Bed And Breakfast Murders Book Review

 Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon.com and originally appeared on Novelspot. I received a free copy of the e-book for review from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I love spending time at bed and breakfasts (B&B’s). Staying in someone’s home adds the personal touch the big chain hotels are lacking, and a home cooked breakfast is just the icing on the cake, so to speak. The most interesting B&B I stayed in was actually only a B–bed, no breakfast, located over the local pub in a small town in Wales. The beds were comfy, and we enjoyed the music coming up through the floorboards as we fell asleep.

I’m not sure that my sense of adventure would lead me to stay at the Pink Lady Slipper at Zero Cemetery Lane. Not once I knew its history. It seems innocent enough as a former brothel, stagecoach stop, and stop on the Underground Railroad, until dead bodies start stacking up like firewood in a very Agatha Christie-like manner. Snowbound by a blizzard, who among the staff or guests could be the killer? Once the snowplows come through, the action heats up with Trudy, the main character, on a snow mobile racing for her life.

I found Billie A. Williams’ Bed And Breakfast Murders to be quite chilling, and not only because it takes place in the dead of winter in Upper Michigan. The plot twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end. I had a hard time keeping the characters and plot straight in the beginning. Bed And Breakfast Murders is a sequel to The Pink Lady Slipper, which was also full of dead bodies and plot twists. Once I figured out who everyone was and learned what happened in the previous book, I enjoyed myself. You will, too.

Reviewed by Susan
© May 2006

Bed And Breakfast Murders
Billie A. Williams
Wings ePress Books
(c) January 2006
Mystery/detective/general fiction
Electronic ISBN 1-59088-488-4, Paperback ISBN 1-59088-705-0

 


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Methuselah’s Legacy Book Review

Methesulah's Legacy Cover

I confess. I didn’t know who Methuselah was. Or why his legacy was important. A Google search quickly informed me that he was the longest living man in Biblical history. Without the assistance of modern medicine, he lived to be seven hundred plus years old. Who wouldn’t want to avoid the shackles of death and live “forever”? Certainly, Detective Sergeant Ian Waddle, the main character in Methuselah’s Legacy does. The man is scared to death of death. He’s facing his own mid-life crisis while solving the puzzles behind the Moorhen murder, among other cases.

We know that Rodney Moorhen is going to die from the first sentence in the book: “The last hour of Rodney Moorhen’s short and brilliant life began during a sudden and torrential downpour.” We don’t actually find out how or why until later. Moorhen, though dead, becomes central to the story as the Seattle PD and his sister, Alice, unravel the mysteries surrounding his work, and his death.

We’re introduced to Ian Waddle in his doctor’s office. He’s been in to see the doctor twenty-three previous times in two years. The doctor is not coming right out and saying he’s a hypochondriac, but it’s discussed. Every little ache and pain causes Waddle to wonder if it’s a symptom of something bigger, something that might end his life. Can you name your biggest fear? For Ian Waddle, it’s dying.

He just can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong with the Moorhen case, that it’s a murder, and not kinky sex gone wrong. The Brass are getting pressure to put the case to bed, but Waddle just can’t do it. We follow Waddle through the ins and outs of the police investigations he’s assigned to, as well as the stories of those behind, and involved in, the Moorhen murder.

In the end, Waddle faces his greatest fear and learns how to live again.

This is an excellent book, very well crafted. As a writer and an editor, I really liked it. The author does an excellent job of weaving plots and subplots; it’s a veritable spider’s web. I couldn’t put it down, which was hard since I was reading an e-book on my computer. I had to get a more comfortable chair just to keep reading so I could finish! The characters are very real, and have their own foibles. The setting seems to be accurately depicted (being as I’ve never been to Seattle, I couldn’t tell you for sure, but I recognized the pictures of the different locales the author has posted on his website), and I felt like I was in the different locales, not just reading about them. Mr. Musgrove did an excellent job suspending reality and I was able to get lost in Methuselah’s Legacy. High praise indeed, as I’ve been slogging through too many books lately. This was no slog, but an absolute joy. I want to read his other books now.

Reviewed by Susan
© June 2006

 

Methuselah’s Legacy
Paul Musgrove
Wings ePress, Inc.
General Fiction, mystery, detective
Electronic ISBN 1-59088-191-5 Paperback ISBN 1-59705-951-X
© January 2005

Note: This review was originally published at Novelspot.

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A Short Interview with Alyice Edrich of The Dabbling Mum

I’ve “met” Alyice on different lists that we belong to and I’ve spent lots of time wandering through her website, The Dabbling Mum. She’s on a virtual blog tour promoting her latest e-book. You can find other blogs that’s she’s visited on her website.

Alyice Edrich is the author of several work-from-home e-books, including Tid-Bits For Making Money With E-books — where parents earn hundreds of dollars selling information they already possess.                  

My four questions for you are:
1.  Any specific advice on how to determine if your”great idea” hasn’t been done to death already?

Once you’ve come up with an idea, do a search online for your topic. When you do an Internet search you’ll be able to see how much free information there is, how easily (or not) it is to get information on your subject, and what’s missing.

Then visit online bookstores to see what books have already been written on your subject. Once you have several titles written down, visit the local bookstore or library and browse those books. Often, by simply browsing books written by other authors, you’ll discover a pattern. You’ll be able to determine what’s been covered to death and what’s missing. The “what’s missing” part is what you want to capitalize on.

2.  What separates your e-book from all the other e-books on writing e-books?

I tend to take a step-by-step approach to writing. I take you through the “why should I write an e-book instead of finding a print publisher” scenarios, I discuss what hasn’t and what does work for me, and I lay it all out on the line. I’ve been selling e-books successfully since 1999, and I wrote my book from a hands-on approach. I don’t want to just sell another e-book, I want to help others do the same. While I provide the information necessary for writing an e-book that sells, I cannot promise you’ll sell a ton of e-books because I’m cannot guarantee you’ll do the necessary marketing needed to increase sales.

3.  What kinds of questions are people asking during the follow up mentoring period?

The first thing I hear from those who take the mentoring sessions is, “you’ve covered everything in the book, but I am concerned about my topic of choice.” When I ask what concerns them, it usually has to do with outlining the book. They’ve done the research, they’ve given me an overview of what they’ve learned, and then they want me to help them come up with a brief outline for the book. I usually tell them start with this, then in a chronological manner include this, this, and that. They then take my suggestions and create a more in-depth outline and begin writing their books.

Sometimes, I’ll get someone who wants help coming up with ideas to put on a new website, that will help sell his/her book.

4. What’s the one thing you’d like people to know about writing and publishing e-books?

I actually have a few pointers I’d like to share:

  1. You cannot write a e-book in one month and expect it to be of high enough quality. Most e-books written in the time span of one month are written poorly, don’t have enough meat to sustain the reader, and quickly fizzle out.
  2. If you want your e-book to sell for many months, and quite possibly years, you need to take the time to write a good book.
  3. Be unique.
  4. Don’t steal someone else’s work, rearrange a few words and call it your own.
  5. Don’t write about a topic that readers can easily find online for free.
  6. Don’t write about a topic you know nothing about unless you are willing to take a hands-on approach to discover the real secrets and then share those secrets in your book.

You can visit Alyice Edrich at The Dabbling Mum to order a copy of her e-book, Tid-Bits For Making Money With E-books, today!

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NEW CLASS FOR TWO’S ADDED MID-YEAR AT PIEDMONT PROGRESSIVE PRESCHOOL

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

New Class for Two’s Added Mid-year at Piedmont Progressive Preschool
I
mmediate Openings for Two-year-old Class, Enroll Now

The waiting list grew so long for the two-year-old class at Piedmont Progressive Preschool; they decided to add a second class mid-year. Said Co-director Sharon King, “With so many families looking for a spot at our preschool, we decided to open a second class. This school is so special to us all; we just wanted to share it with as many families as possible.” The new class meets from 9:15 am to 12:15 pm Wednesdays and Thursdays through May. There are spaces open for more students. Contact the school at 704-510-1022 or visit their website at http://www.progressivepreschool.org  for more information. Prospective students must have had their second birthday before October 16, 2005 to be considered.

Piedmont Progressive Preschool is a unique program in the University area that offers children the opportunity to learn and explore the world around them in a safe, supportive, and open environment. The school’s philosophy is child-centered and play-based with an emphasis on nature and the arts. They believe that children this age learn best through discovery learning experiences.

The preschool is located at 9704 Mallard Creek Road (across from Mallard Creek Elementary) in the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church building and is non-sectarian.

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