New Mom, New Author Jessica Keller

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My guest today author Jessica Keller came up with a creative excuse for not sending me her material on time–her firstborn, a little girl, came two weeks early! She’s home now with baby and still managed to send me her blog last night. Bravo, Jessica. She’s also offering a book giveaway of her debut, Love Inspired Romance, Home for Good. Here’s Jessica:

“When I think of strength an image of my grandma always comes to my mind. At 92 she still owns her own home and enjoys an active life gardening and spending time with her many grandchildren.

At her age, that alone speaks to her strength, but it’s the stories my mom has told me—things that happened long before I was born—that stick in my mind.

With one too many mouths to feed, my grandmother was cast out of her family home in the Netherlands at the age of fifteen. She had to pack up her belongings and try to find a place to live, a job, and food to eat.

After her and my grandfather married and started a family WWII broke out across Europe. Nazis took over the Netherlands and my grandfather was seized off the streets and forced into the Nazi work program—kept in a train boxcar with hundreds of others, not given food or water, and only let out to dig trenches.

As a woman in her twenties, my grandma decided she wasn’t going to stand for such treatment. She marched up to Nazi headquarters and demanded the return of her husband. Can you imagine a 5 foot tall woman going nose-to-nose with one of those soldiers? She did. And they returned my grandfather with apologies to boot!

Soon after my grandparents immigrated to America my grandfather died in an automobile accident leaving my grandmother in a land where she didn’t know the language and had eight children to provide for. With no education beyond grammar school, she did just that. Working every job she could.

All this, and I’ve never heard my grandmother complain about how life treated her. Instead, she praises God and is now surrounded by a family so large we have to rent out a college campus to hold our family reunions.

And you know what? That’s what strength is to me—my grandmother—someone who bares up under hard circumstances and does what needs to be done without needing to know that there is a reward on the other end.

To purchase, click here. Home for Good (Love Inspired)

In my debut novel, Home for Good, the heroine, Ali Silver, has my grandmother’s spirit.

Eight years ago Ali’s husband walked out on her, leaving her pregnant and alone. Instead of letting that break her, Ali digs the heels of her boots into the Montana dirt and decides she will work hard to support her son and make a life for herself. Even though Ali’s been through a tragedy, she spends her time helping others and opens a handicap horseback riding program on her family ranch.

Though Ali hits some rough patches where she doubts God, through it all, she knows He’s never left her and that He created her to do more than feel sorry about her circumstances.

I hope you enjoy Ali’s story!”–Jessica

Blurb –

“I made a promise to protect you.”

But pregnant Ali Silver’s husband broke his vow and walked away from her. After being injured in combat, Jericho has finally come home to Bitterroot Valley to make peace with his father and regain Ali’s trust. But the single mom’s keeping secrets of her own. And someone’s killing off Ali’s cattle and sabotaging her horse therapy business. Jericho will do whatever it takes to protect his wife and be a real father to his son. Because when it comes to love and second chances, he’s one determined cowboy.

___________________________________________________

Twitter – @AuthorKeller

www.facebook.com/jessicakellerauthor

www.jesskeller.wordpress.com

To enter the drawing for a copy of Home for Good, here’s the question. Which do you like to read more–WWII stories or contemporary romance and why?–Lyn

BTW, what do you think she should have named her little girl?  What would you name a little girl today? 🙂

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Author Camy Tang & Protection for Hire

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My guest today is author Camy Tang who has written for Love Inspired Suspense and for other publishers. She is one of my favorite people to share a meal with at a conference. BECAUSE SHE’S FUN! I love her perky smile and great sense of humor. Camy is going to tell us about her latest suspense series and one of her charities & a book giveaway. So here’s Camy:

“In my humorous romantic suspense novel, Protection for Hire, one of the main settings is Wings domestic abuse shelter. My heroine, Tessa, is driven to champion women, and I naturally wanted her to work with women who needed her help. I didn’t want to use a real San Francisco shelter for my book for various reasons, so I created Wings but based it loosely off of a real women’s shelter in San Jose called Heritage Home.Heritage Home is a shelter for pregnant women run by CityTeam Ministries, and they provide shelter, training, and spiritual encouragement for homeless pregnant women. They’re run out of a glorious Victorian house in downtown San Jose, which is maintained by volunteers and donations, and which provides a real atmosphere of “home” for women who are at some of the darkest points in their lives.

