Archive for July 2, 2016

Welcome to the release event for Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander! This is the fourth book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and releases June 28th by St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it from your local bookshop or order a signed copy from the authors local bookshop.

Guest Post: Baking Behind the Scenes

Welcome to Torte, where the bread is always served warm with a pat of hand-churned butter, and a side of love. Torte, the artisan family bakeshop in my culinary mystery series, is a gathering place for the community. Locals and tourists stop in for fresh raspberry scones, slices of decadent double chocolate cake, and to talk about all the gossip and news around town. I love getting to create a comforting and welcoming bakeshop and writing about food. However, I’m not a trained pastry chef which means that I spend a lot of time visiting real bakeries and interviewing professional chefs. It’s a rough job, I know.

I thought it would be fun to give you a taste (pun intended) of the research that goes into learning the inner workings of the culinary world.

For starters I think about the actual space. Because Torte is located in Ashland, Oregon, home of the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it has to have a touch of Shakespeare and whimsy. It’s painted cheery red and teal blue with corrugated metal siding, bistro tables, and a chalkboard menu. One of my bakery inspirations is a place called Cake Happy in Camas, Washington. It’s a family run shop with gorgeous window displays, a rustic elegant vibe, and plenty of cozy couches to curl up with a red velvet cupcake and steaming hot latte.

Another thing that I do when I’m working on a book is interview pastry chefs. I’ve learned so many tricks of the trade, quick tips for baking, and even gotten a few new ideas on how to bump someone off in a bakeshop from chatting with chefs. I’ve been so impressed to watch how they orchestrate a blur of staff, a frenzy of chopping knives, and plate after plate of styled food. One of the most amazing experiences that I’ve had behind the scenes in a professional kitchen was at the NW Culinary Institute where I spent an evening watching chefs-in-training at work as they prepared a six course meal that almost too pretty to eat and tasted even better.

Speaking of taste, I can’t even begin to count how many pastries and baked goods I’ve sampled in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining, but my waistline might be in trouble. Whenever I travel I ask for recommendations on the best places to score a sweet eat in town. I’ve never been disappointed in my search and I try to find unusual flavor combinations and exotic delicacies when I’m exploring a new place, some of which have even found their way into the pages of the books. One standout tasting memory was at the dessert buffet in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I still dream of the miles of cakes, macaroons, chocolate dipped strawberries, and petit fours. Yum!

Lastly, one of the most rewarding and humbling things about writing the series has been connecting with local bakers. They have welcomed me into their kitchens, championed the books, and created stunning masterpieces like this cakescape from the book release party for the third book in the series, On Thin Icing. My local pastry muse is Kristina with Tier Catering who treated the audience to a hands-on icing demonstration and a tutorial on the best way to cut a cake. Seriously, I think I have the best job ever!

Here’s to all the bakers—whether in your home kitchen or in a 5-star restaurant—I hope you enjoy my fictional bakeshop in Caught Bread Handed.

Happy Baking!

~Ellie

About the Book:
Welcome to Torte—a friendly, small-town family bakeshop where the oven is heating up as high as the body count…

Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos’s return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there’s no rest for the weary… especially when murder is thrown into the mix.

When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens. Jules knows that there was bad blood between Mindy and others in town, and tracking the killer could prove to be an unwelcome treat. And to top it all off, there’s Carlos, who is pleading—with those delicious dark eyes and sexy Spanish accent—for Jules to take him back. Is home where the heart is or will she make a fresh start… and risk getting burned?

About the Author:
Ellie Alexander is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter to learn more.

 
 

GIVEAWAY:

 

 

Signed copies of all 4 books in the Bakeshop Mysteries, Cupcake tea towel and pot holder, Love cake topper, Bakeshop page flags, Assortment of gourmet lemonade and Triple Chocolate Chunk cookie mix.
US only.
Ends July 20th
Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 18. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

 

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

 

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I’ve enjoyed other books by Kirsten Weiss and was thrilled to hop on this blitz. I want to apologize to Kirsten, Bewitching Book Tours, and all of you readers for being late getting my post up. My internet got zapped in a storm and this is the soonest I could get internet access.

Check out The Mannequin Offensive!

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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The Mannequin Offensive

Rocky Bridges

Book 1

Kirsten Weiss

30731173

 

Genre: Mystery/Suspense (paranormal)

Publisher: Misterio Press

Date of Publication: July 1, 2016

ISBN: 1-944767-02-9

Number of pages: 328

Word Count: 72,300

 

Book Description:

After an overseas assignment goes bad, all Rocky Bridges wants is out of the global security business. No more personal protection gigs. No more jaunts to third world countries. No more managing wayward contractors. But when her business partner is killed, Rocky must investigate her own company and clients.

Rocky’s no PI, but she’s always trusted her instincts. Knife-wielding mobsters, sexy insurance investigators, and a Russian-model turned business partner are all in a day’s work. Now her inner voice has developed a mind of its own, and she finds herself questioning her sanity as well as reality as she knows it. Rocky can’t trust those around her. But can she even trust herself?

The Mannequin Offensive is a fast-paced novel of mystery and suspense.

 

Release Day Sale. 99

Amazon      Kobo

Chapter 1

It was just meat.

Sickly green tiles, slick with something I didn’t want to identify. A wall of cabinets with square, metallic doors. And on the autopsy table…just meat.

I adjusted my mask, adapted my breathing. My stomach flipped at the smell of ammonia and petroleum. By this point, I should have been used to the oil stink. Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, reeked of the stuff. It seeped from the ground, staining the sand, hanging heavy in the air. But surely I was imagining the odor here, in the morgue two stories below the city’s streets.

My scalp itched where my blonde hair had been shorn away. My brain throbbed, spun, and I recognized the signs of a potential faint. I relaxed my knees so I wouldn’t pass out and focused on his toes. Not his toes, I mentally corrected, its toes, the corpse’s toes, crooked from a lifetime in dress shoes.

It wasn’t Derek, not anymore. The man who, yesterday, had skipped out on a meeting with Azeri officials to drag me to see the burning gas fields was gone. He’d told me the fields had been holy to the Zoroastrians. Mystical. But he’d told me a lot of wild stories, about missing pirate ships and Vikings who’d made their way down to the Caspian.

“Who knows?” he’d said. “One might have been your ancestor. You look like a Valkyrie, tall and blond and powerful.”

“Viking pirates.” I’d rumpled my hair, scanning the low, brown hills for marauders, pickpockets, and corporate spies. “Sounds like a movie.” And I’d launched into a fantasy screenplay, complete with axe-play, wenches, and a traitorous Viking who’d doomed the expedition.

“They were wiped out by disease,” he’d said.

I’d snorted. “Non-fiction. Who needs it?”

The coroner cleared his throat.

I glanced across the table.

The coroner’s black eyes gleamed maliciously over his surgical mask. I was an intruder, my appearance in his morgue an insult to his professional standards.

“Are you all right?” They were the first English words he’d spoken, and they surprised me.

“I’m fine.” I shrugged. “It’s just meat.”

A sunburst of light glinted off the coroner’s scalpel, expanding, disorienting me.

He placed his fingers on the body’s clavicle.

Oh God, he’s going to cut him. My heart thundered. Meat, I told myself. Just meat.

Something grabbed my leg, and I jerked, woke up. My feet swung off the suede couch, and I swayed drunkenly, blinking.

My neighbor, Glenda, stepped hastily back and adjusted her lightweight green duster. A fit seventy-something, she favored flowy fabrics. Her lips moved, silent. Her white brows creased, and her mouth moved again. Glenda prodded the neat coil of white hair piled upon her head with a long finger.

Shaking my head, I tried to escape the remnants of the nightmare. I yanked the earplug from my right ear. “Sorry. What?”

Sun slanted through the sheer curtains, making rectangles on the burnt orange and blue oriental rug. My dog, Churro, panted on the bamboo floor next to Glenda, his black and white head tilted with concern. He was a dachshund-beagle mix. It was a mystery to me how two short-legged breeds had combined to create a svelte, mid-sized dog that looked like neither. But Churro, like me, was his own dog.

“I said, your phone’s been ringing off the hook.” Glenda raised a white brow. “I can hear it in my townhouse.”

I grimaced. My landline was intentionally loud. I checked my cell, lying on the glass coffee table. Dead. I tugged down the hem of my rumpled, white t-shirt. “What are you doing in here?”

She rested her hands on her narrow hips. “You gave me a key. Remember?”

I remembered. We’d exchanged keys when I’d first moved in. Glenda would water my plants when I was away, and I’d make sure that if Glenda died, her body would be found before being eaten by her cats. (Her words, not mine.) Since I traveled often and Glenda could only be eaten by her cats once, it had seemed a good deal at the time.

I squinted at my fireplace mantel, painted a butter-cream yellow, and the clock perched on it. Three o’clock. My gaze drifted upward to the painting of sunflowers. Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts.

A garbled murmur turned my attention back to my neighbor. “Did you say something?” I asked.

“Sorry. I keep forgetting.” Glenda motioned toward my head, and my hand automatically rose to the shaved patch of skin above my left ear. Fine hair grew over the puckered scar. I’d tried parting my hair on the other side, covering it up. But it looked odd, and so I wore my blond hair in its usual long braid.

“I asked when you were planning on returning to work. This moping isn’t healthy.” Glenda’s lips pulled down, deepening the lines around her mouth, and I felt an unreasoning guilt.

“I’m not moping, and I’m not returning. I’m done.” I was done with the travel, done with the health hazards, done with the egos. Done, done, done.

Besides, a lifetime of new possibilities stretched before me. I could do anything. I could open a bar. I could open a bookstore. Or a bakery. Or a bookstore and bakery. I could even start something that didn’t start with the letter B. Lifetime of possibilities? There was an entire alphabet of possibilities.

“Done.” Glenda’s mouth pinched. “You’ve been sleeping all day, ignoring your responsibilities…”

“I’m on leave.”

“You’re too old for this.”

“Thanks.” Sheesh. She wasn’t my mom. Though she was old enough to be.

I stood, unpeeled the t-shirt from my back, and arched, feeling rather than hearing the crack. I was built like a German barmaid, able to carry six steins of beer in one hand, all curves and hidden muscle. It had been a useful physique in my role as security consultant. I rubbed my hands over cheeks splattered with freckles.

The dog pawed at my knee, whining.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I opened the glass door that looked over my fenced garden.

Churro bolted past.

“What will you do?” Glenda asked. For a moment, I thought I heard a hint of motherly concern in her voice.

But I was imagining it.

I watched Churro race in circles, ears flapping, ball in his mouth. He stopped before a New Zealand palm and dropped the tattered ball, cocking his head, as if waiting to play. He nosed the ball toward the plant.

I snorted and shook my head. I loved Churro but was under no illusions about his degree of smarts.

“Well?” Glenda asked.

“Well, what?”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to open a combo wine bar and bookstore.”

Glenda lowered her chin. “You can’t be serious.”

“It’ll be great,” I said, spinning the fantasy. “I’ll call it the Book Cellar. Get it?”

“What do you know about running a wine bar? You don’t even drink wine. You’re a beer drinker.”

“Yeah, but the Book Keller just doesn’t have the same punny ring.” I laid an earnest hand on my chest. “People buy books during the day and drinks at night. It’s an optimal use of the space.”

“What space? Have you already found a space?”

The phone jangled, and I flinched.

“I told you it was loud,” Glenda said.

I walked into the light-filled kitchen and picked up the phone. “Rocky here.”

Someone pounded on the black-painted front door.

I jerked my chin toward the door, covering the phone with my hand. “Would you mind?” I asked Glenda in a low voice.

My neighbor glided toward the door.

The voice on the phone cleared his throat. “It’s Hank.” He paused. “Rocky, you need to prepare yourself for some bad news.”

My breath hitched, and I leaned against the gray granite counter. I knew those words. I’d spoken those words. And there was no way to prepare for what came next.

The front door swung open, and Glenda stepped aside.

Two uniformed police officers walked in.

“Who?” My throat tightened.

“It’s Pete. He’s been killed.”

My brain stumbled, hit a wall. I pressed my palm into the edge of the granite counter, felt its coolness beneath my skin. The bastard couldn’t be dead. I hadn’t forgiven him yet. I tried to swallow, failed.

“Rocky?” Hank asked.

“How?” My voice was a croak.

“Knifed. They found his body in a parking lot this morning. Must have happened sometime late last night.”

I bowed my head and ran my palm over my hair. My scalp was damp with sweat. “What do you need?” I finally said.

“The police are looking to talk to you. Don’t say anything.”

“Why? I don’t know—”

Hank broke the connection.

I stared at the phone. I wasn’t in the habit of blabbing to cops. Over two decades of working in third world countries had taught me the authorities were not my friends. American cops were light years ahead of the thugs I’d dealt with overseas, but old habits died hard. More importantly, there was nothing I could tell the officers. I didn’t know anything.

It made no sense. Pete couldn’t be dead.

The uniformed police moved toward me, their broad faces grim.

I leaned against a cabinet.

I didn’t cry.

About the Author:

Kirsten Weiss

Kirsten Weiss worked overseas for nearly twenty years in the fringes of the former USSR, Africa, and South-east Asia.  Her experiences abroad sparked an interest in the effects of mysticism and mythology, and how both are woven into our daily lives.

Now based in San Mateo, CA, she writes genre-blending steampunk suspense, urban fantasy, and mystery, mixing her experiences and imagination to create a vivid world of magic and mayhem.

Kirsten has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. Sign up for her newsletter to get free updates on her latest work at: http://kirstenweiss.com

Web / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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Aftermath

Book 1

Joe Reyes

30148847

 

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic

Publisher: Wasteland Press

Date of Publication: April 29, 2016

ISBN: 1681111128

Number of pages: 284

Word Count: 79, 722

Book Description:

 

Aftermath is a growing series about war, love, brutality and most of all, survival. What was once the United States has become a savage post-apocalyptic environment where the worst of the worst prosper and the remaining good hide.

The series features a brutal setting, where seven characters in different parts of the United States must adapt to this new environment. The “fight or flight” mentality plays into the story, as the nation is divided into factions fighting for control of the country. The government is outnumbered, outgunned, and forced into hiding as well to recoup their forces. The novel follows a fast paced momentum from the first page to the last word. The plot pits these characters against the elements and each other, with plot-lines intertwining on opposite sides of the war effort. And one character’s quest for revenge can jeopardize not only the war outcome, but the reshaping of the entire nation.

With an ever-changing storyline and evolving characters, the Aftermath series gets more intense with every chapter. But what these characters don’t realize, the terrifying evil is making its way across the ocean.

Amazon    BN

Enjoy this Excerpt: Sara

“People and beans again?” a raggedy-looking man says as Sara passes him a plate. He glares down, disappointed, at the meal of perfectly cut human flesh and a side dish of green beans. Sara hands out more plates to the group of men huddled around a fire.

“When you guys kill something other than people, you’ll get something else to eat,” she says with a sarcastic smile, walking off.

It’s near-insane to talk back to these guys. They are psychotic killers, but she is protected. Marcus, their leader, has taken a liking to her. So it’s a choice of be killed, be raped and then killed, or be his willing sex slave.

Sometimes she doesn’t know if she made the right choice.

Before going back to the kitchen, she stops by every group to see if they all have something to eat. Dozens of groups gather around, having their breakfast. The field is littered with dirty men and women feasting on human remains.

Probably over a hundred in total, she guesses.

The Savages is what they are called. The group started after the bombs fell about five years ago. They were small at first, but they’ve since grown into a much larger army. This gives them better resources and a nice cut of whatever they take from towns.

All they do is kill and raid villages. They swoop in, kill, take everything, and leave. They take in recruits, sometimes, if they seem to fit the part. The survivors don’t last long. They are usually killed and displayed as a message to discourage others.

For years they tried the whole nomad lifestyle, but when the army got bigger, they realized they had to settle down.

It’s a lot easier than constantly uprooting the whole camp.

They have no reason to leave. There are always animals in the forest. A river provides fresh water and fish. Armies are too afraid to attack them. They can’t survive an all-out military assault, but the government has much more important enemies than them to worry about.

They all wear custom-made armors consisting of materials they find on the road. Sports gear is a big part of it: elbow pads, football pads, helmets—anything they can find. A lot of it is hand-sewn and made from animal skins.

The farm would also pose a problem for moving. Horses are bred and domesticated as transportation. Without cars and without gasoline to run them, they are a necessary component of life here.

Each Savage has the brand of an S on the back of his or her shoulder, indicating initiation into the group. It is given after their first kill. After a big massacre and initiation, they will celebrate with a great feast: their victims.

Sara never likes thinking about how many people one dead body feeds. The thought makes her sick. The taste has always bothered her. She may force herself to eat flesh when she absolutely must, but she is and always has been a vegetarian . Even when they spruce it up with spices and other ingredients, it is still a person, and no amount of sauce can change that.

Sara’s stomach starts to rumble. She hasn’t eaten much in days. Usually, she is able to sneak extra beans and vegetables because the others love flesh, but the shortage of them is now beginning to hit her.

Hopefully, Penny can get me something, she thinks, walking into the large kitchen tent. The sight doesn’t help her appetite. Penny is in the middle of carving someone up.

“Three years of culinary school and I’m making foot filet for a hundred ingrates,” Penny mocks as she hacks off a foot with a butcher’s knife.

Sara feels sick again. She covers her mouth to hold the vomit back. The smell of blood is too much.

“Aww, sweetie, not feeling good?” Penny says affectionately, walking up to her. She doesn’t get it, her shirt is covered in blood and it’s making Sara sicker, but she needs a hug.

“New necklace?” Sara asks, seeing a piece of the metal chain falling from Penny’s shirt.

“One of Eric’s men gave it to me.” A gold snowflake hangs from the end, surrounded by pretty little stones.

“Which guy?” Sara asks.

Penny’s face betrays her disgust. “The creepy looking one with the cuts.”

The kitchen tent is filled with people preparing food for the group. There’s a huge fire going, and the bodies are put on a metal gate over the fire to barbeque. The Savages know that uncooked flesh can kill them. They are as smart as they are ruthless. That’s why they’ve been around for all five years.

 “You hungry?” Penny asks.

Sara shakes her head. “He’ll probably make me eat with him later.”

Penny sighs but says nothing. They both know what Marcus is going to do to her. Sara will have to eat flesh again, among other things. Penny doesn’t like the idea of eating people either, but she is a chef and can trick herself into thinking she’s eating something else. With all the spices she’s schooled in, it’s almost easy.

Everyone who doesn’t like it has ways of coping, but most of the Savages love the taste and the trophy. Eating the very people they killed makes them feel tougher. Sara would be the first to admit the taste of it isn’t bad, but that freaks her out the worst.

“You smell nice today,” she says from Penny’s arms, covered by her blonde hair.

“I found some shampoo. I’ll give you some later tonight,” Penny says with a smile. “Now come on, you have to bring the men food. The meeting’s starting.” Penny releases her, only to hand Sara a tray of appetizing human parts and vegetables. “How do I look?” Sara inquires.

Penny adjusts a few out-of-place strands of hair on her head and smiles. “You look great.”

About the Author:

Joe Reyes has never been afraid to go for what he wants in life. His goal is to be a full time published author and is taking all the steps necessary to make that dream a reality. He hates when he hears about people who give up on their dreams.

His writing style is fast paced. When he wrote his novel Aftermath, he wanted it to feel like a television show. Joe doesn’t like boring descriptions. He finds filler scenes to be a book killer and makes sure that every chapter has an immediate purpose or a purpose later on.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Instagram

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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IndieLove Magazine

Issue Two

IndieLove2 cover

Genre: Magazine

Synopsis

IndieLove Magazine is a publication promoting independent Authors, Musicians, Crafters, Artists, Film etc.

Issue 2 has some of the best, Authors Mia Sheridan and Amy Harmon grace the pages as well as Goddessfish promotions. Artist Kim Walker, Actor Shawn Hawkins, Derek Webb, Co Founder of Noisetrade etc.

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Kelly Oliver- recently enchanted assembled music lovers around the country on her 18 date second album tour. Kelly is a guitarist/ harmonicist, with influences ranging from the song style of Bob Dylan, the intense lyrics of Alanis Morissette and a touch of Kate Bush around the vocals. Her album Bedlam, which was released, March 6th, has been carefully crafted to show off Kelly’s strengths to full advantage. BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris is a fan and says she has a ‘beautiful, pure voice and is ‘a vital voice in British Folk’ and Chris Hawkins, who has played her on BBC 6 Music said she is ‘fabulously gifted, something special’.

Kelly Oliver is one of the new breed of bright young musicians who stands out from the crowd with her ‘golden vocals’. Bedlam features a range of songs with themes ranging from war to migration, and social injustice to love  in all its guises as well as the ever tempting eternal triangle.

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Mia Sheridan Interview!

Question 1. Are you a planner or pantster kind of writer?

Sort of both! 😀 I do make an outline (a very short bulleted list of main plot points), but then I just sort of let the characters take the path they will between points.

Question 2. Who are Two of your favourite Authors? and why?

I really love Amy Harmon because she always infuses beautiful life lessons into her stories, and she just writes characters that are so easy to fall in love with. And I love AL Jackson because she writes with this intensity that always sort of puts me through the wringer, but in that way that has such a wonderful payoff in the end when you get your HEA. Love them both!

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

For 3 days only from the 1st of July to 3rd of July Issue 1 will be Free for readers of the blogs!

On my website!

www.indielovemagazine.com

https://web.facebook.com/indielovemagazine/

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Goddess Fish Promotions

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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