Dark Streets Shineth, a Christmas murder mystery

 

Dark Streets Shineth, a Say a Prayer whodunit
Clare Revell
PBGroup Holiday Extravaganza novella, December 1, 2020, 102 pp
 
Buy on Amazon 
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Ebook Currently on sale for 99 cents
 
About the Book
YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT. YOU'D BETTER NOT CRY. SANTA CLAUS IS GOING TO DIE...DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six week assignment isn't helping his mood either—as it means Christmas with the family. Only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.
DC Isabel York loves Christmas. So much so that she decorates her desk with lights, tinsel, and a novelty advent calendar. When her boss is called away, his replacement is the last person she's expecting to see—her fledgling boyfriend.

In the middle of a nasty case, Isabel is nevertheless determined to show Boaz the real meaning of Christmas. The only problem is that work and pleasure just don't mix—at least not according to him.
 
My Review
I loved these characters throughout the Say a Prayer series. They’re intentional short segments of murder investigations at a particular police station in England. They are well-researched and populated with all-too-real people. Isabel hasn’t been a DC all that long, but her intuition and ability to connects dots has had other officers in her department…shall we say jealous? While most of the problem people were shifted around to other departments or fired, a few officers are still afraid of her and try to make her life miserable. Things get a little worse when their favorite boss  has a family emergency and the temp is a grinch. Not just a grinch but the fellow who Isabel had started dating prior to his new assignment. The new temp, Boaz, walks in on an already-in-progress murder investigation. Someone is killing store Santas, and as it’s Isabel’s case, she’s in charge, much to the chagrin of the remaining problem parties in the department. Isabel’s got a lot to deal with this Christmas amid a boyfriend who hates her favorite time of year, numbskulls who whine at work even as Isabel continues to develop her self-confidence on the job, and a morgue filling up with bodies. Where can a person find a cup of Christmas cheer with all this mayhem?
 
Join the party as Isabel and Zander and their new friend, Boaz, take on the holi-craze. Told through Isabel and Boaz’s eyes, this holiday romantic thriller is just the perfect bite-size book for a take-me-away moment this Christmas.
 
About the Author
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology. The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

Clare Revell and Christmas Time in London Town

 

Christmas Time in London Town
Clare Revell
PBGBooks Passport to Romance novella, December 1, 2020, 95 pp.
Buy on Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Ebook Currently on sale for 99 cents

About the Book
Needing a change of pace, elementary school teacher Kelly Seda accepts the school exchange position and flies from Ottawa to London. Exchanging jobs and houses for a year, he and six-year-old daughter Wendy have a less than a day to adjust before starting work.

Single mum Staci Kirk has carved out a life for herself and her young son Tommy. Fiercely independent and self-reliant, she's found a good place where she can settle in but she's all too aware that happily ever after applies only to other people—or to the fictional characters in the romance books she writes.

The arrival of Tommy's new teacher, also her next door neighbor, threatens to upset Staci's carefully balanced apple cart but she knows it's only a matter of time before Kelly packs his bags and flies back to Canada. No sense in starting anything she can't finish.

However, life is never as simple as it is in her novels, and when the worst happens, there is only one person she can rely on to help.

My Review

Revell’s newest addition to her impressive catalog of inspirational fiction is a lovely story of two single parents meeting in a most unusual manner. When a Canadian teacher is given a last-second opportunity as an exchange teacher in London, England, he’s quick to say yes, even though it uproots his fragile six-year-old daughter and distances them from his travel-reluctant mother at Christmas. Ending up next door to Staci who’s raising five-year-old Tommy is an answer to prayers Kelly hadn’t thought to make. Staci is a self-sufficient writer, able single parent, and content to quietly raise her child in peace. She’s not looking for complications of any kind—certainly not of the heart, as in potentially giving hers to a man who’s only in town for a few months.

The short but intense romance develops quickly. When you know, you know about love. But Kelly is on temporary assignment, and falling in love just can’t be an option. Can it… Even though they match in every way, how can either of them risk their hearts or children’s hopes? It romance and sight-seeing in London Town for Christmas. Told though both Kelly and Staci’s viewpoints, the reader is charmed by their respectful, emotional stories.

About the Author
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology. The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

Hairlarious Dog Tails with Sharon Kleve

 

Hairlarious Dog Tails

SRK Productions, December 6, 2020,107 pp
Amazon $1.99 and Print $20.33

About the Book
Hairlarious Dog Tails is full of tantalizing trivia and tidbits, doggy-puns, and plenty of puppy facts, this dog-o-pedia is essential reading for dog lovers everywhere. You'll learn about all sorts of dogs, breeds, characters, and more!

It’s a beautiful tabletop book packed with amazing photographs and fun facts, dog owners and fans will get an in-depth look at these curious, lovable canines.

Paws up if you love everything about dogs, from their irrepressible cheeriness to their slobbery tongues.

