Babs Hightower's Blog, page 4
July 28, 2019
Guest Author, Janet Chester Bly, guest post giveaweay and more #Books #Author
WHO … WHAT … WHEN … WHERE … WHY … HOW
Polly Eng – Chinese citizen of Road’s End; mother of Kam Eng; EMT; manager of apartments; caterer
Between Polly Eng and Maid- ie Fortress, they cultivated spectacular vegetable and flower gardens. “Road’s End could sell tickets for tourists to see them,” Cicely Bowers suggested more than once when the city park needed reno-vation.
Polly Eng and her daughter, Kam, the only ones in town besides Maidie who could grow healthy gardens with the short growing sea- son, bent over steaming woks full of stir-fried vegetables and pork. She steamed the best stir-fry and rainbow trout with Teriyaki sauce, said the citizens of Road’s End. Now Polly frowned at her daughter. “A car load of intoxicated juveniles drove around town last week light- ing M-80s and scaring our dogs. Fireworks got shot off our deck.”
“They thought it was Chinese New Year.” Kam blushed a pretty pink.
Up the hill beyond Lisl Monty’s white wood frame house, he passed Polly Eng’s gray stone and brick home where daughter Kam pulled clothes off a line. He returned her wave.
By the time EMTs Lisl Monte and Polly Eng
In her bedroom, mattresses from the high oak bed, made by Polly Eng’s local Chinese ancestors before the turn of the century
The Model T stopped. “Who will take care of the trailer park?” Tucker yelled back.
“Polly and Kam Eng said they’d look after it and we’re all packed.”
“It’s the Year of the Sheep. Polly Eng told us.”
She collapsed on the high oak bed made by Polly Eng’s Chinese ancestors before the turn of the century
They stayed for lunch when Polly Eng and daughter Kam brought fresh vegetables from their garden in a steaming wok with stir fry Teriyaki Rainbow Trout and a fortune cookie cake. Quite an outdoor feast for the workers and guests.
Reba opened the screen and wooden doors when she thought she heard a tap. She tried hard to conceal a gasp of surprise. She hadn’t expected any of this crew standing there.
Polly Eng quickly explained, “I’m here to observe only, as part of the Chinese Year of the Sheep. Seemed like this theme might fit in.”
She knocked at the apartment door, alert to any sign of activity. Finding no one stirring, she hiked up the hill behind the apartments to check with the manager, Polly Eng, at the gray stone and brick house with the only outdoor clothesline left in town. She resisted the temptation to swing close enough to feel the cool, wet sheets swirling in the breeze and smell the fresh, clean sweetness.
“Sue Anne’s gone all right.” Polly thumbed a gold necklace with a whimsical goat preening on an octagon shaped locket. “The funny thing is, I helped her do a garage sale last week. Everyone in the apartments contributed, like we did last year. Campers from the park bought lots of stuff. We all made a tidy sum. I couldn’t help ask questions when she had Norden carry out furniture and all her clothes into a U-Haul when it was over. She clammed up. Wouldn’t say a word.” She twisted the necklace chain round in quick, sharp jerks. “My daughter Kam was taking care of the kids. Sue Anne said Tim would pick them up and off she went.”
“Was Norden with her?”
“No, I’m pretty sure he returned to his store and she drove away like she was headed out of town.”
Reba’s stomach lurched as she tossed her purse across her shoulder and tromped down the incline toward the Outfitter’s store at the end of Main Street. Polly’s account made it sound starkly real.
Moments later, the town’s fire alarm blared and a scurry of people rushed the streets, peering around in excitement.
“Anybody need assistance?” Polly Eng yelled, as she held up her EMT bag, used to treat more bee stings, heart attacks, and pregnancy runs than natural disaster trauma wounds.
Champ hired Charlotta Mathwig and Polly Eng to cater the special outdoor banquet he planned in his backyard for the Runcie family reunion.
They pronounced her dead at the scene and EMT Polly Eng gently shut her lids.
Jace and the gals, plus Polly Eng, crept in the darkness toward the cellar, guided by flashlights cutting orbs of large circles at their feet. Reba and Pearl opened the broken double door. Rats and cockroaches scurried around in the sudden streak of light. They found not only Archie, but Abel too. Phone wire tied their feet together and hands behind their backs. Archie’s forehead bled from a gash and when they untied him, so did one of his arms.
