Babs Hightower's Blog, page 116
February 19, 2015
Leather iPhone 6 Wallet Case Review ( lack of )
Reviewers and customers beware. The company ( THE SIMPLE BAKER ) is notorious to accept your application on Tomoson to review but never sends out the product. They have several complaints just wish I would have seen them before I applied. It has been since the beginning of January and to this date of the post not a thing and no responses to several emails.
Product Description
Looking for Amazon Prime reviews to write a review for an awesome iPhone 6 Wallet Case
Reviewer must have an iPhone and review within 7 days of receipt.
Handcrafted from premium leather, the Wallet Case for iPhone 6 presents a timeless, sophisticated look. Featuring multiple slots for cards and cash, this contemporary design redefines the boundaries between form and function for the modern commuter.
Genuine handcrafted leather for sophisticated style
Separate slots for your ID and cards, as well as a pocket for cash
Form-fitting interior case section securely holds your device in place
Slim profile provides a sleek look
The post Leather iPhone 6 Wallet Case Review ( lack of ) appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
Lorhainne Eckhart Sale Blitz & Giveaway
Saved, Friendly Fire, &
A Different Kind of Love
by Lorhainne Eckhart
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance
Saved
Series: Saved, #1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: May 11, 2013
Synopsis
Growing up I had dreams that one day I’d fall in love, get married and start a family. Then one night I was taken.
But I survived, I escaped and I was saved. Eric didn’t see me as damaged. He didn’t see my baby as a monster. He protected me, he kept me safe … he saved me.
Friendly Fire
Series: The Wilde Brothers, #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Synopsis
In FRIENDLY FIRE, after a roadside bomb ends his career in the marines, Logan Wilde struggles to put his life back together. When he takes a job as a sheriff in a small Idaho town, he expects a quiet, peaceful life that will bore him to tears. However, Logan hides a painful secret: He suffers from sleepless nights and flashbacks that come out of nowhere, and anything can be a trigger.
From the moment the new sheriff walks through the door of Julia Cooper’s cafe, she fights the attraction between them, especially after Logan shoots a carafe right from her hands when he’s startled by a car backfiring in the street outside. Julia has seen that wild look before: She saw it in her father’s eyes right before he shoved a gun to his head and killed himself.
Julia decides she needs to meet someone average, someone who has never handled a gun. Everyone is convinced that her daughter’s teacher is the perfect match for her, but when she’s with him, she misses the sparks that always sizzle between her and Logan—and when her daughter goes missing, it’s Logan who’s there for her, Logan who searches with her, and Logan she leans on.
Worse, Logan suspects that the teacher knows something about the disappearance, and he may not be the safe, dependable guy Julia believes him to be.
A Different Kind of Love
Series: The Friessens, #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Synopsis
From USA Today Bestselling Author Lorhainne Eckhart comes A Different Kind of Love, the next book in, The Friessens: A New Beginning, this romantic family saga.
A Different Kind of Love brings back the couple that started it all: Brad and Emily. You fell in love with them in The Forgotten Child. Now, years later, they face an entirely new set of challenges with their preteen autistic boy when his mother, Crystal, returns. She wants a relationship with the boy she abandoned–something Brad and Emily never expected. She says she’s changed, but can the Friessens believe her?
Saved
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes
Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ Google Play Books ~ All Romance
Friendly Fire
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes
Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ Google Play Books ~ All Romance
A Different Kind of Love
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes
Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ Google Play Books ~ All Romance
USA Today Bestselling Author Lorhainne Eckhart’s books have been described as Longmire meets old-school Dallas, and she recently received the 2013 Readers’ Favorite Award for Romantic Suspense for her title Lost and Found. With over thirty titles under her belt, she is frequently a Top 100 bestselling author in multiple genres, such as romance, westerns, and mystery/suspense, including such series as The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, The Saved, and her most recent addition, The Friessens: A New Beginning.
Lorhainne lives on sunny Salt Spring Island with her family, where she is working on her next novel.
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Google + ~ Tsu
Amazon ~ Website ~ Kick Ass Books Blog
Email: Lorhainne@LorhainneEckhart.com
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The post Lorhainne Eckhart Sale Blitz & Giveaway appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
Ebook Stage blast
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If you are looking for the most popular eBooks within all eBook deals on the web, let eBookStage help you find your next big deal today!
