LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: January Bain

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

A gripping thriller that explores the lengths one will go to for family, and the resilience needed to stand against the darkness.

In the shadow of Alaska’s towering peaks, Anna Hale is haunted by a past painted in flames and betrayal. Marked by the tragic death of her mother and the scars of a childhood marred by violence, Anna has fought tirelessly to build a semblance of normalcy, only to have it shattered again and again. The latest blow comes when her sister, Tia Pace, vanishes without a trace, reigniting old wounds and casting Anna into a nightmare where she’s the prime suspect.

As she grapples with her stepfather’s execution and the weight of suspicion, another crisis looms: Zoe Pace, her other sister, has disappeared in an eerily similar manner. The only clue a sinister black rose and a chilling letter. When her brother Josh, now a dedicated cop in the Anchor Police Department, begs for her assistance, Anna is pulled back into the fray. Despite the agony of reopening old wounds, she embarks on a desperate quest to unravel the mystery of her sisters’ disappearances.

Faced with the unforgiving Alaskan frontier, Anna must confront a tangled web of corruption and deceit, with a copycat killer moving in the shadows. With every tick of the clock, Anna’s hope for a normal life slips further away, but her resolve to find her sisters and bring them home burns fiercer than ever. Will Anna’s journey through the cold, dark paths of Alaska lead her to her sisters, or will she find herself lost in the depths of a conspiracy that threatens to consume everything she holds dear?

Dive into this chilling tale of loss, courage, and the relentless pursuit of justice against the backdrop of Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness. Order your copy now.

 

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Marianne Arkins

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

A feisty auto mechanic and a hunky chef cook up chaos!

Cori Weathers is a wizard with a torque wrench, but the moment she lays eyes on her cooking teacher, Micah DePalma, her lessons turn into a klutzy symphony of flying poultry and burning aprons. It makes no sense. He couldn t be less her type: tall, skinny, and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So why is her heart sputtering like a badly tuned engine?

Despite family pressure to date only women of his own social class, something about the cooking-challenged spitfire lights all Micah s burners. Cori s a complex dish inside a deceptively simple coating, one he s willing to risk tackle football and jealous ex-boyfriends to sample.

His every attempt to crack her stubborn heart strikes sparks. Will they ignite the flame of love or explode into just another kitchen disaster?”

 

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Ann M. Trader

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

A bright and talented environmental engineer, Goldie Vreeland understands facts and figures, but Max Corda, her secret office obsession, remains a puzzle. On the eve of a business trip to a coastal island, fate intervenes, pairing her with her sexy crush. As she thinks about sharing the same space with Max for a week, her world veers dangerously off course.

Fueled by success as engineer and president of his family’s firm, recently divorced Max needs to jumpstart his life. When his father unexpectedly assigns him to Goldie’s project, his closely guarded attraction to her comes front and center. Thoughts of spending a week alone with this beautiful intelligent woman make his internal compass glitch.

Romance stirs with the island breeze, so simple when they’re hundreds of miles away from normal. But as Goldie and Max return to reality, will they discover real love is more than a game?

 

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The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night by Gregory Pakis – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Please click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Hookers and hawkers.
Mosques and mosquitos.
Paul has had enough of Southeast Asia.
He’s only here ‘cos it’s cheap.
He’s on the run from police after leaving Australia.
No, that place wasn’t much better either.
Well, it was when he was young.
When his life was full of promise. An up-and-coming boxer. And he had friends. And fun.
Then a bit of bad luck later and he found himself on the run in outback Australia. Paranoid. Hiding from shadows. The heat. The dust. The sweat.

Next stop, Southeast Asia.

 

Enjoy an Excerpt

Cigarette in mouth, Paul stood on the hotel balcony and stared nervously out into the hot Cambodian night. He hated Asia. He didn’t know why so many loved it. Of course deep down he knew – cheap holidays. But to Paul, Asia was hell – hot, dangerous and always just a bit of bad luck away from some sort of disaster.

Not much could be seen from his balcony. His hotel was down a small street off the main road that led to the tourist centre of Siem Riep. He could see people drifting down the main road, mostly tourists clutching dollar beers. Directly across from him was the construction site of a new hotel.

Paul took another drag from his cigarette, grabbed his beer off the balcony railing and walked back into the hotel room. He looked at his boots next to his duffel bag. He was sick of those stinky boots. He looked at the grime on the duffel bag. That grime was from India. Indian grime was unique. Black. Oily. Nowhere else that he had been in Asia left that kind of grime. It came mostly off the train floors. As he stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray, he remembered what his feet looked like in thongs at the end of those long train trips – black.

About the Author: Gregory Pakis is an Australian author, film-maker, actor and wacky vlogger.
He has written the short story, The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night; the soon to be released horror-suspense novellas, The Regressor and He., and Memoir of a Suburban Hoe-Bo, which is partly an account of when he lived out of a van for ten years in Melbourne.

Gregory Pakis is also the writer / director of the feature films, The Garth Method (2005) and The Joe Manifesto (2013), which have won national and international awards and been distributed through Accent Entertainment, Label, Vanguard Cinema.

Gregory’s more informal video projects are the feature documentaries, Garth Goes Hitch-Hiking (2007) and Garth Lives in a Van (2011) which have screened at film festivals in Australia.

More recently, he has created the comedy series, suBURPieS and his Wacky Vlog which can found on his socials.

Gregory has been featured in articles in newspapers, The Age, The Herald Sun, Beat Magazine, Inpress, FILMINK, and the Neos Kosmos. He has been interviewed on radio by the ABC, 3RRR, SYN FM, 3CR.

Books Website | Films Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | Book Trailer | Author Chat to Camera Video
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Dishing Love Daily by Susanne Clark – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotion. The author will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Dishing Love Daily and Other Secret Ingredients (trademarked in Canada and the US) is more than a cookbook. Chef Suzy shares her collection of cherished recipes that focus on healthy, fresh, easy-to-find ingredients, appealing to both the novice and experienced cook. She will also guide you to and through a revolutionary, adaptable approach to bringing mindfulness and positivity into the kitchen. It’s a timely, relevant and original concept in food craft that weaves our energetic imprint into a meal and into the hearts of those who sit at our table. It’s a powerful, creative concept in awareness that will transform the everyday endeavour of nourishing our bodies into a life-changing act of nourishing our souls. Come on, let’s get dishing!

Enjoy an Excerpt

Welcome to Dishing Love Daily and Other Secret Ingredients. It won’t take you long to realize that this book full of recipes is more than a cookbook. It’s a new, revolutionary, approach of bringing mindfulness and positivity into the kitchen. It’s a philosophy of incorporating a daily habit of awareness into the art of cooking.

Every morning, I intentionally choose a motivating, uplifting word and then spend the day infusing its fortifying and nourishing energy into everything I do, especially the meals I prepare for the people I love. One word. I think about this word. I talk about this word. I try and emulate the meaning of this word. Some days the word has a strong, clear connection to the recipe and the meal I’m preparing. On other days, the link is more subtle and implied. Words like, “authentic,” “choice,” “thankful,” “potential,” “kindness.” I’ve used a “secret ingredient” in every recipe of the cookbook and I’ve felt the healing energy of each heart-held word. There’s a fullness and a deepness in this practice that transcends the kitchen. Dishing Love Daily affirms the mantra, “What I think, I become” and I have become an expert at living life through this powerful lens of intention. The kitchen is where I feel centred and connected to my purpose: to share my vision of food as an expression of love and a foundation for nurturing and healing our most important relationships. It’s timely, relevant and impactful.

