Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Meet "The Grangers": Brendra Jackson Strikes Again








 


New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson is one of my favorites. I fell in love with her when she introduced me to "the Madaris Family". I had the pleasure of meeting her in New York at the Romance Writers of America Convention in July, 2003. She was a real down home girl, no pretense, just a delightful person you could call "girlfriend".

Over the years, she continues to thrill me with her rich characterization, steamy plots and sizzling dialogue. It's my pleasure to introduce you to her new series, The Grangers.





Sunday, July 13, 2014

Romantic Suspense Updates: Crime Mysteries by Janet Evanovich, J. D. Robb, Sue Grafton, and Partricia Cornwall

What's up with your favorite female stars of the crime mysteries? Take a look as we update you on the latest adventures of Eve Dallas (J. D. Robb), Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton), Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwall) and Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich).. You can count on endless suspense in these crime mysteries with characters you've come to know and love. The authors are bright stars in the industry, accustomed to riding the best seller list. None will disappoint with the latest in their on going series.



Take Down Twenty
Janet Evanovich
(Stephanie Plum-Book 20)

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.
It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the run-around. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor.

With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail, and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown.


 
Thankless in Death
J. D. Robb
Murder doesn't stop for Thanksgiving.

As the household of NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke prepares for an invasion of family and friends, an ungrateful son decides to stop the nagging from his parents - by ending their lives.
Soon Jerald Reinhold is working his way through anyone who has ever thwarted him in his path to an easy life. Eve is increasingly frustrated in her efforts to cover all the potential victims as Jerald stays a terrifying step ahead.

As the festivities begin, Eve is desperate to identify which victim on Jerald's long list will be the next, so she can stop the killing spree...



W is For Wasted
Sue Grafton
(Kinsey Millhone-Book 23)


W is for . . . wanderer . . . worthless . . . wronged . . .
Two dead bodies changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I'd never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.

The first was a local PI of suspect reputation. He'd been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He'd been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with Millhone's name and number was in his pants pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.
Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.

  But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange linkages begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey literally finds the key to his identity. “And just like that," she says, “the lid to Pandora's box flew open. It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself."
In this multilayered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised.

Of the #1 New York Times–bestselling Kinsey Millhone series, NPR said, “Makes me wish there were more than 26 letters."


 

Patricia Cornwell's series of crime novels featuring the forensic examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta are international bestsellers. She is also the author of two police procedurals and the biography of Ruth Graham. She divides her time between Virginia and New York.

 Dust
Patricia Cornwell
(Kay Scarpetta-Book 21)



 After working one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, Scarpetta returns home to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Exhausted and ill, she's recovering at home when she receives an unsettling call.

The body of a young woman has been discovered on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's rugby field. The victim, a graduate student named Gail Shipman, is oddly draped in ivory linen and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination in the sea of red mud where the body has been left also reveals a bizarre residue that fluoresces blood red, emerald green and sapphire blue.

Physical evidence links the case to a series of uniquely weird homicides in Washington, D.C., where Scarpetta's FBI husband has been deployed to help capture a serial killer dubbed the Capital Murderer.

The cases all connect and yet seem to conflict. Gail Shipman was murdered for financial gain—or was she? It will require the usual ensemble of characters to find out the truth, including Scarpetta's sidekick Pete Marino, who has undergone a drastic change in his life that places him center stage in a Cambridge investigation that puts everyone at risk.

New Mysteries From David Balducci; James Rollins and Grant Blackwood






Meet David Baldacci

David Baldacci attended law school at the University of Virginia, and went on to work as a trial lawyer, and later as a corporate lawyer, in Washington, D.C. He is now a full-time writer whose bestselling novels include Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth and Saving Faith. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

Baldacci made a big splash on the literary scene with the publication of his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996. A major motion picture adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 28 novels, all of which have been national and international bestsellers; several have been adapted for film and television. His novels have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries; over 110 million copies are in print worldwide. David has also published four novels for children. He has received numerous accolades for his writing; most recently, he was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame and received the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award.
While David is involved with several philanthropic organizations, his greatest efforts are dedicated to his family’s Wish You Well Foundation®. Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of literacy and educational programs. In 2008 the Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind, a program to address the connection between literacy, poverty and hunger. Through Feeding Body & Mind, more than 1 million new and used books have been collected and distributed through food banks to families in need.