Make sure you check their deals today! You will find many of your favorite authors. You will also find the best deals for all devices – Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Nook, Kobo, and more.
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Subscribe to the eBookStage Newsletter
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Website ~ eBookStage.com
Newsletter Sign Up
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Google Plus
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Playing Dirty: Bad Boys Undercover # 1 by HelenKay Dimon Tasty Virtual Book Tour
Giveaway at end of post
As an elite Alliance agent—the joint undercover operation of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and the CIA—Ford Decker lives for the adrenaline. But when he befriends sexy property manager Shay Alexander in hopes of finding her cousin, a known national security threat, Ford crosses the line, getting to know her better . . . in bed.
After being burned by her last relationship, Shay wants to take things slow. Yet she can’t keep her hands off the drop-dead gorgeous hottie who’s moved into her apartment building. So when Ford’s identity as an undercover agent is exposed, his betrayal cuts deep. Shay never wants to see him again, but Ford can’t let her go, not when her life is still in danger. He will sacrifice everything to protect her, then be prepared to walk away from the only woman he’s ever loved, even if it breaks him.
PLAYING DIRTY by HelenKay Dimon
Excerpt
It was almost four o’clock in the afternoon when Ford walked into her apartment. One firm knock, then the keys jingled in the lock before she could get up from the kitchen table. Seeing him walk in—was that a beer ad on his shirt?—had her brain misfiring.
His biceps bunched under the edge of his tee. Be- tween the scruff around his chin, big smile, and dark brooding good looks, she felt something gurgle in her throat. It was as if she were treading water and getting tugged under. She’d talked about having someone steal her breath before. With Ford she lived the sensation.
While she loved seeing him, she had no idea why she was right now. He worked long hours and four o’clock qualified more as lunch than his quitting time. With one leg crossed over the other and her foot bouncing against the floor, she stared him down. She held her pen in a death grip to keep from fidgeting and flinging it around.
The more still he stood there, leaning in the doorway, the more nervous she became. Energy rolled through her, all jumbled and making her twitchy. Maybe if he’d stop staring back. “Ford?”
“That’s hot.”
She followed his gaze to her hands. The edge of her checkbook dug into her palm from where she clenched it. With her elbows balanced on the table, she tried to ease the tension in her shoulders and relax, though that rarely worked with him around. “What?”
This time he gestured with his chin. “You. Right there.”
She lifted her hand and pointed the bottom of the pen in his general direction. “I’m writing a check.”
“Exactly.”
“You should see me vacuum.” She wanted to laugh but no sound came out. His effect on her scared her sometimes.
“Are you trying to break my concentration?”
“I don’t even know what you’re doing here at this time of the day.” Standing, leaning, generally making her insides jump and jiggle.
“Staring.”
She noticed that, too. “Okay . . . why?”
“All that traveling, all those times I leave . . .” His voice trailed off as he pushed away from the door and came toward her. “I want to remember your face.”
That sounded like a goodbye or a break. Like some- thing she did not want and would fight to fend off. “Are you telling me you’re leaving again?”
He kept walking until she stood next to her chair. “Just for twenty-four hours.”
Just. “Honestly, Ford. Who needs this type of non- stop computer service?”
He made a face. “Uh, everyone?”
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/12/playing-dirty-bad-boys-undercover-1-by.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22043162-playing-dirty?from_search=true
See the Series on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/127877-bad-boys-undercover
Buy Links : Amazon | Barnes | iTunes | Kobo
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Dirty-Bad-Boys-Undercover/dp/0062330055
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playing-dirty-helenkay-dimon/1119440276?ean=9780062330055
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/playing-dirty/id714578761?mt=11
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/search?query=HelenKay%20Dimon&fcsearchfield=Author&fclanguages=all
Author Info
HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce attorney turned full-time romance author. Odd transition, right? She has sold over thirty novels, novellas and shorts to numerous publishers, including Kensington, Harlequin and Penguin, Samhain, Carina Press, and HarperCollins. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose.
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter |Goodreads
Website: http://helenkaydimon.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenKayDimon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenkaydimon
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/70860.HelenKay_Dimon
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Three Sets including an ebook of RUNNING HOT and Print Copy of PLAYING DIRTY)
The post Playing Dirty: Bad Boys Undercover # 1 by HelenKay Dimon Tasty Virtual Book Tour appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
February 18, 2015
THE DEEP END GREAT ESCAPES BOOK TOUR, Guest Post & Giveaway
The Deep End
by Julie Mulhern
The Deep End
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Henery Press (February 17, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-1941962237
E-Book File Size: 507 KB
ASIN: B00PWE819Q
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES
Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.
