I'm helping Brenda Whiteside celebrate the release of CURSE OF WOLF FALLS, book 3 in The MacKenzie Chronicles. Read the post she wrote for this blog and make sure to enter Brenda's giveaway. Best of luck with the new book and the series!
Secrets of the Ravine
The MacKenzie Chronicles Book 1
by Brenda Whiteside
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Lies
can haunt, but the truth will kill.
Magpie
MacKenzie doesn’t believe in coincidence. But when a ringer for her
long-dead love walks into her life the same day skeletal remains are
unearthed, she’s convinced the universe is sending her a message.
Fearing her father will be accused of the crime, Magpie will do
whatever it takes to find the truth. Even risk her heart on this
familiar stranger who may hold critical clues to the unsolved
mystery.
While visiting purportedly haunted Joshua, Arizona,
lawyer Zack Peartree is instantly drawn to the free-wheeling
shopkeeper. His attraction propels him on a collision course between
past and present where digging up secrets could prove fatal.
Using
decades-old clues and Zack’s déjà vu moments, the couple embark
on a treacherous race to prove her father’s innocence before Magpie
becomes the next victim. Can they save her from a murderous fate, or
will love be the final casualty?
**Kindle Countdown Sale – Only .99cents until Sep 5th!**
Mystery on Spirit Mountain
The MacKenzie Chronicles Book 2
The
past never sleeps, and the truth never dies.
Only
Harlan MacKenzie can sense the troubled history of the Big Purple
House. When he's hired to restore the historic mansion, he doesn't
foresee the insidious secrets—secrets that entangle his family in
deceit and murder.
Phaedra is selling the house that has been
in her family for decades. As her friends-to-lovers relationship with
Harlan escalates, she’s forced to choose between her way of life or
his, even though she risks losing him forever.
After a
stranger comes to town, weaving her web of deception, hell-bent on
correcting an old grievance connected to the house, dark revelations
of the past implode the present. Harlan and Phaedra are plunged into
a dangerous mystery, risking their love, their future, and their
lives.
Curse Of Wolf Falls
The MacKenzie Chronicles Book 3
Secrets can protect what the truth will destroy.
Elidor
MacKenzie has a gift she can't return—the ability to absorb the
joy, pain, and suffering of others. She's spent her life running from
what she considers her curse. Now, her best friend is dead, and she
alone holds the key to an archaeological discovery that could destroy
a culture. With newfound inner peace, Elidor has returned home to
make amends and guard the secret revelation. But greed-driven
scavengers have followed her. Once again, the energies of Joshua will
stir the hurricane, with her at the deadly center.
Jules never
got over Elidor. Twenty years and a famous journalism career later,
he's back in Joshua—and so is his first love. If his heart can
stand the torture, he'll risk reviving their relationship. But saving
Elidor from herself and the secret she won't give up may be the death
of them both.
With Jules by her side, Elidor is determined to
outrun the scavengers, guard the secret, and renew their love. But
fate is coming after her, and there's nowhere the couple can hide.
My turn. Speak, Elidor.
“Hi, Julien.” She couldn’t bring herself to use her name of endearment for him, Jules. She didn’t really know him anymore, did she? “I heard you were in town. I’m sorry Snuff isn’t doing well.” Without thinking, she touched his arm. Emotions flooded her like a tsunami rolling toward her core. She jerked her hand back to her lap, not bothering to take the time to analyze if they were her emotions or his.
“I’d ask you to join us, but we’re about done.” Annette caught her eye, seeming to sense her discomfort.
Thank you.
“That’s okay.” He uttered a light cough. She remembered he did that when nervous. “I’m here for a takeout order. Uncle Jeff had a craving.”
“How’s he doing?” her dad asked. “He seemed pretty spry when I stopped by yesterday.”
He shook his head, one brow arched as if in wonder. “I don’t know what to make of him sometimes. Since I’ve been back, he seems to be growing stronger.” He shrugged. “He’s an enigma for sure.”
“You bring him joy.” The explanation appeared obvious to Elidor. Having his nephew in his personal space, sharing what life he had left renewed Snuff’s will to live. Julien’s eyes revealed the mutual pleasure he shared in return.
“I do love the old hippie.” He smiled.
The label he’d called his uncle when he came to live with him over two decades ago brought back happy memories and made her chuckle.
“I better pick up the order and get it back to Uncle Jeff before it goes cold.” He glanced at each of them, his gaze resting on her. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Could she be anything more? She managed a nod. They were strangers, regardless of their past. No matter what her heart told her.
My husband is my consistent beta reader for all of my books. When he read Secrets of Spirit Mountain, the second book in The MacKenzie Chronicles, one of his comments, “I didn’t know you knew so much about architecture,” made me smile. Research, my dear. I believe a good fiction story has to have the details to make it real for the reader.
The MacKenzie Chronicles stories required me to research a wide variety of subjects, and, luckily, I either had a connection to each one or had a lifelong interest in the subject matter. Researching used to be one of my least favorite tasks in writing, but the plot lines for The MacKenzie Chronicles was right up my alley.
For instance, pulling a few of the file folder names from my Research File: clairsentience, Jerome, AZ, auras, 1960s slang, hippies, 1920s architecture, flora and fauna, Jerome climate, 1970s, sun/moon, present day jewel prices.
The setting for The MacKenzie Chronicles is a fictional town, Joshua, Arizona, inspired by a real-life Arizona destination, Jerome. Once dubbed “The Wickedest Town in the West,” the history is rich with tales of mining, brothels, and ghosts from another century. Add to that history the hippie settlers of the 1960s and 1970s who revitalized the crumbling town into an art mecca. The streets are stacked on the side of the mountain. There’s a jail still intact that literally slid down the mountain decades ago. Wine, food, ruins, and adventure await the tourist. The town looks much the same as it did in the early part of the twentieth century. If you get to Arizona, you really must visit Jerome.
Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of mystery romance and suspense. She's penned a couple of historicals and straight romance, but she's found villains and danger make a good story that much better. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart so won't discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
Hi Jana, thanks for the spotlight on the tour. FYI, Curse of Wolf Falls has released so the preorder discount doesn't apply, but it's still a value and getting 5 star reviews already. So thrilling! Thanks again! Good luck to all the readers who enter the giveaway.
ReplyDelete