Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 20
October 2, 2023
Mysteries of Mystic Hills Series by Chris Cannon
Murder in Mystic Hills
Chris Cannon
(Mysteries of Mystic Hills, #1)
Publication date: March 27th 2023
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Paranormal
All she wants is a break from adulting… then she rediscovers a world that’s been wiped from her memory.
Preschool teacher Belinda Harbinger’s summer vacation is going off the rails. After receiving a letter stating she’s inherited a tearoom and home, she’s shocked it’s from a beloved aunt she can’t remember… who could speak to the dead. And finding out she has the same power, it’s up to her to solve her mysterious relative’s murder.
Moving to the mystical town, Belinda takes up with a talking cat Familiar and learns she’s the only one who can help her aunt cross over before she becomes a vengeful spirit. But while searching the house for her lost memories, she faces heated magical politics, fresh bodies popping up, and a hidden evil threatening to make her the next victim.
Not knowing who to trust, can she expose a killer and rescue everyone from deadly plays for power?
Murder in Mystic Hills is the spellbinding first book in the Mysteries of Mystic Hills cozy paranormal series. If you like feline sidekicks, quirky characters, and winding trails of clues, then you’ll love Chris Cannon’s humorous hunt for justice.
The complete series:
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EXCERPT:
We crowded around my butcher block table and my mom said, “You need to know that we love you more than anything or anyone else in the world.”
And there went my appetite. I set my fork down. “This is going to be bad, isn’t it?”
“Not bad,” my mother said. “Just sad in places. I grew up in Mystic Hills. It’s a town situated above an intersection of ley lines, meaning it’s a nexus for magical energy. Most of the population has some sort of gift or magical power. I didn’t. Citizens without magic are encouraged to leave, so I went to college and met your father. When you were born, we knew there was a chance you’d inherited the Harbinger family gift. I took you home to be baptized as Belinda Harbinger. In the rest of the world, you’re Linda James. Every year, on your birthday we took you to visit my family.”
“No, we had birthday parties at home.” I’d been there, I should know.
“You have two birthdays. The date of your birth we celebrate here, and the date of your Christening in Mystic Hills which is the anniversary of when you turned six months old.”
“Like a half birthday?” That would fall in the summer. “You’re saying every June you took me to a town called Mystic Hills to stay with an Aunt I can’t remember, who you never told me about until after she died?”
“The bracelet contains your memories,” my mom said. “Teresa collected them at the end of each visit and stored them away in case you ever wanted them.”
“I need more wine.” I went to the fridge and filled my glass before offering it to my guests. “Anyone else?”
My mom smiled. “Yes, please.”
I poured a glass for my mom and grabbed a beer for my dad. “Victor? Cat? Any beverages?”
“I’ll take a beer,” Victor said.
“Do you have any flavored creamer?” the cat asked hopefully.
“You mean like French vanilla coffee creamer?”
“Yes. In a bowl if you don’t mind.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have milk?”
“I’m lactose intolerant,” the cat said.
“Creamer it is.” After passing out drinks in various forms, I said, “Okay, go.”
“First,” my mom said, “I need to know how Teresa died.”
Victor scowled. “It was labeled an accident. But Teresa did not fall and break her neck in her own house. Someone or something pushed her. No one will help us. They are all frightened. Afraid something might happen to them. We need Belinda to come home with us so she can speak to Teresa and find out what happened.”
Wait. What? “If Teresa is dead, how am I supposed to talk to her?”
“That’s your gift,” Victor said. “You see spirits and speak to the dead.”
“Nope.” I pushed my chair back from the table. “I’m a teacher. My gift is teaching preschoolers that they have to share and take turns. I do not talk to dead people.”
“It’s in our blood,” my mom said. “Believe me there are worse gifts.”
“Put on the bracelet,” Victor said. “You’ll understand your duty.”
I pulled the bracelet out of my pocket. “Mom?”
“It might help with the transition. Please remember, we did what we did out of love and concern for you. If we let you remember your time in Mystic Hills, your gift would have blossomed. If you weren’t prepared…well it’s hard to explain to a six-year-old why ghosts are talking to her.”
I’d been about to slide my hand through the bracelet but stopped. “Wait. Ghosts can just talk to me?” I thought I’d need to hold a seance or say a spell.
“Think of yourself as a ghost magnet,” the cat said.
“I’d rather not,” I shot back. “What do the ghosts want?”
“Some have unfinished business, problems they need to solve before they can move on,” Victor explained. “The recently dead don’t always realize what’s happened. It’s your job to help them accept their new reality.”
“If what Teresa told me is true, it can be overwhelming at first.” Mom touched my arm. “You can learn to control it, but you’ll have to do that in Mystic Hills.”
This house and business no longer seemed like such a good deal. Seeing dead people hoping to settle a score didn’t sound fun. “Can I just ignore all of this? Send Victor and the cat back to Mystic Hills with the bracelet?”
“You could,” my mom said.
“But you shouldn’t,” Victor said. “Teresa has been knocking paintings off the walls trying to get our attention. No one will help her. The longer she’s distressed the more vengeful and unstable she’ll become. She won’t be able to cross over if you don’t help. She’ll be stuck here, and all her humanity will drain away. She’ll become a leech.”
“She’ll become a blood sucking bug?” That didn’t make sense.
“No.” Mom wiped at tears sliding down her cheeks. “A leech sucks the life force from its victims trying to gain power. The stronger it becomes the more dangerous it is. The Mystic Hills elders would hunt her down and damn her to hell for eternity.”
Author Bio:
Chris Cannon is a speech therapist by day and the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series, the Boyfriend Chronicles, the Dating Dilemma series, the Demon Bound series, and Mysteries of Mystic Hills series by night.
She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and several furry beasts. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sipping coffee and writing fire-breathing urban fantasies, sweet snarky romantic comedies, or paranormal cozy mysteries. You can check out her website at www.chriscannonauthor.com.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
GIVEAWAY!
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September 12, 2023
Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon
Welcome to the tour for Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon. Read on for more details!
Eternally Artemisia
Some loves, like some women, are timeless.
They say some loves travel through time and are fated to meet over and over again. For Maddie, an art therapist, who wrestles with the “peculiar feeling” she has lived previous lives and is being called to Italy by voices that have left imprints on her soul, this idea is intriguing. Despite her best efforts, however, proof of this has always eluded her. That is, until one illuminating summer in Italy when Maddie’s previous existences start to bleed through into her current reality. When she is introduced to the Crociani family—a noble clan with ties to the seventeenth-century Medici court that boasts of ancestors with colorful pasts—she finally meets the loves of her life. One is a romantic love, and another is a special kind of passion that only women share, strong amongst those who have suffered greatly yet have triumphed despite it. As Maddie’s relationship develops with Artemisia Gentileschi—an artist who in a time when it was unheard of to denounce a man for the crime of rape, did just that—Maddie discovers a kindred spirit and a role model, and just what women are capable of when united together. In a journey that arcs back to biblical days and moves forward in time, Maddie encounters artists, dukes, designers, and movie stars as well as baser and ignoble men. With Artemisia never far from her side, she proves that when we dare to take control of our lives and find the “thing” we are most passionate about, we are limitless and can touch the stars.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Melissa Muldoon is the author of four novels set in Italy: “Dreaming Sophia”, “Waking Isabella”, “Eternally Artemisia”, and “The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola.” All four books are set in Italy and tell the stories of women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future. For more information visit: MelissaMuldoon.com
Melissa is the author also of the Studentessa Matta website, where she promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog written in Italian and English (studentessamatta.com). “Studentessa Matta” means the “crazy linguist” and has grown to include the podcast “Tutti Matti per l’Italiano”, and the “Studentessa Matta” YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Instagram feed. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Programs, which she co-leads with Italian schools in Italy to learn Italian in Italy while immersing in language and culture. Through her website, she also offers Homestay opportunities to live and study in Italy in the private home of a teacher.
Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence. She is an artist, and professional book designer, and designed the interiors of all three of her books as well as illustrated their covers. Melissa is also the managing director of Matta Press.
Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours
Like this:Like Loading...September 8, 2023
The Vengeance of Samuel Val by Elyse Hoffman
Welcome to the tour for The Vengeance of Samuel Val: A Gripping and Heart-Breaking WW2 Story by Elyse Hoffman! Read on for more details!
The Vengeance of Samuel Val
Publication Date: September 1, 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction/ WW2
Samuel Val is blessed with a loving family and a tight-knit community in his Jewish village of Khruvina. He dreams of becoming Khruvina’s Rabbi, but his dreams are crushed when his family is slaughtered by Nazi Officer Viktor Naden, the Beast of Belorussia.
With Samuel left as Khruvina’s only survivor, he joins the anti-Nazi resistance group known as the Black Foxes. Determined to avenge his family, he swears to hunt down and destroy Viktor Naden. Samuel’s mission of vengeance, however, is put on hold when he is forced to escort a Jewish refugee to a safehouse operated by Black Fox Ten, a high-ranked member of the resistance.
While on his mission to save a life, Samuel discovers that the Beast of Belorussia might be closer than he thought. All at once, Samuel is given the chance to destroy Viktor Naden…but the cost will be high. Will Samuel sell his soul for vengeance?
Award-winning author Elyse Hoffman offers a heart-breaking and thought-provoking WW2 story.
Available Here
About the Author
Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. She loves to meld WWII and Jewish history with fantasy, folklore, and the paranormal. She has written six works of Holocaust historical fiction: The Barracks of the Holocaust five-book series and The Book of Uriel. Elyse’s books are the way to go if you love history and want to read some unique stories.
