June McCrary Jacobs's Blog: ~ Author June McCrary Jacobs ~, page 18
June 22, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE ~
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~-- 'DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE' --
AUTHOR BETH K. VOGT
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Welcome to the Blog Tour for Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K. Vogt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Title: Dedicated to the One I Love
Author: Beth K. Vogt
Publisher: White Glove
Release Date: June 20, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance
She doesn’t believe in love anymore. He doesn’t either.
They’re perfect for each other.
Beloved romance novelist Kylie Franklin walked away from her pen-name career as bestselling and award-winning Veronica Hollins the day her husband died. Her loyal readers are eager for the final book in her sensational series. But Kylie’s given up on love, both fictional and in real life. Behind her back, Kylie’s agent contrives a way to get her writing again.
Joe Edwards has made a name for himself with his popular military suspense novels under the pen name Tate Merrick. Yet he can’t quite break onto the bestseller list. What his books need, his publisher suggests, is some romance. Joe flat refuses. However, his publisher is determined and hires Veronica Hollins to save the day—and his career.
Veronica and Tate quickly realize they’re Kylie and Joe, good friends who connected online via a popular word game and their mutual love of trivia. Surely they can wrangle their alter egos into this literary collaboration. But as the deadline looms, their differences threaten the romance developing off the page.
From a Christy Award-winning author comes this charming mash-up of hidden identities, literary tug of war, and falling in love when you least expect it.
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
EXCERPT:
Despitewhat some people thought—specifically her mother, her best friends, and heragent—Kylie was fine. Just because her cat Remington kept her on scheduledidn’t mean he ran her life—what was left of it.
Remington leaned his furry bodyup against her legs as Kylie sat at the kitchen counter, his purr a softvibration of comfort.
“Come on, Rem.” Kylie abandonedher tepid cup of Irish Breakfast tea, tucked her phone in the side pocket ofher leggings, scooped the cat into her arms, and headed for her office.
She paused in the hallway beforeentering through the open door. Her favorite books were color-coordinated onthe built-in white shelves—writing books and fiction of every genre. Copies ofher novels, in order of publication. Awards and favorite photographs with heragent, editor, and other author friends hung on the walls that were painted alush periwinkle—her favorite color—thanks to her husband.
Her laptop sat in the center ofher desk. Nothing else. No open books, pages of notes, no bowl of saltedpopcorn with a glass of cold ginger ale, no ice—nothing that hinted at thecreative mess caused when she was in pursuit of “The End” for a story.
Kylie released Remington, whostrolled away without a backward glance, and sat behind her desk. Opened herlaptop. Closed her eyes as it powered up. Offered a silent prayer forinspiration. Waited . . . waited . . .
No spark. Nothing.
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
About the Author
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, releases June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people.
Connect with Beth by visiting bethvogt.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.Tour Giveaway(1) winner will receive a $50 Etsy Gift Card, a print copy of Dedicated to the One I Love, a box of typewriter themed gift note cards, Novel Teas Book Lover Teas, and a 24 oz insulated Tervis Floral Tumbler!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 19, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on July 26, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
June 20, 2023
~ WEDNESDAY BOOK FEATURE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN ESCAPE ~
Welcome to the Blog Tour for Blue Ridge Mountain Escape by Loretta Eidson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
🌄💕🔦👀🔎🌄💕🔦👀🔎🌄
Title: Blue Ridge Mountain Escape
Series: Mountain Rescue
Author: Loretta Eidson
Publisher: Love Inspired / Inspirational Mountain Rescue Collection
Release Date: June 27, 2023
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
The firefighter rescued her once…
But can they outrun the dangers?
A peaceful vacation is what Haley Gordon needs to put her troubles behind her. Instead, she finds herself fighting for her life against a raging forest fire. Forest Service firefighter Kendall Simpson vows to protect Haley—although he has questions about her story. But with the firestorm out of control and news of escaped convicts on the mountain, can Haley and Kendall trust each other enough to survive?
EXCERPT:
A suspicious roar like a speeding train alertedKendall to the approaching danger. Every muscle in his body tensed. The windgrew stronger, confirming his assessment. He spun and glanced back. A firetornado. Haley squeezed his hand, and he tightened his grip on hers.
“What’s that?” Shepointed behind them.
“Trouble. Bigtrouble.” He tugged her behind him and started running, almost dragging her. “Afire whirl. It’s like a small tornado filled with fire. Come on. We’re on itsdirect path.”
The whites of her eyesgrew larger. They bolted for cover and hunkered down behind another largeboulder with tall grass and scattered pine needles around its base. Not a goodchoice, but it would have to do for now.
God, if You’re there,protect us.
He pulled her closeand wrapped his arms tight around her. Could he protect her from the flying,burning debris? She scrunched down and covered her face with her hands. Heburied his face in her hair as it tossed with the wind and slapped against hischeeks. They’d die if they didn’t get to the lowest place possible. He searchedthe area. The heat’s intensity was too much, and he had no intention of dyingtoday. Where could they go? The fire was about to consume them.
🌄💕🔦👀🔎🌄💕🔦👀🔎🌄
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
Also Available
Loretta Eidson is an award-winning author who loves writing romantic suspense. Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency is her agent. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Faith Hope, & Love Christian Writers, Sisters in Crime, Heart of Christian Writers Network, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and attends the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference.
She loves chocolate, caramel, and coffee. Loretta lives in North Mississippi close to her family.
Connect with Loretta by visiting lorettaeidson.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.
Tour Giveaway(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 20, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 27, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
🌄💕🔦👀🔎 🌄💕🔦👀🔎 🌄
June 19, 2023
~ TUESDAY BOOK FEATURE CRAFTY COLLAGE OF CRIME ~
-- 'A CRAFTY COLLAGE OF CRIME' -- AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
A Crafty Collage of Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂ About 'A Crafty Collage of Crime'
A Crafty Collage of Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
[image error]
Cozy Mystery12th in Series Setting - New Jersey and TennesseeIndependently Published (June 16, 2023)Print length : 258 pages ASIN: B0C4BHYXLB
Wherever crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack goes, murder and mayhem follow. Her honeymoon is no exception. She and new husband, photojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes, are enjoying a walk in the Tennessee woods when they stumble upon a body on the side of a creek. The dead man is the husband of one of the three sisters who own the winery and guest cottages where Anastasia and Zack are vacationing.
When the local sheriff sets his sights on the widow as the prime suspect, her sisters close ranks around her. The three siblings are true-crime junkies, and thanks to a podcaster who has produced an unauthorized series about her, Anastasia’s reputation for solving murders has preceded her to the bucolic hamlet. The sisters plead for her help in finding the real killer. As Anastasia learns more about the women and their business, a host of suspects emerge, including several relatives, a relentless land developer, and even the sisters themselves.
Meanwhile, Anastasia becomes obsessed with discovering the podcaster’s identity. Along with knowing about Anastasia’s life as a reluctant amateur sleuth, the podcaster has divulged details of Anastasia’s personal life. Someone has betrayed Anastasia’s trust, and she’s out to discover the identity of the culprit.
Craft project included.
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
EXCERPT:
A CRAFTY COLLAGEOF CRIME
An AnastasiaPollack Crafting Mystery
©2023 Lois Winston
ONE
Foodeditor Cloris McWerther stared bug-eyed at me, nearly dropping the coffee cupshe held as I entered the break room. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Barcelonaon your honeymoon?”
“Change of plans,” I said,grabbing a chocolate and raspberry croissant from the bakery box on the table.
Her left eyebrow disappearedunder her wispy pixie bangs. “Should I be worried?”
“Only for my waistline.”
“Said the woman currently scarfingdown a croissant.” She resumed pouring coffee and handed me the cup. “Why isthere a correlation between your weight and a postponed honeymoon?”
“Not postponed, just slightlyaltered.” I settled into one of the four molded plastic chairs around thecircular table that took up much of the small room. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Cloris poured a second cup andtook the seat opposite me. “Why the change?”
Zachary Barnes, photojournalistand possible spy (although he vehemently denies the latter), and I had marriednine days ago in an intimate backyard wedding attended by close family andfriends. Originally Zack and I had planned to jet off to Barcelona this morningfor a bicycle tour of the city and surrounding towns. It had the makings of theperfect trip. I could eat tapas and various local delicacies to my heart’scontent, knowing I’d bike off the calories between meals. Or at least some ofthe calories. Given my aversion to exercise, I’d opted for a multi-speed bikethat promised no huffing or puffing as we tooled around the Catalancountryside.
Last year I’d accompanied Zack toBarcelona for a weekend photo assignment. However, shortly after we hadarrived, a couple of clueless kidnappers put a crimp in our mini vacation. Atleast my abductors had released me once they realized they’d grabbed the wrongwoman.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t so luckywith my more recent run-in with kidnappers. As much as I tried to put theharrowing incident behind me, the trauma continued to replay every night innightmarish episodes of REM sleep.
I added a generous splash ofhalf-and-half to my coffee and took a swig before answering Cloris. “Givenrecent events, Zack and I decided to postpone Barcelona for something quieterand more secluded.”
“Where are you going?”
“Middle Tennessee.”
Cloris nearly snorted into hercoffee. “Don’t tell me you’re going to Nashville.”
When I nodded, she squinted asshe eyed me. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Anastasia Pollack I know ismore Broadway Baby than Honky-Tonk Woman. Besides, I’ve been to Nashville.Quiet and secluded are hardly adjectives I’d use to describe the place.”
“We’re only flying intoNashville, and we’re not going for the music.”
“What else is there?”
“Wineries.”
“Tennessee wine?” This timeCloris couldn’t hold back her snort. “Are you sure you don’t mean whiskey?Aren’t Tennessee and Kentucky known for their distilleries?”
I shrugged. “Who knew, right?”
“Apparently, not me.”
“Or me. But it turns outwinemaking was a big industry in the area before Prohibition, and it’s made ahuge comeback.”
“Good for them, but if you wantto spend your honeymoon touring wineries, why not fly to Napa?”
“Because Zack accepted anassignment from Vine for a photo essay on the wineries of Middle Tennessee.”
Her eyebrows knit together as shedigested that nugget of information. “Isn’t Vine one of the magazinesthat’s part of our new acquisition?”
I nodded. Along with the othermagazines headquartered with American Woman in an office building situatedin a former cornfield in Morris County, New Jersey, Trimedia had recentlyacquired an Atlanta-based publisher of consumer food and beverage magazines.
“And they can afford to hire yourPulitzer prize-winning husband?” continued Cloris.
“Not only can they afford it, butthey’re also paying him a premium for squeezing them into his schedule.”
“If Trimedia is so flush withcash, we should demand a raise.”
“Yeah, I can just see the suitsin the corner offices agreeing to that.” I held my hands out in front of me,palms up, imitating a set of scales. “Vine revenues,” I said moving myright hand above my head. Then I lowered my left hand below my waist. “AmericanWoman revenues. I’ll bet Vine’s operating budget is at least fivetimes what ours is.”
“Or more,” she grumbled beforechanging the subject. “So, Zack is going to work during your honeymoon?”
I shrugged. “He was scheduled todo the shoot after we returned from Barcelona but moved it up when I suggestedwe change our plans. We’re staying at one of the wineries that includes half adozen guest cottages.”
“Compliments of the magazine, Ipresume?”
“Presumption confirmed.”
“Hmm…maybe I should see how Greggfeels about moving to Atlanta. I just might ask for a transfer to one of ournew food magazines.”
“Except that knowing Trimedia,they’ll merge magazines, layoff personnel, and hire new, less experienced staffat much lower salaries.”
“There is that.” Cloris sighed.“Now is probably not the time to make waves.”
“Now is never the time to makewaves when it comes to Trimedia.”
Cloris frowned. “True. Anyway, Isuppose, minus Zack spending part of his time working, you’ll have a romantichoneymoon.”
I offered her a mischievous wink.“Count on it.”
~*~
Thenext day found Zack and me in a rental car driving through the rolling verdanthills of Williamson County, Tennessee on our way to Three Sisters Winery. I wasused to New Jersey, where, with few exceptions, most towns and cities abut oneanother, and the only way to tell you’d crossed from one community into anotherwas either a change in street sign color or the occasional “Welcome toInsert-Name-of-Town-Here” roadside plaque.
That was hardly the case for thetowns we passed once we headed out of Nashville. Forested acres, parks, andfarmlands separated each community. Interspersed among these areas were newersubdivisions, ones under construction, and billboards announcing futuresubdivisions. Starting prices rivaling metro New York suggested the area’sfarms were quickly becoming a dying breed. At some point in the not-too-distantfuture, Middle Tennessee might look like North Jersey.
This made me wonder if Trimediawas really footing the bill for Zack’s services. Perhaps the local wineries hadcut a deal with Vine to hire a world-renowned photographer to bestpromote their businesses. A favorable spread in a widely circulated andwell-respected wine magazine would draw wine connoisseurs from across thecountry to the region, boosting the bottom line of the wineries as well aslocal tourism, thus keeping land-grabbing developers at bay.
“Is this shoot editorial oradvertorial?” I asked him.
“Beats me. Does it matter?”
“I suppose not, but it seems oddthat Trimedia would hire you when they could send a staff photographer.Especially since they rattle off a litany of excuses every year when wecomplain about our annual raises. The last few years haven’t even kept up withcost-of-living increases.”
And I needed every penny I couldscrounge.
When Karl Marx Pollack had droppeddead at a Las Vegas casino a year and a half ago, I’d learned both my happymarriage and my comfortable middle-class existence were both figments of myimagination. Rather than a sizable life insurance policy, I’d inherited myhusband’s gargantuan gambling debts, a Mount Everest of past-due bills, hismob-connected loan shark, and his communist mother.
You’d think I would have had aclue that something was rotten in Westfield, but I was ensconced in blissfulignorance throughout my entire marriage.
That’s how Zack and I met. As oneof my cost-cutting measures, I’d rented him the apartment above my garage,which I’d previously used as my home office and studio. Zack had needed a placeto crash between assignments and wanted to move out of the city.
What a guy who looks like heshares DNA with the likes of Pierce Brosnan and George Clooney sees in apear-shaped forty-something widow with two teenage sons is beyond me, but whoam I to question fate? I figured the universe owed me bigtime after the lollapaloozaof a whammy it had recently dumped on me.
Although Zack could wipe out mymonetary woes with one swipe of his pen and had offered on countless occasions,I repeatedly refuse his generosity. It’s not his responsibility to assume thedebts of my deceased deadbeat louse of a spouse. Of course, if he’d like to buyme a winning Powerball or MegaMillions ticket, I wouldn’t turn down histwo-dollar investment in my bottom line.
“You’re suggesting advertorial,then?” he asked.
“Makes sense. Did you receive anyguidelines for the shoot?”
“None.”
“Isn’t that unusual?”
He took his eyes off the road tooffer me a quick wink. “My work speaks for itself.”
“And yet you remain ever sohumble.”
“Always.”
An understatement. The guypersonified humility. It’s one of his many charms. With no pithy retort on thetip of my tongue, I chuckled, then returned my attention to the scenery.
Several minutes later thedisembodied woman living within the rental car’s GPS announced, “You’vearrived. Your destination is on your right.”
A carved and painted wooden sign,reminiscent of Tiffany stained glass windows, sat at the entrance of a narrowtree-lined road. A border of deep green and purple grape-laden vinessurrounding fanciful gold script announced Three Sisters Winery. As Zackdrove along the winding lane that climbed upward through gently rolling hills,I caught glimpses of acres of neatly spaced rows of grapevines peeking throughthe stately red maples. Every so often, hints of a creek glistened in thedistance.
Eventually, the road led us to acircular driveway in front of a two-story Southern-style plantation homereminiscent of Tara from Gone with the Wind. The road then forked to theleft of the building. One fork led to a parking lot while the other continuedtoward a series of out-buildings. A path to the right of the house disappearedinto an expansive manicured garden.
Before Zack had a chance to killthe engine, three women, dressed in matching deep purple bib aprons sportingthe winery logo, stepped through the double-door entrance and onto the porch.One look at them told me they were the eponymous three sisters of the winery.
As we stepped from the car, theygreeted us in unison with, “Welcome to Three Sisters Winery,” punctuating theirwords with identical smiles.
We left our luggage and Zack’scamera equipment in the trunk and crossed the short distance to the porch stepsas the three women descended to meet us. “Thank you,” said Zack. “We have areservation under Zachary Barnes.”
“Yes, the photographer,” said oneof the women offering Zack her hand. “We’re looking forward to working withyou, as are the other local wineries. We were so excited when you accepted themagazine assignment,” she continued, placing her other hand over his. “You werethe first choice of all the owners.”
Definitely advertorial. Part ofme was happy knowing Trimedia wasn’t playing favorites with the corporate pursestrings, but another part of me quickly realized the information meant none ofthe American Woman staff could use Zack’s huge freelance fee as leveragewhen it came time to negotiate salary increases.
Zack laced the fingers of hisfree hand through mine and gently squeezed, having either read my mind or heardthe sigh that escaped my lips. Then he tilted his head toward me and said, “Andthis is my wife An—”
“Oh, we know who you are,”said one of the other sisters, cutting him off. She offered me a wide grin. Thethree women, all appearing to be somewhere in their late-forties toearly-fifties, nodded vigorously. Now that we stood face to face, I could readtheir individual names, embroidered under the winery logo of their aprons. Eachwas named for a type of wine. The woman who claimed to know me was Marsala.
“Anastasia Pollack,” said hersister Roussanne, reaching out to grab my free hand. “We’re huge fans.”
Zack and I shared a quick glance.Usually, he’s the one swarmed by admirers, not me. After all, he’s graced thecover of People magazine more than once. I pinch myself every morning asI wake up next to a former Sexiest Man of the Year. “You ladies are crafters?”I asked.
“Oh, my, no,” said Constantia,the third sister. “Our only crafting is the art of crafting delicious wine andassorted wine products.”
“Our lives are far too busyrunning the winery and B&B to have time for other endeavors,” addedMarsala.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,”I said. “Then how do you know me?”
“From the podcasts, of course,”said Constantia.
Now I was really perplexed. “I’venever appeared on a podcast.”
American Woman had recently ventured intopodcasts for some of our editors. The medium lent itself more to discussionsabout health issues, travel, and fashion trends. We’d even recently bandiedabout the idea of starting an online book club with the editors and other staffchoosing a favorite book to discuss each month.
However, Cloris and I neededvisuals for recipes and craft projects. We connected better with our readers byproducing short video demonstrations that were posted on our website and themagazine’s YouTube channel.
“Perhaps you’re confusing me withanother Anastasia Pollack,” I added. “It’s not that uncommon a name.”
“But there’s only one AnastasiaPollack from New Jersey who’s an amateur sleuth,” said Roussanne. “That is you,isn’t it?”
My mouth dropped open. “Are yousaying someone has created a podcast about me?”
All three nodded. “The SleuthSayer,” said Marsala. “You were the first sleuth she featured.”
“She’s already devoted threeepisodes to you,” said Roussanne. “You really haven’t heard of it?”
~*~
“Howdid I not know about that podcast?” I asked Zack after the sisters had checkedus in and shown us to our guest cottage.
Our accommodations consisted ofone large room with a king-size bed, a sitting area with two overstuffed chairswith matching ottomans, and an attached bathroom, complete with clawfoot tub.
