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Guest Post & #Giveaway – Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles

Posted in Cozy, excerpt, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on February 11, 2024

Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Oregon
Crooked Lane Books (January 16, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 280 pages

Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Victoria Gilbert, when a body is found in a hardware store, will Dawna Carpenter’s sleuthing measure up to find the killer?

Recent sexagenarian widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, and Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, Dawna has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she’s in way over her head.

The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short amount of time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and April nail the killer before they strike again?

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Bookshop * Penguin

Guest Post

Hello! I’m Dawna Carpenter, owner of Carpenter’s Corner Hardware in Pine Bluff, Oregon. What? You’ve never heard of Pine Bluff. I can’t say I’m surprised. When people think of Oregon, they envision Portland or the coast, but they don’t realize what a diverse state Oregon is. If you left Portland to drive here, you’re going to leave behind the lush rainforest feel of Western Oregon, then drive nearly four hours through the Columbia River Gorge and the plains before finally climbing into the Blue Mountains and meandering your way to our picturesque valley.

Wait a minute. Excuse me for a second.

Sorry, I’m back now. My author person rudely interrupted to inform me that Pine Bluff is a fictional town. That’s nonsense and I’m not going to listen to her negativity. Either way, real or imagined, Pine Bluff is a charming small town. My family moved here when I was only eight and it’s never crossed my mind to live anywhere else. Maybe that’s small minded of me, but I love my quirky little town. Bob, my late husband, and I raised our three children here, built two businesses and had a wonderful life. After Bob died, my oldest daughter wanted me to move in with her family over on the coast. But no, my roots are as firmly planted here as that big Elm tree in the front yard.

Besides the fact, I’m beginning to think Bob is still hanging around inside our big brick home. I can’t tell you how often his signature scent of sawdust and coffee swirl around the room, and I swear to you, occasionally he kisses me on the cheek. Plus, there’s Lilac. That sweet kitty crossed the rainbow bridge ages ago, but she’s been sleeping on my bed every night now for two weeks. If a cat spirit can comfort me with her presence, why not Bob?

And boy do I need comforting right now! Not that I can’t take care of myself. I can, for sure, but the other day a man was killed in the bathroom of my store. How crazy is that? I found his body, but better me than one of my customers. Now I’m worried that people will be too freaked out to shop in my store, and with that big box home improvement store that recently opened in the next town over, things could get dicey.

My daughter April and I are going to figure out who killed the poor man, though, and try to get things as back to normal as possible. I hate to point a finger, but there’s several Pine Bluffians I’m suspicious might’ve had something to do with the man’s demise. Oh, there’s April now. We have some snooping to do. I don’t want to keep her waiting, so I’ll cut this off and talk with you again soon.

Excerpt

I ended the call then reached into the cupboard for a glass and filled it with infused cucumber water from a pitcher in the refrigerator.

“See her where?” April filled another glass with cucumber water. “What’s going on?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Join the Women’s Service Club, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

I’d been trying to get April to join the organization ever since she’d taken over the decorating and furniture restoration side of my business, but so far, she’d refused.

“Whatever, Mom. I’m not ready to wear polyester pants and go to a meddling women’s meeting.” My daughter rolled her eyes and tapped her wrist like she was checking a watch. “At least not for another…oh, let’s see…twenty years.”

I threw my hands in the air and looked down at the pink-and-white striped T-shirt, cotton shorts, and denim shoes I wore. “Do you see polyester pants here? Don’t think so, missy.”

“No, but your meddling is showing. Better get it tucked back in.”

The two of us cracked up like a pair of cackling hens.

“Anyway, Evonne called an emergency meeting tonight. Without a feasible buyer for The Emery, we need to regroup and double our efforts to save the theater for Pine Bluff.”

“See? I knew I wouldn’t have to join your stuffy old ladies club to get the scoop. You can’t keep from talking about it.” April grinned. “But, seriously, it’s a good idea. What time’s your meeting?”

“Seven. Why? Are you coming with me?”

“Nope, not going with you. Will you stop, please?”

I laughed. “Never.”

“I think I’m going to head to the workshop and finish the dresser I’ve been working on. Maybe I’ll work until your meeting is over. It should give me a few hours to paint.”

Workshop was an overreaching word for the storage unit where April refinished and stored the pieces of furniture that were the heart of her business, Carriage House Designs.

“Do you think it’s wise to be there alone right now? You could stay here and bake those cupcakes you promised J.T.”

“It’s too hot to bake. I’ll do it tomorrow morning while it’s still cool. I’ll be as safe at my workshop as I’d be here by myself. Don’t worry. I’ll text J.T. to let him know where I’m at, okay? You need to do the same thing when you leave the house, and then text me when you’re heading back home from your meeting. Plus drive your Jeep. No walking tonight.”

“Deal, bossy cow.”

April and I pinky swore. There was no going back on our deal now. With a pinky swear, it was completely unbreakable.

“The meeting isn’t for several more hours, though. I have all afternoon to kill. Think I’ll turn on the air-conditioning unit in the sunroom and read for a bit after I start a load of laundry. It’s too hot to work in the garden right now.”

“Sounds perfect. And don’t say kill.” April glowered at me in jest before she turned to head outside.

I grabbed the dishtowel hanging on the stove doorhandle and snapped my daughter on the rear end before she made it outside.

“Oh, lady, you’re going to be mighty sorry you did that.” April let the screen door bang behind her for good measure. “Lock the door,” she called over her shoulder.

About the Author

When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her patient husband and a handful of furry and feathered critters. Paula also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins.

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Goodreads

Giveaway

Dead Letters by P.J. Murphy Spotlight Book Tour Giveaway

Guest Post & #Giveaway – Dead Letters by P.J. Murphy

Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on February 8, 2024

Synopsis

“If you want to find me, search within these pages.”

Bestselling author Richard Debden is missing. The only clue: a copy of his unpublished final novel delivered to his ex-girlfriend, Amy. When those closest to Richard reunite for his memorial, Amy turns to Chris, his former best friend, to help unravel the mystery. Could Richard still be alive and in need of their help?

Richard’s manuscript tells of two abandoned children in wartime Britain, instructed by a shadowy Postmaster to deliver letters to ghosts and release them from their torment. As Chris and Amy delve into the text, they identify parallels between fiction and reality; clues to a trail that leads across the country and – they hope – to Richard.

But they are not the only interested party. A mysterious society is following them, their motives unclear. Can Chris and Amy unlock the secrets of Dead Letters, or will more sinister forces get there first?

Dead Letters is the captivating second novel by P.J. Murphy, author of Troubleshot.

Amazon

Read for Free via Kindle Unlimited

Guest Post

In defense of audiobooks

Imagine being able to read a book while walking the dog, doing the housework, or completing any number of chores that occupy our hands but leave our minds free. Well, now we have the technology! (Actually, we’ve had it for a very long time, but I have only recently dipped my toes into the world of audiobooks).

I’ve read that if you don’t publish your novel as an audiobook, you’re missing out on a vast swathe of potential audience. I can absolutely see how that could be true. But it takes work to record a novel. At the time of writing, I am in the final stages of preparing an audiobook version of my second novel, Dead Letters. It has been a huge learning experience. Here are some of the key considerations:

Who’s going to read it? Many top books are narrated by celebrities. I knew I was unlikely to get George Clooney to narrate my book. Another option often chosen is for the author to narrate. I could see the attraction of this, but recording a ten-hour book requires time and the right technology. Most importantly, it would have required me to listen to and edit recordings of my own voice. I can’t stand hearing myself speak. Decision made.

How do you choose a professional narrator? ACX is an audiobook exchange for indie writers. It includes a marketplace where you can upload an extract of your book and invite auditions. I received 26 auditions, and it was tricky to sift through them and make a final selection. I was aided by Dead Letters being written in the first-person, so my narrator’s voice had to match the character.

How do you deal with character voices? Honestly, this had not occurred to me beforehand. When you read from the page, the paragraph breaks make it clear who is talking. You don’t have those cues when listening. So, we had to consider how to differentiate the characters. The narrator I’m working with does this by picturing them as different well-known actors. This helps him to adapt the way he talks. We also played around with accents. One of the key characters in Dead Letters is a girl called Imogen, a Welsh name, so we tried giving her a Welsh accent. It was awful. And it made me realise that I pictured her like Hermione from the Happy Potter series, so that’s the direction we took in the end.

It has been interesting to see how different narrators approach voicing characters of another gender. I sought a male narrator, but they needed to voice female characters. Some of the auditions I received saw men increasing the pitch of their voices. It didn’t sound great. The narrator I chose just softened his voice a little. That was enough to differentiate the characters; that was all he needed to do. The magic happens inside the listener’s head.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the audiobook of Dead Letters is received, and I’m sure I’ll blog about it. Until then, you can read more about my audiobook journey at www.pjmurphywriter.com. Thanks for reading!

About the Author

P.J. Murphy writes novels that introduce unusual and humorous twists to classic genres. If you pick up one of his books, you’re in for an interesting read that never loses its sense of fun. As a writer, P.J. tries to stick to the adage ‘write what you know,’ although with the addition, ‘just make sure you exaggerate and distort it beyond all recognition.’ He is planning to write a novel about taking a road trip with a parrot. He has never owned a parrot.

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Giveaway

$15 Starbuck Gift Card, courtesy of the author of DEAD LETTERS

(one winner) (internationally)

(ends Feb 16)

6 Comments

Guest Post & #Giveaway – A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn

Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on February 7, 2024

A Killer Romance (A Beach Reads Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Crooked Lane Books (February 6, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

Synopsis

Love and murder are in the air this Valentine’s day in Maggie Blackburn’s third Beach Reads mystery, perfect for fans of Eva Gates and Miranda James.

When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes it’s natural causes–there were plenty of people who wanted her dead.

As Summer searches for the truth about the author’s stranger-than-fiction life, Summer finds suspicious indications of shady behavior in the author’s belongings. But the casual sleuthing is quickly derailed when Summer’s friend Glads gets hauled in for the murder, and they launch a full-blown investigation to clear her name.

As Summer and company pick through the scant clues to solve the case, they may find more treachery and heartbreak than they bargained for.

Amazon * B&N * Bookshop

Guest Post

Glads

I can’t explain what it feels like to be accused of murder. My name is Gladys Solomon, and folks just call me Glads. I’ve lived here on St. Brigids Island most of my life, and my best friend was Hildy Merriweather, who was murdered a few years back. I will never get over that. Now, her daughter, Summer, has taken over the bookstore and is doing a great job with it. I just know Hildy would be proud and maybe a little surprised, given that Summer always despised the shop. Not so anymore.

Summer is not Ms. Popularity like her mother was. She tries—and with each passing day, she becomes, I don’t know, a little softer, a little more likable. All I know is she’s a person you want on your side. And if a murder accusation will surely show you who is on your side—and who is not.

I have no idea who killed the uppity romance author who visited Beach Reads Books for the “Romance by the Sea” Valentine’s Day event. All I know is it wasn’t me. Sure, I handed her the poisoned tea. But I didn’t place the poison in it. But honestly, I can see why the police thought I may have poisoned her, though I swear I did not do it.

And like I said, Summer is a woman you’d want on your side. She just won’t rest until they find the real killer. Neither will I. I’ve taken this very personally. Of course, I have. I’ve lived here my whole life. How could anybody think I’d commit such a heinous act?

About the Author

Maggie Blackburn is the pen name for bestselling mystery author Mollie Cox Bryan, who writes cozy mysteries with edge. She’s the author of several bestselling mystery series Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman’s World. She has also been short-listed for the Virginia Library People’s Choice Award. She’s also penned a historical mystery under the name of Mollie Ann Cox. She lives in Crozet, Va. and is the mother of two grown, nearly perfect daughters.

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Giveaway

Excerpt, Giveaway & Guest Review – Kiss of Frost and Flame by Ken Czech

Posted in Action, Adventure, excerpt, Giveaway, Historical, Review, romance on January 29, 2024

Synopsis

When Defending the Homeland Means Defending Your Heart.

Siberia 1581. When Umey, a young outcast woman, stumbles on a ravaged village, she uncovers a plot that threatens to devastate her beloved homeland. It’s furs—soft gold—the invading Cossacks crave, and the greediest of them is Yermak, the man who saved her life and raised her.

Armed with fearsome muskets, the Cossacks plunge deeper into the Siberian forest, crushing the tribal folk who stand in their way. Although prejudices are arrayed against her, Umey emerges as a tribal leader, albeit a reluctant one. She and Alexey, a Russian soldier who has seen too much war, are soon caught in an unfolding crucible of destruction where their courage and incipient love will be tested in a final collision with Yermak and his horde.

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Praise

“I was immediately drawn in by the atmospheric and descriptive effort that Czech put into his writing to bring the wilds of Siberia to life. I was fascinated by the customs and tribal people as well as the beauty of nature … Umey’s gentle but unwavering courage makes her a protagonist whom you grow to feel deeply for during the adventure. Overall, Kiss of Frost and Flame is a work that fans of historical adventures and cross-cultural writing are sure to enjoy as much as I did.”-K. C. Finn, author of Caecilius Rex and The Book of Shade

Excerpt

The first metallic rays of the rising sun peeking above the hilltops caused Umey to stir, but it was the low, husky warble of a snow bunting that woke her. Perched on a bare branch a few feet away, the little white and black bird tilted its head as if to say, you do not belong here. When she stretched, it flew away.

Outside of her cedar tree shelter, the sun glinted from a dazzling layer of hoarfrost that coated the bare boughs of birch and poplar with a delicate skin of purest white. Thick, snowy shawls mantled the scattered pines and cedars. Against the azure sky, the awakening world resembled a crystal palace like the kind found in the tales of ice castles and princesses that Mama had once told her.

Umey studied her surroundings. White-clad peaks loomed to the north, while snow-covered ridges and valleys lay to the west. If she followed the ridges and valleys, she was certain she would eventually reach the flatlands where reindeer roamed. With luck, she might even stumble across a trail left by the herders. Luck! That was her Russian half thinking of such. Samoyeds did not believe in luck. They believed in skill and patience.

A horse neighed from far behind her, the sound carrying in the still air. Umey shaded her eyes and scanned the horizon. A single horse appeared, tiny in the distance. From the animal’s movements, its rider seemed to be following the path left by her skis. They would lead him to where she had bedded for the night, and after that he would find more telltale tracks.

Mother Forest! It had to be one of the Cossacks. What if Bugatov or Ivan Koltso tracked her? Whoever it was, he must have left the Cossack camp while she slept and made up ground on her.

Umey maneuvered along the next ridge. Using her ski pole as a sort of rudder, she glided downhill. The bottom of the ridge formed into a ravine. She glanced at the next slope. Too steep to climb. Better to stay down here.

Cattails poked out of the snow on the ravine’s floor. Animal tracks led in and out of the cover provided by the long stems. Water trickled at the base of the ‘tails and splashed over her boots. The ravine appeared to be the bed of a half-frozen stream.

The height of the ravine’s walls began to diminish. She took her eyes off its floor for a moment to look behind her and missed the thick, broken tree branch poking through the snow. Her ski hooked the branch, and with a loud cracking sound sent her sprawling. The contact with the frozen ground drove the wind from her. Pain knifed her chest and she clawed at the snow in agony until her breathing returned. She kicked out of the bindings and discovered her left ski had snapped near its tip. Muttering a Samoyed curse, she tossed the useless slats aside.

The horse neighed again, now much closer. She had laid in the snow for too long. Escape from the horseman would have to be on foot.

“Umey! I am coming for you!” the rider called, his words echoing among the hills.

Bugatov! That grating voice belonged to Stefan Bugatov!

Umey began to run. The wet snow dragged at her boots and slush speckled her trousers. The ravine’s floor widened and opened to a vast, flat, white expanse that glistened under the sun. She skidded to a stop. An ice-covered lake stretched into the distance. Patches of wind-driven snow laced its surface.

“Mother Forest, protect me,” she murmured as she dashed onto the lake, her arms twirling for a moment to keep her balance. Under her, the lake’s glazed surface groaned. The ice she slid over appeared grayish-white, not the stronger clear layer needed to support much weight. Bubbles, looking like boiled eggs, hung suspended inches below the surface. She knew what it meant. The combination of water from the stream flowing under the ice, the warm caress of wind, and the bold eye of the sun had weakened the lake’s coating in this area. Gray ice, soft and deadly.

From behind her, the crunch of the horse’s hooves as it broke through the crusted top layer of snow at the lake’s edge sent her heart skipping.

The wind carried Bugatov’s raucous shout of triumph. “Umey! Stop, or I will shoot you.”

She spun about to face him, her hands clenched. In his heavy bearskin coat, he appeared more beast than man. Frost rimed his beard and snot had frozen in his mustache. He clutched a pistol in one fist and held the leash in the other. Foam flecked his horse’s jaws and neck; a loop of saliva hung from its mouth. Gouts of white air blew from its nostrils and its whicker more a whimper of pain. Bugatov had ridden it hard to catch her. She doubted the poor horse was strong enough to carry him back to Koltso.

“Go ahead and shoot me,” she cried. “Then you can explain to the tsar what happened.”

Guest Review by Nora

A masterpiece of fiction from author Ken Czech! ‘Kiss of Frost and Flame,’ is a novel of pure genius from an author who always writes such wonderful books. Czech has a talent for atmosphere and setting that is unparalleled! I noted this when reading his last book, ‘The Tsar’s Locket,’ and time has only improved his craft.

‘Kiss of Frost and Flame,’ takes place in Western Siberia, in the year 1581.

Living on her own in the forest, Umey’s only thoughts are of survival and hunting. Though this is not always how she has lived, she finds the freedom edifying, and prefers to make her own rules and live in her own way. However, it is into this relatively peaceful life that chaos comes knocking.

Umey accidentally stumbles across a village that has been burned down, it’s people slaughtered. Almost as soon as she discovers the village, she is attacked by what she thinks are Tatar warriors. Barely managing to escape, she is hit by a musket ball and almost dies before being taken in by a nearby village of Voguls.

As the Voguls care for her and nurse her back to full health, Umey believes that she owes them a debt of gratitude. She agrees to find out everything that she can about the attack on the village. In doing so, she travels to a nearby Russian army outpost, where she meets the man that will change her life forever.

Although he is not really guilty, Alexey Danilov was tried—and nearly executed—for treason against the Tsar. After being saved at the last second and sent to fight in the wilderness, Alexey knows that he must follow the rules if he is ever to earn back his rank of Lieutenant.

But falling in love with Umey is not in his game plan. Of course, things don’t always go as planned.

This story is not just a romance, but an action-filled historical novel that will keep any reader guessing from start to finish!

About the Author

Ken Czech is a retired history professor whose passion has turned to writing fiction.

His previous novels include BEYOND THE RIVER OF SHAME (All Things That Matter Press, 2017); LAST DANCE IN KABUL (Fireship Press, 2018); and THE TSAR’S LOCKET (Fireship Press, 2020). As a member of the Historical Novels Society, he has attended HNS conferences and workshops.

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Giveaway

This giveaway is for 2 print or ebook copies; print is open to the U.S. only. The ebook is open worldwide.

This giveaway ends on Feb 8, 2024, at midnight pacific time.

Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

2 Comments

Guest Post & #Giveaway – Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir by Heather Weidner

Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on January 24, 2024

Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir: A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Virginia
Level Best Books (January 16, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 252 pages

Synopsis

Love is in the air when Hollywood arrives in Mermaid Bay, and the town may never be the same.

Fans will do almost anything to get a glimpse of the actors or a chance to be an extra in the Love Channel’s “My Coastal Valentine.” Crowds flock to the cozy beach town from all over and business is booming for Christmas shop owner, Jade Hicks until the body of a testy reporter is found in one of the actors rooms. And if murder isn’t bad enough, someone tries to kill the show’s star, hunky Raphael Allard.

The cozy little beach town feels cursed, as the Love Channel threatens to pull out of the project. Jade and the gang, Lorelei, Peppermint Patti, Bernie, Chloe, and Neville the Devil Cat, have to solve the crimes before it ruins the town’s reputation and breaks the hearts of fans across the country.

Amazon

Guest Post

What I Learned about the Writing Life from 1970s Cartoons

Heather Weidner, Author of the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries and the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries

I’m first-generation Sesame Street and M-TV. I’m a Gen-Xer who watched way too much television in the 1970s and 80s, but all those hours in front of the magic box (with no cable or remote) taught me some things about mysteries and the writing life.

I have been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Funky Phantom. Saturday morning cartoons were part of every week’s ritual, along with the required bowl of overly sugared cereal. The sleuths in these shows were everyday kids (or a dog or a ghost). These cartoons showed me that you didn’t have to be an adult with a lot of training to solve a mystery and right wrongs. You could be heroic at any age. You just needed your wits and some creativity.

Use Your Assets – In most of these shows, the kids used what they had in the moment. Start with what’s already in your toolbox. You need to put in the time and energy to hone your skills and build your platform.

Everyone Needs Friends – Find Your Group – Scooby and Shaggy, Archie and Jughead, the Super Friends, Speed Buggy, and the Groovie Ghoulies – The writing journey is a long (often solitary one), you need friends, mentors, coaches, and cheerleaders. Find your crew and support each other. Make sure that you’re an active participant with the writing community. You don’t have to do everything, but you need to do something. Share ideas, experiences, and contacts. Provide feedback and guidance and make sure to support other writers.

People (or Dogs, Ghosts, Ghoulies) Are Willing to Help – The Writing Community is full of authors at different stages in their careers who are gracious with their time and advice. Find your writing allies and cherish them.

Often It’s Scary – How many scary monsters did the Mystery Inc. group battle in Scooby-Doo? (Hundreds!) Most of them turned out to be evil adults who were thwarted by a bunch of kids and Great Dane. There are some rough patches and scary stuff along the writing journey. Rejections, bad critiques, and nasty reviews aren’t pleasant. Learn what you can from them and keep going.

Be Flexible and Resourceful – Most of the characters on Saturday morning cartoons were amateurs, and not everything went according to plan (Wile E. Coyote, Hong Kong Phooey, The Hair Bear Bunch, Pebbles and Bam-Bam, …). You are going to run into all kinds of roadblocks and dead ends. Figure out ways to move forward and to advance your goals. Use your gifts. Be creative and find your way out of the spooky castle, the creepy swamp, or the eerie abandoned theme park.

Writing and publishing are a business. Your writing life is a rollercoaster of a journey, just like those cartoons from decades ago. It’ll be chock-full of thrills and anticipation, along with a few dips and hair-raising twists and turns. Arm yourself and hone your skills for the adventure.

About the Author

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime: National, Central Virginia, Chessie, Guppies, and Grand Canyon Writers, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers, and she blogs regularly with the Writers Who Kill.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

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Goodreads * Amazon Author Page * Pinterest

LinkedIn * BookBub * BlueSky

Giveaway

Guest Review, Excerpt & #Giveaway – HER: The Flame Tree by Khanh Ha

Posted in 5 paws, excerpt, Giveaway, Historical, Literary, Review on January 23, 2024

Synopsis

If the fate of unrequited love survives fifty-one years, nine months, and four days in Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, it leads the way for HER: The Flame Tree, a spare, remorseless love triptych that sweeps through the rich panorama of two generations of colonial and post-colonial Vietnam. The hopeless love of a young eunuch for a high-ranking concubine is one of this novel’s three stories that illuminate the oriental mystery of Vietnam, as epic as it is persevering,

Despite a rich trove of documentary films, Western readers know little of the spiritual face of Vietnam. Framed between 1915 and 1993, HER: The Flame Tree begins in Huế, the former imperial capital Vietnam. It is in the Purple Forbidden City, that Canh, the young eunuch, fulfills his vow to be near the girl of his dreams, a villager-turned imperial concubine.

The novel begins with an expatriate Vietnamese man living in the United States who journeys back to Vietnam to search for the adopted daughter of a centenarian eunuch of the Imperial Court of Huế to find out who she really is. His world takes on a new meaning after he becames a part of her life.

Phượng. Her name is the magnificent flame tree’s flowers that grace the ancient capital of Huế. Her father, mentor of Canh the young eunuch, was a hundred-year-old grand eunuch of the Imperial Court, who had adopted and raised her since she was a baby. Their peaceful world suddenly changed when one day, sometime in the early years of the Vietnam war, Jonathan Edward came into their lives. On his quest to search for his just deceased lover’s mysterious birth, there he met Phượng, an exquisite beauty.

Through the eye of her father, history is retold. Just before the fall of the French Indochina during the last dynasty of Vietnam, a young eunuch hopelessly fell in love with a high-ranking concubine. Once the eunuch had secured the concubine’s trust, it became a fatal attraction. The eunuch died. The concubine, still a virgin, lost her mind. Her father said she was possessed by the young eunuch’s spirit who had been madly in love with her.

HER: The Flame Tree does not have the flavor of historical fiction, plot-heavy and sexually graphic. Rather, it is atmospheric and impressionistic, in the style of Snow Falling on Cedars. The magnificent poinciana flowers, which grace the ancient capital of Huế, symbolize farewell in Vietnamese adolescent romance. Its symbolic image befits Phượng for her magnanimous nature and grace, and the scarlet blossoming flowers when Jonathan Edward bids Phượng farewell is beauty without sadness—Wait and Hope.

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Praise

“In this almost folkloric saga of a royal eunuch, his adopted daughter and the tragedies and triumphs of love in their lives from the days of the emperor’s court to the war with America, Khanh Ha takes us deeply into the heart of traditional Vietnam in a tale told in such lushly poetic, descriptive language that it immerses the reader deeply and sensually into the gorgeousness of the land, the texture and taste of food, and the complex humanity of the characters. Her: The Flame Tree is an intricately woven, seductively fascinating story of family, sacrifice, loyalty and redeeming love in the face of heart-breaking loss that breathtakingly weaves the lives of individuals we come to know and care about into the saga of Vietnamese—and American—history.” —Wayne Karlin, author of Memorial Days

“Ha evokes a visceral image of Vietnam . . . A vivid study of a country’s fraught history and how its people struggled to make sense of it.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Her: The Flame Tree is a beautiful novel, rich with evocations of natural setting in coastal Vietnam; remembered action going back more than a hundred years; and characters both extraordinary and poignantly ordinary, developed by layer upon layer of stories.”—Elizabeth Harris, judge and author of Mayhem: Three Lives of a Woman

“Early in Khanh Ha’s latest novel Her: The Flame Tree, the author describes a book made of delicate leaves of gold. Such a volume would be ideal to record this shimmering and often tender tale of love, loss, and memory.” —Steve Evans, author of The Marriage of True Minds

Excerpt

Miss Phượng met the last concubine of Emperor Tự-Ðức when the woman was very old, in the final year of her long life. When the emperor died in 1883, she was only fifteen. She told Miss Phượng she was one hundred and twenty-three now. Small, birdlike, white hair parted in the middle, braided in two small plaits on the sides of her head.

She took Miss Phượng by the hand and led her into the cottage, which sat behind a bamboo hedge in the back of the mausoleum. She served tea from a tiny blue-flowered pot the size of her hand. The nougats she offered were made of egg whites and brown sugar and chopped nuts. Brittle, they melted quickly in the mouth.

“I used to make them for the emperor,” she told Miss Phượng. “A long time ago.” Then regarding Miss Phượng, she nodded, “See the banyan out there?”

It dwarfed the cottage with its shade, like an immense pavilion. Miss Phượng traced its tortuous roots to the steps of the concubine’s home.

“It was a little tree when I came,” the old woman muttered.

“Yes,” Miss Phượng said, “trees outlive us. My father had a magnolia planted outside the Trinh Minh Palace during his service as the grand eunuch for the imperial family. He would be three years older than you, Madam, if he still lived.”

In the deceased emperor’s personal room the old concubine sat down on the carved rosewood bed. Hunched between the parted panels of the yellow mosquito net, she sat amidst her husband’s belongings—the bed, its embroidered mat, the porcelain pillow, the tea, the rice liquor, the areca-nuts and betel leaves and a tiny pot of lime. They were here for him when he returned in spirit.

For one hundred and eight years she replenished them every morning so that when he arrived nothing was missing, nothing was stale. He could read his favorite books. He could write, as was his passion, in his annals, each page of which was a thin leaf of gold. He would find again his gold swords, jade shrubs, his chess men in green and white jade, chopsticks made of kim-giao white wood that turned black against any sort of poison. They were arranged there under glass.

Miss Phượng took the old woman’s hand and led her out of her haunt, passing candle-lit nooks and corners and the eternally mildewed air of the sunless chambers.

©Khanh Ha

Guest Review by Nora

A spellbinding novel from one of the greatest authors of our time– ‘Her: The Flame Tree,’ by Khanh Ha, is a one-of-a-kind story that allows the reader to travel deep into the heart of Vietnamese history.

Minh is a Vietnamese man now living in America who returns to his home country to seek out one very special woman and learn her story. Phuong is the adopted daughter of a former court eunuch who spent much of her life caring for her elderly father. Of both Vietnamese and French descent, Phuong knows nothing of her birth parents and has only ever known the love of her adopted father, Canh. But Canh has a storied history as well, and the novel unveils these three different timelines as it goes along.

From the halls of the palace of the Imperial Emperor to the packed streets of the marketplace, ‘Her: he Flame Tree’ takes you on a journey that you won’t soon forget.

I’m a huge fan of Khanh Ha’s writing and have enjoyed several of his books in the past, which is why I had a feeling I would enjoy this one. As an author, he has an undeniable way of crafting an atmosphere that makes the reader feel immersed in the story.

Between that creative blend of Vietnamese and American culture that Ha is so great at illustrating, and the strength and power of the characters, this book was a strong five star read for me!

I can’t imagine a better way to spend a winter evening than enjoying a book by this stellar author. This, being one of my first books of the year, was such a treat for both the heart and mind. I simply cannot wait to read whatever Ha comes out with next! I’m sure it will be extraordinary!

About the Author

Award winning author Khanh Ha is a nine-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for The Ohio State University Fiction Collection Prize, Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize, Prize Americana, and The Santa Fe Writers Project. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, The Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, The James Knudsen Prize for Fiction, The C&R Press Fiction Prize, The EastOver Fiction Prize, The Blackwater Press Fiction Prize, The Gival Press Novel Award, and The Red Hen Press Fiction Award.

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Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies and is open to the U.S. only.

This giveaway ends on Feb 22, 2024, at midnight pacific time.

Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Guest Post & #Giveaway – A Bean to Die For by Tara Lush

Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, Monday, mystery on January 22, 2024

A Bean to Die For (A Coffee Lover’s Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Florida
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (January 9, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Lucy Burdette, reporter-turned-barista Lana Lewis is back on the case when a body is dug up in the community garden.

Lana Lewis is brewing up new concoctions at Perkatory, a popular café in Devil’s Beach, when she decides she wants to try her hand at growing her own coffee. She secures a gardening plot in the community garden, thanks to her father and the garden’s owner, Darla. Darla’s list of rules is long, but that doesn’t stop someone from leaving Jack Daggett’s body amongst the gardening plots.

Jack, an environmental activist, had been banned from the garden previously, because of his many fights with Darla about organic produce. Lana promises her boyfriend, police chief Noah, that she’s going to stay out of this case, having been too involved in previous cases. But when she learns that Jack died from an accidental overdose, and Darla is the top suspect because of her shady past, Lana can’t help but poke around in an attempt to clear Darla’s name.

As Lana dives deeper into the case, she learns that Jack had more enemies than she realized. When Darla turns up dead, Lana has to turn up the heat on her investigation. With Lana on the case, it won’t be long before someone spills the beans to crack this case wide open. But will she able to find the killer before they strike again?

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Guest Post

In the future, those of us who lived through the dark times of the pandemic will measure those years in what we watched while we tried to mentally disconnect from the virus and the world.

Binging streaming TV series was a balm for our stressed souls.

We started with Tiger King, a docu-series about troublingly strange people who were obsessed with big cats. Some of us sampled the sexy-yet-mind-numbingly dumb 365 Days, if only because the main characters were beautiful and were having the sex we weren’t.

After that, we did a one-eighty and tried to redeem what brain cells we had left with Ted Lasso, or perhaps the Queen’s Gambit.

By 2021, we were ready for a touch of the real world. But not too much, because things were still dicey.

And that’s when we were given the best viewing gift of all: a cozy mystery series. There is nothing like a little gentle murder, one that’s low-stakes yet interesting, to capture our attention.

Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez — along with a rotating list of A-list stars — was released in August of 2021, just as Hot Girl Summer was withering into another dreary, lonely fall.

Readers of cozy mystery novels recognized the series for what it was right away. It had all the hallmarks of the genre: amateur sleuths, a tight knit, closed community, a non-gory homicide, no on-screen sex. The premise was simple: three incredibly different people who all love true crime podcasts come together to make a podcast of their own when a murder happens in their New York City building.

Viewers fell in love with the series, and so did critics; it won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes.

I have a theory that since the pandemic, people have discovered, or re-discovered, cozy mysteries. The genre is perfect for armchair travel. And in a world that’s become scary and complex, the concept of seeking justice for one homicide turns sharp reality into a comfy, manageable — and most importantly, bingeable — escape.

I published my first cozy mystery, Grounds for Murder, in December of 2020, about nine months before OMITB came out. That show is on its third season, my publisher is about the release the fourth book in the Coffee Lover’s Mystery Series in January. The title is A BEAN TO DIE FOR, and it has all of the cozy tropes readers love: a quirky setting, found family, eccentric characters, humor — and gentle murder.

Here’s an excerpt from my book:

Dad continued talking about Jack’s crop, and I walked on. Sure enough, there were some tall vines snaking up wire trellises. The spicy, earthy scent of tomato plants hung in the humid, heavy air. Maybe I’d get some free tomatoes out of this situation. Was that unethical, to take the previous guy’s fruit?

It was March, which meant the Florida growing season was in full swing. Unlike up north, it’s impossible to cultivate anything in Florida in the summer. I still didn’t fully know what this meant for my small coffee plants sprouting in the makeshift greenhouse back at my place. Would they grow as well as these tomatoes? I sure hoped so.

I was about to round the corner and walk along the last, long row of my plot when I stopped. There was something unusual lying on the ground.

Feet.

“Uh, guys.” Black sandals and white socks came into view, with the toes pointing to the sky. I leaned forward, unsure if I should pro- ceed further. “Hello? Are you okay?”

Erica slammed into my back, probably because she was looking at her phone. “Hello! What? I’m fine!”

“Not you. Him. There’s something other than tomatoes here,” I said in a shaky voice, pointing in front of me.

There, sticking out between two tall plants bursting with fruit, were the sun-beaten, motionless legs of an elderly man.

About the Author

Tara Lush is a Florida-based author and journalist. She’s an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow, and the winner of the George C. Polk Award for environmental journalism.

She was a reporter with The Associated Press in Florida, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters, and politics. She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations under the name Tamara Lush.

Tara is a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, seashells, iPhones, Art Deco, telenovelas, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee and newspapers. She lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband and two dogs.

Her debut mystery series is published by Crooked Lane Books.

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Guest Post & #Giveway – Deadly to the Core by Joyce Tremel

Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on January 21, 2024

Deadly to the Core (A Cider House Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Pennsylvania
Crooked Lane Books (January 16, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 250 pages

Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Julie Anne Lindsey, when Kate Mulligan inherits her great uncle’s fruit orchard, she quickly realizes that apples aren’t the only thing that can have rotten cores.

After losing her husband in a terrible car crash, thirty-five-year-old Kate is left to pick up the pieces of her life alone. Although she has physically recovered, she worries her spirit never will. But when she learns that she has inherited a fruit orchard in a small town just outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from her great uncle Stan, she takes this as an opportunity ripe for the picking. Kate knew immediately what to do with it: open a cider house. Her hopeful plans fall far from the tree when she finds the body of the orchard manager, Carl Randolph, leaving her to figure out who is at the core of this murder.

She had been in correspondence with Carl, who had agreed with her brilliant idea of opening a cider house. But not everyone is so quick to buy what she was selling—Uncle Stan’s lawyer, Robert Larabee, paints a less rosy financial outlook of the orchard’s past, present, and future.

Kate discovers that Carl had large, unexplained deposits to his bank account and it becomes clear that either he was blackmailing someone, or someone was paying him to keep quiet. Meanwhile, Kate and her neighbors receive offers to buy their property from a mysterious buyer. And there’s more than meets the eye with the neighboring orchard owner, Daniel Martinez, although Kate can’t quite put her finger on if it’s sweet or sour.

Will she be able to pick out the bad apple among the bunch before it’s too late?

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Guest Post

Hi, everyone. I’m Kate Mulligan. I’m not sure why anyone wants to hear from me, but here goes. I just moved to Orchardville, Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh. For some reason, my great-uncle Stan willed me his orchard. I’m glad he did, though. I needed something new—something to look forward to. It’s been a terrible year for me. You see, my husband Brian and I were in a car accident and he was killed. I made it through although I’m put together with a good bit of titanium. I’m on the mend, but I miss my husband with all my heart. I’m happy I have something to focus on now.

Before the accident, I managed a cidery in Pittsburgh. Brian and I had dreamed of opening our own someday and now with the orchard, I’ll be able to do just that. I’d spent summers with my grandmother and Uncle Stan. There was an old barn on the property that with the help of my orchard manager Carl Randolph and some local people, has been restored. It’s ready for the fermentation tanks to arrive any day now.

I can’t forget to mention my friend Marguerite Yost. She owns the café in town. Back when I used to spend the summers at Grandma’s house, we were inseparable. We kept in touch some over the years, but it wasn’t the same. It’s good to have a friend. The people in Orchardville are so nice. Rudy, who owns the grocery store wouldn’t even let me pay for groceries on my first trip. He and his wife Ruth were good friends with Grandma and Uncle Stan. Daniel Martinez, the neighboring orchard owner, has been great, too. He even made me save his number in my phone contacts in case I needed anything. Not that I’ll ever use it, of course.

Right now I’m heading to Carl’s cabin in the orchard. He’s going to give me my first lesson on fruit trees and owning an orchard. I don’t know a thing about it, but I’m anxious to learn it all. I can see his cabin from here and it looks like the front door is open. And I hear music blasting from inside. I hope everything is all right…

About the Author

Joyce St. Anthony was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. In addition to the Homefront News Mysteries, she is the author of the Brewing Trouble Mysteries and the upcoming Cider House Mysteries, written under her own name, Joyce Tremel. She lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband.

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Mystery Spotlight & #Giveaway – The Family Man by Lyn Farrell

Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, mystery on January 19, 2024

The Family Man (Rosedale Investigations)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Tennessee
Camel Press (January 9, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages

Synopsis

A woman approaches Rosedale Investigations to report her husband missing. Then another woman arrives to report her husband is missing. When the team sees the photographs of James Browning, they realize it’s the same guy; they have a bigamist on their hands. Detective Wayne Nichols locates Browning’s car at the local airport and learns the man’s been subpoenaed to provide evidence in the trial of a decade-old murder of a police officer-a shooting Browning witnessed.

A second client, Hilary Broadchurch-Miller believes her brother, Grant, is being blackmailed by Aimee, his yoga instructor. He had earlier pledged to cover the cost of sending Hilary’s sons to college and she’s afraid he might renege on that promise. When Billy Jo interviews Aimee, she denies having an affair and is shocked when accused of blackmail. However, when Billy Jo checks the Venmo app, she discovers Grant has been giving Aimee money for two months. Something is definitely going on.

This one is a page-turner with two wives who don’t know about each other, a man who may or may not have a daughter, and a final 4th of July party where all the strands of the tale come together.

Amazon

About the Author

Lyn Farrell is the pen name of Lynda Farquhar the author of the Mae December Mystery series as well as the Rosedale Investigations series. She is a former Michigan State University professor in the College of Human Medicine, a mother, and a grandmother. She loves playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is always on the lookout for her family artist grandfather’s (Eugene Iverd) paintings. He was a Saturday Evening Post cover artist.

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