Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for Diary of An Accidental Wallflower by Jennifer McQuiston

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Tasty Book Tours, for Diary of An Accidental Wallflower by Jennifer McQuiston.  Please leave a comment or question for Jennifer to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway, for an Exclusive Diary and Print Books Prize Pack, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of her tour by clicking on the tour banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your chances of winning. 

Diary of an Accidental Wallflower
By: Jennifer McQuiston

Seduction Diaries, Book # 1

Publisher:  Avon (Harper Collins)

Releasing February 24th, 2015

Genre: Historical Romance

Length:  384 Pages

ISBN:  978-0062335012

ASIN:  B00KPVB4JA 

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

About the book:

Pretty and popular, Miss Clare Westmore knows exactly what (or rather, who) she wants: the next Duke of Harrington. But when she twists her ankle on the eve of the Season’s most touted event, Clare is left standing in the wallflower line watching her best friend dance away with her duke.

Dr. Daniel Merial is tempted to deliver more than a diagnosis to London’s most unlikely wallflower, but he doesn’t have time for distractions, even one so delectable. Besides, she’s clearly got her sights on more promising prey. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?

All Clare wants to do is return to the dance floor. But as her former friends try to knock her permanently out of place, she realizes with horror she is falling for her doctor instead her duke. When her ankle finally heals and she faces her old life again, will she throw herself back into the game?

Or will her time in the wallflower line have given her a glimpse of who she was really meant to be?

EXCERPT

“Pity to let him go by without saying anything. You could have shown him your overhanded throw, the one you use for Cook’s oldest biscuits.” Geoffrey pantomimed a great, arching throw out into the lake. “That would impress him, I’m sure.”

The horror of such a scene—and such a brother—made Clare’s heart thump in her chest. To be fair, feeding the ducks was something of a family tradition, a ritual born during a time when she hadn’t cared whether she was wearing least year’s frock. These days, with their house locked in a cold, stilted silence and their parents nearly estranged, they retreated here almost every day. And she could throw Cook’s biscuits farther than either Lucy or Geoffrey, who took after their father in both coloring and clumsiness. It was almost as if they had been cut from a different bolt of cloth, coarse wool to Clare’s smooth velvet.

But these were not facts one ought to share with a future duke—particularly when that future duke was the gentleman you hoped would offer a proposal tonight. No, better to wait and greet Mr. Alban properly this evening at Lady Austerley’s annual ball, when Lucy and Geoffrey were stashed safely at home and she would be dressed in tulle and diamonds.

“I don’t understand.” Lucy stretched out her hand, and this time Clare took it. “Why wouldn’t you wish to greet him? He came to call yesterday, after all, and I was given the impression you liked him very much.”

Clare pulled herself to standing and winced as a fresh bolt of pain snatched the breath from her lungs. “How do you know about that?” she panted. “I didn’t tell anyone.” In fact, she’d cajoled their butler, Wilson, to silence. It was imperative word of the visit be kept from their mother, who—if last Season’s experience with potential suitors was any indication—would have immediately launched a campaign to put Waterloo to shame.

“I know because I spied on you from the tree outside the picture window.” Lucy shrugged. “And didn’t you say that he asked you to dance last week?”

“Yes,” Clare agreed between gritted teeth. Mr. Alban had asked her to dance last week, a breathless waltz that had sent the room spinning and held all eyes upon them. It was the third waltz they had shared since the start of the Season—though not all on the same night, more’s the pity. But the glory of that dance paled in comparison to the dread exacted by Lucy’s confession.

Had her sister really hung ape-like from a limb and leered at the man through the window? Except…hadn’t Alban sat with his back to the window?

She breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, she was almost sure of it.

He’d spent the entire quarter hour with his gaze firmly anchored on her face, their conversation easy. But despite the levity of their exchange, he’d seemed cautious, as though he were hovering on the edge of some question that never materialized but that she fervently wished he’d just hurry up and ask.

Given his unswerving focus, there was no way he would have seen her clumsy heathen of a sister swinging through the branches, though she shuddered to think that Lucy could have easily lost her balance and come crashing through the window in a shower of broken glass and curse words. But thankfully, nothing of the sort had happened. No awkward siblings had intruded on the flushed pleasure of the moment. Her mother had remained oblivious, distracted by her increasing irritation with their father and her shopping on Bond Street.

And to Clare’s mind, Mr. Alban had all but declared his intentions out loud.  

