Babs Hightower's Blog, page 27
September 17, 2018
Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook, spotlight
Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery
by Allison Brook
Giveaway
About the Book
Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683317340
Digital ASIN: B078M7MXGR
Twenty million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name.
A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.
Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin.
Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier?
About the Author
Allison Brook is the pseudonym for Marilyn Levinson, who writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. She lives on Long Island and enjoys traveling, reading, watching foreign films, doing Sudoku and dining out. She especially loves to visit with her grandchildren on FaceTime.
Author Links
Website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
My Amazon page: http://amzn.to/K6Md1O
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/
Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 11 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 11 – Varietats – SPOTLIGHT
September 11 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 12 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
September 12 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 13 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
September 13 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 13 – Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf – REVIEW
September 14 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
September 14 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
September 14 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
September 15 – Reading Authors – REVIEW
September 15 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 15 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 16 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
September 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
September 17 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW
September 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
September 17 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 18 – That’s What She’s Reading – REVIEW
September 18 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 19 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 19 – Readeropolis – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 19 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
September 20 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
The post Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook, spotlight appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
Shattered at Sea (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery) by Cheryl Hollon
Shattered at Sea (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery)by Cheryl Hollon
About the Book
Shattered at Sea (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Kensington (August 28, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1496711777
ISBN-13: 978-1496711779
Digital ASIN: B077WY2SRQ
A Mediterranean cruise gives glass shop owner Savannah Webb a chance to demonstrate her expertise—and fire up her skills when it comes to foul play . . .
When Savannah signs on to perform glassblowing on a ship, part of the appeal is that she’ll get a chance to reconnect with her boyfriend Edward’s family. An added bonus is that Edward’s cousin, Ian, will be joining them on board. But when Ian disappears at the beginning of the cruise, the ship’s authorities initially consider it suicide.
Savannah tries to balance her growing suspicions with work on her shows, but her relationship with the other glass artists begins to crack. And she can’t let love color her judgment when Edward suddenly jumps to the top of the suspect list. His fate is in Savannah’s hands, and she’ll do everything she can—on land and sea—to clear his name . . .
Giveaway
About the Author
Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career of designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida, Cheryl and her husband design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks. Visit her online at http://cherylhollon.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @CherylHollon.
Purchase Links:
Amazon
B&N Kobo BookBub
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 17 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 17 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 18 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW
September 20 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 20 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW,
September 21 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
September 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
September 23 – Handcrafted Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW
September 25 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
September 26 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 27 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 28 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 28 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 29 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW
September 30 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
The post Shattered at Sea (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery) by Cheryl Hollon appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
September 13, 2018
Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives) by D.E. Haggerty
Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives)
by D.E. Haggerty
About the Book
Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives)
Cozy Mystery/Romantic Suspense
1st in Series
Self Published (August 20, 2018)
Print Length: 244 pages
Digital ASIN: B07DSWRXMM
What do you do with a diamond no one wants? You can’t keep it. Or can you?
While cleaning her ex-husband’s effects out of the attic, Terri finds an exquisite diamond pendant necklace. She’s determined to return the necklace to its proper owner, but the owner was brutally killed, a murder which remains unsolved, and her heirs want nothing to do with the diamond. Terri embarks upon a journey researching charities to which she can donate the diamond. When her research becomes dangerous, Terri contemplates solving the murder herself. Her best friend, Melanie, jumps feet first into investigating the murder, but her neighbor, Ryder, doesn’t want Terri exposed to any danger. Ryder, to Terri’s surprise, also wants to be more than neighbors with Terri. Luckily, he’s prepared to take any measure necessary to keep her safe because someone is determined to stop her inquiries.
Join Terri on her quest to find a home for the diamond, which may result in the unveiling of a murderer – if she survives long enough.
Guest Post
How the cover for Finders, Not Keepers was born
It’s important to get a book cover just right – or as close to just right as possible. A cover can tell a reader in which genre the book falls. It can hint at what a book is about. It can pique a reader’s interest into buying the book. And, probably most importantly, it can totally turn off a reader or potential buyer. With this in mind, I struggle to make each book cover just right.
