A #Mystery & a #Horror 2day! @WritingDead @marysangiovanni @GoddessFish

Today we have authors Robert Dunn and Mary SanGiovanni visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourselves?

* Robert Dunn is the author of the novels The Red Highway, The Dead Ground, and Behind the Darkness. He can be found online at robertdunnauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter at @WritingDead.

* Mary SanGiovanni is the author of the Bram Stoker nominated novel The Hollower, its sequels Found You and The Triumvirate, Thrall, and Chaos, as well as the novellas For Emmy, Possessing Amy, and The Fading Place, as well as numerous short stories. She has been writing fiction for over a decade, has a masters in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University, and is a member of The Authors Guild, Penn Writers, and International Thriller Writers. Her website is marysangiovanni.com.

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * The first in a gritty new series featuring sheriff’s detective Katrina Williams, as she investigates moonshine, murder, and the ghosts of her own past…
* BODY OF PROOF
* Katrina Williams left the Army ten years ago disillusioned and damaged. Now a sheriff’s detective at home in the Missouri Ozarks, Katrina is living her life one case at a time—between mandated therapy sessions—until she learns that she’s a suspect in a military investigation with ties to her painful past.
* The disappearance of a local girl is far from the routine distraction, however. Brutally murdered, the girl’s corpse is found by a bottlegger whose information leads Katrina into a tangled web of teenagers, moonshiners, motorcycle clubs, and a fellow veteran battling illness and his own personal demons. Unraveling each thread will take time Katrina might not have as the Army investigator turns his searchlight on the devastating incident that ended her military career. Now Katrina will need to dig deep for the truth—before she’s found buried… ~ Excerpt ~ * “I know your Uncle Orson,” he said. “Been fishing with him more times than I can remember.”
* I crouched to be close to the ground and kept poking around the body with my stick, then sketching things in the pad. Clare’s talk was actually soothing to hear. Normal, even though he was doing it to keep his mind off of something not normal in his life at all.
* “Your daddy too. Way back when.”
* I think I nodded, reacting more to the sound than his words. Tossing my stick aside, I stood, then circled the body. Each time I stopped I added to my sketches. I had to force myself to look into the face. Into where the face had been. I sketched. Then I looked away. I sketched her hair. Then I looked away.
* “There are monsters in the woods,” Clare said, his back still to me. I was listening then. “It used to be a joke. When I was a kid, people talked about Momo, the Missouri monster. It was like a local Bigfoot. But the real monsters are people, aren’t they?”
* I didn’t answer him.
* “Perverts.” He spit the word out. “Monsters that do that to children. There isn’t hate big enough for them nor a hell deep enough. This will rile some people up. He lives in one of those piece-of-crap mobile homes in that big development off of F Highway. You know, over by the McKenna farm.”
* “Who does?” I had stopped writing and was paying very close attention to Mr. Bolin at that point. Buy A Living Grave here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo Find Robert Dunn here... Facebook | Twitter | Website A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * “True Detective” meets H.P. Lovecraft in this chilling novel of murder, mystery, and slow-mounting dread from acclaimed author Mary SanGiovanni . . .
* It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won’t be the last. As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.
* The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable… ~ Excerpt ~ * Still, most people believed this storm would be the last of them for the year, and patiently suffered the weather to exhale its arctic breath one last time over all. The town of Colby warmed up the snowplows and salt/sand trucks in preparation for winter’s last hur- rah, and the townsfolk swarmed the local supermarkets, the Targets and Walmarts, the Costcos and the gas stations, to stock up on gaso- line and supplies.
* Most were still blissfully unaware of the body found hanging from a tree in Edison Park, but they felt it, in the vaguest, unarticu- lated way. They felt the cold trying to wrench their skin from their bones, and they felt something else, too—a kind of forlorn loneliness trying to wrench peace of mind from their souls. Just as they stocked up on food and bottled water, shovels and gloves, they squinted into the night outside their homes before drawing blinds and locking doors, double-checking on the kids in bed and huddling closer to each other than usual. Something other than a late winter was in the air, and it chilled them just as much, if not more, when they thought too long about it.
* Though not even the gossips would give voice to it, the people of Colby knew something was coming with the snow. Buy Chills here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo Find Mary SanGiovanni here... Facebook | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Robert Dunn and Mary SanGiovanni! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! The authors will be awarding digital copies of both books on tour to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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Vicki Batman & 'Temporarily Insane' @VickiBatman @GoddessFish #RomCom #Mystery

Today we have author Vicki Batman visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Award-winning author, Vicki Batman, has sold many romantic comedy works to the True magazines, several publishers, and most recently, a romantic comedy mystery to The Wild Rose Press. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and several writing groups. An avid Jazzerciser. Handbag lover. Mahjong player. Yoga practitioner. Movie fan. Book devourer. Cat fancier. Best Mom ever. And adores Handsome Hubby. Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking "What if??"

