Review Tour & Giveaway for Captured Lies by Maggie Thom

Join author Maggie Thom on her Name Before the Masses Review Tour for Captured Lies, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, from December 11, 2013 – February 5, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question for Maggie to let her know you stopped by.  Maggie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour to please leave your email address with your comment to enter her giveaway.  You can check out the rest of Maggie’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Please stay tuned for my review which will post in the very near future. 

Captured Lies

By Maggie Thom

Publisher: Quadessence Solutions

Release Date: (Revised July 2013)

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Length: 301 Pages

ISBN: 978-0-9917272-0-9

ASIN: B009RPTFIC

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About the book:

She was kidnapped not once but twice and now someone wants her dead because of it...

Her life was a lie!

Bailey knew her upbringing wasn’t normal but she’s worked hard to stabilize her life. At 29, she finally has a good business, a stable home; her life is miles from that of her childhood. Then suddenly her mother dies, leaving a gaping hole and a discovery that they may not even be related. If Guy, the private investigator is to be believed, her life is a lie. Using the skills she learned on the streets, Bailey travels back through a sketchy and dangerous past, to find answers. Dodging bullets, staying ahead of those who want her dead and convincing Guy she can do it alone, are making it difficult to discover not only the secrets of her mother’s past but that of a family claiming she is theirs.

Everyone seems to have a story... but who’s telling the truth? And who wants her dead? Is Guy part of the solution? Or part of the problem? To discover the facts, she’ll have to untangle a web of deceit, lies, and secrets, dating back over thirty years.

But can she do it in time...

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“What have you got for me, Graham?” Guy shoved his hand through his hair, as he watched the sun wink at him over the top of the high rises. A cool wind whipped around him as he made his way around Churchill Square, careful that no one was in hearing distance of him.

“Not as much as I’d like.” There was the sound of clicking keys on a keyboard. “Donna Zajic married to Doug Zajic, disappeared June 30th, 1983. Never heard from or seen again. There was speculation that her husband killed her and did away with the body but it was never proven. There were some allegations of abuse but all charges were dropped. Another thought is that she had help to disappear. I talked with the police chief in charge back then but he said that he’s sure she had someone who hid her and then set her up with a new life. Of course he could never prove it but he’d had a gut feeling. Said that Doug Zajic was a politician through and through. He was as plastic and authentic as a Ken doll.”

Guy chuckled. “Police Chief - good guy?”

“Yeah. Dedicated and a straight shooter. Liked him. Retired now. Enjoying the simple life. At least so he said but he sure was willing to do some leg work for me if I needed it. He was mad as hell that it had never been solved. He was sure Zajic was dirty but could never make anything stick. He’s says it’s not too late to take him down. I didn’t have the heart to tell him Doug Zajic died several years ago in a hit and run.”

“So we’ve got birth dates that match. First names that match. There’s a good chance our Donna Saunders was Donna Zajic. And it looks like Mr. Lund, an esteemed lawyer with some very dark secrets, might have been behind her disappearing or at least keeping her hidden.”

“Yeah. I went through some of his files.” He whistled, long and low. “Looks like he was blackmailing a good number of people. He was blackmailing Doug Zajic and maybe Donna as well. I haven’t gotten through them all. I’ll let you know what I find.”

Guy shook his head as he listened.

“The guy is as dishonest as if he was the devil’s disciple. Oh crap! Guy that Mr. Lund is in the hospital.”

“Did someone he screwed over find him and put him there?”

“No, it sounds like natural causes – heart attack. I was just googling his name to see what I could find and here is an article written… just a sec… Sunday, April 26th.”

“That’s the same day that Bailey was there. Shit.”

“Are you saying she might have had something to do with it?”

“You do the math. He goes into cardiac arrest some time after she’s been there and she just happens to have some confidential information that I’m sure he wouldn’t have shared with the devil.” He placed his left hand over his stomach as acid poured into his gut. He sat down on the cement bleachers and hung his head. “Now what?”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Maggie Thom made the hard decision to freefall, leaving her successful, twenty year career in management, to follow her dream and passion to write full time. The leap has been adventurous and very enlightening. A long-time reader and writer, she was thrilled with the release of her first novel, Captured Lies in the fall of 2012 and her second novel, Tainted Waters released April 30th, 2013. She is busy writing her third novel, Deceitful Truths to be published late 2013 or early 2014. Having married her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience, help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years.

She can be found at:

Website: www.maggiethom.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormaggiethom

Twitter: www.twitter.com/maggiethom2

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549592.Maggie_Thom

google +:  https://plus.google.com/102887579832939598896/posts

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/maggiethom2/

Don't forget to leave a comment or question for Maggie to let her know you stopped by.  Maggie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour to please leave your email address with your comment to enter her giveaway.  You can check out the rest of Maggie’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Book Tour & Giveaway for Reforming the Playboy by Inara Scott

Join author Inara Scott on her Virtual Publicity Tour for Reformingthe Playboy, presented by Pump Up Your Book, from January 16 – February 6, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question for Inara to let her know you stopped by.  To enter my giveaway for one (1) ebook copy of Reforming the Playboy, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can follow the rest of Inara’s tour here.  

Title: Reforming the Playboy

Passion Creek, Book 1
Genre: Romance
Author: Inara Scott
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Pages: 162
Language: English
Format: Ebook

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Five years ago, she left without a word…

Internationally-renowned artist Max Estin is as well known for his million dollar commissions as he is his partying and clubbing. But Max is hiding a secret—for almost a year he’s been completely blocked. Unable to paint. And to unlock his art, and save his career, he’s going to need the one woman he never wanted to see again.

Now, he’s determined to make her pay…

Kira Estin never told Max exactly why she left, or what secrets forced her to return home to Passion Creek so abruptly. So when a chance reunion turns to seduction, Kira is more than a little suspicious. She knows better than to trust Max, but can’t fight the fire that he lights in her body—or her heart. But when everyone is hiding a secret, can even the hottest passion survive?

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Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE.

About Inara Scott

Bestselling author Inara Scott grew up on a steady diet of true love, heaving bosoms, and happily ever after. Romance inspired her first novel, penned at the age of 14, titled A Wild and Stormy Passion. Today, Inara writes anything and everything, including young adult fiction and adult romance. Inara loves to hear from readers, and can often be found avoiding actual work by playing on Twitter (@inarascott) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/inarawrites).

TWITTER *FACEBOOK * WEBSITE *GOODREADS

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Picking Lemons by J.T. Toman

Please join author J.T. Toman on her Virtual Book Tour for Picking Lemons, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours from January 26 – February 1, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question for J.T. to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter the giveaway for one ebook copy of her book at this stop by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. 

Picking Lemons
A C.J. Whitmore Mystery
Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press (October 2, 2013)
Paperback: 194 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1939816221
ASIN: B00GF4ZZA0

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About the book:

Economic theories can predict many things – just not the death of a renowned Economics professor.

When Professor Edmund DeBeyer is found dead in his office, strangled to death by his own Ph.D. hood, the police don’t have to look further than his colleagues in the Economics Department for suspects. After all, Edmund was the most despised member of the department. C.J. Whitmore, the department’s only tenured female, (who also has a penchant for wearing pink cowboy boots to class) resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery using economic principles.

Comparing tracking down murder suspects to to selecting a used car, she attempts to discern the real deals from the “lemons.” That is, which suspects are really telling the truth and which are lying to protect their guilt. Will C.J. be able to pick the lemon before her clever adversary strikes again?

Purchase Links:

Amazon   B&N

About This Author

J.T. Toman lives in Boulder, Colorado. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Yale University and has taught econometrics at the University of Sydney and the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also has a degree in zookeeping from Pikes Peak Community College and has cared for everything from butterflies to elephants. She now teaches math at Front Range Community College, and truly believes fractions are useful in everyday life.

In her spare time, J.T. Toman joins the rest of Colorado hiking, biking and skiing. However, much like her cats, she finds food more inspiring than scenery. J.T. particularly loves home- grown tomatoes, udon noodles and tall glasses of chocolate milk, but not at the same time.

Picking Lemons is her first novel.

Author Webpage: jttomanauthor.com

A quickly paced cozy mystery, Picking Lemons by J.T. Toman, takes us into the world of academia to uncover who killed a prestigious economics professor.  Filled with zany, well developed characters, lively dialogue and plenty of suspects, Ms. Toman captured my attention from the first page.  The first book in the C.J. Whitmore Mysteries, Picking Lemons is off to a good start.

After having earned tenure at Eaton by behaving as if she was one of the men in the department, C.J. Whitmore has earned the freedom to be herself.  Wearing pink cowboy boots and allowing her Southern Texas drawl to make an appearance, C.J. is ready for another year of teaching classes, writing articles and attending stuffy “seminars” given by her colleagues.  When a tenured colleague, who wasn’t very popular, gets killed on the first day of class, everyone wonders who could have committed the crime.  When a tenure seeking instructor is arrested, and another professor steps forward claiming to have committed the crime, C.J. realizes more is going on in the department than plain economics. 

As C.J. begins her investigation, and realizes everyone in the department is a suspect, she wonders if her scientific and mathematical method for solving the case will work.  Especially since everyone seems to have more than one or two secrets.  Ms. Toman does a really good job developing C.J.’s character; she’s smart, independent, outspoken and is somewhat sassy. 

Will C.J. be able to uncover the truth before another person is killed?  And will she be able to face her colleagues once she uncovers their secrets?  You’ll have to read Picking Lemons to find out.  I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book in this series.    

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns      

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

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Tour Schedule

January 26 – Kelly P’s Blog – Interview

January 27 – Queen of All She Reads – Review

January 28 – Books-n-Kisses – Review

January 29 - readalot blog – Review

January 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review

January 30 – Book Club Librarian – Review

January 31 – Books Are Life – Vita Libri – Review

February 1 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading – Review – Interview

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Through the Oracle's Mist by Aedan Byrnes

Join author Aedan Byrnes on his Virtual Book Tour for Through the Oracle’s Mist, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, from January 13 – February 7, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question to let Aedan know you stopped by.  Please be sure to leave your email address with your comment as Aedan will be awarding to one randomly drawn commenter a journal from his CafePress storefront, a charm and leather bracelet made for the story and a custom cover shepherd hook style bookmark made by Stone Soup Designs for Through the Oracle's Mist.  The bracelet leather colors and the journal cover may differ from the photo.  You can follow the rest of Aedan’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

A Rock Climbers Journey to Becoming A Fantasy Writer by Aedan Byrnes

First off, let me say, great topic! I love that your topics were personal to my life and/or journey as a writer. I am most pleased to get to post here and hopefully inspire others.

Rock Climbing and writing are similar experiences for me. While you can climb in a group, often it is a solo adventure, just as writing is generally an individual undertaking. In climbing, you are looking for the footholds or the places to grab onto to keep to the rock face and not fall. In writing, you are looking for the toeholds and the spots to tie your work together and keep the adventure from dying.

Both endeavors are also outstanding for dreaming a bit. With fantasy writing, it is creation. With climbing it is usually the summit or the next rock face. Both are steeped with longing for the pinnacle…the better tale, the higher climb; looking back at the obstacles and grinning with accomplishment upon completion. They are enmeshed with opportunities that require the participant to seize the challenge and push through adversities when things are not simple.

A good climb starts with a plan, but ends with successful navigation of the unknown. A good tale starts with a plan and ends with a new world to navigate and enjoy that you didn’t know as well as you thought when you began. Neither writing nor climbing follows a single path, nor do they always end where we expect them too...and that is the joy of them. Predictability negates the need to climb, just as it prevents the enjoyment of writing, at least for me.

In both journeys I want to have moments that make my heart race with trepidation to let me know I am alive and seeing the adventure square and head on. Be it the experience of a plot twist, or the not quite solid grasp of the next step up. I want to have moments too that seize my soul to take in what is happening, be it a sorrow in the writing, or a view that could only be seen holding fast to the sheer rock face looking out and away with nothing to catch me. Both activities are adventures to be seized and appreciated for the potential to fly or fall.

So how does a rock climber become a fantasy writer? The short answer is I never knew I wasn’t both. I’ve written for as long as I can remember, and my father taught me to love climbing from the time I could stand. I don’t use the equipment from so long ago anymore as it needs to be maintained and replaced from time to time, but I have it, and will keep it always. His jumar is a treasure. I will also be keeping the notepads, composition books and scoured over, edited first drafts of everything I’ve ever written. They are part of the journey and a reminder that the assent is never simple, but the adventure is worth the trip and to enjoy the climb.

Thank you so much for letting me guest post. I look forward to hearing more from you.  Find me and say hello…

To connect with me you can find me at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AedanByrnes

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/aedan.byrnes.7?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/#!/AedanByrnes

You can purchase book I, Through the Oracle’s Mist through these sources:

Amazon   Smashwords    Barnes & Noble

Through the Oracle’s Mist

By Aedan Byrnes

The Vengelys Series

Publisher: Drake Valley Press

Release Date: November 21, 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Length: 215 Pages

ISBN:  978-1935970187

ASIN:  B00GUVY9Q4

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About the book: 

In the blackest night, with the moon and stars to guide him, she would always be there waiting…

Cyrenna thought she died the day she watched Tynan and his brothers jump through the banishment portal in an act of solidarity with Rigor. Little did she know, it would be the first of many deaths she would experience in her quest to claim his heart. She would surrender not only her immortal soul, but a mortal one repeatedly. Through a deal with the great Oracle, she has multiple mortal lifetimes to change the direction of her future and have a chance with Tynan.

Her journey spans the ages from the GenPei War in Japan and the Silk Road west, to Cromwell, the Three Kingdoms and modern times, bringing her one step closer to forever until she makes a misstep. Then, the burden falls to Tynan. The only thing that is absolute is her fervent hope that he will come, but there’s one big problem.

Through it all, he doesn’t so much as know her name.

How many times can a man be broken? How many times can a man die and never have it be final? How many lost loves or lost chances at love will it take to undo any chance of ever becoming whole? In the purest sense…only one. Nothing I could imagine or ever endure would compete for the absolute punishing agony of her folding me into her arms to comfort me and hearing her whisper…

“I know.”

Two words. Who knew that two words would be all that it would take to loose the storm? Hardly two words really, only five letters. Five little letters with extreme power. Five little letters to rob Zeus of his most lethal bolt, focus the strike, and rend me in pieces. The surge had pushed past my pride and leaves me sobbing for the loss I had yet to experience. A loss I knew would take my breath, but I cannot die. How cruelly ironic that death has become my sole wish now?

My internal emotional upheaval is a flash storm out of place beneath the cloudless sky. The cacophony of my noisy tears and transition scatter the small creatures for miles. I have no control and shift without grace. Rage and pain coalesce to an explosion, angst roaring as the internal battle is waged and the war lost before the call to arms is done sounding. My thunderous eruption screaming against the fading light, with a rising silvery moon and shimmering stars to bear witness to my destruction. The metamorphosis from man to beast is abrupt. I shift, not with the flexing of bone and the stretching of skin, but with the crack of a gun blast and a single pull to form. It is razor wire across my senses and I am bloodied raw without a trace to be found.

A testament to her, she stands still. Not frozen, but placated to let me render the fury that must come out as I cannot hold it in. The beast from within is enormous, but not big enough to hold so much. I warned her. I told her. I had made her aware almost cruelly that first time I let my inner wild out that this day might come…could come…would come and that it would be ushered in on an unseen tide that would sweep our perfect world away. I had wanted her to be afraid. She wasn’t. She had believed, but had also naively assured me that the day would be long into the future and we would enjoy the time until then.

She had been wrong. There was nothing to say now. ‘I’m sorry’ would be a hollow sentiment and ‘I was wrong’ would do nothing as the last thing I would want to hear and know about this was that I had been right.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

There is no simple description for Aedan Byrnes. Obsessive, dreamer, reclusive, compulsive, outdoorsman and wordsmith would be among the list if one were started. The displaced Gael lives in the upper Midwest with family between jaunts wherever the road takes him. A frequent traveler, he is as likely to be found rock climbing or spelunking as sitting fireside dreaming or aimlessly floating away.

A lifelong lover of words and writing, he claims a diverse reading appetite and his writing reflects the myriad influences. A self-proclaimed 'reader's writer', he looks for the emotional and the sensory in word combinations, not just the visceral comprehension of phrases in the stories he crafts and his love of all things literary shines through.

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/AedanByrnes

Twitter   AedanByrnes

fan made video trailer: http://youtu.be/wdW5BBP6wcs

http://www.cafepress.com/AuthorAedanByrnes

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Lilas_Taha

Facebook page for the book: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shadows-of-Damascus

Don’t forget to leave a comment or question to let Aedan know you stopped by.  Please be sure to leave your email address with your comment as Aedan will be awarding to one randomly drawn commenter a journal from his CafePress storefront, a charm and leather bracelet made for the story and a custom cover shepherd hook style bookmark made by Stone Soup Designs for Through the Oracle's Mist.  The bracelet leather colors and the journal cover may differ from the photo.  You can follow the rest of Aedan’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Virtual Book Tour for Anybody's Daughter by Pamela Samuels Young

Join author Pamela Samuels Young on her Virtual Book Tour for Anybody’s Daughter, presented by Pump Up Your Book, from January 20 – April 18, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question for Pamela to let her know you stopped by.

Anybody’s Daughter

By Pamela Samuels Young

Angela Evans Series, Book 2

Publisher:  Goldman House Publishing

Release Date:   October 28, 2013

Genre:  Mystery/Thriller

Length:  376 Pages

ISBN:   978-0-989293-50-1

ASIN:  B00GC7UI8E

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About the book: 

Is Anybody’s Daughter Ever Safe?

Based on the real-life horrors faced by thousands of girls, award-winning author Pamela Samuels Young takes readers deep inside the disturbing world of child sex trafficking in a fast-paced thriller that educates as much as it entertains.

The opening chapter of Anybody’s Daughter introduces readers to thirteen-year-old Brianna Walker. She’s ecstatic because she’s about to sneak off to meet her first real boyfriend—a boyfriend she met on Facebook. But Brianna is in for a horrifying surprise because her boyfriend doesn’t exist. Instead, Brianna unwittingly becomes the captive of a ring of drug dealers-turned-human traffickers who prey on lonely girls from dysfunctional homes. But they’ve made a big mistake in targeting Brianna because she doesn’t meet either of those criteria.

Brianna’s Uncle Dre, a man with his own criminal past, is determined to find the niece who is more like a daughter to him. Rather than sit back and rely on police to bring Brianna home, Dre scours the dark corners of Los Angeles looking for her. He is stunned to learn that the trafficking of children isn’t just happening in other countries. It’s occurring at epidemic levels right in his own backyard.

Dre is not alone in his desperate search. Loretha Johnson knows this world well. A social worker who previously lived “the life,” Loretha now dedicates her time to saving as many young girls as she can find. She turns out to be an invaluable resource for Dre, who ultimately gets a lead on The Shepherd, a mastermind in the trafficking world whose every move is fueled by ego and greed. Dre vows to bring The Shepherd’s reign of terror to an end, even if he has to break the law to do it.

While Brianna makes a futile effort to thwart her captors, Dre is getting closer and closer to finding her. The woman he loves, attorney Angela Evans, knows the dangers faced by sexually exploited children because she represents them in juvenile court. Angela lends her moral support and, eventually, an important clue to Brianna’s whereabouts.

As he races against the clock, Dre ultimately comes up with a daring plan—one that puts many lives in danger, including his own. But will he find Brianna before it’s too late?

Kirkus Reviews called Anybody’s Daughter “A fast-paced, well-written thriller that’s grounded in important social issues.”

Buy Links:  Amazon │Barnes & Noble 

ABOUT PAMELA SAMUELS YOUNG

When attorney and author Pamela Samuels Young isn’t practicing law, you can usually find her penning her next legal thriller. Described by one reviewer as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist,” Pamela is an award-winning author of six novels.

Pamela has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hot shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, the Compton native decided to create her own characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her ambitious goal by getting up at four in the morning to write before work, dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to her laptop for ten or more hours a day. In the process, she discovered her passion.

Her debut novel, Every Reasonable Doubt (2006), won the Black Expressions Book Club’s Fiction Writing Contest, received an honorable mention in the SEAK Legal Fiction Writing Competition and was a finalist for USA Book News’ Best Books of 2006 awards in the mystery, suspense and thriller category. Her second novel, In Firm Pursuit (2007), was honored by Romantic Times magazine as a finalist for Best African-American Novel of 2007. Murder on the Down Low (2008), Pamela’s third release, was an “Editor’s Pick” by Black Expressions magazine and a finalist for the 2009 African-American Literary Awards in the fiction category. The Black Caucus of the American Library Association honored Pamela’s fourth novel, Buying Time (2009), with its 2010 Fiction Award, calling the book “a captivating, suspenseful thriller.” Attorney-Client Privilege (2012) was Pamela’s fifth legal thriller, followed by Anybody’s Daughter (2013), which examines the shocking world of child sex trafficking.

The prolific writer has also penned the short stories Easy Money, featured in the anthology Scoundrels: Tales of Greed, Murder and Financial Crimes (2012) and Setup, selected for the Sisters in Crime anthology, LAndmarked for Murder (2006).

A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career with WXYZ-TV in Detroit and later worked as a news writer and associate producer for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Burned out by the news business, Pamela took a big and scary step a few months before her 30th birthday and entered law school—a long-held dream. Pamela currently moonlights as a mystery writer while working full-time as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law for a major corporation in Southern California, specializing in employment law and social media law. Prior to that, she served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years as an associate with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, in Los Angeles.

A graduate of UC Berkeley’s School of Law, Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC and a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women mystery writers. A graduate of Compton High School, Pamela lives in the Los Angeles area and attends Hope in Christ Community Church in Compton.

Pamela is a frequent speaker on the topics of fiction writing, discrimination law and pursuing your passion. To read an excerpt of Pamela’s books or to schedule her for a speaking engagement or book club meeting via speakerphone, Skype, FaceTime or in person, visit her website atwww.pamelasamuelsyoung.com or email her at authorpamelasamuelsyoung@gmail.com.

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Trapped by Revenge by Colleen Helme

Join author Colleen Helme on her Virtual Book Tour for Trapped by Revenge, presented by Great Escapes Book Tours, from January 20 – Feb 1, 2014.  Please leave a comment or question below to let Colleen 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 her tour here.  My review will post later today.

Guest Post - How Shelby Nichols Got Her Grove by Colleen Helme

I was at the grocery store one day, and heard about a robbery at the bank inside the store. It had just happened a few days earlier and I wondered what I would have done if I’d been there. People talked about how scary it was and I could just picture the scene as the bank robber threatened people and pointed his gun. I’m sure everyone ran for cover, or at least ducked down for safety. The idea took hold of my imagination and soon a story began to form. But it wasn’t until I decided to give my main character, Shelby Nichols, the power to read minds that it really took off.

 

I began my writing career in the fantasy genre, and had two fantasy novels published before I started CARROTS, the first Shelby Nichols Adventure. I’ve always been fascinated by magic and super-powers, so it was only natural that I picked that genre in which to write. Giving Shelby a super-power made sense to me, and having her acquire it during the bank robbery was the perfect start. The more I wrote, the more I began to love this crazy housewife and all her quirks. She can be fearless, and just a little bit stubborn. Add that to a propensity to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and there’s a whole lot of trouble just waiting to happen.

 

I finished the novel and realized I had written a mystery with a paranormal twist. What a surprise. I never pictured myself as a mystery writer, but with all the twists and turns the series has taken, it’s definitely true. Shelby is not even close to being a normal P.I., but she’s really trying to embrace her new ability and make something of it. Kind of like me as a mystery writer. I’m just grateful I have Shelby to write about, she’s always getting into trouble, which gives me plenty of ideas for future novels!

 

Thanks for hosting me!

Trapped by Revenge

By Colleen Helme

A Shelby Nichols Adventure, Volume 5

Publisher:  Colleen Helme

Release Date: November 11, 2013

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Length:  193 Pages

ISBN:  978-1-492936-41-1

ASIN:  B00GMCIG24

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About this book:

With summer over Shelby is looking forward to having some time to herself while the kids are back in school. A phone call from Uncle Joey ruins her plans, but she manages to take it in stride. After lunch with her friend, she promises to meet with the private investigator who was spying on Uncle Joey, but this simple task turns into a disaster. Not only does she find the P.I. dead, but a slip of paper with her name on it under his lifeless hand implicates her for his murder.

Desperate to prove her innocence and find the person who killed him, Shelby begins a frantic search. She enlists the aid of the local mob boss, Uncle Joey, his hit-man, Ramos, and her police detective friend, Dimples, but soon finds that nothing can save her from becoming entangled in a sinister plot.

With her life on the line and no way out, she finds herself trapped by revenge, and realizes it will take all her skills to escape. Now she must choose where her loyalties lie, and hope she doesn’t trade something bad, for something even worse.

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About This Author 

A long career as a wife and mother while juggling several part-time jobs gave Colleen the ambition to dream of being a published author, where she could put her imagination to good use. Now instead of making up stories to tell her children, she writes books they love to read. Hopefully you will too. She is the author of three romantic fantasy novels, Songbird, Flame of Destiny and The Relic. Her Shelby Nichols Adventures include Carrots, Fast Money, Lie or Die, Secrets That Kill, and Trapped by Revenge with more to come.

Website:  http://www.colleenhelme.com,

Website:  http//www.shelbynicholsconsulting.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ColleenHelmeAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ColleenHelme

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