GUEST POST WITH SHARON C. WILLIAMS

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jasper is no ordinary parrot. 

He lives in the rainforest, which secrets he’s eager to explore. Jasper loves his home and his family, and he's also in charge of his younger brother Willie - a responsibility Jasper takes very seriously.

When he meets Charlie - a spider monkey with a penchant for food and a laid back attitude - he realizes he’s in for an adventure he never thought possible.   Even if this means getting into danger and worrying his mother to no end.

Exploring the boundaries of the forest, Jasper understands that there is more to the world around him. Who are the strange new creatures that have come there? With Willie and Charlie by his side, he will soon find out.

Book Details
Title: Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure
Author: Sharon C. Williams
Genre: children, children's interactive adventure books
Series: Jasper, Amazon Parrot, book 1
Publisher: Peculiar Possum Books - A Next Chapter Imprint; 3rd edition (July 9, 2019)
Print length: 48 pages

GUEST POST BY SHARON C. WILLIAMS 

A Day in the Life of Jasper

My Amazon Yellow Cheek Amazon parrot, Jasper, has been with us since 1999 when we rescued and adopted him at the age of five. But not only that, he has become the focal point of my chapter book series- the Jasper, Amazon parrot series.

I grew up with dogs, cats, chickens, hamsters, gerbils, fish, and white mice. But nothing prepared me for living with birds. Nothing has prepared me to live with Jasper.

So, what is a day like in the life of Jasper?

I get up roughly at 5:25 am. My husband and I leave by 6 to go for our morning walk. Hearing my footsteps, Jasper will race down his cage, across the ladder that connects to the rail, goes to the very end by the stairs, and go vertical. He will get face down, tail in the air as he waits for me.

The point of that is he is ready for his morning pat. It is required of me to pat him at least 100 times. Rule number one says so. The point of me doing this as I pat him is to check his wings, breastplate, eyes, nostrils, feet, tail, back, and overall check. Birds tend to hide their sickness. By the time you notice that they are sick, it could be too late. It is a bonding moment for us. He loves it and expects it.

"Thank you," is said when we finished.

He might say, "Hello, hello, hello."

It all depends on his mood.

After, he will race to his cage. It is time to be fed. It does not matter that I have a routine to feed my other birds. In his mind, he needs to eat first. That includes clean water and food. Rule number two is complete.

But while he is eating, Cartoon Network needs to be turned on for him to enjoy. If not, then Nat Geo or a favorite movie of his. He does enjoy watching MMA and football. I have not figured out yet why. Now, you are not to walk in front of the TV or stand in front of it. Rule number three is complete.

Once he is done eating and is back in front of the TV, he will begin to groom himself. It is necessary for birds. With him being a large bird, this can take quite a while for him to go over each feather. It takes a good portion of his time during the day, especially if it is that time of year when he is molting.

If the sun is shining through the window by his cage, he will place himself either on our kitchen table or on his circular stand to enjoy the rays and a small nap, which can vary in length.

Now I am allowed to work at the kitchen table. But with that comes my bird wanting to help me. Do I need help? No. Does it matter? No. Jasper offers it happily. Rule number four is to be a helpful bird. Even if that means walking on top of the papers to tell me hi, so be it.

If no one is at the table, no sun shining through, and the cartoons are not to his liking, Jasper will climb his stand to look out in the back yard. It could be to either fuss at the squirrels or look at anyone who he might happen to see.

It is here that Jasper has learned the different sounds of the birds outside. He can mimic half a dozen birds. Jasper has spotted so many things by just looking out the window.

His key phrase is, "Mom, look out window. Mommmmmmmm, look out window!"

I am supposed to rush to the window to see what he wants me to see. I may not always see it in time or see what he wants me to see. But rule number five says I need to look out the window.

Jasper gets healthy treats in the morning that can range from fruit, veggies, or birdie snacks.

On the day of the week where he gets his shower, that will be between his breakfast and lunch, where I will spray room temperature water in a mist for him to get a good soak so he can get a proper wash.

Now, if his dad, aka my husband, has not come down from his office at all due to work, Jasper will call upstairs in a barrage that will last from five to ten minutes in hopes his dad will come down to talk to him.

He can range to where he says,  "Hello."

Or, he will say, "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi."

"Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,"

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"Hi. Hi. Hi. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

He will vary.

His vocabulary is pretty good, and he has a variety of whistles and bird calls he can do. He imitates inanimate sounds well.

If dad does not come down soon enough, in his mind, he will resort to crying. And I must admit his crying is eerily similar to a baby. We have no idea how he learned that.

If a bug, which can be an ant, moth, fly, and the likes, comes near him, then he will sound the alarm. It goes like this.

"Help! Moooooom, help. Help, help, help Mom, help."

It is comical to me but not to him.

It is my job to kill the bug, show him the body to confirm the kill, and then dispose of it. I have now just completed rule number six.

Now anyone who walks by his cage, regardless of the time of day, is required by rule number seven, which is we must acknowledge him with terms of endearment and or patting. We must proclaim he is gorgeous, a good bird, a sweet bird, and no other pets compare to him. No other bird compares to him. It can go on for a while since no amount of time is ever enough for Jasper.

At lunch, Jasper will take a break from a busy morning of sun, birds, TV, eating, and grooming to come to the table for his lunch where he will have a riveting conversation with my husband about what is going on and to express any concerns he might have. Considering he looks at me and then goes on a tirade with his dad, I am sure he is talking about me. I know it.

It takes up the whole lunch hour. Usually, Jasper gets on my husband. Jasper will groom my husband, and in return, Dad pats him. Jasper could be on his shoulder all day. I believe the longest on record is four to five hours. In his mind, nothing beats sitting on his favorite person. It must happen at least twice a day. It is rule number eight.

Once my husband goes back to work, Jasper will check to see what is on TV. If it is something that we know he does not like, I will put on a movie that is a favorite of his. It could include How To Train a Dragon, Despicable Me, or something else. Those are some of his favorites.

He will proceed to repeat what he did in the morning. He will, now and then, come over so I can pat him and say hi while I work with my office being by his cage.

I am never, ever, to forget the afternoon snack.

It is in the afternoon that he will socialize with the other birds. It means he wants to have them give him their attention. The time length can vary depending on his mood that can change on a dime.
But they adore him and give him much homage.

As the day draws to a close, it will start to get dark outside the window by his cage. It requires rule number nine to happen. No darkness should ever be allowed to fall onto his cage, space, or him. Period.

If he is feeling friendly, he will climb down the rail that is by the couch in the living room and make his way onto the couch. Jasper will go to the person he loves the best, which is my husband, who has come down now that work is over.

If Dad falls asleep before Jasper, he will watch over his dad for hours to make sure he is okay and to keep him safe. Well, until 7:00 pm since that is when he goes inside his cage and settles in for the night.