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * No man. Bad job. And Murder. Hattie Cooks is still searching for her dream job and one might be available...in the Big Apple, far from friends, family, and Allan Wellborn, the man who still makes her heart race. In the meantime, she finds temporary employment at an accounting firm where two auditor friends turn up dead.
* Detective Allan Wellborn dropped Hattie for Blonde Bimbo who, coincidentally, is employed at NLB where fishy things are taking place. When Allan interviews Hattie, he must determine why all signs point to her as a suspect.
* Can Hattie discover why Allan dumped her and who is murdering auditors before death strikes again? ~ Excerpt ~ * His legs were kinda knobby in knee socks. What could be underneath? He was sorta on the thin side. So maybe, they were skinny? However, if he wanted to meet girls, his geeky socks had to go. “Stuart, the look you’re sporting is from the fifties. I’m telling you girls don’t go for guys wearing socks with sandals.”
* Stuart scratched the side of his nose while considering what I’d said. “Okay.” He sat on the threshold step and took off the sandals, then the socks.
* I leaned over to watch. He was right—Stuart had ugly legs. Ugly. Scrawny. Very gorilla-hairy legs. Yet firm calves. I shuddered. If his legs were like this, what…
* Don’t go there. Don’t go there. Buy Temporarily Insane here... Amazon Find Vicki Batman here... eMail | Facebook | Goodreads | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Twitter | Website | Plotting Princesses | Sisters of Suspense Thank you for joining us here today, Vicki Batman! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Vicki Batman will be awarding a $75 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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Kurt Kamm & 'The Lizard’s Tale' @GoddessFish #CrimeThriller

Today we have author Kurt Kamm visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Malibu, California resident Kurt Kamm has written a series of firefighter mystery novels, which have won several literary awards. His newest novel, The Lizard’s Tale, provides a unique look inside the activities of the Mexican drug cartels and the men dedicated to stopping them.
* Kurt has used his contact with CalFire, Los Angeles County and Ventura County Fire Departments, as well as the ATF and DEA to write fact-based (“faction”) novels. He has attended classes at El Camino Fire Academy and trained in wildland firefighting, arson investigation and hazardous materials response. He has also attended the ATF and DEA Citizen’s Academies. After graduating from the DEA Citizen’s Academy in 2014, he began work on The Lizard’s Tale.
* Kurt has built an avid fan base among first responders and other readers. A graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School, Kurt was previously a financial executive and semi-professional bicycle racer. He was also Chairman of the UCLA/Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Foundation for several years.

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Kurt Kamm has written a novel that's a literary crime novel, with a strong thread of non-fiction running through it. The Lizard's Tale is a tale of crime—with an a wide-ranging cast of characters.
* When the DEA goes up against the Sinaloa Cartel, an orphan and an endangered lizard are caught in the conflict. The action moves from Guatemala to Mexico to Catalina Island off the coast of California.
* Alejandro, a middle class Guatemalan, wants his share, and makes a deal with the cartel. Now he’s risking his life to deliver the goods.
* El Dedo, a brilliant financier, is the Sinaloa Cartel’s banker. He worries about what to do with the billions of dollars collecting dust in his underground vault.
* Ryan, a DEA Special Agent, needs to make a high profile case to get a promotion. Is the big yacht headed for California carrying a Mexican drug shipment?
* Kate, a wildlife officer on Catalina Island, smells smoke. When she heads out in the middle of the night to investigate a fire, she makes an astonishing discovery.
* Jorge, an orphan from the streets of Mexico, is abandoned in the United States. Will he find his way back home and track down his mother’s killer? ~ Excerpt ~ * The General’s tank was near empty. Alejandro stopped and took down one of the red plastic gas containers. After he filled the tank, he extracted the second of the three bottles of beer from his cooler. “Bienvenido a Mexico,” he said aloud and held the bottle up in an imaginary toast. The beer was warm, but he enjoyed it anyway. He had overcome the harsh Guatemalan roads and crossed the border safely with his cargo. Now all he had to do was survive the trip through Mexico.
* Ahead of him lay 2,500-kilometers on Mexico Highway 200, the main road along the Pacific Coast. The trip north would take Alejandro past Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan before reaching Culiacán. The condition of the road itself had been the challenge in Guatemala, but that was not the big risk on the journey ahead. Highway 200 was a winding, two-lane paved road. The real danger was what Alejandro might encounter. He had been warned not to travel at night. Drunk drivers, livestock, pedestrians, and unlighted farm equipment were some of the lesser hazards. The real threat, day or night however, was robbery and hijacking, and he had read several reports of travelers coming upon roadblocks set by bandits armed with machetes and machine guns, decked out in bulletproof vests draped with hand grenades. Alejandro planned to keep moving and cover about 800 kilometers. By evening, he hoped to reach Acapulco. Buy The Lizard’s Tale here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble Find Kurt Kamm here... Amazon Author Page | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Kurt Kamm! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Kurt Kamm is giving away via rafflecopter a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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a #NKBlogTours feature: Mike Torreano & 'The Reckoning' @mike_torreano #Western #Mystery