It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.
As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her.
Guest post
In the 1970s, there was nothing quite so homogenous as a country club. Think Lilly Pulitzer as a summer uniform. Think playing golf, tennis and bridge with the same people day after day. Think the same books, television shows and music.
That is Ellison Russell’s world before she swims into a body. That and trying to hold onto the frayed remains of her marriage. Job number two is attempting to please her controlling mother who insists that Ellison play bridge after finding a corpse…
From her seat at the table, Mother gave me her best what’s-Ellison-wearing look. The expression includes narrowed eyes, pursed lips, a tilted chin and the expectation of disappointment. I wore a sunny yellow Lilly shift printed with orange baboons and green squirrels, a matching lime sweater around my shoulders and green sandals with a sedate heel.
She couldn’t complain. I was on time, appropriately dressed with my hair combed into the French twist she preferred. I offered her a pinched expression that might pass for a smile.
“Darling girl, I heard y’all had the most appalling morning.” Bitty Sue Foster beamed up at me. With her deep tan, surfeit of teeth and cotton ball hair, Bitty Sue’s smile could be rather blinding. I blinked. “Your momma said y’all didn’t want to be alone.” Bitty Sue was from Savannah and forty years of living in Kansas City had done nothing to erase her accent. “I’m so glad we had an open seat.”
Lorna Michaels reached out and trapped my wrist in her roped hand. With its pointy nails, it looked like a turkey vulture’s talon. “You must tell us all about it. You’ll feel better.”
She’d feel better dining out on a first-hand account of how I found a murdered Madeline Harper floating in the swimming pool.
In that moment, murder seemed like a completely reasonable way to handle problems. I could slip cyanide into Mother’s five o’clock gin and tonic or maybe I could toss a toaster into her bubble bath or… I didn’t know. Never having contemplated murder before, I wasn’t terribly creative.
Ellison would tell you that murder has a way of distilling priorities and that finding a body can ruin your whole day…and a rubber of bridge. Over the course of The Deep End, Ellisn discovers that blackmail, greed and murder swim beneath the smooth surface of homogeneity. She also discovers herself.
About This Author
Julie Mulhern is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean—and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is—she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions. She is a 2014 Golden Heart® Finalist. The Deep End is her first mystery and is the winner of The Sheila Award.
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliekmulhern
Twitter: @juliekmulhern
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/juliemulhern/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8573907.Julie_Mulhern
The post THE DEEP END GREAT ESCAPES BOOK TOUR, Guest Post & Giveaway appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
February 17, 2015
Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen Blog Tour
Diamond Rings are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen
Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she is especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is murdered just three days before the wedding, Adri’s world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri’s impeccable taste and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success–that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim. With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.
Amazon
My thoughts:
I rather enjoyed this read. I did not want to put it down at all. I had to force myself to wait until the next day to finish it. Warm and loving characters with enough twists to keep you guessing all the way up to the very last page. I am ready for the next book.
The author does an excellent job with the story line, characters and scenery.
Praise
“I love Rachelle J. Christensen’s stories and characters, and Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things is another thrilling mystery to add to my collection. Don’t be surprised if you have to stay up all night to finish he book!” ~Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Before I Say Goodbye
Diamond Rings are Deadly Things pulled me right in from the first page and held me captive until the very end. Great characters, a compelling plot, a surprising twist at the end … Rachelle Christensen knows how to craft a great mystery. ~Tristi Pinkston, author of the Secret Sisters Mysteries
A cunningly crafty mystery with just the right mix of romance. Readers won’t be able to get enough of Adrielle Pyper, stunning party-planner turned heroine. ~Nichole Giles, author of Descendant
Author Rachelle J. ChristensenRachelle J. Christensen was born and raised in a small farming town in Idaho. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology.
She enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational speaking, and of course reading. Rachelle has an amazing husband, five cute kids, three cats, and five chickens.
