Stuck With You by Moni Boyce Release Day!

 

  For Maddie and Jack, attending their high school reunion turned into a reservation mix up and an unexpected stay in a cozy cabin, together. Can enemies turn into lovers over the course of a week? Find out in this must-read enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance from Moni Boyce. The Holiday Springs Resort series is here and STUCK WITH YOU is now live!

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  Can enemies turn into lovers over the course of a week? Maddie When I decided to attend my high school reunion, I knew I’d run the risk of running into Jack Carter. Mr. Big Time Country Music Star. The same guy that broke my heart in high school. What I didn’t expect was that the resort would mess up our reservations, and we’d end up roommates. Now I’m stuck sharing a cabin with him for the next week, and I don’t know whether I want to kill him or kiss him. Jack What are the odds I would end up sharing a cabin with my ex-high school sweetheart, Maddie Grace? The woman was a sweet tomboy back then, now she’s a knockout, uptight lawyer, who loves to argue. Even though we fight like cats and dogs, I’m feeling that familiar old spark and the more time I spend with her, the more I’m beginning to think letting her go was my biggest mistake. Thanks to a little mix-up at the resort, I've now got a week to prove to her that we belong together and you can bet I'm going to give it my best shot. Escape to the romantic paradise of Holiday Springs and warm up with your next happily ever after.

Excerpt

Copyright Moni Boyce 2020

To my surprise, Jack walked into the kitchen with a towel slung low on his hips and opened up the refrigerator. Leaning on the door, he peered inside. I was trying to keep my gaze on the documents in front of me, but I kept looking up to check out his ass in that towel. Part of me kept hoping it would accidentally fall off. Of course, now I found myself pissed off that, once again, I was having impure thoughts about Jack. I slammed my pen onto the table. “Why are you practically naked?” Slowly, he closed the refrigerator door and turned to address me. Damn. Maybe I should have kept quiet. All his sexy goodness was on display for me to see. For a millisecond, I faltered and nearly forgot why I was upset. “You’re not the only one here, you know. We have to share this place…” My tongue darted out and licked my suddenly dry bottom lip. Was his chest and six-pack abs glistening in the light coming from the window, or was I imagining things? Stop. “You can’t just walk around here half dressed. What if someone showed up?” “Are you expecting someone?” He wore an amused expression while he asked the question. I crossed my arms over my chest. “No… but that doesn’t matter. Put on a shirt.” Why was he so infuriating? “How would you like it if I pranced around here in my bra…” That had been the wrong thing to say. “Or panties… or nothing at all.” I lost steam when I realized the picture I was painting. Being pissed and horny clearly was a bad combination. I wasn’t thinking right. “I don’t see a problem.” He gave me a lecherous grin that exposed his teeth and revealed his want. “Just have some consideration and stop being selfish.” I hurled at him. That order quickly erased any goodwill he was feeling towards me. His look was thunderous. “I’m getting real tired of you making me out to be the bad guy here.” He gripped the back of one of the kitchen chairs until his knuckles turned white. “You’re asking me to have some consideration?” The incredulous scowl he wore caused his eyebrows to rise to his hairline. “You’re right, Maddie. We are sharing this house. You’d do well to remember that when you crank the heat up to freaking eighty degrees. How about that for consideration? Not all of us want to walk around in a sauna.” He threw his hands up. “It’s so damn hot in here, what am I supposed to wear? I’ll sweat to death. So unless you’re going to compromise on the temperature I’m going to wear whatever I damn well please around here, even if that means I walk around here naked.” I swallowed at the thought of him walking around the cabin naked. Other parts of my anatomy that I didn’t care to acknowledge quivered at the thought. Angrily, I stood. “Don’t threaten me. It always has to be your way.” Before I knew it, we were yelling over top of each other, trying to be heard. A few minutes later, Jack put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and whistled, bringing the yelling match to its end. I was so agitated my breathing was erratic. Seconds passed, where we stood glowering at each other like two junkyard dogs that had squared off, but there wasn’t a victor. Jack’s shoulders slumped and the fight drained away in front of my eyes. He stared at me, but no longer was his look filled with outrage. “It’s been ten years, Maddie. You gonna stay mad at me forever?” His voice was weary, tired, and bordered on sad.

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  About Moni Moni Boyce is a writer, filmmaker, poet and Award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance. After working in the film industry for fifteen years, helping others bring their visions to life, she now creates characters and worlds of her own. She considers herself a bookworm, film buff, foodie, music lover and an avid world traveler having visited 33 countries and counting. She lives a bit of a nomadic life, but considers Los Angeles her hometown.

