Looking for a new read?
Day: November 15, 2017
“Framed – A Black Swann Investigation” by Wayne Kerr #ReleaseBlitz
About the Book
Title: Framed – A Black Swann Investigation
Author: Wayne Kerr
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Toronto’s newest homicide detective, Reggie Swann, seemed to have it all: great career, handsome husband and plans to start a family, until she was framed for murder…
A cop has very few friends in prison. After surviving ten brutal years behind bars, Reggie’s conviction is finally overturned thanks to her tenacious mother, a new forensic test and a very clever lawyer. She quickly discovers that getting her old life back won’t be as easy as she hoped. To many, she was still as the media had dubbed her: ‘Black Swann – murderer and cop-gone-bad’. The Toronto Police Department still considers her to be a suspect, Reggie’s husband has remarried and the real killer is still on the loose.
Before Reggie can return to Toronto and solve the crime that ruined her life, she reluctantly agrees to investigate a murder in her home town of Penticton, only to discover the two cases which are separated by ten years and five provinces might somehow be connected. Will anyone believe the wild theories of the disgraced detective?
The real murderer does. He framed her once, this time Reggie Swann must die!
Author Bio
Canadian author, Wayne Kerr, was born and raised in the small town of Biggar, Saskatchewan (New York is big, but this is Biggar). He married his high school sweetheart, Marlene, thirty-nine years ago and has lived happily ever since. They resided in the United States for the past twenty years, but recently returned to Canada and now call the beautiful Okanagan region of British Columbia home. The writer honed his story-telling skills while keeping his five younger siblings and later his daughter entertained during long cold winters. When not reading or writing thrillers, Wayne is probably hiking, biking or playing tennis.
For more information on the author and his books please visit: waynekerrnovels.com or follow him on twitter: @waynekerrnovels
Links
website: waynekerrnovels.com
twitter: @waynkerrnovels
Amazon :https://goo.gl/qQonNw
“Christmas at the Candied Apple Café” by Katherine Garbera #Spotlight
There’s nothing so magical as Christmas in New York…
Santa is coming to New York!
Snow is falling, excitement is high and the delicious scent of chocolate drifts along Fifth Avenue – the Candied Apple Café is ready for Christmas! And no one is busier than publicist Iona Summerlin. With so much to do, she doesn’t have time to think about men, dating, or the fact her last boyfriend ditched her for her brother… Relationships are off the menu!
Hotel boss Mads Eriksson is not looking forward to the first Christmas since losing his wife. His six-year-old daughter Sofia has lost her belief in Christmas magic along with her mother, and he has no idea what to do. But an unusually festive business meeting at the Candied Apple – and meeting the beautiful Iona – starts to defrost Mads’ frozen heart, and suddenly life seems full of light and sparkle again.
If only they dare to believe, maybe all their Christmas dreams will come true!
EXCERPT
Mads is trying to convince Iona to do business with him and when he showed up unexpectedly at the Candied Apple Café, Iona’s mom invited Mads and his daughter, Sofia, to a brunch with Santa after the six-year-old revealed she doesn’t believe in St. Nick.
***
Saturday dawned blustery and cold. Perfect for getting in the mood for Christmas. Iona was having a tree delivered later that evening but this morning she had the “Brunch with Santa” her mom had organized for Catholic charities.
Iona checked her phone, hoping for an urgent message from Cici or Hayley that would have given her the perfect excuse to skip it but there was just a cheery photo of Cici’s baby Holly sleeping in their group chat.
Iona was one of Holly’s godmothers — Hayley being the other — and she admitted she was in love with the tiny baby. Cici having a baby had kind of awakened something unexpected in Iona. She’d never thought she wanted a family, preferring business and, given her track record with men, that was a good thing, but holding Holly had made her feel … well, like maybe someday if the right guy came along, she’d consider having a family.
She texted back a bunch of emojis and then mentioned the Santa brunch thing in case Cici wanted to bring Holly. She’d be so cute and would provide a distraction from her brother and his new boyfriend. She still felt kind of like something was wrong with her that even a matchmaker couldn’t find her a guy.
Which was fine.
Really.
She had enough to keep her busy at work. The Candied Apple Café made her happy. She hopped out of bed, showered, and dressed in a pair of red and white striped leggings and an oversized cream-colored sweater. She braided her hair before putting on her knee-high black boots, grabbing the large Land’s End tote full of dry goods to be donated at the breakfast and headed out the door.
She pushed the button for the elevator and heard someone coming behind her, and glancing over her shoulder, she was surprised to see that it was Mads and Sofia.
“Hiya,” she said. “I guess we’re neighbors.”
“Hi back. We just moved in back in September,” Mads said.
“I think you’ll love the building,” Iona said. She couldn’t help but notice how the gray argyle sweater Mads wore brought out the stormy gray color in his eyes.
“Some of the kids in my class live here too,” Sofia said. “Are you going to the breakfast thing with your mom?”
“I am,” Iona said. “Are you guys?”
Sofia got a stubborn look on her face before turning her head down to look at her feet. “Yes.”
