Friday, September 2, 2022

Big News in the Sugarwood Mysteries Series by Diane Bator

 

Sugarwood Mysteries has 

a NEW LOOK and a NEW BOOK!!



Audra Clemmings loves Halloween. At least until she sees the display of voodoo dolls in the shop next door that resembles nearly everyone in Sugarwood, Ontario--including her.

Then there's the matter of the dead cowboy on the bench in front of her shop Stitch'n'Time...

A few great reviews:

"After reading the first book in the Sugarwood Mysteries, I became hooked on the characters, genre, and author. Ms. Bator penned a goodie in this murder mystery. Characters Audra Clemmings and Merilee Rutherford (best friends) hang in there together, always having each other’s backs through some terrorizing moments. Between the two of these women, figuring out the ‘who done it’ kept them guessing while wrapping the reader around their conjectures and info gathering. I enjoyed these women, completely enamored in their thought process. I adore cozy mysteries, and Ms. Bator just became one of my favorite authors of this genre." - Susan

"This is not your Wild West Cowboy story. No, this is contemporary and takes place in a small town. Yes, one of the shopkeepers in the charming downtown area is on the trail to find out whodunit. Lots of humor and speculation on who killed the cowboy and why, so I was not sure who the murderer was until the end of the book. Ms. Bator's description of the locations and the quirky fun characters engage readers in this well-written cozy mystery. Yes, I recommend the book to cozy mystery lovers." - Janet Glaser

"All the characters were well-crafted. One of my favorites is Miss Lavinia. She describes them so vividly it's as if you actually know them, great job.
Clemmings definitely has her hands full. However, in the end, she prevails. If you enjoy reading a really good cozy mystery then this is the book for you.
It has surprises, it's captivating, and keeps you wondering until the very end." Digiecard

BWL Publishing Website:  http://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

AND THE NEW BOOK...



Christmas blooms in Sugarwood in the form of a brightly lit tree in town square, colourful ornaments, and a snowstorm. It’s just Audra Clemmings’ luck that she literally stumbles over the local butcher in Miss Lavinia’s shop. Then a witch doctor arrives in town. Can Audra solve the mystery before the killer turns their sights on her?

Here's a little snippet!

 As I grabbed my red parka from the closet, I smiled. The colour never failed to give me a lift, so I paired it with my favourite red hat and black gloves. I left Drake home to babysit Rex who, as predicted, fell asleep on the bed and still hadn’t returned to the couch. I was at the deli before I realized I could’ve taken the key and the car and then he’d be stuck there. Darn it! I was such a creature of habit.

At nine o’clock on the dot, I set a large black coffee on Officer Grant’s desk and asked, “Did you find out who owns that token?”

He scratched the stubble on his chin as he reached for the cup.

I moved it out of his reach. “Not so fast. I want answers.”

“And I want coffee,” he said, meeting my gaze. “If you think we’re at an impasse, keep in mind I’m the one with the gun and the handcuffs.”

“Good thing I’m not wearing my pajamas then.” The words sounded better in my head than they did aloud.

A nearby officer smirked.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Jacobs,” Officer Grant snapped. “Last time I arrested her, she was wearing her pajamas out in public.”

Handing him the coffee before he bit anyone, I decided to consider it my good deed for the day. I sat across from him and asked, “So?”

He sipped the coffee. “Needs cream.”

“You’re welcome.” 

Dead Man's Doll Coming October 2022 

from BWL Publishing: http://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

To request additional review copies or an interview with Diane Bator, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.    

We look forward to the coverage!


Meet our BWL Authors - Eileen O'Finlan and Victoria Chatham

 

Introducing Eileen O'Finlan

Eileen is a BWL Author from Massachusetts

 

I live in Holden, a town located in Central Massachusetts, very close to the city of Worcester.  I have lived here most of my life.  However, both of my parents are from Vermont and many of my relatives live there.  I dearly love Vermont and consider myself an “honorary Vermonter.”  I am 54, single, and the caretaker of my amazing 91 year old mom.  I also have two adorable cats (a Russian Blue named Smokey and a calico Maine Coon named Autumn Amelia.)   Books and cats are pretty much all I need to be happy!

