Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Meet Author Amy Pershing

 




Hello Amy. Thank you for visiting the blog this week. I am so super happy to share your series and your Newest Release!


And I’m so happy to be here with you!


Let's start our little chat over lunch. Shall we?

Sure! I love talking with my mouth full!


If we were to meet one of your  characters where would we meet? What would we dine on? 

You’d probably meet Samantha Barnes, aka the Cape Cod Foodie, at the local clam shack, where we could chow down on a delicious mess of fried clams and onion rings. But if you’re feeling like a splurge, Sam would highly recommend the lobster roll!  


Let's have dessert. Is Chocolate okay? 

Chocolate is more than okay. Chocolate is a necessity.


Nuts or no nuts? 

Nuts, please!

Since you are about to release An Eggnog to Die For, I was wondering how did you celebrate when you write The End?

I wish I always wrote The End at exactly 5:05 so I could celebrate with a glass of wine, but since it’s almost always around 2:25 or so, I like to go for a lovely long walk with He Who Must Be Fed (aka, my husband).


I love the covers. How much input do you have? 

My publisher (Berkley) has been wonderful from the beginning about seeking my input on the covers. That being said, all credit goes to the amazing cover artist, Julia Green. Her work is amazing.

Do you have a pet that keeps you company? 

Oh, now you’re making me sad. We shared our lives for many years with our lovely Australian sheep dog, Ray, and we still miss her. We console ourselves, though, with visits, real and virtual, from our grandpuppy, Millie, and grandkitty, Zero. We wuv them.

Cape Cod just seems like such a lovely place. If I was able to visit, would you suggest a B & B or Private Bungalow? 

Both can be wonderful. The Cape is famous for its charming B&Bs, which have the advantage of super nice hosts who can advise you on where to go and what to see. But if you prefer a bit more space (and the opportunity to cook the Cape’s bountiful seafood for yourself!), you can’t beat a rental cottage!


Let's pretend... If you could go anywhere in the world to research it and write your next book where would you go? 

Italy. Italy, Italy, Italy.


Would you take snacks? What would you take? 

No need to take snacks to Italy – there’s a gelateria on every corner!

What is your favorite season?

Summer. Summer on the Cape is heaven. Sail, swim, eat, sleep, repeat. Heaven. 


You’re planning a Romantic Dinner for two … 

What is on the menu? 

Where will you dine? 

What kind of flowers will he bring?

Oh, that’s easy. We’ll be sitting outside on the terrace on a warm summer’s evening with the sun just sinking over the horizon, a jam jar of daisies on the table and a nice bottle of chilled sparkling wine like prosecco. We’ll start with a small plate of sliced ripe, red tomatoes and fresh mozzarella drizzled with a good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Then He Who Must Be Fed will grill some right-off-the-boat scallops, which we’ll have with a green salad topped with goat cheese and chopped pistachios. And for dessert, the super easy blender chocolate mousse from An Eggnog to Die For!


Gosh we seem to have to chatted the afternoon away. 

I'll let you get to those dinner plans! 

We must do this again!  And you can tell us all about that amazing Romantic Dinner! 



Isn't Amy just alot of fun.  I wish I could actually go to Cape Cod for a visit. 

Go over to Amy's website to learn more about her life on Cape Cod and her series.

Click Here

And Amy even includes recipes  Click Here 

Don't forget  to sign up for the Newsletter!  Click Here







Monday, September 27, 2021

New Releases Week of Sept. 27

 


Murder with Orange  Pekoe Tea
By Karen Rose Smith  

In Pennsylvania’s Amish country, Daisy Swanson is serving hot tea at a fundraiser for a homeless shelter—but tempers are getting heated too . . .
 
Daisy’s orange pekoe is flowing at a fundraiser—and she’s also made a new friend, Piper, a young woman whose hopes for motherhood were dashed by a foul-up at a fertility clinic.But before they can settle into a long conversation, the event is disrupted by masked protestors who object to building a shelter in Willow Creek. Among the angry crowd is Eli—who left his Amish community some time ago, with help from a lawyer named Hiram.
 