There are rare occasions he stays out later or will come out again if he sees Dad stir or is awake. Jasper will need to see if my husband will pat him some more before it is time for bed.

The life of a beloved parrot is hard work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon C. Williams is a native of New England raised in Northern Maine. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son. A flock of rescued birds owns her.

Sharon has a B. S. degree in Chemistry and two A.S. with one being in Biology and the other, Math. She loves to read, sketch, take pictures, walk, exercise, go to the movies, and listen to music. Sharon is a budding bird watcher and knits on the side. She is a huge sports fan of baseball, basketball, hockey, football, and MMA. She is also a shutterbug and is always looking for the next big shot.

At the moment, she has five books out with six short stories in three anthologies.

Connect with Sharon:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: TAY REEM

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Boy-meets-girl and they fall madly in love. 

She is desperate to be a wife just like all her friends...and he would do anything to feel like a man.

But as soon as they wed, their innocent romance takes a shocking and horrific turn. 

Strap in for a roller coaster ride about the dark side of marriage and parenthood in this haunting poetic thriller. 

Fair warning, these tales are not for the faint of heart.

Book Details


Title: Tales of Woe


Author: Tay Reem


Genre: contemporary poetry


Publisher: Owens Publishing House (October 3, 2020)


Print length: 128 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH TAY REEM

A few of your favorite things: my bamboo steamer for mandatory random dim sum nights with my closest friends. My first ever CD gifted to me for my 6th birthday . . . “Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears. I also still have the love letters my old high school sweetheart handwrote me that I’ll always cherish.
Things you need to throw out: I have a pair of chunky Louboutin studded boots that always declare war on my feet, they can go. My old cheerleading trophies can also go along with my giant hoop earrings.


Things you need in order to write: I prefer silence when I write and a crunchy snack.
Things that hamper your writing: my phone.


Things you love about writing: creating new worlds where nothing happens unless I write it. Getting comments and messages from my followers about how they felt reading my work.
Things you hate about writing: feeling like I am never finished finding the best way to say things.

Easiest thing about being a writer: writing.

Hardest thing about being a writer: writing well.


Things you love about where you live: it’s so quiet, there are always children laughing outside, the staff is always so helpful and there is a giant palm tree outside of my window.
Things that make you want to move: being so far away from my friends.

Favorite foods: spaghetti and meatballs, dumplings, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes . . . I’ll honestly eat pretty much anything.
Things that make you want to throw up: raisins and olives. Disgusting.    

Favorite song: “L.O.V.E” by Nat King Cole.
Music that make your ears bleed: anything with a harmonica.

Favorite beverage: Raspberry Green Tea Lemonade from Starbucks.

Something that gives you a pickle face: Kombucha. Disgusting.

Something you’re really good at: telling stories!

Something you’re really bad at: spelling. I never said I was perfect.


Something you wish you could do: I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I wish I never learned how to smoke. I don’t do it anymore, but I wish I never started. It has never helped me in life.


Last best thing you ate: mac and cheese from Catch LA. It was so good, I still dream about it.

Last thing you regret eating: an entire pack of half a dozen cupcakes. I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway

Things you always put in your books: violence.

Things you never put in your books: basic boring characters.

Favorite places you’ve been: Barbados, Naples and London because of the food, the shopping, the people and the incredible scenery.

Places you never want to go to again: Denmark. Not my favorite.

Favorite things to do: I love visiting beautiful wineries and going to tasking rooms, especially on a warm day. Watching the sunrise and the surfers in Newport Beach is something I do often. Off-roading has quickly become a new favorite activity.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: washing dishes, going to Sunday school, and ab workouts.

Things that make you happy: late 90s – early 00’s pop music, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Potbelly’s and finally achieving runners high.

Things that drive you crazy: when I’m looking for parking and think I’ve finally found a spot but it’s actually a fiat or a motorcycle parked deep into that spot making it look like it was open, so at first I’m relieved to finally stop circling the lot only to be disappointed then quickly enraged by how tiny fiats are and how annoying that its drivers always pull all the up when they park them, fooling hopefuls like myself every time.

Proudest moment: when I held the final version of my book in my hands.

Most embarrassing moment: when I got really drunk and accidently called the police on myself.

Best thing you’ve ever done: when I moved from Maryland to California.

Biggest mistake: deciding to get my doctorate. It ended up being a waste of time and money.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: move my entire life across the country because I was tired of the cold.

Something you chickened out from doing: some of my friends invited me to cliff dive, and I had to respectfully decline.

The last thing you did for the first time: I drove a speedboat for the first time not too long ago. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while.

Something you’ll never do again: I’ll never let anyone discourage me from doing anything I want to do ever again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Tay Reem was raised in a small town in Maryland. She studied psychology at Morgan State University and later earned her Master’s in the same field. After many years working as a behavioral insights analyst, she left the corporate world to pursue her dream of becoming an author instead. Inspired by her own childhood and every day human experiences, Reem channels her empathetic side as fuel for her work. Her academic background in psychology and previous job as a behavioral analyst, prepared her for a universe of complicated characters portraying the light, the grey and the dark side of humanity. Her next book is set to do just that - tell real narratives about regular people who do what any of us would do given the right circumstance.  When she’s not thinking of her next big story, you can probably find her on a hiking trail in the hills or off-roading in the desert. She currently resides in Southern California where she is hard at work on her second book.



Connect with Tay:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon 

 

FEATURED AUTHOR: FRED TIPPETT II

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Would You Date a Murder Suspect?
​


Greg Chase is a sixteen-year-old boy whose heightened deductive powers serve him well in his position as the New York Police Department’s youngest ever civilian consultant.



Forced to leave his job after his actions lead to the death of a suspect, Greg returns to school and finds himself immediately drawn to the new girl, a deviant loner named Mel Locket. Greg and Mel quickly make a connection—and build a romantic relationship—only for Greg to learn that Mel's withdrawn and mysterious exterior hides a dark secret. She might have murdered her former classmate and best friend.



Greg believes Mel innocent and takes it upon himself to prove it, but he’s in a minority. The police, Mel's therapist, and even her mother think she’s violent and unstable, capable at least of murder. They’re all right, of course. But did she really kill her old friend?

Book Details

Title: The Women in White

Author: Fred Tippett, II

Genre: YA mystery

Series: Greg Chase Mysteries

Publisher: Trinity Power Productions LLC (November 12, 2020)

Print length: 396 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH FRED TIPPETT

Things you need in order to write: my desk and chair, either my laptop or a good pen and paper, free time, and (relatively) absolute silence.
Things that hamper your writing: loud noises, a lack of free time, and writer’s block.