I’ve donated to Heritage Home and also taken a tour, meeting some of the staff and some of the women. Their stories and their courage was the seed that made me write about Tessa, her client Elizabeth, and Wings domestic shelter in Protection for Hire. Since I made Wings a domestic abuse shelter, it’s a bit more secretive than Heritage Home, and I gave Wings a rather hefty security team, which made for some fun scenes in both Protection for Hire and the opening scene of A Dangerous Stage.

To purchase, click here A Dangerous Stage (Protection for Hire)

You can find Heritage Home on the web here: http://www.cityteam.org/san-jose/heritage-home/

 

I also hope you’ll enjoy my Protection for Hire series! You can find out all about the series on my website here: http://camytang.com/books/protection_for_hire_series

Today I’m giving away a copy of A Dangerous Stage!

Answer this question: What particular ministry do you donate to, and why? What about them tugs at your heartstrings? I’ll announce a winner via random number generator on February 4th.

Find me on the web:

Website: http://www.camytang.com/

Blog: http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/

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

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/camytang

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/49078

LAST WEEKS WINNERS:

Patti Gellner won Linda Goodnight’s book and LIsa won Mary Moore’s. CONGRATULATIONS!

 

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RITA Award-Winning Author Linda Goodnight & A Young Girl’s Strength

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My guest today is RITA Award-Winning Author Linda Goodnight. Do you know what the RITA is? That will be one of the questions at the end to be entered into a drawing for a copy of Linda’s latest Love Inspired Rancher’s Refuge. Here’s Linda who is sharing about a Young Girl’s Strength:

“Sometimes even a very young girl can show amazing strength, not just once but over and over again in the most difficult of circumstances. Let me tell you about my daughter, adopted from Ukraine. Born into a poverty that most Americans can’t begin to understand, she knows what it’s like to be bitterly cold, hungry, scared, and abandoned. She knows about living with no heat or electricity, no indoor plumbing. She knows about food from garbage cans and too many other unspeakables. At the age of four or five, she regularly walked alone in the bitter Eastern European winter some distance into town to stand in line for milk for her newborn sister. She cared for that sister during her mother’s long absences, though she was just a tike herself.

Even after she was taken into the orphanage, she took care of her sister, shielding her and making sure that the little one’s needs were met. I know this because when we first asked what she needed, her reply was, “My sister doesn’t have a coat.” She was ten. Then, at age 12, she recognized her bleak future and bravely chose to leave everything she’d ever known to come to America with total strangers. She didn’t speak the language. The culture, the food, everything was different and uncomfortable. She knew no one except her sister. All she had was her inner strength and determination to not only survive, but to thrive. Today, at nearly 17, she is a bilingual honor student liked and admired by all who know her, a beautiful Christian with a huge heart who cares and gives. She is a respectful, loving daughter, a joy, a gift. And her strength astonishes me.

 Annalisa Keller, the heroine in my latest Love Inspired, Rancher’s Refuge, is similar to my daughter in some ways. She does what she has to to survive-and thrive-in adverse circumstances. Annalisa doesn’t even know she’s strong until her abusive boyfriend dumps her out at Whisper Falls, injured and alone, and she has no one to turn to except a rugged cowboy whose secrets are even deeper than her own.


To purchase, click here. Rancher’s Refuge

Linda, that’s such a lovely story of love and strength. God bless your daughter and you.

 Please leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a copy of Linda’s newest book, Rancher’s Refuge, book one in the exciting new Whisper Falls series from Love Inspired.