It just so happens that Hiram is also representing the fertility clinic in a class-action suit—and soon afterward, he turns up dead, felled by an insulin injection. Daisy can’t help but get drawn in, especially since Piper’s husband had been pretty steamed at the victim and didn’t hide it. She’d love to spend some time with the dog she and her boyfriend have just adopted—but first she 'll be straining to find a killer . . .  

Includes delicious recipes!
 




Available on Amazon 
Click Here


Kentucky  Crime Ring
by Julie Ann Lindsey 

Somebody wants her dead…

But they'll have to go through him first

The moment she discovers a murder scene, Allison Hill becomes a target for human traffickers who are willing to kill to keep their crimes hidden. Private detective Derek Winchester’s priority is keeping this brave woman and her infant daughter safe—without letting his feelings become a distraction. But his expert training and fierce determination might not be enough to stop the depraved predators circling ever closer to Allison…

From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.

Available on Amazon 

Click Here


The Corpse in the Gazebo by Debra Sennefelder 

It seems everyone loves Hope’s blog these days, and she’s busier than ever volunteering to help other women create their own paths to success. So she’s shocked when a neighbor petitions to run Hope right out of her small Connecticut town! Set in her ways, apparently Birdie Donovan doesn’t like the chaos Hope’s sleuthing creates, the police activity and crime scenes, and it’s happening way too often lately. Eager to make amends, Hope bakes Birdie a batch of her best muffins. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here




His job is to protect her, not to fall in love with her.


Heath Mitchell learned his security skills during his time in the US Marine Corps. After spending his first few years in the civilian world as the head of security for the Freedom Ridge Resort, he’s ready to branch out and help form a security firm. Things are just getting off the ground when he meets his sister’s friend. When a hit and run breaks into their meeting, she becomes his first client instead of his girlfriend.


Claire Odom has grown accustomed to a quiet life in the small town of Freedom. The perils of her past seem long gone until they resurface when she meets Heath. Determined to protect her, he becomes her full-time bodyguard. His good looks and the security he brings make it hard for her to remember he's only there because she hired him.


Heath and Claire grow closer as they fight to outrun their unknown enemies. Loyalties are broken, and unlikely alliances are formed as the quiet town of Freedom bands together to protect their friends this Christmas season. But is their new found love just a reaction to the fear or was it always meant to be?


Return to Freedom, Colorado and enjoy the faith, friendships, and forever-afters of the Heroes of Freedom Ridge in this Christian Christmas romance.

Available on Amazon

Click Here




Available  on Amazon 

Click Here



Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose 

One advantage of being caught up in a whirl of dress fittings and decisions about flower arrangements and breakfast menus is that Charlotte Sloane has little time for any pre-wedding qualms. Her love for Wrexford isn’t in question. But will being a wife—and a Countess—make it difficult for her to maintain her independence—not to mention, her secret identity as famed satirical artist A.J. Quill? 

Available  on Amazon 

Click Here


Murder Can Frost Your Doughnut by Rose Pressey 

Celeste has pulled up in her pink Shasta trailer, aka mobile art studio, to the Sevier County Fair in the mountains of eastern Tennessee to sell her paintings. A highlight of the fair promises to be the celebrity impersonation contest. But the low point is when Celeste and her floppy-eared white Chihuahua Van (short for Van Gogh) find an Elvis impersonator in his trailer doing a great impression of a corpse, clutching a doughnut in his hand.

Available on Amazon 

Click Here



Fromage by Sally Scott 

Journalist Alex Grant is enjoying the last days of her summer holiday in Croatia when she is accosted by an old school friend, Marie Puharich, and her odious brother, Brian, both there to attend the funeral of their fearsome grandfather’s two loyal retainers. The only upside of the whole sorry business is meeting Marco, the family’s resident adonis. An incorrigible foodie, Alex is unable to resist Brian’s invitation to visit the family creamery in Australia’s south-west to snoop around for stories and eat her body weight in brie.