Today we have author Mike Torreano visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Mike Torreano has a military background and is a student of history and the American West. He fell in love with Zane Grey’s descriptions of the Painted Desert in the fifth grade, when his teacher made her students read a book and write a report every week.
* Mike recently had a short story set during the Yukon gold rush days published in an anthology, and he’s written for magazines and small newspapers. An experienced editor, he’s taught University English and Journalism. He’s a member of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers, Pikes Peak Writers, The Historical Novel Society, and several western history groups. He brings his readers back in time with him as he recreates western life in late 19th century America.

What are you going to tell us about today?

~ Blurb ~ * Ike McAlister returns home to Kansas after the Civil War, his soul bruised and empty. Worse, his parents have been killed by Quantrill’s raiders who are still on the loose. No stranger to death and destruction, he vows to run the killers down. A clue leads him to the high plains of Colorado, but when his sister, Sue, disappears from there, his world quickly spins out of control. In the midst of this turmoil, a feisty landlady sparks an attraction, the only good thing in Ike’s life.
* Racing against time, he must make a deadly choice. If he continues to pursue the killers, Sue will likely never be found. But if he veers off to find his sister, the killers’ trail will go cold.
* Which track to follow? Will the love of family triumph in his broken heart, or will it be the passionate hate of revenge? ~ Excerpt ~ For an excerpt, visit one of the buy links below. Buy The Reckoning here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble Find Mike Torreano here... Facebook | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Mike Torreano! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

Heather Weidner & 'Secret Lives' @HeatherWeidner1 @GoddessFish #Mystery

Today we have author Heather Weidner visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Heather Weidner’s short stories appear in Virginia is for Mysteries and Virginia is for Mysteries Volume II. Currently, she is President of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, and a member of Guppies and Lethal Ladies Write. Secret Lives and Private Eyes is her debut novel.
* Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
* Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan College and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager.

