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Terry Ambrose

Writing is like a good barbecue sauce, if it ain't bold, it ain't worth doing.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Great Escapes Book Tours

Great Escapes Book Tours

Dead of Winter Break by Kelly Brakenhoff

November 26, 2020 By Terry 3 Comments

Dead of Winter Break tour graphic
Dead of Winter Break by Kelly Brakenhoff

This is a guest post by Kelly Brakenhoff. It’s part of a virtual book tour for Dead of Winter Break. When I read the post, I thought of how many people are affected this way.

Finding My Way Back

I thought I’d get so much done.

When everything closed the spring, and my day job as an ASL Interpreter was paused, at first, I was a little bit excited. At times, I’ve fantasized about reducing my interpreting work hours and increasing my writing time so that I can write more books, organize the empty nest, and pamper the dogs. A slow, leisurely transition to retiring and spending my days traveling the world, writing books, and drinking wine in foreign lands.

Not a bad fantasy, right?

The March reality check hit more abruptly than any of us expected. One week I was working in college classrooms, the next I was home 24/7. My husband works for a sand and gravel mine, mostly outside and never changed his schedule during the spring.

The dogs were confused.

I slept late and stayed in my pajamas past noon. I struggled to write, or clean house, or even shower daily. It was the first time in my adult life I was without a job and not home with a newborn baby. Optimism is my normal mindset, but it was a struggle.

I know many of you can relate.

Kelly Brakenhoff author of Dead of Winter Break

Knowing I wasn’t alone in my distress kind of helped. After a few weeks of wallowing, I tired of kicking myself because I hadn’t finished the next book, cleaned a closet, or even done laundry. Here in the Midwest, cocooned in my neighborhood, I’ve avoided the virus as much as possible but often felt guilty about how little physical activity I got or how many carbs I ate. When our 15-year-old dog died in June, it was time for a change. For my mental health, I had to give myself permission.

Permission to veg. Permission to eat what I want.

Eventually I found alternatives to keep my brain challenged even when I didn’t feel creative enough to bang out the next mystery on my laptop. I read Chris Fox’s book 5,000 Words Per Day. No I still don’t write that fast yet, but I’ve tried some of his tips to increase my focus and decrease my distractions.

I read On Writing by Stephen King. I doubt Mr. King sat around all spring and summer wringing his hands and feeling angsty about getting words on the page. I signed up for Masterclass and watched videos by Neil Gaiman, Steve Martin, David Baldacci and more. At least on the videos someone was talking to me.

The worst part was the forced introverting.

Anyone who knows me would tell you I’m an extrovert. But I had no idea how much I need to be around people and talk to them until I couldn’t. Nowadays I’m back to work, although it’s mostly online from home. I’ve learned to make a weekly run date with a friend. I take walks with my neighbor who also works from home or play fetch with our German Wirehair dog.

What most helped bring me back to myself were the inspirational emails I subscribe to from Bishop Robert Barron and Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, along with a few authors who have funny monthly newsletters. My monthly book club met at the park this summer. I FaceTime my family more.

Staring into the abyss of more restrictions this fall and winter (our state has more cases than ever this week), I’m making my winter mental/physical health plan. Some days will be too cold or snowy to get outside, and I want to have options.

  • Read something inspirational every day. Pray and meditate.
  • Workout every day at least 30 min.
  • Creatively keep my weekly exercise dates with friends while indoors. Maybe we’ll wear masks? Or I’ll get on my elliptical and my friend can get on her treadmill and we can call and chat while working out inside at same time.
  • Before I eat junk or binge watch TV for hours, I’ll ask myself the question: “How will I feel afterwards?”
  • Put up Christmas decor and shop for gifts even if I don’t feel like it at first.
  • Keep writing a little bit every day. Even just 1,000 words a weekday adds up to 252,000 words per year.

