Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase, WOW, WOW Tours

Guest Author SARA CONNELL showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash October 24, 2013 1 Comment

WELCOME SARA CONNELL

SARA CONNELL

Sara Connell is an author, speaker, and life coach with a private practice in Chicago. She has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, NPR, The View, FOX News and Katie Couric. Sara’s writing has been featured in: The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, Psychobabble, Evolving Your Spirit, and Mindful Metropolis magazines. Her first book, Bringing in Finn; an Extraordinary Surrogacy Story (Sept 4, 2012 Seal Press), was nominated for Book of the Year 2012 by Elle magazine.
Connect with Sara at these sites:

GUEST POST

Even before the seven-year journey I took to have a child, I would have said that every birth is extraordinary. The phenomenon of an egg and a sperm joining to create a human life is, to me, miraculous. Paradoxically, I’d always thought, the way an egg and sperm come together—through sex—is a wonderfully basic thing that anyone, regardless of education, creativity, skill or life advantages can do.

Nine years ago, when my husband and I gave ourselves over to the primal desire of having a child, this is what we wanted: a totally normal conception followed nine months later by an extraordinary event—the birth of a healthy child.

Normal, however, did not turn out to be our path. Instead of dinner out and making love, we drove back and forth from the fertility clinic and took turns injecting hormones into my stomach and behind. We worked up to IVF and got pregnant! With twins! Five and a half months into the pregnancy I went into pre-mature labor and the twins were delivered, stillborn. A year later: a miscarriage, more IVF (six rounds in all). The word “extraordinary” did not enter into conversation during this time, unless it was to describe our extraordinary feelings of grief, despair, and loss.

We took a break. And during this time, my mother, who had, according to her, never done an extraordinary thing in her life, saw a story about a post-menopausal woman who’d become pregnant and made the collosally generous and yes- extraordinary- offer to be a surrogate for our child.

Fearing our fertility clinic might refer us to a team of psychiatrists, we proceeded with caution, trying to guard our hearts. But to our surprise, our doctor did not dismiss our idea. While the viability of a woman’s eggs are influenced by her years on the planet, it turned out that the uterus does not age in the same way. (definitely extradordinary!)

After batteries of tests, my mother was cleared to be a “gestational host” ( a woman who carries the biological child of a couple). My eggs were joined with my husband’s sperm and then transferred into my mother’s uterus—and on the second joint IVF attempt, we heard the amazing news: we were pregnant and the pregnancy was advancing.

My mother moved in to our house in Chicago. We read Harry Potter books to the baby. We took walks and cooked my mother nourishing meals of her favorite foods. And in February 2011, thirty-nine weeks after we received that call of congratulations from our doctor, Finnean Lee Connell came into the world. Two beautiful hands, ten perfectly shaped toes, a face with a tiny nose that lifted up at the end like my husband’s. A beautiful, vibrant new life that the doctors in the delivery room pronounced, perfectly, wonderfully, “normal.”

At two and a half years, Finn is talking, running, making friends and running to the potty – sometimes making it, sometimes not- when he needs to go. He is – as many parents truthfully but obnoxiously say- our greatest joy; in every way “normal” and most definitely, extraordinary.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bringing in Finn is the true story of a couple who wanted nothing more than to have a family and a mother who would do anything for her daughter. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive naturally, years of fertility treatments, miscarriage and a late term loss of twins, Sara and Bill Connell were emotionally and financially depleted and at a loss as to how they could have a family. When Sara’s mother Kristine offered to be their surrogate, the three embark on the journey that would culminate in Finnean’s miraculous birth and complete a transformation of their at-one-time strained mother-daughter relationship.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Seal Press
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN-10: 1580055419

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO CRYSTAL AT WOW!,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT-OPEN TO US/CANADA RESIDENTS or EBOOK-OPEN TO ALL

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS NOVEMBER 7th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author, Harper Collins/William Morrow, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author STEPHEN BOOTH

CMash October 23, 2013 2 Comments

WELCOME STEPHEN BOOTH

STEPHEN BOOTH

Stephen Booth is an award winning British crime writer, the creator of two young Derbyshire police detectives, DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, who have appeared in twelve novels set in England’s beautiful and atmospheric Peak District.

Stephen has been a Gold Dagger finalist, an Anthony Award nominee, twice winner of a Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel, and twice shortlisted for the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year. Ben Cooper was a finalist for the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author, and in 2003 the Crime Writers’ Association presented Stephen with the Dagger in the Library Award for “the author whose books have given readers the most pleasure”.

The Cooper & Fry series is published all around the world, and has been translated into 15 languages. The latest title is DEAD AND BURIED, with a new book, ALREADY DEAD, published in June 2013.
Connect with Stephen Booth at these sites:

Q&A with Stephen Booth

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
I think all writers make use of their personal experiences, though they may not be recognisable by the time they appear in a fictional story. In fact, it’s quite therapeutic to take something that’s happened to you and write about! I try to make my Cooper & Fry novels as contemporary as possible, so my characters’ lives will be affected by things happening in the real world at the time. Actually, since I’m working on a novel up to 12 months before it’s published, I’m trying to predict the future a bit.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the storyline brings you?
When I set out to write a new book, I have no idea what’s going to happen, or how it will end. I write in a very ‘organic’ way, starting with vague ideas about a few characters and a place they belong to. I write around them until I start to know who they are. Then I put them into a situation where they’re under pressure (this will normally involve a murder or a dead body, of course!), and I watch what they do. So the story arises out of the characters, and it’s always a discovery process for me as I write it. Luckily, I’m writing about police detectives, so I rely on them to do their part of the job and ask all the questions!

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
I’m one of those writers who doesn’t really have a routine. I know the way to kick-start the creative process at any time of the day is to sit down and start writing. But I do most of my writing in the evening, sometimes into the early hours of the morning. It’s quieter then, with fewer distractions. One of the drawbacks to working from home is that everyone knows you’re there and available! So it’s hard to create the sort of structured working day you have in most jobs. When I’m writing, I tend to listen either to music, or to drama and talk programmes on the radio. Something I’ve just heard in the background can often pop an idea into my head (BBC Radio 4 is wonderful for this).

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Yes, I’ve been a full-time writer for the past 12 years. Before that, I was a newspaper journalist. I started my first reporter’s job at the age of 21, after I graduated – so I suppose writing (or at least editing) has always been my job.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
I grew up on Agatha Christie and the great, classic British crime novelists (who all seemed to be female). Of that older generation, the writer who can still produce something new and interesting after all this time is Ruth Rendell. Some of her books, like ‘A Judgement in Stone’, are extraordinary achievements. But I have many other favourites, including Reginald Hill, Peter Robinson and Michael Connelly.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been asked by the British Library to write introductions for two novels being re-issued in their Classic Crime series. They’re by a long-forgotten British mystery writer from the Golden Age called M. Doriel Hay, and they’re classics of their period.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
Yes, I’m currently writing book #14 in the Cooper and Fry series, which is called ‘The Corpse Bridge’. I hope the title suggests there might be a dead body or two! The story uses an aspect of the Peak District’s history and folklore to create a modern-day mystery. The old ‘corpse ways’ were routes taken by mourners carrying a coffin for burial, sometimes for miles over difficult terrain. When the local land-owning aristocrat decides to re-develop the villagers’ burial ground for his own commercial gain, new corpses start to appear…

Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
I’m asked this question a lot, since the Cooper and Fry novels are currently in development for a TV series in the UK. And readers definitely have their own opinions! But as an author I think it’s very risky to start getting pictures of an actor in my head. There are no actors exactly like my mental image of Ben Cooper or Diane Fry, and the danger is that you can lose your original character if you focus too much on an actor. If and when it comes to casting, it will be someone else’s interpretation of the character, and I’m quite relaxed about that.

Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
No contest here! I must be one of the few people left in the world who doesn’t own a TV (and I never have). For me, there’s a huge difference. When you’re watching TV, the story is going on over there in the corner of the room. But when you’re reading a book, the story is taking place inside your head. And the pictures are better too! I do watch movies, but I tend to go for something spectacular and undemanding, where I’m not expected get involved with the characters too much. Cinema does that very well.

Favorite food?
Cantonese Dim Sum

Favorite beverage?
I’m a rare teetotal Brit, so an Apple and Mango juice will suit me, thanks!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The helicopters are halted. The search for fifteen-year-old Laura Vernon ends when her body is found, murdered, in the forest.

On his hunt for the killer, detective Ben Cooper begins to suspect the people of Derbyshire are guarding some dark secrets-secrets that Laura might have known. Further complicating his investigation, Cooper is paired with an unfamiliar partner: Diane Fry, a woman as tenacious as she is alluring. Together they learn that in order to understand the town’s present, they must unearth its past.

Black Dog is like Twin Peaks by way of Tana French, and the first novel in the multiple award-winning Cooper and Fry series.

READ AN EXCERPT

The spot where Ben Cooper stood was remote and isolated. A passing walker wouldn’t have been able to see him up here among the bracken, even if he’d bothered to look up.

Cooper turned round, wafting his hand across his face against the flies. He was looking through the trees and thick brambles as if towards the end of a dark tunnel, where the figure of Harry Dickinson was framed in a network of branches. Cooper had to squint against a patch of dazzling light that soaked the hillside in strong colours. The old man stood in the glare of the low sun, with hot rocks shimmering around him like a furnace. The haze of heat made his outline blur and writhe, as if he were dancing a slow shimmy. His shadow, flung across the rocks, seemed to wriggle and jerk as its shape fragmented among the bracken and brambles.

The expression in Harry’s eyes was unreadable, his face lying partly in the shade from the peak of his cap. Cooper couldn’t even tell which way he was looking, whether he’d turned away or was staring directly towards him in the trees. He wanted to grab the old man by the shoulders and shake him. He wanted to tell him that somebody had disturbed this spot, and recently. The evidence was right there for anyone to see, and to smell.

There had been two people here, and at least one of them had been looking for more than just rabbits. The smell that lingered under the trees was of stale blood. And the flies had found something even more attractive than Cooper’s sweat to feed on.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Fiction/Crime
Published by: Witness / HarperCollins
Publication Date: 10/8/2013
ISBN: 9780062301963
Series: 1st in the Ben Cooper & Diane Fry Series

PURCHASE LINKS:

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

Follow the Tour:

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

PICT Presents STEVE ALTEN

CMash October 23, 2013 1 Comment

Inline image 1

WELCOME STEVE ALTEN

STEVE ALTEN

Steve Alten earned his Bachelors degree at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror, a thriller about Carcharodon megalodon, the 70-foot prehistoric cousin of the great white shark. MEG went on to become an international best-seller, with movie rights sold. The Mayan Calendar plays a big part in his Domain series — another international best-seller sold in the U.K. as THE MAYAN PROPHECY series. Steve’s other work includes The LOCH — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster, The SHELL GAME — about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event, and GRIM REAPER: End of Days — a modern-day Dante’s Inferno which takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan. His best work yet, THE OMEGA PROJECT – was released in August 2013. As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
Connect with Steve at these sites:

Q&A with Steve Alten

ABOUT THE BOOK

In The Wizard of Oz, a runaway finds herself transplanted to a strange land, only to learn it was all a dream. In Planet of the Apes, an astronaut awakens to find himself in a strange land, only to realize he is still on Earth. The Omega Project ups the ante, and neither the hero nor the reader will know the true reality until the very last page. In 2028, twelve astronauts and a scientist are cryogenically frozen for 30 days beneath the Ross Ice Shelf to prep for a mission to Europa. Only one will awaken… 12 million years in the future!

