Ruff Drafts

Spotlight and Blog Tour for Black Jade: A Daiyu Wu Cozy Mystery by Gloria Oliver

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Debbie

Black Jade: A Daiyu Wu Mystery
by Gloria Oliver

About Black Jade

Black Jade: A Daiyu Wu Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Dimension Palace Publishing (May 11, 2021)
Paperback: 246 pages
ISBN-10: 1733951164
ISBN-13: 978-1733951166
Digital (June 20, 2021) ASIN: B094PXSNPS

Could an old-fashioned ballgown be used to commit murder?

Daiyu Wu is aware that fear of the Yellow Terror has made her nationality a rare breed in the Lone Star State. Being Chinese and blind makes her doubly unique in 1930: Dallas. Despite these impediments, anyone who dismisses her for either fact does so at their peril.

One day, at her family-owned laundry business, Dai detects the scent of burned garlic. With the help of her companion, Jacques, the source is soon discovered. It is a green ballgown. The gown has money pinned inside it to pay for the cleaning, but oddly, it came with no address label to identify its owner. Her extensive knowledge leads Dai to believe someone has committed murder using arsenic. The perpetrator is trying to use White Laundry to hide the evidence. But no mention of foul play turns up in the newspapers, and there’s not enough proof to convince the police there’s been a crime.

Her curiosity and intellect stimulated like never before; Dai ignores the possible consequences and sets out to solve the mystery with the help of her canine companion, Prince Razor, and her confidant, Jacques Haskins. It’s either that or let the killer get away with it — assuming a spoiled popinjay, his jealous self-appointed girlfriend, and Dai’s overprotective parents don’t get in her way.

About Gloria Oliver

Gloria Oliver lives in Texas, staying away from rolling tumbleweeds while bowing to the never-ending wishes of her feline and canine masters. Her previous works have been fantasy, urban fantasy, and young adult fantasy novels. Several contain romantic and mystery elements. Her short stories of speculative fiction can be found in many anthologies, covering things from the fantastic and strange to a Bubba Apocalypse.

Her latest release, “Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery” is Gloria’s first cozy historical mystery novel. This is her ninth published novel.

Gloria is a member in good standing of BroadUniverse though she has yet to make the list for Cat Slaves R Us. In her spare time (what’s that?), she watches TV shows, movies, anime, plays PC games, and reads books.

For some free reads, novel related short stories, sample chapters, appearance schedule and more information on her and her works, please drop by and visit her at www.gloriaoliver.com

Author Links

Webpage – www.gloriaoliver.com

Amazon – http://amazon.com/author/gloriaoliver

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/874226.Gloria_Oliver

LibraryThing – http://www.librarything.com/profile/gloriaoliver

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/GloriaOliver

Blog – https://www.gloriaoliver.com/blog/

Newsletter – https://www.gloriaoliver.com/subscribe

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/gioliver

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/GloriaOliver

Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/gloriaoliver/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/saeba2001/

Purchase Links:

Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Apple –

Smashwords – Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery, an Ebook by Gloria Oliver
a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 12 – Novels Alive – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

July 13 – Baroness’ Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

July 13 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 14 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 15 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

July 17 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW

July 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery

Excerpt, Blog Tour, and Giveaway for The Mountain View Murder: A Wintergreen Mystery by Patrick Kelly

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Debbie

EXCERPT

After his morning walk, Bill O’Shea strung binoculars around his neck, grabbed a mug of freshly made coffee, and ambled onto his condo balcony dressed in running pants and a quick-dry T-shirt.

The crest of the hill across the wooded valley rolled softly down from the right. The curved line of the hill resembled a woman lying on her side, wider at the shoulders and the hips, narrower at the waist, beautiful and mysterious at the same time. The Mountain Inn lay at the top of the valley on the right. Idle chairlift towers and cables ran up the cleared ski slopes. Hidden ski runs cut sweeping lines through the forests. Silence hung heavy and comfortable, broken only by the intermittent chirping of small birds.

The Mountain View Murder (A Wintergreen Mystery)
by Patrick Kelly

About The Mountain View Murder

The Mountain View Murder (A Wintergreen Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Chaparral Press LLC
Paperback: 270 pages
ISBN-10: 1734239220
ISBN-13: 978-1734239225
Digital – ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0977C7WVL

Guess who cried at Lou Thorpe’s funeral

No one. His wife, grown children, and best friends all attended the service, but no one shed a single tear. Poor Lou. He was out for his morning walk when a crazed driver knocked him out of life. Crazed? With no car, no driver, and no witnesses, it’s difficult to say. Was it an accident or intentional?

Until that morning, Bill O’Shea was living the dream. After a career of fighting crime in the big city, Bill bought a condo in the beautiful mountain resort community of Wintergreen, Virginia. When he met his attractive new neighbor, Bill knew his retirement was off to a great start. But then the short-staffed police department asked Bill to help them investigate Thorpe’s death.

Soon, Bill fell into an old routine. Interviewing suspects. Checking alibis. Everyone had a secret to hide, but Bill lacked evidence to tie any of the suspects to the crime. He was missing something–like he had an itch he couldn’t reach to scratch.

Will Gill and his new friends solve the case, or will the murder of Lou Thorpe remain a mystery forever?

If you love beautiful mountain settings, a charming cast, and intriguing plot twists, you’re going to love this new series!

Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

About Patrick Kelly

Pat Kelly was raised in the idyllic suburb of Yorktown, Virginia, where children ran barefoot through the grass and fished in the York River. After graduating from UVA, he left the state to pursue a career in finance. He settled in Texas, married a wonderful woman (Susie), and together they raised two daughters in Austin.

With the girls now grown and gone, Pat has pursued a lifelong love of writing stories. Countless hours at the keyboard have produced the Joe Robbins Thriller Series, two book awards, and four standalone novels.

A few years ago, Pat and Susie bought a summer home in the bucolic mountaintop resort of Wintergreen, Virginia. The beautiful vistas there inspired Pat to write a cozy mystery series featuring the reluctant detective Bill O’Shea. Join Pat’s newsletter to follow Bill’s adventures as he dodges irrepressible bears, pursues romance, and solves mysteries.

Author Links

Webpage: https://www.patrickkellystories.com/

Blog: https://www.patrickkellystories.com/blog

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/patrickkellywriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pkfiction

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/patrickkelly

Instagram: pkellystories

Purchase Links – Amazon Paperback – Amazon Kindle – Books2Read – Barnes & Noble – Kobo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For an additional chance at a giveaway to win an eBook copy of the book, comment below with the name of your favorite mountains. A winner will be chosen randomly from all comments by the end of the tour on July 15.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 5 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

July 5 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

July 6 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 6 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 7 – Thoughts in Progress – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 7 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

July 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 8 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 9 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

July 10 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

July 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

July 12 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 13 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

July 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

July 14 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Anthology, author news, Book Sales

July Book Sale, New Releases, and Author News

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Debbie

As July heats up, I have a “hot” offer for my award-winning psychological mystery, Sea Scope, about a murder at a lighthouse. Pick up a copy from June 30 through the Fourth of July for only 99 cents.

Sarah Collins needs an escape. Mourning her brother’s death and the impending breakup of her marriage, she returns to her childhood home in South Carolina, where her family operated an inn.

Sarah hasn’t been back to Sea Scope for twenty years; not since she and her brother Glen discovered a body by the nearby lighthouse. She never understood why her parents left Sea Scope so suddenly, or the reasons behind her father’s suicide.

After Sarah returns to the inn, she faces long-buried memories, text messages and strange clues. Something is not right in Sea Scope. Reunited with people from her past, she tries to figure out what’s going on in her childhood home.

When past and present collide, Sarah must face truths about her family, and what happened that summer day by the lighthouse. But will she survive to tell the tale?

Grab this book on sale here: mybook.to/SeaScope

Also, this month, I’m proud to announce that two new releases include my short stories. “The Pyramid Murder” is featured in Ernest Lived: and Other Historical Fiction Short Stories, and “Neighbors” is included in the 2021 Indie Authors’ Short Story Anthology.

Ernest Lived …and other Historical Fiction Short Stories is a new anthology under The Red Penguin Collection that aims to celebrate the classic genre with over a dozen new entries. Travel across North America in the 1950s by train, sneak around the pyramids of Giza while they were first under construction, fight against the axis in the second world war—so many adventures await!

Featuring the works of the following writers:

Steven Alcott

Skye Ballantyne

Pat Black-Gould

R. J. Erbacher

Christina Hoag

Diane Kane

David Lange

Debbie De Louise

Valerie Ormond

Vaughn Roste

William John Rostron

Swati Singh

Jasmine Tritten

Minoti Vaishnav

Sarah Young

Pick up your copy of this book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637770820/

The 2021 Indie Authors Short Story Anthology featuring the theme of moving and moving on, consists of thirty-give stories from twenty-five contributors across six different countries and five continents.

They are:
Thom Brodkin, Tammy Godfrey, Sue MacDonald, Steven McKenney, Richard Newell, Renee Pellegrino, Nina Heiser, Sunny Abernathy, Mustang Patty, © Maruschka Scott, Mackenzie M. Hebner, John K. Adams, Jessica Brimer, Jane Bradshaw, Ellen Eigner, Deidra Whitt Lovegren, Debbie De Louise, Cindy Myer, Christy Kunin, Chris Gibson, Charles Bucklin, C Alexis, Becky Crookham, and Astrid B. Blume

Pick up your copy of this book here: https://www.amazon.com/Indie-Authors-Short-Story-Anthology/dp/B0979M9V42/

In other news, an interview about my time travel novel, Time’s Relative, will be featured in the July issue of the International Thriller Writers’ Big Thrill Magazine. https://www.thebigthrill.org/ Did you catch the article about it in the summer issue of Mystery Scene Magazine?

On July 24, I’ll also be on a panel with other members of the Cat Writers’ Association presenting a Zoom program for the Broward County Public Library.

Cozy Mystery, Reviews

Review: Mrs. Peabody’s Party Line: A Honeyspoon Murder Mystery by Marianna Heusler

Posted on June 27, 2021 by Debbie

*****5 stars

Mrs. Peabody is a character you’ll enjoy meeting. Living in the 1950’s and being connected to her neighbors through a party line, she can’t help but listen in to all the conversations through which she becomes privy to secrets, adulterous affairs, and other matters some people would’ve preferred kept private.

When a murder occurs in the town library, she takes it upon herself to investigate. Teaming up with a cute little dog who joins her later in the book, she faces danger but also helps solve the mystery.

I loved the period setting of this quaint town and all the quirky characters including the nun who isn’t happy following her vows and some of the kids who are smarter than their parents. It was a perfect cozy and one that gets this fun series off to a great start.

Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Murder Most Pemberly, An Eliza Darcy Mystery by Jessica Berg

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Debbie

Top Ten Ways Romance Authors Lie to You

As a contemporary romance author and a cozy author who loves to add romance to my mystery plots, writing the title hurt a little bit. Okay, it hurt quite a bit. If you are in a serious relationship or married, you know what kind of pretty half-truths we writers employ to get you to melt into your chair and never leave until gorgeous guy kisses beautiful girl in front of a glorious sunset. Just like the Masked Magician in the television show The Masked Magician threw his fellow magicians under the proverbial bus by exposing the secrets of illusions, I’m about to reveal the top 10 “lies” writers use to make you swoon. So, play along while the Wrapped Writer (not so clever, but I don’t have time to come up with something else with fitting alliteration) exposes the illusion of fictional love.

#1: Man must be gorgeous.

Newsflash: not all men are hot; some aren’t even good-looking; some have a face only a mother could love. However, looks really are inconsequential when it comes to finding the guy that will make you happy. Looks fade away; personality does not.

#2: Every kiss tastes of something besides real life.

This one is my favorite, both to exploit readers and to be exploited by. But, if you have ever been kissed, you know the truth. Kisses, unless both kissers are prepared and have either brushed their teeth or chewed gum, taste nothing like romance books’ puckers. Here is a taste of real-life kisses: garlic, coffee, anything eaten for lunch (like tacos or salty fries), wine, and the mother of all tastes: morning breath.

#3: Two people must overcome battles to find each other.

I met my future husband on a smoke break. Nothing romantic, nothing dangerous (unless you count smoking as dangerous), no spies trying to kill us, no ex-lover trying to win back my or his affection. We just met, liked each other, and the rest is history. You, too, can have this simple, albeit boring romantic adventure. If your relationship requires high level of espionage or unpacked baggage, you might be in for a world of hurt when the relationship settles around “Hey, will you pick up some lettuce on your way home from work?”

#4: Female protagonist is petite and pretty.

This is a “lie” I try not to partake in as an author, but many romance writers succumb to this characterization ploy. Women come in all shapes and sizes and colors; a real man will look at personality and not the size on the label in a pair of jeans or the cup size of a bra.

#5: Female protagonist is outspoken and may occasionally throw something.

So, I sin with this lie. Here’s why. Because part of me, and I’m assuming other romance writers feel the same, wishes I could be like my female characters. I wish I could speak my mind when angry instead of stew in silence. I wish I could be brave enough to smash a vase against the wall to show my frustration at times. And because I can’t/won’t/shouldn’t do these things, my characters sometimes do. Bye-bye sheepish author lady, hello sexy vixen who knows just the right words to say just the right things.

#6: Muscles are in.

The only six pack worth having, ladies, is a six pack of your favorite beverage. Six packs are difficult to attain and even tougher to maintain, so unless your main squeeze spends all his time in the gym and eats a very specific diet, you will have to deal with some pudge and a slight love handle or two.

#7: Every time lovers touch, electricity happens.

Um…no. Just a plain, big, old, fat no. It may happen that when you hold your significant other’s hand, jolts of hormones and pheromones and whatever else race up your skin. But if this phenomenon does not happen, please, please, please don’t freak out. You are not falling out of love; you are simply being human holding another human’s hand. Don’t expect butterflies, lighting bolts, or whatever other metaphor we authors throw at you every time you touch your lover.

#8: Weather as a barometer of The Love Journey.

Authors use weather as a symbolic device. You will not experience rebirth or rejuvenation every time it rains; you will simply get wet.

#9: The end is the end.

The end is only the beginning. Where the author leaves the couple in a passionate embrace is where real life takes over. Oil changes, spit-up, diaper duty, household chores, honey-do lists, and life begin at “the kiss.”

#10: Romance is huge, planned events.

Romance is the opposite. It’s the little moments, the insignificant moments that add up to colossal romance. Late night grocery store missions, snuggling on the couch, a back rub just because, loading/unloading the dishwasher, getting the kids out of the house make up a true relationship. Don’t lose that for an ideal that literally only exists in fiction.

So, in closing, please remember that fictional romance is exactly what it is: fictional. Read it, enjoy it, find escape in it, but then leave it and enjoy real-life romance as well. The real-life stuff is better anyway!

Murder Most Pemberley (Eliza Darcy Mysteries)
by Jessica Berg

About Murder Most Pemberley

Murder Most Pemberley (Eliza Darcy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing (March 8, 2021)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1948051656
ISBN-13: 978-1948051651
Digital
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC (February 16, 2021)
ASIN: B08TKJ73L1

Eat a crumpet. Check. Say “bloody hell” in an English pub. Check. Solve three murders and fall in love? Definitely not on the list. But when England dishes up murder, even an American girl knows it’s time to channel her inner Agatha Christie.

American Eliza Darcy travels to Merry Old England to partake in a Darcy/Bennet family reunion for one reason: to solve the estrangement between her father and uncle. Not long after Eliza’s arrival and exploration of the vast estate of her ancestors, a dead body surfaces. Murder and mayhem replace afternoon teas and flirting with her British heartthrob. Eliza has every intention of keeping her snoot out of official Scotland Yard business, but when clues to the murder begin to merge with her investigation into her family’s rift, her inner wannabe sleuth self-activates.

With the help of her batty great-aunt and the sexy Heath Tilney, Eliza hurries to untangle the web of lies and secrets. As corpses start to pile up faster than the clues, Eliza fears the estate’s family graveyard will swallow another body: hers.

About Jessica Berg

Jessica Berg, a child of the Dakotas and the prairie, grew up amongst hard-working men and women and learned at an early early age to “put some effort into it.” Following that wise adage, she has put effort into teaching high school English for over a decade, being a mother to four children (she finds herself surprised at this number, too), basking in the love of her husband of more than fifteen years and losing herself in the imaginary worlds she creates.

Author Links

Purchase Links – Amazon – Kobo – B&N – Books2Read –

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 21 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

June 24 – Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST

June 24 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 25 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

June 26 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST

June 26 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 27 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 27 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – My Journey Back the Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 29 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

June 29 – Thoughts in Progress – SPOTLIGHT

June 30 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 30 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

July 1 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

July 2 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

July 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Book Sales, Cozy Mysteries, Thriller

Medical Thriller Sale and Price Drop for Cozy Mysteries

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Debbie

My medical thriller, MEMORY MAKERS, is on sale for 99 cents from June 23 to June 27.

Purchase Link: mybook.to/memorymakers

Have you checked out the price drop on my Cobble Cove mysteries. They’ve dropped in price nearly 50 per cent. Check them all out here: mybook.to/CCseries

Book Sales

June Sales on 3 Mysteries and Price Drops on eBook Cozies

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Debbie

Check out the sale for my new time-travel release, Time’s Relative, and the upcoming sales for last summer’s medical thriller, Memory Makers, and my award-winning psychological mystery, Sea Scope.

Pick up your sales copy of TIME’S RELATIVE through June 21.

Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/timesrelative

Have you seen my article in Mystery Scene Magazine about TIME’S RELATIVE?

Pick up your sales copy of MEMORY MAKERS from June 23- June 27.
(note: because of time differences and Amazon delays, the sale may not be up in the morning on the first day. If it hasn’t been discounted when you check, please try again later or the next day.)

Purchase Link: mybook.to/memorymakers

Pick up your sales copy of Sea Scope from June 30 – July 4.
(note: because of time differences and Amazon delays, the sale may not be up in the morning on the first day. If it hasn’t been discounted when you check, please try again later or the next day.)

Purchase Link: mybook.to/SeaScope

Cozy fans, the eBooks of all my Cobble Cove mysteries have dropped in price nearly 50 per cent. Check them all out here: mybook.to/CCseries

Freebies and Special Offers

99 Cents Sale for TIME’S RELATIVE

Posted on June 12, 2021June 13, 2021 by Debbie

My apologies, but yesterday’s blog post had the wrong dates for the 99 cent sale for TIME’S RELATIVE. The sale will start on June 17 and run until June 21. I guess time got ahead of me. No pun intended. Sorry for the confusion.

It’s the fall of 1998, and librarian Samantha Stewart is looking for a new job. After seeing an ad for a high-paying position at a company called Virtual Software that entails research and travel, Sam investigates the company and learns that its president has gone missing, and that it’s currently being run by the vice-president Greg Parsons.

Before Sam makes it to the interview, she’s visited by a strange woman who introduces herself as Jane Oldsfield: a time traveler whose mission Greg Parsons is trying to prevent.

Sam ignores the woman and goes on the job interview anyway. Soon, she finds herself involved not only with Greg Parsons, but also Philip Montmart, a chain-smoking detective with a vendetta for his wife’s killer, and the time-traveling Oldsfield and her feline accomplice.

Witnessing world events that have yet to happen in her lifetime, including 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, Y2K hysteria and the COVID pandemic, can Samantha figure out Oldsfield’s plans?

Get your sales copy here: http://mybook.to/timesrelative

Reviews, Romantic Suspense

Review: Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Debbie

**** 4 stars

This book reminded me of a gothic novel. Taking place on an island in Italy during a storm and including a villa and family crypt, it was very atmospheric. I received an advanced reader’s copy and couldn’t stop reading, even though the key to the mystery was revealed early in the book. When Claire Hunter meets the rich Jack Compton, her life changes. Having led a tough teenage life and becoming involved with a criminal, she still feels guilt about the night her father was killed in a car accident that she caused.

When Jack arranges their wedding on the island where his family owns a villa, she’s excited but somewhat overwhelmed. It doesn’t help that the night before they leave for Italy, someone breaks into the house, and Claire kills the intruder in self defense. Her actions are covered up by the bodyguard who was meant to protect her and Jack. Trouble continues to follow them to the island as they prepare for their wedding, and the incoming storm adds to the mystery. Claire learns that many of the Compton wives died accidentally, including Jack’s first wife, Morgan. The only difference is that Morgan’s body has never been found, although when Jack and Claire arrive on the island, a body is discovered.

Secrets are revealed about Jack’s family, but Claire, with her own secrets, still wants to marry Jack. After her wedding gown is ruined and people start being killed by unexplained accidents at the villa, Jack’s mother moves up the wedding in the hope that whoever is trying to prevent it will stop after it has taken place. Unfortunately, the person behind the incidents has other plans.

Although I wasn’t surprised at the ending, there was a twist. I really enjoyed this book, but I found it a bit too dark for my taste. The changing point of views, even of the person behind everything, added interest and insight to the characters. For those who enjoy dark fiction with a gothic feel, I would recommend this read.

Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post by Rita Moreau, Author of Wheeler Dealer, the First Ghost and Camper Kooky Cozy Mystery

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Debbie

Guest Post by Rita Moreau

One of the questions I have been asked – well in the past when we did book launches in real life – was how do you write a book? I would like to do that, but I don’t know where to start.

I responded you write one word at a time. Not the magic answer they were looking for but it’s the truth because the bottom line is you must write, and you have to write every day and consistently.

In today’s climate writers are writing at a fast pace. Books are done in a month. Why? Readers in today’s climate will not wait a year unless you are a very well-known author. I have tried to write at a faster clip but its not easy. The pandemic in a way was helpful in that regard because I had no other distractions. I taught group fitness classes and for me it was my socialization. Writing is solitary and lonely and hard. When that went away, I was like all of us in lockdown and I sat and wrote. Last year I started a new series and have two books in the series complete and working on the third one. I have it down to about 4 months to finish a book taking into time for editing and formatting and book covers.

The other question or answer to questions I have given new authors or those who want to write is that you must hire a professional editor. You must take the time to learn about editing. For example, do you know there are different types of editing? When I first realized I needed an editor I asked an author who was speaking at an event about editing and how to go about finding an editor. I was floored with the answer – “I have three editors”. Well now I have three editors or have worked with three, a developmental, a copy and line editor and a proofreader. Not to mention beta readers who seem to catch issues your editors may have missed. I also have found reading the manuscript out loud to be extremely helpful. You will catch so much if you take the time to read your work out loud. Sometimes writing in longhand is helpful. I use it when I’m first sitting down to write a new novel. It helps me with my outline. I am more of a plotter but not detailed. I have a outline but use it more as a guide. Recently I have found I can write the ending before I reach the end. It helps me because I know where I am going. It may not turn out to be the end but it gets me past any writers block.

Finally, if you can accept the fact that more than likely you are not going to sell your book to Netflix or you are not going to make a bundle or you are not going to make the best seller list you will finally relax and take that pressure off your shoulders. And then who knows – you might write that book that makes it to the big or little screen. But still when I read a review and the reader tells me my words made them laugh and gave them a break from what they were going through in their everyday life than that is more than making a million dollars off the sale of your books. That’s the real joy on paper.

Wheeler-Dealer Ghost & Camper Kooky Mystery
by Rita Moreau

About Wheeler- Dealer

Wheeler-Dealer Ghost & Camper Kooky Mystery
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently published (April 1, 2021)
Paperback: 332 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8676266394
Digital ASIN: B08YP5NJNV

Solving a murder might raise her spirits. But will it spring her spectral friend from Purgatory?

Mabel Gold still isn’t sure what happened. Traded by her husband for a busty bimbo the same age as their youngest daughter, the feisty sixty-something rejects the retirement community and heads west in a vintage camper. But the RV comes complete with a ghost who needs a good deed to get into Heaven, and cracking open a homicide at their first stop in Savannah could give them both a new lease on life.

Determined to dig up the dirt on the dead wheeler-dealer, Mabel and her phantom companion tackle the crime. But with two rich dudes from Dubai, a Willie Nelson lookalike mobster, and a widow nicknamed The Barracuda all on the suspect list, conjuring up the truth could take a real live miracle.

Can Mabel catch the killer before she’s the next soul crashing the Pearly Gates?

Wheeler-Dealer is the high-spirited first book in the hilarious Ghost & the Camper kooky mystery series. If you like golden-girl sleuths, zany characters, and sardonic humor, then you’ll love Rita Moreau’s witty whodunit.

About Rita Moreau

Rita Moreau is the author of the Mary Catherine Mahoney Mystery series and the Ghost & Camper Kooky Mystery series.

A workaholic by nature, upon retirement, Rita Moreau began work on her bucket list, writing a book. Traveling the national parks with her husband George in a vintage Bluebird motor home, (on George’s list), Rita completed her first novel Bribing Saint Anthony. Back home she completed Nuns! Psychics! & Gypsies! OH! NO, Feisty Nuns and The Russian & Aunt Sophia and The House on Xenia. Last year when we entered the Twilight Zone Rita wrote the first two new novels in the Ghost & the Camper series. Rita and her husband live in a postcard called Florida where he has fun telling everyone he is the author’s husband. When not writing she joins PatZi Gil on the Joy on Paper radio program with Book Buzz Mysteries, or you can find her teaching SilverSneakers fitness classes and doing her best to keep busy. She loves connecting with readers. Visit her at http://www.RitaMoreau.com or find her on Facebook at facebook.com/RitaMoreauAuthor. She would love to hear from you.

Author Links

Website – http://www.ritamoreau.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RitaMoreauAuthor/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/RitaMoreau

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ritamoreau4996/

Radio – http://www.radio-joyonpaper.com

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587803.Rita_Moreau

Purchase Link – Amazon

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