Friday, April 30, 2021

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Finding Home Mystery Series by Barbara Howard-GUEST POST

 


Final Harvest
Finding Home Book 1
by Barbara Howard
Genre: Mystery


Traci Simmons has been fired from another job and must decide if it’s time to give up her home and start fresh in another town. But, when her elderly neighbor dies mysteriously, she is pulled into leading a crusade to save the neighbor’s urban farm and find the killer. Through her new and unexpected relationship with these invisible people, Traci faces her own insecurities to learn what home really means.

Backdrop: Homelessness, anxiety, food insecurity, gentrification.


**Only .99 cents!!**





Charlotte's Revenge
Finding Home Book 2


This is a continuation of the story of Traci Simmons. Her relationship with Officer Randall Wells unfolds and they embark on a new life together. As things get serious, someone from their past designs a scheme to ruin both of their lives. The suspense heats up as Randall becomes a target of the evil Charlotte Carter and it almost destroys his career. And, if that were not bad enough, his love and loyalty to Traci is put to the ultimate test.




Milo's Journey
Finding Home Book 3


With Traci in his corner, Milo has surmounted every challenge to become a rising star in Faucier County. His journey to success engenders hope to thousands of young people throughout the community. But when a cold case is reopened, it shatters everything he believes about himself and threatens to dismantle his relationships and his new life.




Barbara Howard is a "not-so-cozy" mystery and YA author of a dozen books, including her most recent trilogy, Finding Home Mystery Series; Final Harvest, Charlotte's Revenge, and Milo's Journey. Stories with drama without the trauma, crime without the grime. She is a first generation tech geek turned master gardener with a passion for fresh air, vegan cuisine, and tracing her roots. A big city girl with a small town heart, she returned to her family home in the Midwest after an extensive career as a Department of Defense Project Manager at the Pentagon and spends most of her time treasure hunting, spoiling her fur-babies, growing veggies and raising chickens.
She has also published a collection of books on food-related topics, food safety, and heirloom recipe cookbooks under the pen name, Arlene Lee.

Memberships/Affiliations: Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Sisters in Crime (SinC)



GUEST POST

People have asked me about the origin of the story and characters. I appreciate the opportunity to share a bit about that. I was inspired by my observations of people in different cities and small towns where I have lived and especially how they were committed to family and community. I have mental snapshots of towns where I’ve travelled, and I also have old black and white photographs for inspiration. I give names to all the streets, neighborhoods, stores, schools, etc. based on some ancestral research. So, some of the imaginary places have a personal connection for me. There are sounds, landmarks and landscapes that place the reader in the exact spot with the characters. I endeavor to capture all the senses in each scene.

My characters evolve as I throw them into conflict throughout the plot. Randall Wells is a favorite of mine. I think I relate closely to him because I am very protective of the important people in my life. By the third book in the series, Milo’s Journey, Jules is my favorite because of her quiet presence and she inspires Milo to make one of the biggest decisions in his life. The librarian is the true hero in Final Harvest, as many are in real life.

`Barbara Howard


Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon
 

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Time's Relative by Debbie DeLouise-GUEST POST

 


Time's Relative
by Debbie DeLouise
Genre: Time Travel Thriller


It’s the fall of 1998, and librarian Samantha Stewart is looking for a new job. After seeing an ad for a high-paying position at a company called Virtual Software that entails research and travel, Sam investigates the company and learns that its president has gone missing, and that it’s currently being run by the vice-president Greg Parsons.

Before Sam makes it to the interview, she's visited by a strange woman who introduces herself as Jane Oldsfield: a time traveler whose mission Greg Parsons is trying to prevent.

Sam ignores the woman and goes on the job interview anyway. Soon, she finds herself involved not only with Greg Parsons, but also Philip Montmart, a chain-smoking detective with a vendetta for his wife’s killer, and the time-traveling Oldsfield and her feline accomplice.

Witnessing world events that have yet to happen in her lifetime, including 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, Y2K hysteria and the COVID pandemic, can Samantha figure out Oldsfield's plans?





Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters-in-Crime, and the Cat Writer’s Association. She has a BA in English and an MLS in Library Science from Long Island University. Her seven published novels include the 4 books of her Cobble Cove cozy mystery series: A Stone's Throw, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Written in Stone, and Love on the Rocks, her paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, her mystery thriller Reason to Die, and her latest psychological mystery, Sea Scope. She also published a romantic comedy novella featuring a jewel heist caper, When Jack Trumps Ac. Debbie has also written articles and short stories for several anthologies of various genres. She is currently querying agents to represent the first book of a new cozy mystery series. She lives on Long Island with her husband, daughter, and three cats.



