FEATURED CHARACTER: JUDY PENZ SHELUK'S CALLIE BARNSTABLE

ABOUT THE BOOK


Sometimes the past reaches out to the present . . .

It’s been thirteen months since Calamity (Callie) Barnstable inherited a house in Marketville under the condition that she search for the person who murdered her mother thirty years earlier. She solves the mystery, but what next? Unemployment? Another nine-to-five job in Toronto?

Callie decides to set down roots in Marketville, take the skills and knowledge she acquired over the past year, and start her own business: Past & Present Investigations.

It’s not long before Callie and her new business partner, best friend Chantelle Marchand, get their first client: a woman who wants to find out everything she can about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, and how she came to a “bad end” in 1956. It sounds like a perfect first assignment. Except for one thing: Anneliese’s past winds its way into Callie’s present, and not in a manner anyone—least of all Callie—could have predicted.




Book Details


Title: Past & Present

Author: Judy Penz Sheluk

Genre: Amateur Sleuth/Cozy Mystery

Series: A Marketville Mystery, book 2


Publisher: Superior Shores Press (September 21, 2018)


Print length: 232 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

ABOUT CALLIE BARNSTABLE

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable is the only child of two only children. She’s 38, single with “loser radar,” and has just started her own business: Past & Present Investigations.

INTERVIEW WITH JUDY PENZ SHELUK’S CALLIE BARNSTABLE

Q: How did you first meet Judy?

A: We met when my late father left me a house in Marketville, a commuter town about 90 minutes north of Toronto, Canada, a house I had no idea existed. The condition of the inheritance was that I move into the house and find out who murdered my mother 30 years before. If that doesn’t sound creepy enough, one of the first things Judy had me do was find a skeleton in the attic . . .  among other things.

Q: Want to dish about her?

A: I like her, but honestly, when she gets into writing a book, she’s relentless. Sometimes I just need a break, you know?

Q: Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book?

A: I’ve had a few people tell me my life could be a movie, let alone a book. It’s certainly had its share of twists and turns.

Q: Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

A: Hmmm . . . I think meeting my great-grandmother, Olivia Osgoode, for the first time.

Q: Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?

A: Judy hates writing anything romantic. She claims to be the least romantic person on the planet. But if you don’t want romantic, why introduce me to Royce Ashford, that’s what I want to know. Imagine one of those hunky handyman types you see on HGTV and you’ve got the idea.

Q: Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters? 

A: I love Chantal Marchand, my best friend and business partner. I trust Shirley Harrington, our archives records specialist. And I’m learning to accept Misty Rivers, though I still don’t think she’s an actual psychic. There’s also Arabella Carpenter, who owns the Glass Dolphin antiques shop. She has her own series (the Glass Dolphin Mysteries), but she’s also a friend of mine. As for Royce, time will tell. Fingers crossed.



Q: Tell us about your best friend. Chantal is the fifth kid in a six-children family.
A: She’s gorgeous, a couple years past forty, but looks ten years younger, thanks to being a Pilates and fitness instructor. She’s divorced from Lance the Loser. Her specialty for Past & Present is genealogical research.

Q: What are you most afraid of? 

A: The next crazy thing Judy’s going to send me off to investigate. She comes up with an idea, and there’s not a minute’s thought given to how I’m going to feel about it or what sort of danger I might get into.

Q: If your story were a movie, who would play you? 

A: Zooey Dechanel would be a good fit. We’re born the same year and have similar features.

Q: What makes you stand out from any other characters in your genre?

A: Well, I don’t know if I stand out, I was raised to be humble, but I’m smart and I think things through carefully. I’m definitely not a ditz.

Q: Will you encourage Judy to write a sequel?
A: No encouragement needed, apparently. She’s already halfway through book three and tells me to get ready for a Summer/Fall 2019 launch. Honestly, that woman gets on a mission . . .

EXCERPTS FROM PAST & PRESENT

 (Foreword)

If you’re the sort of person who reads the dedication at the front of a book, you’ll have noticed that Past & Present has been dedicated to my mother, Anneliese Penz, who lost a lengthy battle with COPD and related health issues in September 2016. Until the very end, she was handing out bookmarks for Skeletons in the Attic and The Hanged Man’s Noose to any doctor or nurse who would take one (and I suspect she may have slipped a couple into their lab coats when they weren’t looking).

I take comfort in the fact that the last book my mother read was Skeletons in the Attic, the first book in this series. She was so pleased that I’d dedicated the book to my father, Anton “Toni” Penz, who succumbed to stomach cancer at the age of forty-two.

From the beginning, I planned to include two characters named Anton and Anneliese in the sequel to Skeletons, but I didn’t have a plot, let alone a plan. Quite honestly, I was stuck.

Then I discovered a small blue leather train case with cream trim, an ivory plastic handle, and brass locks at the back of my mother’s clothes closet. Inside, she’d carefully preserved documents from the past, among them her German passport issued in England in 1952, her landed immigration papers from England to Canada documenting her journey on the T.S.S. Canberra, old photographs and postcards, and some costume jewelry. The idea for Past & Present was born: the past reaching out to the present.

Although much of the historical data in these pages is based on fact, and Callie’s research often mirrored my own, this story is very much a work of fiction. I like to think my mother and father are together again, handing out bookmarks in heaven.

