Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Cake & Punishment by Maymee Bell

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Cake & Punishment by Maymee Bell.  Please leave a comment or question for Maymee to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the steps on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck!


About the Book

Cake and Punishment
By Maymee Bell
A Southern Cake Baker Mystery, Book 1

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Setting: Kentucky
Length: 257 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683315711
ASIN: B075QJM2W8

Purchase Links: Amazon  B&N   Kobo 



In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, Sophia Cummings, pastry chef extraordinaire, must craft the perfect cake for an old friend’s wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder.

Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef. Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York City. She’s not there a minute before she’s charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte’s wedding cake. The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile’s body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.


With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it’s not Emile’s. She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef. The mood in the country club is grim: Emile’s peppery personality had burned members and staff alike. Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?


About the Author

Maymee Bell is the pen name of USA Today Bestselling author Tonya Kappes. She lives in Kentucky with her family and her two schnauzers. She likes strong coffee, slow-country days, and fresh-baked cookies – but she like telling stores best of all. This is her first SOUTHERN BAKER MYSTERY.

Visit Tonya:

Facebook at Author Tonya Kappes:
https://www.facebook.com/authortonyakappes


Website: tonyakappes.com






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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Book Blast & #Giveaway for Dead Giveaway by Diane Benefiel


Welcome to my stop on the Book Blast, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Dead Giveaway by Diane Benefiel.  Please leave a comment or question for Diane to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter Diane's tour wide giveaway where she will be awarding a $15 in Boroughs Bucks + a copy of Flash Point to a randomly drawn commenter.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above. The more stops you visit, the better your chances of winning.  Good Luck!

Dead Giveaway
By Diane Benefiel
High Sierras, Book 2

Pubisher:  Boroughs Publishing
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Genre: Suspense/Mystery
Length: 224 Pages
ISBN: 978-1986885980
ASIN: B07C97NJ64
THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN

If asked, Gwendolyn Ballard would admit she co-parented her best friend Chloe's son, Cameron. Now Gwen is all he's got as they flee from the man who murdered his mother. There's only one place Cameron will be safe, and that's with his uncle, Elijah MacElvoy. Arriving on his doorstep at the Broken Arrow Ranch is a desperate decision, and Gwen knows he'd slam the door in her face if she didn't have his nephew with her. But she'll do anything for Cam, even if it means putting up with Elijah's distrust and judgment.

Chloe's dead. Cam's orphaned, and Elijah is confronted with the prospect of living with the one woman who's driven him crazy for the past ten years. He'll fight to keep her safe. That's encoded in his DNA. But can he trust her with a little boy who just lost his mother? As Eli watches how Gwen loves and cares for his nephew, he reevaluates his thinking and gives in to the smoldering attraction he felt the first time he saw her. With so much on the line, Eli comes clean about his past, making way for a future that's all about silver linings.

         



 Excerpt

In the long, drawn-out moment that Eli stared at her, she saw something flicker in his expression. The flint gray eyes she remembered so well seemed to burn over her, his scrutiny like a physical touch. Gwen kept her feet locked to the ground even as the insane urge to turn and run surged through her.

He shifted his gaze to Cameron, then back to her. Cameron’s death grip nearly cut off the circulation in her fingers.

“Gwendolyn.” His deep voice held a timbre that, despite their mutual animosity, had always sent warm shivers down her spine.

“Elijah.” She held her breath as tension swelled, and waited for the door to slam in their faces. He stepped back.

“We can come in?”

With a mocking look, he opened the door wider. She let out her breath in a shaky sigh. Two dogs, the larger a Rottweiler mix, the smaller a fluffy black and white terrier, sat at alert, the terrier all but quivering in excitement. Stepping into the warm house, Gwen felt the fear and panic she’d been carrying ease a fraction, leaving behind an aching exhaustion. For tonight at least, she and Cameron were safe.

The dogs sat with butts planted. Keeping Cameron at her side, she held out a hand to each of them to let them get her scent.

Nerves jumping, Gwen straightened. She hadn’t seen Eli for over five years and the subtle signs of the passing of time were evident. While he still maintained the rangy, lean build he carried on a tall frame, his face showed fine lines fanning out from narrowed eyes. He wore his straight brown hair longer than she remembered, combed back except for where it fell across his forehead.

His bearing, the way he carried himself, made her think of a cowboy sheriff in the old West, tough and unshakable. After the terror of the past days, she needed someone with that unyielding steadfastness on her side. She really hoped that he would be on her side.

She could see the questions in the hooded eyes, but he didn’t ask why she had shown up at his door.

Cameron gave his uncle a cautious look. Eli must have sensed the boy’s reserve, because he crouched down on one knee. Gwen watched, curious as to how he would interact with his nephew.

“Cameron, this big guy is Bubba, and the little one is Oreo.” Eli’s voice was low and calming.

“Oreo?” Cameron leaned down to pet the little dog. “That’s because he’s black and white, right?” Oreo reached out a tongue to lick his hand.

Eli’s features softened fractionally. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Cameron flashed a brief smile, one of the first Gwen had seen in days. Eli rose and led them into the room. The entryway opened to a comfortable living room with a large couch and a recliner that invited curling up with a good book. A fire warmed the room from behind a wrought-iron screen, and a large area rug in front of it covered the knotted-pine floor. Even if Eli wasn’t exactly welcoming, his house felt homey.

“What took you so long to get here?” The abrupt question startled her. He had been expecting them? The idea that he had somehow known she would come to him, had been waiting for her, unsettled her, like there was some unspoken connection between them. And that didn’t bear thinking about.

About the Author:
National Readers' Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.

A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband. Diane loves hearing from her readers.

Website: http://www.dianebenefiel.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DianeBenefielRomance
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dianebenefiel
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/diane_benefiel
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/author/show/8075321.Diane_Benefiel
BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/diane-benefiel
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/diane_benefiel


BUY LINKS:  Boroughs Publishing  Apple   B&N   Kobo    Smashwords   Amazon



Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Blurb Blitz & #Giveaway for Edger by David Beem

Welcome to my stop on the Blurb Blitz, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Edger by David Beem.  Please leave a comment or question for David to let him know you stopped by.  You may enter his tour wide giveaway, where one randomly chosen commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon/BN GC, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck!

Edger
By David Beem

Publisher: Escapist Press
Release Date: April 2, 2018
Genre: Comedy/Fiction
Length: 365 Pages
ISBN: 978-0983872429
ASIN: B079VDP8NC

Buy Link:  Amazon 



About the book:



It’s been said every story must start somewhere. Ours begins with a professional dork. The kind who fixes computers and lives in his gran’s basement. The kind tapped by destiny (that saucy minx) to become the world’s first superhero!

And not a moment too soon…

A nano-sized artificial intelligence is on the loose! It got itself dart-gunned into a cow butt by a frog man in a porn store! Two stoners are corrupting it on twitter! And that’s just the first three pages!!

Join our dork of destiny as he channels the collective unconscious—his psychic superpower—in a harrowing tale of high drama, romance, betrayal, revenge, jesus chickens, cocaine, weirdos, magicians, ninjas, nfl spies, and disco ball water torture administered to the tune of rapture, by blondie. My god, man, what does it all mean!?

It means uncorking that next bottle of wine isn’t only a good idea—it’s advisable.


Excerpt

I drop the handful of ninja throwing stars back into their pouch on my utility belt and the overhead light glimmers off my hand, hitting the tiny silver nodules encircling the letter Z engraved on my superhero ring.

“Z is for Zarathustra,” says Mikey, noticing me looking at it. “As in Nietzsche’s ‘Superman.’ The goal of the human race is to produce a single cataclysmic individual who renders civilization as we know it obsolete.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

“Depends on your point of view. To quote Nietzsche: God is dead. He’s been dead for a long time now. It’s why the world is the way it is. But you’re going to change that. For anyone who can access the Collective Unconscious, the future will be united in purpose, and not for any one person’s God—but for the wellbeing of all. Imagine a world like that.”

I gaze down at the ring on my finger and a not insignificant amount of trepidation hardens in my stomach.

“Sounds like you’re setting up this Zarathustra—me—to replace God,” I say.

“Are you religious?”

“No.”

“Then what do you care? Look. Relax. Enough of this God crap. Don’t take everything so seriously.”

“Ri-ight. Because when I think Edger Bonkovich, I think, now there’s a guy who’s taking life too seriously.”

The door opens to admit Mary dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra and my remaining ability to concentrate goes up in smoke.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David Beem enjoys superhero movies, taekwondo, and flossing. He lives in Djibouti with his family and crippling self-doubt. Help actualize David’s inner confidence. Visit his website today, and buy all the stuff.





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Thursday, April 19, 2018

Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Unringing the Bell by Judy Higgins

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Unringing the Bell by Judy Higgins.  Please leave a comment or question for Judy to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway, where one randomly chosen commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon/BN GC, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck!

Unringing the Bell
By Judy Higgins
Bucks County Mysteries, Book 1

Publisher: Gossart Publications
Release Date: December 27, 2017
Genre: Mystery
Length: 338 Pages
ISBN: 978-0692998854
ASIN: B078W8Q4RB

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N


About the book:


In the small town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania, people don't forget. Especially something as sensational as 12-year-old Jacob Gillis burning down the town. Nineteen years later, Jacob returns, hoping for redemption. Instead, he finds himself entangled in a murder investigation. The prosecutor, taking advantage of Jacob's involvement with the victim's beautiful sister-in-law, threatens Jacob with loss of career and reputation if he doesn't play by his rules. Only by outwitting the prosecutor can Jacob save his future.





EXCERPT

When Jacob Gillis was twelve years old, he burned down the town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania. The fire didn’t actually consume the entire town – only two blocks of the four-block business section went up in flames – but when the folks in Goose Bend spoke of the incident, they persisted in saying that Jacob Gillis, abetted by his friend Charlie Garrett, burned down the town.

Jacob watched Laskey walk back to the Sequoia, his limp barely detectable, and for the thousandth time he wondered why his friend kept what had happened to his foot a secret. But there were some places Laskey didn’t go – formidable Laskey with his gruff manner and hard-muscled body. He was a private person and sometimes a grizzly bear, but he had a goose-down heart which he tried like heck to hide. But Jacob knew.

Laskey grasped the arms of his chair and pushed his feet hard against the floor to contain himself. For a brief moment, the thought had rushed through his head that a jail term for assaulting a DA would be worth enduring for the pleasure of smashing Inglehook’s head against his desk.

Laskey squared his shoulders, turned around, and looked Jacob in the eyes. “Don’t get yourself in a mess, Jake. Extrication isn’t always possible.” He started for the door.  

“Give back the painting,” he called over his shoulder. “And Jake,” he paused and twisted around. “Don’t ever mistake pretty wrappings for the quality of the gift inside.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Judy Higgins was born in South Georgia where she grew up playing baseball, reading, and taking piano lessons. To pay for her lessons, she raised chickens and sold eggs to neighbors. She attended Mercer University for two years, and then Baylor University from which she graduated with a BA in German. She received her MA in German literature from The University of Michigan. After teaching German for several years, Judy decided to become a librarian and earned an MA in Library Science at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

Judy’s life took an exciting turn when she left her teaching job in Pennsylvania to be Head of Library at the Learning Center School of Qatar Foundation. She lived in Qatar for eight years, enjoying the experience of living in a different culture and traveling to exotic places during every vacation. Recently, she returned to the United States and lives in Lexington, KY. Judy has two children, Julia and Stephen, two children-in-law, Jim and Erin, and four grandchildren: Kyle, Jon, Karina, and Addy.

Judy’s first book, The Lady, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Break-out Novel Award. The first two novels of her Bucks County Mysteries, Unringing the Bell and Bride of the Wind are available March 1, 2018. The series is set in an imaginary small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Call me Mara, the story of Ruth and Naomi, is scheduled for publication in March, 2019.

In addition to writing, Judy’s passions include travel, tennis, elephants, and playing the piano.

Connect with Judy:
Bucks County Mysteries: http://www.Buckscountymysteries.com




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Thursday, March 22, 2018

Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for For This Moment by Holly Bush


Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, organized by Goddess Fish Promotions, for For This Moment by Holly Bush.  Please leave a comment or question for Holly to let her know you stopped by.  Holly will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner, to enter the giveaway please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your chances of winning.  Good Luck!

For This Moment
By Holly Bush
The Gentrys of Paradise, Book 3

Publisher:  Holly Bush Books
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 219 Pages
ISBN: 978-0578200774
ASIN: B0795BC3Z1


Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.




About the book:

1871 - Born to privilege and duty in Virginia, Olivia Gentry comes of age as women begin to find their social and political independence. She has been raised and educated to carry on the Gentry family’s successful horse breeding stables with her brothers at Paradise, their family home. Having been deceived in love as a young woman and unsure of her instincts, she is wary to commit to a marriage, but she cannot deny her long-buried feelings for a family friend.

Jim Somerset has been in love with Olivia Gentry from the moment she gazed up at him as a young girl. A farrier by trade like his father before him, he and his business’s future are inexorably entwined with the Gentry family. He has watched her be courted by statesmen, and considers her and her goals out of the reach of a common workman, like himself. But he is fearful that he will never rid Olivia from his mind and from his heart. Has the moment come for him to reveal his passions for her? Find out in the third instalment of the Gentrys of Paradise.



Excerpt 


Olivia understood herself enough to know that she had lost her confidence, and even though others might see her as wealthy and educated and fortunate, which she was, she was still fragile and unsure of how her future would unfold. Any man she married or fixed on would be a central part of that future. Would define in society’s eyes whether her hopes and dreams were fulfilled, whether her personal happiness and the draw of competency and ambition she had for herself would cross paths.

She supposed that she should end her self-imposed exile. What good did it do her to hide in her room? She’d answered some of her own questions in the last four months. She did wish to marry. She wanted children of her own. She wanted a companion, a man, all for herself, not meant to be shared with others. She wanted to experience intimacy, and although she could do that outside the bounds of marriage, she couldn’t imagine it. How could one achieve the intimacy necessary to complete the act with a person that one had no relationship with, either from personal choice or law?

The final question, of course, was whether she would achieve any of those goals if love wasn’t evident. Her mother and father hadn’t been in love when they married. Yet they had grown to love each other and built a successful life together. Olivia believed that she could do as many other women had done before. Marry with purpose. Marry to achieve goals. Marry, not for love, but for compatibility and future hopes.

About the Author:

Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and occasional Women’s Fiction title. Her books are described as emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance. She makes her home with her husband in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Connect with Holly at www.hollybushbooks.com  
and on Twitter @hollybushbooks and on Facebook at Holly Bush.

Website:  







Thursday, March 15, 2018

Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Playing with Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James.  Please leave a comment or question for Dorothy to let her know you stopped by. You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good luck!

Playing with Bonbon Fire
By Dorothy St. James
A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery, Book 2

Publisher:  Crooked Lane Books
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Length: 362 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683314684

ASIN: B074MBXLWX



Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | IndieBound



Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.

Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.

Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away in Playing With Bonbon Fire, the delightful second Southern Chocolate Shop mystery served up just right for fans of JoAnna Carl and Joanne Fluke.



Excerpt from PLAYING WITH BONBON FIRE by Dorothy St. James.  Copyright © Dorothy St. James.  Reprinted by permission of
Crooked Lane Books.


One of my uncles had already tried to use violence to get me out of the picture in order to hurry the sale of the property. So the thought that one of Mabel’s greedy children had tossed the rock through the window in an attempt to scare me into packing my bags and going home shouldn’t have surprised me.

The joke was on them, though. I didn’t have a home to go back to. My father’s side of the family made sure I’d never feel at home in any of the Penn mansions. My half sister Tina was the only member of my family who treated me with kindness.

If not for her, Bixby Lewis wouldn’t be standing in my shop right now.

“If this rock was aimed at you, we need to report it,” I said to him. “Even if it’s just a threat from an overzealous fan, we have to keep you safe.”

“Penn’s right. I hate to say it, but we need to tell Hank Byrd,” Bertie agreed.

“Not him.” Just the thought of talking with Camellia Beach’s police chief made me groan. According to Byrd, crime hadn’t existed in his quaint beach town until I’d moved in.

While he didn’t suspect me of breaking any laws, he blamed me for bringing criminals into town with me. The arrival of Bixby Lewis and his crazy stalker fan would only add fuel to that ridiculous theory of his.

Even so, Bertie was right. I needed to make that call.

“No!” Bixby grabbed my wrist and pulled the cell phone out of my hand before I had the chance to punch in the numbers. “Don’t tell anyone. The publicity will only cause more crazies to crawl out of their hidey holes to make trouble. Trust me on this one. I deal with this almost every day.”

“Son, someone tosses rocks through your window on a daily basis? That would burn my biscuits,” Bertie drawled in her lovely, deep Southern voice.

I introduced Bixby to Bertie and explained how he was a singing star of mega proportions.

“I know who he is,” Bertie fussed. “I might be old, but there’s nothing wrong with my hearing. I listen to the radio. I love your ‘Honey Got a Hold on Me’ tune. Listen to it while folding my laundry.” She tossed back her head and belted out the refrain, which included a description of the singer going back to his girlfriend’s house and making the walls tremble. It sounded quite naughty coming from someone well over seventy years old.

Bixby’s cheeks turned beet red as he politely thanked her for enjoying his work.

I giggled. I often giggled inappropriately when I got nervous.

He smiled kindly in my direction before saying, “Don’t worry about the window. I’ll replace it. In the meantime, I’d rather focus on celebrating great beach music than wasting time talking with the police.”

“But—” I started to protest.

“I’m fine, Penn.” He put his hand on my shoulder in the same way Bertie had earlier to


Mystery author Dorothy St. James was born in New York but raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on an artsy island community in South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn’t as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

Known for the White House Gardener Mystery series, Dorothy is going back to her roots and setting a mystery series in a Southern beach town much like the one she’s called home for the past 20 years. The Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries combine her love of fine chocolates, quirky Southern charm, with a dash of danger.

* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of the award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”

Author Links



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