P.D. Workman's Blog, page 90

What is Kabedon?

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This week, in one of my writing groups, the subject of Kabedon came up. Kabedon is not something I had ever heard of before, so I won’t assume that you have either. Kabedon is a new trend in Japanese courtship, popularized in manga and anime. Kabe-don (“wall hit”) is the act of the man slapping his hand on the wall next to the woman, pinning her in position by his proximity. He may place only one hand on the wall, or one hand on either side of her so that she is trapped between his arms. He leans in very close to talk to her.

This video was posted in the group discussion:

One of the comments I made on the thread in my writing group about the video was: “I don’t understand the women saying it didn’t make them uncomfortable when their body language said it absolutely did. Those wide grins, embarrassed laughs, and turning away or hiding faces aren’t flirtatious, they are nervousness and anxiety.”

Here are a couple of articles about Kabedon:

The Japanese Kabedon: is it romantic or is it offensive?

Kabedon Is The New Japanese Mating Ritual You Need To Know About

Of course, dominance moves like this have been around for years. They remind me of Fonzie’s pick-up moves on Happy Days. While we always thought Fonz was the coolest, I wince when I watch Happy Days now—treating women like objects, showing them no respect, no concept of “consent.” It isn’t the 1950s anymore, or even the 1970s. Our expectations are a lot different than they used to be.

The consensus in my group was that Kabedon is okay if you are in love with the guy, but creepy if you aren’t.

I happen to disagree. I think it’s creepy behavior no matter how well you like the guy. I do not want to be trapped and have someone aggressively pushing into my personal space even when courting/flirting.

So if you happen to see a Kabedon scene in one of my books in the future, you can bet it will not be seen as a romantic, “hot” move from the recipient’s viewpoint!

Excerpt from Gray Mountain

[image error]If you didn’t get a chance to pick up my new release, What the Cat Knew yet, make sure you do! It is the first book in my new Reg Rawlings Private Investigator series, which is a spin-off from the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series. Reg is Erin’s foster sister, who finds herself involved in a whole new world when she runs a scam in Black Sands, Florida. Have a look at some other paranormal mystery releases while you are at it.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

I am reading a John Grisham novel this week; one of his legal thrillers. I have been disappointed with a couple of Grisham novels lately, but I am enjoying Gray Mountain.

Samantha finds herself out of a job during the recession. With many other New York firms downsizing, the competition for jobs, even internships is fierce. She gets one with a free legal clinic in Virginia, which is nothing like what she was used to doing. Coal is king, and Donovan, another lawyer in Brady is taking on many of the coal companies in massive torts when his plane goes down. Samantha finds herself with a lot of difficult decisions to make.

No, nothing is guaranteed. Frankly, no one is smart enough to predict where we’ll be next year. We’re in the middle of an election, Europe is going to hell, the Chinese are freaking out, banks are folding, markets are crashing, nobody’s building or buying. The world’s coming to an end.

John Grisham, Gray Mountain

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The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track—until the recession hits and she is downsized, furloughed, and escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, is offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay, all for a slim chance of getting rehired.

In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia, population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world she has only read about. Samantha’s new job takes her into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack. But some of the locals aren’t so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town, and within weeks Samantha is engulfed in litigation that turns deadly. Because like most small towns, Brady harbors big secrets that some will kill to conceal.

What the Cat Knew and other new releases

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New release day!

I’m really excited to introduce a new mystery series to you. Many of you have been enjoying the Auntie Clem’s Bakery cozy mystery series. In Coup de Glace, you met Erin’s foster sister, Reg Rawlins. She was such a fun character to write, she needed her own series.

Having left Vermont, Reg has taken her fortune telling act to Florida, where there is a thriving paranormal community. Black Sands is different than anywhere she’s ever lived before…

About What the Cat Knew

[image error]Reg Rawlins, professional con, has really gotten herself into a bind this time. 

The fortune teller gig started as a scam, but she suddenly finds herself tangled up in the case of Warren Blake, a man who she thought was dead. It turns out he may still be alive, but in mortal peril. 

Reg has always taken the quick exit, the easy way out, but running out on this racket might mean someone else’s death. 

Staying in it might mean hers. 

Read sample

Buy now!

$4.99

More books

What else is hot and new today?

Southern Potions
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Southern Potions, by Amy Boyles

It’s New Year’s and Pepper Dunn is ready to celebrate. She’s been hard at work creating a potion for the annual Potion-Making Contest. All she must do is present her creation.