**

 From Chapter 5

“What brings you to Past & Present Investigations?”

Louisa took a sip of water. “May I rest the suitcase on the table?”

“Of course.” “Thank you.” She popped open the brass locks. Inside the case were several plastic storage bags, the kind you used at the airport to store your liquids. “I didn’t even know my mom owned this. It belonged to my maternal grandmother, not that I ever met her. My mom was raised in foster care. She aged out at sixteen, shoved out of the system without any support. The experience soured her.”

“What about your father?”

“Not in the picture. My mom got pregnant at eighteen. I don’t know whether it was a one-night stand or she fell for the wrong guy. She never elaborated. I do know that whoever he was, he didn’t contribute a dime of support. I’ve certainly never met him. Nor do I care to.”

“Did your mom ever marry?”

“Never even dated anyone again, or if she did, she certainly never brought him home. We weren’t rich, but I didn’t want for anything.” Louisa grimaced. “Well, that may not be entirely accurate. I longed for affection. My mom had a hard time displaying any emotion. Every feeling she ever had was neatly compartmentalized. Not surprising considering her upbringing and my deadbeat dad. But she did her best. We did our best.”

I wondered if Louisa had ever been married, or if she’d followed in her mother’s footsteps.

“You’re probably wondering if I ever married,” she said, reading my mind. “The answer is, yes, three times. Husband number one when I was barely legal age to tie the knot. He turned out to be a gambler. He lost our toy poodle in a poker game, if you can imagine that. Husband number two was a drinker who couldn’t hold down a job when he went to the trouble of finding one. Husband number three was a serial cheater who didn’t even try to hide his infidelity. I left him two years ago and swore off men. I earn a decent living as a credit manager. It helps that I’m bilingual, especially if I’m traveling in Quebec.” She named a national automotive glass company. I knew they owned a couple hundred windshield replacement retail stores across Canada.

“What’s in the train case that makes you want to dig into the past?”

Louisa removed one of the plastic bags, pulled out a photograph and handed it to me.

“This is my grandmother. Her name was Anneliese Prei.”

The resemblance to Louisa was uncanny. Despite the sepia tones of the old photo, it was obvious that her hair had the same honey-gold soft waves, and that her eyes were the color of milk chocolate. Even the mouth, full lipped and pouty, was identical. But it was the tilt of her nose, the slightly haughty way she held herself, which took her from look-alike to doppelgänger.

“She was beautiful. You look like her. You’re older, of course, and she has an edge about her that you don’t seem to possess, but overall, the resemblance is uncanny.”

“I always assumed that I took after my father. I certainly don’t look anything like my mom. When I saw this picture, it was as if my grandmother was calling out to me from the grave.”


© Judy Penz Sheluk 2018, reprinted with permission from the author.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Judy Penz Sheluk is the Amazon international bestselling author of the Glass Dolphin Mysteries (The Hanged Man’s Noose; A Hole in One) and the Marketville Mysteries (Skeletons in the Attic; Past & Present). Her short stories appear in several collections.

Judy is also a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime – Guppies, Sisters in Crime – Toronto, International Thriller Writers, Inc., the South Simcoe Arts Council, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves on the Board of Directors, representing Toronto/Southwestern Ontario.

Connect with Judy:


Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads


Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble



FEATURED CHARACTER: NANCY J. COHEN'S MARLA VAIL


ABOUT THE BOOK



Savvy hairstylist and amateur sleuth Marla Vail enters a charity bake-off contest at a fall festival sponsored by a local farm. While she waits to see if her coconut fudge pie is a winner, Marla joins a scavenger hunt where people playing character roles are the targets. Instead of scoring points with a live person, she finds a dead body planted face-down in the strawberry field. Who would want to cut short the life of food magazine publisher and fellow bake-off contestant Francine Dodger? As she investigates, Marla learns there’s no shortage of suspects. Can she unmask the killer before someone else gets trimmed from life?

Recipes Included!



Book Details


Title: Trimmed to Death

Author: Nancy J. Cohen

Genre: Cozy mystery

Series: Bad Hair Day Mysteries, book 15

Publisher: Orange Grove Press (September 25, 2018)
Print length: 290 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

ABOUT MARLA VAIL

Marla Vail is a hairstylist and owner of Cut ’N Dye Salon and Day Spa in sunny South Florida. She is married to Detective Dalton Vail and has a teenage stepdaughter. In her late thirties, Marla hasn’t wanted children of her own until now due to a past tragedy, but she’s overcome these issues and looks forward to expanding her family.

INTERVIEW WITH NANCY J. COHEN'S MARLA VAIL

Q:  Marla, how did you first meet Nancy?
A: We met when Mrs. Kravitz, a cranky client, died in my shampoo chair while getting a perm. Detective Dalton Vail suspected me of poisoning the woman’s coffee creamer. I had to solve the crime to salvage my reputation. This story was titled Permed to Death. Now we’re up to number 15 in the series. Do you believe it? We’ve come a long way since I started this journey.

Q:  Want to dish about her?
A: The author had some growing to do and so did I. Her writing has vastly improved since that first book. Fortunately, she’s been going back and revising those earlier titles. I like how she’s curious to explore different issues in each story. I’ve learned all sorts of things on my adventures. Also, my personal situation has progressed from being single and divorced to getting married again. How could I resist a hunk like Dalton Vail?

