Tag Archives: authors

Authors, Book Promo, Book Tour, Carol Wyer, crime writer, Crime/Thriller, Detective Kate Young, Novels, Thomas & Mercer

DI Kate Young in A Truth for a Truth by Carol Wyer

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Welcome to Celtic Connexions and one of today’s stops on the blog tour for A Truth for a Truth, featuring DI Kate Young by Carol Wyer, the fourth in this gripping series.

Young

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DI Kate Young’s team is hunting for a killer. What they don’t know…is that the killer is her.

DI Kate Young has known for years that her boss, Superintendent John Dickson, is a violent and evil man. But when she finally confronts him and accidentally shoots and kills him, she’s forced to cover her tracks before anyone can pin his death on her. With revelations about his corruption soon to become public knowledge, Kate sets up a trail of evidence to make it seem that Dickson has conveniently vanished…

But Kate knows the corruption doesn’t end with Dickson. As she heads up the team investigating his supposed disappearance, she also pursues other loose ends. Stanka, the sex worker who supplied the evidence against Dickson, leads her to crucial information on another corrupt officer, DI Harriet Khatri, and her dubious involvement with sex traffickers.

As the noose starts to tighten on Kate, she finds herself targeted by traffickers, the bent cops on her force and even her own team of detectives. Can she stay one step ahead of them all and bring Harriet to justice? Can she trust anyone around her? And can she possibly get away with murder?

 

My review

DI Kate Young

I loved this book!

This is the best one in this series, and the others were cracking excellent reads. Carol has a knack for creating tortured characters you want to love (or hate) and wraps them in a fast-paced plot that keeps you turning the virtual pages.

And the ending? I didn’t see that coming.

About Carol

Young

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer’s crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

In 2021, An Eye For An Eye, the first in the DI Kate Young series, was chosen as a Kindle First Reads. It became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Australia. The third, A Life For A Life, is due out March 15th, 2022, but is available to preorder.

Carol has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and written for the Huffington Post. She’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows and on BBC Breakfast television.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy who is very, very grumpy.

When not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter @carolewyer

You can also follow Carol at these links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolEWyer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolewyer
Website: www.carolwyer.co.uk

Amanda Bedzrah, Authors, Becoming Queen Bathsheba, Novels

Becoming Queen Bathsheba by Amanda Bedzrah #BECOMINGQUEENBATHSHEBA

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I’m pleased to be taking part in Reading Between the Lines Blog Tour for Becoming Queen Bathsheba by Amanda Bedzrah.

Queen Bathsheba

Queen Bathsheba

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She is taken against her will by the most powerful man in Israel. A month later, she discovers she carries the evidence of their dreadful encounter. With her husband at war, this pregnancy could mean her death. When the king finds out that she is with child, he immediately summons her husband home from war, a cunning plan in mind. 

Will the king’s plan work?

Will her life be spared?

Will there be any consequences for the injustice?

Will love grow in the middle of pain and give birth to second chances?

This novel is a fictional retelling of one of the greatest Bible stories of all time. This is a story of injustice, betrayal, deception, heartbreak, forgiveness, love, redemption and second chances. 

It reminds us that there are consequences for our choices, and we serve a God of justice.  He can use the tragedies in our lives and turn them into purpose. 

No pain is ever wasted with God.

Extract for Becoming Queen Bathsheba

PROLOGUE 

c. 990 BCE Jerusalem United Kingdom of Israel

As the sun fades in the sky, I sit rocking gently, gazing out of the vast window of the King’s inner chamber and watching hints of orange icker over golden brown clouds. My son suckles at my breast on this night before his first year on earth. The banquet room is already laid out: one hundred seats at the table, with the nest silver and gold plates, cups and cutlery at each place. The guests will arrive the early next day, travelling from near and far, some for days, honouring the

King’s invitation.

One hundred lambs were slaughtered earlier this day; the night is still thick with the re from the smoke used to roast them in preparation for the morning. A seamstress arrived from Egypt more than a month ago, to sew the woven fabric for every royal in the house.

Though the sun is setting, the King is still on the throne, attending to matters of the nation of Israel. I am alone in his private quarters in the West wing of the palace. I look around me; the room is huge and quiet. How did I get here? I have asked myself this question at least a million times. Each time I try to think about it I am faced with painful memories. I paid a huge price for the crown that rests on my head. The more I think, the more I come to realise the cost, the pain, the sacrifice — the truth. Buried within my soul are words I have dared not speak or imagine; and yet, are dying to break free. Perhaps, someone somewhere may and comfort in my truth, in my journey, in my pain to becoming the woman I am today. It is, for this reason, I allow my mind to run freely today, closing my eyes and thinking back to three years previously, to the day it all began. I must remember, and I must write it down.

I place my son in the large woven basket filled with the softest wool blankets and equally soft cushions: I walk over to the large desk where paper and ink wait for me. I pick up the pen. I dip it in the ink. I apply it to the parchment. It is time to tell my story.

You can buy Becoming Queen Bathsheba at:

Amazon.co.uk

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY 

Queen Bathsheba

Amanda is a wife and a mother to three beautiful children. She is an author, a prayer minister, an inspirational speaker, a restoration catalyst, and a mentor. Amanda is passionate about seeing people restored and living a full life beyond salvation. 

She is a passionate Bible teacher who uses practical examples to teach godly principles. She is a Law Graduate (2:1 LLB Hons) from the University of Wolverhampton, a Prince 2 Practitioner, and she is certified in Business Analysis Practice. 

Amanda is also the founder and CEO of Empower a Woman (www.empowerawoman.org), a UK-based non-profit organisation that is set up to meet the needs of vulnerable women. 

Today she is in a much happier place. She is restored, healed, and delivered and is driven by her own personal mission statement for change:

Just because I can’t do everything

Doesn’t mean I won’t do anything

Even if I can only do something

I REFUSE to do nothing

Follow Amanda at these links:

Website – amandabedzrah.com

Instagram – Amanda_Bedzrah

Facebook – Amanda Bedzrah

Twitter – @Gigidoll2020

Amazon Author Page – Amanda Bedzrah

#amwriting, #sweetromance, Great Dane, It Happened at Lake Louise, It Happened Series, novella, sweet romance, sweet romance with mature themes

Happy Publication Day! It Happened at Lake Louise is now available! #kindle #kobo #books2read

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It’s been a long time coming, longer than I originally planned, but publication day is finally here!

publication day

I love this cover, but then I am biased. What can I say?

Here’s what the book is about…

Only the Brave meets Fallen Angel…

 A new name. A new look. A new identity. But is it enough?

Lori Brownlee, a victim of childhood sex abuse, has relocated to Calgary to try to put the sordid past and its unpleasant memories behind her. Although it’s been years, specific triggers bring the past roaring back.

Christopher Scott has also suffered a painful past. He currently works in the Oil Sands and, when he’s at work, entrusts the care of his Great Dane to his neighbour.

While Christopher is at work, the nightmare of the distant wildfires becomes a reality. During the mandatory evacuation on May 3, 2016, the dog runs away. With no time to spare searching for the animal, the family flees for their own safety.

Lori, an animal lover, spots the Great Dane on the news. She drops everything and rushes to Fort McMurray to rescue him.

She connects with Christopher Scott through social media, and they agree to meet near the Chateau Lake Louise so she can reunite him with his pet.

Can Christopher move beyond his pain and form a meaningful relationship with Lori? Will Lori’s past come back to haunt her?

Buy Link

You can buy the ebook edition of It Happened at Lake Louise for $2.99/£2.99 through books2read, which will allow you to choose your favourite ebook retailer. Unfortunately, it’s not live at Barnes & Noble yet for the nook, but once it shows live, I’ll add it to the books2read link.

Paperback copies will soon be available online.

I hope you’ll celebrate publication day with me, and I hope you find Christopher’s and Lori’s story heartwarming. The events in this book are darker than in the three previous It Happened stories.

