Tag: Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours

Guest Post: Heather Day Gilbert - SHADE GROWN

Good day, my bookish peeps, I hope you’re all staying dry and warm wherever you might be. It is always an honor for me to host a visit with an author. Today’s visit is super special because I get to welcome not only a West Virginia author (West Virginia is my home state), Heather Day Gilbert but one who’s written a series of books set in one of my favorite West Virginia towns, Lewisburg. (You’ll want to plan a visit to either the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival in April or the Lewisburg Literary Festival in August. Did I forget to mention that Lewisburg WV was voted “Coolest Small Town in the US” a few years ago.) Shade Grown is the eighth book in the “Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery” series. Ms. Gilbert will be sharing with us what a few reviewers have to say about Shade Grown along with her reactions. Thank you, Ms. Gilbert, for taking the time to visit with us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

TOP 5 REASONS to read Shade Grown, as compiled from reviewers

1) “You will never figure this one out but you will have great fun trying.”~review by Anne on Amazon
The consensus on Book 8 in the Barks & Beans Cafe series, Shade Grown, is that readers can’t figure out whodunit. Since I love writing twisty mysteries that even surprise me, I’m glad to hear the killer blindsided my readers, too!

2) “The characters in this series are wonderful, and Heather Day Gilbert does an amazing job with bringing each character to life.”~review by Allyson on Amazon
“All of the characters are simply wonderful and come to life right off the page.”~Kailey on Goodreads
Many readers say it feels like visiting with old friends when they read through the Barks & Beans Cafe series, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Small-town relationships and strong family bonds are something I grew up with, and I know what an encouragement they are in life!

3) “As always, the West Virginia setting is perfect and well-described.”~DarthAmazon on Amazon
As a West Virginia native, I strive to bring my mountain state to life for readers. I’ve even based the Barks & Beans Cafe series in the real town of Lewisburg, WV. From using authentic local names to incorporating locales like the WV State Fair and the Greenbrier Resort, I hope to open readers’ eyes to the beauty of Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

4) “It was nice to have another clean, cozy book to read!”~Papa Trox on Amazon
The Barks & Beans Cafe series (as well as the Exotic Pet-Sitter series) are clean cozy mysteries, with no cursing, graphic scenes, or gore. I even have teen readers for this series, and I’m glad to bring stories with a positive moral tone to my readers.

5) “Coal and Stormy have stolen my heart and I love their antics.”~Shonda on Goodreads
From Macy’s rescued Great Dane, Coal, to her brother Bo’s rescued Calico, Stormy, there are more than enough cuddly pets in the Barks & Beans Cafe series. Shade Grown features one of my readers’ beloved dogs, Jake, so watch for him showing up as a shelter dog at the cafe.

Thanks for letting me visit today—I hope many new readers pick up my latest mystery Shade Grown, which is set on a home and garden tour in West Virginia. The book is available for Kindle, in Kindle Unlimited, and in softcover formats. You can find all my books at heatherdaygilbert.com. ♦

Shade Grown (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)

by Heather Day Gilbert

About Shade Grown


Shade Grown (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting - West Virginia
WoodHaven Press (December 11, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 190 pages
ISBN ‏ : ‎ 9798987556955 (Paperback)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BPQ8KHZR (Kindle edition)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes and Noble

BOOK EIGHT in the Award-winning BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

During Lewisburg’s popular summer home and garden tour, Macy and her brother Bo discover new aspects of their hometown’s history. One of the last homes they visit features a lush commemorative shade garden marking where a Civil War soldier’s bones were buried. As Macy pauses to admire a bed of blue hostas, she glimpses a shadowy shape lying beneath the dinner-plate leaves. It turns out to be the body of famed movie star Cody Franklin, who’d purchased the garden house as a quiet country retreat.

Back at the cafe, Macy speaks with Cody’s distraught sister, who lets slip that she’s afraid her brother’s killer will target her next. Macy’s heart goes out to the bereaved sibling, and she agrees to speak with Cody’s local acquaintances in hopes she’ll uncover some helpful backstory.

But someone powerful is lurking behind the scenes, and Macy has to zoom in on the killer before everything fades to black.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

The Barks & Beans Cafe series in order:
Book 1: No Filter
Book 2: Iced Over
Book 3: Fair Trade
Book 4: Spilled Milk
Book 5: Trouble Brewing
Book 6: Cold Drip
Book 7: Roast Date
Book 8: Shade Grown
Standalone Novella: House Blend

About Heather Day Gilbert

HEATHER DAY GILBERT, an RWA Daphne du Maurier Award-winning author and 2-time ECPA Christy Award finalist, enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with unpredictable twists, much like the Agatha Christie books she read growing up. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Author Links

Author Website: http://www.heatherdaygilbert.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/heatherdaygilbert
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/heatherdgilbert
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/heatherdaygilbert/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7232683.Heather_Day_Gilbert
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-day-gilbert

Tour Participants

January 9 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 9 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
January 9 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
January 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
January 10 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – Nadaness In Motion – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 11 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
January 12 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 13 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
January 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 13 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
January 14 – The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 14 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
January 15 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 15 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
January 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

Giveaway

Use the Rafflecopter form below or click here to enter to win a $10 Starbucks gift card (available to US residents only) + a paperback copy of Shade Grown (available to US residents only) OR an ebook copy of Shade Grown for those outside of the United States. Void where prohibited by law.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Cover Reveal: CLOCKED OUT by Anna St. John

The Great Escapes Team is happy to share with you the cover of Anna St. John’s new Josie Posey Mystery.
It will be released on February 6, 2024


Clocked Out - A Josie Posey Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Level Best Books (February 6, 2024)
ASIN: B0CRFY4R6P (Kindle edition)
Setting: A small town in Sunflower County, Kansas, named English Village
Purchase Link #CommissionEarned: Amazon Kindle

Josie Posey and her posse of Mahjong Mavens are at it again, in this cozy mystery where the retired big-city crime reporter turned small-town crime solver uncovers another murder in picturesque English Village.

