Bolder and Braver by Patricia V. Davis – Guest Blog and Giveaway

June 23, 2020 By 16 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be giving away a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Bolder and Braver

The one gift I never expected to receive so late in life was to meet such wonderful women, all of them unique, but all the same in one way: they uplift and support other women better than any 16-hour bra.

These women are not women I would have met unless I got out of my comfort zone. That started when I moved to Greece with my Greek husband. I did that. I did it to “save my marriage.” That plan didn’t go as expected. But you know what? Getting out of my comfort zone saved me, instead. I discovered something not many of us have been told: women do not have to be exactly like you in order to be real friends. They don’t have to have the same religion or politics as you in order to have the same values. They don’t have to speak the same first language, have the same color skin as you in order to “get” you, and for you to “get” them.

Considering all that’s happening today, this will be hard to believe. But the truth is, I never set out to write the characters in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy as so ‘diverse.’ Their voices came to me through the women I’ve been lucky to meet in the last twenty-three years since I moved to Greece and started writing. I did meet a woman whose marriage had been arranged, as was Rohini’s in Cooking for Ghosts. I did meet a sexy, dynamic Cynthia. The character Jane is based on a woman who was my business partner in the bookshop and book distribution company we owned in Athens, called Serafim Books. We’d name it for guardian angels, because that’s what we became for each other — our own angels. We looked out for each other, helped each other through many life crises during that time, an experience I treasure to this day.

And Angela is named after another friend, (who really needs to write her own book someday). Angela was in the US military when she met and married her own Greek husband. Unlike mine, their marriage has lasted through thick and thin, I’m happy to say. Marriage to a Greek and living in Greece were the only commonalities Angela and I shared, or so people might think, at first. I know nothing about military life. Or growing up in Louisiana. Or being one half of a couple in an interracial marriage. But when we talk, which we still often do, we talk about the things that matter to both of us: our families, how much good we’re doing or not in this life, and of course, books.

And as for Sarita, the teenager in my story who has doubts about herself, her fears about being “different” — who hasn’t felt that? Or what mother, like Angela, hasn’t had to re-examine and adjust her expectations when it comes to grown children?

So, when people ask me, “How did you come up with these characters?” my answer is, “How could I not?”

There’s a problem, though. Being a white writer, I have to be very careful not to be misunderstood when I write about women of different races. That became even more obvious as I wrote about Rosemary Taylor, the vodou (or voodoo) Creole priestess grandmother of Sarita, who finally makes an in-person appearance in Book III of this trilogy. Those who read Books I and II will spot her, mentioned by other characters in both books, but we only get to meet her at last in Book III.

How a vodou priestess ends up on the Queen Mary in Long Beach to help exorcise a demon that’s lodged itself aboard is pure imagination on my part. But her essence, her being, is all inspired by more women I’ve met. In the case of the character Rosemary, I asked for and got help from women who have lived more of what my character has lived. I won’t say I got their “permission” to write about her, but I will say I checked with them on a regular basis to be sure I was writing with clarity, respect, and as much truth in fiction as possible. I wouldn’t be able to do that — write characters with such depth — if I hadn’t put myself out there to meet women who the world tells me are different than I am. Sure, in some ways, we are.

But in the ways that are most important, we’re not.

So, what do you think—want to broaden your horizons without having to travel extensively? Want to help end the hatred and fear of other human beings who seem so different from oneself? Smile at a stranger. Say hello. Start up a chat on a bus, or the underground, or while waiting on the checkout line at the market. Just try it. I can’t tell you how much richer my life is because I’ve done that, because I have talked to women and they have talked to me. When we discovered our commonalities, when we shared our experiences, our wishes and fears, that’s when we — collectively — became different: bolder, braver, and more daring, with our true friends to cheer us on.

Book One: Cooking For Ghosts

Do hearts broken long ago forever leave a tangible trace?

A Vegas cocktail waitress. An Indian herbalist. A British chemistry professor. An Italian-American widow. Four unique women with one thing in common: each is haunted by a tragedy from her past.

Cynthia, Rohini, Jane, and Angela meet on a food blogging site and bond over recipes. They decide on impulse to open The Secret Spice, an elegant café on the magnificent ocean liner, the RMS Queen Mary, currently a floating hotel in Long Beach, California. Rich in history and tales of supernatural occurrences, the ship hides her own dark secrets.

The women are surrounded by ghosts long before they step aboard, but once they do, nothing is quite what it seems. Not the people they meet, not their brooding chef’s mystic recipes, and not the Queen Mary herself. Yet the spirits they encounter help them discover that there’s always a chance to live, as long as one is alive.

An Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection, and read by Ann Marie Gideon, COOKING FOR GHOSTS is an unforgettable tale of love, redemption, and divine female power.

Book Two: Spells and Oregano

A mother desperate to save her twin sons, a war veteran in torment, a beautiful young psychic with a terrible secret, a powerful magician with a shattered soul, and a Queen steeped in history and glory. These extraordinary beings cross paths and set off a remarkable chain of events in Spells and Oregano: Book II in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy.

Overcome by despair after a trauma when she was sixteen, Sarita Taylor has spent the past ten years isolated and lonely aboard her beloved RMS Queen Mary. Fearful of outsiders, she dedicates her time to managing The Secret Spice Café, now an award-winning restaurant. Until Luca Miceli, a man with a dark past, steps on board.

Patricia V. Davis deftly spins past and present, mystery and magic, into a potent story of passionate longing and family tragedy all at once. Spells and Oregano is a compelling tale of atonement, devotion, and undying love, set aboard one of the world’s most magnificent, haunted ships.

Don’t miss Cooking for Ghosts: Book I in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy. The Secret Spice Trilogy is an Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection

Book Three: Demons: Well Seasoned

Dare to Believe in Your Power…
A long-lost grandmother. A stay-at-home mom. A comic book fan. A five-year-old girl with a star-shaped birthmark. And nine more.

The cast is bigger, the stakes are higher. When Sarita’s grandmother, a Vodou priestess, foresees a terrible evil, Cynthia, Jane, Angela, and Rohini reunite on a heart-rending mission to save all that’s precious to them, including the iconic ship, the RMS Queen Mary. They cannot do it alone–the priestess tells them there must be thirteen on the night of the thirteenth moon. in this life-or-death pursuit. Yet, can she be trusted?

Spiced with history and the supernatural, Demons, Well-Seasoned takes us from 1930s Glasgow, to New Orleans and Harlem in the 1950s, to present day southern California, and back again, on a metaphysical voyage that is both exhilarating and poignant. But before you embark upon this final sail with the denizens of The Secret Spice, be warned: expect to lose sleep, and keep tissues at hand. These valiant characters might just stay with you long after their story comes to a close.

Don’t miss Cooking for Ghosts, and Spells & Oregano, Books I and II in The Secret Spice Café Trilogy. The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy is an Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection

Enjoy an Excerpt from Cooking for Ghosts

Unconcerned with what her business partners were up to, Rohini was giggling with excitement. Hugging herself, she whirled in circles, then flung her arms up over her head and collapsed back in dizzy elation onto the enormous bed in the glorious stateroom. Everything was glorious. She was here. This was her room. The Secret Spice was, in part, her restaurant.

Hers.

And when she’d first seen the Queen from the back seat of Cynthia’s preposterous little car, she knew she was headed to exactly where she should be. She couldn’t stop smiling, until, abruptly, a lump formed in her throat and her eyes misted with tears.

“I made it, Zahir,” she whispered. “I made it.”

She sobered as she thought of him, of all he’d done for her, and all that she might still need to do on her own.

But that wasn’t for today. Today was for celebration and thankfulness. Getting up from the bed, she opened her case, pulled out all the little plastic sacks of spices and herbs she’d packed, and sighed with relief. Not a one had opened or torn. Even so, she could smell their pungent bouquet right through the protective wrappings. Rauvolfia, Serpentina, Jaiphal, Javitri, Khus Khus, Ashwagandha and more — why did cinnamon always smell the strongest? There were dozens of varieties that she’d stuffed inside shirt sleeves and trouser legs and white cotton gym socks, just like a drug dealer might hide a stash. The TSA had missed them completely. They’d even affixed a sticker to the top of her bag: “Checked by Homeland Security.”

About the Author:PATRICIA V. DAVIS’s debut novel series, THE SECRET SPICE CAFE, is comprised of three books: COOKING FOR GHOSTS (2016) SPELLS AND OREGANO (2017) and DEMONS, WELL-SEASONED. (2019) The audio books will be released in 2020 by Tantor Media, and narrated by Ann Marie Gideon. Patricia lives with her husband, who is both a poker player and a rice farmer, so she divides her time between southern Nevada and northern California. Say hello to Patricia at her author website.

Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Wikipedia

Buy the series at Amazon.

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The Gourmet Gangster by Marcia Rosen and Jory Rosen – Spotlight and Giveaway

May 25, 2020 By 13 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Marcia Rosen & Jory Rosen will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Buy the book for only $0.99 at Amazon.

A Note from the Author

The mysteries are malicious. The recipes are delicious. John Klopfenstein, Criminal Defense Attorney ~ Carmel/Salinas, California

My son Jory and I had a great time collaborating on this book. I wrote the mysteries and he provided the recipes. Together we created some murderous titles for the recipes and decided which types of food would best fit the various mystery stories.

Some of my stories were influenced by being a gangster’s daughter.

Really. My father was a gangster.

He was a bookie, owned a gambling ‘place’ and when he was ready to move on, he and his partner opened a restaurant and bar at the heart of Main Street in Buffalo, New York.

The head of one of the big crime families lived in Buffalo. Odd as it may seem, Buffalo was home to many members of that family in the middle of the twentieth century. There are books about them, telling who they were and what they controlled—from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.

My father knew some of them, I have been told. He was invited to share their goods, their ill gained fortunes and business opportunities. He always refused, and I’m grateful for his wisdom and choice. For some reason they left him alone to forge his own gains.

He did not have or carry a gun. In fact, even though his wife, my mother (who I once called his gun moll in a story I wrote) could be nasty, he was never unkind to her or me. He was generous, and I learned a lot about generosity through his actions.

My boyfriend at the time, his friends and I would stop in at the restaurant. They would even go on their own, knowing my dad loved to have them visit.

What stories he told them! Ones he wouldn’t tell a daughter, he told them and, eventually, his grandson. Who, of course, told me.

I watched my father as he found his way, lost it and then found it again.

Through it all, I always knew I was loved. How lucky I was!

My two sons, his grandsons, also knew he loved them. They were more than special to him; he adored them.

He loved owning and hanging out at his restaurant, The Spaghetti House, and he enjoyed cooking as much as serving drinks and talking to people.

Some people sat at the bar, others in leather booths where meals were served. Passersby stopped to talk with him. Looking back, I know that, for my father, it was the best of times. Food, friendship and family were at the heart of his life.

Remembering my father, and picturing him at a restaurant he owned is what initially inspired me to write stories that took place in a restaurant. I’m a mystery writer, so they had to be about murder, mayhem and, I thought, a fun bit of madness.

Loving short stories, I decided to write a series of short mysteries, all taking place in a restaurant called Manhattan Shadow.

I’m a New Yorker at heart and have lived there for many years, so New York was perfect as the restaurant’s location and the center of the stories’ criminal organization.

.Zero the Bookie is fashioned after my father. He also appears in my Sleuths Mystery Series along with Dick and Dora Zimmerman, reminiscent of the Thin Man characters.

The idea of adding recipes made good sense, since my father was a chef and the stories were set in a mob-owned restaurant. Then, Level Best Books, our publisher, suggested putting a recipe before each story.

I agreed. “Great idea. My son is a fabulous cook; he can create the recipes. Plus, we’ll give them names to fit the stories.

Indeed, we did. For example, “Chicken Piccata Caper,” “The Sacrificial Lamb,” “The Quiche (Kiss) of Death.” Near the end we added, “A Deadly Delicious Dessert.”

It will perhaps seem strange to some readers that those desserts are ‘donuts,’ but those donuts belong to a very important memory. When my father and mother came to visit us after we moved to Long Island, my father brought along a small donut-making machine.

I wisely disappeared from the anticipated mess.

Oh, how his grandsons loved making the donuts, adding different frostings and sprinkles and devouring them. The three of them had such fun! The experiences of those times have long belonged to my son, Jory. I believe they inspired his joy of cooking.