Polly fashioned a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding.
https://livforcake.com/simple-vanilla-buttercream 
NOW AVAILABLE!
Beneath a Camperdown Elm, Book 3, Trails of Reba Cahill Series
Contemporary Western Romance with a Zing of Mystery
Paperback or EBook Here: https://www.blybooks.com/books/reba-cahill-series-book-3/
BOOK 1 & 2 — Download 5 Free Sample Chapters each!
Contemporary Western Mystery with a Touch of Romance
Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill Series
Down Squash Blossom Road, Book 2, Trails of Reba Cahill Series
Paperback, EBook, & Audio here: https://www.blybooks.com/books/reba-cahill-series-book-3/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/BlyBooks/
Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/janetchesterbly/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetchesterbly/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlyBooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/janetcbly/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/269265.Janet_Chester_Bly
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetchesterbly
Copy of book available for giveaway—either paperback (USA only) or PDF edition. All you have to do is leave a comment :). What is your favorite icing?
The post Guest Author, Janet Chester Bly, guest post giveaweay and more #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 27, 2019
The Darker Shade of Evil, Cover Wars #Books #Author
Cover Wars
Ready to vote?
Please support us and vote for A Darker Shade of Evil.
The authors of this Demon and Devil anthology will really appreciate it.
You can cast your vote here…Covers
The post The Darker Shade of Evil, Cover Wars #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 22, 2019
The Subject of Malice (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery) by Cynthia Kuhn
The Subject of Malice
(A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery)
by Cynthia Kuhn
About the Author
The Subject of Malice (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Henery Press (July 23, 2019)
Hardcover: 244 pages
ISBN-10: 1635115140
ISBN-13: 978-1635115147
Paperback: 244 pages
ISBN-10: 1635115116
ISBN-13: 978-1635115116
Digital ASIN: B07RDZ99PL
The organizers have rustled up plenty of surprises for the literary conference at Tattered Star Ranch. But the murder of an influential scholar wasn’t on the program—someone has clearly taken the theme of Malice in the Mountains to heart. This shocking crime is only the beginning: Other dangers and deceptions are soon revealed.
English professor Lila Maclean has a full agenda: She must convince a press to publish her book (possibly), ace her panel presentations (hopefully), and deal with her nemesis (regrettably).
However, when Detective Lex Archer requests Lila’s academic expertise, she agrees to consult on the case. While her contributions earn high marks from her partner, it could be too late; the killer is already taking aim at the next subject.
As Lila races to keep her colleagues alive, publish or perish takes on new meaning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author
Cynthia Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries: The Semester of Our Discontent, The Art of Vanishing, The Spirit in Question, and The Subject of Malice. Honors include an Agatha Award for best first novel and Lefty Award nominations for best humorous mystery. She blogs with Chicks on the Case and is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.
Author Links
Webpage: cynthiakuhn.wordpress.com
Blog: chicksonthecase.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cynthiakuhnwriter
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/cynthiakuhn
Twitter: @cynthiakuhn
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2MPiEMh
Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 23 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – Carstairs Considers – REVIEW
July 24 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT*
July 25 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 26 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
July 27 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 28 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
July 28 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 29 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
July 30 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 31 – Books Direct – SPOTLIGHT
August 1 – Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen – REVIEW
August 1 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW
August 2 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
August 3 – Author Teresa Watson – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
August 4 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
The post The Subject of Malice (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery) by Cynthia Kuhn appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 20, 2019
The House on Xenia (A Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery Series) by Rita Moreau
The House on Xenia
(A Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery Series)
by Rita Moreau
About the Book
The House on Xenia (A Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Independently Published (May 8, 2019)
Paperback: 332 pages
ISBN-10: 1096120712
ISBN-13: 978-1096120711
Digital Print Length: 209 pages
ASIN: B07R9Q682Y
A government conspiracy. A life-threatening secret. Can a psychic accountant balance the books of justice?
Mary Catherine “MC” Mahoney prefers numbers to her supernatural powers. But when a cold-case corpse shows up under her cousin’s family home, the only calculations that add up are paranormal. And deep within the floorboards of the house on Xenia, MC and her madcap Greek family uncover evidence pointing to visitors from another planet…
Pursued by military agents intent on keeping the secrets buried, MC will have to play by the house’s rules to expose the alien mystery. And there’s only one member of the family who can get to the hidden truth…
Can MC reveal the cover-up, or will a dangerous hush job close her books forever?
