#BookBlitz – Rosepoint Publishing

#BookBlitz – Lily Fairchild by Don Gutteridge – #historicalfiction – @RABTBookTours

Yes! You know I’m always happy to host a Book Blitz post for a historical fiction novel (being one of my favorite genres), this one called Lily Fairchild by Don Gutteridge. “Lily Fairchild is a novel about a remarkable woman, born in the backwoods of Lambton County, Ontario in 1840.”

Historical Fiction

Lily Fairchild follows the life of a pioneer woman on the Canadian frontier over 77 years of her long life. She is witness to and a pawn of the great historical events of that period: the Underground Railroad, the clearing of the forest, the coming of the railroads, the discovery of oil, the two Riel Rebellions in the West and the flu pandemic of 1918. A story of love and survival.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Long-haul, multigenerational historical fiction such as this is often a victim of skewed perspective, as authors, deeply ensconced in often years of research, often overestimate how much detail their readers will want to endure. Gutteridge’s narrative is prodigiously researched (and includes a bibliography), but he never overloads his audience; instead, he seamlessly works the historical grounding into what is, first and foremost, an intensely personal story. The book’s large and varied cast is uniformly well drawn, but Lily towers over the rest; from her earliest scenes, she’s by far the most compelling figure in the narrative. Gutteridge believably and effectively captures her youthful exuberance, as well as her resilience, even in the face of a heartbreaking tragedy in the book’s final pages. He combines his character study with beautifully evocative prose; at one point, for instance, after sunset, “Lily was sure she could hear the River tuning up for its nightsong”; at another, a character’s skin is described as having “the pallor and touch of gray-white mushrooms too long in the rain.” Overall, the author does an excellent job of giving his narrative the feel of a life as it is lived. Readers of such books as Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove (1985) or Anna Waldo’s Sacajawea (1978) will see a similar kind of storytelling here; it’s a difficult feat to manage, but Gutteridge does so. A long but intensely involving tale of a tempestuous life.

About the Author

Don Gutteridge is the author of 71 books, including 22 novels and 39 books of poetry. He is a graduate of Western University, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. He lives in London, Ontario.

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Magic Once Removed by James Kirst – Book Blitz for RABT Book Tours and PR #paranormalsuspense

I am excited to present to you today a book blitz for Magic Once Removed by James Kirst for RABT Book Tours and PR.

Paranormal Suspense

Published: June 2020

Publisher: World Castle Publishing

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Down on his luck, former police detective turned private investigator Peter
Cunningham thought the beautiful Abigail Mitchell was just another crazy
client. Now he’s entangled in an ancient conspiracy that dates back to
the Salem Witch Trials, a far cry from the simple assault case the woman
wanted him to solve.

His budding romance with the witch Abigail will have to be put aside as he
travels the Pacific Northwest with estranged friend and former partner Kelly
Martinez to discover who these people are and their goals.

A coin, a five-year-old case, the Malleus Maleficarum, televangelist and
motivational speaker Tony O’Stein, Pope Innocent VIII, and a secret
society all tie back to a tragedy from Peter’s childhood and he will
need to figure out what it all means and a solution.

Though many witches live amongst us, they are also part of a secret society
but their clandestine organization seems to have been discovered which has
led to a new wave of persecution. Internal tensions were already high and
the attacks have only exasperated the issues. Peter must expose the members
of the conspiracy and thwart their nefarious plans before an even bigger
tragedy strikes.

About the Author

James Kirst lives in the Evergreen State in a humble little abode within
the forested city of Dupont. There, he earned his Master’s Degree at
the University of Washington. Commuting up north to Tacoma, he has worked as
a senior programmer and software development lead for almost ten
years.

With a borderline obsessive interest in the paranormal, James has conducted
an intensive study on the subject. To that end, he has visited some of the
most haunted places in the United States including Salem, the LaLaurie
Mansion of New Orleans, and his personal favorite, the Shanghai Tunnels of
Portland, Oregon.

As an avid fan of mystery both in fiction and in real life, he has done
extensive research into police procedurals, the machinations of detective
work, and life as a private investigator.

A big sports fan, James is sure to either be watching or participating in
one when not writing about or educating himself in one of the aforementioned
subjects. In fact, he has won multiple championships in bowling and
slow-pitch softball and has made several appearances as a softball All-Star
where he was given the privilege of playing in Cheney Stadium. He is still
seeking that elusive kickball title, however.

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Book Tour – Speakeasy by A M Dunnewin – a #suspensethriller for RABT Book Tours & PR

Suspense Thriller / Historical

Date Published: 12/21/2011

Publisher: Dark Hour Press, LLC

The novella is centered on Eddie Durante, owner of a speakeasy who’s supported by his mobster uncle—the boss of the Durante family. Eddie is a young widower after his family’s rival, the Caprice family, murdered his wife over a territory dispute. After devising a plan that retaliated against four of the rivaling capos, Eddie is left with the daunting task to try and move on. That is, until he’s notified that the Caprices have put a hit man in the speakeasy—and Eddie’s name is on the list. But things take an unexpected turn when Eddie instead starts to find the dead bodies of his relatives, the ones who had helped in the retaliation.

Behind the backdrop of jazz music and glistening flappers, murder after murder begins to unravel as revenge takes center stage, and Eddie soon learns that some secrets can’t be taken to the grave.

My Thoughts

Payback’s a bitch, baby.

Eddie Durante is the epitome of a speakeasy owner. It’s a novella and he isn’t fully-developed–doesn’t have to be. It’s the 20s. Flappers, moonshiners, hot jazz music, and girls in dazzling costumes, revealing, sexy, setting the tone for the darkened secreted underground club. Haven’t we all seen 20s movies, dark, noir, tommy guns (“Chicago typewriters”), mobsters, cigarette smoke stifling the air mixed with the smell of gin and sweat.

Eddie’s speakeasy is backed by his uncle, a mobster, boss of the Durante family. And Eddie’s trying to get over the death of his wife Kate, killed by the rival Caprice family. He gets the message there is a hit out on him. An eye for an eye just keeps working back and forth, like the legendary Hatfields and McCoys…as long as there is still one in the “family”…and the bodies start popping up. It’s payback. If they are after him, why is the rest of his crew being picked off? This one catches him off guard. How unusual.

But who is being set up here? Eddie or the reader? Something isn’t adding up. Dialogue and inner thoughts bring history to light, justification. He loved his wife, how could this not be made right then? The pace does a quick-step, theories, and suspense ramps up. Who is the architect of this plot? Did you figure it out? Not I.

I’m the naive one–not until the astonishing twist in the conclusion did the mind-blowing reveal take me by surprise. This is one you’ll breeze through right to the sucker-punch ending. Oomph!

About the Author

A. M. Dunnewin grew up with a taste for mysteries and thrillers, inherited ever so lovingly from her family. An affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, A. M.’s own stories cover a wide range of genres that tend to take a dark turn when least expected. With a B.A. in Psychology, she’s a gambler of words, obsessed with chai tea, and addicted to books – everything from classical literature to graphic novels. Other hobbies include art, history, music, equestrianism, and a good classic film. She currently dwells in Northern California.

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Book Blitz – Speakeasy by A M Dunnewin for RABT Book Tours and PR

Suspense Thriller / Historical

Date Published: 12/21/2011

Publisher: Dark Hour Press, LLC

The novella is centered on Eddie Durante, owner of a speakeasy who’s supported by his mobster uncle—the boss of the Durante family. Eddie is a young widower after his family’s rival, the Caprice family, murdered his wife over a territory dispute. After devising a plan that retaliated against four of the rivaling capos, Eddie is left with the daunting task to try and move on. That is, until he’s notified that the Caprices have put a hit man in the speakeasy—and Eddie’s name is on the list. But things take an unexpected turn when Eddie instead starts to find the dead bodies of his relatives, the ones who had helped in the retaliation.

Behind the backdrop of jazz music and glistening flappers, murder after murder begins to unravel as revenge takes center stage, and Eddie soon learns that some secrets can’t be taken to the grave.

Excerpt

Once the doors were closed, Sal didn’t take long to get right to the point. “They know it was you, Eddie.”

The words slapped him across the face, but Eddie didn’t respond.

“That you were the one who came up with the idea,” Sal continued. “They’re out for retaliation, and it’s rumored that they’ve sent a torpedo into this juice joint of yours. That’s part of the reason why I’m not being too open with the information. Afraid of who might be listening.”

A hit man in his speakeasy. Eddie stared out the windshield, watching Sal begin to light a cigarette out of the corner of his eye. “I had a lot of ideas,” he remarked hoarsely, fear and dread subtly mixing into his thoughts.

“Only took one,” Sal responded as he lit the cigarette. He silently offered one to Eddie, who refused with a shake of his head. “Sorry, kid,” Sal explained as he took a puff. “After what they did to your wife, I wouldn’t have blamed ya.”

Eddie remained silent, his eyes drifting to the bootleggers who were moving the last of the crates. No wonder they weren’t laying their eyes on him. He was a dead target.

Sal took another drag on his cigarette, taking a moment for himself. “Don’t worry, though,” he finally remarked. “Your family’s got your back. My brother-in-law, your dear uncle, has requested that Joe stay by your side until we can square away if there’s a torpedo and who it is.”

“What?” Eddie balked, shattering his calm exterior.

“It’s temporary,” Sal cooed, trying to calm the young man down. “He’s just some extra protection.”

Eddie gawked, unable to believe that they’d send Joe, of all people, to protect him. “He’s crazy,” was all Eddie could summarize when it came to his cousin.

“He’s happy,” Sal tried to smooth over.

“Trigger happy,” Eddie corrected.

Sal shrugged his shoulders. “He gets the job done. And when the boss’ favorite nephew needs protection, the boss will only send the very best.”

“I don’t need protection,” Eddie fought back, trying not to raise his voice to the lunacy. “And even if I did, I have Anthony and Marcus in there—”

“Little orphan Anthony and Baby Marcus?” Sal choked, half laughing, half sputtering on the cigarette smoke. “Marcus is too naive, and Anthony,” but Sal had to chuckle first before he could continue. “Well, ya better just pray your killer isn’t a female.”

“Thanks for warning me,” Eddie begrudgingly admitted as he pulled the door handle…

About the Author

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#BookBlitz for NEEDS WORK by John L. Sheppard @RABTBookTours #magicalrealism

Today I am very pleased to be part of the Book Blitz for RABT Book Tours for Needs Work by John L. Sheppard. Enjoy the excerpt, then use your favorite link to purchase.

Fiction

Published: October 2019

Publisher: Paragraph Line Books

Once upon a time in Cleveland… Phil Derleth, a former Army “combat cartoonist,” comes home to Cleveland, Ohio after a messy divorce. Phil is brain-damaged from a war wound and there are holes in his memory. His father Larry, a stone mason living on disability, takes him in. Soon enough, Phil finds himself embroiled in all sorts of trouble, including dodging the Ohio Department of Transportation, blood-stealing tramps, the ghost of his dead mother and stray dogs who are more than they appear to be. One stray in particular will show Phil the way back to a life that he may have forgotten.

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Excerpt

I was let go.

That was months after my wife threw me out, taking our daughter with her. I was twenty-seven and starting all over again with life. I moved in with my father. Moved back to Ohio, a place that I thought I’d left in the rearview mirror. Instead, it was in my cracked and hazy windshield.

My car, a ten-year-old Ford Mustang, broke down in my father’s driveway never to recover. It had thrown a rod.

I got out of the car. The parking brake popped. The car slowly rolled into the street. A small fire crackled under the hood. In few minutes, dark black smoke poured out from the undercarriage and a red glow simmered within the passenger compartment. For a moment, I saw a shadow behind the wheel, a remnant of my former self, the one who was so confident that he would never again grace the state of Ohio. A small explosion. Another small explosion. They sounded less like explosions than someone manually popping a paper lunch sack. The driver’s side front wheel fell off and the car tilted over. The Mustang emblem clinked onto the pavement. A car, and then another car, drove past as if this sort of thing happened all the time. Nothing to get excited about.

“My clothes are in there,” I said aloud. “My employee of the month certificate. My Army uniforms. My crazy pills.”

My father emerged from the tiny house I’d grown up in, leaning forward on an aluminum walker, a wry grin on his mossy face. There was a reason why he’d never grown a beard while my mother was alive. The beard was patchy in so many ways. The coloration was wrong. The growth was uneven. There were too many things wrong with his beard to list.

The look he sent my way told me that he hadn’t yet forgiven me for not coming around while my mother was dying. I came to the funeral. Wasn’t that enough?

The police arrived. They pulled their cruiser up to the curb. A decal on the side of the car read, POLICE INTERCEPTOR. An older fat patrolman strolled up to me. He stood alongside me in silence and we watched my car burn for a while. Finally, he said, “That yours?” His name tag said, SMITH.

“Yes,” I said. “I have no money.”

“Who does?” He patted me on the shoulder solicitously.

The flames licked the air. It was sensuous.

“This is my son.” My father was beside us, opposite the cop.

“Total loss,” the friendly, gray-haired patrolman said. He rubbed his belly like there was a cat underneath his shirt.

His partner, a youngish woman, her hair pinched into a severe bun at the nape of her neck, stood near the car in the street, waving other cars past. When the street was clear, she pulled out her ticket pad and wrote me up.

My state of Illinois vanity plate fell off the back. It read, “E4MAFIA.” It was a joke that wasn’t funny now that I was out of the Army. I’d been out of the Army for years. I was in the Army for four years, most of it spent in a Navy hospital in Illinois, recovering from my war wounds. The Navy corpsmen would wheel us all up to the roof of the hospital at times, I remembered. We’d sit up there, high above the base, staring at Lake Michigan. It was calming. The hospital specialized in traumatic brain injuries. It was why we were all there. We were learning to speak again. To feed ourselves. To walk. To read and write. The Navy’s corpsmen school was there, so the student corpsmen would come by to gawk at us, or help us out with basic things. Eating. Finding our way back to our ward.

About the Author

John L. Sheppard, a graduate of the MFA@FLA creative writing program at the University of Florida, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He lives in Illinois.

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Have a beautiful and peaceful Thursday

Storm of Secrets by Loretta Marion – a Release Blitz and #Giveaway #Mystery #Paranormal #Romance @RABTBookTours

I am so excited to provide a Book Blitz for you on my stop for #RABTBookTours

Book two in the Haunted Bluffs Mystery Series

Mystery (with elements of the paranormal and whispers of romance)

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books, distributed by Penguin Random House

Date Published: November 12, 2019

A deadly storm, a missing three-year-old child, a suspicious death, and the eerie presence of the spirits of the dead set the stage for the second mesmerizing installment of Loretta Marion’s paranormal suspense series.

A powerful storm descends upon Cape Cod’s Whale Rock at the peak of tourist season–and the weekend Cassandra Mitchell’s and Daniel Benjamin’s wedding is set to take place at The Bluffs, the magnificent Victorian mansion Cassie inherited from her family. In the wake of the storm’s destruction, three-year-old Lucas Kleister goes missing–and the body of small-time drug dealer Lee Chambers is found in a restaurant dumpster. Now, the WRPD are faced with a murder to solve, a missing child to find, and the aftermath of one of the worst storms in recent memory.

While aiding with the clean-up and helping the displaced, Cassie has been receiving cryptic messages from the spirits of her great-grandparents, Percy and Celeste Mitchell, the original residents of The Bluffs. At first, the messages are benign, but soon, they begin to point to something more sinister. As Cassie works to decipher their meaning, the specter of a mysterious local legend surfaces. The tale of Barnacle Boy–and what happened to him during another destructive storm decades earlier–will weave through the desperate search to find Lucas and the identity of a killer.

“Modern and historic mysteries collide in Marion’s bittersweet storytelling.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] gripping sequel…Marion seamlessly weaves the multiple story threads together. Fans of tales of regional intrigue will be satisfied.”

—Publishers Weekly

Excerpt

On the short walk to my car, a sparkle caught my eye on the ground near a temporary dumpster behind La Table, the new location of my old flame Billy Hughes’s catering business.

Later, I reflected on how different things would have been had I not been so curious.

What if I hadn’t had the dress fitting today? What if I hadn’t parked in Archie’s space? What if I hadn’t gone out the back door of his shop? What if I hadn’t gone over to examine what was glittering next to the dumpster?

“The what ifs and should haves will eat your brain.” It was a quote of John O’Callaghan’s, from his book of poetry entitled, Sincerely, John the Ghost—ironically, a gift from Zoe, who’d always eschewed the notion of Percy’s and Celeste’s spirits.

The point is, if I hadn’t done all those things, then I wouldn’t have seen that glint on the ground and gone over to check out what it was. Most crucially, I would never have noticed a hand through the rusted-out hole in the dumpster.

A very dead hand.

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About the Author

A true bibliophile, Loretta Marion’s affection for the written word began in childhood and followed her like a shadow throughout her life as she crafted award-winning marketing and advertising copy and educational brochures. She then applied her writing skills as a volunteer, establishing a Legacy Story program for hospice patients, which inspired her to create her own fictional stories. Her debut novel, The Fool’s Truth, is a twisty mystery set in Maine. Her Haunted Bluffs Mystery Series is set on Cape Cod and was introduced by Crooked Lane Books in 2018 beginning with HOUSE OF ASHES. Her newest release, STORM OF SECRETS, is the second book of the series.

When not whipping out words on her laptop, she is traveling, enjoying outdoor pursuits, or is curled up with a delicious new book. Loretta lives in Rhode Island with her husband, Geoffrey.

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Thank you for viewing this book blitz and have a Happy Tuesday!

This Book Blitz Post - Brought to you by Rosepoint Publishing

Justice Gone by N Lombardi Jr #BookBlitz

I am so delighted today to provide a book blitz for you at my blog stop for Justice Gone by N Lombardi Jr on Sage’s Blog Tours.

Book Details

Title: Justice Gone by N Lombardi, Jr

Genre: #Literature & Fiction, Crime, Thriller

Publisher: Roundfire Books

Print Length: 336 pages

Publication Date: February 22, 2019

ISBN-10:1785358766
ISBN-13:978-1785358760

ASIN: B07N175RZJ

Source: Author, Publisher, and NetGalley

Book Blurb

When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture. Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.

About the Author

N Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian). In 1997, while visiting Lao People’s Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.

Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc. http://plainofjars.net

His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.

His latest novel, Justice Gone, was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police.

Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Sage's Blog Tours Thanks to Sage’s Book Tours for the opportunity to provide a book blitz page for this heart-pounding fiction novel based on a real tragedy. The book will definitely stir an emotional cauldron. I read it. It did.