I’ve made some doozies of mistakes with covers in the past. Instead of listening to expert advice, I thought I knew better. Spoiler alert: I did not. So, when it came to developing a cover idea (I don’t actually design the cover itself) for Finders, Not Keepers, instead of just thinking of something that ‘fit’ with the story, I also took some time to research book covers and what would work best with the novel.
Although Finders, Not Keepers can be categorized as a cozy mystery, I didn’t want the cover to scream COZY MYSTERY as I didn’t want to limit the potential audience of the novel. Although Finders, Not Keepers also has some suspense in it, I decided not to go with suspenseful looking cover as this would be misleading to readers and the last thing I want to do is mislead potential readers with a book cover. Can you say one-star review?
Having decided on giving Finders, Not Keepers a cover typical for mystery genres, I started out by researching mystery novels on Amazon. Once I had a good idea of how those looked, I went on to spend days and days scrolling through possible pictures. I really struggled with finding something that fit with the novel and was mysterious as well. At some point, I had a list of more than twenty search items going. Everything from ‘mystery’ to ‘female friends’ to ‘diamond necklace’. I was all over the place!
That’s when I remembered the original title of the novel – The Diamond No One Wanted. I decided not to use this title as it hinted too much at cozy mystery. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t use the original title idea to come up with an idea for a cover! To make the title mysterious, I decided to show a woman hiding a diamond.
And that’s how the cover for Finders, Not Keepers was born. I’m hoping the title evokes questions like: Why is she hiding the diamond? Where did the diamond come from? And what does a diamond have to do with a murder?
Giveaway
About the Author
I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.
Finders, Not Keepers is my thirteenth novel.
Author Links
Website – Blog – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Goodreads
Amazon author page – Newsletter signup – Google+ – Pinterest – BookBub
Purchase Links
Amazon Smashwords Barnes and Noble Kobo Goodreads iTunes
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 12 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 13 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 14 – Babs Book Bistro – GUEST POST
September 15 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
September 16 – Lori’s Reading Corner – CHARACTER GUEST POST (Pending)
September 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – GUEST POST
September 18 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 19 – cherylbbookblog – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 22 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 23 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – REVIEW
September 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
The post Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives) by D.E. Haggerty appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
In Cold Chocolate, Dorothy St. James, spotlight
In Cold Chocolate, Dorothy St. James, spotlight
In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
by Dorothy St. James
About the Book
In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)
Hardcover: 350 Pages
ISBN-10: 1683317432
ISBN-13: 978-1683317432
Digital ASIN: B078M3N9TC
In Dorothy St. James’s third delectable Southern Chocolate Shop mystery, a new batch of chocolate and troubles of the heart cause a string of disasters for the Chocolate Box’s new owner, Charity Penn.
The vintage seaside town of Camellia Beach, South Carolina seems like the perfect place for romance with its quiet beach and its decadent chocolate shop that serves the world’s richest dark chocolates. The Chocolate Box’s owner, Charity Penn, falls even further under the island’s moonlit spell as she joins Althea Bays and the rest of the turtle watch team to witness a new generation of baby sea turtles hatch and make their way into the wide ocean.
Before the babies arrive, gunshots ring out in the night. Cassidy Jones, the local Casanova, is found dead in the sand with his lover Jody Dalton—the same woman who has vowed to destroy the Chocolate Box—holding the gun. It’s an obvious crime of passion, or so everyone believes. But when Jody’s young son pleads with Penn to bring his mother back to him, she can’t say no. She dives headfirst into a chocolate swirl of truth and lies, and must pick through an assortment of likely (and sometimes unsavory) suspects before it’s too late for Penn and for those she loves in Dorothy St. James’s third rich installment of the Southern Chocolate Shop mysteries, In Cold Chocolate.
Giveaway
About the Author
Mystery author Dorothy St. James was raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and a fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.
Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn’t as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.
* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”
Author Links
Website: www.dorothystjames.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothystjames
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothymcfalls
Purchase Links
Indie Bound Amazon Kobo Google Play Barnes & Noble BookBub
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 12 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW
September 12 – A Holland Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 13 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 13 – Island Confidential – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 14 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
September 14 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 15 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 15 – Community Bookstop – SPOTLIGHT
September 16 – Readeropolis – RECIPE
September 17 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 17 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – RECIPE
September 18 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 18 – T’s Stuff – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 19 – Jane Reads – GUEST POST
September 19 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
September 20 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Mysteries with Character – RECIPE
September 21 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
September 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 22 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
September 24 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW
September 24 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 25 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
September 25 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
September 25 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
The post In Cold Chocolate, Dorothy St. James, spotlight appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
Travler’s Zone by Chris Pavesic, giveaway
Chris Pavesic continues the amazing story of Cami Malifux with Book 2 of the Revelation Chronicles.
Escape from a world of darkness into a magical realm of limitless adventure.
About the Book:
In Starter Zone, Cami kept herself and her younger sister Alby alive in a post-apocalyptic world, facing starvation, violence, and death on a daily basis. Caught by the military and forcefully inscribed, Cami manages to scam the system and they enter the Realms, a Virtual Reality world, as privileged Players rather than slaves. They experience a world of safety, plenty, and magical adventure. Indeed, magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as Cami continues her epic quest to navigate the Realms and build a better life for her family. But an intrusion from her old life threatens everything she has gained and imperils the entire virtual world.
Time to play the game.
Genre:
LitRPG YA Fantasy
Page Count:
170 pagesFollow the Book Tour:
https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2018/09/tour-schedule-travelers-zone-revelation.html
Read an Excerpt:
I was born into a world where silicone still ruled. Where the products of the earth outshone those of the sea. Integrated circuits ran all electronic equipment and scientists strove to make the conducting lines smaller and smaller. Silicon Valley tried, and failed, to make chips fast enough to upload human consciousness.
The Revelation came a few years later from the hydrologists. They designed a system that did not use silicone, but instead worked with water molecules. The hydrologists managed to imprint the consciousness of a human mind on a single drop of water.
The water was to be kept in self-contained, sealed aquariums—pure, undiluted, eternal—where virtual realities were constructed to meet every need and desire. All of human knowledge encoded and stored in literal pools of data and integrated with the drops of human consciousness. It was, the hydrologists claimed, utopia achieved.
The obscenely rich were the hydrologist’s first clients, many taken near the end of their lives. The procedure did not always work, but there were enough successes to spur people’s interest. People suffering from terminal illnesses volunteered to be inscribed, and the hydrologists worked and refined their process. Private companies formed and competition forced price wars. Hundreds of customers grew to thousands, and then to millions. There were landmark court cases arguing whether or not health insurance should cover the cost of the inscription–whether or not this was a medical procedure designed to save lives or a form of physician assisted suicide. The law struggled to decide if life ended when the body was drained to a dry, leathery husk, or if life continued inside those glowing, sealed aquariums.
I was thirteen when the governments seized control of the laboratories, first in the Eastern European countries. Then the labs of Europe and the Middle East were swallowed up. Terrorist attacks soon followed and destroyed most of the civilized world over the next three years. The United States, Canada, and Greece, those bastions of democracy, did not fall until the very end. Of course, by then no one cared whether or not the government or the private companies ran the uploading programs. Many of the aquariums ruptured in the strife and the droplets, imbued with human consciousness, re-entered the water cycle of the planet.
The destruction of the aquariums led to a moment of serendipity. Once the hydrologists learned that the human minds survived outside of the aquariums, they designed a world-wide system of interlocking realms to host the inscribed human minds. Right now the realms exist in Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere, but the hydrologists have plans to expand their reach into the rest of the world. Soon, the only life left on the planet will exist in the virtual world.
Time to play the game.
