Synopsis

 

ONE LOVE STORY. TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.

Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips―she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family―she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result.

But now Burke―handsome, older, and more emotionally mature than any man she’s met before―says he wants her. Forever. Except, Burke isn’t who he claims to be. And interspersed letters to his therapist reveal the truth: he’s happily married, and using Skye for his own, deceptive ends.

In a third perspective, set thirty years earlier, a scrappy seventeen-year-old named Heather is determined to end things with Burke, a local bad boy, and make a better life for herself in New York City. But can her adolescent love stay firmly in her past―or will he find his way into her future?

On a collision course she doesn’t see coming, Skye throws herself into wedding planning, as Burke’s scheme grows ever more twisted. But of course, even the best laid plans can go astray. And just when you think you know where this story is going, you’ll discover that there’s more than one way to spin the truth.

 

 

 

IndieBound * Powells * BAM * Powells

 

The book releases March 2nd, 2021

 

Review

 

This book will take you on quite a ride through the lives of three individuals – Burke, Heather, and Skye. Their stories flip from the past to the present and the deception that is revealed is shocking and at times, unbelievable. The book is divided into two parts and this book reminds me of Gone Girl in a way, that you believe one thing to be true and then find out that you couldn’t have been more wrong.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to share what I liked without giving away too much. I will say that I missed some obvious clues about these three and how their stories intersect. But maybe I didn’t and they were just obvious in the second part of the book. It is quite an eye opener and how I felt about the different characters changed and those that I liked or felt sorry for, I now despised. This book definitely got into my head.

I think Skye is the most likable character and the one that I felt sorry for because I thought she was an innocent pawn in this whole debacle. Not that she is totally innocent, but I can see how she got swept up in her feelings for Burke and what he provided for her. You will learn about Skye’s OCD compulsions which are a part of her self image issues. But considering how cruel people can be, especially when they are teenagers, it isn’t a huge surprise.

I had mixed feelings about Burke and Heather. I liked them and hated them all at the same time, especially when the truth is revealed near the end. I think Heather is a bit naive too and she learns near the end of the book what might make her happy isn’t quite as fulfilling as she thought. I fear if I say too much more it will spoil the story.

This is a look into the psyche of the characters and what makes them tick and what lengths are they willing to go to in order to ensure happiness. You might be surprised at their discoveries by the end.

This is definitely a book that will get into your head and we give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Carola Lovering is the author of TELL ME LIES (out now from Atria Books) and TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (forthcoming from St. Martin’s Press, early 2021). She attended Colorado College, and her writing has appeared in W Magazine, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. She lives in Connecticut.

 

Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Website

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

In one of the year’s most anticipated debut psychological thrillers, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days.

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.

After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.

The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.

Told through multiple points-of-view and alternating between past and present, Alex Finlay’s Every Last Fear is not only a page-turning thriller, it’s also a poignant story about a family managing heartbreak and tragedy, and living through a fame they never wanted.

 

 

 

Preorder now, release date is March 2nd, 2021

 

 

Review

 

I have enjoyed psychological thrillers lately. Perhaps it is the way the author draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat as each new bit of information unfolds and sucks you further and further into the story. This book is no exception.

The story is told from multiple points of view and I think that made the story that much better because without the various perspectives we wouldn’t have a full understanding of the big picture. Plus we would have been left wondering how did Matt’s family die and why? But hearing from each character (outside of Tommy the youngest), pieces of the puzzle start falling into place but I still had no idea who was behind it all until the very end. There might be a few clues scattered throughout the book, but they were not obvious to me to put the pieces together.

The characters are very different and I really liked Matt’s “misfit” gang of friends from his first semester in the dorms. This group really looks out for each other and their personalities all mesh well with each other. Ganesh is a true friend and it is quite humorous that he is the richest but cares the least about money and more about experiences.

Sarah Keller is a tough FBI agent but has a soft spot for her kids and her husband. Her husband is quite a hoot and it is obvious how much they adore each other. While a minor part of the story and rounds it out and reflects the outside life of the FBI agent. Sarah is smart and is able to obtain information from others without putting the case at risk.