My review
Similar to its companion “cat tails” book released in November of 2020, Hairlarious Dog Tails offers fun facts, gorgeous photos, and personal memories of the canine contingency of pets. From doggy IQs to that special ability to hunt a specific scent, to several pages of Doggy Puns sure to make you howl with giggles (I’m guilty of using dog-gone-it a lot; my favorite is “Happy Howlidays.”)

Included with the lovely photographs of every type of pooch possible are fun quotes from Marilyn Monroe and Groucho Marx to Mark Twain and Charles DeGaulle (“The better I get to know men…”).

If you want to know what it means when a dog wags its tail to the right, play a new family trivia game at your next gathering, or just become smarter, get this luscious book.

About the Author
Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband and two cats. When not writing, and working full-time, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cats and a good book or in the kitchen making baking sourdough bread or bagels.

Sharon is a multi-published author of contemporary romance published in eBook, paperback, on audio and translated into foreign languages. She has written New Adult and Romantic Suspense, but what brings her the most joy is writing Romantic Comedies.

She loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve--with a few laughs and maybe a few bumps and bruises along the way.

Hairlarious Cat Tails with Sharon Kleve

 

Hairlarious Cat Tails
SRK Productions, November 18, 2020,108 pp
Amazon $1.99 and Print $20.33

About the Book
Hairlarious Cat Tails makes a beautiful table top book filled with creative insights and beautiful images. It provides a much-desired glimpse into the minds of our most mysterious of loved ones--cats.

What makes cats climb into tiny spaces? Why do they sleep that much? And, most of all, how can we give them a good life? They may seem low-maintenance but thoughtfulness about where you put their water, how warm or cool they like to be, what name to choose and how to groom them properly will make a life-changing difference.

With understanding, affection and respect, your cat will be healthier and very content. I don’t know about you, but that makes me very happy…

My review

From the calming, healing effect of a cat’s purr to the hunting instinct to terrible puns (my favorite is “hiss”terical), Kleve’s very sweet picture book of cats will surely please all feline fans. 

Essentially a coffee table book in print, lovely photographs accompany fun facts, cat commentary, and pithy sayings such as “Time spent with cats is never wasted.” Allergies? You might be surprised to learn about an intriguing study from the National Institutes of Health.

This is a surefire fun book especially for family trivia night, or simply to spout a fact to impress your friends or colleague. Thoroughly enjoyable and great gift.

About the Author

Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband and two cats. When not writing, and working full-time, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cats and a good book or in the kitchen making baking sourdough bread or bagels.

Sharon is a multi-published author of contemporary romance published in eBook, paperback, on audio and translated into foreign languages. She has written New Adult and Romantic Suspense, but what brings her the most joy is writing Romantic Comedies.

She loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve--with a few laughs and maybe a few bumps and bruises along the way.

Virtually Yours at Christmas with Clare Revell

 

Virtually Yours at Christmas

Clare Revell

December 1, 2020, Holiday Christmas Extravaganza

Romantic novella from Pelican Book Group

99 cent special

buy on

Amazon US

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About the Book

It All Began With A Typo...

While working from home, accountant Carlyle Stevenson is told to contact a client ASAP and berate her for not filing her accounts for several months. Since the request is urgent, Carlyle fires off the email and sits and waits for the client to answer the video conference. Too bad he sent the invite to the wrong person.

Being stuck at home is nothing new for Kristen Lawson. She usually works out of her garage or kitchen. She's in the middle of making a new batch of candles for her online business when she receives the email marked urgent. Even though it's not her accountancy firm, she clicks the link and begins the call.

What begins as an honest mistake blossoms into something more, but can a socially distanced relationship ever get real?

My review 

Finally! A very, very sweet short inspirational romance that is responsible during this nasty current 2020 pandemic. Finding your soulmate is tough enough…but during a stay-at-home order? Yikes!

Revell’s latest precious tale also features our favorite heroes and heroines from her charming British town where pretty much everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, we meet a bookkeeper working mostly from home who types in a wrong email. Who knew there were two Kristens? And when the “wrong” Kristen answers Carlyle, it’s a call that goes in all the “right” directions…except for his tendency to keep showing up. And knowing things. Is Carlyle the real thing? Or just some creepy stalker…

Told through both of their viewpoints, Virtually Yours at Christmas is a sweet addition to the Headly Cross series. Love never gets old, no matter how you find it.My review

About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology.
The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

A New Hope for Christmas

 

A New Hope for Christmas

Erin Stevenson

PBGroup Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

Holiday romance, 89 pp Ebook

Dec 1, 2020

 $2.99

Buy on Amazon, BN, Publisher book store

About the Book

This Christmas, Two Lost and Broken Families Need Restoration.
Sam Jarrett was just starting to explore spiritual things when his world was shattered. Now, he's completely turned his back on God. Laura Preston is a devoted believer, leaning heavily on her faith to get her through each tortured day.

Sam battles God's prodding through Laura's gentle, caring spirit. When another tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve, Sam is sure that God has completely deserted him. Laura tries to show Sam that God loves him and has been there all the time, but how can Sam trust when he has no faith?

A New Hope for Christmas is a story of restored faith in a God who never leaves us, even when we can't see or feel Him near.

 

My Review

If you’re like me, an easy crier, you’ll love this short, inspirational holiday romance. By the end of chapter two, it’s a wonder whether life can go on for these two hurting souls. A loving dog, their kids, and a precious set of grandparents attempt to guide these fragile hearts back into the light of healing and faith. In the spirit of Christmas, sometimes the best advice is what the pastor teaches Laura and her daughter about how to get through one day at a time: find one thing to be thankful for, and one person to help. But how can they help the thoroughly heart-broken Sam and his young son? Told in alternating viewpoints, this gentle story is sure to touch every romance reader’s heart.

 

About the Author

Writing is like breathing to Erin. Stories are running through her mind during most of her waking hours, and by the time she sits down at the computer, the words flow and time ceases to exist. Erin was raised in Illinois and has lived in many places in the U.S., including on both coasts, but is a Midwest girl at heart. She spent many years as an educator from pre-school through college levels, and currently works in training and internal communications for a major global corporation. When she's not writing, Erin loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, and playing in the garden (which equates to mostly pulling weeds) at her central Iowa home. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.

Mistletoe Movie Star by Stacey Weeks

 

Mistletoe Movie Star

Stacey Weeks

PBG Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

White Rose Publishing, December 1, 2020, 121 pp

Ebook $3.99

Buy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher store 

About the Book

Mistletoe Meadows is built around the magic of Christmas. As jingling sleighs cart rosy-cheeked lovers around the Mistletoe Mile, Charlene's holiday dream is more complicated than photo-edited perfection. She proposes a compassion ministry initiative called the Gingerbread House but struggles to convince the town that their need for a homeless shelter is real.

Famous for his made for TV holiday movies, Jonas longs for a happily-ever-after that isn't as neat and tidy as his scripted films. Partnering with Char to champion her ministry invigorates him with a new purpose and provides an excuse to spend time with the girl he never forgot. But when they embrace three young sisters fighting to stay together while living on the streets, their project becomes deeply personal.

Together, they must prove to a town reluctant to see anything other than holiday perfection that the greatest gift of the season isn't found under a tree.

 

My Review

When former summertime friends reunite as adults, they rekindle more than friendship.

Char, the town veterinarian is on a mission to save more than critters. The plight of the homeless has touched her soul and she proposes remodeling the unused firehouse into a shelter to the city council which gets immediately voted down.

Jonas, who’s managed to establish himself as a B movie romantic leading man, is in town to settle his late grandparents’ home farm. He rapidly loses any fight against returning to his movie star life when he realizes Char, his long-lost love, has not only settled in town, but has a heart big enough to rescue any kind of stray. Will that also include him?

As they explore their feelings and work to encourage town Grinches to grow their Christmas hearts, the plight of the homeless touches everyone in a uniquely precious way. Told in alternating perspectives, this sweet, short, inspirational holiday romance will boost your spirits.

 

About the Author

Stacey Weeks is the multi-award-winning author of Glorious Surrender (2016), inspirational romances The Builder's Reluctant Bride (2016), Mistletoe Melody (2018), and inspirational romantic suspense novels In Too Deep (2017), and Fatal Homecoming (2019). Stacey lives in Ontario where she speaks at women's conferences, teaches writing and bible study workshops, and writes about the things of the Lord. www.staceyweeks.com

Carol James and Redeeming Christmas

 

Redeeming Christmas

Carol James

PBGroup Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

December 1, 2020, Romantic Novella, 111 pp

Ebook $3.99

Buy on

Amazon 

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Publisher site 

About the Book

Novelist Olivia St. Madeleine is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious stranger she sees when she's Christmas shopping. Who exactly is he, and what is his story?

Gabriel Winter definitely has a story. One he's been running from for years. He's renovating a house next door to a friendly and persuasive grandmother, who is, unbeknownst to him, Olivia's Nana. Through Nana's insistence, Liv helps Gabe wallpaper and paint, and in return Gabe fulfills one of Liv's secret childhood dreams.

But past hurts and secrets threaten to drive them apart rather than draw them together. Will they find the courage to share their secrets with each other and with God, and allow Him to redeem Christmas?

 My review

I adore a little bit of reality check in my romantic fiction. And not mincing situational reality with saccharine. We’re all broken—all of us—and we know it. How we face it shows our true character. This author knows how to pack a lovely punch in a short story. Like your good reads in little bites around the holidays? Redeeming Christmas is a perfect fit.

 Gabe is one of those rare creatures, a humble rising star entrepreneur, while Liv is a novelist who views the world through internal description. Told through both their eyes, their budding romance starts innocently during a holiday shopping event. When they realize they’re temporary next-door neighbors, one precious grandma who’s been praying for them before they were born, takes off her velvet gloves, knows how to use a cell phone, but makes sure Liv carries her pepper spray during their home decorating adventures.

 Of course everyone is too good to be true—on the outside! That’s what makes awesome romance. It’s the twists on the inside of the heart and the depth of reality that make this charming tale more than a gooey peppermint mocha at Christmas. Absolutely delightful for the dedicated inspirational romance reader. Just right amounts of everything packed in a lovely story.

 About the Author

Streams in the Wasteland, Redemptive Romance by Carol James:

Carol is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Love Stumbled In with Nancy Bolton

 

Love Stumbled In by Nancy Shew Bolton

In the midst of tragedy and uncertainty, love stumbles in.

Inspirational Romance from Prism Lux, November 13, 2020

172 pp

About the Book:

In the years of World War I and the flu epidemic that followed, American society and its people underwent profound changes. Carrie and her adopted family are not spared these changes and tragedies, yet what can they do but continue on the best way they can? As Carrie comes of age, she is faced with a future very different than the one she hoped for. She gave her heart, only to have it returned back to her and now she must search herself to find a new direction or give in to the temptation to simply give up and let circumstances dictate her life.

Judd has spent his young adult years coping with the aftermath of war injuries and profound family losses. With no time to grieve or recover, he is thrust into the role of family head and pours himself into steering his brothers and Carrie to adulthood while also seeing to the needs of the family farm. Like Carrie, his losses have caused him to grow cold towards God, leaning only on himself to bear the weight of his responsibilities. The pressure has forged a resolute hardness in him and an unwillingness to be close to anyone. The life journey of both is in need of new direction, if they will choose to take a chance and step toward it.

Enjoy this Excerpt:

Her mind wandered back to days spent with Mama, watching her cook, and sharing the small triumphs while she learned. Memories warmed her and loosened her tongue. “I wish she could know how good I am at it now. With her gift for pies and cake, and mine for bread, maybe we could’ve run a bakery together. That would’ve been wonderful.”

Lucas rumbled out an indeterminate sound. “Two women running a bakery? Never heard of that.”

Carrie’s wistful, nostalgic mood shattered. How backward. Was Jesse the only man in this family with any foresight?

Quenching a sharp retort, she kept her voice airy. “It’s the twentieth century, in case you forgot. Women can do pretty much anything these days. Vote, get a job. Why, I read a story the other day about women policemen in California.”

Lucas sputtered out a laugh. “You just called them policemen. Wouldn’t they be policewomen?”

She scowled at his smirking expression. “Ha-ha. You know what I mean.”

About Nancy: Nancy Shew Bolton is a wife, mother of five grown sons, and grandmother to a boy and girl. Ever since she learned to write, she would jot down her thoughts and impressions in little snippets of inspiration in the form of poetry, song lyrics, or short essays.

Social Links: 

On Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Group Blog

GoodreadsPage

Facebook Page

Books webpage: https://nancyboltonbooks.com/

$5.99 ebook

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At 50% off: Love Stumbled In : Pelican Book Group Christian Fiction, Illuminating fiction

New from Keely Brooke Keith Uncharted Freedom

Uncharted Freedom 
Book 9 in the Uncharted series
Keely Brooke Keith

Nov 17, 2020
Edenbrooke Press
Near future dystopian fiction
$4.99

Buy on
Amazon
 

About the Book
When she finds the perfect place to hide from one past, another finds her.

Naomi McIntosh is running from her family’s oppressive expectations and the despicable man her father has demanded she marry. Renaming herself to live incognito, she takes a housekeeping job at the Inn at Falls Creek and promises God this false identity will be her last.

When shepherd James Roberts goes home to the Inn at Falls Creek for his sister’s wedding, he doesn’t expect the woman who once broke his heart to be working there. No matter how much he wants to be with Naomi again, he can’t go along with her charade, especially since he is trying to persuade his father to make him the heir.

Though Naomi yearns for a future with James, if she confesses her deception to everyone, her estranged fiancé will find her. And the longer James goes without telling his family the truth about Naomi—and their growing relationship—the further he jeopardizes the inheritance. But just when their relationship looks promising, the inn proves to be a poor hiding place from Naomi’s past.

Meanwhile, in Good Springs…Connor Bradshaw wrestles with the overseers’ decision to preserve the Land’s pacifist ways. His desire to build a defense system for the Land keeps him up at night, secretly scanning for radio transmissions from the warring outside world. His training to be a village overseer will require him to lay down his weapons, but a voice over the radio waves ignites his worst fears.


My review
After getting to know the Land through a dozen novels, I look forward to getting to know the inhabitants even more. Although there are ties to previous novels and there is some sequence, the books can be read as stand-alones. In this story, we learn more about the Falls Creek inn family, the Robertses, as they struggle with long-standing patriarchal tradition. The eldest son, Revel, has already declared he will not take over running the inn, but complications other than tradition are involved in this society of loosely connected communities on a large island.

When the new housekeeper arrives in Falls Creek, she brings more secrets and unrest. Naomi, a young woman attempting to hide, and James Roberts, the second son who longs to have a place at home, have a history. As in Keely Keith’s other novels in the saga, the conflicts are gentle but thought-provoking. Underlying currents of more disruption to this 1860-era culture untouched by the increasingly dystopian outside world continue to intrude in this outwardly idyllic society.

Well-done story-telling of a time-caught faith-based culture lost in a shroud of mystical gray-leaf trees whose magical healing powers provide ample reason for invaders to plunder the defenseless colony. Unless the only person ever to successfully land and stay in the Land, former Lt. Connor Bradshaw, can convince the naïve elders danger exists. The people must be proactive to protect themselves from the ruthless, plagued outside world. Several narrators meld their voices of quiet romance amid turmoil in this latest addition to the saga of the Land Uncharted.

About the Author
Keely Brooke Keith writes inspirational frontier-style fiction with a futuristic twist, including The Land Uncharted (Shelf Unbound Notable Romance 2015) and Aboard Providence (2017 INSPY Awards Longlist). Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. She grew up in a family who moved often, which fueled her dreams of faraway lands. When she isn't writing, Keely enjoys teaching home school lessons and playing bass guitar. Keely, her husband, and their daughter live on a hilltop south of Nashville, Tennessee.

Horses and Hearts new from Pam Gossiaux Saving Grace

 

Saving Grace, a Horses and Hearts Inspirational Romance

Pamela Gossiaux
September, 2020
Tri-Cat Publishing
256 pp

Ebook $.99
Print $15.99
Buy on Amazon
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About the Book

When winning is everything, there isn't much room for grace.

For feisty and driven Hannah Whitney, winning is everything. She and her dressage horse Amazing Grace are headed towards the final qualifying competition for the Olympic games, when her trainer suddenly quits. With the competition just ten weeks away, Hannah's dad hires Chase Livingston as the new trainer.

Chase is a Gold Medalist in dressage. After an incident in the show ring one day, he loses his nerve and goes into hiding from the media. He’s reluctant to come out just to train the spoiled, rich daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon, but the money is good.

Hannah doesn't want to be seen with him, but if she's going to be ready for the competition, he may be her only hope. What she doesn't count on is how attractive he is...

When faced with the question of what is most important in life, can two people with different answers ever find common ground?

My Review

Has-been Olympian Chase gets more than a second chance when he becomes the last hope trainer for needy dressage drama queen Hannah who’s determined to get to the Olympics riding her only friend in life, Amazing Grace.

With a lot to overcome in their personal lives, Chase’s reputation as a loser is the least of their worries when Hannah’s past threatens to throw her off balance. Chase, as well as Hannah’s formerly driven father, have turned their lives over to Christ, received forgiveness, and vow to live better, something twenty-four-year-old Hannah can’t understand or trust. She’s turned inward and encased herself in a hard shell since childhood, and only great compassion will crack it.

Chase and Hannah learn patience leads to good things; forgiveness is even better, and when winning doesn’t have to be the most important thing in life, a lot of good things can finally come home. Told in alternating viewpoints with all the perfect points of a good romance, readers of inspiring stories will enjoy this special romance set on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

About the Author

Pamela Gossiaux is the international bestselling author of the Horses and Hearts Inspirational Romance series, the Russo Romantic Mystery series, the romantic comedy Good Enough, and the inspirational books Why Is There a Lemon in My Fruit Salad? and A Kid at Heart. She is also a keynote speaker, freelance writer, and teaches writing workshops. She lives and writes at her horse farm in Michigan, where she resides with her family and an assortment of pets. Visit her website at www.PamelaGossiaux.com.

Cheryl Colwell and Astoria Rumors

 

Astoria Rumors, Get Eaven series #1
Cheryl Colwell
Suspense

October, 2020
$3.99 ebook, 283 pp

Buy on
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J7KJ5SH
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astoria-Rumors-Get-Eaven-Book-ebook/dp/B08J7KJ5SH
Amazon AU https://www.amazon.com.au/Astoria-Rumors-Get-Eaven-Book-ebook/dp/B08J7KJ5SH/

About the Book
She's desperate, alone and unprotected. But she will survive.

Homeless, broke, and broken, Eaven Alexander resurrects her career, but with an innovative twist. Her degrees in historical architecture and antiques attract a lucrative but questionable job offer to locate an important document for the mysterious Greg Sault.

The hunt takes her inside a decaying mansion and into conflict with Clayton Mercer, a town heavyweight and Greg’s enemy. Too late, she realizes that something insidious is lurking beneath Astoria’s idyllic façade. And that no one is who they claim to be.

 

Lisa’s Review

Dragging herself out of her rut might have been the most important thing Eaven has done for herself since a devastating accident robbed her of her happiness. Eyes wide shut to the crumbling decay of her comfort zone, she feels hung out to dry after her husband reveals the depth of his own despair. Waking to reality forces Eaven to face unpleasant truths about herself. Coming from high society in Charleston SC, Eaven had run as far northeast as she could to rural Washington State, Eaven decides to reclaim her former professional life as an antiques appraiser. But first she needs to build her stakes. Her first stop down the coast is Astoria, where she meets a mystery man, Greg, and becomes privy to the town’s unnerving history.

Greg hires her to help clean out his grandmother’s house, but his real objective is hidden in the mists of time and allusion. At the same time, one of the last town bigwigs has died, and his relative, Clayton, is looking for help getting an old moldy family mansion inventoried and hopefully ready for sale. Eaven happens to fill that need, and she’s put in a position to be able to double agent, so to speak.

A series of awkward and dangerous events, filled with clues and a curious series of historical flashbacks, flood the book until the conclusion. There’s obviously something nefarious happening in Astoria; that’s never a secret; but how the rest of the citizens, and in particular the visitors like Eaven, act on those events and that history provide an intriguing visit to Astoria. Good details engage the reader.

About the Author

Author of Romantic Suspense, Women's Suspense, Political Suspense

Cheryl Colwell loves to travel. and loves being home with family and friends, authentic conversations, the gifts of faith and writing, and people who are as passionate about life as she is. Each new adventure, whether traveling, listening, or writing a book, reveals things she needs to know. Things she needs to share. Readers will find these adventures and insights on her Journey with Me blog. Visit www.cherylcolwell.com.

Tam May and the Gilded Age

 New from Tam May: Pathfinding Women

Pathfinding Women,

Book 3 in the Waxwood series, a family saga of the Golden Age in San Francisco CA

Tam May

Historical fiction

$3.99 ebook

$12.99 paperback

Buy on Amazon  Barnes and Noble 

Read the interview with Tam here 

About the Book

There are paths in life we have no choice but to follow.

At the close of the nineteenth century, Vivian Alderdice is twenty-six, unmarried, and has no prospective suitors. Now the heiress of the Alderdice fortune, she has yet to fulfill her duty to her family and to society: to marry well and produce heirs.

Her brother’s tragic plight the year before left her and her mother on shaky ground with the San Francisco blue bloods of Nob Hill, and the only way they can re-establish their social position is to win the heart of Monte Leblanc, a wealthy Canadian in search of a wife and looking to become a member of the exclusive Washington Street society.

But a young man on the train tells Vivian things about her grandmother that shake her to the core. Even as she is pursued by the debonair Monte Leblanc, Vivian can’t avoid ghosts from the past who send her on a journey she is reluctant to take.

My review

The third book in the series is my favorite so far. Having fallen into the rhythm of this era and family, I look forward to following Vivian Alderdice learn more about the secrets of her fascinating grandmother. Penelope left a trail almost like breadcrumbs, and after her death waited to see if her clever grandchildren could figure it and not suffer the fate of her gilded cage.

This series is for those who love the era of gentile literature, the Jane Austen and Little Women-type stories of family saga, of noblesse oblige and grasping for status just before the rise of the middle class in America. The Alderdices are a “made” family, only third-generation of wealth and class, to which Vivian’s mother is desperate to cling despite the disappointment of her children’s decisions, and the previous summer and loss of son Jake. The widowed Vivian is set up one summer to marry a man nearly twice her age in order to fulfill her duty and produce Alderdice heirs. Vivian, however, is consumed by the mystery introduced in the first book when her grandmother’s friend Bertha shows up at Penelope’s funeral and suggests there was more to Penelope than her granddaughter knew, or her daughter would admit.

As the summer plays out, Vivian is torn in several directions, searching for clues which involves a former Pinkerton detective, rising women’s suffrage, and a brief appearance of a monster from Vivian’s past. Couched within an eager courtship and the plight of single women striving to be independent, Vivian is at last learning not only who she is, but who she can become.

While these stories are in a series and build upon each other, May deftly weaves a pattern that can be easily picked up at any point. I look forward to the fourth book.

About the Author

Tam May started writing when she was fourteen, and writing became her voice. She loves history and wants readers to love it too, so she writes historical fiction that lives and breathes a world of the past. She fell in love with San Francisco and its rich history when she learned about its resilience and rebirth after the 1906 earthquake and fire during a walking tour. She grew up in the United States and earned a B.A. and M.A in English. She worked as an English college instructor (where she managed to interest a class full of wary freshmen in Henry James' fiction) and EFL teacher (using literature to teach English to business professionals) before she became a full-time writer.

Pathfinding Women and the art of sequels with Tam May

Tam May started writing when she was fourteen, and writing became her voice. She loves history and wants readers to love it too, so she writes historical fiction that lives and breathes a world of the past. She fell in love with San Francisco and its rich history when she learned about its resilience and rebirth after the 1906 earthquake and fire during a walking tour. She grew up in the United States and earned a B.A. and M.A in English. She worked as an English college instructor (where she managed to interest a class full of wary freshmen in Henry James’ fiction) and EFL teacher (using literature to teach English to business professionals)before she became a full-time writer.

Her book Lessons From My Mother’s Life debuted at #1 on Amazon in the Historical Fiction Short Stories category. She is currently working on a Gilded Age family drama titled the Waxwood Series. The first book of the series, The Specter, came out in June 2019, and the second book, False Fathers, was released in December of that year. Book 3, Pathfinding Women is out now, and Book 4 will be released in December 2020.

Tam lives in Texas but calls San Francisco and the Bay Area “home”. When she’s not writing, she’s reading classic literature, watching classic films, cross-stitching, or cooking up yummy vegetarian dishes.

For more information on Tam May and her work, check out her website at www.tammayauthor.com. You can also sign up for her newsletter, which features lots of information on fascinating psychological and social history and subscriber-exclusive sneak peeks, giveaways, and polls. plus a free short story.

Guest Post

When I started publishing books in 2017, I had only a vague idea of what meant to write a series. My first book was a stand-alone short story collection (which I revised and re-released earlier this year as Lessons From My Mother’s Life, which you can find out more about here). After that book came out, I knew I wanted to write a Gilded Age family saga which became the Waxwood Series. I originally planned on writing  a trilogy. However, the series morphed into four books after I realized a prequel short story I had written as an early free gift for my newsletter subscribers needed to be Book 1 of the series. It was the story of “how it all began,” that is, how the protagonist of the series, Vivian Alderdice, begins her journey to uncover the lies, half-truths, and secrets tainting the family through the generations.

Most writers have an “I wish I would have known that before I started” moment, and mine was when I realized a series is not just a collection of books that share similar characters or locations. A series has a beginning, middle, and it has to work like a story. It has to have a climax and resolution and a progression of growth and change in one or more of the characters to satisfy the reader. Even if the books do not tell one cohesive story, they must be linked, and that link has to have causality. Author and writing teacher John Gardener explained it as the difference between “The king died, and then the queen died” and “The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”

I made this discovery after I wrote the second book of the series, False Fathers. That book is about Vivian’s younger brother, Jake, and his coming of age. I originally intended Book 3 to follow the pattern of focusing on different characters who had a connection to the Alderdice family, the family of my series. But after Book 2, I realized the central theme of the series was the way the family members find authenticity and truth after the façade created by the lies and secrets is exposed. The family metaphorically sheds its old skin for a new one.

Given that, I knew Book 3 had to continue that story arc.Book 1 was about Penelope Alderdice, Vivian’s grandmother, “where it all began.” Book 2 was about Jake and his journey. Vivian’s journey kicked off in Book 1, and then stalled in Book 2. So it was a natural progression to bring her back and continue her journey in Book 3, Pathfinding Women.

Pathfinding Women is now available, and you can find out more about the book and get your copy here.

Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3)

Author – Tam May

Publisher – Dreambook Press

Pages – 376

Release Date – 13 September 2020

ISBN 13 – 978-0998338507

Formats – ebook, paperback

Synopsis

There are paths in life we have no choice but to follow.

At the close of the nineteenth century, Vivian Alderdice is twenty-six, unmarried, and has no prospective suitors. Now the heiress of the Alderdice fortune, she has yet to fulfill her duty to her family and to society: to marry well and produce heirs.

Her brother’s tragic plight the year before left her and her mother on shaky ground with the San Francisco bluebloods of Nob Hill, and the only way they can re-establish their social position is to win the heart of Monte Leblanc, a wealthy Canadian in search ofa wife and looking to become a member of the exclusive Washington Street society.

But a young man on the train tells Vivian things about her grandmother that shake her to the core. Even as she is pursued by the debonair Monte Leblanc, Vivian can’t avoid ghosts from the past who send her on a journey she is reluctant to take.

Is there always light at the end of a dark and hellish path?

Author Links:

Website: https://tammayauthor.com/

Blog: https://tammayauthor.com/category/thedreambookblog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammayauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tammayauthor

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tammayauthor/

Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/tammayauthor/

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16111197.Tam_May

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Tam-May/e/B01N7BQZ9Y/

BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tam-may

Heart of a Warrior review Angela Couch

 

Heart of a Warrior

Angela K Couch

Prism Books

Sept 1, 2020

American romantic history

$5.99 EBook

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Warrior-Angela-K-Couch-ebook/dp/B0875NPKLZ

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-a-warrior-angela-k-couch/1136867479?ean=9781522398608

$16.99 Print

282 pp

About the Book

All Christina Astle wants is to reach Oregon before her baby is born, but the wagon train is attacked, and her husband killed, stranding her in a mountain labyrinth. Raised in the East, within civilization’s embrace, survival is not a skill she’s learned. Neither is evading the lone warrior dogging her trail.

Disgusted by the greed and cruelty of men like his white father, Towan has turned to the simpler existence of his mother’s tribal people. He is not prepared for the fiery woman who threatens to upturn his entire life … and his heart.

 

My Review

Page-turning historical fiction, real romance in American history. Victims of greed on the Oregon Trail, Christina’s husband and his friend pay with their lives, leaving pregnant Christian at the mercy of murderers. It’s a matter of what or who will get her and her newborn first – the coming winter in the mountains, savage Shoshone, or uncouth trappers. But which are the bad guys and which are saviors?

Christina is one mixed-up woman, young and naïve, she must find the will to survive the wilderness with people who willingly take her in, despite their unfamiliarity with each other. The man who rescues her is just as mixed up, ethnically and culturally. Raised in the white world, Towan returned with his Shoshone mother as an adult, but never feels at home in either world, until he gives in to his conscious and helps a white woman. 

Both are lost souls, bound by mistakes and misunderstanding in their past and present and Christina’s adorable infant. Couch’s endearing historical romance doesn’t sidestep issues of racial injustice or violence, goes light on historical Shoshone village life, while creating an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

 

About the Author

To keep from freezing in the Great White North, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and warm) by chasing after four munchkins.

Through Healed Lenses blog tour

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour for Through Healed Lenses by Adrienne’Quinn. The book tour will run August 24-Sept 4, 2020.

            

Genre: Non-Fiction    

 

ISBN-13: 979-8648414099

ASIN: B08DC1P8MY

      

                               Meet Adrienne

 

Adrienne Kelly, pen name, Adrienne'Quinn, is a practicing Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in Atlanta, GA. Adrienne's childhood included being raised by a single mother and growing up in a small town with a large, close-knit maternal family who heavily influences her upbringing and writings. She is a mom two a boy, Joziah and girl, Azariah. She is the CEO and founder of Gifting Love LLC, an organization that focuses on holistic mentoring through the use of spiritual and emotional education, as well as therapy services for adolescent girls. Adrienne started her therapy journey years ago and has become an avid supporter of counseling services.

 

                                                                                    About The Book

 

How often do you find yourself wondering why the same outcomes in relationships, be it familiar or personal, continue to happen to you? When is the last time you caught yourself feeling as if there was something missing? Or something more to life than your current predicaments? When was the last time you had a negative thought about yourself, that you could not comfortably say aloud because society would judge it by their skewed standards? Or how about a time when you felt defeated but had to keep moving forward for the sake of image or responsibility? In Adrienne ‘Quinn’s new book, every page answers, provides depth, and context to the above questions.

                                                

                                                Excerpt

Life is a slideshow full of relationships. The journey we experience with our parent, children, brother, sister, friend, teachers, strangers, significant other, and spouse are all relationships in which we learn to exist and navigate life. The people gifted to us by blood were, in some realm, ordained by God to guide and influence our life experiences. These life experiences do not always present as the most favorable or positive; however, they are a part of our story.

 

Connect Socially                       Purchase Link

 

 

 Facebook       IG       Website            Amazon

 

 

Tour organized by Write Now Literary

Lisa's Review

Adrienne Kelly’s new memoir journey to healing is a brutally honest look at her introduction to adulthood. She’s earned success in professional life all while figuring out how to navigate the tricky waters of relationships both romantic and platonic. She’s made mistakes and presents herself at her most vulnerable to let others know that bumps can truly be blessings in disguise.

Part Self-help and all inspiring, Kelly’s passionate heart and desire to show young people that life should be more than a constant struggle and overcoming issues, but one of standing firm in self-confidence, knowing who you are, your boundaries, and your goal line.

Written in intimate journal format with hard-hitting questions and moments of self-discovery, Through Healed Lenses is highly recommended for readers seventh grade and up.

 

Thrilling conclusion to Prayer Slayer murders with Clare Revell

Say a Prayer Whodunit Crime Thrillers by Clare Revell

Serial, 4 books

c. 2020

Pelican Ventures LLC

Ebooks, $5.99

Print, $15.99

 About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.
She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/
https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/
https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B005NZT2O2
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005NZT2O2
http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index....

Soul to Take, book #4

Buy on

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble

Pelican book store 

About the Book

Just when things couldn't get much worse, they suddenly do. With DS Zander Ellery in jail, his partner DC Isabel York fights to clear his name. Not an easy task when she is suspended from duty and the evidence against him is compelling.

Finally, pieces begin to fall into place, but to catch the Prayer Slayer once and for all, both officers must walk down a dark path where their very souls are at risk of being taken.

My review

In this final chapter of the Say a Prayer murders in the English village of Headley Cross, Detective Isabel York knows she’s on the victim’s list. The only person who believes her is her partner, Detective Zander Ellery, who’s in jail accused of the murders, and she’s been suspended from the case. But that doesn’t mean she can’t be sneaky about continuing her investigation from…home.

In this serial murder case of the victims being chosen by extremely tight circumstances and eerily similar habits, Isabel attempts to break the mold and hopefully distract the murderer—before he can kill anyone else, let alone her. A secret from her past has caught up to her, preying heavily on her vulnerabilities. News that should be happy smells decidedly rotten. And again, since Zander is jailed with extremely ripe evidence as to his part in the murder plot, Isabel is on her own, up against a gruesome murderer…who can’t possibly be Zander...could it?

Secrets abound as both Isabel and Zander come to grips with revenge, brutal lies, and graphic crimes committed to satisfy a wholly unwholesome appetite. It’s personal when the killer gets to family and close friends. Everyone is under suspicion, even church friends, and the tension may force them all to reconsider whether vengeance truly belongs to the Lord, or whether He needs some help carrying it out.

All the stories are told through Zander and Isabel’s perspectives, deftly done so that intuition and thought processes serve to illuminate and distract as these able detectives work diligently to solve a disturbing serial murder case.