2015 North American Hammett Prize nominees announced

Canadian author Hammett prizeMichael J. McCann is one of the nominees for the 2015 North American Hammett Prize for literary excellence in crime writing by a Canadian or US author. McCann has been nominated for his latest novel, Sorrow Lake, which is set in eastern Ontario and is the first book in a new series featuring Ellie March and Kevin Walker of the Ontario Provincial Police. McCann is also the author of the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series set in Maryland.

Last year’s winner of the Hammett Prize was Stephen King for Mr. Mercedes.

For the list of 2015 nominees, please see http://www.crimewritersna.org/news/index.htm.

 

While I Was Waiting by Georgia Hill ~ BOOK PROMO

while I was waiting

While I Was Waiting

By Georgia Hill

 

while I was waiting

Genre: Historical/time-slip romance

Release Date: 2/7/15 (e-pub) 10/9/15 (print)

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Tired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades, is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, a love lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

ABOUT GEORGIA HILL

while I was waiting

I used to live in London, where I worked in the theatre. Then I got the bizarre job of teaching road safety to the U.S. navy – in Marble Arch!

A few years ago, I did an ‘Escape to the Country’. I now live in a tiny Herefordshire village, where I scandalise the neighbours by not keeping ‘country hours’ and being unable to make a decent pot of plum jam. Home is a converted Oast house (Old agricultural building used for drying hops), which I share with my two beloved spaniels, husband (also beloved) and a ghost called Zoe.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel widely, though prefer to set my novels closer to home. Perhaps more research is needed? I’ve always wanted to base a book in the Caribbean!

I am addicted to Belgian chocolate, Jane Austen and, most of all, Strictly Come Dancing.

AUTHOR LINKS

https://www.facebook.com/georgiahillauthor/

https://twitter.com/georgiawrites

http://www.georgiahill.co.uk/

https://www.pinterest.com/georgiawrites/

GIVEAWAY

A print copy of the book (Open Internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Edge of Sanity by Sheryl Browne ~ BOOK PROMO

SANITY

THE EDGE OF SANITY

BY SHERYL BROWNE

 

SANITY

Title of Book: The Edge of Sanity

Genre: Thriller/Psychological thriller/Crime thriller

Release Date: 29th April 2014

Publisher: Safkhet Publishing

The Edge of Sanity – How far would YOU go to protect your family?

A decent, ordinary man, a man who has already suffered the loss of one child, Daniel Conner is forced by extraordinary circumstances into being a hero. Tortured, forcibly drugged—heroin still pulsating nauseatingly through his veins—his wife and daughter degraded, Daniel knows their kidnapper is beyond reasoning with. But does being pushed one step beyond endurance justify doing the unthinkable?

High on drugs, indebted to his supplier, and desperate, Charlie Roberts takes Daniel’s wife and daughter hostage. Daniel does everything within his power to rescue the situation bloodlessly. Eventually though, Daniel realises that with or without violent mood swings induced by amphetamines and cocaine, Charlie Roberts is a psychopath. He wants more than Daniel’s money.

He wants him.

The Edge of Sanity: a harrowing story of hope amid loss and betrayal.

Shortlisted for the Crime, Thrillers & Mystery SpaSpa Book Award for books published in 2014.

SANITY

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK

Amazon US

ABOUT SHERYL BROWNE

SANITY

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has seven books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies

Sheryl’s new contemporary romance novel was recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer. THE REST OF MY LIFE comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.

SANITY

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Buy | Buy US | Pinterest

Loveahappyending Lifestyle

Safkhet Publishing | Choc Lit | Romantic Novelists’ Association

VIDEO LINKS

http://youtu.be/dj9odzKhhdg

GIVEAWAY

E-copy of either Death Sentence or Edge of Sanity.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love by Linn B Halton ~ BOOK PROMO & EXCERPT

sugar

A LITTLE SUGAR, A LOT OF LOVE

BY LINN B. HALTON

sugar

Genre: Chick Lit
Release Date: 15 January 2016
Publisher: Choc Lit

A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love

Life isn’t all love and cupcakes …

Katie has had her fair share of bad luck, but when she finally realises her dream of opening a bakery it seems things can only get better.

But the reality of running a business hits Katie hard and whilst her partner, Steve, tries to help she begins to sense that the situation is driving them further apart. Could Katie be set to lose her relationship and her dream job?

Then, one winter’s day, a man walks into her shop – and, in the space of that moment, the course of Katie’s life is changed.

But nobody finds happiness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes two Christmases, three birthdays and a whole lot of cake to get there …

Previously released as Sweet Occasions by the author. Revised and edited by Choc Lit December 2015.

sugar

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

EXCERPT:

Grandma Grace peers at me with interest over the top of her glasses, taking the box from my hands and placing it on the side. She wraps her arms around as much of me as she can reach, being at least a foot shorter, and gives me a fierce hug.

‘Thank you, my dear, but the only present I wanted was to see you standing here in one piece. It’s such a long journey and the weather! That rain is relentless, so many places are flooded. To think of you at the side of the road worried me to death and I will admit to saying a few little prayers as one hour turned into two, then three …’

She raises her eyebrow sternly, but it’s a brief moment before those twinkly blue eyes are full of love and laughter again.

‘My boy is here and that’s all that counts.’

‘Grandma, I haven’t been a boy for many years,’ I retort, softly, as she releases me with a tender pat on my back. She might be in her twilight years but her spirit is strong and her mind as sharp as ever. We all thought she’d fade away when Pop died, but the truth is he’s the one who would have faded if she had gone first.

‘You will always be a boy to me. Now, tell me more about this guardian angel of yours.’

While the tea is brewing and the cake is sliced, I hang around the kitchen as I did when I was growing up. Grandma Grace was always easy to talk to; she seemed to understand even when the words wouldn’t come. Her instincts filled in the gaps at times when even I couldn’t make sense of what was going on inside my head. After this failed relationship I began to despair of ever finding someone special.

‘You can’t hurry love,’ she’d told me. ‘It takes time to find your soulmate and in the process you change and grow. That’s why young love often withers, as Pop would have said. Two people either change and grow together, or they grow apart. Love is about sustaining what comes after that first hormonal rush.’

‘But that wasn’t the case for the two of you,’ I remember pointing out.

‘There has to be an exception to every rule,’ she’d replied, with a wicked smile. ‘We were lucky. Fate was kind to us. But with hindsight, we were too young and naive to understand that until much later in life. Don’t fret, Adam, there’s a wonderful young woman out there for you when the time is right.’

Sadly, when I reached that point it too turned out to be yet another huge failure. This time the consequences had been more painful than I could ever have imagined. Kelly was everything I thought I wanted in a woman and, after adjusting to the shock of an unplanned pregnancy, she was a fantastic mother. With hindsight I can see now that parenthood came too early in our relationship, we hardly knew each other. Suddenly I was a family man and yet, surprisingly, the role seemed to come naturally to me. I loved Sunday mornings the best. When a little head would appear on the pillow next to me at some unearthly hour and a warm little hand would wind its way around my neck.

Lily Grace is my sanity, my raison d’être.

 ABOUT LINN B. HALTON

sugar

“I’m a hopeless romantic, self-confessed chocaholic, and lover of coffee. For me, life is about family, friends, and writing. Oh, and the occasional glass of White Grenache…”

An Amazon UK Top 100 best-selling author with A Cottage in the Country in November 2015, Linn’s novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards. Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award. Linn writes chick lit, women’s contemporary fiction and psychic romance for Choc Lit, Harper Impulse and Endeavour Press.

Website/blog: http://linnbhalton.co.uk/
Twitter: @LinnBHalton FB: Linn B Halton Author
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LittleSugarLotOfLove

GIVEAWAY

Contest Open Internationally – No Purchase necessary

1st Prize – £25 Amazon Voucher

2nd Prize – Cupcake themed Swag Bag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Haggis, Tatties and Neeps, Oh My!

haggis

January 25, 1759-July 21, 1796

Once again, it’s time for a Burns Supper celebration. This year my special guest is all the way from Edinburgh, author, Janice Cairns.

haggis
Welcome to Celtic Connexions, Janice! Do sit down and make yourself comfortable. 

Let’s start by getting to know you better. Can you tell us about yourself?

Born in Ayrshire and educated at Ayr academy, I’ve had an assortment of jobs – child care, law, insurance, media and creative writing. I live in Edinburgh now; the city has been my home for the last thirty years. It is here, my dream of becoming a published author, has come true.

My life could be described as a happy mix of marketing for my first book, and writing her sequel. I find time in my busy schedule to enjoy walks at the Botanic gardens, or by the sea, or in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. I’ve always considered my walks as importantr, as I think these activate my creative thoughts and actually inspire me to write.

I didn’t realize you’re an Ayrshire girl – born and raised in Burns Country. Have you been to Canada?

No, I haven’t, but it is a country I would love to visit.

Can I get you a drink? I have a small selection of whiskies if you’d like a dram before we eat. Or we can always have something else.

haggis
By Chris huh (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Well, while we wait for our meal to be ready, Janice, let’s chat about your writing. Forgiving Nancy was your debut novel, if I’m not mistaken. Can you tell us what it is about?

haggisYes, indeed, Forgiving Nancy is my debut novel. It is love story, which is set in Edinburgh, in the 1980s. The story opens with Nancy Campbell, down in her luck. She meets a wealthy bachelor, Maxwell Elliot, and soon becomes married to him. It is an unlikely marriage, which crosses the barriers, of age, culture, and class. Within a short time, the marriage is crumbling, and Nancy, who is young and beautiful, is enticed away from her slightly eccentric, millionaire husband. She becomes involved with Callum Macduff, who is obsessed, with running his circus, and who is only interested in sex. This affair does not last either as Maxwell finds out. The story then turns into a journey, both poignant and heartbreaking, for Nancy. After a lot of soul-searching, she finds herself in a homeless shelter, but then she finds her way back to Maxwell, who eventually forgives, the mistakes she has made. Through the main plot is also weaved the story of Stella Golding’s unreciprocated love. At one time Stella, had been Maxwell’s housekeeper, and had hoped to marry him. Nevertheless, it all turns out okay, for Stella too. This fashion conscious lady, of a certain, age goes on to find true love, unexpectedly, after experiencing heartache over Maxwell.

The novel’s backdrop, is the beautiful city of Edinburgh, and in many of the chapters, real streets are referred to, so a reader can get a real feel, for what the city is all about, even if they have not been there before.

My chef, Donald, announces the meal is ready.

We’ll start with The Selkirk Grace.

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

My cock-a-leekie soup isn’t made in the traditional way. I’m not a fan of prunes so I leave them out.

haggis
By Laurel F (originally posted to Flickr as Cock-a-leekie Soup) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The skirl of the pipes announces the presentation of the haggis. I’m pleased to say that we have Harry MacFayden addressing the chieftain o’ the puddin’ race this evening.
haggis

 

haggis
By Biology Big Brother [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I hope you’re enjoying your virtual “Canadian” Robbie Burns night, Janice.

I understand you’ve completed the sequel to Forgiving Nancy. Can you tell us anything about it?

I am so excited about the sequel, and first I’d like to say, the atmosphere and the mood of All the way from America, is so different from Forgiving Nancy, yet, I am still writing about so many of the original characters. In the sequel, Maxwell Elliot, has reinvented himself, and is launching into a new creative life. He sets out to become an artist, but it is not plain sailing for him. Maxwell’s past creeps in, and causes havoc for him, as he begins to receive, letters from a former love, in America. Also, he gets entangled in an afternoon of erotic pleasure with a friend’s daughter. The afternoon becomes his guilty secret, as he returns to the straight and narrow path of his creative goals. In the sequel, Nancy Elliot inhabits a different world too. She takes up the opportunity of becoming a model in a fashion show. However, what should have been a wonderful and fun evening, for Nancy, is also thwarted by shadows of the past. The main characters of Nancy and Maxwell, are putting their best foot forward, but destiny is determined to spoil their plans. Yet, in the end, everything turns out fine for the Elliot’s, as it does for Stella, who decides the best thing for her, is to return to London, after her marriage to Vincent did not turn out, as hoped. The only similarity the sequel has to Forgiving Nancy is that Callum Macduff, is in the same place as he was before, he does not seem to grow with further experiences of love.

What made you choose the titles for your two novels?

As far as Forgiving Nancy is concerned, way back, I had thought of calling it An Edinburgh Love Story, but as time went on, I began to think, this was too general a title, and not specific enough. So, I then thought West End Intrigue, would be a good title, as much of the setting was at the West End of Edinburgh, and because there was a lot of intrigue, in the book. But, then, I thought more deeply about it, and it occurred to me, one of main themes in the book, ‘forgiveness’, could be used in the title. Since Nancy was the main female character in the book, I then felt absolutely certain, I should call the book Forgiving Nancy.

At the moment, the working title, for the sequel is All the way from America. The reason I have chosen this is because it describes one of the most poignant moments, of the sequel; that moment, when Favia comes all the way from America, with high hopes of rekindling love with Maxwell, only to find Maxwell has no romantic interest in her. After all those years, coming all the way on the plane, only to be disappointed.

I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times. I love the photographs you share of the city on Facebook. Do you have a favourite place you like to go to?

Yes, Melanie, I love to go up to Edinburgh Castle, I love spending time there. Often, I will take myself there and spend a few hours exploring. There are always lots of visitors up there too, no matter the time of year, and I love mingling with the visitors. It’s also a great place to take photos of Edinburgh. Wonderful views of the city, can be seen from the castle. I love to saunter all the way down The Royal Mile too, after being at the castle. I love all the wonderful closes of The Royal Mile, I love to take photos of the closes, which have so much history, attached to them. I am so fascinated by The Royal Mile and the closes, actually, that these aspects of the city are mentioned in the sequel. I know your question asks me to mention one favourite place, Melanie, but loving Edinburgh, as I do, I have to say, there are a great many favourite places that are so very special to me – the Grassmarket, for example and the lovely Victoria Street, then places like Cockburn Street. I love nothing nicer than having lunch in Cockburn street on a summer’s day. Then, of course, there is being by Duddingston loch in the summer, and having a picnic there. I love watching the swans on the river there.

Do you have any more writing projects in the works? Another WIP perhaps?

Yes, I am delighted to say, I have more writing projects up my sleeve, rather than in the works. I am beginning to formulate ideas, for the writing of a third book, but this book will be worlds away, from the first two, with completely different characters, and themes. A new stage is being set, as it were. So far, I have been filling notebooks, with ideas for a third book. As yet, I have not considered the plot, and who the characters will be, in it. All I can say, so far, is this is a book I must write.

We have trifle for dessert. I hope you like it.

haggis
By Benjah-bmm27 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
When we’re finished eating, we’ll take our coffee and some shortbread into the lounge and listen to some Scottish music and talk a bit more.

Where can you purchase copies of Forgiving Nancy?

amazon.com | amazon.co.uk | Safkhet Publishing

And your author links? Where can folks find you?

Facebook | Blog | Twitter

Thank you so much, Melanie, for inviting me here, for the Robbie Burns Celebration.

Thank you for coming, Janice. It’s been a pleasure hosting you here at Celtic Connexions and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better.

 

 

Twelfth Night by Luccia Gray ~ BOOK PROMO

Eyre Hall

Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall

By

LUCCIA GRAY

 

twelfth night

Following Edward Rochester’s death in All Hallows at Eyre Hall, Jane Eyre, who has been blackmailed into marrying a man she despises, will have to cope with the return of the man she loved and lost. The secrets she has tried so hard to conceal must be disclosed, giving rise to unexpected events and more shocking revelations.

Romance, mystery, and excitement will unfold exploring the evolution of the original characters, and bringing to life new and intriguing ones, spinning a unique and absorbing narrative, which will move the action from the Yorkshire countryside, to Victorian London, and across the Atlantic Ocean to Colonial Jamaica.

Buy Links

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

About Luccia Gray

Eyre Hall

Luccia Gray was born in London and now lives in the south of Spain with her husband. She has three children and three grandchildren. When she’s not reading or writing, she teaches English at an Adult Education Centre and at the Spanish National University.

 Author links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucciaGray/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucciaGray

Website: www.lucciagray.com

Google+ https://plus.google.com/+LucciaGrayAuthor

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/LucciaGray/

Blog Rereading Jane Eyre https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186541.Luccia_Gray

Giveaway

2 paperback copies of the book
(Open internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

twelfth night

Death Sentence by Sheryl Browne ~ BOOK PROMO

DEATH

DEATH SENTENCE

BY

SHERYL BROWNE

DEATH

Thriller/Psychological thriller/Crime thriller

Release Date: 1st June 2015

Reviewed by a top Amazon Reviewer at Best Selling Thrillers and given a glowing FIVE Stars, Sheryl Browne’s new thriller Death Sentence is now available on Amazon! “This was such an excellent read. I found myself having to force myself to breathe. Well done Sheryl! Once again you’ve produced a book with such an array of plots and yet showing that love is still possible throughout tragedy and conflict”. – Treebeard

*The title of the book, DEATH SENTENCE, was suggested by a chief constable who also offered the author guidance on forensics and police procedure.

Death Sentence – He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do?

Detective Inspector Matthew Adams and Patrick Sullivan, drug dealer, pimp, murderer: two men on opposite sides of the law. A history that goes way back. A bully even in his youth, Sullivan had made it his mission in life to make the goody-two-shoes copper’s life a misery. Now Matthew has made it his mission in life to make sure the pimping scum responsible for prostituting young girls, abusing them, and beating them to death, is locked up for life.

When Matthew’s child becomes a casualty of the war between them, does Matthew want justice? Or does he want retribution? When Patrick’s brother is shot down like a dog in a drug bust gone wrong, Patrick wants payback. He wants Matthew. Or the copper loses his pretty, pregnant wife. As far as Patrick is concerned, it’s quid pro quo.

An edge-of-your seat story of revenge.

WATCH THE VIDEO TRAILER! https://youtu.be/5hBOBLTiQxw

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About Sheryl Browne

DEATH

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has seven books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies

Sheryl’s new contemporary romance novel was recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer. THE REST OF MY LIFE comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.
DEATHAuthor Links

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Buy | Buy US | Pinterest

Loveahappyending Lifestyle

Safkhet Publishing | Choc Lit | Romantic Novelists’ Association

 

Giveaway

ECOPY OF DEATH SENTENCE

ECOPY OF THE EDGE OF SANITY

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  death

Six Lies by Ben Adams ~ BOOK PROMO

six lies

SIX LIES

BY BEN ADAMS

 

six lies

Genre: Humour, Romance,

Release Date: 23/11/15

Publisher: SilverWood Books

How would you feel if, one day, you discover that everything you thought you knew about your family was a fabrication? Your mother wasn’t your mother, your father was a liar and your whole upbringing was a sham.

Confronted with this exact situation, Dave Fazackerley doesn’t feel great. It doesn’t help that he has just buried the woman he thought of as his mother. Or that his wife, his one true soulmate, recently jumped into bed with a librarian. Even his band, his only escape from reality, is going through a rough patch.

How will Dave respond? Will he discover the truth about his family? Will his band ever play a gig again? More importantly, can Dave entice his wife back from the arms of the book-dork or will he take a chance on a new love?

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

 

ABOUT BEN ADAMS

six lies
Like a lot of people, Ben went to school, then college and eventually grew up and got a responsible job, a house and a family. And then his mid-life crisis kicked in.

Realising that life was in danger of becoming all too serious, Ben started writing. Not in the way that Forrest Gump started running, but at least he started. He wrote on steamed up mirrors in the bathroom to make his children smile. Eventually he graduated to making up stories to entertain his kids at bedtime.

For some reason, his boys didn’t seem interested in his tales of every-day life, relationships, family, trauma, farce and the occasional bit of debauchery. They preferred JK someone or other.

Following his short-lived career as a children’s author, Ben now concentrates on writing stories for grown-ups. He writes for people who have lived, loved, worked, strived and suffered – people like him. People like you.

Ben lives in southwest London with his two boys and Albus, his dog.

AUTHOR LINKS

FACEBOOK

GOODREADS

BLOG

AUTHOR WEBSITE

Twitter: @benadamsauthor

GIVEAWAY

AN EBOOK COPY OF SIX LIES

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My wishlist for 2016…

wishlist

and things I’m looking forward to this year

 

1.  My husband being cancer-free for a year. It’s been a battle since his initial diagnosis in 2013 so fingers crossed this is the year.

2.  Having the sequel to A Shadow in the Past accepted for publication. I know if I want that to happen, I have to get my skates on and get the synopsis and back cover blurbs done.

3.  Reading the 40 books I’ve committed to reading in the Goodreads 2016 challenge.

4.  Curling up with my good friend, Chris Longmuir’s, 2016 release which will knock 1 of the 40 books off the list *grin* She’s put it in writing that there will be a book out this year, so I’m holding her to that.

5.  Spending evenings with my hubby on our new reclining sofa being delivered on January 9th (doesn’t it look comfy?) in front of our new fireplace. We didn’t buy each other Christmas presents in 2015 but rather these instead.

6. Having my #NaNoWriMo project completed and released this spring… again this is something I have to commit to. It’s coming along so I’ll keep my fingers crossed (although that does make it rather difficult to type) and will need occasional kicks up the backside to keep me on track.

7. Another trip abroad?

Well those are things on my wishlist. What do you have on yours? I’d love to hear about them so leave me a comment.