Today I am happy to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for the new standalone murder mystery ROUGH COUNTRY by T.J. Brearton on this Damppebbles Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
A young girl murdered. A town with a dark secret.
A young girl, Kasey, is murdered in the woods of northern New York, a strange symbol carved into her stomach.
Investigator Reed Raleigh, Major Crimes, is tasked with finding the killer.
Reed has his own troubles. He’s in therapy, divorced, estranged from his son. But he desperately needs to solve this case – his own stepdaughter vanished when she was a teenager and Reed knows all about the agony of having no closure. No way is he letting Kasey’s mother go through that.
But as Reed begins to dig, the case grows ever more complex. Why is Kasey’s boyfriend acting so strangely? And why is her mother lying to the police?
As evidence of Kasey’s bizarre secret life starts to emerge, Reed realises this case isn’t just about a dead girl. There’s something much bigger at play in this small rural town, a decades old secret that needs to be protected. At any cost.
ROUGH COUNTRY by T.J. Brearton is a murder mystery set in the rural hills of upstate New York. I read and enjoy the Shannon Ames Thriller series by this author, so I was looking forward to reading this new standalone book and I was not disappointed.
A young girl, Kasey Stevens is found murdered partially lying on a trail in the woods of upstate New York. She has been strangled and a symbol has been sliced with precision on her abdomen.
Reed Raleigh is an investigator on the Major Crimes Unit of the New York State Police and receives the early morning call to be the lead on the murder. Reed is razor focused on this case as his superior keeps close tabs on him and his state of mind because Reed is still trying to deal with the fact that he had no closure on the disappearance of his own step-daughter.
Initially, Reed and his fellow investigators are lead to believe it is a case of a distraught ex-boyfriend, but as the case continues Reed finds a tangled web of lies and relationships among many of the small towns’ inhabitants in the region.
Reed discovers there have been other missing and dead girls over the past years. There is something even bigger going on and it is a secret that many are willing to keep at any cost.
I was really caught up in this intricately plotted and paced mystery. Reed is an intriguing protagonist who is dealing with his own demons, but he is cognizant of his problems and the fact his superior is keeping tabs on his mental health as he works this case. Through everything though, Reed is determined to get to the truth and on top of every inconsistency in the case. All the secondary characters, good and bad, were fully fleshed and added to the realism of the story. The threads came together in the end for an interesting and satisfying conclusion.
I recommend this new standalone mystery by this author for an entertaining and satisfying read.
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About the Author
T.J. Brearton’s books have reached half a million readers around the world and have topped the Amazon charts in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. A graduate of the New York Film Academy in Manhattan, Brearton first worked in film before focusing on novels. His books are visually descriptive with sharp dialog and underdog heroes. When not writing, Brearton does whatever his wife and three children tell him to do. They live happily in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Yes, there are bears in the Adirondacks. But it’s really quite beautiful when you’re not running for your life.
T.J. is the author of Into Darkness, Road to Mercy and other crime thrillers. ROUGH COUNTRY will be his third novel published with Inkubator Books.
Today is my turn once again on the Harlequin Series November 2020 Blog Tour. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for CLAIMING THE RANCHER’SHEIR (Gold Valley Vineyards Book #2) by Maisey Yates.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Arrogant, infuriating, insufferable… And the sexiest man she’s ever met.
Wren Maxfield hates Creed Cooper, but now she’s working with the wealthy rancher over the holidays! Those strong feelings hide undeniable chemistry…and one wild night results in pregnancy. Now Creed vows to claim his heir. That means proposing a marriage in name only. But as desire takes over, is that a deal they can keep?
Includes Rancher’s Wild Secret, a bonus story!
Emerson Maxfield is a sheltered beauty who never steps out of line. Now she must marry her family’s enemy before desire spells downfall for them all…
CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR (Gold Valley Vineyards Book #2)
ISBN: 9781335154002
Price: $7.99
On Sale Date: Nov 10, 2020
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR (Gold Valley Vineyards Book #2) by Maisey Yates is a new enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance featuring the second sister in the Maxfield winemaking family and the sexy cowboy/vineyard owner from the Cooper family. Although this is the second book in the Gold Valley Vineyards series is can be easily be read as a standalone.
Wren Maxfield cannot believe her sister, Emerson, wants to do joint events with their biggest winery rivals, the Cooper’s to increase tourism in the Gold Valley. For years, Wren has been butting heads with Creed Cooper and now they have to work together. Wren hates Creed and his laid-back cowboy persona, but she also cannot stop having very steamy dreams featuring the man she supposedly hates.
Creed Cooper runs his family’s winery and enjoys his sparring with the uppity Wren Maxfield. Creed has no interest in a relationship after being wounded in his past, but his dreams all feature the feisty Wren and now they are thrown together.