Pepper’s plans go awry when a sorceress claims she can turn a witch into a toad—all she needs is a volunteer.

But when the sorceress is murdered and the potion stolen, all Pepper wants is to stay out of it. She’s had enough of murders.

Problem is, one of her relatives was transformed into a toad. With the potion missing, Pepper must act fast to find it before her family member is stuck living as a toad—forever.

Freaky Deaky Tiki
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Freaky Deaky Tiki, by Amanda M. Lee

Hadley Hunter is learning about life, love … and being a witch.

She has a hot and hunky boyfriend, new friends, and family she didn’t know existed until recently.

Her plate is full.

Life gets even busier when a Detroit grim reaper named Aisling Grimlock hits Moonstone Bay for her honeymoon. Aisling is loud, brash … and pregnant. Unfortunately, she’s not one of those women who gets happy and develops a glow at the notion of a new baby.

When a body turns up on the docks, Hadley decides to help her boyfriend Galen investigate. All she knows for certain is that the murder looks ritual thanks to the tiki mask left behind … and the gaping wound in his chest.

Since she’s bored and limited, Aisling latches on to Hadley and volunteers to help. That means zipping around the island and investigating the local cult that lives in the forest.

Aisling has specific ideas about what should be done. Hadley has her own ideas. And Galen wants them both to steer clear of his investigation.

Things are bound to collide … and they do in spectacular fashion.

What happens when Detroit’s mouthiest reaper and Moonstone Bay’s newest witch collide? You’re about to find out.

The stakes are high, death is in the air … and a few more secrets are about to be unveiled. Strap in, because things are about to get freaky.

Almost Charmed
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Almost Charmed, by Rose Pressey

Something borrowed, something blue, something not so charmed. The wedding day has arrived for Halloween LaVeau. Will this be happily ever after for Hallie? Or will her leadership status of the Underworld jeopardize her relationship and produce deadly consequences?

The Haunted Stroll
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The Haunted Stroll, by J A Whiting

Nantucket’s annual Holiday Stroll is fast approaching and when Lin Coffin delivers a wreath to a client who owns an art gallery, she is drawn to a painting of an early nineteenth-century sea captain. It is clear the captain needs Lin’s help, but he remains invisible and is unable to communicate with her. The spirits of Lin’s distant relatives provide her with a clue, but it is mysterious and difficult to understand.

Lin, her cousin, Viv, and island historian, Anton Wilson, work to find the links between a break-in, a long-ago triple murder, and a buyer who offers ten times what the painting is worth.

Ghostly Holiday
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Ghostly Holiday, by Lily Harper Hart

Christmas is here, and Harper Harlow and Jared Monroe have big plans for the holidays. Harper is ready to move into their new house – and find him the perfect gift. And Jared? Well, he’s gearing up to propose and he’s making Zander ring shop with him.

All those plans go out the window when a little girl named Zoe Mathers goes missing and her traumatized mother is zero help in tracking down the culprit. Suspects are few and far between, although Zoe’s deadbeat father is of immediate interest.

Between his most recent ex-girlfriend and potential sex offenders in the area, Jared and his partner have their hands full. Harper doesn’t make things easier when she stumbles upon the ghost of one of their suspects, and a whole new world of possibilities opens up.

Between Jared’s mother visiting, Harper’s ex-boyfriend asking for a visit in jail, and Jared waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question, Whisper Cove’s favorite ghost hunters have their hands full.

Jared, Harper, and Zander are determined to get a little girl home in time for Christmas, and celebrate their first big holiday together.

They just have to survive first.

Spelldriver
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Spelldriver, by Gina LaManna

With a wedding on the horizon and her father tucked safely away in prison, the future is looking bright for Lily Locke. Unfortunately, life on The Isle is never calm for long… and when a Ranger is killed brutally in plain sight, Lily and her fiancé—the renowned Ranger X—find themselves hunting a murderer more ruthless than any they’ve ever encountered before.

However, unraveling the killer’s intricate plot isn’t Lily’s only problem. She has a cousin who is nowhere to be found. A dangerous hunter has escaped from prison. Ranger X is all but obsessed with his latest case, and Lily worries it’s consuming him entirely. Despite it all, Lily must make a decision that will affect not only her life, but the life of the man she loves more than anything else—and once it’s done, there’s no turning back…

Hidden Secrets
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Hidden Secrets, by

Morgan Blackmoore has a secret, and she’s desperate to hide it from her sisters. So when local paranormal healer Clementine Vega is murdered and Morgan is accused of the crime, she has to do something she’s never done before—lie to her family. But soon one lie turns into another, and she finds herself navigating a tangled web of deceit.

