Archive for September, 2022

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Photo Finished

A Callie Cassidy Mystery

by Lori Roberts Herbst

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About Lori Roberts Herbst 

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

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads / BookBub / Amazon / Instagram

Purchase Link – Amazon

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 12 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY

September 12 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW  

September 12 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

September 13 – Reading Authors Network – GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

September 13 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 13 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 13 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 14 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

September 14 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 15 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 16 – Novels Alive – SPOTLIGHT

September 16 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 16 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 17 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY

September 17 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT 

September 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

 

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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 Meld: Magic, Please

by Kelley Kay Bowles

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The Meld: Magic, Please
Young Adult Paranormal
1st in Series
Setting – The fictional Mountain West town of Pinewood, Colorado
All Things That Matter Press (July 3, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 143 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8986288529
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B5RZPXCX

The Meld, an otherworldly group of six, has gathered in the past millennium to bestow gifts on the most interesting of all populations: adolescents. The Meld members comprise a yin/yang of deadly behaviors which qualified their membership: half took lives for noble reasons, half for selfish ones. They completed their circle with Delilah Mackley in 1962 and have since been operating at full strength to give a supernatural gift to their chosen charges. This time, they choose Colorado sophomore Millie Mahoney.

The murder of Millie’s mother and the resultant self-destruction of her father have rendered her life chaotic, which Millie fights by immersing herself in her great passion: words and their power. The Meld gives her the ability for her words to become real:
Everything she writes comes true.

While she’s too smart to bring her mother back to life, Millie does look for a way to heal her family … and maybe catch the loving attention of Derek Samson while she’s at it.

About Kelley Kay Bowles

Kelley (Kelley Kaye, Kelley Kay Bowles, Kelley Gusich) taught High School English and Drama for twenty years in Colorado and California, but her love for storytelling dates back to creating captions for her high school yearbook. Maybe back to the tales she created around her Barbie and Ken. A 1994 MS diagnosis and many years of fertility struggles have (circuitously) brought Kelley, finally, to the life of writer and mother, both of which she adores. Death by Diploma, released by Red Adept Publishing in February 2016 and #1 for cozy mystery on Amazon in August that same year, is her debut cozy mystery, first in the Chalkboard Outlines® series. Book 2, Poison by Punctuation, was released on April 24, 2018, and the latest, Strangled by Simile, was released in March 2022. Her debut Young Adult Paranormal, Down in the Belly of the Whale, received the 2017 Indie Book of the Year from Aionios Books, which published the book on May 5, 2018. The first of The Meld YA Paranormal series: Magic, Please, was released July 3, 2022.

She’s also working with her husband to raise two active and busy teenage sons.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Goodreads

Purchase Link – Amazon 

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BOOK BLAST PARTICIPANTS

September 12

Elizabeth McKenna – Author       

StoreyBook Reviews      

Socrates Book Reviews 

Celticlady’s Reviews       

Cozy Up With Kathy       

Christy’s Cozy Corners   

Maureen’s Musings       

Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

 

September 13

Ruff Drafts         

FUONLYKNEW  

Books a Plenty Book Reviews     

Lady Hawkeye  

Reading Authors Network           

Readeropolis    

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog      

Sapphyria’s Book Reviews           

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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.

 

The Proposal Laughbox

by Julia Kent

 

(Laughbox Boxed Sets, #2)
Publication date: September 13th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

The Proposal Laughbox contains THREE full-length novels and TWO novellas – ONE ALL NEW! – from New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent’s series.

Who doesn’t love a funny, heartwarming proposal? Diamond engagement rings, flowers, candy, romantic dinners — it’s all in here in rom com style.

Julia Kent’s madcap style, that is.

Future brides swallow engagement rings, paparazzi crash tender moments when billionaires pop the question, mistaken identity causes mayhem, small-town lumberjacks ask their girfriends for their hands in marriage, and rock stars make grand gestures on New Year’s Eve.

Laugh, swoon, blush and let your imagination heat up as you read across varying series, different heat levels, but all connected by love.

This boxed set includes:

Shopping for a Billionaire’s Fiancee
Random Acts of New Year
Shopping for a CEO’s Fiancee (A USA Today bestseller)
Random Acts of Yes

and an ALL NEW novella, Love You Fiancee, featuring Kell and Rachel from Love You Right, as Kell pops the question during the I Will Always Love You festival in his hometown of “Love You,” Maine – where every day is Valentine’s Day.

Sink into five fun books that leave you with all the feels, loads of laughs, and strange looks from people around you as you read, giggle, and fall in love.

Note: each of these books can be read as a standalone, but they are part of larger series. All of my Laughbox boxed sets are designed to give readers a taste of my books, centered on a specific concept (in this case, proposals and engagements). Full disclosure for readers.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

From Love You Fiancee

His lemur was limp.

And it was all his fault.

His and his alone.

That’s what Kell got for ordering a lemur costume online instead of finding a store and trying one on, or having one made to order. Two-day shipping was the biggest selling point, and though he’d bought the most expensive option, there hadn’t exactly been a plethora of choices.

Of all the bungles: He’d planned his marriage proposal down to the last detail, but forgot about the lemur costume until it was almost too late.

Leo the Limp Lemur would have to do.

 

Author Julia Kent:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.
From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Newsletter / Amazon

 

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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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Red Door

A Cry In the Moon’s Light Book 2

by Alan McGill

Genre: Historical Horror Fantasy

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This is the story of a beautiful peasant girl and a farm boy who fall in love in the South of France, years before she becomes mi Lady, the Duchess of Harcourt and he becomes . . . something else. It is also the story of William de Parlimae, their childhood companion, whose path takes a different turn.

As children, the three played together. But when the Lord’s son embarks on an important mission with his two closest friends, they find that they’ve stepped past the threshold of youth and into a long, dark night filled with nightmares, cruelty, and vicious beasts.

In the darkness, the two lovers seek refuge at an abandoned village deep in the Dark Forest. But will the moon’s light be enough for them to tell friend from enemy, poison from perfume, and the stuff of dreams from the horrors around them?

Get it on Amazon!

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**Don’t miss the other books here!**
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A Cry in the Moon’s Light

A Cry in the Moon’s Light Book 1

Add to Goodreads

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

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Father Daniel’s Compendium of the Undead

A Companion Novella to A Cry in the Moon’s Light

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Add to Goodreads

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

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Alan McGill is an American author who lives in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a clowder of cats. Alan was close to his grandparents who grew up in the Great Depression. They were married young and remained together until his grandmother’s passing. His grandfather served in the Navy during WWII and was a gifted storyteller who weaved humorous tales about tough events. Alan grew up with these stories of right and wrong along with watching fictional heroes such as The Lone Ranger, Adam West’s Batman and Captain America. Heroes who stood up to bullies and protected those who could not protect themselves. This made an impression on the author to always do what was right in his own life and shaped his love for storytelling. He is a multi-genre author with his debut novel being A Cry in the Moon’s Light which is a horror romance and mystery series. As with all his books, one of the primary themes involves characters who strive to do the right thing regardless of the adversity they face. The second theme present in all his books is love. A pure and deep love that defeats all evil.

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Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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a Rafflecopter 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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Dewey Decimated

A Haunted Library Mystery

by Allison Brook

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Dewey Decimated (A Haunted Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Connecticut
Crooked Lane Books (September 6, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639100903
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639100903
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09N6M1SNP

Librarian Carrie Singleton is back on the case, alongside library ghost Evelyn, in the sixth installment of Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mysteries.

 

Carrie Singleton is just off a hot string of murder cases centered around the spooky local library in Clover Ridge, Connecticut. She could really use a break—but no such luck, as she; Smoky Joe, the resident cat; and Evelyn, the library’s ghost, are drawn into another tantalizing whodunit.

 

First, a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. But Alec has no intention of truly checking out, and his ghost makes itself at home in the library, greatly upsetting the patrons. Carrie and Evelyn work hard to keep Alec out of sight, but what was he doing in Clover Ridge to begin with? And why was he killed?

 

Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. Turn it into an upscale park? Sell it to a condo developer? Or keep it as protected land?