Things you love about writing: the ability to build worlds, histories, and even change lives with the simple power of the page. The power to elevate others, right wrongs, or just make people think twice or think differently about the world in which we’re all living.
Things you hate about writing: definitely the revision process. A book idea is beautiful—and bearing it out on the page is often a pure exercise in catharsis. But once that’s done, any good writer (me included and especially) can expect to spend probably months revising and editing the work, killing darlings, and second-guessing the usefulness of almost every word that’s been written.

Easiest thing about being a writer: ideas for books come to me from everywhere. Everywhere. The news, day-to-day life, discussions with friends and family, things that I watch or read, and even things that I write! I already have so many ideas for future books that I really could be writing interesting stories forever, and they just keep coming.

Hardest thing about being a writer: just about everything that comes after the “ideas” part. Hahaha! An idea must be outlined—then written into a first draft. That first draft must be edited probably at least another two times (optimistically with the help of a good proofreader and/or editor the second time around) before it’s anywhere close to ready. Even once the book is ready to be published, an effective author still has tons of work to do with properly advertising it and choosing the best way to do that.


Things you love about where you live: the clean air and the relatively peaceful and quiet nature of the southern suburbs.
Things that make you want to move: I’m really not a fan of the way in which many people where I live—some even in leadership—have chosen to handle, or mishandle, the recent pandemic and the safety measures that have been prescribed to ensure everyone’s best end. This is as opposed to the better ways that the pandemic has been handled in other environments.

Favorite foods: fried salmon, savory herb cauliflower rice, chicken and wild rice soup, spicy shrimp pizza, sautéed spinach, red velvet cake.
Things that make you want to throw up: baked salmon, green beans, plain baked chicken, pineapple upside down cake.

Favorite beverage: eggnog milkshake.

Something that gives you a pickle face: grapefruit.

Favorite smell: blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup.

Something that makes you hold your nose: pork rinds.

Something you’re really good at: writing. LOL.

Something you’re really bad at: hockey in any way, shape, or form.


Something you like to do: long, quiet walks—usually in scenic parts of the cities that I visit.

Something you wish you’d never done: picked up a Netflix subscription. (I did not have it for long, but still. It really was time that I could’ve spent being far more productive than I was back then.)

Last best thing you ate: coconut pancakes with salmon croquettes.
Last thing you regret eating: oatmeal without honey.

Things you’d walk a mile for: exercise (hahaha), WiFi reception, the latest novel in my favorite series.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: bad reality television, country music.

Things you always put in your books: at least one important life lesson. It may be subtly pass-coded, but it’s there in each of my books for someone who’s willing to search it out. I tend to think that when a person reads a book—even just a fiction novel—s/he should learn something.

Things you never put in your books: an abundance of foul language. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a big fan of the style of timeless authors like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Erle Stanley Gardner. I believe that a novel can be great—classic, even—without including a noticeable amount of profanity.

Things to say to an author: “I loved your book!” 
“I can’t wait for the next one!” 
“So-and-so is my new favorite character!” 
“I feel so inspired by your work!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You really didn’t handle such-and-such situation the way that I would have.” 
“I really think you could’ve done a better job handling so-and-so’s character arc.” 
“Your new book really doesn’t stand up to the quality of your best work.”

Favorite places you’ve been: New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta.

Places you never want to go to again: Zimbabwe, Cullman, Bryn Mawr.

Favorite things to do: endurance running, walking, biking, cooking, writing.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: vacuuming, dusting, fence setting.

Proudest moment: the day that I embraced fully the nature of my Christian faith.
Most embarrassing moment: announcing to others the name of my childhood crush.


Most daring thing you’ve ever done: braving a literal hurricane one night to go to the store and get groceries for my brother and parents.

Something you chickened out from doing: bungee jumping from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The last thing you did for the first time: the last major one that I can recall was becoming a certified attorney almost a year ago now. I passed the Washington, D.C., bar exam and went through quite a strenuous set of trials to become a properly registered lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Something you’ll never do again: “Test” expired milk. That one’s a no-brainer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

Fred Tippett, II, is the author of the Young Adult Mystery novel The Women in White, which released on 12 November 2020. Fred currently lives in Alabama, though he is a Washington-DC-barred attorney. He holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania—and primarily uses his legal education to bolster the credibility of police procedural elements for his novels.

Connect with Fred:
Website   |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: TINA deBELLEGARDE

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a beloved nun is murdered in a sleepy Catskill Mountain town, a grieving young widow finds herself at the center of the turmoil. Bianca St. Denis is searching for a job and seeking acceptance in her new home of Batavia-on-Hudson. Agatha Miller, the nun's closest friend and the ailing local historian everyone loves to hate, shares her painful personal history and long-buried village secrets with Bianca. Armed with this knowledge, Bianca unravels the mysteries surrounding the death while dealing with the suspicions of her eccentric neighbors.

However, Bianca's meddling complicates the sheriff's investigation as well as his marriage. Can Sheriff Mike Riley escape his painful past in a town where murder and infighting over a new casino vie for his attention?

Danger stalks Bianca as she gets closer to the truth. Can the sheriff solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? Can the town heal its wounds once the truth has been uncovered?

Book Details: 

Title: Winter Witness

Author: Tina deBellegarde

Genre: mystery, women’s fiction
Series: Batavia-on-Hudson Mystery Series
, book 1
Publisher: Level Best Books (September 29, 2020)

Print length: 298 pages

On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

    


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH TINA deBELLEGARDE

Things you need in order to write: time. Once I have time, anything will do—my laptop or paper and pen. Even my voice memo recorder on my phone. Some of my best scenes were “written” that way.
Things that hamper your writing: phone calls.


Things you love about writing: I love when the characters take over my writing. I am a planner; I know where my story is going. But often, once I start a scene, the characters take over. They handle a problem better than I may have outlined. They behave “in character” but not necessarily the way I would expect. An added bonus is that they often tie things up nicely, or create a lead in to the next scene that was never planned. It’s amazing really. I know intellectually that I am the one who is doing it, but there is definitely a sense of channeling. For example, I recently wrote a scene for the upcoming book in the Batavia-on-Hudson, Dead Man’s Leap, where a character created a dramatic twist that worked so well with the planned story that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t planned it that way. (I can’t tell you more . . . it contains serious spoilers.)
Things you hate about writing: I am doing my best to create a “full-time” writing practice but I haven’t mastered it yet. I have enough time to produce the books in the series (two more are in the works right now . . . hopefully more down the road), but I need to manage my time so that I can work on other writing projects. I want to write more short stories and flash fiction. And I have other standalone book projects on the back burner also. It’s a problem similar to reading, so many books so little time.

Easiest thing about being a writer: working in my pajamas!

Hardest thing about being a writer: it changed my relationship to reading. When I read now it is very hard not to analyze, critique, or try to learn something about good (or bad) writing. It is much harder now for me to read just for the pleasure of it.



