Thoughts in Progress: Bait and Witch (+ Giveaway)

Monday, January 18, 2021

Bait and Witch (+ Giveaway)

It’s a pleasure to be participating in the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for BAIT AND WITCH by Angela M. Sanders, the first installment in her Witch Way Librarian Mystery series.

Bait and Witch

By Angela M. Sanders

*Cozy Mystery

*1st in Series: A Witch Way Librarian Mystery

*Publisher: Kensington (December 29, 2020)

*Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

*ISBN-10: 1496728742

*ISBN-13: 978-1496728746

*Digital ASIN: B086R8VF2T

Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities—and a killer on the loose—she’s leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble . . .

Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon’s new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn’t as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber; Josie discovers a body in the woods . . .

Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she’s descended from a long line of witches—and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie’s thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library—and her life . . .

BAIT AND WITCH is available to purchase at Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Google Play - IndieBound

Now here is an excerpt for your reading pleasure.

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 1

“Are you okay?”

“Yes—that is, I’m not sure. I had this weird episode on the plane, like my innards were exploding. Is that what a panic attack feels like?” Toni was a physician. She’d know.

“Not usually. Stress does weird things, though.”

I’d had plenty of stress. I pulled aside my collar and pressed a finger on the star-shaped birthmark on my shoulder. Ever since I was a girl, I’d touched it for comfort. Tonight, it almost burned. “I’m sure I’ll be better in the morning.”

“You really won’t tell me where you are?”

“No. You know I can’t. But you should see it here. It’s crazy, like I stepped into Cold Comfort Farm. The guy who drove me from the airport could have been nicknamed Lurch. I’m waiting for a raven to appear on a tree branch outside.”

“Just give me your town’s name. What if something happens to you?”

“No. I can’t. It’s better this way.” I toyed with the phone’s coiled cord. “I’ll call Mom tomorrow,” I said, replying to Toni’s unspoken question. All our lives, my sisters and I had shared a tacit communication. We could work elbow-to-elbow in Mom’s kitchen and never get in each others’ way. We’d pass a half cup of milk or plug in the mixer or set the oven’s timer for another sister without saying a word. “It’s late. I need to get to bed. I just wanted you to know I’m all right.”

After hanging up, I laid my nightgown on the foot of the bed. On impulse, I heaved up the bedroom window.

Oak trees vanished into the night. Beyond the trees was a cabin that couldn’t have been more than a few rooms. The caretaker’s, I guessed. Beyond that, maybe fifty yards away, was a house as large as the library, but squat and wide. I made out the glow of a light in an upstairs window. As I watched, a window shade pulled shut and blocked it out.

A breeze whooshed through the dry leaves, carrying a few to rattle against the roof. “Good night, wind,” I said, almost hearing my grandmother whisper the words in my ear. Funny, I hadn’t greeted the wind since I was a girl.

The black cat returned, too, padding up the shingles below my window.

“Who are you, little guy?”

He took two steps forward, mouthed a silent “meow,” and leapt away into the darkness.

Meet the Author!

Angela M. Sanders writes the Amazon bestselling Joanna Hayworth Vintage Clothing Mysteries and The Booster Club Capers. Under the pen name Clover Tate, she’s the author of the Kite Shop Mysteries (Berkley), which Romantic Times praised for their “well written wit and intrigue.”

Angela’s articles on food, personalities, and perfume have appeared in a variety of magazines, and her monthly newsletters have nearly 2,000 subscribers. She interacts with readers on Facebook and Instagram and is a prominent blogger for Now Smell This, which garners 1.5 million monthly page views.

Angela has two cats—one of whom is black of course—a witch’s freckle in her left eye and learned to read tarot cards from a pagan priestess.

For more on Angela and her writing, you can connect with her on the following sites:

Website - https://angelamsanders.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAngelaMSanders

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/angela.m.sanders/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AngelaMSanders

Thanks for stopping by today. You can check up on Angela’s tour by visiting the blogs listed below. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway. If the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t appear, you can still enter by clicking HERE.

Doesn’t this story sound intriguing? I enjoy a story that involves a librarian, don’t you, and who can resist when a little magic is involved?

January 11 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 11 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW

January 11 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

January 12 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

January 12 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 12 – Literary Gold - SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

January 13 – The Avid Reader - REVIEW, EXCERPT

January 13 – Baroness' Book Trove - REVIEW

January 13 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 14 – Angel's Guilty Pleasures - CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 14 – Socrates Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT