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Veronica Jorge: October Featured Author

October 28, 2021 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

Manager, Educator, and former High School Social Studies teacher, Veronica credits her love of history to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York.

Her Work in Progress is a Young Adult Novel based on a search into her ethnic roots that explores identity, belonging, and self-discovery. Her genres of choice are historical fiction, where she always makes new discoveries, literary works because she loves beautiful writing, and children’s picture books because there are so many wonderful worlds yet to be imagined and visited.

She currently resides in Macungie, PA., but she’s still a Brooklyn girl at heart. How sweet it is!

Veronica’s story “Fiona Malone’s Fesh,” is featured in the Fall 2021 Issue of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

In addition to her fiction, she has a monthly column, Write from the Heart, here on A Slice of Orange where she writes about writing, life and does book reviews.

Connect with her on Facebook @VeronicaJorgeauthor


Books Reviewed by Veronica

BLACK FOOD: STORIES, ART & RECIPES FROM ACROSS THE AFRICAN DIASPORA

INCIDENT AT SAN MIGUEL

Buy now!
INCIDENT AT SAN MIGUEL

REFUGEE

Buy now!
REFUGEE

THE WITCH WHISPERER

Buy now!
THE WITCH WHISPERER
UPROOTED: THE JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE DURING WORLD WAR II

THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

Buy now!
THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

DISTANT RELATIONS

Buy now!
DISTANT RELATIONS

FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

Buy now!
FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

THE ONLY ROAD

Buy now!
THE ONLY ROAD

THE LAST GOODNIGHT

Buy now!
THE LAST GOODNIGHT

MIGUEL’S BRAVE KNIGHT

Buy now!
MIGUEL’S BRAVE KNIGHT

FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

Buy now!
FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

FORGIVING MARIELA CAMACHO

Buy now!
FORGIVING MARIELA CAMACHO

FORGIVING STEPHEN REDMOND

Buy now!
FORGIVING STEPHEN REDMOND

FORGIVING MAXIMO ROTHMAN

Buy now!
FORGIVING MAXIMO ROTHMAN

MY FRIEND JACKSON

Buy now!
MY FRIEND JACKSON

THREE TREATS TOO MANY

Buy now!
THREE TREATS TOO MANY
SERIOUSLY, MOM, YOU DIDN’T KNOW?

SECRET RELATIONS

Buy now!
SECRET RELATIONS

TWO BITES TOO MANY

Buy now!
TWO BITES TOO MANY
#PLEASE SAY YES (#HermosafortheHolidays Book 1)

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Buy now!
FOREIGN RELATIONS

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

Buy now!
ONE TASTE TOO MANY

THE ALLIANCE

Buy now!
THE ALLIANCE

A DRAKENFALL CHRISTMAS

Buy now!
A DRAKENFALL CHRISTMAS
THE RELUCTANT GROOM AND OTHER HISTORICAL STORIES
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN PICKED UP A PENNY

THE SCRIBE OF SIENA

Buy now!
THE SCRIBE OF SIENA
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE

SEVERED RELATIONS

Buy now!
SEVERED RELATIONS

A BIRD WILL SOAR

Buy now!
A BIRD WILL SOAR

NEMESIS AND THE SWAN

Buy now!
NEMESIS AND THE SWAN

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A Simple Truth by Neetu

October 26, 2021 by in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as , , , , ,

be happy
she says, her soft arms
hold me as I lean
into them
seeking reassurance
a promise to protect

am I so old, I wonder
to need that which I gave
so freely, assuming
I was the stronger
when she was frail

am I so lucky, I ask
looking at the starry skies
as if the milky way
might hold the answer

but then I stop
look into her eyes
and know
the love of a daughter

© Neetu Malik


Some of Neetu’s Books


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Read an Excerpt: The Last Goodnight

October 25, 2021 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as , , , , ,

The Last Goodnight

Kat Martin

Kensington Publishing Corp.

October 26, 2021  

ISBN 978-1-4967-3679-6

Review of The Last Goodnight

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Excerpt

The Last Goodnight

Kat Martin

Kade Logan stood on the bank watching the sheriff and his deputies haul the mud-covered vehicle out of the lake. The crane groaned as the automobile tilted upward, the rear end lifting into the air, the front wheels dragging across the spongy earth. Brackish lake water poured out through the open windows.