* Thank you so much for letting me visit today. I write mystery novels and short stories. Secret Lives and Private Eyes is the first in the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series. Delanie is a sassy, redheaded private investigator who zips around Central Virginia in her black Mustang.
* I have loved mysteries since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. I was over the moon in 1977 when the “Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys” TV show debuted. (And it didn’t hurt that Shaun Cassidy played Joe Hardy.) My friends and I raced through all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys collections. My favorite is still The Crooked Bannister (1971) with its hot pink cover. I loved the plot twists and the double meanings. I was hooked on mysteries. From there, I moved on to Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But Nancy Drew is still one of my favorite sleuths.
* In the late 1980s, I had a double major in English and secondary education. My research project in “Adolescent Literature” was a comparative study of the original Nancy Drew mysteries from the 1930s with the updated ones in the 1980s and their influence on generations readers. As a young reader, I adored Nancy’s freedom. She had a car. She did things that other girls didn’t, and she solved crimes that adults couldn’t. She influenced generations of women from the 1930s to the present with her spunk and enduring appeal.
* The Nancy Drew mysteries were written by several ghost-writers under one pseudonym, Carolyn Keene. The series has undergone several revisions and updates over the years, but Nancy’s spirit and pluck prevail. The famous yellow spines were added to the books in 1962. That was the set that I remember reading. And her stories have been translated into over twenty different languages.
* The girl detective appeared in several movies from the 1930s to the 2000s and TV shows through the years. Her face and logo have graced all kinds of merchandising from jewelry, lunch boxes, and clothing to board and video games. She has appeared in novels, coloring books, and graphic novels. Nancy has been a role-model for lots of young girls for over eighty years.
* There are some similarities between the iconic Nancy Drew and my private investigator. I didn’t intentionally mean to create the parallels, but subconsciously, her character influenced my mystery writing. In the 1930s, Nancy started out as a blonde, but artists later depicted her as a redhead in the 1940s and 1950s. Nancy also drove a sporty roadster. (It was upgraded to a Mustang in the mysteries from the 1980s.) Nancy’s girlfriends (Bess and George) were important in her life and to the stories. And she was fearless, smart, and feisty. I was so impressed that she was able to solve crimes before the professionals did.
* The Nancy Drew novels had an influence on my debut mystery series. I wanted a feisty sleuth who wasn’t afraid to get herself in and out of trouble. My PI, Delanie Fitzgerald, drives a Mustang and hangs out with her computer hacker buddy from college. I like to think of Delanie as following in the footprints and traditions of the original girl sleuth. A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Business has been slow for Private Investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, but her luck seems to change when a tell-all author hires her to find rock star, Johnny Velvet. Could the singer whose career purportedly ended in a fiery crash almost thirty years ago, still be alive?
* And as though sifting through dead ends in a cold case isn’t bad enough, Chaz Wellington Smith, III, a loud-mouthed, strip club owner, also hires Delanie to uncover information about the mayor’s secret life. When the mayor is murdered, Chaz, is the key suspect. Now Delanie must clear his name and figure out why landscaper Tripp Payne, keeps popping up in her other investigation. Can the private investigator find the connection between the two cases before another murder – possibly her own – takes place? ~ Excerpt ~ * Delanie finished filing a broken nail before she reached for the jangling office phone. “Hey, Robbie,” she said, balancing the headset on her shoulder while continuing to file. “’Bout time you called your baby sister.” Robbie, a bouncer at the trendy Club Echo, kept different hours than the rest of the world.
* “Sorry, but you know I work six days a week, and I met someone recently.” It sounded to Delanie that he was calling from his car with the windows down.
* “So, do I get to meet this one or is she another Miss Right Now?”
* “Very funny. You’re one to talk. Are you dating anyone, or are your dates still pretend because you’re stalking them?”
* “Hey, I stalk for a living,” she said, working on the nails on the other hand.
* “Okay, so what’s new with you? Anything fun or has it been just all work?” asked Robbie, the athletic sibling. He had a baseball stint in the minor leagues until he blew out his knee, ruining his chances of ever being called up to the MLB.
* “One of my new clients is a neighbor of yours, and I wanted to get the buzz on him. His name is Charles Wellington Smith, the third.”
* “Oh, Chaz. Run away fast. He’s an idiot. Whatever you do, don’t take the job. He’s been in and out of jail since high school. He’s a trust-fund baby who tries to be a big shot. But I’m guessing, you’ve already taken the job, haven’t you?”
* “Uh huh. He seemed okay. He’s having trouble getting permits from the city for the new business he wants to open.”
* “It’s a strip club he wants to put in the middle of the Museum district. He’s not popular with respectable folks. Most people avoid him like the plague.” Before Delanie could comment, her brother continued. “He thinks he’s a badass. He throws money around and always has to be the center of attention. He got that stupid face tattoo when he was in juvie jail. I don’t think he ever killed anyone. He’s just trying to look tough and to gain street cred without having to do anything. Be careful. He doesn’t bring out the best in others.”
* “I will. You worry too much. It seems like an interesting job, but I’ll be doubly careful.”
* “When he goes downtown, he always shows up with a posse. They drive around in a caravan, led by that tacky Hummer. He always travels in a pack, and he likes to make a scene.”
* “He seems like a colorful guy.”
* “Just remember that I’m the cool brother. If Steve finds out you’re working for Chaz, you’ll never hear the end of it.” Buy Secret Lives here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound Find Heather Weidner here... Amazon Author Page | Blog/Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Twitter Thank you for joining us here today, Heather Weidner! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Heather Weidner will be awarding one (1) Set of 4 Nancy Drew Wine Charms (US Only Addresses) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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M.K. Scott & 'Drop Dead Handsome' @morgankwyatt @GoddessFish #CozyMystery

Today we have author M.K. Scott visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* M. K. Scott is the husband and wife writing team behind The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries. Morgan K Wyatt is the general wordsmith, while her husband, Scott, is the grammar hammer and physics specialist. He uses his engineering skills to explain how fast a body falls when pushed over a cliff and various other felonious activities. The Internet and experts in the field provide forensic information, while the recipes and B and B details require a more hands on approach. Morgan’s daughter who manages a hotel provides guest horror stories to fuel the plot lines. The couple’s dog, Chance, is the inspiration behind Jasper, Donna’s dog. Murder Mansion is the first book in The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries. Overall, it is a fun series to create and read. Drop Dead Handsome is the second book in the series. Killer Review should be out in October 2016.

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * The Painted Lady Inn is open for business and limping along in the B and B world. A high school reunion package assembles Donna’s least desirable classmates, including the backstabbing cheerleader, her narcissistic high school crush, and Arnie, whose cheesy poem had everyone calling her, hot mama. It’s all something she liked to forget. These are the normal guests.
* An octogenarian self-proclaimed sleuth, Father Christmas, a dognapping couple, and a pair who is copying everything in the Inn to set up their own competitive establishment rounds out the group. Maria, the sister-in-law, has a matchmaking agenda for Donna. Daniel, her brother, finds himself serving as a referee with one guest’s multiple wives.
* High school reunions can be murder. Detective Mark Taber is on the trail of the murderer, when he isn’t interfering in a smitten Arnie’s determined bid to woo the no nonsense innkeeper. ~ Excerpt ~ * The last thing she needed was a one-star review about no elevator. As for the lack of an elevator, she got around it by designating the bedroom she used as a handicapped suite. There was a ramp to the side door, since there was no easy way to put one to the front door without making it an eyesore. She had explained to the inspector that it made a shorter distance between the parking lot and door. The inn wasn’t big enough for a person to become lost. All the public rooms were on the first floor, too. “Room C4 is on the top floor. I could change the rooms around where you wouldn’t have to trot up steps.”
* Eunice boosted herself up onto one of the tall stools surrounding the island. “Could you?”
* Donna gave her a forced smile as she considered what she’d have to offer Arnie to get him to move up to the top floor. “I’ll go take care of it. Maria could make you some tea.”
* “That sounds lovely.” Eunice placed her hands in a prayer position as she spoke. “I’d love some little finger sandwiches. Haven’t had a bite to eat.”
* “Sure.” She agreed, anxious to get the room switch done. Good chance she’d have to clean the room. A prolonged tea might do the trick.
* “I can’t wait.” Eunice’s excitement fizzled as she asked with a plaintive expression, “Do you have any of those delicious looking scones or pastries featured on the website?”
* The woman was determined to wiggle high tea out of her while she changed her room. “I’m sure Maria can find some for you.”
* Her hand was on the door when Eunice asked, “Clotted cream?”
* “Yes. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable in the dining room.”
* The woman spun her stool to rest her hands on the island countertop. “No thank you, I prefer the kitchen, which is where everything happens.” Buy Drop Dead Handsome here... Amazon Australia | Amazon Canada | Amazon Mexico | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Smashwords Find M.K. Scott here... Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tsu | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, M.K. Scott! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! M.K. Scott will be awarding a prize to multiple winners such as $50 Amazon Gift Cards, $15 Target or Groupon Gift Cards and other GCs and books to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Libby Fischer Hellmann & 'Jump Cut' @libbyhellmann @GoddessFish #Mystery

Today we have author Libby Fischer Hellmann visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Twelve novels and twenty short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few.
* With the addition of Jump Cut in 2016, her novels include the now five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24;” the hard-boiled 4-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and three stand-alone historical thrillers that Libby calls her “Revolution Trilogy.” Her latest release, The Incidental Spy, is a historical novella set during the early years of the Manhattan Project at the U of Chicago. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman’s “25 Criminally Good Short Stories” collection.
* She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony, twice for Foreword Magazines Book of the Year, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne and has won the Lovey multiple times.

Today Libby Fischer Hellmann will be talking about the backstory of Jump Cut.
* I used to say I was “writing my way around the genre.” True enough: I’ve written an amateur sleuth series, a PI series, thrillers, hard-boiled, historical thrillers, romantic suspense, even a cozy. I like the challenge of trying new things. But when I first started reading crime fiction, I read espionage thrillers. Particularly what I call the four “L’s: Le Carré´e, Ludlum, Len Deighton, and Ken FoLLett… (Okay, Follett is a stretch) Btw, most of the authors writing espionage then were men, but that’s another story. Or blogpost.
* Add to that years of watching “24,” “MI5,” and “Homeland,” and it’s not surprising that I eventually wanted to write espionage thrillers. My first novel, AN EYE FOR MURDER, did incorporate espionage from World War Two, but it wasn’t the focus of the plot.
* At the heart of an espionage thriller are two issues: trust and power. Who can a spy trust? How do they know their asset isn’t a double or even triple agent? What happens when they realize you can’t trust anyone? As for power, usually it’s the power of information. What decisions come from a spymaster who has more information than their target? How far do they go? And what happens when an individual with practically unlimited power is in charge? Vladimir Putin rose through the espionage ranks of the KGB and has survived by becoming cynical, suspicious, and cunning. Imagine him sifting through all intelligence available to him. How does he make decisions? What kind of leader does that make him?
* Actually, I believe spies start out with the best intentions, to protect their homeland or stop an enemy. But it’s easy for a spy to become untethered. Many spies become paranoid, and while that paranoia might save lives in the short term, where does it end? How do those individuals square what they do with the kind of world the rest of us live in? Is it ever possible to be normal? The more thoughtful espionage novels explore these questions. And I find the exploration fascinating, because they dig deep into the core of what makes us human.
* When you layer on the effect of technology on our privacy as citizens, we realize that espionage is now possible on a mass level. In the past, spies had their toys and “Bond-ian” gadgets. Today entire armies—heck—entire governments can spy on their citizens. As well as each other. The ability to call up information instantly has complicated intelligence operations, and we are only beginning to see the repercussions.
* For me the challenge was creating a story that explores these issues but doesn’t beat readers over the head with them. So I did my research. I visited The Spy Museum in DC. And Bletchley Park in the UK. I read voraciously, both fiction and nonfiction. Then, as is my pattern, I tested the waters with a short novella. THE INCIDENTAL SPY came out in September and focused on espionage during the early years of the Manhattan Project in Chicago. It turned out pretty well, so I took a deep breath and moved on to modern espionage, taking into account everything I discussed above. JUMP CUT is the result.
* It was apparent early on that it would be an Ellie Foreman story. Ellie, a Chicago video producer, is the protagonist of my 1st series, but after four novels, she went on an extended (10 year) hiatus. But I always intended to bring her back, and this was tailor-made for her. I knew she would be producing a video for a large aviation manufacturer, which, among other things, produces drones. Have you heard of one headquartered in Chicago? Of course... it’s Delcroft Aviation.
* I wanted Ellie to get caught up in a situation beyond her control. She would be powerless at first, but slowly she would recognize the players, the stakes, and the forces at work. Ultimately, she would need to act in order to protect herself and her family. Along the way new characters were introduced. Some turned out to be heroes; others are cowards. And of course, there’s a good amount of misdirection. Spies often don’t know whom to trust, I wanted readers (along with Ellie) to share the same uncertainty.
* Curiously, JUMP CUT is the shortest book I’ve written—in a subgenre that tends to be long. That gave me pause and made me wonder if I succeeded. I hope you’ll let me know. A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Chicago video producer, Ellie Foreman, has been absent from thriller author Libby Fischer Hellmann’s repertoire for almost a decade. Now she’s back...and soon entangled in a web of espionage, murder and suspicion that threatens to destroy what she holds most dear. Hired to produce a candyfloss profile of Chicago-based aviation giant, Delcroft, Ellie is dismayed when company VP Charlotte Hollander, the architect of a new anti-drone system for Delcroft, trashes the production and cancels the project. Ellie believes Hollander was spooked by shots of a specific man in the video footage. But when Ellie arranges to meet the man to find out why, he’s killed by a subway train before they can talk. In the confusion, she finds a seemingly abandoned pack of cigarettes with a flash drive inside that belonged to the now dead man.
* Ellie has the drive’s contents decrypted, but before long she discovers she’s under surveillance. Suspecting Delcroft and the ambitious Hollander are behind it, she’s unconvinced when Hollander tells her the dead man was a Chinese spy. Ellie and her boyfriend Luke try to find answers, but they don’t realize how far into the dangerous echelons of hidden power they have ventured. When Ellie’s daughter is kidnapped and Charlotte Hollander disappears, it becomes terrifyingly clear that Ellie is in way over her head, and more lives are on the line, including her own. ~ Excerpt ~ Chapter Two
Monday
* Before my gangstah-rap neighbor emptied his AK-47 into his buddy, the most exciting thing to happen in our village was the opening of a new grocery store. The store hired a pianist who played Beatles tunes, no doubt to persuade shoppers to part with their money more easily. My neighbor, rapper King Bling, was helping his fans part with their money too, but the shooting ended all that. Once he made bail, he moved and hasn’t been heard from since.
* And so it goes in my little corner of the North Shore, about twenty miles from downtown Chicago. There are benefits. The King, as he’s known to his disciples, gave our cops something to do besides ticket speeders. And the new grocery store gave me the chance to buy prepared dinners so I could dispense with cooking.
* Both of which come in handy when I’m producing a video, as was the case now. We didn’t finish the shoot until seven. I raced up the expressway toward home, dropped into the store, and was eyeballing a turkey pot roast—the only one left—when my cell trilled. I fished it out of my bag.
* “Mom, where did you get the shoes?” I heard chatter and giggles in the background.
* “What shoes, Rachel?”
* “The ones you gave Jackie.” My daughter, Rachel, had successfully, if unbelievably, graduated from college and lived in an apartment in Wrigleyville. Jackie was her roommate. “Everybody thinks they’re awesome.” ~ Early reviews for "Jump Cut" ~ * "Exceptional... As Hellman’s convincing, conflicted characters face impossible choices, the tension is real and memorable." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Hellmann's writing sparkles...plenty of suspense in this richly detailed thriller, but Hellmann’s characteristic wit and warmth are evident, too." —Booklist
* "After a long hiatus, Hellmann returns to her Chicago-based sleuth with a chilling tale that may be all too close to the truth." —Kirkus Reviews Buy Jump Cut here... Amazon - Kindle | Amazon - Paperback | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | iTunes | Kobo Find Libby Fischer Hellmann here... Facebook | Goodreads | Google+ | Twitter | Website | YouTube Thank you for joining us here today, Libby Fischer Hellmann! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Libby Fischer Hellmann will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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Houston Havens & 'Intimate Betrayal' @HoustonHavens @GoddessFish #SciFi #EroticRomance

