Monday, April 4th 2016 - Monday Meet the Author

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Monday! Sorry there was no post last Monday – no excuse, just spaced, and completely forgot it was Monday. Actually, the post I’m doing today should have been done last Monday, because I should have done it BEFORE the new release, not after. Oh well, whatchya gunna do?

Not her "official" photo, but this one
shows her personality so well, I had to
use it. (It's my favorite photo of her.)

The author I want to introduce you to this week hails from the lone star state, and I will confess, she a friend of mine. Christy King and I met over a year ago, and hit it off like a house on fire. She is a gifted young adult author, and an incredibly sweet person.

Christy & Rodney
Aren't they adorable?

Her and her hubby Rodney (no, not THAT Rodney King) take all these little exploring trips, and she takes her friends along with a mixture of photos, a little bit of history, and usually some funny stories. 

One of the many road trips Christy
let me "tag along" on.

For as much time as I have spent in Texas, she still has managed to show me places I’ve never been. I love it, and we (her friends) are always asking her, “so where are you going next?”. Last week was a bit of a blur, so I can’t remember if she was in Louisiana or Mississippi – I’m going to have to go back through her posts and catch up on what I missed.

One of Christy's writing partners.

When she isn’t having us giggling over her road trips, she has us rolling with the kitty antics in her home. Christy is a tiny little bit, but fair warning, don’t mess with her – she’s a marksman and a championship knife thrower, who also has a penchant for handmade bags. So now you know a little more about Christy than her average reader (hope she doesn’t shoot me for that).

One of her "finds" on one
of her road trips.

Anyway, Friday (my birthday) was her latest release, Dirty Deeds, and it looks AWESOME. So, without further ado, here’s Christy’s books – hope you find something that tickles your fancy:

Dirty Deeds - Cameron James is a justice dealer whose targets know her as Avenging Angel.

Unhappy with the decision of the court system? Dirty Deeds will balance the scales of justice, for the right price.

However, Cameron soon learns that her illegal business dealings are the least of her concerns. With a best friend hiding secrets and her mentor declaring war on her, Cameron must navigate the worlds of Witness Protection and the human slave market.

A single misstep plunges her into a supernatural miasma with eternal implications.    

        Excerpt:

The cell phone rang, scaring the bejeezus out of me and Ghost. Ghost was my cat. For months, I thought he was a real phantom clomping around in my condo walls. Turned out, it was just a kitten stuck in there. Go figure.

"I'm listening," I said, already knowing the person on the other end was my friend Devin.

"Cam Jam, no work tonight?" Devin asked.

Even in the privacy of my own home, I blushed at the pet name and thought of some choice things to call him in return. Instead, I took a deep breath and held down my rage. With a name like Cameron James, it was easy to see where he got the nickname. I hated it and he knew it. Seeing as what business I was in, he should've watched what he said.

"Obviously, you can see I'm home," I said, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows facing the high-rise across the street from mine.

"This is what I love about living here." He smiled and I could see him standing at his own windows across the way. "I can keep tabs on you."

"It does freak me out, another bonus for you," I said, putting my free hand on my hip.

"It should make you feel comforted and safe."

"Highly unlikely," I muttered. "Compare our jobs again. I'm the badass who takes care of everyone's dirty laundry. You do what, again? What did you say? Oh, yeah, you sell flowers. I feel so much better having you close by. I sleep better at night."

"You should," he said, his stance going stiff and affronted, even long distance. "If someone were to come after you, I'd see and be able to help."

"Yes, because it's so helpful to have you across the street, in another building, seventeen flights up. How fast can you get to me again? Didn't you time it once?"

"If I hadn't had to wait for my elevator and then yours, it would've been fast," Devin muttered.

"Yeah, if only," I murmured.

"Well, flash me if you need me."

It was his favorite thing to say. If I was in trouble, I was supposed to flash my flashlight out the window and he'd see it. The thing was, it would only work if he wasn't asleep, in the restroom, or otherwise occupied. So if he happened to notice there was trouble, then I'd have a good five minutes for him to get to me. I'd be better off calling the police. I never call the police.

Talia

Talia (Book One of the Talia Series) – Teenage queen, Talia, struggles with her own self-destructive ways, while trying to be a compassionate and fair ruler in a land of magic, werewolves, and vampires. Within her lies a darkness – one that will endanger the very people of her kingdom. In an attempt to protect them, she makes a pact with the vampires in a bid for peace. In the end, the trust she offers may be the very thing that leads to her own demise.

Ancestral Blood

Ancestral Blood (Book Two of the Talia Series) - Teenage queen Talia has secured her realm and married the love of her life. Just when everything seems idyllic, Camon decides that he needs to hunt down the vampire Arden for performing experiments on Talia to learn the limits of her powers. The quest sets into motion devastating events, causing the rulers to enlist the aid of the realm of Sollon. Family secrets are revealed and Talia discovers that she is far more than what she believed. Can she resist the lure of a power greater than any known in their world? Will the ones she loves be able to cope with the knowledge that she is far less human than they knew?

Here’s how you can follow Christy:

Christy’s Blog

Christy’s Website

Facebook

Twitter

I hope you enjoyed meeting my friend Christy! Until next time, I hope you have a WONDERFUL day & Happy Writing!

Monday March 21st - Meet the Author

Hi, it’s Christina –

Today is a day of travel – I brought my daughter back to college in Vermont yesterday, and today I’m driving back home. Six hours in silence – well, silence to any observers – I’ll actually be chatting away with some character or not. This has become a habit of theirs the last several trips, and I’m not complaining. My last trek to Vermont, Kieren and Logan finally revealed how their story progressed and concluded, and I’m practically chomping at the bit to finish writing their story (something I couldn’t do while my daughter was home).

Heather Graham

Since I have to hit the road shortly, I thought I would give you another Meet the Author, instead of authors – it’s one stop shopping for all the photos and links, so it buys me a little time. That being said, I have chosen another one of my Top Ten Favorites to share with you. This Florida gal is going to blow your mind. Although I have put a serious dent into her collection, I am nowhere near finished reading everything she’s written, and with over 150 books out there, it may be a while before I finish.

Many many moons ago, back when my hair was big, my waist was small, and the only lines on my face were ones I drew there to enhance a Halloween costume, I was a subscriber to Harlequin, which is where I first discovered this author. When she wrote for Harlequin, she wrote as Heather Graham Pozzessere, and under the same name, she had several historical romance books as well, which I enjoyed. (Before I forget, she’s also Shannon Drake, who I’ve also read and enjoyed.) So, when I stumbled across a novel by simply Heather Graham, I was intrigued.

Same author, same amazing writing style, SO totally different. I had never read any paranormal before I picked up Ghost Walk. That one book vaulted me from fan of Heather Graham Pozzessere/Shannon Drake to MEGA fan of Heather Graham. She has made the hair rise on my arms on many occasions. The one thing she most definitely brought over from her historical writing was her ability to describe a scene in such a way, you are transported from simply sitting in your home reading to feeling you are actually there experiencing it.

Over the next months, when I introduce you to my other favorite authors, you will find that one quality is what separated them from the pack. There are many authors whose work I enjoy, but very few which I have actually pre-ordered their books, and anxiously awaited their arrival.

Enough rambling, I’ve got to introduce you to Heather Graham’s work, and then I’ve got to hit the road.

What better place to start then with the one that started it all for me:

Ghost Walk

Ghost Walk - Nikki DuMonde's newest employee is standing at the end of her bed at four o'clock in the morning begging for help. It's a joke, right? Besides, as manager of a successful New Orleans haunted-tour company, Nikki doesn't scare easily. But in the light of day, harsh reality sets in as a police officer informs her that Andy was brutally murdered; at the exact time Nikki swears the distraught woman was in her room.

No one believes her except Brent Blackhawk, a paranormal investigator desperately trying to forget his tragic past. Half Irish, half Lakota; and able to communicate with the dead; Brent is used to living in two worlds. But when he realizes the ghost of a slain government agent is also trying to reach out to Nikki, he knows that she, too, must listen to the dead...if she wants to keep living.

