M.S. Spencer's Blog, page 4
June 26, 2024
C. D. Bennett & her new romantic suspense No Good Dead
Please welcome C. D.Bennett and her new romantic suspense, No Good Dead.
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Hello readers, I am thrilled that M.S. Spencerinvited me to her blog today. I appreciate the opportunity to connect with allof you and introduce you to my upcoming release No Good Deed, a book that, in asmall way, took shape from personal experiences. This novel takes place on afamily ranch in the rugged mountains of Colorado, a beautiful state filled withbreathtaking views and people that share a deep-rooted love of the outdoors. Italso happens to be where I spent a lot of my childhood. I got to play among theaspen trees and have ridden through those mountains on horseback. I still missit. Since I can't hop on a plane every time I get nostalgic. What better way isthere to revisit my old stomping grounds than to write about it?
I also included a main character that previouslyworked as an EMT (just like I did). It is how I put myself through college.Everyone says to write what you know, right? Needless to say, my heroine canhandle a crisis. It's a good thing too, because Kiya James couldn't have knownthat saving the life of a stranger would make her the target of a dangerousunknown adversary. When she joins forces with the victim and his family, shefinds herself thrust into a world filled with endless greed and relentless danger.It also opens the door to new love and found family.
I would love to hear your thoughts on No Good Deed!
Blurb:
No Good Deed…goes unpunished.
Kiya James’s relocation to idyllic Riverton,Colorado is disrupted when she discovers a critically wounded man lying in afield near her home. Little does she know that her selfless act to save theman’s life would thrust her into a world of corruption, greed, and danger. Asthe only witness to the initial attack, and shaken by an attempt on her ownlife, Kiya is offered refuge with the victim’s family. Together, they struggleto uncover the circumstances that would trigger an unknown assailant to unleasha string of deadly attacks in an otherwise quiet rural ranching community.
Jake McCleary’s world could have been destroyedwith a single bullet if it hadn’t been for the quick actions of a stranger.Now, in a desperate attempt to protect her and his entire family, Jake mustfight to defend his home, livelihood, and the woman who is rapidly capturinghis heart, against the vicious actions of a criminal who will stop atabsolutely nothing to get what he wants. But will they find the answers theyneed in time, or will they lose everything to the conceit of a madman? And willthe bond between his wounded brother and the woman that saved him prove to betoo big of an obstacle for Jake to overcome in the pursuit for Kiya’s love?
Introduction to theexcerpt:
In this excerpt, Jake and Kiya have been spendingtime together while trying to uncover information about an attack on Jake’sbrother, Dylan. Jake starts to realize that his feelings for Kiya aren’t assimple as he thought, but he would never hurt his brother by coming between thetwo of them.
Excerpt: Troubling realization
Outside, the air had turned chilly causing Kiya toshiver slightly when the wind blew across the yard. Jake immediately wrappedhis jacket around her shoulders. He had snagged it from a peg hanging insidethe door as they were leaving. “What are you doing running around out herewithout a jacket?”
“Thanks, I didn’t need one on my way over, and Iwasn’t expecting it to get so cold. The temperature changes fast around here,”she said as she snuggled farther into the jacket.
They made the short walk to the cabin in relativesilence, but as they entered the glow given off by the light near the frontdoor, Kiya stopped and turned toward Jake. “Thank you for inviting me tonight.It was great getting to see Dylan that way. Even if he still tires easily.”
“It’s surprising how effortless it is for you totune in to how he’s feeling. You noticed his change in energy quicker than anyof the rest of us.”
Jake’s words were spoken lightly, but his eyesappeared guarded. Kiya shrugged. “I know what to look for, that’s all.”
“I suppose that could be it,” he allowed.
The wind picked up again causing Kiya’s hair toflutter across her cheeks. Without thinking, Jake reached over and smoothed thesilky strands away from her face, but the mental image of his brother’sinteraction with her earlier in the evening had him pulling his hand back andshoving it into his pocket. He had been unprepared for his reaction to theiralmost instant and very obvious bond. He was struggling with the fact that hedidn’t like it.
No Good Deed
The Wild Rose Press, June 26, 2024
Romantic Suspense
308 pages
Buy Links:
About the Author:
I am an avid readerand nature lover who enjoys adventurous outdoor activities when I'm not busywriting romantic suspense novels. Horseback riding, hiking,kayaking/paddleboarding, and swimming are some of my favorite pastimes. I haveeven "taken the plunge" with skydiving and scuba diving. I live inrural northwest Pennsylvania with my family and a menagerie of animalcompanions. I am currently working on my third book.
Contacts:
June 16, 2024
Marla White and Framed for Murder
Pleasewelcome Marla White, author of the acclaimed Pine Cove Mystery series. Thesecond in the series, Framed for Murder: A PineCove Mystery , has just released. Marla, could you tell us a bit aboutthe background of the series?
Framed for Murder: A Pine Cove Mystery is set in the fictional, tiny, Southern Californiamountaintop village of Pine Cove that may or may not bear a close resemblanceto the very real town of Idyllwild but is obviously a lot more murder-y thanthe real thing.I’vebeen to Idyllwild as a mentor for several retreats and have stayed in rooms fromthe awesome to the eccentric, but they showcase the beauty of the place. Pinetrees, clear blue skies, a rushing brook, and not a chain coffee shop insight. And the people are so lovely!
WhenI learned the Wild Rose Press was looking for holiday themed novellas, I was inthe midst of failing to bake Starlight Mint Surprises and the origin story to“Framed” was born. I thought it would be funny to have a character running aB&B who was equally baking challenged. And what better place for theB&B than a small, mountain town like Idyllwild?
Morethan dealing with being a terrible cook, Mel is also dealing with the trauma oflosing the only career she ever wanted, being a beat cop for LAPD. I’ve alwaysloved fish-out-of-water stories and wanted to play with the idea that thisquirky little town is exactly what she needs to heal. “Framed” is the secondbook in the series and she’s not there yet, but her mountain home is startingto grow on her.
Fascinating—whata contrast between small town baker and former cop in the same body! Can yougive us a summary of the story?
Old enemies become allies to unravel a deadly mystery.
Mel O'Rourke used to be a cop before a life-changinginjury forced her to turn in her badge. Now she leads a relatively peacefullife running a B&B in the quirky mountain town of Pine Cove. That is, untilher old frenemy, the charismatic cat burglar Poppy Phillips, shows up, claimingshe's been framed for murder. While she’s no saint, Mel knows she’d never kill anyone andsets out to prove Poppy's innocence.
Thesituation gets complicated, however, when the ruggedly handsome Deputy SheriffGregg Marks flirts with Mel, bringing him dangerously close to the criminalshe’s hiding. And just when her friendship with café owner Jackson Thibodeauxblossoms into something more, he’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime in NewOrleans. Should she encourage him to go, or ask him to stay? Who knew romancecould be just as hard to solve as murder?
Pine CoveHowabout an alluring little excerpt?Toomuch conversation before coffee.
“Excuse me, is that your car parked out front?”She struggled to maintain a polite tone.
The woman’s head snapped toward her, her perfectlips making a surprised little ‘o’ before breaking out in a broad smile. Sheremoved her wireless earbuds, blasting classical music across the room. A swipeto her phone silenced them, and she got to her feet in a fluid motion, steppingtoward her with the grace of a ballet dancer. “Officer O’Rourke, how good tosee you,” the woman gushed in a lilting British accent. “Or should I just callyou Mel?”
“Poppy?” She was too astonished to squeak outmore.
“In the flesh.” The lithe woman beamed but stoppedshort of wrapping her arms around Mel in an enthusiastic hug. So many questionsrattled around in her pre-coffee sluggish brain, but she blurted out the mostobvious one first.
“How did you get in here?” She’d locked the frontdoor after the posted eight o’clock closing time last night. The guests all hadkeys to their own cabins or rooms and had instructions to call if they neededher after eight. The safety protocol was a habit she’d stuck to religiouslyafter finding a murdered man sitting in a chair right across from the onevacated by her…nemesis? Acquaintance? She shook her head, unable to put a labelto their relationship.
“Well,” she purred, her brown eyes sparklingbehind long fake lashes, “I drove up early this morning and it was too cold tosit in my car until your eight a.m. opening time.” She gestured to the sign inthe window stating lobby hours. “So I let myself in. I knew you wouldn’t mind.”
Poppy Phillips was a thief. A notorious catburglar, sometimes called “The Ghost” by social media outlets and morewhimsical members of the public. Many police forces had been chasing her foryears, including the LAPD. They knew she’d committed a multitude of crimes, butnever found the evidence to make the charges stick, until last year. Mel, hoton her heels in pursuit after a daring robbery, got within an arm’s length ofgrabbing her with the stolen items on her person when the thief nimbly jumpedfrom the roof of the building they were running across, over an alley, to landon the one next door.
Mel tried to follow, but slipped and slammed intothe side of the building instead. With her partner too far away to help, sheclung to the rooftop by her fingertips until they cramped from the strain. Shestarted reciting the Hail Mary for what she thought would be the last time whentwo strong, slender arms pulled her to safety. It was Poppy. She could havekept going and escaped, but she came back to save Mel’s life.
As they both collapsed to the roof, breathless andlaughing at the absurdity of the situation, she cuffed herself to the thief andarrested her. Rather than lashing out and trying to escape, she just sat thereand laughed some more. It was almost insulting how chill she was about thewhole thing. But, since one rescue deserved another, she convinced theprosecutor, a member of her extended family, to drop the charges in light ofservices rendered. So what was she doing here?
Making a mental note to change the lock and checkinto a security system to prevent another surprise visit from potentially lessamiable thieves, she persisted. “Yes, but what are you doing here? In PineCove?” She narrowed her eyes at the intruder. “Are you on the run?”
Poppy’s eyes grew wide in a nearly convincingguise of innocence. “No.” She huffed with the perfect blend of indignation andhurt feelings. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“Experience?”
After mulling her statement over for a moment, theBrit gave her a crooked grin. “You got me there but seriously, after our run inon the rooftop and you managed to keep me out of the nick, I got to thinking,is this what I really want to do with my life? So, I decided to turn over a newleaf. When I heard about your lovely B&B, I says to me-self, ‘Poppy, that’sthe ticket. Go work for your old pal Mel.’ And here I am.” She spread her armswide like a magician who had performed a trick and awaited her due applause.
Mel scrubbed her face with her hands. “This is toomuch conversation before coffee.”
Framed for Murder: A Pine Cove Mystery
TheWild Rose Press, June 17, 2024
CozyMystery, Romance
300pp.
HeatLevel – on a pepper level? A poblano for salty language and mild kisses
BuyLinks:
Aboutthe Author
Marla WhiteMarlaWhite is an award-winning novelistwho prefers killing people who annoy her on paper rather than in real life. Herfirst full-length mystery novel, “Cause for Elimination,” placed in severalcontests including Killer Nashville, The RONE Awards, The Reader’s Favorite,and finishing second in the Orange County Romance Writers for RomanticSuspense. Originally from Oklahoma, she lived in a lot of other states beforesettling down in Los Angeles to work in the television industry. She currently teaches at UCLA Extension andgives seminars about the art of script coverage. When she’s not working on thenext book, she’s hiking, cheering on the LA Kings, or discovering new craftcocktails (to, you know, drown her sorrows over the Kings).
Contacts:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScriptFixer
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/marlawriteswords/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MarlaAWhiteAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21467766.Marla_A_White
Bookbub:https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marla-a-white
Amazon:https://amzn.to/3MHIzkB
Substack:https://substack.com/@marlawhite?utm_source=edit-profile-page
June 1, 2024
Lots of Looks at My Books in June
Look for excerpts and teasers for my new mystery thriller romanticsuspense In the Crosshairs: the Body onLeffis Key over the month of June.
Shepherd.com—a book? Website like Goodreads, features a booklaunch here: https://shepherd.com/
The magazine of Marketing for Romance Writers features anauthor spotlight for the June issue here: http://tinyurl.com/MFRWMAGS
On June 3 N. N. Light’s Book Heaven showcases five of mybooks—In the Crosshairs: theBody on Leffis Key, The Wishing Tree: Love,Lies, and Spies on Chincoteague Island, Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine,Mrs. Spinney’s Secret, and Flotsam & Jetsam: the Amelia IslandAffair.
May 31, 2024
One of our villains from In the Crosshairs at Alana Lorens Today
Today my newmystery suspense In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key is at Alana Lorens’ beautiful blog:
https://alana-lorens.com/2024/05/31/in-the-crosshairs-the-body-on-leffis-key/
You’ll be treated toa humorous excerpt about one of the possible villains in the piece—and anintroduction to the Inside-the-Beltway world with all its downsides. Do dropby!
May 29, 2024
Jill Piscitello welcomes In the Crosshairs Today
I’m at Jill Piscitello’s lovely blog today for a peakat my new cozy mystery
In the Crosshairs: the Body onLeffis Key. Enjoy and share! jillpiscitello.com/2024/05/30/book-in-the-spotlight-in-the-crosshairs-the-body-on-leffis-key-by-m-s-spencer
May 28, 2024
In the Crosshairs at Marla White's Talking About Crossbows
I’m a guest of Marla White today, talking about my new cozymystery thriller In the Crosshairs: the Bodyon Leffis Key. I give a little background on the crossbow—a fascinatinghistory—and treat you to a dramatic scene from the book. Enjoy!
https://www.marlaawhite.com/blog/guest-post-from-ms-spencer
In the Crosshairs at Journeys with Jana Today
Jana Richards has invited me to showcase my brand new cozymystery In the Crosshairs: the Bodyon Leffis Keyon Journeys with Jana. I will give a little background on the keys of Florida—mostpeople don’t realize the entire peninsula is protected by barrier islandscalled keys. Then readers can enjoy an excerpt in which the heroine encountersboth a dead man and one who’s very much alive. Do drop by and comment!
https://www.janarichards.com/post/newrelease-from-mystery-writer-m-s-spencer
May 27, 2024
First Review for In the Crosshairs--FIVE BIG BEAUTIFUL STARS
My first review for In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key :and it’s a doozy. Five Stars from N. N. Light’s Book Heaven!
https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/in-the-crosshairs-the-body-on-leffis-key-br
Here’s a teaser: “The story skims along at a break-neck pacewith so many twists and turns, it almost made my head spin.”
In theCrosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key releases TODAY—get your copy hot off thepress:
May 26, 2024
In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key releases today!
Murder upon murder—all by crossbow. Who’s behind them?
My latest murder mystery/romantic suspense releases today May27:
In the Crosshairs: The Body onLeffis Key .
A birder finds a corpse and becomes entangled with asecretive former Senate aide, global investors, Chinese operatives, radicalenvironmentalists, all searching for a mysterious briefcase.
Here are the current links:
Books2Read:https://books2read.com/IntheCrosshairs
WildRose Press: https://wildrosepress.com/product/in-the-crosshairs-the-body-on-leffis-key/
I Tunes:https://books.apple.com/us/book/in-the-crosshairs-the-body-on-leffis-key/id6479648097
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crosshairs-Body-Leffis-Key-ebook/dp/B0CYHKJJ5C
Barnes& Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-crosshairs-m-s-spencer/1145026462?ean=2940185979617
Get your copy now!
Read excerpts and other cool stuff about In theCrosshairs at these great blogs:
May 28 Jana Richards: https://www.janarichards.com
May 29 Marla White: www.marlaawhite.com
May 30 Jill Piscitello:https://jillpiscitello.com
May 31 Barbara Mountjoy: http://alana-lorens.com
May 23, 2024
Featured Today at Books and Bevies: In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key
Featured Today at Books and Bevies is my new cozy mystery/romanticsuspense, which releases May 27. : In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key
https://www.kerryfryarfreeman.com/booksandbevies
Palmer Lind, recovering from thesudden death of her husband, embarks on a bird-watching trek to the Gulf Coastof Florida. One hot day on Leffis Key she comes upon—not the life bird she washoping for—but a floating corpse. The handsome beach bum who appears on thescene at the same time seems to have even more secrets than the dead man.
His story begins to unravel as thepair search for answers to a growing pile of dead bodies. Spies, radicalenvironmentalists, and wealthy businessmen circle around each other in acomplex dance. Which one is lying? What do a seemingly random group of individualshave in common, other than being targeted by a crossbow?
Kerry has asked me to pair my book with an appropriatebeverage, and since the book is set in sunny Florida, I naturally chose aplanter’s punch.
Here’s a tease:
Drink?” He held up a tall glass filledwith pink liquid. “My own version of planter’s punch.” He dropped a paperumbrella in it and handed it to her.
She took a sip. “Very tasty. Not toosweet.” She put the glass down. “I can’t stay long.”
“I know. Just let me tee up some moretidbits. Then we’ll talk. I wanted to tell you about the death threats.”
https://www.kerryfryarfreeman.com/booksandbevies
