Posted in 3 1/2 paws, Anthology, Dark, Review on January 21, 2018

Synopsis

17 stories of difficult love, broken hearts, lost hope, and discarded truths. Love brings pain, vulnerability, and demands of revenge. Hardened Hearts spills the sum of darkness and light concerning the measures of love; including works from Meg Elison, author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award), Tom Deady, author of Haven (Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel), Gwendolyn Kiste, author of And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe and Pretty Marys All in a Row, and many more.

Hardened Hearts dips from speculative, horror, science fiction, fantasy, into literary and then out of the classifiable and into the waters of unpinned genres, but pure entertainment nonetheless.

Review

Enclosed in this book are 17 short stories that range from 3 pages to about 30 (I didn’t count on some of the longer ones!).

Most of these stories are dark and some can be depressing when you look at the storyline.  But at the same time, some of these stories have an underlying moral to the story that should not be overlooked.

I liked most of the stories as they intrigued me and took me on an adventure through another time and place.  Some I wished were longer because I felt like there was more than could be told.  A few ended abruptly and left me wanting to know what happened next.

Overall these stories were intriguing and it was not all hearts and roses, but rather the heartbreak that we all experience at one time or another.

We give it 3 1/2 paws.

 

 

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Posted in Book Release, Cozy, mystery on January 20, 2018

I’m a little late announcing this new release, but I do love this series and have this book on my Kindle to read (just a bit behind!).

Synopsis

What does Eli Marks have up his sleeve this time? Well, let me tell you, no matter the mystery, his sleight of hand always does the trick.

Eli’s trip to London with his uncle Harry quickly turns homicidal when the older magician finds himself accused of murder. Not Uncle Harry!

A second slaying does little to take the spotlight off Harry. Instead it’s clear someone is knocking off Harry’s elderly peers in bizarrely effective ways. But who?
The odd gets odder when the prime suspect appears to be a bitter performer with a grudge…who committed suicide over thirty years before.

While Eli struggles to prove his uncle’s innocence—and keep them both alive—he finds himself embroiled in a battle of his own: a favorite magic routine of his has been ripped off by another hugely popular magician.

What began as a whirlwind vacation to London with girlfriend Megan turns into a fatal and larcenous trip into the dark heart of magic within the city’s oldest magic society, The Magic Circle.

No one does intriguing magic and page-turning humor like John Gaspard. Pick it up and see if you can figure out the trick first.

If you have not read this series yet, you can pick up the first book, The Ambitious Card, for just $0.99 on Amazon right now!

There is also this FREE short story, The Invisible Assistant available.

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on January 20, 2018

Murder at Fantasia Fair: A Provincetown Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
HomePort Press (September 28, 2017)
Paperback: 282 pages

Synopsis

Wedding coordinator Sydney Riley never thought she’d get caught up in a murder investigation, but she became an amateur sleuth when her boss was killed during Bear Week. Now she’s back, this time as the Race Point Inn hosts Provincetown’s venerable transgender event, Fantasia Fair… and murder is once again an uninvited guest!

It’s all hands on deck at the inn as visitors arrive for the week-long event and Sydney helps coordinator Rachel Parsons organize the occasion. Guest Elizabeth Gonzalez is attending with her spouse, Bob, who–as Angela–is taking a bold first step into a whole new existence. Angela, Elizabeth, and Sydney learn the ropes and politics from other guests, some of whom have attended annually for more than forty years.

But the next day, Sydney’s detective friend summons her to one of the town beaches where Angela’s body has been found–with a knife in her back, a knife stolen from Adrienne, the Race Point Inn’s diva chef.

Fair organizers and attendees try and carry on as Provincetown is overrun with police, press, and rampant speculation. Sydney, her boyfriend Ali, her friend Mirela, her boss Glenn, and a host of Fantasia Fair participants scramble to find out who killed Angela–and why–before the killer strikes again.

Guest Post

Today, character Sydney Riley joins us and shares some poignant thoughts with us!

They tell me I drink too much Diet Coke.

Actually, National Public Radio recently had a story on artificial sweeteners and it concluded that there’s no evidence of a link between the sweeteners and cancer. NPR notwithstanding, my boss is always getting on my case about the Diet Coke. It’s not that he has to pay for it—I don’t generally get my fix from the bar at the Race Point Inn, which is where I work as wedding coordinator—but he knows I’m one of the reasons the inn fills up in the summer, and he doesn’t want to take any chances with my health.

