<![CDATA[Ally Shields, Author

<![CDATA[Ally Shields, Author - Blog]]>Sat, 09 Nov 2024 18:04:22 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[BookSpotlight on HIDDEN ROOMS by Kate Michaelson]]>Thu, 02 May 2024 22:47:46 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/bookspotlight-on-hidden-rooms-by-kate-michaelson

HIDDEN ROOMS by Kate Michaelson
Genre: traditional mystery

You can run fast. You can run far. But you can’t outrun family.

Long-distance runner, Riley, has been fighting various bewildering symptoms for months, from vertigo to fainting spells. Worse, her doctors can’t tell her what’s wrong, leaving her to wonder if it’s stress or something more threatening. But when her brother’s fiancée is killed—and he becomes the prime suspect—Riley must prove his innocence, despite the toll on her health.

As she reacquaints herself with the familiar houses and wild woods of her childhood, the secrets she uncovers take her on a trail to the real killer that leads right back to the very people she knows best and loves most.

Buy links: Amazon, Gathering Volumes, and Bookshop.org

Excerpt from Hidden Rooms:

Late September 2022
I grew up inside a lightning bolt, in a family of pure momentum. My siblings and I were young, stupid, and fearless in our white gingerbread house, surrounded by dark earth, green shoots, and wild woods—untamed beasts running loose from morning to night. We snarled and bucked, more a pack than a family.

Born less than a year apart, my brother Ethan and I spent most of our lives scrapping after the same few things, pinching each other where we knew it would hurt the most. But we also protected each other. When Trevor Paltree shoved Ethan off the metal slide the first day of preschool, I kicked Trevor’s little ass, and I’d do it again.

Only, now, I didn’t know what protecting my brother looked like, though I felt fairly certain that kicking his fiancée’s ass was not it. Besides, I couldn’t even say what exactly Beth was up to, which (admittedly) undermined my argument. Putting my head down and going along with the wedding might feel cowardly, but it also seemed like the least destructive path forward.

So, that’s how I found myself pulling up to Ethan and Beth’s house to pick up my puce monstrosity of a bridesmaid’s dress with Beth’s recent words still replaying in my mind. “Riley, you know I’d never do anything to hurt Ethan.” The problem was that she also once said with a wink and a smile that what Ethan didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

I parked in the shade of a low-limbed oak and got out, lifting my hair off my neck to catch the breeze. The autumn sun had built throughout the afternoon into the kind of fleetingly gorgeous day that makes up for Ohio’s multitude of weather sins: one last warm postscript to summer. Rain loomed in the low shelf of clouds to the north. I crossed my fingers that it would hold off until I could get home to walk Bruno. Maybe I could even get a run in if my energy held out.

My phone buzzed, and I knew without looking it would be Audra. She called most days and knew that the previous night, I’d finally worked up the nerve to talk with Ethan about Beth. She would want the details. I was amazed she had waited this long.

“How’d it go with Ethan?” Her melodious voice skipped along briskly. People usually went with what she said simply because they were so swept with how she said it. As her sister, I was an exception.

“Hello to you too.” I continued toward the house but slowed my pace. “I’ll give you one guess.”

“Hello, dearest Riley. I guess he got mad.”

“Not just mad. He guilt-tripped me. I asked if he’d noticed anything wrong with Beth and he acted all injured about it. He told me, ‘she thinks you’re her friend.’” I mimicked Ethan’s self-righteous tone. The jab still stung. “I told him I think of her as a friend too, which is how I know she’s hiding something.” Admittedly, I couldn’t untangle what it was. It was something I sensed more than saw—a shift in posture or flicker behind an expression. The past few weeks she’d become more self-contained than ever, which was saying something for her.

“Yeah, but can you really be friends with someone who has no personality? It’s like being friends with a mannequin. I don’t know how you can tell if she’s hiding something when she never shares—”

“Look, I can’t talk about it now.” I lowered my voice as I neared the house. “I’m at their place getting my dress. Call you later.”

As I climbed the porch steps, the front of their house looked so Instagram-perfect that I wondered whether I’d been seeing problems that weren’t there. The afternoon light slanted across pumpkins and yellow chrysanthemums that Beth had arranged just so. Dried bundles of corn rattled in the breeze.

Careful not to disturb a precarious wreath of orange berries, I knocked on the door and tapped my foot, ready to grab my puffy dress and go. When no one answered, I rapped once more and tried the handle. Unlocked. This was not unusual in a town where nobody locked their doors, but Beth wasn’t from here. She’d moved to North Haven her senior year of high school and, thus, hadn’t lived here long enough for people to think of her as a local. But, to be fair, that usually took a lifetime.

{End of excerpt}

Don't miss the interview with Kate and an excerpt from her novel on my JL Buck mystery blog:
https://janetlbuck.com/blog/interview-with-mystery-author-kate-michaelson

]]><![CDATA[Book Spotlight on Chilled to the Dog Bone by S.A. Kazlo]]>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/book-spotlight-on-chilled-to-the-dog-bone-by-sa-kazlo

Good Morning, Booklovers!

Thank you for joining me today to greet this week’s guest—S.A. Kazlo, the author of the Samantha Davies cozy mystery series.

Welcome, Syrl. What can I get you to drink while we take a look at your book spotlight?

SAK: Coffee- I drink it black. Never could get use to adding anything to it—no sugar or crème. Unfortunately, ever since my blood pressure started to go north I've had to switch to decaf. I really miss that jolt of caffeine.

Ally: Now that we have our favorite drinks and a nice spot on the deck on this sweater morning, please tell readers something of your background before showing us the latest book in your series.

About the Author:

Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two lively dachshunds. She writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, and enjoying her family. Her newest book, number five in the series is, Chilled to the Dog Bone.

