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Home The Flying Tomatoes (Part Two)

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  • jhsiess

    Musician | Book Reviewer | Retired Attorney

    Absolutely thrilled with the way the Hickok Homest Absolutely thrilled with the way the Hickok Homestead renovation has turned out! Still waiting on blinds for the sliding glass door & shutters for the picture window in the living room. Getting everything tidied up (so much dust everywhere) & organized. I'm confident my parents would approve. My mother would love all the counter space in the kitchen!
    This is a sight no one has seen since 1982! The r This is a sight no one has seen since 1982!

The renovation of my beloved childhood home is underway! #1Son, Robert, is working hard, prepping for the contractor to work some magic. He's ripping out carpets, tack strips, & baseboards, and peeling off wallpaper. Not to mention cleaning out closets & cupboards. Lots of purging taking place.

Look at those gorgeous hardwood floors! But no, I'm not going to leave them exposed, in part because, as is visible in the last photo, they aren't in all of the rooms. My parents added about 675 square feet to the house 43 years ago. In the family room, you can see the outline of where my bedroom used to be before it was converted. 

It's going to be beautiful again when this project is complete. I think Kenny & Ethel, the parental unit, would be proud. I know they'd be tickled about Robert's involvement!

I still have to decide what colors to paint the exterior. ๐Ÿค” The dreadful beige & green have to go.

Now, if I could just get those pesky home flippers to stop calling, texting, emailing, & snailmailing me with ridiculous lowball offers to buy the house, I'd be a happy woman. ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€๏ธ It's not for sale! Not now & not ever . . . at least as long as I'm sucking air into my lungs!

#HickokHomestead #Family #HomeRenovation #HomeImprovement
    I didn't intentionally abandon this account. ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€๏ธ I didn't intentionally abandon this account. ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€๏ธ But my energy is usually focused on @jhscolloquium, where I post about books & authors.

And life just happens . . .  sometimes lobbing totally unexpected plot developments at us. More about that to follow.

In the photo, I'm with some of my favorite people on the planet -- my boys & my grandnieces. Quinn is 10 & Raven will be 7 in September! They're headed to 5th & 1st grade this week.

Matthew is still an Accountant with the State of California, Department of Social Services, & Robert is assisting me with a total renovation of the Hickok Homestead on Crescent Avenue. More about that in subsequent posts, too.

๐Ÿ“ธ: Nephew #1, Paul McKelvey 

#GrandauntieJanie #QuinnEileen #RavenMaxine #Family #FavoritePeople #MissingJudyMcKelvey #HickokHomestead
    ๐ŸŽ„ Delta Drama Peeps Annual Christmas Party๐ŸŽ„ It wa ๐ŸŽ„ Delta Drama Peeps Annual Christmas Party๐ŸŽ„

It was epic, but we missed Michael Grenie so we had a video call with him! Hope to see him soon. โค๏ธ

#Friendship ##Priceless #Christmas2023 #DeltaDramaPeeps
    ๐ŸŽ„Whine Club ๐ŸŽ Our monthly Whine Club with our ann ๐ŸŽ„Whine Club ๐ŸŽ

Our monthly Whine Club with our annual gift exchange fell on my birthday this year!

๐Ÿ“ธ: @jea955 & @linda.sunday.hansen

#WhineClub #Christmas2023 #Friendship #Priceless
    ๐ŸŽ„Christmas 2023๐ŸŽ… Some things old (my mother's ani ๐ŸŽ„Christmas 2023๐ŸŽ…

Some things old (my mother's animated carolers & her silly little elf atop her clock) & something new (my tree -- because I gave Matthew my tree for his new house). 
We got in the spirit right after Thanksgiving this year!

#Christmas2023 #Retired #TisTheSeason๐ŸŽ„
    Enjoyed a cozy evening with Matthew at Boo Manor w Enjoyed a cozy evening with Matthew at Boo Manor watching @breakingbad again. He has decorated for Christmas and it's very cozy & homey. He loves Christmas and is enjoying his first holiday season in his first home! ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ

#Christmas2023 #HappyHolidays #BooManor #Matthew #Family #Retired #RetirementDoesNotSuck #SavorTheMoments #Priceless #BreakingBad #BingeWatching
    Their new single has been released to raise funds Their new single has been released to raise funds to help the people of #LahainaTown. 

#MauiStrong #LahainaStrong #Maui #DoobieBrothers #MichaelMcDonald #MickFleetwood

https://youtu.be/PXdWmNjWFbg?si=0TuXgOwLNECRBsGU
    Relaxing afternoons & spectacular sunsets. ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ˜Ž # Relaxing afternoons & spectacular sunsets. ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ˜Ž

#Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #LahainaStrong #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck
    There's no place I'd rather be to cheer on our @49 There's no place I'd rather be to cheer on our @49ers!
๐Ÿ’›โค๏ธ๐Ÿˆโค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿ’›โค๏ธ๐Ÿˆโค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›

Maui nล ka สปoi! ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒŠ

#Maui #Vacation2023 #LahainaStrong #MauiStrong #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck
    Matthew and I had a great time when we stayed in M Matthew and I had a great time when we stayed in Makena last month. But I'm so happy to be back at my favorite spot again. I'm staying on the 12th floor, as I have numerous times, enjoying this panoramic view from the lanai. Yes, it is different now as those of us visiting are sharing space with a large number of employees & Lahaina residents for whom this resort is their home for the time being. And it was heartbreaking to drive through Lahaina Town for the first time since the fire, especially when I got to the area along the Bypass where almost 100 crosses stand, one for each victim. I just passed through, but this transformed Maui is the everyday reality for its people. I can't help contemplating why such a beautiful, spiritual place & its citizens have to endure such destruction & tragedy. Of  course, there are no answers. But aloha is more than a word; it is a belief & way of life. The word has been coopted commercially & socially, & gets thrown around casually, but it means presence (alo) & breath (ha). It is a profound concept when you ponder it. Aloha will carry Maui & its people through this time of grief, mourning, & manifesting a different future than was contemplated, just as everyone I have encountered has welcomed me with warmth & appreciation. In this ever-changing yet unchanging view from my lanai, I see & feel Maui's unbreakable spirit, & am grateful to be able to savor it & this indescribable beauty yet again. 

Maui nล ka สปoi! ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒŠ

#Maui #Vacation2023 #Kaanapali #LahainaStrong #MauiStrong
    It's a great time to visit Maui because local busi It's a great time to visit Maui because local businesses need tourism to survive! And every business owner & employee thanked us for proceeding with our trip & supporting their efforts to help not just themselves, but their ohana, many of whom are now residing with them & looking for jobs.

The aloha spirit at the Kula Lodge & Restaurant is amazing. They do not yet have clearance to use the water, but did that stop them from serving delicious food? Nope! The loco moco was outstanding, served in a paper bowl with plastic utensils and an ice cold bottle of water! They are bringing in barrels of fresh water to cook the items on a limited menu, & wash pots and pans. They even put big water bottles with pumps in the restrooms for guests to wash their hands & are offering stays in their quaint, charming lodge at steeply discounted rates for guests who don't mind a sponge bath! The staff are all upbeat, friendly, delighted to be working . . . and making it work.

Over at the Maui Tropical Plantation, the Mill House is now Cafe O'Lei. The Maui onion soup is delicious & the setting beautiful, although this photo of the hillside & fields shows the effect of the ongoing drought on Maui. My photos from previous visits feature a lush, green hillside & crops growing in the fields. But as Californians know, the rain returns -- eventually -- and the grass & vegetation turn green again.

I asked Matthew to snap a photo as I was driving of just one of the many fields around the Kahului airport where a total of approximately 10,000 rental cars are sitting idle that would normally be navigated all over the island by happy tourists. The cars have been sitting in what were once pineapple and sugar cane fields, but those industries are long gone. Now Maui relies on tourism & construction to keep its economy running. 

We stayed in south Maui & never ventured to the west side out of respect for Lahaina town & her people. 
 
Maui nล ka สปoi! ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒด I can't wait to get back to the island. My body lives in Lodi most of the time .. . . but my soul resides on Maui.

#Maui #MauiStrong #MauiTropicalPlantation #Vacation #Vacation2023 #Iโค๏ธHawaii #KulaLodgeAndRestaurant #Retirement #CafeOlei
    We usually get takeout from Miso Phat in Kahana, b We usually get takeout from Miso Phat in Kahana, but we're staying in Wailea this time & not venturing to the west side. There was no wait at the Kihei location, which we had never visited before!! The sushi was just as yummy!! And had a glass of Lodi wine -- Michael David -- with it. ๐Ÿ‡๐Ÿท๐Ÿฅข๐ŸŸ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿก๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฆ€

#Vacation #Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #Sushi #MisoPhat #MisoPhatKihei #NoFilter
    The view from our table at Mama's Fish House. Spec The view from our table at Mama's Fish House. Spectacular! And Matthew enjoying it after the meal.

#Vacation #Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #RetirementCelebration #PromotionCelebration #MamasFishHouse #NoFilter
    We finally celebrated my retirement, as well as Ma We finally celebrated my retirement, as well as Matthew's two promotions and purchase of his first home, at Mama's Fish House! We used the generous gift certificate presented to me at my retirement party on 10/29/21. Mahalo to my wonderful staff & colleagues! ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒŠ

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #RetirementCelebration #Iโค๏ธHawaii #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #MamasFishHouse #PromotionCelebration #NoFilter
    Last night, we enjoyed a delicious, fun dinner at Last night, we enjoyed a delicious, fun dinner at Monkey Pod! 
The squash ravioli appetizer melted in my mouth.
Then I relaxed on the comfy lanai for another dazzling sunset.

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IEarnedIt #IDeserveIt #NoFilter
    We had a lovely brunch at Nalu's where Poke served We had a lovely brunch at Nalu's where Poke served as our host! He is apparently 28 years old & quite a talker. It was not crowded at all, & the food was yummy!

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation2023 #Vacation #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NoFilter
    Perfection. #Maui #MauiStrong #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Vacatio Perfection.

#Maui #MauiStrong #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Vacation2023 #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NoFilter
    Aloha kakahiaka! @49ers football in paradise! #P Aloha kakahiaka!

@49ers football in paradise!

#Priceless!

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NinerGang #Niners #49ers #49erfaithful #FTTB๐Ÿˆ #NoFilter
    Sunset. #Maui #MauiStrong #Iโค๏ธHawaii #Vacation202 Sunset.

#Maui #MauiStrong
#Iโค๏ธHawaii #Vacation2023
#Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NoFilter
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  • jhscolloquium

    Book Reviews | Guest Authors

    ๐Ÿ“• ๐•Œ๐•ก๐•”๐• ๐•ž๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ โ„๐•–๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ค๐•– ๐Ÿ“ฃ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ง ๐—ช๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ wowed readers w ๐Ÿ“• ๐•Œ๐•ก๐•”๐• ๐•ž๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ โ„๐•–๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ค๐•– ๐Ÿ“ฃ

๐’๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ง ๐—ช๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ wowed readers with the ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ locked-room mystery, ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ญ ๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ,๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐…๐ž๐ž๐ญ. It's full of shocking revelations, plot twists, & populated by a fascinating cast of suspects.

Her next thriller, ๐’๐ก๐ž'๐ฌ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ž, will be released on ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐Ÿท๐Ÿผ, ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿฝ. After reading the synopsis, you are going to want to pre-order it so that you can start reading it immediately! 

๐˜š๐˜บ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด:

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ-๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ-๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ง๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜บ, ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ด. 

๐˜Œ๐˜น๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ.

Summer Brownley is holding it together. Her marriage is ending and her heart is in pieces, but she still threw a damn good party. Afterward, though she really shouldnโ€™t, she curls up with a bottle of wine. Itโ€™s her soon. What could go wrong?

Except ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ.

The FBI arrives at dawn. Her four-year-old daughter is missing. But the kidnapping is just the beginning of her nightmare. Because as the search for her daughter begins, one of her party guests turns up dead.

FBI Agent Willow Thorne is on the trail.

There is no shortage of suspects: the cheating ex-husband, a best friend with regrets, a covetous surrogate. Every new lead uncovers another lie. Thorne has a knack for noticing what people choose not to tell her, but thereโ€™s something about this case that has her second-guessing herself.

If Summer wants to help Thorne find the kidnapper, sheโ€™s going to have to expose her most tightly-held secrets.

Before her daughter is gone for good.

แดษชแด…แดกแด‡แด‡แด‹ แด„สœแด‡แด„แด‹-ษชษด: ษชแด›'๊œฑ แดกแด‡แด…ษดแด‡๊œฑแด…แด€ส & แดŠแดœสŸส ษช๊œฑ ส€แด€แด˜ษชแด…สŸส ๊œฑสŸษชแด˜แด˜ษชษดษข ส™ส. สœแดแดก ษช๊œฑ สแดแดœส€ แดกแด‡แด‡แด‹ ษขแดษชษดษข? แดกสœแด€แด› แด€ส€แด‡ สแดแดœ ส€แด‡แด€แด…ษชษดษข? แด€ษดส ๊œฐแดœษด แดกแด‡แด‡แด‹แด‡ษดแด… แด˜สŸแด€ษด๊œฑ?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #Books #SusanWalter #ShesMine #UpcomingRelease #UpcomingThriller #CoverReveal #thepulse #thrillerbooklovers #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #BlackstonePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„ ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–๐ญ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„

๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–๐ญ๐ก
๐Ÿ‘:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“

๐‚๐š๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ is an award-winning former journalist & best selling author. She recently published her excellent latest crime fiction novels, ๐‡๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ž๐ & ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž๐.

๐ƒ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ง๐ž is her latest true crime volume. Its journey to publication was arduous, fraught with delays & frustrations. The case it explores is deeply disturbing, baffling, & infuriating, as were the legal proceedings that culminated in an alleged murderer being sentenced to die. Whether the evidence & rulings were sufficient to support a conviction, much less imposition of the death penalty, remains controversial & vigorously debated.

What is ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ debate is that on February 15, 2010, Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, & their 2 young sons were reported missing from their San Diego County home. It was as if time had stopped inside their house, with breakfast left on the kitchen counter, their truck in the driveway, & no food or water left for their dogs. Investigators found no blood, signs of a struggle . . . or clues to their whereabouts. 

Nearly 4 years later, a motorcyclist found the McStaysโ€™ remains in & around 2 shallow graves in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles from their home. They died from blunt force trauma.

