In Praise of Dead Authors
June 28, 2022 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as M.C. Beaton, Traditional RegenciesThe Regency Romances of M.C. Beaton
Welcome to my June 2022 Quarter Days’ blog.
A couple of months ago I discovered a new-to-me Regency romance author, M.C. Beaton, in a roundabout way.
My sister and I were discussing what we liked and disliked about the cozy mystery series Agatha Raisin set in the modern-day Cotswolds, and, since the books are almost always better, I bought the first book in the series, The Quiche of Death. Surprisingly, the film version followed the plot almost to a tee.
It must have been karma or those pesky algorithms when shortly after, my daily Bookkbub deal included a Regency romance by M.C. Beaton.
If you’re a long-time Regency reader you might know of her books written under her maiden name, Marion Chesney. She was incredibly prolific. In addition to her ninety-nine Regency-set romances and romantic suspense stories, and the Agatha Raisin mysteries, she’s the author of the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series, and the Edwardian Murder Mysteries featuring Lady Rose Summer.
Did I say she was amazingly prolific? Some scoff at self-publishing authors “churning out” books, but plenty of pulp fiction authors in the golden age of traditional publishing were writing and publishing lots and lots of stories and books.
How many ways can you tell a Regency romance?
I’ve read and enjoyed several of her Regencies because I love her voice, her cheeky sense of humor, and her daringly outlandish plots. Characters of all ages find love in her stories.
In The School for Manners series, a pair of eccentric middle-aged spinsters, poor, but “high ton,” take in unruly young ladies and launch them into society in madcap fashion. In the series A House for the Season, an odd set of servants blackmailed into servitude by a corrupt property manager, deal with even odder tenants every season.
In The Regency Intrigue Series, heroines take on mystery and murder. One of Beaton’s most daring heroes in this series is the ghost of a Georgian duke who is able to materialize every night.
Immortality in the Pages
It’s pretty wonderful that even after an author passes on, the stories are there to entertain future generations.
Do you have a favorite author who’s no longer with us? Please share in the comments!
Searching for Flamenco
June 26, 2022 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as dancers, flamenco, guitar, Neetu, Spain
Searching for Flamenco
The streets of Seville keep
their best secrets hidden in the dark
cobbled paths wind in stillness
I wonder where all the dancers have gone
cafes and restaurants throb with the pulse
of a late night soiree
the candles have burned down to stubs
but the servers will not turn out the night
until platters of paella and pitchers of sangria last
I ask where I might find a tablao,
to be charmed and mesmerized
taking directions, I walk into the soft beam
of streetlights through the tangled sleeping town
on the other side
it is so quiet—
what is tucked behind the old buildings
in a walled courtyard I can barely glimpse?
I walk inside—
ensconced in a shell
of darkness, burns the fire
of a woman, her back finely arched
she is attired in a ruffled gypsy dress
her voice reaches
into the desert…………
the man with the guitar plucks on strings—pulling me inside
I have arrived.
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
FIVE BELLES TOO MANY: A Sarah Blair Mystery BY DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN—REVIEWED BY VERONICA JORGE
June 22, 2022 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as #Cozy #Mystery, book review, Debra H. Goldstein, new release, Sarah Blair Mystery
FIVE BELLS TOO MANY
Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington Publishing Corp. 2022 ISBN 978-1-4967-3223-1
She’s done it again! In her new cozy mystery, Five Belles Too Many, Debra H. Goldstein once again shows her mastery at creating a tangle of secret lives and ambitious hearts where she hides the killer in plain sight within the story. And though we meticulously follow the clues she scatters for us, we’re always thrown for a loop because the killer is never who we think.
If you have been following these reviews, as I hope you have, and reading her previous books, you’ll be familiar with the twins, Emily the chef of Southwind restaurant in Wheaton, Alabama, and her sister Sarah, who works for a lawyer.
Trouble and murder seem to follow the twins in every project and venture and their joint ownership of the restaurant has found murder as the main course one too many times. Working in concert, they’ve always helped the police catch the culprit.
In Five Belles Too Many, Sarah takes center stage. The city of Wheaton hosts a Southern Belles reality show where five couples compete to win a perfect wedding and dream honeymoon. Excitement. Nerves on edge. Egos and tempers flaring. The tension ramps up when someone turns up dead. Sarah’s investigative instincts kick in as she attempts to identify the killer and prevent another death. The stakes are high because her mother is one of the show’s contestants and possibly the next victim.
Available July 2022, a perfect cozy mystery to add to your summer reading collection.
Remember to try the recipes at the end of the book.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on July 22nd!
Rebecca Forster June Featured Author
June 21, 2022 by Rebecca Forster in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Best Selling author, Finn O'Brien Thrillers, Josie Bates Thrillers, Rebecca Foster, The Witness Series, thrillers
Rebecca Forster marketed a world-class spa when it was still called a gym, did business in China before there were western toilettes at the Great Wall and mucked around with the sheep to find out exactly how her client’s fine wool clothing was manufactured. Then she wrote her first book and found her passion.
Now, over twenty-five books later, she is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and writes full-time, penning thrillers that explore the emotional impact of the justice system. She earned her B.A. at Loyola, Chicago and her MBA at Loyola, Los Angeles. Rebecca has taught the Business of Creativity at the University of California Long Beach Writers Certificate Program, UCLA and UC Irvine extension. Married to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, she is the mother of two grown sons and spends her free time traveling, sewing, and playing tennis.
To learn more about Rebecca, check out her website.
The Finn O’Brien Thrillers
Rebecca’s Single Title Thrillers
The Witness Series
Tracy Reed has a NEW RELEASE and FREEBIE!
June 20, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed, Spotlight, Writing tagged as Good Girl part 5, new release, Tracy Reed
Tracy Reed has a NEW RELEASE and FREEBIE!
THE GOOD GIRL Part Five
Gabriella’s decision to become romantically involved with her Billionaire boss, shoots her up the corporate ladder and gives her the happy ending all women wish for. There’s just one problem, she doesn’t want the fantasy.
Excerpt:
GABRIELLA
The problem was simple. I was being thrust into a life I wasn’t sure I could or wanted to handle. It’s one thing to date or be married to a rich guy. But this is different. Phillippe and his family weren’t just rich, they were part of the secret rich. They were the kind of people who build hospitals, community centers, sponsor the arts, fund research, influence politicians…elect politicians.
When things began to get serious, he told me there were things he couldn’t tell me. I just had no idea, they included so many zeroes. I’m not stupid or naive. I knew Phillippe was well off, but this is way beyond my imagination. It’s also a world I’m not sure I want to live in. Sometimes love and great sex aren’t enough to build a marriage on.
PHILLIPPE
I wasn’t used to these feelings. In a matter of months Gabriella had infected my blood stream. I wasn’t the same. I wasn’t a cocky arrogant boorish man. It’s like that man died the moment I laid eyes on the petite curvy ball of love, I was privileged and honored to call my wife.
I thought about going over to the manor, but I didn’t want to face Mere. I was ashamed to tell her, I messed up things and may have lost the love of my life. The other reason I didn’t want to go there was my grandfather. If he were there I don’t think I’d…in my current state, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t do him physical harm.
He was the reason I was in this mess. If it hadn’t been for him insisting I get married and me being so stubborn, I never would have gotten involved with Gabriella. Now because of his interference, I may have lost the only woman I will ever love.
NEW RELEASE