Q:  Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
A: One night, Dalton and I crept through the woods to catch a suspect. The man was conducting an ancient Egyptian ritual with a cult of followers. We didn’t think we’d be in any real danger until we met them and Dalton suddenly collapsed without warning. During this foray, I learned about the roles of banyan and acacia trees in early mythology.

Q:  Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?
A: No, most of them were fun. I especially loved the scenes with food. We started with the bake-off contest at a farm festival. I entered a live scavenger hunt where we had to find people playing characters named after fruits or vegetables. Then Dalton and I ate at a couple of restaurants with eclectic menus. Food plays a prominent role in this story, which includes ten recipes in the back of the book.

Q:  If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?
A: I got queasy after tasting a sample of olive oil. As my stomach continued to be sensitive, I thought maybe I had a new food allergy or the oil had been rancid. I should have realized much sooner what was really going on.

Q:  Do have any secret aspirations that your author doesn’t know about?
A: I’d like to travel, but my author already knows this. I’ve hardly been anywhere, and with my schedule, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. I wouldn’t mind going to a Caribbean resort, although I might get bored after a few days. I’m too used to being busy.

Q:  If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?
A: I’d go to the beach, stretch out on a lounge chair, and listen to the waves. My dream is to visit Tahiti, but I’ll be lucky to get to the Caribbean, which is much closer.



Q:  What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they've known you for a while?
A: Hopefully people see I’m a friendly person with a good ear for listening. I am known as a skilled conversationalist, and I care deeply about my friends as well as my clients. You can rely on me to be there for you.



Q:  What's the worst thing that's happened in your life? What did you learn from it?
A: Oh, my. I’ve had a lot of bad things happen. First was when little, Tammy drowned in the backyard pool while I was babysitting for her. I was nineteen years old at the time. That was the very worst. I felt guilty and sorrowful for years and vowed never to have children of my own. I couldn’t stand the pain if anything terrible happened, nor could I count on being a good mother. Thankfully, with the love of my friends and family, I forgave myself and moved on. You can’t dwell on your mistakes. You need to focus on living a better life and being a good person.



Q:  Tell us about your best friend.
A: Tally Riggs, in Trimmed to Death, is a widow with an infant son. She lost her husband in Hair Brained, where she’d been seriously injured in a car crash. Tally trusted me as guardian of her baby, Luke. The experience of caring for her child opened my eyes to my own possibilities as a parent. I’m so glad Tally is back on her feet again and eager to rebuild her boutique dress shop. She’s a great sounding board for my crime cases, too. As a mystery reader, Tally knows what questions to ask about the suspects. She always gives me a fresh perspective.



Q:  What are you most afraid of?
A: With Dalton being a cop, even though he’s a lieutenant on the force and a detective, I fear for his life when he goes into the field. You never know what crazies will be out there. But I accepted this risk when we started dating. It doesn’t get easier, so you have to make the most of each day and focus on the positive aspects.



Q:  What’s the best trait your author has given you? What’s the worst?
A: The best trait is that I’m a good listener, and I care about people. The worst is that I can be impulsive and too nosy for my own good.



Q:  What’s Nancy’s worst habit?
A: She gets distracted too easily and tends to doubt herself.



Q:  How do you feel about your life right now?
A: After years of not wanting children, I’ve finally realized that I can have a family, manage work at my salon, and still find time to solve crimes. Nor am I alone. We have both of our mothers to help, along with my stepdaughter and our friends.

Q:  What aspect of your author’s writing style do you like best?
A: I like the humor she infuses into my character’s voice.

Q:  Describe the town where you live.
A: Palm Haven is an affluent western suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Our ecology varies from the Everglades to the far west to the Intracoastal and Atlantic Ocean on the east side of the greater metropolis. Palm Haven is wedged in between and reflects the diverse population of this region. Manicured lawns, single-story ranch homes, and upscale cars are the norm.

Q:  Describe an average day in your life.
A: I make breakfast in the morning, send my stepdaughter Brianna off to school, then go to work at the salon. Evenings are spent catching up on email, discussing the day’s activities with my husband Dalton, and watching the news. My days off are Sundays and Mondays.

Q:  What makes you stand out from any other characters in your genre?
A: I’ve overcome a tragedy in my past to move forward in life. Through the course of my adventures, I mature as a person and eventually marry Detective Dalton Vail. Caring for his teenage daughter and then being forced to look after my best friend’s infant son made me realize I’d like to have kids of my own. So my character goes through a cycle of growth and maturity that readers like to follow. It’s more than solving a mystery each time. It’s about evolving as a person and learning something new and interesting along the way.

Q:  Will you encourage Nancy to write a sequel?
A: Yes, of course. I’d like to feature some holiday novellas that can be bundled together. She’s written one of these so we have a start. And I would like her to put more of my stories into audiobook. So far the first four titles are available in audio, and we need to build this audience.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list, been selected by Suspense Magazine as best cozy mystery, won a Readers' Favorite gold medal, and earned third place in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy has also written the instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery. Her imaginative romances have proven popular with fans as well. These books have won the HOLT Medallion and Best Book in Romantic SciFi/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.

