Friday, January 31, 2014

Book Review- The Silence of the Library

Happy Friday to you! Today I am reviewing The Silence of the Library by Miranda James. This is the 5th Cat in the Stacks book in the series and if you haven't gotten to know Charlie and his Maine Coon cat Diesel, I encourage you to get this series and jump right in . You will be hooked from the start.

The Silence of the Library (Cat in the Stacks Series #5)

Miranda James has really brought this book to life and draws you into a welcome atmosphere and friendly faces.With the planning of the Library Week event Charlie is excited to meet Electra Barnes Cartwright,who happens to be his favorite author of the Veronica Thanes mysteries. He wants everything to run smoothly but when other fans of hers become demanding and more pushy things don't quite goes as planned. Charlie and Diesel are at it again when they attempt  to solve a murder again.

This was such a fun read on a cold day as it has been here.

Have you followed this series? What do you love most about it!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

First in a New Series -Mum's the Word

Our first in a New Series is by the ever so talented Kate Collins!! Mum's the Word is the first in her Flower Shop Mystery Series and it is a great start.

Mum's the Word (Flower Shop Mystery Series #1)

Overview

Abby Knight is the proud owner of her hometown flower shop, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits-and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit-and-run. She's determined to track down the driver, but when the trail turns deadly, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Author Spotlight- Laura Levine

Happy Wednesday! Today's Spotlight goes to Laura Levine! Laura is the author of the Hilarious Jaine Austen Mystery Series.
Killing Cupid

Her newest book Killing Cupid is out now and what a great read for Valentine's Day.








Image of Laura Levine



Laura Levine is a former sitcom writer (The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Three's Company, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). As an advertising copywriter, she created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
She and her husband live in Los Angeles.
Readers are welcome to contact her at Jaineausten@aol.com or on her website at www.lauralevinemysteries.com

Thank you for writing this series, it has been fun! Here's to you Laura! 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Book Release Day--The Silence of the Library

Happy Release Day to Miranda James!  The Silence of the Library (Cat in the Stacks Series book 5) is here!

The Silence of the Library (Cat in the Stacks Series #5)

Isn't that a great cover? Have you read this series?

Overview


Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel. He’s returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but a celebrated author’s visit draws an unruly swarm of fanatic mystery buffs…and one devious killer.
It’s National Library Week, and the Athena Public Library is planning an exhibit to honor the centenary of famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright—creator of the beloved Veronica Thane series.
Charlie has a soft spot for Cartwright’s girl detective stories (not to mention an extensive collection of her books!). When the author agrees to make a rare public appearance, the news of her whereabouts goes viral overnight, and series devotees and book collectors converge on Athena.
After all, it’s rumored that Cartwright penned Veronica Thane stories that remain under wraps, and one rabid fan will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get hold of the rare books….

Leave a comment and email for a chance to win this book!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sassy Questions with Joyce Lavene

It is wonderful to have Joyce Lavene here with us for today's Sassy Questions.





What is the one food that you can't live with out? 
Definitely chocolate. Sorry, no surprise there, right? I like chocolate on everything from tomatoes to watermelon. Everything really does go better with chocolate. But I had never tried chocolate with peppers before the Sweet Pepper mystery books. I was reluctant, since I'm not a big fan of hot peppers. Then I remembered that chocolate makes everything good and I jumped right in. Delicious! Sweet and spicy is yummy together!

What is your guilty pleasure television show?
Probably Blacklist. I have LOVED James Spader since Stargate. He's always been versatile as an actor but he makes an incredible bad guy. Did you see him in Wolf? I feel guilty because I feel like I should hate him. He's so evil on Blacklist, but I have to watch it. I'd love to have one of our books made into a movie with him in it!

