April 14 2022
Looking for a book? How about a new author?
Today's blog is a special one - we're featuring ten fellow authors to highlight their work and perhaps introduce you, as a reader, to a new favourite!
Whether you're planning a summer get-away, or stay-cation, it's time to add a book or three to your reading selection. We hope the authors and their books highlighted below will provide you with some new choices, and just maybe you'll fall in love with a new author!
These ten books provide a great selection - romance, mystery, suspense, and even short stories. Some of these authors are familiar to us, and we are anxious to get to know the rest!
p.s. Any of these authors would absolutely love hearing from you. All have included links where you can contact them or learn more. Or send Jamie Tremain a note (see to your right on the sidebar), and we'll gladly pass on your comments.
Blind Date
by Brenda Chapman
True
crime podcaster Ella Tate is shaken to her core by the horrific assault and
murder of Josie Wheatly, a teacher she has never met … because not only had
Josie moved into Ella’s vacated apartment three months earlier, but her
Facebook photos reveal a striking resemblance between the two women. Within
days, two people close to Ella are harmed, and she fears that she’s become the
target of twisted revenge from her crime-reporting days. Reluctantly teaming up with her neighbour, Tony, a hairdresser who loves the finer things in life, and Liam Hunter, the persistent detective assigned to the cases, Ella struggles to stay one step ahead before the becomes the target of the final kill.
Brenda Chapman is a
Canadian crime fiction author with over twenty published novels. In addition to
short stories and standalones, she has written the lauded Stonechild and
Rouleau police procedural series, the Anna Sweet mystery novellas for adult
literacy, and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for middle grade. Brenda’s latest
release is Blind Date: A Hunter and Tate Mystery is the first in a new series.
Her work has been shortlisted for several awards including four Crime Writers
of Canada Awards of Excellence. Brenda studied English literature at Lakehead
and Carleton universities and earned a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s
University. She taught for fifteen years in the field of special education
followed by a Communications career in the federal government. She currently
writes full-time and makes her home in Ottawa, Ontario
Brenda Chapman to read more
The Mind Spins
by Geza Tatrallyay
An exploration of the creative process, of the mind as it plots a narrative and builds characters. The thirteen stories included in the collection are divided into two parts, Awake and Dreaming. The six that make up Part I, Awake, explore how the human mind creates a story in its waking state. Several of the tales in this section take off from the author’s own experiences—walking in the woods in Vermont, a phone message from his brother, a stray item of lingerie—while others are based on critical social issues—the fate of refugees in the US, human trafficking, the plight of homeless veterans.
The stories in Part II, Dreaming, are based on dreams the author had and managed to capture upon waking. These fully reflect the zany manner in which dreams can spin off in new directions, often bringing in new seemingly unrelated characters, some of which are sometimes non-human, others clearly from a non-contemporaneous past or future. Yet it is also evident that these stories, too--the first “draft” of which were “spun” by the mind in its dreaming state--are based on the author’s experiences. A fascinating collection!
GezaTatrallyay escaped from Hungary with his family during the Revolution in 1956, immigrating to Canada. He grew up in Toronto, where he attended the University of Toronto Schools, and has degrees from Harvard and Oxford Universities (this as a Rhodes Scholar) and the London School of Economics. He worked in the Ontario Pavilion at the world’s fair, Expo 70, in Osaka, Japan and represented Canada as an epée fencer in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
Geza has worked in government, international organizations, finance and environmental entrepreneurship. Since retiring in 2004, he has devoted himself to writing and now has fourteen books published (five thrillers, three memoirs, four poetry collections, one short story collection and one children's picture storybook).
Geza is married with two children and four grandchildren, and when not travelling, divides his time between Barnard, Vermont, and San Francisco.
Learn more at:
Murder at the Menger - A Sydney Lockhart Mystery
by Kathleen Kaska
It’s 1953, and detective Sydney Lockhart finds herself solving another murder in another famous hotel. The victim is a slick bookie named Johnny Pine who had his dirty fingers in pies from Texas to Florida. Sydney tracks Pine to the Menger Hotel in San Antonio where she discovers he’s been murdered in the room next to hers. And as usual, Sydney is a suspect. With her partner, Ralph Dixon, handling the case from Austin; or so she believes, Sydney is working alone in unfamiliar territory. A string of illicit deeds that trails from San Antonio to New Orleans, leads to more murder. Uncertain of whom she can trust, Sydney’s only choice is to find the killer before the killer finds her.
Kathleen Kaska is the author of the awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s and the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series. She also writes mystery trivia. The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book was published by Rowman & Littlefield. Her Holmes short story; “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke,” appears in Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street; a Belanger Books anthology. She is the founder of The Dogs in the Nighttime, the Sherlock Holmes Society of Anacortes; Washington, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars.