The décor was quintessential SouthernLiving. Comfortable, inviting, and inspired by nature in both its colorpalette and the decorative elements scattered around the room, many of which,according to a framed sign on the dresser, were for sale in the gift shop. Alarge collage that incorporated old wine labels, photographs, and newspaperarticles hung over the bed. If I wasn’t currently so annoyed, I would haveenjoyed studying the collage rather than giving it little more than a cursoryglance.
“Maybe I should Google myselfmore often, but you’d think someone would have known a true-crime podcaster wasblabbing about me all over cyberspace.”
Zack dropped an armful ofT-shirts into a dresser drawer and turned to face me. “Such as?”
“I don’t know.” Frustrated, Ithrew my arms up, then slapped my thighs. “Someone had to know. Tino? Spader?Ledbetter? All of them?”
Tino Martinelli worked incyber-security. I once thought he was trying to kill me. I was dead wrong. Punintended. The guy had had my back on more than one occasion and had become adear friend.
Detective Samuel Spader workedUnion County Homicide, and Agent Aloysius Ledbetter was with the FBI. Myreluctant amateur sleuthing had brought me in close contact with both men farmore times than any normal law-abiding citizen would have cause to interactwith law enforcement.
“How is this not an invasion ofmy privacy?” I asked, pacing along the hardwood floor from one end of the roomto the other and back again.
“I don’t know. Maybe it is, butI’m not a lawyer.”
I stopped short and stared athim. “You think I should call a lawyer?”
He placed his hands on myshoulders and in a soothing tone said, “Why don’t we first listen to thepodcast before jumping to any conclusions?”
Why hadn’t I thought of that? I inhaled deeply, then slowlyreleased the air in my lungs in an attempt at manifesting a calming breath. Itdidn’t help much. I’ve never been very good at the Zen thing. But Zack wasright. Maybe this was all a nothing burger. Although, I failed to conjure upany scenario where such a possibility seemed feasible.
“When we drove in, I noticed adirt path with a sign indicating the creek and a walking trail,” he said.
“So?”
He grabbed his camera and pulleda set of earbuds from his pocket. “Let’s take a stroll and listen to what thisSleuth Sayer has to say about you.”
Zack handed me one of the earbudsand placed the other in his ear. Then he found the podcast on his phone. As weheaded toward the path, a few bars of music played before a woman began tospeak.
An old African proverb states ittakes a village to raise a child. Sometimes, though, it takes one woman’scourage and determination to protect the people of that village from those whowould do them harm.
I tried to identify the narrator’svoice, but I couldn’t think of anyone I knew who spoke in a rich dulcet Britishaccent.
Throughout our country and theworld, unremarkable women are doing remarkable things—solving crimes andbringing the perpetrators to justice, often with little or no recognition oftheir accomplishments.
In fiction these women are calledamateur sleuths, but there are many of them walking among us, unsung heroineswith no law enforcement training who find themselves in unusual situationswhere they’re spurred into action.
I’ve made it my mission to tellthe world about these courageous modern-day Miss Marples. I am the SleuthSayer, and this is Season One of The Sleuth Sayer Podcast.
Another group of chords followedbefore the narrator continued.
The Crafty Sleuth, Episode One.Our story begins not quite two years ago in Westfield, New Jersey, a quietsuburban commuter town outside of New York City, where one woman’s world isunexpectedly turned upside down when her husband suddenly dies, and shediscovers the secrets he’s hidden from her throughout their marriage. One dayAnastasia Pollack is living a typical middle-class life as a mother andmagazine editor; the next day she’s not only a widow but the prime suspect inthe murder of one of her coworkers. And what a murder it was!
When I stopped short and reachedfor Zack’s arm, he paused the podcast. “Had enough already?”
I couldn’t answer. I stood frozenin my tracks. Through a break in the trees and dense shrubbery, at the bottomof a steep slope, I saw a body sprawled along the edge of the creek.
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
From CraftDesigner to Crime Crafter
By LoisWinston
Many formerinvestigative journalists, lawyers, and law enforcement professionalseventually turn to writing fiction, penning mysteries, suspense, or thrillers.Their day jobs have provided them with a treasure trove of experience to drawupon for plots and characters.
But how manycraft designers do you know who have switched careers to pen craft-themedamateur sleuth mysteries? I doubt there are many of us. I worked for decades asa designer in the consumer crafts industry, and I don’t know a single designerother than myself who has made the transition from designing craft projects todesigning murder plots.
These days,instead of introducing myself as a needlework designer for kit manufacturers,craft book publishers, and magazines, I say I kill people for a living—but onlyon paper and always with a huge dose of humor.
My careerpivot came about in a surprising way. I’m not one of those authors who grew upwanting to write books. However, while working a trade show years ago, I beganhaving a recurring dream that unfolded each night like the chapters of a book.
This dream wasso real that I eventually decided to write it down. The next thing I knew, Ihad completed a 50,000-word romance. I thought I’d written the Great AmericanNovel. In actuality, I’d written the Great American Drivel. After years ofrevising, as I learned how to write right, that 50,000-word romance became theaward-winning Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception, a 90,000-word romantic suspense and thesecond book I sold.
A few yearslater, my agent called and asked if I’d write a craft-themed cozy mystery. Sheknew an editor looking for such a series, and given my background, she thoughtI’d be the perfect person to write it. A few months later, I’d written Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in what was to becomemy bestselling and critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting MysterySeries.
Assaultwith a Deadly Glue Gunwas released in 2011. Fast forward twelve years, and A Crafty Collage of Crime, the twelfth book in the series, hasrecently released.
During those twelveyears, many of the companies and magazines I once designed for went out ofbusiness. I’m no longer designing, but that dream from long ago became thecatalyst for my career as a novelist.
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂About Lois Winston
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.
Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor. Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes twelve novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries, currently at two novels, and one book so far in her Mom Squad Capers series.
To date Lois has published twenty-one novels, five novellas, several short stories, one children’s chapter book, and one nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency. To learn more about Lois and her books, visit her at www.loiswinston.com where you can sign up for her newsletter and follow her at various social media sites.
Author Links Website: http://www.loiswinston.com
Newsletter sign-up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2e9v1
Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/anasleuth
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston
Purchase Links: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple Books
✂🧵 ✏ 📘🔦🔎 ✂🧵 ✏ 📘🔦🔎 ✂
TOUR PARTICIPANTS: June 19 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT June 19 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW June 20 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST June 20 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT June 21 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT June 22 – Jane Reads – AUTHOR INTERVIEW June 22 – Novels Alive - REVIEW June 23 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 23 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW June 24 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT June 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST June 25 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 26 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT June 27 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW June 28 – My Reading Journeys – CHARACTER GUEST POSTJune 29 – StoreyBook Reviews - AUTHOR GUEST POST June 30 - Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT June 30 - The Book's the Thing – REVIEW July 1 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST July 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST July 2 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT ✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
a Rafflecopter giveaway ✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂🧵✏📘🔦🔎✂
June 15, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE PAINT ME A CRIME ~
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨 ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~ -- 'PAINT ME A CRIME' -- AUTHOR HOLLY YEW
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
Paint Me a Crime (A Rose Shore Mystery)
by Holly Yew
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
Paint Me a Crime (A Rose Shore Mystery) [image error]
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting – Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada
Touchpoint Press (June 13, 2023)
Paperback : 252 pages ISBN-10 : 1956851623
ISBN-13 : 978-1956851625 Digital ASIN : B0BWPVHLSB
Art curator Jessamine Rhodes has left behind her gig at a prominent gallery in the city to open her own community art center in the small town of Rose Shore. She’s all set to host an extravagant opening watercolors class and has even booked a famous artist to teach it. Gabriella Everhart brings along her priceless painting Tranquil to showcase as the centerpiece of the event.The opening class is just wrapping up when suddenly Tranquil disappears before Jessamine’s eyes. Next, the lights of the art center flicker out and leave the crowd in complete darkness as a scream pierces the air. To her horror, Jessamine’s flashlight reveals that prestigious art collector Victor Carlisle has been murdered, and now her dreams are as shattered as the champagne glass found near the scene.Determined to save her now teetering reputation, Jessamine sets out to search for answers and the missing painting on her own. She has invested everything into her art center and is too anxious to step back and do nothing. Along the way, she teams up with a handsome paramedic who seems to have his own reasons for wanting justice for Victor’s tragedy.
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
EXCERPT:
A moment later, the lightswent out in the Rose Shore Community Art Center, leaving the building in totaldarkness. A startled gasp carried throughout the crowd, and guests panicked asthey moved toward the front doors in the foyer. Jessamine pulled out her cellphone from her wristlet and used the flashlight feature to get a sense of whatwas going on.
Before she could processanything, a new sense of terror arose as the piercing shatter of breaking glasssilenced the flustered crowd. Then, a bone-chilling scream echoed through thesilence.
“Quick, Jess, let’s getinside!” Emilia shouted over the pounding rain as they raced through the RoseShore Resort parking lot. The balmy autumn weather had taken a miserable turnon Thursday morning, and a heavy rainstorm was violently hitting their littletown. Mid-morning felt like dusk under the dark, dreary sky.
The running footstepsslowed to a stop just on the other side of the rock. Jessamine’s already-racingheart sped up even more. Her grip on the stick was shaky—she could be found atany moment! Determined to use the element of surprise to her full advantage,she leaped out from behind the rock and took a swing with the stick.
“Jessamine! Stop! What areyou doing?”
She realized just in timeit was Jackson she was about to attack like a birthday party piñata.
“Jackson, you scared me!Why are you sneaking around the forest?”
“Why are you hiding behindlarge rocks and jumping out at people with sticks? And why were you booking itdown the street in your pajamas?”
She was completely lost inher own little art world when the gallery doors closed with a click.
“Madeleine? Are you there?”
Jessamine walked over tothe doors and pulled at the handles. They wouldn’t turn. She was locked inside.
She knocked on the door.“Hello? I’m locked in here.”
She couldn’t hear anythingon the other side of the doors and, even though her gut told her something waswrong, she tried to remain calm and think of a logical reason for the locked doors.
Her panic didn’t subsidefor long as another sense flared alive, and her heart started pounding. Sheknew what was happening even before the high-pitched alarm went off.
She could smell it.
Smoke.
Jessamine started bangingon the doors even louder. “Help! I’m trapped in here!”
No answer. She took out herphone and dialed 911 and told the operator what was happening before shesearched for another way out. The blackout blinds were all electronic, and onceshe found the switch to pull them up, they seemed to take forever to rise. Herimpatience with the whirring sound grew worse as it was becoming more and moredifficult to breathe. Jessamine held up her arm in front of her mouth to blockout the smoke that started to seep into the gallery through the cracks in thedouble doors.
When the blinds werefinally up, she let out a strangled sob when she realized that none of thewindows could actually open. Hurrying to the other side of the room, shesearched for another way out, but there was only a large bookshelf at that end.Her only option now was to break one of the windows. She looked around on thebookshelf for something heavy enough to do the job and read the spine of thethickest book she could find. The Complete Collection of Jules Verne: Volume Onesat perched in the middle of the highest shelf.
Jessamine said a quickapology to the beautifully bound book as she stood on her tiptoes to reach it.
It took a moment for her torealize what was happening next. A few seconds after Jessamine picked up thebook, she stumbled forward into a black hole. Her senses were completely offbalance as she stood and tried to make sense of what had happened. Thebookshelf had shifted sideways, and she was now in another room.
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
About Holly Yew
After having called many places around the world home, Holly Yew has settled in the Okanagan, BC with her husband, son, and two rescue dogs. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s playing the piano, watching Star Wars, or enjoying a Dole Whip in Disneyland.
Holly is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers. She loves connecting with other writers and bookworms on social media, and you can find her at hollyyew.com.
Author Links: Website: https://hollyyew.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samara.yew.booksTwitter: https://twitter.com/HollyYewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.yew.author/ 🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨Purchase Links - Amazon - Amazon Canada - Barnes and Noble
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
TOUR PARTICIPANTS: June 13 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW June 13 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 14 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 14 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW June 15 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 15 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW June 16 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT& EXCERPTJune 16 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT June 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW June 17 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT June 18 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER INTERVIEW June 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT June 19 – Rebecca M Douglass, Author – REVIEW June 20 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW June 20 – Novels Alive – REVIEW June 21 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT June 21 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST June 22 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT June 22 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 23 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT June 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHTJune 24 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST June 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT June 25 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST June 25 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT June 26 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read - REVIEW🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨🖼️🖌️🎨
~ PATCHWORK TABLE MAT PATTERN RELEASE ~
🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡
🪡🧵✂️ ~ NEW SEWING PATTERN BOOK RELEASE ~ 🪡🧵✂️
Stitch up this colorful patchworktable mat as a gift for yourself or your friends, family, or neighbors. Thislittle quilt would make a great housewarming, bridal shower, or birthday gift.
The pattern includes themeasurements in Imperial and Metric. Tips on various sewing techniques used inmaking the project are provided along with detailed cutting and sewinginstructions. A list of other color combinations to use for various season andholidays throughout the year is provided.
