Posted in animals, Children, Giveaway, Texas on June 4, 2023

 

 

THE PUPPY ADVENTURES

 

OF PORTER & MIDGE:

 

OUT AND ABOUT

 

by

 

Jennie Chen and Giselle Nevada

 

 

Children’s Book / Pet Books / Pet Care

Publisher: Raise the Woof Press

Page Count: 38 pages

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

 

 

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Introducing The Puppy Adventures of Porter and Midge: Out and About – a quick introduction to early socialization and training for puppies that will make them outstanding canine citizens and wonderful family pets. Kids will love following along with the two puppies’ story set in Austin, Texas, as they learn about how to take care of their own puppy. This is the first book in a series of story books, journals, and activity books.

 

 

Amazon

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

Gift this book to any new puppy owner you know!” Lynn M. Hayner, Author at Dogster

 

“Chen and Nevada write in an easy and enjoyable style…If you are a dog lover, this storybook is for you. Help your children become the best dog companion they can be.” –Philip Van Heusen, Reader’s Favorite

 

 

 

 

Dogs & Books

 

Attention all dog lovers and fans of The Puppy Adventures of Porter and Midge: Out and About! Check out this scrapbook featuring a collection of adorable furry friends who are all fans of this heartwarming children’s book. Inside the pages of the book, your kids will follow the adventures of Porter and Midge, two curious and playful puppies who learn the importance of socialization and building strong bonds with their human companions. Now, your furry friend can join in on the fun with their new friends in the scrapbook. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to show your kids how to socialize their pups and build lasting bonds while also fostering a love for reading and learning. Get your copy of this charming book today, and let the adventures begin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giselle Nevada has owned several mastiffs, acquired both from reputable breeders and via rescue. Fostering rescued mastiffs and helping them work through their issues led to a keen interest in socialization as a means of preventing future issues. She loves working with her dogs and has dabbled in carting, conformation, agility, rally, trick dog, nose work, and many other canine sports. Her puppy Porter is a testament to early socialization – he has achieved many performance dog titles and has done commercial work. He also has a role in a movie called Match Me If You Can directed by Marian Yeager.

 

 

Jennie Chen is a homesick Austinite who founded Keep Austin Dog Friendly. Over the last 20 years, Jennie has owned Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Lowchen. She has earned numerous titles in conformation, competitive obedience, rally, herding, animal assisted therapy, and more. She is passionate about the relationship people build with their beloved canines, and she has been an advocate for people living with disabilities who need a service dog to live independently. She is active in various dog clubs and can be seen on AKC.TV from time to time.

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Historical, Spotlight, Texas on May 15, 2023

 

 

 

GHOSTLY BUGLES

 

by

 

Max L. Knight

 

 

Historical Fiction / Texas History

Publisher: Wild Lark Books

Date of Publication: February 23, 2023

Number of Pages: 210 pages

 

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Do the souls of the dead reach out from beyond the grave? Do echoes of the past resound through the ages? Are such insights a privilege or a curse? An old man grapples with these questions and his own mortality as he re-examines one of the most famous battles in history – the Alamo.

The 1836 siege and battle as well as current efforts to restore Alamo Plaza to hallowed ground and create a world-class attraction unfold as the old man tries to make sense of his memories, dreams, and perceived outreach by the dead whose souls cry out to him for inclusion and recognition. Beyond the myth and the legend are their stories as well as his own.

Ghostly Bugles is a fictional re-creation of the Alamo story, rich in historical detail with a unique paranormal element. The narrative combines elements of the traditional storyline with contemporary efforts to “Re-imagine the Alamo”. The dual timelines balance our understanding of this world- renowned event and provide new perspective and appreciation for the courage and sacrifice of everyone involved – Texian and Tejano defenders, and Mexican soldiers.

 

 

 

AmazonWild Lark Books

 

 

 

 

MAX L. KNIGHT was born in Panama and grew up in the Canal Zone and in San Antonio, Texas, where he and his wife reside. In addition to degrees from Texas A&M University and Campbell University, Max served twenty-four years in the United States Army (1973-1997), retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He became the first Alamo Docent in 2004, but the tragic events of 9/11 compelled him to reactivate his security clearance and, when the approval finally came through, he returned to work in support of U.S. Counterintelligence operations. A stage IV throat cancer diagnosis in 2014 abruptly ended that phase of his life, and he turned to writing to help him get through the chemo, radiation, and surgeries. Max is currently cancer free.

His other works include Silver Taps, Palo Duro, and Tarnished Brass.

 

 

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Posted in coming of age, Dystopian, Giveaway, Playlist, suspense, Texas on May 12, 2023

 

 

 

BLUE RUNNING

 

by

 

Lori Ann Stephens

 

 

Dystopian Fiction / Coming of Age / Suspense

Publisher: Moonflower Publishing

Date of Publication: November, 2022

Number of Pages: 334 pages

 

 

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In the new Republic of Texas, guns are compulsory and nothing is forgiven. Blue Running is a gripping coming-of-age thriller set in post-secessionist Texas. A fast-paced, page-turning book, it looks unflinchingly at what the future could hold, and finds hope there.

Fourteen-year-old Bluebonnet Andrews is on the run across the Republic of Texas. An accident with a gun killed her best friend but everyone in the town of Blessing thinks it was murder. Even her father – the town’s drunken deputy – believes she did it. Now, she has no choice but to run. In Texas, murder is punishable by death.

On the road she meets Jet, a pregnant young woman of Latin American heritage. Jet is secretive about her past but she’s just as determined as Blue to get out of Texas before she’s caught and arrested. Together, the two form an unlikely kinship as they make their way past marauding motorcycle gangs, the ever-watchful Texas Rangers, and armed strangers intent on abducting them – or worse. When Blue and Jet finally reach the wall, will they be able to cross the border, or will they be shot down in cold blood like the thousands who have gone before them?

Some things are worth dying for.

 

 

AmazonBlackwell’s

 

Other Moonflower Publishing Affiliates

 

 

Praise

 

“Brilliant.”  —Heat Magazine

“A fast-paced story that races along, and stays with you long after you’ve finished it.” — The American

“An important and unforgettable read.” — Armadillo Magazine

 

 

 

 

Author Lori Ann Stephens’s

 

playlist to Blue Running

 

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“The Run and Go” by Twenty One Pilots

“Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill (Blue’s song)

“Escape Route” by Paramour (Jet’s song)

“You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore

“Hate to See Your Heart Break” by Paramour

“Heaven’s Here on Earth” by Tracy Chapman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novelist, librettist, lecturer Lori Ann Stephens grew up in North Texas, where she developed an addiction to the arts. Her novels for children and adults include Novalee and the Spider Secret, Some Act of Vision, and Song of the Orange Moons, and her award-winning work has been noted by Glimmer Train Stories, The Chicago Tribune, and the English National Opera. She teaches Writing and Critical Reasoning undergraduate courses, as well as creative writing graduate courses, at Southern Methodist University. She lives in Texas and is a bit mad about her cat.

 

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Paperback of Blue Running

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Guest Post, Historical, Texas, Western on May 3, 2023

 

 

 

CALL OF THE WILDE

 

An H. H. Lomax Western, Book 8

 

by

 

PRESTON LEWIS

 

 

Historical Fiction / Comic Western / Humor

Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing

Date of Publication: March 17, 2023

Number of Pages: 352 pages

 

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Wild West hijinks continue in the eighth installment of the hysterical and historical adventures of an unlikely hero.

H.H. Lomax once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when, wrongfully accused of robbing a bank, he’s arrested and jailed in a town vying for a stop on the approaching Texas & Pacific Railroad.

When local officials can’t afford to pay for a trial, a harebrained scheme is concocted to get rid of Lomax without spending a red cent. But Lomax avoids the hairy situation, pulling off an escape with the aid of an unlikely accomplice and exacting a bit of revenge in the process.

His wandering spirit—and neck—intact, Lomax lands among the Mormons in Salt Lake City, where he encounters a long-lost relative in need of assistance and makes the acquaintance of none other than Irish poet and aesthete Oscar Wilde. And from there, it’s all downhill, folks!

Jumping from one bad situation to another in non-stop hilarious action, H.H. Lomax’s adventures will tickle your funny bone with genuine humor while satisfying your craving for western action adventure.

 

 

AmazonWolfpack Publishing

 

 

 

 

Oscar Wilde and the Wild West

 

Guest Post by Preston Lewis

 

 

Today’s culture of fame and celebrity had nothing on Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, who in 1882 toured North America lecturing on topics so obscure that it is a wonder he ever attracted an audience, especially out West.  Nonetheless, he did draw in spectators and the curious because Wilde may have been the country’s first celebrity famous for merely being famous.

Arriving in New York on the third day of 1882, Wilde spent 51 weeks touring the United States and Canada.  Seven weeks of his tour he traveled west of the Mississippi going all the way to San Francisco, lecturing pioneers on such dry topics as “The Decorative Arts” and “The House Beautiful,” subjects of little practical use out west.

Though he would later be acclaimed as a playwright and novelist, when the 27-year-old Irishman pretending to be an Englishman arrived in America he had but a thin book of poetry to his writing credits.  His greatest claim to fame, however, was that Wilde had been parodied by Gilbert and Sullivan as Bunthorne in their comic opera Patience, which skewered aestheticism, a philosophy best summarized as “art for art’s sake.”

Because of his flamboyance, Wilde stood as the most visible proponent of aestheticism with his long hair and his ostentatious dress drawing attention wherever he went.  His outlandish observations and his haughty demeanor amused Americans, whether they agreed with him or not.  Wilde’s singular and unmatched talent at this stage of his career was rabid self-promotion.  He excelled at it, often erasing the line between fame and notoriety, as he toured the country.

At six-foot-three Wilde featured an elongated colorless face accented by a prominent nose over coarse lips that hid greenish-hued teeth, discolored from too many cigarettes. His thick eyebrows shaded attentive eyes, and a long mop of tawny brown hair brushed against his shoulders. One journalist noted that “he looked better in the dark.”

Even so, people paid as much as a dollar and a half to hear him talk, though they often didn’t understand his philosophical meanderings and sometimes wrote off the expense as the cost of attending a freak show.  Too, there was the cultural and educational differences between Wilde and his audiences, especially out west as best illustrated by his visit to Leadville, Colorado, which the poet called the world’s richest city at the time.  Wilde later claimed “I was told that if I went there, they would be sure to shoot me or my traveling manager.  I wrote and told them that nothing they could do to my manager would intimidate me.”

During his Leadville lecture in the fancy Tabor Opera House packed with curiosity seekers, Wilde read from the autobiography of famed Renaissance artisan and silversmith Benvenuto Cellini.  When a bored spectator shouted why Cellini wasn’t present to read for himself, Wilde responded, “He’s dead.”  Responded the inquisitor, “Who shot him?” A reporter covering the Leadville talk noted the next day that “the most notable feature of Mr. Wilde’s lecture was the rather boisterous good humor of the audience.”

In spite of such lukewarm reviews, Wilde was seared in the minds of Americans.  When Wilde arrived in New York, frontiersman and dime novel hero Buffalo Bill Cody was likely the nation’s best-known celebrity.  By the time Wilde returned to Great Britain, he had traveled some 15,000 North American miles through 30 of the 38 United States, leaving behind over 500 major newspaper features and surpassing Buffalo Bill’s celebrity status at least until the next year when Cody started his Wild West show.

Odd though he may have been to westerners especially, by the time he left the U.S. Wilde had profited the equivalent of almost $200,000 in today’s money.  Those interested in learning more about Oscar Wilde’s 1882 trip across America should read Wilde in America: Oscar Wilde and the Invention of Modern Celebrity by David M. Friedman; Oscar Wilde Discovers America in 1882 by Lloyd Lewis and Henry Justin Smith; and Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of 46 novels and nonfiction works on the West.  He is a past president of Western Writers of America.

 

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Posted in Book Release, excerpt, suspense, Texas, Thriller on April 24, 2023

 

 

Synopsis

 

An undercover FBI agent and an independent coffee shop owner must team up when a local barista is found dead and danger circles their coastal Texas town in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she’s deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover mission: The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it’s a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he’s immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla’s connections in the local community and Sean’s skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean’s carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.

 

 

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Excerpt

 

Sean Moran slipped away from the party. The bride and groom had left under a shower of rice, but people were still milling around beneath swags of white lights, drinking the couple’s booze and enjoying the breeze off the water. Sean would have liked another drink, but he needed to get back to his condo. As he crossed the wooden bridge spanning the sand dunes, he spied a woman on the beach with a champagne flute in hand.

Leyla Breda.

Her formfitting dress looked silver in the moonlight, and it shimmered against her body as she strolled toward the surf. Nearing a piece of driftwood, she dropped her shoes to the sand and sat down. She nestled the flute at her feet, then lifted her arms and twisted her dark hair into a knot at the top of her head.

Sean stopped at the end of the bridge. He had about a hundred things left to do tonight, including contacting his boss.

Instead, he walked over to Leyla.

“How’s the champagne?”

She jumped and turned around. Recognition flickered across her face, and her shoulders relaxed.

“It’s good.” She held up her glass. “You didn’t have any?”

“Nope. Can I get you a refill?”

She smiled. “What, are you a waiter now, too?”

He stepped closer. “I’m Sean Moran, by the way.” He held out his hand. “We never actually met.”

“Leyla Breda.” Her handshake was brisk and businesslike, but the warm look in her eyes gave him hope.

“Joel’s little sister,” he said.

“That’s me.”

He turned toward the water so he wouldn’t be tempted to stare down the front of her dress.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier,” she said. “Things got really hectic.”

“Looked like you had your hands full.”

“So, are you here for Joel or Miranda?”

He looked at her. “Joel.”

She tipped her head to the side as she gazed up at him. “And you know him from . . . ?”

“Work.”

She frowned. “Here?”

“No. We go way back. We were in the same academy class in Houston, spent some time at HPD together.”

“Oh. That was a while ago.”

“Yeah.”

“So . . . the vice squad, then?”

“Yeah. Mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all.”

Sean lowered himself onto the other end of the sandy log. He didn’t like the direction the conversation had taken so he steered it back to her.

“So, how long have you been a caterer?” he asked.

“Hmm . . . let’s see. I guess it’s been about three weeks now.” She turned and smiled at him, and he felt a hot jolt of attraction. “Why? Can you tell?”

“Not at all.”

“Right.”

“Well, the timing seemed a little bumpy.”

“Just a little.” She rolled her eyes. “We had several staffers no-show. It happens a lot in this business. People are flaky. Despite all my planning, you could say we were a bit rushed.”

Rushed was right. No woman had ever clapped at him before. He’d discovered it was a turn-on.

 

Excerpted from Deep Tide by Laura Griffin Copyright © 2023 by Laura Griffin. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.

 

 

About the Author

 

Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books and novellas. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages. Laura is a two-time RITA® Award winner (for Scorched and Whisper of Warning) as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award (for Untraceable). Her book Desperate Girls was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by Publishers Weekly. Laura lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next novel.

 

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Posted in excerpt, Giveaway, Historical, romance, Texas, Western on April 6, 2023

 

 

WINNING MAURA’S HEART

 

The Hangman’s Daughters Series, Book # 1

 

by

 

Linda Broday

 

 

Western Romance / Clean & Wholesome / Historical Fiction

 

Publisher: Severn House

 

Date of Publication: March 7, 2023

 

Number of Pages: 256 pages

 

 

 

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Maura Taggart is an outcast, the daughter of a hangman and tainted by association – no reputable man wants her as his wife. And now she is homeless, along with her sister and the group of children in their care. Armed with pure grit, she finds a nearby mission where the nuns agree to take them in and set up an orphanage. But trouble is just around the corner . . .

The Calhoun brothers are identical twins but on opposite sides of the law. Cutter is a deputy Marshal, Jonas an outlaw. When Cutter attempts to break his brother out of a notorious gang, they are shot, and Maura finds one of them wounded, close to the mission – but which brother is it?

As the stranger regains his strength under Maura’s care an attraction between them grows, yet how far can she trust him? And why has he brought trouble to their door? With the orphanage under threat can Maura trust this handsome stranger both with their safety and with her heart?

 

 

 

Universal Purchase Link

 

 

 

 

Excerpt from Winning Maura’s Heart

 

By Linda Broday

 

 

Calhoun met her blue gaze and came near to slicing his ear. He swallowed hard and shaved all that he could get to with one arm. Finally, he laid the razor in the water. “That’s it.”

“You did good, Calhoun.” Maura dried the straight razor and uncurled the strop.

He watched in fascination as she expertly sharpened the blade. “You’ve used one of those before.”

“I used to love doing this for my father on the rare occasions when he was home. And when he let me, which was in truth only a handful of times. But it made me feel that he cared for me. At least a little.”

“I take it your father was away a lot.”

“Yes, he has to travel where the jobs take him.”

“What kind of work does he do?”

Maura froze. After several moments, she spoke. “I’d rather not say if you don’t mind. His profession has made life—difficult—for Emma and me.”

What did he do? Curiosity had him biting his tongue to keep from asking. If he could bear waiting until tomorrow, he’d ask Max. But whatever it was had kept both girls from having a life.

Apparently, they’d been unwelcome in town so they brought the children out here. Now it made some sense why those folks had chopped off Emma’s hair.

The sisters were outcasts. For whatever reason, no one wanted their company.

His blood ran cold. There were only three professions that folks had difficulty with, and he didn’t like the thought of any of them. Grave digger, undertaker, and hangman. And the first two were far more acceptable than the third. Calhoun put the thought aside for now. Maura had gotten the blade at the sharpness she wanted it and stood ready.

“I’ve never done this part of shaving, but I’ll try not to cut you.”

“Thanks for that.” He was already sweating. First, at the thought of an untrained person holding such a sharp instrument. But worse than that…she stood so close and would have to lean in to get in the right positions. No barber he’d ever gone to had been encumbered with breasts and Maura’s were quite…well, let’s just say no one would ever mistake her for a man. Not at all. Even if they were blind as bats.

“Relax, Calhoun. You’re not scared, are you?”

“Quit teasing. Of course, I’m apprehensive.” He took a deep breath. “Proceed.”

“You act like you’re about to be drawn and quartered like they did in jolly old England.”

“I think they still might,” he muttered darkly.

Her sleeve brushed his cheek as she made the first stroke. She leaned to whisper. “You’re in good hands, Calhoun.”

A side glance found him staring down her dress at all that soft skin. He tried several times to speak before he managed to croak, “Yes, ma’am.”

She moved and the view disappeared. He could finally release the breath he’d been holding. Despite her inexperience, her strokes were slow and smooth with no hesitation or nicks.

But keeping her bosom away from his face was all but impossible. He closed his eyes but each time he opened them, there they were.

Normally, he wouldn’t complain but he was trying to be a gentleman as much as he was able. When his body reacted and he was about to embarrass himself, he pictured his last fishing trip and counted the fish on his stringer. When he ran out of fish, he counted the worms, then his bullets.

“Are you going to sleep, Calhoun?” she asked.

Good Lord, he was far from that! Every nerve ending was standing on end and saluting. He folded his hands over himself.

“No, ma’am. Just thinking about going fishing.”

“I see. Do you fish often?”

“Every chance I get, but it’s been a while since I last went.”

“Lean your head back and tighten the skin around your mouth and nose. A little more and we’ll be through.”

He did as she asked and found his head resting on those soft twin mounds. It was like floating on a cloud.

Stop it. Just stop it. He couldn’t let himself enjoy the sensation. It was wrong, wrong, wrong and he was about to lose control. And would if this went on for long. And then what?

“Quit squirming,” Maura scolded.

“I’m trying.” But all sorts of inappropriate images were running through his head.

The moments passed as she finished up then dropped the straight razor into the bowl of water and stepped back. “I’m done.”

Not a moment too soon. He struggled to his feet, wiping away the excess shaving soap with the towel. “Thank you. It feels good to rid myself of those bristles.”

“You’re welcome. You look…nice.”

He chuckled. “You mean human. I’m beginning to feel like it, thanks to you.”

Without looking at him, she opened the door to empty the bowl of water. “No offense, but I hope you can manage by yourself next time.”

Something had happened to her voice. It seemed a little strained. Had this affected her as it had him?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of western romance novels and short stories. Watching TV westerns during my youth fed my love of cowboys and the old West and they still do. On a still day, I can often hear the voices of American Indians, Comancheros, and early cowboys whispering in the breeze here on the high West Texas plains. We refer to this land as “cowboy” country and men here still ride the range just as cowboys of old. My stories focus on family life and almost all have children.

 

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GRAND PRIZE: tote including signed copy of Winning Maura’s Heart, strawberry & chocolate tea, Cowgirl hand lotion, bath bombs, personalized cup;

 

2nd Prize: eBook copy Winning Maura’s Heart;

 

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Posted in 5 paws, Review, suspense, Texas, Thriller, Trailer on March 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

You can’t outrun the Registration.

Imagine it’s legal to commit one murder in your lifetime⎯if you Register the victim and accomplish the kill within fourteen days. So when Lynell Mize stands in line to Register the man who abused her as a child, she’s shocked to hear a stranger Register her to be killed. Why would anyone who doesn’t know her squander his one legal murder on her? Desperate to survive the next two weeks, she must find out who wants to kill her⎯and why.

​Easier said than done as Lynell soon discovers that multiple strangers have used their Registration on her. Along the way, she reunites with her estranged husband who is determined to dig up a past Lynell prefers to keep buried. With only days left to live, Lynell fights to uncover the truth and survive a destiny not of her choosing.

 

 

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Review

 

I really enjoy reading speculative books because, many times, the truth is buried somewhere in the book or at least one viewpoint of the world we are living in.

Imagine being able to kill one person with no repercussions. Who would you want to eliminate and why? Lynell Mize has her sights set on an abusive stepfather. No one would blame her since he does not appear to be a worthwhile individual. Now imagine you are there to register who you want to take out, and you hear your name. That has to be very unsettling. What do you do? If you can elude the person for two weeks, they can’t kill you after that time, and they have lost their opportunity. I know I would try and escape or hide from that person and pray for the best.

We learn a lot about Lynell during this time once she hears her name and tries to avoid being caught by the person that registered her. However, we learn that multiple people have registered her, and she is being hunted. Who does she trust? Can she trust anyone? When the truth came out about why she was being hunted, it blew my mind! I admired Lynell even more at that point and everything she endured to try and uncover the truth.

Lynell is the type of woman that I think many of us hope that we can be – strong, intelligent, and willing to protect those that she loves. There is a slight mystery along with the suspense of this book. I figured out part of it but still didn’t know how it all would come together in the end.

I was also rooting for Lynell and Danny’s relationship. Would they be able to get back on track? Some secrets come out that could make or break their relationship.

This was a riveting story, and now I’m curious what the movie will be like and if it will live up to the book.

We give this 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Author Madison Lawson writes speculative fiction novels full of suspense, social commentary, and complex relationships. She has published a dozen short stories, many of which won awards such as the Koresh Award and the Gordone Award. She received her B.A. in English from Texas A&M University and is currently earning her M.A. in English at North Carolina State University. Born and raised in a small Texas town, Madison began escaping through reading and writing as soon as she could.

 

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Posted in 5 paws, Giveaway, Review, romance, Texas, women on March 30, 2023

 

 

 

SWEET COMFORT

 

Comfort and Joy Trilogy, #1

 

by

 

KIMBERLY FISH

 

 

Women’s Fiction / Cozy Mystery / Later-In-Life Romance / Sweet Second-Chance Romance

Publisher: Fish Tales

Page Count: 359 pages

Publication Date: January 21, 2023

 

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Welcome to the hometown everyone wants to call their own.

Gloria Bachman, a retired bank executive, has eight weeks to flip a location on Comfort’s High Street into a boutique chocolate shop. Defying expectations for “women of a certain age,” Gloria rediscovers talents and a sharpening of skills. If only she could read people as well as she does a spreadsheet. Even with the renovation in good hands, the subsequent struggle to name the shop brings Gloria and her business partner into conflict with a shady citizen. While Gloria is capable of remaining in her retirement rut while opening a business, two competing social groups try to lure her into their networks, causing Gloria to wonder if she ever knew Comfort at all. A murder rocks the community and revives investigative instincts honed by years in the banking industry.

Mason Lassiter, a disgraced CEO, has his own dramas to escape, and the offbeat town seems the perfect place to recover his self-esteem. What was to be a quick reversal of fortunes becomes a quest to right a deeply felt injustice. Fascinated by the women driving the energy of Comfort, he extends his stay to find out why the small town is the backdrop to their best tales. Tangling with his neighbor Gloria becomes his favorite pastime and the key to unlocking the mystery of his past—if he can convince her to trust him.

Chocolate and joy become the glue bringing an unlikely cast together, which just might change Gloria’s and Mason’s course for the better. With characters familiar from previous Comfort novels and introducing fresh names, Sweet Comfort will entertain those who like their stories seasoned with coziness and sweet, second chances.

 

 

 

Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhhh, the town of Comfort is calling, and I answered! If you haven’t read any of this author’s Comfort series, you are missing out. While this includes many of the characters from those books and continues the story, there are new faces in town that we can come to love as much as the others. Plus, there will be chocolate!

Georgia is a woman that I definitely admire. She has dealt with some issues in her past work at a bank in the area, including being forced out thanks to the male ego and more. Being burned by a man has soured her outlook on men for the most part. However, enter Morgan Lassiter. A hunky man from Dallas has caught her eye, and she has caught his. However, she is reluctant to be more than friends, but maybe he will wear her down. I love when a new romance takes its time for the characters to experience each other and what they could potentially bring to the table and the relationship.

I mentioned chocolate. Georgia and Kali are opening a high-end chocolate store and are working non-stop to get everything done before their grand opening. There are some setbacks, as would be expected, but each one just strengthens what we know about these women and the skills that they have that they don’t even realize. I love when people learn more about themselves and what they are capable of in the process of a new venture. I am glad I don’t live in Comfort (although sometimes I wish that I did) because I would be there every day indulging in the truffles, bars, and other assorted chocolates. This author speaks to my heart when she includes chocolate in the mix.

There are a few minor mysteries included in this book. The first is who killed Ted Bodine. Georgia has an analytical mind, and it is evident as she susses out the clues and the facts as different situations present themselves. Now the mystery doesn’t really start until 40% into the book, so I would say that this is less mystery and more romance and second chances. There is also the mystery of Mason’s wife. She is supposedly deceased, but signs point other ways. Will Georgia and Mason determine if she faked her death or is truly gone? These add a twist to the story and create more depth.

I love the rivalry between the Knitters Club and the Bunco ladies. While there is some tension between various characters, it is also nice to see them come together in times of need, no matter which club they belong to. Plus, it adds some spice to the story. I’m not sure I’m Wanda’s biggest fan, but she does add some complexity to the story.

This story made me smile, laugh, drool (over chocolate), and engaged my brain to sort out the mystery.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kimberly Fish has been a professional writer in marketing and media for over thirty years, with regular contributions to area newspapers and magazines. As an accidental historian, she wrote two novels, The Big Inch and Harmon General, both based on factual events in Longview, Texas that changed world history. Kimberly also offers a set of contemporary women’s fiction, based in the Texas Hill Country, that reveal her fascination with characters discovering their grit and sweet, second chances; all four of these novels have won distinguished awards.

 

 

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Two winners each receive a signed copy of Sweet Comfort plus a box of Sweet Shop USA candies!

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Literary, Texas on March 12, 2023

 

 

 

MARVA COPE

 

Jackson’s Pond, Texas Series Book 4

 

by

 

Teddy Jones

 

Rural Fiction / Small Town Texas / Literary Fiction

Publisher: MidTown Publishing

Date of Publication: February 5, 2023

Number of Pages: 281 pages

 

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A stranger comes to Jackson’s Pond and everything changes.

 

Marva Cope, the fourth novel in the Jackson’s Pond, Texas Series, brings new elements to the story of the small town in the Texas Panhandle.

Marva arrives as the new postmaster in 2017. She brings with her a lifetime of hesitancy to open herself to others. It is here, while living with her elder Aunt Violet, that she comes to appreciate the value of true friendships. With new relationships, long walks, and conversations with herself, she comes to terms with her difficult past…the loss of a beloved teenaged brother in a tragic farm accident, her father’s death from a broken heart, and a distant mother who had no love for the young teenager.

Troubled teenage years followed as a flawed young man lures her to New Mexico, then left her alone with their newborn daughter. With her newfound courage of trusting others as friends, she reconnects with her daughter and a college dorm-mate she had deserted in years past. In Jackson’s Pond, she finds the ability to consider what to do with the rest of her life.

 

 

 

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Praise

 

There is so much to admire in this wise and luminous novel. Marva Cope is written with abiding tenderness and compassion. — John Dufresne, author of Storyville

The novel Marva Cope is a rarity— an artfully told “coming of age” story that morphs into a “getting on with life” saga that, in the end, celebrates the simple joys of human connection. — Martha Burns, author of Blind Eye

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The overall idea is that these are sources of inspiration and/or good luck for me.

Muses of a sort. – Teddy Jones

 

  1. Audrey, the big white dog
  2. Purple voodoo doll who stays home and does her work
  3. Queenie, a woman of West Texas–you can tell by the headscarf
  4. John Q. Pumpkin
  5. Trixie, who often rides in my pocket or purse
  6. Buzz, who thinks he’s fully a cowdog, but isn’t, with his friend Audrey

 

 

 

 

 

Teddy Jones is the author of five published novels, as well as a collection of short stories. Her short fiction received the Gold Medal First Prize in the Faulkner-Wisdom competition in 2015. Jackson’s Pond, Texas was a finalist for the 2014 Willa Award in contemporary fiction from Women Writing the West. Her novel, Making It Home, was a finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom competition in 2017 and A Good Family (not yet unpublished) was named finalist in that contest in 2018.

Although her fiction tends to be set in West Texas, her characters’ lives embody issues not bounded by geography of any particular region. Families and loners; communities in flux; people struggling, others successful; some folks satisfied in solitude and others yearning for connection populate her work. And they all have in common that they are more human than otherwise.

Jones grew up in a small Texas town, Iowa Park. Earlier she worked as a nurse, a nurse educator, a nursing college administrator, and as a nurse practitioner in Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. For the past twenty years, she and her husband have lived in the rural West Texas Panhandle where he farms and she writes.

 

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 ONE WINNER:

 

A set of all 4 Jackson’s Pond, Texas books, a copy of Nowhere Near,

 

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03/07/23 Rox Burkey Blog Excerpt
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03/08/23 All the Ups and Downs Excerpt
03/08/23 Shelf Life Blog Review
03/09/23 Librariel Book Adventures Review
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03/11/23 The Real World According to Sam Review
03/12/23 StoreyBook Reviews Scrapbook
03/13/23 Chapter Break Book Blog Deleted Scene
03/14/23 The Plain-Spoken Pen Review
03/14/23 It’s Not All Gravy Review
03/15/23 Boys’ Mom Reads Series Spotlight
03/15/23 Reading by Moonlight Review
03/16/23 Forgotten Winds Review
03/16/23 The Book’s Delight Review

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Cover Reveal, Giveaway, mystery, Spotlight, Texas on February 24, 2023

 

 

 

 

BRUTAL SEASON

 

The Seasons Mysteries Series #4

 

BY MARYANN MILLER

 

 

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

Police Procedural / Mystery

Publisher: MCM Enterprises

Coming April 10, 2023

 

 

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Eighteen-year-old Jamel Frederickson is shot and killed by a white, rookie Dallas police officer. His crime? Being black and mentally ill.

Following that unwarranted death, anger, and violence erupts on the streets, leading to the murders of two protestors who were marching around the downtown federal building.

Detectives Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson are thrust into the investigation of those murders, while desperately clinging to the threads of their partnership.

The shootings also raise questions about whether the alt-right white supremacists that invaded the city with their guns and inflammatory rhetoric are responsible.

Will more people get killed?

Is there more than one person out there with an agenda?

When a member of the team, Ryan O’Donnell, is shot while attempting to prevent looting, the tension in the city, and the department, ratchets up even higher. And it deeply affects Angel who’s been pretending she really isn’t falling for this white man.

Angel joins the protests to take a stand against racism in the city and within the department; an action that puts her job, her relationship with Ryan, and her fragile partnership with Sarah at risk.

For her part, Sarah comes to realize that she is not as enlightened as she thought she was, and both women just hope they can come through the personal and professional challenges and end up with something that resembles a true partnership.

While catching the killers in the process.

 

 

Now Available for Pre-Order!

 

 

Advance Praise

 

“In the compelling fourth installment of the Seasons Mystery series, Miller once again tackles difficult subjects in this absorbing, page-turning crime thriller.”–Carrie Rubin, author of Fatal Rounds, a Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize Finalist

 

 

 

 

Maryann Miller, an award-winning author, has been in love with storytelling since she was a child and used to scare her sister with stories of the monsters in the cellar.

When she grew up, she started her professional career as a journalist, writing newspaper columns, feature stories, and short fiction for regional and national publications. Her novels are primarily mysteries, with an occasional mainstream novel thrown into the mix.

Miller is the recipient of the Page Edwards Short Story Award for her story Maybe Someday and the New York Library Best Books for Teens Award for her nonfiction book, Coping with Weapons And Violence In School and On Your Streets. Her mystery, Doubletake, was honored as the Best Mystery by the Texas Association of Authors. She took first place in the short story and screenwriting competition at the Houston Writer’s Conference and was a semi-finalist at Sundance for her script “A Question of Honor.” She was also a semi-finalist in the Chesterfield Screenwriting Competition with the adaptation of Open Season, the first book in the Seasons Mystery Series.

When not writing, Miller loves to play on stage and play in her garden.  She lives in Texas with her dog and three cats. The cats rule.

 

 

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 TWO WINNERS

 

FIRST: $50 Amazon gift card

 

+ signed copies of the first three books in the series.

 

SECOND: Signed copies of the first three books in the series.

 

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