Sunday, February 28, 2016

Are you ready for Spring?

Yes, I know I'm jumping the gun. It's only February 28th and we've got a few more weeks to go until Spring officially arrives. But I'm eagerly anticipating the end of Winter. As Winters go, this hasn't been a bad one in Cincinnati. We've had cold weather, some snow and a lot of gray, gloomy days but, all things considered, I probably shouldn't complain. Many parts of the country have had far worse and we have too in past years. Still, I'll be happy to see it go. 

Although March is called "the cruelest month," my father thought  February was. Although it's a short month, he said, it seems to last forever. He always smiled as he flipped the calendar to March, eager for Spring to arrive so he could spend his days outside, working in the yard instead of cooped up in the house

In Desperate Deeds, Ann Malone Kern, the main character in my Malone mystery series, is thrilled to see Spring arrive.

"As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts Ann to redecorate her house, she is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Ann’s six-year-old son, Davey?

But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?"

If you'd like to step into Springtime and a mystery, Desperate Deeds is available in paper and eBook formats at:
http://tinyurl.com/k5uh5jm
 
Happy Reading! 

Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Killing Land by Jacqueline Seewald





The Killing Land by Jacqueline Seewald is an historic novel that captures the heart of the American West.

This novel is set principally in the Arizona Territory of the early l880's where a courageous settler from the East and an aristocratic cattle baron become involved in a love/hate relationship. The two, although attracted to each other, are initially distrustful and antagonistic toward one another. The dangers they face draw them together.

Mary suspects that Cal is responsible for trying to drive the homesteaders and sheepherders off the land cattlemen consider rightfully theirs. When her uncle is murdered, Mary intends to discover who is responsible and why. In so doing, she becomes a person of interest to a vicious outlaw.

First Reviews of The Killing Land:
"The rugged West, a greedy villain, violence, and true love…Jacqueline 
Seewald brings it all."  
Pamela Nowak 
2014 Colorado Book Award 
HOLT Medallion Winner 
********
Historical Novel Society 

(Review Excerpt)
“The Killing Land is set in the Arizona territory in the 1880s, and opens with an intriguing hook that snags the reader’s attention quickly… Seewald does a fine job with character development, including with her secondary characters. Several are intriguing and complex... The plot itself is quite detailed as well…She does well with some of the state history, such as the Tewksbury and Graham clan feud. Fans of western romance should be pleased with this novel.”
Buy Links:

Kindle:


and many other booksellers. It can also be requested at local libraries.


Multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Sixteen of her books of fiction have been published to critical praise including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies such as: THE WRITER, L.A. TIMES, READER’S DIGEST, PEDESTAL, SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, GUMSHOE REVIEW, THE MYSTERY MEGAPACK, LIBRARY JOURNAL, and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. She’s also an amateur landscape artist and loves blue grass music. Her writer’s blog can be found at: http://jacquelineseewald.blogspot.com