Woman with fan

Summertime Reading

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by Mary Lee Ashford

Summer Heat Woman with Fan

Here in the Midwest it’s been hot, hot, hot recently. I know that’s been true in a lot of other areas as well. With the triple digit heat indexes making it uncomfortable outside, I find myself saying to people, “It’s great weather to stay inside and read!”

But then I realized I say the same thing when we have two feet of snow and a twenty-below wind chill as well. “It’s great weather to stay inside and read!”

Or rainy and stormy outside. Also…you guessed it…great for staying in and reading.

So I guess for me, any season (winter, spring, summer, or fall) is a wonderful season for reading.

However, there’s a lot of buzz right now about “Summer Reads” with all sorts of list to help us pick books to pack in our beach bag, read on the plane, or curl up with on the couch.

And there are some fun lists out there like:

The 2025 Goodreads Guide to Summer Reading

Summer Reads 2025  from Publisher’s Weekly

NPR’s What to Read This Summer

AARP’s 35 Summer Books to Add to Your 2025 Reading List

An article in the Guardian by Daisy Buchanan, caught my eye and proposes we should “Choose comfort, ditch boring, and prioritize pleasure” to find the perfect beach read.  In researching her book “Read Yourself Happy,” Ms. Buchanan investigates the positive impact that reading has on our wellbeing. In fact, a study published by the National Library of Medicine in 2020, indicated that reading wards off cognitive decline. But she posits that we only experience the benefits of books if we are enjoying what we’re reading.

So what books would you recommend for enjoyable reading?

I’ll start with this list of wonderful books by Stiletto Gang blog members here: The Stiletto Gang Books

What titles would you add? What books are you looking forward to reading this summer? Do you perhaps have a book you’ve been saving to read on your vacation?

I can’t wait to hear your suggestions so please share!

 

Author Mary Lee AshfordMary Lee Ashford is the author of the Sugar & Spice mystery series from Oliver Heber Books and also half of the Sparkle Abbey writing team. She is a lifelong bibliophile, an avid reader, and public library champion. Prior to publishing Mary Lee won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa as well as a member of Mystery Writers of America and Novelists, Inc. She lives in the Midwest with her family and her feline coworker.

She loves to hear from other readers and can be found on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky and BookBub.

Ad for direct from publisher sale

Also, of special note:

Game of Scones, the first book in the Sugar & Spice series is currently free in all ebook formats.

And the latest release, Night of the Living Bread, was a Barnes & Noble Top 5 Indie Fave.

Plus Oliver Heber Books is offering a “direct from the publisher” set of all four books for 50% off: Sugar & Spice Mysteries Set 

 

 

What’s on Your Nightstand?

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By Lois Winston

I’m an extremely eclectic reader. There are a few genres I don’t read because they turn me off. My apologies to the vampire and werewolf fans out there, but I just don’t get the allure of falling for someone who wants to drain me of my blood or sup on my entire body.

I used to read a wide range of science fiction and fantasy, everything from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy to Arthur C. Clark’s Space Odyssey series to the Harry Potter books. At one point in my life, I devoured books by Leon Uris and James Mitchener, then Michael Crichton.

These days, though, besides reading books by other cozy authors, I find myself drawn to novels featuring historical people, women’s fiction, literary fiction, and books that cross genres. For my post today, I thought I’d tell you about some of my recent reads, all in different genres, and what I enjoyed about them.

The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax by Dorothy Gilman

I don’t know how I didn’t know about this series of books, but I’m so happy I stumbled upon them. Mrs. Polifax is a New Jersey widow who walks into the CIA one day and offers her services as a spy. Surprisingly, they take her up on it! And that’s the start of a very entertaining book featuring an extremely endearing character. The author wrote fourteen books in the Mrs. Polifax series before her death at the age of eighty-eight in 2012. I’ve already started the second one.

 

 

 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

If a book doesn’t draw me in by the third chapter, I won’t waste any more time on it. There are too many books to read and not enough leisure hours in my day. Even so, there are books I finish but soon forget. Then there’s The Dutch House. I first picked this book up because it takes place in a town where I went to college and later lived for several decades. But I kept reading because the author is so adept at crafting both characters and plot.

