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Archive for August, 2023

What’s New On My Book Shelf #404 and The Sunday Post

Posted: August 6, 2023 in Freebies!, giveaways, reviews, What's New on My Bookshelf
Tags: The Sunday Post

This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

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Some chit chat.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these. Good to be back. I’ve been working a lot but somehow managed to find time to read some really good books. And I binged Shark Week. Is it just me or is it not as fun now? I swear the shows feel repetitive.

I have some exciting reviews and giveaways to share. And some free books! Check it all below.

Looking forward to chatting with you and have a great new week!

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Book News.

What I just finished. I’ll be sharing my reviews week.

West of Sundown Vol. 1: Out Beyond the Dust N' Dark by [Tim Seeley, Jim Terry] West of Sundown Vol. 2: Youthful Blasphemy by [Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell, Jim Terry] Door to Door, Night by Night Vol. 1 by [Cullen Bunn, Sally Cantirino]

What I’m reading now.

Hidden Pieces: A Misty Pines Mystery by [Mary Keliikoa] Deadly Depths by [John F. Dobbyn]

What I’ll be reading next.

Sick Heart (Sick World Book 1) by [JA Huss]

Newly added to my pile of books.

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Here are some FREEBIES for ya.

Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.

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Blame It On Midnight by Lori Handeland ~ Guest Post And Giveaway

Posted: August 5, 2023 in giveaways, Guest Post, Paranormal or fantasy
Tags: excerpt, giveaway, paranormal, women's fiction

I saved my daughter. But how do I save myself when I have a secret that is going to turn the entire werewolf world upside down?

Blame It On Midnight

A Midnight Madness Nightcreature Novel Book 2

by Lori Handeland

Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction

I saved my daughter. But how do I save myself?

I did what I had to. Try and kill my girl? I will end you faster than you can say have mercy. Sure I broke a cardinal pack rule, which will get me executed by my mate. If they find out. If they find me.

Saved from capture by Zane, the sexiest of sexy werewolves, my rescue comes with a price. Zane wants a favor, one that could cause an all-out pack war. The last thing I need is to make more enemies, but lives are at stake if I don’t make a stand.
Not only that, but I have a secret. An impossible secret that is going to turn the entire werewolf world upside down.

From the voice of New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland, a new volume in her Nightcreature world, complete with the humor, depth of characterization and fast-paced plot lines she is known for while showcasing the author’s incredible range.

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords * Books2Read * Bookbub * Goodreads

I found the country lane that led to where I was going. Several minutes later, the overgrown driveway spit me into a clearing tucked into a deep, dark wood. The place had always given me Hansel and Gretel vibes, but now, considering, it felt more Little Red Riding Hood.

I cast uneasy glances at the thick, dense trees, which, thanks to my fairy-tale thoughts—curse them!—appeared to heave and hum. Despite the ungodly hour, seemingly every available light fixture blazed within the gorgeous log home.

Why Frankie—my late husband’s assistant, a beautiful young man with ridiculously long, dark lashes and very shiny teeth—had built a place that fit him as well as shitkicker boots fit a gazelle had always been unclear.

Frankie’s baby—a peacock-blue 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible—shone beneath the light of the undulating moon, and before I could even knock, the door swung open.

Middle of the night and Frankie matched his car. Smooth. Cool. Classic. His cream trousers held a perfect crease, and his apricot button-down had never known a crinkle. The only indication of the ungodly hour were his bare, narrow feet. We matched.

I lifted my hand. “Hi.”

His unwrinkled brow wrinkled. “People have been searching for you.”

Old news. The only one who hadn’t been, come to think of it, was Frankie. And now that I did think of it, and considering . . . everything . . . that was suspect.

“I told them you were visiting a friend.”

Oh. Right. I had said that. Had, in fact, pushed him with my mind—my innate werewolf gift—into believing it despite—

“Then someone mentioned you don’t have friends.”

That.

I had contractors. Suppliers. Consultants. I had made Patrick’s Victorian family home into a showplace once featured in Architectural Digest, something that had made Patrick proud of the place for the first, and last, time I could recall.

I had neighbors. Fellow members of charitable organizations. Spouses of other politicians. Basically acquaintances. I’d never fit in. Not anywhere. Ever. Except with Patrick. With Gideon. And I hadn’t wanted to.

But now would have been a good time to have friends. Someone I could go to for help besides my husband’s lover. But you get what you get.

The wind chose that second to rustle through the trees and waft the scent of rotting walnuts across my face. I tensed and whirled, spreading my arms wide, putting myself between that scent and Frankie.

But behind me—to the left and to the right—there was nothing but trees, and when I took another whiff . . . more nothing. Because I’d killed the last werewolf that smelled like that. I knew I had.

“Sarah, what the he—?”

I shoved Frankie inside and slammed the door, flicked the lock, looked for a dead bolt. Didn’t find one, but a dead bolt wasn’t going to help if a werewolf wanted in. A werewolf would just jump through one of the far too numerous windows.

“Did you ever consider storm shutters for those?”

“To prep for the hurricane that isn’t going to hit Wisconsin ever?” Frankie asked.

I started turning off the lights. “Better safe than sorry.”

AUTHOR GUEST POST

What inspired you to write this book?

A few years back at a writer’s conference a writer friend who had started writing Paranormal Women’s Fiction suggested I give it a try. While I finished with other commitments, an idea began to form about a mother who would do anything, lost love and werewolves. Bit by bit, Sarah came to life.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in the books?

NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT introduces Sarah Sullivan, a recent widow who gets the phone call all mother’s dread in the middle of the night. Her daughter, Jenna, is missing from college. This sets Sarah on a journey of discovery, both for her daughter’s whereabouts and for the answer to a mystery in her past.

Ash has a lot of secrets too. Sarah is that mother we all hope to be—she will do anything—ANYTHING—to find her daughter and keep her safe. Even sacrifice herself.

BLAME IT ON MIDNIGHT continues Sarah’s story. She now lives in a world of werewolves. She’s one of them. There’s a civil werewolf war brewing and she’s right in the middle of it. There’s a tug of war over her between the high school love of her life turned alpha werewolf, Gideon, and the incredibly sexy Zane, former beta of a pack Gideon has taken over.

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR finds Sarah uncovering more and more secrets as she hides one of her own. She has choices to make and werewolves to kill. She has become the Luna werewolf queen she didn’t want to be.