I was drinking Diet Coke the afternoon of the wedding I’d arranged on the Bay Lady, one of the two schooners that berth in Provincetown in the summertime. We generally do our weddings right at the inn—we have a lovely patio with a trellis and a bower and the whole wedding nine yards—but these guests wanted theirs to be “at sea,” and so I arranged for it. The captain would officiate, I got Adrienne our diva chef to do the catering, and the string quartet from the Cape Cod Symphony agreed to come along for the private sunset sail around the harbor.

In other words, everything was perfectly aligned for a hands-free, straightforward wedding, and believe me when I tell you that there aren’t enough of those!

I wasn’t planning on actually going on the schooner myself. Adrienne’s delicacies had been delivered; the string quartet was in their evening dress, looking a little lost at the end of MacMillan Pier as if they were posing for a fashion shoot with an unlikely backdrop; and now the limo carrying the bride and groom was pulling up. The bride saw me and realized that she really couldn’t handle all these people on her own and she needed somebody to orchestrate—no pun intended—the event. So it looked like I was going on a harbor cruise after all.

Like I said, it should have been a straightforward wedding. I’d forgotten that one of my talents is attracting dead bodies.

The Bay Lady typically has two crew members besides the captain. There was an additional one on for this cruise, a waitress to serve the champagne and delicacies after the ceremony itself. She’d gotten there early to take the dips and hors d’oeuvres onboard, and presumably was in the small area below-decks arranging it all.

I’d had one too many Diet Cokes, though, and so as soon as I was on board I headed down there myself to use the bathroom. And found the door blocked.

By the waitress. Who was dead.

If I ever write the definitive book for wedding planners, I’m going to specify that death and weddings absolutely do not go together. Avoid that combination at any cost. The bride promptly had hysterics. The groom looked like he was going to be sick—and, a moment later carried through with it. The guests and the string quartet stood on the pier looking dazed. And the police arrived.

What does the savvy wedding planner do when a body shows up at the ceremony? She moves the ceremony, of course! I called a friend who’s an officiant and told her to meet us at the inn. I called Adrienne and ordered new hors d’oeuvres, pronto. I called a couple of taxis and got them to whisk everyone back to the Race Point as soon as the police took names and numbers and released them (nobody had seen anything, anyway). Fair means or foul, I was going to get this wedding done.

And please understand that this body had nothing to do with me. Really. Yeah, it’s true that I’ve come across murders during several of Provincetown’s theme weeks—Bear Week and Fantasia Fair in particular—but this one wasn’t a murder, it was a suicide (she poisoned herself, as it turned out, and had planned to slip over the side once the schooner was out in the harbor, only it was faster-acting than she’d assumed), as I pointed out to my friend Julie, who’s the head of Provincetown Police’s detective unit.

Julie was unimpressed. “You still are the one who found the body,” she pointed out.

“Only because of the Diet Coke,” I protested.

Maybe I should consider giving it up, after all.

About the Author

Jeannette de Beauvoir grew up in Angers, France, but has lived in the United States since her twenties. (No, she’s not going to say how long ago that was!) She spends most of her time inside her own head, which is great for writing, though possibly not so much for her social life. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or traveling… to inspire her writing. The author of a number of mystery and historical novels, de Beauvoir’s work has appeared in 15 countries and has been translated into 12 languages. Midwest Review called her Martine LeDuc Montréal series “riveting (…) demonstrating her total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre.” She coaches and edits individual writers, teaches writing online and on Cape Cod, and is currently writing a Provincetown Theme Week cozy mystery series featuring female sleuth Sydney Riley.

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Posted in 3 paws, Giveaway, mystery, Review on January 19, 2018

Survival of the Fritters (A Deputy Donut Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Kensington (January 30, 2018)
Paperback: 256 pages

Synopsis

Emily Westhill runs the best donut shop in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, alongside her retired police chief father-in-law and her tabby Deputy Donut. But after murder claims a favorite customer, Emily can’t rely on a sidekick to solve the crime—or stay alive.

If Emily has learned anything from her past as a 911 operator, it’s to stay calm during stressful situations. But that’s a tall order when one of her regulars, Georgia Treetor, goes missing. Georgia never skips morning cappuccinos with her knitting circle. Her pals fear the worst—especially Lois, a close friend who recently moved to town. As evening creeps in, Emily and the ladies search for Georgia at home. And they find her—murdered among a scattering of stale donuts . . .

