Book Blitz: Mending Broken Threads by E.D. Hackett

 

Mending Broken Threads
E.D. Hackett
Publication date: January 28th 2025
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction

Family secrets never stay buried for long…

Lynette Waller, a divorced Chicagoan, finds herself face to face with the demons of her past after her estranged mother passes away. Standing in her childhood home for the first time in decades, she learns of her mother’s past mistakes and regret through a magic suitcase, a medium, and her equally estranged daughter, Ruby.

To her parents’ disdain, Ruby Franklin traded security for chaos when she dropped out of college to pursue her modeling career in California. When an unexpected phone call sends her to Maine for her beloved grandmother’s passing, she finds herself emotionally unprepared for a family reunion.

The magic suitcase allows Lynette and Ruby to see into the matriarch’s past, but what lessons do her secrets hold? As they search for answers, they find that sometimes the truth is hiding in plain sight. With the help of Mema’s memories, will this mother-daughter duo heal old wounds and find the love buried within their past?

If you adore mother-daughter stories, heartwarming relationships, and transformative journeys, you’ll love this women’s fiction novel Mending Broken Threads.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Later that night, Lynette lay in her parent’s old bed, huddled under the massive pile of blankets. Suddenly spooked by the shadows in the room and the anticipation of sleep, she pulled the blankets to her eyes and closed them tight.

Her heart raced when her body jerked at the sound of a tree branch breaking outside. It must be an animal or the wind. Lynette flipped on the bedside lamp and scanned the room. The closet doors remained shut, the hallway light spread from under the door, and a pile of dirty clothes sat in the far corner. Nothing looked amiss.

She closed her eyes again, and thoughts of ghosts, spirits, and mediums infiltrated her mind. Freaking herself out, she turned on the tv at a low volume and focused on the sound of the eleven o’clock news.

When her eyes became heavy, she closed them for a moment, praying that morning would arrive fast. When she opened her eyes, her body bolted upright and her fingers gripped the sheets. Tiny beads of sweat formed along the nape of her neck. She wiped her neck, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples.

It was only a dream. The thought didn’t calm her mind, but solidified her hunch that Mom and Dad were expecting when they married, but in this dream, Mom was pregnant. Like, really pregnant and wearing that awful top from the suitcase. Dad stood at a grill, cooking outside, and Mom sat in a chair knitting. Knitting…was that Loretta? But Dad called the baby Lorraine. Lorraine, Lorraine…there was no Lorraine. And Mom looked sad, always sad. Lynette felt her unhappiness, which solidified her assumption that Mom didn’t want to get married. Whatever happened to Lorraine? Worst-case scenarios popped through Lynette’s mind. And why was she kept a secret all these years?

Unable to handle her thoughts any longer, she hopped out of bed and ran to her old bedroom. “Ruby.” She barged open and through the door, finding her daughter fast asleep. Gripping and shaking her shoulder, she said, “Ruby, wake up. I need to talk to you.”

Author Bio:

E.D Hackett is a Speech-language pathologist by day and a writer by night. She writes novels that investigate layers of self-expectations, family dynamics, self-love and self-acceptance. She hopes that her novels create a safe and cozy environment for her readers to fall into and explore.

She writes women’s fiction with one foot in romance.

She lives in New England but in her heart, she feels that she belongs in Ireland. She reads women's fiction and romantic comedies, prefers books to movies, loves ice cream over cake, and thrives in fall and spring.

Website / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
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—

Excerpt Reveal: Mending Broken Threads by E.D. Hackett

 

Mending Broken Threads
E.D. Hackett
Publication date: January 28th 2025
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction

Family secrets never stay buried for long…

Lynette Waller, a divorced Chicagoan, finds herself face to face with the demons of her past after her estranged mother passes away. Standing in her childhood home for the first time in decades, she learns of her mother’s past mistakes and regret through a magic suitcase, a medium, and her equally estranged daughter, Ruby.

To her parents’ disdain, Ruby Franklin traded security for chaos when she dropped out of college to pursue her modeling career in California. When an unexpected phone call sends her to Maine for her beloved grandmother’s passing, she finds herself emotionally unprepared for a family reunion.

The magic suitcase allows Lynette and Ruby to see into the matriarch’s past, but what lessons do her secrets hold? As they search for answers, they find that sometimes the truth is hiding in plain sight. With the help of Mema’s memories, will this mother-daughter duo heal old wounds and find the love buried within their past?

If you adore mother-daughter stories, heartwarming relationships, and transformative journeys, you’ll love this women’s fiction novel Mending Broken Threads.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

In a trance, and ready to crumble into a puddle, Lynette sat down with her arms tightly crossed against her chest. She examined her daughter before responding. Radiant skin, precise eyebrows, and a sun-kissed face made her appear healthy and well. “Well, not great.” Lynette wanted to add more, but she couldn’t reveal her agonizing mental state that had nearly destroyed her over the past three years.

“Do you want to talk? It’s been a while.”

Lynette swallowed, unsure how much to say. “Well, it’s been about three years.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Ruby looked down and her shoulders slumped forward. Lynette’s heart reached out to her, but her brain reminded her she needed to be strong.

“I saw your profile on Instagram, so I knew you were still alive.”

Ruby leaned forward, her blue eyes inviting Lynette to say more. “I didn’t know you were on social media,” she said.

“I’m not,” Lynette scowled. “Martha found you and we both sent you messages.”

Ruby’s head bobbed up and down like a buoy trying to stay afloat in the ocean. “Sorry. I get a lot of spam with my modeling. Companies preying on me, creepy men, and bots. If I don’t recognize the name, I don’t even open them.”

“Of course. You can’t imagine how surprised I was when Martha pulled up your face and I realized you were actually living the life you told me you’d live.” Lynette held Ruby’s gaze, daring her to either confirm or deny her success.

Ruby’s eyes dropped. “Yeah, it’s been quite a wild ride. I’m the spokesperson for Jolie Belle. Have you heard of them? In all my Instagram posts, I’m wearing their products. And I wear something every day. Like this.” She held out her wrist and two gold bangles clanged.

“Pretty.”

“Jolie Belle is a new designer based in L.A.. It’s for hip, young women, and they selected me from my modeling portfolio.”

Lynette heard her, but the words traveled over her shoulders and swirled above her head. “Great.” She hadn’t intended sarcasm, but the word had been out before she could stop it.

Ruby’s head pulled like she’d been hit by a slingshot.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I didn’t expect to see you here. A phone call would have been nice.”

“I was happy in L.A., Mom. I didn’t want to complicate it by—”

Lynette’s eyes shot up. “What. Contacting me? Do you know how many days and nights I worried about you? Did you have enough money? Were you living on the streets? Did you have a job? Were you alive? You left, and I never heard from you again.”

Ruby’s shoulders hunched down, and she mumbled, “People knew. I thought they’d tell you.”

Glaring at her only daughter, Lynette fumbled for the words. “I don’t even want to talk about that right now. What about your parents, huh? What about me? Your father? Did you even know the divorce was finalized? Did you know your dad remarried? Do you even care?”

Ruby’s voice dropped to her chest. “I knew. Auntie Lori told me and Dad sent me an invite.”

Without thinking, Lynette’s anguish and frustration erupted. “I sacrificed over twenty years to give you a good life, and you trampled over me, throwing me out like a bag of trash. I haven’t heard from you in three years. I deserve more from you. I deserve respect.”

Ruby’s eyes widened and tears splashed against her bronzed cheeks.

“Stop. Right now. You have no right to cry,” Lynette scolded. “You left on your own free will.”

Author Bio:

E.D Hackett is a Speech-language pathologist by day and a writer by night. She writes novels that investigate layers of self-expectations, family dynamics, self-love and self-acceptance. She hopes that her novels create a safe and cozy environment for her readers to fall into and explore.

She writes women’s fiction with one foot in romance.