Book Tour Schedule
September 4th
http://rrbooktours.com Kick-off
https://www.instagram.com/cardigancomfortreads/ – Review
https://www.instagram.com/niks.bookshelf/ – Review
https://www.instagram.com/bookgrlobsessed/ – Review
September 5th
https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/ – Review
https://www.instagram.com/hmylek/ – Review
https://www.instagram.com/Justagirlwithaloveofbooks/ – Review
https://www.ladyhawkeye.com/ – Feature
September 6th
https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ – Review
https://starsbooksandtea.com/ – Review
https://www.instagram.com/katierichardauthor/ – Feature
September 7th
https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com – Feature
https://www.instagram.com/jen_lynn_c14/?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw%3D%3D – Feature
https://www.instagram.com/fathomsamidstthelines/ – Feature
September 8th
https://www.instagram.com/amanda_coffee_books/ – Feature
https://aubreywynne.com/ – Feature
https://www.thesexynerdrevue.com – Feature
Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours
Like this:Like Loading...September 6, 2023
Buried Roots by Terra Weiss with an excerpt and giveaway
Buried Roots
Terra Weiss
Publication date: September 5th 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Mystery, Romance
I might’ve found my own grave.
Or not, but I don’t have time to figure it out. A perfect stranger willed me his neglected fifty-acre farm, and now, this New Yorker has two weeks to get it sell-ready. With a business to run, I can’t stay in this boondock town a second longer.
But I’ve got it handled—even after a series of suspicious property mishaps. Even after the threatening notes.
My veterinarian neighbor Owen Brooks shows up with a sledgehammer, a wicked sexy smile, and Demon, his appropriately named foster bulldog. But after losing my family, I only rely on myself.
That doesn’t stop Owen and the town of Violet Moon from showing up for me. Maybe family isn’t just blood.
Owen and I can’t deny our magnetic connection as we restore the historic estate. But the more we dig, the more my disturbing buried roots surface. I have to confront that grave… and my bombshell family secret.
*Buried Roots is a grittier, heartfelt romcom mystery with adult language and steamy, open-door chemistry that will have you rooting for a happily-ever-after.
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EXCERPT:
I approach my car, and everything around me is echoey and out of focus. I just have to take one step at a time, the first being to get this car out of the ditch.
A windowless white van slows to a crawl as it swerves around me. Nerves clench in my gut as the driver pulls onto the shoulder just up ahead. A stranger driving a kidnap van in this desolate place? Hell no! I already have a raging fear of the woods.
When the driver steps out, I grip the pepper spray on my key ring. So what if he’s got a killer bod and shock of black hair? Who cares if he’s wearing a faded t-shirt and rugged jeans, like some Hallmark movie hottie? I know better than to be fooled by looks.
I check the highway, scanning for other cars. Of course, this country road is empty. When he gets closer, I see the oily black streaks on his face, the filth on his hands, and the dirt on his clothes. And he’s wearing mismatched neon socks. That has to be ironic, no? But his smile is wicked sexy when he says, “Can I help you, ma’am?”
Ma’am? Is he for real? I force a smile and a wave when I say, “No, thank you. I’ve got it.” Translation: don’t come an inch closer.
“You’ve got it?” His voice is incredulous.
“Yup. All good.”
His eyes bulge as he stops and glances at my stuck tire. “All good? Looks like you’re in a bit of a pickle.”
On closer inspection, he has muscles everywhere, and the light scruff on his carved jawbone is annoyingly sexy. Which again, will not stop me from pepper spraying his fine ass. Hello, stranger danger—in the middle of nowhere. “Pickle? Nah.”
He rakes a hand through his hair. “Look, this isn’t a sexist thing. I have a mother and three sisters who could kick everyone’s ass. But this road doesn’t see much action, and I can’t leave someone out here.”
“I appreciate that, I really do. But I won’t be stuck long—I’m handy.” That’s a stretch. I restore homes, so I am handy, but with cars, I only know the basics.
He raises a brow as he studies my face. “Handy or not, getting a car out of a ditch is a two-person job. At least.” He cocks his head and hitches up his voice a notch when he adds, “Out here, there’s no Triple A.”
“I don’t need Triple A. But thank you.”
His lips quirk up as they appear to search for a response. “Once I leave, you might not see another car for hours.”
“I’ll figure it out. I’m a New Yorker.”
“Ah. That explains it.”
My hand lands on my hip. “Explains what, exactly?”
“Nothing.” His mouth curves in a patronizing grin.
His amusement pisses me off. It’s really hard not to sound condescending when I say, “I’m sure you’ve got places to be.”
He hesitates before he hitches his thumb over his shoulder. “Okay, then. I’m leaving.”
Our gazes lock, like we’re in a game of eye-chicken. That’s fine, bring it—I don’t mind studying his. They’re part ocean, part storm cloud—sparkle tinged with despair. Like mine. I don’t look away, don’t blink when I say, “I see that, and good for you. Enjoy your day.”
He steps away in defeat. “I’m really leaving this time. You’ll be out here in the backwoods. All by yourself.” Another step back. “When you could have a mechanically inclined, super handy guy give you a hand.”
I put my palms up. “Again—mechanically inclined, super handy hands right here.” I wiggle my fingers and paint on a smile. “Sir.”
“All righty, then. Good luck.” That grin is back. “Ma’am.”
I hate to admit it, but damn it, smug is sexy on him. Our gazes lock again, and I enjoy looking at his smile, looking at him. Forget eye candy—this country boy… or man, with distinguished light creases on his temples—is more of an exquisite eye confection.
