donalee Moulton is visiting and talking about her latest release #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #mystery #murder

 

1.    

1.  Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre?

 

Hung Out to Die is my first mystery novel. The main character is Riel Brava. Riel, at least on the surface, is an unusual character for me. He’s male. Quintessentially male in many ways: confident, fit, good looking, charming, ambitious.  He also has a distinctive personality trait; he’s a psychopath. The kind of psychopath that often succeeds in a corporate structure that calls for dispassion.

An American, Riel is currently living in Nova Scotia and working as CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. He aspires to return to the U.S. and run for president. First, he wants to hone his leadership skills and cement his business credentials.

Riel lives between worlds. His first name is Gabriel; his adoptive parents’ last name is Brava. Riel is neither French nor Latino. In that same way, Riel is a successful man in a competitive world, but it is a world he does not identify with on fundamental levels.

 

 

2. Where did the idea arise?

A bath. I’m a big believer in bubbles, candles, scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the background. Friends call this bathroom time my shrine. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.

 

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing?

 

There were key elements to the story that had to be authentic, at least in a fictional context. I have done a lot of reporting on the cannabis industry and have had the opportunity to tour a cannabis production plant before it opened. Likewise, for years as a freelance journalist I wrote on the health sector and health issues, including mental health and personality issues. As a communications specialist, many of my clients were from this sector.

I always find it easy to get distracted when I am writing. As a freelance journalist, however, I learned to stay on track. Working to deadline meant there often wasn’t time to travel down interesting but non-essential paths. You are also working to a specific word count as a journalist so you know no matter how interesting the asides, they will not make it into the article for length reasons.

 

4. How long did you take to write the book?

 

A year. There is part of me that thinks I got distracted from writing it too much during that year. There is another part that thinks that time helped to better formulate characters and plot.

 

 

5. Now a bit about you. How long have you been writing? What is your Sun Sign?

 

I have been writing for a lifetime. For many years, I was a freelance writer for online and print publications throughout North America. More recently I have turned and returned to fiction and poetry. I co-wrote my first book in 2006, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous. This was a collection of articles on famous people, including Martha Stewart and Bill Clinton, who found themselves in trouble with the law.  Last year The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say was published by a U.S. publisher. This year Hung Out to Die hit bookshelves, virtual and real.

I’m a Leo, although I am on the cusp with Virgo.

 

 

6. Do you write in a number of genres of stick to one?

 

I have published poetry and literary short stories. I have published thousands of articles in magazines and newspapers, online and in print. I have published personal essays, usually humorous. More recently, I have published non-fiction books and my first mystery novel as well as two mystery short stories. Whatever I am working on at the time is my favorite.

 

 

7. Where on the internet can you be found?

 

Website: donaleemoulton.com 

 

Amazon Author URL: amazon.com/author/donaleemoulton

 

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

 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/donaleemoulton

 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaleemoulton/

 

Twitter: @donaleeMoulton

 

Instagram: donaleemoulton

Murder and Sweet Tea is featured today with Thursday's Opening Scene #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Mystery #cozy #Sweet Tea

 

MyI waved to Maria and Sarah and started along the sidewalk. The July sun shone in a cloudless sky. For a moment, I halted and studied the “Painted Lady” across the street. Several vans filled the driveway and men carrying sheetrock and wood strode to the house.

The Victorian had been mine for many years and until I’d converted both floors to apartments, the house had been a single family residence. The new owners, Jenna and Richard, had begun a second conversion to return the house to its original purpose. A smile curved my lips. This pair had married in June and had begun making the house into a home.

I turned the corner onto my street. Sun glinted on the dark waters of the Hudson River and revealed the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

My thoughts drifted to my husband. Our first anniversary would occur next month and I had visited with two of my friends to plan a barbeque. My kind of party. Lars would have made reservations at the Cedar Inn where our second reception had been held. I had missed the affair and so had Lars. An out of state friend had needed my help and I speeded to her side. Lars and I had our differences but love and friendship allowed us to compromise. Our marriage is based on a long friendship, first as two couples and then as two who had lost their mates.

Robespierre ambled up the street toward me. When he reached my side, the Maine Coon cat butted my leg with his head. Was this a welcome home or a bid for more food? At twenty pounds, he was large. His black, brown and white long hair made him seem larger.

As we passed the vacant “Dutch Colonial” next door to my new abode, I noticed a For Sale sign on the front lawn. The news brought curiosity. Who would buy? The elderly couple who owned the house had moved to a senior complex last year.

