Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 63
September 24, 2024
Blog Tour: CERTAIN SENSIBILITIES by Sondra Rice Newman
CERTAIN SENSIBILITIES
Sondra Rice Newman
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GENRE: Women's Fiction
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BLURB:
Elizabeth,a retired librarian, alone and unable to care for herself, is resigned tospending her remaining days in a nursing home.
Notlong after her arrival, her vitality is awakened by Cary, a young attendant.Elizabeth discovers that his interests in literature, art and the way of lifeof a gentler era are in step with hers.
WhenCary eyes a framed photo of a young Elizabeth standing with her horse,attractive and vivacious, he is drawn to her as he’s been to no other woman.
Hauntedby memories of a domineering mother who forced her into a loveless marriage,she is nevertheless a romantic who still believes in love.
Thisuncommon liaison leads to a deep devotion that transcends all boundaries.Despite their vast difference in age, Cary’s tender warmth inspires Elizabethto make a new start in life.
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ExcerptTwo:
Cary returned with dinner in tow and a small surprise. Hefound that the table had already been set. An ample green napkin lay besideeach white plate.
There was room on the table for the single, long-stemmed redrose that he had brought home for Elizabeth. Removing a narrow, tall vase fromthe cupboard, he placed the rose in the vase and set it in front of Elizabeth’splace setting.
It was then that Cary noticed that a small green creampitcher in the center of the table was filled with cilantro. Lit votive candlesin green glass holders added to the gracious and relaxing atmosphere. He pausedin the middle of the kitchen for a moment, taking it all in.
Elizabeth wheeled herself into the kitchen.
“Wow! This is beautiful, Elizabeth. My only complaint isthat you’re supposed to have the night off.”
“I do have the night off, dear, but I also try to maintaincertain standards.”
Cary grinned. “I have noticed that, Elizabeth.”
“One simply must, Cary. If one begins eating food fromplastic containers—or worse yet—from Styrofoam . . . ” She shuddered at thethought. “Then what’s next?”
Cary frowned to show Elizabeth that he was thinking hard,trying to find the right answer to her rhetorical question. “Let me guess—thedownfall of Western civilization?”
“Something like that,” Elizabeth replied, smiling in spiteof herself.
Cary proceeded to uncork a dry Vouvray that Elizabeth hadchosen. He poured wine into each of the stemmed glasses, carefully placed thebottle on the table so that the label faced Elizabeth, and then sat down tojoin her.
When Cary was about to pick up his knife and fork, Elizabethreached across the table and placed her hand on his. “Cary, I adore the rose.Thank you.”
ExcerptThree:
“Since then, we’ve never looked back. And I’ve never beenhappier or more fulfilled. I love this man with all my heart and soul.
“And you can put this in your story, too. If I were his agetoday, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off him.”
Mackenna briefly broke into a smile upon hearing the lastcomment, then regained her composure and continued with her questions.
“I’d like to ask you, Elizabeth, if you often think aboutyour mortality and how you deal with this issue.”
“I take it one day at a time,” she replied. “I’m not focusedon it as a regular thing. I go about my daily work, which keeps me very busy,and Cary and I take lots of time-outs to enjoy sunsets, the garden, movies—orjust being with each other.
“When I do think about it, I don’t envision a hereafterwhere we might meet again someday. Instead, I know in my heart that what wefeel for each other now will continue to exist, but in a different form. Itwill be out there somewhere in the universe in time and space—alive andpowerful. It's the kind of love that will last forever.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
In love with reading since childhood, Sondra began writingpoetry early on. She later contributedcolumns for a weekly newspaper in Ohio.
A native of Michigan, Sondra attended Wittenberg Universityin Springfield, Ohio.
She brought out her first novel, Silver Dreams, in 2006 (Robert D. Reed Publishers).
Sondra lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, George, aretired newspaper reporter.
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
September 23, 2024
Blog Tour: POPPY AND PA by Kristy Jewell
POPPY AND PA
Kristyn Jewell
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GENRE: Children's Fiction
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BLURB:
Poppycannot wait for summer to arrive so she can travel to her favourite place withher favourite person. When she and her father turn onto the dirt road thattakes them to their family cottage, Poppy leaves life's worries behind. FollowPoppy, Pa, and rest of the their extended family, as they experience the magicthat unfolds over the course of a day in Muskoka, Canada. Live in Poppy's vividimagination, which flourishes in the safety and beauty of her surroundings, anddiscover the difference one person can make in the life of a child.
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ExcerptThree:
My cousins, Pa, and I would swim to The Point – a largeunderwater rock, marked by a pointed Inuksuk, located at the mouth of our bay.We would pass our neighbours’ cottages along the way, their dogs excitedlyfollowing our journey on the shore or running down their docks to meet us. Whenwe reached The Point, we would first feel the slimy, rough rock below ourbellies, as if being lifted on the back of a whale. We would pull ourselvesalong the rock’s massive underwater surface, careful to not graze our hands orknees, then climb up above the water, standing tall beside the tower of rocks.We spent the rest of our time sliding down its slippery backside, over and overagain—our own natural playground.
Pa would drive the speedboat and we would take turns beingtowed. I loved watching my talented cousins make beautiful shapes in the wateras they cut through the waves, starting on two skis before quickly droppingone, the spray of water off their skis creating a glittering cape behind them.
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Review:
A lovely chapter story about agirl spending the summer with Grandpa and her cousins. Such fun and excitingactivities! The illustrations were wonderful. The words were intelligent andpoetic as the girl relishes on the memories she was making.“Children of the lake, togetherforever. Just the two of us, Poppy and Pa.”
It’s a quick and easy read—onethat can be enjoyed by anyone.
Rating:4 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Kristyn Jewell, a lifelong reader, wrote her first story at theage of 39, inspired by her father and his enduring legacy. She works by day asa family physician, but her true love is the pursuit of hygge, found throughtravel, design, wildlife, cozy fires and lattes. After living throughoutCanada, in Vancouver and Toronto, she and her husband returned to Dundas,Ontario, the quaint valley town that she grew up in, to raise their family. Shepasses on her love of nature and animals to her two boys and still spends asmuch time as she can by the water.
CONNECT WITH KRISTYN JEWELL
WEBSITE: https://kristynjewell.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kristynjewellwrites/
PURCHASE LINKS - POPPY & PA
AMAZON.COM: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1998454754
AMAZON.CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1998454754
INDIGO CHAPTERS:https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/poppy-and-pa/9781998454754.html
BOOK DEPOSITORY:https://www.booktopia.com.au/poppy-and-pa-kristyn-jewell/book/9781998454761.html
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 21, 2024
Review: THE WEEKEND AWAY by Miranda Smith
A weekend getaway becomes awoman’s mission to find out what really happened with her twin sister’s death.All her old friends had their secrets and a motive to want her dead. Ooh,intrigue!
Through the dead sister’s diaryentries, we slowly figure out everyone’s secrets. More than halfway in, we getthe first accident. Only Sienna doesn’t think it may have been an accident.Could one of these friends have caused it? And if so, who?
One by one, the group was beingtaken down.
A compelling read that keeps yourreading! Boy, the truth was a real whopper of a tale! Can’t wait to read moreof this author’s books.
Rating:5 stars
Review: THE INVITATION by N.L. Hinkens
A weekend at the lake. Soundspeaceful, right? Wrong!
Three couples all teetering on theedge of the marriage cliff. The tension was only made worse with the discoveryof a dead woman’s body in the lake. I like it when a story kicks off right awaywith a dead body.
Of course, secrets were leakingout in the light of the tragedy. I love following a murder investigation. Itseems that the husbands all had a secret and they all had a connection to thedead girl. Now, it’s up to the women to figure out the truth. It wasinteresting to see how this all connected. Any one of these characters could’vekilled the girl. Who did it!
A compelling and wonderful read!
Rating:5 stars
Review: THE HOUR OF HER DEATH by Rebecca Rane
Kendra Dillon was the indiepodcast host of “The Cold Trail,” a show that investigates cold cases, and wason the hunt for their Season 2 case. At first, this sounded interesting…untilit takes forever to find a cold case to work on. In the meantime, we hear aboutKendra’s work emails and custody battle over her cat. It’s quite boring, and Ihonestly expected more from this. Not great at all.
Rating:2 stars
Review: WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME by Gillian McAllister
Day one: Jen sees her son killsomeone and gets arrested for the murder.
The next day: Jen wakes up toyesterday, the day before the murder happens. Interesting premise, for sure.
I wasn’t too keen that this waswritten in British English, which irks me, but I pressed on hoping for thebest. The writing was a little choppy with incomplete sentences. Initially, andfor natural reasons, the character questions her sanity, which slows thingsdown dramatically. And what was with the weird chapter titles like “Day MinusTwo” and so forth? That was just too confusing! Anybody else would’ve putactual dates to make things clearer. I bought this on the recommendation ofother readers, and I feel that they should really give me my money back. Therewere just too many things I didn’t like about it. This book was a total flop. Iwill never again buy a book on a whim.
Rating:2 stars
Review: THE STALKER by Becki Willis
A private investigator reluctantlytakes a stalker case. There was nothing to go by and it seemed that he was moreobsessed with her beauty than anything else. At first, the story didn’t soundtoo special and it slowly dragged on for me. Story spent more time describingeverything rather than get into anything good. I’m sorry, but I need a book tograb me from page 1. This one couldn’t even grab me within the first 25 pages.If nothing good has happened within the first 25 pages, nothing good is goingto happen in the rest of the book. Too boring!
Rating:1 star
Review: HER LAST STEPS by N.L. Hinkens
A 4-year-old daughter has gonemissing. The only thing the mother had to go by were her disappearing footstepsin the snow. Although I tried to get into it, this story just didn’t grab me aseasily as previous N.L. Hinkens books. I struggled with it big time. One of thethings that confused me were the names. There were just too many of them. Justtoo boring!
Rating:2 stars
September 20, 2024
Blog Tour: WHISPERS OF THE PAST by Karen Tjebben
Paranormal with a little romance
Date Published : 09-07-2024
Gifts always come with strings... Just don't get tangled in them. When Kat Summers inherits a dilapidated house, she can't wait to restore it. As she breathes life into the house, something within her awakens. Shadows & voices haunt the hallways & trigger her quest for answers. Jana Summers has a spreadsheet for everything. So, when her wife quits her job & begins restoring a money pit, she panics. There's no spreadsheet on how to handle a haunted house or a wife with the gift of sight.
Listen to Whispers of the Past for free on the My Secret Obsession Podcast
https://mysecretobsession.alitu.com/
About the Author
Karen lives in Georgia with her wonderful husband and twin daughters. She loves traveling the world. Whether it’s to the heights of Yosemite, the white sands of the Caribbean, or even Down Under, she’s always ready to pack a bag in search of inspiration. She enjoys creating worlds filled with unique characters that will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers.
Contact Links
Purchase Link
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September 18, 2024
Blog Tour: THE SCHEME by Amethyst Drake
THE SCHEME
Amethyst Drake
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
KatherineCarson, a former intelligence operative turned private detective, has neverbeen in it for the money. But when a desperate CEO offers double her usual feeto find his missing daughter, she can't refuse.
Setin Baltimore, 2009, what begins as a simple missing person inquiry transformsinto a complex case of espionage, financial crime, and deep-seated grudges. ForKatherine, this case strikes a personal chord, stirring up haunting memoriesfrom her own past. As unexpected connections emerge, she must confront herunresolved guilt.
CanKatherine and her team of private detectives solve the case before it's toolate, or will the turmoil of her past consume her?
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ExcerptThree:
Katherine’s mixed emotions reflected the muddle of the Ames’case. The chilly silence was broken by the ring of her BlackBerry. She answeredon the second ring.
"Hey, Katie."
"Hi, Jake." Katherine unbuckled her seatbelt andstraightened up in her seat.
"Did you make it inside your apartment?"
Katherine slumped back. "You always know, don't you?”
"You okay? Seems like this case is getting to you.”
"I guess so. I wanted this to be easy money…find arun-away heiress, let the family figure out the relationship mess."Katherine got out of her car and climbed the steps to her apartment.
"I suppose nothing is ever that simple."
"I suppose not.” Katherine unlocked her apartment doorand stepped into the nearly bare living room. “I just wish we had more to goon. The clues we do have seem to conflict with each other. And I think Sammi ison strike.”
“Again?” Jake chuckled.
Katherine huffed as she removed her coat and bolted thedoor. “What does she think detectives do? We can’t find missing people bylooking into a crystal ball.” Katherine lowered herself onto the soft couch,the only piece of furniture in the room.
"Even if we could, she’d probably think that wasspying, too.” Jake chuckled louder. “Cut her some slack, Katie. We were allyoung and naive once.”
Jake knew better than most people exactly how young andnaive Katherine had once been. He was the closest thing to family she had.
“Anyway, I’d like to believe Olivia wouldn’t runoff..."
Jake finished her thought. “But it’s possible that thisRobert character manipulated her into doing something she would not normallydo."
"If that’s the case, then I want to find Olivia beforeshe does something she’ll regret. I hope it’s not too late."
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Describea compelling scene in your book and why it is important.
“Youdid all this last night?” Katherine was impressed by Sammi’s hard work. Sherecalled one of the few lessons from her mother: “People will rise to meet yourexpectations."
Sammi spokesoftly. “I wanted to try to make up for the mistakes I made yesterday.”
“Goodwork, Sammi. Let me know when you find those addresses. I want to check out thesalon this afternoon. And I want you to come with me.”
“Really?”Sammi bit back an excited smile.
Katherinewalked to Sammi’s desk. “Yes. You found this clue; it’s only fair you get tohelp follow it up.”
Sammijumped up, squealed, and threw her arms around Katherine’s neck. Then shequickly stepped back and bit her lip. She straightened her vest, trying to lookprofessional despite the tears welling up in her eyes. “Gracias.”
This excerpt from the end of Chapter 11 marks the turningpoint in the relationship between two of my main characters. Katherine heads asmall private detective firm. It has been operating for seven years. Sammi hasbeen on the team for less than a year as an administrative assistant. Recentlygraduated from college, Sammi has dreams of becoming a private detective. Sheleft Puerto Rico to go to college and pursue this dream while living with heraunt and uncle in Baltimore.
Earlier in The Scheme, Sammi oversteps herresponsibilities. She and Katherine have an argument about it. Sammi storms outof the office, and it isn’t the first time. In a few other scenes, Katherineexpresses her frustration at Sammi’s childish behavior. She may even considergoing back on her promise to help Sammi become a detective. But she believesSammi has the right stuff and is encouraged by friends to “cut her some slack”for being naive.
Sammi, for her part, is full of youthful ambition andidealism. Her enthusiasm is infectious, but sometimes her morals conflict withthe job they have to do. Sammi must decide how much gray area to accept in herlife. She must also decide if she wants to keep pursuing a career as adetective.
What makes this scene compelling to me is the subtleinteraction between Katherine and her administrative assistant. Up to thispoint, the relationship has been one of a boss and an employee. At thebeginning of this scene, Sammi comes back to the office and apologizes. Shealso has progress to show on her assignment. Katherine then makes a consciouschoice to stop being only a boss and start being a mentor. Later scenes depictboth women beginning to step into their new roles.
Sammi must learn to take on responsibility, objectivity,and professionalism. Katherine must let Sammi learn from her mistakes, praiseher successes, and teach her the ins and outs of being a detective. I believeboth women will face a steep learning curve. It won't be the last time we seeSammi and Katherine fight. But both women have acknowledged their mistakes andare working together to shift their relationship. They will both end up growingstronger because of the interaction in this scene from Chapter 11.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
AmethystDrake is a passionate storyteller. She excels at crafting delightful charactersand enjoys developing com-plex relationships among them. Mystery has alwaysbeen her favorite genre to read, making it a natural choice for her writing.She aims to blend her personal experience with mental health and the moralcomplexities of intricate interpersonal relationships into engaging novels.
Amethystloves reading all kinds of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers and enjoyswatching classic detective and espionage dramas like "Murder, SheWrote," "Perry Mason," and "Mission: Impossible."
Shealso loves hearing from readers! Connect by signing up for her newsletter atamethystdrake.com or email amethyst@agswordsmiths.com
Links
AuthorWebsite https://amethystdrake.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/amethystdrake.author
Amazonhttps://amzn.to/3M5lmJO
Barnesand Noble https://bit.ly/3Z3VsOv
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will award a $25 Amazon GC and a signed book to one randomly drawnwinner, a $10 Amazon GC and a signed book to a second randomly drawn winner,and a signed book to a third randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