After an explosive sexual episode in a wine cellar, Wren is pregnant. Creed vows to marry Wren and take care of her and the baby, but it is a marriage in name only. But Wren has other plans.
I really enjoyed this Harlequin Desire quick read. I did read the first book, but it is not necessary to enjoy this one. I find enemies-to-lovers stories very entertaining and I believe Ms. Yates did an excellent job of bringing all the verbal tension to a head and turning it into believable sexual tension. Wren and Creed were both dealing with emotional baggage that I felt was handled realistically. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous.
I can recommend this contemporary romance for a quick, satisfying read and I am looking forward to Cricket’s story next.
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Excerpt
Creed Cooper was a cowboy. A rich, successful cowboy from one of the most well-regarded families in Logan County. He also happened to be tall, muscular and in possession of the kind of good looks a lot of women liked.
As a result, nearly nothing—or no one—was off-limits to him.
No one except Wren Maxfield.
Maybe that was why every time he looked at her his hands itched.
To unwind that tight bun from her hair. To make that mouth, which was always flattened in disapproval—at least around him—get soft and sexy and get all over his body.
And he had that itch a lot, considering he and Wren were the representatives for their respective families’ vineyards. Rivals, in fact.
And she hated him.
She hated him so much that when she saw him her eyes flared with a particular kind of fire.
Fair enough, since he couldn’t really stand her either.
But somehow, years ago, a piece of that dislike inside him had twisted and caught hard in his gut and turned into an intensity of another kind entirely.
He was obsessed.
Obsessed with the idea he might be able to use that fire in her eyes to burn up the sheets between them.
Instead, he had to listen to her heels clicking on the floor as she paced around the showroom of Cowboy Wines, looking like a smug cat, making him wait to hear whatever plan it was she’d come to tell him about.
“Are you listening to me?” she asked suddenly, her green cat eyes getting sharp.
She was dressed in a tight-fitting red dress that fell to the top of her knees. It had a high, wide neck, and while it didn’t show a lot of skin, it hugged her full breasts so tight it didn’t leave a lot to the imagination.
Even if it had, his imagination was damn good. And it was willing to work for Wren. Overtime.
She had on those ridiculous spiked heels, too. Red, like the dress. He wanted to see her in only those heels.
He wasn’t into prissy women. Not generally. He liked a more practical girl. A cowgirl who would be at home on his ranch.
Wren looked like she never left her family showroom, all glass walls and wrought iron furniture. Maxfield Vineyards was the premier wine brand for people who were up their own asses.
And still, he wanted her.
That might be her greatest sin.
That she tested control he’d had firmly leashed for the last eighteen years and made him want to send it right to hell as he burned in her body.
Of all the reasons to hate Wren Maxfield, wanting her and not being able to do a damn thing to make himself stop was number one on the list.
He looked around the Cowboy Wines showroom, the barrels with glass tabletops on them, the heavy, distressed beams that ran the length of the room.
And then there was him: battered jeans and cowboy boots, a hat for good measure.
Everything a woman like Wren would hate.
A testament to just why there was no reason to carry a burning torch for her fine little body.
Too bad his own body was a dumbass.
“I wasn’t listening at all,” he said, making sure to drawl it. As slow as possible. He was rewarded with
a subtle flare of heat in those eyes. “Make it more interesting next time, Wren. Maybe do a dance.”
“The only dancing I’ll ever do is on your grave, Creed.”
The sparring sent a kick of lust through him. They did this every time they were in a room together. Every damn time. No matter that he knew he shouldn’t indulge it.
But hell, he was afraid the alternative was stripping her naked and screwing her against the nearest wall, and that wasn’t a real option.
So verbal sparring it was.
“What did I die of?” he asked. “Boredom?”
Those eyes shot sparks at him. “It was tragic. You were found with a high heel protruding out of your chest.” Her magic lips curved upward and he felt it like she’d pressed them against his neck.
“Any suspects so far?”
“Your own smart mouth. Are you going to listen to me or not?”
“You’re already here. So am I. Might as well.”
He leaned back in his chair and, for effect, put his boots up on the table.
Her top lip curled up into a sneer, and that thrilled him just as much as if she’d crossed the room to straddle his lap. Okay, maybe not just as much, but he loved that he got to her.
***
Author Bio
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard. She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Today is my turn on the Damppebbles Blog Tour to share my Feature Post and Book Review for THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd. This is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
How long can the past remain buried?
A simple message in a local newspaper. A set of highly sensitive documents left in the back of a London black cab. Both events collide to cause Isabel Faraday’s life to be turned upside down. Growing up believing her parents died in a car crash when she was five, Isabel learns the shocking truth; a truth that places her own life in danger by simply being a Faraday. Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save her, and at the same time unravels long forgotten secrets involving MI5, MI6, the KGB and NASA. Secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years. Secrets worth killing for. With kidnap, murder and suicides stretching across four continents, just what is the Phoenix Project?
