THIS WEEK ON THE SUSPENSE SISTERS

We’re planning another great week on the Suspense Sisters. Check out our posts, our interviews, and our awesome giveaways!

THIS WEEK:

On Tuesday Mary Ellis will tell us What’s Hot in Inspirational Suspense and Mystery. 

Wednesday we’ll hear more from Suspense Sister Mary Ellis about what we can learn from the Amish. 

On Friday, Nancy Mehl will interview author Angela Ruth Strong about A Latte Difficulty, her book releasing this week. Angela Ruth Strong will be giving away a copy of the book!

Can two baristas track down a gunman after the espresso shot heard ‘round the world?

When Marissa witnesses an attempted murder during the 4th of July parade, it starts a battle for her independence. She is forced to hide out in a safehouse, leaving her co-owner, Tandy, to run their coffee shop, track down the criminal, and, worse, plan Marissa’s wedding. Thankfully Tandy has help, but can she really trust the P.I. in a bow tie, her new deaf barista who acts more like a bartender, or a wedding planner who’s keeping secrets?

The threat on Marissa’s future goes from bad to worse when her bridal gown is covered in blood. Though her fiancé, Connor, agrees to give up his identity to join her in the Witness Protection Program, Marissa refuses to wave the white flag. Instead, she enlists Tandy to help her fight for truth, justice, and the Americano way.

You can get it here!

The Suspense Sisters

We love books!

When the end is just the beginning. And a giveaway!

Hi everyone. I hope you are all staying safe and taking care or yourselves.    

I don’t know about you, but as a reader, one of the saddest things for me is when I reach the end of a really good book. I have to say goodbye to all the wonderful characters I’ve met along the way. Great books have a way of working their way into our hearts. The people we meet there become like family. We want to know what happens to them after the author writes, “the end”.

 I think that’s the thing I love so much about series as a reader and an author. All the wonderful characters I meet along the path to “the end” find their way into new books with great new stories and more fun characters to fall in love with.

Another important part of a series is the location. As a read the book, I have to love the location I’m reading about.

In my latest series entitled Courage Under Fire, the location in the opening book takes place in Afghanistan, but quickly spans the globe. Location is important, but it doesn’t have to be just one location.

Of course, the story itself must hold my interest. The twists and turns, the dangers the hero and heroine must overcome to find their happy ending has to be engaging.

And then comes the ending. . . or should I say, the ending “for now”. I think what makes for a great series for me is when I finish book one, there’s still room for more. And more. 

What about you? What’s your favorite part about a series? Comment for a chance to win an eBook copy of any of my Courage Under Fire books. Please include your email. I’ll announce the winner on April 3^rd. 

Blessings, 

Mary Alford

www.marylalford.net 

ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF DEAD END!

The final book in my Kaely Quinn Profiler book releases in just a few days! 

DEAD END

When a body is discovered in a field in Iowa, the police uncover fourteen additional corpses ranging from 20 years old to recent. The remains point to a serial killer with an MO the authorities have seen before--Ed Oliphant, a man who has been in prison for over 20 years . . . and is Special Agent Kaely Quinn's father. After several failed interview attempts to discover if Ed has been training someone to be a copycat killer, the police turn to Kaely in St. Louis.

Kaely promised herself she would never step foot in her hometown or set eyes on her father again. She's always refused to confront her past, but if she wants to prevent any more deaths, she must come face-to-face with the man she's hated for years.
 
As more bodies are discovered, Kaely races against time and her own personal turmoil to uncover the killer. Will this most personal case yet cost Kaely her identity and perhaps even her life?

I'm having a contest every day until it releases! Go here to enter!

CONTEST

Order DEAD END


Nancy Mehl

What's New in Inspirational Suspense by Mary Ellis

Wondering what's new in inspirational suspense and mystery?

Shirlee McCoy has a new mystery, Falsely Accused, 

#5 in FBI Special Crimes Unit from Love Inspired Suspense.

Proving her innocence means running for her life. Framed for her foster brother’s murder, FBI special agent Wren Santino must clear her name—but someone’s dead set on stopping her from finding the truth. Her estranged childhood friend, Titus Anderson, comes to her aid…but standing by her puts him in the killer’s cross-hairs, too. And unraveling a conspiracy may be the only way for either of them to survive. #5 from the FBI: Special Crimes Unit series.

Buy it here: https://www.christianbook.com/falsely-accused-shirlee-mccoy/9781335402677/pd/402678?event=EBRNL#CURR

Author Reveals Her Research Secrets ~ Win a free copy of Missing Deposits

Happy Friday, readers, Mary Ellis here. Today Suspense Sisters welcomes author, Leann Betts, who talks about her research for her newest mystery, Missing Deposits. Stay tuned for a chance to win a free copy of her book. 

The Research Behind the Story Missing Deposits by Leann Betts.

Readers—and writers, too, for that matter—often ask me why I set my stories where I do. Carly needed a road trip after her last harrowing adventure, so I chose the state I live in. Famous for its mineral deposits, I learned about Colorado mineral rights. One interesting tidbit is that ownership of oil and mineral rights doesn’t automatically transfer with the title to the land. Sometimes, unless specified, and under certain conditions, those rights stay with the previous owner. Or the government.

Then I looked for a rare, endangered animal to sweeten the pot. Something not normally found where I would put them. The details about the black-footed ferrets are mostly true. Not about the truck accident that dropped several of the critters on the western slope, but at the timing of this story, 2005, they were on the “extinct in the wild” list. Recently they were reintroduced into Colorado to control the prairie dog population.

As I do with just about every book in this series, I made up a fictional town based on a part of the state I’d recently visited and which I thought readers might like to learn more about. The Grand Mesa/Mesa Verde National Park area on the western slopes of Colorado is a world unto itself. The scenery is spectacular, the weather is iffy, but the people are warmhearted and compassionate.

I also needed a politically conservative setting, because while not exclusively so, politically conservative folks also tend to be church-goers, and I wanted both Carly and Mike to be slam-dunked into a situation where they had to re-examine their spiritual beliefs. I researched cattle brands, and chose a name for a brand I could draw. A Lazy L, in brand terms, is one that lies horizontally.

About the story Missing Deposits: Carly looks forward to a vacation when Mike is hired to assist a rancher in western Colorado catalogue his mineral rights following the discovery of several large deposits. However, Carly soon learns that the real wealth—and the real danger—aren’t below ground. Someone is out to keep a secret bigger and more profitable than gold and copper. And they’re willing to kill for it. 

About the author: Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic suspense. Missing Deposits is the 11th title in her cozy mystery series, and together she and Donna have published more than 30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests, edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels extensively to research her stories, and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary LLC.

Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.
Blog: www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/1pQSOqV
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1qmqvB6
Books: Amazon http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2z5ecP8

Leave Leeann comment, and I will draw randomly for a print copy (US only) or ebook version (winner’s choice) of Missing Deposits. You must leave your email address in order to win. 

Life in the time of the coronavirus .....Roxanne Rustand

Hi everyone,

Wishing you my very best while we all deal with the Coronavirus. 

My heart breaks over the stories of people who were barely subsisting on minimum wage paychecks, and who have now lost those jobs. Over anyone who has lost their job, had to shutter a business, who has their children home from school for the foreseeable future and needs to work but has no childcare for the little ones. And the elderly who have limited money, no transportation and must somehow get to a grocery store only to find the shelves bare.

In our area, there has been the canceling of non-essential medical appointments, and canceling of non-emergency surgeries, to keep beds, staff, and supplies free for increasing Covid-19 cases.  Here is a sign at the Iowa University Hospitals and Clinics which limits even families of surgery patients to a single visitor per day. Can you imagine sitting alone in the waiting room for hours throughout a loved one's very serious surgery? Yet, it's all good--for the health of the hospital patients who are already in compromised health.

I'm so glad that this country is now taking Covid-19 very seriously, to help save lives. And I pray that we will all get past this with less illness and loss of life than predicted.

How are you all coping with this? Are you in an area where you've been told to shelter in place? 

In light of the extra time at home for some folks, that none of us would've predicted just months earlier, have you taken on some big projects at home? Found excellent books to read from your TBR stacks?

Do you have any recommendations for good books to read--old favorites or new? Recommendations for fun projects for yourself, or for entertaining kids who are at home?

Leave a comment, and the winner of a drawing can choose any book from my newest and throughout my backlist!  If I no longer have what the winner would like, a different book can be chosen.

All my best,

Roxanne Rustand