 Author Info

A veterinarian and infectious disease researcher by training, Jennifer McQuiston has always preferred reading romance to scientific textbooks. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, their two girls, and an odd assortment of pets, including the pony she promised her children if mommy ever got a book deal. Jennifer can be reached via her website at www.jenmcquiston.com  or followed on Twitter @jenmcqwrites

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for The Deep End by Julie Mulhern

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for The Deep End by Julie Mulhern.  Please leave a comment or question for Julie to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of the tour by clicking on the tour banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

The Deep End

By Julie Mulhern

The Country Club Murders, Book 1

Publisher: Henery Press

Release Date:  February 17, 2015

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Female Sleuth
ISBN-13: 978-1941962237
E-Book File Size: 507 KB
ASIN: B00PWE819Q

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.

It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.

As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her.

About This Author

Julie Mulhern is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean—and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is—she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions. She is a 2014 Golden Heart® Finalist. The Deep End is her first mystery and is the winner of The Sheila Award.

Author Links:

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

Twitter: @juliekmulhern

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/juliemulhern/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8573907.Julie_Mulhern

It’s not every day a woman finds her husband’s mistress dead and floating in a country club pool but that’s exactly what happens to Ellison Russell in the first act of Julie Mulhern’s debut cozy mystery, The Dead End.  Full of colorful characters, good dialogue, and taking place in the 70’s at the height of the Watergate scandal, The Dead End kept my attention from start to finish.  The first book in “The Country Club Murders” series, is off to a good start.

Successful artist and a country club member with the correct pedigree, Ellison Russell arrives at the club for her customary early morning swim only to discover the body of Madeline Harper, dead and floating in the pool.  While Ellison could care less about Madeline, or her death, the fact she’s her husband’s mistress puts Ellison front and center in a murder investigation, a position she’d rather avoid.  Forced into conducting her own investigation, Ellison soon discovers there’s a lot more to her soon to be ex than his penchant for visiting “Club Kinky”.  When two more mistresses show up, and Henry disappears, Ellison learns her husband was involved in blackmail.  As dead bodies start piling up, it’s clear Ellison needs to solve the mystery before she or someone she loves becomes the next victim.

   

Ms. Mulhern does a good job developing Ellison’s character and I really enjoyed getting to know her as the story developed.  While she’s a bit “frosty” and detached at first, it soon becomes apparent that Ellison has been surrounded by dominating or domineering people a good portion of her life.  As the story progresses we do see Ellison begin to develop emotionally and also watch her begin to develop a backbone.  I also enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Ellison’s parents, her art broker Powers, her daughter Grace, and the handsome, polite detective assigned to the case. 

Ms. Mulhern does a good job developing the mystery, which takes several twists and turns.  I also enjoyed the “historical” aspects of the story since it takes place during the “Watergate” years and I remember being glued to the newspapers (Yes, Virginia…..this was before the internet) and the television during the investigation and political scandal that ensued.  I thought Ms. Mulhern captured the “feel” of the 70’s and also emphasized the difference between the “country club” crowd and the regular people.

Will Ellison discover who killed Madeline?  Will Henry, Ellison’s unfaithful husband get what he deserves?  And is there a possible new romance in Ellison’s future?  You’ll have to read The Deep End to find out.  I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

My Rating:  4.5 out of 5 Crowns

*FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review.  I did not receive any additional compensation for my opinion of the book.

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Cover Reveal & #Giveaway for Roses Are Red, Violet is Dead by Monica-Marie Vincent

Violet Sumner has a stalker.

Between her largely dysfunctional family of two and the friends she doesn’t feel particularly close to, Violet thinks he’s the least of her problems. What she fails to understand is that the guy is no prankster and soon people turn up dead or missing. Because of her.

Things change when Violet’s best friend disappears and realization sinks in that the stalker means business. Denial put aside, Violet has no other option but to accept the help of police Sergeant Willard Kelley and his rather sweet protégé, to come to terms with the seriousness of the situation.
Yet nothing could’ve prepared her for her close up with the psycho.

Who will survive in this tale of obsession and misplaced devotion?

Monica-Marie Vincent writes Young Adult novels about troubled teens and even more troubled parents. She currently lives in Sacramento, CA although she would rather be in her home town of San Francisco. Thanks to her very put upon husband Monica-Marie is always well stocked with coffee, Diet Coke, and Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos, so she wouldn't have to move away from her writerly lair to do mundane things like shopping.

WEBSITE ☆ FACEBOOK ☆ TWITTER ☆ GOODREADS

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Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for Meet Me In the Garden by Rosa Sophia

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Shades of Rose Media, for Meet Me In the Garden by Rosa Sophia.  Please leave a comment or question for Rosa to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Writing Pain: Trigeminal Neuralgia in Fiction By Rosa Sophia

I was diagnosed with the suicide disease in the summer of 2013. Out of sheer terror, I went from doctor to doctor, and discovered I have trigeminal neuralgia, a disorder of the fifth cranial nerve. Pain signals are sent to the left side of my face almost constantly, and sometimes the right, made worse by the sensation of touch, wind, and extremes in temperature. Nicknamed the suicide disease, the pain is too intense to describe. But I tried.

I had been working on Meet Me In the Garden, and the main character already had a health issue she was dealing with. I changed it to TN in the hopes of raising awareness of this disorder. Writing about TN was difficult for me. At first, I didn’t want to write about it at all. Although it is almost impossible to accurately describe how bad the pain can be, I did my best, turning my experiences into Amalie’s—my main character.

For patients with TN, it can be hard to find help. Patients are often met with misunderstanding. Especially younger patients, who “aren’t supposed to have TN.” Thankfully, there are resources such as the Facial Pain Association (fpa-support.org). There are places we can go for help.

Because I know how frustrating it can be, I want to use my writing to raise awareness of trigeminal neuralgia. This horrendously painful disorder is often overlooked, and the medical community needs to pay more attention to it.  

Although the disorder itself is not central to the story, I wanted to show Amalie’s struggle with TN, and how she deals with it. Most of all, I want to send a message. If you are suffering from pain (any kind of pain) you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out, and you will discover you aren’t as alone as you thought you were.

Blog: www.backwordswriter.com

Website: www.authorrosasophia.com

Meet Me in the Garden

By Rosa Sophia

Publisher:  Limitless Publishing LLC

Release Date: January 20, 2015

Genre: Romance

Length:  319 Pages

ISBN:   978-1680580280
ASIN:  B00RWUF484 

Buy Link: Amazon

About the book: 

Memories of another life, and the garden where it all began, keep Amalie Jarvis awake at night.

A columnist for a popular magazine, she attends a function in Palm Beach at the famous Breakers Hotel, only to cross paths with graphic designer Ian Gardner—who appears to hold the key to her visions. The more time they spend together, the more Amalie realizes how much she wants to be with him. And how much she fears admitting that she loves him.

Ian can’t remember the past, but he is drawn to Amalie with an intense passion he’s never felt before.

Many moons ago, they met in a garden. Different names, different faces—but their souls were still the same. Unable to resist her, Ian falls deeply in love. He remains by her side as she battles severe facial pain, not knowing what it is or if it could kill her. Frightened for her, he swears his adoration without ever speaking the words.

But their devotion has dangers, and they’re about to be faced by hazards neither of them could have foreseen…

“Amalie, is it getting worse?” Jean repeated, tucking her clipboard against her chest.

“Yes.”

“I’ll hurry the doctor along then. I’ll be right back.”

The minutes passed as though they were hours. Finally, the doctor arrived and introduced himself. He was a middle-aged man with glasses and graying hair, and he greeted Amalie with a warm smile.

“Jean says you’re not feeling too well, so we’ll hurry this along as best we can.”

Remembering previous episodes, Amalie looked him squarely in the eye and croaked, “It’s getting worse. If it gets really bad, I might have a panic attack.” Ian didn’t know that about her, but she’d had them when she was younger. When the pain hit in high school, she’d been unable to breathe, and she’d sobbed and gasped, certain she was dying, until the worst of the pain had passed.

The doctor nodded as though he’d heard this before. “Okay. We’ll go as quick as we can.”

Each image taken of the inside of her mouth was more awkward than the last. Amalie had to open her mouth wide, which made the shocks lancing through her face worsen, and Jean inserted some kind of device into her mouth. The shape of it made her very uncomfortable. When it was in place, she had to bite down on it, after which Jean would press a button and the picture would be taken. A series of images appeared on a screen to the right, Amalie’s teeth from various angles. Although she was not a dentist, she saw nothing odd about them.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed or how many x-rays they’d taken before she began to fall apart. They’d turned off the television at her request, but the light in the room was so blaring it was playing havoc on her senses.

As Jean prepared the device again, Amalie cringed when another pain in her face made her stomach churn. She was clutching the arms of the chair, digging her nails in, her chest heaving. She could feel her eyes begin to water. She breathed out her mouth; breathing through her nose only caused more pain.

She glanced up and saw Jean set the tool down.

“How are you doing?”

Amalie forced words out between her quivering lips. “Not good. It’s bad, very bad.” Unable to handle it anymore, she groaned and curled up, rocking to the side.

This was when she drifted away. She was no longer herself. Darkness fell over her, and she knew that anything she said or did, or how she reacted, was not anything Amalie would have done. Amalie was no longer there. Only the pain presided over her body. It was the only real thing inside her. She became the pain.

Somewhere out of the darkness, Jean asked her if she wanted the light turned off. Amalie heard her own voice emerge as a weak mumble, and within seconds the light was out. A moment later, she squinted through the shadows and saw a white lab coat. The voice of Doctor Horowitz encouraged her to go to the hospital, and asked if there was anyone they could call. She was in no condition to drive.

The pain slammed against her cheek, like a chisel being driven straight into her bone.

“Do you have any family here?”

The question was innocent enough, but as the stabbing continued from the inside, Amalie thought of her mother, then her father, then her distant relatives in Maine, and her cousins, aunts, and uncles scattered across the country. Somehow she managed to say no. The memories would fade later, but she did drag her cell phone out of her pocket and hand it to the doctor, telling him to call the one man who would help her, who had promised to be there for her whenever she needed him, the man who made her feel safe.

Ian Gardner.

Rosa Sophia is a novelist and full-time editorial consultant. With a degree in Automotive Technology, she adores writing and editing as well as fixing cars. Rosa is also a crazy cat lady in training, and currently divides her time between South Florida and Pennsylvania.

Author Links:      Website      Facebook      Limitless Publishing Author Page

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2/16

Queen of All She Reads   (Guest Post)

Sexy Between the Covers

2/17

Ella Jade

SapphyriasBookReviews 

2/18

Bitches Be Writin 

Laura's Interests

2/19

New Age Mama

Owltastic Promotions

2/20

Tamaria Soana

Reading, Writing, and Roses

2/23

Romancing the Pen Today

2/24

Laurie's Thoughts & Reviews

2/25

Harlie's Books

2/26

Kristy Centeno

2/27

The Phantom Paragrapher (Review)

Release Day Spotlight & #Giveaway for Magical Love by Gail Hamilton

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour, presented by Romance Addict Book Blog, for Magical Love by Gail Hamilton. Please leave a comment or question for Gail to let her know you stopped by. You can enter her tour wide giveaway, for a tote bag with Print copies of Sticky Girls, In Pursuit of Miriam and Guide to Online Dating, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.

Magical Love 

Gail Hamilton 

Publisher:  Arrow Publications

Release Date: February 11, 2015

Genre;  Contemporary Romantic Fantasy

Length;  233 Pages

ISBN:  978-1-934675-72-4

ASIN:  BOOSA83VAU

About the book:  

Is There a Formula for True Love?

When two people fall in love it’s magical…but sometimes the magic needs a little nudging… Or so biochemist, Jason Lucas, thought when he developed a formula to help love-challenged people like himself find true love. Ironically, in "Will He Be Mine," the millionaire scientist unwittingly begins a searing relationship with one of his test subjects and comes to question the feasibility of any love-enhancer formula.

Determined to stop all testing on his love enhancer, Jason elicits the help of his assistant, Lydia, to collect the last samples from nerdish test subject, Damone Reid. This quest propels the curvaceous, African-American woman into a wild adventure in "Man on The Run," fueled by a rejuvenated, romantic Damone, who sweeps her away and off her feet.

Unfortunately, Damone’s samples go astray, and end up in Penny Clark’s perfume. In "Animal Magnetism," Penny is thrilled to find she has unusual skills around wild animals. Intrigued by her abilities, rugged veterinarian, Garth Snowdon, soon falls under her spell. But after one night of explosive passion their love is put to the test when Garth discovers Penny’s heartbreaking secret.

"Magical Love" tells the stories of three couples whose lives change drastically after using the love enhancer formula. Yet despite the heated romances, the emotional intimacies, doubt creeps into the relationships—is it true love or is it the formula?

Excerpt

The door sported a sign that said "Danger. Do Not Enter" in big red letters.

Smoothing her hair, straightening her clothes, determined to put her best foot forward, Penny grasped the door handle.  Pulling it open, she stepped decisively inside.

And froze!

She was in a bare concrete corridor with barred cage doors on one side.  All were closed except the one opposite Penny, which stood wide open.  Only feet away, a man was backed up against the wall.

Backed up for good reason.

An enormous Siberian tiger, loose in the corridor, was fixed on him, lips pulled back in an ominous snarl.

Without moving a muscle, the man hissed urgently at her out of the side of his mouth.

"Whoever you are, get out before the tiger sees you!"

No part of Penny's body would move.  No part of her brain was able to give a command.

Not when the great cat's head swiveled around and fixed Penny with its terrible yellow eyes.

Slowly, it lifted its head, cocked it to one side, and then took a step in Penny's direction.

Penny found out what it meant to die a thousand deaths inside of an eye blink.  She actually felt her heart slow down, beating in huge, lolloping thuds as though struggling in heavy molasses.  The tiger took a second step toward her.  Then another, until it was near enough for her to feel the heat of its breath as it sniffed at her harshly.  Its fierce yellow gaze burned into her.  The striped head, up close, was massive.

"N-n-n-nice k-kitty," she heard herself croaking out idiotically.  "Why don’t you go back into your c-c-c-cage?"

The huge cat’s lips quivered, again revealing a terrifying flash of fangs.   But the tiger’s tail, which had been lashing the whole time, suddenly slowed. The menace seemed to die quietly away.  With a final, assessing stare at Penny, the animal turned away and padded through the open cage door into the dimness inside.

Instantly, the man sprang away from the wall and clanged the cage door shut.   Next, he clamped an arm around Penny’s waist and swept her out through the metal door into the sunshine and the normal world where loose tigers did not roam.

It was a good thing the man’s arm was strong.  Once outside, Penny’s knees gave way.  She would have sunk to the ground had not the fellow held her upright. Instead, she collapsed against him.

For an endless moment, they stood leaning together.  Penny could feel the man’s heart thumping like a steam hammer. When her own heart started to remember how to beat like it wasn’t going to explode any time soon, Penny came to herself enough to stand on her own and peel herself off the man’s chest.

“I…oh goodness…I’m s-sorry s-so s-sorry—tiger big—s-sorry—”

She was incoherent.  And felt as though the man’s shirt buttons were imprinted on her flesh.

“You should be,” the tall, broad-shouldered man suddenly roared in her ear.  “Don’t you know not to walk through a door that says, ‘Danger. Do Not Enter?’  What part of that don’t you understand?”

Penny jumped and stared.  The face next her was volcanic.  Two pale blue eyes blazed out at her. Muscles stood out in ridges all along the man’s jaw.

“You could have been killed!” he sputtered.  “Killed with one swipe of that cat’s claws.”

“I thought you saw me on a camera and were asking me to come in,” Penny cried.

That, at least, stopped the next hot burst.  The angry mouth opened and then shut again.  The jaw muscles smoothed down a bit.  The man ran rigid fingers through a wavy, dark windblown hair and struggled visibly to get a hold of himself.

“The…the tiger didn’t hurt me.  It went back inside the cage.”

Two male brows slid together thoughtfully.  A great deal of the volcanic heat in his face subsided.  The man began to look Penny over closely.

“No,” he said with a tone of incredulity, “she didn’t.  That tiger was badly abused and came to us pregnant.  She’s usually ready to maul anything within reach.  But when you…well, I’ve never seen her calm down so quickly. Who are you anyway?"

“Penny Clark.  Here about the job.  I came through the fence looking for Dr. Snowdon.”

“That’s me.” The man seemed to shake himself. “Sorry about the yelling but you gave me one helluva scare.  With the animals we keep, we can’t afford a single security breach.”

Yeah, right.  So just how had Dr.  Snowdon himself managed to get cornered in there with no means of escape in sight?

As the man motioned for her to follow and set out toward the house, Penny knew this wasn’t the time to ask.  Inwardly she debated just making a dash for her car.  How badly did she need a job that involved near death by tiger?

“Call me Garth,” the fellow said over his shoulder.

As they approached the house, Garth’s hand slipped lightly to Penny’s waist to guide her into the rear garden.  Just as he was thinking the waist was nicely trim and supple, he got a full whiff of her perfume, Lucky Love. He had to stop himself from wheezing.

Migawd, what is that perfume!  It could knock over a horse!