Website * Facebook * Twitter
Blog * Goodreads * Craft Website
Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 2/25/15
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
The post Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen Blog Tour appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
The Adelheid Series by Mia Darien Blog Tour & Interview
The Adelheid Series
by Mia Darien
Tour Dates: February 16-20
Publication Date: December 2011
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
Word Count: 45K
Giveaway: $10 Amazon/B&N G.C. or Book Depository Book Spree
Vampires are people too…
That’s what Sadie Stanton has been trying to get people to understand, and what the business she’s setting up in the paranormal hotspot of Adelheid, Connecticut, is aiming to do. Cameron’s Law has made all supernatural creatures legal citizens, and the boy next door has suddenly become the werewolf next door.
Not everyone likes that.
Now vampires have started attacking werewolves without provocation, and as if her fledgling business and preternatural rights poster girl status isn’t keeping her busy enough, people are looking to Sadie to help keep these events from giving their enemies the ammunition to repeal the law and push them back in the shadows.
But her notoriety comes with an even higher cost. Can she find a way to keep the city’s two biggest paranormal populations from descending into chaos and war, while her very help shoves her into the crossfire?
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Interview:
Babs: When did you know you wanted to write?
Mia: I was fourteen. I had been reading adult level fantasy since I was eleven, so I’m not sure what happened three years later to inspire it, but I wrote my first “novel” then. (I had written little things as a kid, like most do, but this was my first “serious” effort.) It was horrible. A high fantasy epic quest that took all of forty pages with magic, fated lovers, girls with flower names and a quest with an evil wizard as the final boss.
Babs: What would you like your readers to get out of your books?
Mia: I don’t write high literature or books to study, I just write to entertain people. So if someone finishes a book of mine and says, “I really enjoyed that” and they felt engaged by my story, then I say my job has been well done.
Babs: Do you have a current project in the works?
Mia: I always have current projects. Real Life (silly thing that it is) has slowed my writing time lately, but I have an epic fantasy years in the making nearing the end, and the next Adelheid book in process.
Babs: Do you have a ritual when you are writing?
Mia: I don’t. I’m a spaztastic writer and just write when the mood strikes, so where ever I am, whatever device I have in hand (I’ve written on my phone before), that’s when I do it.
Babs: Hobbies outside of writing?
Mia: I go uber-geek on my hobbies. I do play-by-email role-playing, which is more like collaborative storytelling. And I play World of Warcraft. I also try to read as much as I can, but for some reason, I never feel like that’s a “hobby.”
Babs: What book or books are you currently reading?
Mia: “Age of Iron” by Angus Watson is sitting on my nightstand. Usually I have more than one going, but right now, that’s it until I decide on the next book on my Nook to read. (Though I read very fast, so between the time I am replying to this interview and the time it’s posted, I’ll probably have read a few, lol.)
Babs: If you could be one character from one of your books who would it be?
Mia: From one of my own books? Dakota. She’s too much fun.
Babs: Favorite drink?
Mia: I’ll admit, I drink more soda than I should.
Babs: What is your favorite ice cream?
Mia: Strawberry.
Babs: What is your favorite food?
Mia: I grew up rural, so I’m a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Nothing beats a good steak dinner to me.
Babs: Anything else you would like to add?
Mia: Thank you for having me, and I hope that people check out my Adelheid series and enjoy them! You can find me at my website (http://www.miadarien.com), where you can find links to my Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads!
About the Author:
Born a Connecticut Yankee in nobody’s court, Mia Darien grew up to brave snow and talk fast. She started reading when she was three and never looked back, soon frequently falling asleep with a book under her cheek. (Something she still does, though these days it’s her Nook as often as a paperback.)
At eleven, she discovered “Night Mare” by Piers Anthony and entered the world of grown-up fantasy fiction and it was all over from there. She started writing at fourteen, then met vampires as a teenager and the concept for what would become Adelheid was soon born. Epic fantasy remains her first love, but she enjoys writing whatever stories come to mind in any genre.
Now she loves both writing and helping her indie community with her freelancing. A geek till the end, she enjoys role-play by email games and World of Warcraft when she has the time. Married to her very own Named Man of the North, she lives with him, their mini-tank (also known as their son) and pets, who usually act more childish than the child.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
The post The Adelheid Series by Mia Darien Blog Tour & Interview appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
Cover reveal Caldwell brothers by Chelsea Cameron
Hendrix (Caldwell Brothers, #1)
Chelsea Camaron & M.J. Fields
Releasing March 8, 2015
Cover Design by IndieVentions Designs
Blurb
“One bourbon, one shot, one night—that’s my world. Life is finally getting on track for me and my brothers. Things are far from perfect, but after removing the thorn from our sides, they damn sure are looking up.” –Hendrix Caldwell.
Hendrix Caldwell, the oldest of the Caldwell brothers, is the ever steady voice of reason out of the three Detroit—Rock City’s—wild boys. Focused, determined, and living with a chip on his shoulder, Hendrix is married to his bar, allowing no time for anything more than a casual hook up. Work hard, play harder—that is the Caldwell brothers’ way.
For Olivia Gordon, life is nothing except the school of hard knocks. Born as the conse-quence of a one night stand, Olivia didn’t have the childhood found in movies and books. How-ever, she’s all grown up now and completely on her own. Drowning in debt, she is looking for a small break in life, but the hits just keep on coming.
One night, one charity event, two masks hiding them from the world and each other… Two people let go and share the best of each other in a luxury hotel’s storage closet for one night they both can’t forget. One night they both revisit in their dreams.
What happens when two worlds collide not once, but twice? When they find out who was behind the mask, will sparks fly, or will their past demons keep them apart?
Giveaway!
About the Authors
Chelsea Camaron
Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Twitter
Chelsea Camaron was born and raised in Coastal North Carolina. She currently resides in Southern Louisiana with her husband and two children but her heart is always Carolina day dreaming.
Chelsea always wanted to be a writer, but like most of us, let fear of the unknown grab a hold of her dream; she realized that if she was going to tell her daughter to go for her dreams, that it was time to follow her own advice.
Chelsea grew up turning wrenches alongside her father, and from that grew her love for old muscle cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, which just so happened to inspired her ‘Daddy’s Girls’ series. Her love for reading has sparked a new love for writing and she currently has a few more projects in the works.
When she is not spending her days writing you can find her playing with her kids, attending car shows, going on motorcycle rides on the back of her husband’s Harley, snuggling down with her new favorite book or watching any movie that Vin Diesel might happen to be in.
She hates being serious and is still a big kid at heart. She is a small town country girl enjoying life and, Chelsea hopes that her readers remember not to take life too seriously and to embrace your inner five year old, because five year olds know how to enjoy the simple things in life and how to always have fun.
M.J. Fields
Facebook | Website | Twitter | Goodreads
MJ Fields’s love of writing was in full swing by age eight. Together with her cousins, she wrote a newsletter for family members. The newsletter was put back into ‘publication’ in September of 2001 for the entertainment of her cousin on a Navy aircraft carrier in the gulf, (Her cousin is a female Navy officer and helicopter pilot).
She self-published her first New Adult romance in January 18, 2013. Today, she has completed four self-published series, The Love series, The Wrapped series, The Burning Souls series, and The Men of Steel series.
Ties of Steel, (the first series spun off of some the Men of Steel series) book 1 ABE and book 2 Dominic are now available. The Norfolk series, has two titles available now, Irons 1 and Irons 2.
MJ is an Amazon bestselling author in multiple categories as well as all of Amazon as a whole. She lives in central New York, surrounded by family and friends. Her house is full of pets, friends, and noise ninety percent of the time, and she would have it no other way.
The post Cover reveal Caldwell brothers by Chelsea Cameron appeared first on ~*~Babs Book Bistro~*~.
What the Fly Saw by Frankie Bailey tour & Giveaway
by Frankie Bailey
on Tour Feb 1 – March 28, 2015
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery (near-future police procedural)
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 10:1250048303 | 13:978-1250048301
Series: Detective Hannah McCabe #2
Purchase Links: 
Synopsis:
Albany, New York, January 2020 (parallel universe)
A blizzard sweeps up the coast and shuts down the city. When it is over, funeral director Kevin Novak is found dead in the basement of his funeral home. The arrow sticking out of his chest came from his own hunting bow. A loving husband and father and an active member of a local megachurch, Novak had no known enemies. His family and friends say he had been depressed because his best friend died suddenly of a heart attack and Novak blamed himself. But what does his guilt have to do with his death? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. Three people — the minister of the megachurch, the psychiatrist who provides counseling to church members, and a medium visiting from the South – say they reached out to Kevin Novak. One of them might know why Novak was murdered. But Detective Hannah McCabe and her partner, Mike Baxter, must sort through lies and evasions as they try to find the killer. The relationship between the partners is threatened as McCabe deals with a political controversy involving her family, unanswered questions about their last high-profile case, and her own guilt because a young woman died after McCabe failed to act.
