Author: Room With Books

~ Patricia, Room With Books ~ #BookBlogger, #BookReviewer, #BetaReader, #BookLover, #Book, #Reviewer, #roomwbooks

GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 2 – FEATURING AUTHOR MARNI GRAFF

    Room With Books



Marni Graff writes two award-winning mystery series: The Nora Tierney English Mysteries and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries. She teaches writing workshops and mentors the Writers Read program, and is Managing Editor of Bridle Path Press. 



Graff also writes the crime review blog Auntie M Writes, www.auntiemwrites.com.



~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Twitter ~
~ Bridle Path Press ~




 
Nurse Trudy Genova is making plans to take her relationship to NYPD detective Ned O’Malley to the next level, when she lands a gig as medical consultant on a film shoot at the famed Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, which John Lennon once called home. Then star Monica Kiley goes missing, a cast member turns up dead, and it appears Trudy might be next. Meanwhile Ned tackles a mysterious murder case in which the victim is burned beyond recognition. When his investigations lead him back to the Dakota, Trudy finds herself wondering: how can she fall in love if she can’t even survive?

Readers of Death Unscripted, the first book in the Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery series, will find the same pleasures in this sequel: fast pacing, engaging characters, twists and turns on the way to a satisfying close. From the award-winning author of The Nora Tierney English Mysteries, this second series is a winner. Once again M.K. Graff reveals her talents in crafting this delightful mix of amateur sleuth and police procedural.

Part procedural, part cozy, Death at the Dakota is a well-crafted and highly entertaining mystery.- Bruce Robert Coffin, #1 bestselling author of the Detective Byron mysteries.  

I fell in love — not only with co-protagonists, Trudy and Ned, the richly detailed and historic setting of The Dakota, and the unique cast of characters, but with the unusual plot of Death at the Dakota. Sherry Harris, Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries




  
~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
  


Top Ten List:

Top 10 Favorites, in no particular order and besides my husband and family:

My dogs, Radar, a 10 yr old Italian Spinone and our new Aussie Doodle puppy, Seamus

Mysteries to read, esp. a series

Pizza, well done with pepperoni

Vodka gimlet, heavy on the lime juice

Black and White movies from the 30-40s, esp Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn

The hour before sunset when everything it lit with a subtle glow

The UK; a real Anglophile for travel

New York City

Crisp new stationary 


Clean sheets





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 2 – FEATURING AUTHOR J.S. JAEGER

    Room With Books





Parents to four wonderful children, Jerry and Stephanie Jaeger enjoy working together as J.S. Jaeger to write uplifting, entertaining stories. 

 Jerry overcame bullying to earn his black belt in Kempo Karate. He served as a special agent for the FBI and currently works as a prosecutor. 

 Stephanie ran her own accounting practice for several years before turning her focus to writing Scrolls of Zndaria with Jerry. 

 Together, they are excited to bring readers of all ages into the magical world of Zndaria.





Denya’s excited to attend the Healing Hands Academy. It’s her chance to become a handmaiden, help others, and live a life of adventure.

But studying at the Academy isn’t everything she’d hoped. The headmistress and many of the students still look down on human handmaidens. It seems as quickly as she makes friends, she has to say goodbye. And just as she starts gaining acceptance, she puts the other students in danger.

Is Denya’s determination enough to see her through, or will she be sent home, back to the peasant life she’s trying to escape?
The second Short Scroll of Zndaria, Healing Hands parallels The Golden Wizard and allows readers to see the magical world of Zndaria through Denya’s eyes. Readers will be reunited with favorite characters from the main series as well as experience life in the Redwood Forest.
Buy this book today to get a glimpse into the world of Zndaria or delve deeper into the journey that began in The Golden Wizard!



  
~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
  


Top Ten List:

1) J.S. Jaeger is a pen name for husband and wife team Jerry and Stephanie Jaeger.
2) Jerry is the creative mind behind the world of Zndaria. He puts the story on paper, and then Stephanie reworks it.
3) Our children (ages 9 – 21) play a big part in our writing process. The personalities of several characters are patterned after our children. Our older children are also part of our editing and sales team.
4) Our illustrator has worked on lots of shows for Disney, including Mary Poppins Returns.
5) Jerry is an attorney. Stephanie is an accountant. We hadn’t considered writing books until Jerry began envisioning the world of Zndaria.
6) Jerry first wanted to call their world Andaria. A quick internet search showed that name was already overused. We went through the alphabet for something that rhymed with Andaria and sounded cool. We got all the way to Z before finding our winner.
7) The first page of each of our chapters has about 8 lines. We challenge people to read the first page of our books to see if they want to keep reading. Almost everyone turns the page.
8) We met the narrator for our audiobook, RJ Walker, when he stopped by our booth at the Salt Lake FanX Convention. He read the first page of The Golden Wizard in his narrator voice, and we knew he’d do a great job.
9) Stephanie loves doing author visits at schools. She’s visited an international school in China and a military elementary school in Japan.
10) We once autographed a book to “Mr. Illiterate.”




To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 2 – FEATURING AUTHOR ANN SWANN

    Room With Books





Ann has been a writer since junior high, but to pay the bills she has waited tables, delivered newspapers, cleaned other people’s houses, taught school, and had a stint as a secretary in a rock-n-roll radio station. She also worked as a 911 operator and a police dispatcher. 

Her fiction began to win awards during her college days. Since then she’s published several short stories, novels, and novellas. She’s always reading and always writing, but even if she never sold another story, Ann would not stop writing. For her it’s a necessity, like breathing. Most of the time, it even keeps her sane.


~ Facebook ~ Blog ~ 
~ Amazon ~
~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~



No matter who dares you, no matter what lures you, do not go in the spooky old house…


When a small planes crashes behind Jase’s rural home, the ghost of the pilot begins to haunt him. Jase can’t figure out what to do until the day he sees his classmate, Stevie-girl, enter the legendary haunted house. That’s when he decides if anyone can help him solve the mystery, she’s the one. 
~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
~ Audible ~ B&N ~ 
~ Audible ~ iTunes ~ 


Top Ten List:

1.     Writing
2.     Reading
3.     Playing with grandkids
4.     Diet Vanilla Coke
5.     Chocolate
6.     Walking off all those calories in the chocolate (on my favorite trail)
7.     Movies
8.     Live music
9.     Making music playlists

10.Mexican food





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR CHRISTINA ENQUIST

    Room With Books




Christina Enquist is a YA author and aspiring bookstore owner. She lives with her boyfriend and several pets in Visalia, Ca.

















Would you sacrifice your humanity to save mankind?

IT’S THE YEAR 2828, and Domus is the last remaining country. Divided into twelve walled cities known as genuses, Domus spans what’s known as the purist lands—lands unaffected by the genetic modifications that killed all other species of mammals. But outside the walls of each genus the Immundus threaten the welfare of those within. From a young age, all citizens of Domus are trained for combat against these intruders.


At sixteen, Nia Luna knows little of the Immundus, except for the citywide alarms that ring any time an Immundus nears the genus walls. What she does know is that her own species is dying—their numbers dwindling as a mysterious disease called allagine kills many before their eleventh birthday. The same disease that ravaged her family when it took her sister.

When Nia is recruited into Genesis, a research company pioneering the path to a cure, she knows that her dream to find a cure for allagine is finally within her grasp. But within weeks of starting at Genesis, Nia witnesses something she shouldn’t have—something that changes everything. As she sets down a dangerous path that uncovers national secrets, Nia will have to decide not only what kind of person she wants to be but also how far she’s willing to go to save humanity.


Top Ten List:

1. I am a singer. When I was in my early 20’s I recorded a dance song which was played on a local radio station. (Here is a link to me singing and the book trailers) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwSg6VIibRQsI-tJrlLXQQ?view_as=subscriber
2. I lived in the Phillipines for 3 months on a business trip.
3. I became PADI certified to scuba dive, while in the Phillipines.
4. I also paint pictures.
5. I am an actress. I performed in theater and had an agent for awhile. I also performed in a short film which was recently sent to film festivals.
6. I wrote a short film screenplay which starts filming July 7, 2018.
7. In addition to writing books I am working on a screenplay based loosely on the lives of my grandmothers.
8. I was a teen mom. I had my son when I was 18. I became a single mom when he was one and didn’t get married until he was 16.
9. It took me 10 years to obtain an Associates Degree, then 4 more years to obtain a bachelors degree, 1 year to obtain my Masters Degree, and 4 years to obtain my doctorate, while I worked, raised my son, and dabbled in the arts.

10. I am allergic to cats and dogs, but I have a dog (Princess) and cat (Smokey) who I adore so I’m constantly on allergy meds or wearing a mask around the house. I love animals so much that I’m vegetarian.





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR LAURAINE HENDERSON

    Room With Books




Lauraine Henderson began writing as a child, poems and journaling, until babies, building houses, and bookkeeping jobs usurped her world. Now, well established in Oregon and with the children grown, she devotes her time to writing her favorite genre, clean romance. 

 Years of life experience translate into plots, calamities, and happily-ever-afters as she writes her inspirational and romantic stories about fictional people who seem so real, you’ll want to know what happens after the book ends!


~ Blog ~ Website ~
~ Amazon ~



Allison Lockwood and Gavin Hunt have been offered the chance to take over the Lazy Daisy Inn and Campground so their respective grandparents, the current owners, can retire and marry. It seems all too easy for Ally and Gavin to prove themselves during the six-month probationary period until they’re fighting disasters at the campground and failing at over-optimistic baking expectations.

As Ally and Gavin slowly explore their growing attraction, they help each other fight fires, endure raging storms, and share a few passionate kisses. But there’s more than fires to fight when Ally’s grandfather disapproves of their budding romance and Ally is convinced Gavin has a girlfriend in the wings…a girlfriend expecting his baby!

Ride along as the two unlikely innkeepers figure out how they fit in their new life and learn the lesson taught by the Daisies in the Driveway.


  
~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
  



Top Ten List:

1. I started college after being out of school for 40 years. I’m currently a sophomore.
2. I’ve lived in seven states. My favorite was Hawaii.
3. I’m a certified Scuba diver.
4. I read 4-5 books every week.
5. I was once a kitchen and bath cabinet designer.
6. I’m still friends with our Japanese exchange student from 27 years ago. She calls me Mom.
7. I’m an artist as well as a writer.
8. I have a cat who sleeps on my desk when I write.
9. I love to make beaded jewelry with little, tiny seed beads.
10. I wrote my first poem when I was ten years old.





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR MELANIE MASON

    Room With Books






Melanie is an author, designer, photographer, and flight attendant all rolled into one. She has told stories all her life and finds her passion in sharing the plots that spin through her head. She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her two dachshund-chihuahua dogs. She loves the beauty of the Pacific Northwest that feeds her imagination.

When no one is listening, Melanie loves to belt Broadway songs in her living room and car. Someday she hopes to be on a flight where someone is reading her book.






To escape capture by Imperial soldiers, 16-year-old Eridale Storm leaves the only home she’s ever known and drags her younger sister into the wilds of Mericon—the Empire that formed when America collapsed. Hoping to find safety with their mother who disappeared when Eridale was three, the girls follow clues that lead them across the country, but the empire hounds their every step.

The journey draws Eridale deeper into the conflict between the Empire and the rebel Freedom Fighters, producing questions about Eridale’s heritage, questions no one wants to answer.

Caught between the threads of deception, rebellion, and betrayal, Eridale struggles to find out who she is. The answers she finds could lead the country back to freedom or shackle them under the imperial throne forever.

This is book 1 of a 4 book series and not a stand-alone book.




Top Ten List:

1.       I once stayed up almost all night to sew a Halloween costume for my friend. I made the Valkyrie costume from Thor Ragnarok from a picture, no pattern.

2.       I read the entire Harry Potter series in 4 days. Book seven took me less than 12 hours to read.

3.   Even though I’m a flight attendant, I’m terrified of heights.

4.   I actually think Charmin toilet paper is the worst toilet paper out there.

5.   I can speak in 4 different accents and sound almost authentic. Sometimes when I am by myself, I talk to myself in accents as I go over scenes from books I’m working on.

6.   I’m the youngest of six, and I have 20 nieces and nephews.

7.   I can’t fall asleep watching TV.

8.   I hate dusting more than I hate cleaning the bathroom.

9.   My sense of smell doesn’t work very well. I’ve only smelled 10 things in my entire life.

10. I wish we could dress up in costumes at least once a month. I love playing dress-up. I think that’s why I loved doing theater in high school and college.



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR LYNN U. WATSON

    Room With Books




Lynn U. Watson has incorporated her love for Jesus and passion for essential oils into a three-volume devotional Collection, sharing spicy and aromatic essences of Scripture. Her devotions encourage you to diligently cultivate your heart and grow your roots deeply in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Lynn holds a BA in Journalism from University of Memphis, a certificate in aromatherapy, and is a practicing reflexologist.

 She and Steve have been married since 1973 and call Bartlett, Tennessee home. Their lives are blessed with two adult children, their spouses, and five beautiful, of course, grandchildren. Jasmine, her tuxedo kitty, runs the house. Her current work-in-progress is a novel inspired by a painfully challenging event in the life of her great-grandmother, changing the course for her family forever.




All three of the Cinnamah-Brosia devotionals in one ebook volume! 

Fruits; spices; essential oils; & botanicals of all kinds sprinkled over & planted on the pages of the Bible provide insights into God’s word. Our Coffee Cottage’s fictional characters, Cinnamah-Brosia and friends, courageously use the essences to season the world around them with an overflowing measure of Jesus. All three volumes of Cinnamah-Brosia’s Inspirational Collection for Women are featured in this single e-book.

“The Essence of Courage: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Solomon’s Locked Garden and in Your Heart”

As you breathe in the fragrant aromas found in Solomon’s Locked Garden (Song of Solomon 4), you’ll harvest the Fruit of the Spirit and cultivate it in the garden of your heart.


“The Essence of Joy: Filling Your Heart with the Aromas of Jesus’ Nativity”

The scents of Christmas invite our imaginations into the holiday season. What emotions flood your heart when the holidays aromas waft your way?

You’ll meet women of the Bible and contemporary women (Cinnamah-Brosia and friends) like you and me who will encourage you to discover the refreshing essence of a life lived in the presence of Jesus. Let JOY fill your heart with the aromas of His nativity.

“The Essence of Humility: Live and Love Like Jesus”

We live in a culture overwhelmed with disrespect, egos, entitlement, rudeness, and offense — lives focused on self, rather than God or others.

Jesus entered our world and walked among us. He placed no importance on rank or position. Jesus’ life reflected love because it reflected humility, and He invites us to live and love like Him.

You’re invited to travel with Cinnamah-Brosia and friends once again to meet real-life people — our contemporaries and those on the pages of God’s word, who encountered the same real-life challenges you and I face each day. Learn the blessings of a life lived like Jesus lived —- with love and humility.




Top Ten List:

  1. Early morning sunrises
  2. Gourmet coffee, served black
  3. Quaint little towns
  4. Unique hand-made jewelry
  5. Sushi
  6. Bright vivid colors
  7. Fresh herbs
  8. Botanic Gardens
  9. Fireworks
  10. Friends






To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR KERI BROOKS MCWHORTER

    Room With Books




Keri Brooks McWhorter is a sixth generation native of Chandler, Arizona. She’s fourth-generation graduate of Chandler High School, and has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Arizona State University.

While serving a mission for the LDS Church, she met her husband in New York City. They have three children, a love of family, and an English Bulldog.










  
~ Facebook ~ 
  




Madelyn’s and Ben’s families have been close friends since they moved next door to each other. When Madelyn’s husband Luke died, she swore she’d keep her marriage vows intact by remaining single for the rest of her life. 

She and Ben relied on each other for everything after he joined the widower club. 

Now Madelyn’s daughter is marrying Ben’s son, and everyone’s going to New York City for the wedding – including Heather, the woman Ben’s been dating.

Will Heather succeed in breaking up Madelyn and Ben’s friendship, or will they discover their second love in New York City?


Top Ten List:

 10 fun facts about me
1.     I speak Spanish.
2.     I love organizing spaces.
3.     I am scared of heights.
4.     I could eat chocolate for every meal.
5.     I love dying my hair pink and purple.
6.     I am really good at making mixed sodas.
7.     I LOVE Comicon.
8.     I love reading and collect way too many books.
9.     I love old cars and movies.

10.I love driving a stick shift fast. 





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING E.C. JACKSON

    Room With Books




E. C. Jackson began her writing career with the full-length play Pajama Party. For three and a half years she published the Confidence in Life newsletter for Alpha Production Ministries, in addition to writing tracts and devotionals. 

Teaching a women’s Bible study at her church for eleven years naturally led to her current endeavor of writing inspirational romance novels and teen and young adult fiction. Her mission: spiritual maturity in the body of Christ through fiction.




~ Facebook ~ Amazon ~
  


Love at first sight. It’s every girl’s dream. 

But Tara Simpkins is finding out it’s not as easy as it seems. Is this truly the man God sent to be her husband, or is she just desperate to escape her loneliness? The recent loss of both parents has left her reeling, and close friends don’t think she’s in any position to make major life decisions. 


She and her new-found love are convinced they can live happily ever after in the home of their dreams. His family thinks he’s moving way too fast and might disappoint the kind-hearted woman he’s fallen head over heels for. And then there’s Leah. Leah is supposed to be part of his past, but what if she decides she’s his future? 


Tara’s match made in Heaven may be over before it truly begins.





Top Ten List:

Resolutions for the year:
1.     Wake up each morning with thoughts of God.
2.     Maintain a song within my heart.
3.     Make wise decisions.
4.     Move forward.
5.     Remember what is important.
6.     Value people and their realities.
7.     Encourage everyone, including myself.
8.     Live a well-balanced life.
9.     View the world without blinders but with empathy.
10.Grow in spiritual maturity.




To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 





GREAT SUMMER READS 2019, PART 1 – FEATURING AUTHOR CAROLINE CLEMMONS

    Room With Books




Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To compensate for this illogical error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a tiny office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their three rescued indoor cats as well as providing nourishment outdoors for squirrels, birds, four feral cats, a fox, a raccoon, and two possums. 

The books she creates in her pink cave have made her an Amazon bestselling author and won several awards. She writes sweet to sensual romances about the West, both historical and contemporary as well as time travel and mystery. Her series include the Kincaids, McClintocks, Stone Mountain Texas, Bride Brigade, Texas Time Travel, Texas Caprock Tales, Pearson Grove, and Loving A Rancher as well as numerous single titles and contributions to multi-author sets. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, reading her friends’ books, lunching with friends, browsing antique malls, checking Facebook, and taking the occasional nap.




A destitute widow; a reformed con man; the danger that links them…

Betsie Galloway Hirsch has escaped Memphis with her son. Her gambling husband tricked the wrong people and they’re demanding Betsie pay his debts—or else. She’s come to Kincaid Springs to stay with her mother and seek a safe place for her son. Being so far from her former home, she feels secure. That is, until danger confronts her.

After 34 years alone, Michael “Monk” Magonagle is falling in love with Betsie and is fond of her son. Monk is certain she is not free of the men her late husband cheated. Although he is not a violent man by nature, Monk is willing to fight for Betsie’s safety. He and the men of the Kincaid family prepare to meet the enemy.

How can Betsie and Liam be protected from the approaching danger? Will she and Monk be able to forge a love that endures or will one of them be silenced forever? What toll will the enemy exact? 


  
~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
   



Top Ten List :

1. a child’s laughter
2. a hug from a loved one
3. contact from a friend
4. Cherry Dr Pepper
5. Chocolate, especially M&Ms
6. My husband’s smile
7. Watching squirrels, birds, wildlife in our backyard. We watch their antics while we eat.
8. Going out to eat
9. Travel with my husband

10. Spending time with our daughters





To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page