About the Author:

Susanne Clark, a.k.a. Chef Suzy, earned her Red Seal in Culinary Arts in 2009 at SAIT in Calgary, Canada, apprenticing at Hotel Arts under the talented supervision of Duncan Ly and Karine Moulin. Upon graduation, Chef Suzy established Magnifique Cuisine, a successful catering business in the Calgary area. She also worked full time as the in-house executive chef for one of Canada’s original Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs, W. Brett Wilson, cooking for his Home Office team and a global circle of business and community leaders, artists and celebrities.

Suzy’s first and continuing career as a mother of four empowered and vibrant daughters formed her vision of food as an expression of love and a foundation for healing and sustaining our most important relationships. Suzy loves to travel and seeks out every opportunity to enjoy culinary experiences around the world. She has been married to the love of her life, Richard, for 36 years.

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Death Secrets by January Bain – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. January Bain will be awarding a limited edition print of a wolf family to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A gripping thriller that explores the lengths one will go to for family, and the resilience needed to stand against the darkness.

In the shadow of Alaska’s towering peaks, Anna Hale is haunted by a past painted in flames and betrayal. Marked by the tragic death of her mother and the scars of a childhood marred by violence, Anna has fought tirelessly to build a semblance of normalcy, only to have it shattered again and again. The latest blow comes when her sister, Tia Pace, vanishes without a trace, reigniting old wounds and casting Anna into a nightmare where she’s the prime suspect.

As she grapples with her stepfather’s execution and the weight of suspicion, another crisis looms: Zoe Pace, her other sister, has disappeared in an eerily similar manner. The only clue a sinister black rose and a chilling letter. When her brother Josh, now a dedicated cop in the Anchor Police Department, begs for her assistance, Anna is pulled back into the fray. Despite the agony of reopening old wounds, she embarks on a desperate quest to unravel the mystery of her sisters’ disappearances.

Faced with the unforgiving Alaskan frontier, Anna must confront a tangled web of corruption and deceit, with a copycat killer moving in the shadows. With every tick of the clock, Anna’s hope for a normal life slips further away, but her resolve to find her sisters and bring them home burns fiercer than ever. Will Anna’s journey through the cold, dark paths of Alaska lead her to her sisters, or will she find herself lost in the depths of a conspiracy that threatens to consume everything she holds dear?

Dive into this chilling tale of loss, courage, and the relentless pursuit of justice against the backdrop of Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness. Order your copy now.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Anna Hale cranked up the volume on her headphones, desperate to study for her high school English exam scheduled for the morning, but the hypnotic beat couldn’t mask the loathed voice of her stepfather growing louder by the second.

“You whore! Sneaking around and giving me those pious looks. You don’t think I don’t know better. I should throw you out right now, you and your bitch of a daughter!”

The soft sounds of her mother trying to pacify him were indistinct, impossible for her to hear.

Pass out already, old man.

She tried forcing her mind on the textbook, but the lines of printing blurred, making it hard to concentrate. If the subject at hand was a math or science quiz, she’d ace both without much effort. And that one computer module they’d had this semester had fascinated her. She yearned for a career in data processing, discovering all the secrets. That was if she got a choice. Her stepfather was threatening to make her leave school early to help bring more money into the household. She rolled her eyes in disgust. The guy just couldn’t hold down a job. Never his fault, like his shitty attitude wasn’t a factor. Or that his breath so often stank of booze, and his body of stale sweat.

The conversation from earlier between her and her mom bothered her like a harbinger of things to come, making it harder to focus. “I’ve made arrangements. If anything happens to me—go next door. Alex and Cindy Pace will look after you. And you get along so well with Josh and the twins.”

Her mom had talked over Anna’s every denial of anything ever happening to her. Anna was going to keep her mom safe. Learn karate or something badass at the gym to give her the upper hand. But her mom had made her promise and she had gone along with it. Anna didn’t want her mom worrying more than she already did, not that she wouldn’t stay and help her if worst came to worst. She’d never desert her mom. They had to stick together, no matter what.

