Jill Piscitello

Book in the Spotlight: Silver and Aconite, by Tashia L. Fugate

I’m pleased to welcome author Tashia L. Fugate for today’s Book in the Spotlight. Silver and Aconite is a new release sure to appeal paranormal romance readers.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Silver and Aconite

Author: Tashia L. Fugate

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy, Romance

BLURB:

What do you do when the past you start to remember is quickly becoming a past you wished would stay forgotten? On the surface, Samantha Walker is your average human. She’s working hard to rebuild her future, but there’s more than one fanged skeleton in her closet and they’re about to be released. In the sleepy town of Glenwood this should’ve been a piece of cake, but when mystery man, Deacon Vasileios, shows up at her feet bleeding from a gunshot wound her life gets turned upside down. Something about him isn’t human, but the glow of his icy blue eyes holds all the keys to unlock her past. People she thought she trusted are lying to her as she struggles to understand her twisted memories. Hunters want to use her while an alpha wants her to become his. As the fire rekindles between Samantha and Deacon, she must make a choice. Is her life in fate’s hands or is she in control? Choices are dangerous things to make.

AUTHOR BIO:

Tashia L. Fugate lives in Kentucky with her husband and their family. She is the author of Silver and Aconite, the first book in A Prophecy of Blood and Flowers series. She began writing this series in college but has always used her imagination to create different characters and worlds. In the summer she gardens and can usually be found on a walk or in her craft room. She enjoys painting and drawing, but her greatest joy is reading. There’s no place she would go without a good book in hand. You can visit her online via TikTok, Instagram or Facebook (@tashialfugate).

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

TikTok: @tashialfugate

PURCHASE LINKS:

Book in the Spotlight: What Might Have Been, by Marianne Plunkert

I’m pleased to welcome author Marianne Plunkert for today’s Book in the Spotlight. Her historical romance novel, What Might Have Been, looks like a perfect pick to kick off your spring reading.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: What Might Have Been

Author: Marianne Plunkert

Genre: Historical Romance

BLURB:

Melissa Sullivan, desperate to escape a lecherous uncle, stows away in a wagon bound for the Colorado Territory that is owned by a high-handed lieutenant in the Union army who is escaping his own demon. While he believes he has the right to make decisions for her, she is determined to become self-sufficient like her new friend Mavis, an Irish lass with a soft heart, a hard exterior, and a weak acquaintance with the truth. A love/hate relationship, based on a series of misunderstandings and misconceptions, ensues. Upon reaching Denver, Melissa meets a handsome mine owner and accepts his offer to teach at the mining camp’s school. Afterwards, she wonders if the price she is paying is worth it.

AUTHOR BIO:

After spending 25 years in academia, teaching finance and authoring finance textbooks as an independent contractor for major publishing companies, Marianne retired early to devote more time to her lifelong dream: writing a novel and having it published. What Might Have Been,her debut novel, was inspired by the rich history of the Denver, Colorado, area she discovered while living there. She currently resides in western North Carolina and enjoys hearing from her readers.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

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Book in the Spotlight: The Case of the Croaked Coach, by Susie Black

I’m thrilled to welcome back author Susie Black with a spotlight on her latest cozy mystery release, The Case of the Croaked Coach.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: The Case of the Croaked Coach

Author: Susie Black

Genre: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

There wasn’t an honest bone in Buzz Bixby’s body. The Encino High School’s head football coach was an equal-opportunity scoundrel. Bixby cheated and lied his way to the top and screwed anyone and everyone in his wake. So, the question wasn’t who wanted the coach dead. The question was, who didn’t? Student reporter Hannah White’s interview with the coach is a nonstarter when she discovers varsity football hero Dean Snyder standing over Bixby’s battered corpse holding a bloody trophy. Despite how guilty Dean looks, Hannah is convinced he’s innocent. When Snyder is arrested for Bixby’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to flesh out the real killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a slinky, and nothing turns out how Hannah thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent on revenge.

AUTHOR BIO:

Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, multi-award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. She has published seven books in four years and book eight is slated for release in May 2025.

She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and is the mother of one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Looking for more? Contact Susie at:

Website: www.authorsusieblack.com

E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

PURCHASE LINKS:

Book in the Spotlight: Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder (A Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery book 3), by Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside

I’m happy to welcome back authors Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside with a spotlight on their latest cozy mystery Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder. Look no further for your next cozy series.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder (A Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery book 3)

Author: Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside

Genre: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

It’s a rib cookoff…with a recipe for murder.

Nicole Earp and Emma Banefield are celebrating another birthday at the Dulce Inn with the added fun of a rib cookoff in the park. Not only are chocolate martinis in their plans, Nic has her heart set on winning the cornbread contest. But as the excitement bakes, someone is stirring up trouble for the inn and its employees.

Strange occurrences at the Dulce are on the rise. Slashed tires, menacing phone calls, and unsavory characters add a vibe that threatens the sisters’ anticipated fun-filled stay. When the hot-headed hotel owner is caught wielding a bloody letter opener over a dead coworker, the sisters are embroiled in a caper to help the one person who finds their sleuthing as welcomed as a rattlesnake in her bed. But is she innocent?

The Chocolate Martini Sisters are primed to find out. First, they’ll have to eliminate a host of suspects that includes a dishonest restaurant owner, a jilted girlfriend, an ex-wife, the barkeeper, and a masseuse with a crush. If they can stay off the radar of the surly chief homicide detective long enough, they can put out the fire…unless the killer burns them first.

The third book in this amateur sleuths, cozy mystery series will have you chuckling and on the edge of your seat as the sisters solve the murder.

AUTHOR BIOs:

After hearing countless stories as a mental health professional, Joyce Proell retired to create her own tales. As an award-winning author, she writes historical romance and cozy mystery where all endings are guaranteed happy. She shares her home on the prairie with a husband and a little dog with a big personality. When she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to swim and finds baking almost as relaxing as a day at the spa.

Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. She writes children’s books under the pen name, Brenda Sue. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart and won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.

Visit Joyce at her website: https://joyceproell.com/ or at https://www.facebook.com/JoyceProellAuthor

Visit Brenda at https://www.brendawhiteside.com or https://www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Joyce Proell

Website: https://joyceproell.com/

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

Twitter: https://x.com/jproell1

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Joyce-Proell/author/B009K432O8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6545483.Joyce_Proell

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/joyce-proell

Brenda Whiteside

Website: https://www.brendawhiteside.com

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

Twitter: https://x.com/brendawhitesid2

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003V15WF8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3972045.Brenda_Whiteside

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brenda-whiteside

PURCHASE LINKS:

Book in the Spotlight: Blessings and the Thief, by Elaine Violette

I’m pleased to welcome author Elaine Violette for today’s Book in the Spotlight. Her novel, Blessings and the Thief, is a historical romance novel perfect to top off your holiday reading pile. A Christmas party set in a restored castle, romance, and a touch of mystery? Check, check, and check.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Blessings and the Thief

Author: Elaine Violette

Genre: Historical Romance

BLURB:

Damien Reeves grudgingly agrees to host his ailing Uncle Lionel’s Christmas party at the Blackmoor Inn, a restored castle famous for absurd ghost lore. When he learns of petty thefts that have occurred among his uncle’s elderly friends, he hopes discovering the culprit might keep him from reliving his own tragic holiday memories. When a beautiful young woman arrives, a more enticing challenge appears.

Tessia Bennington is relieved to spend the holidays at the reputed haunted inn with her aunt and uncle after the man she’d expected to marry begged off. She enjoys the frolicking escapades of the aged partiers while ignoring the handsome host’s flirtations. What she can’t ignore is a ghostly presence seeking her help.

Neither Tess nor Damien could have imagined the bizarre events and this most unusual holiday. Will they part with special memories or shed their defenses and find happiness in each other?

AUTHOR BIO:

Elaine writes British and American Historical Romances and has seven published novels to her credit. Part of the fun of writing historical romance fiction, she says, is doing research into the past and creating characters that live and love in these sometimes glorious and sometimes harrowing times. A veteran English teacher, Elaine holds a BS in English Education from the University of CT and an MS in Educational Leadership from Central CT State University. She presently teaches public speaking part time at a local community college. Residing on the Connecticut shoreline with her golfing husband, Drew, she delights in being a wife, mother, and grandmother. Other favorite activities apart from reading and writing are nature walks, kayaking, and baking yummy desserts.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Blog

Facebook

Amazon Author Central

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