Get “Summer Session” Free This Weekend!

Hi All!

It’s the official launch weekend of “Summer Session,” the third book in the Doctor Rowena Halley series! In celebration of this, I’m offering it free on Kindle for the next few days. And of course, if you’ve already gotten an ARC, reviews would be very much appreciated 🙂 The universal Amazon link is here.

For those of you who haven’t read it yet, “Summer Session” is a shorter, lighter work than the other books in the series, with a strong dose of romance. It’s based in part on my experiences teaching at Indiana University’s Summer Language Workshop, and also on my experiences growing up in what Rowena calls the “alternative South,” where fundamentalist Christians and liberal hippies are all hanging out and homeschooling together.

I certainly hope you enjoy reading “Summer Session” as much as I enjoyed writing it! And now, without further ado, here’s this week’s selection of giveaways:

Want to find out how it all began? You can get “Foreign Exchange,” the series prequel novella, plus loads of other free books, in the Vigilantes, Kidnapping, and Murder book giveaway!

And if you haven’t read “Campus Confidential,” book one in the series, you can find it, plus dozens other suspense and mystery books, all free on KU, in the Fall Mystery & Suspense on KU book fair!

The Love in the Strangest Places book giveaway, for non-romance books with a romantic subplot, is still going strong!

Enjoying the crisp fall weather? Spice it up a little more with the Spicy Fall Suspense book giveaway!

“The Best American Mystery Stories 2019,” edited by Jonathan Lethem

Best American Mystery Stories 2019

“The Best American Mystery Stories 2019” is, as promised, full of excellent mystery stories. Although the word “mystery” in the title might be a little misleading. Many of the stories are not so much mysteries (although there are those as well) as they are suspense stories or thrillers. Strongly literary in their bent, they often hint at resolution rather than achieving it outright, and sometimes end at a most tantalizing moment. They span everything from the Civil War to a dystopian future of unnamed date, take place around the globe, and range in tone from Reed Johnson’s heartwarming story of a young girl trying to clear her father’s name, to Joyce Carol Oates’ chilling tale of a pedophilia victim who feels a special connection with her abuser.

What all the stories in this collection have in common is a keen eye and ear for pacing and plotting. All of them, whether the narrator is a vulnerable young girl or a hardened ex-con pulling off one more heist, will keep you turning the pages, desperate to find out what happens next. If you enjoy mystery, crime, or suspense, this collection offers a delicious sampler platter of different styles and subgenres. Recommended for all fans of mysteries and thrillers, as well as anyone wanting to get a taste of contemporary American fiction.

Buy it at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

“Weathered Bird: A Jazz Age Novelette” by Danielle Yvette

Weathered Bird

“Weathered Bird” follows Bertha Mae “Birdy” Whitaker, a teenage African-American girl in 1920s Philadelphia. She falls madly in love with Sidney, a “high yellow” bootlegger who lives on the threshold between different societies: black and white, law-abiding and criminal. Birdy’s passion for him causes her to disregard common sense and become unhealthily attached to him. As the story progresses, she has to decide what she wants, and how she can grow up to become her own woman.

The atmosphere of the 1920s is beautifully invoked here, so readers who enjoy stories set in that time period are likely to appreciate it for that. It was an exciting, dangerous time, when social constructs and societal constraints were coming into question, and race relations were undergoing a significant shift–with, sometimes, dangerous consequences, especially for those who were most vulnerable.

The real heart of the story, though, is Birdy and her transformation from needy girl to independent woman. Both she and Sidney come across as living, breathing, flawed but sympathetic characters. It’s a short work, but it packs plenty of emotional punch in a few pages.

I got this book in a giveaway and my copy of the story had several typos. Although they did not materially damage the overall reading experience, I think this story deserves a bit more editing polish. That, however, is a minor issue, and I’d definitely recommend this story to anyone interested in reading about the Jazz Age or a woman’s coming-of-age story.

Buy it at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.