And now, I’m staring. I attempt to run my fingers through my auburn hair, which I’ve forgotten is bobby-pinned. My hand gets stuck, and I try to play it off as a head scratch.
He waves. “I’m Owen Brooks, by the way. It was nice meeting you.”
“You too.” I’m not giving him my name. I point at his feet and say, “Nice neon socks, by the way.”
That smug grin is back when he runs a hand over his dirt-stained tee. “Pulling this look together wasn’t easy.”
I smile, and for the first time, it’s genuine.
Author Bio:
Terra Weiss is a romcom author with a knack for witty banter and gift for capturing authentic family dynamics. Readers love how her stories steer away from typical romcom cookie-cutter formulas and show how real-life people find real-life love.
When Terra’s not spilling the tea on what happens in the big and small towns that live in her heart, you’ll find her with her spunky daughter, mad scientist husband, wacky and wonderful mother, and the two six-pound dogs that run her house. She enjoys jogging at a snail’s pace, reading from her iPhone, and piling bright orange mountains of squeezy cheese on her crackers.
Want a FREE ebook? Sign up for Terra’s newsletter and get one as a thank you! http://www.terraweiss.com
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok
GIVEAWAY!
Enter to win $100 Amazon gift card here!
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August 30, 2023
The Queen of the Poor by Alan Gold with an excerpt and giftcard giveaway
The Queen of the Poor
Alan Gold
Publication date: August 9th 2023
Genres: Adult, Historical
Angela Burdett-Coutts was a wealthy woman who used her money, class and prestige to make a tangible difference for those less fortunate. She would become one of the most outspoken and dedicated philanthropists of her day. Throwing herself into the causes she valued the most, her charity work became renowned, earning her recognition from none other than Queen Victoria herself.
Coutts the bank was founded in 1692 but really took off when Thomas Coutts took over at the beginning of the 19th Century. He made a fortune, and left it to his second wife, 40 years younger and an actress. When she died, she left it all to Thomas’ granddaughter, Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Suddenly, Angela became the second wealthiest woman in England after Queen Victoria. She had to hire bodyguards to keep fortune hunters away. But because of her wealth and also because her father was a radical politician, she moved in the most interesting circles of Victorian society, where she met and has numerous affairs with famous people, like the chemist Michael Faraday and many others including Charles Dickens and the Duke of Wellington.
She caused something of a scandal with her radical lifestyle, but because of her wealth, and the fact that she spends most of her money on charity, opening schools for impoverished children, helping Dickens with the housing for the poor, housing prostitutes and getting them off the streets she’s almost beyond criticism…. until, at the age of 66, she caused absolute shock and outrage, because she chose to marry her 29-yearold secretary called William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett. Whilst this in itself does not appear particularly shocking, as he was, like her father, a Member of Parliament, the astonishing age gap left society aghast. Whilst she was sixty-seven, he was just twenty-nine years old.
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EXCERPT:
When Harriot Mellon Coutts and the duke had married, it had caused a sensation, mainly because he was twenty-three years younger than she was. Also, despite her previous marriage to the late Thomas Coutts, she was still known far and wide in British aristocratic society as ‘the actress’. Appearing at the reading of his wife’s will wasn’t something which the duke would countenance, not with all her damnable relatives pointing and sniggering.
Explanation
(On her death in 1837, her property and fortune went to her step granddaughter, selected as heir after careful scrutiny of the possible recipients, who as a condition of the inheritance adapted her name to
Angela Burdett-Coutts
.
[7]
)
Author Bio:
Alan Gold began his career as a journalist, working in the UK, Europe, and Israel. In 1970, he emigrated to Australia with his wife, Eva, and now lives in St. Ives, Sydney, where he divides his time between writing novels and running his award-winning marketing consultancy.
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
—
August 17, 2023
TO KINGDOM COME by Claudia Riess with a guest post
Jumpstarting the Writing Session
The hardest part about writing is planting myself in my desk chair and raising the lid of my computer when I’m not viscerally compelled to do so. When I know exactly where a scene is headed and how my characters are about to interact, there’s no problem: I’m already typing in the air before I even log in.
Luckily, the problem has largely been eliminated. Instead of sitting down cold at the computer, I now take a couple of preparatory steps, so that there’s an actual transitioning from the state of Not Writing to Writing. I’ve found that when a ritual series of events is initiated, after a while the desired action flows naturally from it, requiring no prodding or coercion.
Here’s a typical ritual. First, I sort through the papers on my desk with notes on upcoming chapters. Some notes are scrawled on sheets torn from legal pads. Others are typed dialogue or expository bits. I separate the notes dealing with the chapter either in the works or about to start from all the upcoming chapters with a colored folder. Next, I arrange the notes in the order I anticipate their subjects will arise. After that, if there’s an upcoming historical, geographical, academic or environmental issue that requires a bit of research (the major research has already been done), I’ll Google it. An example: My characters will shortly be boarding a private jet. I’ve never been on or close to a private jet. I look up the subject, then study the photos and read the technical matter on dimensions, propulsion, flight staff.
The penultimate step, and maybe the most important because it’s just about as close to Pavlovian stimulus-response as it gets, is this: I prepare a hot beverage, usually tea, sometimes cocoa, and place it on a coaster in the open side-drawer of my desk (there’s no room on the top of my desk). The last step is virtually as instinctive as a dancer’s practiced leap: my body places itself in the desk chair while my fingers pinch the lid of my MacBook and raise it.
I take a sip of the beverage. I type my password and click open the manuscript I’m currently grappling with. The higher functions of my brain kick in, and I’m on my way. Sometimes I become too engrossed to ever getting around to taking a second sip.
To Kingdom Come
by Claudia Riess
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
Amateur sleuths, Erika Shawn-Wheatley, art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, art history professor, attend a Zoom meeting of individuals from around the globe whose common goal is to expedite the return of African art looted during the colonial era. Olivia Chatham, a math instructor at London University, has just begun speaking about her recent find, a journal penned by her great-granduncle, Andrew Barrett, active member of the Royal Army Medical Service during England’s 1897 “punitive expedition” launched against the Kingdom of Benin.
Olivia is about to disclose what she hopes the sleuthing duo will bring to light, when the proceedings are disrupted by an unusual movement in one of the squares on the grid. Frozen disbelief erupts into a frenzy of calls for help as the group, including the victim, watch in horror the enactment of a murder videotaped in real time.
It will not be the only murder or act of brutality Erika and Harrison encounter in their two-pronged effort to hunt down the source of violence and unearth a cache of African treasures alluded to in Barrett’s journal.
Much of the action takes place in London, scene of the crimes and quest for redemption
Excerpt Two:
The first page identified the journal’s owner and date of inception in neatly penned script:
Andrew James Dexter Barrett Book One: 22 March 1897 – 17 August 1897 The subject of where Book Two and beyond might have gone off to was not raised because it would have been futile and, at least for now, irrelevant. Erika carefully turned the page to reveal the journal’s first entry, thankfully in that same legible, script: 22 March, homecoming. They read on, silently.
Hard to believe it has been less than ten weeks since the SS Malacca, cargo steamship refitted as a hospital ship, set forth for the Benin coast with me and my fellow medics aboard. It seems like a lifetime ago, perhaps because I have become a new man, or rather a newly awakened man, in the interim.
I have learned firsthand what history books and hearsay can only, at best, inadequately describe, and I will never again shut my eyes to the indignities and injustices we self-proclaimed entitled few, heap upon our brethren: those less fiscally sound as well as those of darker skin.
On Saturday, 20 March, when the ship pulled into Gosport, England, Father was waiting for me on the dock in top hat and frock coat, dapper as the nobleman he is. As I heave-hoed my laundry bag containing the rescued Benin treasures into our horse-drawn carriage, Father commented on its obvious weight. “What have you got in there?” he asked, with barely a trace of curiosity. “Medical books and instruments,” I answered without hesitation, realizing as I uttered the words that I had no intention of bringing him into my confidence.
I had been getting about on my own for years and could very well have hired a carriage to take me on the sixty-six-mile journey home, but Father had been adamant about accompanying me, even though it meant that both he and his coachman must overnight at an inn to, and again from, Gosport. In retrospect, I wonder if his intention, perhaps not conscious, was to use our extensive time alone to reclaim his control over me, since he did, after all, spend a good deal of time speaking of his activities in the House of Lords and pressing upon me the certainty that I was “marvelously suited” to that rewarding life. Mid-point between Gosport and Hertfordshire, we rented rooms at the inn in Guildford, where Father and the coachman had stayed the night before. To dilute Father’s lecture disguised as conversation, I must have consumed more ale that night than I had in the previous six months.
I awakened this morning well rested, but with a raging headache. Father must have taken pity on me because for the balance of our journey he eased up considerably on his mission to refashion me as a slightly taller version of himself. We arrived home late this evening, and Mother’s embrace and smile of relief comforted me no end. Never mind my goals in life. All that mattered to Mother was my safe return to Barrett Farms.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Claudia Riess is an award-winning author of seven novels, four of which form her art history mystery series published by Level Best Books. She has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and has edited several art history monographs. Stolen Light, the first book in her series, was chosen by Vassar’s Latin American history professor for distribution to the college’s people-to-people trips to Cuba. To Kingdom Come, the fourth and most recent, will be added to the syllabus of a survey course on West and Central African Art at a prominent Midwest university. Claudia has written a number of articles for Mystery Readers Journal, Women’s National Book Association, and Mystery Scene magazine. At present, she’s consulting with her protagonists about a questionable plot twist in Chapter 9 of the duo’s murder investigation unfolding in book 5; working title: Dreaming of Monet, scheduled for release winter 2024. For more about Riess and her work, visit www.claudiariessbooks.com.
All four books in the art history mystery series are available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, IndieBound.org and at independent book stores. For bulk discount purchases, contact https://levelbestbooks.wordpress.com.
a Rafflecopter giveawayLike this:Like Loading...August 14, 2023
COCKTAILS & CASUALTIES by Carly Wayne with a giveaway
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author is awarding 4 prizes to randomly drawn winners (a leather bound diary and pen, a set of 4 drink coasters, a pewter necklace of a Quetzal bird, a copper compass). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Teddy Aarons is a nomad, using her bartending skills as an excuse to move to a new luxury resort with each change of the season. But when she finds herself stuck on the remote island of Mahina Cay, she finds refuge in the quirky little Township of Crooked Cove.
Crooked Cove is a village of expatriates from various countries, and the people are welcoming, but she only intends to stay long enough to make the money to get off the island and back to her real life.. However, when one of the village’s most distinguished citizens turns up dead, it’s up to her to either solve the case or become a permanent resident of the slammer!
With her new friend Jasmine at her side, Teddy will do whatever it takes to shake out the truth and stir up the real killer to clear her name. Will she manage to keep herself out of lockup, or will she end up under the influence of the Mahina Cay Prison?
Read an Excerpt
She stepped on the stage, not even knowing what song she was supposed to sing. She picked up the microphone, and the lights switched to a spotlight on her, then she heard the piano intro, and smiled. She knew what she had to do.
She took a deep breath, and belted out the first line, “First I was afraid, I was petrified…” As soon as the music kicked in, the lights turned into a disco, and the whole room jumped up to dance. Teddy sang a rousing rendition of ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor. No one remained in their seats, and she twirled and danced onstage with abandon, playing to the crowd. Somewhere deep in her mind as she sang, she marveled at herself. She had never enjoyed being in the spotlight, never bothered to make real friends at any of her jobs, never felt secure enough in herself or her surroundings to just let go the way she was doing at that moment. And she liked it.
Toward the end of the song, she looked out above the crowd. Standing in the shadows, just outside the doorway to the beach, a dark figure leaned back against the railing of the deck, watching her perform. As the clouds parted for just a moment, she saw El Kapitano incline his head toward her, the faintest of smiles curving his full lips. Then the clouds came back, and he was once again in shadow.
About the Author:
Carly Wayne first discovered her love of storytelling as a child when she would create alternate endings for all of her favorite fairy tales. As she grew, her fascination developed into a passion for writing about the characters and worlds she imagined.Now, Carly has returned to her ancestral home deep in the woods of Jacksonville, Florida, not too far from the ocean. She fills her days pursuing her bliss by writing, creating, and exploring nature.
Carly holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology.
Website: https://carlywayne.online
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/cocktails-casualties
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/creator.of.worlds
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarlyWayneJax
GoodReads: https://cutt.ly/carlywayne-goodreads
BookBub: https://cutt.ly/carlywayne-bookbub
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August 11, 2023
The Worst Darcy by Robyn Gynne
The Worst Darcy
Robyn Gynne
Publication date: August 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Brodie Bishop is the worst.
Vivian Trent is desperate. Her family doesn’t approve of her life as a single mom and the small town of Austen still won’t accept her as one of their own four years later. Playing Elizabeth Bennet at the annual Jane Austen Festival is the perfect way to win over the locals and prove that she’s thriving. But when Austen’s favourite festival hero is replaced by his tattooed, metalhead brother, how is she supposed to achieve perfection with such a bad boy playing Mr. Darcy? He’s never read the book. He’s brash and unpolished. He’s… blond?!
You must allow me to tell you how ardently I dislike you.
Brodie’s used to being the town disappointment, so when Vivian turns her nose up at him, he’s not surprised. Hot librarian or not, she’s way too uptight. But once the festival gets underway, they see new sides of each other. When he finds out her dark secret, suddenly she’s much more endearing. She’s vulnerable, but strong. And the way she looks in that gown only blurs the lines between playing the part and falling for her for real.
But when her goal is within reach, can Vivian go off-book and choose Brodie, if it means risking everything she thought she wanted?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Google Play
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EXCERPT:
Cuppabeans was the only cafe in town, a cute little corner shop with a mint green and white striped awning out front, knotty pine framing inside, and a constant, thick miasma of warm, rich Arabica beans in the air.
Inhaling deeply as I stood in line, I tapped my foot and checked the time. It was fine. I still had a good cushion to get this done before I had to be at the library. I reached the front and ordered the largest size they had.
“Name?” the perky teenage server called over the morning din.
“Vivian,” I said.
“Lydia?” she asked.
I emphasized each syllable so she could at least read my lips. “Vivian.”
She nodded in a way that made my hopes plummet. I crossed my arms and stepped to the side to let the next person up. I blinked as I saw the man who’d stood behind me. He wore black head to toe, including a thick pair of leather cuffs at his wrists, the dark shade contrasting with his fair skin. The only hint of colour on him popped from the tattoos covering his forearms and the wheat blond of his overlong hair. He left his black aviators on as he put in his order and came to stand beside me, crossing one long leg over the other as he leaned back against the wall.
I watched him in the mirror on the opposite side of the cafe. He crossed his arms and appeared generally standoffish, the sharp line of his jaw ticking as he clenched it. I watched the muscle move as discreetly as I could. By the look of him, he was hardly a Prince Charming candidate, but I could still appreciate a nice jawline. I was only human, after all.