Now, with her sisters on the verge of war with paranormals, Morgan must uncover the killer’s mysterious motive before her sisters spark a paranormal war that they might not win, or worse, before they discover the shocking secret that Morgan has been hiding from them.

Resting Witch Face
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Resting Witch Face, by Constance Barker

Quinn, Harvest and Echo have never met their mother, but that’s about to change. However, she’s not quite what they expected and she’s in danger. Not only that, but someone is trying to destroy the livelihoods of the sisters…or are they trying to get them to use their powers to fight back?

Leshy, the goat/man, is back as well and he has news regarding the triplet’s mother and who might be trying to decimate their lives in the second book of the Triplet Witch Sisters Mystery series.

Son of a Witch
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Son of a Witch, by K.E. O’Connor

Returning to her magical hometown of Whitefall Cove for Christmas with nothing but a suitcase and a broken heart, she’s determined to enjoy the holiday and start the new year afresh. Her plans go haywire fast when her old nemesis and high school bully Whitney Sims turns up dead, and Harper is implicated in her murder.

Between a detective who doesn’t appreciate her amateur sleuthing skills, running a bookstore she purchased on a whim, and studying to re-sit her witch’s exam, Harper has her hands full. She’s determined to find out whodunit, and clear her name, but she quickly finds the murderer has other plans.

Excerpt from The Sleeping Beauty Killer

[image error]I hope you managed to pick up a few good freebies last weekend! Be sure to come back this weekend for the release of What the Cat Knew. Or preorder now and it will be delivered to you immediately upon release!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

I’ve read a few other books in Mary Higgins Clark’s Under Suspicion series, a series about a TV show that investigates cold cases, or in this case, investigates the claim of a woman who claims that she was wrongly convicted. The Sleeping Beauty Killer will keep you on your toes. The Queen of Suspense does not disappoint!

A wave of relief washed over her when she saw her mother and cousin waiting outside. Her mother’s hair was gray now, and she was at least an inch shorter than when Casey began serving her sentence. But when her mother wrapped her arms around her, Casey felt like a small child again. 

Mary Higgins Clark, The Sleeping Beauty Killer

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Fifteen years after being convicted of murdering her fiancé—the famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III—Casey Carter is determined to clear her name. Though she has served her time, she finds that she is still living under suspicion. Going on the true crime show Under Suspicion seems to be her only hope to prove her innocence.

The show’s producer, Laurie Moran, also believes in her innocence and wants to help Casey. But with Alex Buckley taking a break from the show—cooling his potential romance with Laurie—Under Suspicion introduces a new on-air host in Ryan Nichols, a hot shot legal whiz with a Harvard Law degree, a Supreme Court clerkship, experience as a federal prosecutor. Ryan has no problems with steering the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty.

Toxo and a round-up of freebies

Hang onto your hats! Are you ready for another round-up of Kindle freebies?

Toxo

[image error] Caleb, an autistic teen is mistakenly arrested.

Bad turns to worse when he is then apprehended from his family by DFS.

His mother could never have predicted the chain of events in a million years.

In trying to protect him, DFS has actually put Caleb in harm’s way.

Once again, Gabriel and Renata have teamed up to right injustice and to get Caleb to safety. But Andrew Searle is on the case, and it’s his job to see that they don’t succeed and that Caleb remains in foster care.

Ripped from the headlines, you won’t want to miss this intriguing plot!

Read sample

Buy now

$4.99

Free download Jan 11- 13

Other freebies!

Mirror Me
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Mirror Me, by Rachel Sanderson

Abbie Fray has moved with her family from Sydney to Derrington, a country town where everybody knows everybody and the mobile reception sucks. She’s left behind her best friend, her school, and her favourite bakery. She thinks her life can’t get any worse.

Then she makes a terrifying discovery.

Abbie looks just like Rebecca O’Reilley, a girl who was brutally murdered in Derrington a year earlier. And it doesn’t take long before Abbie learns there’s more connecting them than just appearance.