READ AN EXCERPT

When the oil stopped flowing death became a game of musical chairs. Accepting isolation over the insanity of anarchy, I remained alone in my fortress of solitude, waiting for the world’s population to drop from seven billion to just under six hundred million, knowing that if I could safeguard my chair then maybe I’d live to see a different, wiser world. Instead, I found myself quarantined against a society gone mad in every sense of the word. After sixteen months of rationing, I was forced to venture out of my prison — and that’s when I met my new companion.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Fiction
Published by: Tor/Forge
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 0765336324

PURCHASE LINKS:

Watch the trailer

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

Follow the Tour:

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author LESLEY DIEHL

CMash October 23, 2013 2 Comments

WELCOME LESLEY DIEHL

LESLEY DIEHL

Lesley retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida–cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office. Back north, she devotes her afternoons to writing and, when the sun sets, relaxing on the bank of her trout stream, sipping tea or a local microbrew.
Connect with Lesley at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Spunky and outspoken Eve Appel moves from Connecticut to rural Florida intent on starting a new life, free of drama, and more importantly, her soon-to-be ex-husband. The rural Florida town of Sabal Bay, situated only an hour from West Palm, proves to be the perfect spot for her consignment store. Thanks to the recent economic downturn, Florida’s society matrons need a place to discreetly sell their stuff and pick up expensive-looking bargains. But Eve’s life, and her business with it, is turned upside down when a wealthy customer is found stabbed to death in a fitting room. As accusations fly and business slows, Eve decides to take things into her own hands. With the help of an unlikely bunch of friends—including her estranged ex, her best friend, a handsome private eye, and a charming mafia don—she struggles to find answers and save lives. Through a maze of distorted half-truths, dramatic cover-ups, and unrequited passions, Eve learns just how far the wealthy will go to regain what they have lost. A Secondhand Murder is Book 1 of the Eve Appel Mysteries Series.

READ AN EXCERPT

It was still early so I strode back into the restaurant, indicated to the hostess I wanted a booth and ordered the breakfast buffet. Anger paired with disbelief gave me a hearty appetite. Returning to my booth after loading my plate with eggs, bacon, pancakes, pastries and a slice of toast, I noticed someone had joined me for breakfast. He was seated with his back to me as I approached the booth but I recognized the sun-streaked hair curling over his collar. My favorite PI. I almost dropped my plate.

“Hi.” I tried for nonchalant but sounded more like a hormone-addled teenager.

“Saw you come in. I guess you had an early morning chitchat with the local gendarmes.”

“To be continued this afternoon at the station.”

“Fingerprints?” He stirred a packet of sugar into his coffee.

“Nope.” The tingle in my tummy was more than simple hunger for food. I tried to satisfy it by stuffing a large forkful of pancake into my mouth. I nodded and swallowed. “Like anyone would be dumb enough to leave their prints.”

“Certainly, we know you’re smart.”

“I had no reason to kill Mrs. Sanders. That would be like killing the golden goose.”

“You didn’t like her very much, did you?”

I dropped my fork on the plate. “What do you mean? I hardly knew the woman.”

“So you say, but my sources indicate that’s not the whole story.” He stared at me. Last night I thought those azure eyes looked inviting. Now they looked more like ice. He smiled.

“You said you were investigating Mrs. Sanders. Sounds like you’re trying to nose into my affairs. Why?”

“Don’t get mad. I’m not accusing you of murder, you know.” He took a sip of coffee.

“I’m not mad.” I was a little miffed, peeved even, but not really mad. Okay, I was mad.

“Oh yes you are, and when you get angry, you stick your chin out and turn your head ever so slightly to the right. Your cheek twitches, probably from clenching your teeth. Did you know that?”

I had lost my appetite. I grabbed my purse and slid out of the booth. “I don’t recall inviting you to join me for breakfast. I just remembered I have an important appointment.”

“That would be …?” He also stood.

“That would be none of your business.”

I stalked out of the restaurant, then remembered as I approached my car that I had forgotten to pay my bill. Damn. Now I’d have to go back in there and face him again. I gritted my teeth, stuck out my chin and slammed through the door. He turned from the counter, credit card in hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I got it. Your treat next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.” I spun around and pushed open the door. By the time he reached his car, I was already starting my engine, wondering what the man knew about Mrs. Sanders and me.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Camel Press
Publication Date: 9/15/2013
Number of Pages: 260
ISBN: 978-1-60381-935-0

PURCHASE LINKS:

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

Follow the Tour:

Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase, WOW, WOW Tours

Guest Author TONI PICCININI showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash October 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

WELCOME TONI PICCININI

TONI PICCININI

Toni’s writing career started when she stapled her first “book” together and launched it at a reading attended by her brother, Scotty, and her Boxer, Lonesome. The title-less story was a mash-up of Hansel and Gretel, The Six Swans, and a Box Car Children adventure, with the protagonists (sister, brother, and dog) risking everything in their quest for a magical lump of coal that would save the town. It was an immediate success. During the fifty years between her first and second book, The Goodbye Year: Wisdom and Culinary Therapy to Survive Your Child’s Senior Year of High School (and Reclaim the YOU of You) she has, in no order of importance or chronology

· opened a “Top 100” San Francisco restaurant
· published scientific articles on the efficacies of antibiotics
· sang the National Anthem at high school football games
· published essays, recipes, and cookbook reviews
· sent three children off to college

Toni lives in Marin County California, which is a long way from her Western Pennsylvania hometown, Heilwood. She is busy on her next book, which may revisit the power found in a magical lump of coal.
Connect with Toni at these sites:

GUEST POST

How To Reclaim the YOU of You

A funny thing happens on the way to Motherhood Nirvana—we get a little lost. It is so busy being a mom. One day tumbles into the next and by the time we come up for air our baby is a senior in high school. The summer before my oldest and only daughter, Page, started her senior year I could feel the sand shifting beneath me. I had dove into the deep end of motherhood, gratefully, gleefully, and completely. Before Page graduated from pre-school she had a toddler and infant brother at home. We were a family of five and I was defined as “Mommy” a role I cherished. When my first Goodbye Year started I recognized that it would be a year of Last Times. What I didn’t recognize was the woman staring back at me in the bathroom mirror.

