Justice Betrayed

A Memphis Cold Case Mystery, #3

by

Patricia Bradley

  Genre: Fiction / Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: June 5, 2018

Number of Pages: 352

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It’s Elvis Week in Memphis, and homicide detective Rachel Sloan isn’t sure her day could get any stranger when aging Elvis impersonator Vic Vegas asks to see her. But when he produces a photo of her murdered mother with four Elvis impersonators—one of whom had also been murdered soon after the photo was taken—she’s forced to reevaluate. Is there some connection between the two unsolved cases? And could the recent break-in at Vic’s home be tied to his obsession with finding his friend’s killer?

When yet another person in the photo is murdered, Rachel suddenly has her hands full investigating three cases. Lieutenant Boone Callahan offers his help, but their checkered romantic past threatens to get in the way. Can they solve the cases before the murderer makes Rachel victim number four?

 

Praise

“The third installment of Bradley’s Memphis Cold Case series focuses on a cold case related to a homicide detective’s past…Bradley includes the unique character of Erin who seems as if she is a real person and takes great care to portray her respectfully.”  —RT Book Reviews

Baker Book House ~ Amazon

Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo

Christianbook.com  ~ Books-A-Million

 

EXCERPT: CHAPTER 1, PART 2

JUSTICE BETRAYED

BY PATRICIA BRADLEY

(used with permission)

 

Click to read the Prologue on the Lone Star Book Blog Tours 8/15 tour stop

Click to read Chapter 1, Part 1 on the Lone Star Book Blog Tours 8/16 stop

1

August 2017

Elvis is in the building, and he wants to see you. 🙂

 

Continued…

Memories scratched at the back of her mind. “And you want me to solve it?” Rachel had enough cases without adding another one, particularly one that delved into her past. “This is a cold case, and I don’t work cold cases.” She started to hand him the photo. “Wait, did you say Harrison Foxx?”

The memory finally surfaced, though it was cloudy. He was her mother’s friend. And somehow her father was involved, but it was all jumbled in her mind. “Why are you bringing this to the police now?”

“I brought it to the attention of the police last year, and they didn’t do anything about it. This week marks seventeen years since he was murdered. It’s time somebody paid for what they did.”

Rachel felt there was more. He held himself too rigid, and when she didn’t comment right away, he shifted in the chair.

“Is that the only reason?”

Vic swallowed and moistened his lips. “I may be in over my head. I think someone broke into my house last night, and my gut says they were looking for information about Harrison’s murder.”

“Why would anyone be looking at your house for information on his murder?”

He hesitated. “You’ll think I’m crazy. My daughter does. For years, I’ve been trying to solve Harrison’s murder, but this last month I really got into it. I’ve been calling around and asking questions of people we knew back then, even followed up and went to see a few of them. I think I asked the wrong person the wrong question.”

Joy. An Elvis impersonator and an amateur sleuth. It was her lucky day. “Are you saying that generally or are you talking about a specific person?”

“I don’t have enough proof to call any names, just the same gut feeling I had seventeen years ago.”

“This break-in. Did you report it?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t find anything missing.”

Oh boy. This was sounding stranger and stranger. Maybe his daughter was right. Vic obviously believed what he was saying. She doodled on her desk calendar. “So, why bring it to me? We have an excellent Cold Case Unit.”

“They’re the ones I took it to last year, and they said there were a lot of cases ahead of this one and they’d contact me. So far, no one has. I thought the case might be personal to you since he was a friend of your mother.”

She had no recollection of Foxx being murdered, but if it had happened around the time of her mother’s funeral, it was no wonder. Grief and anger had consumed Rachel then. While the grief had lessened over the years, the anger remained hot as ever.

Vic’s intense gaze held hers. The cases already on her workload hung in the back of her mind. Maybe a quick look at the cold case file would provide information that would satisfy him that everything had been done to find Foxx’s killer. Either way, she had to fill out a report, so she took out a notepad and one of the mechanical pencils she liked to use to write her notes. Made erasing easier. “I don’t suppose Vic Vegas is your legal name?”

He grinned and ducked his head, much like she’d seen Elvis do in film clips.

“Actually, it is. I had it legally changed in ’95. It was less confusing.”

O-kay. “Give me your original name for the records.” She wrote “Phillip Grant” on the pad as well as the stage name, then asked for his contact information. After he gave it to her, she tilted her head toward him. “I’ll talk with someone in the Cold Case Unit Monday.” And hope Sgt. Brad Hollister didn’t laugh her out of his office.

“Would you like my files on the murder?” Vic asked.

“Files?”

He nodded, raising his eyebrows. “I typed up everything—the people I’ve talked to in person or on the phone, what I learned, everything—and put the notes into files.”

“You have a list of people you’ve questioned?” That might save time if anything in the cold case files warranted a second look at the case.

He nodded. “I even talked to your dad.”

That was bound to have gone over like a ton of chicken feathers with the Judge. “Why would you talk with my father?”

“He represented Harrison in a legal matter a year or two before Harrison died. And he was there the night of the contest.”

She caught her breath. Vic was right. An image of her dad in the audience flashed in her mind. She’d been surprised that he had attended the charity event because he and her mother had been separated for about a month then. If Vic hadn’t mentioned it, she probably never would have remembered it. To her knowledge, it was the only time he attended anything Elvis. Her dad thought all the hoopla around Elvis Week was ridiculous. Which never sat well with her mom, since she’d been one of Elvis’s biggest fans.

“Do you have the files with you?” Rachel doubted Vic had uncovered anything worthwhile, but the Cold Case Unit might be interested.

“Afraid not,” he said. “Stopping here was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. And I don’t have time to go get them before the competition starts.”