Author Links:

Facebook- S A Kazlo
Twitter - @sakazlo
Instagram - @sakazlo
LInkedin - sakazlo
website - Home |Samantha Davies Mystery www.sakazlo.com

Chilled to the Dog Bone (Samantha Davies Mystery #5)
Genre: Cozy Mystery

It's Saint Patrick's Day weekend in chilly upstate New York, and Samantha Davies, children's picture book author and sometime sleuth, is excited to attend the annual outdoors games put on by the local Wings Falls fire company. It will be a weekend filled with fun activities such as a skillet toss, four-wheeler race, and the ever-popular decorated wooden outhouse race across the ice. Sam is looking forward to dancing the night away with her beau, police detective Hank Johnson at the Firefighter's Ball. Sam's rug hooking group, the Loopy Ladies is sponsoring one of the outhouses and their senior member, Gladys O'Malley, will have the honor of riding on the "throne" to the finish line.

Only not all goes as planned when the neighboring fire company's chief is found in Gladys' place—frozen solid and dead as a doornail! To make matters worse, both Gladys' and Sam's fingerprints are all over the evidence at the murder scene, taking them from attendees to suspects. Now it's up to Sam to clear their names and get to the truth. The only problem is the victim had disagreements with almost everyone in town, from the Wings Falls fire chief to a sexy blonde named Sunny Foxx—with two xx's—and a slew of other suspects. Can Sam find the killer before the Luck of the Irish runs out for her? Or will she become chilled to the bone when the killer catches up to her...

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chilled-Bone-Samantha-Davies-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0CP8P9R37

Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

"How do I look? Should I wear a crown?" Gladys O'Malley, the senior member of my rug hooking group, the Loopy Ladies, sat on her "throne" in the outhouse we were sponsoring. The outhouse race would take place on Sunday morning. This weekend, the Firemen's Convention was being held at the Civic Center in Lake George, a resort town in upstate New York. My local fire company, Wings Falls Fire Department, was the host. It was held annually as close to Saint Patrick's Day as possible. Fun and green beer abounded. All the local fire companies who attended entered a homemade outhouse, decorated by a local group, like the Loopy Ladies, who'd volunteered to sponsor this year's outhouse for our hometown fire company. We often lent our services and talents to worthy causes. This past fall, we sold small rugs we hooked to raise money for Camp Adirondack, a summer camp that invites kids from the inner city for two weeks of fun in the fresh mountain air.

I stomped my feet. Even though I wore my warmest fleece-lined boots and a pair of heavy wool socks, cold seeped through from the cement floor of my garage. A space heater blasted out warm air but barely made a dent in the freezing March air flowing into the drafty garage. I glanced at my cousin, Candie, and noticed her tugging a purple wool cap over her ears to stave off the cold air. I envied my dachshund, Porkchop, Candie's calico cat, Dixie, and the newest member of her family, Annie, a small dog of indeterminate breed, snuggled on the rug next to the fireplace in my living room.

Helen Garber poked at the bright-orange glasses sliding down her nose. "Haul your skinny old butt out of there and help us finish hanging the rugs we hooked on the wall of the outhouse, so we can get out of this blooming cold."

I rolled my eyes towards the rafters of my garage. Leave it to Helen to pick a fight with Gladys. She was the most outspoken member of the group. Her tongue knew no boundaries. She often said she "told it like it is." Not only did her tongue know no boundaries, but neither did her wardrobe choice. The louder and bolder the color, the better. Today her ample figure sported a lemon yellow jacket she paired with hot pink pull-on polyester slacks.

I walked over to the outhouse and admired our handiwork. We had painted green shamrocks over a white background in honor of Saint Patrick's Day on the outside walls.

Candie stood next to me. "Not a bad painting job, don't y'all think?"

I smiled. My cousin had moved north over fifteen years ago from Hainted Holler, Tennessee, and you could still cut her thick southern accent with a knife.

"We Loopy Ladies are a multi-talented group. Not only can we hook with the best of them, but we wield a mean paintbrush, too." I turned to the six of us who were gathered in my garage. "Don't you agree, ladies? Our outhouse will leave the others in the dust."

Cheers erupted from my fellow hookers. There are usually twelve of us who gather every Monday morning at our friend Lucy Foster's rug hooking studio. Although our absent members were busy elsewhere, everyone had contributed a rug to decorate the outhouse.

Susan Mayfield clapped her hands to get our attention. "We'd better finish hanging our rugs. Hank, Mark, and Brian will be here shortly to lift the outhouse onto the back of Brian's truck. They need to drive it to the staging area for the race on Sunday morning."

Susan and her husband, Brian, own Momma Mia's, which I believe is the best Italian restaurant this side of the Big Apple. Brian had volunteered his truck for transporting our outhouse to the race's starting area, a park next to the Civic Center.

Don't miss S.A. Kazlo's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:
janetlbuck.com/blog/author-interview-with-cozy-mystery-writer-sa-kazlo

]]><![CDATA[The Dead Sang Off Key is Scheduled for Release July 9, 2024]]>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:49:13 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/the-dead-sang-off-key-is-scheduled-for-release-july-9-2024 THE DEAD SANG OFF KEY, Book 4 in my historical series, the Viscount Ware mysteries, is on the calendar for a July release.
These books are mystery fiction, not fantasy, and are published under the name of JL Buck. If you're familiar with the series, look for Lady Anne to take on a bigger role this time!

]]><![CDATA[On This Veterans Day, Remember Those Who Have Served]]>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/on-this-veterans-day-remember-those-who-have-served

]]><![CDATA[Interview with Fantasy Suspense Author Mary McFarland]]>Wed, 25 Oct 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/interview-with-fantasy-suspense-author-mary-mcfarland

Good Morning, Booklovers!