I had three Goodbye Years and they couldn’t have been more different from one another. I was a different person each time, too. As I let go of my need to please everyone in my family I caught glimpses of my authenticity. It didn’t happen in one day, or one year, but the journey back to womanhood was and is a beautiful one.

From Chapter One: The First of the Lasts

“The start of a new school year means new friends and some- times saying goodbye to old ones. The September of your Good- bye Year might also mean saying the first goodbyes to some of the roles that you have taken on as mom. With the last back- to-school night dawns the realization of just how much of your social time is spent with fellow moms, whom you met as you settled into your new roles as purveyor of food, school supplies, and clothes, and conveyer of bodies to class, baseball practice, and dance recital. If your child liked another child, you met the mother, and a friendship was formed. That’s nice. They’re nice. Your friendships are still valid, but ask yourself two questions: Will you spend time with this group after graduation? And what kind of folks might you be spending time with if this had never happened, this being your motherhood?

To Do: Join a New Group It can be as easy as taking a class. Are you interested in photography? Not the family-photos-on-the-annual-vacation kind; I’m talking about black-and-white shots of raindrops pearled on a paned window. Maybe you really know how to apply eye shadow. That’s a skill and could be your passion. Take a cosmetics class or volunteer your talents to the makeup department of your community theater and meet like-minded folks. The members of your new tribe may be much older or much younger than you. They may be single, childless, pierced, or Republican, but they will share your passion for the written word, coastal conservation, or a rubber of bridge. Your new group will stimulate a spark in the You of you that has been buried under the weight of years of motherhood. Don’t worry. The flame is still there; it just needs some air.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Goodbye Year is an inspirational, honest, and hilarious tale of Toni’s approach to the end of an era in the Piccinini household.

For many mothers, a child’s senior year brings about a serious look back on the past eighteen. Every event—from Halloween to Mother’s Day—becomes The Last Time.

Toni Piccinini knows exactly what that’s like, and in The Goodbye Year, she offers the loving support every soon-to-be Empty Nester needs. Think of Toni as your bossy-but-loving Italian auntie, with modern sensibilities and a packed pantry. With the wisdom she’s acquired from saying goodbye three times to her own children, she reassuringly holds your hand while encouraging you through the insanity of the college application process, the rejections and the acceptances, and the teary dorm drop-offs. Even better, she reminds every mother that the best is yet to come—freedom, creativity, flexibility, and the Me Years.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Health & Well Being
Paperback: 264 Pages
Publisher: Seal Press
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
ISBN: 1580054862

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO CRYSTAL AT WOW!,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT-OPEN TO U.S. & CANADA RESIDENTS EBOOK-OPEN TO ALL

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 31st AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Guest Author, Harlequin, Harlequin, Showcase

Guest Author B.J. DANIELS showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash October 13, 2013 Leave a Comment

WELCOME B.J. DANIELS

AUTHOR NAME

B.J. Daniels wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of 37 published short stories.

That first book, ODD MAN OUT, received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times magazine and went on to be nominated for Best Intrigue for that year.

Since then she was won numerous awards including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and numerous nominations and awards for best book.

Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two Springer Spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis.

She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America.

To contact her, write: B.J. Daniels, P.O. Box 1173, Malta, MT 59538 or email her atbjdaniels@mtintouch.net
Connect with B.J. at these sites:

Q&A with B.J. Daniels

Writing and Reading:
-Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
I draw mostly from personal experience. With FORSAKEN, I had done a newspaper article about an old sheepherder and his “tender,” the young man who took care of camp while the sheepherder took care of the sheep.

So when I began to write my book, I remembered that old sheepherder (I think he said 3 words total) and the poor young man who couldn’t shut up after traveling 150 miles with the sheep over 3 months back in the Beartooths with only the sheepherder as company. J

So I remembered that and it gave me the idea for the book. Other books come from overhearing conversations, news, newspaper stories, or just my own crazy thoughts. J

-Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I write by the seat of my pants, so I just start writing at the beginning and hope for the best. For FORSAKEN, I knew I would have a mystery and a romance and 2000 sheep back in a remote part of the Beartooths. That’s about all I knew. As I meet the characters, they tell me the story.

-Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
I write every day. My goal is 10 pages. Once I get those done I can quit for the day. Idiosyncrasies? Hmmm. I have to have a Coke Zero or I can’t write. J

-Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is my full time job. When I’m not at the computer I’m thinking about my characters. There aren’t any days off because of that.

-Who are some of your favorite authors?
Oh gad, I love so many of them. Off the top of my head…Lisa Gardner, Gillian Flynn, Harlan Coben, T. Jefferson Parker, so many more. I read anything I can get my hands on.

-What are you reading now?
Deadwood by Dani Amore

-Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
I am always working on my next novel. J MERCY is the fifth book in the Beartooth, Montana series. The series began with UNFORGIVEN, then REDEMPTION, then FORSAKEN. ATONEMENT comes out in March and then MERCY. MERCY is about a US Marshal who goes rogue to catch a serial killer. It isn’t your usual serial killer kind of book though and it’s going to be a lot…sexier than some of the others. That’s all I can tell you because I haven’t written it yet.

Fun questions:
-Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
I would love to see the Beartooth series as a TV series or movie. I think Tom Selleck could be my sheriff. Or Sam Elliott. The younger hero? Collin Firth.

-Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Keyboard. I can’t imagine not working on a computer.

-Favorite meal?
Anything Mexican

-Favorite food?
Chile Rellenos (that would be peppers and cheese)

-Favorite beverage?
Coke Zero. J

Thank you for stopping by CMash Reads and spending time with us

Thank you for having me. It’s been fun.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Danger runs high and passions burn hot in Montana’s wild country

Big-city detective Bentley Jamison is a long way from home in the Beartooth wilderness when one of local rancher Maddie Conner’s ranch hands goes missing. Towering mountains and a small, tight community are as unfamiliar to Jamison as herding sheep, but he’s never shied away from a challenge. As the new deputy sheriff, he’s sworn to protect every inch of this rough terrain—starting with unraveling a mystery that has left Maddie a wide-open target.

Maddie’s as beautiful—and untamable—as the land around them. Like Jamison, she won’t back down from danger. But desire that flares hotter than their tempers only raises the stakes when a fierce storm traps them in the high mountains. Caught in a killer’s sights, Jamison and Maddie must trust one another, because now survivaland loveare all that matter.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Harlequin HQN
Publication Date: Sep 24 2013
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780373777808

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO ANNA AT HARLEQUIN,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. and CANADA RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 27th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Brian Anthony & Bill Walker

CMash October 11, 2013 1 Comment

WELCOME B. ANTHONY & B. WALKER

BRIAN ANTHONY is a writer and award-winning filmmaker. His first feature film, Victor’s Big Score, was praised by Variety as “A tremendous calling card for writer-producer-director Brian Anthony.” As a writer-producer Anthony has contributed to shows for American Movie Classics, Arts and Entertainment, and Fox Syndication, including Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Lost in Space Forever. A veteran film historian, Anthony has been interviewed on network television regarding film history, and co-authored the acclaimed biography of the film comedian Charley Chase, Smile While the Raindrops Fall, in 1998. Brian is an expert art and book restorationist, and you can see his work at Anthony Restorations.
Connect with Brian at these sites:

BILL WALKER is an award-winning writer whose works include novels, short stories and screenplays. His first novel, Titanic 2012, was enthusiastically received by readers, and Bill’s two short story collections, Five Minute Frights and Five Minute Chillers, are perennial Halloween favorites. A highly-respected graphic designer, Walker has worked on books by such luminaries as Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King. His most recent novel, A Note from an Old Acquaintance, was published in 2009.
Connect with Bill at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

When John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln with a bullet cursed by the notorious Chicken Man, a local voodoo practitioner, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events extending far into the future. Instead of killing Lincoln, the bullet puts the president into a coma for sixty-eight years, his body remaining limber and ageless. When he awakens in 1933, Abe Lincoln is a man out of time, a revered icon…and a political pariah. FDR and J. Edgar Hoover not only do not want him around, they want him to retire. But their plan to be rid of him backfires and Lincoln is on the run, a fugitive from justice.

Determined to reach Chicago and retrieve the small fortune left in trust for him by his long-dead son, Lincoln discovers that Hoover has confiscated all his money, leaving him destitute. With Bureau of Investigation agent Melvin Purvis in hot pursuit, Lincoln finds his way to a hobo camp where he befriends a young runaway, who agrees to accompany the former president back to Washington. There Lincoln hopes that Hannah Wheelhouse, the Chicken Man’s granddaughter, can help him find the peace he longs for.

Then fate deals Lincoln another strange hand when he and the boy end up as hostages to infamous bank robber John Dillinger. Instead of leaving them by the side of the road after the robbery, Dillinger takes a liking to Lincoln and invites him to join the gang, promising him he’ll get all his money back.

Will Lincoln survive long enough to recapture his fortune and get away, or will he be hunted down in a manner unbefitting a martyred President?

In this inventive and entertaining novel, history gets a work-out, the action is flat-out, and almost everyone gets rubbed-out!

READ AN EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

March 3, 1934

Lake County Jail

Crown Point, Indiana

Counselor Louis Piquett felt a trickle of cold sweat roll down between his shoulder blades and silently cursed God, the courts, and the governor of the state of Indiana. He couldn’t afford to be nervous today, yet his head pounded and his stomach churned from the breakfast he’d eaten at a roadside diner on the way to the jail. He fought back a wave of nausea and cranked open the Ford’s passenger side window, letting the raw March air wash over his face. He closed his eyes and breathed it in.

“You okay, Louis?”

Piquett turned toward his law partner, Arthur O’Leary, and nodded. “Right as rain. Just wish you’d turn down the blasted heat.”

O’Leary’s lips curled in a lopsided grin, which gave his narrow hawk-like face an air of mirthful menace. “Sorry…you know I’m always cold.”

Piquett took off his fedora and wiped his forehead with a wrinkled linen handkerchief. “Yeah, I know. You should go see the doctor about it.”

O’Leary grinned, and Piquett gazed out across South Main Street at the late-Victorian pile that was the Lake County Jail and Courthouse, his eyes scanning the mounted machineguns and the dozens of National Guardsmen manning them behind a four-foot high wall of fifty-pound sandbags.

“You’d think they were expecting the Kaiser’s army,” O’Leary said, chuckling.

“They just don’t know what to make of our client, Arthur. Lord knows, I sometimes wonder about him myself.”

“He doesn’t belong here, that’s for sure,” O’Leary said, shaking his head.

“Unfortunately, his enemies think otherwise. You and I both know he didn’t kill that federal officer.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Piquett stared back at his partner, his dark eyes like flints. “I know what you meant.” The handkerchief came out again. “You take care of the guards, like I asked you?”

O’Leary nodded. “There won’t be a search.”

Piquett patted the left side of his suit jacket. “They find this on me and we’ve got a lot more trouble than we ever bargained for.”

O’Leary shot his partner a look of annoyance. “Nobody’s got a gun to your head, Louis.”

Despite the rumble in his guts, Piquett smiled. “That’s why I like you, Arthur. You always look at the bright side.” He glanced at his watch. “Time to go. Wish me luck.”