The House on Xenia is a standalone novel in the Mary Catherine Mahoney cozy mystery series. If you like psychic female sleuths, crazy family antics, and long lost aliens, then you’ll love Rita Moreau’s quirky tale.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author
Rita Moreau is the author of the Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery series.
A workaholic by nature, upon retirement, Rita Moreau began work on her bucket list, writing a book. Traveling the national parks with her husband George in a vintage Bluebird motor home, (on George’s list), Rita completed her first novel Bribing Saint Anthony. Back home she completed Nuns! Psychics! & Gypsies! OH! NO, Feisty Nuns, The Russian & Aunt Sophia and The House on Xenia. Rita and her husband live in a postcard called Florida where he has fun telling everyone he is the author’s husband. When not writing she joins PatZi Gil on the Joy on Paper radio program with Book Buzz Mysteries or you can find her teaching fitness classes and doing her best to keep busy. She loves connecting with readers.
Visit her at www.RitaMoreau.com or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RitaMoreauAuthor. She would love to hear from you.
Author Links
Website – http://www.ritamoreau.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RitaMoreauAuthor/
Blog – http://www.radio-joyonpaper.com/book-buzz-mysteries/
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587803.Rita_Moreau
Purchase Links – Amazon
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 18 – Into the Abyss Reviews – REVIEW
July 19 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 20 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
July 20 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
July 21 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
July 22 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW
July 24 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST
July 25 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
July 25 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 26 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 27 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 28 – Brooke Blogs – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 29 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 30 – Teresa Watson’s Blog – REVIEW
July 31 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews– REVIEW
The post The House on Xenia (A Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery Series) by Rita Moreau appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 19, 2019
A Genuine Fix (An Allie Cobb Mystery) by J.C. Kenney #Books #Author
A Genuine Fix
(An Allie Cobb Mystery)
by J.C. Kenney
About the Book
A Genuine Fix (An Allie Cobb Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Lyrical Underground (July 16, 2019)
Paperback: 194 pages
ISBN-10: 1516108604
ISBN-13: 978-1516108602
Digital ASIN: B07KDWV2RX
Murder takes a page out of a killer’s playbook when literary agent Allie Cobb becomes her Indiana town’s number-one bestselling suspect …
Running the family literary business while preparing for her best friend’s wedding, chairing a park planning committee, and getting her rescue cat to bond with her boyfriend’s golden retriever doesn’t leave Allie Cobb much time for crime-solving. But when the guy who stood her up the night of her high school senior prom is killed and dumped in a pile of mulch, Allie’s suddenly the prime suspect.
It’s insulting enough that gambler, drunk, and all-around lowlife Georgie Alonso was found on the site of the memorial park honoring Allie’s deceased father. Now she’s fighting to clear her name and hold off a rush to judgment. But politics, decades-old secrets, and a slew of high-profile suspects make dangerous bedfellows as the eve of the park’s grand opening draws nearer. She’ll have to nab a killer soon, before her storybook life gets a bad ending …
Guest Post
The Draw of The Small Town
Hi, everyone! Thanks for visiting today. I appreciate you joining me as I celebrate the release of my latest novel, A Genuine Fix. It’s cozy mystery, set in a small town in Southern Indiana with an amateur sleuth, Allie Cobb, who earns a living as a literary agent.
Not only do I write cozies, I enjoy reading them, too. In the cozy world, people often talk about what makes them a fan. What draws them in. Some folks enjoy getting to know the amateur sleuth who serves as the central character in a cozy series. Others enjoy the sleuth’s day job, like owning a bookstore or bakery.
These reasons, and any reason for enjoying cozies, are all wonderful. What matters is we enjoy reading, right? The question, though, got me to thinking about why I like cozies.
As a cat lover, I love the prominent role our feline friends play in cozies. My all-time favorites are Koko and Yum Yum from The Cat Who… mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun. That Koko is one bossy kitty!
I also enjoy getting to know unique settings, like Miss Marple’s St. Mary Mead. I don’t know how many times I’ve finished a fabulous cozy and wanted to jump in the car or get on a plan so I could visit that town. It didn’t matter if the town doesn’t really exist. I still want to go.
