Endorsement = Approval or Support - or both!

Here are the last, but not least, portraits of my endorsers. I am so thrilled with all six reviews of Sweet Karoline. After all, these are authors whose work I admire. And they like me, they really like me (and Karoline too, of course)!

I met Robin Spano at Bouchercon a few years ago, even before I'd read her books.
 

Later, we had a wild night at the Bloody Words Conference in Victoria, B.C., and I totally fell in love (the friendship kind) with her kind, thoughtful, funny, smart personality. We are forever bonded over red wine, getting locked out of a hotel, and William Deverell.

I know - the above needs more information, but what happened in Victoria stays in Victoria. Here's some stuff you can be told, though, from Robin's website:

Robin grew up in downtown Toronto and now lives in Lions Bay, BC. When she’s not lost in fiction, she loves to get outside snowboarding, hiking, boating, and riding the curves of the local highways in her big black pick-up truck. She’s a founding member of Off The Page Toastmasters – a public speaking group for writers. She is married to a man who hates reading and encourages her endlessly. Which is great, because it’s Keith who drags her away from her computer to do all those fun things outside.

I've met Keith, too, and they're both amazing. Robin's three books feature
Clare Vengel, a modern 20something who wants to be a great undercover cop. She isn't. She can slip into a cover role and befriend suspects in all walks of life, but her resistance to authority and her tendency to have too much fun on the job consistently trip her up.

I really liked all three novels, because the writing is smart and snappy, the voices are authentic, and the various settings are interesting. Oh, and the plots are great (you can tell I'm a more character-oriented reader, can't you?).

According to Robin's website, "the books can be read in any order. In fact, reader reviews favor the latest, so we recommend starting with Death's Last Run." Personally, I recommend all three. Visit Robin and decide for yourself!

Douglas Wickard and I met on Twitter. Seriously. Then we connected on Facebook. We started writing back and forth. I read his book and he read a couple of mine. We decided we were kindred spirits - certainly I loved A Perfect Husband and thought his twisted characters were right up my alley LOL.

From his website, here's a bit about Douglas that I think will explain why I found him so interesting:

"I left home early, at sixteen, and joined the military. By twenty-three I was a world traveler. I traded in my small-town upbringing for the City; Los Angeles first, then New York. For over twenty years I lived in the Big Apple, working in the hospitality industry, but I never stopped putting pencil to paper, fingers to keyboard. My introduction to professional writing began with musicals. My first optioned show was called Waiting. Head Over Heels and Lovers & Liars followed. Although Broadway was the goal, my shows never saw the light of the 'Great White Way.' But, my association and collaboration, at that time, with so many wonderful, talented musicians, singers and writers was a creative dream, a children's playground."

Well, he happens to be back in Los Angeles, having written his first thriller novel and nearly finished the second. Since my son and daughter-in-law are in LA, I was able to meet Douglas in person this year. Even though it was only for a quick drink, I know we'll meet up again. We talked non-stop and could probably do so for several hours!

A Perfect Husband is a terrific book, very exciting and gritty - you have to read it. Can't wait for the sequel. Here's a description, which sounds as awesome as the novel really is. (Click on the title to buy it.)

An abandoned cabin... a diabolical killer... a hidden cemetery. A deadly secret is about to be uncovered.
Sami Saxton is starting over.

Gone... is the philandering lawyer husband of twenty-three years. History!
Sold... is the Upper Eastside brownstone complete with designer zip code and 'all the right stuff.' Finished... is her somewhat tarnished career as a veteran editor in the ever-changing corporate world of publishing.
Could things get much worse?
Yes, of course. Sami just turned 42! But, Sami has made up her mind.
Far from the neon blur of Manhattan—the dizzy buzz of restaurants, theater openings and one too many cocktails—located seventy-two miles outside the City in the sleepy, rural township of Montague, New Jersey, Sami is looking to rebuild her life. A rebirth, one might call it. And, she intends to do this spiritual resurrection in a small, abandoned fishing cabin, built over forty years ago by her now deceased father.
Not quite...
A lethal serial killer has taken up residence in the basement of Sami's remote cottage, using her father's carpenter table for a hobby far more sinister than woodcutting.
Sequestered deep within forty-two acres of tall pine trees, bristling brooks and fresh water lakes...
Sami Saxton is about to fight for her life...
The hard truth... nobody will ever hear her scream!


Visit Douglas for yourself right here.