Archive for the ‘Contemporary Literature’ Category

Preach It Grace tour banner

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Welcome to my stop during the book blitz for Preach It, Grace by Susan Count. Preach It, Grace is a wholesome and fun Middle Grade book about horses.

This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 4 till 17 March. See the tour schedule here.

Preach It, Grace (Dream Pony Riders #3)

By Susan Count

 

Preach It, Grace book cover

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Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: 16 February 2024

Blurb:

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Sharing a pony worked perfectly, until it didn’t.

The pony share Grace worked out with her elderly neighbor was ideal—she thought. Mr. Harvey bought the buckskin gelding’s food and Grace fed him. The pony was important to both of them so it made no sense when the elderly man sent him away. And why won’t he tell her where?

Links:
Goodreads
Bookbub
Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

The day the buckskin pony moved in next door, Grace fell in love. His mane, tail, and lower legs were glossy black. She wished she could bury her fingers in his golden coat and discover the secret to its sheen. If only she could. But even though the pony would turn four years old in May, he was nearly as frisky as the day he arrived. Still, no matter what they said, he wasn’t dangerous. Not for her.

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Other books in the series:
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Abby’s Pony Love book coverLily Makes a Way book coverBrooke’s Win-Win Pony book coverWendy's Perfect Pony

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About Author Susan Count:

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Susan Count author picture
Susan Count writes for the joy and entertainment of young readers. She is a best-selling, award-winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series, Dream Pony Riders Series, and Texas Boys Adventures.

She prefers to create stories in a quiet zone. Out her window, her mind wanders through the forest and keeps her in a grateful, contented state of being. She writes at a fabulous antique desk that has secret compartments filled with memories, mysteries, and story ideas. As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and American Christian Fiction Writers, Susan takes studying the craft of writing seriously.

Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies and horseback riding on forest trails. She is a lifelong equestrian and is owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse.

You are invited to saddle up and ride along. www.susancount.com

Author links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Goodreads
Amazon

 

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There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of Preach It, Grace. One winner wins a $25 Amazon gift card.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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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 go HERE.

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Next Stop, Boston organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Iris Dorbian will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Next Stop, Boston

by Iris Dorbian

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Geri Randall’s life is turned upside down when her late sister’s fiance, Dez Deacon, a washed-up rock star, is named her guardian. Whisked away from the only life she knew and taken on a rock and roll tour, Geri is initially desperate to win Dez’s approval. That desire hits a sour note when Dez’s treatment of her becomes too much to bear. What ensues is a battle of wills between her and her temperamental guardian, a collision course that will push Geri to do the unthinkable to get what she wants.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

If there was one thing she’d learned with this tour, it was that time operated on a whole other scale. It wasn’t weird to go out and have a burger at two in the morning, or stay up until five, eat an early breakfast, and then crash until noon.

 

At first, she’d felt like a vampire, but after a month of this nocturnal schedule, she’d gotten so acclimated to the lifestyle, she wondered how she would ever be able to go back to a daily schedule that consisted of her going to sleep at ten o’clock at night, waking up at seven o’clock so she could arrive at school by 8:30, and be in classes until 2:30 in the afternoon. Then do it all over again the next day. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

 

“It’s a soulless existence,” Dez said to her a week into her attempt to adjust to life on the road. He was opining about the nine to five normies. “Absolutely brain-atrophying. These poor people are like ants. Hamsters on a wheel, doing the same thing over and over again. That’s why what we do is so important to these people. For two hours, Ger, we bring them the excitement and adventure that’s missing in their dull, defeated lives. We’re like saviors to them.”

 

Geri clicked on her personal photo gallery. She pored through an unending succession of shots of Dez, as well as shots she never would post on her account: various hotel rooms, desk clerks on phones or dealing with customers, piles of suitcases gathered in a mound in lobbies, regular people sharing drinks at a bar, working on their laptops. She loved the simplicity of these images, which captured life in hotels with an organic detail and vibrancy. She stopped at the bar shots, then zoomed in to snag a clearer view at the people in them. The barflies seemed to be swigging whiskey or scotch, she wasn’t sure—an alcohol connoisseur, she was not; however, she’d seen so many adults in her young lifetime down gallons of liquor, she might as well be.

 

She studied their features to see if Dez was right about these normies. No, he wasn’t. They didn’t look defeated at all, only tired.