Most of all, though, I enjoy the community that comes with the small-town setting. It’s such fun getting to know the shopkeepers, restauranteurs, politicians, and all the other citizans. There’s a certain comfort level that comes with revisiting familiar coffee shops and homes, I think.
And the supporting characters. I don’t know about you, but I have a few series where I like the supporting character as much, or more than, the main character.
At the end of the day, I think that as cozy mystery fans, we enjoy stories that provide us with a certain level of comfort that comes from the knowledge that the villain’s going to get caught and justice will prevail. All we have to do is go along for the ride with our sleuth and her friends, while she figures out the puzzle.
That’s not a bad deal for us readers, is it? I’ll sure take it.
So tell me, do you have a favorite small town, or other setting you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them. Until next time, may happiness be ever at your doorstep.
****
J.C. Kenney is the author of the Allie Cobb Mysteries, which are set in the fictional small town of Rushing Creek, Indiana. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, two sons, and a snuggly kitty cat. He loves motor sports, so when he’s not writing, you can probably find him checking in on the latest from IndyCar and other forms of racing.
J.C. is a member of Sisters in Crime. You can find him at www.jckenney.com, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JCKenney1, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JCKenney1/, and on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-c-kenney.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author
J.C. Kenney grew up in a household filled with books by legends Agatha Christie and Lilian Jackson Braun, among many others, so it was no surprise when he found himself writing mystery stories. When he’s not writing, you can find him following IndyCar racing or listening to music. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, two sons, and a cat who is the inspiration for Ursula in the Allie Cobb Mysteries.
Author Links
Website – https://www.jckenney.com;
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JCKenney1;
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JCKenney1;
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/JCKenney;
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/j.c.kenney/
Purchase links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 18 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 18 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 18 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 19 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 19 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 19 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 20 – Babs Book Bistro – GUEST POST
July 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 20 – The Book Diva’s Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 20 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
July 21 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 21 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
July 22 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 22 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
July 22 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
July 23 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
The post A Genuine Fix (An Allie Cobb Mystery) by J.C. Kenney #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 17, 2019
Welcome to the Virtual Book Tour for Shelf Life!
About the Book:
Young bookseller Cathy Finn is having a bad day. First, there’s the assassin’s bullet. Then comes the realisation that she’s been living in a work of fiction. Worse, she wasn’t even the main character.
Cathy’s quiet, bit-part life may be over, but her troubles are only beginning. Her last day on Earth is also her first as a citizen of New Tybet. For over four hundred years, its people have been rescuing those destined to die in other narratives, but now the system is faltering. A saboteur is at work and Cathy will have to stop him if she’s ever going to find a way home. Failure could maroon her forever and spark a revolution that sets all the worlds of literature ablaze.
Book Details:
Print Length: 338 pages
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com)
Publication Date: July 17, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07SNGW2Z7
Genre(s): Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Literary Mashup, Parallel Worlds, Comedy
Order Links:
Mirror World Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon CA
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Learn More About Shelf Life:
Goodreads
Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, and Reviews:
https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2019/07/virtual-book-tour-schedule-shelf-life.html
Meet the Author:
Rob Gregson spent much of his youth reading fantasy novels, immersing himself in role playing games and generally doing everything possible to avoid the real world. In his defence, we’re talking about the late 1980s – a time when ridiculous hair, hateful pop music and soaring unemployment were all very popular – so it wasn’t altogether a bad decision. However, had he abandoned the realms of wizardry at an earlier age, he might have developed one or two useful life skills and he would almost certainly have found it easier to get a girlfriend. Rob lives in Lancashire and has two children, although he has absolutely no idea why anyone should find that interesting.
Connect with the Author:
Goodreads
Amazon
Enter the Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The post Welcome to the Virtual Book Tour for Shelf Life! appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
Summer Snoops Unleashed: 14 Furr-ocious Mysteries and Cozy Crimes #Books #Author
Summer Snoops Unleashed:
14 Furr-ocious Mysteries and Cozy Crimes
by Judith Lucci Anna Celeste Burke, Colleen Mooney, Fiona Quinn, Maria Grazia Swan, Kelly Hashway, Kim Hunt Harris, Susan Boles, Lisa B. Thomas, Emily Selby, Ava Mallory, Chelsea Thomas, Sam Cheever, and Joanna Campbell Slan
About the Book
Summer Snoops Unleashed: 14 Furr-ocious Mysteries and Cozy Crimes
Cozy Mystery
Release Date – July 23, 2019
Summertime Murders are RUFF
ALL BRAND NEW STORIES!
Looking for cool cozies for hot summer days? Then you’ll love this purr-fectly paw-some cozy mystery boxed set from fourteen USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon best-selling authors.We’ve pulled out all the stops with Summer Snoops Unleashed! Enjoy hours of fun sniffing out clues on sandy beaches, shimmering waterways, and at small-town celebrations in these brand-new stories full of wily sleuths, cagey plots, and un-fur-gettable tails!Fetch your copy now to get these furr-ocious new cozy mysteries and woof it up with us!
They’re howlingly good reads!
All preorders support best lives for pets!
Here’s a sampling of stories…
WSJ and USA Best Selling Author Judith Lucci – The Most Glittery Crime of the Year: The Jewel Heist – An Artzy Chicks Mystery
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Anna Celeste Burke ¬- Radical Regatta! Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #4
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Colleen Mooney – Fireworks, Forensics & Felonies
USA Today Best Selling Author Fiona Quinn – YOURS. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Amazon Best Selling Author Maria Grazia Swan – Pies, Lies and a Last Goodbye
USA Today Best Selling Author Kelly Hashway – You Can’t Judge a Crime by its Aura
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Kim Hunt Harris – Yankee Doodle Deadly: A Trailer Park Princess Novella
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Susan Boles – Death in Mercy
Best Selling Author Amazon Lisa B. Thomas – Sharpe Pain: A Corpse in the Cabin
Amazon Best Selling Author Emily Selby – Death and Taxes on a Cloud
Amazon Best Selling Author Joanna Campbell Slan – Ruff Justice: Second Chance Adventure #5
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Ava Mallory – High Heel Homicide: A Holly Woods Mystery Novella
Amazon Best Selling Author Chelsea Thomas – A Knead to Kill
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Sam Cheever – Spunky Bumpkin
: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author Info Coming Soon!
Purchase Links
AMAZON, NOOK, KOBO, & APPLE: https://www.summersnoops.com/
Individual Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 15 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
July 15 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
July 16 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 16 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
July 17 – ❧Defining Ways❧ – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
July 19 – Here’s How It Happened – GUEST POST
July 19 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
July 19 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
July 20 – T’s Stuff – SPOTLIGHT
July 20 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW
July 20 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
July 21 – ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 23 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
July 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
July 25 – Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST
July 25 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
July 25 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
July 26 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
July 26 – Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen – SPOTLIGHT
July 26 – Author Teresa Watson – REVIEW
July 27 – 4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
July 28 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
The post Summer Snoops Unleashed: 14 Furr-ocious Mysteries and Cozy Crimes #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 16, 2019
Gore in the Garden (A Washington Whodunit) by Colleen Shogan #Books #Author
Gore in the Garden
(A Washington Whodunit)
by Colleen Shogan
About the Book
Gore in the Garden (A Washington Whodunit)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Camel Press (July 16, 2019)
Paperback: 224 pages
ISBN-10: 1603817239
ISBN-13: 978-1603817233
Digital – Coming Soon!
GoodReads Link – Coming Soon!
After her boss narrowly escaped political defeat, Kit Marshall is settling into life as a busy congressional staffer. While attending an evening reception at the United States Botanic Garden, Kit’s best friend stumbles upon the body of a high-ranking government official. The chairwoman of a congressional committee asks Kit to investigate, and she finds herself once again in the thick of a murder investigation. The complications keep coming with the unexpected arrival of Kit’s younger brother Sebastian, a hippie protestor who seems more concerned about corporate greed than the professional problems he causes for his sister. To make matters even worse, the romantic lives of Kit’s closest friends are driving her crazy, diverting her attention from the mystery she’s been tasked to solve. The search for the killer requires her to tussle with an investigative journalist right out of a noir novel, a congresswoman fixated on getting a statue of James Madison installed on the Capitol grounds and a bossy botanist who would do anything to protect the plants he loves. When the murderer sends a threatening message to Kit via a highly unusual delivery mechanism, Kit knows she must find the killer or risk the lives of her friends and loved ones.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author
Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. She conceived of the plot of her first mystery, “Stabbing in the Senate,” one morning while taking a walk in her suburban Washington, D.C. neighborhood. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at Yale, George Mason University, Georgetown, and Penn. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as the Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service. She is currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress who works on great initiatives such as the National Book Festival. Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan. Colleen’s first book won the Next Generation Indie Prize for Best Mystery. Her books have been RONE and Killer Nashville finalists in the mystery category.
