Ron D. Voigts's Blog, page 4

Countdown Continues to Release Day

Yeppers, I am EXCITED about the upcoming release of The Fortune Teller's Secret, Book 2 of A Cavendish Brown Paranormal Mystery.  You can now pre-order the book and be ready to rock-n-roll on release date.


Maybe you're saying, "Sorry, dude.  Didn't read the first one. Will be too confusing."  Here is more good news. Book 1, The Witch's Daughter, is available for only 99 cents. WOO-HOO!  This price is only available until March 18 so ACT NOW.  (Sorry, I am shouting again. Blushes.)



Coming March 13 will be blog tour hosted by Silver Dagger Book Tours. Stay tuned for more info.

Here is a quick wrap-up of where to get the books.

The Witch's Daughter from Kobo Books for 99 cents

The Witch's Daughter from Smashwords for 99 cents

The Witch's Daughter from Amazon for 99 cents

The Fortune Teller's Secret (Pre-order) from Kobo Books

The Fortune Teller's Secret (Pre-order) from Smashwords

The Fortune Teller's Secret (Pre-order) from Amazon

The Fortune Teller's Secrect

COMING THIS DECEMBER!

A dead man on a Ferris wheel and a cold-case murder take Cavendish Brown into a world of carnival freaks, ghosts, and killers.
The annual carnival comes to Maiden Falls, a small town in the West Virginia Mountains, but everything is not merry. The ghost of a woman appears to Cavendish Brown, a carnival worker lies dead aboard a car on the Ferris wheel, and a bullied teenager plots to kill people at the carnival with a homemade bomb.  More complications arise. Cavendish again butts heads with the local sheriff, Clinton Pike. Marbella Wellingway, owner of the newspaper where Cavendish works, receives a visit from the Angel of Death. And a Fortune Teller at the carnival knows something that could forever change Cavendish’s life.  With the aid of Jane, a disturbed psychic, and Alexandra, a Goth witch, he must find the killer, help the mystery woman, and risk his life to prevent more deaths. Book #2 in the Cavendish Brown Paranormal Mystery series brings readers a fast-paced thriller of suspense and the supernatural.



** Check back for further details **

Book Review: Kill All Cats by Rick Bylina

Either you’re a cat person or not one. Me? I can take them or leave them.  Some cats have endeared my heart. Mysty, my daughter’s pet, was a feline that I truly liked.  Her latest additions to the furry collection, Pumpkin and Pizzelle, are okie-dokie as cats go. But you won’t catch me in any line at a free cat giveaway. Despite my nonchalant attitude to the cats of the world, Rick Bylina’s newest book, Kill All Cats, grabbed my attention. I had envisioned this epic to be something like a mass killing of cats all given spiked catnip with promises of a better life in the cat-hereafter. Or maybe a serial cat killer, taking them out one by one, while keeping souvenirs of their pretty little collars with bells and rhinestone studs. But it was none of those.
Ron Black is your average Joe working a night job, sleeping days, and trying to earn a college degree somewhere in-between.  But things suddenly go south when he learns someone has murdered one of his neighbors along with her hoard of cats.  The police zero in on him as a prime suspect because of his past dealings with her and her feline entourage.  The cast of this tale in varied, quirky, and fascinating.  Among some of the notables are Ford and Truck Copley, two woodsy guys a few houses down; Arnold Sanders, a crusty old butcher; Digby, the pharmacist, and his wife; Dawn and Douglas Dietz, newlyweds; Jean, a quirky, almost girlfriend; Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice, bowling buddies; Kirk, his great-uncle and scientist; and many more. This is a big cast, but I promise you will know them all intimately before the book’s end.
One more character needs to be mentioned—Brisbane, Ron Black’s cockatiel, side-kick, muse, and soulmate. The world of fictional sleuthing duos have given us Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin, Hercule Poirot & Arthur Hastings, Frank and Joe Hardy, and now a new twosome has been added--Ron Black and Brisbane.
The book is laced with Rick Bylina’s style of humor and has more twists than a crooked tail cat.  He weaves a story of murder and betrayal, a mystery that will keep you guessing, a story filled with surprises and suspense.  For any mystery reader, I highly recommend Kill All Cats.


I give this book a hearty 5 stars.

Review of Windwood Farm by Rebecca Patrick-Howard

While my personal taste in reading is all over the place, I gravitate to mysteries and especially ones involving the paranormal. My past experience has been not all advertised paranormal mysteries fit the bill; however, the book I write about today is a home run. 
Windwood Farm by Rebecca Patrick-Howard is right on target in the realm of paranormal mysteries.  It draws together all the necessary elements. A moody protagonist. A spooky setting. Ghosts. Murder. Conflicting background. Escalating suspense. An element of danger, including death. This book has it all.
The writing first drew me into the story. Ms. Patrick-Howard takes her time and builds the story slowly and carefully, painting vivid scenes with sights, sounds, and smells. This is the stuff that old Edgar Allan Poe did and the author carries on the tradition.
The story revolves around Taryn, a young woman, whose profession is painting historic buildings on commission, restoring them to what they may have looked like when they stood in all their glory. Windwood Farm stands as a crumbling structure, with parts missing, the rest standing but sadly neglected. Inside some things still remain just as if the owner would return and others are long gone. 
One bedroom, in particular, looks much as it did when its former occupant, a young woman who died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it if something is moved or disturbed upon returning the visitor will find things returned back to the way they were first found.
Add on top of  that, someone or something is out to get Taryn, possibly kill her. But I don’t want to spoil anything here. This a darn good paranormal mystery in every sense of the genre.  There were a few points I think could have been improved; that’s just from the writer in me.

I give this one 4 stars.

~~~~~
Reviewer Ron D. Voigts is the author of The Witch's Daughter, a paranormal mystery available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books and Champagne Books.

Book Review: The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen

The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen is one of those freebie books you get with a Prime membership on Amazon. Usually, I gravitate toward something more in the realm of mystery, suspense and paranormal, but this story grabbed me because of the premise.
The tale starts from the point-of-view of a young boy, I am guessing about five or so, living with his family in a basement.  This is the only world the child knows having been born and raised there. Immediately we realize the family is dysfunctional bordering on outright bizarre. Everyone, except for the boy, has scars from a fire that happened sometime before he was born; his sister, in fact, is reported to be so hideous that she wears a mask. So many other aspects of this family are revealed in the book’s first part that the reader is left wondering, how this all came about.
Part two of the story goes back to before the family lived in a basement, before the boy was born.  Even then the family is weird and disconnected within itself. I won’t give anything away here, but suffice it to say, the story seems more contrived in the second half.  While the first part is character driven and seen through the boy’s eyes, the next part is plot oriented with jumping from point-of-views. At times, I was not sure whose head I was seeing the world. 
The second half takes the reader on a journey of explanation how everything came about.  It paints a picture of the circumstances behind everything and how a family comes to live in a basement, carrying scars from a fire and emotional scars. Like sand shifting in the dessert, things change what the reader believes to be the final truth to something else. Only the story’s end reveals all and ties up loose ends.

I give the book a three-star rating. I liked the premise and how this story came about but felt the explanations lacked some believability.  Still if you start the reading and like what you see, you’ll find the read worthwhile. Check out The Light of the Fireflies at Amazon

Well, I'm back...kind of....sort of....Hmmm? Is this Monday?

Catching up on the blog.  I've kind of neglected it for a while. Much of my focus has been on the next novel.  Working title: The Fortune Teller's Secret. Book 2 in the Cavendish Brown Paranormal Mystery series. This one has a killing at a carnival and a twenty-five-year-old cold case murder. Again the trio of Cavendish, Jane and Alexandra.  Quick run down of my characters.

Cavendish Brown = down and out reporter, whose wife dies recently, sees dead people.

Jane =  psychic who touches things and sees the past (literally) of whoever held the object last.

Alexandra = aka Alex, Goth witch, young, pretty and very wealthy.

In this one after Johnny Brubeck is found murdered, our trio investigates while working with, or perhaps tolerating is a better word, Sheriff Clinton Pike, The also discover a cold case killing of a haunting young woman, and when I say haunting, I'm talking full-blown spectral apparition. The story has an explosive ending, as in a big BOOM!

Right now I am in the proofing stage, catching the mistakes, typos and stuff that just doesn't make sense. Continuity is the key. Things have to add up and make sense.  The flow needs to be smooth.  Writing is like music and needs to have rhythm.

I'm head back to my writing.  If you have not read Book 1 in my witch tale mysteries I suggest checking it out The Witch's Daughter at Amazon  or at Champagne Books.

January Slipping Away

Today’s the last day of January 2016. Interesting to think that we will never see this month and year again. Moments slip into memories. We look back and recall: that was the time when…
I spent most of last Sunday shoveling out from the big one.  Close to 30 inches fell.  Weather reporters say the circumstances may never occur on such a grand scale. El Nino pushed warm moist air our way while a cold front starting Alaska pushed down from the north. Poof! Lots of snow. Lots of back breaking work to clear it.
The opportunity afforded me some time work on the next book. The Fortune Teller’s Secret is all in one piece now. Thirty chapters (though I reserve the right to change that) compiled from start to finish. Now comes the back breaking work of editing.
I spent most of yesterday changing a clue. Such a little thing can have such a devastating effect. In the original version one of my characters, Hershel McCabe, helped the murderer dump a body down an old well. In the process of aiding, he drops something with it—something that is personal and can link him to the murder. Originally I had been sunglasses of a particular brand sold in the 90’s because that was when the body was disposed of. The whole thing was not working in the big picture, so I changed it to a St. Christopher’s medal hung from a chain around his neck, something that was gift from his mother since he traveled. What made this clue unique was a bend in the metal disc that happened when he worked on some machinery and it caught in a meshwork of gears. Now it can be identified to him. When the body is disposed of in the hole, the victim’s fingers hook the chain as she falls away and rips it from his neck. It drops with her. And twenty-five years later the sheriff will find it when the body is exhumed.
The little change took most of a Saturday, finding places where the sunglasses were mentioned and changing to the medallion.  The circumstances had to be rewritten.  Syntax and sentences needed to be altered. I am not even sure I caught it all. Thankfully I have good beta readers.
That is all for now, dear friends. Best to everyone.
Yours in writing,Ron

Penelope's First Christmas Tree

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This holiday season, I give you a short piece of how Penelope and her father cut down the tree for her family's first Christmas.  Until age twelve she'd never celebrated the holiday, knowing it only by what she had read or seen around town.  Here is a short except from Penelope and The Christmas Spirit.


“Just in time,” Father said and waved a rusted saw overhead.

“For what?” Penelope asked.

“Don’t dawdle.” He marched ahead with a coil of rope slung over his shoulder.

“Where are we going?” she asked, trying to match his stride.

“To the forest. If we are going to do this homeschooling project right, we will need a Christmas tree.”

He puffed out his chest and threw his shoulders back.

“I bet we could find a nice one at the Dillwood Rotary Club Christmas tree lot.” She hoped he would change his mind, but he kept his gaze ahead as he forged on.

“This is more fun and it saves us money,” he shouted.

Her toes caught the hem of her winter coat, and she stumbled forward. The coat was a cast-off of Mother’s that Penelope had rescued from a bag destined for the Dillwood Resale Shop. While the hem fell just below Mother’s knees, on Penelope it was floor length, or in this case ground length. As they moved into the woods behind their property, the coat dragged along, collecting loose branches, e saw as he surveyed the tree. With the coil of rope still slung over his shoulder, he vanished into its abundant foliage. A quiver moved up the branches. As he went higher, she caught glimpses of his red plaid coleaves and other woody souvenirs, which further impeded her pace, and Father gained more distance.

“Hurry,” he called back, “or you’ll be left behind.”

She grabbed handfuls of cloth and pulled the coat’s hem up. Soon she was at his side again.

“I think they discount trees the week before Christmas.”

Father didn’t answer, but plodded ahead, leaving her farther behind. She sighed and pulled up handfuls of cloth, running after him again.

When she reached him, he was standing with his eyes lifted toward the sky, staring at a fir tree that loomed ahead. “There it is. Our Christmas tree.”

She tilted her head to take in its peak. “It’s big. Maybe too big.”

“Time to get started.” Father dropped that and green Cossack hat. Near the top, he peeked out and waved.

“If you fall and kill yourself,” she shouted, “Mother will be mad at you.”

“No need to worry about me. Take the end of the rope.” He tossed it to her and secured the other end to the top of the tree.

Branches bounced and jostled as he climbed back down. He reappeared at its base. “I want you to pull on the rope when I say.” He took the saw and plunged back into the greenery.

A rasping sound filled the air. Creak-whoosh-creak-whoosh. “Drats!”

“Are you OK?” Penelope craned her neck to see through the branches.

“It’s the saw. Too much rust. I should have sharpened and oiled it. Just remember to pull on my command.”

“I will.” Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the rope.

Creak-whoosh-creak-whoosh.

“Almost there.” he shouted. Creak-whoosh-creak-whoosh. “Pull, Penelope.”

With the rope wrapped around her hands, she tugged with her body’s weight. “I’m pulling, Father.”

“Well, pull harder.” Creak-whoosh-creak-whoosh. The saw’s rhythm intensified, and Father grunted with each push of the blade.

“Are you pulling, dear?” he asked, out of breath.

“Yes, Father.”

“I don’t understand. It should be falling by now. Keep the rope taut.” He resumed sawing.

Her feet dug in the thick of the forest floor. Her body listed forty-five degrees, supported only by the stretched rope.

“I just don’t understand,” he said.

Creak-whoosh-CRACK!

The line slackened, and she nearly lost her footing.

“Pull,” Father shouted.

She strained against the rope as he scurried from the tree and to her side. He grabbed the loose end.

“Together now.”

CRACK!

The tree finally surrendered, and the rope went completely slack.

“Run, Penelope, run,” he said as he sprinted away.

Years of avoiding her parents’ advice left her watching the tree’s progress. Its dark image silhouetted against the crisp morning sky rushed toward her, whooshing around her as she dove to the ground.

She closed her eyes and wondered what death was like.

The air was devoid of sound. The pungent odor of tree permeated her senses. For the moment, it was a most pleasant experience. She must be in heaven, and it was pine scented.

“Penelope?” Father’s voice was firm and calm. “Why didn’t you run?”

Her heart raced as she recalled the moment. The thought of nearly being killed by a mammoth

Christmas tree had taken her life to a new height, if for a brief moment. She had stood her ground, or rather lay on it, and survived.

She composed an answer for Father. “The artistic moment of the tree framed against the sky was too inspiring. It reminded me of something Henry Thoreau, the philosopher, had once said, but that moment passed, and I don’t remember what he said now.”

“If you are finished being inspired, would you mind coming out of there.”

She surveyed the surroundings. Every branch and limb had missed her, some by only inches. Pine needles stuck out everywhere on her coat. She ran her fingers over her head, finding more of the green slivers attached to her stocking hat.

Orienting herself on her hands and knees, she began the process of crawling out, which was difficult because of the coat’s length. As she weaved between the tree limbs and pine verdure, she spied jagged edges of light and Father’s legs.

He made a small sigh as she left her woodland shelter. “You should have followed me.”

“You won’t tell Mother, will you?”

“Under the circumstances, it is best for us both that she does not know.” Father picked a twig from her hair, looked at it for a moment and dropped it. 
The full story is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books and Smashwords.
Merry Christmas to all!

Black Friday Sales to Kick Off Your Holiday Reading

You say you're tired of the same old stories? You're half way through that mystery and know who did it. You've read one to many cozies and need something different? May I invite you to try out one of my books.


Were you the feisty kid growing up and found yourself always one step ahead of the adults?  Then you'll identify with Penelope as she sleuths her way through a murder at her home while a snow storm rages outside. This is Nancy Drew on steroids with a touch of the Addams Family thrown in for good measure. Grab a copy at Amazon for the holidays. Black Friday special Thursday thru Sunday. Four day for 99 cents.

http://www.amazon.com/Penelope-Birthday-Curse-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B005561FZI/




Do you want something with a bit more bite to it?  (Bad pun intended.) Tired of sparkling vampires?  This is a mystery too.  Another who dun it with a twist at the end. Something by a twisted writer. (That's me. ) In this one, good guy Alex Regal is stuck in a town run by a bad-ass vampire and he really doesn't want to stay for dinner.  Some people die. Somebody did it. Betting you can't figure it out until you get to the end.  This one goes for 99 cents beginning Thanksgiving Day and for four days only.

http://www.amazon.com/Strigoi-Blood-Ron-D-Voigts-ebook/dp/B00LQRJBZ6/



Ever wonder what a washed up reporter, Gothic witch and demented psychic have in common?  (Probably not.)  Find out in the first installment of the Cavendish Brown Paranormal Mystery series as the trio goes on the hunt for killer/kidnapper while Cavendish deals with an old girlfriend who embezzled over a million dollars from the mob. Can't discount this one but guarantee you'll like this read too. Costs only $4.95.

http://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Daughter-Cavendish-Paranormal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00U0W28LC/



There you have it. What a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season but with a little murder, mayhem and mystery.

Interview with Shiela Stewart on her latest Book Seducing the Darkness

Seducing the Darkness BK 1

Paranormal Romance


Shiela Stewart
Available in ebook
Champagne Publishing  All Romance ebooks  




A book blurb tells a lot about a book. Can you tell us something about your book?
I would love to. I always struggle with the blurb. It has to be something that will draw the reader in without giving too much away.
Here is a glimpse at Seducing the Darkness, Book 1 in the Darkness series.
An outcast by her kind, Trinity Ford has learned to live on her own..not an easy thing to do when you’re a vampire.
Trinity was once a fragile girl. Being taken by a powerful vampire prince changed her, Discovering him in the arms of another  woman changed destiny. Alone, she’s earned fast how to be tough, how to survive, and how to protect the people of her city from the evil that lurks in the dark. She was managing just fine, until Basil walked back into her life.
Basil Hawthorn has been the reigning prince of vampires since banishing his father to the Realm of Dark Mystics decades earlier, When a perfect dream makes him realize Trinity is at risk, he decides the only way to save her is to push her away. Doing so is not easy. Trinity is the only woman he has ever loved, ever will long and he can’t seem to let her go.
When rumors arise of a place to raise the king ad blot out the sun, both Trinity and Basil know they must do everything to stop it. Even if it means working together. Despite the betrayal and the threat, they find themselves drawn to each other. Love has no boundaries, especially in the face of danger. But will they be able to stop the ritual before it's too late?
Or will the darkness capture them both.

Covers are the first things that get seen when book shopping. Can you tell us about your cover’s design?
I wanted three things for my cover. A city in the dark, something that told the reader its a vampire series and the heroine or heroine and hero together. The artist took what I wanted and went with it. I really like the cover and I look forward to see the other covers when they're done.
For me the first few paragraphs tell me if I want to read the book. How does your story open?
Jacob’s Cove, 20152 weeks before the total eclipse of the sun
That damn itch between her shoulder blades was driving her nuts. It had started about a week ago and hadn’t let up. It wasn’t the kind of itch that warranted scratching, but the kind that nagged at you from the inside. The kind that told her there was bad news in the air. She just didn’t know when it would happen.
Rolling her shoulders, Trinity headed to her office. The sun was setting, and she had approximately two hours before she had to head out into the night. With her favorite black mug in hand, she sat down at her computer and booted it up.
“Hello, sexy. How may I service you today?” the strong, male voice retorted from the computer.

How have you been marketing your book? What works best for you?
I've tried a lot of things. Blog interviews and spots are a big one. I've placed my covers on popular blogs such as Long and Short Reviews and always find it brings me sales. In the past, I've payed All Romance eBooks to place the cover of my book in their magazine as well as in The Romantic Times magazine. Getting my name out there in any way possible is helpful which include being on Facebook and Twitter. 


Author Bio:

Raised on a rural farm in Saskatchewan, Canada, Shiela Stewart relied on her vivid imagination to fill her days. Never did she realize that her need to tell a story would someday lead to becoming a published author. 


In the fall of two thousand and six, Shiela published her very first book and she hasn’t stopped since. When not writing, Shiela spends time with the love of her life and biggest supporter, William. She enjoys doting on her children and granddaughter. She has a strong affection for animals which is evident in the five cats, one dog, plenty of fish and one turtle she owns. 
Some of her other passions are home décor, crocheting and knitting.
Where to find Shiela:
www.shielasbooks.ca
Shiela’s Book blog
www.facebook.com/shiela.stewart
https://twitter.com/shielasue