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Watch the Book Trailer:
Praise for the Revelation Chronicles:
“She entered the game and I was hooked. I don’t even
play that kind of computer game, but the story was as addicting as I imagine a
real MMORPG to be. Each level up, each new character, each new threat drew me
in. I wish I could read the next book already!” –Kata, NetGalley Reviewer
“I love the dystopian genre, and a lot of the problem I
run into is a lot of them are boring and follow the same storyline. This one is
so different it’s amazing. I cannot recommend this enough. It’s sci-fi, it’s
dystopian, and it fresh. A definite must read that I plan on reading
again!” –Liliyana S., NetGalley Reviewer
“Both sisters are strong female characters who are good role
models for young girls. This story is
filled with suspense and adventure with a taste of the gaming world. It is the first LITRPG book that I have read
and I really enjoyed it.” –Teresa O, Educator
“This book was amazing! The story line, along with the
development of the characters was phenomenal. This book is very well paced, and
easy to follow. Seeing the story play out for the characters, along with the
lessons you gain from reading this book, makes it one of my new favorites. For,
this book is more than just another dystopia novel. It’s basis is on family
love, and what you’d do to keep them safe. It’s a young adult novel, yet is
appropriate for anyone above the age of 10. I would highly suggest reading this
book ASAP. You won’t regret it!”–Almaz D, Reviewer
Book 1:Starter Zone
Want to learn more about The Revelation Chronicles? Check out chrispavesic.com for updates on this and her other series.Meet the Author:
Chris Pavesic lives in the Midwestern United States and
loves Kona coffee, fairy tales, and all types of speculative fiction. Between
writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening,
working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with
friends.
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/2NlNJXB
Blog: https://chrispavesic.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisPavesic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisPavesic
Enter the Giveaway:
The post Travler’s Zone by Chris Pavesic, giveaway appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
September 12, 2018
Cowboy Charm School by Margaret Brownley, giveaway, spotlight
When Texas Ranger Brett Tucker accidentally derails a wedding,
he’s determined to bring the estranged couple back together…
but he never dreamed he’d start falling for the bride!
Texas Ranger Brett Tucker hates to break up a wedding, but the groom—notorious criminal Frank Foster—is a danger to any woman. So he busts into the church, guns blazing…only to find he has the wrong man.
STOP THAT WEDDING!
Bride-to-be Kate Denver is appalled by her fiancé’s over-the-top reaction to the innocent mistake and calls off the wedding—for good. Guilt-ridden, Brett’s desperate to get them back on track. But the more time he spends with Kate, the harder he falls…and the more he yearns to prove that he’s her true match in every way.
Amazon: amzn.to/2Mtnejm
B&N: bit.ly/2MqldEx
iBooks: apple.co/2nUtZeY
Kobo: bit.ly/2MNNEvx
IndieBound: bit.ly/2nTqJ3R
Giveaway
Exceprt
Brett’s courting advice is bound for success—
if only he can keep his own feelings out of the way.
The music stopped and a man with a sweeping mustache clapped his hands and yelled in a leather-lunged voice, “Time to change partners, folks!”
Shuffling feet and swirling skirts followed the command as everyone rushed around to partner up with someone new. It took some fancy footwork on Brett’s part to reach Kate’s side before anyone else did. He only hoped that Foster played his part the way they’d practiced.
“May I?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Kate hesitated. Her big blue eyes said yes, but something held her back. No doubt she was worried that Foster’s jealous streak would flare up and he would make a scene.
Brett cleared his throat. Come on Foster. This is your big moment. Do it the way we practiced. It took much in the way of visual prodding and clearing of his throat before Foster finally got the hint.
“Sure, go ahead,” he said, looking like he’d bit into a lemon. It wasn’t how they’d practice it, but at least Foster got some of it right.
Leading Kate away, Brett glanced over his shoulder at Foster. “Whistle,” he mouthed. Instead of showing his jealousy or acting it out, Foster was supposed to whistle. If his tuneless whistles didn’t chase the green-eyed monster away, nothing would.
Facing Kate, it suddenly seemed imperative to recall his purpose in asking her to dance. It was the only way he could think to prove to her that Foster had conquered his jealousy or, at least, was trying to.
Brett slipped his arm around her tiny waist and closed his fingers over her dainty soft hand. She draped her arm over his shoulder and rewarded him with a brilliant smile that made him tingle inside.
Though he was a good head taller than Kate, they seemed perfectly matched as he circled the dance floor effortlessly with her in his arms. His heart pounded, but fortunately the music muffled the sound. So, this was how it felt to float on air.
Brett could almost feel Foster’s visual daggers as he steered Kate around the other couples. Foster’s pursed lips and red face suggested he was whistling up a storm, and the strange looks directed his way seemed to confirm it. Hoping Kate hadn’t noticed, he led her in such a way as to block Foster from view.
“I’m surprised Frank didn’t object to me dancing with you,” she said. “He
doesn’t usually like me dancing with anyone but him. He can be so jealous at time.”
Brett gazed into her starry eyes. If she didn’t stop looking so utterly fetching, he’d give Foster plenty to be jealous about.
Now was the time to say something positive on Foster’s behalf, but he couldn’t think much past the present moment.
“As a young child, he was bounced from family to family,” she continued, relieving him of having to jump to Foster’s defense. “He never had a real home until he came here to Haywire. And even then, he grew up without a mother. Mr. Foster didn’t remarry until Frank was in his late teens.” Her eyes softened into pools of appeal. “A background like that would make anyone feel anxious. That’s why he’s…”
“Afraid of losing you?”
She moistened her lips, calling attention to her pretty pink mouth. “Something like that.”
Catching himself staring, Brett cleared this throat and gazed over her head. He forced himself to concentrate on the fiddler, the refreshment table, the other dancers. Anything to keep from drowning in the depth of her blue eyes.
“Horehound will help,” she said. “Or perhaps you’d prefer peppermint? For your throat, I mean.”
His gaze locked with hers. “My throat?”
“I noticed back there, that you kept clearing your throat and coughing.”
“Oh, that. Yes, you’re right. Maybe some…hard candy would help.”
She smiled up at him. “You can pick up a bag when you stop by the shop tomorrow for the list.”
His mind went blank for a moment until he recalled the list of customers she’d promised him. “I’d be much obliged.” He spun her around and then pulled her back. Holding her close, he felt her stiffen in his arms.
“Something the matter?” he asked.
“It’s Frank,” she said. “Look! He’s all red in the face.”
Brett followed her gaze. Foster’s overwrought whistling had turned his face as red as an overripe tomato.
Her face lined with worry, she pulled away. “I better see what’s wrong.”
Before he could stop her, she rushed to Foster’s side, whose arms, Brett told himself, she belonged. Not a thing was wrong with his throat, but he sure in blazes was worried about the condition of his heart.
***
The post Cowboy Charm School by Margaret Brownley, giveaway, spotlight appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
September 11, 2018
Death said the Gypsy Queen by Susan Boles, spotlight
Death said the Gypsy Queen
by Susan Boles
About the Book
Death said the Gypsy Queen: A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Argent Ocean Publishing
Number of Pages – 210
Not up on Amazon or GoodReads yet
“Beware the sign of the vampire blood,” said the fortune teller. “It brings madness and turmoil.”
Lily Gayle knows what that means, but, for the life of her, can’t figure out how the fortune teller does. A quick road trip with Dixie. An unplanned stop at a roadside park. And, an hour later a dead body. Lily Gayle, Dixie and Miss Edna find themselves knee deep in another homicide investigation when the local vet assistant turns up dead behind an outbuilding at the farmers market.
Lily Gayle believes the words of the fortune teller will have a major impact on the investigation but can’t bring herself to tell the other ladies. To reveal what she believes the words mean might bring trouble to another old friend. And would betray a trust. Only Ben knows and he, as usual, advises Lily Gayle to stay out of his investigation – which she isn’t about to do.
When the secret is revealed, the townspeople go mad and the fortune tellers words come true. Can Lily Gayle, Dixie and Miss Edna solve the murder before more people are harmed?
Giveaway
About the Author
Susan is the award-winning author of the Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Series and a contributing author to the Brotherhood Protectors World.
A lifelong long love of all things mysterious led Susan to write cozy mysteries. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden were the first to show her that girls can be crime solvers. Agatha Christie showed her that even small towns have big secrets. And Phryne Fisher showed her lady detectives can be outrageously individual. She lives in Mississippi with her rescue mini dachshund, Lucy, and her rescue cat of no particular breed, Zimba. She currently writes the Lily Gayle Lambert mystery series set in the fictional town of Mercy, Mississippi featuring a multi-generational cast of female sleuths and romantic suspense in the Brotherhood Protectors Kindle World.
Susan writes mysteries and set in the big city of Memphis, TN and the fictional small town of Mercy, Mississippi.
CONTACT SUSAN:
Susan loves to hear from readers and book lovers! Visit her website at www.susanbolesauthor.com Or drop her a line at susan@susanbolesauthor.com
Author Links:
Website – Twitter – @SusanBAuthor – Blog – Facebook – Linked In – GoodReads – Instagram – Pinterest – Bookbub
Purchase Links Coming Soon!
