Bring Your Own Baker by D E Haggerty - Pre-Release blitz

Cozy Mystery / Comedy

Date Published: June 20, 2016

Anna just wants to earn enough money on the side to buy into the bakery, Callie’s Cakes, where she works together with her best nerd pal Callie. The last thing she expects to see when she walks into Arthur’s apartment to do some moonlighting is a blood bath. Callie’s ready to jump into the investigation into Arthur’s murder, and she’s bringing another bakery worker, Kristie, into their hijinks whether Kristie wants to or not. But things aren’t as they seem. There are gang affiliations, illegal gambling dens, and ladies of the night to wade through. Will Anna and Callie discover who murdered Arthur or will Callie’s detective boyfriend Ben and Anna’s self-appointed protector put a stop to such aspirations? 

Come join us at Callie’s Cakes, where murder investigations are on the menu, but make sure to bring your own baker because Anna’s a bit preoccupied at the moment. 

Warning: This is NOT your mom’s cozy mystery. Bring Your Own Baker may be a ‘clean’ read, but if gangs, illegal gambling, and pimps make you turn your nose up at your e-reader, you might want to skip this one. Although you’ll be missing some sizzling chemistry between Anna and her protector. Not to mention a whole bunch of witty dialogue. 

EXCERPT

I grasp the weapon in my hand and throw it with all my might at him. The weapon makes a ‘tee hee’ sound as it hits his stomach. 

“Did you just throw a Pillsbury dough boy at me?” His voice carries a hint of humor. The Pillsbury dough boy was probably not the best item to grab from the kitchen to use as a weapon. Obviously, I’m totally losing it. 

I inch backwards into the kitchen searching for a more appropriate weapon. Dag nab it! The knives are way over on the other side. I have no choice. Without taking my eyes of the man, I grab a perfectly formed and probably fricking delicious muffin from the tin and throw it at the intruder. Apparently, my fast ball needs some work as he just catches the muffin as if I merely lobbed it in his direction. He smiles and, not bothering with the paper liner, takes a huge bite.

“Mmmm…,” he groans around a mouthful. “This is really good.” 

“Seriously?” I throw my arms in the air before planting my hands on my hips. “If you want my muffins, just come to the bakery. You don’t have to break in.” Uh oh, I nearly forgot that he broke in. I start backing up again, getting ever closer to those knives. 

The man’s eyes narrow as he notices me shuffling my way towards the knives. He stalks me and, when he’s only an arm’s length away, reaches around me and grabs the knife block. He keeps his eyes steady on me as he places the block on top of the refrigerator. Somewhere I can only reach if I get out my step ladder. 

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” I may be terrified and my voice my stutter a bit, but I’m not backing down. Not. One. Bit.

“You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?” 

“Who you calling little?” Apparently, I have no regard for my safety at all as I’m now goading an intruder. 

The man chuckles. His smile shows a perfect set of teeth. Huh, not exactly what I expected from Mr. Piercings and Tattoos. “For a pink-haired pixie, you sure aren’t afraid, are you?” 

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage every once in a while to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. Another job change, this time from lawyer to B&B owner and I was again fed up and ready to scream I quit, which is incredibly difficult when you own the business. Thus, I shut the B&B during the week and in the off-season and started writing. Several books later I find myself in Istanbul writing full-time.

Contact Links

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Email: dena@dehaggerty.com

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Book #1 of the series, Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker, is on sale for 99 cents Today!!!

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Until next time,

Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder - [Book Spot Light]

In today's book spot light, I bring you a comedy. Here you go :-)

Synopsis: 

Leder's black comic caper tells the tall tale of estranged brothers Mike and Dan Miller—accountant and con-man talent agent respectively—up to their necks in the virtual quicksand of LA's San Fernando Valley during the hottest summer in Southern California history.  

The root cause of their problems could be the missing seventy-five thousand dollars, or the sadistic, loan shark dwarf and his vicious giant, or the psycho comedian cop on the case, or the coke-snorting dentist, or the deranged zombie real estate developer. Or perhaps it’s the poodle—the poodle is suspect, no doubt. Or maybe it's the grocery store checker who breathes life into death. Oh yes, it could be her too.  

And so to repair the head-on collision the Millers have made of their personal and professional lives, the brothers summon their mother back from the dead to clean up the wreckage. But what the Miller men discover is that screwing with the laws of nature is forever and always a violent, bloody, hysterical, and hilarious idea. 

Author Bio:

Rich Leder:

The summer I turned ten, my parents moved us from one small, northeastern New Jersey town to another small, northeastern New Jersey town--River Vale to Woodcliff Lake. It was maybe a twenty-minute drive from one town to the next, but for me we might as well have moved to Missouri.

I knew no one. I had no friends whatsoever. The first day of fifth grade was the first time I had seen any of my ten-year-old classmates and also the first time they had seen me.

The teacher was a smiling redheaded woman who couldn't have been more than twenty-six years old. Miss McCloy was her name.

There were thirty-five kids in the class, all of us neat as a pin for the first day of school. Miss McCloy sat behind her desk at the front of the room and read aloud the names of the children in her charge. One after the other raised their hands and said, "Here." McCloy then said something kind as a way of welcoming that particular child to her classroom and read the next name.

As she approached the Ls, I slid off my chair, belly-crawled the length of the aisle, and crouched flush up against and in front of her desk.

Some of my classmates were stunned to silence, but many were already laughing.

"Rich Leder," McCloy said, and I shot up like a rocket straight into the air three feet in front of her face and shouted, "At your service."

The class laughed and laughed. Some kids applauded.

McCloy, to her great credit, played along, welcomed me to her classroom, and sent me striding back down the aisle to my desk.

Everyone smiled at me. One kid shook my hand. The only thing they knew about me was that I was funny. I made friends that day I still have today.

That was the first time I was fully conscious about trying to be funny, about thinking I was funny and should be funny, about wanting to make those kids--total strangers--laugh at me and with me and out loud.

Forty-eight years later nothing's changed: I love to laugh, and I love to make other people laugh. If we emailed each other (and we definitely should ... rich(at)laughriotpress.com), I'm sure we'd crack each other up. Wouldn't that be fun?

I'v been a working writer for two and a half decades. My screen credits include 18 produced television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, and Left Bank Films.

My funny novels are for sale here at Amazon: McCall & Company: Workman's Complication; McCall & Company: Swollen Identity; Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench.

I founded Laugh Riot Press, a social media marketing and self-publishing company, as an imprint for my funny books and the funny books of other indie authors looking to join an intimate, genre-specific community focused on maximizing the exponential power of year-round digital marketplace exposure.

I've been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the University of North Carolina Wilmington Film Studies Department, among other things, all of which, it turns out, was grist for the mill. I live on the North Carolina coast with my awesome wife, Lulu, and I'm sustained by the visits home of our three college kids.

I hope you'll read my book and laugh out loud. That's why I wrote them.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

Until next time,

November Keys by Brian & Michael - Book Blitz

Comedy / Fantasy

Date Published: October 2014

Funny, Compelling, Unusual

A Riveting book readers will find hard to put down.

American gangsters take a very active interest in a run down English football club located in a sleepy village called November Keys which boasts an unusual history.Their main purpose is to take advantage of the club’s geography for their own dubious and very illegal means.

However, they do not allow for some tenacious villagers and things that go bump in the night to try and flaw their plans.

Things come to a head when the football team, hampered by strange characters, bizarre rituals and a priceless ancient recipe, must play a match where failure could threaten mankind.

About the Authors

We are a father and son team. Perhaps a little unusual in the publishing world, however we would like to think our relationship has improved and not impeded our debut novel.

Outside of writing we do share similar interests, both being passionate football fans with a liking for a curry and a pint.

Both have many interests, which include charity work, poetry, music, film, cinema and quiz shows.

Whilst Brian is a published author it is Michael who has invented most of the amusing characters you are going to meet in November Keys. Both writers have spent pleasurable hours burning the midnight oil, endeavouring to portray these character’s personalities and eccentricities in a light hearted manner.

Coupled with an original plot with more twists than a sixties band we hope we have created a novel that is different and humorous, which will keep our readers, young and old alike, intrigued and entertained for many hours.

Contact Links

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Until next time,

First Brush on the Canvas - Anthology - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Title: First Brush on the Canvas

Genre: Romance, Thriller, Comedy, Short stories, Anthology

Publisher: Half baked beans

Source: A free review copy from writersmelon

About the Book:

'Le Siffleur' and his magic. Vampires, guardians' adventures at night. Coffee, love and a new couple. Imli and her mother in a complex web of darkness. A small town girl confused about virginity. Michael Jaikishen and his writing endeavours. Child adoption by a gay couple. Mahabharat - a modern tale in an epic form. The spine-chilling tale of Tina and Uncle Joe. A juicy love story by our guest author Sujata Parashar. These and many other unputdownable stories in this book.



Purchase the book here.

My review:

This book is a collection of stories of 3 genres - Love, comedy and Horror. These are handpicked stories edited by Priyanka Roy Banerjee from nationwide short story competition organized by writersmelon.com. So, I expected them to be the best of a lot and it didn't disappoint me at all. I didn't enjoy stories from comedy section. All other stories are fantastic.

I loved the quotes before each story. Some which I liked,

There is only one tip for good writing - the subject or the story should have a soul of its own. And it should be satisfying for the reader, not only emotionally, but intellectually as well. - Deepak Kripal

A novel would have one character, or many, depending on your story. But whenever a character is introduced, that person must come alive on your pages. - Madhuri Iyer

There was a time when success really meant getting what I wanted - name, fame, money. Now success is simply the ability to live each day fully, facing whatever comes your way, without brooding over the past or without agonizing over the future in worry, and being happy in the moment. - AVIS Viswanathan

Some of the stories that liked:

Popping the Cherry by Amit Nangia
A funky teenage story of a small town girl who is confused with the concept of virginity. I liked the way story is narrated and the unexpected twist given by the author at the end.

Watermelon: Cut and dried by Sujata Parashar
This is a guest story for this book by prolific writer Sujata. I liked the characterization very well. The author builds up the character of protagonist Kanak very well and we will be in sync with what she thinks and can relate to her character. The flow of the story is smooth and interesting.


Tina by Diptee Raut
A thriller with a twist at the end. The narration is interesting and the way the author planned the climax is good.

Lepidoptera by Stuti Chandra
What can I say about this story? dark or mysterious? Enjoyed reading this. It's on the edge thriller.

My Rating: 3/5

About the Authors:
Uttiya Roy – Nourished with Bangla literature, he aspires to change the world someday writing in English. 

Upasana Bhattacharjee – Our youngest writer is still a student, but that doesn’t reflect in the matured story she’s written dealing with inconclusive logics and paradoxes. 

Stuti Chandra – She writes because she’s alive. This lovely lady is from Patna and has dipped her nose in English Literature at Delhi.

Shaily Bhargava – A photographer, a logophile and an Equity Technical Analyst – all in one. 

Arunav Chowdhury – He’s a movie buff and a news junkie rolled into one, who writes wonderful modern takes on the age old Mahabharat.

Rafaa Dalvi – A Mumbaikar, an engineer, a blogger and a prolific writer. He’s already made his presence in three anthologies and likes to experiment with different genre.

Diptee Raut – A quilter, blogger, quirky mom, an amazing writer &co-winner of Melonade’4. 

Abhishek Mukherjee – Have you read his blog posts yet? You have to read his humorous takes on Mythology to believe he’s the best.

Anwesha Ray – An amazingly sensitive writer, she lives and works in Bangalore.
Avishek Basu Mallick He’s the winner of Melonade’4. If you wish to laud him for more, he’s an engineer and an MBA, working in Bangalore and a featured writer on Sportskeeda

Arijit Ghose - Blend Carnatic music with exceptional satire and the result is Arijit Ghose. 

Amit Nangia - For those working in MNCs for years, he’s your inspiration. Amit’s first novel has just released after facing many rejections but that didn’t deter him from writing. 

Sujata Parashar - Author of the immensely popular ‘In Pursuit Of’ series & a wonderful poet. 

Until next time,


PS: I have received free review copy from author through writersmelon.com and this is my honest opinion on this book.