Riverside Lane by Ginger Black - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Ginger Black and their new book, “Riverside Lane”!  For other stops on their Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Ginger Black and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Riverside Lane

by Ginger Black

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GENRE: Cozy Mystery

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BLURB:

After arranging a house swap with a debonair antiques dealer, a darkly handsome American named Luca Tempesta arrives in a quaint English village. Tempesta, who claims to run a detective agency in Los Angeles, is supposedly on holiday – but the inhabitants of the village are unconvinced.

Yet, as they attempt to solve the mystery of the stranger in their midst, it gradually transpires that there are more than enough secrets to go around in the village itself, harboured by the local MP and his uptight, ambitious wife; the has-been former game show host; the respectable couple with the jailbird son; the hometown journalist, striving for a scoop that will rescue her from debt; and so on. The place is revealed as a labyrinth of deception masquerading as a picture-postcard hamlet; tension begins to mount in between the dinner parties and evenings at the pub, and soon culminates in an unexpected death.

Behind perfect privets and brightly painted front doors, the lives of Riverside Lane’s residents slowly unravel. Tempesta, guarding his secrets with a vengeance, is suddenly threatened with exposure by the elderly religious zealot Ivy Midwinter, whose own past involved keeping professional confidences. When she challenges him in church, she learns that Tempesta will stop at nothing to protect his privacy ...

Set against the exquisite backdrop of a gastronomic village by the Thames, Riverside Lane is a tautly paced page-turner that also gently satirises middle- class English manners: the upstanding denizens of the village watch and whisper behind a mask of English hauteur, whilst their own fragile lives come undone.

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EXCERPT ONE:

A dusky gauze veil lifted to reveal the soft pink light of dawn. The sun recast the Earth in a glorious patchwork of fields, and a cacophony of birdsong stirred the residents of Riverside Lane from their slumber. Cherry and magnolia trees formed a guard of honour over the lane, which lay tranquil, deserted and calm.

High above, skimming the rose-coloured clouds, a British Airways jet descended over the River Thames. Luca Tempesta checked his seatbelt and reached for his cigarettes, curling his fingers around them with the zeal of a junkie. He flipped the packet, prompting disapproving looks from a couple playing chess beside him, and thought about his meeting with the Russian academic. He had felt bound by reckless honour to visit his wife’s friend and mentor in Moscow, despite the risk. The man had deserved to know what happened to Natasha, but it gave Luca even more to hide.

The scent of freshly ground coffee permeated the cabin, reminding the American of his caffeine-addicted wife; he missed her clear, analytical mind and ability to rationalise situations. He thought of her final moments, and her terror as the net had closed in. She had paid the ultimate price for her loyalty. He stretched his legs into the aisle, seeking a comfortable position for his tall frame, and quashed a familiar feeling of dread that he knew served no purpose. It was imperative that he maintain a cool head; he could not afford the luxury of surrender. He turned his attention to a photo of Kingfisher House. Luca’s agency partner, Maria, had found the place through a movie-industry fixer who knew an Englishman in need of a roof over his head in California.

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GUEST POST:

Who Inspired Your Love for Books

~From Gaynor Pengelly~

My mother Jan, an avid reader, taught me a love of books from an early age. She caught my imagination by setting the scene of the first part of a story, and when I was hooked, left me to devour the rest of the book.

Reading to children is well-known for releasing happy hormones and reducing stress.  I remember the peace and tranquility of snuggling up as she conjured up images of colorful characters and tales of derring-do.  She taught me the beauty of the English language, how to use the Thesaurus, and the value of world power.

When you’re a child, your imagination knows no bounds.  Books transported me to new worlds and taught me to see life from another person’s point of view. I learned important life-skills such as right from wrong, tolerance, resilience and conquered my fears of the unknown.

Growing up, there were many pilgrimages to the birth places of famous writers - the Bronte parsonage on the windswept Yorkshire moors, where my mother toyed with the idea of naming my yet to be born brother, Heathcliff (Jeremy won out in the end) and Mary Arden’s Farm, where we giggled at Shakespearean insults: ‘Thou art a rank sheep biter’!

Then there were maps and travel guides to read in the car, and the gift of a book to enjoy on the journey home, which always sparked lively conversations. Watching children travelling in cars today, I feel sad to see them locked away in their technological bubbles, missing out on the pleasure of watching the world go by and letting their imagination run riot.

Later, working as a journalist at The Mail on Sunday, I met so many inspirational and talented writers. They came from all walks of life – some were posh and educated at the finest schools, others were brought up in poverty at the school of hard knocks, but they shared a passion for books. Working with such a mix of people, taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you have talent and enthusiasm for the written word – you’re a writer.

~From Julia Thum~

My mother was a librarian and I used to love watching her cataloguing and organising the books.  Of course, this also meant that I had an unlimited supply of reading myself and the right person to recommend all the best books.  I really started writing aged nine when my father died, confiding my thoughts to a secret diary that I hid from my mother so as not to upset her.  I got the diary bug and have kept one ever since, progressing to copious letter writing, short stories and finally the first of many unfinished novels written over twenty years ago.  My writing ambitions got more structure when I decided to try my hand at children’s books.  I remember asking my eldest child, an avid reader and now 21, what were the necessary components of her dream book.  I still have the list.  I set about my first children’s novel and haven’t looked back since, writing one for each of my five children but never submitting any for publication.  And then I met Gaynor!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Ginger Black is a writing partnership between Gaynor Pengelly and Julia Thum.

~JULIA THUM~

Julia left Somerset for London at 16. She founded & ran her own consumer P R agency representing a range of international brands including Braun, Molton Brown, Clairol & Kleenex. After selling the business she trained as a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders & hosted a phone-in show on Radio Luxembourg.

Julia writes bespoke literature & articles for private clients and visits secondary schools & prisons representing two national charities in providing emotional support to pupils & inmates. A keen kayaker and a passionate cook, she lives in Bray-on-Thames with her husband Nicolas and their four children.

~GAYNOR PENGELLY~

Gaynor has worked as a national newspaper correspondent for more than twenty years, interviewing everyone from the great and the good to extraordinary people in ordinary lives. The rich variety of her subject matter and their circumstances has given her a rare insight into human nature and the challenges many people face.

Gaynor's great loves include sitting in pavement cafes watching the world go by, National Trust and English Heritage and hiking across the windswept Yorkshire moors. She lives in Bray-on-Thames with her husband Jonathan and their son, Freddie James.

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CONNECT WITH GINGER BLACK:

Website:

http://gingerblackink/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GingerBlack.ink/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/gingerblackink

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14949922.Ginger_Black

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28929731-riverside-lane

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Black/e/B01FSS0HEM

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2rcUxLT

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2rcTKus

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Ginger Black will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.