Snow: Love It or Hate It? Winter Madness @psthib #RockingRomance

winter scene

Given the state of the weather back East, I thought Pamela Thibodeax’s Winter Madness the perfect choice for a spotlight. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA., and as child, I loved the snow. Playing in it was such fun and I never had the sense to know when to come in. My mom had to put on her winter gear, come outside and drag me back in to get warmed up. As an adult, I can see why my parents hated Pittsburgh winters so much, esp. my truck driver dad. If you’re not familiar with Pittsburgh, just think San Francisco with snow and ice. A nightmare to drive in.

But here’s an excerpt to remind us all how magical winter can be.

Winter Madness coverWinter Madness
by Pamela S. Thibodeaux
Inspirational Romance

Blurb:

Sienna has survived what most succomb to – the death of a spouse and child and has maintained her faith despite her troubles. William has never met anyone who actually lived out what they say they believe. Is it true love between the faithful optimist and broody pessimist or simply winter madness?

Excerpt:

Her merry hazel eyes danced with humor, but she simply arched an eyebrow at him without comment and rose from her chair. She held a hand toward him. “Come on, I know what we’re going to do today.”

He couldn’t resist the lure of her joy, and grinned as he placed his hand in hers. “What are we going to do?”

“I’m going to show you the beauty and joy of life, if only for this one day.”

Hope flared in his heart that she may be the one person who could do what he considered the impossible. After all, he’d never really gotten over her. Nor did he forget how she’d touched his heart so many years ago in a way no other had since. They paused at the door to fasten their jackets and slip on caps. She took his hand again and led him across the way and two blocks down to a park on the other side of the street. The tiny wooden bridge they traversed crossed over a creek and swayed under their feet. Sienna stopped midway to their destination.

“Listen,” she urged.

He cocked his head. “What?”

“What do you hear?” He turned in the direction she looked, stood still, and tried to hear what she heard. A smile tugged at his lips when he turned to her. Her eyes were alight with joy.

“You hear it too, don’t you?”

“Tell me what you hear, Sienna.”

“Children laughing, the sounds of joy, of love, two things that make this world go around are love and joy. A child’s laughter encapsulates both.”

His heart melted another degree.

Purchase Links:
Kindle http://amzn.to/15IyA49
Pelican Book Group http://pelink.us/15NWhrY

Author bio:

Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Connect with her online at:
Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com
Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com
Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux
Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Do you love snow or hate? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to enter this month’s Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card & 2015 Mouse Pad Calendar.

Linda / Lyndi

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Book Review Club: Chet and Bernie Mysteries

My beloved husband of twenty-five years, Bob Allen Wilkinson, passed away last Friday, Jan. 2. I spent most of last month in and out of hospitals while he was battling cancer, and reading was my only distraction.

A friend had recommended the Chet and Bernie mysteries as fun reading, and I loved the idea of a series written from the point of view of the sleuth’s trusty canine companion. I devoured the first three books in the season plus two of the e-book novellas. (All purchased and read on the Kindle app, in case the FCC is paying attention.)

Dog On It coverDog On It is the first Chet and Bernie book. Bernie Little is a former soldier and policeman now working as a private investigator. Bernie is a great detective and a good guy, but a lousy businessman and a worse investor, so he is always in financial difficulties and has to take on divorce work, which he hates. Chet, a large dog of indeterminate breed, is his trusty companion and partner in solving crimes. Chet is a trained K-9 dog who almost graduated from the program, and would have, if it hadn’t been for that cat. (Cat smell is the worst smell of all!)

In the first book, Chet and Bernie are called in to locate a missing teenage girl. The action takes them from “the Valley” a fictional urban area in an unnamed Southwestern state–my money is on Arizona–to Las Vegas and into New Mexico. Once he’s on a case, Bernie doesn’t give up, even when the client says he is no longer needed. (And we wonder why he has money problems.) Very enjoyable.

Quinn-TherebyHangsTail-200In Thereby Hangs a Tail, Bernie and Chet are called in when a wealthy woman and her prize show dog, Princess, go missing.

Quinn does a fabulous job of delving into the canine mind: the short attention span, the pleasure in little things like a good scratch or a cold drink of water, and best of all. riding shotgun in the Porsche with the top down. His confusion about some of Bernie’s literary and historical references (who is this Kit Carson, a perp?) and his general confusion about human behavior are often quite funny. What is the human nose for, when it doesn’t work very well?

To Fetch a Thief coverIn their third outing, Chet and Bernie go on the hunt for Peanut, a missing circus elephant,and her trainer. Chet finds the circus fascinating–so many strange, wild, rich smells. Chet and Peanut ultimately make a good team in another fun read.

If I have one criticism, it’s that the books start to get a little formulaic. Chet always ends up separated from Bernie where he discovers important information about the case, but of course, he can’t just tell Bernie what’s going on. Fortunately, when he barks and takes off on a tangent, Bernie knows to follow where the dog’s nose leads. Recommended for mystery fans and dog lovers.

For more information, check out Chet: A Dog’s Life, the Official Blog of Chet the Dog.

Click on the graphic below to read more great reviews in the Barrie Summy Book Review Club.

Linda

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

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