Phantom Evil

Phantom Evil - A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the otherworldly - each has honed a psychic talent of their own. Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer using her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans' French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house - once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives... and their immortal souls.

The Hidden - Can the same killer strike again—a hundred and fifty years later?

The Hidden

Estes Park, Colorado, is a place of serenity. But it wasn't always so serene. Shortly after the Civil War, Nathan Kendall and his wife were murdered there, leaving behind a young son. The crime was never solved.

Now…historian Scarlet Barlow is working at a small museum attached to a B and B, the same building where that murder occurred. She recently came to Colorado, reeling after her divorce from FBI agent Diego McCullough. Diego—who's just been asked to join the Krewe of Hunters, a unit dealing with "unusual" situations…

When Scarlet unwittingly takes pictures of people who've been murdered—just like the Kendalls a hundred and fifty years before—the police look at her with suspicion. Then the museum's statues of historic people, including Nathan Kendall, begin to talk to her, and she knows it's time to call her ex-husband. Diego heads to Estes Park, determined to solve the bizarre case that threatens Scarlet's life—and to reunite with the woman he never stopped loving.

Deadly Night

Deadly Night - The Flynn brothers have inherited more than a New Orleans plantation. They've inherited a ghostly presence…and a long-kept secret.

Aidan Flynn, a private investigator and eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the haunted-house rumors—especially since Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader who has been living in the mansion, is the one to tell him the tale of a woman in white. But when he finds a human bone on the grounds and another by the river, Aidan delves into the dark history of the Flynn plantation.

Forced together to uncover the truth, Aidan and Kendall realize that a serial killer whose victims seem to vanish into thin air has long been at work…and that their own fates are about to be sealed forever unless they believe in the unbelievable.

Haunted

Haunted - Matt Stone doesn't believe in ghosts. But there are those who are convinced his home, a historic Virginia estate that dates back to the Revolutionary War, is haunted. Pressured to get at the truth about some strange happenings at Melody House, he agrees to let Harrison Investigations explore the house.

But he isn't ready for beautiful, intriguing Darcy Tremayne. As a paranormal investigator, Darcy has learned to believe in the unbelievable. And she's given Matt fair warning: sometimes people don't like the skeletons she finds. She never dreamed that warning would apply to herself. For she's about to discover that Melody House holds much more than a simple mystery from the distant past. What it holds is a very real and lethal danger, one that will cast her into a struggle against the worlds of both the living and the dead.

The Forgotten

The Forgotten - Murdered by a dead man? 

A woman named Maria Gomez is murdered in Miami, apparently by her husband—who'd been presumed dead, slain by a crime boss. FBI agent Brett Cody can't believe it; dead or alive, the man had loved his wife. He also can't help feeling guilty, since he was responsible for protecting Miguel and Maria Gomez.

A few miles away, Lara Mayhew has just begun working at a dolphin research facility. She loves her new job—until a dolphin brings her something unexpected from the deep. A human hand. More body parts show up, and when Brett looks into the situation, he discovers that the dismembered corpse is Miguel's.

Soon, rumors of crazed zombies abound in the Miami media, and the Krewe of Hunters, an elite FBI unit of paranormal investigators, is called in. Brett and Lara find themselves working with the Krewe—and working closely together. An elderly crime boss who's losing his memory seems to be key to solving this case, but…there's no motive. Unless Brett and Lara can uncover one in the Miami underworld. And that means they have to protect themselves. And each other.

Well, there you have it – a TINY sampling of Heather Graham. Hope you enjoy!

Until next time, I hope you have a WONDERFUL day & Happy Writing!

March 14th 2016 - Meet the Author

Hi, it’s Christina –

Sorry, had to sneak in a
picture of my baby girl
on Prom night.

So, is anyone else a little bleary-eyed this morning, or is it just me? I’m telling you, as I get older, I don’t adjust to the time change as quickly as I used to. When I was younger – boop – the next day, I was good to go. Now… not so much.

