Susan Sleeman here. Do you have an e-reader or maybe an iPad? Then I’d like to tell you about a line of cozy mysteries that has recently released with most books retailing for only .99 for a limited time. Spyglass Lane Mysteries are published by a group of cozy mystery authors who have joined together to bring you a new cozy mystery every week. Currently, there are over 20 wonderful mysteries in this line. Stop by the website to view all of the available books and be sure to sign up for our email newsletter where we announce each new book that releases.

I’d also like to share a little bit about my Garden Gate Mystery Series that is releasing as part of this line. The first book, Nipped in the Bud has already released and book two, Read Between the Tines will release in February 23rd. Here’s a little bit about both books.

NIPPED IN THE BUD

WHEN YOU FIND YOUR BOSS PUSHING UP DAISIES. . .

Life in full bloom, landscape designer, Paige Turner, scores her first landscaping contract to spruce up the park, her radio talk show shoots to number one, and her retail shop is simply blossoming. Yes, her life is a bed of roses. Until she finds the city manager served up on the blade of her favorite shovel mere hours after she’s threatened to have his head on a platter, then the thorns come out. And there is none thornier than the local police chief declaring Paige the one and only suspect and threatening to plow her under.

YOU’VE GOT TO FORMULATE A PLANT OF ATTACK . . .

Paige teams up with dashing attorney, Adam Hayes to weed through the list of suspects, and clear her soiled reputation. And along the way, discovers that Adam just may be the man of her dreams.

» Read an Excerpt » Order It Now

READ BETWEEN THE TINES

IF YOUR LIFE IS A BED OF ROSES. . .

Recovered from her near death at the hand of a killer, landscape designer Paige Turner is certain her life will soon be a bed of roses. That is, until her employee, Daisy Rose Plante, finds a dead body, and the thorny police chief looks no further than Daisy for a suspect. Paige digs in and weeds through the list of potential killers, and before long, her sweet smelling rose of a life is soundly trampled.

YOU’LL HAVE TO SURVIVE THE THORNS. . .

Paige would be much happier working over-thyme on her budding relationship with handsome attorney, Adam Hayes, but it soon becomes clear she’ll be in a hoe lot of trouble with him if she continues digging for the killer. Does Paige risk all and try to unearth the killer? Or does she settle down in peaceful bliss with the man of her dreams?

» Read an Excerpt

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a best-selling author of inspirational romantic suspense and mystery novels. She grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into writing romantic suspense and mystery novels and hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com.

Susan currently lives in Florida, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson.

To learn more about Susan visit: Website, her Facebook page, or on Twitter

Interview with the hero from To Love and Cherish:

1.   Thomas, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I’m a Plain man so I reckon I’m not all that interesting. I don’t know why anyone would want to interview me, but I’m happy to answer your questions if it is helpful to you. I’m a farmer, a father, a widower, and I hope to be a husband again soon. I work hard, and I try to be a good father and a good friend.

2.  What do you do for fun?

I don’t have a lot of time for fun, but I do take my son, Eli, hunting and fishing, whenever I get a chance. We have fun and bring home food at the same time. It’s important for him to learn how to do these thing. I like seeing how excited he gets when he catches a fish in the creek or when he gets a shot at a deer. He’s only a boy so he has to learn how to be quiet and patient. It’s my job as his daed to teach him. Spending time with him is a blessing. With my daughter, Rebecca, it’s harder. She wants to make pie. I’m not much good at that, but she’s a happy girl and being around her gives me pleasure.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

I’ve always thought it’s best to do those things I dread first. Get them done and get on with doing the more enjoyable things. I don’t like punishing my children, but it has to be done sometimes. For their sake. So I do it and pray they grow up to understand why it was necessary.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

I’m not afraid. I know God has a plan for me. He’s blessed me with two healthy children, a farm that bears fruit from my labor, and a community that is here for me when I need it. I guess if I were to let my fears get a hold of me, they would come in the form of something happening to my kinner. I almost lost Rebecca and the very beating of my heart hurt in my chest during that dark time.

5.  What do you want out of life?

To farm the land, if that’s God’s will for me. To live out my life with my family. If I have that, I will be content, and if I don’t, I’ll learn to be content anyway.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

My faith comes first, then my family, and my community.