What is the one place you enjoy having dinner at and what do you usually order?
My son has a little pizza place in Locust, North Carolina - the next town up from where we live. It's Called Pizza and Beyond, and the food is AMAZING! He's been making pizza since he was about three (Chef Boyardee). He's worked at almost every pizza restaurant there is, and it has all resulted in the most sublime pizza. So that's what I get. He makes the crust special for me - twice baked. I like it crispy with only a little sauce. 

Do you have a favorite, romantic vacation spot? 
It would probably be Lake Lure, NC. It has a haunting quality to it, combined with the sheer beauty of the lake in the middle of the mountains. The only problem is that it conjures up so many story ideas. My brain has to be set on inactive to be romantic.

What is one thing about you want us to know? ( not book related)
One thing? Oh, I don't know. I'm a vegetarian. I hate to cook. I'd rather eat all my meals at restaurants. I'd like to live in a hotel - or several hotels. I can move around. One of my favorite words is diabolical. Whoops! That's more than one thing. Pesky writers don't know when to shut up!


It was a pleasure getting to know you Joyce! Thank you for being here with us.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Shelley's Weekly Wrap Up # 3

Happy Sunday to you!!

Here's whats happened this week:

January 20th- Sassy Questions with Liz Lipperman
January 21st- Don't Cry Over Killed Milk Tour
January 22nd- Author Spotlight- Peg Cochran
January 23rd- Thursday First- A Long Quiche Goodbye
January 24th-Book Review- Once Upon A Lie by Maggie Barbieri
January 25th- Blossom Street Brides book tour


Books I've read this week
The Silence of the Library by Miranda James
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Dark and Stormy Knit by Anne Canadeo
Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich

Coming Next Week:

January 27th- Sassy Questions with Joyce Lavene
January 28th- Book Release- Double Dip by Gretchen Archer
January 29th- Author Spotlight- Laura Levine
January 30th- First in a New Series- Mums the Word by Kate Collins
January 31st- Book Review- Silence of the Library by Miranda James
February 1st- Book Trivia and giveaway

Hope you will join us!


Saturday, January 25, 2014

Blog Tour- Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber

I am so excited to have New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author  Debbie Macomber and her newest book Blossom Street Brides with us. I am a huge fan of the Blossom Street Series and enjoyed her latest book.


Publisher: Ballantine Books
First Published: March 25, 2014
Format: Hardcover, e-Book, Audiobook, Large Print
More info
ISBN-13: 978-0-345-52884-1
Pages: 336












my review: I was given this book to read for my honest review

I have loved Debbie Macomber's novels since the first time I read A Good Yarn. I have gotten to know Lydia and her sister Margaret  and all the old friends and new friends along the books journey. I have become so into the series, it feels like each of the ladies I met are part of my life. So when Blossom Street Brides was offered to me for reading I knew I had to do it. 


Blossom Street Brides focuses on the lives of three wonderful women, Lydia, Bethanne and Lauren. Lydia is having some issues with her daughter Casey and is trying to  cope with that as well as keeping her yarn shop open. .So when baskets of yarn start appearing around town it brings business into the shop . People are thinking it is Lydia doing it but it isn't and she is trying to find out who. Bethanne is dealing with her Husband living so far away and becoming a grandmother all the while trying to make her daughter happy. She has decisions to make and they are not easy ones. Then there is Lauren who is trying to break-up with her boyfriend but he wont go away. So when she meets Rooster and falls head over heels in love the situation gets heated and things don't turn out as she wants them to.  Lauren has to fight for the man she loves and if that means tracking him down and bringing him back she will stop at nothing to do so. Find out what happens in the next chapter of this series.

Blossom Street Brides is a sure hit that will win your heart. Debbie Macomber is a master at her craft and draws you into lives of each of the ladies. She keeps you reading until the end. Once you read this series your lives will be touched and changed! 


Leave a comment with your email and I will pick 3 lucky winners to receive a copy of Blossom Street Brides!! 











Friday, January 24, 2014

Book Review- Once Upon A Lie by Maggie Barbieri

I got to read Maggie Barbieri's book Once Upon a Time and I must say, It was so good!


Once Upon a Lie

I was hooked on this book from the start. Maggie pulls you in and keeps you hooked until the end. Her newest suspense/ thriller is fast-paced with strong, vivid characters that have you caught up in the story. The plot was fantastic and well written. I really liked the main character, Maeve Conlon, she is a divorced mother trying to keep things going. She has a lot to deal with and finding the real killer is on of the things that she is doing to clear her father as the suspect of Sean's death.
This book had me up late reading it, it was so good. I had to know what was going to happen next.


Have you read it? What did you think?


Thursday, January 23, 2014

First in a New Series-A Long Quiche Goodbye

Happy Thursday to you! It's Thursday First and today we have A Long Quiche Goodbye( A Cheese Shop Mystery) by Avery Aames.


The Long Quiche Goodbye (Cheese Shop Mystery Series #1)

Overview:

Welcome to the grand opening of Fromagerie Bessette. Or as it's more commonly known by the residents of small- town Providence, Ohio-the Cheese Shop. Proprietor Charlotte Bessette has prepared a delightful sampling of bold Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, delicious tortes of Stilton and Mascarpone, and a taste of Sauvignon Blanc-but someone else has decided to make a little crime of passion the piece de resistance. Right outside the shop Charlotte finds a body, the victim stabbed to death with one of her prized olive-wood handled knives.

Have you read this book?  Leave a comment and tell us what you thought of it. If you haven't read it there is still time to catch up in the series. follow the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Quiche-Goodbye-Cheese-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003NX7OD2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389987231&sr=8-1&keywords=a+long+quiche+goodbye





Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Author Spotlight-- Peg Cochran


Hope you are having a great Wednesday, I know we are having a great day here! Peg Cochran is our Spotlighted Author.

Peg Cochran is the author of the bestselling Gourmet De-Lite series, including Allergic to Death and Steamed to Death. She lives in Michigan with her family.

She has a new book in her Gourmet De-lites series coming out in March 2014 

Iced to Death

Hits book shelves every where on March 4th. 

If you haven't gotten to meet Gigi yet pick up Allergic to Death and meet the whole cast, you still have time to get caught up with this series. 

Peg you have a fantastic series and I look forward to each book! Thank you for writing these books! 


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Blog Tour- Don't Cry Over Killed Milk


It is a pleasure to have Stephen Kaminski with us today. We are talking about his book Don't Cry over Killied Milk. 
DontCryOverKilledMilk_ebook_Final



I was given this book to read for review on the tour: I thought the book was really good and the characters were likable. The Plot was great and well written. He pulled you in right away and kept you interested through the whole story. 

When Damon's neighbor Jeremiah Milk is killed Damon becomes curious and decides to find out what happened. Damon and his friend Gerry are determined to find out who killed Jeremiah even if that means getting into trouble with his superiors. 

I enjoyed meeting the characters in this book. I look forward to reading more. 


my interview with Stephen Kaminski:

Tell us about yourself.

Thanks for having me. I’m the author of the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series published by Cozy Cat Press. The first two cozy mysteries in the series are "It Takes Two to Strangle" (2012) and "Don't Cry Over Killed Milk" (2013). I’m originally from Michigan, but have lived on the east coast for the past twenty years. I’m a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School and currently serve as Executive Vice President to a national non-profit organization. I live with in Arlington, Virginia and spend my non-writing free time playing with my daughter, cooking, and playing soccer.

What inspired you to write this book?

I was born with a congenital condition known as amniotic band syndrome (ABS). I have a unique perspective into those born with this condition and wanted to work it into one of my books. I decided to have the victim suffers from this physical malformation as means of entrée to the ABS-affected world.

How did you come up with this title of the book?

It’s a play on “Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk” coupled with the recognition (once the motive behind the murder begins to unravel) that I chose not to make the victim, Jeremiah Milk, a saint. Because I’m affected by the same condition, I didn’t feel obliged to be as politically correct as most treat someone who has a physical malformation (i.e., I didn’t feel the need to treat him as a “good guy”).  So while most readers will initially sympathize with Jeremiah Milk, they’ll learn as the book proceeds that he’s not so innocent (and hence, the need to “cry” is significantly diminished).

Can you share a little bit of your current work?

Excerpt from "Don't Cry Over Killed Milk":

Just after the furniture had been rearranged, Mrs. Chenworth arrived with Cynthia. A chorus of “Surprise!” filled the space.
Mrs. Chenworth put her hand to her heart and breathed in deeply. “Oh my! What a surprise, indeed!” She bustled forward like a corpulent Moses parting seas of people. “I had no idea anyone would throw me a party. But just in case, I made a dish for the occasion!”
Mrs. Chenworth pulled foil from the top of a pie tin and set the offering on the table among a crowd of plates laden with food. She turned to Lynne, who was standing beside her. “Apple pie and meatloaf are my two best dishes.”
Lynne looked down at a flaky, lopsided pie crust. “Which is this?” she asked with a wicked grin.
Mrs. Chenworth’s mouth shot open wide, but then she smiled and slugged Lynne’s delicate left shoulder. “Oh, you kidder,” the birthday girl said and turned to a cluster of chattering woman making their way toward her.
Lynne rubbed her shoulder. “That hurt,” she said to Damon.
“You deserved it, Mother.”

What book are you reading now? 

I’m somehow juggling four books: 

“The Burglar Who Counted Spoons” by Lawrence Block,
“The Saint Zita Society” by Ruth Rendell,
“Silken Prey” by John Sandford, and
“The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon” by Alexander McCall Smith.



Steve Kaminski 3
STEPHEN KAMINSKI is the author of the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series published by Cozy Cat Press. The first two cozy mysteries in the series are “It Takes Two to Strangle” (2012) and “Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk” (2013). Stephen is the winner of the 2012 Reader Views Literary Award for the Mid-Atlantic Region.  He’s a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School, has practiced law for over a decade, and currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to a national non-profit organization. Stephen is a lifelong lover of all types of mysteries and lives with his wife and daughter in Arlington, Virginia.







great escape tour banner large DON'T CRY OVER KILLED MILK 640



Thank you much for joining us here today! Leave a comment for Stephen here. 

Monday, January 20, 2014

Sassy Questions with Liz Lipperman

Happy Monday Everyone! Today is a new feature on my blog and it will be the 3rd and 4th Mondays of each month. Sassy Questions with the Authors. My first Author is Liz Lipperman.

It is great to have Liz with us today and we are talking about things you just wouldn't know about her.




What is one television show that you must absolutely watch?
Parenthood

When you are having one of them days , do you have a favorite comfort food that you go to. (calories don't count)
 Chips and hot sauce and anything Italian straight from the frig—cold pizza or spaghetti, yum.)

When you have a girls night out, what do you do?
 Play bunko with a group of women who I’ve known for over 30 years. We leave hubbies and kids/grandkids home once a year while we vacation together for a week in Florida.I get all my funny lines from these women.

What if any is your absolute favorite Wine or Mixed Drink? 
Without a doubt, a margarita, and if I’m lucky, a margarita swirl.

What is one thing you want people to know about you that you aren't afraid to share. (not book related)
 I’m a sports fanatic and I played and coached soccer. Something juicier—I was suspended for three days from my Catholic HS with my best friend for smoking!! (I quit 35 years ago.) and I am more like Jordan in my Clueless Cook mysteries than I’d like to admit, except for the great hair and bod. And oh yeah, I’m old.

Thanks for being here today Liz, it was fun getting to know you more! 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Shelley's Weekly Wrap Up #2

It's week 2 of my new feature, Shelley's Weekly Wrap Up. What do you all think of it?

Here is what happened this week:

January 13th - -Guest Post- Cate Price
January 18th - Book Review- Forget my Knot by Mary Marks

Book's I've Read this week:

Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber
Once Upon A Lie by Maggi Barbieri
January Thaw by Jess Lourey

Coming Next week:

January 20th- Sassy Questions with Liz Lipperman
January 21st- Don't Cry Over Killed Milk Tour
January 22nd- Author Spotlight- Peg Cochran
January 23rd- Thursday First- A Long Quiche Goodbye
January 24th-Book Review
January 25th- Blossom Street Brides book tour

Hope to see you there!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Book Review--Forget me Knot by Mary Marks


Forget Me Knot

It's book review time and this week is Forget me Knot by Mary Marks. Hope you enjoy!



Mary Mark's first in a new Quilting Mystery Series was a great debut! The Cast of Characters are funny and witty and will win your heart and friendship with this read!

Tuesday has always been Quilt Tuesday and the Ladies are getting ready to go to Claire's, the newest member of the group,home. Claire is an excellent quilter and a prize winner at many quilting shows. So when Lucy finds her dead in her home questions begin to arise as to why some one would kill her and if her death is linked to the robberies of quilts that have been happening.

Martha is the head of the group and she wants to investigate although Chief Beavers wants her to stay out of it. She goes on anyway. She made a promise to Claire's mother to find out who did this and doesn't intend to break it.

This is such a great book to start this series! The characters are very likable and the plot is a clever and intriguing one.

I look forward to the next one in this series!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Blog Tour- The Reckless Engineer by Jac Wright

Today we have joining us, Jac Wright, He is the Author of The Reckless Engineer. 

The Reckless Engineer (The Reckless Engineer #1)

Can you forgive betrayal?
The aftershocks of an affair reverberate out to those in the lives of the lovers, who will NOT take it lying down.

Jack Connor lives an idyllic life by the Portsmouth seaside married to Caitlin McAllen, a stunning billionaire heiress, and working at his two jobs as the Head of Radar Engineering of Marine Electronics and as the Director of Engineering of McAllen BlackGold, his powerful father-in-law Douglas McAllen's extreme engineering company in Oil & Gas.  He loves his two sons from his first marriage and is amicably divorced from his beautiful first wife Marianne Connor.  Their delicately balanced lives are shattered when sexy Michelle Williams, with whom Jack is having a secret affair and who is pregnant with his child, is found dead and Jack is arrested on suspicion for the murder.

Jeremy Reid brings in top London defence attorney, Harry Stavers, to handle his best friend's defence.

Who is the bald man with the tattoo of a skull seen entering the victim's house?  Who is "KC" who Caitlin makes secret calls to from a untraceable mobile?  Has powerful Douglas McAllen already killed his daughter's first partner and is he capable of killing again?  Is Caitlin's brother Ronnie McAllen's power struggle with Jack for the control of McAllen Industries so intense that he is prepared to kill and frame his brother-in-law?  Is the divorce from Jack's first wife as amicable on her part as they believe it to be?  Are his sons prepared to kill for their vast inheritance?  Who are the ghosts from Caitlin's past in Aberdeen, Scotland haunting the marriage?  What is the involvement of Jack's manager at Marine Electronics?
While Jack is charged and his murder trial proceeds in the Crown Court under barrister Harry Stavers’ expert care, Jeremy runs a race against time to find the real killer and save his friend's life, if he is in fact innocent, in a tense saga of friendship, love, desire, power, and ambition.


Blog:           mysteriescrimethrillers.blogspot.com
Twitter: @JacWrightBooks

The author is giving away two $25 gift cards to blog members who either comment on this blog post with their email address of enter through the Web Form here:



Guest Post: The Cast of The Reckless Engineer Celebrates Christmas the Year Before



The cast of The Reckless Engineer celebrates Christmas the year before while a storm is brewing that would explode less than ten months later.
      Jeremy clutched his steering wheel in a low rage mixed with pain that had not lessened after all these months. He had pulled over outside Maggie’s house, having driven all the way to Southampton from London to surprise her, a wrapped present of diamond studded anklets forlorn on the seat next to him. Maggie had gorgeous feet with long French manicured toes and he had longed to latch the anklets around them. That, however, was Gregory’s SUV in her driveway.  Jeremy had been sure that Maggie and he were back together for good when she had driven over to his flat in
London Kensington and stayed three nights with him just last week. The sex had been so intimate, powerful, and he had poured his heart out to her about his worries about his new company. Radio Silicon’s had finished its first engineering contract a month ago and, try as he might, Jeremy had not been able to land another one in this recession. He needed her now.  How could she be with him and then sleep with Gregory only a few days later as if she and he had never happened?
      He couldn’t go home to Mother. He had told his parents that he was spending Christmas with Maggie. They loved Maggie and were so proud of her, and he had never told them that she had broken up and moved out.
      He thought for a moment and pressed the fast-dial button on his mobile. ‘Hey, Harry. I’m coming over for Christmas after all. You still have a place open around your dinner table?’
      Thank god for Harry, his best friend––as far as Jeremy was concerned, almost his brother. Growing up on the same street together, Jeremy had defended Harry from the playground bullies through their school years and Harry had bailed him out of all the trouble he got into during their university days together at Stanford. With another glance at Maggie’s house, which sent a pang of pain from this throat through his heart down to his gut, Jeremy put his car back into gear. The Fortnum & Mason hamper and the bottle of champagne on his back seat would go to Christmas dinner with him at Harry’s place.
* * *
      The Family was gathered in the Sitting Room of the McAllen mansion in Aberdeen. After a hearty Christmas dinner they were now enjoying an assortment of deserts in the Sitting Room. It was eerie how much this room reflected the Sitting Room in his own house in Guildford, Jack thought; but then Caitlin and Douglas McAllen had directed the designs and the build of that part of their house and Caitlin had wanted her own little bit of Scotland right in the heart of Hampshire.
      The men were in tartan kilts, a variation derived from the tartan of the MacAlister clan the family descended from. Douglas McAllen always insisted on it. Jack felt ridiculous in the skirt, but he would dare not show anything but enthusiasm to anyone in “The Family” even though he always privately complained about it to Caitlin (complaints which she would answer by asking him to stop being so cross all the time). That morning he had had to follow the McAllen men and join a long procession of nearly fifty Scottish clans for a slow march around Aberdeen to the wail of bagpipes after which they had been served steaming bowls of soup and bread at the church-hall. He had to admit he had felt something primal and exhilarating about all that male tribal energy in the hall after the march and the buttered bread soaked in the soup had tasted so good.
      Gillian was helping little one-year-old Kristie unwarp the presents around the brightly lit Christmas tree while the toddler’s proud parents,
Ronnie and Elise, and grandma Leanna looked on, laughing and applauding. McAllen briefly stopped the discussion with Jack on the electromagnetic telemetry tool for detecting oil and gas reservoirs that was on Jack’s planning table at the McAllen Blackgold offices down south to look on at his granddaughters with a proud benevolent smile. Jack could sense he had McAllen all excited about this device, but why the hell the he kept probing him about the electro-mechanical details that only an electrical engineer could understand Jack didn't know.  Well, he had got used to humouring the old man, keeping his impatience in check.  Jack followed McAllen's gaze and glanced around the room. The McAllen women were all in tartan skirts but for Caitlin who had had a pair of trousers made out of her family tartan. Caitlin always liked to wear the trousers.
      A splash, splash of water drew Jack’s attention to the pool outside the large French patio doors.  As usual Peter had tagged along up to Scotland with everybody and, as usual, he was swimming his evening laps outside in the heated swimming pool. As he had promised Marianne, Jack would fly down to Portsmouth with Peter tomorrow morning, leaving the rest of his family behind, and have Boxing Day dinner with his own kids, Peter and Mark, and his mother at Marianne’s.
      A text vibrated the Blackberry in Jack’s hand. There wasn’t even a pocket to keep his phone in this bloody costume. Jesus, it was Michelle with one of those “sextexts” as she called them. It had been six months since he had got involved with Michelle and now he wanted out. He had broken up with her just before Christmas. A sudden tremor of fear ran through him like a chill. She had thrown a tantrum and threatened to tell Caitlin all about the affair, and here she was invading this respectable family scene with a brash, explicit message that had a hint of a threat in it. He had better stop by her house and pacify her before driving over to Marianne’s. Jack knew what pacifying her meant––wild, clothes tearing, sweat pouring, neck biting, back scraping, loud groaning sex. Jack took in a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and blew out the air slowly as if he were blowing into a bowl of hot butternut squash soup with bits of bacon in it.




