A Day In The Life Of Callie Valentine Jones by Peggy Webb

“It’s not easy living with Elvis. Not that I’m complaining. Who else gets to wake up to the sounds of a cute basset hound who thinks he’s famous doing a howling rendition of “Love Me Tender?” That’s Elvis’ way of trying to con me into feeding him before our morning run. Sometimes he wins, but usually I manage to get his ample doggie self out the door so we can jog through the neighborhood before breakfast. I believe in keeping fit. I have to. It’s the only way I can cope with running my beauty shop, keeping up with Mama’s shenanigans and making sure cousin Lovie doesn’t go off the deep end over the wrong man.

Speaking of men, Jack Jones still has not signed divorce papers, and I’m running out of excuses for why I keep falling back into his arms. One of his favorite places to waylay me is Hair.Net after hours. Which brings me to the best part of my day – selecting the perfect little pair of designer shoes to go with my outfit and heading to Hair.Net to make sure every woman in Lee County has the best looking hair in Mississippi. I do hair for everybody from the mayor’s wife over in Tupelo to the deceased at Uncle Charlie’s Eternal Rest Funeral Home. I’m particularly careful with the dearly departed. If anybody deserves to look good, it’s the folks heading to Glory Land.

With Elvis ensconced on his guitar shaped doggie pillow expressing his opinions all over the place and Mama sashaying in and out all day long wanting me to change her hair color or lend her some money for her little outings (translation, trips to Tunica to gamble), things don’t always go the way I’d planned at Hair.Net. Throw in a dead body or two – plus a major emergency created by Lovie or Mama, or even Fayrene, Mama’s best friend who owns Gas, Grits and Guts – and my day can get really crazy. I’m just as liable to end up in Las Vegas trying to stuff a runaway corpse from Uncle Charlie’s funeral home into an ice chest and cart it back home as I am doing a dye job. Sometime I think I’m in the business of “die” jobs.

But even with all the mayhem, I wouldn’t swap lives with anybody. Nothing’s better than sending all my customers home satisfied and going to my little cottage at the end of the day to sit on my front porch swing with a big glass of Lovie’s Prohibition Punch. By the way, she’s sharing that recipe with you in the back of our next caper – ELVIS AND THE TROPICAL DOUBLE TROUBLE. Enjoy!”
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You can read more about Callie in ELVIS AND THE TROPICAL DOUBLE TROUBLE, the fourth book in the “Southern Cousins” mystery series. The first book in the series is ELVIS AND THE DEARLY DEPARTED.

In a career that spans more than 25 years, the Mississippi author has written almost 70 novels in three genres. She says she started telling stories “in the womb” and hasn’t stopped since. Writing as Peggy Webb, she pens romance and mystery. Writing as Anna Michaels, she pens literary novels. Although her more than 60 romance novels have consistently appeared on best-seller lists, Peggy says she’s “just a country girl who enjoys telling a good story.” She has won many awards, including a Pioneer Award from RT for her contribution to romance. Several of her books have been optioned for film. Peggy’s popular Southern Cousins Mystery Series, starring Elvis, the basset hound who thinks he’s the King reincarnated, is called “laugh-out-loud-funny” by reviewers.

Her novel written as Anna Michaels, (The Tender Mercy of Roses, May, 2011) is a Delta Magazine Top Five Pick, a Literary Guild and Doubleday Bookclub Featured Alternate. Pat Conroy (The Prince of Tides) calls it “astonishing.” Peggy is excited about bringing her romance classics back as e-books. “I love these strong women and sexy heroes,” she says. “As I edit, I’m falling in love all over again. I hope you will, too!” Follow the author on her websites: www.peggywebb.com and www.annamichaels.net and on Facebook as both Peggy Webb and Anna Michaels.

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

Till Death Do Us Bark by Judi McCoy

Till Death Do Us Bark by Judi McCoy is the fifth book in the “Dog Walker” mystery series. Publisher: Obsidian, August 2011

Professional dog walker Ellie Engleman comes unleashed when she takes a vacation—but it’s not long before murder sinks its teeth into her summer fun.

