How I Researched The Scheme by Amethyst Drake – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $25 Amazon GC and a signed book to one randomly drawn winner, a $10 Amazon GC and a signed book to a second randomly drawn winner, and a signed book to a third randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

How I Researched The Scheme

When I decided to set my novel in the past in a city that I don’t know well, I knew research would be a top priority. My characters and plot were set. But I wanted to add details about Baltimore, espionage tactics, and technical details to make the story come to life.

One of my first steps was diving into the world of espionage. Since three of my four main characters have backgrounds in the intelligence community, I wanted to get a strong grip on the covert aspects of my plot. I used Spycraft Secrets: An Espionage A-Z by Nigel West for reference and inspiration. This book is a mini encyclopedia on everything from famous cases to the secret tools spies use to stay under the radar. West’s book helped me add color to the backdrop I was creating for my detectives.

The location of my novel was another important research topic. My husband and I had visited Baltimore before, but I wanted to get as many local details as I could. I started by reaching out to the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Since I am a member of the national organization, the local chapter was very willing to help me. I sent them a survey with questions about the city and the surrounding area. Several people responded, giving me a wealth of ideas for scenes and a list of locations in Baltimore’s diverse neighborhoods. I also looked up a list of Baltimore awards for “Best of” 2009. Then I researched which stores and restaurants were still open today. I also subscribed to the Baltimore Sun newspaper online. Early this spring, my husband and I made a special trip to Baltimore to explore the city and visit locations I might use in the series. This trip was vital to my understanding of the city.

On the more technical side, I leaned heavily on the resources from the Baltimore Police Department’s website and the Maryland State Police for information about local regulations, certifications, and the structure of their departments. I wanted Katherine’s investigation to feel authentic, and these resources helped me ensure I had the details right. The organization of the police force, the licensing process for private detectives, and firearms regulations all make an appearance in The Scheme.

I’m lucky to have an in-house expert when it comes to the technological aspects of my story. My husband, an IT professional, and his colleagues were a huge help in answering all my technical questions. We discussed everything from digital cameras to email security, especially how certain processes would have worked in 2009, when The Scheme is set. Setting my story in 2009 was important to me because it allowed me to tap into a pre-pandemic world, where technology was just starting to boom. Of course, Google was also invaluable for checking dated details, such as which version of the iPhone was out in 2009 and whether vehicles had Bluetooth capabilities yet.

Katherine Carson, a former intelligence operative turned private detective, has never been in it for the money. But when a desperate CEO offers double her usual fee to find his missing daughter, she can’t refuse.

Set in Baltimore, 2009, what begins as a simple missing person inquiry transforms into a complex case of espionage, financial crime, and deep-seated grudges. For Katherine, this case strikes a personal chord, stirring up haunting memories from her own past. As unexpected connections emerge, she must confront her unresolved guilt.

Can Katherine and her team of private detectives solve the case before it’s too late, or will the turmoil of her past consume her?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Katherine slowed down as she closed the final feet between them. Her target was cornered. Marty attempted a final desperate move, grabbing some scaffolding to haul himself up. The cold metal groaned in protest and shook under his weight. Katherine reacted instinctively as the scaffolding began to shudder. She leapt over the scattered debris, snatched Marty by his belt, and pulled with all her strength. She managed to rip Marty away mere moments before the neglected structure top-pled over, sending a billow of dust and debris into the air.

They both covered their faces and waited for the dust to settle. Marty’s chest heaved as he gaped at the place where he had been standing moments before.

He coughed and stammered. “You saved me.”

“Don’t get sentimental on me, Marty, I need information.” Her eyes blazed with intensity. “Why did you run?”

“Are you kidding? The last thing I want is to tangle with you again. I couldn’t believe it when they told me you’d be on the other side of the case.” Marty tried to scramble to his feet.

“What case? And who’s they?” Katherine helped Marty up.

“The prosecutors. The stolen pesticide?”

“Marty, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t heard about stolen pesticide. I’m here to ask for your help,” Katherine gritted her teeth, “as one professional to another.”

“Oh.” Marty looked relieved and straightened his coat. “In that case, sure. Anything you want.”

“Great. I’m looking for a young woman who has gone missing. Tell me why you were following Olivia Ames.”

About the Author: Amethyst Drake is a passionate storyteller. She excels at crafting delightful characters and enjoys developing com-plex relationships among them. Mystery has always been her favorite genre to read, making it a natural choice for her writing. She aims to blend her personal experience with mental health and the moral complexities of intricate interpersonal relationships into engaging novels.

Amethyst loves reading all kinds of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers and enjoys watching classic detective and espionage dramas like “Murder, She Wrote,” “Perry Mason,” and “Mission: Impossible.”

She also loves hearing from readers! Connect by signing up for her newsletter at amethystdrake.com or email amethyst@agswordsmiths.com

Website

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stilettos and Gunpowder by Gail Koger – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


My name is Gemma Stone. I’m a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy and not only must I deal with the sweat-soaked misery of the Arizona desert, I get to respond to a bunch of crazy 9-1-1 calls all day long. Like a parakeet up a tree, or a car accident where a tractor trailer full of fireworks is hit and the 4th of July comes a bit early.

But some days crime takes a deadly turn. Police cars are suddenly blowing up. Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado, the love of my life, was assigned to track down and stop the bomber. Am I worried? You betcha. There’s a madman on the loose and he is very, very good at making bombs.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the Feds think I’m in cahoots with an Iraqi warlord who deals in stolen antiquities, Ichabod, my murderous ex-dance partner, escapes from prison and I’m suddenly in everyone’s crosshairs.

Enjoy an Excerpt

I leaned over and gave Dante a long voracious kiss. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

“What do you want?” Dante asked suspiciously.

I gave him my best lovesick expression. “Nothing. Can’t I be affectionate?” I stroked his rock-hard abs.

Julie snickered behind her book.

“I know the way your mind works, Gemma.” His hand covered mine.

I shrugged. “I just think it’s time you met Grandpa Reynolds.”

“The chicken wrangler?”

“That’s him. He owns Reynold’s Egg Ranch out by Buckeye. He has a hundred thousand cage-free hens, and I’ll get him to give you the grand tour.”

Dante stared at me like I had lost my mind. “What makes you think I want to see a bunch of smelly chickens?”

“To make me happy.”

“Uh huh.”

“Okay, I’m going stir crazy and it’s been a while since I’ve visited Grandpa.”

Julie leaped out of the recliner. “I’m with Gemma. We’ve been stuck in this house for over a week and the only excitement we’ve had is when the taskforce sends their goons to interrogate us. Plus, I always wanted to drive a 1968 Camaro.”

“Not a chance.” Dante stood up and pulled me to my feet. “Put your shoes on and we’ll go visit your grandpa.”

I planted a hot one on his mouth. “Thank you. Thank you. You won’t be sorry.”

“You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

“And if I was?”

Dante rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Is it legal?”

“Define legal.”

“Your dad is going to kick my ass. You can give me the details on the drive out to see the chickens,” Dante said.

About the Author: I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is. Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?” And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree. I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting myself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon Author Page
Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Secret Truth by Barry Finlay – Spotlight and Giveaway

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

Retired investigative journalist Jake Scott narrowly avoids a collision with a speeding car on his way to a Bed and Breakfast where he plans to spend the night. Moments before his arrival, the peaceful atmosphere at the B&B is shattered by a devastating explosion, claiming the lives of five guests. While authorities initially chalk it up to a tragic gas leak, seasoned homicide detective Dani Perez can’t shake her suspicions. Given her overloaded schedule, she enlists Jake’s expertise to delve into the backgrounds of the deceased. As Jake pursues the investigation, he unearths a web of secrets hinting at a darker truth lurking beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic B&B.

Read an Excerpt

The sound of a car engine starting in the distance interrupted the calm of the night. Warm rubber on pavement chirped as the car pulled away. A dog barked at the sudden sound. Oblivious to the revving engine, Jake jaywalked to the other side of the street about halfway down the block at exactly the time the car careened around the corner. The headlights bounced off the corner house and veered in Jake’s direction. A giant spotlight might as well have turned on him. For a split second, Jake stopped in mid-stride, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed as the two brilliant headlights bore down on him at lightning speed.

Only instinct saved him. He leaped for the grassy area bordering the street as the car roared past, its engine screaming. Jake swore the driver’s front corner bumper grazed the heel of his shoe an instant before his body thudded on the unforgiving ground. First, his knees, followed by his arms, and then his face completed the maneuver. The gym bag he launched during his dive landed with a dull smack on the sidewalk.

Jake turned his head to watch the car from his prone position, but all he could tell as the vehicle raced around the corner at the end of the block was that it was big and dark. For a second, streetlights glinted off the wheel disks and reflected off the passenger side windows. Then it disappeared. He moaned and, without moving his extended arm, raised his middle finger in the general direction of the car’s path. While the car and its driver had vanished, the gesture gave him a measure of satisfaction.

About the Author:

Barry Finlay is the award-winning author of the travel adventure, Kilimanjaro and Beyond – A Life-Changing Journey (with his son Chris), the Amazon bestselling travel memoir, I Guess We Missed The Boat, the inspirational Just Keep Climbing, and five Amazon bestselling and award-winning thrillers comprising The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection: The Vanishing Wife, A Perilous Question, Remote Access, Never So Alone, and The Burden of Darkness. His new Jake Scott Mystery Series debuted with Searching ForTruth and The Guardians of Truth. He is now following that up with The Secret Truth. Barry was featured in the 2012-13 Authors Show’s edition of “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading.” He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for his fundraising efforts to help kids in Tanzania, Africa. Barry lives with his wife Evelyn in Ottawa, Canada.

