Spotlight on Four Cuts Too Many

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome multi-published author Debra Goldstein. Today, Debra shares interesting facts about her protagonist, Sarah Blair, and her new release, Four Cuts Too Many.

Here’s Debra!

I’m delighted to be visiting Joanne Guidoccio’s blog. Because Four Cuts Too Many is the fourth book in Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series, I thought it would be fun to address Ten Points of Comparison between Sarah Blair and me.

1. Although Sarah Blair seems real, she is a fictional character. I’m not.

2. Sarah Blair is a twin. She is tall, with great-bodied dark hair. Her sister, Emily, a former cheerleader, has thin blond hair. I am the mother of boy-girl twins, who are as different as night and day. When people ask about them, I explain that I had a litter. My twins and I have great hair.

3. Sarah Blair married at eighteen, divorced by twenty-eight, and is trying to find her way in life. I didn’t get married until I was thirty, but we’re still hanging in there.

4. The only job Sarah could find after her divorce was as a receptionist/secretary for lawyer, Harlan Endicott. Although her skills and confidence have improved since One Taste Too Many, the first book in the series, she still isn’t the most proficient secretary. I have been timed as typing ninety-nine words per minute.

5. Sarah isn’t sure what she wants to do with her life. Although she knows some things she doesn’t like and plays with the idea of going back to school, having dropped out of college after only two weeks to get married, she’s uncertain what career and personal paths to choose. Her twin sister, Emily, knew from childhood that she wanted to be a chef. Emily’s focus was graduation, culinary school, and finding good jobs that would enable her to move up in the restaurant industry.

I’m goal oriented, but I’ve learned to follow my passion. When I graduated college early, I had two goals: get a job in publishing and become a Jeopardy contestant. In case things didn’t work out, I looked for a job by day, but typed law school applications by night. Eight months later, having accomplished my two goals, I went to law school. My first job was doing international tax, but I realized I hated working with numbers, so I switched to a more people-oriented area. For twelve years, I was a labor litigator for the U.S. Department of Labor and then I was appointed as a federal Administrative Law Judge. On the side, I wrote boring briefs and opinions. I talked about writing creatively but didn’t. Eventually I followed my passion. Six books, forty plus short stories later, I’m enjoying my second childhood.

6. Unlike Emily, Sarah finds being in the kitchen more frightening than murder. I feel the same way. I have cooked more during the pandemic than in thirty-seven years of marriage. In doing so, I have caught the interior of the oven on fire, blown the computer brain of the stove/oven, and showered the cabinets, stove-top, and floor in hot oil (I mixed up tsp and tbsp and then added more olive oil to the non-stick frying pan).

7. By Four Cuts Too Many, Sarah is part-owner of Southwind restaurant, with Emily and Emily’s boyfriend, Marcus. Emily and Marcus are fantastic chefs and Emily has a head for the business aspects of running the business. Sarah owns the building that the restaurant is in. Although I understand business issues, I don’t have ownership in any restaurant. To write the Sarah Blair series accurately, several of my friends took me behind the scenes of their restaurants. For Four Cuts Too Many, one specifically taught me about knives and knife cuts.

8. Sarah Blair is devoted to her Siamese cat, RahRah, and her more recently acquired rescue pup, Fluffy. RahRah runs the roost, but also provides Sarah with comfort and often acts as a sounding board. Although we had dogs as pets, never a cat. Consequently, I spent time researching how my friends interact with their cats.

9. Sarah has a propensity for finding bodies. In Four Cuts Too Many, Grace, a friend of Sarah’s who teaches knife skills at the community college, has a run-in with her department chair. When he is found dead, Grace is the prime suspect. Although I have taught new judges and often teach writing related subjects, no one, as yet, has died on my watch.

10. Sarah Blair’s life revolves around family and friends. Consequently, whether it is her twin, their colorful mother, Maybelle, or a friend, Sarah puts their well-being first. I do the same.

Blurb

Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama . . .

Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister’s restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life’s finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she’s considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah’s more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.

Although she wouldn’t mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef’s position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah’s business rival—and her late ex-husband’s lover. But Grace’s future lands in hot water when the school’s director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend’s name, there’s no time to mince words. Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer . . .

Includes quick and easy recipes!

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Bio

Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series (Four Cuts Too Many, Three Treats Too Many, Two Bites Too Many, One Taste Too Many). She also authored Should Have Played Poker and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories and novels have been named as Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Silver Falchion finalists. Debra serves on the national board of Mystery Writers of America and is president of SEMWA. She previously was on Sisters in Crime’s national board and president of SinC’s Guppy Chapter.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub

Book Blast: Fostered Identity

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Maggie Thom. Today, Maggie shares her new release, Fostered Identity.

Blurb

Her teenage sister has run away. It’s her fault. And on her watch.

Shyla thought she was doing the right thing by helping her teenage sister get a little freedom. She never expected she’d bolt on her. Desperate to keep their mom from discovering she has a missing daughter, Shyla sets out to find her wayward sister.

A fluke encounter gives Shyla a clue. Only she gets a lot more than she bargained for. She finds her sister, but she gets pulled into doing a heist. An impossible heist. And not just any heist but that of stealing her mom’s million-dollar jewelry. Ones that recently arrived, with no explanation.

Damien is a good guy running from an awful past. When his brother ends up in the hospital, Damien is determined to stop the one man who has and is destroying their lives—their father. Damien will break all of his promises, even steal, if it will end their father’s control.

Shyla and Damien find themselves thrown together, not trusting each other but not having any choice. They will have to work together if Damien is going to stop his father once and for all. And if Shyla is going to protect her family. An impossible crime that will bring them surprises they didn’t see coming.

Can they catch a thief by being a thief?

Book 1
The Twisted Deception Series

Emerald grew up in a foster family. It wasn’t an ordinary foster family. She was the first of eight girls to move in. The jewels that she was given to play with as a teenager, that she was told were baubles, are now resurfacing thirty-five years later. They are worth millions. And it appears worth stealing. Who is sending them out? And who wants them back at all costs?

“…fast-paced and kept me guessing. I like a mystery enveloped with family secrets and jewel thieves. I want more, and I want to know the secrets. I will be excited to read the second novel…” Author Christine H-Jackson

Excerpt

“When did I come in? I had an accident, right?”

“You came in this morning. You had a lump on your head, with no idea how you got it. I don’t know if you were in the same fight as your brother?”

“My brother?” It came flooding back really fast. Jordan had been beaten and he was sure that if his dad hadn’t done it, he was at least responsible for it. “Where is he?”

The nurse nodded at the curtain. “The other side of that.”

Damien sat up and swung his legs over the side before the nurse could stop him, but she was there quickly, blocking his way. “Uh-uh. I’ll open the curtain so you can talk to him. But he is still out. He has come to a few times but still needs his rest.”

She got Damien settled and then briskly walked around and pushed the curtain back to the wall. “Anything else?”

Damien shook his head, not bothering to look at her as she left. His gaze was glued to his brother in the other bed.

“J? … Jordie? … Jordan?” When there was no response, Damien glanced toward the door before easing himself out of bed. Taking a moment to let the earth stop spinning, he grabbed his IV and made his way over to his brother’s bed. He reached for his brother’s hand. “Jordie. I am so sorry. I swear that son-of-a-bitch will pay for this. Never again. Never again.”

He made his way back to his bed, easing himself down. Resting his head on the pillow stopped it from pounding so much. At some point, he must have dozed off. Sounds brought him out of his sleep. This time though, he remembered where he was.

***ON SALE FOR $0.99 DURING THE TOUR***

Author Bio and Links

Take the adventure beyond your fingertips.

Multi-Award-Winning Author, Maggie Thom has written all types of stories but finally settled on her love of puzzles, mysteries, and rollercoaster rides and now writes suspense/thrillers/mysteries that keep you guessing and take you on one heck of an adventure.

She is the author of 8 suspense/thriller/mysteries. The award-winning Caspian Wine Series – Captured Lies, Deceitful Truths, and Split Seconds – and her other individual novels Tainted Waters, Deadly Ties, and Fractured Lines. And now a new series – The Twisted Deception Series – Fostered Identity, Book 1. On her website, you can find her free novel – Blurred Lines.

Her motto: Read to escape … Escape to read …

“Maggie Thom… proves her strength as a master of words, plots and finely chiseled characters… she weaves a brilliant cloth of the many colors of deceit.” Dii – TomeTender

Giveaway

Maggie Thom will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Maggie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Blurb Blitz: Millennial Money Queens

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Maria Alcantara. Today, Maria shares her latest release, Millennial Money Queens

Blurb

The ultimate personal finance guide for millennial ladies, finally live your dream life, banish debt, make more money and create true wealth.

Millennial Money Queens brings millennial women the crucial financial education and life-changing mindset training needed to succeed. Maria shares her decade-long experience along with top financial and psychology insights to empower you to live your dream life. Master your money mindset, start your dream business and invest like a pro.

In this book, Maria starts by giving your money mindset a makeover! We all operate according to belief blueprints we’ve inherited and developed, what she calls the money in our mind. Travel through time and learn how the blueprints for wealth and poverty were created and how they trickled through millennia all the way to our present society. During her career, Maria quickly noticed how some people could have astronomical sums of money and still feel poor, while others could create wealth time and time again while feeling like they were living their dream lives, sharing their fortunes, growing their riches and supporting the causes that mattered to them. They are vibrant, accomplished, healthy and wealthy individuals in every way. The first step to master money is to adopt their blueprint, which Maria has broken down into easy and clear steps, the cornerstones you need to finally have a solid foundation for financial freedom for the rest of your life.

Once your unshakable financial blueprint is in place, it’s time to get to work with the money in our world. The first step is to stop for most millennial women is to stop spending their well-earned money on debt, whether it is student loans or credit cards, the majority of millennial women spend extravagantly on interest payments. Maria shares the best proven strategy for millennial ladies to stop this money leak. Once your debt is in control, learn where else in your life there may be money leaks and how you can make the most of the current expenses, we all have so you can live your desired lifestyle, this is the new way to budget. Whether it is in housing and moving to your dream home, transportation and driving your dream car or personal spending and funding your shopping sprees or trips to exotic destinations, learn about smart and conscious spending to truly live like a money queen. Spending is only a part of the money equation, to increase our wealth, we need to increase our income. We all have something unique to share with the world, Maria shares her secret process to help you find out what your superpower is that will allow you to build your million-dollar dream business. It’s time for millennial women to step into their power, to lead in entrepreneurship and create amazing organizations that will contribute to making our world a better place. With the access to technology and the education many of us have and can continue to gain, the sky’s the limit to what we can create! The final step is learning the money magic that will allow your wealth to grow exponentially. Investing has so far been kept out of reach for many millennial women who believed they weren’t ready to begin investing, who couldn’t afford the professional fees and who continuously postponed creating their portfolios, this ends now. Learn the best strategies to invest like a pro without the exorbitant fees and or the professional knowledge needed to succeed in the markets.