Things you love about where you live: I live in essentially the setting of my book Winter Witness. Batavia-on-Hudson is a fictitious village in the Catskill Mountains, but I live outside a village just like it. It is cozy and welcoming. Everyone knows everyone. Gossip abounds, we don’t always agree, but mostly we all find a way to get along. We have to, because we live too intimately to not get along.
I also love the scenery, the fresh air, the wildlife. This morning alone on my front lawn—six does, two bucks, and a flock of turkeys. (Actually I had to stop and look this up – a group of wild turkeys is a gang or a rafter! New knowledge! Gotta love it!) My home is isolated so we have no need for window treatments. Every window frame is a painting. Each one looks out on something like a green hill, a blue sky, autumn leaves, an expanse of snow. It’s all lovely. I am grateful for it every day. (Oh! And living in the country means I have enough room for a writing “she shed”—the perfect place to write!)
Things that make you want to move: nothing . . . I could live here forever.


Things you never want to run out of: books and paper.
Things you wish you’d never bought: the exercise equipment I never use.


Favorite smell: lavender and citrus.

Something that makes you hold your nose: killing a stink bug.

Last best thing you ate: lemon ice cream.

Last thing you regret eating: half a bag of gummy bears in one sitting . . . don’t ask me why I did it.

Favorite places you’ve been: Japan, Italy, Spain.

Places you never want to go to again: Florida in the summertime.

Favorite books: books with well-developed characters— Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Strout

Books you would ban: never!

Things that make you happy: cappuccino and croissant like Bianca in Winter Witness.

Things that drive you crazy: being asked to solve problems at night.

The last thing you did for the first time: I participated in a live book reading last night. I was very nervous, but I survived.

Something you’ll never do again: I thought I would write that I'd never do a live book reading again, but I know I will do more. And now that I’ve done one, I’ve decided they are fun. 



EXCERPT FROM WINTER WITNESS

CHAPTER ONE

Thursday, December 15

She could have been sleeping, were it not for the gaping gash in the back of her head and the bloody stone next to her limp body.

Sheriff Mike Riley stood alone on the shore of the near-frozen lake. At his feet, Sister Elaine Fisher lay face down, ice crystals forming around her body where it met the shoreline. The murmuring water of the nearby stream imparted a peacefulness at odds with the scene. In the waning winter light, he paused ankle deep in the snow illuminated by the beat of red strobe lights.

Murder seemed so extreme. The villagers would be baffled. Murder didn’t happen in sleepy Batavia-on-Hudson. An occasional stolen bicycle, some were paid off the books, but that was hardly worth mentioning. Lately, there had been a handful of amateur burglaries. Murder was another story altogether.

But there was no denying it. Elaine’s body was there before him, lifeless on a cushion of snow at the edge of the lake.

Sheriff Riley ran his chapped hands through his salt and pepper hair. A knowing person might have noticed that he used this motion to disguise a quick brush at his cheek, to eliminate the one tear that slipped through.

He feared this day, the day his lazy job would bring him face to face once again with the ugly underbelly he knew existed even in a quiet place like Batavia-on-Hudson. Mike Riley wasn’t afraid of death. He was afraid of the transformation a village like this was bound to go through after an act of murder.

He cried for Elaine; though he barely knew her. But also, he cried for the village that died with her that morning. A place where children still wandered freely. A village that didn’t lock doors, and trusted everyone, even the ones they gossiped about. Now, inevitably, the villagers would be guarded around each other, never quite sure anymore if someone could be trusted.

He thought he could already hear the locks snapping shut in cars and homes as word of the murder got out. Mothers yanking children indoors, hand-in-hand lovers escaping the once-romantic shadows of the wooded pathways, and old ladies turning into shut-ins instead of walking their dogs across the windy bluff.

Sheriff Riley steeled himself not just to confront the damaged body of the first murder victim of Batavia in over seventy years, but to confront the worried faces of mothers, the defeated faces of fathers and the vulnerable faces of the elderly.

He squatted in the slush, wincing as his bad knee rebelled, and laid his hands on Elaine’s rough canvas jacket, two-sizes too big—one of her thrift shop purchases, no doubt. As reverently as was possible in the muddy snow, Mike Riley turned over her body to examine the face of a changing village.

Sister Elaine had no one left, she had no known siblings and of course, no spouse or children. Only Agatha Miller, her childhood companion, could have been considered next of kin. How Elaine had tolerated her grumpy old friend was a mystery to everyone.

The sheriff knew that Elaine’s death would rock the community. Even a relative outsider like Mike understood that Elaine had been an anchor in Batavia. Her kindness had given the village heart, and her compassion had given it soul. No one would be prepared for this.

Mike knew from experience that preparation for death eases the grief. You start getting ready emotionally and psychologically. You make arrangements. You imagine your life without someone. But Mike also knew that when the time comes it still slaps you in the face, cold and bracing. And you realize you were only fooling yourself. Then somehow, in short order, work becomes demanding, bills need to be paid and something on the radio steals a chuckle right out of your throat. For a brief second you realize that there are moments of respite from your grief and perhaps someday those moments will expand and you may be able to experience joy once again.

But for now, Elaine’s death will be a shock. No one had prepared for her death, let alone her murder.

***

Excerpt from Winter Witness by Tina deBellegarde.  Copyright 2020 by Tina deBellegarde. Reproduced with permission from Tina deBellegarde. All rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

Tina deBellegarde lives in Catskill, New York with her husband Denis and their cat Shelby. Winter Witness is the first book in the Batavia-on-Hudson Mystery Series. Tina also writes short stories and flash fiction. When she isn't writing, she is helping Denis tend their beehives, harvest shiitake mushrooms, and cultivate their vegetable garden. She travels to Japan regularly to visit her son Alessandro. Tina did her graduate studies in history. She is a former exporter, paralegal, teacher, and library clerk.

Connect with Tina:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: SAGE WEBB

ABOUT THE BOOK

After fleeing the crush of a partnership at a large Chicago criminal-defense firm and a professional breakdown, Devlin Winters just wants to be left alone with a couple sundowners on the deck of her dilapidated mahogany trawler on Galveston Bay. But when an old flame shows up on the boardwalk with a mysterious little boy in tow and an indictment on his heels, fate has other plans, and Devlin finds herself thrust onto a sailboat bound for St. Kitts and staring down her demons in the courtroom, as she squares off against an obsessed prosecutor with a secret of his own.




Book Details:

Title: The Venturi Effect

Author: Sage Webb

Genre: legal thriller

Series: A Devlin Winters Novel

Publisher: Stoneman House Press, LLC (November 15, 2020)

Print length: 329 pages
On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

    


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH SAGE WEBB

A few of your favorite things: books! Books! Books and maxi dresses!
Things you need to throw out: see above! No, I’d never throw out no-longer-needed books or dresses; I’d donate them. But living on a boat means enforced minimalism, and I know I need to cull the heard a bit!


