Indie Book reviewer by day. I also moonlight as an Indie film reviewer by night. Read my latest review for The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater below!
With only 30 days to repay a massive loan, a disgraced art historian is forced into a scandalous scheme: win the heart of, and then extort, the Episcopal priest avoiding her like loose glitter. When she discovers him hiding the world’s greatest lost masterpiece, will she betray the heroic man who believes in her genius, or fall for him and doom herself to a custom pair of concrete stilettos?
Meet Ava Moriarty (Lorrisa Julianus), a former genius art historian and now a Diva Dominatrix who wants out. Partnering with her friend Gabe (Shannon Brown) on a business deal, this investment is Ava’s escape to happiness. Ava comes home from a hard day’s work to find her Russian mobster boyfriend (whom she refuses to admit is) is dumping her and wants the money he loaned her to invest with back. Oh, and that money is now gone along with their investor friend Lloyd who died of an unfortunate circumstance.
Bonus she’s got 28 days to deliver. What’s a girl to do?
Scene from The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater
When offered to exploit a local priest for precisely the amount she needs, she takes the offer. Ava, though decides to play detective to find out the why. Ava learns though the priest and she are not so unlike each other in this romantic comedy adventure.
Winner for Best Comedy at the Mile High International Film Festival (2020) and directed by C.J. Julianus, The Adventures of Mistress Maneater is a witty, charming high-end indie film. Polished and smooth, it is easy to watch. Lorrisa Julianus (Ava Moriarty) dominates (pun intended) being cast as the writer of the film as well. While a fun, sweet rom-com adventure on the outside, C.J. Julianus weaves in the message about self-worth and even self-forgiveness. We all see this through the characters of Ava, of course, and Pastor Radovan (Mickey O’ Sullivan). With Radovan, it is seen through his actions. For Ava, it is shown not much through her actions, but more so through her make-up and clothes. When we first meet Ava, she is black leather red lips and fierce. As the story progresses, her clothing and make-up become lighter and softer, just as Ava is becoming softer and learning her self-worth and finding her happiness.
I am not much of a rom-com fan, but I fell in love with this movie. It was intelligent, quick-witted, and will charm your pants off. You are grabbed at the first scene and held all the way through. Of course, making a film is a group effect, but having a great cast helps. The cast of Mistress Maneater is phenomenal. It’s the best indie cast I have ever seen so far. Everyone plays off each other, so naturally, helping emersed you in the story to feel and care about everyone.
The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is available to watch on Amazon Prime and Tubi
Happy November to all! This Thursday’s spotlight is RECORDER by Cathy McCrumb. The first book in her Sci-Fi series, Children of the Consortium I am joined once again with R&R Book Tours to celebrate McCrumb’s release. Read on as well for how YOU can win a signed hardcover copy of the book!
Recorder
Publication Date: November 9th, 2021
Genre: Science Fiction/ Speculative Fiction
Publisher: Enclave
Children of the Consortium
When a research station goes dark and a rescue mission goes wrong, a young woman with no name, no family, no friends loses everything that defines her…
Donated to the Consortium before birth, the Recorder’s sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing any display of bias.
Suddenly cut off from the technology controlling her, she tastes freedom and what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.
With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, the Recorder’s time is running out.
Excerpt
I did not have a name—none of us did—but once when I was young, I had a friend.
Early in my tenth year I slipped away from the other girls of my cohort. Their approved games did not interest me, and since I had fulfilled my physical activity requirements, I took refuge at my favorite place near the artificial brook.
Light sparkled on water rippling over smooth brown stones. Either the brook’s engineers or its gentle flow had sculpted rounded banks in the loam, and lavender and thyme grew between orange lilies. The self-pollinating plants bobbed and dipped in the breeze created by the giant fans in the lofty, domed ceiling. It was a close approximation of a real brook, from what I had read.
** HERE IS YOUR CHANCE! WIN A HARDCOVER COPY OF RECORDER SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR!at Rafflecopter giveaway**
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathy graduated from Biola University with a degree in literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things, she also enjoys reading, long hikes, long naps, gluten-free brownies, raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family.
Trick or Treat? Well, here’s a treat! Joining with R&R Book Tours If gothic chills are more to your liking then look no further than The Resurrectionist by A.R. Meyering. A chilling take inspired by real-life events.
The Resurrectionist “Inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders”
Publication Date: July 3rd, 2020
Genre: Supernatural/ Horror/ Fantasy/ Based on Real Life Characters
Scotland, 1854
On a skinny, forgotten road in Edinburgh stood a shop without a name—a shop that could be found only if one had previously been led to its door. William, who was blind, rapped his knuckles on the door. The shop owner opens the door and says, “I recognize you. You’re the thief who slithered away while your partner swung by his neck.”
William begs the woman to break the curse that has been set on him that prevents him from dying. The curse, says the woman, cannot be broken, but it can be displaced. Is your death so precious to you that you would destroy one more innocent life to get it? The life of your own child?”
London 1895
In 19th century Scotland surgeon Edgar Price has only days to live. He has become host to a revenant that will corrode both his body and soul. Edgar’s fatal mistake has not only doomed him, but also released six more of these malignant wraiths onto the world. In his remaining time, he has vowed to stop the revenants from claiming other victims. His perilous travels lead him to the Witches’ Wood, a haven for a sisterhood of powerful enchantresses. There he meets Ainsley, who is also racing against the clock to save her life and will go to any lengths to spare the life of her lover Colleen from the grief of losing her. Despite their mutual dislike, Edgar and Ainsley find that the only way to traverse the twisted, otherworldly labyrinths that the revenants have created is to work together. Their mission becomes further complicated when Edgar begins to develop feelings for Fana, the guardian goddess of the Wood in spite of Ainsley’s forbidding warnings to stay far away from her.
Though THE RESURRECTIONIST is a work of fantasy, many of the settings and elements are based on fact. Horror and fantasy intermingle in this novel inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders.
From 1828-29, Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare were responsible for the murders of sixteen people in Edinburgh. Their methods generally involved luring a victim to Hare’s boardinghouse, where they plied them heavily with alcohol before suffocating them. They were motivated by greed, selling the corpses of their victims to a local surgeon, Robert Knox. Each victim was publicly dissected, and Dr. Knox is largely thought to have been complicit in the crimes.
During their ten-month killing spree, William Hare’s common-law wife, Margaret Laird, was pregnant with their child. Hare was pardoned for his crimes due to his confession and condemnation of his accomplice Burke, who was hanged and publicly dissected as punishment.
After being pardoned, Hare, Margaret, and their infant are thought to have escaped to Ireland. It also has been rumored that William Hare was thrown into a lime pit and subsequently suffered blindness before becoming a beggar. The victims in THE RESURRECTIONIST are also based on real-life people.
Reminiscent of Tess Gerritsen’s The Bone Garden, THE RESURRECTIONIST explores a real-life horror story through a riveting supernatural thriller that is guaranteed to hook readers from the very first page.
A.R. Meyering was a graduate student studying philosophy. She has worked as an English teacher in a small town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Her dark fantasy novel, Unreal City, won a Literary Classics International Book Award gold medal for YA horror and a Moonbeam Award bronze medal in YA horror. While doing her undergrad in English she studied abroad in Edinburgh, focusing on Scottish occult literature and folklore.
Halloween is this Sunday so we can’t let October go by without highlighting this new twisted release I found. So, in joining with R&R Book Tours let’s dive for a sinister good book release time!
Pretty Deadly
Publication Date: October 26th, 2021 (TODAY 🎉)
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Fairytale Retelling (Not YA)
Cinna would quite literally kill for the throne.
She’s spent years forced to serve her wealthy cousins rather than attend society events alongside them, waiting for the chance to prove herself and exact revenge. When a ball is announced at the castle, promising to bring many powerful people to town, she seizes the opportunity to strike.
She bets her best friend, a small-time thief and con-man, that she can land a greater score the night of the ball than he can. They embark on parallel heists. But as their plots unfold, things begin to unravel: by the end of the night, the castle’s on lockdown, a duchess is dead, a mansion has burnt to the ground, and Cinna hasn’t stolen anything. Or has she stolen something more valuable than gold and jewels?
Excerpt
How interesting, Cinna thought. She had spent so many hours bent over a stove in the kitchen or crouched before the hearth, stoking flames carefully that refused to light. But she had prepared: this house was waiting tinder, ready to be consumed.
