a pen name could be beneficial, especially if I branched into different genres, but I personally don’t see that the benefit would ever outweigh the need to build my brand. Every author needs to build a group of loyal readers. Every writer’s style is different. When someone “discovers” an author they like, it’s important the reader start to build a connection to that writer. From my perspective, unless you’ve used the same pen name for all your books, you harm your brand by alternating author names.

 

How important are names to you in your books? How do you choose names?

 

I despise choosing names for my characters. Hate it. Most of the names get changed several times during the writing process, though they’re pretty well set by the editing stage. I honestly don’t know why it’s such a struggle for me but trying to find the right name drives me crazy. True story. In one of my early books, I’d chosen what I considered to be the perfect name for my serial killer. The book was on the way to the publisher and very few people knew the details. One of my sons called soon after to let me know they’d chosen the perfect name for my soon-to-be-here granddaughter. Yep. Same name as my serial killer. We were able to change the name in the novel, fortunately.

 

What do you want your tombstone to say?

 

“He was cremated. Not sure why he wasted money on a tombstone. But buy his books anyway.” Maybe put one of those QR codes on the tombstone too so people can just scan it to go to my website.

 

 

 

Tom Threadgill is a full-time author and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). He is currently on the suspense/thriller publishing board for LPC Books, a division of Iron Stream Media. He lives with his wife in rural Tennessee.

 

Website ⬥ Facebook ⬥ Twitter ⬥ BookBub

 

Goodreads ⬥ Amazon Author Page

 

 

 

 

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 ONE WINNER 

 

GRANDPRIZE (US only):

 

One copy of each COLLISION OF LIES AND NETWORK OF DECEIT

 

and a note pad

 

Giveaway ends Midnight, CST, February 27, 2021

 

 

 

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

 

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2/17/21 Series Spotlight All the Ups and Downs
2/17/21 BONUS Promo Hall Ways Blog
2/18/21 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
2/18/21 Review The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
2/19/21 Review That’s What She’s Reading
2/20/21 Excerpt The Page Unbound
2/21/21 Excerpt Texas Book Lover
2/22/21 Author Interview StoreyBook Reviews
2/23/21 Review KayBee’s Book Shelf
2/24/21 Review Librariel Book Adventures
2/25/21 Character Interview The Clueless Gent
2/26/21 Review Tangled in Text

 

 

 

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Posted in Giveaway, Interview, Monday, mystery on January 25, 2021

 

 

 

 

The Burden of Hate (An Annie Collins Mystery) by Helen Starbuck

 

Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 216 pages

 

Genre: Mystery

 

Publisher: Routt Street Press

 

Release date: March 2020

 

 

Synopsis

 

How far would you go for someone you love? How much hate would you need to commit murder? Revenge. Hate. Fear. Not exactly traditional wedding gifts. But when convicted killer Ian Patterson escapes from prison, operating room nurse Annie Collins and fiancé assistant district attorney Angel Cisneros are forced to confront these realities head on. Will Ian Patterson’s quest for revenge toward the two people responsible for sending him to prison—Annie Collins and Angel Cisneros—bring them face to face to settle the score once and for all? Find out why Kirkus Reviews calls The Burden of Hate, “A thriller that offers a master class in suspense.”

 

 

AmazonAudible ~ B&N ~ BAM

 

 

 

 

Interview with Helen

 

 

Where did you find the inspiration for The Annie Collins Mystery Series?

 

The idea for The Mad Hatter’s Son, originated when I worked at a major hospital in Denver. I helped care for a patient with puzzling, difficult to diagnose, neurological symptoms. I thought at the time it would make a good plot. The book is based on the clinical presentation of that patient, not the actual patient.

The second book, No Pity In Death, centers around mercy killing in a hospital. Nurses as killers fascinates me because intentionally killing a patient is so antithetical to what it means to be a nurse.

The third book, The Burden of Hate, deals with the consequences of the main characters’ actions coming home to roost. I believe that everything we do—even choosing to do nothing—has consequences, and those consequences are not always clear.

 

Are any of the main characters based on people you know or yourself?

 

My main character Annie Collins is an OR nurse and I based her on my professional experiences. Annie is a lot like me in terms of curiosity and sense of humor, but she’s much braver.

The other main character is Angel Cisneros, an assistant DA in Denver. He isn’t based on anyone I know; he’s just the type of man I like and would trust implicitly as Annie does.

