Showing posts with label 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2019. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Cover Reveal and Review: An Unexpected Exploit by Kandi J. Wyatt

Here it comes!  The release date, September 10th,  is almost here for the third book in the Myth Coast Adventure Trilogy.  Not only does it have a beautiful cover, but it has a wonderful story inside.


Review

In this third installment, we find Franklin out hunting. He sees what he believes is a bear. As he raises his gun to shoot, the creature disappears. Franklin goes to investigate and stumbles into another realm, Shinwano. When he doesn't return home his friends go to search for him.  In the alternate realm, Franklin is being trained to protect the portal and his new friends.  Franklin returns to his own realm. Unfortunately, Jack Collins, the poacher is up to his old tricks. This time he forces Franklin to show him the way in. Franklin's friends follow to help him out. Franklin is welcomed back into the village. The secret he carries about the danger he has brought into Shinwano is eating away at him. Will he do the right thing? Can he save those he loves?

This is a must-read when it comes out. I can't wait for it to come out in paperback so I can purchase it for my classroom and a couple of grandkids.

Pre-order a copy! Then go here and fill out this form: 




Saturday, August 17, 2019

Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn



Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Mystery
Source: I purchased a copy

When my granddaughter messaged me that she had found another Mary Downing Hahn book she wanted I bought it. You know how it goes, you order a book then find several more by the author that you need/want to read.  This was one of those jewels. What drew me in was the difference in the subject matter. Hahn is known for her ghost stories. In this book, we meet Jen and her father who have just moved into a house her dad inherited. It is full of antique artifacts from his eccentric uncle. Jen disobeys her father and visits the tower behind their house. There she finds a glass globe that she takes back to her house and hides.  Jen is surprised to learn that when her father had come to this small town to work on the house he had met an antique dealer and started a relationship with her. Jen is not thrilled. She is even more upset when she meets Moura. Something doesn't seem right.  Moura makes it clear that she wants the globe and knows that Jen has it. Jen's cat Tink accidentally breaks the globe releasing a fairy from inside. With Moura's reaction, the change in her father and Moura's mysterious friend Jen knows that she must get involved if she wants to save her dad and her new friend. I absolutely loved this book.  Hahn has an author's note in the back that explains witch catchers and her fascination with them. I am sure my students are going to love this one.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Simply Dead by Eleanor Kuhns


Genre:  Adult, Historical Mystery
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.


Hortense a young midwife fails to return home after delivering a baby. Her mother and uncle seek out help from Will Rees. Will finds Hortense with no shoes and no cloak.  As the snow comes down heavier it is decided to leave the unconscious Hortense overnight at Will and Lydia’s house.  Will and his family attend to chores around the farm. Will hears his daughter Jerusha yelling for him. She has been frightened but he doesn’t know what scared her.  The next morning Jerusha is attacked by two young boys.  Will is sure Hortense knows something she isn’t telling them.  When a Shaker woman is killed Will is determined to do everything he can to find the person responsible for the attacks on women in the area.
Once again this book was so well written I didn’t expect the killer to be who it was. I have only read one other book in this series. I have definitely got to catch up on them. This author brings you in to the time period and into the setting.  The characters are well crafted. Will Rees has become one of my favorite characters. He is a weaver by trade and yet he has become a wonderful detective. This is a book I would read more than once.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Monday, July 29, 2019

Dania Voss Guest Post



When I decided to try my hand at writing a short story, the origin story of Luke Stryker and Abbey Jayne from my debut novel On the Ropes, I didn’t realize what a challenge it would be. I was both excited and nervous to write Off the Hook, When Luke met Abbey.
I was excited because I wanted to offer Off the Hook as a free read to readers, to introduce them to my Windy City Nights series. I was nervous because I had never written a short story before and Luke and Abbey’s origin story took place when they were 18 and 20 years old. They were young adults, not older adults like in the debut novel, which took place ten years later.
I had quite a bit of research to do, as I do for every book I write. For writers, research is one thing we can get mired in that delays us from starting to write. Since Off the Hook was supposed to be short story, I didn’t want to and couldn’t spend too much time doing research, I had to get the story written!