The truth is that many of us are actively keeping wealth away from us with limiting beliefs about ourselves and money and we are lacking the financial education and tools we need to create our wealth. This will no longer be your reality, once you read this book, you will be fully equipped with knowledge, secrets, tips and strategies you need to finally master money and live your dream life. With captivating stories of real millennial women, so you can learn from their journey and timeless wisdom from humanity’s greatest minds, you are in for a life-changing transformation. Maria believes that the true power in knowledge is in its application, so to help you embody the concepts and make the most of all the opportunities the knowledge in this book will give you, every chapter includes a money queen move to help you put into action all the invaluable information that is being shared. It’s your time to shine and become a millennial money queen.

Excerpt

Social media has the magic of being able to connect people worldwide, but it also has created a very insidious culture of idolizing money. Especially for a generation who is so far going down in modern history as one of the worst with money, especially us ladies. This book’s mission is to change that and instead to empower our generation with the financial literacy it so urgently needs.

Financial wellness today has a lot less to do with where you were born or how smart you are and a lot more with what education you receive and how you behave with money. So far, the financial education you’ve received is slim to none, and so, your money life is in shambles. That changes now.

Any of these RKOI kids can blow their money just as any millennial woman who is given proper financial skills can understand money, make it work for them and become a zillionaire, self-made, amigas. Get ready for your money makeover.

If you want to become a millionaire but think it can’t happen for you unless you win the lottery or marry rich, think again. Making money, getting out of debt and growing a fortune is based on a few simple principles you are about to learn.

Applying these principles leads to stories like the secretaries Grace Groner and Sylvia Bloom who died with massive multi-million-dollar estates. Ignoring them leads to stories of boom and bust like Kim Basinger, who, despite living with crippling anxiety, won multiple academy awards and still had to file for bankruptcy.

Author Bio and Links

Maria Alcantara is the founder of Millennial Money Queens, a leading financial empowerment movement for millennial women worldwide.

She is a chartered investment manager and money coach with over ten years of financial insights experience working with high-net-worth individuals to manage and grow their wealth. After a decade devoted to mastering money, she realized the gap existing between young women and financial education.

Deeply touched by the current state of millennial women’s finances, where many have fallen into debt, are unable to create inspiring opportunities for themselves and their communities, and are suffering financially, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, Maria created Millennial Money Queens to create a much-needed shift. After working with millennial clients and friends, she expanded her method to impact a whole generation, our younger sisters and our descendants. She specializes in using behavioral economics and finance to help women achieve financial literacy, freedom and independence. The results are life-changing, with the right financial and psychological preparation, young women are finally able to create purpose, independence and the confidence to live fulfilled lives.

Born and raised in Brazil, Maria witnessed the polarity of money. She vowed at a young age to make a difference in the world. During her childhood, her family moved to Canada where she studied economics, psychology and finance. She started out with big dreams like saving the rainforests of the world and creating animal-assisted therapy programs. The defining moment happened when she was not able to get funding to make those projects come to life. Feeling discouraged and powerless was a huge catalyst. Sometimes in our lives, our temporary defeats hold our most precious gems, Maria decided to master money so that she could personally fund all the projects that were important to her and reflected her values of sustainability, health, welfare and abundance for all.

Thus, she embarked on a journey to understand the financial world. She worked in banking, brokerages and wealth management, carefully observing how people handled money differently and the effect it had on their overall life satisfaction. While money can’t buy happiness, the lack of can certainly create chaos in one’s life. She found this to be true most clearly with millennial women. With promising futures and careers ahead, the women she spoke with, read about and worked with all shared tremendous baggage of feeling insecure when it came to money. While many millennial women are incredibly well educated, many are uncomfortable discussing money, including negotiating their hard-earned salary and requesting equal pay. Maria dove deeply into the history of women and money and found that outdated societal beliefs widely held by both men and women still influence our behavior today. In order to create lasting change, millennial women need to be the rising tide. It is our time to rise to our potential and pave the way for the younger generations. Financial literacy including both the psychological and external world perspectives of money are key to empowering women worldwide. That is Maria’s mission in creating the Millennial Money Queen movement.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Book Link

***Millennial Money Queens is on sale for $0.99***

Giveaway

Maria Alcantara will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Maria on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Spotlight on Susan Van Kirk

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Susan Van Kirk. Today, Susan shares two amazing days in her creative journey.

Here’s Susan!

Hi, Everyone, and thank you Joanne for inviting me to your blog!

When I began writing mysteries eleven years ago, I always thought the most amazing day in my future would be the day my first box of books with my name on it arrived on my front porch. And it was. But recently, I had another most amazing day, one that I hadn’t imagined back then.

After writing a series called the Endurance Mysteries, I decided to go in a new direction and begin a mystery series about a younger protagonist, one who would have a dream job. She’d be a historical researcher whom famous authors paid to do their digging, and she’d explore amateur genealogy on the side. Beth Russell appeared in my head, the woman who would have the job I’d love.

Leaving her home on Long Island, Beth ventured to Illinois when an investigator told her he thought she was the lost daughter of a wealthy family named Tippitt. Here she was, a genealogist, who didn’t even know who she was. Soon, the little town of Sweet Iron materialized, and Beth discovered a family she didn’t know she had, and the murder of a mother she’d never met. Well, as they say, the story now twists and turns with a murder case from 1971, a group of suspects still around, and the same people interested in Beth’s speedy departure from Sweet Iron…one way or another. Then we have her missing biological father, someone watching the Tippitt house from the woods, and the ghostly smell of Chantilly perfume, the scent her mother wore.

