~ BLOG BLITZ ~
-- 'THE SLEUTH'S DILEMMA' --
AUTHOR KIMBERLY ROSE JOHNSON
~Post Includes: Book Spotlight, Excerpt, Author
Bio, Unique Author Interview & Giveaway~
Welcome to the Blog Blitz and Giveaway for The Sleuth's Dilemma by Kimberly Rose Johnson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Sleuth's Dilemma
Series: The Librarian Sleuth #2
Author: Kimberly Rose Johnson
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: February 1, 2019
Anna loves her job as a high school English teacher until everything goes sideways. The one bright spot in her life is Titus Gains, the school counselor, who is there for her at every turn.
Titus’s boss complicates his ordered world when she tasks him with running a meeting that changes everything. How had he not noticed Anna earlier? Someone is out to destroy her, and he can’t let that happen.
As the head of the English department, part of Luke Harms’ job is to make sure everything runs smoothly. Things went haywire when Anna was put in charge of the big writing contest. Entries are missing, Anna appears to be in danger, and her job is on the line. Luke is investigating and wants to make things right for this woman he’s starting to care about.
Can a trio of school officials along with Nancy Daley, the town sleuth, stop the saboteur before it’s too late? And will Anna choose the right man, or lose them both?
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE:
Titus parked his pickup along the street near Tipton Park.
Rudy, his two-year-old Labrador Retriever barked.
“Hold on.” He got out and patted his leg. “Come on, boy.”
Rudy leapt from the cab of his pickup and danced in a
circle.
Titus laughed. He closed and locked the door then jogged
toward a grassy knoll. Rudy loped ahead of him a few feet. Anna’s mention of
her dog needing exercise reminded him it had been a while since he’d brought
Rudy to a park. He tossed the ball he’d brought, and Rudy tore after it.
Titus looked around, taking in the green space. Cherry
blossom buds colored the trees. Young mothers watched their little ones climb
on the play equipment that would rival the playgrounds in a city twice the size
of Tipton. Rudy bounded toward him and dropped the ball at his feet. “Good
boy.” He grabbed the ball and tossed it again.
“Well, this is a surprise.”
He turned and saw Anna strolling toward him with a white
ball of fluff on a leash. “I’ll say. This must be Freddy.”
Anna grinned, and her eyes widened. “You remember names
better than you let on.”
Rudy slid to a stop and dropped the ball. Then he noticed
Freddy and moved close for a sniff-and-greet.
Anna watched the dogs closely. “They seem to like each
other.” She reached down and unhooked Freddy’s leash. “Hopefully this little
guy won’t run off. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to chase after
him.” She tossed Freddy’s ball. “Here’s to hoping.”
Titus threw Rudy’s ball too, and both dogs tore after the
toys. “Have you made any progress on the writing contest?” He glanced her way,
but kept his attention focused on the dogs.
“Not much. I printed off last year’s rules. Fortunately, the
deadline and rules were already posted on the school’s website. So now it’s
only a matter of judging.”
“I’m really sorry about how all of this was dumped on you.
Apparently, Ms. Porter had forgotten that she’d promised Luke he didn’t have to
do it this year. She’d hoped he would help train you, but we know how that
turned out. I suggested skipping it, but apparently this contest is a huge deal
to a lot of the students.”
“It is, and I wouldn’t want to see it go away, but I sure
wish I hadn’t had that contest dropped on me at the last minute. I feel so
behind already. There’s a lot that I should’ve been doing in preparation, but
now I have to wing it. Not my favorite way of doing things.”
Anna looked wistfully toward the dogs as they trotted back
to them.
“I would imagine not. If there was any other option...”
Anna shook her head. “Sorry, I know it’s not your fault. I
won’t complain again. I promise.” She crossed her heart with her pointer
finger.
He chuckled. “Relax, Anna. I don’t mind a little venting. I
wasn’t all that happy when I was told I had to run the meeting. It doesn’t fall
under my job description.”
“I’m afraid Ms. Porter is like that. You’ll get used to the
way she does things.”
The dogs lost interest in chasing their balls and began to
follow their noses around the park. “Think we should trail them?”
“Probably.” She sauntered after the animals.
He
kept pace. “Tell me about Tipton.”
She shot him a startled look. “You’ve
lived here since August, haven’t you? That was seven months ago.”
He nodded. “I don’t get out much.”
“What
do you want to know?”