But since the timeline placed their origin story in June of 2007, I had to be historically accurate on several critical things.
The World Series - Luke is a pitcher for his family’s team the Chicago Cobras so I had to research what teams played in the World Series in 2007 and make adjustments for the Cobras to play in the story.
Technology - I researched what the popular laptop models were in 2007, as well as the popular cell phones. The first iPhone came out in 2007, I didn’t know that until I researched it for the story.
Movies – I found out which comedies were out in the summer of 2007 and chose one for Luke and Abbey to watch in the story.
Online Universities – Since Luke was travelling with the team, I had to research which universities were offering online degrees at that time. He couldn’t attend regular classes like everyone else.
Since Abbey was 18 and Luke was 20, it was a challenge trying to get into the mindset of younger adults. Luke was Abbey’s first boyfriend. She hadn’t done much dating before she met him. Luke’s family is wealthy in addition to owning the Chicago Cobras. He’d led a fairly charmed life, even though he’d lost his parents at a young age.

I’m a plotter, not a pantser so as I’ve done with my full length novels, I created an outline for Off the Hook with word count limits for each chapter. In the end, I went over about 2500 words and ended the story with over 18,000 words, but I’m proud with the result of my first short story.


Author Bio
Born in Rome, Italy and settled in the Chicagoland area, Dania Voss is a lover of all things pink and a huge fan of 80's hair bands. She became a romance junkie in her teens. After decades of voracious reading, she published her first romance novel On the Ropes, the prequel in her Windy City Nights series in March of 2018. It was nominated as best Contemporary Romance in the 2018 Evernight Publishing Reader's Choice Awards. 

The Warrior's Whisper was released in September of 2018 and her current romance Hannah's Bliss, with Italian int'l model Luca Pantini on the cover, is the third installment in the series.

Website URL:  www.daniavoss.com
Blog URL:  www.daniavoss.com/blog
Facebook URL:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaniaVoss
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/daniavoss/
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/daniavoss/
Skype:  Rose Hudson (r.mancinelli@outlook.com)

Buy links:







Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Jacqueline by Jackie Minniti



Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

For me it is important to provide quality books for my students. My students will have a better grip on life during World War II from reading this book. The story brings the reader in and lets them walk in her shoes. Most of our students have never had to go through anything like this and so it is hard to imagine what life would be like or how they would handle the situation. The book is based on a story the author’s father told her. She was actually named after the Jacqueline in her father’s story. The reader is able to see how Jacqueline and her mother survived after losing her father to the war. This is another resource for students to read to help them understand what it was like for non-Jewish people who had friendships with their Jewish neighbors. This was a time that was dangerous for both Jews and non-Jews alike. Because this is historical fiction, students will be enticed to learn more to distinguish what was fact and what was fiction.  Since I teach a unit with readings about the Holocaust, this is a welcome edition. Well done in writing a book that kids can relate to and adults will enjoy reading.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Only Charlotte by Rosemary Poole-Carter




Genre: Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Romance
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This story takes place after the Civil War. Lenore James is a woman who has out-lived three husbands. Financially she is in a great place. She is wll aware of what is going on in society around her. When her brother Gilbert, a doctor loses his wife and child he loses a large part of himslef. Lenore invites him to come live with her and open a practice in New Orleans. Gilbert is willing to take those cases where the main doctor in town feels he won't profit much. This doesn't bother Gilbert since he is more about taking care of the patient and not worrying about the money. 

Gilbert is called to a house to care for a young child who has a terrible cough. He is immediately drawn to the child's mother, Charlotte Eden. Charlotte is married to awealthy architect. Gilbert's sister remembers her when she worked making hats. It is obvious to Lenore that her brother has fallen for Charlotte. The Mystery comes in when Gilbert is asked to remove Charlotte's dead body. I won't say anything more since I don't want to give anything away.

We see a society where those who are in power and have lots of money rule. Women have no rights and if some people had their way there would be slavery again. The author has told a story in the flowery and flowing way it would have been spoken in that time period. For some this may be a hindrance. It took me a couple of chapters before I was comfortable with this aspect. However, it actually put me in the time period. This author has a way of helping the reader visualize everything around them. I love a book that draws me in and carries me around twists and turns to the point I don’t see the ending coming. I love the historical aspect of this book. For me the emotional factor was a plus. I could feel how much Lenore felt she needed to protect her brother’s heart. I could see how Gilbert fell hard for Charlotte from the beginning. I agreed to read this book because there was the mystery aspect and it was historical fiction. I got so much more than I bargained for from reading this book. I highly recommend anything by this author.

