Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling Book Tour and Guest Review!

 

Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

Publisher: DX Varos Publishing (November 8, 2022)
Category: General Fiction, Literary Fiction, Family Secrets
Tour Dates November 1-23
ISBN: 978-1955065665
Available in Print and ebook, 479 (or less) pages

 

Indie movie director Sebastian Foster has found his niche making movies based on the award-winning novels written by his estranged mother. However, his latest film, based loosely on the tragic death of his sister as a child, opens up old wounds best left under bandages.

Told in two concurrent timelines, now and when Sebastian was a teen, some twenty years ago in the mid-1990s, this story of learning unknown truths unwinds in the streets of Paris, where Sebastian lived as a teen and where he has returned to make his picture.

Excerpt Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

Filming has only taken up a small portion of the square in front of Notre Dame. When I was a kid in the ‘90s here it used to be different. It wasn’t that big of a deal, leisurely wandering, reading, having a cup of coffee or filming a major motion picture in front of the Gothic cathedral. It had been around for 850 years, and people were sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Tourists came and pointed up at the carved stone sculptures. Goth kids begrudgingly partaking in family vacations with their stockbroker parents took pensive, still shots of the gargoyles. There was always a line to walk the many stairs to the bell tower, to reenact in whatever way possible that story of a beautiful gypsy and a grotesquely deformed but loyal man. 

But now, a year after the fire, going to Notre Dame is not the same. It’s been a year since the fire and if we block off enough space we won’t get the different kinds of tourists, the men and women in mourning comparing stills of the cathedral in its former glory (and man was it glorious). They march in front of it shaking their heads, they gaze at their phones reading an article on the restoration or sadly stare into the void that is the imitation metal replica they got at the tourist shop just across the street that now sells laminated copies of the article in La Monde from the day after the fire.

I remember staring at the television as the fire raged. It was like I was waiting for a war to end. When the fire at Notre Dame started, I thought they could contain it. I refreshed the news on my phone every five seconds to see just how bad it got. I looked at that old stone building, the browning walls, the intricately carved stone sculpture and thought it couldn’t fall. We couldn’t lose it. The hubris of those first few moments was like when I came home to see my mother in tears, everyone frantic about a fire and I was sure, “Not Lucy. It’s not Lucy.” Such hubris is always punished.

The scene we’re filming today is just a few shots of the mother and the kids in front of Notre Dame. At the end of the scene the little girl lets go of a bunch of balloons. All it did was capture a day, an afternoon, only a couple of hours, but I remember that day in my own life and my mother captured so much of it. I can only hope to do the same. She made one change. There were pigeons in real life, not just balloons. My mother took the pigeons out and kept the balloons but there were both in real life. My sister loved scattering flocks of pigeons in the street.

Shot of: My mother in a yellow dress standing in front of Notre Dame like she had grown wings in the shape of the cathedral. Shot of: Lucy running around her, faster and faster. Shot of: Lucy stops, grabs my mother’s legs and hugs her. Shot of: Lucy scattering a wave of pigeons as she carries a bouquet of balloons.

The view of Notre Dame:

Shot of: Any postcard of this part of the city.

Shot of: the three of us walking the few blocks to Notre Dame. Shot of: Lucy running ahead and my mother struggling to keep up. Shot of: My sister chasing pigeons with a bundle of multi-colored balloons.

Then my mother turned that day into a scene in her novel and I’m about to film it. It’s a year after that fateful fire and we’re right in front of Notre Dame. A year later I have to find a way to get the shot, a shot that erases the fire blackened spires, using camera angles and lighting and very minimal CGI (not only will it look too fake, but we don’t have the budget). I have to go back in time, take that fire away and pretend it never happened.

I’m selling a fantasy here, not life as we know it.

I approach the balloon handler, who is marked in the script simply as Balloon Guy. We expected to do at least five takes of this scene, where the main character’s seven-year-old daughter (she’s seven, not five, in the book) grabs a bunch of balloons from a seller near Notre Dame and lets them go. The plot doesn’t depend on this scene, but it sets a tone. The way those balloons gather and then rocket into the air, the way they float just so…it’s the entire mood right there. I’m sure a shot of it will go in the title sequence.

I remember that day from real life.

Shot of: “Bastian, Bastian, this is Pigeon-land! See! I’m queen of the pigeons!” Shot of: My sister running through a flock of birds as they scatter into the sky like water splashed in a puddle.