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About Author Iris Dorbian

Iris Dorbian is an arts and business journalist whose bylines have appeared in a wide array of outlets that include Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Crain’s New York Business, Business Insider, Buyouts, Venture Capital Journal, Investopedia, Playbill, Backstage, Dance Magazine, Theatermania and Stage Directions, where she served as editor-in-chief for eight years. Her personal essays have been featured in HBO’s Inspiration Room, Boomer Magazine, Jewish Literary Journal, Diverse Voices Quarterly, and Gothesque Magazine. Having previously published “Great Producers: Visionaries of the American Theater” (Allworth/Skyhorse) “An Epiphany in Lilacs: In the Aftermath of the Camps” (original publisher: Mazo Publishers) and “Sentenced to Shakespeare” (Sunbury/Milford House Prss), “Next Stop, Boston” is her fourth book.

 

Book links: Amazon / B&N

 

Social Media Links: LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Muckrack / Website

 

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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 go HERE.

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A tween comedy-of-errors that chronicles the most cringe-worthy day of 13 year-old Abby Gray’s life.

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My Big Heart-Shaped Fail

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by Cindy Callaghan

Genre: Tween, Upper Middle-Grade Contemporary Fiction

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Award-winning middle-grade novel from the author of Just Add Magic and Saltwater Secrets . . . .

In this hourly time-stamped, action-packed tween comedy of errors, Abby Gray, feeling weighed down by her secrets and lies, lets five balloons float into the sky with her deepest secrets attached to them in a desperate attempt to clear her conscience. Her relief is short-lived, though: the next day, those balloons start dropping one by one at her school, revealing Abby’s innermost thoughts to both friends and frenemies and creating hilarious misinterpretations of crushes amongst her peers.

This is the worst day of her life . . . or is it? Before the last bell rings, Abby manages to integrate the oddball who is blackmailing her into her friend group and to fix the mix-ups the notes have caused—not only getting couples back together but also making a few new love matches—and finally comes clean as the author of the notes that have created such chaos.

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

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The Girl Who Ruined Christmas

by Cindy Callaghan

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Award-winning middle-grade Christmas novel from the author of Just Add Magic and Saltwater Secrets . . . .

Imagine you’re a tween visiting a small town that loves nothing more than its prize fir—a perfect Christmas tree destined for the White House. Now picture yourself accidentally destroying that tree, making you public enemy number one. Lastly, imagine that to repay your debt, you have to remain in said town for the Christmas season.

That’s what happens to Brady Bancroft.

When Brady ruins Harper Hollow Fall’s prize tree, she’s sentenced to stay in the holiday-festooned town for the month of December. At first, she couldn’t be more depressed about the whole situation; but during her month there, she is surprised to discover that there’s much more than pine needles to the little town holding her captive. In the end, Harper Hollow Falls reminds Brady of the true meaning of Christmas—and she, in turn, saves the town.

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Cindy Callaghan is the award-winning author of eleven MG novels including JUST ADD MAGIC and JUST ADD MAGIC 2: POTION PROBLEMS, which were made into an Emmy-nominated Amazon Original series now in its fifth season and distributed world-wide via Nickelodeon. She’s well-known for the best-selling Lost In… books: LOST IN LONDON, LOST IN PARIS, LOST IN ROME, LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, and LOST IN IRELAND. Her Agatha award-winning stand-alone SYDNEY MACKENZIE KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD sells out every year around Halloween.

Her 2020 book SALTWATER SECRETS, which is nominated for an Agatha Award, won Delaware Press Association and National Federation of Press Women’s awards, and two International Book Awards, is set up by a major studio.

Triple-award-winning THE GIRL WHO RUINED CHRISTMAS, (October 2021) sold out its first print run before Thanksgiving. MY BIG HEART-SHAPED FAIL has won three awards since it’s 2022 launch. These books along with original concepts are actively being shopped to producers, networks and streamers along with Cindy’s robust portfolio of original features and series.

A Jersey girl at heart, Cindy lives in Delaware with her family and rescued-pets.

Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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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 go HERE.

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Join us for this tour from Sep 26 to Oct 16, 2023!

Book Details:

​Book Title:  Mortal Weather by KP McCarthy
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  310 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction, Novel
Publisher:  Top Reads Publishing
Release date:  September 26 2023
Content Rating PG-13 + M rating. There is bad language, no explicit sex scenes, but there is a lot of death and some references to suicide. 
 
Book Description:

Stanhope Ellis finds himself absorbing the stories of quirky characters who have one thing in common: closeness to death. As he struggles with whether he’s Death Man or a cosmic witness, he meets a wise nurse, Gayathri Das, who helps him navigate the emotional minefield. But will she die, like the others? The unforgettable characters, including several dogs, will captivate you from the first page.
 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon B&N ~ Bookshop
add to goodreads
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MY REVIEW

I wasn’t sure what it meant when as this book is categorized as an existential adventure. Once I started reading and met the main character, Stanhope Ellis, I got it. And I got the title then, too.

Stanope lost his wife and nearly died in a car accident. To rejoin the land of the living he sets off on a journey of discovery.  But, while trying to rejoin the land of living, the people he meets and comes to know are dropping dead. Is he the grim reaper? Surely, not?

I enjoy character driven stories and there are a huge amount of them in this book. Including some animals. Sounds daunting. But it’s really not. The author gave each their story and they were genuine and well fleshed out. I’m thinking what made it easy to keep straight was that you were on this journey with Stanhope, and you met each character right along with him. Not all of them at once.

While in the beginning Stanhope’s story seemed bleak, all those people dying, it became an eye opening adventure. Sometimes sad but also hopeful and funny. You know how people say they were pulled into a story? That’s what happened to me and I savored every word.

5 STARS

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Meet the Author:

Among other things, Kevin Patrick McCarthy has been a geothermal geologist, a technical writer, a critic, and a screenwriter. His humor, essays, poetry, and fiction have been widely recognized. “Enough Sky,” the epigraph for Mortal Weather, was Commended by The Poetry Society (UK) in 2014. He is a fourth-generation Coloradoan who now lives in the Pacific with his wife Tricia, and their dog, Nani.

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connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ goodreads

 
 
 
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MORTAL WEATHER Book Tour Giveaway

 

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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 go HERE.

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The Llama Farm On New Moon Lane

by Laura Briggs

 

Synopsis

Young and quiet, Lucy Granger leads an introverted life in Reading , living in a flat and working in design at a graphics company—until it is upended when she both sells her idea for a mobile game and suffers an unexpected medical diagnosis shortly afterwards. Facing a mandated medical rest period, she decides to use her windfall earnings to take a year’s holiday, renting a farm on New Moon Lane in a country village in Yorkshire. As Lucy settles into her holiday home for some tranquility, she soon learns that she is not the only tenant, when a llama named Llarry strolls out of the farm’s supposedly-derelict barn. He is shortly followed by others in a menagerie of abandoned animals left behind—from a sickly donkey who likes eating crisps to a flirtatious cockerel sleeping in the back garden. To Lucy’s consternation, no one is willing or able to take them on, leaving her with a strange mix of furry and feathered friends to find homes for. Reluctantly adapting to her circumstances in order to deal with this problem, Lucy will discover other surprises about the animals in her care, and the place she is temporarily calling home. About herself, as well. Will her ordinary life ever be the same after her experience on New Moon Lane? More importantly, should she really want it to be?

Purchase Link

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Author Guest Post

So excited for this chance to share about my newest book, The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane with all the readers at FUONLYKNEW today. It’s a fun, feel good read about a shy woman named Lucy whose holiday at a Yorkshire cottage is complicated by the presence of some unexpected fellow farm tenants, including three llamas, a donkey, and a rooster. The scene below finds Lucy sketching in the garden as she attempts to brainstorm ideas for her next work assignment. In the leaves below, the rooster was digging around, pausing to flap his wings and crow loudly. He waited, and a distant answer came across the field. A loud exclamation of surprise came from Kenny’s beak in reply.Lucy’s pencils made a colorful spill across the rocks, in magenta and jade green. Only doodling, she was in no hurry. Nothing significant was coming to mind yet. Maybe she was too tired. Some days, she was still tired, even if she took all of her pills and ate a sensible lunch with no crisps.She dropped her pencil, and it landed in the leaves and the overgrown mother-of-thyme below. It sent Kenny the rooster off like a shot, racing across the lawn as he sounded the alarm. He performed a little turnabout dance in the middle —possibly realizing that he’d overestimated the danger. The younger llamas made murmuring noises —an animal conference in progress, ending with a bumping match, which the bigger one, Philomena, won. With indignation, Fiona jogged away, moving outside of disciplinary reach. Larry had come into view in the corral, watching Lucy with curiosity. His tail flicked, and his head wove a little, as if trying to figure out precisely what activity she was pursuing. The little waggle in back was almost like a friendly wave. With hesitation, Lucy waved back, feeling slightly silly.

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About Author Laura Briggs

Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.

Social Media Links: Facebook / Twitter

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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 go HERE.

 

Drink Wine and Be Beautiful

by Kimberly Sullivan

 

 

Publication date: May 26th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Women’s Fiction

Italian Tales of love, betrayal, longing, desire – and hope

Italy serves as the backdrop for stories of Italian women and expatriate women living in Italy.

