Author Archive

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 Nurse Trudy Genova mixes her movie studio consulting work with her
nose for murder!

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Death in the Orchard

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The Trudy Genova
Manhattan Mysteries Book 3

by M.K. Graff

Genre: Mystery,
Police Procedural, Amateur Sleuth

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The
third Trudy Genova mystery from award-winning author M. K. Graff
brings Trudy home, leaving her New York City studio consulting job to
visit her rural hometown of Schoharie, three hours north. NYPD
detective Ned O’Malley accompanies Trudy, primed to meet her family,
but with a secret mission to find out what really happened when her
father died eleven years ago.

Mario Genova’s death was deemed
a tragic accident, but Trudy feels there was more to her beloved
father acting out of character the day before he died. After years of
hard work building a successful apple orchard business with her
mother, Mario cleaned out their bank accounts. No reason-and no
money-was ever found. As Trudy and Ned try to investigate without
informing her family of their actions, a new death occurs on Genova
Orchards property, and once again Trudy’s family is under scrutiny.

“A welcome and forceful
return of MK Graff’s Trudy Genova, Death in the Orchard is a well-
crafted and thought-provoking story of unexplained death and
cold-blooded murder, as Trudy sets out to solve the death of her
father with her NYPD boyfriend Ned O’Malley. The couple return to the
Genova family orchards to dig into the past as the present threatens
to shake the family to their very core.

Graff deals us a cold case of
family intrigue, a small-town conspiracy, and a terrifying leap into
the unknown, as her heroine comes face to face with a secret she
thought would never be told, a case impossible to solve, and a dogged
determination to finally get to the truth.

A masterclass in laying the
threads bare and knitting them together in a satisfying conclusion.”

Mandy Morton, Author of The
No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series.

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Amazon
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Dru Ann Love:              A DAY IN MY LIFE: TRUDY GENOVA                   For April 2024

 

“CUT! That’s a wrap!” With a loud thunk, the Klieg lights dim and I pick my way over heavy cables by the remaining dim light and follow the cast and crew out the studio door., eyes blinking after the darkness inside.

My name is Trudy Genova, RN, and my work as a medical consultant for a New York movie studio is over for this week. I feel like a puppy who’s found the gate left open, freedom beckoning, as I’m cut loose for a week’s vacation with my boyfriend, NYPD detective Ned O’Malley.

This job is any nurse’s dream. I wear jeans to work, no one is puking on my shoes, and best of all, no one is really ill or dying. Of course, there were those murders last spring at the soap opera, but I helped Ned to figure that out, despite his annoyance at me insinuating myself into his investigation. And then there was the case earlier this month at the Dakota building, where we filmed a made-for-TV movie and an actor was killed. By then, Ned was reconsidering my ability to figure out human nature and unravel puzzles as we started our relationship. I guess I do have a nose for murder, but that’s a good thing for someone who has always read and adored crime fiction, and now plans to write her own mystery.

The perks of this job include days when there’s not a medical scene filming, and I can lounge at home in my yoga pants. I may have to correct script pages of medical scenes the studio faxes over, but this schedule gives me plenty of time to work on my NYU course and fledgling writing.

Today is very different, when reality will supplant my fictional world. I run to the production office to pick up my rolling suitcase, backpack, and laptop bag, then rush outside to wait for Ned to pick me up. I have ten days off and we are heading north to my family home in the Catskills on an apple orchard, ostensibly for him to meet my family. My oldest brother and his wife are expecting their first baby, and there will be a shower to attend before Ned and I knuckle down to the bigger reason I’ve asked him to come home with me: I want to finally find out what really happened when my father died eleven years ago.

It was deemed an accident at the time, but there are circumstances around it that have never been explained, including my father draining my parents’ pension fund, with the money never found. I’ve always felt deep down that my father was murdered, but I have no idea if either of my brothers or my mom feel the same way.

All I do know is that it’s time for me to dig deeply into Mario Genova’s death, whether my family is happy about resurrecting the past or not. At least I’ll have Ned and his expertise at my side. What could possibly go wrong?

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Death at the Dakota

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The Trudy Genova
Manhattan Mysteries 2

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 Nurse Trudy Genova is making plans to take her relationship with NYPD
detective Ned O’Malley to the next level when she lands a gig as
medical consultant on a film shoot at the famed Dakota apartment
building in Manhattan, which John Lennon once called home. Then star
Monica Kiley goes missing, a cast member turns up dead, and it
appears Trudy might be next. Meanwhile Ned tackles a mysterious
murder case in which the victim is burned beyond recognition. When
his investigations lead him back to the Dakota, Trudy finds herself
wondering: how can she fall in love if she can’t even
survive?