She glanced at Mads and he shrugged. “We are trying to do new things this year and seeing Santa isn’t a bad idea.”
Sofia didn’t say anything else and sort of pouted on the way down. Mads didn’t seem too upset with his daughter. She had the feeling he just didn’t know what to do.
“I have a car and driver if you want to ride with us,” Mads asked.
“Thank you.” Iona thought maybe the two of them could use a buffer so smiled and joined them in their car. It was heated and warm as she slipped inside and slid across the seat. Sofia got in next and put on her seatbelt and Mads closed the door, getting in the front in the passenger seat inside.
Iona realized she hadn’t been with a child since she herself was one and had no idea what to talk to Sofia about. The little girl didn’t seem bothered by the silence and stared out of the window as they drove through the city.
“What’s your favorite part about winter?” Iona asked, already knowing that Christmas was a sensitive subject for Sofia.
The little girl shrugged.
“I used to love a good snow because that meant school would be closed,” Iona said.”
“I like snow too. Last year Papa and Uncle Piers took me skiing in Vermont. That was funny because Papa kept falling down.”
“I didn’t keep falling down, Sof,” Mads said from the front seat. “It happened one time when Uncle Piers shoved me.”
Sofia giggled.
And Iona had to smile at that. “Theo — that’s my brother — used to always try to beat me to get outside when we were growing up so he could hit me with a snowball.”
“Did he do it?” Sofia asked.
“Sometimes. He’s got a really good throw so I sometimes I had to sneak out the back to get him.”
“We had a snowball fight too,” Sofia said. “I won. Papa and Uncle Piers were covered in snow.”
Iona smiled as the little girl entertained her with more memories from their Vermont ski holiday. And she glanced up and saw that Mads was watching his daughter in the rearview mirror.
He caught her eye and mouthed the words thank you.
She nodded. They pulled up at the center where the event was being held and the driver got out to open the door for her.
“She hopped out of the car and waited for them. There was a line to get in and they were separated. Iona dropped off her donated goods and caught a glimpse of her brother and Nico handing out bags to each of the kids after they visited Santa.
She’d go over, say hi, and then find her mom and leave. She didn’t want to be the awkward third wheel at this thing.
“Iona?”
She turned to find Mads standing a few feet away from her with his cell phone in one hand and Sofia next to him.
“Yes.”
“Would you mind taking Sofia to the gingerbread decorating area? There is an emergency at the Common and I have to be on the phone so won’t be able to help her,” Mads said.
“Sure. It will be fun,” Iona said, holding her hand out to Sofia, who took it readily.
She was aware of Mads getting on his phone as they walked away.
~ Author Bio ~
USA Today bestselling author Katherine Garbera is a two-time Maggie winner who has written more than 60 books. A Florida native who grew up to travel the globe, Katherine now makes her home in the Midlands of the UK with her husband, two children, and a very spoiled miniature dachshund.
Social Media Links
~ R A F F L E C O P T E R ~
Giveaway – Win 5 x Signed Copies of Summer in Manhattan
5 lucky winners will win a copy of Summer in Manhattan, Katherine Garbera’s previous book for Harper Impulse.
E N T E R
“Follow the Snowflakes: A Christmas Novella” by Angelina Kerner #BookTrailer
Follow the Snowflakes: A Christmas Novella
Publication Date: December 15, 2017
Genre: Chick-lit, contemporary romance
Synopsis:
At 28, it’s bad to be single. After four years of relationship struggles, Cat is ready to try anything.
That’s when her friend tells her about her class’ Dear Santa letters. One little boy asked for a new mommy, and she suggests Cat meets the kid’s dad, just to see where things go. Cat figures it can’t hurt…until she meets a stranger in the midst of a car accident. The man is handsome with a sad look in his eyes. He still wears a wedding band and she’s not sure his heart’s available, even if he makes her heart race. But, maybe he’s a widower? Cat wonders if she should resign herself to being an old maid, or whether she could possibly be the answer to a little boy’s Christmas wish, unless there’s a third option – a future with the stranger.
Add to Goodreads
Book Trailer
About the Author
Angelina Kerner’s writing career started at a young age when she discovered that her creativity could be channeled through a bit of ink and paper.
She moved around during her younger years from Novosibirsk and Kaluga Russia to finally settle in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. This startling contrast between the fierce snow of Siberia and the bright sun of the American West is a crucial source of inspiration and humility: the forces of people is to be found not only in their spirits, but in their land too.
Angelina’s curiosity in the human condition led her to pursue courses in psychology and blossomed into a master’s degree in Topographical science. It was with a burning fire that she rejected the status quo offered to her generation, and after many meaningless jobs, she decided that writing could be the canvas in which she could express this dichotomy. While working full time behind counters and registers, she persisted in supporting her family, her full-time coursework, and her creative dreams.
She dared to believe in her talents, and most importantly, in her ability to make a real mark on this world.