She lives in New England but in her heart, she feels that she belongs in Ireland. She reads women's fiction and romantic comedies, prefers books to movies, loves ice cream over cake, and thrives in fall and spring.

Website / Facebook / Instagram

Book Blitz: Twice A Target by Susan Vaughan

 

Twice A Target
Susan Vaughan
(Task Force Eagle, #4)
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: January 29th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Disaster strikes DEA Agent Holt Donovan twice, when a gunfight ruins his mission and a car crash kills his brother and sister-in-law. Home on the Colorado ranch to raise his infant nephew, Holt enlists a nanny—Maddy McCoy, the woman who once jilted his brother. The world-traveling photographer never expected to return to Colorado, the only real home she ever had, and to the man she never forgot. Burned out from covering too many starving children and refugees and short on funds, Maddy agrees, vowing to keep her heart safe. What neither of them knows is that by bringing her into his home, Holt has placed her in the crosshairs of a killer. As Holt and Maddy cope with their desire for each other and the resentments of the past, their investigation into the brother’s death leads them into escalating danger and a shocking discovery.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

Bobby’s siren wail penetrated Holt’s consciousness like a nail in his skull.

He opened one eye. The lighted digital clock beside his bed read two o’clock. Right on time, little guy. “Coming,” he mumbled.

One foot on the floor. The other. He raked fingers through his hair, then pushed to his feet. Starting for the door, he snapped alert as though slapped.

Maddy McCoy.

He’d finished some paperwork in the office, then slipped off to bed early. But escape didn’t work worth a damn. The image of Maddy’s sassy face and the memory of her scent kept him torturing his sheets for hours before he finally slept.

Damn, she was in the master bedroom. He couldn’t troop through the house in his skivvies. Blinking in the darkened bedroom, he stumbled back and forth like a drugged steer as he searched for his jeans. Didn’t he leave them on the chair? Or on the floor? No. He put away the clean ones and tossed the manure-smeared ones into the washing machine. Where they remained.

Bobby cranked it up a notch. He could rival that opera singer, Luciano something.

Hell with it. Holt hit the door and burst into the hall.

And collided with a slim figure in filmy white.

He stumbled to a halt and braced himself as his arms went around her to stop her fall. She emitted a small yelp like a cartoon eek. Under his hands, her slender body in the silken covering was a miracle of curves and soft, toned female flesh. His body tightened and his pulse raced off to distant planets. The hallway suddenly didn’t have enough air.

He immediately set her away a step. Then he stepped back another. “Sorry. Bobby.” The baby’s cry subsided to hiccups and whimpers. No emergency, to his relief.

“Thought that was my job,” she said. “Two o’clock bottle. Diaper change. Like that.”

“You’re here to spell me when I’m doing ranch work.”

“A rancher needs sleep.” She returned his scowl, although humor tugged at the corner of her lips. “Why do you want me here if you won’t leave Bobby to me?”

He opened his mouth, closed it again with a snap.

Bobby cranked it up again. Only taking a breather. His wail rivaled an air raid siren.

“If you’ll get out of my way,” she said, tossing her hair and smoothing her nightshirt so it highlighted her breasts, “I’ll see to the baby.” The grin popped out, accompanied by a slow perusal down Holt’s body. “Nice…legs.”

He blinked, shot a glance downward. Damn, betrayed by his tented boxers. His Adam’s apple jumped as he swallowed hard. He jerked to the side along the wall, as if someone had pressed a knife to his side. “Bobby’s all yours.”

“Great!” She turned and swung her hips as she flounced toward the baby’s room.

Author Bio:

I wanted to write as soon as I learned to read. I dabbled with stories and poems for years, but didn't start writing seriously until many years later. My favorite books have always been mysteries and romances, so the mix in romantic suspense was a natural. I love writing romantic suspense because it throws the hero and heroine together under extraordinary circumstances and pits them against a clever villain. My books have been both a Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer's Choice Nominee and a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award. Reviewers have called my books fast-paced, thrilling, action-packed, sizzling, and highly emotional.

I have also published a children's Christmas picture book, Sleigh Magic.

I am a West Virginia native but I have lived for many years on the coast of Maine.

For more information about my books, please visit me at susanvaughan dot com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

End of the Month Wrap Up: January

 At the end of each month, I am going to do a wrap up of the month.  

Happy Reading!!

Melissa

Excerpt Reveal: Twice A Target by Susan Vaughan

 

Twice A Target
Susan Vaughan
(Task Force Eagle, #4)
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: January 29th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Disaster strikes DEA Agent Holt Donovan twice, when a gunfight ruins his mission and a car crash kills his brother and sister-in-law. Home on the Colorado ranch to raise his infant nephew, Holt enlists a nanny—Maddy McCoy, the woman who once jilted his brother. The world-traveling photographer never expected to return to Colorado, the only real home she ever had, and to the man she never forgot. Burned out from covering too many starving children and refugees and short on funds, Maddy agrees, vowing to keep her heart safe. What neither of them knows is that by bringing her into his home, Holt has placed her in the crosshairs of a killer. As Holt and Maddy cope with their desire for each other and the resentments of the past, their investigation into the brother’s death leads them into escalating danger and a shocking discovery.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

Maddy retrieved her hat and eased it on her head. “Guess I’ll just have to ignore hat hair.” Grinning, she placed her left foot in the stirrup.

With her long legs, she needed no assistance mounting a horse, even a tall one like Chica. The faded denim of her designer jeans stretching across her rounded behind drew his gaze like a lodestone. 

Holt dragged his glance away, afraid he’d be tempted to give her a boost, as an excuse to put his hands on her. No matter what he thought of her, his desire for her only grew. Hell, he was getting used to constant arousal. Sex with Maddy would be like the woman herself. Sensual. Exhilarating. Nothing but trouble. 

And he couldn’t stop wanting her.

A flash of light across the meadow caught his eye. Sunlight reflecting on a mirror? 

Or on metal?

He lunged for Maddy before she could swing her right leg over the saddle. 

“Get down!” 

She gasped with surprise, falling into his arms like a newborn colt, all long limbs and slender body. Her hat tumbled away to the side. “What the hell!”

Something whizzed past them. The aspen branch above exploded into splinters. The crack of a rifle shot echoed across the meadow.

Holt and Maddy dropped to the ground. 

Both horses startled. The mare jolted away. Bandito reared and hoofed at the sky. He bolted upstream after Chica.

Another shot slammed into the aspen’s trunk. Shattered wood fragments sprayed them like pellets.

Maddy’s heart raced. Trembling, she clung to Holt. “Gunshots,” she whispered, more to express the reality of it than to state the unnecessary. 

Holt kept one arm around her as they crab-crawled toward a scraggly cedar bush. “Stay down. This isn’t much protection, but we have no choice. At least he can’t see us.”

“Who could be shooting at us?” Dried stubble beneath their shelter pricked at her bottom. She huddled in his embrace, taking comfort in his familiar smell and the heat of his hard body. Shifting for comfort, she scooted closer.

“He’s over there on the dirt track.” Expression as hard as the silver in Ghost Mountain, he peered across the meadow. “And I doubt he mistook us for a deer. Must have a hell of a site on that rifle.” 

Her discomfort flicked away, and a moment later, an idea ramped up fear to full-blown panic. “It could be Rob’s murderer!”

Author Bio:

I wanted to write as soon as I learned to read. I dabbled with stories and poems for years, but didn't start writing seriously until many years later. My favorite books have always been mysteries and romances, so the mix in romantic suspense was a natural. I love writing romantic suspense because it throws the hero and heroine together under extraordinary circumstances and pits them against a clever villain. My books have been both a Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer's Choice Nominee and a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award. Reviewers have called my books fast-paced, thrilling, action-packed, sizzling, and highly emotional.

I have also published a children's Christmas picture book, Sleigh Magic.

I am a West Virginia native but I have lived for many years on the coast of Maine.

For more information about my books, please visit me at susanvaughan dot com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram