The Craziness

Life's been a little crazy lately, so I've been scarce. A good kind of crazy, though. Lots going on with family stuff and writing. Son #1 and Daughter-in-law are still in Afghanistan and both are safe and doing well. Son #2 wrapped up his sophomore year of college a week ago, moved home, then went straight to Florida with his track team for a race. Mr. W and I made the whirlwind trip there and back to see him run. He's home now and settling in before summer classes begin. Baby Girl wraps up her senior year this coming week with graduation in early June, then has college orientation a week later. Don't mind me--just have something in my eye...

I took a quick trip to Oakmont, PA, to the Festival of Mystery on May 6th. What an amazing event. If you're in that area, it's worth going! A big hello to everyone who stopped by my table to visit.

I've been writing and editing up a storm. I'm so excited for all of you to read A POTION TO DIE FOR, the first book in my Magic Potion series. It debuts in November, and I really love it (gorgeous cover coming soon!). You can read a little more about it on my Heather Blake website (www.heatherblakebooks.com). I'm hoping to have an excerpt up there soon, too. I'm finishing the 4th Wishcraft book, THE GOODBYE WITCH, now, and then I'll be writing the second Magic Potion book, then the next Lucy Valentine novel, and I have an itch to write another romance novel. Not sure I will, but it's in the back of my mind (amid all the clutter and dust bunnies).

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to read, and am looking forward to when I can. Any good recommendations?

The New Release

So excited to let you know that there's a new Nina Quinn book available. THE ROOT OF ALL TROUBLE is the 7th book in the series. Right now it's out on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. Other e-formats and the print version coming soon!

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS...

When a spring storm rolls through Freedom, Ohio, landscape designer Nina Quinn expects to get her hands dirty with the mess left behind.

But after high winds uproot a tree, revealing the corpse of a man inside its rotted hollow, Nina quickly realizes that cleaning up after Mother Nature’s fury is the least of her worries.

It soon becomes clear that there is no lack of suspects in the man’s untimely death. As a shady contractor and philanderer, he’d angered a lot of people before he disappeared, including some of Nina’s closest friends.

With the help of her police detective ex-husband, a mysterious coroner’s investigator, her formerly-felonious employees and her zany neighbors, Nina sets out to uncover a killer...before another victim ends up planted six feet under. 



Other titles in the Nina Quinn Mystery Series:
A Hoe Lot of Trouble
Trouble in Spades
Digging up Trouble
Trouble in Bloom
Weeding out Trouble
Trouble Under the Tree

The Opposites Attract

This week's proof:

Me: I'm sad we're out of banana cream pie.
Mr. W: We have bananas, that's kind of the same thing.
Me: No, no it's not.

The Long Time Coming

Finally!

It's been more than TEN years since my first book was published and I'm happy to announce that book along with the other two in the sweet historical romance trilogy are finally available digitally. I affectionately call this my three sisters and a steamboat series, and it holds a special place in my heart. You'll also see as you read them how this series sparked my interest in writing mystery. 

After her father's death leaves her family penniless and homeless, Alex Parker hopes to profit from her family's sole remaining possession, an aging steamboat called Amazing Grace. With the funds from this sale, she can buy back her family home. But she needs a captain and no one on the river wants to work for a woman. Needing help, she turns to Captain Matthew Kinkade, a man who wants the boat for himself, a man whose desperation drives him to agree to Alex's outrageous plan of marriage in name only.

The love Matt and Alex find aboard Amazing Grace is powerful, but is it strong enough to withstand her insecurities, his tragic past, and the violent acts of a man out to destroy them both?

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Nook

Shy, charming Lou Parker is keeping secrets. Secrets about who she truly is, her job, and what she desires from life. It's not until she falls for local Reverend John Hewitt that she realizes her secrets need to be shared...even though she risks losing him forever.

John Hewitt has secrets of his own, but none compared to the love he feels for Lou--until he discovers that Madame Angelique, a sultry, mysterious songstress his congregation considers "fallen," is actually Lou. John already has to deal with fickle churchgoers casting judgment on the Parker sisters for their riverboat "heathen" business without them wondering about his feelings for Lou.

When their fragile relationship is tested, with the revelation of their secrets, they must find the courage to overcome their past. Will they discover in time that true love can heal any wound?

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Nook

Eager to raise enough money to fulfill her dream of raising horses, rebellious beauty Jack Parker knows just how to do it - by playing poker, of course. Through her skill with cards, her devil-may-care attitude, and her growing winnings, she's well on her way to buying her own horse farm.

Only one thing stands in her way: Cal McQue.

Jack lost her heart to the mysterious gambler once and is determined not to let it happen again. Especially when she discovers that there's a dangerous side to Cal. Now she must not only keep winning at cards, but learn as much as she can about this man who still holds her heart. As the time to play her hand draws closer - and as she slowly learns of Cal's true motivations - Jack must make the call.

Will she trust her wild heart or gamble away love forever?

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Nook

Right now they're available on Kindle and Nook. Other formats to come soon. I hope you'll give them a try! 

The Big Difference

What a big difference two weeks makes! Today was 70* and warm and breezy. Ahhhh. I could get used to this.

Two weeks ago

Yesterday

Happy spring!

The I Spy

Is it possible?

Do I spy with my little eye...

SPRING?????

The Close Encounter

I'm over at the Cozy Chicks today talking about my close encounter with a monkey.

Click here to check it out!

The Smile of the Day

Prepare yourself for cuteness.

You're smiling, right?

The Struggle

Just look at those poor daffodils as they struggle to open. They're so confused--it's supposed to be spring. But so far here in the Cincinnati area spring is still on an extended va-cay. We've had snow the past two days, and this morning is a nice 27 degrees. Supposedly (I'll believe it when I see it), this weekend is supposed to hit the 60s. Maybe those little daffodils will stand a chance, after all. We'll see.

The Great Giveaway

On Facebook, I'm taking part of an amazing giveaway to promote my upcoming release, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WITCHY! Not one, but TWO iPad minis are up for grabs. *I* don't even have one--but you could win one.

I'm THRILLED to be part of this giveaway along with fabulous authors Annie Knox, Melissa Bourbon/Misa Ramirez and Dorothy St. James. It's easy peasy to enter -- you just have to "like" all of us. No strings attached. Follow the link, fill out the form, and check the details. Good luck! 

http://tinyurl.com/arjs3sk

The Cozy Chicks

I'm over at the Cozy Chicks today talking about being sassy, er, SAASy. You'll see...

http://www.cozychicksblog.com/2013/03/the-new-phrase.html

The Throwback

How many of you remember the days of this happening?:

Well, you might be surprised, but this happened LAST WEEK. To my daughter.

Let me rewind (hahaha) a bit: For Baby Girl's AP Spanish class, she needed to buy a tape recorder. Not a digital one, oh no. The AP people are old school. It had to be a regular tape recorder (you should have seen us trying to track one down) with regular cassette tapes. One of the sections on the AP test is to actually speak Spanish, so the kids recite into their recorders, then send the cassettes off for grading.

Luckily, this cassette was just one of the practice cassettes. Let's hope something like this doesn't happen on the day of the test.

By the way, if you have an eagle eye, you may have noticed that my daughter's Spanish-class name is Graciela. I happen to love it--it fits her. :)

The Adorable

This one makes me smile.

The Snow Day

It's been two years since our district has had a snow day, so Baby Girl was rejoicing this morning. We had a measly five inches or so, but in this area, that's a big storm. Hot chocolate, anyone?