But then there’s the #2 best day of my life, which I mentioned at the beginning of this twisty tale. In late March, my publisher, Encircle Publications, joined with Orange Sky Audio by Findaway to do an audiobook of A Death at Tippitt Pond. Seriously? My words in an audiobook for all the world to hear. And even better, the professional narrator they hired was Patricia Santomasso, who lives in New York City and has done 150 audiobooks prior to mine. I loved her voice.

So, the second-best day of my book-writing life began with a download of my own words, previously typed in my little office on my laptop in downstate Illinois and now read by a professional. When I heard the first paragraph, I must confess to a few tears of joy, and then the few became many. How amazing—my words read aloud for all the world to hear.

Blurb

Everyone in the small town of Sweet Iron knew the teenage daughter of Judge Tippitt and his wife, Jolene. Melanie Tippitt’s exotic green eyes sprinkled with gold flecks only added to her haunting beauty. That is why her shocking murder in the summer of 1971 shattered the innocence of the town. Soon, the inhabitants sighed with relief when the murderer was sent to prison. Case closed. Four decades later, historical researcher and genealogist, Elizabeth Russell, arrives in Sweet Iron with plans for a brief visit. She extends her stay when she discovers reasons to research the Tippitt family genealogy and the disturbing tragedy of their daughter’s murder. Her decision cracks the tranquility of the town and challenges the truth of what happened that day at Tippitt Pond … Case closed. Or was it?

About the Author

Susan Van Kirk is a Midwest writer, living in downstate Illinois. Her writings include the Endurance Mysteries: Three May Keep a Secret, The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney, Marry in Haste, and Death Takes No Bribes. Harlequin Worldwide Mystery is currently republishing her entire series. Her latest mystery is A Death at Tippitt Pond. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and is President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Her website and blog are at http://www.susanvankirk.com

Links

Inspired to Write the Donovan Family Saga

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Soul Mate author Gifford MacShane. Today, Gifford shares interesting tidbits about her historical fiction series.

Here’s Gifford!

Thanks so much, Joanne, for inviting me to share ten interesting things about my Historical Fiction Series, THE DONOVAN FAMILY SAGA, as a guest on your blog today! Childhood and history came together, inspiring me to create these books.

1. From the beginning, as a member of a large Irish-American clan, I wondered how other families interacted. I was one of seven siblings, and had a hard time understanding what girls with only one brother or sister did for fun, and if they could understand how close we were.

2. When I was a kid, station wagons ruled the roads. There were no DVDs playing on trips to my grandparents, so my father encouraged singing, as it was the least physical activity—with 7 siblings crammed together, “Punch Bug” could soon become a free-for-all! He taught us songs that were easy to remember; as a result, I’m addicted to traditional folk music and there are many snippets of traditional lyrics contained in my works.

3. At the same time, cowboys rode the airwaves, and I really, really wanted to grow up to be a cowboy. Not a cowgirl—they wore silly skirts and sat sideways on horses. I even had a cowboy name—it included “Junior”, as that was the only way I knew to designate myself as a boy. When asked in school (I think I was 8) who the greatest hero in history was, I answered “Roy Rogers”. When the teacher told me he wasn’t a “real hero”, I burst into tears.

4. My first library was a BookMobile. My grandparents lived in a tiny hamlet in Ocean County NJ. The Bookmobile would park at the local grocery store for several hours every week. Tired of kids’ books by the time I was 10, I asked the librarian to recommend something, and she gave me The Virginian by Owen Wister. Slam! Bam!! hooked on Westerns as a literary form. As a result, I read through my father’s entire collection of Zane Grey novels by the end of that summer, and still have and re-read those wonderful books.

Most of the heroes of Grey’s books lived by a code of honor. They may have stumbled from time to time, but they always came back to that moral center. I think that appealed to me so much because I knew the men I looked up to (my father, grandfather and uncle) lived by the same code. And they subsequently became the heroes in my books.

5. I was also influenced by my grandfather in another way. He was stricken with emphysema in his 40s, spent the last 20 years of his life confined to bed, but seldom complained. I learned from him that one must go on, no matter how challenging life might become.

6. Now my family history steps in: my father’s family were Irish immigrants. According to family history, my Great-uncle Sean was chased out of Ireland by the English, escaping by the skin of his teeth. The injustice of that hit me first: a man fighting for freedom from the overlords who invaded his country hundreds of years ago just shouldn’t have been hounded out of the only home he’d known.

7. More recently, I read about a memorial sculpture installed in County Cork that celebrated the aid the Choctaw Tribe in America gave to the Irish during the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852. My mother has a smidgen of native blood, so the article caught my eye.

The beautiful sculpture, titled Kindred Spirits, was created by Alex Pentek at the Sculpture Factory in Cork, and represents the Choctaw Indians with nine unique feathers, shaped in a bowl that represents a bowl full of food.

8. Shortly before I saw this, my cousin began to create a genealogy of my father’s family. Comparing that history with the dates of the famine, I realized that his ancestors—coming from County Clare as they did—had to have lived through it. I dug into the details and learned it was a totally avoidable disaster that decimated Ireland’s population while food was being exported to England at astronomical rates.

I felt compelled to tell the stories of the survivors—the ones who somehow held body and soul together and found a way to prosper. I began, sporadically, to write.