Connect with Nancy:

Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Booklover’s Bench

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  Kobo  |  Audible

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: CHERYL HOLLON

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Mediterranean cruise gives glass shop owner Savannah Webb a chance to demonstrate her expertise—and fire up her skills when it comes to foul play . . .
 


When Savannah signs on to perform glassblowing on a ship, part of the appeal is that she’ll get a chance to reconnect with her boyfriend Edward’s family. An added bonus is that Edward’s cousin, Ian, will be joining them on board. But when Ian disappears at the beginning of the cruise, the ship’s authorities initially consider it suicide. 
 


Savannah tries to balance her growing suspicions with work on her shows, but her relationship with the other glass artists begins to crack. And she can’t let love color her judgment when Edward suddenly jumps to the top of the suspect list. His fate is in Savannah’s hands, and she’ll do everything she can—on land and sea—to clear his name . . .


Book Details:


Title: Shattered at Sea

Author: Cheryl Hollon

Genre: Cozy mystery

Series: Webb's Glass Shop Mystery, book 5

Publisher: Kensington (August 28, 2018)

Print length: 304 pages


On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours



INTERVIEW WITH CHERYL HOLLON

Q: Cheryl, what’s the story behind the title of your book? 

A: I try to match the title to both the featured glass art and the emotional theme of the story. This time, it fits – not only is there a fair bit of shattered glass, but also a few shattered passions.

Q: Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order? 

A: Each book in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series highlights a particular skill within the broad category of glass art. Savannah Webb will teach and participate in each skill area exploring and expanding her knowledge of the craft, along with her assistant, Amanda Blake. As a subject matter expert consulting with the St. Petersburg Police Department, her close associations within the art community and the unusually keen observation skills of her apprentice, Jacob Underwood, combine to solve crimes. Edward Morris, boyfriend and the British owner of the pub next door, fills out the investigation posse with more than moral support accompanied by coffee and scones. The craft topics for the fifth book in the series explains glass blowing on a cruise ship. It is not necessary to read the series from the beginning, you can start anywhere.

Q: Where’s home for you? 

A: I live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.

Q: Where did you grow up? 

A: I was born in a small town in eastern Kentucky where most of my family originated, but grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where my dad could get regular work. Most of my summers were spent in the idyllic countryside just west of the Appalachian Mountains.


Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned? 

A: Persistence is the key to success if you want to be a writer. Actually, I think that applies to anything you want to achieve. You must show up and do all the things – and then do a little bit more.

Q: What do you love about where you live? 

A: Over the years, St. Petersburg has grown from a retirement winter haven to a modern urban village. We love the cafés, restaurants, art galleries and world-class museums.  


Q: What’s one thing you wish your younger writer self knew?

A: Study more craft. Yes, most writers have talent, but there are so many good ways to get better so that your journey to publication is shorter.


Q: What makes you excited? 

A: The start of a brand-new book gives me the shivers. I love the promise that this book can be, can do, can go anywhere. It’s the open road of the unknown. Love it!

Q: Do you have another job outside of writing? 

A: No, I’m a full-time writer after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. I combine a love of writing with a passion for creating glass art in the small glass studio behind my house. I’m living my dream.

Q: How did you meet your spouse? 

A: Husband and I met in high school on my first blind date. It was not love at first sight, but more curiosity about this handsome, muscular, shy fellow that had an open heart and a curious mind. We fell in love three dates later.

Q: If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be? 

A: Husband – everything else is stuff.

Q: Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot? 

A: Lonely genius. I could entertain myself with books from my enormous To Be Read pile.

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?

A: I’m living exactly where I want to be. I’ve had the pleasure of living in a lot of wonderful places around the world, but we chose wisely to settle in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Q: One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?

A: All she would have to do is add a little arsenic to the almond milk I add to my coffee – DEAD!

Q: Who is your favorite author? 

A: My favorite is Louise Penny. I can’t wait for her next book.


Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format? 

A: I’m reading the hardback of The Girl From Blind River by Gale Massey.

Q: Do you have a routine for writing? 

A: I write the first thing every morning after making a very large cup of coffee with an old-fashioned French press.

Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

A: I can write anywhere, anytime, with anything. However, I’m most productive in my office at home.

Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing? 

A: I wept like a baby after a reader told me that my books helped her cope with the lonely hours tending to her mother in Hospice.

Q: Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it? 

A: I love the old world feel of my local library, Mirror Lake. It’s within walking distance and is a Carnegie library built in 1915 in Beaux-Arts style. It has a separate room just for crime fiction.

Q: Are you happy with your decision to publish with Kensington Publishing?
A: Being part of the Kensington family is an honor and privilege. They’re a family-owned, family-run business with the freedom to adjust quickly to market demands and calamities. As most authors will tell you, the road to publication is usually long and challenging. I started writing more than ten years ago, and I signed with an agent and then publisher at year seven. The best and truest thing to do is keep writing. If you want to be published, you simply must persist.

Q: What are you working on now? 

A: I’m thrilled to be writing the first book in a new series for Kensington Publishing. The main character is Miranda Trent, who inherits her uncle’s farmhouse in Wolfe County, Kentucky. She starts up a new business that takes tourists on short hikes to paint trail stunning mountain vistas in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Afterwards, she takes them to her farmhouse for a traditionally prepared southern meal cooked by the local church ladies. Each course is paired with a sampling of moonshine. The name of her business is Paint ‘n’ Shine. The first book in the series is planned to release sometime in 2020.