 When my mother wrote her book, she didn’t mention the pigeons. She snuffed them out and made it all about balloons. In the book my mother wrote the balloons were different colors, “like you’d get at the circus in the 1950s,” is how she put it. But now, looking at the scene, the darkened stones of the shell of Notre Dame, the way Gothic sculpture protrudes from this place, contrasted with the gray sky, red is the best color. And so, all the balloons are red. An homage to French New Wave Cinema is what I said to my assistant director, Freddy. They’re all obsessed with Francois Truffaut. Not all colors, just red, like that awning my sister loved. This is the first, the only thing, I’m willing to change about my mother’s story for the sake of the film.

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Guest Review by Laura

'Between Before and After,' by Jessica Stilling is a complex, well thought out, mind-bender of a novel that will leave any reader with a sense of wonder at the story they've just been told. I have never read anything from this author before, so I was unsure of what I was getting into when I started this, but boy did I enjoy it once I started reading!

This novel is a killer joy ride, that takes you from 1994 all the way to present day with a narrative that slowly unfolds itself as you read along. The question the narrative asks is this: “What exactly happened that day in 1994 when a young girl named Lucy Foster was killed in a tragic fire?” The answer is explained over the course of the novel and wraps up in a way that left me both satisfied and wanting to hear more.

The main character of the novel, Sebastian Foster is a director of films who mostly works on small, low-budget Indie pieces. Sebastian has seen some pretty good success in his field. He has won some awards and enough money to continue doing what he loves, but the project that he is working on now is bound to be his most difficult yet.

Temporarily titled, 'The Paris Project,' Sebastian's new film is about the fire that took the life of his five-year-old sister, Lucy and the summer that led up to that day. Using two storylines, one in current day and one in 1994, Stilling tells the story of the fire in stunning detail, leaving nothing out and ending with a finish that I never saw coming.

With, 'Between Before and After,' Jessica Stilling crafts a novel that is sure to be one of the best releases of the year. 

Praise for Jessica Stilling

Bronx Council of the Arts Chapter One Award for The Beekeeper’s Daughter

“Stilling’s take on this familiar tale is provocative and poignant, rich with emotion and powerfully described, laced with profound contemplation about dying too soon and growing up too quickly.”- Publisher’s Weekly review of Betwixt and Between

“At turns happy and unbearably sad, Betwixt and Between is a beautifully realized re-imagining of a classic story that will enchant readers as the original did.”- Booklist starred review of Betwixt and Between

“A suspenseful read. Jessica Stilling sets the story among a backdrop of stunning scenes of Greece described as being almost visceral with a unique compilation of romance, mystery, and self-inspection. A compelling story that comes to life off the page.”-San Francisco Book Review of the Weary God of Ancient Travelers

Jessica Stilling has written three works of literary fiction, Betwixt and Between, The Beekeeper’s Daughter, and The Weary God of Ancient Travelers. She also wrote poetry and short fiction for various literary journals.

Her articles have appeared in Ms. Magazine, Bust Magazine and she writes extensively for The Writer Magazine. She has taught Creative Writing in both high school and university. She also publishes young adult fantasy under the pen name JM Stephen.

Jessica loves Virginia Woolf, very long walks, and currently lives in southern Vermont where she writes for the very local newspaper, The Deerfield Valley News.

Website: https://www.jessicastilling.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaStilling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.sticklor

Preorder Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

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Giveaway Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 24, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 1 Kickoff & Interview

Bookgirl Amazon & Goodreads Nov 2 Review

Lu Ann Rockin Book Reviews Nov 4 Excerpt

Sal Bound 4 Escape Nov 8 Guest Review

Gracie Goodreads Nov 9 Review

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Nora StoreyBook Reviews Nov 14 Guest Review & Excerpt

Denise Amazon & Goodreads Nov 16 Review

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Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews Nov 21 Guest Review & Excerpt

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Bee Book Pleasures Nov 23 Review

Bratva Angel by @sabinebarclayauthor Reveal/Preorder! #sabinebarclay #BratvaAngel #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

Bratva Angel
Sabine Barclay

(The Ivankov Brotherhood, #5)
Published by: Oliver Heber Books
Publication date: December 13th, 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Mafia, Romance

Our worlds couldn’t be further apart…

She’s light. I’m dark. She’s an angel. I’m a devil.

I’ll never walk away from my life with the bratva.

My only choice is to bring her in.

She’s mine and always will be.

Maybe she doesn’t know we’re soulmates yet, but I have since we met.

I’ll do anything to protect her. No one’s foolish enough to stop me.

And if they are…

I’ll take her to the limits of what she thinks she can handle, then I’ll please her any way she wants.

Bratva Angel is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains extra-steamy scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. This is book five in The Ivankov Brotherhood, a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night.

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Sabine Barclay, a nom de plume also writing Historical Romance as Celeste Barclay, lives near the Southern California coast with her husband and sons. Growing up in the Midwest, Sabine enjoyed spending as much time in and on the water as she could. Now she lives near the beach. She's an avid swimmer, a hopeful future surfer, and a former rower. Before becoming a full-time author, Sabine was a Social Studies and English teacher. She holds degrees in International Affairs (BA), Secondary Social Science (MAT), and Political Management (MPS). She channels that knowledge into creating engrossing contemporary romances that will make your toes curl and your granny blush.

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Cleopatra's Vendetta by Avanti Centrae Review! #CleopatrasVendetta #NetGalley

 

Royal secrets. Epic lies. 
This "dangerous" and controversial standalone thriller from international bestselling VanOps author Avanti Centrae is a fast-paced bombshell of a story about truth and courage.

Born a goddess, Cleopatra died a prisoner. But the cobra's deadly kiss was just the beginning...
​
Bari, Italy, present day. Think tank Special Ops leader Timothy Stryker and his wife Angie, a self-made CEO, haven’t exactly been seeing eye-to-eye. They take a much-needed Italian holiday, but it comes to a shocking end when Angie and their daughter are kidnapped.
 
Still raw from the death of their infant son, Stryker is desperate to rescue Angie and reconcile their differences. As he works to locate the captors’ lair, he discovers the kidnappers are behind a string of recent assassinations and attempting another high-profile hit in only seven days. But when he learns their plans for his only remaining child, the scab on his heart tears open and blood begins to spill.
 
Working from inside her brutal captors’ high-security compound, Angie realizes the cabal is hiding an ancient secret using modern propaganda techniques. And as Stryker races hitmen across India, Egypt, and Greece to thwart the next assassination and save his family, he has to connect a series of deadly dots tracing all the way back to the time of Cleopatra. Ultimately, the estranged pair must shake the deeply-buried pillars of western civilization to save their four-year-old daughter from an unspeakable fate.
 
Fascinating, provocative, original, and timely, Cleopatra's Vendetta is a sizzling novel that paints a disturbing picture of some of the most intricate issues that have plagued humanity’s past…challenges that color our days and provide the blueprint for our future.

If you like intriguing historical conspiracies, non-stop action, and razor-sharp characters, you’ll love the latest mesmerizing mission from Avanti Centrae.

#1 International bestselling author who blends intrigue, history, science, and mystery into pulse-pounding action thrillers


Avanti Centrae always wanted to be a writer. Her father served as a U.S. marine corporal in Okinawa, gathering military intelligence during the first decade after the Korean War and her mom was a teacher who loved antiques. She grew up haunting silver bookmobiles in the Midwest but her practical family urged her to get a degree in computer technology, which she did. Eventually, she became a Silicon Valley IT executive, but her heart wasn’t in it. Before her hair began to turn gray, she had a health scare, which forced her to face her own mortality. At the top of the bucket list was becoming a bestselling author. She decided to break free of the golden handcuffs to pursue her dream. After years of drafting, editing, and finding an agent and publisher, her debut, VanOps: The Lost Power, released as an instant Barnes and Noble Nook bestseller. It went on to win three literary awards. Solstice Shadows, VanOps #2 quickly became a #1 Amazon bestseller in the U.S. and Canada, before winning a bronze medal at the Readers' Favorite book awards and nabbing the Chanticleer Global Thrillers Genre Grand Prize. The Doomsday Medallion won Best Political Thriller in the annual BestThrillers.com contest, an Honorable Mention at the Southern California Book Awards, was a quarterfinalist in the Publisher's Weekly Booklife contest, and was a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards. It also hit the Top 100 in the Canadian and Australian Amazon Kindle stores. Her trademark blend of intrigue, history, science, and mystery has been compared to that of James Rollins, Steve Berry, Dan Brown, and Clive Cussler. When not travelling the world or hiking in the Sierra mountains, she’s writing her next breathtaking thriller in Northern California, helped by her family and distracted by her German shepherds.

https://www.avanticentrae.com/

My Thoughts

The story starts off with Cleopatra awaiting her fate at the hands of Octavian. Before her end she learns of a secret organization called the ons of Adam. Prior to her death she leaves a 'treasure' that only she knows where it is as does her faithful servant that hides it. When she dies, he dies with her, so the fate of the treasure is lost forever. Or is it?

Three American women and two children are kidnapped while on vacation while in a bar in Bari, Italy. This starts the adventure in the story, Angie, one of the kidnapped women is the wife of Special Ops Timothy Stryker. He needs to find his wife and daughter, Harper before they are killed. 

While doing this he learns that everything is dependent on finding the Cleopatra treasure and eradicating the sons of Adam. He and his team travel to Egypt, India and the Ionian Islands to follow the clues. 

This story is an exciting edition to the genre, great characters, a plot that will keep you thinking about the book long after you finish. I really enjoyed it, and it was a fast read. I love a great mystery/thriller, and this was a fun read!

5 stars for sure!

I received a copy for review purposes only.

Silence Says the Most: An Olivia Penn Mystery by Kathleen Bailey Book Tour!

 

About Silence Says the Most

 

Silence Says the Most: An Olivia Penn Mystery 

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series 

Setting - Apple Station, Virginia (in the Shenandoah Valley) 

Rhino Publishing LLC (October 25, 2022) 

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages 

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 195627006X 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1956270068 

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BGFRZDGK

A heartwarming cozy mystery that celebrates the connections of friends and family with a Gilmore Girls vibe.

Five days before Halloween, fall turns frightful in Apple Station when a child’s drawing entangles Olivia in a murder at a park lake.

Olivia’s hometown is gearing up for its annual Halloween festival, and pumpkins, corn mazes, and autumn vibes are everywhere. All is cozy in the crisp fall air as excitement builds for the costume parade on Friday. A casual Monday lakeside picnic lunch with her forever friend, though, sets off a chain of events that catches Olivia in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When a body is discovered amid an algae bloom under mysterious circumstances, everyone points fingers, but one among them is not telling the truth. The only apparent witness to the crime is a child who doesn’t speak. Motives abound, suspects are plenty, and it’s up to Olivia to discover why the child has implicated her as the key to solving the murder.

Can Olivia unmask the killer before the endangered evidence vanishes, and she becomes the next victim?

If you like small town, cozy mysteries with heart and humor, a charming cast of characters, and a twisty plot that celebrates the connections of friends and family, you’ll love Silence Says the Most, the second book in The Olivia Penn Mystery Series.

Kathleen Bailey is the author of The Olivia Penn Mystery Series. She writes mysteries with heart and humor that keep to the traditional and cozy sides of crime. Kathleen has degrees in English, psychology, and physical therapy. She previously worked as a pediatric physical therapist for over twenty years with children who have special needs. She now spends her days obsessively plotting and sleuthing in Virginia where she lives with her husband and adorable feline fur baby. When she is not incognito, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and the James River Writers.

Author Links 

  Webpage: https://kathleenbaileyauthor.com/ 

  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/kathleenbailey 

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

  Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathleen-bailey

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT 

November 9 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 10 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

November 11 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

November 12 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT

November 12 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

November 13 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

November 14 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

November 15 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

November 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 18 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

November 19 – Just One More Paragraph – REVIEW

November 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

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Christmas Spirits by Dakota Star Book Blitz! #ChristmasSpirits #DakotaStar @laft100 #XpressoTours⁣ #XpressoTours⁣

 

Christmas Spirits
Dakota Star

Publication date: November 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Holiday, Romance, Thriller

Ash has always felt at home in the small town of Humble, Connecticut, especially for the holidays. After her husband’s death, she never thought she’d love again, but then Cole Whelan arrived. His good looks and haunted hazel eyes were impossible to ignore, and their passion put an end to her simple, ordered life. This year, she can’t wait to celebrate with hot chocolate, a tree to decorate, and presents, lots of presents.

But when Ash stumbles into a cave and a corpse during a run, Christmas turns into crisis. There’s a killer on the hunt, and she’s his next target. With the snow falling, Ash hosting for the holidays, and another mysterious murder, will all hope of holiday cheer be trashed like old wrapping paper?

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Only 99¢ for a limited time!

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SNEAK PEEK:

She jogged, warming up along the start of the trail, and then increased the tempo. Maple, beech, and birch lined the singletrack, the rough texture and bark color the only indication of the different species of deciduous trees.

Ash sped up, tightening her ponytail in the elastic; a few long, wayward curls drooped down her back. She felt the heat build under her thermal top and vest as her arms and legs pumped. Rambo kept pace.

I need this run. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. In and out. Repeat.

The exercise opened her lungs and stretched lean, athletic limbs until the energy flowing became liquid fire. Invigorated, she picked up the pace again.

Ash saw the cave, her two-mile marker and turnabout point. Surveying the rocky landscape, she gulped air before the return trip. She wiped the sweat from her brow and then ran her damp hands along her black spandex leggings.

Turning back, Rambo refused to follow. He barked and pulled on the leash. His small body was stiff, the fur on his back straight up. He pulled her toward the cave.

“Come on Rambo, let’s go home.” Ash shivered and pulled on the leash.

The dog refused to yield.
“Fine.” She stumbled, realizing her shoe hated her and even with a double knot had come untied again. She bent to retie the laces, double knotting the strings, pulling them tight with vengeance. Standing, Ash hiked the rocky precipice, the dog pulling ahead. The final steps to the cave coalesced along a dirt and twig laden path. The cliff adjacent to her was a high point on the trail, but she had no plans to scale it.

Large rock outcrops created a dark cave entrance shaped like a mouth mid scream. Rambo barked and lunged.

Ash had heard stories of people living in or visiting these caves, from historic figures to modern day squatters. She found it easy to envision a camper coming to one before dark, starting a small fire with kindling, preparing a meal, and enjoying the quiet of nature. At least it was possible to imagine during the warmer months. No one would want to be out here in winter, even if the daytime temperature had topped forty degrees.

Rambo pulled her inside the cave. Instantly claustrophobic, the interior narrowed to a pinpoint at the end. Ash ducked as she made her way under the formation’s schist and gneiss slabs. Cold engulfed her. Rich, dark rock mosaics greeted her from the recesses. Crouching slightly, she scurried forward. “What the heck?” A horrid stench stung her nose A lump rose from the ground and in her throat. Something had died here. Ash pulled out her phone, turned on the flashlight, aimed toward the misshapen entity, and gasped. In the far corner—a body.

Dakota Star lives in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters. Both her daughters have finished college and moved away so her dogs, cats, and retired horse now keep her busy. When not outside hiking or horseback riding, she loves to read and travel.

She has worked as an editor, a freelance writer for local newspapers, and an educator at local environmental non-profits like aquariums and The National Audubon Society.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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God's Gift by Auburn C. Piper New Release Blitz! @ninestarpress @indigomarketingdesign #LGBTQIA+

 

Title:  God's Gift

Author: Auburn C. Piper

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 11/15/2022

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 55750

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, alpha males, athlete, coming of age, coming out, revenge, sports

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Robert Lee, a high school football star, is treated like a god in his small town as long as he keeps winning and bringing championships.

Lee has his sights set on breaking a sacred football record and all systems are ‘go’ until a new student, Justin, moves into town and turns his world upside down.

A simple kiss has his once-perfect life shattered into a million pieces.

Excerpt

God’s Gift
Auburn C. Piper © 2022
All Rights Reserved

Gods and Monsters

I am a God.

My kingdom is Friday Night, and it spans fifty-by-one-hundred yards. In that space, I perform miracles and astound my following, who are legion. Game night fanatics awash in a sea of black-and-white streamers, pom-poms, and foam fingers. Zealots whose church is a stadium, who worship a scoreboard. They scream for points and lust for victory. They bring me offerings: free fill-ups at the Gas & Go, free food at the cafes and Dairy Queen, straight As on all my report cards. The followers of Friday Night tell me I’m strong and fast and smart. They say I’m the best they’ve ever seen, and there’s no limit to my talent. They worship me, want to be me, parents want their kids to grow up just like me. Their babies wear tiny football jerseys with my number on them. Lucky number 13. They video my games, post highlights on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Thousands hit those vids, including college coaches from across the nation. It’s not arrogance. It’s fact. The God’s gospel.

I can part troubled seas and walk on water.

And to keep the faithful happy, all I have to do is win.

And that’s what I do. It’s all I know how to do.

Because I am a God.

A Friday Night God.

*

I never used to keep track of my stats during a game. It used to be all about the team. Eyeballin’ your numbers isn’t cool. But I know I have more than fifty pass attempts already and maybe close to five hundred yards, maybe more. Some may think that’s a good game. Some may think that’s a helluva game! But to the football learned, it means something is up; there’s a reason you’re throwing so many passes. Our reason? We have no defense, and my offensive line is worthless. Yeah, I know I got a lot of numbers up, but I’m bleeding and hurting like hell too. I look at the faces around me in the huddle. They’re young kids now, mostly freshman and sophomores, all of them wide-eyed and full of fear and fire, praying they won’t screw up too much. I look up at the scoreboard, 62–42. That’s a big score, and there’s only eighteen seconds left. No, they haven’t screwed it up too much. The blocking might have been better, maybe a lot better, but I guess these boys have done all right for themselves, at least offensively. Defensively, well, I don’t worry about that too much. I haven’t played on defense since my freshman year. Defense is the coach’s worry.

“All right! All right! Everybody pull it in! Pull it in close, time-out’s almost over!” I yell at them. The youngbloods gather close, surrounding me, waiting for the words that will inspire them, fill their hearts with fury.

“OK, now, y’all stand up straight while I do this.” I bend over in the center of the huddle and heave. Hot, frothy puke spews out of my mouth and through my face mask. I feel better.

Someone says, “Shee-itt!”

I’ve got liquid goo hanging from my face mask and oozing down the front of my bloodstained white jersey, and the faces looking at me now are full of wide-eyed terror. No worry. I always chunk at least once before or during a game. If I didn’t toss my guts, I’d worry.

“Jesus, guys. Don’t shit your pants. Remember, Gatorade is thirst aid. It’s for that deep-down body thirst,” I say.

No one laughs.

If Hollis were here, he would laugh. But Hollis isn’t here. Man-mountain Hollis Strahan—our 300-pound, all-world right tackle and my best friend—is on the sideline nursing a high-ankle sprain and didn’t even dress for the game. Big Hol, that’s what everybody calls him, is pure mean and loves to make people hurt on and off the field, more so off. In a street fight there are no refs and no rules, and Hol never plays by the rules. I’ve seen him make people bleed before, hammer a guy so hard blood spurts out of all his holes. I’ve seen him stand over ’em, too, laughing and smiling after he’d beat them down, then spit on ’em or call their momma a bad name. But Hollis is my boy, best friend since way before we were in school. He keeps me safe in the pocket. When Hol is playing, I never have to worry about getting blindsided and broken.

It’d been a game-time decision to hold Hollis out. Coach Steele told the reporters it wasn’t necessary for him to play, made a big deal about him resting up for the next game. Fine with me. The team we’re playing, the Paducah Dragons, are in a down year anyway. They’re 2–6 and at the bottom of our district. Going up against us, the mighty Plains Plainsmen, state champs three years running, they didn’t have a chance in hell on paper. But like I always say, the game ain’t played on paper, it’s played between the hash marks. To be honest with you, someone else said that. I just like repeating it.

The Drags are a small team but fast, and they came up with a good game plan. They’d let us score as much as we wanted, but they make us bleed for every point. That’s no lie. They’ve been blitzing all night and laying their D-backs off deep. Every damn play there’s been a linebacker or a safety in my face. And without Hollis watching my blind side, it’s been puredee hurtin’ hell. I’ve already been sacked more tonight than I have all season, and I’ve been pretty much on my ass after every throw. But I’m making them pay too. Our receivers are quick as shit and open on almost every play. I hit my boys on ropes. Up and down the field we go, scoring at will. After the first quarter, when Coach Steele understood what their game plan was, he didn’t even bother with trying to run the ball to keep ’em honest. He told me, “Robert Lee, light ’em up.” Again, I never keep stats, but I know I’m having a big night. Even if I hurt like a sum’bitch.

As bad as their defense is, their offense ain’t too shabby. They’re pretty fast, maybe as fast as us, and they have this short Mexican kid for a quarterback who can run rings around lightning and put a BB through a pinhole at fifty yards. Their receivers are beating our secondary almost as bad as we’re beating theirs, and “shorty” is having a career night. But I look up at the clock and see only eighteen seconds left. Speedy’s big night is almost over.

I look at my boys, shake my head. Too damn young!

I say, “How the hell that dumbass reporter picked us to win state after graduating six seniors is beyond me. You boys ain’t nothin’ but babies. Hell, we may be able to score a hundred points, but what good is it when the damn defense gives up two hundred? Eventually, somebody’s gonna come up with a defense that’ll stop us. If I know that for a fact, you know every coach in 3A ball knows it!”

I wonder if what I’m saying is even getting through or if they understand the forces at work here. Nah, ’course they don’t. They’re all dumb jocks, and this game, this season, well, it’s a tangled web, a battle of wills and wants. The Plainsmen machine I’d led for the last three years is gone. This squad, this version of the mighty, is nothing but a shadow of those teams. Those were teams of destiny—three state titles, no one even coming close to us. The perfect pieces and the perfect players that only come along once in a lifetime. No, this isn’t the same team, but I figure it can still be a team of destiny, only a different kind of destiny. A personal kind. This team is a machine, but it’s my machine. I mentioned I never kept stats, well, I didn’t, at least not until this year.

I know damn well there isn’t a chance in hell we’re going all the way. There’s not enough experience, not enough senior vets. Hell, that was obvious to me at the beginning of the season. No, this year is going to be all about me. It’s time to drop my pants and show people the shine on my ass. To show all those recruiters from those big schools this quarterback from a one-horse town can move and throw with the best of ’em. To do that, I’ve got to come up with a big one. I have to throw up a number so huge those big schools can’t possibly ignore me.

The national single-season passing record.

Yeah, that’s my big fish. My marlin. It’s what this season is all about.

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Auburn Piper is an author from rural Paducah, Texas. His first novel is the self-published GOTHA.

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Death on a Winter Stroll: A Merry Folger Christmas Mystery, A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery (Book 7) by Francine Mathews Book Tour!

• • Title: Death on a Winter Stroll: A Merry Folger Christmas Mystery 

  • Series: A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery (Book 7)

  • Author: Francine Mathews

  • Genre: Traditional Detective Mystery, Holiday Reading 

  • Publisher: ‎Soho Crime (November 1, 2022)

  • Length: (288) pages

  • Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

  • ISBN: 978-1641292740

  Tour Dates: November 14 – December 19, 2022

• 
  

• 

  
  

  No-nonsense Nantucket detective Merry Folger grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and two murders as the island is overtaken by Hollywood stars and DC suits.
  
  Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger is acutely conscious of the stress COVID-19 has placed on the community she loves. Although the island has proved a refuge for many during the pandemic, the cost to Nantucket has been high. Merry hopes that the Christmas Stroll, one of Nantucket’s favorite traditions, in which Main Street is transformed into a winter wonderland, will lift the island’s spirits. But the arrival of a large-scale TV production, and the Secretary of State and her family, complicates matters significantly.
   
  The TV shoot is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the Secretary’s troubled stepson keeps shaking off his security detail to visit a dilapidated house near conservation land, where an intriguing recluse guards secrets of her own. With all parties overly conscious of spending too much time in the public eye and secrets swirling around both camps, it is difficult to parse what behavior is suspicious or not—until the bodies turn up.
   
  Now, it’s up to Merry and Detective Howie Seitz to find a connection between two seemingly unconnected murders and catch the killer. But when everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors, how can Merry and Howie tell fact from fiction?
   
  This latest installment in critically acclaimed author Francine Mathews’ Merry Folger series is an immersive escape to festive Nantucket, a poignant exploration of grief as a result of parental absence, and a delicious new mystery to keep you guessing.
  
  

• ADVANCE PRAISE

  • “This fast-moving mystery packs in a lot, but never too much, and will work for fans of coming-of-age stories, police procedurals, and romance.” —First Clue

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  • “Fresh, well-wrought prose brings the setting of Nantucket to life. Mathews consistently entertains.” —Publishers Weekly

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  • “Christmas and death come to Nantucket . . . Plenty of fascinating characters and myriad motives make for an exciting read.” —Kirkus Reviews 

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  “Mathews consistently places relationships at the forefront of her mysteries, and Merry's unique blend of tenacity and humanity makes her a heroine to root for.”—USA Today bestselling author Karen Odden, author of the Inspector Corravan mysteries

• Death on a Winter Stroll Excerpt

  
  

  One of the perks of being police chief was the ringside seat Merry Folger commanded for certain critical moments. For instance, this Saturday morning—the first weekend in December, with the sun high in the sky and a brisk, cold wind driving whitecaps across the water as a Coast Guard cutter sailed toward Straight Wharf. 

  
  

  Her white SUV with the distinctive navy and gray police markings was parked where no cars were allowed, within the Christmas Market barricades that blocked the wharf’s access to town. She and Peter were lounging against the bumper in their most festive winter gear. Merry’s father, John, was inside the car staying warm. They were waiting for Santa Claus to dock. 

  
  

  Nearby was the Town Crier and some of the town’s Select- persons who would escort the Man in Red to his island sleigh, a vintage firetruck owned by the Nantucket Hotel. Santa would stand in the back, waving, while the Town Crier walked ahead, ringing his bell, announcing the glad tidings of great joy. 

  
  

  “Look at that guy,” Peter muttered in her ear as a man roughly their age walked by, natty in sunglasses, a suit, and a knotted Stroll scarf. Nothing abnormal about that, except that the suit had red and green stripes with white death’s-heads and fists stamped all over it. 

  
  

  “Kind of like North-Pole-meets-Venice-Beach-tattoo-parlor,” Merry suggested. “You prefer the blonde, I take it?” 

  
  

  The blonde wore a minidress covered in hot pink sequins and thigh-high boots made of fake mink. She had a jingle bell on each boob. 

  
  

  Every third person in the crowd—and there were about ten thousand people in town, jockeying for the best viewing spots— was dressed in ways bizarre or wonderful. The color and noise and exuberance were thrilling after the cheerless quarantine holidays, and Merry was grinning helplessly. She glanced over her shoulder and gave her dad a thumbs-up. John was drinking coffee laced with peppermint schnapps in his passenger seat. He saluted her with his mug. 

  
  

  The sight of him sitting alone jolted her suddenly, as it did whenever she looked for her grandfather, Ralph Waldo Folger, and remembered he’s gone now. The freshness of loss stunned her each time like a blow to the face. 

  
  

  Merry had known her eighty-nine-year-old grandfather was vulnerable in the pandemic. She and John had talked by phone daily about ways to keep Ralph safe. As a frontline worker exposed for the duration to a germ-laden public, Merry had stayed scrupulously away from her childhood home on Tattle Court throughout the first waves of sickness. Peter arranged for grocery deliveries twice a week and dropped supplies from Marine Home at John’s front door. And Ralph was healthy for nearly a year: social distancing on his daily walks, wearing a mask when he ventured into town. He contracted Covid nine days before he was scheduled for his first vaccine. 

  
  

  Nantucket Cottage Hospital had five ventilators; Ralph never made it to one of them. Sickening on a Friday, he was delirious by Sunday and medevacked to Boston in the wee hours of Monday. Intubated, he lingered in a medically induced coma for four days. 

  
  

  What dropped Merry to the floor when they got the news, sobbing and hugging her knees as though she’d been sucker punched, was the fact that her careful distance hadn’t mattered a darn. Ralph was alone when he died. And she hadn’t seen or touched him for a year before that. Of all the pandemic’s cruelties, this was the coldest. 

  
  

  Her father thrust open the car door and stepped out to the paving beside her. “Boat’s in,” he said. 

  
  

  She linked her arm through his as the cutter drew along- side. A couple of ensigns jumped off with sheets in their hands and moored the steel-gray vessel to the wharf’s stanchions. The Town Crier hailed the boat, Santa waved, horns blared, the drum corps drummed. Merry and Peter and John whooped along with everyone else. Despite the logistics and the responsibilities, she was nominally handling, despite her underlying grief, joy shot through Merry as she fell into step behind the Selectpersons and jauntered after Santa’s firetruck. For the length of Main Street at least, she was uncomplicatedly happy. 

  
  

  It felt like the whole island celebrated with her. 

  
  

  Chapter 10, pg. 69-71

  
  

  From Death on a Winter Stroll © 2022, Francine Mathews, published by Soho Crime

Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written thirty books, including six previous novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, Death on Nantucket, and Death on Tuckernuck) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the pen name Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

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