The book has its moments that left me on edge and hoping that something bad wouldn’t happen. I even felt some sympathy for Danny who was incarcerated for a crime that he may not have committed. But it takes the full book to find out the truth about what happened that night at the party.

Overall this is a very good book and if you are into psychological thrillers then you will like this one. We give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Alex Finlay is the pseudonym of an author who lives in Washington, D.C. Born in the American South, Alex spent years traversing the globe, from a tropical island in the Pacific to a small village in the UK to a remote region in the Far East. But it was on a trip to Tulum, Mexico that Alex was inspired to write Every Last Fear.

 

Website * Facebook * Instagram

 

 

Synopsis

 

All he wants to do is skate. But they have other plans for him.

Michael Daniels is seventeen and dreams to enter professional skateboarding contests. But beneath New Manhattan, a city under the oppressive shadow of climate change, exists another world altogether—secret laboratories which threaten society as he knows it.

Those with power will get what they want. No price is too high, even if it means making someone special or robbing them of their dignity, freedom . . . or life.

The price is too high for Michael, though. He has endured his stepfather’s abuse and mind games for almost as long as he remembers. Until one day he takes matters into his own hands, ruining the lives of those he loves most. And his skateboarding friends, Alien and Victor, are his only hope for freedom.

When there is no hope left, friendship is what remains.

 

 

Amazon * Amazon CA * Amazon UK

 

Preorder now for just $0.99 for the Kindle version

 

 

Excerpt

 

1st: To do the ollie (the basic and, according to many, the simplest of tricks) follow these steps. Put your front foot across the middle of the board. Your back foot is in the center of the tail. The tail of the board extends from the back truck to its rear end while the nose of the board extends from the front . . .

 

 

HE IS SEVENTEEN. A FREE ENTITY of a six-and-something million New Manhattan population, panicky in their effort to keep up with the time and catch a break in short nightly intervals before the challenges of a new day. The fact that it is summer is of no importance to anyone. The pulse of New York City continues to beat in its wild, crazy, and exhausting way.

He is young, very young. Healthy, too, except for a swollen lip and a bruised eye. His face will soon become a specimen of various colors. That doesn’t concern him much because he must think about other things. More important than just the one bruise.

The afternoon he finds himself in is sunny, but chilly—a story of this summer. This summer is cold, the coldest in this century. New Yorkers have already come up with a name for it.

Cruel summer.

Cruel summer, Michael thinks, shaking with cold. His washed-out T-shirt, over which he had pulled only a hooded sweatshirt with a drawing of a grinning skeleton printed above the sign Blind, is doing a poor job in keeping him warm. If someone asked him, he wouldn’t hesitate to take that pathetic sun out of the sky with one shot.

Or rather those who made it so . . . uneconomic.

This time, too, the main, alternative energy source dries up insidiously, opening the door wide to a new wave of pollution and new atmospheric changes.

A new climate disorder.

Michael grimaces. He imagines the reaction of the mayoress of the largest metropolis in the world, with hundreds of thousands of households reaching for heating in the middle of August, causing an overload of the power grid and triggering a new chain reaction of chaos.

Like he cares about it! He is not the Greenpeace green.

But the grass he stands on is green. Although slightly bitten by the morning frost. A perfect setting for his gloomy feelings and depressing thoughts.

The cemetery is empty and quiet, and it looks rather sad. Who would have thought of stumbling into a place like this during the biggest hustle and bustle of the city? Who but its tenants, perhaps some homeless people, thieves, human organ snatchers, or necrosadists . . . ?

Or maybe Michael.

Michael looks down from the sky wrapped in a haze of various vapors and particles of dubious origin. He stares blankly and seemingly absentmindedly at the marble tombstone in front of him. Elegant, not big, but enough to have the names of spouses with their birth and death years. And their children—assuming they will want it and that the rivers of life will not take them to other places.