 

 

 

11/22/63 by Stephen King

I bought this book several years ago but just got around to reading it this summer. At 880 pages, it’s quite intimidating and requires a huge commitment of time. Because I don’t care for horror stories, I’d never read anything by King other than his book on writing. However, I’m old enough to remember the day Kennedy was shot, and the concept about a man who goes back in time to prevent the assassination fascinated me. I flew through it, unable to put the book down until my eyelids grew heavy each night.

 

 

The Colony Club by Shelley Noble

Disclaimer: the author is a dear friend, and I was lucky enough to read this book prior to publication. Daisy Harriman, one of the main characters in the book, was a real person. When she requested a room for the night at the Waldorf Hotel, she was turned away because she wasn’t accompanied by her husband. Appalled by her treatment, she set out to change history, creating The Colony Club, the first woman’s club of its kind in not only New York but the world. The novel also incorporates other historical people of the Gilded Age, including Stanford White, who designed the building, and actress-turned-interior designer Elsie de Wolfe, who decorated the Colony Club’s rooms. The author is a meticulous historian who creates a richly accurate depiction of the times, especially in the treated of women, making the book extremely au courant for today’s readers.

What’s on your nightstand? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free download of any one of the first ten audiobooks in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

photo of umbrella and sun

Nancy J. Parra and the Dog Days of Summer

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with Sparkle Abbey

Today we’re thrilled to welcome longtime friend and fellow author Nancy J. Parra aka Nancy Coco aka Nell Hampton to the blog.  She’s a USA Today Bestselling Author and has over thrity-five published novels including five mystery series. And she’s also party to many of our conference adventures.  Nancy take it away…

Photo of Bichon FriseHi, ya’ll, thank you for letting me visit. I can’t believe how quickly summer has flown by this year. We’re in the dog days of summer now, which are technically July 3rd until August 11th, although that date has changed with the changing of the calendars. It’s still the hottest time of the year for the northern hemisphere. Are you feeling it? It’s hot and muggy here and it’s so easy to get heat stroke if you’re not careful.

I’ve been wondering for a long time why we call the hottest days the dog days. I mean, doggies are cute and sweet and silly. Then why name the hottest days after them? So, I looked it up.

It’s a very old idea whose history tells the tale of cultural minds. The whole thing began when we looked up in the sky and observed the dog star rising. People associated it with drought, storms, heat, human ailments, and mood changes. One culture said the dog days “made women wanton and the men feeble.”

But for us, it’s simply the hottest time of our year.

Still, it would make for an interesting twist in a mystery, wouldn’t it? Book cover for Three Fudges and a Baby

Allie McMurphy from Three Fudges and a Baby doesn’t think so. She has enough twists on her hands. Especially with handling her best friend, Jenn Christensen’s erratic moods. In her last few weeks of pregnancy where all she wants to do is get the baby out, Jenn’s doula is arrested for the murder of her fiancé.  Jenn has a meltdown. She’s tired of waddling, being unable to see her own feet and struggling to get up out of chairs. But she won’t have the baby without her doula and demands Allie as her best friend and the baby’s godmother to find the real killer. Perhaps the “dog days” could explain Jenn’s moods but nobody would dare tell her that. Besides it’s early May.

It’s a good thing Allie has her own cute pup who helps sniff out a killer before they all end up in the doghouse.

Tell me, how do you feel about the hottest days of the year? Are you someone who lives for them? Or are you ready to collect Halloween décor or start Christmas shopping?

Let me know your thoughts below and one lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Three Fudges and a Baby!

Nancy J Parra Photo

 

USA Today Bestselling Author, Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton AKA Nancy Parra is the author of over 35 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime).  Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world.  Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime and loves to hear from readers.

You can find her at:

Website

Facebook

Bookbub

 

Thanks for hanging out with The Stiletto Gang today, Nancy! We’ll be interested in everyone’s thoughts on the hottest days of the year. We’d have to say that we’ve had some challenging weather here lately and we’re definitely ready for some cooler days.

Wishing you and the rest of the gang a great rest of the summer!