He shrugged. “Anything. I’ve been married to my work, and
other than trips to the grocery store and coffee shop, I haven’t been out. What
do people do here for fun?
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance and romantic mystery that warms the heart and feeds the soul.
Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
You can sign up for Kimberly's newsletter via her website at: https://kimberlyrjohnson.com/
AUTHOR INTERVIEW:
JUNE: Welcome to Reading,
Writing & Stitch-Metic, Kimberly! Congratulations on your recent release of
The Sleuth's Dilemma, Book 2 in the Librarian Sleuth Series.
KIMBERLY: Thank you! I’m so
happy to be here.
JUNE: What inspired you to create the main character of this
series to be a librarian? Have you ever worked or volunteered in a library?
Please share a favorite library memory from years gone by.
KIMBERLY: I wish I could
remember how I came up with the idea. I started the original book several years
ago when inspiration struck. When I think back the only thing I can think of is
the series was inspired by Nancy Drew mysteries, which led me to think books,
and it then snowballed to librarian.
When I was in junior high, aka middle school, I was a library aide. LOL
My youngest son works in his university's library, so whenever I have questions
I send him a text.
My favorite library memory is actually from my own children's
childhood. The summer reading program was a highlight for us. They would earn
tickets for prizes based on the number of pages they read. We would go there
once a week to turn in their pages read and to check out more books. This
actually inspired the summer reading program that’s mentioned in The Sleuth’s
Dilemma.
JUNE: Are any of the characters in this series based on people
you've known or read about? Is there a particular character with whom you feel
a close connection? Anyone you don't particularly like? {We'll understand if
you don't want to name names!}
KIMBERLY: Nancy’s character was
inspired by Nancy Drew but other than that none of the other characters were
inspired by anyone in particular.
I don’t feel an especially close connection with any one of the
characters although I was working at a high school at the time I wrote this
book so the high school teachers and students were easily relatable. The
villain isn’t my favorite person, but I can’t say I dislike any of the
characters in this book.
JUNE: I noticed on your website that you received the 2018 Faith,
Hope and Love Reader's Choice Award Winner for the chapter of Romance Writers
of America to which you belong. Congratulations on receiving this honor! Please
tell us a little bit about the award and how you felt when you were notified
you had won. For which book did you win the award?
KIMBERLY: That was a career high
for me. Designing Love is the book
that received the award. The winners in each category receive a certificate and
an engraved wooden box. I was thrilled to have won. I wish I had been there to
accept the award. The book that comes before this one was a finalist in 2017.
JUNE: Have you ever considered writing for children in the form
of picture books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or even non-fiction?
If yes, please share what genres and subjects you would like to write about.
KIMBERLY: I’ve considered all of
the above. I tried writing young adult novels but was unsuccessful in getting
published in that genre. When my niece was young I would take care of her
before school, and she wanted me to write a middle-grade book for her to read.
I had no good ideas though and wanted to focus on my niche—contemporary
Christian Romance. I named a character after my niece in one of my books, and
she’s now old enough to read and enjoy them. J
I have considered picture books but I was clueless on how to make it happen.
Regarding non-fiction books, in my early years of writing, one of my
critique partners wrote non-fiction, she basically said my non-fiction writing
was terrible, and I needed to take some classes. I passed and stuck with what I
loved.
I worked extremely hard to get traditionally published, and once I was
I felt like I needed to stick with what I knew and that was contemporary
romance. Later when I started to write for Mountain Brook Ink my publisher
challenged me to add mystery to my romance books. As a result pretty much every
one of my MBI books has at least a little mystery in them. The Librarian Sleuth
series is my first true romantic mystery series.
JUNE: I read on your website that your hobbies include playing
the piano, watching chick flicks, taking long walks, and reading. Are there any
hobbies you would like to pursue in the future? Are there any locations you
would like to explore on a vacation?
KIMBERLY: The sky is the limit
on places I want to explore. Pretty much all of Europe as well as Australia, and I’d love to walk on the Great Wall of China. There are
a lot of places in the US that I’d like to see too. I have the travel bug!
As far as any new hobbies, I’d love to try pottery. That’s something
I’ve wanted to do for years.
JUNE: Thank you for spending
some time chatting with us today, Kimberly. Best wishes for many more
successful years of writing great stories!
KIMBERLY: Thank you so much!
This was fun.
CONNECT WITH KIMBERLY: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will win:
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 26, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm April 2, 2019. Open internationally as long as winner can accept gift card from US Amazon. Void where prohibited by law. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
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