Here are Jory’s thoughts concerning his love of both cooking and his family ties: “Some of my earliest memories about my grandfather include making donuts with him in the kitchen of our house. I remember his kindness, patience, and love for the process as well as the end result. It gave me a lifetime passion for cooking, and a desire to learn the best techniques. It did, of course, also have the effect of creating a lifetime love affair with donuts (come on, they are nature’s perfect food). As I grew older, there were many shared meals and stories that gave me a true appreciation of my grandfather as a person.

“In my family, today, we truly look forward to our evening meals. I have three kids (2 girls, 9 and 7, and a boy 3); my grandfather would have adored them. What I cook allows my children to get know my grandfather through every bite of the cuisine he created. I hope the recipes in my mother’s books inspire good memories and experiences in others, too.”

As I considered mystery stories for the book, I thought about places familiar to me or where I like to spend time.

The story, “He’s A Dead Duck,” was a reminder of a duck pond we lived near on Long Island, years ago. I loved the idea of creating a story beginning with a duck recipe. “The Chicken Piccata Caper” was the easiest; I always ask Jory to make that delicious recipe for me when I visit.
There’s a story centered in a coffee shop: I meet friends there several times a week to take a writing/computer break.

“Malled to Death” is a result of my seeing a mall at death’s door, most stores gone, when I was back east last year.

Never a dull moment in this entertaining and intriguing collection of underworld stories featuring a mob boss with plenty of axes to grind. Fascinating tales told by a talented author. As an added bonus: delicious recipes for the gourmet mobster in all of us. ~ Lida Sideris, author of the Southern California Mystery series

The Family Business

This is a collection of murder mystery stories linked by two main characters, Poppa and the Boss and at times joined by the Senior Sleuths, Dick and Dora Zimmerman and their friend, Zero the Bookie. How they get involved is often a mystery.

Poppa is head Chef for a successful restaurant, Manhattan Shadow, owned by the Boss, a powerful mobster determined to maintain control and power in his territory.

To refuse to work for him would be considered an insult. Not a good thing for Poppa’s wellbeing.

There are silent implications if one should become disloyal. There are consequences implied one doesn’t want to experience.

In the restaurants private dining room murder is often planned for all sorts of irrational reasons that seem very rational to the Boss: including power, greed, control, revenge and of course money.

The stories Poppa could tell…and does.

But who is he telling?

That’s also part of the mystery.

Of course the Senior Sleuths and Zero know.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Alan D’Angelo didn’t plan to be a mobster.

Hardly anyone grows up thinking that’s the career they want. Also it’s a truth few people grow up unscarred if they’ve been badly and constantly abused. The terrible cruelty of his father sent him to the streets early leaving him with a lifetime of terrible memories played out in haunting nightmares.

Sometimes he woke up in a cold sweat screaming at his father who he hadn’t seen since he was a teenager.

He found companionship on the streets of his neighborhood. Joining a gang made him feel wanted, connected. and most of all it made him fee important as if he mattered, something he’d never felt at home.

All too often, it’s what happened. The gangs became family. It did for him. The Mob Boss early on realized he was a natural leader. Before long the small gang of guys from his neighborhood who were stealing from local stores, grabbing old ladies handbags and taking what they wanted off pushcarts grew, demanding bigger and better opportunities.

Marco was his best pal since grade school. They both quit high school in their junior year and took to controlling the neighborhood with their demands and threats. Marco was over 6 feet tall and 250 lbs., and he would do whatever Alan asked of him.

“We’re taking over this neighborhood Marco and after that further uptown for the really big money. You with me?”

Marco nodded and hugged his friend, who for years had protected him from being bullied. He was more than a little slow and if people made fun of Marco they quickly regretted it. Alan used Marco’s vulnerability to his advantage.

Alan, his mother was Jewish and his father Italian, was just under six feet, good looking, street smart and as mean as they come. He would kick someone who made him mad until they had to be sent to a hospital. Later his anger became more menacing with acts of revenge carried out by Marco.

Some mob leaders were known as shadow kingpins, hiding behind those who carried out their orders. Not Alan D’Angelo. He loved being seen, having people show him respect. It gave him the attention he so desired from his abusive father and a mother too damaged by fear to help him.

Alan became known as The Mob Boss by the time he was in his early twenties. He bullied people, threatened them, and called them humiliating names. Over the years, his power and position grew beyond the neighborhood. His reputation for violence and being vindictive gave him power.

Marco always near by had a 1928 tommy gun in the trunk of his car and carried a Smith and Wesson handgun tucked into his belt.

Meantime, D’Angelo made friends with celebrities, politicians and the police.

“Marco, remember what I told you, money talks. Gives ya power and respect. We got that now. We own them, all of them coming to us for help or money. Anyone betrays us, you know what to do.”

Smiling, Marco stood at the entrance of Manhattan Shadow. There was a red carpet, valet parking and hundreds of lights brightening up the windows and entrance. It had taken many months to remodel the space D’Angelo rented, and spent millions of dollars to build it to his vision of being a showpiece.

***

This was opening night. It had it all: lights, camera, action and positive reviews for it’s elegance and excellent food.

Still, the owners reputation left a bad taste in the mouths of many people.

They would be looking forward to closing night.

The Mob Boss had quite a few people waiting in line for his demise.

Years later the Manhattan Shadow’s lights would go out. There would be real shadows surrounding the cold and empty place where a chef served up gourmet meals and gangsters served up murder.

Here is a deadly delicious recipe from The Gourmet Gangster

Chicken Piccata “Caper”
Cauliflower Rice and Fresh Italian Bread
 

Chicken Piccata is a classic recipe filled with an amazing lemon butter flavor. Place the Piccata over the fresh cauliflower rice (or standard rice, if you prefer) and let the sauce coat the rice for the ideal bite. Use the bread to soak up any extra sauce. The meal is the perfect complement to the crisp, clean taste of the Sauvignon Blanc.

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (The thinner the cutlet the better, as it will cook easier and more evenly. If you have thicker breasts, use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound thin/flatten out.)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter. When butter starts again to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Add seasoning to taste and return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc.