For eight long years Kade had been haunted by the mystery of what had happened to the dark green Subaru that belonged to his dead wife. Her body had been found in a shallow depression in the hills at the base of the mountains outside Denver, but until now, eight years later, her car had never been found.

And her killer had never been caught.

“You okay?” Sam Bridger, Kade’s best friend, stood beside him, a tall blond man Kade had known for years.

“She’s been dead eight years, Sam. So yeah, I’m okay.” But the rage he felt had never lessened. It should have. At the time of her death, their marriage was already on the rocks. The second time Kade had caught Heather cheating, he had filed for divorce.

“Maybe they’ll find something in the car that’ll give them a reason to reopen the case,” Sam said.

“Maybe.” Kade hoped so. He wanted Heather’s killer found and punished. No matter how things had turned out between them, he owed her that much.

He glanced back at the car. The last time he had seen the dark green SUV was the night Heather had left him. That night, she had packed her things, taken the car, and driven away without a backward glance. Kade had never seen her again.

Since then, he had been tormented by guilt, had lived each day with a terrible sense of failure that he had never found the man responsible for her death.

Never made the bastard pay.

“I’ve seen enough,” Kade said. “I’m heading back to the ranch.”

“That’s it?” Sam asked, a blond eyebrow edging up.

Kade thought of Heather and felt the old rage burn through him. “Not by a long shot,” he said.

Eleanor Bowman sat at her oak desk near the front door of the office, a two-story brick structure on Acoma Street in Denver.

Photos of local wildlife hung on the walls, elk, deer, a big black bear, along with autographed photos of celebrities the company had done business with over the years. The faces of Tom Selleck, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Kevin Costner looked down from sturdy oak frames.

Though most of the guys who worked at Nighthawk Security held P.I. licenses, Ellie and a woman named Skye Delaney were the only two female private investigators. Since Ellie had just finished a case, she was looking for something to do, hopefully something interesting, but work was work. She didn’t want her savings account to dwindle.

She looked up as the glass door at the front of the office swung open and a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing a dark brown Stetson walked in. People thought of Denver as a western town, but it had been years since Ellie had seen a guy in a cowboy hat who looked like it belonged on him.

In crisp dark blue jeans that fit snuggly over a pair of narrow hips, brown lizard-skin boots, and a white shirt with pearl snaps on the front, the man removed his Stetson, revealing neatly trimmed, golden brown hair, and strode toward the desk closest to the door, which happened to be hers.

“My name’s Kade Logan.” He had a lean, muscular build, and the long, powerful legs of a bulldogger. His deep, masculine voice fit him as perfectly as his hat, and his hard, handsome face could rival any of the celebrities hanging on the office walls. “I have an appointment with Conner Delaney.”

“Yes, Conn mentioned he was expecting you.” Her boss, the dark-haired, handsome man who owned and ran the company. Ellie wondered if Kade Logan could possibly be the client Conn had in mind for her.

She smiled up at Logan. “His office is down the hall. Go ahead and go on in.” A little under five-foot-four, she was at least ten inches shorter.

Logan gave her a cursory nod, then strode off and disappeared inside Conn’s office. She wondered what kind of help he needed.

Ten minutes later, she found out.

“Kade meet Eleanor Bowman.”

His eyes narrowed, tiny sun lines forming in the corners. “You’re Eleanor Bowman?”

“I’m Ellie.” She smiled and stuck out a hand. “Pleasure meeting you.”

His jaw tightened an instant before he reached out and accepted her handshake.

He turned back to Conn. “Eleanor. With a name like that, I thought she’d be an older woman, someone with more experience. Either way, this is a bad idea.”

“What idea is that?” Ellie asked.

“Eight years ago, Kade’s wife was murdered,” Conn explained. “Her body was discovered in the mountains outside Denver, but the killer was never found. Two weeks ago, the car Heather was driving the night she disappeared was discovered in a lake near Coffee Springs. It’s possible the killer abducted her, dumped the car in the lake, then drove her somewhere else and murdered her.”

“And that’s the reason you want to hire me? To find out who murdered your wife?”

Logan’s gaze swung to hers. “First off, I don’t want to hire you. Conn thought it would be a good idea. He said your specialty is working undercover, but the last thing I need on my ranch is a female playing detective.”