About the Author
Rosemary Poole-Carter explores aspects of an uneasy past in her novels Only CharlotteWomen of MagdaleneWhat Remains, and Juliette Ascending, all set in the post-Civil War South. Her plays include The Familiar, a ghost story, andThe Little Death, a Southern gothic drama. Fascinated by history, mystery, and the performing and visual arts, she is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Mystery Writers of America, and the Dramatists Guild of America. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she was a long-time resident of Houston, where she practiced her devotion to reading and writing with students of the Lone Star College System. She now lives and writes by the Eno River in Durham, North Carolina

Monday, July 1, 2019

The Field by Tracy Richardson


Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, paranormal
Source: I purchased a copy. The opinions expressed here are my own.


This book starts out with Eric and his best friend Will trying out for the soccer team. Eric has an uncanny ability as the goalie of knowing just where the ball is going to go. He doesn’t understand why he gets these feelings, he just accepts them. He and his best friend are both taking an AP science class. This is where he meets Rene, the new student and learns that her father, a French scientist is going to guest teach some classes and offer an internship. After his first guest class he has forms for students to fill out if they want to be considered for lab experiments. Naturally Will and Eric are pulled in to this.  Eric and Will have some issues. Eric must use his new found abilities to help get things back on track with his friends. I was hooked on the premise of this book the minute I first read it. If you are a science nerd and really like science fiction then you will really like this book. However, you don’t have to be a fan of science or paranormal to like this book. Those things just make it really enjoyable. It is a quick easy read because it grabs you, pulls you in and you don’t want to stop reading.  I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be adding it to the science fiction section in my classroom. This is one I will recommend to our school librarian.


About the Author
Tracy wasn’t always a writer, but she was always a reader. Her favorite book growing up was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. In a weird way her life reflects the book through odd synchronicities. She has a degree in Biology like Mrs. Murry and without realizing it she named her children Alex and Katie after Meg’s parents. (Really, it was not intentional, because that would be weird)!


Tracy uses her science background in her writing through her emphasis on environment issues and metaphysics. Growing up, Tracy’s younger brothers called her ‘sarge’ and once when she took a personality test for a job, the evaluator said she could give a Drill Sargent a run for his money. If you need someone to boss you around, Tracy’s your gal! Tracy lives in Indianapolis.

Friday, June 28, 2019

Midheaven by Ken Kuhlken Review and Guest Post


Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: I purchased a copy. The opinions expressed here are my own. 


My Review:
Midheaven was one of those books that I had to keep reading to find out the why. Jodi is a young teen who has a very dysfunctional family. About the time she feels she has everything under control she makes a decision that changes her. Dating the rich and popular kid has its perks and expectations. Unfortunately, his expectations are different than Jodi's. She gave herself physically to this young man only to find betrayal. It doesn't help that as a new Christian her actions become very confusing to her. I could see her spiraling out of control when she made a forbidden connection to one of her teachers. We know from the beginning of the book that Charley, her childhood best friend is who she has loved for a long time. he was much older than her. However, no matter what she does he remains a true friend to her.


I won't say much more about the plot. I do want to respond to some of the other elements in the book. Charley's good friend Geoff is passionate about his new-found faith. He is the one who leads Jodi to become a Christian. A lot of the other characters in the book reacted differently to the Christian faith. Some became holier-than-thou and had no problem judging others. Some stumbled around with no real idea of what it means to be a Christian. They have no real guidance. As I read this, different people in my life popped into my mind. I have seen them all. Most of all it is a book of hope. No matter how much we mess up, God always leads us back.


Guest Post
What I Do After Midnight

Folks dedicated or obsessive enough to read all my dozen or sixteen novels (depending upon whether the latest, five novella-length books packaged together, counts as one book or five), may remember Cynthia Jones. She evolved from a woman I knew who frequently bemoaned the condition of the world by quoting from "The Night They Burned Shanghai".

Last night, my cat woke me yowling in misery. According to our vet, his kidney is failing, and he's also epileptic. And after I petted him for a while and brought him food and water, I lay awake wrestling with the reality of death, which appears to be stalking our dear cat, while that poem's final lines echoed in my mind:

"For some men die by shrapnel,
And some go down in flames,
But most men perish inch by inch
In play at little games."

I suspect the poem, published in 1938, was meant as a call for Americans to respond to the world's horrors. Last night, more than ever, I took that poem's message to heart and lamented that I haven't done more to relieve suffering or to battle the perpetrators and promoters of death and other miseries.

I reproached myself for failing to more actively work for healing and justice. Except for a few spells of volunteer work and some donating, all I have done is raise three good kids and written lots of books and stories that, aside from entertaining, attempt to advocate compassion and condemn the hunger for revenge and the lust for power. Maybe my books should allow me to forgive myself for not doing other, more helpful things like becoming a doctor or an honest politician. Maybe.