Here



A Perfect Bind by Dorothy St. James

Tru Beckett succeeded in building a secret book room in her now bookless library, where book lovers from lovely Cypress, South Carolina, can rejoice in the printed word. Now she’s working hard to maintain the little library downstairs while keeping her “real job” upstairs in the bookless technology center. The last thing she needs is a mysterious vandal who seems intent on breaking into her secret book-filled sanctuary and creating chaos. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here


Chaos and Cold Feet by Kari Lee Townsend 

After finally picking the perfect date, Sunny and her fiancé Detective Mitch Stone are about to get married, and even her mischievous cat Morty seems to be on board. This time her best friend and her friend’s husband are the maid of honor and best man, but they have brand new baby twin boys who need to be baptized first. Just as soon as the ceremony for the babies is finished, Sunny and Mitch’s wedding will take place.

Available on Amazon 

Click Here


Lyin’ Eyes by Julie Mulhern 

Not so much the church, as the patio. And not if Ellison can’t stop finding bodies. She’s finding corpses in pairs now, and planning a wedding, and trying (truly, she is) to steer clear of the murder investigation. But when she finds a third body, Ellison becomes a suspect. Will Ellison get her happily ever after or will a devious killer turn her wedding into a funeral?

Available on Amazon

Click Here


Amish Candy Shop Holidays by Amanda Flower 

A holiday bundle featuring Criminally Cocoa: As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting enough, Charlotte Weaver is helping her cousin, Bailey, on the set of her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets; Botched Butterscotch: Mother’s Day is a sweet and busy time at the candy shop Bailey King runs with her Amish grandmother; and Candy Cane Crime: Thanks to her new cable TV show, Bailey’s shop has more orders than she can handle this Christmas.

Available on Amazon 

Click Here


The Suspects by Joan Havelange 

Mable Havelock and Violet Ficher are on a scenic bus tour of the Nordic capital cities of Europe and Russia. The tour culminates in Moscow. Where The tour director is murdered. There is a busload of suspects to choose from. A flirtatious woman and her jealous husband. A professor of Nordic History who is ill-informed. Two world travellers who describe themselves as gypsies and a mysterious man who is hiding something.

Available on Amazon

Click Here


Wreathing Havoc by Julia Henry 

Lilly Jayne typically spends the harvest season baking festive pies and crafting colorful wreaths to enter in the library’s annual fundraising contest. But this year, autumn opens on a somber note when beloved local theater owner, Leon Tompkin, dies unexpectedly. His memorial sets the scene for a mini reunion of The Goosebush Players’ best and brightest alumni, including Hollywood star, Jeremy Nolan. . .until someone plucks Jeremy from the spotlight, permanently.

Available on Amazon

Click Here


Death at Holly Lodge by Louise R. Innes 

Ooh La La hair salon owner Daisy Thorne adores the Christmas cheer in her picturesque hometown of Edgemead, England. Excitement is extra high this year, as international pop star, Mimi Levanté , the village’s newest resident, begins renovating historic Holly Lodge. But the charming country home’s makeover is cut short by a shocking discovery—the body of a man, dressed as Santa Claus, jammed inside the house’s chimney!

Available on Amazon

Click Here



Mrs. Claus and the Halloween Homicide by Liz Ireland 

For the first time ever, Christmastown is celebrating a strange new tradition—Halloween. But not everyone is willing to watch their dependable winter wonderland get overrun by carved pumpkins and costume parties. As a series of scary happenings hit Santaland, each one more intense than the last, April realizes having a role in the festivities could cost her family, friends—even her own life. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here



Two Cats Are Better Than One by Gin Jones 

Wyn Miller is edging closer to fully deserving the label of crazy cat lady. In addition to her original cat, Sal, she’s added two more adults and their kittens. Not to hoard them, but to train them to provide animal therapy as an adjunct to her private nursing. Her latest patient, Peter, is in bad shape, having given up on life. The cats perk him up a little, but then one of his neighbors is murdered, and everyone thinks the victim’s girlfriend did it. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here



Murder Gets a Makeover by Laura Levine 

Uber-stylist Bebe Braddock plans to juice up her Instagram feed, and thinks Jaine would make a perfect “Before & After” model. At Lance’s insistence Jaine is ushered into Bebe’s sprawling Brentwood spread to await her transformation. Yet, while the surroundings are glamorous, the atmosphere is toxic as Bebe bullies her team of assistants, and even her husband, into obeying her every whim. 