A Hamptons wedding gives Ellie an excuse to take a break for the first time in ten years, so she and her best friend pack up their dogs—yorkiepoo Rudy and terrier Twink—and head to the beach for a week.

Since humans and canines have been invited to the festivities, Ellie hopes she doesn’t get roped into dealing with the wet-nosed wedding guests. But soon she’s chasing her tail over trouble of the two-legged variety. Before the bride can say, “I do,” someone is murdered, and Ellie and Rudy must put their noses to the ground to sniff out the killer before the entire ceremony goes to the dogs.

Ellie and Viv with their furry pals (Rudy and Mr. T) are in the Hamptons attending the wedding of Viv’s oldest sister. Instead of a happy celebration, Ellie finds herself involved in yet another murder, the groom-to-be. Secrets are exposed as Ellie, with help from Viv and Rudy, search for clues that will shut the door on wedded bliss for the killer. This easy-paced tale was such a fun read. I thought I knew the identity of the killer, but the author had other ideas that led me astray. With Viv’s family at the forefront, it was fun watching Viv’s relationship with her family as she worked together with Ellie and the dogs to prove a person’s innocence. The banter between Ellie and her canine friends is just as entertaining as the conversations she has with her human friends. This was another good story in this likeable series.

A Day In The Life Of Nell Fitzgerald by Clare O’Donohue

I’m not really a busy body, I’m a quilter.

I work in my grandmother’s quilt shop, Someday Quilts, and I take art classes. I have my boyfriend, Jesse, his daughter Allie, and the ladies of the Someday quilt group to keep me busy. You would think that’s enough, right? Well, somehow I’ve gotten this reputation for sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong. I was complaining to our town’s librarian, Dru Ann Love, about it the other day. She looked up from the latest James Patterson to point out that it wasn’t an entirely unfair characterization. Dru Ann likes murder as much as I do, but she keeps it fictional. I would too, if dead bodies didn’t keep turning up all around me. And as far as sticking my nose into it, well, I have my reasons.

First of all, I don’t like to see bad things happen and do nothing. My grandmother, Eleanor, bakes a pie or offers a donation. That’s her way of helping. I ask questions. I look around, and sometimes, I even break into places, though I don’t like Jesse to know that. He’s the town’s chief of police, and prefers me to stay out of trouble.

But mainly, I stick my nose in because I’m good at figuring out who did it. And I think it’s because murder, to me, is a lot like quilting. To a non-quilter, a quilt is just a pretty pattern with nice fabrics cut up and sewn back together. Looks like a lot of work, maybe even looks impossibly difficult. But to me, a quilt is a logical series of decisions, usually with a plan in mind. Just like a murder. Most quilters can look at someone else’s finished piece and figure out how it was put together. That’s what I do with a murder. I look until I figure it out.

And what am I looking for? In even the most perfect looking quilt, there are mistakes. No matter how careful or experienced the maker, every quilt has small errors – corners that don’t quite match, a stitch that’s bigger than the rest.

If I wanted to find the mistakes in a quilt I would start at the top and stare at every square inch until I found them. I don’t, of course, because that would be rude. But when someone is a killer, I don’t care about being rude. I start at the top and keep looking. And eventually I find the mistake. And once I find that, I’ve got the killer. And, as much as I hate being thought of as the town busybody, I do like knowing that with my help Archers Rest is staying the nice, quiet town it was when I moved in a year ago.

Except, of course, for all the murders.
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You can read more about Nell in THE DEVIL’S PUZZLE, the just released fourth book in the “Someday Quilts” mystery series. The first book in the series is THE LOVER’S KNOT.