Madhouse
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Madhouse, by Miguel Estrada

Faced with his parents’ divorce, eleven-year-old Lucas runs away from home in the hope that his family will get back together to find him. While walking through the empty streets, he is picked up by a mysterious woman, who offers to take care of him and provide him with a loving family.

The boy then wakes up in shackles, confined to a bed in a decrepit house in the middle of nowhere and will have to face his deepest fears in order to survive in his new home.

AntiAmerica
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AntiAmerica, by T.K. Falco

When hacktivist group AntiAmerica hacks the nation’s largest banks, the financial industry is left teetering on the brink of collapse. Hacker and teen runaway Alanna Blake is forcefully recruited by the government to track down the only link to AntiAmerica, her missing ex-boyfriend Javier. She relies on every bit of her social engineering cunning to navigate a conspiracy of lies and deceit, which imperils both the lives of everyone closest to her and the secrets to a past she longs to remain locked away forever.

Anya

[image error]Deep in the walls of Cupola lies a secret. A 200 year old magical secret. And it’s up to Anya and her friends to solve it. Meet Anya, a twelve year old girl with utterly no direction in life. Meet Taika, her best friend who can make a potion strong enough to cure a were goblin, but may forget to warn you that it can explode at any moment. And then there’s Gevin. Yeah… well… Gevin’s just Gevin isn’t he? These three unlikely heroes will have to brew potions, battle monsters, and even endure the night-of-the-overturned-chicken-stool before discovering the deepest mysteries of Cupola. 

Truly Deadly
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Truly Deadly, by Rob Aspinall

You know you’re having a bad day when…

a) Your social life is DOA

b) You’re falling for someone you really shouldn’t

c) A secret agency is trying to kill you

Ever since the heart transplant, Lorna hasn’t been the same.

The crazy behaviours. The insane new spy skills. And the violent memories. Could they really be her donor’s?

Soon Lorna’s on the trail of a mysterious object her donor hid before his death. Not long after, she’s top of a secret agency kill list.

With only her new killer instincts to rely on, will she survive long enough to discover the truth?

Game of Fear
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Game of Fear, by Gledé Browne Kabongo

Academic overachiever Abbie Cooper has one simple goal: get into the Ivy League. But at St. Matthew’s Academy, nothing is ever simple. The pressure is overwhelming, the secrets are dirty, and the games are wicked. Abbie has a dirty secret—one that could destroy her chances of making it to Princeton, and the lives of those closest to her.

One day a package arrives from an anonymous source known only as The Avenger. The package contains a photo depicting the explosive secret Abbie has kept hidden from everyone—the shocking blunder she can never erase. For a price, The Avenger assures her that her secret will remain safe. There’s only one problem: The Avenger may not exist at all

Heaven’s Peak
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Heaven’s Peak, by Miguel Estrada

After the tragic death of his mother, teenage photographer Kevin Miller moves to a new town with his alcoholic father and eight-year-old sister in the hope of bringing the family together and starting over. However, everything changes when Kevin witnesses his sister being kidnapped by a bizarre creature. The police are skeptical of his story, so he decides to unveil the mysteries surrounding the town on his own.

On the other side of the investigation, FBI agent Norman James will do anything to solve the baffling case, except believe a traumatized teenager’s nonsense.

The Sentinel
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The Sentinel, by Hamish Spiers

Jason Harding is not your regular crime fighting superhero.

He’s not a billionaire, he’s had no training and he can’t actually fight. And since he’s trying to clean up Fringe City, a dystopian mess that’s been written off by the rest of the country, he knows he’s got his work cut out for him.

What he doesn’t know though are the limits of his abilities and how much the cataclysmic events he puts in motion will change him. To survive, Jason must learn to adapt, depend on others and trust them.

New Year’s Eve Countdown to Murder

[image error]Libby looks to get a break from the hustle of an investigative reporter’s workload, and a needy boyfriend, to find some holiday cheer with her hometown girlfriends but instead of counting down to fun – and maybe a tryst or two – it’s a countdown to murder.

The Power of Two and a Half
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The Power of Two and a Half, by Sonia Parin

Humor and magic with a witch in training, her chatty feline companion and Rebel, the fairy

Lexie and Luna have returned from exile and now share their apartment with Rebel, the fairy Lexie had been gifted with. They all have some adjusting to do but it can all wait until they show their new companion, Rebel, the sights… right after Lexie gets her first cup of coffee for the day. No one is in any hurry to get anything done, not after their recent adventure in exile. However, their best-laid plans go awry when they encounter not one, not two… not even three, but rather, all the O’Rourke detectives. One hundred of them.