Click to read Chapter 1, Part 3, the conclusion of Chapter One, coming on the Lone Star Book Blog Tours 8/23 tour stop!

 

Patricia Bradley is the award-winning author of Justice Delayed and Justice Buried, as well as the Logan Point series. She is cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc., and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She lives in Mississippi.

 

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

GRAND PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series + Elvis Umbrella + $10 Starbucks Gift Card

2^ND PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series

+ $15 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

3^RD PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series

+ $10 Starbucks Gift Card

(US ONLY)

  August 15-24, 2018

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Check out the other blogs on this tour

8/15/18	Excerpt Part 1	Missus Gonzo
8/15/18	BONUS post	Hall Ways Blog
8/16/18	Excerpt Part 2	Forgotten Winds
8/17/18	Review	Dressed to Read
8/18/18	Author Video	Chapter Break Book Blog
8/19/18	Review	Reading by Moonlight
8/20/18	Character Interview	Books in the Garden
8/21/18	Review	The Clueless Gent
8/22/18	Excerpt Part 3	StoreyBook Reviews
8/23/18	Excerpt Part 4	Book Fidelity
8/24/18	Review	That’s What She’s Reading

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This movie is coming out October 12th and looks really good.  One I plan to check out (if it is showing in my area!)  Watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

FILM SYNOPSIS: JANE & EMMA is based on the life of Sister Jane Manning, one of the first black Mormons. She returns to Nauvoo to find that Joseph Smith, her prophet and friend, has been assassinated. Jane spends a ceaseless night with his widow, Emma Smith, sitting watch over the body of the prophet as a whirlwind of loss and confusion leaves them wondering how either one of them will be able to move forward. Through the long night, Jane wonders if the prophet’s promise to extend the blessings of eternity to her has died along with him. The film explores the possible events of that night, including Jane’s endeavor to remain amongst the Mormon people and Emma’s struggle to cope with her heartbreaking loss. Poignant issues of racism and polygamy threaten to break their bond of friendship. In the end, will Jane and Emma have the courage to follow the path each believes they must take?

The JANE + EMMA cast includes Danielle Deadwyler as Jane (THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS, GIFTED), Emily Goss as Emma Smith (THE HOUSE ON PINE STREET, SNAPSHOTS), Brad Schmidt as Joseph Smith (THE BIRTH OF A NATION, HOUSE OF LIES), and K. Danor Gerald as Isaac James (SAINTS AND SOLDIERS, THE VOID)

JANE & EMMA is directed by Chantelle Squires (THE WORK & THE GLORY trilogy) and written by Melissa Leilani Larson (FREETOWN). It is produced by Jenn Lee Smith, Madeline Jorgenson, and Tamu Smith and Zandra Vranes (Sistas in Zion) of Clearstone Films. The Executive Producers are Brent Jorgensen, Sundance Film Festival Co-Founder Stirling VanWagenen, and Jon Lear.

The movie also features the title song “Child of God,” performed by The Bonner Family.

Quote from the Director

“This is a story of faith. In spite of all the hardships these women encounter, one of the things I love the most about this story is how deeply both women want to love God and obey him, even when what he is asking them to do seems impossible,” remarked Director Chantelle Squires.

Trailer

Giveaway

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Synopsis

In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself–the first in a dazzling new series from City of Stairs author Robert Jackson Bennett.

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

Praise

“A stunning fantasy [from] the endlessly inventive Bennett…a crackling, wonderfully weird blend of science fiction, fantasy, heist adventure, and a pointed commentary on what it means to be human in a culture obsessed with technology, money, and power.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Mona Lisa meets The Matrix…A grand entertainment [that] inaugurates another series of imaginative, thoroughly idiosyncratic fantasy novels.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Intricate worldbuilding, fascinating magic, and engaging characters. More please!”  —Felicia Day, New York Times bestselling author of You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

“In Foundryside, scriving magic is the cheat code to reality, and Bennett is a master gamer. A refreshing look at magic—featuring a heroine every reader will root for—from one of the smartest writers I know.” —Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Demon Cycle

“Inventive, immersive, and thrilling, Foundryside is a fascinating look at how our best intentions can be corrupted—and how wickedly awesome and terrifying gravity belts can be. Do yourself a favor and pick this up.” —Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles

“Fast-paced, intelligent, and fun with a fantastically cool magic system. I can’t wait to read the next one.” —Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage trilogy

“Foundryside pulls you in with fast-paced heists, then knocks you down with its innovative magic system. Fun, thoughtful, and thrilling from cover to cover, it’s sword-and-sorcery meets computer programming.” —James L. Sutter, co-creator of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

“Bennett spins a marvelous tale reminiscent of Sanderson. Foundryside is a gripping story with clever characters, intriguing plot, and spectacular worldbuilding.” —Charlie Holmberg, author of the Paper Magician series

“The best epic fantasy of the year is also the best cyberpunk of the year. How often do you get to say that?” —Dan Wells, author of I Am Not a Serial Killer

“An irresistible, fast-paced adventure that welcomes even non-fantasy fans into its pages, unveiling a remarkable world of magic and intrigue. With non-stop twists, a compelling cast of characters, and an innovative magic system, Foundryside is an altogether terrific read.” —Sebastian de Castell, author of The Greatcoats series

Excerpt

Chapter 1

As Sancia Grado lay face down in the mud, stuffed underneath the wooden deck next to the old stone wall, she reflected that this evening was not going at all as she had wanted.

It had started out decently. She’d used her forged identifications to make it onto the Michiel property, and that had gone swimmingly – the guards at the first gates had barely glanced at her.