Today we have author Houston Havens visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Erotic romance author Houston Havens, a former successful model enjoying an adventurous jet-set lifestyle, intrigues her readers with a mix of the past, present, and future, and sexy blends of futuristic science fiction, paranormal fantasy, and western romance, always with love everlasting. A tenacious Irish lass filled with passion and mystery hopes her sultry stories will entertain and fascinate those who dare to take the journey. She’s also a social media junkie with an award winning blog. http://houstonhavens.wordpress.com

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Kindise Wyatt escapes her Star Rider captor and returns to Earth. With the help of a sexy Old World Mole and his mysterious friend, she's determined to uncover the whereabouts of her lover. Instead, she finds nothing but betrayal and her captor in pursuit.
* On the lam after betraying his evil ruler, ex-Dirt Dweller and drifter Jaden Valenti confirms his name is on a hit list. Finding what he believes will be safety amongst the Airbornes, he recreates himself and hides his past until trouble walks back into his life in the name of Kindise Wyatt, the woman he was ordered to assassinate and didn't.
* Due to the obsessions of a Fae woman Sori gave up his hardearned royal title and left his homeland of Elfame. Love is the furthest thing from his mind until he is sent in Jaden's place to pick-up some cargo...human cargo in the form Kindise Wyatt. He feels the Fae magnetism of his soulmate in her. Problem is; she's in love with someone else.
* Will Jaden fulfill his orders to kill Kindise and get his name removed from the list, or will his secret be exposed and betray the friendship he has with Sori? Does Sori help Kindise find her lover, or will a love between them have a chance to flourish before a fatal attraction and a determined captor rip their love asunder? Will Kindise find true love or will betrayals at every turn crush the fight out of her? Can she find her inner strengths to keep fighting and lead The Freedom Fighters to defeat the Dirt Dweller elites, once and for all? ~ Excerpt ~ * She found him to be more tempting than the fruit but she wasn't about to let that little secret out. A part of her felt guilty for thinking the way she was. After all, she was in love with Lytell, wasn't she? Of course she was! She wouldn't have come all this way at the risk of her safety if she wasn't. She didn't care what Tessla said on the flight down here about her longing to find Lytell only because he gave her things she never had and doused her with male attention. "Oh, is it real?"
* "From Sori's own hydro-garden. Want a bite?"
* "Yes." When she was close enough to reach for it, he teasingly pulled it back. She looked up into his twinkling eyes and her stomach fluttered. Damn it. I didn't have this kind of reaction with Talut. Well…he never teased. But still…I love Lytell, so why all the unsettling emotions with Jaden?
* "I'll give you a taste if you tell me one thing."
* "What's that?"
* He stepped into her personal space holding out the berry. Her breaths quickened as she reached for it again, but instead of getting the sweet fruit, she inadvertently grabbed his fingers. Every cell in her body ignited at the connection, forcing her to back up several steps. She should have retreated because of the invasion of her space, but she hadn't, she did it out of fear of the unexpected attraction she was experiencing.
* His deep voice was nearly a whisper and dripped with seductiveness. "Tell me what the draw was to Lytell?"
* She held her hand up like a shield to stop any future advancement on her space, though he hadn't made another move toward her.
* "Not was, Jaden. Is." She tilted her chin up feeling that timeworn need to defend her lover--again.
* "He's highly intelligent, interesting, and confident." Buy Intimate Betrayal here... Amazon Find Houston Havens here... Amazon Author Page | Blog | Booklikes | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+ | Newsletter | Pinterest | Tsu | Tumblr | Twitter | Website | YouTube Thank you for joining us here today, Houston Havens! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Houston Havens will be awarding two winners a choice of one of the first three books in the Psychic Menage series to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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Lisa Regan & 'Cold-Blooded' @Lisalregan @GoddessFish #Mystery

