Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Backlist Surfing: Artful Dodging and The Mason’s Mark—DC stories

 


Since  my new release won’t grace the internet until next year, I thought I’d do a little backlist surfing.

Let’s start with my two novels set in Alexandria, Virginia: Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders and the Mason’s Mark: Love & Death in the Tower.

Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders

Fun Fact: The Torpedo Factory was indeed a munitions factory. It closed after WWII and remained empty and derelict on prime waterfront property in Old Town Alexandria. In the 1970s a group of local women (including my aunt) got together and convinced the town to sell it to them, and thus was born the Torpedo Factory Art Center, an artists coop.

Blurb:

It’s just before Christmas, and Milo Everhart has two needlepoint stockings, a cross-stitch purse, and three canvases to finish for her clients. Waiting out the rain in a pub, she is captivated by the handsome man next to her, but blocking the road to romance are two mysterious corpses who turn up in the tower of her Torpedo Factory Art Center. As if that weren’t enough, a second crisis erupts—a proposal to gut her beloved Art Center. 

Tristram Brodie, hard-driving corporate lawyer and former Marine, is focused on his plan to convert the Torpedo Factory into a box store. He is drawn to the beautiful woman sitting next to him, but their mutual attraction will be frustrated by both the murders and his intentions. As they edge closer to love, they must find a way to overcome both their differences and the still-fresh memory of her late husband. 

Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders

Wild Rose Press, 7/20/2016 

Mystery/Cozy Mystery; Contemporary romantic Suspense

Ebook, 66,830 words; Print 268 p 

 

Buy Links


Now for The Mason’s Mark: Love and Death in the Tower

Fun Fact: The Mason's Mark arose in part out of a true story. Starting in the 1940s an Italian named Licio Gelli embarked on a lifetime of bizarre scams and crimes. Alternately linked to rightists and leftists, he bilked or used people from Italian politicians, to the Nazis, the Communists, the CIA, even to Juan Peron, dictator of Argentina. His exploits across the globe spanned four decades. At last check, he was still alive, in his nineties and writing poetry from prison. In 1996 he was even nominated for the Nobel prize in literature.

Blurb

In both the best and worst first day at work ever, docent Claire Wilding meets the man of her dreams, but her carefully rehearsed guided tour of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial collapses when she discovers a body and is drawn into a dark world of black ops and Italian renegade masons, of secret cabals and hidden treasure. Also cloaked in mystery is handsome Gideon Bliss, a George Washington expert who haunts the Memorial, his manner evasive. What is his secret? Claire fears she'll fall in love with him only to learn he's a thief or even a murderer. Juggling two eccentric mothers, an inquisitive sister, and an increasingly smitten detective, Claire must find answers to a complex web of intrigue, including who to trust and who to love.

The Mason's Mark: Love and Death in the Tower 

Wild Rose Press, 5/6/2016; Imprint: Crimson Rose
Mystery/Cozy Mystery; Romantic suspense
79300 words; 322 pp. 

Buy Links



 

Friday, November 3, 2023

Shepherd Books Best Books of 2023 (Including The Wishing Tree)


Do drop by Shepherd's Books--a great new site for finding books to read, including mine! This is what Shepherd's goal is:

"Discovering a new book should be a magical experience where the search is part of the fun. That is what we are creating. We give readers fun ways to find amazing books."

This November they have published The 100 Best Books of 2023:

https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023

Here are my favorite three books of the year:

https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/m-s-spencer


Wednesday, November 1, 2023

My 3 Favorite Reads of 2023 on Shepherd Books!

 


Drop by the fabulous Shepherd Books--a wonderful site for finding the best books to read. 

As part of the Best Books of 2023, I submitted three of my favorites. Read all about them 

here:

https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/m-s-spencer


Monday, October 30, 2023

Lisabet Sarai has a New Release!

 

Please welcome Lisabet Sarai and her New Release!

Serpent’s Kiss

 

A Father's Inspiration

      My latest book, Serpent’s Kiss, is dedicated to my father. He has been gone for for nearly fifteen years, but I still feel his presence, every day. During the time since his passing, the pain of loss has healed. I’ve come to understand that he'll always be with me, in my memories and in my heart.

More than any other individual, it was my dad who inspired me to read, and to write. He had the gift of words, and passed it on to his children. I recall him reading aloud to my siblings and me—folk tales, fairy stories, adventures like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. He told his own stories, too, inventing worlds and characters for our pleasure. There were the Gulkons, terrible demons who lived in the fire on the hearth, and Houligan, the god of snow. (I grew up in chilly, stormy New England.) I still remember sitting spellbound while Dad recounted his story of the hapless wizard Thomas Carl Sefney who had to touch his wand to every one of the monster's thousand tentacles before it consumed him.

Both my parents encouraged me to write. My first poems date from about third grade. During my childhood I wrote fantasies about Martians and ghosts, and plays about the Beatles and politics. In my adolescence, too shy to speak to any of my crushes, I poured out my adoration in anguished free verse. In my twenties and thirties, I wrote science fiction and first tried my hand at romance. Finally, in my forties, I actually managed to publish something (other than in my high school newspaper). My first thought was to call my father.

My dad and I shared favorite books, characters, and authors. When he and I got talking about Sherlock Holmes or Frodo Baggins, H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe or Anne Rice, the rest of the family would roll their eyes and leave us to our obsessions. I never had any difficulty figuring out what gift to get him for his birthday or Father's Day. There was always some book that I had seen or heard about that I knew he'd love.

I never did introduce him to my erotica, though. I was so tempted to show him the pile of paperbacks with my name on the cover, the multiple volumes I had penned or edited. I wanted to autograph a copy of my first novel for him, telling him how much he had contributed to my literary endeavors. I wanted him to be proud. However, I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. I recalled the way he reacted when I gave him Anne Rice's BDSM classic The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty - an embarrassed grin and an "oh, that's interesting". We didn't discuss that book much. Though I would have welcomed the opportunity to open up to him about my own pursuits in the world of sex and sensuality, dominance and submission, I sensed that he would rather not know.

I guess that there are just some things you can't share with your parents, no matter how close you are. But at very least, I can acknowledge him as my lifelong inspiration.

 

Blurb

When a woman atoning for past sins heals the human avatar of an ancient god, she’s drawn into a perilous dance of destiny and desire. Though mortally wounded, Jorge still demonstrates unnatural strength and power. Irresistibly attracted, Elena risks everything for his love. Gradually she realizes that even if he triumphs in his apocalyptic struggle with his nemesis, she may lose him forever.

A Serpent’s Kiss

Paranormal Erotic Romance

Five flames; 36,000 words, 136 pages

Smashwords and Amazon KDP

ISBN (Smashwords): 9798215674734; ASIN: B0CL2HPVV4

Hashtags/Keywords

#Paranormal #Shifters #Mayan #Mythology #Guatemala #FatedMates #Tikal #Ritual #Quetzlcoatl #Reincarnation #Apocalypse

Excerpt (PG): Remorros

The waiting room was dim. An unfamiliar smell lingered in the air, some kind of petroleum smell, like tar or kerosene. She sniffed suspiciously. She kept two Coleman lanterns in the storeroom, in case the generator ran out of diesel. Could some animal have got into the place and knocked them over?

Elena moved cautiously towards the door of the infirmary, not wanting to alarm a possible animal intruder. As she placed her hand on the doorknob, she heard noises behind her—footsteps, and the sound of the front door bolt being thrown.

She whirled around. “Who’s there?” In her sinking heart, though, she already knew.

You lied to me,” Teodoro Remorros growled at her. He looked as affluent and dapper as ever, but his handsome features were twisted into a grimace of rage. “You told me that you didn’t know Jorge, that you hadn’t seen him.”

Elena tried to swallow her fear. He might be only guessing, threatening her in order to get her to talk.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He’s been here, here inside this pathetic clinic of yours. I can smell him.”

The man’s nostrils flared, exactly like a beast’s.

How can you smell anything? The place reeks of kerosene. I was just going to check the storeroom…” Elena began inching backwards, toward the infirmary, the rear exit and freedom.

Remorros lunged forward and grabbed her arm. His nails bit into her flesh like talons. “I warned you, woman. You don’t know what you are dealing with. Jorge is not a normal man. He doesn’t have a man’s heart. He’s a power, a force of nature, hard and pitiless, implacable, vicious, evil.”

No, he’s not! He’s not evil!”

Fool!” Remorros dragged her into the infirmary and threw her on the cot. “You’ve been meddling in matters far beyond your puny mortal capabilities. And now you will pay the price.”

Note: Serpent’s Kiss was previously published by Totally Entwined. This new edition has been re-edited, revised and expanded.

Reader Advisory: This book may not be appropriate for individuals with a fear of snakes.

Buy Links

Kinky Literature: https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1317-serpents-kiss/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL2HPVV4

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CL2HPVV4

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1465062

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-kiss-lisabet-sarai/1017488008?ean=2940166119209

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/serpent-s-kiss-26

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6469359665

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199721219-serpent-s-kiss

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/serpent-s-kiss-by-lisabet-sarai-2023-10-15

About the Author

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance: over one hundred titles and counting, in nearly every sub-genreparanormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Youll find information and excerpts from all Lisabets books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. Shes also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

Friday, August 25, 2023

Long and Short Reviews Anniversary Bash Features Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine

Fun for one and all—LASR is celebrating its 16th anniversary with books of all kinds and loads of prizes. Today my award-winning mystery: Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine is spotlighted. Read all about it, answer a question and enter to win!

Quirky romance, a murderous stalker, a mysterious map, cruciverbalists, and treasure—all in the oldest city in North America—what more could you ask for?

Here’s the link: https://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/lasr-anniversary-scavenger-hunt-hidden-gem-the-secret-of-st-augustine-by-m-s-spencer-2/