Unfortunately, the pandemic isn’t going away as quickly as we had all hoped. What’s your winter plan for keeping your spirits up? Share your ideas in the comments and maybe they’ll inspire the rest of us.

Be well, friends!

Learn more about Dead of Winter Break and Kelly Brakenhoff at kellybrakenhoff.com. If you like this guest post, why not check out some of my Author Interviews?

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Filed Under: Guest Post Tagged With: Great Escapes Book Tours, Guest Post

Behind the story of Anonymous by Elizabeth Breck

November 10, 2020 By Terry 2 Comments

Anonymous by Elizabeth Breck tour graphic
Anonymous by Elizabeth Breck cover

Elizabeth Breck is a state of California licensed private investigator. A native Californian, she had read Harriet the Spy twenty times by the time she was nine. Is it surprising that she grew up to become a PI? She has worked mainly in the field of insurance investigations, making her the real-life version of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone. Anonymous is Elizabeth’s first novel.

Must have hope

“First and foremost, I wanted to tell a thrilling mystery that keeps the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat,” said Elizabeth. “I wrote a mystery that I would like to read. However, I insist that all of my books have hope in them. I put it on a sticky note next to my computer: ‘Must have hope.’ I want the reader to feel hope at the end of the book. I want them to close the book and feel hopeful enough that they have a sudden urge to tackle a project, clean out a closet, start a business, call an old friend they haven’t spoken to in a long time. I worked hard to make sure this story instills a feeling of hope in the reader.”

Elizabeth Breck

Inspired by true events

Elizabeth was watching TV the night 20/20 aired an episode about the Golden State Killer. This was the unsolved case of a killer who terrorized both Northern and Southern California in the 1970s and 80s. At the time, the man was still at large and the police did not yet know his identity.

Elizabeth tweeted using a variety of hashtags about the case with her thoughts about who the killer might be. “This was right after the show that night, so perhaps 10 or 11 o’clock at night. I then went to bed in my quiet house in San Diego, all by myself, and I suddenly got really afraid: what if he was still alive, and he was following social media? What if he figured out who I was from my Twitter account and tracked me down? I jumped up out of bed and deleted all of my tweets, and I had trouble sleeping that night.”

While DNA evidence eventually led to the Golden State Killer’s capture, the experience gave Elizabeth the idea for a novel. “The main character, Madison Kelly, a private investigator in San Diego, comes home to find a note nailed to her front door: Stop investigating me or I will hunt you down and kill you. But she hasn’t been investigating anyone; she has been taking some time off. So who thinks she is investigating them? She has to do exactly what the note is telling her not to do: investigate, in order to figure out who it is. She quickly realizes it’s because of some tweets she had made after listening to a podcast about two missing girls in the San Diego area. Someone is following her on Twitter, saw her tweets, and has tracked her down.”

Been there, done that

The are numerous similarities between Elizabeth and her main character. “Madison is 35 years old and her mother died of breast cancer. Prior to the start of the book, Madison had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction, so that she wouldn’t die of breast cancer like her mother had. That all happened to me, too.”

Elizabeth also said that her experience as a private investigator helped her write with authority. “Several of the surveillance stories in the book actually happened. When the main character, Madison Kelly, does something like pretend to be someone else in order to get information, I have actually done that. And then there was the time a guy tried to steal my car while I was hiding in the backseat doing surveillance! That story is told in the book. It was pretty crazy.”

Learn more about Elizabeth Breck at ElizabethBreck.com. And if you liked this, check out more of my interviews.