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About the Holiday Springs Resort Series

 

  Nestled deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Holiday Springs Resort promises to bring the heat this winter! Join Forever Write PR and seven amazing authors as they take to the slopes on the adventure of a lifetime and find their happily ever afters. From hot bartenders to brooding exes, Holiday Springs Resort is the place to be. Each story features a brand new couple and a fun trope to love from our amazing line up of authors including: second chance romance and best friend's sibling to jilted brides and friends to lovers. Your holiday wonderland won’t be complete without a widower, office, and enemies to lovers romance. We’ve got a remarkable line of up must-read romance authors including, A.M. Williams, Julie Archer, Kim Bailey, Moni Boyce, S.E. Rose, Stacey Lewis, and B. Ivy Woods. Follow the Holiday Spring Resort series on Facebook for more on release dates, cover reveals, and exclusive book news ➝ https://www.facebook.com/HolidaySpringsSeries/ 

  This series and all promotional events are brought to you by Forever Write PR - Forever your source for all your writing needs. https://www.facebook.com/ForeverWritePR/

Gold by Maureen A. Miller Book Blitz with Giveaway!

GOLD
Maureen A. Miller
(Blue-Link #4)
Publication date: November 16th 2020
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Dig deep enough and you will strike danger.

It was the middle of January in Southeastern Alaska. Sara Eckert anticipated at least another two months of vacancy in her remote bed & breakfast. Until he showed up. A man not interested in hiking, fishing, or hunting. So, why was he there?

Two miners have gone missing. Their disappearance has been ruled accidental. To the firm that sent them to Alaska, that answer is unacceptable. Luke Reis has been dispatched to learn more. Gaining access to the remote wilderness isn’t so simple, though. He’ll have to enlist the owner of the Marmot Hideaway to help get him started.

As Luke and Sara dig deeper into the disappearance of the miners, they edge closer to passion. But the abandoned network of underground mines may stake the ultimate claim…their lives.

This is a standalone romantic suspense included a series with a similar theme.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

It was early. Only hearty fishermen were out and about on the dock right now. The rain tapered to a fine haze, and the fog receded enough to network through the spruce treetops like God had spilled a bottle of cotton balls down the mountain.

Retreating into the cabin, she grabbed the thermal mug of coffee and took a lukewarm sip. Between the groan of the Tub against the pier, and the gentle slosh of the tide slapping its hull, she was lulled into mental hibernation.

Until she saw him.

He didn’t belong here.

This man stalking down the gangway—eating each plank with determined strides. This man dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket. Leather? Seriously? This man with diamonds of moisture clinging to short black hair. This man with a simple duffle bag hiked over his shoulder and a chiseled jawline grinding with purpose.

This man didn’t belong here.

Either he was in far more need of a vacation than he could ever imagine, or he was restless.

Driven.

That was the impression that came to mind.

From a distance it was easy to regard the dark hair and tan complexion as that of a native. Tlingit, maybe. But as he approached, the characteristics leaned another way. Long face, long thin eyes. Dark and intense. Even from this span, the traits tended towards Latin.

Whether or not he belonged—here he was—standing at the pylon the MH Tub was anchored to. No indecision. No bending at the knee to read the name of the boat. No perusal of the vessels around hers.

There was a tenacious focus to this man.

Sara set her mug back into its cradle, noticing that her hand shook slightly. She stepped out of the warm cabin with a broad smile and inflated enthusiasm.

Author Bio:

USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She crawled around plant floors in a hard hat and safety glasses hooking up computers to behemoth manufacturing machines. The job required extensive travel. The best form of escapism during those lengthy airport layovers became writing.

Maureen's first novel, WIDOW'S TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that she became hooked to the genre. In fact, she was so hooked she is the founder of the JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE website.

Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense...just on another planet!

Find more about Maureen at www.maureenamiller.com

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The Lost Village by Daniela Sacerdoti Book Tour!

1945, Italy. Two sisters give birth to two little girls on the same night, huddled under blankets, deep in the black woods that surround the village of Bosconero. They hold their babies close as footsteps approach. If they make even the slightest sound, the German soldiers will find them…

 

2006. Luce Nardini searches the cobbled streets of a remote Italian village for a house with a faded blue door. Since her only child left home, and with her estranged husband more distant than ever, she’s been completely untethered. Discovering why her mother cut all contact with her family and the village she loved feels like Luce’s last hope at understanding who she is.

 

Inside the house, she’s relieved to find the grandmother she never knew living out her final days. With a longing look at an ornate wooden box on her nightstand, her grandmother is just beginning to tell the heart-wrenching story of a little village ravaged by war, and why Luce’s mother swore never to return, when then the unthinkable happens: an earth-shattering disaster that shakes the little village of Bosconero to its core.

 

Feeling more lost than ever before, Luce fears that the secrets of her past have been buried forever. Her only hope is to win back the trust of the small community and find her grandmother’s little wooden box amongst the rubble of the village.

 

But will the surprise arrival of the husband she thought she’d lost help sew Luce’s family back together, or tear it apart for good? And will anything have prepared her for the devastating betrayal she finds hidden inside the box…?

 

An unputdownable historical novel about the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love by the author of million-copy Amazon No 1. bestseller, Watch Over Me. Perfect for anyone who loves Fiona Valpy, Lily Graham or The Letter by Kathryn Hughes.  

 

 

Daniela Sacerdoti is the author of the bestselling Glen Avich series which has sold over one million copies in ebook to date, Sacerdoti’s debut novel Watch Over Me was named the eighth bestselling Kindle book of all time in 2015, when she was also ranked as the eleventh top-selling Kindle author.  She lives in a small village in the middle of nowhere, with her Scottish husband, two children, a Cocker spaniel and a foundling kitten (who was definitely a witch in a past life).  

 

https://www.danielasacerdoti.com/

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDanielaSacerdoti/

https://www.instagram.com/danielasacerdoti.2/

 

Buy Links:

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The Cry of the Lake by Charlie Tyler Book Blitz and Giveaway!

The Cry of the Lake
Charlie Tyler
Publication date: July 21st 2020
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

A gruesome discovery unravels a dark trail of murder and madness.

A six-year-old girl sneaks out of bed to capture a mermaid but instead discovers a dead body. Terrified and unable to make sense of what she sees, she locks the vision deep inside her mind.

Ten years later, Lily is introduced to the charismatic Flo and they become best friends. But Lily is guilt-ridden – she is hiding a terrible secret which has the power to destroy both their lives.

When Flo’s father is accused of killing a schoolgirl, the horrors of Lily’s past come bubbling to the surface. Lily knows that, whatever the consequences, she has to make things right. She must go back to the events of her childhood and face what happened at the boat house all those years ago.

Can Lily and Flo discover what is hiding in the murky waters of the lake before the killer strikes again?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Death smells of macaroons.

Amelie was slumped over the kitchen table, face in a plate of meringues. Spearmint-green flakes stuck to her left cheek. Her glazed irises remained fixed upon a vase of spiky dahlias, cut and arranged by Grace that very morning. Every tangerine petal was bug and blemish free; my sister was well known locally for her green fingers.

My body sagged and my A level folders fell onto the floor.

‘About time, considering this is all your fault,’ said Grace, appearing from the pantry in a veil of chlorinated steam. She threw a ball of latex at me.

This was really happening.

I peeled on the gloves, unable to stop gawping at Amelie’s violet lips.

‘Would you believe it?’ continued Grace. ‘I ran out of black sacks. Had to nip out and get some more.’ She took a step closer towards me and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Where have you been?’

I reached into my tunic pocket for my phone. Grace cocked her head on one side so that her marmalade curls parted, revealing a tiny sliver of snowy hair against her scalp. She narrowed her eyes for a second then flapped her hands about her temples. ‘Never mind. You’re here now.’ She leaned forward and pecked the top of my forehead. ‘We’ve got lots to be getting on with. You can start by bagging her up. The packing tape is in the top drawer of the dresser.’

Grace wafted out of the room, her strappy sandals clicking across the hallway.

For some reason Amelie wasn’t wearing any shoes.

After I finished, I stared down at my handiwork; a black shiny parcel criss-crossed with brown tape. Grace stood there, leaning on the mop, her toe tapping to some hidden melody within her mind.

‘We’ll put her in the utility room for the mo.’ It was as though she was talking about an old hat-stand that was going to the charity shop.

Author Bio:

Charlie signed with Darkstroke Books in May 2020 and The Cry of the Lake is her debut novel.
Charlie lives in the UK and is very much a morning person. In fact, she likes nothing more than committing a fictional murder before her first coffee of the day. She studied Theology at Worcester College, Oxford and now lives in a Leicestershire village with her husband, three teenagers, golden retriever and tortoise.

She is currently working on her next novel 'The Curse of the Emerald Cross'. Two dead bodies are found down a priest hole within the grounds of Collyhurst Abbey; a sixth-form boarding school for girls run by nuns. One of the bodies belongs to a local drug dealer, the other is the charred remains of Mother Agnes who went missing ten years ago and is found with an emerald cross stuffed inside her jaw. But what are they doing there? DS Ruby Simmonds is sent in, undercover, to investigate. She must puzzle her way through well-dressed scarecrows, bonfires, emerald crosses and fallen oak trees before she breaks the wall of silence and discovers exactly why both the victims were killed and by whom.

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Cat Conundrum (Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries) by Mollie Hunt Book Tour and Giveaway!

Cat Conundrum (Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries) by Mollie Hunt

About Cat Conundrum

Cat Conundrum (Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries) 

Cozy Mystery 7th in Series 

Independently Published (October 29, 2020) 

Number of Pages: 292

Digital ASIN: B08KSK1531

A locked room. A dead man. The cat is the only witness, and he isn’t talking.

Locked-room murders are being committed in sleepy little Long Beach, Washington. As to the killer, Sheriff Matt Boulder has no idea who or why.
   

The sheriff needs help. He calls his friend, animal cop Denny Paris, and gets a surprise bonus: Lynley Cannon, amateur sleuth. This isn’t how the sixty-something cat shelter volunteer envisioned her beach vacation, but when Denny asks her to join him in the search, how can she refuse?
 

While the officers investigate one line of inquiry, Lynley takes a different approach. Her only clues, a cat found at the murder scene and a rich man’s missing wife, lead her thread by thread to a scheme more insidious than fiction.

But who will she tell when she turns out to be the one in the locked room?  

About Mollie Hunt

Native Oregonian Mollie Hunt has always had an affinity for cats, so it was a short step for her to become a cat writer. Mollie is the author of The Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mystery Series, featuring Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip. The 3rd in the series, CAT’S PAW, was a finalist for the 2016 Mystery & Mayhem Book Award. The 5th, CAT CAFÉ, won the World’s Best Cat Litter-ary Award in 2019. The 6th, COSMIC CAT, is the winner of the Cat Writers Association Muse Medallion Award for Best Cat Mystery 2019.

Mollie’s sci-fantasy, CAT SUMMER (Fire Star Press) also won a Muse Medallion, this time for Best Cat Sci-fi Fantasy. CAT SUMMER is the first in her Cat Seasons Tetralogy where cats save the world from an evil older than history—twice! Mollie published a stand-alone mystery, PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP, which delves into murder, obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest Washington. Two of her short cat stories have been published in anthologies. She has a little book of Cat Poems as well.

Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, Willamette Writers, the Cat Writers’ Association, and the Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like Lynley, she is a grateful shelter volunteer.

Author Links You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her 

blogsite: www.lecatts.wordpress.com 

Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt 

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/ 

Fire Star Author Page: http://prairierosepublications.com/authors_2/mollie-hunt\ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7768987.Mollie_Hunt @MollieHuntCats 

  Sign up for Mollie’s Extremely Informal Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/c0fOTn. 

  Purchase Link: Amazon 

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 16 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW

November 16 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  

November 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower - SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – Jane Reads – GUEST POST

November 18 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

November 18 – Author Elena Taylor's Blog – GUEST POST

November 19 – Sneaky the Library Cat's Blog- CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 19 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 19 – Dee-Scoveries - SPOTLIGHT

November 20 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 20 – Socrates Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT

November 21 – Christy's Cozy Corners - REVIEW

November 21 – FUONLYKNEW - SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Maureen's Musings - SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Literary Gold -SPOTLIGHT

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Third Degree by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara, & Charles Salzberg Book Tour and Giveaway!

Third Degree

by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara, & Charles Salzberg

on Tour October 1 - November 30, 2020

Synopsis:

”Cut Loose All Those Who Drag You Down”:

A crooked reporter who fronts for the mob and who’s been married eight times gets a visit from his oldest friend, a disgraced and defrocked shrink. The man is in deep trouble and it’s clear somebody is going to pay with his life.

”Beaned”:

After smuggling cigarettes, maple syrup, and coffee, Aggie discovers a much more sinister plot to exploit what some consider a precious commodity: the trafficking of under-aged children for the purposes of sex.

”The Fifth Column”:

Months after America’s entry into World War II, a young reporter uncovers that the recently disbanded German-American Bund might still be active and is planning a number of dangerous actions on American soil.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime
Published by: Down & Out Books
Publication Date: October 5, 2020
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1-64396-162-0
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt from ”The Fifth Column” by Charles Salzberg:

I met with the managing editor, Bob Sheldon, and then he handed me over to Jack Sanders, the chief of the metro desk. Both nice guys. Both came from the same mold that gave us Dave Barrett and Bob Doering, my Litchfield bosses. I walked out of there thinking I’d done pretty good. As much as I hated to admit it, I think they were impressed with my having gradu- ated from Yale. “We don’t get many Ivy Leaguers wanting to work here,” the managing editor said. “I’d be happy to be the first,” I replied. And that was true.

That afternoon, it was the Herald Tribune’s turn and I didn’t think went quite as well. I could tell they were looking for someone a little older, a little more experienced. And I was sure my nerves showed, not especially what you want when you’re trying to impress someone and convince them you’re the right man for the job.

That morning, as I was leaving for my interviews, my aunt asked what I’d like for dinner. “I’m sure you could use a home- cooked meal,” she said, then started to probe me for my favor- ite foods.
“No, no, no,” I said. “I’m taking you out for dinner...”

“I appreciate it, Jakey, but you really don’t have to do that.” “Are you kidding? I want to do it. And believe it or not, they actually pay me for what I do at the paper. So, I’ve got money burning a hole in my pocket and what better way to spend it than taking my favorite aunt out to dinner. Just think about where you’d like to go. And do not, under any circumstances, make it one of the local luncheonettes. If I report back to my mom that that’s where I took you, she’d disown me.”

“You choose, Jakey. After all, you’re the guest.”

I got back to my aunt’s around 3:30. She was out, so I decided to catch a quick nap. I was beat, having been up before five that morning, meaning I got maybe three fitful hours of sleep. And even the excitement of being back in the big city didn’t keep my eyelids from drooping. And I had no trouble falling asleep, despite the sound of traffic outside the window.

I was awakened by the sound of Aunt Sonia unlocking the door. I looked at the clock. It was 5:30 p.m. I got up, straightened myself out, and staggered into the living room just as she was headed to the kitchen carrying two large paper bags filled with groceries.
“Remember,” I said, “we’re going out for dinner.”

“Are you sure, Jakey,” she said as I followed close at her heels into the kitchen.

“One-hundred percent sure. Here, let me help you put those things away.” She smiled. “You won’t know where to put them,” she said as she placed both bags down on the kitchen table.

“You think with all the time I spent here as a kid I don’t know where the milk, eggs, bread, flour, and everything else goes? And even if I didn’t, I’m a reporter, remember? I think I can figure it out.”

“I’m sorry, Jakey. I guess I can’t get the little kid out of my mind. I’ll put this bag away, you put away the other.”

“So, what’s new around here, Aunt Sonia?” I asked as I ferried eggs and milk to the icebox.

“New?”

“I mean, it’s not the same old Yorkville, is it?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Jakey.”

“You do read the papers, don’t you? We’re at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan. This is Yorkville. It’s crawling with German-Americans, right?”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes, that.”

“I really don’t see much of a difference,” she said, stowing away the last of the groceries in the cabinet next to the stove. I got the feeling this was a subject she was not interested in dis- cussing, which made it all the more appealing to me. Maybe that accounts for my going into journalism.

“There’s got to be a little tension, doesn’t there? I mean, wasn’t there that big Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden a few years ago?”
“I don’t really pay much attention to the news, Jakey. Of course, I read everything your mother sends me that you wrote. But the news, well, it’s very upsetting.” She shook her head back and forth slowly.

“That’s putting it mildly,” I said as I pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table.

“Have you decided where we’re going?” Aunt Sonia said. I could see she was still uncomfortable talking about anything having to do with the war. And then it hit me. Her son, my cousin Bobby, who was several years older than me, pushing thirty, in fact, recently enlisted and was now somewhere in Eu- rope. No wonder she was reluctant to talk about it.

“I thought the Heidelberg might be fun. I remember you taking me there as a kid. It was like one big party. I remember someone was at the piano playing these songs I’d never heard before. And this very strange music...”

She smiled. “Oom-pah music. And you were so cute. You got up and started swaying back and forth.”

My face got warm. “I don’t remember anything of the sort,” I said, embarrassed at the thought of doing something so attention-grabbing.

“You can ask your mother if you don’t believe me. But just let me change and freshen up and we’ll get going.”

***

Excerpt from ”Third Degree” by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. Copyright 2020 by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. Reproduced with permission from Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. All rights reserved.

 

Read an excerpt from ”Cut Loose All Those Who Drag You Down” by Ross Klavan:

There are people who don’t like to hear that I’ve been married eight times, but for myself, I don’t trust anyone who’s only been married once.

