JJ Harrigan is here to tell us about Goodbye Demons, suspense, historical fiction.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Suspense, Historical Fiction
Date Published: 04-24-2026
Publisher: Salty Books Publishing Company, LLC
When injuries cut short the figure skating career of Angie Fernandez
Parnell, she joins the Peace Corps. She is assigned to Tunis where she finds
her soulmate, U.S. diplomat James Whitcomb. At the conclusion of their tours
of duty, they marry, and within weeks of the wedding, he is taken captive in
the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-81.
James, held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, endures the same demons
that afflicted the real-life hostages during the actual crisis 45 years ago.
Deprivation, bad treatment, political manipulation, and above all the
uncertainty of whether or when it would all end.
Angie, biting her nails at home, endures her own demons. How can she support
him? Should she join efforts that pressure the president to negotiate a
release? Or even a rescue? A take-charge person by nature, she follows a path
that will reap huge benefits if it works. Or destroy her life if it fails.
Goodbye Demons is a visceral, emotionally charged exploration of resilience in
the face of adversity. It is the story of a man and a woman struggling to
overcome demons beyond their control.
Excerpt
This was the chance of a lifetime, and Angie swore she wouldn’t
blow it. She did elaborate stretching exercises and weight training. She
followed a dietician’s meal plan and skated five days a week under the
guidance of her coach. Angie concocted a brilliant plan to capture the Gold at
Nationals and guarantee her a slot on the Olympic team.
Her coach objected. “No woman has ever done a triple axel, and
you’re not ready.”
“I did it in practice. You saw me.”
“You fell. A perfect double axel that you’re capable of doing
trumps a triple axel that you screw up.”
Angie was determined to do the triple without falling. She doubled down on her
training regime. Bruising falls came each day. It wasn’t until a week
before the competitions that she completed a triple. She grinned triumphantly
at her surprised coach. Then on the next try she took a nasty fall that left
her limping when she rose from the ice. Her coach sped over to her. After
making sure Angie had broken no bones, she again warned her to stop trying the
triple axel.
“You’re not ready. It’s a riverboat gamble.”
“I have to take the gamble when I’ve got the chance.”
“You’ll have a chance next year. You’ll be stronger and more
experienced. That’ll be the time to do it.”
“In the meantime, some other girl might do it first, and nobody will
ever hear about me. Even if I do one the next day. Can you tell me who was the
second woman to fly across the Atlantic?”
About the Author
Historical thriller author JJ Harrigan is a former US Service Officer
and political science professor. He scribbles his tales of intrigue on the
banks of the St. Croix River in Minnesota, where he lives with his wife,
Sandy.
Casia Pickering is here to tell us about Sacred Salvation, Part of Sins of the Sacred, Dark Priest Romance.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Father Sebastian has found a home in St. Augusta College.
But when that home is threatened by a student, questions arise in his own
beliefs.
Sacred Salvation
Part of Sins of the Sacred
by Casia Pickering
Genre: Dark Priest Romance
St. Augusta College is known for weaving the Arts with
Theology. Within its iron gates lies a prestigious education that can drive a
person mad.
Father Sebastian Hardwicke is new to the position. Not once has his religious
fervor been tested until he is sent to the cathedral on St. Augusta's campus.
The school is not what he expected. Hymns and prayers echo within the
cathedral, and the faculty are pious and helpful. Even the students held a
reverence he had only experienced in seminary. On the outside, it is perfect.
But a mask is still a mask, no matter how enticing.
Emilia Trent has two goals in life: to convey true emotion into her art and to
quiet the voices. But the voices have gotten louder, screaming and demanding
that she keep painting. There is no freedom in her expression. With the new
priest coming to campus, her urges grow to a point where she no longer knows
who she is. There is an almost paranormal force growing inside her.
There is only one person capable of holding the demon at bay- Father Sebastian
Hardwicke. But will he choose to face the evil head-on or fall into the deep
embrace of temptation?
Part of Sins of the Sacred, a
dark priest romance shared world series featuring eleven amazing authors.
“I don't think there is a demon
inside you,” Sebastian sighed, “that wasn't my intention-”
“My father died when I was
starting high school,” Emilia said. "He used to drive freight trucks at
night. During one night, a nasty storm happened, and, well, it crashed. He was
in the hospital for weeks until we couldn't keep him on life support.”
“I'm so sorry,” Sebastian said. He
looked off into the distance, as if heweres lost in his own thoughts.
Emilia shrugged. “I've had
depression ever since. My painting helps with it and so did a therapist when I
had one, but it isn't because of my depression that I struggle.”
“What is?” Sebastian asked.
Emilia thought quietly. She
glanced at Sebastian. Without the white collar pinned into his polo shirt, he'd
look like any other well-dressed man. It was that and the type of shirt that
seemed out of place with his jeans and glasses that he was constantly pushing
back up the bridge of his nose. She wondered what made him choose the life he
chose.
Was he a believer, or was it
pushed onto him by people around him? She remembered an argument she had with
her mother about maybe joining the military to help pay for college. That was
before the art contest and scholarship that got her into St. Augusta. As much
as she stressed about being at the school, she wouldn't change her choices if
she had the chance. But her knowledge about Father Arthur, Sister Rebecca, and
Miranda would be for Sebastian. It may not be her responsibility, but it was
something Emilia didn't want on her conscience.
“I'd rather not talk about it,”
she finally decided, shaking her head, “no offense, but I doubt you'd take my
life experiences into consideration if I told you.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian's
eyes furrowed in confusion.
“Imagine being abused or having a
bad relationship with a friend or something,” Emilia said, “can you do that?”
Sebastian’s expression went still.
It was as if he were seeing something from his past. A pang of guilt hit
Emilia’s chest. If she had known he might’ve experienced something like what
she was suggesting, she might not have said that.
“Okay,” Sebastian whispered, “go
on.”
Emilia nodded. “Let’s say you told
someone about that experience, but that person you told didn’t believe you
because the person who abused you or the friend who was awful hasn’t shown that
side of themselves to that person. Can you imagine how that feels?”
“I can.” Sebastian’s voice was
raspy and hard. He worked his jaw and rolled his head from side to side.
A squirrel jumped from headstone
to headstone as birds twittered. His cheeks were bulging from the collection of
nuts. The leaves rustled as another autumn breeze brushed past. Emilia looked
around at the quiet beauty of it all.
Even the voices weren’t around.
Emilia looked around, this time paying attention to every small detail. There
was no fog or shadows. The only brightness that held her attention, aside from
the slowly dying sun, was Sebastian. It was as if the cemetery was an oasis
away from whatever plagued the campus.
“That’s why I’m not ready to say
anything,” Emilia said. "I don’t know if you’d believe me or not, but it’s
not worth saying if we end up arguing.”
About the Sins of
the Sacred series
The Sins of the Sacred dark romance shared world series
brings together standalone stories by multiple authors, each exploring the
collision of faith and forbidden desire within religious settings. From
medieval abbeys and dissolution-era monasteries to modern churches and
theological colleges, priests, nuns, exorcists, and other religious figures
face temptations that challenge their sacred vows. The series spans various
time periods, incorporating paranormal elements including demon possession,
angelic intervention, and exorcism that intensify conflicts between duty and
desire.
With diverse pairings including M/F, MM, F/F/F, and MFM
configurations, each book delivers explicit romantic content while exploring
themes of religious trauma, repression, and the struggle between devotion and
forbidden longing. The series features omegaverse dynamics, second chance
romance, and enemies-to-lovers tropes alongside darker explorations of
possession, crisis of faith, and the psychological impact of religious
structures. Designed for readers seeking taboo romance that examines the
tension between sacred vows and human desire in emotionally complex narratives.
Even though she claims she can write anything, the biography
remains to be Casia’s arch-nemesis. Despite this, Casia has used her Writing
degree to craft stories in over ten anthologies, maintained a book blog for
more than a decade, and has begun to write novels. A multi-genre author, Casia
Pickering, is incapable of keeping to one thing. Every story has a piece of her
personality that she treasures and shares with her readers. She currently lives
in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with her biggest supporter and helper,
her son, affectionately known as Bug. Previous works are under the name, Casia
Courtier.
Sophie Barnes is here to tell us about A Deadly Inferno Consumes, a murder mystery romance.
Read on for details...
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House of Croft, Book 6
Murder Mystery Romance
Date Published: July 28, 2026
A chilling disappearance, a lethal enemy, and a family pushed to the
brink…
When the Duke of Wrengate’s sister vanishes without a trace, suspicion
swirls. Did she flee to escape a scandalous secret…or has she been
abducted? Whispers lead to a treacherous underworld, where rumors of an
illicit auction suggest a far more sinister fate: a woman trapped, drugged,
and enslaved. Determined to save her, Adrian Croft and his valet, Murry,
plunge into London’s darkest corners.
But Finn O’Leary, the Irishman bent on revenge, remains a threat that
presents a difficult choice for Adrian: save Wrengate's sister or protect his
family. With the recent birth of his daughter, he and his wife, Samantha, have
more to lose than ever before. And as danger closes in, they must fight with
everything they have. Not only for justice, but for their very survival.
About the Author
USA TODAY bestselling author Sophie Barnes writes historical romance
novels in which the characters break away from social expectations in their
quest for happiness and love. Having written for Avon, an imprint of Harper
Collins, her books have been published internationally in eight languages.
With a fondness for travel, Sophie has lived in six countries, on three
continents, and speaks English, Danish, French, Spanish, and Romanian with
varying degrees of fluency. Ever the romantic, she married the same man three
times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.
When she’s not busy dreaming up her next swoon worthy romance novel,
Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, baking,
gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.
Rose Titus is here to tell us about All the Way to the Moon, The Vampire Next Door #3, a paranormal romance.
There's also a great giveaway.
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All the Way to the Moon
Rose Titus
(The Vampire Next Door, #3)
Publication date: April 3rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
An innocent girl, a vampire, an old lady, a ghost, and a werewolf must combine their talents to defeat an evil billionaire and his hired professional killer…
In Night Home: the Vampire Next Door Book 1, the fact that vampires truly exist was almost made public when a story presented as fiction seemed all too real to a vampire hunter.
In After Dark: the Vampire Next Door Book 2, a community of vampires quietly hiding on the west coast needed to defeat a serial killer before being blamed for his acts of terror, while at the same time one of them found himself falling in love with a suicidal young woman who expected him to kill her.
In All the Way to the Moon: the Vampire Next Door Book 3, vampires on the west coast consider whether to reveal their existence and communicate with others of their kind. Laura, no longer wishing for death, and finally finding happiness in her young life, discovers to her horror that her wealthy and powerful father intends to kill her. To survive she must flee her new home and leave her new friends, and travel far to find safety, unaware that a hired killer is not far behind.
Fortunately she has a werewolf to help protect her.
Rose Titus resides somewhere in cold, dreary New England with two manipulative cats and a very out of date computer with which she creates horror and fantasy fiction. She also has a restored classic Buick to ride around in while in search of adventure.
For travel she has stayed the night in an allegedly haunted castle, has taken a boat ride on Loch Ness, and has visited the Bermuda Triangle -- without getting lost.
Her work has previously appeared in Lost Worlds, Lynx Eye, Bog Gob, Mausoleum, Weird Terrain, Descend, The Dead River Review, and other literary magazines. She also writes regularly for Blood Moon Rising Magazine.
When she's not working or writing or messing with her old car, she waits by the mailbox for her Fortean Times to arrive.
‘Pemi Aguda is here to tell us about One Leg on Earth, horror, occult fiction, thriller.
There's also a great giveaway.
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One Leg on Earth
‘Pemi Aguda
Publication date: May 5th 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror, Occult Fiction, Thriller
From the author of the National Book Award finalist Ghostroots, a debut novel that thrills with its eerie mix of folklore and history.
Something is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. Across the city, they are walking into water . . . and drowning.
Twenty-three-year-old Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to start her life. Working for a slick architectural firm, she finds a city of adventure and opportunity. Her new world is one of fancy gallery openings, glamorous friends, and all the shiny potential of the future, encapsulated in projects like Omi City, the ultra-luxury development her company is building, a symbol of the dawn of a brighter Lagos.