Can one of you tell us what the RITA award is? And then after that is answered, please tell one thing that you are grateful for this year. We live in abundance and sometimes forget that mcuh of the world does not!–Lyn

 

www.lindagoodnight.com

Twitter: lindagoodnight

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/linda.goodnight.1

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Lyn Interviews Love Inspired Historical Author Mary Moore

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My guest today is Love Inspired Historical author Mary Moore who guested last year with her award-winning first romance, The Aristocrat’s Lady. Today I’m going to ask her two questions and then she will offer a chance to win her latest book, Beauty in Disguise. Here’s the interview.

Tell us a little about your writing and your real life.

My real life is made up of my husband, Craig, and our lab, Darcy. We live in  southwestern VA, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s beautiful in every season! My husband retired from the Veterans hospital last year and I recently left my part-time job  so we could enjoy retirement together and, hopefully, have more time to devote to writing. We’re very active in our church and we have tons of family all over the US.

 I’ve been writing for almost 20 years, but being an author still feels very new! I became a  Regency fanatic almost 40 years, and I feel so blessed to be able write and sell my own.  I’m so thankful to my family and their support, and God led me to the greatest agent,  Jenni Burke. She’s really helped me to hone my work and to find a good home for it. My goal is to be able to make writing a ministry and my favorite thing is to hear from readers  who tell me a book has touched their life in some way.

 Was there a time in your life when you think God  challenged you to become stronger? Please share.

I’ve talked, of course, about being a breast cancer survivor, but I had another serious  struggle with my health many years before that. Actually, it was a combination of things but basically it took two years to diagnose that I had Lupus. In The Aristocrat’s Lady, I drew Lady Nicole’s struggle with doctors from that experience. Feeling so badly and not being able to figure out how to treat the symptoms for so long was really, really hard. You wouldn’t believe what a compassionate husband I have. When diagnosed with cancer, we could immediately see that God had used that time to prepare us for the even bigger battle we would face. But He got us through both of them!:–Mary

Mary’s latest release

To purchase, click here. Beauty in Disguise (Love Inspired Historical)

Book Blurb:

After her scandalous first Season, Lady Kathryn needs a new beginning. Concealing her stunning hair and sapphire eyes beneath a dowdy façade, she’s grateful to earn her keep as companion, Kate Montgomery. Until she comes face-to-face with her past in Lord Dalton, the only man she has ever loved.

 The debutante Dalton fell in love with years ago was beautiful beyond compare. The gentle, mysterious young woman he encounters at a country house has qualities he now values more highly-until he learns of her deception. Kate has broken his heart not once, but twice.

 Can faith help him see that love, like true beauty, always comes to light?

To enter the drawing for a chance to win this book, please share a few words of hope for those who are struggling with pain or illness today. You can offer the scripture you cling to in times of trouble also.

Here’s mine: God is never far from us. His strenght is always available for us. –Lyn

 

www.marymooreauthor.com

 

facebook.com/mmooreauthor


LAST WEEK’S WINNER OF DEBRA ULLRICK’S COLORADO COURTSHIP IS Sandy Nadeau!

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Author Debra Ullrick & Ranch Women Are Tough

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My guest today is Love Inspired Historical author Debra Ullrick who tells us about a very special Ranch Woman. BTW, Debra is offering a copy of her latest book, Colorado Courtship, with veteran author Cheryl StJohn. Here’s Debra:

“Ranch women are a tough breed. In 1979, my husband and I went from him doing construction and me being a receptionist to ranching. We lived 58 miles one way from town, lived three miles off the main county road, had no phone, knew no one, and had a one year old baby girl. Then about year later, while still working for the same outfit, we moved from the log home we lived in up on the mountain, down to a trailer that was on some ranch land the bosses leased. There, I met a wonderful lady named Helen Elliott.

Helen was 68 years old, almost blind, and she may even have been blind in one eye, I can’t remember. Her husband had died many, many  years before we met her, and yet she had stayed on their ranch, living alone in a rugged land where people were scarce. Helen would travel two hours down an isolated road to get groceries, even with her poor vision.