Things you love about where you live: my husband and I live on a 40’ sailboat in a marina off Galveston Bay. I love it. We spend weekdays docked, so “the bosun” can go to work (mostly, I can work from my laptop wherever I am), and on the weekends, we anchor the boat in the bay and enjoy the quiet of being on the water. People dream of sailing to far-off islands, and there’s something to be said for that, but “sailing local” keeps it stress free while providing all the good times of being at anchor, taking the dinghy to the beach, enjoying meals at harborside dives under palapas, and generally taking in boat life.
Things that make you want to move: I like the heat, but the Houston-Galveston area is really hot in the summer—like really, really hot. And I have lupus, which means the sun is not my friend . . . at all!

Words that describe you: adventurous, caring, loves cats (and dogs!), jokes around.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: OCD!, easily stressed, moody, judgmental.

Favorite music: my husband spends a goodly portion of his free time as a local Texas red-dirt-country singer-songwriter, so there’s only one right answer to this question for me: his music is my favorite! Before I moved to Texas (and before I met my husband), I didn’t much like country, but now I love it. I like the story-telling nature of many of the songs, the genre’s general danceability, and the emotion of some of the ballads.
Music that make your ears bleed: Yung Gravy (with all due respect to his fans, he’s just not my brand of vodka!)

Favorite smell: salt air, cut grass, this apple-cinnamon air freshener we use, and (I know! I know! guilty face) some of the fiberglass-maintenance chemicals one encounters during boat work.

Something that makes you hold your nose: a big ol’ puff of diesel exhaust when I’m hooking up a camping trailer to a diesel tow vehicle. (We like to RV, too!)


Last best thing you ate: I appreciate good bread pudding, and I live in Texas, so it’s not hard to find. There’s a little waterfront restaurant in a neighboring marina, and sometimes when we’re feeling festive, we’ll walk over there and they have scrumptious bread pudding! We made this little evening passeggiata the other night and treated ourselves to the bread pudding. 

Last thing you regret eating: I suffer from food envy at almost every meal we eat out. Whatever my husband orders always ends up looking better than what I got, so I often regret my culinary choices. (It’s not that bad, really, but he teases me about it a lot!)

Things you always put in your books: my writing often contains boats! I luv ’em, so they tend to sneak in. There’s usually some law, too.


Things you never put in your books: I can’t do a whole lot of violence or sex. Just too much for me. Nor do I tend to venture into areas that are completely foreign. I agree with people who say that the idea of “write what you know” has limits, but I also tend to use what I know as a springboard.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love Guatemala. I’ve gotten to go there a couple times, and it’s beautiful! It offers some great experiences in the realm of history, architecture, art, scenery, and food. I also love Michigan’s Mackinac Island (no cars allowed! only horses and bikes!); caves in general (gimme a “wild cave tour” any day!); and Rome (what’s not to love about the Eternal City???).

Places you never want to go to again: well, there was this awful truck stop along highway . . . ! I love road trips, and I love RVing, so there have been a number of dirty, sketchy, stops! I’m also not an L.A. person and can only take Vegas in very short bursts.

Things that make you happy: nothing feels quite as good as sitting in the cockpit of an anchored boat on a warm day, under a canvas awning, reading a good book . . . with a salty dog or cat at hand. 

Things that drive you crazy: deadlines have literally caused my hair to fall out (well, lupus caused my hair to fall out, but stress may or may not have provided a trigger!). I live with a lot of nonnegotiable deadlines and they can cause a ton of frustration!

EXCERPT FROM THE VENTURI EFFECT

Chapter 1
Carny 

Red metal boxes lined the wood-railed tourist boardwalk, giving children access to fish food if the kids could finagle quarters from parents wilted and forlorn in the triple-digit Gulf Coast heat. With the food, kids could create great frenzies of red drum, snook, spotted sea trout, or whatever fish species gathered at the boardwalk’s pilings in agitated silver vortices. Devlin Winters lifted her ballcap and wiped a sleeve across her brow. She favored long-sleeved t-shirts for just this reason—their mopping properties . . . and to protect her from the Galveston Bay sun in its unrelenting effort to grill her and the other boardwalk barkers. In the two years she’d been on the boardwalk, she’d never fed the fish. 

A kid stopped beside one of the boxes. 

“Can I have a quarter, mommy?” the boy asked. 

He looked about eight or nine, though Devlin had little interest in guessing accurately the ages of the pint-sized patrons fueling her income stream.

“I’m not sure I have one,” the mom replied. 

She appeared a bit younger than Devlin, maybe late twenties. 

Once upon a time, Devlin would have looked at a mother like that and made a snide remark about crib lizards and dead ends, but nine bucks an hour in the sun makes it awfully hard for a carny to judge others. Lacking a more interesting subject, Devlin watched the woman paw through a backpack-sized purse. The chick produced a quarter and handed it to the kid, who dropped it into the box’s payment slot and ground the dial, catching in his miniature palm a limited portion of the fish food that spilled out of the machine when he lifted the metal flap. The majority of the pellets rained down onto the wooden boardwalk planks, bounced, and disappeared through the cracks between the planks. 

Devlin fancied she could hear the tiny fish-food BBs hitting brown water: plink, plink, plink. Once upon another time, when she was still at Sondheim Baker, but toward the end, she would go outside in the middle of the day. Instead of sitting at her desk, drafting appellate briefs for the Seventh Circuit, she would ride the elevator down to La Salle, down seven hundred feet of glass and stainless steel and terribly expensive architecture. She would drop down those elevator cables at random times, at times rich, successful attorneys should have been at their desks. And she would turn left out of that great glass building the color of the sky and walk over to the river, that nothing-like-the-Styx river that mankind had turned back on itself, contrary to nature. 

She would stand and look down into the water, which was sometimes emerald, sometimes the color of jeans before they are ever washed. Once or twice, she had reached into her purse (expensive purses, Magnificent Mile purses from Burberry and Gucci and Hermès) and she had dug around until she’d found a penny. She’d dropped the penny into the river and, even now, on the sauna-hot boardwalk with the whistle of the kid-sized train behind her and the pulses of unimpressive pop music overhead, she was sure she could hear those pennies hit the Chicago River, hit and sink down, down, and farther down.  

Plink. Plink. Pli—

“You want to try this one?”

The fish-feeding entertainment had run its course and the mother stood in front of the water-gun game Devlin guarded. She gestured toward Devlin and the row of stools in front of their narrow-barreled water guns.

“Is it hard?” The kid looked up at his mom, and the mom turned to Devlin.

“He can do it, right?” she asked. “I mean, he can figure it out, right?”