About the Authors:

M. Glenda Rosen is author of a total of ten books including The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus by The Family published by Level Best Books. They are also her publisher for The Senior Sleuth Mystery Series, and will be republishing all four books in her Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series. She has won several book awards, was founder and owner of a successful marketing and public relations agency for many years, receiving numerous awards for her work with business and professional women. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, LA and Alb.NM, Central Coast Writers and Public Safety Writer’s Association

She currently resides in Carmel, California and can be reached at: MarciagRosen@gmail.com

Books by M. Glenda Rosen (aka Marcia Rosen)
The Gourmet Gangster, Mysteries and Menus by The Family (Marcia and Son Jory Rosen)
The Senior Sleuths Mysteries: Dead In Seat 4-A
The Senior Sleuths Mysteries: Dead In Bed
The Senior Sleuths Mysteries: Dead In THAT Beach House (2020)
Dying To Be Beautiful: Without A Head
Dying To Be Beautiful: Fashion Queen Dying To Be Beautiful: Fake Beauty Dying To Be Beautiful: Fat Free
My Memoir Workbook
The Woman’s Business Therapist:Eliminate the MindBlocks & RoadBlocks to Success

Jory Rosen has been in the advertising and marketing business for over 30 years and is the owner of the J. Rosen Group, a full-service international advertising, branding and direct marketing agency.

For over two decades, Jory Rosen has set the tone for strong, innovative, and successful campaigns, while providing a flexibility and level of personal client service rarely seen in the industry has extensive experience in all areas of advertising, direct response and marketing including sales, production direct mail, email, web, TV, radio, alternative media and more. In addition, with over 150 campaigns under the belt, there is a strong track record of success.

Jory’s passions are his family, cooking and wine. Jory worked as a cooking demonstrator for many years in NYC and now takes the show on the road by doing cooking demonstrations for his kid’s schools and classrooms. He often cooks meals with his kids and loves seeing their reactions to new recipes and meals.

They live in Los Angeles, California.

J.Rosen Group

Joryla@gmail.com

Buy the book for only $0.99 at Amazon.

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The Hardest Part of Writing by Paul DeBlassie III – Guest Blog and Giveaway

May 11, 2020 By 8 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Paul DeBlassie III will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The hardest part about writing is…

The absolute hardest thing about writing is to tell the muse I’m done for the day since she’s always ready to add more to the mind-popping tale! She prompts the process of supernatural story writing with often shocking images and surprising turns of events. They are like a faucet that won’t turn off at first, then you learn to just ease up a bit and steady the energy on down. At that point, the inner muse seems to understand and fade off for the day.

Of course, problems start, when the muse becomes seductive, tells me that the scene can’t wait till tomorrow. She often says it’ll cool down and not be sizzling the next day. If I listen to that voice and push on then inevitably I’ll end up depleted. Tired out at day’s end is not pleasant. I’m grumpy, don’t sleep well, and wake up tired. It’s far, far better to know my writing limits and abide by those sacred boundaries.

After thirty-five years of professional writing and publishing, I know that fresh writing energy translates to well-written pieces. There’s always a satisfying sense of completion and well-being that comes over me when I’ve tapped in to new ideas each day, unique images, never relying on formulas. Each book is its own creation birthed from places of mind I’ve never before visited.
In Goddess of the Wild Thing, and my thriller writing as a whole, each word, sentence, and scene is packed with juicy goodness from deep places of imagination ready to be read, pondered, and enjoyed.

Winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for Visionary Fiction!

Eve Sanchez, a scholar of esoteric studies, is driven into unreal dimensions of horror and hope as she encounters a seductive and frightening man, criminal lawyer Sam Shear.

Sam introduces Eve to a supernatural world in which the wicked powers of a surrogate mother’s twisted affection threaten love and life. Struggling to sort through right from wrong, frightened yet determined, Eve nears despair.

Goddess of the Wild Thing reveals the dramatic tale of one woman’s spiritual journey where metaphysical happenings, unexpected turns of fate, and unseen forces impact her ability to love and be loved.

In the magical realm of Aztlan del Sur, a mythopoeic land of hidden horrors and guiding spirits, Eve, with three friends and a wise old woman, is caught in an age-old struggle about love—whether bad love is better than no love— and discovers that love is a wild thing.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Eve sharpened her focus. She saw the sharp nail of a witch’s right finger tracing Graciéla’s image on a foggy mirror in a grungy bathroom, touching the center of the mirror with a hatred so intense, the glass burned red hot. The mirror in Graciéla’s kitchen cracked. Shards jettisoned at the old healer then were magically warded off and drifted in place about her head and neck.

Graciéla’s energy, tired as she was, had fended off the pointed shards. She hadn’t been impaled. But the strain had ushered her from one world to the next. Death came not by the hand of another but by a weakened mind and body defending itself.

Eve, shaken, allowed her soft touch to stay on Graciéla’s forehead, confirming the horror of what she’d seen. Shamanic wisdom, often discussed between the two kindred souls, spoke to Eve as she stroked her friend’s head, remembering that death provided passage for one whose life had been well spent and whose time had come.

Eve wept.

After a few moments, she closed her friend’s green eyes and whispered tenderly, “Always my friend, always love, always together in life and in death.” She stood and wiped the tears from her eyes. A gray-brown, green-eyed, great horned owl hooted from the largest cottonwood branch outside the back window.

Eve heard Shirley finishing her call to the EMTs and police, and then walking to the front of the store to await their arrival.

One large shard lay at the end of the table, sharp tip pointed outward. It reflected Eve’s image, a glowing red ember menacingly centered at the brow point.

About the Author Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. is a depth psychologist and award-winning writer living in his native New Mexico. He specializes in treating individuals in emotional and spiritual crisis. His novels, visionary thrillers, delve deep into archetypal realities as they play out dramatically in the lives of everyday people. Memberships include the Author’s Guild, Visionary Fiction Alliance, Depth Psychology Alliance, International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and the International Association for Jungian Studies.

Website

Buy the book at Amazon.

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The Nightjar by Barbara Casey – Guest Blog and Giveaway

May 8, 2020 By 40 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Barbara Casey will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

THE NIGHTJAR
By
Barbara Casey
Dara Roux, abandoned when she was 7 years old by her mother. Exceptionally gifted in foreign languages. Orphan.

