Scarlet at Crystal River by Randy Overbeck
Give a warm welcome to Randy Overbeck, author of The Haunted Shores Mysteries. His newest, Scarlet at Crystal River releases on September 13, 2021. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Randy and Scarlet at Crystal River.
Randy tell us a little about Scarlett at Crystal River
All Darrell Henshaw wanted was to enjoy his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, Erin, in the charming town of Crystal River on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. Only a pair of ghosts decide to intrude on their celebration. And not just any ghosts, the spirits of two young Latino children. Unwilling at first to derail the honeymoon for yet another ghost hunt, Darrell finally concedes when a painting of the kids comes alive, weeping and pleading for his help.
When he and Erin track down the artist, they discover the children’s family were migrant workers the next county over. But when they travel there, their questions about the kids gets their car shot up and Erin hospitalized. Torn between fear and rage, Darrell must decide how far he will go to get justice for two young children he never even knew.
Purchase Links
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
★★★★★ “Blood on the Chesapeake has something for everyone: mystery, romance, paranormal, history…it transported me to the locations where the main characters became my friends as I travelled their journey with them.”—
Another Amazon reviewer
“I loved everything about this book. As a ghost story combined with a mystery, a romance, a social injustice and stunning historical details, Crimson at Cape May has something for everyone.” ★★★★★—ReadersView
“Scarlet at Crystal River is a suspenseful paranormal novel with compelling characters and an enigmatic mystery that drives the story to a riveting conclusion.” ★★★★★—Literary Titan
I know you can’t please everyone, but my new series, the Haunted Shores Mysteries, has something to offer pretty much every reader.
Do you like a good mystery?
Do you enjoy a little romance with your story?
How about a little eerie in the tale?
Do you pick up books that whisk you off to beautiful locations?
(Insert pic of beach)
Are you drawn to stories with compelling characters?
Are you happy when you finish a book you feel like you’ve learned something new?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you’re probably going to enjoy the books in my series, #1 BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE (2019) #2 CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY (2020) and #3 SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER (2021).
But don’t take my word for it. (insert Goodreads graphic) Readers on both Amazon and Goodreads have raved about the novels, rating them all high, 4.5 average. You can check out their comments for yourself but here is a small sample:
- “a vacation to a beautiful seashore”
- “a book I could not put down”
- “a ghost/mystery filled with suspense and action”
- “Overbeck is mystery master”
- “Thrilling! Haunting! Convincing!”
- “a great romance story weaved into it”
- “the story has elements of humor, friendship, suspense, romance and heartbreak”
- “each character, carefully drawn and compelling in the many layers, draws the reader in and refuses to let go”
And the critics agree. The novels have earned more than a dozen five star reviews from national and international reviewers. (Insert 5 star graphic) Also, all three novels have won national awards including the Gold Award—Literary Titan, Silver Award for Mystery of the Year—ReaderViews, Crowned Heart of Excellence—InD’Tale magazine.
Oh and did I mention the first entry, BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE became a #1 best seller on Amazon and B & N this summer! (Insert BLOOD cover bestseller)
Check out for yourself what all the readers are talking about.
About the Author:
Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for four decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake, Crimson at Cape May and Scarlet at Crystal River have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year–ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation, “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
Social Media Connections;
https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media
https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck
https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-KOC0LH2GQRSAjwxOFr5rg
Tik Tok @authorrandyo
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Scarlet at Crystal River.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Blood on the Chesapeake, Crimson at Cape May, Dr. Randd Overbeck, Florida, ghosts, Haunted Shores Mysteries, Paranormal Mystery, Scarlet at Crystal River by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.
Charm Me Again by Tena Stetler #MFRWhooks
#MFRWhooks this week we take a look at CHARM ME AGAIN! A mysterious tale of enchanted tools of the trade set in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and a Scottish Highland Ghost, with nowhere to go. Breaking the curse is only the first step to forever.
So pull up a chair and get comfy, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about CHARM ME AGAIN!
Click on the cover to read more or purchase!
