Sandra Cox's Blog, page 66

Friday's Good Read: CHRISTMAS WITH THE WRIGHTS

 

Blurb

Even hard-nosed detective Justinia Wright can get into the Christmas spirit.

Three cases. Three chances to spread some Christmas cheer.

There’s Cordell Oscar Hellman, the conservative political pundit, who’s recreational morphine use has come to the attention of a vicious blackmailer.

Mrs. Solberg’s dope of a husband is being hoodwinked by the office minx and Mrs. S doesn’t like it.

Then there’s Emil Papenfuss, who’s homeless and a millionaire. Only he doesn’t know he’s a millionaire.

Three cases. Three chances to do a good deed. And with the inducement of three big fat fees and Harry’s help, Tina delivers the goods. But not without difficulty.

 Christmas with the Wrights. Not like any Christmas you’ve ever experienced. Get in on the action and fun today!

Buy Links Only $.99. *Check price before purchasing.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M5XHQTP
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09M5XHQTP 
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09M5XHQTP 
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09M5XHQTP

Justinia Wright smokes cigars. She prefers grand panetela and lonsdale shapes
Justinia Wright used to forge art for a living.
Justinia Wright is a concert-quality pianist.  
 CW Hawes Bio and Contact Info

CW Hawes is a multi-genre author because he is a multi-genre reader. He’s penned The Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries, The Rocheport Saga: A Post-Apocalyptic Steam Powered Future, the Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations series, and assorted alternative history and horror offerings.

Born and raised in the Cleveland, Ohio area, CW spent 49 years in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (aka Minnesota), and now proudly hails from the Lone Star State (aka Texas).

He hasn’t met a pizza he doesn’t like (okay, he detests pineapple), is something of a tea snob, and rocks out to Handel and Vaughan Williams.

Website: www.cwhawes.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cw_hawes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CWHawes1 

Did You Know

 Did you know a baby rhino can weigh between fifty-five and a hundred pounds at birth? Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

 

Writerly Wednesday

 What word would you use to describe Christmas? Mine: Goodwill.

It's Tuesday

 Greetings Blogger Buds, Got your Christmas shopping done? Choke. Choke. Wink. Wink. If you say yes, I may turn green. Heh.

As promised, or threatened, here's the pics from Longwood. I tried to limit myself to Christmas and the more unique flowers/shrubs/trees.

So to begin with, a grapefruit tree. I was entranced. I'd never seen one before. 

I've got some pictures from the trip home but I think I'll move them to next week so your eyes don't start crossing. 

How was your weekend and your Monday?

Friday's Read: HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL

 She's a Secret Service Agent in FDR's Washington...

In Book 1 of the 20th Century American History Mystery Series, an alluring Secret Service Agent must apprehend a counterfeiter code-named Hundred Dollar Bill. He's a crooked cop with blue eyes deeper than the devil. She crosses a line and is framed for murder.

With no means of proving her innocence, she goes on the lamb. The agent tasked to apprehend her has a problem. He's crazy in love with this dame.

Meanwhile at the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt finds a pearl-handled pistol in the President's secretary's desk. Not wanting to alarm her husband, Mrs. Roosevelt puts the floozy under surveillance.

It's all a game of cat and mouse from Washington to the Florida Keys.

If you like Alfred Hitchcock movies, you'll love this historical action adventure.

Get it now.

Excerpt from  HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL The Deception Series Book 1by Sherry Morris

 January 1945 in Washington, DC

Miss Chloe Lambert stepped off the streetcar at the corner of Fourteenth and C Streets. Frigid air played tag with her breath and steam from underground. Strolling carefully on the slippery sidewalk, she watched as Sergeant Bill Blandings hoisted the loading dock door and stepped outside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He struck a match to light the cigarette dangling from his lip then ascended the ramp, locking his gaze onto hers. Heart pounding, Chloe paused to refresh her lipstick. Bill sucked the smoke deep into his lungs as he watched and waited. Finally exhaling, he blew five smoke rings. She stepped up to him and scattered the circles with her blue gloved hand.

He said, “You are one gorgeous dame tonight.”

Chloe gazed into his midnight blue eyes. Nobody has eyes like Bill. He has the devil in them. They are so darned…irresistible. She brushed him aside.

He threw down his cigarette and snuffed it out with one twist of his black steel-toed police boot. Powdery snow blew off the retaining walls as they walked down the salted ramp. Chloe and Bill entered the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He lowered the door. It thumped against the concrete floor.

She led the way through the cavernous federal building. The scent of floor polish wafted up from the pristine terrazzo.

He confided, “We’re pretty much alone now. The bureaucrats departed hours ago. The charwomen came and went. Just the skeletal police detail is left. Me, Schwartz and Krankowski.”

Bill followed Chloe into the printing room. He balked. “Jeez, this place is a pigsty.” In her sweet southern drawl Chloe said, “Alcohol was the most popular guest at our office party today, resulting in a whole run of botched hundreds. They didn’t change the plates. The same image is printed on both sides of the notes.” She pointed to the sloppily bundled currency and a big ink stain on the floor. “They ought not to have bothered working at all. As the currency inspector, I have to file a report. I feel like a lousy snitch.”

Bill eyed her fur. “Hey, where’d ya get the coat from? It’s not from that weasel Myron in personnel, is it?”

“Eww! No, Bill. It’s Mrs. Grogan’s. My landlady. She let me borrow it. I told her this was a special night.”

Bill grabbed her collar. They kissed hungrily.

Finally taking a much-needed breath, Chloe pulled away and smiled as she unbuttoned the full-length sable. She was wearing his favorite blue dancing shoes…and nothing else.

“Jeez, Chloe—lay off of them doughnuts.”

Before she could process the insult, Bill slipped his fingers under the fur. She shoved him away.

Her voice trembled, “I won’t be your dirty little secret anymore. Divorce Vera.”

There, I’ve said it.

Bill ran his fingers through Chloe’s soft red hair. He knew just the spot to touch. “Lovey, we’ve been all through this. You know I can’t possibly divorce her while he’s in office. How would it look if the President’s secretary all of a sudden up and got divorced? The Republicans would go wild! And it’d be rough on my little girls. Just wait a little bit longer. Lovey, I promise we’ll be together soon. He ain’t gonna be Prez for the rest of his life ya know.”

Chloe fought back tears. Whatever was I thinking? Momma was right. I should have stayed in the mountains. But eleven months ago, her country had called for good girls to fill the shoes of the boys at war. When I was still a good girl. I had no idea what I’d have to do for my country. It might as well have been eleven millennia ago. I can’t ever go back. Not now. She shoved her hands in the deep silk-lined pockets…where she felt the cold steel of a revolver.

Five shots exploded down from the supervisors’ catwalk. Chloe dove under a metal desk, pulling in an olive drab trash can for cover. Bill slumped face down into a carelessly heaped pile of hundreds.

Chloe peeked from behind the can. She watched a female silhouette blow smoke from the barrel and stroll back along the catwalk then out of sight. No! This can’t be happening. I’m in a bad movie. Bad dream. Bad world.

Shaking, Chloe crawled to Bill and rolled him over. A C-note covered his eyes. She yanked it off and screamed in horror.

Chloe ran through the building and slammed straight into the loading dock door. She struggled to hoist it high enough to crawl under. Rolling onto the ramp, she pushed herself up on hands and knees, then to full height. She put her hand on the revolver in her pocket and lit out running. As she looked back over her shoulder, she slipped on the icy sidewalks, battering her knees.

Back on her feet, she forced herself onward. A dry lump ached in the back of her mouth, forced open from heavy breathing. Frozen rain stung her face. As Chloe tumbled again she pulled her hand out of her pocket, not letting go of the pistol. The cobblestones abraded her wrists as she broke her fall.

As she scrambled up again, one blue heel snapped off in a snow-covered grate, propelling her face first into a police call box. Moaning in agony, tasting blood, Chloe looked over her shoulder. A lone car sped past. Forcing herself onward, she made it to the Fourteenth Street Bridge. Gasping for breath, Chloe leaned over the concrete railing and threw the revolver. It slid along the surface of the frozen Potomac River. “Damn it. I can’t even dispose of a gun properly. It doesn’t matter anyhow. It isn’t the murder weapon.” Murder weapon? “No!”

Bio:

Sherry Morris is a madcap American wife, mom and cozy mystery author. She has recently moved from Virginia to Florida with her hunky husband and two adorable rescue dogs. She loves Disney World, gardening and yoga. A former EMT, Sherry is now a full-time writer.

 

1. As a teenager, Chloe saved President Roosevelt from drowning in a riptide. 

2. Her first job was caring for an orphaned baby Elephant she named Laughter.

3. Chloe's degree is in Home Economics. She excels at sewing.

Links:

Amazon https://amzn.to/2ZIr0gu

Blog https://authorsherrymorris.blogspot.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/SherryInk

Free for a limited time. * Check price before purchasing.

Did You Know

 Did you know, foxes have excellent hearing and can hear little critters moving that are under three feet of snow?

 

IWSG Wednesday

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

For me, the most stressful thing about writing is writer’s block. It’s like a wall pops up between me and my ideas.

As far as delights, the opposite. When ideas are flowing smoothly from brain to page.I’m also pretty delighted with sales and good reviews😊I’ll be interested to see what everyone else’s number one stresser is and how many, like myself, feel it’s writer’s block.
FYI: The awesome co-hosts for the December 1 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!They truly are awesome.

 

November reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore it and don't factor it into my review.

 

TAKING CHANCES by Brenda Guiton

This contemporary women’s fiction is a well-written story about Emma, a woman who is only interested in casual relationships until she meets Mike Braedon. Mike is uncompromising and married to a woman whose personality is nothing like his own and while not intentional, continually irritates him.

Attracted to each other, Mike and Emma began an affair that only grows in intensity. Emma has recently broken off a relationship with a playwright who is unwilling to let her go and will go to dangerous lengths to get her back.

The author does a great job of keeping the reader wondering whether Mike will end up with Emma or stay with his wife. Suspense builds as the story progresses.

Available at Amazon

 

WHAT’S IN A NAME: Volume 2 by Sally Cronin

This book was as enjoyable as the first. In these volumes, Ms. Cronin takes a name and writes a short around the character. All of the narratives fascinating. They range from a ghost that comes back once a year to visit his beloved to a man who vanished during the war and is finally reunited with his family. All the stories are unique and have an unexpected twist, while telling a tale that warms the heart. The author excels at world building and character development. I’ve never read anything by Ms. Cronin that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. So, grab your copy and your beverage of choice, put your feet up and submerge yourself in a great read.

Available at

 

CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN by D.K. Deters

CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN is a heartwarming romance with just the right amount of mystery to keep you turning pages. Madison Knight is an antique consultant who sells a painting that is more than it appears. Through it she meets a person from her distant past and discovers that Christmas is indeed a time of love, miracles and magic.

This is the first D.K. Deters story I’ve read and I look forward to more. It was thoroughly charming.

Available at Amazon

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON THE ART OF POWER by Jon Meacham

I finally finished this book. One of the reasons I picked this particular book was because it was written by Meacham who I find endlessly interesting. He tells of a brilliant, down to earth man who loved his country and knew how to win people over to his way of thinking. A man, who like any other, had flaws and was not perfect. What I really enjoyed about this book was the little tidbits that I didn’t know. For instance: Jefferson and Adam’s were both sick at the ends of their lives and held on long enough to see the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Both died July 4, 1826.

A wonderful read for those who love history and biographies.

Over two thousand reviews.

Available at Amazon

 

CAREER OF EVIL by Robert Galbraith

Okay, I’m officially hooked on this series and Robert Galbraith aka J.K Rowling. I find it hard to put down a Cormoran Strike Novel. I didn’t get much sleep while I was reading this book (Or any of the others in the series). If I woke up in the middle of the night, I’d reach for it and start reading.😊

The characters are well-developed. The settings are realistic and the storyline gripping. Highly recommended for lovers of English mysteries.

Over eleven thousand reviews.

Available at Amazon 

 

Got books? What's your favorite read this month?

 

It's Tuesday AND I'm Back:)

 How are you, my blogger buds? For those that celebrate Thanksgiving, did you have a wondrous one? I trust so. Ours certainly was, with some Griswold moments thrown in. But first I have to say I've got the best blogger buds in the blogosphere. Look what was waiting for me when we got home from Philly.

 I mentioned that I couldn't find cinnamon tea and my own special genie in the form of CJ at CJ and Ink ordered and sent me this.  You rock, CJ. Thanks so much.

AND

If that wasn't enough of a surprise Rockin Ro sent this.

Look at what prices were back in the day.  A car for 4K and a home for 54K.  Can you believe it? This is really going to date me but I can remember my parents picking up an old house with no plumbing, no kitchen cabinets, and only one bedroom for 3K.  Luckily my dad was a carpenter, but I've wandered way off topic.  Thank you, Ro,  your memory is way better than mine:)

AND to the blogger buds that sent cards and holiday wishes, thank you so much. I'm thankful for each and everyone of you.

ON to the holiday weekend, which was lovely. We arrived in Philly Thursday evening and wonder of wonders found a parking spot right in front of our daughter's and SIL's row house. Talk about lucky. We should have bought a lottery ticket.

The next morning we took a walk in one of the city parks. Before we left the baby girl served french toast, soaked overnight in custard then topped with brulee. Oh my. It was so good.

 

 

As you can see, there's still plenty of color in the park. Does anybody know what the shrub with the purple berries is?

Then later, our delicious dinner.

Followed by this the next morning.

After breakfast we headed for Longwood Gardens. Oh my Cod, it was cold. I wore my NC jacket down but packed my Philly coat. Thank goodness. Pictures to follow next week. 

Now I want to hear all about your week. Did you celebrate Thanksgiving? Walk? Eat too much? Inquiring minds want to know.

Addendum

I just received an online advent calendar from Birgit at Created by BB. Thanks so much, Birgit, can't wait to get it downloaded.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Wishing you all good things  this holiday, my blogger buds. I'll be back next Tuesday.

Weekend Wishes