Summer Heat Book Blast

by Carol6 Comments
Book Excerpt: From Protecting Her Pigg by Melissa Keir Arriving on the scene, the smell of smoke with the tang of gasoline assaulted my lungs. The building was a total loss. It bothered me to see something once so beautiful destroyed. “Sir, you can’t be here,” the officer I’d assigned to the perimeter yelled. Turning toward the commotion, I witnessed a tall, dark-haired man storming toward me with violence in his approach. Sizing up the advancing danger, I threw my shoulders back and met the man halfway. “This is my building. Who are you, and what do you know so far?” His gravel voice caused goose bumps to form on my skin. “I’m sorry, Mr…?” Up close, the man took my breath away. His features weren’t “pretty boy” beautiful, but striking. Chiseled chin, full lips, slightly curved nose. Must have been broken at one time. “Pigg, Lucas Pigg. And you are?” Caught staring at his lips, I almost missed the question. “I’m Lily O’Neill, chief arson investigator. We...
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Spotlight: Banished Threads by Kaylin McFarren

by Carol1 Comment
Excerpt: A lone figure stood in the estuary lookout nestled in the trees above the North Sea on the Holderness Coast, waiting with restless anticipation as Gwen Gallagher approached the cliff's edge. A quick adjustment to the night-vision binoculars allowed the watcher a closer view of the twenty-eight-year-old secretary as she savored the last autumn sunset she would ever see. The crisp, cool air picked up speed, leaving her long black hair sailing like a ghostly pirate's flag behind her. It lifted the hem of her black skirt slightly, exposing her white shapely legs and black suede booties to the wintry elements. Her pale blue eyes swept across the landscape, appraising the beauty surrounding them. She raised her chin toward the darkening sky and smiled, obviously believing the note she had received, inviting her here, had come from her married lover. As Gwen moved even closer to the edge, the watcher inhaled a deep breath. All that remained between this ludicrous woman...
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Book Blast! Braking for Bodies by Duffy Brown

by CarolNo Comments
I'm thrilled to be hosting Duffy Brown's BRAKING FOR BODIES Book Blast today! Book Excerpt “What’s going on?” A guy called down from the porch above us. “Is somebody there? Did somebody fall?” Sutter and I exchanged uh oh looks and a woman on the porch squealed. “Ohmygoodness! It’s a body! This is fantastic! I know what this is. It’s one of those murder mystery weekends right here at the Grand Hotel. The victim’s right there, I can see him all sprawled out on the ground. Oh this is so much fun.” “Look, lady,” Sutter shot back. “This is no mystery weekend party this is a real crime scene here.” “Of course it is,” she squealed again. “You all are great actors, this is amazing. What a fantastic surprise right here on Mackinac Island.” Giveaway Duffy is giving away 20 BRAKING FOR BODIES Cinch Totes & Notepads! Conditions: By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old. Twenty winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one...
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Spotlight on The Last Dinner Party by Carly M. Duncan

by CarolNo Comments
Book Excerpt: She opened her eyes only once she heard the apartment’s front door close. She couldn’t even bring herself to turn over in the bed despite her discomfort, for she didn’t want a single mattress coil’s shift to alert him to the fact that she was awake. She waited a moment, lying in her bed, pausing in case he had forgotten anything, but the sound of footsteps faded into the distance. Meryl Brunetti had been awake for twenty minutes, but she wasn’t prepared to begin the day. Not until he was gone. She didn’t want to see him, she didn’t want to talk, and she certainly wasn’t prepared to deal with anything they’d discussed the night before. She needed more time, and she needed to figure out how she felt. Instead of waking up at seven o’clock to make him breakfast as usual, to start his day on a pleasant note, and see him out the door, she slept. Or, rather, she...
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3 Keys to Turn the Dream of Writing Into Reality: Guest post by Michael Allan Scott, author of Grey Daze

by Carol2 Comments
3 Keys to Turn the Dream of Writing Into Reality by Michael Allan Scott Dreams To Reality – I saw a statistic in a blog, recently – “85% of readers dream of publishing their own book.” This may or may not be accurate, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The trick on this planet is turning a dream into reality. Most of us are here to do just that—turn dreams into reality. And when you look this over, in one form or another, that’s ALL we do, whether they be nightmares or pleasant dreams. The striving toward such goals is the stuff from which we are made. A Half Truth Is Still a Lie – Not to put too fine a point on it, that blog I browsed was pitching a course on writing, hence the message was slanted—in short, marketing. The blogger wanted the prospective customer to know “publishing your own book isn’t anywhere near as difficult as it used to be.” This, of course,...
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Excerpt from A Twist of Fortune by Mike Martin

by Carol1 Comment
Excerpt: The schooners made the Banks Fishery possible and created one of the most remarkable and profitable fisheries ever seen in the world. For nearly a hundred years crews would venture out for three or four trips from May to October. Then they’d bring their fish back to Grand Bank for onshore salting and drying. People thought both the cod and the Banks Fishery would last forever but technological changes and greed would alter that projection. By the mid 1900’s, there had been a shift from the sailing schooners to more mechanized vessels and more effective methods for catching codfish. The vessels used enormous nets that hauled in large numbers of fish but devastated the cod population. Then the fish companies developed trawlers that swept up everything in their path and dragged the bottom of the ocean. By the 1980’s they were dredging the waters, scooping up everything. Soon they were joined by floating factory ships that caught and processed the fish...
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