How CHARM ME AGAIN began:
For several months a Scottish Highland Ghost has haunted Daylan, in his personal life, his professional life and at his forge. Yet, being a talented warlock, he is no closer to discovering what the ghost wants or why he chose Daylan. A trip to his estranged sister’s home in Colorado may have unforeseen consequences especially when family history leads him to a shocking discovery.
As his attraction blooms for Josie, a yoga instructor in his sister’s studio, he realizes there may be more to Josie than he can imagine. When an ancient rogue Fae Warrior set on revenge kidnaps her in an attempt to claim her as his own, a devastating curse comes to light.
Daylan’s world spirals out of control as he searches for Josie. Can he break the age old curse to save her and their future, or will she be lost to him forever?
A peek between the pages of CHARM ME AGAIN:
She swallowed hard and blinked.
Out of the mist, in full Scottish regalia, a ghost stood, his transparent red and green belted plaid blowing in the breeze.
She shook her head, closed her eyes, scrubbed her hands over her eyes, and blinked them open. “What the hell?” burst from her lips before she could control herself. “It’s some kind of bad dream. Right?” She rubbed her eyes again opening only one this time. “Shit, you’re all still here.” She dropped her arms to her sides and glared at Daylan then Summer. “Someone better tell me what’s going on—right now.” Her hands fisted and unfisted at her sides.
Daylan returned her scathing look. “Later.”
“We meet again Shay.” The ghost said. “What kind of attire are ye wearing?”
“Never mind. Ye are the cause of the problem, Daylan.” The leader glared at the ghost.
“Oh, no—not this time,” the ghost said.
Daylan stood straight. “No way. I’m not taking the blame for this.”
Shay grinned. “Oh, now things are falling in place.” He pointed a finger at Daylan. “You are his namesake and that is why Khellan has returned.” He flicked a finger at the ghost. “And you have attached to your namesake hoping he or his twin can break the curse. What a tangle.” Shifting his gaze to her, he continued. “This young lass is caught in the middle with naught power to protect herself.”
“For god sakes. She’s mortal. How can she be caught in the middle?” Daylan shouted. “She shouldn’t even be able to see what’s happening.”
“Yet she does. Something to think about.” Shay shrugged one shoulder. “She is besotted with you, as you are with her. The lass’s blood may be diluted, but it’s there. The cycle begins again.”
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Charm Me Again, Colorado, Ghost, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Romance, Rocky Mountains, Scottish Highland, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with 7 comments.
Charm Me Again, A New Release by Tena Stetler
Happy holidays to all! I am so excited, today is the release day for my book, Charm Me Again!
We are on a virtual book tour through Bewitching Blog Tours for Charm Me Again. So much fun! Pssst… there are prizes to be won also. If you want to follow along, the tour stops & dates are listed at the bottom of this post.
Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets see what CHARM ME AGAIN is all about. Then we’ll get to the Holiday Extravaganza Feature about Twinkle Bright and Elves Secret Santa! Thanks for joining us!
A little about Charm Me Again –
Breaking the curse is only the first step to forever.
Daylan, a warlock, is being haunted, but what the ghost wants is a mystery. His magical powers bring him no closer to an answer—until he encounters Josie, a Yoga instructor.
But when she is kidnapped by an ancient Fae Warrior set on revenge Daylan must rescue her before the rogue claims her as his own. During his quest, his world spirals out of control, and a devastating curse comes to light. Could the ghost hold the answers he needs?
Can he break the age-old curse to save Josie and their future, or will Daylan lose her forever?
Buy Links for Charm Me Again
Amazon Amazon UK Amazon AU Amazon CA Kobo
A sneak peak between the pages of Charm Me Again!
Suddenly the wind increased and changed direction bringing a cold chill to the warm day. She tugged her sweater close around her as a thin maroon line formed along the flat bottom of a dark, boiling cloud spreading across the sky. Moments before there’d been only an occasional fluffy white cloud floating in the bright blue sky. Oh, no, not again.
The line slowly drifted to vertical and spread open to reveal a sparkling interior. Four striking creatures, sharp-angled features with fierce expressions on their inhumanly handsome faces appeared. Gleaming swords hung at their sides as they slipped out of the cloud and stepped onto the ground not more than fifty feet from her and Daylan along the tree line of the property. Holy shit. This can’t be happening.
She rubbed her eyes but when she opened them the men were still there. Dressed in heavy boots, jeans, and formfitting leather vests, shimmering silver bands adorned their muscular upper arms. Two of them had thick shoulder length blond hair, the others had jet black hair hanging in waves past their shoulders.
She jumped up and opened her mouth to scream. But Daylan reacted faster clapping his hand over her mouth while still facing the advancing creatures. To her surprise, a soft giggle escaped from her lips. They look like a group of medieval bikers. Their apparent leader, his reddish sable hair hung well beyond his shoulders in waves, paused a few yards in front of them.
The others flanked the leader in a V formation. Her heart beat a tattoo against her chest. The vision taking place in front of her wavered and spun. I will not pass out. I will not faint. I absolutely will not. She pried Daylan’s hand away and sucked in a deep breath then blew it out slowly.
The wind settled down to a light breeze that flipped strands of her hair over her face and eyes. Raising a hand, she brushed the hair out of her face and licked her lips nervously.
In the distance a door banged, a dog growled, then eerie silence prevailed.
“You can see the Fae, the cloud, and feel the change in temperature?” Daylan whispered, his voice tinged with surprise.
Everything snapped into focus and she nodded her eyes went wide. “Fae?” I’ve lost it. This isn’t happening. For god sakes one of them has a pointed ear sticking through his hair. Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, Devlin, Summer, and Piper joined them. Piper remained behind Summer, voicing her displeasure in low menacing growls.
Holiday Extravaganza Feature –
Twinkle Bright – Elves Secret Santa
Direct from the North Pole, welcome to the Elves Secret Santa party! Here at the North Pole it’s extremely busy, but we still have time for a little holiday fun and shenanigans.
Let me introduce myself. I’m an elf and my name is Twinkle Bright because my elf hat has twinkle lights wound all around the scalloped edge and the pointy top.
I make yummy Hot Chocolate for Santa and the elves from a secret family recipe passed down from generation to generation. 
My hot chocolate keeps everyone warm and toasty inside at the North Pole. There is even an automatic dispenser in Santa’s Sleigh providing him with hot chocolate during his travels on Christmas Eve. It goes good with the cookies the children leave for him.
While I am mixing up large batches of hot chocolate, I listen to Christmas Carols from a variety of pop, country and rock artists. I always taste each batch to insure it’s up to elf standards. . You would think I’d get tired of hot chocolate, but no — never. I love the steaming chocolaty drink. I usually keep mine in an insulated mug so it stays warm while sampling the cookies in the elves’ bakery. Frosted sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies are my absolute favorites.
Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. But you must promise not to tell…anyone.
We do a secret Santa gift exchange around here and this year I got Bob, her job at the North Pole is name checker to make sure Santa has all the correct spellings of the girls and boys. One year she spelled Chrys’ name Chris and wow what an uproar.
Luckily Santa caught it, but we had to rush to change all the tags on her packages. Whew!
I’m getting Elf Bobi a package of 120 different color markers in a jewel encrusted case for marking off the correctly spelled names after she checks them.
Do you think she’ll like that?
Do you like fudge? Great, I’ll share with you my favorite Fantasy Fudge Recipe.
3 cups of sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 – 5 oz can of evaporated milk (do not use sweetened condensed milk)
1 – 12 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips
1 – 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
You may add chopped nuts if you wish
Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir constantly
Cook for four minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees.
High altitude takes about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and marshmallow cream, stir until melted.
Add vanilla and nuts. Stir until blended.
Pour into a greased 9×13 pan, spread evenly.
Cool completely and cut into squares.
About the Author:
Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance novels. She has an over-active imagination, which led to writing her first vampire romance as a tween to the chagrin of her mother and delight of her friends.
With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, she sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of paranormal creatures, with a Navy SEAL or two mixed in telling their tales. Her books tell stories of magical kick-ass women and strong mystical males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Colorado is her home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn.
