We are just a day away from the release of The Visitor Has a Ball, set in the beautiful Saddlehorse Capital of the World–Shelbyville, Kentucky. Surrounded by rolling hills, beautiful rivers and streams, wide pastures dotted with gorgeous horses, Shelbyville is one of my favorite places to visit. It’s a bustling small town east of my home in Louisville.
Drew Lindner’s character eased into my imagination with a low, Kentucky drawl. He’s handsome, intelligent, good-humored, and strong (I was thinking a young Michael Weatherly, aka Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS fame). He’s polite. Ready to help with whatever needs to be done. So, who in their right mind would ever suspect him of committing a crime?
Who, indeed. You’ll need to read the book to find out for sure. It will be available tomorrow–Friday, July 14–on Kindle, and also in print. See details below.
Samantha Carr is still convicted, after nearly a year, for leaving her newly-widowed mother to live alone nearly an hour away. And now she’s also unsure of the handyman that Mom has hanging around the place.
So when her late father’s office is burgled and a valuable heirloom goes missing, Samantha enlists the help of her world-traveling Aunt Connie to help her set things right.
She didn’t realize what tensions that would cause and the secrets it would expose. Until someone wanted the snooping to stop . . .
Match wits with The Visitor as she unearths an unexpected thief.
The latest installment in The Visitor Mysteries releases Friday, July 14. And the author is…me! Here’s a short introduction from my main character, Samantha Carr:
A churning sensation in my stomach threatened to steal my appetite. Nerves—it’s just nerves. That’s what Mom always used to say right before my piano recital in third grade, or ahead of the final game in the softball tournament. Nerves.
Mom had always calmed my nerves. Talked me through troubled waters. Until my dad passed. Suddenly. Mom spiraled down into a deep valley of grief. Now, it was my turn to offer emotional support. How goes it so far? Not well. Not well at all.
So, when I heard my Aunt Connie was planning a fundraising gala in our small town, I had a great idea. Why not invite her to stay at Mom’s? Mom loves her youngest sister. Although, she and most of her siblings initially balked when Aunt Connie took over as head of the family business. I never understood their objections, but perhaps I was too young. “There is a lot of history involved,” Mom said. And closed mouths, at least where the younger generation was concerned.
The Visitor Series continues with a heartwarming suspense story that … well, here’s my recent review:
The moment I opened this book, I knew I was in trouble. It reminded me of a favorite short story by O. Henry–The Ransom of Red Chief, with a little “Home Alone” tossed in for good measure. I raised three sons, so maybe that’s the reason I enjoyed the story so much. Dena Netherton has a way with gripping suspense and quirky, mean characters. As a reader, you don’t like them (the bad guys). Don’t like their looks or what they’re doing, but can’t stop reading until justice is served. Netherton tied this one up in an oh, so satisfying way.
Yep. Loved it. Deliciously hateful bad guys dealt with in a satisfying manner. Altogether pleasant summertime read.
–Betty
How do baby goats, ugly graffiti, and a would-be hero add up to a kidnapping? Connie B. Wright intends to find out.
Skye Wright has been running Our Kids for several years and is delighted that her Aund Connie comes to attend the fundraiser that Skye and her volunteers have planned. This will create crucial funding to carry the children’s home for another year, not to mention some much-needed repairs.
The repair list grows when an unknown vandal paints mean comments along one wall. But the minor annoyance turns to deep concern as vandalism becomes accompanied by actual threats.
Why would someone target a children’s shelter?
Match wits with The Visitor as she works to uncover the person behind a series of dangerous crimes.
It’s Release Day for Still Water! The book is out and available. You can have it in moments on Kindle for only 99 cents (sale ends at midnight).
I am so grateful to all who have helped with the writing and publication of this book. When I first began writing Still Water–my very first suspense story–I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t.
Worth it? Yes! Here’s the main lesson I learned: I am still learning.
On this release day, I’d like to pause and thank a few special people who have helped me so much over the past year and a half as I labored over this story.
Gail JohnsonKristy Robinson HorineMarji Laine Clubine
My critiquers, who have become wonderful friends, Gail Johnson and Kristy Horine. They point out all my missed punctuation, wrongly-used words, and unanswered questions. I love you both – thank you so much for all those hours of reading and rereading my story!
Marji Laine Clubine, editor-in-chief at Write Integrity Press, went above and beyond this time. I literally could not have finished this book without Marji and her daughter, Brittany Deane. Thank you so much.
I have many wonderful friends who have been there for me along this journey. To name them would take far too long, though I know they love seeing their names in print. Many of them are also multi-published authors, so they know how important it is to encourage others.
Ok, naming a few: My local ACFW peeps, Karen Richardson and Crystal Caudill, and the multi-talented, multi-award-winning, Rhonda Dragomir! My online friends, Jennifer Hallmark, Linda Yezak, and the beautifully encouraging Lynn Mosher. I could literally go on and on at this point.
My family here, there, and everywhere. Beautiful cousins and local friends. Again, too many to list. I’d leave someone out and then I’d never hear the end of it. LOL. Where would I be without their constant prayers and encouragement?
Okay, naming a couple–my best friends and co-conspirators in life–
Cherry Brooks and Debbie Holston pray for me and help me remember to breathe.
Robin Pittman, Jill Kemp, June, Deana, Barb, Evon–oh my! It’s a trap! I want to mention everyone, but it would be like those award shows. You know, when you groan over the long acceptance speeches that make the show extend beyond midnight…
There is one more that I must mention. Nike Chillemi, the Crime Fictionista, and member of our small crit group. She kept me laughing and hoping and writing when I was ready to hang it all up and walk away. She left us for Heaven last year. I miss her almost everyday, because that’s how often we talked via the ACFW crit loop. I am blessed to have known her.
Even though writing can be a solitary journey, most of us don’t do it alone.
Alone. That’s where my main character in Still Water, Lisa Oliver, begins her journey. Orphaned and alone. In the beginning, she finds more questions than answers. What she discovers will follow her throughout this series…
A Father of the fatherless defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families…
Psalm 68:5-6 NKJV
Still Water, Home Found Suspense, Book 1
And don’t forget! If you’d like to buy an autographed copy of the book, click the button below for more info.
Hello, Thursday Morning readers! A couple words about the weather: Hot. Dry.
I’m not complaining, but rejoicing that our A/C unit is working. I do love Fall, so it will be missed. 🙂
It’s hard for me to admit, but I’m kind of a scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I love some things about the season itself, but honestly, I like Christmas to occur in December. What makes it such a special season (to me) becomes not so special when it goes on for months, or even all year.
But, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sandra Ardoin’s Christmas novella, Unwrapping Hope. It was not over-the-top Christmas-y, but I definitely absorbed the feel of the season as I read. Ardoin’s historical fiction is authentic, drawing the reader into the era, as well as the season.
The main character, Phoebe Crain, lives under a dark cloud of pain and mystery. Even the reader doesn’t know her past until it surfaces near the end. Phoebe is flawed, but I came to appreciate her strength as she casts her pride to the wind in order to make Christmas special for her daughter.
I like flawed characters. I enjoy reading a story that brings their deepest flaws to the surface, but doesn’t heal the flaws or even make them go away. A well-told story shows its readers how love can accept and encompass those differences. That’s so much more realistic and for me, oh, so satisfying.
My only complaint about Unwrapping Hope? It’s short! It is a novella, after all. So, I was pleased to discover that this story will open a series called “Widow’s Might.” I like the name and the implications behind the name. That’s another part of the story I enjoyed—this character didn’t wallow in her misfortunes—she joined together with other widows to help bring relief where needed.
Phoebe Crain, an accomplished pianist, lives in near poverty to protect her five-year-old daughter from scandal. When Phoebe receives a handcrafted cigar box by mistake, her desperation to give the child something special for Christmas drives her to suggest a trade with Spence Newland, a man she views as no more principled than her daughter’s late father. But the more time she spends with the department store heir, the more Phoebe struggles to keep up her guard against him.
Spence believes the cigar box will help him gain a reclusive investor’s financial support for his proposed five-and-ten-cent stores, demonstrating his ability to manage the family fortunes. Yet he hesitates to bargain with a widow who mistrusts him for no apparent reason…until he meets a charming little girl at the train station who awaits the arrival of a prince.
Will a betrayal in Phoebe’s past and Spence’s unraveling plans derail their hope for happiness and keep a child’s fairy tale from coming true? [Release Date: Oct. 15]
As an author of heartwarming and award-winning historical romance, Sandra Ardoin engages readers with page-turning stories of love and faith. Rarely out of reach of a book, she’s also an armchair sports enthusiast, country music listener, and seldom says no to eating out.
Betty Thomason Owens 