Book Tour Spotlight- A Christmas Conundrum by Stacy Wilder.

12th Dec 2023 / dianasbookjournal / 1 Comment

A Christmas Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery
by Stacy Wilder

About A Christmas Conundrum

A Christmas Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery.

Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Wild Hawk Press (November 1, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 90 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8985426687
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 90 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8985426670
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKQ7GZWC

Nancy Drew meets How the Grinch Stole Christmas in this delightful cozy mystery set in Charleston, SC.

Who’s stealing the holiday decorations? They’re disappearing like Christmas cookies from PeggyLou Designs, and Lou’s newly launched event planning service is in trouble. He implores his neighbor and friend, Private Investigator Liz Adams, to bring the thief to justice.

The clock is ticking. It’s only ten days until the mayor’s big holiday celebration. The party that will make or break Lou’s business.

Liz’s mom, Babs, steps in to help, and the investigation becomes complicated. Suddenly the holidays are not all mistletoe and merriment when Bab’s life is threatened. Will Liz and her lie-detecting Labrador retriever, Duke, discover the perpetrator before it’s too late?

Experience Charleston in the city’s full Christmas glory in this fun fast-paced holiday story.

About Stacy Wilder

Stacy Wilder has traveled to six out of seven continents Books have shaped her life and her travels. Her love of mysteries began with Nancy Drew.

A Christmas Conundrum is the third book in the riveting Liz Adams Mystery series. In addition to mysteries, Stacy writes children’s stories, short stories, and poetry. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas, with a totally spoiled Labrador retriever, Eve.

Author Links

Website www.storystacy.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorstacywilder/

YouTube https://youtu.be/VR7kKOxAsjU?si=_jaX1EuELeFKEMqQ

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/stacy-wilder

Purchase Links – Amazon E-book – Amazon Paperback – Amazon Hardback – Barnes and Noble – Bookshop.org –

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

December 12 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

December 12 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

December 12 – Diane’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST

December 13 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

December 14 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

December 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 15 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT*

December 15 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

December 16 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 16 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

December 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 17 – The Mystery Section – AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 18 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT WITH PLAYLIST

December 19 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW –

December 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 20 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

December 21 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

December 22 – Angel’s Book Nook – RECIPE

December 22 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

December 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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Book Tour & Giveaway – Hair On Fire by Larada Horner-Miller.

11th Dec 2023 / dianasbookjournal / Leave a comment

A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

Nonfiction / Memoir

Date Published: 09-21-2023

Publisher: Horner Publishing Company

Brimming with heartfelt anecdotes, nostalgic escapades, and timeless humor, Hair on Fire is a Christmas memoir like no other. It will warm your heart, make you laugh uproariously, and transport you back to the most magical time of the year. So grab a hot cocoa and snuggle under a cozy blanket while Horner-Miller beguiles with her tales!

Chapter Twelve

A CHRISTMAS SAD AND PRECIOUS

It was in the late 1960s. Mom, Dad, my teenage brother, and I arrived in Poway, California for a special Christmas celebration. My sister’s husband had recently been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, and the future loomed bleak. This was only the second time we’d traversed to California for Christmas, and this trip had such a mixture of emotion.

A couple years before, as newlyweds, my sister, her new husband, and his two children came to Colorado for a truly country Christmas with lots of snow.

My new brother-in-law immediately started picking on me, and we bonded deeply even though he forced me to try cranberries—I had never tried this dish before. In reality, it wasn’t a dish—Mom opened cranberry sauce that slid out of the can whole—plop!—and served it. It always looked slimy to me. With his humor and persistent influence, I grew to love cranberries!

Sunny California appeared gloomy and heavy. The festive atmosphere of Christmas felt tinged with a deep sadness and fear. My sister greeted us warmly, knitting like a crazy woman. She shared with me that all of their gifts this year were knitted. I thought it a wonderful idea, but shortly I learned finances drove her decision.

I gasped silently at the man we saw on arrival, a shadow of the man we met a few short years ago. The disease had ravaged my brother-in-law’s body, and he had lost so much weight, his clothes hung loose and limp on his frame.

