Tag: new fiction

Review of Robert B. Parker’s “BROKEN TRUST” by Mike Lupica

My favorite anti-hero has got to be Spenser. One name like Madonna. A close second is his side-kick, Hawk. One name like Madonna. 
Broken Trust, another story from Robert B. Parker (posthumously) written by Mike Lupica,  is a real winner. Many of the old ‘cast’ has returned to assist Spenser in solving two murders while mired in global big-business, AND help keep Spenser alive. He never backs away from a fight even when one goon has a baseball bat and the other, a tire iron.  

The writing, seemingly effortless and flawless, in Parker’s voice continues to intrigue me, as a writer.  While the other writers do an excellent job of continuing whatever series they are working on; Sunny Randall, Chief Jesse Stone, or Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch, Mike Lupica excels beyond their offerings. There’s just something in the FLAVOR that Lupica brings that’s all Parker. 

You would never believe that Robert, himself, had not written the biting quips, sublime as they are. 
Quotes from Broken Trust: 

Whitson: “What are you, some kind of tough guy?” 
Spenser: “I am actually a very tough guy. But now I’m leaving, just so Ms. Megill doesn’t start to get the impression that I’m the asshole here.”  And I left.
Not even noon yet, and I’d already made a new friend.
***********
Hawk: “Hell, yeah. Look what happens, I let you go off on your own. …you get yourself killed, you know Susan’s gonna blame me.”
Spenser: “You told me one time you weren’t afraid of anything or anybody.”
Hawk: “‘Cept for her.” 
Spenser: “Same.”
********
Vinnie: “I feel like I got some of that deja vu going here.” 
Spenser:  “Because of the way I’ve managed to artfully reimagine my old apartment?”
Vinnie:  “Nah. Because here we go again with me watching somebody and Haw watching you and neither one of you knowing what the f*** is going on here.”
Spenser: “See there is still equilibrium to the universe after all.” 

COMING SOON!!

Fans of true crime and murder mysteries can never go wrong when purchasing these series continued by the estate of Robert B. Parker. Fine writing, good stories, great characters. Each one is an individual gem. 
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 BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

If you enjoyed this review, you might love my own stories — full of heart, grit, and unforgettable characters.

The Deep South Trilogy

  • Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us 
  • Mother Mac’s Boarding House
  • Coming Soon: Book Three: Living at Mother Mac’s

 

 

World of Murder, my series of true crime books

 

 

 

If You’re a Fan….

If you are a fan of my true crime series, you’re going to LOVE this newest in the series. 
A big surprise awaits O’Roarke.  And Phoebe goes UNDERCOVER!  While Sella Garcia tries her best to protect Phoebe while on a….need I say….sketchy, dangerous mission.  

Synopsis:
Trafficking in Sex, Secrets and Lies is ripped from today’s headlines. Very young girls are disappearing into sex trafficking and turning up dead. Detectives Jack O’Roarke and Stella Garcia are assigned to what looks like a routine homicide pattern—until the evidence points to a sprawling network protected by big money and influence. Jack, with his own secret, pushes hard and fast. Stella, precise and unflinching, follows the facts wherever they lead while Phoebe goes on a dangerous mission. Together they uncover a chain of complicity that runs from street corners to boardrooms, and a brutality that the city and some of its leaders prefer to ignore.

Available at your favorite book outlet. 
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The newest BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

The Deep South Trilogy

  • Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us
     
  • Mother Mac’s Boarding House
  • Coming Soon: Book Three: Living at Mother Mac’s

 

 

Trafficking in sex, secrets and lies Available in …..

Trafficking in sex, secrets and lies Available in

                    e-BOOK
                    Paperback
and             Audio-book 

at your fav book store or www.amazon.com

Audio: click here

Trafficking in Sex, Secrets & Lies is ripped from yesterday’s headlines. Very young girls are disappearing into sex trafficking and turning up dead. Detectives Jack O’Roarke and Stella Garcia are assigned what looks like a routine homicide pattern—until the evidence points to a sprawling network protected by money and influence. Jack, with his own secret, pushes hard and fast; Stella, precise and unflinching, follows the facts wherever they lead. Together they uncover a chain of complicity that runs from street corners to boardrooms, and a brutality that the city and some of its leaders prefer to ignore.

Part 2 ~ Interview with author, Christina Dudley

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.

Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?

CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.

Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.

CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?

Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?

CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.

Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.

CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.   

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

CD.  They’re almost simultaneous.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.

Q. What makes a writer great?

CD. No two readers will ever agree on this! When I put my own fiction-reader hat on, I’m looking for books with rounded characters and plausible situations, even if it’s set in a fantasy world. Bonus points if the story makes me laugh. Not too much navel-gazing, please, and a plot with a traditional conflict-rising action-climax-denouement. I must be too old to enjoy the stories where there’s no real conflict, or where it’s resolved with 25% left to go, and then it’s just 25% of people riding off into the sunset. Yawn.
When it comes to nonfiction, which I also love, I want to learn something and have it told to me like a story. Books like The Boys in the Boat and Into Thin Air delight me.  

Did you miss the beginning? Interview
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FREE eBook of my newest novel on GoodReads.com

I am featuring a new Book Give-Away of Mother Mac’s Boarding House
beginning March 2nd.

100 eBooks FREE so you have 
a good chance of winning one.   

CLICK on this Link  

“Mother Mac’s Boarding House is an
exquisite read….”-Midwest Book Review
[Click here to read the entire review]

In a segregated town overshadowed by the aftermath of WWII, Marty ‘Mother Mac’ MacKenzie—a strong-willed and determined woman— runs a “Colored Only” boarding house that becomes a sanctuary for those in need. Seeking a fresh start away from the painful memories of Alabama. Armed with nothing but her wits, a single prayer from Reverend White, and a heart full of hope, she navigates the challenges of a segregated society, determined to carve out a life for herself.

New to town, Marty lands a job at the local Tastee Diner,  where she discovers not just employment but a sense of community and a chance to reclaim her dignity. Under the watchful eyes of the fair-minded Rog and his wife, Mary, Marty learns the ropes of waitressing and forms bonds with coworkers and customers alike. With each step she takes, from a homeless shelter to her humble boarding house, she scratches out her business room by room. As she faces prejudice and hardship, Marty’s resilience and faith in a brighter future never waver.
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Mother Mac’s Receives Stunning Review

Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer for Midwest Book Review gave my newest book a stunning review. I am so happy to share it with my readers,

“Mother Mac’s Boarding House is a prequel to Trisha Sugarek’s Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us, and will especially delight readers seeking for more “origin” detail about the Georgia backwoods orphaned siblings.

The story opens with a literal bang: Martha ‘Marty’ McBride never would have believed that a man would have gotten past her defenses and knocked her silly. Spunky, determined Marty MacKenzie is planning an escape from her abusive husband Hank, despite the major challenges of money and locating a safe haven. In 1949, there were few resources for women who wanted to flee such circumstances.

As in her previous book, Sugarek is adept at capturing the thoughts and lingo of the South to bring these Mississippi characters to life: One more meal in this house. One more night with that summa’bitch. Hopefully, this heavy meal will put him to sleep early. Then, tomorrow, if Ah’m lucky̶̶̶̶ and as Mama used to say˗˗’the creek don’t rise’, Ah’ll be gone for good.

When Marty stumbles across an abandoned once-grand house for sale, her new life begins to take shape. Again, Sugarek’s talent for capturing atmosphere, dreams, and realities springs to life through descriptions and reflections which impart a “you are here” feel to her story, where Marty: “…didn’t see the peeling paint, the knee-high weeds choking the grass out, the broken windows, or the hole in the front porch floor. Oh no, all she saw was her future home, and the home of the boarders she would rent rooms to. The meals Ah will make for the lonely traveler. The vase of wildflowers on Mah kitchen table. Marty’s heart skipped a beat as she gazed at the house. She could almost hear the laughter of the boarders, smell the aroma of home-cooked meals, and feel the warmth of a home filled with people and purpose.

How Marty confronts the “old world and its rules” with her own special brand of determination makes for an uplifting, evocative story of transformation that brings the Old South alive. Marty’s chance encounter with Hannah Mae and her brother Jerry thus becomes fuller-bodied with the backdrop of events that come full circle for previous readers while welcoming newcomers to the extraordinary coincidences and self-determined life of a woman whose dreams reach out to embrace everyone around her.

Teens, young adults, and many an adult will relish these strong female characters, which expand from Marty’s world to embrace the circumstances of Elenora Parks, an Army nurse veteran newly returned from the war who finds a new life as a teacher and a home that offers an unexpected sanctuary for a pregnant, grieving woman.

Mother Mac’s Boarding House is an exquisite read not only for its realistic Southern setting and characters, but for its uplifting display of female characters whose actions inject positivity and new options into the world around them.

In stark contrast to the “me first” sentiments that seem to permeate modern times, Marty’s desire to escape results in a creation that offers safe harbors to others, as well.

Additionally, the political and social milieu of the times, which passed many restrictive rules on African Americans, comes to life in the light of personal experience. This is a far more intimate, compelling manner of absorbing civil rights and American history than any nonfiction text could achieve, immersing readers in the life of Marty’s journey.

Marty’s confrontations with social and personal repressive elements, and how she rises above them to influence others’ lives, results in a thoroughly compelling story that is hard to put down.

Libraries choosing Mother Mac’s Boarding House will find its impeccable historical research and equally powerful mix of dialogue and atmosphere makes it a top recommendation for book clubs and reading groups interested in women’s and African American experiences in the 1950s Deep South.

It stands nicely on its own but also serves as an important prequel to the events of Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us, merging history and social inspection in an uplifting, revealing manner that circles around questions of safety, home, connections, and self-determination.” Midwest Book Review
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Review ~~ The Forgiving Kind by Donna Everhart

            5 out of 5 stars   ~~   Book Review

From the first page, the reader is captivated by the sultry afternoon in the deep South, the cotton fields, the red earth, and the narrative from one small girl.  
Be prepared to be unable to put this magnificent story down.  Sonny Creech and her family draw you in; sweating as they hoe the fields, worrying about where the next dollar is coming from, putting up with two crass brothers’ antics, and a sudden tragedy that rocks their family.  

The characters are so beautifully drawn by this author; the reader feels they have known them their whole lives.  Mr. Fowler was a superb villain.  I loved to hate him and I was rooting for his downfall, which by the way, wasn’t assured at all.  

I highly recommend this book to my readers. 

Did you miss my interview with Donna Everhart?
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Book Review ~~ The Summer Swap

   5 out of 5 stars    ~~  Book Review

Just Released!

Sarah Morgan has really delivered this time! The characters are so fun and richly drawn.  I had special empathy for the 75-year-old, Cecilia. A feisty matriarch, she gets a few surprises when she returns to Dune Cottage after avoiding the place for decades.

The writer’s imagery is powerful. You can smell the salty air from the ocean, hear the seagulls scolding. 

Overall, it’s a great summer read and I highly recommend it to my readers. 

Did you miss my interview with Sarah? 
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                                                          Coming Soon! 

Newest Journal

 

 

 

 

Interview with Sarah Morgan, Author

Sarah Morgan always knew she wanted to be a writer but took a slight detour along the way to train as a nurse, an experience that has found its way into many of her books. A lover of the outdoors, many of her story ideas come while hiking in wild places and she is also a keen photographer. She has been a published author for more than twenty years and lives near London, England where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, or special space for your writing? (please provide a photo of you at work in your shed, room, closet, barn, or houseboat….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ workspace.

SM. At the beginning of my career I worked

anywhere and everywhere. I had young children so I made sure I was flexible – I’d keep notebooks with me and scribble a few lines at every opportunity and I often worked in the evenings when they were in bed. Now I’m lucky enough to have an office at the bottom of my garden, so in the summer I work with the doors and windows open, surrounded by birdsong and the buzz of bees. It’s very relaxing and great for focus.

Q. Do you have any special rituals or quirks when you sit down to write? (a neat workspace, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, a glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

SM. I almost always have a cup of tea or coffee, but that’s as far as it goes! I have resisted the temptation to create rituals because I want to be able to write anywhere, at any time, regardless of the conditions. I used to write to music, but now I find I need silence although I often use music for inspiration to get me in the right ‘mood’ for the story.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

SM. I worked behind a bar one summer and it was the most perfect job for observing human behaviour. Also great for learning to mix a drink!

Q. What tools do you begin with? Legal pad, spiral notebook, pencils, fountain pen, or do you go right to your keyboard?

SM. All I need is something to write on. Preferably my laptop, but if a pen and paper is all that is available I’ll use that. I find sticky notes useful because you can scribble down a line of dialogue or a plot point and put it on the wall. It’s easy to move notes around and a great way to visualize your story.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

SM. I think it’s all about developing positive habits. Presumably you want to write, or you wouldn’t be doing it, so sometimes it helps to remind yourself why you’re doing it. Identify your temptations so that you can plan to avoid them. For example if your weakness is getting distracted by the internet then switch it off until you’ve finished your word count for the day. If you’re finding it hard to concentrate then set yourself small acheiveable goals, either in time (work for thirty minutes without distraction), or word count (write 1000 words before stopping). Having a schedule and sticking to it is often helpful.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

SM. The characters and their situation/problem usually appear to me at the same time. Like most writers I ask myself the ‘what if’ question. No two individuals will respond to a challenge in the same way, and that’s why every story is fresh and new even when you might be exploring well trodden themes.

Q. What first inspired you to write?

Join us for part 2  Click here!

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Coming Soon!
A new novel by Trisha Sugarek:   Ain’t Nothin’ Gonna Separate  Us

Book Review ~~ Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry

5 out of 5 stars     Book Review

Good writers have the most wonderful ideas for a book. Great writers have the persistence, courage, knowledge, and passion to get the story written down,  weaving those ideas into the very fabric of existence. 

Veronica Henry is a great writer of contemporary stories with wonderful empathic, interesting characters.  And Thirty Days in Paris is no exception.

Juliet has just suffered from empty nest syndrome big time, and her husband is in some mid-life crisis that she can’t understand. They finally agree that they have grown apart and their marriage has reached its ‘sell by’ date. 

Juliet happens upon an advert:  “ TO LET. Charming ‘chambre de bonne’ in the 2eme. Situated a stone’s throw from the glamorous Rue Saint-Honore with its chic boutiques….” 
Paris, the city of love, has always lingered in Juliet’s heart. Now, fueled by whimsy and courage, she answers the ad. The tiny apartment becomes her cocoon, her canvas for reinvention.

The plot is delicious! Juliet’s courage to move from a suburban-Mom’s life to a soon-to-be single middle aged woman on her own is tantilizing. The writing flows like wine. The surprises? Oh, they sizzle like crepes in a skillet—each flip revealing a layer of vulnerability, resilience, and newfound purpose. Veronica Henry’s prose dances, and we, the readers, waltz along.

I highly recommend this book to my readers. 
Did you miss my interview with Veronica Henry? 
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