OTHER BOOKS BY CHERYL

Pane and Suffering 

Shards of Murder 

Cracked to Death

Etched in Tears

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career of designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida, Cheryl and her husband design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks.




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


Buy the book:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: MARLENE M. BELL


ABOUT THE BOOK

People die, but legends live on.

New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer's identity may be linked to her friend's expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.

Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act.
Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner's son to help—even though she's afraid he'll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse's concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.

Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse's back, can her plan to rescue Alec's mother save them all?

Hold on for a heart-thumping, thrilling adventure through exotic lands in this fast-moving romantic suspense mystery by Marlene M. Bell.

BOOK DETAILS:

Book title: Stolen Obsession

Author: Marlene M. Bell

Genre: Romantic Mystery

Series: Annalisse Series, book 1

Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing (March 20, 2018)

Print length: 284 pages

 




GUEST POST BY MARLENE M. BELL

It’s not just about the writing . . .

I have an unusual life. When asked, I tell people that we don’t have kids, we have sheep.

Our Horned Dorset sheep require hay feeding twice a day, morning and evening. Even though they have pasture to graze, we feed alfalfa hay and supplements to the sheep. The breed of sheep we raise will have lambs three times in two years—if we expose them to the stud ram in the spring. We did so this year and as a result, we had another set of lambs in September 2018. Our flock lambed in January and February, and this year many of the ewes will double back and lamb again before the end of 2018. Sheep carry their lambs for five months before they are born and raise them for eight weeks before they are weaned and we move them to another pasture to grow out. The flock requires shearing twice a year which takes a few days to complete the task. Currently, we raise about fifty head of sheep and lambs.

Our sheep must be moved to a new pasture every three weeks. Worms are a constant battle with the flock and moving the sheep lessens the need for over medication for worms. East Texas is moist and humid which makes the environment rich for pests of all kinds.

A typical day for me begins with feeding the sheep, watering them and taking care of the inside cats who think they should be fed before everyone else. When I get back inside the house, the coffee is started. Without the dark nectar, I can’t think clearly. Drinking a pot a day is a terrible habit, but helps with the writing process. I pull up a chair and grab my latest novel by Karen Rose or a local author from East Texas, and read for about an hour. Once I find a decent place to stop reading, I put myself in front of the PC and pull up the manuscript for my work in progress. At this time, my second book in the Annalisse Series is on my screen. That book is called Spent Identity. My cover designers are in process with the new cover, so I’m corresponding with them, during their day—hours ahead, usually the following morning in Australia. I make it a habit to write at least 6 days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. if I’m not running errands or handling issues with the sheep or with a neighbor. East Texans are great neighbors.

I neglected to mention that I also run a sheep gift mail order company. Since 1985, my artwork and photography is featured on two hundred different gift items and magazine covers. TexasSheep.com. Each year, I produce a new catalog and mail to our 20,000 clients throughout the world. We’ve had armadillo visitors to the ranch lately, so I’m photographing these little guys at dusk. They will be added to the products in the catalog this year. My email correspondence on a usual day is about 600 email messages. In addition, social media requires some basic attention every day, but my author Facebook page is managed by my media guru, thank the good lord for Angie. I handle the Twitter account myself and try to post or retweet 3-5 times a day.

On my off hours, I’m taking care of rental properties and putting out fires as they come up on our ranch since my husband travels. It starts all over again the next day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! 
 

Watch the trailer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marlene Bell is an acclaimed artist and photographer as well as a writer. Her sheep and lamb landscapes grace the covers of many publications such as, Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News, to name a few. Her mail order venture, Ewephoric, began in 1985 out of the need to find personalized stationery depicting sheep that truly looked like them. She wrote Among the Sheep, nonfiction in 2009, and the Annalisse Series launched in March 2018.



Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside on a wooded ranch in East Texas with their 50 head of spoiled Horned Dorset sheep, a lovable Maremma guard dog named, Tia, and 3 attention-loving cats who rule the household.

Connect with the author:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  

​
Buy the Book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  Smashwords  |  Google Play


a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: GRAY BASNIGHT

ABOUT THE BOOK

An innocent math professor runs for his life as teams of hitmen try to prevent publication of their government’s dark history. 


College professor Sam Teagarden stumbles upon a decades-old government cover-up when an encoded document mysteriously lands in his in-box, followed by a cluster of mini-drones programmed to kill him. 


That begins a terrifying flight from upstate New York, to Washington, to Key West as Teagarden must outfox teams of hitmen equipped with highly sophisticated technology. While a fugitive, he races to decode the document, only to realize the dreadful truth—it’s the reason he’s being hunted because it details criminal acts committed by the U.S. in the 20th Century. 


If he survives and publishes the decoded document, he’ll be a heroic whistle blower. But there is no guarantee. He may also end up dead.


Book Details:

Title: Flight of the Fox

Author: Gray Basnight

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Publisher: Down & Out Books (July 23, 2018)

Print length: 381pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH GRAY BASNIGHT

A few of your favorite things: Playing with my dog, reading, writing, eating, traveling (especially by train), sitting on a porch during sunset.
Things you need to throw out: Anything made of plastic.