But his spirit of love and laughter prevailed. Mom tried her hand at making homemade pie crusts, forgetting the effect of being at sea level on a recipe usually done at 6,100 feet above sea level. She grumbled about the gooey mess she kept trying to roll out, and my brother-in-law teased her unmercifully. As he ducked out of the kitchen with his latest quip, she slung the ball of dough at him, hitting him in the eye—a magnificent bullseye. Our laughter filled the kitchen with delight in the ridiculous.

Christmas Eve morning came, and my brother-in-law slipped into Mom and Dad’s bedroom and whispered his plan for the day to Mom and me. “I’m going to go sell some wood so I can buy my loving wife some Christmas presents. Don’t let her know where I’ve gone. Can you help me wrap the presents when I get home?”

Mom and I both choked back tears, nodding our heads.

The impact of my brother-in-law’s health had destroyed their finances. He hadn’t worked his normal construction job in several months; my sister had a good job, but she was so busy and overwhelmed being a caregiver, too. Living in the wooded area of Poway, he cut wood whenever he could and sold it to make some extra money and to keep active—his current lack of working was not his nature.

Christmas Eve day went by uneventfully except for my sister’s repeated refrain, “Where is my husband? What is he doing?” Her distress weighed on me, but I couldn’t ruin his surprise. She continued to knit, the needles rapidly moving in her nervous hands.

Daylight slowly faded into darkness. Mom and I exchanged worried glances all day—Dad and Bub joined my sister in wondering about the whereabouts of my brother-in-law.

Mom and I went to their bedroom to talk about what we should do—the pending darkness scared us. He had been gone for hours. What if something went wrong? Quietly my brother-in-law opened the door of my parent’s bedroom, a couple bags in hand. He looked exhausted but pleased with himself.

We wrapped the small collection of gifts—all kitchen utensils for my sister. We placed the gifts under the tree, and my sister, contrite in her reaction to her husband’s day-long absence, held back tears and pain.

I knew deep in my heart that this was the most precious exhibition of love I’d ever seen. His generosity and spirit graced the rest of that holiday.

Sixty-some years ago, and it still brings a smile to my heart, yet a tear to my eyes, as I remember his mission of love and the true spirit of Christmas.

Have you had a Christmas like this—both sweet and bittersweet at the same time?

About the Author

Larada Horner-Miller is an award-winning poet, essayist, blogger and accomplished multi-genre author who holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education Degree in Integrating Technology into the Classroom. She is the accomplished author of seven award-winning historical fiction, memoir, and poetry works plus three self-published cookbooks.

Her new release, Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir is available in paperback and e-book format.

Her sixth book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?, is available in paperback and four e-book formats. It won the 2023 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards for the Self Help/Guides category and the 2022 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for the Mind, Body and Spirit category. Larada offers the reader the opportunity to look back at 2020 and the global pandemic through her prose and poetry through reading, then reflecting and responding. She addresses all the emotions she felt during this overwhelming time and leads the reader through to a self-access: bitter or better?

Her fifth book is the authorized memoir and biography of world-renown square dance caller Marshall “Flip” Flippo. Just Another Square Dance Caller: Biography of Marshall Flippo is available now in hardback, paperback and four e-book formats. Recently Just Another Square Dance Caller won two awards: Book Excellence Awards Finalist and Silver award for eLit. Book Awards.

Larada and her husband, Lin, enjoy being nestled in the mountains above Albuquerque, New Mexico, near the village of Tijeras. She enjoys square dancing, traveling, knitting, and reading.

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Book Spotlight – Santa’s Magical Reindeer: Becoming Pen Pals by Michele Monaco.

4th Dec 2023 / dianasbookjournal / 2 Comments

Book Details:

Book Title:  Santa’s Magical Reindeer: Becoming Pen Pals by Michele Monaco
Category: Children’s Fiction (ages 3 to 7), 38 pages
Genre:  Children’s Book
Publisher:  Mascot Kids
Release date:   Nov 7, 2023
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

Book Description:

Right after Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for Santa and his crew of eight famous reindeer! Every year, the Famous Eight sleigh team from the North Pole eagerly helps Santa by going on a quest to find kids who believe in Christmas magic. In Santa’s Magical Reindeer: Becoming Pen Pals, Prancer, Vixen, and Dasher go on an adventure in search of eager pen pals. On their journey, they find three rambunctious girls who eagerly exchange letters with them and become lifelong friends.

Buy the Book:
Mascot Books
Amazon ~ B&N
add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:

Michele Monaco has a great love for the Christmas season. She embraces the Christmas spirit all year round by remembering to look at life through the eyes of a child. As a mother of three beautiful and exuberant daughters, she believes in the magic that the holiday brings. Michele lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and enjoys traveling, reading, running, and enjoying the outdoors.

connect with author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram

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Book Blitz & Giveaway – Hair On Fire by Larada Horner-Miller.

10th Nov 2023 / dianasbookjournal / Leave a comment

A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

Nonfiction / Memoir

Date Published: 09-21-2023

Publisher: Horner Publishing Company

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About the Author

Her new release, Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir is available in paperback and e-book format.

Larada and her husband, Lin, enjoy being nestled in the mountains above Albuquerque, New Mexico, near the village of Tijeras. She enjoys square dancing, traveling, knitting, and reading.

Contact Links

Purchase Link

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Cover Reveal – The Gingerbread Christmas Village by Kiley Dunbar.

10th May 2023 / dianasbookjournal / Leave a comment

Blurb

The annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit (a model village made of gingerbread) and grotto has been an important part of the sleepy Cotswold hamlet’s Christmas celebrations for decades.

For years the gingerbread exhibition drew visitors from across the region and each year the model town grew more elaborate and ambitious but recently, interest has been dwindling. The gingerbread grotto needs to be rehomed or close forever.

Sixty-five-year-old Margi, the event’s founder, has had enough of village life (and its total lack of eligible men) and is planning to sell up and head to Birmingham to live closer to her niece.

She has lost her spark and her Christmas spirit and decides this will be her last gingerbread village, but despairs when she finds her only support is her old friend, Izzy, her niece Lucy from Birmingham, and Fern, the shy young farmer’s daughter. Oh, and Patrick, the gorgeous, reliable school caretaker.

As if this wasn’t enough, Lucy is determined to get her out dating again and persuades her to try some online dating apps but Margi’s had her heart broken too many times and wonders if she has just missed her chance.

Can they save the Gingerbread Grotto and can Margi get her old spark and her Christmas spirit back?

Published on 31st August 2023.

Book Blitz and Giveaway – Wrapped around my Heart by Kelly Collins.

17th Dec 2022 / dianasbookjournal / Leave a comment

Wrapped Around My Heart
Kelly Collins
Publication date: October 16th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

Mark Cantwell has a life most men can only dream of—he’s rich, respected, and ripped. There’s only one thing he wants—to regain control of his grandfather’s company. When the chance finally pops up, he jumps at it even though it means ruining Christmas for his executive assistant, Jess Stone.

Jess Stone will do anything for her handsome boss. He’s everything she wants in a man so when he needs her during her family’s annual Colorado Christmas celebration, she doesn’t hesitate to adjust her plans.

What should have been a simple flight and a quick meeting turns into a road trip from hell, leaving the pair stranded in a motel room together in the middle of a snowstorm.

Will Mark take the first chance he can to just get on with his business, or will he realize all he wants for Christmas is Jess?

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

He lifted his head for the briefest of moments and gave me a slip of a smile. I loved this little power exchange we had going. He’d demand, and I’d push back. Not a lot, just enough to get him to smile.

“Is this a hostile takeover?” It was a valid question since the man gobbled up companies like I did chocolate candies.

Mark laughed. “No, it’s something new.” He brought a pen to his mouth and chewed on the end, then laid it on the desk‐ top. “It’s a partnership.”

I was tempted to snatch the pen he’d been chewing on but let that thought go. Instead, I leaned in like I would if I were to tell him a secret.

“Can I be candid with you?”

He leaned in like every word I uttered was important. “I always want you to be honest with me, Jess.”

I lifted my head so we were eye to eye. “Forgive me for saying, but you don’t come across as the kind of man who plays nicely with others.”

He looked up at me with eyes the same color as a smog-free California sky. “Oh, I’m really quite good at playing, Ms. Stone.”

He only used my last name when he was making a point he didn’t want me to forget, but what was his point? His words seemed naughty in nature. Combined with his sly smile, and I was certain he was teasing me.

“I’d love to see that, Mr. Cantwell.” I made a note to get him the report within the hour. “But in all honesty, you don’t seem the type of man who likes to share, and a partnership implies sharing.”

He sat back and folded his arms across his broad chest. The smooth fabric of his custom suit gripped his muscles. “We’re talking about two different things. I can play all day and never have to share.” He took the last bite of his muffin and watched me for a second. “I never share. Once something is mine, it’s mine forever.”

A shiver ran down my spine. He was probably talking about money or possessions, but when he looked at me and said those words, my heart beat wildly. What would it be like to be Mark Cantwell’s woman for a minute—a day—forever?

Author Bio:

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International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

Kelly has sold more than a quarter of a million books worldwide, and in 2021 she was awarded a Readers’ Favorite Award Gold Medal in the Contemporary Romance category for A Tablespoon of Temptation.

You can learn more about Kelly at http://www.authorkellycollins.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon

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Release Blitz and Giveaway – Twelve Secrets of Christmas by Amelia Foster.

13th Dec 2022 / dianasbookjournal / Leave a comment

Contemporary Romance / Erotic Romance

Date Published: December 13, 2022

Publisher: Totally Bound

Leah Carson’ s four-year relationship exploded on New Year’ s Day and soured her toward all holiday-related activities. She no longer excessively decorated her home and office for Christmas, choosing the grinchy path instead. Working for a media outlet forces her into some semblance of holiday cheer, especially when the up-and-coming channel sets its sights on making a mark with a New Year’ s Eve special to rival all the standard offerings— something thrown into question when the host of the broadcast is put in jail, and Leah and her team are scrambling to fill the slot.

Brendan Lanza is heir to the throne of Lanza Broadcasting, but he has to earn his seat by learning every department within the company at his father’ s orders. His term with the marketing team offers the unexpected bonus of getting to know Leah better. The respect his father holds for the woman becomes an understatement once Brendan sees how her clever brain easily handles issues, something only rivaled by the temptations her body creates in him.

But her less-than-festive spirit and the threat of losing their highly anticipated special lead Brendan to appoint himself as her Secret Santa, sending twelve anonymous gifts to Leah. Their office flirtation ramps up as Leah begins to receive presents from a secret admirer, creating a bit of conflict as she believes that she is torn between two men, and Brendan is left to decide if he’ s betraying their blossoming bond by withholding the truth behind the packages she finds on her doorstep each night.

Excerpt

I flipped open the tag and, once again, it read the same as the one the night prior. “From Your Secret Admiring Santa.”

***

“Am I really all that different, Leah?” He let out a deep sigh and in my mind’s eye I pictured him reclining on a plush bed looking out at his purported skyline view. “Haven’t you paid any attention to the way I look at you? Although I have to admit to being a little jealous that I never made you laugh like this mystery man.”

***

I hooked a finger beneath her chin and lowered my face near hers. “Watching your ass sway every damn time you walk away from me.” I ran my thumb along her lower lip. “And imagining how your lips taste every time you speak.” I moved my mouth until it hovered a breath above hers. “Can I kiss you?”

***

“Does this mean I can buy that scandalous elf lingerie I saw?” He tugged down the zipper of the sleeveless dress I’d worn beneath a very practical and proper blazer and within seconds had me standing in my living room in just my bra and panties.

***

“If that were the case then this would be hella awkward, but since I’m your secret Santa—again—I think it’s okay.”

***

Relief and elation washed over me. “It’s you?” When he nodded, I launched myself into his arms as tears coursed down my cheeks. “I wanted it to be you.” I hiccuped, my voice breaking on a sob. “I wanted it to be you every single time.”

About the Author

Books, coffee, and chocolate make up both the heart and body mass that is better known as Amelia Foster. She has been a lifelong lover of the written word, both as a reader and an author, and completed her first manuscript at the ripe old age of five, complete with illustrations. Sadly, her art was a medium that never improved over time, although thankfully her writing has.

From sweet to salacious, the only requirement Amelia has in books she reads – and definitely in the ones she crafts – is an excessively satisfying happily ever after… and then a little bit more.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter: @afosterauthor

Instagram: @ameliafosterauthor

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