MJ Porter, author

I’m delighted to welcome I.M. Foster and her new book, Murder on West Main, to the blog #MurderOnWestMain #IMFoster #HistoricalMystery #CozyMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome I.M. Foster and her new book, Murder on West Main, to the blog with a snippet.

Snippet

A knot tightened in his stomach, for it wasn’t like her to seek him out in this manner.

Here’s the blurb

When Colin Brissedon arrives at work one summer morning to find his new boss murdered, all eyes turn to him. After all, the man had threatened to fire him just a few days before, and his colleagues are more than happy to tell the tale. Kathleen admits her brother is no angel, but she can’t believe he would sink this low. Fortunately for them, neither does Daniel O’Halleran, the village’s new coroner’s assistant. Of course, he needs more than his gut feeling to prove it.

But that’s not going to be an easy task, considering the victim does not appear to have been held in high regard. In fact, Daniel is hard-pressed to find anyone who did like him, though there are more than a few who had reason to wish the man dead. To make matters worse, Kathleen is intent on conducting her own investigation despite his wishes, and he fears the consequences could be deadly.

And yet, with the pieces of the puzzle laid before him, he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing, an integral clue that will tie everything else together. Will Daniel be able to find the elusive detail and discover the reason behind the gruesome murder of the prominent attorney? Or will the guilty party live to kill again?

Buy Link

Universal Link:

This title is available on #KindleUnlimited

Meet the Author

I. M. Foster is the pen name author Inez Foster uses to write her South Shore Mystery series, set on Edwardian Long Island. Inez also writes historical romances under the pseudonym Andrea Matthews, and has so far published two series in that genre: the Thunder on the Moor series, a time-travel romance set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Borders, and the Cross of Ciaran series, which follows the adventures of a fifth century Celt who finds himself in love with a twentieth century archaeologist.

Inez is a historian and librarian, who love to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogically speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. Inez is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.

Connect with the Author

Website: BookBub:

Follow the Murder On West Main blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

I’m delighted to welcome back David Fitz-Gerald and his new book, Rolling Home, to the blog #WesternFiction #WesternAdventure #AmericanWest #NewRelease #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome back David Fitz-Gerald and his new book, Rolling Home from the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail series, to the blog with a series trailer.

Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail Series Trailer

Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail Series Trailer

Here’s the blurb

Climb aboard! Don’t miss the heart-pounding climax of the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail series. Rolling Home is the final installment.

In the heart of the rolling village, dissent brews as the stubbornest naysayer refuses to continue the journey. With an ominous early snowfall and memories of the ill-fated Donner Party haunting the pioneers, Dorcas Moon faces a new wave of challenges. Just when she believes things can’t get worse, a disastrous river crossing claims their wagon and submerges their belongings.

As the rolling village approaches the final leg of the journey, the looming threat of outlaws intensifies. The notorious bandit known as The Viper and his ruthless brothers are determined to rob the greenhorns, sell their stock, and kill every last one of them. The pioneers had heard tales of their brutality, but now, with Dorcas’ daughter kidnapped and Dorcas captured, everyone is in danger.

What will become of Dorcas Moon, her family, and their friends? Will anyone survive the perilous journey?

Rejoin the expedition and witness the thrilling end to a gripping saga.

Buy Link

Universal Link:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited

Meet the author

David Fitz-Gerald writes westerns and historical fiction. He is the author of twelve books, including the brand-new series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail set in 1850. Dave is a multiple Laramie Award, first place, best in category winner; a Blue Ribbon Chanticleerian; a member of Western Writers of America; and a member of the Historical Novel Society.

Alpine landscapes and flashy horses always catch Dave’s eye and turn his head. He is also an Adirondack 46-er, which means that he has hiked to the summit of the range’s highest peaks. As a mountaineer, he’s happiest at an elevation of over four thousand feet above sea level.

Dave is a lifelong fan of western fiction, landscapes, movies, and music. It should be no surprise that Dave delights in placing memorable characters on treacherous trails, mountain tops, and on the backs of wild horses.

Connect with the author

Website: BookBub: LinkTree:

Follow the Rolling Home blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

I’m reviewing A Body by the Henhouse by Kate Wells, a fabulous contemporary mystery set in the Malvern Hills #mystery #newrelease #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

The time for celebrations is over…

Jude Gray’s farm is going from strength to strength, and even though her grumpy neighbour has concerns about the new campsite in the lower field, she is undeterred.

