Tuesday ebook spotlight: 'The 12 Slays of Christmas'

Here’s a great opportunity to enjoy 12 mysteries and help our four-legged friends at the same time.

Colleen Mooney of New Orleans is one of 12 cozy mystery authors taking part in the Christmas anthology “The 12 Slays of Christmas.” This enormous collection is only 99 cents as a pre-order (the release date is Dec. 4 and then it will be $4.99) and all of the book’s proceeds will benefit animal rescue groups.

And there’s more! (I sound like a TV salesman, don’t I?) There will also be a recipe book, “The 12 Slays of Christmas Recipe Book” paperback that will sell for $12 on Amazon.

“I met Abby Vandiver in a Twitter group and the next thing I know I’m working with these wonderful mystery writers and we are doing a Christmas Box set called the ‘12 Slays of Christmas’ book and donating all proceeds to non-kill animals shelters,” Mooney wrote me by email. “Now, since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and Irma hit Florida, there is a greater need than ever. We hope to sell enough copies so that we can help both areas.”

The lineup of authors and stories:

Abby L. Vandiver, “Baby Its Cold Outside”

Judith Lucci, “The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year”

Amy Vansant, “Stollen Time”

Colleen Mooney, “Death by Rum Balls”

Amy Reade, “The Worst Noel”

Nell Goddin, “The Case of the Curious Biscuit”

Colleen Helme, “Devil in A Black Suit”

Larissa Reinhart, “May Your Days Be Cherry and Albright”

Kim Hunt Harris, “Frankincense, Gold, and Murder”

Cindy Bell, “Christmas Chocolates and Crimes”

Summer Prescott, “Home for the Holidays”

Kathleen Dionne, “Murder at the Holiday Bazaar”

WEBSITE:  www.12slaysofChristmas.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FGNTG4/

Nook: http://bit.ly/BN12Slays
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Query=12+slays

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and paranormal mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first books in her award-winning series are FREE as ebooks! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

Tuesday ebook spotlight: Leger's 'Settling for More'

Lori Leger’s third book in her Prime of Love series has been released and it’s only 99 cents.

Here’s the book description for “Settling for More:”

The fifty-something-year-old Sandra and Marshall Campion are beginning to enjoy life with no children at home. Trips to Belize...weekends at the beach house with other couples, tailgating and season passes to college football games. Their youngest, Brock, has just graduated from college and has a new fiancée. Their oldest daughter, Ella, is married to an architect and still bears an irrational grudge against her younger sister. Middle daughter, Maddie, dropped out of college at 20 and has been on a six-year trek across the U.S., taking odd jobs to earn her keep. She calls and video chats occasionally to let them know she’s alive, but they haven’t seen her in person for well over four years. 

When she arrives, unannounced, towing a four-year-old daughter they knew nothing about, the Campions are both thrilled and shocked.  Shock turns to pleasant surprise as they accustom themselves to being new grandparents to the bright, articulately advanced child. They hope to convince their daughter to settle down in their hometown, but the older-middle sibling rivalry rears its ugly head and threatens the peace and serenity of the entire family. So much so that the couple awakens one morning to find that Maddie is missing. She’s left behind two things: a note, and her child. Will she resolve her issues and come home to finish raising her daughter, or will Sandra and Marshall Campion have to start their lives over as new parents?  

Leger is an award-winning author and adores writing stories set in southwest Louisiana, where good Cajun cooking, helping your neighbors, and saying ‘y’all’ is as normal as hurricanes, heat, and humidity. She has 12 full-length novels, and five short stories published in four series: La Fleur de Love, its spin-off, Halos and Horn; Seasons of Love, Prime of Love series, and one stand-alone Christmas suspense published with The Wild Rose Press. She’s contributed to the Sweet and Savory Cookbook of Amazon Authors, published by Top Ten Press. Her fourth novel in the Halos and Horns series, “One Year to Forever,” won 2015 Romance Novel of Excellence award from InD’tale Review magazine.

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and paranormal mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first books in her award-winning series are FREE as ebooks! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

Tuesday Ebook Spotlight: Butler's 'Infinite Us'

Eden Butler is a writer of many talents, editing and writing fantasy, mystery and contemporary romance novels. Plus she’s the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate, so how’s that for cool?

Butler’s latest book is “Infinite Us,” what bestselling author J.A. DeRouen calls “a gripping story of the roots that define us, the hardships that test us, and the healing power of love and acceptance. It's a testament to how far we've come and how very far we have to go.”

Here’s the book description:

Nash Nation loves zeroes and ones, over-sized monitors and late office hours. He’s too busy taking over the world to make time for relationships—that is, until his new neighbor Willow O’Bryant barges into his life, and now Nash can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the first time she’s interrupted his world.

Then, the dreams start. And in the dreams—memories.

Memories of a girl named Sookie who couldn’t count on love or friendship, never mind forever. Memories of a library and a boy called Isaac and secrets made in private that destroyed his world.

The memories seem real, but who do they belong to?

When Nash and Willow discover the truth, life as they know it unravels.

The bridge between this life and the next is shored up by blood and bone and memory. Sometimes, that bridge leads to the place we’ve always wanted to be.

“Infinite Us” is only 99 cents to download today, the book’s launch day, at the following online booksellers:

AMAZON:  http://amzn.to/2mM2WkE

IBOOKS: http://apple.co/2nWxmjT

B&N: http://bit.ly/2nWxXBP

KOBO: http://bit.ly/2nWycgx

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books in her award-winning series are FREE as ebooks! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

Ebook Spotlight: Scandalous Stocking Stuffers

Take a break from all the holiday chaos and enjoy a good book. Here's an easy way to do that. Scandalous Stocking Stuffers is a promotion that will help you stuff your ereader. It features 50-plus FREE books and $0.99 bargain books this Dec. 7!

Among these books are holiday-themed stories, including my "Ticket to Paradise" featuring a Louisiana native in California and her comedy of errors surrounding a Lottery ticket on New Year's Eve.

Speaking of lucky winnings, the promotion offers a chance to win a $450 Amazon Gift Card. All you need to do is answer one simple question when you enter the giveaway. AND...by sharing this competition with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Linked-In, you'll stand a much better chance at winning.

Enter the giveaway here.

No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited.

Contest ends December 7, 2016. Winners will be notified on December 8, 2016.

By entering this competition contestants agree to subscribe to receive news from Scandalous Reads, CPM Books, ME (Cherie Claire) and the following sponsoring authors: Allyson Lindt, Angela Kay Austin, Anita Philmar, Ashe Barker, Carmen Fox, Caitlyn Lynch, Cherime MacFarlane, Dariel Raye, Demelza Carlton, Diane Rinella, Eden Summers, Élianne Adams, Elli Everson, Eva Lefoy, Ines Johnson, Iona Findley, LaVerne Thompson, Lilah E. Noir, Maggie Carpenter, Marie Tuhart, Melissa Stevens, Miranda Lynn, Moctezuma Johnson, Monica Corwin, Muffy Wilson, Nikky Kaye, Normandie Alleman, Robin Stone, Rosalie Redd, Wendy Lynn Clark.

Louisiana Book News is written by Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes under the pen name of Cherie Claire, an award-winning author of The Cajun Series of historical romances, including Emilie, Rose, Gabrielle, Delphine, A Cajun Dream and The Letter, and The Cajun Embassy of contemporary romances, including Ticket to Paradise, Damn Yankees and Gone Pecan. She lives in South Louisiana where she works as a travel and food writer when not indulging in Cajun culture. Visit her website at www.cherieclaire.net and write to her at CajunRomances@gmail.com.

Ebook spotlight: 'Hartman House'

Imagine a house that is a safe haven from witch hunters and werewolf or vampire slayers.  Where any mystical being could live, safe from the threat of the outside world.  The Hartman family were themselves witches and had always tried their best to protect their own, and to protect other magical beings as well. To do so they built a large mansion on the edge of New Orleans and spelled it to conceal any magic.

It’s all a part of “Hartman House” by A L Wright, the first book in the Hartman House Saga and only 99 cents to download.

Here’s the book description: The spell on the house also kept the wolves from needing to turn on full moons.  And kept the vampires from needing to feed on human blood.  With such powerful allies living among them, they could create search and rescue teams to help bring in those who were being hunted down like animals. And with so many successful rescues in recent times, the current leaders of Hartman House needed to find the secret to the spell over the house.  The same spell whose secret had died with the last of the Hartman’s fifteen years earlier.

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books in her award-winning series are free as ebooks! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

Ebook Spotlight: 'Bayou My Love' and 'Christmas Bells'

Newly published is "Christmas Bells" by Linda Joyce, an author who lives elsewhere but claims Cajun blood. Her debut romance novel, "Bayou Born" is a 2014 RONE Award finalist and her second novel, "Bayou Bound" won first place in romance from the Southeastern Writers Association. "Christmas Bells" is only 99 cents to download. Here’s the book description:

After grieving the loss of her husband and son, TV host Morgan Marshall is ready to embrace life again. But she won’t risk a relationship with the father of her favorite cooking student, Avery, since the girl’s happiness is more important than her own.

Advertising executive Alex Blake never thought another woman could pique his interest after losing his wife to pneumonia, a complication of her cancer. Yet every time he’s in Morgan’s presence, she brings sunlight into the room. Plus, she’s a role model for his daughter, always assuring Avery that dyslexia can’t hold her back. But if he asks Morgan for a date and then she refuses a second one, the person he loves the most, Avery, could get hurt the worst because she adores Morgan.

When Alex is injured in a fall, Morgan insists on caring for him and Avery. As they share holiday fun, Avery topples Morgan’s beloved crystal bell collection, shattering it to pieces. Through it all, they discover love of one another is more priceless than any object money can buy. Love rings in the air at Christmastime. 

"Bayou My Love" by Family Circle Award-winning author Lauren Faulkenberry is only 99 cents to download right now (originally $10). Here’s the book description:

Thirty-year-old Enza Parker is at a crossroads. To prove to her overbearing father she can flip a house on her own, she takes on an ambitious project that brings back painful memories—and puts her in the path of the most alluring man she’s ever met. Enza plans to flip the house she inherited from her estranged grandmother in Bayou Sabine, Louisiana. As a child, she spent summers there until the day her mother inexplicably left. Since then, Enza hasn’t let anyone get close to her.

Arriving in Bayou Sabine, Enza finds her house occupied by bedeviling firefighter Jack Mayronne. Enza wants to kick him out, but Jack convinces her to let him stay in exchange for helping with repairs. With only six weeks to fix the house and sell, she’s determined to prove her father wrong, but she didn’t count on Bayou Sabine and Jack capturing her heart. When Enza’s fling with Jack intensifies, she finds herself entangled with a vengeful arsonist from Jack’s past. As she reaches her breaking point, she must decide: Should she sell the house and leave her past in Bayou Sabine behind for good, or can she overcome her fears and build a new life there with Jack?

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books in her award-winning series are FREE as ebooks! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

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Tuesday ebook spotlights

If you love ebooks, you'll be happy to learn about several that are discounted or free. We spotlight these every Tuesday so be sure to check back often.

“Lady Danger,” the first book in The Warrior Maids of Rivenloch by Glynnis Campbell, is FREE. Deirdre, Helena and Miriel, three kick-arse Scots wenches known as The Warrior Maids of Rivenloch, aren’t about to become any man’s chattel, until they meet heroes who are strong enough to tame their wild ways and worthy enough to win their wayward hearts.

In “Lady Danger:” Born to the blade and raised to fear no one, Deirdre of Rivenloch never shies away from a fight and never turns her back on a threat to her land or her family. But she’s never met a man like Sir Pagan Cameliard, the bold and powerful knight who comes at the king’s command to make a marriage alliance with Rivenloch. To save her younger sister, Deirdre tricks Pagan into marrying her instead, and now she faces a new kind of enemy who crosses swords with her by day and lays siege to her heart by night.

And speaking of Glynnis Campbell...she's part of a new anthology titled "Once Upon a Bride" featuring six New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors. In addition to Campbell, the novellas are written by Lauren Royal, Jill Barnett, Cynthia Wright, Cheryl Bolen and Annette Blair.  Fall in love with six grooms-to-be as you escape to medieval Scotland, 17th century England, 19th century America, Georgian London and the high seas. The book is available for 99 cents for a limited time only.

And my historical romance “Emilie” (written under my pen name of Cherie Claire) is the first book in The Cajun Series and may be downloaded FREE. Emilie Gallant and her Cajun family have traveled to Louisiana in search of their father, separated thirteen years ago during le grand dérangement, the brutal exile by the British from their Nova Scotia homeland. The last thing Emilie has on her mind as she enters the rugged bayou country is marriage to her longtime companion, Lorenz Dugas. Beautiful but stubbornly defiant, Emilie worshipped Lorenz as a child but having to fight to preserve her family has built a wall around her heart. But Lorenz is equally determined and his passion will prove that their love cannot be denied. As they make their way across the untamed Louisiana wilderness, hoping to reunite the Gallant family, Emilie learns that love has a way of healing all wounds — even in the most unusual places.

Read what others have said:

“Pick up a copy of Emilie for your reading pleasure, and take a journey into the historical Acadian (Cajun) country of Louisiana for an educational, romantic read.”
—Carol Carter, Romance Reviews Today

“The beauty of Ms. Claire’s tale is in the message that love makes one a stronger and better person. She leaves just enough hints to keep readers eagerly anticipating the next two sisters’ tales. As a history buff, I enjoyed learning about the Acadian (Cajun) culture, as well as the story’s characters.”
—Evelyn Feiner, Romantic Times magazine

Please remember, 99-cent and free Kindle books are gifts from authors. You can show your gratitude by leaving reviews on the websites where you downloaded the books. And, of course, buy their other books.

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books in her award-winning series are free as ebooks! Visit http://www.cherieclaire.net/.