In ๐ƒ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ง๐ž, Caitlin hunts for the truth behind the heinous crime & the lingering questions. Was justice done? Or did a killer get away with murder?

We'll discuss her other true crime books, including 2 of my favorites, ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ & ๐ƒ๐ž๐š๐ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐ค๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ . Caitlin will expound on the challenges of writing true crime, the intense & extensive research required, the various obstacles she has encountered, & how she crafts a fact-specific & engrossing narrative.

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜Ž๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ!

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat #CaitlinRother #TrueCrime #DownToTheBone #CitadelPress #KensingtonPublishing #DeadReckoning #BodyParts #PinnacleBooks #CrimeFiction #Hooked #Staged
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐“‘๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ด ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ฎ๐”€ โšฐ๏ธ Salon Rose is thoroughly confuse ๐Ÿ“– ๐“‘๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ด ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ฎ๐”€ โšฐ๏ธ

Salon Rose is thoroughly confused. She's pretty sure that she's looking at a dead body. Hers. Lying on a shiny metal table with a toe tag attached.

Soon she's ushered into a strange place by a girl about her age who tells her "this place is an enigma. only way to explain it." The man who appears to be in charge welcomes her to the afterlife assembly -- A.A., the best afterlife teen support group. He's Mr. Eck & he informs her that she has left the LOL (Land of the Living) & arrived in the NIB (Nowhere In Between) where she will remain for an undetermined period of time before moving on to The Big IF (the Big Infinite Forever). The NIB is where recent decedents work things out. 

Salon has no recollection of dying, much less being murdered. She is desperate to find out what happened to her & why her beautiful life ended just before she was going to graduate from high school & go to UCLA in the fall.

That intriguing beginning pulled me right into ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐€๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐’๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐ง ๐‘๐จ๐ฌ๐ž by ๐€๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐. ๐’๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ซ & held me rapt until the very last page. It's a creative coming-of-age story about coming to terms with one's life & choices. As Salon interacts with her fellow group members, each of whom has their own issues to deal with, she searches for her own murderer (it's a cleverly-plotted mystery), misses & worries about those she left in The LOL, & decides what matters most to her now that her future is far different from the way she imagined it.

It's an emotional, unpredictable, imaginative, & deeply thought-provoking story. Scher challenges reader to reconsider grief, friendships, loss, & how to pivot when life (or death) gives you no choice but to do so. 

๊œฑแด€สŸแดษด แดŠแดแดœส€ษดแด€สŸ๊œฑ แด€๊œฑ แด€ แดกแด€ส แด›แด ๊œฑสษดแด›สœแด‡๊œฑษชแดขแด‡ สœแด‡ส€ แด›สœแดแดœษขสœแด›๊œฑ & ๊œฐแด‡แด‡สŸษชษดษข๊œฑ. สœแด€แด แด‡ สแดแดœ แด‡แด แด‡ส€ แด‹แด‡แด˜แด› แด€ แดŠแดแดœส€ษดแด€สŸ? ษช๊œฐ ๊œฑแด, แด…ษชแด… สแดแดœ ๊œฐษชษดแด… ษชแด› แด›แด ส™แด‡ แด€ แด แด€สŸแดœแด€ส™สŸแด‡ แดกแด€ส แด›แด แดœษดแด…แด‡ส€๊œฑแด›แด€ษดแด… สแดแดœส€ แด‡แดแดแด›ษชแดษด๊œฑ, แด›สœแดแดœษขสœแด›๊œฑ, แด„สœแด€สŸสŸแด‡ษดษขแด‡๊œฑ, แด‡แด›แด„.?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AmyBScher #TheUnexpectedAfterlifeOfSalonRose #YAFiction #TinyGhostPress #LGBTQIA #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„ ๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„

๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘๐ซ๐
๐Ÿ”:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ‘:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“

๐Š๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‹๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฅ๐ž has long been one of my favorite authors & I'm thrilled that she has agreed to chat with me! 

2026 is an exciting year for her, so we have ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต to discuss. Her fabulous Everything Series -- ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐‹๐ž๐Ÿ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐ก๐ข๐ง๐, & ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐†๐ข๐ฏ๐ž -- has beenre-released & the special editions are gorgeous. The 4th & final book in the series, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐, will be released on ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐Ÿน! ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ, a five-chapter novella infused with emotional resonance about a brother and sister coming to terms with the past following the recent death of their father, is available to read ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ. (Visit Bookouture.com/subscribe/kerry-lonsdale/ to download a copy!) It's beautifully written and will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one only to find out that there was so much they did not know about that person and their life . . . when it's too late to ask questions.

And if all of that isn't enough . . . Kerry has written another book with her best friend, ๐Ž๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Š๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ . ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐‹๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ will be published on ๐˜š๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต. ๐Ÿพ, ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿผ. 

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜Ž๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ!

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat #KerryLonsdale #EverythingSeries #TheWishListTrip #OrlyKonig #WomensFiction #Bookouture #UpcomingRelease #BlackstonePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผก๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ„๏ฝ๏ผ What a great ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผก๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ„๏ฝ๏ผ

What a great conversation I had with author ๐€๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐๐š ๐’๐ค๐ž๐ง๐š๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ž about all of her books, especially her newest, ๐—ช๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐จ ๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐„๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ. I learned a great deal during our discussion, including how she brings her background as a nurse into her historical fiction writing, the research she conducts, and where she gets inspiration for her books.

๐—ช๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐จ ๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐„๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ may be set in 1939 with most of the characters actual historical figures, but it is timely, contemporary, and highly relevant ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ. And beautifully written. Amanda skillfully addresses a highly controversial subject that inspires deep emotional responses with tact, precision, & credibility. She respects her readers' ability to ponder the events in the story & form their own opinion. 

She described the topics addressed in her previous books -- ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐—ช๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐š๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง; ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž'๐ฌ ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ; ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž ๐—ช๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ; ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ค๐ฒ; and ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ -- & they all sound fascinating! I'm anxious to read all of them.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? Amanda raved about ๐˜—๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข ๐˜Ž๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ's latest book, ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฒ๐ง ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, and is re-reading ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ข๐ซ ๐„๐ฒ๐ž๐ฌ ๐—ช๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐—ช๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐†๐จ๐ by ๐˜ก๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ข ๐˜•๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ.

แด…แด สแดแดœ แด‡ษดแดŠแดส ส€แด‡แด€แด…ษชษดษข ๊œฐษชแด„แด›ษชแดษดแด€สŸ ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ แด›สœแด€แด› แด€แด…แด…ส€แด‡๊œฑ๊œฑ แด„แดษดส€แดแด แด‡ส€๊œฑษชแด€สŸ แด›แดแด˜ษชแด„๊œฑ? ษช๊œฐ ๊œฑแด, ษขษชแด แด‡ แดแด‡ ๊œฑแดแดแด‡ ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด…แด€แด›ษชแดษด๊œฑ!
 
#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat
#WhenNoOneElseWill #AmandaSkenendore #BookBrowse #KensingtonBooks #HistoricalFiction #WomensHistoricalFiction #ReproductiveRights #WomensHealth
    ๐Ÿ“˜๐“’๐“ธ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ต ๐Ÿ“— More exciting news from author ๐Š๐ž ๐Ÿ“˜๐“’๐“ธ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ต ๐Ÿ“—

More exciting news from author ๐Š๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‹๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฅ๐ž! She wrote a book with her best friend, ๐Ž๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Š๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ . ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐‹๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ is "a story of sisterhood, self-discovery, and how not to smuggle your friendโ€™s ashes through French border control . . ." It will be published on ๐˜š๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต. ๐Ÿพ, ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿผ. The cover is beautiful & I'm confident the story is, too.

