Review Three of Four A Mystery/Suspense Collection

The third story I am reviewing today in Victory Tales Press A Mystery/Suspense Collection:Sweet  is
The Last of Her Kind   by 
Cheryl Pierson
Author bio:-
Cheryl was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, and lived there until the summer she turned six years old. That summer, she and her family moved to Seminole, OK.

Being the much-younger sibling of the family, her two older sisters were off to college by the time she was eight, and Cheryl was feeling very much like an only child. The upside was, that by third grade, she had discovered her talent for writing and storytelling, and that deep love of putting words together entertained her (and hopefully others) through the years to come.



An oilfield engineer for Baroid, Cheryl’s father was transferred to West Virginia her senior year in high school. With sorrowful goodbyes, Cheryl left all of her friends behind and moved to West Virginia, where she met and fell in love with her husband, Gary. Coincidentally, Gary went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration whose training academy is in Oklahoma City. Within a few years, Cheryl and Gary had relocated from Charleston, WV to Oklahoma City, OK, where he taught training classes at the FAA facility and Cheryl was back home again. Now, thirty years of marriage have passed and Cheryl’s children are grown. Her daughter, Jessica, lives nearby in Oklahoma City and works at an actors’ casting agency. Casey, Cheryl’s son, is preparing to join the Air Force ROTC in January and attend the University of Oklahoma.

During the past many years, Cheryl has worked on a variety of novels, short stories and screenplays, as well as being co-owner of her own editing/teaching company.

She has sold several newspaper articles to The Oklahoman, the premiere Oklahoma City metro area newspaper. She has sold six short stories to Adams Media (F&W Publications) for their Rocking Chair Reader series, as well as their Christmas anthologies, and she has also sold numerous short stores to Chicken Soup for their various collection of anthologies.

In May of 2008, Cheryl signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press for her first full-length novel, Fire Eyes, which was released May 29, 2009 in both e-format and in print. She has another manuscript under consideration with TWRP, and also works with an agent for some of her other novel-length manuscripts.

She and her business partner, Al Serradell, are co-owners of FabKat Editing Services. FabKat offers a wide array of editing services locally and world wide, and Cheryl and Al teach writing workshops for both adults and teens. They have worked extensively in venues all around the Oklahoma City metro, including churches, libraries, schools and career centers, as well as with the Indian Education Department of one of the major school districts.

The Last of Her Kind
Blurb:
An old Victrola is the cherished possession of Cassie's grandmother. Her father also seems oddly attached to the antique phonograph, but her new stepmother detests it. Then Cassie discovers a secret, a wonderful, yet frightening, secret. Will it save her family or destroy it?

Review: This is the shortest of the four stories in the anthology.  Once more Victory Tales Press offers another completely different story.
Yes, there is charm and plenty of mystery with aflavour paranormal, too.  And yet, Ms. Pierson offers an individual voice with this story of family conflicts.
Told in the first person point of view, Ms Pierson, through her heroine, Anna, takes her readers from the present to the past and back again with both clarity and fluency.
Do not be fooled by the apparent lack of pace.  This story entices the reader to keep turning the pages until they can sit back with a secret smile and huge sigh of satisfaction.

Visit the other participating authors:-
Miss Mae
Gerald Costlow and
Anne Patrick

to buy links:- HERE ~ HERE ~ HERE

Please come back tomorrow for my review of the final story in this anthology:-

Dangerous Decption by Anne Patrick

Review two of four for A Mystery/Suspense Collection:Sweet

Today I am reviewing Gerald Costlow's A Distant Call,  the second of the four stories that make up the anthology A Mystery/Suspense Collection:Sweet published by Victory Tales Press

Author Bio:-
Gerald Costlow lives in Michigan, USA, surrounded by his wife and dogs and grandchildren. He has had numerous short stories published in magazines, anthologies, and webzines. This is his first published novel but definitely not the last.

Blurb:
The Appalachian Mountains hold mysteries galore for the unwary and the full moon increases the danger as Jessie Corman is bound to find out. Anna May Sherritt and her granny know all about the call and how folks often disappear. Can they save Jessie and solve the disappearances?







Review: Until I received this book of anthologies I'd not come across Gerald Costlow's writing before.  But make no mistake, this is an author to watch out for in the future.
His capacity for building suspense within the genteel family environment Anna May Sherritt and her granny live in.  And the final twist... well you'll just have to  buy the book to find out.
Costlow's characterisation will not disappoint, nor will the setting and emotions surrounding plot, pace and conflict.  I suspect many female writers would struggle to offer the levels of charm that laces through this beautifully written paranormal and suspenseful romance.
As with yesterday's story, this is another one you need to put aside when you come to the end of A Distant Call, simply to give you time to savour every aspect of the tale. 

Visit the other contributing authors: -
Miss Mae
Cheryl Pierson
Anne Patrick
Buy Links: HERE ~ HERE ~ HERE and other outlets.

Please come back tomorrow for my review of the third story in this anthology:- 

Cheryl Pierson's  The Last of Her Kind 

Four Stories in One

To those of you who are looking to read another awesome input from our monthly contributor Zee, I am delighted to let you know that she has two more reviews for you that are scheduled for the 5th - 7th of May.
In the meantime here are four reviews that cover the stories in one awesome anthology 


called A Mystery/Suspense Collection Anthology: Sweet published by Victory Tales Press

Featuring stories by:
Miss Mae,
Gerald Costlow,
Cheryl Pierson and
Anne Patrick.

 I will post a short review for each story daily,  starting today with:-






Award winning author Miss Mae

'Miss Penelope's Letters' 

Blurb:
The letters arrive unsigned. The writer demands Penelope meet him in London’s darkest streets. Yet he claims the reason is honorable. Can he be trusted?

Excerpt:
"All safe now, Miss Penelope."  His husky voice murmured the words almost like a caress.
"Who are you?" She grasped the edge of the cape that swung across his shoulder.  "Why did you send for me? What-?"
Before she could ask any more questions, he cut in with, "I must go.  Until next time my sweet."
"No!" A spurt of anger drowned her fear and confusion.  "There won't be a next time!"
His mouth covered hers in a hard, thorough kiss.  "You'll come."
Heels kicking the stallion, the man's broad shouldered form rode off into the night.
 
Review:
By the third line, award winning author, Miss Mae reveals the period setting in which her story takes place, with her reference to 'the corner gas lamp'.
The opening scene guarentees any reader, whether new to Miss Mae's writing or not will continue to turn the pages to the end of the tale.  She provides scintalating characters, a breath-taking plot and then adds in twist and surprises aplenty.
If I, as a Brit, have a small nit, it is her choice of naming one of her more significant characters, Lord Wellington, the namesake of one of Britain's biggest real-life historical heros.
The revelation of  Miss Penelope's 'position' in the novellette takes a little longer and simply adds to the masterful intrigue. 
It is not easy to review a short story without revealing too much of the plot, suffice to say, it takes courage for Miss Mae's heroine, Penelope, to trust the stranger who allows her to call him 'Soldier', but he's saved her life once so she agrees to help him with his dangerous mission.
In less than forty pages the author involves her readers in a thrilling, fast-paced and tightly written story that is a delight to read.
 
Buy Links: HERE ~ HERE ~ HERE and other outlets
 

Please come back tomorrow for my review of the second story in this anthology:-

Gerlad Costlow's A Distant Call

Blogs and Doggy Tales

Miss Mae’s Blog

I’d like to encourage readers to visit my blog. Not only do I share some ‘different’ posts (like Can You Guess What This Photo Is, or A Kitchen Disaster, etc), but I also have some amazing guest interviews.  

To name a couple: Harlequin romance author Suzanne McMinn. Suzanne wrote of her exhausting, yet wonderful, almost always amusing life spent with the daily misadventures of farm animals. Louise Pledge, newly returned from years spent abroad in the Muslim nation of Saudi Arabia. She and husband, Tom (retired UPI reporter), visited fascinating places such as the Taj Mahal and took some rather tricky rides atop camels.

What does 'UPI' stand for?  Remember I'm not an American, so don't shoot me :-)

I’ve also featured “sweet” romance authors like Danielle Thorne (“Turtle Soup”) and Larry Hammersley (“Taking Advantage”); thriller author Brian Porter (“A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper”); Mike Angley (“Child Finder” trilogy), and Paul Levinson (“The Plot to Save Socrates”), a highly renown author who has appeared on such television shows as CBS Evening News, The O’Reilly Factor, Nightline, and others.

But it’s my Monday segment called Doggy Tales that I’d like to feature today.  

Anyone and everyone who is an animal lover will appreciate this weekly highlight. Many stories are contributed by guests, sharing memories about whatever kind of pet holds a special place in their heart. Delightful articles have come in. We’ve read about Frosty, Bouncer, Tater Spud, Augie and Ti, Molly, and a host of others. Each is wonderful and unique.

I’d like to encourage others to send to Doggy Tales. Readers are just as much a part of my blog as my own words. All of you already know quite a lot about Miss Mae. Well, I’d like to get to know you too, by what you send via your pet article. Don’t be shy. It’s all free, and no one will call on you trying to get you to buy a gallon sized bucket of rattlesnake flavored doggie vitamins! Simply contact me at the email addy listed in the profile section of my website. 

Before I sign off today, I’d like to extend an invitation for folks to become members of my site. Did I mention that’s free too? 

www.missmaesite.com

Thank you for telling us about your blog today, Miss Mae.

Please come back tomorrow and learn all about

“The Mishaps of Gum Drop Island”

For the next three days, please welcome talented author Miss Mae

Welcome to The Heart of Romance, Miss Mae.  Please will you tell us a little bit about yourself and your books?

Hi, everyone!
I'm Miss Mae, and it's great to meet you all!
I write award winning mysteries that contain a delightful element of no blush romance along the way to HEA. :)
Let me share my bio with you:
All of Miss Mae’s romantic mysteries, “Said the Spider to the Fly”, “When the Bough Breaks”, “Dove Island”, “It’s Extraordinary, My Dear Winifred” and “See No Evil, My Pretty Lady” are award winning best sellers. Her latest, “Catch Me If You Can” has already received top rated five-star reviews.


Tantalizing trailers, and more information, is readily available at her website: www.missmaesite.com  

Miss Mae also enjoys writing humor and non-fiction articles. Besides her monthly contributions to the ezine American Chronicle, some of her publications can be found in The Front Porch Magazine, Good Old Days, and WritersWeekly. 

Her alter ego, M.M. also has her first children’s/humor book, “The Mishaps of Gum Drop Island” available in digital download at Smashwords, and now in print at Amazon.

*****

You can view the listing of my books at Amazon (there are more reviews, Amazon hasn't moved them all over yet): http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003RZZPZ0

1) When the Bough Breaks
(2009 winner at the P&E Readers Poll in YA category),
blurb:
Late 1960's. Time of the Vietnam War, hippies, fishnet hose, and mini-skirts. Add a flirtatious wink from the baby blues of 'love'em and leave 'em' Parker Shane and sixteen-year-old Darlene Moore wonders if she'll ever be the same.

2) Said the Spider to the Fly
(2009 winner of Best Book of the Week at Long and the Short of It Reviews and at The Romance Studio),
blurb:
Coming home' feels like anything but to Mona Murphy. Learning of the death of her grandfather is the only thing that can bring her back to the house of her tortured girlhood memories. But when the police chief, along with insurance investigator, Preston Hitchcock, alert her that Jerome Kincaid's passing occurred under questionable circumstances, Mona feels morally responsible to discover the truth. Instead, what she finds is that whoever harmed her grandfather seems intent on making her the next target. Who tries to run her down in the town square? Who locks her and Preston in the forgotten basement of the local library? Mona knows her time to find answers is running short. Caught like a fly in a deadly spider's web, she struggles to unravel the threads of danger before the lurking evil can pounce.

3) See No Evil, My Pretty Lady
(winner of Find a Great Romance for June 2008 and a Top Ten Read of 2008 at MyShelf.com),
blurb:
New maid Dorcy Edwards flees the scene of where her employer's body is found. His murder sparks a chain of macabre events. Cloistered on a remote island with five strangers, including Gareth Davenport, her late employer's brooding, but darkly handsome heir, Dorcy encounters baffling questions with what she fears may be terrifying answers. Who cut the telegraph lines? Who left a mutilated animal carcass outside her bedroom door? What is the reason for Gareth's black gloves and eye patch? Can he be "Jack the Ripper", the madman suspected to be Mr. Davenport's killer? Dorcy must solve the mystery, and soon, or her growing attraction for Gareth could be her very death sentence

4) It's Extraordinary, My Dear Winifred
(all five star reviews, and a Top Ten Read of 2009 at MyShelf.com),
blurb:
Do bizarre and unusual mysteries only occur in imaginary tales? Amateur sleuth Winifred Merryweather, along with dashing newspaper reporter Remington Hawthorne, find themselves in the throes of a real life mystery when they're plunged in the bowels of a dark and ancient castle. Booby-traps abound with disappearing floors, hidden sliding panels, and spider-webbed shadowy corridors. Danger threatens to steal Winifred's very breath -- or is that the annoying allure of Remington's flirtatious charms? 

5) Catch Me If You Can (all five star reviews!),
blurb:
Washed ashore a South Carolina beach, Lois Steinberg learns her shelter, an old plantation house, was scheduled to host a 'Catch Me' game convention. When the cook is found murdered, questions mount as quickly as bodies. Who is the villain? None of the guests know each other except for their love of the game - right? But it's not a game Lois seeks to solve. It's the saving of her life.
Congratulations on the wonderful reviews :-)


And...
My alter ego, M. M., is proud to present her first/children's book, "The Mishaps of Gum Drop Island",

blurb:
Adventurer Sir O. Yuri Wiseguy-eh to the rescue! After convincing a lost damsel she must leave No place In Particular and come away to his Marshmallow Mansion on Gum Drop Island, (what is that crazy music that plays whenever those three words are spoken?), she enters the world of Yuri's confectionary plantation. His oddball staff, as varied in character as a box of assorted chocolates, adds their own flavor of delicious nuttiness. When Yuri realizes his newest arrival is cousin to Mort the Mothball Millionaire, the quest is on to sail to Moldy Corners. But why do those spooky, sharp beaked vultures watch from the fence railing? 

Read the FIVE star reviews at this page: http://www.amazon.com/M.-M./e/B003XK9IIO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 

Why do I prefer print books compared to the modern digital format? For one reason -- they last Longer! Just imagine...a hundred years from now, 500 years, whatever! When an archeologist digs at the remains of our civilization, if he finds a Kindle or eReader, will it work??? How can it? It'll be obsolete, rusty, battery life expired! But a print book? It will survive, evidenced already by thousands of writings currently displayed in museums. 
So true, physical books can be passed down through your family and cherished for years to come! :)

I hope everyone will take a minute to visit my website and watch the amazing videos on each of my books pages. I think you’ll fall in love with them, just as I have. (Thanks to Triad Film Productions for their incredible work.)

http://www.missmaesite.com

Also, join my website as a member. I’d love to have you! 
Thank you, and have a wonderful day! :)

Thank you for sharing this with us, Miss Mae. 

Come back tomorrow to learn more about this versitile, award winning author.