Clare O’Donohue is the author of four Someday Quilts Mysteries, as well as Missing Persons; the first in the Kate Conway series. She is also a freelance television producer, and has worked on shows for The History Channel, Food Network, truTV and more. She lives near Chicago, IL. Visit Clare at http://clareodonohue.com

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

** Clare has generously offered to give away one set (that’s 4 books) of her Someday Quilts mystery series. To enter, leave a comment with a valid e-mail address in the comment box. Please break it up using (at) and (dot), like domain(at)host(dot)com. One entry per person and this is open to anyone with a U.S. mailing address. Contest ends on October 4th at 6pm EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be notified by e-mail and has 2 days to respond. Book will be shipped directly from the author. **

Chaos in Death by J.D. Robb

Chaos in Death by J.D. Robb is part of the “Unquiet” anthology, the 8th in the series. Publisher: Jove, September 2011

A psychotic killer roams the city with a satchel of scalpels, fresh off a triple kill. A mysterious drug pumps through his veins, making him dance in the streetlight and twirl his cape like Jack the Ripper. Eve Dallas is the tough Lieutenant hot on his trail, but this is unlike any case take she’s ever been assigned – or any killer she’s ever pursued. A police sketch based on eye-witness testimony reveals the killer has green skin, swollen red eyes, goblin ears, and a dislocated jaw-structure that defies the human form. Is it a mask? Is it makeup? Or is the explanation more sinister?

Dallas faces off against multiple suspects – all of them students of medicine capable of the precise slicing of the ears, noses, and eyes removed from which the three victims received. But who had the motive? More importantly, what form of rogue science are these healers practicing?

Looking at the sight of the three brutalized bodies, Eve knows there’s a monster on the loose and when a witness comes forward with a sketch of the murderer, Eve can’t believe her eyes. On the trail of a killer, Eve will bring justice to the deceased. This was another good novella to tie me over for the next full-featured adventure with Eve and Roarke.

J. D. Robb is the pseudonym of Nora Roberts

A Day In The Life Of Rebecca Robbins by Joelle Charbonneau

Hi. My name is Rebecca Robbins. Dru was nice enough to ask me to stop by and talk about a typical day in my life. I wish I could say that my life was filled with excitement, but the dead body in the rink toilet last month was a total fluke. Honest. Life in Indian Falls isn’t exactly the stuff action movies are made of. It’s just…well…Indian Falls. Okay, that sounds lame. So why don’t I just show you a day in my life and let you decide how to describe it.

The sound of the whizzing skates, laughter and the Village People streamed into the office as I fired up the computer and got to work. After two hours, I’d finished cutting payroll checks, ordered a shipment of nachos and frozen pizzas and called my Realtor twice to see if any new bids had come in on the rink. Yeah – I was that desperate to sell. Owning and operating the Toe Stop roller rink in Indian Falls, Illinois was my mother’s dream. My heart squeezed knowing that dream died the minute she did.

Shaking off the melancholy threatening to descend, I zipped off an e-mail to my best friend in Chicago promising her I’d sell the rink and be back in the city soon. Hey – it could happen.

Pushing back from the small, wooden desk, I decided to take a whirl by the rental counter. Exchanging smelly shoes for skates wasn’t the most exciting job in the world, but long periods of standing was the best way I knew to resuscitate the butt muscles that had fallen asleep. Sitting at a desk had that effect on me, which made me wonder if I shouldn’t get a different job when I got back to the city. The only physical action required of a mortgage broker was chasing a client who’d panicked at the sight of all those zeros.

After an hour of watching people skate counterclockwise, my butt muscles were feeling revived and ready to go. Since my staff had things running smoothly, I headed to the front door into the sunshine ready to pay a visit on my favorite ex-circus camel, Elwood, and his equally fascinating owner, Dr. Lionel Franklin. Maybe if Elwood was up to it we could go on a camel ride. And if not… Well, Lionel and I had been avoiding taking a ride of our own. Maybe it was time to seriously think about fixing that.

“Rebecca. Wait up.”

I smiled at the familiar voice and turned. Coming toward me in a sequined silver shirt and skin tight white pants was my grandfather. The sunlight hitting his shirt was enough to make me go blind. A month ago, Pop had taken a spin on the Senior Center float as Elvis. What has started as a one day lark had morphed into a new career complete with a wardrobe that could be seen from Mars.

Pop came to a stop next to my car with a smile. “I’m glad I caught you. It’s Marcy Jones’s birthday. Her mother hired me to surprise her with a song and a scarf and my car is on the fritz.”

Marcy and I were in the same grade growing up. Back then she jumped at every loud noise. I hoped she didn’t startle as easily now otherwise Pop’s singing was likely to cause tears.

“Can you give me a lift to the Jones farm?” Pop asked.

“Sure Pop.” The farm wasn’t too far from Lionel’s place which meant I could help my grandfather and still get my camel ride. Could I multitask or what? Wait… “Do you need me to come back after the party and give you a lift home?”

Pop flashed me a perfectly white, dentured grin. “Not if I play my cards right with Marcy’s grandmother. If that’s the case, I’ll be staying until breakfast. I hear she makes a mean omelet.”

I had to ask.

Plastering a smile on my face, I revved the engine on my yellow Civic and listened to my grandfather’s off-key voice practice “Falling in love with you” as I drove. Maybe the rink would sell soon, but until then this was a typical day in my life. Gotta love it.
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You can read more about Rebecca in SKATING OVER THE LINE, the second book in the “Rebecca Robbins” mystery series. The first book in the series is SKATING AROUND THE LAW.

Joelle Charbonneau has performed in a variety of operas and musical theatre productions across the Chicagoland area. She now teaches private voice lessons and uses her stage experience to create compelling characters in her books. The first of the Rebecca Robbins mysteries, SKATING AROUND THE LAW (Minotaur Books) was called “Sexy and funny” by Kirkus Reviews. The first of her newest series, MURDER FOR CHOIR, will be published by Berkley in the fall of 2012. Visit Joelle at www.joellecharbonneau.net

** Joelle has generously offered to give away two copies of SKATING AROUND THE LAW. To enter, leave a comment with a valid e-mail address in the comment box. Please break it up using (at) and (dot), like domain(at)host(dot)com. One entry per person and this is open to anyone with a U.S. mailing address. Contest ends on October 3, 2011 at 6pm EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be notified by e-mail and has 2 days to respond. Book will be shipped directly from the author. **

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

Close to Home by Jenna Bennett

Close to Home by Jenna Bennett is the fourth book in the “Savannah Martin” mystery series. Publisher: Bente Gallagher, September 2011

Sometimes, trouble hits too close to home.

Savannah’s late. The kind of late that comes with midnight feedings and the pitter-patter of little feet. And while it’s a circumstance that should make everyone happy – now she can finally settle down and marry Todd Satterfield, the way everyone’s been hoping and praying! – it isn’t Todd’s baby. And Rafe Collier, whose baby it is, didn’t sign on for fatherhood.

Add in the murder of Savannah’s sister-in-law Sheila, the trial of Sheila’s friend Marley, and the disappearance of Rafe’s twelve year old son David – the kid he never knew he had – and things get complicated fast. And there is worse to come: When Rafe comes back to Nashville to help look for David, and learns that Savannah’s pregnant, things do not work out the way Savannah hopes. In the end, she’s left with nothing she wanted and a whole lot of trouble she didn’t, and when she gets in over her head, Rafe’s not there to save the day.

This story evoke so many emotions that I could not put this book down. This was a departure from the previous three titles when a murder hit very close to Savannah and her family. While dealing with her own health issues, a missing “boyfriend”, helping her brother find an heir; Savannah looks into who wanted her SIL dead and faces an opponent that gave her cause. The page-turning, action-filled drama pulled me in from that first sentence to the last line and I can’t wait to read the next book in this wonderful series.

Katie Bonner . . . as told to Lorraine Bartlett

When I told some of my friends I was going to write a cookbook . . . they laughed.

Now hold on, I am a mighty fine baker. I just haven’t been as interested in cooking as I have baking. Baking is fun. It gives me zen moments. I love it. Cooking . . . not as much fun — especially if you’re STARVING.

The project started out as a way to put all my great aunt Lizzie’s recipes in one place. She brought me up and we often baked together. She’d been a cook in a pub in Scotland before she came to this country some twenty years before I was born. When my parents were killed, I had only one living relative: Aunt Lizzie, a woman already in her sixties.

Still, we managed not to kill each other that first week. And then she baked scones. That was it. I was hooked.

As I began to work on the project, vendors at Artisans Alley, the fine arts and crafts arcade I own and manage, wanted to help by adding their own recipes. And then the members of the Victoria Square Merchants Association wanted to get in on the act, too, and . . . well, it’s now finished.

Each recipe has a little story connected with it, either from me or the person who donated it. I learned a lot about my neighbors and vendors and I hope you enjoy becoming friends with them just as much as I did.

Of course, since baking is my favorite thing to do, the desserts and tea time sections are my favorite. And just to tease you, I’ll give you a sample recipe for my Aunt Lizzie’s cream scones.

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg and 1 egg yoke well beaten
1/3 light cream
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Sugar

Preheat oven to 450F. Sift flour once. Measure, add baking powder, salt, and sugar, and sift again. Cut in butter. Add egg and cream all at once and stir carefully until all flour is dampened. Then stir vigorously until mixture forms a soft dough. Turn out on slightly floured board and knead 30 seconds. Roll ½ inch thick and cut in triangles. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops lightly with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.
Yield: 12 scones.
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You can find more recipes created by Katie and her friends in RECIPES TO DIE FOR: A VICTORIA SQUARE COOKBOOK.

Lorraine Bartlett writes the Victoria Square Mysteries, the first of which, A Crafty Killing, is now available. She also writes the Booktown Mysteries as Lorna Barrett, and the Jeff Resnick Mysteries as L.L. Bartlett. Please visit her web site: www.LorraineBartlett.com and her blog www.LLBartlett.typepad.com.

The cookbook is available at online booksellers.

Fatal Destiny by Marie Force

Fatal Destiny by Marie Force is book #3.5 in the “Fatal” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Carina Press, September 2011

With the week of their wedding finally upon them, Washington, D.C., Police Lieutenant Sam Holland and her fiancé, Senator Nick Cappuano, are at odds. In the aftermath of a tragic loss, they struggle to reconnect as the big day draws near, but their work keeps pulling them apart. When a new clue into a cold case surfaces, Nick asks Sam not to take any foolish chances before the wedding and to leave it alone for the time being.

Sam agrees, but she can’t let it go entirely and winds up trapped in an explosive situation. Then an unwelcome visitor from her past threatens her future happiness… With trouble at every turn, will Sam survive long enough to walk down the aisle?

The event that we’ve been waiting for is finally here, the wedding of Sam to Nick and of course, like the couple, the events leading up to the big event cause some pain, mostly for Sam. Once I turned on my Kindle, I read this book non-stop anticipating the final event. This was a great read that saw the culmination of their one-night stand six years ago to their chance meeting several months ago. I enjoyed watching this relationship blossomed and the love shining in their eyes. This well-written and well-described story made me feel like I was sitting in the pews attending the wedding. This is the best book yet in this fantastic series and I can’t wait to see Sam and Nick’s next adventure.

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly is the second book in the “Magical Cats” mystery series. Publisher: Obsidian (Penguin), September 2011

Small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson is the owner of two very special cats, Owen and Hercules, who possess some unusual gifts in addition to skills for sleuthing.

Kathleen Paulson never wanted to be the crazy cat lady. But when Owen and Hercules followed her home from mysterious Wisteria Hill, she realized her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her: Her cats have magical abilities. And when a body is found near Kathleen’s favorite local café, she knows Owen’s talent for turning invisible and Hercules’s ability to walk through closed doors will give the felines access to clues Kathleen couldn’t get without arousing suspicion.

With her pet partners, and perhaps the assistance of a certain handsome detective, Kathleen is determined to find out who kill Agatha Shephard, an elderly woman who seems to have helped almost everyone in town at one time or another. Someone is hiding dark secrets, and it will take a bit of furtive investigating to catch the coldhearted killer.

This was a good read. When Kathleen’s friend is arrested for murder and believing in her innocence, Kathleen begins an earnest investigation into the murder. This was easy-paced story that was very appealing. The mystery was good and with guidance from her mystical cats, Kathleen was able to expose a killer. I liked the character developments; the easy flow of conversations; the small-town feeling and of course, her two furry roommates. I look forward to reading the next book in this charming series.

** I have one copy of SLEIGHT OF PAW to give away, thanks to Berkley! To enter, leave a comment with a valid e-mail address. Please break it up using (at) and (dot), like domain(at)host(dot)com. This is only open to US addresses (at the publisher’s request). Contest ends on September 28th at 6pm EST. Winner will be notified by e-mail and has 2 days to respond. **

Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of Darlene Ryan

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book

A Day In The Death Of Maxie Malone by E.J. Copperman

Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise: Being dead is boring.

It’s a little over a year since I was murdered (I’ll spare you the details, but you can find them in a book called NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED), and basically what goes on in a typical day is all routine:

1. Not “waking up.” Ghosts like me don’t sleep, really. I’m always conscious, but not always thinking about stuff to do. Even when you’re dead, you need to give your brain a rest once in a while. I like to go up to the attic in the house I’m in–MY house, which I bought and was renovating when I died–and chill. But now this woman who bought the house after me (her name is Alison) is talking about redoing the attic to be a guest room, and I won’t even have THAT! Can you imagine the selfishness? Just because she’s alive and is using the place as a guesthouse “to put a roof over my daughter’s head.” Go out and get a job, I say.

2. A “spook show.” Twice a day (and sometimes more) the guy who died with me, Paul Harrison–he was the private detective I hired as a bodyguard and look how THAT turned out!–and I have to put on a show for Alison’s guests. Why? I’m not really clear on it. But we made the deal with her so she could make money and Paul gets to use her as the outside (that is, alive) agent for his detecting. Me? I get nothing out of the arrangement, and am doing it strictly because I’m a nice person. Really. So we toss stuff around and play with Alison’s daughter Melissa, who is really the only decent person in the house–and the tourists here on the Jersey Shore get themselves a ghosty thrill. Big whoop.

3. Once in a while, I have to do online research for one of the cases Paul makes Alison investigate. And I HATE research, but of course I’m really good at it. Alison’s mother talked me into this one, and you don’t argue with Mrs. Kerby. She’s tough.

You see? The whole thing is a snorefest. If I could only sleep.
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You can read more about Maxie in AN UNINVITED GHOST, the second book in the “Haunted Guesthouse” mystery series. The first book in the series is NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED and the third book in the series, OLD HAUNTS, will be out in February 7, 2012.

The life and times of Maxie Malone is written by E.J. Copperman who is a mysterious figure, or has a mysterious figure, or writes figuratively in mysteries. In any event, a New Jersey native, E.J. has written for such publications as The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, American Baby and USA Weekend. E.J., having worked as a newspaper reporter, teacher, magazine editor, and screenwriter, writes stories that combine humor and mystery with just the right amount of spooky supernatural happenings and a large does of Jersey attitude.

Sound like we’re being evasive? Well, the fact is that E.J. Copperman is the pseudonym of a well-known mystery novelist, now embarking on a new type of story that includes some elements of the supernatural as well as a fair number of laughs. And the Copperman novels will have a different attitude, a different setting and completely different characters than anything that has come before, so E.J. really is a new author.

Visit E.J. at www.ejcopperman.com

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.