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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Love on a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Book Description

Brynn Haywood’s impulsive marriage to a man she’d known less than 24 hours leaves her with deep regret. She flees to Cape Cod, finding refuge with her loyal friend, Dawn Dixon. As Brynn grapples with her emotions, Dawn acts swiftly, eager to help secure a lawyer for her through her mother Marnie’s good friend, Lincoln Hayes. However, Lincoln’s preoccupation with his daughter’s lavish wedding brings unexpected challenges.

The arrival of Lincoln’s estranged son, Bear Hayes, stirs the waters further. Alarmed by his father’s extravagant generosity toward the Dixon family, Bear ignites friction between Marnie and Lincoln. As the wedding day arrives, Lincoln vanishes–and an unwelcome guest makes a surprise appearance.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Love On A Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a delicious read. The quote at the beginning of the novel sums it up, “Eat ice cream. Read books. Be happy.” The book explores family, faith, romance, forgiveness, friendship, and second chances.

The plot begins with Dawn Dixon’s best buddy from college, Brynn Haywood, attending a civil engineer convention in Las Vegas. While there she, uncharacteristically, decides to leave the convention with someone she just met, see some of the sites, and eventually gets married. When she wakes the next morning, appalled by her behavior, she sneaks out of the room and heads to Cape Cod, hoping Dawn can help get her out of this mess. Dawn, an inveterate “fixer,” spends her energy plotting how to get Brynn’s marriage annulled, while her mother, Marnie urges Brynn to slow down and listen to her heart.

There is also Lincoln Hayes, Marnie’s boyfriend, whose estranged family is coming to town for his daughter’s wedding. He agreed to finance the wedding to ease his guilt for being a terrible absent dad. Although the daughter is willing to forgive and forget, the son, Bear, is very resentful, the epitome of what his father used to be: concerned only about himself, too busy for others, unkind, and trying to make trouble for the Dixon family.

Then the caterer gets Covid, and everything falls apart. The Dixon family to the rescue. Callie takes over the catering, Dawn makes the ice cream treats, and Brynn who is a good hobby baker, agrees to make the wedding cake.

Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen to Brynn’s marriage, as well as other issues facing the characters that include Dawn’s infertility, Lincoln’s health problems, and can the family reconcile. The story is compelling, filled with wit and wisdom, and all the characters have their issues resolved in a satisfactory way, where the reader feels they are part of the drama. But there is also a humorous tone that lightens up the tension.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Since this is the last book in the series what do you want to say about it?

Suzanne Woods Fisher: The characters might be revisited in another series. I got the original idea because my husband is a professional ice cream maker. My editor said to write a book about ice cream in Cape Cod. It is a family saga. I enjoy writing books about outsiders who try to fit in. All the books in the series have family members who try to get back on their feet after a couple of bad mishaps. They are trying to make a go of it in a tourist town. This is all about people and relationships.

EC: Did you also put in important issues in the books?

SWF: Yes. People trying to recover from grief, having to deal with cancer, dealing with clinical depression, and infertility.

EC: How would you describe the heroine in the story, Brynn?

SWF: Sensible, responsible, impulsive, predictable, even keeled, and passionate. Because she is a civil engineer, she is logical, a planner, and organized. She is also insecure and does not like it when her heart tries to overrule her brain. She and Dawn bonded in college. Unlike what we know about her she meets and marries a guy in 24 hours and panics, fleeing to Cape Cod. She pursues her passion to be a baker.

EC: What role did Marnie, Dawn’s mom, who considers Brynn her adoptive daughter, play?

SWF: She pushes Brynn to think why she said yes to this man. She is telling her to slow down. She is a good counterbalance to the three young women. She plays the mother who is over-protective, leading them to come to a good decision, but she also will not be so direct and leads them with questions or hints to think what they want. Marnie has a quiet way because she cannot say too much, or the women will shut down. She relies on feelings, intuition, and faith.

EC: Dawn was the featured character in book 1, The Sweet Life, Callie was the featured character in book 2, The Secret to Happiness, and this features Brynn. What are the similarities and differences between each?

SWF: They are like a three-legged stool. They all are sister-like. They are all perfectionists, reasonable.

Dawn has always been in the shadow of her cousin Callie, where they both competed against each other. She grew up with a little bit of a jealous streak. She now sometimes feels like third man out. She does not look for good in people unlike Callie and Brynn. She is matter of fact. She is a perfectionist, logical, likes to find other people’s mistakes, stays on task, and is stable. Dawn likes to interfere because she likes to be in control. Readers appreciate her, but she can rub on them, very frustrating, meddling, and has blinders on because her way is the way. But she is very loyal to her friends and family and is always there for them.

Callie is a talker, positive, a perfectionist, bold, creative, effervescent, decisive, persistent, and like Dawn she also likes to be in control. She is good at time management.

Brynn is softer, gentler than Dawn and Callie. Yet, she has always been attracted to the family life of Dawn and Callie. She is logical, reasonable, relies on feedback, calm, reserved, and eager to learn.

EC: What about the relationship between Brynn and T. D., the man she impulsively married?

