Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Book Tour, Author Interview & Giveaway: The Sleuth's Dilemma by Kimberly Rose Johnson


The Sleuth's Dilemma blog blitz

Welcome to the Blog Blitz and Giveaway for The Sleuth's Dilemma by Kimberly Rose Johnson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

the sleuth's dilemmaTitle: The Sleuth's Dilemma
Series: The Librarian Sleuth #2  
Author: Kimberly Rose Johnson  
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink  
Genre: Cozy Mystery  
Release Date: February 1, 2019  

Anna loves her job as a high school English teacher until everything goes sideways. The one bright spot in her life is Titus Gains, the school counselor, who is there for her at every turn.

Titus’ boss complicates his ordered world when she tasks him with running a meeting that changes everything. How had he not noticed Anna earlier? Someone is out to destroy her, and he can’t let that happen.

As the head of the English department, part of Luke Harms’ job is to make sure everything runs smoothly. Things went haywire when Anna was put in charge of the big writing contest. Entries are missing, Anna appears to be in danger, and her job is on the line. Luke is investigating and wants to make things right for this woman he’s starting to care about.

Can a trio of school officials along with Nancy Daley, the town sleuth, stop the saboteur before it’s too late? And will Anna choose the right man, or lose them both?  

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KIMBERLY ROSE JOHNSON

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Sure. I’m a wife and mom. My babies are all grown up now though. I have been writing for approximately twelve years and was first contracted in 2012 by Heartsong Presents. For the past five years I have been writing for Mountain Brook Ink as well as publishing on my own. Last year my book Designing Love won the RWA Faith Hope and Love Readers Choice award in the short novel category. That was a career high for me. J

What do you do besides writing?
All sorts of things. J I love walking in the evenings with my husband. I read, dream of traveling as well as take the occasional trip, and watch Hallmark movies among other shows like NCIS.
Do you have images you can share that come close to how you picture your characters? Do you like to find visual inspiration for your characters before or during your writing process?

I would direct you to the cover of my books for images of my characters. I don’t actually pick a model and write my characters based on that model. I like the freedom creating my characters without being tied down to a specific model. That being said, I don’t have a clear image of my characters in my mind. They are fuzzy. I’ve heard that our brains, or maybe it’s our subconscious, can’t create faces it has never seen, which lines up with hazy mental images.

When I’m done writing, I look at my character’s description and based on the personality I’ve given her I try and find a model that best matches her for the cover—my publisher asks me to submit cover model images. I tend to do things backward. LOL

What are some songs that you listened to or inspired you while writing your book?
I don’t listen to music when writing, although in the middle of the summer while writing a Christmas book, I’ve been known to play Christmas music to get into the spirit of Christmas.
Although I am a musician and performed vocally and taught piano for many years, I rarely listen to music anymore. I still love it, but I spend my workday writing and it interferes with my thoughts. I have to be able to hear myself think. I put the radio on in the car, but only if I’m alone, which isn’t often. I have a very hard time understating what people are saying when there is any kind of noise going on, so music makes conversation nearly impossible.
What message would you like readers to ultimately take away from the book?

I hope readers are entertained and finish the story feeling satisfied. I don’t intentionally write messages into my books, although they are there. J

What can we look forward to coming from you in the future?

The third book in The Librarian Sleuth Series releases in November. I also have a Christmas novella releasing around that same time.

Thanks for having me on your blog!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Rose Johnson

Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance and romantic mystery that warms the heart and feeds the soul.

Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

You can sign up for Kimberly's newsletter via her website at: https://kimberlyrjohnson.com/  

CONNECT WITH KIMBERLY: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub

the sleuth's dilemma giveaway

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will win:
  • $15 Amazon gift card
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 26, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm April 2, 2019. Open internationally as long as winner can accept gift card from US Amazon. Void where prohibited by law. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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Sunday, March 24, 2019

Book Tour, Author Interview & Giveaway: Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton


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Welcome to the Blog Tour for Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton with JustRead Publicity Tours! We continue the Glory Road celebration on social media starting March 26.

ABOUT THE BOOK

GloryRoad-LaurenKDentonTitle: Glory Road  
Author: Lauren K. Denton  
Publisher: Thomas Nelson  
Genre: Women's Fiction/Southern Fiction  
Release Date: March 19, 2019

Written in Lauren Denton's signature Southern style, Glory Road tells the story of three generations of women navigating the uncertain pathways of their hearts during a summer that promises to bring change--whether they're ready for it or not.

At thirty-eight, garden shop owner Jessie McBride thinks her chances for romance are years behind her and, after her failed marriage, she's fine with that. She lives contentedly with her fiery mother and her quiet, headstrong daughter. But the unexpected arrival of two men on Glory Road make her question if she's really happy with the status quo. Handsome, wealthy Sumner Tate asks her to arrange flowers for his daughter's wedding, and Jessie finds herself drawn to his continued attention. And Ben Bradley, her lingering what-could-have-been from high school days who's known her better than anyone and whom she hasn't seen in years, moves back to the red dirt road. Jessie finds her heart being pulled in directions she never expected.  

Meanwhile, Jessie's fourteen-year-old daughter, Evan, is approaching the start of high school and trying to navigate a new world of identity and emotions--particularly as they relate to the cute new guy who's moved in just down the road. At the same time, Jessie's mother, Gus, increasingly finds herself forgetful and faces a potentially frightening future. As all three women navigate the uncertain paths of their hearts and futures, one summer promises to bring change--whether they're ready for it or not.
 

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LAUREN K. DENTON

Can you tell us a little about yourself? 

I have been married to my husband Matt for thirteen years, and we have two daughters—Kate (9) and Sela (6). I live in Birmingham now, but I grew up in Mobile, AL, and I miss having such quick and easy access to the water! As such, I make as many trips south as I can, especially during the warm months.

What do you do besides writing? 
When I’m not writing, I’m picking up stray hair ribbons and Legos from underfoot, exercising as much as I can (to counteract all the hours I spend sitting on my rear end writing books!), reading (always reading), and trying to come up with a reason to put off yet another trip to the grocery store. These days, I’m also preparing for a kitchen renovation, which means I’m spending way too much time reading reviews on appliances and wondering if I’ve made the right decision about countertops.
Do you have images you can share that come close to how you picture your characters? Do you like to find visual inspiration for your characters before or during your writing process? 

I usually don’t have an idea of what my characters look like when I first start the book, but gradually, an image comes to mind. Sometimes it’s someone I’ve seen in a movie or TV show, sometimes it’s a mash-up of people I know. I usually start flipping around online to see if I can find someone who comes close to the image in my head. As I was writing Glory Road, I compiled many of the images on a Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/LKDentonBooks/glory-road/

What are some songs that you listened to or inspired you while writing your book? 
I don’t actually listen to music as I write, although music plays a big part in Glory Road. One of my favorite things about writing books is including things I love in my stories in the hopes that readers will enjoy those same things. In this book, I loved including some of my favorite music from over the years. Gus loves old country music, especially Johnny Cash; Nick shares new musicians with Evan (including one of my very favorites, Josh Ritter); and Jessie and Ben listen to CDs from his high school music collection, which just so happens to include many of my favorites from high school (think Dave Matthews Band, U2, and Counting Crows.)
What message would you like readers to ultimately take away from the book? 
I’d love for this book to help a reader who might be facing an uncertain future, just as Gus faces uncertainty in her future, yet she’s still determined to wring as much out of her life as possible. I hope readers can see Jessie making peace with her history and moving into the next phase of her life with hope and peace, and feel some of that same hope and peace infusing their own life.

What can we look forward to coming from you in the future? 

I am working on my next book, which will come out next summer. It’s another story of women finding their way through seasons of their lives—this time taking place at an active living community for seniors—and because I love setting stories in places familiar to me and my readers, I set this one in far south Alabama, right on the coast.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

lauren k denton

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two young daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. Her debut novel, The Hideaway, is USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her second novel, Hurricane Season, released in April, 2018, and was listed on BookPage's 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction.  

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR: website | facebook | twitter | instagram | pinterest

Glory Road giveaway

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(2) winners will each win a print copy of Glory Road. 

Be sure to check out each stop on the Blog and Takeover tours for more chances to win. Full tour schedule on this tour shown below. Giveaway begins at midnight March 23, 2019 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 30, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Due to shipping cost, only US mailing addresses valid. For our giveaway rules and policy, click HERE.


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of blog stops!

AND

Be sure to stop at the takeover tour, starting on March 26, for more chances to win!

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*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
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