Today's Featured Books

LitNuts is shining a spotlight on the work of Kris Bock, author of more than 30 mystery, suspense, and romance novels. Today, we are featuring the first books of three different series: 

• Something Shady at Sunshine Haven, Book 1 of The Accidental Detective series
• Coffee and Crushes at the Cat Café, Book 1 of the Furrever Friends series
• The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas, Book 1 in The Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series

Read on to learn more about these enjoyable books and the author.

Something Shady at Sunshine Haven

She’s pursued the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?

Injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she's starting to feel her age of nearly fifty despite living like a teenager again: staying in her childhood bedroom with only a cat for company, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still refer to her as Kitty. The hardest part? Seeing her once-sharp and witty mother stuck in an Alzheimer's unit.

When an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at the nursing home, Kate limps into action. Is a self-appointed "Angel of Mercy" killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit. But if Kate can't uncover the truth quickly, her mother could be next on the killer's list.

Praise for Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
"Suspense, mystery and a little romance along with a lotta laughs.” ~BookBub Review

Coffee and Crushes at the Cat Café

What do you do when you meet the guy of your dreams? Set him up with your sister, of course.

Kari doesn't have time for love when she's opening her new cat café. Renovating an old restaurant, hiring employees, fighting with the health inspector—oh, and welcoming 16 shelter cats—keeps her plenty busy. She's doing this for the cats, the community, and most of all her family. The café will give her sister, Marley, a job worthy of her baking skills. Then a tattooed military vet wanders in claiming to be a master baker himself. The café doesn't need another baker, but maybe Marley needs a man. Surely she'll fall for a guy this sweet, this sexy, this tasty.

Colin has other ideas. It's Kari who makes him want to pour on the sugar and turn up the heat. But he's spent the last two years recovering from physical and psychological wounds. Is he really ready for a relationship? He's not even sure he should commit to Samson, the fluffy marshmallow of a cat who steals his heart.

The Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the workers and customers at a small-town cat café, and the adorable cats and kittens looking for their forever homes. If you enjoy the friends to lovers trope, work romances, military heroes, and strong heroines completely failing at playing the matchmaker, check out Coffee and Crushes at the Cat Café. You'll also find rescue cats with plenty of personality and their own desire for love.

Praise for Coffee and Crushes at the Cat Café
"A sweet romance, with cats, kittens, yummy pastries (and recipes for some of them), and a hunky hero." ~Reader Review

The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas

He has everything this Christmas, but all he wants is the quiet ranch life he’s losing…

When Josh Tomlinson’s Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, the formerly tight-knit family is suddenly on edge. Seeking advice, Josh reluctantly contacts family friend and now attorney, Carly Garza. His business is serious, yet he can’t believe Carly’s morphed from a long-legged colt of a girl to a sophisticated woman. Besides, he knows the intelligent Carly has no interest in a quiet, rugged cowboy like him.

Carly’s crushed on Josh for years, and she plans to ask him out now that she’s back in Last Stand. She’s hoping he’ll finally see her as someone other than his younger brother’s middle school girlfriend. But when Josh needs advice on how to handle his family’s lottery win, his client and billionaire statuses put him firmly out of reach. If only her heart could ignore the sparks that flare between them.

They’re already keeping the family’s lottery win a secret from the town. Can they also hide their budding romance during the most magical time of year?

Praise for The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas
"Sweet and earnest and just right for Christmas." ~Goodreads Review

About the Author

        

Free online Saturday: Can Science Fiction Change the World?, a panel discussion brought to you live from the Brooklyn Book Festival. Featuring sci-fi authors Cadwell Turnbull, Rebekah Bergman, Justin C. Key, and Luke Dani Blue. Saturday, September 30, 4 - 6 PM EDT. 