Quickly, he stepped out of range, and seated Penny on a stone bench. This woman had recklessly walked straight through an off-limits door and almost into a tiger’s jaws.  He couldn’t afford anybody careless enough to make a possibly fatal mistake. 

On the other hand, she hadn’t screamed or done anything stupid when Sabir approached her. Also, his chest still throbbed with the memory of her body collapsing against him.  She had made an impression on him.  A very strong impression.

Gail Hamilton has been creating novels since the great romance boom of the eighties, writing for Harlequin and other publishers. She has been a farm hand, English teacher, ad copywriter, and once rode a British Bedford truck across the Sahara and back to see Timbuctu. All of it is fodder for her fiction. She is drawn to action, romance, adventure and characters with a distinctly odd twist. These show up in her many romance novels and her fast-moving historical novel, The Tomorrow Country.

After trying urban life in Europe and Toronto, Gail returned to live on the family farm where she grew up. In this rural corner hugging the north shore of Lake Ontario, Gail digs into the rich, raucous local history. She cherishes a secret passion for animated movies and loves snapping photos of nature all around her, reading the constant changes like a newspaper every morning. What better place to hatch brand new tales for everyone’s enjoyment

Visit Gail’s website at www.gailhamiltonwriter.com.

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Blurb Blitz Tour & #Giveaway for Silk by Chris Karlsen

Welcome to my stop on the Blurb Blitz Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Silk by Chris Karlsen.  Please leave a comment or question for Chris to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway, for a $20 Amazon or B&N GC, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can follow the rest of Chris’s tour by clicking on the tour banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your chances of winning.

Silk

by Chris Karlsen

The Bloodstone Series, Book 1

Publisher:  Books to Go Now

Release Date: December 14, 2014

Genre: Historical Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Length:  301 Pages

ISBN:  978-1505458640

ASIN:   B00QSTM578

BUY LINKS:  AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | B-A-M | BOOK DEPOSITORY

About the book: 

What would you do to stay young: Lie, Manipulate…kill?

London-Fall, 1888

The city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women strangled as they stroll through.

Their investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial evidence points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better be right and have proof.

As the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more, inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.

Silk on the skin—luxurious, luscious…lethal.

EXCERPT

Events of the day and the potential satisfaction of giving Napier a bloody nose dwindled. Questions about the murder crept back into Ruddy's thoughts. Morris joined him at his table in the rear of the pub with a Guinness, the popular beer of choice in hand. “You’ve got the look of a man whose thoughts are a long distance from London.”

“No, sadly my thoughts are fixed here in the city. I’m trying to figure out a clue. Ellis’s roommate said she’d sometimes meet with a well-dressed man, a man of means the victim indicated. They’d meet up at the fountain by the British Museum.”

“Don’t know the spot but then the museum isn’t my cup of tea.”

“Not the point. I’m saying it’s odd. What member of the upper class chooses to stroll through a public garden other than Hyde or Regents, where they can see and be seen by one of their own?”

“I agree the wealthy prefer the parks filled with others of their kind but it doesn’t mean a man can’t enjoy someplace different.”

“We interviewed the guard again. The one that discovered the body walks that half of the building. He told us the majority of their male patrons are natty dressers, but he never saw a man like that loitering by the fountain.”

“My guess is: the man is married and can’t afford to run the risk of being seen by a friend of his wife’s. Or, he might live or work in the area and the spot is convenient.”

“Or, he’s a murderer who’s noticed the victim walking through the park on a regular basis, saw it as an opportunity and cozied up to her.”

Ruddy took another swallow of his ale, mentally debating the merit of each theory. “I don’t think he lives in the area. If so, he’d have cut through the park more and been seen by the guards. Not sure about the married man having a tryst idea."

To Ruddy's way of thinking, if the man was married and looking for a tumble, he’d have met her someplace other than the gardens and at a better hour.

Instinct drew him back to his original sense of the culprit and crime. “I feel like this was a crime of opportunity. I’ve thought it all along and can’t shake the sense.”

“If he was just seeking a victim, then why haven’t you had more murders like this?” Morris asked.

Ruddy downed the rest of his beer and put his tankard on the edge of the table where June would refill it. “Everyone has to start somewhere. She might be number one.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.  

Social Links: 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4822048.Chris_Karlsen

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/authorckarlsen

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

Website: http://chriskarlsen.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Karlsen/e/B005HYTQQI

BN Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/chris-karlsen

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