Guest Post: A SECOND CHANCE FOR GRACE by Karen Malley

My guest today, KarenMalley, actually wrote her first book when she was 6. It was a 70-word story about her dog, but still, the seed was planted. When Karen is not doing science or writing (with her left hand) she can be found volunteering at church, playing board games with her husband and two sons, or taking walks around her neighborhood. Most nights find her staying up too late with a book in hand! Her latest release is Book 2 in the Pine Springs Series, A SECOND CHANCE FOR GRACE.  

Here's the blurb:

A new life coming into the world disrupts Susan's quiet life ...

Susan Montgomery is used to a quiet, peaceful life managing her apartment building, where the hardest problem is her grouchy neighbor's leaky faucet. She soon finds herself dealing with a pregnant teenage niece, a mysterious briefcase left behind by a tenant, and two very different men vying for her heart.

A near-death experience gives Mac a new outlook on life ...

Christopher "Mac" MacAllister is trying to figure out how to "do the Christian thing." As a new convert, he's drawn to Susan's love for life and for God. She's nothing like the women he used to date; but can Mac compete with the guy who's come out of nowhere and knows all the right things to say?

Now for the excerpt!

“My point is, a month ago, I wouldn’t have wanted to sit here drinking coffee with you. I mean…” Susan’s blush came on full force now. “Wait. That didn’t come out right.”
            “I get it. Why would a sophisticated church lady like you want to have coffee with a heathen construction worker like me?” Mac said.

            “No!” Susan said. “That’s not it at all. You think I’m sophisticated? Ha! I spent most days in dirty jeans with either my head under a toilet or a paintbrush in my hand.”

            Surprise crossed Mac’s face. “Tell me more.”

            “I manage an apartment building, like my dad did before me. Growing up, I followed him around, with my own little tool belt. I became the son he never had. My sister Emily is the girly one. She got out of the apartment life as soon as she could. Went off to college, got herself married to a rich guy, and lives on the fancy side of town. Me, I’m an apartment gal. I love it there. I love solving problems for people, making their apartments into a home for them.” Susan stopped, afraid she was talking too much.

            Mac grinned. “Working with your hands, doing something lasting, something you can be proud of. That’s the kind of job I do, too.”
            “What I was trying to say earlier had nothing to do with your job. It wouldn’t be smart for me to go for coffee with a guy who wasn’t a Christian I was attracted…” Susan broke off her sentence, mortified she was about to tell Mac she was attracted to him. She tried to hide behind her coffee cup.

            A grin spread across Mac’s face. Fortunately for Susan, Adam chose that moment to reappear. He took one look from Mac’s cat-who-ate-the-canary grin to the brilliant red color covering Susan’s cheeks and burst out laughing. “You too seem to be getting along OK without me.” 

            Susan glared at him. Mac scooted a chair out for Adam to sit. “Susan here was telling me she’s glad you talked some sense into my head at the accident, or else she wouldn’t be able to drink coffee with me.”

            Susan’s cheeks flamed even hotter. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

Where to purchase:

https://www.amazon.com/Karen-Malley/e/B08HRDQ4QW/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Karen Malley links:

Website (with short-story blog posts)

www.KarenMalley.com

Twitter

https://twitter.com/KarenLMalley

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20700661.Karen_Malley

Facebook

Karen Malley Books | Facebook

BookBub

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karen-malley

 

HEAVEN'S BLUE on sale for #99cents!

 Don't miss out on this award-winning story! One reviewer said, "...author Marzec continues to introduce readers to well-rounded characters, deftly crafting their emotions and dialogue into a story of faith and forgiveness - not only of others, but of oneself." (Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/390022)

Available at:

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes&Noble

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I'M ON TIKTOK--AND PLENTY OF OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Selling books is not easy. Whenever another author in the writing community claims to have found a foolproof way to make sure their books get noticed and sell, I listen. Way back, in the early days of the internet, published authors advised unpublished authors to set up a website before getting published. So, I fearlessly learned HTML and set up a site on Geocities--because it was free.

Fortunately, a publisher was willing to send my books out into the world and soon I had lots of news to put on my website--things like contest wins and glowing reviews. But every other author did the same thing. Getting noticed, even with award-winning books is difficult.

Along came Blogger. I signed up and started posting regularly. I "met" other bloggers. They commented on my blog and I commented on theirs. It was quite nice, but I didn't sell any books due to my blogging.

Next came Facebook. A friend of mine encouraged me to join the new social media site, so I did.   I found lots of other authors on Facebook. I found friends from the past who I hadn't seen in ages. I enjoyed seeing what everyone was doing. But I didn't sell many books through Facebook. 

Some authors started making book videos. This was a good way to showcase your books, they said. So I made book videos and uploaded them to YouTube. I did not sell any more books than usual. 

LinkedIn showed promise, so I set up a page there.

Twitter came along and I signed up for that as well. I could post my book videos there. I could post my glowing reviews and contest wins. I could help my author friends by posting about their books.

Triberr was introduced. What a marvel! I could post on my blog and my tribemates would repost my post on Twitter. Spreading the news became easier. 

Pinterest became a terrific place to wander in and get lost. 

Then came Instagram. Beautiful photos, tons of hashtags. But I signed up for that, too.

I was getting a bit weary of all this social media stuff. Tons of new social media sites blossomed on the Internet and I ignored them. 

Until TikTok came along. One of my daughters showed me some of the funny videos on TikTok, but I didn't think much more about it. Then, out of the blue, the New York Times posted an article about TikTok (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/books/booktok-tiktok-video.html)

Suddenly, authors began touting their success on TikTok.

So I joined TikTok. I am watching what the other authors do. I have not bought a crown--yet, but I might. Have I become an overnight best selling author? No. But TikTok is entertaining. 

So far, the best way I've found to sell books is to buy an ad on any of a number of book promotion sites. You can read about that here: https://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-experience-with-book-promotion-sites.html

I enjoy writing, but marketing is not easy. If TikTok works, I'll let you know.

Guest Post: A MEASURE OF MADNESS by Kim McMahill

Today my guest is author Kim McMahill. She grew up in Wyoming which is where she developed her sense of adventure and love of the outdoors. While she started out writing non-fiction, her passion for exotic world travel, outrageous adventures, stories of survival, and happily-ever-after endings soon drew her into a world of romantic suspense and adventure fiction. Along with writing novels Kim has published over eighty travel and geographic articles, and contributed to a travel story anthology. She has had the opportunity to live in Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, and Colorado, but has finally returned home to Wyoming. When not writing she enjoys gardening, traveling, hiking, puzzles, playing games, and spending time with family. 

 
     I would like to thank Penelope for hosting me on her blog and allowing me the opportunity to share a bit about myself and my work. I’ve been writing for about twenty years which has taken me on an evolving journey from non-fiction, to stand-alone novels, to short stories, to my current project, a romantic suspense series. I am often asked how I came up with an idea that I thought could sustain multiple books. Well, the idea emerged as I started getting to an age when keeping fit and healthy started taking a little more effort and a lot more research. 

     Nearly every woman I know, myself included, educates herself about nutrition, exercise, fitness, diets, etc. in order to live a healthier life, manage a medical issue, or to lose weight. I’ve found there is so much information out there that it is difficult to sort out fact from fiction. The diet and nutrition industries are worth billions, which makes it even more challenging to ascertain who or what to trust. With so much on the line for something that impacts nearly everyone, there is no doubt corruption and crime infiltrate the industry making it perfect fodder for a crime series. 

     So, about six years ago I came up with an idea that I thought would make an awesome romantic suspense series. I’ve named it the Risky Research Series. The series starts with, A Dose of Danger, which deals with a potential miracle diet pill. Book 2, A Taste of Tragedy, revolves around a deadly sweetener, and book 3, A Foundation of Fear, explores the role of lobbyists and politics in the industry. The latest novel in the series, A Measure of Madness, releases on April 9, 2021. There are also two short-story prequels available for free download, A Formidable Foe and Midnight in Montana. Here’s a bit more on the latest novel, A Measure of Madness. 

Blurb:  
     FBI agent Devyn Nash's pursuit of a deadly organization heats up in this fourth installment of the Risky Research series.

     The FBI locates the mastermind behind Coterie, but attempts to bring him in result in a shootout that sends Coterie’s members scrambling for cover. When Devyn’s partner is left fighting for his life in a Puerto Rican hospital, she becomes more determined than ever to bring them to justice.
 

     Devyn’s decision to ignore her orders and pursue the head of Coterie to Brazil puts her job and her relationship with Sheriff Gage Harris in jeopardy, but she is unwilling to allow those responsible for so much death to live out their lives in paradise.

An Excerpt from A MEASURE OF MADNESS

“Where are you?”

“You probably don’t want to know.”

“Devyn, where are you?”

Devyn took a deep breath. She hoped he wouldn’t be too angry. When she left Puerto Rico, she didn’t see any other option. Now, she was so tired she wasn’t sure what to think.

“Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”

“What? Alone? Does your boss know?”

“You heard correctly. Yes, alone and yes, Conroy knows. He wants me on the next plane out of here, and I’m considering it.”

“What do you hope to accomplish?”

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t let Coterie get away with everything they’ve done. Conroy has a friend in the CIA who has a contact here. The best they can do is keep an eye on the group and arrest them up if they screw up or if they overstay their visa. That’s not good enough.”

“You have no jurisdiction.”

“I’m aware of that. I’m pretty certain I know where the head of Coterie is at this moment along with his right-hand man, but there’s not a lot I can do about it. The other little development is that Sofia decided to run, and J.R. is not happy. I may be delusional from lack of sleep, but I kind of had this thought that maybe if I could get to her first, I could convince her to come back to the states and cooperate. If J.R. never followed her back he’d still be free, but he seems pretty obsessed with her, so I’m betting he’d take the bait, and we could lure him to return to the states.”

“You need sleep. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I know, but without a gun or any authority to arrest anyone, I haven’t come up with a better plan.”

“Get some sleep and call me in the morning when you’re thinking clearer. Don’t risk your life or career for this demented group. I don’t want to lose you.”

Devyn felt like crying. She wasn’t generally emotional. Maybe she was just too tired to have this conversation.

“I’m sorry, Gage. Please stick with me a little longer. This has to end one way or another, and soon. Coterie seems to be imploding. I may not get another opportunity to get to as many as I can while they are in disarray. If we do nothing they may regroup and the killing will continue.”

“I do understand, but sometimes we just have to concede defeat and move on. I’m with Conroy all the way on this, but I’ll not turn my back on you whatever you decide. I love you too much.”

“I love you too,” Devyn whispered as she disconnected the call.

 

To learn more about the Risky Research Series or to Download your copy of any of Kim’s novels, visit:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kim+McMahill&i=digital-text&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Barnes and Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Kim+McMahill?_requestid=1007373

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Kim+McMahill

You can find Kim at any of the following:

Blog: http://www.kimmcmahill.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimmcmahill

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/KimMcMahillAuthor/

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

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/849945.Kim_McMahill

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kim-McMahill/e/B007IK0EJW/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kim-mcmahill