“Sure, it’s easy.” Devlin lifted her cap for another mop across her hairline, and then wiped perspiration away from her eyes under her sunglasses. “It’s fun, little dude,” she said to the kid in his obviously secondhand clothes. 

She wanted to care, wanted to be “affable” or whatever it is a carny should be toward summer’s ice-cream-eating cash-crop flux of kids. But wanting alone, without effort, is never enough.

The mom held out a five-dollar bill.

“You both wanna do it? I gotta have more than one person to run it for a prize.” Devlin rubbed the top of her right flip flop and foot against her left calf.

“Oh,” the woman said, “I wasn’t planning to play. I’m no good at these things.”

“Um,” Devlin stepped out of the shade of the game’s nook and cast her eyes up and down the boardwalk, “we’ll find some more kids.” She took the woman’s money without looking away from the walkway and the beggarly seabirds.

A young couple, likely playing hooky from jobs in Houston, held the hands of a girl sporting jet-black pigtails and lopsided glasses.

“Step right up, princess. You wanna win a unicorn, right?” Devlin reached back into her game nook and snatched a pink toy from the wall of unicorns, butterflies, bees, and unlicensed lookalikes of characters from movies Devlin had never heard of. She dangled the thing in the girl’s direction.

“Would you like to play, habibti?” The mom jiggled the girl’s arm.

“Tell ya what.” Devlin turned to the mom. “The whole family can play for five bucks. We’re just trying to get some games going, give away some prizes to these cuties.” She turned back to the first mother. “And don’t worry, I’ll give him three games for the fiver.”

“Hear that, Vince? You’ll get to play a few times. Is that cool?”

Vince picked at his crotch. Devlin looked away. 

“Yes, we’ll all play,” the second mother said. The dad pulled a twenty out of a pocket and Devlin started to make change while Vince’s mom hefted Vince onto a stool.

“Just a five back,” the father said. “We’ll play a few times.”

“Sure thing,” Devlin replied. Then she raised her voice to run through the rules of the game, to explain how the water guns spraying and hitting the targets would raise plastic boats in a boat race to buzzers at the top of the game contraption. She offered some tired words of encouragement, got nods from everyone, and counted down. “Three, two, one.” 

She pushed the button and the game loosed a bell sound across the boardwalk. 

A guy in waiter’s livery hurried past, hustling toward one of the boardwalk’s various restaurants, with their patios overlooking the channel and Galveston Bay. He’d be serving people margaritas and gimlets in just a few more steps and minutes. Devlin wanted a gimlet.

She drew a deep breath, turned back to her charges. “Close race here, friends.” 

An ’80s-vintage Hunter sailboat slid past in the channel, leaving Galveston Bay and making its way back to one of the marinas up the waterway on Clear Lake. 

When Devlin turned back to her marksmen, the girl’s mother’s boat had almost reached the buzzer. 

“Looks like we’ve got a leader here. Come on, madam. You’re almost there.”

Devlin checked her watch. She’d be off in less than an hour. She’d be back on her own boat fifteen minutes after that, with an unopened bottle of Bombay Sapphire and a net full of limes rocking above the galley sink.

The buzzer blared.

“Looks like we have a winner. Congratulations, madam.” Devlin clapped three times. “Now would you like a unicorn, a butterfly, or,” Devlin pulled a four-inch-tall creature from the wall, not knowing how to describe it, “this little guy?” She held it out for the woman’s inspection.

“Habibti, you pick.” The mom patted her daughter’s back. The kid didn’t say anything, just pointed at the butterfly.

“Butterfly it is, beautiful.” Devlin unclipped the toy from the wall of plush junk and handed it to the girl. “Well, we’ve got some competition for this next one, folks, now that you’re all warmed up. Take a breather. We’ll start the next game when you’re ready.”

“Can I try?” A boy pulled at a broad-shouldered man’s hand, leading the guy toward the row of stools. It was hard to tell parentage with these kids and their mixed-up step- and half- and melded-in-other-ways families, and with this one, the kid’s dark curls and earnest eyes contrasted with the dude’s Nordic features and reminded Devlin of a roommate she’d had in undergrad, a girl from Haiti who’d taught Devlin about pikliz. Devlin hadn’t thought about Haitian food in ages. She decided she would google it later and see what she could find in Houston. A drive to discover somewhere new to eat would do her good.

Any chance at plantains and pikliz would have to wait, though. The kid and the dude now stood in front of Devlin. Ultra-dark sunglasses hid the guy’s eyes, and a ballcap with a local yacht brokerage’s logo embroidered on it cast a shadow over his face. Devlin cocked her head. She narrowed her eyes and hoped her own sunglasses were doing as good a job of being barriers. He reminded her of— 

“Still time to add another player?” The dude pulled out a wallet and handed Devlin a ten.

“Sure,” she said. “Is this for both of you? You should give it a try, too. This’ll get you both in on the next two games.”

She didn’t wait for confirmation. She shoved the money in the box beside her control board of buzzer buttons and waved the guy and his kid toward stools on the far side of the now-veteran players already seated. 

“Uh, sure,” the guy said, putting a hand on the kid’s back and guiding him to a seat.

Running through the rules again, Devlin envisioned those gimlets awaiting her. With Bombay Sapphire dancing before her, she counted down and then pushed the button to blast the bell and launch the game. The buzzer over the newcomer father’s boat’s track rang moments later. What kind of scummy guy just trounces a kid like that? Devlin rolled her eyes behind the obscuring lenses. 

“Looks like our new guy is the winner, ladies and gentlemen. Now, would you like a unicorn, a butterfly, or this little dude?” Devlin again proffered the hard-to-describe creature, walking it over for the fellow to examine.

“What is it?” the guy asked.

Devlin shrugged. “What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino?”

The guy’s sunglasses gave away nothing. But something she couldn’t articulate made her feel like he was studying her.

“An ’el-if-I-know,” she said.

Still nothing . . . except that feeling of scrutiny. 

“Dude, I’ve got no idea,” she replied to her reflection in the lenses.

“Grant, which one do you want?” The guy turned away and handed the unnamed creature to the kid, and then gestured at the identifiable unicorns and butterflies hanging on the wall over Devlin’s control station.

“Those are for girls,” Grant said, waving at the recognizable plushes on the wall.

“So is this one okay?” The guy patted the thing in the kid’s hand.

Grant wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“All right, folks. You’ve all got another game coming here. Competition is fierce. Who’s gonna take this last one?” Devlin strode back to her place at the control board.

“Deep inhale, everyone. Relax. All right, here we go. Three, two, one.” She pushed the starting button. 

Up shot the new guy’s boat again. What a bastard. Poor Grant. This patriarchal showmanship would be worth about five or ten grand at the therapist’s in twenty-five years. 

Out in the channel, two jetskis purred past, headed toward the bay. The day’s heat had cracked and the sky hinted at evening. Behind her, the victory whistle sounded. She turned. The dude with the sunglasses sat patting Grant’s shoulder, with Grant’s boat at the top of its track. So the guy wasn’t a complete fool.

“A new winner here, ladies and gentlemen.” She walked to Grant’s stool. “Now, little man, because you’ve won two prizes today, you can trade that one you’ve got and this one you’re going to get for one bigger one. You can pick from these if you want.”

She pointed at a row with only-slightly-bigger caterpillars, ambiguous characters, and a dog in a purple vest.

“That one,” Grant said, pointing at the dog.

“That one it is, good sir.” Devlin retrieved the dog, taking back the first creature and returning it to the wall in the process.

As she retraced her steps to Grant, the dog in her hand, fuzzy pictures coalesced in a fog and mist of bygone memories. 

Devlin handed the dog to Grant. “There you go.” 

She looked at the guy again, focusing on him for longer than she should have, feeling him perhaps doing the same to her. Yes, she had it right: it was him. She pushed a flyaway strand of bleached hair back into place beneath her cap and turned away.

“Thanks for playing this afternoon, folks,” she called. “Enjoy your evening on the boardwalk.”

The parents gathered their kids, and Devlin walked back toward her control board. Waiting for Grant and him to head off down the row of games and rides, she fussed with the cashbox and then lifted her water bottle to her lips. She could feel him and the kid lingering, feel them failing to move along, failing to leave her to forget what once was and to focus on thoughts of gimlets at sunset on the deck of a rotten old trawler.

“Um.” His voice sounded low and halting behind her. A vacuum, all heat and silence, followed and then a masculine inhale . . . and then the awkward pause. 

He cleared his throat. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but are you from Chicago?”

***

Excerpt from The Venturi Effect by Sage Webb.  Copyright 2020 by Sage Webb. Reproduced with permission from Sage Webb. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  


Sage Webb practiced criminal defense for over a decade before turning to fiction. She is the author of two novels and the recipient of numerous literary awards in the U.S. and U.K., including second place in the Hackney Literary Awards. Her short stories have appeared in Texas anthologies and literary reviews. In 2020, Michigan’s Mackinac State Historic Parks named her an artist in residence. She belongs to International Thriller Writers and PEN America, and lives with her husband, a ship’s cat, and a boat dog on a sailboat in Galveston Bay. 



Connect with Sage:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: KEVIN R. DOYLE

ABOUT THE BOOK


A disgraced ex-cop is hired by a convicted serial killer to dig up information not to absolve him of his crimes but to in fact prove that he committed more murders than the authorities know of. He is attempting to bargain for a reduced sentence by providing information of his previous killings, but in another state another man, who the original killer has never met, is taking credit for his crimes.


Book Details:

Title: And the Devil Walks Away

Author: Kevin R. Doyle

Genre: mystery


Series: The Group, book #3


Publisher: MuseItUp Publications (November 10, 2020)  


Print length: 483 pages



IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN DOYLE

Ifs


If you could live in any time period which would it be?
Between 2,000 and 3,000 B.C. I know life was infinitely harder back then, but it was a fascinating time.

If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
I'd go back to the week, when I was twenty-one, and I had to find a new home for my dog. I'd like to relive that period and make a different decision than I did. He did end up in a good home, but I never felt right about letting him go.

If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
Anthropologist or archaeologist.

If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
In terms of living authors, Lawrence Block. I'd love to dig into his work routine and hear about his earlier career.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
The Gulf Coast, preferably Alabama or Texas. That's actually where I'm planning to retire in a few years.




Ands

5 things you love about writing:  
•    first drafts, just making stuff up
•    gauging my students' reactions when I show them cover art
•    finally sending off final, final draft to publisher
•    escaping from workaday world
and
•    seeing the entire thing finally come together     

5 things you love about where you live:  
•    the scenery
•    tons of live music opportunities (at least, as soon as virus goes away)
•    centralized location in the middle of the state, so you can be anywhere in a few hours
•    large town, so it's just the right size
and
•    the colors in the fall    

5 things you never want to run out of:    
•    Dr Pepper
•    money (during retirement)
•    music
•    cheese
and
•    books    

5 favorite foods:   
•    pizza
•    General's chicken
•    BBQ, of any sort
•    BLT's
and
•    Lost Trail Sugar Cane Cola   

5 favorite places you’ve been:   
•    Palacios, Texas
•    Key Largo
•    Lake Superior
•    Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre
and
•    a loft apartment I lived in several years ago. Hundred-year old building, downtown, wooden floors, vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows    

5 favorite books:   
•    Eight Million Ways to Die
•    When the Sacred Ginmill Closes
•    A Boy's Life
•    The Poet
and
•    Boston Blitz

5 favorite authors:   
•    Arthur C. Clarke
•    Lawrence Block
•    Lester Dent
•    Don Pendleton
and
•    Ray Bradbury

5 things that drive you crazy:  
•    cell phones (don't own one)
•    someone not moving when light turns green, usually because they're on their phone
•    freshmen
•    tendonitis (suffering from it for the first time right now)
and
•    the satellite dish going out when there's just the barest spritz of rain    

Whats

What's your favorite movie?
Casino Royale. It's not the best movie ever, but I can watch it over and over with no boredom.

What’s your all-time favorite author?
Lester Dent. He was a pulp writer in the thirties and forties, primarily known for writing most of the Doc Savage novels.

What’s your all-time favorite library?
Why, the main library back in my hometown. We had several branches, but I always preferred going to the main one. Last time I returned home, they had a new main library in a different part of town, all upscale and modern, and I hated it. Wanted my old one back.

What’s the most beautiful sound you’ve heard?
An ice storm hitting my windows late at night, when I've already gotten the call and there's no school the next day so I don't have to get out.

What’s your favorite quote?
"Let them eat cake." I love it because it's so misunderstood. When Marie Antoinette supposedly said that, she was referring to the soot that cakes the inside of chimneys.

What’s your favorite candy bar?
It's a tie between 3 Musketeer and Cherry Mash.

What’s your favorite movie snack?
Junior Mints.

What's your favorite color?
Blue.

What book are you currently working on?
A standalone mystery called The Anchor and about to start working on the third Sam Quinton mystery.


What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food:  just started using Freshly, so far pretty satisfied.
Music: while it's been interrupted by the virus, last I knew Elton John's still in the midst of his farewell tour. It's an amazing show.
TV: currently between seasons, but love Better Call Saul. Possibly even better than Breaking Bad.  
Netflix/Amazon Prime: Bosch, but start with season 2

OTHER BOOKS BY KEVIN DOYLE

The Group

When You Have to Go There

The Litter 

Squatter’s Rights






ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A high-school teacher, former college instructor and fiction writer, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of two crime novels, The Group and When You Have to Go There, published by MuseItUp Publications, and one horror novel, The Litter, published by Night to Dawn Magazine and Books. This year also saw the release of the first book in his Sam Quinton mystery series, Squatter’s Rights, by Camel Press. He has had numerous short horror stories published in small press magazines. Doyle teaches high-school English in Missouri and is currently planning his retirement to the Gulf Coast.



