Monday, December 9, 2013

GOODBYE NOEL by Nike Chillemi


Christmas Murder Mystery/Romantic Suspense

The first body is found under a trimmed Christmas tree, the second as they ring in the New Year (1947), the third goes head long out a window. Will a young pediatric nurse determined to make it on her own be able to care for an infant whose mother was murdered and escape the killer who has struck again? Can she trust the stalwart village detective with her life and her heart as he works to catch this killer before somebody else dies?

Pediatric nurse, Katrina Lenart, grew up strong willed and independent minded, while sharing her mother's flair for high fashion. When the police chief gives her an orphaned baby to care for, her maternal instincts take over and she's willing to fight anyone who might not have the infant's best interests at heart, even the man she's growing to love. After an attempt is made to kidnap the baby, she and the resolute village detective team up and do some sleuthing, undercover at a cult as well as at a fancy ball.

Detective Ian Daltry is a widower with a child and is not interested in a new love. Hunting a killer who stops at nothing has placed him in the position where he must protect a beautiful young woman he's drawn to. Is there's something he's overlooked in analyzing the case? Will he find out what that is before this ruthless murderer kills someone he loves?


Excerpt:

Chapt 5, scene 1
Long Island, New York
Late December, 1946

Katrina wanted to throw Detective Daltry into a snow bank. The nerve of him, barging into their house twice in two days, demanding she bundle the baby up and take him into the cold. How could that man not recall their harrowing, nighttime drive through the storm of the decade? She tossed her hair back over her shoulder, and with great difficulty held her tongue.
Momma apparently had no such reservations. "Detective, what you are doing is very wrong."
Katrina came up beside her mother, to show a united front. "This is outrageous." Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. She hated the tone of her voice, but this baby wasn't a ping-pong ball to be batted back and forth as the detective moved forward with his murder case.
He ignored her and continued addressing her mother.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." He removed his fedora. "Chief Ferguson has already made the necessary phone calls and arrangements have been made. I must take Leslie Janos Bauer with me to the home of his aunt in Bay Shore. The chief would prefer your daughter come along in an official capacity as a nurse. It's up to her, but I have to take the baby."
Momma's face flushed beet-red, a sure sign she'd become enraged. "This is not good for him… this hustle from place to place."
"With all due respect, ma'am, a child belongs with his family, if at all possible." The detective took a step toward Katrina. "Now, will you please fetch the baby." It wasn't a request.
Katrina made sure she stood tall. "Yes, I'll get Leslie." She clenched her fists at her side and jutted her chin. "This is disgraceful. You are using this infant to solve your murder case. Perhaps your own tragic life experience clouds your judgment?"
His mouth fell open and he took a step back.
"If you have it within your heart, give me one minute. I'll get him ready and get my coat and boots on." Without giving him a chance to reply, Katrina turned and stormed up the stairs.
Leslie lay sleeping in the baby-doll cradle Poppa had made for her when she was a little girl. Poppa had that kind of talent. He could make anything. In her heart she knew, he'd figured it would be her baby's bassinet. At least now, it had a real purpose. She ran a finger over the hand carved leaves in the headboard.
"Milachku, time to wake up." She took the infant into her arms inhaling the smell of baby, sweeter than the most expensive imported perfume.
Leslie yawned and she snuggled her nose in the soft folds of skin between his head and shoulder, kissing his neck. He cooed, so safe in her arms.
She brought him to her heart, holding him, rocking him and spoke softly to her reflection in the mirror above her bureau. "Fat chance I'll ever walk down the aisle or have a family of my own with the man shortage since the war." Something deep in the core of her female-self rebelled, a throbbing turbulence, from which deep hunger erupted.
She stroked Leslie's cheek and made a funny face. The softness of his skin melted her heart. 
He smiled at her and kicked.
"I'm so sorry. I promised I'd protect you and I can't." She forced a smile and made clucking noises.
He grabbed her hair and yanked.
"Ouch." She laughed, removing strands of her hair from his little fist.
A tear escaped and ran down the side of her cheek. "I can do this." She lifted her chin, sucked in a long breath, wrapped Leslie in a heavy quilt, and picked up his tote bag.

Author Bio:

Like so many writers, Nike Chillemi started writing at a very young age. She still has the Crayola, fully illustrated book she penned (penciled might be more accurate) as a little girl about her then off-the-chart love of horses. Today, you might call her a crime fictionista. Her passion is crime fiction. She likes her bad guys really bad and her good guys smarter and better.

She is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and is its Chairman, a reader's choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She writes book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She was an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category and a judge in the 2011 and 2012 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories. BURNING HEARTS, the first book in the crime wave that is sweeping the south shore of Long Island in The Sanctuary Point series, finaled in the Grace Awards 2011 in the Romance/Historical Romance category. GOODBYE NOEL, the second book in the series released in December, 2011 won the Grace Award 2011 in the Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller category. PERILOUS SHADOWS, third in the series released July, 2012, and DARKEST HOUR, the fourth in the series released in February, 2013.  She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers (Ning). http://nikechillemi.wordpress.com/


Reviews/Notices/Awards:

"Wow! Nike Chillemi knows how to set the hook into readers right from the first page and refuses to let go. GOODBYE NOEL is a taut thriller, peopled with intriguing characters and crafted by an author at the top of her game. Don’t miss this one!"    ~~   Robert Liparulo, Award winning author of THE 13th TRIBE, COMES A HORSEMAN, GERM, and THE DREAMHOUSE KINGS

"All I can say is WOW. I can see how Ms. Chillemi got her nickname of the Crime Fictionista. She sure does know how to build a story - and a crime plot... It's heartwarming, gut wrenching, edge of your seat intriguing, and just plain sweet all rolled into one. Check it out for yourself, it's a wonderful read!"   ~~   Donna B. Snow, Acclaimed author of DAFFODILS

"Nike, you are such an example of what one person can do by living full-throttle heart and soul. Goodbye Noel looks great." ~~ Sibella Giorello, Acclaimed author of the Raleigh Harmon (FBI) series 


Why did Nike write this novel?

I'd wanted to write a Christmas story for the longest time. I'm a murder mystery fan and as many crime fiction readers do, I love a good Christmas whodunit. I also wanted to write a love story, more than a romance. So, I thought I'd pair Ian Daltry, a detective who had a moral purpose to seek justice for the murder victim with Katrina Lenart, a pediatric nurse who is not only beautiful, but smart, compassionate and independent. Of course there were a few fireworks because Katrina can be obstinate. But more than that, I wanted to show their growing relationship as a deep one, where honesty, trust and a shared faith were so important. 


Tell us something topical, interesting, funny, or something we would not expect about the writing or research of this novel.

Well, I wanted go have my main characters be believable, warts and all, yet also sympathetic. So, I'd say the hardest and yet most interesting part for me as a writer was showing their less than perfect side and yet somehow getting the reader to cheer them on. There were times when they might come across as obstinate, willful, or tenacious. In these instances I wanted to present Ian and Katrina in ways so that the reader will understand their inner turmoil and root for them. I wanted to show how two ordinary people could rise up, face evil, and do the right thing. A difficult challenge.


Purchas Links: 


Amazon/Kindle  http://amzn.to/12nzi3j

Christianbooks.com  http://bit.ly/1dW5KVg
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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A CHRISTMAS BONUS by Patty Froese




CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE


When Millie's boss asks her to work over Christmas, she's hesitant to give him any more overtime. She has plans for her life that include quitting this job and starting her own photography business, and she promises herself to quit by New Years.

Andrew Holmes has no desire to go back to his tiny hometown for the holidays, but his manipulative grandfather gives him an ultimatum that he just can't refuse. So in order to get the last project of the year finished in time, he asks his assistant, Millie, to make the trip with him.

With a disgruntled brother, a sister-in-law struggling with infertility and a little boy who shows up claiming that one of the Holmes men is his father, Christmas is about to get complicated...


EXCERPT:

"So, Millie says she'd like to stay," Andrew announced.

"Good." Louise shot her a smile. "Do you like fruitcake, Millie?"

"I think so." Mille sank into a seat next to her boss.

"Me, too..." Louise disappeared into the fridge, her voice meandering out from the chilly depths.

 Except I always hate the fruit in it. So I just make the cake. But the cake is rather dry."

"It's more like a Christmas cracker," Andrew murmured, and Millie repressed a laugh.

The dense, dry confection that landed with a heavy thud on the tabletop looked nothing like the fruitcake she'd seen in the past.

"Guests first." Louise announced cheerfully, and when Millie shot Andrew a "help me" look, he pointed under the table.

"Give it to the dog," he mouthed.

The dog? So far, Millie hadn't seen a dog in the house, and when she slowly raised the plastic tablecloth to peer under the table, she was met with the biggest canine face she'd ever seen in her life. Stifling a yelp of shock, she turned her ashen face towards Andrew.

"That's Edgar," Andrew said.

"Edgar?"

He nodded. "Get used to him." When she turned her attention to the plate deposited in front of her, Andrew leaned in and murmured in her ear. "Thanks for coming, by the way."



AUTHOR BIO:

Patty Froese writes from Alberta, Canada, where the winters are ong and cold. This suits her just fine, since it gives her plenty of time to write and she can enjoy the snow from the right side of the window. She has her degree in English Literature and has written in other genres, but she particularly enjoys writing romance. Patty also writes for Harlequin Love Inspired under the name Patricia Johns.
http://pattyfroese.com 


Patty, why did you write this novel?

I started writing this novel at Christmas last year, after my publisher said that they were looking for Christmas stories for the upcoming year. It was particularly fun to write a Christmas story during the holiday season, but I wanted to make sure that I showed a family--the real kind--with quirks, kinks and dysfunction all over the place.  I also wanted to show how Christmas and faith can make all the difference in the middle of a mess. 


Tell us something topical, interesting, funny, or something we would not expect about the writing or research of this novel.

This is a romance that follows two couples--a CEO and the assistant that he can't live without, and a married couple who struggle with infertility. I hadn't meant for the married couple to get so much space into the book, but once I started working on it, they took on flesh and bone and really intrigued me. I enjoy pairing a more idealized couple with a more down to earth couple in my novels. While the hero and heroine let us fall in love all over again, the other couple serves to balance out the sweetness--some sea salt on the dark chocolate. 


PURCHASE LINKS:


Desert Breeze Publishing. http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/a-christmas-bonus-epub/