Dry
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Dry, by Neal Shusterman

The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t take long showers, don’t panic.

Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbours and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return, she and her younger brother must team up with an unlikely group in search of water. Each of them will need to make impossible choices to survive.

The Howling Cliffs
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The Howling Cliffs, by Mary Deal

Sara Mason joins in searching for Huxley’s MIA brother’s remains in the Vietnam jungle. She is joined by her friend Esmerelda.

Later in Hawaii, Sara learns that a six-year-old neighborhood girl had gone missing ten years earlier. Something odd is going on at the nearby forest cliffs; someone wants this cold case to stay cold.

But even after attempts are made on Sara’s life, she pushes on with the investigation and pursues the leads that take her on a path of danger.

The Feeling of Water
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The Feeling of Water, by Tyler Pike

SHE LOST HER LIFE IN WATER…

…time to get it back.

Karan is recovering from an accident that left her disfigured and amnesiac. She’s 21, remembers no-one and feels nothing except a irrational terror of water.

Then she meets Alice. Only 16, and fearless. Strong. Bigger than life. Perhaps even supernatural. And… dangerous. When Alice forces Karan to face her worst fears, together they unleash a terror much more immediate and violent than drowning. Karan nearly died once before, and now someone is determined to ensure she is really, really dead.

Excerpt from Low Pressure

[image error]If you didn’t see my New Year’s post last week, have a look. I hope you are enjoying the new year so far and looking forward to the rest of 2019. Be sure to come back this weekend for a special promotion. Join my mailing list if you want to get a reminder email.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

I am currently reading Sandra Brown’s Low Pressure. A murder mystery where the main character, Bellamy Lyston, has written a fictional novel based on her own sister’s murder and all of the personalities involved. This might not seem like such a bad idea when the killer had already been caught, tried, and incarcerated, but if the wrong man ended up in prison, that would mean that the real killer is still on the outside. Brown ramps up the suspense as Bellamy digs into past to try to discover the bits of what happened that day that she has blocked from her memory.

It had looked innocent enough when she’d set it on her dining table along with a stack of mail … She’d noted that the label was printed with her name and address, but not the sender’s information. That was curious, but she didn’t think too much of it as she split the tape, folded back the flaps, and lifted out the gift-wrapped box inside.

Sandra Brown, Low Pressure

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Bellamy Lyston was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy’s fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day’s most devastating moments.

Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a sensational, bestselling novel based on Susan’s murder. Because the book was inspired by the tragic event that still pains her family, she published it under a pseudonym to protect them from unwanted publicity. But when an opportunistic reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on fact, Bellamy’s identity is exposed along with the family scandal.

Moreover, Bellamy becomes the target of an unnamed assailant who either wants the truth about Susan’s murder to remain unknown or, even more threatening, is determined to get vengeance for a man wrongfully accused and punished.

In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan’s wayward and reckless boyfriend — and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy’s sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections — once unlocked pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.

As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan’s slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won’t stop until she reveals Susan’s killer.

That is, unless Susan’s killer strikes her first…

 

Upcoming in 2019

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Last year, I posted some of my plans for 2018. And I thought I would do the same for this year. I also just looked at another post that I did last January about planning for the year that I would encourage you to read again this year if you are looking for some tools to help you with your productivity.

Here are some of the things that you can look forward to seeing this year!

Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective

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I’m excited about this new series coming out, the Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective series. It is a spin-off series from the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, where Reg Rawlins makes an appearance in Coup de Glace. I have three books written in this series so far, and they will be coming in the next few months.

Auntie Clem’s Bakery

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Erin has some new adventures and mysteries on her plate! I have three more books coming out in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series. Coming soon are Sour Cherry Turnover, Apple-achian Treasure, and Vegan Baked Alaska.

Gem, Himself, Alone

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Gem is a stand-alone young adult novel. This is one that I started writing quite a few years ago, and finally sorted out the issues with a wrote a new ending to. Gem is a young man with a history, on the streets, joining up with a new gang.

Gem has a secret, and Officer Riker is determined to find out what it is and to finally get Gem behind bars.

June, Into the Light

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Between the Cracks has been my most popular young adult series. In the beginning, it was intended to be a three book series, stopping with the story of the second generation, Michelle and Kenny. But when Chloe’s story came to me, I had to write it, and having told the stories of all of the other siblings, I felt the need to add Ronnie’s story as well. Then the series was done.