๐˜š๐˜บ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด:

Dear Holly and Anna,

I knew it would take drastic measures to bring you together, so, ta da, one drastic measure! Iโ€™m sorry I died. And I know you guys havenโ€™t spoken in 5 years. But hereโ€™s the plan: over 14 days, you are going to scatter my ashes in every place we vacationed together in our 20s.

I wish I could have fixed your friendship before I died. But dying comes with one perk -- you canโ€™t say no to me now.

Youโ€™re going to have the best time. Iโ€™ve planned rum cocktails in Cabo & cafรฉ hopping in Paris. Along the way, Iโ€™ll keep sending you letters. Because thereโ€™s a secret I wasnโ€™t brave enough to share when I was alive . . . & if I know the 3 of us, I suspect weโ€™ve all been hiding something from each other.

The times we spent together were the best days of my life. Nobody made me laugh like you did, Anna. Holly, promise youโ€™ll let your hair down 1 last time for me.

I hope by the end of this trip, thereโ€™s nothing left weโ€™re afraid to say . . .

xo, Zoe

And order your copy of the gorgeous new editions of her Everything Series -- ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐‹๐ž๐Ÿ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐ก๐ข๐ง๐, & ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐†๐ข๐ฏ๐ž --from Barnes & Noble or Blackstone Publishing, if you haven't, because the final book, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐, will be released on ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜จ. ๐Ÿนrd!

Kerry will be chatting with me via ๐ˆ๐†๐‹๐ข๐ฏ๐ž on ๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘๐ซ๐, at ๐Ÿ”:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ‘:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“! I can't wait!

แด…แด สแดแดœ ส™แดœส ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ ๊œฑแดสŸแด‡สŸส ส™แด€๊œฑแด‡แด… แดษด แด›สœแด‡ แด„แดแด แด‡ส€? แดส€, สŸษชแด‹แด‡ แดแด‡, แด…แด สแดแดœ สœแด€แด แด‡ แด›แด ส€แด‡แด€แด… แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑสษดแดแด˜๊œฑษช๊œฑ ๊œฐษชส€๊œฑแด›?

#UpcomingRelease #Colloquium #BookReviewer #KerryLonsdale #EverythingSeries #TheWishListTrip #OrlyKonig #WomensFiction #Bookouture #BlackstonePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐Ÿ ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผค๏ฝ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ„๏ผ Oh, I' ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐Ÿ

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผค๏ฝ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ„๏ผ

Oh, I'm glad we were able to finish our discussion after a brief interruption from the technology gods. 

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? David recommends ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐€๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ by ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜น ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ* and ๐’๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ (available January 27, 2027) by ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜บ.

*Are you an ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜น ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ fan? Did you know that he wrote legal thrillers under his real name, ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ป๐˜ฆ, before pivoting to writing psychological thrillers? 
๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž๐ซ and ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐€๐๐ฏ๐จ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ž'๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ž๐ซ are both excellent! You can read my reviews of them at www.jhsiess.com! 

ษช๊œฑ แด›สœแด‡ส€แด‡ แด€ษด แด€แดœแด›สœแดส€ แดกสœแด๊œฑแด‡ แดกแดส€แด‹ สแดแดœ แด‡ษดแดŠแดส แดกสœแด แดกส€ษชแด›แด‡๊œฑ แดœษดแด…แด‡ส€ แดแดส€แด‡ แด›สœแด€ษด แดษดแด‡ แด˜แด‡ษด ษดแด€แดแด‡?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat
#ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #DavidEllis #KeepThemClose #TheMunichAffair #JamesPatterson #GPPutnamAndSons #PenguinRandomHouse #TheAnniversary #AlexFinlay #ScreamCity #HannahMorrissey
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐Ÿ ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผค๏ฝ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ„๏ผ I had ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐Ÿ

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผค๏ฝ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ„๏ผ

I had a simply delightful time talking with bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author ๐ƒ๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐„๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ! We had a wide-ranging conversation about how he started writing fictional stories as a child, and after finishing law school and launching his practice, he realized he missed creative writing and drafted his first novel, ๐‹๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง. It earned not just a blurb, but raves but none other than ๐‰๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง. That ultimately led to their long collaboration. They have co-written and published 9 books, and their 10th and final novel, ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐š๐ข๐ซ, will be released on September 21, 2026.

David is a Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, so he told me that he gets up at 3:30 a.m. and writes until 7:00 a.m. 

His new book, ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฆ ๐‚๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž, was an instant bestseller and deservedly so! You might think that with David's background and need to manage his time scupulously in order to do justice (no pun intended) to both of his careers, he would be a plotter. But, in reality, he tends to be more of a pantser and all that plot twists in his books? He doesn't always know they're going to figure in the plot until he's actually writing the book! 

~ ๐‘ฒ๐’†๐’†๐’‘ ๐’˜๐’‚๐’•๐’„๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐‘ท๐’‚๐’“๐’• 2 ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’• ๐’๐’‡ ๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’…๐’Š๐’”๐’„๐’–๐’”๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’! ~

แด…แด สแดแดœ แด˜ส€แด‡แดส€แด…แด‡ส€ ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ ษชษด แดส€แด…แด‡ส€ แด›แด ส™แด‡ แด€ส™สŸแด‡ แด›แด ส€แด‡แด€แด… แด›สœแด‡แด แด€๊œฑ ๊œฑแดแดษด แด€๊œฑ แด›สœแด‡ส แด€ส€แด‡ แด˜แดœส™สŸษช๊œฑสœแด‡แด…? 
แด…ษชแด… สแดแดœ แด‹ษดแดแดก แด›สœแด€แด› แด˜ส€แด‡แดส€แด…แด‡ส€๊œฑ แด€ส€แด‡ แด‡๊œฑ๊œฑแด‡ษดแด›ษชแด€สŸ แด›แด สŸแด‡แด› แด˜แดœส™สŸษช๊œฑสœแด‡ส€๊œฑ แด‹ษดษชแดแดก แด›สœแด€แด› แด€แดœแด›สœแดส€๊œฑ' ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ แด€ส€แด‡ สœษชษขสœสŸส แด€ษดแด›ษชแด„ษชแด˜แด€แด›แด‡แด… & แดกษชสŸสŸ ๊œฐษชษดแด… แด€ษด แด€แดœแด…ษชแด‡ษดแด„แด‡?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat
#ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #DavidEllis #KeepThemClose #TheMunichAffair #JamesPatterson #GPPutnamAndSons #PenguinRandomHouse
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„ ๐—ช๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„

๐—ช๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“๐ญ๐ก
๐Ÿ•:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ’:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“

I love discovering the work of new-to-me authors, & sometimes it's such a delightful experience that I want to read all of their previous books! 

When I was offered the chance to read ๐—ช๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐จ ๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐„๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ by ๐€๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐๐š ๐’๐ค๐ž๐ง๐š๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ž, I ws instantly intrigued by the synopsis. The story is contemporary, timely, & relevant to what is happening in America in 2026, even though it opens in 1939. In my opinion, ๐—ช๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐จ ๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐„๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ž ๐—ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ is a must-read volume for all historical fiction fans.

And it's Amanda's sixth book. She previously published ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐—ช๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐š๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง; ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž'๐ฌ ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ; ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž ๐—ช๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ; ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ค๐ฒ; and ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ. All of them are now on my TBR list.

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜Ž๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ!

สœแด€แด แด‡ สแดแดœ ส€แด‡แด€แด… แด€ษดส แด๊œฐ แด€แดแด€ษดแด…แด€'๊œฑ ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ? ษช๊œฐ ๊œฑแด, แดกสœษชแด„สœ แดษดแด‡ ๊œฑสœแดแดœสŸแด… ษช ส€แด‡แด€แด… ษดแด‡xแด›, ษชษด สแดแดœส€ แดแด˜ษชษดษชแดษด?
ษช๊œฐ ษดแดแด›, ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด… ๊œฑแดแดแด‡ สœษช๊œฑแด›แดส€ษชแด„แด€สŸ ๊œฐษชแด„แด›ษชแดษด แด€แดœแด›สœแดส€๊œฑ แดกสœแด๊œฑแด‡ แดกแดส€แด‹ สแดแดœ แด‡ษดแดŠแดส!

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat
#WhenNoOneElseWill #AmandaSkenendore #BookBrowse #KensingtonBooks #HistoricalFiction #WomensHistoricalFiction #ReproductiveRights #WomensHealth
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„ ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ’๐ญ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„

๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ’๐ญ๐ก
๐Ÿ‘:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“

Appellate courtrooms don't operate the same way as the lower courts often depicted in books, films, & TV shows. During trials, attorneys question witnesses while a judge controls (hopefully) the proceeding.

๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, when a case is appealed to a higher court, there is no testimony. Just attorneys trying to convince a panel of justices why their client should prevail. And the justices ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ the lawyers, often mercilessly, interrupting them to focus on areas they deem important. In law school, I was taught that during appellate argument, when a justice's mouth opens, the lawyer's closes. No exceptions. You stop, listen to the question, & better be prepared to formulate an intelligent response.

I'm honored that bestselling author ๐ƒ๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐„๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to talk with me on ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ’๐ญ๐ก.

I'm also kind of tickled at the prospect of turning the tables on him a bit. Because in addition to being a phenomenal author who is the absolute ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต at injecting plot twists & developments into his stories that I never see coming, he is also an esteemed Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. So I'm looking forward to being the one asking ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ questions! ๐Ÿคญ(But if he wants to interrupt me, I guarantee I ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ yield.) 

His just-released book, ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฆ ๐‚๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž, is already a USA Today bestseller and deservedly so. Like his previous books, it's a riveting, emotionally complex, & memorable thriller, brilliantly imagined & flawlessly executed.

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜Ž๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ!

แด…แด€แด ษชแด… แด‡สŸสŸษช๊œฑ ษช๊œฑ แด€ แดแด€๊œฑแด›แด‡ส€ แด€แด› แด„แด€แด›แด„สœษชษดษข แดแด‡ แด๊œฐ๊œฐ-ษขแดœแด€ส€แด… แดกษชแด›สœ ๊œฑสœแดแด„แด‹ษชษดษข แด˜สŸแดแด› แด›แดกษช๊œฑแด›๊œฑ!
แดกสœแด€แด› แดแด›สœแด‡ส€ แด€แดœแด›สœแดส€(๊œฑ) แด…แด สแดแดœ แด›สœษชษดแด‹ แด€ส€แด‡ แด‡๊œฑแด˜แด‡แด„ษชแด€สŸสŸส แด€แด…แด‡แด˜แด› แด€แด› ษชษดแดŠแด‡แด„แด›ษชษดษข ๊œฑแดœส€แด˜ส€ษช๊œฑแด‡ ส€แด‡แด แด‡สŸแด€แด›ษชแดษด๊œฑ ษชษดแด›แด แด›สœแด‡ษชส€ ๊œฑแด›แดส€ษชแด‡๊œฑ?

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#ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #KeepThemClose #DavidEllis #GPPutnamsSons
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฃ๏ฝˆ๏ฝ’๏ฝ‰๏ฝ“๏ฝ”๏ฝ‰๏ฝŽ๏ฝ๏ผ ๐‚๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐š ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฃ๏ฝˆ๏ฝ’๏ฝ‰๏ฝ“๏ฝ”๏ฝ‰๏ฝŽ๏ฝ๏ผ

๐‚๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐š ๐Œ๐œ๐ƒ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ is not only one of my favorite authors. She's also easy to talk with, & I had a great time chatting with her about her early life, career as a journalist, decision to start writing novels, inspiration for her books, and much more! I was particularly intrigued to learn that she self-published her just-released third installment in her riveting & timely ๐‰๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐—ช๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ž.

And if you aren't following Christina on social media, you should be. Her posts and videos are very entertaining & often hilarious. When I asked her who the genius is behind them, she said, "Me!" Be sure to check out her account here, as well as on TikTok & Facebook, & let her know how great her content is.

It's not necessary that you read her ๐‰๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ in order, but I can't recommend strongly enough that you ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ. Because the stories' impact is cumulative, the nuanced context increasingly powerful. Start with ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐‹๐š๐ค๐ž, her prequel novella. You can download it free of charge on her website (christina-mcdonald.com). ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐—ช๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ and ๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ƒ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ precede ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐—ช๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ž.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? Christina recommends ๐‡๐จ๐ญ ๐†๐ข๐ซ๐ฅ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ž๐ซ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ฎ๐› by Ashley Winstead.

แด„สœส€ษช๊œฑแด›ษชษดแด€'๊œฑ ษดแด‡แดก ส™แดแดแด‹ แด…แด‡แด€สŸ๊œฑ แดกษชแด›สœ แด€ ๊œฐแด€แด‹แด‡ แด ษชแด…แด‡แด, แด„ส€แด‡แด€แด›แด‡แด… แดกษชแด›สœ แด€ษช, แดกส€แด‡แด€แด‹ษชษดษข สœแด€แด แดแด„ ษชษด สœแด‡ส€ แดแด€ษชษด แด„สœแด€ส€แด€แด„แด›แด‡ส€'๊œฑ สŸษช๊œฐแด‡. 
สœแด€แด แด‡ สแดแดœ ส€แด‡แด€แด… แด€ษดส แดแด›สœแด‡ส€ ส™แดแดแด‹(๊œฑ) ษชษด แดกสœษชแด„สœ แด€ษช ษช๊œฑ ๊œฐแด‡แด€แด›แดœส€แด‡แด… แด›สœแด€แด› สแดแดœ ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด…?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat
#ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #AllTheLiesWeSee #ChristinaMcDonald #JessLambertSeries #IntrigueInkPublishing
    ๐Ÿ“ฌ ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘ด๐’‚๐’Š๐’ ๐Ÿ“š Expressing my ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด & ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐Ÿ“ฌ ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘ด๐’‚๐’Š๐’ ๐Ÿ“š

Expressing my ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด & ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ for the great books I have received recently! 

And . . . I'll be spotlighting ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ soon.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ by ๐˜‘๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ (William Morrow & @lbtheloverofbooks) ๐˜š๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ'๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ด: ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ.๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ/@๐˜ญ๐˜ฃ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด/

๐Ÿ“• ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐’๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ by ๐˜”๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜”๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข (Scribner)

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ž by ๐˜”๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜”๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข (Scribner)

๐Ÿ“— ๐‡๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ by ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข ๐˜’๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ (Scribner)

๐Ÿ“™ ๐€๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐๐ž: ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‘๐ž๐ฐ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  by & courtesy of ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด

๐Ÿ“’ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ by ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜—๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช ๐˜™๐˜บ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ (Minotaur Books)

แด…แด สแดแดœ สŸแด‡ษดแด… ส™แดแดแด‹๊œฑ แด›แด ๊œฐแด€แดษชสŸส แด€ษดแด…/แดส€ ๊œฐส€ษชแด‡ษดแด…๊œฑ? สœแด€๊œฑ แด€ษดสแดษดแด‡ แด‡แด แด‡ส€ ส€แด‡แด›แดœส€ษดแด‡แด… แด€ ส™แดแดแด‹ แดกษชแด›สœ แด ษช๊œฑษชส™สŸแด‡ แด…แด€แดแด€ษขแด‡? สœแดแดก แด…ษชแด… สแดแดœ สœแด€ษดแด…สŸแด‡ แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑษชแด›แดœแด€แด›ษชแดษด?

#Colloquium #bookreviewer #Gift #BookMail
#BookMailIsTheBestMail #TheFourthPrincess #JanieChang #TheOnlySurvivors #DaughterOfMine #MeganMiranda #HelplessBook #JessicaKnoll #AmyInRegrograde #AmyFerris #MotherDaughterSisterStranger #HankPhillippiRyan #Scribner #WilliamMorrow #LBTheLoverOfBooks #MinotaurBooks
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    ๐Ÿ“˜๐“’๐“ธ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ต ๐Ÿ“— ๐Š๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‹๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฅ๐ž has long been one ๐Ÿ“˜๐“’๐“ธ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ต ๐Ÿ“—

๐Š๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‹๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฅ๐ž has long been one of my favorite authors & 2026 is an exciting year for her. 

Have you read her fabulous Everything Series -- ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐‹๐ž๐Ÿ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐ก๐ข๐ง๐, & ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐†๐ข๐ฏ๐ž? All 3 books have been re-released & the special editions are gorgeous. They are available ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ from Barnes & Noble. Or you can order signed copies directly from Blackstone Publishing.

If you haven't read them, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ because the 4th & final book in the series, ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐, will be released on ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐Ÿน!

In the meantime, Kerry has given readers a gift -- a little amuse-bouche to tide us over while we read or re-read the first 3 books & are waiting for ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐.

๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐—ช๐ž ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ is a five-chapter novella, a short story infused with emotional resonance about a brother and sister coming to terms with the past following the recent death of their father. It's beautifully written and will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one only to find out that there was so much they did not know about that person and their life . . . when it's too late to ask questions.

And it's available to read right now, ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ. Just go to Bookouture.com/subscribe/kerry-lonsdale/ to download your copy! 

Watch for another big announcement about Kerry's writing on Wednesday, July 15th. ๐Ÿคซ

And mark your calendar because Kerry has agreed to chat with me via IGLive on Thursday, July 23rd, at 6:00 p.m. EDT | 3:00 p.m. PDT!  I can't wait to talk with her about all of her books, writing habits, journey to publication, & much more.

แด…แด สแดแดœ แด˜แดœส€แด„สœแด€๊œฑแด‡ แดแดœสŸแด›ษชแด˜สŸแด‡ แด„แดแด˜ษชแด‡๊œฑ แด๊œฐ แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑแด€แดแด‡ ส™แดแดแด‹ ษชษด แดส€แด…แด‡ส€ แด›แด แด„แดสŸสŸแด‡แด„แด› แด›สœแด‡ แด แด€ส€ษชแดแดœ๊œฑ แด‡แด…ษชแด›ษชแดษด๊œฑ?

#UpcomingRelease #Colloquium #BookReviewer #KerryLonsdale #EverythingSeries #EverythingWeKeep #EverythingWeGive #EverythingWeLeftBehind #EverythingWeFound #UpcomingRelease #EverythingWeCarry #Novella #ShortStory #SecondChanceRomance #Bookouture #BlackstonePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผช๏ฝ๏ฝˆ๏ฝŽ๏ผ I h ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผช๏ฝ๏ฝˆ๏ฝŽ๏ผ

I had a great time talking with author ๐‰๐จ๐ก๐ง ๐ƒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ž! 

Surprisingly, John was not a dedicated reader as a child. He developed his love of reading later, & eventually decided he wanted to be a writer. For him, it's been a family project. Perseverance, determination, & resilence resulted in the publication of 3 volumes so far in his Gus Wheeler FBI Thriller Series: ๐Š๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐š ๐๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฅ๐ž๐ž๐ฉ๐ฌ, ๐—ช๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐š๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ, & ๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐Š๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ, available ๐˜‘๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿฟ, ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿผ. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone volume.

John on a small island off the mid-coast of Maine in a 200-year-old home he & his wife restored. ๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐Š๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ, set in the remote northern region of the state, is a fast-paced, dark mystery featuring the realistic & entertaining partnership of Gus & Vanessa ("V), a badass woman with "stop-sign red" hair, tattoos, & a lot of wisecracks to match her attitude. The cleverly-crafted story is replete with shocking twists & surprises.

John is currently working on the 4th installment in the series & plans to publish at least 2 additional volumes after that.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? John recommends ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜บ ๐˜’๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ's most recent book, ๐’๐ฎ๐œ๐ก ๐š ๐‚๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐†๐ข๐ซ๐ฅ; ๐ˆ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ by ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜’๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข; ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข ๐˜‹๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ's books; & ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฏ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ's PI Charlie Parker series. 

We got the technological bugs worked out & were able to chat on Zoom. Instagram will only post 20 minutes of our discussion, so finish watching on my YouTube channcel: https://www.youtube.com/@JHSColloquium.

ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด… ส™แดแดแด‹(๊œฑ) สแดแดœ'แด แด‡ แด‡ษดแดŠแดสแด‡แด… ษชษด แดกสœษชแด„สœ แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑแด‡แด›แด›ษชษดษข & แด€แด›แดแด๊œฑแด˜สœแด‡ส€แด‡/แดแดแดแด… แด€ส€แด‡ แด„ส€ษชแด›ษชแด„แด€สŸ แด›แด แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑแดœแด„แด„แด‡๊œฑ๊œฑ๊œฐแดœสŸ แด›แด‡สŸสŸษชษดษข แด๊œฐ แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฑแด›แดส€ส.

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat #JohnDingle #GusWheelerFBIThrillerSeries #KarmaNeverSleeps #WingsOfMadness #BeforeTheDevilKnows #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #TulePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐“‘๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ด ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ฎ๐”€๐ŸŒ™ ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ by ๐’๐š๐ซ๐š๐ก ๐Ÿ“– ๐“‘๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ด ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ฎ๐”€๐ŸŒ™

๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ by ๐’๐š๐ซ๐š๐ก ๐‰. ๐Œ๐š๐š๐ฌ is the first installment in her Crescent City series. It's an ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ค story. Earlier this year, I made my first foray into reading fantasy with the first 2 volumes in her ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ series & enjoyed them so much I joined another ๐“๐š๐ง๐๐ž๐ฆ ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐†๐ฅ๐จ๐›๐š๐ฅ readalong. 

It took a bit to get invested. The main character, Bryce Quinlan, is a 25-year-old half-Fae & half-human woman who is a bit lost & aimless. But she has a group of loyal & devoted friends, & her life has not been easy so she is immediately sympathetic.

There are ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต of characters -- archangels, witches, shifters, mer people, wraiths, sprites, demons, et al. And a collection of self-serving power brokers like Micah, a malevolent governor who owns Hunt Athalar, a Fallen angel more than 200 years old & intent on earning his freedom. He is Micah's reluctant assassin -- punishment for participating in a failed rebellion.

Unsure I could hang in for ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿถ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, a shockingly horrific event occurred that devastated Bryce & I ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ to know if she would survive. From that point, the story is fast-paced, riveting, & emotionally resonant. Despite the imaginary setting & mythical characters, it's a very ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ story about friendship, autonomy & empowerment, sibling rivalry, morality, quests for unbridled power & dominance, & romance. It's a joy to see Bryce's growth -- she's a snarky badass who refuses to compromise her principles & beliefs. The themes are explored against a couple of intriguing mysteries. Maas injects so many unexpected twists & shocking revelations that I had absolutely ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข how those mysteries were going to be resolved. โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

แด€ส€แด‡ สแดแดœ แด€ ๊œฐแด€ษดแด›แด€๊œฑส/ส€แดแดแด€ษดแด›แด€๊œฑส ๊œฐแด€ษด? ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด… แด€ ๊œฐแด€ษดแด›แด€๊œฑส/ส€แดแดแด€ษดแด›แด€๊œฑส สแดแดœ แด›สœษชษดแด‹ ษช ๊œฑสœแดแดœสŸแด… ส€แด‡แด€แด… แด€๊œฐแด›แด‡ส€ ษช ๊œฐษชษดษช๊œฑสœ ส€แด‡แด€แด…ษชษดษข แด›สœแด‡ แด›สœส€แดษดแด‡ แด๊œฐ ษขสŸแด€๊œฑ๊œฑ แด€ษดแด… แด„ส€แด‡๊œฑแด„แด‡ษดแด› แด„ษชแด›ส ๊œฑแด‡ส€ษชแด‡๊œฑ.

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #CrescentCitySeries #HouseOfEarthAndBlood #SarahJMaas #TandemCollectiveGlobal #BloomburyBooksUS #Fantasy #Romantasy
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„ ๐’๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘จ๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผน๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผ‡๏ฝ’๏ฝ…ใ€€๏ผฉ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ–๏ฝ‰๏ฝ”๏ฝ…๏ฝ„

๐’๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ก
๐Ÿ‘:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐„๐ƒ๐“ | ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ:๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ƒ๐“

๐‚๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐š ๐Œ๐œ๐ƒ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ became one of my favorite authors when I read her first published book, ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐Ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐š ๐…๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ. She followed that stunning debut with ๐๐ž๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‹๐ข๐ž & ๐ƒ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฆ. With each successive book, she surprised me & kept me engrossed in her characters' dilemmas & struggles.

Just when I was convinced her writing couldn't get any better, she released ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐—ช๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ, a book unlike any she had published up to that point -- an absolutely riveting, emotional mystery with a gut-punch twist. 

Happily for me & her other fans, it was just the first book in her ๐‰๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ. She followed it up with ๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ƒ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ; a prequel novella, ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐‹๐š๐ค๐ž; and the just-published ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐—ช๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ž. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ of her books are exceptionally good thrillers, but with every new book she manages to surpass her previous work.

It's not necessary that you read her ๐‰๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ in order, but I can't recommend strongly enough that you ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ. Because the stories' impact is cumulative, the nuanced context increasingly powerful. In the contemporary & timely ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐—ช๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ž, ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ Jess values is on the line, including her own freedom. The stories are intricately, deftly plotted, the characters fully formed & believable. McDonald explores their emotional struggles & motivations with unsparing honesty & insight. Jess' internal dialogue is wrenchingly, heartbreakingly raw, & McDonald's writing has a cinematic quality that draws readers into the quirky town of Black Lake which is itself an indispensable character in the tense stories.

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜Ž๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ!

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat 
#ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #AllTheLiesWeSee #ChristinaMcDonald #JessLambertSeries #IntrigueInkPublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘น๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜ ๐Ÿก ๐๐จ ๐‡๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ by ๐๐ข๐œ๐จ๐ฅ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘น๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜ ๐Ÿก

๐๐จ ๐‡๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ by ๐๐ข๐œ๐จ๐ฅ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ is a fast-paced, tense thriller that is also a riveting character study, moving, & thought-provoking. 

Raven had a troubled children. She & her younger sister, Ivy, who had Down syndrome, were abandoned by their abusive mother. Their hands-off, emotionally unavailable father quickly remarried Joan. But a tragic incident claimed Ivy when she was 11 & Raven was 14. Raven has blamed herself since that horrible night. 

Raven is happily married & has a 15-year-old son, Luke, & 9-year-old daughter, Emerson. She's the lead microbiologist at a lab in Calgary, specializing in studying & testing water. She's always had a loving, supportive relationship with Joan, who loves providing childcare because she adores Raven & her children. It was Joan who raised Raven & Ivy after their mother left, & literally saved Raven in the dark days after Ivy's death.

But despite 3 evacuation orders, Joan has refused to leave the family home adjacent to the Echo River. When Raven arrives with Luke, Emerson, & their Chihuahua, Betty White, to convince Joan to leave, the property is already beginning to flood . . . & a deluge is imminent. Joan is stubbornly packing & by the time Raven gets her out of the house, it's too late. They can't reach the road & their only recourse is to take refuge on the roof & wait to be rescued.

The water keeps rising & being back at the house -- just above the place where Ivy perished -- causes bits & pieces of memories to return to Raven. About Ivy, their mother, their childhood, the night Ivy died . . . & Joan. Over the course of a 6-hour siege, during which the water level continues to inch perilous closely to the roof, no rescuers are able to reach them, & Emerson suffers several asthma attacks. Raven has time to analyze everything she was told about their mother, the circumstances surrounding Ivy's death, & what her own children have tried to communicate to her over the years.

(Cont. . . . )

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #NoHigherGround #NicoleBrooks  #BlackstonePublishing
    ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘น๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜ โšฐ๏ธ ๐๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐„๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ฒ is author ๐Ÿ“– ๐‘ฉ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐‘น๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜ โšฐ๏ธ

๐๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐„๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ฒ is author ๐“๐š๐ซ๐š ๐†๐จ๐ž๐๐ฃ๐ž๐ง's impressive debut adult novel set at a creepy, gothic castle in Austria, told via a first-person narrative. Mia returns to the castle-turned-hotel where her cousin was murdered in 2015, when Mia was there with him & her aunt, a true crime author  researching the unsolved 1969 murders of the hotel's owners. Their 5-year-old son survived & inherited the hotel but was convicted of the murder based on Mia's testimony that she heard them arguing, he leave the scene with blood on his shirt, & she found her cousin with a gash in his head.

She' s back as the nanny for the new owner who is unaware of Mia's ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ identity. Mia has lived a nomadic life, unable to commit to a place or relationship, or even discuss the past & how it has impacted her. With the murderer seeking to overturn his conviction. Mia searches for the truth, adamantly believing the right person was convicted. 

Mia begins to doubt not just her own memories, but what her aunt led her to believe & her perceptions of Tristan. There have long been rumors that the hotel is haunted, & she starts to believe the stories may be true. But she is determined to find the killer, understand his/her motivation, & satisfy herself her testimony did not convict an innocent man.

Goedjen's atmospheric tale moves at a steady pace as she takes readers along on Mia's clandestine investigation. As Mia finds clues, Goedjen deftly heightens the suspense with each discovery, ramping up the book's pace incrementally until Mia finds the one piece of a complex puzzle that provides the answers she has been seeking. But will she live to reveal the truth & ensure that justice prevails? You'll be unable to put this book down until you find out!

ส€แด‡แด„แดแดแดแด‡ษดแด… ๊œฑแดแดแด‡ แด‡xแด„แด‡สŸสŸแด‡ษดแด› แด›สœส€ษชสŸสŸแด‡ส€๊œฑ แด›สœแด€แด› แด€ส€แด‡ แด„ส€แด‡แด‡แด˜ษชสŸส แด€แด›แดแด๊œฑแด˜สœแด‡ส€ษชแด„ & แด˜แด‡ส€๊œฐแด‡แด„แด› แด›แด ส€แด‡แด€แด… ษชษด แด›สœแด‡ ๊œฐแด€สŸสŸ แดกสœแด‡ษด แด›สœแด‡ แดกแด‡แด€แด›สœแด‡ส€ ษช๊œฑ ษขแด‡แด›แด›ษชษดษข แด„แดสŸแด…แด‡ส€ & แด›สœแด‡ ษดษชษขสœแด›๊œฑ แด€ส€แด‡ ษขแด‡แด›แด›ษชษดษข ๊œฑสœแดส€แด›แด‡ส€!

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #ThrillerBookLoversThePulse #TaraGoedjen #PleaseEnjoyYourStay #Atria #EmilyBestlerBooks #Thriller #GothicMystery
    ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฅ๏ฝŒ๏ฝŒ๏ฝ…๏ฝŽ๏ผ It ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฅ๏ฝŒ๏ฝŒ๏ฝ…๏ฝŽ๏ผ

It was so delightful chatting with author ๐„๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐Œ๐ž๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ. I've been reading her books for years & feel like I know her, even though this was our first actual conversation!

We talked about how she discovered she wanted that she wanted to be a writer in high school, inspired by grudging praise from a teacher. She then had a successful career writing advertising copy before deciding in her 40's that its was finally time to pursue her dream. Since then, she has published ten novels, including ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž; ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐ƒ๐จ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ซ; ๐ƒ๐จ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ซ ๐ƒ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ค ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž; ๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐’๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ; ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐จ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ; ๐“๐š๐ค๐ž ๐Œ๐ฒ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ฌ๐›๐š๐ง๐ & ๐ƒ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ (her "pandemic books"); and, most recently, ๐‰๐จ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ž.

Ellen described her approach to writing -- her style is a hybrid of "plotter" & "pantser" -- & the ongoing challenges of being a writer ("I have to re-learn this book writing thing with every novel!"), including getting just the right narrative voice, as well as book marketing & finding an audience for her brand.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? Ellen recommends:

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐—ช๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐Œ๐ฒ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ฌ๐›๐š๐ง๐ by ๐˜™๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜ž๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ
๐Œ๐ฒ ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐๐ฌ by ๐˜๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ ๐˜‰๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ
๐€๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐๐ž: ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‘๐ž๐ฐ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  by Amy Ferris

Ellen also encourages readers to follow & support @noonmiracle, a production house offering writing courses & other events.

แดŠแดœษดแด‡ ษช๊œฑ แด€สŸแดแด๊œฑแด› แดแด แด‡ส€ แด€สŸส€แด‡แด€แด…ส. สษชแด‹แด‡๊œฑ! แดกสœแด€แด› ส™แดแดแด‹(๊œฑ) แด€ส€แด‡ สแดแดœ แด…แด‡แด›แด‡ส€แดษชษดแด‡แด… แด›แด ๊œฐษชษดษช๊œฑสœ ส€แด‡แด€แด…ษชษดษข ส™แด‡๊œฐแดส€แด‡ แดŠแดœสŸส แด€ส€ส€ษชแด แด‡๊œฑ?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat #EllenMeister #TheOtherLife #FarewellDorothyParker #DorothyParkerDrankHere #LoveSoldSeparately #TheRooftopParty #TakeMusband #DivorceTowers #Joybird #MontlakePublishing #ContemporaryFiction #WomensFiction #RomanticFiction #MagicalRealism
    ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“– ๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฅ๏ฝ„๏ฝ—๏ฝ๏ฝ’๏ฝ„๏ผ I ๐Ÿ“– โ–‘Aโ–‘uโ–‘tโ–‘hโ–‘oโ–‘rโ–‘ โ–‘Cโ–‘hโ–‘aโ–‘tโ–‘ ๐Ÿ“–

๏ผด๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ‹ ๏ฝ™๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ผŒ ๏ผฅ๏ฝ„๏ฝ—๏ฝ๏ฝ’๏ฝ„๏ผ

I had a delightful, far-ranging conversation with ๐„๐๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐”๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ, an author I just discovered when I was offered a copy of ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ง. 

He is also the author of three YA books: ๐€๐ฅ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐€๐ฅ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ (inspired by his experiences as a young cellist participating in classical music competitions); ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฌ ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ; and ๐ˆ๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ. He says he loved writing for teenagers & continues to read YA literature. His first adult novel was ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง-๐๐ž๐ญ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ž, which also features magical realism.

Edward is an accomplished musician with a degree in composition who writes underscores for TV and movies, including animated Disney production. 

We discussed his journey to publication and the trends he has observed in the publishing industry, especially with regard to books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters, and the ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ of ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด now becauase there are so many efforts to enact book bans and silence diverse voices. And much more!

Edward reminds us to follow @authorsagainstbookbans & contact our representatives & tell them to oppose H.R. 7661 and H.R. 8705, two efforts to enact ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ญ book bans! 

What is the author reading? Edward recommends: 
๐“๐จ ๐’๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ž by by ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜›. ๐˜‹๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ
๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ญ by ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ 
๐—ช๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐’๐ž๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ by ๐˜Š๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต
๐‹๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฌ by ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜™๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ
๐๐จ๐ฒ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐š๐ฅ by ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ

แดกสœแด€แด› ส™แดแดแด‹(๊œฑ) แด€ส€แด‡ สแดแดœ ส€แด‡แด€แด…ษชษดษข แด€ษดแด…/แดส€ สŸษช๊œฑแด›แด‡ษดษชษดษข แด›แด แดษด แด›สœษช๊œฑ ส™แด‡แด€แดœแด›ษช๊œฐแดœสŸ ๊œฑแดœษดแด…แด€ส?

#Colloquium #BookReviewer #AuthorChat #EdwardUnderhill #TheHouseOfNowAndThen #AlwaysTheAlmost #ThisDayChangesEverything #InCaseYouReadThis #TheInBetweenBookstore #YABooks #AvonBooks #HarperCOllins #PrideMonth #HappyPride #ReadQueerAllYear
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