 

 

 

#cover, cover reveal, Louise Jensen, Novels, thriller

The Fall by Louise Jensen #coverreveal

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Are you ready for the cover reveal for the next thriller, The Fall, by Louise Jensen? It’s a cracker.

Louise Jensen

Blurb

She promised she wouldn’t tell. They made sure she couldn’t…

At her surprise 40th birthday party, Kate Granger feels like the luckiest woman in the world but just hours later her fifteen-year-old daughter, Caily, is found unconscious underneath a bridge when she should have been at school. Now, Caily lies comatose in her hospital bed, and the police don’t believe it was an accident. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that not everyone in the family was where they claimed to be at the time of her fall. Caily should be safe in hospital but not everyone wants her to wake up. Someone is desperate to protect the truth and it isn’t just Caily’s life that is in danger.

Because some secrets are worth killing for…

Pre-order link for The Fall by Louise Jensen

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fall-unmissable-psychological-thriller-bestselling-ebook/dp/B0BGMPBLV8/

The book will be released in April 2023.

Louise Jensen

#cover, #reveal, It Happened at Lake Louise, It Happened Series, Novels, sweet romance, sweet romance with mature themes

Cover Reveal Day has arrived!

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I’m thrilled to be able to reveal the cover for my upcoming novel; It Happened at Lake Louise. But before you see the unveiled version of the image …

*building suspense*

reveal

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Only the Brave meets Fallen Angel

A new name. A new look. A new identity. But is it enough?
Lori Brownlee, a victim of childhood sex abuse, has relocated to Calgary to try to put the sordid past and its unpleasant memories behind her. Although it’s been years, specific triggers bring the past roaring back.

Christopher Scott has also suffered a painful past. He currently works in the Oil Sands and, when he’s at work, entrusts the care of his Great Dane to his neighbour.

While Christopher is at work, the nightmare of the distant wildfires becomes a reality. During the mandatory evacuation on May 3, 2016, the dog runs away. With no time to spare searching for the animal, the family flees for their own safety.

Lori, an animal lover, spots the Great Dane on the news. She drops everything and rushes to Fort McMurray to rescue him.

She connects with Christopher Scott through social media, and they agree to meet near the Chateau Lake Louise so she can reunite him with his pet.

Can Christopher move beyond his pain and form a meaningful relationship with Lori? Will Lori’s past come back to haunt her?

Sound interesting?

Are you ready to see the cover? Oh, all right then …

Drum roll, please. And now for the reveal.

reveal

reveal

Buy links to follow soon.

You can read about the previous books in the It Happened series here.

Halloween, haunted houses, Novels, The Secret of Hillcrest House, Trick or Treat

Spooktober has arrived! #NNLBH

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Now that the month of Spooktober is officially upon us (and has been for the four previous days as well), it’s time to get #spooky.

Spooktober

I’m participating in N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Trick or Treat Book Bonanza.

An entire month of trick or treating, plus a huge giveaway!

Spooktober

My novel, The Secret of Hillcrest House, is one of the featured books this month. Of course, a haunted house story always goes down well during this month.

Here’s what the book is about.

Sometimes there’s more to a house than bricks and mortar.

Hillcrest House is one such place. Perched on a cliff in the picturesque town of Angel Falls, there is more to this Victorian mansion than meets the eye. When referring to the house, the locals use the word haunted on a regular basis. Strange visions appear in the windows, especially the second-floor ones over the side porch. Even stranger events take place within its four walls.

Rumour has it, the original owners, Asher and Maggie Hargrave, never left their beloved home. They claim the couple and their family are responsible for driving people away. Over the years, Hillcrest House has changed hands numerous times. No one stays long. Renovations begin then stop and the house is once more abandoned. The latest in this long line of owners is Jessica Maitland.

Will Jessica be the next one to succumb or will she unravel The Secret of Hillcrest House?

This Spooktober, why not get your spook on and see what this book is all about?

You can buy The Secret of Hillcrest House from your favourite online retailer at this link.

Or you can watch the trailer here.

Giveaway Information –

One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon (US) gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

#amwriting, #review, A Shadow in the Past, Novels, romance, Scotland, time-slip romance, time-travel

5-star review for A Shadow in the Past!

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I’m so excited! My novel, A Shadow in the Past, has received another 5-star review!

5-star review

But before I share the review, let me tell you what the book is about.

Blurb

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland and has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret. Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, and confronts them head only to suffer the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

Review – this one comes from amazon.co.uk

For lovers of Time Slip Novels set in Scotland

I was very much reminded of OUTLANDER as I read Ms King’s novel. (No bad thing, by the way). I’m a sucker for time-slip novels and wasn’t disappointed as I followed Sarah through the stone circle on her family farm to Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland where she quickly learns to keep her true identity a secret. As someone who visits Scotland frequently, I was impressed by the extensive research the author had undertaken and found everything about the novel totally accurate and convincing. Sarah soon falls in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill and we are left wondering how she is going to solve the dilemma of staying in the past with the man she loves or returning to the present and her family. I won’t write a spoiler. All I will say is that I am glad there’s a sequel –

Isn’t it fantastic???

You can buy A Shadow in the Past from these fine retailers.

 

#cover, Carol Wyer, cover reveal, crime writer, Novels, Psychological Thriller

Behind Closed Doors by Carol Wyer #CoverReveal

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I’m so excited to be able to share the fantastic cover for the latest psychological thriller, Behind Closed Doors, by Carol Wyer.

So without further ado, here it is!

Behind Closed Doors cover

Blurb

Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?

When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…

Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom—she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.

But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS – IS OUT DECEMBER 6TH 2022

BUY LINKS:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Closed-Doors-Carol-Wyer-ebook/dp/B09TZTZF9B/

USA: https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Closed-Doors-Carol-Wyer-ebook/dp/B09TZTZF9B/

AUSTRALIA: https://www.amazon.com.au/Behind-Closed-Doors-Carol-Wyer-ebook/dp/B09TZTZF9B/

About Carol Wyer

Carol Wyer is a USA Today bestselling author and winner of the People’s Book Prize Award. Her crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

In 2021, An Eye For An Eye, the first in the DI Kate Young series, was chosen as a Kindle First Reads. It became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK, USA and Australia. Since then, two further books in the series have been published, with a fourth and fifth due out in 2023.

A standalone psychological thriller, Behind Closed Doors, will be released on December 6th, 2022, and is available to preorder now.

Carol has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and written for the Huffington Post. She’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows and on Sky and BBC Breakfast television.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband, Mr. Grumpy . . . who is very, very grumpy.

To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter @carolewyer

PRAISE FOR CAROL’S BOOKS:

‘I’m buzzing from this book. I LOVED it. I don’t think I have been this gripped by a book, ever. …Totally terrifying, this addictive read will keep you gasping, guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout …You won’t be disappointed!’ Booked Up Girl, 5 stars

‘OMG OMG OMG! Fantastic these just keep on getting better and better. Fabulous sorry kept me guessing …Can’t wait for the next one’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

‘Another breath-taking read from Carol Wyer. This book pulled me in from the beginning and didn’t let go!… A heart-pounding read and one you won’t be able to put down.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

‘Wow this is another five-star read from Carol Wyer. I couldn’t put this down. It was a roller-coaster of a ride, I highly recommend!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Compelling… Remarkable… Utterly thrilling. I read this exceptional book in one sitting. I simply could not put it down. I was hanging onto the edge of my seat as this book reached a crescendo. I definitely cannot wait for the next book in the series.’ Robin Loves Reading, 5 stars

 

Authors, Maressa Mortimer, Novels

Burrowed by Maressa Mortimer #BURROWED

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Burrowed is Maressa Mortimer’s latest novel.
Maressa

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The beautiful island of Ximiu has a plan for a more sustainable future. But not everyone living on the island is on board. Jasira, daughter of the governing matriarch, is determined to uncover the dark forces threatening her home. With the help of her friends, she embarks on a desperate bid to save her island community. When the price is higher than she had bargained for, will Jasira still find faith and beauty in the world around her?

Maressa

EXCERPT

Prologue

A good mystery was what she needed. And someone to admire her detecting skills. Jasira walked down the path from the ferry office to the harbour wall, her short brown hair glinting blonde in the sunshine. She stared out across the long channel leading to open water. So many exciting changes coming to Ximiu, but she would have to experience them without her best friend. Her dream of becoming a detective seemed to have left with Xandra. After all, every self-respecting detective needed a sidekick.

The sun was too bright for Jasira to see the open sea, but her mind had no problem following the route to the Mainland. She could just make out the small dark shape of the ferry, taking her letter to Xandra.

She leaned over the dark brown blocks making up the harbour wall. Jasira closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the slightly salty breeze on her tanned face, rough stone under her fingers and sighed. She let her eyes wander along the rugged coastline, the hills a green speckled yellow after the hot weeks of summer. Dry. Just like her soul at the moment, she thought. The poetic thought reminded her of Ilori. His mother was the Vice-Xibai and as the Xibai’s daughter, Jasira ended up spending a lot of time with Ilori. If only there was something to work on and practise her detecting abilities.

Jasira looked at the sun. It was time; she’d better go home. She drew herself up, hoping a heroic stance would give her energy to face the changes coming to her island. Jasira spun round, her trainer foot pushing off from the low harbour wall, turning her back to the water. She was in too much of a hurry to notice movement in the shadowy cliff face. Even as she walked, frowning, back to the city, the pale figure watching the ferry launch was too well hidden to catch her eye.

HOW TO BUY

https://www.amazon.co.uk

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Maressa

Maressa grew up in the Netherlands and moved to England soon after finishing teaching training college. Married to Pastor Richard Mortimer they live in a Cotswold village with their four children. She is a homeschool mum, enjoying the time spent with family, travelling, reading and turning life into stories, she wants to use her stories to show practical Christians living in a fallen world.

WEBSITE LINK

vicarioushome.com

Children's author, Children's Chapter Book, Christian fiction

The Little House in Heaven by Kathleen Watson #THELITTLEHOUSEINHEAVEN

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little house

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What is in the secret place up the attic staircase? When eight-year-old Melissa goes exploring, she finds herself stepping into the pages of a book of Bible stories. At the House on the Rock, she meets Jesus, who takes Melissa to her very own little house. This ‘little house in Heaven’ grows bigger and becomes furnished with ‘treasures in Heaven’ as Melissa walks in the Christian life here on Earth. Then she meets Rufus, the boy next door, who leads her into mischief and danger…

But Jesus is with her all the way, and she learns valuable lessons of trust and obedience in her trials. These profound truths are gently woven into the story as Melissa enjoys times of fellowship with Jesus in her little house in Heaven.

Eventually, Melissa has to grow up and learn to walk by faith and the ‘treasure’ she lays up in Heaven becomes a glorious reward in the end.

little house

HOW TO BUY

Little House in Heaven can be bought from Ebay at this link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273810480044

£5 for the Book plus £1 for Postage

Or from Kathleen on this number 01903 725820

THE LITTLE HOUSE IN HEAVEN FACEBOOK PAGE 

https://m.facebook.com/people/The-Little-House-in-Heaven-by-Kathleen-Watson/100063765501052/

REVIEWS OF BOOK 

This book, aimed at young readers of 8 years or more, has a simple Christian message embedded within an imaginative story that is written with just the right balance between scene-setting, dealing with thoughts and feelings, and furthering the plot.  It is a long time since I was 8 years old, but I have enjoyed reading it – Evelyn Wendon, Author

One of the best books I have read, feel good and thought-provoking, creates pictures of heaven – Aylson Smith

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY 

little house

Kathleen Watson lives in Littlehampton, West Sussex, and has a son and daughter and granddaughter. Her other published books for children are “Treasure in the Alcove”, “The Secret Blue Door” and “The Little Grey Gate”.