L.L. Abbott's Blog

New Book Alert for your reading list

Happy December Readers!

Well, by now, most of you are close to completing your TBR pile, or have gone way over what you expected to read! Life can be busy and overwhelming, and finding a good book to dive into and disappear, is such a treat.

I hope you'll add my latest book to your 'want to read' and then 'read' category this month.

And which book would that be?

Dead in the Water, the 9th book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series is being released this month!


With the change of seasons, comes new characters, new ideas, and yes, a new murder. Or is it?


DEAD IN THE WATER

Tensions escalate when a woman returns to Lake Pines, determined to clear her name for a murder she didn't commit. 

Global EBook PreOrder Now Available!

Have your copy delivered instantly on #PubDay - 17-12-22!

Is PreOrder right for you?
If you prefer EBook and you don't want to miss the first day (nay, the first second) that Dead in the Water is available - then Yes!

However, if you prefer paperback (and 67% of you do) then mark your calendars for the 17th of December - and find out if Lake Pines will ever be the same again.

What else is new?

I had the incredible honor to meet Steve Silverman, host of World Gone Good Podcast, where we chatted on (and off) air about murder, dogs and things we can't mention. Steve Silverman is a critically acclaimed, award-winning writer/director/producer whose accomplishments are too great to ignore, and too long to mention in one paragraph.

My visit went live Wed Dec 7th.
WORLD GONE GOOD PODCAST

Check him out, and listen to all of his amazingly feel-good podcasts that will make you smile and want to 'do good'.

MESSAGE FROM A READER ♥
Messages from readers who have enjoyed my stories are always special but this month's favourite is from Jamie who said: "It made me smile."



Mama, Why Don't I Belong? is a colourful, heartwarming book that allows parents to share the message that not all families need to look alike for them to belong together.

Thanks Jamie, and your mom, for letting me know! ♥

Available on Amazon!

AUTHOR BOOK READING!

Thank you again to Owl's Nest Books in Calgary for hosting a book reading evening for Calgary-based mystery authors.

I had a great time reading a chapter from Echoes of Guilt and meeting some incredible readers and authors.

And remember, books make great gifts!

And don't forget to join my email list, and get great information on new book releases, book readings, podcasts and giveaways.

Go to: LLAbbott.com

Have a wonderful day!

Love is in the air. . .and Murder & Espionage too!

Okay, admittedly a creepy title to my blog, but it's February and I have 3 new books to announce!

Lockdown has its challenges, not the least of which is to try and keep busy. I've used my time to launch three new books, each in a different genre.



In January the 4th book in the Anna Ledin Spy Series was published. Blown: An International Suspense Thriller: Book 4. I can only say that you need to read this! When an unknown enemy is poised to attack the country, the elite covert agent is tasked with finding the culprit and stopping the attack. Will she be able to stop the attack or will this finally be the final mission that sees Anna throw it all away?



The 5th Book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series. The Night Is Darkest was such an exciting book to write. The premise is a young teen submits a DNA test for a school project and an alert is prompted for the missing persons database triggering a cold case investigation into a thirteen-year-old murder.



Then comes love ♥. . . .when I'm not knocking people and governments off in novels, I'm enjoying romantic comedies. I LOVE THEM. And when February was peeking around the corner, I wanted to finally explore a storyline that I've had sketched out for a while. The Plus One is a hilarious laugh-out-loud, feel-good romantic comedy that will have you believing that true love is possible.

Enjoying different genres as a reader has also made me want to explore different genres as a writer. I hope you get a chance to explore some, if not all, of these titles soon.

All my book links can be found on my website at LLAbbott.com

And while you're there, sign up for my emails and learn about new releases, contests and more!

Have a wonderful day and Happy Reading!

Cheers ~ L.L. Abbott

A Chilling Murder Mystery perfect for Winter 2020

The Dead Of Winter is now available on Amazon, and soon, KOBO.

I wanted to bring the Lake Pines Mystery Series into another season, and the harsh unpredictability of Winter seemed a perfect choice.

The deep cold and the unrelenting wind hold danger; however, to any who have experienced a Canadian winter it can also hold beauty and awe.

So, too, does the art of our country and especially our artists. Blending both in The Dead Of Winter was a natural choice as I sat down to plot the outline for the fourth book in this series.

I hope you enjoy this murder-mystery-thriller as much as I enjoyed writing it.

#staywarm #staysafe

~ all my best . . . L.L. Abbott

A New Book and #NaNoWriMo Craze

October has been a busy month. Not unlike the whole year since mid March when COVID brought our world to a stand still.

One way that I have found to cope with the changes is to dive into my imagination and write.

And write I did!

This year alone I have added five books to my library. The latest being THE DEAD OF WINTER.
The Dead Of Winter is the fourth book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series and takes the much loved lead character of Kerry Dearborne and thrusts her, and the reader, into the depths and harshness of the Canadian winter while trying to find a killer.

Our world was faced with harsh changes and I wondered how I would translate that same feeling of change into the Lake Pines Mystery Series.

Along came winter. . . with only the harshness, rawness and beauty (yes there's beauty in -35) that Northwestern Ontario can deliver.

Look for the latest book to hit both Amazon and Kobo in the next week.


Also,

I, as well as throngs of other authors, have committed to #NaNoWriMo. A month long campaign in November that challenges us to write 50k words in 30 days.

I'm not sure what will come of the experiment, but I am sure to learn a lot about my organizational and scheduling abilities as I plod along.

Do you like free books?

If so, head over to my website and ENTER TO WIN a free copy of a book. They change all the time, and one sign up will be entered to win for all future contests.

Happy Reading - and Stay Safe

Cheers - L.L. Abbott

A New Book I’m Excited About – and 6 things you need to know about crows . . .

Why, may you ask, is an author’s post about crows?

Well, it’s a tie-in to an upcoming book release for MURDER OF CROWS
. . .more on that later. . .first the crows. . .

Crows have held a fascination for me, especially around cottage country. Their endless ability to know when to start cawing, which is usually about an hour and a half before you want to get up, along with their constant ability to know how to annoy the dogs (this is quite amusing).

I even knew a family who had one as a pet at their cottage, and it would return every May to greet their arrival. Hailing in another summer at the lake. They named it Charlie.

So in honour of my upcoming release of MURDER OF CROWS, here are the 6 things you need to know about crows:

1. There are 40 species of Crows.
2. They can be found all over the world.
3. They are extremely intelligent birds.
4. They are omnivores . . . they’ll eat almost anything.
5. Crows are cooperative breeders, which means they often stay close to the spot where they were born and help raise their young.
6. Crows and ravens are important in mythology, fables and native cultures. They are often identified as clever tricksters.

In some cultures, they are symbols of good luck; in others, they bring bad luck . . .

Which brings me to my new Book Release. . .Murder Of Crows is the third book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series. The book will be released October 14th, 2020 and leading up to the release date (which I am sooooo excited about) there will be a Book Giveaway, blurb updates and I will be posting status updates along the way.

If you are interested you can add MURDER OF CROWS to your bookshelf, and watch for the signed paperback copy giveaway which will run before the book hits the market!

Good luck and thanks for reading!

Have an awesome day

BIG changes for Murder On The Water

The secret is out!. . .Large Print versions of books suit the lifestyles of many readers. Myths are being shattered when it comes to genres, reading styles and reading profiles everyday with online readership increasing and spreading across the globe.

When our family used to go to the library every Saturday (yes, we were that family) my Dad would always manage to find a book that was large print even though (gasp!) he wasn't a senior.

Turns out, he liked to be able to read without glasses in bed and the Large Print books did the job.

As I prepare to release the third book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series it got me thinking of how I could improve the first book in the series and expand it to more readers.

One answer is to format it in Large Print. Which I did, and is now available on Amazon for purchase in paperback. [link below]

Other readers who can benefit from a Large Print book?

Working out on the treadmill and like to read? Large Print.

Want to read outside and don't want to layer sunglasses over your readers? Large Print.

Reading on public transit where there is movement and the words get shaky? Large Print.

And a more recent benefit. . . Want to read on your next flight, but don't want your glasses to fog up because of your mask? You got it. . .Large Print.

Murder On The Water is the first book in the Lake Pines Mystery Series by L.L. Abbott. Set in the fictional Northwest Ontario town of Lake Pines, lives of year round residents are intertwined with those of the summer cottagers in the area, bringing about the rawness in human nature along side the rawness in the landscape.

After all, death is different in a small town, but murder . . . well, that's another story.

MURDER ON THE WATER: LARGE PRINT spread the word, share or buy!

Happy reading!

Her Honourable Soldier

The idea for creating this story came from being knee deep (literally) in family research papers. It is hard for me not to imagine how people from our past had lived, what they thought or what they were doing when I glance at photos and pictures of people and places long ago.
HER HONOURABLE SOLDIER follows four childhood friends as they embark on their defense of the British Empire. With diary excerpts giving glimpses into possible back stories (think Gandi as an ambulance driver, and Churchill as a young journalist - all things that took place in history) woven into the story to give the reader an idea of the spectacular scope of the Second Boer War and the incredible people that were a part of it.

Having a story that young adults and adults can read and relate to is so important as we drift further and further away from the history of the Second Boer War. Keeping the memory of these young, brave soldiers alive is an honour we can all pay each and every one of them. Her Honourable Soldier