Smoke and Mirrors Summer Destination Blog Hop and Giveaway!

smoke and mirrors

Welcome to you if you’ve hopped over to my blog from Connie Almony‘s! If you’re starting here, that’s wonderful! You can start anywhere in the group and make it all the way through!

I’m so happy you’ve joined me for the Smoke and Mirrors Summer Destination Blog Hop & Giveaway! To celebrate the release of the Smoke and Mirrors Box Set, the authors have banned together to bring you an amazing giveaway! One winner will win The Book Lover’s Grand Prize. This prize will include a $25 Starbucks gift card, as well as the following signed paperbacks by the Smoke and Mirrors authors:

larger softcovers

And another winner will win THE KINDLE FIRE GRAND PRIZE, which includes one brand new Kindle Fire and the following ebooks by the Smoke and Mirrors authors:

updated ebooks

What an amazing giveaway! But, to win, you have to comment on each blog in the blog hop. Here’s a list of the blogs:

Connie Almony

Hallee Bridgeman

Heather Day Gilbert

Kelli Hughett

Alana Terry

Rachel Trautmiller

Alexa Verde

(Author Sally Bradley is not participating in this hop, but she is an author in the boxed set!)

PLEASE NOTE: ***You will need to visit each of the 7 blogs above and comment on each one by 5 pm EST on May 30th to be eligible for a chance to win one of our grand prizes.***

Since all of the books in this box set take place in the summertime, the theme of this blog hop is “My Favorite Summer Vacation Destination.” My family travels a lot. We love to back our bags and hit the road together. We live in Kentucky, which is rather central to so many places, that it gives us a chance to just go. A couple of weekends ago, we enjoyed a trip up to the shores of Lake Huron. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading to Kansas City.

But my favorite summer destination is the Pacific Northwest. (I won’t get there this year until September). As an Army brat, my “home” in the Willamette Valley is a place I’ve only lived for a few years of my life, but most of my family lives there or around there. My father was stationed at Fort Lewis and then did ROTC duty in Eugene Oregon, so for a good chunk of my childhood, we had easy access to my family. So many childhood memories are wrapped up in camping and fishing near Crater Lake, visiting the coast of Florence, Oregon, and heading on up into the Mount Saint Helens region of Washington. Even though we moved to Florida when I was 13, summertime means grilling salmon on the grill in my grandparents’ backyard while we played on the slip-n-slide next to the garden under the apple tree.

My grandfather Hal (yes, I'm named after him) working in his garden in Springfield, Oregon

My grandfather Hal (yes, I’m named after him) working in his garden in Springfield, Oregon

on the ropesMy summertime story contained in the Smoke and Mirrors box set, On the Ropes, takes place in Florida, New York, and South Carolina — three of my favorite places to visit. As I was writing On the Ropes, I wrote a scene where my character Ruth was racing through the streets of New York City during a heat wave, and I remembered my honeymoon 4th of July weekend in NYC during a heat wave and the temperature on the street at 10PM was over 100 degrees. It’s a crazy heat that you can’t understand until you feel it.

What is your favorite summer destination? Comment below and let me know! *Please remember that you must comment on each of the 7 blogs in this blog hop to be eligible for either of the grand prizes!*

If you’re looking for a good read for this coming holiday weekend, check out the Smoke and Mirrors Collection. Right romantic suspense novellas set in summertime — the perfect kickoff to the beginning of summer!

Here is the blurb to my novella, On the Ropes: Doctor Ruth Burnette is placed in witness protection after witnessing a Russian mafia execution. Just a week before the trial, Victor Kovalev finds her. Memories of planning her wedding with Victor are wiped clean by the vision of his father executing three men. Does he want to help her survive to her testimony, or is he trying to stop it all together?

Next stop in this blog hop is Heather Day Gilbert! As a teaser, there’s the blurb to her book, Out of Circulation: When Russian mobsters threaten small-town librarian Katie McClure, she is forced to accept an offer of protection from Manhattan bodyguard Ace Calhoun. As they race the clock to find a long-hidden bank stash, Katie discovers too late that Ace might be the wrong man to trust with her life…and her heart. Click here to hop to her blog!

Thank you for visiting and enjoy the rest of the blog hop! Don’t forget that you will need to visit each of the 7 blogs above and comment on each one by 5 pm EST on May 30th to be eligible for a chance to win one of our grand prizes. We will email the winners on May 31, but first, come visit us on May 30th starting at 7 pm EST on Facebook here for the announcement of the winners and a Week-Long Virtual Cruise to the destinations in our collection!

cruise memeDuring the Facebook cruise, readers will ask the eight Smoke and Mirrors authors questions and we’ll be asking our readers questions! It is a leisurely pace, so you can drop in and out, leaving questions and reading up on the answers later, if you like. It’s a great chance to fellowship with some of your fave romantic suspense authors–and some of your soon-to-be-faves!
halleeLOGOspinefinal


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28 comments

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    • Paula Dye on May 25, 2016 at 07:03
    • Reply

    You are by far one of my favorite authors! Thank you and keep writing, ease!