 

I work full-time as an Administrative Assistant in the Tribunal Office for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester.  I also just started teaching online courses in theology for the University of Dayton, Ohio.  I have an undergraduate degree in history and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry.

 

 www.eileenofinlan.com   

 

 

Visit Eileen's Author Page:  https://bookswelove.net/o-finlan-eileen/

 

Introducing Victoria Chatham

Victoria is a BWL Author from Alberta 

 

Being born in Bristol, England, Victoria, Chatham grew up in an area rife with the elegance of Regency architecture. This, along with the novels of Georgette Heyer, engendered in her an abiding interest in the period with its style and manners and is one where she feels most at home.


Apart from her writing, Victoria is an avid reader of anything that catches her interest, but especially Regency romance. She also teaches introductory creative writing. Her love of horses gets her away from her computer to volunteer at Spruce Meadows, a world class equestrian centre near Calgary, Alberta, where she currently lives. http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca   

 

 

Visit Victoria's author page https://bookswelove.net/chatham-victoria/

Thursday, September 1, 2022

BWL Publishing Inc. - New Releases September 2022

CLICK THE BOOK COVERS FOR AUTHORS' BWL PAGES AND PURCHASE LINKS

When a local rancher’s body is discovered in Tuzigoot National Monument, Doug and Jill Fletcher are dispatched to investigate the suspicious death. Horseshoe prints where the body was found point the investigation toward the dozens of local ranches and trail ride companies.

The clues lead the Fletchers into Cottonwood, a nearby tourist town with a blossoming wine tasting industry. It quickly becomes apparent that the victim was a bed-hopping cowboy, who has left behind a string of scorned women and angry husbands.

While riding along the Verde River in search of clues, Doug and Jill are befriended by Gunner, a young cowboy who’d been injured in a rodeo accident. Socially inept and somewhat slow, Gunner sees things that others overlook. His daily rides around Tuzigoot made him a reluctant witness to much of what happened following the murder.

Despite slowly developing confidence in his horsemanship, Doug is forced to ride “Lightning” when their prime suspect flees on horseback. He and Lightning follow, as Jill gallops off in pursuit of their murder suspect. The chase turns into a scene from a Wild West movie when the fleeing cowboy fires his six-shooter at his pursuers.


Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Writing Cars by Priscilla Brown

 

 

 

 
 
 
Callum, the subject of the 'hot ticket', lusts after both Olivia's red sports car and its stunning owner.
 Will she ever let him drive this magnificent piece of engineering? 


In my real life, I drive small elderly reliable car. In my writing life, I like to give my characters appropriate - or not - vehicles for their needs and lifestyles.  As an author of contemporary romance, I am always looking out for potential character and situation miscellanies. 
 
Yesterday, in a wet, windy and busy shopping centre car park with the indoor levels full of weather escapees, I had to park outside on the top level. This is an area where whoever designed it probably never 'park-tested' it, since the spaces white-lined between them appear to me to be suitable only for tricycles. As I waited in the car for my passenger to finish shopping, I scanned the nearby rows of 'shop mobiles'. In one, a shopper piled so may large bags onto the passenger seat that one fell out and spilled its contents, revealing the purchaser's choice of several pink underwear items. I was sorry for her that these pretty things acquired a damp and grubby surface. Her shopping now safely in her car, she drove away, its place immediately taken by a small truck. Two men, in shorts and t-shirts in spite of the weather, strode into the shopping area. They returned in minutes, carrying large coffee mugs. Reversing out, the driver had one hand on the wheel and the other holding his coffee to his mouth. Me, I can find  trouble reversing from a tight spot using both hands. And who knows, one day this guy may find a place in a story.

Some years ago, a story opportunity drove into the car park of a cafe in a small country town. As I dawdled over coffee and cake on the sunny veranda, I watched a blonde woman park a seriously impressive scarlet sports car, its top down.  She and her car deserved to appear in a romance, and she became  Olivia in Hot Ticket. 

A casual glance at an an advertisement in a road travel magazine sparked the idea of introducing a female car mechanic. Billie, who is better at fixing cars than at fixing her love life,  takes her place in Finding Billie   http://books2read..com/Finding-Billie

 As a writer who is otherwise not particularly interested in cars as long as mine takes me where I want to go, I do enjoy research matching vehicles to personalities. 