In the older days, she said her family used to go to town once a month for supplies and food, if they were lucky, that is. They had an old pickup, but because the snow was so deep, they had to literally shovel their way to town. They’d shovel a path, move the truck forward, shovel another path, move the truck forward, and they would keep this up until they made it to their destination. Sometimes it took them a full day to drive what under normal conditions would only take two hours.

She told me about how long and hard the old-time haying seasons were,  and how they used to bring calves in the house and hold them in warm water until their arms ached and until the calf was warm. Sometimes they had calves lying in front of their wood burning/cook stove because it was too cold for them to be outside, causing their chances for survival otherwise to be slim.

Helen was a kind, courageous woman who knew how to rough it. She knew how to make something out of nothing, knew how to be thrifty, and knew how to survive in a desolate place.  She was a very sweet, Godly woman, who opened her heart up to someone who needed a friend–me. I will never forget her, her strengths, or her courage.


To Purchase, click here. Colorado Courtship: Winter of Dreams\The Rancher’s Sweetheart (Love Inspired Historical)

Sunny Weston, the heroine in my story, The Rancher’s Sweetheart,  reminds me a lot of Helen.  Sunny’s parents are dead, and she alone is left to run her ranch 26 miles from town. No matter how adverse circumstances become, Sunny refuses to permanently leave the home she loves.  Against all odds, against the advice of her neighbors, and even against the criticism of her being a woman – and not just any woman – but a short statured woman , Sunny proves to them all, that she is  a survivor who will do whatever it takes to live on and to save the ranch she loves.”–Debra

@DebraUllrick Twitter
www.debraullrick.com    (blog/website)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.ullrick?ref=tn_tnmn

What a great true story, Debra. And remember please leave a comment to enter the drawing for a free copy of Colorado Courtship.

Here’s the question: Do you think we have an easier life than women like Helen? Why or why not?–Lyn

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Lyn Reviews Author Sarah Shaber’s Simon Said

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Simon SaidSimon Said by Sarah R. Shaber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simon Said is the first in Sarah R Shaber’s ENTERTAINING Simon Shaw Mystery series. I read Snipe Hunt Book 2 first and then went backwards. I LOVE SIMON SHAW. He’s a great amateur sleuth with a twist; he’s a forensic historian. This means he investigates long ago murders. This first investigation begins with a fellow faculty archeologist, digging up an unexpected corpse behind the Bloodworth mansion in Raleigh NC. Simon, an unassuming history professor, becomes fascinated with and entangled in the woman’s disappearance and death in 1926. If you’re a history lover and a cozy mystery lover, THE SIMON SHAW MYSTERIES are just what you want to read!

To purchase, click here. Simon Said (The Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries)

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Lyn Reviews Author Roxanne Rustand’s A Temporary Arrangement

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A Temporary Arrangement (Blackberry Hill Memorial, Book 3) (Harlequin Superromance #1362)A Temporary Arrangement (Blackberry Hill Memorial, Book 3) by Roxanne Rustand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First I must admit that Roxanne Rustand is a friend, but I can say honestly that this book is a gem. It’s from Roxanne’s years of writing for Harlequin SuperRomance so it’s includes an obligatory love scene; however if you blink, you’ll miss it. I blinked because I actually thought it was unnecessary to the deeply emotional and touching story of these two wounded hearts and a precious little boy.

I also appreciated the setting of the novel, my neck of the northwoods. Roxanne captured much of the beauty of the northwoods of Wisconsin and the challenges those who live there face. So if you’re interested in a touching, tender love story set in the forest, go for this one!

To purchase, click here. A Temporary Arrangement (Harlequin Super Romance)

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Mississippi Author Pam Hillman & Her Three Mamaws in Cameo

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Three strong women pictured with the author and her husband on their wedding day: 

Lorene Graham, Ollie Tune, and Callie Evans.

