A trip to Mackinac Island with Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson

Today I get to share a couple of books about Mackinac Island, then and now. Cara Putman has written a book set in contemporary times, full of mystery, suspense and romance. Melanie Dobson has written a historical romance set in the same place. How fun! I have read A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island and I was thrilled at just how full of mystery it was, much more than just a contemporary romance - I loved it. I have been looking forward to reading Love Finds You in Mackinac Island and I hope to get it on my To Be Read pile soon! Enjoy!


Mackinac Island. It’s a magical place that allows you to step back in time from the moment you first step off the ferry. Authors Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson have teamed up for a tour of the island, now and then. Comment at each stop for a chance to win a copy of one of their books set on Mackinac Island. You’ll find the list of stops here. Share the tour on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and other places, and you’ll gain extra entries for the grand prize of a copy of each of their books and a 5 slice box of Murdick’s Fudge, straight from Mackinac Island. Just be sure to email Cara at cara@caraputman.com, so she can record your entries. The grand prize winner will be drawn August 27, 2012.

Today we're talking fudge. Who doesn't like the slightly gooey texture and sweetness of a slice of fudge. Mackinac Island is famous for its fudge. Here's more on this sweet delicacy.

Cara Putman:
A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island

One thing Mackinac Island is known for is its fudge. As I evaluated what elements to add to the story, fudge had to be part of it. The island has many fudge shops. Lucky for us Murdick’s has donated a 5-slice package to the grand prize basket. Yummy! One problem came as I incorporated fudge into my story…a key event in the mystery occurs there. My Facebook friends helped me come up with the perfect name for my fudge shop: I’m Not Sharing. And once you’ve walked into a shop, smelled the sweet scents and tasted a free sample, you’ll agree…the fudge is too good to share!

Melanie Dobson: Love Finds You on Mackinac Island

I’m with Cara—the fudge on Mackinac Island is amazing! The main island trade, locals like to say, has evolved over the years from fur (and fishing) to fudge. The tradition of making fudge on Mackinac began after the Civil War, and more than ten thousand pounds are now made on the island each year. I chose to feature Murdick’s Fudge in my novel because they’ve been making candy and fudge since 1887.

A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island:


Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late? Read the first chapter here.

Love Finds You on Mackinac Island:
As the Gilded Age comes to a
close, Elena Bissette’s family has lost most of its fortune. The
Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, and they
spend summers there in hopes of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor.
Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls at the Grand Hotel, she spends
her days walking along the island’s rugged coastline. There she meets
Chase, a handsome laborer who invites her to watch the ships from an
abandoned lighthouse. The two begin to meet there in secret, hoping to
solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary. As Elena falls
in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly contrives to introduce her
to Chester Darrington, the island's most eligible bachelor. Marriage to
the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes' financial woes, and
Elena is torn between duty and love. Read the first chapter here.

"Lethal Legacy" Book Review

The police say her father's death was suicide. But Kelly Warren says it was murder--and she has new evidence that she believes proves it. Detective Cole Taylor doesn't put much credence in her claim, and nothing in his case review suggests foul play. But when Kelly ends up in the emergency room with a suspicious life-threatening medical condition, the incident strikes him as more than just coincidence. Digging deeper, he discovers she's linked to a long-ago crime. Is history repeating itself? And who wants Kelly silenced?

With her trademark high-intensity action and taut suspense, Irene Hannon closes out her Guardians of Justice series with a story of old grudges and budding romance that is sure to increase her substantial fan base.

MY REVIEW:
When Irene Hannon's books arrive in the mail, I have to drop what I'm doing and start reading. They suck me in and don't let go. I love the level of suspense and mystery her books contain without surrendering excellent characters that I can fall in love with. Kelly is one of those characters and of course we get to revisit Cole Taylor and his family that we have gotten to meet in the first two books in this series. Kelly is just about ready to let go of her suspicions in her father's sudden death when something unexpected shows up at her house that cinches that gut feeling for her that her dad did not commit suicide. The detective on the job isn't there when she goes in to discuss the latest revelation and she ends up talking with Detective Cole Taylor. The story rapidly picks up from there with Cole being called on to rescue Kelly over and over as it becomes clear that someone is not happy that Kelly won't let this drop. Excellent ending to this series, but I was sad to see it go.

Available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

"Over The Edge" Book Review

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingOver The EdgeBethany House (August 1, 2012)byMary Connealy
MY REVIEW:
What a great way to finish off a really awesome series! I love these characters, Seth and his brothers and sisters-in-law from the previous two books of course, but now I just fell in love with Callie (Seth's wife that he has completely forgotten about!). Oh and did I mention that he has a son that he didn't know about either... and his surprise younger brother... and how about the bad guys after their diamonds...
This book has it all! Mystery, characters, settings, incredible plot lines, brilliant twists and turns... and still Mary's style just flat out makes me laugh!
What a satisfying read and excellent way to end this series. I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve next!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:







Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys. She is a Christy Award Finalist, a Carol Award Finalist and an IRCC Award finalist.

The Lassoed in Texas Series, Petticoat Ranch, Calico Canyon and Gingham Mountain. Petticoat Ranch was a Carol Award Finalist. Calico Canyon was a Christy Award Finalist and a Carol Award Finalist. These three books are now contained in one large volume called Lassoed in Texas Trilogy.

The Montana Marriages Series, Montana Rose, The Husband Tree and Wildflower Bride. Montana Rose was a Carol Award Finalist.

Cowboy Christmas—the 2010 Carol Award for Best Long Historical Romance, and an Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Finalist.

The Sophie's Daughters series. Doctor in Petticoats, Wrangler in Petticoats, Sharpshooter in Petticoats.

She is also the author of; Black Hills Blessing a 3-in-1 collection of sweet contemporary romances, Nosy in Nebraska, a 3-in-1 collection of cozy romantic mysteries and she's one of the three authors contributing to Alaska Brides with her Carol Award Winning historical romance Golden Days.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He was always a reckless youth, but now he's gone over the edge. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever.



After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband.



Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.



Then more trouble shows up in the form of a secret Seth's pa kept for years. The Kincaid brothers might lose their ranch if they can't sort things out. It's enough to drive a man insane--but somehow it's all making Seth see things more clearly. And now that he knows what he wants, no one better stand in his way.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Over The Edge, go HERE.

"Chasing The Wind"

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingChasing The WindB&H Books (August 1, 2012)

byPamela Ewen



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Until recently retiring to write full time, Pamela Binnings Ewen was a partner in the Houston office of the international law firm of BakerBotts, L.L.P., specializing in corporate finance. She now lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband, James Lott.

She has served on the Board of Directors of Inprint, Inc., a non-profit organization supporting the literary arts in Houston, Texas, as well as the Advisory Board for The New Orleans Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans; Pamela is a co-founder of the Northshore Literary Society in the Greater New Orleans area. She is also a member of the National League of American Pen Women.



Pamela’s first novel, Walk Back The Cat (Broadman & Holman. May, 2006) is the story of an embittered and powerful clergyman who learns an ancient secret, confronting him with truth and a choice that may destroy him.

She is also the best-selling author of the acclaimed non-fiction book Faith On Trial, published by Broadman & Holman in 1999, currently in its third printing.

Although it was written for non-lawyers, Faith On Trial was also chosen as a text for a course on law and religion at Yale Law School in the Spring of 2000, along with The Case For Christ by Lee Stroble. Continuing the apologetics begun in Faith On Trial, Pamela also appears with Gary Habermas, Josh McDowell, Darrell Bock, Lee Stroble, and others in the film Jesus: Fact or Fiction, a Campus Crusade for Christ production.

Pamela is the latest writer to emerge from a Louisiana family recognized for its statistically improbable number of successful authors. A cousin, James Lee Burke, who won the Edgar Award, wrote about the common ancestral grandfathers in his Civil War novel White Dove At Morning.

Among other writers in the family are Andre Dubus (Best Picture Oscar nomination for The Bedroom; his son, Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, a Best Picture Oscar nomination and an Oprah pick; Elizabeth Nell Dubus (the Cajun trilogy); and Alafair Burke, just starting out with the well received Samantha Kincaid mystery series.



ABOUT THE BOOK

At 8:47 A.M. on Wednesday, October 12, 1977, new-to-town businessman Bingham Murdock flew his small plane into New Orleans, banking it in such a way that a ray of sunshine shot through the city at light speed.



Amalise Catoir saw the flash from her sixteenth floor law office window. Finally feeling alive after the death of her abusive husband, she imagined seeing the plane was a fate for her eyes only; a special connection between the unknown giver and she, the recipient of light.



But someone else saw it, a six-year-old Cambodian refugee in foster care for whom a sudden burst of brightness reminds him of artillery fire.



Destined to cross paths with the man and the child, Amalise doesn’t yet know the deeper spiritual lesson she will learn: that we are responsible not only for the things we do, but also for the things that we don’t.



If you would like to read an excerpt of Chasing The Wind, go HERE.