🪡🧵✂️ ~ LINK TO PURCHASE PATCHWORK TABLE MAT PATTERN EBOOK
🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡
🪡🧵✂️ ~ LINK TO PURCHASE COORDINATING FABRIC FLOWERS TEA TOWEL BOOK ON AMAZON
All of my pattern books are alwaysfree with Kindle Unlimited!
🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡🧵✂️🫖🌹🪡
June 8, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE IF I WERE A TIGER ~
🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅
Welcome to the Blog Tour for If I Were a Tiger by Caroline Coleman, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅 About the Book
Title: If I Were a Tiger
Author: Caroline Coleman
Publisher: WaterBrook
Release Date: October 25, 2022
Genre: Christian Children's Picture Book
A whimsical and playful rhyming picture book about a young boy who imagines himself as a tiger to overcome his fears — only to realize that he can trust in God.
Meet Tim Bone. He has a big imagination, and when it roams wild, he’s afraid of a lot of things. He's scared of the moon and the wailing typhoon, and he won't wear his sneakers because he fears hidden creatures. Tim's nervous at home, at school, and at play!
Fed up with being frightened, Tim comes up with a bold He’s going to become a tiger so he can be fiercer than his fears! There’s just one If he’s a tiger, he can’t be Tim. Could there be a better solution? What if Tim puts his trust in God—who made both boys and tigers—instead?
If I Were a Tiger invites kids of all ages to live in the comforting truth that no one has to carry their fears alone, and offers the reminder that God is only a prayer away.
MY REVIEW:
🐯 🐯 🐯 🐯 🐯
A delightful picture book for childrenof all ages to read again and again . . .
This colorful, engaging story writtenfor young children is filled with the three essentials of any early literacybook—rhyme, rhythm, and repetition. The author and illustrator have workedtogether to create a memorable and realistic tale of a young boy's fears of thedark, animals, big kids, crowded places, etc. When Tim realizes he needs to conquerhis fears, he comes up with a plan to become a tiger. His imagination takes himon adventures in various locations where he, as a tiger, courageous, brave,silly, and not scared. Basically Tim dreams of being the complete opposite ofwho he is in real life. Suddenly his thoughts change to what hewould lose if he were a tiger! He would lose his friends and his ability toplay the games he enjoys playing. His family would be afraid of him. Timrealizes he would be scary and lonely. He suddenly remembers God's love for himalong with the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon him. He is comfortedby his thoughts and recognizes that his best friend, God, gives him peace. Timdecides he wants to be himself instead of a tiger. As a retired primary grade educator andliteracy mentor, the positive messages sent to children throughout this storylifted my heart. The artwork is colorful, whimsical, and depicts the author'swords so well. Highly-recommended! I received a copy of this book from thepublisher through JustRead Publicity Tours. All of my thoughts and opinionsshared here are solely my own.🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
About the Author
Caroline Coleman's debut picture book, IF I WERE A TIGER, was recently released by Waterbrook Press, a Christian imprint of Penguin Random House. Her novel, LOVING SOREN (B&H 2005), tells the true story of the woman who loved the Danish Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. She has an English degree from Princeton University, a fiction MFA from Brooklyn College and law degrees from Columbia Law School and Christ Church, Oxford University. She used to be a lawyer and now teaches English literature as an adjunct to the English department at Hunter College in New York City, where she lives with her family.
Connect with Caroline by visiting carolinecolemanbooks.com to follow her on social media and sign up for blog updates.Tour Giveaway(2) winners will receive a Stuffed Tiger Nightlight, a print copy of If I Were a Tiger, and a $20.00 Amazon Gift Card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 5, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 12, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅📙🐯🐅
June 1, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE COUNTERFEIT FAITH ~
Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Counterfeit Faith by Crystal Caudill, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title:
Counterfeit Faith
Series: Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age #3 Author: Crystal Caudill Publisher: Kregel Publications Release Date: May 16, 2023 Genre: Christian Historical Romance She's losing her faith in mankind. He's lost his faith in God. Can working together restore them both?
As matron of Final Chance House of Refuge, Gwendolyn Ellison has dedicated her life to serving the children deemed delinquents by society. She'll protect them with everything she has. So when she suspects someone is using Final Chance for criminal deeds, she's determined to investigate and put a stop to it. But villains don't like to be crossed--and they're willing to kill to get their way.
Gwendolyn knows she can't quit fighting. More than her own life is on the line if counterfeiters go free. She must find someone she can trust to help her expose the criminals and protect the children under her care.
Charming and chivalrous Secret Service operative Josiah Isaacs has never been able to turn his back on a woman in trouble--and capturing counterfeiters is his job, after all. The danger he's truly worried about is his growing attraction to Gwendolyn when his heart wants to remain faithful to his deceased wife.
As both peril and interest grow, he begins to consider whether a second love may be possible--if they can live through this case. At the same time, he's put off by her faith in a God he no longer trusts. How can a future together even be possible when their beliefs are at odds?
"Page-turning action combines with depth and richness to create a full-bodied, rewarding read." --Jocelyn Green, Christy Award-winning author of The Metropolitan Affair
"Readers who love romance, suspense, and a graceful amount of faith won't want to miss this story." --Toni Shiloh, Christy Award-winning author
"With a host of sympathetic and likable characters (and a few not so likable), a riveting plot that clips along at the perfect pace, and a relatable faith thread, this book [is a] completely enjoyable read." --Kimberly Duffy, Carol Award finalist and author of A Tapestry of Light EXCERPT:
Thoughcloudy outside, natural light from the front window reflected off the goldenyellow walls above the deep green painted paneling and brightened the spacewith a cheery glow. Gwendolyn forced a matching
cheerysmile and searched each seat of the well-worn parlor furniture for Mr. Issacs.The long settee that had supported countless huddled siblings remained emptysave the pillow used to hide the threadbare
spotnear the armrest. The two armchairs, as well as the three parlor chairs—alldraped with blankets over their backs to hide either stains or other areas ofthinning material—stood empty. Her smile slipped. Where was he? She widened hersearch to each corner of the room.
Asshe turned to her right, Cara lunged from her arms, crying out, “Uncle!”
Atleast, that’s what it sounded like. Gwendolyn was too busy scrambling tomaintain her hold on the child to be certain.
Coolhands grazed hers as Cara dipped toward the floor and then swooped upward.
Gwendolynstraightened to avoid being kicked, and her gaze collided with eyes the colorof tortoise shells. Her breath caught, and heat suffused throughout her body asthe full face of her rescuer came into view. This was the man who’d riskedbecoming a cutting board to save her? Good heavens, she really must have beendistraught after Quincy’s attack not to have been struck dumb then. She wasn’tabove taking note of a good-looking man, but this one made Michelangelo’s David resemble acrudely carved stick—even with a two-inch line of stitches cutting across hisperfect cheek. Maybe especially because of the stitches.
“MissEllison.” Her name rolled off his lips in a formal, staid tone, but it set afield of butterflies loose inside her.
Compose yourself, woman. You’renot a weak-kneed schoolgirl. He’s just a man.
(pp48-49)
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Christianbook | BookBub
More Books in this Series
Crystal Caudill is the author of "dangerously good historical romance," with her work garnering awards from Romance Writers of America and ACFW. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver, and when she isn’t writing, Caudill can be found playing board games with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading other great books at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
Connect with Crystal by visiting crystalcaudill.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Tour Giveaway(1) winner will receive print copies of Counterfeit Love, Counterfeit Hope, and Counterfeit Faith, a set of bookmarks, 2 stickers with quotes, and a magnet with a QR code to a "test your Secret Service knowledge" quiz!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 31, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on June 7, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
May 25, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION LOVING THE RANCHER'S CHILDREN ~
🐎💕🌸🌼🐎💕🌸🌼 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎
Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Loving the Rancher's Children
by Mindy Obenhaus, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
Title:
Loving the Rancher's Children
Series: Hope Crossing #3 Author: Mindy Obenhaus Publisher: Love Inspired Books Release Date: May 23, 2023 Genre: Contemporary Christian RomanceA short-term solution
Could lead to long-term love
When Alli Krenek returns to her hometown, she’s surprised to find herself agreeing to become a nanny to Jake Walker’s children. Seventeen years ago, Jake betrayed Alli’s trust, and she’s avoided him ever since. But the more time she spends with Jake, the more his two little ones melt her heart and Alli begins to see the man Jake has become. Is this their chance to finally heal old wounds? 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎💕🌸🌼 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎 EXCERPT:The cup toppled before Jake could take hold of it, sending tea and ice cubes racing across the table, straight toward Alli.
With a gasp, she shot to her feet, staring at the tea-soaked spot on her dress.
While both Francie and his mother scrambled to sop up the mess, Connor let out a loud wail and burst into tears.
Alli looked from her dress to his son, her shocked expression softening. Before Jake realized what was happening, she reached across the table.
“It’s okay, sweet boy.” She wiggled her fingers. “Come here, Connor.”
To Jake’s surprise, his son readily went to her. She sat down, ignoring the mess before her, and rubbed the boy’s back, whispering soothing words while Jake and everyone else did their best to wipe up the tea that remained on the table.
The crying soon diminished, and Connor found his fingers.
“Connor,” his mother said beside Alli, “would you like some of Mimi’s banana pudding?”
The kid practically threw himself at her. He had his daddy’s sweet tooth, all right.
Standing, Alli glanced around the table. “If you all will excuse me, please.” With that, she continued to the back door and disappeared into the house.
But not before Jake realized his mother might be on to something. Alli would be the perfect nanny. She loved kids and, more importantly, he knew he could trust her.
If only she didn’t hate him.
🐎💕🌸🌼🐎💕🌸🌼 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎
MY REVIEW:
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
A touching story of healing, bonding,and hope . . .
This is the third book in the author'soutstanding 'Hope Crossing' series. I have been fortunate to read and reviewall three of these books.
Alli Krenek is at a crossroads in herlife. She has recently left her emotionally-draining career and moved back hometo Hope Crossing to find herself and to heal. She knows exactly what she wantsto do in the future, but she has some college coursework to complete before shecan step into her new role.
Jake Walker is the single father of twochildren who is trying to find his footing after the floor drops out fromunderneath him and his children. Four-year-old Maddy and two-and-a-half yearold Connor are inquisitive, active children who immediately bond with Alli whenshe is their substitute nursery worker at church.
Awkwardness blooms for both adults when Jakeand Alli are forced together as he arrives to pick up his children at thenursery after the church service. The author alludes to what ignited theuncomfortable tension between these two childhood neighbors and best friends,but the entire story is not revealed to readers until the author is ready toshare it.
Gradually, the pair begins warming up toeach other; and as they grow closer, Alli becomes more involved in the Walker family'sdaily life. She brings order to chaos by setting up routines, organizing thehome, and stimulating the two children with creative activities such asreading, crafts, and gardening. Connor and Maddy soon grow to absolutely adoreAlli.
An element of this author's writing thatI appreciate is how she includes characters from her past books in her subsequentstories. This gives readers an opportunity to keep up with those memorablecharacters and observe how they grow in love and personally develop into thepeople God intends them to be.
With patience and kindness, Jake andAlli overcome many past regrets and pain to find the hope of a brighter futuretogether. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this delightful, meaningful,and realistic story!
Highly recommended to fans of thisgenre. The book is completely clean in language and content.
I received a copy of this book from theauthor as a member of her launch team. All of my thoughts and opinions sharedhere are solely my own.
🐎💕🌸🌼🐎💕🌸🌼 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Christianbook | BookBub
More Books in this Series
Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching the Hallmark Channel.
Connect with Mindy by visiting MindyObenhaus.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Tour Giveaway(1) winner will receive a signed copy of Loving the Rancher's Children and $20 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 24, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 31, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
🐎💕🌸🌼🐎💕🌸🌼 🐎💕🌸🌼🐎
May 21, 2023
~ MONDAY MYSTERY EARL GREY & SHALLOW GRAVES ~
~ MONDAY MYSTERY FEATURE ~
-- 'EARL GREY AND SHALLOW GRAVES' --
AUTHOR VICTORIA TAIT
🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧
Earl Grey and Shallow Graves: A British Cozy Murder Mystery
with a Female Sleuth (A Waterwheel Cafe Mystery) by Victoria Tait
🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧About 'Earl Grey and Shallow Graves'
A 30-year-old skeleton. A missing girl. Can a community police officer read the tea leaves or will a deadly secret remain buried for ever?
Sergeant Keya Varma is delighted with her new part-time role as the Cotswolds’ Rural Engagement Officer. She’s also fulfilling her dream of opening a small neighbourhood café. But she gets herself into a stew with renovation works when builders unearth a young girl’s remains.
While Keya and her police colleagues gain ground reviewing the unsolved disappearance of a local girl, her brief taste of success turns to dust when a friend is found dead at her tea shop. Confusion over identities threatens to bury the investigation and our junior police officer is worried that justice won’t be served.
Can Keya dig into the mystery and uncover the real culprit?
Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is the first book in The Waterwheel Café series. If you’ve enjoyed the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, then you’ll love meeting some of your favourite characters and making new friends in Victoria Tait’s intriguing British cozy mystery.
Buy Earl Grey and Shallow Graves and unearth a killer today!
🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧
About Victoria Tait
I was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. I’ve drawn on my experiences following my military husband to write cozy murder mystery books with vivid and evocative settings. My determined female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and you’ll experience surprises, humour, and sometimes, a tug on your heartstrings.
I hope you enjoyed Keya’s first book. Why not join her and her friends as they solve more mysteries in my Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, also based in the Cotswolds. Visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TMJFL7L
Do you like tea, cakes and books? Then why not join our TeaCozy Club for regular news and updates, and receive your free book gift at VictoriaTait.com
Who doesn’t like tea, cake, and a slice of murder?
🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧
ChocolateChip Cookies
ByKeya Varma
Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is the first book in my own series, which I’m super excited about. But I wasn’t sure whether to name it afterthe tea or my favourite chocolate chop cookies. Both are included in the book.
Earl Grey won but I still want to share mysimple cookie recipe. It’s so good thatyou can swap the chocolate chips for oats, raisins and chopped apricots, orsubstitute some chocolate chips with cherries, cranberries, or chopped walnutor almonds.
As I know many of you reading this are fromthe US, I’ve tried to convert the quantities to ounces and cups, so I hope Ihave the measurements right.
I had to double the quantities to make thiswork, but do you know what’s so great about this recipe? You can make half andfreeze the other until friends announce they’re popping round, when you defrostthe mixture in the microwave and cook and serve freshly baked cookies.
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Ingredients
240 gms 8.5 ozs 2 ¼ Sticks Butter
150 gms 5.25 ozs 1 ½ Cups Brown Sugar
200 gms 7 ozs 1 ½ Cups Self Raising Flour
200 gms 7ozs 1 ¼ Cups Chocolate Chips (milk, dark white orcombination)
Method
1. Set the oven to 180o C/355o F/GasMark 4.
2. Grease 2 baking sheets
3. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl andbeat until soft and creamy.
4. Sieve the flour into the bowl and foldit into the mixture with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the chocolate chips and mix until itforms a rough ball.
6. Divide the mixture into two. Chill one half.
7. Flour your hands
8. With the remaining mixture, using adessert spoon to take spoonfuls of it and roll them into golf ball sizes.
9. Place the golf balls on the baking traysleaving plenty of room between them to spread.
10. Flatten the golf balls slightly.
11. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until goldenbrown.
12. Leave to stand for 5 minutes beforeplacing them on a cooling rack.
13. Repeat with the second half of themixture.
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Author Links: Website: https://victoriatait.com/ Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/victoria-tait Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriataitauthor/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/VictoriaTaitAuthor/_saved/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20373879.Victoria_Tait 🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧 ☕🇬🇧
Purchase Link - Amazon
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
May 18, 2023
~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE WHERE PROMISES REMAIN ~
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
Welcome to the Takeover Blitz for Where Promises Remain by Heidi Chiavaroli, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
Title:
Where Promises Remain
Series: The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series #7 Author: Heidi Chiavaroli Publisher: Hope Creek Publishers Release Date: May 16, 2023 Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction Hannah Martin thought she was about to have an empty nest . . . until the illegitimate daughter of her late husband shows up on her doorstep.
Five years after her husband’s death, Hannah Martin runs a successful inn and serves the needy in her community. Despite a house full of guests, she’s worried about the loneliness that will come with an empty nest. Now that no one needs her for anything other than serving her famous five-course breakfasts and retrieving fresh towels, she throws herself into winning Camden’s Hospitality Grant. With the help of the grant, the bed and breakfast will bring in even more customers and Hannah won’t have time to think about what she’s missing.
But when a handsome lumberjack named Kevin moves in next door, Hannah’s attraction to the widowed bachelor knocks her off-kilter. Just as she begins to think about dating again, a young woman arrives at the bed and breakfast claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Hannah’s late husband.
When the Orchard House’s chances at the Hospitality grant is threatened, Hannah's children oppose her "new" daughter moving in, and Kevin’s problems start to bleed over into her own, she must decide what matters most—before she loses the grant, the bed and breakfast’s reputation, and perhaps, her second chance at love.
This is Book 7 in The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series, a contemporary twist on the well-loved classic, Little Women. Readers will fall in love with the Martin family—Maggie, Josie, Lizzie, Bronson, Amie, and their mother Hannah—each trying to find their own way in the world and each discovering that love, home, and hope are closer than they appear. 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎 EXCERPT:
He smiled,and it was a nice smile. A little worn and rugged around the edges, but warmand genuine, spreading all the way up to his eyes which crinkled at thecorners. He held his hand out to me. “Hello. My name’s Kevin. Kevin Williams. Ijust moved in next door.”
“Oh!”I placed my hand in his, the large warm fingers enveloping mine. “I’m Hannah.It’s nice to meet you.” The Perry home had sold only a few weeks ago. If I’dknown our new neighbors were moving in so quickly, I would have planned to reachout—at least bring over a coffee cake. Then again, with Amie and August’swedding fast approaching and my increase in volunteer hours at Amos’s mission,I’d been a bit out of sorts. Not at the top of my planning game.
Hesqueezed my hand and a flush worked over my body. Huh. Now that was new. Unless it was simply a hot flash. Those certainlywere becoming more and more commonplace.
Ireleased his hand. “How are you enjoying Camden?”
“Greattown. I’m looking forward to the fishing.”
“Besure to try Penobscot River. It’s famous for its landlocked salmon. The bestI’ve ever had.”
Hiseyebrows raised. “You a fisherwoman?”
Ilaughed. “Good grief, no. But I try to know a little bit about everything tohelp our guests find their adventures.”
Henodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “A woman who knows a little bit abouteverything. I’ll keep that in mind.”
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
More Books in this Series
Heidi Chiavaroli is a hope-inspired storyteller writing from the deep curiosity of her own heart. Her debut novel, Freedom's Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. Her second Carol Award-winning novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott's life and led her to write The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast series, a contemporary twist on Little Women. Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.
Connect with Heidi by visiting heidichiavaroli.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
(1) winner will receive the complete Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series (7 books) plus $25 gift card to winner's choice bookstore!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 17, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 24, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎🌳🍏 🍎
~ Author June McCrary Jacobs ~
Follow me on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/June-McCrary...
Follow me on Pinterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/junemccrary...
View and subscribe to my 'Reading, Wri ...more
- June McCrary Jacobs's profile
- 153 followers
