Wednesday, September 2, 2026

What I'm Reading: Mermaid in Troubled Water (Nikki Haverstock)


I'm trying to focus on paranormal/PNR/paranormal cozies right now because I think I'm going to be diving back into the more paranormal side of writing for awhile. This is a pretty cute series. Cozy mystery, low angst. Although if you are triggered by characters with narcissistic parents, you might not enjoy it as much as I did.




MERMAID IN TROUBLED WATER

Nikki Haverstock

https://nikkihaverstock.com/purgatory-falls-mysteries/

As a mermaid, Brooke has never been to the Rocky Mountains. And stumbling across the murder of a werewolf is not a great start to her visit. In the paranormal-only town of Purgatory Falls, though, she's discovered a place where she can reveal her true self for the first time in her life. So she shakes off her unease and tries to enjoy herself, exploring the quaint small town and getting to know its residents, including a dragon shifter police officer. When the official investigation into the crime she witnessed seems to narrow in on the wrong suspect, however, Brooke realizes she might have to start poking around on her own—and begin to test her own magical abilities.

Monday, August 31, 2026

Mug Shot: Another Save the Turtles Mug


 

Like I've already explained on my last turtle mug post, I do NOT need another turtle mug. But, can you ever REALLY have too many? I don't think so.  This one came from Gulfport, Louisiana and I picked it up on a recent trip there. It's a nice size with a nice satiny finish with a sand-colored raw clay bottom. Funny thing about this latest trip, it was hot AF, yet no one was in the water. Good for the turtles, I guess? 

Anyway, it's cute and cheerful and it supports a good cause. 

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

What I'm Reading: Just My Luck (Jennifer Bernard)


As I mentioned last week, Jennifer Bernard's newest release is Just My Luck, which is the second book in her newest series, Accidentally Yours. Hopefully it's not the last. I mean, I'm pretty sure it isn't. I'm not saying the book ends on a cliff hanger--it doesn't. Neither did the first book in the series. But in both cases there are loose threads left hanging. Which is great! Because, like I said earlier this year, I get depressed whenever series I've become invested in come to an unexpected end. 

Also, the series is set in Hawaii. C'mon, what's not to like?






JUST MY LUCK

Jennifer Bernard

https://www.jenniferbernard.net/just-my-luck

Everything's fine. Nothing to see here.

Just because billionaire Lincoln Kerr has misplaced a priceless piece of technology doesn't mean he can't fix the problem. All he has to do is go undercover as a gardener at a luxury Hawaiian resort, search the property, and convince everyone he's just another employee.

Easy. Until the gorgeous and sunny concierge catches him in a very compromising position.

Zara Morrissey knows something is off about the resort's mysterious new gardener, but she can't quite figure out what. Raising her younger siblings doesn't leave her time for secrets—or charming men who keep showing up exactly when she needs them. And now Lincoln owes her.

When Zara recruits him to play temporary manny, she has no idea she's stumbled into a high-stakes tug-of-war over a dangerous new threat. She’s experienced her share of life’s crazy left turns, but she never saw this one coming.

A billionaire in hiding. Tropical adventures. One unforgettable meet-cute. And suddenly Zara and Lincoln aren’t just falling for each other hard, they might be the only two people standing between paradise…and disaster.

Monday, August 24, 2026

Mug Shot: The Turteley Awesome Mug


































Did I need another turtle mug? No. Of course not. Did I get one anyway? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Because this one is Turteley Awesome. And also because Green Sea Turtles finally made it off the Endangered Species List. Huzzah!







Mug Shot: Sicilian Mug

 



I picked up this mug in an antique store recently. And by recently I mean at some point during the last six months, or so. I don't think it's actually an antique, but I recognized it as being Sicilian right away. 

A gazillion years ago, my parents had an ice cream/gift shop (that morphed into a candy and toy shop--but that's neither here nor there) and one Easter they sold candy eggs in brightly decorated ceramic egg cups that I believe was manufactured by the same company that made this cup. 

My father's family is Sicilian and to be honest, as a kid I was not enamored of the busy designs and all the bright colors. Now I'm older and nostalgic and I love it. 

This mug is big--almost soup bowl big. It puts me in mind of a sunny, summer morning in Italy. 

Friday, August 21, 2026

Flashback Friday: A Sight to Dream Of




ICYMI: I've made A Sight to Dream Of free for the next few weeks. You can download it here:  https://books.bookfunnel.com/OberonFirstFour


Or, if you don't want to download the whole book, I've made an Excerpt booklet that you can locate here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/5dpdov0sge



Wednesday, August 19, 2026

What I'm Reading: Night Light (Jennifer Bernard)


So, a funny thing happened to me on my way to download Jennifer Bernard's newest book (Just My Luck) from her newest series, Accidentally Yours. I realized that I'd MISSED an earlier release, Night Light from her (completed, I think) Sea Smoke Island series. So, of course, I had to buy and read them both. 



NIGHT LIGHT

Jennifer Bernard

https://www.jenniferbernard.net/night-light

On Sea Smoke Island, secrets never stay buried—and the truth is never safe.

Every time Detective Tina Chen comes to Sea Smoke Island, two things happen. One, criminals get busted. Two, she nearly loses her lunch on the boat ride over. This time, maybe things will be different. She’s on vacation, for one thing. But what kind of vacation would it be without an investigation to keep her busy? Enter Marigold Olson, who hires her to locate the mystery man who ditched her at the altar. His trail takes Tina to the Lightkeeper Inn and a head-on collision with … her longtime TV crush? 

Jack Finnegan is no detective, though he plays one on a long-running crime series. But since no one will believe him that his sister Jessie’s in trouble, finding her is on him. Why has she disappeared from their grandparents’ old cottage on Sea Smoke? Who was the man she was seeing? And why can’t he shake the feeling that something has gone terribly wrong? Teaming up with the hot badass cop Tina is a no-brainer, at least for him. He’s not the one with the crush…not yet. 

On Sea Smoke Island, the connections go deep and the mysteries go deeper, and soon Tina and Jack are dodging bullets and getting drawn into a notorious unsolved murder. And that’s before they discover they’ve stumbled onto a secret more dangerous than they ever imagined. What is the truth behind Night Light? Can they unbury it before it buries them?

NIGHT LIGHT is an opposites attract, reverse grumpy-sunshine romantic suspense set on the hauntingly beautiful coast of Maine.