Author Links
Webpage – www.colleenshogan.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/washingtonwhodunit
Twitter – www.twitter.com/cshogan276
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1269678.Colleen_J_Shogan
Purchase Links
Amazon Paperback B&N
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 16 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
July 16 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
July 17 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
July 17 – Author Teresa Watson – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 18 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
July 18 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT
July 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 20 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 21 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
July 21 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 22 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 24 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – Author Teresa Watson – REVIEW
July 25 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 26 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
July 27 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW
July 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST
July 29 – The Book Decoder REVIEW
The post Gore in the Garden (A Washington Whodunit) by Colleen Shogan #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
July 15, 2019
Cliff Hanger (A Maggie McDonald Mystery) by Mary Feliz & Guest Post #Books #Author
Cliff Hanger
(A Maggie McDonald Mystery)
by Mary Feliz
About the Book
Cliff Hanger (A Maggie McDonald Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Lyrical Underground (July 16, 2019)
Paperback: 215 pages
ISBN-10: 1516105303
ISBN-13: 978-1516105304
Digital ASIN: B07JLLRRT2
When a hang-gliding stranger is found fatally injured in the cliffs above Monterey Bay, the investigation into his death becomes a cluttered mess. Professional organizer Maggie McDonald must sort the clues to catch a coastal killer before her family becomes a target . . .
Maggie has her work cut out for her helping Renée Alvarez organize her property management office. Though the condominium complex boasts a prime location on the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, aging buildings and the high-maintenance tenants have Renée run ragged. But Maggie’s efforts are complicated when her sons attempt to rescue a badly injured man who crashed his ultra-light on the coastal cliffs.
Despite their efforts to save him, the man dies. Maggie’s family members become the prime suspects in a murder investigation and the target of a lawsuit. Her instincts say something’s out of place, but solving a murder won’t be easy. Maggie still needs to manage her business, the pushy press, and unwanted interest from criminal elements. Controlling chaos is her specialty, but with this killer’s crime wave, Maggie may be left hanging . .
Guest Post
Moves like a wind-up toy.
Looks like an origami sculpture.
Makes my mom belly-laugh.
Phalarope.
What’s not to like? They are funny little aquatic birds that look as though they’re made of origami. Better still, they feed by spinning in circles and then snapping their pointy little beaks to slurp what they’ve stirred up. The result is behavior most often seen in a wind-up toy. It’s been researched by experts in hydrodynamics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Males sit on the nests and incubate the eggs.
And my 91-year-old mom can’t look at them without laughing. I love them. Several species, most often the red-necked phalarope, visit our coastal pond in the fall as they return from the Arctic tundra to their winter feeding grounds far off the coast of South America.
Spotting them any other time is unusual. Their primary habitat is at sea, feeding off the critters that hang out in kelp beds. But every once in a while, during particularly stormy weather, one or two will seek sheltered waters ashore.
And while they’re quietly spinning their circles, the local birding community goes mad. This spring, my novice birder husband spotted four phalaropes early in the morning. Three were already dressed in full-mating plumage for the Arctic party. The trio were easily identifiable as the red-necked phalaropes, male and female.
But another bird lurked in their midst. The mostly white and grey mottled bird with dramatic eye markings sported its subtle winter feathers. We told a local avian aficionado, asking him to let us know when he’d identified the fourth bird. He told a few friends. Within the hour there were five birders with binoculars, cameras, and funny hats recording every head bob. A gentle drizzle pockmarked the water surface. Pondering head slope, beak length and width, markings, and body size, no one was sure. Was it a red-necked, or the far rarer and slightly larger red phalarope? The birds swam close enough together for a size comparison and cameras clicked as though snapping royal offspring. By mid-afternoon, in driving rain and high winds, more fans ogled from the shoreline. That evening, after enlarging and comparing photos online, Alex Rinkert, an editor for the E-bird phone app, made the call. Size, head, and beak made it a red.