 

As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list?

About Allison Brook

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.

Her juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter / Bookbub

Purchase links:

Amazon      Penguin Random House    B&N    Kobo    Google Play 

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 6 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

September 6 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

September 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

September 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

September 8 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 8 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT

September 8 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT

September 9 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

September 9 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 9 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

September 10 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW

September 10 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

September 10 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

September 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 11 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW  

September 12 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

September 12 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 12 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 13 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

September 13 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 14 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

September 14 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW

September 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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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.

The Damned Lovely

by Adam Frost

August 29 – September 23, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

“She wasn’t pretty but she was ours…”

Sandwiched between seedy businesses in the scorching east LA suburb of Glendale, The Damned Lovely dive bar is as scarred as its regulars: ex-cops, misfits and loners. And for Sam Goss, it’s a refuge from the promising life he’s walked away from, a place to write and a hole to hide in. But when a beautiful and mysterious new patron to the bar turns up murdered, Sam can’t stop himself from getting involved. Despite their fleeting interaction, or perhaps because of it, something about her ghost won’t let go… Armed with the playbook from the burned-out ex-cops, Sam challenges the police’s theory on the killing, butting heads with hardened detectives and asking questions nobody wants to answer. As his obsession takes hold so does his sense of purpose—as if uncovering the truth about the killer might heal some part of his own broken life. But the chase sets him on a collision course with a crooked charity, violent fundamentalists, corrupt cops, brazen embezzlers and someone dangerously close to home—all who want to make sure the truth never comes out.

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Praise for The Damned Lovely:

The Damned Lovely is the LA crime story born anew, an addictive mystery and a love letter to the careworn and forgotten places of Los Angeles—Los Angeles as it is right now. Adam Frost is a crime writer with a sharp new voice, telling a tale about the one thing everyone in Los Angeles has: desire. Desire for truth, for justice, for love, or maybe just a place to call home. Highly recommended.”

Jordan Harper, Edgar Award-winning author of She Rides Shotgun

“Frost’s crackling debut novel belongs on the shelf right next to Joseph Wambaugh and Michael Connelly. Crisp prose. An intricate plot worthy of Raymond Chandler, packed with scruffy, lovable, and lived-in characters that leap off the page. Frost brings a fresh voice and much-needed new blood to LA crime fiction.”

Will Beall, author of L.A. Rex and creator of CBS’s Training Day

“An unputdownable and suspenseful whodunnit: anchored in the quandary of manifesting destiny in grief and lost opportunity.”

Blake Howard, producer and host of the One Heat Minute podcast and Film Critic

“Every bourbon-soaked sentence in this endlessly entertaining first novel proves Joseph Wambaugh dipped Adam Frost by his ankle into the L.A. river. Roll over Michael Connelly, tell Raymond Chandler the news.”

Adam Novak, author of Rat Park and Take Fountain

 

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery, Crime

Published by: Down & Out Books Publication Date: Number of Pages: ISBN: 1643962531 (ISBN-13: 978-1643962535)

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | The Down & Out Bookstore

Read an excerpt:
I took a sip and checked my phone. Waiting for the screen to siiiing. Praying. Hoping. She held her ground and I lost the fight. The empty telephone. Reminding me, I had no excuses. To be in a better place. To be successful. I was an American. I was white. I grew up safe and surrounded by love. There was money for birthday parties and proper schools. I had a college degree in communications. I’d traveled to Southeast Asia. Seen Europe. Touched down in South Africa. I had a sweet girl who liked to cook and wanted a ring. We had an apartment in West Hollywood with good light. I’d found a marketing gig early and wrote ad copy for seven years. Logos. Corporate promos. Internet ribbons. Microcopy drawl. Quippy garbage that paid the rent and then some. I was on the right track. Until I broke. Crashed the cart and pulled the plug on my world of California lies. Staring into those smiling faces across a Doheny dinner table one night. The masquerade of happiness. The Instagram sham. There was no substance. No truth. No intent for anything more than gain. I had sealed the truth for years. Locked and bottled that depression south, convinced I could kick it. Convinced the gnaw would pass. Things are great, I kept saying. Things are great. But something about those faces on that very Doheny night popped the cork and shattered the glass. I called it out. I let it rip ugly. These weren’t my friends. They were assets. Nothing more. This wasn’t love. This was compliance on rails. I needed something pure. Something with purpose and mine all mine. That I truly adored. So I quit the girl who liked to cook. Lost the apartment with the light and moved to Glendale. Where it was cheaper. Where there was no good light. And worst of all. I was compelled by a force inside my bones to write something real. Something long and from the heart. Something maybe even wise. This, more and more it seemed, may have been a grave mistake. It was in no way working out. Still, I refused to believe in misery. An honest rut is all. It’ll turn around soon. It has to. Because when you’re going through hell in Glendale, keep going. Right? So. Soldier on. Live with intent and drown those voices out. Drown. Them. Out. Soldier! Swish. Swish. A red Trojan alpha bro was swipin’ right at the bar. Americana run off sipping a sea breezer with a skinny lime. Slice and I shared a healthy glare of disdain when Jewels crossed behind me and nodded to stool 9. “She’s baaaack,” Jewels cooed. And there she was. Hiding her green eyes under a black felt fedora and a worn-out paperback of To the Lighthouse. She had dark brown hair pinned low at the back. Wore a simple tight white V-neck tee exposing that soft skin around her collarbones. She sat straight. With her legs crossed in black jeans that pinched in at her waist and exposing a band of flawless smooth lower back. She kept her face down. Never spoke to a soul beyond ordering a drink. And never looked at her phone. Not once. Not once had I seen her look at her phone. Instead, she just buried her eyes in that book. Drowning out the world with a Negroni and Woolf’s words like some kinda mystery from a different era. She’d been in four times now by my count. And it was consistent. Early in the afternoon. Same drink. Same book. Alone. Like an oasis in this godforsaken Glendale desert. *** Excerpt from The Damned Lovely by Adam Frost. Copyright 2022 by Adam Frost. Reproduced with permission from Adam Frost. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:
 

ADAM FROST was born and raised in Vancouver. He began as an actor, and now works as a television writer and producer, best known for the crime shows Tribal and Castle. He lives on the east side of Los Angeles. He’s also one helluva T-ball coach.

Catch Up With Adam Frost: www.AdamFrostWrites.com Instagram – @thedamnedlovely Twitter – @Afrostbite23 Facebook – @adam.frost.9655

 

 

Tour Participants:

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

 

GIVEAWAY:

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Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime 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.

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I am so excited that ASK THE GIRL by Kim Bartosch is available now and that I
get to share the news!

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If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book, be sure to check out all the
details below.

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This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $10 Amazon GC’s courtesy of Kim & RockstarBook Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

Ask The Girl

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by Kim Bartosch

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Pub. Date: September 6, 2022

Publisher: Woodhall Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 110

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Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks audio, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

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Nobody believes sixteen-year-old Lila Sadler, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Nobody believes that Lila’s sister Rose is possessed by the ghost of Katy Watkins. As Rose’s health worsens each day, the only way to save her is to uncover the awful truth of Katy’s death so many years ago.

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And nobody knows what happened to Katy on October 31, 1925. Not even Katy. Unaware that she was murdered, Katy has wandered for a hundred years in complete ignorance, until the day she meets Rose and Lila.

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Together Lila, Rose, and Katy must confront their demons to escape this hell. But will they be able to escape? Can they forgive the unforgivable?

 

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Excerpt:

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PROLOGUE

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Katy

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THE EARTHY AROMA of decay nestles in her nose. She spits out a mouthful of soil. Her teeth are gritty and  she grinds her jaw as she digs in the dirt with a stick.  Digging deep so the message will
remain until next  time. The stick breaks. 

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“Damn!” She throws the stick. Her companion, a  black dog with a white star patch, sniffs the air then  growls. 

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Katy stops. “Coyote, are they here?” 

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The dog whines, stands, and begins to pace. The  leaves whisper as a cool breeze passes through. High pitched screeches and the click of gnashing teeth echo  in the distance. 

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Coyote barks.  

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Katy’s heart drops in her chest. She doesn’t have  much time. She claws at the ground; her nail tears off  and blood mixes with the dirt, but she does not stop. 

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Coyote barks and barks and barks. Katy digs and  digs and digs. 

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  She needs to finish. She needs to make sure the message remains so that it will be here for her next  time. So she will find it and remember. 

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Coyote barks. Katy digs. The wind howls. It whips around her. The loose dirt stings her face and eyes.  Tears stream down and she chokes back a sob.

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Time freezes into silence. Nothing moves. 

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The wind stops. 

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Coyote stops barking.  

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Katy stops digging and looks up.

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A loud thump shakes the ground, followed by a low watery growl. The smell of rotten eggs linger. “Come, Coyote!” Katy’s foot slips in the loose soil as  she pulls herself up and runs. Coyote bolts
ahead. The creature chases her and the dog.  

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  It flies over her message but does not disturb the soil. 

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Ask the girl.

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CHAPTER 1

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Lila

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I WAS TOLD every person experiences three deaths.   The first is when the body stops working. The second is when you’re sent to your grave. The third is in the future, when the last person  who remembers you dies, and speaks your name no  more. 

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My father has died twice but still lives on in my heart. But this doesn’t comfort me. 

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I pressed my forehead against the cold glass as  I stared out the car window. Trees and buildings  whizzed by, sending a wave of nausea through my  body. I inhaled deeply, pushing it back along with a  deep ache of loss. No more late-night movies. No more  corny jokes about how I’m not allowed to date. No  more childhood home as the car pulled onward to our  new lives in Missouri with my aunt and uncle. 

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A furry black blur dashed out from behind a  billboard sign. “Mom, watch out!” 

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The car lurched as Mom and Rose jumped from my outburst. “Lila, what is it?”

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I waited for the thump, but instead only heard the steady rhythm of tires on pavement. I whirled around,  expecting to find a flattened animal out the back window—but nothing. “Didn’t you see it?”

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“See what?” Rose asked, peeking out the back. “I think it was a cat or dog?” 

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“I don’t see anything.” Rose turned back around.  Her head was shaking as she nestled her earbuds into  her ears. She thinks I’m making things up, again. I  know she thinks I’m being the dramatic,
unreliable  older sister. The sister she can’t count on, who stirs up trouble and starts fires. But I didn’t start the fire. No one believes me that I didn’t do it. I was just at the  wrong place at the wrong time. I
tried to explain that  to Mom and Rose, but they didn’t believe me. But it’s  been that way ever since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. When people know, they treat you differently,  even your
family. 

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“Whatever it was, I missed it,” Mom said. Her eyes  met mine in the rearview mirror. “Lila, are you okay?”   “I’m fine.” She thought I made it up too. “Sure?”

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  “Mom, I’m fine,” I said. 

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Mom held up her hands. “Okay, okay.” 

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The car went silent. 

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Rose turned up her music, blocking me out. Mom  gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles  were white as sun-bleached driftwood. She mumbled  to herself, sighed, and clicked on the car’s
blinker.  It ticked loudly, announcing our descent onto the Parkville exit. 

.

The car turned down Main Street, lined with old Western-style brick buildings. Ancient homes perched  on the bluffs and cliffs above the town. On the other  side, a muddy, choppy river flowed a
few hundred feet from the road.

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“This place hasn’t changed much,” Mom said. Rose squirmed in the front seat as she stared wide eyed out her window, her phone held up as always,  recording a video. “I can’t wait to do my documentary.  I found out that this town has a ghost!” 

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“Well, there’s a lot of history in this town. That’s for sure.” Mom drove the car slowly up Main Street.  “Too much history,” she mumbled. Mom caught her  reflection in the rearview mirror and fixed
her hair frantically. She had the same blonde hair as I did, but  her eyes were a brighter green.

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Aunt Theresa and Uncle John are nice but a little  different. They’re complete opposites—my aunt, a true  Midwest lady who hugs, kisses everyone, and makes the  best baked goods ever; my uncle, a rough, tattooed, bald  biker who tells long stories about his good old days. We  only saw them once a year, which was enough for me.  Now I have to figure out how to live with them. 

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We drove through downtown Parkville and entered  a subdivision of colonial-type homes sitting high on  steep hills above the road. Tall oaks and maple trees  shaded the street and sidewalk where
families in  shorts and T-shirts walked their dogs, rode bikes, and pushed baby strollers. Eventually the houses became  fewer and Mom turned onto a small gravel road with  a sign that read, “Cooper’s Inn.” The road wound up,  and our small car groaned as it climbed the steep hillside. The trees closed in around the driveway but  soon opened up to a grand three-story Victorian home  with a broad wraparound porch and four spiraling  pillars, much like Juliet’s tower. 

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“Wow!” Rose was gazing out of her window. The  house rested on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River,  rolling hills, bluffs, and some of the town. “I always  love the view here.”

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My aunt waited at the back door with a warm  smile and waved as we pulled up. Her long dark  hair sprinkled with gray blew into her face when she  stepped outside. She wiped her hands on an apron
dotted with flour and dough before tucking her hair behind her ears. Mom and Rose went to greet her,  but I walked to the back of the car to get my bags to  avoid the hugs and pinched cheeks. A flash of bright light appeared out of the corner of my eye. Near the  forest, small globes of light
floated around the trees. I squinted to get a closer look. 

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“Yoo-hoo, Liiilaaa!” My aunt walked toward me,  arms wide open. My heart dropped and my chest  tightened, bubbling up against the urge to scream or  cry uncontrollably, but I knew I had to get this
part  over. So I closed my eyes and let my aunt drown me in  her
arms.

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  It will be fine, Lila. 

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Relax.

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Breathe.

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About Kim Bartosch:

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Kim is a young adult writer of
paranormal mysteries and thrillers. She is fond of ghost stories and has experienced many hauntings during several paranormal investigations. She has contributed many articles regarding travel, hauntings, and more on various sites. Kim has been on several ghost hunts across the U.S. with her sister. She photographed a
ghost at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

As an advocate for Autism and Bipolar Disorder, Kim offers her support to many charities and programs, such as Joshua Center and Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). Kim feels
there aren’t enough programs for mental disabilities. Her goal is to give as much help to set up these organizations for success so individuals, such as her autistic son and bipolar sister, will have the support they need.

Kim is an avid member of the Society of Children Book Writers & illustrators (SCBWI.org) contributing her time to many events and conferences.

Website | Twitter | FacebookInstagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon

 

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Just Like Family

by Barbara Casey

 

Publication date: July 28th 2022
Genres: Adult, Romance

All in one day, thirty-five-year-old Hallie Marsh learns that the man she loves, works for, and is living with has found someone else-and that she no longer has a job, a place to live, or a car since she crashed it into a hedge. Her feelings of rage and desire for revenge are soon replaced by a fascination with her new neighbors-four peculiar, elderly people who decide to buy an old run-down estate, fix it up, and live in it “just like family.”

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Hallie’s heart raced as she walked briskly past the other offices to the executive suite at the end of the corridor. Since Jeff had sent word asking to see her, it must mean that he was finally finished with that project he had been working on day and night for the past several weeks and that he needed her as much as she needed him. She knew his divorce had just been finalized, although he hadn’t told her yet. She had called the courthouse downtown and found out on her own. He was probably just waiting for the right time to tell her. Over a romantic dinner at one of their favorite places. Or maybe he would take her somewhere for the weekend. He enjoyed surprising her. And there was the awards banquet tonight. He hadn’t mentioned that to her either, but naturally he would want her to go with him. In real estate circles, it was the event of the year. Even though it was supposed to be a secret, everyone knew that Jeff was getting the Salesman of the Year Award again. So much to celebrate and what better way than to make love in his office now.

“Mr. Darnell is expecting you, Ms. Marsh.”

Hallie smiled at the secretary, hoping that her demeanor was that of a public relations director going into a meeting with the president of the company and not of a woman who was going to make love to her boss in his office at four o’clock in the afternoon. “Thanks, Mary,” she said shifting her notebook in an exaggerated movement from one hand to the other, feeling slightly self-conscious. She suppressed the urge to giggle, something she frequently did whenever she felt self-conscious, and walked past the secretary’s desk. On the other side of the ornate double doors was Jeff’s office, a large multi-functional room that had both a southern and eastern exposure.

Jeff was standing with his back to her, looking out one of two mullioned, floor-to-ceiling windows, the one facing the intracoastal waterway. Hallie quietly closed the door and locked it. The desire she felt for him was tremendous and had somehow managed to gravitate to an area the size of a baseball between her naval and vulva. Without saying anything she unbuttoned her navy blue coatdress, silently applauding the fact that she had decided to wear it today since it was so easy to take off. Then she walked up behind him, slipped her arms around his waist, and pressed her body into his back. “You can’t imagine how much I have missed you,” she whispered when he turned around. She eagerly sought his lips as she loosened his tie and began unfastening the buttons on his shirt, completely forgetting the self-consciousness she had experienced moments earlier. He did that to her. Things she wouldn’t normally do under any other circumstances, she felt no inhibitions in doing with Jeff.

“Hallie, I need to tell you something.” Jeff held her trembling hands in his but she continued with the buttons, stopping only when she reached the buckle on his belt. She pulled his shirt loose from his trousers and opened it, exposing his bare chest. Then she tenderly kissed his neck, working her way down his chest and stomach with her mouth and tongue.

“Hallie, please. Stop. We have to talk.”

Hallie looked up into Jeff’s face, breathless and flushed with desire. Curiously at that moment she remembered seeing somewhere in a magazine two similar photographs side by side, the caption under one of them reading, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

Author Barbara Casey

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, established in 1995, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014 Barbara became a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in true crime and other cutting-edge adult nonfiction. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her three cats who adopted her.

Website / Goodreads

 

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Violet Yorke, Gilded Girl: Ghosts In the Closet

by PJ McIlvaine

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Paranormal Mystery

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She sees ghosts…but are they malevolent or friendly?

Poor little rich girl Violet Yorke has seen ghosts for as long as she can remember, but no one believes her.

Not stodgy Grandmother, who took charge of the heiress after her parents were killed in a failed robbery. Nor kind-hearted Aunt Nanette, or Uncle Bertie, a charming rogue. Not even the patient Hugo Hewitt, Violet’s godfather and trustee of her vast fortune.

Everyone dismissed the child’s insistence about ghosts as a harmless eccentricity—until the night her bedroom caught fire. Violet was promptly sent overseas, fueling her anger and resentment.

Two years later, a rebellious twelve-year-old Violet is on her way back to Manhattan on the doomed Titanic. As the ship sinks into the deep Atlantic Ocean, she’s put in a lifeboat by an apparition who rescued her from the clutches of a jewel thief. Presumed lost at sea, Violet shocks everyone by crashing her own funeral.

Following Violet’s recovery, Grandmother has grand high society designs for the girl, but Violet has other ideas. She’s determined to uncover the secret of what really happened to her parents. Then there’s the mystery of the moon-faced boy at gloomy Dunham Hall and his connection to the ghost on Titanic. Also hot on Violet’s trail is the jewel thief, the specter of her murdered governess, and a vengeful ghost lurking in Violet’s childhood home.

Being a poor little rich girl in 1912 Gotham isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in this delightfully dark and droll supernatural historical fantasy.

Amazon * B&N * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Author Interview
.Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell me something about yourself and how you became an author?I’m an extremely prolific, writing in multiple genres from kid lit to adult to Amazon wish lists. I knew I always wanted to write novels, but it wasn’t until my mother passed away that I returned to my first love–prose–after devoting many years to screenwriting. I still have a couple of original screenplays in me, but right now, I’m loving what I’m doing, feeling passionate about what I’m writing, and manifesting good things with a little help from the universe.  

 

What is something unique/quirky about you?

I hate mint, mint anything. I have a thing about toilet paper. I buy in bulk and always carry a roll in the car for emergencies. I don’t eat out. 

 

Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you!

Back in June, I won a sweepstake to go to a movie premiere in New York City, two nights at the Plaza Hotel, all expenses paid.  At first, I thought it was a scam, but it turned out to be real! My husband and I had a great time and it taught me a valuable lesson: not everything you click on social media is fake or bogus.

 

What are some of your pet peeves?

Slow drivers, hot soda, loud fireworks at midnight, whining, bad puns, people who don’t pick up their dog’s poop, and overbaked brownies. 

 

Where were you born/grew up at?

I was born in Elmhurst, Queens, NY, but grew up in Lake Ronkonkoma, NY. It was considered the boonies back then. No car, no malls, no internet, no cell phones, no computers. How did we survive?

 

If you knew you’d die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?

With my family at the beach eating gooey pizza and sipping an ultra-thick chocolate milkshake while listening to John Hyatt, Steve Earle, CSNY, Springsteen, and hits of the 60s. 

 

Who is your hero and why?

Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. He knew right from wrong and wasn’t afraid to speak up. He embodied what a good father and citizen should be. We need more Atticus’ in the world. 

 

What kind of world ruler would you be?

Kind but firm with no zero tolerance for fools. 

 

What are you passionate about these days?

My writing and my family. I still get worked up about politics and such, but it’s hazardous to my health, so I try to limit my anger to a manageable level.  

 

What do you do to unwind and relax?

I watch old movies and gritty international mysteries and thrillers. I’m a sucker for Nordic noir. 

 

How to find time to write as a parent?

I’m a grandparent now, but I’ve learned that you make the time. I wouldn’t be as prolific as I am if I didn’t. I write every day, even if it’s only a sentence or a paragraph. Is it hard? Of course. But it’s also being disciplined and highly motivated. If you can find time to brush your teeth twice a day, you can write something.

 

Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

Passionate, determined, stubborn, headstrong, positive, optimistic, loyal. Okay, that’s seven words. 

 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Since I was a small child. I used to write comic books and neighborhood newspapers with my brother. I may have toyed with different careers when I was younger, but writing has always been my first love and passion. 

 

Do you have a favorite movie?

If I’m honest, too many to name, BUT–in comedy, hands down. IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD. I have to watch that movie at least once a year and it still cracks me up. 

 

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?

#SeaweedGirl, my middle-grade eco-mystery fantasy, would make a great family movie. It’s got it all: a messy family, an unreliable narrator, secrets and mysteries galore, and a new take on merfolk. 

 

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Lone Wolf.

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PJ McIlvaine is a prolific author/screenwriter/writer/journalist.

PJ is the author of the AmazonUS best-selling VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET (April 2022, Darkstroke Books), her debut middle-grade supernatural historical mystery adventure about a sassy poor little rich girl/Titanic survivor who sees ghosts in 1912 Manhattan.

PJ’s debut picture book LITTLE LENA AND THE BIG TABLE (May 2019, Big Belly Book Co.), with illustrations by Leila Nabih, is about a determined little girl tired of eating with her annoying cousins at the kid’s table, only to discover that the grown-up big table isn’t much better. Her second published picture book, DRAGON ROAR (October 2021, MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing), illustrations by Logan Rogers), is about a lonely, sick dragon who has lost his mighty roar and the brave village girl who helps him find it again. PJ is also under contract with Oghma Creative Media for a series of Creature Feature picture books (2023-2024) and with Orange Blossom Books for her debut Young Adult alternate history adventure THE CONUNDRUM OF CHARLEMAGNE CROSSE set in Victorian London (Fall 2023).

PJ is also a co-host and founding member of #PBPitch, the premiere Twitter pitch party for picture book creators.

PJ has been published in numerous outlets including The New York Times and Newsday. PJ also does features and interviews for The Children’s Book Insider newsletter.

Also, PJ’s critically acclaimed Showtime original family movie MY HORRIBLE YEAR with Mimi Rogers, Karen Allen, and Eric Stoltz, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy.

PJ lives in Eastern Long Island with her family along with Luna, an extremely spoiled French Bulldog, and Sasha the Psycho Cat.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Goodreads

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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!”

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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.

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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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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.