GUEST POST

A Lot of Things Happen in 20 years

By Debbie De Louise

While trying to write a guest post for the blog tour of my new time-travel novel, Time’s Relative, I started thinking about the book and how I began it in 1998, put it away, and then discovered it twenty-two years later when cleaning up during the lockdown. I realized that, during that time, many things had occurred in my life. I began to mentally list them.

The best thing that happened, besides my daughter being born in 2014, is that I’d gone on to publish ten books (Time’s Relative is my eleventh) and dozens of short stories, articles, and even a bunch of poems.

There were many other occurrences during that time, however, that weren’t so great. I lost several loved ones, both my parents and my mother-in-law, as well as the two cats who were in the book and another one I got later. I also lost two friends, one who died way too young from a rare disease and one who caught COVID and died last spring.

I’m sure if you recall what your life was like in 1998, you’d also recall some bad and good things that happened to you since then. Now imagine that you could go back and change some of those things. Would you want to? How do you think those changes would have affected your present life?

In my book, the detective investigating Virtual Software and its missing president, gets an opportunity to return to the day his wife was murdered. His decision to try to save her, regarding warnings not to tamper with the past, has serious ramifications.

The main character, Samantha Stewart, known by all as Sam, not only transports to the past but also to the near future. What she sees about upcoming events, may or may not come to pass. Later in the book, she is able to view world events, as well as personal ones, including 9/11 and the pandemic. I added this information when I updated the book.

I hope you will enjoy Time’s Relative and its look back over the last twenty-two years.


Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon


Thursday, April 29, 2021

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Tell Me You Love by Kathleen Stone

 


Tell Me You Love Me
by Kathleen Stone
Genre: Contemporary Fiction


What would you sacrifice to protect someone you love?

In 1965 April Toulane’s life is turned upside down on her fifth birthday when her mother marries a man she’s known for only two weeks. The life she’d known is forever changed with the addition of a stepfather and a five-year-old stepbrother who terrorizes her on a daily basis. After a family tragedy the young siblings are thrust into the Hollywood spotlight, surrounded by people whose very foundation is based on secrets and lies. Struggling to grow up and find their way in a world where child stars are forever manipulated and exploited, the siblings form an unbreakable bond vowing to always protect each other when the adults entrusted to take care of them fail at every turn. “Tell Me You Love Me” is the story of April and Auggie Fairbanks, the most sought after faces in show business throughout the sixties and seventies, maneuvering their way through the lies and corruption to learn the truth about their parents and searching for the love and acceptance they so desperately crave.






Kathleen has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails.com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is the author of the award-winning novel Whispers On A String, the Head Case Rock Novel Series (Head Case, Whiplash and Haven) and Tell Me You Love Me. She also has short stories published in the Secrets: Fact or Fiction I & II anthologies.






Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!


Swag Pack (WW)



*Book Tour & Giveaway* Dusk & Dawn Series by Alexa Piper-GUEST POST

 


The Hunter's Bride
Dusk & Dawn Book 1
by Alexa Piper
Genre: M/F & M/M Paranormal Romance, Mystery, RomCom


Falling in love with your boss is never easy, especially if he’s a vampire.

Maxim, tall, whimsical, and a vampire, wants to hire a curator for his art collection. Robyn, a newly minted art historian looking for a job, loves fine art and old stuff, and Maxim soon realizes she is not just perfect for the job, but also for him.

Robyn never liked prejudices against vampires, werewolves, or Fae, but the moment she starts working for a vampire, things appear less black and white, especially when she begins to fall for her new boss.

Robyn and Maxim’s young love will have to overcome odds and odd vampires who take issue with the fact that Maxim happens to be a vampire hunter who doesn’t shy away from decapitating his own kind.





The Hunting Party
Dusk & Dawn Book 2


Getting married isn’t easy, and a series of creative murders doesn’t help.

Maxim would love nothing more than to marry the woman he loves, in peace and without distractions, but a series of uncanny murders in the hunter’s city demands his attention.

Meanwhile, Heath is excited to plan Maxim’s and Robyn’s wedding. While he does that, he will have to learn to make time for his own budding relationship with Brian.

When Robyn’s bachelorette party ends in more murder, no one is happy. Yet all are willing to combine their efforts to end the bloodshed for good, so the wedding can be had, along with a happily-ever-after.





The Hunting Mates
Dusk & Dawn Book 3


Gordon and Orrin, vampire and wolf... Is their love impossible, or inevitable?

In New Amsterdam, supernaturals and humans live side by side. That doesn’t mean there are no borders or boundaries within supernatural society. Orrin works to save the living as an NA police detective, and Gordon labors to do right by the dead as a medical examiner. Fear and insecurity foiled their first attempt at a potential relationship. Now, they find themselves pulled to one another once more by a string of gruesome murders.

Prejudice and social conventions don’t make life easy for them, and their own insecurities don’t help. Will they dare to allow love between them while they work side by side to stop a violent murderer?
WARNING: This book contains mentions of violence/assault against minors and animal cruelty though neither are graphically portrayed.





The Hunter's Mummy
Dusk & Dawn Book 4


Even vampire hunters should be allowed a break, but murder makes the French countryside less scenic.

Ravelle is looking forward to being back in France. All she wants is to have wine with her daughter-in-law, catch up with an old vampire acquaintance, and get closer to Yanis, who is a breath of fresh air to Ravelle. She is not looking forward to working, and a seasoned vampire hunter like Ravelle should be granted a simple, quiet vacation.

Yet the hunter soon smells murder on the air, and where there’s murder, there is a corpse, and where there's a tenderly wrapped corpse, there tends to be a crime, in Ravelle’s experience. So rather than pursuing wine, Ravelle will have to solve all the mummy's mysteries.






The Detective's Mate
Dusk & Dawn Book 5


Werewolf Orrin and vampire Gordon want to enjoy their love, but a serial killer threatens the peace.

Orrin and Gordon come from different worlds: Orrin is a werewolf with the New Amsterdam Police, and Gordon is a vampire who likes the quiet of his morgue. Yet, they decided to be with one another even though Orrin’s vampire was at first afraid to commit.

Now, new complications come barreling at the two when Orrin realizes he will have to step up to become a parent to an orphan shifter, while New Amsterdam has become the haunt of a serial killer who targets mixed supernatural and human couples.

Gordon was slow to realize he loves his werewolf mate, but it takes him even longer to figure out he still has his own demons to deal with. A past hurt has left a scar on his soul. Gordon’s werewolf detective might just be what Gordon needs to heal the scars from his past. The only question is whether geeky Gordon is enough for serious and seriously handsome Orrin.

Together with Maxim, New Amsterdam’s bardic vampire hunter, Orrin and Gordon are on the case to save the city from sinking into fear and panic as more murders challenge the peace. Through turmoil and death, Orrin and Gordon must find a way forward.

NOTE: This book contains scenes of assault and kidnapping that may be triggers for some readers.







Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. Alexa loves writing stories that make her readers laugh and fall in love with the characters in them. Connect with Alexa on Facebook or Instagram, follow her on Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter!



GUEST POST

 Author Interview:

Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

Hi! My name is Alexa Piper, and I write paranormal romance books that have been known to make people laugh out loud in public. Some stories I write are downright dark though, and if those make you laugh, I compliment you on a singular sense of humor. I started writing fantasy and science fiction several years back and then later branched out into romance. With several series out now, it gives me room to let my characters grow and experience more, which is a lot of fun for me to write about.



What is something unique/quirky about you?

Orchids seem to like me. I've been known to get even the lost causes to bloom.



What are some of your pet peeves?

I am a terribly picky reader. If I don't like something about a book, if it's not well written, I can't go on. The more I write, the more critical I become of all media I consume, so I tend to spend time on only things that I really enjoy. Frees more time for making my own stories.



Where were you born/grew up at?

Aw, I love to let people guess, so I cannot give that away! A lot of the time, they guess wrong.



If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?

Like I spend a relaxing Sunday: some reading, connecting with friends, take a day trip to a pretty city maybe.



Who is your hero and why?

Whichever person in a room full of people speaks out when they see something wrong happening.



What kind of world ruler would you be?

Benevolent Dictator Squid because squids are awesome, and they have many arms. (Being a squid isn't against the rules, is it?)



What are you passionate about these days?

Do not waste my time. No, really; don't.



What do you do to unwind and relax?

Sleep, have coffee, make pancakes (and eat them.) And I cannot do all of them at the same time, which is a shame.



Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

...Benevolent Dictator Squid?



When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I sold a poem for actual money.



Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?

All of them! And they would be R-rated and full of great acting and well-made special effects, because my Fae need to look shiney.



What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

I went to the Whiskey Museum in Dublin. That counts, right?



As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Benevolent Dictator Squid.



What inspired you to write this series?

The first book was the kind of story that just hits you over the head, nearly fully formed. I wrote it in ten days or so, that's how badly it wanted to be on the page. Even now, there are situations that I see playing out in my head like a movie, and they are usually these hilarious character moments. In the second book, when, uhm, in spoiler-free terms, when Heath puts his foot down before the big highlight event in that book, that was one of those scenes. There are just so many characters in this universe that I love to bits, even if I feel that as an author, it is my sacred responsibility to keep an open mind about possibly having very, very bad things happen to them. (Then I remember I am a Benevolent Dictator Squid, and I try being real nice, but as a result the goat had to die in book 2. Go read it, it'll make sense. Probably.)



What can we expect from you in the future?

More books. In my Fairview Chronicles series, I seem to have discovered the lovely niche of furniture porn since one of my characters is a desk who is very horny all the time, so more of that, but just more books in general. (Since I have not said the word squid in a while, I would like to point out that I have a book with a kraken demon in it, and he doesn't just use his tentacles for tickling, if you catch my drift. It's called Loved by a Kraken. Check it out!)



Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in your Dusk & Dawn series?

Sure! There's Maxim, the bardic vampire hunter who loves a pun. Clement is a household guardian called a Lar who spent some time as a poltergeist and is a bit of a misanthrope. Gordon is a forensic pathologist, and one item on his bucket list is probably to dye his hair in all the colors of the rainbow, though I don't know if he has a bucket list. Oh, and if you are into really evil characters, Laurenzio dazzles in all the ways he is despicable. I'm sure there are also level-headed characters who simply have a plan and can handle stressful situations like unwrapping mummies and things, but it looks like I forgot all about them.



What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I want to know what happens next! I may have a somewhat better idea of that than the reader, but I only find out when I sit down and write it, and that is really the best part!



Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?

Obviously, they all want world peace. After all, I made them in my image, I, your Benevolent Dictator Squid.



Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

I write furniture porn, and there is no denying it, not since the desk had that wet dream about a foursome on top of it.



Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I know that whenever someone picks up a book from a new author, it's like an advance in trust. I'm grateful, and I'll do my best to earn it! To returning readers: thanks for buying another ticket! I hope you enjoy this ride as much as you did the last!



Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

They invade my imagination, and a lot of the time, they don't ever leave.



Advice they would give new authors?

You must practice. Writing is like any craft; it can be learned, but it takes repetition and the strength to handle rejection--a lot of rejection--to improve. And let me stress again: you must practice, meaning, sit down and write.



What makes a good story?

Beginning, middle, end.



What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first? What are common traps for aspiring writers?

I'm a pantser, aka discovery writer. This means I just sit down and write the story as it comes to me. It took me some time to realize this, because a lot of writing advice focuses on outlining. I think that advice is useful, but in my case, I had to give myself permission to just enjoy the process of telling the story, and outlining robbed me of that joy.



If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Write more!




Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon gift card,
ebook of A Taste of Magic (Fairview Chronicles #1)
ebook of The Hunter's Bride (Dusk & Dawn #1)
ebook of Holiday Magic (Elvenswood Tales #1)
- 1 winner each! 


*Book Tour & Giveaway* Chocolate Raspberry Magic by Tena Stetler

 


Chocolate Raspberry Magic
One Scoop Or Two
by Tena Stetler
Genre: Paranormal Romance


When magic is unleashed, will what they learn bring them closer together or push them apart?

Prim and proper Trinity Shilo is the assistant manager for Salem's Wildlife Sanctuary. She hasn't had much luck in the boyfriend department, but the new employee Paul is different. Deep and brooding she sees something special hidden below the surface. Besides she has secrets of her own.

Paul Thorp is a wounded Special Forces veteran now working in security and computer support. He's fought hard to keep his demons in check and for the first time feels he is ready for a real relationship.

When a fire breaks out at Puffin Cove Rescue they are called in to help with the recovery and ice cream social fundraiser. Sometimes things are not what they seem, and neither are people. When magic is unleashed will what they learn bring them closer together or push them apart?






With the majestic Rocky Mountains just outside the window, I sit at my computer with vampires,demons, witches, faeries, and a variety of paranormal creatures gathered around telling me their stories! That makes me an author of paranormal romance novels and cozy mysteries with magic spark. The everyday world is mundane, but sprinkle a little magic and you have fantastic!
Colorado is home. I share my life with a wonderful husband of many moons, our brilliant Chow Chow, a terribly spoiled companion parrot, and a forty-year-old box turtle. We enjoy hiking, biking, and camping, also love water sports including kayaking and whitewater rafting, especially on the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge.
Another passion of mine is reading a good novel. You can find me any winter evening curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate, and a big bowl of popcorn. While growing up, if I didn’t like the ending of a book, I’d rewrite it, which led to writing my own books.
Reluctantly, I discovered that in real life it’s tough to rewrite an ending.






Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon giftcard – 2 winners! 


*Book Tour & Giveaway* A Beast So Beautiful by Carlyle LaBuschagne-GUEST POST

 


A Beast So Beautiful
by Carlyle LaBuschagne
Genre: Dark Fantasy


A darkness falls over the land when the Queen of Rurith dies.

Consumed with grief, King Ivar blames their son, Prince Leif, for her demise, and locks him away in the castle.

The Prince is left in total despair, until a girl, with hair the colour of a red sunset and green eyes shows him mercy.

For six years she visits him in secret, giving him hope where none existed before.

But Ruith hides many treacherous things that threaten to bring the Kingdom to its knees.

Until the Prince and his beastly curse are released.





Carlyle is a USA Today Bestselling, international bestselling and international award winning South African author – with a flair and passion for mixing genres, adding loads of drama to every story she creates. Carlyle has traveled the world with her books in hopes of connecting with all kinds of book loving people, to learn as much as she can from other book cultures with the hopes of bringing the knowledge back to her home country.

Her goal as an author is to touch people’s lives, and help others love their differences and one another by delivering strong messages of faith, love and hope within every outrageous world she writes about.
Carlyle uses writing as a healing tool, and that is why she has started her very own writers support event – SAIR Book Festival.

Founder of SAIR Book Festival
Co- Founder of Fire Quill Publishing.
Founder of Help build a library in South Africa.



GUEST POST

What inspired you to write this book?

My publisher wanted a certain type of book from me to fit into the trend , but after three years it was always something I needed to spend a lot of time on , contemplation, musing and trying to write for the wrong reasons didn’t work for me. My stories have to come from a hidden, scary, and philosophical , mind-bending, and most importantly a profound place inside of me.

We releases a boxset themed forbidden love , and I transformed that book into the idea I wanted it to be, at first it was a short story but once I got my rights back I fell into a big dark place where creativeness went to die. As a newborn Christian I surrendered this book to God and just like that I was in love and the concept, characters and theme came out that Ive been hiding for a long time. But it was the right time – I can only hope.


What can we expect from you in the future?

OH gosh I have so many series I have not finished , but first I will do the follow up of A Beast so Beautiful. Now that book will be super exciting to write.


Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

The broken diaries is a small spin off from The broken novel and a short story about another characters point of view.


Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in A Beast so Beautiful

King Ivor is an ass, drunk woman and child beater. He is bitter and revengeful on his prince Leif blaming him for the death of Rurith Kingdoms Queen.


Prince Leif has been locked up in a tower for six years after discovering his mothers corpse.

He was created by magic as the king could not produce a male heir.

But magic came at a cost and Prince Leif is half human half something else.


Avelyn is the redheaded beauty taken in by the kingdom to marry the prince. For six years she secretly visits the prince in his tower. She is spirited, direct and a problem solver.


How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

They live in my head!!


Where did you come up with the names in the story?

They live in my head!


What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Creating characters and worlds and conflict and drama and doomed fates along with tortured lovers.


Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?

Ivor – to avenge his wife’s death. Expose his son for the beast he is and steal away his bride as payback.

Prince Leif wants to rule the kingdom with trust loyalty with Avelyn at his side.

Avelyn is driven by seeing Prince Leif take the crown, and because she was tricked into marrying the cruel king seeks out a secret affair with the love of her life. Pushing him towards overthrowing his father.


Who designed your book covers? CHBB publishing – Rebecca Poole


If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Put more humor in it.


Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Yes to look out for details and got to learn more about the English tenses and sentence structures as I am not English myself I learn more with each book.


If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Charlie hunnam

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Without them I would be far from my dreams and leaving my healing words to the masses.


How did you come up with name of this book?

Book titles come easily to me. They just pop in my head. And as the beast has morals and a big heart he is beautiful inside and out.

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

Most of the male leads I pull the ethics and ways and inspiration from my husband – who we have been together since high school and everyday he surprises me with his dedication , his sacrifices and his selflessness.


Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

Oh no we have a lot of fights, but Ive learned to lose control (probably the only time in my life this happens) and let them come and flow and be.


Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

It’s a faced pace story, a reverse Beauty and the beast that meets Game of thrones – fight for the crown.

Forbidden love

Royal feuds.

An ancient magic that will bring the kingdom to its knees.

I know in my heart that my passion, dedication and prayers for this book , took a lot of putting myself out there will show in my writing. Because readers can feel the energy and truth in the author’s writing.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

I have written Into the Night my prequel to Dead of night my dystopian romance . It is about 70 percent done.

If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?

Vanilla  


Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Paypal Cash