B.L. Blair's Blog, page 14

Forgive Me – Ideal Vacation Destination Quiz

So far my anniversary month celebration has been about the first two books I self-published, Convince Me and Notice Me. As the month goes on, I will be talking about the other books I’ve written.
There are two other books in the Holton Series, Trust Me and Forgive Me. When I originally started writing this series, I had thought I could write as many books as I wanted. They would all be centered around a small town in Texas where all the characters interact. The first book was about Steven Carson, and the second book was about his sister, Victoria, and best friend, Andrew. Steven and Tori have a brother, Mitch, who is the focus of Forgive Me.
Trust Me is just a little different. It’s not about anyone in the Carson family. I was okay with that as I was planning on writing about several other people in Holton. What I hadn’t counted on was my interest moving from contemporary romance to mystery.
After writing Trust Me, I moved to my Leah Norwood series. I really enjoyed writing those and knew I wouldn’t go back to Holton, but I didn’t want to leave Mitch’s story untold. I wrote Forgive Me as a wrap up to that series. It wasn’t my best effort, but there are some elements in that story I really love. I really like the fact that Emily, Mitch’s love interest, is trying to find her passion – what is that one thing that she absolutely loves. One of her tests is travel.

What about you? What is your ideal vacation destination? Take the quiz.

Notice Me Facebook Party

Notice Me: Holton Series #2 was published five years ago today. Please join me for a Facebook Party from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. central time to celebrate. 
Notice Me Facebook Party: https://www.facebook.com/events/930366307140040/


Andrew Moore has always thought of Victoria as family. She is his best friend’s little sister and his little sister’s best friend, but recently something has changed. Andrew is thinking about Victoria in a completely different way. She will never fit into his quiet, conservative world. They are too different to have a future together, but he cannot stop noticing her.
Victoria Carson has been in love with Andrew since her sixteenth birthday, but Andrew never noticed her as anything other than the girl next door. She fled from her hometown so that she wouldn’t have to watch Andrew build a life with someone else. But things have changed. Andrew is now a widower, and Victoria has returned home. It is time to make him notice her.
Return to Holton, Texas to see if Victoria can get Andrew to notice her. Notice Me is the second book in the Holton Series but may be read as a standalone novel.
- Amazon- iBooks- Barnes and Noble- Kobo- Smashwords

Greatest Romance Book

I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. My mother was a veracious reader. She didn’t graduate from high school, but she loved to read. She would buy me books whenever we had a little extra money.
Like a lot of kids, I started out with the traditional books like Charlotte’s Web, Black Beauty, and Nancy Drew. I only read a few Nancy Drew books. I actually preferred the Dana Girls. Do any of you remember them?
As I grew older my tastes changed and I started reading romance novels. I had a lot of Harlequin Romance books in my home. I can’t remember the first true romance novel I read, but I’m sure it was from Harlequin.
When I began writing, I was still interested in and reading a lot of romance – romance only without the mystery or fantasy elements that I lean toward today. There is something to be said for a good, simple boy meets girl happily-ever-after. That is what I tried to do with my Holton Series. My books will never make a top 10 or even 100 list, but they all have a perfect HEA.
So what is the greatest romance book of all time? It’s completely subjective, but I reviewed several lists and found that the books below make all the lists. What order would you put them in?

Convince Me Facebook Party

Thank you to everyone who attended my Facebook Anniversary party for Convince Me: Holton Series #1. It was a blast.
Congratulations to the winners:$5 Amazon gift card – Marty$10 Amazon gift card – SuzannahPaperback copy of Convince Me – JulieeCopy of Convince Me and $10 Amazon gift card – Lynn
I have another Facebook party for the anniversary of Notice Me: Holton Series #2 coming up this Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. CST. I would love to have you join us!
https://www.facebook.com/events/930366307140040

Convince Me Anniversary

Convince Me: Holton Series #1 was published five years ago today. Please join me for a Facebook Party from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. central time to celebrate. I’m trying not to interfere too much with the Super Bowl. J
Convince Me Facebook Party: https://www.facebook.com/events/413119905775445/
Anna is afraid of love, but Steven changes everything.
Anna West just wants to start over in a new town far away from her past. The only child of a mixed race couple, Anna learned about the ugly side of human behavior at an early age. After watching her abusive father mistreat her mother, Anna knows that love is not for her.
Steven Carson has always known what he wanted, and from the moment he saw her, he wanted Anna. Steven is ready for love. He is ready to settle down, start a family, and he knows Anna is the one for him. Now all he has to do is convince her.
Come visit Holton, Texas to see if Steven can convince Anna to take a chance on love. Convince Me is the first book in the Holton Series but may be read as a standalone novel.
- Amazon- Barnes and Noble- iBooks- Kobo- Smashwords

First Writing/Publishing Attempt

I am claiming February 2013 as the date I published for the first time, but it’s not exactlytrue. It is the date I self-published my first book but not the first time I published period.
Like a lot of people, I wrote stories and poems in high school and college. They were bad-really bad. Of course, I didn’t think so at the time so I decided to see if I could get one of the poems published. I found an ad in the back of a magazine. It offered to publish your poem in an anthology. You had to submit your poem, and if selected, you would be one of the entries in the book. Here’s the catch – there was an entry fee. I don’t remember how much, but it wasn’t outrageous because the real catch was that you had to buy a copy or copies of the book. That’s where they got you.
Naively, I tried it. They “accepted” one of my poems, and of course, I purchased a copy of the book. I had it for years, but when I went to look for it the other day, I couldn’t find it. Hopefully it’s somewhere in my house, buried in the back of a closet or some drawer. If I could find it, I would share it…then again, maybe it’s a good thing I can’t find it. The poem was really bad.
So how about you? Have you ever written anything (not school or work related) that you wanted or hoped to have published? Take the poll below.




If you haven’t entered the Holton Series and Amazon gift card giveaway, you still have time. It ends tomorrow night at midnight. Here’s the link to the post with the giveaway: https://blblair100.blogspot.com/2018/02/author-anniversary-month.html

Author Anniversary Month

On February 4, 2013, I self-published my first book, Convince Me. It’s been a bumping road with lots of ups and downs. I’ve cried both with joy and sadness. I’ve made new friends and maybe an enemy or two. And I’ve loved every minute of it.
To celebrate my fifth year as an author, I will be hosting giveaways, puzzles, polls, and more. I hope you will join me for the fun. I will be having a Facebook Party on February 4 and another on February 9 to celebrate the actual release date of my first two books. If you have time, please stop by. There will be party favors.
Convince Me Facebook PartyNotice Me Facebook Party
So here’s the first giveaway. You have to work for it. Follow the link below to the jigsaw puzzle and find the hidden word. That will be your entry into the giveaway. After you complete that entry, you will have other entry options as well. Have fun and good luck!

Click here for puzzle.
eBook Copy of The Holton Series and a $10 Amazon Gift Card
Please read all the Terms and Conditions for the giveaway. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 Animals that Mate for Life

I saw this title on Yahoo and was intrigued. My Lost and Found Pets series, of course, has a lot of animals in it. Most are more common pets – dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, etc. None of those animals mate for life, but there are some that do.
I think most people are aware of wolves and the birds (swans, bald eagles, penguins), but I was surprised about a few of the others.
Beavers. I don’t know why this one surprised me, but it did.French Angelfish. I would have never thought about fish.Shingleback Skink. I hadn’t even heard of this animal. It’s a lizard.Termites. This one really surprised me. I would have thought they would be more like ants.
Anyway, it was an interesting read for me. Here is the link to the article if you’re interested. It’s not long.
12 Animals that Mate for Life

Classic Mystery Movie Challenge – Dial M for Murder

Instead of a book challenge, I’m doing a classic mystery movie challenge. It’s going to be small-only one movie a month.January was Dial M for Murder.
About the movie:Academy Award winners Grace Kelly and Ray Milland star with Robert Cummings in one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest thrillers--Dial M for Murder. When playboy tennis pro Tony Wendice discovers his rich wife, Margot, is having an affair with handsome American Mark Halliday, he devises an ingenious plot to murder her. But when his scheme takes an unexpected, deadly twist, Tony improvises—implicating Margot for first degree murder in this classic spellbinder.
My thoughts:I knew I had seen parts of this movie. The scene where Margot gets strangled and then kills her attacker is one I’ve seen several times, but I hadn’t thought that I had watched the entire movie. Now I’m not so sure. After watching Dial M for Murder, I realized most of the movie was familiar.
I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It was interesting and well-done. I didn’t really like any of the three main characters. I didn’t hate them-just didn’t find them particularly appealing. Tony, of course, is the bad guy so that is expected, but Margot and Mark should have been more likeable. My problem was that the two of them had an affair and neither seemed sorry about it. Margot, especially, just wanted to keep it hidden.
This didn’t stop me from enjoying the film. The plot was interesting, and it was well acted for that time period. My favorite character was Chief Inspector Hubbard. He was entertaining and seemed far more intelligent than anyone else.
Overall, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars.

25 Things about my Sleuth by Heather Weidner

I am happy to have Heather Weidner guest posting on my blog. She is the author of the Delanie Fitzgerald mysteries. I was lucking enough to work with Heather as part of our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways in December.
25 Things about my Sleuth – Delanie Fitzgerald of Falcon InvestigationsThank you so much for letting me visit your blog today. I write mystery novels and short stories. The Tulip Shirt Murders is the second in the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series. She is a private investigator who lives in Central Virginia. Delanie first appeared in Secret Lives and Private Eyes.
Delanie is a redhead like 1-2% of the human population. She has grit, determination, and a spunky spirit.She drives a Mustang, and she calls it “Black Beauty.”She lives in a Sears catalog home from 1939. Back then, people ordered kits from the catalog, and all of the pieces arrived by rail, ready to assemble. Hers is the Yates model. Many of the boards in her bungalow still have the Sears catalog number stamped on them.While the story is fiction, many of the locales that Delanie visits are real. Some of these include:  Bon Air, Brandermill, Carytown, Farmville, Maymont, Monroe Park, The Poe Museum, The Richmond Folk Festival, and VCU. Readers who have been to Central Virginia will recognize some of the street and place names.She used her share of the money from her father’s estate to open Falcon Investigations.Delanie chose the name for her company in honor of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.My private investigator graduated from VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) with a degree in business.Her partner is computer guru (and hacker), Duncan Reynolds.She shares her office space with Duncan and his English bulldog Margaret.One of Delanie’s guilty pleasures is her junk food habit. She also orders a lot of take-out from the nearby restaurants.When she’s not sleuthing or trailing a suspect, she likes to stay home in her comfy jammies and watch reality TV.Delanie has two older brothers. Steve is a Chesterfield County police lieutenant, and Robbie is a bouncer at a club in downtown Richmond. Robbie was a star baseball standout, but a knee injury ended his career in the minor leagues.Her client, Chaz Wellington Smith, owns a strip club in the downtown area near where Edgar Allan Poe worked at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond.Delanie spent most of her summer in Secret Lives and Private Eyes trying to clear Chaz’s name after he was accused of murdering the mayor. In The Tulip Shirt Murders, Chaz is back, and he drops the bombshell that he wants to run for mayor. He also wants Delanie and Duncan to do some opposition research for him.Her favorite drink is iced coffee.Delanie’s go-to treat is always chocolate.Though she prefers the comfort of jeans and T-shirts, Delanie has a wardrobe full of outfits and shoes to create just the right look when she’s sleuthing.Delanie and Duncan usually investigate cheating spouses. In Secret Lives and Private Eyes, she is thrilled when she lands an assignment from tell-all author, Tish Taylor, to track down leads on rocker Johnny Velvet, who purportedly died in a fiery car crash in the ‘80s.Delanie tends to get herself into unusual situations. In The Tulip Shirt Murders, she learns about larping (Live-Action Role Playing) and its popularity.Her murder investigation leads her to a roller rink in southside Richmond, and she is surprised to find herself exchanging elbow jabs with a team of roller girls.Delanie goes with her friends Robin Kirby and Paisley Ford in The Tulip Shirt Murders to her first storage auction. Robin has a business that refurbishes old furniture, and she gets her materials at flea markets and auctions.Delanie buys a beat-up car for stakeouts on an online auction, and she gets a surprise when she investigates a noise in the trunk.Delanie has had two cars vandalized or stolen from the alley behind her office. She’s rethinking about where she parks.In The Tulip Shirt Murders, Delanie, Duncan, and Margaret stake out a flea market for leads on stolen merchandise, and Margaret causes a scene when she chases a cat through the vendor stalls.Music is an important part of my life, and it usually finds its way into my stories and novels. In Secret Lives and Private Eyes, Delanie gets to investigate an 80s rock star who purportedly faked his death. And in The Tulip Shirt Murders, she lands a case from a music producer who thinks his catalog is being bootlegged.

The Tulip Shirt Murders – Heather WeidnerPrivate investigator Delanie Fitzgerald, and her computer hacker partner, Duncan Reynolds, are back for more sleuthing in The Tulip Shirt Murders. When a local music producer hires the duo to find out who is bootlegging his artists’ CDs, Delanie uncovers more than just copyright thieves. And if chasing bootleggers isn’t bad enough, local strip club owner and resident sleaze, Chaz Smith, pops back into Delanie’s life with more requests. The police have their man in a gruesome murder, but the loud-mouthed strip club owner thinks there is more to the open and shut case. Delanie and Duncan link a series of killings with no common threads. And they must put the rest of the missing pieces together before someone else is murdered.
The Tulip Shirt Murdersis a fast-paced mystery that appeals to readers who like a strong female sleuth with a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations such as larping and trading elbow jabs with roller derby queens.
Author Biography: Heather Weidner’s short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series and 50 Shades of Cabernet. She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, and James River Writers. The Tulip Shirt Murders is her second novel in her Delanie Fitzgerald series.Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan College and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She blogs regularly with the Pens, Paws, and Claws authors.
Contact InformationWebsite and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.comPens, Paws, and Claws Blog: http://penspawsandclaws.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_WeidnerAmazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQP... https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/LinkedIn: Book LinksAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077CSZ53XApple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1310643581Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-tulip-shirt-murders-heather-weidner/1127425899?ean=2940155054696Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-tulip-shirt-murdersScribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/363967058/The-Tulip-Shirt-Murders-The-Delanie-Fitzgerald-Mysteries-224Symbols: https://www.24symbols.com/book/x/x/x?id=2468512Playster: https://play.playster.com/books/10009780999459812/the-tulip-shirt-murders-heather-weidner Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36591325-the-tulip-shirt-murders?from_search=true