Snow In May Plus What's Coming Soon!

From the desk of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

The weather’s been crazy in Missouri – one day we had beautiful spring temperatures in the 80’s with sunshine and everything blooming but the next the mercury plummeted and we had sleet, snow and frigid weather.  It’s still going to be much colder than usual for a few days and I plan to spend at least part of my weekend curled up with a good read.  In the meantime, I’m getting rave reader reviews on both The Sin Eater’s Redemption and Urban Renewal.  Plus, my sweet short, The Widow’s End gained a little extra attention with famous paranormal researcher John Zaffis visited the Pythian Castle in Springfield, MO on his SyFy channel show, The Haunted Collector.  My story is set at the Pythian, once a combination retirement home and orphanage for members of the fraternal organization, the Knights of Pythias!! Now that’s the kind of publicity I like!

This week, I thought I’d share some of what I have upcoming….Pink Neon will be out from Rebel Ink Press on July 3 and Hear The Wind Blow, Love (another of my historical romances) will be out September 3.  Check out these gorgeous covers – especially the one for Hear The Wind Blow, Love.  Rebel’s own cover artist guru brought Harry Whitney to life!

 

Pink Neon unedited blurb:

When Cecily Brown roared into the vacation hotspot of Branson, Missouri, she had nothing on her mind but distancing herself from her life in Chicago after a divorce. She planned to make her long standing dreams of owning a boutique called ‘Pink Neon’ come true and forget the decade she spent trapped in a hellish marriage to millionaire jeweler Willard Bradford VI. Once she arrives, though, she finds she’s a minority among the tourists with her corn rowed braids and African-American heritage but Cecily is determined to stay.

Her cousin calls to tell her the news – her ex-husband managed to get murdered on the steps of his mansion but Cecily doesn’t care. Her old life is history and she’s eager to move forward with the grand opening of her boutique. Her first customer at Pink Neon is a man, dark and mysterious. She pegs him for a criminal or a cop but their attraction is intense. So is their first date which ends in intimacy and soon, she’s all but inseparable from Daniel Padilla. He carries his own old baggage too.

Life’s good until Padilla admits he’s an FBI agent sent to check Cecily out. She reacts with anger but as she learns she’s become the FBI’s favorite suspect, she has to trust Daniel if she can trust anyone at all. As the investigation heats up, she ends up heading south with him to Texas, as she and her FBI lover try to discover who the real killer might be. But danger lurks and it’s going to get rough before they straighten things out….if they can.

 

Hear The Wind Blow, Love unedited blurb

When the Armistace ends the Great War in November 1918, the end comes too late to save Maude Whitney’s husband, Jamie.  But Maude realizes her heart still belongs to Harry, her brother-in-law who courted her first.  He’s been her rock in Jamie’s absence while they shared quarters with the grandparents who raised the brothers. But Granpa died and Granny moved to town so when Maude invites him to move back under the same roof, it’s sure to be a scandal in the rural Ozarks.

Before gossiping tongues can spread the news, the Spanish influenza wreaks havoc in the area.  It brings death close to home for Maude and Harry.  As they fall deeper in love and plan to wed, their troubles are just beginning.  Old feuds erupt and the day after Christmas, Harry’s hauled into custody and accused of a murder he didn’t commit.  Harry must prove his innocence and survive a serious bout of flu or there’s no happy ending for the star-crossed couple.