SWF: They were attracted to each other. The relationship was based on spontaneity and light-heartedness. They did trust each other. They had a real intimacy when they met and were able to share their real self with each other, bearing their souls to each other. They had a lot in common because they came from the same perspective of being from divorced parents and forced to be on their own. They did not want their future to be like their parents. But after Brynn left, she felt humiliated, helpless, and emotional.

EC: What about Bear, Lincon’s son?

SWF: He had a lot of baggage. He was defensive and feels abandoned. Now he is placed in a situation where he must deal with his father who abandoned him, and an over-bearing mother. He is a damaged guy. He is suspicious, distrustful, skeptical, cold, angry, uncaring, harsh, and condescending. He is incredibly loyal to his sister and his mom. He tries to protect his father because he is afraid the women are taking advantage of his generosity. Readers do see him as a good person in the way he reacts to the child, Cowboy Leo. Bear was like an older brother to him, and Leo thinks he is a caring person. Because of Bear, Cowboy Leo became baseball Leo.

EC: Does Marnie and her beau, Lincoln’s relationship take different turns in the story?

SWF: Lincoln’s daughter is getting married at Cape Cod. The wedding caused a lot of insecurities between them. Marnie relies on him. They are best friends. This is a second romance for both. She finally realizes how much he has changed over a decade. He previously put everything into his work, sacrificing his family, before he met Marnie. She sees him when he became a generous, caring person.

EC: Next books?

SWF: A series will come out with four novellas. The print version will come out in November, titled The Year in Flowers. Three girls work in a flower shop in the South. They are best friends, but around the time they leave for college something dreadful happens in the shop. Each novella has what they are doing seven years later.

I will also have an Amish book coming out in October titled A Healing Touch. It is about a doctor to the Amish, who makes house calls. She is the central character.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: One Last Shot and One Last Chance by Susan May Warren

A New Series by Susan May Warren

Takes place in Alaska with the characters that are rescue workers and law enforcement.

Book Description

When country music star Oaken Fox joins survivalist Mike Grizz’s new adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness, he just wants to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes, and Air One Rescue must save them, Oaken just wants to quit. Too bad his producer has other plans—signing him on with Air One Rescue as a recruit and making a reality show…

EMT Boo Kingston did not join Air One Rescue to train a celebrity. But she’s a rookie to the team, so yes, she’ll train Oaken and keep him alive and not for a minute pay attention to his charm…

And then five women go missing from a resort during a bachelorette weekend gone south. Now, Air One and the rescue team will have to use all their skills–and manpower, including Oaken–to find them before a blizzard settles in. But can they work together before tragedy strikes?

Elise’s Thoughts

One Last Shot has country music star Oaken Fox joining a survivalist new adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness, to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes and Air One Rescue must save them, Oaken wants to quit. But his producer decides to change the premise, signing him on with Air One Rescue as a recruit and making a reality show. EMT of Air One Recue Boo Kingston is tasked to train this celebrity. After five women go missing from a resort during a bachelorette weekend gone wrong, the Air One Rescue team will have to use all their skills and manpower–including Oaken–to find them before a blizzard settles in.

###

Book Description

Axel Mulligan was built to be a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He could swim faster, endure longer and became a miracle for those in peril in the sea. Until a tragedy destroyed him and sent him home, to Alaska.

Now, three years later, he’s not going to let the past repeat itself, so as an Air One rescue swimmer, he’ll do anything to save lives. Including lose his own—which is what he expects when he goes into the icy waters of the Bering Sea, trying to rescue a cruise group of tourists. But for the voice on the other end of the Ham radio, he might have given up, let hypothermia win.

But it didn’t. Now he’ll do anything to find the voice and thank her.

Except the voice—Flynn Turnquist—is not who he thinks. A national wildlife researcher, she’s deep in the bush, tracking wolf pack patterns. Or is she? In fact, she’s a former cop, tracking down a serial killer. And she’s close enough to see his handiwork in the trail of bodies. She nearly had him—until he escaped into the Bering Sea. But she just knows he’s still alive…and she’s sure she’s on his trail…

When Axel finds Flynn…and what she’s really up to, it stirs up a terrible nightmare he’s been dodging for years—the kidnapping and death of his own cousin. Worse, he’s led the killer right to her doorstep. Now, it’s a race through Alaska to stay alive… and when tragedy strikes again, he must choose between rescue or redemption…

Elise’s Thoughts

In One Last Chance the plot begins with Axel Mulligan going into the icy waters of the Bering Sea, trying to rescue a cruise group of tourists. But for the voice on the other end of the Ham radio, he might have given up, letting hypothermia win. She uses banter, pleading, and encouragement to keep him focused on rescuing himself.

The voice is Flynn Turnquist, a detective who, tracks down serial killer. And she’s close enough to see his handiwork in the trail of bodies. She is afraid one of the killer’s victims is her sister Kennedy who disappeared a few years ago. She and Axel work together to search for Kennedy and to find answers about what really happened.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?