Murder at the Menger is available to pre-order on Amazon
Stitch, Bake, Die! An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Book 10
by Lois Winston
With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the New Jersey chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.
The sweet little old ladies Anastasia is expecting to meet are definitely old, and some of them are little, but all are anything but sweet. She’s stepped into a vipers’ den that starts with bribery and ends with murder. When an ice storm forces Anastasia and Cloris to spend the night at the Chateau, Anastasia discovers evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and a bevy of suspects.
Can she piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?
Crafting tips included.
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning
writing career in 2006 with the humorous novel Talk Gertie to Me. Her
bestselling Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series came about after an
editor mentioned she was looking for crafting-themed cozies. The series now
includes ten novels and three novellas. Lois is currently working on the
eleventh novel in the series. To date she’s published nineteen novels, five
novellas, several short stories, one children’s chapter book, and one
nonfiction book on writing, inspired by the twelve years she worked as an
associate at a literary agency. Learn more about her and her books at her
website where you’ll find links to sign up for her newsletter and follow her on
social media.
Learn more:
Web Site https://www.loiswinston.com/
Buy at:
Bad Blood Sisters
by Saralyn Richard
Quinn McFarland has grown up around dead bodies…
Quinn’s always joked about death, but this summer, death stops being funny. For one thing, her brother finally undergoes transplant surgery. For another, Quinn’s estranged BFF, her “blood” sister, is brought into the family mortuary, bludgeoned to death. Quinn’s haunted by the past, her friendship gone awry, and the blood oath she’s sworn to keep secret. The police consider her a person of interest, and someone threatens her not to talk. Quinn is the only one who knows enough to bring the killer to justice, but what she’s buried puts her in extreme danger.
Fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, and “Six Feet Under” will stay up late reading BAD BLOOD SISTERS.
Saralyn Richard’s award-winning humor- and romance-tinged mysteries and children's book pull back the curtain on people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. Saralyn’s most recent release is Bad Blood Sisters. A member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Saralyn teaches creative writing and literature at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and continues to write mysteries. Her favorite thing about being an author is interacting with readers like you.
Visit Saralyn and learn more:
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Until Dead
by Donnell Ann Bell
When Lt. Everett T. Pope is notified of an explosion in downtown Denver close to the judicial buildings, his first instinct is gas leak. No such luck. As Incident Command and Pope's own Major Crimes unit move in, he discovers he knows the intended victims--an Assistant U.S. Attorney--and Pope's former partner, now a private investigator, has died shielding the injured AUSA with his body.
As ATF and the FBI take over investigating the bombing and unraveling motives behind the murder attempt, Pope is relegated to a peripheral role. But the injured AUSA's aunt is a United States senator used to getting results. She turns to the team that solved the Black Pearl Killer murders with a very big ask—find her answers and locate the bomber.
FBI Special Agent Brian DiPietro must recall his entire
cold case team from their far-flung assignments knowing he's being asked to do
the impossible. The senator, however, doesn't know the meaning of the word. All
too soon, DiPietro finds his team working alongside ATF on a red-hot mission.
One that uncovers a decades' old cold case.
Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author of four romantic suspense novels, all of which have been e-book bestsellers. Until Dead is the second in a suspense series. Donnell and her husband are recent transplants to New Mexico. Visit her website and connect with her on Facebook.
Learn more:
Web Site - https://donnellannbell.com/
Reaching for Forever
by Tara Eldana
Flora Hargrove is a school teacher, a normal kind of gal who is all about family and friends. So when her best friend needs undercover help to save a teen that’s gone missing, she’s all in — stripper pole and all. Mandy wasn’t totally straight with Flora, so when she donned her outfit, or ‘took off her clothes’, she was more embarrassed until it let loose something inside of her she never knew she had. Then one thing led to another and now she’s pregnant.
Rex Reddington is struggling with his new life. He’s literally a jack-of-all-trades and now finds himself helping his PI friend moonlight on a kidnapping case that’s about to come down. Problem? The criminals were onto them and they needed to take cover — so they each took one of the dancers for a lap dance in one of the private rooms. And it should have stopped there. But it didn’t…it went too far. But no regrets. Even when they met months later and he found out he was a soon-to-be dad.
A bit about Tara:
I am a very recently retired, multi-award-winning staff writer for a weekly community newspaper chain in metro Detroit. I became hooked on romance fiction when my 11th grade English teacher rejected the book report I wrote, saying the book was much too easy for me, and insisted I read and report on Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca". I read Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" that previous summer.
After some life-changing health issues and covering over a dozen murder and criminal sexual conduct trials, I decided to write the kind of stories I like to read, stories with happy endings. I love the romance genre and love letting my characters take control of their stories. I am a member of the Greater Detroit Romance Writers.
The steamy standalone novels in Tara Eldana's Kinklink series are best read in order:
TAKING THE LEAD
MAKING A SWITCH
GETTING TO FOREVER
REACHING FOR FOREVER
Link for the Series on Amazon
The Bug Diary
by Amber Fraley
Set mostly on the KU campus and around Lawrence, The Bug Diary is a coming-of-age novel about freshman Kymer Charvat’s struggles and triumphs in learning to break away from home and adjust to campus life in a new state. Kymer hopes to be an entomologist someday, and luckily, her dad’s alma mater, the University of Kansas, has a great insect collection and entomology program. With her new best friends Siren and Mattie—and occasionally a little harmless experimentation—Kymer explores the iconic University of Kansas campus. But when the ghost of Carrie Watson, first librarian and namesake of KU’s Watson Library, hands Kymer an old insect field journal created by KU’s first female graduate in 1873, Kymer must figure out why she’s been gifted the bug diary.
Amber Fraley is your typical Gen Xer suburban Kansas wife and mom of one who grew up a book nerd in a dysfunctional family and now writes about those experiences as hilarious therapy. She’s the author of the darkly humorous essay collection From Kansas, Not Dorothy, and the viral essay Gen X Will Not Go Quietly, as well as numerous human interest articles in regional magazines. The Bug Diary is her first new adult novel.
Learn more at her web site https://www.amberfraley.com/ and
Trail Through Time - Liberty Valley Love, Book 5
by Josie Malone
When a suspected murderer escapes from
the Junction City jail, the marshal’s younger brother, Kyle Morgan feels honor
bound to follow him from 1888 Liberty Valley to the 21st century. From what his
new sister-in-law, former homicide detective Beth Chambers-Morgan has shared,
Kyle knows a woman he’s only seen in pictures is in mortal danger. Somehow, he
must convince her that he’s traveled more than a hundred years to protect her. The survivor
of a horrendous attack, horse rescuer, Nina Armstrong blames herself for the death
of her best friend who pursued her assailant and vanished in Mount Baker
National Forest. Now, a battle-scarred stranger arrives determined to guard
Nina from the serial killer planning to eliminate the sole witness to his
crimes. Intelligent, brave, Kyle Morgan talks like an old-time cowboy, but Nina
wonders about his claims to be from a distant place and time. Why is she so
drawn to him?
Love may prove to be the biggest threat of all
when survival is on the line. Will they create a future together in Liberty
Valley or will Kyle abandon her and return to the days of yesteryear? What is
home and where will they find it?
Josie Malone lives and works at her family business, a riding stable in Washington State. Teaching kids to ride and know about horses, she finds in many cases, she's taught three generations of families. Her life experiences span adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her master’s in teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author. She writes two paranormal romance series, Baker City Hearts, and Haunts, “where love is real and so are the ghosts!” and Liberty Valley Love, “where no matter what, soulmates find each other!”
Visit her at her website, https://www.josiemalone.com/ to learn about her books.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.josiemalone.com
Facebook Page: Josie Malone, Author | Facebook
Instagram: Josie Malone (@josiemaloneauthor) • Instagram photos and videos
Twitter: Author Josie Malone (@josmaloneauthor) / Twitter
Newsletter Link: https://sendfox.com/josiemaloneauthor
Buy links:
Amazon ebook- https://amzn.to/3MaVlrl
Amazon Print- https://amzn.to/3IrIFtQ
Educating Aviva
by Rebecca Marks
Beautiful Aviva Stern never dreamed she would leave her strong Hasidic community, nor does she ever imagine meeting and falling in love with a stranger from a completely different background. Nevertheless, a frightening incident in her life makes her feel she has no choice but to escape, although she has no real place to go. But her chance meeting of handsome, kind David Delgado, a Colombian musician, enables her to make the difficult transition and to have confidence that she can be loved and succeed in a very different world from the one in which she grew up.
Educating Aviva is Rebecca Marks’ eighth novel. She has also written the four-volume Dana Cohen Mystery series, as well as two time-travel historical romances, Time Out and About Time, and the coming-of-age family saga. Paint it Black. In addition to writing, she is a harp-playing musician and singer, and trains and shows Belgian Tervuren dogs.
Buy Links:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Book Shop
And there, dear readers, you have it. A terrific selection of books to read and authors to follow. We'd love to hear feedback if you read any of these books!
Jamie Tremain's books are available:
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