Coming For You (+Giveaway)

Coming For You
Kristi Belcamino
Publication date: February 26th 2019
Genres: Adult, Suspense, Thriller

     Sofia Kennedy has spent the last twenty-four years keeping her past a dark secret. To the rest of the world, she’s a gifted graphic designer, marvelous cook, and doting Minneapolis mother.
     But then her daughter is murdered.
     Sofia soon wonders whether her life of lies has caught up with her. The police are asking dangerous questions and going after the wrong man. It’s up to Sofia to hunt down her daughter’s killer before her elaborate deception is exposed and she loses whatever semblance of a life she has left.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Chapter 7
KATE
Five months earlier
March 2017
Dinkytown, Minneapolis
I wasn’t really paying attention until the boy was right in front of me.
Instead, I was concentrating on the big stack of books on the counter. I was rearranging them like the bookstore owner wanted—to showcase the week’s bestsellers. It was busy work—I was looking for anything to keep me from thinking about my mom. If I thought about her, I would start screaming or crying or hit something. I hated her so much. Okay. I didn’t really really hate her, but I’d never been so angry at her in my life. I thought she loved me, but really, she’s been lying to me my whole life and keeping me from my family. My grandmother. Who was apparently alive despite my mom saying she was dead.
My entire childhood I was insanely jealous of the other kids who had grandparents. On grandparents’ day at school, my mom didn’t even try to find someone else to go. Sadie’s grandparents were dead, too, but at least Sadie’s mom had arranged for this grandma-like neighbor to go. My mom just shrugged when I complained about it.
Now I know why. She’s a liar.
When I first saw the message on Facebook, I thought it was probably from some creepy old pervert pretending to be my long-lost grandma. Nobody I know ever gets on Facebook anymore. I don’t even know why I checked it that day. I didn’t want to believe her, but then she told me things about my mom that most people would never know.
Like how the burn scar on my mom’s arm is from when she was trying to cook her own pancakes for breakfast when she was four. Or how she has this one mole on the back of her neck that you can only see when she puts her hair in a bun to take a shower.
What I can’t understand, or forgive, is why my mother lied.
My grandma said that she’d explain soon enough. She told me not to trust my mom. She said that everything my mom says is a lie. She also told me not to say anything to my dad. Yet.
I’m so confused. Nothing seems real. Every day I come home and pretend I have a lot of homework, but instead, I go in my room and get in bed. I worry if I even look at my mom I’m going to scream. Sometimes when she’s not paying attention, I’ve caught myself staring at her, wondering who the hell this lying woman really is and where did my real mom go?
I was so upset about my mom that I barely noticed the boy at the counter in front of me. When I looked up and saw him there, I jumped and he laughed. He stared at me with these black eyes and I couldn’t look away. It was unnerving. For a second I didn’t know what to say. And then when I did talk it was like I was ten again talking snotty to a cute boy.
“What?”
He laughed again. “Is that how you greet your customers?”
His accent was lilting and sounded sophisticated.
Before he opened his mouth, if you looked at him, with his short spiky dreads and baggy jeans, you’d think he was just some really cute thuggish boy from the north side. But when he spoke, he suddenly seemed like he should be on stage doing Shakespeare. It was unsettling. Who spoke that way?
I blushed. “Sorry. Can I help you?”
“Yes.” He crunched an already wrinkled piece of paper he was holding. “I’m looking for ‘The History of Herodotus.’”
“Oh.” There you go, Kate, wow him with your scintillating response. “Actually, I’m not sure we carry that book but I can point you in the right direction, show you where it might be if we have it. It’s nonfiction, right?”
I’d never heard of the book.
“Yes. There are actually a few books by him. They are called ‘The Histories.’ They are about the history, politics, cultures, and traditions of Greece and North Africa and Asia. There are nine books in the series.”
“Oh.” Again, brilliant answer, Kate. “I can see if we carry it.” My tone was officious, businesslike to hide that I felt like an idiot. I started to come out from behind the counter.
“You don’t have it on your computer?” He eyed the laptop on the counter.
I shook my head. It was the bane of my life. “The owner is a little old-fashioned. I’ve been trying to talk him into cataloging online, but it’s a slow process. We order online, but we don’t keep our inventory there yet. Kind of stupid, huh?”
He shrugged. He gave me this smile and I couldn’t help but smile back.
I came out from behind the counter, self-consciously smoothing my skirt down as I stepped in front of him. “Follow me. I’ll show you the nonfiction section and the area where it might be.”
The old bookstore was a maze with one tiny room winding into another. And then there was the basement, which was more open, but still had lots of nooks and crannies. And had two creepy cats. And was haunted. And was where we were heading.
The cats were doing their usual freak show. Caterwauling and running around like banshees, hopping from old sofas to worn-out armchairs scattered around the basement of the store.
I usually tried to avoid the basement. It gave me the creeps. Today, I blamed the haunted part for the hairs on the back of my neck sticking straight up as I made my way down the stairs. It was that—not him being so close behind me.
We wove through the stacks to a back corner where I swung around to face him. “If we have it, it would be somewhere around here.” I gestured to a small bookshelf.
He didn’t say anything just stared at me. I held my breath, staring back. His eyes moved down to my mouth and he swallowed. It seemed impossible, but he was acting like he was nervous.
He cleared his throat. “Okay. Thanks,” he finally said.
I turned to go and he said, “You’re leaving?”
“Yes, I’m the only one here. I have to stay upstairs at the counter.”
“Oh.”
I waited.
“It’s just kind of freaking creepy down here. It’s like cold and shit and those cats are freaking me out.”
“Yup.” I said with a smile, tilting my head. “It’s haunted.”
His eyes grew wide. “Bloody hell?” His voice was incredulous and he quickly looked around. “Seriously, though.” His voice wavered and a panic flitted across his face. “Can you just wait a second while I look?”
I was taken aback. He was six-feet-tall and looked like he could thump anyone who messed with him and, yet, he was frightened out of his wits.
I shrugged. “Okay. I’ll probably hear the bell if someone comes in.” It was a lie, but I wanted to stay close to this boy. For no good reason.
“I’ll help you look.” Kneeling, I scanned the bottom shelf. He knelt beside me, reading the titles quietly out loud. It took a while, but then I found it on the second shelf from the top. “Voila!”
I plucked it off the shelf and handed it to him, plopping it in his arms. It was heavy. I was rewarded a smile.
“Great. Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said and took off without waiting for me.
I followed him up the stairs this time, trying not to smile, but it was tough.
He was still at the bookstore an hour later, stretched out on one of our old beat-up leather chairs, concentrating on whatever he was reading.
For the rest of my shift, I mostly forgot he was even there as I went about my work. Every once in a while, I’d look over and watch him beneath my eyelashes. Watch how his brow furrowed for a few seconds and then he’d nod as if he just understood something.
It was cute.
When it was a few minutes after closing time, I cleared my throat until he looked up. Behind him through the window, I could see that the world outside was white with snow pummeling down.
He looked up as I reached for my coat.
“Oh.” He sat up straighter. “Oh. What time do you close?” He seemed dazed, his finger holding his place in the book.
“Five minutes ago.”
He scrambled up. “Oh dear, I’m sorry.” He shrugged on his coat.
I laughed. Who said “oh, dear?” Nobody I knew. At least nobody under seventy.
I waited for him to bring the book up to the counter to buy, but he didn’t, just held it dangling from his arm and then, seemingly reluctantly, set it on the coffee table.
It was a heavy book. And expensive. At least for our used bookstore. It probably cost twenty-five dollars or more. Maybe if he was a college kid, like I suspected, he couldn’t afford it.
He opened the door and paused. A whoosh of cold air and small flakes of snow swooped inside. Then he turned. “See you next time?”
I didn’t know what to say so I just smiled. I’m sure it looked like a grimace. So that wasn’t awkward, was it? Totally. Cringy.
After I was sure he was gone, disappeared into the whiteness of the snowstorm, I picked up the book and put it behind the counter on a shelf where I kept my things.
I hoped the boy would come back for it. And I didn’t know why.
Sure, his smile was nice. And he seemed smart. In addition, his accent proved he wasn’t from around here.
All those things combined made him the most intriguing boy I’d ever met.

Author Bio:
USA Today bestselling author and Agatha, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity-award finalist Kristi Belcamino writes dark mysteries about fierce women seeking justice. Newsletters subscribers receive a free gift- a prequel novella unavailable for sale anywhere. Sign up here: https://www.subscribepage.com/KristiBelcamino

She is a crime fiction writer, cops beat reporter, and Italian mama who also bakes a tasty biscotti. In her former life, as an award-winning crime reporter at newspapers in California, she flew over Big Sur in an FA-18 jet with the Blue Angels, raced a Dodge Viper at Laguna Seca and attended barbecues at the morgue.

 Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter

Thanks so much for dropping by today. Doesn't this sound like a tantalizing read that you just can't put down?

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Innocence Lost (+ Giveaway)

When you mention the Roaring 20s you can’t help but think of Prohibition and the mystery surrounding it. Today, lets step back in time and see how a widow copes with criminal elements and comes to rely on a ghost from the past.

Author Sherilyn Decter is visiting today to share her latest release, INNOCENCE LOST, the first installment in her Bootleggers’ Chronicles. She also has a fun giveaway she’s hosting for the tour. Be sure to check it out at the end of the post.

In a city of bootleggers and crime, one woman must rely on a long-dead lawman to hunt down justice…

          Philadelphia, 1924. Maggie Barnes doesn't have much left. After the death of her husband, she finds herself all alone to care for her young son and look after their rundown house. As if that weren't bad enough, Prohibition has turned her neighborhood into a bootlegger's playground. To keep the shoddy roof over their heads, she has no choice but to take on boarders with criminal ties…

          When her son's friend disappears, Maggie suspects the worst. And local politicians and police don't seem to have any interest in an investigation. With a child's life on the line, Maggie takes the case and risks angering the enemy living right under her nose…

          Maggie's one advantage may be her oldest tenant: the ghost of a Victorian-era cop. With his help, can she find justice in a lawless city?

          Innocence Lost is the first novel in the Bootleggers' Chronicles, a series of historical fiction tales. If you like headstrong heroines, Prohibition-era criminal underworlds, and a touch of the paranormal, then you'll love Sherilyn Decter’s gripping tale.

Check out INNOCENCE LOST on bookfunnel and the Media Page on the author’s website. INNOCENCE LOST is also available to buy on Amazon.
The second book in the series, TASTING THE APPLE, is available to pre-order.

For those unfamiliar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her.

The Roaring Twenties and Prohibition were a fantasy land, coming right after the horrors and social upheaval of World War I. Even a century later, it all seems so exotic.

Women got the vote, started working outside the home, and (horrors!) smoked and drank in public places. They even went on unchaperoned dates (gasp)! Corsets were thrown into the back of the closets, and shoes were discovered to be an addictive fashion accessory after hemlines started to rise. And thanks to Prohibition, suddenly it was fashionable to break the law. The music was made in America- ragtime, delta blues, and of course jazz. Cocktails were created to hide the taste of the bathtub gin. Flappers were dancing, beads and fringes flying. Fedoras were tipped. And everyone was riding around in automobiles (aka struggle buggies and I leave it to your imagination why- wink.)

Bootleggers’ Chronicles grew out of that fascination. Writing as Sherilyn Decter, I will eventually have a series of historical crime fiction novels dealing with the bootleggers, gangsters, flappers, and general lawlessness that defined Prohibition. The Bootlegger blog rose out of all the research that I’ve been doing about this incredible era.

Growing up on the prairies and living next to the ocean, I am a creature of endless horizons. Writing allows me to discover what’s just over the next one. My husband and I have three amazing daughters, a spoiled grandson, and two bad dogs.

Sherilyn Decter is enthralled with the flashing flappers and dangerous bootleggers from the Roaring Twenties and Prohibition. Through meticulous research, that lawless era is brought to life. Living in a century-old house, maybe the creaking pipes whisper stories in her ear.

To get the inside skinny on the Bootlegger’s Chronicles, you can reach Sherilyn at the following links:

WEBSITE          FACEBOOK      PINTEREST

GIVEAWAY

Author Sherilyn Decter is giving away two autographed paperback copies of INNOCENCE LOST. Each of the books comes with a couple of sheets of flapper paper dolls. Click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instruction to enter. If you can’t see the widget, just click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to comment on the post and enter to win your copy of this tantalizing tale. Do you enjoy reading about the Roaring 20s and Prohibition?

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The Secret of Clouds

I’m delighted today to share with you THE SECRET OF CLOUDS (Berkley Hardcover; February 19, 2019; $26.00), an uplifting story about a mother’s love, a teacher’s promise, and a child’s heart. It is the author’s first book set in contemporary times, told through flashbacks that shed light on a recent historical tragedy.

Internationally bestselling author Alyson Richman is best known for her beloved World War II historical fiction novels like The Velvet Hours, and The Lost Wife, the latter of which is in development to be a major motion picture and is currently being cast. Now, Alyson pens a heartwarming story of love and the power of healing for a Ukrainian immigrant family living in New York following the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

In THE SECRET OF CLOUDS, Katya, a rising ballerina, and Sasha, a graduate student, are young and in love when an unexpected tragedy befalls their native Kiev, Ukraine. Years later, after the couple has safely immigrated to America, the consequences of this incident cause their son, Yuri, to be born with a rare health condition that isolates him from other children. 

          Maggie, a passionate and dedicated teacher, agrees to tutor Yuri at his home. Maggie bonds with Yuri and his family over their love of baseball, which has eased their assimilation into American life. As the two forge a deep and soulful connection, Yuri’s boundless curiosity and unique wisdom inspire Maggie to make difficult changes in her own life.  And she'll never realize just how strong Yuri has made her—until she needs that strength the most.

THE SECRET OF CLOUDS is a novel that will make readers examine what it means to live life with a full heart. 

Author Alyson Richman

For those unfamiliar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her.

Alyson Richman is the #1 internationally bestselling author of the The Velvet Hours, The Garden of Letters, The Lost Wife, The Last Van Gogh, The Rhythm of Memory (previously published as Swedish Tango) and The Mask Carver's Son. Her novels have been translated into twenty languages and "The Lost Wife" is in development to be a major motion picture.

Thanks for stopping by today. Do you enjoy books that use flashback to help tell the story?

The Dirty Dozen: Princess Edition

The Dirty Dozen: Princess Edition
Publication date: February 14th 2019
Genres: Adult, Fairy Tales, Romance

12 Novellas ~12 Princesses ~ 12 Authors
What happens when 12 contemporary romance authors decide to put their own spin on classic Princess stories?
You get 12 uniquely different Princesses where they give as good as they get.
Every girl has a fairy tale Princess slumbering within; they are waiting for their very own Prince Charming to awaken them.
Join this amazing line up of authors as they tell the tales of how their Princesses were awoken.
No matter the style or how naughty and nice, one of these tales will become your new vice.
Lets us take you on an adventure you won’t forget……

Goodreads / Amazon

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GIVEAWAY!
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The Side Job

It’s always fun when you can meet a new author and discover a fascinating read at the same time.

Today I’d like to welcome author Don Lubov to Thoughts in Progress to talk about his new release, THE SIDE JOB, and his writing. First here’s a quick synopsis of his book.

                At 17, unmarried, unskilled, and pregnant, Maggie Gomez is abandoned by her boyfriend and evicted from her home by her parents. For five years, she leads a hardscrabble life on the underside of a Las Vegas ghetto, working at menial, minimum-wage jobs, to support herself and her asthmatic daughter. As her daughter's health declines, Maggie's need for money turns from needy to desperate. Either 5-year-old April gets an expensive operation, or she dies.

             When she takes a new and dangerous profession; as a hitman for a local mobster, Maggie’s life becomes a soap opera of mixed emotions and dangerous ties. Things come to a head when she discovers that her detective lover is investigating her loan-shark boss…who, has put out a contract on her. With the help of one of Frankie D's thugs, all of Maggie's unsavory connections to the Las Vegas underworld are violently canceled. She and Shawn and April survive ‘what happens in Vegas…' and remain in Las Vegas, together.

Now please join me in giving a warm welcome to Don as he shares a bit about his writing. Welcome, Don.

What is your writing style and where did the idea for your book come from?

Don:

How I write - I’m a "pantser." I just sit down to the keyboard and start typing away. The book, THE SIDE JOB, just came to me as a 500-word word flash-fiction.

What do you hope readers will take away from reading your book?

Don:

The take-away is that "a mother's love for her child knows no limits.”

What is the best advice you’ve received as a writer and are you working on anything at the moment?

Don:

Best writer advice: hard work, perseverance, and read other books. In 2018, I completed 5 books, simultaneously, and published them at the same time. Consequently, I am focused on promotion by way of literary contests and book reviews.

My 6 books, currently in print, can be purchased from Amazon as paperbacks or on Kindle.

Don, thanks for stopping by today and giving us this insight into your writing and your new release.

For those who aren’t familiar with Don, here’s a bit of background on him.

Author Don Lubov

Don has been happily married since 1976. He was an artist for 34 years and exhibited his artwork at three New York City Art Galleries and the Heckscher Art Museum. He spent eight years teaching Art & Design at East Carolina University, McNeese State University, Suffolk County Community College. He taught energy-efficient architecture at Stanford University.

He was a guest lecturer at Stony Brook University on “Hyperspace—A Visual Introduction to the 4^th Dimension”. In 1985, he received a grant from The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation for his work combining art & mathematics, with his “Quantum Pictures”.

He has written about spirituality and stress relief since 1971. He is the author of 9 books. 10 years successfully teaching his “Six-Step Path” at College of Central Florida Sr. Center, MTP College, and The Lifelong Learning College in The Villages, FL. He has taught his unique brand of meditation to over 2,000 people, who subsequently achieved a level of inner peace. He has taught his "Six-Step Path" for stress reduction for the past 12 years, at Del Webb and 3 local colleges.

Don has written for Yahoo Voices, Beliefnet.com, and Kinja.com. His writings have been published in various magazines and books. He has written the following 6 books —                                         

     An End to Stress – spirituality and self-help

     The Plague – sci-fi cautionary tale

     The Side Job – a novel of a female assassin

     The Writers Bloc Club – an anthology of prose & poetry                 

     Near Death in the Gila National Forest – a memoir

     Frosty the Soulman – an illustrated children’s book

                                                                                                     

His YouTube videos include—

      “The Grassroots Manifesto”,                                                 

      “Creativity Manifesto”

      “Spirituality Manifesto”

He created and developed “Pyramoids” – an energy-efficient building system, and taught this system at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. One of his “Pyramoid” designs was accepted and juried in The World Trade Center Memorial Competition.

Articles and Poems — Beliefnet.com, Kinja.com, Yahoo Voices, Florida Writers Magazine,

Journal of Creative Writers Notebook, The Daily Sun, The Stress Blog on Deeper Meditation,

Horizon Magazine, Mark Miller’s One, What is love – Diane Sikel, Fifty is the New Fifty – Steve Winston, The Speaker Anthology – Shields & Gustavson, The Florida Writer, The Boomer Cafe

For more on Don and his writing, visit his website.

Thanks for stopping by today during Don’s visit. Do you agree a mother’s (or father’s) love knows no bounds when it comes to their children or at least that’s the way it should be?

Foiled … and So Much More

It’s my pleasure today to welcome a new-to-me author who writes Children’s Middle Grade Historical/Speculative novels.

Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Jeff Bolinger – better known as Author Carey Fessler from Melbourne, Australia. Carey has published four Middle Grade Action/Suspense novels and is here to talk about this books and writing. While I don’t have children nor grandchildren, I still enjoy books for all ages.

Welcome Carey. Please tell us a bit about your writing and your latest released, FOILED.

Where do you get the ideas for a book?

Carey:

Ideas can come from everywhere, which is why I’m open to trying new things. The more experiences I have in life the more I have to draw from to inspire my writing. Coming up with the seed for a scene (remember, a story is just a series of scenes you weave together) idea is easy for me. All I do is say these three words: “What happens if …? (I brain storm the worst-case scenario, then dig a bit deeper and drop my MCs into the hole) 

For example, the seed for my book Foiled came after my brother in-law had showed me his three photographs of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico. As an author I didn’t care if the photos were real or not. I just asked myself, “What happens if … in 1947, two Roswell kids obtain a piece of alien technology and become fugitives?”

Once I complete a skeletal scene-by-scene story outline, only then do I begin the actual writing process and flesh out the story by creating a couple of engaging heroes that serve as catalysts and a formidable villain who cross paths, blocking each other’s goals, which creates plenty of opportunities for tension, suspense, and action.

Please tell us more about Foiled.

Carey:

Foiled is a Middle Grade pacey, page-turning novel set in 1947, featuring the famed Roswell UFO crash incident near Roswell, New Mexico.

The title Foiled has three meanings:

1.  Foil: noun - referring to the ‘magic foil,’ (piece of thin metal sheet) in the story, which is a piece of alien technology from the crash site of a UFO. On the front cover, you can spot the girl holding it in her hand. ;)

2.  Foil: noun - The two MCs contrast each other and so emphasize and enhance the qualities of the other.

3.  Foil: verb - prevent (antagonists) from succeeding.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Carey:

I’ve just finished the last book in my sea-island adventure trilogy:

Shanghaied: Escape from the Blackwolf

Shipwrecked: Dragon Island

Sea Raiders

How did you come about writing?

Carey:

I first started writing short stories for my son when he was very young. I made him the MC of each story, which featured his favorite toys as sidekicks. The stories were an instant hit … with him anyway. That was enough to keep me at it.

When did you first consider yourself an author?

Carey:

The first time I came out of the closet and told someone other than my wife.

Do you write full-time?

Carey:

Yes.

Then what's your work day like?

Carey:

Up at dawn, walk the dog, eat brekky, and write (from a small simple Ikea desk, which overlooks our leafy street) until noonish. Walk the dog, eat lunch, re-write/revise the previous day’s work until around 3pm’ish. Walk the dog, do errands, housework and make supper. Binge on Netflix. Fun read an hour before bedtime. (I like Clive Cussler). Rinse and repeat.

Fun related 😊:

Carey:

I write while listening to either Classical or New Age music. Yes, I love Mozart and Enya.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Carey:

An oceanographer. Probably from watching so much Jacques Cousteau on TV. Later, I took scuba diving lessons in college and then joined the Navy, serving on board nuclear submarines, so I came close-kinda.

Best piece of writing advice:

Carey:

Anne Rice- The Vampire Chronicles. “Go where the pain/pleasure is.”

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Carey:

- I use the pen name Carey Fessler to honor the two people who encouraged me to read as a kid — my grandparents: My G’ma’s maiden name is Carey and my G’pa’s last name is Fessler … Carey Fessler worked perfectly.

- In my book Shanghaied: Escape from the Blackwolf, Scott wants to tell a lie to get aboard the submarine. In Foiled, Kate wants to help Billy hide from the authorities. Life is all about making choices: good vs bad. Sometimes people make a bad choice for a good reason. Either way, experience is a good teacher. Adults are constantly telling children what they can and can’t do. In Foiled, I set out to write a story about an eleven-year-old stumbling over endless physical and mental pits, picking herself up, and pushing herself on to discover for herself what she can do. I also wanted to ask, “Would an eleven-year-old stop at the established limits set by the grown-up world to save her friend and family, or would she break those limits?”

  

- One thing I like to do as an author is name a minor character after a person who has helped me by being a test reader. I do this as a way of saying ‘Thanks.’ Plus, people think it’s cool to have a character in a book with their namesake. Ex: In Shanghaied I named Golsh after a friend who read an early draft of the story and gave me some useful feedback. I find sharing my work with others is a great way to improve my writing.

- I write my stories because they’re the kind of books that I would’ve wanted to read when I was a kid. The fact that other people—ages 9 to 99—enjoy reading my stories is a bonus.

- Talent is nice to have, but I relied more on practice and determination to achieve my dream, which was to write a book. When you’re passionate about something, it never feels like work. Dreams do come true, so don’t give up on yours.

- I’m hoping to turn kids onto reading by sparking their imagination.

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is intelligence having fun.”

- Never underestimate how important you are to a book as a reader. Without the reader, the words are just ink marks on paper. Your imagination brings the story to life.

Carey, thanks so much for joining us and sharing this insight into your writing. I love how you came about your pen name. It’s a great way to honor your grandparents. You can find Carey’s books HERE.

Now for those who aren’t familiar with Carey, here’s a bit of background on him in his own words.

Author Carey Fessler

I grew up in a military family and moved around more often than a gypsy. My favorite smell is green, favorite flavor is mist, and favorite day of the week is Funday. I wonder if fish wish they could wink, and trees wish they could walk. I think it’s bizarre that your belly button harbors more bacteria than there are birds in Borneo. I believe biographies are boring and think it’s fun to speak in silly-sounding sentences with wacky words that start with the same letters. Finally, I believe in exercising your imagination and secretly staying up past your bedtime. 

Find out more about Carey and his writing on his website.

Now here’s a synopsis of FOILED.

          Twelve-year-old Kate lives with her mother on the U.S. Army base near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. One night, just as Kate’s friend Billy shows her strange pieces of foil that his dad retrieved from the wreckage of what may have been an alien spacecraft, a CIA agent arrives at Billy’s house and informs his family of their reassignment to Germany. The agent demands the return of the foil. Billy, not wanting to move to Germany or return his treasures, begs Kate for help. Feisty and fiercely loyal, Kate agrees to help him find a place to hide. 

The two friends use their wits, their knowledge of the terrain and geography around the base, and sheer determination to evade capture.

            Hiding under the moonlit shadows at a gas station on the outskirts of town, Kate telephones her mother back on the Army base hospital, where she works as a nurse, to tell her of the drama and warn her of the death threat the CIA agent made against the family. Ignoring her mother’s order for the two children to come to the hospital, Kate is determined to warn her grandfather about the threat, too, since his has no telephone. Together, Kate and Billy strike off to reach him, more than two hundred miles away.

            Thus begins a cross-state adventure in which along the way, the two friends discover the foil has a mysterious power that’s… not of their world.

            Late that evening, disaster erupts into a fiery explosion when a diversion goes horribly wrong, at the gas station, as Kate and Billy sneak into the bed of a pickup truck that is heading out of town. When Kate discovers that their ride is traveling in the wrong direction, they attempt to stop the moving truck, which leaves Billy hanging on for his life, and the driver abandoning them out in the middle of nowhere.

            After they hitchhike a ride to the nearest town, Kate is torn between telling lies and reaching her grandfather to warn him of the threat by Special Agent Falco. With family coming before conscious, opportunity allows her to steal the car in a demolition derby-like get away, where she hopes a couple of driving lessons she’s had behind the wheel of her grandpa’s old jalopy truck will be enough to get the two friends to their destination—alive.

            At an all-night roadside diner, a cryptic phone call with her mother sends Kate spiraling into more worry. An encounter with a suspicious waitress leads to the arrival of a state trooper. Using the magic of the alien foil, which sometimes allows Kate to read minds, she is able to create another chance for escape. However, soon a second state trooper cruiser pulls into the diner parking lot followed by a car driven by Falco. Kate and Billy slip out a back window, abandon their stolen car, and thumb a ride with a friendly trucker that is short lived when they spot what appears to be a police roadblock on the bridge, leaving town. They exit the eighteen-wheeler, ghost back into the dawn darkness, and make the next leg of their journey, travelling down river by borrowing a small leaky boat.

            After escaping the venomous fangs of a rattlesnake, they plod across the burning sands of a mesa to arrive exhausted at Kate’s grandpa’s house—but can’t find Grandpa—anywhere. 

            Her Grandpa Clyde stirs Kate awake and she quickly retells the drama leading up to the present. But before the threesome can take flight, a deputy arrives at the property to take Kate and Billy into custody. Pushed closer to her breaking point, at what appears to be a trip all for nothing, Kate takes extreme action and pulls out a loaded rifle on the deputy, allowing Grandpa Clyde to secure him out of harm’s way. This bold action allows them to escape in the Piper Cub, her grandpa’s small, light aircraft.

            During a fuel stop in Albuquerque, Kate is unable to reach her mother by telephone and fears that Falco has made good on his threat. Using the magic of the alien foil, she discovers the man driving the refueling tanker is planning to stall them long enough for the law to show up. Kate’s quick thinking allows them to make a hasty departure, which is intercepted by the arrival of two speeding state trooper cruisers and flying bullets.

            Grandpa Clyde lands outside an Indian reservation to seek safety and overnight refuge from an old friend. The jewelry craftsman makes a special pendant for Kate, which has a secret compartment to hide the alien foil from unwanted eyes. The next morning, when Billy becomes too homesick and wants to return to his parents in Roswell, Grandpa Clyde drops him off at the nearby airport outside Santa Fe, where Kate must say goodbye to her best friend. 

            Soon after departing the airport, an Army helicopter intercepts the Piper Cub and tries to force them to land in the desert. Kate reaches her limits, fights back, and downs the helicopter with a surprise and inventive attack.

            Their victory celebration is cut short when Grandpa Clyde suffers a stroke and is unable to fly the plane. Kate is forced to take over the controls and must land the plane in nearby Santa Fe … to save her grandpa’s life.

            With only a few hours of flying experience under her belt, Kate crash-lands next to a park plaza in the center of town. Unable to pull Grandpa Clyde from the wreckage, and with the smell of leaking fuel, Kate refuses to abandon her grandpa. When she’s just about to give up all hope, a stranger from the nearby crowd hauls her grandpa to safety. Only when Kate sees Grandpa Clyde being trolleyed to the ambulance, does she melt into the growing crowd of on lookers and slip away.

            From a nearby post office, Kate follows her grandpa’s instructions, and calls another one of his trusted friends, who drives into town to rendezvous and rescue her. Days later, after Grandpa Clyde’s recovers enough to be discharged from the hospital, he secretly joins Kate where they decide to remain living on a ranch until her mother finds a civilian job so she can resign her commission from the Army, allowing them to start a new life beyond the tendrils of the CIA.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Do you enjoy reading books that are “technically” written for people younger than yourself?

This Earl of Mine

Kate Bateman (also writing as K. C. Bateman), the #1 bestselling author of Regency, Victorian, and Renaissance historical romances, is kicking off her new Regency romance series, The Bow Street Bachelors, with the charming new novel, THIS EARL OF MINE (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; October 29, 2019, $7.99)!

I’m delighted to announce that the cover for this tantalizing new book is now LIVE and I can share it with you today.

The first book in a new Regency romance series, an heiress and a rogue accidentally end up in a secret marriage of convenience.

In a desperate bid to keep her fortune out of her cousin’s hands, shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed marries a condemned criminal in Newgate prison. The scoundrel’s first kiss is shockingly heated, but Georgie never expects to see her husband again. Until she spots him across a crowded ballroom.

Notorious rogue Benedict Wylde never expected a wife. He was in Newgate undercover, working for Bow Street. To keep their marriage of convenience a secret, Wylde courts Georgie in public, but the more time they spend together, the more their attraction sparks.

Could an heiress with the world at her feet find happiness with a penniless rake? Kate Bateman's This Earl of Mine is a delightful start to the Bow Street Bachelors series, with witty banter, dynamic characters, and swoon-worthy romance.

THIS EARL OF MINE is available to purchase HERE.

For those of you unfamiliar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her.

Author Kate Bateman

K. C. Bateman, (also writing as Kate Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of Regency, Victorian, and Renaissance historical romances, including the Secrets & Spies series: To Steal a Heart, A Raven's Heart and A Counterfeit Heart, and the Bow Street Bachelors series: This Earl of Mine. All her books feature her favorite feisty, intelligent heroines, (badasses in bodices!) wickedly inappropriate banter, and sexy, snarky heroes you want to both strangle and kiss...

Kate wrote her first historical romance in response to a $1 bet with her husband who rashly claimed she'd 'never finish the thing.' She gleefully proved him wrong. When not traveling to exotic locations 'for research', she leads a not-so-secret double life as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several TV shows in the UK, each of which has up to 2.5 million viewers. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England and writes despite three inexhaustible children /monsters and a number-loving husband who still owes her that dollar.

Kate loves to hear from readers! Contact her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or via her website at www.kcbateman.com

Thanks for stopping by today. Isn’t that cover just so colorful? Ladies, don't you just love that dress?