Hi lovelies! It gives me
great pleasure today to host Judy Higgins and her new book, “Unringing the Bell”! For other stops on her 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 $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Judy
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Unringing the Bell
by Judy Higgins
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
In
the small town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania, people don't forget. Especially
something as sensational as 12-year-old Jacob Gillis burning down the town.
Nineteen years later, Jacob returns, hoping for redemption. Instead, he finds
himself entangled in a murder investigation. The prosecutor, taking advantage
of Jacob's involvement with the victim's beautiful sister-in-law, threatens
Jacob with loss of career and reputation if he doesn't play by his rules. Only
by outwitting the prosecutor can Jacob save his future.
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EXCERPT ONE:
When
Jacob Gillis was twelve years old, he burned down the town of Goose Bend,
Pennsylvania. The fire didn’t actually consume the entire town – only two
blocks of the four-block business section went up in flames – but when the
folks in Goose Bend spoke of the incident, they persisted in saying that Jacob
Gillis, abetted by his friend Charlie Garrett, burned down the town.
Jacob
watched Laskey walk back to the Sequoia, his limp barely detectable, and for
the thousandth time he wondered why his friend kept what had happened to his
foot a secret. But there were some places Laskey didn’t go – formidable Laskey
with his gruff manner and hard-muscled body. He was a private person and
sometimes a grizzly bear, but he had a goose-down heart which he tried like
heck to hide. But Jacob knew.
Laskey
grasped the arms of his chair and pushed his feet hard against the floor to
contain himself. For a brief moment, the thought had rushed through his head
that a jail term for assaulting a DA would be worth enduring for the pleasure
of smashing Inglehook’s head against his desk.
Laskey
squared his shoulders, turned around, and looked Jacob in the eyes. “Don’t get
yourself in a mess, Jake. Extrication isn’t always possible.” He started for
the door.
“Give
back the painting,” he called over his shoulder. “And Jake,” he paused and
twisted around. “Don’t ever mistake pretty wrappings for the quality of the
gift inside.”
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INTERVIEW:
Good morning Judy!
Welcome to Fabulous and Brunette!
We are thrilled to have you here and can’t wait to learn more about you
and your new book, “Unringing the Bell.”
What is your favorite TV show?
It used to be Foyle’s War, but
then after I saw every episode twice, I moved on to Midsomer Murders. I try to
tune in to the news two or three grimes a week just to make sure the Martians
haven’t landed. While I lived in Qatar, we all watched Al Jazeera and we all
liked it a lot. That channel simply gave the news without having to have a
panel discussion or call in experts on every issue. And fake news wasn’t an
issue! Here, I watch BBC or Public Television when I want to catch up.
I don’t spend a lot of time
watching TV. My parents refused to get a television until after my brother and
I left for college, and I’ve always been glad for that. We learned to entertain
ourselves in other ways. For me, it was reading and playing the piano.
If I could be any character in a book, who would it be?
Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and
Prejudice. Because she got Mr. Darcy!
What do I have coming out to look out for?
I have two books coming out
March 1: Unringing the Bell and Bride of the Wind. These are the first two
volumes of “Bucks County Mysteries.” I’ve begun work on Call me Mara, which is
a historical novel about Naomi in the Bible. For almost twenty years, I’ve
wanted to write this. Everyone knows the plot, but it takes more than a good
plot to pull you into a story, and I didn’t know until recently what it was
about Naomi’s story that fascinated me. A few months ago, it hit me! As soon as
Call me Mara is done, I’ll finish up book three of the Bucks County Mysteries
series, Death by Oboe. A xxxxx mother-daughter relationship is at the heart of
this “dark” mystery.
What book or authors have most influenced your own writing?
The books that were read to me
as a child have most influenced my writing because that’s where I learned to
love books. Fairy tales sent me into raptures. I also loved all those other
children’s stories: Ferdinand the Bull, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Bobbsy
Twins series, Tikki, Tikki, Tembo, The Story of Ping.
Thank you so much for spending time with Fabulous and Brunette
readers and sharing your exciting new book with us! We wish you all the best on your book tour!
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AUTHOR BIO:
Judy Higgins was
born in South Georgia where she grew up playing baseball, reading, and taking
piano lessons. To pay for her lessons, she raised chickens and sold eggs to
neighbors. She attended Mercer University for two years, and then Baylor
University from which she graduated with a BA in German. She received her MA in
German literature from The University of Michigan. After teaching German for
several years, Judy decided to become a librarian and earned an MA in Library
Science at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.
Judy’s
life took an exciting turn when she left her teaching job in Pennsylvania to be
Head of Library at the Learning Center School of Qatar Foundation. She lived in
Qatar for eight years, enjoying the experience of living in a different culture
and traveling to exotic places during every vacation. Recently, she returned to
the United States and lives in Lexington, KY. Judy has two children, Julia and
Stephen, two children-in-law, Jim and Erin, and four grandchildren: Kyle, Jon,
Karina, and Addy.
Judy’s
first book, The Lady, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Break-out Novel Award.
The first two novels of her Bucks County Mysteries, Unringing the Bell and
Bride of the Wind are available March 1, 2018. The series is set in an
imaginary small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Call me Mara, the story of
Ruth and Naomi, is scheduled for publication in March, 2019.
In
addition to writing, Judy’s passions include travel, tennis, elephants, and
playing the piano.
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CONNECT WITH JUDY:
Website:
Website:
Website:
Website:
Newsletter:
Email:
judyhigginsauthor@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Apple iBooks:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Judy will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
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.
I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour, I hope it is a fun one for you, and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteBook sounds very good, love mysteries. Thx for the chance!!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt & interview, I enjoyed reading them :)
ReplyDeleteSounds great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your amazing interview, thank you!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and I appreciate the excerpt and the great giveaway as well. Love the tours, I get to find books and share with my sisters and now my twin daughters who all love to read. We have found some amazing books for everyone. So, thank you!
ReplyDeleteNice cover
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read!
ReplyDelete