Bell Bridge Books

Time to Pick Up the Shovel

by Lora Lee

The beginning of a New Year usually has everyone scrambling to make resolutions. Me? I set goals. This year will be a challenging one for me – the first year of living alone after sixty-one years married to my beloved late husband.

So how does one start over at my age, you ask? I don’t have the answer but when I find it, I’ll be happy to share. In the meantime, I’ll put one foot in front of the other, take a step forward and pray I don’t fall, ‘cause who’s gonna pick me up?

Recently, a dear friend gave me some thought-worthy advice. She told me, “When Life dumps a pile of garbage at your door, God provides a shovel.” So my goal for 2016 is to pick up that shovel and dig for Book Two of the Joyful Noise Mysteries. I have lots more stories to tell. Time to pick up the shovel.

In Bringing in the Thieves, Book One of the Joyful Noise Mysteries, protagonist Frankie Lou has returned to Ruby Springs, Texas, to start a new life. Growing up as the often rebellious preacher’s kid (PK), she’s made more than her share of mistakes. Now the divorced single mom must work hard to polish her tarnished halo and redeem her reputation in her hometown. Her first attempt to earn the respect of the community is to organize a choral group of misfit teens. Finding a body in the church baptistery marks Frankie Lou as a “person of interest” by the local police. That sure doesn’t shine her halo, bless her heart.

Lora Lee enjoys life in rural West Michigan near her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who make her heart smile every day.

Visit  http://lora-lee.com/ for more information about her Joyful Noise Mysteries series

Pick up BRINGING IN THE THIEVES for just $1.99 through January 15th!

An Attitude of Gratitude

by Sparkle Abbey

We recently had an opportunity to chat with some readers about family traditions. Our biggest take-away from those conversations was, it’s all about attitude. So many talked about how, though they love family traditions, things were going to be different this year. For some, they’d become empty-nesters, for others they’d lost someone dear, and for still others, there were new additions to their families.

We’ve both had our share of life changes this past year and the stories these readers shared reminded us that whether a happy change or a sad one, change requires adjustments. And the main thing you have to adjust is your attitude.

There is joy in remembering times past and in making new memories.

There is joy in carrying on traditions, but perhaps adapting them to include new family members.

There is joy in beginning new traditions—maybe enjoying a quiet dinner, catching a movie, or taking a drive to see the holiday lights.

Or maybe your quiet get-together has become a rollicking feast with new little ones, or new in-laws, or outlaws. There can be joy in that change too.

As 2015 comes to a close and we reflect on all the changes (both good and bad) we’ve experienced this year, we hope to remember the stories that were shared.

And we hope we remember to find the joy.

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of mystery authors Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. They write a national bestselling pet themed mystery series set in Laguna Beach. The first book in the series Desperate Housedogs, an Amazon Mystery Series bestseller and Barnes & Noble Nook #1 bestseller, was followed by Get Fluffy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, Yip/Tuck, Fifty Shades of Greyhound, and The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo. Downton Tabby is the latest installment in the series. Up next is Raiders of the Lost Bark. www.SparkleAbbey.com

Downton Tabby is currently a

Kindle Daily Deal at $1.99

www.amazon.com/ B00VVOYB86

TIKI ROAD TRIPS AND FLAMING COCKTAILS

by Jill Marie Landis

According to Wikipedia (and we all know how reliable Wikipedia is!) the tortured artist is both a stock character and a real-life stereotype. Artists who suffer for their work often succumb to self-mutilation, a high rate of suicide, hours of therapy and/or gallons of Ben and Jerry’s.

I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as a tortured artist, but I will go to just about any length in the name of research. When I wrote western historical romances, I rode horses and rounded up cattle. I watered down pigs. I’ve visited so many historical sites and museums that my husband now punches the car accelerator as we approach any building or rock that might be sporting an historical marker.