Sparkle Abbey 

Setting Matching by Saralyn Richard

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Setting Matching

By Saralyn Richard

 

Should your reading setting match the setting of your current book? Not really. Otherwise, how could you enjoy historical or sci fi fiction? But some interesting things have occurred to me in the past when I read a book that matched the situation I was in at the time.

The first time I noticed this phenomenon was when I was sick with the flu. The rather unfortunate choice of books on my nightstand included Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. As I coughed and battled high fevers, I read about the English plague of 1666, and I shuddered all the more with the tension of the book.

I read Suzanne Morris’ Galveston while sitting on the beach, only a few blocks from the Victorian homes described in that book. The sights, sounds, and smells of Galveston surrounded me in real life, as I read Morris’ descriptions of them.

I read Emilya Naymark’s Hide in Place during a cold snap. I could feel the biting wind and hear the crunch of the snow as I read. The chills of the book became actual chills for me.

Not exactly serendipity, after visiting the National Aeronautics & Space Museum (NASA), I decided to read Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. I had a greater appreciation for the astronauts’ personal journeys as described by Mr. Wolfe, because I had sat in one of the space vehicles mentioned in the book.

Of course, it’s not a requirement to select a book based on its location, time in history, or season’s matching the one you are currently in, but there’s an extra surge of fun when the match-up occurs.

If you’re looking for a sizzling summer mystery, Bad Blood Sisters might be up your alley. All the tension begins on the Fourth of July. And Quinn’s family, who owns a mortuary and sometimes jokes about death, decides that this summer death stops being funny.

Whatever you’re reading this summer, I hope you’re having a great time. Can you think of examples of setting matching that you’ve experienced?

 

 

Saralyn Richard writes award-winning humor- and romance-tinged mysteries that pull back the curtain on people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. Her works include the Detective Parrott mystery series, BAD BLOOD SISTERS, A MURDER OF PRINCIPAL, NAUGHTY NANA, and various short stories published in anthologies. She also edited the nonfiction book, BURN SURVIVORS. An active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Saralyn teaches creative writing and literature. Her favorite thing about being an author is interacting with readers like you. Visit Saralyn here, on her Amazon page here, or on Facebook here.

 

Stack of books by water

‘Tis the Season…for Summer Reading

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by Mary Lee Ashford

Stack of books by waterI’m guessing that you all, like me, read no matter the season. But that said, there truly is something special about summertime reading.  Maybe it’s the memory of leisurely warm summer days as a kid where there was plenty of time to sit by the pool, picnic in the park, or enjoy an afternoon indoors with the air-conditioning on and book in hand.

Maybe we no longer get a summer break but the beauty of summer reading lies in the endless possibilities. Whether you’re lounging by the lake, embarking on a trip, or simply enjoying a quite weekend at home, it’s still the perfect time to dive into a great book. But how to you choose the book?

As the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, we begin to see those lists of “Best Beach Reads.” I’m always curious enough to check them out and there are often some good suggestions to consider.

BookBub offers this great list of recommendations in their Ultimate Guide to 2024’s Best Beach Reads with a wide variety of choices.

Barnes & Noble has their Top Books for Your 2023 Reading List.

Publisher’s Weekly gives us their Top Ten Summer Read for 2024

Those types of lists are a good place to start.

Books with basket and hat

Here are a few additional tips for choosing your perfect summer read:

  1. Consider what type of read you’re in the mood for. Are you after something light and breezy. Or maybe dark and dangerous with a twisty plot. Or perhaps an emotional page-turner?
  2. Think about exploring something new. Summer is the perfect time to step out of your reading comfort zone and try a new genre.
  3. Browse bestseller lists. Maybe this is the time to try that book everyone’s been talking about.
  4. Sample a few pages. A quick read of the first few pages will give you a taste of the storyline and the style.
  5. Check reviews and ask for recommendations.  Librarians and booksellers are great sources as well as friends and family.

Now I’d love to hear from you.

Do you have any recommendations? What book (or books) are you looking forward to diving into this summer?

Book covers for Sugar and Spice MysteriesMary Lee Ashford is the author of the Sugar & Spice mystery series from Oliver Heber books and also half of the Sparkle Abbey writing team. She is a lifelong bibliophile, an avid reader, and public library champion. Prior to publishing Mary Lee won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa as well as a member of Mystery Writers of America and Novelists, Inc. She lives in the Midwest with her family and her feline coworker.

 

 

Process Delayed Can Still be Progress…of a Sort

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By Lois Winston

I’m not someone who immediately jumps into the next book as soon as I finish writing the previous one. My latest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, A Crafty Collage of Crime, released on June 6th. Other than promotional blog posts, I haven’t written anything Anastasia-related since then. Haven’t even given much thought to the next book beyond the fact that I know I’ll be picking up Anastasia’s story shortly after the recent book ended.

It’s not that I’m tired of writing about my reluctant sleuth or have no ideas. It’s more about a process I’ve found that works best for me. After a book goes off into the world, I devote the next month or so to promotion. Once the flurry of promotion wanes, I give myself permission to clear my head before once again hitting the keyboard in earnest. We all have our process, and I’ve discovered over the years that this keeps me from burning out or developing terminal writer’s block. We all need the occasional vacay, even if it’s only a vacay from the keyboard.

With that in mind, I had set a schedule to start in on serious pondering, mulling, and research the week of August 21st, the day after the Killer Nashville writers’ conference ended. I’d plant butt in chair and fingers on keyboard in earnest September 5th, the day after Labor Day.

Of course, I didn’t factor into testing positive for Covid shortly after Killer Nashville ended. And I certainly didn’t factor in the far from mild case of Covid that broadsided me and still continues haunting me with lingering symptoms. I haven’t felt this tired since suffering through mono when I was nineteen or dealing with an infant who exited the womb never needing to sleep—ever!

About the only things I’ve been able to accomplish when not napping are watching TV and reading, more of the latter than the former, thanks to the writers’ strike and the absence of many of my favorite shows. For someone who has never been a napper, I’m beginning to suspect I harbor some cat DNA. Don’t they sleep about seventeen hours a day?

At least during my daily seven hours of wakefulness, I was able to make a decent dent in my overflowing Kindle virtual TBR pile. For someone used to juggling multiple balls, if nothing else, I’ve achieved a small sense of accomplishment during my illness and recovery.

Not every book I read is worth mentioning. Several fell way short of expectations. However, there were two books that I thoroughly enjoyed: The Book Woman’s Daughter, the follow-up to Kim Michele Rchardson’s The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and Kopp Sisters on the March, book 5 in Amy Stewart’s Kopp Sisters series. However, if you’ve enjoyed the other Kopp Sisters books, be forewarned that this book is a bit of a departure from the previous books in the series. Although labeled as a mystery, the mystery element is a minor subplot.

One of the perks of being a published author is getting to read some books before they hit bookstore shelves. I had the absolute pleasure of losing myself in advance reading copies of two books that I highly recommend. If you enjoy women’s fiction, you won’t want to miss the recently released Picture Perfect Autumn by Shelley Noble. It truly is a picture-perfect novel.

If romantic amateur sleuth mysteries are more your speed, you’ll want to read The Body in the News, the third installment in the Samantha Newman Mysteries by The Stiletto Gang’s own Gay Yellen. I was hooked on this series after reading the first book. When I finished this newest addition, I wanted to pick up the fourth book right away. I hope Gay is a fast writer!

What about you? Read any good books lately? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free download of the audiobook version of Scrapbook of Mystery, the sixth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Summertime…and the TBR pile is calling!

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By Lois Winston

A Crafty Collage of Crime, the 12th book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, released six weeks ago. After a multi-week blog tour to promote the book, I’ve now officially entered the period I call “me” time, a mini-vacation I permit myself after each new book leaves the security of the laptop womb and before I begin seriously thinking about the next book. Much of that “me” time is spent binge-reading (especially since it’s too hot to leave the house!) I’m trying to make a sizable dent in my virtual TBR pile before I add another book to my Kindle library. Here are the books I’ve read so far (in the order I read them) and what I thought.

 

Murder at the Pontchartrain by Kathleen Kaska

Kathleen Kaska always delivers, and once again she doesn’t disappoint in Murder at the Pontchartrain, the sixth book in her delightful 1950s era Sidney Lockhart Mystery Series. This time Sidney and Dixon are in New Orleans, having decided to elope, but it doesn’t take long for a dead body to show up in their hotel room, delaying the nuptials and plunging them into yet another murder investigation as the bodies begin to pile up and Dixon finds himself locked up. Kaska had me guessing whodunit until the very end, and those are the best murder mysteries.

 

The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble

A brilliant blending of fact and fiction. When a Parisian woman artist is forced to immigrate to New York, she secures a position at the Tiffany Glass Works, working beside the real women responsible for many of the designs and much of the work attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany. Noble has woven a well-researched historical novel that will draw you in and keep you turning pages.

 

The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis

A fascinating look at an American woman who worked as an OSS operative in Spain during WWII. I just wish the author had delved more into her life in this biography and spent less time celebrity name-dropping. I also wanted more narrative action and less dry summarization of events.

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

For such a prolific playwright, so little is known of William Shakespeare’s life and family, including the circumstances of his young son’s death. In Hamnet, the author weaves an engaging tale of what might have occurred and how it may have become the catalyst for one of Shakespeare’s greatest works.

 

Dead Men Need No Reservations by Terry Ambrose

The latest edition to Terry Ambrose’s Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries doesn’t disappoint. I always love spending a few hours with these characters, especially Alex, the precocious thirteen-year-old wannabe sleuth. If you’re in the mood for a light mystery and a few chuckles along the way, this book will give you both.

 

Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich

No matter the lemons in your life, spend a few hours with Stephanie Plum, and you’ll be sipping lemonade. Going Rogue is just as entertaining as all the other books in the series and will certainly make you forget your cares–at least for a little while–as you slip into Stephanie’s world.

 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

I had never gotten around to reading this acclaimed Christie mystery, but I did figure out whodunit before the denouement, so for me that was a bit of a disappointment. However, what’s not to love about Monsieur Poirot?

 

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel this book lived up to the first in the series. I really enjoyed Magpie Murders, but this sequel seemed forced, contrived, and often plodding. I’m someone who enjoys the “book-within-a-book” format when it’s done well, but that wasn’t the case here. The style works best when the two stories alternate, not when the entirety of the second book is dropped into the middle of the other. However, he did keep my guessing whodunit until the end.

 

In addition, I’ve read several mysteries for a contest I was judging and one where I was asked to write a blurb, but since the contest winners have yet to be announced, and the blurb book is not yet published, I can’t mention anything about them.

Now I’m off to tackle the next book on my list…but before I go, If you’re planning a road trip and looking for an audiobook to pass the drive time, I still have a few promo codes available for a free download of A Stitch to Die For, the fifth book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Post a comment about your summer reading for a chance to win one.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Bethany Maines drinks from an arsenic mug

Alekos!

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Alekos Now Available!

Whew!  I’ve made it to summer and the final (for now) book of my Rejects Pack trilogy.  Alekos wraps up the storyline started in the books 1 and 2 (Hudson & Killian) in what I hope is a satisfactory conclusion.  Hint: I’m trying to tell you there’s a Happily Ever After without giving away any spoilers.

Challenges

This series tested my creativity in quite a few ways.  I actually started Alekos first and then went back and wrote the first two installments.  This created a challenge in that the first two books were therefore more honed in to their themes and where they had to end up in order for book three to make sense. But that also meant that I had to a fair bit of editing on Alekos in order to make all the little plot jigsaw pieces line up.

I also started it during the pandemic and then was faced with the decision to include or not include the pandemic in the text. I ended up choosing to include it but with only light mentions rather than as a plot point.  One of the most curious things about the 1918 Influenza epidemic is that it seemed virtually unmentioned in fiction of the time.  It was certainly influential as a theme, but most of us haven’t ever read a story that features masks or other remnants of that outbreak.  When that was first pointed out, I couldn’t understand why.  It seems notable and worth a short story or two to try and capture the moment.  I did write one Covid piece of short fiction based on the drag races that sprang up during the lock downs (Fireball Rolled a Seven – Crimecucopia Funny Ha Ha edition), but writers have seen very sharp opinions from readers about mentioning the pandemic in novels mostly they don’t like it.  Reading is for escape and bringing Covid back into the escapist fantasy isn’t always wanted.  However, it was one of the hurdles my heroine had to overcome, so I left it in without dwelling on it. Hopefully, readers now have had enough distance that seeing a mention of a mask in fiction won’t send them scurrying for the door.

What to Expect

But I think I rose to meet the challenges of crafting a Indiana Jones / The Mummy inspired series that gives magical new worlds, globe trotting adventures, and mythological beings, archaeological mysteries, and one very pissed off ancient Egyptian mummy(ish) person. And I can’t wait for readers to be able to share the complete (for now) adventures of the Rejects Pack.

Pre-Order / Buy Now: https://amzn.to/3l32CAL

Learn more: https://www.bethanymaines.com

About Alekos:

Alpha wolf, Alexander Ash has forged a family dedicated to finding a cure for the magical wasteland that has stretched across Greece since the devastating Night of 1000 deaths. But on the brink of finally being able to right the wrongs fate has dealt, Alex meets translator Eliandra Smith and finds himself called to her in a way he can’t explain. But as Lia is swept into Alex’s world of mystical beings, magic, and deadly ancient wars, they soon discover that she is tied more closely to his past that she could have imagined. And Alex discovers she might also be the one thing that can kill them all.

**

Bethany Maines is the award-winning indie and traditionally published author of romantic action-adventure and fantasy novels that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind-end. She can usually found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel or screenplay.

reading on the beach

Libraries & Summer Reads

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by Mary Lee Ashford

reading on the beach Summers and reading are forever linked in my memories. I grew up in a small town and in a time of school consolidation and so that school I attended was in a larger town eight miles away. So while my friends were headed to the pool or getting together at the downtown soda fountain, I was home alone. My parents owned a small business, my siblings are much older so no one at home to hang out with. But thankfully I had books and endless summer days.  Granted once I was old enough to drive some of that changed but by that time I’d already learned the magic of traveling to different places and different times via the pages of a book.

So when I think of summer, I think of hot days, shady trees, and books. My mother was a reader so we had books, but not nearly enough to keep me busy and at the time not the types of books I was interested in. So, once a week we’d take a drive to the library which like my school was the next town over.

I don’t know about you and your experience with libraries, but for me just being surrounded by all those books gave me a thrill. The idea that I could spend time wandering in the stacks and pull something magical off the shelf and take it home with me, was the beginning of a lifelong love of reading that has lasted the test of time and technology. We’d walk the stacks, spend some time making our selections, take them to the desk, and the librarian would pull the card, stamp the due date, and off we’d go.

Shelves of books

Over the years libraries have evolved with the times. I live in a much bigger city and the library is much closer…and bigger. Technology has replace the rubber stamp and the inked due date. But two things that haven’t changed it that you can browse through the books and see what strikes your fancy. I’ve always loved the idea of picking something I know I’m going to love – a favorite genre, a must-read memoir, a go-to author. And then I would pick one book just because. Something different that stretches my brain in different ways, challenges my gray matter, or maybe just makes me remember it’s a great big world out there.

As I pick summer reads this year, I’m trying to do the same thing. I have some favorite authors with new books out. I have my go-to genre (mystery, of course) that I know I’m going to be entertained by, and then I am trying to include some not-my-usual-read books. Because summer. I’ve recently invested in a lightweight Kindle because it makes it so much easier when we’re traveling. And because I read a lot at night, it’s wonderful to be able to adjust the light. But I’m loving the variety of books to choose from and so far my system hasn’t failed me.

How about you? How do you pick your summer reads. Do you stick to your favorites? Are you branching out into new genres or newly discovered authors? Any recommendations?

Whatever you’re reading, I hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

summer scene with books

 

Mary Lee Ashford is the “Sparkle” half of Sparkle Abbey (Pampered Pets Mysteries) and also writes the Sugar & Spice mysteries.  She is an avid reader and supporter of public libraries. She recently retired from a 30+ career in the public sector and so has much more time for reading. Some days anyway. She loves encouraging other writers and is the founding president of SinC-Iowa, the Iowa chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Novelists, Inc., Mystery Writers of America, and the Sisters in Crime Guppies.

She loves to hear from readers and you can find her online at: www.MaryLeeAshford.com

And on social media at: Facebook –  Twitter –  Instagram – Pinterest – BookBub

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