To the drivers among you, may you always find the perfect parking spot.

Love, Priscilla




https://bwlpublishing.ca

https://priscillabrownauthor.com



 


 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Tate's Little Slice of Heaven by Eden Monroe

 


Visit Eden Monroe's BWL Author Page for book details and purchase information

There’s probably no place closer to my heart than my grandparents’ farm and the countless hours I spent there as a child. My memories of that idyllic time often find their way into my storytelling, but perhaps none so much as in my latest book, Sidelined. It was in the nearby village of Cambridge-Narrows, not far from that farm, that Tate McQuaid of Sidelined returned to realize his dream of starting the Willow Wind Ranch.

Both the village and my grandparents’ farm are located on the shores of the Washademoak Lake. It’s not a true lake at all as it turns out, rather just a widening of the Caanan River, but beautiful nonetheless. True blue, dyed-in-the-wool country folks, my grandfather was a cavalry horseman during the First World War. My grandmother was a British home child who came to Canada at the age of nine and was taken in by the Akerley family of The Narrows (Cambridge and The Narrows amalgamated in 1966). The only girl in the household, she had six older brothers who adored her.

One of those brothers was Walter Akerley who, despite losing part of one leg while still a youngster (stepped on rusty horseshoe nail) he went on to live a full and productive life, all one hundred six and a half years worth. It was Walter who ran the general store mentioned as Bennett’s General Store in Sidelined.

Writing about the village and the farm was a heartwarming experience, a homecoming for me as well as for Tate because that’s where he’d spent much of his youth on his Uncle Arthur’s farm, which was really the farm of my childhood.

So Tate’s love for this place, is mine too, a wonderful full-circle moment.

A rodeo star, Tate has come back from the west to raise paint horses; to see the pastures on his ranch – lush and green - filled with handsome paints grazing peacefully under a warm summer sun, the scent of clover in the fresh clean air. It’s his own slice of heaven. Not much wonder the village calls itself the best kept secret in Canada. I’ll tell you, it doesn’t get much better than early mornings on the Washademoak, and I’ve seen a fair share of the world beyond that gentle valley.

Nevertheless Tate’s return to New Brunswick was bittersweet, because he’d chosen his own path in life much to the chagrin of his disapproving parents. They’d had a more cerebral career in mind for their only child than being a bull rider:

“The tension was palpable and his father’s arms were still folded as he continued to watch his son. ‘You say you’re back in New Brunswick for good, so where do you plan to stay, because if you think….’

Tate was one step ahead of him, holding up his hand. ‘If that was an invitation, Dad, I’m going to have to turn you down,’ he said tightly. ‘There’s a big spread up on the Washademoak, not far from where Uncle Arthur used to live near Cambridge-Narrows. The Willow Wind Ranch has three hundred glorious acres, barns, home to some of the finest paint horses in Eastern Canada. That’s where I’ll be.’

His father sighed. ‘At least you found a job, that’s something I suppose. When do you start?’

Tate shook his head, meeting his father’s eyes and holding his gaze. ‘I guess you could say right away. I’ll be working around the clock because I bought the place and will be naming it as soon as it’s up and running. It’s my dream to make it a premiere paint breeding facility, and I’ll realize that dream too, whether you believe in me or not. I’m not just some empty-headed cowpoke without enough sense to get in out of the sun, I’m a businessman and a retired athlete. I have made a success of my life so far, just not on your terms.’ “



When I finished writing Sidelined I decided to take a leisurely drive through the village, Tate so real to me now I half expected to meet him at the general store a short distance down the road when I stopped for a fill up. A little further along I pulled over for a closer look at the property I’d chosen for Tate’s fictitious horse ranch and imagined, just for a moment, that it was not just a story.  He lives only in my imagination of course, but on this cloudless summer day, crickets chirring in the heavy summer heat, I can almost see him walking up from the barn. He’s wearing a straw cowboy hat, stripped to the waist and tanned a deep brown. He stops and looks around, likely feeling as I do that there’s no place on earth he’d rather be. I see the lake just beyond, shimmering sapphire blue, the pastures stretching out before my eyes, and yes, Paint horses grazing contentedly. And then the moment passes and I move on, smiling as I glance back at the empty yard and fields. But still, it was a very good day to be in Cambridge-Narrows.

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