My guest today is Mississippi author Pam Hillman, a long time acquaintance, who has a new book out- CLAIMING MARIAH.  DO NOT MISS ALL THE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO WIN PRIZES, EXPLAINED AT THE END OF THIS BLOG. But don’t jump ahead and miss Pam’s stories. Pam is going to sahre about not one but THREE grandmothers or in Mississippian Mamaws to share with us. These three are not your everyday grandmothers or today maybe they are! Here’s Pam:

 “A strong woman is a smart woman.

 My maternal grandmother, Mamaw Evans, was a smart woman. Down here in Mississippi, people used to say, “She’s a smart worker.” That meant that she worked smarter, not harder. She planned the work and worked the plan. Mamaw Evans was that kind of woman. Mamaw and Papaw lived in the middle of forty acres and grew cotton, corn, and vegetables. Papaw was a truck farmer, and spent many summer days peddling vegetables. Mamaw liked to stay at home and sew and putter around the house while he was gone. But Mamaw’s puttering wasn’t the ordinary stay-at-home-mom-and-bake-cookies housewife kind. Papaw might come home to find the walls in the house had been moved. Kitchen needed to be bigger? No problem. Mamaw made it so. From all accounts, Mamaw moved every wall in their house at one time or another. Now that’s a smart woman.

 A strong woman is a caring woman.

My paternal grandmother, Granny Tune, was a caring woman. She had five children and a host of grandchildren. She was a short, dumpy woman and could come across a little grumpy sometimes. One of my cousins affectionately called her Granny-Grump-Stump. I wanted to call her that because it fit so perfectly, but I was too polite to ever actually utter the words. Granny had five children and three of them lived within walking distance of her country home. So that meant in her elder years, she had a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren parading in and out of her house from daylight to dark, especially during the summertime. No wonder she got a little grumpy on occasion. But she loved every child that came through her door, and her Christmas shopping started the day after Christmas when toys went on sale. By June, she’d proudly announce that she’d not only completed her shopping but her wrapping as well. Now, that’s not only caring, that’s smart!

A strong woman is a Godly woman.

My husband’s grandmother, known far and wide as Ms. Lorene or just Mamaw, is a Godly woman. She’s 94 years old and still pastors our church. She dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to get married, went back to school to get her GED at the age of 77, then went on to get her college degree. She was the oldest person in the state of Mississippi to be inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Hall of Fame and was invited to the Phi Theta Kappa Convention in Washington, DC. With degree in hand, she spent the next ten or so years teaching GED Algebra at the local community college while sharing the gospel with her students. I’d say that makes her smart, caring, and Godly. You can read more about Mamaw Lorene at Calico Trails in a post honoring her 93 birthday in December 2011.

Strong women have hidden strengths that might not always be apparent to passing acquaintances, but those of us who know them well can spot those strengths a mile away. And we strive to emulate them.

I’d love for you to share a cameo of a strong woman who’s influenced you.”–Pam

BIO

Pam Hillman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove the Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of! Claiming Mariah is her second novel.

 

Pam is thrilled to announce the release of her second novel,

Claiming Maria

To purchase, click here. Claiming Mariah

 

To celebrate, Pam is giving away two eReaders

(choice of Kindle Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, or Nook Simple Touch) to

Two Winners.

Two ways to win: Like Pam Hillman’s Author page on facebook and/or sign up for Pam’s newsletter.

Registering both places is not required but will double your chances of winning. Also keep in mind that you will receive updates more often being connected on facebook than through the newsletter. Just sayin’

Contest runs from January 1st until March 31st, 2013.

 

And….that’s not all! There will be prizes offered randomly during the tour. The best way to keep up with these is to check in regularly on Pam’s facebook page.

 

The Prize Vault is Open!

 

Like Pam’s facebook author page and click on Events to sign up for current giveaways.

 

PREVIOUS STOP ON TOUR

January 5th: http://inspirationalhistoricalfiction.blogspot.com/

NEXT STOP ON TOUR:

January 8th-9th: http://www.novelpastimes.com

Click for a Complete List of Stops Along the Tour

www.pamhillman.com

As you can tell from all the info at the end, Pam Hillman takes after her grandmothers! Don’t miss a chance to enter her contests, etc!–Lyn

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Author Carol Steward & The Top of Her List!

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First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! No, my guest today Carol Steward is NOT a golden retriever puppy! But I lost her photo and somehow saved the one she sent me of her mother in law’s new puppy which she delivered to her mil over the holiday weekend! But we all like puppies, especially my friend author Carol Steward who is now going to tell us the woman she puts at the top of her list of strong women! Here’s Carol:

“When I think of strong woman, there’s one woman who tops my list. My mother, Phyllis Bohannan. Mom fell in love with a Marine, who then became a law enforcement officer after WWII, and together they raised 5 amazing children, if I do say so myself. She wasn’t a traditional working mom -we owned and operated small motel when I was young, which meant both Mom and Dad worked day and night to keep business growing. When times were tough, she sewed rather than bought our clothes. When she didn’t have a pattern, she improvised. We cleaned motel rooms to give the hired help holidays off. She did the motel laundry herself in the back of the attached home. It wasn’t easy, but it meant everything to her to be there for our family. At times that meant moving grandparents and parents in with us after illnesses or surgeries, and sacrificing a social life that so many of their friends enjoyed.

Mom set the bar very high when it came to strength. She had a debilitating stroke in her late 60’s and just a few months later she had mastered walking with a one-handed cane. She continued to serve meals to families after funerals at her church. After my dad died she lived in their duplex and learned to drive again. Fourteen years living with paralysis showed all of us the depth of her strength. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that women are like a tea bag, you never know, how, strong it is until you put it in hot water. My mother showed the truth of that quote. Two years ago, when she was in hospice, Mom’s doctor told us her body just didn’t know how to stop. That was Mom, strong to the end. I miss her greatly, but the lessons of her long life of strength live on in me and my own daughter.”–Carol

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To purchase, click cover.

This is Carol’s latest book. Here’s the blurb:

Katarina Berthoff had everything planned out. Her business was developing well, and her stable boyfriend would propose in eight weeks, according to his timetable. Then smoke jumper Alex MacIntyre—Katarina’s teenage crush—reentered her life. Alex was kind and romantic and just as handsome as she remembered. And he was definitely not part of the plan.

Things weren’t exactly going as Alex expected, either. He’d left smoke jumping only temporarily to help his brother Kevin run his construction business. Eventually he would be going back to his dangerous calling as a firefighter. There was no place in that life for a vivacious and beautiful woman who also happened to be practically engaged. But Alex couldn’t deny that he liked the regular hours in construction, being there for family get-togethers…and coming home to Katarina. Which meant he had a choice to make—and so did she.

Sounds like a winning story to me! So how do you like Carol’s puppy or her mother in law’s puppy?

Puppies and kittens are dangerous–I want to take them all home with me.

Do you have a pet? What? Their name?–Lyn

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Lyn Reviews Author Sarah B Shaber’s The Snipe Hunt, A Simon Shaw Mystery

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Snipe Hunt (Professor Simon Shaw, #2)Snipe Hunt by Sarah R. Shaber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first cozy mystery by Author Sarah R Shaber. I have since discovered that she has a slew of different series set in the same southeastern USA coastal area, Pearlie Beach, North Carolina.

I said this is my first Shaber mystery but it won’t be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed her offbeat hero Simon Shaw, archeologist, and heroine and hint of romance. I enjoyed all the colorful characters and natural beauty of the oceanside setting. I also like the interplay of history with the present.

I appreciated the fact that I liked her characters. So many times, I don’t care about the people in the mystery and don’t really care what happens to them. (Those mysteries I don’t finish.) I cared about her characters and I only disliked the murderer. Whom I did NOT guess until the final scene! Agatha Christie would call Sarah R Shaber a kindred soul!

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This is the Out of Print paperback version. I read the newer version on my Kindle!
To purchase, click here Snipe Hunt (The Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries)

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