She couldn’t hear the screams over the roar of the flames, but surely they were there. Strangely, she didn’t feel cheated to have not heard their voices. It was fine that they died in silence.
It did not take long for the neighbors to begin streaming out of their own houses, and she did hear their screams. They swarmed around the flames, politely mute once they realized they could not do anything, full of awe before the enormity of the fire. Cinna blended into the crowd, nearly invisible in her costume. At last, just as she had always pledged she would, she watched the house fall in on itself.
I am a software engineer and author living and working in Silicon Valley, California. I studied computer science at Stanford University, but I’ve always loved stories in all their forms. I approach writing fiction the same way I approach writing code: I like to know where it’s going, but I want to figure out the details as I go along. Good software is a lot like a good story, full of neat and clever solutions to tricky problems, beautiful at a granular level but also from a distance.
Originally from Seattle, I love getting outdoors and living in places that allow me to escape to the mountains on the weekends, and I care deeply about the ecosystems that humans impact and that impact us. My writing explores these issues while also following classic coming-of-age arcs in science fiction and fantasy. I’m also very interested in stories and characters that complicate the traditional and familiar, leading me to fairytale retellings from unexpected angles.
Joining in with R&R Book Tours again I am happy to celebrate with my fellow author friend Joanna White of her new release Samurai (Valiant #3)
As a bonus Joanna is doing aGIVEAWAY!An 8 x 11 map from the book, 8 x 11 poster of the cover, and early access to Healed (Digital), the short story ending to Samurai!
Samurai (The Valiant Series #3) *Books can be read in any order
Publication Date: September 7th, 2021
Genre: Clean Fantasy/ Adventure
Okada Akari and Sakamoto Megumi just may be two women in over their head. Okada Akari is a samurai, the daughter of the Chief Advisor to the Emperor of the Sakamoto clan. One day on a mission, she is captured by a mysterious warrior and taken to an enemy camp—an enemy filled with strange, foreign powers the likes of which her world has never seen. What’s worse, a foreign stranger is supplying her enemy with weapons her people cannot hope to fight against. Yet that is only the beginning of her journey, one filled with war and love, sacrifice, and darkness.
Sakamoto Megumi has wanted to be a samurai her entire life. However, as the daughter of the Emperor, training is impossible. When the Emperor is assassinated, she is thrust onto a throne she never wanted. As Empress, she must find a way to become a leader her people will look up to, instead of a weak woman unfit for the throne. Her generals are waiting for her to make a grave mistake. Falling in love with her high general might very well be the mistake they were waiting for.
Corruption has touched worlds before, but this time, it will take more than a few Chosen to stop it before it fills the hearts of everyone around them – even the hearts of their closest friends and allies.
I glanced down at my hand as it rested in my lap. “Do you think I am ready?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
Somehow, he heard me. I glanced back at his reflection. He gently smiled, his eyes were steady and calm, and his voice was void of pity. “I believe you will lead your people wisely, like your father did before you. You have his wisdom and equality inside your heart, Princess Sakamoto.”
I blinked back tears that had begun to form and glanced back down at the one and only hand I had. The real meaning behind his words echoed inside my mind. You are able to lead your people whether you have two arms or one. My strengths outweighed my weakness.
When the young girl, Chiaki, finished combing through my hair, I told her that she could leave. Once the shoji slid shut behind her and I could no longer hear her footsteps, I turned around and met Ryosuke’s gaze. As I stood, I kept my eyes firmly locked on his. Though I could not embrace him, because at any moment anyone could interrupt us, his gaze on mine held more warmth than if I was actually in his arms.
“Your father and your mother both believed in you. I believe in you, Megumi. You are not alone on this path. Never forget that.”
Joanna White is a Christian Author and fangirl. Hunter and Shifter are the first two books in her debut series, called the Valiant Series. In December 2019, one of her short stories was featured in Once Upon A Yuletide, a Christmas fairy tale anthology by Divination Publishing. Dark Magi, a prequel in the Republic Chronicles came out in November 2019. Glimpses of Time and Magic, a historical fantasy anthology, also featured one of her stories.
She graduated from Full Sail University with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. Ever since she was ten years old, she’s been writing stories and has a deep passion for writing and creating stories, worlds, characters, and plots that readers can immerse themselves in. In 2020, she reached her personal goal of writing a million words in a year. Most of all, Joanna loves God, her family, staying at home, and being a total nerd.
To stay updated and find out more about her novels, where her inspiration comes from, games, giveaways, and more, visit her website at: authorjoannawhite.com.
Now it’s THURSDAY! I am here joining The Bursting Bookshelf’s blog tour for a double whammy as I am spotlighting TWO books. Marisol: A Little Girl With A Big Dream and Adam Baum: The Autistic Engineer (Grow with STEM Series) by La Tanya Brooks.
Marisol: A Little Girl with a Big Dream
Marisol: A Little Girl with a Big Dream is written to help young children and their parents realize that great possibilities are limitless. LaTanyas goal is to design books that inspire children, especially at-risk children, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering (STEM related careers). Traditionally male oriented, STEM careers are often viewed as careers that are not pursued by women, much less minority women. She also feels it is important to eliminate some of the handicapping implicit biases people unconsciously impose on themselves and others. LaTanya continues to promote STEM awareness to create a more diverse STEM community.
Adam Baum: The Autistic Engineer is cleverly written and inspires children of all abilities to pursue STEM careers. Adam realizes his differences makes it difficult for him to make friends, as other kids tease him by pointing, laughing and calling him Atom Bomb. Things began to change, one day…The story is captured by vivid illustrations that engage the reader from start to finish. The book also features reading comprehension questions to reinforce the lessons in the story.
“LaTanya is both an educator and author of excellence,with a heart full of compassion and concern for our students, she diligently works to connect with them and guide them to their dreams. Her book will inspire all of our students to strive toward their highest potential.”
–Dr. Parrish, School Counselor
Marisol is an excellent book that encourages kids to to follow their dreams. Children will certainly make self-to-text connections with this book. –Gracie Garcia, Deepark, TX Educator
Highly recommend her book for every single little girl in Houston and beyond!!! –Krystal Perkins, HISD Magnet School Coordinator
“Marisol is a wonderful book, and I am lucky enough to have an autographed copy. I encourage all of you to buy it. I am going to use it with my students, and I know they will love it.” –Barbara Wheat, HISD Reading Interventionist
“Marisol” is a quintessential book that will inspire students to strive for excellence. I strongly recommend this book for any child. –Laura Guevara, Parent
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brooks’ goal is to design books that inspire children, especially at-risk children, to pursue STEM-related careers. Traditionally male oriented, STEM careers are often viewed as careers that are not pursued by women, much less minority women. She also feels it is important to eliminate some of the handicapping implicit biases people unconsciously impose on themselves and others. Brooks continues to promote STEM awareness to create a more diverse STEM community. Brooks says, “I believe that this book will appeal to readers because it is relatable, motivational and encouraging. STEM is an exciting, hot topic that is essential to 21st century learning. For teachers and parents, there are follow-up questions that assess children’s comprehension and emphasize the importance of an open dialogue between parents or teachers and kids.”
In conjunction with R&R Book Tours I am happy to be a part of the last leg of this book tour. SpotlightingBlind Pony, a memoir by Samantha Hart! As a bonus find out at the end how you could wind a signed copy!
Blind Pony
Publication Date: March 15th, 2021
Genre: Memoir/ Biography
When your mother names you after your father’s affair, you might wish you were living someone else’s life.
For Samantha Hart, growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania had been no childhood idyll but rather a violent, surreal nightmare. A twisted vision of pastoral life part Faulkner part Dante. At fourteen years old, she ran away in search of her father, a character she only knew as Wild Bill. Discovering he wasn’t the hero she dreamt he’d be, she was on her own.
Arriving in Los Angeles at the peak of LA’s decadence where money, drugs, and good times flowed, she floated through a strange new world of champagne-soaked parties, high-stakes backgammon tournaments, and a whirlwind of international escapades flogging nude photographs. When a wealthy playboy mistakes her Pittsburgh accent for being British, it begins a spiral of white lies leading Sam to question everything she thought she knew about herself and who she could be.
Blind Pony is a story of healing and hope, a coming of age narrative intersecting themes of recovery, redemption, forgiveness, and the struggle it takes to define life on your terms.
Excerptfrom Blind Pony
”A FAREWELL TO THE FARM”
I opened the door to the barn with a bit of trepidation. The smells that once pervaded my senses—new-mown hay, leather, and living animals—had turned to a dank, musty odor. I held Vignette’s hand as we stepped carefully past the empty stalls, ready for something sinister to jump out at any moment. We ventured toward a stable in the back, and above us was the plaque I carved with a wood burner, the name “Misty.” Misty was born when I was eight years old and was the offspring of my beloved pony, Princess.
“Follow me.” I darted up the narrow wooden stairs. Vignette stayed close on my heels as we headed to my grandfather’s abandoned workshop to rummage around for something to pry off the sign. The remnants of a moonshine distillery sat cloaked in dust in an open cabinet, and as I breathed in the musky air, I could feel my grandfather’s presence and hear the nasty whistling sound he made when he was coming for me.
“Mommy, are you crying?”
“No, honey, got some dust in my eyes. Let’s get out of here.”
I grabbed the crowbar, intent on rescuing Misty’s sign. It was a relic from my childhood, and I was unwilling to leave it to the wrecking ball.
“So, Misty was your pony, Mommy?”
“No, but she was my pony Princess’ baby, just like you are my baby. That’s why I got to name her and made this sign for her. Look, I have a scar on my finger where I burned myself making that sign.”
“That must have hurt. I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you, too.” Equal measures of joy and sorrow overwhelmed me, conjured by a place I thought I would never see again. We traipsed outside so I could stow the plaque inside the car, and Vignette spotted an old tractor.
“Look at this cool tractor, Mommy! Can I climb on it?”
“Yes, but be careful,” I said. My mind drifted. I could almost hear the chatter between my sisters and me as we saddled up at the corral to take our horses out for trail rides.
Princess was blind in one eye, so she kept a slower pace than the other horses as we galloped up past the oil rig with its rhythmic chugging and stench of old black oil. The sound of thundering hoofs would ring in my ears, and by the time we reached the top of Gobbler’s Knob, the view would be invisible through the thick cloud of dust, and I’d be as blind as Princess.
The past was so vivid, I almost forgot I wanted to capture this moment with Vignette. As I went back to the car to retrieve my camera, the familiar sound of the gravel crunching beneath my feet unspooled memories of a story my mother had repeated to me throughout my childhood.
Late one night, Bill Butter pulled into the gravel driveway well past midnight. Dean Martin’s just-released record “Volare” blared over the car radio. Bill continued his drunken crooning after turning off the ignition,
though, in his stupor, he left the headlights on. My mother, Clara, peered out the upstairs window to see her husband silhouetted by the car’s lights, stumbling up the stone path, cigarette dangling from his mouth, and a bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand. Annoyed and embarrassed by his returning from these late-night trysts with other women, which had become too frequent, she climbed back into bed, pretending to be asleep, and got tangled up in her oversized flannel nightgown.
A gust of frosty Pennsylvania wind followed Bill up the stairs to the bedroom. He pulled his pants down just far enough to expose his stiffened penis, then threw himself on top of his wife while endeavoring, with frustration, to unravel the nightgown.
Clara realized her best option for keeping their small children from waking was to make way for the inevitable drunken thrust between her naked thighs. When he found his way to an orgasm, he hollered out the name of his current mistress, Pammy Sue, and unceremoniously deposited the seed that would grow into a girl destined to be nothing but trouble. The first sign of said trouble began the very next morning with a dead car battery.
Nine months later, my mother gave birth to her fourth child on the first day of fall. Dad thought I would be a boy, and he named me Sam. Maybe he hoped I would be a boy so he could stop hearing about Pammy Sue. As luck would have it, he pulled four aces. I was his fourth daughter.
My mother’s frozen heart determined to immortalize her husband’s infidelity and spelled it out on the birth certificate. But for as long as I knew my dad, he never called me by any other name but Sam. I always thought the name suited me. My mother prodded me so often with the reason my name was Pammy that my official name repulsed me.
Vignette tugged on my sleeve and snapped me back to reality. “Mommy, mommy, can we go now? I’m hungry,” she moaned. “Me too,” I said, and we went back into the car. I threw my camera on the back seat along with the “Misty” sign, figuring I had enough memories of the place. Nothing could change what happened here.
As my daughter and I drove down Clever Road, I glanced back at the old farmhouse in the rearview mirror one last time. It would soon disappear forever, along with the lilac and forsythia bushes and delicate lilies of the valley that poked through the spring thaw each year. The springhouse and the old maple tree where I hugged my grandmother for the last time would be gone.
But they would live on in my memories, along with many things I wished I could forget
Samantha Hart’s career has spanned music, film, and advertising, earning her a reputation as an award-winning Creative Director. Her creative marketing campaigns brought prominence and Academy Awards to films such as Fargo, Dead Man Walking, and Boys Don’t Cry while earning cult status for independent features, Dazed and Confused, Four Weddings and A Funeral, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
With her partner, Sam built a successful company in the advertising industry, Foundation, with over forty employees and offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. Foundation earned distinction as an early disrupter of the traditional production and post-production models combining the two under one roof.
In 2017, Sam launched Wild Bill Creative which is a creative ideation company working with brand clients, non-profits, and start-ups.
Sam currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, director James Lipetzky, and their sons, Davis and Denham.
Like what you read? (Also read the one of the awesome reviews at Kristin’s Novel Café ) Click on the Link below to enter for a chance to win a signed copy of BLIND PONY by Samantha Hart!
It’s been awhile and now Book Spotlight Thursday has returned! Once again happy to join R&R Book Toursfor the release of Jessica Tastet latest release Borrowed Treasure. Read on in how you could wind an actual DIGITAL COPY!
Borrowed Treasure
Publication Date: April 13th, 2021
Genre: Womens Fiction/ Clean Romance
Publisher: Dandelion Wish Publishing
Sissy Ames has been driven to succeed her entire life. On her own, she’s turned her Bittersweet Café into a success, and she’s rebuilt a friendship with her cousin Harper after years of going it alone, but her past bad judgement in trusting Hunter Wells during their relationship continues to cast shadows on the future she’s trying to build for herself.
Hunter Wells has been coasting through life, working at the family business and creating the life that his family expects for him. He’d once hoped for a different existence, but he’d been forced to move on and make do after Sissy Ames had ended their three-year relationship without an explanation.
Even in their small town, the two have managed to avoid each other, but then Hunter’s fiancée, Sissy’s nemesis, disappears after a suspicious confrontation, leaving them both looking like likely suspects. The only hope they have of clearing their names and figuring out what led to the disappearance is to find the one item that drove them apart two years ago: The Ames BORROWED TREASURE.
NOW READ ANEXCERPT!
Sissy
Sissy Ames ducked behind the ostentatious flower arrangement with its oversized lilies and Hyacinthian sprays shooting out at unnatural angles. The thickness hid the center of the room but exposed her to the tableclothed tables lining either side where the overdressed elite of Thibodaux and its surrounding areas sat. Tonight represented everything she typically avoided, mainly so that she could stay out of the proximity of the woman commanding the center floor. Why her arch nemesis must flit around the ballroom gloating about her latest accomplishment was beyond Sissy. That woman’s pretentious fake smile and sickly-sweet voice had followed Sissy wherever she went in the large ballroom until her hands had begun to shake and her jaw to ache from the clenching.
Harper, her cousin, approached from the buffet table near the rear of the room. “The lobster bisque’s edible.” Holding out a tiny plastic bowl towards Sissy, Harper shrugged bare shoulders in defeat. Although the food lacked appeal, Harper certainly stunned in the black skintight number Sissy had sent over for her to wear tonight. Sissy had been right to prod the usually casual attired woman into vintage satin as it hugged her hips and showed off the curvy body that Sissy unfortunately did not possess. Sissy had inherited her mother’s straight form among other genetics she wished she could trade in.
Accepting the ecru soup, Sissy’s eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Cecelia Domangue, the bane of her existence since they were fifteen years old and fighting over president of student council. Currently, the petite blonde in a fuchsia Valentino stood chatting with a town councilman and the sheriff, her fake laugh chiming her existence from twenty feet away.
Sissy ran a clear plastic spoon through the watery consistency of the bisque. In her head she mentally critiqued the recipe’s minimal usage of cream. “Anything has to be better than that beef dish.”
Narrowing her emerald eyes, Harper twisted her lips and flashed Sissy a familiar look. Sissy’s cheeks warmed. Her resentment must be showing.
Sissy had submitted a bid to cater the fundraiser tonight in an attempt at a business expansion, but her bid had been accepted under condition. As the serving contract had been awarded to Cecelia’s restaurant Twilight Fare, Sissy would have to submit her recipes to Cecelia for approval and preparation. As if Sissy would ever turn over her recipes to the woman who’d opened a restaurant blocks over in her continuing effort to encroach on every aspect of Sissy’s life. Even if Sissy’s own Bittersweet Café catered to a different crowd than Cecelia’s Twilight Fare, that woman had branched right into catering which Sissy had cautiously tested the waters only a month before Cecelia had gone full blown into advertising her own services.
Harper glanced away to scan the room, and Sissy returned to the soup, which she knew she could have done better. “How long do we have to stay?”
Discarding the bowl, Sissy picked up her champagne glass from the table instead. At least they’d bought the good stuff. “We need to be sure the right people see our faces, but besides from that, the committee already has our hundred bucks a head, so I don’t think they care if we are here an hour or close the place down.”
Tonight’s fundraiser for the Downtown Revitalization committee had the special purpose of raising money to spruce up the downtown area with seasonal decorations to help promote the Christmas festival. The event had filled the local university ballroom with the social society of the small-town area and all its neighboring towns to be sure. As part of the committee, Sissy had aided in promoting the event, even though Cecelia’s recent addition to the committee had managed to sway votes and shut her out of the menu selections.
Harper picked up her own glass from the table and sipped. “I see a few local lawyers from Emmett’s last mixer. I’ll go over and say hello. If I’m lucky, I may get home early enough to speak to Emmett before the different time zones mean he’s sleeping.”
Sissy had Cecelia in her crosshairs, and she waited for her to prance to another unsuspecting guest, so she could emerge from behind the flowers that Sissy had voted against. Currently, Cecelia stood near Rudy Klingman, councilman for her district, who dropped in every Wednesday for a number six special, and she’d promised to propose streetlamps to him on behalf of the committee. Distracted, she asked Harper. “Any indication when he’s going to return from New York?”
Harper shrugged. “He says the case should wrap up in a day or two. I believe he’s enjoying it way too much.”
Sissy waved Harper’s doubt away with her champagned hand. “Pish, Emmett will be home soon, and you two will be making me sick with your sweetness.”
Harper smiled, her olive complexion flushing. “Okay, no arguing with my date tonight, especially since you drove. Let’s make our rounds and be out of here in thirty minutes.”
Sissy nodded and raised her flute in the air as if to toast. “That’s a plan I can drink to.”
Harper clinked her glass against Sissy’s, and then they departed into the mingling crowd.
Avoiding Cecelia’s group, Sissy slunk over to Suzy Rhodes, greeting a few of the lawyers and two judges that frequented her business for lunch during the week. In her two-piece blue suit, Suzy stood removed from the invitees, her eyes watching everyone. Her stance hadn’t changed since high school although she’d updated her attire to pant suits and cut her hair into a short bob she tucked behind her ears. Back then, she’d taken photos for the yearbook and everyone had wanted her attention to get within the pages. Today, she wrote a monthly column in the local entertainment magazine, specifically a review of local eateries. Sissy had attempted getting the café featured for months now, even sending a personalized gift certificate two months ago. The woman had never responded to the invitation nor shown up as even a patron, but Cecelia’s Twilight Fare had been prominently featured, not only as a food review but as a front-page feature on up and coming restaurant owners.
Suzy Rhodes smiled, her cheeks dimpling as Sissy approached. “Why, Sissy Ames, I’m surprised to see you at a swanky function like this. Not your usual soiree, huh?”
Plastering a smile on her face, Sissy drew upon her southern manners she knew lay beyond her desire to give the woman a good tongue lashing. “Since my café is located in the center of downtown, I have a vested interest in its revitalization efforts.”
Laughing airily, Suzy’s eyes wandered the room as if bored with the conversation. “Right, that’s true, your little café is down there. I never remember it’s there.”
Sissy raised an eyebrow, holding her glass closer to her lips. “I know. I’ve invited you several times as part of that little column of yours, but you have yet to accept my invitation.”
A short, fierce laugh escaped as Suzy’s eyes met Sissy’s. She returned to her survey of the room just as quickly though. “My lord Sissy, I can’t accept every invitation I receive.”
“Hmm.” Sissy scanned the room, her eyes naturally falling upon Cecelia, who stood facing Chef Homme from Le Homme, the elegant downtown restaurant. The two’s expressions revealed deep, serious conversation—too serious for a social mixer. “Is that why your material has been repetitive?”
Suzy’s stance shifted. “Excuse me?”
Sissy smiled, tilting her head. “Oh, I thought you were just so busy that you recycled material from the same four restaurants. Everyone has been talking.”
Sissy continued smiling as Suzy’s eyes lit with anger. The dark haired, flat nosed woman bit her tongue though. They’d all been raised too southern to truly speak their minds at events such as these.
“Well, it was nice running into you,” Sissy said, bowing her head in exit. “But I see a city council member I need to have a word with about lamp posts.”
Sissy pivoted, feeling a surge of confidence from the conversation. Moments ago, she’d hid behind hideous flowers to avoid her high school tormentor, but they had grown up, even though some didn’t behave as if they had. Cecelia and even Suzy hid behind country club houses and designer labels still, making others feel as if they didn’t measure up in the circles they all moved in. She had to remind herself in their vicinity that she was proud of her downtown renovated apartment and scavenged consignment finds.
Spotting Cecelia ahead on her path though, she pivoted and turned the other way to avoid her. She told herself that with her new-found attitude, she would probably lose her southern manners and regret it later.
Her attention lingered too long over Cecelia, and when she turned, she hit a wall of black cashmere and white softened woven cotton. Reaching her hand out, she pushed herself away, inhaling the masculine smell of sandalwood and musk. From his chest hugging shirt, her eyes followed the Italian silk woven tie in its beautiful pastel green and yellow swirl pattern. The feminine color selection had been a brave choice for a function such as this where the men showcased their masculinity and their pocketbooks. So, he either didn’t know better or his power came with his name.
She continued up to his tie’s perfectly anchored knot and landed on the chiseled jawline and soft brown, waiting eyes of Hunter Wells.
Her nose flared as she inhaled deeply, an awareness of their nearness. She took a step back.
“Excuse me.” Sissy felt her cheeks burn as the back of her neck flushed.
A light flickered in his warm chocolate eyes.
“Of course.” Hunter nodded, and his lip twitched. “How have you been?”
Hearing her heart pound in her throat, Sissy straightened her spine, bracing herself for the old anger to return, but his nearness tempered any old residual anger.
Born and raised in Raceland, Louisiana, near Bayou Lafourche, Jessica Tastet uses the places and people of her childhood to create the backdrop of her fictional South Louisiana town in her Raleigh Cheramie series as well as her Treasure Trilogy.
An avid reader, she began writing stories in the sixth grade. The result was a mystery story she promptly shared with all her family and whoever she could convince to read it. She learned the first of many valuable writing lessons with this endeavor: don’t draw your characters too close to real-life people. Since then. she has earned her editing certification from the University of California and an MFA in Creative Writing from National University in California. Presently, she resides in her hometown with her husband and five teenagers where she works with Curriculum for the local school district.
It is New Year’s Eve so why not start off 2021 off with a great new book series!
From Book 1: When Miri receives a silver cat charm from her omama, Celia, on the night before Celia dies she has no idea that the charm holds a secret, a powerful magic that saved her omama’s life and is about to make Miri’s a whole lot more interesting.
Join Miri on a mysterious and supernatural journey with her new friends, members of an underground St. Louis society known as the Partnership for Animagi, Werewolves, and Shapeshifters, better known as P.A.W.S.
The P.A.W.S Book series is a fantasy/young adult book series by Debbie Manber Kupfer where magic and animal shape shifting come to life in the most original and unique way. It reminds me of that book series from the 90’s Anamorphs where young people shift or morph into animals. That is where the similarities end as the P.A.W.S story is refreshingly new, magical, and page turning (You can read my review for UmbraeHERE.****).
NOW! For a limited time you can check out the whole series or get the ones you are missing from your collection for .99cents over at AMAZON! YES ONLY .99 CENTS!
Emerging author Tanya Terry published YOU ARE LOVED, a children’s book for love and support.
You Are Loved features adorable illustrations of a young African American girl drawn to a heartwarming story where she learns from her family and friends how much she is loved and supported.
Freelance Writer Janny(Jan Marie)C 