VBT - A VERY RETRO CHRISTMAS by Pamela Spradlin Mahajan

It's a book tour and there are prizes to be won as well as a cool Christmas story to check out. What's up to win? Pamela Spradlin Mahajan will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. How cool is that? Want more chances to win? Then follow the tour. You can do that here: https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/11/standard-tour-very-retro-christmas-by.html

A VERY RETRO CHRISTMAS

by

Pamela Spradlin Mahajan

What if the future you always dreamed of, was actually in the past?

Social worker Cat has no intention of falling in love or getting married—much to her mother’s chagrin. While mourning her paternal grandmother’s passing, Cat opens an heirloom left by the matriarch—a coveted Christmas ornament—and finds herself transported to December 1936.

Handyman Eli spends his days doing odd jobs around town and his nights hammering away on his house—whatever it takes to keep his mind off the awful year he’s had. When a mysterious young woman drops into his life seemingly overnight and wants to rent his guest house, he is at first annoyed and then more than a little intrigued

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Now for An Excerpt:

Cat stared into the young face of what was certainly her Grandma Lana. How was this possible? Minutes ago, Cat had been unpacking the contents of what remained of her grandmother’s Christmas decorations—the grandmother who passed away a few months ago.

And now here she was sitting in what was supposedly her hometown with a young version of Lana—a version who looked to be in her late teens.

Had Cat finally lost her mind? Was that the explanation for all this? Had her grandmother’s death been too much for her to bear? Or had she contracted some sort of virus that a sturdy dose of pills could fix?

“Won’t your mother and daddy be expecting you home soon?” Maribel asked Lana.

“They’ll understand, once I explain what’s happened.”

Lana laid a hand on Cat’s shoulder and a feeling of warmth permeated Cat’s entire body. Cat studied her grandmother. She had clear, warm-toned skin without a wrinkle in sight. Her eyes were a clear blue, her cheeks were round, and her yellow-blonde hair was styled into a soft wave.

Lana’s dress was delightfully retro—a floral print number with a collar, buttons at the chest, and a matching fabric belt at her waist.

“What were you doing here with Eli earlier, Mar?” Lana said.

Maribel, who had vivid red lipstick and some kind of undergarment that made her chest look like two grenades ready to strike, pursed her lips. “Just trying to ease the man back into the dating pool.”

About the Author:

Pamela Spradlin Mahajan is the author of women’s fiction and romance. Her debut novel, “Skye, Revised,” was released in early 2024. Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and creative writing from Missouri State University and a Masters from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Her recent short stories have appeared in the online literary journal "They Call Us" and she has been honored in the WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest. A native of Springfield, Mo., Pamela lives with her family in Kansas City, where in addition to writing women's fiction and romance, she also works as a copywriter, journalist, and reseller.

Website: https://pamelamahajan.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamelajsm/

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Book Blast - Curveballs by Gail Taylor

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gail Taylor will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Here you are on the brink of a journey all about self-discovery and chasing dreams. With personal stories and tools that shaped the author's path, she focuses on embracing authenticity. You'll explore how living with purpose and passion is achievable. This personal-growth book combines cutting-edge technology and music interaction, reflecting the author's belief that music can transform and positively impact individuals and communities.

Read an Excerpt

Many people spend years—decades, even—in jobs that are safe, but not challenging. Stable, but far from rewarding. I refer to that choice as settling.

If you are in this situation, you might tell yourself you are staying in this role for your family or for their future. Sometimes you plan to leave these unfulfilling positions as soon as you have saved a certain amount of money, or have paid for your home or schooling.

I have seen firsthand when opportunities present themselves to folks in these situations whereby they pass on the new challenges and the chance to chase their dreams. You may convince yourself to stay where you are because the field you want to join is too competitive, your skills and talents are rusty and insufficient, or you are too old for a new career . . . a refrain many of us have heard, or uttered. I am so thankful I never believed any of these falsehoods.

When I decided to come out of retirement, three years into it, it was to start my own business: Gail Taylor Music. My goal was to become a keynote speaker, using my stories and music to help others become their best selves. When I mentioned this to my new entertainment lawyer, his first reaction was, “Write a book.” And so here we are.