The Phoenix Project is the first Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh novel.
THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.
Isabel Faraday is about to go from a simple shop assistant to becoming the center of an international plot which has her on the run for her life.
Long kept secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years are on the verge of being exposed, but there is a contingent that will do anything and kill anyone to prevent that from happening. Everyone is involved, MI5, MI6, the FBI, NASA and the KGB and with Isabel’s life on the line, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save Isabel and unravel the secrets of the Phoenix Project and a secret organization protecting it called PRISM.
What is the Phoenix Project?
This book is a little confusing at first, not just trying to understand why Isabel is in danger, but also because there are so many characters from many different agencies. Once you get everything sorted out, each turn of the page increases the pace of the plot. The thrills, twists and turns, murders and intrigue take off and continues to crescendo towards a very satisfying conclusion. I was especially intrigued with Jack and I believe he is a great protagonist to follow into future books.
I am looking forward to following DI Jack MacIntosh and author Michelle Kidd in the future.
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About the Author
Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.
Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.
But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.
In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.
Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J
Today is my turn on the Harlequin Series November 2020 Blog Tour. I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for A SHERIFF’S STAR (Home to Oak Hollow Book #1) by Makenna Lee.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description:
It was only supposed to be a temporary home… He interrupts her plans…
When police chief Anson Curry returns a lost little girl to her frantic mother, his only goal is to ease the single mom’s anxiety. But it doesn’t take long for Tess Harper’s amazing child to have Anson wrapped around her little finger—and for Tess to have him thinking about a possible relationship. As for Tess, she’s tempted—even though she had planned to be in Oak Hollow, Texas, only temporarily. But after losing her father and brother in the line of duty, Tess thinks Anson’s job poses too much of a risk to her heart. And Anson has no plans to get involved with someone who’s planning on leaving.
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
A SHERIFF’S STAR (Home to Oak Hollow Book #1) by Makenna Lee is the start of a new Harlequin Special Edition series contemporary romance set in the Texas Hill Country.
Single mother Tess Harper has arrived in Oak Hollow with her four-year-old daughter, Hannah to work a temporary job setting up exhibits for the new Historical Society. While shopping, before checking out their temporary rental home, Hannah walks away. Tess is frantic until a handsome lawman brings Hannah back to her mother.
Chief of Police Anson Curry is enchanted with the little girl he finds who calls him “Sheriff”. He is also interested in Tess, but she no pushover. Anson has had his heart broken in the past and is not sure about Tess. While Tess has been a single mother on her own even before the birth of her daughter and is not interested in a relationship. Anson is not willing to give up though and is willing to work to get Tess to give them a chance.
Tess has experienced several losses and is worried Anson’s job is too dangerous, but Anson wants to prove to Tess that he has no plans to leave her and Hannah.
I loved this single mother romance and the determination of Anson to make Tess understand that she had so many people who wanted to help her if she would just let them in, including him. Being a single mother myself, I know how difficult it can be and how protective I was of my child, so with Hannah having special needs with her Down syndrome and being rejected by her birth father and his family, I feel that Tess’s fight against letting anyone into their lives was very realistic. Hannah’s love and innocence will steal your heart and Nan, Anson’s grandmother, adds to the healing that occurs in all their lives.
I can recommend this heartfelt small-town romance and I am looking forward to the future stories in this series as well.
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Excerpt
Where’s my baby?
Tess Harper’s rib cage rattled with the abrupt drumming of her heart. “Hannah Lynn! Where are you? Answer Momma!”
This can’t be happening! I only glanced away for a second.
Blood pounded in her head with such force her vision wavered, and a hot, prickly knot wedged in her throat. She grabbed a rack of clothes, knocked items to the floor and forced herself to focus. No one had been standing near them to snatch her little girl. Her precocious child must’ve slipped into one of the stuffed, round racks to play her favorite game of hide-and-seek.
Please, please let her be okay. “Hannah Lynn, answer me!”
A store employee stood nearby folding T-shirts, unaffected by Tess’s cries.
“My daughter is missing! Can you make an announcement?”
“What does she look like?” asked the blank-faced teen.
“She’s four, blonde, has Down syndrome.”
“Over here, ma’am,” a deep, male voice called from across the women’s department. “I think I have who you’re looking for.”
Tess spun to see her daughter in the arms of a tall police officer. She ran, dodging obstacles and other shoppers, and pulled Hannah into her arms. The slight weight of her child was an immediate relief. She cradled her head of silky curls and kissed her smooth, broad forehead. “Don’t you ever run off like that again. You scared the life out of me.”
Hannah’s bottom lip poked out and she placed both hands on her mother’s cheeks. “I sorry, Momma.”
The waning adrenaline rush left her trembling and dizzy. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and she stiffened. “I’m fine.”
“Let’s find a place to sit.”
Allowing a strange man to touch her wasn’t typical behavior, but he was a police officer like her father had been, and at the moment, she welcomed the support. “I could sit for a minute.”
He guided them to a bench near the dressing room and sat beside them. “Can I get you anything? Water?”
Tess shook her head, too intent on hugging her squirming daughter and savoring her baby shampoo scent. “I can’t believe I let this happen. I only turned my head, and when I looked back, she was gone. What if…” Her throat tightened and burned with repressed tears, cutting off her words. Terrible scenarios scrolled through her mind, each one more horrifying than the next.
“Play hide-see, Momma.”
“Sweet girl, you have to promise to tell me before we start playing hide-and-seek.”
“Something like this happens to every parent at some point,” said the officer. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
She cut him a hard look, ready to argue that her slipup was completely unacceptable. “Are you a parent?”
His jaw tightened and twitched. “No.”
“Then you don’t know what this feels like.” Tess didn’t miss the spark of sorrow in the man’s blue eyes. His expression almost matched the strained one that often stared back from her reflection. She took a deep breath. “Thank you, though. Where did you find my daughter?”
“She found me. I was looking through the ladies’ robes when a little hand reached out and tugged on my pant leg.”
“Ladies’ robes?” She bit her lip. It was none of her business what he shopped for.
Color bloomed high on his cheekbones. “For my grandmother.”
Hannah wiggled off her mother’s lap and onto the bench between them. “Sheriff safe?” Her blue-green eyes cut back and forth between them.
“Yes, baby.” Tess glanced at his badge that read Chief of Police. “She thinks you’re a sheriff like one of her favorite cartoon characters.”
He smiled at Hannah, showing dimples almost hidden beneath a short-cropped, blond beard. “You sure are a smart little girl. How old are you?”
“I four.” Hannah climbed onto her knees and traced around the border of his badge. “Circle.” Her tiny finger poked through each of the holes surrounding the center star. “Sheriff star.”
“It means I’ve promised to protect and keep you safe.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small plastic star and pinned it onto Hannah’s pink shirt. “You can be my honorary officer.”
Her daughter—normally shy around men—flung her arms around his neck. “Tank you.”
Tess once again caught a quick flash of distress before he schooled his features and returned the hug. Watching her child interact with a “father figure” set off a familiar swell of sadness that rolled in like a tidal wave. Hannah’s father didn’t want to be part of their lives, but he was the one missing out on the unconditional love of a precious child.
His loss. Idiot, selfish bastard.
She shook off the dark thoughts and took a good look at the man wearing a tan cowboy hat. His movie-star-worthy face topped powerful shoulders and a chest that filled his uniform shirt almost to the point of bursting buttons.
What’s the matter with me? How can I notice a man’s appearance at a time like this?
Eyes squeezed closed, she turned her head to hide her emotions from a man who was way too attractive, and no doubt knew it. He probably had women fawning all over him. She did not need another man who’d play with her heart like a chew toy. Especially one with a dangerous job.
I can, and will, raise my child on my own.
Oak Hollow, Texas, might be a small town, but she made up her mind to keep as much distance as possible between her and this tempting officer. It wouldn’t be that hard. They’d only be here a couple of months before moving on to Houston to prepare for Hannah’s heart surgery.
Hannah plopped onto her bottom, little legs swinging as she admired her prize.
“Thank you for your help. I need to find our shopping cart and get groceries. I’m moving into our new place today and I don’t want to be late meeting the landlord.”
He cocked his head and studied her with a set of stormy blue eyes. “Is your new place by any chance the Craftsman bungalow on Eighteenth Street?”
Hair lifted on the back of her neck. “How’d you know?”
He stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Tess Harper. I’m your landlord, Anson Curry.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
***
Author Bio
Makenna Lee is an award-winning romance author living in the Texas Hill Country with her real-life hero and their two children. Her oldest son has Down syndrome and taught her to appreciate the little things, and he inspired one of her novels. As a child, she played in the woods, looked for fairies under toadstools, and daydreamed. Her writing journey began when she mentioned all her story ideas, and her husband asked why she wasn’t writing them down. The next day she bought a laptop, started her first book, and knew she’d found her passion. Now, Makenna is often drinking coffee while writing, reading, or plotting a new story. Her wish is to write books that touch your heart, making you feel, think, and dream. She enjoys renaissance festivals, nature photography, studying herbal medicine, and usually listens to Celtic music while writing. She writes for Harlequin and Entangled Publishing and believes everyone deserves a happy ending.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for TRIAL BY FIRE: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost and A 15-Year Search for Truth by Scott James.
This is a nonfiction book about a horrific fire by an author who did exhaustive research for the truth which reads as smoothly as a work of fiction. I could not put it down!
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links.
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Book Description
In only 90 seconds, a fire in the Station nightclub killed 100 people and injured hundreds more. It would take nearly 20 years to find out why—and who was really at fault.
All it took for a hundred people to die during a show by the hair metal band Great White was a sudden burst from two giant sparklers that ignited the acoustical foam lining the Station nightclub. But who was at fault? And who would pay? This being Rhode Island, the two questions wouldn’t necessarily have the same answer.
Within 24 hours the governor of Rhode Island and the local police commissioner were calling for criminal charges, although the investigation had barely begun, no real evidence had been gathered, and many of the victims hadn’t been identified. Though many parties could be held responsible, fingers pointed quickly at the two brothers who owned the club. But were they really to blame? Bestselling author and three-time Emmy Award-winning reporter Scott James investigates all the central figures, including the band’s manager and lead singer, the fire inspector, the maker of the acoustical foam, as well as the brothers. Drawing on firsthand accounts, interviews with many involved, and court documents, James explores the rush to judgment about what happened that left the victims and their families, whose stories he also tells, desperate for justice.
Trial By Fire is the heart-wrenching story of the fire’s aftermath because while the fire, one of America’s deadliest, lasted fewer than two minutes, the search for the truth would take twenty years.
TRIAL BY FIRE: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost and a 15-Year Search for Truth by Scott James is a new nonfiction book about the horrific fire at The Station nightclub in 2003. The author uses exhaustive research and intersperses personal accounts into a work of nonfiction that reads as easily as a work of fiction. I could not put it down!
It was supposed to be a night of fun and partying watching the hair metal band Great White perform at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island. After local warm-up bands, the lights go out and suddenly the band’s road manager sets off four large pyrotechnics which catch the foam on the back wall on fire. The foam is on all of the walls and ceiling and is as effective as gasoline at spreading the fire and within seconds the inside is filled with a black fog of smoke and the entire building is engulfed in flames.
The author takes the reader through the entire tragedy and introduces the reader through family and friends accounts to some of the individuals who died that day, some of the survivor’s stories and the families of both. Then the story follows the investigations into who is responsible, while continuing to intersperse victim’s stories. The author points out the mistakes made and reported and the series of events and decisions that led to unintended consequences and the terrible number of deaths.
I was completely engrossed in this story. (I remember the terrible story when it was on the national news, but like all other news stories, unless you were personally affected it fades from your life.) Mr. James takes the reader to the very beginning and through his research and the passage of time which separates actual facts from the hype and rush to judgement immediately after an event like this, he writes a narrative that illuminates the cascade of errors made and continues to follow survivor’s stories. I believe the author does an excellent job of illuminating the truth about the good and bad of all the major players involved in this tragedy.
I highly recommend this book!
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Author Bio
A New England native, Scott James first came to prominence for exposing government waste and malfeasance by creating the long-running investigative series “You Paid for It” at WLNE-TV in Rhode Island. His work in television news received three Emmy awards and numerous journalism honors, including the prestigious Associated Press News Station of the Year, twice. He’s a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Since 2009 Scott’s reporting has appeared in The New York Times. His eponymous weekly column about the San Francisco Bay Area ran from 2009 to 2012, and his stories received national and international coverage from other media, including The New Yorker, The Guardian, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, “The Colbert Report,” and “Chelsea Lately.”
In the world of fiction, writing under the pen name Kemble Scott, he’s the author of two San Francisco Chronicle bestselling novels, The Sower and SoMa, which was a finalist for the national Lambda Literary prize for debut fiction and the #1 bestseller in the Doubleday Book Club’s InSightOut division.
Scott lives in San Francisco. He’s a member of the board of directors of Litquake, the city’s literary festival, and co-founder of the Castro Writers’ Cooperative, a co-working community for writers.
Today I am on the Harlequin Trade Publishing 2020 Fall Reads Blog Tour for Women’s Fiction and Romance. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for RESCUE YOU (Dogwood County Book #1) by Elysia Whisler.
Below you will find an author Q&A, a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links.
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Author Q&A
Q: What themes can readers find in your book, Rescue You?
A: One big theme was nailed on the front cover: “Everyone needs saving sometimes.” In this book, all the characters, human or canine, are saving each other in different ways and at different times. I enjoyed playing with some of the ways in which a character could be either a hero or someone who needed saving. I liked taking a pair of sisters, a big, strong Alpha male and a handful of rescued dogs and showing how any one of them could be either the hero or the saved, despite gender, birth order or human status, depending on the situation.Which brings us to, “love wins.” There’s some ugliness in this book, for sure, just like there is in life. But I always want to believe that love can win the day.
Q: With the sisters working with rescue dogs in the story and the hero working with veterans at his gym, are either of these elements something near and dear to your heart in real life?
A: Yes, both! Though I’ve never run a dog rescue like the sisters in the book, I’ve adopted rescue dogs and cats all my life. Military vets are definitely near and dear to my heart. My father served over thirty years in the military, my grandfather fought in WWII, and I grew up steeped in military life and culture. As a massage therapist, my most rewarding work comes from massaging for CAUSE (Comfort for America’s Uniformed Servicemembers). CAUSE is a non-profit program that provides wounded service members free massages twice a month. I love being able to give back to the men and women who have served us.
Q: What is something you can share about this pair of sisters and their relationship that might not have made it into the book?
A: Constance and Sunny always watch The Matrix together on Sunny’s birthday. They share popcorn and quote lines. It’s a ritual they started when the movie came out in their youth.
Q: Do you own any pets? If so what kind? If not, what kind would you adopt if you could?
A: I currently share a home with four dogs, four cats and a rabbit named Lieutenant Dan. Recently deceased are two guinea pigs. All rescues.
Q: Is this your first book that you have written? If not, what was your first book?
A: I’ve been writing books since I was about eight. They started out as short, handwritten books, but I was writing full length novels by the time I was a young teen. I had a word processor (like a typewriter but with editing capabilities) that I’d begged my parents for as a birthday present. I wrote a historical romance, a contemporary romance and a western (with a woman hero!) “Rescue You” is actually a combination of two novels I wrote and then wove together.
Q: Did you always want to become an author?
A: Yes. Always. When I was young I mailed a handwritten book to a publisher’s address I found on the copyright page of one of the many books on my shelf. Just put this handwritten book I wrote in a big envelope, slapped stamps on it and mailed it to them. They were actually kind enough to mail it back. They included a note saying that all submissions had to be typewritten. I look back on that and laugh at my young, naive self but also with surprise at the kindness of that publishing company. They paid out of pocket to return that book to me when most would dump it in the trash.
Q: What was the process of becoming a published writer like for you?
A: I won a writing award in high school. When I was in college, I wrote a lot of short stories and placed in competitions like the F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Sandy. Once I started writing novels, I entered those in contests, too, and won or placed quite a few times. After gaining that confidence, I started querying agents. This was back when almost nobody accepted email queries, so that was a long waiting game. I wrote several books and queried them at different times before getting an offer of representation.The road to publication after that was long. I told my agent, the fabulous Sara Megibow, that we were ahead of our time when I started out. My stories never fit neatly into genre, were kind of quirky and always had really strong, bold heroines, which weren’t necessarily popular like they are today. Everyone wants strong women now, and genre bending is more acceptable, so I’ve finally come into my own.
Q: Describe your hero using only 3 words.
A: Gritty-sweet Alpha.
Q: What is your advice for aspiring writers?
A: If you’re writing, you’re already a writer. You don’t need anyone’s approval to make it so. Publishing may be an end goal to that, and if so, know that the game changes and you have to meld art into business. Put in the work, get feedback, hone your craft, listen to your editors. It’s a tough industry for sure, but in the immortal words of Tom Petty, “In a world that keeps on pushing me around … I won’t back down.”
Q: Do you create outlines for your book or do you just start starting one scene at a time?
A: It’s weird–I’m a super organized person but I barely outline at all. I always tell myself I’m going to try to outline more, but my process goes more like this: I get inspired by an idea, a scene, a moment, a person, a song. I expand that into a possible cast, have a vague starting point and probably a big scene in the middle that doesn’t know where it’s going to end up, just that it WILL be in there, and then most likely an ending (but not always). I’ll jot those down. When I actually start writing, it’s important to me to nail the opening before I move on to any other part of the story, even though the opening might change. After that, the process gets even messier: I think, re-read, jot a couple sentences in the outline, write in my head, write for real, edit, maybe go for a long walk and listen to music and decide where the story goes next. I edit a lot as I go. I’m not a “vomit on the page” writer. I’m more of a two steps up, one step back kind of person.
Q: What is your next writing project?
A: The next book in the series is called “Forever Home” and is currently with my editor! This story is about a kick ass, motorcycle riding, Marine Corps Veteran heroine who catches the eye of Detective Sean Callahan. There’ll be fitness, sleuthing, romance, an abandoned dog who loves the motorcycle shop, and, of course, some face-time from Constance, Sunny and Rhett.
Q: Where can readers find you and your work online?
A: Visit me at my Web site: www.elysiawhisler.com. There’s a bio, information on events, upcoming books and press. There are links to order Rescue You, links to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Facebook and a place to sign up for my newsletter!
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Book Summary
She needs a fresh start. He’s got scars that haven’t healed. With the help of some rescue dogs, they’ll discover that everyone deserves a chance at happiness.
After a year of heartbreak and loss, the only thing keeping Constance afloat is the dog rescue she works at with her sister, Sunny. Desperate for a change, Constance impulsively joins a new gym, even though it seems impossibly hard, and despite the gym’s prickly owner.
Rhett Santos keeps his gym as a refuge for his former-military brothers and to sweat out his own issues. He’s ready to let the funny redhead join, but unprepared for the way she wiggles past his hard-won defenses.
When their dog rescue is threatened, the sisters fight to protect it. And they need all the help they can get. As Rhett and Constance slowly open up to each other, they’ll find that no one is past rescuing; what they need is the right person—or dog—to save them.
RESCUE YOU (Dogwood County Book #1) by Elysia Whisler is the first book in a new Women’s fiction series that had me hooked from the very first chapter. This is a new author that I will definitely be following into the future.
Constance and Rhett are such wonderful characters. Both broken and yet when they meet, they know just what the other needs even as they work through obstacles of their own. It is not a relationship that comes easily, but I believe the author handled the speed and interactions realistically. The use of Rhett’s extreme fitness center, Semper Fit, as a place for physical as well as emotional change had me as intrigued as the dog rescue, Pittie Place which had all of the sisters’ dynamics playing out around it.
Constance and Sunny’s relationship as sisters, who love each other dearly, but have had certain roles forced on them evolves as both sisters change throughout this story. The relationships with the men in their lives adds to the dynamic, but does not stop their growth and love for each other. Every character in this book is fully fleshed and play a pivotal role in the overall story.
While emotionally dense with several real-life serious situations and problems, the author was still able to make this story easy to read with touches of humor. This book covers rescue dogs and puppy mills, sister relationships, depression after death of a loved one, divorce and PTSD all with an authority that never had me doubting the research and knowledge of any one topic.
I highly recommend this book and new author! I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series!
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Excerpt
One
Constance slammed on her brakes. Steam rose from the street as rain gurgled through the ditches. She killed the engine, stepped into the pattering droplets and scanned the shoulder of the road. Nothing there but the remains of a goose carcass. “Where are you, boy?” Constance gave a low whistle.
It hadn’t been her imagination. The picked-over goose only made her more certain she’d seen a dog, weaving through the foggy afternoon air like a phantom. A lost dog, with his head bent against the rain as he loped along the muddy ditch.
Constance whistled again. Silence, but for the sound of rain hitting the trees that lined the road. “Maybe I’m just tired.” She’d done a lot of massages today, which made her feel wrung out. Constance almost ducked back into the van, but halted.
There he was: a white face with brown patches, peeking at her from behind a bush. “Hey, boy.” Constance squatted down, making herself smaller, less threatening. The dog watched, motionless. Constance drew a biscuit from her coat, briefly recalling the cashier’s amusement at the grocery store today when she’d emptied her pockets on the counter, searching for her keys. Five dog biscuits had been in the pile with her phone, a used tissue and the grocery list.
“Dog mom, huh?” the elderly cashier had said.
“Something like that.” More like dog aunt, to all of the rescues at Pittie Place. Her sister, Sunny, had quite the brood.
Constance laid the biscuit near her foot and waited. A moment later, the bush rustled and the dog approached. He had short hair and big shoulders. He got only as close as he needed to, then stretched his neck out for the prize. As he gingerly took the biscuit, Constance noted a droopy abdomen and swollen nipples, like a miniature cow.
So. He was a she. Constance inched toward her. The dog held on to the biscuit, but reared back. Constance extended her fist, slowly, so the mom could smell her. “You got puppies somewhere?”
The dog whimpered, but crunched up the biscuit.
“Where are your puppies?”
The dog whimpered again. Her legs shook. Her fur was muddy, feet caked with dirt. She had blood on her muzzle— probably from the dead goose. By her size and coloring, Constance decided she was a pit bull.
Constance rose up, patted her thigh and headed toward her van. She slid open the side door, grabbed a blanket and spread it out, but when she turned around, the dog was several yards away. Her brown-and-white head was low as she wandered beneath a streetlamp, the embodiment of despair in the drizzle that danced through the light.
Constance followed, slipping on the leaves that clogged the drainage ditch. The dog glanced once over her shoulder, but her pace didn’t quicken. Constance decided her calm demeanor was working, keeping the dog from fleeing. And let’s be honest: the biscuit hadn’t hurt. Chances were, the dog would be happy to have more as soon as she got wherever she was going. “Let’s see where you’re headed, then. Show me if you’ve got a home.”
Constance followed her across the road, around the curve and down the narrow lane. Frogs popped like happy corn all over the slick street, but the chill of the oncoming winter slithered through Constance’s blood.
She followed the dog for a good quarter mile. Even before she hooked a left down the unpaved road hidden behind the trees, Constance had figured out that the mama was headed to one of the handful of empty places that sat decomposing on the hundred or so acres the Matteri family owned. Constance paused only long enough to squelch the sizzle of anger that bubbled up inside before she pressed on, determined to know if the dog was a stray or a neglected mother from Janice Matteri’s puppy mill.
Constance took the same turn and watched as the dog neared the abandoned house up ahead. Nobody had lived there in years. It was only a matter of time before it became condemned. The dog bypassed the crumbling porch of the old colonial and went around back. Constance knew little daylight was left, and she hadn’t brought a flashlight. She broke into a trot, clutched her coat tighter around her and didn’t slow until the dog came back into view. Constance followed her, her heart thumping harder with each step.
The dog passed the rusted chain-link fence and disappeared over a rise in the property, near an old shed so overgrown with trees it was only recognizable by a pale red door. Just as she reached the hill, Constance heard a squeak. The sort of high-pitched noise that echoes from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Another squeak came. And another. She crested the hill and saw the dog slink inside the shed door. Constance got to the shed and pushed inside. The dog had reached her destination: a battered old mattress, three shades of brown, lying a few feet inside. The mewls, now loud and hungry, came from a shredded section of the mattress.
Constance narrowed her eyes. At first, she counted only two bobbing, brown heads, but as she drew closer there was a third. Then a fourth. The last one didn’t move nearly as much, just sort of waded on his stomach. The puppies had cocoa-colored fur and black muzzles. Eyes open. The ones that moved didn’t really walk, just stumbled into each other, like drunks. Mama dog curled around them and they all wiggled toward her abdomen.
Constance knelt down next to the mattress and watched the suckling puppies. She decided they were about two weeks old. The air in the shed smelled of sour milk, poop and urine. She dug out another biscuit and reached, slowly, her hand in a fist to protect her fingers, her gaze on the mama for any sign she was upset, such as pinned ears, bared teeth or a raised ridge of fur down the back. The energy around the mom and her pups was calm, to the point of exhausted. Constance had certainly helped with enough of Sunny’s dogs over the years to know. She offered the biscuit and the mom took it. With her mouth busy, Constance carefully touched the smallest puppy, who shook so hard the tremble came from deep inside, beneath his skin and fur, straight from his bones.
Constance rose slowly and did a quick search of the vicinity for more puppies, which turned up nothing but trash, vermin and an old orange crate, which she brought over to the mattress.
Now to see if Mom was going to accept help.
Though daylight was precious, Constance waited until the pups were done suckling before she offered a third treat. “Let’s go back to my place,” Constance said as Mom accepted the biscuit. “My sister has a rescue for critters, just like you. And I help her all the time. You’ll be safe there. Does that sound okay?”
While Mama crunched, Constance reached for the two pups closest to her and, keeping an eye on Mom the whole time, she lifted them and settled them in the crate. Mom’s chewing quickened, so Constance acted fast, lifting the last two pups swiftly but carefully. She rose to her feet, crate in her arms. The mother dog was on her feet almost ahead of her, pointing her muzzle at the crate and whining.
Constance knew the mom would follow her anywhere she took those pups, but she also lacked any signs of aggression, almost as though she knew that this was their only chance. Or as Pete, owner of Canine Warriors and Constance’s longtime childhood friend, would put it, “You just got something about you, Cici. Everybody trusts you. People. Dogs. The damn Devil himself.”
Constance headed back to her van, chasing the sunset. As expected, the mother followed. Once to the vehicle, Constance opened the van and set the crate full of pups next to the blanket she’d spread out earlier. The mama dog leaped in after them.
Constance slid the door closed, settled behind the steering wheel and let out a great sigh. Mission accomplished. She edged down the long, lonely road. The rain pattered on the windshield and the scent of dirty puppies hit her nose. She’d take them home tonight and get them settled in, see how they reacted to a new environment, then text Sunny in the morning. Constance had worked with enough dogs, and people, to know that introducing another new person this evening was bad news. Let Mama get used to Constance first, and get some good food and rest, before she was moved to Pittie Place.
Tonight, at least, this girl and her babies belonged with Constance.
Elysia Whisler was raised in Texas, Italy, Alaska, Mississippi, Nebraska, Hawai’i and Virginia, in true military fashion. Her nomadic life has made storytelling a compulsion from a young age.
She doubles as a mother, a massage therapist and a CrossFit trainer and is dedicated to portraying strong women, both in life and in her works. She lives in Virginia with her family, including her large brood of cat and dog rescues, who vastly outnumber the humans.