Disturbingly, Georgia’s demise coincides with the five-year anniversary of her son’s murder, a case Emily’s late detective husband failed to solve before his own sudden death. With Lois hiding secrets and an innocent man’s life at stake, Emily’s forced to revisit painful memories on her quest for answers. Though someone’s alibi is full of holes, only a sprinkling of clues have been left behind. And if Emily can’t trace them back to a killer in time, her donut shop will end up permanently closed for business . . .

BOOK DEPOSITORY * BOOKS A MILLION

Review

Who doesn’t love a good donut?!  Well maybe someone with a gluten intolerance, but that aside many of us have a fond memory or two of having a warm donut with friends or family.  Well, that is what Emily has created with her Father-in-Law – a donut shop that everyone loves to frequent.  And yes it is true, the police in this town do love their donuts.

The mystery of who killed Georgia is quite involved and goes back many years. The clues that eventually lead us to the killer are not easy to decipher and lead the reader down various paths until the truth is revealed.  I do think that Emily was too focused on a few potential suspects and may have put herself in harm’s way unnecessarily.  But then this would not be a cozy mystery if the protagonist did not pull crazy stunts.

To round out the story there is a potential budding romance between Emily and Brent.  Brent was her deceased husband’s partner on the police force and I think it took a lot for Brent to seem Emily in a potential romantic light.  They definitely have some chemistry, so it will be interesting to see how that progresses.

We give this 3 paws.  It is a great start to a new series, characters need a little more development but that will come with more books.  I read the sneak peek for book two and it intrigues me already!

 

About the Author

Ginger Bolton writes the Deputy Donut mystery series–cops, crime, coffee, donuts and one curious cat. When Ginger isn’t writing or reading, she’s crocheting, knitting, sewing, walking her two rescue dogs and generally causing trouble. She’s also fond of donuts, coffee, and cafes where folks gather to enjoy those tasty treats and one another’s company.

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on January 18, 2018

Murder Over Medium: Jade Blackwell Mystery Series
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Misterio Press (December 31, 2017)
Print Length: 216 pages

Synopsis

Former English professor turned blogger, Jade Blackwell, is enjoying her predictable routine when trouble comes knocking in the form of an old friend and colleague. Unbeknownst to Jade, Gwendolyn Hexby is no longer the successful academic she once knew and trusted—she is now following a new calling as a psychic medium, a contentious career that flies in the face of the logic and deductive reasoning Jade values.

At first, Jade welcomes the visit, but things soon turn bizarre as Gwendolyn brings only disorder danger and disruption. When a murder is prophesied, and a beloved pillar of the Aspen Falls’ community winds up dead, Gwendolyn becomes Sheriff Ross Lawson’s prime suspect.

To get Gwendolyn out of hot water, and more importantly, out of her house, Jade attempts to prove her friend’s innocence. Jade believes she’s finally discovered the truth, but is soon brought back to reality when she learns all is not as it seems in the realm of the metaphysical. Not even murder.

Return to the Jade Blackwell Cozy Mystery Series in Murder Over Medium, as Jade jumps into the fray of a territory not governed by logic or reason—in either this world or the next.

Guest Post

Victorian Spiritualism Comes to Aspen Falls

We who live in the 21st century aren’t the first to find psychics, ghosts and séances fascinating. We may believe we are the first to dabble in the occult as entertainment, but that title goes to the Victorians.

We usually think of the Victorian age as the time of science and technology. One thing that often goes along with improvements in science is a lack of faith in traditional organized religion. In the Victorian era, that loss of faith led to the Spiritualist movement which was founded on the idea that the dead could contact the living with the help of a gifted medium.

It’s believed the movement began on April 1, 1848, in the village of Hydesville, New York. That’s the date when the teenage Fox sisters, Margaret and Kate, claimed to have communicated with the ghost of a murder victim who had lived in the family home many years before. The event was reported in the local newspaper, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My protagonist, Jade Blackwell, would have been happy for it to stay out of the modern-day mainstream consciousness. But no one asked her. And so, when her former colleague, Gwendolyn Hexby, comes for a visit, Jade comes face-to-face with the world beyond.

You see, Jade only learned that Gwendolyn had changed professions when her old friend landed on her doorstep. Gwendolyn has found a “higher calling” as a psychic medium, and logical Jade isn’t sure how to deal with the woo-woo world her friend now inhabits. Jade spends the entire book trying to reconcile Gwendolyn’s new beliefs with the woman who demanded empirical evidence years before.

One of the first things Gwendolyn does once she’s darkened Jade’s door is to hold a séance. Which makes sense, seeing as she’s a medium who is visiting the area to help others tap into their inner guidance. Unfortunately, the séance doesn’t turn out exactly as she expected. She prophesies a murder.

Jade ends up with a house guest who overstays her welcome and turns her home into a tarot reading hub. Unlike the Victorians, Jade doesn’t find the whole thing charming and mesmerizing. Though many famous Victorian people did. These include Harry Houdini, W.B. Yeats, Elizabeth Barret Browning and Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even Queen Victoria herself claimed to have communicated with the dead.

Here are some other factual tidbits you will find interesting (though Jade, not so much):

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini’s were great chums. But when Houdini was unable to connect with his departed mother during multiple séances, the two fell out. The rift between them occurred when Houdini showed Doyle he could recreate the “paranormal” occurrences at a seance they had attended.In later life, Houdini put a great deal of energy into proving séances were hoaxes. He was on a mission to prove mediums were frauds. He became so obsessed before he died in 1926, he told his wife he would come back to speak with her. They even came up with a code word, so she would know it was him. For ten years after his death, she held a séance, but he never did show up. Magicians and fans of Houdini continue the tradition by holding séances each year on his birthday.
  • Believe it or not, there have been séances in the White House. Both First Lady Jane Pierce, wife of Franklin Pierce, and Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln hired mediums to hold séance in the White House to contact their dead sons. Both hired the same mediums, the famous Fox sisters, to make contact.
  • The Victorians are the ones we can thank for the popularity of the Ouija board. It was first manufactured in in 1891 by a game company. It claimed the power to “provided a link between the living world and the one inhabited by the dead.”
  • Tarot cards had been around since the 1400s, but they started out as a card game to be played alone. During the Victorian era, tarot cards became a very common way for mediums and spiritualists to receive messages from the dead.
  • Back in the modern world, it’s interesting to note that approximately 28% of Americans have had a clairvoyant episode, 65% have had an ESP experience, and 40% have connected with the dead.

For more fun with metaphysical mischief, read Book 3 of the Jade Blackwell Mystery Series, Murder Over Medium.

 

About the Author

Gilian Baker is a former English professor who has gone on to forge a life outside of academia by adding blogger, ghostwriter and cozy mystery author to her C.V. She currently uses her geeky superpowers only for good to entertain murder mystery readers the world over. When she’s not plotting murder for her Jade Blackwell cozy mystery series, you can find her puttering in her vegetable garden, knitting in front of the fire, snuggling with her husband watching British TV or discussing literary theory with her daughter.

Gilian lives in Flagstaff, Arizona with her family and their three pampered felines. In her next life, she fervently hopes to come back as a cat, though she understands that would be going down the karmic ladder.

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Posted in 3 paws, mystery, Review on January 17, 2018

Title: Double Take
Author: Abby Bardi
Publisher: Harper Collins Impulse
Pages: 186
Genre: Mystery

Synopsis

Set in Chicago, 1975, Double Take is the story of artsy Rachel Cochrane, who returns from college with no job and confronts the recent death of Bando, one of her best friends. When she runs into Joey, a mutual friend, their conversations take them back into their shared past and to the revelation that Bando may have been murdered. To find out who murdered him, Rachel is forced to revisit her stormy 1960s adolescence, a journey that brings her into contact with her old friends, her old self, and danger.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review

I’ve read many mysteries in my life and this didn’t read like any other mystery.

Rachel aka Cookie has come back to her parent’s home in 1975 and finds out that perhaps one of her friends did not commit suicide and perchance he was murdered. This causes a flood of memories from the late 60’s to early 70’s of her life at that time and the hippie lifestyle she seemed to lead.

It took getting used to with the back and forth between various years and memories. It might have made for a more fluid read to start at the present and then start at the beginning of the previous years and work through the years consecutively.

I also could not really relate to any of the characters due to the drug and alcohol use. Yes, this was the years of the hippies, but there did not seem to be any redeeming characters.

I thought this book was just ok. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t so bad I couldn’t finish the book.

We give it 3 paws up.

Excerpt

1975

I recognized his voice from across the room. When I handed him a menu, he looked up absent-mindedly and went on talking to some guys, then did a double take.