Things you need in order to write: A PC or laptop.  (The best thing about computers is the backspace key because I’m a lousy typist.)
Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions both external and internal.


Things you love about writing: The best thing is when it goes well. A good writing session is what I imagine it must be like to have a good work shift as a brick layer. To be able to look back and see the bricks or stones taking shape must be a satisfying sense of accomplishment. 
Things you hate about writing: The worst is when it goes poorly. But I’ve learned that on those days you need to stay in the chair. Keep staring at the screen. Okay, get up to water the plants or walk the dog. But returning to the chair is a must. At the very least, the bad days allow you to know there’s a real problem and where. Afterward, both the conscious and subconscious mind will be working that problem. Sometimes the solution comes while falling asleep (keep pen and paper next to the bed) or the next morning in the shower.  

Easiest thing about being a writer:  Nothing is really easy about the creative end of writing. It’s debatable as to who first said one of the all-time great quotes about writing, that goes something like this: “Writing is easy, all you have to do is sit down at the keyboard and slice open a vein.” Once a contract is signed, I enjoy working with a good copyeditor who’s dedicated to working in tandem to improve the manuscript. For most of us, that give and take is a vital part of the product.      
Hardest thing about being a writer: There isn’t any one thing. It’s all difficult and frustrating. But one ever-present roadblock tends to be the business end of writing where agents, editors and publishing houses are increasingly more selective as the industry evolves through tectonic changes.  It’s perfectly understandable that fewer titles receive attention from the big houses, but that doesn’t make it less bumpy for both published and aspiring writers.

Things you love about where you live: In New York City, I love that all eight million of us are in the vortex together, yet at the same time we can all be alone within the crowd. 
Things that make you want to move: Parking tickets.


Things you never want to run out of: Coffee.
Things you wish you’d never bought: My last donut.


Favorite foods: Bread, butter, potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, nuts, peas, pasta, shellfish, chicken and pork. As for cuisine: Southern, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese.
Things that make you want to throw up: Liver.

Favorite music: Blues, classic rock, and classical.
Music that make your ears bleed: Contemporary corporate-managed teenie-bopper pop.

Something you’re really good at: Bowling (but I don’t do it much).

Something you’re really bad at: Singing, which is why I never try.


Something you wish you could do: Anything musical, especially blues guitar or classical violin.  Oh—what magic.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Pop my knuckles.

People you consider as heroes: My only true heroes are public school teachers.

People with a big L on their foreheads: This is really gross I know, but I can’t stand it when people talk with their mouth full of food or have other equally disgusting table manners. It’s weirdly ironic, but famous chefs and other foodies are some of the worst offenders.   



Favorite places you’ve been: Paris, Madrid, Porto, Venice, Key West.  

Places you never want to go to again: My mom’s nursing home in Richmond, Virginia.

Favorite books: Robinson Caruso, Moll Flanders, Around the World in Eighty Days, War of the Worlds, The Sun Also Rises, Intruder in the Dust, Shadows in Paradise, In Cold Blood, Travels with my Aunt.  

Books you would ban: None/never.

Things that make you happy: Laughter, seeing animals in the wild, a good book.  
Things that drive you crazy: Technology that doesn’t work properly makes me want to move to Tibet and live in a cave. The old joke that you need a 12-year-old to fix the glitch really doesn’t apply any longer. Everything interfacing with everything else makes it all so complicated and mysterious.   Much of the time the cable guy and the clerk in the phone store haven’t a clue how to fix the issues.   And sometimes they make it worse.         

EXCERPT FROM FLIGHT OF THE FOX

He knew the pages would be historic if made public.  It would be a mean revelation that many would prefer to leave hidden, to keep the past cloaked in beguiling innocence.

He opened the sliding glass door just wide enough to slip out.  Once outside, he stooped low and pushed it closed with a foot.

Crouching low, there was a strong smell of freshly cut grass and store bought chemical fertilizer.  He moved slowly, going as easy on his still-healing knees as he could while maneuvering down the embankment of the neighboring yard, Ernest Blair’s yard.  He paused every few feet, cocking his head, first to one side, then the other, listening for any sound that might be out of place with the night.  The most prominent noise was the lapping of tiny waves at the shore’s edge caused by a light breeze.  Beyond that, the night was still.        

      

OTHER BOOKS BY GRAY:

The Cop with the Pink Pistol
Shadows in the Fire
Audio sample of Flight of the Fox
Full interview with Gray






ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Gray Basnight worked for three decades in New York City as a radio and television news producer, writer, editor, reporter, and newscaster.  He lives in New York with his wife and golden retriever, where he is grateful to be dedicated to his lifelong passion of writing. 

Basnight’s novels and works-in-progress cross several genres, including crime, historical, YA, and literary fiction. At the moment, he’s available for readings and interviews for his run-for-you-life thriller Flight of the Fox.


Connect with Gray:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Down & Out Books

FEATURED CHARACTER: L.A. CHANDLER'S FIORELLA LA GUARDIA


ABOUT THE BOOK

November 1936. Mayor La Guardia’s political future buckles under a missing persons case in New York City. Simultaneously, Lane unravels devastating secrets in the outskirts of Detroit. As two crimes converge, judging friends from enemies can be a dangerous game . . .