O’Leary nodded, and Piquett eased himself out of the Ford and closed the door. He hesitated a moment then leaned in through the open window. “If I’m not out in twenty minutes, you get on out of here. You remember where I put the emergency funds?

“I remember.”

“Good. Keep lookin’ at that bright side, Arthur.”

Piquett slapped the roof of the Ford and strode toward the jail. Passing through the narrow opening in the sandbags, he gave the soldiers a cordial nod, climbed the steps and disappeared into the building.

Following an official clearance, and after passing through a succession of remotely-controlled gates, he stood before the final door separating him from his client. The lone guard, seated at a scarred oak desk, motioned toward the open logbook lying in front of him. Piquett picked up a pen off the blotter and signed his name with a flourish.

“Morning, officer,” he said, handing back the pen.

The guard, a scrawny young man with greasy black hair and a dull look in his eyes, took back the pen with a smirk spreading across his face.

“Yeah, well, it ain’t so good for that client a yours, counselor.”

Piquett’s trial-winning smile widened. “Well, we’re all innocent in the eyes of the law, until proven guilty, officer. That’s the very foundation on which our great and glorious nation resides. Besides, you never know how a day’s going to end, until it’s over.”

The guard frowned, his puzzled expression making him look even less intelligent. “You mind standing back and raising your arms, counselor?” he said. “Gotta search ya.”

Piquett’s stomach rolled over, but he managed to keep the grin plastered to his face, even as he felt the sweat break out anew.

Just then an older guard stuck his head in the doorway.

“He’s clean, Jeff.”

The younger guard’s frown deepened. “But Sheriff Holley said we was to search every visitor ‘fore I pass ’em through this point.”

The older man leaned into the room, his face flushing. “And I’m tellin’ you he’s clean.”

Piquett watched the tense exchange between the two guards and said a silent prayer.

The younger guard appeared to think about this for a moment, the gears in his mind grinding slowly. Then he sighed and shook his head. “You say he’s clean, Irv, then fine, he’s clean.”

The older guard nodded, giving Piquett a knowing look the younger guard missed then left the room. The younger guard stood and threw the lever that operated the automatic doors. There was a loud “clunk,” followed by the whir of machinery. The door slid open and clanged to a stop.

Another guard appeared on the other side of the open doorway and motioned for Piquett to follow.

They passed through a corridor lined with empty holding cells. At the end of the hall Piquett spotted a wooden chair facing one of the cells. The guard motioned for him to sit. For a fleeting moment, Piquett toyed with the notion of turning around and leaving, going back to the car and driving away–maybe take that vacation he’d always promised himself. But then, whatever was left of his tattered code of ethics took over and he eased himself into the chair.

“Thank you, officer,” he said to the guard. “I’ll let you know when we’re done.

The guard nodded, retraced his steps down the corridor and disappeared around the corner. Piquett kept his eye on the corridor for another moment then turned toward the cell.

His client sat in a matching hardback chair dressed in a white shirt, charcoal-gray vest and matching pants. He was impossibly tall–even sitting down–and impossibly…there. The face he’d grown up admiring, the face that graced the penny and the five-dollar bill now sat watching him with a look of bemusement, gray eyes twinkling in the harsh glow of the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

“Good morning, counselor,” Lincoln said in his high, soft-spoken voice.

“Good morning, Mr. President.”

“Please, Mr. Piquett, I do not think it fitting to refer to me by that hallowed moniker, especially when viewed in the harsh light of my present circumstances.”

Piquett felt his face redden. “I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to forgive me. I much admired your administration, your achievements.”

Lincoln smiled revealing gaps between his teeth. “And while my achievements may make me immortal, I am an inconvenient reality whose presence is a reminder of things some would prefer to forget. As far as those demigods who now reside in Washington are concerned, I am a man out of time and out of step with the problems of the day.”

“I disagree, Mr. Lincoln.”

Lincoln slapped his knee and chuckled. “You know what’s truly ironic, counselor? The tenor of Washington has not changed all that much. I suspect the streets are cleaner and summers are more tolerable nowadays, but those puffed-up politicians have raised backstabbing to a high art. Practice makes perfect. Did you bring it, Mr. Piquett?”

The abrupt shift in the conversation flustered the lawyer for a moment. “Y-yes, sir.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small package wrapped in butcher paper and tied with twine. He handed it through the bars and Lincoln took it with his large, calloused hand. The package disappeared into his pocket.

“Thank you, counselor, you’ve been most helpful. And I appreciate all that you’ve done. I was especially inspired by your performance in the courtroom during my arraignment last month.”

Piquett puffed with pride. “It was an honor, sir. I just wish I could’ve done more.”

Lincoln stood and thrust his hand through the bars. “You’ve done more than any man could ask. If I have need of you again, I will surely call on you.”

The lawyer grasped his client’s hand, feeling the strength in the older man’s grip.

“Where will you go?” Piquett asked.

Lincoln’s expression turned melancholy. “Back into the history books where I belong, counselor…if they’ll let me….”

Ten minutes later, as O’Leary guided the Ford through the crush of late morning traffic, Piquett thought about the small wrapped package he’d given Lincoln and wondered–in spite of his sordid lack of ethics–if he’d done the right thing, after all.

* * *

Jail Handyman Sam Cahoon went cold all over when he felt the barrel of a pistol jabbing into the small of his back. But it was that high voice in his ears that sent his heart racing.

“I’ve got to be going, Sam,” Lincoln said, “and I need your help. Please don’t make me use this. I know only too well what it can do.”

Lincoln guided him over to the locked steel door leading to the adjoining room and motioned for Sam to call out to the guards. A large black man rose from a nearby table where he’d been playing solitaire and joined them. When Sam continued to hesitate, Lincoln kicked the door with his foot, sending a booming sound reverberating around the Day Room, which now fell silent.

“That you, Sam?” came the voice from the other side of the door.

Sam looked to Lincoln, his eyes wide with fright. Lincoln pressed the barrel harder into the handyman’s back and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Sam said. “I’m done in here.”