I don’t know what the weather’s been like by you, but here in Central Jersey, Mother Nature has smiled upon us for the past several days. We’ve had 60s, 70s and even days in the 80s, which is unheard of in March, BUT I’M NOT COMPLAINING! All in all, this winter wasn’t all that bad – a few bitter days, a few snowy days, and one blizzard. Even still, I’m ready for spring. Friday, the day of my youngest daughter’s prom, the daffodils in my yard bloomed – that’s, at minimum, three weeks early.

Okay, enough rambling. You don’t want to hear about the weather, you want your Monday Morning Meet the Authors. Again this week it’s going to be a Meet the Author, not authors; and I will confess, I’m being a little self-indulgent with this one because I want to feature one of my top ten favorite authors of all time. (Ooo, ouch, yikes, I could picture the eye rolls and almost hear you say, “When isn’t a blog ‘self-indulgent’?”, but please continue reading, because this author is truly wonderful.)

Carla Neggers

I would like to introduce you to Carla Neggers. Originally from Massachusetts, and now living with her family in Vermont (a little over an hour south of Lys), Carla began writing at an early age. Her favorite place to write… high up in a tree. Sound like someone else you know? Where my tree was a Japanese Cherry, Carla’s was a sugar maple.

Since that time, Carla had penned over 70 books, of which I’ve probably read 80%. Most of the ones I missed were the ones she wrote for Harlequin, but now that you no longer need to have a subscription to Harlequin to get their books, and you can actually chose which authors you want to purchase not just settle for whomever they send you, I’ll be able to fill in my collection. YEAH!

Yikes, there I go rambling again. Please chock it up to time-change brain. It’s far past time you get to hear about Carla’s books. I’m trying to remember which series, either Carriage House or Cold Ridge, which got me hooked on Carla’s writing so I can recommend where to start, but I guess it doesn’t matter, and it’s all going to hinge on what you like to read. I’ll try to give you a short summation of what each series is about, and a list of the books, in order, so you know where to begin. Even though she has several series as well as stand-alone novels, I think this time, I’m going to focus on these two instead of giving you my usual little taste of everything approach. This way you’ll get to see how Carla has woven the stories together – an amazing talent, one I hope I emulate in my own series.

Let’s start with the Carriage House Series – Murders, mysteries, Rangers & G-men, all centered around picturesque New England cottages.

The Carriage House

THE CARRIAGE HOUSE (#1) - Fun and a little hard work. That's all Tess Haviland had in mind when Ike Grantham paid her for her graphic design work with the run-down, nineteenth-century carriage house on Boston's North Shore.

Then Ike disappeared, and now Tess finds herself with much more than a simple weekend project to get her out of the city. It's not just the rumors that the carriage house is haunted—it's the neighbors: six-year-old Dolly Thorne, her reclusive babysitter, Harley Beckett…and especially Dolly's father, Andrew Thorne, who has his own ideas about why Tess has turned up next door.

But when Tess discovers a human skeleton in her dirt cellar, she begins to ask questions about the history of the carriage house, the untimely death of Andrew's wife…and Ike's disappearance. Questions a desperate killer wants to silence before the truth reveals that someone got away with murder.

The Cabin

THE CABIN (#2) - Greed and vengeance disrupt the quiet stillness of the Adirondack mountains.

Texas Ranger Jack Galway knows his wife Susanna loves him, so when their marriage hits a rough patch, he supports her decision to take their two teenaged daughters to Boston for a break. But when a few weeks turns into several months, Jack heads to Boston to get his family back.

Packing up the girls and her grandmother, Susanna heads to her cabin in the Adirondacks, trying to escape her fears, her secrets and even the man she loves. Little does she know she's being followed, not just by her husband but by a murderer….

Ex-convict Alice Parker left a mess back in Texas, and she'll never forgive Jack Galway for killing her dream of becoming a Texas Ranger herself. Obsessed with revenge, she's got her sights set on Jack's family.

Trapped in the mountains, Jack and Susanna must find strength in each other if they hope to keep their family together and escape the cabin alive.

Stonebrook Cottage

STONEBROOK COTTAGE (#3) - When everyone is keeping secrets, it's impossible to know who to trust

To put her life back in perspective, Kara Galway has moved home to Texas after years in New England. The up-and-coming defense attorney intends to concentrate on her career and spend time with her Texas Ranger brother. But fate has something else in store.

While Kara is devastated to learn her former mentor, Connecticut governor Mike Parisi, has died suddenly, she's pleased for her best friend, Allyson Stockwell, the new governor. Then Allyson's children show up at Kara's Texas home. They are terrified—and hiding something. Afraid for themselves and their mother, they are certain the circumstances of Mike's death are suspicious.

Kara must return with the children to Allyson's home, Stonebrook Cottage, to unravel what exactly is going on. Are the children really in danger? What secret is Allyson hiding? And then there's Sam Temple, the Texas Ranger Kara has fallen head over heels in love with. Sam has followed her to Connecticut and has no intention of leaving without her. Kara must uncover the truth if she is going to protect the people she loves.

The Harbor

THE HARBOR (#4) - A killer strikes—then disappears without a trace. 

Shattered by her father's murder, Zoe West left Goose Harbor, Maine. Still struggling, Zoe realizes only one thing will help to repair the damage—returning home to confront the past.

FBI special agent J. B. McGrath is burned-out after working undercover for a year. Forced to take a break, he chooses Goose Harbor as a retreat. But he isn't lying low. He believes a killer is still loose in the town—a killer who isn't happy to see Zoe West return.

Zoe isn't sure she can trust the unpredictable FBI agent—or their growing attraction to each other. But the danger mounts, and one wrong move could destroy everything she and J.B. care about. Someone got away with murder and is determined to keep it that way.

Next up is the Cold Ridge Series – it’s time for you to fall in love with some amazing US Marshals. 

Shelter Island

SHELTER ISLAND (Novella - Cold Ridge prequel) – Boston doctor Antonia Winter has a feeling that someone is stalking her. Thinking someone sees her as a means of derailing the senatorial hopes of her boyfriend, Hank Callahan, Antonia leaves Boston for the secluded wilderness of Shelter Island.

Cold Ridge

COLD RIDGE (#1) - Award-winning photographer Carine Winter does whatever it takes to get the perfect shot. So she accepts the job of photographing Sterling Rancourt's historic Boston home knowing she's taking a risk—she could run into Tyler North, the pararescuer who all but left her at the altar a year ago. Then Carine finds a body in Rancourt's house—and the prime suspect in the murder is Tyler North's best friend.

When Tyler hears about the murder, he rushes to see his friend Manny, expecting him to ask for help. Instead, Manny urges Tyler to protect Carine, to take her back to Cold Ridge and away from the temptation to meddle in a murder investigation.

What Tyler learns is that Carine's at the center of a deadly game. And the only person she can trust is the person she vowed never to trust again: him. But they're running out of time—because a killer has followed them to Cold Ridge…

Night's Landing

NIGHT'S LANDING (#2) - Archaeologist Sarah Dunnemore is prepared for almost anything when she returns to her family home in Night's Landing, Tennessee...except the news that her twin brother, Rob, has just been seriously wounded in a sniper attack in Central Park. She rushes to New York to be with him, only to come up against no-nonsense Nate Winter, who was slightly wounded in the attack.

In his work as a deputy U.S. marshal, Nate is the best, but he's willing to break the rules to track down his and Rob's would-be killer. Nate believes the official investigation is going in the wrong direction-especially when he learns that Sarah is like a surrogate daughter and a confidante to her family's famous Night's Landing neighbor-the president of the United States.

When Nate suspects that Sarah has held back crucial information, he follows her to Night's Landing. Because Nate will let nothing-not his and Sarah's growing attraction for each other, not the mounting danger they face-stand in the way of the truth. But in a place filled with betrayal, greed and long-held secrets, truth is guarded with a deadly vengeance.

The Rapids

THE RAPIDS (#3) - She has no time to take a break after playing a key role in the arrest of dangerous fugitive Nicholas Janssen. But with Janssen fighting extradition from his Dutch prison, U.S. diplomatic security agent Maggie Spencer isn't about to back off—even when U.S. marshal Rob Dunnemore turns up asking some very tough questions. Maggie has no reason to trust Rob, especially when she learns he has a personal interest: he was almost killed thanks to Janssen.

Then Maggie and Rob discover the body of an American diplomat, and they realize there's another killer on the loose. Determined to tie up the case, Maggie heads to upstate New York following a questionable lead. Knowing she's holding back on him, Rob's right on her tail. And now she has no choice but to trust him. Because a trap has been set and they have both walked right into it.

Dark Sky

DARK SKY (#4) - Deputy U.S. Marshal Juliet Longstreet has made her share of enemies, and now one of them is out of prison and threatening to kill her. Her mission: find him first.

But hot on her suspect's trail is Special Forces officer Ethan Brooker, who has a way of dropping into Juliet's life without warning. Haunted by his wife's death, Ethan is a man Juliet knows she should avoid. And now he's focused on a related mission of his own and can't—or won't—give Juliet any details.

When she finds her doorman dead and her New York apartment ransacked, Juliet tracks down Ethan—this time she wants answers. They agree to team up, and as they fight their growing attraction to each other, their race to stop a ruthless killer takes them north to Juliet's family in Vermont…and into the heart of a dangerous web of lies, greed, deceit—and murder.

Breakwater

BREAKWATER (#5) - An idyllic cottage. An unlikely suicide. A conspiracy that could blow the lid off the Department of Justice.

Three months ago Quinn Harlowe left the high-pressure hallways of the Justice Department to become an independent consultant and have more control over her life—maybe even have a life. But the nirvana of her new gig is short-lived when Quinn discovers her friend and former colleague Alicia Morrow dead outside Quinn's bayside cottage. Suicide? Quinn is doubtful.

Investigating on her own, she soon discovers that someone is following her every move. Huck McCabe claims he's a bodyguard at Breakwater, a high-security compound near Quinn's cottage. But Quinn suspects he's lying, never imagining the truth: McCabe is an undercover agent trying to penetrate a violent network of vigilantes—the same people Quinn has identified. Joined by a common goal, Quinn and McCabe must fight the bastion of law and order…a fight they know could lead to disaster.

Abandon

ABANDON (#6) - On what is supposed to be a quiet long weekend in New Hampshire, Deputy U.S. Marshal Mackenzie Stewart is viciously attacked at the lakefront cottage of her friend, federal judge Bernadette Peacham. Mackenzie fends off her attacker, but he manages to escape. Everything suggests he's a deranged drifter—until FBI special agent Andrew Rook arrives.

With Rook, Mackenzie broke her own rule not to get involved with anyone in law enforcement, but she knows he isn't up from Washington, D.C., to set things straight between them. He's on a case.

As the hunt for the mysterious attacker continues, the case takes an unexpected turn when Mackenzie follows Rook back to Washington and finds that Bernadette's former mentor, a once-powerful, now-disgraced judge who has been providing Rook with information, has gone missing. Mackenzie and Rook realize the stakes are higher than either had imagined, and a master criminal with nothing left to lose is prepared to gamble everything.

Yeah, Carla Neggers my bookshelf is kinda full,
and I still have more to add!

Carla also has a 5 novel & prequel novella FBI series called the Sharpe & Donovan Series (LOVE these characters), a 4 novel series called BDP/FBI Series (these will keep you on the edge of your seat), a 6 novel & Christmas novella series called Sweet River Valley Series (I’m a couple behind, but I’m enjoying this series as well), a 3 novel Black Falls Series (not to sound like a broken record, but I loved these too), 11 standalone novels (I’ve read all except for the two published under Carla’s other pen name, Anne Harrell), 3 anthologies (I only read one of these), and 17 novels through Harlequin (already mentioned).

Although Carla has been writing for a little over 30 years (I believe she was first published in 1983 or 1984), this still equates to an average of two novels a year. PHEW!! That’s some serious dedication to the craft, and a plethora of imagination! Even though we are around the same age, I want to be Carla when I grow up!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Carla Neggers, and I hope you fall in love with her writing just like I have.

Until next time, I hope you have a WONDERFUL day & Happy Writing!