Nothing more. Humble and simple. That’s what Michael’s mother wanted. Michael’s father didn’t object. Michael knows his reasons: Hank doesn’t like to spend money on unimportant things. But this is another story that never questioned the greatness of Hank’s love for his late wife. Michael is a living witness to this, isn’t he?

Melanie Hope Daniels.

Melanie Hope Daniels—gold lettering carved in white marble.

A face surrounded by an aura of tenderness. Forgiveness. Compliance.

Modesty.

Modesty.

It was his mother, a self-effacing look full of love.

That’s all Michael has from her now, with the promise he’d given her before she passed away: he will look after his sister and keep an eye on her.

Melanie Hope had high hopes for him, in reality still a boy. She believed in the power that lies behind his casualness, seeming disinterest, and defiant rebellion. She believed the contempt in his eyes with which he looks upon most of the world around him. She put her hopes in a “rebel without a cause” in a world that offers thousands of reasons for rebellion, into an unhappy child to whom even the unconditional maternal love has not dulled the blade of the evil fate of birth.

(Wrong place? Wrong time? Who would know?)

The mother’s vision slowly fades, devoured by the cold marble.

The world is at its end. Or is it the beginning of something new?

Hope is dead. What will tomorrow’s dawn look like? Toward the end of the millennium.

“Mother,” Michael says dreamily.

One word. One sigh.

A warm cloud swallowed with haze. And grayness. In the city of light, money, success, and synthetic kitsch. That’s how Michael experiences it—the intersection of contradictions and unimaginable extremes.

Yet . . .

. . . yet he still loves it in some bizarre way and still doesn’t leave its harbor in search of a better life in the Old World. He has three good reasons for this. Three good reasons that still keep him here. For now.

The first lies at his feet; the second enjoys the blessings of school vacations in the wilds of Colorado; and the latter, though no less important, patiently waits for Michael to turn his attention to it. That’s exactly what he does.

Leaving a fresh imprint in the damp earth, Michael takes his skateboard, adjusts a Creature flex fit baseball full cap all the way to his eyes, and sets off.

Toward the streets he will storm through. Toward the asphalt that will rattle under his wheels.

Thuuunderooously!

 

 

About the Author

 

“There is no greater joy than to share what you love with those who appreciate it.”—Bernard Jan

Bernard Jan is a pen name of an award-winning novelist and a poet from Croatia, and he has released four books in English.

Readers’ Favorite Gold Medalist 2020

Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medalist 2019

A World Without Color is a true story of the last three days he spent with his cat, while Look for Me Under the Rainbow in a unique and gentle way sheds light on the plight of harp seal pups in Canada. It warms the heart of all readers concerned about our planet and its treasures. January River is a heartwarming cross-genre novel about five friends, one dog, and one river carrying a secret. His latest YA cross-genre novel, Cruel Summer, is a gripping story of an abused teenager from New Manhattan who only wants to skate, but they have other plans for him.

His first two books were written at the beginning of the war in Croatia in 1991 amidst air alerts and illusory attempts when he wanted to believe and think that life is normal, that everything is all right with the world. He has published five novels, two novellas, and one book of poems in Croatian. Four of his books, including the book of poems, were translated into English.

His passion for music and entertainment resulted in his becoming a partner of Tom’s Music Place, which was established in 2009 by his friend Thomas Carley Jr., whose objective was to raise the respect of music.

His desire to help others came to the fore during his years advocating environmental protection and advocacy of animal rights. He did volunteering work for the refugees, because suffering does not know any borders. When it comes within your reach in your home, you simply have to do something. As part of his animal advocacy activities, it has been a great honor and pleasure to translate Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust by Charles Patterson into Croatian.

 

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All Author * Authors DB * Steemit * BookLife

 

 

Synopsis

 

While looking for a secret place to smoke cigarettes with his two best friends, troubled teenager Mark discovers a mysterious shack in a suburban field. Alienated from his parents and peers, Mark finds within the shack an escape greater than anything he has ever experienced.

But it isn’t long before the place begins revealing its strange, powerful sentience. And it wants something in exchange for the shelter it provides.

Shelter for the Damned is not only a scary, fast-paced horror novel, but also an unflinching study of suburban violence, masculine conditioning, and adolescent rage.

 

 

 

 

Advance Praise

 

“A full-throttle descent into visceral terror, Shelter for the Damned grabs you by the throat and never lets go. This haunting tale heralds the arrival of Mike Thorn as a horror writer to watch.” — Jeffrey Reddick, creator of Final Destination

 

“A terrifying descent into suburban addiction and male shame, Shelter for the Damned is a gripping, uncanny tale cut from the same cloth as Stephen King and John Carpenter.” — Daniel Goldhaber, director of Cam (Netflix)

 

“Impressive is an understatement. Mike Thorn is a fresh voice in horror with a distinct vision well worth your attention.” — John Claude Smith, author of Occasional Beasts: Tales and the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated Riding the Centipede

 

 

About the Author

 

Mike Thorn is the author of the short story collection Darkest Hours. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies and podcasts, including Vastarien, Dark Moon Digest, The NoSleep Podcast, Tales to Terrify, and Prairie Gothic. His film criticism has been published in MUBI Notebook, The Film Stage, and Vague Visages. He completed his M.A. with a major in English literature at the University of Calgary, where he wrote a thesis on epistemophobia in John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness.

 

Twitter * Website

 

 

ALFIE CARTER

 

By

 

BJ Mayo

 

 

Published by Skyhorse Publishing

Pages: 288

Published: January 19th, 2021

Categories: Southern Fiction / Rural Fiction / Mystery

 

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

The seemingly never-ending Cabinda War (1975—) has left multitudes dead in its wake and thousands of children homeless and orphaned.

Jackaleena N’denga, a young Angolan girl, has become the sole survivor of one specifically brutal village massacre carried out by a band of guerrilla boy-soldiers.

Jackaleena’s resilience leads her to an orphanage on the west coast of Africa, known as Benguela by the Sea, where she and other children are taken in and protected. Her brilliant mind and endless questions capture the heart of her mentor, Margaret, who ensures her that her survival thus far—especially being the survivor from her village—must mean she has big things ahead of her. When the opportunity arises, she must find her purpose.

Not without a plan, Jackaleena stows away on a mercy ship that has made its yearly visit to the orphanage and is now preparing to return to America. Her journey takes her across the ocean, into the arms of New York City’s customs officials, and finally into placement in a temporary foster home in Texas.

Enter Alfie Carter—a workaholic, small-town detective who is also battling memories of his past. His life is forever changed when he meets a young African girl looking for her higher purpose.

 

 

 

Skyhorse Publishing

 

 

 

 

Every now and then a book will come along with a message that is fitting to the times we live in and how we should be living that life.

“..we are the world’s worst at condemning folks that we think need condemning. The man that stole the car, the people on the scourge of drugs with no way out. All of the things that can beset us if we ain’t careful. I have done it myself in my work. What right do we have to condemn them?”

This is a story of two lives intersecting at a critical time for all parties and the ending result becomes something even better than anyone expected.

When the story begins, we see Jackaleena all grown up and an attorney in this small town. However, her current court case brings back memories that she had forgotten or pushed down in her memories and it releases a floodgate of tears which the judge doesn’t quite understand until she shares her tale.

Jackaleena had a tough life in Africa. Her family and village were wiped out in the blink of an eye, but perhaps that was meant to happen. Jackaleena knew she had a bigger purpose in life and after time in an orphanage, she realized that purpose was in America and not Africa, at least not at that time. She is definitely wise beyond her years and everyone that meets her recognizes her intelligence and her passion. I loved her curiosity and determination and did not let anything stand in her way.

“Her heart was light. Her feelings of joy and gratitude were immense. She felt like Jesus Man was the only one who had ever helped her, and besides Margaret she had no one in the world.”

Alfie is a tough soul due to tragedy earlier in his life. The sections of the story that are from his point of view are rough and gritty, much like the man, but give us insight into why he acts this way. It is only when another tragic event occurs that he realizes that he is not living his life to its full potential. There is so much that he has done wrong that he needs to right, but is fearful of the reactions of those around him. But this is his journey to soften his hardened heart and find his way back to his family and God.

I enjoyed this story especially the mystery that Alfie sets out to unravel, the death of a young woman. The clues are all there for him to discover the truth and the outcome is more than I could have imagined. It is the forgiveness shown by the young woman’s family that shows that there is goodness in this world. I was touched by the outcome for all those involved. Could I have been so forgiving? I would like to think so.

“Have compassion on them, pray for them. That’s what they need, not my condemning.”

This story is also about faith and belief in a higher being or master creator. Alfie struggles with this but perhaps he isn’t as far from faith as he believes. Jackaleena has a strong faith in “Jesus Man” after meeting a young boy that brings her to safety and the teachings in the orphanage. Perhaps their journey will have an impact on the reader and they might be able to relate to either one of these characters.

“Thinking about the bible, or at least the part I read, it seemed it might be true that all animals, fish, and insects were purposely designed by a master creator. I saw it right before my eyes that each of these creatures, no matter how big or small, was given a place in the world and a way to survive.”

There are also moments of humor especially when Alfie declares that “men’s underwear is not supposed to be every color of the rainbow.”  Alfie is also introspective regarding his childhood and how it impacted his life as an adult.

I also marveled at the descriptive scenery and could picture Alfie climbing a mountain or the area where he would camp to get away from it all.

Overall this is a book that could stick with someone long after reading the words. We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BJ Mayo was born in an oil field town in Texas. He spent the first few years of his life living in a company field camp twenty-five miles from the closest town. His career in the energy industry took him to various points in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Louisiana, Bangladesh, Australia, and Angola West Africa. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and have been married for forty-six years with two grown children. They live on a working farm near San Angelo, Texas.

 

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

 

THREE WINNERS each receive an

 

autographed copy of ALFIE CARTER.

 

US only. Ends midnight, CST, March 5, 2021.

 

 

 

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

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

 

or visit the blogs directly:

 

 

2/23/21	Review	Reading by Moonlight
2/23/21	BONUS Promo	All the Ups and Downs
2/23/21	BONUS Promo	LSBBT Blog
2/24/21	Review	Missus Gonzo
2/24/21	Review	The Clueless Gent
2/25/21	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
2/25/21	BONUS Promo	Hall Ways Blog
2/26/21	Review	Jennie Reads
2/26/21	Review	Jennifer Silverwood
2/27/21	Review	Bibliotica
2/28/21	Review	Carpe Diem Chronicles
3/1/21	Review	Book Fidelity
3/1/21	Review	That’s What She’s Reading
3/2/21	Review	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
3/3/21	Review	Forgotten Winds
3/3/21	Review	Librariel Book Adventures
3/4/21	Review	It’s Not All Gravy
3/4/21	Review	The Plain-Spoken Pen

 

 

 

 

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Synopsis

 

Late one night Travis Call is awakened by a knock at the door. After months of suspense, the police have arrived with the news he dreaded: His wife, an up-and-coming actress, is dead.

And they suspect him of her murder.

As a young financial counselor, Travis has made millions for his clients, but a recent diagnosis of Lyme Disease has compromised his ability to think, to remember, to make good decisions. And now he may be in over his head with a new and suddenly rocky investment.

Travis is also a counselor in the bishopric of his ward at church. And now that he is suspected in his wife’s murder, he will almost certainly be released—or will he? Maybe the bishop knows more than the police do.

It’s a certainty that somebody close to him does.

With almost too many suspects to count, Travis has to find the real killer—before the real killer grows even bolder and silences him.

 

 

 

Free to read on Kindle Unlimited

 

 

About the Author

 

Curtis Taylor is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays. His fiction includes “A Grand Conspiracy,” “The Counselor,” “American Grace,” “The Dinner Club” (revised as “Rolling Home”), and “The Invisible Saint” (revised as “The Invisible Saint Revisited”). His nonfiction includes “Embraced By The Light” (co-authored with Betty J. Eadie), and “The Burning Within (co-authored with Ranelle Wallace). His most recent screenplay is “The Review,” a story set loosely on “American Grace.” He and his wife, Janet, live in Modesto, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Can you really have the best of both worlds?

He’s rich, successful—and has been faithfully married to his longtime girlfriend for nearly one gruelingyear. Because for Dr. Dorian Graham, too many women is never too much—no matter how loyal his wife, Shantae, has been since their college days. So when she proposes they celebrate their first anniversary by each spending a no-questions-asked, no-consequences night with their greatest temptation, Dorian is shocked, but can’t resist. Especially since Shantae’s wild-card younger sister, Reagan, is gorgeous, uninhibited—and the one who got away . . .

It turns out one sizzling night with Reagan isn’t enough. Yet the more Dorian takes, the more she demands—and the more he suddenly has to lose. Soon, with his mind games being used against him and his every move checkmated, Dorian will be forced to go all-in on one last desperate play to win. But winning might just be another way to crash and burn . . .

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo

 

 

Review

 

This was an ok book until the last chapter and then *bam* the twists it hit me with was a shocker. I don’t know what category to put this book in because it is not romance, not really suspense/thriller, so maybe just fiction? Others have said romantic suspense…maybe.

Not many of the characters are likable. Dorian is a cheater, Reagan is a sleaze, and Shante appears weak. I really had a hard time finding anything redeemable about any of the characters except maybe some of the minor characters.

Shante has decided to give Dorian a hall pass for their one year anniversary. At first, he doesn’t want to do it, but he has this hardon for her sister, Reagan. Ummm, if I was given a hall pass I would not use it on someone I might see on a regular basis. But, had he not chosen Reagan, the ending wouldn’t have happened as it did. Reagan definitely doesn’t understand the concept of a one night stand and she continues to come on to Dorian and entice him into continuing a sexual relationship with her. This is not going to end well for anyone, and it doesn’t. I won’t spoil anything in case you wish to read the book, but everything is a hot mess until the very end, and even then I wondered about Reagan’s mental state. I still wonder about her mental state…she is definitely not stable.

While reading this book I wondered where it was possibly going and how it would end. Dorian gets his just rewards (my only “spoiler”) and there are some unanswered questions. The sex scenes are somewhat graphic and frequent. Maybe just a little over the top for my personal taste, but I’m sure just the right amount for others.

Overall I am giving this book 3 paws up. The ending was a surprise but looking back, maybe it shouldn’t have been. However, there really aren’t any clues as to how this will all end up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Briana Cole is an acclaimed author, motivational speaker, sex educator, and actress. Her novels are known for exploring unconventional relationships and making readers question all expectations about love, lust, and monogamy. An Atlanta native, she graduated cum laude from Georgia Southern University and is a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Her motto and ultimate drive toward success is a famous quote from Mae West: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

 

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Jackson

 

by LaQuette

 

Publication Date: 2/23/2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Restoration Ranch may have been the first step on her road to redemption…but Jackson Dean will be the last mile.

 

Aja Everett longs to turn her old family ranch into a place where anyone can find rest and healing. But her big heart’s bound to get her in trouble if she’s not careful—someone wants her gone, and they’ll do whatever it takes to drive her away from the land that’s her lifeblood. Whether she’s willing to admit it or not, she needs help.

She needs a man like Ranger Jackson Dean.

Jackson doesn’t trust love. He once made the mistake of following his heart and all he’d gotten was pain in return. But when city-slicking do-gooder Aja Everett asks for his help, he can’t stay away…and as attraction sizzles and protective instincts flare, she may be the only woman able to restore the heart of this Texas Ranger.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Apple * Kobo

 

Bookshop * BAM * Books2Read

 

 

Excerpt

 

least tailored, just for her.

“I’m not gonna be ready to read this without at least another cup.  Just give me the highlights.  Who is she?”

His boss crossed an ankle over his knee and tilted his head.  “She’s the niece of a friend.  A judge in Hill Country.  Her property has been vandalized and the judge needs someone to look into it.”

Jackson felt his brow inching higher into his hairline.  Something about the way Major Hargrove said “someone” scratched at his bullshit meter.

“What do the locals have to say about it?”

Hargrove lifted an open palm before letting it fall back to his knee.  “Not a thing.  There’s some bad blood between the local sheriff’s department and Ms. Everett.”

Jackson shifted in his seat, the coffee plus his boss’ preliminary recount was starting to sketch an outline to this tale of a spoiled judge’s niece using her uncle’s connections to get what she wanted.

“Anyway, the judge wants to make sure this is taken seriously.  Especially since the vandalism has escalated from fence posts and a scaffold being knocked down to her barn being burned to the ground yesterday.”

Jackson sat up straighter. “Anyone hurt?”

“Minor cuts and bruises on Ms. Everett.  Her uncle called me while she was being seen at the hospital.  Asked me to get her a protective detail and send a team out to investigate.”

“She pointing fingers at anyone?”

Hargrove stood up and tapped on top of the beautiful woman’s picture.  “Don’t know.  But you can ask when she gets here.  I assigned Jennings and Gleason to her protective detail overnight.  They’re bringing her in first thing this morning so she can swear out a statement.  Get your team together and figure this thing out.”  He walked toward the door confident his orders would be followed.  And they would be.  Jackson might give his boss shit, but he always got the job done.

He looked at the picture of one Ms. Aja Everett again.  He ran his finger slowly over the high cheekbones that turned her eyes into barely-opened slits as her wide grin smiled back at him.  “Why would anyone want to harm you?”

 

***

Excerpted from Jackson by LaQuette. © 2021 by LaQuette. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

About the Author

 

LAQUETTE writes savvy, sexy contemporary romance. She is the 2016 Author of the Year Golden Apple Award Winner, 2016 Write Touch Reader’s Choice Winner, and a 2018 Passionate Plume Finalist. She is an advocate for the #WeNeedDiverseRomance campaign. LaQuette, a native of Brooklyn, lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

 

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Giveaway

 

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NETWORK OF DECEIT:

 

An Amara Alvarez

 

Stand-Alone Novel

 

by

 

Tom Threadgill

 

 

Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Detective

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: February 2, 2021

Number of Pages: 384 pages

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

Amazon│ Barnes and Noble │Books-a-Million

 

Kobo│ IndieBound

 

Christianbook.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

How do you write? Any backstory to your choice?

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

What do you want your tombstone to say?

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Website ⬥ Facebook ⬥ Twitter ⬥ BookBub

 

Goodreads ⬥ Amazon Author Page

 

 

 

 

————————————— 

 

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

 

 ONE WINNER 

 

GRANDPRIZE (US only):

 

One copy of each COLLISION OF LIES AND NETWORK OF DECEIT

 

and a note pad

 

Giveaway ends Midnight, CST, February 27, 2021

 

 

 

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

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

 

or visit the blogs directly:

 

 

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

 

 

 

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Wedding Day and Foul Play (A Consignment Shop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Independently Published

 

Synopsis

 

Wedding cake on top of the table, a dead body underneath and a favorite auntie accused of putting it there is no way to start a marriage.

It’s been one-hundred-and-eighty-three days and fourteen hours since Reagan Summerside tripped across yet another dead body but hopes of her Savannah wedding to Walker Boone going off without a hitch are dashed, when a corpse is found under the cake table and Auntie KiKi is accused of putting it there. Can Reagan and Walker find the killer without him finding them first, or will their new address be Bonaventure Cemetery?

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She is a National Bestselling author and now conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own. She has two series the Consignment Shop Mysteries set in Savannah along with rescue pup Bruce Willis and the Cycle Path Mysteries set on Mackinac Island with judgmental cats Cleveland and Bambino.

 

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