Available on Amazon 

Click Here




Dessert is the Bomb by Catherine Bruns 

Baker turned sometimes-sleuth Sally Muccio has always loved Halloween, but this year she has more on her mind than ghosts and goblins. In addition to catering a party at her wacky father’s funeral home, a competing bakery has just moved in across the street from Sally’s Samples. The new owner, Celeste Delgado, seems intent on burying Sal’s novelty cookie shop into the ground with her sensational smash cake bombs.

Available on Amazon 

Click Here




Here Comes The Fudge by Nancy Coco 

It’s late spring on picturesque Mackinac Island, Michigan. Allie is prepping her Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop for the start of the tourist season and her best friend Jenn’s wedding. But when Jenn’s fiancé Shane, a crime scene investigator on the island, misses a dinner date, the two friends go looking for him. Led by Allie’s bichonpoo Mal into an alley, they come upon Shane standing over a body with a bloody knife in his hand. Shane won’t say what’s happened, just tells them to call 911.

Available on Amazon

Click Here


The Glitter End by Vivian Conroy 

Stationery shop owner Delta Douglas is finally settling into small-town life in Tundish, Montana. But with the tourist season drying up, she must find a way to draw in her stationery shop clientele. Well-known artist Tilly Tay is just the ticket―and her new miniature gold mining display is sure to be a hit attraction in town.

Available on Amazon

Click Here



Murder Outside the Lines by Krista Davis 

With Halloween just around the corner, the fall colors in Georgetown are brilliant. As manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, coloring book creator Florrie Fox has arranged for psychic author Hilda Rattenhorst to read from Spooktacular Ghost Stories. But the celebrity medium arrives for the event in hysterics, insisting she just saw a bare foot sticking out of a rolled-up carpet in a nearby alley. Is someone trying to sweep murder under the rug?

Available on Amazon

Click Here



Chapter and Curse
by Elizabeth  Penney 


In Elizabeth Penney's Chapter and Curse, Molly Kimball is used to cracking open books . . . but when a poetry reading ends in murder she must use her skills to crack the case.

"With its bucolic British setting, engaging heroine, and unsolved murder dating back decades, Elizabeth Penney has penned the perfect cozy."–Ellen Byron, USA Today Bestselling Author

Librarian Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, need a change. So when a letter arrives from Nina’s Aunt Violet in Cambridge, England requesting their help running the family bookshop, they jump at the chance.

Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, is one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, and—unfortunately—customers can tell. When Molly and Nina arrive, spring has come to Cambridge and the famed Cambridge Literary Festival is underway. Determined to bring much-needed revenue to the bookstore, Molly invites Aunt Violet’s college classmate and famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a poetry reading in the shop. But the event ends in disaster when a guest is found dead—with Molly’s great-aunt’s knitting needle used as the murder weapon. While trying to clear Violet and keep the struggling shop afloat, Molly sifts through secrets past and present, untangling a web of blackmail, deceit, and murder. 

Not available  on Amazon 

Available  from publisher

Click Here



The third book in Mona Marple's Christmas Mysteries series! ★


As Christmas approaches in Candy Cane Hollow, it's time for the annual Claus Family ice fishing trip.


Holly Wood (yes, that's her real name) is a ball of nerves about meeting all of Nick Claus' relatives, until the trip ends in disaster.


One Claus doesn't return home, and as everyone begins to fear the worst, an old grudge between the Lost Claus and Nick makes his actions look suspicious. 


Can Holly get to the truth, before anyone else is hurt?


A Lost Claus is a festive cozy mystery and third in an exciting new series by popular author Mona Marple. This book is a clean read, free from swearing, on-page violence or sexual content. 


 
A Perfect Bind by Dorothy St James

Librarian Tru Beckett, ardent defender of the printed word, is about to find out that keeping murder checked out of her beloved library is much harder than she thought...

Tru Beckett succeeded in building a secret book room in her now bookless library, where book lovers from lovely Cypress, South Carolina, can rejoice in the printed word. Now she's working hard to maintain the little library downstairs while keeping her "real job" upstairs in the bookless technology center. The last thing she needs is a mysterious vandal who seems intent on breaking into her secret book-filled sanctuary and creating chaos. The nasty interloper doesn't steal anything, but brutalizes the books, damaging them and knocking them off shelves.

A patron of the secret book room tells Tru that there have been creepy goings-on at the library for years, especially in the basement where the secret book room is located. He's heard rumors of a poltergeist that haunts the library, determined to scare off readers. Tru is certain it's hogwash, but she's at a loss to think of who might be vandalizing the beautiful books she fought so hard to protect. And when a dead body shows up right behind the library, Tru is certain that it's not a ghost but a cold-blooded killer that she and her trusty tabby Dewey Decimal will need to uncover.

Available on Amazon 
Click Here


Pumpkin  Pie By Patience by Annee Jones 

1890, Baltimore.
19-year-old Patience Sutton has never been praised for her cooking – in fact, she burned the pumpkin pie at her family’s last Thanksgiving dinner. As the youngest of 10 children, she’s tired of always being the baby and longs to grow up. When she spies an ad in the paper from Oregon banker Jefferson Cooke seeking a mail-order bride willing to travel out west and who “must love children,” Patience jumps at the chance for a new life. With children of her own to take care of, maybe she’ll finally get some respect! Right?

Find out as you read this heartwarming holiday romance set in Sunset Hills, Oregon!

Available  on Amazon 

Click Here

Mailbox Monday featuring Author Amy Pershing

 


Welcome author Amy Pershing  

Cape Cod provides a stunning background for … the ideal combination of mystery, romance, and recipes.” Kirkus Reviews 

Visit  Amy's website and sign up for the newsletter.

Click Here


 
On sale now
Click Here

Release in November  

Available  for Pre-order

Click Here 


Website Click Here 

Newsletter Click Here




Saturday, September 25, 2021

Essentials of Murder by Kim Davis My Review

 


About the book

Following a scandal that chased her from San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael struggles to find acceptance in her small Southern California hometown as she opens her aromatherapy and reflexology shop.


When she finds a man murdered in her distilling room, Carissa becomes the main suspect, especially when her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. Despite her father’s position as Oak Creek Valley’s chief of police, most townspeople assume she’s guilty—including the new leading detective.


Refusing to run again, Carissa knows she must prove her innocence to save her shop and her family’s reputation. With suspects acting as slippery as the essential oils she distills, it’s up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out the truth before it’s too late.


If you like your cozies with quirky hometown characters, small-town California charm, recipes, and essential oil and reflexology tips, Book 1 in the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series is for you. Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

And I thought 

What a fun page turning read! 

I simple loved Carissa and all the characters! 

Author Kim Davis did an excellent job of introducing the reader to characters in this new series. 

I loved the Cozy small town feel.  And the cozy shop that Carissa is opening.  I almost felt like I was there.  Or wished I was. 

I did miss that the author didn't include more information about the topics of Aromatherapy and Reflexology or recipes. I am very interested in the topics. 

The main character Carissa is a hardworking girl trying to settle back into her hometown and open shop. 

The story is fast paced and moves along at a good pace luring the reader to turn the pages. 

I was surprised who the villain was. 

And I was going back and forth about if Carissa would find romance with the pastry shop owner or the detective.   

In the end my question  was answered  and this reader was left anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. 

I received my copy when I took part in a free offer. 

My review will appear on and Good Reads. 

Buy the book 

Available on Amazon

Click Here



We're All Characters Christmas Book Link Party

 

Happy Rudolph Day! Time to party! 


This is the place to link Christmas Clean Romance, Mysteries or Romantic my Suspense Books. 
Link Away! 


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thursday, September 23, 2021

The Corpse in the Gazebo by Debra Sennefelder Great Escapes Book Tour Review

 September 24 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW



About the book 

Food blogging is turning Hope Early into a household name. But the dead body down the block makes her a #1 suspect . . .