A freak snowstorm in Rome changes the travel plans of two women, touching their lives in ways they could never have imagined. An ambitious Italian professional working in Brussels rails inwardly at her privileged boss, until fate presents her with a rare opportunity. A long desired trip to Bali, Indonesia serves as a needed chance for introspection. A cautious housewife in Rome thinks back to a fateful missed connection in Florence. A first-time mother feels debilitating guilt for not bonding with her newborn, until an elderly neighbor provides her with a new perspective.

The twenty-one stories in this collection follow women’s lives as they confront betrayal and love, alienation and community, despair and-ultimately-hope.

Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Snake Charmers and Donkey Carts

Marrakech

THE HAWKERS’ CRIES FILLED THE SQUARE, the guttural sounds of Arabic throbbing in Manuela’s ears. All around her, men yelled out in that strange language. Men were everywhere. They brushed past her in the marketplace crowds, and she shrank back. Unfamiliar smells filled the air.

She clung to Adriano’s hand as they walked through the Jemaa el-Fna square, willing herself not to cry. A cobra reared up his ugly head, its black tongue flickering, only a few feet from where she stood. She bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming. The snake swayed from side to side as the snake charmer played music on his pipe. A fat man in dirty robes approached her with another snake, trying to wrap it around her neck.

She stumbled backward, afraid she might faint, but thankfully Adriano was pulling her away, toward the dark, labyrinthine streets of the souk. Here she would do battle with the scooters and the donkey carts, but at least there were no snake charmers poised to place a slimy, wriggling serpent around her neck in exchange for coins.

Manuela breathed in deeply. It was all too much. The blood coursed through her veins at double-speed. Her heart pounded in fear and revulsion. She leaned in closer to Adriano, his comforting solidity managing to calm her and provide her with the courage she lacked in this odd city.

Min fadlak,” said a robed man, indicating his wares.

Manuela instinctively shrunk from his attentions, but Adriano stepped closer, examining the delicate lamps shining in the dark marketplace. Their intricate patterns cast colorful, elaborate illuminations through inky night sky. Even she could recognize its mystic beauty.

Kam else’er?” said Adriano.

The two men began haggling over the price, and Manuela stood silently, a spectator to the show. Life was a spectacle here, but one she took no pleasure in observing.

Three days into her holiday in Marrakech, Manuela felt only anxious and confused. The streets were too narrow. She had to remain vigilant not to step in the droppings left behind after the donkey carts passed. There were too many people pressed too closely together. People stood so close when they spoke to you. Adriano told her it was rude to step back, but she couldn’t help herself. The yells in Arabic sounded harsh and threatening to her ears. The sights and sounds, the colors and smells were too exotic.

Manuela could only relax when they returned to their riad in the evening, though even there she could not completely escape the lingering sense of foreignness. The wooden keyhole doors were too small, and she kept bumping her head on their frame. The sweet smell of spices filled the apartment with a cloying scent she was unable to banish, even after opening the windows for long periods of time in the hopes of airing the room.

She would step into the shower and rinse the city’s dirt and grime from her body, before enveloping her skin in a soft robe. When Adriano pushed her gently down to the bed, a sense of familiarity would calm her, and she could temporarily forget all about the stresses of this chaotic city.

Yet each morning she felt drained and exhausted once again, unable to face another day, desperate to return home, where things were safe and familiar. She longed to hear Italian spoken in the squares, to enter a restaurant and know that familiar foods were on the menu, to be capable of conversing with the shopkeepers.

To belong.

But what could she do? Adriano seemed to thrive in this new environment. He craved exotic places. Where had he learned to count in Arabic? He and the hawker were aggressively shouting figures back and forth, and she saw the spark of excitement in Adriano’s eyes. For her, this city was hell on earth. For him, an exotic tale out of Arabian Nights.

She breathed in deeply once again, attempting to quell the panic attack she could feel working its way through her body. The hawkers came closer with their oils and their soaps and their leather slippers. She closed her eyes and suppressed the desire to scream.

Back home, her days were spent cutting through the red tape of property purchases in Tivoli and placating demanding clients. Her hard-earned vacation was supposed to relax her, not cause greater stress.

She’d begged Adriano to go back to the Sardinian resort they’d visited this past spring, with its well-designed bungalows, soft, white sand beaches, perfectly ordered rows of umbrellas and beach chairs, and crystalline waters beckoning just before them.

Just smelling the salt air caused a sense of well-being to wash over her body. She’d thought Adriano would book the tickets for the resort, as they discussed. It was charged to her account, after all. Instead, he stopped off at her house with two tickets to Marrakech.

“You’re going to love it,” he said, kissing her on the neck. “It will be an adventure. I swear, you’ll never want to come back to Italy.”

She sighed. Not wanting to return to Italy wasn’t the problem. It was Morocco where she never wished to set foot again.

 

Author Kimberly Sullivan:

Kimberly grew up in the suburbs of Boston and in Saratoga Springs, New York, although she now calls the Harlem neighborhood of New York City home when she’s back in the US. She studied political science and history at Cornell University and earned her MBA, with a concentration in strategy and marketing, from Bocconi University in Milan.

Afflicted with a severe case of Wanderlust, she worked in journalism and government in the US, Czech Republic and Austria, before settling down in Rome, where she works in international development, and writes fiction any chance she gets.

She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and The Historical Novel Society and has published several short stories and three novels: Three Coins, Dark Blue Waves and In The Shadow of The Apennines.

After years spent living in Italy with her Italian husband and sons, she’s fluent in speaking with her hands, and she loves setting her stories in her beautiful, adoptive country.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub

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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 go HERE.

 

How Snowball Stole Christmas

by Kristen McKanagh

 

(Snowball, #3)
Publication date: September 27th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday

It’s Christmas time at the Weber Haus mountainside inn, where the official greeter, watcher, and matchmaker of the hotel’s resident humans is an adorably mischievous bundle of feline fluff named Snowball. Snowball takes her job very seriously –even if it means being a little more naughty than nice –and she’s ready to celebrate her third holiday season by making the purrrrfect match.

Most cats have nine lives, but Snowball is one of the very few with two jobs. Officially, she’s the Weber Haus inn’s greeter. Unofficially, she’s the town matchmaker. Her track record is the cat’s pajamas—until she meets her owner’s grinchy brother, Peter Diemer. Peter hopes to move the family bookstore to a busy location downtown—but someone else has outbid him for the last storefront.

Christmas is the ideal season for Lara Wolfe to fulfill her dream of expanding her home business into a real shop. Too bad someone is posting negative comments on the town forum. What kind of Grinch objects to a toy store?

Snowball is sure these two are a perfect match. They already have so much in common—books are a kind of toy, right? Now all they need to add to the mix is love, and Snowball has just the shenanigans up her furry sleeve to deliver a sweet romance in time to make the season merry and bright . . .

“Purrresistibly heartwarming.”
–Modern Cat on The Twelve Days of Snowball

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

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SNEAK PEEK:

Snowball finds a new couple who need her help falling in love…

A second car pulling to a stop, headlights flashing across the ceiling, is new. Did Peter bring someone home with him?

Do I care enough to go look?

With a sigh I drop to the ground and pad silently across the carpeted floor to leap to the windowsill facing the street. Peter lives in what he calls a townhome. As far as I can tell, this is just a bunch of homes all squished together with a tiny garden in the back. Hardly a patch. I can hear people on the other sides of the walls, but I can’t get into the other units. People are weird.

This is an interesting development though…

Someone is parked in front of the unit next door. Until a few days ago no one lived there that I’ve been able to tell. Until Christmas lights went up. I can see the side of Peter’s dark head turned slightly toward me as he’s looking over at what appears to be a woman buried up to her waist in the trunk of the car parked there.

What’s interesting isn’t her…it’s him. The fact that he’s bothering to look. Peter doesn’t bother with anyone these days.

My, my, my.

Visions of happy humans falling in love dance in my head.

After all, I have a gift for matchmaking. Those silly creatures just can’t see happiness staring them in the face until I show the way. And Peter, despite being a bit of a grump lately is one of the good ones. He deserves happiness.

Since he’s moved back home, he seems sort of… I don’t know. Restless. What Peter needs is to fall in love and settle down. That would fix everything.

He takes a step off the porch and my ears prick and my whiskers twitch in anticipation.

Except, instead of going over to nicely introduce himself, he stomps in her direction. I frown. What is he doing?

“Hey!” He doesn’t shout it, but with his low voice, it’s close enough.

With a screech to wake the ghosts of Christmas past, the woman jerks up, banging her head into the top of the trunk with enough force that I can hear it through the window.

Hand to her chest, she scrambles away from Peter, her expression a picture of fright.

Good job, Peter. I give a little kitty huff. He’s going to mess everything up before I can even get them started.

 

Author Kristen McKanagh:

Romance author Kristen McKanagh writes sweet contemporary romance & Amish romance. She loves plots that warm the soul, feisty heroines with sass, heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of HEAs! Other titles include wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, spreadsheet lover, eMBA, organizational guru, Texan, Aggie, and chocoholic.

Kristen attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing) and an MBA. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

Kristen currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero, their amazing kids, who are growing up way too fast, and 2 adorable fur babies.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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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 go HERE.

ClosertoOkay copy

Welcome to the book tour for Closer to Okay by Amy Watson! Read on for more info and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy and some fantastic book swag!

Closer to Okay

by Amy Watson

Cover

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

Genre: Book Club Fiction/ Modern Contemporary Fiction/ Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Alcove Press

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Button

R&R Book Tours

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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 go HERE.

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for the Cutter Kauai Series organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Edward M. Hochsmann will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Dagger Quest

by Edward M. Hochsmann

Genre: Action / Adventure / Contemporary

Synopsis

An aging Coast Guard patrol boat is all that stands between the world and nuclear annihilation!

The world is on the brink of war, with NATO mobilizing to counter a Russian threat to Poland and Lithuania and leaders openly discussing war options. In the midst of the crisis, a Russian bomber collides with a U.S. fighter off Florida causing the accidental launch of a nuclear-tipped hypersonic missile.

A Coast Guard cutter on a routine patrol finds a drug-laden sailboat smashed and adrift north of the Florida Keys. The boat’s damage is from a near miss by the Russian missile which has not harmlessly flown deep into the Gulf of Mexico as initially thought, but crashed somewhere in the Keys.

The Coast Guard crew is in a race against a vicious and powerful international crime syndicate to find and recover the Russian nuke before its discovery can trigger a nuclear war.

Exploring the friendship and teamwork of a typical ship’s crew, in the face of unexpected and hazardous challenges, Dagger Quest provides a fast-paced, taut story – excellent fare for both sea adventure and military thriller fans.

Enjoy this peek inside:

Ben’s first encounter with the 252 Syndicate ends in a high-speed chase through Key West, Florida:

Ben slowed and veered right onto Flagler with a screaming of tires and modest fishtailing as he straightened on the new path. Their pursuers also swung in behind them from Roosevelt a few seconds later.

“Floor it!  We’ll be hanging a right on Tenth in ten blocks, same tactic. Keep hitting that horn!”

Ben stayed on the horn, dodging through traffic at speeds approaching fifty miles per hour.

“Counting down,” Simmons said, “Fourteenth, Thirteenth, twelfth, Eleventh, slow down and prepare to hang a right, NOW!”

Ben executed another tire-squealing turn and straightened out, heading north on Tenth, gunning the engine and leaning on the horn.

“Stand by to hit the brakes!” Simmons shouted. “Steady, steady, NOW, hit the brakes!”

Ben stood on the brake pedal, tires shrieked, and the anti-lock braking chattered. After skidding to a stop in the middle of the street next to a large lagoon, Simmons shouted, “Get down!” He opened both doors on his side of the car, using the rear door for cover.

Ben dropped behind the seat as their pursuer began screeching to a stop. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash with the sound of tearing metal and followed by a large splash. Simmons shut the doors and said in a normal tone, “OK, let’s roll. Back to the base, nice and easy.”

Ben shot up and saw several figures in combat gear with guns drawn running forward from an SUV stopped in the middle of Tenth Street. The car chasing them was coming to rest upside down in the lagoon. “WHAT—THE—HELL!” he shouted at Simmons.

“Come on, friend, we need to move it. It’s handled. We’re clear now, so stay law-abiding all the way, please.”

Ben stared at him for a few seconds, then pressed the accelerator. The engine raced briefly, and then, with shaking hands, Ben shifted into Drive.

“See, you’re a natural,” Simmons said with a smile. “You didn’t even realize you shifted into Park.”

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Caribbean Counterstrike

Synopsis

Mission: Five days to destroy the enemy in the Caribbean before a catastrophic weapon is unleashed—but all he can think about is the woman he left behind…

The deadliest nerve gas ever made has fallen into the hands of a murderous Caribbean drug cult. The criminal 252 Syndicate has the gas in a secret lab on an oil rig servicing ship, but the ship has been taken for ransom by the Salinas Cartel in a violent drug war. The U.S. can’t use airstrikes and calls on Coast Guard Officer Ben Wyporek to lead his crew through a risky covert raid on the Salinas cult’s fortified island base. He accepts the assignment, but remembers a previous lethal encounter with the 252s and struggles to say goodbye to the love of his life, Victoria Carpenter.

Ben and his crew aboard the stealth-equipped Cutter Kauai must sneak into the harbor and tow the ship away. But if Kauai is detected and defeated, death by gas or at the hands of vicious adversaries will follow. Now, every decision Ben makes will determine the fate of his entire crew—and the chances of reuniting with Victoria.

This second book of the series builds on the friendships and teamwork of Kauai’s crew, this time in the face of several challenging missions and one potentially lethal encounter. It is a worthy sequel to Dagger Quest that sea adventure and military thriller fans will enjoy.

Enjoy this peek inside:

An amusing incident occurs during a test and evaluation session at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center:

They had repeated the cycle enough times to get a reasonably rich dataset when something went awry. A defect in one canister’s fins created a “wobble” in flight that caused it to fall behind its companions. When the dispersing charge fired, it was just forward of the speeding RHIB and doused it and its occupants with two-and-a-half gallons of bright blue paint. Lee closed the throttle slowly to bring the boat to a smooth stop, took off her paint-coated sunglasses, and said, “Everybody OK? Give me a thumbs up!”

After getting a thumbs-up from both passengers, Lee shook off her hands, put them on her hips, and glared at DeChamps.

“I think some of our projectiles might need adjustment,” the engineer said, squinting up at Lee while holding his paint-fouled glasses.

“Ya think?” Lee replied.

“Kauai-One, Kauai, report!” her radio barked.

“Kauai, Kauai-One, direct hit by blue paint, no damage or casualties,” Lee replied.

“Kauai-One, Kauai, roger, cancel operation and return to ship.”

“Kauai, Kauai-One, WILCO, out.” Lee took a deep breath and turned to Connally. “Sean, carefully help Mr. DeChamps with his glasses.” She swished her sunglasses clean in the water beside the RHIB, then sat back down at the helm. Once Connally had helped DeChamps with his glasses and both were seated again, Lee opened the throttle and headed back to the patrol boat. I’ll bet the cameras got an awesome shot of this. I’m SO looking forward to seeing it again, and again, and AGAIN!

While operating the boat crane, Jenkins left the RHIB at the deck rail after the crew climbed out so the paint could be hosed off before returning to its cradle. The XO met them there with an armful of sodas—he knew they would be dried out after a couple of hours in the sun. He was always doing thoughtful things like this, unlike any other officer Lee had ever served with, and it was the thing she liked most about him.

“So, Petty Officer Lee,” he said with a perfectly straight face as he handed her a can of Coke. “I think we need to get you some vacation time. You’re looking mighty blue.”

Ha, ha, ha! So, it starts already! Lee paused after taking the Coke and replied, “Thanks, sir. You know, XO, you’re wasting your talents here on the bounding main. You should run a comedy podcast!”

~~~~~

Bravely and Faithfully

Synopsis

A New Captain’s First Patrol Turns into a Fight for Their Lives

Young Coast Guard Lieutenant Haley Reardon has not even gotten her feet on the ground on her new patrol boat command when she finds herself and her crew supporting a dangerous covert mission. They must insert and retrieve a Defense Intelligence Agency operations team trying to seize a transnational criminal syndicate boss from a small Caribbean island controlled by a front company of the Chinese government and protected by a superior military force.

A honeymoon period would be lovely, but, as always, the world gets a vote.

Can Haley avoid leaving the DIA team to their fate, when attempting to rescue them could destroy her crew and boat and lead to war?

This third installment of the series conveys the humor, friendships, and teamwork of Kauai’s crew from the previous books, with a new series of exciting actions from search and rescue to combat. The crew and their new skipper must come together for the toughest mission they have ever faced.

Enjoy this peek inside:

 Kauai is fleeing Ile Ste. Michel, with a powerful Chinese Navy gunboat in hot pursuit:

Another burst landed and detonated off the starboard side, and Hopkins ordered a course change to the right. Haley knew their luck would not hold for long—as soon as the gunboat captain realized what they were doing, he would go to rapid-fire. She selected UHF and keyed her microphone. “Starfish One Seven, Orchid Actual. Where’s that help? Over.”

“Orchid, Starfish One Seven. I’m on with a flight of F-16s from the 93rd. They’re three minutes out, over.”

“One Seven, Orchid Actual, roger, tell them to step on it! Out.”

Hopkins had just altered course to the left again, and the game went on for two more salvos. Then, as Haley feared, the Chinese captain tried a long burst. The twelve shells missed, falling on both sides. Two were close enough to pepper Kauai with shrapnel, sharp pings ringing through the Bridge like hail on a tin roof.

Their luck ran out on the next burst: one shell exploded on the left side of the mast, knocking out the EO camera and showering the Flying Bridge with shrapnel. Another struck the special operations boat and started a small fire. The fire itself was not an immediate danger to the ship, but it provided a beacon that brought hell down on them. Shells were bursting on the rear of the superstructure and in the water around Kauai. The bridge crew huddled behind what cover they could find as the windows in the rear doors shattered and debris scattered around them. As they kneeled together between the command chair and the FC3 console, Haley looked into Ben’s face and, seeing the same fear she had, reached out and gripped his hand.

~~~~~

About Author Edward Hochsmann

Edward Hochsmann is the pen name of a retired U. S. Coast Guard search and rescue and law enforcement professional. The veteran mariner, aviator, college professor, and defense analyst has added “author” to his list of experiences. Ed likes reading, police procedurals, contemporary music on the road, and classical music in the office. After a career traveling from Australia in the west to Italy and Germany in the east, Ed has settled into a quiet life in the Florida Panhandle to focus on writing (and not shoveling snow!)

Ed has two novels published right now (plus one launching in August 2022) in the Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures series about a Coast Guard patrol boat assigned to “special” missions. Dagger Quest takes place in the Florida Keys and involves an aging Coast Guard patrol boat dragooned into a search for a lost Russian nuclear weapon in a time of international crisis. The second, Caribbean Counterstrike, features the same patrol boat and crew, now with equipment and training upgrades, sent to recover a deadly nerve gas from a murderous Caribbean drug cartel. Bravely and Faithfully has Kauai, under a new captain supporting a covert raid on a Caribbean island held by the Chinese.

Ed’s second series, C6S: Patrol Force deals with a combined defense establishment and constabulary for a galactic economic empire called the Confederation of the Six Systems (C6S). Ed has published two novellas and a novel-length collection late last year.

 

Stay connected with Ed: Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Bookbub

Purchase Dagger Quest on Amazon / Purchase Caribbean Counterstrike on Amazon

 

 

 

Purchase on Kobo: Dagger Quest / Caribbean Counterstrike / Bravely and Faithfully

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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Diamonds N’ Roses organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Vogue will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Diamonds N’ Roses

by Vogue

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis

After battling through the highs and lows of an intense and often dramatic relationship, fashion designer, Carmen Davenport, and business mogul, Jay Santiago, are finally ready to plan their most anticipated event to date – their wedding. However, before they can get down the aisle, they must endure a few unexpected surprises, twists, and turns.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Memories, both good and bad, lingered in Carmen’s mind until she felt her eyes growing heavy. She fought against the sleep, but it was a bigger predator than she. Eventually her eyes closed and when she did finally wake, it was because someone was knocking on her door and her phone was ringing off the hook. She answered the door first and found Gully on the other side.

 

“You’re not dressed,” he said as if she should’ve been.

 

“I didn’t have an easy night.” Carmen yawned as she wondered what news Jay’s cousin was there to bring. “What’s going on?”

 

“We can’t find Jay. He’s not answering his phone.”

 

Carmen didn’t find the news shocking. She assumed Jay wanted some time alone like she did as they came to grips with the end of another failed engagement. “He was here earlier,” she told him. “He has my car.”

 

“Is it true you called off the wedding?”

 

The question hit a soft spot as she had to verbally confirm the decision. She didn’t answer right off, taking a breath before telling him she did. Gully looked disappointed by her response. “We always hit a roadblock,” she explained. “We get so close only for it not to work.”

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About Vogue:

Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Vogue’s journey through the world of creative writing first began in middle school with poetry and songwriting. However, it was her discovery of prose that opened the door to a world of endless possibilities.

 

A graduate of Winthrop University (Rock Hill, S.C.), possessing a bachelor’s degree in social work, Vogue, first birthed the idea of The Diamond Collection in the halls of her alma mater. In 2003, she put pen to paper and thus was created, Diamonds in The Rough, part one of The Diamond Collection series.

 

By 2010, Vogue had written drafts of the entire ten book series and in June of 2010, Diamonds in The Rough, was published. Soon followed by Diamonds Are Forever in October of 2010, The Ace of Diamonds in February of 2013, and Black Diamonds on July 4, 2015, Vogue joined a league of other writers, determined to make her mark in the literary world.

 

Vogue released the fifth book in the series, Diamonds N’ Roses, on December 25, 2016. She took a hiatus to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from Queens University in Charlotte, NC, but released parts six and seven of the Diamond Collection series, The Diamond Tiara and Dirty Red Diamonds, on June 7, 2022.

 

When she isn’t writing, Vogue enjoys cooking, blogging about food (Instagram: Miss Black Foodie), attending concerts, festivals, and traveling.

 

Links: Website / Instagram

Purchase Links: Amazon / B&N / Books-A-Million

 

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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 go HERE.