When the clockmaker’s daughter returns home for a visit, reporter Josie Posey is assigned the task of interviewing the talented watch designer. That very afternoon the young woman falls from a ladder while inventorying antique clocks.

At first, Josie is certain the fall was an accident. Everyone loved Ella McGregor Benjamin. But Ella’s deathbed statement is a mysterious riddle that can’t be ignored. With her Old English Sheepdog Moe by her side, and an ever-growing list of suspects, Josie scrambles to identify the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

The local police chief wants Josie to help solve the puzzle, but stay out of his murder case. The editor of The Village Gazette wants an in-depth story for the next edition. And somebody wants Josie to stop asking questions. Deadlines loom.

In this fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a mystery, the clock is ticking as Josie vows to find the killer before time runs out.

About the Author

Anna St. John writes cozy mysteries featuring a mature, yet feisty, former crime reporter, Josie Posey, as the amateur sleuth.

Her debut novel, DOOMED BY BLOOMS, was released by Level Best Books in February 2023. CLOCKED OUT is the second book in her Josie Posey Mystery Series. It is scheduled to release Feb. 6, 2024.

A former journalist, award-winning advertising copywriter, and ad agency owner, Anna is married to her high school sweetheart. She writes from her home office in Kansas, with her Old English Sheepdog by her side.

Anna is represented by Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Kansas Authors Club.

Author Links
Website Facebook

The book should be available for pre-order soon!
Amazon Author Page

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Guest Post: Kallie E. Benjamin - SNIFFING OUT MURDER

Good day, book people. Like most avid readers, I have favorite authors, along with favorite characters. Some characters begin to feel like friends over time, especially if they reappear in a series. I’m pleased to welcome Priscilla Cummings, the main character from Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin. Thank you, Priscilla, for stepping off the pages of Sniffing Out Murder and joining us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Banner with Guest Post in a script font under a line and with a stack of books over the word "guest"

I may not be a prophet, but I could relate completely to the Biblical scripture that read, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown…” When Joe Kelley called me “Prissy,” memories of my former self raced through my mind. The image of a chubby kid with glasses getting teased by the cool kids while I pretended the names didn’t bother me was still painful. “Sissy, Pissy, Prissy.” Kids can be cruel. Twenty years later, I had dropped the baby fat, exchanged the glasses for contact lenses, and am now a bestselling children’s book author. My first book, Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective, had made it onto a prominent bestsellers list. Still, back in my hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, I was, and would always be, chubby Prissy Cummings.

Bailey lifted his head from the ground, turned his gaze back to me, and watched. His expressive brown eyes seemed to ask, Hey, are you okay?

“I’m fine, buddy.” I forced a smile.

I’m sure he didn’t believe me, but he let it go and returned his nose to the ground and the trail he’d been following.

Bailey was my three-year-old bloodhound and the inspiration for my books. Like all bloodhounds, he had an excellent nose. He was able to pick up a scent that had been left days earlier. Bloodhounds had been bred to track deer, wild boar, and rabbits. Since the Middle Ages, the breed’s remarkable ability has even been used to track people. Once he was on a scent, Bailey could be stubborn. He also had an uncanny knack for getting me into trouble.

“Who are you talking to?” Joe Kelley asked.

“Bailey.”

Joe glanced around. Then he tilted his head to the side and squinted. Eventually, he glanced down and took a look at the nearly one-hundred-pound dog on the end of the leash I was holding. “You talk to your dog?” He said it as if talking to my dog was something for which I should be ashamed. Bailey wasn’t a rock or some other inanimate object. He was a living, breathing, sentient being. He understood far more things than Joe Kelley.

“Yes. I talk to my dog.”

Bailey sat by my leg and stared up at Joe as though he couldn’t believe anyone could be quite that dense. I had to agree with Bailey. Joe Kelley had never been the sharpest knife in the drawer. It was clear that while I’d changed over two decades, Joe Kelley had not.

“To each his own.” Joe shrugged.

“Okay, well we’re going to finish our walk.” I turned to go.

“Wait. What’s the hurry?” Joe reached out and grabbed my arm. “You’ve changed, Prissy.” He gave me an appraising glance and then winked. “You’re looking good.”

Ugh. Good manners required acknowledgment for a compliment, but I couldn’t force myself to thank him for looking me over like a prize heifer at the Elkhart County Fair. If I were a better liar, I might have tried to return the compliment with a compliment, but I was a terrible liar. Time hadn’t been good to Joe. As a teenager, he’d been an athlete with a nice physique and thick hair. Now, he had a beer belly, thinning hair, and a predatory smile.

Twenty years had elapsed since I’d talked to Joe Kelley. I’d changed both inside and outside. However, this conversation showed me that some things, and people, never change. I’d heard that Joe married former mean girl, Whitney Baxter. If that was the case, then honor was the last thing that I could expect to receive. In fact, I would consider myself lucky if I could be ignored and forgotten. Regardless, the one thing I never expected was to be accused of murder. ♦

Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
by Kallie E. Benjamin

About Sniffing Out Murder


Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)

When a murder unleashes a widespread investigation through Crosbyville, children’s book author Pris and her trusty bloodhound, Bailey, must sniff out the truth before the whole town goes to the dogs.

After deciding that life as a teacher wasn’t right for her, Priscilla found inspiration for her first children’s book in her three-year-old bloodhound’s nose for truth, and so The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound was born. After the book’s massively pawsitive response led Pris to move back to her hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, to continue the series, she’s surprised by how things have changed in the town, but even more so how they haven’t.

Pris is frustrated to discover that newly elected school board trustee Whitney Kelley—a former high school mean girl—is intent on making Crosbyville more competitive by eliminating “frivolous spending” on the arts and social programs, including Pris and Bailey’s beloved pet-assisted reading program. A minor altercation between them isn’t anything unusual, but after Bailey sniffs out Whitney’s body in a bed of begonias, locals start hounding Pris and Bailey as suspects for the crime.

With Bailey’s sharp senses and Pris’s hometown know-how, can they prove to the community that they’re all barking up the wrong tree?

Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - Indiana
Berkley (December 5, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593547357
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780593547359 (Paperback)
Digital ISBN : 9780593547366 (eBook)
Digital ISBN : 9780593746950 (Audiobook)
Digital ASIN : B0C1Q7D3FX (Audible Audiobook)
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXKHGG75 (Kindle edition)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Audible Audiobook | Apple | Books-A-Million | Barnes and Noble | B&N eBook | B&N Audiobook | Google Play | Hudson Booksellers | Kobo Audiobook | Kobo eBook | Powells | Target | Walmart

About Kallie E. Benjamin

Kallie E. Benjamin (Valerie Burns) is the author of the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. The first book, Sniffing Out Murder releases on December 5, 2023. Valerie is an Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist. Writing as V. M. Burns she is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery, Dog Club Mystery, and RJ Franklin Mystery series. Writing as Valerie Burns, she is the author of the Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles.

Author Links

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16534140.V_M_Burns

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

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vmburns

Website: vmburns.com

Tour Participants

December 5 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 5 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 5 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 5 – Cozy, Suspenseful, and Sweet – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

December 6 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

December 6 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 7 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

December 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

December 7 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

December 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 8 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

December 9 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW

December 9 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

December 9 – The Book Diva’s Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

December 10 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

December 10 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 10 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

December 11 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

December 11 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 11 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

Giveaway

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of Kallie E. Benjamin via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please see the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Void where prohibited by law.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Guest Post: V.M. Burns - MURDER ON TOUR

Greetings fellow book lovers. I’m old enough to recall reading Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia Brown mysteries in the late 1960s. I didn’t know at the time that these books were my introduction to the world of “cozy mysteries.” I’m still reading (and enjoying) cozies, along with a host of other mystery and suspense books. I’m incredibly honored and pleased to welcome back V.M. Burns, author of Murder on Tour. Ms. Burns will be sharing with us some insight into her main character and her responses to becoming a “published author.” I hope you’ll enjoy what she has to share, grab yourself a copy of Murder on Tour, follow the blog tour to learn more about this book and its author, and enter the tour-wide giveaway. Thank you, Ms. Burns, for coming back to visit with us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Guest Post graphic featuring a stack of books above the words GUEST POST in a scripted font

Murder On Tour is the 9th book in my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series featuring Samantha Washington, bookstore owner and writer of British historical cozy mysteries. Up to this point, I always identified Sam as an “aspiring” writer. However, in this 9th book, Sam is finally able to declare herself as a published author. Her first book, Murder at Wickfield Lodge, has been published and is out in the world. Now, the fun begins.

For many writers, myself included, what comes after you write and publish a book, can be a bit hazy. Bestselling authors like Louise Penny, Stephen King, and J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) travel around the world on book tours, and fans wait in line for hours to get a picture or have their books signed. However, for a debut author of cozy mysteries, the reality is somewhat different. Few people are willing to travel further than their living room sofa for a book by an unknown author. They certainly aren’t going to put on clothes and make their way to a bookstore to listen to a newly published author talk about their book. However, thanks to Sam’s publicist, she lands a seat at the prestigious North Harbor Book Festival. The fact that Sam is a local, means that she is a cheap, last-minute replacement when a “bigger-named” author backed out at the last minute. Still, she’s there and is intent on making the most of the opportunity, despite the fact that her author table is located around the corner from the headliners and in between the fire escape and the Men’s Room.

At a book festival that features nonfiction, literary, and genre fiction, Sam struggles with the idea that genre fiction is somehow inferior. Face to face with authors writing books that are saving the rainforest, dealing with weighty subjects like climate change, or drawing attention to the plight of the Amur leopard, Sam’s cozy debut may be entertaining, but it isn’t changing the world. Even within the crime fiction community, cozy mystery authors are often not taken seriously. Nana Jo may not be a doctor, but her diagnosis that Sam is suffering from Imposter Syndrome turns out to be spot on.

Despite her insecurities, there is one area where Samantha Washington excels—solving murders. So, when a publicist is poisoned during a cocktail reception at the festival, Sam wonders if the killer missed the intended target. Regardless of whether she feels worthy, Sam is an invited author, an insider. She has an opportunity that the police don’t have to be on the inside, and she is enlisted to use her skills to help find the murderer. Pushing aside her insecurities, Sam gets busy following the clues and sorting through the red herrings. It will take all of her knowledge and expertise to figure out Whodunit. ♦

Murder on Tour (Mystery Bookshop)

by V.M. Burns

About Murder on Tour


Murder on Tour (Mystery Bookshop)

Bookstore owner and Michigander Samantha Washington is thrilled to see her debut historical mystery finally on the shelves, but a killer seems determined to steal away the spotlight . . .

While Sam wraps up her first whirlwind book tour, Nana Jo has kept Market Street Mysteries running smoothly. The last stop is a prestigious book festival in Sam’s hometown of North Harbor, Michigan. But not everyone thinks the guest of honor, bestselling author Judith Hunter, deserves stellar reviews. Sam witnesses nasty arguments between Judith and two different authors—who accuse her of plagiarism and sabotage . . .

When a publicist is poisoned during a cocktail reception, Sam wonders if the killer missed the intended target. It’s a twist that echoes the plot of Sam’s mystery, Murder at Wickfield Lodge. But fact can be stranger—and deadlier—than fiction. How much collateral damage is the killer willing to risk? With feisty Nana Jo and the girls from Shady Acres Retirement Village lending a hand, Sam tries to solve the case before the festival delivers another fatality . . .

Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting - Michigan
Kensington Cozies (November 28, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496739485
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9781496739483 (Paperback)
Digital ISBN : 9781496739490 (eBook)
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BZBPW627 (Kindle edition)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Apple | Barnes and Noble | B&N eBook | Books-A-Million | Google Play | Hudson Booksellers | Kobo eBook | Target | Walmart

About V.M. Burns

Valerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Award Finalist. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is a member of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers of America, and Thriller Writers International. Valerie has a Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University, a Master’s Degree in Business from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Fine Arts from Seton Hill University. In addition to writing, Valerie works as a manager at a call center, and is also a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction MFA Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwest Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles.

Author Links

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16534140.V_M_Burns

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

Website: vmburns.com

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 28 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

November 28 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

November 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 29 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

November 29 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 29 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 29 – Island Confidential – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 30 – The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

November 30 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

December 1 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

December 1 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

December 2 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

December 2 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

December 2 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 3 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

December 4 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW

December 4 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

December 4 – Nadaness In Motion – SPOTLIGHT

December 4 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

Giveaway

MURDER ON TOUR by V.M. Burns book coverEnter to win a print copy of Murder on Tour by V.M. Burns. There will be three (3) winners. This giveaway is organized by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Void where prohibited by law.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Book Spotlight: DEATH OF A SOPRANO by Nupur Tustin

Death of a Soprano: A Joseph Haydn Mystery
by Nupur Tustin

About Death of a Soprano

Death of a Soprano: A Joseph Haydn Mystery

Historical Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Eighteenth-century Royal Hungary, Habsburg Empire
Foiled Plots Press (May 27, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 319 pages
ISBN : 9798986399539 (Paperback)
ISBN : 9798986399522 (eBook)
ASIN ‏: ‎ B0C3SR4GGW (Kindle edition)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Buy Direct & Support the Author (ntustin.com/shop): https://ntustin.com/product/death-of-a-soprano/ | Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | B&N eBook | Apple | Kobo

When murder invades Haydn’s opera stage, scandal isn’t far behind…

Charged with ensuring that an imperial wedding transpires without mishap, composer Joseph Haydn has his hands full. Barely seventeen, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, the imperial bridegroom, is reluctant to marry. And the bride, Maria Beatrice, has her reservations as well.

But when an extortion note surfaces—an unpleasant reminder of the bridegroom’s shameful past—the wedding seems truly doomed. Worse still, all the evidence points to Haydn’s prima donna, Lucia Pacelli, being the blackmailer.

Before Haydn can confront her, however, Lucia is fatally poisoned. And Haydn is left to wonder whether his imperial charge had a hand in her death.

Troubled by the dark secrets he might uncover, Haydn is nevertheless compelled to investigate. Will the young Archduke be found innocent? Or must Haydn lead His Imperial Highness to the gallows?

About Nupur Tustin

A former journalist, Nupur Tustin relies upon a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English to orchestrate murder. She also writes the Celine Skye Psychic Mysteries based on the Gardner Museum theft. Childhood piano lessons and a 1903 Weber Upright share equal blame for her musical works.

Get Two Complimentary Mysteries At: ntustin.com

Music: ntustin.musicaneo.com

Tour Participants

June 7 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

June 8 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 8 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Brooke Blogs – EXCERPT POST

June 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – EXCERPT POST

June 11 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – FUONLYKNEW – EXCERPT POST

June 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – StoreyBook Reviews – EXCERPT POST

June 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 15 – The Mystery of Writing – EXCERPT POST

June 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – EXCERPT POST

June 16 – My Reading Journeys – EXCERPT POST

Giveaway:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway for one (1) print copy of Death of a Soprano by Nupur Tustin via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. This giveaway is limited to residents of the United States. Any entry received from residents outside the United States will be disqualified. Void where prohibited by law.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Guest Post: Laura Childs - LEMON CURD KILLER

Good day, book people. Do you find yourself reading books that are set in real cities or towns and reminiscing about the locations mentioned? If I’m reading a book set in Toronto Canada, Atlanta GA, Boston MA, Savannah GA, or Charleston WV and SC, I count the number of places I’ve been to and try to picture the action and setting in my head. I’ve got to admit, I even do this for cities I only have a passing acquaintance with like San Francisco CA, Detroit MI, New York NY, Washington DC, etc. I don’t know why, but reading descriptions of places I’ve been to and can vividly picture just brings something extra to the story. I’m pleased to welcome back to the blog, Laura Childs, author of Lemon Curd Killer, the latest release in one of my favorite series, the Tea Shop Mysteries. Ms. Childs will be sharing with us her thoughts on using location as a character. I hope you’ll enjoy what she has to share, add Lemon Curd Killer to your TBR list, follow the blog tour to learn more about this book and author, and don’t forget to enter the tour giveaway. Thank you, Ms. Childs, for taking time away from your writing to join us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Location as Character
by Laura Childs

When I first began writing my Tea Shop Mysteries, one of the things I immediately realized was that location can actually serve as its own unique character. Let me explain. Setting my Tea Shop Mysteries in Charleston, South Carolina gave me a lot to work with. First off, it’s an old city established way before the Revolutionary War. So that in itself means historic buildings, twisty narrow lanes, a lovely Historic District, and a genteel Southern pace. Really, the perfect setting for a Tea Shop Mystery.

Then, describing key elements such as the secretive Gateway Walk, the haunted St. Philips Cemetery, or the narrow and very private Stolls Alley ratchets up the suspense and helps my readers visualize where my characters exist in the story.

Setting can also elicit an emotional response. When I describe the Indigo Tea Shop using such terms as Rembrandt lighting, a quasi-British setting with a touch of country French, or pegged heart pine floors covered in faded Aubusson rugs, my readers tell me they can feel the relaxing and restorative nature of the setting.

Location as a character also adds greatly to the plot. It gives readers context on place, mood, and environment. This can be as simple as describing the fog rolling in off the Atlantic Ocean and giving Charleston’s antique streetlights a warm hazy glow. Or it could be more intricate, such as describing a wild chase down Gateway Walk where my protagonist rushes through the Governor Aiken Gates, hurries past the Gibbes Museum of Art, then dodges around statuary, stands of palmettos, and pattering fountains, finally ending up in a moss-shrouded cemetery complete with tilting tombstones right behind a centuries-old church.

Location also connects story elements. Dialogue is great for expressing conflict and other emotions, while plot is critical too. But when you feel as if you can actually see and touch something, when you can walk in my characters’ footsteps down a cobblestone alley and smell the fragrant magnolias, that’s the point where everything gets pulled together and a book becomes so much more real.

Thank you so much for reading this. And if you’re at all intrigued, my brand new Tea Shop Mystery, Lemon Curd Killer, has just been released. ♦

Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs

About Lemon Curd Killer

Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery)

High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.

As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Cozy Mystery
25th in Series
Setting - South Carolina
Berkley (March 7, 2023)
Hardcover: ‎ 320 pages
ISBN10: ‎ 0593200926
ISBN13: ‎ 9780593200926 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780593200933 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781705082508 (Digital audiobook)
ASIN: B0BP9Y5L9Z (Audible audiobook)
ASIN: ‎ B0B3HQFB3N (Kindle edition)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Audible Audiobook | Audiobooks.com | Barnes and Noble | B&N eBook | B&N Audiobook | BookDepository.com | Downpour Audiobook | Kobo Audiobook | Kobo eBook | PenguinRandomHouse

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Website | Facebook

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 6 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
March 7 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
March 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
March 9 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 9 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – Nadaness In Motion – SPOTLIGHT (REVIEW)
March 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 11 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
March 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 14 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
March 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
March 17 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
March 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
March 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
March 19 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

Tour Giveaway:

This is a giveaway for two (2) hardcover print copies of Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please see the widget for specifics and restrictions. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Guest Post: Stacy Wilder - CARMEL CONUNDRUM

Good day, my bookish peeps. Can you believe it’s already February of 2023?! I don’t know about you, but I had a nickname growing up that I positively hated. As soon as I hit puberty, I loudly and repeatedly “informed” everyone in my family that I would no longer answer to that name and firmly placed it in my past. Some people seem to embrace their nicknames, no matter how they got them, and others -like me- drop them as soon as possible and hope that they stay firmly in our past. I’m pleased to welcome as today’s special guest, “Peanut” aka Jim, a character from Carmel Conundrum by Stacy Wilder. Peanut will be giving us a glimpse into his life in this mystery read. Thank you, Peanut, for stepping out of the pages of Carmel Conundrum and joining us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Banner with Guest Post in a script font under a line and with a stack of books over the word "guest"

Hi, my name is Peanut, well that’s not my real name. My real name is Jim. I earned the name Peanut when I was in the Army for my ability to squeeze through small spaces. Sure came in handy in Carmel Conundrum, but we’ll get to that.

When my wife died of cancer, I was pretty down. I started taking drugs. Before I knew it, I’d lost my job and then my home. That’s when I took to the streets down by the Carmel river. I was doing ok, getting by. Then that dude Apollo showed up, promising the world. Free food, shelter, and even drugs. All for doing some jobs on his so-called compound. My friend Rumor begged me to join her, so we both climbed on that darn bus.

Rumor decided right away that she was having none of it and left that night. Apollo said he’d take her back to “from whence she came.” He was always talking fancy like that. That was my last chance to leave voluntarily.

I knew the next day I’d made a big mistake. The leaders on the compound were called disciples with weird names, like Cosmo and Atlas. Apollo’s wives had numbers tattooed on their wrists and were sometimes referred to by their numbers. Everyone acted all kumbaya, but I’m telling you the place was creepy. I had to get out of there and fast. I put my thinking cap on and came up with a plan to escape.

And it’s a good thing I did. You’ll have to read the book to find out why and how I connect with the rest of the story.

Side note from the author: Peanut was one of my favorite characters to create. Several readers who read Carmel wanted to know what happened to him next. Don’t worry, you’ll find out in Cayman Conundrum. ♦

Carmel Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery
by Stacy Wilder

About Carmel Conundrum


Carmel Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery

Stolen identities, a cult, a kidnapping, an attempted murder, and a budding romance . . .

Join Private Investigator Liz Adams, and her lie-detecting Labrador, Duke, in the scenic town of Carmel By-the-Sea, as the pair investigate the mystery of stolen identities. Complications arise when Liz becomes romantically entangled with her hot new client, Brad.

Enter Apollo, a charismatic cult leader, whose mission to save the homeless has a dark twist. Why does he continue to trespass on Liz’s property? She’s compelled to uncover the answer.

Tensions mount, as the stakes become a matter of life and death. Will Liz and Duke solve both mysteries before the damage is irreparable?

Travel with Liz from Charleston, SC to Carmel, CA, and back to discover the astounding truth.

Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting - California
Wild Hawk Press
Release Date: December 10, 2022
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 226 pages
ISBN13 ‏ : ‎ 9798985426625 (Paperback)
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BPQXHL7Y (Kindle edition)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: IndieBound.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes and Noble | BookDepository.com | Bookshop.org

About Stacy Wilder

Stacy Wilder has traveled to six out of seven continents Books have shaped her life and her travels. Her love of mysteries began with Nancy Drew.

Carmel Conundrum is the second book in the riveting Liz Adams Mystery series. In addition to mysteries, Stacy writes children’s stories, short stories, and poetry. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas, with a totally spoiled Labrador retriever, Eve.

Author Links: Website www.storystacy.com | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy | Amazon https://www.amazon.com/author/stacy.wilder | Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorstacywilder/

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

February 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 6 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
February 7 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 7 – Novels Alive – REVIEW - SPOTLIGHT
February 8 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
February 8 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
February 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
February 9 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 10 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
February 11 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT WITH PLAYLIST
February 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
February 12 – I’m Into Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
February 13 – Brooke Blogs – AUTHOR GUEST POST
February 14 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
February 15 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

Tour Giveaway:

This is a giveaway for one (1) paperback print copy of Carmel Conundrum by Stacy Wilder via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please see the widget for restrictions. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Guest Post: Heather Day Gilbert - ROAST DATE

Good day, book people. For those of you in the US experiencing the recent Arctic blast and Snowmaggedon, I hope you’re all staying safe, dry, and warm. In my little corner of West Virginia, we’re not expected to get much snow (please don’t let us get snow), but we are expecting frigid temperatures and a possible ice storm. (Something tells me this could be a good day to curl up in my reading chair, fix a pot of oolong tea, and grab a book or two and read the day away.) I’m incredibly pleased and honored to welcome Heather Day Gilbert, a fellow West Virginian and author of the Barks & Beans Cafe series including the latest release, Roast Date. Ms. Gilbert will be discussing her fictional cafe with us. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and let’s learn more about the Barks & Beans Cafe. Thank you, Ms. Gilbert, for taking the time to join us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Guest Post graphic featuring a stack of books above the words GUEST POST in a scripted font

Thanks for letting me visit your blog today! Since my Barks & Beans Cafe series features a cafe where folks can enjoy gourmet sandwiches and drinks while petting shelter dogs, I thought I’d give you the top five foods/drinks you’ll find in Roast Date, a Christmas-set mystery! Trust me, I have so much fun finding special tastes of the season. If you want to see more ideas, you can find all my Barks & Beans cafe Pinterest boards here.

Top Five Specialty Foods/Drinks you’ll find in Roast Date:

1. A cafe isn’t complete without its own special house blend coffee, and at the Barks & Beans Cafe, it comes from Costa Rica. It’s a fresh, cozy blend with citrus and brown sugar notes, and you’ll find amateur sleuth Macy Hatfield is selling some at the Christmas book club party in Roast Date!

2. Cafe baker and barista Charity keeps busy concocting new foods for Barks & Beans Cafe customers. Her latest hit are chocolate peppermint patty cookies, which go in gift baskets for the book club!

3. A vegetarian cafe visitor will try Charity’s delicious eggplant pesto sandwich before she leaves.

4. Homemade sweet & spicy meatballs. Macy’s neighbor Vera serves these at her ill-fated book club Christmas party.

5. Cinnamon eggnog and gingerbread cookies—Vera’s made these for the party, but her eggnog is about to get a very bad rap. You’ll have to read Roast Date to find out what happens!

Thanks so much for having me today, and happy holidays to all! ♦

Roast Date (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)
by Heather Day Gilbert

About Roast Date


Roast Date (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)

BOOK SEVEN in the bestselling BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

After much cajoling, Macy gives in to her neighbor, Vera, and agrees to come to her book club’s Christmas party so she can share about the cafe. While public speaking isn’t Macy’s thing, she wants to brighten Vera’s lonely holiday season…and she can sell a little house blend on the side.

When a lively book discussion spirals into a public roast of the mayor—who happens to be sitting in their midst—things get uncomfortable. Soon afterward, the mayor shows up dead in Vera’s bathroom, and no amount of gingerbread cookies or eggnog can restore Vera to the club’s good graces. ‘Tis the season for Macy to find the murderer, or else Vera might be taking a long winter’s nap in a jail cell.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series in order:
Book 1: No Filter
Book 2: Iced Over
Book 3: Fair Trade
Book 4: Spilled Milk
Book 5: Trouble Brewing
Book 6: Cold Drip
Book 7: Roast Date

Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting - West Virginia
WoodHaven Press (December 20, 2022)
Number of Pages ~250
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Z8NYHX9 (Kindle edition)
ISBN : 9781735565194 (Paperback)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Amazon | Amazon Kindle

About Heather Day Gilbert

Award-winning novelist Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing mysteries and Viking historicals. She brings authentic family relationships to the page, and she particularly delights in heroines who take a stand to protect those they love. Avid readers say Heather’s realistic characters—no matter what century—feel like best friends. When she’s not plotting stories, this native West Virginian can often be found hanging out with her husband and four children, playing video games, or reading Agatha Christie novels.

Author Links
Webpage: https://heatherdaygilbert.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherdaygilbert/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heatherdgilbert
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-day-gilbert
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7232683.Heather_Day_Gilbert

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

December 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 19 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
December 19 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
December 20 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 20 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
December 20 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
December 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
December 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 21 – Lady Hawkeye – AUTHOR GUEST POST
December 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 22 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 22 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
December 22 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
December 22 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
December 23 - Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
December 23 - The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST
December 23 - I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
December 23 - MJB Reviewers - SPOTLIGHT

Giveaway

This is a giveaway hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for Heather Day Gilbert. See the Rafflecopter widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Book Spotlight: THE URBAN BOYS: DISCOVERY OF THE FIVE SENSES by K.N. Smith

The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses
by K.N. Smith

About Discovery of the Five Senses


Discovery of the Five Senses

A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory superpowers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, can the boys defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.

Young Adult Action-Adventure, Young Adult
Thriller, Urban Fantasy, Mystery/ Thriller
1st in The Urban Boys Series
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 - 18 years
Two Petals Publishing (9/15/21 2nd edition)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989474755
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780989474757
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015ZS01MI

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Amazon | Amazon Kindle || Universal Book Link (UBL): https://books2read.com/knsmith

About K.N. Smith

K.N. Smith, winner of the “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, and a Readers’ Favorite “Gold Medal” honoree for “Young Adult - Mystery,” is an author and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. Her lyrical flair sweeps across pages that twist and grind through action-adventure and urban fantasy in edge-of-your-seat narratives. K.N. has over twenty-five years experience in communications and creative design as an award-winning consultant. Reading is still her foremost hobby. K.N. inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits. Visit K.N. Smith at www.knsmith.com.

Social Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorknsmith
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knsmith_author/

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 16 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT
November 17 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
November 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
November 19 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 21 – Mythical Books – SPOTLIGHT
November 22 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
November 23 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 24 – THANKSGIVING
November 25 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
November 26 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
November 27 – Books Blog - SPOTLIGHT
November 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book - SPOTLIGHT
November 29 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 30 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

Tour Giveaway

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for K.N. Smith. See the Rafflecopter form for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Guest Post: Dorothy St. James - A BOOK CLUB TO DIE FOR

A BOOK CLUB TO DIE FOR tour banner, featuring blue sofa and armchairs, purple pillows, small circular coffee table with a green serving tray with a pitcher of iced tea, two tumblers with ice tea, 1 spilled onto the carpet, and gray tabby cat looking at the spilled tea, small author photo (white female with light reddish-brown shoulder-length hair wearing a blue top) in the upper right corner.

Hello, book people. I’ve had a library card since I was five years old. The first thing I do when I move is to locate the closest library and get a library card. The main branch of my local library was closed for two years due to extensive renovations. Although I hadn’t gone into the physical building much, I missed using the drive-up window during the renovations (I read digitally, i.e., ebooks). Now that the library has re-opened, I go into the building at least once a month for one of my local book clubs. I’ve got to say that I’m loving all of the “new” areas available in the library even though I haven’t truly used much beyond the conference rooms, self-checkout areas (namely used with book club books), and the library cafe. (Again, I primarily check out ebooks for my personal use, but am looking forward to exploring more of my library’s new features.) Today’s guest is Dorothy St. James, author of the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series, including the latest addition, A Book Club to Die For. Ms. St. James will be discussing with us something that is near and dear to me, libraries. Grab a favorite beverage, sit back, and let’s hear what Ms. St. James has to say about this beloved institution. Thank you, Ms. St. James, for visiting with us today, the blog is now all yours.

For the Love of Libraries
by Dorothy St. James

I’d long thought about writing a book series set at a library as my thank you to libraries and what they’ve done for me and my life. Because I write cozy mysteries – which a friend has recently called murder, but with fun – my library series would of course have a few dead bodies peppered here and there.

The idea for writing the series remained just that, an idea until I read an article about a few library branches in the country that had decided to do away with the print book and move to all electronic. Wait. What? No! Are you serious?

That was my knee-jerk reaction the first time I read about what is being called bookless libraries. (The name is misleading. They’re not actually bookless. There are books available in the libraries, just not the print editions.) Will libraries one day become cyber cafés? Will the sweet scent of books be replaced with a metallic smell? No. I don’t like this. Yes, I do enjoy reading ebooks. But losing print books? No, this doesn’t make me happy.

But the truth is public libraries are being asked to do more with tighter budgets. Libraries are becoming community centers often providing a wide range of programs to its patrons. They also have ebooks, audiobooks, and music available for download, DVDs, audiobook CDs, and music CDs, as well as a large selection of books. This collection must continually be updated with new releases and purging older materials that are no longer being checked out. New materials can be costly, especially if they need to be purchased in multiple formats (hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.) New technology equipment must be purchased from time to time too. And librarians have to be trained to use the new systems. Many libraries don’t have the budgets to cover the cost of doing, well, everything. Hard decisions must be made.

When I read about this, my public administration brain lit up. This kernel of an idea along with my lifelong love of libraries is how the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series was born. I challenged myself to explore the tension that naturally occurs whenever new technology changes how things are done. Sort of like when scrolls were replaced by codexes, the precursors of printed books. I started to ask myself what would a librarian who has an emotional attachment to printed books might do if her library was converted to a bookless library. The answer was simple. She’d save the books!

My heroine, Trudell Becket is an assistant librarian in the small town of Cypress, South Carolina. The town leaders, hoping to attract high-tech jobs to their town, decide to convert the library into a high-tech bookless library. Trudell is horrified by the idea. The books on the shelves are her friends. She sneaks into the library one night and takes many of the books that are boxed up to be removed from the library. She then opens a secret bookroom in the library’s basement. While she’s working in the basement library, someone kills the town manager, who is the driving force behind the library’s modernization. Tru cannot tell the police her whereabouts at the time of his death because she doesn’t want to reveal the work she’s been doing in the basement. At the same time, she feels compelled to help the police and make sure her library stays a safe space for everyone. That is why she and her friends decide to investigate on their own. That’s the start of the series and the opening of The Broken Spine, the first book in the mystery series.

Tru is like all book lovers. She is a book warrior. She’s determined to protect the books she loves. Luckily, we’re not called to do the same. For now, most libraries will remain filled with print editions of books. Thank goodness! But one day those books might become as obsolete as the ancient scroll.

So, let’s cherish the printed books at the libraries for as long as we can. While at the same time, we can celebrate that there are also ebooks, audiobooks, and graphic novels for readers who love those too. Let’s love them all.

As TS Elliot once wrote, “The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.” My wish is that you feel that hope in every book I write in the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series.

I hope you’ll join me in the pages of Tru’s latest adventure in A Book Club To Die For. It might be her most challenging one yet. What looks like an open and shut case to the police will put her boyfriend’s mother in jail for murder. Tru has promised to try and find another answer. The more she looks into the murder of the president of the local book club, the more she worries that she won’t like the answer she’s going to find. ♦

A Book Club to Die For (A Beloved Bookroom)
by Dorothy St. James

About A Book Club to Die For


A Book Club to Die For (A Beloved Bookroom)

When a member of an exclusive book club is checked out, spunky librarian Trudell Becket must sort fact from fiction to solve the murder.

The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join.

But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.

With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation…

Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting - Cypress, South Carolina
‎Berkley (November 1, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN10 ‏ : ‎ 0593098633
ISBN13 ‏ : ‎ 9780593098639
ISBN : 9780593098653 (eBook)
ISBN : 9781666111668 (Audiobook)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09PZSBCVW (Kindle edition)
ASIN : B0BKP6YWFL (Audible Audiobook)

Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: IndieBound.org | Amazon | Kindle edition | Audible Audiobook | Audiobooks.com | Penguin Random House | Barnes and Noble | B&N NOOK Book | BookDepository.com | Bookshop.org | eBooks.com | Kobo Audiobook | Kobo eBook

About Dorothy St. James

Dorothy St. James is a former Folly Beach beach bum. She now lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, with her family, slightly (OK, terribly) needy dogs, and the friendliest cat you’ll ever meet. Author of a dozen novels, Dorothy enjoys writing both cozy mysteries and romance.

Follow Dorothy Online:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothy.stjames
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothywrites
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dorothymcfalls
Website: www.dorothystjames.com

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 1 - Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 1 - I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
November 1 - The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
November 2 - FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 2 - Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 2 - Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
November 3 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
November 4 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
November 5 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 7 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 7 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
November 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
November 9 – Nadaness In Motion – SPOTLIGHT
November 10 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 10 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

Tour Giveaway

This is a giveaway for a library-themed tote bag filled with books and goodies hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for Dorothy St. James. Enter using the Rafflecopter link below. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!