Finally summoning the courage to face the past, Lane Sanders breaks away from her busy job at City Hall to confront childhood nightmares in Rochester, Michigan. An unknown assailant left Lane with scattered memories after viciously murdering her parents. However, one memory of a dazzling solid gold pawn piece remains—and with it lies a startling connection between the midwestern tragedy and a current mystery haunting the Big Apple . . .

Meanwhile, fears climb in Manhattan after the disappearance of a respected banker and family friend threatens the crippled financial industry and the pristine reputation of Lane’s virtuous boss, Mayor Fiorello “Fio” La Guardia. Fio’s fight to restore order leads him into more trouble as he meets a familiar foe intent on ending his mayoral term—and his life . . .

Guided by overseas telegrams from the man she loves and painful memories, only Lane can silence old ghosts and derail present-day schemes. But when the investigation awakens a darker side of her own nature, will she and New York City’s most prominent movers and shakers still forge ahead into a prosperous new age . . . or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Book Details:


Title: The Gold Pawn

Auhor: L. A. Chandlar

Genre: Historical Mystery Thriller

Series: An Art Deco Mystery, book 2

Publisher: Kensington, (September 25, 2018)

Print length: 336 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

ABOUT THE CHARACTER

Fiorello H. La Guardia is best known as the 99th mayor of New York City. He was also a WWI fighter pilot, grew up in the Arizona frontier, and is a minority figure being half-Jewish and half-Italian. He was elected in to Congress in 1916 and 1918 and again from 1922-1930. His name, perhaps the bane of his existence other than his commissioners, means Little Flower in Italian. He’s only five-foot-two and has a bust of Napoleon on his desk. He is energetic, passionate, loves publicity stunts, and is known as one of the greatest mayors in American history. He is the boss and close family friend of the Art Deco Mystery Series protagonist, Lane Sanders.

CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH L. A. CHANDLER’S FIORELLO H. LA GUARDIA

Q: How did you first meet your writer?
A: I met Laurie through a biography she read on me, aptly named The Napoleon of New York. It was right after she moved to New York City only two weeks after 9/11. I think my passion for the city and for our difficult era really moved her. And I think my capacity tremendous humor also moved her. I often hear her telling people that I’ve given her a lot of material to work with. Whatever that means.

Q: Want to dish about him/her?
No, I’m too busy. I’ve got work to do!

Q: Okay. Moving on . . . Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
A: I like all the action scenes! My absolute favorite was the ending of The Silver Gun. I actually got to get the bad guy. I brought my trumpet, too. Lane loved that. In The Gold Pawn, I like the end where I jump on top of Lane to cover her from the blast. And I also enjoyed –even though it wasn’t me that saved the day—when Team Fio came to rescue me. I have to say, my friends have a lot of imagination and panache, don’t you think?

Q: Absolutely. Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?
A: Yes. She refuses to have me shoot more. I would have liked to shoot the bad guys in The Gold Pawn, but Chandlar told me she had a “more complicated scenario” planned. Blah blah blah.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not being actively read somewhere?
A: I really do like to cook and I love music. Chandlar got that spot on. I play music all the time, and I’m an excellent Italian chef. But my job as mayor is more than full time. So I truly race around the city and am a first responder at most crime scenes, fires, and traffic accidents. The fire department even gave me an honorary fire coat!

Q: Cool. If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?
A: In final scene, the epilogue, I would be the one to witness who is really the pawn. I’m still irked Chandlar put someone else there.

Q: Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?
A: I really like them. Hard workers. Evelyn, Lane, and Kirkland are like my second family. I’m not too fond of Louie Venetti, of course. I loathe all gangsters. He’s hiding something, too. Lane keeps getting too close. I’m going to have to watch her.

Q: Do have any secret aspirations that your author doesn’t know about?
A: I was a fighter pilot in the war, my author doesn’t know that I’d like to fly again. I’ve been learning how to fly bigger planes on some of my weekends. Don’t tell Chandlar. She’ll tell my wife and then I’m in big trouble.

Q: What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they've known you for a while?
A: I’m like a cyclone. People can hardly keep up with me. I’m pretty brash, too. Usually I’m just tough on people I like, to see how they handle it. I’m tough on the outside, but when people get to know me, they understand I really work hard for my people. And Chandlar is right, I’m very loud and screechy. I do flap my arms about. I think people realize after a while, that I’m a softy on the inside. I deeply care about my citizens.



Q: What's the worst thing that's happened in your life?
A: The worst thing was losing my baby daughter and first wife just a year after each other.  I learned, like I did many other times, life does go on even in the darkest moments. And you keep going. You grow stronger. You find happiness in new ways. I think that’s why I enjoy this series so much. Its heart is about beauty in the midst of adversity. Our era’s creativity is often overlooked because of the Depression. But in spite of it, our humor, innovation, and gritty art is just breathtaking. 



Q: Tell us about your best friend.
A: “Muh-rie!” is my wife and best friend, she used to be my secretary. But I also have Ted Hambro, whom you meet in The Gold Pawn. We joke around a lot. No one makes me laugh like him. He’s a bank manager, and we just “get” each other.

Q: What aspect of your author’s writing style do you like best?
A: I love all her art and action! Sometimes in this genre, there’s just one culmination scene where all the action is. Chandlar has at least TWO culmination scenes—always, she’s promised me—and on top of that, some good chase scenes. Especially with Lane and Roarke. But I also like Chandlar’s art. She loves art like I do. Knows it’s important. I love her hidden art, things people don’t know much about, and I enjoy Lane’s love of the city. It’s almost another character in the book.