But then a smirk kicked up one corner of his mouth and he tipped his sunglasses down, revealing that his eyes were locked on mine in the mirror. My heart squeezed in surprise. Not only from the frantic feeling of being caught staring, but the shock of how incongruously dark brown his eyes were against that hair, stark in his only slightly sun-kissed face. They tilted up slightly at the outer corners, reminding me of a cat. He nudged the shades off his face and turned to me with a matching feline languor.
I flicked my eyes to the ground, face flaring with heat.
“Don’t like tattoos?” he asked, his voice a slightly gravelly tenor. By that grungy, heavy metal look, he’d probably spent his life screaming into a microphone.
“I wasn’t looking at your tattoos,” I said with a sharp shake of my head. Hopefully, my neck wasn’t going blotchy with embarrassment.
“Yeah?” he asked. In my periphery, I saw him lean closer. “What were you lookin’ at?”
I threw a desperate glance at the server and she held a cup up with a nod. Relief flooded me as I grabbed it and pivoted on my heel to escape this awkward encounter. But as I passed the man, I faltered, frowning down at the cup. It read Vanilla. “Oh, come on,” I grumbled under my breath.
A snort drew my eyes back up to the man. His dark eyes sparked with a mocking amusement. “Hey, at least she got the V right.”
I rolled my eyes and marched past him, ignoring the snicker that followed me out the door.
Author Bio:
Robyn writes spicy contemporary romances about resilient women and memorable men. Having self-published numerous short romances over the years under different pen names, she is pleased to present her first full-length novel, THE WORST DARCY. When she’s not writing, you can find her catching up on her TBR pile, watching spooky movies, and woodburning crafts. She lives in the Greater Toronto Area with her husband and son.
Website / Goodreads / TikTok / Instagram / Newsletter
GIVEAWAY!
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August 9, 2023
MAMA DIDA: My Road to Canada by Leonida Teohari
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
After experiencing the second world war tragedies and living through the socio political changes in Romania, grand-pa Aurel and grand-ma Dida for the love of their beloved grandchildren Darius and Anna, decided to leave family, friends and everything they built in Romania and start a new life in Canada. Nadia Comaneci incredible gymnastic success at the Olympic games in Montreal was what they knew at the time about Canada. Grand-pa Aurel and grand-ma Dida’s courage and personal sacrifices were the foundation for the education Darius and Anna accessed in Toronto and the life they enjoyed in Canada. The book presents real events and is based on a true story.
Read an Excerpt
When Constanta first got bombed, we had to rush to take cover in a trench made by a neighbour of ours behind our building. After this first bombing experience, Mother Voica packed her savings in a bag, took my sister Helen and me, and fled to Ovidiu, a nearby village. This was not before a heated discussion between my brother Costy and Mother Voica. Costy convinced Mother Voica that he should stay home to watch for the apartment and the furniture. This was all we owned, and my brother would rather risk getting bombed than lose it to the looters.
So, we said goodbye while all crying. Costy was on the balcony waiving at us until our carriage turned the first corner in the direction of Ovidiu village. Mother Voica cried for Costy the entire way, her first child and the only boy.
The war opened my eyes. To be a refugee even in our own country was not easy; imagine having to leave your country.
Mama Voica rented one room with a small cooking stove. From eggs to a litre of milk, everything was double the city prices. We came to the village hoping to save money, however the reality of war proved different.
This was the time to help my mother, so I started learning how to cook.
Helen had a talent for negotiating prices with the villagers and she also had fun doing it. Mother Voica used to refer to her as Jewish.
After few weeks, Mother Voica decided to return home. She told us that she was short of money but we both knew that she was worried about Costy. Helen and I approved immediately; we also missed our brother and the apartment.
Mother Voica hired a carriage and two soldiers, and we started our way back to Constanta.
About the Author:Leo Teohari was born in Constanta, Romania. Leo holds both a law degree and a degree in international economics. Leo defected from Communist Romania in 1980, and settled with his family in Toronto, Canada, where he became a businessman. Today he writes about his experiences and runs an international food trade business. In 2004 he published his first book, Hawala, based on a true story about a government cover-up and diversion related to the Romanian revolution in 1989.
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mama-dida-teohari/1143605702
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mama-dida
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mama-Dida-My-Road-Canada-ebook/dp/B0C6T383P2/ref=sr_1_1 $0.99 on Amazon
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August 7, 2023
A guest post plus THE FLAPPER, THE IMPOSTOR AND THE STALKER by Charlene Bell Dietz
DOWN THE RESEARCH RABBIT HOLE
Writing the Historical Mystery
Charlene Bell Dietz
I’m always plunging down the twisted passages of research. I never understood how people could go to bars and drink when prohibition ruled, and since I knew nothing about Chicago in the Roaring Twenties, The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker story sent me scurrying off to learn.