“Cookie?” he said.

I tried on the name like an old article of clothing to see if it still fit. It felt like a suede fringed jacket. “Yep,” I said.

“Wow. You look so different.”

“I cut my hair.”

“Everyone did.”

“I’m older,” I said. “Everyone’s older.”

“You look exactly the same,” I said. He was wearing a beat-up leather jacket over a green T-shirt, maybe the same jacket and T-shirt he had always worn. His thick black hair was shorter now and curly, skin still tan from summer, small mouth with perfect teeth. He still looked tough and handsome, but in a creepy way, like someone you couldn’t trust.

“Cookie, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I work here. I’d rather you didn’t call me that. My name is Rachel.”

“I thought your name was Cookie.”

“Nope. Do people still call you Rat?”
He laughed. “Nowadays I go by Joey.”

“Okay, Joey,” I said, since this was nowadays.

“Miss?” a voice called from a nearby table. The voice brought me back to where I was standing, in Diana’s Grotto, a Greek diner on 57th Street, with ten tables full of customers. For a moment, I had thought I was in Casa Sanchez.

It took me a while to make it back to Joey’s table. A divinity student had found a fly in his milkshake, and it wouldn’t have taken so long if I hadn’t made the mistake of saying, “So, how much can a fly drink?” Like most academics, this guy had no sense of humor and gave me a lecture on hygiene. It was amazing that knowing as much about hygiene as he seemed to, he would continue to eat at Diana’s Grotto. By the time I got back to Joey’s table, the men he had been sitting with were gone. Off-duty police, from the looks of them, I thought, or plain-clothes. We got a lot of cops in Diana’s; they slumped on stools at the counter with their guns hanging from their belts, sucking down free coffee. Back in the sixties, the sight of their blue leather jackets had always made me nervous, like I’d committed some crime I’d forgotten about.

“So why are you working here?” Joey asked. “I thought you were a college girl. A co-ed.” He flashed his white teeth. “I don’t mean to be nosy.”

“The problem with college is they make you leave when you finish.”

“And here I thought it was a permanent gig.”

“Nope.”

“But why aren’t you doing something a little more—”

“Collegiate? Don’t ask.” I slid into the booth next to him. From across the room, Nicky, the maître d’, shot me a poisonous glance. I ignored him. “I like it here.” I smiled a crazy little smile.

“Hey, different strokes.” His eyes swept the room, resting on a mural of a white windmill on an island in the Aegean. The windmill’s blades were crooked. I remembered this eye-sweep from Casa Sanchez, where he had always sat facing the door so he could constantly scan the whole restaurant. His eyes returned to me. “Didn’t I hear a rumor you were supposed to be getting married? Some guy in California?”

“Just a rumor. Glad to hear the grapevine still works.”

I felt someone hiss into my ear. Nicky had slunk up behind me. He looked like a garden gnome in a plaid jacket and baggy pants, reeking of aftershave that had tried and failed. “Rose!” he snapped. He never called anyone by their right name. “What’s in a name?” I always murmured.

“Be right with you.” I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“This is a classy place,” Joey said as Nicky ambled away.

“He’s the owner’s brother-in-law.”

“Diana?”

“There is no Diana. She’s a mythological figure.”

“Like Hendrix?”

“Kind of.”

“Hey, you want to have a drink after work?”

“Actually, I don’t drink any more.”

“You want to come watch me drink? What time do you get off?”

“Nine thirty. You could come help me fill the ketchups.”

“What?”

“You know, take the empty Heinz bottles and pour cheap generic ketchup in them.”

“Sounds like fun, but why don’t you meet me at Bert’s? Back room?”

I thought for a moment. This did not seem like a good idea, but I didn’t care. “Okay, why not. So, can I get you anything?”

“Just coffee.”

“You want a side of taramasalata with it? It’s made from fish roe.”

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

When I brought him his coffee, he said, “You’re still a hell of a waitress, Cookie.”

“You’re still a hell of a waitress, Rachel.”

“Whatever.”

“Thanks,” I said.

About the Author

Abby Bardi is the author of three novels: Double Take, The Secret Letters, and The Book of Fred. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies and journals, and she has written academic articles on Roma (Gypsies). She grew up on the South Side of Chicago and now lives in Ellicott City, MD, the oldest railroad town in America.

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Posted in Book Blast, Giveaway, romance on January 16, 2018

#Starstruck by Sariah Wilson

Synopsis

“You’ve done better.”

With one uncharacteristically sassy tweet to her longtime celebrity crush, Zoe Miller’s life turns upside down. Ultrahot A-lister Chase Covington doesn’t just respond to Zoe’s tweet, he does the unthinkable: he messages Zoe directly. Now she must decide between walking away or meeting her crush in person.

Chase knows better than to trust anyone from the Internet, but Zoe’s saucy challenge has totally caught his interest—and her girl-next-door personality is keeping it. He’s been burned enough to know he needs to keep his heart close. But his feelings for Zoe might be a lot more than just an online flirtation. He just has to convince her…

When the press gets wind of Zoe and Chase’s secret relationship, their romance turns into tabloid headlines. Will they be able to hold on to their Hollywood love story?

 

Blog Tour January 22nd – February 2nd

Excerpt

“You must be Zoe Miller. I’m Chase. Covington.”

He added on his last name like I wouldn’t know who he was. It was kind of endearing. I stared at his hand until the girl on my right nudged me and I gave him mine. A zap of raw electricity sparked at his touch, his hand warm and strong and big. It shot up my arm and spread all throughout my body making every part of me tingle.

“Hi Chase Covington.” I don’t know how I was able to form words. Or how I hadn’t dissolved into an incoherent, blubbering pile of Zoe goo.

“Hi Zoe Miller.”

We were still shaking hands, which was basically holding hands at this point as it had gone on for so long. He was just grinning at me, like I was some long-lost friend he was excited to catch up with.

I didn’t want to imagine what my slack-jawed, overwhelmed face looked like. He would probably think I was an idiot.

A guy with dark brown hair and wearing a Bluetooth device in one ear came over. “Chase, Marty wants a word.”

Chase finally let go of my hand. “Thanks, One-F. Stick around Zoe Miller. There’s more to say.” He walked backwards a few steps, like he didn’t want to stop looking at me. With a wink he finally turned and headed over to the director.

About the Author

Bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane or climbed Mount Everest, and she is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soul mate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romances like The Royals of Monterra series. After growing up in Southern California as the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a semiuseless degree in history. She currently lives with the aforementioned soul mate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster who is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).

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$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway

Ends 2/5/18

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

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Posted in Giveaway on January 14, 2018

Did you have any favorite books last year?  I had a few that is for sure!

Here are some of my favorites that I reviewed here on my blog, click on the image to visit the blog post with my review

There were a lot more books that I loved this year but these are just a few that I really loved.

 

Giveaway

I am giving away a $10 Amazon GC so that you can pick up one of my favorite books from last year, or a book that you have been wanting!

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Posted in excerpt, Historical, romance on January 14, 2018

 

Romance Rewind – Loving a Wild Stranger

By Kelli A. Wilkins

 

 Hi everyone,

Believe it or not, it’s been a year since I released my historical/pioneer romance, Loving a Wild Stranger. I’m happy to report that the book has received several great reviews. This full-length novel is set in the Michigan Territory and blends adventure with a sensual love story.

 

Synopsis

A woman running from her past… straight into the arms of an untamed man

In a moment of desperation, Kathleen Stanton flees her pampered life in Kingston, New York and ends up stranded in a small town in the Michigan Territory. Out of money and forced to rely on her instincts, she impersonates a handsome stranger’s mail-order bride.

Committed to her deception, Kathleen calls herself Michelle and starts her new life with Luther in an isolated cabin in the wilderness. Luther can’t believe his luck when his beautiful bride arrives, but something doesn’t feel right about his new wife. Michelle has terrifying nightmares involving a man named Roger and is reluctant to talk about where she came from.

Luther’s friend, Redfeather visits and tries to convince Luther to send Michelle back east. Distrusting Michelle, he warns Luther that his bride is not what she seems. But Luther is in love with Michelle, and he is harboring a secret of his own—one that might force Michelle to reject him when she learns the truth.
Michelle falls in love with Luther and adapts to her new way of life. Together, they face off against brutal townspeople and overcome harsh living conditions. When they finally give in to their desires and agree to become a proper man and wife, a dark figure from Michelle’s past resurfaces and threatens to destroy everything.

Praise

Publisher’s Weekly says:

“Wilkins (Trust with Hearts) has created a wonderfully sweet romance. The fantastic tension between the two characters as they grapple with their sudden newlywed status and the awkwardness that comes with marrying a perfect stranger keeps this story emotional and realistic as they fall in love. The story flows nicely and does not rush the romance. Wilkins keeps readers interested with strong, complex characters. Fans of pioneer romances will enjoy this one.”  Read the full review here

Long & Short Romances says:

4 Stars! This book has the potential to be made into a movie. This book took over my life. I ignored everyone and everything. The writing style made the entire book come to life as if I were there. The plot was really great. Nothing was going to interrupt my time with Luther. I envied the heroine, Michele. Loving a Wild Stranger reminded me of the 1970s T.V. show, “Grizzly Adams” – one of my favorite childhood television shows.

The writing style made the entire book come to life as if I were there. It was clever how Ms. Wilkins incorporated many plot threads and weaved them all together. I recommend this book and will be keeping it on my keeper shelf! I would recommend reading Loving a Wild Stranger while relaxing by a lake!”

Read the full review here

Excerpt

Kathleen’s knees shook as she strode down the sidewalk toward the livery. She had to get out of the store before there was trouble. She felt sorry for that man, Luther. He’d seemed nice enough when he gave her back her glove.

The coach waited near the livery, and her trunks still sat on the sidewalk. She had some time left. What should she do? She didn’t dare get back on the coach, but this town was awful and she didn’t want to stay here. Perhaps she could throw herself on the mercy of the church. There had to be one somewhere and the reverend would take her in. Or would he?

Kathleen crossed the street and entered the livery. A round-faced man slouching behind the counter straightened up.

“You must be from the stage,” he said, gazing at the front of her dress.

She folded her arms across her bosom and looked him square in the eye. “How did you know?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Because I’ve been with all the women in town and you ain’t one of ’em. You Clyde’s new girl? I’d pay two dollars for a night with you.” He winked.

“How dare you! I’m looking for the church.”

The man spit a stream of tobacco juice on the floor next to her brown boots. “We ain’t got a church. If you ain’t the new whore, then what are you doin’ here?”

She spotted the newspaper the man had open on the counter in front of him. An advertisement for wedding lace gave her an idea. “I’m a mail-order bride.”

“That so?” He scowled. “Who’s the lucky man?”

Kathleen twisted her skirts and tried to stall for time. “There’s a problem with the papers you see…”

She glanced out the window. The driver stood near the coach, scratching his head. A second later, she heard the familiar clomp of boots on the sidewalk. This was her one chance. It had to work. She had always trusted her instincts, and now she could only think of one answer. Her gut told her to take the risk. “Luther’s his name and—”

“Luther?” The liveryman’s eyes widened. “Well, you’re in the right place.” He arched an eyebrow. “You sure it’s Luther?”

She nodded as the coach pulled away. All hope of escape left town in a swirl of dust. Her trunks lay abandoned on the sidewalk. There was no going back now. This man thought she was a mail-order bride. She tried to remember what she’d read about them. It sounded simple, a man sent money to a company and they sent a wife.

She tensed as the livery door opened.

“Hey, Karl. I pulled the wagon—” Luther stopped as he spotted her.

She averted her gaze and smoothed her skirts, suddenly ashamed of her appearance. What man would accept her unwashed and dusty?

The liveryman laughed. “Hell, Luther, looks like ya got more than you thought goin’ home with ya.”

“What’s that mean?”

Kathleen closed her eyes. What had she done? This wasn’t a game anymore.

“Seems your wife came special delivery on the coach.”

“My what?”

***

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Want even more? Learn about the making of the book & read an excerpt here

Then, read an interview with Luther, the hero from Loving a Wild Stranger, here:

Feel free to repost & share this blog (and links) with your social media friends!

Happy Reading,

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

About the Author

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19 romance novels, and 5 non-fiction books.

Her romances span many genres and heat levels, and she’s also been known to scare readers with her horror stories.

Kelli’s writing book, “You Can Write—Really! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction” is a fun and informative guide filled with writing exercises and helpful tips all authors can use.

WebsiteBlog * Newsletter Sign Up * Amazon Author Page

Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Bookbub

Free Reads * Pinterest * Goodreads * Medallion Press Author Page

 

 

 

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Comments Off on Guest Post – Loving a Wild Stranger by Kelli A. Wilkins #excerpt @KWilkinsauthor #historical #romance
Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on January 13, 2018

Deadly Fashion (The Deadly Series)
3rd in Series 
Cozy Historical Mystery
JDP Press (December 8, 2017)
Paperback: 324 pages
Digital JDP Press (January 11, 2018)

Synopsis

Why would a man, knowing his life was in danger, turn his back on his killer?