Except that the readers wanted more. In particular, you wanted to hear more of June’s story. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Zachary Goldman Mysteries

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It’s hard to say which series I am enjoying writing the most at the moment, but Zachary Goldman Mysteries is definitely one of the contenders. Expect three or four new mysteries to be solved by your favorite new defective detective, Zachary Goldman, this year.

Excerpt from A Great Reckoning

[image error]Happy New Year! Be sure to check out my New Year Promo post for some freebies and other great deals! Most of these deals are only offered for a limited time, so don’t delay. Later this week, I’ll be posting about my plans for 2019.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

I’ve read and mentioned a few other Louise Penny books on this blog before. Based in Quebec, the Inspector Gamache series always delves deep into the setting and history, psychology, and the complex relationships between the characters. Gamache has dealt with a lot of betrayal and corruption in his time, and in this volume, A Great Reckoning, he is once again trying to root out the source of the ongoing problems in the Sûreté du Québec and how it is tied into the mysterious map and disappearing villages.

For years, decades, as head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, his job had been to dig. To collect evidence. To review facts, and question feelings. To pursue and arrest. To use his judgment, but never to judge. 

But now he was judge and jury. The first and final word.

Louise Penny, A Great Reckoning

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When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.

Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.

And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.

Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.

The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.

For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.

 

New Year’s Specials!

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Here we are on the cusp of a new year! I hope you’re looking forward to 2019 and all it will bring you.

Did you get a kindle, tablet, or other ereader this Christmas? Are you looking for some great deals to load onto it? Well, look no further, here you go!

Toxo, Medical Kidnap Book #4

[image error] You can get Toxo free December 31 – January 1!

Awareness is increasing about medical kidnap, the practice of children being apprehended from their parents due to medical conditions. It is happening far more often than you would like to think.

This fiction series is about the children who fall victim to this practice, their families, and a small group of teens who are fighting back.

Caleb, an autistic teen is mistakenly arrested.

Bad turns to worse when he is then apprehended from his family by DFS.

His mother could never have predicted the chain of events in a million years.

In trying to protect him, DFS has actually put Caleb in harm’s way.

Once again, Gabriel and Renata have teamed up to right injustice and to get Caleb to safety. But Andrew Searle is on the case, and it’s his job to see that they don’t succeed and that Caleb remains in foster care.

Ripped from the headlines, you won’t want to miss this intriguing plot!

(Note that you can also get the first book in the series, Mito, is currently on sale for $0.99)

Read sample

Buy now

Free Dec 31 – Jan 1

And more!

Cozy Winter Reads

[image error] $2.99 for a limited time

A bundle of six cozy mystery books to read by the fire while the storm rages outside! The perfect way to spend cold winter nights.

1. “Gluten-Free Murder” by P.D. Workman

2. “Mystery at the Fair” by Connie Cockrell

3. “Horticultural Homicide” by Linda Jordan

4. “The Passed Prop” by Anne Hagan

5. “Death by Polka” by Robert Jeschonek

6. “Killer Vacation” by R.F. Kacy

Madhouse
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Madhouse, by Miguel Estrada

Free

Don’t talk to strangers…

Faced with his parents’ divorce, eleven-year-old Lucas runs away from home in the hope that his family will get back together to find him. While walking through the empty streets, he is picked up by a mysterious woman, who offers to take care of him and provide him with a loving family.

The boy then wakes up in shackles, confined to a bed in a decrepit house in the middle of nowhere and will have to face his deepest fears in order to survive in his new home.

The Reluctant Coroner
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The Reluctant Coroner, by Paul Austin Ardoin

$0.99

Blood is thicker than oil–until murder is involved.

Fenway Stevenson doesn’t want to return to the coastal town where her estranged father is practically king. But the death of her mother draws her back home–and the murder of the county coroner draws her into a deepening conspiracy. As the body count rises and all signs seem to point toward her father’s oil company, will Fenway uncover the truth before family bonds become deadly?

Model Spy
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Model Spy, by Shannon Greenland

Free

A whiz with computers, she agrees to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn’t have any family or many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn’t hurt that he’s super cute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system.

But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains orphaned teens to go undercover.

As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model.

Siphon Magic
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Siphon Magic, by Alicia Fabel

$0.99

Earth is just a prison realm for humans, who don’t know it.

Accidentally breaking out is frowned upon.