Q: Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?
A: Pfft! Of course! She has book 3 done, it will release in 2019, The Pearl Dagger. Someone we know is killed off, and I’m a bit peeved by that. But Chandlar promised that Ripley will live to be like a hundred. She’s of the ilk that I am, people can get killed off, but not the dog. The art behind that one…oh my. It’s one of the greatest pieces of art that transformed our culture perhaps more than anything else. Yet your time period has all but forgotten it. Chandlar is going to change that. You’ll LOVE IT.

Okay, I have to get going now. Thanks so much for having me, I love this blog. Have a great day. I’ve got work to do!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

L.A. Chandlar is the National Best-selling author of the Art Deco Mystery Series with Kensington Publishing. Her debut novel, The Silver Gun released August 29, 2017, the sequel, The Gold Pawn, releases September 25, 2018. Laurie speaks for a variety of audiences including a women’s group with the United Nations. Laurie has also worked in PR for General Motors, writes and fund-raises for a global nonprofit, is the mother of two boys, and has toured the nation managing a rock band.

Connect with L. A. Chandler:

Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

Kensington and the author has a limited edition gold author card, swag, and a Silver Gun bracelet as a thank you gift to anyone who pre-orders The Gold Pawn and registers here!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: KAREN C. WHALEN

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Gourmet Dinner Club travels to Ireland to enjoy Irish cuisine while staying at a medieval, ivy-covered castle. Jane Marsh hopes Dale Capricorn will ask her to marry him at this romantic dream destination. But her plans are put on hold when the elderly castle owner becomes violent, a club member restrains him, and he collapses and dies.



The police believe the mysterious death is murder and begin to suspect one of the club’s members. Dale leaves for home on a business emergency, and as the lone single gal in the club full of couples, Jane is thrown into the company of Griffin O’Doherty, the handsome Irishman who stands to inherit the castle.



Jane must prove her friends’ innocence by solving the crime. Which of the sweet-tempered Irish could be a callous killer?


Book Details:


Title: A Stewed Observation


Author: Karen C. Whalen

Genre: cozy mystery

Series: Dinner Club Mysteries, book 4

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press (August 6, 2018)

Print length: 294 pages


On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

INTERVIEW WITH KAREN C. WHALEN

Q: Karen, what do you love about where you live?

A: Moving to Colorado from the Midwest is one of the best decisions my husband and I made. I’m glad for our Midwestern upbringing, and it’s a joy to go back and revisit those childhood memories of corn fields, lightening bugs, and humid summers, but nothing can beat the glorious Rocky Mountains, the scent of the pines, the cold, crisp mountain air, the vistas and views from 10,000 feet peaks, hiking, biking, camping, and everything outdoors.


Q: What is the most daring thing you've done?
A: Skinny dipping with my girlfriends in college. So what if was just girls and the lake was totally deserted and it was completely dark out. We still felt pretty daring!


Q: Are any of your characters inspired by real people? 
A: The dinner club mysteries are based loosely on my own dinner club and are partial composites of people I’ve known in the distant past all the way through the present. I’m sure the people can hardly recognize themselves since I’ve given them words they’ve never said, situations they’ve never been in, and quirks they wouldn’t admit to even if true. All writers use what they know to begin with as a jumping off place. Then the characters become fictional with minds of their own.

Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
A: I prefer to write in my makeshift office at home, but do I really need an office to write? A quiet place with a large, flat-surfaced desk to spread out, plus a bookcase to hold stacks of research and office supplies, a few green plants, and some treasured, family photographs. Also, a big window for natural light. Soft carpet for the dogs to sleep at my feet. A CD player for background music. A separate space from the rest of the family to insure there are no interruptions, yet a few short steps from the kitchen for those all too frequent breaks. Quite a few requirements for this office of mine. Yet, in Writing Down the Bones, author Natalie Goldberg recommends that writers practice writing in restaurants and coffee shops so they can learn to block out distractions and write anywhere. And one of my favorite places to write is the indie coffee shop a few miles from my house. I only need my laptop and a few pages of notes, and I can write very well, in spite of the television’s low hum in the corner, customers conversing at other tables, and traffic sounds outside the front door. So, being able to write anywhere is the best preference. 

Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A: That the characters I’ve created are like friends, and the reader feels like a part of the dinner club. I spend a lot of time with these characters. I want them to be as real to my readers as they are to me. I’d like to believe they’re the reader’s friends, too.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: The last book in the dinner club murder mysteries, Wasted Thyme. Jane Marsh is finally married. Of course, she stumbles across yet another dead body. This time her new husband helps her solve the mystery.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen C. Whalen is the author of a culinary cozy series, the “dinner club murder mysteries.” The first four in the series are: Everything Bundt the Truth, Not According to Flan, No Grater Evil, and A Stewed Observation. The first book in the series tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel category of the 2017 IDA Contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of America. Her books are similar to those written by cozy authors Jessica Beck and Joanne Fluke. She worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and has been a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. She believes that it's never too late to try something new. She loves to host dinner club parties, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the mountains, and read cozy murder mysteries.




Connect with Karen:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway