Ae Fond Kiss by Joan Donaldson

“Joan Donaldson’s masterful use of lyrical prose takes readers on a journey filled with unexpected surprises. William and Lizzie’s journey resonates with readers as they overcome past errors and transition from sorrow to optimism, finding a new opportunity for love.” –Suzanne Jenkins, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Pam of Babylon Series

Grieving her fiancé’s death, Lizzie Walker struggles to find purpose to her life in Rugby, Tennessee, a utopian community in the Appalachian Mountains. But that changes when William, a wealthy flatlander mourning the loss of his sister, arrives. Teaching together in the community’s school sparks a budding relationship as they embrace Rugby’s classless society and equality for women. However, their peace is short-lived. Lucas, a mountain man, begins harassing Lizzie, who dreads his references to their past, while William fears that exposing his own dark secret will destroy Lizzie’s growing respect and love. When disaster strikes Rugby, Lizzie and the local women embrace their talents and restore hope in their future.

Readers who love the novel Christy will revel in William’s transformation from privileged gentleman to a settler embracing a simple life with Lizzie. Ae Fond Kiss continues the story begun in On Viney’s Mountain and celebrates second chances and the importance of community.

Joan Donaldson is a Gold Star Mother whose son died in service to his country. Her historical novels and her life reflect her belief that everyone needs to feel included in a safe, nurturing community. Her latest novel, Ae Fond Kiss portrays how women friends support each other and how women provide for their families after a natural disaster. When not writing, Joan loves to garden, play her wire harp, sew quilts, and read a book with a cat on her lap. Every day, she walks around her farm and writes notes about the birds and weather in her journal.

Asesina by Craig Keffeler

“Asesina is a blistering ride through corporate medicine and a truly remarkable debut novel,” says Howard Walker, UK Lifestyle Critic, Robb Report. From Amazon’s Best Thrillers Staff: “Asesina is a complex medical thriller that hits like a bombshell. Prepare to be up long past your bedtime.” Having earned a spot on Amazon’s Top Fifty Medical Thrillers twice, Asesina features Angel, one of the Cartel del Noreste’s most deadly hitters. She ‘s tasked with eliminating an LA neurosurgeon whose legal problems are sabotaging the multi-million-dollar buyout of his group, but when her best-laid plans spin crazily out of control the huntress becomes the hunted. Stephani Wren writes for IndiReader: “Craig Keffeler has created a well-structured plot and an intriguing cast of characters.” Novelist Starr Sanders offers, “It’s hard to believe I read this so quickly. I appreciate being in the hands of an author who presents believable characters . . . a female assassin was the perfect twist.” 

The offbeat Juarez investigator tracking Angel sports a throwback ponytail, leather bomber jacket, and wears Tony Lama boots. An amateur poet, Blas Mondragon is a veteran cop who never gives up on a case . . . and now he’s after the Asesina. “Absolutely loved this character. Dogged, honest, clever and one hip dude,” according to Ken Wilson, national social media critic. “Keffeler did a great job developing Mondragon as a worthy adversary to Angel.” 

And then there’s Dr. Ernest Girard, a gifted neurosurgeon who’s an admitted drug addict, gambler, and the prime suspect in the largest medical malpractice scam ever investigated in California. Yet, Girard’s street smarts carry him into and out of trouble guaranteeing the reader will develop a hate/love relationship with Dr. Ernie. “The sarcastic wit of Dr. Ernest Girard caught me off guard and laughing out loud . . . a fascinating character,” says Jeff Young, critic, Southern Oregon Weekly. Young goes on to callAsesina: “A sharp contemporary thriller with a cast of compelling characters and subplots that keeps you turning the pages.”

The author, Craig Keffeler, is a former healthcare executive who served as administrator for the two largest neurosurgical practices in Arizona and Nevada. Asesina is his debut novel. Please visit him at craigkeffeler.com.

Never Been Found by Kenneth S. Kappelmann

When Laney announces to Franklin at their fortieth wedding anniversary dinner that she is leaving him, the lives of every member of the family are changed. Through conflict, Covid, a mass shooting, abortion, and more, this family will find forgiveness, acceptance, and hope.

Laney leaves for the Oklahoma panhandle in search of Roz, their estranged daughter, who left home at sixteen, and the nineteen-year-old granddaughter, Maggie, Laney has never met.

Shortly after she leaves, Franklin contracts Covid which morphs into the long-haul form. His episodes of fogginess and disorientation awaken memories of abuse at the hands of his father.

Gretchen, his sister, comes to take care of him. Four years earlier her husband was killed in a mass shooting in their small town. Soon she will return home to give her victim impact statement at the murderer’s sentencing.

Author Ken Kappelmann is a graduate of the University of Kansas in Cellular Biology; he went to Oregon State Graduate School in Microbiology and then moved to Switzerland where he began writing full time. He is a scientist by trade and started his writing career in the world of fantasy. The Hidden Magic Series won 10 awards collectively. The Return of the Dragons won Fantasy Book of the Year at the Halloween Book Festival in Hollywood, California. The Dragon Unknown won 2015 Best Sequel, and the last book, released in March of 2017, won Fantasy Book of the Year in Hollywood as well.  By request of a growing and strong fan base, Ken wrote a Prequel to the series in 2019.

With the change of publishers to Black Rose Writing in 2017, Ken entered a new genre taking it by storm with the first book, Never Been Found, winning two book contests right out of the gate. This suspense-driven detective series follows the life of long-time Chicago homicide detective, Tomas O’Malley, as he grinds through the minutia solving some of the most twisted cases in the city. Romance, murder, and suspense are all intertwined in this thrilling whodunit series.

Never Been Found, the first book in the series, is set in the underworld of old Chicago where a young college basketball star gets twisted into the world of drugs, prostitution, money laundering, and murder.  Detective O’Malley must dig through all the twists and turns, the misdirection and multiple plot lines, to determine who truly is behind the crimes, which case he is going to solve, and if they are all actually linked to the same source.  He must do all this while working to keep the young basketball player and his new female acquaintance, alive.  Drama, death, kidnapping, and a bit of romance all come together to determine if the basketball star’s sister will ever be found, how this player’s long-term friend might be involved, and if he can live the part of being the best detective in Chicago as he self-proclaims around every turn.

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Cover Photo Andrej Lišakov for Unsplash+

This post is a sponsored collaboration with Black Rose Writing