Well, crap.

Thanks to some epic bad luck, Vera tumbles through the gate separating Earth from the other realms of the world. Beyond Earth, the world is full of magic. And completely off-limits to humans.

Vera’s new protector, Kale, is the cranky, overbearing, irritatingly attractive Guardian responsible for executing humans who stray beyond their borders. Turns out, her kind broke the world a thousand years before.

WAY TO GO TEAM HUMANS!

Vera needs to get back home before anyone else figures out what she is. Her best shot at getting there with all her bits intact? Kale. Who still might kill her, if his flesh-eating demon horse doesn’t beat him to it.

Oh, and mythical monsters are real. All of them. Good times, right?

The Case of the Power Spell
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The Case of the Power Spell, by Amorette Anderson

Each book in the series is currently $0.99 and the prequel is available free through Bookfunnel

Business is slow for Penny, the only PI in a small box-canyon town nestled in the mountains of Colorado. When the town mayor offers Penny a case, she can’t turn it down.

While Penny struggles to unravel the case, she also has to figure out if she’s really capable of working magic. An ancient book told Penny that it was her destiny to become a witch, but if that’s true wouldn’t she be better at it?

It’s a good thing Penny’s knitting circle is willing to lend a hand!

A hunky vampire, a blue-haired rival witch, and a high-maintenance Chihuahua named Blueberry Muffin help (and hinder!) Penny along the way.

Insatiable Darkness
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Insatiable Darkness, by LM Preston

$0.99

EmVee didn’t know what to think about this new town her father’s passion for boxing lured them. It was an unlikely location for her to pursue her dream of going semi-pro. Just when she started getting used to the school with gorgeous jocks and strange cheerleaders, the depth of the danger her father’s choices dangled them in front of became clear. EmVee hoped Silas and Kayson will be able to help her uncover the mystery identity of the person who is threatening her family. The question is, will she survive to expose the mystery.

The Dragon Sea Chronicles
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The Dragon Sea Chronicles, by Brian Ference

$0.99 for three books

Follow Darek of the Red Claw Clan through this three book box set, a young sailor crossing blades with ruthless pirates and warring clans. As his hidden powers grow, first in his natural ability to commune with sea dragons, so too does his uncanny dragon-riding skill and sudden bursts of psi power.

Yet a foul wind blows across the serpent deeps, bringing with it a former apprentice, Cyrus, a forsaken sorcerer who wields terror and death. The Dragonclaw Islands are thrust into the brink of war as Darek struggles to find his path, unlock his skills, though alienated from his sister and parents. Is he destined to become the Mage Reborn? Ever more does he realize he must stop the tides of war, bring order to clan and family while the rising menace of Cyrus lurks unseen.

Taken under the wing of the ailing Dragon Mage Agrippa, Darek uses his powers to unite the Dragon Riders against the growing swarm of sea serpents controlled by Cyrus’s forbidden magic. The fires of rebellion, stoked by a Pirate Queen, plunge the Islanders into an all-out war among dragons, sea serpents, and monsters of the deep.

Her Dakota Man
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Her Dakota Man, by Lisa Mondello

Free

She needed to risk the truth to get a second chance…

Poppy Ericksen had spent the year wondering how all their lives might have been different after hearing the deathbed confession of her childhood friend. She’d left South Dakota years ago because she couldn’t bear to watch the man she loved loving another woman. But now she knows the truth. She’ll keep the promise she made to a friend, but will Logan understand when he learns the truth? More important, can they again recapture the passion that had been between them all those years ago?

He needed to face the past to get the love of a woman he thought he’d lost…

Everyone knows that the Dakotas didn’t get the name Badlands for nothing. Harsh weather and rough living are a way of life. But single dad, Logan McKinnon, had seen more than his share of bad times after the death of his wife a year ago. The last thing he needs is Poppy Ericksen, an old flame and his late wife’s best friend, showing up unannounced to help after devastating floods nearly washed away their hometown. With no place to stay in town, he has no choice but to offer her a bed at his house. But can he live under the same roof with a woman he’d once loved passionately without feeling he’s betraying his late wife?

From a Distant Star
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From a Distant Star, by Karen McQuestion

$0.99

When Lucas Walker inexplicably recovers from a terminal illness, everyone is astonished –except for his girlfriend Emma, who never gave up hope. However, as friends and family celebrate the miracle, Emma becomes alarmed: Lucas has changed. He speaks haltingly, can’t recall past events, and even his own dog doesn’t recognize him. Emma begins to suspect something is terribly wrong. What happened to the Lucas she loved? Does his strange behavior have something to do with the shooting light that fell into Lucas’s backyard the night he recovered?

As the two set off on a road trip in search of the truth, the journey takes an unexpected turn. First they’re shot at by unknown enemies and then helped by unlikely allies. Before long, Emma and Lucas are plunged into a desperate life or death race against time.

Flight Risk
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Flight Risk Cozy Mystery Boxed Set, by Susan Harper

$0.99

Newfound friends Kendell and Pauline are traveling the world looking for adventure. With a knack for finding trouble, they keep finding themselves in the middle of murder mysteries. Can they stay one step ahead or are they destined to become the victims in the next murder mystery?

This Flight RiskCozy Mystery Boxed Set contains the first six books in the Flight Risk Cozy Mystery series. If you like fast paced mysteries with interesting characters and unexpected twists, you’re going to love the Flight Risk Cozy Mystery series.

Books and Brews
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Books and Brews, by Susan Harper

$0.99

Monica Montoya is the new owner of the Back Room Bookstore, an ordinary bookstore with a back door to the supernatural realm. When a man is killed at a party, her plan to live a normal life is turned upside down. With the help of a little magic, she seeks to bring the killer to justice. Can Monica keep her secret and protect her friends, both mortal and supernatural?

Romance or crime?

Be sure to come back December 31 – January 1 for a round-up of great New Year’s deals! If you would like a reminder emailed to you, click here. This will not sign you up for my newsletter; it will only be used for a one-time email reminder and then the list will be deleted.

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Over the last month or so, I have watched way too many Christmas romance movies. My husband really likes them, so we have watched just about every one that has come on TV, or at least it feels that way. These movies tend to be very formulaic, as described in this satirical post that I saw on Facebook.

That’s fine. Readers/movie watchers enjoy particular tropes, so they are used over and over again. I am seriously considering writing a Christmas book where the female protagonist goes back to the small-town-with-the-Christmas-spirit and the old flame she left behind when she was eighteen to pursue her dream job, only to discover that he is a jerk and the townspeople are petty and small-minded, that the town would be better off if it was bulldozed by the big developer, and that she had the Christmas spirit all along!

But we watched one movie that really bothered me. Several things happened:

The man who was the romantic interest employed high-pressure tactics to try to talk the female protagonist into participating in something that she made very clear she did not want to be a part of.
When she continued to refuse, he signed her up anyway and publicized that she was doing it.
He gave her and her young daughter unexpected presents and attention.
He arranged things so that the protagonist’s child care worker could not take care of her daughter one day, and then volunteered to care for the girl. When she objected, he pointed out that the daughter liked him and therefore he would be a good babysitter. She agreed to let him have her daughter for the day.

All kinds of red flags!

Now, this is a holiday romance, so everything turns out just fine. No harm comes to the daughter, the protagonist decides she is in love with the romantic interest, she does the performance he signed her up for, a lovely Christmas is had by all, and they live happily ever after.

But in real life, these are red flags of someone with an abusive personality who may be grooming the daughter for sexual abuse. Ignoring the mother’s clear “no” answers and manipulating her, giving gifts and attention, and inserting himself into a position to be alone with the daughter in a position of trust are all warning signs.

Sexual predators can be very subtle. Know the signs and talk to your kids about inappropriate behaviours. Encourage them to talk to you if they feel uncomfortable about someone or if adults (even close friends and relatives) tell them to keep a secret, show them pornography, tell inappropriate jokes, etc. Then get the person out of your life.

This happened to us once. It was scary, it made us feel like we were being paranoid, and it was difficult to have nothing more to do with the person in question, someone who had been very generous to our family and had developed a close relationship with my husband and son.

We can’t always predict who the predators are. They will appear friendly and charming. But if we know the signs, sometimes we can identify the danger before it strikes.

On TV and in books, there is often a strong male lead who tells the female protagonist how she needs to change her life in order to be happy. She resists, but he is right, and when she finally gives in and does what he tells her to, they live happily ever after. That is fantasy, escapism. In real life you are the one who is best positioned to make the decisions that will make you happy. As much as we would like to live in a book where we know we will live happily ever after, we need to be in charge of our own lives and not let someone else dictate our choices.

So enjoy your romance movies and books, but don’t live your life like one.