I want more! Scam Chowder by Maya Corrigan: A Five-Ingredient Mystery.

You know? I love a good bowl of clam chowder. If the restaurant has air conditioning, I can even enjoy it in August. The title Scam Chowder caught my eye since my husband and I had to endure a constant parade of robocalls for back braces and for booking rooms in "resorts".

What's the book about?

In the second Five-Ingredient Mystery, Val prepares chowder for Granddad to serve at his dinner party. He doesn't tell her that he plans to expose one of his guests as a financial scammer targeting retirees. When the suspected scammer dies after eating the chowder, Granddad is the chief suspect. In trying to prove his innocence, he and Val uncover a variety of scams against retirees.

Retirees aren’t the only people victimized by financial scams. Bernie Madoff swindled a lot of people who weren’t retired. But scammers target older people in particular for good reasons. Retirees have nest eggs to invest. They want their money to grow so they have enough to last as long as they live and to leave something for their children. The lure of a high return on investments is hard to resist, particularly when interest rates are low. So older people, like younger ones, fall for too-good-to-be-true investment schemes. However, older people aren’t as quick to report such swindles.

Once they realize they’ve been defrauded, they are often reluctant to tell anyone about it. They’re ashamed at being taken in and afraid they’ll lose control of their money if their relatives find out about the fraud. Even if victims report the fraud to the police, it’s unlikely they’ll get their money back or that the con artist will be charged with a crime. Financial fraud can look like bad investment advice, and you can’t punish someone for bad advice. In cases where the fraud is blatant enough for a criminal charge, the con artist counts on older victims being bad witnesses whose memories are hazy.

​If you want to know more about financial scams against retirees, visit Top Ten Financial Schemes at the National Council on Aging site and How to Avoid Elder Fraud on the comparitech site. Here is Maya Corrigan's website for Scam Chowder and other Foodie Lit (as I call it affectionately):  https://www.mayacorrigan.com/

I have a taste for some Culinary Lit: How about On the Chopping Block?

This is Book 1 of the Callie's Kitchen Mystery Series. Business is picking up for Calliope "Callie" Costas, a newly single Mom running a Greek-meets-Midwest from-scratch restaurant in Crystal Bay, Wisconsin. But her luck is about to change when fate gives her love life a fatal blow; she is now a suspect in her boyfriend's murder.  And then there's that ex-pat Brit detective who is watching every move she makes.

Who really killed her boyfriend? Can Callie save her restaurant and her name? Read on and enjoy the recipes that come with the book which is only $2.99 on Amazon Kindle. If you like what you see, author Jenny Kales has three more books in the series for you to enjoy.

Amazon link: https://amzn.to/2Ullk8b

Check out her website: https://jennykales.wordpress.com/

Coven Rescue: A heavy responsibility for one so young.

The Book 3 in The Coven Series, Coven Rescue features an almost twenty year-old Harley Sinclair who has three impossible things to resolve: Paranormal law enforcement has thrown her boyfriend in prison; rescue her coven; and foil a very dangerous, sinister plot masquerading as light. (How many times are we running into this in current events today?)

The links:

Coven Rescue http://bit.ly/2FO3pOM

Do you want to read The Coven Princess for 99 cents?

http://bit.ly/2HPwTxW

Lily Luchesi has another exciting series out - The Paranormal Detective Series:

https://lilyluchesibooks.wixsite.com/lilyluchesi/books

Initiation in Paradise: Their biggest challenge yet? #NewRelease

Madison and Fab lead really interesting lives; if you mean facing danger nearly every day.

Margaritas, mangroves, murder. Just another day at the office. 

One minute, Madison Weston and her bestie, Fab, are tailing Creole and Didier to figure out what they’re hiding. The next, a hail of bullets sends them swamp slogging for their lives. So much for cute shoes. 

Eventually, Creole and Didier come clean: Bodies are turning up in shallow graves, and they didn’t want their women catching wind of it. Too bad, boys, this mystery is too juicy to pass up.

Not for the faint of heart!

Like what you see?
Click here: 
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2JkYVTA
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2u60A4H.

There's more where that came from....
http://deborahbrownbooks.com/titles/

My Sunshine Coast: All about that beautiful place!

Australia itself is a popular destination for vacationers whether you want to go boating in Sydney harbor, sailing off the coast of Perth or camping across the island continent. Just the name Sunshine Coast sounds friendly and inviting. Author Anne Moorehouse tells about the history of the area and more.

Anne shares a handful of stories from the local residents and regular visitors. If you can't afford an airline ticket, this book is the next best thing to a getaway.

You can order it here and check out Anne's other books on her website: http://bit.ly/2TShYbI

Look what I found at the Ren Faire: The works of Bruce Cuddy!

Author Bruce Cuddy

Last Saturday, my husband Dan was in his Franciscan Friar's robe with his staff and I was dressed as a gypsy. I passed Bruce Cuddy's tent  and saw printed copies of his short story, The Goodbye Song in binders.

I just read it and enjoyed it. It's about singer Hayley Dalton who makes it big with Cloverleaf records. She promises to appear in a hometown concert and go to a lunch date, but people are worried and upset that she won't show. Has her rise to fame left her family and hometown friends in the dust?

Bruce Cuddy has much more to offer! You can hear more about Hayley's hometown of Huckleberry Falls by clicking here:

www.huckleberryfalls.com

What a cold world it could be: Cold World by P. Mattern and M. Mattern.

With the volatile political climate we have plus the state of the environment, a Cold World type future is not that unrealistic. After a series of volcanic eruptions, an all out nuclear war and an ice age, how do the survivors live?

Here's more:

“Born into a world of ice...on fire to expose the truth”

The Scriptorians write that we knew it was coming thirty years before it actually happened.

There were scoffers, and differences of opinion in the global scientific community of course. In the end, with substandard funding of energy alternatives, a U.S.Congress that responded to the greatest emergency in the history of Humankind with the speed of a lame snail swimming through treacle, and no concrete plan among the masses to deal with the fallout, only about a tenth of the world’s population was remotely prepared for what happened.

The ring of fire, volcanoes that hadn’t erupted in centuries, all erupted within weeks of each other. That was the natural disaster part, and all by itself would have changed weather patterns for decades.

On top of that , the most powerful country on the planet, the Russian Federation, reached its bear claws out toward it’s only clear rival, China, and decimated them with a nuclear strike, ushering in a new Ice Age.

After that, the earth went cold.

I was born in the tenth year after the New Ice Age began in earnest, on the diamond shaped continent that used to be the United States, but was renamed Naris by the governing body known as the Collesium.

My name is Billy Zhine. A frozen earth is the only world I have ever known.

This is my story.

Cold World is available for pre-order at the price of 99 cents.

You can do that here: https://bit.ly/2T7q3cg

And by the way, I found out about Cold World here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/243199719356829/

How far would you go for family? Blood Brothers by R. Weir.

Detective Jarvis Mann loves his brother, Flynn. Ever since he was a young boy, he would follow his big brother to see what kind of trouble he'd get into. Unfortunately, once they became adults, the trouble got worse. If Travis goes to Flynn's rescue, big brother might drag him down with him.

This and he has to balance his work, and Flynn's demons with his love life.

The book is $3.99 at Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2SBn7o6

Check out more of R. Weir's books here: https://rweir.net/

The countdown continues: Stay Tuned for Murder to be released Tuesday, Feb. 12th.

I had fun reading Dead Air by Mary Kennedy and you can pre-order her newest release today, if you'd like. This is Book 3 of the Radio Talk Show Mysteries. Anyone who likes the Frasier TV series will love these books!

Dr. Maggie has a rival! A phony psychic comes to town and tries to hijack her radio show. And of course she's caught up in a murder investigation. Luckily she has Vera Mae, Lola and her beloved Pugsley to help her.

Pre-order here: 

Kindle US: https://is.gd/9OVYII
Kindle Worldwide: http://authl.it/B07MYM6PMM
Apple Books: https://is.gd/yOb10M
Nook: https://is.gd/wCmMEC
Kobo: https://is.gd/nt8i8D
Smashwords: https://is.gd/qu1QFZ
Audible: http://tinyurl.com/m7y7a85

Check out Mary Kennedy's other books:

http://www.marykennedy.net/

Science Fiction Fantasy Romance Fans: I've hit the mother lode!

When I came across the words 'Enchanted Bookstore', I couldn't help but want to explore the series. I would love to visit such a bookstore!

Book 1 of the Enchanted Bookstore Series: Seeking a Scribe is 99 cents on Amazon Kindle.

What's it about?

Lyra McCauley is a writer and loves fantasy novels, but until she opens a selection from bookstore owner Cullen Drake, she has no idea he's a wizard character who lives a double life inside that volume...or the story's magic will compel her from the edge of depression to adventure, danger, and love.

His gift to Lyra, the Book of Dragonspeir, was actually her copy, misplaced years ago. Lost in her pain following divorce and death, she fails to recognize him as her childhood playmate from the fantasyland. Friendship builds anew. Attraction sparks. But Lyra doubts whether a wizard is capable of love. She's torn--should she protect her fragile heart or risk new love?

Opening the book's cover, she confronts a quest: save Dragonspeir from destruction by the Black Dragon before he utilizes power of August's red moon to expand his strength and overthrow the opposing Imperial Dragon. Lyra accepts the challenge, fearing Cullen will perish if evil wins. Along with magical animal guides, Cullen helps her through many perils, but ultimately Lyra must use her own power...and time is running out. 

The link for the series: https://www.marshaamoore.com/enchanted-bookstore-legends.php

When I looked at Marsha A. Moore's website, I found a pleasant surprise: Tea Leaf Tales.

Here is the link: https://www.marshaamoore.com/no-mane.php

And don't miss this! Being a jewelry lover, I can't resist telling you about the first book in the Coon Hollow Coven Tales: Witch's Moonstone Locket.

Click for an excerpt: https://www.marshaamoore.com/excerpt--witchs-moonstone-locket.php

Enjoy!

A Native American curse on the land: The Haunting of the Hockomock Swamp.

My husband and I attend Pow Wows and have a lot of respect for the Native American culture. When I see crime shows in which a Native American's demise is mixed with a hate crime and when I read about Native American's having to get new reservation I.D.s in order to vote within 10 days of an election, it makes me sick.

Three hundred years ago, violence against Native Americans was the norm in the Colonial United States. In the Haunting of the Hockomock Swamp, one Native American stands up to the Colonists and leaves a haunted legacy.

Against the beautiful backdrop of the largest swamp in Southeastern Massachusetts, a captivating tale of mystery, magic, and murder. The Wampanoag people gave the swamp its name, with Hockomock meaning "place where spirits dwell." Devil's Swamp is what English settlers of Colonial times named it, and this is the story of an urban legend, the great Wampanoag sachem: Metacom or "King Philip," whose ghostly shapeshifter spirit still freely roams the dark, murky waters of The Hockomock Swamp ...

Young children suffering the unthinkable. A bewildering investigation. Janie Williams is living her dream as a newbie investigative reporter until she finds herself intrigued by a three-centuries-old Native American shapeshifter who is a terror to behold and is wreaking havoc! 

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, she falls head over heels with her crazy sexy hot colleague and mentor Alan Needle. But what Janie could never imagine is that her efforts to solve this mystery will uncover the deepest betrayal, blood, and tragedy America has ever seen.

History can never be erased. Perhaps when your children are haunted and plagued by a mysterious illness, it is not a result of biology or science but a vengeful spirit of the past using your children as a medium for the truth.

And it's only 99 cents!

The Amazon Kindle link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KB1MAKQ

The H.E. Kline Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/H.-E.-Kline/e/B00KB8WBP8

About a teenaged girl and an alien plague. Infected: The Shiners. Free!

I was trolling for blogging material and this stopped me in my tracks. I see the words: "a sixteen-year-old girl, an alien plague and a fight to save the world." I read a little further. And your friends turn into enemies? Who wouldn't want to find out more about that? Let's dig in deeper.

When a rare meteor shower unleashes a mind-altering infection, Alex's loved ones begin to change. They're smarter, faster, emotionless, and they have a plan. One that doesn't include her.

Pursued by friends turned enemies and desperate to save her little brother, Alex flees to the mountains surrounding her home, where the only chance for humanity has lain hidden for thousands of years.

With her only guide a set of cryptic clues, Alex follows a trail of increasingly shocking discoveries. Everything she thought she knew about the past was a lie and it's up to her to save the future.

This is the first book in the Forgotten Origins Trilogy.

And since it's free, why not download it today?

The Amazon Kindle link: https://amzn.to/2RlvXq5

And I discovered this book here: Best Books - Two Thumbs Up

New Release! Love Inked: Book 3 in the Twisted Love Series.

The Twisted Love Series by writing team Stacy Eaton and Amy Manemann has been like figure skating: sometimes solo, sometimes partners as they say in the Olympics. Let me change my imagery to glitter and glory to sinister and menacing. In Love Inked, two female detectives face a serial killer. If any kind of killer can make you feel uneasy in a hurry, it's a serial killer. A murder can be a fist fight gone bad, a passion killing of an unfaithful spouse, rage over being scammed; but a serial killer does it for pleasure.

Adding to the problems are the fact that Detective Kali Mann has to take on a new, model perfect partner, Evie Harper. This new partner has a lot on her plate: making peace with Kali, helping to catch the serial killer and proving herself to be worthy in fighting crime.

Here is the Amazon Kindle link: https://amzn.to/2SAvbly