Ex-Doctor Solly had only gone to the altar a single time, but he made up for it by having an obsession with hookers and by sleeping with at least three of his patients, which is a very bad thing to do especially for a shrink, hence the “ex” in ex-doctor. Women either can’t get enough of him or they immediately sense they’re standing beside Satan and they take off. But Ex-Doctor Solly has been married this one time and that was to the last woman that I’d married and why she agreed to that, frankly, to this day, I’ve never figured out.

They’d even had a kid together. She’d never wanted kids, not with me. And Ex-Doctor Solly? To him, having a child sort of balanced out with finding a tumor who wanted toys. Maybe she had the kid to get at me. Maybe she married him to get at me. Maybe it had nothing to do with me. But here’s Ex-Doctor Solly, heaving for breath with his skinny ass in my chair and graced by the holy light of Netflix flashing across his face.

“Jesus, gimme a fucking drink already, what are you waiting for, the Messiah?”

“I only have some...”

“Fine. Wait. Hold on, wait a minute.” What’s left of my Denver edible pops open his saucer eyes; he’s turning it round and round and round. “Where’d you get this?”

“Tanya brought it back for me from...”

“Good, great, OK, easy to get more,” as the rest of the cookie is crushed into his
mouth, mercilessly, fingertips pushing, shoving. It all disappears. “ButIstill- needadrinkgivemeanythingyouhave,” he says.

“I can’t understand you, schmuck, your mouth’s so full that...”

“A DRINK!” like he’s chewing on stinging bees, forcing a swallow. “Dick! What kind of friend are you, don’t you see? This is as bad as it gets.”

I come back with his drink, fit it into his hand, and Ex-Doctor Solly then slumps and slouches and leans forward, and if he could have X-rayed the floor, he would have.

“It’s bad, Dick, really, really bad,” he says. “Not bad like all those bads before. This is, like, bad whether we say so or not.”

“I’m not lending you money.”

“Dick. I’ve killed someone.”

“You’ve...”

“NO! Wait! Did I say ‘killed someone?’ Don’t listen to me, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m in a manic state...”

A small plastic box of meds makes rattling sounds in his hand, and he pops two of
something, I don’t know what. Swallows with the scotch, leans back, and blows a breath like he’s doing his own, personal nor’easter. Let me also tell you this: he’s looking worse than lousy. Even worse now that he’s actually stepped into the room. Everything’s settled on him, all of it, settled on him like in his mind he’s sliding awake and open-eyed into the back of an empty hearse—and a cheap one at that.

“It’s not exactly that I killed someone,” Ex-Doctor Solly says. “It’s that I was around someone who was killed. I was with somebody who died. Some people think I’m responsible for this death. Even if I’m not, they’re gonna make me responsible. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

“No,” I say.

“Do you have any more dope?”

In the kitchen, I stare at my one surviving edible lying peacefully in the drawer, and I now hide that away after a weak moment, which means I was toying with the stupid idea of playing “good host.”

I call to Ex-Doctor Solly, “Nothing left, I’ll get you another drink.”

By the time I’m back to the ex-doctor, he’s shivering enough to make the ice in his scotch glass clatter.

“You’re not gonna puke, are you?”

“Probably later,” he says. “I’m mixing scotch with THC and two anti-anxiety medications. OK. I’m all right for...” he looks at his watch, takes his own pulse, nods professionally, and finishes, “...maybe the next three hours and 17 minutes. That’s my educated guess.”

***

Excerpt from ”Third Degree” by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. Copyright 2020 by Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. Reproduced with permission from Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. All rights reserved.

 Author Bio:

Ross Klavan

Ross Klavan has published two other noir novellas with Down and Out: “I Take Care Of Myself In Dreamland” and “Thumpgun Hitched” both in collections with Charles Salzberg and Tim O’Mara. His darkly comic novel “Schmuck” was published by Greenpoint Press in 2014. Klavan’s screenplay for the film Tigerland was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and was directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Colin Farrell. He’s written screenplays for InterMedia, Walden Media, Miramax, Paramount, A&E and TNT. As a performer, Klavan’s voice has been heard in dozens of feature films including “Revolutionary Road,” “Sometimes in April,” “Casino,” “In and Out,” and “You Can Count On Me” as well as in numerous TV and radio commercials. In other lives, he was a reporter and anchorman for WINS Radio, RKO Network and LBC (London, England) and a member of the NYC alternative art group Four Walls. He lives in New York City.

Catch Up With Ross Klavan On: Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

 

Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg, a former magazine journalist and nonfiction book writer, has been nominated for two Shamus Awards, for Swann's Last Song and Second Story Man. He is the author of 5 Henry Swann novels, Devil in the Hole, called one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine, Second Story Man, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, and his novellas Twist of Fate and The Maybrick Affair, appeared in Triple Shot and Three Strikes. His short stories have appeared in Long Island Noir (Akashic), Mystery Tribune and the crime anthology Down to the River (edited by Tim O'Mara). He is a Founding Member of New York Writers Workshop and is on the board of MWA-NY, and PrisonWrites.

Catch Up With Charles Salzberg On:

CharlesSalzberg.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

 

Tim O'Mara

Tim O’Mara is the Barry-nominated (he didn’t win) author of the Raymond Donne mystery novels. He’s also the editor of the short crime story anthology Down to the River, published by Down & Out Books. Along with Smoked and Jammed, Beaned completes the Aggie Trilogy.

Catch Up With Tim O’Mara On: TimOMara.net, Goodreads, BookBub, Twitter, & Facebook!

 

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Giveaway!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Ross Klavan, Tim O'Mara and Charles Salzberg. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card each. The giveaway begins on October 1, 2020 and runs through December 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

 

Blood On Their Hands by Bob Brink Book Spotlight!

 

Title: Blood on Their Hands

Author: Bob Brink

Publisher: TouchPoint Press

ISBN: 978-1-946920-96-6

Number of Pages: 301

Size: 6x9 inches

Bar Coded: Yes

Paperback: $17.99

Kindle: $3.99

Bestselling author Bob Brink has done it again! If you thought Murder in Palm Beach was a thrilling read, you don't want to miss BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS!

Hiram Garbuncle is a veteran criminal defense attorney—as well as a racist, miserly alcoholic. His life revolves around hoarding money, following sports, pursuing sex, drinking—and the prideful practice of law.

Alec Monceau is a black man working to support his daughter’s family in Trinidad. It is 2008, and his car carries an Obama bumper sticker. This political advertisement leads to a superfluous traffic stop and a brutal beating by police.

It goes against Garbuncle’s grain to defend a black man from a charge of violently resisting arrest, but he is so confident of winning that he is negligent in the jury selection, and a mistrial occurs. He then discovers incriminating evidence on the two cops, and his new challenge becomes how to keep himself and his client alive pending a new trial. 

Availability:

     Amazon.com – https://tinyurl.com/y8zj3kq2

     Barnes and Noble – https://tinyurl.com/ybapnlpd

     Touchpoint Press – https://tinyurl.com/ybapnlpd

     Bob Brink website –

http://bobbrinkwriter.com: $14.75 paperback, $1.99 eBook

Bob Brink is a journalist who worked with the Palm Beach Post, The Associated Press in Chicago, Milwaukee Journal, Tampa Tribune, Joliet Herald-News, and Palm Beach Media Group (magazines).His byline has been on thousands of news stories, features, and entertainment reviews.

 His newest book, the legal thriller Blood on Their Hands, was published by TouchPoint Press in May 2020. It followed Murder in Palm Beach: The Homicide That Never Died, a roman a clef about a real, sensational 1976 murder that made headlines for 15 years, and has advanced to the front pages again with a new development in the case. 

The initiating incident in Blood on Their Hands is the brutal police beating of a Black man, and the theme of racial injustice and bigotry runs throughout. 

Brink has won numerous writing accolades and several awards, including three for Palm Beach Illustrated, which won the Best Written Magazine award from the Florida Magazine Association after he became copy chief and writer.

Besides dabbling in short-story writing over the years, Brink immersed himself in learning to play the clarinet and tenor saxophone. He performed many years with an estimable, 65-piece community symphonic band, and played a few professional big band gigs. He relegated music to the back seat after embarking on writing novels.

A product of Michigan and Iowa, Brink has a bachelor’s degree in English and German from Drake University in Des Moines and completed graduate journalism studies at the University of Iowa.

Bob Brink website: http://bobbrinkwriter.com

FAQ with Author Kelli A. Wilkins (Part 1)

www.KelliWilkins.com

Give a warm welcome to romance and horror author Kelli A. Wilkins. Kelli is here to answer a few FAQ and share a look at her historical Western romance, Love, Lies & Redemption.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I’ve always known I was a writer, and I began writing short stories in high school and college. After college, I took a writing class for fun and I learned a lot about the art of creating interesting characters and telling a great story. After being encouraged to submit my work, I decided to pursue writing seriously. Currently, I divide my time between writing novels, novellas, and short stories.

Where do you write?

I write anywhere I can. When the weather is nice, I like to write outside in my back yard. In the winter, I generally write in a comfy chair in the living room.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

When I’m writing and proofreading I play quiet New Age or instrumental music in the background. (I find silence is too oppressive.) When I’m typing up a manuscript and/or making edits, I listen to all kinds of music: rock, pop, or whatever I’m in the mood for. My musical tastes are very diverse.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

Bits and pieces of my characters come from people I know or people I observe. However, no one character is 100% anyone from real life. I was asked about this a lot when I wrote my wrestling romance, A Deceptive Match. Everyone wanted to know which wrestler the hero, Vinnie, was based on. He’s a composite of a lot of different wrestlers (and other people) all rolled into one.

As far as plots go, 99% of them are just things I make up. I have a vivid imagination and my day-to-day life is not as exciting as the worlds I create for my characters.

Describe your process for naming your characters.

Sometimes this is a hard process for me. When characters “introduce” themselves to me (aka “show up” in my head), I usually learn about them and their problem/situation before I’ll get a name. Usually, I’ll get a first initial or a first name only, and then have to discover more about the character before I get his or her whole name and backstory. 

Love, Lies & Redemption is one example. Before I wrote a word, I had the whole opening sequence in my head. I knew Sam and Cassie’s first names, and a bit about their backgrounds, but that was it. Sometimes my characters are a mystery to me until I get to know them better—even though I’m the one creating them!

Real settings or fictional towns?

I set my stories in fictional towns that are loosely based on real places. When I’m writing, I change up the details to make them my own. I can add buildings or rearrange the layout of a town to suit the story. The town of Holloway in Love, Lies & Redemption was my invention, but it was typical of a small prairie town of that time period.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

Writing-wise, it’s probably the fact that I write all of my books in longhand, using paper and pen. After the rough draft is done, I type up the manuscript and edit/revise it as I go. On a personal level, I tend to talk to myself and my cats!

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

People who are nasty and/or obnoxious to other people for no reason.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

I read a lot of books in all genres (mystery, suspense, horror, romance, detective, New Age, non-fiction…) so it’s hard to pick just one. Like my musical tastes, my reading list is very diverse and covers everything from A to Z. Currently I’m reading a lot of John Sandford and Preston & Child books. I buy books at garage sales, flea markets, and library book sales—so I never know what I’ll be reading next.

Ocean or mountains?

Mountains. Definitely. Which is funny because my husband loves the ocean.

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

I’m more of a country girl. I was raised in a small town and I understand small-town life, but sometimes that can be too small. I like being near cities and other places with lots of fun things to do, but I wouldn’t want to live in a big city. I can deal with the hustle and bustle of city life, but it’s nice to retreat to a quiet place. 

And speaking of country girls… here’s a look at my western romance, Love, Lies and Redemption. Set in 1877 Nebraska, this novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.

Love, Lies and Redemption

Shot and left for dead, Sam Hixton stumbles into a general store on the Nebraska prairie and collapses into the arms of Cassie Wilcox.

Cassie’s world is turned upside down when the handsome stranger drops into her life. Sam is another complication she doesn’t need: her business is dying and her trouble with the townspeople is escalating. Yet she’s determined to keep the store open — no matter what the cost.

As Sam recovers from his injuries, he hides the truth about his identity and convinces Cassie to let him work in the store. He’s attracted to her and admires her independent nature, but quickly realizes Cassie’s in way over her head. They fight their growing attraction, and Cassie questions whether she can trust her fragile heart to a mysterious stranger. Will he accept her once he knows about her troubled past?

Cassie resists Sam’s advances and represses her feelings until one fateful night when they give in to their fiery passion. Together, they work out a plan to save the store, but find their efforts are thwarted — and their lives endangered — by the locals. 

Sam’s secret returns to haunt him and pulls him away just when Cassie needs him the most. Will he regain her trust when she learns the truth? 

Cassie has everything invested in the store — can she save it and find true love with Sam before it’s too late?

Order Love, Lies and Redemption here:

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0849LN73Z

 

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/mdzL6W

 

Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/love-lies-and-redemption 

What’s on the horizon for you?

Currently, I’m revising a contemporary paranormal mystery, outlining a new gay romance, and working on several short horror stories.

 

I welcome questions and feedback from readers. I enjoy learning which characters and books they love the best. Readers and other authors can get in touch with me via the contact page on my website (www.KelliWilkins.com) or via these social media links:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins 

 

Facebook Historical Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1703805359922371/

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor 

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/kelliwilkins

Stay tuned to part 2 for more FAQ!

Happy Reading,

Kelli A. Wilkins