So it goes.  

My books are nine Hickey Family crime novels; Midheaven, a Hickey Family companion; Newport Ave, a noir tribute to my cousin Virgie; Cars, a short story collection; Reading Brother Lawrence, a memoir; Writing and the Spirit, reflections on finding and using inspiration; and For America, an epic story of the post WWII years in five small books, coming later this year. To get clued about their release, please subscribe to less is more, a more or less monthly publication.

My stories most always begin with an experience or observation. Here's how Midheaven got conceived:

When I was eighteen, I attended a Billy Graham crusade and came away with a sense that the Christian faith was far different than I had previously thought. So I started reading the Bible and tried attending churches. The Bible reading continued, the churchgoing did not, at the time.

Over the next few years, I started earnestly writing, and in King's Beach, on the shore of Lake Tahoe, I attended a party where, on one side of a large room, a group of kids held a Bible study, while across the room other kids drank, smoked stuff, and laughed a lot. 

A girl stood between those groups, gazing left and right, looking bewildered, before she dashed out of the house. I followed and watched her run down the road and plunge into the lake.

I saw myself in that girl, often torn between what appeared to offer pleasure and what felt good and beautiful but required sacrifice. Together, the girl and I became Jodi, the narrator of Midheaven.

That's a benefit of being a writer: we get to become other people.


About the Author


Some of Ken’s favorites are early mornings, the desert in spring, kind and honest people, baseball and other sports played by those who don’t take themselves too seriously, most kids, and films he and his Zoe can enjoy together.
He reads classic novels, philosophy, theology, and all sorts of mysteries. On his blog, he offers some hard truths and encouragement about living as a writer.
He has long been the author of novels, stories, articles, poems, and essays. Lots of honors have come his way, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship; Poets, Essayists and Novelist’s Ernest Hemingway Award; Private Eye Writers of America Best First Novel and Shamus Best Novel; and several San Diego and Los Angeles Book Awards.
Though he advocates beer in a video, he actually prefers Scotch.
He also posts regularly on his own blog, and sort of preaches for Perelandra College.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Spirit Wind by Marilyn Meredith


Genre: Adult,Mystery
Source: I purchased a copy to facilitate my review, the opinions expressed here are my own.

It has been a month since I've written a review on my blog. We have been in the middle of state testing for the past month. It was a pleasure to read this wonderful book.  I will definitely be reading more of her work.  On April 24th the author was a guest on my blog. You can find that here.
Tempe Crabtree is a law officer and her husband a pastor. She is able to communicate with ghosts.  As she and her husband prepare for a vacation she has agreed to  help out a ghost hunter who is trying to help a woman with a spirit problem. When they arrive the police are there. It seems a murder has taken place on the property.

What made this book so wonderful is that it is the ultimate in mysteries. You have a cop who communicates with spirits, especially if they are Native Americans. You have her husband who is a pastor, yet has helped her in many cases. It seems that the two belief systems would fight each other. The great thing about this book is that you can feel the tension between Tempe and her husband. At the same time you know that he has her spiritual back. The author has created characters that you really begin to care about. For those of us who love reading about legends or Native Americans you get a great amount of it in this book. This is definitely an author you need to check out.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Guest Post Marilyn Meredith: Spirit Wind



Coming Tomorrow: My review

Native American Legends in the Tempe Crabtree Series

Thank you so much for inviting me to appear on this wonderful blog.

I thought I’d write about some of the Indian legends I’ve woven into my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. Tempe belongs to the Yokut tribe of California’s Central Valley. Over the period of the books, she has not only learned about the many legends of her own tribe, but those of other tribes in California. Including these legends in various books, I feel has enriched the plots.

The famous Big Foot of Northern California appeared in Kindred Spirits, and while I was researching for that book I discovered the most famous legends of the Yokuts are about the Hairy Man. A pictograph of him and his family can be seen on a cave in the Painted Rock area of the Tule River Indian Reservation.  Once I learned about the Hairy Man, and saw the pictographs for myself, I knew he needed to be a part of the series and has been an important character in several books.

In other books, I’ve included the legends of the creation of the world, what the appearance of an owl means, and the howling of a dog.