Like any creative soul, there was time for doubts, self-loathing, and loneliness, but never fear. She worked on countless experimental narratives, universes, genres, until her voice crystallized into her first published narrative. She is now the author of Deity’s Soulmate and Seven Hours: Challenge Accepted. Her next project involves a competition for a beautiful phoenix. Angelina currently divides her time between her family, work, writing, lots of cats, and two celestial dragons.
Angelina Kerner | Facebook | Twitter
Where Dragons Reside (Blog) | Pinterest | Goodreads
Pre-Order Now:
Book Trailer Reveal Organized By:
“Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity” by LeNae Goolsby #Excerpt #Giveaway
Title: Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity
Author: LeNae Goolsby
Genre: Nonfiction (Body, Mind & Soul)
EXCERPT
…you beautiful infinite being in a fabulous body, are the designer of your life, the chooser of your destiny. If you feel otherwise, it is only because you have been giving your power away subconsciously, consciously, or more likely, both.
So, here’s a myth-buster for you. Free will, in the Divine/Creator/Life Force/Universe sense of the words, is actually not conditional. You are absolutely free to create the experience of your choice, whether it be gloom, doom, guilt, shame, drama trauma, or all Ode to Eeyore, the master of self-pity.
###
For a long time, I forgot how to daydream. My overactive imagination was replaced with just trying to survive the uncomfortable home life I experienced as a teenager, and then as a single mother at the age of nineteen. During my early twenties, it felt as if those who were positioned to be my biggest support resources, were instead those who attempted the hardest to manipulate, control and oppress me—oftentimes using my daughter as their weapon of choice.
I was simply trying to hold down a job and make the rent. Daydreaming was a luxury I did not believe I could afford back then. The fact of the matter is, however, if I had spent a little more time imagining…
Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity provides an experiential journey where mental and emotional vibrations rise and conscious awareness expands. Personal power is reclaimed and peace restored with each chapter and each sweet serenity tip.
~ About the Author ~
LeNae Goolsby is the Founder/Owner of www.LeNaeGoolsby.com, the host of Empowered Living with LeNae which is syndicated on 50 global networks, as well as the Practice Administrator/Director of New Business Development for www.YourInfiniteHealth.com
In addition to running these successful ventures, LeNae is a wife, mother, artist, writer, an oracle of the pragmatic persuasion, calm cultivator, and energy healer.
LeNae received her certificate from the Duke University Integrative Medicine Center Leadership Development Program in February 2017, and her law degree from Tulane University Law School in 2010. And somewhere between Tulane and Duke she completed her universal law-centric coaching studies and honed her intuitive abilities.
LeNae is also an expert and writer for www.YourTango.com. She is the author of Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity and is on the cusp of releasing Empowered Medicine – Harnessing the Infinite Laws of the Universe for Optimized Health which she co-wrote with her husband. She is also working on her next book, Seven Sundays to Money Manifesting Mastery.
Links
Website: www.LeNaeGoolsby.com
Where to Purchase: https://books.pronoun.com/seven-sundays-to-sweet-inner-serenity/
***************
~ R A F F L E C O P T E R ~
E N T E R
#WackyWednesday
Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.
— Charles M. Schulz
If one sticks too rigidly to one’s principles, one would hardly see anybody.
— Agatha Christie
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
— Brendan Gill
An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.
— Jef Mallett
But what is the difference between literature and journalism?
…Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. That is all.
— Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891
Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.
— W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence
How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
— Ronald Reagan
There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.
— Kurt Vonnegut
I was walking down the street wearing glasses when the prescription ran out.
— Steven Wright
I hate life, I hate death and everything in between just doesn’t interest me.
— Chris Rapier
The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.
— Shana Alexander
*
During a computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 MI/gal.”
General Motors addressed this comment by releasing the statement: “Yes, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?”
Not only that but….
-Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
-Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
-Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause your car to stop and fail and you would have to re-install the engine. For some strange reason, you would accept this too. -You could only have one person in the car at a time unless you bought “Car95” or “CarNT”. But, then you would have to buy more seats.
-Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
-The Macintosh car owners would get expensive Microsoft upgrades to their cars, which would make their cars run much slower.
-The oil, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single “general car default” warning light.
-New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
-The airbag system would say “are you sure?” before going off.
If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what happened.
*
I had laryngitis and finally decided to go to the doctor. After the nurse called me, she asked my age. “Forty-nine,” I whispered.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered back. “I won’t tell anyone.”
*
The lawyer I work for specializes in divorce cases, so I was a little surprised to get a call from a prisoner serving life for murdering his wife. My boss was surprised too.
“What does he need me for?” he asked. “He appears to have solved all his marital problems by himself.”
*
While filling up at a gas station, I accidentally spilled gasoline on my shirt. When I went inside to pay, I noticed a woman crinkling her nose. Embarrassed, I tried to put her mind at ease. “If you smell gas,” I said, “it’s me.”
*
My son, Brian, was a theater major at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He got a part in a local production and the director was telling the cast they would be doing a holiday musical called Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus. “Are you familiar with it?” he asked the cast members.”Not really,” Brian answered, completely serious. “I’m from New Jersey.”
Nesie's Place 