If you have read the introduction to this book, you know something about my rather tumultuous early life and how I turned things around. For twenty-five years as a financial advisor, I helped clients with investments and with building retirement plans. I absolutely adored my job and imagined staying in this role until I retired, sometime in my seventies. Things might have worked out that way, but when I was fifty-eight, I started taking piano lessons.

The lessons were meant to be a hobby, a diversion from days spent neck-deep in numbers, analytical thinking, and playing it safe with clients’ nest eggs. Instead of just learning an instrument and having a bit of fun, I fell in love with music as it flooded back into my life. After spending two years with my new passion, I decided to retire sooner than planned and dedicate my time to studying this incredible art form. I was financially independent, so I made the decision, at sixty-one, to sell my business and turn over a new leaf.

It was not just an affair I was having with this new interest. I realized I wanted to spend as many hours in the day as possible learning all aspects of music. For someone with no musical background, I was in for an exciting journey and lots of new experiences. Due to advancements in technology, I was able to study online with the Berklee School of Music. It was so exciting. They did not require me to audition. The curriculum was worth every penny of the tuition I paid. I studied bass guitar, piano, keyboard, ear training, and songwriting. After a few years, I began to toy with the idea of reinventing myself as a musician.

When I shared my new passion with people, I was pleasantly surprised by their supportive reactions. “Oh, that is so inspiring,” they would say. I heard this often, from people I knew well and strangers sitting next to me on an airplane. It was as if I was suddenly in the same category as mountain climbers and long-distance swimmers. It felt so amazing to know I could inspire others to pursue their dreams.

About the Author: Gail Taylor, a Canadian songwriter, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and author, is celebrated for inspiring others to take charge of their lives. With forty years of studying personal growth and peak performance, she proves that designing your own life is possible, regardless of your beginnings. Her expertise has made her a sought-after guest on numerous podcasts.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Curveballs-Unlocking-Potential-Personal-Inspirational/dp/1779622015/ref=sr_1_1

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The Ellen Mint Advent Calendar - Day 2 @introvertedwife @meganslayer #christmas

 

ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

December 1st-25th

Goodies Given Away Every Day Totaling $550

https://ellenmint.blog/advent-calendar/

It’s Christmas every day with this romantic Advent Calendar giveaway. Twenty-Five authors have teamed up to bring you over $550 worth of prizes. Every day another door opens and another giveaway chance for you to win!

Each day, return to the site to click on the calendar and open the door to another fantastic prize. Be swept away this holiday season by gripping romance, pampering treats, cozy gifts, and an amazing offer hidden inside the calendar.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Laurel Richards • Maggie Blackbird • H.M. Shander • Wendi Zwaduk • Tracy Sumner • Angela Taylor • Havelah McLat • Allie Ritch • January Bain • Seelie Kay • Sophie Andrews • Cassie O'Brien • MK Collings • Charissa Gracyk • TJ Finn • Blye Donovan • Jordyn Kross • Tina Gallagher • Anise Storm • Cynthia Terelst • Lily Harlem • Elizabeth Cole • Robin Jeffrey • Caroline Akervik

The Ellen Mint Advent Calendar - Day 3 @introvertedwife @meganslayer #christmas

 

ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

December 1st-25th

Goodies Given Away Every Day Totaling $550

https://ellenmint.blog/advent-calendar/

It’s Christmas every day with this romantic Advent Calendar giveaway. Twenty-Five authors have teamed up to bring you over $550 worth of prizes. Every day another door opens and another giveaway chance for you to win!

Each day, return to the site to click on the calendar and open the door to another fantastic prize. Be swept away this holiday season by gripping romance, pampering treats, cozy gifts, and an amazing offer hidden inside the calendar.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Laurel Richards • Maggie Blackbird • H.M. Shander • Wendi Zwaduk • Tracy Sumner • Angela Taylor • Havelah McLat • Allie Ritch • January Bain • Seelie Kay • Sophie Andrews • Cassie O'Brien • MK Collings • Charissa Gracyk • TJ Finn • Blye Donovan • Jordyn Kross • Tina Gallagher • Anise Storm • Cynthia Terelst • Lily Harlem • Elizabeth Cole • Robin Jeffrey • Caroline Akervik

The Ellen Mint Advent Calendar Day 1 @introvertedwife @meganslayer #christmas

 

ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

December 1st-25th

Goodies Given Away Every Day Totaling $550

https://ellenmint.blog/advent-calendar/

It’s Christmas every day with this romantic Advent Calendar giveaway. Twenty-Five authors have teamed up to bring you over $550 worth of prizes. Every day another door opens and another giveaway chance for you to win!