The Finisher
David Baldacci

Fourteen-year-old Vega Jane lives in the village of Wormwood, where life is nasty, brutish and short. Villagers have been told that there is nothing outside of Wormwood except for the Quag, a foul forest filled with terrifying beasts. No one comes, no one goes, and Wormwood has stayed this way for generations. Until Vega's mentor Quentin Herms disappears.

Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave -- he was chased. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. Quentin leaves Vega a secret message hinting that there's a way out of Wormwood and something extraordinary on the other side. As Vega begins to investigate, she realizes that Wormwood is a village built on dangerous lies. And that powerful people are willing to kill in order to keep it that way. Soon Vega is careening down a path that will either lead straight to the truth . . . or straight into an early grave.

The Quag is a dark forest filled with terrifying beasts and bloodthirsty Outliers. But just as deadly are the threats that exist within the walls of Wormwood. It is a place built on lies, where influential people are willing to kill to keep their secrets. Vega is determined to uncover the truth -- but the closer she gets, the more she risks her life.

With The Finisher, master storyteller David Baldacci conjures a thrilling, imaginative world where things are as wrong as wrong can be -- and introduces us to an unforgettable heroine who must think fast, look close, and defy all odds in her fight to do what's right.

A mesmerizing tour de force from the #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, as you've never seen him before.



Stone Cold
Book 3 in the Camel Club series
David Baldacci



Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington, D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies - including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret work of the government.

Oliver Stone and the Camel Club are back in their most dangerous adventure yet a war on two fronts. Casino king Jerry Bagger from The Collectors is hunting Annabelle Conroy, the beautiful woman who conned him out of millions. Stone and his colleagues Reuben, Milton, and Caleb marshal all their resources to protect Annabelle. Yet all their skills may not be enough when a deadly new opponent rips off the veneer of Stone's own mysterious past: Bagger's menace pales next to newcomer Harry Finn's lethality. Passing as a normal family man, Finn has already killed three men, with more targets to come. When Finn sets his bull's-eye on Stone, his reason will be the greatest shock of all, causing readers to reconsider their views of good and evil. As bodies and institutions topple, the story rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors of this explosive tale changed forever.
 
Divine Justice
Book 4 in the Camel Club series
David Baldacci

Known by his alias, "Oliver Stone," John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone's life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced.

But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone, wants Stone dead.

With their friend and unofficial leader in hiding, the members of the Camel Club risk everything to save him. Now, as the hunters close in, Stone's flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the small, isolated coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia-and into a world every bit as lethal as the one he left behind.
 
 
Meet Author James Rollins

James Rollins is the pen name of American veterinarian James Paul Czajkowski (52), a Chicago born writer of best-selling, action-adventure, thriller novels. He was educated at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He gave up his veterinary practice in Sacramento, California, to be a full-time author. 
 
Rollins is an amateur spelunker and a certified scuba diver. These pastimes have helped him to provide content for some of his earlier novels, which are often set in underground or underwater locations.

THE KILL SWITCH
(A Tucker Wayne Novel)
James Rollins and Grant Blackwood

Who does the U.S. government call upon when a mission requires perfect stealth, execution, and discretion? Meet the newest recruits to the expanding Sigma Force universe--former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his stalwart companion, Kane, a military working dog of exceptional abilities -- in:

The mission seems simple enough: extract a pharmaceutical magnate from Russian soil, a volatile man who holds the secret to a deadly bioweapon. But nothing is as it appears to be. A conspiracy of world-shattering scope unravels as Tucker and Kane struggle to keep one move ahead of their deadly enemies.

From the frozen steppes of Russia to the sun-blasted mountains of South Africa and Namibia, a biological threat millions of years in the making strikes out at the heart of America. All that stands in the way from a global apocalypse: one man and his dog. But can even Tucker and Kane thwart an ecological menace out of the ancient past to save the world's future.

The Latest "In Death" From J. D. Robb


Thankless in Death  
Book 37
J. D. Robb
(Release date July 15,2014)
Murder doesn't stop for Thanksgiving.

As the household of NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke prepares for an invasion of family and friends, an ungrateful son decides to stop the nagging from his parents - by ending their lives.

Soon Jerald Reinhold is working his way through anyone who has ever thwarted him in his path to an easy life. Eve is increasingly frustrated in her efforts to cover all the potential victims as Jerald stays a terrifying step ahead.

As the festivities begin, Eve is desperate to identify which victim on Jerald's long list will be the next, so she can stop the killing spree...



Concealed in Death
Book 38
J. D. Robb
(Release date July 26, 2014)

The incomparable J. D. Robb presents another of her latest moving and suspenseful novel in the #1 New York Times - bestselling Eve Dallas series.

In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas's husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately - and by the time she's done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

 The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force's new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

 Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary - and the evil concealed in one human heart.

Festive in Death
Book 39
J. D. Robb

(Release date September 9, 2014)
Personal trainer Trey Ziegler was in peak physical condition. If you didn't count the kitchen knife in his well-toned chest.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas soon discovers a lineup of women who'd been loved and left by the narcissistic gym rat. While Dallas sorts through the list of Ziegler's enemies, she's also dealing with her Christmas shopping list, plus the guest list for her and her billionaire husband's upcoming holiday bash.

Feeling less than festive, Dallas tries to put aside her distaste for the victim and solve the mystery of his death. There are just a few investigating days left before Christmas, and as New Year's 2061 approaches, this homicide cop is resolved to stop a cold-blooded killer.

Meet the Cousins O'Dwyer: A Nora Roberts Trilogy


From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a trilogy about the land we're drawn to, the family we learn to cherish, and the people we long to love…


 
 Dark Witch
Nora Roberts

First in the all-new Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.
 Ireland.  County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors' blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.
 
 Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan's directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O'Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.
 When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he's three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

 Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona's family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

 
Shadow Spell
Book Two of The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy

With the legends and lore of Ireland running through his blood, falconer Connor O'Dwyer is proud to call County Mayo home. It's where his sister, Branna, lives and works, where his cousin, Iona, has found true love, and where his childhood friends form a circle that can't be broken…

 A circle that is about to be stretched out of shape—by a long-awaited kiss.

 Meara Quinn is Branna's best friend, a sister in all but blood. Her and Connor's paths cross almost daily, as Connor takes tourists on hawk walks and Meara guides them on horseback across the lush countryside. She has the eyes of a gypsy and the body of a goddess…things Connor has always taken for granted—until his brush with death propels them into a quick, hot tangle.

 Plenty of women have found their way to Connor's bed, but none to his heart until now. Frustratingly, Meara is okay with just the heat, afraid to lose herself—and their friendship—to something more. But soon, Connor will see the full force and fury of what runs in his blood. And he will need his family and friends around him when his past rolls in like the fog, threatening an end to all he loves…

Don't miss the final book in the Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy
Blood Magick

 

Another "Gem" from Nora Roberts

The Collector Nora Roberts
Lila Emerson is fascinated by other people's lives. As a house-sitter, she loves looking after the glamorous, sophisticated homes she could never afford herself. And as a writer, she enjoys watching the world go by, dreaming up stories for the people she sees from her window.
But then one day she witnesses something only too real - the brutal and shocking murder of a young woman living across the street in New York. And now, because of what she saw, Lila's own life is in immediate danger from an audacious, single-minded assassin who kills for profit and for pleasure.
With the police following a false lead, Lila is on her own. Her only hope is to team up with Ashley Archer, an artist with his own complicated reasons for getting involved. Lila wants to trust the passionate, quick-witted Ash - but is she letting her feelings blind her to his motives? Either way, Lila will never watch from the sidelines again...

Sunday, June 22, 2014

On the Record: Meet Nicholas Sparks


 
Meet Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Charles Sparks is an American novelist, screenwriter and producer. Eight of his romantic-drama novels have been adapted to film.

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. He has seventeen published novels plus one non-fiction. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 89 million copies in print worldwide, in over 50 languages, including over 50 million copies in the United States alone, and his popularity continues to soar.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Everything to Lose by Andrew Gross




 Andrew Gross (born 1952) is an American author of thriller novels including four New York Times bestsellers. He is best known for his collaborations with suspense writer James Patterson. Gross’s books feature close family bonds, relationships characterized by loss or betrayal and large degree of emotional resonance which generally lead to wider crimes and cover-ups. They have all been published by William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins.




Soulful Fiction_African American Romance

Every good romance novel must possess certain key elements. The hero and heroine must be likeable, although they might be flawed, they are still loveable and the reader wants the romance to come to a satisfactory conclusion aka a happily ever after ending. The couple meets early in the story and face barriers that keep them from finding true love together until the story's end. The romantic tension builds as the story progresses and eventually obstacles to true love are overcome and the relationship comes to a satisfactory conclusion.

Meet authors Ann Christopher and Brenda Jackson. They'll show you how it's done.


A Brother's Honor
Brenda Jackson


The Granger brothers left behind their family's Virginia estate—and the bad memories it holds—years ago. But their dying grandfather's request brings them home: to a failing business, a legacy of secrets and a deathbed promise to make things right.
As the eldest brother, attorney Jace Granger is determined to take responsibility for Granger Aeronautics, his family's failing business. But the years of mismanagement seem impossible to untangle. As CEO, he hires a consultant to turn the company around. Smart, sexy Shana Bradford is the right person for the job—and the right woman to turn Jace's world upside down.

But the passion between them is jeopardized when old secrets begin to emerge. A woman from Jace's past suddenly reappears. And an explosive discovery changes everything Jace thinks he knows about his mother—and his father, who was convicted of her murder.

Jace Granger tried to leave his family history behind once before. But this time he needs to face the past…or risk losing his future.

Three brothers. One legacy. A lifetime of secrets.


A Man's Promise
Brenda Jackson


A man's word is his bond. His family is his strength. His heart is his own.

Superstar musician Caden Granger has spent years running from love, commitment and family. Yet despite his fame and fortune, he knows the kind of respect and adoration he needs can only come from one person - the very woman who wants nothing to do with him.

Corporate fund-raiser and society maven Shiloh Timmons finally got her life on track once her relationship with Caden ended, and she's in no hurry to revisit a romance with the man she left standing at the altar.

If Caden can't have Shiloh by his side, all the success in the world will mean nothing. Now he has a chance to renew his promises...but is it too late?

All For Love
Brenda Jackson


WHAT A WESTMORELAND WANTS
He's been biding his time, and now the perfect opportunity has arrived for Callum Austell to pursue the ultimate object of his affections. Offering Gemma a job to decorate his new home means she has to come to him. And on his territory, the Aussie knows he can easily woo her into his bed. But this Westmoreland woman is no pushover. If Callum is to get what he wants - as always - the millionaire just might have to utter those three little words first.

A WIFE FOR A WESTMORELAND

A Night to Remember...

For weeks, Derringer Westmoreland is haunted by memories of a woman whose face he cannot recall. But he wants and needs to share their intense passion again. When he finally tracks down his mystery woman, he is blown away by surprise. Lucia Conyers is his sister-in-law's best friend and his fantastic one-night stand! And she refuses to become one of Derringer's women. For the first time in his charmed life, the rancher has some persuading to do. And if he wants to win Lucia's heart, he must be ready to risk his own....


A Journey's End
A Novella by Ann Christopher

Deep in upstate New York, in the heart of the Hudson River Valley, lies a small town where five brothers, all world-weary and battered by life, are about to find the loves of their lives ... at Journey's End.

Widower James Harper is a loner who spends his time running his outdoor gear shop and avoiding emotional entanglements of any kind. Until the day beautiful Miranda Lowe moves to Journey's End, opens the coffee house down the street, and knocks his safe world right off its axis. Sexy, smart, warm and funny, Miranda is the answer to prayers James didn't know he had, which is exactly why she terrifies him so much.

Now, on a stormy New Year's Eve, James will find himself snowbound in front of a crackling fire with the intriguing woman he's tried to avoid - the only person who can help him overcome his fear and unlock the secrets of his heart.

About the Author

A recovering lawyer, Ann Christopher was first published in 2006 and is the author of 18 contemporary romance novels, 5 novellas and a tragically bad starter novel that will forever remain under her bed, where it belongs. She's also written a young adult novel that will be available very soon. When she's not writing or communing with her readers on her Facebook page, AuthorAnnChristopher, Ann likes to do the following, in no particular order: read; cook; eat; crochet; quilt; play with her 2 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats; and travel the world with her family. Her favorite cities are Washington, D.C., Venice and Paris, in case you were wondering. She lives in Ohio with her husband and teenagers.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

James Patterson: Wearing Many Hats





No doubt, author James Patterson wears many hats.  In 2011, it was estimated that one-in-four of all hardcover suspense/thriller novels sold was written by James Patterson, he is the first author to achieve ten million ebook sales, and he holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author. And his success isn't based solely on thrillers like the perennially popular Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett series. Patterson is now also the current bestselling author in the young adult and middle grade categories. No wonder his estimated net worth is $310 million.

Here are some of the latest releases from James Patterson which give us an opportunity to visit old friends like Detective Alex Cross and Private’s Jack Morgan and also to take a look at another of his spell binding romances.