Guest post
The Romance Conundrum
By Frankie Y. Bailey
Can a hard-working female professional find time in her life for romance? The answer to that question becomes somewhat more complex when the female professional in question packs a gun and is the protagonist of her own series. The conundrum for the author of any series featuring an unattached protagonist is that readers anticipate that at some point the character will encounter prospective short- or long-term partners. This is especially the case when the protagonist is female. The women’s movement of the 1960s/70s helped to remove barriers to employment in formerly male-dominated professions. But in both real life and popular culture, female professionals continue to be defined not only by their career choices but their personal relationships.
Some readers of mystery/detective fiction prefer their crime straight-up – undiluted by romantic subplots. But, even among these readers, this ban may make an exception for the treacherous pairings found in hard-boiled noir (with tough guys and gals involved in sexy and potentially deadly encounters). Asked about their objections to romance/love/sex in crime fiction, those who object will often say that what bothers them is when the romance (in whatever form) distracts from the plot. They do not necessarily rule out well-written relationships that illustrate aspects of the protagonist’s personality, reflect character development, or take the book and/or the series in an interesting direction.
This openness on the part of some readers to an emotional life for the protagonist means that they are also watching to see if an eligible (or ineligible) partner enters the protagonist’ orbit. I learned this with my first book in my first series. My crime historian, Lizzie Stuart, was vacationing in Cornwall, England when she became involved in a murder at a private hotel. Also on vacation in this small town – John Quinn, a Philadelphia homicide cop. Drawn into the murder investigation, they spent enough time together to become friendly. Then came the last chapter of the book – crime solved, vacation over. “Nice meeting you” was what I had in mind. Unexpected kiss was what happened. Five books and two short stories into the series, Lizzie and John Quinn, the cop, are still sleuthing together.
That brings me to Hannah McCabe, the Albany, New York homicide detective in my new series. In The Red Queen Dies (2013), McCabe has a brief scene with an unidentified romantic partner and skillfully dodges her new police partner’s questions about her personal life. In the second book, What the Fly Saw (March 2015), the reader learns a bit more about McCabe’s personal life. This book also brings back a male character from the first book, but no romantic sparks are yet flying. As this series moves forward, my challenge as a writer will be to keep the focus on McCabe as a competent, dedicated police professional while allowing her to have a personal life. I don’t know what is going to happen – but I suspect that when the second book comes out I’m going to start to get questions and comments from readers. That won’t be a bad thing. That will mean that they care about McCabe and believe in her as a character.
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1
Saturday, January 18, 2020
5:47 AM
After the storm had passed, in the chilly hour before dawn, the last of the “space zombies” found their way back to their nest in the derelict house.
From his command post, the squad leader gave the signal. “Go!”
A black van pulled up in front of the house. Albany PD vice cops wearing protective gear jumped out and stormed up the walk. They used a battering ram to smash open the wooden door.
“Police! Albany PD!”
“Police!”
Their high-powered torches illuminated the grotesque horror movie creatures in the 3-D posters on the walls.
One of the cops ripped down a dangling black plastic replica of the 2012 UFO. He tossed the boomerang-shaped object to the floor.
Hippiefreaks, he thought. Ought to make them all go live out in the Mojave Desert and wait for the mother ship to arrive.
He kicked at the nearest mattress on the floor. “Police!” he shouted down at the long-haired occupant. “On your feet!”
Blank eyes in an eerie white-painted face stared up at him.
“Hands up! Hands up!” the cop yelled as the kid stumbled to his feet. He shoved him against the wall and patted him down.
Upstairs, in a bathroom, another cop had found a girl sprawled out, unconscious, on the dirty tile floor beside the toilet. She had vomited in the toilet bowl. Her jeans were stained with urine and feces.
Reaching down, he shook her, and then rolled her onto her side to see her face beneath the mop of dark hair. A nasty bruise on her cheekbone stood out against the streaked white paint. He moved her red scarf aside to feel for a pulse in her throat. The scarf was damp, like her tee shirt and soiled blue jeans.
“Whaddya have?” another cop asked from the doorway.