Since I began writing The Tiki Goddess Mystery Series for Belle Books, I’ve gone overboard doing research. I’ve devoted countless hours to paging through Pintrest, pinning photos with the subject heading “Tiki.”  I’ve shopped eBay for tiki mugs to add to my collection. I’ve spent many a night in the local watering hole here on Kauai writing notes on cocktail napkins and taste testing umbrella drinks. An author’s life is one of sacrifice. Believe me, I’ll go to any length to get things right on the page.

So, in the name of research, I’ve visited Tiki Bars on Kauai and on every other Hawaiian Island. When we’re on the mainland (you know it as the continental US), I refer to my handy dandy “Tiki Road Trip, A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America” by James Teitelbaum. I’ve been in tiki bars in some of the most unlikely, out of the way places in the world and lived to tell about it.

I’ll have to admit my husband and our dinner guests were surprised on evening when I walked into the kitchen armed with a long handled gas lighter and a fire extinquisher. I explained I’d decided to create a recipe to include in TOO HOT FOUR HULA, Book 4, the latest of the Tiki Goddess Mysteries and I needed assistance.

I handed my friend and fellow author, Stella Cameron, a fire extinguisher. As I recall, I said something like, “Stand back Stella, and if I blow myself up, use that thing!”

Stella laughed until I started lining up the ingredients which included chocolate candy kisses and three kinds of liquor, one of which was a bottle of 151 Proof rum, the liquor most mixologists recommended for igniting a flaming cocktail.

That night “The Flaming Manic Monkey” cocktail was born. The drink was inspired by a scene in TOO HOT FOR HULA when Uncle Louie relates a trek to the Amazon in search of the legendary Amethyst Monkey Skull.

Thankfully, Stella didn’t have to use the extinguisher after all because we later noticed that warranty on the thing expired ten years ago!

Do stop by and visit me at www.thetikigoddess.com and sign up for my newsletter and read other fun blogs.

Don’t forget to grab Jill Marie Landis’s newest release

– TOO HOT FOUR HULA –

out today!!

Just click the link above!

And make sure you grab the other fabulous books in the Tiki Goddess Series! Just click the links below!

We  LOVE  Mysteries with Animals

by Sparkle Abbey

We love mysteries that feature animals. Dogs, cats, parrots, ducks…okay, we’ve never actually read a mystery featuring a duck but if there’s one out there that you’ve read, please let us know. We figured there might be more people out there like us – well, not exactly like us – but people who also love mysteries featuring animals. That’s how we ended up writing the Pampered Pets mystery series for Bell Bridge Books – we wrote the kind of stories we like to read.

Our pets comfort us, entertain us, lift our spirits and ask nothing in return. Those furry, feathered, or otherwise adorned creatures make our lives fuller just by being a part of it, don’t they? They do their part and it’s important we do ours.

Alert: We’re about to climb on our soapbox.

If you’re planning to adopt a pet, please consider saving a life by adopting a pet from a local animal shelter. There are many wonderful pets who are looking for their forever homes. If you need help locating a shelter in your area try, this handy finder from Adopt-a-Pet. All you have to do is put your zip code in and it brings up a listing of shelters near you.

And if you’re able, consider a tax-free donation to organizations that help take care of abused or neglected animals like your local shelter. These organizations are always in need of funds and some may also take donations of newspapers, blankets, and other items.  Also, most local shelters are vastly under-staffed and appreciate the assistance of helpful volunteers.

Finally, many strays who end up in shelters are lost pets who did not have identification or the result of unwanted litters. Be a responsible pet owner, make sure your pet has proper ID and please, please get your pets spayed and neutered.

Our pets give us a lot of love – it’s the least we can do for them.

Okay, stepping down off the soapbox.

Now, we’ve got a fun contest for you (and your adorable pets).

Just post a funny picture of your pet on the Sparkle Abbey Facebook page and the poster of the picture that gets the most “Likes” will win a mystery t-shirt, a Petco gift certificate and the Sparkle Abbey book of their choice!

Make sure you grab all of Sparkle Abbey’s fantastic PAMPERED PETS MYSTERY SERIES available on Amazon!

Just click the links!