    • Phronsie on May 25, 2016 at 07:37
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    My favorite summer destination is Glacier National Park! And we only live 90 minutes away now so we’ll be able to escape the summer heat more often!

    Side note: my husband spent a lot of time at Fort Lewis. He was National Guard but they did a lot of their training up there.

  1. My FAVORITE destination? Man, this is hard. We love to see new places, and while Boston, NYC, and Philly are my favorite cities to visit, my favorite summer destination is any place new with my family. We love to add new places to our list of “been to”.

    I will say that this summer my favorite destination is New Hampshire. I just need to be settled.

    • Rhonda Best on May 25, 2016 at 10:48
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    I am a country girl at heart who loves a good mystery. My favorite place is a cabin by a lake. Any lake! With 8 kids I like the quiet of just sitting by a lake. I have always wished to go to Washington State area or Hawaii.

    • Robin Bunting on May 25, 2016 at 11:24
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    When our daughter was young and we lived in Austin, TX, our favorite summer getaway was Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels, TX.

    • Angelina M Linan on May 25, 2016 at 12:41
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    My rite spot is the beach! Love taking kids and walking the boardwalk and along shore line. So beautiful!

  2. I love Oregon. I’ve only ever driven through, but I have always wanted to live there. My husband and I have considered it, but it would be difficult as we have no family connections up there. (currently I live in California) We also have 2 girls. But I have a WIP in which one of the main characters lives on the Oregon coast, so it’s been fun to write about that, particularly wishing I could visit 🙂 Maybe for research 😀
    Glad I picked up this collection, friend. I look forward to reading it.

    • Joann Stewart on May 25, 2016 at 13:11
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    Grayson Beach State Park in Northwest Florida

    • Susan Snodgrass on May 25, 2016 at 14:08
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    I’d choose the mountains and if it were the highlands of Scotland, perfect!

    • Linda Rainey on May 25, 2016 at 17:44
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    My dream is to tour theNational Parks via RV.

    • Nancy Stout on May 25, 2016 at 21:37
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    I want to visit Hawaii! It’s been in my list for years!

    • bn100 on May 25, 2016 at 22:25
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    the beach

    • Pamela Hargraves on May 26, 2016 at 08:22
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    Greenville, Maine is located on Moosehead lake in Northern Maine. I love visiting here!!

    • Jen Smindak on May 26, 2016 at 16:18
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    We plan to pull our camper across the US upon retirement. Can’t wait. In the meantime, I shall read!

    • roy Bradley on May 26, 2016 at 23:53
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    First I have read your book and totally enjoyed it, my dream vaci would be a month long cruise any were it would be amazing to just vist other port city,s besides my own Saint John N.B Canada

    • Becky Dempsey on May 27, 2016 at 20:46
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    I love spending time in my garden. It is a way to get alone and have quiet all to myself.

    • Sheila McIntyre on May 27, 2016 at 21:31
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    I would love to go to England, Scotland, and Israel. My favorite place I’ve been so far is Williamsburg.

  3. Love your books! The first book of yours I read was Greater Than Rubies, and of course, then I HAD to read Sapphire Ice, Emerald Fire, and Topaz Heat! I’ve read the novellas that go with the series, too, and I’ve loved them. Just read and finished On the Ropes yesterday and it was great! So much suspense and sweet romance! Wonderful! So, my favorite summer destination would have to be Colorado. I’m actually kind of terrified of traveling through mountains because of the whole height thing, BUT it’s so beautiful and the cooler temperatures make it worth it. I just don’t look down! 🙂

    • Angelina M Linan on May 27, 2016 at 23:33
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    For me it’s the boardwalk! Love the rides, games, food and beach!

    • Lois Lanham on May 28, 2016 at 21:35
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    Maybe not unusual, but my best-ever vacation was to Maui. We love the ocean, and our favorite vacation spots include relaxing on a beach. What was different about our Maui trip was that, in addition to plenty of beach time, we experienced some things we had never done before, including parasailing off Maui, snorkeling at Molokini, taking a trip to the ocean floor in a submarine, going to the top of a volcano to watch the sunrise, and going to a luau. We also attended a beachside worship service. It was so wonderful to sing praises with other believers from various locations, with the beautiful ocean and blue sky as a backdrop. It was the best vacation ever!

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