Another loud series of barks drew her attention away from her favorite daydream of getting a high-paying job, of taking her mother far, far away. She’d also warned her to stay out of it, that her stepfather couldn’t help himself having to work at a job he hated, but Anna’s stomach churned with the effort. She wiped her damp palms on her patched jeans, straining to hear, the test long forgotten.

A loud crashing sound of something falling erupted downstairs. She dumped the headset and jumped off the bed, then raced down the narrow staircase in her sock feet, her pulse hammering in her ears, her head about to explode. She rounded the sharp corner that composed the L-shaped kitchen and living room, the clean but faded linoleum with most of the square-shaped pattern worn down to gray splotches, slippery beneath her feet. Her disgusting bear of a stepfather stood over her mom, his meaty fists raised like a boxer, his pugnacious face darkened by raw hatred.

About the Author: January Bain is an award-winning author who firmly believes that stories unite us, that good stories help us to discover the commonality of the human experience by supporting values, empathy and understanding. She writes with her heart, mind, and soul, hoping that her novels will touch your life, giving you moments of freedom as you fly with her to other worlds.

Bain has had the pleasure of select novels being turned into games, and her work is also available in different languages.

January and her husband live in rural Canada on peaceful acreage where a variety of wildlife comes to visit regularly and expect to be fed and paid attention to.

Website | TwitterFacebook | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | TikTok

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A Day with Me Behind the Scenes by Tom Haward – Guest Post and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Day with Me Behind the Scenes

I’m an oyster farmer in my day-to-day life and part of a family who have been farming oysters in Essex, England since the 1700s. My day usually starts with messages coming from restaurants that want oysters at around 6am and then I start filtering those orders through to my team. Where I live is very dependent on the ebb and flow of the tide, so my days vary according to what the tide dictates. On some mornings I will be going out on my boat to where my oysters grow and spend time walking across the mud, hand picking oysters. Other days, when the tide is different, I will be on land in the morning helping my team process our oysters and packing them for our customers throughout the UK.

Once my day is done oyster farming then I focus on my life as a writer and at home, after my wife and I have had dinner and put our three-year-old daughter to bed, I focus on my writing. I usually spend time in the evening writing but I’m not good at writing in silence so usually have a film on in the background. The noise and dialogue help me write and also inspire me in the process. I find listening to other people’s creativity helps me in my own creative journey.

The balance of running a business and writing novels is not easy, but I have an amazing wife who encourages me and a beautiful daughter whose humour and intelligence inspires me.

The rebellion is in hiding. It has been a year since Boatman King attempted to overthrow the Empire, but instead had to escape London with his wife and their closest allies.

Not all of Boatman King’s allies are in hiding. Maverick “The Beast” Kirabo is on a mission to finish what he started on the streets of London. The former gladiator has a score to settle and revenge to unleash: Rome will fear him as they once adored him.

Despite its failure, Boatman King’s rebellion has spread disquiet in Rome’s political circles. Grand Protector Faust dispatches a pair of hunters to search the country and bring Boatman and his followers back to London for reckoning. Although Faust is the official face of Rome’s leadership, Emperor Maximus is thirsty to stamp his mark on the world and step out from his dead father’s shadow.

Unbeknownst to Faust and Maximus, a terrifying presence is watching the unrest and relishing in the vulnerabilities it’s causing.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Maximus called for the nurse. Well, called was a rather generous word for the animalistic noise that his mouth emitted. Ever since his head had been caved in by a hammer, he wasn’t able to vocalise much that made any sense. In his head, though, in his head, everything made sense and the words that bounced around his brain were as clear as the hatred that bubbled in his gut. The hatred was centred on Maverick Kirabo, the man who had wielded the hammer that had left a permanent dent in Maximus’s skull.

It had been eleven months since Max had one minute been enjoying crucifying Olivia King, feeling the butterflies in his belly as he smashed nails through her wrists, and the next minute waking up in this gods-forsaken room, fluorescent lights causing splinters of pain in his skull and tubes sprouting from his body like a plastic porcupine.

Maximus made a guttural noise again to try and get the nurse’s attention. Eventually she appeared; she tried to conceal a look of disgust, but she was either a poor actor or disinterested in trying. Maximus had assumed his face was a picture of horror from his injuries, which it was, but the nurse’s disgust didn’t come from the patient’s wounds but from the patient’s personality.

Maximus Nero was infamous for his sadism. He made no secret of the pleasure he derived from other people’s pain. It was that pleasure that had motivated him to travel to Britannia to track down Olivia King.

About the Author: Tom was born in Essex and, at 4 months old, he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers. He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.

Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and The Path of Chaos (Cinnabar Moth Publishing) is his debut novel, which was released August 2023. The Path of Revenge is the sequel in The Path of Chaos series and will be released August 6th 2024.

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Proven Innocence by Mary J. Rocco – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Cynthia Evans wakes up in the trunk of a car, no idea how she got there, only to discover she’s wanted for the murder of her husband and children. With no memory of life prior, Cynthia is sure she did not commit the crime.

Only problem is-how does she convince anyone she’s not a murderer when she is not sure who she is?

With the help of a downtrodden diner waitress, Gabrielle, Cynthia fights to prove her innocence.

One thing is clear: Rick Evans is dead. But who is the real killer?

Enjoy an Excerpt

My eyes are open, but there is no sight to see. Darkness remains. It is black—pitch black. I squint and shut my eyes to adjust to the darkness faster, but it does not help. No shadows lurk in the night for me to redirect my corneas upon. The darkness encloses me, encasing my body in its depth. My body is not upright. It is stretched horizontally across the ground. I am lying down. I try to stand, but my weak body forbids me. My left hand falls upon the surface I am lying on. The ground feels furry, almost carpet-like. I am not outside.

Where am I?

My best deduction indicates I am trapped in a restrictive box. My head has only four inches to move before hitting the top, and my legs are bent at the knees with my toes resting upon the opposite wall from my head. I look up and find a wall of darkness just inches above—pure darkness with no stars or moonlight.

Am I buried alive?

Every human’s worst nightmare is to be mistaken for dead and lowered six feet underground where no one can hear the perilous cries for help. I try to scream, but no sound escapes from my vocal cords. Thoughts of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart filter into my brain.

What if the people walking above can hear the faint beating of my heart from the depths below?

Get a hold of yourself!

I raise my right hand slowly to dislodge the top of my coffin. My arm shakes as it rises off the ground above my head. I am limp and exhausted. A sharp pain pulsates throughout my entire right side as I try to move. Electric shock waves run from my toes to the left side of my brain. It is not a comforting sensation, and I would rather not move ever again in my life than experience such agony once more. The only options are, however, shift my body to experience discomfort for a slight moment or lay still awaiting death.

My head is pounding from an obtrusive headache. It is as if a jackhammer is chiseling through the right side of my outer cranium. I wince in pain as I raise my hand to the right side of my head. An overbearing shockwave shoots out of my brain when I touch that area. The hair follicles are mushy, raw, and tender where they meet my skull. The hair is matted to my brain. A huge, painful lump has started to protrude underneath the skin. I am not sure how it got there. I am not sure how I got into the situation I am in at the present moment.

My fingers are sticky from whatever substance has glued my hair to my head. I try to smell them by placing my fingers underneath my nose, but I cannot ascertain the odor. I bring my index finger to my mouth to utilize one of my other senses. It is the last one available to unveil the mysterious substance. My saliva moistens my tongue to activate my taste buds. I recognize a fluid taste mixed with a hint of salt. It is blood––my own blood.

Why am I bleeding? How did this happen?