Secondary characters continue throughout the series—Homicide Detective Alex Frost, Ian Patterson, and Annie’s friends Chip Elliott and Maddie Doyle. Her friends are an amalgamation of nurses I know. The detective is a bit like my father, a tolerant, amused, and frustrated mentor. I’ve never known anyone like Ian Patterson, but I based him on psychological profiles and how I imagined he would act and think.

 

What kind of research did you do to bring a sense of realism and accuracy to the storyline?

 

I conferred with a doctor who had helped care for the patient who inspired the first book to ensure I was remembering the clinical course correctly. I consult with an emergency room doctor, an ER nurse, and a surgeon to ensure the medical scenes are correct.

I consulted with a homicide detective regarding investigations and police procedures. Online research into newspaper accounts of famous nurse mercy killers and the prison system in Colorado was very helpful.

I learned an amazing amount about police work and crime at the Writers’ Police Academy conference. To accurately describe handling a gun, I took a class at a local shooting range.

 

As an author, what do you enjoy most about the writing process, and what feels like a chore?

 

I love when the ideas are flowing and characters are ‘talking’ to me and becoming real. Proofing is a chore, and I’m not good at it. I have to rely on beta readers to proof my writing at various stages and a professional to proof the manuscript before I send it for layout.

 

Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?

 

I have a new book that debuted in December titled, Finding Alex. It’s romantic suspense set in Denver. A woman—assaulted, left for dead, and amnesic—is the only surviving victim of a killer. To solve the crime, the homicide detective in the story must try to identify her, which proves nearly impossible. It’s available on Amazon and other book retailers in paperback and ebook.

 

 

About the Author

 

Helen Starbuck is a Colorado native, former OR nurse, and award-winning author of the standalone romantic suspense novel Legacy of Secrets, and the Annie Collins Mystery Series. She loves mysteries, suspense, romance, and any book that is well written. She’s a huge fan of books with independent, strong, women characters and, as Neil Gaiman says, “…stories where women save themselves.”

 

 

 Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

 

Instagram ~ PinterestGoodreads

 

 

 

Giveaway

 

Win 1 of 5 autographed copies of The Annie Collins Mysteries w $10 Amazon Gift Card (5 winners) (USA only) (ends Feb 16)

 

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Posted in 5 paws, fiction, Giveaway, Interview, Review, romance, Texas on January 18, 2021

 

 

 

COMFORT FOODS:

 

A Comfort Stories

 

Stand-Alone Novel

 

by

 

Kimberly Fish

 

 

Categories: Contemporary / Second Chance Romance

Publisher: Fish Tales Publishing

Date of Publication: October 7, 2020

Number of Pages: 385 pages

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

From the award-winning author of Comfort Plans and Comfort Songs comes a story of two rising stars blitzed by social media. Lacy Cavanaugh and single-dad Rudy Delgardo live a hundred miles apart but meet in the worst possible way. Working at a weekly paper and creating social media for area businesses helps Lacy connect with locals who open her mind to a perspective beyond Instagram. In launching a food-and-wine festival to support Comfort’s new event center, she discovers surprising skills bubbling over, much like the food she’s attempting to cook.

Rudy, on the brink of his restaurant’s takeover, struggles to improve time management so he can create a better relationship with his daughter. Distracted by Lacy and her invitation to the festival, he’s tempted by her beauty, wit, and courage, but as a chef, he rarely gets to enjoy life outside the kitchen. Enemies, illness, and exes add unwelcome spice to the dish they’re concocting—one that will teeter with misunderstanding until the very end.

Will Lacy and Rudy embrace their second chances and discover the perfect seasonings of family, resilience, and grace to create a handwritten recipe of love that will stand the test of time?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An interview by author Kimberly Fish with Drue, the Florist at Comfort Flower Shop from Comfort Foods

 

 

Good morning, Drue, it seems you have a big order to assemble judging by the buckets of flowers on your workstation.

 

You have no idea. People are dropping like flies in these parts and everyone wants a funeral arrangement yesterday. I’d ask Lacy to walk over from next door to help, like she sometimes does, but she’s got her hands full trying to figure out that newspaper business.

 

How long have you known Lacy Cavanaugh?

 

Longer than she’d like to admit. She lived here a few years ago, bunking in with her sister when they were getting Provence Farm off the ground, and we met on account of how I was supplying them with flower arrangements for their cheese customers. Lacy was always a beauty, but she wasn’t always charming, if you get my drift. She was itching to get out of here and made no bones about it.

 

Were you surprised then that she returned?

 

Surprised doesn’t cover the half of it. When Frank—he’s the newspaper editor who’s been in the office of Comfort News for as long as I can remember—told me he was bringing in an intern—from Dallas—I about laughed in his face. I mean, what person in their right mind, would come here if they didn’t have to. When he told me it was Lacy, I did laugh. That girl had put Comfort in her rear-view mirror, and I reckon, she’d never intended to return.

 

Did Lacy slink into town or shout her return?

 

(Setting her clippers on the counter and reaching toward the coffee pot for a refill.) Well, she wasn’t proud to be back, but if I had to pin it down, I guess I’d say she just seemed lost. You know that looks some people get when the lights are on, but no one is home? She stopped by to say hello soon enough, but I could tell, her heart wasn’t in it. We’ll see how this works out. Frank doesn’t expect her to stay long, and he’s always been right about election results, so I’m guessing he knows what he’s talking about.

 

How long have you owned the Flower Shop, here on 5th Street?

 

Long enough to put my kids through school, and see my grandkids come around to help for special occasions. Lord knows why we stayed, but when Comfort gets in your blood, there’s no getting it out.

 

Sounds like you may be rooting for Lacy to outlast everyone’s predictions?

 

That Lacy Cavanaugh is something special, but I’m not sure she’s found out what she’s good at yet. I didn’t come to flower decorating until my kids were in junior high, and even then, it was just a means to an end. I didn’t fall in love with what I was doing until years later. I’m saying that to say, don’t put too much pressure on Lacy to have it all sorted out. Life is hard enough as it is, without everyone peeking in on your every move.

 

 

 

 

 

I managed to buy this book when it was on sale for $0.99 in December and I am so glad that I did so that I could discover what was happening in Comfort.  This book does stand alone and you do not have to read the first two to enjoy this, you just discover the stories of two other couples that are featured in this book.

Comfort is one of those towns that I would like to escape to when the world gets crazy. It is a small town where everyone knows everyone (or close anyway), the town appears calm and peaceful, and it is close enough to a larger city that allows for a different scenery when the need arises. At least that is what Lacy was probably hoping for when she ended in Comfort after a public incident shuts down her influencer abilities for a period of time. What Lacy doesn’t expect to find in this town is a renewed sense of self, closer ties with family, and love and a future she might never have expected to acquire.

Rudy Delgardo is an up and coming chef with a sweet, young daughter, Luna, that is maybe a little too smart for her own good. I love how she calls Lacy, Cinderella. Rudy has his own issues to deal with and one of them is his ex, Hannah. She is a piece of work that is for sure! I was happy with how this stumbling block worked out and it made me cheer.

If you are a foodie, there are plenty of scenes with descriptions of many delicious dishes that might make you gain 5 pounds just reading about them. From the restaurants in Austin and Comfort to Rudy cooking for Luna, Lacy, and others. There are even some recipes at the end in case you feel the need to whip up a dish or two.

Lacy’s influencer life that I mentioned is shut down by parents with too much money and not enough gumption to recognize the truth for what it is. It is the typical case of blaming someone else and not holding the true party responsible. The upside to this is that Lacy begins working for the small-town paper in Comfort and for its owner, Frank. The relationship between these two develops to more than Frank mentoring Lacy. I feel like he has true affection for Lacy, much like a father would for their child. When certain events unfold, this relationship becomes more evident and there are some very touching scenes. Lacy is able to use some of her social media prowess for her sister’s farm and a few other businesses, she just can’t do anything personally. And to make sure she doesn’t violate the agreement, she has gone old school with a “dumb” phone. This means no internet, no GPS (which she really needed several times), no apps. Just talking and texting.

One aspect of the book that might be a trigger for some, is the subject of human trafficking. Lacy stumbles across a situation that does not seem right for this small town. Many might say that this could not happen in their town, but sadly it happens all across the world in towns large and small. The message I picked up from this storyline is that if you see something that does not seem right, report it to the proper authorities. You might just save someone’s life.

The romance between Rudy and Lacy does not run smoothly.  When it comes to Lacy, Rudy is like a teenage boy that forgets how to converse with her. Actually, they both have this issue. Thankfully they don’t give up, and despite many misunderstandings, they manage to get it right.  Watching them stumble around with each other reminded me of some relationships I have had in the past.

This book kept me up until the wee hours of the morning because I kept saying to myself, “just one more chapter.” (I’m just glad I didn’t have to get up for work the next day.) The descriptions and scenes captivated me until the very end. I can’t wait for the next installment in this series! We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Kimberly Fish resides in Longview, Texas, and enjoys writing contemporary fiction set in the Hill Country. During the seven years she lived in San Antonio, wandering in and around Comfort, Texas, provided endless space for her imagination to develop stories of women discovering their grit. She studied the small Texas town that had seemingly dug its heels into the limestone and refused modern development and thought that was fertile ground for stories about women remodeling their lives. It made a juxtaposition of place and purpose that was hard to ignore. Plus, anything that takes intentional effort has a much higher value than the things that come easily—Comfort personifies this, and the novels remind readers that anything worth having is worth the work.

Comfort Foods is the third full-length novel in the set, Fiction from the Texas Hill Country, and follows behind the award-winning novels Comfort Plans and Comfort Songs. A novella, Emeralds Mark the Spot, is available as a free eBook download to subscribers of the incredibly sporadic newsletter at kimberlyfish.com and is the original story from which all other Comfort novels grew.

 

 

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 ONE WINNER

 

GRANDPRIZE (US only):

 

Signed copy of COMFORT FOODS +

 

Ina Garten’s MODERN COMFORT FOOD

 

Ends Midnight, CST, January 22, 2021

 

 

 

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

 

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1/12/21 Guest Post Hall Ways Blog
1/12/21 Review Sydney Young, Stories
1/13/21 Excerpt Forgotten Winds
1/14/21 Review Jennie Reads
1/14/21 Author Interview Texas Book Lover
1/15/21 Review The Clueless Gent
1/16/21 Review Jennifer Silverwood
1/17/21 Guest Post All the Ups and Downs
1/18/21 Review Momma on the Rocks
1/18/21 Character Interview StoreyBook Reviews
1/19/21 Review Book Bustle
1/19/21 Guest Post That’s What She’s Reading
1/20/21 Review Carpe Diem Chronicles
1/21/21 Review It’s Not All Gravy
1/21/21 Review Bibliotica

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Children, Giveaway, Interview, Texas on December 12, 2020

 

 

CLEO CAN TIE A BOW

 

A Rabbit and Fox Story

 

by

 

Sybrina Durant

 

 

Genre: Children’s Activity Book / Picture Book

Publisher: Self-Published

Date of Publication: September 25, 2020

Number of Pages: 39 pages

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Cleo loves bows. She wears her hair in a bow and decorates her room with bows. Cleo is bow crazy. Learning to tie a bow is very difficult for some people but Cleo remembers how to do it from a cute story she once heard. It is about a little rabbit with very long ears and a very helpful fox who shows her what to do to keep them clean. This is the story of how Cleo learns to tie a “bunny ear” bow. Exercises in manual dexterity build self-esteem in children. Knowing how to tie shoestrings, scarves and more into a bow is a useful and rewarding skill. Teach a child a useful skill. Build confidence and self-esteem that lasts a lifetime. Other books in the Learn To Tie With The Rabbit and the Fox series are the book with that name in English, Spanish, and Tagalog plus Nellie Knows How To Knot A Neck Scarf and Ned Knows How To Knot A Necktie.

 

 

 

 

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Author Sybrina Durant’s Favorite Cartoon Girls

 

(With Bows)

 

 

 

 

1: BETTY BOOP – 1930s – Everyone loved Betty Boop. She was a star of Talkertoons. Her first film was Dizzy Dishes, where she actually looked more like a dog than a human.  You might not remember that, but I bet you remember her in Boop-Oop-a-Doop where she was a lion tamer and a tightrope walker. Betty Boop is still a cartoon favorite today.

2: Blossom – PowerPuff Girl – 1998 – Blossom was the “everything nice” girl of her superpower gang. She was also the most level-headed of all the Powerpuff Girls. She could literally freeze objects with her breath; so to keep her happy and you “freeze free,” it might be best to give her a candy bar when she starts to get cranky.  Sugar is known to calm her way down.

3: Betty Rubble – Flintstones – 1960 – Betty was the best friend of Wilma Flintstone, and she was the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm. Remember that little tyke, along with Fred and Wilma’s daughter, Pebbles? These cave people may have lived in the prehistoric town of Bedrock, but they had some amazing alternatives to our modern conveniences like telephones, automobiles, and washing machines.

4: Judy Jetson – The Jetsons – 1962 – This was my very favorite cartoon, growing up.  I really thought we’d be living their futuristic lifestyle by now. At least, I thought I’d have a flying car. Judy was George and Jane Jetson’s sixteen-year-old daughter. Anyone remember her floating robotic diary, named, “DiDi”?

5: Nancy (and Sluggo) – 1938 – Nancy was an 8-year-old child who lived with her Aunt Fritzi Ritz in Three Rocks, Tennessee. Her best friend was an orphan named Sluggo Smith, whom she was always trying to improve. The Nancy comic strip was so popular that it inspired a game called 5-card Nancy. Have you ever played that game?

6: Helga G. Pataki – Hey Arnold – 1996 – Poor Helga…she loved Arnold so much that she literally made multiple shrines dedicated to him. Too bad she didn’t know that bullying someone was not conducive to getting them to love you back. An angry, rude girl is kind of a strange main character for a kid’s show, but it worked for this one. It thrived on the airwaves from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004.

7: Little Audrey – 1947 – Little Audrey was a variation of another cartoon character known as Little Lulu.  Little Audrey was drawn in a blue colored theme while Little Lulu’s color palette was red. Sadly, Little Audrey was the butt of a lot of mean jokes, but nothing could get her down.  No matter what catastrophe occurred, “Li’l Audrey just laughed and laughed.” Her first film appearance was in Noveltoon’s Santa’s Surprise.

8: Susie Carmichael – Rugrats – 1993 – Susie is one of the toddlers (thus the term “rugrats”) in a series of imaginative adventures that mainly revolved around Angelica and Tommy Pickles. The kind and fun-loving Susie was introduced to the show as a foil to the mean-spirited Angelica. Susie was easy to love, while Angelica – not so much.

9: Abby Hatcher – 2019 – Abby Hatcher is a Canadian animated cartoon series about a 7-year-old child of American and Chinese descent with professional detective skills and tools to rival those of Inspector Gadget. She and her best friend, Bozzly, an aquamarine rabbit-like Fuzzly, go on wild adventures together.

10: Maggie Simpson – The Simpsons – 1989 – The Simpsons is one of the longest running cartoons in history.  There have been 690 episodes and counting. Most everyone knows who innocent baby Maggie is. In all these years, she has never learned to talk or walk very well but she is still adorable, just the same. Did you know that the word “simp” is short for “simpleton” and that is where the family name is derived?

 

I loved this list and it sent me down quite the rabbit hole wondering if there were other characters that might have made my top ten list.  I have to say, some that I thought had bows did not, like Olive Oyl or any of the Peanuts characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sybrina Durant is the author of some fanciful and some factual books.  Her writings have inspired several online entrepreneurial ventures. Two of those are the Rabbit and Fox Bookstore and the Girls Love Bows Gift Shop.  Spend some time browsing both for some interesting and surprising gift ideas for yourself and others

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Posted in Giveaway, Historical, Interview, Middle Grade on September 29, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

One Boy’s War by Nancy McDonald

Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 134 pages

Historical fiction

Publisher: Iguana Books

Release date: April, 2020

 

 

Synopsis

 

ENGLAND, SUMMER 1940. Following a brush with death in the Irish Sea, 10-year-old Käfer Avigdor unexpectedly finds himself back in London. There, he stumbles upon a sinister Nazi plot that targets hundreds of people in Britain—including the most powerful man in the country. The one person who might be able to defeat Adolf Hitler. With the Germans threatening to invade England at any moment, Käfer musters all his courage and ingenuity in a valiant effort to thwart the Nazis. But will he succeed in time to save the day? One Boy’s War, the sequel to Boy from Berlin, is inspired by real people and historical events.

 

 

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Boy from Berlin by Nancy McDonald

Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 142 pages

Genre: Historical fiction

Publisher: Iguana Books

Release date: May 7, 2018

Synopsis

 

Berlin, April 1938. One night, eight-year-old Käfer Avigdor uses his specialty toilet-paper roll binoculars to spy on his Mama and Aunt Charlotte. The whispered conversation he overhears alerts him to a danger he didn’t know existed and starts him rethinking who he really is and where he belongs. Within hours, Käfer and his family flee their comfortable life. In a desperate race to stay one step ahead of the Nazis, Käfer is called on to be braver and more resourceful than he ever imagined possible. But will it be enough? Boy from Berlin is based on real people and actual events.

 

 

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Praise for Boy from Berlin

 

“Inspired by a true story, Boy from Berlin shares a unique voice in the Holocaust. Highly recommended!” – Jennifer Roy, author of Yellow Star, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award.

“A compelling introduction to themes of war, courage and identity, certain to engage young readers.” – Trilby Kent, author of Stones for my Father, winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literary Award.

 

 

Interview with Nancy McDonald

 

 

Q:           You’re been a professional writer your entire career, but novel writing has come late. Has anything surprised you about it?

 

A:            Yes! I’ve been amazed at how it takes over my life. Whatever book I’m writing is in my head all the time. I’m going about my day – shopping, walking the river, meeting friends, working at the book store – and scenes, or bits of scenes, are percolating away. It’s almost like I’m living two parallel lives, mine and my characters’.

 

Q:           What genre do you write?

 

A:            I write historical fiction for middle-grade readers. I’ve always been very interested in history, in particular the two World Wars.  But how I got writing fiction for that age group was a fluke. I was cleaning out my filing cabinet after my husband Käfer died, and I came across a slim, manila file folder that I didn’t recall seeing before. Inside were copies of letters that my late father-in-law had written in 1940. I knew right away that they were all that remained of the story of how and why the family had fled Berlin, first for The Hague and then to England.  My first thought was to write a history for the family, but as I started to piece together the information from the letters with what I learned and imagined how Käfer would have felt and acted, it turned into a novel, Boy from Berlin, written in his eight-year-old voice. The sequel, One Boy’s War, picks up the action, again, from his point of view.

 

Q:           How did you do the research?

 

A:            Parts of it were really challenging because the books are based on real people and everyone in my husband’s family is dead.  I started by scouring the Internet. It’s amazing what you can find out online! I discovered that Käfer’s father, who I knew was an aeronautical engineer, had invented a game-changing fuel pump that could help win the war. When they fled, it landed him on Hitler’s notorious “Black List”, a special arrest list to be used upon a successful invasion of Britain. I travelled to Berlin and The Hague to see where Käfer had lived, and the places he’d gone with his parents, and tried to re-create what happened from his eight-year-old point of view.

 

Q:           What’s the appeal for middle-graders?

 

A:            First of all, both books are thrillers. They’re action-packed with lots of twists and turns. Second, the stakes are very high. There’s a family in real peril, in a race to escape, with the Nazis on their heels. If they’re caught, they’ll end up in a concentration camp. And, at the centre, there’s a young boy, Käfer, who is desperate to help save them — and prove to his father that he’s brave and resourceful.

 

Q:           What’s your next book?

 

A:            It’s called Girl on the Run and it is set in Berlin in 1933, just as Hitler comes to power. It’s based on historical fact, but this time the characters are totally fictitious. The heroine is twelve-year-old Amelie. She has a little sister, Gigi, and a father who is heads the biology department at Friedrich Wilhelm University (now Humboldt). Their mother is dead. The story begins ominously with the news that Nazi commissars have been appointed to all the universities. Jewish professors and students are banned; curricula are changed to suit Hitler’s beliefs. When Amelie’s father falls in love with a colleague, Amelie discovers that her mother was Jewish and that the new step-mother doesn’t want her or her sister. That sets off a trail of events that leads the girls on a harrowing escape, hopefully to safety.

 

Q:           What do you think is the attraction of historical fiction?

 

A:            As a reader, it lets you get lost in another time and place and experience a moment in history through the eyes of the characters. I think we all wonder: what would I have done if I were put in those circumstances? Would I do the brave thing?

 

 

About the Author

 

Nancy McDonald began her career as a journalist on television programs that include W5, Canada AM, and Marketplace before going on to become a sought-after freelance writer, penning everything from documentaries to live-action scripts to comic books. One Boy’s War is the highly anticipated sequel to Boy from Berlin. Nancy lives in Stratford, Ontario, where she revels in Shakespeare, takes theatergoers on tours of the Costume Warehouse, and treads the boards with the Perth County Players. She also works part-time at Fanfare Books, Stratford’s only independent bookseller.

 

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Giveaway

 

Autographed set of BOY FROM BERLIN & ONE BOY’S WAR. (one winner) (USA and Canada only) (ends Oct 9)

 

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