The latest in the series, Spirit Wind, is set in the mountain community of Tehachapi. Anyone who has driven on Highway 58 between Bakersfield and Mojave has passed by Tehachapi. The hillsides are covered with a multitude of huge wind machines. However, Tehachapi is probably better known for the Loop where extremely long freight trains pass themselves as they go around a mountain. Tourists come from all around to watch this engineering phenomenon.

While doing the research for this mystery, I learned about the Kawaiisu people who first inhabited the area. Like the Yokuts, they were forced by soldiers to move on foot many miles away to Fort Tejon. When that didn’t work out, both tribes were marched back to their former homes. Many died.

One of the Kawaiisu legends is about the Rock Baby. The story was told to Tempe by Nick Two John, a friend who is also a Yokut, and this is what he said. “Watch out for Rock Baby. Many call him the spirit of doom. He painted pictures of himself. The images are said to change daily. All are warned if someone touches his likeness that person will go blind. If you hear him crying, it means something evil will happen.”

Of course, this legend is included in the story. The Rock Baby’s crying alerts Tempe to dangers awaiting her.

I feel privileged to be able to use these fascinating legends in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries.



Author Bio

Marilyn has had so many books published, she’s lost track of the count, but it’s getting near 40. She lives in a community similar to the fictional mountain town of Bear Creek, the big difference being that Bear Creek is a thousand feet higher in the mountains.
She is a member of Mystery Writers of American, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and is a board member of Public Safety Writers of America.
Facebook URL: Marilyn Meredith
Twitter: @marilynmeredith

Buy links for Seldom Traveled:





Sunday, April 14, 2019

Guest Post by M.J. Markovski Author of Whatever It Takes


I, Marija (Maria) Salapanov Carpenter writing as MJ Markovski began my journey of the fictional story of Whatever It Takes in 2015 after my husband at the time left not only left me but my children.
But the journey to writing seriously began in 2009/2010 when I became disabled from a major attack from multiple sclerosis (MS). The doctors thought at that time I would die but here I am. And the worst that had occurred was that I am in an electronic wheelchair for mobility. I view it as God’s way give me more time in writing.
I don’t allow my illness to define who I am.
In 2010 I completed my master’s in accounting, while recovering. I completed my first modern young adult fantasy novel later that year. Basically, related on Irish mythology and how the ancient race walks among us.
My daughter had just graduated kindergarten that year. And now she’s on the brink of finishing up her sophomore year in high school. And she is brilliant not only in science but in English as well.
I recovered quickly which had given me the time to write. And I had chosen young adult because teenagers are fearless, shy exploring the world of trying to become adults and fantasy because you can bend the rules within reason. The title to that book is Not Dark Enough.
A year later I wrote another young adult fantasy titled Worse Than Bad.
I would take writing courses in between to sharpen my craft. While writing my first novel, Not Dark Enough, I did find a critique partner who I still have currently. And I’ve written a couple short stories along the way. Have some ideas for other stories to create in the background. But always trying to find more time to write.

Here is a snippet from my book:
“Her heart dropped heavy like a brick. He wore a black -shirt, loose black slacks, and black boots. His eyes were dark with a tight smile.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, pushing away loose strands from her face. She glanced past him toward the exit, but she determined it was too far. The Tiffany motivated chandelier lights glowed faintly in this location. And there were plenty of little hideouts as well. If this guest planned on rape, murder, or other miscreant activities on his mind he’d cornered her in the perfect spot. The back of the hair on her neck stood straight up.”


In a nutshell I do love to create great stories that explore characters and their origins. Which is why I love to write complicated stories. On the surface Whatever It Takes is a Romantic Suspense/Thriller on the surface but it delves much deeper than that. The mind is such a complicated machine that even today we are still scratching the surface to understand the brain. Which was no surprise in my part what I would pick that genre as a storyteller.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guest on your blog. It has been my pleasure.