Then she’d come to the drainage tunnel, and that had gone… less swimmingly. It had worked, she supposed – the drainage tunnel had allowed her to slink below all the interior gates and walls and get close to the Michiel foundry – but her informants had neglected to mention the tunnel’s abundance of centipedes, mud adders, and shit, of both the human and equine variety.

Sancia hadn’t liked it, but she could handle it. That had not been her first time crawling through human waste.

But the problem with crawling through a river of sewage is that, naturally, you tend to gain a powerful odor. Sancia had tried to stay downwind from the security posts as she crept through the foundry yards. But just when she reached the north gate, some distant guard had cried out, “Oh, my God, what is that smell?” and then, to her alarm, dutifully gone looking for the source.

She’d avoided being spotted, but she’d been forced to flee into a dead-end foundry passageway and hide under the crumbling wooden deck, which had likely once been a guard post. But the problem with this hiding place, she’d quickly realized, was it gave her no means of escape: there was nothing in the walled foundry passageway besides the deck, Sancia, and the guard.

Sancia stared out at the guard’s muddy boots as he paced by the deck, sniffing. She waited until he walked past her, then poked her head out.

He was a big man, wearing a shiny steel cap and a leather cuirass embossed with the loggotippo of the Michiel Body Corporate – the candle flame set in the window – along with leather pauldrons and bracers. Most troublingly, he had a rapier sheathed at his side.

Sancia narrowed her eyes at the rapier. She thought she could hear a whispering in her mind as he walked away, a distant chanting. She’d assumed the blade was scrived, but that faint whispering confirmed it – and she knew a scrived blade could cut her in half with almost no effort at all.

This was such a damned stupid way to get cornered, she thought as she withdrew. And I’ve barely even started the job.

She had to get to the carriage fairways, which were probably only about two hundred feet away, behind the far wall. And she needed to get to them sooner rather than later.

She considered her options. She could dart the man, she supposed, for Sancia did have a little bamboo pipe and a set of small but expensive darts that were soaked in the poison of dolorspina fish; a lethal pest found in the deeper parts of the ocean. Diluted enough, the venom should only knock its victim into a deep sleep, with an absolute horror of a hangover a few hours later.

But the guard was sporting pretty decent armor. Sancia would have to make the shot perfect, perhaps aiming for his armpit. The risk of missing was far too high.

She could try to kill him, she supposed. She did have her stiletto, and she was an able sneak, and though she was small, she was strong for her size.

But Sancia was a lot better at thieving than she was killing, and this was a trained merchant house guard. She did not like her chances there.

Moreover, Sancia had not come to the Michiel foundry to slit throats, break faces, or crack skulls. She was here to do a job.

A voice echoed down the passageway: “Ahoy, Nicolo! What are you doing away from your post?”

“I think something died in the drains again. It smells like death down here!”

“Ohh, hang on,” said the voice. There came the sound of footsteps.

Ah, hell, thought Sancia. Now there are two of them…

She needed a way out of this, and fast.

She looked back at the stone wall behind her, thinking. Then she sighed, crawled over to it, and hesitated.

She did not want to spend her strength so soon. But she had no choice.

Sancia pulled off her left glove, pressed her bare palm to the dark stones, shut her eyes, and used her talent.

The wall spoke to her.

The wall told her of foundry smoke, of hot rains, of creeping moss, of the tiny footfalls of the thousands of ants that had traversed its mottled face over the decades. The surface of the wall bloomed in her mind, and she felt every crack and every crevice, every dollop of mortar and every stained stone.

All of this information coursed into Sancia’s thoughts the second she touched the wall. And among this sudden eruption of knowledge was what she had really been hoping for.

Loose stones. Four of them, big ones, just a few feet away from her. And on the other side, some kind of closed, dark space, about four feet wide and tall. She instantly knew where to find it like she’d built the wall herself.

There’s a building on the other side, she thought. An old one. Good.

Sancia took her hand away. To her dismay, the huge scar on the right side of her scalp was starting to hurt.

A bad sign. She’d have to use her talent a lot more than this tonight.

She replaced her glove and crawled over to the loose stones. It looked like there had been a small hatch here once, but it’d been bricked up years ago. She paused and listened – the two guards now seemed to be loudly sniffing the breeze.

“I swear to God, Pietro,” said one, “it was like the devil’s shit!” They began pacing the passageway together.

Sancia gripped the topmost loose stone and carefully, carefully tugged at it.

It gave way, inching out slightly. She looked back at the guards, who were still bickering.

Quickly and quietly, Sancia hauled the heavy stones out and placed them in the mud, one after the other. Then she peered into the musty space.

It was dark within, but she now let in a little light – and she saw many tiny eyes staring at her from the shadows, and piles of tiny turds on the stone floor.

Rats, she thought. Lots of them.

Still, nothing to do about it. Without another thought, she crawled into the tiny, dark space.

The rats panicked and began crawling up the walls, fleeing into cracks and crevices in the stones. Several of them scampered over Sancia, and a few tried to bite her – but Sancia was wearing what she called her “thieving rig,” a homemade, hooded, improvised outfit made of thick, gray woolen cloth and old black leather that covered all of her skin and was quite difficult to tear through.

As she got her shoulders through, she shook the rats off or swatted them away – but then a large rat, easily weighing two pounds, rose up on its hind legs and hissed at her threateningly.

Sancia’s fist flashed out and smashed the big rat, crushing its skull against the stone floor. She paused, listening to see if the guards had heard her – and, satisfied that they had not, she hit the big rat again for good measure. Then she finished crawling inside, and carefully reached out and bricked up the hatch behind her.

There, she thought, shaking off another rat and brushing away the turds. That wasn’t so bad.