"That's all science fiction was ever about. Hating the way things are, wanting to make things different." ~Ray Bradbury

The past may not be done with us. Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. Fifty years after World War II, she discovers that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. Plunged into the treacherous world of Nazi Germany, Anna uncovers a long-buried tangle of family secrets and finds her every belief about right and wrong shattered. "Historical fiction that reads like a memoir." -Philadelphia Inquirer. 4.2 stars, 1459 ratings. From $0.99 SHOP NOW / 

If you’re struggling to build a reliable stream of extra income on the side, then investing in options could be your ticket to earning steady and consistent returns with proven strategies. In this book, you'll learn how options are actually less risky and more profitable than trading stocks, eight dos and don’ts of options trading, why more volatility can actually be more beneficial when trading options, and four beginner-friendly trading strategies anyone can use. 4.5 stars, 71 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

Free online: A Speak from the Heart Author Conversation. Brought to you by The Birth Your Truest Story community, hosts Audrey Kalman and Jennifer Browdy interview award-winning writer, editor, speaker, and communications consultant Dorcas Cheng-Tozun about her most recent book, Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways. They'll talk about her challenges as an introverted activist and how she brings her unique gifts as a writer to the work that matters so much to her. Thursday, September 28, 4:00 - 5:30 PM PDT.

“Even when things are hard and exhausting and uncertain, they can still be good.” ~Dorcas Cheng-Tozun

Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on A Woman's Worth, a series of thought-provoking short fiction from author Jamell Crouthers. 

A Woman's Worth 1

★★★★★ "A very real and emotional look at the exciting and sometimes arduous journey of motherhood." ~Barnes & Noble Reviewer
 
Brenda is a young, pregnant woman who is in her most exciting time of her life. Brenda and her husband are having a baby girl, and the journey through pregnancy is shared from finding out to having birth. Brenda pens her ups, downs, and struggles of pregnancy, all while preparing for motherhood mentally, physically, and emotionally. It isn't until after she has her daughter that she experiences what so many women in this world go through….postpartum depression. While this can happen before and during pregnancy, it's a topic that isn't discussed enough in today's world, and Brenda shares her experience in a way that can help others learn and prepare for these life events. 

A Woman's Worth 2

Lisa is pregnant and having her first child. While this should be the most exciting time of her life, it unfortunately isn't. She shares the journey not just of her pregnancy, but also of her efforts to get maternity leave, have time with her newborn child, manage her finances, and start her journey as a mother. And ultimately, she will have to make a big decision when it comes time to return back to the work world.

Maternity leave is imperative to a woman, but the United States is one of the worst nations in the world in regards to this. This story delves deep into maternity leave and related issues, how this issue is handled in other countries, and how change needs to occur within the government and corporations in the United States. 

A Woman's Worth 3

Role models are a huge component to how young children grow and progress in life. Kayla is a young teenager who is dealing with social media, school, fashion, boys, trends, culture, puberty, and the pressures to be something she really isn't. She shares her story as a teenager, the struggles she goes through, and trying to find the right role models to shape her future. As she tries to understand and figure herself out, there are role models that she can't relate to on her television screen and magazine covers. 

It isn't until she forms a women's group through her guidance counselor in her school that she starts to see role models in different facets. She becomes inspired, happy, and motivated to know that there are women with many different careers, and she figures out what she wants to do with her life through meeting these powerful women in today's society. 

A Woman's Worth 4

Patricia is someone who is on the path to becoming a better woman and not caving into the pressures of what the world wants her to be. She chronicles her story from childhood to the present day, including her struggles, home life, descent into alcoholism, and her recovery. It's not an easy journey, and she shares her mental, emotional, and spiritual journey.

Everyone has a story, it's just a matter of whether we're empathetic enough to listen...

A Woman's Worth 5

Sylvia is a licensed therapist who helps women recover from tragic events in their lives, including helping women recover from domestic violence. With their permission, she shares the stories of some of the clients she's helped. 

The stories aren't easy to tell, hear, or listen to, but she knows that she's making the world a better place. Sylvia also shares aspects of her life that inspired her to become a therapist, as well as what can be done to reduce domestic violence and prevent it from happening to others. 

A Woman's Worth 6

Nancy is at a crossroads of her life, and she has some important decisions to make. As a woman, she feels pressure to have children and raise a family. When she makes the decision not to have kids and become a mother, there's uproar from those closest to her. She goes to great lengths to live her life to the best of her ability and to avoid the judgments and backlash from her family, knowing that she has to do what's best for her. This is the story of a woman who takes a different road, and a reminder that sometimes personal fulfillment comes before making others and the world happy…

About the Author

      

Free online: The Collectors is an anthology of stories for young adults about remarkable people and their strange and surprising collections. This free online event will feature four contributors who tell stories in which anything can be collected and any collection can tell a story. Tuesday, September 26, 5:30 - 7:00 CDT.

“Anyone who has a book collection and a garden wants for nothing.” ~Cicero