Connect with Kevin:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon

 
Check out Kevin's interview from May 15, 2020 here. 

Check out Kevin's guest post from July 2, 2020 here.

FEATURED AUTHOR: ELIZABETH BRECK

ABOUT THE BOOK


Set against the coffee houses and surfer culture of La Jolla, California, Anonymous tells the story of Madison Kelly, female private investigator—and alter-ego of author and private investigator Elizabeth Breck. Madison arrives home to a note stabbed to her front door: Stop investigating me, or I will hunt you down and kill you. The only problem? Madison hasn’t been investigating anyone—she’s been taking time off to figure out what to do with her life. But how does she prove a negative? The only way to remove the threat is to do exactly what the note is telling her not to do: investigate to see who left it. Could this have something to do with the true crime podcast she’s been tweeting about, and the missing girls? As she explores what could have brought her to the attention of the anonymous note-leaver, she quickly finds herself at the center of a horrible crime. Soon the hunter becomes the hunted—and Madison is running for her life.



Book Details:

Title: Anonymous 

Author: Elizabeth Breck

Genre: mystery/thriller


Series: Madison Kelly Mystery, book 1


Publisher: Crooked Lane (November 10, 2020)


Print length: 320 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours


IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH BRECK

Ifs


If you could live in any time period which would it be?
My father always used to say, “Everything in life is a trade-off.” That was the best piece of wisdom he ever gave me (and he gave me a lot of wisdom). It applies to so many things. We can wish for a simpler time, but were things ever really simple? I love the 30’s and 40’s. I love the clothes and the cars and the glamour from that time period. But we had WW II during that time. I’ve been thinking of WWII a lot during this pandemic, because people learned to live with things they thought they never could: shortage and rations of food, clothing, and metal; constant risk of death for loved ones or yourself; a constant pall cast over even the most wonderful time of your life. How can you celebrate a wedding or a birthday when people are dying and there is such strife in the world? People during the WWII time period figured out how to live with the uncertainty and how to still find happiness in their lives; they got through it, which means we can too.

If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
I would go back to the 80’s. I was young and so full of hope. I’ve always been a very dramatic person, but even when I was sobbing over some lost love at age 21, I knew, deep down, that I had my whole life in front of me. It is harder as you get older to still feel that way. With each of life’s blows, it can feel like maybe we don’t have too many more happy days in front of us. My trick is to actually step back, in my mind, to those days when my whole life was in front of me and I had hope for the future. I re-create it by remembering it. The fact is, I can create a happy future. There is hope. Something can always be done about even the worst situation. I am publishing my first book after the age of 50; anything can happen!

If you could time travel for an infinite period of time, where would you go?
I would go back to Paris and live there. I have a degree in French, but I’m only fluent when I can practice regularly! The language leaves so quickly. I lived in Paris for five weeks in 2013, by myself, and it was hard on me. I was so homesick, which I hadn’t planned on. If I could travel for an infinite period of time I would go back and give it another shot—with more money!

If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
I would be an actress. I was an actress in my younger years, and I got too distracted by boys and partying, so I didn’t achieve what I believe I could have. So much of art is business, and if you don’t apply yourself and become truly driven, you just won’t make it. Now that I’ve learned that lesson, I’d love a chance to try again.

If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
I would help abused women get out of abusive relationships and get jobs and make it on their own. I’ve always been so independent, and I would love to show women that they have that independence in themselves, and they can get out of a terrible situation and change their lives. It is so hard when you’re in the situation to see your way out of it; I would love to help show them the way out.


If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
Right where I live: San Diego, California. It is the most beautiful city in the world, and I hope that I give people a feeling of what it is like to live here in my book, Anonymous. All of the places are real, all of the stores and restaurants and beaches, etc. I think you get a real sense of the place while you’re on the edge of your seat with a thrilling mystery!


Ands


5 things you always put in your books:   

    •    San Diego
    •    La Jolla
    •    the beach
    •    Madison Kelly
         
and
    •    hope

5 favorite places you’ve been:
    •    New York
    •    Paris France
    •    Olathe, Kansas
    •    Moscow, Idaho
        
and
    •    La Jolla, California

5 favorite books:  

    •    Dance for the Dead by Thomas Perry
    •    From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz 

    •    Peace Like a River by Leif Enger 

    •    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
        and

    •    Sunburn by Laura Lippman

5 favorite authors:  
    •    Dean Koontz,
    •    Thomas Perry,
    •    F. Scott Fitzgerald,
    •    Stephen King,
    •    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
        and
    •    Sue Grafton (there’s six!)

5 people you consider as heroes: 
    •    Harriet Tubman
    •    Captain Sullenberger  
    •    Nicholas Winton (saved 669 Jewish children from the Holocaust)
    •    the first responders into the Trade Center on 9/11
        and
    •    people who get up every day, go to work, take care of their children and parents and neighbors in need, and never get thanked for all that they do to keep this world a place worth living in.

Whats

What’s your all-time favorite memory?

My father’s voice.

What’s your all-time favorite picture of yourself?

Ahhhh to be young again!


What’s your all-time favorite movie?

It’s a Wonderful Life.


What’s one thing that very few people know about you? 

My favorite musical genre is Reggae. I like most genres and will listen to different genres depending on my mood, but my favorite is Reggae!

What’s your favorite time of day? 
Twilight. So full of hope.


What’s your favorite hobby or past-time? 

Singing Karaoke.


What’s one thing you never leave the house without? 

Blistex Daily Conditioning Treatment for lips.


What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop? 

My doggie!


What is your obsession? 

Ralph Lauren clothes and accessories.


What smells remind you of your childhood?

Night blooming jasmine.


What’s your all-time favorite place you’ve visited?

I got to visit Claude Monet’s house in Giverny, France. He is my favorite artist. This is a photograph of the famous lily pond that he painted.

What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food: nachos. So easy to make in the microwave, but once out of the microwave add grilled onions and black olives, and make sure to have sour cream to dip each chip into!
Music: Taylor Swift’s "Folklore."
Movie: The Talented Mr. Ripley. Watch it again if you’ve already seen it!
Book: Dance for the Dead by Thomas Perry
Netflix/Amazon Prime: The Good Wife, and The Bureau (French with English subtitles on the Sundance Channel, which you can get via Amazon Prime).



 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Breck is a California licensed private investigator. She went back to school and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California San Diego with a bachelor's degree in Writing. She writes the Madison Kelly Mysteries about her alter ego Madison Kelly.



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