You can find her at the following links below: Stop by she loves to chat!
Website: https://www.tenastetler.com
Authors’ Secret’s Blog – My Say What Blog – Facebook Page- Twitter Page- Goodreads- Amazon- Newsletter letter signup-
Pinterest– Tribber –Bookbub- Instagram- and Tumblr:
Thank you so much for stopping by to help me celebrate my new release Charm Me Again! I know you’re going to love it!
Here’s the list of the other stops on the Charm Me Again blog tour. Stop at each one and register for a $15.00 Amazon Gift Card and a book of your choice by Tena Stetler.
December 2 Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
http://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/
December 3 Books 4 Book Nerds
https://booknerdbooks.wordpress.com
December 4 The Book Junkie Reads
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/
December 5 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!
http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com
December 6 Ilovebooksandstuffblog
https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com/
December 9 T’s Stuff
http://www.tsstuff.net
December 10 Supernatural Central
http://supernaturalcentral.blogspot.com
December 11 Boundless Book Reviews
http://www.boundlessbookreviews.com
December 12 Celia Breslin
http://www.celiabreslin.com/blog/
December 13 Lisa’s World of Books
http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/
December 16 Booklikes
http://roxannerhoads.booklikes.com
December 17 Fang-tastic Books
http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
December 18 Paranormalists
https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/
December 19 Roxanne’s Realm
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/
December 20 The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/
December 20 I Smell Sheep
http://www.ismellsheep.com/
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Blacksmith, Charm Me Again, Christmas, Colorado, Fae, fantasy, Holiday, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Romance, shifters, Tena Stetler, Witches, yoga by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Spooktacular Vampire Detective Midnight by JC Andrijeski
Give a Spooktacular welcome to jC Andrijeski author of Vampire Detective Midnight. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about JC and Vampire Detective Midnight. But first the Spooktacular Guest Blog.
chest… I MISSED HALLOWEEN, lol.
Thanksgiving… Talk Like A Pirate Day.
of my favorite holidays.
States in July. This was after spending almost five years living in Thailand,
with another few years in India prior to that.
just doesn’t translate, even if, like in Thailand, they like to celebrate it,
at least in the big cities where a lot of foreigners live.
is pretty much the epitome of that, they had Halloween-themed movie nights,
Halloween decorations in the malls (there are a LOT of malls in Bangkok),
Halloween-themed bar nights (a LOT of Halloween-themed bar nights… Bangkok
likes its bars), costume parties thrown by foreigners living there and some of
the consulates… Halloween music in the coffee shops.
same.
Fahrenheit year-round in Bangkok, with roughly 80-90 percent humidity. That
doesn’t flex all that much, although there are seasons in Bangkok. There’s the
super-duper, crazy hot season that runs roughly from April to June, where it
goes up to the high nineties, and even into the one-hundreds. There’s the
wetter seasons, the “hot” and “cold” monsoons, where it rains a lot and the
city floods. But it never really cools down. “Cold” Monsoon is just slightly
cooler than the one at the end of the hot dry season.
November to February, is heavenly if you live there – but it’s still like high
eighties to low nineties, which is, yeah, still hot.
the average Westerner, isn’t much fun. A lot of living in Thailand is hopping
from one air-conditioned enclave to another. I’m a big walker / outdoorsy
person, and even I needed a lot of breaks from being outside.
novelty for Thais, and fun for them, it’s really not a part of their culture,
so it’s not celebrated by most families. Thai kids don’t trick or treat… it’s
not a thing there (although I did give out candy in my building). Horror movies
are huge in Thailand, especially for teens, but that’s kind of a year-round
thing, and even teenagers don’t care all that much about Halloween as a
separate thing.
doorsteps, no scarecrows or other weird, macabre decorations on front porches
or in yards, no dads making dorky attempts to scare kids, no haunted houses, no
leaves changing colors, no big street parties like there were in San Francisco
when I lived there. And yeah, because there’s no trick or treating, there’s
also no roving bands of kids in crazy-cute costumes, jacked out of their minds
on intense sugar and chocolate rushes.