When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, she does her best to cater for their celebrations. But with a sheep needing urgent care – an accidental mishap or something more nefarious? – she finds herself consulting the group, which coincidentally contains four vets.

When one of the hens goes missing, it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play, and someone is targeting her farm. With the help of close friend Detective Inspector Binnie Khatri, Jude once again dons her amateur sleuthing hat.

They uncover a web of deceit, affairs and rivalries, but will they find the perpetrator before events turn murderous?

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/bodyhenhousesocial

My Review

A Body by the Henhouse is the third book in the A Malvern Farm Mystery series. I’ve read book 1, and I really enjoyed it.

We return to Malvern Farm with summer on the horizon, and our main character, Jude, keen to make her camping site work, even while busy with the arable and pastoral aspects of her farm. But her current guests are not quite the bunch she’s expecting, and with tensions running high, it’s not long until Jude is trying to find out who’s been tampering with her sheep and why the group of Hens are so uneasy with one another.

This is a really well written mystery. I love a book where I don’t guess ‘who did it’ and this certainly falls into that category. There are lots of twists and turns in the storyline. There are many potential suspects, and the story is well woven together, between Jude’s daily life, and her determination to find answers to the problems she’s encountering, with the aid of her police friend.

An enjoyable contemporary mystery, easy to read and really engaging. I look forward to more in the series, and will be reading book 2 as well:)

Meet the author

Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up.

Connect with Kate

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I’m delighted to welcome back Simon Yeats with an extract from How to Avoid Getting Mugged in Rio de Janeiro by Singing Songs by The Police and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips #blogtour #travelmemoir

Here’s an excerpt from How to Avoid Getting Mugged in Rio de Janeiro by Singing Songs by The Police and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips

My friends wanted to go to Tijuana while they were visiting me in Los Angeles. Then things got out of control.

After crossing the walking bridge over the Tijuana River, which serves as both the city’s sewerage outlet and major water supply, a person enters Zona Centro. I count nine strip clubs on the first street. Ten, if I include Déjà Vu Showgirls back on the other side of the river. This is my favorite thing to do when traveling – count.

Within ten minutes of being in Tijuana, the three of us are bored. Any person who is not crazy about buying knickknacks with a Mexican flag on them would be bored. We could have stayed at the Outlet Mall and been as bored, while being closer to the car. I make a joke with Jim that it is a good thing we are not here to watch the mythical Tijuana woman and donkey show.

Jim and Sheilds’ ears prick up.

What is that about a grotesque sex show that allegedly exists somewhere along the pristine streets of Tijuana?

“Do you know where they have it?”

“I have no idea.”

“We have to see it.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do. We are going.”

“We are not going to sit through a fucking matinee of a woman getting amorous with a donkey.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Explain to me again why we are mates, Sheilds?”

The mere idea of the existence of a woman and donkey show churns my stomach. This is Tijuana’s legend. A dirty, disgusting myth that should only arouse blind drunk sailors and animal activists. But Jim and Sheilds are all over it like white on rice. These two deviants were made for each other.

I try to explain to them that it is a fable. Like the lost gold city of El Dorado, the resting place of Noah’s Ark, or the now uninteresting Bermuda triangle. However, the genie is out of the bottle. They insist we are going to find it and watch.

For God’s sake, why?

An important tip to remember when traveling in a group that is looking to find a cheap thrill. Make sure the weird sexual proclivities of all members are closely aligned. Or, if a person is as boring as I am, only travel with people who have been desexed.

Sheilds and Jim do not seem to understand, or care. If this show really existed, its story would not be shrouded in a veil of mystery, now would it? It is certainly not marked on any of the maps of walking tours of Tijuana.

“We need to get out of the main tourist area, then.”

“Hell no,” I scream. “If I can’t be so close to the border that when I yell ‘help,’ a US marine is within earshot, we do not go a fucking step further.”

“Pussy.”

These two are paying no mind to the inherent dangers of being in the most dangerous city on earth. The town with the world’s highest murder rate per capita. They are adamant that no cost is too high to find the club that has the women and donkey show.

“We are on an adventure.”

Here’s the blurb

Australian author Simon Yeats, who from an early age learned that the best way to approach the misfortunes of this world is to laugh about it.

Simon shares his comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living life as an Aussie ex-pat and having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as the Bubonic Plague in the 1300s.

From what to do when several people converge to rob you after midnight on a deserted Copacabana Beach, to how to save the Sierra Mountain Range from a wildfire outbreak due to a lack of quality toilet paper, to where not to go in Tijuana when trying to locate the origins to stories of the city’s mythical adult entertainment, to how to save yourself from drowning when caught in a storm while sailing off the California coast.

Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for you to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to lose an eye or damage your liver.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Mugged-Janeiro-Singing-Police-ebook/dp/B0CPCBMD1N/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Getting-Mugged-Janeiro-Singing-Police-ebook/dp/B0CPCBMD1N/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-avoid-getting-mugged-in-rio-de-janeiro-by-singing-songs-by-the-police-and-other-lesser-known-travel-tips-yeats/1144543933?ean=9798223326014

Meet the author

Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.

With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has led were survived.

No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.

Connect with the author

TIK TOK – https://www.tiktok.com/@authoryeats

INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/authoryeats/?hl=en

I’m delighted to welcome Gail Ward Olmsted and her new book, Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #CivilWarNurses #BiographicalFiction #WomenInHistory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Gail Ward Olmsted and her new book, Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip, to the blog with a snippet.

Snippet

Katharine’s (semi-solicited) advice to a troubled newlywed

I am probably the last person qualified to give relationship advice. But since you’re asking me, I’ll tell you what I think. Go home. Not to your parents’ but to the home you share with Charlie. Talk to your husband, but wait until he’s had a bath after work. And maybe serve him a special dinner too. It’s much easier to talk to someone who’s well-fed. I know what you’re thinking. You’ve got a little one to keep fed and clean and now you’ve got Charlie, too? Dear, I’m not saying you must run his bath or cook a three-course meal every night, but you both have a job to do. Currently, his is to go to work every day in a factory that I can only imagine is loud and dirty, get his weekly pay, put food on the table and keep a roof over your heads. Yours is equally important, but for the time being, lacks much in the way of tangible rewards. But it’s vital work. Caring for your son, tending to your home, loving your husband: it’s all very important. She seemed unconvinced, so I tried a different, more direct approach.

What I’m saying in a nutshell is, it’s time to grow up. You chose to get married, and that comes with responsibilities. You’re not playing house, my dear. Real life is hard and now you’ve got a third person added to the equation. One that relies on you for absolutely everything. You are his entire world. You must tell Charlie what you need from him and, at the same time, assure him you’re quite capable of running the house and caring for your son. Can you do that, Hannah?

Here’s the blurb

In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island, to her home in Jackson, New Hampshire. Despite the concerns of her family and friends, that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived; her own!

Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip.

Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908) was born into affluence in England and emigrated to the U. S. at the age of eighteen. Fiercely independent and never married, Kate volunteered as a nurse on a medical ship during the Civil War, before founding a vocational school for underprivileged girls. A lifelong friend and trusted confidante of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, she was a philanthropist, a hospital administrator, and the author of The Other Side of War: 1862, as well as the noted translator of dozens of novels written by French authors, including Moliere and Balzac. She is included in History’s Women: The Unsung Heroines; History of American Women: Civil War Women; Who’s Who in America 1908-09; Notable American Women, A Biographical Dictionary: 1607-1950and A Woman of the 19th Century: Leading American Women in All Walks of Life.

Buy Link

Universal Link:

This title will be available on #KindleUnlimited

Meet the author

Gail Ward Olmsted was a marketing executive and a college professor before she began writing fiction on a fulltime basis. A trip to Sedona, AZ inspired her first novel Jeep Tour. Three more novels followed before she began Landscape of a Marriage, a biographical work of fiction featuring landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, a distant cousin of her husband’s, and his wife Mary. After penning a pair of contemporary novels featuring a disgraced attorney seeking a career comeback (Miranda Writes, Miranda Nights) she is back to writing historical fiction featuring an incredible woman with an amazing story. Watch for Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip on June 13th.

For more information, please visit her on Facebook and at gwolmstedauthor.carrd.co