Please welcome this week’s guest, Mary McFarland, an author of fantasy, SF, thriller, and suspense, featuring her new Romantic Paranormal Suspense, Lila’s Ghostly Obsession.
Welcome, Mary. What can I get you to drink?

MM: I’m a coffee maniac, so I have at least two pots a day and five or six cups, many whose contents have turned to sludge, setting around for quick access during the day. I’m also a slurper and a sniffer, so even smelling coffee brewing gets my lips to smacking and my nose pointed in the direction of those delicious beans.

Ally: While I fill our mugs, please introduce yourself to readers.

Bio:

A thriller author and techpreneur, I live insanely—by choice—in both worlds. I started writing as a girl, when Mom shooed me outside with some sidewalk chalk and said, “Go do something!” I did. A Romance Writers of America Golden Pen award winner (romantic suspense), I’m published in both the novel and short story form. I write fulltime at my beloved Mucky Manor, an organic herb farm in southern Ohio, and I also serve as CEO of Red Girl Digital Media LLC, a tech startup designing apps and educational media serving authors. A recent honor, of which I’m proud, includes presenting a master class on book marketing at Killer Nashville, where I’m on the faculty and also write articles for the Killer Nashville Magazine.
I’m a member of Ohio Writer’s Association, West Virginia Writers, and River Valley Writers (RVW).

Something Unique/Unusual Not in My Bio: “I’m a wine vintner specializing in making tomato wine, and I collect antique wine recipes from all over the world. Yes, I like a glass or two now and then.”

You can find me at:
www.marymcfarlandbooks.com
www.redgirldigitalmedia.com
www.facebook.com/authormarymcfarland.author

INTERVIEW:

Ally: Why did you choose to become a writer?
MM: I’m a former technical writer and associate professor of writing, so all I know is . . . yup, writing. When asked, I always say, “Writing chose me.” As a co-ed, I’d have an idea, inspired often by the authors I was studying as an English major. Then I’d run off and write a short story or start a novel. I’ve got hundreds, it seems, stashed away.

Ally: What inspired your featured book?
MM: This question has an easy answer, but it hurts me to share. In 2005, my beloved nephew committed suicide. I was numb and sat in my bathrobe for days watching the sun rise—and set. One afternoon, I heard Richard speaking to me. I know! It sounds totally crazy! But he told me to write Lila’s story, not just for me—or not for me at all—but for all teens and families who’ve experienced such a horrific loss, or contemplating suicide. In a week, I had Lila’s Ghostly Obsession finished. Reading it through, I still can’t believe I wrote it, but I know for sure Richard inspired it.

Ally: Do you write from an outline?
MM: I’m a plotter, for sure, and my outline gets expanded initially to include tropes, characters, and finally, the scenes, all set up and fleshed out before I begin to write. I’m a multi-genre author, so I don’t have time to go back and do tons of revision work; thus, I work from an outline that’s very detailed. However, if I’m deep into the plot and a new idea comes up, I do go back and weave it in if it fits. My process might sound rigid, but it’s quite organic in some ways.

Ally: How important are writing and reading are in today’s world?
MM: As a former English associate professor and a graduate Teaching Assistant, I taught an endless stream of students who’d made it to college, but were struggling because they lacked sufficient reading and writing skills. I believe the Humanities have been forsaken in favor of the more technical disciplines, and that has been one of our biggest disservices today, since reading and writing correspond directly to learning critical thinking skills. I’m also a firm believer that removing cursive from curricula has been devastating, since many students are tactile learners, and feeling a pen or Crayola or whatever connecting to paper is a boon to their learning.

Ally: Which of the short answer trivia questions did you choose?

Item on My Bucket List - I am completing a historical romance set for release in 2024. It’s called The Confessor’s Burden, and it’s a dual timeline set partially in the Medieval era of Edward the Confessor, in the last days before the Norman invasion of England. I used a castle built by William the Bastard, in Corfe, England. It’s called, interestingly, Corfe Castle. I’m hoping to set my book launch of The Confessor’s Burden in Corfe Castle.
Most Watched TV Show - I can’t get enough of Bates Motel. I love Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, and simply rewatch reruns every chance I get.
Color of Nail Polish I Have On – Oh! That’s a thing with me! I have on a color called “Wicked,” by Essie. It’s deeply plum and black, and it’s soooo Halloween.
Favorite Comfort Food – Pie. Pie. Pie. I’m the queen of pie making, with my secret recipe handed down from generations of women on my mother’s side. It came over on the Mayflower, she swore, and I’m pretty sure I believe her. My favorite is blackberry chocolate with loads of French cream and, you guessed it, a pot of coffee.
A Beer at the Bar of a Book on the Deck - Oh! Beer at the bar! I’ve got a collection of stories (on bar napkins!!!) that goes way back. I love meeting new people and getting to know their stories, and for some reason—perhaps the river of free-flowing booze—people at bars love to talk!

Ally: Thanks for chatting with me today, Mary. Good luck with your new release! Let’s finish up with show and tell regarding Lila’s Ghostly Obsession.

Lila’s Ghostly Obsession
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Paranormal
PG-13

Even in death, I feel Link’s love. Achingly sweet and intense. “It’s for keeps,” I used to tell him, my lips as close to his—as my soul was to eternity, although I’d no idea just how close. “It’s forever.”

So when I awaken dead, I’ve no choice: I must haunt him. That, or watch from my grave while Marin Vegas steals Link.

But first, acceptance: I’m a ghost. While my murder seems cruel, I’m no longer that young girl in love and running toward my fate—but from it. Yet fading into black eternity spurs me to a level of courage I never dreamed I had while alive. So, in this foreboding world I now inhabit, my fight to hold on to the love that Link and I promised each other and now leads me straight to the thugs who put me here—and to a truth we’d planned to share. It’s a truth I hold onto tight: Love never dies.
Can my plan to keep Link’s love succeed from the grave? Can we hook up one last bittersweet time?

Maybe. But only if the dead can speak to the living.
So: how do I do that?
If Edgar Allan Poe were to rewrite Annabel Lee as a novel, it would read like Lila’s Ghostly Obsession. It’s darkly poignant, a perfect read for fans of ghost thrillers and paranormal romance novels like Wendy Webb’s The Haunting of Brynn Wilder, Julia Ash’s Mystified, and Stacy McKitrick’s Ghostly Liaison.

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Lilas-Ghostly-Obsession-Never-Thriller/dp/B0CKPHPCWS/

]]><![CDATA[Character Interview from MG Fantasy by Kath Boyd Marsh]]>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/character-interview-from-mg-fantasy-by-kath-boyd-marsh

Welcome, Booklovers!

This week on the Coffee Chat, author Kath Boyd Marsh sent over two of her middle grade characters for an interview and to talk about their new fantasy anthology.
Welcome, Bubbles and Smush!

Smush: Hello! Scribe Kath says we have to tell you what we’d like to drink before you ask Bubbles and me questions. We like Riverweed Tea, if you have it.

Ally: My magic pot can make anything you want.

Bubbles: You have coffee, don’t you? I’d like to try that. Four sugars and a dash of milk, please. Smush will have six sugars and hold the milk.

Ally: No problem at all. Here you are. If you don’t like it, I’ll brew the tea.

Bubbles: Oh, thank you. I like this a lot. Makes me feel peppy. What were we talking about?

Smush: Scribe Kath has all your books. Bubbles and I like the mysteries! I’m going to make hats like in your Regency novels. I love making hats.

Ally: And very nice ones too. I’ve read all about them in your stories.

Bubbles: Yes, that’s right, Scribe Kath mentions them a lot, but we’re here today to tell you about Scribe Kath’s newest book. It’s all about Smush and me. We are very adventurous, you know.

Ally: I do know. What's the title of this latest book?

Bubbles and Smush together: The MISadventures of Bubbles and Smush.

Ally: Sounds intriguing.

Smush: Bubbles is first in the title because it’s alphabetical. But my picture on the cover is much better, shows off one of my hats.”

Bubbles holds up the book. Yep. Here it is.

Ally: Yes, I see your pictures. Tell me something about the book.

Bubbles: That’s me on the left pointing to Cl’rnce Dr’gon’s home castle. You can see him way off in the distance in the bottom of the big letter S. Pretty cool. Oh, you mean, what the book's about? Smush and I solve some mysteries like in your Viscount Ware books, and have really great adventures, like with pirates, and dragons (they’re our favorites), and flying, and even singing with banshees.

MISadventures of Bubbles and Smush :
Genre: middle grade (9-12)

Bubbles and Smush were never supposed to be perfect heroes, but after all, it’s the MISadventures that make life so exciting…

While life seems peaceful on River Wiz Tech, when Cl’rnce the Dr’gon Co-Primus doesn’t show up for his visit, Bubbles overhears that Cl’rnce may be in trouble and the two Barforami cousins are off and running, or waddling, or swimming very fast to the Wizard Technological School and Knights Academy for adventure after adventure.

No more lazy floating. Each new day seems to bring a new adventure—from finding closet monsters, foiling a poisoning, dealing with pirates, learning to fly, to helping a baby dr’gon get a banshee to give her singing lessons.

Not that any of those adventures go smoothly! Featuring 5 brand new stories, Bubbles and Smush, once again, will bumble their way to success…or will they?

Here is the list of stories, the first three were previously published as ebooks.

Closet Monsters
Trick or Treats
Dragon Rescue
Hungry Pirates
Dr’gon-Sitting Fetch
Dr’gon Twin
When Barforami Fly
Banshee Singing Lessons

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3ZbKwMK

Bubbles continues: You should read it to your dog and cat, Pippin and Latte. Our dogs, Rufus and Hank, told us about them. Our cats are not speaking to us right now. And I’m not supposed to talk about why. Has to do with our next MISadventure.

Ally (laughs): I see. Sounds like quite a tale. Perhaps you’ll come back again and tell us all about it. Good luck with the new book release.

Smush: Thank you for having us.

Ally: Thanks for coming. You’re welcome to visit anytime, and bring your scribe!

About the Author:

At seven years old Kath Boyd Marsh self-published her first fantasy on lined notebook paper, stapled together by her grandfather, and starring a creature based on her little sister- the ‘PB.’

Before Kath moved to PA to photograph sunrises from the ridge top, act as serf to her three cats and two dogs, and write about dragons, wizards, demons, gargoyles, plus other fantastic creatures, she lived in eight states, Panama, and one very haunted house. The Lazy Dr’gon and the Bumblespells Wizard (MG) was her debut novel.

Visit her Website for middle grade and YA fantasy:

kathboydmarsh.com

Check out her other books here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kath-Boyd-Marsh/author/B01LVUP8KU

And don't miss her first YA fantasy novel:

BECOMING: BLOOD ANGEL

Mudge is in BIG trouble, and this time so is his guardian – High Demon Abdriel Mallack. It’s time to flee Hell. It’s time to find the Blood Angel and return to Hell with so much Power, that even the Dread Lord will bow!

For centuries Lilith’s Sisterhood, a sorority of non-human warriors, has trained and waited for Abdriel to come to Earth. They know about the powerful Blood Angel Abdriel seeks. Will they help Abdriel obtain the Blood Angel’s power? Or will they create the perfect team made in … Hell?

Ready for a demon meets paranormal creatures in an adventure series? Perfect for fans of: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Seraphim Academy by Elizabeth Briggs, The Royals of Villain Academy by Eva Chase.

