A Feel Great Book

Silver Bells

by Ev Bishop

Silver Bells is a delightful story filled with love, laughter, and light that left me feeling as if everything in the world is all right.
Bishop pulled me into a cold, winter’s night a few days before Christmas, and started her story. The heroine Bryn is traveling to be with her family for the holidays but her mind is filled with memories of her last boyfriend who had left her feeling inadequate. As the storm worsens Bryn pulls to the side of the road and witnesses a truck spinning out of control. Despite the blizzard conditions, despite being a woman alone, despite it being dark outside … well, despite everything she gets out of her car to check on the driver of the other vehicle which had run off the road.
Bryn meets Sean, a diamond in the snow, you might say, and they fall in love. Their love story isn’t easy and there’s a heart-wrenching twist that I won’t give away. I warn you, it’s a real page-turner.
Ev Bishop writes memorable romance, with very real characters and lots of love.

Amazon Link

 

Thursday Review: Killing it on Kobo

My Review

 

Over six years, the author, Mark Leslie Levebvre built Kobo Writing Life from the ground up. Killing it on Kobo is a must-read for any independent publisher. Mark Leslie Levebvre details the ins-and-outs of the Rakuten Kobo business, it’s culture and its reach into the world of books. It’s written in a clear conversational tone that makes it fascinating and easy to read.

I highly recommend it, and gave it a 5-star rating on Amazon.com, Bookbub and Goodreads.

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My Interview with Christine Munroe at Kobo

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Christine Munroe, the director of Kobo Writing Life at Rakuten Kobo chatted with me on my podcast Blood, Sweat, and Words. You can hear her full interview here.

My Notes

I took eight pages of notes, but here are the highlights I think might interest you.

• Over six years, the author, Mark Leslie Levebvre built Kobo Writing Life from the ground up and recently moved on to work at Draft 2 Digital
• the name Kobo is an anagram for the word book.
• Kobo was born in Canada out of the country’s largest book retailer, Indigo Books and Music, which is similar to Barnes and Noble in the U.S.
• in 2012 the Japanese company Rakuten took over, changing it from a start-up to a major company in its own right with a vastly larger reach
• Kobo is the number one digital bookseller in France, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It has a strong foothold in Canada
• differs from Amazon in two important ways: 1. It sells only books. 2. It works on a collaborative business model. Rather than trying to dominate the book market in countries it seeks to work with the brick and mortar stores
• “…if you are looking to expand your swales to other countries and to gain a readership in other global territories, and, perhaps most importantly, not be dependent upon a single retailer for the majority of your writing income (also known as ‘publishing wide’) leveraging Kobo should be among the strategies you employ.”
• three huge advantages: Kobo Plus (a reader subscription service), Overdrive (a library connection) and their Promotion Tab
• on Kobo every pre-order sale has twice the effect on ranking as a regular sale. There are ways to optimize your pre-orders
• the Kobo team prides itself in its culture of collaboration. They go out of their way to help authors get their books to readers. They respond to all help inquiries quickly and thoroughly.
• They link to Findaway Voices for audio
• They have their own weekly podcast called Kobo Life.

Book Review for Stitches and Witches

Stitches and Witches, A Paranormal Cozy Mystery

by Nancy Warren

In Stitches and Witches, Warren crafts a tightly knitted cozy mystery within a fantastical world of vampires, witches, and wool. Her finely defined characters are so unique and likable they drew me into their world.
The murder, set in a tea room, was so brilliantly written I didn’t see it coming. Intrigued by all the subplot action in the room, the murder came as a complete surprise. Loved it!
As Lucy unravels the whodunit, the mystery deepens in delicious detail. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy light fantasy, witch cozies, or just a good yarn (pun intended).

Amazon buy link

Happy Monday Meme

My Coffee Contest

In my February newsletter, I asked readers to send me their favorite coffee lines, from memes, T-shirts, mugs etc. I chose 12 for my next book. I’ll be using them under the chapter title. This one was sent in by Flo Mims. I love it.

I’ll tell you more about the book another time.

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I made the graphic on Canva using a picture from Pixabay.

Giveaway Contest #MondayBlogs

Win A Kindle Reader! And Gain Access to Tons of Free Books!!

 

Thursday Reviews: One Book in the Grave & Hollywood Homicide

One Book in the Grave, by Kate Carlisle

One Book in the Grave is the first book in Kate Carlisle’s cozy, Bibliophile Mystery series.  It opens with the line, “Hello. My name is Brooklyn Wainwright and I am a book addict.” Being a bit of a book addict myself, Carlisle won me over immediately. There are lots of fascinating bookmaking details in this story and I like it when I get to learn something new when I’m reading a mystery. Filled with endearing, quirky characters the cozy made me smile a lot.

The plot is truly intriguing and the men are sexy, but I found myself slowing down in the middle. The banter between the characters became predictable and tiring. I give it four stars and I’m posting my review on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads.

I recommend this book for younger cozy mystery lovers.

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Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett

Hollywood Homicide, the first book in the Detective by Day series, won the Lefty in 2018 (i.e., an award was given at the Left Coast Crime Conference) and the second book in the series is nominated for a Lefty in 2019, so I had to read one for myself.

I quickly learned that Hollywood Homicide also won the 2018 Anthony award and the 2017 Agatha award for the best first novel.

I was impressed. Filled with quick-witted one-liners and humorous situations Hollywood Homicide made me smile a lot. Consider this line, “Hollywood is high school with prettier clothes and better lunch options.”

The story opens with the down-and-out heroine, Dayna Anderson, applying for a job as a half-naked barista. She has three one-dollar bills left to her name, her father is losing the family home, and her once lucrative job as an actress is over. That’s when she sees a fifteen thousand dollar reward posted for information about a deadly hit and run accident, which she almost witnessed.

While I enjoyed the humor, I found the banter repetitive and predictable, I think, to be fair to the writer it’s aimed at a younger audience. I give it 4 stars and I’m posting my review on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads.

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As always, click the covers for a buy link.