Mackenzie Yarborough, no record of her parents or where she was born. Exceptionally gifted in math and problem-solving. Orphan.

Jennifer Torres, both parents killed in an automobile accident when she was 16. Exceptionally gifted in music and art. Orphan.

One of the things I enjoyed the most in doing my research for THE F.I.G. MYSTERIES was learning about gypsy folklore and customs. In particular, I was able to find old gypsy medicine books which detailed the benefits of herbs used for various ailments. Many of these practices continue today among the different gypsy tribes scattered throughout the world.

In this series, however, there is one gypsy woman in particular that I write about who becomes involved in the lives of the three teenage orphan F.I.G.s (Females of Intellectual Genius, as they call themselves) and the young woman who has been hired to mentor them. The gypsy woman is Lyuba, a choovihni or wisewoman within the Kaulo Camio tribe, and it is Lyuba who first warns Carolina to watch for the nightjar:

Carolina fixed a cup of hot tea and carried it into her small living room where she sat and stared at her phone. Part of her was trying to say there was nothing wrong—that Jennifer just wanted to see her friends before Thanksgiving. But the other part told Carolina that there was a darkness surrounding Jennifer, and that darkness would destroy her if they couldn’t help her to reach some sort of resolution.

Off in the distance she heard the faint call of a whip-poor-will. She also heard Lyuba—her mother—call the bird by its ancient name—nightjar. Watch for the nightjar. Just as quickly as her mother’s words came, they vanished with the shrill ring of the telephone.

Jennifer Torres, one of the three FIGs (Females of Intellectual Genius) who is a genius in both music and art, is the last to leave the closed rehearsal for her upcoming performance over Thanksgiving break at Carnegie Hall when she hears something in the darkened Hall. Recognizing the tilt of the woman’s head and the slight limp of the man as they hurry out an exit door, she realizes it is her parents who were supposedly killed in a terrible car accident when she was 15 years old.

Devastated and feeling betrayed, she sends a text to Carolina and the other two FIGs—THURGOOD. It is the code word they all agreed to use if ever one of them got into trouble or something happened that was too difficult to handle. They would all meet back at Carolina’s bungalow at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women to figure it out.

As soon as they receive the text, because of their genius, Dara starts thinking of words in ancient Hebrew, German, and Yiddish, while Mackenzie’s visions of unique math formulae keep bringing up the date October 11, 1943. That is the date during World War II when the Nazis—the Kunstschutz—looted the paintings of targeted wealthy Jewish families and hid them away under Hitler’s orders. And as Carolina waits for the FIGs to return to Wood Rose, she hears warnings from Lyuba, her gypsy mother, to watch for the nightjar, the ancient name for the whip-poor-will.

As they search for “The Nightjar’s Promise” and the truth surrounding it, Carolina and the FIGs come face to face with evil that threatens to destroy not only their genius, but their very lives.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Right on time, the guard arrived at the front gate and unlocked it. Once he drove away, Jas slipped unnoticed through the entrance into the cemetery. When he had first been given the assignment, the cemetery bothered him, especially the mausoleum. Unfamiliar sounds and smells, being surrounded by cold stones and even colder death, made his imagination work overtime so that by the end of each day when he left—just before the guard locked the gate—he would be nervous and irritable; at night, unable to sleep. Now, after all this time doing the same thing day in and day out, he was used to it. In fact, he sort of enjoyed it—thinking about the dead and all the different ways their lives might have come to an end. Lately, his imagination had taken a more brutal turn. More violent and macabre.

Ignoring the hundreds of grave sites that stretched in every direction, he quickly made his way toward the mausoleum. Having already been there many times before, he knew exactly where he wanted to go and what he needed to do.

About the Author:Originally from Carrollton, Illinois, author/agent/publisher Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history. In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service. In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day operations, and book production.
Ms. Casey has written over a dozen award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction for both young adults and adults. The awards include the National Association of University Women Literary Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel, the IP Best Book for Regional Fiction, among others. Two of her nonfiction books have been optioned for major films, one of which is under contract.

Her award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in both national and international publications including the North Carolina Christian Advocate Magazine, The New East Magazine, the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Sunday Telegram, Dog Fancy, ByLine, The Christian Record, Skirt! Magazine, and True Story. A thirty-minute television special which Ms. Casey wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also received special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of Albanian children’s stories. Her award-winning science fiction short stories for adults are featured in The Cosmic Unicorn and CrossTime science fiction anthologies. Ms. Casey’s essays and other works appear in The Chrysalis Reader, the international literary journal of the Swedenborg Foundation, 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature (Smith and Kraus Publishers), and A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation).

Ms. Casey is a former director of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida, where she served as guest author and panelist. She has served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003. In 2018 Ms. Casey received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas. She makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with her husband and three cats who adopted her, Homer, Reese and Earl Gray, Reese’s best friend.

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The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne – Spotlight and Giveaway

May 1, 2020 By 4 Comments

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Andrew Mayne who is celebrating today’s release of The Girl Beneath the Sea. Leave a comment or ask the author a question for a chance to win a copy of the book (US only) — you can read our review of this book here.

Sloan McPherson is tough, resilient and resourceful. Coming from a family who’ve dedicated their lives to the sea, she knows the ins and outs of every South Florida body of water better than most. And she’s even made a career out of her passion for all things underwater, working as the go-to diver for evidence recovery for Lauderdale Shores Police Department. Dedicating herself to fighting crime is her way of distancing herself and her young daughter from some of her scandalous relatives—who made their living as treasure hunters and drug smugglers.

But when Sloan encounters a woman’s body floating in a canal, and her untimely death seems connected to her own past, she finds herself in her own department’s crosshairs as a possible suspect. As she seeks to uncover the truth, she must stay ahead of the real killer, who is backed by a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune. Her sole ally is George Solar, the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He has first-hand intelligence on just how deep the corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. Sloan forms a reluctant partnership with Solar as they race to stay a step ahead of their murderous foes.