“Looks like an OD,” the cop inside the bathroom said. “Still breathing, but the wagon had better get here fast.”
“Got it,” the other cop said, touching thecomm button on his helmet.
The cop in the bathroom spotted a smear of blood on the corner of the sink. That explained the bruise. She’d banged her face on the sink when she passed out.
Downstairs in the kitchen, cops surveyed the debris of dirty dishes and rotting garbage – and an impressive array of drugs and paraphernalia.
One of them lowered her weapon and observed, “With a stash like this, they could have stayed zonked out until the next UFO came to visit.”
Chapter 2
Saturday afternoon
3:17 PM
Funeral director Kevin Novak stared at the Cupid and Psyche bronze clock on his host, Olive Cooper’s mantel. He had allowed himself to become marooned on a conversational island with Paige, Olive’s great niece.
As Paige complained about the conversation and laughter filling the long room — the “rabble babble,” as sheput it — Kevin found a name for what he had been feeling for the past forty-eight plus hours. Grief.
He was experiencing first-hand what he had often observed when relatives came into the funeral home after the unexpected death of a loved one. That first stage of grieving the experts described as denial, but he often thought of as amazement and disbelief. The stage of bereavement when family members spoke of their dead loved one in the present tense because they couldn’t yet believe their lives had been ripped apart.
It seemed in this state of mind, one went through the usual motions, saying what was expected. But the shell was thin. His was developing cracks. He could tell because he felt no inclination at all to warn Paige Cooper that he had glanced over her shoulder and seen her Great Aunt Olive headed their way and Paige had better shut up. So he must be moving into the next stage: anger.
“Where in the galaxy did Aunt Olive find these people?” Paige said. “Look at them.”
“Some of them are from the church’s community outreach,” Kevin said.
True, Olive’s guest list for this celebration of her life reflected her eccentricities. An odd assortment of guests: old friends, relatives, church members and business associates, and other people who tickled Olive’s fancy or touched her big heart. But they had all cleaned up and put on their best in Olive’s honor.
“It’s freezing in here,” Paige said. She pulled the belt of her hand-knit cardigan tighter and held her hands out toward the fireplace.
“Feels fine to me,” Kevin said.
“It really is annoying we have to come out for this farce when there’s a blizzard on the way. The least Aunt Olive could do is heat this mausoleum. Everyone here except her will come down with pneumonia, and we’ll still have to do this all over again when she finally does kick off.”
“When I finally do ‘kick off’, Paige,” her great aunt said, right behind her. “You may feel free not to attend my funeral. In fact, if you die first – maybe of the pneumonia you expect to catch – you’ll spare us both that annoyance. And for your information, it was your father who insisted on including you in this shindig.”
Paige flushed an unbecoming shade of scarlet. “Aunt Olive, I didn’t mean –”
“I know what you meant. Get yourself a glass of champagne, now you’re actually old enough to drink, and make the best of the situation.”
Olive’s sharp gaze fastened on Kevin. “And since you already know you’re going to get to bury me when I’m dead, you can relax and enjoy the party.”
“I always enjoy your parties, Olive,” Kevin said.
“Come with me,” she said. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Aware of Paige’s suspicious glare, Kevin smiled in her direction. That would teach the little brat to say funeral directors reminded her of vultures without first checking for one of the species within hearing distance.
Vultures sometimes exacted their petty revenge.
“At your service, Olive,” he said, offering his arm to the woman, who was eighty-five years old and counting and might well live to be a hundred.
“How have you been?” she asked him.
“Fine,” Kevin said. “Never better.”
“Don’t give me that. Anyone who knows you can tell you’re still taking Bob’s death hard.”
“Having your best friend collapse with a heart attack while you’re beating him at tennis and then die on the operating table can have that effect.”
“It’s been over four months since it happened. You should be coping with it by now.”
“I am coping with it.”
“You’re still off-kilter. Not your usual self. That’s why I want you to meet Luanne Woodward.”
“Luanne? That medium or spiritualist or whatever she calls herself that you found somewhere?”
“I didn’t find her ‘somewhere’. She was the featured lecturer at a fundraiser.”
“Lecturer? Don’t you mean ‘performer’?”
“She talked about being a medium and answered questions. She’s an interesting woman. I think you could benefit from talking to her.”
“I don’t believe in that hocus-pocus, Olive.”