“All right,” the voice replied.

A moment later came the rattle of keys and the door swung inward. Lincoln kicked the door hard, sending the startled guard behind it sprawling, then he shoved Sam Cahoon aside and grabbed the guard, who was scrambling to his feet.

“Y-you out of your mind?” the guard sputtered.

“So they tell me, son. Now you go on and get us into the guardroom, and no tricks.”

The guard’s hands trembled, causing him to fumble with the keys. Lincoln jabbed the barrel harder into the guard’s back, eliciting a moan of fear from the man.

“Hurry, now.”

“I g-got it,” the guard said, slapping the key into the lock and twisting it. They burst into the guardroom, where a civilian fingerprint technician and one other guard sat drinking coffee and chewing on jelly donuts, their eyes as round as saucers. Lincoln spotted two Thompsons with fully loaded drum magazines sitting on the windowsill and nodded to the black man.

“Mr. Youngblood, we shall require those fine instruments of destruction.”

The black man chuckled and grabbed them, handing one to Lincoln, who then held up the pistol he’d used for all to see. A sly grin spread across his face. It was a crudely carved wooden gun blackened with shoe polish, the words “Colt .38” etched into its side.

Both the guard and the fingerprint technician shook their heads in disgust.

Lincoln’s grin widened. “Well, now, it does seem one can fool some of the people all of the time.” He put the wooden gun back into his pocket and waved the barrel of the submachine gun towards the exit door.

“Mr. Youngblood, take this officer to one of the cells.”

“Yes, sir.”

Youngblood manhandled the guard out of the room and returned moments later.

Lincoln looked at the fingerprint technician, who sat frozen, the jelly donut still hanging from his mouth.

“What’s your name, son?” Lincoln asked.

The young technician yanked the donut from his mouth.

“Uh, Ernest Blunk, sir. You gonna shoot me?”

“I have no desire to kill anyone, Mr. Blunk, but I am getting out of here. It’s your choice.” Lincoln’s gaze was implacable and Blunk nodded soberly and stood up.

“All right, gentlemen,” Lincoln said, “shall we take our leave?”

After a short trip down two corridors and one flight of stairs, they emerged into the alley. Lincoln eyed the narrow passageway in both directions, noting the way was clear. He smiled and turned to Blunk, who stood with his arms wrapped around himself, shivering in the cold.

“Where’s the garage, son? The one with the private cars.”

“Down the alley, around the c-corner, behind the courts.”

“Let’s go.”

The garage was in a shed-like building with a sliding wooden door that reminded Lincoln of an old barn. The door shrieked on its rusty rails as Youngblood slid it open. Inside it was toasty warm and reeked of gasoline and spilled oil. A lone mechanic lay under a late-model Chevy, banging away at a water pump and cursing under his breath. Another man sat behind a desk in the small glassed-in office. Just then a woman walked into the garage.

“Mr. Saager, is my car–” She stopped in mid-sentence when she spotted Lincoln and Youngblood wielding the two Thompsons and fainted dead away, her limp body slapping against the grimy concrete.

Youngblood handed his Thompson to Lincoln, picked up the woman and deposited her inside the office on a battered sofa. The black man motioned for the man at the desk to move and the man scrambled out the door with his hands in the air.

“What’s the fastest car in here?” Lincoln asked, handing Youngblood back his Thompson.

The man from the office looked around and nodded toward the mechanic under the Chevy.

“Hudak’d know best.”

“Ask him to join us.”

The man eased over to the Chevy and gave the mechanic’s leg a nudge with his foot.

“What you want, Saager?”

“We got a man here asking about fast cars.”

“What do I look like, a salesman? I’m up to my butt in work here, in case you hadn’t noticed, and I got to get this damn Chevy out of here by two.”

Saager looked to Lincoln and shrugged. Youngblood raised the barrel of his Thompson and Saager paled a few shades whiter. He kicked the mechanic harder and said. “You get on out here, Hudak, if you know what’s good for you.”

The mechanic slid out from under the car, the curses on his lips dying away when he spotted the two men and their machineguns.

“Damn!”

“What’s the fastest car in here?” Lincoln asked.

Hudak jabbed his finger toward a sleek brand-new car parked in a corner, its jet-black paint gleaming under the hooded lights. “That there Ford. Got a real honey of a V-8.”

“That’ll be fine, Mr. Hudak.”

“But that’s Sheriff Holley’s new car.”

Lincoln laughed. “Even better. Mr. Blunk, you will drive. Mr. Hudak, you and your partner will disable all the other vehicles in the garage.”

Hudak looked incredulous.

“Now, Mr. Hudak.”

The mechanic walked toward the Chevy, shaking his head. When he reached the car, he opened the hood and started gingerly pulling wires.

Youngblood rolled his eyes, grabbed a hammer and pushed the mechanic aside. “Not like that–like this.” He swung the hammer down onto the spark plugs one by one, shattering them then pounded holes in the carburetor. He handed the hammer to Hudak. “Now, go to it, my man. Just like the boss says.”

In moments every other car was disabled and Blunk pulled the Sheriff’s car up to the door, the engine revving with a throaty roar. Lincoln and Youngblood climbed in and Lincoln hung his Thompson out the window at Saager and Hudak. Neither man moved.

“All right, Mr. Blunk. Let us proceed.”

The car pulled into the alley and then out onto East Street. Lincoln swiveled his head back and forth, looking to see if anyone followed. “Nice and slow,” he said. “It wouldn’t do to draw attention to ourselves.”

They passed the courthouse and Lincoln smiled when he spotted all the soldiers. They swung around a parked bus and pulled up to a stoplight. A bank sat on one of the corners and Lincoln stared at it. “Mighty tempting to procure us some traveling money, but I think we’ve worn out our welcome here, Mr. Youngblood.”