Susan May Warren: I wanted to write about a rescue team in Alaska. I created a team in a previous book, Sky King Rescue, to rescue a character. This is how I came up with this team. One Last Shot, the first book in the series, came about from the reality TV I watch. I wondered what happens to these everyday people who found themselves in the limelight but have left the big screen. I also like how rescue plays into the story, literally and figuratively. The heroine was a rescue worker but both she and the hero had to rescue their reputation, their dreams, and their souls, as well as they did physical rescues.

EC: Do you like reality TV?

SMW: Yes, especially adventure ones. But I am not a massive reality TV person. I am a total rescue TV show junkie. I am currently binge watching the show, “Trapper.” I think I will write an upcoming book with a character who will be a trapper.

EC: What about the setting of Alaska?

SMW: My son Peter was born there, and we lived there for a time. I am enthralled with this setting. I did have some stories set here with my earlier books. It is an extremely wild and remote place. The terrain and the river in this story were like an antagonist. People have moose in their backyards. We have a good friend, Duane King, who is a Bush Pilot there and gives me information for my stories.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Oaken Fox in One Last Shot?

SMW: In another book, Flashpoint, Fox was a country music singer who wrote a soundtrack for a movie. Then I decided to put him in my rescue book. I am a total country music junkie. He is pampered, a want to be survivalist. Imagine the country music singer Brett Young. Oaken’s sister died after having a fight with him. His career came about after replacing his sister who was also a country music star.

EC: How would you describe the heroine, Boo Kingston, of One Last Shot?

SMW: I made her a reality TV star and described why she was called Boo. Her reputation was damaged on social media. She likes to improvise, is adaptable, spider-man type skills, brave, calm, fierce, and fearless. A loner with secrets. She feels betrayed by the reality show stuff. She is no-nonsense. She takes her privacy seriously. Because she is an ex-Marine, she has those skills of let’s get the job done, with a sense of loyalty and teamwork.

EC: What about the relationship?

SMW: She is guarded and cautious about it. They grow into deciding they want to watch each other’s back but do have trust issues. Oaken is sunshine, while Boo is grumpy. I had him learn about her secret early in the story. She is more protective of him. They find themselves working together.

EC: What about the second book in the series, One Last Chance?

SMW: I was watching a You-Tube video about the Coast Guard, and how the people on the ship were trying to survive after it went down. Someone had said ‘had it not been for the voice on the radio, I would have given up.” I wanted to write that scene of how someone encouraging and believing in the person could keep them alive. I wanted to try to figure out how the hero’s boat went underwater but he survived. Plus, I added a serial killer as part of the story.

EC: How would you describe the heroine in the story, Flynn Turnquist?

SMW: She comes to Alaska to find her missing sister, Kennedy. She is a detective who hunts serial killers. She feels trapped and is obsessed in finding out what happened to her sister. She is super driven. She is angry, focused, and meticulous because she is searching for answers. She is much more of a lone wolf.

EC: How would describe the hero, Axel?

SMW: He is happy-go-lucky and easy going. He is a team player. He is also responsible, funny, kind, and charming. He wants closure to find out what happened to his cousin.

EC: What about the relationship and how does the “Titanic” movie come into play?

SMW: She helps keep him focused. She is guarded. Both are driven by justice and redemption. The question in my mind, would Jack and Rose from Titanic really have made it with the obstacles set aside? In Flynn’s mind she is wondering if she, like Rose, is just sucked into a relationship versus a “real” long-lasting one.

EC: Kennedy versus her sister Flynn?

SMW: Kennedy had taken alcohol and drugs. She is a free spirit, selfishly independent. She has been described as the light with Flynn the darkness.

EC: Next books?

SMW: The third book in this series, One Last Promise releases in August of this year featuring Moose and Tillie. The last book in the series, One Last Stand releases in October of this year will feature Shep and London, who has a secret identity.

I will also be writing books that will come out in 2025 about the Minnesota Kingstons, Boo’s family. There will be heists and prison breaks. It will start out with the wedding of Boo and Oaken.

There will also be a three-book series titled, “Call of the Wild,” a K-9 branch out in 2026. This series will be about tracking people. Axel’s brother, Moose, will be featured.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Lost and Found by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Book Description

Trudy Yoder shares a passion for birding with Micah Weaver–and she has an even greater passion for Micah. Their friendship is finally turning romantic when Micah abruptly grows cold. Worse still, he wants to leave Stoney Ridge.

Micah Weaver thought he was over Trudy’s older sister. A year and a half ago, Shelley had broken his heart when she ran away from Stoney Ridge to pursue a singing career in Nashville. Then, out of the blue, she’s started to leave distressing phone messages for him.

When the bishop asks for volunteers to scout out a possible church relocation in Tennessee, Micah is the first to raise his hand. Despite scant details, he’s confident he can find Shelley. After all, his reputation as a field guide is based on finding birds that don’t want to be found.

What Micah doesn’t know is that what you’re looking for isn’t always what you find.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Lost and Found by Suzanne Woods Fisher has a story that looks at change and how someone faces that change. There are hints of romance, dashes of humor, and some drama. Most of the characters in the story explore difficult choices. There is conflict between the Liberal Beachy Amish order, and the more conservative Amish order plus the conflict between those who want to protect the bird sanctuary of Wonder Lake and those who want to build a church, and the conflict between medical doctors and Amish parents.

The best part of the story has the heroine, Trudy Yoder, questioning her judgement of falling for Micah Weaver. They were best friends, and it appeared the relationship could go beyond that when he decides to pick up and leave without telling her why. Those who read the related first book, A Season on the Wind, will understand that Micah had strong feelings for Trudy’s sister, Shelley until she left to pursue a music career. Now he receives a message from Shelley to rescue her. After he finds her and brings her back to the Amish town of Stony Ridge things come to a head.

The story delves into loyalty, devotion, community, and love. It is insightful, inspiring, and thought-provoking with the information provided. A bonus for those who love birds is the bird log entry at the end of each chapter, along with a birder’s glossary.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: This book is another genre then your Ice Cream Series books?

Suzanne Woods Fisher: My grandfather was raised “plain” so I do have a connection. I have many cousins who dress plain and are raised plain. The door opened for me to write a non-fiction book about the Amish. I have written historical fiction as well as contemporary women’s fiction. This is how things have progressed for me.

EC: How did you get the idea for the story?

SWF: I wanted to understand how the Amish relate to each other within the different spectrums from ultra-conservative to very progressive. Those I write about are a little more central. This book brings in both sides that work with each other. Historically there is a concern that the liberal churches would tempt the children away. What is interesting is that the older orders would not have conflicts with the other orders but pack up and move off. This is something I explored. The conservative order sent a scouting team to Tennessee.

EC: Why the bird angle?

SWF: Going back two books there is a novel I wrote titled A Season on the Wind. I know that the Amish revere nature, particularly birds. They are stellar bird watchers. They just use patience, maybe expensive scopes. Micah was in that book, a bird lover who also stutters. He is a listener. The little girl in the story is Trudy who is also crazy about birds, but also adores Micah. This current book is not a sequel but a companion book. In the first book Micah wrote bird logs, the kind of bird and descriptions. In this book, Trudy wrote the bird logs. Trudy likes the songbirds, while Micah likes the raptors.

EC: What was the role of Shelley?

SWF: In A Season on the Wind, she disappears to pursue a music career and broke Micah’s heart. She is Trudy’s sister. In this book, she is leaving him cryptic messages asking for help. Little by little he gets sucked into finding her. He does this by using his birding skills. She was flamboyant and flashy.

EC: How would you describe Micah?

SWF: The silent type because of his stuttering. He is a loner, dependable, sometimes overreacts. He is extremely intelligent and gifted.

EC: How would you describe Trudy?

SWF: She is like the bird, a sparrow. She is plain, loyal, reliable, observant, curious, and likes to take charge. She is easy to overlook. She has a lot of attention to detail.

EC: How did Trudy’s parents react to her?

SWF: She gets taken for granted. She is very faithful and can be counted on. Her older sister was the focal point of the family. The parents were overprotective of Shelley because of her special needs and by doing this pushed Trudy aside. She has always been the sister in the background.

EC: The Amish bishop was very supportive of Shelley getting medical help?

SWF: He told her parents to get on board with what the medical doctor advised. I based it on a similar situation within my extended family. The parents want to keep everything under wraps and secret. A lot of pride gets involved with a little shame. In the story the bishop and the doctor were the voice of reason.

EC: What about the relationship between Trudy and Micah?

SWF: She makes him feel special. He opened her eyes to birds. They are best friends. She is absolutely devoted to Micah. She does not notice his flaws and just sees who he is deep down with a lot of admiration. They both love to go to Wonder Lake in the town because rare birds are there.

EC: Next books?

SWF: The third ice cream book comes out in May titled Love on A Whim. It picks up where the second book left off with family drama, ice cream, and Cape Cod.

The next Amish book comes out in October featuring the doctor who is helping Shelley in this story. The doctor was raised Amish. She knows them well and speaks the language. There will be other romances in the story. But the main part of the plot is how she is relating to the Amish with events in their lives.

I am also writing four novellas about three young girls working in a flower shop. Something dreadful happens there and the girl’s scatter. In the first three novellas each girl is featured as they return to their hometown. The fourth novella will wrap up all stories up and will release as a printed book with all the novellas.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephenia H. McGee

Book Description

A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They’re easier to handle, they’re more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father’s passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers.

Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father’s death–even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he’s come to admire.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephenia H. McGee is a great read combining mystery, some romance, and historical facts about the South in 1905. There are secrets, manipulation, and roadblocks that the characters must confront to solve the mystery.

Silas Cavallero has long doubted the sheriff’s account of his father’s death 15 years earlier, that Silas’s father was accidentally trampled by his prized stallion, never to be found. He decides to investigate which leads him to Mississippi’s Emberwild Horse Farm. There he is he hired to train Arrow, a harness racing horse, but must contend with the horse’s owner Nora Felton. She prefers her horse to people and makes it known that she should be training Arrow. Unfortunately, after her father died, her uncle and mother conspire to wed Nora since they believe she should be a proper lady and leave the horse training and racing to men. Yet, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt Arrow into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. With Silas’ support and encouragement, he and she team up to prepare Arrow for the harness races. But after mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to the past, Silas must decide if the truth is worth risking and endangering the feisty, gritty woman he’s come to admire.

This story will captivate readers from page one. The characters are very relatable and believable. The insight into how women were treated is eye-opening. Regarding the mystery there are many surprises that keep readers on their toes and guessing as to what really happened.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Stephenia McGee: I have a degree in animal science and equestrian science. I worked as a horse trainer. Because my back went out, I could not do any horse training anymore. I wanted to write a story with the horsemanship skills I used, having a heroine who would face difficulties because of the time, the early 1900s.

EC: There is a mystery thread?

SM: Yes. Silas is trying to find out what happened to his father, never believing it was an accident. He is also looking for the horse that disappeared. The readers know there is a connection somehow between all these characters. One of the bad guys have motives that are suspect, the Uncle Amos. He is overconfident, a liar, uncaring, manipulative, and does not have much regard for women.

EC: How would you describe the heroine, Nora?

SM: She is a little bit older and has led a sheltered life. She is trying to learn how to be independent. Nora is headstrong, curious, very opinionated, and struggles with the society pressures of the time. Her own family wanted her to be quiet, soft-spoken, act like a lady, and get married. This goes against everything in her personality. Nora is a spitfire, rebellious, defiant, and coy. She is like a horse whisperer.

EC: How would you describe Silas, the hero?

SM: Quiet, gentle, and easy-going. He is confident, sincere, protective, and honorable.

EC: Why the setting?

SM: I put her in Neshoba County Mississippi because of the fair. It started in the late 1800s. It is a huge deal. People take off a week to go, staying in cabins. One of the big events is the harness racing, the only legal horse racing track in Mississippi. I thought it would be fun to put Nora there so she could be a racer.

EC: Women in the early 1900s?

SM: They had to have their place, following orders, and being seen and not heard. They were stifled and had no say in their marriage. Nora had a tug and pull with the way women were treated in the times. Although, she had some freedom since it was in the middle of the suffrage period.

EC: What role does Arrow the horse play in the story?

SM: Arrow plays a big part in the story. He is a character. Like Nora, he is headstrong, ornery, high strung, temperamental, high energy, and wild. Silas tempers both Nora and Arrow. Ever since Arrow was born, he became Nora’s best friend since she was so lonely. She loves him and spills her problems out to him. I was able to use my experiences with my horse, Rona, for Arrow. Rona is retired after she broke a bone in her hoof.

EC: There is a book quote comparing Arrow and Silas. Please explain.

SM: I put in this book quote, “They are like two stallions. They assess one another looking for weakness, while at the same time offering due respect to one another.” Nora is watching how Silas will handle Arrow. He is not rough with Arrow and does not man-handle him. They both give each other mutual respect.

EC: What about the relationship between Silas and Nora?

SM: When he is first hired, she does not want anything to do with him, having the feeling he is taking over her duties. She is trying to establish her position. She slowly gains respect for him, watching how he handles the horse, people around him, and even her. They share a passion for horses, develop a friendship, and then it turns to love. In a sense they are kindred spirits. He finds her fascinating, becomes intrigued with her, and is never overbearing. He takes her for what she is.

EC: What about Nora and her mother’s relationship?

SM: Nora and her mom are complete opposites who hardly agree on anything. Her mother wants Nora to have a stable life, to do feminine things like cook and sew. This causes mother and daughter to butt heads. After the father died, they try to understand each other more. They each want the bond and friendship that goes beyond parent-child.

EC: What about your next book?

SM: This current book is stand-alone. The next book is called The Swindler’s Daughter, set in 1918 in rural Georgia. A girl finds out her dad just died in prison even though she thought he died a long time ago. She has been left an unusual inheritance. It comes out in May 2023.

THANK YOU!!

***

Book Review: The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Book Description

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she’s on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she’s not about to let her only child suffer alone–even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town’s tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything’s better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she’s the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother’s impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn’t get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don’t they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod–a place where dreams just might come true.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58886291-the-sweet-life?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XlSUuCUUnQ&rank=2

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Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE SWEET LIFE (Cape Cod Creamery Book #1) by Suzanne Woods Fisher is an emotional Christian women’s fiction with romantic elements featuring a mother and daughter who are completely opposite in every way and dealing with personal loss while opening a Cape Cod ice cream shoppe.

Dawn Dixon has always planned every aspect of her life. When her lifelong boyfriend walks away two months before their wedding she is devastated and she learns her mother has been hiding her diagnosis of breast cancer from her, she is lost. Nothing is going as planned.

Dawn decides to take her mother, Marnie with her on her groomless honeymoon to Cape Cod. And Marnie jumps at the chance to not only help Dawn, but to get away from an empty home since the death of her husband almost a year ago.

Marnie has always been a person who makes decisions on feelings rather than facts and plans. She sees a rundown ice cream shoppe that she just feels she needs to buy, and she does. As always, Dawn feels the need to clean up her mother mess, but this mess may not really be a mess but a way for the mother and daughter to connect, heal, and bring a dream to life.

I really enjoyed all the characters in this story. Dawn and Marnie were the ying and yang to each other and as much as they rubbed each other the wrong way, they were definitely what each needed. The relationship worked even when they were mad at each other, they still loved each other. Their emotional growth and understanding of each other throughout the story was what really pulled me in. I liked how the men in their lives were integrated into the story without taking over. Lincoln helped Dawn and Marnie with no expectations, and he was always there when Marnie needed him. Dawn changed the most and with the changes came the understanding of why her relationship with Kevin fell apart and it was with forgiveness and understanding that they were able to move forward. There are Christian references and Bible verses laced throughout the story, but I did not feel they were intrusive or gratuitous. I am looking forward to seeing were this series goes in future books.

I recommend this Christian women’s fiction with romantic elements.

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About the Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling, award winning author of fiction and non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish for Revell Books, host of the radio-show-turned-blog Amish Wisdom, a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazine.

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, who was raised Plain. A theme in her books (her life!) is that you don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate the principles of simple living.

Suzanne lives in California with her family and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can’t life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth.

Social Media Links

Website: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzannewfisher

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Edge Of Dusk by Colleen Coble

Edge of Dusk

by Colleen Coble

July 11 – August 5, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am Sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for EDGE OF DUSK by Colleen Coble on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Kingsumo giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!

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Book Description

Even though secrets lie off the coast of Rock Harbor, the truth will set Annie Pederson free—if it doesn’t kill her first.

Nine-year-old Annie Pederson’s life changed the night her sister was kidnapped. The two had been outside playing on a dock, and Annie never forgave herself for her role in her sister’s disappearance. Twenty-four years later and now a law enforcement ranger, Annie is still searching for answers as she grieves a new loss: the death of her husband and parents in a boating accident.

But Annie and her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, aren’t the only people in the town of Rock Harbor whose lives have been marred by tragedy. While managing the property around the Tremolo Resort and Marina she inherited, Annie discovers a dead body floating in the cold Superior surf and begins to work with the sheriff’s office to tie the death to a series of other mysterious reports in the area.

At the same time, her first love, Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, reigniting the town’s memory of a cold case he’d been suspiciously linked to before he left to pursue his orthopedic residency. For the sake of her investigation and her heart, Annie tries to stay away. But avoiding Jon becomes impossible once Annie realizes she is being targeted by someone desperate to keep secrets from the past hidden.

In this new series, bestselling romantic-suspense author Colleen Coble returns to one of her most beloved towns, where familiar faces—and unsolved cases—await.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59608952-edge-of-dusk?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hmZYudngow&rank=1

Edge of Dusk

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: July 12th 2022
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 078525370X (ISBN13: 9780785253709)
Series: Annie Pederson #1

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My Book Review

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

EDGE OF DUSK (An Annie Pederson Novel Book #1) by Colleen Coble is the start of a new suspense series featuring a female ranger with romantic and Christian elements. This book has some characters carried over from Ms. Coble’s other books set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but I did not feel as though I needed any back story or was missing anything.

Annie Penderson was only nine-year-old when she and her younger sister, Laura were attacked as children. Annie was stabbed and left for dead while Laura was kidnapped from the dock of their Upper Peninsula home and never found. Twenty-four years later, Annie is a LEO ranger who still feels guilty for not protecting her sister and continues to search for her, while also being a single mother after the boating accident which killed both her husband and her parents.

While maintaining on the side the Tremolo Resort and Marina her parents left her, Annie finds a dead floating by the docks. It is the body of a missing hiking/camper, and he is not the first in the area to go missing.

At the same time, Dr. Jon Dustan returns to the area to sell his family’s summer cabin after his father’s stroke. Jon was Annie first love, but after a fight that tore them apart and suspicions from long ago tying him to two missing girls, he left the area for college. Annie wants to protect her heart, but when the missing girls’ bodies are discovered in an old cabin on the resort lands, it throws the two together again in hopes of solving the mystery once and for all.

This book has a lot happening in multiple plot lines. Some questions are answered in this book and others are set up to be continued in future books in the series. I liked the multiple mysteries and trying to figure out if they were connected or not. I did not feel the ending of the missing hikers/campers case was believable especially when you discover who else was complicit in the cover-up. I am interested enough to continue with the series to discover other solutions to the unsolved mysteries though. The Christian elements were minimal. The romantic elements had a few problems for me. I do not like when a misunderstanding lasts for almost an entire story, when the two supposed grown-ups can sit down and discuss their feelings sooner. This made it difficult for me to really connect with Annie and Jon who appear to be carrying this series forward.

Overall, this was an OK start to this new series. It has a few problems for me, but I do want to continue reading to discover where the cliff-hanger to one of the many mysteries leads.

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Excerpt

PROLOGUE

“WAS THAT THE WINDIGO?” NINE-YEAR-OLD ANNIE

Vitanen yanked her little sister’s hand to pull her to a stop in the deep shadows of the pines. Chills trickled down her spine, and she stared into the darkness. “Did you hear that?”

“It was just the loons,” Sarah said. “Daddy said there’s no such thing as the Windigo.”

Annie shuddered. “You’re only five—you don’t know that.” While at school she’d heard the story about the fifteen-foot- tall monster who ate humans. Annie peered into the shadows, searching for sunken red eyes in a stag skull staring back at her. The Windigo particularly liked little girls to fill its hungry belly. Sarah tugged her hand free. “Daddy said it was just an old Ojibwa legend. I want to see the loons.”

She took off down the needle-strewn path toward the water.

Annie’s heart seized in her throat. “Sarah, wait!”

Daddy had always told Annie she was responsible for her little sister, and she didn’t want to get in trouble when their parents found out they were out here in the dark. Sarah had begged to come out to see the loons, and Annie found it hard to say no to her. This was the first time they’d been to their little camp on Tremolo Island since the summer started, and it might be a long time before they had time to visit again. Daddy only brought them to get away when he had a lull at the marina. Annie loved it here, even if there wasn’t any power.

Her legs pumped and her breath whooshed in and out of her mouth. She emerged into the moonlight glimmering over Lake Superior. Her frantic gaze whipped around, first to make sure the Windigo hadn’t followed them, then to find her sister.

Sarah sat on the wooden dock with her legs dangling over the waves. Lightning flickered in the distance, and Annie smelled rain as it began to sprinkle. Clouds hung low over the water, and the darkness got thicker.

“We need to go back, Sarah.” While they could still find their way in the storm.

“I want to throw bread to the loons.” Sarah gave her a piece of the bread they’d gotten from the kitchen.

Annie jumped when the loon’s eerie yodel sounded. The oo-AH-ho sound was like no other waterfowl or bird. Normally she loved trying to determine whether the loon was yodeling, wailing, or calling, but right now she wanted to get her sister back into bed before they got in big trouble. They both knew better than to come down here by themselves. Mommy had warned them about the dangers more times than Annie could count.

She touched her sister’s shoulder. “Come on, Sarah.”

Sarah shrugged off her hand. “Just a minute. Look, the loon has a baby on its back.”

Annie had to see that. She threw in a couple of bread pieces and peered at the loons. “I’ve never seen that.”

“Me neither.”

The loons didn’t eat the bread, but she giggled when a big fish gulped down a piece right under their feet.

When she first heard the splashing, she thought it signaled more loons. But wait. Wasn’t that the sound of oars slapping the water? A figure in a dark hoodie sat in the canoe. Did the Windigo ride in a canoe?

The canoe bumped the dock, and a voice said, “Two to choose from. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

The voice was so cheerful, Annie wasn’t afraid. Before she could try to identify who it was, a hard hand grabbed her and dragged her into the canoe. “I think the younger one would be better.”

The sudden, sharp pain in Annie’s neck made her cry out, and she slapped her hand against her skin. Something wet and sticky clung to her fingers. In the next instant, she was in the icy water. The shock of the lake’s grip made her head go under.

She came up thrashing in panic and spitting water. Her legs wouldn’t kick very well, and she felt dizzy and disoriented. She tried to scream for Daddy, but her mouth wouldn’t work. Her neck hurt something awful, and she’d never felt so afraid.

She’d been right—it was the Windigo, and he meant to eat her sister.

“Sarah!” Annie’s voice sounded weak in her ears, and the storm was here with bigger waves churning around her. “Run!”

Her sister shrieked out her name, and Annie tried to move toward the sound, but a wave picked her up and tossed her against a piling supporting the dock. Her vision went dark, and she sank into the cold arms of the lake.

The next thing she knew, she was on her back, staring up into the rain pouring into her face. Her dad’s hand was on the awful pain in her neck, and her mother was screaming for Sarah.

She never saw her sister again.

ONE

TWENTY-FOUR YEARS LATER

LAW ENFORCEMENT RANGER ANNIE PEDERSON RUBBED

her eyes after staring at the computer screen for the past two hours. She’d closed the lid on an investigation into a hit-and-run in the Kitchigami Wilderness Preserve, and she’d spent the past few hours finishing paperwork. It had been a grueling case, and she was glad it was over.

“I’ll be right back,” she told her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, sitting on the floor of her office playing Pokémon Go on her iPad.

Kylie’s blonde head, so like Annie’s own, bobbed, too intent to respond verbally.

Kade Matthews looked up when Annie entered his office. Over the past few years he’d moved up and become head ranger. Kade’s six-feet-tall stocky frame and solid muscles exuded competence, and his blue eyes conveyed caring. Annie thanked the Lord every day for such a good boss. He was understanding when she needed time off with Kylie, and he let her know he valued her work and expertise. “Ready for a few days off?”

“Really? With all this work on your shoulders?”

He nodded. “I can handle it. I know this is a busy time for you.”

“I do have a lot of work to do out at the marina.”

Since her parents and husband died two years ago, she’d been tasked with running the Tremolo Marina and Cabin Resort. She managed with seasonal help and lots of her free time, but summer was always grueling. It was only June 3, and the season was off to a good start.

He cleared his throat, and his eyes softened. “I’m glad you stopped in. I didn’t want to send this report without talking to you first.”

“What report?” Her tongue felt thick in her mouth because she knew the likely topic.

“A child’s remains were found down around St. Ignace.”

It didn’t matter that it was so far. That route could have easily been chosen by the kidnapper. It was a common way to travel from lower Michigan to the U.P. “How old?”

“Five or six, according to the forensic anthropologist. I assume you want your DNA sent over for comparison?”

“Yes, of course.”

They’d been through this scenario two other times since she’d begun searching for answers, and each time she’d teetered between hope and despair. While she wanted closure on what had happened to her sister, she wasn’t sure she was ready to let go of hope. Though logically she knew her sister had to be dead. People didn’t take children except for nefarious purposes. Annie didn’t know how she’d react when word finally came that Sarah had been found.

Relief? Depression? Maybe a combination of the two. Maybe even a tailspin that would unhinge her. All these years later, and she still couldn’t think about that night without breaking into a cold sweat. Avoidance had been her modus operandi. Not many even knew about the incident. Kade did, of course. And Bree. Jon too. Probably some of the townspeople remembered and talked about it, too, but it had been long ago. Twenty-four years ago.

Nearly a quarter of a century and yet just yesterday. “How long before results are back on DNA?”

“Probably just a few days. With children they try to move quickly. I’ll get it sent over. You doing okay?”

She gave a vigorous nod. “Sure, I’m fine. I’ll file this report and get these pictures sent to you.”

“Bree told me to ask if you wanted a puppy, one of Samson’s.

There’s a male that looks just like him.”

She smiled just thinking of her daughter’s delight. “Kylie has been begging for a puppy since we lost Belle. How much are they going for?”

The little terrier had died in her sleep a month ago at age sixteen, and they both missed her. Samson was a world-renowned search-and-rescue dog, and his pups wouldn’t come cheap. She ran through how much she had in savings. Maybe not enough.

“We get two free pups, and Bree told me she would give you one.” “You don’t want to do that,” she protested. “You’d be giving up a lot of money.”

He shrugged. “We have everything we need. Head over there in the next few days, and you can take him home with you before our kids get too attached and bar the front door.”

She laughed. “Hunter says he’s marrying Kylie, so I think he will stick up for her.”

Kade and Bree’s little boy was four and adored Kylie. She was good with kids, and she loved spending time with the Matthews twins.

“You’re right about that. I’ll let Bree know you want him. He’s a cute little pup.”

“What are you doing with the other one?” “Lauri has claimed her.”

Kade’s younger sister was gaining a reputation for search-and- rescue herself, and she already had a dog. “What about Zorro?”

“He’s developed diabetes, and Lauri knows he needs to slow down some. She wants a new puppy to train so Zorro can help work with him.”

“She might want the one that looks like Samson.” “She wants a female this time.”

She glanced at her watch and rose. “I’ll get out of here. Thanks again for the puppy. Kylie will be ecstatic.”

She went back to her office. “Time for your doctor appointment, Bug.”

Kylie made a face. “I don’t want to go.”

At eight, Kylie knew her own mind better than Annie knew hers most days. She was the spitting image of Annie at the same age: corn silk–colored hair and big blue eyes set in a heart-shaped face. But Annie had never been that sure of herself. Her dad’s constant criticism had knocked that out of her.

She steered her daughter out the brick office building to the red Volkswagen crew-cab truck in the parking lot, then set out for town.

The old truck banged and jolted its way across the potholes left by this year’s massive snowfall until Annie reached the paved road into town. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than where the Snow King ruled nine months of the year. There was no other place on earth like Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. With the Keweenaw Peninsula to the north and Ottawa National Forest to the south, there could be no more beautiful spot in the world. Her devotion to this place had cost her dearly nine years ago, but every time she saw the cold, crystal-clear waters of the northernmost Great Lakes stretching to the horizon, she managed to convince herself it was worth it.

Part of the town’s special flavor came from the setting. Surrounded by forests on three sides, it had all the natural beauty anyone could want. Old-growth forests, sparkling lakes where fish thronged, and the brilliant blue of that Big Sea Water along the east side.

They drove through town, down Negaunee to Houghton Street to the businesses that comprised Rock Harbor’s downtown. The small, quaint village had been built in the 1850s when copper was king, and its Victorian-style buildings had been carefully preserved by the residents.

Dr. Ben Eckright’s office was a remodeled Victorian boardinghouse on the corner of Houghton and Pepin Streets. She parked in his side lot and let Kylie out of the back.

She glanced across the street to the law office, and her breath caught at the man getting out of the car. It couldn’t be. She stared at the sight of a familiar set of shoulders and closed her eyes a moment. Opening them didn’t reassure her. It really was him.

Jon Dunstan stood beside a shiny red Jaguar. Luckily, he hadn’t seen her yet, and she grabbed Kylie’s hand and ran with her for the side door, praying he wouldn’t look this way. She was still trembling when the door shut behind her.

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Author Bio

Colleen Coble is a USA TODAY bestselling author best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor series.