About the Author:  Andrew Mayne is an Edgar-nominated author, Thriller award finalist, star of Shark Week and A&E television’s Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne. He’s the author of more than a dozen thrillers, works of science fiction, and books on writing.  His recent novel, The Naturalist, was an Amazon Charts bestseller and spent six weeks as the #1 book on Amazon. His next book, THE GIRL BENEATH THE SEA, will be published by Thomas & Mercer on May 1, 2020.

A wildly innovative illusionist, as the star of Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne he’s performed his unique brand of magic on five continents, his YouTube video have millions of views, and he’s cultivated thousands of fans who call themselves, “Mayniacs.” He created his own style of magic called “Shock Magic,” combining the impact of large-scale illusion with the in-your-face approach of street magic. It’s fun, it’s irreverent, it’s the next evolution in magic. Andrew’s effects range from making ghosts appear on cell phones, shrinking himself to one foot tall and making a town think they were besieged by UFOs. His magic has even been performed for astronauts on the International Space Station. Andrew has invented over 400 magic effects and published 45 books and videos on the art of illusion. On the leading edge of magic and pop culture, he was among the first to invent magic for the iPhone (even before there were apps) via his website iPhoneTrick.com – that’s since been performed on millions of people.

Optimal testosterone levels are necessary to a raised sexual purchase cialis online libido for both men and women. When our body has been severely infected by the serious bacterial infections and failed to be back to normal condition by the application of any other anti-biotic form, at that movement this high potential drug has been prescribed and has been implemented in our body ensures mastercard viagra that our body recovers gradually. Ataxia stops muscular movements due to its lack https://www.supplementprofessors.com/cialis-6676.html tadalafil 20mg india of co-ordination with neuron cells. Affected person must take a single pill per day viagra pills wholesale only. Andrew started his first world illusion tour while he was a teenager and was soon headlining in resorts and casinos around the world. With the support of talk show host and amateur magician Johnny Carson, Andrew Mayne started a program to use magic to teach critical thinking skills in public schools for the James Randi Educational Foundation. Andrew’s Wizard School segments, teaching magic and science to children, aired nationwide on Public Television. He’s worked behind the scenes creatively for David Copperfield, Penn & Teller and David Blaine.

Andrew Mayne grew up in South Florida and was always in and out of the water—swimming, diving and exploring.  He now lives in Los Angeles, California.

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My Take on Critique Groups by Sigrid Macdonald – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 20, 2020 By 7 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sigrid Macdonald will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Take on Critique Groups
What is my take on critique groups? Frankly, I have ambivalent feelings about critique groups. I am a big fan of writing groups in general, and I belonged to one for many years when I lived in Ottawa, Ontario. It was a very supportive group that met downtown, and the people were extremely knowledgeable and resourceful. They knew all about independent bookstores, where to have book signings, how to get your book in on consignment, which were the best publishers for your genre, etc. My book group had a wide diversity of ages, races, and life experiences as well as different amounts of time in the writing world; some people were newbies, and others were seasoned journalists. By and large, I found that group to be very helpful and made several good friends there. But it was not a critique group. People did not read each other’s material and provide feedback.

I have been in a small critique group, and I didn’t have the best experience. In fact, I remember one woman in particular reading a scene in one of my fiction stories and looking at me directly in the eye and saying, “So” (followed by a long sigh), “was that the best you could do?” Hello! It’s a good thing that I had been writing for years before she said that, and I had a fairly confident sense of my own material. Otherwise I might have gone home and cried all night.

So, I think that in choosing a critique group, it’s important to find people who will provide constructive criticism and do not bring their own egos or agendas into the meeting. Constructive criticism often involves telling a fellow reader what didn’t go as well as it could have and providing the fix. For example, “I really liked your character Jack, especially when he became a bully, which was unexpected, but I never got a real sense of how that came about. What happened to Jack for him to be so cruel? Perhaps you could take a bit of time to develop a back story for him.”

For many years, I was a member of Toastmasters International, and they used to tell us to provide feedback “sandwich style” — on top of the sandwich was a compliment. Inside the sandwich was what you really wanted to say; this might have been negative, but it was framed positively and included the solution to the problem because without that, it would have been unhelpful. And finally the last comment, the bottom of the sandwich, if you will, was another compliment or kind comment that would make the writer want to continue with the book or story. It has to be genuine though. You can’t make up something nice to say about somebody’s writing if it isn’t real. But for me, the most important part of providing critiques and receiving critiques is that they have to be helpful. If they are hurtful or discouraging, that is pointless.

Finding Lisa is a character driven story about a quirky Canadian woman named Tara who is about to turn 40. She dreads the thought. Everything is going wrong in her life from her stale marriage to her boring job to her hopeless crush on a 24-year-old guy. The only thing right in Tara’s life is her best friend Lisa who has just confided that she is pregnant and the baby does not belong to her partner Ryan, who has a history of domestic violence. Then Lisa disappears and the search is on to find her.

Enjoy an Excerpt

All the carts were taken at the supermarket on Tuesday. I found one off to the side of the vegetable aisle. It had a defective wheel, which resulted in me almost overturning a display of cantaloupes. The cart was also enormous. No doubt this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the supermarket to encourage excess shopping.

“I feel as though I’m driving a school bus,” I announced to the frail, pale orange-haired woman to my left, who was squeezing the small, unappetizing looking cantaloupes.

She smiled faintly and nodded. I wondered how she had the strength to push the heavy cart through the long aisles of the grocery store at her age.

“Mum, I’ll go with you to one of those Women against Rape meetings if you want?” Devon said to my astonishment, his voice rising at the end of his sentence. “There’s only one condition. You have to watch 8 Mile with me.”

“8 Mile? Isn’t that the movie based on the book by Stephen King?”

“Nah, you’re thinking about The Green Mile,” Devon replied. “8 Mile is the story of a rapper in Detroit. It’s based on the life of Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers. Eminem even stars in it,” he said with increasing enthusiasm.

“I think it’ll give you a better idea of where he’s coming from. You know, you’re always talking about these girls who’ve been, like, abused and what horrible lives they’ve had. You even feel bad about boys who were taken advantage of by priests or their hockey coaches. So why don’t you have any sympathy for Marshall? His mother was abusive. She was mean to him, and she did drugs! Also, she, like, gave him something called Munchkins syndrome,” Devon added uncertainly.

“Munchausen syndrome?” I asked, trying to picture the tough guy with the tattoos and bad attitude as a small child with a manipulative and controlling mother.

