Laurel Richards's Blog - Posts Tagged "books"

Quick Book Browsing: Comedy and Mystery

I’ve read comments by several readers who complain that browsing for new books is difficult. Stores like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble have such huge databases of books that visitors usually don’t browse past the first few pages. It’s easy to get lost.

Well, in this blog series, I’m going to share one of my books or series in each post (because, come on, I really want you to give my work a try). Then I’ll share a list of similar books that I thought were great, so you can check those out too. It’s sort of a “Readers who liked this might also like this” feature. And because story lovers enjoy multiple mediums, I’ll also include TV shows or movies in the same vein. It’s quick, one-stop browsing for works in a certain genre and tone.

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Quick Book Browsing: Comedy and Mystery

This first post has to do with funny mysteries. My Cassie Wynn series combines comedy, mystery, and romance as a small town mystery writer joins forces with a journalist turned private eye. The series includes The Clam Festival Murders, The Fish Fry Fiasco, and The Sand Castle Calamity. There’s nothing gruesome in the Cassie Wynn series, hence the cartoon covers.

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Books I Recommend:

Light in Shadow by Jayne Ann Krentz and its sequel Truth or Dare – While not a comedy, these are full of fun bits of humor and dialogue that will have you laughing, not to mention romance and mystery.

Amanda Quick’s Arcane Society series – While historical romance, these books also have banter that will make you smile and plenty of mystery to keep you turning the page.

Patrick F. McManus’s essay collections, like The Grasshopper Trap, Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink!, etc.– For outdoorsy humor essays, these are my favorite.

Dolled Up for Murder by Deb Baker – cozy mystery.

A Pedigree to Die For by Laurien Berenson – I haven’t read it in years, but the cover (both the original and now the new one) hooked me, and I thought the poodles stole the story.

Although I haven’t gotten to read it yet, you might also want to see this guest post by Stuart R. West about Bad Day in a Banana Hammock: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

TV Shows/Movies I Recommend:

Psych, starring James Roday and Dulé Hill – TV show that combines humor, mystery, and a touch of romance.

Fletch and the sequel, Fletch Lives, with Chevy Chase – these definitely share a similar tone to my Cassie Wynn series, as they have plenty of humor and mystery.

Undercover Blues, starring Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner – another movie that has that great light feeling with funny one-liners, as well as some suspense.

Death in Paradise has a great blend of mystery and humor and is set in the tropics.

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Be sure to check out the next posts in this blog series, which look at paranormal romance, sci-fi romance, and fantasy.

Quick Book Browsing: Sci-Fi Romance (or help, I’m being chased by an alien/monster/robot!)

Quick Book Browsing: Werewolf Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Psychics and Sci-Fi Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Fantasy

Quick Book Browsing: Paranormal Romance

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Published on January 10, 2022 13:04 • Tags: books, comedy, humor, mystery, romance

Quick Book Browsing: Paranormal Romance

My Elementals series is a contemporary paranormal romance series about people who look human but have power over water, fire, earth, or air and can even shape-shift.

In the first book, In Her Element, Darya Drake meets Water Elemental Ethan Zale and is brought into the Elemental community after she and her younger brother have lived most of their lives in fear of their own kind. She has good reason to be afraid when a Phage—an Elemental who kills and cannibalizes other Elementals to steal power—begins stalking her.

The second book, Dragon Tears, continues with Darya settling into her relationship with Ethan and trying to find help for her brother, Matthew, who is an unstable Fire Elemental. Dragon Tears does have some love scenes and is part of the overall paranormal romance series, but the scenes with Matthew are strictly urban fantasy, since he’s underage.

Matthew is grown up in the third book, Passion Fire, and struggles to overcome his past and find his place as a powerful Fire Elemental in the community. He meets Livi Phyre at a special dance class, and the two Fire Elementals start a fiery tango together.

Readers who want all three books in one place for a discount can get The Drake Trilogy Boxed Set.

Books I Recommend:

Janet Chapman’s Spellbound Falls series – paranormal romance that falls outside of the usual vampire and werewolf categories

Jayne Castle’s Harmony/Ghost Hunter and Rainshadow series – sci-fi romance that includes paranormal abilities

Pippa Jay’s Restless in Peaceville – a darker work that I thought was fantastic and out of the ordinary. Also check out Pippa Jay's No Angel, a terrific urban fantasy.

For The Love of a God by Rosanna Leo – great to see the Greek gods in fiction

Vickie Taylor’s Carved in Stone – gargoyle romance

Marjorie M. Liu’s Dirk and Steele series – a paranormal romance series that features lots of psychic and shape-shifting abilities

TV Shows/Movies I Recommend:

The Fifth Element – a sci-fi romance movie that touched on the elements (fire, earth, air, water) and a heroine with special abilities

The Last Keepers (2013) – a movie with a mix of paranormal and romance, with the young heroine finding herself and coming into her powers.

Beyond – 2017 TV show about a man who wakes up from a twelve-year coma with special powers

Other posts:

Quick Book Browsing: Sci-Fi Romance (or help, I’m being chased by an alien/monster/robot!)

Quick Book Browsing: Werewolf Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Psychics and Sci-Fi Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Fantasy

Quick Book Browsing: Comedy and Mystery

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Published on January 11, 2017 06:41 • Tags: books, fiction, laurel-richards, paranormal, pnr, romance

Quick Book Browsing: Mages, Wizards, & Witches

I enjoy paranormal and fantasy fiction, including stories featuring mages, wizards, witches, and the like. My contemporary paranormal romance Spellbound, features a spellcaster who works in law enforcement and a shape-shifter he meets during a murder investigation. Riding the Storm is a sword-and-sorcery novel about a sorcerer who comes into his powers with the help of an unexpected friend. There are lots of great books out there, and here are some of my favorites in the genre.