Posts Tagged ‘suspense’

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

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

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

Obedience

by Liza Snow

Genre: Erotic Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Cassandra

 

Growing up, I was mesmerized by a man soaring the skies.

The greatest silk aerialist in the world, Chandler Moreau.

 

He was once my lifeline, the dream I clung to after my parents died. I’ve always believed he was my destiny. To join him at the Dreamers Academy. To perform for him.

 

To soar with him.

 

He’s more than I ever imagined. Far more than a mentor. When I am high in the silks, turning, flying, falling, he’s my lifeline once again. Twisting my heart and my body into knots like the knots of his beloved Japanese rope bondage, Shibari.

 

I don’t want to live without him. With each lesson, each touch, I crave more. Only he can satisfy me. And only he can destroy me…

 

But I must keep him safe from the past that relentlessly follows me.

 

Chandler

 

She is my protégé, the student I’ve been waiting to take under my wing for my entire career. Someone with whom I could share my lifelong journey in my family’s circus, Cirque du Lys.

 

I never intended to fall in love with the student I was supposed to protect—from myself and the demons that lurk in my shadows. But sometimes fate has other plans.

 

Cassandra, my beautiful butterfly. I know she’s off limits. Forbidden. Still, I want her in my life. My heart. My bed.

 

My grandfather’s taunting words still linger.

Mieux vaut plier que rompre.

Adapt and survive.

 

It’s what we must do. Cassandra and I share a history that entwines us more than the silks we’ve spent our lives mastering ever could.

 

There are secrets from the past that must never be told. And truths that could destroy what we’ve just begun…

 

More to Love:

In addition to the paperback, Obedience is also available in a full-cast narrated audiobook, starring Daniel Zbel and Rapunzaroo, along with a cast of additional voiceover actresses. Brought to life in the way the story is meant to be told, and it will be the best audiobook you listen to this year—possibly for a very long time. You’ll love listening to the two voices of these iconic characters. And don’t forget to read along with them and enjoy a fantastic, immersive experience. You’ll need the paperback copy to fan yourself off from some of the narration!

Check out this peek inside:

I hadn’t needed to prompt her. She began, pulling herself upward, drawing those silks around her small frame as she went. Climbing high into the air as the two women began their duet. The French lyrics pulled me in every time. It was perhaps one of the reasons that while I simply tolerated most opera songs I’d heard, I adored this song.

 

Every time I heard it, every time I got lost in those little nuances of the language, it brought me back to summertime in Melun, France. Playing on the hills overlooking the city, lost in the grasses filled with wildflowers. Climbing into Meme’s apple trees. Perhaps the time in my life when it had felt so simple. All there were, were the memories of when I’d been happy.

 

And if there was any place I wanted to be, as I watched Cassandra ascending above me, knowing in seconds I would be right beside her, it was in those memories again. Bringing her with me.

 

The first stanza finished, and my mind immediately centered. My hands had already been wrapped in the silks without having to think about it. She paused, and I saw her attention drift downward. We fell captive to one another, and it was all I needed to see. I knew it was my turn to go to her. She was waiting for me.

 

In the same fashion she had moments earlier, I began my way up the silks beside hers, which had been a deep royal purple color. The entire time I made my way high into the room, I immersed myself in the French lyrics, the strings complimenting every rise and fall of the two women’s voices. Some moments, I’d lose myself in what I was doing, taking careful note of all the little adjustments my body was making. Other times, my attention drifted upward. Until finally, I was just beneath Cassandra.

 

When I paused again, I took a few deep breaths, steadying myself. Focused entirely on the beautiful woman above me, who was just as attentive to me. I nodded to her, signaling I was ready, prepared to follow her in whatever she had thought to do next.

 

At the precise moment when I had met her, she had already begun moving herself into a sailor pose above me, legs splitting, and much to my satisfaction, every single part of her in perfect position. All the small details I’d shown her the first lesson we’d had together were as pristine as when I’d helped her myself.

 

I would have taken more time to truly enjoy how proud of her I felt if she hadn’t twisted downward, dropping her torso straight toward me in a graceful fall. Before she’d completed it, I knew what she’d done. A Rainbow Marchenko. A famous move of Jeanne’s for many years. But watching her as she settled into it, I would have thought it was hers alone.

 

Cassandra’s hands dropped, releasing the silks. Dangling inches away. The only thing holding her in the air was the precise folds of those green fabrics wrapped around her legs.

 

Looking into her eyes as she hung there, waiting for me to act, all I could do was smile. She’d been focused, lost in her own world, but she’d come back to me. We were together again in the very place I had wanted to be with her ever since I’d seen her flying through the silks at her audition. I had dreamt about it every time since, every lesson we had, every time I’d watched her from the shadows of the theater while she practiced.

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About Author Liza Snow

A bestselling independent author from Florida, Liza has been putting romance books into her readers hands for over a half decade, and has loved every minute of it.

 

​Liza lives with her husband, her two dogs and her cat, ten minutes from the beach. When she isn’t writing, you can often find her walking and enjoying outside, with a coffee and a book in hand.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest

Audio Book Excerpt

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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The Art of Love and Murder

A Wild Horse Peak Novel #1

by Brenda Whiteside

Genre: Romantic Suspense, Mystery

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A woman searching for her past. A sheriff hiding in his present. Their future together threatened by murder.

Forty-three years after the airplane crash she survived killed her parents, Lacy Dahl is looking for answers. When her research uncovers secrets about the mother she never knew and disputes the identity of her father, someone is willing to murder to keep her discoveries hidden.

Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still haunted by the death of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the name of justice. When he meets Lacy, he is determined not to become involved, but their pasts make that impossible saving Lacy may be his only redemption.

Just as she begins to believe the present is more important than her past, Chance’s connection and a murder spin her deeper into danger and further from love. When the truth is revealed, will the revelations free Lacy and Chance…or destroy them?

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Guest Post by Author Brenda Whiteside

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STRONG WOMEN OF FACT AND FICTION #girlpower

 

What’s the definition of a strong woman? Would you define female strength different than male strength? In days gone by, I think we did, but the lines have blurred especially in fiction. Kick-ass women heroines are extremely popular. Girl Power!

 

The fact is, even in real life the lines have blurred. Take for instance, FDW and me. June 22 is our wedding anniversary. For the first thirty-seven years of our marriage, my husband always surprised me with a gift or greeting…surprised because I never remembered the date. Now, that’s just backwards. Women are supposed to be the sentimental ones, right? Then one year, we moved into a house with a new phone number. This is back a few years when everyone had landlines. The phone number ended with 22. At last, something I could relate, make a connection, give me a hint to the date we were married! I’ve remembered the date ever since. FDW is mushier than I am. Nowadays—we can admit such things.

 

The heroines of my Wild Horse Peaks books have varying degrees of physical strength, but, for me, inner strength makes for a more compelling story: living through the deaths of parents and a husband; standing up to a stalker; leading a double life to avoid a murderer; surviving abuse; facing a Nazi mad-woman. Each woman endures hardships and comes out on the other side with a shining inner strength.

 

What’s your definition of a strong woman? Do you prefer the muscle variety packing a gun? Do the women of the west, enduring hardships and loneliness strike a chord? Do you enjoy reading about heroines whose attitude says everything about strength?

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Southwest of Love and Murder

A Wild Horse Peak Novel #2

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Writing murder mysteries is all in a day’s work until an obsessed fan brings Phoebe’s stories to life.

Mystery writer, Phoebe Anderson, owes her success to killing her first husband on paper seventeen years earlier. Now, someone has actually done it. Taking a few days to re-group on an isolated ranch, she doesn’t expect romance…or murder…to find her.

Mason Meadowlark is happy with his wild cowboy ways, avoiding love since the death of his baby and the end of his marriage twenty years before. When Phoebe shakes up his routine, he fights to control his emotions, fearing the pain of opening his heart again.

With an obsessed fan close on her heels, Phoebe is thrown into her own murder mystery…and the next target on the psychopath’s list is Mason.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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The Power of Love and Murder

A Wild Horse Peak Novel #3

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Penny’s secrets can ruin the presidential contender who ordered her family’s murder…and mark her as the next hit.

Penny Spark’s desire to reconnect with family this Christmas exposes her true identity—a secret she’s hidden for thirteen years from the political powers that murdered her family.

Jake Winters is out of rehab and coming to grips with his demons. When he meets Penny, he believes this holiday season could be the start of life after rock star status…until her secrets blow up his world.

With a government agent turned hit man closing in on her, Penny and Jake race to expose the presidential contender who targeted her family. Even if they win the race with death, the murder that stands between them could end their hopes for a new life…and love.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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The Deep Well of Love and Murder

A Wild Horse Peak Novel #4

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A vengeful ex-husband and bloody fight for land threaten a love-struck couple’s happiness.

After an abusive childhood and bad marriage, Laura Katz has finally found a home, stability…and possibly love. But her blissful refuge as nanny on the Meadowlark Ranch, miles from Flagstaff, shatters when her ex is released from prison, determined to reclaim her.

Randy Silva, the Argentine foreman, has plans for his own ranch, but a brutal land grab is underway. As the battle escalates, Laura steals his heart, but there are outsiders who stand in their way. He’s in a vicious battle for his land—and the woman he wants by his side.

Stakes are high, as the attacks on Randy and his ranch draw blood. While the vengeful ex-husband stalks Laura, a mob-backed land developer teams with a desperate gambler. Uncertain where the next attack will come from—will their love be caught in the crossfire.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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A Legacy of Love and Murder

A Wild Horse Peak Novel #1.5

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Inheriting an Austrian Castle is an Alpine fairytale for August, until someone begins targeting the heirs.

August Myer arrives in Austria to meet her great-grandfather and explore his castle estate filled with priceless art, only to find he’s died under suspicious circumstances. As one of his heirs, her life is in danger, turning her Alpine adventure into a nightmare of veiled threats, unexplained accidents, and murder.

Inspector Tobias Wolf splits his time between catching criminals and fighting the spread of neo-Nazism. But when the beautiful, intriguing American crosses his path during a murder investigation, ensuring her safety challenges his priorities…and his heart.

When August learns the handsome inspector is concealing secrets, and the death of her great-grandfather is somehow connected, she takes the investigation into her own hands. Can Wolf save her before the killer strikes again?

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**Get it FREE when you subscribe to Brenda’s newsletter! **

https://brendawhiteside.com

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Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, cozy mystery, and romance. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart so won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.

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

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

 

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Book Details:

Book Title:  Copper Waters – A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages 
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date:   October, 2022
Content Rating:  G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance
 
 

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MY REVIEW

I wonder if Analisse and Alec will finally seal the deal and get married. It seems Annalisse is wondering that also. Needing a break from the stress of it all, she heads to New Zealand to visit a family friend at his sheep ranch. Not able to go along, Alec sends his friend Bill Drake to accompany her on the flight. She’s no fan of flying and he’s proved handy when things go sideways. Which they quickly do.

Not one but two deaths occur and Annalise and Bill are right in the thick of it. Not exactly suspects, their help isn’t desired and in now way do the residents or authorities want them digging into things. The way ahead is going to be tricky and dangerous.

It’s been a whole lot of fun getting to know these characters. No many different personalities. And so many secrets and obstacles to overcome. I enjoyed each book as much as the other and would be quite happy if more were to come.

4 STARS

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Book Description:

Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.

But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.

Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.

Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

 

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Copper Waters – A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages 
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date:   October, 2022
Content Rating:  G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance
 
 

Book Description:

Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.

But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.

Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.

Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

 

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Copper Waters – A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages 
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date:   October, 2022
Content Rating:  G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance
 
 

Book Description:

Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.

But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.

Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.

Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

 

 

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Book Title:  Copper Waters – A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages 
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date:   October, 2022
Content Rating:  G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance
 
 

Book Description:

Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.

But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.

Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.

Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

 

Near Miss

by C.S. Smith

 

Publication date: January 10th 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

He’s hostage to his past. Betrayal and death haunt former British Special Air Service captain Lachlan Mackay after a disastrous mission in the mountains of Afghanistan ends his military career. Now a civilian, his job overseeing security teams in Kabul brings the opportunity to topple a powerful warlord, avenge the dead, and free himself from the crushing guilt of trusting the wrong woman. However, his plans for revenge get derailed when someone from his past targets his beautiful new American colleague.

She has a secret that could destroy him. Sophia Russo wants to make a difference in the lives of the Afghan people. As the new director of Legislative Affairs at Landry Associates International, her job is to lobby Congress to support her company’s development projects in the war-torn country. But when her best friend’s father, a retired four-star admiral, tells her someone may be trafficking weapons to a warlord, she agrees to spy on the prime suspect, LAI’s head of Global Security. Lachlan Mackay is dangerously sexy and full of secrets, but after getting to know the Hot Scot, her heart refuses to believe he’s a criminal.

The past won’t stay dead. When Sophia is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse between Lachlan and an unknown enemy, she teams up with him to help prove his innocence. The tables are turned when their hunt for the truth makes them the hunted.

To save Lachlan, Sophia may have to betray him, and Lachlan is forced to do the one thing he swore he’d never do again.

Trust a woman with his life.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Author C.S. Smith:

C.S. Smith writes steamy romantic suspense and paranormal romance featuring current and former special operations soldiers. She admits to having a thing for alpha males. The bigger and badder they are, the harder they fall!

While earning a Master’s in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, she worked in and around the Pentagon surrounded by good-looking men in uniform, including the one she eventually married.

Her career as a writer took off in 2018 when her youngest child learned to drive and her days of micromanaging a family of five were coming to an end. Now she manages her husband of over thirty years and the family rescue dog – a supposed Golden Retriever that DNA tests revealed is really a lab, chow, boxer mix.

Her debut award-winning romantic suspense series, Dìleas Security Agency, focuses on three former elite special operators in a brotherhood forged by betrayal, blood, and death. If you enjoy hot alpha men and feisty women wrapped up in storylines full of danger and intrigue, be sure to look for Near Miss (Book 1), Missing in Action (Book 2), and Missed Opportunity (Book 3), coming in 2023.

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest

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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.

Copper Waters tour banner

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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Copper Waters by Marlene M. Bell. In Copper Waters a rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 2 till 15 January. You can see the tour schedule here.

Copper Waters

(Annalisse Series #4)

By Marlene M. Bell

 

Genre: Mystery / Suspense
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 5 December 2022

Blurb:

A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.

Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.

Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.

But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.

Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.

The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.

As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.

Links:
Goodreads
Bookbub
Amazon
B&N

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“Nothing’s sinking in.” I pass the note to Alec and prepare myself. “Would you mind reading it aloud?”

“She and Ethan traveled together.” He gazes at me.

“Okay, we’d considered that.”

“Kate has business to conclude in New Zealand before she returns to New York. She asks me not to mention this to you until she arrives in the States but didn’t give a reason. Kate says she’ll meet you in person when she’s ready.”

“Seriously? Where does she plan to live? With me in Greenwich? The Goshen farm could be sold by now. Does she mention Jeremy finding her another place?”

Alec scans the page randomly. “No, she didn’t.”

I scratch my scalp and shake my head. “Then my sheep station trip to New Zealand is perfect timing. I have to leave now and see if I can catch her before she skips out. Ethan must know where Kate is. If it’s all the same, we’ll hang on to the tickets for our April trip, and I’ll buy my own way for this flight.” Tugging at my sweatshirt with clammy hands, I take the note from Alec and sail it into the flames, watching paper crinkle and burn on the log.

He steps forward, his chiseled profile gawking at the fire in disbelief.

“Were you ever going to tell me about Kate’s message?” A sob chokes my windpipe. “If it weren’t for Ethan’s invite, I doubt that we’d be talking about Kate.”

“Babe, I thought by staying neutral…” He twists his lips and looks at his shoes. “Seeing your reaction now; it was a mistake not to tell you.”

“That totally blows.” I ball my hands into fists. “More like you were afraid that I’d run down there to find her.” I’m mad enough to send smoke signals, so I take slower, calming breaths.

“If I’d told you… Yeah, I worried you’d run off. The ordeal in Italy, then Peter Gregory terrorizing you, and Helga has had barely enough time to settle around here. Your safety doesn’t include encouraging you to hop on a plane to another country so soon after a trauma like that. Waiting for Kate’s return felt right to me. At some point, I hope you’ll see things from my side. Kate put me in the middle, but it’s you I worry about.”

Willing myself to relax, I take his hand to get him to focus on me instead of the floor. “I know that.”

Peter Gregory, an old coworker from my past job at another gallery, is responsible for a young woman’s murder in Lecce, near the Mediterranean Sea on Italy’s eastern shore. Alec and I went to Southern Italy for a working vacation that spun us into solving more than one homicide in order for Alec to sell his dad’s Signorile Corporation, a sports car company.

“After a shower, I’ll give your mom a call from the car on the way home. I might have trouble getting a flight out on the spur of the moment, but if I do, I hope you’ll help me.”

“Anna, we should discuss this.” He catches my wrist. “I’d like to go along. Say the word, and I’m on that plane with you. Allow what’s happened with Kate to simmer. You might feel differently in the morning.”

Grasping Kate’s locket beneath my shirt, I slide the chain over my head and cup Alec’s hand, dropping the necklace there.

“Hold on to my locket while I’m gone. It’s the most precious thing I own. That way, you’ll know I’m coming back to you.” On my tiptoes, our salty kiss calls a loneliness— In a flash, two people are about to have a hemisphere drifting between them from outside influences that want to manipulate us. “Gen will be here to see Noah in a few hours, and you have him until Sunday. Let me go, Alec, and please wait for me at Brookehaven. I have to make this trip by myself. If there’s the slightest chance that Kate’s with Ethan or he knows where she is, I have to go. I’ve already lost precious time.” I start for the drawing room doors and remember something left undone. “Oh, and sorry for the sticky mess in your stable office.”

In a dead run, I’m biting a quivering lip. On the way to Alec’s bedroom suite, I send Chase a text to hold Ethan’s box and note for me at the gallery. True to form, Kate shoves us all out of our comfort zones, where I’m certain to find a disaster waiting for me to book a ticket to New Zealand in a mad rush.

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Guest Post

It’s 2012 when we arrive in Texas at our new home—with one-hundred-twenty sheep and lambs in multiple trailers. A 1500 mile drive we hope to never make again with so many animals! My husband and I didn’t know a soul in Texas except the previous property owner and a couple of her friends from the golf club and retirement community behind our acreage. We were introduced to so many of the neighbors during a welcome barbeque once the property closed escrow and became ours. Unfortunately, there were so many people here that night we forgot most of their names.

That meet and greet neighborhood get-together gave us the idea to begin a tradition on our ranch. We have a huge shop building at the top of the hill with old sycamore trees surrounding it for shade. The area presented the perfect venue for tables and chairs—ideal to hold Chili Cookoffs during the fall months. Autumn in East Texas is colorful beyond belief! We got to work on the event and invited the neighborhood including friends from the Holly Lake Ranch residents and our local volunteer fire department.

We combined the cook-off into a fundraiser for the department and asked the HLFD attendees to bring a few of their fire trucks and equipment for display since many of them were on call that Saturday evening. The group brought nineteen pots of excellent chili to sample and afterwards, we voted for four prize winners in various categories. In addition, I supplied three tables with silent auction gifts where all proceeds were given to the fire department’s general fund.

Everyone had such a good time while we raised several thousand dollars for the fire department. Since autumn is lambing time for our flock, we haven’t been able to make this a yearly cook-off as we’d hoped, but we’re often asked when we plan to set up another cookoff in the future. Pots of chili were the best thing to introduce ourselves to the area residents.

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Earlier books in the series:
Stolen Obsession (Annalisse Series #1) by Marlene M. BellSpent Identity (Annalisse Series #2) by Marlene M. BellShattered Legacy (Annalisse Series #3)

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About the Author Marlene M. Bell:

 

Marlene M. Bell

Marlene M. Bell is an eclectic mystery writer, artist, photographer, and she raises sheep in beautiful East Texas with her husband, Gregg, three cats and a flock of horned Dorset sheep.

The Annalisse series has received numerous honors including the Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (Spent Identity,) and FAPA— Florida Author’s President’s Gold Award for two other installments, (Stolen Obsession and Scattered Legacy.) Her mysteries with a touch of romance are found at marlenembell.com. She also offers the first of her children’s picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb.

Author links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Bookbub
Goodreads
Amazon
Instagram

 

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There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Copper Waters. This giveaway is open to domestic USA residents only. One winner wins a prize package containing:
– An autographed copy of Copper Waters
– A New Zealand black-tipped wool throw
– Hammered copper tea kettle
– a $50 VISA card

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For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Sapphires In Snow by Amy Schisler

Posted: December 26, 2022 in Romance, suspense
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Cindy never had a real home or a real Christmas, and Jackson plans to leave home as soon as Christmas is over; they never planned on meeting each other, but now secrets from Cindy’s past threaten both of their futures…

 

By Amy Schisler

Book Blurb

 

The little white house on Main Street
in Buffalo Springs, Arkansas, is the only home Jackson Nelson has ever
known. With college behind him and both his sisters back in town to look
after their aging parents, Jackson knows now is the time to make his
big move. All he’s ever wanted is to move to New York and lead the
high-stakes life of a real estate investor. He’s determined to leave
town right after Christmas and never look back.

Cindy Kline has never had a real home
or a real Christmas. Abandoned by her father and raised by an unfit
mother, Cindy thought she had finally found the family she always wanted
when the man of her dreams asked her to marry him; but when his Navy
SEAL helicopter went down in a fiery crash before their wedding, Cindy
had nothing left to keep her in sunny California. Packing her meager
belongings into her old, beat-up car, Cindy drives straight to Buffalo
Springs and to the only real friend she’s ever had – Andi Nelson. With
Christmas around the corner, Andi, Jackson, and the whole Nelson family
convince Cindy to stay through the holidays even finding her a job that
may turn out to be a real career.

Just when Cindy is beginning to get
into the Christmas spirit, her life is once again up-ended – this time
by a series of break-ins and the news that her dangerous father may be
lurking nearby. Cindy has no idea that her father’s mysterious past will
put her life in jeopardy, and Jackson has no idea that the bright
lights of New York are but a flickering flame when it comes to the
sparks of the heart.

Release Date: November 11, 2022

Publisher: Chesapeake Sunrise Publishing

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Book Excerpt  

 

And unto you a child is born!” The child actor belted out the play’s most robust line with all the enthusiasm he could muster.

It was all Cindy could do not to jump to her feet and applaud. She laughed and clapped along with the rest of the audience. When the play was over, she went with the Nelson family to the town drug store that boasted an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and soda fountain in the back of the store. The proprietor had kept the doors open late to welcome the theatergoers.

“What would you like?” Jackson asked as Cindy eyed the many choices written on the blackboard.

“There are too many to choose just one.”

Jackson laughed. “Andi is partial to anything with peanut butter, and Helena always goes for something super sweet and fruity like cherry or raspberry. Mama likes plain old chocolate.”

She looked at Jackson. “And what do you like, Jackson?”

She saw his expression falter for just a moment, and a curtain of pink danced across his features, reminiscent of the curtains that closed at the end of the show. He blinked and just as quickly as the odd look appeared, it disappeared, and he broke into a wide grin.

“I always go for a good, old-fashioned root beer float with vanilla ice cream.”

“Would you believe, I’ve never had a root beer float?”

The look he gave her was one of exaggerated shock. “What? That might be the most un-American thing I’ve ever heard.” He clutched at his chest. “A shot to the heart.”

Cindy laughed, and Andi inserted herself between them to grab some extra napkins from the top of the ice cream display case.

“Is this guy bothering you?” she asked with a mock scowl.

Cindy shook her head. “Not at all. This has been one of the best nights of my life, and I’m going to top it off with my very first root beer float.”

Andi smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

On their turn, Jackson ordered for them both then reached for his wallet to pay, but Cindy put her hand on his arm.

“Jackson, no, I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can pay for my own ice cream. You all have been so generous already.”

“Sorry, Cindy, but my daddy would skin me alive if he heard that I allowed a female to pay for her own ice cream.”

She frowned and said in a firm voice, “Jackson, this isn’t a date. I can pay for my own ice cream.”

Again, she saw his face redden. “I never said it was a date, and you should accept an act of kindness when presented with one.”

The cashier cleared her throat, and Cindy realized they were holding up the line. Embarrassed for drawing attention, she said, “You’re right. Go ahead and pay, but I owe you.”

“That’s fair. On the next family outing, you can buy me ice cream.”

Cindy accepted her root beer float from the young girl behind the counter and took a sip. She didn’t know how to respond to Jackson. She wasn’t part of the ‘family’ and didn’t know if she’d be there for the next outing. Rather than agree, she concentrated on her float and sat quietly while listening to the rest of them banter about Christmas and New Year’s and the June wedding. She couldn’t help but wonder what she would be doing by then and where she would be.

As she ate, Cindy felt a peculiar tingling on the back of her neck. She looked around, peering up and down the streets. Other families hovered nearby, eating ice cream, and several couples walked along the sidewalk. It looked like everyone in town had come out to see the play. None of the other theater goers paid any attention to Cindy or the Nelsons, and Cindy had no reason to be paranoid, but she could not shake the eerie feeling that she was being watched.

More…

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Amy Schisler is a novelist, poet,
children’s book author, spiritual writer, blogger, reader, and avid
traveler with years of professional experience in all manner of
writing-related endeavors. Whether she’s writing novels filled with
faith and inspiration, books that children will love, or her weekly blog
devoted to family life and faith, she loves connecting and resonating
with her readers. Amy’s first novel, A Place to Call Home, a romantic suspense, debuted in 2014, and her much-loved Chincoteague Island Trilogy has won numerous literary awards.

 

Amy lives on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland with her husband, Ken, their daughters, Katie and Morgan (and
sometimes their daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Anthony), and their
dogs, Rosie and Luna. When she’s not writing, Amy can usually be found
on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay or hiking in the Rocky Mountains, most
often with a good book in her hand.

 

Website: http://amyschislerauthor.com

 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyschislerauth

 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amyschislerauthor 

 

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/amyschislerauthor

 

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The Color Of Trauma

The Psychic Colors Series
Book One
Hollie Smurthwaite
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Genre:  Paranormal Romantic Suspense, PNR
Publisher: Hollie Smurthwaite
Date of Publication:  August 30, 2021
ISBN:978-1737118916
ASIN: B09B2QWV52
Number of pages:  358
Word Count: 95,000 words
Cover Artist: Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations
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Synopsis:
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Experiencing another’s past could end her future . . .
Kiera Brayleigh is a memory surgeon. In the ten years since her “gift” manifested, she’s helped dozens of women deal with trauma by removing their horrific memories—burns, rapes, tortures.  It pays well, but she holds those moments, making her a fiery mess. The bizarre request from a Chicago homicide detective is the last thing she needs.
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Detective Dean Matthson is burdened with an uncanny ability to get inside the minds of criminals. In a dead-end hunt to capture a serial killer, he risks his hard-earned reputation by doing the unthinkable: recruiting a memory surgeon to probe the mind of a comatose victim. 
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Kiera might appreciate the cop’s dimples and his commitment to the job, but only an idiot would agree to experience a rape-murder victim’s last memories. Kiera, it turns out, is that idiot. Dean’s dedication and calming presence challenge Kiera’s distrustful nature, and she finds herself falling for Dean even as he struggles with his own demons. 
Can two broken people find love? 
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When the killer discovers Kiera’s on the case, he realizes she is exactly what he needs to relive his kills. Dean and the killer both close in on their targets, and it becomes a race to catch the monster before he catches Kiera.
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The Color of Trauma is a thought-provoking paranormal romantic suspense novel with an unconventional heroine, dark themes, and psychological drama.
 
Amazon      Kobo      BN      Indiebound
 

 

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“I’m not sure how much Ms. Morten has shared with you, but—”

Kiera lifted a finger; thankfully, her index. “Dr. Patty told us you had questions about
memory reading as it might apply to one of your cases. Read memories aren’t
admissible in court. You’re wasting your time.”

“I don’t need evidence like that,” Dean said, deciding not to point out that Patty hadn’t
graduated yet and wasn’t, technically, a doctor.

“Whew,” the blond he didn’t recognize said. “It’s one of the frustrating things about what
we do.” The memory surgeons all winced when she spoke, though the blond didn’t
appear to notice.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She beamed. “Amy Carter.”

“Do you mind telling me what’s your specialty?”

“Bitching and  complaining,” Kiera replied in a tight voice.

Amy’s lips compressed, but she didn’t say anything. Was Kiera the group’s bully? Was that
how she controlled the narrative? Everyone looked to her, even Patty.

Kiera sighed. “Dr. Schwartz is the expert in the field. Look into his research. Gilfoile and
Roberts are hacks, and the rest don’t know shit but still want to capitalize on
the memory-surgeon thing.”

He wrote down “Schwartz” in his notebook, surprised at her generosity. “Thank you.”

She stared at him with those blue eyes that didn’t blink enough. “That all?”

“Not quite.”

“Yeah, I figured.” She shook her head. “They don’t fully understand how memory works, so it’s going to be a while before they figure out how we’re able to access people’s memories and how they can be removed and kept in someone else’s mind. We can’t help you with the science stuff.”

“I’m more interested in how it works from a practical standpoint.” He directed his
questions at everyone else, but the only one looking directly at him was Kiera.
Fine. If he won her over, the others would follow. “I’m trying to ascertain what
you can and can’t do.”

“Why?”

No time to finesse. With his attention still on Kiera, he handed Brittany Kolchek’s
picture to Ramon and asked him to look and pass it on.

“I’ve never seen her before,” Ramon said. “Is she missing?”

Dean waited until everyone had viewed the photo, because he didn’t want to give them the
opportunity to refuse.

Beth looked last, and she studied Brittany for several seconds. “She seems nice.” Then she
walked the photo back to him.

“Her name is Brittany Kolchek,” he said. “She’s in a coma.” As a group, they cringed, even Kiera. Good—they cared. “The doctors say she won’t wake.”

“You don’t want information. You want one of us to jump into her memories,” Kiera said, her face as hard as her voice.

“We believe she’s the third victim of a serial
killer targeting young women. All three scenes have little physical evidence.
This might be our only chance to catch a break.” When nobody spoke or moved, he
added, “He’ll kill again.”

 

 

About Author Hollie Smurthwaite:

Hollie Smurthwaite is a paranormal romantic suspense author of The Color of Trauma and The Color of Betrayal. The Color of Trauma was the winner of the 2020 Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project in adult fiction. She lives in Chicago with her husband, son, and too few pets. In past lives, she’s been a checkout clerk, massage therapist, office manager, recruiter, magazine staff writer, pepper spray hawker, and belly dancer.
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