“Yeah, that sounds right. She made him feel sick when he was totally healthy. And, Mum, I know you would respect the way Em felt about his little brother, Nathan. He, like, didn’t wanna leave him alone in the house with his mother when he finally split from Detroit. He’s also really keen about his daughter, Hailie Jade. He talks about her all the time in his songs and on TV.”

I pushed the buttons on the radio. The Steve Miller band was singing, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future.” I had a sense of motion. The car was moving forward, and with every traffic light I passed, I was moving farther away from Lisa and our routine evenings at the ByTowne Theatre. The rest of us were going ahead, and Lisa had been left behind. I wanted to go back, not just to last Thursday night, but to my university days, so I could live my life all over again.

I wanted to be sixteen or twenty-six again, making decisions based on what I knew now. So many lost opportunities. How had I managed to completely screw up my life? I’d done everything wrong except that I hadn’t become a street prostitute or a serial murderer. Too late for the former—who would want me? But there was still time for the latter.

About the Author: Originally from New Jersey, Sigrid Macdonald lived for almost thirty years in Ottawa, Ontario, and currently resides in Weston, Florida. She has been a freelance writer for years. Her works have appeared in The Globe and Mail newspaper; the Women’s Freedom Network Newsletter; the American magazine Justice Denied; The Toastmaster; and the Anxiety Disorders Association of Ontario Newsletter. Her first book, Getting Hip: Recovery from a Total Hip Replacement, was published in 2004. Her second book, Be Your Own Editor, followed in 2010. Although Finding Lisa is written in first person, Macdonald only resembles her character in the sense that she once had a neurotic fixation on her hair, and she has always been called by the wrong name; instead of being called Sigrid, people have called her Susan, Sharon, Astrid, Ingrid and, her personal favorite, Siri.

Macdonald is a social activist who has spent decades working on the seemingly disparate issues of women’s rights and wrongful convictions; she has worked at the Women’s Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey and Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and was a member of AIDWYC, The Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. She owns an editing company called Book Magic. Sigrid is a public speaker and a member of Mothers against Drunk Driving, Ottawa Independent Writers, the American Association of University Women, and the Editors’ Association of Canada.

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Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks – Spotlight

April 13, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Mariah Fredericks who is celebrating tomorrow’s release of her newest book Death of an American Beauty, the third in her Jane Prescott series.

Jane Prescott is taking a break from her duties as lady’s maid for a week, and plans to begin it with attending the hottest and most scandalous show in town: the opening of an art exhibition, showcasing the cubists, that is shocking New York City.

1913 is also the fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, and the city’s great and good are determined to celebrate in style. Dolly Rutherford, heiress to the glamorous Rutherford’s department store empire, has gathered her coterie of society ladies to put on a play—with Jane’s employer Louise Tyler in the starring role as Lincoln himself. Jane is torn between helping the ladies with their costumes and enjoying her holiday. But fate decides she will do neither, when a woman is found murdered outside Jane’s childhood home—a refuge for women run by her uncle.

Deeply troubled as her uncle falls under suspicion and haunted by memories of a woman she once knew, Jane—with the help of old friends and new acquaintances, reporter Michael Behan and music hall pianist Leo Hirschfeld—is determined to discover who is making death into their own twisted art form.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“‘Four score and seven years ago . . .’ ”

I looked up from the script. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Tyler. That’s the Gettysburg Address. You’re meant to be reciting the Emancipation Proclamation.”

“Am I?” Louise exhaled fretfully. “Oh dear.”

“‘That on the first day of January . . . ,’ ” I prompted.

“‘. . . first day of January . . .’ ” Remembering the rest of her line, she rattled off, “ ‘In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- three . . .’ ”

“‘All persons held as slaves . . .’ ”

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“‘. . . shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.’ ”

“‘Forever free,’ ” Louise echoed, and removed her stovepipe hat. “What does thenceforward mean?”

“From now on, I suppose.”

“Well, why didn’t Lincoln just say so?”

As a lady’s maid, it wasn’t for me to defend the stylistic choices of the martyred sixteenth president. But while Lincoln had been eloquent in the face of civil war, congressional opposition, and the pistol of John Wilkes Booth, he had probably never faced a salon of society ladies, as Louise was preparing to do. In fact, he rarely visited the city, which had twice refused to vote for a Republican seen as insensitive to the commercial benefits of the slave trade.

However, it was the fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and New York had embraced its commemoration with gusto. Which was how Louise found herself balancing a makeshift stovepipe as she struggled to recite Mr. Lincoln’s great speech.

Bored by the traditional dinner parties, the city’s great ladies were keen to display their artistry in different ways. Tableaux vivants and amateur theatrics were the rage. One might enjoy Mrs. Halsey’s Brutus on Monday, Mrs. Foster Jenkins’s selections from Die Fledermaus Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Mrs. Fortesque’s torrid attempts at Apache dance. And so, led by Dolly Rutherford of Rutherford’s department store— the newest and most ostentatious of the ladies’ shopping paradises, which billed itself as the place “Where every American Beauty blooms!”— my employer Louise Tyler and others were to perform “Stirring Scenes of the Emancipation” in a week’s time.

Being tall and willowy, Louise had been chosen to play the Great Emancipator himself. This was an honor that one might have thought due the hostess. But Mrs. Rutherford was round of figure and short of stature. At one point, it was suggested she play Harriet Tubman, but in the end, she had accepted the almost equally, if not more, important role of Mary Todd Lincoln. (The part of Harriet Tubman went to Mrs. Edith Van Dormer. Having died earlier that month, Mrs. Tubman would be spared that performance.)
About the Author:Mariah Fredericks was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives with her family. She is the author of several YA novels. Death of an American Beauty is her third novel to feature ladies’ maid Jane Prescott.

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False Light by Claudia Riess – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 9, 2020 By 13 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Claudia Riess will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner or a set of Art History Mystery Books, Stolen Light and False Light (US only) to three randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

Academic sleuths Erika Shawn, art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, a more seasoned art history professor, set out to tackle a brain teaser. This time the couple—married since their encounter in Stolen Light, first in the series—attempt to crack the long un-deciphered code of art forger Eric Hebborn (1934-1996), which promises to reveal the whereabouts of a number of his brilliant Old Master counterfeits. (Hebborn, in real life, was a mischievous sort, who had a fascination with letters and a love-hate relationship with art authenticators. I felt compelled to devise a puzzler on his behalf!) After publication of his memoir, Drawn to Trouble, published in 1991, he encrypts two copies with clues to the treasure hunt. On each of the title pages, he pens a tantalizing explanatory letter. One copy he sends to an art expert; the second, he releases into general circulation. The catch: both books are needed to decipher the code.

When the books are at last united 25 years later, Erik and Harrison are enlisted to help unearth their hidden messages. But when several research aides are brutally murdered, the academic challenge leads to far darker mysteries in the clandestine world of art crime. As the couple navigate this sinister world, both their courage under fire and the stability of their relationship are tested.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Owen Grant was ebullient—“ripped with joy,” his beloved wife might have said. He smiled, remembering the flutter of her eyelids that accompanied her minted phrases. Now that she had died and his arthritis no longer permitted him to jog up a sweat, he satisfied his lust for life—which remained, five years after retirement, as vigorous as it had been in his teens—with voracious reading and clay sculpting. Today, however, he satisfied it with the Art and Antiques article that had set his heart racing when he’d come across it this morning while sifting through his mail. He stole another glance at the newsletter on the kitchen table. In the article, a used and rare book shop owner spoke about having acquired a copy of a memoir by Eric Hebborn, the infamous art forger. “It was in a carton I picked up at an estate sale,” the owner had said. “The author’s handwritten note on the title page literally blew my mind!”

Hebborn’s note was displayed in a photograph. Owen had recognized the handwriting at once. Imagine, after decades of searching for this copy of the book—placing ads in all the art magazines, later in their online versions, finally giving up—proof of it had fallen into his life as he was about to venture another sip of his scalding morning coffee.

Now it was 8:30 p.m., and there was nothing more to prepare for. Owen had contacted the shop owner—how young and breathless she had sounded!—and they had made plans to meet. He had invited his longtime friend and colleague, Randall Gray, to collaborate with him. Randall, twenty years his junior and still in the game, was more current in his knowledge of the world of art crime and eager to have a look at the book as well. Owen was on a skittering high, unable to concentrate on his usual avocations. Rather than wear a hole in the carpet pacing in circles, he opted for a walk in Central Park.

He headed for the nearest pedestrian entrance at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, two blocks from his luxury apartment building on 74th. There, he chose the rambling path leading to the Lake and Loeb Boathouse. It was a balmy night, on the warm side for mid-April. He might have stepped out in his shirtsleeves, but his conditioned urbanity, always at odds with his truer self, had held sway, and he had worn his suit jacket.

Aside from the couple strolling up ahead and the sound of laughter coming from somewhere south, Owen was alone. There had been an uptick of muggings lately, but his frisson of fear only piqued his excitement for the adventure shimmering on the horizon. As he walked, he silently chatted with his wife, Dotty, as he often did, so that their separation would not be absolute. He commented on the moonless night and looked up, for both of them, at the rarely visible canopy of stars. For a few seconds he was lost with her, until, without warning, he felt a hard object pressed against the back of his skull—the skull that held all memories, like Dotty’s fluttering eyelids and the smell of new clay. He knew what the object was without ever having touched one. He was a man of reason, not a fighter. He flung up his hands. “I have money. Let me get to it.”

There was no response. He reached into his pocket for his wallet—how warm the leather was against his thigh—and his keys jangled of homecomings, and the child in him whimpered please no, before the explosive pop of a champagne cork ended him and Dotty and all the rest of it.

About the Author:

Claudia Riess, a Vassar graduate, has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker and Holt, Rinehart, and Winston and has edited several art history monographs.

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FEED YOUR READER – Spotlight and Giveaway

March 25, 2020 By 7 Comments

Staying home to stay healthy? Looking for things to do?  Reading is always one of our favorite ways to pass the time, so let us help you keep busy.

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Sleuth on Safari by A.R. Kennedy – Spotlight and Giveaway

March 17, 2020 By 23 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A. R. Kennedy will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Naomi and her estranged sister are off on a trip of a lifetime—an African safari, a bucket list trip for Naomi on which she got a last-minute deal. Naomi thinks traveling with her sister will be the worst part of her African safari until she finds one of their fellow travelers, the unlikable Dr. Higgins, dead. She gets more adventure than she bargained for when she starts investigating what she thinks is murder but the luxury lodge says was a tragic accident. She only has a few vacation days, and a few game drives, to find the killer.

Enjoy an Excerpt

For fifteen minutes, we stood at the conveyor belt, waiting for my luggage to arrive. The constant trail of luggage became a trickle and I began to worry. I had a vision that my vacation slideshow would be me in my Supernatural TV series T-shirt and jeans, with a soundtrack of my sister’s voice saying, “I told you so.”

I glanced at Charlotte. After a fifteen-hour flight, Charlotte had emerged refreshed. I was a little worse for wear. She gave me a dismissive look and I wiped a few crumbs from breakfast off my jeans.

She smiled briefly and the other expression returned.

“You know you look like Mom when you’re annoyed,” I told her.

She glared at me and whipped around. She and her bright pink luggage stormed off. Her pink flowy top wafted over leggings with a black-and-pink chevron pattern. I had to admit, she did look nice. And did not look like she had spent almost a day traveling. I looked down at myself. The same could not be said. My wrinkled black T-shirt and torn jeans, paired with Converse sneakers with tips that used to be white, made me cringe. Nothing about me said glamour.

I didn’t worry about being left in a foreign country by myself. I could find her a mile away with that highlighter pink gear.

I said a quick prayer before turning back to the luggage belt. I exhaled and smiled. She didn’t see the last bag to drop onto the conveyor. My worn tan duffle bag.

About the Author:

A R Kennedy lives in Long Beach, New York, with her two pups. She works hard to put food on the floor for them. As her favorite T-shirt says, ‘I work so my dog can have a better life’. She’s an avid traveler. But don’t worry. While she’s away, her parents dote on their grand-puppies even more than she does. Her writing is a combination of her love of travel, animals, and the journey we all take to find ourselves.

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