Here is a sample from her book:
Chapter One

Regan

More than five years had passed since Regan last walked into her brother’s rank and musty service open garage in Parker, Texas. Her stomach jittered at the manly smells—a mixture of gasoline, WD-40, brake parts cleaner, grease, welding smoke, and tires. Heavy metal pounded from old speakers, nearly drowning out the garage noises of a drill, distant traffic, and the light chirping of birds. It was just another Monday in a town where whispers during summer were as steamy as the day’s barometric reading. And in late June, the temperature climbed high, so those secrets would hang as heavy as a curtain. Her teeth clenched; she’d grown up in Parker and was accustomed to the mind games the locals played. There’s no way she’d have ever come back if she didn’t desperately need her family’s help. But if anyone could tell her how to deal with the mess she’d left behind in New York, how to navigate what she’d discovered, it was her brother, Theodore. She just hoped that this surprise wouldn’t blow up in her face. She’d been barely sixteen when she left for a full scholarship at New York University. Five years, after all, was a long time between visits home.
She peeked inside the service door, remembering that Theodore had a military mind and kept god-awful early morning hours. Before stepping through, she scanned the dimly lit shop, but she didn’t see her brother. Instead, she spotted a man with sapphire-tipped faux-hawk, standing on a small stepladder, bent over a monster pickup truck. Mr. Faux-Hawk’s shirtless arms displayed a jaw-dropping, hot-flash-inducing art canvas. Corded muscles flexed as he continued to tinker with the engine.
When Regan stepped onto the concrete floor of the garage, a chime rang. She observed a tattooed hand move, and with a click of a remote, the tunes lowered to a background hum.
“Can I help you?” He lifted his head from under the open hood and propped an elbow on the side of the newly-painted, black and silver frame. Predatory deep blue and purplish eyes bore into her, the long-feathered lashes, making them all the more menacing. Her breath caught. There was something disturbingly familiar about him. “Yeah—yes, I’m looking for Theodore.” Her voice echoed, too loud inside the open garage. She hid her fidgeting fingers behind her and clasped the bronze bracelet that did not quite cover the spidery scars littered from her elbow to wrist.
“Who’s asking?” The rolling timbre of rock-on-rock in his voice made her insides curl. He stepped down from the engine.
Her lips lifted in a slow smile. “Excuse me?” She was not the swooning type, even if he was dreamy. Okay, smoldering. Thank God she wasn’t tongue-tied around guys anymore.
They began a staring contest. His skin glowed like smooth copper. All hard angles and fierce planes, his face boasted a sharp blade of a nose and black-as-the-devil’s-heart eyebrows.
Regan gulped as she studied him. Oh, crap. It was Hunter Grainger. Boy, had he changed. But unfortunately for her, he’d only gotten hotter in the time since he’d broken her heart. Her pulse raced. In his presence, her tongue became knotted.
“Damn, Regan, you grew into those long legs.” His lips relaxed a bit, and they curved up in one corner. Then he winked.
Her smile faded. Warmth flooded her cheeks. From the smug look pasted on his face, he knew she had recognized him. Blinking seemed to break the spell she was under.
“Holy shit. Hunter Grainger?” She took a deep, unsteady breath. “What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He had an inappropriate asinine smile on his face and took a slight step back, pointing toward the engine.
She blushed hotter if that was even possible.
“Yes—yes—I can see you’re working. What I meant is...” She stretched her fingers and began again. “What I meant to say is, what are you doing back in Texas?”
The smirk settled in deeper. “I could ask you the same thing, but I don’t want to appear rude.”
“Rude?” her voice colored with anger. “You don’t want to appear rude? What about the time—”
She was not prepared for this. Not at all. She was a fool for not recognizing him immediately. Every girl had been in love with the bad boy, including her.
All the things she’d sworn she’d say if she ever ran into Hunter flew from her mind. Here he was, right in front of her as she’d so often imagined, and again she was at his mercy. She’d have kicked her own backside if she could.
He finally dropped his work tools back into the toolbox with a deliberate clank, then snatched the rag sitting on top.
“It’s complicated.”
She waited, but it was all the explanation he intended to offer.
In high school, her responses were one or two words. But now she was bolder with her speech and told others her piece of mind. Her choice of clothing reflected her personality—brightly colored shorts that molded to her body paired up with a snug top.
He stepped away from the side of the monster truck and strode with confidence toward Regan, rubbed his rag across his neck before he stopped in front of the monster truck. He leaned casually against the front fender, crossed his ankles, and stared right at her, daring her to say something.
She had a purpose in coming here and again asked about her brother. “So, where’s Theodore?” Trying to avoid Hunter’s eyes, her gaze went to the high-end Italian sports cars neatly lined in the front to the left of the monster truck. Further back, she could see bays with more cars.
Her head snapped back to that damn rag, now clutched between his tattooed knuckles. It drew her gaze to his sculpted chest and downward to his chiseled abs. However, his abs did not hide the horrible scar across the length of his ribs. She didn’t look away fast enough before he cocked his hips toward her.
“So, I couldn’t help noticing you were checking out the goods.” He said it with a lazy smile, winding the rag between his knuckles.
“Which goods are you referring to?” She slipped a glance at him, and he flexed his biceps. He had an array of tattoos on his arms, and her gaze stopped at the large scorpion on his right hand. The extended tail fished down, making the loop to the R on his ring finger inked across his four knuckles that spelled out CROW. “Maybe it’s time for you to get another tattoo.”
He did a half twist showing an outline of wings beginning between his shoulder blades and finishing down the back. “Already there. Try again.” He raised one eyebrow and slightly tucked in his chin when her mouth made a small ‘O’ of surprise. He flashed her a smile.
She tried to recover by crossing her arms and taking a step back, but she stumbled over a wrench. He grabbed her arm. Had he not, she would’ve fallen. She shivered when he pulled her up close against him.
His eyebrows scrunched, and his voice lowered. “Tell me why you came back.” He breathed his words against her face.
Thoughts of her job as a clerk for a law firm back in New York, of the treacherous secret she’d discovered there, flittered across her mind. The phone calls, the threats. She shuddered and dismissed it. There was no way she would utter that to anyone, least of all to Hunter Grainger. Instead, she focused on the questions Hunter hadn’t answered about her brother. “Family,” she said. “I returned because I’m big on family passion. I mean affairs.”
Dammit. She should’ve worn thicker patting on the cut still healing. It had begun forming a scab on her right side of her hip. She forced herself to keep smiling, to hide her embarrassment.
His gaze dipped down and ran back up the length of her body. Her spine tingled, and it felt like it might burst out of her skin.
“Passion, you say.”



Marija Salapanov Carpenter writing as MJ Markovski was born in Detroit, Michigan to Macedonian immigrant parents, raised very sheltered, and then moved to Arizona for college. Ended up staying in Tucson.

Two words to remember her by are tenacious and complicated.
The journey to writing Whatever It Takes series came to her not only in a form of a dream but also when her husband at the time left her and her children. They had been together since she was eighteen.

But her journey to writing seriously began 2009/2010 when she became disabled from a major attack from multiple sclerosis. Doctors thought at that time she would Die but here she is, and the worst of it was she is currently in an electric wheelchair for mobility. For now. She views it as God’s way for her to have more time in writing.

She doesn’t allow her illness to define her.

MJ loves stories that explore characters and origins. It thrills her to get inside their minds and find out what makes them tick. That’s why she loves writing third person limited because it’s intimate. What if on the surface a person comes up to them you think one character views him as granite steel emotions but he truly speaks in his mind is actually passionate and driven but you can’t see that on the outside you’ll find it out till Chapter Five but his actions show it? She loves the weave stories with their theme another fuel for her many books to come forth. Angst, passion, romance, (she’s a romantic at heart but don’t tell anyone that) and suspense/thriller.

MJ graduated with her Masters from the University of Phoenix in Accounting. She’s worked with government contractor as a Financial Accountant as well as an advisor for taxes. She ran a small business of doing taxes for family and friends for a while in the early 2000’s then stopped because of the MS exasperation that landed her in the hospital. But when she retained her health, she put that business aside and she began seriously writing. That self-run business reignited her passion in her writing and to help others as well when the opportunity comes to help other fellow writers.

MJ enjoys spending time with her family and friends when she can, loves reading, watching a movie once in a great while with her daughter, spending some time outside (when it’s cool and not in the heat of Arizona) life is full of complications but every morning getting up in writing with her vitamin smoothies and coffee is a perfect start of the day. www.mjmarkovski.com






Sunday, April 7, 2019

Guest Post by Albert A. Bell, Jr. : Death by Armoire



I have been reading mysteries since I was in seventh grade. I started with the inevitable Hardy Boys and Perry Mason. At some point I picked up a Nancy Drew. Yeah, I know, teenaged boy reading a book aimed at girls. But I read Little Women, too. And I will admit, in public for the first time, that I cried when Beth died.

Over the years I have read all kinds of mysteries, but my favorites have always tended to be the cozies. They involve an amateur sleuth, preferably a woman, who investigates a murder which the police don’t think is a murder. They’re set in a knitting store, a library, a bakery, or some other environment that we usually associate with women. The Hallmark Channel now offers a series of such stories, although I don’t think we’ll be seeing any more of Lori Laughlin’s “Garage Sale” movies. There are an amazing number of these cozy mysteries available today. I may offend some readers by saying that I do not like ones where cats, dogs, or ghosts help to solve the mystery.

I had already published several books in a series of mysteries set in ancient Rome when I decided to write a cozy, set in an antique store. Death by Armoire was inspired by memories of my grandfather’s antique/used furniture store in a small town in South Carolina. Maureen Cooper is a ghost-writer, penning books for celebrities. She likes that quiet, below-the-radar life. Then she learns that her ex-husband, Troy, has been found dead in the store, crushed by a large armoire that apparently tipped over him. It’s ruled an accidental death. But someone breaks into the store and goes through the armoire and other pieces of furniture that came from the same set. What were they looking for? Was Troy’s death really accidental?

As she tries to answer those two questions Maureen uncovers secrets about her family and her hometown that change her whole outlook on who she is. She has a dog, Pepper, who was Troy’s support dog, but he offers no help in solving the case.

When I was finished with the book I wasn’t looking forward to the whole process of finding a publisher. It can take a couple of years to get through that ordeal. I’m lucky to have an excellent publisher for my Roman mystery series in Perseverance Press, but they’re small and did not have room for another title in their list. I decided to do something I’ve often criticized people for: I self-published the book. It had gone through the vetting process of my writers’ group and a friend who is a free-lance editor, so it wasn’t as though no one had worked on it.

Once the book was published, I saw a notice about Writers’ Digest’s contest for self-published books. I entered Death by Armoire and WON the genre fiction category. I’m waiting for movie offers and other sorts of acclaim to come my way. Surely, soon.

You can find more information about this book and my other books at my website: www.albertbell.wixsite.com/writer.



Death by Armoire by Albert Bell Jr.
Excerpt

I love everything about my house, but the one part that I would never give up is the front porch. The builders of big old Southern houses like mine, which goes back to 1887, understood the importance of a porch. My house, a joyously gaudy Queen Anne, faces east, with a huge magnolia tree and an ancient oak—and thus very little grass—in the yard, and the porch runs across the front and halfway back along both sides. On the south side there’s a large swing mounted from the ceiling.
At the northeast corner the porch bulges out to create a circular area where I have a table and chairs, the same table and chairs my mother had when I was a little girl growing up here.
Because of the conical shape of the roof over this area and the black shingles, I dubbed it the Witch’s Hat when I was a child, and the name stuck. It’s the perfect place to eat breakfast on a summer morning, as I did so many times as a child, as I did with my children, and as I was about to do now.
But now everything’s different. My children are grown, my mother died eight years ago, my father a year after that, and my cheating ex-husband Troy died a week ago.
As I arranged my breakfast on the table, Troy’s companion dog Pepper trotted up the steps and plopped down on his haunches next to me. I gave him the extra slices of bacon I had fixed, and they disappeared in two gulps. Pepper is a five-year-old Gordon Setter. Everybody thinks he’s named Pepper because of his color—the black that’s typical for a Gordon—but his name is actually short for Sgt. Pepper, after Troy’s favorite Beatles’ album.
Neither of my children can have a dog in their apartments—and Pepper’s too large for their apartments anyway—so I had to take him in. Gordon Setters are known for their loyalty and good nature. Pepper actually excels Troy in both those categories, but we’re still trying to figure out our relationship. I’ve never been a pet person.
My cell phone rang and I cursed myself for putting the thing on the tray when I came out here. Force of habit. It was my agent, Dave Siegler. I wasn’t sure whether he was calling about the book I was supposed to have finished this week or about the proposal he emailed to me on the day Troy died. We had talked once earlier in the week, when I called to tell him about Troy’s death, but we hadn’t discussed business, of course. I guessed he had waited as long as a New York agent could contain himself.




Albert Bell

Albert A. Bell, Jr discovered his love for writing in high school, with his first publication in 1972. Although he considers himself a “shy person,” he believes he is a storyteller more than a literary artist. He says, “When I read a book I’m more interested in one with a plot that keeps moving rather than long descriptive passages or philosophical reflection.” He writes books he would enjoy reading himself.

A native of South Carolina, Dr. Bell has taught at Hope College in Holland, Michigan since 1978, and, from 1994 - 2004 served as Chair of the History Department. He holds a PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as an MA from Duke and an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to psychologist Bettye Jo Barnes Bell; they have four children and two grandsons Bell is well-known for the historical mysteries of the series, Cases from the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger. Corpus Conundrum, third of the series, was a Best Mystery of the year from Library Journal. The Secret of the Lonely Grave, first in the series of Steve and Kendra Mysteries for young people, won a Mom’s Choice Silver Medal and the Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Award.