Photo Finished (Callie Cassidy Mysteries) by Lori Roberts Herbst Book Tour! @lorirobertsherbst lorirobertsherbst

Photo Finished (Callie Cassidy Mysteries)
by Lori Roberts Herbst

Photo Finished (Callie Cassidy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Colorado
Independently Published (September 13, 2022)
Number of Pages: 310
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B6DDSK75

When a visit to a Colorado dude ranch turns deadly, it’s up to photographer Callie Cassidy to corral the killer… 

As maid of honor (aka grande dame) in her best friend’s upcoming wedding, Callie wants to plan the perfect bridal shower. And what could be better than a girls’ trip with their posse of friends? 

The women jump at the idea and suggest a destination—Moonglow Ranch, a serenity retreat-slash-dude ranch owned by one friend’s aunt and uncle.

When they arrive, Callie is less than enthusiastic. Serenity doesn’t come easily to a former investigative photojournalist. Plus, her horse is stubborn as…well, a mule. She’s warned to be on the lookout for snakes. Worst of all—gasp!—Moonglow only serves healthy food. Still, her friends are having a great time, and even Callie’s golden retriever Woody and tabby cat Carl seem right at home on the ranch. For their sake, she tries to tap into her inner Zen. 

Then the conniving wife of the town’s most powerful man interrupts the party and threatens the ranch’s proprietors. Callie worries the trip is destined for disaster.

Later, Callie finds the woman’s body in the stable, apparently trampled by a horse. Or did she die from a snakebite? Or—as Callie suspects—could something even more sinister be at work? 

Answers are as difficult to find as a needle in the haystack. And when the police chief accuses the ranch owners of murder, Callie realizes she’ll need to lasso the real outlaw—before the wrong people end up in the pokey. 

Lori Roberts Herbst, who writes the Callie Cassidy Mystery series, spent much of her life writing, editing, and psychoanalyzing. Through thirty years of teaching journalism, advising newspaper and yearbook staff, instructing budding photographers, and counseling teenagers, she still managed to hang on to a modicum of sanity. Her books have earned first-place CIBA awards in the Murder and Mayhem division. She currently serves as secretary of the Sisters in Crime North Dallas chapter and is a member of the Sisters in Crime Guppies and the Mystery Writers of America.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.lorirobertsherbst.com

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/LoriRobertsHerbst

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lori-roberts-herbst

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lori-Roberts-Herbst/e/B08RBD4QGK/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorirobertsherbst/

Purchase Link – Amazon

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Big Red a Novel Starring Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles by Jerome Charyn Book Review! #BigRed

 

 It’s 1943. The Germans rule Europe, and the moguls rule Hollywood. Attendance is better than ever. Not even radio can compete with the Saturday matinee. The heart of America has become Hollywood Boulevard. And Rusty Redburn, a feisty lesbian visionary who works as a lowly servant to Harry Cohn at Columbia’s publicity department, lives right on the boulevard at the Hollywood Hotel.

 

Harry is worried about his biggest star, Rita Hayworth, who has moved in with the “Boy Genius” Orson Welles. He’s never had a star before Rita arrived. He schemes to have Rusty pretend to work as Rita's private secretary while spying on her. Rusty is far more clever than Harry Cohn. She worships Orson and Citizen Kane. And thus the story begins.

 

Nothing will last, neither the war, nor Harry Cohn, nor the marriage of Rita and Orson. And it’s Rusty who tells their tale.

Since he first appeared on the American literary scene, Jerome Charyn has dazzled readers with his “blunt, brilliantly crafted prose” (Washington Post). Yet Charyn, a beloved comedic novelist, also possesses an extraordinary knowledge of Golden Age Hollywood, having taught film history both in the United States and France.

With Big Red, Charyn reimagines the life of one of America’s most enduring icons, “Gilda” herself, Rita Hayworth, whose fiery red tresses and hypnotic dancing graced the silver screen over sixty times in her nearly forty-year career. The quintessential movie star of the 1940s, Hayworth has long been objectified as a sex symbol, pin-up girl, and so-called Love Goddess. Here Charyn, channeling the ghosts of a buried past, finally lifts the veils that have long enshrouded Hayworth, evoking her emotional complexity—her passions, her pain, and her inner turmoil.

Charyn’s reimagining of Hayworth’s story begins in 1943, in a roomette at the Hollywood Hotel, where narrator Rusty Redburn—an impetuous, second-string gossip columnist from Kalamazoo, Michigan—bides her time between working as a gofer in the publicity offices of Columbia Pictures, volunteering at an indie movie house, and pursuing dalliances with young women on the Sunset Strip. Called upon by the manipulative Columbia movie mogul Harry “The Janitor” Cohn to spy on Hayworth—then, the Dream Factory’s most alluring “dame,” and Cohn’s biggest movie star—Rusty becomes Rita’s confidante, accompanying her on a series of madcap adventures with her indomitable husband, the “boy genius” Orson Welles.

But Rusty, an outlaw who can see beyond the prejudices of Hollywood’s male-dominated hierarchy, quickly becomes disgusted with the way actresses, and particularly Rita, are exploited by men. As she struggles to balance the dangerous politics of Tinseltown with her desire to protect Rita from ruffians and journalists alike, Rusty has her own encounters—some sweet, some bruising—with characters real and imagined, from Julie Tanaka, an interned Japanese-American friend, to superstars like Clark Gable and Tallulah Bankhead, as well as notorious Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons.

Reanimating such classic films as Gilda and The Lady from Shanghai, Big Red is a bittersweet paean to Hollywood’s Golden Age, a tender yet honest portrait of a time before blockbusters and film franchises—one that promises to consume both Hollywood cinephiles and neophytes alike. Lauded for his “polymorphous imagination” (Jonathan Lethem), Charyn once again has created one of the most inventive novels in recent American literature.

BUYING LINKS: Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble

Jerome Charyn is an award-winning American author. With more than 50 published works, Charyn has earned a long-standing reputation as an inventive and prolific chronicler of real and imagined American life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon calls him "one of the most important writers in American literature." New York Newsday hailed Charyn as "a contemporary American Balzac," and the Los Angeles Times described him as "absolutely unique among American writers."

Since the 1964 release of Charyn's first novel, Once Upon a Droshky, he has published thirty novels, three memoirs, eight graphic novels, two books about film, short stories, plays, and works of non-fiction. Two of his memoirs were named New York Times Book of the Year.

Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was named Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Charyn is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the American University of Paris.

In addition to writing and teaching, Charyn is a tournament table tennis player, once ranked in the top ten percent of players in France. Noted novelist Don DeLillo called Charyn's book on table tennis, Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins, "The Sun Also Rises of ping-pong."

Charyn's most recent novel, Jerzy, was described by The New Yorker as a "fictional fantasia" about the life of Jerzy Kosinski, the controversial author of The Painted Bird. In 2010, Charyn wrote The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, an imagined autobiography of the renowned poet, a book characterized by Joyce Carol Oates as a "fever-dream picaresque."

Charyn lives in New York City. He's currently working with artists Asaf and Tomer Hanuka on an animated television series based on his Isaac Sidel crime novels

http://www.jeromecharyn.com/

My Thoughts

Big Red by Jerome Charyn is a "Big" novel about Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. The narrator is Rusty Redburn tells the story of Rita and Orson, their beginnings, and follow-up lives. Rusty is fictitious but the book is full of real people from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

We see the good and the bad in these people, their problems, foibles and their intimate lives. Rusty worked in a cubicle in the basement of  Columbia’s Publicity Department. Harry Cohn, head of Columbia wants her to "spy" on Rita and Orson. Big Red, Rita Hayworth is an up-and-coming actress and Harry is not happy with her relationship with Orson who he feels is a loser. Rita loves Orson and they eventually marry.

Rita was a 12-year-old girl when she started dancing with her father, we later find that he had been molesting her. She started out as Rita Cansino. She then becomes the top star in the 40's. Top pinup girl to the GI's during the war. She was most popular for her role in Gilda. She had 5 marriages, Orson and Aly Khan among them. She had two daughters. Her skill as a dancer was exceptional.

Orson was a producer, actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in film, radio, and stage. He is known as one of the most influential filmmakers ever. He was married three times and had two partners, including Rita. He is best known for Citizen Kane. He was also a goodwill ambassador during the war and a campaigner for F.D.R. His life was fraught with ups and downs, successes and flops. 

Rusty Redburn, is the narrator of the story. Her relationships with Harry Cohn, Rita Hayworth, and Orson Welles were bittersweet relationships. I enjoyed that she was the teller of the tale of these people, famous for their work during the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond. We often think that famous people have a golden life but they do not. Money can not buy happiness.

I had a bit of a time getting into the book but once I did I did not want to put it down. It made me go and do some research on the people in the book. Not Rusty though as she was fiction. The author did an exceptional job telling the story of Big Red.

I give the book 5 stars.

I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.

THE GIVEAWAY:  We have a great package of goodies including an autographed copy of BIG RED, a tote bag with the great cover (which was designed by Ed Sorel), Rita Hayworth sunglasses, popcorn, light-up smartphone charger (with either the book jacket or an image of Rita) and a Shalimar sample, Rita’s favorite perfume.  The package will be served up in a red box mailer packed with red tissue . 

One reader, USA and Canada only. 

Downfall by @evelynsolaauthor Book Release! #NowLive #EvelynSola @IndiePenPR @indie_pen_pr

Maxwell’s new personal assistant, Summer, is the opposite of what he finds attractive, yet she consumes his thoughts. Will a business trip alone together be their downfall, or will they finally realize that their happily ever after is closer than they think? Readers who enjoy spicy romances will devour Downfall by Evelyn Sola, a steamy, age-gap, office romance.

Read Now!

Summer Madison is the opposite of everything Maxwell Sutton finds attractive in a woman. And yet, here he is, fighting powerful feelings for the new personal assistant his brother hired while he was out of town. 

Everything about her is wrong, yet his thoughts are consumed with nothing but her. Determined to do anything he can to stay away from her, Maxwell develops a no fraternization clause to the company policy. 

But rules and logic only last for so long. 

When the attraction between the two of them becomes too much to contain, Maxwell finds himself violating the very policy that he put into effect. Now that he's had a taste, he knows he can never say no to her again. 

Will a business trip alone together be their downfall, or will they finally realize that their happily ever after is closer than they think?

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Excerpt 

Copyright 2022 Evelyn Sola

His brown eyes are like storm clouds when they collide with mine. If I could, I’d take a step back. But I can’t. I stand there in the back of the room like a lonely gazelle in a room of lions, unable to find her footing to run. David waves over to me and gestures at a chair, only the chair is too close to the other Mr. Sutton. 

I swallow nervously and want to look away from him but can’t seem to make a move until I’m forced to. I turn my head and look towards the door, ready to make a quick exit, but my hand goes limp, and the legal pad slips from between my fingers. I want nothing more than for the floor to swallow me up when I bend down to pick it up. I just know someone is looking at my butt. When I stand, I run a hand over my ass as if that would somehow make it less conspicuous. I feel everyone’s eyes on me as I walk to the front of the room, almost as if I’m walking the plank, not walking to the chair that my boss is generously offering me.

The other Mr. Sutton’s eyes follow me the entire time, but I’m proud of myself for avoiding his gaze. And for not falling flat on my face. I want to cover my body with my hands. If I thought David Sutton was handsome, he is nothing compared to his brother. Dark eyes, short, perfectly trimmed beard, dark hair without a trace of gray. If he was my type, he would be a wet dream. It’s almost as if I can feel his thoughts just from his eyes. He’s fighting for calm right now. He needs order and structure and thinks he can find it here in the office. I don’t know how I know that about him, but I do. It’s like an electrical current is between us by the time I take my seat. It’s as if I’m on display, and I can feel his eyes looking down at me. I make the big mistake of looking up, and our eyes clash. His nostrils flare, and he opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. 

I quickly turn my head and start writing on my legal pad, but my heart is beating so fast I know everyone else can hear it.

About Evelyn Sola

A Boston native, wife, mother, and wine enthusiast. If she’s not writing, thinking about writing, you will find Evelyn with a book in her hands. While a new publisher, she’s been writing for years, and she will continue to write for many years to come. 
Evelyn is obsessed with assertive and confident men who will stop at nothing to get their woman. Her stories are filled with love, passion and humor.
She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and two daughters.

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The Hometown Dilemma by Julie Archer Book Release! @juliearcherwrites @IndiePenPR #kindleunlimited #thehometowndilemma #meetcutebookclubseries

 

In THE HOMETOWN DILEMMA by Julie Archer, when Jaime Harlow returns home in hopes of starting over, she is forced to rethink her plans, and an old friend from college, Wade Dempsy offers to help, leaving her second-guessing everything. Old times, new feelings - and one stormy night - are all they need to ignite the desires they never realized existed. Fans of The Lawton Ridge Series by Kennedy Fox will devour this must-read swoon-worthy, return to hometown romance from the Meet Cute Book Club Series.

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Read Now! 

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3oS0RF3 

Jaime

Who says you can’t go home?

Coming back to Abbott Ridge and starting over was my plan. But, just like everything in life, plans change. Especially when the interior design reality tv show I dreamed of being a part of gets canceled before filming even begins. Now I’m stuck without a job and forced to rethink how I’ll start my own company.

Owner of Dempsey’s bar, and one of my closest friends from college. He immediately offers me a temporary job working with him, like old times.

It's an offer I can't refuse. Oh, and did I mention that my new boss is even sexier than I remember?

Things between us are going great...until a call from New York presents me with a new offer that has me second guessing my stay in Abbott Ridge.

Wade

Home is where the heart is.

I’ve spent my whole life in Abbott Ridge, running in and out of my family's bar until I was finally old enough to take over. Now I’m in charge, but it’s a struggle to keep the place from going under. I need fresh ideas to compete with all the fancy bars and clubs popping up downtown.

Having Jaime back behind my bar seems like a good place to start. She’s an inspiration and a breath of fresh air, in more ways than one.

Old times, new feelings - and one stormy night - are all we need to ignite the desires I never realized existed.

When New York calls for Jaime and the only future I’ve known goes up in flames, we find ourselves faced with a huge dilemma that threatens our newfound relationship. Can we really make this work when right now it feels like we can't even see eye to eye? There’s only one way to find out.

The Hometown Dilemma is a standalone, return-to hometown romance that is part of the multi-author series, Meet Cute Book Club. Escape with this swoon-worthy collection of romances where meet-cutes don't only happen between the pages of romance novels and members find their own happily ever afters.

Add to Goodreads!

Goodreads → https://bit.ly/3v07wzj

Excerpt 

Copyright 2022 @ Julie Archer

A wave of calm familiarity swept over me. Being back home for good, after being away for many years, had given me doubts and butterflies. I’m sure there were some people who would think coming home meant failure, when I very much saw it as the opportunity to start something new.

“I think it’s a really brave thing you’ve done,” Cami admitted, saying what I’d been thinking. “To walk away from a secure job and take a chance on something you have no control over.”

She may have been four years younger than me, but she was wise beyond her years. However scared I was about the decision I’d made, in my heart it was the right one. Sure, I could have stayed in a job with a nice company in New York, bumbling along with no real career plans, but I needed something to excite me, something to stretch and challenge me.

And trying to get a place on the next series of Interior Nirvana was the catalyst.

Walking away from a steady job to try and start my own freelance interior design business had been something I’d agonized over for months. But the more I turned up to work for other people, the more I knew I wanted to do it for myself. While Abbott Ridge might not have had the same level of clientele as the big city, there were enough businesses and families who would want professional help when it came to design.

“Thanks, sweetie, I appreciate your support. Not everyone is of the same mindset. Mom, for one.”

When I’d told her about my plans, she had gone ballistic. Even though she hadn’t exactly been in our lives over the past five years, the same amount of time I’d been in New York, I still kept her posted on what was going on.

“Ugh, you don’t have to tell me. You’d have thought you were going to jail for a serious crime, not trying to make something of your life.” Cami screwed up her nose. “Of course, it’s great for me too because I’m not on my own now. Wade and I split up.”

“Oh, Cami! When did that happen?” I reached out to grab her hand. “You should have told me.”

Cami had been dating Wade Dempsey on and off for about three months since I’d last been home for a fleeting visit. He was six years older than her, so secretly I wasn’t surprised it hadn’t worked out. They were at totally different stages in their lives. Cami was still all about having fun and not thinking about the consequences. Wade had more responsibilities; he ran Dempsey’s bar in town and from what I’d heard, his father wasn’t in the best of health, which put a lot of strain on the family business. I’d worked with Wade at the bar while we were in college and we’d grown to be close buddies, although once I’d left for New York we hadn’t been in contact much.

She shrugged. “We weren’t that serious really. He’s not as much fun as I thought he was going to be. I barely saw him because he was at the bar all the time.”

“Well, I’m still sorry to hear you’ve split up.” I smiled. “But was he really the right guy for you? He always was a terrible flirt.”

“Yeah, he was.” Cami wrinkled her nose. “Think about it though, Jaime. The Harlow sisters out on the town together. Abbott Ridge watch out!”

Given the plans I had for starting my own business, there was little time for going out on the town. Not to mention saving every spare dollar I had, I had big plans to buy an apartment or house to use as my portfolio for the show.

“I don’t know about that, Cami.” Stalling, I sipped my own drink. “I might not have time.”

“Come on, all work and no play makes Jaime a very dull sister.”

Ha, I may be the older sister, but there was no way on earth I would let Cami say I was dull. Maybe it was time to step out of the comfort zone and have some fun before getting down to business.

 

Julie Archer

Author of contemporary romance featuring rock stars, small towns, a healthy dose of angst, some steamy times, and always a happy ever after!

​

When not writing, I can usually be found binge-watching teen drama series on Netflix, supporting Spurs from my armchair, and running around after my two feline children, Corey and Elsa.

​

Follow me on Facebook or Instagram, see my latest releases on Amazon or drop me an email, juliearcherwrites@gmail.com.

​

Real Angst. Real Romance.

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About The Meet Cute Book Club Series

 

About The Meet Cute Book Club Series

Escape with the Meet Cute Book Club where meet-cutes don't only happen between the pages of romance novels and members find their own happily ever afters. 

Eight single women bound by their love of books take a monthly break from real life to lose themselves in the chapters of romantic fiction. From friends to lovers to fake relationships and more, each story features a brand new couple and their journey to find love from an amazing lineup of authors including Louise Lennox, Tracy Broemmer, A.M. Williams, Mel Walker, RJ Gray, Rebecca Wilder, Julie Archer, and Kate Stacy. 

These eight standalone romances are packed with meet-cutes, heat, and of course a happily ever after!

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Hades, Conclusion to the Guardians of Hades Series, by @felicityheaton Reveal! #Hades #felicityheaton #XpressoTours⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

Hades
Felicity Heaton

(Guardians of Hades, #9)
Publication date: October 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

The fate of our world rests in their hands.

Hades, god-king of the Underworld, has uncovered the mastermind behind the uprising destined to set his realm and the mortal world on a collision course. But his enemy has gone to ground and finding them is proving impossible, and the longer they elude his grasp, the stronger the darkness within him grows, slowly stealing control.

Persephone, god-queen of the Underworld, can only watch as a storm gathers on the horizon—a deadly war that threatens to strip her beloved family from her. As Hades fights his own battles against their enemy, she fights to keep the darkness within him at bay, never more aware of the danger he would be if she failed to keep it tamed.

But when their enemy strikes out at them from the shadows, dealing a blow that changes the course of the war and incites Hades’s wrath, the leash on the monster within him snaps and he is plunged into the darkness.

And saving this world might no longer be an option.

Hades is the epic conclusion to the Guardians of Hades paranormal romance series from NYT / USAT best-selling author Felicity Heaton.

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Felicity Heaton

I'm a NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY and International Best-Selling Author writing passionate paranormal romance books and series for adults.

I love to create detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! All of them alpha as you would expect in paranormal romance, and every book with a guaranteed HAPPILY FOREVER AFTER!

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Fans of paranormal romance books by authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole and Christine Feehan will love my books too.

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