Book Two releases soon!

]]><![CDATA[Book Spotlight on Jessica Dale's Romantic Mystery Series]]>Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/book-spotlight-on-jessica-dales-romantic-mystery-series

Good Morning, Booklovers!

Today we have writer Kassandra Lamb's alter ego with us. Jessica Dale writes the romantic mystery series, Unintended Consequences.

Welcome, Jessica. How do you take your coffee?

JD: Kassandra drinks tea; she’s allergic to something in coffee. But I sneak a mocha latte past her now and then.

Ally: Mocha latte it is then while we sit back and take a look at your romantic trilogy.

SERIES BLURB:

One autumn afternoon changed everything!

Payback ~ James Fitzgerald is looking forward to a relaxing weekend with friends. Instead he walks into a blood bath, and a cryptic message points to him as the killer. As he attempts to both clear his name and resist his attraction to his lovely neighbor Carrie, he discovers some shocking truths about his family...and wonders if he should’ve let sleeping ghosts lie.

Backlash ~ Taking it slow is no longer an option for James and Carrie’s new relationship when her teenage son appears at her door, leading her abusive estranged husband right to her. But the batterer brings more baggage to the Virginia woods than just his rage at the wife who ran away.

Backfire ~ James’s divorced friend Mary finally goes on a date, which culminates in a hope-inspiring kiss. Until the middle of the night when a rapist breaks into her apartment—a masked man who smells like her date’s aftershave. Frantic, she flees to James’s secluded house in Virginia. But no place is safe, for her rapist is determined to possess her...and even the ghost of her murdered friend may not be able to protect her.

Links to purchase the trilogy can be found at:

Payback: https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/payback/

Backlash: https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/backlash/

Backfire: https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/backfire/

EXCERPT from Backlash, Book 2 in the Unintended Consequences Romantic Suspense Trilogy

CHAPTER ONE

Carrie

For the half-second before the dog reacted, I assumed the person ringing the doorbell was James, arriving for dinner.
Then Ginger went ballistic.
Heart pounding, I power-walked into the living room, trying to convince myself that Greg hadn’t found me, that it wasn’t him at the door.
I really had to get a handle on my fear. This was no way to live.
The doorbell rang again and Ginger raced ahead of me to sniff the crack at the bottom of the door. Another burst of ear-splitting barks bounced off the walls.
Definitely not James. He only rang the bell once before using his own key.
My chest so tight I could hardly breathe, I looked through the door’s peephole. My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a scream.
Wait! Greg’s features, yes, and brown hair like his, but… The face was younger, with dark stubble on boyish cheeks and wide eyes staring back at me—the same sky blue as my own.
I fumbled with the locks and threw the door open. “Philly!”
He grinned, then ducked his head a little. “Hi, Mom.”

***
James

My mind was elsewhere, on the auditions I had lined up over the next week. It was always nerve-racking to be between plays. I rounded the front corner of the old farmhouse and stopped cold, trying to process the scene before me.
Carrie didn’t know any local men well enough to be hugging them. Therefore, this man was from her past, which did not bode well, despite the hug.
My stomach hollowed out.
Was this Greg? Was she the type of woman who ran back into her ex’s arms the minute he was kind to her?
I felt nauseous.
Ginger shoved past Carrie’s leg and trotted over to me. I absently patted the golden retriever’s head as I watched Carrie and the man step apart.
No, more a boy. My insides unknotted some, but my heart hammered harder. Not Greg, but still not good.
“Look at you,” Carrie said to the boy, a big smile on her face.
I stepped up onto the end of the long front porch, my footsteps dull thuds on the wooden floorboards.
The kid startled and pivoted to put himself between me and Carrie, a reflexive move that should not be instinctive in a teenage boy.
He was almost as tall as me, already five-ten, but slender. His blue eyes, so like Carrie’s, were wide in a boy-man face.
Carrie waved for me to approach. “James, this is my son. Phillip, this is my neighbor and friend, James Fitzgerald.”
The son, at this point, didn’t surprise me, but the friend did a little. We were a hell of a lot more than friends.
But hey, it’s her kid. I’ll follow her lead. I stuck out my hand. “Pleased to meet you, Phillip.”
I used the handshake to turn him toward the open front door and began herding them inside. “Best not to be standing around out here,” I said without thinking.
Carrie’s delighted expression deflated like a popped balloon, and I felt like a heel. I could’ve let her enjoy her reunion with her son a few minutes longer before reminding her of the threat that reunion represented.
Once we were all inside, Carrie laid a palm against Phillip’s cheek. “I can’t believe it. You’re shaving.”
His cheeks turned pink under the smattering of dark hairs. “This started a few weeks ago…” He trailed off, his expression part pleased, part sheepish.
“Hey,” I said, “you two catch up for a few minutes.” I slipped back outside, locking the door behind me.
I scanned the stretches of grass on either side of the gravel lane leading down to Carrie’s and my houses. They were beginning to green up after a long winter.
Then I moved my gaze to the woods up by the main road. No signs of movement and no sounds that didn’t belong. A cool breeze carried the scent of damp earth. I headed across our lawns to my own front porch.
A few minutes later, carrying a small paper bag of shaving supplies, I let myself in Carrie’s door with my key.
She and Phillip were sitting in the middle of the living room sofa, their heads bent together. The boy was chattering away—something about school—his voice cracking a bit.
She looked so damned happy that I couldn’t help smiling, even though the implications of his presence were terrifying.

About the Author:

Jessica Dale is the alter ego of retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer, Kassandra Lamb. She has been a human resources administrator, counselor, business owner and college professor. Now she enjoys writing romantic suspense stories with a psychological twist (and the occasional ghost). She is the author of the Unintended Consequences trilogy, the Binding Love duet, and the romantic thriller, Bartered Innocence.