She looked around. Though it was terribly dark, her eyes were adjusting. It looked like this space had once been a fireplace where the foundry workers cooked their food, long ago. The fireplace had been boarded up, but the chimney was open above her – though she could see now that someone had tried to board up the very top as well.

She examined it. The space within the chimney was quite small. But then, so was Sancia. And she was good at getting into tight places.

With a grunt, Sancia leapt up, wedged herself in the gap, and began climbing up the chimney, inch by inch. She was about halfway up it when she heard a clanking sound below.

She froze and looked down. There was a bump, and then a crack, and light spilled into the fireplace below her.

The steel cap of a guard poked into the fireplace. The guard looked down at the abandoned rat’s nest and cried, “Ugh! Seems the rats have built themselves a merry tenement here. That must have been the smell.”

Sancia stared down at the guard. If he but glanced up, he’d spy her instantly.

The guard looked at the big rat she’d killed. She tried to will herself not to sweat so no drops would fall on his helmet.

“Filthy things,” muttered the guard. Then his head withdrew.

Sancia waited, still frozen – she could still hear them talking below. Then, slowly, their voices withdrew.

She let out a sigh. This is a lot of risk to get to one damned carriage.

She finished climbing and came to the top of the chimney. The boards there easily gave way to her push. Then she clambered out onto the roof of the building, lay flat, and looked around.

To her surprise, she was right above the carriage fairway – exactly where she needed to be. She watched as one carriage charged down the muddy lane to the loading dock, which was a bright, busy blotch of light in the darkened foundry yards. The foundry proper loomed above the loading dock, a huge, near-windowless brick structure with six fat smokestacks pouring smoke into the night sky.

She crawled to the edge of the roof, took off her glove, and felt the lip of the wall below with a bare hand. The wall blossomed in her mind, every crooked stone and clump of moss – and every good handhold to help her find her way down.

She lowered herself over the edge of the roof and started to descend. Her head was pounding, her hands hurt, and she was covered in all manner of filthy things. I haven’t even done step one yet, and I’ve already nearly got myself killed.

“Twenty thousand,” she whispered to herself as she climbed. “Twenty thousand duvots.”

A king’s ransom, really. Sancia was willing to eat a lot of shit and bleed a decent amount of blood for twenty thousand duvots. More than she had so far, at least.

The soles of her boots touched earth, and she started to run.

Excerpted from Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. Copyright © 2018 by Robert Jackson Bennett. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT is the author, most recently, of the Divine Cities trilogy, which was a 2018 Hugo Awards finalist in the ‘Best Series’ category. The first book in the series, City of Stairs, was also a finalist for the World Fantasy and Locus Awards, and the second, City of Blades, was a finalist for the World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards. His previous novels, which include American Elsewhere and Mr. Shivers, have received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Phillip K. Dick Citation of Excellence. He lives in Austin with his family.

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Synopsis

A killer wants Lilly Echosby to roll over and play dead . . .

Lilly may be losing a husband but she’s gaining a toy poodle. That could be seen as a win-win, since her new adopted pooch Aggie (named after Agatha Christie) is cute and adorable, and Lilly’s dirty dog of a spouse is cheating on her with a blond bimbo—except for one problem: Albert Echosby’s just been murdered, and Lilly is the number-one suspect.

With the cops barking up the wrong tree, it’s a good thing her best friend Scarlett “Dixie” Jefferson from Chattanooga, Tennessee, decided to take a break from the dog club circuit to pay a visit, along with her own prize pair of poodles. With help from Dixie, her defense attorney daughter, and a blue-eyed man in blue with a K-9 partner, Lilly is determined to collar the real killer. But when a second murder occurs, it’s clear they’re dealing with one sick puppy . . .

Review

I enjoyed this book so much I stayed up way too late to finish the book! Thankfully it was a Friday night.

I enjoy a good cozy and I think one of the things I liked best was that the character was around my age. Not that it is a requirement, but sometimes it is nice to see a slightly older protagonist. Plus it had dogs in it…that always hooks me into a story.

As is with most firsts in a cozy, the main character is a suspect to whoever was killed. In this case, it was Lilly’s soon to be ex-husband. Typical mid-life crisis by leaving her for a younger woman! But we learn more about Bambi as the story progresses and I wondered about her motivation.

Then there is the soon to be ex’s family – I don’t know how Lilly put up with them all those years. What self-absorbed and selfish people! If I knew my spouse’s family was like that I might not have married into that family especially if he made excuses for them. I think

Lilly’s friend Dixie is a hoot! I loved that she came down to see her friend and was there to help her through this whole situation. She is spunky and not afraid to tell you what is on her mind.

I wasn’t extremely surprised at the bad guy reveal. There are several clues that might lead you to this character, but the clues are not obvious. I figured out some of the mini mysteries going on in the town.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what happens in book 2 as there are some big changes ahead for Lilly!

We give it 5 paws up

About the Author

V.M. Burns was born in Northwestern Indiana and spent many years in Southwestern Michigan on the Lake Michigan shoreline. She is a lover of dogs, British historic cozies, and scones with clotted cream. After many years in the Midwest, she went in search of milder winters and currently lives in Eastern Tennessee with her poodles. Her debut novel, The Plot is Murder was nominated for a 2017 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime.

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To Bead or Not to Bead (Glass Bead Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Vetrai Press (June 29, 2018)
Print Length: 187 pages

Synopsis

When a wealthy theater owner is killed by a falling art glass chandelier, glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell’s boyfriend, Detective Zachary Grant, quickly determines it was no accident. Jax and her friend Tessa try to carry on with a charity fashion gala at the theater, but with only a few days before the big event, they have to scramble to keep things from falling apart. The emcee quits, and to make matters worse, Tessa’s daughters are suspects in the murder. As the chaos unfolds, Jax discovers new suspects at every turn, including an edgy glass blower, an agoraphobic socialite, and a hunky former-cop-turned-actor. Can Jax piece together the clues to find the killer and uncover the dark secrets behind the victim’s family or will it be curtains for her?

Guest Post

Your Guide to Glass Beadmaking with Janice Peacock

The main character in my Glass Bead Mystery Series, Jax O’Connell, is a glass beadmaker.  That’s an unusual profession, and one I am quite familiar with since I am also a glass beadmaker.  But, I want to be clear:  I am not Jax.  Jax and I have some things in common—we are both glass beadmakers and are women of a certain age.  But in most other ways we are different—for instance, Jax is fictional and I am not.  Jax’s beads are made with bright colors and happy patterns. My beads, on the other hand, are fairly somber in color and look like they are old—like relics from an archeological dig or flotsam that has washed ashore.  Jax is a newbie to the world of beads.  Me?  I’ve been creating lampworked beads for nearly 25 years. You can see images of my beads at janicepeacockglass.com

I thought I’d write about how I make glass beads, and if you want to see a video about the process (videos are worth more than 1,000 words) please visit my YouTube channel at youtube.com/janpeac.

When I make a glass bead, I melt long slender rods of colored glass in my torch, which runs on oxygen and propane and achieves temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees.  While melting the glass I wrap it around a stainless steel wire called a mandrel.  The mandrel has been dipped in a clay-like substance, and that is where I add the glass. This substance, called bead release, does exactly that—it allows the bead to slide from the mandrel once it is cool. Where the hole once was, there is now a hole, which what makes a bead…a bead.

Since I can’t touch the glass while it’s molten, I use tools to sculpt it in the flame. Many of the tools are things you’d find around your house, especially if you like scrapbooking: an Xacto knife, scissors, and tweezers. People often ask me if I get burned when I work in my studio making lampworked glass beads. Yes, I do, but usually, those burns are mild—about what you’d expect if you touched a hot pan in the oven.

In case you are curious:  The word “lampworking” comes from a few hundred years ago when beadmakers didn’t have high tech torches and fuels like oxygen and propane. Instead, artisans used oil lamps and bellows to create flames that were hot enough to melt glass.

A lot of the beads I make look like small masks or stylized faces. I have several books about African masks that I like to look at for inspiration as well as a collection of masks from around the world. The faces I create are both human and animal forms. Typically, the eyes on the masks are closed.  The closed eyes give these beads a peaceful feeling, and these days we can all use a little peace and tranquility in our lives.

Writing about Jax has given me the opportunity to think about glass beadmaking in a new way—to remember what it was like to be a newbie. It also allows me to figure out ways to talk about glass beadmaking to an audience of readers who have never heard of such a thing.  I love making beads, and even though my time is now split between glass beadmaking and writing about a fictional glass beadmaker, I know that I’ll never give up the fun and excitement of lighting up my torch and melting glass.

About the Author

Janice Peacock decided to write her first mystery novel after working in a glass studio full of colorful artists who didn’t always get along. They reminded her of the odd, and often humorous, characters in the murder mystery books she loved to read. Inspired by that experience, she combined her two passions and wrote High Strung: A Glass Bead Mystery, the first book in a new cozy mystery series featuring glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell.

When Janice Peacock isn’t writing about glass artists who are amateur detectives, she makes glass beads using a torch, designs one-of-a-kind jewelry and makes sculptures using hot glass. An award-winning artist, her work has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of several museums. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two cats, and seven chickens. She has a studio full of beads…lots and lots of beads.

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Giveaway #1

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Giveaway #2

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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Diva
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Gemma Halliday Publishing (August 14, 2018)
Print Length: 316 pages

Synopsis

From #1 Kindle & New York Times bestselling author Gemma Halliday and USA Today bestselling author Kelly Rey comes a story about Sherlock Holmes, two savvy female detectives, and one chance to catch a killer and the hot Dr. Watson at the same time…

If there’s one thing Martha “Marty” Hudson can’t say no to, it’s her best friend Irene Adler. So when Irene’s little white lie about a fake detective named Sherlock Holmes turns into a real case from an actual paying client, Marty is all in. But their simple missing person case takes a deadly turn when the missing “person” ends up being a missing corpse.

Rebecca Lowery was an opera singer in life and, according to her sister, who hires the famous detective to find her, a diva with capital D. When her body goes missing after a supposedly accidental fall, Marty & Irene can think of several people who might want the diva to disappear permanently—especially if her missing body is actually hiding evidence of her murder. Is it the boyfriend with a temper and a shady record, the jealous understudy who’s now stealing the show, the creepy undertaker with possible ties to the underworld, or the estranged sister herself who now inherits everything?

Marty and Irene aim to find out, even while trying to keep cool around the hot ME, Dr. Watson, and dodging questions from the Irregulars blogger, Wiggins, about the mysterious man behind the name Sherlock Holmes. Will the ladies be able to pull this one off? Or are they in over their heads…and possibly about to take their own final bows?

About the Author

Gemma Halliday is the New York Times, USA Today & #1 Kindle bestselling author of the High Heels Mysteries, the Hollywood Headlines Mysteries, the Jamie Bond Mysteries, the Tahoe Tessie Mysteries, the Marty Hudson Mysteries, and several other works. Gemma’s books have received numerous awards, including a Golden Heart, two National Reader’s Choice awards, a RONE award, and three RITA nominations. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her boyfriend, Jackson Stein, who writes vampire thrillers, and their four children, who are adorably distracting on a daily basis.

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Giveaway

I am giving away 2 eBook copies of the first in this series, Sherlock Holmes and the Brash Blonde

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Book Title: The Cleansweep Counterstrike by Chuck Waldron
Series: A Matt Tremain Technothriller Book 2
Category: Adult Fiction, 312 pages
Genre: Thriller / dystopian
Publisher: Bublish Inc.
Release date: April 21, 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (Adult language)

Synopsis

In this sequel, Matt Tremain is back, facing an even deadlier threat. Deceit and intrigue lie hidden behind the collapse of Operation CleanSweep. It’s time for revenge.

Instrumental in exposing the evil behind Operation CleanSweep—a diabolical “cultural cleansing” plot masterminded by Toronto billionaire Charles Claussen—investigative blogger Tremain now faces the madman’s desire for vengeance. Claussen intends to settle the score personally by luring Matt into a deadly trap.

But the clock is ticking for Claussen, too. Fraternité des Aigles, The Brotherhood of Eagles—a shadowy group that secretly financed Claussen’s Operation CleanSweep—wants answers and their money back. Consumed with rage, Claussen risks everything to get to Matt before the Brotherhood gets to him. Tremain is once again partnering with a police detective, Carling. Knowing they are being lured into a possible trap, they decide to face their nemesis, Charles Claussen.

Across four continents, Claussen sets traps, pursues Tremain, and continues to execute his signature brand of global chaos. When his fiancé’s life is on the line, can Tremain stop Claussen’s madness and still avoid getting killed?

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Guest Post

I will be the first one to tell you that writing is not easy!  I love reading and sharing books with all my followers/readers, but sometimes it is hard to write a review so I can’t imagine what it might be to write a book!  Thanks to Chuck for sharing his insights into writing.

Writing is easy, right?

A man approached my table at a book fair. “Writing a novel is easy, right? I have this story I want to write. Tell me where to start?”

“The beginning is easy. What comes next is hard.”

“Huh?”

“First, you need a license. Do you have one?”

“I had no idea,” he said. “Where do I get one.”

“The Department of Creative Writing,” I told him. “Each state capital has one, or province if you live in Canada. You have to pass a test. The written part is the hardest,” I added.

“I had no idea,” he said.

~~~

A frequent question to writers is where we get our ideas, is writing hard, how long does it take to write a novel?

A woman told me she would like to write but didn’t have an imagination.

I”m lost without my imaginary friends and enemies. Matt Tremain’s my latest made-up friend. He wanted to expose the truth behind a curtain of conspiracy. Mostly, he wanted to stay. In the sequel, he’s now hunted by his nemesis, out for revenge.

Writers all have something in common, an idea or storyline appears, and we begin to imagine characters, give them shape and voice. We put them in danger, then try to get them out of trouble. We tend to do that a lot in a novel. Stories may take a lot of detours to get to the end. Sometimes the danger is from other characters. Sometimes the danger comes from Nature, a hurricane maybe. Sometimes the danger is from the inside, a serious character flaw. In remarkable stories I’ve read, it has all three of those elements. Whew.

That’s how it happened when I wrote The Cleansweep Counterstrike and the prequel, The Cleansweep Conspiracy. I have enjoyed putting Matt Tremain in harm’s way and facing dangers, hopefully keeping readers in suspense about the outcome. I look forward to you becoming one of my readers. Let me know how I did.

Chuck Waldron,
Author, The Cleansweep Conspiracy and The Cleansweep Counterstrike

Read my review of the first book, The Cleansweep Conspiracy.

About the Author

Chuck Waldron is the author of four riveting mystery, thriller and suspense novels and more than fifty short stories. Inspired by his grandfather’s tales of the Ozark Mountains and local caves rumored to be havens for notorious gangsters, Waldron was destined to write about crime and the human condition. Those childhood legends ignited his imagination and filled his head with unforgettable characters, surprising plots and a keen interest in supernatural and historical subplots.

With literary roots planted in the American Midwest and South, and enriched by many years living in the fertile cultural soil of metropolitan Ontario, Waldron now resides on Florida’s fabled Treasure Coast with his wife, Suzanne. While keeping an eye out for hurricanes, alligators, and the occasional Burmese python, visitors will find Waldron busy writing his next crime thriller.

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Giveaway

1 winner will get a set of The Cleansweep series (2 books)

5 winners will get a choice of one of Chuck Waldron’s back titles in ebook format

1 winner will get a $25 Amazon GC

7 winners total / open to USA and canada only

(ends Sept 29, 2018)

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THAT ONE MOMENT

by

PATTY WISEMAN

  Genre: Fiction / Romantic Suspense

Date of Publication: May 8, 2017

Number of Pages: 258

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Ricki Sheridan traveled a long way to seek refuge at Wolf Den’s Lodge high in the mountains after a devastating betrayal. Heartbroken, she signed up for a survivalist backpacking trip to live off the land and forget.

An injury on the first day puts her in the capable hands of the handsome trail boss, Kory Littleton. The attraction is instant, mutual, and terrifying. She trusted her emotions once and vowed never to make the same mistake again.

Kory’s heart, trampled and bruised, is unprepared to ever love again, until his unexpected reaction to Ricki reveals some things are worth taking a chance on.

When evil finds its way back into Ricki’s world, their fragile bond is tested, forcing them to face their greatest fear: can a wounded heart ever trust anew?

Betrayal. Desire. Revenge. Which one prevails?

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Praise for That One Moment

Patty Wiseman, as well as anyone and better than most, sure knows how to write the three basic ingredients of a page-turning and unforgettable novel: mystery, suspense, and romance.  — Caleb & Linda Pirtle ~ Here Comes a Mystery

“It was pure perfection!” — Jessa, Amazon Reviewer

“Author Patty Wiseman does a good job of injecting so much action into just the first two pages that I had high expectations for this story. And That One Moment does not disappoint.”  — Natasha Jackson for Readers’ Favorite

This story reminds us that you should not hesitate when you find love because life is too short and the perfect love might pass you by.

Kory & Ricki find each other in an unusual place – on a mountain during a survival hike. Not a place you would expect to meet your other half, or at least I wouldn’t expect to meet someone but then you probably wouldn’t find me on a survival hike! Ricki has a some baggage from her past and unfortunately some of it follows her up the mountain. This has a huge impact on her interest in Kory. She is very attracted to him but is very unsure of herself. I liked that she was vulnerable when it came to love despite her background in the military and in law enforcement as a game warden.

Now while you might think this is a nice love story there is some friction from a truly evil antagonist. I love how the author gives him terrible attributes and it is highly unlikely anyone will really like this character. And just when you think justice has been served on this character, he comes back for more. While I don’t want to give away too much, when he reappears I felt my heart catch in several scenes wondering how evil he would act.

There are several minor characters that sometimes stole the scene. There Wolf who has been around the block and we learn more about his past when it comes to love. Byron is also another character that stole my attention. He is an older teen that Wolf has taken under his wing. It is also a testament to Wolf and Byron’s parents that they realize that he is not meant to be in a classroom and set up stipulations for him to do what suits his personality and temperament. Kyle cracked me up in a scene regarding guns. I won’t say much more because it might give away a little of the story, but I think he could become a strong character in a future book.

If you like romantic suspense I believe you will enjoy this book.

We give it 4 paws up

 

 

Award Winning Author Patty Wiseman is a native of the Seattle, Washington area and attended The Wesleyan College in Bartlesville Oklahoma. Northeast Texas is home now, along with her husband Ron.  She is the president of East Texas Writer’s Association, a Lifetime Member of the Worldwide Who’s Who for Professional Women (and named VIP for 2013), and a member of the Northeast Texas Writer’s Organization, East Texas Writer’s Guild, and Texas Association of Authors.

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

TWO SIGNED PRINT COPIES, TWO eBOOK COPIES

(US ONLY)

  August 14-23, 2018

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Check out the other blogs on this tour

8/14/18	Book Trailer	Texas Book Lover
8/14/18	Excerpt	The Clueless Gent
8/15/18	Review	Reading by Moonlight
8/16/18	Character Interview	The Page Unbound
8/16/18	Author Interview	Margie’s Must Reads
8/17/18	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
8/18/18	Review	That’s What She’s Reading
8/18/18	Excerpt	All the Ups and Downs
8/19/18	BONUS Review	Hall Ways Blog
8/19/18	Author Interview	Books and Broomsticks
8/20/18	Review	A Page Before Bedtime
8/20/18	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
8/21/18	Scrapbook Page	Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
8/22/18	Review	Dressed to Read
8/23/18	Character Interview	Carpe Diem Chronicles
8/23/18	Review	The Love of a Bibliophile

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Book Title: The Love Fool: A Rome-antic Comedy by Lorenzo Petruzziello
Category: Adult Fiction, 314 pages
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Quill (Inkshares)
Release date: March 13, 2018
Content Rating: PG

Synopsis

Set in Rome. Follow the whirlwind antics of a publicist as he struggles to manage his first TV chef client, his new life, and an unexpected visit from his ex-girlfriend.

Alex recently moved to Italy for an opportunity at a PR firm in Rome. His first client is the beautiful Danish chef Pernille Bjørn, a popular model, TV personality, and cookbook author just entering the booming televised cooking show market in Italy.

Alex’s single-minded career focus is soon thwarted by Emily, an ex-girlfriend he hasn’t heard from in almost a decade.

​Italy’s modern culture and enchanting sights set the backdrop to this Rome-antic comedy.

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Guest Post

WRITING IN YOUR SPARE TIME: SWITCHING MINDSET

by Lorenzo Petruzziello – author of The Love Fool

I’m a part-time writer – working fulltime and writing when I can in the evenings or weekends. As one can imagine, it is not an easy feat. Being in the office all day, analyzing this, figuring out that, solving problems here, and making mistakes there. Not to mention the occasional stress of not losing the income that allows you to eat and live. It’s a lot for a person; especially for a writer – a person who is typically dramatic, sensitive, observant and imaginative has the problem of letting their minds go wild with ideas that can be productive and unnecessarily stressful.

Are you stressed reading this? You should be. I purposefully wrote it to make you uncomfortable. This is how a writer usually feels when they go home from a hard day’s work and spot their computer, and story notes, staring back at him/her collecting dust. Failure. That’s the first thing that comes to the mind. Sit down and write – just write, you keep telling yourself. So you sit there, switch on computer and stare at the last few paragraphs you had written maybe a month ago. You read and reread those words and wonder: What the hell you could have been thinking typing that junk? Stop. You have to stop yourself. You sit back and tell yourself: Relax, you can do this. But how?

Stop. Just stop. Sit back and let your mind relax. You have to allow it to turn off that business-focused thinking and let the creative juices flow. It’s not easy, but it needs to happen. Some suggest to go for a walk. Or cook a nice meal. Something to let your mind just relax and switch into the creative mindset. And of course, always strive to make that something healthy and positive.

What is your method to fuel your creative mind?

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About the Author

Lorenzo Petruzziello holds an MBA in global marketing from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. His background includes publicity and marketing for many of public television’s popular cooking and travel shows. He lives in Massachusetts focusing on his writing. THE LOVE FOOL is his first novel.

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Giveaway

Win a signed paperback of The Love Fool and a specialized bookmark (open to USA & Canada / 1 winner)

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Synopsis

BHARATVARSHA, LAND OF THE ARYAS: 270 BC

Bindusar, the Samrat Chakravartin of all the Aryas, ruler of the Indian subcontinent, is dead. Chaos rules across the empire. The royal succession turns upon intrigue, dark coalitions, violence and death. The realm stands divided and civil war ensues.

In Vidishanagri: Asoka kills his brother’s Ashwamedha stallion and marches to Patliputra with his army. The ancient Brahminical order rises in his supports, awaiting his entry into the capital. Have they made the right choice?

In Taxila: The rightful heir, Sushem, raises an army to meet the challenge posed by his ambitious and gifted brother, Asoka. He prepares to march to the capital and seize the throne by force. Will history repeat itself; will Sushem achieve what his grandfather Chandragupta did 50 years ago?

In Junagarh: Guild Master Hardeo sets out on a private mission to acquire the great salt pans of Sindh. Will he succeed in his secret enterprise?

In Vidishanagri: Radhagupta travels to fulfill the task allotted to him by the Order. Kanakdatta, the Buddhist, stands up to stop him. Will Radhagupta fail in his mission?

The winds of war howl over the sub-continent, blowing every last person one way or the other. Blood will be spilled, secrets revealed and men ruined. History shall be made.

In Book II of the epic Asoka Trilogy, the storm approaches; the harbinger of death and destruction. When the dust finally settles, the great question will be answered: Who is the next Samrat of the holy Lands of the Aryas?

Excerpt

For many centuries the holy books of the Aryas have preached everything from eternal unity of one’s own kind to selfless service to one’s family and society. But aeons after they were written, we still cannot practice what we preach…

Our lands lie fragmented, divided by everything from regionalism to tribal sentiment and the petty selfishness of individual rulers. Our Rajas had fought over everything from women, to land and pride; so much so that wars with their neighbours has become a habit. And every time some powerful Arya rises above these squabbles and seeks to unify our lands, he turns out to be an evil monster rather than a rightful Samrat. Be it Jarasandha of yore or the tyrannical Nandas of our times, those who have tried to unify our lands have

It is not that the learned men of our society have accepted or become resigned to this state of affairs. They have always attempted to stand against these evil rulers. Be it Lord Krishna of a thousand years ago, or I the humble servitorof my people in these unsettled times.

My name is Arya Chanakya, though I am known as Kautilya these days. Few are privy to my past so take heed of what I say; then hold the words sealed within your breast.

I was born eight decades ago in the northwest of our subcontinent, where the Land of the Aryas ends and those of foreigners like the Mlechhas and the Yavanas begin. For my entire youth I strived for only two things – to accumulate knowledge of our world; and unite our race as a single entity.

People considered me foolish and stubborn. The Rajas laughed at my advice and continued to fight meaningless wars for worthless reasons. For three decades of my life my efforts were in vain as I tried and failed to instill the virtues of unity and service in our rulers.

Then, everything changed. I recognized my mistake. I had been counting on changing the mindset of our people from within. What I should have realized long before was that change of such proportions can only be brought about by a powerful external force. Fifty years ago, that powerful force arrived at the boundaries of our Bharat, armed with insurmountable power. His name was Alexander, and he came from beyond the seven seas, from the lands of the Greeks. His objective was simple – to conquer the whole wide world. And our lands were next – the doorway to the far East.

The Rajas of the northwest reacted as I had expected. They made deals with this foreign foe in order to destroy the enemies of their own race. Even Raja Ambhi of Taxila, did so. Only one man refused to succumb to Alexander. His name was Puru, the mightiest Raja of the region.

But even Puru’s might was no match for Alexander’s tactics and deceit. On the banks of the holy Jhelum, everyone gasped with horror as Puru lost the battle to the Greeks – everyone except me; I just smiled.

As Alexander spent time consolidating power in the northwest, I travelled east to the greatest city of the known world – to Patliputra, ruled by the Nandas. My plan was simple: to ask the Nanda Maharaja to take his army northwest to defeat the Greeks. The people of the northwest were disgusted by the unmanly conduct of their Rajas, almost all of whom had surrendered without a fight. If The Nandas fought and won against the Greeks, the people of the northwest would accept them as their saviours, thereby uniting the subcontinent, north and south, east and west.

But my plan had a serious flaw. While everyone knew the Nandas had the largest standing army in the world, what few people beyond their borders knew was how they used it. I discovered that the army was used to terrorize their subjects. The Nandas were tyrannical kings who ruled with the force of an equally tyrannical army. I witnessed and experienced their tyranny first hand. I was imprisoned and tortured by Nanda lieutenants in Patliputra.

But I was rescued by an Ancient Brotherhood that had dwelled in the tunnels below the city for five centuries. Since its founder, Maharaja Ajatshatru, had laid down its mission, the brothers of the order had zealously safeguarded the interests of the Arya race, secretly. They rescued me from prison and inducted me into their ranks. They bestowed upon me their mission: To bring down the evil Nandas from their thrones.

About the Author

Shreyas is a 21 year old guy currently pursuing his B.Tech in Electrical Eng. from VNIT Nagpur. His love for history since his childhood prompted him to write his take on the story of Asoka who was one of the towering figures in the history of India, which has been taken up as ‘The Asoka Trilogy’ by Leadstart Publishing.

The first part of the trilogy called ‘The Prince of Patliputra’ has been published in January 2016 and garnered positive responses.

He is also presently working on several other manuscripts and completing the final year of his engineering Course.

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