But Yosoye’s idyllic vision of Lagos soon begins to seem naive, and its darker, stranger layers trouble her. Something is not right about Omi City, and as construction speeds ahead, stories of strange deaths in the city’s open waters reach a fever pitch. And then, after a chance encounter, Yosoye discovers she is pregnant . . . a revelation which puts her on a collision course with an inexplicable force that is as seductive as it is deadly. A masterwork by a writer hailed as “an astonishing talent” (Lauren Groff), One Leg on Earth is an ambitious novel like no other: a coming-of-age story, an uncanny exploration of motherhood, and a chilling vision of the dark side of progress.
MIRIAM AIKI PRAYED FOR THE FRUIT OF THE WOMB for thirteen years. Thirteen years of chafed knees: blood and shredded skin staining church altars, shrine altars, her bedside rug, her mother-in-law’s living room tiles. Thirteen years begging for a miracle, for strength, for patience. Her cries were answered. At thirty-eight, her womb was unfurling its first bloody fruit.
Now, in the passenger seat of her husband’s car, she smiled at her taut six-month belly. An ugly joy stirred within her. Ugly because it sat heavy on top of her growing baby, nausea amassing saliva in her mouth. But mothers who’d hunted long for that title knew that this unpleasantness was welcome, embraced.
Miriam smoothed a hand over her lace buba. She smiled at her husband, Victor, who frowned at the standstill traffic. They were running late for his cousin’s wedding and hadn’t moved in twenty minutes. His knuckles tapped an agitated beat on the steering wheel along to soft jazz playing on the radio. Past her husband’s head, the blue BRT bus keeping them in merciful shadow advertised a “We Are Lagos” music concert. Celebrating our oneness together! Miriam turned her beaming face to her window, gap-tooth a narrow darkness in an otherwise white smile.
These shining eyes, these stretched lips, these deep dimples. The people of Third Mainland Bridge stuck in traffic with Miriam would always remember the fizzy happiness in these details.
Miriam’s bliss bubbled up, feathering her insides, shimmering around her baby, erupting from her throat in a giggle—a curious misplaced sound in that car.
Victor turned to her, startled. His hand brushed her thigh, her rounded belly.
“Are you okay?”
Miriam giggled again. Her head slid down the leather headrest, neck tilting backward for more happiness to escape, clavicle bared to her husband’s confused gaze. This frothing joy within Miriam, she wanted to warble it out, to dance through it, until she and her baby were heady with the fervor of it.
She pushed the passenger door open. Stepped out. Victor sat there, blinking in shock for what would later seem like two lifetimes. The humid air crowded in to displace cool air-conditioning. He clicked the radio off, leaned toward the open mouth of the door.
“Miriam? What are you doing?”
Miriam kicked her sandals off, flung the fuchsia-pink slingbacks behind her. One heel struck the car’s bonnet, leaving a silver chink. She wound between the bridge’s stalled vehicles: engines turned off; gears stuck in neutral. She skipped and spun and squealed. Even in the midst of that sweltering Lagos day of thumping car music and raucous engines and the truck that honked at her for dancing too close, Miriam’s squeal stood out, a siren.
Passengers lowered their half-eaten Pure Bliss wafers and leaned out of windows to watch this odd but entertaining episode. Drivers, stretching their legs in small huddles, paused their whining—about traffic and heat and wives and money and that new backache that made their worlds flush dark when they bent at the wrong angle. All necks craned toward Miriam. Hawkers hitched boxes higher and nudged each other to behold the spirited pregnant woman.
Miriam swayed, shoulders shaking with laughter at a joke nobody else could hear. Her legs kicked. Hands stretched, twirling as if being spun about. What joy! What joy!
Victor leaned on the horn. His feet hit tar, finally going after her. Had she gone mad? He yelled her name, using the tone his father wielded on his mother, demanding Miriam return to the car immediately.
But Miriam didn’t want to get back in the car. She wanted to dance, to be free, to glide forward with the happiness surging from her womb, her baby. Her husband navigated between fascinated watchers. He shouted, “Miriam! Miriam! Miriam!” But by the time he got to the railings, she had launched herself off Third Mainland Bridge, laughing and screeching into the lagoon below, belly-first, like a child jumping into the arms of a beloved parent.
Author Bio:
Pemi Aguda is a Nigerian writer known for her short stories and debut collection Ghostroots (2024). Her work often explores complex themes surrounding motherhood, identity, and the supernatural. Ghostroots, which includes previously published stories such as "Breastmilk" and "The Hollow", was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction and received critical acclaim for its unifying themes and narrative cohesion.
Aguda's stories have been widely recognized, earning multiple accolades, including an O'Henry Award in 2022 for "Breastmilk" and again in 2023 for "The Hollow". Additionally, "Breastmilk" was shortlisted for the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her forthcoming novel, The Suicide Mothers, which won the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Award, is slated for release in 2025.
Eileen Sheehan is here to tell us about Night Times Trilogy, paranormal vampire romance thrillers.
There's also a great giveaway.
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The darkest hour is only the beginning in the world of
shadows.
Night Times Book One
Night Times Trilogy 1
by Eileen Sheehan
Genre: Paranormal Vampire Romance Thriller
For two hundred years, Ethan has haunted the shadows,
carrying the heartbreak of losing Judith, the wife he loved before he was
unwillingly turned into a vampire.
When he meets Arabella at a costume party, he's stunned by
the similarities she shares with Judith. As their connection deepens, Ethan
becomes convinced that Arabella is Judith reborn. But with her returning
memories come dangerous secrets—knowledge from a centuries-old vampire-hunting
society that could threaten the existence of every vampire alive.
Now, hunted by both a ruthless Vampire League and relentless
vampire hunters, Ethan and Arabella find themselves caught in a deadly struggle
between love, loyalty, and survival. As enemies close in and the past refuses
to stay buried, Ethan must choose between losing Arabella forever or offering
her the immortality that was forced upon him.
Night Times (Book
One) begins a captivating vampire romance thriller trilogy that is
filled with, forbidden love, deadly secrets, and a passion that defies time
itself.
What readers are
saying:
“For fans of supernatural
thrillers involving vampires, Night Times has got everything they crave... Sheehan
has created yet another immersive fantastical world full of vampires, witches,
and monster hunters. The book is fast-paced, and since I was enjoying it so
much, the pages just flew by….You're going to love this!”
“… Sheehan
doesn’t just focus on romance. She digs into what love and trust really mean
when everything’s on the line. There’s also a raw look at what it means for a
vampire to lose their humanity—how turning immortal tears you away from who you
used to be, and from people you once knew. Immortality in this story isn’t just
sparkling and forever-young; it comes with a price: isolation, loss, and
sometimes the fading of your own sense of self. Still, there’s a flip side—it
can mean never-ending love and the fierce desire to protect…… If you’re in the mood for a
supernatural drama that goes beyond the usual tropes—one that really leans into
the pain, the memories, and the kind of love that won’t quit—this book is
definitely worth your time.”
The
rain came down in silver threads and turned the road to black glass on the
night that Ethan’s reality was changed forever.
He
remembered that more clearly than he remembered his own face from that time.
Faces changed in memory. They were smoothed by years and grief until they
became something like paintings. But weather remained exact. The smell of wet
earth. The sting of cold through wool. The way the world looked when it was
nearly dark and every lamp in the distance seemed to float like a warning.
He
had been running then from the thing that had already happened to him.
He
had not yet learned that becoming a vampire did not feel like entering a new
life. It felt like being torn from the old one with enough violence to leave a
permanent shape in the soul. At first there had been only pain, then thirst,
then a terrifying clarity that came with the hunger. He had not completely
grasped what he was but that realization was soon to come.
And
because he had understood that, he had run.
He
stood now beneath the branches of the elm at the edge of the lane with the rain
slipping through the leaves onto his face while he watched the light in his own
house glow through the windows.
Home. The word struck him
with unbearable force.
Inside,
his wife and love of his life, Judith, would be setting down her sewing and
folding the blanket over the arm of the chair. She would be waiting for him,
although she might pretend not to be. She always pretended not to wait, as if
waiting was too revealing a sort of love. But Ethan had always known. He had
known by the way that she paused when she heard his footstep and by the way
that she turned before he spoke while already smiling.
He’d
spent three hours pacing the woods beyond the property line while fighting his
own body as if it was a wild animal. His mouth still burned. His throat ached
with a need so vast that it felt like a second heart beating where his was
supposed to be. He had torn at his own cuff, bitten the inside of his mouth
until it bled, and shoved his hands into the mud to keep from running back to
the house.
The
problem was that he could still smell her….
…“Stay
where you are,” he gruffly ordered.
Her
mouth slightly parted with fear. “You’re frightening me.”
He
could not bear that. Not from her.
The
room wavered at the edge of his vision. Hunger rose up in him with a vicious,
animal certainty. And for one impossible instant he saw her as prey - not
Judith, not wife, not the woman who had braided ribbons into her hair and
fallen asleep reading beside the fire, but a pulse of life that he could take
with one movement.
He
stumbled backward.
Judith’s
expression changed to alarm as she exclaimed, “Ethan!”
“No!”
he bellowed. The word came out raw.
The
flame shivered as she set the candle down too quickly and took a step toward
him. “Tell me what happened.”
He
violently shook his head. The taste of his own blood filled his mouth again,
although he knew there was no wound there now. “You must not come near me.”…
…When
Judith finally spoke, her voice was broken but steady. “Ethan.”
He
closed his eyes. “Yes?”
Her
voice trembled as she said, “Do not disappear from my life forever.”
That
was the moment when he nearly broke. He put one hand on the doorframe to steady
himself. When he spoke, his voice was almost gone. “I will try not to.”
Then
he stepped out into the rain and left the house before the dawn could find him.
He
never forgot the sound of the door closing behind him. He never forgot the way
that Judith had stood in the light, frightened and loving and still reaching
for him. And for the centuries that followed, through blood, hunger, survival,
and loneliness so deep that it became a second skin, he carried one unbearable
truth with him - the night he abandoned Judith, he had not yet understood that
immortality was not the curse.
The
curse was living long enough to remember the exact shape of the love that you
were forced to leave behind.
Night Times Book Two
Night Times Trilogy 2
Arabella was supposed
to be dead.
After faking her death to escape the vampires who want her
gone, Arabella and Ethan disappear into Las Vegas, hoping to build a life free
from fear, secrets, and bloodshed.
For six months, they succeed.
Then Olive discovers the truth.
Obsessed with Ethan and unwilling to accept his love for
another woman, Olive sets out to destroy everything they've built. As jealousy
turns to vengeance, Ethan and Arabella are thrust into a nightmare that will
change them forever.
Filled with
danger, betrayal, suspense, and immortal love, Night Times: Book Two is a
gripping paranormal romance about how far people will go for love—and how
deadly obsession can become.
Arabella survived
death, but immortality comes with a price.
As she learns to embrace life as a vampire under Ethan's
guidance, the memories of her torture and murder refuse to fade. While vampire
society struggles to accept her return, Arabella secretly plots revenge against
the vampires responsible for her suffering—including the woman who wanted her
dead.
One by one, her enemies begin to disappear.
As fear spreads through the vampire community and suspicion
grows, Arabella must balance her thirst for vengeance with the future she's
building alongside Ethan. But some wounds can only heal in darkness, and some
debts can only be paid in blood.
Night Times: Book
Three is a dark paranormal romance filled with vengeance, passion,
secrets, and a love strong enough to survive death.
Eileen Sheehan is an Internationally published, Best Selling
and Award-Winning author of paranormal romance thrillers & horror for the
mature adult. A professional and full-time spiritual advisor and holistic
practitioner for over 30 years, the majority of her 76+ novels feature the
paranormal, but some are novels about people in love, and a very few are
self-help. Eileen incorporates experiences through the years along with her
imagination to provide the best believable and entertaining read possible. As
the years progressed, so has her writing style. Although she still includes
romance and strives for a happily ever after ending, her stories tend to have
more mystery, thrills, and a touch of horror in them.
A former busy working mother (who is now a laid-back
grandmother), Eileen understands the value of time. She makes it a point to
write novels that are able to be enjoyed in one or two evenings.