It seems everyone loves Hope’s blog these days, and she’s busier than ever volunteering to help other women create their own paths to success. So she’s shocked when a neighbor petitions to run Hope right out of her small Connecticut town! Set in her ways, apparently Birdie Donovan doesn’t like the chaos Hope’s sleuthing creates, the police activity and crime scenes, and it’s happening way too often lately. Eager to make amends, Hope bakes Birdie a batch of her best muffins. The delicious treats might have smoothed things over—until Hope discovers Birdie dead in her gazebo the very next day . . .

Now instead of worrying about holding on to her beloved home, Hope is trying to stay out of jail. Because suddenly she’s the lead suspect in the case. Not even her boyfriend, Police Chief Ethan Cahill, is promising he can clear her name, much less discuss the investigation with her. It’s up to Hope to get to bake new ground on the case before the lifestyle brand she’s created—and her whole life—crumbles . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

And I thought

One of my favorite series.  

Hope Early is one of my favorite characters.  I am always on Hope's side.  She tends to have people mad at her and annoyed with her for stumbling onto dead bodies.  Or catching people be doing things or saying things they shouldn't. 

Hope does have some close friends that always have her back.  Her bestie Drew always protects her and helps her when we she needs to investigate.  Sometimes he has to be persuaded.  

Their friend Jane is Hope's sounding board and helps Hope talk through theories. 

Author Debra Sennefelder spins a page turning Cozy Mystery with lots of interesting characters.  

I think each book in the series  gets better but maybe it's because the charm of Hope, the town and the characters grow on you making you want to visit over and over again.  

If you haven't started this series and you love a good Cozy don't wait! 

Thank you Debra Sennefelder for sending me a complimentary print copy for my library. 

My review will appear on Amazon and Good Reads. 

Visit the tour 

To read more reviews, guest posts and interviews click Here

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Chat With Author Sara Blackard

 


Welcome!  Today join me for a 'Fictional' dinner with Author Sara Blackard.  

Sara's invited us to join her in Tok, Alaska 


If we could meet for a meal in 'Real Life' where (in Alaska) would be we meet. What would we eat?

Fast Eddy’s right her in Tok! It’s a world famous main stay in Alaska. I’d schedule our meet up for Friday night so we could have the prime rib special (a-mazing!!)


Since we're talking about food do you like Nuts in your Chocolate? Yes!! I’m nutty.


I am fascinated with life in Alaska. Are you a native?

Nope. We moved here 11 years ago.


What is your favorite part of living in Alaska? 

I love the adventure and freedom that comes from living in Interior Alaska.


Anything you don't like? 

The cold. I’m not gonna lie. -40s and -50s temperatures aren’t fun. It’s nuts to think that there is a difference between -20 and -40, but there is. One is tolerable. The other is instantly painful. The worst was when our septic froze at -48. Using the outhouse at that temperature isn’t something I want to experience again.

 

If you could move anywhere or have a 2nd home where would you move? 

The Caribbean. We’re actually making a 10 year plan and looking at areas we would want a 2nd home. While we want to stay in Alaska, it’d be nice to have a warm place to go when the months were cold and dark.

When your not writing and stuck inside do you have a hobby that keeps you from getting my cabin fever?

I’m pretty boring. Between homeschooling my 5 kids and my writing, I don’t have much time for serious hobbies right now. I love reading, and once winter and the snow arrives, I’ll start playing with snow dying garments again. It’s where you use snow to slow down the dyeing process. The result is a really pretty effect from the pigments in the dyes separating and merging in unexpected ways.


Let's chat about books. But first do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write? 


 Pup the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon keeps me company each morning as I’m writing.


Describe your writing space 

 Right now? It’s a hot mess. My writing space is a table pushed against the side of our fridge in our addition. It’s dark and has too much foot traffic, but at the moment it has to work. We have been slowly building our house.  

This winter my office will hopefully get done. In the meantime, my workspace isn’t the norm.

 

I met you when I got the chance to read Falling For Zeke and I fell for the series! Can we expect more in the series? 

There are seven books in the Stryker Security Force series. The series is complete and ready to binge. That said, my latest series, Alaska Rebels, picks up characters we meet in the Stryker series, and I may be expanding the Stryker gang to a new office location. Not sure about that yet, though.