However, my newest book started with a genealogical discovery. “Giles Brent, a thirty-some-year-old man, married a nine-year-old Indian Princess.” My writer brain wondered if there was a story here. Everyone from genealogists to historical writers branded Giles Brent as an opportunist set on acquiring land through his marriage. In 1643, he indeed married a young Indian princess, the ward of the governor of pre-colonial Maryland, Leonard Calvert, and his good friend, Lady Margaret Brent, Giles’s sister and a spinster.
Red flag waving here!
Why would a powerful man of the 1600s, such as the governor, have a spinster for a good friend, and why would the two of them allow this inappropriate marriage to one of the guardians’ brother?
Into the Black Hole
Scouring genealogy and other sites provided hours of jaw-dropping entertainment, such as tankards made from leather. While wasting time learning unnecessary material, I found no scholarly evidence to support the claims concerning Giles Brent. I relegated these sources to my superficial “timewaster” file. However, quite a different story waited to be told.
In writing historical novels, I’ve discovered if it’s to be a successful novel, its core must strike a balance between historical facts and entertainment. The entertainment comes from either your imagination, or your timewaster file, or maybe unanswered questions by other researchers. Finding facts took me to the Maryland State Archives’ Special Collections, because one huge unanswered question centered around the friendship of the governor and the spinster. Were Leonard Calvert and Margaret Brent lovers?
Out in the Sunlight
Dr. Lois Green Carr documented 134 cases that Giles Brent’s sister Margaret presented in provincial court. According to these cases, it appears Margaret first spoke for her own rights, then became the voice for others. Finally, she became known as attorney when she started speaking for the rights of men and the gentlemen of the courts. She even built and maned a fort to protect the Catholics from the Protestants. Calvert, on his deathbed appointed her his executrix. I never discovered if they were lovers, but their close business dealings, and then his marrying her younger sister, made me believe Lady Brent would never give up her voice and property to become any man’s wife.
Move over Susan B. Anthony
In 1648, Margaret 224 years before Susan B. Anthony, Lady Brent asked for the privilege of having two votes, which were denied. Yet now, the America Bar Association bestows their Margaret Brent award annually on five deserving women attorneys, such as Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sandra Day O’Connell, and Hillary Clinton. This story needed to be told.
If I hadn’t fallen into that research rabbit hole in search of a story about Giles Brent, I would never have discovered this strong, independent woman, Margaret Brent, who is now honored by the American Bar Association. The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor, winning awards from the National Federation of Press Women, will be released February 2024.
The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker
by Charlene Bell Dietz
GENRE: Mystery, Historical, Suspense Novel
BLURB:
A privileged teenager from Minneapolis in 1923, scraps her college scholarship and runs away to become a flapper in dangerous, chaotic Chicago. In her search for illusive happiness, she confronts the mob and then must contrive a way to not be murdered.
Excerpt
Crystal stood and moved her hand toward the hall stairway. Sophie and Kathleen set their plates down and followed. Before they left the parlor Kathleen picked up her pocketbook and valise and nodded for Sophie to do the same. She didn’t want Crystal to rummage through their things while they were upstairs trying on dresses—or whatever they were to do. When they reached the top of the stairs, a door stood open at the far end of the long hall. A single hanging lightbulb illuminated a rack of dresses with shoes lined up underneath, and at the back stood a large chest of drawers.
“Goldie, I’ve told you—keep that door closed and locked. Now hurry.” The girl lunged down the hallway. Crystal guided Kathleen and Sophie into the first door on the right.
“This is one of the bedrooms. The other is right next to this. Down the hall next to the closet you’ll find the bathroom. We don’t have hot water, but I’m sure that’s not a problem when you consider your rent is free.”
“Free rent and free dresses?” Kathleen congratulated herself. Even with moths batting around in her brain, she knew a ploy when she heard it. Crystal pushed open the door into a small bedroom. The room contained a table, a chair, and a bed. With the shade pulled down, the cleanliness remained questionable, and the room smelled funny, maybe from sweat or body odor. Kathleen couldn’t identify it.
“Goldie does have an eye for size. This dress should do you nicely. Tell her what size shoe you wear. Now, let’s go next door and see what Goldie has for Sophie. Isn’t this fun?
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Charlene Bell Dietz’s award-winning mystery novels The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur combines family saga with corporate espionage, and The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker propels readers back into 1923 in frenetic Chicago. The Scientist, the Psychic, and the nut gives readers a frightening Caribbean vacation. Her latest novel The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor is a historical biography about Lady Margaret Brent, the first American woman to be called an attorney, whose integrity and intelligence saves pre-colonial Maryland from devastation. This book won the New Mexico Press Women’s first place award and an award by the National Press Women. The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor will be released as a second edition by Artemesia Press in February 2024. Two of her Flapper books have won the coveted Kirkus stars, and two were named best book of 2018. Charlene, a retired educator, lives in the foothills of the mountains in central New Mexico where abundant wildlife, solitude, and natures’ beauty inspires her creativity.
Connect with Charlene:
https://www.facebook.com/charlene.dietz.9/
Buy Links:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/charlene%20bell%20dietz/_/N-8q8
https://treasurehousebooks.net/product-tag/charlene-bell-dietz/
The book will be $0.99 during the tour.
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