9. Then, in my late 40s, illness struck. A genetic flaw on my father’s side made itself known. I was fortunate in two ways: I had cousins going through the same thing with whom I could commiserate and share ideas; and I’d finally have enough time to write the books that were stuck in my head for so long, even it was only an hour or so a day.

10. I initially had no plans to go beyond the original manuscript, Whispers In The Canyon. But the more I wrote, the more I realized that the fourth Donovan son, Daniel, was developing into someone quite unique—a Zane Grey-type hero, a man with a code of honor that withstood almost every adversity, and a deep and abiding love for a woman he never thought could be his. Because of all that, I believed Daniel deserved his own book, if only to see if he could find happiness with Annie. Since I’m not a plotter by nature, I had to write the book to find out.

Outcome: The Knight of the Range met up with a family of Irish immigrants. Together, they were generously sprinkled with folksongs and legends, and gave birth to the Donovan Family Saga. The series now consists of the original book, Whispers in the Canyon; the second book about Daniel, The Woodsman’s Rose; and a prequel novella, The Winds of Morning, which I wrote after readers requested more details about the family’s origins in Ireland.

Each story includes romance, traditional song lyrics and a dash of Celtic mysticism. On occasion, I’ve been told by a reader that they’d love living next door to the Donovans. To me, that’s the highest praise ever.

Blurb for WHISPERS IN THE CANYON

A woman’s survival depends upon the man who shot her brother.

Shunned by the village for her outlaw brother’s deeds, Jesse Travers is not sorry to hear he’s been killed while robbing a bank. Strangely enough it’s Adam Donovan, the man who shot him, who brings her the news.

Traumatized by years of abuse, Jesse doubts she can trust any man—especially this Irish immigrant with his volatile temper and gunfighter’s reputation. But now she’s alone, and he’s offered to help put her bankrupt ranch back on solid footing. A profound love for her canyon home is stronger than her trepidation, and she accepts his assistance.

As they work together to improve her ranch, Jesse begins to see that Adam’s true nature is far removed from his notoriety. She feels the first stirrings of love―an emotion she’s never known before. Then, as if to tell her she is unworthy of happiness, her past rises up with a vengeance and she is left with a terrible choice: retreat to a life of solitude and shame, or trust her heart and reveal her tragic secret, in the hope that Adam is the man she believes him to be.

Deceptively simple and poetic, this heartfelt western historical romance will tug at your emotions, make you laugh, cry, and even get a little angry, as it handles difficult topics with a sensitive touch.

Author Bio and Links

Gifford MacShane is the author of historical fiction that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. Her novels feature a family of Irish immigrants who settle in the Arizona Territory. With an accessible literary style, MacShane draws out her characters’ hidden flaws and strengths as they grapple with both physical and emotional conflicts.

MacShane is a member of the Historical Novel Society and an #OwnVoices writer. A self-professed grammar nerd who still loves diagramming sentences, Giff currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Richard, the Pied Piper of stray cats.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

All my books are listed on my author page at Books2Read.

(https://books2read.com/ap/RDOkLr/Gifford-MacShane).

I’d appreciate it if you’d use this buy link rather than the individual Amazon links, as the two later books are available in many formats.

Just Keep Showing Up and Shining Out!

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Candace Colt sharing her multi-act life and Familiar Blessings, Book 1 in the Magic Potter Series.

Here’s Candace!

I’m honored to be a part of Joanne’s Second Act Series. Reading the other Second Act posts has been so inspiring, and I am sure you feel the same way. May I add that when you read another person’s story, and it doesn’t sound exactly like yours, perhaps you will find encouragement that change can be good no matter what the circumstances. Maybe you’ve already made a change (planned or unplanned). Another person’s story might give you the reassurance that you will be “okay.” The most important thing is this: have trust and faith in yourself!

First Act

“In my day,” a woman’s career options were a bit limited. That’s an understatement. Honestly, there few choices. Wife and mother (in tandem), nurse, airline stewardess, secretary, teacher. All worthy paths, yes. But even with a professional degree, many women quit the job after they got married. In my case, I got married, but I did not stop working. In fact, except for a few in-between-job periods, I worked full time until I retired in 2014.

I followed the teacher track and taught K-6 for several years. But then my husband’s job took us to a university town where teaching jobs were non-existent. Why? Because all the male grad students’ wives were teachers supporting their husbands. Does this sound familiar?

So, what’s a girl to do? Reinvention!

By some miracle, I was accepted into a Nuclear Medicine Technology program, with not much clue what that was! After graduation, I was hired, and naturally, I was the queen of the world! Then, a teaching job opened up in the field (college educator) that took me on a glorious seventeen-year journey. But then program funding disappeared, and there went that dream job! Another career change led me into entry-level college administration. Then to a college library director position (hello, I’m not a librarian!), where I had ten great years working with the best people in the world.

Fast Forward to the Second Act!

Retirement provided me the wherewithal to follow my heart to become a writer. Trust me, writing and promotion is full-time work, but I love it. Since I’ve retired, I’ve had nine books published in contemporary paranormal romance. By the way, each one has a wise older woman in the story. Imagine that?

I am nothing if not persistent. I don’t possess great intellectual genius. My changes were out of necessity rather than a master plan. If you ask me for advice, I will keep it simple. Paraphrasing my yoga teacher, no matter who you are or where you are in life,”Just keep showing up and shining out!”

Blurb

Familiar Blessings: The Magic Potter Series Book 1 (Cat’s Paw Cove Romance)

The magic begins when you trust your heart.

Tired of being hounded by the greedy dead, gifted medium Dr. Theodosia Blessing, the wonder-child of historians around the world, yearned for anonymity. After renouncing her magic, she reinvented herself as Theo, the potter. She returned to her hometown of Cat’s Paw Cove, Florida, where she lives with her familiar, a mind-reading tortoiseshell cat named Aloysius.

Former Army Ranger Ethan Cooper was content to live a reclusive life in his cabin in North Carolina. But as Christmas draws near, he agrees to repay a debt to an old man whose wise counsel brought him out of war’s dark shadow. Ethan accepts one last mission: to track down Theo.

Ethan appears unannounced on Theo’s doorstep with an envelope containing the old man’s letter. If what it says is true, the reluctant medium, skeptical Ranger, and wiseacre cat must travel back to 1720 to save a young boy from the gallows.

FAMILIAR BLESSINGS originally appeared in MEOWS & MISTLETOE, a Cat’s Paw Cove Romance Holiday Anthology. It won the 2019 Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewers’ Choice Award.

Excerpt

Curious but cautious, Theo hesitated, then carefully opened the parchment envelope and removed the folded paper.

She waved the letter at the stranger. “You drove all the way from North Carolina to give me this?”

“I suggested he could mail it certified, but he said it was too important. The old man’s my loyal friend, so I couldn’t refuse.”

Who was behind this? A stranger shows up with a letter an old man gave him. Sure.

Have I ever lied to you? Read it.

Theo glanced down at her cat, Aloysius. “Hush.” She noticed the man’s confusion. “Didn’t mean you.” He was obviously an Ordinary and hadn’t heard a word the cat said.

Theo cleared an imagined tickle in her throat and unfolded the paper. The ink had smudged in a few places, but the handwriting was legible. Her archivist expertise told her this was written in old English. F was used for S. The sentences were sprinkled with thee and thou.

In her former university position, she had analyzed documents like this before. Why would someone want this one hand-carried all the way to Florida when there were competent researchers in North Carolina?

Aloysius gave her ankle a ‘get-on-with-it’ shove. Read it out loud so the human can hear.

“All right, already.” She took a breath and began reading.

Dearest Theodosia,

I suspect thou hast many concerns about the manner in which this letter came to thee.

Please read it to the end. Trust ’tis written with the intentions of someone who loved and has watched over thee since thee was born.

Theodosia Blessing, thou comest from an old family. Thy God-given gift must continue–.

Theo’s throat tightened, and words bunched inside. Besides her family, only one living being on this earth knew her reason to abandon the magic: the ten-pound cat sitting at her feet.

Buy/Read

Candace’s Cat’s Paw Cove Romance Books are available on Amazon.

Candace’s Nocturne Falls Universe Books are available here:

Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

About the Author

Candace Colt lives the good life on Florida’s west coast with her husband of 48 years. After careers in education and the medical field, she launched her second life as a writer. Since she retired, she’s published nine paranormal romance books. She chose paranormal because it’s fun to write and because even shape-shifters, elves, psychics and time travelers deserve their happily ever after.

Links

Book Blast: The Coach’s Wife

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy tow welcome award-winning author Barbara Casey. Today, Barbara shares her new release, The Coach’s Wife.

Blurb

The Cinderella Coyotes of State University are in the Final Four, poised to win the NCAA National Championship in basketball—the culmination of March Madness. For Marla Conners, she’s proud of her husband Neal, and his achievement of coaching a collegiate team to the pinnacle of his career and the ultimate victory for his team. Yet, Marla’s idyllic life is about to be viciously attacked and torn apart by a different madness—her husband’s reputation ruined, a university disgraced, and she finds herself on trial accused of first-degree murder.

The Coach’s Wife is rife with spine-tingling suspense, conspiracy, deceit, and murder, sizzling and seductive passion, right down to the last second buzzer-beating heroics. This is also a candid and vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of Division One college basketball, university politics, money and corruption, and all the lives that are blessed and ruined by it all.

Excerpt

Another deafening roar exploded from the coliseum, and when it did Marla threw down her partially smoked cigarette and ground it into the polished tile floor with the toe of her shoe. Quickly she reached for another cigarette from the opened pack in her small red handbag. She lit it, sucked the smoke into her mouth, held her breath, coughed, and then slowly released it. Marla didn’t smoke, but when she paced up and down the hallways of basketball coliseums, puffing on cigarettes seemed appropriate. It gave her something to do with her hands, and it helped keep her sane.

“God, how I hate this.” Gale Simmons, the gray-haired woman pacing in the same direction as Marla, was married to one of the assistant coaches at Piedmont State. She, along with several other women—also wives of coaches, some of them wives of players—were known as the hall walkers. They were the women who met on a regular but unscheduled basis the last two minutes of every game, pacing the halls, smoking, or pretending to in Marla’s case, and trying to give each other encouragement. Unable to watch the most crucial time of the game—that last two minutes—they paced in heart-pounding agony, listening to the fans erupt in cheers or boos, and to the announcer scream out the play-by-play over the public address system.

It didn’t matter which team they supported. The bond they shared went beyond the game and winning or losing. It was after the game that most mattered. If their team won, it meant going through the torture one more time, but at least their husbands would be happy. If their team lost, it meant their husbands would go through weeks of depression and as their wives they would have to put up with an impenetrable wall of silence broken only by an occasional negative outburst—usually directed toward them. Each of the hall walkers had experienced it. And it was that experience more than any other that cemented the friendship between them.

With thirty seconds to go, the score is 76 all. This is a hot one, folks. Let’s see what the Seawolf pack is going to do. Sydney Rob makes an inbound pass into the back court to Jerry March—the clock is moving, folks. Jerry lobs the ball back over to Rob. Rob passes it over to Miller in the right court.

Interception by Darrell Washington! Holy cow, sports fans! The Seawolf’s Sydney Rob loses the ball to the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest has the ball. Washington bringing it down court. Fifteen seconds on the clock.

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

Author Bio and Links

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, as well as book-length works of nonfiction true crime, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her nonfiction true crime book, Kathryn Kelly: The Moll behind Machine Gun Kelly, has been optioned for a major film and television series. Her nonfiction book, Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave, is under contract for a major film. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. Barbara is also a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in cutting-edge adult nonfiction. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her three cats who adopted her: Homer, a southern bobtail; Reese, a black cat; and Earl Gray, a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.

http://www.barbaracaseyauthor.com | http://www.barbaracaseyagency.com

Giveaway

Barbara Casey will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn commenter. Find out more here.

Follow Barbara on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Grab That Dream and Shake the Stuffing Out of It

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have multi-genre author D.V. Stone sharing an inspirational post about her life journey.

Here’s Donna!

Briefly describe your first act.

Daughter, wife, mom, employee, volunteer EMT, we all have a variation of the first act, don’t we? We’re young and have hopes and dreams of who we want to be and where we want to be. The idea that love lasts forever. Children will be exactly who we want them to be. Our job is something we leap out of bed in the morning to get to. Our life will make a difference.

Then the reality hits. We learn love doesn’t last for everyone. Illness strikes. Your child decides to leave and go live with his father. A second job is needed to make ends meet. Anyone living the fantasy in paradise? Of course, to various degrees, not. Different times and challenges often suck the joy and hope out of us.

What triggered the need for change?

Everyone’s triggers are different and can happen in a series of unfortunate events. (Did you just think of Lemony Snicket?) My triggers were a series. Divorce in my early thirties. Re-marriage (this time a keeper). The child mentioned above moved out and broke my heart. A second job is needed to make ends meet. Then business failures. Don’t stop here and think it’s all bad all the time. This is real life, remember? Not the impossible images of the perfect family on TV and in commercials. But it’s the nitty-gritty life that is often messy. Then came not the most significant trigger, but the one that brought me to today. Today where I’m sitting and typing this. I worked at a job for nine years. It was the one I most enjoyed. One where I felt I made a difference most days. One of those days, I showed up for work, then was shown the door. It was a time when the economy tanking had hit hard, and my position was eliminated. Unemployed for the first time in almost thirty years. After a few weeks of feeling sorry for myself, the thought came, “You finally have time. What do you want to be when you grow up?” I grabbed my computer.

Where are you now?

So here I am today. I have five published books—both independent and traditionally published. I run two different author blogs. I’m back at work but not for long. The Third Act retirement is beckoning, and when you read this, it’s only a month away. My DH and I bought a camper, and we’re planning on seeing the country. I have so many books and pieces of books I’m itching to get to. So this show is going on the road.

Do you have advice for anyone planning to pursue a second act?

Fear nearly brought my publishing dreams to a halt. What if nobody likes my writing? What if I make a fool out of myself? What if I’m just bad at it? My advice is more of a question. Who are you going to listen to? The voice that says you can’t? Or are you going to take a leap of faith to grab that dream and shake the stuffing out of it? Tear it up and put it back together in a way that works for you—today. Don’t let old dreams pass by unfulfilled. Take them out of the box you’ve shoved them into. Look at them. Really look. They may be unrealistic. But maybe we can make it a more reasonable achievement. You may never be the princess of your youthful dreams. But you can write about one. Perhaps even in the first person. Have you always dreamed of being a singer? Same thing. Even if you can’t sing worth a dime, you’ll always have music. What were your dreams, and how can they be brought forward to today?

Any affirmations or quotations you wish to share?

I love this quote.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou

Blurb

Aden House, successful but driven chef and TV personality, refuses to slow down. His life implodes one night, damaging him both physically and emotionally. He’s rescued by a woman he thinks of as his angel.

Shay McDowell has rebuilt her life after her divorce. She juggles volunteer EMT duties and her job, while dreaming of becoming a chef. She finds her way to Rock House Grill and back into the life of the man she helped save.

Can love be the ingredient needed to survive the many obstacles they face?

Excerpt

“Easy, you’re going to be okay.” A soft voice eased through the chaos around him. The owner of the voice grabbed his arms and held them in a firm but gentle grip. “I’m right here with you. You are not alone.” “Can hardly m-move.” His voice slurred. “C-can’t see anything.” “You’ve been in an accident. I’m an EMT with the ambulance squad,” the velvety voice calmly explained. “You can’t see well because we’re under a tarp. Hold still, okay?” “‘K.” A small light flickered at the edge of his vision. It shone into a bag next to him. Penlight. “You’re restrained to a board. It’s to keep your head from moving and causing more injury.” She continued to talk to him. The voice reached down somewhere inside him, calming and peaceful, so he focused on it. A glow from spotlights on the outside lit whatever covered them. The shadow gave the woman the appearance of a halo—like an angel.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBook | Google Books | Kobo

Author Bio

Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. I am a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. Recently, Rock House Grill was released by Wild Rose Press. Rainbow Sprinkles, a novella released on July 8th. I also host Welcome to the Campfire and A Peek Through the Window, both weekly blogs. Here’s a little more about me.

Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man, and moved this time to Sussex County. They live with Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter, and their cat Baby.

D.V.’s career path varied from working with the disabled to become a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a women’s state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medicine and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop in Sparta, NJ, and a small restaurant in Lafayette. Life handed some setbacks, and she ended up back in the medical field, but this time in a veterinary emergency hospital.

“Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books, I hope you’ll be swept away by the story and find encouragement in your own life, never to give up on hope.”

Where to find D.V. Stone…

One-Stop Link

Other Books by D. V. Stone

Rainbow Sprinkles
After the storm come the rainbows.

Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar
One foolish thought. One brutal act. Instead of a peaceful alliance––war.

Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake
A Mid-grade paranormal

Australia Burns
Anthology – Contributing Author

Laugh Out Loud!

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

Today is International Moment of Laughter Day, a day set aside to remind us to laugh out loud each day. According to originator Izzy Gesell, “Laughter comes right after breathing as just about the healthiest thing you can do. It relieves, stress, instills optimism, raises self-confidence, defuses resistance to change, and enhances all your relationships.”

Science backs up Izzy’s claims:

A recent study of 53,556 people in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that women who have a strong sense of humor live longer. The reason? Laughter bolsters the immune system to ward off disease.

Continue reading on the Soul Mate Authors’ blog.

10 Interesting Facts about The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome multi-published author Susan Hanniford Crowley. Today, Susan shares ten interesting facts about The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars, Book 3 in the Arnhem Knights of New York Series and the cover reveal for Lady Fallon’s Dragons.

Here’s Susan!

I love writing paranormal adventure romance with a deep abiding passion. The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars is the 3rd in my series Arnhem Knights of New York, which is a spinoff from my first series Vampires in Manhattan. I will share with your ten fun-filled facts, then where to find me and my books, and a sneak peek at the cover of my upcoming novel.

Fact 1

I dreamt about Vampire Prince Răzvan and his story. It took about 6-8 months to have and write down all the dreams. Then it took a year and a half to research and verify the factual parts of the book.

Fact 2

The name of characters are very important to me. When I first had Răzvan’s name, I looked up the first and last name in Bucharest, Romania. There were several Răzvans, which didn’t bother me as it’s a popular name in Romanian history. However, I found a young man with the same first and last name as my character. Since my character lives in Bucharest for some of the time, I didn’t want a real person to be burdened with the name of a vampire mistakenly associated with him. I returned to the dreams and got a new clearer view of the name: Răzvan Forţă.

Răzvan means the bringer of good news. The name comes from the Geto-Dacians who inhabited the land that would become Romania.

His surname Forţă means force or power.

Fact 3

Half of the book happens during WWII in Romania. The few atrocities shown in the book actually happened.

Fact 4

Prince Răzvan is an older vampire than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Both of these characters are fictional.

Prince Vlad III Dracula, also called Vlad Țepeș, who was a prince of Wallachia, part of Romania, was a real person who fought the Turks and frightened them from returning with a battlefield full of the enemies’ heads impaled on sharp poles. In Romania, he revered even today as a national hero.
Prince Răzvan is the 7th son of a King of Dacia, as Dacia was the land before it was Romania. Dacia existed between 168 BC and 106 AD.

Fact 5

It was common for royals that if you had an heir and sometimes a spare but if you had more sons, appropriate occupations for them would be to become a soldier or a monk. Daughters were married off to other royals to form alliances.

Răzvan became a soldier that fought for his country. When he became a vampire, he still fought for his modern day nation of Romania.

Fact 6

Vampires are called strigoi in Romania. What makes a strigoi different? In Romanian folklore, there is a living strigoi and dead strigoi. The living one blends in with everyone else. Day or night doesn’t make any difference. The dead one rises from the grave at night. What they both share is an intense love for whatever they loved in life. If a strigoi enjoyed great food, after death their love for great food would cause them to seek it and eat everything in a friend’s kitchen. Just an example.

Fact 7

The disintegration in sunlight is an invention of Hollywood.

My vampires can walk in the day but are cautious with overexertion in sunlight or spending too much time in their direct rays. The damage the sun does to human is sped up a little in my vampires. They wear protective clothing and sunblock. Spending two days uncovered in direct rays could kill most of my vampire characters.

Fact 8

Hoia Baciu is an actual place and one of the most famous haunted forests in the world. It is considered the Bermuda Triangle of Romania. It is famous for UFO and paranormal activities. Oh, it I mention it’s in the part of the country called Transylvania?

In my novel, I added to the paranormal activity there. (Laughs) I couldn’t help myself.

Fact 9

Readers have told me that they are astounded that many of my vampires of religious. Prince Răzvan has an old friend from the war who is a Romanian Orthodox (Christian) priest.

Fact 10

Other readers have said they were surprised that my vampires are just like ordinary people. Something bad happened to them (becoming a vampire) but they are able to use it for the good of others. They are heroes. When a vampire finds their true lifemate, that person is their beloved for all time.

Love helps all of us endure the hardships of life. Love is the strength of my vampires and other supernatural heroes and heroines.

Buy Links

To find all my books on Amazon both the Kindle and the Print, visit: https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Hanniford-Crowley/e/B004YXOGXG

To find them everywhere:
Nook | Kobo | Smashwords | Walmart Books

Where to find Susan

Coming soon: Lady Fallon’s Dragons. This is a dragon adventure book with a sweet romance in it. Lady Fallon’s Dragons is a wondrous tale of contemporary dragons and a young woman fighting for her life. Here is the cover reveal!