You can connect with Jessica/Kassandra at:

WEBSITE: https://kassandralamb.com/jessica-dales-books/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kassandralambauthor~ https://www.facebook.com/JessicaDaleAuthor/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kasslamb/

BOOKBUB PROFILE: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kassandra-lamb ~ https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-dale

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Kassandra-Lamb/e/B006NB5WAI/ ~ https://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Dale/author/B071HTX5S9/

Don't miss Jessica's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:
janetlbuck.com/blog/interview-with-jessica-dale-alter-ego-of-author-kassandra-lamb

]]><![CDATA[Book Spotlight: TEN STORIES THAT WORRIED MY MOTHER by Winona Kent]]>Wed, 27 Sep 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/book-spotlight-ten-stories-that-worried-my-mother-by-winona-kent

Good Morning, Booklovers!

This week's book spotlight is an anthology by author Winona Kent. She has written the stories in several genres, so I hope everyone will find something to enjoy.
Welcome to the blog, Winona. What can I get you to drink?

WK: I drink Kona Coffee brewed in a French Press. I have three or four cups a day—I really should cut down because I end up feeling too anxious if I have deadlines looming. I have two squirts of Liquid Stevia to sweeten it, and I add either unsweetened almond milk or (for a treat) coffee creamer to lighten it up.

Ally: My magic pot can brew anything, so enjoy your coffee while we take a look at your anthology.

TEN STORIES THAT WORRIED MY MOTHER
Genre: Short Story Anthology
Subgenres: Mysteries, Time Travel, Mainstream Fiction, Espionage

A collection of ten short stories featuring four prize-winners, three mysteries, two previously unpublished works and one where the hero manages to spare-change John Lennon at the premiere of A Hard Day's Night in 1964.

And yes…they really did worry Winona’s mother.

"At times Winona almost flies under the radar as an unsung hero on the Canadian fiction scene… I’ll simply suggest this – find a comfy chair, sit back, relax, and take some time to go on a fast-paced and fun jaunt into Winona Kent’s imagination."
- A.J. Devlin, author of the “Hammerhead” Jed crime fiction series

Universal Buy Link:
https://books2read.com/Ten-Stories

Synopsis of Stories:

1. Tower of Power. One night in the life of a rock and roll radio newsman. Winona’s first published story, winner of the Flare Fiction Competition, originally published in Flare magazine in September 1982.

2. Dietrich's Ash. Inspired by an unfortunate situation that arose from a disputed property line between Winona’s house and her neighbour’s house when she was growing up in Saskatchewan. Okanagan Short Fiction Award winner. Originally published in Canadian Author & Bookman. Winter 1985 and anthologized in Pure Fiction: The Okanagan Short Story Award Winners. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) 1986. Also broadcast on CBC Radio, Ambience. 1982

3. True Confessions. A Temp with nothing much to do, a tea lady named Mrs. Thatcher, and a rooftop garden overlooking a builder's yard. Originally published in Green's Magazine, a small Canadian literary journal, Volume XII, Number 4, Summer 1984.

4. Creatures from Greek Mythology. A student with a crush on his Social Studies teacher. A high school dance. A fine arts student who paints rainbows around her eyes. (Second Prize Winner, WQ Editors Prize). Originally published in Cross-Canada Writers Quarterly. Vol 6, No. 1, 1984.

5. The Man in the Grey Eldorado. The first draft of this was written roundabout 1977 or 1978, after Winona had spent a glorious few weeks at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts at Fort San (a former TB sanitorium). Inspired by The Man from UNCLE, this is one of only two previously unpublished stories in the collection.

6. Herd Maintenance. Winona wrote this in 1981 while she was working as a Temp at a federal government office on the Canadian prairies. This is the second unpublished story in the collection, although it did enjoy a brief life as a short, unproduced film script while she was at Vancouver Film School in 2003-4. The typewritten letters in the story are real. The names have been removed to protect the innocent.

7. Perhaps an Angel. An adventure involving the two main characters from Winona’s time travel romances, Charlie Duran and Shaun Deeley. Originally published in Carnival, a collection of short stories by Fable Press authors, in 2013.

8. Easy When You Know How. Another Charlie Duran/Shaun Deeley short story, in which Mr. Deeley manages to spare change John Lennon at the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night, and snag one of his plectrums (ie guitar picks). The story is also included at the end of Winona’s time travel romance novel, In Loving Memory.

9. Salty Dog Blues. Jason Davey, Winona’s professional musician / amateur sleuth, was originally featured in a standalone novel, Cold Play (2012), working as an entertainer on board an Alaska-bound cruise ship. In Salty Dog Blues, Winona took Jason back to that nautical setting, and gave him a very tongue-in-cheek mystery to solve. Salty Dog Blues was specifically written for and originally appeared in the short story anthology Crime Wave, published by Sisters in Crime-Canada West in November 2020. The story was a finalist in the Crime Writers of Canada's 2021 Awards of Excellence for Best Crime Novella.

10. Blue Devil Blues. This is a short story that was originally written for the anthology Last Shot: Four Tales of Murder, Mystery and Suspense, published in June 2021 with stories by Alice Bienia, Dwayne Clayden, Peter Kingsmill and Winona. It tells the tale of how Jason got his permanent gig at the Blue Devil jazz club in London's Soho, and also manages to include Winona’s obsession with the London Underground.

About the Author:

Winona Kent is an award-winning author who was born in London, England and grew up in Saskatchewan, where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. After moving to Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing and received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School. Winona has been a temporary secretary, a travel agent, a screenwriter, the Managing Editor of a literary magazine and a Program Assistant at the University of British Columbia. She's currently the BC/Yukon Representative and Vice Chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and is an active member of Sisters in Crime - Canada West. She lives in New Westminster, where she is happily embracing life as a full-time author.

Twitter (X): @winonakent
Instagram:  @winonakent
Facebook:  @Winonakentauthor
Threads:  @winonakent
Website:  http://www.winonakent.com

Don't miss Winona's interview on my mystery blog here:
janetlbuck.com/blog/a-blog-interview-with-canadian-author-winona-kent

]]><![CDATA[PUPS, PUMPKINS AND MURDER, Cozy Mystery by S.A. Kazlo]]>Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/pups-pumpkins-and-murder-cozy-mystery-by-sa-kazlo

Good Morning, Booklovers!

This week’s author featuring her new cozy mystery release, Pups, Pumpkins and Murder, is Syrl Kazlo writing as S.A. Kazlo. While we take a look at your book, let’s get comfortable with a mug of coffee. How do you prefer yours?

SK: Strong and dark. No cream or sugar. Unlike my husband who sweetens his up with 3 heaping teaspoons of sugar. Unfortunately, due to high blood pressure I have to drink decaf. Certainly not the same as regular, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Ally: Now we're settled, please show us your latest book in the Samantha Davies mystery series.

Pups, Pumpkins and Murder
Genre: cozy mystery.

Autumn has arrived in the small town of Wings Falls in upstate New York, and children's book author Samantha Davies couldn't be happier. She's excited to attend the town's annual Taste of Wings Falls craft and food festival with her boyfriend Detective Hank Johnson. The fair features several booths, like the one Sam's rug hooking group, the Loopy Ladies, have set up as a fundraiser to send underprivileged children to summer camps, as well as home-grown vegetables, like the 2,000-pound pumpkin grown by Farmer Scooter that he's proudly displayed on the back of his truck.

But maybe the biggest draws for the fair is the barbeque cook-off. Samantha is friends with the owners of the three restaurants participating, but she is betting on Franny Goodway, the owner of Sweetie Pie's Café, taking home this year's coveted first place prize. But things take a stomach-churning turn when several fair goers become ill after chowing down on Franny's pulled pork delight. Franny insists it's not her fault... but when Sam sees Franny vehemently arguing with the new loan officer at the town's bank, she knows something is wrong.

Little did Sam know how wrong. That evening as Sam takes her dachshund, Porkchop, for a stroll, she finds the body of the loan officer...crushed under a 2,000 pound pumpkin and deader than the fall leaves covering the ground! Franny instantly becomes the number one suspect, and it's up to Sam to prove her friend innocent of the man's murder. Can she find a killer, and navigate her relationship with her detective boyfriend, and save Sweetie Pie's Café?

Buy links-
https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkins-Murder-Samantha-Davies-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0C6Z9SXJN

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1402419

Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

Who knew a pumpkin could kill a person? I'm sure Scooter Dickenson never thought his prize winning 2,000-pound gourd would be the means of a person's death when his flatbed truck rumbled into the Wings Falls Park yesterday morning. The victim—Edgar Jensen—the new loan officer at the Wings Falls National Bank. I had never met Edgar before yesterday when I had the misfortune of making his acquaintance at the annual Taste of Wings Falls Fair. I say misfortune because from what I observed at the fair he wasn't the nicest person, arguing with a number of fair goers. But was someone mad enough at Edgar to want him dead? These questions ran through my mind as I sat with my cousin, Candie, in our regular booth in Sweetie Pie's Café after Sunday Mass at Saint Anthony's.

The weekend had started off wonderfully. On Friday night, my boyfriend Hank Johnson, Candie, and her new hubby, Mark Hogan, sat in Adirondack chairs around the metal fire pit in my backyard enjoying s'mores and mugs of hot chocolate. I was mesmerized by the flames licking the oak logs in the circle of fire as they reached for the sky. The sparks reminded me of the lightning bugs that flitted around on a summer night I would try to capture when I was a child.

Earlier in the afternoon I had walked my reddish-brown dachshund, Porkchop, through the maze of tents set up for the Wings Falls annual fall event—A Taste of Wings Falls. Vendors were busy preparing to sell everything from wool scarves to maple syrup. The rug hooking group I belong to, the Loopy Ladies, was prepared to sell hand-hooked items.

A big draw every year for the Taste was Scooter Dickenson's award-winning pumpkin. As I walked close to the flatbed holding this year's beauty, a growl rumbled from deep within Porkchop. I looked down, and the short hairs on his back stood on end. He started to bark and pull on his leash. His behavior surprised me. If a squirrel had run across our path, I could understand his agitation, but a pumpkin? Go figure.

About the Author:

Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two very lively dachshunds. Under the pen name, S.A. Kazlo, she writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, reading and enjoying her family.

Something unique about me: “I lead a pretty ordinary life. Well, back in the day when no self-respecting person was getting tattoos, I got 2. Boy, did my high school students love that.
Also, I published by first book at the tender age of 74.”

Contact the author:

http://www.sakazlo.com
twitter- @sakazlo
instagram- sakazlo
linkedin- sakazlo

Follow this link to Syri's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:
janetlbuck.com/blog/cozy-mystery-author-syri-kazlo-visits-the-blog

]]><![CDATA[BLOOD RELATIONS, a DS Ryan McBride Mystery by Joyce Woollcott]]>Wed, 13 Sep 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://allyshields.com/blog/blood-relations-a-ds-ryan-mcbride-mystery-by-joyce-woollcott

Good Morning, Booklovers!

I have another terrific book spotlight for you this week: Blood Relations, the second DS Ryan McBride mystery novel by Joyce Woollcott. (See the link to her interview at the end of this post.)
Nice to have you on the blog, Joyce. What may I get you to drink?

JW: I wouldn’t say no to a glass of white wine.

Ally: While I grab my coffee mug and your glass of wine, tell us about your featured mystery novel.

BLOOD RELATIONS
Genre: Mystery

Belfast, Northern Ireland: early spring 2017. Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride and his partner Detective Sergeant Billy Lamont are called to his desolate country home to investigate. In their inquiry, they discover a man whose career with the Police Service of Northern Ireland was overshadowed by violence and corruption.

Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present? And who hated the man enough to kill him twice? Is it one of Patrick Mullan’s own family, all of them hiding a history of abuse and lies? Or a vengeful crime boss and his psychopathic new employee? Or could it be a recently released prisoner desperate to protect his family and flee the country?

Ryan and Billy once again face a complex investigation with wit and intelligence, all set in Belfast and the richly atmospheric countryside around it.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Relations-Ryan-McBride-Novel-ebook/dp/B0CFJWF69D

EXCERPT:

MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
RYAN

Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride stared into Mullan’s bedroom, the metallic smell of old blood stronger here. Prisha Hill, the supervising crime scene investigator, laid her hand on his arm.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Prisha said. “Have you?”

“No,” Ryan said. “No, I haven’t.”

Fifteen minutes earlier, arriving at the scene, Ryan roared past several patrol cars cluttering up the grass verge in front of Hungry Hall, a decaying country house outside Antrim. A few constables stood talking by their vehicles. He jammed on the breaks, pulled into the driveway then backed up. Saw them glance over, a bit edgy now. A stocky woman officer with short dark hair curling under her cap leaned against a car beside two male constables, both tall and pale. Ryan lowered his window, getting a whiff of country air, manure, cut grass, and peat.

“Word to the wise.” He flashed his warrant card. “I’m Detective Sergeant McBride, Senior Investigating Officer.” He nodded towards the house. “That’s a crime scene. You’re supposed to be protecting it, not standing around chatting like a bunch of schoolgirls. Next time anyone tries to enter this driveway, ask for ID, unless you fully know who it is.”

Their faces closed up with anger and embarrassment.

Ryan held up his hand. “That’s one of ours lying dead up there, a retired senior officer. If you let Chief Inspector Girvan drive past you like I did, it won’t just be a bollocking you get; it’ll be school-safety visits. Understand me?”

The woman broke from the group and walked over.

“Sorry, we just assumed, you know, by the way, you hammered in. But you’re right; we should have stopped you.” She nodded over to one of the constables, shuffling his feet by the car door. “Frank there knows the son, Andrew Mullan. Went to primary school with him. He’s right and upset. We didn’t see the victim, but one of the other fellas up there did and was sick.”

At the house, Ryan’s partner, DS Billy Lamont, was talking to a crime-scene tech while struggling into a white Tyvek suit and trying to tuck his messy brown curls under a hood. Billy stood a little shorter than Ryan at just under six feet. He had light grey eyes in a pale, freckled face. He lifted his hand in greeting.

One of the crime-scene guys threw Ryan a suit and booties. He had his own gloves, and he hopped along, trying to tug on the booties as they headed for the front of the house.

“Grim sort of a place, eh?” Billy said as they approached the door.

Hungry Hall stood four square and solid enough on an acre of land; Ryan noticed the stonework, originally painted white, now had a grey, mossy tinge. A feeling of disuse, almost abandonment, lingered. The day didn’t help, either; overcast and sullen with low clouds.

“Who found him?”

“The cleaning lady. She’s waiting in the kitchen.”

They stopped at the door and looked in. The main hall was large, gloomy, and cold. Crime-scene officers bustled about. Even so, the place felt desolate. Ryan couldn’t put his finger on it. He shivered.

“Jesus, it’s freezing in here.”

“That’s a desperate smell.” Billy unzipped his suit a bit and pulled his hanky out, holding it to his nose.

Ryan picked up the scent of blood, along with rubbish, rotting food, and dust in the air.

“How often did this cleaning lady come?” he asked Billy. Billy, his partner of over three years, was quick to pick up all kinds of information at scenes.

“Not blooming often enough, you ask me.”

“Hello.” A slim woman in her fifties approached them. A CSI in a blue suit, she carried a metal case and had shoved a pair of plastic glasses on top of her hood. She had dark, almost black eyes and sallow skin. In need of a bit of sun, Ryan thought. Like me
.
“I’m Prisha Hill,” she said, nodding behind her as she spoke. “I oversee this bunch. I was just on the phone to my boss, and he said you two were a couple of comedians. Well, I’ll tell you this for nothing. You won’t be laughing when you get upstairs.” She hesitated. “DS Calvert, the local detective sergeant here, has been called away, but he got things started before he left.”

Author Bio:

J. Woollcott is a Canadian author, born in Belfast, N. Ireland. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers and BCAD, University of Ulster. Her first book, A Nice Place to Die won the RWA Daphne du Maurier Award, was short-listed in the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in 2021 and a Silver Falchion Award finalist at Killer Nashville 2023.

Website: https://www.jwoollcott.com
Twitter: @JoyceWoollcott

Don't miss Joyce's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:
janetlbuck.com/blog/meet-mystery-writer-joyce-woollcott-in-this-blog-interview

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Don't miss the interview with Kate and an excerpt from her novel on my JL Buck mystery blog:https://janetlbuck.com/blog/interview-with-mystery-author-kate-michaelson

Don't miss S.A. Kazlo's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:janetlbuck.com/blog/author-interview-with-cozy-mystery-writer-sa-kazlo​

Don't miss Jessica's interview on my JL Buck mystery blog:janetlbuck.com/blog/interview-with-jessica-dale-alter-ego-of-author-kassandra-lamb​

Don't miss Winona's interview on my mystery blog here:janetlbuck.com/blog/a-blog-interview-with-canadian-author-winona-kent​