Yes, sir, Mr. Lincoln,” the black man said, grinning from ear to ear. The light turned green and the car sped out of town. When they reached State Road 8, Lincoln relaxed and began singing an old hymn. His singing voice was surprisingly tuneful and brought a smile even to Blunk’s dour face.

“Where we going, anyway?” Blunk asked when Lincoln had finished singing.

“Wherever the winds of fate shall take us.”

Youngblood laughed as the car sped off down the road.

The Great Emancipator was free

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Alternate History
Published by: Lowtide Books
Publication Date: 10/5/13
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN:
978-0-9897457-0-3 (Hardcover)
978-0-9897457-1-0 (Paperback)
978-0-9897457-2-7 (ebook)

PURCHASE LINKS:

Watch the trailer:

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

Follow the Tour:

Tour Participants:

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Guest Author, JKS Communications, JKS Communications, Showcase

Guest Author LOUISE GAYLORD showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash October 10, 2013 Leave a Comment

WELCOME LOUISE GAYLORD

AUTHOR NAME

Louise Gaylord is an acclaimed national award-winning author who established herself with her very
first book, a suspenseful murder mystery centering on a young, sharp female assistant district attorney.
This was the cornerstone of what has become her popular Allie Armington mystery series, the idea for
it sparked when Louise herself spent three months on a grand jury panel.

The series has grown to four novels, with stories ranging from the Southwest (“Anacacho” and “Spa Deadly”) to New York (“Xs”), to the most recent (“Dark Lake”) featuring her beloved Adirondacks.

In the middle of establishing her mystery writer credentials, she expanded out of the genre with an insightful character study novel, “Julia Fairchild,” and then the delightful “Recipes from Camp Trillium.” The cookbook features worldwide recipes from Louise’s family and guests during years they visited her in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.

Her first Allie Armington Mystery, “Anacacho,” won the 2003 National Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Publisher’s Marketing Association in Los Angeles. The San Francisco Book Festival awarded Louise with best audio book in 2010 for “Spa Deadly.” “Recipes from Camp Trillium” won the Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards, in which “Julia Fairchild” and “Spa Deadly” were also finalists. And most recently, “Dark Lake” was recognized in the General Fiction category of the Los Angeles Book Festival.

Louise’s newest book, “Sutton Place,” will be published August 27, 2013, by Little Moose Press,
Beverly Hills, California.

Louise lives in Houston, Texas, though she might be found writing almost anywhere in the world.
Connect with Ms. Gaylord at these sites:

Q&A with “Sutton Place” author Louise Gaylord

What will fans of “Julia Fairchild” like about your newest book, “Sutton Place?”
“Sutton Place” is the prequel to “Julia Fairchild”. The reader learns in detail about the incidents that drove Julia from New York to New Mexico.

Three months serving on a grand jury panel inspired your Allie Armington mystery series. How did you come up with Julia’s character?
Julia just “grew like Topsy” in my mind. She’s a composite of all the strong women I have known. Lies, family secrets, obsessions – will Julia ever catch a break? She catches her break in “Julia Fairchild”.

Your mystery novels are known for having very unexpected twists and surprise endings. How do you keep readers on their toes?
I don’t outline so sometimes I even surprise myself! I really write to amuse myself. One of my writing instructors said I should have fun when writing. I have a friend who writes a chapter here and then a chapter there. I can’t do that. I have to write in a linear fashion.

As a successful, award-winning mystery writer, you stepped out of the genre to work on a few other books, including Recipes from Camp Trillium. What’s your favorite dish to stir up in the kitchen?
Grandma Betsy’s Chicken. My mother put Lawry’s seasoning and Worchester sauce on everything. This made a nice, simple one-dish meal to serve all. To make it, you just need chicken, Worcestershire sauce and Lawry’s® Seasoned Salt. Then add any vegetable of your choice. Cut up potatoes, mushrooms, onions or red bell peppers, carrots, almost anything except greens. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Quarter the chicken or cut it into single-serving pieces. Place the chicken skin side up in an aluminum foil-lined pan. Throw the vegetables all around it. Douse it with Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake that for 25 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

You studied art history in college after your grade-school teachers encouraged you to do
something with your painting skills. How has painting helped you write?
I’m a very visual person. So I can imagine a scene as if I’m painting it and portray that in words on page. A lot of people who write also paint. I noticed though that I never had a problem dropping the paintbrush to go play tennis or golf. But once I started writing I couldn’t leave my computer.

You’re churning out books left and right. What are you working on now?
An Allie Armington Mystery. The working title is: “A Cruise to Die For.” Stay tuned!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Just When Things Seem to be Going So Well…

…a horrific incident from Julia Fairchild’s past — one she thought had been buried long ago —comes
charging back into her life. Then a promising romantic weekend goes bad, which makes staying at Sutton Place more than Julia can handle. So she flees her home, her family…her life. But apparently, she can’t go far enough.

The Fairchilds were a happy family of wealthy New York stock, with two loving daughters. Until the
secrets started to surface.

The first secret was revealed when Julia was told the truth about her father. Her reaction to the
revelation sent her spinning out of control.

The second secret concerned the parentage of Julia’s sister, Ariel. How Ariel responded to the
revelation astounded the rest of the family.

Now Julia is building a superb reputation at one of New York’s finest hospitals. The future looks bright
until a romantic weekend turns into a disaster. Fleeing home and family, she moves to New Mexico
and starts to pull her life together.

Just when it looks like things are heading toward happily-ever-after, events in New York draw Julia
back to Sutton Place, where she learns of Ariel’s secret life and finds herself facing her worst
nightmare.

Sutton Place moves a mile a minute and never lets you see what’s coming around the next turn.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Suspense
Published by: Little Moose Press
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Number of Pages: 261
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-9893988-1-7
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9893988-2-4
eBook ISBN: 978-0-9893988-3-1

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO SAMANTHA AT JKS COMMUNICATIONS,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 24th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.