Website | Facebook | Twitter
Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Alexandr by Chris DeBrie – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

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

Alexandr is a professional hitman with one client. His recent marriage to a childhood friend has him ready for retirement. But he doesn’t yet realize that his final target is different than all the rest. Follow Alex into a version of Earth which includes superhumans, witches, and otherworldly beings. DeBrie brings you dozens of characters and situations, seemingly all on the same course to destruction.

About the Author:DeBrie has published more than fifteen comic books and novels, including the mystery “Cap’n Random”. He has produced music for rockers and hip hoppers, coached youth basketball, hoards a special Swedish meatball recipe, and tutors elementary school students. Call him a multihyphenate, or a jack of all trades, master of none… your choice. Find us on socials by typing “With Lurv” into your browser.

Website | Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Mewe
Buy the book at Amazon. FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: In Dog We Trust by Neil S. Plakcy

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

When hacker & ex-con Steve adopts a golden retriever named Rochester, he falls in love with the charming pup with a nose for murder.

Together, they dig up clues to find the killer of Rochester’s former mom. Steve must tread carefully while following a trail of evidence. Can man and dog crack the case before the killer strikes again?

1st in series.

Buy the book atAmazon.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Tangerine Marmalade Murder by Meg Benjamin

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

When a stranger is murdered near Roxy Constantine’s farm, she’s sure it has nothing to do with her. But the investigation turns up surprising links to Roxy’s past.

As if that weren’t enough, Roxy’s quarreling with her Significant Other, Nate Robicheaux, and facing a possible break-up. Just when the stress begins to ease, the murderer strikes again, sending Nate to the hospital.

Now Roxy needs to figure out the link between the Constantine Farm and a blackmailer before she becomes the killer’s next target.

Buy the book at Amazon

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: The Witch of the Breton Woods by Jennifer Ivy Walker

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Traumatized by horrors witnessed during the Nazi invasion of France, a young woman retreats to the dense Breton woods where she becomes a member of the clandestine French Resistance. When she finds a critically injured American paratrooper whose plane was shot down, she shelters the wounded soldier in her secluded cottage, determined to heal him despite the enormous risk.

Ostracized by villagers who have labeled her a witch, she is betrayed by an informant who reports to the Butcher—the monstrous leader of the local paramilitary organization that collaborates with the Germans. As the enemy closes in, she must elude the Gestapo while helping the Resistance reunite the American with his regiment and join the Allied Forces in the Battle of Brittany.

Can true love triumph against all odds under the oppressive Third Reich?

Facebook | X | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok

Buy the book at Amazon.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: The Pepper Peach Murder by Meg Benjamin

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Roxy Constantine is the jam queen of Shavano, Colorado. But her social life is a bust, and she’s still recovering from a bad experience as a line cook in Denver.

Things improve when she meets tasty local chef Nate Robicheaux, but she’s also fending off the attentions of another local, Brett Holmes, who won’t take no for an answer.

When Brett threatens to derail Roxy’s career, the two have a very public fight. A few days later, Brett is found murdered in his restaurant kitchen, and suddenly Roxy’s a prime suspect. Now Roxy must find the truth about Brett and his murderer before the town of Shavano decides her reign as jam queen is over for good.

Buy the book at Amazon.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key by M. S. Spencer

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Palmer Lind, recovering from the sudden death of her husband, embarks on a bird-watching trek to the Gulf Coast of Florida. One hot day on Leffis Key she comes upon—not the life bird she was hoping for—but a floating corpse. The handsome beach bum who appears on the scene at the same time seems to have even more secrets than the dead man.

His story begins to unravel as the pair search for answers to a growing pile of dead bodies. Spies, radical environmentalists, and wealthy businessmen circle around each other in a complex dance. Which one is lying? What do a seemingly random group of individuals have in common, other than being targeted by a crossbow?

Facebook | X

Buy the book at Books2Read, Wild Rose Press, I Tunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google, or Kobo.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Ana Diamond

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Mortician, Lily Reynolds is used to seeing bodies, but not the type murdered in her own funeral home. As Detective James Rivers zeroes in on her as the town’s number one suspect she must rise above the accusations and rumors to solve the case herself while keeping her attraction to the troubled detective at bay. 

James has a past. The last time he let someone into his life she wound up dead. Vowing never to let that happen again he has sworn off dating for good. Until he meets Lily. In his gut he knows she’s not the murderer but pressure to solve the case puts him on the wrong trail while he struggles to keep Lily off the case. 

Can she solve the case on her own or will their scandalous romance get in the way of proving her innocence?

 

Buy the book at Books2Read.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOCIAL MEDIA:

a Rafflecopter giveaway