A review of Monica Hesse's mystery GIRL IN THE BLUE COAT

Girl in the Blue Coat was just published last week and already it's started collecting some buzz. that's not surprising. It's a book with a genuinely twisty plot, memorable characters, and a well-researched and immersive sense of time (1943) and place (Amsterdam).

This novel begins like a classic "locked room" mystery, although the mystery isn't how someone was killed in a locked room but how someone escaped from a locked room and for what reason? Monica Hesse's novel is set in 1943 Amsterdam, a place controlled by the Nazis whose will is enforced by the "Green Police" who can stop anyone, anywhere, for any reason.

As the story opens, Hanneke Bakker is riding her bicycle on her delivery rounds when she's stopped by a handsome young Green Policeman. Flirting with him, she manages to fluster him enough that he shoos her away, telling her he doesn't have time for silly little girls like her. But she's not a silly girl; she's a black market operator who sees what she's doing as an act of defiance against the occupation, no matter how small.

Another Boxed Set full of Best-Selling Authors

Before my book Bride of the MIdnight King was picked to be in a boxed set (For The Love of the Vampire), I didn't really know that boxed sets were a "thing." I noticed them every once in a while on Book Bub ads, but had no idea they were usually such great deals. They're like sampler chocolate boxes where you can try out a lot of new writers for not a lot of money--usually either free or 99 cents.

 In the past month I've seen a lot of boxed sets featuring some of my favorite writers--Christine Pope, Stacy Clafin, Rebecca Hamilton--going by.  And here's a boxed set that's just gone up, featuring 29 best-selling authors (some of them INTERNATIONAL best sellers.)  Edge is only 99 cents on all platforms including Amazon. You better believe I've already snagged my set!

Reflections--what the camera sees

I have terrible eyesight. So when I snapped this picture of the pond near my house, I didn't notice the reflections of the trees in the water. If I enlarge this photo on my phone, the texture and play of color is really something and I find myself wishing I could take Annie Leibovitz' MASTER CLASS on photography. There's so much I don't know technically, but I sold my SLR camera when I left L.A. and now I just snap pix with my camera phone.

I love taking pictures with my camera phone. An Instagram account is in my near future, mainly because I love looking at other people's photos too. (And yes, I'm on Pinterest, where one of my boards is called REFLECTIONS.)

A review of A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab

In Victoria Schwab's novel, a pickpocket and a mage must join forces to save the interconnected worlds in which they live. 

A lot of work has gone into building the world of this book, a flat-out fantasy adventure with several very engaging characters and enough treachery and magic to fuel a season of GAME OF THRONES. 

This is a book that’s suffused with magic—blood magic, elemental magic, you name it. The magic builds from the small to the epic, and the magic battles are very satisfying. (Fans of this kind of material may see some parallels to Katherine Kurtz’ fantastic DERYNI CHRONICLES, which are history-based and use an alternate Wales as their location.)

Even more free books!!

I love the cover of this paranormal boxed set. Like the tagline says, this is not your normal paranormal cover with its gray/blue/violet color palette. Get it free here.

The weekend of Free Books!

Like sci fi? Dystopian? Fantasy? Sci Fi and Fantasy Romance?  Then you're in luck. there's a 90-book giveaway going on this weekend over at Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Promotions. Click here and start downloading.

Free!!!Whipping Boy by Katherine Tomlinson

I'm getting ready to release the sequel to my short mystery novel Whipping Boy and thought I might whip up some interest by giving the digital version of the first book away free. You can find it on Amazon here.