Irritation bubbled up and her spine went straighter. “Did Conn tell you I was born in Wyoming? I was raised on the Grass Valley Ranch near Jackson Hole. Did he tell you I can ride just about anything you have in your remuda? And the weather doesn’t bother me. I know ranching, Mr. Logan. I can fit seamlessly into your operation. I can do whatever it takes to make people accept me and gather the information you need.”

Silence fell.

Conn Delaney’s lips twitched. “I think you can see why I thought Ellie was the right person for the job.”

A muscle worked in Logan’s square jaw. He raked a hand through his hair, mussed a little from the hat.

“I need some time to think about it.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie asked. “Because you’ve already had eight years to think about it.”

Kade’s golden eyes narrowed, seemed to burn into her green ones. “You really think you can do it?”

“If you want me to succeed, I’ll need straight answers to any questions I ask. If you’re willing to do that and if the information is out there, I’ll find out who it was.”

For the first time she caught a glimmer of respect in Logan’s eyes. “When can you start?”

“I can be there tomorrow, if we can figure out the best place for me to fit in. That way I’ll know what I need to bring.”

Logan’s hard mouth edged up. “You mean besides your pistol?”

“You better make that plural.” Ellie flashed him a phony smile. “Remember, Mr. Logan, I’m from Wyoming.”

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin.  More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries.  Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film.  Kat’s new novel, THE LAST GOODNIGHT, a Romantic Thriller, will be released in hardcover on October 26th and is the start of her new Blood Ties series.  


More Books by Kat Martin

THE LAST MILE

Buy now!
THE LAST MILE

THE LAST GOODNIGHT

Buy now!
THE LAST GOODNIGHT

THE PERFECT MURDER

Buy now!
THE PERFECT MURDER

COME MIDNIGHT

Buy now!
COME MIDNIGHT

THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

Buy now!
THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

PIVOT

Buy now!
PIVOT

SHADOWS AT DAWN

Buy now!
SHADOWS AT DAWN

BEYOND DANGER

Buy now!
BEYOND DANGER

THE DECEPTION

Buy now!
THE DECEPTION

THE CONSPIRACY

Buy now!
THE CONSPIRACY

BEYOND REASON

Buy now!
BEYOND REASON

WAIT UNTIL DARK

Buy now!
WAIT UNTIL DARK

BEYOND CONTROL

Buy now!
BEYOND CONTROL

You can read a review of The Last Goodnight here.

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THE LAST GOODNIGHT by Kat Martin—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE

October 22, 2021 by in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as , , ,

The Last Goodnight

Kat Martin

Kensington Publishing Corp.

October 26, 2021  

ISBN 978-1-4967-3679-6

Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Kobo
Buy from IndieBound
Buy from Google Play
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Amazon

The weather’s getting cooler. Falling leaves and changing colors begin the transition into a new season. Nature can be blustery, wild, destructive, regenerative, and unexpected. Like life, and the lives of the characters in Kat Martin’s new romantic thriller, The Last Goodnight.

Kade Logan never saw his wife, Heather, again after their divorce. Her disappearance always puzzled him. Until the day her murdered body had been found in the hills of Denver. Shoving aside his hurt feelings of betrayal from Heather’s unfaithfulness, he hires a private investigator to find her killer. But he never expected the P.I. would be Ellie Bowman; petite and gorgeous.

Ellie moves in to Kade’s Diamond Bar ranch in Coffee Springs, Colorado and works undercover as a cook, trying to narrow down the list of possible killers. At this point every friend, ranch hand, and town shopkeeper are suspects; including the sheriff, Glen Carver!

Kade and Ellie work the case while also trying to tame the growing attraction between them. Both divorced and victims of unfaithful spouses, they find trust and love elusive and frightening. But when Heather’s killer resurfaces and hones in on Ellie, they both realize the choice they must each make. Hopefully, before it’s too late.

So, grab a hot cup of brew and a throw and nestle into your cozy chair. The Last Goodnight will have you loving and rooting for handsome, powerful Kade and beautiful feisty Ellie where you’ll find that it’s not just murder and caffeine pounding through the town of Coffee Springs, Colorado.

Oh, and just so y’all know, I got dibs on Kade Logan.

Veronica Jorge

See you next time on November 22nd!


Other Books by Kat Martin

(Hover over the covers for buy links. Click on the cover for more information.)

THE LAST MILE

Buy now!
THE LAST MILE

THE LAST GOODNIGHT

Buy now!
THE LAST GOODNIGHT

THE PERFECT MURDER

Buy now!
THE PERFECT MURDER

COME MIDNIGHT

Buy now!
COME MIDNIGHT

THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

Buy now!
THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

PIVOT

Buy now!
PIVOT

SHADOWS AT DAWN

Buy now!
SHADOWS AT DAWN

BEYOND DANGER

Buy now!
BEYOND DANGER

THE DECEPTION

Buy now!
THE DECEPTION

THE CONSPIRACY

Buy now!
THE CONSPIRACY

BEYOND REASON

Buy now!
BEYOND REASON

WAIT UNTIL DARK

Buy now!
WAIT UNTIL DARK

BEYOND CONTROL

Buy now!
BEYOND CONTROL

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Veronica Jorge: October Featured Author

October 21, 2021 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

Manager, Educator, and former High School Social Studies teacher, Veronica credits her love of history to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York.

Her Work in Progress is a Young Adult Novel based on a search into her ethnic roots that explores identity, belonging, and self-discovery. Her genres of choice are historical fiction, where she always makes new discoveries, literary works because she loves beautiful writing, and children’s picture books because there are so many wonderful worlds yet to be imagined and visited.

She currently resides in Macungie, PA., but she’s still a Brooklyn girl at heart. How sweet it is!

Veronica’s story “Fiona Malone’s Fesh,” is featured in the Fall 2021 Issue of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

In addition to her fiction, she has a monthly column, Write from the Heart, here on A Slice of Orange where she writes about writing, life and does book reviews.

Connect with her on Facebook @VeronicaJorgeauthor


Books Reviewed by Veronica

BLACK FOOD: STORIES, ART & RECIPES FROM ACROSS THE AFRICAN DIASPORA

INCIDENT AT SAN MIGUEL

Buy now!
INCIDENT AT SAN MIGUEL

REFUGEE

Buy now!
REFUGEE

THE WITCH WHISPERER

Buy now!
THE WITCH WHISPERER
UPROOTED: THE JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE DURING WORLD WAR II

THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

Buy now!
THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

DISTANT RELATIONS

Buy now!
DISTANT RELATIONS

FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

Buy now!
FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

THE ONLY ROAD

Buy now!
THE ONLY ROAD

THE LAST GOODNIGHT

Buy now!
THE LAST GOODNIGHT

MIGUEL’S BRAVE KNIGHT

Buy now!
MIGUEL’S BRAVE KNIGHT

FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

Buy now!
FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

FORGIVING MARIELA CAMACHO

Buy now!
FORGIVING MARIELA CAMACHO

FORGIVING STEPHEN REDMOND

Buy now!
FORGIVING STEPHEN REDMOND

FORGIVING MAXIMO ROTHMAN

Buy now!
FORGIVING MAXIMO ROTHMAN

MY FRIEND JACKSON

Buy now!
MY FRIEND JACKSON

THREE TREATS TOO MANY

Buy now!
THREE TREATS TOO MANY
SERIOUSLY, MOM, YOU DIDN’T KNOW?

SECRET RELATIONS

Buy now!
SECRET RELATIONS

TWO BITES TOO MANY

Buy now!
TWO BITES TOO MANY
#PLEASE SAY YES (#HermosafortheHolidays Book 1)

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Buy now!
FOREIGN RELATIONS

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

Buy now!
ONE TASTE TOO MANY

THE ALLIANCE

Buy now!
THE ALLIANCE

A DRAKENFALL CHRISTMAS

Buy now!
A DRAKENFALL CHRISTMAS
THE RELUCTANT GROOM AND OTHER HISTORICAL STORIES
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN PICKED UP A PENNY

THE SCRIBE OF SIENA

Buy now!
THE SCRIBE OF SIENA
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE

SEVERED RELATIONS

Buy now!
SEVERED RELATIONS

A BIRD WILL SOAR

Buy now!
A BIRD WILL SOAR

NEMESIS AND THE SWAN

Buy now!
NEMESIS AND THE SWAN

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