Excerpt: Jeremy Meets Douglas McAllen & Co

      At six foot four in height Douglas McAllen was an immense, imposing, and regal presence that owned every room he walked into. Like Caitlin he lightly packed his tall and broad frame with lean flesh and muscles, somewhat slackened with time, without being either over or under weight. His face was crinkled with fine lines like cracked drying mud, and the
equally wrinkled hand he extended to them betrayed a slight tremor from his sixty odd years of life on earth and from the strain of his daughter’s plight.
      ‘Harry Stavers?’ His deep voice resounded through the room. He slouched down and extended a hand to Harry whose five-foot eight-inch slim frame was dwarfed by the presence of the older man.
      ‘Pleased to meet you in person, Mr. Stavers, and thank you for stepping in to help my daughter and son-in-law so effectively. This is Magnus Laird from McKinley & Laird Solicitors.’
      Magnus Laird walked in a step behind Douglas McAllen and was also a presence of massive proportions in his own right. The two or three inches in height and the half-a-dozen or so years in age he lacked relative to his client, he made up for with three or four stones of extra weight packed liberally around his torso. His face was dominated by a thick walrus moustache, which he was in the habit of combing down with his right forefinger every now and then.
      ‘How do you do, Mr. McAllen, Mr. Laird? Please call me Harry.’ Harry stood upright, greeting them with a steady voice of strength and confidence, like David facing Goliath.
      ‘Och aye, Mr. Stavers. It is a pleasure indeed my dear fellaw. I have heard much abit yer courtroom antics in the High Court from me fellow members of the bar in London.’
      Laird bent forward to shake Harry’s hand heartily, taking care not to topple over, then straightened back up with great effort, momentarily holding onto his own back with his left hand the way pregnant women did.
      ‘And this must be Jeremy Stone.’ McAllen’s blue eyes crinkled further into a smile as he lithely took the half-length of the room with a few long strides. He put his left hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and shook his right hand. The old man liked him.
      ‘I have heard much about you, good things, from Caitlin and Jack. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, son. You must come and visit my factories in Aberdeen some time. I am always in need of a fine engineer of your calibre.’
      ‘I am honoured to meet you, sir.’ Jeremy bowed his head and smiled.
      ‘Och, aye, Mr. Stone, the Engineer. The one who made the laboratory in the barn for our dear Jack, I hear. Very clever, very clever indeed.’ Magnus Laird waddled, carrying his bulk across the room, and shook Jeremy’s hand heartily for a long minute or two with both of his.
      ‘I only gave Jack a hand, Mr. Laird,’ Jeremy protested, but he couldn’t help being cheered by his hearty appraisal.

      ‘It has already been a long morning for us and we don’t have much time before we have to face this bloody police interview. I need a word in private with Magnus and Caitlin first, and then we can discuss matters over a spot of lunch. How does that sound, Mr. Stavers,er,Harry?'

It was a pleasure having Jac with us today. He is giving away two gift cards so leave a comment for him and your email for a chance to win!

First in Series- Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Happy Monday! This week's First in Series is Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross Released on August 22, 2000. Seri...