Readers of Death Unscripted, the first book in
the Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery series, will find the same
pleasures in this sequel: fast pacing, engaging characters, twists
and turns on the way to a satisfying close. Once again M.K. Graff
reveals her talents in crafting this delightful mix of amateur sleuth
and police procedural.

Part procedural, part cozy, Death
at the Dakota is a well-crafted and highly entertaining mystery.-
Bruce Robert Coffin, #1 bestselling author of the Detective Byron
mysteries.

I fell in love — not only with
co-protagonists, Trudy and Ned, the richly detailed and historic
setting of The Dakota, and the unique cast of characters, but with
the unusual plot of Death at the Dakota. Sherry Harris, Agatha Award
nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries.

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Death Unscripted

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The Trudy Genova
Manhattan Mysteries Book 1

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 Trudy Genova has the best job any nurse could want, working on set as
a medical consultant for a NY movie studio. No more uniforms, bedpans
or emergencies, until at the actor whose overtures she’s refused dies
suddenly while taping a hospital scene–but not before pointing his
finger accusingly at Trudy. When detectives view Trudy as a suspect,
she sets out on an investigation to clear her name. Then a second
death occurs, and Trudy realizes she’s put herself in jeopardy.

A
new mystery from the award-winning author of the Nora Tierney English
Mystery Series, DEATH UNSCRIPTED is based on the authors’ real work
experience during her nursing career and is the mystery series
British Queen of Crime P. D. James insisted she write. A mix of
amateur sleuth and police procedural, the story is told in first
person from Trudy’s point of view, and in third from NYPD Detective
Ned O’Malley

Marilyn Chris, Obie and Drama Desk
Award-winning actor who played Wanda Wolek on ABC’s soap “One
Life to Live” notes: “Graff gets behind the scenes of soaps
just right, as well she should–she was there!”

Edith
Maxell, national bestselling author of multiple mystery series says:
“Your blood pressure will soar during M. K. Graff’s new
Manhattan Mystery, as nurse Trudy Genova takes the pulse of a killer
during a soap opera filming in Death Unscripted. You won’t even think
about changing the channel during this smart, suspenseful
mystery.”

And Triss Stein, author of the Erica Donato
Mysteries, has this to say: “Soap opera drama is as intense on
the set as it is on the screen. Sometimes Trudy Genova, consulting
nurse, feels like the only sane person in the room. Join her as she
copes with huge ego, daily melodrama, an attractive detective, and
life in New York . . . plus murder. The city and the studio provide
intriguing backgrounds for this entertaining mystery.”

Helen
Smith, UK author of the The Emily Castle Mysteries, agrees that Death
Unscripted is “an engaging story featuring a charming amateur
sleuth. A great start to a mystery series.”

Amazon
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 Marni Graff is the award-winning author of The Nora Tierney
English Mysteries
and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries.
Her stories are in several anthologies, including the Anthony
Award-winning Malice Domestic’s Murder Most Edible. She is
Managing Editor of Bridle Path Press, a crime book reviewer, and
blogs for Miss Demeanors. Graff is a member of Sisters in Crime,
Mavens of Mayhem SinC, Triangle SinC, Mystery People UK, and the
International Association of Crime Writers. She lives in eastern NC
with her husband and two Aussiedoodles.

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner
(Buttercup Bend Mysteries)
by Debbie De Louise

 


The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – New York
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Next Chapter (April 10, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8322564232
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1LNJXZ

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Cathy, Nancy, and Mildred are on their way to Long Island to plan a triple wedding. When they try to meet with Georgia Hampton, a wedding planner who leads whale-watching tours, they discover her body upon her boat.

Teaming up again, the trio investigate the crime. Suspects include Georgia’s sister who is a partner in their wedding planning business, an artist who is a naturalist and conducts whale-watching tours, several couples whose relationships ended after consulting with Georgia, and employees of the tour company.

Reuniting with her great aunt after many years, Cathy learns that another suspicious death has occurred at Captain Sharp’s Whale Watching Tours. Can they solve the mystery, or will their efforts sail out to sea?

About Debbie De Louise 

Debbie De Louise is a retired librarian. She’s the author of 16 novels including the six books of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series featuring Alicia the librarian and Sneaky, the library cat, and the Buttercup Bend cozy mysteries featuring Cathy Carter, the owner of a pet cemetery and rescue center. Debbie’s other books include standalone mysteries, a paranormal romance, a time-travel novel, and a collection of cat poems. She also writes articles for Catster.com and has published dozens of short stories and poems in anthologies. She’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association, Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Long Island Authors Group. She’s recently moved from Long Island to South Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two cats. Learn more about her and her books by visiting https://debbiedelouise.com.

Author Links: Website/Blog/Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter/X / Goodreads 

Amazon / All Author / Instagram / LinkedIn / BookBub

Debbie’s Character’s Chat Group

Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog

Purchase Links – Amazon  B&N   Kobo  

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 30 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 2 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 3 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 6 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 7 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read! – REVEW

June 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 8 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

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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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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for One Of The Most Expensive, Iconic And Kinetic Maps Of Australia In The World organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

The authors will award a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

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

One Of The Most Expensive, Iconic And Kinetic Maps Of Australia In The World

by Jose Tugaff Amoloria and Lourdes Villena Amoloria

 

 

Genre: Nonfiction

Synopsis

Dream without fear. When dreams are nourished with faith and actions, dreams bloom into realities.

Jose, a self-taught artist, had no formal training in art, no scholastic qualifications and had very challenging life experiences as an international sailor, chef, watchmaker and stone mason. How can one be multi-skilled and pass international standards without proper educational training?

This book will make you rethink how adversity, grief and loss can cause so much pain, and yet these life challenges can facilitate creativity, and be transformed into gifts and blessings for a meaningful and productive existence.

Get inspired by faith and determination that changed the course of life, and be entertained by the unconventional ways Jose educated and equipped himself with skills to achieve dreams and goals. The one-of-a-kind masterpieces in this book and Jose’s life are testimonials that creativity can really transform lives. Miracles do happen, and anyone can manifest miracles if they sincerely believe in themselves and in the intervention of the unseen power of the Supreme Creator.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Creativity means many things to many people, but the most common understanding is that creativity happens when someone creates something unique, new, artistic, beautiful and often valuable, an enhancer to our lives. No doubt, creativity is one great way to win in life’s arena of challenges.

The reality is people have different kinds of creativity, and children can be very creative as they do not know the limitations of their imagination. There are adults, too, who are determined to create what has never been done before, hence perhaps Einstein’s famous quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there will be to know and understand.”

Jose’s creativity started to manifest when his father encouraged him to make his own toys out of some spare watch parts and other odd pieces he had kept. His school projects were also a great outlet for his growing creativity. Nonetheless, this creative influence almost got lost when he had to deal with his mom’s passing and pursue his own life travelling around the world as a sailor.

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About the Authors:

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Luu and Joe

Jose Tugaff Amoloria is a man of multi-talents and skills. He is a professional watchmaker who had mastered most phases of watches: mechanical, automatic, quartz technology and modern watches. He created one-of-a-kind kinetic masterpieces made of collectible time pieces and watch parts, enhanced with microlights. He became a chef, and was personally taught a French masterchef’s family secret of French liquored ice cream.

Jose mastered stone masonry in record time. His experience in watch repair helped him to gain a feather touch to accomplish his masonry works. He is also an avid martial art practitioner of arnis, a Filipino martial art, and he is also a second-dan black belt in Karate, with a champion’s trophy to prove it. With so many other skills and abilities, Jose thanks God for the gifts and talents given to him.

Email: jjamoloria@gmail.com

Lourdes Villena Amoloria is an Amazon international best-selling author for her book Kiss From an Angel: How to Turn Your Grief Into a Gift From Heaven, published in Sydney, Australia, 2014.

Lourdes holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines, with a post graduate in counselling from the Australian College of Applied Psychology in Sydney, Australia.

Lourdes is on a mission to help others find the gift behind their grief, help with mental health issues, and live more productive lives with faith, self-responsibility and love in action.

Author Links: Email / Website / Facebook / LinkedIn 

Purchase Links: Amazon / Walmart / Booktopia / Kobo

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Go HERE to enter the Goodreads 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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Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel (A Tenth Life Cozy Mystery)
by Mollie Hunt

 


Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel (A Tenth Life Cozy Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Oregon Coast
Independently Published (May 30, 2024)
Number of Pages: 246
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW3DGRK3

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The game is murder at the Mystery Beach Hotel.

When Camelia Collins meets her old college friend Anne Pine for a murder mystery weekend at the coast, death becomes more than a game.

Accompanied by her ghost cat companion Soji, Camelia begins to discover clues that have nothing to do with the role-playing storyline. A lurking stranger spies on Camelia from the house next door. A vengeful spirit haunts the hotel. A winter storm rages outside, threatening the old building, while a murderer roams the halls, threatening those within.
Will Camelia’s keen senses and Soji’s feline wiles be enough to catch the killer before they kill again?

 

About Mollie Hunt 

Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also released a cat-themed COVID memoir. In her spare time, she pens a bit of cat poetry as well.

Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, Willamette Writers, and Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats.

Author Links: Blog / Amazon / Facebook / Instagram / Goodreads / Book On Goodreads

Purchase Link – Amazon 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 24 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 25 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

May 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 27 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 28 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 29 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 30 – Literary Gold – SPOTLGHT

May 31 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 1 – Ruff Drafts – REVIEW

June 1 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

June 2 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

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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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It appears you can go home again,
but sometimes, you shouldn’t.

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Come Home to Death

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by Marilyn Levinson

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

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“A master of the mystery and
suspense genre.”
—Midwest Book Review

Erica
Parker has barely been a bride nine months when two thugs show up at
her apartment while her husband is away on one of his infamous
business trips, claiming he owes their boss a large gambling debt.
Frightened for her life, and without any other options, she heads for
her childhood Long Island home she escaped three years ago. And swore
never to return.

The aunts who raised her are as
interfering and controlling as ever, but soon as the family attorney
advances the rest of her trust from her parents’ life insurance,
she can return to normalcy. Except he refuses, instead spouting
nonsense about how, if she waits, she will soon inherit millions. On
her twenty-fifth birthday.
Problem is, someone doesn’t want
her to live that long.

Her aunts are harboring secrets,
people are turning up dead, her husband is nowhere to be found, and
someone’s trying to kill her. It appears you can go home again, but
sometimes, you shouldn’t.

*Fans of Janet
Evanovich, Lisa Gardner, and Mary Russell will enjoy “Come Home
To Death” by Marilyn Levinson

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A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn
Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young
readers. Her Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series was a King Rivers
Life Magazine’s “Best of 2014,” and on Book Town’s 2014
Summer Mystery Reading List. She’s an Agatha nominee, a Library
Journal “Pick of the Month,” on Goodreads’s list of the 200
“Most Popular Books Published in 2017,” a Suspense Magazine
Best Indie, and was on Book Town’s Summer (and) Fall Reading Lists.
She also writes under Allison Brook.  She is co-founder and past
president of the Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime. She resides
in New York with her family. www.marilynlevinson.com

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Website
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Follow the blitz HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Curiosity might get this cat killed.

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Kit-Kat

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Maw of Mayhem MC Book 3

by AK Nevermore

Genre: Paranormal MC Romance

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Grimdarke James’ problems have gone from bad to worse. Ousted from his MC and on the run, all he wants is to keep Kit safe while he sets things right. But calling in a favor drops more than trouble into his lap.

As he tries to salvage what’s left of the Maw of Mayhem, forces close in on them and tensions rise. New allies are found and old loyalties are put to the test. So is Grim’s relationship with Kit when someone from his past tries to come between them.

Kit doesn’t share and the threat to her position as Grim’s mate raises her hackles. With her heat triggered, she’s running on instinct and battle lines are drawn. Can Grim win back his MC, and prove he’s the man for her, or will he lose it all?

Copyright Notification: All Changeling Press LLC publications and cover art are copyright and may not be used in any AI generated work. No AI content is included or allowed in any Changeling Press LLC publication or artwork.

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Darker

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Maw of Mayhem MC Book 2

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So much for sanctuary.

Kit Parson doesn’t feel any safer than she was before she first stepped into the Maw of Mayhem, and things are going from bad to worse. Something big is definitely going down in the paranormal community… and inside Kit. Now that her inner beast has awoken, all it wants is out. The only thing Kit wants is Grim, but he’s got issues of his own.

Fingered for a crime he didn’t commit and injured by the witch’s spell, his cat Darke has control of their form. He doesn’t play well with others, and tensions with the crew are at an all-time high.

With the witches’ elite assassins on their trail, can Darke and the crew put aside their differences to keep Kit safe and get back to the MC? And as the clock ticks toward the vote with Grim’s reputation in shambles, will there be an MC to go back to?

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Grimdarke

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Maw of Mayhem MC Book 1

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Out of options and on the run after her psychotic father’s released from prison, Kit Parson heads to the only place she might be safe from him, the Maw of Mayhem MC. The unexpected move buys her time, but also puts her at risk. Surrounded by shifters, her inner cat begs to be released, and after witnessing a brutal attack on her mother as a child, she refuses to let the monster out. Totally doable, provided no bodily fluids are ever exchanged.

That takes the MC’s hot-as-hell VP, Grimdarke James, officially off the table. Mourning the recent murder of the club’s alpha and struggling to control his inner cat, the tattooed Viking god is on thin ice. If he goes feral again, he’ll be put down. Which makes his cat’s insistence that Kit belongs to him problematic, upsetting the delicate balance of the MC’s internal politics, and the woman blackmailing Grim.

But when Kit’s father catches up with her, Grim has no choice but to trust his cat, and Kit can’t deny their chemistry. Can they hold on to each other when everything is trying to tear them apart? After a gruesome triple murder propels them deeper into the paranormal world, they find themselves with unlikely allies, even as their enemies threaten to destroy everything they hold dear.

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**FREEBIE ALERT!**

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Get the Prequel story, The Maw of Mayhem FREE!

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https://dl.bookfunnel.com/am476oiskk

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Get Bites of Mayhem FREE and check out outtakes, flashbacks and more reader extras!

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https://aknevermore.com/books/grimdarke/bites-of-mayhem/

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AK Nevermore enjoys operating heavy machinery, freebases coffee, and gives up sarcasm for Lent every year. A Jane-of-all-trades, she’s a certified chef, restores antiques, and dabbles in beekeeping when she’s not reading voraciously or running down the dream in her beat-up camo Chucks.

Unable to ignore the voices in her head, and unwilling to become medicated, she writes Science Fiction and Fantasy full time.

She pays the bills editing, wielding a wicked hot pink pen and writing a column on SFF. She also belongs to the Authors Guild, is a chapter treasurer for the RWA, teaches creative writing, and on the rare occasion, sleeps.

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

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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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.

It started as a book club. It became a way to build a better life together.

 

Title: The Best Life Book Club

Author: Sheila Roberts

Publication Date: May 7, 2024

Pages: 368

Genre: Women’s Fiction/Romantic Comedy/ContemporaryRomance

Karissa Newcomb is ready for a new start in a new neighborhood, as far away as she can get from Seattle, where her husband cheated on her with the neighbor who was supposed to be her best friend. She and her nine-year-old daughter are moving on to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound. She even has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company right in Gig Harbor. Her new boss seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but a job is a job, she loves to read, and the idea of possibly meeting writers sounds fabulous.

Soon she finds she’s not the only one in need of a refresh. Her new neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They could all use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket. Together, the three women, along with Alice’s grumpy older sister, Josie, embark on a literary journey that just might be the kick-start they need to begin building their best lives yet.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | HarperCollins

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MY REVIEW

How could I resist a story that revolves around several women who start a book club. It quickly becomes more as friendships are forged and their stories unfold.

Karissa, along with her young daughter, is starting over after she discovers her husband is having an affair with her best friend. New town. New house. New job. And hopefully, new friends. The kind she can trust. Almost by accident, she discovers other women going through tough situations and the book club is formed.

This was my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed how each new character entered the story and learning what their circumstances were. You meet divorcees and widow’s of different ages dealing with things at different stages. As I continued reading their stories they really grew on me. I began to hope each would get a happy ending. Not my normal thing to mention in a review but, I had some favorites. The grouchy Josie with her tough exterior. And Gerald. His bark was worse than his bite. Maybe. They made me laugh.

Whether choosing this book for your own book club read or just for your own pleasure, I recommend you give it a try.

4 STARS

 

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Landing butt first in mud. How symbolic of Karissa Newcomb’s life. The old life. Not the new one, please, God.

She shouldn’t have crossed that corner of the lawn where the grass was sparse and slick in the pouring Northwest rain. Now here she was, wet and caked in mud. Like the cardboard box she’d dropped. At least the towels were still safely inside it. Something to be thankful for.

“See? There’s always a bright side somewhere,” her mother would say.

What was the bright side to Karissa’s marriage ending? There had to be one. It would be nice if she could find it before she turned thirty-five. It felt like a landmark birthday of sorts, but that was only a few months away though, so she wasn’t holding her breath.

Gig Harbor, Washington, a small maritime city, was a good place to start—close enough to Seattle for the obligatory bi-weekly child hand-off with the ex-husband, but far enough away that she wasn’t constantly having to look at the scene of the crime. Out of sight, out of mind. Someday, hopefully. Meanwhile, she needed to get up and get focused.

Brush the mud off your rear and get it in gear. That should be a bumper sticker.

She picked up her soggy box of towels and followed her brother Ethan and his friend Ike, who were making their way up her driveway, carrying her couch. Her eight-year-old daughter Macy was sitting on it, giggling.

The excitement of the new house had temporarily distracted Macy from the fact that she’d left behind her best friend. Who happened to be the daughter of Karissa’s former best friend. Like Karissa, Macy was going to have to find a new bestie.

Moving in the middle of February, in the middle of the school year, swimming through a deluge of icy rain wasn’t ideal, but that was how events had played out. The house in Seattle on which Karissa had lavished so much care had finally sold and now she had this house—a blue, two-story, Victorian-inspired one with three small bedrooms and a front porch. And a need for paint. The price had been right. Motivated sellers, the real estate agent had said. Karissa knew what that meant. She’d been a motivated seller, herself. Divorce had a way of motivating you. The house didn’t come with a water view like she’d originally dreamed of—water views were far outside her price point—but the neighborhood was pretty, and the street seemed quiet. She could hole up in her almost Victorian home and rebuild her life, the new start people expected you to make after your world collapsed.

“This is adorable,” her mother had gushed when she and Dad had made the trip to check out the house with Karissa and her Realtor.

Her parents were as enamored of Gig Harbor and its waterfront downtown as Karissa was. “I think Gig Harbor will be a perfect place to write the next chapter of your life,” Mom had told her.

“I hope I do a better job of writing this time around,” Karissa had muttered.

“It wasn’t you who messed up,” her dad had growled.

But maybe it was.

She jerked her mind away from that thought. She had a new house and a new job waiting for her. Between that and the spousal and child support her ex was paying she’d be okay financially. Certainly not rich, but okay. And she had free moving help. Look at all the good things she could focus on.

Inside the house, she followed one of the butcher-paper paths she’d made and set the box on the guest bathroom counter. Then she went back for the one with her clothes, brought that into the primary bedroom, which would be hers, and dug out a fresh pair of pants and panties. Think of this as peeling off all the bad parts from your past, she told herself as she ducked into the bathroom and stepped out of her pants.

It was hard peeling off the bad though. It stuck to you like dog poop on a shoe. There was always some little stinky bit that hung on. Like the memory of Mark walking out the door for the last time.

Dog poop, mud. She needed a new image to focus on. Rain. Rain washing away past sadness, bringing a rainbow and a promise of something better. Yes, that was a good image.

Her butt hurt.

Her cell phone rang, and she fished it out of her jacket pocket. “Hi, Mom,” she said, trying to sound the way a hopeful woman making a new start should sound.

“How’s it going?” Mom wanted to know.

“The guys are moving the furniture in now.”

“What’s the weather like there? It’s partly sunny up here.”

“It’s raining like crazy. I should have rented an ark instead of a moving van. I spent a fortune on plastic covering.”

“At least it’s not snow,” Mom said. “And the rain is what keeps everything so green.”

The Pacific Northwest was famous for its perpetual state of green and Seattle had been dubbed the Emerald City. Like Dorothy, Karissa had loved living in the Emerald City.

Until the witch showed up.

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About the Author

 

 

USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling author Sheila Roberts has written over fifty books under various names, ranging from romance and relationship fiction to self-improvement. Over three million of her novels have been sold and that number continues to climb. Her humor and heart have won her a legion of fans and her novels have been turned into movies for the Lifetime, Hallmark, and Great American Family channels. Sheila is also a popular speaker, and has been featured at women’s retreats, writers’ conferences, and banquets. When she’s not out dancing with her husband or hanging out with friends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends and chocolate.

Author Links

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

 

 

Sponsored By:

 

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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Let’s Hide From Mom organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Parimalasri Doktor will award a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

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

Let’s Hide From Mom

by Parimalasri Doktor

 

 

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Synopsis

Let’s Hide From Mom is a true story of Radha having difficulty going to sleep. Every night she finds different places to hide since she does not want to go to bed. Krishna tries to go along with her game but ends up going to sleep in some corner. Mom tries her best to calm Radha down every day by giving her a treat: a small piece of cucumber. Radha learns that when lights are turned out, she must wind down and try to go to sleep. She also learnt that she must learn to fall asleep on her own and that Krishna cannot always play with her, since he goes to sleep early. Radha is still trying to find her comfort zone. She is very active and loves to play. Just like us humans, pets also have sleeping issues or sleeping disorders that we are not aware of, until we tune ourselves to their senses.

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MY REVIEW

I never wanted to go to bed when I was a youngster. To be honest, I still don’t. I’m a night owl at heart. That said, I found this children’s story about avoiding bedtime to be such a delight.

The author using tortoises as her main character’s was a great idea. The illustrations of Radha and Krishna‘s scrambling to find the best hiding spots to avoid going to bed were fun and brought back some precious childhood memories of my own.

The author also included a couple of fun games at the end of the book, along with photos of the real, Radha and Krishna.

A lighthearted tale that’s sure to capture a young reader’s attention. And perhaps give them some great hiding spots!

5 STARS

 

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Enjoy this peek inside:

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About Author Parimalasri Doktor:

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Parimalasri Docktor, the author of Where is he? Tank the Tortoise, Tortoise Goes to the Vet, and Let’s Hide From Mom, was featured in CBS-3 News coverage in Philadelphia. She has had the opportunity of book-signing events in and around the Philadelphia region. She has sold her books internationally as well. This book, Let’s Hide From Mom, is a sequel to her second book, Tortoise Goes to the Vet.

Being called the “tortoise whisperer,” the author enjoys her interactions with her pet tortoises. Having four tortoises helps the author to be more creative and encourages her in writing and illustrating her own books. The author self-taught digital art, and this is her second book that is fully illustrated by her.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Goodreads

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Muffalettas and Murder: Small Town Girl Mysteries
by Jann Franklin

 


Muffalettas and Murder: Small Town Girl Mysteries
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Louisiana
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rougarou Press (January 30, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8987739402
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BPQYJQ3T

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Evangeline Delafose is finding Graisseville, Louisiana just as she remembered—boring and uneventful. Until her brother Nate asks her to help solve a murder.

Follow Ev as she navigates clues, dead bodies, and quirky small-town residents to solve a mystery. And of course, show her little brother that she’s still got it.

If you like cozy mysteries with twists and turns, deep South settings, and a hint of romance, you’ll love this series! Let’s not forget quirky yet charming characters who remind you of family—sometimes you want to hug them, and sometimes you want to disown them. Enjoy small town Graisseville with Ev as she solves crime with help from her family and friends. This is a clean faith based read with no profanity, sex, or graphic violence.

This book is the first of the Small-Town Girl Mystery Series.

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In my first in series, “Muffalettas and Murder”, Evangeline Delafose can’t pay her private investigator. They are childhood friends, and she knows how much he adores her mother’s muffalettas. She pitches the idea of paying him with the tasty Louisiana tradition instead of cash, and he eagerly accepts.

 

The muffaletta (also spelled muffuletta) traces its roots back to early 1900 New Orleans. Salvatore Lupo set up his shop, Central Grocery along with a flood of other immigrants with the same idea—to peddle delicious food from their home country. Salvatore noticed his customers purchasing the ingredients separately, and came up with the brilliant idea to slice a loaf in half and put them all together as a sandwich.

 

The soft round bread was called muffuletto, so Salvadore borrowed the name for his sandwich. Eventually, the name morphed into muffaletta or muffuletta, and the sandwiches became part of New Orleans culture.

 

You can make your own muffalettas, completely by scratch or with a few cheats 😊 :

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally, hollow out some of the excess bread to make room
  2. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts of olive spread
  3. Layer bottom half of each loaf with salami, ham, mozzarella, provolone
  4. Replace top half on each loaf and cut sandwiches into quarters
  5. Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours to all flavors to mingle and olive spread to soak into the bread

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About Jann Franklin

Jann Franklin is a faith-based cozy mystery writer living in Grand Cane, Louisiana with slightly less than three hundred other people. Many of her stories are based on the tales she hears from residents.

She and her husband John enjoy Sundays at Grand Cane Baptist Church, dinner with family and friends, and watching the lightning bugs in their backyard. Their kids come to visit, when they aren’t too busy living their big-city lives. Visit her at www.jannfranklin.com

Author Links: Website / Blog / Facebook / Instagram / Goodreads

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKoboBookshop.org

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 17 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

May 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

May 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW  

May 22 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 23 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

May 24 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 25 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 26 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 26 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

May 27 – FUONLYKNEW – RECIPE

May 27 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

May 28 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 29 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

May 29 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

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So Hectic

by Eve Dangerfield

 

(Silver Daughters Ink, #3)
Publication date: May 23rd 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A Super Spicy, Enemies to Lovers, Playboy, standalone romance from critically acclaimed author Eve Dangerfield

Tabby DaSilva’s life sucks. Her dad’s AWOL, her Prosecco-themed music festival ‘Sparkling Whine’ bombed, and her big sister’s pregnancy means she’s officially transitioning from ‘youngest kid’ to ‘weird aunt.’ But hardest to take is her best friend Toby Tennant becoming pure evil.

Relieving him of his virginity was supposed to seal their alliance. Instead, Mr Nice Guy vanished only to resurface as a full-blown finance douche, complete with Lamborghini and a podcast shilling creatine every five minutes.

Frankly, it’s a fate worse than death.

But Tabby has the perfect solution: run away! All she needs is enough cash to start a new life in Colombia, and since Toby’s petitioning for her to tattoo him, what’s a girl to do but slowly inject ink into her enemy’s rippling Ken doll torso?

Little does she know that her ex-best friend doesn’t really want a tattoo. Toby wants her, mind, body, and soul. He’s spent the last two years becoming the Sugar Daddy of Tabitha DaSilva’s dreams, and he’s finally ready to show her that he can take care of her and dominate her in ways she can’t even imagine…

SO HECTIC is a full-length contemporary novel and is the third and final book in the Silver Daughters Ink Series.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Tabby had had a bad feeling about the Belle, but she’d dismissed it like she always dismissed bad feelings when she was seven drinks in. She’d wandered up to the bar, and instead of finding a decent range of tequilas and limited chemical relief, she found Toby Tennant having a public threesome. Well, almost… He was sitting in a leather booth across from the bar, his arms around two stunning blondes, both of whom were sticking their tongues in his mouth.

For a second, slower than all the unboiled kettles in the world, Tabby watched them, her heart pumping bile. Running into him after all that time always would have sucked, but he looked so… good.

Everything about it did.

It looked like a fashion shoot: Toby in his hot pink and blue shirt, the girls in matching green dresses, and the bottle of vodka in front of them. Tabby’s mind had unwittingly formed an advertising slogan.

‘Chopin Family Reserve; it’ll get you sucked off two at a time!’

She’d watched the three of them writhe around, none of them concerned that banging in public was still very much illegal. She’d wanted to be mistaken. Wanted to be dead. Wanted to believe Toby had set up this sleazy scene just to hurt her because the alternative—that this was just how he lived now—was too painful to comprehend.

But she didn’t know anything about pain, not yet, because before she could pull her jaw off the floor, Toby disentangled himself from his paramours and looked straight at her.

The memory still had more knives than a butcher shop. Unlike her, Toby’s surprise rapidly morphed into amusement. He’d scanned her body like she was a topless waitress, and Tabby had just stood there, dumbfounded. He’d always been cute, but in the Village Belle Hotel, he’d looked amazing. He’d put on at least ten kilos of muscle, and his fuckboy haircut perfectly showcased his pale blue eyes and killer cheekbones.

Their gaze met—had his lashes always been a foot long?—and he’d smirked. Smirked. Smirked at her like he’d punched her v-ticket.

She wanted to be disgusted, but a fluttering heat had licked through her like flame, and all she could think about was his weight on her body as he thrust hard and fast. “That feel good, Tabby? You gonna come on it again?”

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About Author Eve Dangerfield:

Eve Dangerfield’s novels have been described as ‘genre-defying,’ ‘insanely hot’ and ‘the defibrillator contemporary romance needs right now’ and not just by those who might need bone marrow one day… OTHER PEOPLE! She lives in Melbourne with her beautiful family and can generally be found making a mess.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

 

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For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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