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: author interview, Great Escapes Book Tours, New Authors

Review of The Pharoah’s Forgery

September 24, 2020 By Terry 2 Comments

From the publisher of Pharoah’s Forgery

After some of Karina Cardinal’s recent adventures—her lover Mike Finnegan would call them scrapes, jams, or pickles—she’s more than ready to blow this D.C. pop stand for a short girls’ trip to Mexico. Until Jillian’s roller skate wreck blows their plan out of the water. With Jilly injured and Mike working, her fellow lobbyist Rodrigo volunteers to share some sun, sand, and margaritas in Cancun. It’s tough to relax, though, knowing what’s in her suitcase. A package she promised to hand off to Mrs. Thundermuffin in Mexico. Mrs. T’s evasive maneuvers around Karina’s questions wave more red flags than a bullfighter, leaving Karina no choice but to take a peek. Okay, so it’s not a kilo of something illegal. It’s an Egyptian death mask that turns out to be a magnet for crooks, conmen, kidnappers, and outright killers. When the situation explodes into chaos, Karina and Rodrigo are lucky to have friends in the right place—at their backs. But they’re in one hell of a jam. And they could be going home in something tackier than a souvenir t-shirt—more like a body bag.

My review

I love it when a story begins with the main character doing something nice and it later comes back to bite them. In this case, the something nice was delivering a package for Karina’s neighbor. That favor kicked off a wild ride an adventure from beginning to (almost) the end. Unfortunately, the main story seemed to culminate about 3/4 of the way through. While this was really just a twist in the story and there was still some tension, it took a while for the pacing to ramp up again. With that one exception, this was a joy to read with mystery and mayhem at every turn. This one’s a clear winner for anyone who likes well-written action scenes, crisp dialogue, and plenty of twists.

Learn more about Ellen Butler at ellenbutler.net.

FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by its publisher.

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: book review, Great Escapes Book Tours

Behind the story of Checked Out for Murder

September 15, 2020 By Terry 3 Comments

Marilyn Levinson is a former Spanish teacher who writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Writing as Allison Brook, Marilyn created the Haunted Library series. The first book in the series, Death Overdue, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Marilyn’s other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.

Beginnings of Checked Out for Murder

Marilyn said she liked the idea of having a movie made in her fictional setting of Clover Ridge. “I also liked the idea of bringing in a cold case and connecting a murder that took place twenty years ago to the murders of two women whose lives are completely unconnected.”

With her ‘wish list’ in place, Marilyn began looking at what would be going on in Checked Out For Murder. “I wanted to explore the parent-child relationship. In this book, Carrie’s mother, Linda, comes to Clover Ridge because her second husband, who is 12 years younger than she, has a leading role in a movie being filmed there. Linda is neither maternal nor supportive, and Carrie dreads having her nearby for several weeks. But when Linda finds herself a murder suspect as well as considering divorce, Carrie invites her to stay in her home. Their relationship does change, but not as Carrie hopes.”

Marilyn also said that another parent-child relationship in the book raises the questions: Under what circumstances might a loving parent ever abandon a child in trouble? Could this parent ever be forgiven?

On a personal note

“Sometimes I find that I’ve only written half a sentence when I have to turn to Google for plausible possibilities. In Checked Out For Murder, Carrie befriends a psychic, who gives a library talk on psychic phenomena. I enjoyed reading about the various kinds of psychic abilities there are. Another kind of research I always enjoy is looking up photos of food when I’m deciding what Carrie will serve at a dinner party and checking out restaurant menus when she and her boyfriend are dining out.”

Marilyn added that she loves to provide a challenging mystery with many red herrings and suspects for her readers. “With that said, my characters and their relationships with one another are most important to me. The greatest challenge I faced in writing this book was exploring the stories behind the three homicides and figuring out how Carrie would discover the connection to all three murders.”

Learn more about Marilyn Levinson at marilynlevinson.com

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: Great Escapes Book Tours, interview

Spotlight on The House of the Setting Son by Nancy Cole Silverman

September 10, 2020 By Terry 1 Comment

THE HOUSE OF THE SETTING SON BANNER 640
House of the Setting Son

The House of the Setting Son

When Misty Dawn, the former “Hollywood Psychic to the Stars,” receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she knows it can’t be good news. Dorine Witherspoon, an actress and former client is in town for the opening of her touring musical and tells Misty the show’s leading lady, Cassie Marx, has disappeared and the understudy had to go on for her on Opening Night!

Misty immediately suspects foul play and when she and Wilson, her psychic shade, arrive at the theater the next morning they discover LAPD’s Detective Cesar Romero meeting with the cast and crew. Events on both sides of the veil take a dark turn when Romero asks Misty off the case, and Wilson appears out of his depth with ghosts who want nothing to do with him.

Death, close calls, and forces on both sides of the veil threaten to undo Misty and destroy her relationship with Wilson unless she can find Cassie and restore order to the show.

About Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five in Los Angeles Talk Radio. She began her career on the talent side as one for the first female voices on the air, and later on the business side, where she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market.

Leaving her successful radio career behind in 2010, Nancy began to write fiction, and her crime-focused novels and short stories have attracted readers throughout America. Her Carol Childs Mysteries series (Henery Press) feature a single-mom whose “day job” as a reporter at a busy Los Angeles radio station often leads to long nights as a crime-solver. Her most recent series features Misty Dawn, an aging Hollywood Psychic to the Stars, who supplements her day to day activities as a consultant to LAPD and the FBI. Nancy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

Author Links

Facebook – GoodReads – Twitter: @NancyColeSilve1

Purchase Links for The House of the Setting Son

 Amazon – B&N 

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House of the Setting Son Tour Participants

September 3 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT

September 3 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

September 4 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW

September 4 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

September 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 5 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

September 6 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

September 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 9 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

September 9 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 10 – Mysteries with Character – SPOTLIGHT

September 10 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 10 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

September 11 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

September 12 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT

September 12 – Christa Reads & Writes – REVIEW

Filed Under: Spotlight Tagged With: Great Escapes Book Tours

Behind the story of Dog-Gone Dead by Jackie Layton

September 8, 2020 By Terry Leave a Comment

Dog-Gone Dead

Jackie Layton is a part-time pharmacist who also writes about the area where she lives, the Low Country. Dog-Gone Dead is the second book in the Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series.

Inspiration for Dog-Gone Dead

Jackie said that facing fears is the theme in Dog-Gone Dead. She began writing the book long before the COVID-19 pandemic and never imagined having to deal with something of this nature. “People face fears in different ways. Some people watch movies or read books focused on wars and that helps them not be as afraid of COVID-19. Others reach out to friends, family, alcohol, drugs, and keeping themselves busy with projects. Still others turn to God. One scripture on fear is Psalm 34:4, ‘I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.’

The area where Jackie lives, which is near the beach, was also a source of inspiration for the series. “I love living at the beach, and I created the fictional town of Heyward Beach based on some of my favorite beaches. I knew my character would need a flexible schedule to chase after killers, so I made Andi Grace Scott a dog walker. Family is important to Andi Grace, and her brother is a suspect in Dog-Gone Dead. She must defend him and decides the best way to prove his innocence is to find the real killer.”

On a personal note

“I love my husband, kids, and grandkids. I’m an author and work part-time as a pharmacist. My husband and I always dreamed of living near the coast, and four years ago he was offered a job in South Carolina. We’re a very short drive away from the closest beach, and if we really feel energetic, we can walk to the beach. I hope readers enjoy visiting Heyward Beach as much as I enjoy it.”

Jackie also said she loves traveling to visit beaches and small towns. “Eating at local restaurants gives me a real feel for the local people. Walking through neighborhoods and saying hi to people is also a great way to connect and learn about the area’s history. For the past two hundred years, the locals in Pawleys Island say the Gray Man Ghost has appeared before each of the five hurricanes. The Gray Man’s goal is to save people from harm. So if you see the Gray man, it’s time to leave.”

Learn more about Jackie Layton at jackielaytoncozyauthor.com.

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Filed Under: Author Interviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: Great Escapes Book Tours, interview

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