Babs BookMark issue 9

Babs BookMark

VOL 2 ISSUE 9 | JAN 2019

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table of contents 03

FROM THE DESK News

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SUSAN BOLES On the Cover

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ROMANCE Katherine E Smits Stephanie Salvatore Stephanie Nichole

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SCI-FI OPERA Zachariah Wahrer

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COZY MYSTERY J. C. Kenny Mary Lee Ashford Becky Clark Cozy Cat Press ( 22 Authors )

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GIVEAWAY Katherine E Smits

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From the desk of Babs!

Welcome to our January issue of the magazine. We are looking forward to a great year spent with all of you. Amber and I are excited to help authors and publishers moving forward.

Featured in the magazine

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Click here.

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"SUSAN BOLES TIED PROTECTING PIPER IN WITH HER SERIES SET IN MERCY, MS AND WITH THE BROTHERHOOD PROTECTORS OUT IN MONTANA, KEEPING THE SOUTHERN FLAVOR OF HER BOOKS." —SUSAN BOLES A woman who couldn’t leave... A man who couldn’t stay...

When Fate brings him back to town to protect her daddy, can they resolve their differences?

Piper McKenzie has a great life. She lives in a plantation home that’s been in the family for generations with her overprotective father and Ham, the family guard dog. She dates, but keeps her broken heart under lock and key. Nobody will ever hurt her again like Ian Elliot did.

AIan “Hawkeye” Elliot lives his lifelong dream of being a Navy Fighter pilot until a busted eardrum clips his wings forever as a pilot. Brotherhood Protectors, Inc. throws him a lifeline working with other retired veterans offering valuable skills honed by military service. Until his latest assignment, nothing shakes him, but this job threatens not only the life of the woman he loves, but also his heart.

Using a visit to his mother as cover, Hawkeye arrives back in town to provide bodyguard services to Piper’s father. His challenge is to keep his charge alive while avoiding the glares and hostility from the girl he left behind. Complicating his job is Ham-the-guard-dog, who hates him.

The question is which is more deadly? Bullets, a mean dog, or emotions? Only time will tell. page | 04

Susan is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of the Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Series and a contributing author to the Brotherhood Protectors World.

A lifelong long love of all things mysterious led Susan to write cozy mysteries. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden were the first to show her that girls can be crime solvers. Agatha Christie showed her that even small towns have big secrets. And Phryne Fisher showed her lady detectives can be outrageously individual. She lives in Mississippi with her rescue mini dachshund, Lucy, and her rescue cat of no particular breed, Zimba. She currently writes the Lily Gayle Lambert mystery series set in the fictional town of Mercy, Mississippi featuring a multi-generational cast of female sleuths and romantic suspense in the Brotherhood Protectors Kindle World.

Stay in touch for upcoming releases!

Susan writes mysteries and set in the big city of Memphis, TN and the fictional small town of Mercy, Mississippi.

CONTACT SUSAN; Susan loves to hear from readers and book lovers!

Visit her website at www.susanbolesauthor.com Or drop her a line at susan at susanbolesauthor.com

Romance

Katherine E Smits Stephanie Salvatore Stephanie Nichole

Nik—an outwardly normal, young woman terrified by water, living in the GreekAmerican town of Tarpon Springs, Florida Bas—a shapeshifter merman tasked with obtaining Nik’s help to gain what his species most desires.

The Nerei—a race of beings who want humans to continue to believe they are mythological.

How will Nik and Bas save each other when they fall in love, against his species laws?

The waterfront town of Sausalito brings tourists and locals together for miles of endless views, adventures for the boaters out on the bay, and mountain hiking trails in the infamous Muir Woods for more milliondollar views with big city life just across the Golden Gate Bridge.

At seventeen, the local free-spirited, chic Lorelai Castillo loves the community she was born and raised in. With just a summer between her and senior year, she has a big decision to make about joining her father’s legacy or turning her back on the dark and risky organized crime business her parents run.

For Christopher Montgomery, Oroville, California is the hometown he was born and raised in with respect, morals, and responsibility from an early age. In his seventeenth year, on the first day of summer, he woke up feeling a change in the air. Something felt off, different as if his life would never be the same.

When a new family arrives at the Castillo Yacht Club, Lorelai sets her eyes on the handsome new boy in town. Will Lorelai spend her summer alone? Or will she find a way to heat up the bitter cold Sausalito Nights?

Interview BBM: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sure. From the time I was a child, I had a wild imagination and that has not changed at all! When I write, I can vividly imagine the scene like a movie or a tv show. When I’m not working my full-time job, you can find me gallivanting around with a cup of coffee on hand. I like to spend time with my friends, family, and my dog Brody. No matter what I’m doing, music must be on in the background or I am completely lost. I love interacting with new friends on my fan group on Facebook, traveling to fanconventions, and getting into GIF wars.

BBM: Was there a certain time in your life you knew you wanted to write?

Yes. I was 11 years old and visiting with my childhood best friend. She brought out a notebook and told me she was going to write a story. It triggered me to say, yes! Can I have some paper and a pen? And the rest is history. There was always some kind of story in my head waiting to break out and be placed into words on paper from that point forward. I told my Mom and Grandma I wanted to be a writer when I grew up around that age and they told me it was a pipe dream. I worked nearly two decades to get where I am now with my writing. It’s been an adventure and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.

BBM: What are you currently working on?

The second novel in the Montgomery Beauty Series. [No spoilers. Promise!]

BBM: Of the books you’ve written, which one is your favorite and why?

I only have one finished book so I can’t pick a favorite, but I think the Montgomery Beauty Series as a whole is my favorite world I’ve ever created.

BBM: What books have most influenced you as a writer?

Any kind of Saga, or series. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, probably because it was so beautifully written, in the books and in the movies. I have dubbed myself as the writer on fire, and my friends have followed suit.

BBM: What do you find to be the most challenging part of writing? And the most rewarding?

The most challenging part of writing in general was finding a good place to start a story, making sure development is on point, material isn’t repeated. The most rewarding is friends from all over the world have told me I have a talent in the art of storytelling.

BBM: What book is on your nightstand?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak BBM: What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

I’ll be doing a book blog tour in January with Silver Dagger Book Tours, and I’m aiming to get book two out by Fall 2019.

BBM: Is there anything you’d like to share with your readers?

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my readers for being so supportive.

If you come on board with the Montgomery Beauty Series, be prepared for twists, turns, romance, lies, backstabbing, basically expect the unexpected, because I have big plans.

About The Author Stephanie was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She lives, breathes, and drinks in fangirling over her favorite celebs, her dog, and being a self-appointed social media snob.

She’s got a wild imagination by nature, which drove her to write. Steph tries to stay true to the phrase, “Love Yourself First.” LYF is what inspired her to publish her first book. When she’s not slaving over creating words to form a story, you can find her feeding her caffeine addiction, traveling or spending time with her friends and family.

Axell James is the oldest of the James brothers. He was forced to grow up after their mother passed away but luckily he always had one constant in his life, Sadie.

Sadie moved to town during their senior year of high school. She caught Axell’s attention immediately. Sadie somehow calmed the raging storm for Axell. However, her fear of losing him through racing causes them to be torn apart. After a couple of months Axell realizes the only thing he really needs in his life is Sadie so he walks away from racing.

Now, years later they are married and living their happily ever after until Sadie’s past comes back to haunt them. Axell has always had Sadie on pedestal, believing she is perfect but when the lies from her past catch up to them he’ll realize she is far from perfect.

As the truth comes out, Sadie must go back to South Carolina to take care of things. In her absence and in light of the lies surrounding Axell’s life he finds himself returning the race scene he left so many years ago.

Tragedy will strike Axell and Sadie once again but will their love be able to survive?

Author bio: Stephanie Nichole lives in a small town with her family in New Mexico. She graduated college in 2010 with a dgree in business and accounting. However, her true passion is all things book related. As a student English and Literature were her favorite subjects. Weekly library trips with her mother also helped instill her love for books. Stephanie would look forward to summer most of all, not because she was out of school but for the summer reading groups at her local library. After a friend’s encouragement she started her author journey in 2016.

Stephanie is an avid book, music and old Hollywood movie lover. When she's not busy reading or writing she's probably binge watching Netflix or PassionFlix. Some of her favorite authors are: Edgar Allan Poe, Abbi Glines, Colleen Hoover, Alessandra Torre, Nicholas Sparks and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Stephanie also loves to connect with her readers on social media.

Breakers of the Dawn!

Humanity has fallen from its once majestic place amongst the stars. Desperate for resources to prop up an aging galactic dynasty, humans seize every planet they find, exterminating their alien inhabitants.

Across the empire, a group of dissidents come together through happenstance. As they learn more, however, they sense a strange force directing their lives. Can they discover the truth before the empire destroys them?

"FIVE INDIVIDUAL STORYLINES THAT ARE EACH VERY DIFFERENT AND INTRIGUING" Dispatched to subdue an uprising, a government operative unearths an ancient relic. It somehow knows everything about him, even his darkest secrets. The strange device promises extraordinary power, but can he trust it?

The first book in a four part saga, Breakers of the Dawn is epic science fiction, featuring a diverse cast of characters. It's easy to read, but hard to put down.

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Zachariah Wahrer spent the first twelve years of his adult life doing various jobs around the United States, such as eBay salesman, punk rock musician, horse halter craftsman, and rock climbing gym route-setter.

Near the end of 2014, Zachariah moved into a Honda Odyssey with his wife, Sarah, and began traveling the United States and Canada, seeking inspiration and adventure while writing and rock climbing full-time. His first novel, Breakers of the Dawn: Book 1 of the Dawn Saga, was electronically published in December of 2014.

When not deeply immersed in imaginary worlds, Zachariah loves to experience the outdoors as well as read about science, futurology, and trans-humanism. He also enjoys home-brewing and creating digital art to accompany his writing.

Currently, Zachariah lives in Bozeman, Montana.

I offer a free Dawn Saga starter pack when people sign up for my newsletter

Cozy Mystery?!

Cozy authors that will be included are as followed

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J. C. KENNEY

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MARY LEE AHSFORD

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BECKY CLARK

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COZY CAT PRESS A TOTAL OF 22 AUTHORS.

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The first book in a new series featuring Allie Cobb brings the New York literary agent back to her Hoosier home town where a mysterious death keeps everyone on spoiler alert. . .

Allie Cobb left home for the literary circles of Manhattan to make her name out from under the shadow of her legendary father. Now his death brings her and her rescue cat Ursula back to the southern Indiana town of Rushing Creek, population: 3,216. But a tragic new chapter hits the presses when the body of her father’s hard-drinking, #1 bestselling client is found under the historic town bridge. The local police suspect foul play and their prime candidate for murder is the author’s daughter—Allie’s longtime friend.

Determined to clear her bestie, Allie goes into factchecking amateur detective mode while trying to ignore the usual rumormongers. Those with means, motive, and opportunity include the vic’s ex-wife, his rejected girlfriend, the mayor, and a rival agent trying to mooch clients. With a rugged genealogist distracting her and the imminent Fall Festival about to send tourists descending on their once-peaceful hamlet, Allie needs to stay alive long enough to get a read on a killer ready to close the book on a new victim: Allie . . .

J.C. Kenney writes cozy mystery stories set in small towns in his home state of Indiana. A Literal Mess, book one in his Allie Cobb Mysteries series, is his first cozy.

He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, two sons, and a kitty cat. J.C. dreams of one day retiring to a place where the water is warm and the beaches are soft. He loves motorsports, so when he’s not writing, you can probably find him checking in on the latest from IndyCar and Formula 1.

J.C. is a member of Sisters in Crime, as well as his local SinC chapter, Speed City Sisters in Crime.

After losing her job as food editor at a glossy magazine, Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway—aka “Sugar” to her friends—isn’t sweet on accepting defeat and crawling back to her gossipy southern hometown.

So when she has an opportunity to launch a community cookbook business with blue-ribbon baker Dixie Spicer in peaceful St. Ignatius, Iowa, she jumps at the chance to start over from scratch . . .

But as Sugar assembles recipes for the local centennial celebration, it’s not long before she’s up to her oven mitts in explosive threats, too-hot-to-handle scandals, and a dead body belonging to the moody matriarch of the town’s first family. With suspicions running wild, Sugar and Spice must solve the murder before someone innocent takes the heat—and the real culprit gathers enough ingredients to strike again.

Receipe Lemon Blueberry Scones Scones 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in chunks 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 cup heavy cream Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse crumbs. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Make a well in the center & pour in the cream. Fold it all together & then press the dough out on a lightly floured surface & pat into a rectangle.

Cut into squares and then into triangles. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet & brush the tops with a little of the cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let the scones cool a bit before applying the glaze.

Glaze 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 cups confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Lemon zest, finely grated Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' sugar until dissolved. Whisk in the butter & lemon zest. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let your fabulous scones set a minute and then serve warm.

Excerpt “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” my Aunt Cricket is fond of saying. And though that is great advice, everybody can’t actually leave, can they? I mean, someone has to stay in the kitchen and take the heat or nobody eats.

Today that person was me, Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway, aka Sugar to my friends.

Most days I thought my exit from the corporate grind and the new venture it had brought about was brilliant, but today my role had turned into more damage control than publishing professional. The St. Ignatius Founders’ Day Commemorative Cookbook, our inaugural project, was due to the printer in six weeks and I’d thought a brief meeting with the cookbook committee would finalize the contents.

But then Scone Wars had broken out. What to do?

“When you find yourself in a hole, stop diggin’” was another idiom from Aunt Cricket, and though I’ve found she borrows wisdom from others and edits to the situation, it is mostly still wisdom. Mostly.

I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. As I did, I inhaled the combined smells of hot coffee and fresh baked pies. No matter where you’re from, food is a universal thing. But here in the heart of America it’s absolutely baked into the essence of the people and the place. Whether a holiday celebration, a family dinner, or a potluck. It’s infused into the joy, the grief, and everything in between.

Today I’d counted on food to bring together the Founders’ Day Committee. With the help of the Red Hen Diner, I’d assembled a mouth-watering spread of summer fruit pies. Cherry (my favorite), apple, and peach. Perfect flaky crusts, sweet fruit flavors, and fresh hot coffee. I’d placed my trust in food to bring the group together.

Instead I had a major fail on my hands. The mob was out of control.

About the autghor Mary Lee Ashford writes the Sugar and Spice series for Kensington Books, and also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa and a current board member of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest chapter, as well as a member of Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the SinC Internet group, Guppies. Her delights are encouraging other writers, reading, and enjoying her family, especially her six grandchildren

Between a kidnapping, a double booking, and a crew of hapless volunteers, Charlee is worried the writing conference will go to the dogs Mystery author Charlee Russo agrees to speak at a Portland writers' conference organized by her friend Viv Lundquist. When Viv picks her up at the airport, she frantically explains that her daughter Hanna has been kidnapped. Unfortunately, Viv has a history of embellishing the truth and Hanna has a history of disappearing.

Charlee takes over the conference preparation so Viv can search for her daughter, but the situation gets tense when the hotel double-books the event with a dog show. Despite it all, Charlee is compelled to investigate after she learns shocking secrets about both Hanna and Viv. Can she find Hanna in time, or will a plot twist lead her to a ruff ending?

Excerpt Chapter One Waiting for someone to pick me up at the airport is like forcing me to be eight years old again. Waiting at the curb for the school bus. Waiting in the corridor shoulder to shoulder with my line buddy until everyone in class had puffed out their cheeks holding our invisible "Quiet Bubbles" in our mouths, finally acceptably hush-hush-hallway enough to march out to recess. Waiting for my mom to rescue me much too late from a disastrous birthday party like when she forced me to go to Tommy Ryan's, that annoying hair-puller. She'd promised me I'd have fun once I got there.

Why do parents lie like that? Did she really need two hours' peace that desperately? If she'd only leveled with me that she needed a break from my incessant chatter, I'd have gladly sat quietly in a dim room mentally thinking up rhymes for my teacher, Mrs. McRucker's name. That always amused my eight-year-old self.

My thirty-year-old self wasn't as easily appeased.

Again, I edged out from under the shelter of the overhang to peer down the roadway, hurrying back when rain began dripping off the tip of my nose.

“Where is she?” I spoke to myself, even though several people also waited nearby. Perhaps like me they were waiting for someone — parent, spouse, pal, clown car — to swoop in and pick them up at the Portland airport. Behind me, the terminal. In front of me, past the large concrete overhang, soft Oregon rain. To my left, bored or anxious or annoyed passengers, resigned or worried or irritated that their designated rides hadn’t shown up yet.

To my right, the MAX light rail train loading passengers for the trip to the Portland city center or other travel hubs. I’d already watched seven trains on the two tracks come and go. But still no Viv. Despite my exasperation with having to wait for her, I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about hanging out with her again. I hadn't seen her in a few years, but we’d had some glorious adventures in the past.

Sharing hotel rooms at writer’s conferences like two teenagers at a slumber party, sitting on panels, teaching workshops together, and going on that book tour. Oy, that book tour. Our first books were published within three weeks of each other so we organized a tour together, hitting every major city in the eight states encompassing my home in Colorado and hers in Oregon, as well as many podunk towns in between.

Our publishers didn’t foot the bill for our book tour. Viv and I paid for everything out of our miniscule advances, so after every signing event, she talked our way into free meals, drinks, or hotel rooms along our route. After a while, I couldn’t remember what was the truth about us and what was the fictional embellishment she wrapped us in. Regardless, we seemed like the two most interesting women in the world.

So what if it wasn’t completely accurate? At least it was entertaining, especially for us.