“I don’t believe in most of it, either. I’m almost ancient enough to remember the Fox Sisters and their flimflam. But, as I said, Luanne’s interesting. I invited her today so you could meet her.”
Kevin noticed one of Olive’s guests filling his plate high with the urgency of a man who expected the bounty in front of him to disappear.
“And do what?” he said in belated response to Olive. “Sign up for her next séance?”
“That might not be a bad idea. Spiritual therapy, so to speak.”
“I get my spiritual therapy at church on Sunday from our minister. You might consider doing the same.”
“At my age, I take what I need from wherever I happen to find it. And the fact you’re going all righteous on me instead of laughing about my eccentricities, as you like to call them, proves you’re off-kilter. We need to get you putto right.”
“Olive, I don’t think a medium and a séance will do the trick.”
“You need an opportunity to confront your feelings.”
“I have confronted my feelings. I confronted them after Bob died. I sought counseling from both Reverend Wyatt and Jonathan Burdett.”
Olive stopped walking and glared at him. “Now, if you want to talk about hocus-pocus, psychiatrists are right up there. You lie on their couch spilling your guts. And they mumble an occasional Freudian pearl of wisdom while they’re thinking about how they intend to spend what they’re charging you.”
“Burdett offers the option of sitting in a comfortable armchair, and, as you well know, his services are free to church members.”
“The church pays his salary, so he’s not free. He’s full of his diplomas and his jargon, that’s what he is.”
“And what about your medium? Is she one-hundred percent jargon free?”
“Not a chance. They all have their language intended to impress, but she’s a hell of a lot more fun then Burdett. So come along and meet her.”
“I suppose it would be a waste of time to say no?”
“Yes, it would. You said you were at my service.”
“Yes, I did say that.”
Not much sleep last night or the night before. His moment of irritation with Paige had given way to weariness. No doubt he would feel the anger later. No chance he’d be able to skip over that stage. Not with the piper to pay.
“Luanne,” Olive said to the plump, blonde woman sipping from a champagne glass as she observed the people around her. “I’d like you to meet Kevin Novak, the friend of mine I was telling you about.”
“I’m so happy to meet you, Mr. Novak,” she said in a Southern drawl that suited her pleasant, round face. Her blue gaze met and held his.
If he believed in such things, Kevin would have sworn she’d looked past his tailored suit and crisp white shirt, straight into his tarnished soul.
He took a step back, and reached out to steady Olive, whose hand rested on his arm.
“Sorry,Olive” he said. “I just remembered something I need to do.”
Luanne Woodward said, “It’s all right, Kevin, honey. You don’t have to run away from me.”
But he did, Kevin thought. He had to run as fast as he could.
Author Bio:
Frankie Y. Bailey is a mystery writer and a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany (SUNY). Her academic research focuses on crime history, popular culture/mass media, and material culture. She has done research and writtenabout topics ranging from local history and women who kill to African American characters in crime and detective fiction. She is currently at work on a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. She is the author of two mystery series, featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart, and Albany police detective Hannah McCabe. Frankie is a past executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime. A dog lover, she now shares her home with a Maine Coon cat/mix named Harry.
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February 16, 2015
Blast for LOVE’S REPLAY by Synithia Williams & Giveaway
Grab a Copy of LOVE’S REPLAY for ONLY $0.99
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Love’s Replay
Henderson Family # 2
Synithia Williams
Released December 15th, 2014
Crimson Romance
David Henderson is willing to do just about anything to stop his father from selling the family’s successful automotive dealership. And that means proving to his pops that he’s serious about his future. Even getting married and having kids is on the table – especially when the love of his life, a woman he hurt through foolish mistakes, walks back in on his brother’s arm. He vows he’ll grab this second chance to make things right.
Sandra Miller didn’t think twice about the opportunity to move to a new city for her career. But the success she needs comes at a high price: she’ll have to partner with David Henderson, the man who said he loved her then crushed her heart. He’s making it clear he wants her back, but is the potential personal pain worth the professional gain?
Neither can ignore the desire simmering between them. But the mistrust and jealousy that tore them apart before is determined to prevent a replay of their love.
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Synithia Williams has enjoyed romance novels since she was
13 years old, so it’s no surprise that she began writing her own. When she
isn’t reading or writing, she’s working on water quality in the Midlands of
South Carolina. She lives with her husband, Eric, and two boys.
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