Tag Archives: Julie Howard

SPIRIT IN TIME by Julie Howard

10 Wednesday Feb 2021

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I’m excited to welcome back Julie Howard today! She’s a sister Rose (published by The Wild Rose Press), and her latest release is part of the series, Spirited Quest Mysteries. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Here’s the scoop on Spirit in Time:

Time travel isn’t real. It can’t be real. But ghost-blogger Jillian Winchester discovers otherwise when an enigmatic spirit conveys her to 1872 to do his bidding.

Jillian finds herself employed as a maid in Sacramento, in an elegant mansion with a famous painting. The artwork reveals another mystery: Why does the man within look exactly like her boyfriend, Mason Chandler?

Morality and sin live side by side, not only in the picture, but also within her. As her transgressions escalate, she races the clock to find the man in the painting, and hunt down a spirit with a disconcerting gift.

But will time be her friend or foe?

A peek between the pages:

“Are you a ghost?” A young girl stood where the guard had been only minutes before. She spoke matter-of-factly, her dark eyes alive with curiosity.

The house was still whole, she was alive, and the world hadn’t ended. Jillian scanned the room for damage, then blinked. This must be a dream. The long dining table—bare just moments ago—was now laid for a meal. Glasses sat upright, forks and spoons lined up in perfect order, and a tall flower arrangement appeared unscathed. A crystal chandelier above the table remained perfectly still.

The guard and Asian man were nowhere in sight.

The girl, dressed neatly in a calf-length white pinafore embellished with pink ribbons, didn’t appear rattled by the cataclysmic jolt.

“What happened?” Jillian asked, still crouched on her knees. “Are you okay?”

“You don’t belong here. Mother will be angry.”

Even though the floor had ceased to shake, the roiling continued in her head. Might this very real looking girl be a spirit? Most apparitions wavered in some manner, their appearances paler and less there than the tangible world around them. This child appeared solid in every way, from the tips of her shiny chestnut hair to the toes of her lace-up black shoes.

Buy the book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple

More about Julie:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series, and Spirited Quest. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal, and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.

Where to find her:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub | Twitter | Instagram

Wishing you all the best with your new release, Julie!  🙂

 

SEA SALT LAVENDER FOR APHRODITE by Julie Howard

05 Friday Jun 2020

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Please welcome Julie Howard!  She’s a sister Rose (published by The Wild Rose Press) and has a yummy new release: Sea Salt Lavender for Aphrodite, part of our publisher’s One Scoop or Two summer series.  She’s here to tell us all about her love for ice cream and this fun read, which you can snap up for only $1.99.  Take it away, Julie!

After a mild, damp spring, summer laid down its gauntlet last weekend with our first hundred-degree day. I opened the freezer to a welcome rush of frigid air and reached for the ice cream. An ice cream bar, vanilla covered in a crisp chocolate nutty shell, to be exact.

That’s this week’s treat. Next week it’ll be a different flavor. I’ve never been a plain vanilla kind of gal. I need variety. Strawberry, peach, coffee, chocolate chip, mango, mint chip, mocha, and daiquiri. I’ve tried strawberry with black pepper, bourbon, and green tea. Going ice cream tasting is sort of like wine tasting, right? Somebody offer ice cream flights, please!

My love of this sweet treat is the reason I knew exactly what kind of food truck my heroine in my latest book would have. Rosella Rivers is a former pastry chef-turned-entrepreneur who now sells unique flavors from the truck she parks each day at the beach boardwalk. Chocolate eggplant, anyone? (Okay, that one wasn’t a success for her.)

After the murder of an acquaintance, she falls head over heels with the detective who investigates the case. He’s lactose intolerant. What’s a girl to do?

Sea Salt Lavender for Aphrodite is a light, cozy mystery that evokes soft lapping waves, seagulls, and warm sand between your toes. I hope you enjoy!

A little more about the book:

Rosella Rivers enjoys the perfect life, loving her new ice cream food truck business featuring exotic flavors. But her beach view parking space is not so lovable when she finds an acquaintance stabbed to death in the boardwalk bathroom.

Detective Mark Pruitt knows murder is bad for small-town Olympus Bay. He must find the suspect before he strikes again. When he first sets eyes on Rosella, the only witness, he is smitten. However, there’s no time for romance when danger lurks. 

Together he and the lovely ice cream maker must discover the killer before he turns his sight on Rosella.

A peek between the pages:

The echo of a drip-drip-drip resonated from within. Rosella glanced around, wishing a man would pass by, someone she could send inside on her behalf. On this side of the structure, though, the beachfront was hidden from view and the building backed by sand dunes. Unless someone needed to use the facilities, they wouldn’t approach.

“Mick?”

A distant chime from the town clock made her heart sink. Ten a.m. Opening time. She had to get back to her truck. A fresh round of anxious yips sounded. She scooted to the corner of the building and peeked toward her truck. Aphrodite stood at attention, straining at the leash. The dog barked twice at spotting her and renewed efforts to break free of the tether.

She returned to the doorway. “Mick, I’m just going to step inside since I’m a little bit worried, just to make sure you’re okay. Let me know if I shouldn’t come in.” No response sounded. “All right, coming in.”

The odor hit her first. Heavy, sweet, sickening. Then her eyes registered the scene. Mick lay face down in the middle of the tile floor, a steady stream of deep red blood winding its way toward a drain.

Buy the book:

Amazon | B & N | Apple Books

More about Julie:

Julie Howard is the author of the best-selling Wild Crime and Spirited Quest series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. Now she edits an online anthology, Potato Soup Journal, and spends many delightful hours writing her books.

Where to find her:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub | Twitter

Thanks for joining us today, Julie.  Wishing you all the best with your new release!  🙂

FREE AUDIO CODES STILL AVAILABLE!

13 Monday Apr 2020

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The audiobook fair on Story Origin is still going strong! There are more than 30 books from which to choose, including four of mine. Request the titles you’d like to review here!

These are the stories I’m offering for free:

How eager would the bridegroom be if he knew he could never bed the bride?

Lady Emma of Ravenwood Keep is prepared to give Sir William l’Orage land, wealth, and her hand in marriage. But her virginity? Not unless he loves her. The curse that claimed her mother is clear: unless a Ravenwood heir is conceived in love, the mother will die in childbirth. Emma is determined to dodge the curse. Then William arrives, brandishing raw sensuality which dares her to explore her own.

William the Storm isn’t a man to be gainsaid. He’ll give her protection, loyalty, and as much tenderness as he can muster. But malignant memories quell the mere thought of love. To him, the curse is codswallop. He plans a seduction to breach Emma’s fears and raze her objections. What follows is a test of wills and an affirmation of the power of love.

A Norman loyalist, Lady Jocelyn bristles when ordered to marry Wulfstan, a Saxon sorcerer. She nurses a painful secret and would rather bathe in a cesspit than be pawed by such a man…until her lifelong dream of motherhood rears its head.

A man of magic and mystery, Wulfstan has no time for wedded bliss. He fears that consummating their marriage will bind their souls and wrench his focus from the ancient riddle his dying mother begged him to solve. He’s a lone wolf, salving old wounds with endless work. But Jocelyn stirs him as no woman ever has.

Their attraction is undeniable. Their fates are intertwined. Together, they must face their demons and bring light to a troubled land.

Lady Constance de Bret was determined to be a nun, until shadows from the past eclipsed her present. Marriage is the safest option, but she insists on a spiritual union, in which physical intimacy is forbidden. Not so easy with a bridegroom who wields unparalleled charm! But a long-buried secret could taint his affection and cloak her in shadow forever.

Back from the Crusades, Sir Robert le Donjon craves a home of his own and children to inherit it. From the moment he meets Constance, he feels a mysterious bond between them. When she’s threatened, he vows to protect her and agrees to the spiritual marriage, with the hope of one day persuading her to enjoy a “real” one. She captivates him but opens old wounds and challenges everything he thought he believed.

Two souls in need of healing. Two hearts destined to beat as one.

Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.

At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.

But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.

Happy listening, and happy Monday! 🙂