In pre-war London, Olivia Denis wins a plum assignment from her newspaper when she meets the glamorous French fashion designer, Mimi Mareau. Mimi has it all, wealth, talent, acclaim, and a British duke for a lover. But on her first visit to Mimi’s new Mayfair house of haute couture, Olivia finds something else – the body of an unknown man.

Mimi and her three French assistants say they don’t know the man, but is that true? As Olivia spends time around the salon, she learns at least one of the women knew the dead man and four women are lying.

A British agent in possession of a terrible secret, an attempt on the life of a British leader, a fashion house in the middle of it all, and war marches closer. Can Olivia stop a murderer before he or she can strike again or shatter the fragile peace?

Guest Post

Today we welcome author Kate Parker to tell us how designers influenced the development of some of her characters.  Welcome Kate!

Coco Chanel

The more I read about Coco Chanel, the more she appeared to be the foundation for a great character in a murder mystery. She was one of the premier fashion designers of her age who became wealthy by her own efforts. She took various lovers, including an English duke and a Nazi officer. She designed costumes for the movies. She was free as a bird, able to fly off to Hollywood or Scotland or the French Riviera at a moment’s notice. She was imprisoned by a long standing addiction to cocaine. She lived well while her countrymen suffered under Nazi rule.

In Coco Chanel, I had the basis for Mimi Mareau, the talented, hard-working, bossy leader of French fashion. Her family life was different than Coco’s. She designed the costumes for a West End play instead of a movie. She opened a haute couture salon in London. And she became embroiled in a murder that it will take my sleuth, Olivia Denis, to solve.

Olivia is a society reporter for a leading daily London newspaper in the days before World War II when newspapers spread the word to everyone, and which newspaper someone read daily said a great deal about them. As a society reporter, Olivia would cover the twice yearly fashion shows put on in London. Her sketching talent, introduced to readers in Deadly Scandal, would be put to good use to help her write her articles.

I read about Chanel’s Paris salon in the late 1930’s to use details for my story, both for the fashion shows and for life behind the scenes as observed by Olivia. Also, what seemed to be important to Chanel, which I copied for Mimi Mareau, was her need to dress to be her best advertisement for her designs.

The Duke of Westminster was used as a vague model for Mimi Mareau’s British duke. Westminster was fabulously rich and had a long running affair with Coco Chanel. He was also pro-German in the time between the two world wars and was in need of an heir to replace the son he lost at an early age. Mimi’s duke appears to have no worries about the succession, so he must have an heir although the child is not mentioned. And unlike the four times married Westminster who was single when he was Coco’s lover, Mimi’s duke is still married to his first wife. The duke in my story is still in favor of the Nazis in 1938, the time of this story, and his possible close connection to Berlin actually mirrors what I’d read about another British aristocrat, not Westminster.

Another place in Chanel’s life story where I veer from fact is Chanel received financing for her salon from a man who would be her lover until his untimely death. It is said Arthur Capel was the love of her life. Mimi Mareau’s relationship with the man who financed her entry into the world of high fashion has a different fate.

Coco Chanel’s story is fascinating, and I hope Deadly Fashion is, too. Two books I found of great use in learning about Chanel’s life and French fashion salons were Sleeping with the Enemy – Coco Chanel’s Secret War by Hal Vaughan, and Coco Chanel – An Intimate Life by Lisa Chaney.

About the Author

Kate Parker has wanted to travel to 1930s England since she read her mother’s Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers mysteries when she was a schoolgirl. After many years of studying science, she decided a time travel machine was out of the question so she found herself limited to reading about the period and visiting historic sites. Her love of this fascinating and challenging period led her to the research from which the Deadly series grew. Eventually, she found it necessary to spend several days in the British Library reading old newspapers, which meant another trip to England. Near Christmas. A sacrifice she’d gladly make every year.

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check out the other blogs on this tour

January 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

January 5 – The Editing Pen – GUEST POST

January 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 7 – Ms. Cat’s Honest World – REVIEW

January 7 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT

January 8 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

January 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

January 9 – The Mysterious Ink Spot – REVIEW

January 10 – Queen of All She Reads – SPOTLIGHT

January 10 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

January 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 12 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW

January 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

January 14 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT