Oh do I have a treat for you today!!!!  Do I know my fabulous and fantastic followers or not???  Grab a chair because you are going to want to stay a while for today’s guest.  You comfy?  Ready?  OK…Please help me welcome cozy mystery author, Ms. Kari Lee Townsend!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kari Lee Townsend lives in upstate New York with her very understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramatic daughter who keep her grounded and make everything she does worthwhile, not to mention provide her with loads of material for her books  She spends her days and nights trying to figure out who dunnit. Funny how no one at home will confess any more than the characters in her books. You can find out more about Kari and all her books at her website at www.karileetownsend.com as well as her group mystery blog Mysteries and Martinis www.myteriesandmartinisblogspot.com or connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/karileetownsend and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/karileetownsendAUTHOR

First in a new series by Kari Lee Townsend

In the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal—and her predictions can be lethally accurate…

Leaving behind the Big Apple for the quaint town of Divinity, New York, Sunny is determined to make it on her own as a psychic. With an ancient Victorian house as her place of business, Sunny uses various tools to interpret her visions and aid the town’s residents. But when she uses tea leaves to give a reading for a frazzled librarian, what she finds at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful. Sunny informs the police of her deadly vision, but her warning comes too late. And with hard-nosed, ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone denying her abilities and naming her as prime suspect, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that the situation is dire. Now Sunny will have to use her visions to clear her name, before the killer can put an end to the psychic’s future…
Watch for my review in the coming weeks.
 



Oh do I have a treat for you today!!!!  Do I know my fabulous and fantastic followers or not???  Grab a chair because you are going to want to stay a while for today’s guest.  You comfy?  Ready?  OK…Please help me welcome cozy mystery author, Ms. Kari Lee Townsend!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kari Lee Townsend lives in upstate New York with her very understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramatic daughter who keep her grounded and make everything she does worthwhile, not to mention provide her with loads of material for her books  She spends her days and nights trying to figure out who dunnit. Funny how no one at home will confess any more than the characters in her books. You can find out more about Kari and all her books at her website at www.karileetownsend.com as well as her group mystery blog Mysteries and Martinis www.myteriesandmartinisblogspot.com or connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/karileetownsend and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/karileetownsendAUTHOR

First in a new series by Kari Lee Townsend

In the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal—and her predictions can be lethally accurate…

Leaving behind the Big Apple for the quaint town of Divinity, New York, Sunny is determined to make it on her own as a psychic. With an ancient Victorian house as her place of business, Sunny uses various tools to interpret her visions and aid the town’s residents. But when she uses tea leaves to give a reading for a frazzled librarian, what she finds at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful. Sunny informs the police of her deadly vision, but her warning comes too late. And with hard-nosed, ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone denying her abilities and naming her as prime suspect, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that the situation is dire. Now Sunny will have to use her visions to clear her name, before the killer can put an end to the psychic’s future…
Watch for my review in the coming weeks.
 



In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade (even though he still resents having cut his hair for that first interview).  He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door to door phone book deliverer, and the list goes downhill from there.

Layton lives with his wife and son in Miami.

In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade (even though he still resents having cut his hair for that first interview).  He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door to door phone book deliverer, and the list goes downhill from there.

Layton lives with his wife and son in Miami.

When I receive an email from an independent author asking me to review their novel, to me, it is such an honor, but there are just not enough hours in the day to read all these wonderful books.  But I can share them with you in hopes that you may have some time.  So please help me welcome Ms. Lisa Becker to the CMash blog!!

Lisa Becker had endured her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates, many of which inspired Click: An Online Love Story. She is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for you!
You can visit with Lisa on Facebook and post comments.

Since my novel, Click: An Online Love Story first published, I’ve been asked a myriad of times, “why did you write the book entirely in emails?” Well, many years ago, I read a book called e by Matthew Beaumont which tells the story of a fictitious ad agency vying for a big account, with the story all told in emails. I remember it distinctly, because I was on an airplane from Los Angeles to New York laughing out loud and getting wildly strange looks from my fellow passengers.

After my husband and I married (we met on a popular online dating site), I was recalling some of the hilarious experiences that I had with both traditional and online dating. I decided to capture some of them in writing and from there, a novel emerged. I remembered how much I had enjoyed e and thought that narrative style would work really well for the story I wanted to tell about the online dating world. It was a modern way of storytelling that fit the topic and the times.

Click: An Online Love Story is loosely based on my real-life dating experiences, as well as stories friends have shared with me. In some cases, things are written as they actually occurred. Honestly, how could I forget a date with Pete who started every story (no joke!) with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night”?

In some cases, I’ve drawn on characteristics of people in my personal life to add depth and humor. For example, Shelly’s hilarious habit of giving nicknames to her “man du jour” was inspired by a childhood friend of mine who had a nickname for a guy in college that she admired from across the dorm cafeteria. She called him Maverick because he looked like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Much like Shelley, she is a self-confident, gorgeous, lovely gal and it wasn’t long before they met and dated for a spell.

And finally, other Click scenarios are exaggerated for comedic affect or are completely fictionalized.

But, the result is – I hope – a fun book for anyone who has ever been in love, been dumped, been on a bad date or is searching for the one. And, as I’ve said many times before, if it happened for me, there’s hope for you.
To download a sample of Click: An Online Love Story, visit here.
 

Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, dating, with a prospect or even a house full of cats, Renee Greene reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-retentive Mark, the overly-judgmental Gretchen and the sexed-up Shelly) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night,” to the egotistical B celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC’s, FWD’s and inadvertent Reply to All’s, readers will root for Renee to “click” with the right man.  

When I receive an email from an independent author asking me to review their novel, to me, it is such an honor, but there are just not enough hours in the day to read all these wonderful books.  But I can share them with you in hopes that you may have some time.  So please help me welcome Ms. Lisa Becker to the CMash blog!!

Lisa Becker had endured her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates, many of which inspired Click: An Online Love Story. She is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for you!
You can visit with Lisa on Facebook and post comments.

Since my novel, Click: An Online Love Story first published, I’ve been asked a myriad of times, “why did you write the book entirely in emails?” Well, many years ago, I read a book called e by Matthew Beaumont which tells the story of a fictitious ad agency vying for a big account, with the story all told in emails. I remember it distinctly, because I was on an airplane from Los Angeles to New York laughing out loud and getting wildly strange looks from my fellow passengers.

After my husband and I married (we met on a popular online dating site), I was recalling some of the hilarious experiences that I had with both traditional and online dating. I decided to capture some of them in writing and from there, a novel emerged. I remembered how much I had enjoyed e and thought that narrative style would work really well for the story I wanted to tell about the online dating world. It was a modern way of storytelling that fit the topic and the times.

Click: An Online Love Story is loosely based on my real-life dating experiences, as well as stories friends have shared with me. In some cases, things are written as they actually occurred. Honestly, how could I forget a date with Pete who started every story (no joke!) with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night”?

In some cases, I’ve drawn on characteristics of people in my personal life to add depth and humor. For example, Shelly’s hilarious habit of giving nicknames to her “man du jour” was inspired by a childhood friend of mine who had a nickname for a guy in college that she admired from across the dorm cafeteria. She called him Maverick because he looked like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Much like Shelley, she is a self-confident, gorgeous, lovely gal and it wasn’t long before they met and dated for a spell.

And finally, other Click scenarios are exaggerated for comedic affect or are completely fictionalized.

But, the result is – I hope – a fun book for anyone who has ever been in love, been dumped, been on a bad date or is searching for the one. And, as I’ve said many times before, if it happened for me, there’s hope for you.
To download a sample of Click: An Online Love Story, visit here.
 

Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, dating, with a prospect or even a house full of cats, Renee Greene reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-retentive Mark, the overly-judgmental Gretchen and the sexed-up Shelly) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night,” to the egotistical B celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC’s, FWD’s and inadvertent Reply to All’s, readers will root for Renee to “click” with the right man.  

I am going to let you in on a little secret today.  I am always honored, and a bit nervous, when an author stops by my blog to visit and talk about their latest novel.  And what’s even more amazing is that two years ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was lol.  Today not only am I nervous because of today’s guest, but am star struck as well!!!

I received an email with a request to read an review this author’s book, however, being so behind, I had to say no, which is very hard for me, but offered her to come and visit so that she could tell us all about her book.  She accepted.  In her email were these words  “I’m a recovered soap star turned ghost writer,screenwriter, feral cat wrangler, and novelist.”  Me, being inquisitive, I visited her website, and couldn’t believe my eyes.  I had just booked an author, who was on a “soap” that I had watched on and off from when I was in High School, Days Of Our Lives.  So if I appear more anxious, you now know why.

So, please, help me give a warm welcome to multi talented, Staci Greason, to the CMash blog!!!

The Last Great American Housewife isn’t the first book she’s written, but it is the first one published under the name her parents gave her. Which has made them proud.
You can visit Staci at her website.
 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Kate Miller may be THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE left in Van Nuys. But as she sails toward forty on the wave of a pretty good (albeit somewhat boring) life with a husband and two kids, the death of her dysfunctional mother sends Kate out on the ledge…and straight up a tree. Surveying her life from atop an endangered Ponderosa Pine near The Fashion Square Plaza Mall, Kate learns more than how to fight for a cause. She learns how one frightened woman can actually discover her true self, one branch at a time. And right down the street from her own backyard.

UPDATE:  THE PB EDITION WILL BE RELEASED MID SEPTEMBER!!

I am going to let you in on a little secret today.  I am always honored, and a bit nervous, when an author stops by my blog to visit and talk about their latest novel.  And what’s even more amazing is that two years ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was lol.  Today not only am I nervous because of today’s guest, but am star struck as well!!!

I received an email with a request to read an review this author’s book, however, being so behind, I had to say no, which is very hard for me, but offered her to come and visit so that she could tell us all about her book.  She accepted.  In her email were these words  “I’m a recovered soap star turned ghost writer,screenwriter, feral cat wrangler, and novelist.”  Me, being inquisitive, I visited her website, and couldn’t believe my eyes.  I had just booked an author, who was on a “soap” that I had watched on and off from when I was in High School, Days Of Our Lives.  So if I appear more anxious, you now know why.

So, please, help me give a warm welcome to multi talented, Staci Greason, to the CMash blog!!!

The Last Great American Housewife isn’t the first book she’s written, but it is the first one published under the name her parents gave her. Which has made them proud.
You can visit Staci at her website.
 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Kate Miller may be THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE left in Van Nuys. But as she sails toward forty on the wave of a pretty good (albeit somewhat boring) life with a husband and two kids, the death of her dysfunctional mother sends Kate out on the ledge…and straight up a tree. Surveying her life from atop an endangered Ponderosa Pine near The Fashion Square Plaza Mall, Kate learns more than how to fight for a cause. She learns how one frightened woman can actually discover her true self, one branch at a time. And right down the street from her own backyard.

UPDATE:  THE PB EDITION WILL BE RELEASED MID SEPTEMBER!!