7.  Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

I don’t read much. I like to tell stories, though. The kinner like it when I tell them stories about how our ancestors came from across the ocean to settle in this country so they could worship the way they wanted. I can teach them their history while telling a good story.

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I try to accept myself for who I am. God made me this way. Trying to change it would be wrong. But it’s true I sometimes feel like it would be nice if I were able to talk to people easier. I don’t talk much so it gets awkward. I have the words in my head, but they don’t come out right. Courting is awkward when a woman expects the man to keep up his end of the conversation. I don’t blame Emma for wondering if Carl might be a better choice. He was a real good talker and women tend to like that.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

I don’t have a pet, but I like animals. I’m a farmer so I have horses. The kinner named the new one Muffin. Why, I don’t know. We have pigs, a few cattle, chickens, and a whole batch of new kittens that live in the barn. Farm life is like that—an abundance of life always growing and changing. I can see God’s hand in it everywhere.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

That’s a mighty fanciful question. We can’t go back in time nor should we want to. We need to stay on the path God has set for us. We are the sum of the experiences He has given us. After my fraa Joanna died of cancer, there were many nights when I wanted to go back and relive our days together so I could make the most of them. I suppose that I learned from that experience not to take one minute of one day for granted. If Emma and I are to be together, I will cherish every day with her, however many those days are.

Interview with Phoebe Miller of An Amish Family Reunion by Mary Ellis:

1.Phoebe, tell me the most interesting thing about you. I suppose that I met the perfect man for me, a master storyteller. Now, if only I can convince him of how perfect we would be together.

2.  What do you do for fun? Sketching, I take my tablet up in the high country and spend hours drawing anything that catches my fancy.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it? Telling my father that I want a career instead of just marriage and a family. He’s very old-fashioned as most Old Order Amish fathers are.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life? Heights—growing up on a farm, I never realized I was until I traveled to Niagara Falls. Looking down at the surging rapids far below from an observation platform terrified me and made me dizzy.

5.  What do you want out of life? I want to illustrate children’s books. God gave each of us a gift—I want to use mine to reach the hearts of little ones.

6.  What is the most important thing to you? Until Eli Riehl came along, I’d have to say my relationship with my stepmother. I never thought anyone could take the place of my mom in my heart following her death, but Hannah truly has.

7.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read? I love to read tales of adventurous women, especially from bygone eras, and what they accomplished despite incredible odds.

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I hate being so shy. I would love to walk into a room with plenty to talk about and the guts to say what’s on my mind.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet? I have a pet rescue horse that lives in the pasture next door. I bring her apples and carrots every day and she runs to see me as fast as her thirty-year-old legs will carry her.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? I would travel back one hundred years to the day that brave schoolteacher went over Niagara Falls and survived. I would love to see the look on her face when they pried off the lid to her wooden barrel.

Interview with the heroine of Hearts that Survive – A Novel of the Titanic (Abingdon, March 1, 2012) by Yvonne Lehman:

1. My name is Lydia Beaumont. Others behave and speak as if the most interesting thing about me is that I’m heiress to the Beaumont Railroad Company and my father is fabulously rich. However, I think the most interesting is that I’m sailing on the Titanic, the greatest ship ever built and am on my way to America where I expect my life to really begin. And yet, if anyone else knew the secret known only to me, I suspect that would be of incredible interest.

2.  What do you do for fun?

Before John, I was escorted by Craven to the finest establishments in cities like London and Paris. After John, fun was escaping from those who watched my every move, and sneaking out to run around town with friends as if I were a commoner. Now that I’ve matured considerably in the past few weeks, nothing is more fun than exploring this ship with John or just talking and laughing with him.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

I dread revealing my secret because if it were something that would not cause distress, decisions, and uncertainty to many, then it would not be a secret.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

Never being free to live and love the way I want, but having my life dictated by others.

5.  What do you want out of life?

What I want most is to marry John and live happily ever after.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

Marrying John.

7.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

Oh yes, my favorite book is a best-selling one titled Once Upon an English Garden. The author is aboard this ship, in second-class unfortunately but that doesn’t bother John. The two of them have become friends.

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about me it would be my former naïveté about my own susceptibility to temptation which led to indiscretion.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

Why have a pet when you, yourself, are a pet to your own father, eligible and ineligible bachelors, friends of the family, servants, governesses, tutors, and guards. In a sense, I feel like a pet who is pampered and trained and has every moment scheduled. If I want something fetched I simply speak to a servant and I never fear any disobedience. Were I to have a pet however, I think it would be a little songbird in a cage, so I could set him free.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

Oh, when one is in a palace on the sea, aboard the grandest ship ever built, one simply could not desire to travel elsewhere. We sail on a glassy smooth sea, with only hope and beauty ahead of us and my dear love is walking toward me. The grandeur of this ship is a world of its own. I cannot imagine traveling back from this or being more fortunate than to be aboard this magnificent “unsinkable” ship of dreams.

Interview with the heroine from Love Finds You in New Orleans, Louisiana:

1. Charlotte LeClerc , tell me the most interesting thing about you.

That I’m not who I think I am, but if I reveal more, my author might murder me…and this is a romance.

2.  What do you do for fun?

Attend the opera and performances, avoid my grandmother.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Anything requiring me to be required to do something!

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

I most fear dying without ever having made a difference in someone’s life.

5.  What do you want out of life? 6.  What is the most important thing to you?

What I want is to marry someone I love, to have children, and to continue standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.  And it’s important to me that my life, my family’s life, and our desire to help others is all rooted in showing God’s love.

6.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

I do love reading, and one of my most treasured memories is being read to by my Grandpere.  Shakespeare is one of my favorites, but I enjoy a variety of books, including Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein.

7.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I am apt to be impatient, with myself as well as others.

8.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

My cat, Henri, is actually a stray that visits so often I have come to think of him as my own.

9. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

Well, I’m already in 1841, but I would like to go back to meet my parents when they first married.

This week I’m hosting Christa Allan with Love Finds You in New Orleans, Louisiana, Yvonne Lehman with Hearts that Survive, Mary Ellis with An Amish Family Reunion, and Kelly Irvin with To Love and Cherish.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (February 26th) evening.

Bio of Christa Allan:

Blurb for Love Finds You in New Orleans, Louisiana: 

Raised by her grandparents in 19th-century New Orleans, Charlotte LeClerc knows little about her long-lost parents. Now facing an arranged marriage to a suitor she dreads, she finds herself attracted to somebody else: a young Creole man named Gabriel Girod. Meanwhile, her grandparents harbor a family secret. Will the truth set everybody free—especially Charlotte?

Bio of Yvonne Lehman:

YVONNE LEHMAN is an award-winning, best-selling author of novels in many genres such as historical, contemporary, romance, mystery, women’s fiction, mainstream. Hearts that Survive – A Novel of the Titanic (Abingdon) is her 50^th novel to be released March 1, 2012 in time for the 100^th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. She will have a 3-day book signing at the Titanic Display in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee April 27, 28, and 29. Other novels to be released in 2012 are A Knight to Remember in April (Heartsong, second in a series set in Washington DC) and Let it Snow in December (Heartsong, third in the DC series). Yvonne earned her Master’s Degree in English Literature at Western Carolina University and has taught English and Creative Writing on the college level. She founded and directed the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference for 25 years and now directs the Blue Ridge “Autumn in the Mountains” Novelist Retreat  held at Ridgecrest NC. She is a mentor with the Jerry Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild.

Blurb of Hearts that Survive:

Of all the unbelievable things that occurred, the strangest thing took place. The floating half of the ship began to melt like a dollop of butter on a hot roll. It just melted smoothly into the ocean and the hoard of people were in the water. Their hair didn’t get wet. No water splashed on their faces. For an instant they didn’t scream. They couldn’t. A communal gasp went out over the sea, produced by hundreds and hundreds of terrified people who unexpectedly stepped into icy water up to their necks.

The ship of dreams vanished, disappeared as it sank into the sea.

In its place emerged a nightmare.

The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic was not the end of the story for the 2207 passengers, plus the crew. It was the beginning of an unforgettable event that changed history, changed culture. There were only a few hundred saved in the 20 lifeboats. Not only were hundreds and hundreds of souls lost that night, but the event touched people throughout the world. Each person had family, friends, acquaintances and their lives too were touched and changed. Being saved was not the end, but the beginning for those who struggled not just to survive, but to live again.