If I felt uncomfortable when she got too outlandish, Viv convinced me that was what people came to hear.

We were obligated to give them their money’s worth. When I reminded her we spoke for free, she said, “If they only met boring old us, they’d be disappointed. At least now they had awesome stories to tell at parties about the time they got to hang out with those two crazy writers.”

I laughed out loud. Did anyone actually remember any of her tall tales?

A man standing nearby smiled at me then spoke with a British accent. “I shall go barmy if I have to wait much longer, but it seems you bloody well don’t mind waiting to be picked up.” He gestured toward the terminal. “I heard a bloke inside say there was a tie up on the motorway.”

“Actually, I’m thinking about turning around and flying right back to Denver. Or at least going back in for a grilled cheese sandwich. With bacon.” I eyed the terminal doors behind us.

“Don’t like Portland?”

“I love Portland. But I’m here to speak at a writer’s conference, and I’m nervous. I’ve been on panels before, and taught workshops, but my friend Viv, who’s the organizer, wants me to give the keynote speech at the banquet on Saturday.”

“Are you an author?”

I nodded and thrust out my hand. “Charlemagne Russo. Charlee. I write mysteries. But I’ll bet you’ve never heard of me.”

He shook my hand and quirked his mouth apologetically. “I’m Sir Richard Headley. Sorry. I don’t read mysteries.”

“Ooh, I’m in the presence of royalty.” I gave a demure little bend of the knee, making him laugh.

“Nah, not really. Just pretending. Call me Ricky.” The posh British accent was gone, replaced by a flat midwestern one. “I’m from Nebraska. Practicing my accents. I was in the Russian Politburo on the way here.”

I raised my eyebrows at him, hoping there was more explanation coming.

“I travel a lot — I’m a motivational speaker — and believe you me, every single person on this planet pretends to be something they’re not, feels like a fraud. And some of them actually are.”

“Like me.”

“I’m sure you’re not.”

“Are you here to … motivationally speak?”

He shook his head. “Friend’s wedding. Haven’t seen him in years. Not really sure why I agreed. The things we do for friends.”

“Indeed. I’m even using my own hotel points and I flew in early because flights on Wednesday were cheaper.” I peered hopefully at the cars coming down the passenger pick-up lane, but they all stopped for other travelers. “I should have called a cab or taken the MAX, though.”

“Same here. I’m supposed to be taken for a tuxedo fitting, but I don’t know where. Otherwise I’d be in a cab.”

Ricky glanced at his phone then dropped it back in his pocket. “So, tell me. What does one do at a writer’s conference? Surely you don’t sit around and write.”

About the author Becky Clark is the seventh of eight kids, which explains both her insatiable need for attention and her atrocious table manners. She likes to read funny books so it felt natural to write them too. She surrounds herself with quirky people and pets who end up as characters in her books. Readers say her books are “fast and thoroughly entertaining” with “witty humor and tight writing” and “humor laced with engaging characters” so you should “grab a cocktail and enjoy the ride.” They also say “Warning: You will laugh out loud. I’m not kidding,” and “If you like Janet Evanovich, you will like Becky Clark.”

When Glory Lockhart is prodded into going on a blind date by her friend Connie, no one could have predicted the strange and terrifying turn of events that would take place when her gentleman caller, Tom Rankin, takes her for a romantic ride on a Ferris wheel at a county fair. But when the wheel returns to the ground, Glory finds Tom dead––shot in the back. Immediately, questions course through Glory’s mind–– why was Tom killed and who killed him? She had barely met this man, but now she feels connected to him in the most permanent and horrible way possible. As the widow of a former local police officer, Glory’s head is soon humming with plans to solve the mystery surrounding this man and his gruesome demise on the wheel of death.

About the authors Each chapter of WHEEL OF DEATH is written by an author at Cozy Cat Press for a total of 22 authors.

They are B. J. Gilbertson, Rae Sanders, Annie Irvin, Jennifer Vido, Laura Shea, Emma Pivato, Joyce Oroz, Christian Belz, Joe and Pam Reese, Trisha Durrant, Owen Magruder, David Selcer, Zaida Alfaro, Karen Shughart, Lane Buckman, Carmen Will, Leslie Stansfield, Julie Seedorf, Lorrie Holmgren, Elizabeth Jukes, and Patricia Rockwell

Giveaway!

Giveaway is by Kathrine Smits You can win a copy of The Sea Witch or The Mage or a copy of Water Dreams.

Rafflecopter link is here.

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