The Fog Ladies - They're On The Case

The Fog Ladies

By Susan McCormick

 

An ominous suspicion creeps into the minds of the resident ladies at the Pacific Heights apartment building as they watch the fog bank inch its way over the Golden Gate Bridge. There had been a number of grave accidents in their building recently. It’s suspicious. None of the group nicknamed The Fog Ladies, are as nimble as they used to be, but they’re smart and compassionate, and determined to solve this mystery. After all, they’d called this building home for decades, and the next “accident” could be one of them. They enlist the help of Sarah James, a medical intern renting the apartment just below Frances Noonan, one of the fog ladies. And so this curious group of friends begins investigating.

Circumstances will have these ladies doubting themselves, and each other. There are complicating factors and concerns from the busy lives they lead that fascinate. These intricacies unfold and intercede upon these amateur sleuths. Gossip flies as the possible motives of other residents, their visitors, and even building maintenance people are questioned. How fun to catch little glimpses into all these interesting lives. The reader can’t help but be pulled in as a virtual friend on the team, weighing theories and judging suspects.

Many of the primary characters are seasoned seniors. This gives them such interesting personal histories and engrained personalities that are delightfully portrayed. Over their decades, they have gained perspectives and wisdom that sometimes bring compelling insights. But are they always correct? Over time have things changed, and have these ladies kept up? Do they really know contemporary human nature?

The city on the Bay is almost a character itself. San Francisco is a beautiful and yet intriguing setting that also has its own part to play in this cozy mystery story. If you like puzzling out the solution to everyday situations, The Fog Ladies is sure to give you an enjoyable challenge.

The author, Susan McCormick writes cozy murder mysteries. She is also the author of Granny Can’t Remember Me, a children’s picture book about Alzheimer’s disease. She is a doctor, and that background is seamlessly woven into the clues of her mysteries, giving authenticity and dimension to the plot. You can learn more about the author at http://www.susanccormickbooks.com

This Particular Happiness Will Fill You With Love

This Particular Happiness

A Childless Love Story

By Jackie Shannon Hollis

Choice can be a double edged sword. When couples have the opportunity to decide between them whether they will have children, it presents a dilemma when the two people in the relationship do not agree. Choosing between the love of a partner and the chance to become a parent creates tension. Someone may end up with regrets. This memoir is a poignant description of the author working through this situation with her husband. Her analytical review becomes a memorable exploration of their relationship, and also of her own life experience and what drives her desire. “Maybe this thing I called wanting a child was a distraction from a bigger need: to understand why I was here, why I was alive. My need to justify myself.”

The author’s sincere soul searching is touching and mesmerizes as it builds in its intensity. Her history is revealed as she remembers it, and how she feels it. A picture is painted of her life experiences. The resulting portrait shows wrinkles from the consequences that left strong emotions beneath the surface. As she struggles with her inner passions and unresolved issues, she tries to persuade her husband to change his mind, hoping he will not stand firm in his choice not to become a father.

In the meantime the author describes that “Life made a path around the wanting.” Despite our personal trials and tribulations, life has a habit of moving forward at a relentless pace. For this family decision, that also sets up a ticking clock which increases the urgency of an acceptance of a final decision between them. Can true happiness be found in a childless love story? Join this passionate woman on her very personal and heartfelt journey of discovery. This memoir resonates especially with couples who have faced this pull at their heart, but also it’s a revelation for those who have chosen parenthood. When these difficult struggles surface the author has a life lesson to share. “Death can come at any moment. Be present, or you will miss your life.”

Think of choosing this book for your book club. A readers’ guide is included for a lively discussion. Jackie Shannon Hollis is a lifelong Oregonian, and resides with her husband in a home her friends call the tree house.

Robert Dugoni and The Eighth Sister

The Eighth Sister

By Robert Dugoni

Mystery surrounds the sisters. Their identities are unknown even to each other. Trained from birth to penetrate Russia’s foreign intelligence service and report to the CIA, suddenly they are disappearing. Three of them are dead. What is it about this intrigue that appeals to ex-agent Charles Jenkins? What convinces him to come out of retirement, and away from the love of his family? He had left the CIA disillusioned; now he’s back in the midst of extreme danger.

Charles Jenkins, a character known from author Robert Dugoni’s riveting David Sloane series of legal thrillers, will now match wits against Viktor Federov. This FSB agent is very smart, a personality wrapped in many layers, ruthless, and very good at his job. He is the challenging opponent working for his government to thwart Jenkins when he travels to Russia to spy and investigate. The male and female spy characters are incredibly good at espionage. The little known aspects and tricks of their trade have become their way of life – of staying alive. The Russian setting is as captivating as the tale told. Winter is fast approaching, and so are the footsteps that are quickening behind the protagonist, and so is the tightening of the squad of spies surrounding the hero. The clock is ticking and it will take all his knowledge, creativity, and good luck for the hero to break the case. The question is, even if he’s successful will that be enough for him to get out and get to safety?

Bonus thrills abound as this international action thriller moves into the court room. When Sloane ends up having to take on governments, that’s when precedent is sometimes abandoned and the search for justice becomes a troubling case. Spies have few friends, or colleagues who are willing to step forward and help or testify, or even acknowledge their acquaintance, and a paper trail gets quickly buried.

Critically acclaimed author Robert Dugoni’s books are New York Times Best Sellers, #1 with the Wall Street Journal, and he is #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of The Tracy Crosswhite series. This series has sold over two million copies and has been optioned for television series development. But that’s not all! There’s also the best selling David Sloane series, and even more stand alone books including The Cyanide Canary – a Washington Post best book of the year. His website is robertdugonibooks.com. Along with multiple awards and award nominations, Robert Dugoni books are sold world-wide and translated into more than two dozen languages. With all this work, it’s amazing how much time Robert Dugoni gives back to the writing community through classes, workshops, and speaking engagements. See him in October at the Write on the Sound (WOTS) Conference in Edmonds.

And for more from the author himself, join co-hosts Wendy Kendall and Carl Lee on the podcast A Novel Talk with Robert Dugoni.

The School of Essential Ingredients

The School of Essential Ingredients

By Erica Bauermeister

September means back to school. This year graduate to a new class.  Go to The School of Essential Ingredients and enjoy learning in the company of author Erica Bauermeister’s heartwarming characters. Attendance is a treat as you learn lessons from the Monday night cooking classes; mostly you learn lessons of life and compassion. This artistic triumph will entice you to slow down your pace and feel life with all your senses.

The cooking class is held on Monday nights at a restaurant called Lillian’s. It’s an Arts and Crafts house with front rooms converted into a dining area. This is a very magical place run by a very special lady named Lillian. For seven years she’s taught weekly cooking classes on the night the restaurant is closed. The class is a refuge from the distractions that often prevent people in everyday life to take time to treasure their life and happiness. There are eight students who gather for this current series of classes, eight students plus the reader. The author’s writing is so vivid the reader is drawn right into the midst of the classes, and the characters’ stories.

Like peeling the layers of an onion, each character’s history is artistically revealed, the joys and the hurdles that brought them to their present day. What has shaped them into the person they are, and what is it that each of them is facing now? Can a cooking class of strangers shape a future? What are the essential ingredients to a recipe for the perfect meal, or to the perfect life? Is there such a thing? As Lillian says with a smile about the essential ingredients, “I might as well tell you, there isn’t a list and I’ve never had one. Nor do I hand out recipes. All I can say is that you will learn what you need to.”

Erica Bauermeister has an extraordinary gift for language and lyrical insights into human nature. The resulting novel is a magical gift. It‘s the first of her four novels. According to her website ericabauermeister.com, in her own words she “wanted to write - books that took what many considered to be unimportant bits of life and gave them beauty, shone light upon their meaning.” Her dream has been beautifully shared.

Tailwinds Past Florence Is A Magical Ride

Tailwinds Past Florence

By Doug Walsh 

Join ambitious couple Edward and Kara as they pop the kickstands on their bikes and launch an exciting worldwide bike trip. They’re putting their lives on hold for a couple of years while they see new sights and challenge themselves to live their dream. What a courageous and incredible experience. But, as they launch their trip at Puget Sound’s Alki Beach, they have no idea what is ahead of them. Living a dream is not always everything you dreamed it to be.

Tailwinds Past Florence is a road trip with a spark of romance and a fantastical twist. It’s a passionate story and this author not only knows his impulsive characters well, but also the facts about biking, and he excels at describing the various settings in a number of different countries. You’ll feel like you’ve been on tour as well, but without breaking a sweat. There’s an underlying push from destiny that sends this spinning couple to steer their way to Florence, Italy. There surprises lie in wait that will test this couple up to the breaking point. Can they endure?

The fictional characters in this book feel very real and are of great interest. The author tells this story from several characters’ points of view, so that you really get to know them and understand how they view the world. It’s amazing to watch characters react to events and see how they each misunderstand each other so often and so easily. How will they discover the truth between them before they make some important life choices based on mistaken information?

 It is fun, and sometimes terrifying, to read about the biking, as the miles add up. Moments of humor are delightful. And of course it’s in Italy, what a perfect setting, that they encounter the magic of fate. Edward and Kara now have to face the ultimate questions of what is love and what is a beautiful life. When history and fate stare them down, can they risk it all for each other, for their dream together? Or will the fantastical figure obstructing their path defeat them?

Doug Walsh authored this book after being inspired by the around the world bike trip he took with his wife, from Seattle to Singapore with no planes. They traveled for nearly two years by bike and ship. This is not the travel memoir he expected to write; instead it became the fictional novel he’d dreamed of writing his entire life. Visit the author’s website at dougwalsh.com and hear more from the author himself on YouTube podcast episode with co-hosts Wendy Kendall and Carl Lee – A Novel Talk with Doug Walsh

Jeri Westerson's Paranormal Romance Adventure - Is Love Stronger Than Fate?

The Darkest Gateway

By Jeri Westerson

                Welcome to the fourth book in The Booke of the Hidden Series. Author Jeri Westerson invites you on an adventure through The Darkest Gateway. In this paranormal romance series, the protagonist is Kylie. She is torn whether to accept the challenge before her. If she does, this treacherous quest could cost her the highest price of her life. What you need to know about the Booke of the Hidden is that it exhibits a vicious element of surprise. You never know what can come out of it, or when. Some wonder if the Booke takes pleasure in creating chaos.

                In this series you’ll be treated to action scenes that seamlessly incorporate practical magic with such flair you can’t help but be impressed. The magic system developed is comprehensive and also fascinating reading. The challenges faced are creative and exciting. This paranormal romance is very entertaining, and at the same time humorous and ultimately revealing of human nature. The characters of Moody Bog are intriguing and filled with humor, as the town is populated with people, witches, demons, and more. It’s a series that will cast its spell over you as you travel deeper and deeper into untold danger. As Kylie says, “There was no instruction manual for this.”

                This quirky-humorous and edgy-romantic urban fantasy set in a small town in Maine is full of the unexpected at every turn. These characters will tickle your sense of humor. The thoughtful plot will keep you spellbound as devilish powers are confronted. You’ll need to hang on tight while this roller coaster of suspense propels you.

                Jeri Westerson is a true genre jumper, consistently creative and entertaining author. She is the author of twelve Crispin Guest Medieval Noir novels, a series nominated for 13 national awards. She has this paranormal romance series, and the last in this exciting series is expected to release in October. She’s also authored Historical Novels, LGBT Mysteries; she has an upcoming Steampunk series, as well as many short stories. The author also frequently guest lectures on medieval history at southern California colleges and museums. Learn more about the author at her websites bookeofthehidden.com and jeriwesterson.com. And hear more from the author on A Novel Talk with Jeri Westerson, co-hosted by Wendy Kendall and Carl Lee on YouTube.

First Man Is Out Of This World

First Man

By James R. Hansen

                You may have seen the excellent hit movie. Now, for the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing on July 20^th, I’m recommending the book that tells the incredible saga of that First Man, an essential biography by James R. Hansen. Not just a biography though, this is an entertaining, comprehensive story of a fascinating time in history. And it’s enhanced by stunning pictures, including some that are out of this world.

                The book starts with Neil Armstrong’s youth. He grew up under the shadow of the Wright brothers’ celebrated invention of the airplane, and their inaugural aerial experiences in Ohio. Young Neil was an avid model airplane enthusiast. “Originally my focus was on the building of airplanes, not their flying.” It’s compelling to read about the people around him, the times, his personality, and the opportunities that converged into his epic achievements that take flight.

                That is not to say that he found success in all he attempted. The writing about his stumbles, and how he learns from them, is insightful. The exciting times of the daring test pilots will get your heart pounding and your imagination churning. At Edwards Air Force Base they said “Neil ran circles around many test pilots.” It was so important to have the combination of the skills and also the daring to try new things. According to Armstrong, “It was program development, looking at the problems of flight. It was a wonderful time period, and it was very satisfying work, particularly when you found a solution.”

                And then there is the telling of the moon flight. Facts only this insider knows about the people, the training, the service of the astronauts, NASA, scientists, politicians, and affiliated businesses turns this book into something hard to put down. The stories about the people are laced with motives and interactions so utterly human, at times very funny, at times heroic, and historic.

                The author is a Professor Emeritus of History and an expert in aerospace and the history of its science and technology. He is a former historian for NASA. This is one of a dozen books he has authored on aviation. He lives with his family in Alabama.

                Give yourself a 50^th Anniversary moon landing gift by reading First Man, and treat yourself to the stories and information that even a great movie just does not have the means to include. Remember to celebrate a giant leap on July 20^th.