Each day, return to the site to click on the calendar and open the door to another fantastic prize. Be swept away this holiday season by gripping romance, pampering treats, cozy gifts, and an amazing offer hidden inside the calendar.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Laurel Richards • Maggie Blackbird • H.M. Shander • Wendi Zwaduk • Tracy Sumner • Angela Taylor • Havelah McLat • Allie Ritch • January Bain • Seelie Kay • Sophie Andrews • Cassie O'Brien • MK Collings • Charissa Gracyk • TJ Finn • Blye Donovan • Jordyn Kross • Tina Gallagher • Anise Storm • Cynthia Terelst • Lily Harlem • Elizabeth Cole • Robin Jeffrey • Caroline Akervik

Book Blast - Our Global Crisis by Brian D Mclean

 

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Modern society has reached a critical juncture in its existence. Like past civilizations ours has reached a point where its future is far from certain, with its decline, or even collapse, being distinct possibilities.

The Incas, the Mayans, the Romans, the Rapanui, and many others, had seemingly successful societies, yet collapsed when faced with challenges that threatened their continued existence.

Are we to suffer the same fate? What could possibly cause our downfall?

Climate change and environmental issues? Perhaps. It is now almost a certainty that these events are destined to inflict catastrophic damage to our global society. Our coastal cities and island nations, as well as our global economy and agricultural output, will be irreparably damaged. Many of Earth's species, as well as the lives of many millions of people, will be displaced or lost forever.

Such a fate may still be averted, but that opportunity has largely passed. Even if we are able to correct the climatic and environmental issues threatening our society, we must still recognize and address the ultimate source of our problems. For if we fail, a far worse fate potentially awaits us.

Our Global Crisis is an eye opening look at the common weakness shared by societies and civilizations both past and present. But analysis of the problem alone will not solve the global crisis we now face. Thus, the final chapter is dedicated to the simple, yet critical solutions, necessary for our very survival.

Read an Excerpt

Humanity faces an uncertain future. For although we are the product of a great multitude of evolutionary “improvements,” we are nevertheless imperfect. Through the millennia, our shortcomings have contributed to the setbacks and failures of many peoples, cultures, even past civilizations, and they continue to do so. Even today, the future stability and continuance of our global socioeconomic society is not guaranteed. Climate change, environmental degradation, ongoing political and religious tension and violence, and other damaging and contentious issues not only have the potential to destabilize our global society, but if left uncorrected, may precipitate its eventual collapse. The most troubling aspect of this growing possibility is that each of us would ultimately be responsible for its occurrence.

Despite the advanced level of development attained by our species relative to others on Earth, inherent weaknesses in our nature still persist, and it is those weaknesses that each of us must overcome if we are to survive and evolve beyond our current limitations. If we can come to accept who we are and appreciate our weaknesses as well as our strengths, then we may be able to rise above our imperfections. In doing so, the possibility exists that our species may once again find its rightful place within nature and restore balance to the biosphere.

The purpose of Our Global Crisis is to guide us in this direction, to help us better understand who we are as a species, and to allow each of us to come to terms with our inner wants and desires, our strengths, and our weaknesses.

About the Author: Brian McLean, ART, is a former Medical Laboratory Technologist and Information Systems Specialist. Drawn by his passion for the outdoors, he shifted from a successful career to spend nearly two decades working for a family run orchard business. A passionate conservationist and environmentalist, Brian is also a keen observer of human nature and humanity's interaction with the biosphere. Based on those observations, he has been meticulously compiling and crafting Our Global Crisis over the last 22 years. Currently, he is working to restore riparian and temperate forest ecosystems affected by clearcut forestry practices, and when he needs to decompress, he spends time under the stars delving into his other passion, astrophotography.

Website: https://briandmclean.com
Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/0993607225
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/walkingsoftlyinnature
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/walkingsoftlyinnature
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/briandmclean

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Book Blast - Katie Walsh by Colleen L Donnelly

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter to win a $15 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Katie Walsh expects to write a love story someday. The hero resembles her father, and the heroine the deceased mother she never knew but imagines from the longing on her father’s face.

Katie doesn’t expect her father to be murdered, or his will to leave their farm to Guy Knowles, the man she hoped to marry, and order her to another state. Betrayed by the men she trusted, what should have become a love like no other withers and dies.

Until Ted Howard, who doesn’t fit the hole Guy left in her heart. Instead, he fits himself into what she needs—someone who will stay, protect her, and break his own heart for her if needed.

Read an Excerpt

“I don’t know who hit him. The car never slowed or stopped. They’re looking for it. And the driver.”

But they wouldn’t find either. Mr. Alexandar’s angst told me as much. Whoever did this didn’t plan simply to kill my father, they also planned to escape. The same way my father planned for this moment and afterward. I stared at the envelope that held Papa’s will I couldn’t believe he had.

“I’m sorry.” Clifton Alexandar truly was sorry. He didn’t like the task of verbally removing Papa from my life. He probably didn’t realize he had taken my mother as well. The one person I longed to know but never did. Papa, my sole source of information about the woman he loved, was suddenly gone.

Mr. Alexandar stared through the screen while I suffered a vast implosion of my soul. No Papa. No more tidbits about my mother. I became an orphan in a moment. A seventeen-year-old girl with a house, this farm…and Guy. He had never asked for my hand, but he would. Especially now.

About the Author:

Colleen L Donnelly was born and raised in the US Midwest but ventured to other parts of the country as an adult to experience life from other perspectives. Besides writing, she spends time outdoors, antique hunting, reading, or watching a good movie. Even though she retired from a career in laboratory science, she is never bored and always busy at something.

Social Media Links:

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/colleen-l-donnelly
Website: http://www.colleenldonnelly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenLDonnelly
Goodreads: http://www.Goodreads.com/colleenldonnelly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenldonnelly/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/37vcnO4
Twitter: https://x.com/ColleenLDonnell/

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3YQIFP2

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Book Blast - Loving Lizzie Finn by Tamara Hughes

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lizzie Finn grew up in a brothel, and she’s reminded of that fact every day. She dreams of finding a job and becoming independent. Only then can she be free of her aunt’s disdain. First, she must find an employer who won’t turn her away because of her past.

Byron Greeley is determined to save his family’s business after Lizzie’s uncle falsifies the amount Byron owes on a loan from the bank. Determined to find proof of Teague’s perfidy, Byron slips into the banker’s house and rummages through the study only to be discovered by Lizzie, a red-haired beauty who utterly captivates him.

Byron offers Lizzie a job in exchange for information about her uncle, and because she believes her uncle is innocent, she agrees. When Teague discovers Lizzie and Byron’s growing affection, he threatens to destroy Byron and his family, insisting Byron is exploiting her. Is Teague’s warning well-founded? Are Byron’s feelings for Lizzie true, or is Byron using her for his own gain?

Read an Excerpt

“What are you looking for then?”

He raised a clumsy finger to his lips. “A secret ledger.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Cursing beneath his breath, he shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

She stepped to the side as if to give him room. “Go home. You’re drunk.”

Heaving a sigh, Byron made no move to follow her directive. “Please don’t tell your uncle I was here.”

“I make no promises. Now, if you will.” She waved her hand toward the door. Her movements were graceful, mesmerizing.

Byron rubbed his forehead to clear his thoughts. He’d made a mess of things. He shouldn’t have come here. He shouldn’t have gulped down that bottle of rum. “You don’t understand.” Maybe if he explained, she would keep his secret. “Your uncle has hoodwinked me. H-he changed our loan agreement after it was already signed, making the amount I’m expected to pay almost double of what it was. The agreement is due in only two months.”

“My uncle is an honorable man. He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Sudden exhaustion swamped him, and Byron sank into the desk chair. “I don’t know why he forged the agreement. Why now? Why my business?”

Byron studied the beauty in the doorway. Her demure nightclothes gave her an aura of innocence. His angel.

About the Author:

A small-town girl with a big imagination, Tamara Hughes had no idea what to do with her life. After graduating from college, she moved to a big city, started a family and a job, and still struggled to find that creative outlet she craved. An avid reader of romance, she gave writing a try and became hooked on the power of exploring characters, envisioning adventures, and creating worlds. She enjoys stories with interesting twists and heroines who have the grit to surmount any obstacle, all without losing the ability to laugh. To learn more, stop by her website: www.tamarahughes.com.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tamarahughesauth
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tamara-hughes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamara.hughes2/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7738043.Tamara_Hughes
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/tamarahughes

Buy link for Loving Lizzie Finn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFMQ4X1H

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Blurb Blitz - Teacups and Temptations by Kate Ellington

 It's a  and I'm posting about . You'll want to stick around because there are prizes to be won and a cool book to check out. What's up for grabs? The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner. How cool is that? Want more chances to win? Then follow the tour. You can do that here: https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/09/blurb-blitz-teacups-and-temptations-by.html

TEACUPS AND TEMPTATIONS

 by Kate Ellington

Molly Merriwether readily accepts an invitation to Waverly Hall, eager for adventure and amusement with her best friend. She never expected to be left unchaperoned with three intriguing young gentlemen for weeks.


Roger Bailey, recuperating in more ways than one, avoids Molly until her kindness and humor tempt him to deepen their acquaintance.


Molly lands in one unlikely escapade after the next with Roger and soon considers him a friend—perhaps more—but the barriers he puts up make it impossible to truly know him. Has she only imagined those tender looks in his eyes?


For a chance at love, Molly will need to bare her innermost self and trust someone more deeply than she’s ever dreamed possible.

BUY IT HERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGQMN6GX/ref=sr_1_1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

Molly finished her tea and turned to Caroline. “Perhaps we should take some time to discuss our options. Alone.”

“Yes, I think we’d better,” Caroline said, setting her cup down.

Benedict rose. “We’ll step out so you can talk.”

Fred settled deeper into his chair as if hoping not to be noticed, but after a sharp look from Benedict stood and followed him out of the room. Mr. Bailey took Penny by the collar and left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as it clicked shut, Molly replenished their teacups. “Would you ever have dreamed we’d find ourselves in such a pickle?”

“Absolutely not. I imagine this means we need to leave.” Caroline sighed a sigh that sounded like it had been waiting years to get out.

Molly lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know…we’re already here and, as Fred said, it isn’t as though we’re alone in the house.”

“I’ve the feeling Fred would say anything to get us to stay. He seems the type of man to enjoy bending the rules.”

“I have the same feeling.” After glancing at the door, Molly whispered, “What do you think of Benedict?”

Caroline shifted on the sofa so she was facing Molly. “It’s too soon to say.”

“Do you think we should move to the inn?” Molly held her breath as she awaited Caroline’s answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Author:

Kate grew up in a woodsy New England town where summer days at the lake seemed to last forever. She read her first historical romance at age eleven when a teacher challenged her to find a book in the library written by an author she’d never heard of. Thus began a life-long love of love stories.

After graduating from college she settled in the Pacific Northwest, where she currently resides with her family.

Kate wrote her first romance when she was sixteen, then set her pen down for years until another story floated into her head out of the clear blue sky. She jotted it down, just for fun, but soon it took on a life of its own.


Website: http://www.kateellington.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateellingtonwrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kateellingtonauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29720924.Kate_Ellington

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Georgia's Folly book blast

 

Its a book blast and the author will be awarding a $50 Visa card to a randomly drawn winner. How cool is that? Want more chances to win? Then follow the tour here: https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/10/blurb-blitz-tour-georgias-folly-by.html

GEORGIA'S FOLLY

Deborah Chase

For fans of "Antiques Roadshow" and "American Pickers" - this is the one for you!

Beginning at a cluttered flea market and ending at a glittering art auction, Georgia’s Follytells the compelling story that blends past and present and the search for a valuable and illusive antique. Chloe Bishop grew up in foster care. She loves shopping at flea markets, picking up family heirlooms like old pottery or vintage furniture to fill in for the family and home she never had. As Chloe walks through the Brooklyn Flea Market, she stumbles upon the diary of Miss Georgia Potter, a young woman who had lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. The yellowed pages reveal the impact of the war on daily life and spotlights the role of women including Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Like Chloe, Georgia Potter was a passionate collector and her diary lists her collection of valuable antiques—including the Holy Grail of 18th century furniture—a Chippendale settee. Well versed in antiques, Chloe is aware that There are only five known examples and a sixth settee would be worth more than $4 million.

Chloe immediately contacts Ben Thompson, the man who sold her the diary. Ben is a picker who drives his RV across America, searching for collectibles to sell to dealers. He is estranged from his wealthy, prominent family who cringe at his chosen career. Ben agrees to take her along to search for the valuable and iconic settee. As Ben and Chloe head to Gettysburg, they are unaware that Gregor Petrov, a shady antiques dealer and Harrison Kent, a respected but unscrupulous art expert are trailing them.

The search for the settee takes Chloe and Ben on fast paced journey from the Gettysburg battlefields to the 18th century street of artisans in Philadelphia to a historic mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Traveling together in the small RV, Ben and Chloe draw closer. In the confines of the RV, embroiled in an unimaginable quest, Chloe confides that she is also in search for the father she never knew while Ben struggles to explain his complicated family to a woman who never had one.

In a thrilling ending, the rare Chippendale settee is not Chloe’s only valuable discovery.

NOW FOR AN EXCERPT: 

Chole Bishop felt her pulse quicken as she walked to the jumbled tables at the Brooklyn Flea market. Under the soaring arches of the massive bridge, the piles of pottery, jewelry and tacks of vintage clothing sparkled with the promise of discovery. Every time she walked into a thrift shop or flea market, she remembered stories of the discovery of a long-lost Picasso or a rhinestone ring turned out to be a flawless diamond. But she really wasn’t treasure hunting—she just loved finding what she called “pieces of history.”

She never knew what she was going to find, but she knew it when she saw it. And there it was, as if it had been patiently waiting for her. Next to a vintage tin sign for motor oil and under a cracked ironstone pitcher, she could see the trim edges of a ladies lap desk. Chloe smiled to herself. I have always wanted ne and here it is under the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. She walked over to the table, gently removed the pitcher and placed it on the table.  

The lap desk was clearly not a family heirloom. It was a very basic lap desk with a faded, stained finish. She opened the lap desk and smiled to see the worn well-worn, blue felt padding. The top and bottom offlaps were intact- a great sign for a well-used lap top more than 150 years old. Two small partitions on the bottom were stained from the ink bottles they once held. The bottom section was empty except for two vintage ladies hair pins but the top lid was jammed. A lady often kept personal letters there and Chloe was instantly curious. What secret romances could the lap desk hold? 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I grew up in a family filled with art and antiques. On the high end, my uncle, William Lincer, lead violist at the New York Philharmonic, was an art lover whose collection was sold at Sotheby’s. On the low end, her father, writer Allen Chase took me to flea markets and estate sales. He sparked a lifelong fascination with tales of lost treasures that ranged from plundered Egyptian tombs to trainloads of art stolen by the Nazis. It was this love of history and antiques that inspired my first novel, Georgia’s Folly

I was a founding editor of the Berkeley Wellness Newsletter and the author of 12 books including The Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book (Alfred Knopf), Extend Your Life Diet (Pocket Books), Fruit Acids for Fabulous Skin (St Martin’s Press), Every Bride is Beautiful ( Morrow), and with her husband Dr Neil Schachter co-author of Life and Breath (Doubleday) and The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds and Flu (Harper). The books have been a selection of the Book of the Month Club and my articles have appeared in Ladies Home Journal, Self, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, Parents and Good Housekeeping.

I am a graduate of Bronx High School of Science and a winner of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. A graduate of New York University I earned a degree with a duel major in journalism and history.  

A native New Yorker, I like to spend my weekends at an upstate home where a big kitchen and an endless supply of estate sales indulge my duel passions for cooking and collecting.

Website: Deborahchase.com

Facebook: @Deborahchase

Instagram:@writinglife2

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Georgias-Folly-Deborah-Chase-ebook/dp/B0DGWF6J7G

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