Ally Shields's Blog, page 3

Release Day for THE DEAD CAME CALLING by J L Buck

Book Three in my Viscount Ware Regency Mystery series is finally here! I hope you enjoy it!

Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, returns to London from his family’s country estate to discover his friend and fellow spy Andrew Sherbourne is a fugitive from a charge of murder.
      And Sherry is hiding in Lucien's townhouse with Fanny, a small child of two or three. The mother--and murder victim--abandoned the child on Sherry’s doorstep, claiming Fanny was his daughter and needed protection from a Frenchman chasing them.
      An over-zealous Bow Street Runner is convinced Sherry is guilty of the murder, and no one is looking for the real killer—no one except Lucien—but evidence and potential suspects are sparse.
      Lady Anne Ashburn was called home from London to her invalid mother’s bedside two months ago. She is resigned to never seeing Lord Ware again, at least not in the near future, and her monotonous days are relieved by her childhood sweetheart Daniel, the man everyone has always assumed she would marry.
      Then the letter comes from Lord Ware, asking for her help in investigating a local family. She sets out with determination and in defiance of society’s expectations to find the evidence Lord Ware needs to expose the truth and set his friend free.

Purchase links:

​AMZ: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Came-Calling-Viscount-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BVX79QMF
 
Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-dead-came-calling-1
 
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dead-came-calling-j-l-buck/1143111006?ean=9781684920907
 
BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-dead-came-calling-viscount-ware-mystery-book-3-by-j-l-buck

Book Spotlight on MAVERICK, MOVIES & MURDER BY Mary Seifert

Good Morning, Booklovers!
 
Thank you for stopping by for another Book Spotlight on the Coffee Chat. Today’s guest is Mary Seifert, presenting her book MAVERICK, MOVIES & MURDER (A Katie & Maverick Cozy Mystery). Don’t miss her interview on my JL Buck mystery blog HERE.
 
While we take a look at your book, Mary, what may I get you to drink?
 
Mary: I’m still trying to like coffee given its health benefits but gravitate toward an aromatic black tea and chocolate biscotti every morning when I sit down to write, my dog nestled around my feet under the table. It sets the tone for my day. I can drift into my cozy mystery world and write myself into and out of corners all day long.
 
Ally: Then tea for you, and I’ll stick with my usual black coffee. Now we’re all settled, please tell us about book five in your Katie & Maverick Cozy Mysteries. Maverick, Movies & Murder, (A Katie & Maverick Cozy Mystery, Book 1)
Genre: cozy mystery
 
After losing everything, Katie Wilk is starting life over in Columbia, Minnesota, with a new career—giving up cryptanalysis in favor of teaching school—and a canine companion, Maverick, a black Labrador retriever. But on one of their first outings, Katie and Maverick discover a dead body in a nearby marshland. In her haste, she’s injured, and the ER doctor on duty, Pete Erickson, is happy to stitch her wound. As the son of the police chief, Pete tries to steer her away from the investigation, but Katie feels the need to know what happened to the victim.

Meanwhile, the locals are gearing up for the premiere of a new docudrama film called Titanic: One Story, which would be the cornerstone piece of a new Titanic exhibit, to open at the Midwest Minnesota History Center. The movie director selected Columbia, his hometown, as the location for some of the scenes, and many residents are featured as extras in the movie. There will be a huge gala dinner and celebration for the grand opening. Tragedy strikes again when the director is killed. Katie finds herself in the midst of it all and doesn’t know anyone in town well enough to know who she can trust.

Praise for the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries:
“Immediately captivating! Katie and Maverick are destined to become a notable amateur sleuth team in the mystery world.” –Connie Shelton, USA Today bestselling author

BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2N876FZ
 
Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

The bullets changed everything for me. Sometimes I wished I’d taken a bullet too, because I lost the most important men in my life. My dad still fought every day to reclaim his confidence, mobility, and wit from the bullet that creased his brain. But my husband of seventeen days took our dreams with him when he died. They never caught the shooter.

“Promise me.” Charles’s bloody hands gripped mine. “Promise me you’ll be happy.”

I had to try to keep that promise, so after a year of indulging my sorrow and wading through mind-numbing platitudes, I threw away the flood of sympathy cards and letters. I needed to return to the world, to sink or swim.
And my stepmother wanted me out of there.

At her insistence, and to the surprise of my therapist, I circulated my resumé́. Neither of them, however, congratulated me when I accepted a position one hundred fifty miles from home. New town. New people. A job in my area of expertise. Truth be told, I accepted the only offer I received—teaching high school math.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive. I missed the fairytale life I had planned—an adoring husband, challenging job, devoted family—but I packed my meager belongings and moved to Columbia, Minnesota, determined to make it my home. The gem of a town snugged into prairie grasses surrounded by rich farmland, acreage dedicated to wildlife management, and lots and lots of water.

Following a second fruitless week of apartment- hunting, I returned to the bed and breakfast with a little less spring in my step.

“He was a real gentleman today. Let me get him,” said the desk clerk. He disappeared into the recesses of the office.

I heard the rhythmic clack of nails across the tile floor before I saw him and steeled myself for the onslaught of Maverick’s ecstatic welcome. He rounded the desk and buried his black nose between my legs, drooling all over. His tail whumped against the desk, and he pawed my thigh.

“Sit,” I said. “Sit.” Maverick jumped and licked my face then circled behind me, wrapping the leash around my legs before his rump hit the floor.

“He missed you. Look, he’s smiling.”

Maverick gazed at me with sparkling brown eyes. To me, it looked like laughing.

“Find anything today?”

I’d been searching for a place to park my belongings, anxious to live life out of a closet instead of a suitcase. The Monongalia Bed and Breakfast provided good food, clean bedding, daily vacuuming, and fresh towels every other day, but the expense was eating into my savings and my first paycheck was weeks away.

“Nothing yet. Do you have any hot prospects for me?” Mr. Walsh had recommended a cheery coffee shop, a delightful deli, a local market, walking paths, and a hardware store that had one of just about anything but apartments.

“The film people will be finishing up soon.” He tapped a notice on the front desk. The words written in cherry-red marker stood out: Servers needed. Great pay. The attached article stated that although most of the filming had been completed on a sound stage built for the movie, when the director needed a crowd, he came home for the extras and a docudrama about the Titanic needed plenty of extras. After months of shooting, the director planned to re-create the famed ship’s final dinner and take promotional shots. “You should do it. Half the town is in the movie. You’ll see Columbia in all its red-carpet glory and know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Maverick stood and pulled at the leash. I sighed. The clerk said with a satisfied grin, “He can stay with me Friday night.”

The promised compensation would help stretch my dwindling funds, so I signed my name on the next line: Katie Wilk.  About the Author:

I’ve never been able to leave a brain teaser or puzzle go unchallenged. As former math teacher, I tie numbers and logic to my Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries. My best ideas come when least expected—when I’m making incredible memories with family and friends, walking my dog whose only speed is faster, carefully deleting references to murder from my web-browser, and pretending to cook.

You can find me nibbling chocolate and sipping wine, both of which sometimes occur WHILE writing and reading. In rural Minnesota smiles are real, the skies are blue, the weather can turn on a dime, and I can write about it all and not make up a word.
 
Something unusual that’s not in your regular bio: Sir William Wallace is one of my husband’s heroes and I discovered if I purchased a souvenir plot of land contributing to the preservation of woodlands in Scotland, landowners may choose to be referred to as “Lairds”, the Scottish term for “Lord.” That makes me Lady Mary!

Author Contacts:

Webpage: http://www.maryseifertauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarySeifertAuthor
TikTok: @maryseifertauthor
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22479915.Mary_Seifert
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-seifert Don't forget to check out Mary Seifert's interview
on my JL Buck blog:
​janetlbuck.com/blog/blog-interview-with-cozy-mystery-writer-mary-seifert

Author Interview of JL Buck on AllAuthor.com

It was my turn to be on the hot seat in this interview by AllAuthor. Thanks, folks!

Meet JL Buck, a retired lawyer who has dedicated 28 years of her life to the Juvenile Justice system. After a fulfilling career in law, JL Buck decided to pursue a lifelong dream of writing fiction. Retirement has granted her the freedom to pursue her writing aspirations, and she cannot imagine a better way to spend this phase of life. JL Buck weaves tales that captivate readers and transport them to captivating worlds and eras. Read full interview...

Book Spotlight on The Rise of Jake Hennessey by PJ MacLayne

Good Morning, Booklovers!
 
This week’s Book Spotlight features a suspense/action novel by PJ MacLayne. If you’d like to know more about PJ and her books (she also writes urban fantasy) check out her Author Interview on my JL Buck blog HERE.
 
Ally: Before we present your book, PJ, what may I get you to drink?
 
PJ: I don’t drink coffee. Truth is, I never learned to like it. I’ve tried, and the flavor doesn’t appeal to me-not even coffee-flavored candy. I used to drink orange juice in the morning, but now it’s plain water. I started taking a medication that requires an empty stomach and a cup of water at the start of my day. Bummer.
I will occasionally have a cup of tea. (My favorite is peach) mid-morning.  During the winter, I might indulge in a cop of cocoa. I don’t drink much soda either, so I end up sipping on water all day.
 
Ally: Sounds like it’s time for that peach tea, while I have my usual cup of black coffee! Now, let’s take a look at your book.


The Rise of Jake Hennessey
Genre: suspense/action


For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that... until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake's bar, claiming Harmony's life is in danger.
 
She's not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn't know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops.
 
Not even Harmony.
 
But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again.
 
If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony's, there is no choice at all.
 




Buy Links
 
Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C59KDNNW
Nook (B&N):  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143484076?ean=2940161154397
Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-rise-of-jake-hennessey
Apple:  https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6449169609
Books2Read:  https://books2read.com/u/mdX7jE About the Author:

Less than a year ago, I retired from my day job and moved halfway across the US, and am back in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, which has given me the background for most of my books. I am the author of  the six The Harmony Duprie Mysteries, as well as the companion stories, The Fall of Jake Hennessey and The Rise of Jake Hennessey. I have also written The Free Wolves urban fantasy books.
 
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I don’t wear makeup. Currently, I don’t even own any. I used to occasionally wear eyeshadow, mascara and blush, but that’s it. I’ve never owned foundation. The closest thing I have to makeup is clear lip gloss for my chapped lips. Makes my morning routine simple!”
 
You can find PJ on various social media sites.
 
Website: https://pjmaclayne.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/P.J.-MacLayne/e/B00HVE8WZI    
BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/p-j-maclayne
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cL73Cz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/p.j.maclayne
Don't miss PJ's interview on my JL Buck blog:
​janetlbuck.com/blog/author-interview-with-pj-maclayne

Book Spotlight on TAPESTRY OF TEARS by Michele Drier

 
Good Morning, Booklovers!
 
Welcome to this week’s Coffee Chat, a book spotlight on TAPESTRY OF TEARS by Michele Drier. And please pop over to read her interview on my mystery blog HERE.
 
Welcome to the blog, Michele. While we’re taking a look at your book, what can I get you to drink?
 
MD:  Hi, thanks for inviting me to your blogs! Ahhh, coffee, the nectar of the gods in the morning. I drink French Roast, black and strong.

Ally:  Now that we're comfortably settled on the deck, please tell us about your book.
TAPESTRY OF TEARS (A Stained Glass Mystery)
Genre: Traditional Mystery

History had always been a strong magnet for Rosalind Duke. She took up the medieval craft of making stained glass and was building a solid international reputation, taking on larger and larger commissions. Her idyllic life with her husband, Winston Duke, an art historian at UCLA, was cut short when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting.
 
After moving to a small town on the Oregon coast, she’s offered a commission to translate the medieval embroidery, The Bayeux Tapestry, into stained glass for a museum at a small Wisconsin university. Roz jumps at the chance. Not only to try to transfer the Tapestry into a new medium, but to spend time in Southern England and Northern France, tracing the path taken by the invading Normans under William the Conqueror.
 
But the 21st century drags her back when she finds a body crumpled against a wall in an ancient stone church in the small town of Lympne, on the southern coast of England. Has she walked into a contemporary murder?
 
​Buy link:
 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P5Q8JMT Excerpt from Tapestry of Tears:
 
 
Sheep. Faint, slow-moving blobs of lighter grey occasionally obscured by tilting gravestones, drifted through the mist. Here on the south Kentish coast, the fog came in like fingers, sliding up from the Channel, hiding then revealing objects and movement.
 
She was used to fog now. When she moved from Los Angeles to the Oregon coast, she’d found the grey mist oppressing, folding over her and trapping her fears. It echoed the fuzziness in her mind, making it not-clear and closing it in.
 
In LA, on a clear winter afternoon, she saw for miles, awed at the massive snow-capped mountains ringing the flat valleys. She and Winston would drive up into the Angelus National Forest to watch how the flatlands, filled with millions of people, smoothed out to the blue Pacific.
 
Now, wintering in Oregon’s mist and fog cut down the expanse and openness in her mind and built up coziness, a need for smaller vistas and closer ties, introspection.
 
England was different. Here the fog was a breathing thing, a force that ebbed and flowed and carried centuries of history, shifted battle outcomes, determined victors.
 
Enough. Roz shook her head to rid it of a thousand years of ghosts. I’m here for my future, she thought.
 
She picked her way carefully through the damp, tall grass, saying a silent thanks that sheep didn’t poop large patties like the cows in the pastures at home. A big patch of fog glided away, and she nearly tripped over a gravestone tipped almost flat. She squatted down and tried to read the mossy inscription, rubbing the lichen-covered stone with a woolen glove.
 
This is part of what you came for, wanting to be surrounded by hundreds of years of human history, wanting to understand and discover why such beauty of glass and stone sprang up, she told herself.
 
Roz stretched up and headed for the door of the church that sheltered the graveyard, taking in the shapes and arches added to the building over the centuries.
 
This began as a Saxon church about 640, was remade in the Norman style just after the conquest. As this area of Kent became part of the medieval Cinque Ports, the hugely important center of trade with the Continent, the church was upgraded.
 
A Gothic spire, added around 1350, testified to its long life. She wasn’t so interested in the outside as the inside, wanting to see if the stained glass changed as much over the last millennium as the façade.
 
The heavy wooden door creaked as she pushed it, knowing it warped during its long life in this damp climate. Inside, it was as dank as the graveyard, cold and clammy. How long had it been since there was a congregation or any warmth in here?
 
Fine hairs on the back of Roz’ neck rose as she looked up at the windows. A few small stained glass ones that must have been installed in a Gothic redo because the windows fitted into the pointed arches. Two rectangular ones at the back of the nave remembered local men who died in the two world wars and one window space was filled with frosted glass. A window lost during a World War II bomb and never restored?
 
Interesting, but unremarkable. Small, out-of-the-way churches dotted this part of Kent, most of them too poor or too plain to be looted during Henry VIII’s dissolution of church properties.
 
She shivered. Her walk through the grass had soaked dew into the bottom of her jeans legs and the wet denim clung to her, adding to her chill.
 
I came here to check this church out, I need to make it worth my while, she thought and flicked on her flashlight, moving toward one of what she assumed might be a Gothic window. It looked like a parable of the shepherd with his flock, typical of a window for a population who raised sheep but couldn’t read.
 
This one seemed odd, though. She skirted a row of chairs set out for a non-existent congregation, gazed up and peered closely. There was a smear on the bottom of the window. Looking more closely, Roz saw the smear continued down the gray stone of the wall. She flashed the light lower and saw the smear ended on the floor. At a pool of blood puddled out from a body. A man’s body.
 
Dead? She didn’t even want to know, spun around, ran back to the grazing sheep and dialed 999.
About the Author:

Michele Drier is a fifth-generation Californian and spent better than 20 years as a reporter and editor at California daily newspapers. She is the past president of Capitol Crimes, a Sisters in Crime chapter; the Guppies chapter of Sisters in Crime, current president of NorCal Sisters in Crime, and co-chaired Bouchercon 2020.

Her Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries are Edited for Death, (called “Riveting and much recommended” by the Midwest Book Review), Labeled for Death and Delta for Death. A stand-alone, Ashes of Memories was published May 2017.

Her paranormal romance series, SNAP: The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, was named the best paranormal vampire series of 2014 by PRG. Book Eleven, SNAP: Pandemic Games was published in 2022.

Her new series is the Stained Glass Mysteries, Stain on the Soul and Tapestry of Tears, and she’s working on the third, Resurrection of the Roses.
​
She lives in Sacramento with her cat, Malley.
 
Contacts:
 
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michele-drier
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5034919.Michele_Drier
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheledrier/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMicheleDrier/
Website: https://micheledrier.me/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/micheledrier Don't forget Michele Drier's interview on my mystery blog:
Click Here .

Book Spotlight: IRENE DEEP IN TEXAS TROUBLE by Judy Alter

IRENE DEEP IN TEXAS TROUBLE (An Irene in Chicago Culinary Mystery)
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Deep in Texas Trouble is all about love and romance—and murder!

It’s Christmas in Texas. Henny’s best friend, Charlie, is marrying the love of her life, rich and spoiled Rick Scott, and Henny will cater the wedding supper. Irene, faux Franch chef, diva, and Henny’s one-time mentor, and Chance, Irene’s billionaire lover, are spending the holiday with Henny’s family, and Irene steps in as Henny’s sous chef.

When there’s a sensational murder at supper, Irene is the prime suspect. Murder is  complicated by a kidnapping, threatening notes, and a runaway couple. Once again, Henny is the one to save Irene.
​
Come on down to Texas and wander the historic Fort Worth stockyards, watch a rodeo, discover a new competitive sport, and eat some Texas food. While Irene detests most of the Texas menu, you’ll probably like it. Recipes included.


Amazon Buy Link:

Irene Deep in Texas Trouble: An Irene in Chicago Culinary Mystery - Kindle edition by Alter, Judy. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.​ EXCERPT

​Chapter One
 
Texas was not ready for Irene Foxglove. And neither was I.

“Henrietta!” Irene’s voice boomed across the Atlantic from Peyrolles-en-Provence straight into my Chicago kitchen, and for just a second there, I had to remind myself that I was glad to hear from her. “What day do we arrive for a Texas Christmas?”

Cancel that reminder. I nearly banged my head on the kitchen table and might have if my computer hadn’t been in the way. “You’re coming for Christmas?” I tried, really I did, to put joy into my tone, but I think my voice squeaked. My mind was hoping she wouldn’t turn my favorite family holiday into a circus or, worse yet, a murder mystery. Stop it, Henny. Breathe deep. Lower your voice two octaves.

“Of course we are. We could not turn down such a kind invitation. Now, tell me what day you and Patrick are arriving.”

Struggling to remember the kind invitation. “Well, you see, Irene, Patrick and I are not going together … “

“What?” she interrupted. “Is there trouble in Paradise?”

No, but there might be if Patrick didn’t help me through this. “No, no, nothing like that. I am going early – my best friend is getting married two days before Christmas.” No need to add that I was catering the reception and was really excited about it. “I’ll be going a few days before that for the wedding preparation. Patrick will have to finish out the school term, and then he’ll drive down.”

“He will drive alone? Non, I do not like that. We will pick him up in the plane.”

“He’ll be fine alone,” I protested. “He likes to drive.” It was not as though that fear hadn’t crossed my mind already, but he’d be offended if we thought he couldn’t do it alone. “Besides, we’ll need a car in Texas.” Cleverly, I kept to myself the fact that he wouldn’t quite be alone—he’d have Beau, our enthusiastic Labradoodle. Irene despised Beau, who in turned found her irresistible, in the worst way.

“Fiddlededee. We can just rent a limo in Dallas. Fort Worth is a Dallas suburb, isn’t it?”

Any good Fort Worth native would see red at that assumption. “No, we’re our own city ….” I started to tell her we were better, friendlier, lived at a slower pace, but I realized I’d sound like the chamber of commerce. “Where will you stay? I’m sorry Mom and Dad don’t have room to invite you to stay with us.”

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want to impose. I have already looked. There are lots of hotels in the city. I am thinking a new one in what they call the stockyards would be interesting. It’s called the Drover.”

I didn’t know a thing about the Drover, but the vision of Irene in the stockyards was more alarming than funny. “I’ll ask my family about it and get back to you.”

“All right. I want to see this stockyards place though.”

The stockyards in Fort Worth no longer had cattle, hogs, and horses. Instead, the historic district had tourists, trinkets, and neon restaurant signs. If Irene even remembered stock sales from that childhood in Minnesota that she hides, she’d find this quite different. But it wasn’t my job to warn her.

She was on to other things. “I’ll have Chance talk to Patrick, and we can arrange what day we’ll pick him up. We’ll have to stay over anyway. Can’t ask Jean Claude to fly that many hours. Ta-ta!” And she was gone.

About the Author:

After an award-winning career as a western writer, Judy Alter turned to mystery. She is the author of three earlier series—Kelly O’Connell Mysteries, Blue Plate Café Mysteries, and Oak Grove Mysteries. Irene Deep in Texas Trouble is the fourth in her new Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries, following the successful Saving Irene, Irene in Danger, and Finding Florence. Alter is retired as director of a small academic press and lives in a cottage in Fort Worth with her dog, Sophie. She is the mother of four and grandmother of seven and is an avid cook. She’s even written a book about cooking in her cottage, Gourmet on a Hot Plate.

Find Judy at http://www.judyalter.com or her two blogs, http://www.judys-stew.blogspotcom and http://www.gourmetonahotplate.blogspot.com; Facebook: Judy Alter | Facebook; Twitter: @judyalter; Bookbub: Partner Dashboard My Books - BookBub; Goodreads: Search results for "Judy Alter" (showing 1-10 of 174 books) | Goodreads: Search results for "Judy Alter" (showing 1-10 of 174 books) | Goodreads Don't miss Judy Alter's article on my J L Buck blog:
"When Characters Demand Another Book"
​janetlbuck.com/blog/when-characters-demand-another-book-by-author-judy-alter

Book Spotlight on Muffalettas and Murder by Jann Franklin

Muffalettas and Murder (Small Town Girl Mysteries)
Genre: Cozy mystery

Evangeline Delafose is finding Graisseville, Louisiana just as she remembered—boring and uneventful. Until her brother Nate asks her to help solve a murder.

Buy link Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/Muffalettas-Murder-Small-Town-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BPQYJQ3T
 
Book 2 due out in July

EXCERPT:

​My new PI insisted on driving me to the coffee shop. It turned out to be the better plan, because Shorty specialized in being nosey. People expected him to ask personal questions, and they felt comfortable sharing information. Shorty had his own dirty laundry that he easily aired, so no one felt ashamed to return the favor.

Shorty and I differed in that respect, for sure. Moving back to my hometown had been difficult. Personally, I preferred the anonymity of New Orleans, where I could run to the grocery store for milk without suffering an inquisition disguised as conversation. It sounds unfeeling, I’m sure. But sometimes I just want to go to the store with a baseball cap and no makeup, without whispers of “Have you seen Evangeline Delafose lately? Honey, that girl is worn slap out.”

Maggie’s Coffee Shop, a welcome addition to our community since I’d left, served two important functions. Most of the 298 residents purchased Maggie’s coffee delights and scrumptious baked goods, marveling at how they’d survived before she opened. The coffee shop also gave the village a place to quietly eavesdrop on each other’s lives. It became my saving grace, a place to dole out the bits and pieces of my life I didn’t mind sharing, speaking just loudly enough that the entire shop could catch up. I always wore makeup, so I didn’t look worn slap out.

The owner and namesake of my favorite coffee shop leaned against the counter, her smile widening in recognition. This woman was born to dispense coffee, from her hair the color of cold brew to eyes resembling her famous cinnamon dolce latte.
​
“Hey Ev, hey Shorty! What can I get ya’?” Maggie made everyone feel welcome, even if she didn’t have a clue who they were. Most likely she knew a brother or a cousin, or a friend of her new patron. As she served each order, she took care to make the customer feel welcome. Her coffee shop reminded me of the 1980s sitcom Cheers, which would make her our Sam.

Maggie made hands-down the best chai tea latte, but her café americano was hard to beat. Most days I struggled with that life choice. Should I get the tried and true, or be adventurous? My brow furrowed like a rice farm before planting, when my partner eased my pain.

“Doc’ll take a chay tea lat-tay an’ I’ll have my usual.“ He scanned the shop, spotting a couple of buddies.

Maggie chuckled at Shorty’s pronunciation of my chai tea latte, but she covered well with a cough.

“Oh, hey Doc, this is part of my plus expenses—right? So you’ve got the bill.“ Not waiting for an answer, he moseyed toward his buddies. Sighing, I reached for my credit card.

“Since when do you and Shorty hang out together? I know your families have been friends for years, but…well…” Maggie’s voice trailed off.

“Shorty fixed my washing machine, so I offered to buy him a cup of…” I paused. Obviously, I didn’t know my friend as well as he knew me. “Hey Maggie, what exactly is his usual?” And how did he know mine?

Maggie laughed as if she’d heard a hilarious joke. “We call it, The Shorty—It’s chicory coffee with cayenne pepper sprinkled on top, just like his mama Madie used to make. Except that he adds five shots of espresso.”

“That explains a lot about Shorty! But how does he know my favorite drink?” This story had to be interesting.

“Oh, that’s easy. He and your dad come in here a lot, and one time they got to arguing whether you preferred tea or coffee. They settled the bet by asking me which drink you order the most.” Maggie’s grin commandeered her face. “Shorty won, and your dad pouted for days.”

Were all the men in my life hanging out together, conspiring to run it for me? Who was I kidding? They could do a better job than I had done lately. My dad and I would have to have a talk about his topics of conversations with his friends.

“Hey, Doc! When yer done jawin’, come on over an’ meet muh buddies!”

Jawin’? What exactly did Shorty think he was doing? That guy gossiped more than a ladies’ weekly sewing circle.
Maggie flashed a knowing smile. “Don’t worry, Ev. I’ll have Avery bring out your drinks.”  Interested in knowing more about Jann Franklin and her books? Click this link to read her author interview on my J L Buck mystery blog:
​

The Guardian Witch Series is Back on Amazon!

The Guardian Witch story Hidden behind the serene cliffs of the Mississippi River sits Riverdale, a city of 287,000 inhabitants. Most of them are ordinary humans. The others are under the wary eye of Arianna Calin, a fire witch who serves as Guardian and supernatural cop for the city's Olde Town district. That's where the vampires, werewolves, and other magical creatures live . . . and hunt.
 
 Life in her twenties isn't all about work or crime, and the friends in Ari's private world are a vital part of who and what she is. But she'd never thought much about love or imagined her inner circle might one day include someone like the dark and powerful vampire Andreas.
 
 Faced with a series of challenges—from her first murder case to a succession of criminal violence and Otherworld uprisings and an ultimate confrontation with the vampire elders, the notorious O-Seven—Ari and her companions use their wits, unique skills, and magic in the age-old battle between good and evil.
 
Books in the Series:

Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1, revised, 2nd Edition)
 Arianna Calin’s first murder case as a supernatural cop is complicated by a mysterious vampire, a virtual reality drug, an evasive pack of werewolves, and an ancient vampire feud.
https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Fire-Guardian-Witch-1-ebook/dp/B0C1VS1CV6
 
Fire Within (Guardian Witch #2, revised, 2nd Edition) 
Arianna refuses to believe her human friend Eddie murdered a vampire—despite his confession. Her cop partner Ryan considers the case a slam dunk, until vampires continue to die, and Ari convinces him an ancient evil is stalking the city.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3829YM4
 
Moon Fire (Guardian Witch #3, revised, 2nd Edition)
On the night of the Hunter’s Moon events conspire to pull Ari in two directions, demanding that she choose to save friend or lover. She’s determined to save both…if she can keep herself alive long enough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C39H8WR6
 
Blood & Fire (Guardian Witch #4, revised, 2nd Edition) 
Arianna thought her biggest problem was deciding whether to move in with Andreas, then they found the body of a man killed by a black magic curse, and a vampire Enforcer arrives from Europe with an ultimatum from the vampire elders.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C39L3Q5T
 
Fire Storm (Guardian Witch #5, revised, 2nd Edition)
On a trip to Italy, Andreas is captured by the vampire elders, and Arianna defies her Magic Council to go after him. But the elders don’t play fair, going after her other friends, and she finds herself fighting the elders on more than one front.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3BCDR8V
 
Wild Fire (Guardian Witch #6, revised, 2nd Edition)
When the vampire elders place a three million dollar bounty on Ari and Andreas, there’s no lack of would-be assassins. Then a local seer has a terrifying vision of Riverdale’s destruction and word comes that two elders are on the way. It is up to Ari and Andreas to save the day, but she’ll have to take a risky travel through time while he faces the elders alone.
Coming Soon.

Eternal Fire (Guardian Witch #7, revised, 2nd Edition)
Arianna and Andreas have something the vampire elders want, and they know the O-Seven will never leave them alone. To secure their future, their only option is to gather their forces and face the elders head-on at their castle fortress deep in the Black Forest of Germany.
Coming Soon. All books have been revised, updated, and re-edited with new covers!
Available through Amazon for purchase or to read though Kindle Unlimited.

Coffee Chat Interview with Mystery Author George Cramer

Good Morning, Booklovers!

It's time for book talk with guest mystery writer George Cramer, who's brought his featured book, NEW LIBERTY.

Welcome, George. How do you take your coffee?

GC:  I take it black, always have—always will. Back awhile, I drank upwards of fifteen cups a day. Heck, I’d have a cup before bed. Now, I have trouble sleeping if I have anything with caffeine after two in the afternoon.

Ally:  While I pour, please tell readers something about yourself.

BIO:
An enrolled descendant of the Karuk Tribe of California, I enjoyed a forty-year investigative career in law enforcement and private and corporate investigations. I attended the Institute of American Indian Arts, earning an MFA-Creative Writing.
As a corporate and private Investigator, I conducted investigations throughout the Americas and Asia. For about five years, I kept my investigative skills honed by volunteering as a Missing Person investigator at a California Police Department.
My short stories and poems have been published in numerous anthologies. My debut novel, The Mona Lisa Sisters, was released in 2020. Robbers and Cops followed in 2022. New Liberty-A Hector Miguel Navarro Novel, the first in the series, will be out shortly.
Something unique that isn’t in your regular bio: “My father was exceptional, and his skills led to a unique experience in my teens. Dad was a horseman, a good part of his life. Pop even rode with the 11th Calvary, the Blackhorse Regiment, up to and into World War II.
 
Pop bought three wild donkeys in my fifteenth year, and we trained them to be pack animals. Pop made the saddles and all the equipment needed by a beast of burden. We spent over three weeks on the John Muir Trail and more weeks in the backcountry of California. In all my years, I’ve never met a man like my Pop.”
 
You can contact me at:
Email              gdcramer@outlook.com
Blog                https://gdcramer.com/george-cramer-blog/
FaceBook        https://facebook.com/george.cramer.56211
LinkedIn         (99+) George Cramer | LinkedIn
Amazon           Amazon.com: George Cramer: books, biography, latest update
​INTERVIEW:
 
Ally: I always ask my guest authors about the sexual content of their books (I avoid sharing erotica), but I rarely include their responses. I made an exception this week. See below. J
 
GC; I had to laugh when you asked for the heat rating of any romantic scenes in my crime stories. There is no sex: my protagonist and a few others rec telephone calls while sharing a bed with wives or girlfriends. In my first draft of Robbers and Cops, I had a heated sex scene, but my two daughters immediately put the kibosh on that. So, no heat.
 
Ally:  Does real life ever show up in your stories?
 
GC:  Robbers and Cops was initially about one incident and then the experiences in the young life of Detective George Cramer. The story begins with depression-era brothers who become bad guys and the detective who nails them after the forty-year history of the two criminals. At about 20,000 words or so, the protagonist was a complete bore. So, I took that one incident involving a San Mateo City detective, and Cramer was given an ancillary role.
​Robbers and Cops

In the poverty-stricken world of two brothers...
...sometimes crime is the only option.
Are they evil or lost souls?

Buy or read in KU:  Amazon  Ally: Have you done any ghosting writing?
 
GC: When I was a private investigator specializing in insurance fraud, I became immersed in clinic fraud. Unscrupulous doctors, medical and chiropractic, conspired with the owners of clinics to defraud insurance carriers. A common method was to stage or cause automobile collisions. There were usually at least four in the victim vehicle; all would claim ‘whiplash.” They all went to the same clinic where the doctor would order physical therapy, often thirty or more visits. In my inspections of the clinics, I found treatment sign-in sheets with pages of signatures waiting for someone to add the dates and treatment modalities later. Sometimes the clinics billed for treatment on days they were closed for holidays.
 
 A non-fiction book about insurance fraud needed a section on staged collision and clinic fraud. I ghostwrote the section.
 
Ally: Do you write with a message or theme in mind?
 
GC:  My goal is to increase awareness in New Liberty Book III, doing so in a forceful manner that respects the families of missing women. In the November 3, 2021, issue of THE BARK, Madison Hunter wrote an article entitled MISSING AND MURDERED: UNDERSTANDING WHY INDIGENOUS WOMEN ARE MURDERED AND GO MISSING AT HIGHER RATES THAN OTHER POPULATIONS. In the article, Hunter wrote: “There is a nationwide crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women are more likely to go missing or be murdered than any other ethnicity.” This and programs such as “Three Pines” on prime video have begun to bring awareness to the problem.
 
Ally: What experiences have you had with critique groups? Did you find them valuable?
 
GC: When I began writing, I joined an entry-level critique group. I learned but did not enjoy the experience. The group meetings usually had about a dozen present. All genres and each person read about a thousand words, then we went around and commented on the work. It was terrible, and I almost gave up on critique groups. Then I was invited to two small groups. What a difference. While writing Robbers and Cops, I belonged to a group of four crime-mystery writers. What a difference. Without these folks, I would never have finished this book and the series coming out this year.
 
Ally: What is next on your writing schedule?
 
GC: I’ve included the cover for New Liberty, Book 1, A Hector Miguel Navarro Novel, coming May 9. Books Two and Three are slated for release later this year. Book II is about ready to go to the publisher. I’m struggling with Book III. One of the subplots is my effort to make more people aware of missing, taken, and murdered Native American women.
  
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
 
GC:The most memorable book you’ve read: For Whom the Bell Tolls, closely followed by To Kill a Mockingbird. ​An author you’d most like to chat with: He can be no other than Ernest Hemingway. One topic would be asking him to tell me about his short story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” The last time you road a train:  Your question about trains brought back a pleasant time. My wife and I visited Japan. Traveling on our own, we took the bullet train from Tokyo to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Nagasaki Peace Park. The train and the parks were unbelievable. Best place you’ve visited: This question sure made me think. The first thing that popped into my mind was the city of Shanghai, China. I was there on business and finished early, giving me three days to wander the city. What a fantastic place. I walked miles and miles, never feeling alone or in danger. I even got to touch a rhinoceros. But after arguing with myself, I settled on Lake Shasta, California. For twenty-five years, my family vacationed there on a houseboat. What more can I say? A book you’ve reread: I’m not very good at rereading books. There is one book I’ve reread at least a half-dozen times over the years. Yup, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  
Ally: Thanks for visiting the blog, George. Before we finish, please show us your featured book.

GC: Thanks for inviting me over for a chat. This has been fun and thought-provoking. 





​New Liberty – A Hector Miguel Navarro Novel
Genre: mystery
 
Outside Phoenix, two gangs rule...

...and one police officer is caught in the middle.

How will he stop them?
 
 
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvrdESP4jTI

Pre-order (available May 9):
 Amazon   Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: Velma Gone Awry by Matt Cost

Award-winning author Matt Cost brings us back to Brooklyn in the Roaring ’20s and introduces us to Hungarian private eye, 8 Ballo, who is hired to find the daughter of a wealthy businessman. The search will lead him to cross paths with Dorothy Parker, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Bugsy Siegel, Babe Ruth, and many more as he tries to uncover why Velma went awry.

8 Ballo’s mother was certain he was going to be born a girl, but when he comes out a boy, she writes down simply the number 8, as he has seven older siblings. She meant to change it to a real name at some point but never got around to it.

​Now, in his mid-thirties, 8 is a college-educated man, a veteran of the Great War, jilted in love, and has his own private investigator business. He enjoys his friends, a good book, jazz music, and a very simple life. When he is hired to find the young flapper daughter of a German businessman, life suddenly becomes much more complicated.

Amazon pre-order link (book available April 12): https://www.amazon.com/Velma-Gone-Awry-Brooklyn-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BDVBSLHN

Read the related article by Matt Cost on my J L Buck blog:
BROOKLYN IN THE ROARING 20s
https://janetlbuck.com/blog/guest-author-article-brooklyn-in-the-roaring-20s-by-matt-cost About the Author:
 
Matt Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.
 
Cost has published four books in the Mainely Mystery series, with the fifth, Mainely Wicked, due out in August of 2023. He has also published four books in the Clay Wolfe Trap series, with the fifth, Pirate Trap, due out in December of 2023.
 
For historical novels, Cost has published At Every Hazard and its sequel, Love in a Time of Hate, as well as I am Cuba. In April of 2023, Cost will combine his love of histories and mysteries into a historical PI mystery set in 1923 Brooklyn, Velma Gone Awry.
 
Contact the Author :
 
Email:             matthew-cost@comcast.net
Website:         https://www.mattcost.net
Twitter:            @MattCost8
Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/matt.cost.3
Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/mlangdoncost/
Goodreads:     https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13910694.Matthew_Langdon_Cost