Read this incredible story of

ONE SHIP… TWO FAMILIES… THREE GENERATIONS.

Bio of Mary Ellis:

Mary Ellis grew up close to an Amish settlement where she loved their peaceful agrarian lifestyle and strong sense of Christian community. She and her husband now live by the largest population of Amish in the country where they take weekend trips to research her books. Mary enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming. Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught Middle School and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate—a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. All three in her Miller Family series made the Christian bestseller lists. A Widow’s Hope was a finalist in the 2010 ACFW Carol Awards and Award of Merit for the Holt Medallion. Her current release is An Amish Family Reunion.

Blurb for An Amish Family Reunion:

Ties That Bind

Julia Miller misses her children. They are grown and have families of their own now, but her mother’s heart yearns for a houseful of laughter and joy once again. She plans to gather her chicks together in a summer celebration to remember.

At the farm next door, Julia’s niece, Phoebe, meets Eli Riehl, a young man who charms her—and everyone else—with his exceptional storytelling ability on a rumschpringe trip to Niagara Falls. When Phoebe sketches scenes to illustrate one of his tales, Eli encourages her incredible talent, and together they embark on a lofty and unlikely business venture for two young Amish people—writing and illustrating a children’s book.

Eli’s kindness and appeal extend beyond his knack for words to reach inside Phoebe’s shy heart. But he is an only son with five sisters, and when tragedy strikes at home, Eli gives up his writing to assume responsibility on the farm. Though willing to abandon his dream of becoming an author, he won’t give up his beloved Phoebe.

Can their love for a good story develop into something that lasts forever, or will memories of the past stand in their way?

ISBN 978-0-7369-4487-8

Category: Fiction—Romance

Bio of Kelly Irvin:

Kelly Irvin is the author of To Love and to Cherish, an Amish romance from Harvest House Publishing. The follow-up in the Bliss Creek Amish series, A Heart Made New, is slated for release in September. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine, published in 2010 and 2011 by Five Star Gale. A former newspaper reporter, she is a public relations professional. She and her husband live in Texas along with two semi-adult children, three cats, and a tank full of fish. Find out more at www.kellyirvin.com.

Blurb for To Love and to Cherish:

How Do You Forgive When Your Heart Is Broken?

It’s been four years since Carl left. Four years since he left the safety of the small Amish community for the Englisch world. And in four years, Emma’s heart has only begun to heal.

Now, with the unexpected death of her parents, Emma is plunged back into a world of despair and confusion. It’s a confusion only compounded by Carl’s return. She’s supposed to be in love with him…so why can’t she keep her mind off Thomas, the strong, quiet widower who always seems to be underfoot? Could the man she knew only as a friend be the one to help her to heal?  

In a world that seems to be changing no matter how tightly she clings to the past, one woman must see beyond her pain, find strength in God, and open her heart to trust once again.

Find out more at www.amishreader.com.

Interview with the hero from The Wings of Morning by Murray Pura:

Jude Whetstone, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I love to fly. And when I’m on the ground I love to work with horses and I love to ride. So I guess I love to have the wind in my hair.

What do you do for fun?

The flying and the riding relax me. But also I love to swim in the river near my home. And then, to walk with Lynndaya Kurtz, that is the best.

What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Mucking out the stables. But if you want to have horses it is a necessary evil.

What are you afraid of most in life?

I hope I can get through life without ever killing another human being.

What do you want out of life?

The freedom to worship God and to follow Christ. And to love as much as possible with as much strength as God gives me.

What is the most important thing to you?

My faith. After that, beautiful Lyyndaya. Then my family and friends. The airplane and horses come after all that.

Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

After the Bible I like to read stories written by Christian authors. Such stories inspire me. I very much like stories that are westerns as well as ones that are adventures. It is pleasant if there is a love interest along with the ruggedness and adventure.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would like to be taller. Six foot or six foot one would be great, rather than five ten or five eleven. I think Lyyndaya would like that too though she says she would not change a thing about me.

Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

I have two dogs, a brother and a sister. They are Alaskan Malamutes. Such a beautiful breed. Not only do they look wonderful, but they are warm and friendly and love people. They call them The Teddy Bears of the Dog World.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would like to go back to Colonial America, say, the late 1600s or early 1700s. Such a simple time and the forests were uncut and stretched for thousands of miles. The land was unspoiled. Of course I would miss taking up an airplane, but the freshness and richness of a new America would make up for that.

Interview with the heroine from An Amish Wedding by Kathleen Fuller:

 1.Naomi King, tell me the most interesting thing about you. I teach Amish cooking lessons to English visitors. I also run a bakery.

2.  What do you do for fun? I love to spend time with my family. But I work so hard, so I don’t have a lot of time for fun.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it? Laundry. I’ve never liked doing it, however, I usually try not to put things off.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life? Being rejected.

5.  What do you want out of life? To be happy, serving the Lord, and my family.

6.  What is the most important thing to you? My family—I love being surrounded by them and my community.

7.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read? I don’t have time to read—but when I do, I read cookbooks! J

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would be more easy-going, and carve out time for fun. Sometimes I take myself too seriously.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet? No pets.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? I never thought about traveling back in time. I suppose if I could, I would like to visit Jesus during his time. Or some of my Amish ancestors, when they first moved to this country. 

Interview with the heroine from Where Wildflowers Bloom by Ann Shorey:

1.  Faith Lindberg, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

 My mother died when I was ten, so I was reared in an all-male household by my grandfather, father, and brother. I know how to split wood and shoot a weapon, but I prefer to do “girly” things.

2.  What do you do for fun?

 I read books about Oregon, and dream about living there.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

As manager of my grandfather’s mercantile, I’m sometimes called upon to demand payment from people who owe us money. I cringe at the very thought.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

 Cemeteries. I faint if I get near one.

5.  What do you want out of life?

 I want to leave Missouri and live in Oregon with my grandfather. Our lives were shattered by the War Between the States, and I’d like to run away from the memories.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

 My grandfather is the only family I have left. Taking care of him is my most important goal.

7.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

 Yes, I’m a good reader and enjoy books about the west. I’m fascinated by accounts of people who’ve traveled the Oregon Trail to live in the fertile Willamette valley.

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

 Oh, I’d love to have curly blonde hair instead of my straight straw-brown tresses.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

 My father had a hunting dog named Flint, but my grandfather gave the dog away after my father was killed in the war. I’d love to have a dog of my own. I remember how Flint loved my father.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

 It would be wonderful to go back to the 1850’s and be part of the first migrations to Oregon. Maybe my father and brother would still be alive if we’d been that far away.

Heroine interview from Falling for the Fireman:

Jeannie, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I don’t know about interesting, but my job is certainly tasty–I make candy and run a candy shop in Gordon Falls.  Or did run one, until it burned down recently.  

 What do you do for fun?

I think my job is great fun, and it’s been hard to be “on hold” while we get ready to open a new store.  Thinking and dreaming about that new store is the most fun I have right now.  I also enjoy playing with my 13 year old son–but I’m not very good at his video games.

 What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Dealing with all the aftermath of the fire.  I dread the paperwork, documenting all Nicky and I have lost, the boring apartment where we have to live now until the new store (and our home above it) is finished.

 What are you afraid of most in life?

I fear that Nicky has been hurt by the fire–not physically wounded, but damaged on the inside.  It’s not fair that he lost his father when he was six and now he has this other enormous loss to endure.  I know I can cope–even though it’s hard–but I worry so much about him.

 What is the most important thing to you?

Nicky.  He’s all I have right now.

 Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

Well, candy recipe books and decorating books are my favorite ones at the moment, but I like biographies of people who have done great things, too.

 If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I need to be more patient right now, but it’s so hard.  I need to be in my new store doing what I love, but it seems to be taking so very long.

 Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

Nicky wants a pet badly, but the apartment complex we’re renting in right now only allows goldfish, which Nicky says are “lame.”  That’s why I’m so grateful Chad Owens hired Nicky to be the fire department’s official dog walker.  Plug is one portly hound, and Nicky adores him–it’s a good thing for both of them.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

To own a chocolate shop in Paris in the 1920’s would be such an amazing adventure.  So glamorous!