Today we have author Lisa Regan visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* Lisa Regan is an Amazon bestselling crime/suspense novelist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. Her debut novel, Finding Claire Fletcher won Best Heroine and was runner up in Best Novel in the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards for 2013. Her second novel, Aberration won Best Twist in the 2014 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent Book Awards. Her third novel, Hold Still was released by Thomas & Mercer in 2014 and has been translated into German. She is at work on her fifth novel.

Today Lisa Regan will be talking about how she became a writer and what inspired her in regard to the story she's promoting.
* When I was in the fourth and fifth grade, I desperately wanted to be an astronaut. I was even saving up to go to Space Camp. While I was saving, I wrote tons of poems about being an astronaut, and at some point I realized that I enjoyed writing more than anything else so I turned my attention to that. I started writing stories, then full-length novels, and I’ve been writing ever since. When I was eleven I wrote my first full-length novel, which was a murder mystery. Then in high school I wrote three more terrible young adult novels. They were all crap, but it was great practice. Between eighteen and twenty-two I was chockful of great ideas but I couldn’t finish a darn thing. It was very demoralizing. I had no discipline and couldn’t concentrate on anything. Finally, at twenty-three I finished what was my first adult novel—a novel about adults for adults. It was a stab at literary fiction although it had elements of a thriller, and it was certainly a mystery. I sent out four queries before I gave up. It wasn’t good. Really, all I had wanted from that book was to prove to myself that I could finish something again and also to get a lot of stuff off my chest. I accomplished both of those things. So I put that aside and started writing what would later become my first published novel, Finding Claire Fletcher. I think once that book was finally finished was when I knew I had a shot at being a published author. The rest, as they say, is history.
* The story I am promoting now, Cold-Blooded, is about the cold case of a murdered teenager. In the book, she is found killed in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park and her murder goes unsolved because there’s really no evidence to speak of—it just seems like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wanted to take the story of this crime and build up a complex web of deceit behind it. I wanted to peel away the layers of her story to show that sometimes things are not what they seem. Sometimes there’s more behind a certain act than anyone can possibly imagine. I used Fairmount Park as a backdrop since much of it is beautiful and idyllic and you wouldn’t expect a cold-blooded killing to take place there, but just like everything with this book, things are not what they seem.
A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Fourteen years ago, high school track star Sydney Adams was gunned down in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The investigation yielded useless clues, and the case went cold. But homicide detective Augustus Knox never gave up on finding Sydney’s killer. Now, retired from the police force and with only months to live, he enlists the help of private investigator Jocelyn Rush to clear the case once and for all.
* Armed with little more than a theory as to who murdered Sydney, Jocelyn tries to lure a killer into the open. But unraveling the mystery means facing off against a cunning psychopath whose ruthlessness knows no bounds. When more bodies start to pile up, Jocelyn has to decide just how far she’s willing to go to catch a cold-blooded killer.
~ Excerpt ~ * “So tell me,” Jocelyn said to Knox. “About your case.”
* Knox cleared his throat as if he were about to address a room full of people. “The victim was Sydney Adams. She was seventeen years old, a track and field star for Franklin West High School. She was a senior there.”
* “The charter school over by Drexel University?” Anita asked. “The one where they had that shooting in 2006?”
* “Yeah, that one,” Knox answered. “Sydney was only a month or so from graduating. She left her grandmother’s house around seven in the evening for her nightly run through Fairmount Park. She always ran the same route. She didn’t get very far that night, so I think she was killed close to seven-thirty, although I was never able to get the medical examiner to say so. He would only give us a four-hour range. He said Syd died sometime between seven and eleven.”
* “Where in the park?” Jocelyn asked. Fairmount Park was really a collection of outdoor parks that covered over 9,000 acres in the city.
* “She started her run around the athletic field on Boxer’s Trail. Not too far from her house.”
* “She lived in Strawberry Mansion?”
* “Yeah, over by 31st and Dauphin. Anyway, she was shot in the back three times at close range. There was a bullet lodged in the tree, so there were four shots in all. .22s. There were no shell casings, so we think the killer picked them up and took them.”
Buy Cold-Blooded here... All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Amazon - UK | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo Find Lisa Regan here... Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Lisa Regan! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Lisa Regan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway