Friday, June 28, 2019

Summer Time Investments...and Books!

I trimmed the hedges while hubby weedwacked the rocks and tiny grassy areas. It is a humid morning, with temperatures headed to the nineties, but taking care of our property is an investment.

Editing my current book, the 3rd in my Warriors in Bronze series set in North Carolina, before sending it along to my publisher is also an investment. I strive to make it a complete and interesting story, and do my best (with my bad eyes) to make sure there are few grammatical erros...I mean errors. This, in turn, saves my editor's time and I will not need to revise it too much. My 2nd book in the series, Heaven-sent Highlander is selling well.



What are you doing on the last weekend of June to turn your life and the summer (winter, to my Australian readers) into an investment? Have you tried Book #1, Heaven-sent Warrior? 



As a reward for getting my work done, I read a book. My recently finished favorites are Red Shoes by Donna Steele, Relatively Normal by Whitney Dineen, and Misty Woods Dragons boxed set by Juniper Hart.

Happy reading! 
Nancy Lee Badger 

Friday, June 21, 2019

Nancy Lee Badger Presents Author Carole Ann Moleti


I invited author Carole Ann Moleti to share her new release with my readers. Take it away!

Thanks, Nancy! The Unfinished Business Series began like most of my projects—when I was not even thinking of writing a story. While opening up a summer cottage, pulling dust covers off furniture and vacuuming up flies, I had the sudden inspiration to write a story about a woman who finds a trunk of old clothes and learns sad truths about the person who they once belonged to. This series combines my love of the beach and boats with a fascination about paranormal activities, and how past life experiences influence our fears, fantasies, and choices. 

The story line presented itself in another moment of inspiration—with a focus on the widows walk, a key feature of Victorian architecture, the spot on the roof where sailors' wives would go to watch for their husbands' returning. In Book One, Breakwater Beach, we meet Liz--and Elisabeth--as well as the other characters as the dual timelines evolve. Book Two, The Widow's Walk, is primarily Mike's story, though he shares the spotlight with his very troubled new wife. In Book Three, Storm Watch, all the plotlines converge in a tumultuous conclusion.
*a book blurb 

The Blurb-The Widow's Walk: Book Two in the Unfinished Business Series
Mike and Liz Keeny are newlyweds, new parents, and the proprietors of the Barrett Inn, an 1875 Victorian on Cape Cod, which just happens to be haunted. By their own ghosts. The Inn had become an annex of Purgatory, putting Mike, Liz, and their infant son in danger. Selling the historic seaside bed and breakfast was the only answer, one that Liz and her own tortured specter refused to consider. Were they doomed to follow the same path that led to disaster in their previous lives? Was getting out, getting away, enough?

Series BUY LINKS 
Book 1: Breakwater Beach 
What if you got a second chance?


Book 2: The Widow's Walk 
Was getting out, getting away, enough?

Book 3: Storm Watch 
The Category Five Hurricane bearing down  on 
Cape Cod appears to be headed directly
 for them--or has it been spawned from inside them?

 Excerpt: The Widow's Walk 
Look, for now, we’ll just stay where we are–together. If Liz and Mike are united, then Jared and Elisabeth aren’t going to be able to get in between us.” He brushed the tears off her cheeks.
She stared at him intently, fear, maybe desperation in her eyes. “We can only talk to each other about this. Others might use any information against us.”
“Who would do that, Liz?’
Her demeanor hardened. She sat up, raised her chin. “My son. Your daughter. Sandra.”
“You’re paranoid. The kids have no inkling about ghosts. All Sandra has are theories. She doesn’t know about your incident–or my illness. And I’m not going to tell her.” Guilt twanged in his gut. Sandra had come up with all the ghostly interpretations on her own, right?
Liz jumped up. “She knows about my injury. Maybe not how it happened, but when Mae went in there to get my things, she figured out it was for me. She reads minds, or manipulates people into blabbing what they know.”
Mike lowered his voice to a whisper. “It doesn’t take much for Mae to spill information. I think you’re giving Sandra too much credit.” Yet, she did ask him about the ghosts as soon as he sat down.
“You can joke all you want, Mike, but this is serious. We can’t let anyone else in.”
“I won’t say a word about anything ghostly to anyone. As long as things stay under control.”
Liz studied him.
Mike squirmed. “I think I’m going to take a nap.” He settled back on the sofa.
She tucked the blanket around him and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll go help Mae with dinner.”
She didn’t believe him. He didn’t trust her. This was never going to work.