Moments later I reached home, a sprawling ranch house situated at the river’s edge well above the shore. The cat dashed to the kitchen. Lars sat at the table cradling a steaming mug of coffee. I sprinkled a few bits of dry food into Robespierre’s dish and filled a glass with spearmint iced tea. I joined my husband.

Lars glanced away from the newspaper. “Don’t leaving Megan with us for the day. He’s heading to the city.”

“He’ll swelter.”

“Possibly but he has an appointment with some publisher for a freelance bit designing book covers.”

“Sounds interesting. We’ll have fun entertaining the child. You know, she’s my fourth grandchild.” Places

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Havens #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #fantasy #affinities #Earth #Air #Fire #Water

 

Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com  for some great excerpts. Mine is found at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com and is from Havens Affinities Book 2

BLURB:

The four teens, led by the mysterious birds they believe are their parents seek a place of safety where they can learn to control their affinities. They find a place of refuge with Doma Jandia, grandmother of their friend Zand. The doma plans to take them to the highlands but news of the capture of two of their friends by Dom Senet, sends them on a rescue mission. Their powers are not strong enough to defeat the evil dom. They must find a way to succeed or their friends will be corrupted forever.

Excerpt:

Alizand prowled about his bed chamber.  He paused beside the window and pushed the heavy draperies aside.  Another day of confinement.  Since the day his step-brothers had invaded the suite, forcing Alizand to reveal his affinity for Fire, he’d been a prisoner. 

At least the guards at the door believed he couldn’t leave.  They didn’t know about the hidden sections and the secret rooms and passages to be found beyond the walls.  Though Alizand could slip away, he should wait until night lest his room be checked.  Dom Senet often made random visits during the day.  Only when Alizand’s personal guard appeared could he escape these chambers. The corridors and places he could go had to be kept secret. 

He was bored.  He even missed the tedious lessons he’d been given by the clan elders during the short time he’d been acknowledged as his father’s heir.  Having his affinity exposed had ended the dream of being deemed fit to become a prince.  No one who could use one or all of the elements could rule the princedom of Wesren.

He stared at the tray on the table.  A maidservant had delivered the food a short time before.  Though he had eaten nothing since yesterday’s midday meal, he had no desire to break his fast.

The back of Alizand’s neck prickled.  Trouble approached.  Which of the many enemies he’d collected in his fourteen years of life came to upset his day?

The door opened.  Before the guard could announce the visitor, a tall man entered.  His ash blond hair hung in a single braid.  Black leather riding clothes gleamed in the light from candles set in glass-shielded sconces on the wall.  His dark green eyes sought and held Alizand’s gaze.

A smile appeared on Dom Senet’s face.  Alizand felt like a tabby surrounded by a pack of ratis.  He forced himself to breathe.  How could one man raise such a high degree of terror?  Though Alizand’s legs felt unsteady, he forced himself to remain on his feet.

“Dom Senet.”  A sense of pride filled Alizand’s thoughts.  His voice hadn’t cracked or risen to a high pitch to reveal his inner quaking.

The dom stroked the multi-colored gem he wore about his neck.  The gold chain glinted.  “I have questions for you to answer.”

Questions, Alizand thought.  What kind of trick was this?  He couldn’t relax his barriers or forget his suspicions of the dom.  Was this a new way to fool him into becoming the dom’s puppet?  Alizand needed to respond.  To remain silent would expose his fear.  “What do you want to know?”

“About your kin, the children of your father’s step-brother.  I have a great need to find them.  Poor lost children who need a home and a guardian.”

Alizand’s hands clenched.  His friends had saved his life when he’d been injured in the aftermath of the destruction of the henge.  With them, he’d been Zand, a person and not a creature to be used.  “I don’t know where they are.  I told my father I didn’t and I say the same to you.”

“I think otherwise.”  The dom moved closer.

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The Escape Plot Opening Scene s featured today as Tuesday's Writer's Tip #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #wwriting #plot #Escape

 The Escape Plot features the captured person wanting and trying to escape. This character must rescue him or herself. The Opening Scene shows the prisoner and why he or she has been made a captive. The outlook isn't good. This character must realize escape is the only chance he or she  has to be free. The first scene shows the imprisonment, one that doesn't seem fair.The crime may be real or imaginary. The reader must react to the unfairness of the punishment. The situation seems straightforward. The prisoner now begins to plan for an escape.

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Meandering on Mondaywith Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Reading #Writing #Thoughts

 Meander 1 - Reading - Right now I've begun reading AStacy Abrams Rough Draft/ Interesting and intriguing at present. Political events.

Meander 2 - Thoughts - Russia. Had a dream about this but no idea where the dream led. Oneofthose strange awakenings with odd memories. Do hope what ever is going on will settle down soon.

Meander 3 - writing - Have rough drafted six chapters and seven to go. Book is becoming complicated at present. Murder has happened.

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Murder and Sweet Tea is featured as Sunday's Book #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #cozy mystery, #Robespierre, Sweet Tea

 

Lars is her new husband. He loves Katherine but doesn’t understand why she’s always trying to protect her near and dear. Even though she saved his life while visiting him in Santa Fe, he often questions her involvement in other people’ lives.

Into their lives arrives a new neighbor, Sabrina Gates. Sabrina bought the house next door. She has had a phenomenal success as a new author but moes from her past and present threaten her peace and ability to write. There is the blogger who posts snide and not so nice posts about other authors. Sabrina’s former agent wants a share of the huge amount of money Sabrina has received for a trilogy. And there is her ex-husband, a needy greedy coward who wants money.

Above all there is Robespierre who makes his presence known.

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Books by Jill Piscitello are featured as Saturday's Blurbs #MFRWAuthor #Books #Blurbs #cozy mystery # holiday romance

 

Author name:  Jill Piscitello

Book Title:  A Sour Note (A Music Box Mystery)

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

TAGLINE:

When murder provides a welcome distraction…

Blurb:

On the heels of a public, broken engagement, Maeve Cleary returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, NH. When a dead body turns up behind her mother’s music school, three old friends land on the suspect list. Licking her wounds soon takes a back seat to outrunning the paparazzi who spin into a frenzy, casting her in a cloud of suspicion. Maeve juggles her high school sweetheart, a cousin with a touch of clairvoyance, a no-nonsense detective, and an apologetic, two-timing ex-fiancé. Will the negative publicity impact business at the Music Box— the very place she’d hoped to make a fresh start?

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble

 

 

Author name:  Jill Piscitello

Book Title:  Tinsel and Tea Cakes

Genre:  Sweet, holiday romance

 

Book blurb: 

Hair stylist Scarlett Kerrigan lost her job and her apartment. To alleviate a touch of self-pity, she succumbs to her stepmom’s pressure to attend a wedding in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Unfortunately, she runs into the vacation fling who promised the moon but disappeared without an explanation. Months have passed, but she is not ready to forgive and forget.

After a chaotic year, executive Wes Harley settles into his family's event venue, The Timeless Manor. His carefully structured world is shaken to its core when Scarlett arrives for the Victorian Christmas wedding weekend. The feelings he never quite erased flood to the surface.

When secrets are revealed, will a magical chateau and a sprinkle of tinsel be enough to charm Scarlett?

Purchase Links:

Amazon          Nook

 

 

 

 

Author name:  Jill Piscitello

Book Title:  Homemakers’ Christmas

Genre:  Sweet, holiday romance

Blurb:

A recent error in judgement has deposited Cricket Williams, her daughter, and a son spiking a high fever into a homeless shelter. A touch of Christmas magic is sprinkled upon her family when an eccentric volunteer invites them into her New England farmhouse. Blindsided with the proposition of a contractual living arrangement, Cricket is seized with renewed hope for her future.

 

Boris Glynn is in town visiting his grandmother but harbors a secret that will impact her life and the lives of his dearest friends. Complications arise when he is unable to restrain himself from pursuing his grandmother’s beautiful new neighbor.

 

As Cricket begins to succumb to Boris’s attention, her new world is shaken by a series of events that have the potential to destroy her plans for a fresh start.

Purchase Links:

  

• Amazon Kindle
• Amazon
• Nook
• Smashwords 
• Kobo

 

 

Jill Piscitello is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor Mysterues #holiday romance

 

1. What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

I am also a teacher. This career does impact my choices as a writer. I don’t use a pen name. Knowing that young eyes might happen upon my books, I keep my writing clean and lighthearted.

 

2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

I have written two sweet, holiday romances and the first in a cozy mystery series. My romance novella, Tinsel and Tea Cakes, included a hint of mystery. A Sour Note offers a dash of sweet romance with a high school sweetheart and sprinkle of the mystical in the form of a clairvoyant cousin.

 

3. What is your latest release?

A Sour Note is the first in the Music Box Mystery series and is scheduled for release June 26, 2023.

 

4. What are you working on now?

I am currently working on the second installment in the Music Box Mystery series.

 

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career?

I am always rotating at least three books and read across multiple genres. But there is always one cozy mystery in the mix. I love a cast of eclectic characters set in a close-knit community. Sometimes, it’s nice knowing I can expect a few twists and turns and a nice tidy ending without any graphic violence.

 

6. Where can we find you?

My social media links are:

Website ~ Twitter  ~ Facebook ~  Instagram  ~ Amazon ~ GoodReads ~ BookBub

 

 7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

Right now, I’m loving anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elin Hilderbrand, and Kristin Hannah. Timeless favorites for me are Jane Austen, Jennifer Weiner, Lisa See, and Maeve Binchy. I’m currently reading It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover and understand the hype surrounding this author. She is a gifted storyteller who creates vivid, raw characters who suck you into their lives and break your heart.

Murder and Herbal Tea is featured at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com as Thursady's Opening Scene #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #cozy mystery #Robespierre #herbal tea

 During the second week of June, Lars arrived in the Hudson River village where I live and where he had a home. The houses in Santa Fe had sold quicker than he expected but he’d kept the ski lodge for his family and mine to use.

The time had come for our plans to marry to reach fruition. Though I suggested we elope, Lars wanted a wedding. I gave in to his desire. We set the date for a Wednesday in mid-August. While discussing where to live, a house I’d admired located just two blocks from my “Painted Lady” came on the market. Though one day, the sign vanished. I hadn’t realized Lars had put a binder on the house. When he told me I was delighted. With my attorney Richard’s help we completed the sale. Lars and I purchased the house jointly using my attorney for the deal. That’s when the problems began.

Lars called me on a warm June morning. “Katherine, are you free tomorrow?”

“I’ve nothing planned.”

He released a long breath. “Call Richard and have him meet us at Barnes and Jones.

“Why?”

“George is upset. He thinks we need some kind of prenuptial agreement.”

I sighed. While I’m no romantic, the thoughts of legal squabbling made me uneasy. “Must we?”

Lars laughed. “Wouldn’t want George to appear in the middle of the ceremony and protest.”

“I’ll call Richard. What time?”

“One o’clock.”

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Meet a 2nd with a Fire Affinity #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #fantasy #earth #fire #water #air #Affinities

 

Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here   http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts. Mine is Meet Another with Fire Affinity from Escape

BLURB:

Two sets of halfling twins, Ashlea, Brandien, Jaydren and Kylandra sent away from their home by their parents to protect them from trouble, search for mentors to teach them how to use their affinities.

During the escape, they face many problems forcing them to use their affinities by trial and error. They also meet Alizand, the son of the ruling prince of Wesren. Zand has an affinity for Fire and this will keep him from gaining the rule.

Dom Senet, an advisor to his father, and once a friend of the quartet’s parents suspects Zand’s affinity. He wishes to corrupt the teen and use him to gain control of the four princedoms of the land and of the highlands. The evil dom has all four affinities. The four must reach a secret place and find teachers before the evil man discovers them

Excerpt:

When the first summoning bell sounded, Alizand left his chamber. He’d donned the silk tunic and breeches he’d found on the bed. As he walked along the corridor, he heard footsteps behind him. His spine prickled and the scarlet crystal flared.

Mandir grabbed his arm. “Happy name day, halfling.”

“Where’d you get this?” Lodar reached for the stone. He yelped. “You dare hit me when you have no armed guard at your back?”

“I did nothing.” Alizand struggled to keep fear from his voice.

Mandir’s ebony eyes glittered with menace. “Where’d you get the bauble?”

“A gift from my mother.”

Both boys laughed. “Do they dead walk?” Mandir asked.

Lodar dug his fingers into Alizand’s arm. “Give me the crystal.”

“No.”

Mandir whirled Alizand around. “You dare deny us?” He reached for the stone and stumbled backward. He rubbed his hand.

The second bell rang. Lodar twisted Alizand’s arm behind his back. “Give me the pretty or I’ll break your arm.”

A door closed with a bang. A tall man with flowing fair hair emerged. When Lodar released Alizand, he nearly fell. He heard the thud of boots as the bullies retreated. “My thanks, Dom Senet.” Alizand stared at the crystal on the man’s chest. The colors swirled red, blue, green and clear.

“Name day greetings, Alizand, son of Zedron, son of the House Wesren.”

Alizand kept his gaze on the Dom’s stone. He sidled away.

“Where did you get the crystal?” The man’s sonorous voice bristled with curiosity and veiled threat.

“’Twas my mother’s.” Alizand looked up to see the man’s pale blue eyes narrow.

“So the tales are true. Though you haven’t the startling coloring of most halflings, you have the eyes. Perhaps we share a kinship. Something to think on, Prince Heir.” Dom Senet stroked Alizand’s crystal.

Alizand swallowed. “The feast … I’ll be late.”

“Then let us hurry,” the Dom said. “Hide the stone beneath your tunic or that greedy pair will pry it away. ‘Twill protect you from all but me. I’ve keyed it to mine.” He smiled. “No matter where you go, I can find you.”

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