In all three of these novels we meet, or perhaps meet again if you’ve read my Nightcreature Novels, Edward Mandenauer, leader of the Jager-Suchers (hunter searchers, monster hunters he organized after WW2, when Hitler’s werewolf army was released into the world. Edward is rough, tough, no one to mess with and as always, and incredible hoot.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

I have a notebook where I keep a list of names I’ve heard or read that struck me as a name I’d like to use in the future. Then I test them out on the characters as they come to me. There have been times when a character arrives in my brain with a name attached. No idea why.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Revisiting characters I’d created in my “Nightcreature Novels,” specifically Edward and the voodoo queen, Renee.

I have written 2 short stories about Edward and Renee, which you can read for free on Bookfunnel.

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

A Midnight Madness Nightcreature Novel Book 1

They say a mother will do anything for her child . . . I’m living proof

This nightmare began when I got the call every parent dreads. My daughter, Jenna, was missing from her college campus. Of course, my mind went to the worst place. After all, my late husband was a powerful senator. Was this some political payback?

I call in a favor and soon I’m partnered with an FBI sex trafficking agent. He tells me local girls have been disappearing for some time now, and he finally has a lead. But what we find at that abandoned warehouse is something out of a horror movie.

Werewolves! Two rival packs, their alphas fighting, winner take all––the pack and the trafficked girls. The werewolves must replenish their breeders, recently decimated by a virus that killed only the females.

But Jenna’s been keeping a secret, which only makes two of us. Though I should be angry, I know the lies I’ve told play a huge role in why we’re here. I’ll do anything to make it right. No way is my girl going to become a sacrificial mate for the greater good––even if she is the ‘chosen one.’ So, I do what any mother would do, I take her place, offering myself to Gideon, the winning alpha, as his mate.

Gideon’s goal is to live in harmony with the human world, but there are others who exist for the power, for the violence, and they don’t plan to let peace prevail.

There’s a civil werewolf war brewing and I am right in the middle of it.

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords * Books2Read * Bookbub * Goodreads

When the phone rings in the middle of the night, everything changes.

Mother always said: Nothing good happens after midnight. I’d found in my forty-one years on this earth, in that at least, Mom had been right.

I sat up so fast I jiggled the mattress. I froze, my gaze shifting to, then away from the empty side of the bed. I still hadn’t gotten used to Patrick not being there. Would I ever?

The shrill slice of sound continued to cut through the oh so silent night. I only had one ringtone left on my allowed calls after that indelible hour of midnight, and this was it. My heart rate increased from WTF? to OMG!

“Jenna?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Sullivan. It’s Cammy.”

I searched my memory for the identity of Cammy, feeling slow, stupid despite the far too rapid rate of my heart.

Spring, same time two years ago, my OB had diagnosed the reason for my newly sluggish brain and sudden ability to fry eggs atop my head as premature menopause.

Look at it this way, you won’t have to worry about getting pregnant for very much longer.

Not that I had for decades. However, having my body betray me like that—basically saying I was old, when I never really got to be young—had stung. It still did.

Cammy’s tentative voice brought me back to the right now. “I’m Jenna’s roommate.”

My skin prickled with heat and a fine sheen of sweat started up at my hairline. “What’s wrong?”

“Jenna hasn’t been here since Tuesday.”

Here being the University of Wisconsin. I’d been so proud when Jenna had decided to go to UW like me. Or like the me I could have been, would have been if not for her.

“Tuesday,” I repeated. “But it’s . . .”

Come on, brain, don’t fail me now!

Thursday! I thought at the same time Cammy said, “Thursday.”

For an instant, I was near ecstatic to have concluded something at the same speed as a millennial. Then I did the math, never my strong suit even before all the brain-fart BS. “That’s two days, and you’re just calling me now?”

“Sometimes she pulls an all-nighter. Stays at the library or goes to a study group. But she lets me know. I didn’t really worry until I called her phone, and it was . . .”

My skin did that prickle again. Jenna’s phone was in Cammy’s hand, obviously, since she was talking to me on it. That I hadn’t asked why earlier put another notch in my losin’ it belt.

“Her phone was in her backpack,” Cammy continued. “In her room, along with her laptop and her books.”

Cammy paused, waiting for me to fill in the blanks. Jenna probably wouldn’t be studying without her backpack, and the notes and books and computer within. But even if she’d grabbed a few things and left the rest, she never would have left her cell phone. I didn’t think it had been out of her sight—more accurately, out of her hand—since I’d handed it to her when she was ten.

“In Lunar Lake, anywhere can be reached from anywhere in a handful of minutes,” Patrick had argued. “Even if she falls off her bike and breaks her leg, someone’s gonna be at her side quicker than she can make a call. She’s safer than safe, like every other kid in town. What are you worried about?”

When I lifted my eyebrows, he’d blinked, said, “Oh,” and that had been the last Patrick had said about that. He knew why I was the way I was better than anyone. It was one of the reasons I’d married him.

I’d devoted my life to raising Jenna. She was everything. The only thing. When she’d gone to college, I’d been proud but also terrified. This exact scenario—a midnight phone call, a missing child—played through my mind far too often. Sadly, what I should do about it had never played through as well.

“Hello?” Cammy’s worried voice broke into my thoughts. She probably thought I’d fainted. Or stroked out. I was tempted.

But all Jenna had was me now, and all I had was her. If that meant facing my greatest fear again, I’d face it. What choice did I have?

She was my baby.

Lori Handeland is a five-time nominee and two-time winner of the prestigious RITA™ Award from Romance Writers of America, as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty novels spanning the genres of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, contemporary romance, historical romance, historical fantasy and women’s fiction. Her novel Just Once received a coveted, starred review from Library Journal and was optioned as a feature film by Catalyst Global Media.

Lori set her sight on being an author at the age of ten. She remembers sitting at a typewriter before she knew how to type, pecking out a story about a family who went into space. As an only child her summers were spent with that typewriter, television, and, above all, books. As a young adult, she got sidetracked by the need to make a living. She worked as a waitress and later enrolled in college to become a teacher.

Lori lives in Southern Wisconsin with her husband of over thirty-five years. In between writing and reading, she enjoys long walks with their rescue mutt, Arnold, and visits from her two grown sons, awesome daughter-in-law and perfectly adorable grandchildren.

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Stuffed Wolf Plush,

$20 Amazon giftcard

– 1 winner each!

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.

Take The Honey And Run ~ A Bee Keeping Mystery by Jennie Marts

Posted: August 5, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
Tags: cozy mystery, giveaway

Take the Honey and Run (A Bee Keeping Mystery)
by Jennie Marts

Take the Honey and Run (A Bee Keeping Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Colorado
Crooked Lane Books (July 18, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639103074
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639103072
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BJP8RN6Q

The town is all abuzz when a murder occurs in Jennie Marts’ debut cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Amanda Flower.

As a successful mystery author, Bailey Briggs writes about murder, but nothing prepares her for actually discovering the dead body of the founder of her hometown of Humble Hills, Colorado. Bailey grew up at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch and was raised by her beekeeping grandmother, Blossom Briggs, aka Granny Bee, and her two eccentric sisters, Aster and Marigold—which is why she drops everything to come home and help Granny Bee after a bad fall.

A broken foot doesn’t stop her grandmother from ruling The Hive, her granny’s book club, or continuing to prepare and package her bee-inspired products. But when Bailey’s grandmother’s infamous “Honey I’m Home” hot spiced honey turns out to “bee” the murder weapon and her granny is now the prime suspect, Bailey has no choice but to use her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder and “smoke out” the real culprit.

With the help of Bailey’s witty bestie, a pair of meddling aunts, the feisty members of The Hive, and her computer-savvy daughter, this amateur sleuth is determined to solve the case. A malicious attack and an ominous threat reveal that someone wants Bailey to butt out of the investigation, but there’s no way she’s backing down. She must use her skills to uncover the truth and catch the clever culprit before her grandmother ends up bee-hind bars.

About Jennie Marts

Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books range from Western romance to cozy mysteries, but they all have the charm and appeal of quirky small-town life. She loves genre-mashups like adding romance to her Page Turners cozy mysteries and creating the hockey-playing cowboys in the Cowboys of Creedence. The same small-town community comes to life with more animal antics in her latest Creedence Horse Rescue series. And her sassy heroines and hunky heroes carry over in her heartwarming, feel good romances from Hallmark Publishing. Her newest cozy mystery, Take the Honey and Run: A Bee Keeping Mystery, debuts this July.

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, Twitter at @JennieMarts, and at jenniemartswriter on Instagram. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.

Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – Alibris

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 1 – Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

August 3 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

August 4 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 4 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

August 5 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 5 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 6 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW

August 6 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

August 7 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

August 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

August 9 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 10 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

August 10 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – RECIPE

August 11 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW

August 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 14 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

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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.

Murder In The Genes ~ A Peggy Rector Mystery by J.M. Roberts

Posted: August 4, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
Tags: cozy mystery, giveaway

Murder in the Genes: A Peggy Rector Mystery
by J.M. Roberts

Murder in the Genes: A Peggy Rector Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Stinky Springs, Texas (imaginary town)
Daylily Press (August 1, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C5TY5LKV

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Writer and amateur sleuth Peggy Rector returns home to a full plate following a star-studded vacation in the English countryside. She needs to finish her latest book and plan her wedding to the hunky Jess Carson, all while her children plot to convert her rambling Victorian house into a B&B.

When Velma Whittaker, a local genealogist, dies under mysterious circumstances, Peggy must puzzle out who wanted Velma dead and why? Was it her multi-million-dollar lottery win or something more? A search for Velma’s will turns up a cryptic clue left for her heirs, but are they up to the challenge?

Peggy and her gang, members of the Stinky Springs Ladies Social Club, are on the trail. They must outfox a crafty killer while dodging Velma’s hapless relatives, who are determined to get their hands on her money.

About J.M. Roberts

L. M. Roberts is a nurse turned writer, much like her main character in the Peggy Rector Mystery series. She lives in an over-55 development outside of Houston, Texas that provides endless ideas for her murder mysteries. When not taking notes on her friends and neighbors, she can be found in her garden, cooking, or reading.

Author Links

Purchase Link – Amazon

Previous Books in the Series

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 1 – The Mystery Section – RECIPE

August 1 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

August 1 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

August 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 2 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

August 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 3 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 4 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

August 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 6 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

August 6 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 7 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

August 7 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, RECIPE

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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.

In The Shadow Of The Bull by Eleanor Kuhns ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: August 3, 2023 in giveaways, Historical, Mystery
Tags: excerpt, giveaway, historical mystery

In the Shadow of the Bull

by Eleanor Kuhns

July 17 – August 11, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment, and betrayal still run wild . . .

When her sister Arge drops to the floor in convulsions and dies at her wedding, fifteen-year-old Martis, a young poet and bull leaper in training, is certain she was murdered. The prime suspect is the groom, Saurus, from the Greek mainland, but when Arge’s shade visits Martis, swearing Saurus is not the murderer, Martis vows to uncover the truth. As Martis begins asking questions, she discovers that while Arge may have had no secrets, many of the people around her certainly do.

Praise for In the Shadow of the Bull:

“This complex, character-driven mystery is loaded with fascinating historical details” ~ Kirkus Reviews

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mystery

Published by: Severn House Publication Date: July 2023 Number of Pages: 224 ISBN: 9781448310869 (ISBN10: 1448310865)

Series: An Ancient Crete Mystery (#1)

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Severn House

Enjoy this peek inside:

Saurus was clad, not in a colorful loincloth, nor in the robe Cretan men wore for certain rituals, but in his leather armor. His wavy black hair spilled over his shoulders, un-oiled. And he carried his weapons, long knives in their scabbards, at his waist. His one attendant, his friend Kabya, stood behind him, dressed in like manner. Gasps of condemnation sounded through the crowd. ‘Does he think he’s going to fight someone,’ Mother said in angry disapproval. Saurus looked around at the crowd, his eyes narrowed, and then he lifted his chin defiantly. Although I didn’t like him, I recognized his uncertainty. He knew we despised him and his barbarous ways. When Saurus had first come to the palace, I’d been prepared to accept him. He knew my mother’s brother and had come with news of him. Like my uncle, Saurus was also a trader. At least he said he was, and we welcomed him into the house. My dislike dated from that first day, before I knew he would take Arge from us. He examined me and my sisters with careless lechery. I’d just come from acrobatics and wore a boy’s loincloth. As his gaze swept over me, I shuddered with a strange prickly hot feeling. And then he dismissed me with a quick, indifferent turn of his head. Then the flush that burned through me was one of anger. Despite my feelings, and his awkward broken Cretan, he’d quickly charmed all my sisters. And although Mother frequently eyed him with reserve, I saw them laughing together more than once. At first, he’d spread his easy compliments among all my sisters – though I was invisible to him – but soon he paid more and more attention to Arge. A knot of worry formed on my mother’s forehead. Several months after Saurus’s arrival, Arge announced she planned to marry him. There was Arge now, in front of the mound of ash left by previous sacrifices. Against the deep purple of her jacket, her skin looked deathly pale. She’d pressed her mouth into a long thin line. Was she regretting her decision now? I looked up at the sky, so dark the stars spangled the expanse with flecks of silver, and sent another fervent prayer heavenward – ‘Please, Lady of the Animals and of Childbirth, stop this marriage. I will offer you all the honey from my bees.’ The High Priestess with her nine attendants suddenly appeared from the shadows, stepping through the trees into the torchlight. Their eyes sparkled and one of the attendants stumbled. They were drunk on the sacred liquor, a mixture of beer, wine, fermented honey and herbs. The priestesses wore the sacral knot tied at the nape of their necks, above the tight jackets. to show they were in service to Her who gave us life. Some of them wore doves on their heads, live doves tied to the headdress by the feet, for love. Three of the women carried baskets. Instead of a dove, the High Priestess carried snakes in her headdress, living snakes that coiled as high as they could from the bindings, flicking their tongues and hissing. Snakes to promote fertility in this new marriage. As the High Priestess approached the altar, a soft moan of anticipation whispered from the crowd. The goats began struggling even harder against their bonds as they caught the scent of the snakes. The Priestess, who did not seem to notice the throng of people standing on the other side of the altar of ash and bone, turned to the first attendant. She took away the lid and removed the large heavy snake from the basket to coil it around her waist. The remaining two baskets yielded additional snakes. Chanting sonorously, she allowed the snakes to twine up her arms. I could not repress a tremor of remembered fear and my mother glanced at me. Only nine at Opis’s wedding, I’d been so terrified by the snakes that Arge had had to carry me from the ceremony. I looked at Arge now. Her expression was fixed in a grimace of pain. Suddenly she fell to the floor, writhing in convulsions and spilling bloody vomit from her mouth. For several seconds no one moved. The Priestess’s chant continued, then lurched to a stop mid-syllable. Pandemonium erupted. Screaming, Mother ran to her daughter and fell to her knees beside her. After a moment of frozen disbelief, Opis and Nuia followed at a run. I couldn’t move. I stared in horror at Arge’s body lying on the stones. What had I done? I’d pleaded with the Goddess to halt the wedding and She had. But why this way? Why kill Arge, the sweetest and most unassuming of all women? Raising my face to the sky, I began to sob. The stars in the sky blurred together into streaks of silver. ‘Why?’ I asked the Goddess. ‘Why?’ This was my fault: the Goddess had answered my prayers. *** Excerpt from In the Shadow of the Bull by Eleanor Kuhns. Copyright 2023 by Eleanor Kuhns. Reproduced with permission from Eleanor Kuhns. All rights reserved.

About Author Eleanor Kuhns:

Eleanor Kuhns is the 2011 winner of the Minotaur/Mystery Writers of America first mystery prize for A Simple Murder. That was the first in the Will Rees series. She went on to write ten more. In the Shadow of the Bull is the first in the Ancient Crete Mystery series.

Catch Up With Eleanor Kuhns: www.Eleanor-Kuhns.com Goodreads BookBub Instagram – @edl0829 Twitter – @EleanorKuhns Facebook – @writerkuhns

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway!

JOIN IN ON THE GIVEAWAY:

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Eleanor Kuhns. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

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.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ Yoga One For Me by Eden Bloom

Posted: August 3, 2023 in comedy, Contemporary Romance, giveaways
Tags: comedy, contemporary romance, excerpt, giveaway

Yoga One For Me

by Eden Bloom

(Misty Falls, #1)
Publication date: October 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

They say you can’t outrun your problems, but that won’t stop me from trying…

Josie

It takes my boyfriend proposing for me to realize I need a new life plan, and fast! So I grab my yoga mat and hit the road. I talk my best friend into swapping places while I sort things out. Her small town of Misty Falls is incredible, and exactly what I need to rethink my life choices.

Everything is going great until I run into her brother Rake — literally — and my dinner ends up all over his clothes. Even covered in mashed potatoes, he’s gorgeous. Not that I care. The last thing I need is a relationship after just fleeing one…

Rake

The moment Josie dumps food on me, I know I’m done for. Between the tornado of a person she is and the unexpected surprise that she’s my sudden roommate, I’m in for a ride. But I’ve got too much at stake to let her become a distraction. My lifelong dream depends on staying away from her.

Even if it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Yoga One For Me is a sweet and funny romcom that will warm your heart. It’s a full-length standalone novel that takes place in a charming small town overlooking the beach. Once you step foot in Misty Falls, you won’t want to leave.

Goodreads / Amazon

Get it FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

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Enjoy this peek inside:

I put down the yoga mat and check the fridge. It’s fully stocked with enough food to feed a football team. Raine went all out, and I only left her some bags to dump in the Crockpot. I owe her big time.

My mouth waters as I rifle through the contents of the fridge. I’m going to double my weight if I try to eat all of this before it goes bad. Most of it will end up in the freezer.

As my stomach roars, I make myself a plate of food and fill a glass with iced tea. Then I head for the dining room, my mouth watering.

I round the corner and crash into something. No, someone. A very tall and very muscular someone.

His eyes widen as my food smashes against his white button-down shirt and my black iced tea runs down his khaki pants, making it look like he wet himself. Maybe he did — I can be scary.

I scream. Smack his side with my plate. He’s surprisingly solid. “Get out!”

He backs up, holding out his hands. “Me? I live here. You get out!”

My pulse thrums in my ears. “No, I do. This is my house for the summer.”

“Says who?” He pulls mashed potatoes from his shirt and flops them onto my plate. His wavy, dirty-blonde hair blocks his face, and he brushes it aside getting food in it.

I get lost in his eyes for a moment. Until I remember that he’s an intruder, and my life is in danger. “Leave! Before I call the police.”

“Did you catch the part about me living here?”

I throw the potatoes back at him. “I don’t know who you are, but Raine said I’d have this house to myself.”

He’s really hot. Maybe he’s one of the guys she’s seeing, and he doesn’t realize she’s in Nevada. That makes sense. But why would he think he lives here?

“Where’s she?”

“If you live here, you should know.” I fold my arms.

He tilts his head, and while he looks menacing he also takes my breath away. “I don’t keep track of where my sister is.”

His sister? He’s Raine’s brother.

Crap. He really does have every right to be here.

Though we’ve never met, now I recognize him from the pictures I’ve seen over the years. He’s even taller and more gorgeous in person.

It takes me a moment to find my voice. “You’re Rake.”

“In the flesh.”

“You still have to leave. This isn’t part of my contract with Raine.” There is no contract. At least not on paper. But she did promise me the house to myself. That’s like a contract. In a way. Fine, it’s a stretch. But I’m going with it.

Rake’s brows furrow. “Leave? I need to shower, thanks to you.”

“After that, you can go.” I storm to my room, taking my useless plate of squished food with me. I’ve lost my appetite anyway.

About Author Eden Bloom:

Eden has always lived in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s her favorite place to write about. She loves hiking in the great outdoors, sitting by lakes, watching waterfalls, and of course reading romantic comedies. There’s nothing like love and laughter to to lift a person’s spirits, and that’s a gift she hopes to share with all of her readers every time they open one of her books.

Goodreads / TikTok / Instagram

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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.

They’ve Staked Their Claim……… West Of Sundown ~ Review And Giveaway

Posted: August 2, 2023 in giveaways, horror, reviews, Western
Tags: giveaway, Horror, review, western

I am thrilled to be hosting a review spot on the WEST OF SUNDOWN Vol. 2 by Tim Seeley & Aaron Campbell, Jim Terry Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.

Check out my review and make sure to enter the giveaway!

WEST OF SUNDOWN Vol. 2: Youthful Blasphemy

Authors: Tim Seeley & Aaron Campbell, Jim Terry (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: July 25, 2023

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 144

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/WEST-OF-SUNDOWN-Vol-2

From Dusk Till Dawn and American Vampire meet The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen in this terrifying tale of the Old West,
survival, blood, and monsters.

La Sangre es la Vida

The New Mexico town of Sangre De Moro has accepted its strange new residents:
beautiful vampire Constance Der Abend, her thrall, Frankenstein’s monster, and
the would-be mad scientist, Griffin. But a new threat has come for the
evil-saturated soil of the mesa: Dr. Moreau and his strange companions.

West of Sundown – where Hammer Horror and literary monsters
stake their claim in old New Mexico.

A Western tale of survival starring a cast of literary horrors from the
diabolical minds of Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Vampire: The Masquerade, Money
Shot), Aaron Campbell (Hellblazer, Infidel), and Jim Terry (Vampirella,
Come Home, Indio)!

For fans of Westworld, Red Dead Redemption, American
Vampire, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Hammer
Horror films, Universal monsters, and Preacher!

Collects the entire second arc, issues #6-#10, of the smash-hit series!

“If you like your horse operas bloody, if you thought The
Searchers was fine, except for all the missing vampires and werewolves
and monsters, then … Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell, and Jim Terry have a book here
for you. Come walk with them through the Old West, and don’t trust them when
they tell you it’s all going to be fine. It’s not. And we wouldn’t have it any
other way.” —Stephen Graham Jones (New York Times bestselling
author of The Only Good Indians, My Heart is a
Chainsaw and Don’t Fear the Reaper)

“Vigorous, bloody pulp fiction boned with fierce intelligence and blooded
with delicate observation. This just might be the start of the best monster
universe since Universal’s.” — Daniel Kraus (New York
Times bestselling author of The Shape of Water, Trollhunters,
and The Autumnal)

“Western gets weird in this gore-strewn, rollicking adventure set in the 1870s
…with a wink toward gothic Victorian horror.” – Publishers Weekly (Starred
Review)

Grab WEST OF SUNDOWN, VOL.
1 now!

.
MY REVIEW

Just, Whoa! I’m not sure what wowed me more. The bad guys or the really bad guys. The plot and the character’s background bits. The insane, gory action scenes. Or the visceral and almost too colorful graphics. Some of those violent fights…… ouch.

I love a good western. And I’m definitely in for the strange western. I fell down that rabbit hole, or should I say prairie dog hole, and didn’t find my way back out until the final word.

I have to hand it to the authors and illustrator. They had me liking characters that I probably shouldn’t, tugged at my heart a little, and gave me those monsters, human and other, that I can’t ever get enough of. And now I’m getting ready to read more and can’t wait to be wowed by these fine authors again.

5 STARS

~~~~~

Check out this peek inside:

About Tim Seeley:

TIM
SEELEY is one
of those “slash” people…a writer-slash-artist. He has drawn a number of
different comic book series including G.I JOE, HALLOWEEN,
WILDCATS and ANT-MAN & WASP. His writing work
include NIGHTWING, MONEY SHOT , INJUSTICE v. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ,the
critically acclaimed REVIVAL, and the NY TIMES bestselling HACK/SLASH. He
resides in Chicago, Illinois with his wife, daughter and 80s action figure
collection. Hometown:
Chicago, IL

About Aaron Campbell:

Aaron Campbell has been working as a comics artist for a
decade, and is now the co-writer of Vault Comics horror title, West
of Sundown. During his time in comics, he’s illustrated the
adventures of some of the world’s most iconic characters, including Hellblazer,
Batman, Harley Quinn, The Shadow, Green Hornet, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond,
and Infidel, working with such revered writers as Garth Ennis, Matt Wagner,
James Robinson, and Andy Diggle.
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM

Website | Instagram | Goodreads

About Jim Terry:

JIM
TERRY is a
Native American comic book artist who’s memoir Come Home, Indio was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and the
Ignatz, as well as the artist on such titles as THE CROW, HACK/SLASH,
HEAVY METAL and more. He is currently working on WEST OF
SUNDOWN from Vault Comics. He lives in Chicago with his 4 cats.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

2 winners will receive a finished copy of WEST OF SUNDOWN Vol. 1 & WEST OF SUNDOWN
Vol. 2, US Only.

Ends August 15th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/17/2023	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
7/18/2023	Sadie’s Spotlight	Excerpt/IG Post
7/19/2023	Must Read Faster	Excerpt/IG Post
7/20/2023	Vamplit	Review/IG Post
7/21/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
7/22/2023	Fieldstone_lfl	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

Week Two:

7/23/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
7/24/2023	Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer	Review/IG Post
7/25/2023	The Book Countess	Review/IG Post
7/26/2023	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt/IG Post
7/27/2023	@by_hckilgour	IG Review
7/28/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
7/29/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

Week Three:

7/30/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
7/31/2023	celiamcmahonreads	Review/IG Post
8/1/2023	@evergirl200	IG Review
8/2/2023	FUONLYKNEW	Review
8/3/2023	Lifestyle of Me	Review
8/4/2023	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review
8/5/2023	Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

8/6/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	Review/IG Post
8/7/2023	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post
8/8/2023	Two Points of Interest	Review
8/9/2023	@jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/TikTok Post
8/10/2023	@bookish_aly_cat	IG Review
8/11/2023	Jaime_of_gryffindor	IG Review

~~~~~

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.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ The Dog Men by Patricia Crandall

Posted: August 2, 2023 in giveaways, Mystery
Tags: excerpt, giveaway, mystery

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The Dog Men organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Patricia Cradall 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.

The Dog Men

by Patricia Crandall

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis

Ten-year-old Wyatt and eleven-year-old Hannah uncover the dark world of illegal dog fights when they trespass at a Vermont farm and peep through a barn window. And when crotchety old Lester Cranshaw’s dog, Paddy, turns up missing, there is no holding him back from investigating the situation and the kids join in. In the dead of the night, after the trio are captured and held hostage at the Inglis farm, Wyatt will need all of his wits and courage to escape in order to save the lives of his friends. THE DOG MEN draws the reader into a tempest of animal abuse, lawlessness, and kidnapping within the confines of small-town happenings. A chilling plot and a peerless relationship between kids, adults and pets.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Hannah and Wyatt skipped through tickling high grass as they entered the pine-treed woodland and emerged at the far side onto the banks of Crusader Creek. Wyatt shivered at the sudden drop in temperature and hurled two large stones into the water. Hannah pulled on her sweatshirt and wobbled across a fallen log to the opposite bank. She picked a bouquet of forget-me-nots growing along the edges, and wrapped a damp napkin around the flowers. “Mom can put them in that old blue vase she likes.”

Wyatt raced along the edge of the creek, his eyes darting all over. “Darn. I’ll never catch frogs. The stream’s movin’ too fast.” He licked his lips. “It’s way too high. Well…maybe it isn’t.” He lay down on his belly and braced his feet against a tree stump.

A short while later, frog-less and disappointed, Wyatt pointed at the red tip of a silo visible through sparse tree branches. “Hey, what’s that over there?”

“The Inglis farm. C’mon, you promised to play ‘Scat’ for pennies before we head home. It’s almost three.” Hannah sat cross-legged on a bed of dry leaves. She removed a deck of cards from her backpack and shuffled them.

“Any kids to play with over there?” Wyatt asked.

Hannah flung back her ponytail. “Once in a while, Stevie Inglis visits his Uncle Will. He’s a special child. I help him with Sunday school lessons. But that’s a weird place. Ever since old Farmer Clumly died, a lot of owners have come and gone. My Dad told me to stay away from there. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he’s got an inkling the Inglis’ are up to no good.”

Wyatt bit his lower lip, “Let’s go look anyhow. We’ll be careful and won’t get caught.”

“But only from the top of the hill.” Hannah returned the cards to her backpack.

“Cool!” Wyatt skipped ahead of her. They came into the bright sunlight and gazed down at a farmhouse, a silo, several barns and outbuildings. Chickens scratched for feed in the gravel driveway and a chained Mastiff paced near the front porch.

“Stay low after we pass that big tree.” Hannah pointed to a misshapen beech looming before them. “It’s all open land and we don’t want to get caught snooping.”

They tramped hunchback fashion across the rocky path. Mid-way, Hannah and Wyatt dropped down on their hands and knees and crawled to a cluster of evergreen shrubs at the edge of the hill.

~~~~~

About Author Patricia Crandall

Patricia Crandall is the author of nine books, and a 2023 winner of the Besties of the Capital Region Awards, Author Category. Her latest book, “Lacey O’Dunn, The Rookie,” is a crime/thriller involving drugs and car bashing senior citizens on icy winter roads. She has also published numerous articles and short stories in various magazines and newspapers. Her book, “The Dog Men,” third edition was also just released. Patricia is a member of Sisters in Crime (Mavens) and National Association of Independent Editors and Writers. She lives with her husband, Art, and a rescue cat, Bette, at Babcock Lake in Grafton Mountains near Petersburgh, New York. She has two children and three grandchildren who live nearby.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

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.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ Midnight Rapture by Anya Summers

Posted: August 2, 2023 in Contemporary Romance, Erotic, giveaways
Tags: eroticromance, excerpt, giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Midnight Rapture organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Anya Summers will award a $25 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Don’t forget to enter!

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

Midnight Rapture

by Anya Summers

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Synopsis

Rescued by a hot, kilt-wearing Scot…

Freya’s on the run from her abusive ex-boyfriend. She’s exhausted and terrified, but if she stops, she knows he’ll find her – and their infant daughter – and make her pay. Desperation drives her to do something she shouldn’t, that she knows is fundamentally wrong…

… and sure enough, she gets caught red-handed. All she can do is beg for mercy.

When Jasper catches the gorgeous new maid with her hand in his wallet, his first instinct is to call the police. But Freya’s tearful plea strikes a chord deep within him, and instead he finds himself offering her the protection of his name and family.

Their union is meant to be on paper only but Jasper soon finds himself enthralled by his new bride. He starts a campaign to seduce her into his bed, never expecting her to wiggle her way into his heart.

And when her past threatens her very existence, he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

Fall headlong into this steamy, fake relationship, stand-alone romance between a fierce Scottish businessman and a single mother as they navigate the road of love with all its pitfalls

Enjoy this peek inside:

Marry him? Was the guy clinically insane?

Who asked someone they’d just met to marry them? She’d tell you who did stuff like that—crazy people.

Holding Maddie close, Freya didn’t know what to think or how to feel about his offer. He was only a few years older than she, by her reckoning, maybe in his early thirties. He could be English, but with a name like Campbell would bet what cash she had left he was Scottish.

His voice was sex personified. His Scottish brogue in that sexy baritone made his words sound like a caress. And when he spoke, the potent vibrations shivered through her body down into her toes. A man like him was dangerous to her sensibilities. A hypothesis proven by that reckless kiss. And what a kiss! Her body still hummed with illicit desire.

But she had sworn long ago that she would never be taken in by a charming, handsome face again. She’d done that once.

Holding Maddie close in case she needed to make a break for it, she asked, “What’s your name?”

He cast an arched stare as he rounded the kitchen island and faced her. “Jasper Campbell, at your service. And who is this little lassie?” He nodded toward her daughter. Maddie stared at him in fascination. Like mother, like daughter. But it could just be she wasn’t used to being around men that much, and definitely not one this enormous.

“This is Maddie.” Freya said her name, and her daughter grinned like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

“I’ve got a highchair in the pantry. Let me grab it, and we can set it by the table. And don’t think of leaving until we’ve finished discussing this matter. You try to leave before we’ve finished our negotiations, and I will call the authorities.”

She sucked in a breath at the threat. Rich people really were different. Only a guy who had never interacted with cops would call them the authorities. But she had no plans to leave just yet. Because she wanted to see if he was serious about his offer.

Did he really want to marry her for a year to gain his inheritance? Would he really buy her a house and give her twenty million dollars if she agreed?

About Author Anya Summers :

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Anya grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only she would read the right type of books instead of binging her way through the romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Anya never did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.

Anya is a bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She also writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance under the name Maggie Mae Gallagher. A total geek at her core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two furry felines.

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
BookBub
Instagram
Maggie Mae Gallagher website

Amazon
Nook
Kobo
iBooks
Google Play
Universal Buy Link

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

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.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales by Elizabeth Pantley

Posted: August 1, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
Tags: cozy mystery, giveaway

The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales

by Elizabeth Pantley

August 1, 2023 Book Blast

Synopsis:

Hayden meets a mysterious ghost with secrets to tell. Can he help explain the unsolved mystery surrounding the death of someone who was already dead? Can Hayden, with the help of her family, friends, and her sassy cat, Latifa unscramble this mystery and keep Destiny Falls safe? A mysterious old man keeps popping up to tell Hayden a series of tall tales. Who is he? And is he actually glowing? Are his stories fiction, or is he telling her the history of her family, the enchanted islands, and the witch? And why did a dead body show up . . . of someone who is already dead? Can Hayden and her quirky sidekick, Latifa unscramble this mystery? Hayden’s adventures in the magical world of Destiny Falls continue in this gripping story that answers your questions about the mysterious world she entered through a mirror in book one, Falling into Magic. We learn more about her missing mother, whose story begins in book two, The Disappearance of Emily.

Praise for The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales:

“A captivating read! I couldn’t put it down.” ~ Linda C., Goodreads

“A mix of unique characters, romance, mystery and magic.” ~ Charlene Q. Goodreads

“Just when I thought I knew who the killer was, BAM, a twist.” ~ Leslie, Storeybook Reviews

“Generously seasoned with sass, class, and a dose of spunk. Delish!” ~ Pages & Paws

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery Publication Date: July 2021 Number of Pages: 341 ASIN: B095177BFG Series: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic, 3

Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Enjoy this peek inside:

1

It had taken a week, but finally I had memorized my long-lost mother’s letter. Now I was struggling to get a fire started in my fireplace in which to burn it. It hurt my heart to give up something so precious to me, but there was no other option. Now, if the dang logs would just ignite! I rearranged the logs, and finally, after three false starts, I had a nice blaze going. I decided to recite the letter one more time before giving it up to the flames. “Oh, goodie! Another reciting of the mysterious letter!” Latifa said. Not only did my cat’s comment enter my head, but her joy was evident in the tone of her voice. “How do you know that? Is it one of your telepathy skills?” I asked her. “Nothing so mysterious. You always cough twice before you begin. I thought it was part of the introduction. ‘Cough. Cough. My darling daughter, Hayden . . .’” “Ah. Well then. Relax, sit back, and enjoy the show.” She took my instructions literally. She jumped up on the bed, planted her ample behind on my pillow, and shifted her body this way and that until she was perfectly comfortable. Latifa leaned back against the headboard and looked like a furry, laughing Buddha. I stared into the flames and took in a breath. It had taken forever to memorize this. Not just because it was a long letter, but because of the lifetime of emotions it brought to the surface. I cleared my throat. Cough. Cough. I gave Latifa the side-eye, and she wiped the smirk off her face.

My darling daughter, Hayden, I hope with all my heart that you find this letter. I have been trying in vain to reach you since you arrived in Destiny Falls. I have things I must tell you. All your life you have believed that I abandoned you. I want you to know that I did not leave you of my own choosing. You were my life, my precious new baby. First, I lost Leonard, the love of my life, gone so fast. So mysteriously he vanished. Taking with him my little son, my heart, my precious Axel. Then I was stolen from you. Not a day has passed that I don’t grieve for you, for all that we’ve lost. Our little family, torn apart. Your birth was a beacon. A beautiful thing, drawing evil to it. I discovered that it was the reason they found Leonard. They removed him to Destiny Falls. And it was the reason they found me. There are things you have never been told because no one knew the story to tell. I have learned much, and I will tell you some of these things now. I have great pain and empathy for you being abandoned by your mother as a newborn. Because you see, they snatched me away from my mother, days after my own birth. Days after I was born, I was found in Seattle, in unusual circumstances, too complicated to explain now. I was placed in a foster home with two wonderful, kind-hearted people who then adopted me. Your Nana and Granana. They did not know the circumstances of my abandonment, nor did they care. They embraced the maternal roles and raised me as their own. And then they raised you as well. They are saintly, beautiful women, and I miss them desperately. It pains me to think they live with the belief that I left them willingly, without a backward glance. That I disappeared without a trace. Well, except for that horrible note that I was forced to write. The words cut me deeply and they created a scar on my heart that I feel to this day. “I can’t do this. Take the baby. Goodbye.” The smudges on that paper were remnants of my tears. There are so many things that Nana and Gran did not know. Things that they could not know, for their safety and yours. Facts that were well hidden. I was not a normal baby found in abnormal circumstances. Anything but normal. I didn’t know my background until I was stolen away from you. That’s when I began to learn the truth, in bits and pieces, over years of searching, prodding, and discovering one small piece at a time. My mother brought me to Seattle. She had escaped with me from a cold, dangerous island called Gladstone, which is where I was returned and where I remain. There is one family here that holds a power within them: the Gladstones. It is a power that fuels the engine of Gladstone. They need the family here to maintain their illusions and their magic. There is a parallel place where you find yourself now. Destiny Falls. Gladstone and Destiny Falls are two halves of what was once a whole. The yin and the yang, the dark and light, the moon and sun. Destiny Falls is the positive half, but it is also fed by the power of a family—the Caldwells. Your father was needed there for that reason, as the Caldwell power runs through him. Hayden, you need to know something very important. My birth name was Emily Gladstone, and the Gladstone power runs through me. That makes you half Caldwell and half Gladstone. You are unique. I do not know exactly in what ways. I can only imagine what powers might flow through you. In all my studies, I have not found there to be another like you. Keep this information well hidden. Do not tell anyone, as it can be used against you if the truth comes to light. I have learned in life that there is no one you can trust. Especially here. Be wise in this. Hold this information close. Memorize this letter and then destroy it. I will continue my attempts to reach you, but so far it has been hopeless. Please know that I love you with all my heart. Be careful, my sweet daughter. I hope to see you some day. Stay safe. Love, your mother, Emily

I heard the soft puff of two furry paws being tapped together. “Brava! If I weren’t wearing these furry mittens, you’d hear my applause. Sometimes I feel like Bernie Sanders.” “Why Bernie Sanders?” I asked. “The most famous mittens in history! Stop living under a rock, Cricket, and read the news once in a while.” I crossed my arms and frowned at her. “And where exactly do you read the news?” “Oh, sweetie, sweetie.” She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “Chanel and I pore over the paper every morning once Eleanor has completed her perusal of it. Your grandmother kindly spreads out the pages for us. Speaking of newspapers, when’s the next issue of the Destiny Falls Observer? You had a magnificent first issue. The story of the capture of that murderous ferry helmsman and his fiery death! Ooooo, gripping stuff! Oh. Can I say death now, or do I have to say demise?” I ignored her reference to my aversion to the word “death.” I mean, since I had been so close to two deaths who could blame me? They were people I knew. People who had not died of natural causes. That gave me the shudders. “The paper is on a once-a-month schedule, you know.” I lifted my chin and attempted to look confident. “Then you best get yourself a new calendar, Cupcake. It’s been a month since your big debut.” I knew that, of course. I’d been working diligently at my new job as editor of the Observer. But it had been an effort since we lived in a small town with little actual news. Well, to be clear, I thought Destiny Falls was a small town, though others had indicated that I was wrong in that assumption. The enchanted location was on an island … somewhere. Where exactly was a big secret that I’d been unable to crack. Where in the world was I? It had been on the top of my list of research projects, but I kept get sidetracked. “The lack of interesting news makes reporting a challenge. What do I put on the front page? Hmmm?” I shrugged my shoulders and tapped a finger on my lips. “Should it be the local arts and craft fair, or the ribbon cutting at the new hair salon downtown? Hardly a good follow-up to the capture of a murderer and the police car crash that killed him on the way to prison.” “I have confidence you can dig up some juicy gossip. You’re good at that.” “Um. Thanks? I think.” I realized with a start that I was still holding my mother’s letter in both hands, close to my heart. I was reluctant to give it up to the flames. It answered some long-held questions, but it brought up more mysteries than it solved. My mother did not leave me by choice. That was earth-shattering news. All my life, I’d believed I was abandoned, and I was wrong. My mother did not discard me. She loved me with all her heart and was wrenched from me as much as I was stolen from her. And Nana and Gran adopted her as a baby? How was it I never knew this?! Neither one of them was known for being able to keep secrets—and this was a doozy. What could be their purpose in keeping this from me? I couldn’t imagine. “Gladstone has her,” I said aloud, feeling a chill zap through me. “Da-da-da-dumm. The forbidden, mysterious island of doooom,” whispered Latifa as she slowly crept toward me across the bed. Latifa’s theatrics jarred me out of my melancholy moment. “And I don’t understand something.” I was pacing the room now. Questions were rolling through my head. “She says I’m unique, that there’s not another like me. But what about Axel? He was born of the same parents. Doesn’t that make him half Caldwell and half Gladstone, too? Doesn’t this power run through him as well? And, what exactly is this power she refers to?” “It’s needed to fuel the illusions and magic. Like the great and powerful Oz.” My cat loved her old movies and occasionally tried to tie them to real life. It was often a stretch, but this time it seemed to accurately define this very weird situation. I was a normal human being, yet was I somehow behind the curtain, making the magic happen? “And why isn’t there a letter to Axel, too? Or one for my father? Doesn’t it seem odd that she would write only to me? Now? What about all these years that Dad and Axel have been in Destiny Falls? Something’s definitely off …” I was pacing the room, thoughts jumbled up and swirling through my head. I couldn’t even catch some of the ideas as they raced by. “And here I am with another colossal secret.” I sat on the floor and put my head in my hands. “Yeeeesss.” Latifa hissed out the word. “She warned you. ‘Do not tell anyone,’ she said. She did not say, ‘Do not tell anyone except Axel.’ Or ‘Do not tell anyone except your father.’ Or “Do not tell . . .” “Ugh! I get it, Latifa!” I stood up and walked over to the fire. It was time to do this. Tears came unbidden, and I gently kissed the paper that had been handwritten by my enigmatic mother. Then I slowly moved it over the flames. I gasped and yanked the paper back before it caught. The back side of my letter had the impression of writing. Like when someone presses on paper with a pen and leaves a shadowy indent on the page beneath it. What did my mother write on the page before my letter? Did she write a letter like this to Axel or my father before she wrote mine? Or was it something as mundane as her grocery list? I needed to find out. I tilted the paper back and forth but could not see more than a bit of a shadow in spots. I remembered back to when I was little. Gran and I used to write secret messages to each other using this technique. We’d press hard on the top page, leaving what we called “invisible ink messages” on the page below. The reader would decode the message by gently rubbing the side of a pencil over the page. I took the letter over to my desk and pulled out a pencil. Starting at the top of the page, I gently sketched over the imprinted letters, and as I hoped, some words showed up. It took a while, but I had lightly drawn over the entire page. I puzzled over the words that appeared: 6. Write letter to Hayden 7. Transfer letter to Nakita 8. Pay Nakita “postage” 9. Reapply for ticket? 10. Lazarus?????? Clearly, this was the second page of a list. I wish I knew what the first five items were! Could letters to Axel and my father be on this list? It would certainly help if I knew that—then I could discuss the letter with them. Without knowing this, I was hesitant to expose the secret. Nakita was the ferry captain who had been murdered right after she mailed the mysterious box of documents to me. It appeared that my mother paid her to deliver the letter to me—at least that was what I took this to mean. Did “reapply” refer to the illegal tickets on the ferry between Gladstone and Destiny Falls? My mother’s name had been on several lists apparently related to the transport scheme, but the word DENIED always followed. Was she going to try again? The question marks after Lazarus on number ten were darker than the rest of the writing. As if she pressed much harder on those than all the other writing. Who was Lazarus? Was she frustrated or confused about him? Or did she simply have no idea what her next plans were? I needed more time to make sense of the message. Perhaps another session of research at the library would uncover more pieces to this puzzle, including who Lazarus of Gladstone was. I would hide the letter for now and examine it again later. And to think! I almost dropped it into the flames! I carefully folded the letter and tucked it inside a paperback mystery I kept on hand as a backup in case my Kindle ever lost power. I zipped the book into the pouch of my backpack and placed it on the shelf of my closet. With that done, I changed into my running clothes and made my way downstairs. *** Excerpt from The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales by Elizabeth Pantley. Copyright 2021 by Elizabeth Pantley. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Pantley. All rights reserved.

About Author Elizabeth Pantley:

Elizabeth Pantley is the international bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages. She simultaneously writes the well-loved Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the new Magical Mystery Book Club series. Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books.

Catch Up With Elizabeth Pantley: www.NoCrySolution.com Goodreads BookBub – @DestinyFalls Instagram – @destinyfallsmystery Facebook – @DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic

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Archive for August, 2023

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In the Shadow of the Bull

by Eleanor Kuhns

July 17 – August 11, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

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Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment, and betrayal still run wild . . .

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The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales

by Elizabeth Pantley

August 1, 2023 Book Blast

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About Author Elizabeth Pantley:

Catch Up With Elizabeth Pantley: www.NoCrySolution.com Goodreads BookBub – @DestinyFalls Instagram – @destinyfallsmystery Facebook – @DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic

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This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Elizabeth Pantley. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.