Do you write in other genres?

I also write sweet and clean romantic comedies.

 

Which is your favorite?

Oh, goodness. I can’t pick. I love them both for completely different reasons. I love the adventure romantic suspense for the action and danger. I love the romcoms for the chance to be funny and the challenge of writing in a different style.

 

If you could take one of your Characters and research anywhere in the world where would you go? I’d take Chloe from Crashing Into Jake and invade Zeke’s private island in a classified location. She keeps things interesting, plus we could eat the same things.


I think I want to go with you! 

This was so fun thanks for dinner! 


Meet Sara on Social Media . . . 

 Website click Here

Blog click Here

Instagram click Here 



Tuesday, September 21, 2021

A Calculated Whisk by Victoria Hamilton Great Escapes Tour Review

 September 22 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW



About the book 

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of Cast Iron Alibi, Jaymie Leighton is confronted with two murders and the threat of danger far too close to home . . .


When a woman living under a cloud of suspicion for her husband’s death comes to vintage kitchen collector Jaymie Leighton with a mysterious request, she’s not sure whether, or how much, to get involved. The police believe they have new evidence of foul play in what was initially ruled an accidental death, and the woman’s terrified they’ll try to pin the crime on her. Before Jaymie can decide whether to help her, though, the woman’s found murdered in the woods near Jaymie’s cabin.


Still unsure whether the woman was truly innocent in her husband’s death, Jaymie decides to get to the bottom of both murders. But as she digs deeper into the couple’s past and discovers a tangled array of long-buried wounds and family secrets, Jaymie begins to sense that danger is still lurking in the woods near her home. With a killer on the loose and her family in danger, Jaymie must uncover the culprit before she loses all she holds dear, including her own life . . .


Includes a vintage recipe!

And I thought 

First where have I been?  

Which is why Great Escapes Book Tours is a great place for Authors to promote their books.  

This was my first chance to hear about and  read a part of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series.  

2nd . . .Look at that cover.  Does that cover just not beckon.    

I loved the Vintage to theme and that recipes are included.  I am a sucker for recipes in books! 

I enjoyed Jaymie's strong sense of character and determination.  She seems to be quite the sleuth since this is book 10 in the series. 

Although I didn't feel I missed anything I sure do want to go back and read the other 9. 

The author kept this reader guessing with some twists and turns.  

I did have a hard time keeping the characters or should I say suspects straight.   Alicia's (the victim) mom and her friends from school and her deceased husband's family were hard to keep straight.  But I did finally figure everyone out. 

I have to say I did not like the female police detective.  

I  questioned along with Jaymie if her medling and coercing Jaymie to question Alicia and then tell her to stay out of the investigation was setting Jaymie and Alicia up. 

I'd like to read the previous books and see how the relationship with Jaymie and the detective developed. 

I have a few new titles to add to my wish list!  

I was glad the Chicken A La King recipe was included and I plan to cook it this week! 

I received a complimentary copy. 

My review will appear on retail sites and Good be Reads. 

Buy the book 

– Amazon – B&N – Kobo – 

Visit the tour  


To read more reviews guest posts  interviews and enter the Giveaway Click Here






Breaking News from Author Sara Blackard

 

Question time: Have you ever wondered what your favorite characters were up to? Ever wanted more time hanging out with them after the book was done? Do you think of characters as friends or is that just me?


Well, from the amount of emails I get asking if this character or that one will be in any more books, I'm thinking there are a lot of you that are like me. I also get emails asking when we'll be heading back to the past to visit our friends we met in the Vestige in Time series.  

The Breaking News

So, I've set up a Patreon to help fulfill all our burning questions.


So what is Patreon, and why use it?


Patreon is a platform unlike any other. It's a place to support creators and become an active participant in the creative process. The great thing about Patreon is that for less than a cup of latte per month, you can get amazing exclusives.


In each new book I write, there are always small check-ins to see what some of our favorite characters are up to. Yet, I often get requests for certain couples to be highlighted or for follow-up stories to be told, and I was never able to justify putting most of those stories together. It’s time that I not only could spend writing new books for readers to fall in love with (and, you know, pay my bills and feed the five kids. They eat a lot, and groceries in Alaska are expensive—hello, $5 gallon of milk) but also could be having adventures of my own with my chaotic crew.