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 5 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
September 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – GUEST POST
September 6 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY
September 6 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – GUEST POST
September 7 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 8 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY
September 8 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 9 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 10 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 10 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 11 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
September 12 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 12 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 13 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY
September 14 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 14 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY
September 15 – The Montana Bookaholic – GUEST POST
September 16 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
September 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 17 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST
September 18 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY
The post Death said the Gypsy Queen by Susan Boles, spotlight appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery by M. E. Bakos, spotlight, tip, giveaway
Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery
by M. E. Bakos
About the Book
Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Cozy Cat Press (October 27, 2017)
Paperback: 220 pages
ISBN-10: 194606341X
ISBN-13: 978-1946063410
Digital ASIN: B077WRRMH6
Flipping houses can be fatal! When Katelyn finds a dead body in her first home renovation project, she seriously doubts her decision to “follow her bliss.” After getting fired from her steady job, her plan to flip houses takes a hit when she becomes a suspect. After all, possession is nine points of the law, isn’t it? Especially, when it’s a dead body.
To keep herself in pizza, peanut butter, good coffee, and her stray cat, Boots, in kitty chow she takes survival jobs as a wine sample hostess and market researcher. Meanwhile, Sheriff Don is kind of hunky, and her ex-husband, Eddy (it’s complicated) is back in her life sleeping on her sofa. How’s a girl supposed to solve dead body mysteries, make a living, and find love?
Guest Post
Katelyn’s Fatal Flip Home Improvement Tips
9-12-18
My motivation for FATAL FLIP, A Home Renovator Mystery came from my passion for home projects. I had a carpenter father whom I tagged behind while he drywalled, wall papered, pounded nails, and painted. I was the go-fer. In college, I interned at a housing agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I researched, wrote, and edited a home improvement newsletter.
As an adult with home projects of my own, I’ve painted, drywalled, wall papered, and more. Now, I write about them.
Here are a few tips from Katelyn in Fatal Flip:
*Personally, if I need a little paint for a closet, or small area, I’ll mix together left overs from different projects. It’s probably best not to mix different sheens i.e., satin and flat, but in the world of neutral colors, it’s doable.
*Curb appeal makes a potential buyer stop at a house. Fresh paint on the door, hardware and new house numbers, along with a pot of flowers will get people to stop, and buy your house. Crime scene tape, not so much.
*Sometimes the best thing to do when rehabbing a property—is to hire a professional to do stuff you can’t do, or don’t do well. A drywall contractor—preferably one who works cheap, can do the job in half the time it would take you (or me), and with zero frustration. It approaches an art form to blend in the gap between drywall sheets with tape and mud.
*To get rid of a musty basement smell, put out jars of white vinegar. It takes a few days, but clears up the smell—now you just have to figure out why there’s a musty smell.
*Plant marigolds around vegetables and other flowers to keep deer at bay. The deer and rabbits hate the smell. Marigold are actually weeds. Daffodils are another deterrent to deer—but I don’t have a lot of luck with daffodils coming back as perennials—so what’s the point.
*Whenever I get a bug for frugal living, I go on the internet for cheap ideas. I’ve gotten recipes for homemade laundry soap and dishwasher detergent, and tried them both.
*To eliminate aphids on flowers, mix a small amount of dishwashing soap in a bucket of water and douse the plants. It’s a natural and inexpensive method to rid the plants of pests.
*For added home security with a patio slider, put a broom handle in the track space between the doors after the slider is closed. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional. I’m all for pretty and functional, though.
*When in doubt, always consult a professional when doing home projects.
GiveawayPrize – 1 Kindle Copy of the Book just comment about the post.
About the Author
M.E. Bakos has published several short stories in national women’s magazines. Her love of mysteries has led to writing cozies. Her first mystery short story, “Carpe Diem or Murder at the Carp Fest” appeared in the Festival of Crime, a SINC Anthology. Her second, “Perfect Storm . . . Perfect Murder” will be in Dark Side of the Loon, May 2018 also a SINC Anthology.
Her first cozy, FATAL FLIP
, A Home Renovator Mystery has several home improvement tips for the reader.
Mary is a member of Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, the SINC Guppies Group, and an alumna of the University of Minnesota. She is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Joe Sebesta, and their spoiled Morkie.
Website – Mystery | M. E. Bakos, Author
Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 12 – Maureen’s Musings – REVIEW
September 12 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
September 12 – Babs Book Bistro – HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST, GIVEAWAY
September 12 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 13 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST
September 13 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY
September 14 – Book Babble – REVIEW
September 14 – The Montana Bookaholic – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 14 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY
September 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
September 15 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY
September 15 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, EXCERPT POST
September 16 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
September 16 – Ruff Drafts – HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST
September 16 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY
September 16 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW
The post Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery by M. E. Bakos, spotlight, tip, giveaway appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
September 10, 2018
BOOK BLAST – A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery by Holly Quinn
A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mysteryby Holly Quinn
About the Book
A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery
NEW COZY MYSTERY SERIES
SET IN WISCONSIN
Crooked Lane Books (October 9, 2018)
Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1683317718
ISBN-13: 978-1683317715
Digital ASIN: B078LZ5ZM5
For fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, the latest craft frenzy is Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted series debut.
Sammy Kane just moved back to her hometown to run a craft store. But when the owner of a nearby yarn shop is murdered, Sammy will needle little help finding the killer.
When a heartbroken Samantha “Sammy” Kane returns to her hometown of Heartsford, WI, for her best friend Kate’s funeral, she learns that Kate’s much-loved craft store is in danger of perishing with its owner. Confounding all her expectations of the life she would live, Sammy moves back home with her golden retriever and takes over Community Craft. A few doors down Main Street, fellow new arrival Ingrid Wilson has just opened the Yarn Barn, a real “purl” of a shop. But when Sammy strolls over to see if Ingrid could use a little help, she finds Ingrid’s dead body—with a green aluminum knitting needle lodged in her throat.
Detective Liam Nash is thrown for a loop as every single citizen of Heartsford seems to have a theory about Ingrid’s murder. And nearly everyone in town seems to be a suspect. But the last time Sammy did any sleuthing was as a little moppet. And this is not fun and games. Sammy is eager to help the handsome Liam—who seems to be endlessly inventive in finding reasons to talk with her—and when Liam arrests affable woodworker Miles Danbury, Sammy puts everything on the line to help clear Miles.
As the case comes dangerously close to unraveling, Sammy must stitch the clues together. But the killer has other plans—and if Sammy’s not careful, she may wind up in a perilous knot in A Crafter Knits a Clue, the first warm and woolly yarn of Holly Quinn’s new Handcrafted mysteries.
About the Author
Holly Quinn is both an avid reader and crafter. Holly sells her artistic creations locally and dreamed of one day opening a gift shop to sell local artist’s handiwork. Instead, she began writing about it and thus her journey of the Handcrafted Mystery series was born. Visit her @ www.authorhollyquinn.com
Author Links –
Website – www.authorhollyquinn.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HollyQuinnbooks/
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7940795.Holly_Quinn
Purchase Links
Amazon B&N IndieBound BAM Powell’s Walmart BookBub
BOOK BLAST PARTICIPANTS
SEPTEMBER 10
Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
SEPTEMBER 11
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!
Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews
Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews
The post BOOK BLAST – A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery by Holly Quinn appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
September 9, 2018
Just in Time (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery) by Suzanne Trauth, spotlight & guest post
Just in Time (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery)
by Suzanne Trauth
About the Book
Just in Time (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Lyrical Underground (September 25, 2018)
Print Length 220 pages
Kindle ASIN: B078QTBB4F
FACE THE MUSIC
Business is humming at Dodie O’Dell’s Windjammer Restaurant, where she offers theme menus connected to the Etonville Little Theatre’s amateur productions. This June, the theatre is collaborating with the neighboring Creston Players to stage Bye Bye Birdie under the stars—their first musical! There’s a contest in the play to pick a fan to receive rock idol Conrad Birdie’s last kiss before he ships off for the Army, so Dodie plans a contest to pick the food for a pre-show picnic.
But before the show opens, Ruby, the rehearsal accompanist, is found dead in her car. Why would anyone murder the crusty old gal who loved to sneak a smoke and a nip between wisecracks? Once again, the resourceful restaurant manager must play the part of amateur sleuth, accompanied by Police Chief Bill Thompson, who also happens to be her beau. Confronted with a chorus of suspects, she’ll need to stay composed to catch the killer—or it’ll be bye bye Dodie…
Guest Post
JUST IN TIME by Suzanne Trauth
Summer theater: mosquitos…humidity…and the always-present danger of a thunderstorm. What’s not to like about musicals under the stars? My most recent Dodie O’Dell mystery—Just in Time—includes an outdoor co-production by the Etonville Little Theatre and their next door neighbor the Creston Players. The two groups are planning to present Bye, Bye, Birdiein the Etonville town park. As anyone who has had the pleasure of a summer night spent watching a fun production knows, there is nothing like gentle breezes, a starry sky, a full moon—and a favorite companion—to transport the audience to another time and place. Until the proverbial sky opens without warning drenching actors and attendees alike.
Since I’ve spent most of my adult life involved in theater as an actor, director, and producer, I know how risky it is to bank on the weather during those unpredictable summer months, but the rewards can make the gamble pay off. The Etonville Little Theatre and company—Lola, Walter, Penny, Romeo, Abby, Edna et al—are willing to take the chance!
Writing this fourth book in the Dodie O’Dell series took me back to my days doing summer theatre in northern Ohio. I was a graduate student at a nearby university and the program included summers spent on the shores of Lake Huron—the setting was idyllic. We produced six plays in eight weeks, using an indoor theatre at the local high school, slept in a main house and some bungalows that had seen better days, and ate in the school cafeteria. There were approximately fifty actors and staff: current undergrads and grads, technicians, faculty, and folks who were hired each summer to keep the theatre running. We rose early, worked all day, performed at night, had a little R&R after the show at a local bowling alley, slept a few hours – sometimes on the beach – and then rose to begin the cycle all over again. It was a grueling, demanding schedule, ie. learning lines while bussing tables and helping out in the kitchen.
During my two summers at the theatre I worked as an actor, director, stage manager, house mother, and costume designer. Although I use that last term loosely as we rented a lot of the costumes and whipped up clothing for so many actors, we sometimes didn’t know if we were coming or going!
My fondest costume shop memories came about because we often barely had the clothes ready by opening night. On several occasions we hadn’t time to hem skirts and pants carefully with needle and thread; we swiped the hot glue gun from the scene shop and hemmed that way. During a production of Arsenic and Old Lace, the actor playing the serial killer, Frankensteinish Jonathan Brewster, who was a big guy, constantly ripped the inseam of his trousers—I think he tended to wear them at half-mast. We sewed and glued and still he ripped. Finally in frustration, we took his pants during one intermission and grabbed the heavy duty staple gun. The actor got stapled into his costume and the trousers held.
My memories of those times have stayed with me for many years…lots of late night laughter, a few tears of frustration, and much exhilaration when the shows succeeded and the audiences rewarded us with thunderous applause and standing ovations. I made many great friends those summers and deepened the friendships I’d brought with me. There’s nothing like hanging on the beach at 2:00 am, watching the storms pound Lake Huron from the veranda of the main house, or cheeseburgers at midnight at the local hangout to cement bonds.
I know how much fun the Etonville Little Theatre is going to have with Bye, Bye, Birdie…if the weather holds…!
Giveaway
About the Author
Suzanne Trauth, Harvard Studio, Montclair, NJ. 06/27/2014 Photo by Steve Hockstein/HarvardStudio.com
Suzanne Trauth is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and a former university theatre professor. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Dramatists Guild. When she is not writing, Suzanne coaches actors and serves as a celebrant performing wedding ceremonies. She lives in Woodland Park, New Jersey. Readers can visit her website at www.suzannetrauth.com.
Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 10 – Babs Book Bistro – GUEST POST
September 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 12 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
September 13 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST
September 14 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 15 – Varietats – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 16 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
September 17 – Readeropolis – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
September 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
September 20 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
September 23 – Handcrafted Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
The post Just in Time (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery) by Suzanne Trauth, spotlight & guest post appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