About the Author: I have dreamed of being an author since the age of ten. I have been writing and crafting stories for the last twenty years, mostly because, well you know, life… and I got in my own way. After finishing law school, graduate school, travelling the world, getting married and starting a family I figured now was the time.

I was born and raised on Long Island, New York and spent ten years in my early adulthood living carefree in New York City. I currently reside with my husband and two beautiful children in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where I am a practicing attorney.

I hope to continue to publish many more novels that entertain and thrill readers.

Amazon Author Page

Pirate’s Promise by Bobbi Smith – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bobbi Smith will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Tall and strikingly handsome, Adam Trent could tempt any woman, especially in his secret disguise as the swashbuckling Captain Spectre. But when this daring buccaneer wagers a seductive campaign against a beauty whose passion matches his own, he’s not prepared for what awaits him…

WINNING HER HOME WAS EASY…

Throwing a young woman out of her home is hardly decent behavior—even for a pirate. But when Adam Trent wins the Ducharme plantation in a card game, he knows it’s the perfect base for a covert scheme of revenge in which he sails the bayous as Captain Spectre. Adam agrees to let Lianne Ducharme stay until she comes of age—a decision he soon regrets. For Lianne fascinates him, and Adam cannot afford the distraction…

WINNING HER LOVE COULD COST HIM EVERYTHING

Too bad that the most virile man Lianne Ducharme has ever met is also the most infuriating. With no choice but to stay at Belle Arbor as his ‘guest’, Lianne gradually yields to her own desires. But there is far more to Adam than Lianne knows. And succumbing to a pirate’s promise of bliss could be the surest path to heartbreak…

Enjoy an Excerpt

Adam determinedly immersed himself in plantation business. He gave strict orders that he was not to be interrupted. He continued his work on the ledgers until his eyes grew tired, and when he checked the time, he was pleased to find it was near midnight.

Only then, when he was too exhausted to continue, did he allow his thoughts to dwell on his real reason for staying locked in the study for so long. Lianne… Adam’s gaze drifted to the loveseat where they’d lain together in a passionate embrace the night before, and he felt the heat rise in his body again in remembrance. In frustration, he wondered what it would take to make him immune to her. Here he was, bone-weary and worn out, and yet just the thought of having her filled him with desire.

Adam shook his head in confusion. She’d made it clear the night before how she felt about him. He knew the best thing to do was to avoid her. Out of sight, out of mind – he hoped.

Adam fought down the need to go to his marriage bed. Instead, he sought out the barren comfort of the loveseat for his night’s rest. It seemed an eternity to him before dawn lightened the eastern sky. He rose from his broken sleep, eager to leave the house before Lianne awoke.

Adam tread softly upstairs to their bedroom to get the clothing he needed. He entered the room quietly and was glad to find Lianne was asleep. He gathered what he needed and made an effort not to look at her, but when his gaze fell upon her, he froze. His breathing grew ragged as he took in her gentle beauty. He almost reached out to touch her, but stopped in time, silently cursing himself. He backed from the room and a short while later he left the house. He didn’t know how much longer he could remain in such close quarters with Lianne and keep from making love to her. Resolved to working out his restlessness through hard physical labor, Adam rode out to the fields, intending to spend the entire day there.

About the Author: After working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in
1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and several short stories. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. When she’s not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writer’s groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.

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Death Secrets by January Bain – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. January Bain will be awarding a limited edition print of a wolf family to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A gripping thriller that explores the lengths one will go to for family, and the resilience needed to stand against the darkness.

In the shadow of Alaska’s towering peaks, Anna Hale is haunted by a past painted in flames and betrayal. Marked by the tragic death of her mother and the scars of a childhood marred by violence, Anna has fought tirelessly to build a semblance of normalcy, only to have it shattered again and again. The latest blow comes when her sister, Tia Pace, vanishes without a trace, reigniting old wounds and casting Anna into a nightmare where she’s the prime suspect.

As she grapples with her stepfather’s execution and the weight of suspicion, another crisis looms: Zoe Pace, her other sister, has disappeared in an eerily similar manner. The only clue a sinister black rose and a chilling letter. When her brother Josh, now a dedicated cop in the Anchor Police Department, begs for her assistance, Anna is pulled back into the fray. Despite the agony of reopening old wounds, she embarks on a desperate quest to unravel the mystery of her sisters’ disappearances.

Faced with the unforgiving Alaskan frontier, Anna must confront a tangled web of corruption and deceit, with a copycat killer moving in the shadows. With every tick of the clock, Anna’s hope for a normal life slips further away, but her resolve to find her sisters and bring them home burns fiercer than ever. Will Anna’s journey through the cold, dark paths of Alaska lead her to her sisters, or will she find herself lost in the depths of a conspiracy that threatens to consume everything she holds dear?

Dive into this chilling tale of loss, courage, and the relentless pursuit of justice against the backdrop of Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness. Order your copy now.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Anna Hale cranked up the volume on her headphones, desperate to study for her high school English exam scheduled for the morning, but the hypnotic beat couldn’t mask the loathed voice of her stepfather growing louder by the second.

“You whore! Sneaking around and giving me those pious looks. You don’t think I don’t know better. I should throw you out right now, you and your bitch of a daughter!”

The soft sounds of her mother trying to pacify him were indistinct, impossible for her to hear.

Pass out already, old man.

She tried forcing her mind on the textbook, but the lines of printing blurred, making it hard to concentrate. If the subject at hand was a math or science quiz, she’d ace both without much effort. And that one computer module they’d had this semester had fascinated her. She yearned for a career in data processing, discovering all the secrets. That was if she got a choice. Her stepfather was threatening to make her leave school early to help bring more money into the household. She rolled her eyes in disgust. The guy just couldn’t hold down a job. Never his fault, like his shitty attitude wasn’t a factor. Or that his breath so often stank of booze, and his body of stale sweat.

The conversation from earlier between her and her mom bothered her like a harbinger of things to come, making it harder to focus. “I’ve made arrangements. If anything happens to me—go next door. Alex and Cindy Pace will look after you. And you get along so well with Josh and the twins.”

Her mom had talked over Anna’s every denial of anything ever happening to her. Anna was going to keep her mom safe. Learn karate or something badass at the gym to give her the upper hand. But her mom had made her promise and she had gone along with it. Anna didn’t want her mom worrying more than she already did, not that she wouldn’t stay and help her if worst came to worst. She’d never desert her mom. They had to stick together, no matter what.

Another loud series of barks drew her attention away from her favorite daydream of getting a high-paying job, of taking her mother far, far away. She’d also warned her to stay out of it, that her stepfather couldn’t help himself having to work at a job he hated, but Anna’s stomach churned with the effort. She wiped her damp palms on her patched jeans, straining to hear, the test long forgotten.

A loud crashing sound of something falling erupted downstairs. She dumped the headset and jumped off the bed, then raced down the narrow staircase in her sock feet, her pulse hammering in her ears, her head about to explode. She rounded the sharp corner that composed the L-shaped kitchen and living room, the clean but faded linoleum with most of the square-shaped pattern worn down to gray splotches, slippery beneath her feet. Her disgusting bear of a stepfather stood over her mom, his meaty fists raised like a boxer, his pugnacious face darkened by raw hatred.

About the Author: January Bain is an award-winning author who firmly believes that stories unite us, that good stories help us to discover the commonality of the human experience by supporting values, empathy and understanding. She writes with her heart, mind, and soul, hoping that her novels will touch your life, giving you moments of freedom as you fly with her to other worlds.

Bain has had the pleasure of select novels being turned into games, and her work is also available in different languages.

January and her husband live in rural Canada on peaceful acreage where a variety of wildlife comes to visit regularly and expect to be fed and paid attention to.

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