my first REAL Halloween since 2013.
possibilities, now that I’m living in Los Angeles. Part of me is tempted to go
all-out and do a Disneyland Halloween, or one at one of the other nearby
amusement parks, since all of them seem to have big, fun Halloween blowouts.
whatever costume I pull out at the last minute, whichever friends of mine I
drag out for a night of fun, I’m here for it! There’s nothing like a few years
in a foreign country to make you miss the little things of home.
spooky, dorky, sugary, costume-y, autumn-y, pumpkin-y, and haunted-house-filled
Halloween, as well! 🙂
as a “Midnight,” or vampire in the employ of the human police. Like all state-reg’d vamps, he gets his food delivered to his door, lives in government
housing, and basically can’t sneeze without the U.S. government knowing about it.
to be left alone, to endure his immortality in peace, but he’s barely in New
York two weeks when things start to go sideways.
shouldn’t exist at all, and a possible conspiracy involving the richest humans
in New York.
effect on him.
pretty sure he’ll end up forcibly reprogrammed by his human owners––assuming
they don’t just rip his heart out of his chest and be done with it.
A sneak peek between the pages of Vampire Detective Midnight
He needed to feed.
It was putting him in a foul mood.
That, and all this fucking blood…
Nick frowned, staring around at the alley floor.
It hit him again.
There was something wrong with this blood.
It smelled too fucking good.
It smelled way too fucking good.
That couldn’t all be Nick’s hunger.
“Anyway, that’s what I can tell you so far,” he said, making his voice deliberately casual. “Without knowing who the victims are, or what brought them to this alley, it’s pretty hard to speculate on motive, but…”
Nick hesitated then, realizing something.
Frowning, he stepped closer to the pools of blood.
Nose wrinkling, he crouched down so he could smell it from closer, even though the scent was overpowering, even from a lot further away. Taking a few full whiffs, he felt his fangs begin to extend in earnest.
That time, he couldn’t pull it back.
A flush of heat hit his gut and chest, burning in his throat. It was intense enough, he almost got hard, but he’d gotten pretty good at squelching that reaction, too.
He stood up at once.
Really, he lurched back.
It happened so fast, that smell and his reaction to it, Nick forgot to modulate his body’s natural reflexes to accommodate the people around him. He was up and moving in a heartbeat, darting back in pure instinct, without slowing his movements at all.
He moved fast enough to make the humans around him freeze.
Instantly, they turned into prey.
Ignoring them, and ignoring their deer-in-headlights reactions to how he’d just moved, Nick backed away from the pool of blood with a scowl.
He backed away from the human detectives and tech team, too.
“They’re hybrids,” he said, emotion reaching his voice.
He turned around, staring at the humans sharing the alley with him.
The stared back at him, faces blank, eyes holding flickers of fear.
Frustrated, wanting to smash through that frozen prey look, Nick let his voice turn into a harder growl.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Nick said. “Did you hear me? They’re all fucking hybrids.”
When they still didn’t speak, he averted his gaze with a scowl. His eyes returned to the alley. Staring around at all of that blood, it sank in what it really represented.
Once it had, he couldn’t help but feel sick.
WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author who writes paranormal mysteries and
apocalyptic fiction, often with a sexy, romantic and metaphysical bent. JC has
a background in journalism, history and politics, and loves martial arts, yoga,
meditation, hiking, swimming, horseback riding, painting… and of course reading
and writing. She grew up in the Bay Area of California, but travels extensively
and has lived abroad in Europe, Australia and Asia, and from coast to coast in
the continental United States. She currently lives and writes full-time in
Bangkok, Thailand.
Detective Midnight, the Bridge & Sword series, the Quentin Black Mystery
series, The Morph series, and the Alien Apocalypse series. She’s also written a
number of standalone novels, novellas and short stories, as well as nonfiction
articles and essays.
writing, please visit
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jcandrijeski
It was Spooktacular having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Vampire Detective Midnight!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged MC Andrijeski, Paranormal Mystery, Science Fiction, Vampire Detective Midnight by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
