BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Crimson Jewel by A. Gordon

Posted on October 4, 2025 by JessicaS

Book Tour

Crimson Jewel

A Gordon

About the Book:

Publication Date: June 18, 2025

Genre: Romantasy (Fantasy and Romance)

A Deadly Game of Dating.

Choose One.

FEE. FIE. FOE. FUM.

Ruby spends her days fighting to stay alive in post-apocalyptic Alaska. She doesn’t have time to believe in giants, true love, or fairy tales. That is, until she uses a strange staircase concealed in the forest to escape the latest predator
trying to kill her. While hiding, she’s caught by Raiden, a giant with stormy
eyes and disturbingly sexy fangs. For trespassing, he forces her up the stairs
to his realm.

Upon arrival in the Fiefdom, she discovers that she’s the key to unlocking an
ancient prophecy. Desperate for her to stay, the giants offer a deal—if she
agrees to marry a First-Born son of nobility and become queen, they promise
sanctuary to her family. Determined to give her loved ones a better life, Ruby
signs a blood oath that gives her four weeks to choose a husband from the
Fiefdom’s most eligible bachelors.

But some giants want her dead. To survive, she’ll need to navigate a web of lies,
discern friend from foe, and thwart multiple assassination attempts, all while
balancing a complicated social life. Will she make it to the altar before she
loses her life—or her heart?

Purchase Links:

Guest Post:

The idea for Crimson Jewel sparked from a dream. It all started with Ruby using a strange staircase to hide from a bear. (The lore about random staircases throughout National Forests is fascinating.) The dream ended with her being captured by a hot giant who really did say, “You’re not welcome here, human.”

I didn’t struggle writing any of the scenes. My biggest struggle was whether Ruby should make a seriously bad decision—one that is heavily frowned upon, yet reasonable to human nature, especially a 22-year-old with no worldly experience. Occasionally, people message me when they get to the end of chapter 27. Thankfully, most forgive me by the end of the book.

Excerpt:

Sitting down on the bed, I stared at the heels. They were the final straw of imposter syndrome. You could clean me up, dress me in fancy clothes, and decorate me in jewels, and I still wouldn’t fit in. But it was better than starvation or being eaten by a pack of wolves, so I
pulled on the ridiculous shoes. Unsteady as a newborn filly, I wobbled over to the full-length mirror. I yanked on the crop top, trying to make the fabric longer.

I glanced at Sid, who was watching me intently. “No, judgment,” I chided, not used to so much exposed skin.

Together, we peered out the door, confirming the hallway was empty. With a hand pressed against the wall for balance, my stilettos and I teetered along. I was about to give up and go back to the room to find a different mode of transportation when somebody chuckled. Recognizing the deep timbre, my irritation flared and heat crawled up my cheeks.

I spun around as fast as possible without falling on my derriere. “What? You don’t have anything better to do than laugh at me? Don’t worry, I’m headed back to the room to change out of these stupid shoes.”

“No, I’m sorry. I apologize.” Raiden held up a hand. “You’re just so fierce most of the time, I didn’t think a stupid pair of shoes would be your demise.”

I had to give him an A for effort. He was trying to control his laughter.

“Everyone has their kryptonite,” I said.

His gaze slid down the length of my body. “That they do.” He sounded resigned.

I was surprised he understood the reference, but I didn’t have time to ask before my ankle buckled.

Raiden caught me under both arms, gripping almost my entire ribcage with his hands. The weight of my breasts rested on his thumbs. An uncomfortable warmth pooled in my stomach, and shivers skated over my skin. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Are you okay?” His gray eyes were level with mine. The pulse in his neck, right above the open collar of his shirt, thumped in rhythm with the rapid beat of my heart.

I took a deep breath and released it slow. “Yes. Thank you.”

He helped me stand, then let go, leaving behind tingling imprints of his hands around my chest. “Do you think if I escort you, you can walk in those things?”

“Yeah, but can’t I just go change?” I whined. I didn’t like relying on anyone. Besides, being close to him made me feel weird. The force was strong in this one. It wasn’t the same as being around Loch—he made me feel self-conscious, like a peasant around a prince.

He glanced down and checked his silver watch. “You can, but being late is heavily frowned upon around here.”

“Okay,” I said, not wanting to be rude.

He held out an elbow, and when I looped it with my own, his skin was searing hot against mine.

“Do you feel okay?” I touched his arm with my free hand.

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re so hot.”

A charming but cocky smirk curled his lips. “Thank you.”

I smacked his arm lightly. “No. That’s not what I meant and you know it. It’s like you have a fever.”

“We naturally run hotter than humans.”

Funny, my temperature ran around 100 degrees, which I’d always thought odd, but my mom had assured me it was normal. She’d convinced me a lot of strange things were normal. Like taking vials of mine and Kevin’s blood to work with her. She said she did it because of her job.

“Earlier, you referred to me as a young lady, and now I’ve been demoted to human again?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that. I owe you an apology. I was mad. You interrupted my investigation and I let my irritation get the better of me.”

“Is human a derogatory term?”

“It can be. Some giants don’t like humans. Others, well . . . they like them a little too much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Redness crept up his neck, staining his face pink. “Oh, for Fie’s sake. I’m just making this worse.”

I didn’t argue.

“I don’t dislike humans,” he clarified.

“Dude, should I get you a shovel so you can dig this hole deeper?”

He snorted, then choked out a laugh, his deep-set eyes all but disappearing behind his wide smile. “Yes, please, so I can finish burying myself.”

What Readers Are Saying:

OMG, YOU GUYS!!

If you love romantasy, DON’T SLEEP ON THIS ONE! It’s on KU, but with a cover like that, I had to order a paperback for my shelf.

FEE FIE FOE FUM. Jack and the Beanstalk for grownups with a Bachelorette twist? Yeah, count me in.

Bump it to the top of your TBR…STAT.

Crimson Jewel was an amazing read from beginning to end! Immersive, lush world building, high stakes, and scorching spice had me turning the pages and staying up late just to see what would happen next!

Bea is a strong, savvy FMC that you instantly root for. Each decision she makes is relatable… whether for good or not so good.

Crimson Jewel is a fresh take on romantasy. It’s unique, cleverly plotted, and the writing is vivid, bringing the world to life in cinematic fashion. I loved this book from start to finish and very, very highly recommend it!

Alex Gordon you knocked it out of the park! – A.A. DaSilva (Award Winning Author of Periphery)

Like any good millennial, romantasy books are my secret guilty pleasure. I’ll be the first to
admit I thought the ACOTAR series was top tier in this category- until I read this book. Forget fairy bat boys, this book unlocked a fantasy I didn’t even know I had- getting smashed by giants.

Action, romance, sass, adventure, this book has it all. The characters are raw and real and this is a brilliant take on an old nursery rhyme. I read it in two days, I couldn’t put it down and I’m definitely adding A Gordon to my list of favorite authors so I don’t miss any of her next
works. (PLEASE tell me there will be a next work!)

Seriously run, don’t walk, to buy this book. 10/10 recommend.

If you put together Jack and the Beanstalk with a genderbent The Bachelor you get this refreshing and spicy fantasy romance with GIANTS, prophecies, magical kingdoms and HOT
bachelors that will keep you turning pages – Anonymous

About the Author:

A. Gordon/Alex Gordon writes Fantasy
Romance and YA/NA Paranormal Romance. She’s a bit of a wanderer, having lived in Washington, Montana, Germany, Alaska, and Tennessee where she currently
resides with her husband and two rescued German shepherds. When not writing,
you can probably find her hiking, or if she’s lucky—fishing, though she’s not
opposed to camping on the couch with dessert and bingeing murder mysteries.

Contact Links:

Website: https://www.alexgordonauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexgordonauthor/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexgordonauthor

Giveaway:

Crimson Jewel eBook Giveaway

Hosted By:

BOOK TOUR: A Glimpse Too Far by Karen Charles

Posted on August 19, 2025 by JessicaS

A Pulse-Pounding Thriller Filled with Menace, Betrayal, and a Race Against Time…

Title: A GLIMPSE TOO FAR

Author: Karen Charles

Publisher: BookBaby

Pages: 217

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Format: Paperback, Kindle

A terrifying gift. A government cover-up. And a past that won’t stay buried.

Elouise thought she had left the past
behind. After a tragic accident, she woke with chilling ability to see
glimpses of people’s pasts and futures. She’s spent years trying to live
a normal life. But when a powerful senator pulls her into a high-stakes
game of deception and control, she realizes her gift is no longer a
secret—it’s a weapon. And he intends to use it.

She must make an impossible choice: play his deadly game or risk everything to expose the truth.

Danger closes in. Now, Elouise is running for her life, hunted by those who will do anything to silence her.

Who can she trust? The boyfriend who swore to protect her? Or the man who wants to own her gift—at any cost?

A Glimpse Too Far is a
pulse-pounding thriller filled with menace, betrayal, and a race against
time. Will the truth be uncovered before it’s too late?

To order your copy, visit Amazon and BookBaby.

Book Excerpt

The warmth of the car’s heater wrapped around Elouise as she gazed out the window, watching the snow clouds gather like thick cotton above. Her blond curls bounced with excitement as she tugged at her velvet dress, ensuring it was smooth and perfect for the performance. This was her moment—the Christmas musical, her solo.

Beside her, Crystal, her mom, adjusted her scarf and smiled, noticing the twinkle in Elouise’s bright blue eyes. “Are you ready, Sweetheart?”

“More than ready!” Elouise grinned, her smile wide and full of joy. The eight-year-old’s energy was contagious, even pulling a small chuckle from her dad, Edward, as he carefully parked the car in front of the school.

“Let’s get inside before we freeze,” Edward said, huddling close to the family as they stepped into the sharp wind that whipped around them. They hurried toward the gymnasium, hunching their shoulders against the cold. Christmas carols could already be heard drifting through the entrance doors, filled with the warmth of families gathering, waiting for the performance to begin.

Inside, the air was alive with holiday spirit. Elouise’s heart raced as the lights dimmed and the music began to play. She stood backstage, her hands clasped, waiting for her cue. When it came, she stepped into the spotlight, her curls bobbing with every movement.

Her voice rang out clear and strong, each note perfect. The audience was mesmerized. Elouise had that rare ability to bring a room to a standstill with the purity of her sound. She sang her solo flawlessly. When she finished, the applause was thunderous. Elouise beamed, her eyes shining as she took her bow.

Afterward, as they left the gym, fat snowflakes swirled down from the sky, transforming their world into a winter wonderland. Edward gently guided Crystal and Elouise to the car, his arms around them as they squeezed together.

The drive home was tense. The roads were slick with fresh snow, and the wipers worked overtime to clear the windshield. Edward kept a firm grip on the wheel, navigating cautiously around the bends. Elouise sat in the back, still humming the songs from the musical, her voice soft as the snow that continued to fall heavily around them.

Suddenly, headlights pierced the snowy darkness. From around the bend, an oncoming car swerved out of control. Everything happened in a blur: metal scraping, tires screeching, and the world flipping upside down. The car rolled once or twice before coming to a crushing halt.

Sirens filled the air as firemen and paramedics swarmed the scene, pulling them from the wreckage. Elouise lay motionless, her eyes closed, her curls tangled and limp. The paramedics worked frantically as they loaded her into the ambulance.

On the way to the hospital, her heart stopped.

– Excerpted from A Glimpse Too Far by Karen Charles, BookBaby, 2025. Reprinted with permission.

Guest Post

The Inspiration Behind A Glimpse Too Far

The inspiration came straight from my own life. The final chapter of A Glimpse Too Far mirrors a profoundly personal experience my husband and I went through, though fictionalized in the broader context of the novel. We had gone to a summer gathering hosted by our mortgage broker at a beautiful lavender farm, an event that had always been lighthearted and joyful. That year, though, a moment of unexpected mystery changed everything.

There was a palm reader at the party, someone we approached more for fun than belief. But what she told us stayed with me, details she couldn’t possibly have known, and predictions that seemed too specific to ignore. We brushed it off at the time, but when one of her forewarnings came true two years later, our world turned upside down. What followed was a harrowing season of surgeries, setbacks, and learning to survive in ways we never imagined. I had to become a nurse, a caretaker, a source of strength when everything inside me was unraveling. But through it all, my husband and I held onto each other, our bond becoming something deeper and more resilient than it had ever been.

That’s where the heart of the story came from, not just the palm reading, but the journey that followed. The mystery. The endurance. The love that refused to let go. A Glimpse Too Far was born from that combination of strange coincidence and raw, lived experience. It’s fiction, yes, but its soul is real. Writing the book became a way to process, reflect, and ultimately share a story about the unseen forces that shape our lives and the courage it takes to face them together.

About the Author

Karen Charles is the author of Freeman Earns a Bike, a children’s book, and two thrillers based on true stories. Fateful Connections takes place in the aftermath of 9/11, and Blazing Upheaval takes place during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles and the Northridge earthquake. She has two businesses: a global company that
trains international teachers to teach American English, and an Airbnb
on a beautiful bay in Washington State, where she resides with her
husband. Her latest book is the psychological thriller, A Glimpse Too Far.

Website & Social Media:

Website ➜ www.weaveofsuspense.com

X ➜ http://www.x.com/karenra24229683

Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/karen.rabe.7/

BOOK TOUR: Fighter Pilot’s Daughter by Mary Lawlor

Posted on August 14, 2025 by JessicaS

The story of the author as a young woman coming of age in an Irish Catholic, military family…

Title: Fighter Pilot’s Daughter

Author: Mary Lawlor

Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield

Pages: 323

Genre: Memoir

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War tells
the story of Mary Lawlor’s dramatic, roving life as a warrior’s child. A
family biography and a young woman’s vision of the Cold War, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter narrates
the more than many transfers the family made from Miami to California
to Germany as the Cold War demanded. Each chapter describes the workings
of this traveling household in a different place and time. The book’s
climax takes us to Paris in May ’68, where Mary—until recently a dutiful
military daughter—has joined the legendary student demonstrations
against among other things, the Vietnam War. Meanwhile her father is
flying missions out of Saigon for that very same war. Though they are on
opposite sides of the political divide, a surprising reconciliation
comes years later.

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter is available at Amazon.

Here’s what readers are saying about Fighter Pilot’s Daughter!

“Mary Lawlor’s memoir, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War, is terrifically written. The experience of living in a military family is beautifully brought to life. This memoir shows the pressures on families in the sixties, the fears of the Cold War, and also the love that families had that helped them get through those times, with many ups and downs. It’s a story that all of us who are old enough can relate to, whether we were involved or not. The book is so well written. Mary Lawlor shares a story that needs to be written, and she tells it very well.” ―The Jordan Rich Show

“Mary Lawlor, in her brilliantly realized memoir, articulates what accountants would call a soft cost, the cost that dependents of career military personnel pay, which is the feeling of never belonging to the specific piece of real estate called home. . . . [T]he real story is Lawlor and her father, who is ensconced despite their ongoing conflict in Lawlor’s pantheon of Catholic saints and Irish presidents, a perfect metaphor for coming of age at a time when rebelling was all about rebelling against the paternalistic society of Cold War America.” ―Stars and Stripes

Book Excerpt

The pilot’s house where I grew up was mostly a women’s world. There were five of us. We had the place to ourselves most of the time. My mother made the big decisions—where we went to school, which bank to keep our money in. She had to decide these things often because we moved every couple of years. The house is thus a figure of speech, a way of thinking about a long series of small, cement dwellings we occupied as one fictional home.

It was my father, however, who turned the wheel, his job that rotated us to so many different places. He was an aviator, first in the Marines, later in the Army. When he came home from his extended absences—missions, they were called—the rooms shrank around him. There wasn’t enough air. We didn’t breathe as freely as we did when he was gone, not because he was mean or demanding but because we worshipped him. Like satellites my sisters and I orbited him at a distance, waiting for the chance to come closer, to show him things we’d made, accept gifts, hear his stories. My mother wasn’t at the center of things anymore. She hovered, maneuvered, arranged, corrected. She was first lady, the dame in waiting. He was the center point of our circle, a flier, a winged sentry who spent most of his time far up over our heads. When he was home, the house was definitely his.

These were the early years of the Cold War. It was a time of vivid fears, pictured nowadays in photos of kids hunkered under their school desks. My sisters and I did that. The phrase “air raid drill” rang hard—the double-A sound a cold, metallic twang, ending with ill. It meant rehearsal for a time when you might get burnt by the air you breathed.

Every day we heard practice rounds of artillery fire and ordinance on the near horizon. We knew what all this training was for. It was to keep the world from ending. Our father was one of many dads who sweat at soldierly labor, part of an arsenal kept at the ready to scare off nuclear annihilation of life on earth. When we lived on post, my sisters and I saw uniformed men marching in straight lines everywhere. This was readiness, the soldiers rehearsing against Armageddon. The rectangular buildings where the commissary, the PX, the bowling alley, and beauty shop were housed had fallout shelters in the basements, marked with black and yellow wheels, the civil defense insignia. Our dad would often leave home for several days on maneuvers, readiness exercises in which he and other men played war games designed to match the visions of big generals and political men. Visions of how a Russian air and ground attack would happen. They had to be ready for it.

A clipped, nervous rhythm kept time on military bases. It was as if you needed to move efficiently to keep up with things, to be ready yourself, even if you were just a kid. We were chased by the feeling that life as we knew it could change in an hour.

This was the posture. On your mark, get set. But there was no go. It was a policy of meaningful waiting. Meaningful because it was the waiting itself that counted—where you did it, how many of the necessities you had, how long you could keep it up. Imagining long, sunless days with nothing to do but wait for an all-clear sign or for the threatening, consonant-heavy sounds of a foreign language overhead, I taught myself to pray hard.

– Excerpted from Fighter Pilot’s Daughter by Mary Lawlor, Rowman and Littlefield, 2013. Reprinted with permission.

From the Author

The Inspiration Behind Fighter Pilot’s Daughter by Mary Lawlor

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter was one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever undertaken. It was also probably the most important thing I’ve ever done for myself. Putting the book together was like a process of self-therapy: it had a powerful stabilizing effect that stays with me now. Part of this came with the clear account the research and the writing made of my family’s zigzagging past.

Like most military families, we moved a lot (fourteen times before I graduated from high school). And like other Army fathers, my Dad was away often. My mother and sisters and I would worry about his safety, especially when he was flying in war zones. He would write my mother fairly regularly for a while, then his communications would dwindle off under the weight of more pressing matters close at hand. This would leave us wondering how he was, and I often had nightmares of him being captured, imprisoned…

In spite of the fact that we missed him fiercely, Dad’s homecomings weren’t as easy as we expected them to be. Familiar as he was, his tall frame in the doorway and his blaring blue eyes with that far-away look were strange and frightening. After a while, we’d get used to him; but I wonder how long it would take him to get used to being home. He’d been in such a different, all-male world where violence reigned. At home, there were only women. My mother and sisters and I knew little about what he’d been through, not just because we were too young to know but because a lot of what he’d been up to was secret.

We never talked about any of this, so our house was a tense, uneasy place when Dad came home. Indigenous people in many parts of the world have rituals for bringing warriors home—practices aimed at diminishing the potency of trauma and other effects of prolonged exposure to violence. I guess we’re starting to see something like this in the debriefings and psychological attention given to soldiers and marines returning from war. But in the sixties there wasn’t anything like it. Dads just came home, still warriors, and now being asked not to be.

The story of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter had to have a plot—not just the order of our moves but the dramas that accompanied them. It was difficult enough getting all my father’s military records so I could see the the crazy chain of our moves from one place to another. It was even harder to go back into memories that reawakened painful feelings of confusion and anxiety that came with being new all the time. All those scenes where I was a stranger and everybody else belonged still stung.

Making a story out my family life meant describing my parents, sisters, and myself as if we were characters. I had to give physical portraits, convey personalities and make us say things. The truth had to be the first priority, but the truth can be messy. These portraits had to be shaped so readers could make sense of who I was talking about. I think human character is, in the end, more complex than any literary character. Picturing human beings in their ordinary rawness is very difficult. A reader needs a writer to give their literary characters more specific shape and continuity than most of us usually have—features that allow a reader to recognize a person from one page to the next. In memoirs and biographies, those shapes and continuities have to be made from real materials—the habits and speech styles and surprising ticks of real human beings. So my family members and me ended up appearing in the book in more definitive shape than we actually had. Still, these descriptions adhered to the truth of my memory as much as I could make them.

Writing Fighter Pilot’s Daughter gave me a chance to air the ragged feelings still running in my brain and heart from those days long ago. Some of these feelings had to do with the work my father did. As a teenager, I had a hard time understanding how I felt or should feel about the things he did as a warrior. When I went away to college, I drifted from my parents and made friends with people in left political groups and the anti-Vietnam War movement. In Paris, in May of 1968, I participated in demonstrations against, among other things, the war my father was fighting At the time, he was posted outside Saigon. When I saw him again, the tension between us was almost too much. We had heated arguments, and then for a long we didn’t speak. Much later my parents and I got to be very close, and I’m deeply grateful for that. Being retired from military life, Dad had changed dramatically.

I wanted to write about all this so I could sort out those powerful emotions that were still with me. I hope Fighter Pilot’s Daughter strikes a chord with other military kids. And I hope it gives readers in general a better understanding of what military kids go through. When I tell people I grew up in an Army family, they often say Was it like “The Great Santini”? It’s surprising how often people ask that. The answer is no. Santini was an abusive father, and while many soldier fathers are professionally familiar with violence, they don’t necessarily bring it home with them. Pat Conroy, author of The Great Santini tells a great story, but as he says himself it’s his story, not a representative account of military family life. His book is is one of the few that features a Marine Corps pilot, his wife and children as the central characters, so it often gets taken as a model of military family life.

I hope readers of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter see that there are other ways of describing domestic life for service families. Many of the biggest difficulties for spouses and children are built into the structures of everyday life in military environments. I hope readers take from my book a sense of how complicated it is to maintain a healthy, optimistic family life when you’re having to move all the time and when a parent has to spend long months away from home on deployments. For all the good or ill the armed services might do for America, they can bear down hard on the lives of soldiers’ wives as kids. And they can make make their lives wildly interesting, as I hope Fighter Pilot’s Daughter shows.

About the Author

Mary Lawlor is author of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter (Rowman & Littlefield 2013, paper 2015), Public Native America (Rutgers Univ. Press 2006), and Recalling the Wild (Rutgers Univ. Press, 2000). Her short stories and essays have appeared in Big Bridge and Politics/Letters.
She studied the American University in Paris and earned a Ph.D. from
New York University. She divides her time between an old farmhouse in
Easton, Pennsylvania, and a cabin in the mountains of southern Spain.

You can visit her website at https://www.marylawlor.net/ or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

BLURB TOUR: Christmas Watch by Petie McCarty

Posted on August 6, 2025 by JessicaS

CHRISTMAS WATCH

Petie McCarty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Romantic Suspense

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

The Watchers Series

Fallen angels seeking parole for their betrayal . . .

Someone is watching Rachel . . . but who? And why?

Child psychologist Rachel Kelly has her Christmas stocking full of troubles this holiday season, both personal and professional. Recently separated from her boyfriend, Rachel still loves him but has no idea how to win him back. If that’s not enough to cause her sleepless nights, she’s uncertain how to handle her newest therapy client—a six-year-old boy who claims he talks to Watchers. And a Watcher is coming to help Rachel.

Lt. Jake Dillon has his heart broken when his fiancée Rachel, without warning, suddenly calls it quits. Yet when a stalker crashes Rachel’s Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage, Jake is the first person Rachel calls. Now he has a choice to make—stand back and wait for the cavalry to save her, or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.

Unless Rachel’s young Watcher spy is telling the truth . . .

This romantic suspense tale with paranormal elements is Book 2 in The Watchers series . . . A captivating tale of small-town Christmas romance that will leave you looking over your shoulder and wondering, Is someone watching me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

“Jake, I came by to see you because of the Buckhead crisis.”

“I figured as much.”

Rachel could’ve sworn he looked disappointed for a fleeting moment. That gave her the courage to go on. “To offer my shoulder—”

“To cry on?” he sneered.

“No! To lean on. Please don’t be ugly.”

“I can’t help it. You broke us up.”

Incredulous, she gaped at him. “Me! Must I keep reminding you? You left me.”

He closed the distance between them, so close she could feel his body heat.

“You let me leave,” he said gruffly.

“I didn’t—”

“You let me leave,” he repeated, his face but inches away.

His unique Jake scent wafted over her. She wanted to smother in it. She wanted . . .

“I didn’t want you to go,” she whispered.

He caught her to him in a fierce embrace. No gentle kiss this. It screamed of need and anger and desperation. His. Hers. She didn’t know for sure. Didn’t care. She wanted to cry from the relief of having his arms around her again.

Knuckling her fists into his warm tee shirt, she tried to yank him closer, but the shirt was old and stretched unmercifully. His lips smiled against hers as he grabbed a breath and then kissed her again, his tongue sweeping in to tangle with hers.

She could die from his wonderful familiar taste. She savored, remembered, and stored for later. Giving up on the shirt, she wound her arms around his neck to tug him closer, to pull him into her if she could.

Suddenly, his hands at her hips pressed her back, and she shamelessly hung on tighter. He reached up and worked her hands free, then kissed each one.

His eyes had gone black. This close, she could clearly see. No doubt a reflection of hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—”The Most Magical Place on Earth”—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her “day” job to write her stories full-time.

These days Petie spends her time writing new Cinderella series tales, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones to go along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Book 2 of The Watchers, Christmas Watch.

Visit Petie’s web site online at http://www.petiemccarty.com or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty.

BIO Social Media:

http://www.petiemccarty.com

https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty

Tweets by authorpetie

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094579.Petie_McCarty

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/petie-mccarty

http://www.amazon.com/author/petiemccarty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway.

BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Unholy Cross by Beth D. Carter

Posted on August 3, 2025 by JessicaS

Deadly & Ruthless, Book 1

Dark Romance

Date Published: May 7, 2025

Publisher: Evernight Publishing

Aera Cross is a man forged by hardship. His childhood, marred by pain
and abuse, has left him with scars that run deeper than the skin. Survival has
been his only mantra, that he’s learned to navigate with a hardened
heart. But when a desperate father approaches him with a plea to rescue his
‘daughter’ from the clutches of a sadistic doctor, Cross finds
himself at a crossroads.

The photo of Lorelei, a girl with an ethereal beauty, ignites something within
him—a flicker of hope amidst the darkness. Lorelei possesses a gift that
is both a blessing and a curse: she can heal with a touch. But this
extraordinary ability has made her a target, sold to the highest bidder and
forced to perform for those who seek to exploit her powers. Each transaction
chips away at her soul, leaving her a mere shadow of the girl she once was.

On the night of her daring escape, Lorelei stumbles into Cross’s world.
Though she is wary of this rugged stranger, she has no choice but to trust
him. Together, they embark on a perilous journey, where danger lurks at every
corner and the lines between savior and sinner blur.

Excerpt

The passenger door yanked open and very large man slid into the seat. Fear exploded through her. She couldn’t go back. She might have defended her life by killing a man, but she’d rather die than return to that cell. As she fumbled with the car handle to open in a desperate move to escape, the man reached over and caught her wrist. Instinct and desperation caused her to fight back, thrashing around in an effort to free herself.

Why? Why couldn’t luck be on her side for once?

“I’m not going to hurt you!” the man muttered. “You can’t take this car to escape. They’ll track you. Listen to me, Lorelei!”

Her name slipping from his tongue jolted her, and his words slowly penetrated the terror robbing her of sanity. Then she took a closer look at the man. It was hard to tell his eye color in the dark. Short hair. Bold, masculine features. Tattoos on one side of his neck. He wore a leather jacket, jeans and black boots. By his look alone, he wasn’t an employee.

“My name is Aera Cross, and I’ve come to rescue you. Although you managed that very well on your own.”

Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and lights flooded the perimeter. For a moment, she froze. Panic overrode any logical thought. Then Cross left the car and ran around to the driver’s side. Before she could blink, he took her hand and yanked her out. He looked down at her feet and frowned.

“Where’re your shoes, woman? Actually, never mind. We have to get away from here.”

He picked her up bridal style and ran into the darkness.

About the Author

I’m passionate about weaving tales of romance and connection, inviting
readers into worlds where love conquers all. Crafting heartfelt stories and
steamy scenes that make the pulse race, as well as dreaming up the next
swoon-worthy adventure. I love to weave emotions into my stories that punch
you in the gut. I try to write characters who aren’t cookie cutters and push
myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve,
forcing me to think outside the box. I strive to create characters who are
complex and full of flaws. Deep passion romance between heroes and heroines
who find redemption through love.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

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BOOK TOUR: The Next Breath by Laurel Osterkamp

Posted on July 30, 2025 by JessicaS

Some love stories don’t have clean endings—and some heartbreaks never quite heal. In The Next Breath, Laurel Osterkamp brings us a poignant, layered novel about grief, performance, and the blurry lines between memory and truth.

Robin was young when she gave Jed her whole heart, even though he warned her not to. His love was intense, beautiful, and ultimately fleeting—his death shattered her sense of safety, love, and identity. Now, ten years later, Robin is finally beginning to breathe again. She’s with Nick, a kind and genuine man who makes her laugh and helps her feel seen. But Robin hasn’t told him everything. Before they met, she agreed to star in a play Jed wrote for her before his death. As rehearsals begin and Jed visits her in haunting dreams, Robin realizes she’s emotionally divided—caught between a man who’s very much alive and one she never said goodbye to. Can she open her future to Nick if she still lives in Jed’s shadow?

Amazon: http://bit.ly/3GeVJqO
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212336698-the-next-breath

Excerpt

We hovered for a moment, moving towards each other. When our lips met, his mouth was soft, inviting, and powerful enough to make my toes curl. He let out a little sigh, like he was relieved to be kissing me, but before I could wrap my arms around his shoulders, he stepped away.

“No,” he said. “This is a bad idea.”

“Why?” I tried to sound jokey, light. “You’ll sleep with anything that moves.”

He matched my tone. “That’s not true. I’ll only sleep with human females, in my age range, and attractive.”

“Don’t I fit that requirement?”

He looked me up and down, his nostrils flaring. “Yeah, of course you do.”

“Then why?”

Jed stepped back again, making new space between us. “I just think we’re better off as friends.”

I squared my shoulders to pretend I wasn’t wounded. “If it’s because you think you’ll corrupt me, don’t worry. I’m not a virgin.”

“Okay.” He raised his hands in defeat and kept his voice steady, like I’d bite him if he wasn’t careful. “Look, I’m not in a relationshipy place right now; I can’t be, with all my health issues. If we were together, you’d have high expectations because that’s how you are.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I see you, Robin. You don’t hide or lower your standards. I like that about you, but it also makes us bad for each other.” Lines crumpled his forehead as he held my gaze. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

I leaned against the side of the house. How had I gotten to this point, practically begging Jed to have sex with me? I was a pathetic cliché.

“No, you’re right.” I forced out a weird, strained laugh. “We’d regret it, you and me…” I tilted my head towards the stars and groaned. “Never mind. Delete the last couple of minutes from your memory.”

I turned to go inside.

“Robin…” He grabbed my arm and I let him pull me towards him. The yearning on his face told a different story to the one he’d just recited. I put my hand at the base of his neck, but withdrew my fingers in shock.

“Oh my God. You’re burning up.” His forehead was clammy and hot and not the way a healthy forehead should be.

He ducked from my touch. “I’m fine,” he growled.

“No you’re not.”

He started to hack. “Just tired.”

“Can I help you get home?”

“I don’t need your help. And I’m not ready to leave yet.”

He slammed the door as he went back into the party.

About the Author

Laurel Osterkamp writes the kind of fiction that lingers—heartfelt, reflective, and character-driven. Her novels often explore themes of grief, growth, love, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. In addition to being an Amazon bestselling author (Beautiful Little Furies), Laurel teaches adult ESL and middle school enrichment classes, and lives in Minneapolis with her family and a couple of argumentative cats. She has a penchant for running while listening to twisty audiobooks and for rewatching Beverly Hills, 90210 with near-academic zeal. Learn more at laurellit.com or follow her on Instagram.

BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Scare Thee Well by ReGina Welling

Posted on July 28, 2025 by JessicaS

Meet Rue Channing.

She’s just the witch to finish what her
ancestors started.

Scare Thee Well

Laurel Haven Witches Book 2

by ReGina Welling

Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction

Three hundred
years ago, one witch had to live with her mistakes. Today, another might have
to die for them.

Tansy Shackleton has spent her entire life carrying the
guilt of her family’s legacy. If not for her ancestor’s mistake, good witches
might not be trapped in the coastal town of Laurel Haven, Maine. But no matter
how hard she tries to make amends, she can’t stop seeing the stain on her soul.
Not even at the cost of her marriage.

Connor Shackleton has tried everything he can think of to
get his wife to see that she’s not to blame for the unwitting actions of a
long-dead witch. At his wit’s end and unable to watch Tansy work herself into
the ground for something that wasn’t even her fault, he proposes they take a
break for a few days, just to get some perspective.

He should have known Tansy would martyr both their happiness
on the alter of guilt, but he didn’t. He wanted her back almost from the minute
he walked away, but she’s shut him out of her life as firmly as the door she
closed behind him.

The problem is, life and death in Laurel Haven go hand in
hand for witches of the blood, and just like Tansy, Connor’s one of them. The
only way to move forward is to turn and face the past head-on. Together with
her new coven, Tansy will have to put all of Laurel Haven’s ghosts to rest or
die trying.

Amazon * Apple *
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* Goodreads

Rue the Slay

Laurel Haven Witches
Book 1

Three hundred
years ago, four witches went into the forest to cast a spell of protection
against the evil creeping into their town but they were too late.

Today, Rue Channing never sees it
coming, and she should because seeing is her special power. Still, who would
have expected to be kidnapped and hauled off to a small coastal town in Maine?

But that is exactly what happened. Now, Rue, a lover of order and strict
routines, is dragged out of her comfort zone and into a new life in the small,
coastal town of Laurel Haven.

Things could not be worse, she thinks, until she meets the man next door and
decides they could. Ry McFadden is the most infuriating man on the planet. He’s
a study in contrasts; grumpy yet generous, intensely private, but somehow open.
Rue can’t think what to do with him, except she can, and that just makes things
worse.

The problem is, Ry McFadden just might be part of Rue’s destiny as she learns
she’s been brought to Laurel Haven to finish what her ancestors started.

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* Goodreads

“Excuse me. I don’t think that area’s for paying customers.”

The man’s voice sounded like Alan Rickman and Benedict Cumberbatch had a baby but without the British accent. He could read me a bedtime story, Rue thought as the deep tones shivered across the air.

“No worries. I’m not planning to pay for anything.”

“Get back here,” he called out when she took another step.

Dismissing that, Rue waggled her fingers over one shoulder but kept going and caught Tansy pulling another sheet of cookies out of a professional oven that Rue knew damn well she couldn’t afford. How much debt had Tansy racked up in a single morning?

Still, the scents of sugar and butter set Rue’s stomach grumbling. “You’re hired if you want the job. I have no idea how to run a bookstore, but if you stay on, I guess we’ll figure it out between us, so I’d like to make it official. Providing we don’t go out of business in a week because I can’t afford the stock or that stove. Or the ingredients in those cookies come to that.”

Grinning—did the woman ever not smile?—Tansy did a little two-step, bobbled the cookie sheet, then set it on the stainless worktable. “Not to worry. We’ll talk about the finances later.” With practiced speed, she transferred warm cookies to a lined display tray. “I have a customer waiting for these.” Picking up the tray, Tansy headed out, leaving Rue to follow.

“You mean Mr. Grumpy?” She kept her voice low since Tansy was nearly out of hearing distance anyway. The woman moved like lightning.

“They’re still warm,” Tansy was saying when Rue came up behind her. “You came in at just the right time.”

Mr. Grumpy turned a million-watt smile on her and accepted the cookie Tansy offered, but his expression hardened when he turned toward Rue. “I’m not sure how they do things where you’re from, but in Laurel Haven, customers know enough to stay on this side of the counter.”

“Oh, but—“

Rue cut Tansy off. “I’m glad to hear it, but I believe I’ve already mentioned I’m not a customer. My name is Rue, and this is my shop, so if it’s okay with you, I’ll go anywhere I please.”

“You’re one of…them.” He nodded toward Tansy. “That explains some things.” His hazel eyes searched her face as if looking for validation of something she didn’t quite understand. He offered his hand when she came out from behind the pastry case. Steeling herself for what she might see, Rue took it. It wouldn’t bode well for her business if she ran off potential customers. Even ones like him.

The vision of him armed with a sword, his eyes blazing black, and riding a dark horse through misty woods slid across Rue’s mind, bringing with it a bone-deep sense of recognition. Here was the figure that had haunted her most romantic dreams come to life.

“I suppose I am,” she said.

“Then, I guess I’m your new neighbor. I live upstairs.”

“You have more than that in common.” After popping two cookies in a bag, Tansy joined them.

“I can’t imagine what,” Rue muttered. This man was clearly an outlaw of some sort. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen what she’d seen. He certainly looked the part with dark hair falling recklessly over his furrowed brow, eyes narrowed, and lips that might have been kissable if they weren’t set in a stern line. Even annoyed, Rue had to admit, he packed a hell of a punch.

He wasn’t Rue’s type at all. Not one little bit.

Grinning, Tansy made the introductions by pointing and naming them in turn. “Ry. Rue.”

Okay, now Rue understood. They lived in the same building and had names that sounded sort of similar. As far as common ground went, she figured theirs was roughly the size of a postage stamp. The man put her hackles up even when he wasn’t talking.

“Ry?” she said, unable to help herself. “What’s that short for? Wait, let me guess. It’s Ryder, right?” A wicked smile tugged at her lips. “Ryder…Storm. That’s it, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s Ryder Strong. Either one sounds like the perfect name for an urban cowboy with a hero complex.”

Where had that come from? Rue considered herself a circumspect woman, but everything about this day brought out the worst side of her tongue.

“The name’s McFadden, ma’am,” he drawled and tucked his thumbs into his belt. “Ryland McFadden at your service, but you can go ahead and call me Ryder if it helps you feel better.” He cocked his head to the side. “What’s Rue short for? Wait. Let me guess. It’s Rudella, isn’t it? Like Cinderella, only meaner.”

ReGina Welling prefers not to talk about herself in the
third person so…

I live in Maine with my husband, a silly flufferpup named
Dash, and a crazy cat named Cricket. I write full time and also create mixed
media artwork when I get the chance.

When I was three, my mom brought home a new book and when
she went to read it to me, I read it to her instead. That was when she realized
I’d learned to read. Since then I couldn’t even estimate the number of books
I’ve read. It’s a lot!

I love talking to other readers so please visit me in any
one of these various places and don’t forget to let me know you stopped by!

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

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BOOK TOUR: Unspoken by Jann Alexander

Posted on July 27, 2025 by JessicaS

Unspoken: A Dust Novel by Jann Alexander

A farm devastated. A dream destroyed. A family scattered.

And one Texas girl determined to salvage the wreckage.

Ruby Lee Becker can’t breathe. It’s 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of drought, dying crops, and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest blackest storm of them all threatens ten-year-old Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice —one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.

To survive, Ruby is forced to leave the only place she’s ever known. Far from home in Waco, and worried her mother has abandoned her, she’s determined to get back.

Even after twelve years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she’s broken by their separation.

Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home —and faces her one unspoken fear.

Heart-wrenching and inspiring, the tale of Ruby Lee’s dogged perseverance and Willa Mae’s endless love for her daughter shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mqP7ke

Book Funnel Link: https://buy.bookfunnel.com/h3rt6fn7vd

Author’s Website: https://www.jannalexander.com/buy-unspoken

Guest Post:

My Writing Journey’s Taken Me All Over Texas, on Wheels, by Click, and by Page

That’s how I gathered ten years of Texas historical research. Now I’m transforming it into The Dust Series, set in a mythical town in the Texas Panhandle — and wherever the characters roam.

Unspoken is historically accurate, and wickedly fictional.

It’s a true enough tale of a Texas girl more tenacious than fire ants who faces air she can’t breathe, and what’s gone unspoken, to find family and remake home. Set in the Texas Panhandle during the Dirty Thirties and beyond, an era of drought and dusters and war, it’s at once the story of a mother and daughter and a love letter to strong women who blaze trails, bolster one another, and prevail.

“There are things, I wanted to tell him, unspoken things that can never be fixed. But I said nuthin.” —RUBY LEE BECKER in Unspoken

Unspoken is the first Texas novel in The Dust Series to be published.

Featuring dual narratives of estranged daughter and mother, Unspoken is the second Texas novel I’ve completed but first to be published. Its predecessor, Vacancy, is the inspiration for the series and coming soon. Unspoken’s sequel is underway now, which gives my characters (and me) a chance to keep rambling all over Texas, unearthing some lesser-known and fascinating history — as my research into the lesser-known events in the Dust Bowl era in the 1930s revealed.

There are miles and miles of Texas.

If you don’t think so, just set out in your car from Texarkana one morning, and see how long it takes you to arrive in New Mexico. You may end up asleep at the wheel. To research my books, I drove across Texas in many directions, of course, sometimes following old maps I’d discovered, and after one 600-mile road trip, my license plate and front grill showed it.

A 1940 map of Texas shows you how far you can go.

It’s easier to click than to drive. I uncovered a 1940 map (and many more like it) by click, that showed me there’s lots of territory to explore, wherever you land. It’s a map I referred to plenty, as I was moving my characters in Unspoken from the Panhandle to Waco to Wichita Falls and points in-between. (Not all were willing travelers, but those were the tenacious types.)

There were plenty more pages to turn, too, as I researched.

My collection of books on Texas grew, married, had children, cousins, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on, as I read out-of-print finds from secondhand bookshops or firsthand nonfiction accounts of events, along with art and photography books of the times. Immersing myself in so many visual and written sources spurred many more characters and plotlines. Stay tuned as The Dust Series unfolds. •

Unspoken, the first book in The Dust Series by Jann Alexander, features strong women facing the worst the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and world war can dish out, and somehow persevere.

About the Author:

Jann Alexander writes characters who face down their fears. Her novels are as close-to-true as fiction can get.

Jann is the author of the historical novel, UNSPOKEN, set in the Texas Panhandle during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression eras, and her first book in The Dust Series.

Jann writes on all things creative in her weekly blog, Pairings. She’s a 20-year resident of central Texas and creator of the Vanishing Austin photography series. As a former art director for ad agencies and magazines in the D.C. area, and a painter, photographer, and art gallery owner, creativity is her practice and passion.

Jann’s lifelong storytelling habit and her more recent zeal for Texas history merged to become the historical Dust Series. When she is not reading, writing, or creating, she bikes, hikes, skis, and kayaks. She lives in central Texas with her own personal Texan (and biggest fan), Karl, and their Texas mutt, Ruby.

Jann always brakes for historical markers.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.jannalexander.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JannAlexanderAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jannalextx/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jannalextx.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jannalextx/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2708203210

Book Bub for Unspoken: https://www.bookbub.com/books/unspoken-a-dust-novel-the-dust-series-book-1-by-jann-alexander

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jannalexander

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jann_alexander

Goodreads for Unspoken: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230163000-unspoken

BOOK TOUR: A Shape on the Air by Julia Ibbotson

Posted on July 26, 2025 by JessicaS

A Shape on the Air

by Julia Ibbotson

Can echoes of the past threaten the present? They are 1500 years apart, but can they reach out to each other across the centuries? One woman faces a traumatic truth in the present day. The other is forced to marry the man she hates as the ‘dark ages’ unfold.

How can Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, unlock the secrets of the past?

Traumatised by betrayal, she slips into 499 AD and into the body of Lady Vivianne, who is also battling treachery. Viv must uncover the mystery of the key that she unwittingly brings back with her to the present day, as echoes of the past resonate through time. But little does Viv realise just how much both their lives across the centuries will become so intertwined. And in the end, how can they help each other across the ages without changing the course of history?

For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christina Courtenay.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://myBook.to/ASOTA

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

About the Author:

Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries.

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language / literature / history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s.

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her latest novel is the first of a new series of Anglo-Saxon dual-time mysteries, Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries.

Her books will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.

Author Links:

Website: https://juliaibbotsonauthor.com

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/@juliaibbotson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/juliaibbotson.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/juliai1

Amazon Author Page: https://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/juliaibbotson

BOOK TOUR: A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick

Posted on July 23, 2025 by JessicaS

A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick
A Jan Christopher Murder Mystery – Episode 6
Published by Taw River Press

The village Flower and Veg Show should be a fun annual event – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

July 1973
Old friends and new enemies? Jan Christopher’s Aunt Madge is to be a judge at Chappletawton’s annual village flower and vegetable summer show – a chance for the family to have a holiday in the Devon countryside, especially as Jan’s fiancé, DS Laurie Walker, is still recovering from gunshot wounds and her uncle, DCI Toby Christopher, is enduring injury-related sick leave.
The event should be a fun occasion where friendly rivalry between gardeners, cooks and crafters lead to the hopeful winning of the coveted Best In Show trophy – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

Praise for the Jan Christopher Mysteries:

“A delight—Miss Read meets The Darling Buds of May, with a dash of St. Mary Mead. Helen Hollick’s signature voice shines throughout, full of warmth and wit. The characters keep growing in such satisfying ways, making every visit feel like coming home.” — Elizabeth St.John

“The Darling Buds of May …but in Devon instead of Kent.” — Alison Morton

“I sank into this gentle cosy mystery story with the same enthusiasm and relish as I approach a hot bubble bath, and really enjoyed getting to know the central character, a shy young librarian, and the young police officer who becomes her romantic interest. The nostalgic setting of the 1970s was balm, so clearly evoked, and although there is a murder at the heart of the story, it was an enjoyable comfort read.” — Debbie Young, author of the Sophie Sayers cosy mysteries

“A delightful read about a murder told from the viewpoint of a young library assistant. The author draws on her own experience to weave an intriguing tale.” — Richard Ashen – South Chingford Community Library

“I really identified with Jan – the love of stories from an early age, and the careers advice – the same reaction I got – no one thought being a writer was something a working-class girl did! The character descriptions are wonderfully done.” — Amazon Reader

“Brilliant! I’m so enjoying Helen’s well-researched murder mystery. I’m not giving anything away here, except to say there’s lots of nostalgia, and detail that readers of a certain age will lap up. A jolly good read. In my opinion, it would make a great television series.” — Amazon Reader

Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/MischiefOfMurder
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Excerpt:

Beyond illustrations and photographs in books, I had no recollection of ever seeing the incredible Neolithic monument of Stonehenge, although as we parked the car and walked across the expanse of grass towards the huge standing stones, Aunt Madge informed me that I had been here before.

She elaborated as she fished her camera from its leather carry case, and inspected the lens settings. “You were only just two years old. We were a merry party, you, your twin sister June, your mother and me.” She started snapping photos of the stones as she spoke. “I’d offered to drive down to the wedding. Mind, it was February and bitter cold. Even the underwear your mother had knitted didn’t do much for the ice chills whipping up our skirts.” She laughed as she took another photograph. “My goodness, but the woolly knickers and vest itched! I recall my skin was red raw by the time we reached our hotel. I dropped the darn things straight into the bin, I can tell you!”

Author Bio:

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon – even if you don’t believe in ghosts you might enjoy the snippets of interesting history and the many location photographs.

Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, chasing the peacocks away from her roses, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…

Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenHollick

Bluesky: @helenhollick.bsky.social

Blog: supporting authors & their books: https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

Monthly ‘newsletter’ blog Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse:

https://thoughtsfromadevonshirefarmhouse.blogspot.com

Recent Releases:

FATE Tales of History, Mystery and Magic

an anthology of short stories by various award-winning authors

https://mybook.to/FateAnthology