My novice birder husband had been the first to alert the locals. Mostly, we were happy to share our avian neighbors with the bird-crazy community. But there was a certain amount of sublime pleasure in having scooped the experts.
What does birding have to do with writing? I’m not sure, but a significant percentage of authors are nature geeks, including bird watchers. Maybe it’s the patience required for both pursuits. Maybe it’s the need soothe our brains with the peace that can only be found in the outdoors. Or the creativity that’s sparked when quiet minds are immersed in a world in which we’re not in control. It’s a mystery!
What about you? Are you a nature lover, a city slicker, or both? Have you ever spotted a natural phenomenon that the experts missed? How do you spur your creativity?
Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Series of cozy mysteries featuring a professional organizer turned amateur detective and her sidekick golden retriever in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.
Cliff Hanger, the fifth book in the series, releases July 16 from Kensington Publishing. Address to Die For, the first title in the six-book series, was named a Best Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews. A resident of Northern California for decades, she now lives on Monterey Bay, enjoying the area’s myriad natural treasures. She attends organizing conferences in her character’s stead, but Maggie’s skills leave her in the dust. For more about Mary and her books, visit her website at http://www.maryfeliz.com.
Photo Captions:
Red phalarope in non-breeding plumage
An aerial view of the pond, slough, and Monterey Bay near Sunset Beach in Santa Cruz County, California.
Red-necked phalarope (foreground) with juvenile mallards behind, ducking their heads to eat.
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About the Author
Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. She’s worked for Fortune 500 firms and mom and pop enterprises competed in whale boat races and done synchronized swimming. She attends organizing conferences in her character’s stead, but Maggie’s skills leave her in the dust. Her first book, ADDRESS TO DIE FOR, received a Kirkus Star and was named a Best Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews.
Author Links: Website – Blog – Facebook – Twitter
Purchase Links:
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 16 – Babs Book Bistro – GUEST POST
July 16 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 16 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
July 17 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, EXCERPT
July 17 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 18 – Handcrafted Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
July 19 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
July 19 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 20 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
July 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
July 21 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST
July 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
July 22 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 22 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
The post Cliff Hanger (A Maggie McDonald Mystery) by Mary Feliz & Guest Post #Books #Author appeared first on Babs Book Bistro.
Leg Up (Lark Davis Mysteries) by Annabelle Hunter #Books #Author
Leg Up
(Lark Davis Mysteries)
by Annabelle Hunter
About the Book
Leg Up (Lark Davis Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently Published (June 1, 2019)
Print Length: 165 pages
Digital ASIN: B07R5GVW3X
GoodReads Link – Coming Soon
A severed leg with no body? Check.
A disturbing lack of coffee? Check.
A murderer bent on revenge and a hot cop using her as bait? Double check.Larklyn Davis moved to the small picturesque town of Barrow Bay, California, needing a new start on life. She found the perfect cottage house, almost the perfect distance from her ex-husband, and built the perfect stable for her dressage business. But when a severed leg suddenly appears on her front porch, her life takes a turn for the absurd.
As more clues pile up, and the killer not content to leave Lark alone, she’s forced to take things into her own hands. One problem: the hottest detective she has ever seen is convinced she is involved. Detective Brecken Wilson looks like he should be in a movie, not glued to Lark’s side, waiting for the other leg to drop.
There’s not enough coffee in the world for Lark to deal with this crime, the detective who stirs things she hasn’t felt in years, and a matchmaking town, intent help her find the happiness she doesn’t want.
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About the Author
Annabelle Hunter is a stay-at-home mom and an avid fan of classic mystery shows and dressage. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, and too many animals.
Purchase Link – Amazon – Kindle
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 15 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
July 16 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
July 16 – T’s Stuff – SPOTLIGHT
July 16 – ❧Defining Ways❧ – SPOTLIGHT
July 17 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
July 17 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – The Cozy Pages – SPOTLIGHT
July 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 19 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 20 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
July 21 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW
July 21 – ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ – SPOTLIGHT
July 22 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
July 22 – Readeropolis – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 23 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
July 24 – 4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ – SPOTLIGHT
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