06 April 2025

Waters of Destruction (An Orchid Isle Mystery) by Leslie Karst Virtual Book Tour!


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Waters of Destruction (An Orchid Isle Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

2nd in Series

Setting

Hawaii

Publisher

Severn House; Main edition (April 1, 2025)

Hardcover ‏

‎ 224 pages

ISBN-10 ‏

1448312183

ISBN-13

‏ 978-1448312184

Digital ASIN ‏

‎ B0DKXTRTX5

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Retired caterer Valerie Corbin investigates a suspicious drowning in this Orchid Isle cozy culinary mystery, featuring a feisty queer couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions in tropical Hilo, Hawai‘i

After a vacation of a lifetime in Hilo, Hawai‘i, retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have decided to move permanently to the beautiful – if storm-prone – Big Island. The couple are having fun furnishing their new house, exploring their new neighborhood and playing with their new little dog, Pua. But while they’ve made good friends with local restaurant manager Sachiko and her partner Isaac, they can’t help but feel a little lonely.

So when Sachiko begs Val to fill in for a member of her bar team who’s gone AWOL, Val dusts off her cocktail shaker and happily agrees. It’s a great chance to meet more people – and learn the local gossip.

Such as about Hank, the missing bartender, who vanished after a team-building retreat at a local beauty spot a week ago, and hasn’t been seen since. Until, that is, his body turns up at the bottom of the waterfall, and the police seem very interested in where Sachiko was at the time of his death.

Sachiko couldn’t have killed him . . . could she? Val dives into the murky waters of the case, determined to find out.

This mouth-watering cozy mystery is perfect for fans of Ellen Byron, Jennifer J Chow, Lucy Burdette and Raquel V Reyes, and includes a selection of delicious Hawaiian recipes to cook at home.


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Leslie Karst is the author of the Orchid Isle mysteries Waters of Destruction and Molten Death, of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari mystery series, and of the IBPA Ben Franklin and IPPY award silver medal-winning memoir, Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG. After years waiting tables and singing in a new wave rock band, she decided she was ready for a “real” job and ended up at Stanford Law School, then returned to school to study the culinary arts.

Now retired from the law, Leslie splits her time between Hilo, Hawai‘i and Santa Cruz, California, spending her days writing, cooking, cycling, gardening, and observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock.

Author Links

Website http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/

Chicks on the Case https://chicksonthecase.com/

Mystery Lovers Kitchen https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/leslie-karst

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14220589.Leslie_Karst

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 24 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

March 25 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

March 26 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 27 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 28 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 29 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

March 30 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT

March 31 - Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 1 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

April 2 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

April 3 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

April 3 – Boys' Mom Reads! – REVIEW

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April 5 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

April 6 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, RECIPE

April 6 – Celticladys Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 7 – Frugal Freelancer – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 7 – Ruff Drafts - SPOTLIGHT

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04 April 2025

The Break of Dawn Eule Grey New Release! @ninestarpress


Title:  The Break of Dawn

Author: Eule Grey

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 04/01/2025

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 28400

Genre: Contemporary, British, Yorkshire, YSP, Art, Sculpture, Easter, Spring, second chances, new beginnings, first love, baby animals

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Description

Cora ‘I am all that I need’ Richards has a prison reputation for being an ice queen. She exists via a strict code of survival: people equal pain—the end. Surprises lead to disappointment; therefore, Cora won’t tolerate the unexpected. Friends? No. Lovers? Never. A hollow nighttime ache in her chest is bothersome, true, but the issue certainly isn’t caused by loneliness. Cora knows who she is and what she isn’t. She gladly accepts a placement at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, not to meet the elusive artist, Sky Sunday, but to finish her prison sentence early. It’s work, nothing more.

But the breathtaking landscape, woolly lambs, fluffy ducklings, and friendly artists challenge a woman trying not to feel. Life at the Sculpture Park is vibrant, messy, and warm. Still, it would take someone extraordinary to melt an ice queen such as Cora—the end.

Sky Sunday wears dungarees and muddy yellow boots, talks in riddles, listens to Cora’s suggestions, and never belittles her. From the first awkward meeting, attraction sizzles between them. But Sky is rubbish at talking. So is Cora. How can two impenetrable women ever get close?

From dawn to dusk, the workers toil on a mysterious, humming sculpture, and nobody knows what it’s supposed to be. If they trust their instincts, Sky insists that something unique will happen on Easter Sunday. Cora abandons the last of her ice armour as dawn breaks, but is it too late to be vulnerable and take a second chance?

What happens when an ice queen and a fluffy chick kiss? Can Cora and Sky forget their past and begin a new life together? This story is not the end.

Excerpt

The Break of Dawn
Eule Grey © 2025
All Rights Reserved

February 1

It started with a shout.

“Richards! Gov’s office.”

The yell left a deafening silence in the dining hall. Chatter ceased, the insistent bang-bang of doors stopped, and even the pitter-patter of rain on the windows faded as if it knew that a shout from Miss Holmes always signalled terrible news, and especially for me—my prison release date was mere months away.

Potential crimes flashed through my mind. Had I left a mess in the kitchen during my shift? Did I piss someone off? Had my sentence been lengthened due to a technical hitch?

It wouldn’t be the first time they’d messed up the dates. Three sentences ago, a fight led to six additional weeks on the wing. Gah. The incident hadn’t been my fault. When someone insulted me, I fought back. If you didn’t stand up for yourself, you’d end up on the floor with a broken nose.

When the yell settled, the women gleefully nudged one another, glad to see me in trouble—I wasn’t popular.

My roommate, Jenny, tugged insistently at my standard prison-grey sleeve. “Cora. You better go. She sounds pissed.”

We exchanged worried looks. I stood as if to head to the office but legged it to our room instead, my stomach clenching about the bottle of hooch brewing beneath my bed. Jenny and I had started the brew a few weeks before. I’d reckoned we could celebrate my release with a few drinks. After eight months of sharing a cell, we’d grown pretty close. As close as I allowed people, anyway, which meant a chasm the size of a planet crouched between us. We were very different. Jenny carelessly revealed every facet of her life as we lay in our beds, whereas I shared bare essentials, such as my favourite brand of chocolate. Stuffed animals covered her bed while mine was bare. Enough said.

The hooch was not the problem. Bubbling quietly and consistently, our concoction hadn’t been discovered. Hooch constituted a minor offence anyway. What the hell else had I done?

The officer shouted again, more aggressively. “Richards! Gov’s office.”

The tone of her voice pissed me off. I wouldn’t go without a fight. Yeah, I should’ve accepted defeat and walked to the office with a sorry expression. Only a spanner with a death wish as strong as the undead would have ignored a call from the governor. I didn’t say sorry or play nice. Thirty-two was too old to change the habits of a lifetime.

Jenny thundered into our cell, banging the door behind her. “Did someone snitch? You better go before you get a warning.” At forty, she was serving her first sentence, naïve as a baby. Jenny still believed the prison rules existed to protect us, bless her cotton socks.

I made myself comfy on the bed. “Nope. Miss Snotty Holmes will have to come and fetch me.”

Years of practice in front of a mirror hadn’t been wasted. I could steel my face into an impenetrable fortress without much effort. Nobody saw the real me, the kid who’d cried during beatings and hoped her momma would visit at the children’s home over Christmas time.

Needless to say, my weak years were a very long time ago.

Jenny adopted her melting-biscuit look. She was pretty, with an expressive face that hid nothing. My helpful lessons about concealing one’s feelings hadn’t done anything for her. She cried or shouted wilfully, drawing attention, revealing weaknesses and vulnerabilities she should’ve kept hidden. I’d probably have demanded a new cellmate months ago if she wasn’t so kind. Oh, I didn’t like her—god forbid. Jenny was inoffensive to live with. Like and dislike had become irrelevant feelings to me. But she never gave up trying to improve or save me, the poor woman.

Jenny hovered at my bedside, looking like the apocalypse was coming, bristling with kindness. “Go and see what Miss wants? Maybe it’s good news. You know they’ve been handing out certificates from education this week? You did well in your exams.” She nodded encouragingly as if I were a silly kid needing a hug rather than a tough bitch who could cope with any amount of trouble. Bring it on.

She lunged. I held my breath, willing her not to touch. Jenny had a crush on me. It wasn’t unusual. Most women inside welcomed a ‘special relationship’ with a roommate. Not me. Jenny had attempted many touchy-feely incidents over the months. Obviously, I’d ignored them all. Whether hand-holding or hair brushing, every contact was disgusting to me. Why would I welcome another woman’s baggage on top of my own? No. It was better to be alone than abandoned. Hugs equalled pain. The end.

Jenny attempted a sudden, unexpected hug. “Aww, babe.”

I held up a practised iron fist. “Don’t touch me and never call me babe.” It was laughable and sad how she shrank back, believing I would hurt her. I never would. Jenny might be a nuisance, but she didn’t deserve or need a slap, only a little reminder now and then about boundaries.

She abruptly drew her hand back. “I just wanted—” She sounded wounded, almost tearful.

The grief in her eyes was too much. I closed my eyes.

“Yeah, well, don’t tell me because I’m as interested as a cardboard box would be. I’m having a nap if anyone asks.”

It was a relief to shut her out. Why women wanted to be special, I’d never understand. Yuck.

I began silently counting. At six hundred, a stern voice broke my concentration.

“Didn’t you hear? The gov wants you in her office.”

I swung my legs off my bed and crammed cold feet into my shoes. “I didn’t hear, Miss. On my way.”

What had been gained from the extra few moments alone? Even I didn’t understand myself. Maybe it was part of my nature to rebel, or perhaps every victory, however tiny, kept me going. I was a narky cow. The end.

Jenny watched me silently and reproachfully. As I passed her, I stuck out my tongue. She rolled her eyes.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Eule Grey has settled, for now, in the north UK. She’s worked in education, justice, youth work, and even tried her hand at butter-spreading in a sandwich factory. Sadly, she wasn’t much good at any of them! She writes novels, novellas, poetry, and a messy combination of all three. Nothing about Eule is tidy but she rocks a boogie on a Saturday night! For now, Eule is she/her or they/them. Eule has not yet arrived at a pronoun that feels right.

Website | Facebook | Twitter


#bookaddiction #bookshelf #mustread #instabook #fortheloveofbooks #bookrecs #newbook #readersofinsta #tbrpile #whattoread #newbook #weekendreads #DiverseReads #romance #contemporary #firstlove

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code! 


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Behind the Scenes: For Love’s Sake (An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure) By Kelli A. Wilkins!


Behind the Scenes: For Love’s Sake (An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure)

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

This “Behind the Scenes” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each blog, I’ll talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and sometimes reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the book. Warning: Blogs may contain spoilers.

If you missed any blog in this series, you can catch up here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/blog


Hi romance lovers,

My latest romance, For Love’s Sake, uses the subtitle, “An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure”— that says quite a lot, but that’s the best way to describe it. 

Here’s the summary and links:

For Love’s Sake

An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure

She left everything behind to be with him.
He risked losing everything to stay with her.
They were willing to sacrifice everything… for love’s sake

Through a case of mistaken identity, Prince Kevan of Alborg narrowly avoids an assassination attempt and wakes to find himself trapped in mad King Torok’s rat-infested dungeon. Just when he is about to give up hope, he is rescued by an unlikely ally—Torok’s daughter, Princess Adrianna.

Adrianna is desperate to flee her father’s kingdom and agrees to help the handsome stranger escape, but only if he takes her with him when he leaves. Although Kevan knows bringing Adrianna home will not sit well with his father and lead to other complications, he agrees.

They make their way to a waiting ship captained by Kevan’s brother, Mikhael, and set sail for Alborg. Along the way they are lost at sea during a ferocious storm, battle a murderous mercenary sent by Adrianna’s father, and try to deny their intense romantic feelings for each other. 

When they arrive in Alborg, Kevan’s father, King Lenard, disapproves of Adrianna and drops the bombshell that Kevan is already engaged to be married. While Kevan tries to get out of the arranged marriage, Mikhael introduces Adrianna to members of the nobility in an effort to win over the king.

At his engagement ball, Kevan is forced to choose between his duty to his father and his loyalty to Adrianna. Soon after, Adrianna is kidnapped and Kevan and Mikhael band together to hunt down her abductors and rescue her before it’s too late.

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS2H1YMD

Other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4jvDXj

***

For Love’s Sake is divided into three parts: The Castle, The Ship, and The Palace. Each part is devoted to a specific section of the longer, overall story, and they’re almost novellas unto themselves. But what readers don’t know is… this wasn’t how the book started out.

I originally outlined the story as a trilogy. (Yup, this one book would have been three.) In my outline, each part would have been its own self-contained book with a beginning, a middle, an end, and a central story arc.

Looking back on my original idea, I only have one question: What was I thinking??? First, nobody would want to read all that. Second, I didn’t want to write, edit, revise, and proofread all that. Writing one novel is hard enough; why triple my workload?

I’m glad to say common sense kicked in, and my writer’s intuition of what works and what doesn’t work, prevailed.

The book is 86,000 words, which is plenty. I wanted to fully develop each part, but without adding unnecessary scenes or too many details. For example, in part two, I could have described every rope, set of rigging, and mast on the ship for readers as Dray learns about them. But I didn’t want to go overboard. (Ha-ha.) Readers get the feel of being on the ship without seeing the day-to-day events that don’t impact the plot. The writer’s credo is “write tight.” Even in novels.

Some readers have asked me: If this is a romance, where are all the hot and heavy love scenes? Well… as I was editing/revising, I decided to delete several scenes that, although they were very nice, didn’t move the story along or add character development. When I came to some of the explicit love scenes between Kevan and Dray, I cut them or had the characters recall them in flashbacks. 

But For Love’s Sake is more than a romance, it’s also an adventure. The characters experience lots of action outside of the bedroom: escaping a dungeon, fighting pirates, being lost at sea, getting kidnapped… And there’s plenty of emotional drama for everyone. The book is filled with lies, deception, sadness, secrets, jealousy, revenge, regret, and love in all its forms. 

The secondary characters, Mikhael and Derick, play an important role in part three. Mikhael (Kevan’s brother), is married to Derick, and together, they set events in motion that bring the story to its conclusion. 

I love Mikhael and Derick, and for a while I considered giving them their own book. I even wrote their entire backstory—their first meet, Derick’s disastrous lunch with Mikhael’s father (the king), how Derick became a Lord, and what happened when Mikhael and Derick moved into the manor house—but I never intend to publish it.

Why? Because it’s not a book in the traditional sense that it’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s no plot. It’s merely a series of vignettes about their lives. But because I love them so much, I included Mikhael and Derick’s first meet as a bonus read. That story also explains the origins of the Freedom.

In the book Mikhael is sassy, self-assured, and bold… but he didn’t start out this way. As readers will see from the bonus read, he started out very confused and troubled. He’s come a long way (thanks to Derick) in the course of a few years. And because I love Mikhael so much, I gave him a fun bit of dialog: “Stand and deliver. Your money or your life.” I’ve always wanted to use that phrase in a story, and it fit Mikhael’s personality (and the scene) perfectly.

For Love’s Sake has plenty of action, drama, suspense, humor, love, and emotional growth to earn epic novel status. It was a lot of fun to write, and it’s one of my favorite romances. It’s also my last romance. (Yup, you read that right.)

I enjoy creating characters and settings and inventing troubles for my heroes and heroines to get into (and out of), and I love all my books. But when it comes to romances… I think I’m done.

Over the last twenty-five years I’ve been writing romances faithfully, and I had romances lined up in my head and/or outlined on paper just waiting to be written—but For Love’s Sake (my 24th romance) was the last one in line. 

I’ll still write, but I’ll be focusing on horror/mystery/suspense short fiction. 

For now, I’ll leave you with an epic tale of two people who risked everything… For Love’s Sake

I welcome comments and questions from readers. Be sure to follow my blog for the latest updates and visit my site for a full title list and links to my social media.

Until next time,

Kelli A. Wilkins



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 8 mystery/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror and mystery stories. 

Her latest release, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

In August 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology. 

Kelli also released her fourth gay romance, A Thousand Summer Secrets, in 2024. This tender contemporary romance takes place over a summer weekend, where two friends reconnect while seeking love and acceptance.

She published The Route 9 Killer, a mystery/thriller set in Central NJ, in 2023. 

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and social media links.


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