Patreon will change that. Each month, patrons will have the ability to pick what short story they'd like to see written. Missing Zeke, Samantha, and Eva? Want to see more of Jake and Chloe? Just want endless months of Hunter and Viola stories that give us a glimpse of what their HEA looks like? Need to know which couples are having babies, facing various life challenges, or getting into shenanigans?


Patreon is the place to be.


On top of monthly short stories, I've also set up levels where patrons will get exclusive access to historical romances as I write them (remember Sparrow, River, and Trapper Dan? Yeah, their stories will be coming there.) Other levels are available, including writing a book together and exclusive Book Birthday Boxes.


In addition to that, all tiers will get early access to my indie titles. 2-4 weeks before release, you get your eBook copy! 

 To sign up Click Here 




Monday, September 20, 2021

New Releases That Caught My Eye

   



A Calculated Whisk by Victoria Hamilton (Cozy)

When a woman living under a cloud of suspicion for her husband’s death comes to vintage kitchen collector Jaymie Leighton with a mysterious request, she’s not sure whether, or how much, to get involved. The police believe they have new evidence of foul play in what was initially ruled an accidental death, and the woman’s terrified they’ll try to pin the crime on her. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here

I actually just finished by Reading this one for the Great Escapes Book Tour.  Loved it!  Loved the cover!  This cover drew me in! 




Lanterns Lakes & Larceny
 by Tonya Kappes 

Let me be the first person to welcome you to Normal, Kentucky located in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest. I'm Mae West the owner of Happy Trails Campground.

Over the past few months my love life has been on what you'd call a slippery slope. Just this past week I'd resigned to the fact that me and Hank Sharp was caput! Done with. No more!

And when I got a phone call during Bobby Ray's meeting with his birth mother from Hank, I felt like I was wrapped up between a nightmare and a dream.
Let me cut to the chase.
Hank's best friend Jerry Truman is a local private investigator and he's got a HUGE case that includes a dead body. Of course I've not stuck my nose in it because honestly it has nothing to do with me. Those are the kinda murders I like, but now that Hank has told me he's back and helping Jerry, and get this...they need me to use my sleuthing skills to help them, it's now my business.
One, because I love to snoop and two because by the sound of things, Hank Sharp misses me as much as I miss him.
You see, this case will be a double win!
At least that's what I thought until I'm the one staring into the barrel of a shot gun when I found out a little too much information. 

Available on Amazon
Click Here


A Fatal Feast by Kathleen Bridge (Cozy)

Tensions are high on the eve of the grand opening of Privé, an exclusive gourmet dining club that interior designer Meg Barrett played a large part in decorating. With just the well-heeled owners, the kitchen staff, and Meg gathered for the pre-opening feast, it seems that everyone in the small group is airing their grievances, with their most venomous attacks directed at the notorious sous chef. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here 


Toffee Apple Torment by Agatha Frost (Cozy)

When Claire’s mother, Janet, starts a new cleaning business and uncovers a decades-old crime, the candle shop owner and part-time sleuth finds herself faced with her first cold case.

Available on Amazon

Click Here





Death Rang The Bell by Carol Pouliot (Traditional)

21st-century journalist Olivia Watson thinks traveling back in time to 1934 to attend a Halloween party with her friend Detective Steven Blackwell will be a lot of fun. And it is. . .until she witnesses the head of the Shipley Five-and-Dime empire murdered, and fears the killer saw her face. The smart move is to return to the safety of the present, but Olivia possesses a secret and is about to defy the unwritten rules of time-travel.


Murder At The House On The Hill by Victoria Walters 

Nancy Hunter and her grandmother Jane Hunter run the Dedley Endings Bookshop, selling crime, thriller and mystery books, in a small, quiet Cotswold village where nothing ever happens. That is, until the wealthy and reclusive Roth family open up their mansion for the first time in thirty years, inviting the people of Dedley End to a lavish engagement party. 

Available on Amazon

Click Here