More About the Author
Carole Ann Moleti lives and works as a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with all things paranormal, urban fantasy, and space opera. Her nonfiction focuses on health care, politics, and women’s issues, which has been keeping her pretty busy since November 2016.

The three book Unfinished Business Series: A Cape Cod Paranormal Romance is set near the beautiful beaches Brewster, Massachusetts. She also has several short stories in several of the Ten Tales anthologies, as well as Hell's Kitties and Hell's Heart.

Excerpts of Carole’s memoirs, Someday I’m Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary and Karma, Kickbacks and Kids range from the sweet and inspirational in This Path and A Quilt of Holidays to the edgy and irreverent Not Your Mother’s Books: On Being a Woman and On Being a Mother. She also has a piece in the acclaimed Shifts Anthology. But her first love is writing science fiction and fantasy since walking through walls is easier than running into them. Connect with her here:  
WEBSITE    TWITTER     FACEBOOK

BLOG     GOODREADS     PINTEREST



Friday, June 14, 2019

Father's Day, Birthday, Anniversary, Oh My!


June is normally a busy month...summer is finally here and the yard looks green and alive. I look forward to celebrating lots of special days, although the one I used to celebrate every June 1st has ended. My dad passed away last February, but we were able to spend his birthday with my mother down in Florida. We raised a glass to him!

June 14th is Flag Day. Now, this might not even garner a mention on news channels, but U.S. military families around the world will raise their flag and remember that June 14th is more than Friday, the start of a weekend.  It commemorates our country adopting the flag on June 14, 1777 by a resolution of our Second Continental Congress. Did you know that the US Army also celebrates its birthday on this date? As the proud parent of an Army Veteran, I will raise the flag bright and early. 

Army Veteran & Birthday boy, Eric

Sunday is a big day for two reasons. Thirty-four years ago, our second son was born early on the morning of June 16th which happened to be Father's Day! We will be grilling with relatives.

Wednesday June 19th hubby and I celebrate our wedding anniversary. I can still recall the the smell of the sea during our honeymoon on Prince Edward Island in Canada. 


Check out these other June holidays:
*June 4   Hug Your Cat day
*June 6   WWll D-Day (and National Yo-Yo Day)
*June 11  Nat'l Corn-on-the-Cob Day
*June 18  Go Fishin' Day
*June 21  Nat'l Take  a Road Trip Day
*June 30  Meteor Day

We will not mention that June 1st was the beginning of Hurricane Season (oop! I just did!) but enjoy whatever day is special for you this month and don't forget to READ A BOOK!


Buy the Ebook HERE
Amazon PRINT       Book depository PRINT  
Quail Ridge books PRINT    B&N PRINT


Buy the ebook HERE

Friday, June 7, 2019

Nancy Lee Badger Presents Author Jeanine Englert


Jeanine Englert is a fellow author with Soul Mate Publishing. She stopped by to share her new book. I love the cover and the plot, so tell us more!

My first novel, Lovely Digits, will be released in just a few short days on June 12th. It is a sweet Victorian romantic suspense set in the small town of Clun, England. 

It was a 2018 Golden Heart ® Finalist for best unpublished romantic suspense at this time last year, and it was at the Romance Writers of America conference in Denver last July that I met my now editor, Char Chaffin from Soul Mate Publishing, at a mixer event. She read the first few chapters of my book and offered to publish it, and after so many, many years of seeking publication, it was hard for me to believe it was really happening, but here I am. It is happening. So, if you’re out there writing, never ever give up. A “yes” may be right around the corner.

Book Blurb for Lovely Digits

When two murders strike the sleepy Victorian town of Clun, England, an unlikely partnership forms. But can the killer be found before there is a third?

Lovely Digits is the town oddity…

But quirky spinster Lucy Wycliffe prefers to ignore gossip and embrace her position as the town’s layer out of the dead, despite how her parents’ deaths thrust her into such unlikely work. Lovely Digits, as she’s known to the local townspeople, no longer dreams of marriage, but takes pride in providing dignity to the dead. Desperate to hold on to her family’s cottage and support her widowed sister and young niece, an unexpected offer of employment as assistant to the constable arrives at the perfect time.

Former sailor John Brodie is the mysterious new constable…

 But John Brodie is far from a stranger to Clun or the events of its past. Accepting the position as constable in the small town is a double edged sword meant to heal his past and redeem his future, but falling for the beautiful and intelligent Lucy Wycliffe was never part of his plan. As the killer closes in, will John reveal his secret and risk losing everything to save Lucy’s life? 

EXCERPT 
Clun, England
1849 

A knocking on the cottage door above stairs startled Lucy, and she poked her finger with the thick sewing needle she held.
“Thistles,” she cursed, pressing her apron to her bleeding thumb. Evidently, repairing the tear at the hem of Becca’s dress would have to wait.
Who would be calling at such an early hour? It was hardly half past nine.
“Enter,” she called up from her root cellar.
She shuddered as the door squeaked open above her. She should oil the blasted hinges on the ancient door, but who had time for such nonsense? Her finger throbbed, but the blood had stopped. Shaking it in the air, she caught sight of the pale female form on her prepping table.
What am I complaining of?
Poor Becca. Lucy swallowed hard. Covering and repairing the girl’s wounds would prove difficult, but she’d try. Becca was her friend. Had been her friend.
“I hear if I need a body prepped, you are the person to see.” A deep rich baritone boomed against the cottage rafters.
The man’s neatly clipped tones screamed city. Londoner, most likely. What would he want here in Shropshire? Nothing of much import ever happened here.
“I suppose,” she offered. “Depends on who’s asking.” Lucy tiptoed over to the base of the root cellar staircase and peeked upstairs. The high shine of the man’s black leather boots caught her eye. Lord above. A person could see their reflection in such a glimmer.
The fine, close cut of dark trousers and a gray waistcoat hugged the man’s rigid frame, his white cravat starched and tied in precise lines as if it dared not be out of place. He was a gentleman. The man had means to be sure, so she supposed she was the person to see after all. She wiped her hands on her stained apron and ascended the stairs to the main floor.
The stranger stepped forward but stilled at her approach. His eyes widened as her face heated. Did the sight of her frighten him? She patted the side of her hair and cringed. Blast. It was as tangled as straw in a bird’s nest. Perhaps a brush would have been in order this morning to tame her unruly locks. She’d try to remember such details in future.





More About the Author 
Jeanine Englert is a Golden Heart ® Finalist and Daphne du Maurier Award winner in historical romantic suspense. After years of writing in secret (despite having a master’s degree in writing), she joined Romance Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers in 2013 and has been an active member ever since. She writes Scottish Highland historicals and historical romantic suspense novels. When she isn’t wrangling with her characters on the page, she can be found trying to convince her husband to watch her latest Masterpiece or BBC show obsession. She loves to talk about books, writing, her beloved pups, and of course mysteries with other readers on Twitter @JeanineWrites, Facebook, or at her website www.jeaninewrites.com.

Her debut novel, Lovely Digits, will be released on June 12th of 2019 by Soul Mate Publishing. It is a Victorian romantic suspense that won the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award and was named a 2018 Golden Heart ® Finalist for best unpublished romantic suspense. Connect with her here:
WEBSITE     FACEBOOK     TWITTER