THE FLOWER ENIGMA by Breakfield & Burkey–Book Blitz and Giveaway

THE FLOWER ENIGMA
Magnolia Bluff Crime
Chronicles, Book 5
by
CHARLES BREAKFIELD
& ROX BURKEY

Small Town Mystery / Suspense / Amateur Sleuths

Publisher: ICABOD Press

Pages: 198 pages

Publication Date: August 20, 2022

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Imagine a romantic getaway in the Texas Hill Country

JJ, a cyber guru, whisks his girlfriend, Jo, away for a vacation. No paparazzi. Magnolia Bluff is the perfect destination. Flower B&B is prettier than the pictures on the website.

The evangelizing podcast creators are demanding answers about the town’s newest resident, Mateo Hernandez. The enormous wall he erected has convinced the ladies he’s hiding nefarious activities behind a dubious attorney. Local authorities don’t believe laws are broken and discount the women as meddling gossips.

When the couple checks into Flower, the podcast show-in-progress is interrupted by a cyberattack. JJ, the techno-geek, can’t resist helping. At each subsequent event in the series, he uncovers more serious issues than cyberwarfare.

JJ and Jo can’t avoid this roving series maelstrom. It gets personal when they’re attacked and warned to leave town. No one can conceive the depth of the crimes behind Mateo’s walls.

CLICK TO PURCHASE FOR $0.99!

Breakfield is a technology expert in security, networking, voice, and anything digital. He enjoys writing, studying World War II history, travel, and cultural exchanges. Charles is a fan of wine tastings, winemaking, Harley riding, cooking extravaganzas, and woodworking.
Burkey is a technology professional who excels at optimizing technology and business investments. She works with customers all over the world focusing on optimized customer experiences. Rox writes white papers and documentation but found she has a marked preference for writing fiction.
Together these Texas authors create award-winning stories that resonate with males and females, as well as young and experienced adults. They bring a fresh new view to technology possibilities today in exciting stories. Visit their website for more information and free stuff.
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
TWO WINNERS!
Autographed copy of The Flower Enigma
(US only, ends midnight, CDT, 8/25/22.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CLICK
TO VISIT THE THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE

FOR PARTICIPATING BLOGS.

blog services provided by

SOPHIE GO’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Roselle Lim – Featured New Release

20220817_001703564_iOS

SOPHIE GO’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB

Roselle Lim

BLURB

Sophie Go

REVIEW

20220807_142916223_iOS

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is my new favorite of Roselle Lim’s books so far. This early, I’m declaring it as one of my Top 22 Reads of 2022.
Weaving filial piety, magical realism, found family, friendship, the Beatles, food, and romance into a cohesive story requires mad skills and loads of talent. Ms. Lim has those in abundance.
Sophie Go is relatable, sympathetic, and lovable. Her interactions with her parents made my heart ache and helped me appreciate my own more, especially my mother who is as loud in declaring how proud she is of me as Irene Go is in denouncing her daughter.
20220807_031030927_iOSSophie’s long-distance friendship with Singapore resident Yanmei resonated loudly with me as I have similar tight friendships in the same country, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The kind of brutally honest, steadfast support they have is something to aspire for.
The slow build-up of her romance with a certain Mr. who hired her to matchmake for him was sweet and almost satisfied my romantic requirements in a story. I say almost because I always want more. Can never have enough romance.
Finally, the most entertaining, the most heartfelt, and the best part of this book–Sophie’s connection with the Old Ducks, the seven septuagenarians who became her matchmaking clients, her friends, and her family. Ms. Lim gave each man such wonderfully distinct personalities, they really came alive in my mind. I think someone should adapt this book into a movie just to showcase these amazing characters.
4 Four-half-stars

FANCY by Linda Broday — Book Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

FANCY

Love Train Multi-Author Series, #10

by

LINDA BRODAY

Western Romance /Sweet Romance/ American Historical Romance
Pages:          190 pages
Publication Date:     August 15, 2022

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

A stolen baby
An orphan child
A bargain struck
Told her baby died in childbirth, Fancy Dalton grieves for her son. But in the midst of a raging storm, a shadowy figure appears and tells her that he’s alive and well! He was stolen! Now she has an address and a name. From despair comes hope.
One thought drives her—finding and getting him back. Selling everything she owns, Fancy buys a one-way train ticket to Denver. Nothing and no one will stop her. In a mad dash to board the train, she collides with Jack Coltrain. As fate would have it, the rugged cowboy, on a mission of his own, sits next to her. Experience has taught her to be wary of men. But when her bag is stolen, he gets it back and earns a small piece of her trust.
As the iron wheels roll, taking her closer to her two-year-old son, Fancy and Jack discover an orphan girl who needs their help and open their arms to her. Ten hours from their goal, Fancy and Jack strike a deal—her help for his. Desperate times for both call for creative solutions…but marriage, even in name only? However, nothing is off the table. She’ll do whatever she must to save the orphan and get her child back. Still, giving Jack her heart…that’s not part of the bargain.
Click to purchase!

PRAISE FOR FANCY:

“I have loved every Linda Broday book I have read, but I must say this one touched my heart.” Cricket (Goodreads)

“Linda Broday waved her magic wand when her turn came and gave us one of her most profound heroines she’s ever written. Fancy wrapped her tragic story around my heart and transported me into the late 1800s.” Tonya (Goodreads)

“Linda Broday has always been able to weave her characters together like a mix-match patch quilt, but the end results are amazing.” Rose Ann (Goodreads)

“…Her ability to convey the goodness of their souls will leave the reader wanting more.” Sally (Goodreads)
From its heart-wrenching start to its sigh-worthy ending, Linda Broday’s Fancy takes the reader on a highly evocative ride.
The devastating prologue had me in tears, ensuring my emotional connection with Fancy Dalton right away. Her will to make a fresh start after her mother’s death and her determination to find her stolen son even with her meager resources also earned my admiration.  With Fancy, Ms. Broday created a title character who is easy to root for and wish for only good things to happen to her.
One of those good things is Jack Coltrain. The epitome of a Broday hero, Jack is bold, valiant, and kindhearted yet prepared to act with violence if necessary to defend those he promised to protect and care for. The speed of their getting together through a marriage of convenience is totally understandable, even necessary, considering the fraught circumstances they found themselves in. Their happy-ever-after is inevitable and well-deserved.
Fancy, life is a journey. Not one trip, but hundreds. We have to keep going and proceed with courage each and every day as long as we have breath.”
One of the signatures of Ms. Broday’s stories is found family and that theme is central in this story through Fancy and Jack’s care for Piper, an orphan girl whose sad plight stroke a familiar chord within Fancy’s heart. This little girl is another character who made me cry with her exceptional pluck and maturity beyond her years.
Fast-paced and eventful, Fancy is a fantastic read for those who are looking for something quick but with depth, has sympathetic characters, is well-written, and sweetly romantic.
Thanks to Lone Star Lit for including me in this blog tour and to Ms. Broday for the early digital copy of the book to review.
I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty historical western romance novels and short stories. I reside in the Texas Panhandle on land the American Indian and early cowboys once roamed, and at times if the breeze is just right, I can hear their voices whispering in the wind. Texas’s rich history is one reason I set all my stories here where cowboys still remain caretakers of the land. I’m inspired every day by their immense dedication and love for the wide-open spaces. I combine those men with the love of family in all my stories and hope to continue to give readers books that entertain and fulfill.

Giveaway! Giveaway! Giveaway!

FOUR WINNERS!

One winner:
$25 Amazon gift card plus Kindle copy of Fancy
Three winners:
Kindle copies of Fancy
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 8/19/2022.)
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,
or visit the blogs directly:

8/9/22

Excerpt

Forgotten Winds

8/9/22

BONUS Promo

Hall Ways

8/10/22

Review

Librariel Book Adventures

8/10/22

BONUS Promo

LSBBT Blog

8/11/22

Character Spotlight

Chapter Break Book Blog

8/12/22

Review

StoreyBook Reviews

8/13/22

Notable Quotables

Shelf Life Blog

8/14/22

Character Interview

All the Ups and Downs

8/15/22

Review

Carpe Diem Chronicles

8/16/22

Sneak Peek

Stories Under Starlight

8/17/22

Review

Boys’ Mom Reads

8/18/22

Review

Writing and Music
blog tour services provided by

 

A SHOT IN THE 80% DARK By Amber Royer – Book Blitz and Giveaway

A SHOT IN THE 80% DARK
Bean to Bar Mysteries, Book 4

by
AMBER ROYER
Cozy Mystery / Culinary Mystery / Woman Sleuth
Publisher: Golden Tip Press
Date of Publication: July 15, 2022
Number of Pages: 285 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop is thriving. Despite everything she’s been through with the murders she’s helped solve, Felicity is ready to take on new challenges. So when a local museum offers her a contract to create a chocolate replica of a gigantic sailing ship sculpture for a gala celebrating Galveston’s history, she jumps at the chance to combine chocolate-crafting with art.

The project is fun – right up until there’s not just one but two dead artists on the scene, and Felicity has to change gears back to detective. Logan, Felicity’s business partner and previous bodyguard, and Arlo, Felicity’s ex who is now the cop investigating the case, are split on which victim they think was actually the intended one. Felicity may have to take some chances, both emotionally and in luring out a killer, to determine the truth.

Can she find out how Galveston’s history relates to the murders, unmask a killer, and prepare 2,000 chocolate desserts for the gala all at the same time?

CLICK TO PURCHASE!
View on YouTube

Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.

Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate.

◆ WEBSITE ◆ BLOG ◆
◆ FACEBOOK ◆ TWITTER ◆
◆ AMAZON ◆ GOODREADS ◆
◆ INSTAGRAM ◆ YOUTUBE ◆

Review_preview

20220724_005216657_iOS

With its increasingly diverse and representative cast of characters, absolutely amazing competence porn, exciting and fascinating whodunit cases, mouthwatering food descriptions, and excellent sense of place, Amber Royer’s Bean to Bar Mysteries is quickly becoming my favorite cozy mystery series to read of late.

There’s a lot going on in A Shot in the 80% Dark, all of them good.  Somehow, Ms. Royer is introducing the entire fifty thousand population of Galveston into her stories and she’s managing to make each of those characters distinct, memorable, real, and relatable. I especially admire her utilization of notoriously difficult side characters — pets and kids– to further the plot. Renoir, the museum’s cockatoo, is a scene-stealing star.

I am in awe of the displays of expertise and artistry in this series. From 3-D printing to Vietnamese coffee preparation, to SCUBA diving, and to sugar work using isomalt, I learn so many new things that I may be able to apply to practical use in the future. The author’s exhaustive research on various competencies and historical details leap off the pages of the book.

Naturally, I appreciate the procedural aspects of crime solving, but that is a basic requirement of the genre so I won’t dwell on that. What I really love to highlight is Ms. Royer’s deep knowledge of Galveston and how she completely transports the readers to the coastal resort city with her words. Traveling through books is never more true than in this story.

Life is too short to walk around waiting for relationships to solidify themselves.”

The only thing I’m not one hundred percent on board with is the love triangle between Felicity, Arlo, and Logan. It was handled well here and there seems to be forward progress so it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Huge thanks to Lone Star Lit for the opportunity to be in the tour and to Ms. Royer for providing me with a digital copy of the book to read and review.

4 Four-half-stars

—————————————
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
TWO WINNERS
Autographed copies of A SHOT IN THE 80% DARK
(US only. Ends Midnight, CDT, July 28, 2022)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(more…)

FLAMES, FLIRTS & FESTIVALS: A Diverse Short Story Romance Anthology

FFF cover couple

FLAMES, FLIRTS & FESTIVALS

A Diverse Short Story Romance Anthology

FF&Ffinal2

Flirting always gets me into trouble. Flaming hot trouble …

From Samhain to Up Helly Aa, these sizzling stories by award-winning and bestselling authors will whisk you away to celebrations around the globe. Featuring spectacular locations, diverse characters, and rich storytelling, you’re sure to find something to love.

Come join the fun as we eat, drink, and live happily ever after.

Purchase link:

books2read.com/FlamesFlirtsFestivals

couple beachFeaturing my short story Panagat.

US Air Force officer Jack O’Connor washes ashore on a remote island in Palawan, Philippines and into the arms of its beautiful owner, Belen Reyes. Amidst the sultry summer monsoon, attraction sparks fast. Can the promises they make in the heat of passion survive past the festival of the seas?

Panagat by Maida Malby

  • September – Panagat Festival
  • Palawan, Philippines
  • Retro Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥

Short Stories:

Kiss Me, I’m Incorporeal by Catherine Stein

  • November – Samhain
  • Ireland
  • Historical Paranormal Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Calypso Butterfly by Saharra K. Sandhu

  • February – Carnival
  • Trinidad
  • Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥🔥

Season Swap by A.R. Bell

  • March – Martisor
  • Transylvania, Romania
  • Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Lost & Found by Allegra Johnson

  • May – Beltane
  • Northern England
  • Time Travel Medieval Romance
  • 🔥🔥

First Harvest of Love by Brianne Gillen

  • August – Lughnasadh
  • New York
  • Historical LGBTQ Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The Love Letter by Everleigh Allen

  • July – Unicorn Festival
  • Florence, Italy
  • Fantasy Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥

It’s Always Been You by Chelle MacCabe

  • June – Midsommar
  • Glenbrook, Scotland
  • Contemporary-Historical-Paranormal Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥

Kiss Me Quick by Milly Gray

  • April – Elvis Festival
  • Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
  • Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥

Masquerade by Alexa Santi

  • October – All Hallows’ Eve
  • County Durham, England
  • Historical Paranormal Romance
  • 🔥🔥

Her One True Love by Heather Scarlett

  • December – Winter’s Solstice
  • Harmony, California
  • Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥🔥

Can’t Help Falling … In Edinburgh by A.M. Roark

  • December/January – Hogmanay & Up Helly Aa
  • Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Contemporary Romance
  • 🔥🔥🔥

Buy links:

Amazon          Apple          Barnes & Noble          Google Play          Kobo

14337-add-to-goodreads-button31 

Signed Paperback

Signed copy of Flames, Flirts & Festivals – inclusive of tax and Media mail shipping – US addresses only – limited number

$23.99

BETTING ON LOVE by Mary Beesley – Book Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

BETTING ON LOVE

by
MARY BEESLEY
RomCom / Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Date of Publication: March 24, 2021
Number of Pages: 193 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Tempest Swan is out for revenge. Billionaire Leonard Allred’s software program has put her out of a job. She makes a bet with a friend that she’ll get Leonard to take her on a date so she can get retribution, but a fortuitous accident with an adorable nerd might just derail her vengeance.
Leonard has reasons for hiding his identity from the public. It’s worked well for him so far, until he starts falling for the honest and witty Tempest. But how can he destroy their budding romance by admitting he’s actually the guy she hates?
PRAISE FOR BETTING ON LOVE:
“If I could give Betting on Love more stars I would because 5 stars aren’t enough.” -Jacky, Goodreads reader
“BEST BEACH READ!! Witty and fun and it was super hard to put down.” – Katherine, Goodreads reader
“It had just enough spice to make you feel the sparks.” – Rebecca, Goodreads reader
CLICK TO PURCHASE!
│ Amazon│
Review_preview
20220621_161436079_iOS
A light, slow-burn, trope-y romance, Betting On Love will delight fans of romcoms and, if adapted into a film, would fit perfectly in the programming lineup of a certain greeting-card channel famous for their holiday tv-movies.
The twists and turns Ms. Beesley put Tempest and Leo through are more than enough to create a two-hour show– mistaken identity, a little deception, groveling, misunderstandings, best-intentioned plans gone awry, forced proximity (there’s only one tent!), almost-kiss, longing looks, cute speeches, and finally a carpe diem risk-it-all move.
The author infused the characters with realness and relatability that I liked. They are not perfectly likable, even annoying at times. I loved that they make a conscious effort to forge strong family ties. I also loved the tight bonds of friendship and sisterhood in this story.
What I didn’t love was the overabundance of push and pull. Tempest and Leo taking turns in ignoring each other for various reasons made for a frustrating read and didn’t really build up the relationship. The leap from cold shoulder to risking-it-all needed a better transition than what was on the page. Maybe Blair’s book (hint, hint) will take a different approach to the journey to happily-ever-after she rightfully deserves.
Thanks to Lone Star Lit for the inclusion in the blog tour and to the author for providing a digital copy of the book for review.
4 out of 5 stars
Mary Beesley is a Whitney Award Nominee and received a Crowned Heart of Excellence Review and a 5-star Reader’s Favorite Award.
◆ WEBSITE ◆ FACEBOOK ◆
◆ TWITTER ◆ AMAZON ◆ GOODREADS ◆
◆ BOOKBUB◆ INSTAGRAM ◆
————————————–
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS!
1st: Signed copy of Betting on Love + $25 Amazon Gift Card;
2nd & 3rd: signed copies of Betting on Love

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 6/24/2022)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
(more…)

STEALING TIME By KJ Waters – Book Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

THE STEALING TIME SERIES

Stealing Time

Shattering Time

Killing Time

by

KJ WATERS

Time Travel / Suspense / Romance / Alt History / Mystery

Publisher: Blondie Books

Scroll down for Giveaway!
 

Stealing Time, December 20, 2014, 319 pages

A devastating hurricane. A time travel betrayal. Will Ronnie survive the witch hunt or forever be lost in time?

Stealing Time is the first book in the “breathtakingly original” Stealing Time Series of time travel wrapped in a hurricane. If you like strong-willed modern women and gripping stories that transport you back in time, then you’ll love KJ Waters’s Books.

As Hurricane Charley churns a path of destruction towards Orlando, Florida, Ronnie Andrews scrambles to prepare for the storm and seeks shelter at her boyfriend’s weather lab. What she finds there is more terrifying than Mother Nature’s destruction.

During the peak of the hurricane, Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time. Her best friend Steph is thrust into the middle of the hurricane.

TRENT’S MELODY By S L Hollister – Featured New Release

TITLE – Trent’s Melody (The Harrell Family Chronicles Book 4)
AUTHOR – S L Hollister
GENRE- Romantic Suspense
 RELEASE DATE – May 26th, 2022
BLURB
Trent's Melody CoverFrom drunk on a plane to falling in love in paradise, Trent sang his way into Melodie’s heart. But when the couple is accused of being the cause of her former fiancé’s death, Trent leaves her to handle things on her own. Melodie Henries will never trust Trent Harrell not to bail when things get hard.
A singer/songwriter down on his luck and a novelist, their romance should harmonize but past mistakes pluck a wrong note.
When the two agree to do a battle-of-the-sexes renovation competition, more than their romance flames to life as they become the target of a stalker bent on revenge.
Can they change the tune of an old song, or will their melody fall flat?
PURCHASE NOW
Author Bio
People have asked me why I don’t write about my adventures raising six sons. I have to admit that I prefer to write their stories as fiction because no one would believe the stuff they put me through if I tell it as fact. In fiction, I can clean my boys up a little when I like them and make them the heroes of my stories and if they’ve pissed me off, I can make them the villains. It’s been a running joke around our house that mom will put you in her book and kill you off on page fifty, but some know they’re the smelly corpse discovered in the ditch at the very beginning of the story. Heck, it’s not even a threat anymore my grandkids are begging to be put in my books and even telling me how I can kill them off. I mean really, where’s the threat in that? We put the fun in dysfunctional, what can I say? I have long conversations with my children and grandchildren about blowing things up and how to get rid of bodies. The holidays are never boring around our house.

My mini bio: only child, married to my romantic hero for 30 years, raised six sons, have 21 grandchildren, published 7 (just finished number 8) books. Oh, and I’m the chairperson for the Pamlico Writers’ Group because no one else wanted it. That’s me in the nutshell. What else would you like to know? The color of my underwear is blue, I have pink nail polish on and no, I don’t color my hair unless it’s blue or pink or purple… if you’re going to be a blue-haired old lady, make it turquoise!
Author Links

ASIAN ROMANCE GIVEAWAY

ASIAN ROMANCE GIVEAWAY (Facebook Post)

WIN 8 ASIAN ROMANCE BOOKS!

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a few of us Asian Romance authors are offering an Asian Romance giveaway. One lucky winner will be randomly selected to win all 8 books:

 

Rules:

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents. To enter, please either subscribe to an author’s newsletter or follow them on social media as directed in the Rafflecopter. Participants can submit as many entries as they like (up to 8 max). This raffle will be active from May 8-13th, 2022. A winner will be contacted by Monday, May 16th. At that time, the winner must provide a valid mailing address and/or email to receive the books.  Good luck!

​

Enter the giveaway here: https://bit.ly/AsianRomanceGiveaway

 

Reposted from Julie Tieu.

ROCKED by Linda G. Hill – Featured New Release

ROCKED

Once a Week at Woody’s #2

by

Linda G. Hill

BLURB

RockedSeth was just Monica’s best friend’s older brother. Until she sees him strip…

Seth is the mayor’s son, but he’s Mr. Mystery onstage. His job as a stripper at Woody O’Flanagan’s Pub totally rocks, but he’s plagued by his sister’s fear that he’ll ruin their dad’s reputation and his career.

Monica will do anything for her best friend. So she marches down to the pub to drag Seth off the stage before he can shed a stitch. Instead, she’s thunderstruck by his moves.

As Monica and Seth trip over their hots for each other, can they outrun other people’s expectations and find true love?

A low-angst, high-stakes, steamy rom-com, Rocked is the second standalone book in Linda G. Hill’s “Once a Week at Woody’s” series.

Grab your copy and see who gets the last laugh… and the last dance.

 

Buy links:

Kindle     Kobo     Apple     B&N     Smashwords 
 
 

add to goodreads

 

ABOUT LINDA

51zEkWS7bmL._US230_Award-winning author Linda G. Hill was born and raised an only child in Southern Ontario, Canada. She credits the time she spent alone when she was growing up, reading books and building worlds and characters of her own to keep her company, as the reason she became a writer.

A stay-at-home mom of three beautiful boys, Linda is a graduate of the Writing Program at St. Lawrence College in Brockville, Ontario. Aside from caring for her family, she enjoys traveling the world, eating trout cooked on the barbecue, and, of course, reading.

Website     Facebook     Twitter     Goodreads
BookBub     Pinterest     Instagram     Newsletter